Sample records for demand response capabilities

  1. Opportunities for Automated Demand Response in California Wastewater Treatment Facilities

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

    Aghajanzadeh, Arian; Wray, Craig; McKane, Aimee

    Previous research over a period of six years has identified wastewater treatment facilities as good candidates for demand response (DR), automated demand response (Auto-­DR), and Energy Efficiency (EE) measures. This report summarizes that work, including the characteristics of wastewater treatment facilities, the nature of the wastewater stream, energy used and demand, as well as details of the wastewater treatment process. It also discusses control systems and automated demand response opportunities. Furthermore, this report summarizes the DR potential of three wastewater treatment facilities. In particular, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has collected data at these facilities from control systems, submetered processmore » equipment, utility electricity demand records, and governmental weather stations. The collected data were then used to generate a summary of wastewater power demand, factors affecting that demand, and demand response capabilities. These case studies show that facilities that have implemented energy efficiency measures and that have centralized control systems are well suited to shed or shift electrical loads in response to financial incentives, utility bill savings, and/or opportunities to enhance reliability of service. In summary, municipal wastewater treatment energy demand in California is large, and energy-­intensive equipment offers significant potential for automated demand response. In particular, large load reductions were achieved by targeting effluent pumps and centrifuges. One of the limiting factors to implementing demand response is the reaction of effluent turbidity to reduced aeration at an earlier stage of the process. Another limiting factor is that cogeneration capabilities of municipal facilities, including existing power purchase agreements and utility receptiveness to purchasing electricity from cogeneration facilities, limit a facility’s potential to participate in other DR activities.« less

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

    Kim, Joyce Jihyun; Yin, Rongxin; Kiliccote, Sila

    Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR), an XML-based information exchange model, is used to facilitate continuous price-responsive operation and demand response participation for large commercial buildings in New York who are subject to the default day-ahead hourly pricing. We summarize the existing demand response programs in New York and discuss OpenADR communication, prioritization of demand response signals, and control methods. Building energy simulation models are developed and field tests are conducted to evaluate continuous energy management and demand response capabilities of two commercial buildings in New York City. Preliminary results reveal that providing machine-readable prices to commercial buildings can facilitate bothmore » demand response participation and continuous energy cost savings. Hence, efforts should be made to develop more sophisticated algorithms for building control systems to minimize customer's utility bill based on price and reliability information from the electricity grid.« less

  3. Laboratory Testing of Demand-Response Enabled Household Appliances

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

    Sparn, B.; Jin, X.; Earle, L.

    2013-10-01

    With the advent of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) systems capable of two-way communications between the utility's grid and the building, there has been significant effort in the Automated Home Energy Management (AHEM) industry to develop capabilities that allow residential building systems to respond to utility demand events by temporarily reducing their electricity usage. Major appliance manufacturers are following suit by developing Home Area Network (HAN)-tied appliance suites that can take signals from the home's 'smart meter,' a.k.a. AMI meter, and adjust their run cycles accordingly. There are numerous strategies that can be employed by household appliances to respond tomore » demand-side management opportunities, and they could result in substantial reductions in electricity bills for the residents depending on the pricing structures used by the utilities to incent these types of responses.The first step to quantifying these end effects is to test these systems and their responses in simulated demand-response (DR) conditions while monitoring energy use and overall system performance.« less

  4. Laboratory Testing of Demand-Response Enabled Household Appliances

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

    Sparn, B.; Jin, X.; Earle, L.

    2013-10-01

    With the advent of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) systems capable of two-way communications between the utility's grid and the building, there has been significant effort in the Automated Home Energy Management (AHEM) industry to develop capabilities that allow residential building systems to respond to utility demand events by temporarily reducing their electricity usage. Major appliance manufacturers are following suit by developing Home Area Network (HAN)-tied appliance suites that can take signals from the home's 'smart meter,' a.k.a. AMI meter, and adjust their run cycles accordingly. There are numerous strategies that can be employed by household appliances to respond tomore » demand-side management opportunities, and they could result in substantial reductions in electricity bills for the residents depending on the pricing structures used by the utilities to incent these types of responses. The first step to quantifying these end effects is to test these systems and their responses in simulated demand-response (DR) conditions while monitoring energy use and overall system performance.« less

  5. Demand Response For Power System Reliability: FAQ

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

    Kirby, Brendan J

    2006-12-01

    Demand response is the most underutilized power system reliability resource in North America. Technological advances now make it possible to tap this resource to both reduce costs and improve. Misconceptions concerning response capabilities tend to force loads to provide responses that they are less able to provide and often prohibit them from providing the most valuable reliability services. Fortunately this is beginning to change with some ISOs making more extensive use of load response. This report is structured as a series of short questions and answers that address load response capabilities and power system reliability needs. Its objective is tomore » further the use of responsive load as a bulk power system reliability resource in providing the fastest and most valuable ancillary services.« less

  6. Opportunities for Open Automated Demand Response in Wastewater Treatment Facilities in California - Phase II Report. San Luis Rey Wastewater Treatment Plant Case Study

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

    Thompson, Lisa; Lekov, Alex; McKane, Aimee

    2010-08-20

    This case study enhances the understanding of open automated demand response opportunities in municipal wastewater treatment facilities. The report summarizes the findings of a 100 day submetering project at the San Luis Rey Wastewater Treatment Plant, a municipal wastewater treatment facility in Oceanside, California. The report reveals that key energy-intensive equipment such as pumps and centrifuges can be targeted for large load reductions. Demand response tests on the effluent pumps resulted a 300 kW load reduction and tests on centrifuges resulted in a 40 kW load reduction. Although tests on the facility?s blowers resulted in peak period load reductions ofmore » 78 kW sharp, short-lived increases in the turbidity of the wastewater effluent were experienced within 24 hours of the test. The results of these tests, which were conducted on blowers without variable speed drive capability, would not be acceptable and warrant further study. This study finds that wastewater treatment facilities have significant open automated demand response potential. However, limiting factors to implementing demand response are the reaction of effluent turbidity to reduced aeration load, along with the cogeneration capabilities of municipal facilities, including existing power purchase agreements and utility receptiveness to purchasing electricity from cogeneration facilities.« less

  7. Statistical Capability Study of a Helical Grinding Machine Producing Screw Rotors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holmes, C. S.; Headley, M.; Hart, P. W.

    2017-08-01

    Screw compressors depend for their efficiency and reliability on the accuracy of the rotors, and therefore on the machinery used in their production. The machinery has evolved over more than half a century in response to customer demands for production accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility, and is now at a high level on all three criteria. Production equipment and processes must be capable of maintaining accuracy over a production run, and this must be assessed statistically under strictly controlled conditions. This paper gives numerical data from such a study of an innovative machine tool and shows that it is possible to meet the demanding statistical capability requirements.

  8. Providing Reliability Services through Demand Response: A Prelimnary Evaluation of the Demand Response Capabilities of Alcoa Inc.

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

    Starke, Michael R; Kirby, Brendan J; Kueck, John D

    2009-02-01

    Demand response is the largest underutilized reliability resource in North America. Historic demand response programs have focused on reducing overall electricity consumption (increasing efficiency) and shaving peaks but have not typically been used for immediate reliability response. Many of these programs have been successful but demand response remains a limited resource. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) report, 'Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering' (FERC 2006) found that only five percent of customers are on some form of demand response program. Collectively they represent an estimated 37,000 MW of response potential. These programs reduce overall energy consumption, lower greenmore » house gas emissions by allowing fossil fuel generators to operate at increased efficiency and reduce stress on the power system during periods of peak loading. As the country continues to restructure energy markets with sophisticated marginal cost models that attempt to minimize total energy costs, the ability of demand response to create meaningful shifts in the supply and demand equations is critical to creating a sustainable and balanced economic response to energy issues. Restructured energy market prices are set by the cost of the next incremental unit of energy, so that as additional generation is brought into the market, the cost for the entire market increases. The benefit of demand response is that it reduces overall demand and shifts the entire market to a lower pricing level. This can be very effective in mitigating price volatility or scarcity pricing as the power system responds to changing demand schedules, loss of large generators, or loss of transmission. As a global producer of alumina, primary aluminum, and fabricated aluminum products, Alcoa Inc., has the capability to provide demand response services through its manufacturing facilities and uniquely through its aluminum smelting facilities. For a typical aluminum smelter, electric power accounts for 30% to 40% of the factory cost of producing primary aluminum. In the continental United States, Alcoa Inc. currently owns and/or operates ten aluminum smelters and many associated fabricating facilities with a combined average load of over 2,600 MW. This presents Alcoa Inc. with a significant opportunity to respond in areas where economic opportunities exist to help mitigate rising energy costs by supplying demand response services into the energy system. This report is organized into seven chapters. The first chapter is the introduction and discusses the intention of this report. The second chapter contains the background. In this chapter, topics include: the motivation for Alcoa to provide demand response; ancillary service definitions; the basics behind aluminum smelting; and a discussion of suggested ancillary services that would be particularly useful for Alcoa to supply. Chapter 3 is concerned with the independent system operator, the Midwest ISO. Here the discussion examines the evolving Midwest ISO market structure including specific definitions, requirements, and necessary components to provide ancillary services. This section is followed by information concerning the Midwest ISO's classifications of demand response parties. Chapter 4 investigates the available opportunities at Alcoa's Warrick facility. Chapter 5 involves an in-depth discussion of the regulation service that Alcoa's Warrick facility can provide and the current interactions with Midwest ISO. Chapter 6 reviews future plans and expectations for Alcoa providing ancillary services into the market. Last, chapter 7, details the conclusion and recommendations of this paper.« less

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

    Kim, Joyce Jihyun; Schetrit, Oren; Yin, Rongxin

    Demand response (DR) – allowing customers to respond to reliability requests and market prices by changing electricity use from their normal consumption pattern – continues to be seen as an attractive means of demand-side management and a fundamental smart-grid improvement that links supply and demand. From October 2011 to December 2013, the Demand Response Research Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and partners Honeywell and Akuacom, have conducted a demonstration project enabling Automated Demand Response (Auto-DR) in large commercial buildings located in New York City using Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR)more » communication protocols. In particular, this project focuses on demonstrating how the OpenADR platform, enabled by Akuacom, can automate and simplify interactions between buildings and various stakeholders in New York State and enable the automation of customers’ price response to yield bill savings under dynamic pricing. In this paper, the cost control opportunities under day-ahead hourly pricing and Auto-DR control strategies are presented for four demonstration buildings; present the breakdown of Auto-DR enablement costs; summarize the field test results and their load impact; and show potential bill savings by enabling automated price response under Consolidated Edison’s Mandatory Hourly Pricing (MHP) tariff. For one of the sites, the potential bill savings at the site’s current retail rate are shown. Facility managers were given granular equipment-level opt-out capability to ensure full control of the sites during the Auto-DR implementation. The expected bill savings ranged from 1.1% to 8.0% of the total MHP bill. The automation and enablement costs ranged from $70 to $725 per kW shed. The results show that OpenADR can facilitate the automation of price response, deliver savings to the customers and opt-out capability of the implementation retains control of the sites by facility managers.« less

  10. Taxonomy for Modeling Demand Response Resources

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

    Olsen, Daniel; Kiliccote, Sila; Sohn, Michael

    2014-08-01

    Demand response resources are an important component of modern grid management strategies. Accurate characterizations of DR resources are needed to develop systems of optimally managed grid operations and to plan future investments in generation, transmission, and distribution. The DOE Demand Response and Energy Storage Integration Study (DRESIS) project researched the degree to which demand response (DR) and energy storage can provide grid flexibility and stability in the Western Interconnection. In this work, DR resources were integrated with traditional generators in grid forecasting tools, specifically a production cost model of the Western Interconnection. As part of this study, LBNL developed amore » modeling framework for characterizing resource availability and response attributes of DR resources consistent with the governing architecture of the simulation modeling platform. In this report, we identify and describe the following response attributes required to accurately characterize DR resources: allowable response frequency, maximum response duration, minimum time needed to achieve load changes, necessary pre- or re-charging of integrated energy storage, costs of enablement, magnitude of controlled resources, and alignment of availability. We describe a framework for modeling these response attributes, and apply this framework to characterize 13 DR resources including residential, commercial, and industrial end-uses. We group these end-uses into three broad categories based on their response capabilities, and define a taxonomy for classifying DR resources within these categories. The three categories of resources exhibit different capabilities and differ in value to the grid. Results from the production cost model of the Western Interconnection illustrate that minor differences in resource attributes can have significant impact on grid utilization of DR resources. The implications of these findings will be explored in future DR valuation studies.« less

  11. Strategies for Improved Hospital Response to Mass Casualty Incidents.

    PubMed

    TariVerdi, Mersedeh; Miller-Hooks, Elise; Kirsch, Thomas

    2018-03-19

    Mass casualty incidents are a concern in many urban areas. A community's ability to cope with such events depends on the capacities and capabilities of its hospitals for handling a sudden surge in demand of patients with resource-intensive and specialized medical needs. This paper uses a whole-hospital simulation model to replicate medical staff, resources, and space for the purpose of investigating hospital responsiveness to mass casualty incidents. It provides details of probable demand patterns of different mass casualty incident types in terms of patient categories and arrival patterns, and accounts for related transient system behavior over the response period. Using the layout of a typical urban hospital, it investigates a hospital's capacity and capability to handle mass casualty incidents of various sizes with various characteristics, and assesses the effectiveness of designed demand management and capacity-expansion strategies. Average performance improvements gained through capacity-expansion strategies are quantified and best response actions are identified. Capacity-expansion strategies were found to have superadditive benefits when combined. In fact, an acceptable service level could be achieved by implementing only 2 to 3 of the 9 studied enhancement strategies. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 13).

  12. Integrating supply and demand aspects of transportation for mass evacuation under disasters.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-10-15

    This study seeks to address real-time operational needs in the context of the evacuation response problem by providing a capability to dynamically route vehicles under evacuation, thereby being responsive to the actual conditions unfolding in real-ti...

  13. "It's Not so Much a Job but a Relationship": A Response to Romer and Walker

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Brien, John

    2013-01-01

    Romer and Walker's "Appreciative Inquiry," which obtained input from 16 capable personal assistants, challenges some influential assumptions about personal assistance and opens a way to think about the demanding work of developing capable and committed personal assistants. Attempts to depersonalize the relationship between people…

  14. BEopt-CA (Ex) -- A Tool for Optimal Integration of EE/DR/ES+PV in Existing California Homes. Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-11-429

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

    Christensen, Craig

    Opportunities for combining energy efficiency, demand response, and energy storage with PV are often missed, because the required knowledge and expertise for these different technologies exist in separate organizations or individuals. Furthermore, there is a lack of quantitative tools to optimize energy efficiency, demand response and energy storage with PV, especially for existing buildings. Our goal is to develop a modeling tool, BEopt-CA (Ex), with capabilities to facilitate identification and implementation of a balanced integration of energy efficiency (EE), demand response (DR), and energy storage (ES) with photovoltaics (PV) within the residential retrofit market. To achieve this goal, we willmore » adapt and extend an existing tool -- BEopt -- that is designed to identify optimal combinations of efficiency and PV in new home designs. In addition, we will develop multifamily residential modeling capabilities for use in California, to facilitate integration of distributed solar power into the grid in order to maximize its value to California ratepayers. The project is follow-on research that leverages previous California Solar Initiative RD&D investment in the BEopt software. BEopt facilitates finding the least cost combination of energy efficiency and renewables to support integrated DSM (iDSM) and Zero Net Energy (ZNE) in California residential buildings. However, BEopt is currently focused on modeling single-family houses and does not include satisfactory capabilities for modeling multifamily homes. The project brings BEopt's existing modeling and optimization capabilities to multifamily buildings, including duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, flats, and low-rise apartment buildings.« less

  15. Meeting the Growing Demand for Sustainability-Focused Management Education: A Case Study of a PRME Academic Institution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Suzanne; Nagpal, Swati

    2013-01-01

    The current business landscape has created the impetus to develop management graduates with capabilities that foster responsible leadership and sustainability. Through the lens of Gitsham's 3C Model (Complexity, Context and Connection) of graduate capabilities, this paper discusses the experience of implementing the United Nations Principles for…

  16. A Location Based Communication Proposal for Disaster Crisis Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gülnerman, A. G.; Goksel, C.; Tezer, A.

    2014-12-01

    The most vital applications within urban applications under the title of Geographical Information system applications are Disaster applications. Especially, In Turkey the most occured disaster type Earthquakes impacts are hard to retain in urban due to greatness of area, data and effected resident or victim. Currently, communications between victims and institutions congested and collapsed, after disaster that results emergency service delay and so secondary death and desperation. To avoid these types of life loss, the communication should be established between public and institutions. Geographical Information System Technology is seen capable of data management techniques and communication tool. In this study, Life Saving Kiosk Modal Proposal designed as a communication tool based on GIS, after disaster, takes locational emegency demands, meets emergency demands over notification maps which is created by those demands,increase public solidarity by visualizing close emergency demanded area surrounded another one and gathers emergency service demanded institutions notifications and aims to increasethe capability of management. This design prosals' leading role is public. Increase in capability depends on public major contribution to disaster management by required communication infrastructure establishment. The aim is to propound public power instead of public despiration. Apart from general view of disaster crisis management approaches, Life Saving Kiosk Modal Proposal indicates preparedness and response phases within the disaster cycle and solve crisis management with the organization of design in preparedness phase, use in response phase. This resolution modal flow diagram is builded between public, communication tool (kiosk) amd response force. The software is included in communication tools whose functions, interface designs and user algorithms are provided considering the public participation. In this study, disaster crisis management with public participation and power use with data flow modal based on location is came up for discussion by comparing with the other available applications in manner of time, detail of data, required staff and expertise degree, data reality and data archive.

  17. Field Experience with and Potential for Multi-time Scale Grid Transactions from Responsive Commercial Buildings

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

    Piette, Mary Ann; Kiliccote, Sila; Ghatikar, Girish

    2014-08-01

    The need for and concepts behind demand response are evolving. As the electric system changes with more intermittent renewable electric supply systems, there is a need to allow buildings to provide more flexible demand. This paper presents results from field studies and pilots, as well as engineering estimates of the potential capabilities of fast load responsiveness in commercial buildings. We present a sector wide analysis of flexible loads in commercial buildings, which was conducted to improve resource planning and determine which loads to evaluate in future demonstrations. These systems provide important capabilities for future transactional systems. The field analysis ismore » based on results from California, plus projects in the northwest and east coast. End-uses considered include heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting. The timescales of control include day-ahead, as well as day-of, 10-minute ahead and even faster response. This technology can provide DR signals on different times scales to interact with responsive building loads. We describe the latency of the control systems in the building and the round trip communications with the wholesale grid operators.« less

  18. New York State energy-analytic information system: first-stage implementation

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

    Allentuck, J.; Carroll, O.; Fiore, L.

    1979-09-01

    So that energy policy by state government may be formulated within the constraints imposed by policy determined at the national level - yet reflect the diverse interests of its citizens - large quantities of data and sophisticated analytic capabilities are required. This report presents the design of an energy-information/analytic system for New York State, the data for a base year, 1976, and projections of these data. At the county level, 1976 energy-supply demand data and electric generating plant data are provided as well. Data-base management is based on System 2000. Three computerized models provide the system's basic analytic capacity. Themore » Brookhaven Energy System Network Simulator provides an integrating framework while a price-response model and a weather sensitive energy demand model furnished a short-term energy response estimation capability. The operation of these computerized models is described. 62 references, 25 figures, 39 tables.« less

  19. Enhanced Rescue Lift Capability

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Young, Larry A.

    2007-01-01

    The evolving and ever-increasing demands of emergency response and disaster relief support provided by rotorcraft dictate, among other things, the development of enhanced rescue lift capability for these platforms. This preliminary analysis is first-order in nature but provides considerable insight into some of the challenges inherent in trying to effect rescue using a unique form of robotic rescue device deployed and operated from rotary-wing aerial platforms.

  20. Spacecraft Demand Tasking and Skip Entry Responsive Maneuvers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-06-01

    Introduction General Issue Growing in prominence within the policy decisions of the U.S. Department of Defense, the term “responsive space ” represents a...shift from a solution-oriented to a capabilities-oriented approach to space acquisition and space system design, in which the performance of a new...by the development of spacecraft and launch vehicles, an aspect of the responsive space initiative that has garnered increased attention within the

  1. Mass casualty events: blood transfusion emergency preparedness across the continuum of care.

    PubMed

    Doughty, Heidi; Glasgow, Simon; Kristoffersen, Einar

    2016-04-01

    Transfusion support is a key enabler to the response to mass casualty events (MCEs). Transfusion demand and capability planning should be an integrated part of the medical planning process for emergency system preparedness. Historical reviews have recently supported demand planning for MCEs and mass gatherings; however, computer modeling offers greater insights for resource management. The challenge remains balancing demand and supply especially the demand for universal components such as group O red blood cells. The current prehospital and hospital capability has benefited from investment in the management of massive hemorrhage. The management of massive hemorrhage should address both hemorrhage control and hemostatic support. Labile blood components cannot be stockpiled and a large surge in demand is a challenge for transfusion providers. The use of blood components may need to be triaged and demand managed. Two contrasting models of transfusion planning for MCEs are described. Both illustrate an integrated approach to preparedness where blood transfusion services work closely with health care providers and the donor community. Preparedness includes appropriate stock management and resupply from other centers. However, the introduction of alternative transfusion products, transfusion triage, and the greater use of an emergency donor panel to provide whole blood may permit greater resilience. © 2016 AABB.

  2. On a simulation study for reliable and secured smart grid communications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mallapuram, Sriharsha; Moulema, Paul; Yu, Wei

    2015-05-01

    Demand response is one of key smart grid applications that aims to reduce power generation at peak hours and maintain a balance between supply and demand. With the support of communication networks, energy consumers can become active actors in the energy management process by adjusting or rescheduling their electricity usage during peak hours based on utilities pricing incentives. Nonetheless, the integration of communication networks expose the smart grid to cyber-attacks. In this paper, we developed a smart grid simulation test-bed and designed evaluation scenarios. By leveraging the capabilities of Matlab and ns-3 simulation tools, we conducted a simulation study to evaluate the impact of cyber-attacks on demand response application. Our data shows that cyber-attacks could seriously disrupt smart grid operations, thus confirming the need of secure and resilient communication networks for supporting smart grid operations.

  3. Relating the Military: A Public Affairs Perspective of the All-Volunteer Force

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-01-01

    the President had reinterpreted the formerly-assumed US responsibility to deter the Soviet Union from worldwide hegemony . o Nixon believed his...wanting "a few good men" and as demanding toughness; physical capabilities; and offering masculinity , prestige, and physical action. The Navy image was

  4. Physicians in Hospital Emergency Departments. [Proceedings, New Jersey Training Program].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Health Services and Mental Health Administration (DHEW), Rockville, MD. Div. of Emergency Health Services.

    This program was organized in response to the rapidly increasing demands placed upon the emergency departments of general hospitals, and in recognition of the fact that the crucial ingredient in emergency department services is physician capability. The training program was implemented for hospital department physicians and other interested…

  5. Analysis of stationary fuel cell dynamic ramping capabilities and ultra capacitor energy storage using high resolution demand data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meacham, James R.; Jabbari, Faryar; Brouwer, Jacob; Mauzey, Josh L.; Samuelsen, G. Scott

    Current high temperature fuel cell (HTFC) systems used for stationary power applications (in the 200-300 kW size range) have very limited dynamic load following capability or are simply base load devices. Considering the economics of existing electric utility rate structures, there is little incentive to increase HTFC ramping capability beyond 1 kWs -1 (0.4% s -1). However, in order to ease concerns about grid instabilities from utility companies and increase market adoption, HTFC systems will have to increase their ramping abilities, and will likely have to incorporate electrical energy storage (EES). Because batteries have low power densities and limited lifetimes in highly cyclic applications, ultra capacitors may be the EES medium of choice. The current analyses show that, because ultra capacitors have a very low energy storage density, their integration with HTFC systems may not be feasible unless the fuel cell has a ramp rate approaching 10 kWs -1 (4% s -1) when using a worst-case design analysis. This requirement for fast dynamic load response characteristics can be reduced to 1 kWs -1 by utilizing high resolution demand data to properly size ultra capacitor systems and through demand management techniques that reduce load volatility.

  6. The Design, Pedagogy and Practice of an Integrated Public Affairs Leadership Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sandfort, Jodi; Gerdes, Kevin

    2017-01-01

    Current world events demand public affairs leadership training that generates among professionals a sense of capability, agency, and responsibility to engage in complex public problems. In this paper, we describe a unique course operated in the US focused on achieving these learning outcomes. It uses an unconventional schedule and course design…

  7. Responsible Environmental Action: Its Role and Status in Environmental Education and Environmental Quality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Short, Philip C.

    2009-01-01

    This century will be one of continued global population growth, technological advancement, and subsequent burdens on the natural world from consumer demands. A citizenry capable of understanding the complexity of environmental issues and actively participating in their resolutions is vital. The ultimate goal of environmental educators should be to…

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

    Hansen, Jacob; Edgar, Thomas W.; Daily, Jeffrey A.

    With an ever-evolving power grid, concerns regarding how to maintain system stability, efficiency, and reliability remain constant because of increasing uncertainties and decreasing rotating inertia. To alleviate some of these concerns, demand response represents a viable solution and is virtually an untapped resource in the current power grid. This work describes a hierarchical control framework that allows coordination between distributed energy resources and demand response. This control framework is composed of two control layers: a coordination layer that ensures aggregations of resources are coordinated to achieve system objectives and a device layer that controls individual resources to assure the predeterminedmore » power profile is tracked in real time. Large-scale simulations are executed to study the hierarchical control, requiring advancements in simulation capabilities. Technical advancements necessary to investigate and answer control interaction questions, including the Framework for Network Co-Simulation platform and Arion modeling capability, are detailed. Insights into the interdependencies of controls across a complex system and how they must be tuned, as well as validation of the effectiveness of the proposed control framework, are yielded using a large-scale integrated transmission system model coupled with multiple distribution systems.« less

  9. Demand Response Availability Profiles for California in the Year 2020

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

    Olsen, Daniel; Sohn, Michael; Piette, Mary Ann

    2014-11-01

    Demand response (DR) is being considered as a valuable resource for keeping the electrical grid stable and efficient, and deferring upgrades to generation, transmission, and distribution systems. However, simulations to determine how much infrastructure upgrades can be deferred are necessary in order to plan optimally. Production cost modeling is a technique, which simulates the dispatch of generators to meet demand and reserves in each hour of the year, at minimal cost. By integrating demand response resources into a production cost model (PCM), their value to the grid can be estimated and used to inform operations and infrastructure planning. DR availabilitymore » profiles and constraints for 13 end-uses in California for the year 2020 were developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and integrated into a production cost model by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), for the California Energy Commission’s Value of Energy Storage and Demand Response for Renewable Integration in California Study. This report summarizes the process for developing the DR availability profiles for California, and their aggregate capabilities. While LBNL provided potential DR hourly profiles for regulation product in the ancillary services market and five-minute load following product in the energy market for LLNL’s study, additional results in contingency reserves and an assumed flexible product are also defined. These additional products are included in the analysis for managing high ramps associated with renewable generation and capacity products and they are also presented in this report.« less

  10. Development and Validation of an Automated Simulation Capability in Support of Integrated Demand Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arneson, Heather; Evans, Antony D.; Li, Jinhua; Wei, Mei Yueh

    2017-01-01

    Integrated Demand Management (IDM) is a near- to mid-term NASA concept that proposes to address mismatches in air traffic system demand and capacity by using strategic flow management capabilities to pre-condition demand into the more tactical Time-Based Flow Management System (TBFM). This paper describes an automated simulation capability to support IDM concept development. The capability closely mimics existing human-in-the-loop (HITL) capabilities, while automating both the human components and collaboration between operational systems, and speeding up the real-time aircraft simulations. Such a capability allows for parametric studies to be carried out that can inform the HITL simulations, identifying breaking points and parameter values at which significant changes in system behavior occur. The paper describes the initial validation of the automated simulation capability against results from previous IDM HITL experiments, quantifying the differences. The simulator is then used to explore the performance of the IDM concept under the simple scenario of a capacity constrained airport under a wide range of wind conditions.

  11. FORESEE™ User-Centric Energy Automation

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

    FORESEE™ is a home energy management system (HEMS) that provides a user centric energy automation solution for residential building occupants. Built upon advanced control and machine learning algorithms, FORESEE intelligently manages the home appliances and distributed energy resources (DERs) such as photovoltaics and battery storage in a home. Unlike existing HEMS in the market, FORESEE provides a tailored home automation solution for individual occupants by learning and adapting to their preferences on cost, comfort, convenience and carbon. FORESEE improves not only the energy efficiency of the home but also its capability to provide grid services such as demand response. Highlymore » reliable demand response services are likely to be incentivized by utility companies, making FORESEE economically viable for most homes.« less

  12. Reduction-responsive multifunctional hyperbranched polyaminoglycosides with excellent antibacterial activity, biocompatibility and gene transfection capability.

    PubMed

    Huang, Yajun; Ding, Xiaokang; Qi, Yu; Yu, Bingran; Xu, Fu-Jian

    2016-11-01

    There is an increasing demand in developing of multifunctional materials with good antibacterial activity, biocompatibility and drug/gene delivery capability for next-generation biomedical applications. To achieve this purpose, in this work series of hydroxyl-rich hyperbranched polyaminoglycosides of gentamicin, tobramycin, and neomycin (HP and SS-HP with redox-responsive disulfide bonds) were readily synthesized via ring-opening reactions in a one-pot manner. Both HP and SS-HP exhibit high antibacterial activity toward Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Meanwhile, the hemolysis assay of the above materials shows good biocompatibility. Moreover, SS-HPs show excellent gene transfection efficiency in vitro due to the breakdown of reduction-responsive disulfide bonds. For an in vivo anti-tumor assay, the SS-HP/p53 complexes exhibit potent inhibition capability to the growth of tumors. This study provides a promising approach for the design of next-generation multifunctional biomedical materials. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Development and Validation of an Automated Simulation Capability in Support of Integrated Demand Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arneson, Heather; Evans, Antony D.; Li, Jinhua; Wei, Mei Yueh

    2017-01-01

    Integrated Demand Management (IDM) is a near- to mid-term NASA concept that proposes to address mismatches in air traffic system demand and capacity by using strategic flow management capabilities to pre-condition demand into the more tactical Time-Based Flow Management System (TBFM). This paper describes an automated simulation capability to support IDM concept development. The capability closely mimics existing human-in-the-loop (HITL) capabilities, automating both the human components and collaboration between operational systems, and speeding up the real-time aircraft simulations. Such a capability allows for parametric studies that will inform the HITL simulations, identifying breaking points and parameter values at which significant changes in system behavior occur. This paper also describes the initial validation of individual components of the automated simulation capability, and an example application comparing the performance of the IDM concept under two TBFM scheduling paradigms. The results and conclusions from this simulation compare closely to those from previous HITL simulations using similar scenarios, providing an initial validation of the automated simulation capability.

  14. Key Residential Building Equipment Technologies for Control and Grid Support PART I (Residential)

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

    Starke, Michael R; Onar, Omer C; DeVault, Robert C

    2011-09-01

    Electrical energy consumption of the residential sector is a crucial area of research that has in the past primarily focused on increasing the efficiency of household devices such as water heaters, dishwashers, air conditioners, and clothes washer and dryer units. However, the focus of this research is shifting as objectives such as developing the smart grid and ensuring that the power system remains reliable come to the fore, along with the increasing need to reduce energy use and costs. Load research has started to focus on mechanisms to support the power system through demand reduction and/or reliability services. The powermore » system relies on matching generation and load, and day-ahead and real-time energy markets capture most of this need. However, a separate set of grid services exist to address the discrepancies in load and generation arising from contingencies and operational mismatches, and to ensure that the transmission system is available for delivery of power from generation to load. Currently, these grid services are mostly provided by generation resources. The addition of renewable resources with their inherent variability can complicate the issue of power system reliability and lead to the increased need for grid services. Using load as a resource, through demand response programs, can fill the additional need for flexible resources and even reduce costly energy peaks. Loads have been shown to have response that is equal to or better than generation in some cases. Furthermore, price-incentivized demand response programs have been shown to reduce the peak energy requirements, thereby affecting the wholesale market efficiency and overall energy prices. The residential sector is not only the largest consumer of electrical energy in the United States, but also has the highest potential to provide demand reduction and power system support, as technological advancements in load control, sensor technologies, and communication are made. The prevailing loads based on the largest electrical energy consumers in the residential sector are space heating and cooling, washer and dryer, water heating, lighting, computers and electronics, dishwasher and range, and refrigeration. As the largest loads, these loads provide the highest potential for delivering demand response and reliability services. Many residential loads have inherent flexibility that is related to the purpose of the load. Depending on the load type, electric power consumption levels can either be ramped, changed in a step-change fashion, or completely removed. Loads with only on-off capability (such as clothes washers and dryers) provide less flexibility than resources that can be ramped or step-changed. Add-on devices may be able to provide extra demand response capabilities. Still, operating residential loads effectively requires awareness of the delicate balance of occupants health and comfort and electrical energy consumption. This report is Phase I of a series of reports aimed at identifying gaps in automated home energy management systems for incorporation of building appliances, vehicles, and renewable adoption into a smart grid, specifically with the intent of examining demand response and load factor control for power system support. The objective is to capture existing gaps in load control, energy management systems, and sensor technology with consideration of PHEV and renewable technologies to establish areas of research for the Department of Energy. In this report, (1) data is collected and examined from state of the art homes to characterize the primary residential loads as well as PHEVs and photovoltaic for potential adoption into energy management control strategies; and (2) demand response rules and requirements across the various demand response programs are examined for potential participation of residential loads. This report will be followed by a Phase II report aimed at identifying the current state of technology of energy management systems, sensors, and communication technologies for demand response and load factor control applications for the residential sector. The purpose is to cover the gaps that exist in the information captured by the sensors for energy management system to be able to provide demand response and load factor control. The vision is the development of an energy management system or other controlling enterprise hardware and software that is not only able to control loads, PHEVs, and renewable generation for demand response and load factor control, but also to do so with consumer comforts in mind and in an optimal fashion.« less

  15. Eliminating LH2 in LOX-collect space launchers - Key to on-demand capability

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Leingang, J. L.; Carreiro, L. R.; Maurice, L. Q.

    1993-01-01

    Two air-breathing reusable two-stage space launch vehicle concepts are proposed, in which the first stage employs turboramjet propulsion and the second stage uses rockets, which are expected to provide very rapid response launch of 10,000 lb polar-orbit payloads. In both concepts, liquid oxygen (LOX) for the second stage is collected during first stage ascent, thus eliminating the need for LOX ground servicing facilities. In the first concept, liquid hydrogen in the amount just sufficient to condense and collect second state LOX is the only cryogenic fluid that is loaded on the vehicle at takeoff. The second concept uses the heat sink of conventional jet propulsion fuel and water coolant to drive a lightweight adaptation of the commercial LOX production process, eliminating all cryogenics at takeoff. Both concepts should permit true launch-on-demand capability with aircraftlike ground operations.

  16. Common neural substrates for visual working memory and attention.

    PubMed

    Mayer, Jutta S; Bittner, Robert A; Nikolić, Danko; Bledowski, Christoph; Goebel, Rainer; Linden, David E J

    2007-06-01

    Humans are severely limited in their ability to memorize visual information over short periods of time. Selective attention has been implicated as a limiting factor. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to test the hypothesis that this limitation is due to common neural resources shared by visual working memory (WM) and selective attention. We combined visual search and delayed discrimination of complex objects and independently modulated the demands on selective attention and WM encoding. Participants were presented with a search array and performed easy or difficult visual search in order to encode one or three complex objects into visual WM. Overlapping activation for attention-demanding visual search and WM encoding was observed in distributed posterior and frontal regions. In the right prefrontal cortex and bilateral insula blood oxygen-level-dependent activation additively increased with increased WM load and attentional demand. Conversely, several visual, parietal and premotor areas showed overlapping activation for the two task components and were severely reduced in their WM load response under the condition with high attentional demand. Regions in the left prefrontal cortex were selectively responsive to WM load. Areas selectively responsive to high attentional demand were found within the right prefrontal and bilateral occipital cortex. These results indicate that encoding into visual WM and visual selective attention require to a high degree access to common neural resources. We propose that competition for resources shared by visual attention and WM encoding can limit processing capabilities in distributed posterior brain regions.

  17. Designing the Game: How a Project-Based Media Production Program Approaches STEAM Career Readiness for Underrepresented Young Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bass, Kristin M.; Hu Dahl, Ingrid; Panahandeh, Shirin

    2016-01-01

    Numerous studies have indicated a need for a diverse workforce that is more highly educated in STEM and ICT fields, and one that is capable of responding creatively to demands for continual innovation. This paper, in response, chronicles the implementation of the Digital Pathways (DP) program, a two-time ITEST recipient and an ongoing initiative…

  18. Understanding Challenges in the Front Lines of Home Health Care: A Human-Systems Approach

    PubMed Central

    Beer, Jenay M.; McBride, Sara E.; Mitzner, Tracy L.; Rogers, Wendy A.

    2014-01-01

    A human-systems perspective is a fruitful approach to understanding home health care because it emphasizes major individual components of the system – persons, equipment/technology, tasks, and environments –as well as the interaction between these components. The goal of this research was to apply a human-system perspective to consider the capabilities and limitations of the persons, in relation to the demands of the tasks and equipment/technology in home health care. Identification of challenges and mismatches between the person(s) capabilities and the demands of providing care provide guidance for human factors interventions. A qualitative study was conducted with 8 home health Certified Nursing Assistants and 8 home health Registered Nurses interviewed about challenges they encounter in their jobs. A systematic categorization of the challenges the care providers reported was conducted and human factors recommendations were proposed in response, to improve home health. The challenges inform a human-systems model of home health care. PMID:24958610

  19. Light responsive hybrid nanofibres for on-demand therapeutic drug and cell delivery.

    PubMed

    Li, Yan-Fang; Slemming-Adamsen, Peter; Wang, Jing; Song, Jie; Wang, Xueqin; Yu, Ying; Dong, Mingdong; Chen, Chunying; Besenbacher, Flemming; Chen, Menglin

    2017-08-01

    Smart materials for on-demand delivery of therapeutically active agents are challenging in pharmaceutical and biomaterials science. In the present study, we report hybrid nanofibres capable of being reversibly controlled to pulsatile deliver both therapeutic drugs and cells on-demand of near-infrared (NIR) light. The nanofibres, fabricated by co-electrospinning of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide), silica-coated gold nanorods and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquinoxanes have, for the first time, demonstrated rapid, reversible large-volume changes of 83% on-demand with NIR stimulation, with retained nanofibrous morphology. Combining with the extracellular matrix-mimicking fibrillary properties, the nanofibres achieved accelerated release of model drug or cells on demand with NIR triggering. The release of the model drug doxorubicin demonstrated normal anti-cancer efficacy by reducing the viability of human cervical cancer HeLa cells by 97% in 48 h. In parallel, the fibres allowed model cell NIH3T3 fibroblast entrapment, adhesion, proliferation, differentiation and, upon NIR irradiation, cell release with undisturbed cellular function. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Effects of Granular Control on Customers’ Perspective and Behavior with Automated Demand Response Systems

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

    Schetrit, Oren; Kim, Joyce; Yin, Rongxin

    2014-08-01

    Automated demand response (Auto-DR) is expected to close the loop between buildings and the grid by providing machine-to-machine communications to curtail loads without the need for human intervention. Hence, it can offer more reliable and repeatable demand response results to the grid than the manual approach and make demand response participation a hassle-free experience for customers. However, many building operators misunderstand Auto-DR and are afraid of losing control over their building operation. To ease the transition from manual to Auto-DR, we designed and implemented granular control of Auto-DR systems so that building operators could modify or opt out of individualmore » load-shed strategies whenever they wanted. This paper reports the research findings from this effort demonstrated through a field study in large commercial buildings located in New York City. We focused on (1) understanding how providing granular control affects building operators’ perspective on Auto-DR, and (2) evaluating the usefulness of granular control by examining their interaction with the Auto-DR user interface during test events. Through trend log analysis, interviews, and surveys, we found that: (1) the opt-out capability during Auto-DR events can remove the feeling of being forced into load curtailments and increase their willingness to adopt Auto-DR; (2) being able to modify individual load-shed strategies allows flexible Auto-DR participation that meets the building’s changing operational requirements; (3) a clear display of automation strategies helps building operators easily identify how Auto-DR is functioning and can build trust in Auto-DR systems.« less

  1. Intercomparison of a 'Bottom-up' and 'Top-down' Modeling Paradigm for estimating carbon and latent heat fluxes over a variety of vegetative regimes across the U.S., Agricultural and Forest Meteorology

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Biophysical models intended for routine applications at a range of scales should attempt to balance the competing demands of generality and simplicity and be capable of realistically simulating the response of CO2 and energy fluxes to environmental and physiological forcings. At the same time they m...

  2. Aircraft Emergencies: Challenge and Response

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burian, Barbara K.

    2010-01-01

    Emergency and abnormal situations in aviation present flight crews with a number of challenges. Checklists are essential tools that have been developed to assist them to meet these challenges. However, in order for checklists to be most effective in these situations they must be designed with the operational and situational demands of emergencies and abnormal conditions in mind as well as human performance capabilities and limitations under high stress and workload.

  3. Privacy, technology, and norms: the case of Smart Meters.

    PubMed

    Horne, Christine; Darras, Brice; Bean, Elyse; Srivastava, Anurag; Frickel, Scott

    2015-05-01

    Norms shift and emerge in response to technological innovation. One such innovation is Smart Meters - components of Smart Grid energy systems capable of minute-to-minute transmission of consumer electricity use information. We integrate theory from sociological research on social norms and privacy to examine how privacy threats affect the demand for and expectations of norms that emerge in response to new technologies, using Smart Meters as a test case. Results from three vignette experiments suggest that increased threats to privacy created by Smart Meters are likely to provoke strong demand for and expectations of norms opposing the technology and that the strength of these normative rules is at least partly conditional on the context. Privacy concerns vary little with actors' demographic characteristics. These findings contribute to theoretical understanding of norm emergence and have practical implications for implementing privacy protections that effectively address concerns of electricity users. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Prefrontal control and predictors of cognitive behavioral therapy response in social anxiety disorder

    PubMed Central

    Fitzgerald, Daniel A.; Piejko, Katherine; Roberts, Julia; Kennedy, Amy E.; Phan, K. Luan

    2016-01-01

    Generalized social anxiety disorder (gSAD) is associated with aberrant anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) response to threat distractors. Perceptual load has been shown to modulate ACC activity such that under high load, when demands on processing capacity is restricted, individuals with gSAD exhibit compensatory activation to threat distractors yet under low load, there is evidence of reduced activation. It is not known if neural predictors of response to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), based on such emotional conflict resolution, interact with demands on controlled processes. Prior to CBT, 32 patients with gSAD completed an fMRI task involving a target letter in a string of identical targets (low perceptual load) or a target letter in a mixed letter string (high perceptual load) superimposed on fearful, angry and neutral face distractors. Whole-brain voxel-wise analyses revealed better CBT outcome was predicted by more frontopartial activity that included dorsal ACC (dACC) and insula to threat (vs neutral) distractors during high, but not low, perceptual load. Psychophysiological interaction analysis with dACC as the seed region revealed less connectivity with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to threat distractors during high load. Results indicate patients with less regulatory capability when demands on higher-order control are great may benefit more from CBT. PMID:26634281

  5. A Community-Based Approach to Leading the Nation in Smart Energy Use

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

    None, None

    2013-12-31

    Project Objectives The AEP Ohio gridSMART® Demonstration Project (Project) achieved the following objectives: • Built a secure, interoperable, and integrated smart grid infrastructure in northeast central Ohio that demonstrated the ability to maximize distribution system efficiency and reliability and consumer use of demand response programs that reduced energy consumption, peak demand, and fossil fuel emissions. • Actively attracted, educated, enlisted, and retained consumers in innovative business models that provided tools and information reducing consumption and peak demand. • Provided the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) information to evaluate technologies and preferred smart grid business models to be extended nationally. Projectmore » Description Ohio Power Company (the surviving company of a merger with Columbus Southern Power Company), doing business as AEP Ohio (AEP Ohio), took a community-based approach and incorporated a full suite of advanced smart grid technologies for 110,000 consumers in an area selected for its concentration and diversity of distribution infrastructure and consumers. It was organized and aligned around: • Technology, implementation, and operations • Consumer and stakeholder acceptance • Data management and benefit assessment Combined, these functional areas served as the foundation of the Project to integrate commercially available products, innovative technologies, and new consumer products and services within a secure two-way communication network between the utility and consumers. The Project included Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Distribution Management System (DMS), Distribution Automation Circuit Reconfiguration (DACR), Volt VAR Optimization (VVO), and Consumer Programs (CP). These technologies were combined with two-way consumer communication and information sharing, demand response, dynamic pricing, and consumer products, such as plug-in electric vehicles and smart appliances. In addition, the Project incorporated comprehensive cyber security capabilities, interoperability, and a data assessment that, with grid simulation capabilities, made the demonstration results an adaptable, integrated solution for AEP Ohio and the nation.« less

  6. Study on the capability of four-level partial response equalization in RSOA-based WDM-PON

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Qi; Tran, An Vu

    2010-12-01

    The expected development of advanced video services with HDTV quality demands the delivery of more than Gb/s link to end users across the last mile connection. Future access networks are also required to have long reach for reduction in the number of central offices (CO). Fueled by those requirements, we propose a novel equalization scheme that increases the capacity and reach of the wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network (WDM-PON) based on a low bandwidth reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA). We investigate the characteristics of 10 Gb/s upstream transmission in WDM-PON using RSOA with only 1.2 GHz electrical bandwidth and various lengths of fiber. It is proven that the proposed four-level partial response equalizer (PRE) is capable of mitigating the impact of ISI in the received signals from optical network units (ONU) located 0 km to 75 km away from the optical line terminal (OLT).

  7. The proliferation of aerospace weapons technology: Ballistic missiles and the case of Brazil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vossen, Terrence John

    1993-04-01

    The rationale behind the development of ballistic missile production in Brazil is examined by exploring the political, military, and economic determinants of ballistic missile demand in that country. To ascertain how Brazil developed missile production capabilities, the contributions of aerospace industries in industrialized states, the Brazilian space program, trade between less-developed countries, and illicit trade in missile technology are assessed. It is argued that missile development increasingly became a function of economic as opposed to security considerations, and that technologies transferred from developed country aerospace firms and Brazil's space program were primarily responsible for the creation of production capabilities. It is also contended that the proliferation of missile technology to Brazil was consistent with the workings of a system evident in the aerospace weapons technology market that sustains the horizontal spread of weapons production capabilities.

  8. The R-Shell approach - Using scheduling agents in complex distributed real-time systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Natarajan, Swaminathan; Zhao, Wei; Goforth, Andre

    1993-01-01

    Large, complex real-time systems such as space and avionics systems are extremely demanding in their scheduling requirements. The current OS design approaches are quite limited in the capabilities they provide for task scheduling. Typically, they simply implement a particular uniprocessor scheduling strategy and do not provide any special support for network scheduling, overload handling, fault tolerance, distributed processing, etc. Our design of the R-Shell real-time environment fcilitates the implementation of a variety of sophisticated but efficient scheduling strategies, including incorporation of all these capabilities. This is accomplished by the use of scheduling agents which reside in the application run-time environment and are responsible for coordinating the scheduling of the application.

  9. In-Space Manufacturing: Pioneering a Sustainable Path to Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Werkheiser, Niki

    2015-01-01

    ISM is responsible for developing the on-demand manufacturing capabilities that will be required for affordable, sustainable operations during Exploration Missions (in-transit and on-surface) to destinations such as Mars. This includes advancing the needed technologies, as well as establishing the skills & processes (such as certification and characterization) that will enable the technologies to go from novel to institutionalized. These technologies are evolving rapidly due to terrestrial markets. ISM is leveraging this commercial development to develop these capabilities within a realistic timeframe and budget. ISM utilizes the International Space Station (ISS) as a test-bed to adapt these technologies for microgravity operations and evolve the current operations mindset from earth-reliant to earth-independent.

  10. The role of production and teamwork practices in construction safety: a cognitive model and an empirical case study.

    PubMed

    Mitropoulos, Panagiotis Takis; Cupido, Gerardo

    2009-01-01

    In construction, the challenge for researchers and practitioners is to develop work systems (production processes and teams) that can achieve high productivity and high safety at the same time. However, construction accident causation models ignore the role of work practices and teamwork. This study investigates the mechanisms by which production and teamwork practices affect the likelihood of accidents. The paper synthesizes a new model for construction safety based on the cognitive perspective (Fuller's Task-Demand-Capability Interface model, 2005) and then presents an exploratory case study. The case study investigates and compares the work practices of two residential framing crews: a 'High Reliability Crew' (HRC)--that is, a crew with exceptional productivity and safety over several years, and an average performing crew from the same company. The model explains how the production and teamwork practices generate the work situations that workers face (the task demands) and affect the workers ability to cope (capabilities). The case study indicates that the work practices of the HRC directly influence the task demands and match them with the applied capabilities. These practices were guided by the 'principle' of avoiding errors and rework and included work planning and preparation, work distribution, managing the production pressures, and quality and behavior monitoring. The Task Demand-Capability model links construction research to a cognitive model of accident causation and provides a new way to conceptualize safety as an emergent property of the production practices and teamwork processes. The empirical evidence indicates that the crews' work practices and team processes strongly affect the task demands, the applied capabilities, and the match between demands and capabilities. The proposed model and the exploratory case study will guide further discovery of work practices and teamwork processes that can increase both productivity and safety in construction operations. Such understanding will enable training of construction foremen and crews in these practices to systematically develop high reliability crews.

  11. A Vision for the Future of Environmental Research: Creating Environmental Intelligence Centers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barron, E. J.

    2002-12-01

    The nature of the environmental issues facing our nation demands a capability that allows us to enhance economic vitality, maintain environmental quality, and limit threats to life and property through more fundamental understanding of the Earth. It is "advanced" knowledge of how the system may respond that gives environmental information most of its power and utility. This fact is evident in the demand for new forecasting products, involving air quality, energy demand, water quality and quantity, ultraviolet radiation, and human health indexes. As we demonstrate feasibility and benefit, society is likely to demand a growing number of new operational forecast products on prediction time scales of days to decades into the future. The driving forces that govern our environment are widely recognized, involving primarily weather and climate, patterns of land use and land cover, and resource use with its associated waste products. The importance of these driving forces has been demonstrated by a decade of research on greenhouse gas emissions, ozone depletion and deforestation, and through the birth of Earth System Science. But, there are also major challenges. We find the strongest intersection between human activity, environmental stresses, system interactions and human decision-making in regional analysis coupled to larger spatial scales. In addition, most regions are influenced by multiple-stresses. Multiple, cumulative, and interactive stresses are clearly the most difficult to understand and hence the most difficult to assess and to manage. Currently, we are incapable of addressing these issues in a truly integrated fashion at global scales. The lack of an ability to combine global and regional forcing and to assess the response of the system to multiple stresses at the spatial and temporal scales of interest to humans limits our ability to assess the impacts of specific human perturbations, to assess advantages and risks, and to enhance economic and societal well being in the context of global, national and regional stewardship. These societal needs lead to a vision that uses a regional framework as a stepping-stone to a comprehensive national or global capability. The development of a comprehensive regional framework depends on a new approach to environmental research - the creation of regional Environmental Intelligence Centers. A key objective is to bring a demanding level of discipline to "forecasting" in a broad arena of environmental issues. The regional vision described above is designed to address a broad range of current and future environmental issues by creating a capability based on integrating diverse observing systems, making data readily accessible, developing an increasingly comprehensive predictive capability at the spatial and temporal scales appropriate for examining societal issues, and creating a vigorous intersection with decision-makers. With demonstrated success over a few large-scale regions of the U.S., this strategy will very likely grow into a national capability that far exceeds current capabilities.

  12. Field Testing of Telemetry for Demand Response Control of Small Loads

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

    Lanzisera, Steven; Weber, Adam; Liao, Anna

    The electricity system in California, from generation through loads, must be prepared for high renewable penetration and increased electrification of end uses while providing increased resilience and lower operating cost. California has an aggressive renewable portfolio standard that is complemented by world-leading greenhouse gas goals. The goal of this project was to evaluate methods of enabling fast demand response (DR) signaling to small loads for low-cost site enablement. We used OpenADR 2.0 to meet telemetry requirements for providing ancillary services, and we used a variety of low-cost devices coupled with open-source software to enable an end-to-end fast DR. The devices,more » architecture, implementation, and testing of the system is discussed in this report. We demonstrate that the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Home movements provide an opportunity for diverse small loads to provide fast, low-cost demand response. We used Internet-connected lights, thermostats, load interruption devices, and water heaters to demonstrate an ecosystem of controllable devices. The system demonstrated is capable of providing fast load shed for between 20 dollars and $300 per kilowatt (kW) of available load. The wide range results from some loads may have very low cost but also very little shed capability (a 10 watt [W] LED light can only shed a maximum of 10 W) while some loads (e.g., water heaters or air conditioners) can shed several kilowatts but have a higher initial cost. These costs, however, compare well with other fast demand response costs, with typically are over $100/kilowatt of shed. We contend these loads are even more attractive than their price suggests because many of them will be installed for energy efficiency or non-energy benefits (e.g., improved lighting quality or controllability), and the ability to use them for fast DR is a secondary benefit. Therefore the cost of enabling them for DR may approach zero if a software-only solution can be deployed to enable fast DR after devices are installed for other reasons. We recommend that the DR research community continue to engage with the IoT community to encourage the use of documented and open development interfaces. A library of device drivers and machine-readable interface specifications would significantly reduce the burden on users or system integrators for deploying systems in large numbers of buildings in California.« less

  13. Design and Implementation of Demand Response Information Interactive Service Platform Based on “Internet Plus” Smart Energy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Gaoying; Fan, Jie; Qin, Yuchen; Wang, Dong; Chen, Guangyan

    2017-05-01

    In order to promote the effective use of demand response load side resources, promote the interaction between supply and demand, enhance the level of customer service and achieve the overall utilization of energy, this paper briefly explain the background significance of design demand response information platform and current situation of domestic and foreign development; Analyse the new demand of electricity demand response combined with the application of Internet and big data technology; Design demand response information platform architecture, construct demand responsive system, analyse process of demand response strategy formulate and intelligent execution implement; study application which combined with the big data, Internet and demand response technology; Finally, from information interaction architecture, control architecture and function design perspective design implementation of demand response information platform, illustrate the feasibility of the proposed platform design scheme implemented in a certain extent.

  14. Unclassified Computing Capability: User Responses to a Multiprogrammatic and Institutional Computing Questionnaire

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

    McCoy, M; Kissel, L

    2002-01-29

    We are experimenting with a new computing model to be applied to a new computer dedicated to that model. Several LLNL science teams now have computational requirements, evidenced by the mature scientific applications that have been developed over the past five plus years, that far exceed the capability of the institution's computing resources. Thus, there is increased demand for dedicated, powerful parallel computational systems. Computation can, in the coming year, potentially field a capability system that is low cost because it will be based on a model that employs open source software and because it will use PC (IA32-P4) hardware.more » This incurs significant computer science risk regarding stability and system features but also presents great opportunity. We believe the risks can be managed, but the existence of risk cannot be ignored. In order to justify the budget for this system, we need to make the case that it serves science and, through serving science, serves the institution. That is the point of the meeting and the White Paper that we are proposing to prepare. The questions are listed and the responses received are in this report.« less

  15. Local Government GIS and Geospatial Capabilities : Suitability for Integrated Transportation & Land Use Planning (California SB 375)

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-11-01

    This report examines two linked phenomena in transportation planning: the geospatial analysis capabilities of local planning agencies and the increasing demands on such capabilities imposed by comprehensive planning mandates.

  16. A Capacitive Touch Screen Sensor for Detection of Urinary Tract Infections in Portable Biomedical Devices

    PubMed Central

    Honrado, Carlos; Dong, Tao

    2014-01-01

    Incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) is the second highest among all infections; thus, there is a high demand for bacteriuria detection. Escherichia coli are the main cause of UTIs, with microscopy methods and urine culture being the detection standard of these bacteria. However, the urine sampling and analysis required for these methods can be both time-consuming and complex. This work proposes a capacitive touch screen sensor (CTSS) concept as feasible alternative for a portable UTI detection device. Finite element method (FEM) simulations were conducted with a CTSS model. An exponential response of the model to increasing amounts of E. coli and liquid samples was observed. A measurable capacitance change due to E. coli presence and a tangible difference in the response given to urine and water samples were also detected. Preliminary experimental studies were also conducted on a commercial CTSS using liquid solutions with increasing amounts of dissolved ions. The CTSS was capable of distinguishing different volumes of liquids, also giving an exponential response. Furthermore, the CTSS gave higher responses to solutions with a superior amount of ions. Urine samples gave the top response among tested liquids. Thus, the CTSS showed the capability to differentiate solutions by their ionic content. PMID:25196109

  17. Physically demanding jobs and occupational injury and disability in the U.S. Army.

    PubMed

    Hollander, Ilyssa E; Bell, Nicole S

    2010-10-01

    Effective job assignments should take into account physical capabilities to perform required tasks. Failure to do so is likely to result in increased injuries and musculoskeletal disability. To evaluate the association between job demands and health outcomes among U.S. Army soldiers. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis is used to describe associations between job demands, hospitalizations, and disability among 261,096 enlisted Army soldiers in heavily, moderately, and lightly physically demanding occupations (2000-2005) who were followed for up to 5 years. Controlling for gender, race, and age, soldiers in heavily demanding jobs were at increased risk for any-cause injury, on-duty injuries, any-cause hospitalizations, and any-cause disability, but not for musculoskeletal disability. Army job assignments should more accurately match physical capabilities to job demands and/or jobs should be redesigned to reduce injuries. Though musculoskeletal disorders are often the result of acute injury, the demographic and occupational risk patterns differ from acute injury.

  18. Combat Medical Modernization: Posturing Low Supply And High Demand Assets To Meet Emerging And Future Capability Requirements

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-07-01

    OFFICE OF THE AIR FORCE SURGEON GENERAL FELLOWSHIP PAPER COMBAT MEDICAL MODERNIZATION: POSTURING LOW SUPPLY AND HIGH DEMAND ASSETS TO...Maj, USAF, MSC Scott A. Baker, Capt, USAF, MSC A Research Report Submitted to HQ AF/SG35X In Partial Fulfillment of Medical Plans Fellowship...i TABLE OF FIGURES 3 I. INTRODUCTION 5 II. CURRENT MEDICAL EN-ROUTE CARE CAPABILITY

  19. Opportunities for Automated Demand Response in California’s Dairy Processing Industry

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

    Homan, Gregory K.; Aghajanzadeh, Arian; McKane, Aimee

    During periods of peak electrical demand on the energy grid or when there is a shortage of supply, the stability of the grid may be compromised or the cost of supplying electricity may rise dramatically, respectively. Demand response programs are designed to mitigate the severity of these problems and improve reliability by reducing the demand on the grid during such critical times. In 2010, the Demand Response Research Center convened a group of industry experts to suggest potential industries that would be good demand response program candidates for further review. The dairy industry was suggested due to the perception thatmore » the industry had suitable flexibility and automatic controls in place. The purpose of this report is to provide an initial description of the industry with regard to demand response potential, specifically automated demand response. This report qualitatively describes the potential for participation in demand response and automated demand response by dairy processing facilities in California, as well as barriers to widespread participation. The report first describes the magnitude, timing, location, purpose, and manner of energy use. Typical process equipment and controls are discussed, as well as common impediments to participation in demand response and automated demand response programs. Two case studies of demand response at dairy facilities in California and across the country are reviewed. Finally, recommendations are made for future research that can enhance the understanding of demand response potential in this industry.« less

  20. Drivers for the Value of Demand Response under Increased Levels of Wind and Solar Power; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

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

    Hale, Elaine

    Demand response may be a valuable flexible resource for low-carbon electric power grids. However, there are as many types of possible demand response as there are ways to use electricity, making demand response difficult to study at scale in realistic settings. This talk reviews our state of knowledge regarding the potential value of demand response in several example systems as a function of increasing levels of wind and solar power, sometimes drawing on the analogy between demand response and storage. Overall, we find demand response to be promising, but its potential value is very system dependent. Furthermore, demand response, likemore » storage, can easily saturate ancillary service markets.« less

  1. Time for a revolution: smart energy and microgrid use in disaster response.

    PubMed

    Callaway, David Wayne; Noste, Erin; McCahill, Peter Woods; Rossman, A J; Lempereur, Dominique; Kaney, Kathleen; Swanson, Doug

    2014-06-01

    Modern health care and disaster response are inextricably linked to high volume, reliable, quality power. Disasters place major strain on energy infrastructure in affected communities. Advances in renewable energy and microgrid technology offer the potential to improve mobile disaster medical response capabilities. However, very little is known about the energy requirements of and alternative power sources in disaster response. A gap analysis of the energy components of modern disaster response reveals multiple deficiencies. The MED-1 Green Project has been executed as a multiphase project designed to identify energy utilization inefficiencies, decrease demands on diesel generators, and employ modern energy management strategies to expand operational independence. This approach, in turn, allows for longer deployments in potentially more austere environments and minimizes the unit's environmental footprint. The ultimate goal is to serve as a proof of concept for other mobile medical units to create strategies for energy independence.

  2. Opportunities for Automated Demand Response in California Agricultural Irrigation

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

    Olsen, Daniel; Aghajanzadeh, Arian; McKane, Aimee

    Pumping water for agricultural irrigation represents a significant share of California’s annual electricity use and peak demand. It also represents a large source of potential flexibility, as farms possess a form of storage in their wetted soil. By carefully modifying their irrigation schedules, growers can participate in demand response without adverse effects on their crops. This report describes the potential for participation in demand response and automated demand response by agricultural irrigators in California, as well as barriers to widespread participation. The report first describes the magnitude, timing, location, purpose, and manner of energy use in California. Typical on-­farm controlsmore » are discussed, as well as common impediments to participation in demand response and automated demand response programs. Case studies of demand response programs in California and across the country are reviewed, and their results along with overall California demand estimates are used to estimate statewide demand response potential. Finally, recommendations are made for future research that can enhance the understanding of demand response potential in this industry.« less

  3. Resourcing interventions enhance psychology support capabilities in special operations forces.

    PubMed

    Myatt, Craig A; Auzenne, J W

    2012-01-01

    This study provides an examination of approaches to United States Government (USG) resourcing interventions on a national scale that enhance psychology support capabilities in the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community. A review of Congressional legislation and resourcing trends in the form of authorizations and appropriations since 2006 demonstrates how Congress supported enhanced psychology support capabilities throughout the Armed Forces and in SOF supporting innovative command interests that address adverse affects of operations tempo behavioral effects (OTBE). The formulation of meaningful metrics to address SOF specific command interests led to a personnel tempo (PERSTEMPO) analysis in response to findings compiled by the Preservation of the Force and Families (POTFF) Task Force. The review of PERSTEMPO data at subordinate command and unit levels enhances the capability of SOF leaders to develop policy and guidance on training and operational planning that mitigates OTBE and maximizes resourcing authorizations. A major challenge faced by the DoD is in providing behavioral healthcare that meets public and legislative demands while proving suitable and sustainable at all levels of military operations: strategic, operational, and tactical. Current legislative authorizations offer a mechanism of command advocacy for resourced multi-functional program development that enhances psychology support capabilities while reinforcing SOF readiness and performance. 2012.

  4. Local government GIS and geospatial capabilities : suitability for integrated transportation and land use planning (California SB 375).

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-11-01

    This report examines two linked phenomena in transportation planning: the geospatial analysis capabilities of local planning agencies and the increasing demands on such capabilities imposed by comprehensive planning mandates. The particular examples ...

  5. Integrated Demand Management: Minimizing Unanticipated Excessive Departure Delay while Ensuring Fairness from a Traffic Management Initiative

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yoo, Hyo-Sang; Brasil, Connie; Buckley, Nathan; Mohlenbrink, Christoph; Speridakos, Constantine; Parke, Bonny; Hodell, Gita; Lee, Paul U.; Smith, Nancy M.

    2017-01-01

    This paper introduces NASA's Integrated Demand Management (IDM) concept and presents the results from an early proof-of-concept evaluation and an exploratory experiment. An initial development of the concept was focused on integrating two systems - i.e. the FAA's newly deployed Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS) tool called the Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP) and the Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM) system with Extended Metering (XM) capabilities to manage projected heavy traffic demand into a capacity-constrained airport. A human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation experiment was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the initial development of the concept by adapting it to an arrival traffic problem at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) during clear weather conditions. In this study, the CTOP was utilized to strategically plan the arrival traffic demand by controlling take-off times of both short- and long-haul flights (long-hauls specify aircraft outside TBFM regions and short-hauls specify aircraft within TBFM regions) in a way that results in equitable delays among the groups. Such strategic planning allows less airborne delay to occur within TBFM by feeding manageable long-haul traffic demand while reserving sufficient slots in the overhead streams for the short-haul departures. The manageable traffic demand indicates the TBFM scheduler assigns no more airborne delay than its assigned airspace is capable of absorbing. TBFM then uses its time-based metering capabilities to deliver the desirable throughput by tactically rescheduling the TBFM entered long-haul flights and short-haul departures. Additional research was also performed to explore use of Required Time of Arrival (RTA) capabilities as a potential control mechanism for the airborne flights to improve arrival traffic delivery accuracy of scheduled long-haul traffic demand. The study results show that both short- and long-haul flights received similar ground delays. In addition, there was a noticeable reduction in the total amount of excessive unanticipated last-minute ground delays, i.e. delays that are frequently imposed on the short-haul flight in current day operations due to saturation in the overhead stream, commonly referred to as 'double penalty'. Furthermore, the concept achieved the target throughput while minimizing the expected cost associated with overall delays in arrival traffic. Assessment of the RTA capabilities showed that there was indeed improvement of the scheduled entry times into TBFM regions by using RTA capabilities. However, with respect to reduction in delays incurred within TBFM, there was no observable benefit of improving the precision of long-haul flights entry times.

  6. Girls' Schooling Empowerment in Rural China: Identifying Capabilities and Social Change in the Village

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seeberg, Vilma

    2014-01-01

    This study proposes an elaboration of the human development capability approach by theorizing empowerment capabilities as an essential aspect of the education of excluded village girls. Seeking to explain Chinese village girls' demand for schooling, the article identifies intangible and instrumental capabilities that have often been overlooked and…

  7. User's instructions for the Grodins' respiratory control model using the UNIVAC 1110 remote batch and demand processing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1974-01-01

    The transient and steady state response of the respiratory control system for variations in volumetric fractions of inspired gases and special system parameters are modeled. The program contains the capability to change workload. The program is based on Grodins' respiratory control model and can be envisioned as a feedback control system comprised of a plant (the controlled system) and the regulating component (controlling system). The controlled system is partitioned into 3 compartments corresponding to lungs, brain, and tissue with a fluid interconnecting patch representing the blood.

  8. Hardware-in-the-Loop Co-simulation of Distribution Grid for Demand Response

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

    Rotger-Griful, Sergi; Chatzivasileiadis, Spyros; Jacobsen, Rune H.

    2016-06-20

    In modern power systems, co-simulation is proposed as an enabler for analyzing the interactions between disparate systems. This paper introduces the co-simulation platform Virtual Grid Integration Laboratory (VirGIL) including Hardware-in-the-Loop testing, and demonstrates its potential to assess demand response strategies. VirGIL is based on a modular architecture using the Functional Mock-up Interface industrial standard to integrate new simulators. VirGIL combines state-of-the-art simulators in power systems, communications, buildings, and control. In this work, VirGIL is extended with a Hardware-in-the-Loop component to control the ventilation system of a real 12-story building in Denmark. VirGIL capabilities are illustrated in three scenarios: load following,more » primary reserves and load following aggregation. Experimental results show that the system can track one minute changing signals and it can provide primary reserves for up-regulation. Furthermore, the potential of aggregating several ventilation systems is evaluated considering the impact at distribution grid level and the communications protocol effect.« less

  9. Energy Efficiency and Demand Response for Residential Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wellons, Christopher J., II

    The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the costs, feasibility and benefits of implementing energy efficient devices and demand response programs to a residential consumer environment. Energy efficiency and demand response are important for many reasons, including grid stabilization. With energy demand increasing, as the years' pass, the drain on the grid is going up. There are two key solutions to this problem, increasing supply by building more power plants and decreasing demand during peak periods, by increasing participation in demand response programs and by upgrading residential and commercial customers to energy efficient devices, to lower demand throughout the day. This thesis focuses on utilizing demand response methods and energy efficient device to reduce demand. Four simulations were created to analyze these methods. These simulations show the importance of energy efficiency and demand response participation to help stabilize the grid, integrate more alternative energy resources, and reduce emissions from fossil fuel generating facilities. The results of these numerical analyses show that demand response and energy efficiency can be beneficial to consumers and utilities. With demand response being the most beneficial to the utility and energy efficiency, specifically LED lighting, providing the most benefits to the consumer.

  10. 3D inverse-opal structured Li4Ti5O12 Anode for fast Li-Ion storage capabilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Dahye; Quang, Nguyen Duc; Hien, Truong Thi; Chinh, Nguyen Duc; Kim, Chunjoong; Kim, Dojin

    2017-11-01

    Since the demand for high power Li-ion batteries (LIBs) is increasing, spinel-structured lithium titanate, Li4Ti5O12 (LTO), as the anode material has attracted great attention because of its excellent cycle retention, good thermal stability, high rate capability, and so on. However, LTO shows relatively low conductivity due to empty 3 d orbital of Ti4+ state. Nanoscale architectures can shorten electron conduction path, thus such low electronic conductivity can be overcome while Li+ can be easily accessed due to large surface area. Herein, three dimensional bicontinuous LTO electrodes were prepared via close-packed self-assembly with polystyrene (PS) spheres followed by removal of them, which leads to no blockage of Li+ ion transportation pathways as well as fast electron conduction. 3D bicontinuous LTO electrodes showed high-rate lithium storage capability (103 mAh/g at 20 C), which is promising as the power sources that require rapid electrochemical response.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

  11. Cyclone: A close air support aircraft for tomorrow

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cox, George; Croulet, Donald; Dunn, James; Graham, Michael; Ip, Phillip; Low, Scott; Vance, Gregg; Volckaert, Eric

    1991-01-01

    To meet the threat of the battlefield of the future, the U.S. ground forces will require reliable air support. To provide this support, future aircrews demand a versatile close air support aircraft capable of delivering ordinance during the day, night, or in adverse weather with pin-point accuracy. The Cyclone aircraft meets these requirements, packing the 'punch' necessary to clear the way for effective ground operations. Possessing anti-armor, missile, and precision bombing capability, the Cyclone will counter the threat into the 21st Century. Here, it is shown that the Cyclone is a realistic, economical answer to the demand for a capable close air support aircraft.

  12. The Distributed Geothermal Market Demand Model (dGeo): Documentation

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

    McCabe, Kevin; Mooney, Meghan E; Sigrin, Benjamin O

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the Distributed Geothermal Market Demand Model (dGeo) as a tool to explore the potential role of geothermal distributed energy resources (DERs) in meeting thermal energy demands in the United States. The dGeo model simulates the potential for deployment of geothermal DERs in the residential and commercial sectors of the continental United States for two specific technologies: ground-source heat pumps (GHP) and geothermal direct use (DU) for district heating. To quantify the opportunity space for these technologies, dGeo leverages a highly resolved geospatial database and robust bottom-up, agent-based modeling framework. This design is consistentmore » with others in the family of Distributed Generation Market Demand models (dGen; Sigrin et al. 2016), including the Distributed Solar Market Demand (dSolar) and Distributed Wind Market Demand (dWind) models. dGeo is intended to serve as a long-term scenario-modeling tool. It has the capability to simulate the technical potential, economic potential, market potential, and technology deployment of GHP and DU through the year 2050 under a variety of user-defined input scenarios. Through these capabilities, dGeo can provide substantial analytical value to various stakeholders interested in exploring the effects of various techno-economic, macroeconomic, financial, and policy factors related to the opportunity for GHP and DU in the United States. This report documents the dGeo modeling design, methodology, assumptions, and capabilities.« less

  13. Restructuring the rotor analysis program C-60

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1985-01-01

    The continuing evolution of the rotary wing industry demands increasing analytical capabilities. To keep up with this demand, software must be structured to accommodate change. The approach discussed for meeting this demand is to restructure an existing analysis. The motivational factors, basic principles, application techniques, and practical lessons from experience with this restructuring effort are reviewed.

  14. Uncertainty and operational considerations in mass prophylaxis workforce planning.

    PubMed

    Hupert, Nathaniel; Xiong, Wei; King, Kathleen; Castorena, Michelle; Hawkins, Caitlin; Wu, Cindie; Muckstadt, John A

    2009-12-01

    The public health response to an influenza pandemic or other large-scale health emergency may include mass prophylaxis using multiple points of dispensing (PODs) to deliver countermeasures rapidly to affected populations. Computer models created to date to determine "optimal" staffing levels at PODs typically assume stable patient demand for service. The authors investigated POD function under dynamic and uncertain operational environments. The authors constructed a Monte Carlo simulation model of mass prophylaxis (the Dynamic POD Simulator, or D-PODS) to assess the consequences of nonstationary patient arrival patterns on POD function under a variety of POD layouts and staffing plans. Compared are the performance of a standard POD layout under steady-state and variable patient arrival rates that may mimic real-life variation in patient demand. To achieve similar performance, PODs functioning under nonstationary patient arrival rates require higher staffing levels than would be predicted using the assumption of stationary arrival rates. Furthermore, PODs may develop severe bottlenecks unless staffing levels vary over time to meet changing patient arrival patterns. Efficient POD networks therefore require command and control systems capable of dynamically adjusting intra- and inter-POD staff levels to meet demand. In addition, under real-world operating conditions of heightened uncertainty, fewer large PODs will require a smaller total staff than many small PODs to achieve comparable performance. Modeling environments that capture the effects of fundamental uncertainties in public health disasters are essential for the realistic evaluation of response mechanisms and policies. D-PODS quantifies POD operational efficiency under more realistic conditions than have been modeled previously. The authors' experiments demonstrate that effective POD staffing plans must be responsive to variation and uncertainty in POD arrival patterns. These experiments highlight the need for command and control systems to be created to manage emergency response successfully.

  15. Material challenges for transducer designers in the 21st century

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lindberg, Jan F.

    2002-07-01

    The modern U.S. Navy is rapidly evolving to meet the challenges of operating in the littorals. This focus changes the rules, especially to the designers of sonar systems that now need to aggressively engage quiet diesel electric submarine threats and neutralize sophisticated underwater mines. These new responsibilities dictate that new concepts be developed. To meet these new demands on the sonar system, transducer designers are being tasked to design transducers and to utilize new materials to address performance requirements that were never even imagined a decade ago. Sensor needs are no longer limited to pressure types but now have to sense velocity or acceleration. Sources are challenged to both frequency extent and power levels. The need to physically move sources off of submarines and surface combatants and onto vehicles with limited energy capabilities prompt the challenge of efficient bandwidth and high coupling. These are the needs of the 'next Navy'; the needs of the 'Navy after next' will present an even more demanding scenario. The future will demand revolutionary technology at the micro level with devices utilizing new power sources and new materials.

  16. A Hybrid TDMA/CSMA-Based Wireless Sensor and Data Transmission Network for ORS Intra-Microsatellite Applications

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Long; Liu, Yong; Yin, Zengshan

    2018-01-01

    To achieve launch-on-demand for Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) missions, in this article, an intra-satellite wireless network (ISWN) is presented. It provides a wireless and modularized scheme for intra-spacecraft sensing and data buses. By removing the wired data bus, the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) based wireless modular architecture will reduce both the volume and weight of the satellite platform, thus achieving rapid design and cost savings in development and launching. Based on the on-orbit data demand analysis, a hybrid time division multiple access/carrier sense multiple access (TDMA/CSMA) protocol is proposed. It includes an improved clear channel assessment (CCA) mechanism and a traffic adaptive slot allocation method. To analyze the access process, a Markov model is constructed. Then a detailed calculation is given in which the unsaturated cases are considered. Through simulations, the proposed protocol is proved to commendably satisfy the demands and performs better than existing schemes. It helps to build a full-wireless satellite instead of the current wired ones, and will contribute to provide dynamic space capabilities for ORS missions. PMID:29757243

  17. A Hybrid TDMA/CSMA-Based Wireless Sensor and Data Transmission Network for ORS Intra-Microsatellite Applications.

    PubMed

    Wang, Long; Liu, Yong; Yin, Zengshan

    2018-05-12

    To achieve launch-on-demand for Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) missions, in this article, an intra-satellite wireless network (ISWN) is presented. It provides a wireless and modularized scheme for intra-spacecraft sensing and data buses. By removing the wired data bus, the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) based wireless modular architecture will reduce both the volume and weight of the satellite platform, thus achieving rapid design and cost savings in development and launching. Based on the on-orbit data demand analysis, a hybrid time division multiple access/carrier sense multiple access (TDMA/CSMA) protocol is proposed. It includes an improved clear channel assessment (CCA) mechanism and a traffic adaptive slot allocation method. To analyze the access process, a Markov model is constructed. Then a detailed calculation is given in which the unsaturated cases are considered. Through simulations, the proposed protocol is proved to commendably satisfy the demands and performs better than existing schemes. It helps to build a full-wireless satellite instead of the current wired ones, and will contribute to provide dynamic space capabilities for ORS missions.

  18. Forecasting Hourly Water Demands With Seasonal Autoregressive Models for Real-Time Application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Jinduan; Boccelli, Dominic L.

    2018-02-01

    Consumer water demands are not typically measured at temporal or spatial scales adequate to support real-time decision making, and recent approaches for estimating unobserved demands using observed hydraulic measurements are generally not capable of forecasting demands and uncertainty information. While time series modeling has shown promise for representing total system demands, these models have generally not been evaluated at spatial scales appropriate for representative real-time modeling. This study investigates the use of a double-seasonal time series model to capture daily and weekly autocorrelations to both total system demands and regional aggregated demands at a scale that would capture demand variability across a distribution system. Emphasis was placed on the ability to forecast demands and quantify uncertainties with results compared to traditional time series pattern-based demand models as well as nonseasonal and single-seasonal time series models. Additional research included the implementation of an adaptive-parameter estimation scheme to update the time series model when unobserved changes occurred in the system. For two case studies, results showed that (1) for the smaller-scale aggregated water demands, the log-transformed time series model resulted in improved forecasts, (2) the double-seasonal model outperformed other models in terms of forecasting errors, and (3) the adaptive adjustment of parameters during forecasting improved the accuracy of the generated prediction intervals. These results illustrate the capabilities of time series modeling to forecast both water demands and uncertainty estimates at spatial scales commensurate for real-time modeling applications and provide a foundation for developing a real-time integrated demand-hydraulic model.

  19. Qualitative Development of the PROMIS® Pediatric Stress Response Item Banks

    PubMed Central

    Gardner, William; Pajer, Kathleen; Riley, Anne W.; Forrest, Christopher B.

    2013-01-01

    Objective To describe the qualitative development of the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) Pediatric Stress Response item banks. Methods Stress response concepts were specified through a literature review and interviews with content experts, children, and parents. A library comprising 2,677 items derived from 71 instruments was developed. Items were classified into conceptual categories; new items were written and redundant items were removed. Items were then revised based on cognitive interviews (n = 39 children), readability analyses, and translatability reviews. Results 2 pediatric Stress Response sub-domains were identified: somatic experiences (43 items) and psychological experiences (64 items). Final item pools cover the full range of children’s stress experiences. Items are comprehensible among children aged ≥8 years and ready for translation. Conclusions Child- and parent-report versions of the item banks assess children’s somatic and psychological states when demands tax their adaptive capabilities. PMID:23124904

  20. Making vaccines "on demand": a potential solution for emerging pathogens and biodefense?

    PubMed

    De Groot, Anne S; Einck, Leo; Moise, Leonard; Chambers, Michael; Ballantyne, John; Malone, Robert W; Ardito, Matthew; Martin, William

    2013-09-01

    The integrated US Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) has made great strides in strategic preparedness and response capabilities. There have been numerous advances in planning, biothreat countermeasure development, licensure, manufacturing, stockpiling and deployment. Increased biodefense surveillance capability has dramatically improved, while new tools and increased awareness have fostered rapid identification of new potential public health pathogens. Unfortunately, structural delays in vaccine design, development, manufacture, clinical testing and licensure processes remain significant obstacles to an effective national biodefense rapid response capability. This is particularly true for the very real threat of "novel pathogens" such as the avian-origin influenzas H7N9 and H5N1, and new coronaviruses such as hCoV-EMC. Conventional approaches to vaccine development, production, clinical testing and licensure are incompatible with the prompt deployment needed for an effective public health response. An alternative approach, proposed here, is to apply computational vaccine design tools and rapid production technologies that now make it possible to engineer vaccines for novel emerging pathogen and WMD biowarfare agent countermeasures in record time. These new tools have the potential to significantly reduce the time needed to design string-of-epitope vaccines for previously unknown pathogens. The design process-from genome to gene sequence, ready to insert in a DNA plasmid-can now be accomplished in less than 24 h. While these vaccines are by no means "standard," the need for innovation in the vaccine design and production process is great. Should such vaccines be developed, their 60-d start-to-finish timeline would represent a 2-fold faster response than the current standard.

  1. Enhancing Price Response Programs through Auto-DR: California's 2007 Implementation Experience

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

    Kiliccote, Sila; Wikler, Greg; Chiu, Albert

    2007-12-18

    This paper describes automated demand response (Auto-DR) activities, an innovative effort in California to ensure that DR programs produce effective and sustainable impacts. Through the application of automation and communication technologies coupled with well-designed incentives and DR programs such as Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) and Demand Bidding (DBP), Auto-DR is opening up the opportunity for many different types of buildings to effectively participate in DR programs. We present the results of Auto-DR implementation efforts by the three California investor-owned utilities for the Summer of 2007. The presentation emphasizes Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) Auto-DR efforts, which represents the largestmore » in the state. PG&E's goal was to recruit, install, test and operate 15 megawatts of Auto-DR system capability. We describe the unique delivery approaches, including optimizing the utility incentive structures designed to foster an Auto-DR service provider community. We also show how PG&E's Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) and Demand Bidding (DBP) options were called and executed under the automation platform. Finally, we show the results of the Auto-DR systems installed and operational during 2007, which surpassed PG&E's Auto-DR goals. Auto-DR is being implemented by a multi-disciplinary team including the California Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs), energy consultants, energy management control system vendors, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the California Energy Commission (CEC).« less

  2. Communications to 2000 - A forecast of the demand and capacity of U.S. domestic communications satellites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fordyce, S. W.

    The market demand for the U.S. domestic communications satellites accelerated in the late 70's, exceeding the capacity of the satellites currently in orbit. Satellite carriers have been authorized to build an additional 24 domsats. This paper examines the anticipated market demands, and the capability of the domsats to fulfill these demands. With various practical technical innovations, the domsats appear able to meet the expected market demands until the end of this century.

  3. Overview of the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wright, Mary Etta

    1999-01-01

    MSG is a third generation glovebox for Microgravity Science investigations: SpaceLab Glovebox (GBX); Middeck/MIR Gloveboxes (M/MGBX); and GBX and M/MGBX developed by Bradford Engineering (NL). Previous flights have demonstrated utility of glovebox facilities: Contained environment enables broader range of science experiments; Affords better control of video and photographic imaging (a prime data source); Provides better environmental control than cabin atmosphere; and Useful for contingency operations. MSG developed in response to demands for increased work volume, increased capabilities and additional resources. MSG is multi-user facility to support a wide range of small science and technology investigations: Fluid physics; Combustion science; Material science; Biotechnology (cell culturing and protein crystal growth); Space processing; Fundamental physics; and Technology demonstrations. Topics included in this viewgraph are: MSG capabilities; MSG hardware items; MSG, GSE, and OSE items; MSG development approach; and Science utilization.

  4. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Topic 2 Final Report: End-to-End Communication and Control System to Support Clean Energy Technologies

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

    Hudgins, Andrew P.; Carrillo, Ismael M.; Jin, Xin

    This document is the final report of a two-year development, test, and demonstration project, 'Cohesive Application of Standards- Based Connected Devices to Enable Clean Energy Technologies.' The project was part of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Integrated Network Testbed for Energy Grid Research and Technology (INTEGRATE) initiative hosted at Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF). This project demonstrated techniques to control distribution grid events using the coordination of traditional distribution grid devices and high-penetration renewable resources and demand response. Using standard communication protocols and semantic standards, the project examined the use cases of high/low distribution voltage, requests for volt-ampere-reactive (VAR)more » power support, and transactive energy strategies using Volttron. Open source software, written by EPRI to control distributed energy resources (DER) and demand response (DR), was used by an advanced distribution management system (ADMS) to abstract the resources reporting to a collection of capabilities rather than needing to know specific resource types. This architecture allows for scaling both horizontally and vertically. Several new technologies were developed and tested. Messages from the ADMS based on the common information model (CIM) were developed to control the DER and DR management systems. The OpenADR standard was used to help manage grid events by turning loads off and on. Volttron technology was used to simulate a homeowner choosing the price at which to enter the demand response market. Finally, the ADMS used newly developed algorithms to coordinate these resources with a capacitor bank and voltage regulator to respond to grid events.« less

  5. Physiological Parameter Response to Variation of Mental Workload.

    PubMed

    Marinescu, Adrian Cornelius; Sharples, Sarah; Ritchie, Alastair Campbell; Sánchez López, Tomas; McDowell, Michael; Morvan, Hervé P

    2018-02-01

    To examine the relationship between experienced mental workload and physiological response by noninvasive monitoring of physiological parameters. Previous studies have examined how individual physiological measures respond to changes in mental demand and subjective reports of workload. This study explores the response of multiple physiological parameters and quantifies their added value when estimating the level of demand. The study presented was conducted in laboratory conditions and required participants to perform a visual-motor task that imposed varying levels of demand. The data collected consisted of physiological measurements (heart interbeat intervals, breathing rate, pupil diameter, facial thermography), subjective ratings of workload (Instantaneous Self-Assessment Workload Scale [ISA] and NASA-Task Load Index), and the performance. Facial thermography and pupil diameter were demonstrated to be good candidates for noninvasive workload measurements: For seven out of 10 participants, pupil diameter showed a strong correlation ( R values between .61 and .79 at a significance value of .01) with mean ISA normalized values. Facial thermography measures added on average 47.7% to the amount of variability in task performance explained by a regression model. As with the ISA ratings, the relationship between the physiological measures and performance showed strong interparticipant differences, with some individuals demonstrating a much stronger relationship between workload and performance measures than others. The results presented in this paper demonstrate that physiological and pupil diameter can be used for noninvasive real-time measurement of workload. The methods presented in this article, with current technological capabilities, are better suited for workplaces where the person is seated, offering the possibility of being applied to pilots and air traffic controllers.

  6. An electron microscope for the aberration-corrected era.

    PubMed

    Krivanek, O L; Corbin, G J; Dellby, N; Elston, B F; Keyse, R J; Murfitt, M F; Own, C S; Szilagyi, Z S; Woodruff, J W

    2008-02-01

    Improved resolution made possible by aberration correction has greatly increased the demands on the performance of all parts of high-end electron microscopes. In order to meet these demands, we have designed and built an entirely new scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). The microscope includes a flexible illumination system that allows the properties of its probe to be changed on-the-fly, a third-generation aberration corrector which corrects all geometric aberrations up to fifth order, an ultra-responsive yet stable five-axis sample stage, and a flexible configuration of optimized detectors. The microscope features many innovations, such as a modular column assembled from building blocks that can be stacked in almost any order, in situ storage and cleaning facilities for up to five samples, computer-controlled loading of samples into the column, and self-diagnosing electronics. The microscope construction is described, and examples of its capabilities are shown.

  7. Nutrition and muscle loss in humans during spaceflight

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stein, T. P.

    1999-01-01

    The protein loss in humans during spaceflight is partly due to a normal adaptive response to a decreased work load on the muscles involved in weight bearing. The process is mediated by changes in prostaglandin release, secondary to the decrease in tension on the affected muscles. On missions, where there is a high level of physical demands on the astronauts, there tends to be an energy deficit, which adds to the muscle protein loss and depletes the body fat reserves. While the adaptive response is a normal part of homeostasis, the additional protein loss from an energy deficit can, in the long run, have a negative effect on health and capability of humans to live and work in space and afterward return to Earth.

  8. Identifying the critical physical demanding tasks of paramedic work: Towards the development of a physical employment standard.

    PubMed

    Fischer, Steven L; Sinden, Kathryn E; MacPhee, Renee S

    2017-11-01

    Public safety related occupations including police, fire and military commonly apply physical employment standard (PES) to facilitate job matching, an approach to evaluate if candidates demonstrate acceptable physical capabilities as required to perform the job safely and effectively. In Canada, paramedics remain as one of the few public safety occupations without an evidence-based, validated PES. The purpose of this study was to document and describe the physical demands of paramedic work and to identify the most physically demanding tasks. These outcomes are essential to inform the design and development of an evidence-based PES for the paramedic sector. Physical demands of paramedic work were documented and described using a direct observation-based task analysis technique. Five paramedic's were trained to document the physical demands of their work, then applied their training to observe more than 90 calls over the course of 20 full 12-h work shifts. Physical demands data were then listed in a survey, administered service-wide, where 155 frontline paramedics identified critically demanding tasks and rank-ordered physical demands from not physically demanding to very strongly demanding. Critically important and physically demanding tasks were identified such as: transferring a patient; loading or unloading a stretcher in to or out of the ambulance; performing CPR; and, raising and lowering a stretcher. It is important that a paramedic-based PES evaluate a candidate's physical capabilities to perform the critical and physically demanding tasks identified in this study. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Space shuttle main engine: Interactive design challenges

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mccarty, J. P.; Wood, B. K.

    1985-01-01

    The operating requirements established by NASA for the SSME were considerably more demanding than those for earlier rocket engines used in the military launch vehicles or Apollo program. The SSME, in order to achieve the high performance, low weight, long life, reusable objectives, embodied technical demands far in excess of its predecessor rocket engines. The requirements dictated the use of high combustion pressure and the staged combustion cycle which maximizes performance through total use of all propellants in the main combustion process. This approach presented a myriad of technical challenges for maximization of performance within attainable state of the art capabilities for operating pressures, operating temperatures and rotating machinery efficiencies. Controlling uniformity of the high pressure turbomachinery turbine temperature environment was a key challenge for thrust level and life capability demanding innovative engineering. New approaches in the design of the components were necessary to accommodate the multiple use, minimum maintenance objectives. Included were the use of line replaceable units to facilitate field maintenance automatic checkout and internal inspection capabilities.

  10. NUCLEAR INCIDENT CAPABILITIES, KNOWLEDGE & ENABLER LEVERAGING

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

    Kinney, J.; Newman, J.; Goodwyn, A.

    2011-04-18

    The detonation of a 10 Kiloton Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) is a serious scenario that the United States must be prepared to address. The likelihood of a single nuclear bomb exploding in a single city is greater today than at the height of the Cold War. Layered defenses against domestic nuclear terrorism indicate that our government continues to view the threat as credible. The risk of such an event is further evidenced by terrorists desire to acquire nuclear weapons. The act of nuclear terrorism, particularly an act directed against a large population center in the United States, will overwhelm themore » capabilities of many local and state governments to respond, and will seriously challenge existing federal response capabilities. A 10 Kiloton IND detonation would cause total infrastructure damage in a 3-mile radius and levels of radiation spanning out 3,000 square miles. In a densely populated urban area, the anticipated casualties would be in excess of several hundred thousand. Although there would be enormous loss of life, housing and infrastructure, an IND detonation is a recoverable event. We can reduce the risk of these high-consequence, nontraditional threats by enhancing our nuclear detection architecture and establishing well planned and rehearsed plans for coordinated response. It is also important for us to identify new and improved ways to foster collaboration regarding the response to the IND threat to ensure the demand and density of expertise required for such an event is postured and prepared to mobilize, integrate, and support a myriad of anticipated challenges. We must be prepared to manage the consequences of such an event in a deliberate manner and get beyond notions of total devastation by adopting planning assumptions around survivability and resiliency. Planning for such a scenario needs to be decisive in determining a response based on competencies and desired outcomes. It is time to synthesize known threats and plausible consequences into action. Much work needs to be accomplished to enhance nuclear preparedness and to substantially bolster and clarify the capacity to deploy competent resources. Until detailed plans are scripted, and personnel and other resources are postured, and exercised, IND specific planning remains an urgent need requiring attention and action. Although strategic guidance, policies, concepts of operations, roles, responsibilities, and plans governing the response and consequence management for the IND scenario exist, an ongoing integration challenge prevails regarding how best to get capable and competent surge capacity personnel (disaster reservists) and other resources engaged and readied in an up-front manner with pre-scripted assignments to augment the magnitude of anticipated demands of expertise. With the above in mind, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) puts science to work to create and deploy practical, high-value, cost-effective nuclear solutions. As the Department of Energy's (DOE) applied research and development laboratory, SRNL supports Savannah River Site (SRS) operations, DOE, national initiatives, and other federal agencies, across the country and around the world. SRNL's parent at SRS also employs more than 8,000 personnel. The team is a great asset that seeks to continue their service in the interest of national security and stands ready to accomplish new missions. Overall, an integral part of the vision for SRNL's National and Homeland Security Directorate is the establishment of a National Security Center at SRNL, and development of state of the science capabilities (technologies and trained technical personnel) for responding to emergency events on local, regional, or national scales. This entails leveraging and posturing the skills, knowledge and experience base of SRS personnel to deliver an integrated capability to support local, state, and federal authorities through the development of pre-scripted requests for assistance, agreements, and plans. It also includes developing plans, training, exercises, recruitment strategies, and processes to establish a 1,000 plus person nuclear disaster workforce capable of providing surge capacity support that can be deployed in part or in all.« less

  11. Design of demand side response model in energy internet demonstration park

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Q.; Liu, D. N.

    2017-08-01

    The implementation of demand side response can bring a lot of benefits to the power system, users and society, but there are still many problems in the actual operation. Firstly, this paper analyses the current situation and problems of demand side response. On this basis, this paper analyses the advantages of implementing demand side response in the energy Internet demonstration park. Finally, the paper designs three kinds of feasible demand side response modes in the energy Internet demonstration park.

  12. Robust Unit Commitment Considering Uncertain Demand Response

    DOE PAGES

    Liu, Guodong; Tomsovic, Kevin

    2014-09-28

    Although price responsive demand response has been widely accepted as playing an important role in the reliable and economic operation of power system, the real response from demand side can be highly uncertain due to limited understanding of consumers' response to pricing signals. To model the behavior of consumers, the price elasticity of demand has been explored and utilized in both research and real practice. However, the price elasticity of demand is not precisely known and may vary greatly with operating conditions and types of customers. To accommodate the uncertainty of demand response, alternative unit commitment methods robust to themore » uncertainty of the demand response require investigation. In this paper, a robust unit commitment model to minimize the generalized social cost is proposed for the optimal unit commitment decision taking into account uncertainty of the price elasticity of demand. By optimizing the worst case under proper robust level, the unit commitment solution of the proposed model is robust against all possible realizations of the modeled uncertain demand response. Numerical simulations on the IEEE Reliability Test System show the e ectiveness of the method. Finally, compared to unit commitment with deterministic price elasticity of demand, the proposed robust model can reduce the average Locational Marginal Prices (LMPs) as well as the price volatility.« less

  13. Information management - Assessing the demand for information

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rogers, William H.

    1991-01-01

    Information demand is defined in terms of both information content (what information) and form (when, how, and where it is needed). Providing the information richness required for flight crews to be informed without overwhelming their information processing capabilities will require a great deal of automated intelligence. It is seen that the essence of this intelligence is comprehending and capturing the demand for information.

  14. Task Force Report: Assessment of Nuclear Monitoring and Verification Technologies

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-01-01

    environment in which implemented  Project demands on, and assess capabilities of, International Atomic Energy Agency in next 15-20 years with expected...the Department of  Energy   (DOE) and  the  Intelligence  Community  (IC)  to  support  future  monitoring  and  verification  of  nuclear...could be  enabled by  expansion of  the  role of  the  International Atomic  Energy   Agency  (IAEA)  for  assuming  responsibility  for  the

  15. Provider-sponsored HMOs: make, buy, or joint venture?

    PubMed

    Clay, S B

    1997-03-01

    Providers can sponsor their own HMOs in one of three ways: by creating their own HMO, by joint venturing with an existing HMO, or by purchasing an existing HMO. When selecting the best option, providers must consider various market conditions. Managed care penetration in the area, potential competitive responses of existing HMOs, market demand, provider reputation, and provider marketing ability will all influence the feasibility of each option. Providers also must examine their own organizational identity, their ability to raise the necessary capital to start an HMO, their managed care expertise and risk contracting experience, and their information systems capabilities.

  16. Demand Response Resource Quantification with Detailed Building Energy Models

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

    Hale, Elaine; Horsey, Henry; Merket, Noel

    Demand response is a broad suite of technologies that enables changes in electrical load operations in support of power system reliability and efficiency. Although demand response is not a new concept, there is new appetite for comprehensively evaluating its technical potential in the context of renewable energy integration. The complexity of demand response makes this task difficult -- we present new methods for capturing the heterogeneity of potential responses from buildings, their time-varying nature, and metrics such as thermal comfort that help quantify likely acceptability of specific demand response actions. Computed with an automated software framework, the methods are scalable.

  17. Social evaluative threat with verbal performance feedback alters neuroendocrine response to stress.

    PubMed

    Phan, Jenny M; Schneider, Ekaterina; Peres, Jeremy; Miocevic, Olga; Meyer, Vanessa; Shirtcliff, Elizabeth A

    2017-11-01

    Laboratory stress tasks such as the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) have provided a key piece to the puzzle for how psychosocial stress impacts the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, other stress-responsive biomarkers, and ultimately wellbeing. These tasks are thought to work through biopsychosocial processes, specifically social evaluative threat and the uncontrollability heighten situational demands. The present study integrated an experimental modification to the design of the TSST to probe whether additional social evaluative threat, via negative verbal feedback about speech performance, can further alter stress reactivity in 63 men and women. This TSST study confirmed previous findings related to stress reactivity and stress recovery but extended this literature in several ways. First, we showed that additional social evaluative threat components, mid-task following the speech portion of the TSST, were still capable of enhancing the psychosocial stressor. Second, we considered stress-reactive hormones beyond cortisol to include dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone, and found these hormones were also stress-responsive, and their release was coupled with one another. Third, we explored whether gain- and loss-framing incentive instructions, meant to influence performance motivation by enhancing the personal relevance of task performance, impacted hormonal reactivity. Results showed that each hormone was stress reactive and further had different responses to the modified TSST compared to the original TSST. Beyond the utility of showing how the TSST can be modified with heightened social evaluative threat and incentive-framing instructions, this study informs about how these three stress-responsive hormones have differential responses to the demands of a challenge and a stressor. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. 49 CFR 37.77 - Purchase or lease of new non-rail vehicles by public entities operating a demand responsive...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... public entities operating a demand responsive system for the general public. 37.77 Section 37.77...-rail vehicles by public entities operating a demand responsive system for the general public. (a) Except as provided in this section, a public entity operating a demand responsive system for the general...

  19. 49 CFR 37.77 - Purchase or lease of new non-rail vehicles by public entities operating a demand responsive...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... public entities operating a demand responsive system for the general public. 37.77 Section 37.77...-rail vehicles by public entities operating a demand responsive system for the general public. (a) Except as provided in this section, a public entity operating a demand responsive system for the general...

  20. 49 CFR 37.77 - Purchase or lease of new non-rail vehicles by public entities operating a demand responsive...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... public entities operating a demand responsive system for the general public. 37.77 Section 37.77...-rail vehicles by public entities operating a demand responsive system for the general public. (a) Except as provided in this section, a public entity operating a demand responsive system for the general...

  1. 49 CFR 37.77 - Purchase or lease of new non-rail vehicles by public entities operating a demand responsive...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... public entities operating a demand responsive system for the general public. 37.77 Section 37.77...-rail vehicles by public entities operating a demand responsive system for the general public. (a) Except as provided in this section, a public entity operating a demand responsive system for the general...

  2. Achieving a Launch on Demand Capability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greenberg, Joel S.

    2002-01-01

    The ability to place payloads [satellites] into orbit as and when required, often referred to as launch on demand, continues to be an elusive and yet largely unfulfilled goal. But what is the value of achieving launch on demand [LOD], and what metrics are appropriate? Achievement of a desired level of LOD capability must consider transportation system thruput, alternative transportation systems that comprise the transportation architecture, transportation demand, reliability and failure recovery characteristics of the alternatives, schedule guarantees, launch delays, payload integration schedules, procurement policies, and other factors. Measures of LOD capability should relate to the objective of the transportation architecture: the placement of payloads into orbit as and when required. Launch on demand capability must be defined in probabilistic terms such as the probability of not incurring a delay in excess of T when it is determined that it is necessary to place a payload into orbit. Three specific aspects of launch on demand are considered: [1] the ability to recover from adversity [i.e., a launch failure] and to keep up with the steady-state demand for placing satellites into orbit [this has been referred to as operability and resiliency], [2] the ability to respond to the requirement to launch a satellite when the need arises unexpectedly either because of an unexpected [random] on-orbit satellite failure that requires replacement or because of the sudden recognition of an unanticipated requirement, and [3] the ability to recover from adversity [i.e., a launch failure] during the placement of a constellation into orbit. The objective of this paper is to outline a formal approach for analyzing alternative transportation architectures in terms of their ability to provide a LOD capability. The economic aspect of LOD is developed by establishing a relationship between scheduling and the elimination of on-orbit spares while achieving the desired level of on-orbit availability. Results of an analysis are presented. The implications of launch on demand are addressed for each of the above three situations and related architecture performance metrics and computer simulation models are described that may be used to evaluate the implications of architecture and policy changes in terms of LOD requirements. The models and metrics are aimed at providing answers to such questions as: How well does a specified space transportation architecture respond to satellite launch demand and changes thereto? How well does a normally functioning and apparently architecture respond to unanticipated needs? What is the effect of a modification to the architecture on its ability to respond to satellite launch demand, including responding to unanticipated needs? What is the cost of the architecture [including facilities, operations, inventory, and satellites]? What is the sensitivity of overall architecture effectiveness and cost to various transportation system delays? What is the effect of adding [or eliminating] a launch vehicle or family of vehicles to [from] the architecture on its effectiveness and cost? What is the value of improving launch vehicle and satellite compatibility and what are the effects on probability of delay statistics and cost of designing for multi-launch vehicle compatibility

  3. Comparing model-based adaptive LMS filters and a model-free hysteresis loop analysis method for structural health monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Cong; Chase, J. Geoffrey; Rodgers, Geoffrey W.; Xu, Chao

    2017-02-01

    The model-free hysteresis loop analysis (HLA) method for structural health monitoring (SHM) has significant advantages over the traditional model-based SHM methods that require a suitable baseline model to represent the actual system response. This paper provides a unique validation against both an experimental reinforced concrete (RC) building and a calibrated numerical model to delineate the capability of the model-free HLA method and the adaptive least mean squares (LMS) model-based method in detecting, localizing and quantifying damage that may not be visible, observable in overall structural response. Results clearly show the model-free HLA method is capable of adapting to changes in how structures transfer load or demand across structural elements over time and multiple events of different size. However, the adaptive LMS model-based method presented an image of greater spread of lesser damage over time and story when the baseline model is not well defined. Finally, the two algorithms are tested over a simpler hysteretic behaviour typical steel structure to quantify the impact of model mismatch between the baseline model used for identification and the actual response. The overall results highlight the need for model-based methods to have an appropriate model that can capture the observed response, in order to yield accurate results, even in small events where the structure remains linear.

  4. Active Transportation and Demand Management (ATDM) foundational research : Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation (AMS) capabilities assessment.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-06-01

    As part of the Federal Highway Administrations (FHWAs) Active Transportation and Demand Management (ATDM) Foundational Research, this publication identifies the AMS needs to support simulated real-time and real-time analysis to evaluate the imp...

  5. Developing tolled-route demand estimation capabilities for Texas : opportunities for enhancement of existing models.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-08-01

    The travel demand models developed and applied by the Transportation Planning and Programming Division : (TPP) of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) are daily three-step models (i.e., trip generation, trip : distribution, and traffic assi...

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

    Piette, Mary Ann

    California needs new, responsive, demand-side energy technologies to ensure that periods of tight electricity supply on the grid don't turn into power outages. Led by Berkeley Lab's Mary Ann Piette, the California Energy Commission (through its Public Interest Energy Research Program) has established a Demand Response Research Center that addresses two motivations for adopting demand responsiveness: reducing average electricity prices and preventing future electricity crises. The research seeks to understand factors that influence "what works" in Demand Response. Piette's team is investigating the two types of demand response, load response and price response, that may influence and reduce the usemore » of peak electric power through automated controls, peak pricing, advanced communications, and other strategies.« less

  7. Saving Power at Peak Hours (LBNL Science at the Theater)

    ScienceCinema

    Piette, Mary Ann [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2018-05-23

    California needs new, responsive, demand-side energy technologies to ensure that periods of tight electricity supply on the grid don't turn into power outages. Led by Berkeley Lab's Mary Ann Piette, the California Energy Commission (through its Public Interest Energy Research Program) has established a Demand Response Research Center that addresses two motivations for adopting demand responsiveness: reducing average electricity prices and preventing future electricity crises. The research seeks to understand factors that influence "what works" in Demand Response. Piette's team is investigating the two types of demand response, load response and price response, that may influence and reduce the use of peak electric power through automated controls, peak pricing, advanced communications, and other strategies.

  8. Estimating Ridership of Rural Demand-Response Transit Services for the General Public : 21177060-NCTR-NDSU08.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-08-01

    The objective of this study is to develop a model for estimating demand for rural demand-response transit services for the general public. Lack of data for demand-response service characteristics and geographic coverage has limited the development of...

  9. Opportunities for Energy Efficiency and Automated Demand Response in Industrial Refrigerated Warehouses in California

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

    Lekov, Alex; Thompson, Lisa; McKane, Aimee

    2009-05-11

    This report summarizes the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's research to date in characterizing energy efficiency and open automated demand response opportunities for industrial refrigerated warehouses in California. The report describes refrigerated warehouses characteristics, energy use and demand, and control systems. It also discusses energy efficiency and open automated demand response opportunities and provides analysis results from three demand response studies. In addition, several energy efficiency, load management, and demand response case studies are provided for refrigerated warehouses. This study shows that refrigerated warehouses can be excellent candidates for open automated demand response and that facilities which have implemented energy efficiencymore » measures and have centralized control systems are well-suited to shift or shed electrical loads in response to financial incentives, utility bill savings, and/or opportunities to enhance reliability of service. Control technologies installed for energy efficiency and load management purposes can often be adapted for open automated demand response (OpenADR) at little additional cost. These improved controls may prepare facilities to be more receptive to OpenADR due to both increased confidence in the opportunities for controlling energy cost/use and access to the real-time data.« less

  10. Disasters and mass casualties: I. General principles of response and management.

    PubMed

    Born, Christopher T; Briggs, Susan M; Ciraulo, David L; Frykberg, Eric R; Hammond, Jeffrey S; Hirshberg, Asher; Lhowe, David W; O'Neill, Patricia A

    2007-07-01

    Disaster planning and response to a mass casualty incident pose unique demands on the medical community. Because they would be required to confront many casualties with bodily injury and surgical problems, surgeons in particular must become better educated in disaster management. Compared with routine practice, triage principles in disasters require an entirely different approach to evaluation and care and often run counter to training and ethical values. An effective response to disaster and mass casualty events should focus on an "all hazards" approach, defined as the ability to adapt and apply fundamental disaster management principles universally to any mass casualty incident, whether caused by people or nature. Organizational tools such as the Incident Command System and the Hospital Incident Command System help to effect a rapid and coordinated response to specific situations. The United States federal government, through the National Response Plan, has the responsibility to respond quickly and efficiently to catastrophic incidents and to ensure critical life-saving assistance. International medical surgical response teams are capable of providing medical, surgical, and intensive care services in austere environments anywhere in the world.

  11. Physiological Parameter Response to Variation of Mental Workload

    PubMed Central

    Marinescu, Adrian Cornelius; Sharples, Sarah; Ritchie, Alastair Campbell; Sánchez López, Tomas; McDowell, Michael; Morvan, Hervé P.

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To examine the relationship between experienced mental workload and physiological response by noninvasive monitoring of physiological parameters. Background: Previous studies have examined how individual physiological measures respond to changes in mental demand and subjective reports of workload. This study explores the response of multiple physiological parameters and quantifies their added value when estimating the level of demand. Method: The study presented was conducted in laboratory conditions and required participants to perform a visual-motor task that imposed varying levels of demand. The data collected consisted of physiological measurements (heart interbeat intervals, breathing rate, pupil diameter, facial thermography), subjective ratings of workload (Instantaneous Self-Assessment Workload Scale [ISA] and NASA-Task Load Index), and the performance. Results: Facial thermography and pupil diameter were demonstrated to be good candidates for noninvasive workload measurements: For seven out of 10 participants, pupil diameter showed a strong correlation (R values between .61 and .79 at a significance value of .01) with mean ISA normalized values. Facial thermography measures added on average 47.7% to the amount of variability in task performance explained by a regression model. As with the ISA ratings, the relationship between the physiological measures and performance showed strong interparticipant differences, with some individuals demonstrating a much stronger relationship between workload and performance measures than others. Conclusion: The results presented in this paper demonstrate that physiological and pupil diameter can be used for noninvasive real-time measurement of workload. Application: The methods presented in this article, with current technological capabilities, are better suited for workplaces where the person is seated, offering the possibility of being applied to pilots and air traffic controllers. PMID:28965433

  12. 29 CFR 20.55 - Second and subsequent notifications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... second and subsequent demands for payment, if payment or other appropriate response is not received within the time specified by the initial demand. Unless a response to the first or second demand indicates that a further demand would be futile or the debtor's response does not require rebuttal, the...

  13. Automation of energy demand forecasting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siddique, Sanzad

    Automation of energy demand forecasting saves time and effort by searching automatically for an appropriate model in a candidate model space without manual intervention. This thesis introduces a search-based approach that improves the performance of the model searching process for econometrics models. Further improvements in the accuracy of the energy demand forecasting are achieved by integrating nonlinear transformations within the models. This thesis introduces machine learning techniques that are capable of modeling such nonlinearity. Algorithms for learning domain knowledge from time series data using the machine learning methods are also presented. The novel search based approach and the machine learning models are tested with synthetic data as well as with natural gas and electricity demand signals. Experimental results show that the model searching technique is capable of finding an appropriate forecasting model. Further experimental results demonstrate an improved forecasting accuracy achieved by using the novel machine learning techniques introduced in this thesis. This thesis presents an analysis of how the machine learning techniques learn domain knowledge. The learned domain knowledge is used to improve the forecast accuracy.

  14. Dispatch Control with PEV Charging and Renewables for Multiplayer Game Application

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

    Davis, Nathan; Johnson, Brian; McJunkin, Timothy

    This paper presents a demand response model for a hypothetical microgrid that integrates renewable resources and plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging systems. It is assumed that the microgrid has black start capability and that external generation is available for purchase while grid connected to satisfy additional demand. The microgrid is developed such that in addition to renewable, non-dispatchable generation from solar, wind and run of the river hydroelectric resources, local dispatchable generation is available in the form of small hydroelectric and moderately sized gas and coal fired facilities. To accurately model demand, the load model is separated into independent residential,more » commercial, industrial, and PEV charging systems. These are dispatched and committed based on a mixed integer linear program developed to minimize the cost of generation and load shedding while satisfying constraints associated with line limits, conservation of energy, and ramp rates of the generation units. The model extends a research tool to longer time frames intended for policy setting and educational environments and provides a realistic and intuitive understanding of beneficial and challenging aspects of electrification of vehicles combined with integration of green electricity production.« less

  15. Extending the capabilities of an individual tree growth simulator to model non-traditional loblolly pine plantation systems for multiple products

    Treesearch

    Ralph L. Amateis; Harold E. Burkhart

    2012-01-01

    Demand for traditional wood products from southern forests continues to increase even as demand for woody biomass for uses such as biofuels is on the rise. How to manage the plantation resource to meet demand for multiple products from a shrinking land base is of critical importance. Nontraditional plantation systems comprised of two populations planted on the same...

  16. CAA Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1992.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-11-01

    But, in t• -. y’s era of rapid change, there has been a burgeoning demand for quick reaction analyses. Today, CAA increasingly applies the results of...years. The graph on the right illustrates the reorientation of CAA analytical focus to meet increasing sponsor demands for QRA and the apparent...meeting the most important analysis needs of the Army while maintaining quality and preparing CAA capabilities to meet demands that will be presented

  17. 12 CFR 602.23 - Responses to demands served on FCA employees.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Responses to demands served on FCA employees. 602.23 Section 602.23 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS RELEASING....23 Responses to demands served on FCA employees. (a) An employee served with a demand or a subpoena...

  18. Adaptive allocation of decisionmaking responsibility between human and computer in multitask situations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chu, Y.-Y.; Rouse, W. B.

    1979-01-01

    As human and computer come to have overlapping decisionmaking abilities, a dynamic or adaptive allocation of responsibilities may be the best mode of human-computer interaction. It is suggested that the computer serve as a backup decisionmaker, accepting responsibility when human workload becomes excessive and relinquishing responsibility when workload becomes acceptable. A queueing theory formulation of multitask decisionmaking is used and a threshold policy for turning the computer on/off is proposed. This policy minimizes event-waiting cost subject to human workload constraints. An experiment was conducted with a balanced design of several subject runs within a computer-aided multitask flight management situation with different task demand levels. It was found that computer aiding enhanced subsystem performance as well as subjective ratings. The queueing model appears to be an adequate representation of the multitask decisionmaking situation, and to be capable of predicting system performance in terms of average waiting time and server occupancy. Server occupancy was further found to correlate highly with the subjective effort ratings.

  19. Collaborative Learning Environments for Management Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seufert, Sabine; Seufert, Andreas

    Confronted with the pressure of a rapidly changing environment, organizations demand new skills and capabilities of future managers. These demands and the findings of learning theory necessitate a corresponding change in education of tomorrow's managers. Future management education requires a balance between the imparting of knowledge to the…

  20. Tensions between work and home: job quality and working conditions in the institutional contexts of Germany and Spain.

    PubMed

    Drobnič, Sonja; Guillén Rodríguez, Ana M

    2011-01-01

    Good jobs can generate capabilities that allow employees to avoid tensions between work and family/home. Following the conceptual framework of Amartya Sen, we examine how job-related demands and resources are related to the level of interference, as well as satisfaction with managing work and home in Spanish and German employees, using three different large-scale European surveys: European Quality of Life Survey and two waves of the European Social Survey. We find that long working hours systematically increase tensions between work and home, as do time pressure, job-related stress, and working hard. Job control or autonomy at work, which is hypothesized to expand individuals' capabilities and agency, tends to increase work–home interference rather than alleviate it. Family responsibilities and household demands do not seem relevant to the tensions employees experience at the work–home interface. This also holds true for women, which is a surprising result in view of the “double burden” hypothesis. Employed mothers in Germany and Spain are a select group of women, as combining employment with raising children in conservative–corporatist and conservative–familialist states may be particularly problematic. Thus while the institutional contexts of Germany and Spain curtail women's ability to reconcile employment and parenthood, the mothers (and fathers) who are employed do not experience significantly higher levels of work–family/home tensions than nonparents.

  1. Vulnerability, Health Agency and Capability to Health.

    PubMed

    Straehle, Christine

    2016-01-01

    One of the defining features of the capability approach (CA) to health, as developed in Venkatapuram's book Health Justice, is its aim to enable individual health agency. Furthermore, the CA to health hopes to provide a strong guideline for assessing the health-enabling content of social and political conditions. In this article, I employ the recent literature on the liberal concept of vulnerability to assess the CA. I distinguish two kinds of vulnerability. Considering circumstantial vulnerability, I argue that liberal accounts of vulnerability concerned with individual autonomy, align with the CA to health. Individuals should, as far as possible, be able to make health-enabling decisions about their lives, and their capability to do so should certainly not be hindered by public policy. The CA to health and a vulnerability-based analysis then work alongside to define moral responsibilities and designate those who hold them. Both approaches demand social policy to address circumstances that hinder individuals from taking health-enabling decisions. A background condition of vulnerability, on the other hand, even though it hampers the capability for health, does not warrant the strong moral claim proposed by the CA to health to define health as a meta-capability that should guide social policy. Nothing in our designing social policy could change the challenge to health agency when we deal with background conditions of vulnerability. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Space Station Freedom extravehicular activity systems evolution study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rouen, Michael

    1990-01-01

    Evaluation of Space Station Freedom (SSF) support of manned exploration is in progress to identify SSF extravehicular activity (EVA) system evolution requirements and capabilities. The output from these studies will provide data to support the preliminary design process to ensure that Space Station EVA system requirements for future missions (including the transportation node) are adequately considered and reflected in the baseline design. The study considers SSF support of future missions and the EVA system baseline to determine adequacy of EVA requirements and capabilities and to identify additional requirements, capabilities, and necessary technology upgrades. The EVA demands levied by formal requirements and indicated by evolutionary mission scenarios are high for the out-years of Space Station Freedom. An EVA system designed to meet the baseline requirements can easily evolve to meet evolution demands with few exceptions. Results to date indicate that upgrades or modifications to the EVA system may be necessary to meet the full range of EVA thermal environments associated with the transportation node. Work continues to quantify the EVA capability in this regard. Evolution mission scenarios with EVA and ground unshielded nuclear propulsion engines are inconsistent with anthropomorphic EVA capabilities.

  3. Medical capability team: the clinical microsystem for combat healthcare delivery in counterinsurgency operations.

    PubMed

    Clark, Susz; Van Steenvort, Jon K

    2008-01-01

    Today's operational environment in the support of counterinsurgency operations requires greater tactical and operational flexibility and diverse medical capabilities. The skills and organizations required for full spectrum medical operations are different from those of the past. Combat healthcare demands agility and the capacity for rapid change in clinical systems and processes to better support the counterinsurgency environment. This article proposes the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) develop and implement the medical capability team (MCT) for combat healthcare delivery. It discusses using the concept of the brigade combat team to develop medical capability teams as the unit of effectiveness to transform frontline care; provides a theoretical overview of the MCT as a "clinical microsystem"; discusses MCT leadership, training, and organizational support, and the deployment and employment of the MCT in a counterinsurgency environment. Additionally, this article proposes that the AMEDD initiate the development of an AMEDD Combat Training Center of Excellence to train and validate the MCTs. The complexity of combat healthcare demands an agile and campaign quality AMEDD with joint expeditionary capability in order to promote the best patient outcomes in a counterinsurgency environment.

  4. Encoding Standards for Linguistic Corpora.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ide, Nancy

    The demand for extensive reusability of large language text collections for natural languages processing research requires development of standardized encoding formats. Such formats must be capable of representing different kinds of information across the spectrum of text types and languages, capable of representing different levels of…

  5. Cloud-Based Numerical Weather Prediction for Near Real-Time Forecasting and Disaster Response

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Molthan, Andrew; Case, Jonathan; Venners, Jason; Schroeder, Richard; Checchi, Milton; Zavodsky, Bradley; Limaye, Ashutosh; O'Brien, Raymond

    2015-01-01

    The use of cloud computing resources continues to grow within the public and private sector components of the weather enterprise as users become more familiar with cloud-computing concepts, and competition among service providers continues to reduce costs and other barriers to entry. Cloud resources can also provide capabilities similar to high-performance computing environments, supporting multi-node systems required for near real-time, regional weather predictions. Referred to as "Infrastructure as a Service", or IaaS, the use of cloud-based computing hardware in an on-demand payment system allows for rapid deployment of a modeling system in environments lacking access to a large, supercomputing infrastructure. Use of IaaS capabilities to support regional weather prediction may be of particular interest to developing countries that have not yet established large supercomputing resources, but would otherwise benefit from a regional weather forecasting capability. Recently, collaborators from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and Ames Research Center have developed a scripted, on-demand capability for launching the NOAA/NWS Science and Training Resource Center (STRC) Environmental Modeling System (EMS), which includes pre-compiled binaries of the latest version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The WRF-EMS provides scripting for downloading appropriate initial and boundary conditions from global models, along with higher-resolution vegetation, land surface, and sea surface temperature data sets provided by the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center. This presentation will provide an overview of the modeling system capabilities and benchmarks performed on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) environment. In addition, the presentation will discuss future opportunities to deploy the system in support of weather prediction in developing countries supported by NASA's SERVIR Project, which provides capacity building activities in environmental monitoring and prediction across a growing number of regional hubs throughout the world. Capacity-building applications that extend numerical weather prediction to developing countries are intended to provide near real-time applications to benefit public health, safety, and economic interests, but may have a greater impact during disaster events by providing a source for local predictions of weather-related hazards, or impacts that local weather events may have during the recovery phase.

  6. Capability and dependency in the Newcastle 85+ cohort study. Projections of future care needs.

    PubMed

    Jagger, Carol; Collerton, Joanna C; Davies, Karen; Kingston, Andrew; Robinson, Louise A; Eccles, Martin P; von Zglinicki, Thomas; Martin-Ruiz, Carmen; James, Oliver F W; Kirkwood, Tom B L; Bond, John

    2011-05-04

    Little is known of the capabilities of the oldest old, the fastest growing age group in the population. We aimed to estimate capability and dependency in a cohort of 85 year olds and to project future demand for care. Structured interviews at age 85 with 841 people born in 1921 and living in Newcastle and North Tyneside, UK who were permanently registered with participating general practices. Measures of capability included were self-reported activities of daily living (ADL), timed up and go test (TUG), standardised mini-mental state examination (SMMSE), and assessment of urinary continence in order to classify interval-need dependency. To project future demand for care the proportion needing 24-hour care was applied to the 2008 England and Wales population projections of those aged 80 years and over by gender. Of participants, 62% (522/841) were women, 77% (651/841) lived in standard housing, 13% (106/841) in sheltered housing and 10% (84/841) in a care home. Overall, 20% (165/841) reported no difficulty with any of the ADLs. Men were more capable in performing ADLs and more independent than women. TUG validated self-reported ADLs. When classified by 'interval of need' 41% (332/810) were independent, 39% (317/810) required help less often than daily, 12% (94/810) required help at regular times of the day and 8% (67/810) required 24-hour care. Of care-home residents, 94% (77/82) required daily help or 24-hour care. Future need for 24-hour care for people aged 80 years or over in England and Wales is projected to increase by 82% from 2010 to 2030 with a demand for 630,000 care-home places by 2030. This analysis highlights the diversity of capability and levels of dependency in this cohort. A remarkably high proportion remain independent, particularly men. However a significant proportion of this population require 24-hour care at home or in care homes. Projections for the next 20 years suggest substantial increases in the number requiring 24-hour care due to population ageing and a proportionate increase in demand for care-home places unless innovative health and social care interventions are found.

  7. Surrogate modeling of joint flood risk across coastal watersheds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bass, Benjamin; Bedient, Philip

    2018-03-01

    This study discusses the development and performance of a rapid prediction system capable of representing the joint rainfall-runoff and storm surge flood response of tropical cyclones (TCs) for probabilistic risk analysis. Due to the computational demand required for accurately representing storm surge with the high-fidelity ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) hydrodynamic model and its coupling with additional numerical models to represent rainfall-runoff, a surrogate or statistical model was trained to represent the relationship between hurricane wind- and pressure-field characteristics and their peak joint flood response typically determined from physics based numerical models. This builds upon past studies that have only evaluated surrogate models for predicting peak surge, and provides the first system capable of probabilistically representing joint flood levels from TCs. The utility of this joint flood prediction system is then demonstrated by improving upon probabilistic TC flood risk products, which currently account for storm surge but do not take into account TC associated rainfall-runoff. Results demonstrate the source apportionment of rainfall-runoff versus storm surge and highlight that slight increases in flood risk levels may occur due to the interaction between rainfall-runoff and storm surge as compared to the Federal Emergency Management Association's (FEMAs) current practices.

  8. Physical Requirements of the Workplace: Research Considerations for Personnel Selection.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hogan, Joyce C.

    Personnel selection processes for physically demanding jobs often discriminate against women, minorities, and handicapped individuals. Developing and validating job-related performance tests requires the assessment of the physical demands of a job and of the same physical capabilities in individuals. Job analysis is a systematic assessment…

  9. A responsible method of making healthcare choices.

    PubMed

    Scandlen, Greg

    2002-01-01

    The essential problem in healthcare has never been fee-for-service. The problem is third-party payment that inevitably leads to excessive demand for services. Third-party payers will always try to limit the use and cost of services to reduce their exposure. The big question facing us in the next 10 years is who decides what gets paid for and what doesn't. Will it be employers, insurers, the government? Or it will it be consumers? Many employers have concluded that Americans are perfectly capable of expressing their preferences and choices in healthcare. But they need to understand that resources are limited and trade-offs are required.

  10. Pathogenic psychrotolerant sporeformers: an emerging challenge for low-temperature storage of minimally processed foods.

    PubMed

    Markland, Sarah M; Farkas, Daniel F; Kniel, Kalmia E; Hoover, Dallas G

    2013-05-01

    Sporeforming bacteria are a significant problem in the food industry as they are ubiquitous in nature and capable of resisting inactivation by heat and chemical treatments designed to inactivate them. Beyond spoilage issues, psychrotolerant sporeformers are becoming increasingly recognized as a potential hazard given the ever-expanding demand for refrigerated processed foods with extended shelf-life. In these products, the sporeforming pathogens of concern are Bacillus cereus, Bacillus weihenstephanensis, and Clostridium botulinum type E. This review article examines the foods, conditions, and organisms responsible for the food safety issue caused by the germination and outgrowth of psychrotolerant sporeforming pathogens in minimally processed refrigerated foods.

  11. Extreme Scale Computing to Secure the Nation

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

    Brown, D L; McGraw, J R; Johnson, J R

    2009-11-10

    Since the dawn of modern electronic computing in the mid 1940's, U.S. national security programs have been dominant users of every new generation of high-performance computer. Indeed, the first general-purpose electronic computer, ENIAC (the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), was used to calculate the expected explosive yield of early thermonuclear weapons designs. Even the U. S. numerical weather prediction program, another early application for high-performance computing, was initially funded jointly by sponsors that included the U.S. Air Force and Navy, agencies interested in accurate weather predictions to support U.S. military operations. For the decades of the cold war, national securitymore » requirements continued to drive the development of high performance computing (HPC), including advancement of the computing hardware and development of sophisticated simulation codes to support weapons and military aircraft design, numerical weather prediction as well as data-intensive applications such as cryptography and cybersecurity U.S. national security concerns continue to drive the development of high-performance computers and software in the U.S. and in fact, events following the end of the cold war have driven an increase in the growth rate of computer performance at the high-end of the market. This mainly derives from our nation's observance of a moratorium on underground nuclear testing beginning in 1992, followed by our voluntary adherence to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) beginning in 1995. The CTBT prohibits further underground nuclear tests, which in the past had been a key component of the nation's science-based program for assuring the reliability, performance and safety of U.S. nuclear weapons. In response to this change, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated the Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship (SBSS) program in response to the Fiscal Year 1994 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires, 'in the absence of nuclear testing, a progam to: (1) Support a focused, multifaceted program to increase the understanding of the enduring stockpile; (2) Predict, detect, and evaluate potential problems of the aging of the stockpile; (3) Refurbish and re-manufacture weapons and components, as required; and (4) Maintain the science and engineering institutions needed to support the nation's nuclear deterrent, now and in the future'. This program continues to fulfill its national security mission by adding significant new capabilities for producing scientific results through large-scale computational simulation coupled with careful experimentation, including sub-critical nuclear experiments permitted under the CTBT. To develop the computational science and the computational horsepower needed to support its mission, SBSS initiated the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative, later renamed the Advanced Simulation & Computing (ASC) program (sidebar: 'History of ASC Computing Program Computing Capability'). The modern 3D computational simulation capability of the ASC program supports the assessment and certification of the current nuclear stockpile through calibration with past underground test (UGT) data. While an impressive accomplishment, continued evolution of national security mission requirements will demand computing resources at a significantly greater scale than we have today. In particular, continued observance and potential Senate confirmation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) together with the U.S administration's promise for a significant reduction in the size of the stockpile and the inexorable aging and consequent refurbishment of the stockpile all demand increasing refinement of our computational simulation capabilities. Assessment of the present and future stockpile with increased confidence of the safety and reliability without reliance upon calibration with past or future test data is a long-term goal of the ASC program. This will be accomplished through significant increases in the scientific bases that underlie the computational tools. Computer codes must be developed that replace phenomenology with increased levels of scientific understanding together with an accompanying quantification of uncertainty. These advanced codes will place significantly higher demands on the computing infrastructure than do the current 3D ASC codes. This article discusses not only the need for a future computing capability at the exascale for the SBSS program, but also considers high performance computing requirements for broader national security questions. For example, the increasing concern over potential nuclear terrorist threats demands a capability to assess threats and potential disablement technologies as well as a rapid forensic capability for determining a nuclear weapons design from post-detonation evidence (nuclear counterterrorism).« less

  12. TBEST model enhancements : parcel level demographic data capabilities and exploration of enhanced trip attraction capabilities.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-09-01

    "FDOT, in pursuit of its role to assist in providing public transportation services in Florida, has made a substantial : research investment in a travel demand forecasting tool for public transportation known as Transit Boardings : Estimation and Sim...

  13. Polyethylenimine-based micro/nanoparticles as vaccine adjuvants

    PubMed Central

    Shen, Chen; Li, Jun; Zhang, Yi; Li, Yuce; Shen, Guanxin; Zhu, Jintao; Tao, Juan

    2017-01-01

    Vaccines have shown great success in treating and preventing tumors and infections, while adjuvants are always demanded to ensure potent immune responses. Polyethylenimine (PEI), as one of the well-studied cationic polymers, has been used as a transfection reagent for decades. However, increasing evidence has shown that PEI-based particles are also capable of acting as adjuvants. In this paper, we briefly review the physicochemical properties and the broad applications of PEI in different fields, and elaborate on the intracellular processes of PEI-based vaccines. In addition, we sum up the proof of their in vivo and clinical applications. We also highlight some mechanisms proposed for the intrinsic immunoactivation function of PEI, followed by the challenges and future perspectives of the applications of PEI in the vaccines, as well as some strategies to elicit the desirable immune responses. PMID:28814862

  14. 75 FR 15362 - Demand Response Compensation in Organized Wholesale Energy Markets

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 18 CFR Part 35 [Docket No. RM10-17-000... FERC ] 61,213, PJM Interconnection, LLC, Docket No. EL09-68-000 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Table of... Emergency Demand Response; NYISO's Emergency Demand Response Program; PJM's Emergency Load Response; and ISO...

  15. Auditing the Numeracy Demands of the Australian Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goos, Merrilyn; Dole, Shelley; Geiger, Vince

    2012-01-01

    Numeracy is a general capability to be developed in all learning areas of the Australian Curriculum. We evaluated the numeracy demands of the F-10 curriculum, using a model of numeracy that incorporates mathematical knowledge, dispositions, tools, contexts, and a critical orientation to the use of mathematics. Findings of the history curriculum…

  16. Demand Response and Energy Storage Integration Study

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

    Ma, Ookie; Cheung, Kerry; Olsen, Daniel J.

    2016-03-01

    Demand response and energy storage resources present potentially important sources of bulk power system services that can aid in integrating variable renewable generation. While renewable integration studies have evaluated many of the challenges associated with deploying large amounts of variable wind and solar generation technologies, integration analyses have not yet fully incorporated demand response and energy storage resources. This report represents an initial effort in analyzing the potential integration value of demand response and energy storage, focusing on the western United States. It evaluates two major aspects of increased deployment of demand response and energy storage: (1) Their operational valuemore » in providing bulk power system services and (2) Market and regulatory issues, including potential barriers to deployment.« less

  17. Demand Response and Energy Storage Integration Study

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

    Ma, Ookie; Cheung, Kerry

    Demand response and energy storage resources present potentially important sources of bulk power system services that can aid in integrating variable renewable generation. While renewable integration studies have evaluated many of the challenges associated with deploying large amounts of variable wind and solar generation technologies, integration analyses have not yet fully incorporated demand response and energy storage resources. This report represents an initial effort in analyzing the potential integration value of demand response and energy storage, focusing on the western United States. It evaluates two major aspects of increased deployment of demand response and energy storage: (1) Their operational valuemore » in providing bulk power system services and (2) Market and regulatory issues, including potential barriers to deployment.« less

  18. Three-tier multi-granularity switching system based on PCE

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Yubao; Sun, Hao; Liu, Yanfei

    2017-10-01

    With the growing demand for business communications, electrical signal processing optical path switching can't meet the demand. The multi-granularity switch system that can improve node routing and switching capabilities came into being. In the traditional network, each node is responsible for calculating the path; synchronize the whole network state, which will increase the burden on the network, so the concept of path calculation element (PCE) is proposed. The PCE is responsible for routing and allocating resources in the network1. In the traditional band-switched optical network, the wavelength is used as the basic routing unit, resulting in relatively low wavelength utilization. Due to the limitation of wavelength continuity, the routing design of the band technology becomes complicated, which directly affects the utilization of the system. In this paper, optical code granularity is adopted. There is no continuity of the optical code, and the number of optical codes is more flexible than the wavelength. For the introduction of optical code switching, we propose a Code Group Routing Entity (CGRE) algorithm. In short, the combination of three-tier multi-granularity optical switching system and PCE can simplify the network structure, reduce the node load, and enhance the network scalability and survivability. Realize the intelligentization of optical network.

  19. Pupillary Response to Cognitive Demand in Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Study

    PubMed Central

    Kahya, Melike; Moon, Sanghee; Lyons, Kelly E.; Pahwa, Rajesh; Akinwuntan, Abiodun E.; Devos, Hannes

    2018-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that pupillary response, a physiological measure of cognitive workload, reflects cognitive demand in healthy younger and older adults. However, the relationship between cognitive workload and cognitive demand in Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains unclear. The aim of this pilot study was to examine the pupillary response to cognitive demand in a letter-number sequencing (LNS) task between 16 non-demented individuals with PD (age, median (Q1–Q3): 68 (62–72); 10 males) and 10 control participants (age: 63 (59–67); 2 males), matched for age, education, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) scores. A mixed model analysis was employed to investigate cognitive workload changes as a result of incremental cognitive demand for both groups. As expected, no differences were found in cognitive scores on the LNS between groups. Cognitive workload, exemplified by greater pupil dilation, increased with incremental cognitive demand in both groups (p = 0.003). No significant between-group (p = 0.23) or interaction effects were found (p = 0.45). In addition, individuals who achieved to complete the task at higher letter-number (LN) load responded differently to increased cognitive demand compared with those who completed at lower LN load (p < 0.001), regardless of disease status. Overall, the findings indicated that pupillary response reflects incremental cognitive demand in non-demented people with PD and healthy controls. Further research is needed to investigate the pupillary response to incremental cognitive demand of PD patients with dementia compared to non-demented PD and healthy controls. Highlights -Pupillary response reflects cognitive demand in both non-demented people with PD and healthy controls-Although not significant due to insufficient power, non-demented individuals with PD had increased cognitive workload compared to the healthy controls throughout the testing-Pupillary response may be a valid measure of cognitive demand in non-demented individuals with PD-In future, pupillary response might be used to detect cognitive impairment in individuals with PD PMID:29692720

  20. Spinning Reserve From Hotel Load Response: Initial Progress

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

    Kueck, John D; Kirby, Brendan J

    2008-11-01

    This project was motivated by the fundamental match between hotel space conditioning load response capability and power system contingency response needs. As power system costs rise and capacity is strained demand response can provide a significant system reliability benefit at a potentially attractive cost. At ORNL s suggestion, Digital Solutions Inc. adapted its hotel air conditioning control technology to supply power system spinning reserve. This energy saving technology is primarily designed to provide the hotel operator with the ability to control individual room temperature set-points based upon occupancy (25% to 50% energy savings based on an earlier study [Kirby andmore » Ally, 2002]). DSI added instantaneous local load shedding capability in response to power system frequency and centrally dispatched load shedding capability in response to power system operator command. The 162 room Music Road Hotel in Pigeon Forge Tennessee agreed to host the spinning reserve test. The Tennessee Valley Authority supplied real-time metering equipment in the form of an internet connected Dranetz-BMI power quality meter and monitoring expertise to record total hotel load during both normal operations and test results. The Sevier County Electric System installed the metering. Preliminary testing showed that hotel load can be curtailed by 22% to 37% depending on the outdoor temperature and the time of day. These results are prior to implementing control over the common area air conditioning loads. Testing was also not at times of highest system or hotel loading. Full response occurred in 12 to 60 seconds from when the system operator s command to shed load was issued. The load drop was very rapid, essentially as fast as the 2 second metering could detect, with all units responding essentially simultaneously. Load restoration was ramped back in over several minutes. The restoration ramp can be adjusted to the power system needs. Frequency response testing was not completed. Initial testing showed that the units respond very quickly. Problems with local power quality generated false low frequency signals which required testing to be stopped. This should not be a problem in actual operation since the frequency trip points will be staggered to generate a droop curve which mimics generator governor response. The actual trip frequencies will also be low enough to avoid power quality problems. The actual trip frequencies are too low to generate test events with sufficient regularity to complete testing in a reasonable amount of time. Frequency response testing will resume once the local power quality problem is fully understood and reasonable test frequency settings can be determined. Overall the preliminary testing was extremely successful. The hotel response capability matches the power system reliability need, being faster than generation response and inherently available when the power system is under the most stress (times of high system and hotel load). Periodic testing is scheduled throughout the winter and spring to characterize hotel response capability under a full range of conditions. More extensive testing will resume when summer outdoor temperatures are again high enough to fully test hotel response.« less

  1. Threshold Concepts in Finance: Conceptualizing the Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoadley, Susan; Tickle, Leonie; Wood, Leigh N.; Kyng, Tim

    2015-01-01

    Graduates with well-developed capabilities in finance are invaluable to our society and in increasing demand. Universities face the challenge of designing finance programmes to develop these capabilities and the essential knowledge that underpins them. Our research responds to this challenge by identifying threshold concepts that are central to…

  2. In-Space Manufacturing (ISM): Pioneering Space Exploration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Werkheiser, Niki

    2015-01-01

    ISM Objective: Develop and enable the manufacturing technologies and processes required to provide on-demand, sustainable operations for Exploration Missions. This includes development of the desired capabilities, as well as the required processes for the certification, characterization & verification that will enable these capabilities to become institutionalized via ground-based and ISS demonstrations.

  3. HEAVY-DUTY TRUCK TEST CYCLES: COMBINING DRIVEABILITY WITH REALISTIC ENGINE EXERCISE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Heavy-duty engine certification testing uses a cycle that is scaled to the capabilities of each engine. As such, every engine should be equally challenged by the cycle's power demands. It would seem that a chassis cycle, similarly scaled to the capabilities of each vehicle, could...

  4. Brain circuitries involved in emotional interference task in major depression disorder.

    PubMed

    Chechko, Natalia; Augustin, Marc; Zvyagintsev, Michael; Schneider, Frank; Habel, Ute; Kellermann, Thilo

    2013-07-01

    Emotional and non-emotional Stroop are frequently applied to study major depressive disorder (MDD). The versions of emotional Stroop used in previous studies were not, unlike the ones employed in the present study, based on semantic incongruence, making it difficult to compare the tasks. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the neural and behavioral responses of 18 healthy subjects and 18 subjects with MDD to emotional and non-emotional word-face Stroop tasks based on semantic incompatibility between targets and distractors. In both groups, the distractors triggered significant amounts of interference conflict. A between-groups comparison revealed hypoactivation in MDD during emotional task in areas supporting conflict resolution (lateral prefrontal cortex, parietal and extrastriate cortices) paralleled by increased response in the right amygdala. Response in the amygdala, however, did not vary between conflicting and non-conflicting trials. While in the emotional (compared to non-emotional) task healthy controls showed considerably stronger involvement of networks related to conflict resolution, in patients, the processing differences between the two conflict types were negligible. The patients group was inhomogeneous in terms of medication and clinical characteristics. The number of female participants was higher, due to which gender effects could not be studied or excluded. Whilst healthy controls seemed able to adjust the involvement of the network supporting conflict resolution based on conflict demand, patients appeared to lack this capability. The reduced cortical involvement coupled with increased response of limbic structures might underlie the maladjustment vis-à-vis new demands in depressed mood. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Concerning RNA-guided gene drives for the alteration of wild populations.

    PubMed

    Esvelt, Kevin M; Smidler, Andrea L; Catteruccia, Flaminia; Church, George M

    2014-07-17

    Gene drives may be capable of addressing ecological problems by altering entire populations of wild organisms, but their use has remained largely theoretical due to technical constraints. Here we consider the potential for RNA-guided gene drives based on the CRISPR nuclease Cas9 to serve as a general method for spreading altered traits through wild populations over many generations. We detail likely capabilities, discuss limitations, and provide novel precautionary strategies to control the spread of gene drives and reverse genomic changes. The ability to edit populations of sexual species would offer substantial benefits to humanity and the environment. For example, RNA-guided gene drives could potentially prevent the spread of disease, support agriculture by reversing pesticide and herbicide resistance in insects and weeds, and control damaging invasive species. However, the possibility of unwanted ecological effects and near-certainty of spread across political borders demand careful assessment of each potential application. We call for thoughtful, inclusive, and well-informed public discussions to explore the responsible use of this currently theoretical technology.

  6. SP-100 - The national space reactor power system program in response to future needs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Armijo, J. S.; Josloff, A. T.; Bailey, H. S.; Matteo, D. N.

    The SP-100 system has been designed to meet comprehensive and demanding NASA/DOD/DOE requirements. The key requirements include: nuclear safety for all mission phases, scalability from 10's to 100's of kWe, reliable performance at full power for seven years of partial power for ten years, survivability in civil or military threat environments, capability to operate autonomously for up to six months, capability to protect payloads from excessive radiation, and compatibility with shuttle and expendable launch vehicles. The authors address of major progress in terms of design, flexibility/scalability, survivability, and development. These areas, with the exception of survivability, are discussed in detail. There has been significant improvement in the generic flight system design with substantial mass savings and simplification that enhance performance and reliability. Design activity has confirmed the scalability and flexibility of the system and the ability to efficiently meet NASA, AF, and SDIO needs. SP-100 development continues to make significant progress in all key technology areas.

  7. On-Demand Targeting: Investigating Biology with Proximity-Directed Chemistry

    PubMed Central

    2016-01-01

    Proximity enhancement is a central chemical tenet underpinning an exciting suite of small-molecule toolsets that have allowed us to unravel many biological complexities. The leitmotif of this opus is “tethering”—a strategy in which a multifunctional small molecule serves as a template to bring proteins/biomolecules together. Scaffolding approaches have been powerfully applied to control diverse biological outcomes such as protein–protein association, protein stability, activity, and improve imaging capabilities. A new twist on this strategy has recently appeared, in which the small-molecule probe is engineered to unleash controlled amounts of reactive chemical signals within the microenvironment of a target protein. Modification of a specific target elicits a precisely timed and spatially controlled gain-of-function (or dominant loss-of-function) signaling response. Presented herein is a unique personal outlook conceptualizing the powerful proximity-enhanced chemical biology toolsets into two paradigms: “multifunctional scaffolding” versus “on-demand targeting”. By addressing the latest advances and challenges in the established yet constantly evolving multifunctional scaffolding strategies as well as in the emerging on-demand precision targeting (and related) systems, this Perspective is aimed at choosing when it is best to employ each of the two strategies, with an emphasis toward further promoting novel applications and discoveries stemming from these innovative chemical biology platforms. PMID:26907082

  8. On-Demand Targeting: Investigating Biology with Proximity-Directed Chemistry.

    PubMed

    Long, Marcus J C; Poganik, Jesse R; Aye, Yimon

    2016-03-23

    Proximity enhancement is a central chemical tenet underpinning an exciting suite of small-molecule toolsets that have allowed us to unravel many biological complexities. The leitmotif of this opus is "tethering"-a strategy in which a multifunctional small molecule serves as a template to bring proteins/biomolecules together. Scaffolding approaches have been powerfully applied to control diverse biological outcomes such as protein-protein association, protein stability, activity, and improve imaging capabilities. A new twist on this strategy has recently appeared, in which the small-molecule probe is engineered to unleash controlled amounts of reactive chemical signals within the microenvironment of a target protein. Modification of a specific target elicits a precisely timed and spatially controlled gain-of-function (or dominant loss-of-function) signaling response. Presented herein is a unique personal outlook conceptualizing the powerful proximity-enhanced chemical biology toolsets into two paradigms: "multifunctional scaffolding" versus "on-demand targeting". By addressing the latest advances and challenges in the established yet constantly evolving multifunctional scaffolding strategies as well as in the emerging on-demand precision targeting (and related) systems, this Perspective is aimed at choosing when it is best to employ each of the two strategies, with an emphasis toward further promoting novel applications and discoveries stemming from these innovative chemical biology platforms.

  9. Combat aircraft operations: Training requirements for the German Air Force tactical flying units and the noise problem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jertz, W.

    1992-04-01

    The deterrence potential of an Air Force, and by that the capability to fulfill their mission in times of war, relies on threat oriented training in peacetime. Low level flying is a major tactical means to help aircrews reduce the anticipated threat imposed to them by enemy air defence systems to an acceptable degree. The demand for this capability applies also to air defence tasks against attacking fighter bombers. Military low level flying requires a high degree of proficiency, which can only be reached and maintained by constant training. A high performance level is then the key to air power. The possibilities for this kind of necessary training are restricted by superior demands concerning, amongst others, flying safety and environmental reasons. Too intensive restrictions might reduce the fighting capability of the wings to such an extent, that mission fulfillment could be seriously endangered.

  10. Interoperability of Demand Response Resources Demonstration in NY

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

    Wellington, Andre

    2014-03-31

    The Interoperability of Demand Response Resources Demonstration in NY (Interoperability Project) was awarded to Con Edison in 2009. The objective of the project was to develop and demonstrate methodologies to enhance the ability of customer sited Demand Response resources to integrate more effectively with electric delivery companies and regional transmission organizations.

  11. Opportunities for Energy Efficiency and Open Automated Demand Response in Wastewater Treatment Facilities in California -- Phase I Report

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

    Lekov, Alex; Thompson, Lisa; McKane, Aimee

    This report summarizes the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory?s research to date in characterizing energy efficiency and automated demand response opportunities for wastewater treatment facilities in California. The report describes the characteristics of wastewater treatment facilities, the nature of the wastewater stream, energy use and demand, as well as details of the wastewater treatment process. It also discusses control systems and energy efficiency and automated demand response opportunities. In addition, several energy efficiency and load management case studies are provided for wastewater treatment facilities.This study shows that wastewater treatment facilities can be excellent candidates for open automated demand response and thatmore » facilities which have implemented energy efficiency measures and have centralized control systems are well-suited to shift or shed electrical loads in response to financial incentives, utility bill savings, and/or opportunities to enhance reliability of service. Control technologies installed for energy efficiency and load management purposes can often be adapted for automated demand response at little additional cost. These improved controls may prepare facilities to be more receptive to open automated demand response due to both increased confidence in the opportunities for controlling energy cost/use and access to the real-time data.« less

  12. 29 CFR 20.78 - Notifications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... designee) of the creditor Labor Department agency shall send appropriate written demands to the debtor in... written demands at not more than 30-day intervals will normally be made unless a response to the first or second demand indicates that a further demand would be futile and the debtor's response does not require...

  13. 29 CFR 20.78 - Notifications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... designee) of the creditor Labor Department agency shall send appropriate written demands to the debtor in... written demands at not more than 30-day intervals will normally be made unless a response to the first or second demand indicates that a further demand would be futile and the debtor's response does not require...

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

    Prowell, I.; Elgamal, A.; Romanowitz, H.

    Demand parameters for turbines, such as tower moment demand, are primarily driven by wind excitation and dynamics associated with operation. For that purpose, computational simulation platforms have been developed, such as FAST, maintained by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). For seismically active regions, building codes also require the consideration of earthquake loading. Historically, it has been common to use simple building code approaches to estimate the structural demand from earthquake shaking, as an independent loading scenario. Currently, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) design requirements include the consideration of earthquake shaking while the turbine is operating. Numerical and analytical tools usedmore » to consider earthquake loads for buildings and other static civil structures are not well suited for modeling simultaneous wind and earthquake excitation in conjunction with operational dynamics. Through the addition of seismic loading capabilities to FAST, it is possible to simulate earthquake shaking in the time domain, which allows consideration of non-linear effects such as structural nonlinearities, aerodynamic hysteresis, control system influence, and transients. This paper presents a FAST model of a modern 900-kW wind turbine, which is calibrated based on field vibration measurements. With this calibrated model, both coupled and uncoupled simulations are conducted looking at the structural demand for the turbine tower. Response is compared under the conditions of normal operation and potential emergency shutdown due the earthquake induced vibrations. The results highlight the availability of a numerical tool for conducting such studies, and provide insights into the combined wind-earthquake loading mechanism.« less

  15. Joint Planning Of Energy Storage and Transmission Considering Wind-Storage Combined System and Demand Side Response

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Y.; Liu, B. Z.; Wang, K. Y.; Ai, X.

    2017-12-01

    In response to the new requirements of the operation mode of wind-storage combined system and demand side response for transmission network planning, this paper presents a joint planning of energy storage and transmission considering wind-storage combined system and demand side response. Firstly, the charge-discharge strategy of energy storage system equipped at the outlet of wind farm and demand side response strategy are analysed to achieve the best comprehensive benefits through the coordination of the two. Secondly, in the general transmission network planning model with wind power, both energy storage cost and demand side response cost are added to the objective function. Not only energy storage operation constraints and but also demand side response constraints are introduced into the constraint condition. Based on the classical formulation of TEP, a new formulation is developed considering the simultaneous addition of the charge-discharge strategy of energy storage system equipped at the outlet of the wind farm and demand side response strategy, which belongs to a typical mixed integer linear programming model that can be solved by mature optimization software. The case study based on the Garver-6 bus system shows that the validity of the proposed model is verified by comparison with general transmission network planning model. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the joint planning model can gain more economic benefits through setting up different cases.

  16. Multivariable Sensors for Ubiquitous Monitoring of Gases in the Era of Internet of Things and Industrial Internet.

    PubMed

    Potyrailo, Radislav A

    2016-10-12

    Modern gas monitoring scenarios for medical diagnostics, environmental surveillance, industrial safety, and other applications demand new sensing capabilities. This Review provides analysis of development of new generation of gas sensors based on the multivariable response principles. Design criteria of these individual sensors involve a sensing material with multiresponse mechanisms to different gases and a multivariable transducer with independent outputs to recognize these different gas responses. These new sensors quantify individual components in mixtures, reject interferences, and offer more stable response over sensor arrays. Such performance is attractive when selectivity advantages of classic gas chromatography, ion mobility, and mass spectrometry instruments are canceled by requirements for no consumables, low power, low cost, and unobtrusive form factors for Internet of Things, Industrial Internet, and other applications. This Review is concluded with a perspective for future needs in fundamental and applied aspects of gas sensing and with the 2025 roadmap for ubiquitous gas monitoring.

  17. Building Capability in Small Businesses: Tales from the Training Front

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holden, Rick; Nabi, Ghulam; Gold, Jeff; Robertson, Martyn

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: The UK Government policy for the training and development of its workforce reflects a desire to move towards a more flexible, "demand-led" system. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the outcomes and impact of two, publicly funded initiatives, designed to stimulate and enhance "demand-led" training within the UK's…

  18. Global modelling to predict timber production and prices: the GFPM approach

    Treesearch

    Joseph Buongiorno

    2014-01-01

    Timber production and prices are determined by the global demand for forest products, and the capability of producers from many countries to grow and harvest trees, transform them into products and export. The Global Forest Products Model (GFPM) simulates how this global demand and supply of multiple products among many countries determines prices and attendant...

  19. Renewable Energy Resources Portfolio Optimization in the Presence of Demand Response

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

    Behboodi, Sahand; Chassin, David P.; Crawford, Curran

    In this paper we introduce a simple cost model of renewable integration and demand response that can be used to determine the optimal mix of generation and demand response resources. The model includes production cost, demand elasticity, uncertainty costs, capacity expansion costs, retirement and mothballing costs, and wind variability impacts to determine the hourly cost and revenue of electricity delivery. The model is tested on the 2024 planning case for British Columbia and we find that cost is minimized with about 31% renewable generation. We also find that demand responsive does not have a significant impact on cost at themore » hourly level. The results suggest that the optimal level of renewable resource is not sensitive to a carbon tax or demand elasticity, but it is highly sensitive to the renewable resource installation cost.« less

  20. Status Report on Modelling and Simulation Capabilities for Nuclear-Renewable Hybrid Energy Systems

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

    Rabiti, C.; Epiney, A.; Talbot, P.

    This report summarizes the current status of the modeling and simulation capabilities developed for the economic assessment of Nuclear-Renewable Hybrid Energy Systems (N-R HES). The increasing penetration of variable renewables is altering the profile of the net demand, with which the other generators on the grid have to cope. N-R HES analyses are being conducted to determine the potential feasibility of mitigating the resultant volatility in the net electricity demand by adding industrial processes that utilize either thermal or electrical energy as stabilizing loads. This coordination of energy generators and users is proposed to mitigate the increase in electricity costmore » and cost volatility through the production of a saleable commodity. Overall, the financial performance of a system that is comprised of peaking units (i.e. gas turbine), baseload supply (i.e. nuclear power plant), and an industrial process (e.g. hydrogen plant) should be optimized under the constraint of satisfying an electricity demand profile with a certain level of variable renewable (wind) penetration. The optimization should entail both the sizing of the components/subsystems that comprise the system and the optimal dispatch strategy (output at any given moment in time from the different subsystems). Some of the capabilities here described have been reported separately in [1, 2, 3]. The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the improvement and extension of those capabilities and to illustrate their integrated application in the economic assessment of N-R HES.« less

  1. NASA SensorWeb and OGC Standards for Disaster Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mandl, Dan

    2010-01-01

    I. Goal: Enable user to cost-effectively find and create customized data products to help manage disasters; a) On-demand; b) Low cost and non-specialized tools such as Google Earth and browsers; c) Access via open network but with sufficient security. II. Use standards to interface various sensors and resultant data: a) Wrap sensors in Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards; b) Wrap data processing algorithms and servers with OGC standards c) Use standardized workflows to orchestrate and script the creation of these data; products. III. Target Web 2.0 mass market: a) Make it simple and easy to use; b) Leverage new capabilities and tools that are emerging; c) Improve speed and responsiveness.

  2. Transactive Systems Simulation and Valuation Platform Trial Analysis

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

    Widergren, Steven E.; Hammerstrom, Donald J.; Huang, Qiuhua

    Transactive energy systems use principles of value to coordinate responsive supply and demand in energy systems. Work continues within the Transactive Systems Program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to understand the value of, understand the theory behind, and simulate the behaviors of transactive energy systems. This report summarizes recent advances made by this program. The main capability advances include a more comprehensive valuation model, including recommended documentation that should make valuation studies of all sorts more transparent, definition of economic metrics with which transactive mechanisms can be evaluated, and multiple improvementsmore » to the time-simulation environment that is being used to evaluate transactive scenarios.« less

  3. Using the PhysX engine for physics-based virtual surgery with force feedback.

    PubMed

    Maciel, Anderson; Halic, Tansel; Lu, Zhonghua; Nedel, Luciana P; De, Suvranu

    2009-09-01

    The development of modern surgical simulators is highly challenging, as they must support complex simulation environments. The demand for higher realism in such simulators has driven researchers to adopt physics-based models, which are computationally very demanding. This poses a major problem, since real-time interactions must permit graphical updates of 30 Hz and a much higher rate of 1 kHz for force feedback (haptics). Recently several physics engines have been developed which offer multi-physics simulation capabilities, including rigid and deformable bodies, cloth and fluids. While such physics engines provide unique opportunities for the development of surgical simulators, their higher latencies, compared to what is necessary for real-time graphics and haptics, offer significant barriers to their use in interactive simulation environments. In this work, we propose solutions to this problem and demonstrate how a multimodal surgical simulation environment may be developed based on NVIDIA's PhysX physics library. Hence, models that are undergoing relatively low-frequency updates in PhysX can exist in an environment that demands much higher frequency updates for haptics. We use a collision handling layer to interface between the physical response provided by PhysX and the haptic rendering device to provide both real-time tissue response and force feedback. Our simulator integrates a bimanual haptic interface for force feedback and per-pixel shaders for graphics realism in real time. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we present the simulation of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) procedure as a case study. To develop complex and realistic surgical trainers with realistic organ geometries and tissue properties demands stable physics-based deformation methods, which are not always compatible with the interaction level required for such trainers. We have shown that combining different modelling strategies for behaviour, collision and graphics is possible and desirable. Such multimodal environments enable suitable rates to simulate the major steps of the LAGB procedure.

  4. Automated Demand Response for Energy Sustainability

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-05-01

    project’s stated performance objectives. Emerging opportunities to participate in wholesale electricity markets can provide important economic, energy, and...Response in Wholesale Electricity Markets ..................................................... 7 Figure 5. Demand Bidding Communication and Control...resource in response to market or reliability conditions Demand Bidding Program DR programs that encourage customers to bid into an electricity market

  5. Industrial Scale Energy Systems Integration; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

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

    Ruth, Mark

    2015-07-28

    The industrial sector consumes 25% of the total energy in the U.S. and produces 18% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Energy Systems Integration (ESI) opportunities can reduce those values and increase the profitability of that sector. This presentation outlines several options. Combined heat and power (CHP) is an option that is available today for many applications. In some cases, it can be extended to trigeneration by adding absorbtion cooling. Demand response is another option in use by the industrial sector - in 2012, industry provided 47% of demand response capacity. A longer term option that combines the benefits ofmore » CHP with those of demand response is hybrid energy systems (HESs). Two possible HESs are described and development implications discussed. extended to trigeneration by adding absorbtion cooling. Demand response is another option in use by the industrial sector - in 2012, industry provided 47% of demand response capacity. A longer term option that combines the benefits of CHP with those of demand response is hybrid energy systems (HESs). Two possible HESs are described and development implications discussed.« less

  6. Capability and dependency in the Newcastle 85+ cohort study. Projections of future care needs

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Little is known of the capabilities of the oldest old, the fastest growing age group in the population. We aimed to estimate capability and dependency in a cohort of 85 year olds and to project future demand for care. Methods Structured interviews at age 85 with 841 people born in 1921 and living in Newcastle and North Tyneside, UK who were permanently registered with participating general practices. Measures of capability included were self-reported activities of daily living (ADL), timed up and go test (TUG), standardised mini-mental state examination (SMMSE), and assessment of urinary continence in order to classify interval-need dependency. To project future demand for care the proportion needing 24-hour care was applied to the 2008 England and Wales population projections of those aged 80 years and over by gender. Results Of participants, 62% (522/841) were women, 77% (651/841) lived in standard housing, 13% (106/841) in sheltered housing and 10% (84/841) in a care home. Overall, 20% (165/841) reported no difficulty with any of the ADLs. Men were more capable in performing ADLs and more independent than women. TUG validated self-reported ADLs. When classified by 'interval of need' 41% (332/810) were independent, 39% (317/810) required help less often than daily, 12% (94/810) required help at regular times of the day and 8% (67/810) required 24-hour care. Of care-home residents, 94% (77/82) required daily help or 24-hour care. Future need for 24-hour care for people aged 80 years or over in England and Wales is projected to increase by 82% from 2010 to 2030 with a demand for 630,000 care-home places by 2030. Conclusions This analysis highlights the diversity of capability and levels of dependency in this cohort. A remarkably high proportion remain independent, particularly men. However a significant proportion of this population require 24-hour care at home or in care homes. Projections for the next 20 years suggest substantial increases in the number requiring 24-hour care due to population ageing and a proportionate increase in demand for care-home places unless innovative health and social care interventions are found. PMID:21542901

  7. Strategic Sourcing of R&D: The Determinants of Success

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brook, Jacques W.; Plugge, Albert

    The outsourcing of the R&D function is an emerging practice of corporate firms. In their attempt to reduce the increasing cost of research and technology development, firms are strategically outsourcing the R&D function or repositioning their internal R&D organisation. By doing so, they are able to benefit from other technology sources around the world. So far, there is only limited research on how firms develop their R&D sourcing strategies and how these strategies are implemented. This study aims to identify which determinants contribute to the success of R&D sourcing strategies. The results of our empirical research indicate that a clear vision of how to manage innovation strategically on a corporate level is a determinant of an effective R&D strategy. Moreover, our findings revealed that the R&D sourcing strategy influences a firm's sourcing capabilities. These sourcing capabilities need to be developed to manage the demand as well as the supply of R&D services. The alignment between the demand capabilities and the supply capabilities contributes to the success of R&D sourcing.

  8. Study on new energy development planning and absorptive capability of Xinjiang in China considering resource characteristics and demand prediction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shao, Hai; Miao, Xujuan; Liu, Jinpeng; Wu, Meng; Zhao, Xuehua

    2018-02-01

    Xinjiang, as the area where wind energy and solar energy resources are extremely rich, with good resource development characteristics, can provide a support for regional power development and supply protection. This paper systematically analyzes the new energy resource and development characteristics of Xinjiang and carries out the demand prediction and excavation of load characteristics of Xinjiang power market. Combing the development plan of new energy of Xinjiang and considering the construction of transmission channel, it analyzes the absorptive capability of new energy. It provides certain reference for the comprehensive planning of new energy development in Xinjiang and the improvement of absorptive capacity of new energy.

  9. The Role of Demand Response in Reducing Water-Related Power Plant Vulnerabilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Macknick, J.; Brinkman, G.; Zhou, E.; O'Connell, M.; Newmark, R. L.; Miara, A.; Cohen, S. M.

    2015-12-01

    The electric sector depends on readily available water supplies for reliable and efficient operation. Elevated water temperatures or low water levels can trigger regulatory or plant-level decisions to curtail power generation, which can affect system cost and reliability. In the past decade, dozens of power plants in the U.S. have curtailed generation due to water temperatures and water shortages. Curtailments occur during the summer, when temperatures are highest and there is greatest demand for electricity. Climate change could alter the availability and temperature of water resources, exacerbating these issues. Constructing alternative cooling systems to address vulnerabilities can be capital intensive and can also affect power plant efficiencies. Demand response programs are being implemented by electric system planners and operators to reduce and shift electricity demands from peak usage periods to other times of the day. Demand response programs can also play a role in reducing water-related power sector vulnerabilities during summer months. Traditionally, production cost modeling and demand response analyses do not include water resources. In this effort, we integrate an electricity production cost modeling framework with water-related impacts on power plants in a test system to evaluate the impacts of demand response measures on power system costs and reliability. Specifically, we i) quantify the cost and reliability implications of incorporating water resources into production cost modeling, ii) evaluate the impacts of demand response measures on reducing system costs and vulnerabilities, and iii) consider sensitivity analyses with cooling systems to highlight a range of potential benefits of demand response measures. Impacts from climate change on power plant performance and water resources are discussed. Results provide key insights to policymakers and practitioners for reducing water-related power plant vulnerabilities via lower cost methods.

  10. Transportation Energy Futures Series: Freight Transportation Demand: Energy-Efficient Scenarios for a Low-Carbon Future

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

    Grenzeback, L. R.; Brown, A.; Fischer, M. J.

    2013-03-01

    Freight transportation demand is projected to grow to 27.5 billion tons in 2040, and to nearly 30.2 billion tons in 2050. This report describes the current and future demand for freight transportation in terms of tons and ton-miles of commodities moved by truck, rail, water, pipeline, and air freight carriers. It outlines the economic, logistics, transportation, and policy and regulatory factors that shape freight demand, the trends and 2050 outlook for these factors, and their anticipated effect on freight demand. After describing federal policy actions that could influence future freight demand, the report then summarizes the capabilities of available analyticalmore » models for forecasting freight demand. This is one in a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency effort to pinpoint underexplored strategies for reducing GHGs and petroleum dependence related to transportation.« less

  11. 78 FR 21928 - Demand Response Coalition v. PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.; Notice of Complaint

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. EL13-57-000] Demand Response Coalition v. PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.; Notice of Complaint Take notice that on April 3, 2013, pursuant to... Demand Response Coalition \\1\\ (Complainant) filed a formal complaint against the PJM Interconnection, L.L...

  12. Sensor Management for Applied Research Technologies (SMART)-On Demand Modeling (ODM) Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goodman, M.; Blakeslee, R.; Hood, R.; Jedlovec, G.; Botts, M.; Li, X.

    2006-01-01

    NASA requires timely on-demand data and analysis capabilities to enable practical benefits of Earth science observations. However, a significant challenge exists in accessing and integrating data from multiple sensors or platforms to address Earth science problems because of the large data volumes, varying sensor scan characteristics, unique orbital coverage, and the steep learning curve associated with each sensor and data type. The development of sensor web capabilities to autonomously process these data streams (whether real-time or archived) provides an opportunity to overcome these obstacles and facilitate the integration and synthesis of Earth science data and weather model output. A three year project, entitled Sensor Management for Applied Research Technologies (SMART) - On Demand Modeling (ODM), will develop and demonstrate the readiness of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) capabilities that integrate both Earth observations and forecast model output into new data acquisition and assimilation strategies. The advancement of SWE-enabled systems (i.e., use of SensorML, sensor planning services - SPS, sensor observation services - SOS, sensor alert services - SAS and common observation model protocols) will have practical and efficient uses in the Earth science community for enhanced data set generation, real-time data assimilation with operational applications, and for autonomous sensor tasking for unique data collection.

  13. Demand Intensity, Market Parameters and Policy Responses towards Demand and Supply of Private Supplementary Tutoring in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kwok, Percy Lai Yin

    2010-01-01

    Based on some longitudinal studies of private tutoring in twelve cities, towns, municipalities and provinces of China, the paper endeavours to depict demand intensity, articulate market parameters and reflect on policy responses towards the demand-supply mechanism of the vast shadowy educational phenomena at primary and secondary levels. Such…

  14. Integrated Platform for Automated Sustainable Demand Response in Smart Grids

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

    Zois, Vassilis; Frincu, Marc; Prasanna, Viktor K.

    2014-10-08

    Demand Response(DR) is a common practice used by utility providers to regulate energy demand. It is used at periods of high demand to minimize the peak to average consumption ratio. Several methods have been Demand Response(DR) is a common praon using information about the baseline consumption and the consumption during DR. Our goal is to provide a sustainable reduction to ensure the elimination of peaks in demand. The proposed system includes an adaptation mechanism for when the provided solution does not meet the DR requirements. We conducted a series of experiments using consumption data from a real life micro gridmore » to evaluate the efficiency as well as the robustness of our solution.« less

  15. Internal Drivers of External Flexibility: A Detailed Analysis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-08-14

    example, order processing within a supplier’s firm is a competence. Meeting customer demand by providing a consistent delivery schedule is a capability...Focus interview on the following logistics areas: a. order processing b. inventory c. transportation d. warehousing, materials handling...demands. In logistics, superior service depends upon order processing (Byrne and Markham 1991); quality of contact personnel (Innis and LaLonde 1994

  16. Why Can't We Have It All? The Conflict between the Principalship and Motherhood

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jordan, Jacqueline S.

    2012-01-01

    Being a principal in today's high-stakes environment is a highly demanding job. Much has been written about the stress principals now face in responding to the increased demands and pressures associated with the role. Districts nationwide continue go to great lengths to find administrators of the highest caliber capable of meeting these…

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

    Marks, Gary; Wilcox, Edmund; Olsen, Daniel

    California agricultural irrigation consumes more than ten billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually and has significant potential for contributing to a reduction of stress on the grid through demand response, permanent load shifting, and energy efficiency measures. To understand this potential, a scoping study was initiated for the purpose of determining the associated opportunities, potential, and adoption challenges in California agricultural irrigation. The primary research for this study was conducted in two ways. First, data was gathered and parsed from published sources that shed light on where the best opportunities for load shifting and demand response lie within the agriculturalmore » irrigation sector. Secondly, a small limited survey was conducted as informal face-to-face interviews with several different California growers to get an idea of their ability and willingness to participate in permanent load shifting and/or demand response programs. Analysis of the data obtained from published sources and the survey reveal demand response and permanent load shifting opportunities by growing region, irrigation source, irrigation method, grower size, and utility coverage. The study examines some solutions for demand response and permanent load shifting in agricultural irrigation, which include adequate irrigation system capacity, automatic controls, variable frequency drives, and the contribution from energy efficiency measures. The study further examines the potential and challenges for grower acceptance of demand response and permanent load shifting in California agricultural irrigation. As part of the examination, the study considers to what extent permanent load shifting, which is already somewhat accepted within the agricultural sector, mitigates the need or benefit of demand response for agricultural irrigation. Recommendations for further study include studies on how to gain grower acceptance of demand response as well as other related studies such as conducting a more comprehensive survey of California growers.« less

  18. Advanced Atmospheric Modeling for Emergency Response.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fast, Jerome D.; O'Steen, B. Lance; Addis, Robert P.

    1995-03-01

    Atmospheric transport and diffusion models are an important part of emergency response systems for industrial facilities that have the potential to release significant quantities of toxic or radioactive material into the atmosphere. An advanced atmospheric transport and diffusion modeling system for emergency response and environmental applications, based upon a three-dimensional mesoscale model, has been developed for the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site so that complex, time-dependent flow fields not explicitly measured can be routinely simulated. To overcome some of the current computational demands of mesoscale models, two operational procedures for the advanced atmospheric transport and diffusion modeling system are described including 1) a semiprognostic calculation to produce high-resolution wind fields for local pollutant transport in the vicinity of the Savannah River Site and 2) a fully prognostic calculation to produce a regional wind field encompassing the southeastern United States for larger-scale pollutant problems. Local and regional observations and large-scale model output are used by the mesoscale model for the initial conditions, lateral boundary conditions, and four-dimensional data assimilation procedure. This paper describes the current status of the modeling system and presents two case studies demonstrating the capabilities of both modes of operation. While the results from the case studies shown in this paper are preliminary and certainly not definitive, they do suggest that the mesoscale model has the potential for improving the prognostic capabilities of atmospheric modeling for emergency response at the Savannah River Site. Long-term model evaluation will be required to determine under what conditions significant forecast errors exist.

  19. Modeling of GE Appliances: Cost Benefit Study of Smart Appliances in Wholesale Energy, Frequency Regulation, and Spinning Reserve Markets

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

    Fuller, Jason C.; Parker, Graham B.

    This report is the second in a series of three reports describing the potential of GE’s DR-enabled appliances to provide benefits to the utility grid. The first report described the modeling methodology used to represent the GE appliances in the GridLAB-D simulation environment and the estimated potential for peak demand reduction at various deployment levels. The third report will explore the technical capability of aggregated group actions to positively impact grid stability, including frequency and voltage regulation and spinning reserves, and the impacts on distribution feeder voltage regulation, including mitigation of fluctuations caused by high penetration of photovoltaic distributed generation.more » In this report, a series of analytical methods were presented to estimate the potential cost benefit of smart appliances while utilizing demand response. Previous work estimated the potential technical benefit (i.e., peak reduction) of smart appliances, while this report focuses on the monetary value of that participation. The effects on wholesale energy cost and possible additional revenue available by participating in frequency regulation and spinning reserve markets were explored.« less

  20. A novel percussion type droplet-on-demand generator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hussain, Taaha; Patel, Priyesh; Balachandran, Ramanarayanan; Ladommatos, Nicos

    2015-01-01

    Numerous engineering applications require generation of droplets on demand which are of high uniformity and constant size. The common method to produce droplets is to drive liquid at high pressure through a small orifice/nozzle. The liquid stream disintegrates into small droplets. However this method normally requires large volumes of liquid and is not suitable for applications where single droplets of constant size is required. Such applications require droplet-on-demand generators which commonly employ piezoelectric or pneumatic actuation. It is well known that piezoelectric generators are hard to employ at high pressure and, high temperature applications, and the pneumatic generators often produce satellite (secondary) droplets. This paper describes the development of a novel percussion type droplet-on-demand generator, which overcomes some of the above difficulties and is capable of producing single droplets on demand. The generator consists of a cylindrical liquid filled chamber with a small orifice at the bottom. The top of the chamber is covered with a thin flexible metal disc. A small metal pin is employed to hammer/impact the top metal surface to generate a pressure pulse inside the liquid chamber. The movement and the momentum of the metal pin are controlled using a solenoid device. The pressure pulse generated overcomes the surface tension of the liquid meniscus at the exit of the orifice and ejects a single droplet. The work presented in this paper will demonstrate the capabilities of the droplet generator.

  1. 12 CFR 602.24 - Responses to demands served on non-FCA employees or entities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Responses to demands served on non-FCA employees or entities. 602.24 Section 602.24 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE... Not a Named Party § 602.24 Responses to demands served on non-FCA employees or entities. If you are...

  2. Demonstration of Four Operating Capabilities to Enable a Small Aircraft Transportation System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Viken, Sally A.; Brooks, Frederick M.

    2005-01-01

    The Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) project has been a five-year effort fostering research and development that could lead to the transformation of our country s air transportation system. It has become evident that our commercial air transportation system is reaching its peak in terms of capacity, with numerous delays in the system and the demand keeps steadily increasing. The SATS vision is to increase mobility in our nation s transportation system by expanding access to more than 3400 small community airports that are currently under-utilized. The SATS project has focused its efforts on four key operating capabilities that have addressed new emerging technologies and procedures to pave the way for a new way of air travel. The four key operating capabilities are: Higher Volume Operations at Non-Towered/Non-Radar Airports, En Route Procedures and Systems for Integrated Fleet Operations, Lower Landing Minimums at Minimally Equipped Landing Facilities, and Increased Single Pilot Performance. These four capabilities are key to enabling low-cost, on-demand, point-to-point transportation of goods and passengers utilizing small aircraft operating from small airports. The focus of this paper is to discuss the technical and operational feasibility of the four operating capabilities and demonstrate how they can enable a small aircraft transportation system.

  3. Research on electricity market operation mechanism and its benefit of demand side participation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Shuai; Yan, Xu; Qin, Li-juan; Lin, Xi-qiao; Zeng, Bo

    2017-08-01

    Demand response plays an important role in maintaining the economic stability of the system, and has the characteristics of high efficiency, low cost, fast response, good environmental benefits and so on. Demand side resource is an important part of electricity market. The research of demand side resources in our country is still in the initial stage, but the opening of the electricity sales side provides a broad prospect for the development of electricity market. This paper summarizes the main types of demand side resources in our country, analyzes the economic principle of demand response from the micro perspective, puts forward some suggestions on the operation mechanism of China’s demand side resources participating in the electricity market under the condition of electricity sales side opening, analyzes the current situation of pricing in the electricity wholesale market and sets up the pricing strategy of the centralized wholesale market with the demand side power supply participating in quotation, which makes the social and economic benefits reach the maximum.

  4. Aggregate modeling of fast-acting demand response and control under real-time pricing

    DOE PAGES

    Chassin, David P.; Rondeau, Daniel

    2016-08-24

    This paper develops and assesses the performance of a short-term demand response (DR) model for utility load control with applications to resource planning and control design. Long term response models tend to underestimate short-term demand response when induced by prices. This has two important consequences. First, planning studies tend to undervalue DR and often overlook its benefits in utility demand management program development. Second, when DR is not overlooked, the open-loop DR control gain estimate may be too low. This can result in overuse of load resources, control instability and excessive price volatility. Our objective is therefore to develop amore » more accurate and better performing short-term demand response model. We construct the model from first principles about the nature of thermostatic load control and show that the resulting formulation corresponds exactly to the Random Utility Model employed in economics to study consumer choice. The model is tested against empirical data collected from field demonstration projects and is shown to perform better than alternative models commonly used to forecast demand in normal operating conditions. Finally, the results suggest that (1) existing utility tariffs appear to be inadequate to incentivize demand response, particularly in the presence of high renewables, and (2) existing load control systems run the risk of becoming unstable if utilities close the loop on real-time prices.« less

  5. Aggregate modeling of fast-acting demand response and control under real-time pricing

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

    Chassin, David P.; Rondeau, Daniel

    This paper develops and assesses the performance of a short-term demand response (DR) model for utility load control with applications to resource planning and control design. Long term response models tend to underestimate short-term demand response when induced by prices. This has two important consequences. First, planning studies tend to undervalue DR and often overlook its benefits in utility demand management program development. Second, when DR is not overlooked, the open-loop DR control gain estimate may be too low. This can result in overuse of load resources, control instability and excessive price volatility. Our objective is therefore to develop amore » more accurate and better performing short-term demand response model. We construct the model from first principles about the nature of thermostatic load control and show that the resulting formulation corresponds exactly to the Random Utility Model employed in economics to study consumer choice. The model is tested against empirical data collected from field demonstration projects and is shown to perform better than alternative models commonly used to forecast demand in normal operating conditions. Finally, the results suggest that (1) existing utility tariffs appear to be inadequate to incentivize demand response, particularly in the presence of high renewables, and (2) existing load control systems run the risk of becoming unstable if utilities close the loop on real-time prices.« less

  6. Aggregate modeling of fast-acting demand response and control under real-time pricing

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

    Chassin, David P.; Rondeau, Daniel

    This paper develops and assesses the performance of a short-term demand response (DR) model for utility load control with applications to resource planning and control design. Long term response models tend to underestimate short-term demand response when induced by prices. This has two important consequences. First, planning studies tend to undervalue DR and often overlook its benefits in utility demand management program development. Second, when DR is not overlooked, the open-loop DR control gain estimate may be too low. This can result in overuse of load resources, control instability and excessive price volatility. Our objective is therefore to develop amore » more accurate and better performing short-term demand response model. We construct the model from first principles about the nature of thermostatic load control and show that the resulting formulation corresponds exactly to the Random Utility Model employed in economics to study consumer choice. The model is tested against empirical data collected from field demonstration projects and is shown to perform better than alternative models commonly used to forecast demand in normal operating conditions. The results suggest that (1) existing utility tariffs appear to be inadequate to incentivize demand response, particularly in the presence of high renewables, and (2) existing load control systems run the risk of becoming unstable if utilities close the loop on real-time prices.« less

  7. XMM-Newton On-demand Reprocessing Using SaaS Technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ibarra, A.; Fajersztejn, N.; Loiseau, N.; Gabriel, C.

    2014-05-01

    We present here the architectural design of the new on-the-fly reprocessing capabilities that will be soon developed and implemented in the new XMM-Newton Science Operation Centre. The inclusion of processing capabilities into the archive, as we plan, will be possible thanks to the recent refurbishment of the XMM-Newton science archive, its alignment with the latest web technologies and the XMM-Newton Remote Interface for Science Analysis (RISA), a revolutionary idea of providing processing capabilities through internet services.

  8. The FAA Plans and Programs for the Future Airport and Air Traffic control System.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-11-13

    for system improvements and innovation so as to permit evolution to new capabilities in a timely fashion. o To reduce negative impacts of aviation on...demand pattern which tends to bunch arrivals and departures in blocks providing the capability to interchange connecting passengers in a high level of...phased in over the next 5 to 7 years. It will introduce a number of new capabilities which will utltimately provide specialists with rapid access to

  9. Analysis of United States Marine Corps Operations in Support of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-12-01

    reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of...capabilities of the USMC MEU that satisfy demands arising from natural disasters. We follow the humanitarian and military core competencies framework for...satisfy demands arising from natural disasters. We follow the humanitarian and military core competencies framework for studying the USMC

  10. Leadership Principles for the New ADP 6-22

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-05-17

    elastic enough to admit mutation in accordance with change in circumstance. In its ultimate relationship to human understanding this central idea or...dispersion characteristic of modern warfare. The emptiness of the battlefield demands independently thinking and acting fighters who exploit each...constantly changing • Demands on them commensurate with their capabilities – not to small, not too great • That their good work be recognized, and

  11. US space flight experience. Physical exertion and metabolic demand of extravehicular activity: Past, present, and future

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, Thomas P.

    1989-01-01

    A review of physical exertion and metabolic demands of extravehicular activity (EVA) on U.S. astronauts is given. Information is given on EVA during Gemini, Apollo and Skylab missions. It is noted that nominal EVA's should not be overstressful from a cardiovascular standpoint; that manual-intensive EVA's such as are planned for the construction phase of the Space Station can and will be demanding from a muscular standpoint, primarily for the upper extremities; that off-nominal unplanned EVA's can be physically demanding both from an endurance and from a muscular standpoint; and that crewmembers should be physically prepared and capable of performing these EVA's at any time during the mission.

  12. Load-Following Power Timeline Analyses for the International Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fincannon, James; Delleur, Ann; Green, Robert; Hojnicki, Jeffrey

    1996-01-01

    Spacecraft are typically complex assemblies of interconnected systems and components that have highly time-varying thermal communications, and power requirements. It is essential that systems designers be able to assess the capability of the spacecraft to meet these requirements which should represent a realistic projection of demand for these resources once the vehicle is on-orbit. To accomplish the assessment from the power standpoint, a computer code called ECAPS has been developed at NASA Lewis Research Center that performs a load-driven analysis of a spacecraft power system given time-varying distributed loading and other mission data. This program is uniquely capable of synthesizing all of the changing spacecraft conditions into a single, seamless analysis for a complete mission. This paper presents example power load timelines with which numerous data are integrated to provide a realistic assessment of the load-following capabilities of the power system. Results of analyses show how well the power system can meet the time-varying power resource demand.

  13. Quantum cascade lasers for defense and security

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Day, Timothy; Pushkarsky, Michael; Caffey, Dave; Cecchetti, Kristen; Arp, Ron; Whitmore, Alex; Henson, Michael; Takeuchi, Eric B.

    2013-10-01

    Quantum cascade laser (QCL) systems are mature and at the vanguard of a new generation of products that support military applications such as Infrared Countermeasures (IRCM) and targeting. The demanding product requirements for aircraft platforms that include reduced size, weight, power consumption and cost (SWaP-C) extends to portable, battery powered handheld products. QCL technology operates throughout the mid-wave (MWIR) and long-wave (LWIR) infrared to provide new capabilities that leverage existing thermal imaging cameras. In addition to their suitability for aircraft platforms, QCL products are a natural fit to meet operator demands for small, lightweight pointer and beacon capabilities. Field-testing of high power, lightweight, battery operated devices has demonstrated their utility across a range of air and ground applications. This talk will present an overview of QCL technology and the Defense and Security products and capabilities that are enabled by it. This talk will also provide an overview of the extensive environmental and performance testing associated with products based on QCL technology.

  14. Data Mining for Understanding and Impriving Decision-Making Affecting Ground Delay Programs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kulkarni, Deepak; Wang, Yao Xun; Sridhar, Banavar

    2013-01-01

    The continuous growth in the demand for air transportation results in an imbalance between airspace capacity and traffic demand. The airspace capacity of a region depends on the ability of the system to maintain safe separation between aircraft in the region. In addition to growing demand, the airspace capacity is severely limited by convective weather. During such conditions, traffic managers at the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) and dispatchers at various Airlines' Operations Center (AOC) collaborate to mitigate the demand-capacity imbalance caused by weather. The end result is the implementation of a set of Traffic Flow Management (TFM) initiatives such as ground delay programs, reroute advisories, flow metering, and ground stops. Data Mining is the automated process of analyzing large sets of data and then extracting patterns in the data. Data mining tools are capable of predicting behaviors and future trends, allowing an organization to benefit from past experience in making knowledge-driven decisions. The work reported in this paper is focused on ground delay programs. Data mining algorithms have the potential to develop associations between weather patterns and the corresponding ground delay program responses. If successful, they can be used to improve and standardize TFM decision resulting in better predictability of traffic flows on days with reliable weather forecasts. The approach here seeks to develop a set of data mining and machine learning models and apply them to historical archives of weather observations and forecasts and TFM initiatives to determine the extent to which the theory can predict and explain the observed traffic flow behaviors.

  15. Water stress, water salience, and the implications for water supply planning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia, M. E.; Islam, S.

    2017-12-01

    Effectively addressing the water supply challenges posed by urbanization and climate change requires a holistic understanding of the water supply system, including the impact of human behavior on system dynamics. Decision makers have limits to available information and information processing capacity, and their attention is not equally distributed among risks. The salience of a given risk is higher when increased attention is directed to it and though perceived risk may increase, real risk does not change. Relevant to water supply planning is how and when water stress results in an increased salience of water risks. This work takes a socio-hydrological approach to develop a water supply planning model that includes water consumption as an endogenous variable, in the context of Las Vegas, NV. To understand the benefits and limitations of this approach, this model is compared to a traditional planning model that uses water consumption scenarios. Both models are applied to project system reliability and water stress under four streamflow and demographic scenarios, and to assess supply side responses to changing conditions. The endogenous demand model enables the identification of feedback between both supply and demand management decisions on future water consumption and system performance. This model, while specific to the Las Vegas case, demonstrates a prototypical modeling framework capable of examining water-supply demand interactions by incorporating water stress driven conservation.

  16. Electrodeposited gels prepared from protein alloys

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Yinan; Wang, Siran; Chen, Ying; Wang, Qianrui; Burke, Kelly A; Spedden, Elise M; Staii, Cristian; Weiss, Anthony S; Kaplan, David L

    2015-01-01

    Aim Silk-tropoelastin alloys, composed of recombinant human tropoelastin and regenerated Bombyx mori silk fibroin, are an emerging, versatile class of biomaterials endowed with tunable combinations of physical and biological properties. Electrodeposition of these alloys provides a programmable means to assemble functional gels with both spatial and temporal controllability. Materials & methods Tropoelastin-modified silk was prepared by enzymatic coupling between tyrosine residues. Hydrogel coatings were electrodeposited using two wire electrodes. Results & discussion Mechanical characterization and in vitro cell culture revealed enhanced adhesive capability and cellular response of these alloy gels as compared with electrogelled silk alone. Conclusion These electro-depositable silk-tropoelastin alloys constitute a suitable coating material for nanoparticle-based drug carriers and offer a novel opportunity for on-demand encapsulation/release of nanomedicine. PMID:25816881

  17. What Can Ethobehavioral Studies Tell Us About The Brain’s Fear System?

    PubMed Central

    Pellman, Blake A.; Kim, Jeansok J.

    2016-01-01

    Foraging-associated predation risk is a natural problem all prey must face. Fear evolved due to its protective functions, guiding and shaping behaviors that help animals adapt to various ecological challenges. Despite the breadth of risky situations in nature that demand diversity in fear behaviors, contemporary neurobiological models of fear stem largely from Pavlovian fear conditioning studies that focus on how a particular cue becomes capable of eliciting learned fear responses, thus oversimplifying the brain’s fear system. Here we review fear from functional, mechanistic, and phylogenetic perspectives where environmental threats cause animals to alter their foraging strategies in terms of spatial and temporal navigation, and discuss whether the inferences we draw from fear conditioning studies operate in the natural world. PMID:27130660

  18. Demands on attention and the role of response priming in visual discrimination of feature conjunctions.

    PubMed

    Fournier, Lisa R; Herbert, Rhonda J; Farris, Carrie

    2004-10-01

    This study examined how response mapping of features within single- and multiple-feature targets affects decision-based processing and attentional capacity demands. Observers judged the presence or absence of 1 or 2 target features within an object either presented alone or with distractors. Judging the presence of 2 features relative to the less discriminable of these features alone was faster (conjunction benefits) when the task-relevant features differed in discriminability and were consistently mapped to responses. Conjunction benefits were attributed to asynchronous decision priming across attended, task-relevant dimensions. A failure to find conjunction benefits for disjunctive conjunctions was attributed to increased memory demands and variable feature-response mapping for 2- versus single-feature targets. Further, attentional demands were similar between single- and 2-feature targets when response mapping, memory demands, and discriminability of the task-relevant features were equated between targets. Implications of the findings for recent attention models are discussed. (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved

  19. Upper limb performance and the structuring of joint movement in teenagers with cerebral palsy: the reciprocal role of task demands and action capabilities.

    PubMed

    Figueiredo, Priscilla Rezende Pereira; Silva, Paula Lanna; Avelar, Bruna Silva; da Fonseca, Sérgio Teixeira; Bootsma, Reinoud J; Mancini, Marisa Cotta

    2015-04-01

    Individuals with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) demonstrate reduced performance in upper limb tasks compared to typically developing (TD) peers. We examined whether task conditions modify differences between teenagers with and without CP during a reciprocal aiming task. Twenty teenagers (nine CP and 11 TD) moved a pointer between two targets as fast as possible without missing a target. Task conditions were manipulated by changing the targets' size, by modifying the inertial properties of the pointer and by varying the upper limb used to perform the task (preferred/non-affected and non-preferred/affected upper limbs). While compared to TD peers, CP teenagers exhibited lower performance (longer movement times). Such differences were attenuated when the task was performed with the preferred upper limb and when accuracy requirements were less stringent. CP teenagers were not differentially affected by the pointer inertia manipulation. Task conditions not only affected performance but also joint kinematics. CP teenagers revealed less movement at the elbow and more movement at the shoulder when performing the task with their less skilled upper limb. However, both CP and TD teenagers demonstrated a larger contribution of trunk movement when facing more challenging task conditions. The overall pattern of results indicated that the joint kinematics employed by individuals with unilateral CP constituted adaptive responses to task requirements. Thus, the explanation of the effects of unilateral CP on upper limb behavior needs to go beyond a context-indifferent manifestation of the brain injury to include the interaction between task demands and action capabilities.

  20. 32 CFR 1805.4 - Procedure for production.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... responsibility for the information sought in the demand shall determine whether any information or materials may properly be produced in response to the demand, except that NACIC Counsel may assert any and all legal... demand for production is made upon an employee, the employee shall immediately notify NACIC Counsel, who...

  1. Using high frequency consumption data to identify demand response potential for solar energy integration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jin, L.; Borgeson, S.; Fredman, D.; Hans, L.; Spurlock, A.; Todd, A.

    2015-12-01

    California's renewable portfolio standard (2012) requires the state to get 33% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Increased share of variable renewable sources such as solar and wind in the California electricity system may require more grid flexibility to insure reliable power services. Such grid flexibility can be potentially provided by changes in end use electricity consumptions in response to grid conditions (demand-response). In the solar case, residential consumption in the late afternoon can be used as reserve capacity to balance the drop in solar generation. This study presents our initial attempt to identify, from a behavior perspective, residential demand response potentials in relation to solar ramp events using a data-driven approach. Based on hourly residential energy consumption data, we derive representative daily load shapes focusing on discretionary consumption with an innovative clustering analysis technique. We aggregate the representative load shapes into behavior groups in terms of the timing and rhythm of energy use in the context of solar ramp events. Households of different behavior groups that are active during hours with high solar ramp rates are identified for capturing demand response potential. Insights into the nature and predictability of response to demand-response programs are provided.

  2. Lo Que el Trabajo Requiere de las Escuelas. Informe de la Comision SCANS para America 2000 (What Work Requires of Schools. A SCANS Report for America 2000).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Labor, Washington, DC. Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills.

    The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) examined the demands of the workplace and whether young people were capable of meeting those demands. Specifically, SCANS determined the level of skills required to enter employment. Fundamental changes in the nature of work were identified; these changes were found to hold…

  3. High power, gel polymer lithium-ion cells with improved low temperature performance for NASA and DoD applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smart, M. C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; Whitcanack, L. D.; Chin, K. B.; Surampudi, S.; Narayanan, S. R.; Alamgir, Mohamed; Yu, Ji-Sang; Plichta, Edward P.

    2004-01-01

    Both NASA and the U.S. Army have interest in developing secondary energy storage devices that are capable of meeting the demanding performance requirements of aerospace and man-portable applications. In order to meet these demanding requirements, gel-polymer electrolyte-based lithium-ion cells are being actively considered, due to their promise of providing high specific energy and enhanced safety aspects.

  4. Satellite data relay and platform locating in oceanography. Report of the In Situ Ocean Science Working Group

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chase, R.; Cote, C.; Davis, R. E.; Dugan, J.; Frame, D. D.; Halpern, D.; Kerut, E.; Kirk, R.; Mcgoldrick, L.; Mcwilliams, J. C.

    1983-01-01

    The present and future use of satellites to locate offshore platforms and relay data from in situ sensors to shore was examined. A system of the ARGOS type will satisfy the increasing demand for oceanographic information through data relay and platform location. The improved ship navigation provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) will allow direct observation of currents from underway ships. Ocean systems are described and demand estimates on satellite systems are determined. The capabilities of the ARGOS system is assessed, including anticipated demand in the next decade.

  5. A mixed-unit input-output model for environmental life-cycle assessment and material flow analysis.

    PubMed

    Hawkins, Troy; Hendrickson, Chris; Higgins, Cortney; Matthews, H Scott; Suh, Sangwon

    2007-02-01

    Materials flow analysis models have traditionally been used to track the production, use, and consumption of materials. Economic input-output modeling has been used for environmental systems analysis, with a primary benefit being the capability to estimate direct and indirect economic and environmental impacts across the entire supply chain of production in an economy. We combine these two types of models to create a mixed-unit input-output model that is able to bettertrack economic transactions and material flows throughout the economy associated with changes in production. A 13 by 13 economic input-output direct requirements matrix developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is augmented with material flow data derived from those published by the U.S. Geological Survey in the formulation of illustrative mixed-unit input-output models for lead and cadmium. The resulting model provides the capabilities of both material flow and input-output models, with detailed material tracking through entire supply chains in response to any monetary or material demand. Examples of these models are provided along with a discussion of uncertainty and extensions to these models.

  6. Concerning RNA-guided gene drives for the alteration of wild populations

    PubMed Central

    Esvelt, Kevin M; Smidler, Andrea L; Catteruccia, Flaminia; Church, George M

    2014-01-01

    Gene drives may be capable of addressing ecological problems by altering entire populations of wild organisms, but their use has remained largely theoretical due to technical constraints. Here we consider the potential for RNA-guided gene drives based on the CRISPR nuclease Cas9 to serve as a general method for spreading altered traits through wild populations over many generations. We detail likely capabilities, discuss limitations, and provide novel precautionary strategies to control the spread of gene drives and reverse genomic changes. The ability to edit populations of sexual species would offer substantial benefits to humanity and the environment. For example, RNA-guided gene drives could potentially prevent the spread of disease, support agriculture by reversing pesticide and herbicide resistance in insects and weeds, and control damaging invasive species. However, the possibility of unwanted ecological effects and near-certainty of spread across political borders demand careful assessment of each potential application. We call for thoughtful, inclusive, and well-informed public discussions to explore the responsible use of this currently theoretical technology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03401.001 PMID:25035423

  7. Frontal EEG and emotion regulation: electrocortical activity in response to emotional film clips is associated with reduced mood induction and attention interference effects.

    PubMed

    Dennis, Tracy A; Solomon, Beylul

    2010-12-01

    Frontal EEG activity is thought to reflect affective dispositions, but may also reflect the emotional demands of a specific context combined with the capability to regulate emotions in that context. The present study examined this hypothesis by testing whether frontal EEG activity during mood inductions versus a resting baseline predicted emotion regulation. EEG was recorded while participants (N=66, 40 females) received a fearful, sad, or neutral mood induction. Emotion regulation was measured following the mood inductions as self-reported change in negative mood and as attention interference in a task with mood-congruent emotional distracters. Greater frontal EEG activity during the mood inductions versus baseline was associated with more effective emotion regulation: less post-induction sadness and anxiety and reduced mood-congruent attention interference effects. Effects did not differ between the left and right hemispheres. Results support the hypothesis that frontal EEG activity reflects both emotional context and emotion-regulatory capabilities. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Balancing Demand and Supply for Veterans' Health Care: A Summary of Three RAND Assessments Conducted Under the Veterans Choice Act.

    PubMed

    Farmer, Carrie M; Hosek, Susan D; Adamson, David M

    2016-06-20

    In response to concerns that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has faced about veterans' access to care and the quality of care delivered, Congress enacted the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 ("Veterans Choice Act") in August 2014. The law was passed to help address access issues by expanding the criteria through which veterans can seek care from civilian providers. In addition, the law called for a series of independent assessments of the VA health care system across a broad array of topics related to the delivery of health care services to veterans in VA-owned and -operated facilities, as well as those under contract to VA. RAND conducted three of these assessments: Veteran demographics and health care needs (A), VA health care capabilities (B), and VA authorities and mechanisms for purchasing care (C). This article summarizes the findings of our assessments and includes recommendations from the reports for improving the match between veterans' needs and VA's capabilities, including VA's ability to purchase necessary care from the private sector.

  9. Optimized autonomous space in-situ sensor web for volcano monitoring

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Song, W.-Z.; Shirazi, B.; Huang, R.; Xu, M.; Peterson, N.; LaHusen, R.; Pallister, J.; Dzurisin, D.; Moran, S.; Lisowski, M.; Kedar, S.; Chien, S.; Webb, F.; Kiely, A.; Doubleday, J.; Davies, A.; Pieri, D.

    2010-01-01

    In response to NASA's announced requirement for Earth hazard monitoring sensor-web technology, a multidisciplinary team involving sensor-network experts (Washington State University), space scientists (JPL), and Earth scientists (USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory (CVO)), have developed a prototype of dynamic and scalable hazard monitoring sensor-web and applied it to volcano monitoring. The combined Optimized Autonomous Space In-situ Sensor-web (OASIS) has two-way communication capability between ground and space assets, uses both space and ground data for optimal allocation of limited bandwidth resources on the ground, and uses smart management of competing demands for limited space assets. It also enables scalability and seamless infusion of future space and in-situ assets into the sensor-web. The space and in-situ control components of the system are integrated such that each element is capable of autonomously tasking the other. The ground in-situ was deployed into the craters and around the flanks of Mount St. Helens in July 2009, and linked to the command and control of the Earth Observing One (EO-1) satellite. ?? 2010 IEEE.

  10. Work Functioning Among Firefighters: A Comparison Between Self-Reported Limitations and Functional Task Performance.

    PubMed

    MacDermid, Joy C; Tang, Kenneth; Sinden, Kathryn E; D'Amico, Robert

    2018-05-25

    Purpose Performance-based and disease indicators have been widely studied in firefighters; self-reported work role limitations have not. The aim of this study was to describe the distributions and correlations of a generic self-reported Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ-26) and firefighting-specific task performance-based tests. Methods Active firefighters from the City of Hamilton Fire Services (n = 293) were recruited. Participants completed the WLQ-26 to quantify on-the-job difficulties over five work domains: work scheduling (4 items), output demands (7 items), physical demands (8 items), mental demands (4 items), and social demands (3 items). A subset of participants (n = 149) were also assessed on hose drag and stair climb with a high-rise pack performance-based tests. Descriptive statistics and correlations were used to compare item/subscale performance; and to describe the inter-relationships between tests. Results The mean WLQ-26 item scores (/5) ranged from 4.1 to 4.4 (median = 5 for all items); most firefighters (54.5-80.5%) selected "difficult none of the time" response option on all items. A substantial ceiling effect was observed across all five WLQ-26 subscales as 44.0-55.6% were in the highest category. Subscale means ranged from 61.8 (social demands) to 78.7 (output demands and physical demands). Internal consistency exceeded 0.90 on all subscales. For the hose drag task, the mean time-to-completion was 48.0 s (SD = 14.5; range 20.4-95.0). For the stair climb task, the mean time-to-completion was 76.7 s (SD = 37.2; range 21.0-218.0). There were no significant correlations between self-report work limitations and performance of firefighting tasks. Conclusions The WLQ-26 measured five domains, but had ceiling effects in firefighters. Performance-based testing showed wider score range, lacked ceiling effects and did not correlate to the WLQ-26. A firefighter-specific, self-report role functioning scale may be needed to identify compromised work role capabilities in firefighters.

  11. Ott1 (Rbm15) regulates thrombopoietin response in hematopoietic stem cells through alternative splicing of c-Mpl

    PubMed Central

    Xiao, Nan; Laha, Suparna; Das, Shankar P.; Morlock, Kayla; Jesneck, Jonathan L.

    2015-01-01

    Thrombopoietin (Thpo) signaling through the c-Mpl receptor promotes either quiescence or proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a concentration-dependent manner; however, in vivo Thpo serum levels are responsive to platelet mass rather than HSC demands, suggesting additional regulation exists. Ott1 (Rbm15), a spliceosomal component originally identified as a fusion partner in t(1;22)-associated acute megakaryocytic leukemia, is also essential for maintaining HSC quiescence under stress. Ott1 controls the alternative splicing of a dominant negative isoform, Mpl-TR, capable of inhibiting HSC engraftment and attenuating Thpo signaling. Ott1, which associates with Hdac3 and the histone methyltransferase, Setd1b, binds to both c-Mpl RNA and chromatin and regulates H4 acetylation and H3K4me3 marks. Histone deacetylase or histone methyltransferase inhibition also increases Mpl-TR levels, suggesting that Ott1 uses an underlying epigenetic mechanism to control alternative splicing of c-Mpl. Manipulation of Ott1-dependent alternative splicing may therefore provide a novel pharmacologic avenue for regulating HSC quiescence and proliferation in response to Thpo. PMID:25468569

  12. Health Care Providers in War and Armed Conflict: Operational and Educational Challenges in International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions, Part I. Historical Perspective.

    PubMed

    Burkle, Frederick M; Kushner, Adam L; Giannou, Christos; Paterson, Mary A; Wren, Sherry M; Burnham, Gilbert

    2018-04-30

    Since 1945, the reason for humanitarian crises and the way in which the world responds to them has dramatically changed every 10 to 15 years or less. Planning, response, and recovery for these tragic events have often been ad hoc, inconsistent, and insufficient, largely because of the complexity of global humanitarian demands and their corresponding response system capabilities. This historical perspective chronicles the transformation of war and armed conflicts from the Cold War to today, emphasizing the impact these events have had on humanitarian professionals and their struggle to adapt to increasing humanitarian, operational, and political challenges. An unprecedented independent United Nations-World Health Organization decision in the Battle for Mosul in Iraq to deploy to combat zones emergency medical teams unprepared in the skills of decades-tested war and armed conflict preparation and response afforded to health care providers and dictated by International Humanitarian Law and Geneva Convention protections has abruptly challenged future decision-making and deployments. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 7).

  13. Refrigerated Warehouse Demand Response Strategy Guide

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

    Scott, Doug; Castillo, Rafael; Larson, Kyle

    This guide summarizes demand response measures that can be implemented in refrigerated warehouses. In an appendix, it also addresses related energy efficiency opportunities. Reducing overall grid demand during peak periods and energy consumption has benefits for facility operators, grid operators, utility companies, and society. State wide demand response potential for the refrigerated warehouse sector in California is estimated to be over 22.1 Megawatts. Two categories of demand response strategies are described in this guide: load shifting and load shedding. Load shifting can be accomplished via pre-cooling, capacity limiting, and battery charger load management. Load shedding can be achieved by lightingmore » reduction, demand defrost and defrost termination, infiltration reduction, and shutting down miscellaneous equipment. Estimation of the costs and benefits of demand response participation yields simple payback periods of 2-4 years. To improve demand response performance, it’s suggested to install air curtains and another form of infiltration barrier, such as a rollup door, for the passageways. Further modifications to increase efficiency of the refrigeration unit are also analyzed. A larger condenser can maintain the minimum saturated condensing temperature (SCT) for more hours of the day. Lowering the SCT reduces the compressor lift, which results in an overall increase in refrigeration system capacity and energy efficiency. Another way of saving energy in refrigerated warehouses is eliminating the use of under-floor resistance heaters. A more energy efficient alternative to resistance heaters is to utilize the heat that is being rejected from the condenser through a heat exchanger. These energy efficiency measures improve efficiency either by reducing the required electric energy input for the refrigeration system, by helping to curtail the refrigeration load on the system, or by reducing both the load and required energy input.« less

  14. Spacecraft optical disk recorder memory buffer control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hodson, Robert F.

    1993-01-01

    This paper discusses the research completed under the NASA-ASEE summer faculty fellowship program. The project involves development of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) to be used as a Memory Buffer Controller (MBC) in the Spacecraft Optical Disk System (SODR). The SODR system has demanding capacity and data rate specifications requiring specialized electronics to meet processing demands. The system is being designed to support Gigabit transfer rates with Terabit storage capability. The complete SODR system is designed to exceed the capability of all existing mass storage systems today. The ASIC development for SODR consist of developing a 144 pin CMOS device to perform format conversion and data buffering. The final simulations of the MBC were completed during this summer's NASA-ASEE fellowship along with design preparations for fabrication to be performed by an ASIC manufacturer.

  15. Efficient Computation Of Manipulator Inertia Matrix

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fijany, Amir; Bejczy, Antal K.

    1991-01-01

    Improved method for computation of manipulator inertia matrix developed, based on concept of spatial inertia of composite rigid body. Required for implementation of advanced dynamic-control schemes as well as dynamic simulation of manipulator motion. Motivated by increasing demand for fast algorithms to provide real-time control and simulation capability and, particularly, need for faster-than-real-time simulation capability, required in many anticipated space teleoperation applications.

  16. A cross-domain communication resource scheduling method for grid-enabled communication networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Xiangquan; Wen, Xiang; Zhang, Yongding

    2011-10-01

    To support a wide range of different grid applications in environments where various heterogeneous communication networks coexist, it is important to enable advanced capabilities in on-demand and dynamical integration and efficient co-share with cross-domain heterogeneous communication resource, thus providing communication services which are impossible for single communication resource to afford. Based on plug-and-play co-share and soft integration with communication resource, Grid-enabled communication network is flexibly built up to provide on-demand communication services for gird applications with various requirements on quality of service. Based on the analysis of joint job and communication resource scheduling in grid-enabled communication networks (GECN), this paper presents a cross multi-domain communication resource cooperatively scheduling method and describes the main processes such as traffic requirement resolution for communication services, cross multi-domain negotiation on communication resource, on-demand communication resource scheduling, and so on. The presented method is to afford communication service capability to cross-domain traffic delivery in GECNs. Further research work towards validation and implement of the presented method is pointed out at last.

  17. Externally controlled on-demand release of anti-HIV drug using magneto-electric nanoparticles as carriers.

    PubMed

    Nair, Madhavan; Guduru, Rakesh; Liang, Ping; Hong, Jeongmin; Sagar, Vidya; Khizroev, Sakhrat

    2013-01-01

    Although highly active anti-retroviral therapy has resulted in remarkable decline in the morbidity and mortality in AIDS patients, inadequately low delivery of anti-retroviral drugs across the blood-brain barrier results in virus persistence. The capability of high-efficacy-targeted drug delivery and on-demand release remains a formidable task. Here we report an in vitro study to demonstrate the on-demand release of azidothymidine 5'-triphosphate, an anti-human immunodeficiency virus drug, from 30 nm CoFe2O4@BaTiO3 magneto-electric nanoparticles by applying a low alternating current magnetic field. Magneto-electric nanoparticles as field-controlled drug carriers offer a unique capability of field-triggered release after crossing the blood-brain barrier. Owing to the intrinsic magnetoelectricity, these nanoparticles can couple external magnetic fields with the electric forces in drug-carrier bonds to enable remotely controlled delivery without exploiting heat. Functional and structural integrity of the drug after the release was confirmed in in vitro experiments with human immunodeficiency virus-infected cells and through atomic force microscopy, spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared and mass spectrometry studies.

  18. Extending Validated Human Performance Models to Explore NextGen Concepts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gore, Brian Francis; Hooey, Becky Lee; Mahlstedt, Eric; Foyle, David C.

    2012-01-01

    To meet the expected increases in air traffic demands, NASA and FAA are researching and developing Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concepts. NextGen will require substantial increases in the data available to pilots on the flight deck (e.g., weather,wake, traffic trajectory predictions, etc.) to support more precise and closely coordinated operations (e.g., self-separation, RNAV/RNP, and closely spaced parallel operations, CSPOs). These NextGen procedures and operations, along with the pilot's roles and responsibilities, must be designed with consideration of the pilot's capabilities and limitations. Failure to do so will leave the pilots, and thus the entire aviation system, vulnerable to error. A validated Man-machine Integration and design Analysis System (MIDAS) v5 model was extended to evaluate anticipated changes to flight deck and controller roles and responsibilities in NextGen approach and Land operations. Compared to conditions when the controllers are responsible for separation on decent to land phase of flight, the output from these model predictions suggest that the flight deck response time to detect the lead aircraft blunder will decrease, pilot scans to the navigation display will increase, and workload will increase.

  19. Michigan's Statewide Travel Demand Model

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    The Travel Demand and Intermodal Services Section of Michigan's Department of Transportation is responsible for the development, maintenance and application of the Statewide Travel Demand Model. Michigan's Statewide and Urban Travel Demand Models are...

  20. Demand Response Compensation Methodologies: Case Studies for Mexico

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

    Gagne, Douglas A; Settle, Donald E; Aznar, Alexandra Y

    This report examines various compensation methodologies for demand response programs in Mexico. This report presents three case studies, including New England, California, and Hawaii. Demand response (DR) can refer to a variety of approaches to changing the amount and timing of customers' electricity use, allowing the electricity supplier to more easily balance electricity supply and demand. The level of compensation for a DR program will depend greatly upon both the regulatory context of the electricity supplier, as well as the economic circumstances of the DR providers. For a regulated utility, a proposed compensation level may need to pass regulatory approval.more » To determine the value of DR resources, a regulatory body typically seeks to determine the costs that the utility would avoid if demand-side resources 'produce' energy.« less

  1. Leveraging Cloud Technology to Provide a Responsive, Reliable and Scalable Backend for the Virtual Ice Sheet Laboratory Using the Ice Sheet System Model and Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perez, G. L.; Larour, E. Y.; Halkides, D. J.; Cheng, D. L. C.

    2015-12-01

    The Virtual Ice Sheet Laboratory(VISL) is a Cryosphere outreach effort byscientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) in Pasadena, CA, Earth and SpaceResearch(ESR) in Seattle, WA, and the University of California at Irvine (UCI), with the goal of providing interactive lessons for K-12 and college level students,while conforming to STEM guidelines. At the core of VISL is the Ice Sheet System Model(ISSM), an open-source project developed jointlyat JPL and UCI whose main purpose is to model the evolution of the polar ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica. By using ISSM, VISL students have access tostate-of-the-art modeling software that is being used to conduct scientificresearch by users all over the world. However, providing this functionality isby no means simple. The modeling of ice sheets in response to sea and atmospheric temperatures, among many other possible parameters, requiressignificant computational resources. Furthermore, this service needs to beresponsive and capable of handling burst requests produced by classrooms ofstudents. Cloud computing providers represent a burgeoning industry. With majorinvestments by tech giants like Amazon, Google and Microsoft, it has never beeneasier or more affordable to deploy computational elements on-demand. This isexactly what VISL needs and ISSM is capable of. Moreover, this is a promisingalternative to investing in expensive and rapidly devaluing hardware.

  2. Ultra-high temperature stability Joule-Thomson cooler with capability to accomodate pressure variations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bard, Steven (Inventor); Wu, Jiunn-Jeng (Inventor); Trimble, Curtis A. (Inventor)

    1992-01-01

    A Joule-Thomson cryogenic refrigeration system capable of achieving high temperature stabilities in the presence of varying temperature, atmospheric pressure, and heat load is provided. The Joule-Thomson cryogenic refrigeration system includes a demand flow Joule-Thomson expansion valve disposed in a cryostat of the refrigeration system. The expansion valve has an adjustable orifice that controls the flow of compressed gas therethrough and induces cooling and partial liquefaction of the gas. A recuperative heat exchanger is disposed in the cryostat and coupled to the expansion valve. A thermostatically self-regulating mechanism is disposed in the cryostat and coupled to the J-T expansion valve. The thermostatically self-regulating mechanism automatically adjusts the cross sectional area of the adjustable valve orifice in response to environmental temperature changes and changes in power dissipated at a cold head. A temperature sensing and adjusting mechanism is coupled to a cold head for adjusting the temperature of the cold head in response to the change in heat flow in the cold head. The temperature sensing and adjusting mechanism comprises a temperature sensitive diode, a wound wire heater, and an electrical feedback control circuit coupling the diode to the heater. An absolute pressure relief valve is interposed between the output of the cryostat and an exhaust port for maintaining a constant exhaust temperature in the refrigerating system, independent of the changes in atmospheric pressure.

  3. Ultra-high temperature stability Joule-Thomson cooler with capability to accomodate pressure variations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bard, Steven; Wu, Jiunn-Jeng; Trimble, Curtis A.

    1992-06-01

    A Joule-Thomson cryogenic refrigeration system capable of achieving high temperature stabilities in the presence of varying temperature, atmospheric pressure, and heat load is provided. The Joule-Thomson cryogenic refrigeration system includes a demand flow Joule-Thomson expansion valve disposed in a cryostat of the refrigeration system. The expansion valve has an adjustable orifice that controls the flow of compressed gas therethrough and induces cooling and partial liquefaction of the gas. A recuperative heat exchanger is disposed in the cryostat and coupled to the expansion valve. A thermostatically self-regulating mechanism is disposed in the cryostat and coupled to the J-T expansion valve. The thermostatically self-regulating mechanism automatically adjusts the cross sectional area of the adjustable valve orifice in response to environmental temperature changes and changes in power dissipated at a cold head. A temperature sensing and adjusting mechanism is coupled to a cold head for adjusting the temperature of the cold head in response to the change in heat flow in the cold head. The temperature sensing and adjusting mechanism comprises a temperature sensitive diode, a wound wire heater, and an electrical feedback control circuit coupling the diode to the heater. An absolute pressure relief valve is interposed between the output of the cryostat and an exhaust port for maintaining a constant exhaust temperature in the refrigerating system, independent of the changes in atmospheric pressure.

  4. Evaluation of Air Force and Navy Demand Forecasting Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1994-01-01

    forecasting approach, the Air Force Material Command is questioning the adoption of the Navy’s Statistical Demand Forecasting System ( Gitman , 1994). The...Recoverable Item Process in the Requirements Data Bank System is to manage reparable spare parts ( Gitman , 1994). Although RDB will have the capability of...D062) ( Gitman , 1994). Since a comparison is made to address Air Force concerns, this research only limits its analysis to the range of Air Force

  5. Centralized and Decentralized Control for Demand Response

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

    Lu, Shuai; Samaan, Nader A.; Diao, Ruisheng

    2011-04-29

    Demand response has been recognized as an essential element of the smart grid. Frequency response, regulation and contingency reserve functions performed traditionally by generation resources are now starting to involve demand side resources. Additional benefits from demand response include peak reduction and load shifting, which will defer new infrastructure investment and improve generator operation efficiency. Technical approaches designed to realize these functionalities can be categorized into centralized control and decentralized control, depending on where the response decision is made. This paper discusses these two control philosophies and compares their relative advantages and disadvantages in terms of delay time, predictability, complexity,more » and reliability. A distribution system model with detailed household loads and controls is built to demonstrate the characteristics of the two approaches. The conclusion is that the promptness and reliability of decentralized control should be combined with the predictability and simplicity of centralized control to achieve the best performance of the smart grid.« less

  6. 28 CFR 0.177a - Antitrust civil investigative demands.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... JUSTICE Assigning Responsibility Concerning Applications for Orders Compelling Testimony or Production of..., United States Code, to compel testimony in response to antitrust civil investigative demands for oral...

  7. A Review of Player Monitoring Approaches in Basketball: Current Trends and Future Directions.

    PubMed

    Fox, Jordan L; Scanlan, Aaron T; Stanton, Robert

    2017-07-01

    Fox, JL, Scanlan, AT, and Stanton, R. A review of player monitoring approaches in basketball: current trends and future directions. J Strength Cond Res 31(7): 2021-2029, 2017-Effective monitoring of players in team sports such as basketball requires an understanding of the external demands and internal responses, as they relate to training phases and competition. Monitoring of external demands and internal responses allows coaching staff to determine the dose-response associated with the imposed training load (TL), and subsequently, if players are adequately prepared for competition. This review discusses measures reported in the literature for monitoring the external demands and internal responses of basketball players during training and competition. The external demands of training and competition were primarily monitored using time-motion analysis, with limited use of microtechnology being reported. Internal responses during training were typically measured using hematological markers, heart rate, various TL models, and perceptual responses such as rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Heart rate was the most commonly reported indicator of internal responses during competition with limited reporting of hematological markers or RPE. These findings show a large discrepancy between the reporting of external and internal measures and training and competition demands. Microsensors, however, may be a practical and convenient method of player monitoring in basketball to overcome the limitations associated with current approaches while allowing for external demands and internal responses to be recorded simultaneously. The triaxial accelerometers of microsensors seem well suited for basketball and warrant validation to definitively determine their place in the monitoring of basketball players. Coaching staff should make use of this technology by tracking individual player responses across the annual plan and using real-time monitoring to minimize factors such as fatigue and injury risk.

  8. Facilitators and barriers to the provision of therapeutic interventions by school psychologists

    PubMed Central

    Squires, Garry; Bragg, Joanna; Muscutt, Janet; Wasilewski, David

    2014-01-01

    There is growing concern internationally about the prevalence of mental health problems among school-aged children and their access to specialist services. School psychologists (SPs) may be one group of professionals well-positioned to support the well-being of children and young people, due to their position as applied psychologists working within educational settings and their capability to deliver therapeutic interventions. This research considers findings from a large scale, United Kingdom (UK)-wide survey of the views of SPs (N = 455) about facilitators and barriers to the provision of therapeutic interventions to children and young people. Principal Components Analyses of ranked questionnaire responses yielded three components: The role of the SP; training and practice; and support and psychology service context. Quantitative findings were then triangulated, using qualitative responses from the survey. Greater direction and clarification of the role of the SP as a provider of therapeutic interventions is recommended, particularly given the diverse roles undertaken by SPs and competing demands, particularly from assessment activities. PMID:26412911

  9. A High Temperature Capacitive Pressure Sensor Based on Alumina Ceramic for in Situ Measurement at 600 °C

    PubMed Central

    Tan, Qiulin; Li, Chen; Xiong, Jijun; Jia, Pinggang; Zhang, Wendong; Liu, Jun; Xue, Chenyang; Hong, Yingping; Ren, Zhong; Luo, Tao

    2014-01-01

    In response to the growing demand for in situ measurement of pressure in high-temperature environments, a high temperature capacitive pressure sensor is presented in this paper. A high-temperature ceramic material-alumina is used for the fabrication of the sensor, and the prototype sensor consists of an inductance, a variable capacitance, and a sealed cavity integrated in the alumina ceramic substrate using a thick-film integrated technology. The experimental results show that the proposed sensor has stability at 850 °C for more than 20 min. The characterization in high-temperature and pressure environments successfully demonstrated sensing capabilities for pressure from 1 to 5 bar up to 600 °C, limited by the sensor test setup. At 600 °C, the sensor achieves a linear characteristic response, and the repeatability error, hysteresis error and zero-point drift of the sensor are 8.3%, 5.05% and 1%, respectively. PMID:24487624

  10. Advanced consequence management program: challenges and recent real-world implementations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Graser, Tom; Barber, K. S.; Williams, Bob; Saghir, Feras; Henry, Kurt A.

    2002-08-01

    The Enhanced Consequence Management, Planning and Support System (ENCOMPASS) was developed under DARPA's Advanced Consequence Management program to assist decision-makers operating in crisis situations such as terrorist attacks using conventional and unconventional weapons and natural disasters. ENCOMPASS provides the tools for first responders, incident commanders, and officials at all levels to share vital information and consequently, plan and execute a coordinated response to incidents of varying complexity and size. ENCOMPASS offers custom configuration of components with capabilities ranging from map-based situation assessment, situation-based response checklists, casualty tracking, and epidemiological surveillance. Developing and deploying such a comprehensive system posed significant challenges for DARPA program management, due to an inherently complex domain, a broad spectrum of customer sites and skill sets, an often inhospitable runtime environment, demanding development-to-deployment transition requirements, and a technically diverse and geographically distributed development team. This paper introduces ENCOMPASS and explores these challenges, followed by an outline of selected ENCOMPASS deployments, demonstrating how ENCOMPASS can enhance consequence management in a variety real world contexts.

  11. Challenges of Designing and Implementing High Consequence Infectious Disease Response.

    PubMed

    King, Joan M; Tiwari, Chetan; Mikler, Armin R; O'Neill, Martin

    2018-03-19

    Ebola is a high consequence infectious disease-a disease with the potential to cause outbreaks, epidemics, or pandemics with deadly possibilities, highly infectious, pathogenic, and virulent. Ebola's first reported cases in the United States in September 2014 led to the development of preparedness capabilities for the mitigation of possible rapid outbreaks, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) providing guidelines to assist public health officials in infectious disease response planning. These guidelines include broad goals for state and local agencies and detailed information concerning the types of resources needed at health care facilities. However, the spatial configuration of populations and existing health care facilities is neglected. An incomplete understanding of the demand landscape may result in an inefficient and inequitable allocation of resources to populations. Hence, this paper examines challenges in implementing CDC's guidance for Ebola preparedness and mitigation in the context of geospatial allocation of health resources and discusses possible strategies for addressing such challenges. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 4).

  12. Fuel Cell Backup Power System for Grid Service and Micro-Grid in Telecommunication Applications: Preprint

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

    Ma, Zhiwen; Eichman, Joshua D; Kurtz, Jennifer M

    This paper presents the feasibility and economics of using fuel cell backup power systems in telecommunication cell towers to provide grid services (e.g., ancillary services, demand response). The fuel cells are able to provide power for the cell tower during emergency conditions. This study evaluates the strategic integration of clean, efficient, and reliable fuel cell systems with the grid for improved economic benefits. The backup systems have potential as enhanced capability through information exchanges with the power grid to add value as grid services that depend on location and time. The economic analysis has been focused on the potential revenuemore » for distributed telecommunications fuel cell backup units to provide value-added power supply. This paper shows case studies on current fuel cell backup power locations and regional grid service programs. The grid service benefits and system configurations for different operation modes provide opportunities for expanding backup fuel cell applications responsive to grid needs.« less

  13. A Many-Objective Approach to Developing Adaptive Water Supply Portfolios in the 'Research Triangle' Region of North Carolina

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeff, H. B.; Kasprzyk, J. R.; Reed, P. M.; Characklis, G. W.

    2012-12-01

    This study uses many-objective evolutionary optimization to quantify the tradeoffs water utilities face when developing flexible water shortage response plans. Alternatives to infrastructure development, such as temporary demand management programs and inter-utility water transfer agreements, allow local water providers to develop portfolios of water supply options capable of adapting to changing hydrologic conditions and growing water demand. The extent to which these options are implemented will be determined by a number of conflicting operational and financial considerations. An integrated reservoir simulation model including four large water utilities in the 'Research Triangle' region of North Carolina is used to evaluate the potential tradeoffs resulting from regional demands on shared infrastructure, customer concerns, and the financial uncertainty caused by the intermittent and irregular nature of drought. Instead of providing one optimal solution, multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) use the concept of non-dominations to discover a set of portfolio options in which no solution is inferior to any other solution in all objectives. Interactive visual analytics enable water providers to explore these tradeoffs and develop water shortage response plans tailored to their individual circumstances. The simulation model is evaluated under a number of different formulations to help identify and visualize the impacts of water efficiency, revenue/cost variability, consumer effects, and inter-utility cooperation. The different problems are formulated by adding portfolio options and objectives in such a way that the lower dimensional problem formulations are sub-sets of the full formulation. The full formulation considers reservoir reliability, water use restriction frequency, total water transfer allotment, total costs, revenue/cost variability, and additional consumer losses during restrictions. The simulation results highlight the inadequacy of lower order, cost-benefit type analyses to evaluate water management techniques as they move beyond the construction of large storage infrastructure. This work can help water providers develop the analytical tools to evaluate complex, adaptive techniques that are becoming more attractive in an era of growing municipal demand, risking infrastructure costs, and uncertain hydrology.

  14. Smart Buildings and Demand Response

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiliccote, Sila; Piette, Mary Ann; Ghatikar, Girish

    2011-11-01

    Advances in communications and control technology, the strengthening of the Internet, and the growing appreciation of the urgency to reduce demand side energy use are motivating the development of improvements in both energy efficiency and demand response (DR) systems in buildings. This paper provides a framework linking continuous energy management and continuous communications for automated demand response (Auto-DR) in various times scales. We provide a set of concepts for monitoring and controls linked to standards and procedures such as Open Automation Demand Response Communication Standards (OpenADR). Basic building energy science and control issues in this approach begin with key building components, systems, end-uses and whole building energy performance metrics. The paper presents a framework about when energy is used, levels of services by energy using systems, granularity of control, and speed of telemetry. DR, when defined as a discrete event, requires a different set of building service levels than daily operations. We provide examples of lessons from DR case studies and links to energy efficiency.

  15. Thermodynamic Modeling and Dispatch of Distributed Energy Technologies including Fuel Cell -- Gas Turbine Hybrids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McLarty, Dustin Fogle

    Distributed energy systems are a promising means by which to reduce both emissions and costs. Continuous generators must be responsive and highly efficiency to support building dynamics and intermittent on-site renewable power. Fuel cell -- gas turbine hybrids (FC/GT) are fuel-flexible generators capable of ultra-high efficiency, ultra-low emissions, and rapid power response. This work undertakes a detailed study of the electrochemistry, chemistry and mechanical dynamics governing the complex interaction between the individual systems in such a highly coupled hybrid arrangement. The mechanisms leading to the compressor stall/surge phenomena are studied for the increased risk posed to particular hybrid configurations. A novel fuel cell modeling method introduced captures various spatial resolutions, flow geometries, stack configurations and novel heat transfer pathways. Several promising hybrid configurations are analyzed throughout the work and a sensitivity analysis of seven design parameters is conducted. A simple estimating method is introduced for the combined system efficiency of a fuel cell and a turbine using component performance specifications. Existing solid oxide fuel cell technology is capable of hybrid efficiencies greater than 75% (LHV) operating on natural gas, and existing molten carbonate systems greater than 70% (LHV). A dynamic model is calibrated to accurately capture the physical coupling of a FC/GT demonstrator tested at UC Irvine. The 2900 hour experiment highlighted the sensitivity to small perturbations and a need for additional control development. Further sensitivity studies outlined the responsiveness and limits of different control approaches. The capability for substantial turn-down and load following through speed control and flow bypass with minimal impact on internal fuel cell thermal distribution is particularly promising to meet local demands or provide dispatchable support for renewable power. Advanced control and dispatch heuristics are discussed using a case study of the UCI central plant. Thermal energy storage introduces a time horizon into the dispatch optimization which requires novel solution strategies. Highly efficient and responsive generators are required to meet the increasingly dynamic loads of today's efficient buildings and intermittent local renewable wind and solar power. Fuel cell gas turbine hybrids will play an integral role in the complex and ever-changing solution to local electricity production.

  16. Application of advanced diffraction based optical metrology overlay capabilities for high-volume manufacturing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Kai-Hsiung; Huang, Guo-Tsai; Hsieh, Hung-Chih; Ni, Wei-Feng; Chuang, S. M.; Chuang, T. K.; Ke, Chih-Ming; Huang, Jacky; Rao, Shiuan-An; Cumurcu Gysen, Aysegul; d'Alfonso, Maxime; Yueh, Jenny; Izikson, Pavel; Soco, Aileen; Wu, Jon; Nooitgedagt, Tjitte; Ottens, Jeroen; Kim, Yong Ho; Ebert, Martin

    2017-03-01

    On-product overlay requirements are becoming more challenging with every next technology node due to the continued decrease of the device dimensions and process tolerances. Therefore, current and future technology nodes require demanding metrology capabilities such as target designs that are robust towards process variations and high overlay measurement density (e.g. for higher order process corrections) to enable advanced process control solutions. The impact of advanced control solutions based on YieldStar overlay data is being presented in this paper. Multi patterning techniques are applied for critical layers and leading to additional overlay measurement demands. The use of 1D process steps results in the need of overlay measurements relative to more than one layer. Dealing with the increased number of overlay measurements while keeping the high measurement density and metrology accuracy at the same time presents a challenge for high volume manufacturing (HVM). These challenges are addressed by the capability to measure multi-layer targets with the recently introduced YieldStar metrology tool, YS350. On-product overlay results of such multi-layers and standard targets are presented including measurement stability performance.

  17. Structural and Dielectric Study of (Dy,Er,Ho) CrO 3 Biferroic Compounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meza, Cesar; Siqueiros, Jesus; Duran, Alejandro

    2011-03-01

    Technological progress, especially in electronic applications, demands increasingly advanced substances, capable of performing a variety of tasks while simultaneously occupying less space than their predecessors. An answer to this demand lies within the realm of multiferroics. Multiferroic materials are defined as those single phase compounds where more than one ferroic order coexists; they generally belong to the perovskite group. One manifestation of multiferroicity, magnetoelectricity, requires the coexistence of spontaneous electric polarization and magnetic ordering. It is for this reason that rare-earth chromites have been selected as suitable candidates. This work is concerned with synthesis, characterization and dielectric response of the DyCr O3 , ErCr O3 and HoCr O3 ceramic compounds. The samples were synthesized by both the traditional solid state ceramic method, and the self-propagating combustion method. The resultant chromites were characterized by TG, DTA and XRD, which confirms the Pbnm space group. Additionally, conductivity analysis was performed and the associated activation energy determined for each system using experimental values and Arrhenius law. Thanks are due to DGAPA-UNAM for financial support through projects no. IN112909 and IN105711.

  18. Visible quality aluminum and nickel superpolish polishing technology enabling new missions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carrigan, Keith G.

    2011-06-01

    It is now well understood that with US Department of Defense (DoD) budgets shrinking and the Services and Agencies demanding new systems which can be fielded more quickly, cost and schedule are being emphasized more and more. At the same time, the US has ever growing needs for advanced capabilities to support evolving Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance objectives. In response to this market demand for ever more cost-effective, faster to market, single-channel, athermal optical systems, we have developed new metal polishing technologies which allow for short-lead, low-cost metal substrates to replace more costly, longer-lead material options. In parallel, the commercial marketplace is being driven continually to release better, faster and cheaper electronics. Growth according to Moore's law, enabled by advancements in photolithography, has produced denser memory, higher resolution displays and faster processors. While the quality of these products continues to increase, their price is falling. This seeming paradox is driven by industry advancements in manufacturing technology. The next steps on this curve can be realized via polishing technology which allows low-cost metal substrates to replace costly Silicon based optics for use in ultra-short wavelength systems.

  19. Versatile de novo enzyme activity in capsid proteins from an engineered M13 bacteriophage library.

    PubMed

    Casey, John P; Barbero, Roberto J; Heldman, Nimrod; Belcher, Angela M

    2014-11-26

    Biocatalysis has grown rapidly in recent decades as a solution to the evolving demands of industrial chemical processes. Mounting environmental pressures and shifting supply chains underscore the need for novel chemical activities, while rapid biotechnological progress has greatly increased the utility of enzymatic methods. Enzymes, though capable of high catalytic efficiency and remarkable reaction selectivity, still suffer from relative instability, high costs of scaling, and functional inflexibility. Herein, we developed a biochemical platform for engineering de novo semisynthetic enzymes, functionally modular and widely stable, based on the M13 bacteriophage. The hydrolytic bacteriophage described in this paper catalyzes a range of carboxylic esters, is active from 25 to 80 °C, and demonstrates greater efficiency in DMSO than in water. The platform complements biocatalysts with characteristics of heterogeneous catalysis, yielding high-surface area, thermostable biochemical structures readily adaptable to reactions in myriad solvents. As the viral structure ensures semisynthetic enzymes remain linked to the genetic sequences responsible for catalysis, future work will tailor the biocatalysts to high-demand synthetic processes by evolving new activities, utilizing high-throughput screening technology and harnessing M13's multifunctionality.

  20. Dimensions of managerial work in hospital dietetic services.

    PubMed

    Palacio, J P; Spears, M C; Vaden, A G; Downey, R G

    1985-07-01

    The objective of this study was to identify underlying dimensions of the managerial work of hospital dietetic services professional staff. A survey instrument was developed on the basis of Mintzberg's role theory of management. Respondents were asked to rate 80 activity statements on the relative importance and time demand of each. Principal component analysis was used to determine whether items could be conceptualized meaningfully by a smaller number of components capable of accounting for interrelationships. Reliabilities and correlations were computed for the resulting managerial factor scores. Six factors were identified from the importance ratings: Upper Management, Interaction with Subordinates, Outside Activities, Quality Assurance, Communication Activities, and Personnel Activities. Similar dimensions were identified from the time-demand ratings. Findings from this analysis suggest that managers in different functional specialties and at various organizational levels tend to vary in their allocation of time and to stress different roles. As a person rises on the administrative ladder of responsibility, concentration on extramural affairs and involvement in planning are greater, and concern with specific operational problems decreases. The importance of conceptual skills was especially evident in upper administrative positions, as was the critical need for intergroup skills.

  1. Overview of artificial neural networks.

    PubMed

    Zou, Jinming; Han, Yi; So, Sung-Sau

    2008-01-01

    The artificial neural network (ANN), or simply neural network, is a machine learning method evolved from the idea of simulating the human brain. The data explosion in modem drug discovery research requires sophisticated analysis methods to uncover the hidden causal relationships between single or multiple responses and a large set of properties. The ANN is one of many versatile tools to meet the demand in drug discovery modeling. Compared to a traditional regression approach, the ANN is capable of modeling complex nonlinear relationships. The ANN also has excellent fault tolerance and is fast and highly scalable with parallel processing. This chapter introduces the background of ANN development and outlines the basic concepts crucially important for understanding more sophisticated ANN. Several commonly used learning methods and network setups are discussed briefly at the end of the chapter.

  2. Switching roles: the functional plasticity of adult tissue stem cells

    PubMed Central

    Wabik, Agnieszka; Jones, Philip H

    2015-01-01

    Adult organisms have to adapt to survive, and the same is true for their tissues. Rates and types of cell production must be rapidly and reversibly adjusted to meet tissue demands in response to both local and systemic challenges. Recent work reveals how stem cell (SC) populations meet these requirements by switching between functional states tuned to homoeostasis or regeneration. This plasticity extends to differentiating cells, which are capable of reverting to SCs after injury. The concept of the niche, the micro-environment that sustains and regulates stem cells, is broadening, with a new appreciation of the role of physical factors and hormonal signals. Here, we review different functions of SCs, the cellular mechanisms that underlie them and the signals that bias the fate of SCs as they switch between roles. PMID:25812989

  3. Magnetic Nanoparticles for Multi-Imaging and Drug Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Jae-Hyun; Kim, Ji-wook; Cheon, Jinwoo

    2013-01-01

    Various bio-medical applications of magnetic nanoparticles have been explored during the past few decades. As tools that hold great potential for advancing biological sciences, magnetic nanoparticles have been used as platform materials for enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agents, biological separation and magnetic drug delivery systems, and magnetic hyperthermia treatment. Furthermore, approaches that integrate various imaging and bioactive moieties have been used in the design of multi-modality systems, which possess synergistically enhanced properties such as better imaging resolution and sensitivity, molecular recognition capabilities, stimulus responsive drug delivery with on-demand control, and spatio-temporally controlled cell signal activation. Below, recent studies that focus on the design and synthesis of multi-mode magnetic nanoparticles will be briefly reviewed and their potential applications in the imaging and therapy areas will be also discussed. PMID:23579479

  4. Protecting Your Patients' Interests in the Era of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Predictive Analytics.

    PubMed

    Balthazar, Patricia; Harri, Peter; Prater, Adam; Safdar, Nabile M

    2018-03-01

    The Hippocratic oath and the Belmont report articulate foundational principles for how physicians interact with patients and research subjects. The increasing use of big data and artificial intelligence techniques demands a re-examination of these principles in light of the potential issues surrounding privacy, confidentiality, data ownership, informed consent, epistemology, and inequities. Patients have strong opinions about these issues. Radiologists have a fiduciary responsibility to protect the interest of their patients. As such, the community of radiology leaders, ethicists, and informaticists must have a conversation about the appropriate way to deal with these issues and help lead the way in developing capabilities in the most just, ethical manner possible. Copyright © 2017 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. On the demand for prescription drugs: heterogeneity in price responses.

    PubMed

    Skipper, Niels

    2013-07-01

    This paper estimates the price elasticity of demand for prescription drugs using an exogenous shift in consumer co-payment caused by a reform in the Danish subsidy scheme for the general public. Using purchasing records for the entire Danish population, I show that the average price response for the most commonly used drug yields demand elasticities in the range of -0.36 to -0.5. The reform is shown to affect women, the elderly, and immigrants the most. Furthermore, this paper shows significant heterogeneity in the price response over different types of antibiotics, suggesting that the price elasticity of demand varies considerably even across relatively similar drugs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. Justification of the Utility of Introducing Smart Meters in Latvia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kunickis, M.; Dandens, A.; Bariss, U.

    2015-12-01

    Automatic data reading from smart meters is being developed in many parts of the world, including Latvia. The key drivers for that are developments of smart technologies and economic benefits for consumers. Deployment of smart meters could be launched in a massive scale. Several pilot projects were implemented to verify the feasibility of smart meters for individual consumer groups. Preliminary calculations indicate that installation of smart meters for approximately 23 % of electricity consumers would be economically viable. Currently, the data for the last two years is available for an in-depth mathematical analysis. The continuous analysis of consumption data would be established, when more measurements from smart meters are available. The extent of introduction of smart meters should be specified during this process in order to gain the maximum benefit for the whole society (consumers, grid companies, state authorities), because there are still many uncertain and variable factors. For example, it is necessary to consider statistical load variations by hour, dependence of electricity consumption on temperature fluctuations, consumer behaviour and demand response to market signals to reduce electricity consumption in the short and long term, consumer's ambitions and capability to install home automation for regulation of electricity consumption. To develop the demand response, it is necessary to analyse the whole array of additional factors, such as expected cost reduction of smart meters, possible extension of their functionality, further development of information exchange systems, as well as standard requirements and different political and regulatory decisions regarding the reduction of electricity consumption and energy efficiency.

  7. A microcomputer-based emergency response system*.

    PubMed

    Belardo, S; Howell, A; Ryan, R; Wallace, W A

    1983-09-01

    A microcomputer-based system was developed to provide local officials responsible for disaster management with assistance during the crucial period immediately following a disaster, a period when incorrect decisions could have an adverse impact on the surrounding community. While the paper focuses on a potential disaster resulting from an accident at a commercial nuclear power generating facility, the system can be applied to other disastrous situations. Decisions involving evacuation, shelter and the deployment of resources must be made in response to floods, earthquakes, accidents in the transportation of hazardous materials, and hurricanes to name a few examples. As a decision aid, the system was designed to enhance data display by presenting the data in the form of representations (i.e. road maps, evacuation routes, etc.) as well as in list or tabular form. The potential impact of the event (i.e. the release of radioactive material) was displayed in the form of a cloud, representing the dispersion of the radioactive material. In addition, an algorithm was developed to assist the manager in assigning response resources to demands. The capability for modelling the impact of a disaster is discussed briefly, with reference to a system installed in the communities surrounding the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York State. Results demonstrate both the technical feasibility of incorporating microcomputers indecision support systems for radiological emergency response, and the acceptance of such systems by those public officials responsible for implementing the response plans.

  8. New Functions for New Demands.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wrobleski, Diane

    1995-01-01

    Explores areas to consider when planning and designing libraries/media centers. Examines wiring capabilities to meet future needs, ergonomics and furniture durability for workstations, and color and lighting schemes to enhance the indoor environment. (GR)

  9. 20 CFR 220.120 - The claimant's residual functional capacity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... medically determinable impairment(s), such as skin impairment(s), epilepsy, impairment(s) of vision, hearing... with a low back disorder may be fully capable of the physical demands consistent with those of...

  10. 20 CFR 220.120 - The claimant's residual functional capacity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... medically determinable impairment(s), such as skin impairment(s), epilepsy, impairment(s) of vision, hearing... with a low back disorder may be fully capable of the physical demands consistent with those of...

  11. 20 CFR 220.120 - The claimant's residual functional capacity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... medically determinable impairment(s), such as skin impairment(s), epilepsy, impairment(s) of vision, hearing... with a low back disorder may be fully capable of the physical demands consistent with those of...

  12. 20 CFR 220.120 - The claimant's residual functional capacity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... medically determinable impairment(s), such as skin impairment(s), epilepsy, impairment(s) of vision, hearing... with a low back disorder may be fully capable of the physical demands consistent with those of...

  13. Electric Water Heater Modeling and Control Strategies for Demand Response

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

    Diao, Ruisheng; Lu, Shuai; Elizondo, Marcelo A.

    2012-07-22

    Abstract— Demand response (DR) has a great potential to provide balancing services at normal operating conditions and emergency support when a power system is subject to disturbances. Effective control strategies can significantly relieve the balancing burden of conventional generators and reduce investment on generation and transmission expansion. This paper is aimed at modeling electric water heaters (EWH) in households and tests their response to control strategies to implement DR. The open-loop response of EWH to a centralized signal is studied by adjusting temperature settings to provide regulation services; and two types of decentralized controllers are tested to provide frequency supportmore » following generator trips. EWH models are included in a simulation platform in DIgSILENT to perform electromechanical simulation, which contains 147 households in a distribution feeder. Simulation results show the dependence of EWH response on water heater usage . These results provide insight suggestions on the need of control strategies to achieve better performance for demand response implementation. Index Terms— Centralized control, decentralized control, demand response, electrical water heater, smart grid« less

  14. Better service, greater efficiency : transit management for demand response systems

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-01-01

    This brochure briefly describes different technologies which can enhance demand response transit systems. It covers automated scheduling and dispatching, mobile data terminals, electronic identification cards, automatic vehicle location, and geograph...

  15. Family history of problem drinking is associated with less sensitivity of alcohol demand to a next-day responsibility.

    PubMed

    Murphy, James G; Yurasek, Ali M; Meshesha, Lidia Z; Dennhardt, Ashley A; MacKillop, James; Skidmore, Jessica R; Martens, Matthew P

    2014-07-01

    Behavioral economic demand curves measure alcohol consumption as a function of price and may capture clinically relevant individual differences in alcohol-reinforcing efficacy. This study used a novel, behavioral-economic, hypothetical demand-curve paradigm to examine the association between family history of alcohol misuse and individual differences in both alcohol demand and the relative sensitivity of alcohol demand to next-day responsibilities. Participants were 207 college students (47% male, 68.5% White, 27.4% African American, Mage = 19.5 years) who reported at least one heavy drinking episode (5/4 or more drinks on one occasion for a man/woman) in the past month and completed two versions of an alcohol purchase task (APT) that assessed hypothetical alcohol consumption across 17 drink prices. In one APT (standard), students imagined they had no next-day responsibilities, and in the other, they imagined having a 10:00 a.m. test the next day. A series of analyses of covariance indicated that participants with at least one biological parent or grandparent who had misused alcohol reported similar levels of alcohol demand on the standard APT but significantly less sensitivity to the next-day academic responsibility as measured by the percentage of reduction in demand intensity and breakpoint across the no-responsibility and next-day-test conditions. These findings provide initial evidence that APTs might clarify one potential mechanism of risk conferred by family history. Young adult heavy drinkers with a family history of problematic drinking may be less sensitive to next-day responsibilities that might modulate drinking in drinkers without a family history of alcohol problems.

  16. Residential Consumer-Centric Demand-Side Management Based on Energy Disaggregation-Piloting Constrained Swarm Intelligence: Towards Edge Computing

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Yu-Chen

    2018-01-01

    The emergence of smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices has highly favored the realization of smart homes in a down-stream sector of a smart grid. The underlying objective of Demand Response (DR) schemes is to actively engage customers to modify their energy consumption on domestic appliances in response to pricing signals. Domestic appliance scheduling is widely accepted as an effective mechanism to manage domestic energy consumption intelligently. Besides, to residential customers for DR implementation, maintaining a balance between energy consumption cost and users’ comfort satisfaction is a challenge. Hence, in this paper, a constrained Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)-based residential consumer-centric load-scheduling method is proposed. The method can be further featured with edge computing. In contrast with cloud computing, edge computing—a method of optimizing cloud computing technologies by driving computing capabilities at the IoT edge of the Internet as one of the emerging trends in engineering technology—addresses bandwidth-intensive contents and latency-sensitive applications required among sensors and central data centers through data analytics at or near the source of data. A non-intrusive load-monitoring technique proposed previously is utilized to automatic determination of physical characteristics of power-intensive home appliances from users’ life patterns. The swarm intelligence, constrained PSO, is used to minimize the energy consumption cost while considering users’ comfort satisfaction for DR implementation. The residential consumer-centric load-scheduling method proposed in this paper is evaluated under real-time pricing with inclining block rates and is demonstrated in a case study. The experimentation reported in this paper shows the proposed residential consumer-centric load-scheduling method can re-shape loads by home appliances in response to DR signals. Moreover, a phenomenal reduction in peak power consumption is achieved by 13.97%. PMID:29702607

  17. Box-Behnken Design Application to Study Leaching of Pyrolusite from Manganese Mining Residue Using Olive Mill Wastewater as Reductant

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alaoui, Abdallah; El Kacemi, K.; El Ass, K.; Kitane, S.; El Bouzidi, S.

    2015-05-01

    The leaching capacity of olive mill wastewater (OMW) for pyrolusite mine tailings (MnO2) was evaluated using the Box-Behnken experimental design of response surface methodology. The selected test parameters include the concentration of sulfuric acid, the OMW dosage chemical oxygen demand (COD), the solid/liquid ratio S/ L, and particle size. It was determined that the MnO2 dissolution increased with an increase in the sulfuric acid concentration and the OMW dosage, and with a decrease in the solid/liquid ratio. The particle size does not have significant influence on the manganese recovery. A quadratic polynomial model has been developed to predict the amount of manganese extraction from pyrolusite for other operating conditions that were not directly tested. The leaching ability was evaluated based on manganese recovery (Mn%) and the removal capability of chemical oxygen demand (COD%). The predicted values for the responses agreed well with experimental values; R 2 (correlation coefficient) values for Mn% and COD% were 0.9602 and 0.9687, respectively. Within the design space, the optimum conditions for the lixiviation of MnO2 in terms of manganese recovery and COD removal were established and include [H2SO4] of 3 mol L-1, OMW in range of 23 g L-1 to 25 g L-1 COD, and pulp density in range of 90 g L-1 to 100 g L-1. Under these conditions, the response values generated by the model are Mn% ˜49% and COD% >40%. These values show good agreement with those obtained in the validation test. This study has demonstrated that it is possible to use the olive mill wastewater as a reductant agent to recover manganese from a pyrolusite mining residue.

  18. Survey of needs and capabilities for wind tunnel testing of dynamic stability of aircraft at high angles of attack

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Orlik-Ruckemann, K. J.

    1973-01-01

    A survey was conducted relative to future requirements for dynamic stability information for such aerospace vehicles as the space shuttle and advanced high performance military aircraft. High-angle-of-attack and high-Reynolds number conditions were emphasized. A review was made of the wind-tunnel capabilities in North America for measuring dynamic stability derivatives, revealing an almost total lack of capabilities that could satisfy these requirements. Recommendations are made regarding equipment that should be constructed to remedy this situation. A description is given of some of the more advanced existing capabilities, which can be used to at least partly satisfy immediate demands.

  19. Critiquing the Reasons for Making Artificial Moral Agents.

    PubMed

    van Wynsberghe, Aimee; Robbins, Scott

    2018-02-19

    Many industry leaders and academics from the field of machine ethics would have us believe that the inevitability of robots coming to have a larger role in our lives demands that robots be endowed with moral reasoning capabilities. Robots endowed in this way may be referred to as artificial moral agents (AMA). Reasons often given for developing AMAs are: the prevention of harm, the necessity for public trust, the prevention of immoral use, such machines are better moral reasoners than humans, and building these machines would lead to a better understanding of human morality. Although some scholars have challenged the very initiative to develop AMAs, what is currently missing from the debate is a closer examination of the reasons offered by machine ethicists to justify the development of AMAs. This closer examination is especially needed because of the amount of funding currently being allocated to the development of AMAs (from funders like Elon Musk) coupled with the amount of attention researchers and industry leaders receive in the media for their efforts in this direction. The stakes in this debate are high because moral robots would make demands on society; answers to a host of pending questions about what counts as an AMA and whether they are morally responsible for their behavior or not. This paper shifts the burden of proof back to the machine ethicists demanding that they give good reasons to build AMAs. The paper argues that until this is done, the development of commercially available AMAs should not proceed further.

  20. Measuring Nutrition Governance: An Analysis of Commitment, Capability, and Collaboration in Nepal.

    PubMed

    Webb, Patrick; Ghosh, Shibani; Shrestha, Robin; Namirembe, Grace; Gurung, Sabi; Sapkota, Diplav; Bell, Winnie Fay; Davis, Dale; Kennedy, Eileen; Neupane, Shailes; Manohar, Swetha; Baral, Kedar

    2016-12-01

    Global commitments to nutrition have supported calls for better evidence to support effective investments at national level. However, too little attention has so far been paid to the role of governance in achieving impacts. This article explores the ways by which the commitment and capabilities of policy implementers affect collaborative efforts for achieving nutrition goals. Over 1370 structured interviews were held with government and nongovernment officials over 3 years in 21 districts. Coded responses supported quantitative analysis of stakeholders' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding policy implementation. Stakeholder commitment was already high in 2013 when a new national policy was adopted, but capabilities were weak. Only one-third of interviewed respondents had any nutrition training. Rollout of training focusing on districts targeted for early implementation of multisector programming. This raised levels of nutrition training among interviewed respondents to 57% in 2015, which raised demand for technical information to support actions. Better understanding of the complexity of cross-sector work led to calls for higher budgets and more effective cross-sectoral collaboration. Nepal offers an example of effective efforts to improve nutrition governance across sectors at all levels of administration. The promotion of awareness, capacity, and new ways of working shows promise. Trainings, information sharing, and management support led to growing willingness among civil servants to engage across sectors. Structured surveys offer a viable way to track change across institutions and sectors. © The Author(s) 2016.

  1. Terrain Commander: a next-generation remote surveillance system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Finneral, Henry J.

    2003-09-01

    Terrain Commander is a fully automated forward observation post that provides the most advanced capability in surveillance and remote situational awareness. The Terrain Commander system was selected by the Australian Government for its NINOX Phase IIB Unattended Ground Sensor Program with the first systems delivered in August of 2002. Terrain Commander offers next generation target detection using multi-spectral peripheral sensors coupled with autonomous day/night image capture and processing. Subsequent intelligence is sent back through satellite communications with unlimited range to a highly sophisticated central monitoring station. The system can "stakeout" remote locations clandestinely for 24 hours a day for months at a time. With its fully integrated SATCOM system, almost any site in the world can be monitored from virtually any other location in the world. Terrain Commander automatically detects and discriminates intruders by precisely cueing its advanced EO subsystem. The system provides target detection capabilities with minimal nuisance alarms combined with the positive visual identification that authorities demand before committing a response. Terrain Commander uses an advanced beamforming acoustic sensor and a distributed array of seismic, magnetic and passive infrared sensors to detect, capture images and accurately track vehicles and personnel. Terrain Commander has a number of emerging military and non-military applications including border control, physical security, homeland defense, force protection and intelligence gathering. This paper reviews the development, capabilities and mission applications of the Terrain Commander system.

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

    Blair, Jeff L.; Glenn, Lee J.

    The Smart Grid opens the door to the development of many companion technologies which will in turn enable the development of a variety of devices for household electricity-consuming appliances that can communicate with it; especially, many major appliance manufacturers (such as Whirlpool and General Electric) have made public commitments to design their appliances to be Smart Grid-compatible over the next several years. Yet during that same time period, customers will purchase many millions of long-lasting appliances which are not compatible with the Smart Grid. This research project's purpose is to bring significant Smart Grid compatibility to previously-installed appliances that weremore » not specifically designed for any Smart Grid communications, in a way that is both economical and attractive for users who want to share in the energy cost savings and reduction of peak power demand opportunities provided by the evolving Smart Grid infrastructure. The focus of this effort is to identify and research smart control solutions which take advantage of the effective strategies of demand-response (DR) communications from utilities [including time-of-day (TOD) and peak-demand pricing options] and function apart from any need for operational changes to be designed into the non-smart appliances. Our Phase I concepts promote technological advancements for enabling devices that shift the available-use time of millions of different appliances which otherwise have no Smart Grid capability. We researched low-cost microcontroller-based ways of creating devices with the ability to: (1) maintain an accurate time and day (with no need for battery backup throughout a power outage); (2) perform two-way wired and wireless communications directly with the utility company's demand management signals, to identify both low-cost time periods as well as critical-reduction periods when the cost of energy use would otherwise be much higher; (3) measure the power usage of the connected non-smart appliance; and (4) remove power for a period of time from the appliance (such as a dehumidifier, portable heater, or pool pump) in response to both time-pricing schedule and critical peak-load information from the utility, or inform the user of a batch-type appliance (such as a clothes dryer or dishwasher) regarding the current cost associated with using the appliance. The new products that could be developed as a result of this research into new consumer-centric features and characteristics includes smart wall outlets, smart outlet power-monitoring adapters, smart load switches and smart remote electric rate indicators associated with the non-smart appliances. Our Phase I goal of determining the feasibility of the above technologies was successful. The objectives were also met of developing concepts for a family of microprocessor-based control/indicator devices that can provide the above capabilities while connected in series between an appliance and its electrical power source and/or while indicating cost-of-use status to the appliance user.« less

  3. Demand effects on positive response distortion by police officer applicants on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory.

    PubMed

    Detrick, Paul; Chibnall, John T; Call, Cynthia

    2010-09-01

    Understanding and detecting response distortion is important in the high-demand circumstances of personnel selection. In this article, we describe positive response distortion on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992) among police officer applicants under high and low demand conditions. Positive response distortion primarily reflected denial/minimization of Neuroticism and accentuation of traits associated with moralistic bias (Agreeableness and Conscientiousness). Validity of the NEO PI-R research validity scale, Positive Presentation Management, was weakly supported with respect to the Neuroticism domain only. Results will be useful in interpreting personality inventory results in the police personnel selection process.

  4. OpenTopography: Addressing Big Data Challenges Using Cloud Computing, HPC, and Data Analytics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crosby, C. J.; Nandigam, V.; Phan, M.; Youn, C.; Baru, C.; Arrowsmith, R.

    2014-12-01

    OpenTopography (OT) is a geoinformatics-based data facility initiated in 2009 for democratizing access to high-resolution topographic data, derived products, and tools. Hosted at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), OT utilizes cyberinfrastructure, including large-scale data management, high-performance computing, and service-oriented architectures to provide efficient Web based access to large, high-resolution topographic datasets. OT collocates data with processing tools to enable users to quickly access custom data and derived products for their application. OT's ongoing R&D efforts aim to solve emerging technical challenges associated with exponential growth in data, higher order data products, as well as user base. Optimization of data management strategies can be informed by a comprehensive set of OT user access metrics that allows us to better understand usage patterns with respect to the data. By analyzing the spatiotemporal access patterns within the datasets, we can map areas of the data archive that are highly active (hot) versus the ones that are rarely accessed (cold). This enables us to architect a tiered storage environment consisting of high performance disk storage (SSD) for the hot areas and less expensive slower disk for the cold ones, thereby optimizing price to performance. From a compute perspective, OT is looking at cloud based solutions such as the Microsoft Azure platform to handle sudden increases in load. An OT virtual machine image in Microsoft's VM Depot can be invoked and deployed quickly in response to increased system demand. OT has also integrated SDSC HPC systems like the Gordon supercomputer into our infrastructure tier to enable compute intensive workloads like parallel computation of hydrologic routing on high resolution topography. This capability also allows OT to scale to HPC resources during high loads to meet user demand and provide more efficient processing. With a growing user base and maturing scientific user community comes new requests for algorithms and processing capabilities. To address this demand, OT is developing an extensible service based architecture for integrating community-developed software. This "plugable" approach to Web service deployment will enable new processing and analysis tools to run collocated with OT hosted data.

  5. Calibration of CORSIM models under saturated traffic flow conditions.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-09-01

    This study proposes a methodology to calibrate microscopic traffic flow simulation models. : The proposed methodology has the capability to calibrate simultaneously all the calibration : parameters as well as demand patterns for any network topology....

  6. Maritime Law Enforcement: A Critical Capability for the Navy?

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-03-01

    the need for robust maritime security utilizing law enforcement capabilities is in demand. 2. National Concern The significance of nontraditional... utilize their navies for maritime law enforcement.16 So, why does the U.S. Navy not perform law enforcement? The Navy defers on law enforcement...Summer, 2007), 30. 31 Geoffrey Mones and Andrew Webb, “The Coast Guard Needs Help from the . . . Navy and Marine Corps,” Vol. 130: Proceedings 130, no

  7. Twenty-First Century Defense and Disruptive Innovation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-03-22

    organizations (or nations)—those not captive to the dominant paradigm—are more likely to find applications where disruptive technologies meet different...smaller, cheaper, and less capable drive, and dismissed their potential. The new firms, however, were not held captive by customer demands and were... balloon that does not carry a human operator and is capable of flight under remote control or autonomous programming.” 17 UAS refers to the “system whose

  8. Leading the Development of Concepts of Operations for Next-Generation Remotely Piloted Aircraft

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-01-01

    overarching CONOPS. RPAs must provide full motion video and signals intelli- gence (SIGINT) capabilities to fulfill their intelligence, surveillance, and...reached full capacity, combatant commanders had an insatiable demand for this new breed of capability, and phrases like Pred porn and drone strike...dimensional steering line on the video feed of the pilot’s head-up display (HUD) that would indicate turning cues and finite steering paths for optimal

  9. The Test and Evaluation of Unmanned and Autonomous Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-12-01

    robotic/ intelli - gent machines for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Although the technology is still nascent and advancing, we are faced with the...evolutionary nature of UAS acquisition must be met with evolutionary test capabilities yet to be discovered and developed. Test capabilities must be deployed...at a faster pace than UAS deployment to satisfy the demand for warfighter improvements. The DoD is stimulating this new area of innovation with

  10. Empowerment of physiotherapy students on placement: The interplay between autonomy, risk, and responsibility.

    PubMed

    Clouder, Lynn; Adefila, Arinola

    2017-11-01

    Knowledge of the effects on students of clinical educators' giving or withholding responsibility on placement is limited. The associated empowering, or disempowering impact indicates the need for research on what grounds such decisions are made. The study aimed to explore clinical educators' perspectives on the importance of giving student physiotherapists increasing levels of responsibility on clinical placement, and the factors considered when giving or withholding responsibility. A grounded theory methodology underpins this United Kingdom (UK) based study. The phase of the study reported in this article involved 26, semi-structured interviews with clinical educators, each followed by the completion of a diamond ranking exercise. Three themes emerged: 1) the ubiquity of risk; 2) the relationship between trust and trustworthiness; and 3) graduated supervision. The first theme, acknowledged that risk is ever-present and that clinical educators are used to managing it, balancing risk and responsibility given to students. The second theme highlighted the importance of developing trust/trustworthiness as a foundation for a sound working relationship between student and clinical educator. The third theme focusing on graduated supervision as a means of empowering students to take on increasingly demanding responsibilities on placement. The study illustrates the complex relationship between risk, trust, responsibility, and developing student autonomy. A strategy is proposed to provide an empowering alternative to the tendency to increase surveillance and/or limit the responsibility for students who lack confidence or capability in taking responsibility on clinical placement. Future research could aim to test the strategy more widely.

  11. Two-and-a-half-year-olds succeed at a traditional false-belief task with reduced processing demands.

    PubMed

    Setoh, Peipei; Scott, Rose M; Baillargeon, Renée

    2016-11-22

    When tested with traditional false-belief tasks, which require answering a standard question about the likely behavior of an agent with a false belief, children perform below chance until age 4 y or later. When tested without such questions, however, children give evidence of false-belief understanding much earlier. Are traditional tasks difficult because they tap a more advanced form of false-belief understanding (fundamental-change view) or because they impose greater processing demands (processing-demands view)? Evidence that young children succeed at traditional false-belief tasks when processing demands are reduced would support the latter view. In prior research, reductions in inhibitory-control demands led to improvements in young children's performance, but often only to chance (instead of below-chance) levels. Here we examined whether further reductions in processing demands might lead to success. We speculated that: (i) young children could respond randomly in a traditional low-inhibition task because their limited information-processing resources are overwhelmed by the total concurrent processing demands in the task; and (ii) these demands include those from the response-generation process activated by the standard question. This analysis suggested that 2.5-y-old toddlers might succeed at a traditional low-inhibition task if response-generation demands were also reduced via practice trials. As predicted, toddlers performed above chance following two response-generation practice trials; toddlers failed when these trials either were rendered less effective or were used in a high-inhibition task. These results support the processing-demands view: Even toddlers succeed at a traditional false-belief task when overall processing demands are reduced.

  12. Blockchain Based Decentralized Management of Demand Response Programs in Smart Energy Grids.

    PubMed

    Pop, Claudia; Cioara, Tudor; Antal, Marcel; Anghel, Ionut; Salomie, Ioan; Bertoncini, Massimo

    2018-01-09

    In this paper, we investigate the use of decentralized blockchain mechanisms for delivering transparent, secure, reliable, and timely energy flexibility, under the form of adaptation of energy demand profiles of Distributed Energy Prosumers, to all the stakeholders involved in the flexibility markets (Distribution System Operators primarily, retailers, aggregators, etc.). In our approach, a blockchain based distributed ledger stores in a tamper proof manner the energy prosumption information collected from Internet of Things smart metering devices, while self-enforcing smart contracts programmatically define the expected energy flexibility at the level of each prosumer, the associated rewards or penalties, and the rules for balancing the energy demand with the energy production at grid level. Consensus based validation will be used for demand response programs validation and to activate the appropriate financial settlement for the flexibility providers. The approach was validated using a prototype implemented in an Ethereum platform using energy consumption and production traces of several buildings from literature data sets. The results show that our blockchain based distributed demand side management can be used for matching energy demand and production at smart grid level, the demand response signal being followed with high accuracy, while the amount of energy flexibility needed for convergence is reduced.

  13. Method for Estimating Patronage of Demand Responsive Transportation Systems

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1977-12-01

    This study has developed a method for estimating patronage of demand responsive transportation (DRT) systems. This procedure requires as inputs a description of the intended service area, current work trip patterns, characteristics of the served popu...

  14. Paratransit and Transit Integration Areawide Demand Responsive Transportation System - Program Analysis

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1977-04-01

    The Urban Mass Transportation Administration carries out research and developmet on Areawide Demand Responsive Transportation (AWDRT) systems as part of the Bus and Paratransit Technoloy activities. AWDRT systems are basically the interation of flexi...

  15. An Integrated Hydrologic-Economic Modeling Tool for Evaluating Water Management Responses to Climate Change in the Boise River Basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmidt, R. D.; Taylor, R. G.; Stodick, L. D.; Contor, B. A.

    2009-12-01

    A recent federal interagency report on climate change and water management (Brekke et. al., 2009) describes several possible management responses to the impacts of climate change on water supply and demand. Management alternatives include changes to water supply infrastructure, reservoir system operations, and water demand policies. Water users in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Boise Project (located in the Lower Boise River basin in southwestern Idaho) would be among those impacted both hydrologically and economically by climate change. Climate change and management responses to climate change are expected to cause shifts in water supply and demand. Supply shifts would result from changes in basin precipitation patterns, and demand shifts would result from higher evapotranspiration rates and a longer growing season. The impacts would also extend to non-Project water users in the basin, since most non-Project groundwater pumpers and drain water diverters rely on hydrologic externalities created by seepage losses from Boise Project water deliveries. An integrated hydrologic-economic model was developed for the Boise basin to aid Reclamation in evaluating the hydrologic and economic impacts of various management responses to climate change. A spatial, partial-equilibrium, economic optimization model calculates spatially-distinct equilibrium water prices and quantities, and maximizes a social welfare function (the sum of consumer and producers surpluses) for all agricultural and municipal water suppliers and demanders (both Project and non-Project) in the basin. Supply-price functions and demand-price functions are exogenous inputs to the economic optimization model. On the supply side, groundwater and river/reservoir models are used to generate hydrologic responses to various management alternatives. The response data is then used to develop water supply-price functions for Project and non-Project water users. On the demand side, crop production functions incorporating crop distribution, evapotranspiration rates, irrigation efficiencies, and crop prices are used to develop water demand-price functions for agricultural water users. Demand functions for municipal and industrial water users are also developed. Recent applications of the integrated model have focused on the hydrologic and economic impacts of demand management alternatives, including large-scale canal lining conservation measures, and market-based water trading between canal diverters and groundwater pumpers. A supply management alternative being investigated involves revising reservoir rule curves to compensate for climate change impacts on timing of reservoir filling.

  16. Resolving response, decision, and strategic control: evidence for a functional topography in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.

    PubMed

    Venkatraman, Vinod; Rosati, Alexandra G; Taren, Adrienne A; Huettel, Scott A

    2009-10-21

    The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) plays a central role in aspects of cognitive control and decision making. Here, we provide evidence for an anterior-to-posterior topography within the DMPFC using tasks that evoke three distinct forms of control demands--response, decision, and strategic--each of which could be mapped onto independent behavioral data. Specifically, we identify three spatially distinct regions within the DMPFC: a posterior region associated with control demands evoked by multiple incompatible responses, a middle region associated with control demands evoked by the relative desirability of decision options, and an anterior region that predicts control demands related to deviations from an individual's preferred decision-making strategy. These results provide new insight into the functional organization of DMPFC and suggest how recent controversies about its role in complex decision making and response mapping can be reconciled.

  17. Resolving Response, Decision, and Strategic Control: Evidence for a Functional Topography in Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex

    PubMed Central

    Venkatraman, Vinod; Rosati, Alexandra G.; Taren, Adrienne A.; Huettel, Scott A.

    2009-01-01

    The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) plays a central role in aspects of cognitive control and decision making. Here, we provide evidence for an anterior-to-posterior topography within the DMPFC using tasks that evoke three distinct forms of control demands – response, decision, and strategic – each of which could be mapped on to independent behavioral data. Specifically, we identify three spatially distinct regions within the DMPFC: a posterior region associated with control demands evoked by multiple incompatible responses, a middle region associated with control demands evoked by the relative desirability of decision options, and an anterior region that predicts control demands related to deviations from an individual's preferred decision-making strategy. These results provide new insight into the functional organization of DMPFC, and suggest how recent controversies about its role in complex decision making and response mapping can be reconciled. PMID:19846703

  18. The Focusing of Responsibility: An Alternative Hypothesis in Help-Demanding Situations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Misavage, Robert; Richardson, James T.

    The "diffusion of responsibility" hypothesis as an explanation of helping behavior (or lack of same) is qualified by suggesting that the hypothesis applies only in non-interacting situations. It is hypothesized that interacting groups who are aware of a help-demanding situation actually focus the responsibility and, therefore, take action as a…

  19. 22 CFR 1506.5 - Demand for payment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... total of three progressively stronger written demands at approximately 30-day intervals will normally be made, unless a response or other information indicates that additional written demands would either be unnecessary or futile. When necessary to protect the Government's interest, written demand may be preceded by...

  20. Short-term electric power demand forecasting based on economic-electricity transmission model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Wenfeng; Bai, Hongkun; Liu, Wei; Liu, Yongmin; Wang, Yubin Mao; Wang, Jiangbo; He, Dandan

    2018-04-01

    Short-term electricity demand forecasting is the basic work to ensure safe operation of the power system. In this paper, a practical economic electricity transmission model (EETM) is built. With the intelligent adaptive modeling capabilities of Prognoz Platform 7.2, the econometric model consists of three industrial added value and income levels is firstly built, the electricity demand transmission model is also built. By multiple regression, moving averages and seasonal decomposition, the problem of multiple correlations between variables is effectively overcome in EETM. The validity of EETM is proved by comparison with the actual value of Henan Province. Finally, EETM model is used to forecast the electricity consumption of the 1-4 quarter of 2018.

  1. Orbit on demand - Will cost determine best design?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Macconochie, J. O.; Mackley, E. A.; Morris, S. J.; Phillips, W. P.; Breiner, C. A.; Scotti, S. J.

    1985-01-01

    Eleven design concepts for vertical (V) and horizontal (H) take-off launch-on-demand manned orbital vehicles are discussed. Attention is given to up to three stages, Mach numbers (sub-, 2, or 3), expendable boosters, drop tanks (DT), and storable (S) or cryogenic fuels. All the concepts feature lifting bodies with circular cross-section and most have a 7 ft diam, 15 ft long payload bay as well as a crew compartment. Expendable elements impose higher costs and in some cases reduce all-azimuth launch capabilities. Single-stage vehicles simplify the logistics whether in H or V configuration. A two-stage H vehicle offers launch offset for the desired orbital plane before firing the rocket engines after take-off and subsonic acceleration. A two-stage fully reusable V form has the second lowest weight of the vehicles studied and an all-azimuth launch capability. Better definition of the prospective mission requirements is needed before choosing among the alternatives.

  2. The SCARLET{trademark} array for high power GEO satellites

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

    Spence, B.R.; Jones, P.A.; Eskenazi, M.I.

    1997-12-31

    The GEO satellite market is demanding increasingly capable spacecraft which, in turn, drives commercial spacecraft manufacturers to require significantly higher power solar arrays. As satellite capability increases the demand for high power array systems which are both cost and performance competitive becomes more crucial. Conventional rigid panel planar arrays, although suitable in the past, negatively impact spacecraft competitiveness for these new applications. The Solar Concentrator Array with Refractive Linear Element Technology (SCARLET{trademark}) represents an economically attractive solution for meeting these new high power requirements. When compared to conventional planar arrays, SCARLET provides substantially lower cost and higher deployed stiffness, competitivemore » mass, better producibility, and affordable use of high efficiency multijunction cells. This paper compares cost/performance characteristics of the SCARLET array to conventional planar arrays for high power GEO spacecraft applications. High power SCARLET array configurations are described, and inherent spacecraft and array level cost/performance benefits are presented.« less

  3. The IBM PC at NASA Ames

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Peredo, James P.

    1988-01-01

    Like many large companies, Ames relies very much on its computing power to get work done. And, like many other large companies, finding the IBM PC a reliable tool, Ames uses it for many of the same types of functions as other companies. Presentation and clarification needs demand much of graphics packages. Programming and text editing needs require simpler, more-powerful packages. The storage space needed by NASA's scientists and users for the monumental amounts of data that Ames needs to keep demand the best database packages that are large and easy to use. Availability to the Micom Switching Network combines the powers of the IBM PC with the capabilities of other computers and mainframes and allows users to communicate electronically. These four primary capabilities of the PC are vital to the needs of NASA's users and help to continue and support the vast amounts of work done by the NASA employees.

  4. An integrated power/attitude control system /IPACS/ for space vehicle application

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anderson, W. W.; Keckler, C. R.

    1973-01-01

    An integrated power and attitude control system (IPACS) concept with potential application to a broad class of space missions is discussed. The concept involves the storage and supply on demand of electrical energy in rotating flywheels while simultaneously providing control torques by controlled precession of the flywheels. The system is thus an alternative to the storage batteries used on present spacecraft while providing similar capability for attitude control as that represented by a control moment gyroscope (CMG) system. Potential IPACS configurations discussed include single- and double-rotor double-gimbal IPACS units. Typical sets of control laws which would manage the momentum and energy exchange between the IPACS and a typical space vehicle are discussed. Discussion of a simulation of a typical potential IPACS configuration and candidate mission concerned with pointing capability, power supply and demand flow, and discussion of the interactions between stabilization and control requirements and power flow requirements are presented.

  5. Developing Fabrication Technologies to Provide On Demand Manufacturing for Exploration of the Moon and Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hammond, Monica S.; Good, James E.; Gilley, Scott D.; Howard, Richard W.

    2006-01-01

    NASA's human exploration initiative poses great opportunity and risk for manned and robotic missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Engineers and scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are developing technologies for in situ fabrication capabilities during lunar and Martian surface operations utilizing provisioned and locally refined materials. Current fabrication technologies must be advanced to support the special demands and applications of the space exploration initiative such as power, weight and volume constraints. In Situ Fabrication and Repair (ISFR) will advance state-of-the-art technologies in support of habitat structure development, tools, and mechanical part fabrication. The repair and replacement of space mission components, such as life support items or crew exercise equipment, fall within the ISFR scope. This paper will address current fabrication technologies relative to meeting ISFR targeted capabilities, near-term advancement goals, and systematic evaluation of various fabrication methods.

  6. Neural recording and modulation technologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Ritchie; Canales, Andres; Anikeeva, Polina

    2017-01-01

    In the mammalian nervous system, billions of neurons connected by quadrillions of synapses exchange electrical, chemical and mechanical signals. Disruptions to this network manifest as neurological or psychiatric conditions. Despite decades of neuroscience research, our ability to treat or even to understand these conditions is limited by the capability of tools to probe the signalling complexity of the nervous system. Although orders of magnitude smaller and computationally faster than neurons, conventional substrate-bound electronics do not recapitulate the chemical and mechanical properties of neural tissue. This mismatch results in a foreign-body response and the encapsulation of devices by glial scars, suggesting that the design of an interface between the nervous system and a synthetic sensor requires additional materials innovation. Advances in genetic tools for manipulating neural activity have fuelled the demand for devices that are capable of simultaneously recording and controlling individual neurons at unprecedented scales. Recently, flexible organic electronics and bio- and nanomaterials have been developed for multifunctional and minimally invasive probes for long-term interaction with the nervous system. In this Review, we discuss the design lessons from the quarter-century-old field of neural engineering, highlight recent materials-driven progress in neural probes and look at emergent directions inspired by the principles of neural transduction.

  7. Processing Demands Impact 3-Year-Olds' Performance in a Spontaneous-Response Task: New Evidence for the Processing-Load Account of Early False-Belief Understanding.

    PubMed

    Scott, Rose M; Roby, Erin

    2015-01-01

    Prior to age four, children succeed in non-elicited-response false-belief tasks but fail elicited-response false-belief tasks. To explain this discrepancy, the processing-load account argues that the capacity to represent beliefs emerges in infancy, as indicated by early success on non-elicited-response tasks, but that children's ability to demonstrate this capacity depends on the processing demands of the task and children's processing skills. When processing demands exceed young children's processing abilities, such as in standard elicited-response tasks, children fail despite their capacity to represent beliefs. Support for this account comes from recent evidence that reducing processing demands improves young children's performance: when demands are sufficiently reduced, 2.5-year-olds succeed in elicited-response tasks. Here we sought complementary evidence for the processing-load account by examining whether increasing processing demands impeded children's performance in a non-elicited-response task. 3-year-olds were tested in a preferential-looking task in which they heard a change-of-location false-belief story accompanied by a picture book; across children, we manipulated the amount of linguistic ambiguity in the story. The final page of the book showed two images: one that was consistent with the main character's false belief and one that was consistent with reality. When the story was relatively unambiguous, children looked reliably longer at the false-belief-consistent image, successfully demonstrating their false-belief understanding. When the story was ambiguous, however, this undermined children's performance: looking times to the belief-consistent image were correlated with verbal ability, and only children with verbal skills in the upper quartile of the sample demonstrated a significant preference for the belief-consistent image. These results support the processing-load account by demonstrating that regardless of whether a task involves an elicited response, children's performance depends on the processing demands of the task and their processing skills. These findings also have implications for alternative, deflationary accounts of early false-belief understanding.

  8. Processing Demands Impact 3-Year-Olds’ Performance in a Spontaneous-Response Task: New Evidence for the Processing-Load Account of Early False-Belief Understanding

    PubMed Central

    Scott, Rose M.; Roby, Erin

    2015-01-01

    Prior to age four, children succeed in non-elicited-response false-belief tasks but fail elicited-response false-belief tasks. To explain this discrepancy, the processing-load account argues that the capacity to represent beliefs emerges in infancy, as indicated by early success on non-elicited-response tasks, but that children’s ability to demonstrate this capacity depends on the processing demands of the task and children’s processing skills. When processing demands exceed young children’s processing abilities, such as in standard elicited-response tasks, children fail despite their capacity to represent beliefs. Support for this account comes from recent evidence that reducing processing demands improves young children’s performance: when demands are sufficiently reduced, 2.5-year-olds succeed in elicited-response tasks. Here we sought complementary evidence for the processing-load account by examining whether increasing processing demands impeded children’s performance in a non-elicited-response task. 3-year-olds were tested in a preferential-looking task in which they heard a change-of-location false-belief story accompanied by a picture book; across children, we manipulated the amount of linguistic ambiguity in the story. The final page of the book showed two images: one that was consistent with the main character’s false belief and one that was consistent with reality. When the story was relatively unambiguous, children looked reliably longer at the false-belief-consistent image, successfully demonstrating their false-belief understanding. When the story was ambiguous, however, this undermined children’s performance: looking times to the belief-consistent image were correlated with verbal ability, and only children with verbal skills in the upper quartile of the sample demonstrated a significant preference for the belief-consistent image. These results support the processing-load account by demonstrating that regardless of whether a task involves an elicited response, children’s performance depends on the processing demands of the task and their processing skills. These findings also have implications for alternative, deflationary accounts of early false-belief understanding. PMID:26562840

  9. Feeding styles and child weight status among recent immigrant mother-child dyads.

    PubMed

    Tovar, Alison; Hennessy, Erin; Pirie, Alex; Must, Aviva; Gute, David M; Hyatt, Raymond R; Kamins, Christina Luongo; Hughes, Sheryl O; Boulos, Rebecca; Sliwa, Sarah; Galvão, Heloisa; Economos, Christina D

    2012-05-29

    Research has shown that parental feeding styles may influence children's food consumption, energy intake, and ultimately, weight status. We examine this relationship, among recent immigrants to the US. Given that immigrant parents and children are at greater risk for becoming overweight/obese with increased time in the US, identification of risk factors for weight gain is critical. Baseline data was collected on 383 mother-child dyads enrolled in Live Well, a community-based, participatory, randomized controlled lifestyle intervention to prevent weight gain in recent immigrant mothers. Socio-demographic information together with heights and weights were collected for both mother and child. Acculturation, behavioral data, and responses to the Caregiver's Feeding Styles Questionnaire (CFSQ) were also obtained from the mother. The children's average age was 6.2 ± 2.7 years, 58% male. Mothers had been in the country for an average of 6.0 ± 3.3 years, and are Brazilian (36%), Haitian (34%) and Latino (30%). Seventy-two percent of the mothers were overweight/obese, while 43% of the children were overweight/obese. Fifteen percent of mothers reported their feeding style as being high demanding/high responsive; 32% as being high demanding/low responsive; 34% as being low demanding/high responsive and 18% as being low demanding/low responsive. In bivariate analyses, feeding styles significantly differed by child BMIz-score, ethnic group, and mother's perceived stress. In multiple linear regression, a low demanding/high responsive feeding style was found to be positively associated (ß = 0.56) with a higher child weight as compared to high demanding/high responsive, controlling for known covariates (p = 0.01). Most mothers report having a low demanding/high responsive feeding style, which is associated with higher child weight status in this diverse immigrant population. This finding adds to the growing literature that suggests this type of feeding style may be a risk factor for childhood obesity. Further research is needed to help understand the larger socio-cultural context and its influence on feeding dynamics among immigrant families and families of lower incomes. How parents establish a certain feeding style in their home country compared to when they move to the US "obesogenic" environment, should also be explored.

  10. Using Coupled Energy, Airflow and IAQ Software (TRNSYS/CONTAM) to Evaluate Building Ventilation Strategies.

    PubMed

    Dols, W Stuart; Emmerich, Steven J; Polidoro, Brian J

    2016-03-01

    Building energy analysis tools are available in many forms that provide the ability to address a broad spectrum of energy-related issues in various combinations. Often these tools operate in isolation from one another, making it difficult to evaluate the interactions between related phenomena and interacting systems, forcing oversimplified assumptions to be made about various phenomena that could otherwise be addressed directly with another tool. One example of such interdependence is the interaction between heat transfer, inter-zone airflow and indoor contaminant transport. In order to better address these interdependencies, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed an updated version of the multi-zone airflow and contaminant transport modelling tool, CONTAM, along with a set of utilities to enable coupling of the full CONTAM model with the TRNSYS simulation tool in a more seamless manner and with additional capabilities that were previously not available. This paper provides an overview of these new capabilities and applies them to simulating a medium-size office building. These simulations address the interaction between whole-building energy, airflow and contaminant transport in evaluating various ventilation strategies including natural and demand-controlled ventilation. CONTAM has been in practical use for many years allowing building designers, as well as IAQ and ventilation system analysts, to simulate the complex interactions between building physical layout and HVAC system configuration in determining building airflow and contaminant transport. It has been widely used to design and analyse smoke management systems and evaluate building performance in response to chemical, biological and radiological events. While CONTAM has been used to address design and performance of buildings implementing energy conserving ventilation systems, e.g., natural and hybrid, this new coupled simulation capability will enable users to apply the tool to couple CONTAM with existing energy analysis software to address the interaction between indoor air quality considerations and energy conservation measures in building design and analysis. This paper presents two practical case studies using the coupled modelling tool to evaluate IAQ performance of a CO 2 -based demand-controlled ventilation system under different levels of building envelope airtightness and the design and analysis of a natural ventilation system.

  11. Using Coupled Energy, Airflow and IAQ Software (TRNSYS/CONTAM) to Evaluate Building Ventilation Strategies

    PubMed Central

    Dols, W. Stuart.; Emmerich, Steven J.; Polidoro, Brian J.

    2016-01-01

    Building energy analysis tools are available in many forms that provide the ability to address a broad spectrum of energy-related issues in various combinations. Often these tools operate in isolation from one another, making it difficult to evaluate the interactions between related phenomena and interacting systems, forcing oversimplified assumptions to be made about various phenomena that could otherwise be addressed directly with another tool. One example of such interdependence is the interaction between heat transfer, inter-zone airflow and indoor contaminant transport. In order to better address these interdependencies, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed an updated version of the multi-zone airflow and contaminant transport modelling tool, CONTAM, along with a set of utilities to enable coupling of the full CONTAM model with the TRNSYS simulation tool in a more seamless manner and with additional capabilities that were previously not available. This paper provides an overview of these new capabilities and applies them to simulating a medium-size office building. These simulations address the interaction between whole-building energy, airflow and contaminant transport in evaluating various ventilation strategies including natural and demand-controlled ventilation. Practical Application CONTAM has been in practical use for many years allowing building designers, as well as IAQ and ventilation system analysts, to simulate the complex interactions between building physical layout and HVAC system configuration in determining building airflow and contaminant transport. It has been widely used to design and analyse smoke management systems and evaluate building performance in response to chemical, biological and radiological events. While CONTAM has been used to address design and performance of buildings implementing energy conserving ventilation systems, e.g., natural and hybrid, this new coupled simulation capability will enable users to apply the tool to couple CONTAM with existing energy analysis software to address the interaction between indoor air quality considerations and energy conservation measures in building design and analysis. This paper presents two practical case studies using the coupled modelling tool to evaluate IAQ performance of a CO2-based demand-controlled ventilation system under different levels of building envelope airtightness and the design and analysis of a natural ventilation system. PMID:27099405

  12. Ott1 (Rbm15) regulates thrombopoietin response in hematopoietic stem cells through alternative splicing of c-Mpl.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Nan; Laha, Suparna; Das, Shankar P; Morlock, Kayla; Jesneck, Jonathan L; Raffel, Glen D

    2015-02-05

    Thrombopoietin (Thpo) signaling through the c-Mpl receptor promotes either quiescence or proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a concentration-dependent manner; however, in vivo Thpo serum levels are responsive to platelet mass rather than HSC demands, suggesting additional regulation exists. Ott1 (Rbm15), a spliceosomal component originally identified as a fusion partner in t(1;22)-associated acute megakaryocytic leukemia, is also essential for maintaining HSC quiescence under stress. Ott1 controls the alternative splicing of a dominant negative isoform, Mpl-TR, capable of inhibiting HSC engraftment and attenuating Thpo signaling. Ott1, which associates with Hdac3 and the histone methyltransferase, Setd1b, binds to both c-Mpl RNA and chromatin and regulates H4 acetylation and H3K4me3 marks. Histone deacetylase or histone methyltransferase inhibition also increases Mpl-TR levels, suggesting that Ott1 uses an underlying epigenetic mechanism to control alternative splicing of c-Mpl. Manipulation of Ott1-dependent alternative splicing may therefore provide a novel pharmacologic avenue for regulating HSC quiescence and proliferation in response to Thpo. © 2015 by The American Society of Hematology.

  13. Frequency Support of PMSG-WTG Based on Improved Inertial Control: Preprint

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

    Wu, Z.; Wang, X.; Gao, W.

    2016-03-15

    With increasing integrations of large-scale systems based on permanent magnet synchronous generator wind turbine generators (PMSG-WTGs), the overall inertial response of a power system will tend to deteriorate as a result of the decoupling of rotor speed and grid frequency through the power converter as well as the scheduled retirement of conventional synchronous generators. Thus, PMSG-WTGs can provide value to an electric grid by contributing to the system's inertial response by utilizing the inherent kinetic energy stored in their rotating masses and fast power control. In this work, an improved inertial control method based on the maximum power point trackingmore » operation curve is introduced to enhance the overall frequency support capability of PMSG-WTGs in the case of large supply-demand imbalances. Moreover, this method is implemented in the CART2-PMSG integrated model in MATLAB/Simulink to investigate its impact on the wind turbine's structural loads during the inertial response process. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method can effectively reduce the frequency nadir, arrest the rate of change of frequency, and mitigate the secondary frequency drop while imposing no negative impact on the major mechanical components of the wind turbine.« less

  14. Frequency Support of PMSG-WTG Based on Improved Inertial Control

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

    Wu, Z.; Wang, X.; Gao, W.

    2016-11-14

    With increasing integrations of large-scale systems based on permanent magnet synchronous generator wind turbine generators (PMSG-WTGs), the overall inertial response of a power system will tend to deteriorate as a result of the decoupling of rotor speed and grid frequency through the power converter as well as the scheduled retirement of conventional synchronous generators. Thus, PMSG-WTGs can provide value to an electric grid by contributing to the system's inertial response by utilizing the inherent kinetic energy stored in their rotating masses and fast power control. In this work, an improved inertial control method based on the maximum power point trackingmore » operation curve is introduced to enhance the overall frequency support capability of PMSG-WTGs in the case of large supply-demand imbalances. Moreover, this method is implemented in the CART2-PMSG integrated model in MATLAB/Simulink to investigate its impact on the wind turbine's structural loads during the inertial response process. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method can effectively reduce the frequency nadir, arrest the rate of change of frequency, and mitigate the secondary frequency drop while imposing no negative impact on the major mechanical components of the wind turbine.« less

  15. Improved inertial control for permanent magnet synchronous generator wind turbine generators

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

    Wu, Ziping; Gao, Wenzhong; Wang, Xiao

    With increasing integrations of large-scale systems based on permanent magnet synchronous generator wind turbine generators (PMSG-WTGs), the overall inertial response of a power system will tend to deteriorate as a result of the decoupling of rotor speed and grid frequency through the power converter as well as the scheduled retirement of conventional synchronous generators. Thus, PMSG-WTGs can provide value to an electric grid by contributing to the system's inertial response through the inherent kinetic energy stored in their rotating masses and fast power converter control. In this study, an improved inertial control method based on the maximum power point trackingmore » operation curve is introduced to enhance the overall frequency support capability of PMSG-WTGs in the case of large supply-demand imbalances. Moreover, this method is implemented in the CART2-PMSG integrated model in MATLAB/Simulink to investigate its impact on the wind turbine's structural loads during the inertial response process. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method can effectively reduce the frequency nadir, arrest the rate of change of frequency, and alleviate the secondary frequency dip while imposing no negative impact on the major mechanical components of the wind turbine.« less

  16. A fast response miniature probe for wet steam flow field measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bosdas, Ilias; Mansour, Michel; Kalfas, Anestis I.; Abhari, Reza S.

    2016-12-01

    Modern steam turbines require operational flexibility due to renewable energies’ increasing share of the electrical grid. Additionally, the continuous increase in energy demand necessitates efficient design of the steam turbines as well as power output augmentation. The long turbine rotor blades at the machines’ last stages are prone to mechanical vibrations and as a consequence time-resolved experimental data under wet steam conditions are essential for the development of large-scale low-pressure steam turbines. This paper presents a novel fast response miniature heated probe for unsteady wet steam flow field measurements. The probe has a tip diameter of 2.5 mm, and a miniature heater cartridge ensures uncontaminated pressure taps from condensed water. The probe is capable of providing the unsteady flow angles, total and static pressure as well as the flow Mach number. The operating principle and calibration procedure are described in the current work and a detailed uncertainty analysis demonstrates the capability of the new probe to perform accurate flow field measurements under wet steam conditions. In order to exclude any data possibly corrupted by droplets’ impact or evaporation from the heating process, a filtering algorithm was developed and implemented in the post-processing phase of the measured data. In the last part of this paper the probe is used in an experimental steam turbine test facility and measurements are conducted at the inlet and exit of the last stage with an average wetness mass fraction of 8.0%.

  17. Pyrolysis Model Development for a Multilayer Floor Covering

    PubMed Central

    McKinnon, Mark B.; Stoliarov, Stanislav I.

    2015-01-01

    Comprehensive pyrolysis models that are integral to computational fire codes have improved significantly over the past decade as the demand for improved predictive capabilities has increased. High fidelity pyrolysis models may improve the design of engineered materials for better fire response, the design of the built environment, and may be used in forensic investigations of fire events. A major limitation to widespread use of comprehensive pyrolysis models is the large number of parameters required to fully define a material and the lack of effective methodologies for measurement of these parameters, especially for complex materials. The work presented here details a methodology used to characterize the pyrolysis of a low-pile carpet tile, an engineered composite material that is common in commercial and institutional occupancies. The studied material includes three distinct layers of varying composition and physical structure. The methodology utilized a comprehensive pyrolysis model (ThermaKin) to conduct inverse analyses on data collected through several experimental techniques. Each layer of the composite was individually parameterized to identify its contribution to the overall response of the composite. The set of properties measured to define the carpet composite were validated against mass loss rate curves collected at conditions outside the range of calibration conditions to demonstrate the predictive capabilities of the model. The mean error between the predicted curve and the mean experimental mass loss rate curve was calculated as approximately 20% on average for heat fluxes ranging from 30 to 70 kW·m−2, which is within the mean experimental uncertainty. PMID:28793556

  18. Secure Network-Centric Aviation Communication (SNAC)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nelson, Paul H.; Muha, Mark A.; Sheehe, Charles J.

    2017-01-01

    The existing National Airspace System (NAS) communications capabilities are largely unsecured, are not designed for efficient use of spectrum and collectively are not capable of servicing the future needs of the NAS with the inclusion of new operators in Unmanned Aviation Systems (UAS) or On Demand Mobility (ODM). SNAC will provide a ubiquitous secure, network-based communications architecture that will provide new service capabilities and allow for the migration of current communications to SNAC over time. The necessary change in communication technologies to digital domains will allow for the adoption of security mechanisms, sharing of link technologies, large increase in spectrum utilization, new forms of resilience and redundancy and the possibly of spectrum reuse. SNAC consists of a long term open architectural approach with increasingly capable designs used to steer research and development and enable operating capabilities that run in parallel with current NAS systems.

  19. A Handbook For Acquiring Demand-Responsive Transit Software, Tcrp Report 18

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-01-01

    THIS HANDBOOK WILL BE OF INTEREST TO AGENCIES ENGAGED IN MANAGING AND OPERATING DEMAND-RESPONSIVE TRANSIT (DRT) SERVICES. THE HANDBOOK IS INTENDED TO ASSIST DRTPROVIDERS WITH ASSESSMENT OF SOFTWARE NEEDS AND PROCUREMENT OF SOFTWARE TO MEET THOSE NEED...

  20. Modeling Demand-Responsive Feeder Systems in the UTPS Framework

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1978-07-01

    For the transit planner considering alternative future transit designs, there has been little in the way of analytical tools available to assess the impact of demand-responsive transportation (DRT) systems. The intent of this report is to provide the...

  1. Evaluating the use of transfers for improving demand responsive systems adopting zoning strategies.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-08-01

    Due to widely dispersed population density over large and sparsely suburban/rural areas, : conventional fixed route transit services hardly satisfy the travel needs of their residents. As an : alternative, demand responsive transit (DRT) systems have...

  2. Auto-DR and Pre-cooling of Buildings at Tri-City Corporate Center

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

    Yin, Rongxin; Xu, Peng; Kiliccote, Sila

    2008-11-01

    Over the several past years, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has conducted field tests for different pre-cooling strategies in different commercial buildings within California. The test results indicated that pre-cooling strategies were effective in reducing electric demand in these buildings during peak periods. This project studied how to optimize pre-cooling strategies for eleven buildings in the Tri-City Corporate Center, San Bernardino, California with the assistance of a building energy simulation tool -- the Demand Response Quick Assessment Tool (DRQAT) developed by LBNL's Demand Response Research Center funded by the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program. From themore » simulation results of these eleven buildings, optimal pre-cooling and temperature reset strategies were developed. The study shows that after refining and calibrating initial models with measured data, the accuracy of the models can be greatly improved and the models can be used to predict load reductions for automated demand response (Auto-DR) events. This study summarizes the optimization experience of the procedure to develop and calibrate building models in DRQAT. In order to confirm the actual effect of demand response strategies, the simulation results were compared to the field test data. The results indicated that the optimal demand response strategies worked well for all buildings in the Tri-City Corporate Center. This study also compares DRQAT with other building energy simulation tools (eQUEST and BEST). The comparison indicate that eQUEST and BEST underestimate the actual demand shed of the pre-cooling strategies due to a flaw in DOE2's simulation engine for treating wall thermal mass. DRQAT is a more accurate tool in predicting thermal mass effects of DR events.« less

  3. Price elasticity matrix of demand in power system considering demand response programs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qu, Xinyao; Hui, Hongxun; Yang, Shengchun; Li, Yaping; Ding, Yi

    2018-02-01

    The increasing renewable energy power generations have brought more intermittency and volatility to the electric power system. Demand-side resources can improve the consumption of renewable energy by demand response (DR), which becomes one of the important means to improve the reliability of power system. In price-based DR, the sensitivity analysis of customer’s power demand to the changing electricity prices is pivotal for setting reasonable prices and forecasting loads of power system. This paper studies the price elasticity matrix of demand (PEMD). An improved PEMD model is proposed based on elasticity effect weight, which can unify the rigid loads and flexible loads. Moreover, the structure of PEMD, which is decided by price policies and load types, and the calculation method of PEMD are also proposed. Several cases are studied to prove the effectiveness of this method.

  4. Balancing exploration, uncertainty and computational demands in many objective reservoir optimization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zatarain Salazar, Jazmin; Reed, Patrick M.; Quinn, Julianne D.; Giuliani, Matteo; Castelletti, Andrea

    2017-11-01

    Reservoir operations are central to our ability to manage river basin systems serving conflicting multi-sectoral demands under increasingly uncertain futures. These challenges motivate the need for new solution strategies capable of effectively and efficiently discovering the multi-sectoral tradeoffs that are inherent to alternative reservoir operation policies. Evolutionary many-objective direct policy search (EMODPS) is gaining importance in this context due to its capability of addressing multiple objectives and its flexibility in incorporating multiple sources of uncertainties. This simulation-optimization framework has high potential for addressing the complexities of water resources management, and it can benefit from current advances in parallel computing and meta-heuristics. This study contributes a diagnostic assessment of state-of-the-art parallel strategies for the auto-adaptive Borg Multi Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA) to support EMODPS. Our analysis focuses on the Lower Susquehanna River Basin (LSRB) system where multiple sectoral demands from hydropower production, urban water supply, recreation and environmental flows need to be balanced. Using EMODPS with different parallel configurations of the Borg MOEA, we optimize operating policies over different size ensembles of synthetic streamflows and evaporation rates. As we increase the ensemble size, we increase the statistical fidelity of our objective function evaluations at the cost of higher computational demands. This study demonstrates how to overcome the mathematical and computational barriers associated with capturing uncertainties in stochastic multiobjective reservoir control optimization, where parallel algorithmic search serves to reduce the wall-clock time in discovering high quality representations of key operational tradeoffs. Our results show that emerging self-adaptive parallelization schemes exploiting cooperative search populations are crucial. Such strategies provide a promising new set of tools for effectively balancing exploration, uncertainty, and computational demands when using EMODPS.

  5. The value of demand response in Florida

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

    Stoll, Brady; Buechler, Elizabeth; Hale, Elaine

    Many electrical loads may be operated flexibly to provide grid services, including peaking capacity, reserves, and load shifting. The authors model 14 demand end uses in Florida and analyze their operational impacts and overall value for a wide range of solar penetrations and grid flexibility options. They find demand response is able to reduce production costs, reduce the number of low-load hours for traditional generators, reduce starting of gas generators, and reduce curtailment.

  6. The value of demand response in Florida

    DOE PAGES

    Stoll, Brady; Buechler, Elizabeth; Hale, Elaine

    2017-11-10

    Many electrical loads may be operated flexibly to provide grid services, including peaking capacity, reserves, and load shifting. The authors model 14 demand end uses in Florida and analyze their operational impacts and overall value for a wide range of solar penetrations and grid flexibility options. They find demand response is able to reduce production costs, reduce the number of low-load hours for traditional generators, reduce starting of gas generators, and reduce curtailment.

  7. Two-and-a-half-year-olds succeed at a traditional false-belief task with reduced processing demands

    PubMed Central

    Scott, Rose M.; Baillargeon, Renée

    2016-01-01

    When tested with traditional false-belief tasks, which require answering a standard question about the likely behavior of an agent with a false belief, children perform below chance until age 4 y or later. When tested without such questions, however, children give evidence of false-belief understanding much earlier. Are traditional tasks difficult because they tap a more advanced form of false-belief understanding (fundamental-change view) or because they impose greater processing demands (processing-demands view)? Evidence that young children succeed at traditional false-belief tasks when processing demands are reduced would support the latter view. In prior research, reductions in inhibitory-control demands led to improvements in young children’s performance, but often only to chance (instead of below-chance) levels. Here we examined whether further reductions in processing demands might lead to success. We speculated that: (i) young children could respond randomly in a traditional low-inhibition task because their limited information-processing resources are overwhelmed by the total concurrent processing demands in the task; and (ii) these demands include those from the response-generation process activated by the standard question. This analysis suggested that 2.5-y-old toddlers might succeed at a traditional low-inhibition task if response-generation demands were also reduced via practice trials. As predicted, toddlers performed above chance following two response-generation practice trials; toddlers failed when these trials either were rendered less effective or were used in a high-inhibition task. These results support the processing-demands view: Even toddlers succeed at a traditional false-belief task when overall processing demands are reduced. PMID:27821728

  8. Model based approach to UXO imaging using the time domain electromagnetic method

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

    Lavely, E.M.

    1999-04-01

    Time domain electromagnetic (TDEM) sensors have emerged as a field-worthy technology for UXO detection in a variety of geological and environmental settings. This success has been achieved with commercial equipment that was not optimized for UXO detection and discrimination. The TDEM response displays a rich spatial and temporal behavior which is not currently utilized. Therefore, in this paper the author describes a research program for enhancing the effectiveness of the TDEM method for UXO detection and imaging. Fundamental research is required in at least three major areas: (a) model based imaging capability i.e. the forward and inverse problem, (b) detectormore » modeling and instrument design, and (c) target recognition and discrimination algorithms. These research problems are coupled and demand a unified treatment. For example: (1) the inverse solution depends on solution of the forward problem and knowledge of the instrument response; (2) instrument design with improved diagnostic power requires forward and inverse modeling capability; and (3) improved target recognition algorithms (such as neural nets) must be trained with data collected from the new instrument and with synthetic data computed using the forward model. Further, the design of the appropriate input and output layers of the net will be informed by the results of the forward and inverse modeling. A more fully developed model of the TDEM response would enable the joint inversion of data collected from multiple sensors (e.g., TDEM sensors and magnetometers). Finally, the author suggests that a complementary approach to joint inversions is the statistical recombination of data using principal component analysis. The decomposition into principal components is useful since the first principal component contains those features that are most strongly correlated from image to image.« less

  9. Upgraded airborne scanner for commercial remote sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, Sheng-Huei; Rubin, Tod D.

    1994-06-01

    Traditional commercial remote sensing has focused on the geologic market, with primary focus on mineral identification and mapping in the visible through short-wave infrared spectral regions (0.4 to 2.4 microns). Commercial remote sensing users now demand airborne scanning capabilities spanning the entire wavelength range from ultraviolet through thermal infrared (0.3 to 12 microns). This spectral range enables detection, identification, and mapping of objects and liquids on the earth's surface and gases in the air. Applications requiring this range of wavelengths include detection and mapping of oil spills, soil and water contamination, stressed vegetation, and renewable and non-renewable natural resources, and also change detection, natural hazard mitigation, emergency response, agricultural management, and urban planning. GER has designed and built a configurable scanner that acquires high resolution images in 63 selected wave bands in this broad wavelength range.

  10. Tinkering with Translation: Protein Synthesis in Virus-Infected Cells

    PubMed Central

    Walsh, Derek; Mathews, Michael B.; Mohr, Ian

    2013-01-01

    Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites, and their replication requires host cell functions. Although the size, composition, complexity, and functions encoded by their genomes are remarkably diverse, all viruses rely absolutely on the protein synthesis machinery of their host cells. Lacking their own translational apparatus, they must recruit cellular ribosomes in order to translate viral mRNAs and produce the protein products required for their replication. In addition, there are other constraints on viral protein production. Crucially, host innate defenses and stress responses capable of inactivating the translation machinery must be effectively neutralized. Furthermore, the limited coding capacity of the viral genome needs to be used optimally. These demands have resulted in complex interactions between virus and host that exploit ostensibly virus-specific mechanisms and, at the same time, illuminate the functioning of the cellular protein synthesis apparatus. PMID:23209131

  11. Telemetry packetization for improved mission operations. [instrument packages for Space Shuttle mission operations data management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greene, E. P.

    1976-01-01

    The requirements for mission-operations data management will accelerate sharply when the Space Transportation System (i.e., Space Shuttle) becomes the primary vehicle for research from space. These demands can be satisfied most effectively by providing a higher-level source encoding function within the spaceborne vehicle. An Instrument Telemetry Packet (ITP) concept is described which represents an alternative to the conventional multiplexed telemetry frame approach for acquiring spaceborne instrument data. By providing excellent data-integrity protection at the source and a variable instrument bandwidth capability, this ITP concept represents a significant improvement over present data acquisition procedures. Realignments in the ground telemetry processing functions are described which are intended to take advantage of the ITP concept and to make the data management system more responsive to the scientific investigators.

  12. Advanced protection technology for ground combat vehicles.

    PubMed

    Bosse, Timothy G

    2012-01-01

    Just as highway drivers use radar detectors to attempt to stay ahead of police armed with the latest radar technology, the Armed Forces are locked in a spiral to protect combat vehicles and their crews against the latest threats in both the contemporary operating environment and the anticipated operating environment (ie, beyond 2020). In response to bigger, heavier, or better-protected vehicles, adversaries build and deploy larger explosive devices or bombs. However, making improvements to combat vehicles is much more expensive than deploying larger explosives. In addition, demand is increasing for lighter-weight vehicles capable of rapid deployment. Together, these two facts give the threat a clear advantage in the future. To protect vehicles and crews, technologies focusing on detection and hit avoidance, denial of penetration, and crew survivability must be combined synergistically to provide the best chance of survival on the modern battlefield.

  13. Military nephrology—what a civilian doctor should know

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    This article provides some background on military nephrology in the UK. The primary objective of the Defence Medical Services is the maintenance of operational capability of military personnel. This includes exclusion of nephrological diseases that might reduce renal reserve to a critical level under field conditions, increasing susceptibility to trauma, burns, infection and adverse environmental conditions and increasing the need for renal support. Renal failure potentially compromises not only the patient but also his comrades through reduced staffing and inability to execute the military mission. Safety of weapon systems for which the patient is responsible may be reduced. At forward locations, need for evacuation may put aircraft or vehicles and their crew with medical attendants at unnecessary risk. Regular follow-up and continuity of care are difficult owing to the demands of military life that include frequent postings and deployments. PMID:25984145

  14. Development of guidelines for accommodating safe and desirable pedestrian activity within the highway environment.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1975-01-01

    This study develops general guidelines for planning and evaluating suburban pedestrian systems. Pedestrian characteristics and capabilities which affect walking demand are summarized using the results of previous research. Reported research results a...

  15. User's guide for the Skylab integrated medical data analysis system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grounds, D. J.; Archer, G. T.; Marks, V. J.

    1975-01-01

    Capabilities of the Skylab Integrated Medical Data Analysis System (SIMDAS) are described and illustrated. User's instructions are also given for the operation of this system on the UNIVAC 1100 Series Demand System at the Johnson Space Center.

  16. Analysis of technology requirements and potential demand for general aviation avionics systems for operation in the 1980's

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cohn, D. M.; Kayser, J. H.; Senko, G. M.; Glenn, D. R.

    1974-01-01

    Avionics systems are identified which promise to reduce economic constraints and provide significant improvements in performance, operational capability and utility for general aviation aircraft in the 1980's.

  17. Physiological Readiness and Resilience: Pillars of Military Preparedness.

    PubMed

    Szivak, Tunde K; Kraemer, William J

    2015-11-01

    Warfighters require a range of physical capabilities to meet the demands of the military profession, and physical training must address performance along an entire continuum, depending on individual needs and mission requirements. Strength and power capabilities are needed for optimal performance of anaerobic tasks such as heavy load carriage, sprinting under load, and maneuvering over uneven terrain. For optimal performance, soldiers must also be able to recover from mission demands and strenuous training. The demands placed on a soldier can result in a chronic stress, leading to decreased mission performance, increased injury risk, and increased susceptibility to illness. These factors are exacerbated by inappropriate training strategies such as overemphasis on endurance exercise combined with other stressors such as lack of sleep or inadequate nutrition. Chronic stress has been linked to overreaching/overtraining and to the development of comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and hypertension and has adverse effects on memory and cognitive function. Resistance exercise is an effective method to improve warfighter physical performance and resilience to stress, thereby impacting mission readiness. Resistance exercise in particular confers many benefits to include increased strength and power, improved body composition, and protective effects on tendons, ligaments, and bone. Physically fit individuals not only benefit from improved mission performance but also are more resilient to operational stressors faced during combat. Ultimately, resilient soldiers are better able to cope with the physical and mental demands of the military profession and over the long term will perform better while maintaining health and well-being.

  18. The Effects of Demand-Responsive Parking on Transit Usage and Congestion: Evidence From Sfpark

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-09-01

    Parking is a serious issue in many urban areas, especially those experiencing rapid population growth. To address this problem, some cities have implemented demand-responsive pricing programs, where parking prices vary depending on the occupancy rate...

  19. On the Resource Efficiency of Virtual Concatenation in SDH/SONET Mesh Transport Networks Bearing Protected Scheduled Connections

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuri, Josu�; Gagnaire, Maurice; Puech, Nicolas

    2005-10-01

    Virtual concatenation (VCAT) is a Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)/Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) network functionality recently standardized by the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). VCAT provides the flexibility required to efficiently allocate network resources to Ethernet, Fiber Channel (FC), Enterprise System Connection (ESCON), and other important data traffic signals. In this article, we assess the resources' gain provided by VCAT with respect to contiguous concatenation (CCAT) in SDH/SONET mesh transport networks bearing protected scheduled connection demands (SCDs). As explained later, an SCD is a connection demand for which the set-up and tear-down dates are known in advance. We define mathematical models to quantify the add/drop and transmission resources required to instantiate a set of protected SCDs in VCAT-and CCAT-capable networks. Quantification of transmission resources requires a routing and slot assignment (RSA) problem to be solved. We formulate the RSA problem in VCAT-and CCAT-capable networks as two different combinatorial optimization problems: RSA in VCAT-capable networks (RSAv) and RSA in CCAT-capable networks (RSAc), respectively. Protection of the SCDs is considered in the formulations using a shared backup path protection (SBPP) technique. We propose a simulated annealing (SA)-based meta-heuristic algorithm to compute approximate solutions to these problems (i.e., solutions whose cost approximates the cost of the optimal ones). The gain in transmission resources and the cost structure of add/drop resources making VCAT-capable networks more economical are analyzed for different traffic scenarios.

  20. New Active Remote-sensing Capabilities: Laser Ablation Spectrometer and Lidar Atmospheric Species Profile Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    DeYoung, R. J.; Bergstralh, J. T.

    2005-01-01

    Introduction: With the anticipated development of high-capacity fission power and electric propulsion for deep-space missions, it will become possible to propose experiments that demand higher power than current technologies (e.g. radioisotope power sources) provide. Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO), the first mission in the Project Prometheus program, will explore the icy moons of Jupiter with a suite of high-capability experiments that take advantage of the high power levels (and indirectly, the high data rates) that fission power affords. This abstract describes two high-capability active-remote-sensing experiments that will be logical candidates for subsequent Prometheus-class missions.

  1. Human Centred Design Considerations for Connected Health Devices for the Older Adult

    PubMed Central

    Harte, Richard P.; Glynn, Liam G.; Broderick, Barry J.; Rodriguez-Molinero, Alejandro; Baker, Paul M. A.; McGuiness, Bernadette; O’Sullivan, Leonard; Diaz, Marta; Quinlan, Leo R.; ÓLaighin, Gearóid

    2014-01-01

    Connected health devices are generally designed for unsupervised use, by non-healthcare professionals, facilitating independent control of the individuals own healthcare. Older adults are major users of such devices and are a population significantly increasing in size. This group presents challenges due to the wide spectrum of capabilities and attitudes towards technology. The fit between capabilities of the user and demands of the device can be optimised in a process called Human Centred Design. Here we review examples of some connected health devices chosen by random selection, assess older adult known capabilities and attitudes and finally make analytical recommendations for design approaches and design specifications. PMID:25563225

  2. Blockchain Based Decentralized Management of Demand Response Programs in Smart Energy Grids

    PubMed Central

    Pop, Claudia; Cioara, Tudor; Antal, Marcel; Anghel, Ionut; Salomie, Ioan; Bertoncini, Massimo

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the use of decentralized blockchain mechanisms for delivering transparent, secure, reliable, and timely energy flexibility, under the form of adaptation of energy demand profiles of Distributed Energy Prosumers, to all the stakeholders involved in the flexibility markets (Distribution System Operators primarily, retailers, aggregators, etc.). In our approach, a blockchain based distributed ledger stores in a tamper proof manner the energy prosumption information collected from Internet of Things smart metering devices, while self-enforcing smart contracts programmatically define the expected energy flexibility at the level of each prosumer, the associated rewards or penalties, and the rules for balancing the energy demand with the energy production at grid level. Consensus based validation will be used for demand response programs validation and to activate the appropriate financial settlement for the flexibility providers. The approach was validated using a prototype implemented in an Ethereum platform using energy consumption and production traces of several buildings from literature data sets. The results show that our blockchain based distributed demand side management can be used for matching energy demand and production at smart grid level, the demand response signal being followed with high accuracy, while the amount of energy flexibility needed for convergence is reduced. PMID:29315250

  3. Pigeons' demand and preference for specific and generalized conditioned reinforcers in a token economy.

    PubMed

    Tan, Lavinia; Hackenberg, Timothy D

    2015-11-01

    Pigeons' demand and preference for specific and generalized tokens was examined in a token economy. Pigeons could produce and exchange different colored tokens for food, for water, or for food or water. Token production was measured across three phases, which examined: (1) across-session price increases (typical demand curve method); (2) within-session price increases (progressive-ratio, PR, schedule); and (3) concurrent pairwise choices between the token types. Exponential demand curves were fitted to the response data and accounted for over 90% total variance. Demand curve parameter values, Pmax , Omax and α showed that demand was ordered in the following way: food tokens, generalized tokens, water tokens, both in Phase 1 and in Phase 3. This suggests that the preferences were predictable on the basis of elasticity and response output from the demand analysis. Pmax and Omax values failed to consistently predict breakpoints and peak response rates in the PR schedules in Phase 2, however, suggesting limits on a unitary conception of reinforcer efficacy. The patterns of generalized token production and exchange in Phase 3 suggest that the generalized tokens served as substitutes for the specific food and water tokens. Taken together, the present findings demonstrate the utility of behavioral economic concepts in the analysis of generalized reinforcement. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  4. The Influence of Load and Speed on Individuals' Movement Behavior.

    PubMed

    Frost, David M; Beach, Tyson A C; Callaghan, Jack P; McGill, Stuart M

    2015-09-01

    Because individuals' movement patterns have been linked to their risk of future injury, movement evaluations have become a topic of interest. However, if individuals adapt their movement behavior in response to the demands of a task, the utility of evaluations comprising only low-demand activities could have limited application with regard to the prediction of future injury. This investigation examined the impact of load and speed on individuals' movement behavior. Fifty-two firefighters performed 5 low-demand (i.e., light load, low movement speed) whole-body tasks (i.e., lift, squat, lunge, push, and pull). Each task was then modified by increasing the speed, external load, or speed and load. Select measures of motion were used to characterize the performance of each task, and comparisons were made between conditions. The participants adapted their movement behavior in response to the external demands of a task (64 and 70% of all the variables were influenced [p ≤ 0.05] by changing the load and speed, respectively), but in a manner unique to the task and type of demand. The participants exhibited greater spine and frontal plane knee motion in response to an increase in speed when compared with increasing loads. However, there were a large number of movement strategies exhibited by individual firefighters that differed from the group's response. The data obtained here imply that individuals may not be physically prepared to perform safely or effectively when a task's demands are elevated simply because they exhibit the ability to perform a low-demand activity with competence. Therefore, movement screens comprising only low-demand activities may not adequately reflect an individual's capacity, or their risk of injury, and could adversely affect any recommendations that are made for training or job performance.

  5. UV-crosslinkable and thermo-responsive chitosan hybrid hydrogel for NIR-triggered localized on-demand drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lei; Li, Baoqiang; Xu, Feng; Xu, Zheheng; Wei, Daqing; Feng, Yujie; Wang, Yaming; Jia, Dechang; Zhou, Yu

    2017-10-15

    Innovative drug delivery technologies based on smart hydrogels for localized on-demand drug delivery had aroused great interest. To acquire smart UV-crosslinkable chitosan hydrogel for NIR-triggered localized on-demanded drug release, a novel UV-crosslinkable and thermo-responsive chitosan was first designed and synthesized by grafting with poly N-isopropylacrylamide, acetylation of methacryloyl groups and embedding with photothermal carbon. The UV-crosslinkable unit (methacryloyl groups) endowed chitosan with gelation via UV irradiation. The thermo-responsive unit (poly N-isopropylacrylamide) endowed chitosan hydrogel with temperature-triggered volume shrinkage and reversible swelling/de-swelling behavior. The chitosan hybrid hydrogel embedded with photothermal carbon exhibited distinct NIR-triggered volume shrinkage (∼42% shrinkage) in response to temperature elevation as induced by NIR laser irradiation. As a demonstration, doxorubicin release rate was accelerated and approximately 40 times higher than that from non-irradiated hydrogels. The UV-crosslinkable and thermal-responsive hybrid hydrogel served as in situ forming hydrogel-based drug depot is developed for NIR-triggered localized on-demand release. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Design of capacity incentive and energy compensation for demand response programs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Zhoubin; Cui, Wenqi; Shen, Ran; Hu, Yishuang; Wu, Hui; Ye, Chengjin

    2018-02-01

    Variability and Uncertainties caused by renewable energy sources have called for large amount of balancing services. Demand side resources (DSRs) can be a good alternative of traditional generating units to provide balancing service. In the areas where the electricity market has not been fully established, e.g., China, DSRs can help balance the power system with incentive-based demand response programs. However, there is a lack of information about the interruption cost of consumers in these areas, making it hard to determine the rational amount of capacity incentive and energy compensation for the participants of demand response programs. This paper proposes an algorithm to calculate the amount of capacity incentive and energy compensation for demand response programs when there lacks the information about interruption cost. Available statistical information of interruption cost in referenced areas is selected as the referenced data. Interruption cost of the targeted area is converted from the referenced area by product per electricity consumption. On this basis, capacity incentive and energy compensation are obtained to minimize the payment to consumers. Moreover, the loss of consumers is guaranteed to be covered by the revenue they earned from load serving entities.

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

    Piette, Mary Ann; Sezgen, Osman; Watson, David S.

    This report describes the results of a research project to develop and evaluate the performance of new Automated Demand Response (Auto-DR) hardware and software technology in large facilities. Demand Response (DR) is a set of activities to reduce or shift electricity use to improve electric grid reliability, manage electricity costs, and ensure that customers receive signals that encourage load reduction during times when the electric grid is near its capacity. The two main drivers for widespread demand responsiveness are the prevention of future electricity crises and the reduction of electricity prices. Additional goals for price responsiveness include equity through costmore » of service pricing, and customer control of electricity usage and bills. The technology developed and evaluated in this report could be used to support numerous forms of DR programs and tariffs. For the purpose of this report, we have defined three levels of Demand Response automation. Manual Demand Response involves manually turning off lights or equipment; this can be a labor-intensive approach. Semi-Automated Response involves the use of building energy management control systems for load shedding, where a preprogrammed load shedding strategy is initiated by facilities staff. Fully-Automated Demand Response is initiated at a building or facility through receipt of an external communications signal--facility staff set up a pre-programmed load shedding strategy which is automatically initiated by the system without the need for human intervention. We have defined this approach to be Auto-DR. An important concept in Auto-DR is that a facility manager is able to ''opt out'' or ''override'' an individual DR event if it occurs at a time when the reduction in end-use services is not desirable. This project sought to improve the feasibility and nature of Auto-DR strategies in large facilities. The research focused on technology development, testing, characterization, and evaluation relating to Auto-DR. This evaluation also included the related decisionmaking perspectives of the facility owners and managers. Another goal of this project was to develop and test a real-time signal for automated demand response that provided a common communication infrastructure for diverse facilities. The six facilities recruited for this project were selected from the facilities that received CEC funds for new DR technology during California's 2000-2001 electricity crises (AB970 and SB-5X).« less

  8. Selective responsiveness: Online public demands and government responsiveness in authoritarian China.

    PubMed

    Su, Zheng; Meng, Tianguang

    2016-09-01

    The widespread use of information and communication technology (ICT) has reshaped the public sphere in the digital era, making online forums a new channel for political participation. Using big data analytics of full records of citizen-government interactions from 2008 to early 2014 on a nationwide political forum, we find that authoritarian China is considerably responsive to citizens' demands with a rapid growth of response rate; however, government responsiveness is highly selective, conditioning on actors' social identities and the policy domains of their online demands. Results from logistic and duration models suggest that requests which made by local citizens, expressed collectively, focused on the single task issue, and are closely related to economic growth are more likely to be responded to. These strategies adopted by Chinese provincial leaders reveal the scope and selectivity of authoritarian responsiveness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Task Dependence, Tissue Specificity, and Spatial Distribution of Widespread Activations in Large Single-Subject Functional MRI Datasets at 7T

    PubMed Central

    Gonzalez-Castillo, Javier; Hoy, Colin W.; Handwerker, Daniel A.; Roopchansingh, Vinai; Inati, Souheil J.; Saad, Ziad S.; Cox, Robert W.; Bandettini, Peter A.

    2015-01-01

    It was recently shown that when large amounts of task-based blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) data are combined to increase contrast- and temporal signal-to-noise ratios, the majority of the brain shows significant hemodynamic responses time-locked with the experimental paradigm. Here, we investigate the biological significance of such widespread activations. First, the relationship between activation extent and task demands was investigated by varying cognitive load across participants. Second, the tissue specificity of responses was probed using the better BOLD signal localization capabilities of a 7T scanner. Finally, the spatial distribution of 3 primary response types—namely positively sustained (pSUS), negatively sustained (nSUS), and transient—was evaluated using a newly defined voxel-wise waveshape index that permits separation of responses based on their temporal signature. About 86% of gray matter (GM) became significantly active when all data entered the analysis for the most complex task. Activation extent scaled with task load and largely followed the GM contour. The most common response type was nSUS BOLD, irrespective of the task. Our results suggest that widespread activations associated with extremely large single-subject functional magnetic resonance imaging datasets can provide valuable information about the functional organization of the brain that goes undetected in smaller sample sizes. PMID:25405938

  10. Immune Priming, Fat Reserves, Muscle Mass and Body Weight of the House Cricket is Affected by Diet Composition.

    PubMed

    Córdoba-Aguilar, A; Nava-Sánchez, A; González-Tokman, D M; Munguía-Steyer, R; Gutiérrez-Cabrera, A E

    2016-08-01

    Some insect species are capable of producing an enhanced immune response after a first pathogenic encounter, a process called immune priming. However, whether and how such ability is driven by particular diet components (protein/carbohydrate) have not been explored. Such questions are sound given that, in general, immune response is dietary dependent. We have used adults of the house cricket Acheta domesticus L. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) and exposed them to the bacteria Serratia marcescens. We first addressed whether survival rate after priming and nonpriming treatments is dietary dependent based on access/no access to proteins and carbohydrates. Second, we investigated how these dietary components affected fat reserves, muscle mass, and body weight, three key traits in insect fitness. Thus, we exposed adult house crickets to either a protein or a carbohydrate diet and measured the three traits. After being provided with protein, primed animals survived longer compared to the other diet treatments. Interestingly, this effect was also sex dependent with primed males having a higher survival than primed females when protein was supplemented. For the second experiment, protein-fed animals had more fat, muscle mass, and body weight than carbohydrate-fed animals. Although we are not aware of the immune component underlying immune priming, our results suggest that its energetic demand for its functioning and/or consequent survival requires a higher demand of protein with respect to carbohydrate. Thus, protein shortage can impair key survival-related traits related to immune and energetic condition. Further studies varying nutrient ratios should verify our results.

  11. Optimal policies for simultaneous energy consumption and ancillary service provision for flexible loads under stochastic prices and no capacity reservation constraint

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kefayati, Mahdi; Baldick, Ross

    2015-07-01

    Flexible loads, i.e. the loads whose power trajectory is not bound to a specific one, constitute a sizable portion of current and future electric demand. This flexibility can be used to improve the performance of the grid, should the right incentives be in place. In this paper, we consider the optimal decision making problem faced by a flexible load, demanding a certain amount of energy over its availability period, subject to rate constraints. The load is also capable of providing ancillary services (AS) by decreasing or increasing its consumption in response to signals from the independent system operator (ISO). Under arbitrarily distributed and correlated Markovian energy and AS prices, we obtain the optimal policy for minimising expected total cost, which includes cost of energy and benefits from AS provision, assuming no capacity reservation requirement for AS provision. We also prove that the optimal policy has a multi-threshold form and can be computed, stored and operated efficiently. We further study the effectiveness of our proposed optimal policy and its impact on the grid. We show that, while optimal simultaneous consumption and AS provision under real-time stochastic prices are achievable with acceptable computational burden, the impact of adopting such real-time pricing schemes on the network might not be as good as suggested by the majority of the existing literature. In fact, we show that such price responsive loads are likely to induce peak-to-average ratios much more than what is observed in the current distribution networks and adversely affect the grid.

  12. The effects of self-focused attention, performance demand, and dispositional sexual self-consciousness on sexual arousal of sexually functional and dysfunctional men.

    PubMed

    van Lankveld, Jacques J D M; van den Hout, Marcel A; Schouten, Erik G W

    2004-08-01

    Sexually functional (N=26) and sexually dysfunctional heterosexual men with psychogenic erectile disorder (N=23) viewed two sexually explicit videos. Performance demand was manipulated through verbal instruction that a substantial genital response was to be expected from the videos. Self-focused attention was manipulated by introducing a camera pointed at the participant. Dispositional self-consciousness was assessed by questionnaire. Performance demand was found to independently inhibit the genital response. No main effect of self-focus was found. Self-focus inhibited genital response in men scoring high on general and sexual self-consciousness traits, whereas it enhanced penile tumescence in low self-conscious men. Inhibition effects were found in both volunteers and patients. No interaction effects of performance demand and self-focus were found. Subjective sexual arousal in sexually functional men was highest in the self-focus condition. In sexually dysfunctional men, subjective sexual response proved dependent on locus of attention as well as presentation order.

  13. Comparing the Capabilities and Performance of the Ultra High Frequency Follow-On System With the Mobile User Objective System

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-06-01

    designed to augment and eventually replace the currently oversubscribed UHF Follow- On ( UFO ) System. MUOS adapts a commercial third generation (3G...towers) with the goal of providing a more capable UHF SATCOM system. This research aims at investigating the differences between the legacy UFO and...improvements. The study finds that MUOS can tolerate a traffic demand rate of about 83 calls/messages per second whereas UFO saturates at roughly 4 calls

  14. China’s Incomplete Military Transformation: Assessing the Weaknesses of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-02-01

    PLA’s capabilities are still unable to (1) cope with the demands of winning a local war under informatized conditions and (2) successfully carry out...to the PLA’s ability to execute modern informatized military oper- ations. Weaknesses in the realm of human capital include continuing concerns about...improving the PLA’s operational capabilities. 1 Informatized conditions is a PLA concept characterized by a “system-of-system operations . . . [focus

  15. 29 CFR 20.4 - Determination of delinquency; notice.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... appropriate written demands for payment in terms which inform the debtor of the consequences of failure to... progressively stronger written demands at not more than 30-day intervals will normally be made unless a response to the first or second demand indicates that a further demand would be futile and the debtor's...

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

    Aabakken, J.

    This report, prepared by NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center, includes up-to-date information on power technologies, including complete technology profiles. The data book also contains charts on electricity restructuring, power technology forecasts, electricity supply, electricity capability, electricity generation, electricity demand, prices, economic indicators, environmental indicators, and conversion factors.

  17. High-speed rail markets, infrastructure investments and manufacturing capabilities.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-09-01

    Driven by increasing demand for passenger transportation and congestion in key corridors in the U.S., such as in California, the Northeast, Florida and parts of the Midwest, the U.S. has embarked on various initiatives to examine alternative solution...

  18. Modeling demand for public transit services in rural areas

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

    Attaluri, P.; Seneviratne, P.N.; Javid, M.

    1997-05-01

    Accurate estimates of demand are critical for planning, designing, and operating public transit systems. Previous research has demonstrated that the expected demand in rural areas is a function of both demographic and transit system variables. Numerous models have been proposed to describe the relationship between the aforementioned variables. However, most of them are site specific and their validity over time and space is not reported or perhaps has not been tested. Moreover, input variables in some cases are extremely difficult to quantify. In this article, the estimation of demand using the generalized linear modeling technique is discussed. Two separate models,more » one for fixed-route and another for demand-responsive services, are presented. These models, calibrated with data from systems in nine different states, are used to demonstrate the appropriateness and validity of generalized linear models compared to the regression models. They explain over 70% of the variation in expected demand for fixed-route services and 60% of the variation in expected demand for demand-responsive services. It was found that the models are spatially transferable and that data for calibration are easily obtainable.« less

  19. Managing Sustainable Demand-side Infrastructure for Power System Ancillary Services

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parkinson, Simon Christopher

    Widespread access to renewable electricity is seen as a viable method to mitigate carbon emissions, although problematic are the issues associated with the integration of the generation systems within current power system configurations. Wind power plants are the primary large-scale renewable generation technology applied globally, but display considerable short-term supply variability that is difficult to predict. Power systems are currently not designed to operate under these conditions, and results in the need to increase operating reserve in order to guarantee stability. Often, operating conventional generation as reserve is both technically and economically inefficient, which can overshadow positive benefits associated with renewable energy exploitation. The purpose of this thesis is to introduce and assess an alternative method of enhancing power system operations through the control of electric loads. In particular, this thesis focuses on managing highly-distributed sustainable demand-side infrastructure, in the form of heat pumps, electric vehicles, and electrolyzers, as dispatchable short-term energy balancing resources. The main contribution of the thesis is an optimal control strategy capable of simultaneously balancing grid- and demand-side objectives. The viability of the load control strategy is assessed through model-based simulations that explicitly track end-use functionality of responsive devices within a power systems analysis typically implemented to observe the effects of integrated wind energy systems. Results indicate that there is great potential for the proposed method to displace the need for increased reserve capacity in systems considering a high penetration of wind energy, thereby allowing conventional generation to operate more efficiently and avoid the need for possible capacity expansions.

  20. The role of action coordination for prospective memory: Task-interruption demands affect intention realization.

    PubMed

    Rummel, Jan; Wesslein, Ann-Katrin; Meiser, Thorsten

    2017-05-01

    Event-based prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform an intention in response to an environmental cue. Recent microstructure models postulate four distinguishable stages of successful event-based PM fulfillment. That is, (a) the event must be noticed, (b) the intention must be retrieved, (c) the context must be verified, and (d) the intended action must be coordinated with the demands of any currently ongoing task (e.g., Marsh, Hicks, & Watson, 2002b). Whereas the cognitive processes of Stages 1, 2, and 3 have been studied more or less extensively, little is known about the processes of Stage 4 so far. To fill this gap, the authors manipulated the magnitude of response overlap between the ongoing task and the PM task to isolate Stage-4 processes. Results demonstrate that PM performance improves in the presence versus absence of a response overlap, independent of cue saliency (Experiment 1) and of demands from currently ongoing tasks (Experiment 2). Furthermore, working-memory capacity is associated with PM performance, especially when there is little response overlap (Experiments 2 and 3). Finally, PM performance benefits only from strong response overlap, that is, only when the appropriate ongoing-task and PM response keys were identical (Experiment 4). They conclude that coordinating ongoing-task and PM actions puts cognitive demands on the individual which are distinguishable from the demands imposed by cue-detection and intention-retrieval processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Complexity associated with the optimisation of capability options in military operations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pincombe, A.; Bender, A.; Allen, G.

    2005-12-01

    In the context of a military operation, even if the intended actions, the geographic location, and the capabilities of the opposition are known, there are still some critical uncertainties that could have a major impact on the effectiveness of a given set of capabilities. These uncertainties include unpredictable events and the response alternatives that are available to the command and control elements of the capability set. They greatly complicate any a priori mathematical description. In a forecasting approach, the most likely future might be chosen and a solution sought that is optimal for that case. With scenario analysis, futures are proposed on the basis of critical uncertainties and the option that is most robust is chosen. We use scenario analysis but our approach is different in that we focus on the complexity and use the coupling between scenarios and options to create information on ideal options. The approach makes use of both soft and hard operations research methods, with subject matter expertise being used to define plausible responses to scenarios. In each scenario, uncertainty affects only a subset of the system-inherent variables and the variables that describe system-environment interactions. It is this scenario-specific reduction of variables that makes the problem mathematically tractable. The process we define is significantly different to existing scenario analysis processes, so we have named it adversarial scenario analysis. It can be used in conjunction with other methods, including recent improvements to the scenario analysis process. To illustrate the approach, we undertake a tactical level scenario analysis for a logistics problem that is defined by a network, expected throughputs to end users, the transport capacity available, the infrastructure at the nodes and the capacities of roads, stocks etc. The throughput capacity, e.g. the effectiveness, of the system relies on all of these variables and on the couplings between them. The system is initially in equilibrium for a given level of demand. However, different, and simpler, solutions emerge as the balance of couplings and the importance of variables change. The scenarios describe such changes in conditions. For each scenario it was possible to define measures that describe the differences between options. As with agent-based distillations, the solution is essentially qualitative and exploratory, bringing awareness of possible future difficulties and of the capabilities that are necessary if we are to deal successfully with those difficulties.

  2. GIS for public health : A study of Andhra Pradesh

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shrinagesh, B.; Kalpana, Markandey; Kiran, Baktula

    2014-06-01

    Geographic information systems and remote sensing have capabilities that are ideally suited for use in infectious disease surveillance and control, particularly for the many vector-borne neglected diseases that are often found in poor populations in remote rural areas. They are also highly relevant to meet the demands of outbreak investigation and response, where prompt location of cases, rapid communication of information, and quick mapping of the epidemic's dynamics are vital. The situation has changed dramatically over the past few years. GIS helps in determining geographic distribution of diseases, analysing spatial and temporal trends, Mapping populations at risk, Stratifying risk factors, Assessing resource allocation, Planning and targeting interventions, Monitoring diseases and interventions over time. There are vast disparities in people's health even among the different districts across the state of Andhra Pradesh largely attributed to the resource allocation by the state government. Despite having centers of excellence in healthcare delivery, these facilities are limited and are inadequate in meeting the current healthcare demands. The main objectives are to study the prevalent diseases in Andhra Pradesh, to study the infrastructural facilities available in A.P. The methodology includes the Spatial Database, which will be mostly in the form of digitized format. The Non-Spatial Database includes both secondary data as well as the primary data.

  3. School management and contingency theory: an emerging perspective.

    PubMed

    Hanson, E M

    1979-01-01

    In an article written for educational administrators, Hanson explains the assumptions, framework, and application of contingency theory. The author sees contingency theory as a way for organizations to adapt to uncertainty by developing a strategic plan with alternative scenarios. He urges school administrators to join businessmen and public managers in using a technique described as "the most powerful current sweeping over the organizational field." The theory assumes that: (1) a maze of goals govern the development of events; (2) different management approaches may be appropriate within the same organization; and (3) different leadership styles suit different situations. Contingency planning helps the organization to respond to uncertainty in the external environment by identifying possible events that may occur and by preparing alternative stratgies to deal with them. Hanson describes the purpose of this process as providing "a more effective match between an organization and its environment." He explains that contingency theory analyzes the internal adjustments of the organization (e.g., decision making process, structure, technology, instructional techniques) as it seeks to meet the shifting demands of its external or internal environments. According to the author, the intent of contingency theory is to establish an optimal "match" between environmental demands (and support) and the response capabilities of the organization including its structure, planning process, and leadership style.

  4. The alveolar macrophage.

    PubMed

    Bowden, D H

    1984-04-01

    The pulmonary macrophagic system is critical to the defense of the lung, keeping the alveoli clean and sterile and responding on demand with an adaptive outpouring of new cells into the air sacs. Under basal conditions alveolar macrophages, in common with other mononuclear phagocytes, are derived from the bone marrow. A population of macrophage precursors within the pulmonary interstitium provides a reserve pool capable of proliferation and delivery of phagocytes in response to unusually heavy loads of inhaled particles. This reserve system also produces macrophages when monocytic precursors in the bone marrow are depleted by diseases such as leukemia. The alveolar macrophage is destined to ingest particulate matter and to be eliminated along the mucociliary pathway; clearance by lymphatics is of minor importance and macrophages probably do not recross the alveolar epithelium to reach the pulmonary interstitial compartment. Although the protective role of the macrophage is dominant, this cell may participate, directly or indirectly, in the genesis of two major groups of chronic pulmonary disease, interstitial fibrosis and emphysema. Such inappropriate responses involve interactions with fibroblastic cells and tissue injury initiated by proteases secreted by the macrophage.

  5. In Preparation or Response: Examining Health Care Coalitions Amid a Changing Economic and Political Landscape.

    PubMed

    Dornauer, Mark E

    2015-12-01

    The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the US Department of Health and Human Services leads the nation in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the adverse health effects of public health emergencies, in part through formal collaborations between hospitals, health systems, community health centers, public health departments, and community organizations via health care coalitions (HCCs). HCCs endeavor to meet the medical surge demands inherent to disasters and to improve health outcomes before, during, and after public health emergencies. Nevertheless, significant changes in health economics and policy can impact the operations, capabilities, and scope of HCCs. Specifically, hospital consolidation and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are altering the national health care landscape, as well as the emergency preparedness sector, and are challenging HCCs to adapt to large-scale, industry-wide transformations. This article examines HCCs in the context of the developments of hospital consolidation and the ACA in order to facilitate future discourse regarding the strategy and policy of HCCs amid a changing economic and political landscape.

  6. A new and highly selective turn-on fluorescent sensor with fast response time for the monitoring of cadmium ions in cosmetic, and health product samples

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khani, Rouhollah; Ghiamati, Ebrahim; Boroujerdi, Ramin; Rezaeifard, Abdolreza; Zaryabi, Mohadeseh Hosseinpour

    2016-06-01

    Cadmium (Cd) which is an extremely toxic could be found in many products like plastics, fossil fuel combustion, cosmetics, water resources, and wastewaters. It is capable of causing serious environmental and health problems such as lung, prostate, renal cancers and the other disorders. So, the development of a sensor to continually monitor cadmium is considerably demanding. Tetrakis(4-nitrophenyl)porphyrin, T(4-NO2-P)P, was synthesized and used as a new and highly selective fluorescent probe for monitoring cadmium ions in the "turn-on" mode. There was a linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and the concentration of Cd(II) in the range of 1.0 × 10- 6 to 1.0 × 10- 5 mol L- 1 with a detection limit of 0.276 μM. To examine the most important parameters involved and their interactions in the sensor optimization procedure, a four-factor central composite design (CCD) combined with response surface modeling (RSM) was implemented. The practical applicability of the developed sensor was investigated using real cosmetic, and personal care samples.

  7. LesionTracker: Extensible Open-Source Zero-Footprint Web Viewer for Cancer Imaging Research and Clinical Trials.

    PubMed

    Urban, Trinity; Ziegler, Erik; Lewis, Rob; Hafey, Chris; Sadow, Cheryl; Van den Abbeele, Annick D; Harris, Gordon J

    2017-11-01

    Oncology clinical trials have become increasingly dependent upon image-based surrogate endpoints for determining patient eligibility and treatment efficacy. As therapeutics have evolved and multiplied in number, the tumor metrics criteria used to characterize therapeutic response have become progressively more varied and complex. The growing intricacies of image-based response evaluation, together with rising expectations for rapid and consistent results reporting, make it difficult for site radiologists to adequately address local and multicenter imaging demands. These challenges demonstrate the need for advanced cancer imaging informatics tools that can help ensure protocol-compliant image evaluation while simultaneously promoting reviewer efficiency. LesionTracker is a quantitative imaging package optimized for oncology clinical trial workflows. The goal of the project is to create an open source zero-footprint viewer for image analysis that is designed to be extensible as well as capable of being integrated into third-party systems for advanced imaging tools and clinical trials informatics platforms. Cancer Res; 77(21); e119-22. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

  8. Interpersonal interactions, job demands and work-related outcomes in pharmacy.

    PubMed

    Gaither, Caroline A; Nadkarni, Anagha

    2012-04-01

    Objectives  The objective of this study was to examine the interaction between job demands of pharmacists and resources in the form of interpersonal interactions and its association with work-related outcomes such as organizational and professional commitment, job burnout, professional identity and job satisfaction. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model served as the theoretical framework. Methods  Subjects for the study were drawn from the Pharmacy Manpower Project Database (n = 1874). A 14-page mail-in survey measured hospital pharmacists' responses on the frequency of occurrence of various job-related scenarios as well as work-related outcomes. The study design was a 2 × 2 factorial design. Responses were collected on a Likert scale. Descriptive statistics, reliability analyses and correlational and multiple regression analyses were conducted using SPSS version 17 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). Key findings  The 566 pharmacists (30% response rate) who responded to the survey indicated that high-demand/pleasant encounters and low-demand/pleasant encounters occurred more frequently in the workplace. The strongest correlations were found between high-demand/unpleasant encounters and frequency and intensity of emotional exhaustion. Multiple regression analyses indicated that when controlling for demographic factors high-demand/unpleasant encounters were negatively related to affective organizational commitment and positively related to frequency and intensity of emotional exhaustion. Low-demand/pleasant encounters were positively related to frequency and intensity of personal accomplishment. Low-demand/unpleasant encounters were significantly and negatively related to professional commitment, job satisfaction and frequency and intensity of emotional exhaustion, while high-demand/pleasant encounters were also related to frequency and intensity of emotional exhaustion Conclusion  Support was found for the JD-R model and the proposed interaction effects. Study results suggest that adequate attention must be paid to the interplay between demands on the job and interactions with healthcare professionals to improve the quality of the pharmacist's work life. Future research should examine other types of job demands and resources. © 2011 The Authors. IJPP © 2011 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

  9. Thermal energy storage – overview and specific insight into nitrate salts for sensible and latent heat storage

    PubMed Central

    Bauer, Thomas; Martin, Claudia; Eck, Markus; Wörner, Antje

    2015-01-01

    Summary Thermal energy storage (TES) is capable to reduce the demand of conventional energy sources for two reasons: First, they prevent the mismatch between the energy supply and the power demand when generating electricity from renewable energy sources. Second, utilization of waste heat in industrial processes by thermal energy storage reduces the final energy consumption. This review focuses mainly on material aspects of alkali nitrate salts. They include thermal properties, thermal decomposition processes as well as a new method to develop optimized salt systems. PMID:26199853

  10. Thermal energy storage - overview and specific insight into nitrate salts for sensible and latent heat storage.

    PubMed

    Pfleger, Nicole; Bauer, Thomas; Martin, Claudia; Eck, Markus; Wörner, Antje

    2015-01-01

    Thermal energy storage (TES) is capable to reduce the demand of conventional energy sources for two reasons: First, they prevent the mismatch between the energy supply and the power demand when generating electricity from renewable energy sources. Second, utilization of waste heat in industrial processes by thermal energy storage reduces the final energy consumption. This review focuses mainly on material aspects of alkali nitrate salts. They include thermal properties, thermal decomposition processes as well as a new method to develop optimized salt systems.

  11. Process Developed for Fabricating Engineered Pore Structures for High- Fuel-Utilization Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sofie, Stephen W.; Cable, Thomas L.; Salamone, Sam M.

    2005-01-01

    Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have tremendous commercial potential because of their high efficiency, high energy density, and flexible fuel capability (ability to use fossil fuels). The drive for high-power-utilizing, ultrathin electrolytes (less than 10 microns), has placed an increased demand on the anode to provide structural support, yet allow sufficient fuel entry for sustained power generation. Concentration polarization, a condition where the fuel demand exceeds the supply, is evident in all commercial-based anode-supported cells, and it presents a significant roadblock to SOFC commercialization.

  12. 75 FR 20901 - Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public Utilities

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-22

    ... markets. This rule ensures that participants in wholesale energy markets where demand response products... those markets and addresses performance evaluation methods appropriate to use for demand response... markets, reducing transaction costs and providing an opportunity for more customers to participate in...

  13. Policy impacts on agricultural irrigation electricity demand in the Columbia Basin

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

    Martin, M.; Cox, L.; Nakamoto, S.

    Accurately estimating the price elasticity of demand for irrigation electricity is important to major electricity suppliers such as the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) of the Pacific Northwest. The BPA has a revenue maximization objective, and the elasticity of demand is central to its rate setting process. Several studies have attempted to estimate demand for irrigation electricity, but none has explicitly included federal agricultural policy and program variables. Tins paper discusses how agricultural programs may influence farmers' irrigation decisions and thus their demand for irrigation electricity. It suggests that existing programs serve to make farmers more responsive to electricity rate increasesmore » than would otherwise be the case. Thus, studies that fail to include them may underestimate the responsiveness of farmers to electricity rate increases.« less

  14. Characterization and validation of an anechoic facility for high-temperature jet noise studies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Craft, Joseph

    In response to the increasing demand for jet noise studies performed at realistic conditions, the Florida Center For Advanced Aero-Propulsion at Florida State University has recently brought online an upgraded Anechoic High-Temperature Jet Facility. The function of this facility is to accurately simulate and characterize the aeroacoustic properties of exhaust from jet engines at realistic temperatures and flow speeds. This new addition is a blow-down facility supplied by a 3500 kPa, 114 cubic meter compressed dry air system and a sudden-expansion ethylene burner that is capable of producing ideally expanded jets up to Mach 2.6 and stagnation temperatures up to 1500 K. The jet exhausts into a fully anechoic chamber which is equipped to acquire acoustic and flow measurements including the temperature and pressure of the jet. The facility is capable of operating under free jet as well as in various impinging jet configurations pertinent to sea- and land-based aircraft, such as the F-35B. Compared to the original facility, the updated rig is capable of longer run times at higher temperatures. In this paper we demonstrate the facility's experimental capabilities and document jet aeroacoustic characteristics at various flow and temperature conditions. The anechoic chamber was characterized using ISO (3745:2003) guidelines and the lower cutoff frequency of the chamber was determined to be 315 Hz. Aeroacoustic properties of jets operating at subsonic conditions and supersonic Mach numbers ranging from 1.2 to 2.1 at temperatures of 300 K to 1300 K are documented. Where available, very good agreement was found when the present results were compared with data in the jet noise literature.

  15. Isotopes and soil physic analysis as a tool to meet answers related to soil-plant-atmosphere behavior of Amazon forest during droughts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borma, L. D. S.; Oliveira, R. S.; Silva, R. D.; Chaparro Saaveedra, O. F.; Barros, F. V.; Bittencourt, P.

    2015-12-01

    Droughts and floods are part of the Amazon weather pattern, but in face of climate change, it has been expected an increase in their intensity and duration. Forests are important regulators of climate. However, it is still unknown how they respond to an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme droughts. Additionally, there are great uncertainties related with the forest behavior in an enriched CO2 environment. For the Amazon rainforest, some authors report forest growth in a drier climate, while others report forest mortality in these same conditions. The crucial factor in this process seem the linkage between atmospheric demand from water and its provision by soil moisture, intermediated by the plants. In theory, in regions where soil moisture is high, even in the absence of rainfall conditions, water exists in enough quantity to meet the atmospheric demand, and majority of plants behave as an evergreen forest. This is the case, for example, for some research sites of equatorial regions of the Amazon forest, which tend to increase evapotranspiration rates in dry season, when the atmospheric demand is higher. However, the extent to which soil moisture decreases, the plant is no longer able to meet the atmospheric demand, limiting evapotranspiration and possibly, entering in a dormant state. To understand the forest response to droughts, in terms of its potential to maintain or reduce evapotranspiration rates, it is necessary to know water dynamics in soil and soil layers where plants are able to extract water. It's a challenge, considering the great variability of soils and plants that forms the huge biodiversity of the Amazon forest. Here, we present an experiment design based on isotopic analyzes in a small watershed in Amazon basin. In order to understand the dynamics of the water used by the plant during the evaporation process, isotope analysis were carried out in soil water collected from shallow and deep groundwater, in the water collected on the bark of plants and rainfall water, intercepted or not by the canopy. These results were analyzed in conjunction with the soil properties, its moisture retention capacity and groundwater level variations. This study presents some insights about the capability of this methodology to answer questions related to the soil moisture sources and forest response to droughts.

  16. Seismic performance of the typical RC beam-column joint subjected to repeated earthquakes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hassanshahi, Omid; Majid, Taksiah A.; Lau, Tze Liang; Yousefi, Ali; Tahara, R. M. K.

    2017-10-01

    It is common that a building experience repeated earthquakes throughout its lifetime. Such earthquake is capable of creating severe damage in primary elements of the building due to accumulation of inelastic displacement from repetition. The present study focuses on the influence of repeated earthquakes on a typical Reinforced Concrete (RC) beam-column joint, especially on the maximum inelastic displacement demand and maximum residual displacement. For this purpose, the capability of nonlinear modelling in simulating the hysteretic behaviour of the prototype experimental specimen is first determined using RUAUMOKO. A nonlinear Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) on the verified model is then carried out in order to estimate with maximum accuracy the ultimate load bearing capacity to progressive collapse of the RC joint under investigation. Twenty ground motions are selected, and single (C1), double (C2), and triple (C3) event of synthetic repeated earthquakes are then considered. The results show that the repeated earthquakes significantly increase the inelastic demand of the RC joint. On average, relative increment of maximum inelastic displacement demand is experienced about 28.9% and 39.4% when C2 and C3 events of repeated earthquakes are induced, respectively. Residual displacements for repeated earthquakes are also significantly higher than that for single earthquakes.

  17. ZERODUR expanding capabilities and capacity for future spaceborne and ground-based telescopes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Westerhoff, Thomas; Werner, Thomas

    2017-09-01

    The glass ceramic ZERODUR is well known for its extremely low coefficient of thermal expansion making it one of the key materials for ultra-precision application such as IC and LCD Lithography, High-end Metrology, Aviation and space borne or ground based Astronomy. The steady growth of demand for more precision in those applications together with a growing number of precision systems and components is requesting the ability to on hand increase precision in manufacturing. Additionally, there is a need to increase production capacity of ZERODUR CNC machined products in parallel. This paper reports on the measures SCHOTT is realizing to feed the continuously increasing demand on high precision material and components. Next to a second melting tank additional capacity is going to be installed along the entire value stream of ZERODUR production. Features of new CNC machining capabilities in the two and four meter class will be reported allowing to provide tighter tolerance on mirror surface figure together with reduced sub surface damage in order to accelerate the polishing time. Examples are discussed such as the 4 m class secondary and tertiary mirrors for the ESO E-ELT. The new equipment will enable SCHOTT to light weight 4 m class mirror substrates for future space optics demand.

  18. Immune defense of wild-caught Norway rats is characterized by increased levels of basal activity but reduced capability to respond to further immune stimulation.

    PubMed

    Mirkov, Ivana; Popov Aleksandrov, Aleksandra; Subota, Vesna; Kataranovski, Dragan; Kataranovski, Milena

    2018-03-01

    Studies of wild animals' immunity often use comparison with laboratory-raised individuals. Using such an approach, various data were obtained concerning wild Norway rat's immunity. Lower or higher potential of immune system cells to respond to activation stimuli were shown, because of analysis of disparate parameters and/ or small number of analyzed individuals. Inconsistent differences between laboratory and wild rats were shown too, owing to great response variability in wild rats. We hypothesized that wild rats will express more intense immune activity compared to their laboratory counterparts which live in a less demanding environment. To test this, we analyzed the circulating levels of inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), a mediator which has a central role in host immune defense. In addition, we examined the activity of the central immune organ, the spleen, including cell proliferation and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-17 (IL-17), which are major effectors of cellular adaptive immune response. In order to obtain reasonable insight into the immunity of wild Norway rats, analysis was conducted on a much larger number of individuals compared to other studies. Higher levels of plasma IL-6, higher spleen mass, cellularity and basal IFN-γ production concomitantly with lower basal production of anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) revealed more intense immune activity in the wild compared to laboratory rats. However, lower responsiveness of their spleen cells' proinflammatory cytokine production to concanavalin A (ConA) stimulation, along with preserved capacity of IL-10 response, might be perceived as an indication of wild rats' reduced capability to cope with incoming environmental stimuli, but also as a means to limit tissue damage. © 2017 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  19. Inhibition-Induced Forgetting Results from Resource Competition between Response Inhibition and Memory Encoding Processes.

    PubMed

    Chiu, Yu-Chin; Egner, Tobias

    2015-08-26

    Response inhibition is a key component of executive control, but its relation to other cognitive processes is not well understood. We recently documented the "inhibition-induced forgetting effect": no-go cues are remembered more poorly than go cues. We attributed this effect to central-resource competition, whereby response inhibition saps attention away from memory encoding. However, this proposal is difficult to test with behavioral means alone. We therefore used fMRI in humans to test two neural predictions of the "common resource hypothesis": (1) brain regions associated with response inhibition should exhibit greater resource demands during encoding of subsequently forgotten than remembered no-go cues; and (2) this higher inhibitory resource demand should lead to memory encoding regions having less resources available during encoding of subsequently forgotten no-go cues. Participants categorized face stimuli by gender in a go/no-go task and, following a delay, performed a surprise recognition memory test for those faces. Replicating previous findings, memory was worse for no-go than for go stimuli. Crucially, forgetting of no-go cues was predicted by high inhibitory resource demand, as quantified by the trial-by-trial ratio of activity in neural "no-go" versus "go" networks. Moreover, this index of inhibitory demand exhibited an inverse trial-by-trial relationship with activity in brain regions responsible for the encoding of no-go cues into memory, notably the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. This seesaw pattern between the neural resource demand of response inhibition and activity related to memory encoding directly supports the hypothesis that response inhibition temporarily saps attentional resources away from stimulus processing. Recent behavioral experiments showed that inhibiting a motor response to a stimulus (a "no-go cue") impairs subsequent memory for that cue. Here, we used fMRI to test whether this "inhibition-induced forgetting effect" is caused by competition for neural resources between the processes of response inhibition and memory encoding. We found that trial-by-trial variations in neural inhibitory resource demand predicted subsequent forgetting of no-go cues and that higher inhibitory demand was furthermore associated with lower concurrent activation in brain regions responsible for successful memory encoding of no-go cues. Thus, motor inhibition and stimulus encoding appear to compete with each other: when more resources have to be devoted to inhibiting action, less are available for encoding sensory stimuli. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/3511936-10$15.00/0.

  20. Critical systems for public health management of floods, North Dakota.

    PubMed

    Wiedrich, Tim W; Sickler, Juli L; Vossler, Brenda L; Pickard, Stephen P

    2013-01-01

    Availability of emergency preparedness funding between 2002 and 2009 allowed the North Dakota Department of Health to build public health response capabilities. Five of the 15 public health preparedness capability areas identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2011 have been thoroughly tested by responses to flooding in North Dakota in 2009, 2010, and 2011; those capability areas are information sharing, emergency operations coordination, medical surge, material management and distribution, and volunteer management. Increasing response effectiveness has depended on planning, implementation of new information technology, changes to command and control procedures, containerized response materials, and rapid contract procedures. Continued improvement in response and maintenance of response capabilities is dependent on ongoing funding.

  1. The Ogallala Agro-Climate Tool (Technical Description)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A Visual Basic agro-climate application capable of estimating irrigation demand and crop water use over the Ogallala Aquifer region is described here. The application’s meteorological database consists of daily precipitation and temperature data from 141 U.S. Historical Climatology Network stations ...

  2. THE FUNCTIONING OF ESTABLISHED ORGANIZATIONS IN COMMUNITY DISASTERS,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    Established organizations refer to those which respond, in a disaster context, with their regular personnel engaged in familiar tasks. A theoretical ... framework is presented viewing such organization’s pre-disaster operations as constituting a situation where their capabilities exceed the demands

  3. AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT: A MULTISECTOR APPROACH TO THE MODERNIZATION OF HUMAN SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.

    EPA Science Inventory

    Better understanding of toxicological mechanisms, enhanced testing capabilities, and demands for more sophisticated data for safety and health risk assessment have generated international interest in improving the current testing paradigm for agricultural chemicals. To address th...

  4. 40 CFR 230.22 - Water.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... gas levels, pH, and temperature contribute to its life-sustaining capabilities. (b) Possible loss of... populations of aquatic organisms, and for human consumption, recreation, and aesthetics. The introduction of... biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which in turn can lead to reduced dissolved oxygen, thereby potentially...

  5. 40 CFR 230.22 - Water.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... gas levels, pH, and temperature contribute to its life-sustaining capabilities. (b) Possible loss of... populations of aquatic organisms, and for human consumption, recreation, and aesthetics. The introduction of... biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which in turn can lead to reduced dissolved oxygen, thereby potentially...

  6. 40 CFR 230.22 - Water.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... gas levels, pH, and temperature contribute to its life-sustaining capabilities. (b) Possible loss of... populations of aquatic organisms, and for human consumption, recreation, and aesthetics. The introduction of... biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which in turn can lead to reduced dissolved oxygen, thereby potentially...

  7. 40 CFR 230.22 - Water.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... gas levels, pH, and temperature contribute to its life-sustaining capabilities. (b) Possible loss of... populations of aquatic organisms, and for human consumption, recreation, and aesthetics. The introduction of... biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which in turn can lead to reduced dissolved oxygen, thereby potentially...

  8. 40 CFR 230.22 - Water.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... gas levels, pH, and temperature contribute to its life-sustaining capabilities. (b) Possible loss of... populations of aquatic organisms, and for human consumption, recreation, and aesthetics. The introduction of... biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which in turn can lead to reduced dissolved oxygen, thereby potentially...

  9. Feeding styles and child weight status among recent immigrant mother-child dyads

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Research has shown that parental feeding styles may influence children’s food consumption, energy intake, and ultimately, weight status. We examine this relationship, among recent immigrants to the US. Given that immigrant parents and children are at greater risk for becoming overweight/obese with increased time in the US, identification of risk factors for weight gain is critical. Methods Baseline data was collected on 383 mother-child dyads enrolled in Live Well, a community-based, participatory, randomized controlled lifestyle intervention to prevent weight gain in recent immigrant mothers. Socio-demographic information together with heights and weights were collected for both mother and child. Acculturation, behavioral data, and responses to the Caregiver’s Feeding Styles Questionnaire (CFSQ) were also obtained from the mother. Results The children’s average age was 6.2 ± 2.7 years, 58% male. Mothers had been in the country for an average of 6.0 ± 3.3 years, and are Brazilian (36%), Haitian (34%) and Latino (30%). Seventy-two percent of the mothers were overweight/obese, while 43% of the children were overweight/obese. Fifteen percent of mothers reported their feeding style as being high demanding/high responsive; 32% as being high demanding/low responsive; 34% as being low demanding/high responsive and 18% as being low demanding/low responsive. In bivariate analyses, feeding styles significantly differed by child BMIz-score, ethnic group, and mother’s perceived stress. In multiple linear regression, a low demanding/high responsive feeding style was found to be positively associated (ß = 0.56) with a higher child weight as compared to high demanding/high responsive, controlling for known covariates (p = 0.01). Conclusions Most mothers report having a low demanding/high responsive feeding style, which is associated with higher child weight status in this diverse immigrant population. This finding adds to the growing literature that suggests this type of feeding style may be a risk factor for childhood obesity. Further research is needed to help understand the larger socio-cultural context and its influence on feeding dynamics among immigrant families and families of lower incomes. How parents establish a certain feeding style in their home country compared to when they move to the US “obesogenic” environment, should also be explored. PMID:22642962

  10. Examining Experienced Teachers' Noticing of and Responses to Students' Engineering

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Aaron W.; Wendell, Kristen B.; Watkins, Jessica

    2017-01-01

    Engineering design places unique demands on teachers, as students are coming up with new, unanticipated ideas to problems along often unpredictable trajectories. These demands motivate a responsive approach to teaching, in which teachers attend their students' thinking and flexibly adapt their instructional plans and objectives. A great deal of…

  11. 49 CFR 37.189 - Service requirement for OTRB demand-responsive systems.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Service requirement for OTRB demand-responsive systems. 37.189 Section 37.189 Transportation Office of the Secretary of Transportation TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES (ADA) Over-the-Road Buses (OTRBs) § 37.189 Service requirement...

  12. 77 FR 4574 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; Production of Material or Provision...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-30

    ... to Demands in Legal Proceedings Among Private Litigants AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, HUD... forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. This Notice also... Response to Demands in Legal Proceedings Among Private Litigants. OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2501...

  13. 38 CFR 14.807 - Procedure when demand or request is made.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Production of Department Records in Legal Proceedings § 14.807 Procedure when demand or request is made. (a) VA personnel upon whom a demand or request for testimony or the production of records in connection...) In response to a demand or request for the production of records or the testimony of VA personnel...

  14. 24 CFR 2004.22 - Filing requirements for demands or requests for documents or testimony.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Filing requirements for demands or... AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SUBPOENAS AND PRODUCTION IN RESPONSE TO SUBPOENAS OR DEMANDS OF COURTS OR OTHER AUTHORITIES Requests for Testimony and Production of Documents § 2004.22 Filing requirements for demands or...

  15. 24 CFR 2004.22 - Filing requirements for demands or requests for documents or testimony.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 5 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Filing requirements for demands or... AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SUBPOENAS AND PRODUCTION IN RESPONSE TO SUBPOENAS OR DEMANDS OF COURTS OR OTHER AUTHORITIES Requests for Testimony and Production of Documents § 2004.22 Filing requirements for demands or...

  16. Demand Side Management: An approach to peak load smoothing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, Prachi

    A preliminary national-level analysis was conducted to determine whether Demand Side Management (DSM) programs introduced by electric utilities since 1992 have made any progress towards their stated goal of reducing peak load demand. Estimates implied that DSM has a very small effect on peak load reduction and there is substantial regional and end-user variability. A limited scholarly literature on DSM also provides evidence in support of a positive effect of demand response programs. Yet, none of these studies examine the question of how DSM affects peak load at the micro-level by influencing end-users' response to prices. After nearly three decades of experience with DSM, controversy remains over how effective these programs have been. This dissertation considers regional analyses that explore both demand-side solutions and supply-side interventions. On the demand side, models are estimated to provide in-depth evidence of end-user consumption patterns for each North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) region, helping to identify sectors in regions that have made a substantial contribution to peak load reduction. The empirical evidence supports the initial hypothesis that there is substantial regional and end-user variability of reductions in peak demand. These results are quite robust in rapidly-urbanizing regions, where air conditioning and lighting load is substantially higher, and regions where the summer peak is more pronounced than the winter peak. It is also evident from the regional experiences that active government involvement, as shaped by state regulations in the last few years, has been successful in promoting DSM programs, and perhaps for the same reason we witness an uptick in peak load reductions in the years 2008 and 2009. On the supply side, we estimate the effectiveness of DSM programs by analyzing the growth of capacity margin with the introduction of DSM programs. The results indicate that DSM has been successful in offsetting the need for additional production capacity by the means of demand response measures, but the success is limited to only a few regions. The rate of progress in the future will depend on a wide range of improved technologies and a continuous government monitoring for successful adoption of demand response programs to manage growing energy demand.

  17. Integration of Fixed and Flexible Route Public Transportation Systems, Phase II

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-01-01

    Conventional bus service (with fixed routes and schedules) has lower average cost than flexible bus service (with : demand-responsive routes) at high demand densities. At low demand densities flexible bus service has lower : average costs and provide...

  18. Tablet based distributed intelligent load management

    DOEpatents

    Lu, Yan; Zhou, Siyuan

    2018-01-09

    A facility is connected to an electricity utility and is responsive to Demand Response Events. A plurality of devices is each individually connected to the electricity grid via an addressable switch connected to a secure network that is enabled to be individually switched off by a server. An occupant of a room in control of the plurality of devices provides via a Human Machine Interface on a tablet a preferred order of switching off the plurality of devices in case of a Demand Response Event. A configuration file based at least partially on the preferred order and on a severity of the Demand Response Events determines which devices which of the plurality devices will be switched off. The server accesses the configuration file and switches off the devices included in the configuration file.

  19. Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) Synthetic Instrument Capabilities Assessment and Test Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oeftering, Richard C.; Bradish, Martin A.

    2011-01-01

    The role of synthetic instruments (SIs) for Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) is to provide an external lower-level diagnostic and functional test capability beyond the built-in-test capabilities of spacecraft electronics. Built-in diagnostics can report faults and symptoms, but isolating the root cause and performing corrective action requires specialized instruments. Often a fault can be revealed by emulating the operation of external hardware. This implies complex hardware that is too massive to be accommodated in spacecraft. The SI strategy is aimed at minimizing complexity and mass by employing highly reconfigurable instruments that perform diagnostics and emulate external functions. In effect, SI can synthesize an instrument on demand. The SI architecture section of this document summarizes the result of a recent program diagnostic and test needs assessment based on the International Space Station. The SI architecture addresses operational issues such as minimizing crew time and crew skill level, and the SI data transactions between the crew and supporting ground engineering searching for the root cause and formulating corrective actions. SI technology is described within a teleoperations framework. The remaining sections describe a lab demonstration intended to show that a single SI circuit could synthesize an instrument in hardware and subsequently clear the hardware and synthesize a completely different instrument on demand. An analysis of the capabilities and limitations of commercially available SI hardware and programming tools is included. Future work in SI technology is also described.

  20. Design and Simulations of an Energy Harvesting Capable CMOS Pixel for Implantable Retinal Prosthesis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ansaripour, Iman; Karami, Mohammad Azim

    2017-12-01

    A new pixel is designed with the capability of imaging and energy harvesting for the retinal prosthesis implant in 0.18 µm standard Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor technology. The pixel conversion gain and dynamic range, are 2.05 \\upmu{{V}}/{{e}}^{ - } and 63.2 dB. The power consumption 53.12 pW per pixel while energy harvesting performance is 3.87 nW in 60 klx of illuminance per pixel. These results have been obtained using post layout simulation. In the proposed pixel structure, the high power production capability in energy harvesting mode covers the demanded energy by using all available p-n junction photo generated currents.

  1. Modeling Framework and Validation of a Smart Grid and Demand Response System for Wind Power Integration

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

    Broeer, Torsten; Fuller, Jason C.; Tuffner, Francis K.

    2014-01-31

    Electricity generation from wind power and other renewable energy sources is increasing, and their variability introduces new challenges to the power system. The emergence of smart grid technologies in recent years has seen a paradigm shift in redefining the electrical system of the future, in which controlled response of the demand side is used to balance fluctuations and intermittencies from the generation side. This paper presents a modeling framework for an integrated electricity system where loads become an additional resource. The agent-based model represents a smart grid power system integrating generators, transmission, distribution, loads and market. The model incorporates generatormore » and load controllers, allowing suppliers and demanders to bid into a Real-Time Pricing (RTP) electricity market. The modeling framework is applied to represent a physical demonstration project conducted on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA, and validation simulations are performed using actual dynamic data. Wind power is then introduced into the power generation mix illustrating the potential of demand response to mitigate the impact of wind power variability, primarily through thermostatically controlled loads. The results also indicate that effective implementation of Demand Response (DR) to assist integration of variable renewable energy resources requires a diversity of loads to ensure functionality of the overall system.« less

  2. Automated Demand Response for Energy Sustainability Cost and Performance Report

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-09-01

    Install solar thermal system for pool heating in fitness Bldg 325 2022 $ 21,359 $ 7,199 3.6 yrs Renewable energy project p. 124- 126 Note: All data...and R. Bienert, 2011. Smart Grid Standards and Systems Interoperability: A Precedent with OpenADR, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBNL...response (DR) system at Fort Irwin, CA. This demonstration employed industry-standard OpenADR (Open Automated Demand Response) technology to perform

  3. Rapid Diagnostics of Onboard Sequences

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Starbird, Thomas W.; Morris, John R.; Shams, Khawaja S.; Maimone, Mark W.

    2012-01-01

    Keeping track of sequences onboard a spacecraft is challenging. When reviewing Event Verification Records (EVRs) of sequence executions on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER), operators often found themselves wondering which version of a named sequence the EVR corresponded to. The lack of this information drastically impacts the operators diagnostic capabilities as well as their situational awareness with respect to the commands the spacecraft has executed, since the EVRs do not provide argument values or explanatory comments. Having this information immediately available can be instrumental in diagnosing critical events and can significantly enhance the overall safety of the spacecraft. This software provides auditing capability that can eliminate that uncertainty while diagnosing critical conditions. Furthermore, the Restful interface provides a simple way for sequencing tools to automatically retrieve binary compiled sequence SCMFs (Space Command Message Files) on demand. It also enables developers to change the underlying database, while maintaining the same interface to the existing applications. The logging capabilities are also beneficial to operators when they are trying to recall how they solved a similar problem many days ago: this software enables automatic recovery of SCMF and RML (Robot Markup Language) sequence files directly from the command EVRs, eliminating the need for people to find and validate the corresponding sequences. To address the lack of auditing capability for sequences onboard a spacecraft during earlier missions, extensive logging support was added on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) sequencing server. This server is responsible for generating all MSL binary SCMFs from RML input sequences. The sequencing server logs every SCMF it generates into a MySQL database, as well as the high-level RML file and dictionary name inputs used to create the SCMF. The SCMF is then indexed by a hash value that is automatically included in all command EVRs by the onboard flight software. Second, both the binary SCMF result and the RML input file can be retrieved simply by specifying the hash to a Restful web interface. This interface enables command line tools as well as large sophisticated programs to download the SCMF and RMLs on-demand from the database, enabling a vast array of tools to be built on top of it. One such command line tool can retrieve and display RML files, or annotate a list of EVRs by interleaving them with the original sequence commands. This software has been integrated with the MSL sequencing pipeline where it will serve sequences useful in diagnostics, debugging, and situational awareness throughout the mission.

  4. 20 CFR 404.1545 - Your residual functional capacity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Your residual functional capacity. 404.1545 Section 404.1545 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND... fully capable of the physical demands consistent with those of sustained medium work activity, but...

  5. 20 CFR 404.1545 - Your residual functional capacity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Your residual functional capacity. 404.1545 Section 404.1545 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND... fully capable of the physical demands consistent with those of sustained medium work activity, but...

  6. Science and Technology Highlights | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    Leads to Enhanced Upgrading Methods NREL's efforts to standardize techniques for bio-oil analysis inform enhanced modeling capability and affordable methods to increase energy efficiency. December 2012 NREL Meets Performance Demands of Advanced Lithium-ion Batteries Novel surface modification methods are

  7. HEAVY DUTY DIESEL VEHICLE LOAD ESTIMATION: DEVELOPMENT OF VEHICLE ACTIVITY OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Heavy-Duty Vehicle Modal Emission Model (HDDV-MEM) developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology(Georgia Tech) has a capability to model link-specific second-by-second emissions using speed/accleration matrices. To estimate emissions, engine power demand calculated usin...

  8. Childcare, Children and Capability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wright, Hazel R.

    2012-01-01

    Empirical research focused on women studying childcare in an English further education college found the participants strangely contented despite demanding lifestyles. They were intent on integrating their family, work and educational commitments rather than actively seeking future gain, an understanding that led to the development of an original…

  9. The Real Work of Department Chair.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bowman, Richard F., Jr.

    2002-01-01

    Argues that secondary and post secondary academic department chairs are both managers and leaders whose real work is to manage conversational inquiry that engages others in creating possibilities, breakthroughs, and a sustainable future for their common enterprise. Describes leadership capabilities demanded by this work; well-honed communication…

  10. VM Capacity-Aware Scheduling within Budget Constraints in IaaS Clouds

    PubMed Central

    Thanasias, Vasileios; Lee, Choonhwa; Hanif, Muhammad; Kim, Eunsam; Helal, Sumi

    2016-01-01

    Recently, cloud computing has drawn significant attention from both industry and academia, bringing unprecedented changes to computing and information technology. The infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model offers new abilities such as the elastic provisioning and relinquishing of computing resources in response to workload fluctuations. However, because the demand for resources dynamically changes over time, the provisioning of resources in a way that a given budget is efficiently utilized while maintaining a sufficing performance remains a key challenge. This paper addresses the problem of task scheduling and resource provisioning for a set of tasks running on IaaS clouds; it presents novel provisioning and scheduling algorithms capable of executing tasks within a given budget, while minimizing the slowdown due to the budget constraint. Our simulation study demonstrates a substantial reduction up to 70% in the overall task slowdown rate by the proposed algorithms. PMID:27501046

  11. Versatile controllability of non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations in KSTAR experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Hyunsun; Jeon, Y. M.; in, Y.; Kim, J.; Yoon, S. W.; Hahn, S. H.; Ahn, H. S.; Woo, M. H.; Park, B. H.; Bak, J. G.; Kstar Team

    2015-11-01

    A newly upgraded IVCC (In-Vessel Control Coil) system equipped with four broadband power supplies, along with current connection patch panel, will be presented and discussed in terms of its capability on various KSTAR experiments. Until the last run-campaign, there were impressive experimental results on ELM(Edge Localized Mode) control experiments using the 3D magnetic field, but the non-axisymmetric field configuration could not be changed in a shot, let alone the limited number of accessible configurations. Introducing the new power supplies, such restrictions have been greatly reduced. Based on the preliminary commissioning results for 2015 KSTAR run-campaign, this new system has been confirmed to easily cope with various dynamic demands for toroidal and poloidal phases of 3D magnetic field in a shot. This enables us to diagnose the plasma response in more detail and to address the 3-D field impacts on the ELM behaviors better than ever.

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

    Wilder, Todd; Moragne, Corliss L.

    The City of Tallahassee's Innovative Energy Initiatives program sought, first, to evaluate customer response and acceptance to in-home Smart Meter-enabled technologies that allow customers intelligent control of their energy usage. Additionally, this project is in furtherance of the City of Tallahassee's ongoing efforts to expand and enhance the City's Smart Grid capacity and give consumers more tools with which to effectively manage their energy consumption. This enhancement would become possible by establishing an "operations or command center" environment that would be designed as a dual use facility for the City's employees - field and network staff - and systems responsiblemore » for a Smart Grid network. A command center would also support the City's Office of Electric Delivery and Energy Reliability's objective to overcome barriers to the deployment of new technologies that will ensure a truly modern and robust grid capable of meeting the demands of the 2151 century.« less

  13. [Adapting the service portfolio of a public health organisation to shrinking resources].

    PubMed

    Villalbí, Joan R; Borrell, Carme; Macía, Manel; Subirana, Teresa; López, María José; Portaña, Samuel; Llebaria, Xavier; Casas, Conrad

    This paper describes the review process of the Agency of Public Health of Barcelona's service portfolio in response to the budget cuts introduced since 2010 in the public administrations in Spain. A working group reviewed the different business activities, taking into account their costs and generated revenue and their justification, assessing factors such as the existence of legal constraints, tied funding, explicit demands from the founding administrations and other actors that may be capable of undertaking particular activities. The changes and their consequences are described. The new service portfolio has been consolidated and is considered ratified by the Agency board, which was renewed after political changes. We conclude that this is because it was based on professional consensus and management criteria, which are key for the smooth operation of a public autonomous executive organisation. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  14. Interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and organic material substrates.

    PubMed

    Hodge, Angela

    2014-01-01

    Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) associations are widespread and form between ca. two-thirds of all land plants and fungi in the phylum Glomeromycota. The association is a mutualistic symbiosis with the fungi enhancing nutrient capture for the plant while obtaining carbon in return. Although arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) lack any substantial saprophytic capability they do preferentially associate with various organic substrates and respond by hyphal proliferation, indicating the fungus derives a benefit from the organic substrate. AMF may also enhance decomposition of the organic material. The benefit to the host plant of this hyphal proliferation is not always apparent, particularly regarding nitrogen (N) transfer, and there may be circumstances under which both symbionts compete for the N released given both have a large demand for N. The results of various studies examining AMF responses to organic substrates and the interactions with other members of the soil community will be discussed. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Viral exploitation of the MEK/ERK pathway - A tale of vaccinia virus and other viruses.

    PubMed

    Bonjardim, Cláudio A

    2017-07-01

    The VACV replication cycle is remarkable in the sense that it is performed entirely in the cytoplasmic compartment of vertebrate cells, due to its capability to encode enzymes required either for regulating the macromolecular precursor pool or the biosynthetic processes. Although remarkable, this gene repertoire is not sufficient to confer the status of a free-living microorganism to the virus, and, consequently, the virus relies heavily on the host to successfully generate its progeny. During the complex virus-host interaction, viruses must deal not only with the host pathways to accomplish their temporal demands but also with pathways that counteract viral infection, including the inflammatory, innate and acquired immune responses. This review focuses on VACV and other DNA or RNA viruses that stimulate the MEK (MAPK - Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase)/ERK- Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinase) pathway as part of their replication cycle. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Thermal Deformation and RF Performance Analyses for the SWOT Large Deployable Ka-Band Reflectarray

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fang, H.; Sunada, E.; Chaubell, J.; Esteban-Fernandez, D.; Thomson, M.; Nicaise, F.

    2010-01-01

    A large deployable antenna technology for the NASA Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission is currently being developed by JPL in response to NRC Earth Science Tier 2 Decadal Survey recommendations. This technology is required to enable the SWOT mission due to the fact that no currently available antenna is capable of meeting SWOT's demanding Ka-Band remote sensing requirements. One of the key aspects of this antenna development is to minimize the effect of the on-orbit thermal distortion to the antenna RF performance. An analysis process which includes: 1) the on-orbit thermal analysis to obtain the temperature distribution; 2) structural deformation analysis to get the geometry of the antenna surface; and 3) the RF performance with the given deformed antenna surface has been developed to accommodate the development of this antenna technology. The detailed analysis process and some analysis results will be presented and discussed by this paper.

  17. Femtosecond Laser Microfabrication of an Integrated Device for Optical Release and Sensing of Bioactive Compounds.

    PubMed

    Ghezzi, Diego; Vazquez, Rebeca Martinez; Osellame, Roberto; Valtorta, Flavia; Pedrocchi, Alessandra; Valle, Giuseppe Della; Ramponi, Roberta; Ferrigno, Giancarlo; Cerullo, Giulio

    2008-10-23

    Flash photolysis of caged compounds is one of the most powerful approaches to investigate the dynamic response of living cells. Monolithically integrated devices suitable for optical uncaging are in great demand since they greatly simplify the experiments and allow their automation. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of an integrated bio-photonic device for the optical release of caged compounds. Such a device is fabricated using femtosecond laser micromachining of a glass substrate. More in detail, femtosecond lasers are used both to cut the substrate in order to create a pit for cell growth and to inscribe optical waveguides for spatially selective uncaging of the compounds present in the culture medium. The operation of this monolithic bio-photonic device is tested using both free and caged fluorescent compounds to probe its capability of multipoint release and optical sensing. Application of this device to the study of neuronal network activity can be envisaged.

  18. Mass balance in the monitoring of pollutants in tidal rivers of the Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    PubMed

    da Silveira, Raquel Pinhão; Rodrigues, Ana Paula de Castro; Santelli, Ricardo Erthal; Cordeiro, Renato Campello; Bidone, Edison Dausacker

    2011-10-01

    This study addressed the identification and monitoring of pollution sources of terrestrial origin in rivers (domestic sewage and industrial effluents) and critical fluvial segments in highly polluted environments under tidal influence (mixing marine and continental sources) from Guanabara Bay Basin, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mass balance of contaminants was determined in conditions of continuous flow (low tide) during dry season (lower dilution capability). The results allowed the evaluation of the potential of contaminant mass generation by the different river segments and the estimation of their natural and anthropogenic components. The water quality of Iguaçú and Sarapuí Rivers were evaluated for metals and biochemical oxygen demand. The method gave an excellent response, including the possibility of sources identification and contaminated river segments ranking. The approach also offers fast execution and data interpretation, being highly efficient.

  19. PEG-PLGA electrospun nanofibrous membranes loaded with Au@Fe2O3 nanoparticles for drug delivery applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spadaro, Salvatore; Santoro, Marco; Barreca, Francesco; Scala, Angela; Grimato, Simona; Neri, Fortunato; Fazio, Enza

    2018-02-01

    A PEGylated-PLGA random nanofibrous membrane loaded with gold and iron oxide nanoparticles and with silibinin was prepared by electrospinning deposition. The nanofibrous membrane can be remotely controlled and activated by a laser light or magnetic field to release biological agents on demand. The nanosystems were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analyses. The drug loading efficiency and drug content percentages were determined by UV-vis optical absorption spectroscopy. The nanofibrous membrane irradiated by a relatively low-intensity laser or stimulated by a magnetic field showed sustained silibinin release for at least 60 h, without the burst effect. The proposed low-cost electrospinning procedure is capable of assembling, via a one-step procedure, a stimuli-responsive drug-loaded nanosystem with metallic nanoparticles to be externally activated for controlled drug delivery.

  20. The NASA Ames Fatigue Countermeasures Program: The Next Generation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rosekind, Mark R.; Neri, David F.; Miller, Donna L.; Gregory, Kevin B.; Webbon, Lissa L.; Oyung, Ray L.

    1997-01-01

    Twenty-four hour, global aviation operations pose unique challenges to humans. Physiological requirements related to sleep, the internal circadian clock, and human fatigue are critical factors that are known to affect safety, performance, and productivity. Understanding the human operators' physiological capabilities, and limitations, will be important to address these issues as global demand for aviation activities continues to increase. In 1980, in response to a Congressional request, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center initiated a Fatigue/Jet Lag Program to examine the role of fatigue in flight operations. Originally established by Dr. John K. Lauber and Dr. Charles E. Billings, the Program was designed to address three objectives: (1) determine the extent of fatigue, sleep loss, and circadian disruption in flight operations; (2) determine how fatigue affected flight crew performance; and (3) develop strategies to maximize performance and alertness during flight operations.

  1. A monolithic integrated photonic microwave filter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fandiño, Javier S.; Muñoz, Pascual; Doménech, David; Capmany, José

    2017-02-01

    Meeting the increasing demand for capacity in wireless networks requires the harnessing of higher regions in the radiofrequency spectrum, reducing cell size, as well as more compact, agile and power-efficient base stations that are capable of smoothly interfacing the radio and fibre segments. Fully functional microwave photonic chips are promising candidates in attempts to meet these goals. In recent years, many integrated microwave photonic chips have been reported in different technologies. To the best of our knowledge, none has monolithically integrated all the main active and passive optoelectronic components. Here, we report the first demonstration of a tunable microwave photonics filter that is monolithically integrated into an indium phosphide chip. The reconfigurable radiofrequency photonic filter includes all the necessary elements (for example, lasers, modulators and photodetectors), and its response can be tuned by means of control electric currents. This is an important step in demonstrating the feasibility of integrated and programmable microwave photonic processors.

  2. Thermally driven anomalous Hall effect transitions in FeRh

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Popescu, Adrian; Rodriguez-Lopez, Pablo; Haney, Paul M.; Woods, Lilia M.

    2018-04-01

    Materials exhibiting controllable magnetic phase transitions are currently in demand for many spintronics applications. Here, we investigate from first principles the electronic structure and intrinsic anomalous Hall, spin Hall, and anomalous Nernst response properties of the FeRh metallic alloy which undergoes a thermally driven antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition. We show that the energy band structures and underlying Berry curvatures have important signatures in the various Hall effects. Specifically, the suppression of the anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in the antiferromagnetic state and a sign change in the spin Hall conductivity across the transition are found. It is suggested that the FeRh can be used as a spin current detector capable of differentiating the spin Hall effect from other anomalous transverse effects. The implications of this material and its thermally driven phases as a spin current detection scheme are also discussed.

  3. Non-invasive lightweight integration engine for building EHR from autonomous distributed systems.

    PubMed

    Angulo, Carlos; Crespo, Pere; Maldonado, José A; Moner, David; Pérez, Daniel; Abad, Irene; Mandingorra, Jesús; Robles, Montserrat

    2007-12-01

    In this paper we describe Pangea-LE, a message-oriented lightweight data integration engine that allows homogeneous and concurrent access to clinical information from disperse and heterogeneous data sources. The engine extracts the information and passes it to the requesting client applications in a flexible XML format. The XML response message can be formatted on demand by appropriate Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) transformations in order to meet the needs of client applications. We also present a real deployment in a hospital where Pangea-LE collects and generates an XML view of all the available patient clinical information. The information is presented to healthcare professionals in an Electronic Health Record (EHR) viewer Web application with patient search and EHR browsing capabilities. Implantation in a real setting has been a success due to the non-invasive nature of Pangea-LE which respects the existing information systems.

  4. Non-invasive light-weight integration engine for building EHR from autonomous distributed systems.

    PubMed

    Crespo Molina, Pere; Angulo Fernández, Carlos; Maldonado Segura, José A; Moner Cano, David; Robles Viejo, Montserrat

    2006-01-01

    Pangea-LE is a message oriented light-weight integration engine, allowing concurrent access to clinical information from disperse and heterogeneous data sources. The engine extracts the information and serves it to the requester client applications in a flexible XML format. This XML response message can be formatted on demand by the appropriate XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) transformation in order to fit client application needs. In this article we present a real use case sample where Pangea-LE collects and generates "on the fly" a structured view of all the patient clinical information available in a healthcare organisation. This information is presented to healthcare professionals in an EHR (Electronic Health Record) viewer Web application with patient search and EHR browsing capabilities. Implantation in a real environment has been a notable success due to the non-invasive method which extremely respects the existing information systems.

  5. Development of the sonic pump levitation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dunn, S. A.

    1984-01-01

    A prototype levitating/positioning device termed the Sonic Pump Levitator was designed, built and successfully tested in full gravity and in the reduced gravity of the parabolic flight regime of the KC-135. Positioning is achieved by timely and appropriate application of gas momentum from one or more of six sonic pumps. The sonic pumps, which are arranged orthogonally in opposed pairs about the levitation region, are activated by an electro-optical, computer controlled, feedback system. The sonic pump is a transducer which is capable of converting sound energy into a directed flow of gas. It consists of a loudspeaker whose face is sealed by a closure perforated by one or more orifices. The diaphragm of the loudspeaker is the only moving part of the sonic pump, no valves being needed. This very low inertia electromechanical device was developed to provide the short response time necessary to keep pace with the demands of computerized position keeping.

  6. VM Capacity-Aware Scheduling within Budget Constraints in IaaS Clouds.

    PubMed

    Thanasias, Vasileios; Lee, Choonhwa; Hanif, Muhammad; Kim, Eunsam; Helal, Sumi

    2016-01-01

    Recently, cloud computing has drawn significant attention from both industry and academia, bringing unprecedented changes to computing and information technology. The infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model offers new abilities such as the elastic provisioning and relinquishing of computing resources in response to workload fluctuations. However, because the demand for resources dynamically changes over time, the provisioning of resources in a way that a given budget is efficiently utilized while maintaining a sufficing performance remains a key challenge. This paper addresses the problem of task scheduling and resource provisioning for a set of tasks running on IaaS clouds; it presents novel provisioning and scheduling algorithms capable of executing tasks within a given budget, while minimizing the slowdown due to the budget constraint. Our simulation study demonstrates a substantial reduction up to 70% in the overall task slowdown rate by the proposed algorithms.

  7. Family health nursing: a response to the global health challenges.

    PubMed

    Martin, Paul; Duffy, Tim; Johnston, Brian; Banks, Pauline; Harkess-Murphy, Eileen; Martin, Colin R

    2013-02-01

    The European Family Health Nursing Project is a revitalized World Health Organization initiative led by the University of the West of Scotland. Partner countries include Armenia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. European Union Lifelong Learning funding was received in 2011 to facilitate a consistency of approach in the development of a definition of family health nursing, required core competencies and capabilities, and consequent education and training requirements. Global health challenges have informed the development of the project: increasingly aging populations, the increasing incidence in noncommunicable diseases that are currently the main cause of death, and the significant progress made in the way health systems have developed to meet the demands in relation to access and equality of health services. Governments and policy makers should develop a health workforce based on the principles of teamwork and interdisciplinarity while recognizing the core contribution of the "specialist generalist" role in the primary care setting.

  8. Ergonomics diagnosis components in rehabilitation: statistical evaluation of an assessment instrument.

    PubMed

    Landau, K; Meschke, H; Brauchler, R; Kiesel, J; Knoerzer, J

    2007-11-01

    The current paper examines an assessment instrument used for combined medical and occupational rehabilitation (MOR) in a group of German hospitals. Patients with a history of musculo-skeletal disease make up a significant proportion of those undergoing rehabilitation. Scale and factor structures, discriminant factors and clustering procedures used in the Bavaria rehabilitation patient assessment method (BRPAM) are investigated in a cross-sectional study involving a sample of 800 patients. Although the results reveal good correlation between differences in the job demand/patient capability profiles and the typical stresses to which the relevant occupation is exposed, analyses also indicate that several factors and items are unstable. According to subjective assessment by the patients, the therapeutic objectives are fully attained in some 80% of cases. Discrepancies between job demands and patient capability revealed by the BRPAM yield pointers to choice of therapy and its chances of success, but these need to be examined in greater detail in long-term studies.

  9. Enhancement of submarine pressure hull steel ultrasonic inspection using imaging and artificial intelligence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hay, D. Robert; Brassard, Michel; Matthews, James R.; Garneau, Stephane; Morchat, Richard

    1995-06-01

    The convergence of a number of contemporary technologies with increasing demands for improvements in inspection capabilities in maritime applications has created new opportunities for ultrasonic inspection. An automated ultrasonic inspection and data collection system APHIUS (automated pressure hull intelligent ultrasonic system), incorporates hardware and software developments to meet specific requirements for the maritime vessels, in particular, submarines in the Canadian Navy. Housed within a hardened portable computer chassis, instrumentation for digital ultrasonic data acquisition and transducer position measurement provide new capabilities that meet more demanding requirements for inspection of the aging submarine fleet. Digital data acquisition enables a number of new important capabilites including archiving of the complete inspection session, interpretation assistance through imaging, and automated interpretation using artificial intelligence methods. With this new reliable inspection system, in conjunction with a complementary study of the significance of real defect type and location, comprehensive new criteria can be generated which will eliminate unnecessary defect removal. As a consequence, cost savings will be realized through shortened submarine refit schedules.

  10. Purpose-driven public sector reform: the need for within-government capacity build for the management of slope stability in communities in the Caribbean.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Malcolm; Holcombe, Liz

    2006-01-01

    This article stresses the importance of within-government capacity build as the optimal approach to minimizing landslide risk to the most vulnerable communities in the developing world. Landslide risk is an integrated issue that demands strong managerial leadership and multidisciplinary inclusion to develop structures that deliver sustainable improvements in the reduction of risk. The tension between projects demanding international technical and financial intervention and those capable of "within-country" solutions are examined. More particularly, the challenges of developing a management methodology capable of energizing inter-ministry collaboration to achieve community-level action is examined in the context of a recently established program of slope stability management in St. Lucia. The program, Management of Slope Stability in Communities (MoSSaiC), is shown to have successfully fostered not only extensive technical collaboration within government but also to have energized local communities in the shared mission of capacity build through their direct involvement in the management process.

  11. Purpose-Driven Public Sector Reform: The Need for Within-Government Capacity Build for the Management of Slope Stability in Communities in the Caribbean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderson, Malcolm; Holcombe, Liz

    2006-01-01

    This article stresses the importance of within-government capacity build as the optimal approach to minimizing landslide risk to the most vulnerable communities in the developing world. Landslide risk is an integrated issue that demands strong managerial leadership and multidisciplinary inclusion to develop structures that deliver sustainable improvements in the reduction of risk. The tension between projects demanding international technical and financial intervention and those capable of “within-country” solutions are examined. More particularly, the challenges of developing a management methodology capable of energizing inter-ministry collaboration to achieve community-level action is examined in the context of a recently established program of slope stability management in St. Lucia. The program, Management of Slope Stability in Communities (MoSSaiC), is shown to have successfully fostered not only extensive technical collaboration within government but also to have energized local communities in the shared mission of capacity build through their direct involvement in the management process.

  12. Analysis of a Dynamic Multi-Track Airway Concept for Air Traffic Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wing, David J.; Smith, Jeremy C.; Ballin, Mark G.

    2008-01-01

    The Dynamic Multi-track Airways (DMA) Concept for Air Traffic Management (ATM) proposes a network of high-altitude airways constructed of multiple, closely spaced, parallel tracks designed to increase en-route capacity in high-demand airspace corridors. Segregated from non-airway operations, these multi-track airways establish high-priority traffic flow corridors along optimal routes between major terminal areas throughout the National Airspace System (NAS). Air traffic controllers transition aircraft equipped for DMA operations to DMA entry points, the aircraft use autonomous control of airspeed to fly the continuous-airspace airway and achieve an economic benefit, and controllers then transition the aircraft from the DMA exit to the terminal area. Aircraft authority within the DMA includes responsibility for spacing and/or separation from other DMA aircraft. The DMA controller is responsible for coordinating the entry and exit of traffic to and from the DMA and for traffic flow management (TFM), including adjusting DMA routing on a daily basis to account for predicted weather and wind patterns and re-routing DMAs in real time to accommodate unpredicted weather changes. However, the DMA controller is not responsible for monitoring the DMA for traffic separation. This report defines the mature state concept, explores its feasibility and performance, and identifies potential benefits. The report also discusses (a) an analysis of a single DMA, which was modeled within the NAS to assess capacity and determine the impact of a single DMA on regional sector loads and conflict potential; (b) a demand analysis, which was conducted to determine likely city-pair candidates for a nationwide DMA network and to determine the expected demand fraction; (c) two track configurations, which were modeled and analyzed for their operational characteristic; (d) software-prototype airborne capabilities developed for DMA operations research; (e) a feasibility analysis of key attributes in the concept design; (f) a near-term, transitional application of the DMA concept as a proving ground for new airborne technologies; and (g) conclusions. The analysis indicates that the operational feasibility of a national DMA network faces significant challenges, especially for interactions between DMAs and between DMA and non-DMA traffic. Provided these issues are resolved, sectors near DMAs could experience significant local capacity benefits.

  13. How to optimize tourism destination supply: A case in Shanghai from perspective of supplier and demand side perception

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xue, Huaju; Fang, Chengjiang

    2018-02-01

    It is vital to assess the regional tourist supply capability by suppliers and demand groups. The supply side’s evaluation of the regional supply capacity determines the direction of the supply investment in future, the demand side’s evaluation indicates their satisfaction degree of the destination supply and also effects their revisit the tourism destination. Therefore, the assessment of the supply and demand sides is an important reference for the reform of destination supply side, which helps us find the shortage of the destination supply factors and optimize tourism destination supply promptly. This paper through investigating tourism supply and demand groups in Shanghai, used the survey data and constructed tourism supply optimization model, analyzed the current situation of tourism supply factors in Shanghai. Results showed that the environment of Shanghai should be improved first, including improving urban air and water quality, up-grading public sanitation and increasing urban green coverage. Other supply factors improved priority were information and marketing, we should improve the information consultation of scenic spots, increase the intensity of tourism promotion and provide more free travel publicity brochures.

  14. End-User Tools Towards AN Efficient Electricity Consumption: the Dynamic Smart Grid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kamel, Fouad; Kist, Alexander A.

    2010-06-01

    Growing uncontrolled electrical demands have caused increased supply requirements. This causes volatile electrical markets and has detrimental unsustainable environmental impacts. The market is presently characterized by regular daily peak demand conditions associated with high electricity prices. A demand-side response system can limit peak demands to an acceptable level. The proposed scheme is based on energy demand and price information which is available online. An online server is used to communicate the information of electricity suppliers to users, who are able to use the information to manage and control their own demand. A configurable, intelligent switching system is used to control local loads during peak events and mange the loads at other times as necessary. The aim is to shift end user loads towards periods where energy demand and therefore also prices are at the lowest. As a result, this will flatten the load profile and avoiding load peeks which are costly for suppliers. The scheme is an endeavour towards achieving a dynamic smart grid demand-side-response environment using information-based communication and computer-controlled switching. Diffusing the scheme shall lead to improved electrical supply services and controlled energy consumption and prices.

  15. Another Twist for Equal Value.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fouracre, Sandra

    1988-01-01

    There are two reasons why women employed full time earn 74 percent of what men earn. One is that most women are employed in less responsible and less demanding jobs than most men. The other is that there is inequality of pay for women whose work is as demanding and responsible as that of men. (JOW)

  16. 76 FR 16657 - Demand Response Compensation in Organized Wholesale Energy Markets

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-24

    ... demand response resource is cost-effective as determined by the net benefits test described in this rule... Net Benefits Test..... 38 (c) Standardization or Regional Variations in 43 Compensation 3. Commission Determination 45 B. Implementation of a Net Benefits Test 68 1. Comments 68 2. Commission Determination 78 C...

  17. 49 CFR 37.189 - Service requirement for OTRB demand-responsive systems.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... business of transporting people, whose operations affect commerce, and that provide demand-responsive OTRB... all passengers to reserve space on the bus three months before the trip date. This requirement applies... request for space on the trip and an accessible OTRB 48 hours before the trip date, the operator could...

  18. 49 CFR 37.189 - Service requirement for OTRB demand-responsive systems.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... business of transporting people, whose operations affect commerce, and that provide demand-responsive OTRB... all passengers to reserve space on the bus three months before the trip date. This requirement applies... request for space on the trip and an accessible OTRB 48 hours before the trip date, the operator could...

  19. 49 CFR 37.189 - Service requirement for OTRB demand-responsive systems.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... business of transporting people, whose operations affect commerce, and that provide demand-responsive OTRB... all passengers to reserve space on the bus three months before the trip date. This requirement applies... request for space on the trip and an accessible OTRB 48 hours before the trip date, the operator could...

  20. 49 CFR 37.189 - Service requirement for OTRB demand-responsive systems.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... business of transporting people, whose operations affect commerce, and that provide demand-responsive OTRB... all passengers to reserve space on the bus three months before the trip date. This requirement applies... request for space on the trip and an accessible OTRB 48 hours before the trip date, the operator could...

  1. Price Responsiveness in the AEO2003 NEMS Residential and Commercial Buildings Sector Models

    EIA Publications

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes the demand responses to changes in energy prices in the Annual Energy Outlook 2003 versions of the Residential and Commercial Demand Modules of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). It updates a similar paper completed for the Annual Energy Outlook 1999 version of the NEMS.

  2. Demand Response Potential for California SubLAPs and Local Capacity Planning Areas: An Addendum to the 2025 California Demand Response Potential Study – Phase 2

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

    Alstone, Peter; Potter, Jennifer; Piette, Mary Ann

    The 2025 California Demand Response Potential Study Phase 2 Report1 was released on March 1, 2017, and described a range of pathways for Demand Response (DR) to support a clean, stable, and cost-effective electric grid for California. One of the Report’s key findings was that while there appears to be very low future value for untargeted DR Shed aimed at system-wide peak load conditions, there could be significant value for locally focused Shed resources. Although the dynamics of renewable capacity expansion have reduced the pressure to build new thermal generation in general, there are still transmission-constrained areas of the statemore » where load growth needs to be managed with the addition of new local capacity, which could include DERs and/or DR. This Addendum to the Phase 2 Report presents a breakdown of the expected future “Local Shed” DR potential at a finer geographic resolution than what is available in the original report, with results summarized by SubLAP and Local Capacity Area (LCA).« less

  3. Design and implemention of a multi-functional x-ray computed tomography system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Lei; Xi, Xiaoqi; Han, Yu; Yan, Bin; Zhang, Xiang; Deng, Lin; Chen, Siyu; Jin, Zhao; Li, Zengguang

    2015-10-01

    A powerful volume X-ray tomography system has been designed and constructed to provide an universal tool for the three-dimensional nondestructive testing and investigation of industrial components, automotive, electronics, aerospace components, new materials, etc. The combined system is equipped with two commercial X-ray sources, sharing one flat panel detector of 400mm×400mm. The standard focus 450kV high-energy x-ray source is optimized for complex and high density components such as castings, engine blocks and turbine blades. And the microfocus 225kV x-ray source is to meet the demands of micro-resolution characterization applications. Thus the system's penetration capability allows to scan large objects up to 200mm thick dense materials, and the resolution capability can meet the demands of 20μm microstructure inspection. A high precision 6-axis manipulator system is fitted, capable of offset scanning mode in large field of view requirements. All the components are housed in a room with barium sulphate cement. On the other hand, the presented system expands the scope of applications such as dual energy research and testing. In this paper, the design and implemention of the flexible system is described, as well as the preliminary tomographic imaging results of an automobile engine block.

  4. NY TBO Research: Integrated Demand Management (IDM): IDM Concept, Tools, and Training Package

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, Nancy

    2016-01-01

    A series of human-in-the-loop simulation sessions were conducted in the Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) to evaluate a new traffic management concept called Integrated Demand Management (IDM). The simulation explored how to address chronic equity, throughput and delay issues associated with New Yorks high-volume airports by operationally integrating three current and NextGen capabilities the Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP), Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM) and Required Time of Arrival (RTA) in order to better manage traffic demand within the National Air Traffic System. A package of presentation slides was developed to describe the concept, tools, and training materials used in the simulation sessions. The package will be used to outbrief our stakeholders by both presenting orally and disseminating of the materials via email.

  5. Autonomic Nervous System Responses to Hearing-Related Demand and Evaluative Threat.

    PubMed

    Mackersie, Carol L; Kearney, Lucia

    2017-10-12

    This paper consists of 2 parts. The purpose of Part 1 was to review the potential influence of internal (person-related) factors on listening effort. The purpose of Part 2 was to present, in support of Part 1, preliminary data illustrating the interactive effects of an external factor (task demand) and an internal factor (evaluative threat) on autonomic nervous system measures. For Part 1, we provided a brief narrative review of motivation and stress as modulators of listening effort. For Part 2, we described preliminary data from a study using a repeated-measures (2 × 2) design involving manipulations of task demand (high, low) and evaluative threat (high, low). The low-demand task consisted of repetition of sentences from a narrative. The high-demand task consisted of answering questions about the narrative, requiring both comprehension and recall. During the high evaluative threat condition, participants were filmed and told that their video recordings would be evaluated by a panel of experts. During the low evaluative threat condition, no filming occurred; participants were instructed to "do your best." Skin conductance (sympathetic nervous system activity) and heart rate variability (HRV, parasympathetic activity) were measured during the listening tasks. The HRV measure was the root mean square of successive differences of adjacent interbeat intervals. Twelve adults with hearing loss participated. Skin conductance increased and HRV decreased relative to baseline (no task) for all listening conditions. Skin conductance increased significantly with an increase in evaluative threat, but only for the more demanding task. There was no significant change in HRV in response to increasing evaluative threat or task demand. Listening effort may be influenced by factors other than task difficulty, as reviewed in Part 1. This idea is supported by the preliminary data indicating that the sympathetic nervous system response to task demand is modulated by social evaluative threat. More work is needed to determine the relative contributions of motivation and emotional stress on physiological responses during listening tasks.

  6. Status of high polarization DC high voltage Gallium Arsenide photoelectron guns

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

    M. Poelker, P. Adderley, J. Brittian, J. Clark, J. Grames, J. Hansknecht, J. McCarter, M. Stutzman, R. Suleiman, K. Surles-Law

    2008-01-01

    Users receive very high beam polarization from reliable GaAs photoelectron guns at facilities worldwide. Satisfaction with beam quality (and a number of lab closures) has reduced the level of polarized source R&D from the heyday of 1990s. However, new experiments and new accelerators proposals including high current unpolarized machines, require GaAs photoguns with capabilities that exceed today's state of the art. This submission describes the capabilities of today's high- polarization DC high voltage GaAs photoguns and discusses issues that must be addressed to meet new demands.

  7. Virtual sensor models for real-time applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hirsenkorn, Nils; Hanke, Timo; Rauch, Andreas; Dehlink, Bernhard; Rasshofer, Ralph; Biebl, Erwin

    2016-09-01

    Increased complexity and severity of future driver assistance systems demand extensive testing and validation. As supplement to road tests, driving simulations offer various benefits. For driver assistance functions the perception of the sensors is crucial. Therefore, sensors also have to be modeled. In this contribution, a statistical data-driven sensor-model, is described. The state-space based method is capable of modeling various types behavior. In this contribution, the modeling of the position estimation of an automotive radar system, including autocorrelations, is presented. For rendering real-time capability, an efficient implementation is presented.

  8. Intelligent aircraft/airspace systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wangermann, John P.

    1995-01-01

    Projections of future air traffic predict at least a doubling of the number of revenue passenger miles flown by the year 2025. To meet this demand, an Intelligent Aircraft/Airspace System (IAAS) has been proposed. The IAAS operates on the basis of principled negotiation between intelligent agents. The aircraft/airspace system today consists of many agents, such as airlines, control facilities, and aircraft. All the agents are becoming increasingly capable as technology develops. These capabilities should be exploited to create an Intelligent Aircraft/Airspace System (IAAS) that would meet the predicted traffic levels of 2005.

  9. CubeSat Remote Sensing: A Survey of Current Capabilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hegel, D.

    2014-12-01

    Recent years have seen dramatic growth in the availability and capability of very small satellites for atmospheric sensing, and other space-based science, as the simplicity of integration and low cost of these platforms enables projects that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive, or demand excessive expertise/infrastructure to execute. This paper surveys the current state-of-the-art for CubeSat performance, including pointing accuracy, geolocation, available power, and data downlink capacity. Applications for up-coming missions, such as CeREs, MinXSS, and HARP will also be discussed.

  10. Advances in memory research: single-neuron recordings from the human medial temporal lobe aid our understanding of declarative memory.

    PubMed

    Viskontas, Indre V

    2008-12-01

    To gain a complete understanding of how the brain functions, both in illness and good health, data from multiple levels of analysis must be integrated. Technical advances have made direct recordings of neuronal activity deep inside the human brain tractable, providing a rare glimpse into cellular processes during long-term memory formation. Recent findings using intracranial recordings in the medial temporal lobe inform current neural network models of memory, and may lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the neural basis of memory-related processes. These recordings have shown that cells in the hippocampus appear to support declarative learning by distinguishing novel and familiar stimuli via changes in firing patterns. Some cells with highly selective and invariant responses have also been described, and these responses seem to represent abstract concepts such as identity, rather than superficial perceptual features of items. Importantly, however, both selective and globally responsive cells are capable of changing their preferred stimulus depending on the conscious demands of the task. Firing patterns of human medial temporal lobe neurons indicate that cells can be both plastic and stable in terms of the information that they code; although some cells show highly selective and reproducible excitatory responses when presented with a familiar object, other cells change their receptive fields in line with changes in experience and the cognitive environment.

  11. Pharmacokinetic Herb-Drug Interactions: Insight into Mechanisms and Consequences.

    PubMed

    Oga, Enoche F; Sekine, Shuichi; Shitara, Yoshihisa; Horie, Toshiharu

    2016-04-01

    Herbal medicines are currently in high demand, and their popularity is steadily increasing. Because of their perceived effectiveness, fewer side effects and relatively low cost, they are being used for the management of numerous medical conditions. However, they are capable of affecting the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of coadministered conventional drugs. These interactions are particularly of clinically relevance when metabolizing enzymes and xenobiotic transporters, which are responsible for the fate of many drugs, are induced or inhibited, sometimes resulting in unexpected outcomes. This article discusses the general use of herbal medicines in the management of several ailments, their concurrent use with conventional therapy, mechanisms underlying herb-drug interactions (HDIs) as well as the drawbacks of herbal remedy use. The authors also suggest means of surveillance and safety monitoring of herbal medicines. Contrary to popular belief that "herbal medicines are totally safe," we are of the view that they are capable of causing significant toxic effects and altered pharmaceutical outcomes when coadministered with conventional medicines. Due to the paucity of information as well as sometimes conflicting reports on HDIs, much more research in this field is needed. The authors further suggest the need to standardize and better regulate herbal medicines in order to ensure their safety and efficacy when used alone or in combination with conventional drugs.

  12. Model-based Assessment for Balancing Privacy Requirements and Operational Capabilities

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

    Knirsch, Fabian; Engel, Dominik; Frincu, Marc

    2015-02-17

    The smart grid changes the way energy is produced and distributed. In addition both, energy and information is exchanged bidirectionally among participating parties. Therefore heterogeneous systems have to cooperate effectively in order to achieve a common high-level use case, such as smart metering for billing or demand response for load curtailment. Furthermore, a substantial amount of personal data is often needed for achieving that goal. Capturing and processing personal data in the smart grid increases customer concerns about privacy and in addition, certain statutory and operational requirements regarding privacy aware data processing and storage have to be met. An increasemore » of privacy constraints, however, often limits the operational capabilities of the system. In this paper, we present an approach that automates the process of finding an optimal balance between privacy requirements and operational requirements in a smart grid use case and application scenario. This is achieved by formally describing use cases in an abstract model and by finding an algorithm that determines the optimum balance by forward mapping privacy and operational impacts. For this optimal balancing algorithm both, a numeric approximation and – if feasible – an analytic assessment are presented and investigated. The system is evaluated by applying the tool to a real-world use case from the University of Southern California (USC) microgrid.« less

  13. 20 CFR 416.945 - Your residual functional capacity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Your residual functional capacity. 416.945 Section 416.945 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE... disorder may be fully capable of the physical demands consistent with those of sustained medium work...

  14. 20 CFR 416.945 - Your residual functional capacity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Your residual functional capacity. 416.945 Section 416.945 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE... disorder may be fully capable of the physical demands consistent with those of sustained medium work...

  15. Achieving Education for Technological Capability in Scotland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLaren, Susan V.

    2003-01-01

    Design and technology (D&T) education involves learners coping creatively with complexity. It must take account of a wide range of often apparently conflicting demands and constraints: aesthetic, economic, political, ethical, social, and environmental as well as ergonomic, technical, and scientific. Case study tasks describe a relatively…

  16. Bushland Reference ET Calculator with QA/QC capabilities and iPhone/iPad application

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Accurate daily reference evapotranspiration (ET) values are needed to estimate crop water demand for irrigation management and hydrologic modeling purposes. The USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory at Bushland, Texas developed the Bushland Reference ET (BET) Calculator for calcul...

  17. Accounting for Teamwork: A Critical Study of Group-Based Systems of Organizational Control.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ezzamel, Mahmoud; Willmott, Hugh

    1998-01-01

    Examines the role of accounting calculations in reorganizing manufacturing capabilities of a vertically integrated global retailing company. Introducing teamwork to replace line work extended traditional, hierarchical management control systems. Teamwork's self-managing demands contravened workers' established sense of self-identity as…

  18. A Capabilities Based Critique of Gutmann's Democratic Interpretation of Equal Educational Opportunity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeCesare, Tony

    2016-01-01

    One of Amy Gutmann's important achievements in "Democratic Education" is her development of a "democratic interpretation of equal educational opportunity." This standard of equality demands that "all educable children learn enough to participate effectively in the democratic process." In other words, Gutmann demands…

  19. Genetically expressed voltage sensor ArcLight for imaging large scale cortical activity in the anesthetized and awake mouse

    PubMed Central

    Borden, Peter Y.; Ortiz, Alex D.; Waiblinger, Christian; Sederberg, Audrey J.; Morrissette, Arthur E.; Forest, Craig R.; Jaeger, Dieter; Stanley, Garrett B.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract. With the recent breakthrough in genetically expressed voltage indicators (GEVIs), there has been a tremendous demand to determine the capabilities of these sensors in vivo. Novel voltage sensitive fluorescent proteins allow for direct measurement of neuron membrane potential changes through changes in fluorescence. Here, we utilized ArcLight, a recently developed GEVI, and examined the functional characteristics in the widely used mouse somatosensory whisker pathway. We measured the resulting evoked fluorescence using a wide-field microscope and a CCD camera at 200 Hz, which enabled voltage recordings over the entire cortical region with high temporal resolution. We found that ArcLight produced a fluorescent response in the S1 barrel cortex during sensory stimulation at single whisker resolution. During wide-field cortical imaging, we encountered substantial hemodynamic noise that required additional post hoc processing through noise subtraction techniques. Over a period of 28 days, we found clear and consistent ArcLight fluorescence responses to a simple sensory input. Finally, we demonstrated the use of ArcLight to resolve cortical S1 sensory responses in the awake mouse. Taken together, our results demonstrate the feasibility of ArcLight as a measurement tool for mesoscopic, chronic imaging. PMID:28491905

  20. Management matters.

    PubMed

    Gould, Rebecca A; Canter, Deborah

    2008-11-01

    Fewer than 50% of registered dietitians (RDs) supervise personnel and 76% have no budget authority. Because higher salaries are tied to increasing levels of authority and responsibility, RDs must seek management and leadership roles to enjoy the increased remuneration tied to such positions. Advanced-level practice in any area of dietetics demands powerful communication abilities, proficiency in budgeting and finance, comfort with technology, higher-order decision-making/problem-solving skills, and well-honed human resource management capabilities, all foundational to competent management practice. As RDs envision the future of the dietetics profession, practitioners must evaluate management competence in both hard and soft skills. Just as research is needed to support evidenced-based clinical practice, the same is needed to support management practice across the profession. Dietetics educators and preceptors should be as enthusiastic about management practice as they are clinical practice when educating and mentoring future professionals. Such encouragement and support can mean that new RDs and dietetic technicians, registered, will understand what it takes to advance to higher levels of responsibility, authority, and subsequent enhanced remuneration. In the ever-changing social, legal, ethical, political, economic, technological, and ecological environments of work, food and nutrition professionals who are willing to step forward and assume the risks and responsibilities of management also will share in the rewards, and propel the profession to new heights of recognition and respect.

  1. Applying the Job Demands--Resources Model to the Work--Home Interface: A Study among Medical Residents and Their Partners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bakker, Arnold B.; ten Brummelhuis, Lieke L.; Prins, Jelle T.; van der Heijden, Frank M. M. A.

    2011-01-01

    Work-home interference (WHI) is a prevalent problem because most employees have substantial family responsibilities on top of their work demands. The present study hypothesized that high job demands in combination with low job resources contribute to WHI. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model was used as a theoretical framework. Using a sample of…

  2. Self-reported Preparedness to Respond to Mass Fatality Incidents in 38 State Health Departments.

    PubMed

    Merrill, Jacqueline; Zhi, Qi; Gershon, Robyn R

    Public health departments play an important role in the preparation and response to mass fatality incidents (MFIs). To describe MFI response capabilities of US state health departments. The data are part of a multisector cross-sectional study aimed at 5 sectors that comprise the US mass fatality infrastructure. Data were collected over a 6-week period via a self-administered, anonymous Web-based survey. In 2014, a link to the survey was distributed via e-mail to health departments in 50 states and the District of Columbia. State health department representatives responsible for their state's MFI plans. Preparedness was assessed using 3 newly developed metrics: organizational capabilities (n = 19 items); operational capabilities (n = 19 items); and resource-sharing capabilities (n = 13 items). Response rate was 75% (n = 38). Among 38 responses, 37 rated their workplace moderately or well prepared; 45% reported MFI training, but only 30% reported training on MFI with hazardous contaminants; 58% estimated high levels of staff willingness to respond, but that dropped to 40% if MFIs involved hazardous contaminants; and 84% reported a need for more training. On average, 76% of operational capabilities were present. Resource sharing was most prevalent with state Office of Emergency Management but less evident with faith-based organizations and agencies within the medical examiner sector. Overall response capability was adequate, with gaps found in capabilities where public health shares responsibility with other sectors. Collaborative training with other sectors is critical to ensure optimal response to future MFIs, but recent funding cuts in public health preparedness may adversely impact this critical preparedness element. In order for the sector to effectively meet its public health MFI responsibilities as delineated in the National Response Framework, resources to support training and other elements of preparedness must be maintained.

  3. Realities and Challenges of Support for Children with Special Needs in Nursery Schools

    PubMed Central

    Ishiguro, Kaori; Yoshioka, Shin-ichi

    2016-01-01

    Background Nursery schools and kindergartens have been struggling to cope with increasing numbers of children with special needs. Hence, we conducted a study on what nursery school teachers (NSTs) will require regarding learning and societal resources for supporting such children in the future. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted for 2,476 NSTs employed in 154 nursery schools in Shimane and Kochi Prefectures. The questionnaires were sent by post to officials at each nursery school. The completed questionnaires were collected by the school officials and returned by post. In addition to statistical processing of the survey results, the content of the free description responses was analyzed using the KJ method. Results Responses were obtained from 1,509 NSTs at 118 nursery schools. Of the respondents, 90.7% had experienced difficulties coping with children with special needs, and 83.9% were in charge of caring for such children. Such children were enrolled in every childcare facility participating in the survey. The NSTs primarily needed to learn about specific coping methods, the illness, and skills for supporting parents; concerning the societal resources, they needed the addition of assistant NSTs, the implementation of age-five check-up, and the recruitment of mentors. The free description responses were categorized into the following five categories: demand for child care administration, cooperation with professional staff, support for parents, developmental health checkups, and on-site needs for nursery childcare. One of the specific demands was to develop human resources capable of providing parents with appropriate advice. Conclusion The results have shown that all NSTs are required to deal with children with special needs. Future challenges for providing support for such children are: ⅰ) to raise awareness of such children; ⅱ) to eliminate regional disparities; ⅲ) to provide professional training for NSTs specializing in developmental disorders; ⅳ) to train and re-educate assistant NSTs and ⅴ) to enhance infant screening. PMID:27046948

  4. Mapping infectious disease hospital surge threats to lessons learnt in Singapore: a systems analysis and development of a framework to inform how to DECIDE on planning and response strategies.

    PubMed

    Singh, Shweta R; Coker, Richard; Vrijhoef, Hubertus J-M; Leo, Yee Sin; Chow, Angela; Lim, Poh Lian; Tan, Qinghui; Chen, Mark I-Cheng; Hildon, Zoe Jane-Lara

    2017-09-04

    Hospital usage and service demand during an Infectious Disease (ID) outbreak can tax the health system in different ways. Herein we conceptualize hospital surge elements, and lessons learnt from such events, to help build appropriately matched responses to future ID surge threats. We used the Interpretive Descriptive qualitative approach. Interviews (n = 35) were conducted with governance and public health specialists; hospital based staff; and General Practitioners. Key policy literature in tandem with the interview data were used to iteratively generate a Hospital ID Surge framework. We anchored our narrative account within this framework, which is used to structure our analysis. A spectrum of surge threats from combinations of capacity (for crowding) and capability (for treatment complexity) demands were identified. Starting with the Pyramid scenario, or an influx of high screening rates flooding Emergency Departments, alongside fewer and manageable admissions; the Reverse-Pyramid occurs when few cases are screened and admitted but those that are, are complex; during a 'Black' scenario, the system is overburdened by both crowding and complexity. The Singapore hospital system is highly adapted to crowding, functioning remarkably well at constant near-full capacity in Peacetime and resilient to Endemic surges. We catalogue 26 strategies from lessons learnt relating to staffing, space, supplies and systems, crystalizing institutional memory. The DECIDE model advocates linking these strategies to types of surge threats and offers a step-by-step guide for coordinating outbreak planning and response. Lack of a shared definition and decision making of surge threats had rendered the procedures somewhat duplicative. This burden was paradoxically exacerbated by a health system that highly prizes planning and forward thinking, but worked largely in silo until an ID crisis hit. Many such lessons can be put into play to further strengthen our current hospital governance and adapted to more diverse settings.

  5. Realities and Challenges of Support for Children with Special Needs in Nursery Schools.

    PubMed

    Ishiguro, Kaori; Yoshioka, Shin-Ichi

    2016-03-01

    Nursery schools and kindergartens have been struggling to cope with increasing numbers of children with special needs. Hence, we conducted a study on what nursery school teachers (NSTs) will require regarding learning and societal resources for supporting such children in the future. A questionnaire survey was conducted for 2,476 NSTs employed in 154 nursery schools in Shimane and Kochi Prefectures. The questionnaires were sent by post to officials at each nursery school. The completed questionnaires were collected by the school officials and returned by post. In addition to statistical processing of the survey results, the content of the free description responses was analyzed using the KJ method. Responses were obtained from 1,509 NSTs at 118 nursery schools. Of the respondents, 90.7% had experienced difficulties coping with children with special needs, and 83.9% were in charge of caring for such children. Such children were enrolled in every childcare facility participating in the survey. The NSTs primarily needed to learn about specific coping methods, the illness, and skills for supporting parents; concerning the societal resources, they needed the addition of assistant NSTs, the implementation of age-five check-up, and the recruitment of mentors. The free description responses were categorized into the following five categories: demand for child care administration, cooperation with professional staff, support for parents, developmental health checkups, and on-site needs for nursery childcare. One of the specific demands was to develop human resources capable of providing parents with appropriate advice. The results have shown that all NSTs are required to deal with children with special needs. Future challenges for providing support for such children are: ⅰ) to raise awareness of such children; ⅱ) to eliminate regional disparities; ⅲ) to provide professional training for NSTs specializing in developmental disorders; ⅳ) to train and re-educate assistant NSTs and ⅴ) to enhance infant screening.

  6. Residential Consumer-Centric Demand-Side Management Based on Energy Disaggregation-Piloting Constrained Swarm Intelligence: Towards Edge Computing.

    PubMed

    Lin, Yu-Hsiu; Hu, Yu-Chen

    2018-04-27

    The emergence of smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices has highly favored the realization of smart homes in a down-stream sector of a smart grid. The underlying objective of Demand Response (DR) schemes is to actively engage customers to modify their energy consumption on domestic appliances in response to pricing signals. Domestic appliance scheduling is widely accepted as an effective mechanism to manage domestic energy consumption intelligently. Besides, to residential customers for DR implementation, maintaining a balance between energy consumption cost and users’ comfort satisfaction is a challenge. Hence, in this paper, a constrained Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)-based residential consumer-centric load-scheduling method is proposed. The method can be further featured with edge computing. In contrast with cloud computing, edge computing—a method of optimizing cloud computing technologies by driving computing capabilities at the IoT edge of the Internet as one of the emerging trends in engineering technology—addresses bandwidth-intensive contents and latency-sensitive applications required among sensors and central data centers through data analytics at or near the source of data. A non-intrusive load-monitoring technique proposed previously is utilized to automatic determination of physical characteristics of power-intensive home appliances from users’ life patterns. The swarm intelligence, constrained PSO, is used to minimize the energy consumption cost while considering users’ comfort satisfaction for DR implementation. The residential consumer-centric load-scheduling method proposed in this paper is evaluated under real-time pricing with inclining block rates and is demonstrated in a case study. The experimentation reported in this paper shows the proposed residential consumer-centric load-scheduling method can re-shape loads by home appliances in response to DR signals. Moreover, a phenomenal reduction in peak power consumption is achieved by 13.97%.

  7. Striving for balance between family and work demands among Iranian nurses.

    PubMed

    Lagerström, Monica; Josephson, Malin; Arsalani, Narges; Fallahi-Khoshknab, Masoud

    2010-04-01

    The study reported here explored Iranian nurses' experience of managing work and family roles. Grounded theory method guided the data collection and data analysis from both individual and focus group interviews. Five categories emerged: family role, working conditions, seeking support, perceiving dissatisfaction, and perceiving threats to health. The core concept that emerged was striving for balance between family and work demands. In the work-family role the Iranian nurses faced significant pressures, and they mostly relied on their own capabilities to create balance, often neglecting their own needs. This resulted in perceived dissatisfaction and health threats.

  8. Opportunistic Wireless Charging System Design for an On-Demand Shuttle Service

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

    Meintz, Andrew; Doubleday, Kate; Markel, Tony

    System right-sizing is critical to the implementation of in-motion wireless power transfer (WPT) for electric vehicles. This study evaluates potential system designs for an on-demand employee shuttle by determining the required battery size based on the rated power at a variable number of charging locations. Vehicle power and state of charge are simulated over the drive cycle, based on position and velocity data at every second from the existing shuttle. Adding just one WPT location can halve the battery size. Many configurations are capable of self-sustaining with WPT, while others benefit from supplemental stationary charging.

  9. Daily family stress and HPA axis functioning during adolescence: The moderating role of sleep

    PubMed Central

    Chiang, Jessica J.; Tsai, Kim M.; Park, Heejung; Bower, Julienne E.; Almeida, David M.; Dahl, Ronald E.; Irwin, Michael R.; Seeman, Teresa E.; Fuligni, Andrew J.

    2017-01-01

    The present study examined the moderating role of sleep in the association between family demands and conflict and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning in a sample of ethnically diverse adolescents (n = 316). Adolescents completed daily diary reports of family demands and conflict for 15 days, and wore actigraph watches during the first 8 nights to assess sleep. Participants also provided five saliva samples for 3 consecutive days to assess diurnal cortisol rhythms. Regression analyses indicated that sleep latency and efficiency moderated the link between family demands and the cortisol awakening response. Specifically, family demands were related to a smaller cortisol awakening response only among adolescents with longer sleep latency and lower sleep efficiency. These results suggest that certain aspects of HPA axis functioning may be sensitive to family demands primarily in the context of longer sleep latency and lower sleep efficiency. PMID:27235639

  10. 6 CFR 5.46 - Procedure when response to demand is required prior to receiving instructions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 6 Domestic Security 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Procedure when response to demand is required prior to receiving instructions. 5.46 Section 5.46 Domestic Security DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION Disclosure of Information in Litigation § 5...

  11. Increased Coal Plant Flexibility Can Improve Renewables Integration |

    Science.gov Websites

    practices that enable lower turndowns, faster starts and stops, and faster ramping between load set-points faster ramp rates and faster and less expensive starts. Flexible Load - Demand Response Resources Demand response (DR) is a load management practice of deliberately reducing or adding load to balance the system

  12. 77 FR 22798 - Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB: Production of Material or Provisions of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-17

    ... Information Collection to OMB: Production of Material or Provisions of Testimony by HUD in Response to Demands....203 of HUD's regulations in 24 CFR specify the manner in which demands for documents and testimony... forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. This notice also...

  13. 76 FR 37808 - PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.; Notice of Discussion Topics for Staff Technical Conference

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-28

    ... performance measurement of demand response in PJM's capacity market, the Reliability Pricing Model (RPM). \\1...'s April 7, 2011 filing, which proposes to modify the reference point of capacity demand response... less than the customer's Peak Load Contribution (PLC).\\2\\ \\2\\ PJM describes the PLC as the average of...

  14. 49 CFR 37.103 - Purchase or lease of new non-rail vehicles by private entities primarily engaged in the business...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... new vehicle other than an automobile, a van with a seating capacity of less than eight persons... and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs. (c) Demand responsive systems. If the entity operates a demand responsive system, and purchases or leases a new vehicle...

  15. Effects of Demand Response on Retail and Wholesale Power Markets

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

    Chassin, David P.; Kalsi, Karanjit

    2012-07-26

    Demand response has grown to be a part of the repertoire of resources used by utilities to manage the balance between generation and load. In recent years, advances in communications and control technology have enabled utilities to consider continuously controlling demand response to meet generation, rather than the other way around. This paper discusses the economic applications of a general method for load resource analysis that parallels the approach used to analyze generation resources and uses the method to examine the results of the US Department of Energy’s Olympic Peninsula Demonstration Testbed. A market-based closed-loop system of controllable assets ismore » discussed with necessary and sufficient conditions on system controllability, observability and stability derived.« less

  16. Research on Simulation Requirements and Business Architecture of Automated Demand Response in Power Sales Side Market Liberalization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Yiqun; Zhou, Pengcheng; Zeng, Ming; Chen, Songsong

    2018-01-01

    With the gradual reform of the electricity market, the power sale side liberalization has become the focus of attention as the key task of reform. The open power market provides a good environment for DR (Demand Response). It is of great significance to research the simulation requirements and business architecture of ADR (Automatic Demand Response) in power sale side market liberalization. Firstly, this paper analyzes the simulation requirements of ADR. Secondly, it analyzes the influence factors that the business development of ADR from five aspects after power sale side market liberalization. Finally, Based on ADR technology support system, the business architecture of ADR after power sale side market liberalization is constructed.

  17. Phosphoric acid fuel cell platinum use study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lundblad, H. L.

    1983-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy is promoting the private development of phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) power plants for terrestrial applications. Current PAFC technology utilizes platinum as catalysts in the power electrodes. The possible repercussions that the platinum demand of PAFC power plant commercialization will have on the worldwide supply and price of platinum from the outset of commercialization to the year 2000 are investigated. The platinum demand of PAFC commercialization is estimated by developing forecasts of platinum use per unit of generating capacity and penetration of PAFC power plants into the electric generation market. The ability of the platinum supply market to meet future demands is gauged by assessing the size of platinum reserves and the capability of platinum producers to extract, refine and market sufficient quantities of these reserves. The size and timing of platinum price shifts induced by the added demand of PAFC commercialization are investigated by several analytical methods. Estimates of these price shifts are then used to calculate the subsequent effects on PAFC power plant capital costs.

  18. Data Mining for Understanding and Improving Decision-making Affecting Ground Delay Programs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kulkarni, Deepak; Wang, Yao; Sridhar, Banavar

    2013-01-01

    The continuous growth in the demand for air transportation results in an imbalance between airspace capacity and traffic demand. The airspace capacity of a region depends on the ability of the system to maintain safe separation between aircraft in the region. In addition to growing demand, the airspace capacity is severely limited by convective weather. During such conditions, traffic managers at the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) and dispatchers at various Airlines' Operations Center (AOC) collaborate to mitigate the demand-capacity imbalance caused by weather. The end result is the implementation of a set of Traffic Flow Management (TFM) initiatives such as ground delay programs, reroute advisories, flow metering, and ground stops. Data Mining is the automated process of analyzing large sets of data and then extracting patterns in the data. Data mining tools are capable of predicting behaviors and future trends, allowing an organization to benefit from past experience in making knowledge-driven decisions.

  19. Water demand management research: A psychological perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Russell, Sally; Fielding, Kelly

    2010-05-01

    The availability of fresh water for human consumption is a critical global issue and one that will be exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. Water demand management has an important role to play in reducing the vulnerability of freshwater supplies to climate change impacts. In this paper, we argue that the field of psychology and environmental psychology in particular can make a vital contribution in understanding further the drivers of residential water demand. A growing body of literature in environmental psychology has examined the determinants of water conservation behavior, and this research has many potential applications for water demand policy. In this paper we offer a review of current psychological research that examines the five broad causes of residential water conservation behaviors: attitudes, beliefs, habits or routines, personal capabilities, and contextual factors. We assess how psychologists have studied water conservation behavior to date, identify shortcomings, and indicate how this research can be used to further promote residential water conservation and to inform evidence-based policy and practice.

  20. Phosphoric acid fuel cell platinum use study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lundblad, H. L.

    1983-05-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy is promoting the private development of phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) power plants for terrestrial applications. Current PAFC technology utilizes platinum as catalysts in the power electrodes. The possible repercussions that the platinum demand of PAFC power plant commercialization will have on the worldwide supply and price of platinum from the outset of commercialization to the year 2000 are investigated. The platinum demand of PAFC commercialization is estimated by developing forecasts of platinum use per unit of generating capacity and penetration of PAFC power plants into the electric generation market. The ability of the platinum supply market to meet future demands is gauged by assessing the size of platinum reserves and the capability of platinum producers to extract, refine and market sufficient quantities of these reserves. The size and timing of platinum price shifts induced by the added demand of PAFC commercialization are investigated by several analytical methods. Estimates of these price shifts are then used to calculate the subsequent effects on PAFC power plant capital costs.

  1. A Novel approach for predicting monthly water demand by combining singular spectrum analysis with neural networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zubaidi, Salah L.; Dooley, Jayne; Alkhaddar, Rafid M.; Abdellatif, Mawada; Al-Bugharbee, Hussein; Ortega-Martorell, Sandra

    2018-06-01

    Valid and dependable water demand prediction is a major element of the effective and sustainable expansion of municipal water infrastructures. This study provides a novel approach to quantifying water demand through the assessment of climatic factors, using a combination of a pretreatment signal technique, a hybrid particle swarm optimisation algorithm and an artificial neural network (PSO-ANN). The Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) technique was adopted to decompose and reconstruct water consumption in relation to six weather variables, to create a seasonal and stochastic time series. The results revealed that SSA is a powerful technique, capable of decomposing the original time series into many independent components including trend, oscillatory behaviours and noise. In addition, the PSO-ANN algorithm was shown to be a reliable prediction model, outperforming the hybrid Backtracking Search Algorithm BSA-ANN in terms of fitness function (RMSE). The findings of this study also support the view that water demand is driven by climatological variables.

  2. Probabilistic Multi-Scale, Multi-Level, Multi-Disciplinary Analysis and Optimization of Engine Structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chamis, Christos C.; Abumeri, Galib H.

    2000-01-01

    Aircraft engines are assemblies of dynamically interacting components. Engine updates to keep present aircraft flying safely and engines for new aircraft are progressively required to operate in more demanding technological and environmental requirements. Designs to effectively meet those requirements are necessarily collections of multi-scale, multi-level, multi-disciplinary analysis and optimization methods and probabilistic methods are necessary to quantify respective uncertainties. These types of methods are the only ones that can formally evaluate advanced composite designs which satisfy those progressively demanding requirements while assuring minimum cost, maximum reliability and maximum durability. Recent research activities at NASA Glenn Research Center have focused on developing multi-scale, multi-level, multidisciplinary analysis and optimization methods. Multi-scale refers to formal methods which describe complex material behavior metal or composite; multi-level refers to integration of participating disciplines to describe a structural response at the scale of interest; multidisciplinary refers to open-ended for various existing and yet to be developed discipline constructs required to formally predict/describe a structural response in engine operating environments. For example, these include but are not limited to: multi-factor models for material behavior, multi-scale composite mechanics, general purpose structural analysis, progressive structural fracture for evaluating durability and integrity, noise and acoustic fatigue, emission requirements, hot fluid mechanics, heat-transfer and probabilistic simulations. Many of these, as well as others, are encompassed in an integrated computer code identified as Engine Structures Technology Benefits Estimator (EST/BEST) or Multi-faceted/Engine Structures Optimization (MP/ESTOP). The discipline modules integrated in MP/ESTOP include: engine cycle (thermodynamics), engine weights, internal fluid mechanics, cost, mission and coupled structural/thermal, various composite property simulators and probabilistic methods to evaluate uncertainty effects (scatter ranges) in all the design parameters. The objective of the proposed paper is to briefly describe a multi-faceted design analysis and optimization capability for coupled multi-discipline engine structures optimization. Results are presented for engine and aircraft type metrics to illustrate the versatility of that capability. Results are also presented for reliability, noise and fatigue to illustrate its inclusiveness. For example, replacing metal rotors with composites reduces the engine weight by 20 percent, 15 percent noise reduction, and an order of magnitude improvement in reliability. Composite designs exist to increase fatigue life by at least two orders of magnitude compared to state-of-the-art metals.

  3. Bangladesh to prepare for rise in gas demand

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

    Not Available

    1992-06-01

    Bangladesh is moving to expand its natural gas infrastructure in response to rising domestic demand. This paper reports that Bangladesh natural gas demand is expected to rise to 700-850 MMcfd in the next few years from the current level of about 500 MMcfd, the Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

  4. Growth in Malaysian Demand for Business Education--the Australian Response.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Philip E. T.; Pratt, Graham R.

    1996-01-01

    Increasing Malaysian demand for business education is examined from the perspective of Australia, one of the largest suppliers to the region. Topics discussed include: origins and nature of the demand; Malaysian enrollment patterns in Australia; "twinning programs," in which a Malaysian college and a foreign university collaborate to…

  5. Teaching Aggregate Demand and Supply Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wells, Graeme

    2010-01-01

    The author analyzes the inflation-targeting model that underlies recent textbook expositions of the aggregate demand-aggregate supply approach used in introductory courses in macroeconomics. He shows how numerical simulations of a model with inflation inertia can be used as a tool to help students understand adjustments in response to demand and…

  6. Effects of Demand Complexity on Echolalia in Students with Autism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edelstein, Matthew Lawrence

    2015-01-01

    Echolalia is a linguistic phenomenon common in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This study examined the relationship between demand complexity and immediate echolalia in 4 students with an autism diagnosis in a university-based academic setting. Mastered and novel antecedent verbal demands that required an intraverbal response were…

  7. Crops in silico: A community wide multi-scale computational modeling framework of plant canopies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Srinivasan, V.; Christensen, A.; Borkiewic, K.; Yiwen, X.; Ellis, A.; Panneerselvam, B.; Kannan, K.; Shrivastava, S.; Cox, D.; Hart, J.; Marshall-Colon, A.; Long, S.

    2016-12-01

    Current crop models predict a looming gap between supply and demand for primary foodstuffs over the next 100 years. While significant yield increases were achieved in major food crops during the early years of the green revolution, the current rates of yield increases are insufficient to meet future projected food demand. Furthermore, with projected reduction in arable land, decrease in water availability, and increasing impacts of climate change on future food production, innovative technologies are required to sustainably improve crop yield. To meet these challenges, we are developing Crops in silico (Cis), a biologically informed, multi-scale, computational modeling framework that can facilitate whole plant simulations of crop systems. The Cis framework is capable of linking models of gene networks, protein synthesis, metabolic pathways, physiology, growth, and development in order to investigate crop response to different climate scenarios and resource constraints. This modeling framework will provide the mechanistic details to generate testable hypotheses toward accelerating directed breeding and engineering efforts to increase future food security. A primary objective for building such a framework is to create synergy among an inter-connected community of biologists and modelers to create a realistic virtual plant. This framework advantageously casts the detailed mechanistic understanding of individual plant processes across various scales in a common scalable framework that makes use of current advances in high performance and parallel computing. We are currently designing a user friendly interface that will make this tool equally accessible to biologists and computer scientists. Critically, this framework will provide the community with much needed tools for guiding future crop breeding and engineering, understanding the emergent implications of discoveries at the molecular level for whole plant behavior, and improved prediction of plant and ecosystem responses to the environment.

  8. Quality and productivity improvement program (PPKP) from alumni perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruza, Nadiah; Mustafa, Zainol

    2013-04-01

    Defining the quality of the university education system is not easy. Institutions of higher education, through curriculum are hoped to provide the knowledge, wisdom and personality of students. It is questionable of how far Quality and Productivity Improvement Program (PPKP) are capable to ensure the courses offered relevant and effective in preparing the students for job market. The effectiveness of a university to undertake responsibilities and the impact given to students even after they graduate can be a measure of education quality at university. So, the quality of education can be enhanced and improved from time to time. In general, this study is aims to determine the effectiveness of PPKP's education system from the perspective of their alumni as well as their satisfaction and the importance level based on how PPKP be able to meet their needs. In overall, summary of open-ended questions from the questionnaire, Importance-Performance analysis and correlation analysis were conducted for this study. Based on result, it appears that there are still some deficiencies that can be improve, particularly in terms of teaching skills and PPKP's relationships with external organizations to enable knowledge be channel effectively. Importance-Performance analysis highlights some topics or courses that should be offered by PPKP based on their importance in industrial practice. Summary of the results of correlation analysis was found that women are more positive and not too demanding compared to men. In addition, it is found that the responsibilities and workload of the older generations, higher income and a high level of experience demands them to use and practice what they have learned during their studies at PPKP. Results of this study are hoped could be used to improve the quality of education system at PPKP.

  9. History-Based Response Threshold Model for Division of Labor in Multi-Agent Systems

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Wonki; Kim, DaeEun

    2017-01-01

    Dynamic task allocation is a necessity in a group of robots. Each member should decide its own task such that it is most commensurate with its current state in the overall system. In this work, the response threshold model is applied to a dynamic foraging task. Each robot employs a task switching function based on the local task demand obtained from the surrounding environment, and no communication occurs between the robots. Each individual member has a constant-sized task demand history that reflects the global demand. In addition, it has response threshold values for all of the tasks and manages the task switching process depending on the stimuli of the task demands. The robot then determines the task to be executed to regulate the overall division of labor. This task selection induces a specialized tendency for performing a specific task and regulates the division of labor. In particular, maintaining a history of the task demands is very effective for the dynamic foraging task. Various experiments are performed using a simulation with multiple robots, and the results show that the proposed algorithm is more effective as compared to the conventional model. PMID:28555031

  10. Evaluating Job Demands and Control Measures for Use in Farm Worker Health Surveillance.

    PubMed

    Alterman, Toni; Gabbard, Susan; Grzywacz, Joseph G; Shen, Rui; Li, Jia; Nakamoto, Jorge; Carroll, Daniel J; Muntaner, Carles

    2015-10-01

    Workplace stress likely plays a role in health disparities; however, applying standard measures to studies of immigrants requires thoughtful consideration. The goal of this study was to determine the appropriateness of two measures of occupational stressors ('decision latitude' and 'job demands') for use with mostly immigrant Latino farm workers. Cross-sectional data from a pilot module containing a four-item measure of decision latitude and a two-item measure of job demands were obtained from a subsample (N = 409) of farm workers participating in the National Agricultural Workers Survey. Responses to items for both constructs were clustered toward the low end of the structured response-set. Percentages of responses of 'very often' and 'always' for each of the items were examined by educational attainment, birth country, dominant language spoken, task, and crop. Cronbach's α, when stratified by subgroups of workers, for the decision latitude items were (0.65-0.90), but were less robust for the job demands items (0.25-0.72). The four-item decision latitude scale can be applied to occupational stress research with immigrant farm workers, and potentially other immigrant Latino worker groups. The short job demands scale requires further investigation and evaluation before suggesting widespread use.

  11. Optimal crop selection and water allocation under limited water supply in irrigation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stange, Peter; Grießbach, Ulrike; Schütze, Niels

    2015-04-01

    Due to climate change, extreme weather conditions such as droughts may have an increasing impact on irrigated agriculture. To cope with limited water resources in irrigation systems, a new decision support framework is developed which focuses on an integrated management of both irrigation water supply and demand at the same time. For modeling the regional water demand, local (and site-specific) water demand functions are used which are derived from optimized agronomic response on farms scale. To account for climate variability the agronomic response is represented by stochastic crop water production functions (SCWPF). These functions take into account different soil types, crops and stochastically generated climate scenarios. The SCWPF's are used to compute the water demand considering different conditions, e.g., variable and fixed costs. This generic approach enables the consideration of both multiple crops at farm scale as well as of the aggregated response to water pricing at a regional scale for full and deficit irrigation systems. Within the SAPHIR (SAxonian Platform for High Performance IRrigation) project a prototype of a decision support system is developed which helps to evaluate combined water supply and demand management policies.

  12. The Evolution of Landsat Data Systems and Science Products

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dwyer, J. L.

    2011-12-01

    The series of Landsat satellite missions have collected observations of the Earth's surface since 1972, resulting in the richest archive of remotely sensed data covering the global land masses at scales from which natural and human-induced changes can be distinguished. This observational record will continue to be extended with the launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or Landsat 8, in December of 2012 carrying the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) instruments. The data streams from these instruments will be significantly enhanced yet compatible with data acquired by heritage Landsat instruments. The radiometry and geometry of the OLI and TIRS data will be calibrated and combined into single, multi-band Level-1 terrain-corrected image products. Coefficients will be included in the product metadata to convert OLI to at-sensor radiance or reflectance and to convert TIRS data to at-aperture radiances. A quality assurance band will contain pixel-based information regarding the presences or clouds, shadows, and terrain occlusion. The raw data as well as the Level-1 products will be stored online and made freely accessible through web coverage services. Rescaled Level-1 OLI and TIRS images will be made available via web mapping services to enable inventory searches and for ready use in geospatial applications. The architecture of the Landsat science data processing systems is scalable to accommodate additional processing and storage nodes in response to archive growth and increased demands on processing and distribution. The data collected by the various Landsat instruments have been inter-calibrated to enable the generation of higher level science data products that are of consistent quality through time and from which geophysical and biophysical parameters of the land surface can be derived for use in process models and decision support systems. Data access and delivery services have evolved in response to increasing demand for Landsat data in a broad range of applications, and the demand for additional processing capabilities and services is expected to grow in the future to meet the needs for climate data records and essential climate variables.

  13. Unmanned and Unattended Response Capability for Homeland Defense

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

    BENNETT, PHIL C.

    2002-11-01

    An analysis was conducted of the potential for unmanned and unattended robotic technologies for forward-based, immediate response capabilities that enables access and controlled task performance. The authors analyze high-impact response scenarios in conjunction with homeland security organizations, such as the NNSA Office of Emergency Response, the FBI, the National Guard, and the Army Technical Escort Unit, to cover a range of radiological, chemical and biological threats. They conducted an analysis of the potential of forward-based, unmanned and unattended robotic technologies to accelerate and enhance emergency and crisis response by Homeland Defense organizations. Response systems concepts were developed utilizing new technologiesmore » supported by existing emerging threats base technologies to meet the defined response scenarios. These systems will pre-position robotic and remote sensing capabilities stationed close to multiple sites for immediate action. Analysis of assembled systems included experimental activities to determine potential efficacy in the response scenarios, and iteration on systems concepts and remote sensing and robotic technologies, creating new immediate response capabilities for Homeland Defense.« less

  14. Developing Leaders through Mentoring: A Brief Literature Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leavitt, Carol C.

    2011-01-01

    Our rapidly-changing, ambiguous, global business arena demands a unique and evolving set of insights and capabilities by which leaders may effectively navigate this new terrain. Mentoring can accomplish exactly that, as its processes orient, train, and advance the skills, knowledge, and experiences of aspiring leaders. Best utilized, mentoring is…

  15. A remote sensing-based dry and wet limit-reference evapotranspiration model for water use monitoring

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    With increasing growth in human population, the demand for greater food production has exceeded the capability to provide a sustainable water supply for agriculture. This is exacerbated in areas suffering from prolonged drought conditions, particularly in water limited regions. Improving the managem...

  16. Capability Building in Educational Technology for Teachers in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jun, Han; Zhuzhu, Wang

    2010-01-01

    This paper gives a brief introduction to the project called Education Technology Capacity Building Plan for All Primary and Secondary Teachers now being implemented in China. Because information and communication technology skills training cannot match the demand of teachers' professional development, the Chinese Ministry of Education established…

  17. Achieving High Performance with FPGA-Based Computing

    PubMed Central

    Herbordt, Martin C.; VanCourt, Tom; Gu, Yongfeng; Sukhwani, Bharat; Conti, Al; Model, Josh; DiSabello, Doug

    2011-01-01

    Numerous application areas, including bioinformatics and computational biology, demand increasing amounts of processing capability. In many cases, the computation cores and data types are suited to field-programmable gate arrays. The challenge is identifying the design techniques that can extract high performance potential from the FPGA fabric. PMID:21603088

  18. Strategic Rebalance of the Three Component Air Force

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-03-01

    protect its ability to regenerate capabilities that might be needed to meet future, unforeseen demands, maintaining intellectual capital and rank structure...93 Air Reserve Personnel Center, “Continuum of Service,” myPers, https:// gum - crm.csd.disa.mil/app/answers/detail/a_id/19204/kw/continuum/p/16

  19. Mentoring the Next Generation of Higher Education Professionals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corbett, Doris R.

    2016-01-01

    The loss of significant faculty members comes at a time when public and community expectations for institutions of higher learning have expanded. Public skepticism and the demands for accountability have resulted in greater attention being given to learning outcomes, subject matter, knowledge, proficiency, and capability. This article adds to our…

  20. Organizing High School Biology Experiences around Contemporary Bioethical Issues: An STS Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dass, Pradeep Maxwell

    1997-01-01

    The need for a citizenry capable of comprehending and tackling contemporary issues related to science and technology demands science education experiences that are fundamentally different from traditional experiences in school science. Argues that high school biology experiences organized around contemporary bioethical issues can meet this need.…

  1. Training Unafraid Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Healy, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    This article describes the reasoning and structure behind the staff of the Bureau of Educational Experiments during the past few years of research and nursery school work. The demands from schools for teachers who are more capable inspired the Bureau of Educational Experiments to action and resulted in the "Bank Street School"--the…

  2. Fostering Social and Emotional Skills for Well-Being and Social Progress

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miyamoto, Koji; Huerta, Maria C.; Kubacka, Katarzyna

    2015-01-01

    Children need a balanced set of cognitive, social and emotional capabilities to adapt to today's demanding, changing and unpredictable world. OECD countries and partner economies recognise the importance on the holistic development of individuals. However, there are big gaps between stakeholders' knowledge, expectations and practices on how to…

  3. An Educational Space Seminar to Increase American Student Interest in Space Careers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-09-01

    WHATS OUT THERE TODAY .................................................. 39 C. NASA PROGRAM REVIEW...115 6. COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY CHOICES.................................... 116 7. NASA FIELD CENTERS................................................. 127 8...demand affect the United States’ capability in space science and engineering? NASA , Department of Defense, private space industry, and academe are all

  4. Internationalisation of the Sport Management Curriculum: Academic and Student Reflections

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Haan, Donna; Sherry, Emma

    2012-01-01

    Internationalisation of the sport industry has resulted in a demand for integration of international perspectives into the sport management higher education curriculum, to produce graduates capable of working within this rapidly developing global industry. Internationalisation of the curriculum can occur both abroad (i.e., study tour) or at home…

  5. Capabilities of electrodynamic shakers when used for mechanical shock testing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Keegan, W. B.

    1973-01-01

    The results of a research task to investigate the capabilities of electrodynamic vibrators (shakers) to perform mechanical shock tests are presented. The simulation method employed was that of developing a transient whose shock response spectrum matched the desired shock response spectrum. Areas investigated included the maximum amplitude capabilities of the shaker systems, the ability to control the shape of the resultant shock response spectrum, the response levels induced at frequencies outside the controlled bandwidth, and the nonlinearities in structural response induced by a change in test level.

  6. Annual Report to The President and The Congress of the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (2nd). II. Toward a National Strategy for Combating Terrorism

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2000-12-15

    over many years, for responses to natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and accidents. Those capabilities can and should be used as a base for...terminated. 57 Many response entities had used those services and had included that capability in their response plans. This is one more example of... Many Federal entities 58 conduct or facilitate various exercises and offer State and local response entities opportunities to participate. Most agencies

  7. 3D Printing In Zero-G ISS Technology Demonstration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Werkheiser, Niki; Cooper, Kenneth; Edmunson, Jennifer; Dunn, Jason; Snyder, Michael

    2014-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a long term strategy to fabricate components and equipment on-demand for manned missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. To support this strategy, NASA and Made in Space, Inc. are developing the 3D Printing In Zero-G payload as a Technology Demonstration for the International Space Station (ISS). The 3D Printing In Zero-G experiment ('3D Print') will be the first machine to perform 3D printing in space. The greater the distance from Earth and the longer the mission duration, the more difficult resupply becomes; this requires a change from the current spares, maintenance, repair, and hardware design model that has been used on the International Space Station (ISS) up until now. Given the extension of the ISS Program, which will inevitably result in replacement parts being required, the ISS is an ideal platform to begin changing the current model for resupply and repair to one that is more suitable for all exploration missions. 3D Printing, more formally known as Additive Manufacturing, is the method of building parts/objects/tools layer-by-layer. The 3D Print experiment will use extrusion-based additive manufacturing, which involves building an object out of plastic deposited by a wire-feed via an extruder head. Parts can be printed from data files loaded on the device at launch, as well as additional files uplinked to the device while on-orbit. The plastic extrusion additive manufacturing process is a low-energy, low-mass solution to many common needs on board the ISS. The 3D Print payload will serve as the ideal first step to proving that process in space. It is unreasonable to expect NASA to launch large blocks of material from which parts or tools can be traditionally machined, and even more unreasonable to fly up multiple drill bits that would be required to machine parts from aerospace-grade materials such as titanium 6-4 alloy and Inconel. The technology to produce parts on demand, in space, offers unique design options that are not possible through traditional manufacturing methods while offering cost-effective, high-precision, low-unit on-demand manufacturing. Thus, Additive Manufacturing capabilities are the foundation of an advanced manufacturing in space roadmap. The 3D Printing In Zero-G experiment will demonstrate the capability of utilizing Additive Manufacturing technology in space. This will serve as the enabling first step to realizing an additive manufacturing, print-on-demand "machine shop" for long-duration missions and sustaining human exploration of other planets, where there is extremely limited ability and availability of Earth-based logistics support. Simply put, Additive Manufacturing in space is a critical enabling technology for NASA. It will provide the capability to produce hardware on-demand, directly lowering cost and decreasing risk by having the exact part or tool needed in the time it takes to print. This capability will also provide the much-needed solution to the cost, volume, and up-mass constraints that prohibit launching everything needed for long-duration or long-distance missions from Earth, including spare parts and replacement systems. A successful mission for the 3D Printing In Zero-G payload is the first step to demonstrate the capability of printing on orbit. The data gathered and lessons learned from this demonstration will be applied to the next generation of additive manufacturing technology on orbit. It is expected that Additive Manufacturing technology will quickly become a critical part of any mission's infrastructure.

  8. Actionable data analytics in oncology: are we there yet?

    PubMed

    Barkley, Ronald; Greenapple, Rhonda; Whang, John

    2014-03-01

    To operate under a new value-based paradigm, oncology providers must develop the capability to aggregate, analyze, measure, and report their value proposition--that is, their outcomes and associated costs. How are oncology providers positioned currently to perform these functions in a manner that is actionable? What is the current state of analytic capabilities in oncology? Are oncology providers prepared? This line of inquiry was the basis for the 2013 Cancer Center Business Summit annual industry research survey. This article reports on the key findings and implications of the 2013 research survey with regard to data analytic capabilities in the oncology sector. The essential finding from the study is that only a small number of oncology providers (7%) currently possess the analytic tools and capabilities necessary to satisfy internal and external demands for aggregating and reporting clinical outcome and economic data. However there is an expectation that a majority of oncology providers (60%) will have developed such capabilities within the next 2 years.

  9. Using Resource Economics to Anticipate Forest Land Use Change in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region

    Treesearch

    Peter J. Parks; Ian W. Hardie; Cheryl A. Tedder; David N. Wear

    2000-01-01

    Demands for forest, farm, and developed land are evolving in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. The demand for land in developed uses, as well as demands for various forest and farm products are changing in response to population growth, demographic shifts, and market forces. As demand factors change so do relative land values. Land area in future forest, farm, and...

  10. Demand characteristics, pre-test attitudes and time-on-task trends in the effects of chewing gum on attention and reported mood in healthy volunteers.

    PubMed

    Allen, A P; Smith, A P

    2012-10-01

    Previous research has indicated that chewing gum enhances reported alertness, but has variable effects on attention. Demand characteristics may explain these effects. The current study investigated the effects of gum and demand characteristics on attention and reported mood over time. Participants completed measures of mood and attention, with and without chewing gum. To manipulate demand characteristics, they were told that the hypothesised effect of gum was either positive or negative, or no hypothesis was mentioned. Attitudes towards gum were assessed pre- and post-manipulation. Gum increased reported alertness; this effect was only significant for positive and neutral demand characteristics. Vigilance accuracy was reduced for chewing gum, but only in the fourth minute of the task, and gum reduced focussed attention accuracy, but only for the first 64 trials. Demand characteristics did not moderate time-on-task effects. Gum improved selective attention. A positive effect on response organisation was observed; this was significant when demand characteristics and pre-test attitudes to gum were both negative. The results suggest that demand characteristics moderate effects on self-reported alertness and response organisation, but cannot explain time-on-task effects or variable main effects on other aspects of attention. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Demand driven decision support for efficient water resources allocation in irrigated agriculture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schuetze, Niels; Grießbach, Ulrike Ulrike; Röhm, Patric; Stange, Peter; Wagner, Michael; Seidel, Sabine; Werisch, Stefan; Barfus, Klemens

    2014-05-01

    Due to climate change, extreme weather conditions, such as longer dry spells in the summer months, may have an increasing impact on the agriculture in Saxony (Eastern Germany). For this reason, and, additionally, declining amounts of rainfall during the growing season the use of irrigation will be more important in future in Eastern Germany. To cope with this higher demand of water, a new decision support framework is developed which focuses on an integrated management of both irrigation water supply and demand. For modeling the regional water demand, local (and site-specific) water demand functions are used which are derived from the optimized agronomic response at farms scale. To account for climate variability the agronomic response is represented by stochastic crop water production functions (SCWPF) which provide the estimated yield subject to the minimum amount of irrigation water. These functions take into account the different soil types, crops and stochastically generated climate scenarios. By applying mathematical interpolation and optimization techniques, the SCWPF's are used to compute the water demand considering different constraints, for instance variable and fix costs or the producer price. This generic approach enables the computation for both multiple crops at farm scale as well as of the aggregated response to water pricing at a regional scale for full and deficit irrigation systems. Within the SAPHIR (SAxonian Platform for High Performance Irrigation) project a prototype of a decision support system is developed which helps to evaluate combined water supply and demand management policies for an effective and efficient utilization of water in order to meet future demands. The prototype is implemented as a web-based decision support system and it is based on a service-oriented geo-database architecture.

  12. Demand for satellite-provided domestic communications services up to the year 2000

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stevenson, S.; Poley, W.; Lekan, J.; Salzman, J. A.

    1984-01-01

    Three fixed service telecommunications demand assessment studies were completed for NASA by The Western Union Telegraph Company and the U.S. Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. They provided forecasts of the total U.S. domestic demand, from 1980 to the year 2000, for voice, data, and video services. That portion that is technically and economically suitable for transmission by satellite systems, both large trunking systems and customer premises services (CPS) systems was also estimated. In order to provide a single set of forecasts a NASA synthesis of the above studies was conducted. The services, associated forecast techniques, and data bases employed by both contractors were examined, those elements of each judged to be the most appropriate were selected, and new forecasts were made. The demand for voice, data, and video services was first forecast in fundamental units of call-seconds, bits/year, and channels, respectively. Transmission technology characteristics and capabilities were then forecast, and the fundamental demand converted to an equivalent transmission capacity. The potential demand for satellite-provided services was found to grow by a factor of 6, from 400 to 2400 equivalent 36 MHz satellite transponders over the 20-year period. About 80 percent of this was found to be more appropriate for trunking systems and 20 percent CPS.

  13. Demand for satellite-provided domestic communications services up to the year 2000

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stevenson, S.; Poley, W.; Lekan, J.; Salzman, J. A.

    1984-11-01

    Three fixed service telecommunications demand assessment studies were completed for NASA by The Western Union Telegraph Company and the U.S. Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. They provided forecasts of the total U.S. domestic demand, from 1980 to the year 2000, for voice, data, and video services. That portion that is technically and economically suitable for transmission by satellite systems, both large trunking systems and customer premises services (CPS) systems was also estimated. In order to provide a single set of forecasts a NASA synthesis of the above studies was conducted. The services, associated forecast techniques, and data bases employed by both contractors were examined, those elements of each judged to be the most appropriate were selected, and new forecasts were made. The demand for voice, data, and video services was first forecast in fundamental units of call-seconds, bits/year, and channels, respectively. Transmission technology characteristics and capabilities were then forecast, and the fundamental demand converted to an equivalent transmission capacity. The potential demand for satellite-provided services was found to grow by a factor of 6, from 400 to 2400 equivalent 36 MHz satellite transponders over the 20-year period. About 80 percent of this was found to be more appropriate for trunking systems and 20 percent CPS.

  14. Ego depletion in sports: highlighting the importance of self-control strength for high-level sport performance.

    PubMed

    Englert, Chris

    2017-08-01

    Athletes are constantly confronted with self-control demands, but previous research has delivered sound empirical evidence that athletes are not always capable of dealing with these demands. According to the strength model of self-control, individuals have a limited amount of self-control strength, which can become temporarily depleted following self-control demands (e.g., attention regulation). When self-control strength is depleted, that is, in a state of ego depletion, athletes are less persistent during strenuous physical exercise, are less likely to follow their exercise regimens, and tend to perform worse under pressure. The aim of this review article is to highlight the importance of ego depletion in the field of sports and exercise and to discuss the recent research and controversies surrounding it. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. APPARATUS FOR CONTROL OF A BOILING REACTOR RESPONSIVE TO STEAM DEMAND

    DOEpatents

    Treshow, M.

    1963-07-23

    A method of controlling a fuel-rod-in-tube-type boilingwater reactor having nozzles at the point of water entry into the tube is described. Water is pumped into the nozzles by an auxiliary pump operated by steam from an interstage position of the associated turbine, so that the pumping speed is responsive to turbine demand. (AEC)

  16. Technology Teacher Education: Alternative Pathways Established in Response to Issues of Supply and Demand in NSW

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cornius-Randall, Rachael

    2004-01-01

    Teacher shortages have encouraged initiatives to tailor training programs to meet the demand in both past, current and future contexts. Such programs have been streamlined to ensure a rapid response to shortages, in addition to also drawing participants from non-traditional groups as a source of potential educators. Within teacher education,…

  17. Demand Response at the Naval Postgraduate School

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-12-01

    service, cost avoidance of starting extra power plants during emergencies, and reduction of negative environmental impact . The illustration below...on. Refraining from starting a peak performance plant means less pollution and lower environmental impact . Operations at the Naval Postgraduate...affect the environment. F. STEP 5: MONETIZE ALL IMPACTS The environmental impact that a Demand Response program has is an intangible one. Over

  18. 49 CFR 37.103 - Purchase or lease of new non-rail vehicles by private entities primarily engaged in the business...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... seating capacity of less than eight persons (including the driver), or an over-the-road bus, it shall... individuals who use wheelchairs. (c) Demand responsive systems. If the entity operates a demand responsive... less than eight persons (including the driver), or an over-the-road bus, it shall ensure that the...

  19. Moderators of the relationship between frequent family demands and inflammation among adolescents.

    PubMed

    Levine, Cynthia S; Hoffer, Lauren C; Chen, Edith

    2017-05-01

    Frequent demands from others in relationships are associated with worse physiological and health outcomes. The present research investigated 2 potential moderators of the relationship between frequency of demands from one's family and inflammatory profiles among adolescents: (a) closeness of adolescents' relationships with their families, and (b) the frequency with which adolescents provided help to their families. Two hundred thirty-four adolescents, ages 13-16 (Mage = 14.53; 47.83% male), completed a daily dairy in which they reported on the frequency of demands made by family members. They were also interviewed about the closeness of their family relationships and reported in the daily diary on how frequently they provided help to their families. Adolescents also underwent a blood draw to assess low-grade inflammation and proinflammatory cytokine production in response to bacterial stimulation. More frequent demands from family predicted higher levels of low-grade inflammation and cytokine production in response to bacterial stimulation in adolescents. Family closeness moderated the relationship between frequent demands and stimulated cytokine production such that more frequent demands predicted higher cytokine production among adolescents who were closer to their families. Furthermore, frequency of providing help moderated the relationship between frequent demands and both low-grade inflammation and stimulated cytokine production, such that more frequent demands predicted worse inflammatory profiles among adolescents who provided more help to their families. These findings build on previous work on family demands and health to show under what circumstances family demands might have a physiological cost. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Work demands and health consequences of organizational and technological measures introduced to enhance the quality of home care services--A subgroup analysis.

    PubMed

    Andersen, Gunn Robstad; Bendal, Synne; Westgaard, Rolf H

    2015-11-01

    This study of home care workers in a Norwegian municipality aimed to examine the effect of two measures involving organizational (job checklists) and technological (personal digital assistants) job aids on perceived work demands and musculoskeletal health. Questionnaire data was collected in 2009 (n = 138, response rate 76.2%) and 2011 (n = 80, response rate 54%). Forty-six home care workers responded at both waves. Respondents were assigned into 'high', 'moderate' and 'low' strain groups based on their responses to open and closed survey questions regarding impact of the two measures. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc t-tests and regression analyses investigated group differences and examined development in variables. Perceived work demands and health effects over the two-year study period were unchanged overall, yet significant differences between subgroups were highlighted. Work demands and shoulder-neck pain remained high for high-strain workers, but were reduced for low and moderate strain workers. Management should be aware of diversity in worker responses to rationalizations and give priority to supplementary, targeted measures to counteract adverse effects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

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