Making Outreach Visible: A Guide to Documenting Professional Service and Outreach. AAHE Forum on Faculty Roles and Rewards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Driscoll, Amy; Lynton, Ernest A.

This guidebook is intended to help faculty and administrators, and departments and schools, document faculty professional service and outreach, offering detailed examples of work from various universities. Following a Foreword by R. Eugene Rice, short introductory chapters make the case for professional service, define professional…

On generalized Volterra systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charalambides, S. A.; Damianou, P. A.; Evripidou, C. A.

2015-01-01

We construct a large family of evidently integrable Hamiltonian systems which are generalizations of the KM system. The algorithm uses the root system of a complex simple Lie algebra. The Hamiltonian vector field is homogeneous cubic but in a number of cases a simple change of variables transforms such a system to a quadratic Lotka-Volterra system. We present in detail all such systems in the cases of A3, A4 and we also give some examples from higher dimensions. We classify all possible Lotka-Volterra systems that arise via this algorithm in the An case.

Algebraic integrability: a survey.

PubMed

Vanhaecke, Pol

2008-03-28

We give a concise introduction to the notion of algebraic integrability. Our exposition is based on examples and phenomena, rather than on detailed proofs of abstract theorems. We mainly focus on algebraic integrability in the sense of Adler-van Moerbeke, where the fibres of the momentum map are affine parts of Abelian varieties; as it turns out, most examples from classical mechanics are of this form. Two criteria are given for such systems (Kowalevski-Painlevé and Lyapunov) and each is illustrated in one example. We show in the case of a relatively simple example how one proves algebraic integrability, starting from the differential equations for the integrable vector field. For Hamiltonian systems that are algebraically integrable in the generalized sense, two examples are given, which illustrate the non-compact analogues of Abelian varieties which typically appear in such systems.

HYPERSONIC BOUNDARY LAYER TRANSITION EXPERIMENTS- HYPERSONIC INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT RESEARCH EXPERIMENTATION 5 (HIFIRE-5) AND CIRCULAR CONE

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

each case in the present study , and two examples for a sharp and blunt case are presented in Figure 3-4. While the freestream unit Reynolds number is...conditions for shot 2821 in 50% CO2, 50% air by mass. For further details on this condition see Jewell and Shepherd...Several advances were made under this task during FY16. Quantitative simultaneous infrared thermography and fluctuating pressure measurements on the

A review and critique of some models used in competing risk analysis.

PubMed

Gail, M

1975-03-01

We have introduced a notation which allows one to define competing risk models easily and to examine underlying assumptions. We have treated the actuarial model for competing risk in detail, comparing it with other models and giving useful variance formulae both for the case when times of death are available and for the case when they are not. The generality of these methods is illustrated by an example treating two dependent competing risks.

Implementing a method of screening one-well hydraulic barrier design alternatives.

PubMed

Rubin, Hillel; Shoemaker, Christine A; Köngeter, Jürgen

2009-01-01

This article provides details of applying the method developed by the authors (Rubin et al. 2008b) for screening one-well hydraulic barrier design alternatives. The present article with its supporting information (manual and electronic spreadsheets with a case history example) provides the reader complete details and examples of solving the set of nonlinear equations developed by Rubin et al. (2008b). It allows proper use of the analytical solutions and also depicting the various charts given by Rubin et al. (2008b). The final outputs of the calculations are the required position and the discharge of the pumping well. If the contaminant source is nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) entrapped within the aquifer, then the method provides an estimate of the aquifer remediation progress (which is a by-product) due to operating the hydraulic barrier.

Special problems of women in psychotherapy.

PubMed

Friedman, H J

1977-07-01

Feminist critics have failed to acknowledge the usefulness of Freud's neutral observations about female sexual development. This paper is an attempt to refute the prejudiced, incorrect view of the modern psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapist as sexist in orientation. Several detailed case examples are utilized to illustrate the interpretive treatment of excessive passivity in women patients with a variety of neurotic difficulties.

The Achieving Success Everyday Group Counseling Model: Implications for Professional School Counselors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steen, Sam; Henfield, Malik S.; Booker, Beverly

2014-01-01

This article presents the Achieving Success Everyday (ASE) group counseling model, which is designed to help school counselors integrate students' academic and personal-social development into their group work. We first describe this group model in detail and then offer one case example of a middle school counselor using the ASE model to conduct a…

A Multiple Perspective Case Study of a Young Adult with Intellectual Disabilities Participating in a Pre-Service Teacher Education Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wintle, James

2012-01-01

For adults with intellectual disabilities, the opportunity to attend a postsecondary institution is increasingly becoming reality. Although there is a growing body of literature documenting examples of inclusive postsecondary education, there is a lack of information detailing the experiences of pre-service teacher candidates (TCs) who are…

Analytical Description of Ascending Motion of Rockets in the Atmosphere

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodrigues, H.; de Pinho, M. O.; Portes, D., Jr.; Santiago, A.

2009-01-01

In continuation of a previous work, we present an analytic study of ascending vertical motion of a rocket subjected to a quadratic drag for the case where the mass-variation law is a linear function of time. We discuss the detailed analytical solution of the model differential equations in closed form. Examples of application are presented and…

Decision Making under Uncertainty: The Case of Adoption vs. Foster Care.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambrosino, Robert J.

This report provides a detailed description of Decision Analysis, a program designed to help social services administrators make informed judgments about the impact of implementing various program alternatives which compete for funding. A familiar example, whether to place a child in long term foster care or a permanent adoptive home is used to…

SERA Scenarios of Early Market Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Introductions: Modeling Framework, Regional Markets, and Station Clustering; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

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

Melaina, M.

This presentation provides an overview of the Scenario Evaluation and Regionalization Analysis (SERA) model, describes the methodology for developing scenarios for hydrogen infrastructure development, outlines an example "Hydrogen Success" scenario, and discusses detailed scenario metrics for a particular case study region, the Northeast Corridor.

Systemic Change: Touchstones for the Future School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenlink, Patrick, Ed.

Given the current social and economic changes, American education must change in order to connect students to the future. This book is comprised of a collection of essays on the topic of systemic change in education. The book focuses on reform for the future by bringing together systems theory with detailed examples of strategies and cases that…

Cultural considerations in the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia: A case example from India.

PubMed

Dhanasekaran, Saranya; Loganathan, Santosh; Dahale, Ajit; Varghese, Mathew

2017-06-01

Culture plays an important role in the presentation, help seeking, treatment and outcomes of psychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia. We report a case of paranoid schizophrenia in a 35-year-old lady, from South India, whose clinical presentation was influenced by various sociocultural factors. These cultural constructs were taken into consideration to formulate an acceptable and effective management plan. A detailed case description using a cultural formulation to highlight the etic and emic perspectives and challenges in treatment and management are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Review of guidelines and literature for handling missing data in longitudinal clinical trials with a case study.

PubMed

Liu, M; Wei, L; Zhang, J

2006-01-01

Missing data in clinical trials are inevitable. We highlight the ICH guidelines and CPMP points to consider on missing data. Specifically, we outline how we should consider missing data issues when designing, planning and conducting studies to minimize missing data impact. We also go beyond the coverage of the above two documents, provide a more detailed review of the basic concepts of missing data and frequently used terminologies, and examples of the typical missing data mechanism, and discuss technical details and literature for several frequently used statistical methods and associated software. Finally, we provide a case study where the principles outlined in this paper are applied to one clinical program at protocol design, data analysis plan and other stages of a clinical trial.

Complex Synchronization Phenomena in Ecological Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, Lewi; Olinky, Ronen; Blasius, Bernd; Huppert, Amit; Cazelles, Bernard

2002-07-01

Ecological and biological systems provide us with many striking examples of synchronization phenomena. Here we discuss a number of intriguing cases and attempt to explain them taking advantage of a modelling framework. One main focus will concern synchronized ecological end epidemiological cycles which have Uniform Phase growth associated with their regular recurrence, and Chaotic Amplitudes - a feature we term UPCA. Examples come from different areas and include decadal cycles of small mammals, recurrent viral epidemics such as childhood infections (eg., measles), and seasonally driven phytoplankton blooms observed in lakes and the oceans. A more detailed theoretical analysis of seasonally synchronized chaotic population cycles is presented.

For Example? A Philosophical Case Study of Some Problems When Abstract Educational Theory Ignores Concrete Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golding, Clinton

2017-01-01

In Philosophy of Education we frequently argue for or against different educational theories. Yet, as I illustrate in this analysis of two articles, in order to maintain the abstract theoretical distinctions, we are liable to ignore the concrete details of practice, caricature the theories we reject and make false distinctions. The two articles…

TLS from fundamentals to practice

PubMed Central

Urzhumtsev, Alexandre; Afonine, Pavel V.; Adams, Paul D.

2014-01-01

The Translation-Libration-Screw-rotation (TLS) model of rigid-body harmonic displacements introduced in crystallography by Schomaker & Trueblood (1968) is now a routine tool in macromolecular studies and is a feature of most modern crystallographic structure refinement packages. In this review we consider a number of simple examples that illustrate important features of the TLS model. Based on these examples simplified formulae are given for several special cases that may occur in structure modeling and refinement. The derivation of general TLS formulae from basic principles is also provided. This manuscript describes the principles of TLS modeling, as well as some select algorithmic details for practical application. An extensive list of applications references as examples of TLS in macromolecular crystallography refinement is provided. PMID:25249713

The amazing cases of motion with friction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grech, Dariusz; Mazur, Zygmunt

2001-07-01

The paper describes the behaviour of a simple mechanical system, which should help students (or teachers) to understand and clarify the importance of relative motion of two surfaces when kinetic friction is present. We show that despite the simplicity of this system, the peculiar interplay between friction forces, tension forces and gravity leads to physical solutions exceeding in many cases most intuitive expectations. These are discussed in detail. The problem is intended to be solved in a theoretical framework as an example, which helps to understand better the physical background of kinetic friction phenomena.

Interaction between an elastic structure and free-surface flows: experimental versus numerical comparisons using the PFEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Idelsohn, S. R.; Marti, J.; Souto-Iglesias, A.; Oñate, E.

2008-12-01

The paper aims to introduce new fluid structure interaction (FSI) tests to compare experimental results with numerical ones. The examples have been chosen for a particular case for which experimental results are not much reported. This is the case of FSI including free surface flows. The possibilities of the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) [1] for the simulation of free surface flows is also tested. The simulations are run using the same scale as the experiment in order to minimize errors due to scale effects. Different scenarios are simulated by changing the boundary conditions for reproducing flows with the desired characteristics. Details of the input data for all the examples studied are given. The aim is to identifying benchmark problems for FSI including free surface flows for future comparisons between different numerical approaches.

The Development of the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Boisseau, Christina L.; Farchione, Todd J.; Fairholme, Christopher P.; Ellard, Kristen K.; Barlow, David H.

2013-01-01

A detailed description of treatment utilizing the Unified Protocol (UP), a transdiagnostic emotion-focused cognitive-behavioral treatment, is presented using a clinical case example treated during the most current phase of an ongoing randomized controlled trial of the UP. The implementation of the UP in its current, modular version is illustrated. A working case conceptualization is presented from the perspective of the UP drawing from theory and research that underlies current transdiagnostic approaches to treatment and consistent with recent dimensional classification proposals (Brown & Barlow, in press). Treatment is illustrated module-by-module describing how the principles of the UP were applied in the presented case. PMID:23997572

History and Philosophy of Science through Models: The Case of Chemical Kinetics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Justi, Rosaria; Gilbert, John K.

1999-01-01

A greater role for the history and philosophy of science in science education can only be realized if it is based on both a credible analytical approach--such as that of Lakatos--and if the evolution of a sufficient number of major themes in science is known in suitable detail. Considers chemical kinetics as an example topic. Contains 62…

Global Existence Analysis of Cross-Diffusion Population Systems for Multiple Species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiuqing; Daus, Esther S.; Jüngel, Ansgar

2018-02-01

The existence of global-in-time weak solutions to reaction-cross-diffusion systems for an arbitrary number of competing population species is proved. The equations can be derived from an on-lattice random-walk model with general transition rates. In the case of linear transition rates, it extends the two-species population model of Shigesada, Kawasaki, and Teramoto. The equations are considered in a bounded domain with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. The existence proof is based on a refined entropy method and a new approximation scheme. Global existence follows under a detailed balance or weak cross-diffusion condition. The detailed balance condition is related to the symmetry of the mobility matrix, which mirrors Onsager's principle in thermodynamics. Under detailed balance (and without reaction) the entropy is nonincreasing in time, but counter-examples show that the entropy may increase initially if detailed balance does not hold.

An Architecture for Improving Timeliness and Relevance of Cyber Incident Notifications

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

the difference between a beginning chess player, an experienced amateur, and a grand master. The beginner sees what his opponent is doing, but is...supplemented sparingly with traditional flowcharts where 69 additional detail is desired. These five are a Use Case diagram, a Class diagram...Figure 35 provides a flowchart example of this process. Obtain current ASF or MSF timestamp Count Dependencies Have all dependencies been checked

Check-Cases for Verification of 6-Degree-of-Freedom Flight Vehicle Simulations. Volume 2; Appendices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murri, Daniel G.; Jackson, E. Bruce; Shelton, Robert O.

2015-01-01

This NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) assessment was established to develop a set of time histories for the flight behavior of increasingly complex example aerospacecraft that could be used to partially validate various simulation frameworks. The assessment was conducted by representatives from several NASA Centers and an open-source simulation project. This document contains details on models, implementation, and results.

Assessing the feasibility of native fish reintroductions: a framework and example applied to bull trout in the Clackamas River, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dunham, Jason B.; Gallo, Kirsten

2008-01-01

In a species conservation context, translocations can be an important tool, but they frequently fail to successfully establish new populations. We consider the case of reintroductions for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), a federally-listed threatened species with a widespread but declining distribution in western North America. Our specific objectives in this work were to: 1) develop a general framework for assessing the feasibility of reintroduction for bull trout, 2) provide a detailed example of implementing this framework to assess the feasibility of reintroducing bull trout in the Clackamas River, Oregon, and 3) discuss the implications of this effort in the more general context of fish reintroductions as a conservation tool. Review of several case histories and our assessment of the Clackamas River suggest that an attempt to reintroduce bull trout could be successful, assuming adequate resources are committed to the subsequent stages of implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

Automating the solution of PDEs on the sphere and other manifolds in FEniCS 1.2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rognes, M. E.; Ham, D. A.; Cotter, C. J.; McRae, A. T. T.

2013-12-01

Differential equations posed over immersed manifolds are of particular importance in studying geophysical flows; for instance, ocean and atmosphere simulations crucially rely on the capability to solve equations over the sphere. This paper presents the extension of the FEniCS software components to the automated solution of finite element formulations of differential equations defined over general, immersed manifolds. We describe the implementation and, in particular detail, how the required extensions essentially reduce to the extension of the FEniCS form compiler to cover this case. The resulting implementation has all the properties of the FEniCS pipeline and we demonstrate its flexibility by an extensive range of numerical examples covering a number of geophysical benchmark examples and test cases. The results are all in agreement with the expected values. The description here relates to DOLFIN/FEniCS 1.2.

Automating the solution of PDEs on the sphere and other manifolds in FEniCS 1.2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rognes, M. E.; Ham, D. A.; Cotter, C. J.; McRae, A. T. T.

2013-07-01

Differential equations posed over immersed manifolds are of particular importance in studying geophysical flows; for instance, ocean and atmosphere simulations crucially rely on the capability to solve equations over the sphere. This paper presents the extension of the FEniCS software components to the automated solution of finite element formulations of differential equations defined over general, immersed manifolds. We describe the implementation and in particular detail how the required extensions essentially reduce to the extension of the FEniCS form compiler to cover this case. The resulting implementation has all the properties of the FEniCS pipeline and we demonstrate its flexibility by an extensive range of numerical examples covering a number of geophysical benchmark examples and test cases. The results are all in agreement with the expected values. The description here relates to DOLFIN/FEniCS 1.2.

Solar energy utilization in the direct photocarboxylation of 2,3-dihydrofuran using CO2.

PubMed

Aresta, Michele; Dibenedetto, Angela; Baran, Tomasz; Wojtyła, Szymon; Macyk, Wojciech

2015-01-01

The conversion of CO2 into high energy products (fuels) and the direct carboxylation of C-H bonds require a high energy input. Energy cannot be derived from fossil carbon, in this case. Solar energy can be used instead, with a low environmental impact and good profit. We have studied the use of white light or solar energy in the photoreduction of CO2 and in photocarboxylation reactions, using different semiconductors modified at their surface. Two examples of reduction of CO2 to methanol and CO will be shortly discussed, and two cases of carboxylation of organic substrates. The case of carboxylation of 2,3-dihydrofuran will be discussed in detail.

Refugee patients and the practice of deception.

PubMed

McKelvey, R S

1994-07-01

The example of an Amerasian Vietnamese case study is used to illustrate the complex and interactive effects of refugee status, diverse cultural traditions, and traumatic life events on refugee patients' willingness and ability to share the details of their lives and to enter wholeheartedly into the diagnostic and therapeutic process. Ways in which clinicians working with such patients can increase the accuracy of their database and further the development of a therapeutic alliance are discussed.

Comprehensive Report For Proposed Elevated Temperature Elastic Perfectly Plastic (EPP) Code Cases Representative Example Problems

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

Hollinger, Greg L.

Background: The current rules in the nuclear section of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel (B&PV) Code , Section III, Subsection NH for the evaluation of strain limits and creep-fatigue damage using simplified methods based on elastic analysis have been deemed inappropriate for Alloy 617 at temperatures above 1200F (650C)1. To address this issue, proposed code rules have been developed which are based on the use of elastic-perfectly plastic (E-PP) analysis methods and which are expected to be applicable to very high temperatures. The proposed rules for strain limits and creep-fatigue evaluation were initially documented in the technical literature 2,more » 3, and have been recently revised to incorporate comments and simplify their application. The revised code cases have been developed. Task Objectives: The goal of the Sample Problem task is to exercise these code cases through example problems to demonstrate their feasibility and, also, to identify potential corrections and improvements should problems be encountered. This will provide input to the development of technical background documents for consideration by the applicable B&PV committees considering these code cases for approval. This task has been performed by Hollinger and Pease of Becht Engineering Co., Inc., Nuclear Services Division and a report detailing the results of the E-PP analyses conducted on example problems per the procedures of the E-PP strain limits and creep-fatigue draft code cases is enclosed as Enclosure 1. Conclusions: The feasibility of the application of the E-PP code cases has been demonstrated through example problems that consist of realistic geometry (a nozzle attached to a semi-hemispheric shell with a circumferential weld) and load (pressure; pipe reaction load applied at the end of the nozzle, including axial and shear forces, bending and torsional moments; through-wall transient temperature gradient) and design and operating conditions (Levels A, B and C).« less

Discovery of the hot Big Bang: What happened in 1948

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peebles, Phillip James Edwin

2014-04-01

The idea that the universe is filled with the thermal radiation now termed the Cosmic Microwave Background was discussed in eleven publications in the year 1948. These papers offer a detailed example of the process of development of a new and now very productive line of research, and of the confusion that can attend new ideas. The confusion in this case left a common misunderstanding of the considerations that motivated the idea of the sea of radiation.

An Evaluation of Liquid and Two-Phase Cooling Techniques for Use in Electrical Machinery.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

equations (3.5) & (3.6) k Thermal conductivity L Condenser length m Mass flow rate b Nu Nusselt number P Pressure Pr Prandtl number Q Heat-transfer rate...IRI finned condenser (with axially-straight or helical fins), or 4. use an internally-grooved condenser . Marto [17] presents a detailed discussion of...the appropriate models for the first two cases. For example, for rotating truncated-cone condensers , Ballback [28] performed a Nusselt -type analysis

LANDFIRE 2001 and 2008 Refresh Geographic Area Report--Pacific Southwest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bastion, Henry; Long, Don; Lundberg, Brenda; Kost, Jay; Natharius, Jeffrey A.; Kreilick, Heather; Martin, Charley; Smail, Tobin; Napoli, James; Hann, Wendel

2011-01-01

In this report, we (1) address the background and provide details pertaining to why there are two Refresh data sets, (2) explain the requirements, planning, and procedures behind the completion and delivery of the updated products for each of the data product sets, (3) show and describe results, and (4) provide case studies illustrating the performance of LANDFIRE National, LANDFIRE 2001 Refresh and LANDFIRE 2008 Refresh (LF_1.1.0) data products on some example wildland fires.

Branched Hamiltonians and supersymmetry

DOE PAGES

Curtright, Thomas L.; Zachos, Cosmas K.

2014-03-21

Some examples of branched Hamiltonians are explored both classically and in the context of quantum mechanics, as recently advocated by Shapere and Wilczek. These are in fact cases of switchback potentials, albeit in momentum space, as previously analyzed for quasi-Hamiltonian chaotic dynamical systems in a classical setting, and as encountered in analogous renormalization group flows for quantum theories which exhibit RG cycles. In conclusion, a basic two-worlds model, with a pair of Hamiltonian branches related by supersymmetry, is considered in detail.

TAIR: A transonic airfoil analysis computer code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dougherty, F. C.; Holst, T. L.; Grundy, K. L.; Thomas, S. D.

1981-01-01

The operation of the TAIR (Transonic AIRfoil) computer code, which uses a fast, fully implicit algorithm to solve the conservative full-potential equation for transonic flow fields about arbitrary airfoils, is described on two levels of sophistication: simplified operation and detailed operation. The program organization and theory are elaborated to simplify modification of TAIR for new applications. Examples with input and output are given for a wide range of cases, including incompressible, subcritical compressible, and transonic calculations.

Using the Abstraction Network in Complement to Description Logics for Quality Assurance in Biomedical Terminologies - A Case Study in SNOMED CT

PubMed Central

Wei, Duo; Bodenreider, Olivier

2015-01-01

Objectives To investigate errors identified in SNOMED CT by human reviewers with help from the Abstraction Network methodology and examine why they had escaped detection by the Description Logic (DL) classifier. Case study; Two examples of errors are presented in detail (one missing IS-A relation and one duplicate concept). After correction, SNOMED CT is reclassified to ensure that no new inconsistency was introduced. Conclusions DL-based auditing techniques built in terminology development environments ensure the logical consistency of the terminology. However, complementary approaches are needed for identifying and addressing other types of errors. PMID:20841848

A fast, parallel algorithm for distant-dependent calculation of crystal properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stein, Matthew

2017-12-01

A fast, parallel algorithm for distant-dependent calculation and simulation of crystal properties is presented along with speedup results and methods of application. An illustrative example is used to compute the Lennard-Jones lattice constants up to 32 significant figures for 4 ≤ p ≤ 30 in the simple cubic, face-centered cubic, body-centered cubic, hexagonal-close-pack, and diamond lattices. In most cases, the known precision of these constants is more than doubled, and in some cases, corrected from previously published figures. The tools and strategies to make this computation possible are detailed along with application to other potentials, including those that model defects.

Using the abstraction network in complement to description logics for quality assurance in biomedical terminologies - a case study in SNOMED CT.

PubMed

Wei, Duo; Bodenreider, Olivier

2010-01-01

To investigate errors identified in SNOMED CT by human reviewers with help from the Abstraction Network methodology and examine why they had escaped detection by the Description Logic (DL) classifier. Case study; Two examples of errors are presented in detail (one missing IS-A relation and one duplicate concept). After correction, SNOMED CT is reclassified to ensure that no new inconsistency was introduced. DL-based auditing techniques built in terminology development environments ensure the logical consistency of the terminology. However, complementary approaches are needed for identifying and addressing other types of errors.

Altruistic behavior pays, or the importance of fluctuations in evolutionary game theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez, Angel; Cuesta, José A.; Roca, Carlos P.

2005-07-01

Human behavior is one of the main problems for evolution, as it is often the case that human actions are disadvantageous for the self and advantageous for other people. Behind this puzzle are our beliefs about rational behavior, based on game theory. Here we show that by going beyond the standard game-theoretical conventions, apparently altruistic behavior can be understood as self-interested. We discuss in detail an example related to the so called Ultimatum game and illustrate the appearance of altruistic behavior induced by fluctuations. In addition, we claim that in general settings, fluctuations play a very relevant role, and we support this claim by considering a completely different example, namely the Stag-Hunt game.

The COREL and W12SC3 computer programs for supersonic wing design and analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mason, W. H.; Rosen, B. S.

1983-01-01

Two computer codes useful in the supersonic aerodynamic design of wings, including the supersonic maneuver case are described. The nonlinear full potential equation COREL code performs an analysis of a spanwise section of the wing in the crossflow plane by assuming conical flow over the section. A subsequent approximate correction to the solution can be made in order to account for nonconical effects. In COREL, the flow-field is assumed to be irrotional (Mach numbers normal to shock waves less than about 1.3) and the full potential equation is solved to obtain detailed results for the leading edge expansion, supercritical crossflow, and any crossflow shockwaves. W12SC3 is a linear theory panel method which combines and extends elements of several of Woodward's codes, with emphasis on fighter applications. After a brief review of the aerodynamic theory used by each method, the use of the codes is illustrated with several examples, detailed input instructions and a sample case.

Curve fitting and modeling with splines using statistical variable selection techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, P. L.

1982-01-01

The successful application of statistical variable selection techniques to fit splines is demonstrated. Major emphasis is given to knot selection, but order determination is also discussed. Two FORTRAN backward elimination programs, using the B-spline basis, were developed. The program for knot elimination is compared in detail with two other spline-fitting methods and several statistical software packages. An example is also given for the two-variable case using a tensor product basis, with a theoretical discussion of the difficulties of their use.

Fitting multidimensional splines using statistical variable selection techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, P. L.

1982-01-01

This report demonstrates the successful application of statistical variable selection techniques to fit splines. Major emphasis is given to knot selection, but order determination is also discussed. Two FORTRAN backward elimination programs using the B-spline basis were developed, and the one for knot elimination is compared in detail with two other spline-fitting methods and several statistical software packages. An example is also given for the two-variable case using a tensor product basis, with a theoretical discussion of the difficulties of their use.

Children, automobile restraints and injuries

PubMed Central

Howard, Andrew William

2000-01-01

Injuries are the most common cause of death for Canadians aged one to 18 years, and 50% of injury deaths in this age group involve an automobile. Evidence suggests that 71% reduction in deaths and a 67% reduction in injuries can be achieved when child safety seats are used properly. This article reviews the recommended restraints for children by weight group and describes the proper position for children. Detailed case examples of car crashes are described to illustrate the dangers of incorrectly used or no restraint. PMID:20107592

Automatic control systems satisfying certain general criterions on transient behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boksenbom, Aaron S; Hood, Richard

1952-01-01

An analytic method for the design of automatic controls is developed that starts from certain arbitrary criterions on the behavior of the controlled system and gives those physically realizable equations that the control system can follow in order to realize this behavior. The criterions used are developed in the form of certain time integrals. General results are shown for systems of second order and of any number of degrees of freedom. Detailed examples for several cases in the control of a turbojet engine are presented.

Extending AADL for Security Design Assurance of Cyber Physical Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-16

a detailed system architecture design of a CPS can be analyzed using AADL to prevent such types of CWEs. We divided the work into two tasks as...security modeling to CPSs, and develop a case study to show how formal modeling using AADL could be applied to a CPS to improve the security design of the... CPS . These examples of recent attacks against automobiles have been reported:  A wireless device used by Progressive Insurance to gather information

Detailed Geological Modelling in Urban Areas focused on Structures relevant to the Near Surface Groundwater Flow in the context of Climatic Changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bach, T.; Pallesen, T. M.; Jensen, N. P.; Mielby, S.; Sandersen, P.; Kristensen, M.

2015-12-01

This case demonstrates a practical example from the city of Odense (DK) where new geological modeling techniques has been developed and used in the software GeoScene3D, to create a detailed voxel model of the anthropogenic layer. The voxel model has been combined with a regional hydrostratigraphic layer model. The case is part of a pilot project partly financed by VTU (Foundation for Development of Technology in the Danish Water Sector) and involves many different datatypes such as borehole information, geophysical data, human related elements (landfill, pipelines, basements, roadbeds etc). In the last few years, there has been increased focus on detailed geological modeling in urban areas. The models serve as important input to hydrological models. This focus is partly due to climate changes as high intensity rainfalls are seen more often than in the past, and water recharge is a topic too. In urban areas, this arises new challenges. There is a need of a high level of detailed geological knowledge for the uppermost zone of the soil, which typically are problematic due to practically limitations, especially when using geological layer models. Furthermore, to accommodate the need of a high detail, all relevant available data has to be used in the modeling process. Human activity has deeply changed the soil layers, e.g. by constructions as roadbeds, buildings with basements, pipelines, landfill etc. These elements can act as barriers or pathways regarding surface near groundwater flow and can attribute to local flooding or mobilization and transport of contaminants etc. A geological voxel model is built by small boxes (a voxel). Each box can contain several parameters, ex. lithology, transmissivity or contaminant concentration. Human related elements can be implemented using tools, which gives the modeler advanced options for making detailed small-scale models. This case demonstrates the workflow and the resulting geological model for the pilot area.

Test case for VVER-1000 complex modeling using MCU and ATHLET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahdanovich, R. B.; Bogdanova, E. V.; Gamtsemlidze, I. D.; Nikonov, S. P.; Tikhomirov, G. V.

2017-01-01

The correct modeling of processes occurring in the fuel core of the reactor is very important. In the design and operation of nuclear reactors it is necessary to cover the entire range of reactor physics. Very often the calculations are carried out within the framework of only one domain, for example, in the framework of structural analysis, neutronics (NT) or thermal hydraulics (TH). However, this is not always correct, as the impact of related physical processes occurring simultaneously, could be significant. Therefore it is recommended to spend the coupled calculations. The paper provides test case for the coupled neutronics-thermal hydraulics calculation of VVER-1000 using the precise neutron code MCU and system engineering code ATHLET. The model is based on the fuel assembly (type 2M). Test case for calculation of power distribution, fuel and coolant temperature, coolant density, etc. has been developed. It is assumed that the test case will be used for simulation of VVER-1000 reactor and in the calculation using other programs, for example, for codes cross-verification. The detailed description of the codes (MCU, ATHLET), geometry and material composition of the model and an iterative calculation scheme is given in the paper. Script in PERL language was written to couple the codes.

Detailed Debunking of Denial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enting, I. G.; Abraham, J. P.

2012-12-01

The disinformation campaign against climate science has been compared to a guerilla war whose tactics undermine the traditional checks and balances of science. One comprehensive approach has to been produce archives of generic responses such as the websites of RealClimate and SkepticalScience. We review our experiences with an alternative approach of detailed responses to a small number of high profile cases. Our particular examples were Professor Ian Plimer and Christopher Monckton, the Third Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, each of whom has been taken seriously by political leaders in our respective countries. We relate our experiences to comparable examples such as John Mashey's analysis of the Wegman report and the formal complaints about Lomborg's "Skeptical Environmentalist" and Durkin's "Great Global Warming Swindle". Our two approaches used contrasting approaches: an on-line video of a lecture vs an evolving compendium of misrepresentations. Additionally our approaches differed in the emphasis. The analysis of Monckton concentrated on the misrepresentation of the science, while the analysis of Plimer concentrated on departures from accepted scientific practice: fabrication of data, misrepresentation of cited sources and unattributed use of the work of others. Benefits of an evolving compendium were the ability to incorporate contributions from members of the public who had identified additional errors and the scope for addressing new aspects as they came to public attention. `Detailed debunking' gives non-specialists a reference point for distinguishing non-science when engaging in public debate.

Poisson structure on a space with linear SU(2) fuzziness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khorrami, Mohammad; Fatollahi, Amir H.; Shariati, Ahmad

2009-07-01

The Poisson structure is constructed for a model in which spatial coordinates of configuration space are noncommutative and satisfy the commutation relations of a Lie algebra. The case is specialized to that of the group SU(2), for which the counterpart of the angular momentum as well as the Euler parametrization of the phase space are introduced. SU(2)-invariant classical systems are discussed, and it is observed that the path of particle can be obtained by the solution of a first-order equation, as the case with such models on commutative spaces. The examples of free particle, rotationally invariant potentials, and specially the isotropic harmonic oscillator are investigated in more detail.

A Case Study of Ship Track Formation in a Polluted Marine Boundary Layer.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noone, Kevin J.; Johnson, Doug W.; Taylor, Jonathan P.; Ferek, Ronald J.; Garrett, Tim; Hobbs, Peter V.; Durkee, Philip A.; Nielsen, Kurt; Öström, Elisabeth; O'Dowd, Colin; Smith, Michael H.; Russell, Lynn M.; Flagan, Richard C.; Seinfeld, John H.; de Bock, Lieve; van Grieken, René E.; Hudson, James G.; Brooks, Ian;  Gasparovic, Richard F.;  Pockalny, Robert A.

2000-08-01

A case study of the effects of ship emissions on the microphysical, radiative, and chemical properties of polluted marine boundary layer clouds is presented. Two ship tracks are discussed in detail. In situ measurements of cloud drop size distributions, liquid water content, and cloud radiative properties, as well as aerosol size distributions (outside-cloud, interstitial, and cloud droplet residual particles) and aerosol chemistry, are presented. These are related to remotely sensed measurements of cloud radiative properties.The authors examine the processes behind ship track formation in a polluted marine boundary layer as an example of the effects of anthropogenic particulate pollution on the albedo of marine stratiform clouds.

Planning Strabismus Surgery: How to Avoid Pitfalls and Complications.

PubMed

Aroichane, Maryam

2016-01-01

Good surgical results following strabismus surgery depend on several factors. In this article, detailed steps for planning strabismus surgery will be reviewed for basic horizontal strabismus surgery, vertical, and oblique muscle surgeries. The thought process behind each case will be presented to help in selecting the best surgical approach to optimize postoperative results. The surgical planning for strabismus will be developed with clinical examples from easy cases to more complex ones. Preoperative pictures of the ocular alignment are an integral part of planning surgery and help in documenting the strabismus before and after surgery. Three cases of strabismus cases will be reviewed with several key factors for planning surgery, including visual acuity, refractive error, potential for stereovision, and risk of postoperative diplopia. The most important factor is accurate orthoptic measurements. The surgical planning for each patient is detailed along with preoperative pictures. Strabismus surgery results can be improved by careful preoperative planning. The surgeon has the ability to discern potential pitfalls that can alter the surgical outcome. Surgical planning allows a dedicated time of reflection before surgery, foreseeing potential problems, and avoiding them during the surgery. © 2016 Board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System, American Orthoptic Journal, Volume 66, 2016, ISSN 0065-955X, E-ISSN 1553-4448.

GSTARS computer models and their applications, Part II: Applications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Simoes, F.J.M.; Yang, C.T.

2008-01-01

In part 1 of this two-paper series, a brief summary of the basic concepts and theories used in developing the Generalized Stream Tube model for Alluvial River Simulation (GSTARS) computer models was presented. Part 2 provides examples that illustrate some of the capabilities of the GSTARS models and how they can be applied to solve a wide range of river and reservoir sedimentation problems. Laboratory and field case studies are used and the examples show representative applications of the earlier and of the more recent versions of GSTARS. Some of the more recent capabilities implemented in GSTARS3, one of the latest versions of the series, are also discussed here with more detail. ?? 2008 International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation and the World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research.

Diagnosis of condensation-induced waterhammer: Case studies

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

Izenson, M.G.; Rothe, P.H.; Wallis, G.B.

1988-10-01

This guidebook provides reference material and diagnostic procedures concerning condensation-induced waterhammer in nuclear power plants. Condensation-induced waterhammer is the most damaging form of waterhammer, and its diagnosis is complicated by the complex nature of the underlying phenomena. In Volume 1, the guidebook groups condensation-induced waterhammers into five event classes which have similar phenomena and levels of damage. Diagnostic guidelines focus on locating the event center where condensation and slug acceleration take place. Diagnosis is described in three stages: an initial assessment, detailed evaluation and final confirmation. Graphical scoping analyses are provided to evaluate whether an event from one of themore » event classes could have occurred at the event center. Examples are provided for each type of waterhammer. Special instructions are provided for walking down damaged piping and evaluating damage due to waterhammer. To illustrate the diagnostic methods and document past experience, six case studies have been compiled in Volume 2. These case studies, based on actual condensation-induced waterhammer events at nuclear plants, present detailed data and work through the event diagnosis using the tools introduced in the first volume. 20 refs., 21 figs., 6 tabs.« less

French brain tumor database: 5-year histological results on 25 756 cases.

PubMed

Rigau, Valérie; Zouaoui, Sonia; Mathieu-Daudé, Hélène; Darlix, Amélie; Maran, Aurélie; Trétarre, Brigitte; Bessaoud, Faiza; Bauchet, Fabienne; Attaoua, Redha; Fabbro-Peray, Pascale; Fabbro, Michel; Kerr, Christine; Taillandier, Luc; Duffau, Hugues; Figarella-Branger, Dominique; Costes, Valérie; Bauchet, Luc

2011-11-01

This work aimed to prospectively record all primary central nervous system tumor (PCNST) cases in France, for which histological diagnosis is available. The objectives were to (i) create a national registry and a network to perform epidemiological studies; (ii) implement clinical and basic research protocols; and (iii) harmonize the health care of patients affected by PCNST. For 5 years, 25 756 cases of newly diagnosed and histologically confirmed PCNST have been recorded. Histological diagnoses included glioma (48.9%), all other neuroepithelial tumors (5%), meningioma (28.8%), nerve sheath tumors (8.4%), lymphoma (3.2%) and others (5.7%). Cryopreservation was reported for 6018 PCNST specimens. Tumor resections (R) were performed in 78% cases, while biopsies accounted for 22%. Median age (MA), sex, percentage R and number of cryopreserved tumors were detailed for each histology; for example, out of 6053 glioblastomas (MA 63 years, male 59.4%, R 62%, 1611 were cryopreserved), and out of 37 atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (MA 2 years, male 56.8%, R 94%, 17 were cryopreserved). This database or databank dedicated to PCNST cases contains detailed data on clinical, histological and other characteristics, such as the inclusion of data on cryopreserved specimens that are not available in other European registries. Therefore, this is a valuable resource that can be used for planning future epidemiological and clinical research. © 2011 The Authors; Brain Pathology © 2011 International Society of Neuropathology.

Escape rate for nonequilibrium processes dominated by strong non-detailed balance force

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Ying; Xu, Song; Ao, Ping

2018-02-01

Quantifying the escape rate from a meta-stable state is essential to understand a wide range of dynamical processes. Kramers' classical rate formula is the product of an exponential function of the potential barrier height and a pre-factor related to the friction coefficient. Although many applications of the rate formula focused on the exponential term, the prefactor can have a significant effect on the escape rate in certain parameter regions, such as the overdamped limit and the underdamped limit. There have been continuous interests to understand the effect of non-detailed balance on the escape rate; however, how the prefactor behaves under strong non-detailed balance force remains elusive. In this work, we find that the escape rate formula has a vanishing prefactor with decreasing friction strength under the strong non-detailed balance limit. We both obtain analytical solutions in specific examples and provide a derivation for more general cases. We further verify the result by simulations and propose a testable experimental system of a charged Brownian particle in electromagnetic field. Our study demonstrates that a special care is required to estimate the effect of prefactor on the escape rate when non-detailed balance force dominates.

Modeling of Transmittance Degradation Caused by Optical Surface Contamination by Atomic Oxygen Reaction with Adsorbed Silicones

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snyder, Aaron; Banks, Bruce; Miller, Sharon; Stueber, Thomas; Sechkar, Edward

2001-01-01

A numerical procedure is presented to calculate transmittance degradation caused by contaminant films on spacecraft surfaces produced through the interaction of orbital atomic oxygen (AO) with volatile silicones and hydrocarbons from spacecraft components. In the model, contaminant accretion is dependent on the adsorption of species, depletion reactions due to gas-surface collisions, desorption, and surface reactions between AO and silicone producing SiO(x), (where x is near 2). A detailed description of the procedure used to calculate the constituents of the contaminant layer is presented, including the equations that govern the evolution of fractional coverage by specie type. As an illustrative example of film growth, calculation results using a prototype code that calculates the evolution of surface coverage by specie type is presented and discussed. An example of the transmittance degradation caused by surface interaction of AO with deposited contaminant is presented for the case of exponentially decaying contaminant flux. These examples are performed using hypothetical values for the process parameters.

Interplay between discharge physics, gas phase chemistry and surface processes in hydrocarbon plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassouni, Khaled

2013-09-01

In this paper we present two examples that illustrate two different contexts of the interplay between plasma-surface interaction process and discharge physics and gas phase chemistry in hydrocarbon discharges. In the first example we address the case of diamond deposition processes and illustrate how a detailed investigation of the discharge physics, collisional processes and transport phenomena in the plasma phase make possible to accurately predict the key local-parameters, i.e., species density at the growing substrate, as function of the macroscopic process parameters, thus allowing for a precise control of diamond deposition process. In the second example, we illustrate how the interaction between a rare gas pristine discharge and carbon (graphite) electrode induce a dramatic change on the discharge nature, i.e., composition, ionization kinetics, charge equilibrium, etc., through molecular growth and clustering processes, solid particle formation and dusty plasma generation. Work done in collaboration with Alix Gicquel, Francois Silva, Armelle Michau, Guillaume Lombardi, Xavier Bonnin, Xavier Duten, CNRS, Universite Paris 13.

Branching processes in disease epidemics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Sarabjeet

Branching processes have served as a model for chemical reactions, biological growth processes and contagion (of disease, information or fads). Through this connection, these seemingly different physical processes share some common universalities that can be elucidated by analyzing the underlying branching process. In this thesis, we focus on branching processes as a model for infectious diseases spreading between individuals belonging to different populations. The distinction between populations can arise from species separation (as in the case of diseases which jump across species) or spatial separation (as in the case of disease spreading between farms, cities, urban centers, etc). A prominent example of the former is zoonoses -- infectious diseases that spill from animals to humans -- whose specific examples include Nipah virus, monkeypox, HIV and avian influenza. A prominent example of the latter is infectious diseases of animals such as foot and mouth disease and bovine tuberculosis that spread between farms or cattle herds. Another example of the latter is infectious diseases of humans such as H1N1 that spread from one city to another through migration of infectious hosts. This thesis consists of three main chapters, an introduction and an appendix. The introduction gives a brief history of mathematics in modeling the spread of infectious diseases along with a detailed description of the most commonly used disease model -- the Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model. The introduction also describes how the stochastic formulation of the model reduces to a branching process in the limit of large population which is analyzed in detail. The second chapter describes a two species model of zoonoses with coupled SIR processes and proceeds into the calculation of statistics pertinent to cross species infection using multitype branching processes. The third chapter describes an SIR process driven by a Poisson process of infection spillovers. This is posed as a model of infectious diseases where a `reservoir' of infection exists that infects a susceptible host population at a constant rate. The final chapter of the thesis describes a general framework of modeling infectious diseases in a network of populations using multitype branching processes.

Dwarf Galaxies: Laboratories for Nucleosynthesis and Chemical Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirby, Evan N.

2018-06-01

The dwarf galaxies in the Local Group are excellent laboratories for studying the creation of the elements (nucleosynthesis) and the build-up of those elements over time (chemical evolution). The galaxies' proximity permits spectroscopy of individual stars, from which detailed elemental abundances can be measured. Their small sizes and, in some cases, short star formation lifetimes imprinted chemical histories that are easy to interpret relative to larger, more complex galaxies, like the Milky Way.I will briefly review some techniques for measuring elemental abundances from medium-resolution spectroscopy of individual stars. I will show how the metallicity distributions of dwarf galaxies reflect their gas content at the time they were forming stars. Then, I will show how the ratio of alpha elements (for example, magnesium) to iron reveals the star formation history. Finally, I will use certain elements to tease out details of nucleosynthetic events. For example, low manganese and cobalt abundances indicate that the typical Type Ia supernova in dwarf galaxies was a low-density white dwarf, and the evolution of barium suggests that neutron star mergers were most likely responsible for the majority of neutron-capture elements in smaller dwarf galaxies.

Analytical methods for the development of Reynolds stress closures in turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Speziale, Charles G.

1990-01-01

Analytical methods for the development of Reynolds stress models in turbulence are reviewed in detail. Zero, one and two equation models are discussed along with second-order closures. A strong case is made for the superior predictive capabilities of second-order closure models in comparison to the simpler models. The central points are illustrated by examples from both homogeneous and inhomogeneous turbulence. A discussion of the author's views concerning the progress made in Reynolds stress modeling is also provided along with a brief history of the subject.

Application Note: Power Grid Modeling With Xyce.

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

Sholander, Peter E.

This application note describes how to model steady-state power flows and transient events in electric power grids with the SPICE-compatible Xyce TM Parallel Electronic Simulator developed at Sandia National Labs. This application notes provides a brief tutorial on the basic devices (branches, bus shunts, transformers and generators) found in power grids. The focus is on the features supported and assumptions made by the Xyce models for power grid elements. It then provides a detailed explanation, including working Xyce netlists, for simulating some simple power grid examples such as the IEEE 14-bus test case.

Qualification of the T2 wind tunnel in cryogenic operation. A: Thermal field, preliminary study of a schematic model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dor, J. B.; Mignosi, A.; Plazanet, M.

1984-01-01

The T2 wind tunnel is described. The process of generating a cyrogenic gust using the example of a test made at very low temperature is presented. Detailed results of tests on temperatures for flow in the settling chamber, the interior walls of the system, and the metal casing are given. The transverse temperature distribution in the settling chamber and working section, and of the thermal gradients in the walls, are given as a function of the temperature level of the test.

The Arbitrary Body of Revolution Code (ABORC) for SGEMP/IEMP

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-07-01

Ill, ,4 t iwv. dependent Spect ria, I’a eallt rlllt ,ýcltllt i , itlld currll - in.icct iwill silIkit ion tests of satel I ites. "S1 1’. Waanaasl ; et...time. For example, in the case where the emission is due to,. photon interaction with materials, the photon energy and time spect run determines the...ally performed by separating the i. onse of the in-._ tn, p rtion of ’he problem from thai of the external iort(n. Thus, 0i details of tbi - internal

Socially Extended Cognition and Shared Intentionality

PubMed Central

Lyre, Holger

2018-01-01

The paper looks at the intersection of extended cognition and social cognition. The central claim is that the mechanisms of shared intentionality can equally be considered as coupling mechanisms of cognitive extension into the social domain. This claim will be demonstrated by investigating a detailed example of cooperative action, and it will be argued that such cases imply that socially extended cognition is not only about cognitive vehicles, but that content must additionally be taken into account. It is finally outlined how social content externalism can in principle be grounded in socially extended cognition. PMID:29892254

Building research infrastructure in community health centers: a Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN) report.

PubMed

Likumahuwa, Sonja; Song, Hui; Singal, Robbie; Weir, Rosy Chang; Crane, Heidi; Muench, John; Sim, Shao-Chee; DeVoe, Jennifer E

2013-01-01

This article introduces the Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN), a practice-based research network of community health centers (CHCs). Established by the Health Resources and Services Administration in 2010, CHARN is a network of 4 community research nodes, each with multiple affiliated CHCs and an academic center. The four nodes (18 individual CHCs and 4 academic partners in 9 states) are supported by a data coordinating center. Here we provide case studies detailing how CHARN is building research infrastructure and capacity in CHCs, with a particular focus on how community practice-academic partnerships were facilitated by the CHARN structure. The examples provided by the CHARN nodes include many of the building blocks of research capacity: communication capacity and "matchmaking" between providers and researchers; technology transfer; research methods tailored to community practice settings; and community institutional review board infrastructure to enable community oversight. We draw lessons learned from these case studies that we hope will serve as examples for other networks, with special relevance for community-based networks seeking to build research infrastructure in primary care settings.

On the renormalization group perspective of α-attractors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narain, Gaurav

2017-10-01

In this short paper we outline a recipe for the reconstruction of F(R) gravity starting from single field inflationary potentials in the Einstein frame. For simple potentials one can compute the explicit form of F(R), whilst for more involved examples one gets a parametric form of F(R). The F(R) reconstruction algorithm is used to study various examples: power-law phin, exponential and α-attractors. In each case it is seen that for large R (corresponding to large value of inflaton field), F(R) ~ R2. For the case of α-attractors F(R) ~ R2 for all values of inflaton field (for all values of R) as α → 0. For generic inflaton potential V(phi), it is seen that if V'/V →0 (for some phi) then the corresponding F(R) ~ R2. We then study α-attractors in more detail using non-perturbative renormalisation group methods to analyse the reconstructed F(R). It is seen that α→0 is an ultraviolet stable fixed point of the renormalisation group trajectories.

Building Research Infrastructure in Community Health Centers: A Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN) Report

PubMed Central

Likumahuwa, Sonja; Song, Hui; Singal, Robbie; Weir, Rosy Chang; Crane, Heidi; Muench, John; Sim, Shao-Chee; DeVoe, Jennifer E.

2015-01-01

This article introduces the Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN), a practice-based research network of community health centers (CHCs). Established by the Health Resources and Services Administration in 2010, CHARN is a network of 4 community research nodes, each with multiple affiliated CHCs and an academic center. The four nodes (18 individual CHCs and 4 academic partners in 9 states) are supported by a data coordinating center. Here we provide case studies detailing how CHARN is building research infrastructure and capacity in CHCs, with a particular focus on how community practice-academic partnerships were facilitated by the CHARN structure. The examples provided by the CHARN nodes include many of the building blocks of research capacity: communication capacity and “matchmaking” between providers and researchers; technology transfer; research methods tailored to community practice settings; and community institutional review board infrastructure to enable community oversight. We draw lessons learned from these case studies that we hope will serve as examples for other networks, with special relevance for community-based networks seeking to build research infrastructure in primary care settings. PMID:24004710

Modeling misidentification errors that result from use of genetic tags in capture-recapture studies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yoshizaki, J.; Brownie, C.; Pollock, K.H.; Link, W.A.

2011-01-01

Misidentification of animals is potentially important when naturally existing features (natural tags) such as DNA fingerprints (genetic tags) are used to identify individual animals. For example, when misidentification leads to multiple identities being assigned to an animal, traditional estimators tend to overestimate population size. Accounting for misidentification in capture-recapture models requires detailed understanding of the mechanism. Using genetic tags as an example, we outline a framework for modeling the effect of misidentification in closed population studies when individual identification is based on natural tags that are consistent over time (non-evolving natural tags). We first assume a single sample is obtained per animal for each capture event, and then generalize to the case where multiple samples (such as hair or scat samples) are collected per animal per capture occasion. We introduce methods for estimating population size and, using a simulation study, we show that our new estimators perform well for cases with moderately high capture probabilities or high misidentification rates. In contrast, conventional estimators can seriously overestimate population size when errors due to misidentification are ignored. ?? 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Twistor Geometry of Null Foliations in Complex Euclidean Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taghavi-Chabert, Arman

2017-01-01

We give a detailed account of the geometric correspondence between a smooth complex projective quadric hypersurface Q^n of dimension n ≥ 3, and its twistor space PT, defined to be the space of all linear subspaces of maximal dimension of Q^n. Viewing complex Euclidean space CE^n as a dense open subset of Q^n, we show how local foliations tangent to certain integrable holomorphic totally null distributions of maximal rank on CE^n can be constructed in terms of complex submanifolds of PT. The construction is illustrated by means of two examples, one involving conformal Killing spinors, the other, conformal Killing-Yano 2-forms. We focus on the odd-dimensional case, and we treat the even-dimensional case only tangentially for comparison.

[Following the American example? American models for hospital medicine and research: the case of the Kerckhoff Institute in Bad Nauheim].

PubMed

Timmermann, Carsten

2010-01-01

This essay examines how and why American models were applied in the reorganization of West German hospitals and medical research centers in the post-war period. After discussing why American clinical medical centers turned into model institutions over the last century or so, a case study is discussed in some detail: the Kerckhoff Institute for cardiovascular research in Bad Nauheim, since 1951 an institute within the Max Planck Society with its own research clinic (which was unusual for Max Planck Institutes). The history of this institution illustrates which local and specific considerations drove historical actors to embrace American models. German academic and administrative realities, however, imposed tight constraints on the implementation of US institutional models.

Utilization of Large Scale Surface Models for Detailed Visibility Analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caha, J.; Kačmařík, M.

2017-11-01

This article demonstrates utilization of large scale surface models with small spatial resolution and high accuracy, acquired from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle scanning, for visibility analyses. The importance of large scale data for visibility analyses on the local scale, where the detail of the surface model is the most defining factor, is described. The focus is not only the classic Boolean visibility, that is usually determined within GIS, but also on so called extended viewsheds that aims to provide more information about visibility. The case study with examples of visibility analyses was performed on river Opava, near the Ostrava city (Czech Republic). The multiple Boolean viewshed analysis and global horizon viewshed were calculated to determine most prominent features and visibility barriers of the surface. Besides that, the extended viewshed showing angle difference above the local horizon, which describes angular height of the target area above the barrier, is shown. The case study proved that large scale models are appropriate data source for visibility analyses on local level. The discussion summarizes possible future applications and further development directions of visibility analyses.

Planetary Seismology : Lander- and Wind-Induced Seismic Signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, Ralph

2016-10-01

Seismic measurements are of interest for future geophysical exploration of ocean worlds such as Europa or Titan, as well as Venus, Mars and the Moon. Even when a seismometer is deployed away from a lander (as in the case of Apollo) lander-generated disturbances are apparent. Such signatures may be usefully diagnostic of lander operations (at least for outreach), and may serve as seismic excitation for near-field propagation studies. The introduction of these 'spurious' events may also influence the performance of event detection and data compression algorithms.Examples of signatures in the Viking 2 seismometer record of lander mechanism operations are presented. The coherence of Viking seismometer noise levels and wind forcing is well-established : some detailed examples are examined. Wind noise is likely to be significant on future Mars missions such as InSight, as well as on Titan and Venus.

Fast heap transform-based QR-decomposition of real and complex matrices: algorithms and codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigoryan, Artyom M.

2015-03-01

In this paper, we describe a new look on the application of Givens rotations to the QR-decomposition problem, which is similar to the method of Householder transformations. We apply the concept of the discrete heap transform, or signal-induced unitary transforms which had been introduced by Grigoryan (2006) and used in signal and image processing. Both cases of real and complex nonsingular matrices are considered and examples of performing QR-decomposition of square matrices are given. The proposed method of QR-decomposition for the complex matrix is novel and differs from the known method of complex Givens rotation and is based on analytical equations for the heap transforms. Many examples illustrated the proposed heap transform method of QR-decomposition are given, algorithms are described in detail, and MATLAB-based codes are included.

Adaption of the LUCI framework to account for detailed farm management: a case study exploring potential for achieving locally and nationally significant greenhouse gas, flooding and nutrient mitigation without compromising livelihoods on New Zealand farm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Bethanna; Trodahl, Martha; Maxwell, Deborah; Easton, Stuart

2016-04-01

This talk discusses recent progress in adapting the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator (LUCI) framework to take account of the impact of detailed farm management on greenhouse gas emissions and on water, sediment and nutrient delivery to waterways. LUCI is a land management decision support framework which examines the impact of current and potential interventions on a variety of outcomes, including flood mitigation, water supply, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, erosion, sediment and nutrient delivery to waterways, and agricultural production. The potential of the landscape to provide benefits is a function of both the biophysical properties of individual landscape elements and their configuration. Both are respected in LUCI where possible. For example, the hydrology, sediment and chemical routing algorithms are based on physical principles of hillslope flow, taking information on the storage and permeability capacity of elements within the landscape from soil and land use data and honoring physical thresholds, mass and energy balance constraints. LUCI discretizes hydrological response units within the landscape according to similarity of their hydraulic properties and preserves spatially explicit topographical routing. Implications of keeping the "status quo" or potential scenarios of land management change can then be evaluated under different meteorological or climatic events (e.g. flood return periods, rainfall events, droughts), cascading water through the hydrological response units using a "fill and spill" approach. These and other component algorithms are designed to be fast-running while maintaining physical consistency and fine spatial detail. This allows it to operate from subfield level scale to catchment, or even national scale, simultaneously. It analyses and communicates the spatial pattern of individual provision and tradeoffs/synergies between desired outcomes at detailed resolutions and provides suggestions on where management change could be most efficiently targeted to meet water quality targets while maintaining production. Historically, LUCI has inferred land management from nationally available land cover categorisations, so lacked the capacity to discriminate between differences in more detailed management (tillage information, type of irrigation system, stocking numbers and type, etc). However, recently a collaboration with a farmer cooperative has commenced. LUCI is being further developed to take in a range of more detailed management information, which can be entered directly to LUCI or easily integrated via existing farm management files. Example output using a variety of management scenarios and ongoing "validation" of LUCI's performance at the farm scale will be presented using New Zealand crop, beef and dairy farms as case studies.

Elements of impact assessment: a case study with cyber attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Shanchieh Jay; Holsopple, Jared; Liu, Daniel

2009-05-01

Extensive discussions have taken place in recent year regarding impact assessment - what is it and how can we do it? It is especially intriguing in this modern era where non-traditional warfare has caused either information overload or limited understanding of adversary doctrines. This work provides a methodical discussion of key elements for the broad definition of impact assessment (IA). The discussion will start with a process flow involving components related to IA. Two key functional components, impact estimation and threat projection, are compared and illustrated in detail. These details include a discussion of when to model red and blue knowledge. Algorithmic approaches will be discussed, augmented with lessons learned from our IA development for cyber situation awareness. This paper aims at providing the community with a systematic understanding of IA and its open issues with specific examples.

Angiofibroma of soft tissue: clinicopathologic study of 2 cases of a recently characterized benign soft tissue tumor.

PubMed

Zhao, Ming; Sun, Ke; Li, Changshui; Zheng, Jiangjiang; Yu, Jingjing; Jin, Jie; Xia, Wenping

2013-01-01

Angiofibroma of soft tissue is a very recently characterized, histologically distinctive benign mesenchymal neoplasm of unknown cellular origin composed of 2 principal components, the spindle cell component and very prominent stromal vasculatures. It usually occurs in middle-aged adults, with a female predominance. Herein, we describe the clinical and pathologic details of 2 other examples of this benign tumor. Both patients were middle-aged male and presented with a slow-growing, painless mass located in the deep-seated soft tissue of thigh and left posterior neck region, respectively. Grossly, both tumors were well-demarcated, partial encapsulated of a grayish-white color with firm consistence. Histologically, one case showed morphology otherwise identical to those have been described before, whereas the other case showed in areas being more cellular than most examples of this subtype tumor had, with the lesional cells frequently exhibiting short fascicular, vaguely storiform and occasionally swirling arrangements, which posed a challenging differential diagnosis. Immunostains performed on both tumors did not confirm any specific cell differentiation with lesional cells only reactive for vimentin and focally desmin and negative for all the other markers tested. This report serves to broaden the morphologic spectrum of angiofibroma of soft tumor. Awareness of this tumor is important to prevent misdiagnosis as other more aggressive soft tissue tumor.

High Resolution Melting (HRM) for High-Throughput Genotyping-Limitations and Caveats in Practical Case Studies.

PubMed

Słomka, Marcin; Sobalska-Kwapis, Marta; Wachulec, Monika; Bartosz, Grzegorz; Strapagiel, Dominik

2017-11-03

High resolution melting (HRM) is a convenient method for gene scanning as well as genotyping of individual and multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This rapid, simple, closed-tube, homogenous, and cost-efficient approach has the capacity for high specificity and sensitivity, while allowing easy transition to high-throughput scale. In this paper, we provide examples from our laboratory practice of some problematic issues which can affect the performance and data analysis of HRM results, especially with regard to reference curve-based targeted genotyping. We present those examples in order of the typical experimental workflow, and discuss the crucial significance of the respective experimental errors and limitations for the quality and analysis of results. The experimental details which have a decisive impact on correct execution of a HRM genotyping experiment include type and quality of DNA source material, reproducibility of isolation method and template DNA preparation, primer and amplicon design, automation-derived preparation and pipetting inconsistencies, as well as physical limitations in melting curve distinction for alternative variants and careful selection of samples for validation by sequencing. We provide a case-by-case analysis and discussion of actual problems we encountered and solutions that should be taken into account by researchers newly attempting HRM genotyping, especially in a high-throughput setup.

High Resolution Melting (HRM) for High-Throughput Genotyping—Limitations and Caveats in Practical Case Studies

PubMed Central

Słomka, Marcin; Sobalska-Kwapis, Marta; Wachulec, Monika; Bartosz, Grzegorz

2017-01-01

High resolution melting (HRM) is a convenient method for gene scanning as well as genotyping of individual and multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This rapid, simple, closed-tube, homogenous, and cost-efficient approach has the capacity for high specificity and sensitivity, while allowing easy transition to high-throughput scale. In this paper, we provide examples from our laboratory practice of some problematic issues which can affect the performance and data analysis of HRM results, especially with regard to reference curve-based targeted genotyping. We present those examples in order of the typical experimental workflow, and discuss the crucial significance of the respective experimental errors and limitations for the quality and analysis of results. The experimental details which have a decisive impact on correct execution of a HRM genotyping experiment include type and quality of DNA source material, reproducibility of isolation method and template DNA preparation, primer and amplicon design, automation-derived preparation and pipetting inconsistencies, as well as physical limitations in melting curve distinction for alternative variants and careful selection of samples for validation by sequencing. We provide a case-by-case analysis and discussion of actual problems we encountered and solutions that should be taken into account by researchers newly attempting HRM genotyping, especially in a high-throughput setup. PMID:29099791

a Web-Based Interactive Tool for Multi-Resolution 3d Models of a Maya Archaeological Site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agugiaro, G.; Remondino, F.; Girardi, G.; von Schwerin, J.; Richards-Rissetto, H.; De Amicis, R.

2011-09-01

Continuous technological advances in surveying, computing and digital-content delivery are strongly contributing to a change in the way Cultural Heritage is "perceived": new tools and methodologies for documentation, reconstruction and research are being created to assist not only scholars, but also to reach more potential users (e.g. students and tourists) willing to access more detailed information about art history and archaeology. 3D computer-simulated models, sometimes set in virtual landscapes, offer for example the chance to explore possible hypothetical reconstructions, while on-line GIS resources can help interactive analyses of relationships and change over space and time. While for some research purposes a traditional 2D approach may suffice, this is not the case for more complex analyses concerning spatial and temporal features of architecture, like for example the relationship of architecture and landscape, visibility studies etc. The project aims therefore at creating a tool, called "QueryArch3D" tool, which enables the web-based visualisation and queries of an interactive, multi-resolution 3D model in the framework of Cultural Heritage. More specifically, a complete Maya archaeological site, located in Copan (Honduras), has been chosen as case study to test and demonstrate the platform's capabilities. Much of the site has been surveyed and modelled at different levels of detail (LoD) and the geometric model has been semantically segmented and integrated with attribute data gathered from several external data sources. The paper describes the characteristics of the research work, along with its implementation issues and the initial results of the developed prototype.

Sensitivity of worst-case strom surge considering influence of climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takayabu, Izuru; Hibino, Kenshi; Sasaki, Hidetaka; Shiogama, Hideo; Mori, Nobuhito; Shibutani, Yoko; Takemi, Tetsuya

2016-04-01

There are two standpoints when assessing risk caused by climate change. One is how to prevent disaster. For this purpose, we get probabilistic information of meteorological elements, from enough number of ensemble simulations. Another one is to consider disaster mitigation. For this purpose, we have to use very high resolution sophisticated model to represent a worst case event in detail. If we could use enough computer resources to drive many ensemble runs with very high resolution model, we can handle these all themes in one time. However resources are unfortunately limited in most cases, and we have to select the resolution or the number of simulations if we design the experiment. Applying PGWD (Pseudo Global Warming Downscaling) method is one solution to analyze a worst case event in detail. Here we introduce an example to find climate change influence on the worst case storm-surge, by applying PGWD to a super typhoon Haiyan (Takayabu et al, 2015). 1 km grid WRF model could represent both the intensity and structure of a super typhoon. By adopting PGWD method, we can only estimate the influence of climate change on the development process of the Typhoon. Instead, the changes in genesis could not be estimated. Finally, we drove SU-WAT model (which includes shallow water equation model) to get the signal of storm surge height. The result indicates that the height of the storm surge increased up to 20% owing to these 150 years climate change.

Distorting the Historical Record: One Detailed Example from the Albert Shanker Institute's Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Educator, 2012

2012-01-01

This article presents a detailed example from the Albert Shanker Institute's report that shows the error of U.S. history textbooks and how it is distorting the historical record. One of the most glaring errors in textbooks is the treatment of the role that unions and labor activists played as key participants in the civil rights movement. The…

A family health case study. Stillbirth.

PubMed

Edmands, E M

1982-01-01

This is an example of a case study written to describe the physical and psychological impact of stillbirth on the patient and the family, and how it can be used in the teaching of family health. It is suggested that the teacher prepare the students by reviewing the known causes of stillbirth and the physiology of labor and delivery. The patient, her family, and her community are described in detail. The situation and events are given in the form of a story. After the presentation, questions are put to the students that require their assessment of the requirements of the patient and her family in terms of nursing-midwifery management. A number of follow-ups are suggested for the teacher and students. This material was prepared by INTRAH staff members. Other materials prepared include training exercise in group dynamics, how to use tracing techniques to create visual aids, how to evaluate teaching and how to create a family health case study.

Integrated Safety Risk Reduction Approach to Enhancing Human-Rated Spaceflight Safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikula, J. F. Kip

2005-12-01

This paper explores and defines the current accepted concept and philosophy of safety improvement based on a Reliability enhancement (called here Reliability Enhancement Based Safety Theory [REBST]). In this theory a Reliability calculation is used as a measure of the safety achieved on the program. This calculation may be based on a math model or a Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) of the system, or on an Event Tree Analysis (ETA) of the system's operational mission sequence. In each case, the numbers used in this calculation are hardware failure rates gleaned from past similar programs. As part of this paper, a fictional but representative case study is provided that helps to illustrate the problems and inaccuracies of this approach to safety determination. Then a safety determination and enhancement approach based on hazard, worst case analysis, and safety risk determination (called here Worst Case Based Safety Theory [WCBST]) is included. This approach is defined and detailed using the same example case study as shown in the REBST case study. In the end it is concluded that an approach combining the two theories works best to reduce Safety Risk.

The Single-Case Reporting Guideline In BEhavioural Interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 Statement.

PubMed

Tate, Robyn L; Perdices, Michael; Rosenkoetter, Ulrike; Shadish, William; Vohra, Sunita; Barlow, David H; Horner, Robert; Kazdin, Alan; Kratochwill, Thomas; McDonald, Skye; Sampson, Margaret; Shamseer, Larissa; Togher, Leanne; Albin, Richard; Backman, Catherine; Douglas, Jacinta; Evans, Jonathan J; Gast, David; Manolov, Rumen; Mitchell, Geoffrey; Nickels, Lyndsey; Nikles, Jane; Ownsworth, Tamara; Rose, Miranda; Schmid, Christopher H; Wilson, Barbara

2017-01-01

We developed a reporting guideline to provide authors with guidance about what should be reported when writing a paper for publication in a scientific journal using a particular type of research design: the single-case experimental design. This report describes the methods used to develop the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016. As a result of 2 online surveys and a 2-day meeting of experts, the SCRIBE 2016 checklist was developed, which is a set of 26 items that authors need to address when writing about single-case research. This article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016 ) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated. We recommend that the SCRIBE 2016 is used by authors preparing manuscripts describing single-case research for publication, as well as journal reviewers and editors who are evaluating such manuscripts. SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACT Reporting guidelines, such as the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement, improve the reporting of research in the medical literature (Turner et al., 2012 ). Many such guidelines exist and the CONSORT Extension to Nonpharmacological Trials (Boutron et al., 2008 ) provides suitable guidance for reporting between-groups intervention studies in the behavioural sciences. The CONSORT Extension for N-of-1 Trials (CENT 2015) was developed for multiple crossover trials with single individuals in the medical sciences (Shamseer et al., 2015 ; Vohra et al., 2015 ), but there is no reporting guideline in the CONSORT tradition for single-case research used in the behavioural sciences. We developed the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 to meet this need. This Statement article describes the methodology of the development of the SCRIBE 2016, along with the outcome of 2 Delphi surveys and a consensus meeting of experts. We present the resulting 26-item SCRIBE 2016 checklist. The article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016 ) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated.

The Single-Case Reporting Guideline In BEhavioural Interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 Statement †

PubMed Central

Tate, Robyn L.; Perdices, Michael; Rosenkoetter, Ulrike; Shadish, William; Vohra, Sunita; Barlow, David H.; Horner, Robert; Kazdin, Alan; Kratochwill, Thomas; McDonald, Skye; Sampson, Margaret; Shamseer, Larissa; Togher, Leanne; Albin, Richard; Backman, Catherine; Douglas, Jacinta; Evans, Jonathan J.; Gast, David; Manolov, Rumen; Mitchell, Geoffrey; Nickels, Lyndsey; Nikles, Jane; Ownsworth, Tamara; Rose, Miranda; Schmid, Christopher H.; Wilson, Barbara

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT We developed a reporting guideline to provide authors with guidance about what should be reported when writing a paper for publication in a scientific journal using a particular type of research design: the single-case experimental design. This report describes the methods used to develop the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016. As a result of 2 online surveys and a 2-day meeting of experts, the SCRIBE 2016 checklist was developed, which is a set of 26 items that authors need to address when writing about single-case research. This article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated. We recommend that the SCRIBE 2016 is used by authors preparing manuscripts describing single-case research for publication, as well as journal reviewers and editors who are evaluating such manuscripts. SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACT Reporting guidelines, such as the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement, improve the reporting of research in the medical literature (Turner et al., 2012). Many such guidelines exist and the CONSORT Extension to Nonpharmacological Trials (Boutron et al., 2008) provides suitable guidance for reporting between-groups intervention studies in the behavioural sciences. The CONSORT Extension for N-of-1 Trials (CENT 2015) was developed for multiple crossover trials with single individuals in the medical sciences (Shamseer et al., 2015; Vohra et al., 2015), but there is no reporting guideline in the CONSORT tradition for single-case research used in the behavioural sciences. We developed the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 to meet this need. This Statement article describes the methodology of the development of the SCRIBE 2016, along with the outcome of 2 Delphi surveys and a consensus meeting of experts. We present the resulting 26-item SCRIBE 2016 checklist. The article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated. PMID:27499422

How to Teach Yourself Physical Skills: An Audio Tape for College Students with Some Introductory Comments and a Detailed Outline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodges, Daniel L.

This guide provides a detailed summary of the information, techniques, and examples offered in an audiotape developed to help students teach themselves physical skills. After section I introduces the topic and the objectives of the tape, section II provides concrete examples of adults learning motor skills. Section III presents and discusses nine…

Analytic methods for design of wave cycles for wave rotor core engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Resler, Edwin L., Jr.; Mocsari, Jeffrey C.; Nalim, M. R.

1993-01-01

A procedure to design a preliminary wave rotor cycle for any application is presented. To complete a cycle with heat addition there are two separate but related design steps that must be followed. The 'wave' boundary conditions determine the allowable amount of heat added in any case and the ensuing wave pattern requires certain pressure discharge conditions to allow the process to be made cyclic. This procedure, when applied, gives a first estimate of the cycle performance and the necessary information for the next step in the design process, namely the application of a characteristic based or other appropriate detailed one dimensional wave calculation that locates the proper porting around the periphery of the wave rotor. Four examples of the design procedure are given to demonstrate its utility and generality. These examples also illustrate the large gains in performance that could be realized with the use of wave rotor enhanced propulsion cycles.

Regression away from the mean: Theory and examples.

PubMed

Schwarz, Wolf; Reike, Dennis

2018-02-01

Using a standard repeated measures model with arbitrary true score distribution and normal error variables, we present some fundamental closed-form results which explicitly indicate the conditions under which regression effects towards (RTM) and away from the mean are expected. Specifically, we show that for skewed and bimodal distributions many or even most cases will show a regression effect that is in expectation away from the mean, or that is not just towards but actually beyond the mean. We illustrate our results in quantitative detail with typical examples from experimental and biometric applications, which exhibit a clear regression away from the mean ('egression from the mean') signature. We aim not to repeal cautionary advice against potential RTM effects, but to present a balanced view of regression effects, based on a clear identification of the conditions governing the form that regression effects take in repeated measures designs. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

A narrative analysis of spiritual distress in geriatric physical rehabilitation.

PubMed

Mundle, Robert

2015-03-01

Drawing upon narrative data generated in a semi-structured interview with an 82-year-old female patient in geriatric physical rehabilitation, this clinical case study provides a detailed example of recognizing, assessing, and addressing spiritual distress as a symptom of physical pain. Data analysis focused on narrative content as well as on the interactive and performative aspects of narrating spiritual health issues in a close reading of two "attachment narratives." Results support the "narrative turn" in healthcare, including the therapeutic benefits of empathic listening as "narrative care" in geriatric rehabilitation and in healthcare in general. © The Author(s) 2015.

CNES reliability approach for the qualification of MEMS for space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pressecq, Francis; Lafontan, Xavier; Perez, Guy; Fortea, Jean-Pierre

2001-10-01

This paper describes the reliability approach performs at CNES to evaluate MEMS for space application. After an introduction and a detailed state of the art on the space requirements and on the use of MEMS for space, different approaches for taking into account MEMS in the qualification phases are presented. CNES proposes improvement to theses approaches in term of failure mechanisms identification. Our approach is based on a design and test phase deeply linked with a technology study. This workflow is illustrated with an example: the case of a variable capacitance processed with MUMPS process is presented.

The genomic landscape of pediatric and young adult T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia | Office of Cancer Genomics

Cancer.gov

Genetic alterations that activate NOTCH1 signaling and T cell transcription factors, coupled with inactivation of the INK4/ARF tumor suppressors, are hallmarks of T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), but detailed genome-wide sequencing of large T-ALL cohorts has not been carried out. Using integrated genomic analysis of 264 T-ALL cases, we identified 106 putative driver genes, half of which had not previously been described in childhood T-ALL (for example, CCND3, CTCF, MYB, SMARCA4, ZFP36L2 and MYCN).

Assurance Arguments for the Non-Graphically-Inclined: Two Approaches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heavner, Emily; Holloway, C. Michael

2017-01-01

We introduce and discuss two approaches to presenting assurance arguments. One approach is based on a monograph structure, while the other is based on a tabular structure. In today's research and academic setting, assurance cases often use a graphical notation; however for people who are not graphically inclined, these notations can be difficult to read. This document proposes, outlines, explains, and presents examples of two non-graphical assurance argument notations that may be appropriate for non-graphically-inclined readers and also provide argument writers with freedom to add details and manipulate an argument in multiple ways.

Coupled optics reconstruction from TBT data using MAD-X

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

Alexahin, Y.; Gianfelice-Wendt, E.; /Fermilab

2007-06-01

Turn-by-turn BPM data provide immediate information on the coupled optics functions at BPM locations. In the case of small deviations from the known (design) uncoupled optics some cognizance of the sources of perturbation, BPM calibration errors and tilts can also be inferred without detailed lattice modeling. In practical situations, however, fitting the lattice model with the help of some optics code would lead to more reliable results. We present an algorithm for coupled optics reconstruction from TBT data on the basis of MAD-X and give examples of its application for the Fermilab Tevatron accelerator.

An economic model for passive solar designs in commercial environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, J. W.

1980-06-01

The model incorporates a life cycle costing approach that focuses on the costs of purchase, installation, maintenance, repairs, replacement, and energy. It includes a detailed analysis of tax laws affecting the use of solar energy in commercial buildings. Possible methods of treating difficult to measure benefits and costs, such as effects of the passive solar design on resale value of the building and on lighting costs, rental income from the building, and the use of commercial space, are presented. The model is illustrated in two case examples of prototypical solar design for low rise commercial buildings in an urban setting.

RS CVn stars - Chromospheric phenomena

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bopp, B. W.

1983-01-01

The observational information regarding chromospheric emission features in surface-active RS CVn stars is reviewed. Three optical features are considered in detail: Ca II H and K, Balmer H-alpha and He I 10830 A. While the qualitative behavior of these lines is in accord with solar-analogy/rotation-activity ideas, the quantitative variation and scaling are very poorly understood. In many cases, the spectroscopic observations with sufficient SNR and resolution to decide these questions have simply not yet been made. The FK Com stars, in particular, present extreme examples of rotation that may well tax present understanding of surface activity to its limits.

Optical polarization: plenty of room for surprise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chenault, David

2012-10-01

Solutions to difficult problems in complex environments frequently require methodical approaches and detailed research plans. Fortunately, there is still room for serendipity in disciplines that are relatively mature and well understood. As a case in point, optical sensors that exploit polarized light have matured greatly and the discipline of optical polarization has grown substantially in scope and applications over the last ten years. In spite of this increased understanding, polarization signatures are frequently not well understood. A good example is polarization in the animal kingdom. The potential for polarimetric monitoring of moose populations, and other applications, will be discussed.

A Closer Look at Data Independence: Comment on “Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics (in Geology)”

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kravtsov, Sergey; Saunders, Rolando Olivas

2011-02-01

In his Forum (Eos, 90(47), 443, doi:10.1029/2009EO470004, 2009), P. Vermeesch suggests that statistical tests are not fit to interpret long data records. He asserts that for large enough data sets any true null hypothesis will always be rejected. This is certainly not the case! Here we revisit this author's example of weekly distribution of earthquakes and show that statistical results support the commonsense expectation that seismic activity does not depend on weekday (see the online supplement to this Eos issue for details (http://www.agu.org/eos_elec/)).

[Resolution of chiral molecules of pharmaceutical interest by means of preferential crystallization].

PubMed

Coquerel, G

2009-07-01

Various aspects of the chiral discrimination in the solid state are examined. The interests of the conglomerate are illustrated by two applications: the preparative enantiomeric purification and the preferential crystallization. The latter process is described by a careful examination of the heterogeneous equilibria that govern the crystallization and its selectivity. Two variants of the preferential crystallization are detailed. A "good" example illustrates the productivity at the laboratory scale. The ratio between homochiral interaction energies and heterochiral interaction energies at different (hkl) interfaces are involved in the "difficult" cases where the entrainment effect is limited.

On the functional optimization of a certain class of nonstationary spatial functions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Christakos, G.; Paraskevopoulos, P.N.

1987-01-01

Procedures are developed in order to obtain optimal estimates of linear functionals for a wide class of nonstationary spatial functions. These procedures rely on well-established constrained minimum-norm criteria, and are applicable to multidimensional phenomena which are characterized by the so-called hypothesis of inherentity. The latter requires elimination of the polynomial, trend-related components of the spatial function leading to stationary quantities, and also it generates some interesting mathematics within the context of modelling and optimization in several dimensions. The arguments are illustrated using various examples, and a case study computed in detail. ?? 1987 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Manipulating measurement scales in medical statistical analysis and data mining: A review of methodologies

PubMed Central

Marateb, Hamid Reza; Mansourian, Marjan; Adibi, Peyman; Farina, Dario

2014-01-01

Background: selecting the correct statistical test and data mining method depends highly on the measurement scale of data, type of variables, and purpose of the analysis. Different measurement scales are studied in details and statistical comparison, modeling, and data mining methods are studied based upon using several medical examples. We have presented two ordinal–variables clustering examples, as more challenging variable in analysis, using Wisconsin Breast Cancer Data (WBCD). Ordinal-to-Interval scale conversion example: a breast cancer database of nine 10-level ordinal variables for 683 patients was analyzed by two ordinal-scale clustering methods. The performance of the clustering methods was assessed by comparison with the gold standard groups of malignant and benign cases that had been identified by clinical tests. Results: the sensitivity and accuracy of the two clustering methods were 98% and 96%, respectively. Their specificity was comparable. Conclusion: by using appropriate clustering algorithm based on the measurement scale of the variables in the study, high performance is granted. Moreover, descriptive and inferential statistics in addition to modeling approach must be selected based on the scale of the variables. PMID:24672565

A history of nursing: a history of caring?

PubMed

Maggs, C

1996-03-01

The history of nursing is, itself, a fit subject for research. It is unclear what would constitute history in this case, its time frame or its methodology. It is also the case that the purpose of history needs exploration, since it can meet many goals, including the goal of professionalization. This paper explores these issues in some detail, using examples from the literature in the history of nursing. It explores historical inquiry and purpose and the problems of sources. The paper also addresses the relationship between the history of nursing and nursing theory and questions whether existing historical scholarship is integrated with or is outwith mainstream nursing theory. The paper questions the relevance of the history of nursing and suggests that the history of caring may offer one way through history to nursing theory.

Statistical physics of hard combinatorial optimization: Vertex cover problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jin-Hua; Zhou, Hai-Jun

2014-07-01

Typical-case computation complexity is a research topic at the boundary of computer science, applied mathematics, and statistical physics. In the last twenty years, the replica-symmetry-breaking mean field theory of spin glasses and the associated message-passing algorithms have greatly deepened our understanding of typical-case computation complexity. In this paper, we use the vertex cover problem, a basic nondeterministic-polynomial (NP)-complete combinatorial optimization problem of wide application, as an example to introduce the statistical physical methods and algorithms. We do not go into the technical details but emphasize mainly the intuitive physical meanings of the message-passing equations. A nonfamiliar reader shall be able to understand to a large extent the physics behind the mean field approaches and to adjust the mean field methods in solving other optimization problems.

Bonded orthotropic strips with cracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delale, F.; Erdogan, F.

1978-01-01

The elastostatic problem for a nonhomogeneous plane which consists of two sets of periodically arranged dissimilar orthotropic strips is considered. First, the problem of cracks fully imbedded into the homogeneous strips is considered. Then, the singular behavior of the stresses for two special crack geometries is studied in some detail. The first is the case of a broken laminate in which the crack tips touch the interfaces. The second is the case of cracks crossing the interfaces. A number of numerical examples are worked out in order to separate the primary material parameters influencing the stress intensity factors and the powers of stress singularity, and to determine the trends regarding the influence of the secondary parameters. Finally, some numerical results are given for the stress intensity factors in certain basic crack geometries and for typical material combinations.

Propagation and radiation of sound from flanged circular ducts with circumferentially varying wall admittances. I Semi-infinite ducts. II - Finite ducts with sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuller, C. R.

1984-01-01

Sound propagation in infinite, semiinfinite, and finite circular ducts with circumferentially varying wall admittances is investigated analytically. The infinite case is considered, and an example demonstrates the effects of wall-admittance distribution on dispersion characteristics and mode shapes. An exact solution is obtained for the semiinfinite case, a circular duct with a flanged opening: sidelobe suppression and circumferential-mode energy scattering leading to radiated-field asymmetry are found. A finite duct system with specified hard-walled pressure sources is examined in detail, evaluating reflection coefficients, transmission losses, and radiated-field directivity. Graphs and diagrams are provided, and the implications of the results obtained for the design of aircraft-turbofan inlet liners are discussed.

Towards the Engineering of Dependable P2P-Based Network Control — The Case of Timely Routing Control Messages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tutschku, Kurt; Nakao, Akihiro

This paper introduces a methodology for engineering best-effort P2P algorithms into dependable P2P-based network control mechanism. The proposed method is built upon an iterative approach consisting of improving the original P2P algorithm by appropriate mechanisms and of thorough performance assessment with respect to dependability measures. The potential of the methodology is outlined by the example of timely routing control for vertical handover in B3G wireless networks. In detail, the well-known Pastry and CAN algorithms are enhanced to include locality. By showing how to combine algorithmic enhancements with performance indicators, this case study paves the way for future engineering of dependable network control mechanisms through P2P algorithms.

Vector Addition and the Speeding Ticket.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Nathan

1993-01-01

Discusses the teaching of vectors and the inadequate and inappropriate examples given in many textbooks. Suggests using the motion of a sailboat or the motion of a car moving on the Earth's surface as possible examples. Details a proper vector teaching example. (MVL)

High temperature antigen retrieval and loss of nuclear morphology: a comparison of microwave and autoclave techniques.

PubMed Central

Hunt, N C; Attanoos, R; Jasani, B

1996-01-01

The use of high temperature antigen retrieval methods has been of major importance in increasing the diagnostic utility of immunocytochemistry. However, these techniques are not without their problems and in this report attention is drawn to a loss of nuclear morphological detail, including mitotic figures, following microwave antigen retrieval. This was not seen with an equivalent autoclave technique. This phenomenon was quantified using image analysis in a group of B cell lymphomas stained with the antibody L26. Loss of nuclear morphological detail may lead to difficulty in identifying cells accurately, which is important in the diagnostic setting-for example, when trying to distinguish a malignant lymphoid infiltrate within a mixed cell population. In such cases it would clearly be wise to consider the use of alternative high temperature retrieval methods and accept their slightly lower staining enhancement capability compared with the microwave technique. Images PMID:9038766

Biomedical cloud computing with Amazon Web Services.

PubMed

Fusaro, Vincent A; Patil, Prasad; Gafni, Erik; Wall, Dennis P; Tonellato, Peter J

2011-08-01

In this overview to biomedical computing in the cloud, we discussed two primary ways to use the cloud (a single instance or cluster), provided a detailed example using NGS mapping, and highlighted the associated costs. While many users new to the cloud may assume that entry is as straightforward as uploading an application and selecting an instance type and storage options, we illustrated that there is substantial up-front effort required before an application can make full use of the cloud's vast resources. Our intention was to provide a set of best practices and to illustrate how those apply to a typical application pipeline for biomedical informatics, but also general enough for extrapolation to other types of computational problems. Our mapping example was intended to illustrate how to develop a scalable project and not to compare and contrast alignment algorithms for read mapping and genome assembly. Indeed, with a newer aligner such as Bowtie, it is possible to map the entire African genome using one m2.2xlarge instance in 48 hours for a total cost of approximately $48 in computation time. In our example, we were not concerned with data transfer rates, which are heavily influenced by the amount of available bandwidth, connection latency, and network availability. When transferring large amounts of data to the cloud, bandwidth limitations can be a major bottleneck, and in some cases it is more efficient to simply mail a storage device containing the data to AWS (http://aws.amazon.com/importexport/). More information about cloud computing, detailed cost analysis, and security can be found in references.

On the renormalization group perspective of α-attractors

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

Narain, Gaurav, E-mail: gaunarain@itp.ac.cn

In this short paper we outline a recipe for the reconstruction of F ( R ) gravity starting from single field inflationary potentials in the Einstein frame. For simple potentials one can compute the explicit form of F ( R ), whilst for more involved examples one gets a parametric form of F ( R ). The F ( R ) reconstruction algorithm is used to study various examples: power-law φ {sup n} , exponential and α -attractors. In each case it is seen that for large R (corresponding to large value of inflaton field), F ( R ) ∼more » R {sup 2}. For the case of α -attractors F ( R ) ∼ R {sup 2} for all values of inflaton field (for all values of R ) as α → 0. For generic inflaton potential V (φ), it is seen that if V {sup '}/ V →0 (for some φ) then the corresponding F ( R ) ∼ R {sup 2}. We then study α-attractors in more detail using non-perturbative renormalisation group methods to analyse the reconstructed F ( R ). It is seen that α →0 is an ultraviolet stable fixed point of the renormalisation group trajectories.« less

Posttraumatic stress disorder in tort actions: forensic minefield.

PubMed

Sparr, L F; Boehnlein, J K

1990-01-01

The authors discuss posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a basis for personal injury litigation. Three case examples raise issues related to: (1) the controversy surrounding expansion of tort liability, (2) the courtroom use of psychiatric nomenclature as represented in the DSM (e.g., PTSD), and (3) ethical concerns regarding psychiatric expert witnesses. Psychiatrists became easy targets when problems related to personal injury "stress" cases developed. A careful analysis, however, demonstrates that the issues are complex and multifaceted. For example, tort liability expansion was primarily instituted to compel a greater provision of liability insurance, not to reward stress claims. The increasing use of psychiatry's DSM in the courtroom has occurred despite explicit precautions against forensic application. Finally, the need for psychiatric expert witnesses has increased because courts have gradually usurped some psychiatric clinical prerogatives and because there has been a trend toward greater consideration of emotional pain and suffering. Although psychiatric expert witnesses have not been beyond reproach, critics have attempted to impeach the entire psychiatric profession for the questionable actions of the minority. The authors provide a detailed analysis of current problems, offer suggestions for improvement, and provide an educational counterpoint to the "hysterical invective" that often greets psychiatric testimony.

UAV and SfM in Detailed Geomorphological Mapping of Granite Tors: An Example of Starościńskie Skały (Sudetes, SW Poland)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasprzak, Marek; Jancewicz, Kacper; Michniewicz, Aleksandra

2017-11-01

The paper presents an example of using photographs taken by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and processed using the structure from motion (SfM) procedure in a geomorphological study of rock relief. Subject to analysis is a small rock city in the West Sudetes (SW Poland), known as Starościńskie Skały and developed in coarse granite bedrock. The aims of this paper were, first, to compare UAV/SfM-derived data with the cartographical image based on the traditional geomorphological field-mapping methods and the digital elevation model derived from airborne laser scanning (ALS). Second, to test if the proposed combination of UAV and SfM methods may be helpful in recognizing the detailed structure of granite tors. As a result of conducted UAV flights and digital image post-processing in AgiSoft software, it was possible to obtain datasets (dense point cloud, texture model, orthophotomap, bare-ground-type digital terrain model—DTM) which allowed to visualize in detail the surface of the study area. In consequence, it was possible to distinguish even the very small forms of rock surface microrelief: joints, aplite veins, rills and karren, weathering pits, etc., otherwise difficult to map and measure. The study includes also valorization of particular datasets concerning microtopography and allows to discuss indisputable advantages of using the UAV/SfM-based DTM in geomorphic studies of tors and rock cities, even those located within forest as in the presented case study.

Sensitivity of the WRF model to the lower boundary in an extreme precipitation event - Madeira island case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teixeira, J. C.; Carvalho, A. C.; Carvalho, M. J.; Luna, T.; Rocha, A.

2014-08-01

The advances in satellite technology in recent years have made feasible the acquisition of high-resolution information on the Earth's surface. Examples of such information include elevation and land use, which have become more detailed. Including this information in numerical atmospheric models can improve their results in simulating lower boundary forced events, by providing detailed information on their characteristics. Consequently, this work aims to study the sensitivity of the weather research and forecast (WRF) model to different topography as well as land-use simulations in an extreme precipitation event. The test case focused on a topographically driven precipitation event over the island of Madeira, which triggered flash floods and mudslides in the southern parts of the island. Difference fields between simulations were computed, showing that the change in the data sets produced statistically significant changes to the flow, the planetary boundary layer structure and precipitation patterns. Moreover, model results show an improvement in model skill in the windward region for precipitation and in the leeward region for wind, in spite of the non-significant enhancement in the overall results with higher-resolution data sets of topography and land use.

Diagnosis of condensation-induced waterhammer: Methods and background

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

Izenson, M.G.; Rothe, P.H.; Wallis, G.B.

This guidebook provides reference material and diagnostic procedures concerning condensation-induced waterhammer in nuclear power plants. Condensation-induced waterhammer is the most damaging form of waterhammer and its diagnosis is complicated by the complex nature of the underlying phenomena. In Volume 1, the guidebook groups condensation-induced waterhammers into five event classes which have similar phenomena and levels of damage. Diagnostic guidelines focus on locating the event center where condensation and slug acceleration take place. Diagnosis is described in three stages: an initial assessment, detailed evaluation and final confirmation. Graphical scoping analyses are provided to evaluate whether an event from one of themore » event classes could have occurred at the event center. Examples are provided for each type of waterhammer. Special instructions are provided for walking down damaged piping and evaluating damage due to waterhammer. To illustrate the diagnostic methods and document past experience, six case studies have been compiled in Volume 2. These case studies, based on actual condensation-induced waterhammer events at nuclear plants, present detailed data and work through the event diagnosis using the tools introduced in the first volume. 65 figs., 8 tabs.« less

Role of prospective registries in defining the value and effectiveness of spine care.

PubMed

McGirt, Matthew J; Parker, Scott L; Asher, Anthony L; Norvell, Dan; Sherry, Ned; Devin, Clinton J

2014-10-15

Literature review and case example. Describe methodological considerations of spine surgery registries. Review existing spine surgery registries. Describe the Vanderbilt Prospective Spine Registry (VPSR) as a case example and demonstrate its impact on comparative effectiveness research, value analysis, quality improvement, and practice-based learning. To bend the cost curve and ultimately achieve sustainability in health care, medical providers and surgical treatments of the highest quality and effectiveness must be preferentially used and purchased. As the current US health care environment continues to evolve, it will be essential for all spine clinicians to understand and be facile with the principles of evidence-based health care reform. We describe the methodological considerations of spine surgery registries, review the literature to describe existing spine surgery registries, and discuss the VPSR as a case example. We were able to obtain detailed information on 13 existing spine surgery registries through various internet-based resources. Of the 13, 2 registries had start dates before 2000, 3 between 2001 and 2005, 5 starting in 2006, and 3 were indeterminate. Follow-up rates were in the range from 22% to 79%, with longer follow-up times consistently producing lower follow-up rates. Prospective, longitudinal, patient-reported outcomes registries are powerful tools that allow measurement of cost, safety, effectiveness, and health care value across clinically meaningful episodes of care. Registries entirely based on claims or billing data, safety measures alone, process measures, or other proxies of outcome offer valuable insights, but do not provide comprehensive data to drive patient-centered value-based reform. As more spine-focused registries emerge and their integration into the US health care delivery evolve, the evidence to power value-based reform will be enabled.

Distributed Evaluation of Local Sensitivity Analysis (DELSA), with application to hydrologic models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rakovec, O.; Hill, Mary C.; Clark, M.P.; Weerts, A. H.; Teuling, A. J.; Uijlenhoet, R.

2014-01-01

This paper presents a hybrid local-global sensitivity analysis method termed the Distributed Evaluation of Local Sensitivity Analysis (DELSA), which is used here to identify important and unimportant parameters and evaluate how model parameter importance changes as parameter values change. DELSA uses derivative-based “local” methods to obtain the distribution of parameter sensitivity across the parameter space, which promotes consideration of sensitivity analysis results in the context of simulated dynamics. This work presents DELSA, discusses how it relates to existing methods, and uses two hydrologic test cases to compare its performance with the popular global, variance-based Sobol' method. The first test case is a simple nonlinear reservoir model with two parameters. The second test case involves five alternative “bucket-style” hydrologic models with up to 14 parameters applied to a medium-sized catchment (200 km2) in the Belgian Ardennes. Results show that in both examples, Sobol' and DELSA identify similar important and unimportant parameters, with DELSA enabling more detailed insight at much lower computational cost. For example, in the real-world problem the time delay in runoff is the most important parameter in all models, but DELSA shows that for about 20% of parameter sets it is not important at all and alternative mechanisms and parameters dominate. Moreover, the time delay was identified as important in regions producing poor model fits, whereas other parameters were identified as more important in regions of the parameter space producing better model fits. The ability to understand how parameter importance varies through parameter space is critical to inform decisions about, for example, additional data collection and model development. The ability to perform such analyses with modest computational requirements provides exciting opportunities to evaluate complicated models as well as many alternative models.

Angiofibroma of soft tissue: clinicopathologic study of 2 cases of a recently characterized benign soft tissue tumor

PubMed Central

Zhao, Ming; Sun, Ke; Li, Changshui; Zheng, Jiangjiang; Yu, Jingjing; Jin, Jie; Xia, Wenping

2013-01-01

Angiofibroma of soft tissue is a very recently characterized, histologically distinctive benign mesenchymal neoplasm of unknown cellular origin composed of 2 principal components, the spindle cell component and very prominent stromal vasculatures. It usually occurs in middle-aged adults, with a female predominance. Herein, we describe the clinical and pathologic details of 2 other examples of this benign tumor. Both patients were middle-aged male and presented with a slow-growing, painless mass located in the deep-seated soft tissue of thigh and left posterior neck region, respectively. Grossly, both tumors were well-demarcated, partial encapsulated of a grayish-white color with firm consistence. Histologically, one case showed morphology otherwise identical to those have been described before, whereas the other case showed in areas being more cellular than most examples of this subtype tumor had, with the lesional cells frequently exhibiting short fascicular, vaguely storiform and occasionally swirling arrangements, which posed a challenging differential diagnosis. Immunostains performed on both tumors did not confirm any specific cell differentiation with lesional cells only reactive for vimentin and focally desmin and negative for all the other markers tested. This report serves to broaden the morphologic spectrum of angiofibroma of soft tumor. Awareness of this tumor is important to prevent misdiagnosis as other more aggressive soft tissue tumor. PMID:24133600

Do Focused Self-Explanation Prompts Overcome Seductive Details? A Multimedia Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Zhe; Adesope, Olusola

2017-01-01

Research on the seductive details effect on reading expository texts in multimedia learning environments has grown over the past few decades. However, less is known when seductive details are encountered in learning through worked-examples to solve problems. Thus, it is necessary to examine the seductive details effect when solving problems in a…

The Single-Case Reporting Guideline In BEhavioural Interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 Statement.

PubMed

Tate, Robyn L; Perdices, Michael; Rosenkoetter, Ulrike; Shadish, William; Vohra, Sunita; Barlow, David H; Horner, Robert; Kazdin, Alan; Kratochwill, Thomas; McDonald, Skye; Sampson, Margaret; Shamseer, Larissa; Togher, Leanne; Albin, Richard; Backman, Catherine; Douglas, Jacinta; Evans, Jonathan J; Gast, David; Manolov, Rumen; Mitchell, Geoffrey; Nickels, Lyndsey; Nikles, Jane; Ownsworth, Tamara; Rose, Miranda; Schmid, Christopher H; Wilson, Barbara

2016-07-01

We developed a reporting guideline to provide authors with guidance about what should be reported when writing a paper for publication in a scientific journal using a particular type of research design: the single-case experimental design. This report describes the methods used to develop the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016. As a result of 2 online surveys and a 2-day meeting of experts, the SCRIBE 2016 checklist was developed, which is a set of 26 items that authors need to address when writing about single-case research. This article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated. We recommend that the SCRIBE 2016 is used by authors preparing manuscripts describing single-case research for publication, as well as journal reviewers and editors who are evaluating such manuscripts. Reporting guidelines, such as the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement, improve the reporting of research in the medical literature (Turner et al., 2012). Many such guidelines exist and the CONSORT Extension to Nonpharmacological Trials (Boutron et al., 2008) provides suitable guidance for reporting between-groups intervention studies in the behavioral sciences. The CONSORT Extension for N-of-1 Trials (CENT 2015) was developed for multiple crossover trials with single individuals in the medical sciences (Shamseer et al., 2015; Vohra et al., 2015), but there is no reporting guideline in the CONSORT tradition for single-case research used in the behavioral sciences. We developed the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 to meet this need. This Statement article describes the methodology of the development of the SCRIBE 2016, along with the outcome of 2 Delphi surveys and a consensus meeting of experts. We present the resulting 26-item SCRIBE 2016 checklist. The article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated. © 2016 The Author(s). Reprinted from: Tate RL, Perdices M, Rosenkoetter U, et al. The Single-Case Reporting Guideline In BEhavioural Interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 Statement. Arch Sci Psychol. 2016;4:1–9.

Cellular Electron Cryotomography: Toward Structural Biology In Situ.

PubMed

Oikonomou, Catherine M; Jensen, Grant J

2017-06-20

Electron cryotomography (ECT) provides three-dimensional views of macromolecular complexes inside cells in a native frozen-hydrated state. Over the last two decades, ECT has revealed the ultrastructure of cells in unprecedented detail. It has also allowed us to visualize the structures of macromolecular machines in their native context inside intact cells. In many cases, such machines cannot be purified intact for in vitro study. In other cases, the function of a structure is lost outside the cell, so that the mechanism can be understood only by observation in situ. In this review, we describe the technique and its history and provide examples of its power when applied to cell biology. We also discuss the integration of ECT with other techniques, including lower-resolution fluorescence imaging and higher-resolution atomic structure determination, to cover the full scale of cellular processes.

Biomedical studies by PIXE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afarideh, H.; Amirabadi, A.; Hadji-Saeid, S. M.; Mansourian, N.; Kaviani, K.; Zibafar, E.

1996-04-01

In the present biomedical research, PIXE a powerful technique for elemental analysis was employed to illustrate the importance of multi-elemental determination of serum trace elements in two cases of great medical interest. Those are evaluation of the desferroxamine drug (DPO), a widely used therapy for patient with β-thalassemia-Major (β-thal-M), and investigation of elemental variations in blood-serum in hyperbilirubinamia new-borns before and after blood transfusion (BT). The purpose of the work is to demonstrate the various aspects of PIXE analysis by some practical examples as well as to draw some general conclusions regarding the cure of those patients with the above mentioned disorders or diseases. To present in details each case, we divide the paper in two parts: part 1 and part 2 to consider the experimental procedure as well as the results individually.

Theory-based and evidence-based design of audit and feedback programmes: examples from two clinical intervention studies.

PubMed

Hysong, Sylvia J; Kell, Harrison J; Petersen, Laura A; Campbell, Bryan A; Trautner, Barbara W

2017-04-01

Audit and feedback (A&F) is a common intervention used to change healthcare provider behaviour and, thus, improve healthcare quality. Although A&F can be effective its effectiveness varies, often due to the details of how A&F interventions are implemented. Some have suggested that a suitable conceptual framework is needed to organise the elements of A&F and also explain any observed differences in effectiveness. Through two examples from applied research studies, this article demonstrates how a suitable explanatory theory (in this case Kluger & DeNisi's Feedback Intervention Theory (FIT)) can be systematically applied to design better feedback interventions in healthcare settings. Case 1: this study's objective was to reduce inappropriate diagnosis of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in inpatient wards. Learning to identify the correct clinical course of action from the case details was central to this study; consequently, the feedback intervention featured feedback elements that FIT predicts would best activate learning processes (framing feedback in terms of group performance and providing of correct solution information). We designed a highly personalised, interactive, one-on-one intervention with healthcare providers to improve their capacity to distinguish between CAUTI and asymptomatic bacteruria (ASB) and treat ASB appropriately. Case 2: Simplicity and scalability drove this study's intervention design, employing elements that FIT predicted positively impacted effectiveness yet still facilitated deployment and scalability (eg, delivered via computer, delivered in writing). We designed a web-based, report-style feedback intervention to help primary care physicians improve their care of patients with hypertension. Both studies exhibited significant improvements in their desired outcome and in both cases interventions were received positively by feedback recipients. A&F has been a popular, yet inconsistently implemented and variably effective tool for changing healthcare provider behaviour and, improving healthcare quality. Through the systematic use of theory such as FIT, robust feedback interventions can be designed that yield greater effectiveness. Future work should look to comparative effectiveness of specific design elements and contextual factors that identify A&F as the optimal intervention to effectuate healthcare provider behaviour change. NCT01052545, NCT00302718; post-results. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Architecture, Tutorial Part 2 - Detailed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Handler, Louis

2014-01-01

The STRS architecture detail presentation presents each requirement in the STRS Architecture Standard with some examples and supporting information. The purpose is to give a platform provider, application provider, or application integrator a better, more detailed understanding of the STRS Architecture Standard and its use.

Examples of Complete Solvability of 2D Classical Superintegrable Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yuxuan; Kalnins, Ernie G.; Li, Qiushi; Miller, Willard, Jr.

2015-11-01

Classical (maximal) superintegrable systems in n dimensions are Hamiltonian systems with 2n-1 independent constants of the motion, globally defined, the maximum number possible. They are very special because they can be solved algebraically. In this paper we show explicitly, mostly through examples of 2nd order superintegrable systems in 2 dimensions, how the trajectories can be determined in detail using rather elementary algebraic, geometric and analytic methods applied to the closed quadratic algebra of symmetries of the system, without resorting to separation of variables techniques or trying to integrate Hamilton's equations. We treat a family of 2nd order degenerate systems: oscillator analogies on Darboux, nonzero constant curvature, and flat spaces, related to one another via contractions, and obeying Kepler's laws. Then we treat two 2nd order nondegenerate systems, an analogy of a caged Coulomb problem on the 2-sphere and its contraction to a Euclidean space caged Coulomb problem. In all cases the symmetry algebra structure provides detailed information about the trajectories, some of which are rather complicated. An interesting example is the occurrence of ''metronome orbits'', trajectories confined to an arc rather than a loop, which are indicated clearly from the structure equations but might be overlooked using more traditional methods. We also treat the Post-Winternitz system, an example of a classical 4th order superintegrable system that cannot be solved using separation of variables. Finally we treat a superintegrable system, related to the addition theorem for elliptic functions, whose constants of the motion are only rational in the momenta. It is a system of special interest because its constants of the motion generate a closed polynomial algebra. This paper contains many new results but we have tried to present most of the materials in a fashion that is easily accessible to nonexperts, in order to provide entrée to superintegrablity theory.

An Improved Radiative Transfer Model for Climate Calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergstrom, Robert W.; Mlawer, Eli J.; Sokolik, Irina N.; Clough, Shepard A.; Toon, Owen B.

1998-01-01

This paper presents a radiative transfer model that has been developed to accurately predict the atmospheric radiant flux in both the infrared and the solar spectrum with a minimum of computational effort. The model is designed to be included in numerical climate models To assess the accuracy of the model, the results are compared to other more detailed models for several standard cases in the solar and thermal spectrum. As the thermal spectrum has been treated in other publications, we focus here on the solar part of the spectrum. We perform several example calculations focussing on the question of absorption of solar radiation by gases and aerosols.

Determination of piezo-optic coefficients of crystals by means of four-point bending.

PubMed

Krupych, Oleg; Savaryn, Viktoriya; Krupych, Andriy; Klymiv, Ivan; Vlokh, Rostyslav

2013-06-10

A technique developed recently for determining piezo-optic coefficients (POCs) of isotropic optical media, which represents a combination of digital imaging laser interferometry and a classical four-point bending method, is generalized and applied to a single-crystalline anisotropic material. The peculiarities of measuring procedures and data processing for the case of optically uniaxial crystals are described in detail. The capabilities of the technique are tested on the example of canonical nonlinear optical crystal LiNbO3. The high precision achieved in determination of the POCs for isotropic and anisotropic materials testifies that the technique should be both versatile and reliable.

Resting-state blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging for presurgical planning.

PubMed

Kamran, Mudassar; Hacker, Carl D; Allen, Monica G; Mitchell, Timothy J; Leuthardt, Eric C; Snyder, Abraham Z; Shimony, Joshua S

2014-11-01

Resting-state functional MR imaging (rsfMR imaging) measures spontaneous fluctuations in the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal and can be used to elucidate the brain's functional organization. It is used to simultaneously assess multiple distributed resting-state networks. Unlike task-based functional MR imaging, rsfMR imaging does not require task performance. This article presents a brief introduction of rsfMR imaging processing methods followed by a detailed discussion on the use of rsfMR imaging in presurgical planning. Example cases are provided to highlight the strengths and limitations of the technique. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Removing impulse bursts from images by training-based soft morphological filtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koivisto, Pertti T.; Astola, Jaakko T.; Lukin, Vladimir V.; Melnik, Vladimir P.; Tsymbal, Oleg V.

2001-08-01

The characteristics of impulse bursts in radar images are analyzed and a model for this noise is proposed. The model also takes into consideration the multiplicative noise present in radar images. As a case study, soft morphological filters utilizing a training-based optimization scheme are used for the noise removal. Different approaches for the training are discussed. It is shown that the methods used can provide an effective removal of impulse bursts. At the same time the multiplicative noise in images is also suppressed together with god edge and detail preservation. Numerical simulation results as well as examples of real radar images are presented.

Correlating Atom Probe Tomography with Atomic-Resolved Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy: Example of Segregation at Silicon Grain Boundaries.

PubMed

Stoffers, Andreas; Barthel, Juri; Liebscher, Christian H; Gault, Baptiste; Cojocaru-Mirédin, Oana; Scheu, Christina; Raabe, Dierk

2017-04-01

In the course of a thorough investigation of the performance-structure-chemistry interdependency at silicon grain boundaries, we successfully developed a method to systematically correlate aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. The correlative approach is conducted on individual APT and TEM specimens, with the option to perform both investigations on the same specimen in the future. In the present case of a Σ9 grain boundary, joint mapping of the atomistic details of the grain boundary topology, in conjunction with chemical decoration, enables a deeper understanding of the segregation of impurities observed at such grain boundaries.

The use of geoscience methods for terrestrial forensic searches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pringle, J. K.; Ruffell, A.; Jervis, J. R.; Donnelly, L.; McKinley, J.; Hansen, J.; Morgan, R.; Pirrie, D.; Harrison, M.

2012-08-01

Geoscience methods are increasingly being utilised in criminal, environmental and humanitarian forensic investigations, and the use of such methods is supported by a growing body of experimental and theoretical research. Geoscience search techniques can complement traditional methodologies in the search for buried objects, including clandestine graves, weapons, explosives, drugs, illegal weapons, hazardous waste and vehicles. This paper details recent advances in search and detection methods, with case studies and reviews. Relevant examples are given, together with a generalised workflow for search and suggested detection technique(s) table. Forensic geoscience techniques are continuing to rapidly evolve to assist search investigators to detect hitherto difficult to locate forensic targets.

KPII: Cauchy-Jost function, Darboux transformations and totally nonnegative matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boiti, M.; Pempinelli, F.; Pogrebkov, A. K.

2017-07-01

Direct definition of the Cauchy-Jost (known also as Cauchy-Baker-Akhiezer) function is given in the case of a pure solitonic solution. Properties of this function are discussed in detail using the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili II equation as an example. This enables formulation of the Darboux transformations in terms of the Cauchy-Jost function and classification of these transformations. Action of Darboux transformations on Grassmanians—i.e. on the space of soliton parameters—is derived and the relation of the Darboux transformations with the property of total nonnegativity of elements of corresponding Grassmanians is discussed. To the memory of our friend and colleague Peter P Kulish

The Single-Case Reporting Guideline In BEhavioural Interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 Statement

PubMed Central

Tate, Robyn L.; Perdices, Michael; Rosenkoetter, Ulrike; Shadish, William; Vohra, Sunita; Barlow, David H.; Horner, Robert; Kazdin, Alan; Kratochwill, Thomas; McDonald, Skye; Sampson, Margaret; Shamseer, Larissa; Togher, Leanne; Albin, Richard; Backman, Catherine; Douglas, Jacinta; Evans, Jonathan J.; Gast, David; Manolov, Rumen; Mitchell, Geoffrey; Nickels, Lyndsey; Nikles, Jane; Ownsworth, Tamara; Rose, Miranda; Schmid, Christopher H.; Wilson, Barbara

2016-01-01

We developed a reporting guideline to provide authors with guidance about what should be reported when writing a paper for publication in a scientific journal using a particular type of research design: the single-case experimental design. This report describes the methods used to develop the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016. As a result of 2 online surveys and a 2-day meeting of experts, the SCRIBE 2016 checklist was developed, which is a set of 26 items that authors need to address when writing about single-case research. This article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated. We recommend that the SCRIBE 2016 is used by authors preparing manuscripts describing single-case research for publication, as well as journal reviewers and editors who are evaluating such manuscripts. PMID:27279674

Adjusting case mix payment amounts for inaccurately reported comorbidity data.

PubMed

Sutherland, Jason M; Hamm, Jeremy; Hatcher, Jeff

2010-03-01

Case mix methods such as diagnosis related groups have become a basis of payment for inpatient hospitalizations in many countries. Specifying cost weight values for case mix system payment has important consequences; recent evidence suggests case mix cost weight inaccuracies influence the supply of some hospital-based services. To begin to address the question of case mix cost weight accuracy, this paper is motivated by the objective of improving the accuracy of cost weight values due to inaccurate or incomplete comorbidity data. The methods are suitable to case mix methods that incorporate disease severity or comorbidity adjustments. The methods are based on the availability of detailed clinical and cost information linked at the patient level and leverage recent results from clinical data audits. A Bayesian framework is used to synthesize clinical data audit information regarding misclassification probabilities into cost weight value calculations. The models are implemented through Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. An example used to demonstrate the methods finds that inaccurate comorbidity data affects cost weight values by biasing cost weight values (and payments) downward. The implications for hospital payments are discussed and the generalizability of the approach is explored.

Entanglement in Nonunitary Quantum Critical Spin Chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Couvreur, Romain; Jacobsen, Jesper Lykke; Saleur, Hubert

2017-07-01

Entanglement entropy has proven invaluable to our understanding of quantum criticality. It is natural to try to extend the concept to "nonunitary quantum mechanics," which has seen growing interest from areas as diverse as open quantum systems, noninteracting electronic disordered systems, or nonunitary conformal field theory (CFT). We propose and investigate such an extension here, by focusing on the case of one-dimensional quantum group symmetric or supergroup symmetric spin chains. We show that the consideration of left and right eigenstates combined with appropriate definitions of the trace leads to a natural definition of Rényi entropies in a large variety of models. We interpret this definition geometrically in terms of related loop models and calculate the corresponding scaling in the conformal case. This allows us to distinguish the role of the central charge and effective central charge in rational minimal models of CFT, and to define an effective central charge in other, less well-understood cases. The example of the s l (2 |1 ) alternating spin chain for percolation is discussed in detail.

[Euthanasia 2002-2014: The situation in Belgium].

PubMed

Lossignol, D

2016-10-01

Since 2002, Belgian law has authorized the practice of euthanasia under certain clear conditions. All cases have to be reported to the Assessment and Control Commission (ACC). To date, more than 9000 cases have been reported. To make a statement about the Belgian experience requires consideration of several different essential points: detailed data and information from the ACC reports, their analysis, consequences on medical practice, problems experienced, legal and medical perspectives, criticism and attacks. The concept of individual and institutional conscience is also considered. Euthanasia for minors has been permitted since March 2014 but, to date, no case has been reported. In the light of what has happened in Belgium, we propose to analyse the legal situation in France. The Belgian experience is much more than an example and shows that, in difficult and painful situations, it is possible to meet the expectations of patients experiencing intolerable suffering with great respect and without imposing dogmatically something they do not wish. Copyright © 2015 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Gynecomastia as the initial manifestation of hyperthyroidism.

PubMed

Gordon, D L; Brown, J L; Emanuele, N V; Hall, L

1997-01-01

To present two new cases of gynecomastia as the initial manifestation of hyperthyroidism. We describe detailed case reports of two men with breast enlargement who were found to have hyperthyroidism, and we review the related literature. Two men sought medical assistance because of unilateral tender gynecomastia. In one of these patients, thyroid, gonadal, and prostate examinations showed normal findings at the time of initial assessment, and symptoms of hyperthyroidism developed later. In our other patient with gynecomastia, other symptoms of hyperthyroidism--for example, nervousness, irritability, palpitations, and fatigue--had been present for a prolonged period but had been considered "normal" by the patient. In both patients, the hyperthyroidism was treated with radioiodine. Breast pain disappeared in both patients, and breast enlargement disappeared in one patient and was decreased in the other patient after euthyroidism was achieved. Review of the literature disclosed only two similar cases. Because of the rarity of gynecomastia as the initial symptom of hyperthyroidism, we believe that thyroid function tests are not indicated in the workup of patients whose major complaint is gynecomastia.

Private traits and attributes are predictable from digital records of human behavior.

PubMed

Kosinski, Michal; Stillwell, David; Graepel, Thore

2013-04-09

We show that easily accessible digital records of behavior, Facebook Likes, can be used to automatically and accurately predict a range of highly sensitive personal attributes including: sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious and political views, personality traits, intelligence, happiness, use of addictive substances, parental separation, age, and gender. The analysis presented is based on a dataset of over 58,000 volunteers who provided their Facebook Likes, detailed demographic profiles, and the results of several psychometric tests. The proposed model uses dimensionality reduction for preprocessing the Likes data, which are then entered into logistic/linear regression to predict individual psychodemographic profiles from Likes. The model correctly discriminates between homosexual and heterosexual men in 88% of cases, African Americans and Caucasian Americans in 95% of cases, and between Democrat and Republican in 85% of cases. For the personality trait "Openness," prediction accuracy is close to the test-retest accuracy of a standard personality test. We give examples of associations between attributes and Likes and discuss implications for online personalization and privacy.

Managing length of stay using patient flow--part 1.

PubMed

Cesta, Toni

2013-02-01

This month we have discussed the fundamentals of patient flow and its related theories. We reviewed the concepts of demand and capacity management as they apply to the hospital setting. Patient flow requires daily diligence and attention. It should not be something focused on only on busy days, but should be managed each and every day. By taking a proactive approach to patient flow, the number of days your hospital will be bottlenecked can be reduced. Patient flow needs to be part of the daily activities of every case management department and should be factored in as a core role and function in a contemporary case management department. Patient flow needs to be addressed at the patient, departmental, and hospital level. In next month's issue we will continue our discussion on patient flow with a detailed review of specific examples that any case management department can use. We will also review all the departments and disciplines that contribute to patient flow and their role in it.

The Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 statement.

PubMed

Tate, Robyn L; Perdices, Michael; Rosenkoetter, Ulrike; Shadish, William; Vohra, Sunita; Barlow, David H; Horner, Robert; Kazdin, Alan; Kratochwill, Thomas; McDonald, Skye; Sampson, Margaret; Shamseer, Larissa; Togher, Leanne; Albin, Richard; Backman, Catherine; Douglas, Jacinta; Evans, Jonathan J; Gast, David; Manolov, Rumen; Mitchell, Geoffrey; Nickels, Lyndsey; Nikles, Jane; Ownsworth, Tamara; Rose, Miranda; Schmid, Christopher H; Wilson, Barbara

2016-06-01

We developed a reporting guideline to provide authors with guidance about what should be reported when writing a paper for publication in a scientific journal using a particular type of research design: the single-case experimental design. This report describes the methods used to develop the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016. As a result of 2 online surveys and a 2-day meeting of experts, the SCRIBE 2016 checklist was developed, which is a set of 26 items that authors need to address when writing about single-case research. This article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated. We recommend that the SCRIBE 2016 is used by authors preparing manuscripts describing single-case research for publication, as well as journal reviewers and editors who are evaluating such manuscripts. Reporting guidelines, such as the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement, improve the reporting of research in the medical literature (Turner et al., 2012). Many such guidelines exist and the CONSORT Extension to Nonpharmacological Trials (Boutron et al., 2008) provides suitable guidance for reporting between-groups intervention studies in the behavioral sciences. The CONSORT Extension for N-of-1 Trials (CENT 2015) was developed for multiple crossover trials with single individuals in the medical sciences (Shamseer et al., 2015; Vohra et al., 2015), but there is no reporting guideline in the CONSORT tradition for single-case research used in the behavioral sciences. We developed the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 to meet this need. This Statement article describes the methodology of the development of the SCRIBE 2016, along with the outcome of 2 Delphi surveys and a consensus meeting of experts. We present the resulting 26-item SCRIBE 2016 checklist. The article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated. Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/arc0000026.supp. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Suggested guidelines for the management of high-profile fatality cases.

PubMed

Perper, Joshua A; Juste, Gertrude M; Schueler, Harold E; Motte, Reinhard W; Cina, Stephen J

2008-10-01

The investigation of high-profile fatalities poses special challenges to medical examiners and coroners. Most high-profile cases can be readily recognized early in the course of the investigation. Commonly encountered examples include police-related fatalities or deaths in custody, deaths of celebrities, and mass fatalities or clustered deaths (eg, serial killers). Medical examiner and coroner offices should have policies and procedures in place for adequately handling such cases. A rational approach to these high-profile cases includes activating medical examiner or coroner investigative teams, preplanning before the autopsy, using special autopsy techniques and toxicology procedures, skillful questioning of key witnesses, preparing detailed and comprehensive reports, and planning effective communication with the media. The investigation of the sudden and unexpected death of Anna Nicole Smith, an entertainment personality, is presented as an example of how to address the challenging issues inherent in high-profile fatalities and how to adequately prepare for the forensic investigation of high-profile cases. This article presents a methodical approach to the investigation of high-profile deaths. A comprehensive, preplanned forensic investigation and autopsy (including use of adjunctive studies) following the death of Anna Nicole Smith resulted in the accurate determination of the cause and manner of her death while adequately convincing the public of the objectivity and reliability of the Medical Examiners Office with respect to its conclusions. The forensic investigation of death in high-profile cases can be much more tedious and demanding than the investigation of routine cases. It requires more stringent safekeeping of the body and its evidence, more extensive and sophisticated dissection techniques on occasion, and exhaustive toxicologic analysis to exclude low-probability allegations. Procedures for honest, unbiased, and judicious communication with outside agencies and the media must be followed. Failure to follow such procedures might have serious consequences for the medical examiner, the family of the deceased, and the community at large. Adherence to these suggested guidelines may resolve most of the intricate problems involved in the investigation of these types of cases.

Bayesian data analysis tools for atomic physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trassinelli, Martino

2017-10-01

We present an introduction to some concepts of Bayesian data analysis in the context of atomic physics. Starting from basic rules of probability, we present the Bayes' theorem and its applications. In particular we discuss about how to calculate simple and joint probability distributions and the Bayesian evidence, a model dependent quantity that allows to assign probabilities to different hypotheses from the analysis of a same data set. To give some practical examples, these methods are applied to two concrete cases. In the first example, the presence or not of a satellite line in an atomic spectrum is investigated. In the second example, we determine the most probable model among a set of possible profiles from the analysis of a statistically poor spectrum. We show also how to calculate the probability distribution of the main spectral component without having to determine uniquely the spectrum modeling. For these two studies, we implement the program Nested_fit to calculate the different probability distributions and other related quantities. Nested_fit is a Fortran90/Python code developed during the last years for analysis of atomic spectra. As indicated by the name, it is based on the nested algorithm, which is presented in details together with the program itself.

Considerations for the application of finite element beam modeling to vibration analysis of flight vehicle structures. Ph.D. Thesis - Case Western Reserve Univ.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kvaternik, R. G.

1976-01-01

The manner of representing a flight vehicle structure as an assembly of beam, spring, and rigid-body components for vibration analysis is described. The development is couched in terms of a substructures methodology which is based on the finite-element stiffness method. The particular manner of employing beam, spring, and rigid-body components to model such items as wing structures, external stores, pylons supporting engines or external stores, and sprung masses associated with launch vehicle fuel slosh is described by means of several simple qualitative examples. A detailed numerical example consisting of a tilt-rotor VTOL aircraft is included to provide a unified illustration of the procedure for representing a structure as an equivalent system of beams, springs, and rigid bodies, the manner of forming the substructure mass and stiffness matrices, and the mechanics of writing the equations of constraint which enforce deflection compatibility at the junctions of the substructures. Since many structures, or selected components of structures, can be represented in this manner for vibration analysis, the modeling concepts described and their application in the numerical example shown should prove generally useful to the dynamicist.

Probabilistic wind/tornado/missile analyses for hazard and fragility evaluations

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

Park, Y.J.; Reich, M.

Detailed analysis procedures and examples are presented for the probabilistic evaluation of hazard and fragility against high wind, tornado, and tornado-generated missiles. In the tornado hazard analysis, existing risk models are modified to incorporate various uncertainties including modeling errors. A significant feature of this paper is the detailed description of the Monte-Carlo simulation analyses of tornado-generated missiles. A simulation procedure, which includes the wind field modeling, missile injection, solution of flight equations, and missile impact analysis, is described with application examples.

Reflections on curiosity.

PubMed

van Bemmel, J H

2008-01-01

The purpose of this article is to show that curiosity is the driving force behind all scientific endeavors. The second purpose is to show that all science is constrained on its underlying assumptions. Three examples are used to illustrate the above theses: one from cosmology, the second from biomedical research, and the third from the formalization of human reasoning in a computer. The three examples are supported by quotes from Albert Einstein. Research in cosmology shows that the horizon of our knowledge is continuously expanding but that major scientific questions remain to be solved. The second example from biomedicine explains that the more we discover of the details of living phenomena, the more complex they appear to be. The example involving human reasoning makes clear that the brain is still largely unknown territory. Like Einstein, who said he held 'humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind', I have a deep admiration for the Architect who reveals himself in the details that we are privileged to study in our research. As Albert Einstein said: The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

The Difference Equation xn=axn-1+b.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spence, Lawrence E.

1990-01-01

Applications of generalizations of both arithmetic and geometric progressions are presented. The first-order difference equation is used in solving seven examples from finance, business, and medicine. Detailed directions are included for each example. (KR)

Beware the "Obvious"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weinberg, Eugene D.; Fraser, Dean

1976-01-01

Discussed is the tendency in science to challenge obvious explanation for observed phenomenon. Ten examples are given where the initial obvious explanation was subsequently shown to be totally incorrect. Four examples that relate to biomedicine are presented in detail. (SL)

Book Review:

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellis, G. F. R.

2005-12-01

Wolfgang Rindler is known as a writer of exceptional clarity. This quality is evident in this book as it explores in depth first special relativity, then general relativity, and finally relativistic cosmology. He bases his writing in the fundamental underlying ideas and principles that so successfully guided Einstein in his work, clarifying their nature and implications in an illuminating way with many examples. The usual suspects are there: the relativity principle and equivalence principle, the abolishing of absolute space, invariance of the speed of light, analytic and geometric representations of the Lorentz transformation, its kinematic and dynamic consequences, relativistic optics, Minkowski spacetime, energy and momentum conservation, and the Compton effect. Particularly useful is the emphasis on the unity of the whole: for example (p 63) that the kinematic effect of length shortening must imply a corresponding detailed mechanical explanation of that shortening. The tensor formulation of Maxwell's equations leads to the transformation properties of the electromagnetic field and consequent elegant derivation of the field of an infinite straight current; in this case, relativity is important even for slowly moving charges because an ordinary current moves a very big charge (p 151). General relativity is systematically introduced in stages, starting with curved spaces and moving on through static and stationary spacetimes, geodesics, and tensor calculus to the field equations. A considerable strength of the book is the careful detailed examination of the local and global geometry of the major significant solutions of the equations: the Schwarzschild spacetime and its Kruskal extension, plane gravitational waves, de sitter and anti-de Sitter spacetimes, and Robertson-Walker cosmologies. The latter includes a clear presentation of the dust and radiation model dynamics for the variety of possible cases, a detailed examination of observational relations, and considered study of the properties of horizons. Linearized relativity is dealt with in depth leading to the standard weak field gravitational wave formulae and a study of their effects on test particles, together with a very useful discussion of the analogy between weak gravity and the electromagnetic field. Thus this is a straightforward detailed presentation of both special and general relativity theory and their applications. It has many examples and is well suited as a text on these topics, giving a clear relativists' view all the way through. It does not go into astrophysical or particle physics aspects, which is fine given its focus. Personally I would have liked a bit more emphasis on the geodesic deviation equation on the one hand, and on holonomy (which provides a link into particle gauge theories) on the other. But that is a matter of taste. This is an excellent book, which can be highly recommended. Just one quibble: what on earth is the reason for the irritating blurred picture of Einstein on the cover? The whole point of the book is its clarity: why the implication of this picture that it presents a blurred vision?

In Vitro Reconstitution of Metabolic Pathways: Insights into Nature’s Chemical Logic

PubMed Central

Lowry, Brian; Walsh, Christopher T.

2015-01-01

In vitro analysis of metabolic pathways is becoming a powerful method to gain a deeper understanding of Nature’s core biochemical transformations. With astounding advancements in biotechnology, purification of a metabolic pathway’s constitutive enzymatic components is becoming a tractable problem, and such in vitro studies allow scientists to capture the finer details of enzymatic reaction mechanisms, kinetics, and the identity of organic product molecules. In this review, we present eleven metabolic pathways that have been the subject of in vitro reconstitution studies in the literature in recent years. In addition, we have selected and analyzed subset of four case studies within these eleven examples that exemplify remarkable organic chemistry occurring within biology. These examples serves as tangible reminders that Nature’s biochemical routes obey the fundamental principles of organic chemistry, and the chemical mechanisms are reminiscent of those featured in traditional synthetic organic routes. The illustrations of biosynthetic chemistry depicted in this review may inspire the development of biomimetic chemistries via abiotic chemical techniques. PMID:26207083

Wavelet Statistical Analysis of Low-Latitude Geomagnetic Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papa, A. R.; Akel, A. F.

2009-05-01

Following previous works by our group (Papa et al., JASTP, 2006), where we analyzed a series of records acquired at the Vassouras National Geomagnetic Observatory in Brazil for the month of October 2000, we introduced a wavelet analysis for the same type of data and for other periods. It is well known that wavelets allow a more detailed study in several senses: the time window for analysis can be drastically reduced if compared to other traditional methods (Fourier, for example) and at the same time allow an almost continuous accompaniment of both amplitude and frequency of signals as time goes by. This advantage brings some possibilities for potentially useful forecasting methods of the type also advanced by our group in previous works (see for example, Papa and Sosman, JASTP, 2008). However, the simultaneous statistical analysis of both time series (in our case amplitude and frequency) is a challenging matter and is in this sense that we have found what we consider our main goal. Some possible trends for future works are advanced.

A performance comparison of the IBM RS/6000 and the Astronautics ZS-1

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

Smith, W.M.; Abraham, S.G.; Davidson, E.S.

1991-01-01

Concurrent uniprocessor architectures, of which vector and superscalar are two examples, are designed to capitalize on fine-grain parallelism. The authors have developed a performance evaluation method for comparing and improving these architectures, and in this article they present the methodology and a detailed case study of two machines. The runtime of many programs is dominated by time spent in loop constructs - for example, Fortran Do-loops. Loops generally comprise two logical processes: The access process generates addresses for memory operations while the execute process operates on floating-point data. Memory access patterns typically can be generated independently of the data inmore » the execute process. This independence allows the access process to slip ahead, thereby hiding memory latency. The IBM 360/91 was designed in 1967 to achieve slip dynamically, at runtime. One CPU unit executes integer operations while another handles floating-point operations. Other machines, including the VAX 9000 and the IBM RS/6000, use a similar approach.« less

Bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization for strut-and-tie modelling of three-dimensional structural concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shobeiri, Vahid; Ahmadi-Nedushan, Behrouz

2017-12-01

This article presents a method for the automatic generation of optimal strut-and-tie models in reinforced concrete structures using a bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization method. The methodology presented is developed for compliance minimization relying on the Abaqus finite element software package. The proposed approach deals with the generation of truss-like designs in a three-dimensional environment, addressing the design of corbels and joints as well as bridge piers and pile caps. Several three-dimensional examples are provided to show the capabilities of the proposed framework in finding optimal strut-and-tie models in reinforced concrete structures and verifying its efficiency to cope with torsional actions. Several issues relating to the use of the topology optimization for strut-and-tie modelling of structural concrete, such as chequerboard patterns, mesh-dependency and multiple load cases, are studied. In the last example, a design procedure for detailing and dimensioning of the strut-and-tie models is given according to the American Concrete Institute (ACI) 318-08 provisions.

Ambulatory Assessment.

PubMed

Carpenter, Ryan W; Wycoff, Andrea M; Trull, Timothy J

2016-08-01

In recent years, significant technological advances have changed our understanding of dynamic processes in clinical psychology. A particularly important agent of change has been ambulatory assessment (AA). AA is the assessment of individuals in their daily lives, combining the twin benefits of increased ecological validity and minimized retrospective biases. These benefits make AA particularly well-suited to the assessment of dynamic processes, and recent advancements in technology are providing exciting new opportunities to understand these processes in new ways. In the current article, we briefly detail the capabilities currently offered by smartphones and mobile physiological devices, as well as some of the practical and ethical challenges of incorporating these new technologies into AA research. We then provide several examples of recent innovative applications of AA methodology in clinical research, assessment, and intervention and provide a case example of AA data generated from a study utilizing multiple mobile devices. In this way, we aim to provide a sense of direction for researchers planning AA studies of their own.

The Case for Laboratory Developed Procedures

PubMed Central

Sabatini, Linda M.; Tsongalis, Gregory J.; Caliendo, Angela M.; Olsen, Randall J.; Ashwood, Edward R.; Bale, Sherri; Benirschke, Robert; Carlow, Dean; Funke, Birgit H.; Grody, Wayne W.; Hayden, Randall T.; Hegde, Madhuri; Lyon, Elaine; Pessin, Melissa; Press, Richard D.; Thomson, Richard B.

2017-01-01

An explosion of knowledge and technology is revolutionizing medicine and patient care. Novel testing must be brought to the clinic with safety and accuracy, but also in a timely and cost-effective manner, so that patients can benefit and laboratories can offer testing consistent with current guidelines. Under the oversight provided by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, laboratories have been able to develop and optimize laboratory procedures for use in-house. Quality improvement programs, interlaboratory comparisons, and the ability of laboratories to adjust assays as needed to improve results, utilize new sample types, or incorporate new mutations, information, or technologies are positive aspects of Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments oversight of laboratory-developed procedures. Laboratories have a long history of successful service to patients operating under Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments. A series of detailed clinical examples illustrating the quality and positive impact of laboratory-developed procedures on patient care is provided. These examples also demonstrate how Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments oversight ensures accurate, reliable, and reproducible testing in clinical laboratories. PMID:28815200

Raw diffraction data preservation and reuse: Overview, update on practicalities and metadata requirements

DOE PAGES

Kroon-Batenburg, Loes M. J.; Helliwell, John R.; McMahon, Brian; ...

2017-01-01

A topical review is presented of the rapidly developing interest in and storage options for the preservation and reuse of raw data within the scientific domain of the IUCr and its Commissions, each of which operates within a great diversity of instrumentation. A résumé is included of the case for raw diffraction data deposition. An overall context is set by highlighting the initiatives of science policy makers towards an `Open Science' model within which crystallographers will increasingly work in the future; this will bring new funding opportunities but also new codes of procedure within open science frameworks. Skills education andmore » training for crystallographers will need to be expanded. Overall, there are now the means and the organization for the preservation of raw crystallographic diffraction dataviadifferent types of archive, such as at universities, discipline-specific repositories (Integrated Resource for Reproducibility in Macromolecular Crystallography, Structural Biology Data Grid), general public data repositories (Zenodo, ResearchGate) and centralized neutron and X-ray facilities. Formulation of improved metadata descriptors for the raw data types of each of the IUCr Commissions is in progress; some detailed examples are provided. Lastly, a number of specific case studies are presented, including an example research thread that provides complete open access to raw data.« less

Raw diffraction data preservation and reuse: overview, update on practicalities and metadata requirements

PubMed Central

Kroon-Batenburg, Loes M. J.

2017-01-01

A topical review is presented of the rapidly developing interest in and storage options for the preservation and reuse of raw data within the scientific domain of the IUCr and its Commissions, each of which operates within a great diversity of instrumentation. A résumé is included of the case for raw diffraction data deposition. An overall context is set by highlighting the initiatives of science policy makers towards an ‘Open Science’ model within which crystallographers will increasingly work in the future; this will bring new funding opportunities but also new codes of procedure within open science frameworks. Skills education and training for crystallographers will need to be expanded. Overall, there are now the means and the organization for the preservation of raw crystallographic diffraction data via different types of archive, such as at universities, discipline-specific repositories (Integrated Resource for Reproducibility in Macromol­ecular Crystallography, Structural Biology Data Grid), general public data repositories (Zenodo, ResearchGate) and centralized neutron and X-ray facilities. Formulation of improved metadata descriptors for the raw data types of each of the IUCr Commissions is in progress; some detailed examples are provided. A number of specific case studies are presented, including an example research thread that provides complete open access to raw data. PMID:28250944

Raw diffraction data preservation and reuse: Overview, update on practicalities and metadata requirements

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

Kroon-Batenburg, Loes M. J.; Helliwell, John R.; McMahon, Brian

A topical review is presented of the rapidly developing interest in and storage options for the preservation and reuse of raw data within the scientific domain of the IUCr and its Commissions, each of which operates within a great diversity of instrumentation. A résumé is included of the case for raw diffraction data deposition. An overall context is set by highlighting the initiatives of science policy makers towards an `Open Science' model within which crystallographers will increasingly work in the future; this will bring new funding opportunities but also new codes of procedure within open science frameworks. Skills education andmore » training for crystallographers will need to be expanded. Overall, there are now the means and the organization for the preservation of raw crystallographic diffraction dataviadifferent types of archive, such as at universities, discipline-specific repositories (Integrated Resource for Reproducibility in Macromolecular Crystallography, Structural Biology Data Grid), general public data repositories (Zenodo, ResearchGate) and centralized neutron and X-ray facilities. Formulation of improved metadata descriptors for the raw data types of each of the IUCr Commissions is in progress; some detailed examples are provided. Lastly, a number of specific case studies are presented, including an example research thread that provides complete open access to raw data.« less

Exotic colored scalars at the LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blum, Kfir; Efrati, Aielet; Frugiuele, Claudia; Nir, Yosef

2017-02-01

We study the phenomenology of exotic color-triplet scalar particles X with charge | Q| = 2 /3 , 4 /3 , 5 /3 , 7 /3 , 8 /3 and 10 /3. If X is an SU(2) W -non-singlet, mass splitting within the multiplet allows for cascade decays of the members into the lightest state. We study examples where the lightest state, in turn, decays into a three-body W ± jj final state, and show that in such case the entire multiplet is compatible with indirect precision tests and with direct collider searches for continuum pair production of X down to m X ˜ 250 GeV. However, bound states S, made of XX † pairs at m S ≈ 2 m X , form under rather generic conditions and their decay to diphoton can be the first discovery channel of the model. Furthermore, for SU(2) W -non-singlets, the mode S → W + W - may be observable and the width of S → γγ and S → jj may appear large as a consequence of mass splittings within the X-multiplet. As an example we study in detail the case of an SU(2) W -quartet, finding that m X ≃ 450 GeV is allowed by all current searches.

Cross-Disciplinary Network Comparison: Matchmaking Between Hairballs

PubMed Central

Yan, Koon-Kiu; Wang, Daifeng; Sethi, Anurag; Muir, Paul; Kitchen, Robert; Cheng, Chao; Gerstein, Mark

2016-01-01

Biological systems are complex. In particular, the interactions between molecular components often form dense networks that, more often than not, are criticized for being inscrutable ‘hairballs’. We argue that one way of untangling these hairballs is through cross-disciplinary network comparison—leveraging advances in other disciplines to obtain new biological insights. In some cases, such comparisons enable the direct transfer of mathematical formalism between disciplines, precisely describing the abstract associations between entities and allowing us to apply a variety of sophisticated formalisms to biology. In cases where the detailed structure of the network does not permit the transfer of complete formalisms between disciplines, comparison of mechanistic interactions in systems for which we have significant day-to-day experience can provide analogies for interpreting relatively more abstruse biological networks. Here, we illustrate how these comparisons benefit the field with a few specific examples related to network growth, organizational hierarchies, and the evolution of adaptive systems. PMID:27047991

Opening the black box of ethics policy work: evaluating a covert practice.

PubMed

Frolic, Andrea; Drolet, Katherine; Bryanton, Kim; Caron, Carole; Cupido, Cynthia; Flaherty, Barb; Fung, Sylvia; McCall, Lori

2012-01-01

Hospital ethics committees (HECs) and ethicists generally describe themselves as engaged in four domains of practice: case consultation, research, education, and policy work. Despite the increasing attention to quality indicators, practice standards, and evaluation methods for the other domains, comparatively little is known or published about the policy work of HECs or ethicists. This article attempts to open the "black box" of this health care ethics practice by providing two detailed case examples of ethics policy reviews. We also describe the development and application of an evaluation strategy to assess the quality of ethics policy review work, and to enable continuous improvement of ethics policy review processes. Given the potential for policy work to impact entire patient populations and organizational systems, it is imperative that HECs and ethicists develop clearer roles, responsibilities, procedural standards, and evaluation methods to ensure the delivery of consistent, relevant, and high-quality ethics policy reviews.

Object-oriented software design in semiautomatic building extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guelch, Eberhard; Mueller, Hardo

1997-08-01

Developing a system for semiautomatic building acquisition is a complex process, that requires constant integration and updating of software modules and user interfaces. To facilitate these processes we apply an object-oriented design not only for the data but also for the software involved. We use the unified modeling language (UML) to describe the object-oriented modeling of the system in different levels of detail. We can distinguish between use cases from the users point of view, that represent a sequence of actions, yielding in an observable result and the use cases for the programmers, who can use the system as a class library to integrate the acquisition modules in their own software. The structure of the system is based on the model-view-controller (MVC) design pattern. An example from the integration of automated texture extraction for the visualization of results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach.

Relative motion of orbiting satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eades, J. B., Jr.

1972-01-01

The relative motion problem is analyzed, as a linearized case, and as a numerically determined solution to provide a time history of the geometries representing the motion state. The displacement history and the hodographs for families of solutions are provided, analytically and graphically, to serve as an aid to understanding this problem area. Linearized solutions to relative motion problems of orbiting particles are presented for the impulsive and fixed thrust cases. Second order solutions are described to enhance the accuracy of prediction. A method was developed to obtain accurate, numerical solutions to the intercept and rendezvous problem; and, special situations are examined. A particular problem related to relative motions, where the motion traces develop a cusp, is examined in detail. This phenomenon is found to be dependent on a particular relationship between orbital eccentricity and the inclination between orbital planes. These conditions are determined, and, example situations are presented and discussed.

Recursivity in Lingua Cosmica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ollongren, Alexander

2011-02-01

In a sequence of papers on the topic of message construction for interstellar communication by means of a cosmic language, the present author has discussed various significant requirements such a lingua should satisfy. The author's Lingua Cosmica is a (meta) system for annotating contents of possibly large-scale messages for ETI. LINCOS, based on formal constructive logic, was primarily designed for dealing with logic contents of messages but is also applicable for denoting structural properties of more general abstractions embedded in such messages. The present paper explains ways and means for achieving this for a special case: recursive entities. As usual two stages are involved: first the domain of discourse is enriched with suitable representations of the entities concerned, after which properties over them can be dealt with within the system itself. As a representative example the case of Russian dolls (Matrjoshka's) is discussed in some detail and relations with linguistic structures in natural languages are briefly exploited.

Learning and teaching science as inquiry: A case study of elementary school teachers' investigations of light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Zee, Emily H.; Hammer, David; Bell, Mary; Roy, Patricia; Peter, Jennifer

2005-11-01

This case study documents an example of inquiry learning and teaching during a summer institute for elementary and middle school teachers. A small group constructed an explanatory model for an intriguing optical phenomenon that they were observing. Research questions included: What physics thinking did the learners express? What aspects of scientific inquiry were evident in what the learners said and did? What questions did the learners ask one another as they worked? How did these learners collaborate in constructing understanding? How did the instructor foster their learning? Data sources included video- and audio- tapes of instruction, copies of the participants' writings and drawings, field notes, interviews, and staff reflections. An interpretative narrative of what three group members said and did presents a detailed account of their learning process. Analyses of their utterances provide evidence of physics thinking, scientific inquiry, questioning, collaborative sense making, and insight into ways to foster inquiry learning.

Preconditioned alternating direction method of multipliers for inverse problems with constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiao, Yuling; Jin, Qinian; Lu, Xiliang; Wang, Weijie

2017-02-01

We propose a preconditioned alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) to solve linear inverse problems in Hilbert spaces with constraints, where the feature of the sought solution under a linear transformation is captured by a possibly non-smooth convex function. During each iteration step, our method avoids solving large linear systems by choosing a suitable preconditioning operator. In case the data is given exactly, we prove the convergence of our preconditioned ADMM without assuming the existence of a Lagrange multiplier. In case the data is corrupted by noise, we propose a stopping rule using information on noise level and show that our preconditioned ADMM is a regularization method; we also propose a heuristic rule when the information on noise level is unavailable or unreliable and give its detailed analysis. Numerical examples are presented to test the performance of the proposed method.

Endodontic management of radix paramolaris with six canals: a clinical case report.

PubMed

Acharya, N; Singh, A; Samant, P S; Gautam, V

2013-01-01

Endodontic therapy of mandibular molars is a challenging task due to its varied root canal morphology. A mandibular first molar with additional buccal root (Radix paramolaris) and additional distolingual root (Radix Entomolaris) is an example of its varied anatomy. A successful management of atypical root canal configurations is an important aspect in determining the success rate of root canal therapy. The detail knowledge of the root morphology and canal anatomy allows the clinician for accurate location of the extra roots and canals and accordingly the refinement of the access cavity for the stress free entry of complex anatomy. Hence, for a successful root canal therapy, clinician must be aware of the external and internal anatomic variations .The aim of this clinical case report is to present and describe the unusual presence of two separate mesial roots and six root canals in mandibular first molar, detected during routine endodontic therapy.

Election Turnout Statistics in Many Countries: Similarities, Differences, and a Diffusive Field Model for Decision-Making

PubMed Central

Borghesi, Christian; Raynal, Jean-Claude; Bouchaud, Jean-Philippe

2012-01-01

We study in details the turnout rate statistics for 77 elections in 11 different countries. We show that the empirical results established in a previous paper for French elections appear to hold much more generally. We find in particular that the spatial correlation of turnout rates decay logarithmically with distance in all cases. This result is quantitatively reproduced by a decision model that assumes that each voter makes his mind as a result of three influence terms: one totally idiosyncratic component, one city-specific term with short-ranged fluctuations in space, and one long-ranged correlated field which propagates diffusively in space. A detailed analysis reveals several interesting features: for example, different countries have different degrees of local heterogeneities and seem to be characterized by a different propensity for individuals to conform to the cultural norm. We furthermore find clear signs of herding (i.e., strongly correlated decisions at the individual level) in some countries, but not in others. PMID:22615762

Establishing a clinical service for the management of sports-related concussions.

PubMed

Reynolds, Erin; Collins, Michael W; Mucha, Anne; Troutman-Ensecki, Cara

2014-10-01

The clinical management of sports-related concussions is a specialized area of interest with a lack of empirical findings regarding best practice approaches. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Concussion Program was the first of its kind; 13 years after its inception, it remains a leader in the clinical management and research of sports-related concussions. This article outlines the essential components of a successful clinical service for the management of sports-related concussions, using the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Concussion Program as a case example. Drawing on both empirical evidence and anecdotal conclusions from this high-volume clinical practice, this article provides a detailed account of the inner workings of a multidisciplinary concussion clinic with a comprehensive approach to the management of sports-related concussions. A detailed description of the evaluation process and an in-depth analysis of targeted clinical pathways and subtypes of sports-related concussions effectively set the stage for a comprehensive understanding of the assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation model used in Pittsburgh today.

Self-Explanations: How Students Study and Use Examples in Learning To Solve Problems. Technical Report No. 9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chi, Michelene T. H.; And Others

A study examined in detail the initial encoding of worked-out examples of mechanics problems by "good" and "poor" students, and their subsequent reliance on examples during problem solving. The subjects, three males and five females, were selected from responses to a university campus advertisement. Six of them were working…

Diagramming Transactive Building Business Cases: Using Principles of e3 Value to Document Valuation Studies

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

Hammerstrom, Donald J.; Makhmalbaf, Atefe; Marinovici, Maria C.

Energy management in buildings is becoming more transactive. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office recently defined innovative use cases wherein market-like mechanisms are used to manage energy within buildings, between buildings, and between buildings and third-party entities, such as power utilities. A next step toward defining a set of transactive use cases in the buildings domain is to carefully diagram the corresponding business cases to capture details of transactions among all stakeholders and their economic value propositions. The principles of e3-value diagramming are applied in this report toward creating business value diagrams. Thesemore » principles are extended to be consistent with Universal Modeling Language use-case diagrams. Example diagrams are presented for a subset of buildings-domain use cases that were introduced in an earlier Pacific Northwest National Laboratory report. The diagrams are intended to clearly represent an understanding of the transactions through which individual entities accumulate value in their respective use cases, and the diagrams should therefore support economic valuation studies. The report reviews some of the foundational principles of e3 value and includes authors’ insights concerning the formulation of these diagrams using Universal Modeling Language as a more systematic modeling approach.« less

Dark matter direct detection of a fermionic singlet at one loop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrero-García, Juan; Molinaro, Emiliano; Schmidt, Michael A.

2018-06-01

The strong direct detection limits could be pointing to dark matter - nucleus scattering at loop level. We study in detail the prototype example of an electroweak singlet (Dirac or Majorana) dark matter fermion coupled to an extended dark sector, which is composed of a new fermion and a new scalar. Given the strong limits on colored particles from direct and indirect searches we assume that the fields of the new dark sector are color singlets. We outline the possible simplified models, including the well-motivated cases in which the extra scalar or fermion is a Standard Model particle, as well as the possible connection to neutrino masses. We compute the contributions to direct detection from the photon, the Z and the Higgs penguins for arbitrary quantum numbers of the dark sector. Furthermore, we derive compact expressions in certain limits, i.e., when all new particles are heavier than the dark matter mass and when the fermion running in the loop is light, like a Standard Model lepton. We study in detail the predicted direct detection rate and how current and future direct detection limits constrain the model parameters. In case dark matter couples directly to Standard Model leptons we find an interesting interplay between lepton flavor violation, direct detection and the observed relic abundance.

Linking age, survival, and transit time distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calabrese, Salvatore; Porporato, Amilcare

2015-10-01

Although the concepts of age, survival, and transit time have been widely used in many fields, including population dynamics, chemical engineering, and hydrology, a comprehensive mathematical framework is still missing. Here we discuss several relationships among these quantities by starting from the evolution equation for the joint distribution of age and survival, from which the equations for age and survival time readily follow. It also becomes apparent how the statistical dependence between age and survival is directly related to either the age dependence of the loss function or the survival-time dependence of the input function. The solution of the joint distribution equation also allows us to obtain the relationships between the age at exit (or death) and the survival time at input (or birth), as well as to stress the symmetries of the various distributions under time reversal. The transit time is then obtained as a sum of the age and survival time, and its properties are discussed along with the general relationships between their mean values. The special case of steady state case is analyzed in detail. Some examples, inspired by hydrologic applications, are presented to illustrate the theory with the specific results. This article was corrected on 11 Nov 2015. See the end of the full text for details.

Life cycle costing of waste management systems: Overview, calculation principles and case studies

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

Martinez-Sanchez, Veronica, E-mail: vems@env.dtu.dk; Kromann, Mikkel A.; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

2015-02-15

Highlights: • We propose a comprehensive model for cost assessment of waste management systems. • The model includes three types of LCC: Conventional, Environmental and Societal LCCs. • The applicability of the proposed model is tested with two case studies. - Abstract: This paper provides a detailed and comprehensive cost model for the economic assessment of solid waste management systems. The model was based on the principles of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and followed a bottom-up calculation approach providing detailed cost items for all key technologies within modern waste systems. All technologies were defined per tonne of waste input, andmore » each cost item within a technology was characterised by both a technical and an economic parameter (for example amount and cost of fuel related to waste collection), to ensure transparency, applicability and reproducibility. Cost items were classified as: (1) budget costs, (2) transfers (for example taxes, subsidies and fees) and (3) externality costs (for example damage or abatement costs related to emissions and disamenities). Technology costs were obtained as the sum of all cost items (of the same type) within a specific technology, while scenario costs were the sum of all technologies involved in a scenario. The cost model allows for the completion of three types of LCC: a Conventional LCC, for the assessment of financial costs, an Environmental LCC, for the assessment of financial costs whose results are complemented by a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the same system, and a Societal LCC, for socio-economic assessments. Conventional and Environmental LCCs includes budget costs and transfers, while Societal LCCs includes budget and externality costs. Critical aspects were found in the existing literature regarding the cost assessment of waste management, namely system boundary equivalency, accounting for temporally distributed emissions and impacts, inclusions of transfers, the internalisation of environmental impacts and the coverage of shadow prices, and there was also significant confusion regarding terminology. The presented cost model was implemented in two case study scenarios assessing the costs involved in the source segregation of organic waste from 100,000 Danish households and the subsequent co-digestion of organic waste with animal manure. Overall, source segregation resulted in higher financial costs than the alternative of incinerating the organic waste with the residual waste: 1.6 M€/year, of which 0.9 M€/year was costs for extra bins and bags used by the households, 1.0 M€/year for extra collections and −0.3 M€/year saved on incineration.« less

Chebyshev polynomials in the spectral Tau method and applications to Eigenvalue problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Duane

1996-01-01

Chebyshev Spectral methods have received much attention recently as a technique for the rapid solution of ordinary differential equations. This technique also works well for solving linear eigenvalue problems. Specific detail is given to the properties and algebra of chebyshev polynomials; the use of chebyshev polynomials in spectral methods; and the recurrence relationships that are developed. These formula and equations are then applied to several examples which are worked out in detail. The appendix contains an example FORTRAN program used in solving an eigenvalue problem.

A linear parameter-varying multiobjective control law design based on youla parametrization for a flexible blended wing body aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demourant, F.; Ferreres, G.

2013-12-01

This article presents a methodology for a linear parameter-varying (LPV) multiobjective flight control law design for a blended wing body (BWB) aircraft and results. So, the method is a direct design of a parametrized control law (with respect to some measured flight parameters) through a multimodel convex design to optimize a set of specifications on the full-flight domain and different mass cases. The methodology is based on the Youla parameterization which is very useful since closed loop specifications are affine with respect to Youla parameter. The LPV multiobjective design method is detailed and applied to the BWB flexible aircraft example.

Rockfall risk evaluation using geotechnical survey, remote sensing data, and GIS: a case study from western Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolakopoulos, Konstantinos; Depountis, Nikolaos; Vagenas, Nikolaos; Kavoura, Katerina; Vlaxaki, Eleni; Kelasidis, George; Sabatakakis, Nikolaos

2015-06-01

In this paper a specific example of the synergistic use of geotechnical survey, remote sensing data and GIS for rockfall risk evaluation is presented. The study area is located in Western Greece. Extensive rockfalls have been recorded along Patras - Ioannina highway just after the cable-stayed bridge of Rio-Antirrio, at Klokova site. The rockfalls include medium- sized limestone boulders with volume up to 1.5m3. A detailed engineering geological survey was conducted including rockmass characterization, laboratory testing and geological - geotechnical mapping. Many Rockfall trajectory simulations were done. Rockfall risk along the road was estimated using spatial analysis in a GIS environment.

Part A: Cirrus ice crystal nucleation and growth. Part B: Automated analysis of aircraft ice particle data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnott, William P.; Hallett, John; Hudson, James G.

1995-01-01

Specific measurement of cirrus crystals by aircraft and temperature modified CN are used to specify measurements necessary to provide a basis for a conceptual model of cirrus particle formation. Key to this is the ability to measure the complete spectrum of particles at cirrus levels. The most difficult regions for such measurement is from a few to 100 microns, and uses a replicator. The details of the system to automate replicator data analysis are given, together with an example case study of the system provided from a cirrus cloud in FIRE 2, with particles detectable by replicator and FSSP, but not 2DC.

The Curious Case of Cuba

PubMed Central

Reed, Gail A.

2012-01-01

As health professionals in the United States consider how to focus health care and coverage to ensure better, more equitable patient and population health outcomes, the experience of Cuba’s National Health System over the last 5 decades may provide useful insights. Although mutual awareness has been limited by long-term political hostilities between the United States and Cuban governments, the history and details of the Cuban health system indicate that their health system merits attention as an example of a national integrated approach resulting in improved health status. More extensive analysis of the principles, practices, and outcomes in Cuba is warranted to inform health system transformation in the United States, despite differences in political-social systems and available resources. PMID:22698011

Spin symmetry in the Dirac sea derived from the bare nucleon-nucleon interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Shihang; Liang, Haozhao; Meng, Jie; Ring, Peter; Zhang, Shuangquan

2018-06-01

The spin symmetry in the Dirac sea has been investigated with relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock theory using the bare nucleon-nucleon interaction. Taking the nucleus 16O as an example and comparing the theoretical results with the data, the definition of the single-particle potential in the Dirac sea is studied in detail. It is found that if the single-particle states in the Dirac sea are treated as occupied states, the ground state properties are in better agreement with experimental data. Moreover, in this case, the spin symmetry in the Dirac sea is better conserved and it is more consistent with the findings using phenomenological relativistic density functionals.

Three-Dimensional Boundary-Layer program (BL3D) for swept subsonic or supersonic wings with application to laminar flow control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iyer, Venkit

1993-01-01

The theory, formulation, and solution of three-dimensional, compressible attached laminar flows, applied to swept wings in subsonic or supersonic flow are discussed. Several new features and modifications to an earlier general procedure described in NASA CR 4269, Jan. 1990 are incorporated. Details of interfacing the boundary-layer computation with solution of the inviscid Euler equations are discussed. A description of the computer program, complete with user's manual and example cases, is also included. Comparison of solutions with Navier-Stokes computations with or without boundary-layer suction is given. Output of solution profiles and derivatives required in boundary-layer stability analysis is provided.

Dynamic resource allocation in conservation planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Golovin, D.; Krause, A.; Gardner, B.; Converse, S.J.; Morey, S.

2011-01-01

Consider the problem of protecting endangered species by selecting patches of land to be used for conservation purposes. Typically, the availability of patches changes over time, and recommendations must be made dynamically. This is a challenging prototypical example of a sequential optimization problem under uncertainty in computational sustainability. Existing techniques do not scale to problems of realistic size. In this paper, we develop an efficient algorithm for adaptively making recommendations for dynamic conservation planning, and prove that it obtains near-optimal performance. We further evaluate our approach on a detailed reserve design case study of conservation planning for three rare species in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Copyright ?? 2011, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. All rights reserved.

Improvement and Application of Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Models for Prediction of the Climatic Effects of Aerosol

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergstrom, Robert W.; Mlawer, Eli J.; Sokolik, Irina N.; Clough, Shepard A.; Toon, Owen B.

1998-01-01

This paper presents a radiative transfer model that has been developed to accurately predict the atmospheric radiant flux in both the infrared and the solar spectrum with a minimum of computational effort. The model is designed to be included in numerical climate models. To assess the accuracy of the model, the results are compared to other more detailed models for several standard cases in the solar and thermal spectrum. As the thermal spectrum has been treated in other publications, we focus here on the solar part of the spectrum. We perform several example calculations focussing on the question of absorption of solar radiation by gases and aerosols.

Improvement and Application of Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Models for Prediction of the Climatic Effects of Aerosol

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergstrom, Robert W.

1998-01-01

This paper presents a radiative transfer model that has been developed to accurately predict the atmospheric radiant flux in both the infrared and the solar spectrum with a minimum of computational effort. The model is designed to be included in numerical climate models. To assess the accuracy of the model, the results are compared to other more detailed models for several standard cases in the solar and thermal spectrum. As the thermal spectrum has been treated in other publications we focus here on the solar part of the spectrum. We perform several example calculations focussing on the question of absorption of solar radiation by gases and aerosols.

Overcoming Barriers to HIV Treatment Adherence: A Brief Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for HIV-Positive Adults on Antiretroviral Treatment

PubMed Central

Olem, David; Sharp, Kelly M.; Taylor, Jonelle M.; Johnson, Mallory O.

2014-01-01

Maximizing HIV treatment adherence is critical in efforts to optimize health outcomes and to prevent further HIV transmission. The Balance Project intervention uses cognitive behavioral approaches to improve antiretroviral medication adherence through promoting adaptive coping with medication side effect and distress related to HIV. This 5-session intervention has been documented to prevent nonadherence among persons living with HIV who experience high levels of distress associated with their antiretroviral medication side effects. We describe the theoretical underpinnings of the intervention, provide details of the training and session protocols with a case example, and discuss implications for future applications of the intervention in both research and clinical settings. PMID:24855332

Resonant interaction of electromagnetic wave with plasma layer and overcoming the radiocommunication blackout problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogatskaya, A. V.; Klenov, N. V.; Tereshonok, M. V.; Adjemov, S. S.; Popov, A. M.

2018-05-01

We present an analysis of the possibility of penetrating electromagnetic waves through opaque media using an optical-mechanical analogy. As an example, we consider the plasma sheath surrounding the vehicle as a potential barrier and analyze the overcoming of radiocommunication blackout problem. The idea is to embed a «resonator» between the surface on the vehicle and plasma sheath which is supposed to provide an effective tunneling of the signal to the receiving antenna. We discuss the peculiarities of optical mechanical analogy applicability and analyze the radio frequency wave tunneling regime in detail. The cases of normal and oblique incidence of radiofrequency waves on the vehicle surface are studied.

DIVE: A Graph-based Visual Analytics Framework for Big Data

PubMed Central

Rysavy, Steven J.; Bromley, Dennis; Daggett, Valerie

2014-01-01

The need for data-centric scientific tools is growing; domains like biology, chemistry, and physics are increasingly adopting computational approaches. As a result, scientists must now deal with the challenges of big data. To address these challenges, we built a visual analytics platform named DIVE: Data Intensive Visualization Engine. DIVE is a data-agnostic, ontologically-expressive software framework capable of streaming large datasets at interactive speeds. Here we present the technical details of the DIVE platform, multiple usage examples, and a case study from the Dynameomics molecular dynamics project. We specifically highlight our novel contributions to structured data model manipulation and high-throughput streaming of large, structured datasets. PMID:24808197

Signature extraction of ocean pollutants by eigenvector transformation of remote spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grew, G. W.

1978-01-01

Spectral signatures of suspended matter in the ocean are being extracted through characteristic vector analysis of remote ocean color data collected with MOCS (Multichannel Ocean Color Sensor). Spectral signatures appear to be obtainable through analyses of 'linear' clusters that appear on scatter diagrams associated with eigenvectors. Signatures associated with acid waste, sewage sludge, oil, and algae are presented. The application of vector analysis to two acid waste dumps overflown two years apart is examined in some detail. The relationships between eigenvectors and spectral signatures for these examples are analyzed. These cases demonstrate the value of characteristic vector analysis in remotely identifying pollutants in the ocean and in determining the consistency of their spectral signatures.

The ``False Colour'' Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serra, Jean

The emergence of new data in multidimensional function lattices is studied. A typical example is the apparition of false colours when (R,G,B) images are processed. Two lattice models are specially analysed. Firstly, one considers a mixture of total and marginal orderings where the variations of some components are governed by other ones. This constraint yields the “pilot lattices”. The second model is a cylindrical polar representation in n dimensions. In this model, data that are distributed on the unit sphere of n - 1 dimensions need to be ordered. The proposed orders, and lattices are specific to each image. They are obtained from Voronoi tesselation of the unit sphere The case of four dimensions is treated in detail and illustrated.

Filling temporary underground structures and workings at high-head hydro developments

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

Ilyushin, V.F.

1994-12-01

Examples of backfilling temporary underground structures and workings at hydroelectric stations in Russia are cited. Structures backfilled include temporary tunnels and auxiliary workings (shafts, chambers, etc.). Detail drawings illustrate many of the examples. Examples of backfilling at a number of hydropower plants are given; however, the main emphasis is on construction of Nurek Hydroelectric Station. 8 refs., 11 figs.

Multi Sensor Data Integration for AN Accurate 3d Model Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chhatkuli, S.; Satoh, T.; Tachibana, K.

2015-05-01

The aim of this paper is to introduce a novel technique of data integration between two different data sets, i.e. laser scanned RGB point cloud and oblique imageries derived 3D model, to create a 3D model with more details and better accuracy. In general, aerial imageries are used to create a 3D city model. Aerial imageries produce an overall decent 3D city models and generally suit to generate 3D model of building roof and some non-complex terrain. However, the automatically generated 3D model, from aerial imageries, generally suffers from the lack of accuracy in deriving the 3D model of road under the bridges, details under tree canopy, isolated trees, etc. Moreover, the automatically generated 3D model from aerial imageries also suffers from undulated road surfaces, non-conforming building shapes, loss of minute details like street furniture, etc. in many cases. On the other hand, laser scanned data and images taken from mobile vehicle platform can produce more detailed 3D road model, street furniture model, 3D model of details under bridge, etc. However, laser scanned data and images from mobile vehicle are not suitable to acquire detailed 3D model of tall buildings, roof tops, and so forth. Our proposed approach to integrate multi sensor data compensated each other's weakness and helped to create a very detailed 3D model with better accuracy. Moreover, the additional details like isolated trees, street furniture, etc. which were missing in the original 3D model derived from aerial imageries could also be integrated in the final model automatically. During the process, the noise in the laser scanned data for example people, vehicles etc. on the road were also automatically removed. Hence, even though the two dataset were acquired in different time period the integrated data set or the final 3D model was generally noise free and without unnecessary details.

Case-Based Learning with Worked Examples in Complex Domains: Two Experimental Studies in Undergraduate Medical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stark, Robin; Kopp, Veronika; Fischer, Martin R.

2011-01-01

To investigate the effects of example format (erroneous examples vs. correct examples) and feedback format (elaborated feedback vs. knowledge of results feedback) on medical students' diagnostic competence in the context of a web-based learning environment containing case-based worked examples, two studies with a 2 x 2 design were conducted in the…

Evaluating suggestibility to additive and contradictory misinformation following explicit error detection in younger and older adults.

PubMed

Huff, Mark J; Umanath, Sharda

2018-06-01

In 2 experiments, we assessed age-related suggestibility to additive and contradictory misinformation (i.e., remembering of false details from an external source). After reading a fictional story, participants answered questions containing misleading details that were either additive (misleading details that supplemented an original event) or contradictory (errors that changed original details). On a final test, suggestibility was greater for additive than contradictory misinformation, and older adults endorsed fewer false contradictory details than younger adults. To mitigate suggestibility in Experiment 2, participants were warned about potential errors, instructed to detect errors, or instructed to detect errors after exposure to examples of additive and contradictory details. Again, suggestibility to additive misinformation was greater than contradictory, and older adults endorsed less contradictory misinformation. Only after detection instructions with misinformation examples were younger adults able to reduce contradictory misinformation effects and reduced these effects to the level of older adults. Additive misinformation however, was immune to all warning and detection instructions. Thus, older adults were less susceptible to contradictory misinformation errors, and younger adults could match this misinformation rate when warning/detection instructions were strong. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Estimating the number of animals in wildlife populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lancia, R.A.; Kendall, W.L.; Pollock, K.H.; Nichols, J.D.; Braun, Clait E.

2005-01-01

INTRODUCTION In 1938, Howard M. Wight devoted 9 pages, which was an entire chapter in the first wildlife management techniques manual, to what he termed 'census' methods. As books and chapters such as this attest, the volume of literature on this subject has grown tremendously. Abundance estimation remains an active area of biometrical research, as reflected in the many differences between this chapter and the similar contribution in the previous manual. Our intent in this chapter is to present an overview of the basic and most widely used population estimation techniques and to provide an entree to the relevant literature. Several possible approaches could be taken in writing a chapter dealing with population estimation. For example, we could provide a detailed treatment focusing on statistical models and on derivation of estimators based on these models. Although a chapter using this approach might provide a valuable reference for quantitative biologists and biometricians, it would be of limited use to many field biologists and wildlife managers. Another approach would be to focus on details of actually applying different population estimation techniques. This approach would include both field application (e.g., how to set out a trapping grid or conduct an aerial survey) and detailed instructions on how to use the resulting data with appropriate estimation equations. We are reluctant to attempt such an approach, however, because of the tremendous diversity of real-world field situations defined by factors such as the animal being studied, habitat, available resources, and because of our resultant inability to provide detailed instructions for all possible cases. We believe it is more useful to provide the reader with the conceptual basis underlying estimation methods. Thus, we have tried to provide intuitive explanations for how basic methods work. In doing so, we present relevant estimation equations for many methods and provide citations of more detailed treatments covering both statistical considerations and field applications. We have chosen to present methods that are representative of classes of estimators, rather than address every available method. Our hope is that this chapter will provide the reader with enough background to make an informed decision about what general method(s) will likely perform well in any particular field situation. Readers with a more quantitative background may then be able to consult detailed references and tailor the selected method to suit their particular needs. Less quantitative readers should consult a biometrician, preferably one with experience in wildlife studies, for this 'tailoring,' with the hope they will be able to do so with a basic understanding of the general method, thereby permitting useful interaction and discussion with the biometrician. SUMMARY Estimating the abundance or density of animals in wild populations is not a trivial matter. Virtually all techniques involve the basic problem of estimating the probability of seeing, capturing, or otherwise detecting animals during some type of survey and, in many cases, sampling concerns as well. In the case of indices, the detection probability is assumed to be constant (but unknown). We caution against use of indices unless this assumption can be verified for the comparison(s) of interest. In the case of population estimation, many methods have been developed over the years to estimate the probability of detection associated with various kinds of count statistics. Techniques range from complete counts, where sampling concerns often dominate, to incomplete counts where detection probabilities are also important. Some examples of the latter are multiple observers, removal methods, and capture-recapture. Before embarking on a survey to estimate the size of a population, one must understand clearly what information is needed and for what purpose the information will be used. The key to derivin

Does the black hole shadow probe the event horizon geometry?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunha, Pedro V. P.; Herdeiro, Carlos A. R.; Rodriguez, Maria J.

2018-04-01

There is an exciting prospect of obtaining the shadow of astrophysical black holes (BHs) in the near future with the Event Horizon Telescope. As a matter of principle, this justifies asking how much one can learn about the BH horizon itself from such a measurement. Since the shadow is determined by a set of special photon orbits, rather than horizon properties, it is possible that different horizon geometries yield similar shadows. One may then ask how sensitive is the shadow to details of the horizon geometry? As a case study, we consider the double Schwarzschild BH and analyze the impact on the lensing and shadows of the conical singularity that holds the two BHs in equilibrium—herein taken to be a strut along the symmetry axis in between the two BHs. Whereas the conical singularity induces a discontinuity of the scattering angle of photons, clearly visible in the lensing patterns along the direction of the strut's location, it produces no observable effect on the shadows, whose edges remain everywhere smooth. The latter feature is illustrated by examples including both equal and unequal mass BHs. This smoothness contrasts with the intrinsic geometry of the (spatial sections of the) horizon of these BHs, which is not smooth, and provides a sharp example on how BH shadows are insensitive to some horizon geometry details. This observation, moreover, suggests that for the study of their shadows, this static double BH system may be an informative proxy for a dynamical binary.

Handling Metadata in a Neurophysiology Laboratory

PubMed Central

Zehl, Lyuba; Jaillet, Florent; Stoewer, Adrian; Grewe, Jan; Sobolev, Andrey; Wachtler, Thomas; Brochier, Thomas G.; Riehle, Alexa; Denker, Michael; Grün, Sonja

2016-01-01

To date, non-reproducibility of neurophysiological research is a matter of intense discussion in the scientific community. A crucial component to enhance reproducibility is to comprehensively collect and store metadata, that is, all information about the experiment, the data, and the applied preprocessing steps on the data, such that they can be accessed and shared in a consistent and simple manner. However, the complexity of experiments, the highly specialized analysis workflows and a lack of knowledge on how to make use of supporting software tools often overburden researchers to perform such a detailed documentation. For this reason, the collected metadata are often incomplete, incomprehensible for outsiders or ambiguous. Based on our research experience in dealing with diverse datasets, we here provide conceptual and technical guidance to overcome the challenges associated with the collection, organization, and storage of metadata in a neurophysiology laboratory. Through the concrete example of managing the metadata of a complex experiment that yields multi-channel recordings from monkeys performing a behavioral motor task, we practically demonstrate the implementation of these approaches and solutions with the intention that they may be generalized to other projects. Moreover, we detail five use cases that demonstrate the resulting benefits of constructing a well-organized metadata collection when processing or analyzing the recorded data, in particular when these are shared between laboratories in a modern scientific collaboration. Finally, we suggest an adaptable workflow to accumulate, structure and store metadata from different sources using, by way of example, the odML metadata framework. PMID:27486397

Handling Metadata in a Neurophysiology Laboratory.

PubMed

Zehl, Lyuba; Jaillet, Florent; Stoewer, Adrian; Grewe, Jan; Sobolev, Andrey; Wachtler, Thomas; Brochier, Thomas G; Riehle, Alexa; Denker, Michael; Grün, Sonja

2016-01-01

To date, non-reproducibility of neurophysiological research is a matter of intense discussion in the scientific community. A crucial component to enhance reproducibility is to comprehensively collect and store metadata, that is, all information about the experiment, the data, and the applied preprocessing steps on the data, such that they can be accessed and shared in a consistent and simple manner. However, the complexity of experiments, the highly specialized analysis workflows and a lack of knowledge on how to make use of supporting software tools often overburden researchers to perform such a detailed documentation. For this reason, the collected metadata are often incomplete, incomprehensible for outsiders or ambiguous. Based on our research experience in dealing with diverse datasets, we here provide conceptual and technical guidance to overcome the challenges associated with the collection, organization, and storage of metadata in a neurophysiology laboratory. Through the concrete example of managing the metadata of a complex experiment that yields multi-channel recordings from monkeys performing a behavioral motor task, we practically demonstrate the implementation of these approaches and solutions with the intention that they may be generalized to other projects. Moreover, we detail five use cases that demonstrate the resulting benefits of constructing a well-organized metadata collection when processing or analyzing the recorded data, in particular when these are shared between laboratories in a modern scientific collaboration. Finally, we suggest an adaptable workflow to accumulate, structure and store metadata from different sources using, by way of example, the odML metadata framework.

JELLYFISH: EVIDENCE OF EXTREME RAM-PRESSURE STRIPPING IN MASSIVE GALAXY CLUSTERS

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

Ebeling, H.; Stephenson, L. N.; Edge, A. C.

Ram-pressure stripping by the gaseous intracluster medium has been proposed as the dominant physical mechanism driving the rapid evolution of galaxies in dense environments. Detailed studies of this process have, however, largely been limited to relatively modest examples affecting only the outermost gas layers of galaxies in nearby and/or low-mass galaxy clusters. We here present results from our search for extreme cases of gas-galaxy interactions in much more massive, X-ray selected clusters at z > 0.3. Using Hubble Space Telescope snapshots in the F606W and F814W passbands, we have discovered dramatic evidence of ram-pressure stripping in which copious amounts ofmore » gas are first shock compressed and then removed from galaxies falling into the cluster. Vigorous starbursts triggered by this process across the galaxy-gas interface and in the debris trail cause these galaxies to temporarily become some of the brightest cluster members in the F606W passband, capable of outshining even the Brightest Cluster Galaxy. Based on the spatial distribution and orientation of systems viewed nearly edge-on in our survey, we speculate that infall at large impact parameter gives rise to particularly long-lasting stripping events. Our sample of six spectacular examples identified in clusters from the Massive Cluster Survey, all featuring M {sub F606W} < –21 mag, doubles the number of such systems presently known at z > 0.2 and facilitates detailed quantitative studies of the most violent galaxy evolution in clusters.« less

SOURCE ASSESSMENT: PRIORITIZATION OF STATIONARY WATER POLLUTION SOURCES

EPA Science Inventory

The report gives priority lists to aid in selecting specific sources of water effluents for detailed assessment. It describes the general water prioritization model, explains its implementation, and gives a detailed example of its use. It describes hazard factors that were develo...

Developing Performance Estimates for High Precision Astrometry with TMT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schoeck, Matthias; Do, Tuan; Ellerbroek, Brent; Herriot, Glen; Meyer, Leo; Suzuki, Ryuji; Wang, Lianqi; Yelda, Sylvana

2013-12-01

Adaptive optics on Extremely Large Telescopes will open up many new science cases or expand existing science into regimes unattainable with the current generation of telescopes. One example of this is high-precision astrometry, which has requirements in the range from 10 to 50 micro-arc-seconds for some instruments and science cases. Achieving these requirements imposes stringent constraints on the design of the entire observatory, but also on the calibration procedures, observing sequences and the data analysis techniques. This paper summarizes our efforts to develop a top down astrometry error budget for TMT. It is predominantly developed for the first-light AO system, NFIRAOS, and the IRIS instrument, but many terms are applicable to other configurations as well. Astrometry error sources are divided into 5 categories: Reference source and catalog errors, atmospheric refraction correction errors, other residual atmospheric effects, opto-mechanical errors and focal plane measurement errors. Results are developed in parametric form whenever possible. However, almost every error term in the error budget depends on the details of the astrometry observations, such as whether absolute or differential astrometry is the goal, whether one observes a sparse or crowded field, what the time scales of interest are, etc. Thus, it is not possible to develop a single error budget that applies to all science cases and separate budgets are developed and detailed for key astrometric observations. Our error budget is consistent with the requirements for differential astrometry of tens of micro-arc-seconds for certain science cases. While no show stoppers have been found, the work has resulted in several modifications to the NFIRAOS optical surface specifications and reference source design that will help improve the achievable astrometry precision even further.

Worked Examples Leads to Better Performance in Analyzing and Solving Real-Life Decision Cases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cevik, Yasemin Demiraslan; Andre, Thomas

2012-01-01

This study compared the impact of three types of case-based methods (worked example, faded worked example, and case-based reasoning) on preservice teachers' (n=71) decision making and reasoning related to realistic classroom management situations. Participants in this study received a short-term implementation of one of these three major…

Example-based super-resolution for single-image analysis from the Chang'e-1 Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Fan-Lu; Wang, Xiang-Jun

2016-11-01

Due to the low spatial resolution of images taken from the Chang'e-1 (CE-1) orbiter, the details of the lunar surface are blurred and lost. Considering the limited spatial resolution of image data obtained by a CCD camera on CE-1, an example-based super-resolution (SR) algorithm is employed to obtain high-resolution (HR) images. SR reconstruction is important for the application of image data to increase the resolution of images. In this article, a novel example-based algorithm is proposed to implement SR reconstruction by single-image analysis, and the computational cost is reduced compared to other example-based SR methods. The results show that this method can enhance the resolution of images using SR and recover detailed information about the lunar surface. Thus it can be used for surveying HR terrain and geological features. Moreover, the algorithm is significant for the HR processing of remotely sensed images obtained by other imaging systems.

PEMNetwork: Barriers and Enablers to Collaboration and Multimedia Education in the Digital Age.

PubMed

Lumba-Brown, Angela; Tat, Sonny; Auerbach, Marc A; Kessler, David O; Alletag, Michelle; Grover, Purva; Schnadower, David; Macias, Charles G; Chang, Todd P

2016-08-01

In January 2005, PEMFellows.com was created to unify fellows in pediatric emergency medicine. Since then, the website has expanded, contracted, and focused to adapt to the interests of the pediatric emergency medicine practitioner during the internet boom. This review details the innovation of the PEMNetwork, from the inception of the initial website and its evolution into a needs-based, user-directed educational hub. Barriers and enablers to success are detailed with unique examples from descriptive analysis and metrics of PEMNetwork web traffic as well as examples from other online medical communities and digital education websites.

Private traits and attributes are predictable from digital records of human behavior

PubMed Central

Kosinski, Michal; Stillwell, David; Graepel, Thore

2013-01-01

We show that easily accessible digital records of behavior, Facebook Likes, can be used to automatically and accurately predict a range of highly sensitive personal attributes including: sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious and political views, personality traits, intelligence, happiness, use of addictive substances, parental separation, age, and gender. The analysis presented is based on a dataset of over 58,000 volunteers who provided their Facebook Likes, detailed demographic profiles, and the results of several psychometric tests. The proposed model uses dimensionality reduction for preprocessing the Likes data, which are then entered into logistic/linear regression to predict individual psychodemographic profiles from Likes. The model correctly discriminates between homosexual and heterosexual men in 88% of cases, African Americans and Caucasian Americans in 95% of cases, and between Democrat and Republican in 85% of cases. For the personality trait “Openness,” prediction accuracy is close to the test–retest accuracy of a standard personality test. We give examples of associations between attributes and Likes and discuss implications for online personalization and privacy. PMID:23479631

A Case Study of an Emerging Visual Artist with Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

PubMed Central

Liu, Anli; Werner, Kelly; Roy, Subhojit; Trojanowski, John Q.; Morgan-Kane, Ursula; Miller, Bruce L.; Rankin, Katherine P.

2009-01-01

Patients with presenting with left-sided FTLD syndromes sometimes develop a new preoccupation with art, greater attention to visual stimuli, and increased visual creativity. We describe the case of a 53-year-old, right-handed man with a history of bipolar disorder who presented with language and behavior impairments characteristic of FTLD, then developed motor symptoms consistent with a second diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Though the patient had never created visual art before, he developed a compulsion for painting beginning at the earliest stages of his disease, and continued producing art daily until he could no longer lift a paintbrush because of his motor deficits. Upon autopsy, he was found to have ubiquitin and TDP43-positive inclusions with MND pathology. This case study details the patient’s longitudinal neuropsychological, emotional, behavioral, and motor symptoms, along with structural imaging, neurologic, and neuropathologic findings. Multiple examples of the patient’s art are depicted throughout all stages of his illness, and the possible cognitive, behavioral, and neurologic correlates of his new-onset visual artistry are discussed. PMID:19274573

Life cycle costing of waste management systems: overview, calculation principles and case studies.

PubMed

Martinez-Sanchez, Veronica; Kromann, Mikkel A; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

2015-02-01

This paper provides a detailed and comprehensive cost model for the economic assessment of solid waste management systems. The model was based on the principles of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and followed a bottom-up calculation approach providing detailed cost items for all key technologies within modern waste systems. All technologies were defined per tonne of waste input, and each cost item within a technology was characterised by both a technical and an economic parameter (for example amount and cost of fuel related to waste collection), to ensure transparency, applicability and reproducibility. Cost items were classified as: (1) budget costs, (2) transfers (for example taxes, subsidies and fees) and (3) externality costs (for example damage or abatement costs related to emissions and disamenities). Technology costs were obtained as the sum of all cost items (of the same type) within a specific technology, while scenario costs were the sum of all technologies involved in a scenario. The cost model allows for the completion of three types of LCC: a Conventional LCC, for the assessment of financial costs, an Environmental LCC, for the assessment of financial costs whose results are complemented by a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the same system, and a Societal LCC, for socio-economic assessments. Conventional and Environmental LCCs includes budget costs and transfers, while Societal LCCs includes budget and externality costs. Critical aspects were found in the existing literature regarding the cost assessment of waste management, namely system boundary equivalency, accounting for temporally distributed emissions and impacts, inclusions of transfers, the internalisation of environmental impacts and the coverage of shadow prices, and there was also significant confusion regarding terminology. The presented cost model was implemented in two case study scenarios assessing the costs involved in the source segregation of organic waste from 100,000 Danish households and the subsequent co-digestion of organic waste with animal manure. Overall, source segregation resulted in higher financial costs than the alternative of incinerating the organic waste with the residual waste: 1.6 M€/year, of which 0.9 M€/year was costs for extra bins and bags used by the households, 1.0 M€/year for extra collections and -0.3 M€/year saved on incineration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using Framework Analysis in nursing research: a worked example.

PubMed

Ward, Deborah J; Furber, Christine; Tierney, Stephanie; Swallow, Veronica

2013-11-01

To demonstrate Framework Analysis using a worked example and to illustrate how criticisms of qualitative data analysis including issues of clarity and transparency can be addressed. Critics of the analysis of qualitative data sometimes cite lack of clarity and transparency about analytical procedures; this can deter nurse researchers from undertaking qualitative studies. Framework Analysis is flexible, systematic, and rigorous, offering clarity, transparency, an audit trail, an option for theme-based and case-based analysis and for readily retrievable data. This paper offers further explanation of the process undertaken which is illustrated with a worked example. Data were collected from 31 nursing students in 2009 using semi-structured interviews. The data collected are not reported directly here but used as a worked example for the five steps of Framework Analysis. Suggestions are provided to guide researchers through essential steps in undertaking Framework Analysis. The benefits and limitations of Framework Analysis are discussed. Nurses increasingly use qualitative research methods and need to use an analysis approach that offers transparency and rigour which Framework Analysis can provide. Nurse researchers may find the detailed critique of Framework Analysis presented in this paper a useful resource when designing and conducting qualitative studies. Qualitative data analysis presents challenges in relation to the volume and complexity of data obtained and the need to present an 'audit trail' for those using the research findings. Framework Analysis is an appropriate, rigorous and systematic method for undertaking qualitative analysis. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Rockets using Liquid Oxygen

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Busemann, Adolf

1947-01-01

It is my task to discuss rocket propulsion using liquid oxygen and my treatment must be highly condensed for the ideas and experiments pertaining to this classic type of rocket are so numerous that one could occupy a whole morning with a detailed presentation. First, with regard to oxygen itself as compared with competing oxygen carriers, it is known that the liquid state of oxygen, in spite of the low boiling point, is more advantageous than the gaseous form of oxygen in pressure tanks, therefore only liquid oxygen need be compared with the oxygen carriers. The advantages of liquid oxygen are absolute purity and unlimited availability at relatively small cost in energy. The disadvantages are those arising from the impossibility of absolute isolation from heat; consequently, allowance must always be made for a certain degree of vaporization and only vented vessels can be used for storage and transportation. This necessity alone eliminates many fields of application, for example, at the front lines. In addition, liquid oxygen has a lower specific weight than other oxygen carriers, therefore many accessories become relatively larger and heavier in the case of an oxygen rocket, for example, the supply tanks and the pumps. The advantages thus become effective only in those cases where definitely scheduled operation and a large ground organization are possible and when the flight requires a great concentration of energy relative to weight. With the aim of brevity, a diagram of an oxygen rocket will be presented and the problem of various component parts that receive particularly thorough investigation in this classic case but which are also often applicable to other rocket types will be referred to.

Who should take responsibility for decisions on internationally recommended datasets? The case of the mass concentration of mercury in air at saturation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Richard J. C.; Brewer, Paul J.; Ent, Hugo; Fisicaro, Paola; Horvat, Milena; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Quétel, Christophe R.

2015-10-01

This paper considers how decisions on internationally recommended datasets are made and implemented and, further, how the ownership of these decisions comes about. Examples are given of conventionally agreed data and values where the responsibility is clear and comes about through official designation or by common usage and practice over long time periods. The example of the dataset describing the mass concentration of mercury in air at saturation is discussed in detail. This is a case where there are now several competing datasets that are in disagreement with each other, some with historical authority and some more recent but, arguably, with more robust metrological traceability to the SI. Further, it is elaborated that there is no body charged with the responsibility to make a decision on an international recommendation for such a dataset. This has led to the situation where several competing datasets are in use simultaneously. Close parallels are drawn with the current debate over changes to the ozone absorption cross section, which has equal importance to the measurement of ozone amount fraction in air and to subsequent compliance with air quality legislation. It is noted that in the case of the ozone cross section there is already a committee appointed to deliberate over any change. We make the proposal that a similar committee, under the auspices of IUPAC or the CIPM’s CCQM (if it adopted a reference data function) could be formed to perform a similar role for the mass concentration of mercury in air at saturation.

Beyond the Boundaries: Critical Thinking and Differing Cultural Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailin, Sharon; Battersby, Mark

2009-01-01

After outlining arguments for the general epistemological presumption in favour of taking into consideration alternative perspectives from other cultures, the article details several examples in which such an examination yields epistemic benefits and challenges. First, our example of alternative conceptions of art demonstrates that a western…

Defining and Demonstrating Capabilities for Experience-Based Narrative Memory

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-07-01

extracting patterns from observed examples. For example, given a collection of five summaries of Shakespeare plays, the Analogical Story Merging System...notes the detailed similarities of Macbeth and Hamlet , how Julius Caesar shares some structure with Macbeth and Hamlet but nowhere near as much, and

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2013-01-01

In this paper, the technology development and infusion of the motor drive electronics assembly, along with the technology qualification and space qualification, is described and detailed. The process is an example of the qualification methodology for extreme environmen

Strategy Guideline: Quality Management in Existing Homes - Cantilever Floor Example

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

Taggart, J.; Sikora, J.; Wiehagen, J.

2011-12-01

This guideline is designed to highlight the QA process that can be applied to any residential building retrofit activity. The cantilevered floor retrofit detailed in this guideline is included only to provide an actual retrofit example to better illustrate the QA activities being presented.

Biological Applications in the Mathematics Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marland, Eric; Palmer, Katrina M.; Salinas, Rene A.

2008-01-01

In this article we provide two detailed examples of how we incorporate biological examples into two mathematics courses: Linear Algebra and Ordinary Differential Equations. We use Leslie matrix models to demonstrate the biological properties of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. For Ordinary Differential Equations, we show how using a logistic growth…

Dialogue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaffe-Notier, Tamara

2017-01-01

In this essay, the author asserts that the dialogic pedagogy of Paulo Freire provides a good description of the dynamic of authentic learning. The author narrates one short example and one long example of Freirian dialogues occurring in a public high school, giving details that describe moments of transformation. The short narrative sketches…

The Chinese Life-Steps Program: A Cultural Adaptation of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention to Enhance HIV Medication Adherence.

PubMed

Shiu, Cheng-Shi; Chen, Wei-Ti; Simoni, Jane; Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen; Zhang, Fujie; Zhou, Hongxin

2013-05-01

China is considered to be the new frontier of the global AIDS pandemic. Although effective treatment for HIV is becoming widely available in China, adherence to treatment remains a challenge. This study aimed to adapt an intervention promoting HIV-medication adherence-favorably evaluated in the West-for Chinese HIV-positive patients. The adaptation process was theory-driven and covered several key issues of cultural adaptation. We considered the importance of interpersonal relationships and family in China and cultural notions of health. Using an evidence-based treatment protocol originally designed for Western HIV-positive patients, we developed an 11-step Chinese Life-Steps program with an additional culture-specific intervention option. We describe in detail how the cultural elements were incorporated into the intervention and put into practice at each stage. Clinical considerations are also outlined and followed by two case examples that are provided to illustrate our application of the intervention. Finally, we discuss practical and research issues and limitations emerging from our field experiments in a HIV clinic in Beijing. The intervention was tailored to address both universal and culturally specific barriers to adherence and is readily applicable to generalized clinical settings. This evidence-based intervention provides a case example of the process of adapting behavioral interventions to culturally diverse communities with limited resources.

The Chinese Life-Steps Program: A Cultural Adaptation of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention to Enhance HIV Medication Adherence

PubMed Central

Shiu, Cheng-Shi; Chen, Wei-Ti; Simoni, Jane; Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen; Zhang, Fujie; Zhou, Hongxin

2013-01-01

China is considered to be the new frontier of the global AIDS pandemic. Although effective treatment for HIV is becoming widely available in China, adherence to treatment remains a challenge. This study aimed to adapt an intervention promoting HIV-medication adherence—favorably evaluated in the West—for Chinese HIV-positive patients. The adaptation process was theory-driven and covered several key issues of cultural adaptation. We considered the importance of interpersonal relationships and family in China and cultural notions of health. Using an evidence-based treatment protocol originally designed for Western HIV-positive patients, we developed an 11-step Chinese Life-Steps program with an additional culture-specific intervention option. We describe in detail how the cultural elements were incorporated into the intervention and put into practice at each stage. Clinical considerations are also outlined and followed by two case examples that are provided to illustrate our application of the intervention. Finally, we discuss practical and research issues and limitations emerging from our field experiments in a HIV clinic in Beijing. The intervention was tailored to address both universal and culturally specific barriers to adherence and is readily applicable to generalized clinical settings. This evidence-based intervention provides a case example of the process of adapting behavioral interventions to culturally diverse communities with limited resources. PMID:23667305

Reforming health care for the elderly--the example of Vorarlberg.

PubMed

Badelt, C

1987-01-01

Vorarlberg--Austria's most western province with a population of about 325,000--has always implemented forms of social policy in which the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity play an important role. This is reflected in the structure of the organizations traditionally providing social services as well as in the more recent programmes the government has developed for social policy. This paper discusses two cases in point: the private associations for home care (Krankenpflegerverbände)--which now exist in 65 Vorarlberg communities and cover 85% of the population in the province--offering nursing services at home to members or to persons who are willing to join the organization when they need care, and the new organizational model, called Gesunder Lebensraum Vorarlberg (GLV), which is successfully operating in a few pilot communities. GLV has spawned umbrella organizations, run by volunteers, and offering a variety of social services relevant to the elderly, for example visiting services or neighbourhood help in case of emergencies. The volunteers get organizational help from a profit-making firm financed by the government. The Vorarlberg models can be interpreted as a step towards demedicalization and deinstitutionalization of health care for the elderly. Nevertheless, they also show the problems that arise when professionals and volunteers must cooperate. The models may lead to savings for the governments involved, although details are still subject to future empirical investigations.

SHARP Multiphysics Tutorials

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

Yu, Y. Q.; Shemon, E. R.; Mahadevan, Vijay S.

SHARP, developed under the NEAMS Reactor Product Line, is an advanced modeling and simulation toolkit for the analysis of advanced nuclear reactors. SHARP is comprised of three physics modules currently including neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and structural mechanics. SHARP empowers designers to produce accurate results for modeling physical phenomena that have been identified as important for nuclear reactor analysis. SHARP can use existing physics codes and take advantage of existing infrastructure capabilities in the MOAB framework and the coupling driver/solver library, the Coupled Physics Environment (CouPE), which utilizes the widely used, scalable PETSc library. This report aims at identifying the coupled-physicsmore » simulation capability of SHARP by introducing the demonstration example called sahex in advance of the SHARP release expected by Mar 2016. sahex consists of 6 fuel pins with cladding, 1 control rod, sodium coolant and an outer duct wall that encloses all the other components. This example is carefully chosen to demonstrate the proof of concept for solving more complex demonstration examples such as EBR II assembly and ABTR full core. The workflow of preparing the input files, running the case and analyzing the results is demonstrated in this report. Moreover, an extension of the sahex model called sahex_core, which adds six homogenized neighboring assemblies to the full heterogeneous sahex model, is presented to test homogenization capabilities in both Nek5000 and PROTEUS. Some primary information on the configuration and build aspects for the SHARP toolkit, which includes capability to auto-download dependencies and configure/install with optimal flags in an architecture-aware fashion, is also covered by this report. A step-by-step instruction is provided to help users to create their cases. Details on these processes will be provided in the SHARP user manual that will accompany the first release.« less

Using generalized additive (mixed) models to analyze single case designs.

PubMed

Shadish, William R; Zuur, Alain F; Sullivan, Kristynn J

2014-04-01

This article shows how to apply generalized additive models and generalized additive mixed models to single-case design data. These models excel at detecting the functional form between two variables (often called trend), that is, whether trend exists, and if it does, what its shape is (e.g., linear and nonlinear). In many respects, however, these models are also an ideal vehicle for analyzing single-case designs because they can consider level, trend, variability, overlap, immediacy of effect, and phase consistency that single-case design researchers examine when interpreting a functional relation. We show how these models can be implemented in a wide variety of ways to test whether treatment is effective, whether cases differ from each other, whether treatment effects vary over cases, and whether trend varies over cases. We illustrate diagnostic statistics and graphs, and we discuss overdispersion of data in detail, with examples of quasibinomial models for overdispersed data, including how to compute dispersion and quasi-AIC fit indices in generalized additive models. We show how generalized additive mixed models can be used to estimate autoregressive models and random effects and discuss the limitations of the mixed models compared to generalized additive models. We provide extensive annotated syntax for doing all these analyses in the free computer program R. Copyright © 2013 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Offshore safety case approach and formal safety assessment of ships.

PubMed

Wang, J

2002-01-01

Tragic marine and offshore accidents have caused serious consequences including loss of lives, loss of property, and damage of the environment. A proactive, risk-based "goal setting" regime is introduced to the marine and offshore industries to increase the level of safety. To maximize marine and offshore safety, risks need to be modeled and safety-based decisions need to be made in a logical and confident way. Risk modeling and decision-making tools need to be developed and applied in a practical environment. This paper describes both the offshore safety case approach and formal safety assessment of ships in detail with particular reference to the design aspects. The current practices and the latest development in safety assessment in both the marine and offshore industries are described. The relationship between the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment is described and discussed. Three examples are used to demonstrate both the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment. The study of risk criteria in marine and offshore safety assessment is carried out. The recommendations on further work required are given. This paper gives safety engineers in the marine and offshore industries an overview of the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment. The significance of moving toward a risk-based "goal setting" regime is given.

Siting Solar Photovoltaics at Airports: Preprint

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

Kandt, A.; Romero, R.

2014-06-01

Airports present a significant opportunity for hosting solar technologies due to their open land; based on a 2010 Federal Aviation Administration study, the US Department of Agriculture, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, there's potential for 116,704 MW of solar photovoltaics (PV) on idle lands at US airports. PV has a low profile and likely low to no impact on flight operations. This paper outlines guidance for implementing solar technologies at airports and airfields, focusing largely on the Federal Aviation Administration's policies. The paper also details best practices for siting solar at airports, provides information on the Solar Glaremore » Hazard Analysis Tool, and highlights a case study example where solar has been installed at an airport.« less

Calculated hydroxyl A2 sigma --> X2 pi (0, 0) band emission rate factors applicable to atmospheric spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cageao, R. P.; Ha, Y. L.; Jiang, Y.; Morgan, M. F.; Yung, Y. L.; Sander, S. P.

1997-01-01

A calculation of the A2 sigma --> X2 pi (0, 0) band emission rate factors and line center absorption cross sections of OH applicable to its measurement using solar resonant fluorescence in the terrestrial atmosphere is presented in this paper. The most accurate available line parameters have been used. Special consideration has been given to the solar input flux because of its highly structured Fraunhofer spectrum. The calculation for the OH atmospheric emission rate factor in the solar resonant fluorescent case is described in detail with examples and intermediate results. Results of this calculation of OH emission rate factors for individual rotational lines are on average 30% lower than the values obtained in an earlier work.

Optimum measurement for unambiguously discriminating two mixed states: General considerations and special cases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herzog, Ulrike; Bergou, János A.

2006-04-01

Based on our previous publication [U. Herzog and J. A. Bergou, Phys. Rev. A 71, 050301(R)(2005)] we investigate the optimum measurement for the unambiguous discrimination of two mixed quantum states that occur with given prior probabilities. Unambiguous discrimination of nonorthogonal states is possible in a probabilistic way, at the expense of a nonzero probability of inconclusive results, where the measurement fails. Along with a discussion of the general problem, we give an example illustrating our method of solution. We also provide general inequalities for the minimum achievable failure probability and discuss in more detail the necessary conditions that must be fulfilled when its absolute lower bound, proportional to the fidelity of the states, can be reached.

Exact nonlinear command generation and tracking for robot manipulators and spacecraft slewing maneuvers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dywer, T. A. W., III; Lee, G. K. F.

1984-01-01

In connection with the current interest in agile spacecraft maneuvers, it has become necessary to consider the nonlinear coupling effects of multiaxial rotation in the treatment of command generation and tracking problems. Multiaxial maneuvers will be required in military missions involving a fast acquisition of moving targets in space. In addition, such maneuvers are also needed for the efficient operation of robot manipulators. Attention is given to details regarding the direct nonlinear command generation and tracking, an approach which has been successfully applied to the design of control systems for V/STOL aircraft, linearizing transformations for spacecraft controlled with external thrusters, the case of flexible spacecraft dynamics, examples from robot dynamics, and problems of implementation and testing.

Hybrid simulation techniques applied to the earth's bow shock

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winske, D.; Leroy, M. M.

1985-01-01

The application of a hybrid simulation model, in which the ions are treated as discrete particles and the electrons as a massless charge-neutralizing fluid, to the study of the earth's bow shock is discussed. The essentials of the numerical methods are described in detail; movement of the ions, solution of the electromagnetic fields and electron fluid equations, and imposition of appropriate boundary and initial conditions. Examples of results of calculations for perpendicular shocks are presented which demonstrate the need for a kinetic treatment of the ions to reproduce the correct ion dynamics and the corresponding shock structure. Results for oblique shocks are also presented to show how the magnetic field and ion motion differ from the perpendicular case.

Challenges in Rotorcraft Acoustic Flight Prediction and Validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boyd, D. Douglas, Jr.

2003-01-01

Challenges associated with rotorcraft acoustic flight prediction and validation are examined. First, an outline of a state-of-the-art rotorcraft aeroacoustic prediction methodology is presented. Components including rotorcraft aeromechanics, high resolution reconstruction, and rotorcraft acoustic prediction arc discussed. Next, to illustrate challenges and issues involved, a case study is presented in which an analysis of flight data from a specific XV-15 tiltrotor acoustic flight test is discussed in detail. Issues related to validation of methodologies using flight test data are discussed. Primary flight parameters such as velocity, altitude, and attitude are discussed and compared for repeated flight conditions. Other measured steady state flight conditions are examined for consistency and steadiness. A representative example prediction is presented and suggestions are made for future research.

Instituting organizational learning for quality improvement through strategic planning nominal group processes.

PubMed

White, D B

2000-01-01

Healthcare managers are faced with unprecedented challenges as characterized by managed care constraints, downsizing, increased client needs, and a society demanding more responsive services. Managers must initiate change for quality, efficiency, and survival. This article provides information and strategies for (a) assessing the change readiness of an organization, (b) conducting an organizational diagnosis, (c) instituting a team culture, (d) developing a change strategy, (e) integrating the strategy with a quality improvement process, and (f) identifying the leadership skills to implement organization renewal. Nominal group processes, namely, SWOT and the Search Conference, are described, and case examples are provided. The implementation strategies have been used successfully in a variety of milieus; practical advice for success is described in detail.

The effect of fight cost structure on fighting behaviour involving simultaneous decisions and variable investment levels.

PubMed

Broom, Mark; Johanis, Michal; Rychtář, Jan

2018-01-01

In the "producer-scrounger" model, a producer discovers a resource and is in turn discovered by a second individual, the scrounger, who attempts to steal it. This resource can be food or a territory, and in some situations, potentially divisible. In a previous paper we considered a producer and scrounger competing for an indivisible resource, where each individual could choose the level of energy that they would invest in the contest. The higher the investment, the higher the probability of success, but also the higher the costs incurred in the contest. In that paper decisions were sequential with the scrounger choosing their strategy before the producer. In this paper we consider a version of the game where decisions are made simultaneously. For the same cost functions as before, we analyse this case in detail, and then make comparisons between the two cases. Finally we discuss some real examples with potentially variable and asymmetric energetic investments, including intraspecific contests amongst spiders and amongst parasitoid wasps. In the case of the spiders, detailed estimates of energetic expenditure are available which demonstrate the asymmetric values assumed in our models. For the wasps the value of the resource can affect the probabilities of success of the defender and attacker, and differential energetic investment can be inferred. In general for real populations energy usage varies markedly depending upon crucial parameters extrinsic to the individual such as resource value and intrinsic ones such as age, and is thus an important factor to consider when modelling.

Conversation analysis can help to distinguish between epilepsy and non-epileptic seizure disorders: a case comparison.

PubMed

Plug, Leendert; Sharrack, Basil; Reuber, Markus

2009-01-01

Factual items in patients' histories are of limited discriminating value in the differential diagnosis of epilepsy and non-epileptic seizures (NES). A number of studies using a transcript-based sociolinguistic research method inspired by Conversation Analysis (CA) suggest that it is helpful to focus on how patients talk. Previous reports communicated these findings by using particularly clear examples of diagnostically relevant interactional, linguistic and topical features from different patients. They did not discuss the sequential display of different features although this is crucially important from a conversation analytic point of view. This case comparison aims to show clinicians how the discriminating features are displayed by individual patients over the course of a clinical encounter. CA-inspired brief sequential analysis of two first 30-min doctor-patient encounters by a linguist blinded to all medical information. A gold standard diagnosis was made by the recording of a typical seizure with video-EEG. The patient with epilepsy volunteered detailed first person accounts of seizures. The NES patient exhibited resistance to focusing on individual seizure episodes and only provided a detailed seizure description after repeated prompting towards the end of the interview. Although both patients also displayed some linguistic features favouring the alternative diagnosis, the linguist's final diagnostic hypothesis matched the diagnosis made by video-EEG in both cases. This study illustrates the importance of the time point at which patients share information with the doctor. It supports the notion that close attention to how patients communicate can help in the differential diagnosis of seizures.

Fantastic plastic? Experimental evaluation of polyurethane bone substitutes as proxies for human bone in trauma simulations.

PubMed

Smith, Martin J; James, Stephen; Pover, Tim; Ball, Nina; Barnetson, Victoria; Foster, Bethany; Guy, Carl; Rickman, John; Walton, Virginia

2015-09-01

Recent years have seen steady improvements in the recognition and interpretation of violence related injuries in human skeletal remains. Such work has at times benefited from the involvement of biological anthropologists in forensic casework and has often relied upon comparison of documented examples with trauma observed in skeletal remains. In cases where no such example exists investigators must turn to experimentation. The selection of experimental samples is problematic as animal proxies may be too dissimilar to humans and human cadavers may be undesirable for a raft of reasons. The current article examines a third alternative in the form of polyurethane plates and spheres marketed as viable proxies for human bone in ballistic experiments. Through subjecting these samples to a range of impacts from both modern and archaic missile weapons it was established that such material generally responds similarly to bone on a broad, macroscopic scale but when examined in closer detail exhibits a range of dissimilarities that call for caution in extrapolating such results to real bone. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Tauris, T. M.; Langer, N.; Moriya, T. J.

Recent discoveries of weak and fast optical transients raise the question of their origin. We investigate the minimum ejecta mass associated with core-collapse supernovae (SNe) of Type Ic. We show that mass transfer from a helium star to a compact companion can produce an ultra-stripped core which undergoes iron core collapse and leads to an extremely fast and faint SN Ic. In this Letter, a detailed example is presented in which the pre-SN stellar mass is barely above the Chandrasekhar limit, resulting in the ejection of only ∼0.05-0.20 M {sub ☉} of material and the formation of a low-mass neutron star (NS).more » We compute synthetic light curves of this case and demonstrate that SN 2005ek could be explained by our model. We estimate that the fraction of such ultra-stripped to all SNe could be as high as 10{sup –3}-10{sup –2}. Finally, we argue that the second explosion in some double NS systems (for example, the double pulsar PSR J0737–3039B) was likely associated with an ultra-stripped SN Ic.« less

Rare and unusual ... or are they? Less commonly diagnosed encephalopathies associated with systemic disease.

PubMed

Weathers, Allison L; Lewis, Steven L

2009-04-01

Encephalopathy due to hepatic or renal failure, electrolyte disturbances, or the administration of benzodiazepines and narcotics is commonly encountered, well reviewed in the literature, and, therefore, not usually missed. This article focuses on encephalopathies that were previously well described but may be overlooked by modern clinicians, as well as those that are still taught in the classroom but seldom thought of in practice. Due to the presumed relative rarity of these cases and emphasis on the well-memorized "classic" clinical presentations, these often treatable, and perhaps not so rare, encephalopathies due to systemic medical illness may go undiagnosed and untreated. Pancreatic encephalopathy, Wernicke's encephalopathy, and pellagra encephalopathy are reviewed in detail; cefepime and ifosfamide encephalopathies are discussed as examples of specific medication-induced encephalopathies. Septic encephalopathy, central pontine myelinolysis, and fat embolism syndrome are briefly reviewed. The encephalopathies reviewed have the potential for devastating neurological consequences if recognition and, therefore, treatment are delayed. Clinical improvement for many of these syndromes depends on prompt intervention. This article highlights some representative examples of less-commonly diagnosed metabolic and toxic encephalopathies.

The construction of causal schemes: learning mechanisms at the knowledge level.

PubMed

diSessa, Andrea A

2014-06-01

This work uses microgenetic study of classroom learning to illuminate (1) the role of pre-instructional student knowledge in the construction of normative scientific knowledge, and (2) the learning mechanisms that drive change. Three enactments of an instructional sequence designed to lead to a scientific understanding of thermal equilibration are used as data sources. Only data from a scaffolded student inquiry preceding introduction of a normative model were used. Hence, the study involves nearly autonomous student learning. In two classes, students developed stable and socially shared explanations ("causal schemes") for understanding thermal equilibration. One case resulted in a near-normative understanding, while the other resulted in a non-normative "alternative conception." The near-normative case seems to be a particularly clear example wherein the constructed causal scheme is a composition of previously documented naïve conceptions. Detailed prior description of these naive elements allows a much better than usual view of the corresponding details of change during construction of the new scheme. A list of candidate mechanisms that can account for observed change is presented. The non-normative construction seems also to be a composition, albeit of a different structural form, using a different (although similar) set of naïve elements. This article provides one of very few high-resolution process analyses showing the productive use of naïve knowledge in learning. © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Study on Detailing Design of Precast Concrete Frame Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lida, Tian; Liming, Li; Kang, Liu; Jiao, Geng; Ming, Li

2018-03-01

Taking a certain precast concrete frame structure as an example, this paper introduces the general procedures and key points in detailing design of emulative cast-in-place prefabricated structure from the aspects of structural scheme, precast element layout, shop drawing design and BIM 3D modelling. This paper gives a practical solution for the detailing design of precast concrete frame structure under structural design codes in China.

Methodological challenges in international performance measurement using patient-level administrative data.

PubMed

Kiivet, Raul; Sund, Reijo; Linna, Miika; Silverman, Barbara; Pisarev, Heti; Friedman, Nurit

2013-09-01

We conducted this case study in order to test how health system performance could be compared using the existing national administrative health databases containing individual data. In this comparative analysis we used national data set from three countries, Estonia, Israel and Finland to follow the medical history, treatment outcome and resource use of patients with a chronic disease (diabetes) for 8 years after medical treatment was initiated. This study showed that several clinically important aspects of quality of care as well as health policy issues of cost-effectiveness and efficiency of health systems can be assessed by using the national administrative health data systems, in case those collecting person-level health service data. We developed a structured study protocol and detailed data specifications to generate standardized data sets, in each country, for long-term follow up of incident cohort of diabetic persons as well as shared analyzing programs to produce performance measures from the standardized data sets. This stepwise decentralized approach and use of anonymous person-level data allowed us to mitigate any legal, ownership, confidentiality and privacy concerns and to create internationally comparative data with the extent of detail that is seldom seen before. For example, our preliminary performance comparisons indicate that higher mortality among relatively young diabetes patients in Estonia may be related to considerably higher rates of cardiovascular complications and lower use of statins. Modern administrative person-level health service databases contain sufficiently rich data in details to assess the performance of health systems in the management of chronic diseases. This paper presents and discusses the methodological challenges and the way the problems were solved or avoided to enhance the representativeness and comparability of results. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The Morphology and Uniformity of Circumstellar OH/H2O Masers around OH/IR Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Felli, Derek Sean

Even though low mass stars ( 8 solar masses), the more massive stars drive the chemical evolution of galaxies from which the next generation of stars and planets can form. Understanding mass loss of asymptotic giant branch stars contributes to our understanding of the chemical evolution of the galaxy, stellar populations, and star formation history. Stars with mass 8 solar masses go supernova. In both cases, these stars enrich their environments with elements heavier than simple hydrogen and helium molecules. While some general info about how stars die and form planetary nebulae are known, specific details are missing due to a lack of high-resolution observations and analysis of the intermediate stages. For example, we know that mass loss in stars creates morphologically diverse planetary nebulae, but we do not know the uniformity of these processes, and therefore lack detailed models to better predict how spherically symmetric stars form asymmetric nebulae. We have selected a specific group of late-stage stars and observed them at different scales to reveal the uniformity of mass loss through different layers close to the star. This includes observing nearby masers that trace the molecular shell structure around these stars. This study revealed detailed structure that was analyzed for uniformity to place constraints on how the mass loss processes behave in models. These results will feed into our ability to create more detailed models to better predict the chemical evolution of the next generation of stars and planets.

Phonon dynamics of graphene on metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taleb, Amjad Al; Farías, Daniel

2016-03-01

The study of surface phonon dispersion curves is motivated by the quest for a detailed understanding of the forces between the atoms at the surface and in the bulk. In the case of graphene, additional motivation comes from the fact that thermal conductivity is dominated by contributions from acoustic phonons, while optical phonon properties are essential to understand Raman spectra. In this article, we review recent progress made in the experimental determination of phonon dispersion curves of graphene grown on several single-crystal metal surfaces. The two main experimental techniques usually employed are high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) and inelastic helium atom scattering (HAS). The different dispersion branches provide a detailed insight into the graphene-substrate interaction. Softening of optical modes and signatures of the substrate‧s Rayleigh wave are observed for strong graphene-substrate interactions, while acoustic phonon modes resemble those of free-standing graphene for weakly interacting systems. The latter allows determining the bending rigidity and the graphene-substrate coupling strength. A comparison between theory and experiment is discussed for several illustrative examples. Perspectives for future experiments are discussed.

The Development, Description and Appraisal of an Emergent Multimethod Research Design to Study Workforce Changes in Integrated Care Interventions.

PubMed

Busetto, Loraine; Luijkx, Katrien; Calciolari, Stefano; González-Ortiz, Laura G; Vrijhoef, Hubertus J M

2017-03-08

In this paper, we provide a detailed and explicit description of the processes and decisions underlying and shaping the emergent multimethod research design of our study on workforce changes in integrated chronic care. The study was originally planned as mixed method research consisting of a preliminary literature review and quantitative check of these findings via a Delphi panel. However, when the findings of the literature review were not appropriate for quantitative confirmation, we chose to continue our qualitative exploration of the topic via qualitative questionnaires and secondary analysis of two best practice case reports. The resulting research design is schematically described as an emergent and interactive multimethod design with multiphase combination timing. In doing so, we provide other researchers with a set of theory- and experience-based options to develop their own multimethod research and provide an example for more detailed and structured reporting of emergent designs. We argue that the terminology developed for the description of mixed methods designs should also be used for multimethod designs such as the one presented here.

Renormalizable group field theory beyond melonic diagrams: An example in rank four

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrozza, Sylvain; Lahoche, Vincent; Oriti, Daniele

2017-09-01

We prove the renormalizability of a gauge-invariant, four-dimensional group field theory (GFT) model on SU(2), whose defining interactions correspond to necklace bubbles (found also in the context of new large-N expansions of tensor models), rather than melonic ones, which are not renormalizable in this case. The respective scaling of different interactions in the vicinity of the Gaussian fixed point is determined by the renormalization group itself. This is possible because the appropriate notion of canonical dimension of the GFT coupling constants takes into account the detailed combinatorial structure of the individual interaction terms. This is one more instance of the peculiarity (and greater mathematical richness) of GFTs with respect to ordinary local quantum field theories. We also explore the renormalization group flow of the model at the nonperturbative level, using functional renormalization group methods, and identify a nontrivial fixed point in various truncations. This model is expected to have a similar structure of divergences as the GFT models of 4D quantum gravity, thus paving the way to more detailed investigations on them.

Aircraft Loss of Control: Problem Analysis for the Development and Validation of Technology Solutions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belcastro, Christine M.; Newman, Richard L.; Crider, Dennis A.; Klyde, David H.; Foster, John V.; Groff, Loren

2016-01-01

Aircraft loss of control (LOC) is a leading cause of fatal accidents across all transport airplane and operational classes. LOC can result from a wide spectrum of precursors (or hazards), often occurring in combination. Technologies developed for LOC prevention and recovery must therefore be effective under a wide variety of conditions and uncertainties, including multiple hazards, and the validation process must provide a means of assessing system effectiveness and coverage of these hazards. This paper provides a detailed description of a methodology for analyzing LOC as a dynamics and control problem for the purpose of developing effective technology solutions. The paper includes a definition of LOC based on several recent publications, a detailed description of a refined LOC accident analysis process that is illustrated via selected example cases, and a description of planned follow-on activities for identifying future potential LOC risks and the development of LOC test scenarios. Some preliminary considerations for LOC of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and for their safe integration into the National Airspace System (NAS) are also discussed.

The LATDYN user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Housner, J. M.; Mcgowan, P. E.; Abrahamson, A. L.; Powell, M. G.

1986-01-01

The LATDYN User's Manual presents the capabilities and instructions for the LATDYN (Large Angle Transient DYNamics) computer program. The LATDYN program is a tool for analyzing the controlled or uncontrolled dynamic transient behavior of interconnected deformable multi-body systems which can undergo large angular motions of each body relative other bodies. The program accommodates large structural deformation as well as large rigid body rotations and is applicable, but not limited to, the following areas: (1) development of large flexible space structures; (2) slewing of large space structure components; (3) mechanisms with rigid or elastic components; and (4) robotic manipulations of beam members. Presently the program is limited to two dimensional problems, but in many cases, three dimensional problems can be exactly or approximately reduced to two dimensions. The program uses convected finite elements to affect the large angular motions involved in the analysis. General geometry is permitted. Detailed user input and output specifications are provided and discussed with example runstreams. To date, LATDYN has been configured for CDC/NOS and DEC VAX/VMS machines. All coding is in ANSII-77 FORTRAN. Detailed instructions regarding interfaces with particular computer operating systems and file structures are provided.

From Constraints to Resolution Rules Part II : chains, braids, confluence and T&E

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berthier, Denis

In this Part II, we apply the general theory developed in Part I to a detailed analysis of the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP). We show how specific types of resolution rules can be defined. In particular, we introduce the general notions of a chain and a braid. As in Part I, these notions are illustrated in detail with the Sudoku example - a problem known to be NP-complete and which is therefore typical of a broad class of hard problems. For Sudoku, we also show how far one can go in "approximating" a CSP with a resolution theory and we give an empirical statistical analysis of how the various puzzles, corresponding to different sets of entries, can be classified along a natural scale of complexity. For any CSP, we also prove the confluence property of some Resolution Theories based on braids and we show how it can be used to define different resolution strategies. Finally, we prove that, in any CSP, braids have the same solving capacity as Trial-and-Error (T&E) with no guessing and we comment this result in the Sudoku case.

Antigen-Specific Therapeutic Approaches in Type 1 Diabetes

PubMed Central

Clemente-Casares, Xavier; Tsai, Sue; Huang, Carol; Santamaria, Pere

2012-01-01

Development of strategies capable of specifically curbing pathogenic autoimmune responses in a disease- and organ-specific manner without impairing foreign or tumor antigen-specific immune responses represents a long sought-after goal in autoimmune disease research. Unfortunately, our current understanding of the intricate details of the different autoimmune diseases that affect mankind, including type 1 diabetes, is rudimentary. As a result, progress in the development of the so-called “antigen-specific” therapies for autoimmunity has been slow and fraught with limitations that interfere with bench-to-bedside translation. Absent or incomplete understanding of mechanisms of action and lack of adequate immunological biomarkers, for example, preclude the rational design of effective drug development programs. Here, we provide an overview of antigen-specific approaches that have been tested in preclinical models of T1D and, in some cases, human subjects. The evidence suggests that effective translation of these approaches through clinical trials and into patients will continue to meet with failure unless detailed mechanisms of action at the level of the organism are defined. PMID:22355799

Analytical Approach for Detroit Urban Redevelopment and Rehabilitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korkmaz, Kasim A.

2017-10-01

Detroit had been the leader city in manufacturing in the 20th century in the US. The automobile industry created and continued the thriving economy in Detroit, MI in the early to mid-1900s. When outsourcing impacted the industry, people began to leave the city. That turned into a demographic catastrophe in Detroit. Economy had continuously felt and many of the properties were foreclosed. After the housing market crash in 2008, a big economic crisis effected all country. After such a strong economic crisis, Detroit has been desperately need of economic revival which has begun to turn around very slowly in last ten years. In this paper, while defining the nature of the problem, workable solutions for Detroit area are discussed with certain and framed techniques. The main purpose is to understand the current case for Detroit after a decade of the economic crisis and bring solutions for urban redevelopment and rehabilitation for Detroit area with real examples. A detailed evaluation is carried through comparison with other cities. Paper also details the problems in Detroit area, reasons behind the complications, components/parameters, constraints/limitations, solutions, people involved and expected results.

QDENSITY—A Mathematica Quantum Computer simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juliá-Díaz, Bruno; Burdis, Joseph M.; Tabakin, Frank

2006-06-01

This Mathematica 5.2 package is a simulation of a Quantum Computer. The program provides a modular, instructive approach for generating the basic elements that make up a quantum circuit. The main emphasis is on using the density matrix, although an approach using state vectors is also implemented in the package. The package commands are defined in Qdensity.m which contains the tools needed in quantum circuits, e.g., multiqubit kets, projectors, gates, etc. Selected examples of the basic commands are presented here and a tutorial notebook, Tutorial.nb is provided with the package (available on our website) that serves as a full guide to the package. Finally, application is made to a variety of relevant cases, including Teleportation, Quantum Fourier transform, Grover's search and Shor's algorithm, in separate notebooks: QFT.nb, Teleportation.nb, Grover.nb and Shor.nb where each algorithm is explained in detail. Finally, two examples of the construction and manipulation of cluster states, which are part of "one way computing" ideas, are included as an additional tool in the notebook Cluster.nb. A Mathematica palette containing most commands in QDENSITY is also included: QDENSpalette.nb. Program summaryTitle of program: QDENSITY Catalogue identifier: ADXH_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADXH_v1_0 Program available from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University of Belfast, N. Ireland Operating systems: Any which supports Mathematica; tested under Microsoft Windows XP, Macintosh OS X, and Linux FC4 Programming language used: Mathematica 5.2 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 180 581 No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 19 382 Distribution format: tar.gz Method of solution: A Mathematica package is provided which contains commands to create and analyze quantum circuits. Several Mathematica notebooks containing relevant examples: Teleportation, Shor's Algorithm and Grover's search are explained in detail. A tutorial, Tutorial.nb is also enclosed. QDENSITY is available at http://www.pitt.edu/~tabakin/QDENSITY.

Helping Students to Write Well-Developed and Detailed Paragraphs and Essays Using "QUEEN FRANCIS."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Backman, Brian

1996-01-01

Explains how to get middle school through college students to write detailed paragraphs with the QUEEN FRANCIS method--an acronym that stands for "Qu"otes, "E"xamples, "E"xperts, "N"ames, "F"acts, "R"easons, "A"necdotes, "N"umbers, "C"oncrete words,…

Program Evaluation: Two Management-Oriented Samples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alford, Kenneth Ray

2010-01-01

Two Management-Oriented Samples details two examples of the management-oriented approach to program evaluation. Kenneth Alford, a doctorate candidate at the University of the Cumberlands, details two separate program evaluations conducted in his school district and seeks to compare and contrast the two evaluations based upon the characteristics of…

Twenty Years On!: Updating the IEA BESTEST Building Thermal Fabric Test Cases for ASHRAE Standard 140

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

Judkoff, R.; Neymark, J.

2013-07-01

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140, Standard Method of Test for the Evaluation of Building Energy Analysis Computer Programs applies the IEA BESTEST building thermal fabric test cases and example simulation results originally published in 1995. These software accuracy test cases and their example simulation results, which comprise the first test suite adapted for the initial 2001 version of Standard 140, are approaching their 20th anniversary. In response to the evolution of the state of the art in building thermal fabric modeling since the test cases and example simulation results were developed, work is commencing to update the normative test specification and themore » informative example results.« less

Twenty Years On!: Updating the IEA BESTEST Building Thermal Fabric Test Cases for ASHRAE Standard 140: Preprint

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

Judkoff, R.; Neymark, J.

2013-07-01

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140, Standard Method of Test for the Evaluation of Building Energy Analysis Computer Programs applies the IEA BESTEST building thermal fabric test cases and example simulation results originally published in 1995. These software accuracy test cases and their example simulation results, which comprise the first test suite adapted for the initial 2001 version of Standard 140, are approaching their 20th anniversary. In response to the evolution of the state of the art in building thermal fabric modeling since the test cases and example simulation results were developed, work is commencing to update the normative test specification and themore » informative example results.« less

Identification, definition and quantification of goods and services provided by marine biodiversity: implications for the ecosystem approach.

PubMed

Beaumont, N J; Austen, M C; Atkins, J P; Burdon, D; Degraer, S; Dentinho, T P; Derous, S; Holm, P; Horton, T; van Ierland, E; Marboe, A H; Starkey, D J; Townsend, M; Zarzycki, T

2007-03-01

This paper identifies and defines ecosystem goods and services provided by marine biodiversity. Case studies have been used to provide an insight into the practical issues associated with the assessment of marine ecosystem goods and services at specific locations. The aim of this research was to validate the definitions of goods and services, and to identify knowledge gaps and likely difficulties of quantifying the goods and services. A validated theoretical framework for the assessment of goods and services is detailed, and examples of the goods and services at a variety of case study areas are documented. These results will enable future assessments of marine ecosystem goods and services. It is concluded that the utilisation of this goods and services approach has the capacity to play a fundamental role in the Ecosystem Approach, by enabling the pressures and demands of society, the economy and the environment to be integrated into environmental management.

A sub-national scale geospatial analysis of diamond deposit lootability: the case of the Central African Republic

USGS Publications Warehouse

Malpeli, Katherine C.; Chirico, Peter G.

2014-01-01

The Central African Republic (CAR), a country with rich diamond deposits and a tumultuous political history, experienced a government takeover by the Seleka rebel coalition in 2013. It is within this context that we developed and implemented a geospatial approach for assessing the lootability of high value-to-weight resource deposits, using the case of diamonds in CAR as an example. According to current definitions of lootability, or the vulnerability of deposits to exploitation, CAR's two major diamond deposits are similarly lootable. However, using this geospatial approach, we demonstrate that the deposits experience differing political geographic, spatial location, and cultural geographic contexts, rendering the eastern deposits more lootable than the western deposits. The patterns identified through this detailed analysis highlight the geographic complexities surrounding the issue of conflict resources and lootability, and speak to the importance of examining these topics at the sub-national scale, rather than relying on national-scale statistics.

Dynamic Transmission of Protein Allostery without Structural Change: Spatial Pathways or Global Modes?

PubMed Central

McLeish, Tom C.B.; Cann, Martin J.; Rodgers, Thomas L.

2015-01-01

We examine the contrast between mechanisms for allosteric signaling that involve structural change, and those that do not, from the perspective of allosteric pathways. In particular we treat in detail the case of fluctuation-allostery by which amplitude modulation of the thermal fluctuations of the elastic normal modes conveys the allosteric signal, and address the question of what an allosteric pathway means in this case. We find that a perturbation theory of thermal elastic solids and nonperturbative approach (by super-coarse-graining elasticity into internal bending modes) have opposite signatures in their structure of correlated pathways. We illustrate the effect from analysis of previous results from GlxR of Corynebacterium glutamicum, an example of the CRP/FNR transcription family of allosteric homodimers. We find that the visibility of both correlated pathways and disconnected sites of correlated motion in this protein suggests that mechanisms of local elastic stretch and bend are recruited for the purpose of creating and controlling allosteric cooperativity. PMID:26338443

A neural network prototyping package within IRAF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bazell, D.; Bankman, I.

1992-01-01

We outline our plans for incorporating a Neural Network Prototyping Package into the IRAF environment. The package we are developing will allow the user to choose between different types of networks and to specify the details of the particular architecture chosen. Neural networks consist of a highly interconnected set of simple processing units. The strengths of the connections between units are determined by weights which are adaptively set as the network 'learns'. In some cases, learning can be a separate phase of the user cycle of the network while in other cases the network learns continuously. Neural networks have been found to be very useful in pattern recognition and image processing applications. They can form very general 'decision boundaries' to differentiate between objects in pattern space and they can be used for associative recall of patterns based on partial cures and for adaptive filtering. We discuss the different architectures we plan to use and give examples of what they can do.

Rational Chebyshev spectral transform for the dynamics of broad-area laser diodes

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

Javaloyes, J., E-mail: julien.javaloyes@uib.es; Balle, S.

2015-10-01

This manuscript details the use of the rational Chebyshev transform for describing the transverse dynamics of broad-area laser diodes and amplifiers. This spectral method can be used in combination with the delay algebraic equations approach developed in [1], which substantially reduces the computation time. The theory is presented in such a way that it encompasses the case of the Fourier spectral transform presented in [2] as a particular case. It is also extended to the consideration of index guiding with an arbitrary transverse profile. Because their domain of definition is infinite, the convergence properties of the Chebyshev rational functions allowmore » handling the boundary conditions with higher accuracy than with the previously studied Fourier transform method. As practical examples, we solve the beam propagation problem with and without index guiding: we obtain excellent results and an improvement of the integration time between one and two orders of magnitude as compared with a fully distributed two dimensional model.« less

The detection of conformational disorder by thermal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wunderlich, B.

Conformational disorder in crystals is found in many molecules that possess a plurality of conformational isomers. Typical examples are linear macromolecules such as polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene and trans-1,4-polybutadiene; and small molecules such as paraffins, cycloparaffins, soaps, lipids and many liquid-crystal forming molecules. Conformational motion is often coupled with the cooperative creation of disorder. In this case a heat and entropy of transition is observed by thermal analysis. Levels of transition entropies can be estimated, assuming most of the disorder can be traced to conformational isomerism. In case there is conformational disorder frozen-in at low temperature, thermal analysis can be used to find the glass transition of a condis crystal. An Advanced Thermal Analysis System has been developed, and will be described that permits a detailed interpretation of the thermal analysis traces. It rests with the establishment of high quality heat capacity for the rigid solid state (vibration only) and the mobile liquid state (vibrations and large amplitude cooperative motion).

The detection of conformational disorder by thermal analysis

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

Wunderlich, B.

1988-01-01

Conformational disorder in crystals is found in many molecules that possess a plurality of conformational isomers. Typical examples are linear macromolecules such as polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene and trans-1,4-polybutadiene; and small molecules such as paraffins, cycloparaffins, soaps, lipids and many liquid-crystal forming molecules. Conformational motion is often coupled with the cooperative creation of disorder. In this case a heat and entropy of transition is observed by thermal analysis. Levels of transition entropies can be estimated, assuming most of the disorder can be traced to conformational isomerism. In case there is conformational disorder frozen-in at low temperature, thermal analysis can be used tomore » find the glass transition of a condis crystal. An Advanced Thermal Analysis System has been developed, and will be described that permits a detailed interpretation of the thermal analysis traces. It rests with the establishment of high quality heat capacity for the rigid solid state (vibration only) and the mobile liquid state (vibrations and large amplitude cooperative motion). 36 refs., 3 figs.« less

Multi-scale genetic dynamic modelling II: application to synthetic biology: an algorithmic Markov chain based approach.

PubMed

Kirkilionis, Markus; Janus, Ulrich; Sbano, Luca

2011-09-01

We model in detail a simple synthetic genetic clock that was engineered in Atkinson et al. (Cell 113(5):597-607, 2003) using Escherichia coli as a host organism. Based on this engineered clock its theoretical description uses the modelling framework presented in Kirkilionis et al. (Theory Biosci. doi: 10.1007/s12064-011-0125-0 , 2011, this volume). The main goal of this accompanying article was to illustrate that parts of the modelling process can be algorithmically automatised once the model framework we called 'average dynamics' is accepted (Sbano and Kirkilionis, WMI Preprint 7/2007, 2008c; Kirkilionis and Sbano, Adv Complex Syst 13(3):293-326, 2010). The advantage of the 'average dynamics' framework is that system components (especially in genetics) can be easier represented in the model. In particular, if once discovered and characterised, specific molecular players together with their function can be incorporated. This means that, for example, the 'gene' concept becomes more clear, for example, in the way the genetic component would react under different regulatory conditions. Using the framework it has become a realistic aim to link mathematical modelling to novel tools of bioinformatics in the future, at least if the number of regulatory units can be estimated. This should hold in any case in synthetic environments due to the fact that the different synthetic genetic components are simply known (Elowitz and Leibler, Nature 403(6767):335-338, 2000; Gardner et al., Nature 403(6767):339-342, 2000; Hasty et al., Nature 420(6912):224-230, 2002). The paper illustrates therefore as a necessary first step how a detailed modelling of molecular interactions with known molecular components leads to a dynamic mathematical model that can be compared to experimental results on various levels or scales. The different genetic modules or components are represented in different detail by model variants. We explain how the framework can be used for investigating other more complex genetic systems in terms of regulation and feedback.

Image-based diagnostic aid for interstitial lung disease with secondary data integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Depeursinge, Adrien; Müller, Henning; Hidki, Asmâa; Poletti, Pierre-Alexandre; Platon, Alexandra; Geissbuhler, Antoine

2007-03-01

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are a relatively heterogeneous group of around 150 illnesses with often very unspecific symptoms. The most complete imaging method for the characterisation of ILDs is the high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest but a correct interpretation of these images is difficult even for specialists as many diseases are rare and thus little experience exists. Moreover, interpreting HRCT images requires knowledge of the context defined by clinical data of the studied case. A computerised diagnostic aid tool based on HRCT images with associated medical data to retrieve similar cases of ILDs from a dedicated database can bring quick and precious information for example for emergency radiologists. The experience from a pilot project highlighted the need for detailed database containing high-quality annotations in addition to clinical data. The state of the art is studied to identify requirements for image-based diagnostic aid for interstitial lung disease with secondary data integration. The data acquisition steps are detailed. The selection of the most relevant clinical parameters is done in collaboration with lung specialists from current literature, along with knowledge bases of computer-based diagnostic decision support systems. In order to perform high-quality annotations of the interstitial lung tissue in the HRCT images an annotation software and its own file format is implemented for DICOM images. A multimedia database is implemented to store ILD cases with clinical data and annotated image series. Cases from the University & University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) are retrospectively and prospectively collected to populate the database. Currently, 59 cases with certified diagnosis and their clinical parameters are stored in the database as well as 254 image series of which 26 have their regions of interest annotated. The available data was used to test primary visual features for the classification of lung tissue patterns. These features show good discriminative properties for the separation of five classes of visual observations.

Using model based systems engineering for the development of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope's operational plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selvy, Brian M.; Claver, Charles; Willman, Beth; Petravick, Don; Johnson, Margaret; Reil, Kevin; Marshall, Stuart; Thomas, Sandrine; Lotz, Paul; Schumacher, German; Lim, Kian-Tat; Jenness, Tim; Jacoby, Suzanne; Emmons, Ben; Axelrod, Tim

2016-08-01

We† provide an overview of the Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) language, tool, and methodology being used in our development of the Operational Plan for Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) operations. LSST's Systems Engineering (SE) team is using a model-based approach to operational plan development to: 1) capture the topdown stakeholders' needs and functional allocations defining the scope, required tasks, and personnel needed for operations, and 2) capture the bottom-up operations and maintenance activities required to conduct the LSST survey across its distributed operations sites for the full ten year survey duration. To accomplish these complimentary goals and ensure that they result in self-consistent results, we have developed a holistic approach using the Sparx Enterprise Architect modeling tool and Systems Modeling Language (SysML). This approach utilizes SysML Use Cases, Actors, associated relationships, and Activity Diagrams to document and refine all of the major operations and maintenance activities that will be required to successfully operate the observatory and meet stakeholder expectations. We have developed several customized extensions of the SysML language including the creation of a custom stereotyped Use Case element with unique tagged values, as well as unique association connectors and Actor stereotypes. We demonstrate this customized MBSE methodology enables us to define: 1) the rolls each human Actor must take on to successfully carry out the activities associated with the Use Cases; 2) the skills each Actor must possess; 3) the functional allocation of all required stakeholder activities and Use Cases to organizational entities tasked with carrying them out; and 4) the organization structure required to successfully execute the operational survey. Our approach allows for continual refinement utilizing the systems engineering spiral method to expose finer levels of detail as necessary. For example, the bottom-up, Use Case-driven approach will be deployed in the future to develop the detailed work procedures required to successfully execute each operational activity.

Summary statistics in auditory perception.

PubMed

McDermott, Josh H; Schemitsch, Michael; Simoncelli, Eero P

2013-04-01

Sensory signals are transduced at high resolution, but their structure must be stored in a more compact format. Here we provide evidence that the auditory system summarizes the temporal details of sounds using time-averaged statistics. We measured discrimination of 'sound textures' that were characterized by particular statistical properties, as normally result from the superposition of many acoustic features in auditory scenes. When listeners discriminated examples of different textures, performance improved with excerpt duration. In contrast, when listeners discriminated different examples of the same texture, performance declined with duration, a paradoxical result given that the information available for discrimination grows with duration. These results indicate that once these sounds are of moderate length, the brain's representation is limited to time-averaged statistics, which, for different examples of the same texture, converge to the same values with increasing duration. Such statistical representations produce good categorical discrimination, but limit the ability to discern temporal detail.

Assessment of Reliable Change Using 95% Credible Intervals for the Differences in Proportions: A Statistical Analysis for Case-Study Methodology.

PubMed

Unicomb, Rachael; Colyvas, Kim; Harrison, Elisabeth; Hewat, Sally

2015-06-01

Case-study methodology studying change is often used in the field of speech-language pathology, but it can be criticized for not being statistically robust. Yet with the heterogeneous nature of many communication disorders, case studies allow clinicians and researchers to closely observe and report on change. Such information is valuable and can further inform large-scale experimental designs. In this research note, a statistical analysis for case-study data is outlined that employs a modification to the Reliable Change Index (Jacobson & Truax, 1991). The relationship between reliable change and clinical significance is discussed. Example data are used to guide the reader through the use and application of this analysis. A method of analysis is detailed that is suitable for assessing change in measures with binary categorical outcomes. The analysis is illustrated using data from one individual, measured before and after treatment for stuttering. The application of this approach to assess change in categorical, binary data has potential application in speech-language pathology. It enables clinicians and researchers to analyze results from case studies for their statistical and clinical significance. This new method addresses a gap in the research design literature, that is, the lack of analysis methods for noncontinuous data (such as counts, rates, proportions of events) that may be used in case-study designs.

Understanding casing flow in Pelton turbines by numerical simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rentschler, M.; Neuhauser, M.; Marongiu, J. C.; Parkinson, E.

2016-11-01

For rehabilitation projects of Pelton turbines, the flow in the casing may have an important influence on the overall performance of the machine. Water sheets returning on the jets or on the runner significantly reduce efficiency, and run-away speed depends on the flow in the casing. CFD simulations can provide a detailed insight into this type of flow, but these simulations are computationally intensive. As in general the volume of water in a Pelton turbine is small compared to the complete volume of the turbine housing, a single phase simulation greatly reduces the complexity of the simulation. In the present work a numerical tool based on the SPH-ALE meshless method is used to simulate the casing flow in a Pelton turbine. Using improved order schemes reduces the numerical viscosity. This is necessary to resolve the flow in the jet and on the casing wall, where the velocity differs by two orders of magnitude. The results are compared to flow visualizations and measurement in a hydraulic laboratory. Several rehabilitation projects proved the added value of understanding the flow in the Pelton casing. The flow simulation helps designing casing insert, not only to see their influence on the flow, but also to calculate the stress in the inserts. In some projects, the casing simulation leads to the understanding of unexpected behavior of the flow. One such example is presented where the backsplash of a deflector hit the runner, creating a reversed rotation of the runner.

Methods for the evaluation of alternative disaster warning systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agnew, C. E.; Anderson, R. J., Jr.; Lanen, W. N.

1977-01-01

For each of the methods identified, a theoretical basis is provided and an illustrative example is described. The example includes sufficient realism and detail to enable an analyst to conduct an evaluation of other systems. The methods discussed in the study include equal capability cost analysis, consumers' surplus, and statistical decision theory.

Uses of Children's Make-Believe Play in Family Therapy: Theory and Clinical Examples.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ariel, Shlomo; And Others

1985-01-01

Presents and illustrates by clinical examples a theoretical framework for developing, describing, and analyzing family-therapeutic techniques involving make-believe play. Induces specifications of the therapeutic goals served by the technique and its procedural details and an analysis of its rationale. Draws on a definition of the concept…

Stories of Discovery Stimulate the Physics Major--A Polemic, with Examples.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leitner, Alfred

1980-01-01

Provides historical examples of intuitive discovery applicable to the teaching of physics for majors. Cites details for the discovery of Coulomb's law, emphasizing the roles of Joseph Priestley and Henry Cavendish. Also discusses the career of Ivar Giaever, a Nobel Prize winner of 1973 in solid state physics. (CS)

Integration Of Three Dimensional Data From Unkown Origin On the Example Of A Traditional Residential Building In Al-Balad, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbig, U.; Mayer, I.; Mortada, H.; Rasztovits, S.

2014-05-01

3D Laser scanning technology gained more and more importance for the recording and documentation of architectural heritage. Especially for the survey of heterogeneous surfaces and complex structures it is a fast and reliable option for survey and so appreciated sources for research in architecture. Therefore the integration of laser scanning as a part of the building survey became a kind of standard procedure for objects of different scale, shape, age and origin. In some cases more than one team records an object with different devices using altering approaches. For example a client provides existing data from a part of the object that can't be accessed anymore, but is important to be integrated into the overall survey. The merging of the datasets may become challenging, especially if one survey is not documented in detail, in particular when it comes to the quality of the result. For a research about the traditional architecture of Saudi Arabia a building in the historic part of Jeddah has been surveyed in detail by a team of researchers of the Vienna University of Technology. Within this frame a workshop for students of the King Abdul Aziz about building archaeological research has been conducted. As part of the results consists of two sets of laserscan data, recorded with different laser scanners. Using these data a possible approach for the registration of scan data from different and/or unknown provenance has been developed which will be outlined in this paper.

Sparsity-based acoustic inversion in cross-sectional multiscale optoacoustic imaging.

PubMed

Han, Yiyong; Tzoumas, Stratis; Nunes, Antonio; Ntziachristos, Vasilis; Rosenthal, Amir

2015-09-01

With recent advancement in hardware of optoacoustic imaging systems, highly detailed cross-sectional images may be acquired at a single laser shot, thus eliminating motion artifacts. Nonetheless, other sources of artifacts remain due to signal distortion or out-of-plane signals. The purpose of image reconstruction algorithms is to obtain the most accurate images from noisy, distorted projection data. In this paper, the authors use the model-based approach for acoustic inversion, combined with a sparsity-based inversion procedure. Specifically, a cost function is used that includes the L1 norm of the image in sparse representation and a total variation (TV) term. The optimization problem is solved by a numerically efficient implementation of a nonlinear gradient descent algorithm. TV-L1 model-based inversion is tested in the cross section geometry for numerically generated data as well as for in vivo experimental data from an adult mouse. In all cases, model-based TV-L1 inversion showed a better performance over the conventional Tikhonov regularization, TV inversion, and L1 inversion. In the numerical examples, the images reconstructed with TV-L1 inversion were quantitatively more similar to the originating images. In the experimental examples, TV-L1 inversion yielded sharper images and weaker streak artifact. The results herein show that TV-L1 inversion is capable of improving the quality of highly detailed, multiscale optoacoustic images obtained in vivo using cross-sectional imaging systems. As a result of its high fidelity, model-based TV-L1 inversion may be considered as the new standard for image reconstruction in cross-sectional imaging.

Potential for using regional and global datasets for national scale ecosystem service modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maxwell, Deborah; Jackson, Bethanna

2016-04-01

Ecosystem service models are increasingly being used by planners and policy makers to inform policy development and decisions about national-level resource management. Such models allow ecosystem services to be mapped and quantified, and subsequent changes to these services to be identified and monitored. In some cases, the impact of small scale changes can be modelled at a national scale, providing more detailed information to decision makers about where to best focus investment and management interventions that could address these issues, while moving toward national goals and/or targets. National scale modelling often uses national (or local) data (for example, soils, landcover and topographical information) as input. However, there are some places where fine resolution and/or high quality national datasets cannot be easily obtained, or do not even exist. In the absence of such detailed information, regional or global datasets could be used as input to such models. There are questions, however, about the usefulness of these coarser resolution datasets and the extent to which inaccuracies in this data may degrade predictions of existing and potential ecosystem service provision and subsequent decision making. Using LUCI (the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator) as an example predictive model, we examine how the reliability of predictions change when national datasets of soil, landcover and topography are substituted with coarser scale regional and global datasets. We specifically look at how LUCI's predictions of where water services, such as flood risk, flood mitigation, erosion and water quality, change when national data inputs are replaced by regional and global datasets. Using the Conwy catchment, Wales, as a case study, the land cover products compared are the UK's Land Cover Map (2007), the European CORINE land cover map and the ESA global land cover map. Soils products include the National Soil Map of England and Wales (NatMap) and the European Soils Database. NEXTmap elevation data, which covers the UK and parts of continental Europe, are compared to global AsterDEM and SRTM30 topographical products. While the regional and global datasets can be used to fill gaps in data requirements, the coarser resolution of these datasets means that there is greater aggregation of information over larger areas. This loss of detail impacts on the reliability of model output, particularly where significant discrepancies between datasets exist. The implications of this loss of detail in terms of spatial planning and decision making is discussed. Finally, in the context of broader development the need for better nationally and globally available data to allow LUCI and other ecosystem models to become more globally applicable is highlighted.

Clinical professional governance for detailed clinical models.

PubMed

Goossen, William; Goossen-Baremans, Anneke

2013-01-01

This chapter describes the need for Detailed Clinical Models for contemporary Electronic Health Systems, data exchange and data reuse. It starts with an explanation of the components related to Detailed Clinical Models with a brief summary of knowledge representation, including terminologies representing clinic relevant "things" in the real world, and information models that abstract these in order to let computers process data about these things. Next, Detailed Clinical Models are defined and their purpose is described. It builds on existing developments around the world and accumulates in current work to create a technical specification at the level of the International Standards Organization. The core components of properly expressed Detailed Clinical Models are illustrated, including clinical knowledge and context, data element specification, code bindings to terminologies and meta-information about authors, versioning among others. Detailed Clinical Models to date are heavily based on user requirements and specify the conceptual and logical levels of modelling. It is not precise enough for specific implementations, which requires an additional step. However, this allows Detailed Clinical Models to serve as specifications for many different kinds of implementations. Examples of Detailed Clinical Models are presented both in text and in Unified Modelling Language. Detailed Clinical Models can be positioned in health information architectures, where they serve at the most detailed granular level. The chapter ends with examples of projects that create and deploy Detailed Clinical Models. All have in common that they can often reuse materials from earlier projects, and that strict governance of these models is essential to use them safely in health care information and communication technology. Clinical validation is one point of such governance, and model testing another. The Plan Do Check Act cycle can be applied for governance of Detailed Clinical Models. Finally, collections of clinical models do require a repository in which they can be stored, searched, and maintained. Governance of Detailed Clinical Models is required at local, national, and international levels.

The Interpersonal Conflict Episode: A Systems Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slawski, Carl

A detailed systems diagram elaborates the process of dealing with a single conflict episode between two parties or persons. Hypotheses are fully stated to lead the reader through the flow diagram. A concrete example illustrates its use. Detail is provided in an accounting scheme of virtually all possible variables to consider in analyzing a…

Towards a methodology for cluster searching to provide conceptual and contextual "richness" for systematic reviews of complex interventions: case study (CLUSTER).

PubMed

Booth, Andrew; Harris, Janet; Croot, Elizabeth; Springett, Jane; Campbell, Fiona; Wilkins, Emma

2013-09-28

Systematic review methodologies can be harnessed to help researchers to understand and explain how complex interventions may work. Typically, when reviewing complex interventions, a review team will seek to understand the theories that underpin an intervention and the specific context for that intervention. A single published report from a research project does not typically contain this required level of detail. A review team may find it more useful to examine a "study cluster"; a group of related papers that explore and explain various features of a single project and thus supply necessary detail relating to theory and/or context.We sought to conduct a preliminary investigation, from a single case study review, of techniques required to identify a cluster of related research reports, to document the yield from such methods, and to outline a systematic methodology for cluster searching. In a systematic review of community engagement we identified a relevant project - the Gay Men's Task Force. From a single "key pearl citation" we conducted a series of related searches to find contextually or theoretically proximate documents. We followed up Citations, traced Lead authors, identified Unpublished materials, searched Google Scholar, tracked Theories, undertook ancestry searching for Early examples and followed up Related projects (embodied in the CLUSTER mnemonic). Our structured, formalised procedure for cluster searching identified useful reports that are not typically identified from topic-based searches on bibliographic databases. Items previously rejected by an initial sift were subsequently found to inform our understanding of underpinning theory (for example Diffusion of Innovations Theory), context or both. Relevant material included book chapters, a Web-based process evaluation, and peer reviewed reports of projects sharing a common ancestry. We used these reports to understand the context for the intervention and to explore explanations for its relative lack of success. Additional data helped us to challenge simplistic assumptions on the homogeneity of the target population. A single case study suggests the potential utility of cluster searching, particularly for reviews that depend on an understanding of context, e.g. realist synthesis. The methodology is transparent, explicit and reproducible. There is no reason to believe that cluster searching is not generalizable to other review topics. Further research should examine the contribution of the methodology beyond improved yield, to the final synthesis and interpretation, possibly by utilizing qualitative sensitivity analysis.

BOOK REVIEW: Mathematica for Theoretical Physics: Electrodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, General Relativity and Fractals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heusler, Stefan

2006-12-01

The main focus of the second, enlarged edition of the book Mathematica for Theoretical Physics is on computational examples using the computer program Mathematica in various areas in physics. It is a notebook rather than a textbook. Indeed, the book is just a printout of the Mathematica notebooks included on the CD. The second edition is divided into two volumes, the first covering classical mechanics and nonlinear dynamics, the second dealing with examples in electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, general relativity and fractal geometry. The second volume is not suited for newcomers because basic and simple physical ideas which lead to complex formulas are not explained in detail. Instead, the computer technology makes it possible to write down and manipulate formulas of practically any length. For researchers with experience in computing, the book contains a lot of interesting and non-trivial examples. Most of the examples discussed are standard textbook problems, but the power of Mathematica opens the path to more sophisticated solutions. For example, the exact solution for the perihelion shift of Mercury within general relativity is worked out in detail using elliptic functions. The virial equation of state for molecules' interaction with Lennard-Jones-like potentials is discussed, including both classical and quantum corrections to the second virial coefficient. Interestingly, closed solutions become available using sophisticated computing methods within Mathematica. In my opinion, the textbook should not show formulas in detail which cover three or more pages—these technical data should just be contained on the CD. Instead, the textbook should focus on more detailed explanation of the physical concepts behind the technicalities. The discussion of the virial equation would benefit much from replacing 15 pages of Mathematica output with 15 pages of further explanation and motivation. In this combination, the power of computing merged with physical intuition would be of benefit even for newcomers. In summary, this book shows in a convincing manner how classical problems in physics can be attacked with modern computing technology. The second volume is interesting for experienced users of Mathematica. For students, the textbook can be very useful in combination with a seminar.

Integrated ground-water monitoring strategy for NRC-licensed facilities and sites: Case study applications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Price, V.; Temples, T.; Hodges, R.; Dai, Z.; Watkins, D.; Imrich, J.

2007-01-01

This document discusses results of applying the Integrated Ground-Water Monitoring Strategy (the Strategy) to actual waste sites using existing field characterization and monitoring data. The Strategy is a systematic approach to dealing with complex sites. Application of such a systematic approach will reduce uncertainty associated with site analysis, and therefore uncertainty associated with management decisions about a site. The Strategy can be used to guide the development of a ground-water monitoring program or to review an existing one. The sites selected for study fall within a wide range of geologic and climatic settings, waste compositions, and site design characteristics and represent realistic cases that might be encountered by the NRC. No one case study illustrates a comprehensive application of the Strategy using all available site data. Rather, within each case study we focus on certain aspects of the Strategy, to illustrate concepts that can be applied generically to all sites. The test sites selected include:Charleston, South Carolina, Naval Weapons Station,Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York,The USGS Amargosa Desert Research Site in Nevada,Rocky Flats in Colorado,C-Area at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, andThe Hanford 300 Area.A Data Analysis section provides examples of detailed data analysis of monitoring data.

Applying CBR to machine tool product configuration design oriented to customer requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Pengjia; Gong, Yadong; Xie, Hualong; Liu, Yongxian; Nee, Andrew Yehching

2017-01-01

Product customization is a trend in the current market-oriented manufacturing environment. However, deduction from customer requirements to design results and evaluation of design alternatives are still heavily reliant on the designer's experience and knowledge. To solve the problem of fuzziness and uncertainty of customer requirements in product configuration, an analysis method based on the grey rough model is presented. The customer requirements can be converted into technical characteristics effectively. In addition, an optimization decision model for product planning is established to help the enterprises select the key technical characteristics under the constraints of cost and time to serve the customer to maximal satisfaction. A new case retrieval approach that combines the self-organizing map and fuzzy similarity priority ratio method is proposed in case-based design. The self-organizing map can reduce the retrieval range and increase the retrieval efficiency, and the fuzzy similarity priority ratio method can evaluate the similarity of cases comprehensively. To ensure that the final case has the best overall performance, an evaluation method of similar cases based on grey correlation analysis is proposed to evaluate similar cases to select the most suitable case. Furthermore, a computer-aided system is developed using MATLAB GUI to assist the product configuration design. The actual example and result on an ETC series machine tool product show that the proposed method is effective, rapid and accurate in the process of product configuration. The proposed methodology provides a detailed instruction for the product configuration design oriented to customer requirements.

Clinical implications of contemporary gender theory.

PubMed

Kulish, Nancy

2010-04-01

The current intellectual scene in psychoanalysis is marked by vigorous theoretical controversies about gender. The ideas being debated have important implications for clinical work, which have not been thoroughly explicated or integrated into common practice. These implications include the following: gender can accrue idiosyncratic meanings; gender identity is considered fluid and rigidity of gender identity deemed problematic; gender-related conflicts are typically described as divergent; analysis of superego conflicts related to gender becomes particularly important; and, finally, gender-related biases are seen as inevitable and must be taken into account in the clinical situation. A detailed clinical example illustrates the application of these ideas. While the more dramatic cases related to gender have been more frequent subjects of study, conflicts about gender are everyday occurrences for our patients and deserve further attention.

Radiation and cancer risk: a continuing challenge for epidemiologists

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

This paper provides a perspective on epidemiological research on radiation and cancer, a field that has evolved over its six decade history. The review covers the current framework for assessing radiation risk and persistent questions about the details of these risks: is there a threshold and more generally, what is the shape of the dose-response relationship? How do risks vary over time and with age? What factors modify the risk of radiation? The example of radon progeny and lung cancer is considered as a case study, illustrating the modeling of epidemiological data to derive quantitative models and the coherence of the epidemiological and biological evidence. Finally, the manuscript considers the need for ongoing research, even in the face of research over a 60-year span. PMID:21489214

On the existence and stability conditions for mixed-hybrid finite element solutions based on Reissner's variational principle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karlovitz, L. A.; Atluri, S. N.; Xue, W.-M.

1985-01-01

The extensions of Reissner's two-field (stress and displacement) principle to the cases wherein the displacement field is discontinuous and/or the stress field results in unreciprocated tractions, at a finite number of surfaces ('interelement boundaries') in a domain (as, for instance, when the domain is discretized into finite elements), is considered. The conditions for the existence, uniqueness, and stability of mixed-hybrid finite element solutions based on such discontinuous fields, are summarized. The reduction of these global conditions to local ('element') level, and the attendant conditions on the ranks of element matrices, are discussed. Two examples of stable, invariant, least-order elements - a four-node square planar element and an eight-node cubic element - are discussed in detail.

Covalent bond orders and atomic valences from correlated wavefunctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ángyán, János G.; Rosta, Edina; Surján, Péter R.

1999-01-01

A comparison is made between two alternative definitions for covalent bond orders: one derived from the exchange part of the two-particle density matrix and the other expressed as the correlation of fluctuations (covariance) of the number of electrons between the atomic centers. Although these definitions lead to identical formulae for mono-determinantal SCF wavefunctions, they predict different bond orders for correlated wavefunctions. It is shown that, in this case, the fluctuation-based definition leads to slightly lower values of the bond order than does the exchange-based definition, provided one uses an appropriate space-partitioning technique like that of Bader's topological theory of atoms in a molecule; however, use of Mulliken partitioning in this context leads to unphysical behaviour. The example of H 2 is discussed in detail.

Maximally Informative Stimuli and Tuning Curves for Sigmoidal Rate-Coding Neurons and Populations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonnell, Mark D.; Stocks, Nigel G.

2008-08-01

A general method for deriving maximally informative sigmoidal tuning curves for neural systems with small normalized variability is presented. The optimal tuning curve is a nonlinear function of the cumulative distribution function of the stimulus and depends on the mean-variance relationship of the neural system. The derivation is based on a known relationship between Shannon’s mutual information and Fisher information, and the optimality of Jeffrey’s prior. It relies on the existence of closed-form solutions to the converse problem of optimizing the stimulus distribution for a given tuning curve. It is shown that maximum mutual information corresponds to constant Fisher information only if the stimulus is uniformly distributed. As an example, the case of sub-Poisson binomial firing statistics is analyzed in detail.

Exploring Hominin and Non-hominin Primate Dental Fossil Remains with Neutron Microtomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zanolli, Clément; Schillinger, Burkhard; Beaudet, Amélie; Kullmer, Ottmar; Macchiarelli, Roberto; Mancini, Lucia; Schrenk, Friedemann; Tuniz, Claudio; Vodopivec, Vladimira

Fossil dental remains are an archive of unique information for paleobiological studies. Computed microtomography based on X-ray microfocus sources (X-μCT) and Synchrotron Radiation (SR-μCT) allow subtle quantification at the micron and sub-micron scale of the meso- and microstructural signature imprinted in the mineralized tissues, such as enamel and dentine, through high-resolution ;virtual histology;. Nonetheless, depending on the degree of alterations undergone during fossilization, X-ray analyses of tooth tissues do not always provide distinct imaging contrasts, thus preventing the extraction of essential morphological and anatomical details. We illustrate here by three examples the successful application of neutron microtomography (n-μCT) in cases where X-rays have previously failed to deliver contrasts between dental tissues of fossilized specimen.

Planetary stations and Abyssal Benthic Laboratories: An overview of parallel approaches for long-term investigation in extreme environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dipippo, S.; Prendin, W.; Gasparoni, F.

1994-01-01

In spite of the apparent great differences between deep ocean and space environment, significant similarities can be recognized when considering the possible solutions and technologies enabling the development of remote automatic stations supporting the execution of scientific activities. In this sense it is believed that mutual benefits shall be derived from the exchange of experiences and results between people and organizations involved in research and engineering activities for hostile environments, such as space, deep sea, and polar areas. A significant example of possible technology transfer and common systematic approach is given, which describes in some detail how the solutions and the enabling technologies identified for an Abyssal Benthic Laboratory can be applied for the case of a lunar or planetary station.

Modelling interstellar physics and chemistry: implications for surface and solid-state processes.

PubMed

Williams, David; Viti, Serena

2013-07-13

We discuss several types of regions in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way and other galaxies in which the chemistry appears to be influenced or dominated by surface and solid-state processes occurring on or in interstellar dust grains. For some of these processes, for example, the formation of H₂ molecules, detailed experimental and theoretical approaches have provided excellent fundamental data for incorporation into astrochemical models. In other cases, there is an astrochemical requirement for much more laboratory and computational study, and we highlight these needs in our description. Nevertheless, in spite of the limitations of the data, it is possible to infer from astrochemical modelling that surface and solid-state processes play a crucial role in astronomical chemistry from early epochs of the Universe up to the present day.

PDCO: Polarizational-directional correlation from oriented nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Droste, Ch.; Rohoziński, S. G.; Starosta, K.; Morek, T.; Srebrny, J.; Magierski, P.

1996-02-01

A general formula is given for correlation between two polarized gamma rays ( γ1 and γ2) emitted in a cascade from an oriented (for example, due to a heavy ion reaction) nucleus. It allows us or one to calculate the angular correlation between: (a) Linear polarizations of γ1 and γ2. (b) Polarization of γ1 and direction of γ2 or vice versa. (c) Directions of γ1 and γ2 (DCO). The formula, discussed in detail for the case (b), can be used in the analysis of data coming from the modern multidetector gamma ray spectrometers that contain new generation detectors (e.g. CLOVER) sensitive to the polarization. The analysis of polarization together with DCO ratio can lead to a unique spin/parity assignment and a mixing ratio determination.

Dramatic (and Simple!) Demonstration of Newton's Third Law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feldman, Gerald

2011-02-01

An operational understanding of Newton's third law is often elusive for students. Typical examples of this concept are given for contact forces that are closer to the students' everyday experience. While this is a good thing in general, the reaction force can sometimes be taken for granted, and the students can miss the opportunity to really think about what is going on. In the case of magnetic forces, however, the notion of action at a distance actually requires a careful inspection of the forces involved and thereby promotes a more detailed analysis of the situation. In this paper, a simple demonstration of Newton's third law is presented in the context of a magnet falling through a hollow conducting tube. The results are unambiguous and lead the students to an irrefutable verification of Newton's third law.

Electrolytic cell-free 57Co deposition for emission Mössbauer spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zyabkin, Dmitry V.; Procházka, Vít; Miglierini, Marcel; Mašláň, Miroslav

2018-05-01

We have developed a simple, inexpensive and efficient method for an electrochemical preparation of samples for emission Mössbauer spectroscopy (EMS) and Mössbauer sources. The proposed electrolytic deposition procedure does not require any special setup, not even an electrolytic cell. It utilizes solely an electrode with a droplet of electrolyte on its surface and the second electrode sunk into the droplet. Its performance is demonstrated using two examples, a metallic glass and a Cu stripe. We present a detailed description of the deposition procedure and resulting emission Mössbauer spectra for both samples. In the case of a Cu stripe, we have performed EMS measurements at different stages of heat-treatment, which are required for the production of Mössbauer sources with the copper matrix.

It Takes a Village. Collaborative Outer Planet Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rymer, A. M.; Turtle, E. P.; Hofstadter, M. D.; Simon, A. A.; Hospodarsky, G. B.

2017-01-01

A mission to one or both of our local Ice Giants (Uranus and Neptune) emerged as a high priority in the most recent Planetary Science Decadal Survey and was also specifically mentioned supportively in the Heliophysics Decadal Survey. In 2016, NASA convened a science definition team to study ice giant mission concepts in more detail. Uranus and Neptune represent the last remaining planetary type in our Solar System to have a dedicated orbiting mission. The case for a Uranus mission has been made eloquently in the Decadal Surveys. Here we summarize some of the major drivers that lead to enthusiastic support for an Ice Giant mission in general, and use the example of a Uranus Mission concept to illustrate opportunities such a mission might provide for cross-division collaboration and cost-sharing.

Sharp comparison theorems for the Klein-Gordon equation in d dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Richard L.; Zorin, Petr

2016-06-01

We establish sharp (or ’refined’) comparison theorems for the Klein-Gordon equation. We show that the condition Va ≤ Vb, which leads to Ea ≤ Eb, can be replaced by the weaker assumption Ua ≤ Ub which still implies the spectral ordering Ea ≤ Eb. In the simplest case, for d = 1, Ui(x) =∫0xV i(t)dt, i = a or b and for d > 1, Ui(r) =∫0rV i(t)td-1dt, i = a or b. We also consider sharp comparison theorems in the presence of a scalar potential S (a ‘variable mass’) in addition to the vector term V (the time component of a four-vector). The theorems are illustrated by a variety of explicit detailed examples.

Semianalytic calculation of cosmic microwave background anisotropies from wiggly and superconducting cosmic strings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rybak, I. Yu.; Avgoustidis, A.; Martins, C. J. A. P.

2017-11-01

We study how the presence of world-sheet currents affects the evolution of cosmic string networks, and their impact on predictions for the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies generated by these networks. We provide a general description of string networks with currents and explicitly investigate in detail two physically motivated examples: wiggly and superconducting cosmic string networks. By using a modified version of the CMBact code, we show quantitatively how the relevant network parameters in both of these cases influence the predicted CMB signal. Our analysis suggests that previous studies have overestimated the amplitude of the anisotropies for wiggly strings. For superconducting strings the amplitude of the anisotropies depends on parameters which presently are not well known—but which can be measured in future high-resolution numerical simulations.

12 CFR Appendix A to Part 610 - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... mechanism function for a specific loan product is communicated without authority to negotiate the rate. (ii... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

12 CFR Appendix A to Part 610 - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... mechanism function for a specific loan product is communicated without authority to negotiate the rate. (ii... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

12 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... by the bank's loan approval mechanism function for a specific loan product is communicated without... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

12 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... by the bank's loan approval mechanism function for a specific loan product is communicated without... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

12 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... by the bank's loan approval mechanism function for a specific loan product is communicated without... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

12 CFR Appendix A to Part 610 - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... mechanism function for a specific loan product is communicated without authority to negotiate the rate. (ii... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

12 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... by the bank's loan approval mechanism function for a specific loan product is communicated without... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

Nondestructive evaluation/characterization of composite materials and structures using the acousto-ultrasonic techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dos Reis, H. L. M.; Vary, A.

1988-01-01

This paper introduces the nature and the underlying rational of the acousto-ultrasonic stress wave factor technique and some of its applications to composite materials and structures. Furthermore, two examples of successful application of the acousto-ultrasonic technique are presented in detail. In the first example, the acousto-ultrasonic technique is used to evaluate the adhesive bond strength between rubber layers and steel plates, and in the seocnd example the tehcnique is used to monitor progressive damage in wire rope.

Harm is all you need? Best interests and disputes about parental decision-making

PubMed Central

Birchley, Giles

2016-01-01

A growing number of bioethics papers endorse the harm threshold when judging whether to override parental decisions. Among other claims, these papers argue that the harm threshold is easily understood by lay and professional audiences and correctly conforms to societal expectations of parents in regard to their children. English law contains a harm threshold which mediates the use of the best interests test in cases where a child may be removed from her parents. Using Diekema's seminal paper as an example, this paper explores the proposed workings of the harm threshold. I use examples from the practical use of the harm threshold in English law to argue that the harm threshold is an inadequate answer to the indeterminacy of the best interests test. I detail two criticisms: First, the harm standard has evaluative overtones and judges are loath to employ it where parental behaviour is misguided but they wish to treat parents sympathetically. Thus, by focusing only on ‘substandard’ parenting, harm is problematic where the parental attempts to benefit their child are misguided or wrong, such as in disputes about withdrawal of medical treatment. Second, when harm is used in genuine dilemmas, court judgments offer different answers to similar cases. This level of indeterminacy suggests that, in practice, the operation of the harm threshold would be indistinguishable from best interests. Since indeterminacy appears to be the greatest problem in elucidating what is best, bioethicists should concentrate on discovering the values that inform best interests. PMID:26401048

Example evaluation of a permit application for a proposed hazardous-waste landfill in eastern Adams County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Banta, E.R.

1986-01-01

A project was undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency to demonstrate methods by which RCRA (Resources Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) Part B permit applications might be evaluated. The purpose of the project was to prepare a report that would supplement a series of case studies to be made available to permit writers in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Four sites in the United States were chosen for their potential applicability to geologically similar sites. The Adams County, Colorado, site was chosen to be representative of sites in the Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The intent of this report is to provide an example of how available earth-science information might be used in evaluating an application and not to evaluate the acceptability of the site. Because this study is an evaluation of a permit application, the data used are limited to the data supplied in the application and in published reports. Of the five criteria required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be addressed in the permit application considered in the case study, the application was evaluated to be inadequate in addressing three criteria: (1) Site characterization, (2) ability to monitor the location, and (3) flow paths and 100-foot time of travel. Details of the inadequacies and a description of the information needed to eliminate the inadequacies are included in the report. (USGS)

Detailed Balance Limit of Efficiency of Broadband-Pumped Lasers.

PubMed

Nechayev, Sergey; Rotschild, Carmel

2017-09-13

Broadband light sources are a wide class of pumping schemes for lasers including LEDs, sunlight and flash lamps. Recently, efficient coupling of broadband light to high-quality micro-cavities has been demonstrated for on-chip applications and low-threshold solar-pumped lasers via cascade energy transfer. However, the conversion of incoherent to coherent light comes with an inherent price of reduced efficiency, which has yet to be assessed. In this paper, we derive the detailed balance limit of efficiency of broadband-pumped lasers and discuss how it is affected by the need to maintain a threshold population inversion and thermodynamically dictated minimal Stokes' shift. We show that lasers' slope efficiency is analogous to the nominal efficiency of solar cells, limited by thermalisation losses and additional unavoidable Stokes' shift. The lasers' power efficiency is analogous to the detailed balance limit of efficiency of solar cells, affected by the cavity mirrors and impedance matching factor, respectively. As an example we analyze the specific case of solar-pumped sensitized Nd 3+ :YAG-like lasers and define the conditions to reach their thermodynamic limit of efficiency. Our work establishes an upper theoretical limit for the efficiency of broadband-pumped lasers. Our general, yet flexible model also provides a way to incorporate other optical and thermodynamic losses and, hence, to estimate the efficiency of non-ideal broadband-pumped lasers.

Asymptotics with a positive cosmological constant: I. Basic framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashtekar, Abhay; Bonga, Béatrice; Kesavan, Aruna

2015-01-01

The asymptotic structure of the gravitational field of isolated systems has been analyzed in great detail in the case when the cosmological constant Λ is zero. The resulting framework lies at the foundation of research in diverse areas in gravitational science. Examples include: (i) positive energy theorems in geometric analysis; (ii) the coordinate invariant characterization of gravitational waves in full, nonlinear general relativity; (iii) computations of the energy-momentum emission in gravitational collapse and binary mergers in numerical relativity and relativistic astrophysics; and (iv) constructions of asymptotic Hilbert spaces to calculate S-matrices and analyze the issue of information loss in the quantum evaporation of black holes. However, by now observations have led to a strong consensus that Λ is positive in our universe. In this paper we show that, unfortunately, the standard framework does not extend from the Λ =0 case to the Λ \\gt 0 case in a physically useful manner. In particular, we do not have positive energy theorems, nor an invariant notion of gravitational waves in the nonlinear regime, nor asymptotic Hilbert spaces in dynamical situations of semi-classical gravity. A suitable framework to address these conceptual issues of direct physical importance is developed in subsequent papers.

Generating and manipulating quantized vortices on-demand in a Bose-Einstein condensate: A numerical study

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

Gertjerenken, B.; Kevrekidis, P. G.; Carretero-González, R.

Here, we numerically investigate an experimentally viable method for generating and manipulating on-demand several vortices in a highly oblate atomic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in order to initialize complex vortex distributions for studies of vortex dynamics. The method utilizes moving laser beams to generate, capture, and transport vortices inside and outside the BEC. This methodology is examined in detail and shows a wide parameter range of applicability for the prototypical two-vortex case, as well as case examples of producing and manipulating several vortices for which there is no net circulation, corresponding to equal numbers of positive and negative circulation vortices, andmore » cases for which there is one net quantum of circulation. We also find that the presence of dissipation can help stabilize the pinning of the vortices on their respective laser beam pinning sites. Finally, we illustrate how to utilize laser beams as repositories that hold large numbers of vortices and how to deposit individual vortices in a sequential fashion in the repositories in order to construct superfluid flows about the repository beams with several quanta of circulation.« less

Generating and manipulating quantized vortices on-demand in a Bose-Einstein condensate: A numerical study

DOE PAGES

Gertjerenken, B.; Kevrekidis, P. G.; Carretero-González, R.; ...

2016-02-01

Here, we numerically investigate an experimentally viable method for generating and manipulating on-demand several vortices in a highly oblate atomic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in order to initialize complex vortex distributions for studies of vortex dynamics. The method utilizes moving laser beams to generate, capture, and transport vortices inside and outside the BEC. This methodology is examined in detail and shows a wide parameter range of applicability for the prototypical two-vortex case, as well as case examples of producing and manipulating several vortices for which there is no net circulation, corresponding to equal numbers of positive and negative circulation vortices, andmore » cases for which there is one net quantum of circulation. We also find that the presence of dissipation can help stabilize the pinning of the vortices on their respective laser beam pinning sites. Finally, we illustrate how to utilize laser beams as repositories that hold large numbers of vortices and how to deposit individual vortices in a sequential fashion in the repositories in order to construct superfluid flows about the repository beams with several quanta of circulation.« less

Colorado State University: A Midscale Market Solar Customer Case Study

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

Holm, Alison; Chernyakhovskiy, Ilya

Despite substantial increases in solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment between 2005 and 2015, a large untapped market for solar PV deployment still exists in midscale market investments by universities. Recent estimates show that if all universities in the United States installed enough solar PV to meet 25% of their annual electricity consumption, this would cumulatively result in just over 16 gigawatts (GW) of additional installed PV capacity. Within this context, midscale market projects - loosely defined as solar PV installations ranging from 100 kilowatts (kW) to 2 megawatts (MW), but more broadly representing installations not captured in the residential or utility-scalemore » sectors - could be an attractive option for universities. This case study focuses on one university solar customer, Colorado State University (CSU), to provide a detailed example of the challenges, solutions, and opportunities associated with university solar power procurement. Between 2009 and 2015, a combined 6,754 kW of both ground-mounted and rooftop solar PV was installed across multiple CSU campuses in Fort Collins, Colorado. This case study highlights CSU's decision-making process, campus engagement strategies, and relationships with state, local, and utility partners, which have culminated in significant on-campus PV deployment.« less

Multicriteria decision model for retrofitting existing buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bostenaru Dan, B.

2003-04-01

In this paper a model to decide which buildings from an urban area should be retrofitted is presented. The model has been cast into existing ones by choosing the decision rule, criterion weighting and decision support system types most suitable for the spatial problem of reducing earthquake risk in urban areas, considering existing spatial multiatributive and multiobjective decision methods and especially collaborative issues. Due to the participative character of the group decision problem "retrofitting existing buildings" the decision making model is based on interactivity. Buildings have been modeled following the criteria of spatial decision support systems. This includes identifying the corresponding spatial elements of buildings according to the information needs of actors from different sphaeres like architects, construction engineers and economists. The decision model aims to facilitate collaboration between this actors. The way of setting priorities interactivelly will be shown, by detailing the two phases: judgemental and computational, in this case site analysis, collection and evaluation of the unmodified data and converting survey data to information with computational methods using additional expert support. Buildings have been divided into spatial elements which are characteristic for the survey, present typical damages in case of an earthquake and are decisive for a better seismic behaviour in case of retrofitting. The paper describes the architectural and engineering characteristics as well as the structural damage for constuctions of different building ages on the example of building types in Bucharest, Romania in compressible and interdependent charts, based on field observation, reports from the 1977 earthquake and detailed studies made by the author together with a local engineer for the EERI Web Housing Encyclopedia. On this base criteria for setting priorities flow into the expert information contained in the system.

A spectroscopic search for faint secondaries in cataclysmic variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vande Putte, D.; Smith, Robert Connon; Hawkins, N. A.; Martin, J. S.

2003-06-01

The secondary in cataclysmic variables (CVs) is usually detected by cross-correlation of the CV spectrum with that of a K or M dwarf template, to produce a radial velocity curve. Although this method has demonstrated its power, it has its limits in the case of noisy spectra, such as are found when the secondary is faint. A method of coadding spectra, called skew mapping, has been proposed in the past. Gradually, examples of its application are being published; none the less, so far no journal article has described the technique in detail. To answer this need, this paper explores in detail the capabilities of skew mapping when determining the amplitude of the radial velocity for faint secondaries. It demonstrates the power of the method over techniques that are more conventional, when the signal-to-noise ratio is poor. The paper suggests an approach to assessing the quality of results. This leads in the case of the investigated objects to a first tier of results, where we find K2= 127 +/- 23 km s-1 for SY Cnc, K2= 144 +/- 18 km s-1 for RW Sex and K2= 262 +/- 14 km s-1 for UX UMa. These we believe to be the first direct determinations of K2 for these objects. Furthermore, we also obtain K2= 263 +/- 30 km s-1 for RW Tri, close to a skew mapping result obtained elsewhere. In the first three cases, we use these results to derive the mass of the white dwarf companion. A second tier of results includes UU Aqr, EX Hya and LX Ser, for which we propose more tentative values of K2. Clear failures of the method are also discussed (EF Eri, VV Pup and SW Sex).

An Example-Based Super-Resolution Algorithm for Selfie Images

PubMed Central

William, Jino Hans; Venkateswaran, N.; Narayanan, Srinath; Ramachandran, Sandeep

2016-01-01

A selfie is typically a self-portrait captured using the front camera of a smartphone. Most state-of-the-art smartphones are equipped with a high-resolution (HR) rear camera and a low-resolution (LR) front camera. As selfies are captured by front camera with limited pixel resolution, the fine details in it are explicitly missed. This paper aims to improve the resolution of selfies by exploiting the fine details in HR images captured by rear camera using an example-based super-resolution (SR) algorithm. HR images captured by rear camera carry significant fine details and are used as an exemplar to train an optimal matrix-value regression (MVR) operator. The MVR operator serves as an image-pair priori which learns the correspondence between the LR-HR patch-pairs and is effectively used to super-resolve LR selfie images. The proposed MVR algorithm avoids vectorization of image patch-pairs and preserves image-level information during both learning and recovering process. The proposed algorithm is evaluated for its efficiency and effectiveness both qualitatively and quantitatively with other state-of-the-art SR algorithms. The results validate that the proposed algorithm is efficient as it requires less than 3 seconds to super-resolve LR selfie and is effective as it preserves sharp details without introducing any counterfeit fine details. PMID:27064500

Isolating the Effects of Training Using Simple Regression Analysis: An Example of the Procedure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waugh, C. Keith

This paper provides a case example of simple regression analysis, a forecasting procedure used to isolate the effects of training from an identified extraneous variable. This case example focuses on results of a three-day sales training program to improve bank loan officers' knowledge, skill-level, and attitude regarding solicitation and sale of…

Micro-evolution of toxicant tolerance: from single genes to the genome's tangled bank.

PubMed

van Straalen, Nico M; Janssens, Thierry K S; Roelofs, Dick

2011-05-01

Two case-studies published 55 years ago became textbook examples of evolution in action: DDT resistance in houseflies (Busvine) and the rise of melanic forms of the peppered moth (Kettlewell). Now, many years later, molecular studies have elucidated in detail the mechanisms conferring resistance. In this paper we focus on the case of metal tolerance in a soil-living arthropod, Orchesella cincta, and provide new evidence on the transcriptional regulation of a gene involved in stress tolerance, metallothionein. Evolution of resistance is often ascribed to cis-regulatory change of such stress-combatting genes. For example, DDT resistance in the housefly is due to insertion of a mobile element into the promoter of Cyp6g1, and overexpression of this gene allows rapid metabolism of DDT. The discovery of these mechanisms has promoted the idea that resistance to environmental toxicants can be brought about by relatively simple genetic changes, involving up-regulation, duplication or structural alteration of a single-gene. Similarly, the work on O. cincta shows that populations from metal-polluted mining sites have a higher constitutive expression of the cadmium-induced metallothionein (Mt) gene. Moreover, its promoter appears to include a large degree of polymorphism; Mt promoter alleles conferring high expression in cell-based bioreporter assays were shown to occur at higher frequency in populations living at polluted sites. The case is consistent with classical examples of micro-evolution through altered cis-regulation of a key gene. However, new data on qPCR analysis of gene expression in homozygous genotypes with both reference and metal-tolerant genetic backgrounds, show that Mt expression of the same pMt homozygotes depends on the origin of the population. This suggests that trans-acting factors are also important in the regulation of Mt expression and its evolution. So the idea that metal tolerance in Orchesella can be viewed as a single-gene adaptation must be abandoned. These data, added to a genome-wide gene expression profiling study reported earlier shows that evolution of tolerance takes place in a complicated molecular network, not unlike an internal tangled bank. © The Author(s) 2011. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com

Detailed analysis of the effects of stencil spatial variations with arbitrary high-order finite-difference Maxwell solver

DOE PAGES

Vincenti, H.; Vay, J. -L.

2015-11-22

Due to discretization effects and truncation to finite domains, many electromagnetic simulations present non-physical modifications of Maxwell's equations in space that may generate spurious signals affecting the overall accuracy of the result. Such modifications for instance occur when Perfectly Matched Layers (PMLs) are used at simulation domain boundaries to simulate open media. Another example is the use of arbitrary order Maxwell solver with domain decomposition technique that may under some condition involve stencil truncations at subdomain boundaries, resulting in small spurious errors that do eventually build up. In each case, a careful evaluation of the characteristics and magnitude of themore » errors resulting from these approximations, and their impact at any frequency and angle, requires detailed analytical and numerical studies. To this end, we present a general analytical approach that enables the evaluation of numerical discretization errors of fully three-dimensional arbitrary order finite-difference Maxwell solver, with arbitrary modification of the local stencil in the simulation domain. The analytical model is validated against simulations of domain decomposition technique and PMLs, when these are used with very high-order Maxwell solver, as well as in the infinite order limit of pseudo-spectral solvers. Results confirm that the new analytical approach enables exact predictions in each case. It also confirms that the domain decomposition technique can be used with very high-order Maxwell solver and a reasonably low number of guard cells with negligible effects on the whole accuracy of the simulation.« less

Data Use and Inquiry in Research-Practice Partnerships: Four Case Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biag, Manuelito; Gerstein, Amy; Fehrer, Kendra; Sanchez, Monika; Sipes, Laurel

2016-01-01

The four case examples presented in this brief are drawn from the Gardner Center's substantial experience conducting rigorous research in research-practice partnerships. The first case describes a partnership approach that enhances a school district's capacity to use integrated longitudinal data to tackle persistent problems of practice and…

Development and application of a 3-D geometry/mass model for LDEF satellite ionizing radiation assessments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colborn, B. L.; Armstong, T. W.

1993-01-01

A three-dimensional geometry and mass model of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) spacecraft and experiment trays was developed for use in predictions and data interpretation related to ionizing radiation measurements. The modeling approach, level of detail incorporated, example models for specific experiments and radiation dosimeters, and example applications of the model are described.

Coping with Multicollinearity: An Example on Application of Principal Components Regression in Dendroecology

Treesearch

B. Desta Fekedulegn; J.J. Colbert; R.R., Jr. Hicks; Michael E. Schuckers

2002-01-01

The theory and application of principal components regression, a method for coping with multicollinearity among independent variables in analyzing ecological data, is exhibited in detail. A concrete example of the complex procedures that must be carried out in developing a diagnostic growth-climate model is provided. We use tree radial increment data taken from breast...

12 CFR Appendix A to Subpart I of... - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... loan process; or (D) Only the rate approved by the bank's loan approval mechanism function for a... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

12 CFR Appendix A to Subpart I of... - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... loan process; or (D) Only the rate approved by the bank's loan approval mechanism function for a... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

12 CFR Appendix A to Subpart I of... - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... loan process; or (D) Only the rate approved by the bank's loan approval mechanism function for a... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

12 CFR Appendix A to Subpart I of... - Examples of Mortgage Loan Originator Activities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... loan process; or (D) Only the rate approved by the bank's loan approval mechanism function for a... details of that offer. (c) Offering or negotiating a loan for compensation or gain. The following examples illustrate when an employee does or does not offer or negotiate terms of a loan “for compensation or gain...

A Practical Guide to Interpretation of Large Collections of Incident Narratives Using the QUORUM Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGreevy, Michael W.

1997-01-01

Analysis of incident reports plays an important role in aviation safety. Typically, a narrative description, written by a participant, is a central part of an incident report. Because there are so many reports, and the narratives contain so much detail, it can be difficult to efficiently and effectively recognize patterns among them. Recognizing and addressing recurring problems, however, is vital to continuing safety in commercial aviation operations. A practical way to interpret large collections of incident narratives is to apply the QUORUM method of text analysis, modeling, and relevance ranking. In this paper, QUORUM text analysis and modeling are surveyed, and QUORUM relevance ranking is described in detail with many examples. The examples are based on several large collections of reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database, and a collection of news stories describing the disaster of TWA Flight 800, the Boeing 747 which exploded in mid- air and crashed near Long Island, New York, on July 17, 1996. Reader familiarity with this disaster should make the relevance-ranking examples more understandable. The ASRS examples illustrate the practical application of QUORUM relevance ranking.

Quantifying the driving factors for language shift in a bilingual region.

PubMed

Prochazka, Katharina; Vogl, Gero

2017-04-25

Many of the world's around 6,000 languages are in danger of disappearing as people give up use of a minority language in favor of the majority language in a process called language shift. Language shift can be monitored on a large scale through the use of mathematical models by way of differential equations, for example, reaction-diffusion equations. Here, we use a different approach: we propose a model for language dynamics based on the principles of cellular automata/agent-based modeling and combine it with very detailed empirical data. Our model makes it possible to follow language dynamics over space and time, whereas existing models based on differential equations average over space and consequently provide no information on local changes in language use. Additionally, cellular automata models can be used even in cases where models based on differential equations are not applicable, for example, in situations where one language has become dispersed and retreated to language islands. Using data from a bilingual region in Austria, we show that the most important factor in determining the spread and retreat of a language is the interaction with speakers of the same language. External factors like bilingual schools or parish language have only a minor influence.

CELCAP: A Computer Model for Cogeneration System Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

A description of the CELCAP cogeneration analysis program is presented. A detailed description of the methodology used by the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory in developing the CELCAP code and the procedures for analyzing cogeneration systems for a given user are given. The four engines modeled in CELCAP are: gas turbine with exhaust heat boiler, diesel engine with waste heat boiler, single automatic-extraction steam turbine, and back-pressure steam turbine. Both the design point and part-load performances are taken into account in the engine models. The load model describes how the hourly electric and steam demand of the user is represented by 24 hourly profiles. The economic model describes how the annual and life-cycle operating costs that include the costs of fuel, purchased electricity, and operation and maintenance of engines and boilers are calculated. The CELCAP code structure and principal functions of the code are described to how the various components of the code are related to each other. Three examples of the application of the CELCAP code are given to illustrate the versatility of the code. The examples shown represent cases of system selection, system modification, and system optimization.

Specific metal recognition in nickel trafficking

PubMed Central

Higgins, Khadine A.; Carr, Carolyn E.; Maroney, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Nickel is an essential metal for a number of bacterial species that have developed systems for acquiring, delivering and incorporating the metal into target enzymes, and controlling the levels of nickel in cells to avoid toxic effects. As with other transition metals, these trafficking systems must be able to distinguish between the desired metal and other transition metal ions with similar physical and chemical properties. Because there are few enzymes (targets) that require nickel for activity (e.g., E. coli traffics nickel for hydrogenases made under anaerobic conditions and H. pylori requires nickel for hydrogenase and urease that are essential for acid viability), the ‘traffic pattern’ for nickel is relatively simple, and nickel trafficking therefore presents an opportunity to examine a system for the mechanisms that are used to distinguish nickel from other metals. In this review, we describe the details known for examples of uptake permeases, metallochaperones and proteins involved in metallocenter assembly, and nickel metalloregulators. We also illustrate the variety of mechanisms, including molecular recognition in the case of NikA protein and examples of allosteric regulation for HypA, NikR and RcnR, employed to generate specific biological responses to nickel ions. PMID:22970729

Public-Private Partnerships in Lead Discovery: Overview and Case Studies.

PubMed

Gottwald, Matthias; Becker, Andreas; Bahr, Inke; Mueller-Fahrnow, Anke

2016-09-01

The pharmaceutical industry is faced with significant challenges in its efforts to discover new drugs that address unmet medical needs. Safety concerns and lack of efficacy are the two main technical reasons for attrition. Improved early research tools including predictive in silico, in vitro, and in vivo models, as well as a deeper understanding of the disease biology, therefore have the potential to improve success rates. The combination of internal activities with external collaborations in line with the interests and needs of all partners is a successful approach to foster innovation and to meet the challenges. Collaboration can take place in different ways, depending on the requirements of the participants. In this review, the value of public-private partnership approaches will be discussed, using examples from the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI). These examples describe consortia approaches to develop tools and processes for improving target identification and validation, as well as lead identification and optimization. The project "Kinetics for Drug Discovery" (K4DD), focusing on the adoption of drug-target binding kinetics analysis in the drug discovery decision-making process, is described in more detail. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Langevin Dynamics, Large Deviations and Instantons for the Quasi-Geostrophic Model and Two-Dimensional Euler Equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouchet, Freddy; Laurie, Jason; Zaboronski, Oleg

2014-09-01

We investigate a class of simple models for Langevin dynamics of turbulent flows, including the one-layer quasi-geostrophic equation and the two-dimensional Euler equations. Starting from a path integral representation of the transition probability, we compute the most probable fluctuation paths from one attractor to any state within its basin of attraction. We prove that such fluctuation paths are the time reversed trajectories of the relaxation paths for a corresponding dual dynamics, which are also within the framework of quasi-geostrophic Langevin dynamics. Cases with or without detailed balance are studied. We discuss a specific example for which the stationary measure displays either a second order (continuous) or a first order (discontinuous) phase transition and a tricritical point. In situations where a first order phase transition is observed, the dynamics are bistable. Then, the transition paths between two coexisting attractors are instantons (fluctuation paths from an attractor to a saddle), which are related to the relaxation paths of the corresponding dual dynamics. For this example, we show how one can analytically determine the instantons and compute the transition probabilities for rare transitions between two attractors.

TCGAbiolinks: an R/Bioconductor package for integrative analysis of TCGA data

PubMed Central

Colaprico, Antonio; Silva, Tiago C.; Olsen, Catharina; Garofano, Luciano; Cava, Claudia; Garolini, Davide; Sabedot, Thais S.; Malta, Tathiane M.; Pagnotta, Stefano M.; Castiglioni, Isabella; Ceccarelli, Michele; Bontempi, Gianluca; Noushmehr, Houtan

2016-01-01

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) research network has made public a large collection of clinical and molecular phenotypes of more than 10 000 tumor patients across 33 different tumor types. Using this cohort, TCGA has published over 20 marker papers detailing the genomic and epigenomic alterations associated with these tumor types. Although many important discoveries have been made by TCGA's research network, opportunities still exist to implement novel methods, thereby elucidating new biological pathways and diagnostic markers. However, mining the TCGA data presents several bioinformatics challenges, such as data retrieval and integration with clinical data and other molecular data types (e.g. RNA and DNA methylation). We developed an R/Bioconductor package called TCGAbiolinks to address these challenges and offer bioinformatics solutions by using a guided workflow to allow users to query, download and perform integrative analyses of TCGA data. We combined methods from computer science and statistics into the pipeline and incorporated methodologies developed in previous TCGA marker studies and in our own group. Using four different TCGA tumor types (Kidney, Brain, Breast and Colon) as examples, we provide case studies to illustrate examples of reproducibility, integrative analysis and utilization of different Bioconductor packages to advance and accelerate novel discoveries. PMID:26704973

Ritual uses of palms in traditional medicine in sub-Saharan Africa: a review

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Palms (Arecaceae) are prominent elements in African traditional medicines. It is, however, a challenge to find detailed information on the ritual use of palms, which are an inextricable part of African medicinal and spiritual systems. This work reviews ritual uses of palms within African ethnomedicine. We studied over 200 publications on uses of African palms and found information about ritual uses in 26 of them. At least 12 palm species in sub-Saharan Africa are involved in various ritual practices: Borassus aethiopum, Cocos nucifera, Dypsis canaliculata, D. fibrosa, D. pinnatifrons, Elaeis guineensis, Hyphaene coriacea, H. petersiana, Phoenix reclinata, Raphia farinifera, R. hookeri, and R. vinifera. In some rituals, palms play a central role as sacred objects, for example the seeds accompany oracles and palm leaves are used in offerings. In other cases, palms are added as a support to other powerful ingredients, for example palm oil used as a medium to blend and make coherent the healing mixture. A better understanding of the cultural context of medicinal use of palms is needed in order to obtain a more accurate and complete insight into palm-based traditional medicines. PMID:25056559

Using dynamics to identify network topology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahi, Sahand Jamal; Tsaneva-Atanasova, Krasimira

2013-03-01

To elucidate the topology of a signaling pathway, generally, experimentalists manipulate a cell's molecular architecture, for example, by knocking out genes. Molecular biology techniques, though, are not only invasive and labor-intensive, they have also often been eluded by the complexity of biological networks, e.g., in the case of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) system. Inspired by the rapidly accumulating examples of oscillatory signaling in biology, we explored whether such dynamical stimuli can be used to discriminate different topologies of adaptive pathways, which are ubiquitous in biology. Responses to static inputs are nearly indistinguishable given strong measurement noise. Sine function stimuli, widely used in physics, are difficult to implement in standard microfluidics or optogenetics set-ups and do not simplify the mathematical analysis because of the nonlinearities in these systems. With periodic on-off pulses, which can be easily produced, however, simple adaptive circuit motifs and detailed models from the literature robustly reveal distinct output characteristics, which manifest in how the period of maximal output varies with pulse width. Our calculations provide a framework for using existing methods to discover difficult to reveal mechanisms. Furthermore, our results constrain the possible design principles of the presumed frequency decoders in biological systems where pulsatile signaling has recently been discovered.

[Clinical autopsies. Practical approach, legal foundations and ethical considerations].

PubMed

Friemann, J

2010-07-01

Only an autopsy can demonstrate topographical and morphological circumstances in detail and correlate the clinical and autopsy findings based on the examination of all organs. The practical approach in a fatality is described based on the example of the Lüdenscheid Hospital. A uniform legal regulation for dealing with corpses does not exist in Germany. There are two approaches to the question under which circumstances a clinical autopsy is allowed: the extended permission solution and the objection solution. Whether a clinical autopsy can be carried out is decided by the medical specialist selected on application. Autopsies can be necessary from insurance or administrative legal grounds or in the case of an anatomical autopsy is decided by the persons themselves. In order to guarantee the quality of an autopsy it is necessary to use a standardized approach with evaluation and assessment of the results, for example using a quality assurance protocol and the production of an autopsy report. Using this approach important information can be gained not only on the accuracy of the main diagnosis and cause of death but also on additional diseases, response to therapy and the course of the disease and under circumstances can lead to modifications in the approach.

Quantitative modelling in cognitive ergonomics: predicting signals passed at danger.

PubMed

Moray, Neville; Groeger, John; Stanton, Neville

2017-02-01

This paper shows how to combine field observations, experimental data and mathematical modelling to produce quantitative explanations and predictions of complex events in human-machine interaction. As an example, we consider a major railway accident. In 1999, a commuter train passed a red signal near Ladbroke Grove, UK, into the path of an express. We use the Public Inquiry Report, 'black box' data, and accident and engineering reports to construct a case history of the accident. We show how to combine field data with mathematical modelling to estimate the probability that the driver observed and identified the state of the signals, and checked their status. Our methodology can explain the SPAD ('Signal Passed At Danger'), generate recommendations about signal design and placement and provide quantitative guidance for the design of safer railway systems' speed limits and the location of signals. Practitioner Summary: Detailed ergonomic analysis of railway signals and rail infrastructure reveals problems of signal identification at this location. A record of driver eye movements measures attention, from which a quantitative model for out signal placement and permitted speeds can be derived. The paper is an example of how to combine field data, basic research and mathematical modelling to solve ergonomic design problems.

Integrating Six Sigma with total quality management: a case example for measuring medication errors.

PubMed

Revere, Lee; Black, Ken

2003-01-01

Six Sigma is a new management philosophy that seeks a nonexistent error rate. It is ripe for healthcare because many healthcare processes require a near-zero tolerance for mistakes. For most organizations, establishing a Six Sigma program requires significant resources and produces considerable stress. However, in healthcare, management can piggyback Six Sigma onto current total quality management (TQM) efforts so that minimal disruption occurs in the organization. Six Sigma is an extension of the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis that is required by JCAHO; it can easily be integrated into existing quality management efforts. Integrating Six Sigma into the existing TQM program facilitates process improvement through detailed data analysis. A drilled-down approach to root-cause analysis greatly enhances the existing TQM approach. Using the Six Sigma metrics, internal project comparisons facilitate resource allocation while external project comparisons allow for benchmarking. Thus, the application of Six Sigma makes TQM efforts more successful. This article presents a framework for including Six Sigma in an organization's TQM plan while providing a concrete example using medication errors. Using the process defined in this article, healthcare executives can integrate Six Sigma into all of their TQM projects.

Implications of path tolerance and path characteristics on critical vehicle manoeuvres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundahl, K.; Frisk, E.; Nielsen, L.

2017-12-01

Path planning and path following are core components in safe autonomous driving. Typically, a path planner provides a path with some tolerance on how tightly the path should be followed. Based on that, and other path characteristics, for example, sharpness of curves, a speed profile needs to be assigned so that the vehicle can stay within the given tolerance without going unnecessarily slow. Here, such trajectory planning is based on optimal control formulations where critical cases arise as on-the-limit solutions. The study focuses on heavy commercial vehicles, causing rollover to be of a major concern, due to the relatively high centre of gravity. Several results are obtained on required model complexity depending on path characteristics, for example, quantification of required path tolerance for a simple model to be sufficient, quantification of when yaw inertia needs to be considered in more detail, and how the curvature rate of change interplays with available friction. Overall, in situations where the vehicle is subject to a wide range of driving conditions, from good transport roads to more tricky avoidance manoeuvres, the requirements on the path following will vary. For this, the provided results form a basis for real-time path following.

Development of an integrated BEM approach for hot fluid structure interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dargush, G. F.; Banerjee, P. K.; Shi, Y.

1991-01-01

The development of a comprehensive fluid-structure interaction capability within a boundary element computer code is described. This new capability is implemented in a completely general manner, so that quite arbitrary geometry, material properties and boundary conditions may be specified. Thus, a single analysis code can be used to run structures-only problems, fluids-only problems, or the combined fluid-structure problem. In all three cases, steady or transient conditions can be selected, with or without thermal effects. Nonlinear analyses can be solved via direct iteration or by employing a modified Newton-Raphson approach. A number of detailed numerical examples are included at the end of these two sections to validate the formulations and to emphasize both the accuracy and generality of the computer code. A brief review of the recent applicable boundary element literature is included for completeness. The fluid-structure interaction facility is discussed. Once again, several examples are provided to highlight this unique capability. A collection of potential boundary element applications that have been uncovered as a result of work related to the present grant is given. For most of those problems, satisfactory analysis techniques do not currently exist.

An overview of STRUCTURE: applications, parameter settings, and supporting software

PubMed Central

Porras-Hurtado, Liliana; Ruiz, Yarimar; Santos, Carla; Phillips, Christopher; Carracedo, Ángel; Lareu, Maria V.

2013-01-01

Objectives: We present an up-to-date review of STRUCTURE software: one of the most widely used population analysis tools that allows researchers to assess patterns of genetic structure in a set of samples. STRUCTURE can identify subsets of the whole sample by detecting allele frequency differences within the data and can assign individuals to those sub-populations based on analysis of likelihoods. The review covers STRUCTURE's most commonly used ancestry and frequency models, plus an overview of the main applications of the software in human genetics including case-control association studies (CCAS), population genetics, and forensic analysis. The review is accompanied by supplementary material providing a step-by-step guide to running STRUCTURE. Methods: With reference to a worked example, we explore the effects of changing the principal analysis parameters on STRUCTURE results when analyzing a uniform set of human genetic data. Use of the supporting software: CLUMPP and distruct is detailed and we provide an overview and worked example of STRAT software, applicable to CCAS. Conclusion: The guide offers a simplified view of how STRUCTURE, CLUMPP, distruct, and STRAT can be applied to provide researchers with an informed choice of parameter settings and supporting software when analyzing their own genetic data. PMID:23755071

Minimal tomography with entanglement witnesses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Huangjun; Teo, Yong Siah; Englert, Berthold-Georg

2010-05-01

We introduce informationally complete measurements whose outcomes are entanglement witnesses and so answer the question of how many witnesses need to be measured to decide whether an arbitrary state is entangled or not: as many as the dimension of the state space. The witnesses can be measured successively; if all of them give an inconclusive result, one exploits their tomographic completeness for a reconstruction of the quantum state and can then determine its entanglement properties by data processing. There are witnesses that are optimal for this purpose. The optimized witness-based measurement can provide exponential improvement with respect to witness efficiency in high-dimensional Hilbert spaces, at the price of a reduction in the tomographic efficiency. We describe a systematic construction and illustrate the matter with the example of two qubits. For the case of two polarization qubits of photons, we show how existing technology can be used to implement the optimized witnesses in a very efficient way. Owing to the details of the implementation, which actually measures the eigenstate basis of the witness rather than solely determining the expectation value of the witness, one does not need to measure more than six witnesses in this example of a 16-dimensional state space.

Examples and Case Studies for the 2012 Chemical Data Reporting

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents examples and case studies to help you in reporting for 2012 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR), formerly known as Inventory Update Reporting (IUR).EPA designed these examples to illustrate the new reporting requirements, which were published as part of the CDR Rule (published August 16, 2011), and to address general reporting issues from the 2006 IUR.

Nighttime Parenting Strategies and Sleep-Related Risks to Infants

PubMed Central

Volpe, Lane E.; Ball, Helen L.; McKenna, James J.

2012-01-01

A large social science and public health literature addresses infant sleep safety, with implications for infant mortality in the context of accidental deaths and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). As part of risk reduction campaigns in the USA, parents are encouraged to place infants supine and to alter infant bedding and elements of the sleep environment, and are discouraged from allowing infants to sleep unsupervised, from bed-sharing either at all or under specific circumstances, or from sofa-sharing. These recommendations are based on findings from large-scale epidemiological studies that generate odds ratios or relative risk statistics for various practices; however, detailed behavioural data on nighttime parenting and infant sleep environments are limited. To address this issue, this paper presents and discusses the implications of four case studies based on overnight observations conducted with first-time mothers and their four-month old infants. These case studies were collected at the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab at the University of Notre Dame USA between September 2002 and June 2004.Each case study provides a detailed description based on video analysis of sleep-related risks observed while mother-infant dyads spent the night in a sleep lab. The case studies provide examples of mothers engaged in the strategic management of nighttime parenting for whom sleep-related risks to infants arose as a result of these strategies. Although risk reduction guidelines focus on eliminating potentially risky infant sleep practices as if the probability of death from each were equal, the majority of instances in which these occur are unlikely to result in infant mortality. Therefore, we hypothesise that mothers assess potential costs and benefits within margins of risk which are not acknowledged by risk-reduction campaigns. Exploring why mothers might choose to manage sleep and nighttime parenting in ways that appear to increase potential risks to infants may help illuminate how risks occur for individual infants. PMID:22818487

Nighttime parenting strategies and sleep-related risks to infants.

PubMed

Volpe, Lane E; Ball, Helen L; McKenna, James J

2013-02-01

A large social science and public health literature addresses infant sleep safety, with implications for infant mortality in the context of accidental deaths and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). As part of risk reduction campaigns in the USA, parents are encouraged to place infants supine and to alter infant bedding and elements of the sleep environment, and are discouraged from allowing infants to sleep unsupervised, from bed-sharing either at all or under specific circumstances, or from sofa-sharing. These recommendations are based on findings from large-scale epidemiological studies that generate odds ratios or relative risk statistics for various practices; however, detailed behavioural data on nighttime parenting and infant sleep environments are limited. To address this issue, this paper presents and discusses the implications of four case studies based on overnight observations conducted with first-time mothers and their four-month old infants. These case studies were collected at the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab at the University of Notre Dame USA between September 2002 and June 2004. Each case study provides a detailed description based on video analysis of sleep-related risks observed while mother-infant dyads spent the night in a sleep lab. The case studies provide examples of mothers engaged in the strategic management of nighttime parenting for whom sleep-related risks to infants arose as a result of these strategies. Although risk reduction guidelines focus on eliminating potentially risky infant sleep practices as if the probability of death from each were equal, the majority of instances in which these occur are unlikely to result in infant mortality. Therefore, we hypothesise that mothers assess potential costs and benefits within margins of risk which are not acknowledged by risk-reduction campaigns. Exploring why mothers might choose to manage sleep and nighttime parenting in ways that appear to increase potential risks to infants may help illuminate how risks occur for individual infants. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Observational evidence and strength of evidence domains: case examples

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Systematic reviews of healthcare interventions most often focus on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, certain circumstances warrant consideration of observational evidence, and such studies are increasingly being included as evidence in systematic reviews. Methods To illustrate the use of observational evidence, we present case examples of systematic reviews in which observational evidence was considered as well as case examples of individual observational studies, and how they demonstrate various strength of evidence domains in accordance with current Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) methods guidance. Results In the presented examples, observational evidence is used when RCTs are infeasible or raise ethical concerns, lack generalizability, or provide insufficient data. Individual study case examples highlight how observational evidence may fulfill required strength of evidence domains, such as study limitations (reduced risk of selection, detection, performance, and attrition); directness; consistency; precision; and reporting bias (publication, selective outcome reporting, and selective analysis reporting), as well as additional domains of dose-response association, plausible confounding that would decrease the observed effect, and strength of association (magnitude of effect). Conclusions The cases highlighted in this paper demonstrate how observational studies may provide moderate to (rarely) high strength evidence in systematic reviews. PMID:24758494

Categorizing mistaken false positives in regulation of human and environmental health.

PubMed

Hansen, Steffen Foss; Krayer von Krauss, Martin P; Tickner, Joel A

2007-02-01

One of the concerns often voiced by critics of the precautionary principle is that a widespread regulatory application of the principle will lead to a large number of false positives (i.e., over-regulation of minor risks and regulation of nonexisting risks). The present article proposes a general definition of a regulatory false positive, and seeks to identify case studies that can be considered authentic regulatory false positives. Through a comprehensive review of the science policy literature for proclaimed false positives and interviews with authorities on regulation and the precautionary principle we identified 88 cases. Following a detailed analysis of these cases, we found that few of the cases mentioned in the literature can be considered to be authentic false positives. As a result, we have developed a number of different categories for these cases of "mistaken false positives," including: real risks, "The jury is still out," nonregulated proclaimed risks, "Too narrow a definition of risk," and risk-risk tradeoffs. These categories are defined and examples are presented in order to illustrate their key characteristics. On the basis of our analysis, we were able to identify only four cases that could be defined as regulatory false positives in the light of today's knowledge and recognized uncertainty: the Southern Corn Leaf Blight, the Swine Flu, Saccharin, and Food Irradiation in relation to consumer health. We conclude that concerns about false positives do not represent a reasonable argument against future application of the precautionary principle.

Examining Preservice Teachers' Decision Behaviors and Individual Differences in Three Online Case-Based Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cevik, Yasemin Demiraslan; Andre, Thomas

2013-01-01

This study compared the impact of three types of case-based methods (case-based reasoning, worked example, and faded worked example) on preservice teachers' (n = 71) interaction with decision tasks and whether decision related measures (task difficulty, mental effort, decision making performance) were associated with the differences in student…

Linguistic representations and memory architectures: The devil is in the details.

PubMed

Chacón, Dustin Alfonso; Momma, Shota; Phillips, Colin

2016-01-01

Attempts to explain linguistic phenomena as consequences of memory constraints require detailed specification of linguistic representations and memory architectures alike. We discuss examples of supposed locality biases in language comprehension and production, and their link to memory constraints. Findings do not generally favor Christiansen & Chater's (C&C's) approach. We discuss connections to debates that stretch back to the nineteenth century.

Close contacts at the interface: Experimental-computational synergies for solving complexity problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torras, Juan; Zanuy, David; Bertran, Oscar; Alemán, Carlos; Puiggalí, Jordi; Turón, Pau; Revilla-López, Guillem

2018-02-01

The study of material science has been long devoted to the disentanglement of bulk structures which mainly entails finding the inner structure of materials. That structure is accountable for a major portion of materials' properties. Yet, as our knowledge of these "backbones" enlarged so did the interest for the materials' boundaries properties which means the properties at the frontier with the surrounding environment that is called interface. The interface is thus to be understood as the sum of the material's surface plus the surrounding environment be it in solid, liquid or gas phase. The study of phenomena at this interface requires both the use of experimental and theoretical techniques and, above all, a wise combination of them in order to shed light over the most intimate details at atomic, molecular and mesostructure levels. Here, we report several cases to be used as proof of concept of the results achieved when studying interface phenomena by combining a myriad of experimental and theoretical tools to overcome the usual limitation regardind atomic detail, size and time scales and systems of complex composition. Real world examples of the combined experimental-theoretical work and new tools, software, is offered to the readers.

The Development, Description and Appraisal of an Emergent Multimethod Research Design to Study Workforce Changes in Integrated Care Interventions

PubMed Central

Luijkx, Katrien; Calciolari, Stefano; González-Ortiz, Laura G.

2017-01-01

Introduction: In this paper, we provide a detailed and explicit description of the processes and decisions underlying and shaping the emergent multimethod research design of our study on workforce changes in integrated chronic care. Theory and methods: The study was originally planned as mixed method research consisting of a preliminary literature review and quantitative check of these findings via a Delphi panel. However, when the findings of the literature review were not appropriate for quantitative confirmation, we chose to continue our qualitative exploration of the topic via qualitative questionnaires and secondary analysis of two best practice case reports. Results: The resulting research design is schematically described as an emergent and interactive multimethod design with multiphase combination timing. In doing so, we provide other researchers with a set of theory- and experience-based options to develop their own multimethod research and provide an example for more detailed and structured reporting of emergent designs. Conclusion and discussion: We argue that the terminology developed for the description of mixed methods designs should also be used for multimethod designs such as the one presented here. PMID:29042843

Permutation inference for the general linear model

PubMed Central

Winkler, Anderson M.; Ridgway, Gerard R.; Webster, Matthew A.; Smith, Stephen M.; Nichols, Thomas E.

2014-01-01

Permutation methods can provide exact control of false positives and allow the use of non-standard statistics, making only weak assumptions about the data. With the availability of fast and inexpensive computing, their main limitation would be some lack of flexibility to work with arbitrary experimental designs. In this paper we report on results on approximate permutation methods that are more flexible with respect to the experimental design and nuisance variables, and conduct detailed simulations to identify the best method for settings that are typical for imaging research scenarios. We present a generic framework for permutation inference for complex general linear models (glms) when the errors are exchangeable and/or have a symmetric distribution, and show that, even in the presence of nuisance effects, these permutation inferences are powerful while providing excellent control of false positives in a wide range of common and relevant imaging research scenarios. We also demonstrate how the inference on glm parameters, originally intended for independent data, can be used in certain special but useful cases in which independence is violated. Detailed examples of common neuroimaging applications are provided, as well as a complete algorithm – the “randomise” algorithm – for permutation inference with the glm. PMID:24530839

Statistical Neurodynamics.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paine, Gregory Harold

1982-03-01

The primary objective of the thesis is to explore the dynamical properties of small nerve networks by means of the methods of statistical mechanics. To this end, a general formalism is developed and applied to elementary groupings of model neurons which are driven by either constant (steady state) or nonconstant (nonsteady state) forces. Neuronal models described by a system of coupled, nonlinear, first-order, ordinary differential equations are considered. A linearized form of the neuronal equations is studied in detail. A Lagrange function corresponding to the linear neural network is constructed which, through a Legendre transformation, provides a constant of motion. By invoking the Maximum-Entropy Principle with the single integral of motion as a constraint, a probability distribution function for the network in a steady state can be obtained. The formalism is implemented for some simple networks driven by a constant force; accordingly, the analysis focuses on a study of fluctuations about the steady state. In particular, a network composed of N noninteracting neurons, termed Free Thinkers, is considered in detail, with a view to interpretation and numerical estimation of the Lagrange multiplier corresponding to the constant of motion. As an archetypical example of a net of interacting neurons, the classical neural oscillator, consisting of two mutually inhibitory neurons, is investigated. It is further shown that in the case of a network driven by a nonconstant force, the Maximum-Entropy Principle can be applied to determine a probability distribution functional describing the network in a nonsteady state. The above examples are reconsidered with nonconstant driving forces which produce small deviations from the steady state. Numerical studies are performed on simplified models of two physical systems: the starfish central nervous system and the mammalian olfactory bulb. Discussions are given as to how statistical neurodynamics can be used to gain a better understanding of the behavior of these systems.

Sparsity-based acoustic inversion in cross-sectional multiscale optoacoustic imaging

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

Han, Yiyong; Tzoumas, Stratis; Nunes, Antonio

2015-09-15

Purpose: With recent advancement in hardware of optoacoustic imaging systems, highly detailed cross-sectional images may be acquired at a single laser shot, thus eliminating motion artifacts. Nonetheless, other sources of artifacts remain due to signal distortion or out-of-plane signals. The purpose of image reconstruction algorithms is to obtain the most accurate images from noisy, distorted projection data. Methods: In this paper, the authors use the model-based approach for acoustic inversion, combined with a sparsity-based inversion procedure. Specifically, a cost function is used that includes the L1 norm of the image in sparse representation and a total variation (TV) term. Themore » optimization problem is solved by a numerically efficient implementation of a nonlinear gradient descent algorithm. TV–L1 model-based inversion is tested in the cross section geometry for numerically generated data as well as for in vivo experimental data from an adult mouse. Results: In all cases, model-based TV–L1 inversion showed a better performance over the conventional Tikhonov regularization, TV inversion, and L1 inversion. In the numerical examples, the images reconstructed with TV–L1 inversion were quantitatively more similar to the originating images. In the experimental examples, TV–L1 inversion yielded sharper images and weaker streak artifact. Conclusions: The results herein show that TV–L1 inversion is capable of improving the quality of highly detailed, multiscale optoacoustic images obtained in vivo using cross-sectional imaging systems. As a result of its high fidelity, model-based TV–L1 inversion may be considered as the new standard for image reconstruction in cross-sectional imaging.« less

A uniform procedure for reimbursing the off-label use of antineoplastic drugs according to the value-for-money approach.

PubMed

Messori, A; Fadda, V; Trippoli, S

2011-04-01

National healthcare systems as well as local institutions generally reimburse numerous off-label uses of anticancer drugs, but an explicit framework for managing these payments is still lacking. As in the case of on-label uses, an optimal management of off-label uses should be aimed at a direct proportionality between cost and clinical benefit. Within this framework, assessing the incremental cost/effectiveness ratio becomes mandatory, and measuring the magnitude of the clinical benefit (e.g. gain in overall survival or progression-free survival) is essential.This paper discusses how the standard principles of cost-effectiveness and value-for-money can be applied to manage the reimbursement of off-label treatments in oncology. It also describes a detailed operational scheme to appropriately implement this aim. Two separate approaches are considered: a) a trial-based approach, which is designed for situations where enough information is available from clinical studies about the expected effectiveness of the off-label treatment; b) an individualized payment-by-results approach, which is designed for situations in which adequate information on effectiveness is lacking; this latter approach requires that each patient receiving off-label treatment is followed-up to determine individual outcomes and tailor the extent of payment to individual results.Some examples of application of both approaches are presented in detail, which have been extracted from a list of 184 off-label indications approved in 2010 by the Region of tuscany in italy. these examples support the feasibility of the two methods proposed.In conclusion, the scheme described in this paper represents an operational solution to an unsettled problem in the area of oncology drugs. © E.S.I.F.T. srl - Firenze

Jellyfish: Evidence of Extreme Ram-pressure Stripping in Massive Galaxy Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebeling, H.; Stephenson, L. N.; Edge, A. C.

2014-02-01

Ram-pressure stripping by the gaseous intracluster medium has been proposed as the dominant physical mechanism driving the rapid evolution of galaxies in dense environments. Detailed studies of this process have, however, largely been limited to relatively modest examples affecting only the outermost gas layers of galaxies in nearby and/or low-mass galaxy clusters. We here present results from our search for extreme cases of gas-galaxy interactions in much more massive, X-ray selected clusters at z > 0.3. Using Hubble Space Telescope snapshots in the F606W and F814W passbands, we have discovered dramatic evidence of ram-pressure stripping in which copious amounts of gas are first shock compressed and then removed from galaxies falling into the cluster. Vigorous starbursts triggered by this process across the galaxy-gas interface and in the debris trail cause these galaxies to temporarily become some of the brightest cluster members in the F606W passband, capable of outshining even the Brightest Cluster Galaxy. Based on the spatial distribution and orientation of systems viewed nearly edge-on in our survey, we speculate that infall at large impact parameter gives rise to particularly long-lasting stripping events. Our sample of six spectacular examples identified in clusters from the Massive Cluster Survey, all featuring M F606W < -21 mag, doubles the number of such systems presently known at z > 0.2 and facilitates detailed quantitative studies of the most violent galaxy evolution in clusters. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with programs GO-10491, -10875, -12166, and -12884.

Tutorial examples for uncertainty quantification methods.

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

De Bord, Sarah

2015-08-01

This report details the work accomplished during my 2015 SULI summer internship at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA. During this internship, I worked on multiple tasks with the common goal of making uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods more accessible to the general scientific community. As part of my work, I created a comprehensive numerical integration example to incorporate into the user manual of a UQ software package. Further, I developed examples involving heat transfer through a window to incorporate into tutorial lectures that serve as an introduction to UQ methods.

The corporate impact of addressing social issues: a financial case study of a project in Peru.

PubMed

Dabbs, Alan; Bateson, Matthew

2002-05-01

Large, multinational resource development projects can affect many aspects, including social, economic and ecological realities, in the regions where they operate. Social and environmental issues that are usually ignored in such projects are increasingly affecting the financial future of multinational corporations in negative ways. In this article, we advance the argument that corporations can successfully manage these issues and that if they choose to view these management efforts as an investment rather than an expense, they may well acquire a competitive advantage over companies that do not. We describe as a case study the Camisea natural gas and condensates development project in Peru, operated by Shell Prospecting and Development Peru (SPDP). Camisea is one of the first projects anywhere in the world to conduct a detailed analysis of key industry-related social issues and the processes, required investment and financial impact of managing them. The Camisea example supports the argument that addressing social and environmental concerns makes financial sense. In present value terms, the benefit of managing these concerns was expected to surpass the cost investment by approximately US$50 million.

Whitham modulation theory for (2  +  1)-dimensional equations of Kadomtsev–Petviashvili type

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ablowitz, Mark J.; Biondini, Gino; Rumanov, Igor

2018-05-01

Whitham modulation theory for certain two-dimensional evolution equations of Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (KP) type is presented. Three specific examples are considered in detail: the KP equation, the two-dimensional Benjamin–Ono (2DBO) equation and a modified KP (m2KP) equation. A unified derivation is also provided. In the case of the m2KP equation, the corresponding Whitham modulation system exhibits features different from the other two. The approach presented here does not require integrability of the original evolution equation. Indeed, while the KP equation is known to be a completely integrable equation, the 2DBO equation and the m2KP equation are not known to be integrable. In each of the cases considered, the Whitham modulation system obtained consists of five first-order quasilinear partial differential equations. The Riemann problem (i.e. the analogue of the Gurevich–Pitaevskii problem) for the one-dimensional reduction of the m2KP equation is studied. For the m2KP equation, the system of modulation equations is used to analyze the linear stability of traveling wave solutions.

Enhanced sampling simulations to construct free-energy landscape of protein-partner substrate interaction.

PubMed

Ikebe, Jinzen; Umezawa, Koji; Higo, Junichi

2016-03-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using all-atom and explicit solvent models provide valuable information on the detailed behavior of protein-partner substrate binding at the atomic level. As the power of computational resources increase, MD simulations are being used more widely and easily. However, it is still difficult to investigate the thermodynamic properties of protein-partner substrate binding and protein folding with conventional MD simulations. Enhanced sampling methods have been developed to sample conformations that reflect equilibrium conditions in a more efficient manner than conventional MD simulations, thereby allowing the construction of accurate free-energy landscapes. In this review, we discuss these enhanced sampling methods using a series of case-by-case examples. In particular, we review enhanced sampling methods conforming to trivial trajectory parallelization, virtual-system coupled multicanonical MD, and adaptive lambda square dynamics. These methods have been recently developed based on the existing method of multicanonical MD simulation. Their applications are reviewed with an emphasis on describing their practical implementation. In our concluding remarks we explore extensions of the enhanced sampling methods that may allow for even more efficient sampling.

General solution of the Dirac equation for quasi-two-dimensional electrons

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

Eremko, Alexander, E-mail: eremko@bitp.kiev.ua; Brizhik, Larissa, E-mail: brizhik@bitp.kiev.ua; Loktev, Vadim, E-mail: vloktev@bitp.kiev.ua

2016-06-15

The general solution of the Dirac equation for quasi-two-dimensional electrons confined in an asymmetric quantum well, is found. The energy spectrum of such a system is exactly calculated using special unitary operator and is shown to depend on the electron spin polarization. This solution contains free parameters, whose variation continuously transforms one known particular solution into another. As an example, two different cases are considered in detail: electron in a deep and in a strongly asymmetric shallow quantum well. The effective mass renormalized by relativistic corrections and Bychkov–Rashba coefficients are analytically obtained for both cases. It is demonstrated that themore » general solution transforms to the particular solutions, found previously (Eremko et al., 2015) with the use of spin invariants. The general solution allows to establish conditions at which a specific (accompanied or non-accompanied by Rashba splitting) spin state can be realized. These results can prompt the ways to control the spin degree of freedom via the synthesis of spintronic heterostructures with the required properties.« less

Examining Preservice Teachers' Classroom Management Decisions in Three Case-Based Teaching Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cevik, Yasemin Demiraslan; Andre, Thomas

2013-01-01

This study was aimed at comparing the impact of three types of case-based approaches (worked example, faded work example, and case-based reasoning) on preservice teachers' decision making and reasoning skills related to realistic classroom management situations. Participants in this study received a short-term implementation of one of these three…

The Double Feature of Musical "Folkbildning": Three Swedish Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brandstrom, Sture; Soderman, Johan; Thorgersen, Ketil

2012-01-01

The purpose of this article is to analyse three case study examples of musical "folkbildning" in Sweden. The first case study is from the establishment of the state-funded Framnas Folk High Music School in the middle of the last century. The second case study, Hagstrom's music education, is from the same time but describes a music school…

High-Precision U-Pb Geochronology and Correlation: An example Using the Neoproterozic-Cambrian Transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowring, S. A.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Amthor, J.; Martin, M. E.

2001-05-01

The precise, global correlation of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks can be achieved using temporally calibrated chemostratigraphic records. This approach is essential for determining rates and causes of environmental and faunal change, including mass extinctions. For example, The Neoproterozoic is marked by major environmental change, including periods of global glaciation, large fluctuations in the sequestration of carbon and major tectonic reorganization followed by the explosive diversification of animals in the earliest Cambrian. The extreme climatic change associated with these glaciations have been implicated as a possible trigger for the Cambrian explosion. The recognition of thin zircon-bearing air-fall ash in Neoproterozoic and Cambrian rocks has allowed the establishment of a high-precision temporal framework for animal evolution and is helping to untangle the history of glaciations. In some cases analytical uncertainties translate to age uncertainties of less than 1 Ma and when integrated with chemostratigraphy, the potential for global correlations at even higher resolution. Progress in the global correlation of Neoproterozoic strata has been achieved through the use of C and Sr isotope chemostratigraphy although it has been hampered by a lack of precise geochronological and faunal control. For example, the period from ca 800-580 Ma is characterized by at least two and perhaps as many as four glacial events that are interpreted by many to be global glaciations on a "Snowball Earth". A lack of precise chronological constraints on the number and duration of glaciations, multiple large excursions in the carbon isotopic record, and an absence of detailed biostratigraphy have complicated global correlation and hindered our understanding of this important period of Earth history. However, the ongoing integration of chemostratigraphic and geochronological data are improving temporal resolution and detailed correlations. These data are critical for understanding the causes and effects of Neoproterozoic glaciations. The Cambrian-Precambrian boundary is generally associated with a negative shift in carbon values although global isochroneity has not yet been demonstrated and unconformities mark the boundary in many places. New data suggest an age of 542 Ma for the excursion and boundary in Oman; results from Namibia, Oman, and Siberia are all consistent with this result. It has yet to be demonstrated that the paleontologically defined boundary coincides with the isotopic shift or is globally isochronous. The emerging geochronological framework, when combined with integrated paleontological, chemostratigraphic, and geological data will allow detailed global correlation and evaluation of models that invoke both intrinsic and extrinsic triggers for evolution.

A Case Study of the De Novo Evolution of a Complex Odometric Behavior in Digital Organisms

PubMed Central

Grabowski, Laura M.; Bryson, David M.; Dyer, Fred C.; Pennock, Robert T.; Ofria, Charles

2013-01-01

Investigating the evolution of animal behavior is difficult. The fossil record leaves few clues that would allow us to recapitulate the path that evolution took to build a complex behavior, and the large population sizes and long time scales required prevent us from re-evolving such behaviors in a laboratory setting. We present results of a study in which digital organisms–self-replicating computer programs that are subject to mutations and selection–evolved in different environments that required information about past experience for fitness-enhancing behavioral decisions. One population evolved a mechanism for step-counting, a surprisingly complex odometric behavior that was only indirectly related to enhancing fitness. We examine in detail the operation of the evolved mechanism and the evolutionary transitions that produced this striking example of a complex behavior. PMID:23577113

Extended hamiltonian formalism and Lorentz-violating lagrangians

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colladay, Don

2017-09-01

A new perspective on the classical mechanical formulation of particle trajectories in Lorentz-violating theories is presented. Using the extended hamiltonian formalism, a Legendre Transformation between the associated covariant lagrangian and hamiltonian varieties is constructed. This approach enables calculation of trajectories using Hamilton's equations in momentum space and the Euler-Lagrange equations in velocity space away from certain singular points that arise in the theory. Singular points are naturally de-singularized by requiring the trajectories to be smooth functions of both velocity and momentum variables. In addition, it is possible to identify specific sheets of the dispersion relations that correspond to specific solutions for the lagrangian. Examples corresponding to bipartite Finsler functions are computed in detail. A direct connection between the lagrangians and the field-theoretic solutions to the Dirac equation is also established for a special case.

Thermal form-factor approach to dynamical correlation functions of integrable lattice models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Göhmann, Frank; Karbach, Michael; Klümper, Andreas; Kozlowski, Karol K.; Suzuki, Junji

2017-11-01

We propose a method for calculating dynamical correlation functions at finite temperature in integrable lattice models of Yang-Baxter type. The method is based on an expansion of the correlation functions as a series over matrix elements of a time-dependent quantum transfer matrix rather than the Hamiltonian. In the infinite Trotter-number limit the matrix elements become time independent and turn into the thermal form factors studied previously in the context of static correlation functions. We make this explicit with the example of the XXZ model. We show how the form factors can be summed utilizing certain auxiliary functions solving finite sets of nonlinear integral equations. The case of the XX model is worked out in more detail leading to a novel form-factor series representation of the dynamical transverse two-point function.

Cluster properties of the one-dimensional lattice gas: the microscopic meaning of grand potential.

PubMed

Fronczak, Agata

2013-02-01

Using a concrete example, we demonstrate how the combinatorial approach to a general system of particles, which was introduced in detail in an earlier paper [Fronczak, Phys. Rev. E 86, 041139 (2012)], works and where this approach provides a genuine extension of results obtained through more traditional methods of statistical mechanics. We study the cluster properties of a one-dimensional lattice gas with nearest-neighbor interactions. Three cases (the infinite temperature limit, the range of finite temperatures, and the zero temperature limit) are discussed separately, yielding interesting results and providing alternative proof of known results. In particular, the closed-form expression for the grand partition function in the zero temperature limit is obtained, which results in the nonanalytic behavior of the grand potential, in accordance with the Yang-Lee theory.

Designing a Safer Interactive Healthcare System - The Impact of Authentic User Participation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Went, Kathryn L.; Gregor, Peter; Ricketts, Ian W.

Information technology has been widely promoted in the healthcare sector to improve current practice and patient safety. However, end users are seldom involved extensively in the design and development of healthcare systems, with lip service often paid to the idea of true user involvement. In this case study the impact of sustained authentic user participation was explored using an interdisciplinary team, consisting of experts both in interaction and healthcare design and consultant anaesthetists, nurses, and pharmacists, to create an electronic prescribing and administration system. This paper details the interface that was created and provides examples of the way in which the design evolved in response to the sustained authentic user participation methods. The working prototype both reduced the opportunity for user error and was preferred by its users to the existing manual system.

On the calculation of atomic term populations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kastner, S. O.; Bhatia, A. K.

1992-01-01

The usefulness of calculations on model atomic term systems which can give spectral multiplet intensities is emphasized, in contrast to more detailed level calculations which are not always feasible because of lack of appropriate atomic data. A more general expression for the multiplet radiative transition rate is proposed to facilitate term representations. The differences between term and level representations are discussed quantitatively with respect to a model three-level atom and real examples of the C III and Ne IV ions. It is shown that term representations fail at lower densities when level inverse lifetimes within terms differ by only a few orders of magnitude. In such cases one must resort to other methods; a hybrid calculation is therefore proposed to fill this need and is carried out for the C III ion to demonstrate its feasibility and validity.

Low quantum defect laser performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, Steven R.

2017-01-01

Low quantum defect lasers are possible using near-resonant optical pumping. This paper examines the laser material performance as the quantum defect of the laser is reduced. A steady-state model is developed, which incorporates the relevant physical processes in these materials and predicts extraction efficiency and waste heat generation. As the laser quantum defect is reduced below a few percent, the impact of fluorescence cooling must be included in the analysis. The special case of a net zero quantum defect laser is examined in detail. This condition, referred to as the radiation balance laser (RBL), is shown to provide two orders of magnitude lower heat generation at the cost of roughly 10% loss in extraction efficiency. Numerical examples are presented with the host materials Yb:YAG and Yb:Silica. The general conditions, which yield optimal laser efficiency, are derived and explored.

[Graphic synopsis of implementation of German guideline clearing reports in national disease management guidelines].

PubMed

Thole, Henning

2011-01-01

While methods for the production of guidelines (evidence analysis, assessment, adaptation) have been continually refined throughout the past years, there is a lack of instruments for the production of easily understandable synopses. Definition of a methodological approach to encompass synopses by Spidernet diagrams. Tables of synopses can be generated with distinct information to bring down the main results in one Spidernet diagram. This is possible for both the entire synopsis and parts of it. Guideline comparisons require detailed analyses on the one hand and easily understandable presentations of their results on the other. Guideline synopses can be substantially supported by graphic presentation of the results of synopsis. Graphic synopsis is also helpful in other cases; it may be used, for example, to summarise HTA reports, systematic reviews or guidelines. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Virtual prototyping of drop test using explicit analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todorov, Georgi; Kamberov, Konstantin

2017-12-01

Increased requirements for reliability and safety, included in contemporary standards and norms, has high impact over new product development. New numerical techniques based on virtual prototyping technology, facilitates imrpoving product development cycle, resutling in reduced time/money spent for this stage as well as increased knowledge about certain failure mechanism. So called "drop test" became nearly a "must" step in development of any human operated product. This study aims to demonstrate dynamic behaviour assessment of a structure under impact loads, based on virtual prototyping using a typical nonlinear analysis - explicit dynamics. An example is presneted, based on a plastic container that is used as cartridge for a dispenser machine exposed to various work conditions. Different drop orientations were analyzed and critical load cases and design weaknesses have been found. Several design modifications have been proposed, based on detailed analyses results review.

Low-valent group 14 element hydride chemistry: towards catalysis.

PubMed

Hadlington, Terrance J; Driess, Matthias; Jones, Cameron

2018-06-05

The chemistry of group 14 element(ii) hydride complexes has rapidly expanded since the first stable example of such a compound was reported in 2000. Since that time it has become apparent that these systems display remarkable reactivity patterns, in some cases mimicking those of late transition-metal (TM) hydride compounds. This is especially so for the hydroelementation of unsaturated organic substrates. Recently, this aspect of their reactivity has been extended to the use of group 14 element(ii) hydrides as efficient, "TM-like" catalysts in organic synthesis. This review will detail how the chemistry of these hydride compounds has advanced since their early development. Throughout, there is a focus on the importance of ligand effects in these systems, and how ligand design can greatly modify a coordinated complex's electronic structure, reactivity, and catalytic efficiency.

Using social media to facilitate knowledge transfer in complex engineering environments: a primer for educators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Glen; Salomone, Sonia

2013-03-01

While highly cohesive groups are potentially advantageous they are also often correlated with the emergence of knowledge and information silos based around those same functional or occupational clusters. Consequently, an essential challenge for engineering organisations wishing to overcome informational silos is to implement mechanisms that facilitate, encourage and sustain interactions between otherwise disconnected groups. This paper acts as a primer for those seeking to gain an understanding of the design, functionality and utility of a suite of software tools generically termed social media technologies in the context of optimising the management of tacit engineering knowledge. Underpinned by knowledge management theory and using detailed case examples, this paper explores how social media technologies achieve such goals, allowing for the transfer of knowledge by tapping into the tacit and explicit knowledge of disparate groups in complex engineering environments.

Holographic heat engines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Clifford V.

2014-10-01

It is shown that in theories of gravity where the cosmological constant is considered a thermodynamic variable, it is natural to use black holes as heat engines. Two examples are presented in detail using AdS charged black holes as the working substance. We notice that for static black holes, the maximally efficient traditional Carnot engine is also a Stirling engine. The case of negative cosmological constant supplies a natural realization of these engines in terms of the field theory description of the fluids to which they are holographically dual. We first propose a precise picture of how the traditional thermodynamic dictionary of holography is extended when the cosmological constant is dynamical and then conjecture that the engine cycles can be performed by using renormalization group flow. We speculate about the existence of a natural dual field theory counterpart to the gravitational thermodynamic volume.

Pediatric Headache Clinic Model: Implementation of Integrative Therapies in Practice.

PubMed

Esparham, Anna; Herbert, Anne; Pierzchalski, Emily; Tran, Catherine; Dilts, Jennifer; Boorigie, Madeline; Wingert, Tammie; Connelly, Mark; Bickel, Jennifer

2018-06-12

The demand for integrative medicine has risen in recent years as research has demonstrated the efficacy of such treatments. The public has also become more conscientious of the potential limitations of conventional treatment alone. Because primary headache syndromes are often the culmination of genetics, lifestyle, stress, trauma, and environmental factors, they are best treated with therapies that are equally multifaceted. The Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri Headache Clinic has successfully incorporated integrative therapies including nutraceuticals, acupuncture, aromatherapy, biofeedback, relaxation training, hypnosis, psychology services, and lifestyle recommendations for headache management. This paper provides a detailed review of the implementation of integrative therapies for headache treatment and discusses examples through case studies. It can serve as a model for other specialty settings intending to incorporate all evidenced-based practices, whether complementary or conventional.

Three-dimensional nonhydrostatic simulations of summer thunderstorms in the humid subtropics versus High Plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Hsin-mu; Wang, Pao K.; Schlesinger, Robert E.

2005-11-01

This article presents a detailed comparison of cloud microphysical evolution among six warm-season thunderstorm simulations using a time-dependent three-dimensional model WISCDYMM. The six thunderstorms chosen for this study consist of three apiece from two contrasting climate zones, the US High Plains (one supercell and two multicells) and the humid subtropics (two in Florida, US and one in Taipei, Taiwan, all multicells). The primary goal of this study is to investigate the differences among thunderstorms in different climate regimes in terms of their microphysical structures and how differently these structures evolve in time. A subtropical case is used as an example to illustrate the general contents of a simulated storm, and two examples of the simulated storms, one humid subtropical and one northern High Plains case, are used to describe in detail the microphysical histories. The simulation results are compared with the available observational data, and the agreement between the two is shown to be at least fairly close overall. The analysis, synthesis and implications of the simulation results are then presented. The microphysical histories of the six simulated storms in terms of the domain-integrated masses of all five hydrometeor classes (cloud water, cloud ice, rain, snow, graupel/hail), along with the individual sources (and sinks) of the three precipitating hydrometeor classes (rain, snow, graupel/hail) are analyzed in detail. These analyses encompass both the absolute magnitudes and their percentage contributions to the totals, for the condensate mass and their precipitation production (and depletion) rates, respectively. Comparisons between the hydrometeor mass partitionings for the High Plains versus subtropical thunderstorms show that, in a time-averaged sense, ice hydrometeors (cloud ice, snow, graupel/hail) account for ˜ 70-80% of the total hydrometeor mass for the High Plains storms but only ˜ 50% for the subtropical storms, after the systems have reached quasi-steady mature states. This demonstrates that ice processes are highly important even in thunderstorms occurring in warm climatic regimes. The dominant rain sources are two of the graupel/hail sinks, shedding and melting, in both High Plains and subtropical storms, while the main rain sinks are accretion by hail and evaporation. The dominant graupel/hail sources are accretion of rain, snow and cloud water, while its main sinks are shedding and melting. The dominant snow sources are the Bergeron-Findeisen process and accretion of cloud water, while the main sinks are accretion by graupel/hail and sublimation. However, the rankings of the leading production and depletion mechanisms differ somewhat in different storm cases, especially for graupel/hail. The model results indicate that the same hydrometeor types in the different climates have their favored microphysical sources and sinks. These findings not only prove that thunderstorm structure depends on local dynamic and thermodynamic atmospheric conditions that are generally climate-dependent, but also provide information about the partitioning of hydrometeors in the storms. Such information is potentially useful for convective parameterization in large-scale models.

Role of Electroosmosis in the Permeation of Neutral Molecules: CymA and Cyclodextrin as an Example

PubMed Central

Bhamidimarri, Satya Prathyusha; Prajapati, Jigneshkumar Dahyabhai; van den Berg, Bert; Winterhalter, Mathias; Kleinekathöfer, Ulrich

2016-01-01

To quantify the flow of small uncharged molecules into and across nanopores, one often uses ion currents. The respective ion-current fluctuations caused by the presence of the analyte make it possible to draw some conclusions about the direction and magnitude of the analyte flow. However, often this flow appears to be asymmetric with respect to the applied voltage. As a possible reason for this asymmetry, we identified the electroosmotic flow (EOF), which is the water transport associated with ions driven by the external transmembrane voltage. As an example, we quantify the contribution of the EOF through a nanopore by investigating the permeation of α-cyclodextrin through CymA, a cyclodextrin-specific channel from Klebsiella oxytoca. To understand the results from electrophysiology on a molecular level, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations are used to detail the effect of the EOF on substrate entry to and exit from a CymA channel in which the N-terminus has been deleted. The combined experimental and computational results strongly suggest that one needs to account for the significant contribution of the EOF when analyzing the penetration of cyclodextrins through the CymA pore. This example study at the same time points to the more general finding that the EOF needs to be considered in translocation studies of neutral molecules and, at least in many cases, should be able to help in discriminating between translocation and binding events. PMID:26840725

Role of Electroosmosis in the Permeation of Neutral Molecules: CymA and Cyclodextrin as an Example.

PubMed

Bhamidimarri, Satya Prathyusha; Prajapati, Jigneshkumar Dahyabhai; van den Berg, Bert; Winterhalter, Mathias; Kleinekathöfer, Ulrich

2016-02-02

To quantify the flow of small uncharged molecules into and across nanopores, one often uses ion currents. The respective ion-current fluctuations caused by the presence of the analyte make it possible to draw some conclusions about the direction and magnitude of the analyte flow. However, often this flow appears to be asymmetric with respect to the applied voltage. As a possible reason for this asymmetry, we identified the electroosmotic flow (EOF), which is the water transport associated with ions driven by the external transmembrane voltage. As an example, we quantify the contribution of the EOF through a nanopore by investigating the permeation of α-cyclodextrin through CymA, a cyclodextrin-specific channel from Klebsiella oxytoca. To understand the results from electrophysiology on a molecular level, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations are used to detail the effect of the EOF on substrate entry to and exit from a CymA channel in which the N-terminus has been deleted. The combined experimental and computational results strongly suggest that one needs to account for the significant contribution of the EOF when analyzing the penetration of cyclodextrins through the CymA pore. This example study at the same time points to the more general finding that the EOF needs to be considered in translocation studies of neutral molecules and, at least in many cases, should be able to help in discriminating between translocation and binding events. Copyright © 2016 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing Complex Emergency Management with Clinical Case-Vignettes: A Validation Study

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Objective To evaluate whether responses to dynamic case-vignettes accurately reflect actual practices in complex emergency situations. We hypothesized that when obstetricians were faced with vignette of emergency situation identical to one they previously managed, they would report the management strategy they actually used. On the other hand, there is no reason to suppose that their response to a vignette based on a source case managed by another obstetrician would be the same as the actual management. Methods A multicenter vignette-based study was used in 7 French maternity units. We chose the example of severe postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) to study the use of case-vignettes for assessing the management of complex situations. We developed dynamic case-vignettes describing incidents of PPH in several steps, using documentation in patient files. Vignettes described the postpartum course and included multiple-choice questions detailing proposed clinical care. Each participating obstetrician was asked to evaluate 4 case-vignettes: 2 directly derived from cases they previously managed and 2 derived from other obstetricians’ cases. We compared the final treatment decision in vignette responses to those documented in the source-case by the overall agreement and the Kappa coefficient, both for the cases the obstetricians previously managed and the cases of others. Results Thirty obstetricians participated. Overall agreement between final treatment decisions in case-vignettes and documented care for cases obstetricians previously managed was 82% (Kappa coefficient: 0.75, 95% CI [0.62–0.88]). Overall agreement between final treatment decisions in case-vignettes and documented care in vignettes derived from other obstetricians’ cases was only 48% (Kappa coefficient: 0.30, 95% CI [0.12–0.48]). Final agreement with documented care was significantly better for cases based on their own previous cases than for others (p<0.001). Conclusions Dynamic case-vignettes accurately reflect actual practices in complex emergency situations. Therefore, they can be used to assess the quality of management in these situations. PMID:26383261

Automated Generation and Assessment of Autonomous Systems Test Cases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barltrop, Kevin J.; Friberg, Kenneth H.; Horvath, Gregory A.

2008-01-01

This slide presentation reviews some of the issues concerning verification and validation testing of autonomous spacecraft routinely culminates in the exploration of anomalous or faulted mission-like scenarios using the work involved during the Dawn mission's tests as examples. Prioritizing which scenarios to develop usually comes down to focusing on the most vulnerable areas and ensuring the best return on investment of test time. Rules-of-thumb strategies often come into play, such as injecting applicable anomalies prior to, during, and after system state changes; or, creating cases that ensure good safety-net algorithm coverage. Although experience and judgment in test selection can lead to high levels of confidence about the majority of a system's autonomy, it's likely that important test cases are overlooked. One method to fill in potential test coverage gaps is to automatically generate and execute test cases using algorithms that ensure desirable properties about the coverage. For example, generate cases for all possible fault monitors, and across all state change boundaries. Of course, the scope of coverage is determined by the test environment capabilities, where a faster-than-real-time, high-fidelity, software-only simulation would allow the broadest coverage. Even real-time systems that can be replicated and run in parallel, and that have reliable set-up and operations features provide an excellent resource for automated testing. Making detailed predictions for the outcome of such tests can be difficult, and when algorithmic means are employed to produce hundreds or even thousands of cases, generating predicts individually is impractical, and generating predicts with tools requires executable models of the design and environment that themselves require a complete test program. Therefore, evaluating the results of large number of mission scenario tests poses special challenges. A good approach to address this problem is to automatically score the results based on a range of metrics. Although the specific means of scoring depends highly on the application, the use of formal scoring - metrics has high value in identifying and prioritizing anomalies, and in presenting an overall picture of the state of the test program. In this paper we present a case study based on automatic generation and assessment of faulted test runs for the Dawn mission, and discuss its role in optimizing the allocation of resources for completing the test program.

Incident Management Capability Metrics Version 0.1

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-01

guidance for proactively securing and hardening their infrastructure, for example6: • ISO 17799 ( ISO /IEC 17799:2005) [ ISO 2005a] • ISO 27001 ( ISO /IEC... 27001 :2005) [ ISO 2005b] • Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) [ITGI 2006...security management systems – Requirements ( ISO /IEC 27001 :2005).http://www.iso.org/ iso /en/CatalogueDetailPage.CatalogueDetail?CSNUMBER=421 03 (2005

Software quality assurance | News

Science.gov Websites

Measure was removed: "Sufficient level of detail in the requirements to develop test cases." ; This control measure was removed since the sufficient level of detail needed to develop test cases is recorded for all test cases. (Note: This is mandatory for applications graded with a High Quality Assurance

Tool for Constructing Data Albums for Significant Weather Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulkarni, A.; Ramachandran, R.; Conover, H.; McEniry, M.; Goodman, H.; Zavodsky, B. T.; Braun, S. A.; Wilson, B. D.

2012-12-01

Case study analysis and climatology studies are common approaches used in Atmospheric Science research. Research based on case studies involves a detailed description of specific weather events using data from different sources, to characterize physical processes in play for a given event. Climatology-based research tends to focus on the representativeness of a given event, by studying the characteristics and distribution of a large number of events. To gather relevant data and information for case studies and climatology analysis is tedious and time consuming; current Earth Science data systems are not suited to assemble multi-instrument, multi mission datasets around specific events. For example, in hurricane science, finding airborne or satellite data relevant to a given storm requires searching through web pages and data archives. Background information related to damages, deaths, and injuries requires extensive online searches for news reports and official storm summaries. We will present a knowledge synthesis engine to create curated "Data Albums" to support case study analysis and climatology studies. The technological challenges in building such a reusable and scalable knowledge synthesis engine are several. First, how to encode domain knowledge in a machine usable form? This knowledge must capture what information and data resources are relevant and the semantic relationships between the various fragments of information and data. Second, how to extract semantic information from various heterogeneous sources including unstructured texts using the encoded knowledge? Finally, how to design a structured database from the encoded knowledge to store all information and to support querying? The structured database must allow both knowledge overviews of an event as well as drill down capability needed for detailed analysis. An application ontology driven framework is being used to design the knowledge synthesis engine. The knowledge synthesis engine is being applied to build a portal for hurricane case studies at the Global Hydrology and Resource Center (GHRC), a NASA Data Center. This portal will auto-generate Data Albums for specific hurricane events, compiling information from distributed resources such as NASA field campaign collections, relevant data sets, storm reports, pictures, videos and other useful sources.

Chromogranin A

MedlinePlus

... a variety of tumors, both benign and malignant . Examples include carcinoid tumors, insulinomas , small cell lung cancers, ... Detailed Guide Cancer.Net: Carcinoid Tumors Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation American Cancer Society: ...

Successful strategies for the reduction of operating room turnover times in a tertiary care academic medical center.

PubMed

Kodali, Bhavani S; Kim, Dennie; Bleday, Ronald; Flanagan, Hugh; Urman, Richard D

2014-04-01

Turnover time (TOT) is one of the classic measures of operating room (OR) efficiency. There have been numerous efforts to reduce TOTs, sometimes through the employment of a process improvement framework. However, most examples of process improvement in the TOT focus primarily on operational changes to workflows and statistical significance. These examples of process improvement do not detail the complex organizational challenges associated with implementing, expanding, and sustaining change. TOT data for general and gastrointestinal surgery were collected retrospectively over a 26-mo period at a large multispecialty academic institution. We calculated mean and median TOTs. TOTs were excluded if the sequence of cases was changed or cases were canceled. Data were retrieved from the perioperative nursing data entry system. Using performance improvement strategies, we determined how various events and organizational factors created an environment that was receptive to change. This ultimately led to a sustained decrease in the OR TOT both in the general and gastrointestinal surgery ORs that were the focus of the study (44.8 min versus 48.6 min; P < 0.0001) and other subspecialties (49.3 min versus 53.0 min; P < 0.0001), demonstrating that the effect traveled outside the study area. There are obstacles, such as organizational culture and institutional inertia, that OR leaders, managers, and change agents commonly face. Awareness of the numerous variables that may support or impede a particular change effort can inform effective change implementation strategies that are "organizationally compatible." Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Community Engagement in Youth Violence Prevention: Crafting Methods to Context.

PubMed

Morrel-Samuels, Susan; Bacallao, Martica; Brown, Shelli; Bower, Meredith; Zimmerman, Marc

2016-04-01

The purpose of the Youth Violence Prevention Centers (YVPC) Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to reduce youth violence in defined high-risk communities through the implementation and evaluation of comprehensive, evidence based prevention strategies. Within this common framework, each YVPC varies in its structure and methods, however all engage communities in multiple ways. We explore aspects of community engagement employed by three centers that operate in very different contexts: a rural county in North Carolina; a suburban area of Denver, Colorado; and an urban setting in Flint, Michigan. While previous research has addressed theories supporting community involvement in youth violence prevention, there has been less attention to the implementation challenges of achieving and sustaining participation. In three case examples, we describe the foci and methods for community engagement in diverse YVPC sites and detail the barriers and facilitating factors that have influenced implementation. Just as intervention programs may need to be adapted in order to meet the needs of specific populations, methods of community engagement must be tailored to the context in which they occur. We discuss case examples of community engagement in areas with varying geographies, histories, and racial and ethnic compositions. Each setting presents distinct challenges and opportunities for conducting collaborative violence prevention initiatives and for adapting engagement methods to diverse communities. Although approaches may vary depending upon local contexts, there are certain principles that appear to be common across cultures and geography: trust, transparency, communication, commitment. We also discuss the importance of flexibility in community engagement efforts.

Prediction of ball and roller bearing thermal and kinematic performance by computer analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pirvics, J.; Kleckner, R. J.

1983-01-01

Characteristics of good computerized analysis software are suggested. These general remarks and an overview of representative software precede a more detailed discussion of load support system analysis program structure. Particular attention is directed at a recent cylindrical roller bearing analysis as an example of the available design tools. Selected software modules are then examined to reveal the detail inherent in contemporary analysis. This leads to a brief section on current design computation which seeks to suggest when and why computerized analysis is warranted. An example concludes the argument offered for such design methodology. Finally, remarks are made concerning needs for model development to address effects which are now considered to be secondary but are anticipated to emerge to primary status in the near future.

INTERIOR DETAIL VIEW OF CASING FOR FRANCIS WATER WHEEL (TURBINE ...

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

INTERIOR DETAIL VIEW OF CASING FOR FRANCIS WATER WHEEL (TURBINE #2). PHOTO BY JET LOWE, HAER, 1995. - Elwha River Hydroelectric System, Elwha Hydroelectric Dam & Plant, Port Angeles, Clallam County, WA

In Search of a Time Efficient Approach to Crack and Delamination Growth Predictions in Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krueger, Ronald; Carvalho, Nelson

2016-01-01

Analysis benchmarking was used to assess the accuracy and time efficiency of algorithms suitable for automated delamination growth analysis. First, the Floating Node Method (FNM) was introduced and its combination with a simple exponential growth law (Paris Law) and Virtual Crack Closure technique (VCCT) was discussed. Implementation of the method into a user element (UEL) in Abaqus/Standard(Registered TradeMark) was also presented. For the assessment of growth prediction capabilities, an existing benchmark case based on the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) specimen was briefly summarized. Additionally, the development of new benchmark cases based on the Mixed-Mode Bending (MMB) specimen to assess the growth prediction capabilities under mixed-mode I/II conditions was discussed in detail. A comparison was presented, in which the benchmark cases were used to assess the existing low-cycle fatigue analysis tool in Abaqus/Standard(Registered TradeMark) in comparison to the FNM-VCCT fatigue growth analysis implementation. The low-cycle fatigue analysis tool in Abaqus/Standard(Registered TradeMark) was able to yield results that were in good agreement with the DCB benchmark example. Results for the MMB benchmark cases, however, only captured the trend correctly. The user element (FNM-VCCT) always yielded results that were in excellent agreement with all benchmark cases, at a fraction of the analysis time. The ability to assess the implementation of two methods in one finite element code illustrated the value of establishing benchmark solutions.

A Framework for Empirical Discovery.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-24

history of science reveal distinct classes of defined terms. Some systems have focused on one subset of these classes, while other programs have...the operators in detail, presenting examples of each from the history of science . 2.1 Defining Numeric Terms The most obvious operator for defining...laws; they can also simplify the process of discovering such laws. Let us consider some examples from the history of science in which the definition of

Redundancy for electric motors in spacecraft applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Robert J.; Flew, Alastair R.

1986-01-01

The parts of electric motors which should be duplicated in order to provide maximum reliability in spacecraft application are identified. Various common types of redundancy are described. The advantages and disadvantages of each are noted. The principal types are illustrated by reference to specific examples. For each example, constructional details, basic performance data and failure modes are described, together with a discussion of the suitability of particular redundancy techniques to motor types.

New Hydrophobic IOL Materials and Understanding the Science of Glistenings.

PubMed

Tetz, Manfred; Jorgensen, Matthew R

2015-01-01

An introduction to the history of intraocular lenses (IOLs) is given, leading up to modern hydrophobic examples. The roles of hydrophobicity, hygroscopy, materials chemistry, and edge design are discussed in the context of IOLs. The four major types of IOL materials are compared in terms of their chemistry and biocompatibility. An example of a modern "hydrophobic" acrylic polymer with higher water content is discussed in detail.

26 CFR 1.1014-7 - Example applying rules of §§ 1.1014-4 through 1.1014-6 to case involving multiple interests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 11 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Example applying rules of §§ 1.1014-4 through... REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Basis Rules of General Application § 1.1014-7 Example applying rules of §§ 1.1014-4 through 1.1014-6 to case involving...

Memorable Exemplification in Undergraduate Biology: Instructor Strategies and Student Perceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Bretzlaff, Tiffany; Brown, Adam O.

2018-03-01

The present study examines the exemplification practices of a university biology instructor during a semester-long course. Attention is given specifically to how the instructor approaches memorable exemplification—classroom episodes identified by students as a source of memorable learning experiences. A mixed-method research approach is adopted wherein descriptive statistics is combined with qualitative multimodal analysis of video recordings and survey data. Our findings show that memorable experiencing of examples may depend on a multiplicity of factors, including whether students can relate to the example, how unique and extreme the example is, how much detail is provided, whether the example is enacted rather than told, and whether the example makes students feel sad, surprised, shocked, and/or amused. It is argued that, rather than simply assuming that all examples are equally effective, careful consideration needs be given to how exemplification can serve as an important source of memorable science learning experiences.

Performance and evaluation of real-time multicomputer control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shin, K. G.

1983-01-01

New performance measures, detailed examples, modeling of error detection process, performance evaluation of rollback recovery methods, experiments on FTMP, and optimal size of an NMR cluster are discussed.

Skip the trip: air travelers' behavioral responses to pandemic influenza.

PubMed

Fenichel, Eli P; Kuminoff, Nicolai V; Chowell, Gerardo

2013-01-01

Theory suggests that human behavior has implications for disease spread. We examine the hypothesis that individuals engage in voluntary defensive behavior during an epidemic. We estimate the number of passengers missing previously purchased flights as a function of concern for swine flu or A/H1N1 influenza using 1.7 million detailed flight records, Google Trends, and the World Health Organization's FluNet data. We estimate that concern over "swine flu," as measured by Google Trends, accounted for 0.34% of missed flights during the epidemic. The Google Trends data correlates strongly with media attention, but poorly (at times negatively) with reported cases in FluNet. Passengers show no response to reported cases. Passengers skipping their purchased trips forwent at least $50 M in travel related benefits. Responding to actual cases would have cut this estimate in half. Thus, people appear to respond to an epidemic by voluntarily engaging in self-protection behavior, but this behavior may not be responsive to objective measures of risk. Clearer risk communication could substantially reduce epidemic costs. People undertaking costly risk reduction behavior, for example, forgoing nonrefundable flights, suggests they may also make less costly behavior adjustments to avoid infection. Accounting for defensive behaviors may be important for forecasting epidemics, but linking behavior with epidemics likely requires consideration of risk communication.

Urban dust in the Guanzhong basin of China, part II: A case study of urban dust pollution using the WRF-Dust model.

PubMed

Li, Nan; Long, Xin; Tie, Xuexi; Cao, Junji; Huang, Rujin; Zhang, Rong; Feng, Tian; Liu, Suixin; Li, Guohui

2016-01-15

We developed a regional dust dynamical model (WRF-Dust) to simulate surface dust concentrations in the Guanzhong (GZ) basin of China during two typical dust cases (19th Aug. and 26th Nov., 2013), and compared model results with the surface measurements at 17 urban and rural sites. The important improvement of the model is to employ multiple high-resolution (0.5-500 m) remote sensing data to construct dust sources. The new data include the geographic information of constructions, croplands, and barrens over the GZ basin in summer and winter of 2013. For the first time, detailed construction dust emissions have been introduced in a regional dust model in large cities of China. Our results show that by including the detailed dust sources, model performance at simulating dust pollutions in the GZ basin is significantly improved. For example, the simulated dust concentration average for the 17 sites increases from 28 μg m(-3) to 59 μg m(-3), closing to the measured concentration of 66 μg m(-3). In addition, the correlation coefficient (r) between the calculated and measured dust concentrations is also improved from 0.17 to 0.57, suggesting that our model better presents the spatial variation. Further analysis shows that urban construction activities are the crucial source in controlling urban dust pollutions. It should be considered by policy makers for mitigating particulate air pollution in many Chinese cities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An Example of a Practical Biochemistry Examination for Health Professional Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Otsuka, Allen; Kadis, Barney

1988-01-01

Uses clinical cases taken from the medical or dental literature for examination of understanding certain aspects of the dental profession. Formulates questions derived from data presented in the case or attempts to present broad principles. Includes 15 example test questions. (MVL)

Simulating Laboratory Procedures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, J. E.; And Others

1986-01-01

Describes the use of computer assisted instruction in a medical microbiology course. Presents examples of how computer assisted instruction can present case histories in which the laboratory procedures are simulated. Discusses an authoring system used to prepare computer simulations and provides one example of a case history dealing with fractured…

Sierra Structural Dynamics User's Notes

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

Reese, Garth M.

2015-10-19

Sierra/SD provides a massively parallel implementation of structural dynamics finite element analysis, required for high fidelity, validated models used in modal, vibration, static and shock analysis of weapons systems. This document provides a users guide to the input for Sierra/SD. Details of input specifications for the different solution types, output options, element types and parameters are included. The appendices contain detailed examples, and instructions for running the software on parallel platforms.

Sierra/SD User's Notes.

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

Munday, Lynn Brendon; Day, David M.; Bunting, Gregory

Sierra/SD provides a massively parallel implementation of structural dynamics finite element analysis, required for high fidelity, validated models used in modal, vibration, static and shock analysis of weapons systems. This document provides a users guide to the input for Sierra/SD. Details of input specifications for the different solution types, output options, element types and parameters are included. The appendices contain detailed examples, and instructions for running the software on parallel platforms.

Multi-GPU implementation of a VMAT treatment plan optimization algorithm.

PubMed

Tian, Zhen; Peng, Fei; Folkerts, Michael; Tan, Jun; Jia, Xun; Jiang, Steve B

2015-06-01

Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) optimization is a computationally challenging problem due to its large data size, high degrees of freedom, and many hardware constraints. High-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) have been used to speed up the computations. However, GPU's relatively small memory size cannot handle cases with a large dose-deposition coefficient (DDC) matrix in cases of, e.g., those with a large target size, multiple targets, multiple arcs, and/or small beamlet size. The main purpose of this paper is to report an implementation of a column-generation-based VMAT algorithm, previously developed in the authors' group, on a multi-GPU platform to solve the memory limitation problem. While the column-generation-based VMAT algorithm has been previously developed, the GPU implementation details have not been reported. Hence, another purpose is to present detailed techniques employed for GPU implementation. The authors also would like to utilize this particular problem as an example problem to study the feasibility of using a multi-GPU platform to solve large-scale problems in medical physics. The column-generation approach generates VMAT apertures sequentially by solving a pricing problem (PP) and a master problem (MP) iteratively. In the authors' method, the sparse DDC matrix is first stored on a CPU in coordinate list format (COO). On the GPU side, this matrix is split into four submatrices according to beam angles, which are stored on four GPUs in compressed sparse row format. Computation of beamlet price, the first step in PP, is accomplished using multi-GPUs. A fast inter-GPU data transfer scheme is accomplished using peer-to-peer access. The remaining steps of PP and MP problems are implemented on CPU or a single GPU due to their modest problem scale and computational loads. Barzilai and Borwein algorithm with a subspace step scheme is adopted here to solve the MP problem. A head and neck (H&N) cancer case is then used to validate the authors' method. The authors also compare their multi-GPU implementation with three different single GPU implementation strategies, i.e., truncating DDC matrix (S1), repeatedly transferring DDC matrix between CPU and GPU (S2), and porting computations involving DDC matrix to CPU (S3), in terms of both plan quality and computational efficiency. Two more H&N patient cases and three prostate cases are used to demonstrate the advantages of the authors' method. The authors' multi-GPU implementation can finish the optimization process within ∼ 1 min for the H&N patient case. S1 leads to an inferior plan quality although its total time was 10 s shorter than the multi-GPU implementation due to the reduced matrix size. S2 and S3 yield the same plan quality as the multi-GPU implementation but take ∼4 and ∼6 min, respectively. High computational efficiency was consistently achieved for the other five patient cases tested, with VMAT plans of clinically acceptable quality obtained within 23-46 s. Conversely, to obtain clinically comparable or acceptable plans for all six of these VMAT cases that the authors have tested in this paper, the optimization time needed in a commercial TPS system on CPU was found to be in an order of several minutes. The results demonstrate that the multi-GPU implementation of the authors' column-generation-based VMAT optimization can handle the large-scale VMAT optimization problem efficiently without sacrificing plan quality. The authors' study may serve as an example to shed some light on other large-scale medical physics problems that require multi-GPU techniques.

11. DETAIL VIEW WEST OF MIDDLE TURBINE PRESSURE CASE; ACCESS ...

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

11. DETAIL VIEW WEST OF MIDDLE TURBINE PRESSURE CASE; ACCESS TO WICKET GATES AT BOTTOM - Willimantic Linen Company, Mill No. 2, South Main Street opposite Durham Street, North bank Willimantic River, Windham, Windham County, CT

On Stochastic Dependence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Joerg M.

2018-01-01

The contrary of stochastic independence splits up into two cases: pairs of events being favourable or being unfavourable. Examples show that both notions have quite unexpected properties, some of them being opposite to intuition. For example, transitivity does not hold. Stochastic dependence is also useful to explain cases of Simpson's paradox.

Quick spacecraft charging primer

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

Larsen, Brian Arthur

2014-03-12

This is a presentation in PDF format which is a quick spacecraft charging primer, meant to be used for program training. It goes into detail about charging physics, RBSP examples, and how to identify charging.

Limitations in imaging common conjunctival and corneal pathologies with fourier-domain optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Demirci, Hakan; Steen, Daniel W

2014-01-01

To describe the limitations of Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) in imaging common conjunctival and corneal pathology. Retrospective, single-center case series of 40 patients with conjunctival and cornea pathology. Fourier-domain OCT imaged laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) flaps in detail, including its relation to other corneal structures and abnormalities. Similarly, in infectious or degenerative corneal disorders, Fourier-domain OCT successfully showed the extent of infiltration or material deposition, which appeared as hyper-reflective areas. In cases with pterygium, the underlying cornea could not be imaged. All cases of common conjunctival pathologies, such as nevus or pinguecula, were successfully imaged in detail. Nevi, scleritis, pterygium, pinguecula, and subconjunctival hemorrhage were hyper-reflective lesions, while cysts and lymphangiectasia were hyporeflective. The details of the underlying sclera were not uniformly imaged in conjunctival pathologies. Fourier-domain OCT imaged the trabeculectomy bleb in detail, whereas the details of structures of the anterior chamber angle were not routinely visualized in all cases. Light scatter through vascularized, densely inflamed, or thick lesions limits the imaging capabilities of Fourier-domain anterior segment OCT.

Generating Ground Reference Data for a Global Impervious Surface Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tilton, James C.; deColstoun, Eric Brown; Wolfe, Robert E.; Tan, Bin; Huang, Chengquan

2012-01-01

We are engaged in a project to produce a 30m impervious cover data set of the entire Earth for the years 2000 and 2010 based on the Landsat Global Land Survey (GLS) data set. The GLS data from Landsat provide an unprecedented opportunity to map global urbanization at this resolution for the first time, with unprecedented detail and accuracy. Moreover, the spatial resolution of Landsat is absolutely essential to accurately resolve urban targets such as buildings, roads and parking lots. Finally, with GLS data available for the 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2005 time periods, and soon for the 2010 period, the land cover/use changes due to urbanization can now be quantified at this spatial scale as well. Our approach works across spatial scales using very high spatial resolution commercial satellite data to both produce and evaluate continental scale products at the 30m spatial resolution of Landsat data. We are developing continental scale training data at 1m or so resolution and aggregating these to 30m for training a regression tree algorithm. Because the quality of the input training data are critical, we have developed an interactive software tool, called HSegLearn, to facilitate the photo-interpretation of high resolution imagery data, such as Quickbird or Ikonos data, into an impervious versus non-impervious map. Previous work has shown that photo-interpretation of high resolution data at 1 meter resolution will generate an accurate 30m resolution ground reference when coarsened to that resolution. Since this process can be very time consuming when using standard clustering classification algorithms, we are looking at image segmentation as a potential avenue to not only improve the training process but also provide a semi-automated approach for generating the ground reference data. HSegLearn takes as its input a hierarchical set of image segmentations produced by the HSeg image segmentation program [1, 2]. HSegLearn lets an analyst specify pixel locations as being either positive or negative examples, and displays a classification of the study area based on these examples. For our study, the positive examples are examples of impervious surfaces and negative examples are examples of non-impervious surfaces. HSegLearn searches the hierarchical segmentation from HSeg for the coarsest level of segmentation at which selected positive example locations do not conflict with negative example locations and labels the image accordingly. The negative example regions are always defined at the finest level of segmentation detail. The resulting classification map can be then further edited at a region object level using the previously developed HSegViewer tool [3]. After providing an overview of the HSeg image segmentation program, we provide a detailed description of the HSegLearn software tool. We then give examples of using HSegLearn to generate ground reference data and conclude with comments on the effectiveness of the HSegLearn tool.

Fundamental Travel Demand Model Example

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanssen, Joel

2010-01-01

Instances of transportation models are abundant and detailed "how to" instruction is available in the form of transportation software help documentation. The purpose of this paper is to look at the fundamental inputs required to build a transportation model by developing an example passenger travel demand model. The example model reduces the scale to a manageable size for the purpose of illustrating the data collection and analysis required before the first step of the model begins. This aspect of the model development would not reasonably be discussed in software help documentation (it is assumed the model developer comes prepared). Recommendations are derived from the example passenger travel demand model to suggest future work regarding the data collection and analysis required for a freight travel demand model.

Design procedures for fiber composite structural components - Rods, beams, and beam columns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chamis, C. C.

1984-01-01

Step by step procedures are described which are used to design structural components (rods, columns, and beam columns) subjected to steady state mechanical loads and hydrothermal environments. Illustrative examples are presented for structural components designed for static tensile and compressive loads, and fatigue as well as for moisture and temperature effects. Each example is set up as a sample design illustrating the detailed steps that are used to design similar components.

Design procedures for fiber composite structural components: Rods, columns and beam columns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chamis, C. C.

1983-01-01

Step by step procedures are described which are used to design structural components (rods, columns, and beam columns) subjected to steady state mechanical loads and hydrothermal environments. Illustrative examples are presented for structural components designed for static tensile and compressive loads, and fatigue as well as for moisture and temperature effects. Each example is set up as a sample design illustrating the detailed steps that are used to design similar components.

Detail of exciter turbine showing shaft, scroll case, servomotor and ...

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

Detail of exciter turbine showing shaft, scroll case, servo-motor and operating ring (left foreground) and hand wheel for butterfly valve (right background) - Morony Hydroelectric Facility, Dam and Powerhouse, Morony Dam Road, Great Falls, Cascade County, MT

Wheat forecast economics effect study. [value of improved information on crop inventories, production, imports and exports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehra, R. K.; Rouhani, R.; Jones, S.; Schick, I.

1980-01-01

A model to assess the value of improved information regarding the inventories, productions, exports, and imports of crop on a worldwide basis is discussed. A previously proposed model is interpreted in a stochastic control setting and the underlying assumptions of the model are revealed. In solving the stochastic optimization problem, the Markov programming approach is much more powerful and exact as compared to the dynamic programming-simulation approach of the original model. The convergence of a dual variable Markov programming algorithm is shown to be fast and efficient. A computer program for the general model of multicountry-multiperiod is developed. As an example, the case of one country-two periods is treated and the results are presented in detail. A comparison with the original model results reveals certain interesting aspects of the algorithms and the dependence of the value of information on the incremental cost function.

Astrophysical hints of axion-like particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roncadelli, M.; Galanti, G.; Tavecchio, F.; Bonnoli, G.

2015-01-01

After reviewing three astrophysical hints of the existence of axion-like particles (ALPs), we describe in more detail a new similar hint involving flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs). Detection of FSRQs above about 20GeV pose a challenge to very-high-energy (VHE) astrophysics, because at those energies the ultraviolet emission from their broad line region should prevent photons produced by the central engine to leave the source. Although a few astrophysical explanations have been put forward, they are totally ad hoc. We show that a natural explanation instead arises within the conventional models of FSRQs provided that photon-ALP oscillations occur inside the source. Our analysis takes the FSRQ PKR 1222+206 as an example, and it looks tantalizing that basically the same choice of the free model parameters adopted in this case is consistent with those that provide the other three hints of the existence of ALPs.

Solving bi-level optimization problems in engineering design using kriging models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Yi; Liu, Xiaojie; Du, Gang

2018-05-01

Stackelberg game-theoretic approaches are applied extensively in engineering design to handle distributed collaboration decisions. Bi-level genetic algorithms (BLGAs) and response surfaces have been used to solve the corresponding bi-level programming models. However, the computational costs for BLGAs often increase rapidly with the complexity of lower-level programs, and optimal solution functions sometimes cannot be approximated by response surfaces. This article proposes a new method, namely the optimal solution function approximation by kriging model (OSFAKM), in which kriging models are used to approximate the optimal solution functions. A detailed example demonstrates that OSFAKM can obtain better solutions than BLGAs and response surface-based methods, and at the same time reduce the workload of computation remarkably. Five benchmark problems and a case study of the optimal design of a thin-walled pressure vessel are also presented to illustrate the feasibility and potential of the proposed method for bi-level optimization in engineering design.

Magnetically coupled magnet-spring oscillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donoso, G.; Ladera, C. L.; Martín, P.

2010-05-01

A system of two magnets hung from two vertical springs and oscillating in the hollows of a pair of coils connected in series is a new, interesting and useful example of coupled oscillators. The electromagnetically coupled oscillations of these oscillators are experimentally and theoretically studied. Its coupling is electromagnetic instead of mechanical, and easily adjustable by the experimenter. The coupling of this new coupled oscillator system is determined by the currents that the magnets induce in two coils connected in series, one to each magnet. It is an interesting case of mechanical oscillators with field-driven coupling, instead of mechanical coupling. Moreover, it is both a coupled and a damped oscillating system that lends itself to a detailed study and presentation of many properties and phenomena of such a system of oscillators. A set of experiments that validates the theoretical model of the oscillators is presented and discussed.

Geometric representation methods for multi-type self-defining remote sensing data sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anuta, P. E.

1980-01-01

Efficient and convenient representation of remote sensing data is highly important for an effective utilization. The task of merging different data types is currently dealt with by treating each case as an individual problem. A description is provided of work which is carried out to standardize the multidata merging process. The basic concept of the new approach is that of the self-defining data set (SDDS). The creation of a standard is proposed. This standard would be such that data which may be of interest in a large number of earth resources remote sensing applications would be in a format which allows convenient and automatic merging. Attention is given to details regarding the multidata merging problem, a geometric description of multitype data sets, image reconstruction from track-type data, a data set generation system, and an example multitype data set.

Different Evolutionary Modifications as a Guide to Rewire Two-Component Systems

PubMed Central

Krueger, Beate; Friedrich, Torben; Förster, Frank; Bernhardt, Jörg; Gross, Roy; Dandekar, Thomas

2012-01-01

Two-component systems (TCS) are short signalling pathways generally occurring in prokaryotes. They frequently regulate prokaryotic stimulus responses and thus are also of interest for engineering in biotechnology and synthetic biology. The aim of this study is to better understand and describe rewiring of TCS while investigating different evolutionary scenarios. Based on large-scale screens of TCS in different organisms, this study gives detailed data, concrete alignments, and structure analysis on three general modification scenarios, where TCS were rewired for new responses and functions: (i) exchanges in the sequence within single TCS domains, (ii) exchange of whole TCS domains; (iii) addition of new components modulating TCS function. As a result, the replacement of stimulus and promotor cassettes to rewire TCS is well defined exploiting the alignments given here. The diverged TCS examples are non-trivial and the design is challenging. Designed connector proteins may also be useful to modify TCS in selected cases. PMID:22586357

LQS_INVERSION v. 1.0

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

Weiss, Chester J

FORTRAN90 codes for inversion of electrostatic geophysical data in terms of three subsurface parameters in a single-well, oilfield environment: the linear charge density of the steel well casing (L), the point charge associated with an induced fracture filled with a conductive contrast agent (Q) and the location of said fracture (s). Theory is described in detail in Weiss et al. (Geophysics, 2016). Inversion strategy is to loop over candidate fracture locations, and at each one minimize the squared Cartesian norm of the data misfit to arrive at L and Q. Solution method is to construct the 2x2 linear system ofmore » normal equations and compute L and Q algebraically. Practical Application: Oilfield environments where observed electrostatic geophysical data can reasonably be assumed by a simple L-Q-s model. This may include hydrofracking operations, as postulated in Weiss et al. (2016), but no field validation examples have so far been provided.« less

State and National Contexts in Evaluating Cannabis Laws: A Case Study of Washington State.

PubMed

Cambron, Christopher; Guttmannova, Katarina; Fleming, Charles B

2017-01-01

As of January 2016, 23 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical or nonmedical cannabis, with more likely to follow. This dynamic policy context represents a substantial challenge for policy evaluation. Part I of this article provides a summary of state-level cannabis policy components across states and federal action regarding state-level policies. Part II presents a detailed history of cannabis policies in Washington State from 1998 to 2015 and analyzes the potential impacts of the policy changes on cannabis supply and demand. As an early adopter of both medical and nonmedical cannabis policies, Washington State provides an excellent example of the key elements to be considered in evaluating the relationship between policy changes and cannabis use. We highlight the importance of the interplay of federal enforcement priorities and previously adopted state-level cannabis regimes in interpreting the potential impacts of new cannabis policies.

Documentary evidence of past floods in Europe and their utility in flood frequency estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kjeldsen, T. R.; Macdonald, N.; Lang, M.; Mediero, L.; Albuquerque, T.; Bogdanowicz, E.; Brázdil, R.; Castellarin, A.; David, V.; Fleig, A.; Gül, G. O.; Kriauciuniene, J.; Kohnová, S.; Merz, B.; Nicholson, O.; Roald, L. A.; Salinas, J. L.; Sarauskiene, D.; Šraj, M.; Strupczewski, W.; Szolgay, J.; Toumazis, A.; Vanneuville, W.; Veijalainen, N.; Wilson, D.

2014-09-01

This review outlines the use of documentary evidence of historical flood events in contemporary flood frequency estimation in European countries. The study shows that despite widespread consensus in the scientific literature on the utility of documentary evidence, the actual migration from academic to practical application has been limited. A detailed review of flood frequency estimation guidelines from different countries showed that the value of historical data is generally recognised, but practical methods for systematic and routine inclusion of this type of data into risk analysis are in most cases not available. Studies of historical events were identified in most countries, and good examples of national databases attempting to collate the available information were identified. The conclusion is that there is considerable potential for improving the reliability of the current flood risk assessments by harvesting the valuable information on past extreme events contained in the historical data sets.

Adding EUNIS and VAULT rocket data to the VSO with Modern Perl frameworks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansky, Edmund

2017-08-01

A new Perl code is described, that uses the modern Object-oriented Moose framework, to add EUNIS and VAULT rocket data to the Virtual Solar Observatory website. The code permits the easy fixing of FITS header fields in the case where some FITS fields that are required are missing from the original data files. The code makes novel use of the Moose extensions “before” and “after” to build in dependencies so that database creation of tables occurs before the loading of data, and that the validation of file-dependent tables occurs after the loading is completed. Also described is the computation and loading of the deferred FITS field CHECKSUM into the database following the loading and validation of the file-dependent tables. The loading of the EUNIS 2006 and 2007 flight data, and the VAULT 2.0 flight data is described in detail as illustrative examples.

RDBMS Based Lexical Resource for Indian Heritage: The Case of Mahābhārata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mani, Diwakar

The paper describes a lexical resource in the form of a relational database based indexing system for Sanskrit documents - Mahābhārata (MBh) as an example. The system is available online on http://sanskrit.jnu.ac.in/mb with input and output in Devanāgarī Unicode, using technologies such as RDBMS and Java Servlet. The system works as an interactive and multi-dimensional indexing system with search facility for MBh and has potentials for use as a generic system for all Sanskrit texts of similar structure. Currently, the system allows three types of searching facilities- 'Direct Search', 'Alphabetical Search' and 'Search by Classes'. The input triggers an indexing process by which a temporary index is created for the search string, and then clicking on any indexed word displays the details for that word and also a facility to search that word in some other online lexical resources.

Model-Driven Safety Analysis of Closed-Loop Medical Systems

PubMed Central

Pajic, Miroslav; Mangharam, Rahul; Sokolsky, Oleg; Arney, David; Goldman, Julian; Lee, Insup

2013-01-01

In modern hospitals, patients are treated using a wide array of medical devices that are increasingly interacting with each other over the network, thus offering a perfect example of a cyber-physical system. We study the safety of a medical device system for the physiologic closed-loop control of drug infusion. The main contribution of the paper is the verification approach for the safety properties of closed-loop medical device systems. We demonstrate, using a case study, that the approach can be applied to a system of clinical importance. Our method combines simulation-based analysis of a detailed model of the system that contains continuous patient dynamics with model checking of a more abstract timed automata model. We show that the relationship between the two models preserves the crucial aspect of the timing behavior that ensures the conservativeness of the safety analysis. We also describe system design that can provide open-loop safety under network failure. PMID:24177176

G-Strands on symmetric spaces

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

We study the G-strand equations that are extensions of the classical chiral model of particle physics in the particular setting of broken symmetries described by symmetric spaces. These equations are simple field theory models whose configuration space is a Lie group, or in this case a symmetric space. In this class of systems, we derive several models that are completely integrable on finite dimensional Lie group G, and we treat in more detail examples with symmetric space SU(2)/S1 and SO(4)/SO(3). The latter model simplifies to an apparently new integrable nine-dimensional system. We also study the G-strands on the infinite dimensional group of diffeomorphisms, which gives, together with the Sobolev norm, systems of 1+2 Camassa–Holm equations. The solutions of these equations on the complementary space related to the Witt algebra decomposition are the odd function solutions. PMID:28413343

Interactive psychoeducational group therapy in the treatment of authority problems in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder.

PubMed

Lubin, H; Johnson, D R

2000-07-01

The use of Interactive Psychoeducational Group Therapy to ameliorate authority problems of veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder is described. Despite the common occurrence of authority problems in this population, and the degree of damage they have caused in family, work, and legal domains, they are rarely specifically targeted by treatment interventions. A conceptual framework linking psychological trauma with distortions in authority relations is presented, followed by the format, procedures, and case examples of this form of group therapy. By uncovering the distorted beliefs associated with traumatic schemas as they emerge in the group interaction, the group therapist can first help the clients question their assumptions about authority, and then explore more adaptive behaviors. The need to examine in greater detail the causes and impact of authority problems among clients with posttraumatic stress disorder is emphasized.

Model-Driven Safety Analysis of Closed-Loop Medical Systems.

PubMed

Pajic, Miroslav; Mangharam, Rahul; Sokolsky, Oleg; Arney, David; Goldman, Julian; Lee, Insup

2012-10-26

In modern hospitals, patients are treated using a wide array of medical devices that are increasingly interacting with each other over the network, thus offering a perfect example of a cyber-physical system. We study the safety of a medical device system for the physiologic closed-loop control of drug infusion. The main contribution of the paper is the verification approach for the safety properties of closed-loop medical device systems. We demonstrate, using a case study, that the approach can be applied to a system of clinical importance. Our method combines simulation-based analysis of a detailed model of the system that contains continuous patient dynamics with model checking of a more abstract timed automata model. We show that the relationship between the two models preserves the crucial aspect of the timing behavior that ensures the conservativeness of the safety analysis. We also describe system design that can provide open-loop safety under network failure.

CARBON-RICH MOLECULAR CHAINS IN PROTOPLANETARY AND PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES: QUANTUM MECHANISMS AND ELECTRON ATTACHMENT RATES FOR ANION FORMATION

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

Carelli, F.; Grassi, T.; Gianturco, F. A.

The elementary mechanisms through which molecular polyynes could form stable negative ions after interacting with free electrons in planetary atmospheres (e.g., Titan's) are analyzed using quantum scattering calculations and quantum structure methods. The case of radical species and of nonpolar partners are analyzed via specific examples for both the C{sub n}H and HC{sub n}H series, with n values from 4 to 12. We show that attachment processes to polar radicals are dominating the anionic production and that the mediating role of dipolar scattering states is crucial to their formation. The corresponding attachment rates are presented as calculated upper limits tomore » their likely values and are obtained down to the low temperatures of interest. The effects of the computed rates, when used in simple evolutionary models, are also investigated and presented in detail.« less

Dynamic modeling of wheeled planetary rovers: A model based on the pseudo-coordiates approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Feng; Genta, Giancarlo

2012-12-01

The paper deals with the dynamic modeling of wheeled planetary rovers operating on rough terrain. The dedicated model here presented, although kept as simple as possible, includes the effect of nonlinearities and models the suspensions in a realistic, albeit simplified, way. It can be interfaced with a model of the control system so that different control strategies can be studied in detail and, in case of teleoperated rovers, it can be used as a simulator for training the operators. Different implementations, with different degrees of complexity, are presented and compared with each other so that the user can simulate the dynamics of the rover making a tradeoff between simulation accuracy and computer time. The model allows to study the effects of the terrain characteristics, of the ground irregularities and the operating speed on the behavior of the rover. Some examples dealing with rovers with different configurations conclude the paper.

The determination of the elastodynamic fields of an ellipsoidal inhomogeneity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fu, L. S.; Mura, T.

1983-01-01

The determination of the elastodynamic fields of an ellipsoidal inhomogeneity is studied in detail via the eigenstrain approach. A complete formulation and a treatment of both types of eigenstrains for equivalence between the inhomogeneity problem and the inclusion problem are given. This approach is shown to be mathematically identical to other approaches such as the direct volume integral formulation. Expanding the eigenstrains and applied strains in the polynomial form in the position vector and satisfying the equivalence conditions at every point, the governing simultaneous algebraic equations for the unknown coefficients in the eigenstrain expansion are derived. The elastodynamic field outside an ellipsoidal inhomogeneity in a linear elastic isotropic medium is given as an example. The angular and frequency dependence of the induced displacement field, as well as the differential and total cross sections are formally given in series expansion form for the case of uniformly distributed eigenstrains.

High Accuracy Evaluation of the Finite Fourier Transform Using Sampled Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morelli, Eugene A.

1997-01-01

Many system identification and signal processing procedures can be done advantageously in the frequency domain. A required preliminary step for this approach is the transformation of sampled time domain data into the frequency domain. The analytical tool used for this transformation is the finite Fourier transform. Inaccuracy in the transformation can degrade system identification and signal processing results. This work presents a method for evaluating the finite Fourier transform using cubic interpolation of sampled time domain data for high accuracy, and the chirp Zeta-transform for arbitrary frequency resolution. The accuracy of the technique is demonstrated in example cases where the transformation can be evaluated analytically. Arbitrary frequency resolution is shown to be important for capturing details of the data in the frequency domain. The technique is demonstrated using flight test data from a longitudinal maneuver of the F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle.

The Macalister archive: records from the Queen's Hospital, Sidcup, 1917-1921.

PubMed

Bamji, A N

1993-04-01

The Queen's Hospital opened in 1917 to care for soldiers receiving facial injuries in Western Front trenches, usually as a result of a gunshot wound. Some 8000 patients were treated by the medical teams of the UK, the Dominions and the USA. The wartime records were removed by their respective sections in 1921, but Queen Mary's Hospital has recently reacquired those of the New Zealand section, rescued from imminent destruction by Professor A.D. Macalister, late Dean of the Dental School at Dunedin, and kindly donated by him. There are 282 sets of case-notes containing typescript summaries, clinical photographs and radiographs, drawings, 77 watercolor paintings and a life-size wax model of head and upper torso illustrating some of the surgical techniques. The archive is a fine example of medical illustration 75 years ago, and provides invaluable detail on the plastic surgery and dental reconstructive methods that were developed at Sidcup.

The limits of global health diplomacy: Taiwan's observer status at the world health assembly.

PubMed

Herington, Jonathan; Lee, Kelley

2014-10-01

In 2009, health authorities from Taiwan (under the name "Chinese Taipei")a formally attended the 62nd World Health Assembly (WHA) of the World Health Organization as observers, marking the country's participation for the first time since 1972. The long process of negotiating this breakthrough has been cited as an example of successful global health diplomacy. This paper analyses this negotiation process, drawing on government documents, formal representations from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and key informant interviews. The actors and their motivations, along with the forums, practices and outcomes of the negotiation process, are detailed. While it is argued that non-traditional diplomatic action was important in establishing the case for Taiwan's inclusion at the WHA, traditional concerns regarding Taiwanese sovereignty and diplomatic representation ultimately played a decisive role. The persistent influence of these traditional diplomatic questions illustrates the limits of global health diplomacy.

Effective advocacy for patients with inflammatory bowel disease: communication with insurance companies, school administrators, employers, and other health care overseers.

PubMed

Jaff, Jennifer C; Arnold, Janis; Bousvaros, Athos

2006-08-01

In addition to their physical challenges, children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) living in the United States face a number of administrative and regulatory hurdles that affect their quality of life. This article, written by a physician, attorney/patient advocate, and social worker, discusses a number of these challenges and describes how the provider can help his or her patient overcome them. Specifically, the article discusses 4 areas in detail: appeals of denials of coverage from insurance companies and third party payors; assisting children with IBD with classroom and school accommodations; assisting uninsured children in obtaining Social Security benefits; and aiding a parent to care for their child using the Family and Medical Leave Act. Although this article has a pediatric focus, adults have similar advocacy needs. Case examples and sample letters to third-party payors, schools, and employers are included in this article.

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

Tiradani, Tiradani,Anthony; Altunay, Mine; Dagenhart, David

The Decision Engine is a critical component of the HEP Cloud Facility. It provides the functionality of resource scheduling for disparate resource providers, including those which may have a cost or a restricted allocation of cycles. Along with the architecture, design, and requirements for the Decision Engine, this document will provide the rationale and explanations for various design decisions. In some cases, requirements and interfaces for a limited subset of external services will be included in this document. This document is intended to be a high level design. The design represented in this document is not complete and does notmore » break everything down in detail. The class structures and pseudo-code exist for example purposes to illustrate desired behaviors, and as such, should not be taken literally. The protocols and behaviors are the important items to take from this document. This project is still in prototyping mode so flaws and inconsistencies may exist and should be noted and treated as failures.« less

Spatio-temporal Analysis for New York State SPARCS Data

PubMed Central

Chen, Xin; Wang, Yu; Schoenfeld, Elinor; Saltz, Mary; Saltz, Joel; Wang, Fusheng

2017-01-01

Increased accessibility of health data provides unique opportunities to discover spatio-temporal patterns of diseases. For example, New York State SPARCS (Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System) data collects patient level detail on patient demographics, diagnoses, services, and charges for each hospital inpatient stay and outpatient visit. Such data also provides home addresses for each patient. This paper presents our preliminary work on spatial, temporal, and spatial-temporal analysis of disease patterns for New York State using SPARCS data. We analyzed spatial distribution patterns of typical diseases at ZIP code level. We performed temporal analysis of common diseases based on 12 years’ historical data. We then compared the spatial variations for diseases with different levels of clustering tendency, and studied the evolution history of such spatial patterns. Case studies based on asthma demonstrated that the discovered spatial clusters are consistent with prior studies. We visualized our spatial-temporal patterns as animations through videos. PMID:28815148

Dislocation dynamics in non-convex domains using finite elements with embedded discontinuities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero, Ignacio; Segurado, Javier; LLorca, Javier

2008-04-01

The standard strategy developed by Van der Giessen and Needleman (1995 Modelling Simul. Mater. Sci. Eng. 3 689) to simulate dislocation dynamics in two-dimensional finite domains was modified to account for the effect of dislocations leaving the crystal through a free surface in the case of arbitrary non-convex domains. The new approach incorporates the displacement jumps across the slip segments of the dislocations that have exited the crystal within the finite element analysis carried out to compute the image stresses on the dislocations due to the finite boundaries. This is done in a simple computationally efficient way by embedding the discontinuities in the finite element solution, a strategy often used in the numerical simulation of crack propagation in solids. Two academic examples are presented to validate and demonstrate the extended model and its implementation within a finite element program is detailed in the appendix.

Cooling rates and intensity limitations for laser-cooled ions at relativistic energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eidam, Lewin; Boine-Frankenheim, Oliver; Winters, Danyal

2018-04-01

The ability of laser cooling for relativistic ion beams is investigated. For this purpose, the excitation of relativistic ions with a continuous wave and a pulsed laser is analyzed, utilizing the optical Bloch equations. The laser cooling force is derived in detail and its scaling with the relativistic factor γ is discussed. The cooling processes with a continuous wave and a pulsed laser system are investigated. Optimized cooling scenarios and times are obtained in order to determine the required properties of the laser and the ion beam for the planed experiments. The impact of beam intensity effects, like intrabeam scattering and space charge are analyzed. Predictions from simplified models are compared to particle-in-cell simulations and are found to be in good agreement. Finally two realistic example cases of Carbon ions in the ESR and relativistic Titanium ions in SIS100 are compared in order to discuss prospects for future laser cooling experiments.

Astrophysical neutrinos flavored with beyond the Standard Model physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasmussen, Rasmus W.; Lechner, Lukas; Ackermann, Markus; Kowalski, Marek; Winter, Walter

2017-10-01

We systematically study the allowed parameter space for the flavor composition of astrophysical neutrinos measured at Earth, including beyond the Standard Model theories at production, during propagation, and at detection. One motivation is to illustrate the discrimination power of the next-generation neutrino telescopes such as IceCube-Gen2. We identify several examples that lead to potential deviations from the standard neutrino mixing expectation such as significant sterile neutrino production at the source, effective operators modifying the neutrino propagation at high energies, dark matter interactions in neutrino propagation, or nonstandard interactions in Earth matter. IceCube-Gen2 can exclude about 90% of the allowed parameter space in these cases, and hence will allow us to efficiently test and discriminate between models. More detailed information can be obtained from additional observables such as the energy dependence of the effect, fraction of electron antineutrinos at the Glashow resonance, or number of tau neutrino events.

Shape analysis modeling for character recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Nadeem A. M.; Hegt, Hans A.

1998-10-01

Optimal shape modeling of character-classes is crucial for achieving high performance on recognition of mixed-font, hand-written or (and) poor quality text. A novel scheme is presented in this regard focusing on constructing such structural models that can be hierarchically examined. These models utilize a certain `well-thought' set of shape primitives. They are simplified enough to ignore the inter- class variations in font-type or writing style yet retaining enough details for discrimination between the samples of the similar classes. Thus the number of models per class required can be kept minimal without sacrificing the recognition accuracy. In this connection a flexible multi- stage matching scheme exploiting the proposed modeling is also described. This leads to a system which is robust against various distortions and degradation including those related to cases of touching and broken characters. Finally, we present some examples and test results as a proof-of- concept demonstrating the validity and the robustness of the approach.

Invariant and partially-invariant solutions of the equations describing a non-stationary and isentropic flow for an ideal and compressible fluid in (3 + 1) dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grundland, A. M.; Lalague, L.

1996-04-01

This paper presents a new method of constructing, certain classes of solutions of a system of partial differential equations (PDEs) describing the non-stationary and isentropic flow for an ideal compressible fluid. A generalization of the symmetry reduction method to the case of partially-invariant solutions (PISs) has been formulated. We present a new algorithm for constructing PISs and discuss in detail the necessary conditions for the existence of non-reducible PISs. All these solutions have the defect structure 0305-4470/29/8/019/img1 and are computed from four-dimensional symmetric subalgebras. These theoretical considerations are illustrated by several examples. Finally, some new classes of invariant solutions obtained by the symmetry reduction method are included. These solutions represent central, conical, rational, spherical, cylindrical and non-scattering double waves.

Issues and Consequences of Atomic Oxygen Undercutting of Protected Polymers in Low Earth Orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banks, Bruce A.; Snyder, Aaron; Miller, Sharon K.; Demko, Rikako

2002-01-01

Hydrocarbon based polymers that are exposed to atomic oxygen in low Earth orbit are slowly oxidized which results in recession of their surface. Atomic oxygen protective coatings have been developed which are both durable to atomic oxygen and effective in protecting underlying polymers. However, scratches, pin window defects, polymer surface roughness and protective coating layer configuration can result in erosion and potential failure of protected thin polymer films even though the coatings are themselves atomic oxygen durable. This paper will present issues that cause protective coatings to become ineffective in some cases yet effective in others due to the details of their specific application. Observed in-space examples of failed and successfully protected materials using identical protective thin films will be discussed and analyzed. Proposed approaches to prevent the failures that have been observed will also be presented.

Quantification of processing artifacts in textile composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pastore, Christopher M.

1993-01-01

One of the greatest difficulties in developing detailed models of the mechanical response of textile reinforced composites is an accurate model of the reinforcing elements. In the case of elastic property prediction, the variation of fiber position may not have a critical role in performance. However, when considering highly localized stress events, such as those associated with cracks and holes, the exact position of the reinforcement probably dominates the failure mode. Models were developed for idealized reinforcements which provide an insight into the local behavior. However, even casual observations of micrographical images reveals that the actual material deviates strongly from the idealized models. Some of the deviations and causes are presented for triaxially braided and three dimensionally woven textile composites. The necessary modeling steps to accommodate these variations are presented with some examples. Some of the ramifications of not accounting for these discrepencies are also addressed.

Supporting cancer patients and their carers: the contribution of art therapy and clinical psychology.

PubMed

Jones, Gudrun; Browning, Mary

2009-11-01

The value of various types of psychosocial support for people with cancer is now becoming well established. Typically the term 'psychosocial' includes: counselling and psychotherapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, education and information, and social support. The research literature sometimes fails to clarify the exact nature of the different approaches and their relative efficacy. Inevitably, even within a specific type of therapeutic approach, there is variation owing to the professional background and skills of different practitioners. This article describes the relative contributions made by an art psychotherapist and a clinical psychologist working together in a cancer and palliative care service in Wales. The referrals come from the same sources and tend to be for similar types of problem. The assessment and formulation processes are also broadly similar. Interventions, however, are markedly different. These are described in some detail through case study examples.

Probabilistic sensitivity analysis incorporating the bootstrap: an example comparing treatments for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori.

PubMed

Pasta, D J; Taylor, J L; Henning, J M

1999-01-01

Decision-analytic models are frequently used to evaluate the relative costs and benefits of alternative therapeutic strategies for health care. Various types of sensitivity analysis are used to evaluate the uncertainty inherent in the models. Although probabilistic sensitivity analysis is more difficult theoretically and computationally, the results can be much more powerful and useful than deterministic sensitivity analysis. The authors show how a Monte Carlo simulation can be implemented using standard software to perform a probabilistic sensitivity analysis incorporating the bootstrap. The method is applied to a decision-analytic model evaluating the cost-effectiveness of Helicobacter pylori eradication. The necessary steps are straightforward and are described in detail. The use of the bootstrap avoids certain difficulties encountered with theoretical distributions. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis provided insights into the decision-analytic model beyond the traditional base-case and deterministic sensitivity analyses and should become the standard method for assessing sensitivity.

Reducing resistance and denial by exercising ambivalence during the treatment of addiction.

PubMed

Shaffer, H J; Simoneau, G

2001-01-01

Stage change models and motivational enhancement therapies have significantly influenced the therapeutic tactics clinicians employ in the treatment of addictive behaviors. While motivational enhancement strategies have addressed client ambivalence to increase motivation to change, this article suggests that focusing on ambivalence during treatment has even wider clinical utility than previously thought. Resistance reduction concentrates on exercising ambivalence without an investment in clients changing, thereby strengthening client tolerance for ambivalent thoughts and feelings. Exercising ambivalence reduces resistance to treatment and change by validating a wide array of possible outcomes through detailed exploration of how a behavior pattern works for a client. Since resistance reduction does not require clients to want to change for therapy to progress, exploring the decision-making process becomes paramount. A general discussion of the resistance reduction model, ambivalence, and how clients present for treatment precedes clinical case examples.

The Role of Ultrasound on Advanced Oxidation Processes.

PubMed

Babu, Sundaram Ganesh; Ashokkumar, Muthupandian; Neppolian, Bernaurdshaw

2016-10-01

This chapter describes the use of ultrasound in remediation of wastewater contaminated with organic pollutants in the absence and presence of other advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as sonolysis, sono-ozone process, sonophotocatalysis, sonoFenton systems and sonophoto-Fenton methods in detail. All these methods are explained with the suitable literature illustrations. In most of the cases, hybrid AOPs (combination of ultrasound with one or more AOPs) resulted in superior efficacy to that of individual AOP. The advantageous effects such as additive and synergistic effects obtained by operating the hybrid AOPs are highlighted with appropriate examples. It is worth to mention here that the utilization of ultrasound is not only restricted in preparation of modern active catalysts but also extensively used for the wastewater treatment. Interestingly, ultrasound coupled AOPs are operationally simple, efficient, and environmentally benign, and can be readily applied for large scale industrial processes which make them economically viable.

General Exact Solution to the Problem of the Probability Density for Sums of Random Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tribelsky, Michael I.

2002-07-01

The exact explicit expression for the probability density pN(x) for a sum of N random, arbitrary correlated summands is obtained. The expression is valid for any number N and any distribution of the random summands. Most attention is paid to application of the developed approach to the case of independent and identically distributed summands. The obtained results reproduce all known exact solutions valid for the, so called, stable distributions of the summands. It is also shown that if the distribution is not stable, the profile of pN(x) may be divided into three parts, namely a core (small x), a tail (large x), and a crossover from the core to the tail (moderate x). The quantitative description of all three parts as well as that for the entire profile is obtained. A number of particular examples are considered in detail.

General exact solution to the problem of the probability density for sums of random variables.

PubMed

Tribelsky, Michael I

2002-08-12

The exact explicit expression for the probability density p(N)(x) for a sum of N random, arbitrary correlated summands is obtained. The expression is valid for any number N and any distribution of the random summands. Most attention is paid to application of the developed approach to the case of independent and identically distributed summands. The obtained results reproduce all known exact solutions valid for the, so called, stable distributions of the summands. It is also shown that if the distribution is not stable, the profile of p(N)(x) may be divided into three parts, namely a core (small x), a tail (large x), and a crossover from the core to the tail (moderate x). The quantitative description of all three parts as well as that for the entire profile is obtained. A number of particular examples are considered in detail.

State and National Contexts in Evaluating Cannabis Laws: A Case Study of Washington State

PubMed Central

Cambron, Christopher; Guttmannova, Katarina; Fleming, Charles B.

2017-01-01

As of January 2016, 23 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical or nonmedical cannabis, with more likely to follow. This dynamic policy context represents a substantial challenge for policy evaluation. Part I of this article provides a summary of state-level cannabis policy components across states and federal action regarding state-level policies. Part II presents a detailed history of cannabis policies in Washington State from 1998 to 2015 and analyzes the potential impacts of the policy changes on cannabis supply and demand. As an early adopter of both medical and nonmedical cannabis policies, Washington State provides an excellent example of the key elements to be considered in evaluating the relationship between policy changes and cannabis use. We highlight the importance of the interplay of federal enforcement priorities and previously adopted state-level cannabis regimes in interpreting the potential impacts of new cannabis policies. PMID:28458396

Frequent methodological errors in clinical research.

PubMed

Silva Aycaguer, L C

2018-03-07

Several errors that are frequently present in clinical research are listed, discussed and illustrated. A distinction is made between what can be considered an "error" arising from ignorance or neglect, from what stems from a lack of integrity of researchers, although it is recognized and documented that it is not easy to establish when we are in a case and when in another. The work does not intend to make an exhaustive inventory of such problems, but focuses on those that, while frequent, are usually less evident or less marked in the various lists that have been published with this type of problems. It has been a decision to develop in detail the examples that illustrate the problems identified, instead of making a list of errors accompanied by an epidermal description of their characteristics. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

Israel`s unauthorized arms transfers

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

Clarke, D.

1995-10-01

Israel confronts a spectrum of security threats. Given that harsh reality and America`s firm commitment to the Jewish state as reiterated by successive presidents, Israel requires, and rightly receives, unique attention and support from the United States (U.S). Indeed, Israel`s welfare, even survival, is dependent on its `special` relationship with Washington. Thus far, U.S.-Israel ties have weathered America`s post-Cold War retrenchment in world affairs. Israel retains its customary level of foreign aid, for example, even as the overall foreign assistance budget shrinks. Yet below the surface, the relationship is threatened by Israel`s repeated contraventions of American law. Evidence shows thatmore » Israel has systematically circumvented U.S. restrictions on the re-export of U.S. defense products, components, and technical data. Other countries have been caught evading U.S. re-export controls, but Israel`s case appears unique. The author examines the details and implications of the Israel transgressions.« less

How to differentiate collective variables in free energy codes: Computer-algebra code generation and automatic differentiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giorgino, Toni

2018-07-01

The proper choice of collective variables (CVs) is central to biased-sampling free energy reconstruction methods in molecular dynamics simulations. The PLUMED 2 library, for instance, provides several sophisticated CV choices, implemented in a C++ framework; however, developing new CVs is still time consuming due to the need to provide code for the analytical derivatives of all functions with respect to atomic coordinates. We present two solutions to this problem, namely (a) symbolic differentiation and code generation, and (b) automatic code differentiation, in both cases leveraging open-source libraries (SymPy and Stan Math, respectively). The two approaches are demonstrated and discussed in detail implementing a realistic example CV, the local radius of curvature of a polymer. Users may use the code as a template to streamline the implementation of their own CVs using high-level constructs and automatic gradient computation.

Parallelization of ARC3D with Computer-Aided Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jin, Haoqiang; Hribar, Michelle; Yan, Jerry; Saini, Subhash (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

A series of efforts have been devoted to investigating methods of porting and parallelizing applications quickly and efficiently for new architectures, such as the SCSI Origin 2000 and Cray T3E. This report presents the parallelization of a CFD application, ARC3D, using the computer-aided tools, Cesspools. Steps of parallelizing this code and requirements of achieving better performance are discussed. The generated parallel version has achieved reasonably well performance, for example, having a speedup of 30 for 36 Cray T3E processors. However, this performance could not be obtained without modification of the original serial code. It is suggested that in many cases improving serial code and performing necessary code transformations are important parts for the automated parallelization process although user intervention in many of these parts are still necessary. Nevertheless, development and improvement of useful software tools, such as Cesspools, can help trim down many tedious parallelization details and improve the processing efficiency.

Different routes of demographic changes in former Eastern bloc states at the turn of the 21st century based on the examples of Poland and Ukraine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flaga, Małgorzata

2012-01-01

The article concerns the most important demographic processes that took place in two post-communist countries, Poland and Ukraine, after 1990. These countries differ in terms of economic changes that they have gone through so far. In case of Poland we may consider it as a success in reforming the economy, despite the fact that it caused certain negative social phenomena, e.g. large unemployment. On the other hand, in Ukraine, economic crisis was not stopped, but it is also deepening and its results have become significant modifiers of population processes. The changes in population number, natural growth and migration in both countries are the subjects of detailed analyses. They were presented in the context of the "secondary demographic transition", which Poland and Ukraine entered rapidly at the beginning of 1990, along with economic transformation and social changes.

Quantifying the driving factors for language shift in a bilingual region

PubMed Central

Prochazka, Katharina; Vogl, Gero

2017-01-01

Many of the world’s around 6,000 languages are in danger of disappearing as people give up use of a minority language in favor of the majority language in a process called language shift. Language shift can be monitored on a large scale through the use of mathematical models by way of differential equations, for example, reaction–diffusion equations. Here, we use a different approach: we propose a model for language dynamics based on the principles of cellular automata/agent-based modeling and combine it with very detailed empirical data. Our model makes it possible to follow language dynamics over space and time, whereas existing models based on differential equations average over space and consequently provide no information on local changes in language use. Additionally, cellular automata models can be used even in cases where models based on differential equations are not applicable, for example, in situations where one language has become dispersed and retreated to language islands. Using data from a bilingual region in Austria, we show that the most important factor in determining the spread and retreat of a language is the interaction with speakers of the same language. External factors like bilingual schools or parish language have only a minor influence. PMID:28298530

Estimating the reliability of repeatedly measured endpoints based on linear mixed-effects models. A tutorial.

PubMed

Van der Elst, Wim; Molenberghs, Geert; Hilgers, Ralf-Dieter; Verbeke, Geert; Heussen, Nicole

2016-11-01

There are various settings in which researchers are interested in the assessment of the correlation between repeated measurements that are taken within the same subject (i.e., reliability). For example, the same rating scale may be used to assess the symptom severity of the same patients by multiple physicians, or the same outcome may be measured repeatedly over time in the same patients. Reliability can be estimated in various ways, for example, using the classical Pearson correlation or the intra-class correlation in clustered data. However, contemporary data often have a complex structure that goes well beyond the restrictive assumptions that are needed with the more conventional methods to estimate reliability. In the current paper, we propose a general and flexible modeling approach that allows for the derivation of reliability estimates, standard errors, and confidence intervals - appropriately taking hierarchies and covariates in the data into account. Our methodology is developed for continuous outcomes together with covariates of an arbitrary type. The methodology is illustrated in a case study, and a Web Appendix is provided which details the computations using the R package CorrMixed and the SAS software. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Understanding Research Gaps and Priorities for Improving Behavioral Counseling Interventions: Lessons Learned From the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

PubMed

Kurth, Ann E; Miller, Therese L; Woo, Meghan; Davidson, Karina W

2015-09-01

Behavioral counseling interventions can address significant causes of preventable morbidity and mortality. However, despite a growing evidence base for behavioral counseling interventions, there remain significant research gaps that limit translating the evidence into clinical practice. Using U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) examples, we address how researchers and funders can move the research portfolio forward to achieve better application of behavioral counseling interventions to address substantial health burdens in the U.S. This paper describes the types of gaps that the USPSTF encounters across its behavioral counseling intervention topics and provides suggestions for opportunities to address these gaps to enhance the evidence base for primary care-based behavioral counseling recommendations. To accomplish this, we draw from both the USPSTF experience and issues identified by researchers and clinicians during the USPSTF-sponsored Behavioral Counseling Intervention Forum. We also discuss the dilemma posed by having "insufficient" evidence with which to make a behavioral counseling intervention-related recommendation, and describe two case examples (screening for alcohol misuse in adolescence and screening for child maltreatment), detailing the research gaps that remain. Recommendations are outlined for researchers, funders, and practice implementers to improve behavioral counseling intervention research and application. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

Broadband spectroscopy of dynamic impedances with short chirp pulses.

PubMed

Min, M; Land, R; Paavle, T; Parve, T; Annus, P; Trebbels, D

2011-07-01

An impedance spectrum of dynamic systems is time dependent. Fast impedance changes take place, for example, in high throughput microfluidic devices and in operating cardiovascular systems. Measurements must be as short as possible to avoid significant impedance changes during the spectrum analysis, and as long as possible for enlarging the excitation energy and obtaining a better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The authors propose to use specific short chirp pulses for excitation. Thanks to the specific properties of the chirp function, it is possible to meet the needs for a spectrum bandwidth, measurement time and SNR so that the most accurate impedance spectrogram can be obtained. The chirp wave excitation can include thousands of cycles when the impedance changes slowly, but in the case of very high speed changes it can be shorter than a single cycle, preserving the same excitation bandwidth. For example, a 100 kHz bandwidth can be covered by the chirp pulse with durations from 10 µs to 1 s; only its excitation energy differs also 10(5) times. After discussing theoretical short chirp properties in detail, the authors show how to generate short chirps in the microsecond range with a bandwidth up to a few MHz by using digital synthesis architectures developed inside a low-cost standard field programmable gate array.

The need for transparency and reproducibility in documenting values for regulatory decision making and evaluating causality: The example of formaldehyde.

PubMed

Van Landingham, Cynthia; Mundt, Kenneth A; Allen, Bruce C; Gentry, P Robinan

2016-11-01

Reproducibility and transparency in scientific reporting is paramount to advancing science and providing the foundation required for sound regulation. Recent examples demonstrate that pivotal scientific findings cannot be replicated, due to poor documentation or methodological bias, sparking debate across scientific and regulatory communities. However, there is general agreement that improvements in communicating and documenting research and risk assessment methods are needed. In the case of formaldehyde, the peer-review conducted by a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee questioned the approaches used by the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) in developing draft unit risk values. Using the original data from the key study (Beane Freeman et al., 2009) and documentation provided in the draft IRIS profile, we attempted to duplicate the reported inhalation unit risk values and address the NAS Committee's questions regarding application of the appropriate dose-response model. Overall, documentation of the methods lacked sufficient detail to allow for replication of the unit risk estimates, specifically for Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemias, the key systemic endpoints selected by IRIS. The lack of apparent exposure-response relationships for selected endpoints raises the question whether quantitative analyses are appropriate for these endpoints, and if so, how results are to be interpreted. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A new free and open source tool for space plasma modeling.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honkonen, I. J.

2014-12-01

I will present a new distributed memory parallel, free and open source computational model for studying space plasma. The model is written in C++ with emphasis on good software development practices and code readability without sacrificing serial or parallel performance. As such the model could be especially useful for education, for learning both (magneto)hydrodynamics (MHD) and computational model development. By using latest features of the C++ standard (2011) it has been possible to develop a very modular program which improves not only the readability of code but also the testability of the model and decreases the effort required to make changes to various parts of the program. Major parts of the model, functionality not directly related to (M)HD, have been outsourced to other freely available libraries which has reduced the development time of the model significantly. I will present an overview of the code architecture as well as details of different parts of the model and will show examples of using the model including preparing input files and plotting results. A multitude of 1-, 2- and 3-dimensional test cases are included in the software distribution and the results of, for example, Kelvin-Helmholtz, bow shock, blast wave and reconnection tests, will be presented.

Passive solar design strategies: Remodeling guidelines for conserving energy at home

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The idea of passive solar is simple, but applying it effectively does require information and attention to the details of design and construction. Some passive solar techniques are modest and low-cost, and require only small changes in remodeler's typical practice. At the other end of the spectrum, some passive solar systems can almost eliminate a house's need for purchased heating (and in some cases, cooling) energy - but probably at a relatively high first cost. In between are a broad range of energy-conserving passive solar techniques. Whether or not they are cost-effective, practical, and attractive enough to offer a market advantage to any individual remodeler depends on very specific factors such as local costs, climate, and market characteristics. Passive Solar Design Strategies: Remodeling Guidelines For Conserving Energy At Home is written to help give remodelers the information they need to make these decisions. Passive Solar Design Strategies is a package in three basic parts: the guidelines contain information about passive solar techniques and how they work, and provides specific examples of systems which will save various percentages of energy; the worksheets offer a simple, fill-in-the-blank method to pre-evaluate the performance of a specific design; and the worked example demonstrates how to complete the worksheets for a typical residence.

The quadrupole model for rigid-body gravity simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobrovolskis, Anthony R.; Korycansky, D. G.

2013-07-01

We introduce two new models for gravitational simulations of systems of non-spherical bodies, such as comets and asteroids. In both models, one body (the "primary") may be represented by any convenient means, to arbitrary accuracy. In our first model, all of the other bodies are represented by small gravitational "molecules" consisting of a few point masses, rigidly linked together. In our second model, all of the other bodies are treated as point quadrupoles, with gravitational potentials including spherical harmonic terms up to the third degree (rather than only the first degree, as for ideal spheres or point masses). This quadrupole formulation may be regarded as a generalization of MacCullagh's approximation. Both models permit the efficient calculation of the interaction energy, the force, and the torque acting on a small body in an arbitrary external gravitational potential. We test both models for the cases of a triaxial ellipsoid, a rectangular parallelepiped, and "duplex" combinations of two spheres, all in a point-mass potential. These examples were chosen in order to compare the accuracy of our technique with known analytical results, but the ellipsoid and duplex are also useful models for comets and asteroids. We find that both approaches show significant promise for more efficient gravitational simulations of binary asteroids, for example. An appendix also describes the duplex model in detail.

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

Hansen, Timothy M.; Palmintier, Bryan; Suryanarayanan, Siddharth

As more Smart Grid technologies (e.g., distributed photovoltaic, spatially distributed electric vehicle charging) are integrated into distribution grids, static distribution simulations are no longer sufficient for performing modeling and analysis. GridLAB-D is an agent-based distribution system simulation environment that allows fine-grained end-user models, including geospatial and network topology detail. A problem exists in that, without outside intervention, once the GridLAB-D simulation begins execution, it will run to completion without allowing the real-time interaction of Smart Grid controls, such as home energy management systems and aggregator control. We address this lack of runtime interaction by designing a flexible communication interface, Bus.pymore » (pronounced bus-dot-pie), that uses Python to pass messages between one or more GridLAB-D instances and a Smart Grid simulator. This work describes the design and implementation of Bus.py, discusses its usefulness in terms of some Smart Grid scenarios, and provides an example of an aggregator-based residential demand response system interacting with GridLAB-D through Bus.py. The small scale example demonstrates the validity of the interface and shows that an aggregator using said interface is able to control residential loads in GridLAB-D during runtime to cause a reduction in the peak load on the distribution system in (a) peak reduction and (b) time-of-use pricing cases.« less

26 CFR 1.512(b)-1 - Modifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

...(b) shall be determined by all the facts and circumstances of each case. For example, if a payment... total rents if such rents exceed 10 percent of the total rents from all the property leased. For example... illustrated by the following example: Example. A, an exempt organization, owns a printing factory which...

26 CFR 1.512(b)-1 - Modifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

...(b) shall be determined by all the facts and circumstances of each case. For example, if a payment... total rents if such rents exceed 10 percent of the total rents from all the property leased. For example... illustrated by the following example: Example. A, an exempt organization, owns a printing factory which...

26 CFR 1.512(b)-1 - Modifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...(b) shall be determined by all the facts and circumstances of each case. For example, if a payment... total rents if such rents exceed 10 percent of the total rents from all the property leased. For example... illustrated by the following example: Example. A, an exempt organization, owns a printing factory which...

26 CFR 1.512(b)-1 - Modifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

...(b) shall be determined by all the facts and circumstances of each case. For example, if a payment... total rents if such rents exceed 10 percent of the total rents from all the property leased. For example... illustrated by the following example: Example. A, an exempt organization, owns a printing factory which...

26 CFR 1.512(b)-1 - Modifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

...(b) shall be determined by all the facts and circumstances of each case. For example, if a payment... total rents if such rents exceed 10 percent of the total rents from all the property leased. For example... illustrated by the following example: Example. A, an exempt organization, owns a printing factory which...

27 CFR 5.32a - Voluntary disclosure of major food allergens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

..., or cod), Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp), tree nuts (for example... (for example, almonds, pecans, or walnuts); (ii) In the case of Crustacean shellfish, it means the name of the species of Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp); and (iii) The names...

27 CFR 5.32a - Voluntary disclosure of major food allergens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

..., or cod), Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp), tree nuts (for example... (for example, almonds, pecans, or walnuts); (ii) In the case of Crustacean shellfish, it means the name of the species of Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp); and (iii) The names...

27 CFR 7.22a - Voluntary disclosure of major food allergens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

..., or cod), Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp), tree nuts (for example... (for example, almonds, pecans, or walnuts); and (ii) In the case of Crustacean shellfish, it means the name of the species of Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp); and (iii) The...

27 CFR 7.22a - Voluntary disclosure of major food allergens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

..., or cod), Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp), tree nuts (for example... (for example, almonds, pecans, or walnuts); and (ii) In the case of Crustacean shellfish, it means the name of the species of Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp); and (iii) The...

27 CFR 7.22a - Voluntary disclosure of major food allergens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

..., or cod), Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp), tree nuts (for example... (for example, almonds, pecans, or walnuts); and (ii) In the case of Crustacean shellfish, it means the name of the species of Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp); and (iii) The...

27 CFR 5.32a - Voluntary disclosure of major food allergens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

..., or cod), Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp), tree nuts (for example... (for example, almonds, pecans, or walnuts); (ii) In the case of Crustacean shellfish, it means the name of the species of Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, or shrimp); and (iii) The names...

The supersymmetric method in random matrix theory and applications to QCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verbaarschot, Jacobus

2004-12-01

The supersymmetric method is a powerful method for the nonperturbative evaluation of quenched averages in disordered systems. Among others, this method has been applied to the statistical theory of S-matrix fluctuations, the theory of universal conductance fluctuations and the microscopic spectral density of the QCD Dirac operator. We start this series of lectures with a general review of Random Matrix Theory and the statistical theory of spectra. An elementary introduction of the supersymmetric method in Random Matrix Theory is given in the second and third lecture. We will show that a Random Matrix Theory can be rewritten as an integral over a supermanifold. This integral will be worked out in detail for the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble that describes level correlations in systems with broken time-reversal invariance. We especially emphasize the role of symmetries. As a second example of the application of the supersymmetric method we discuss the calculation of the microscopic spectral density of the QCD Dirac operator. This is the eigenvalue density near zero on the scale of the average level spacing which is known to be given by chiral Random Matrix Theory. Also in this case we use symmetry considerations to rewrite the generating function for the resolvent as an integral over a supermanifold. The main topic of the second last lecture is the recent developments on the relation between the supersymmetric partition function and integrable hierarchies (in our case the Toda lattice hierarchy). We will show that this relation is an efficient way to calculate superintegrals. Several examples that were given in previous lectures will be worked out by means of this new method. Finally, we will discuss the quenched QCD Dirac spectrum at nonzero chemical potential. Because of the nonhermiticity of the Dirac operator the usual supersymmetric method has not been successful in this case. However, we will show that the supersymmetric partition function can be evaluated by means of the replica limit of the Toda lattice equation.

Missed Diagnosis of Cardiovascular Disease in Outpatient General Medicine: Insights from Malpractice Claims Data.

PubMed

Quinn, Gene R; Ranum, Darrell; Song, Ellen; Linets, Margarita; Keohane, Carol; Riah, Heather; Greenberg, Penny

2017-10-01

Diagnostic errors are an underrecognized source of patient harm, and cardiovascular disease can be challenging to diagnose in the ambulatory setting. Although malpractice data can inform diagnostic error reduction efforts, no studies have examined outpatient cardiovascular malpractice cases in depth. A study was conducted to examine the characteristics of outpatient cardiovascular malpractice cases brought against general medicine practitioners. Some 3,407 closed malpractice claims were analyzed in outpatient general medicine from CRICO Strategies' Comparative Benchmarking System database-the largest detailed database of paid and unpaid malpractice in the world-and multivariate models were created to determine the factors that predicted case outcomes. Among the 153 patients in cardiovascular malpractice cases for whom patient comorbidities were coded, the majority (63%) had at least one traditional cardiac risk factor, such as diabetes, tobacco use, or previous cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular malpractice cases were more likely to involve an allegation of error in diagnosis (75% vs. 47%, p <0.0001), have high clinical severity (86% vs. 49%, p <0.0001) and result in death (75% vs. 27%, p <0.0001), as compared to noncardiovascular cases. Initial diagnoses of nonspecific chest pain and mimics of cardiovascular pain (for example, esophageal disease) were common and independently increased the likelihood of a claim resulting in a payment (p <0.01). Cardiovascular malpractice cases against outpatient general medicine physicians mostly occur in patients with conventional risk factors for coronary artery disease and are often diagnosed with common mimics of cardiovascular pain. These findings suggest that these patients may be high-yield targets for preventing diagnostic errors in the ambulatory setting. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic modeling as an acute risk assessment refinement approach in vertebrate ecological risk assessment.

PubMed

Ducrot, Virginie; Ashauer, Roman; Bednarska, Agnieszka J; Hinarejos, Silvia; Thorbek, Pernille; Weyman, Gabriel

2016-01-01

Recent guidance identified toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic (TK-TD) modeling as a relevant approach for risk assessment refinement. Yet, its added value compared to other refinement options is not detailed, and how to conduct the modeling appropriately is not explained. This case study addresses these issues through 2 examples of individual-level risk assessment for 2 hypothetical plant protection products: 1) evaluating the risk for small granivorous birds and small omnivorous mammals of a single application, as a seed treatment in winter cereals, and 2) evaluating the risk for fish after a pulsed treatment in the edge-of-field zone. Using acute test data, we conducted the first tier risk assessment as defined in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidance. When first tier risk assessment highlighted a concern, refinement options were discussed. Cases where the use of models should be preferred over other existing refinement approaches were highlighted. We then practically conducted the risk assessment refinement by using 2 different models as examples. In example 1, a TK model accounting for toxicokinetics and relevant feeding patterns in the skylark and in the wood mouse was used to predict internal doses of the hypothetical active ingredient in individuals, based on relevant feeding patterns in an in-crop situation, and identify the residue levels leading to mortality. In example 2, a TK-TD model accounting for toxicokinetics, toxicodynamics, and relevant exposure patterns in the fathead minnow was used to predict the time-course of fish survival for relevant FOCUS SW exposure scenarios and identify which scenarios might lead to mortality. Models were calibrated using available standard data and implemented to simulate the time-course of internal dose of active ingredient or survival for different exposure scenarios. Simulation results were discussed and used to derive the risk assessment refinement endpoints used for decision. Finally, we compared the "classical" risk assessment approach with the model-based approach. These comparisons showed that TK and TK-TD models can bring more realism to the risk assessment through the possibility to study realistic exposure scenarios and to simulate relevant mechanisms of effects (including delayed toxicity and recovery). Noticeably, using TK-TD models is currently the most relevant way to directly connect realistic exposure patterns to effects. We conclude with recommendations on how to properly use TK and TK-TD model in acute risk assessment for vertebrates. © 2015 SETAC.

Exploring charge density analysis in crystals at high pressure: data collection, data analysis and advanced modelling.

PubMed

Casati, Nicola; Genoni, Alessandro; Meyer, Benjamin; Krawczuk, Anna; Macchi, Piero

2017-08-01

The possibility to determine electron-density distribution in crystals has been an enormous breakthrough, stimulated by a favourable combination of equipment for X-ray and neutron diffraction at low temperature, by the development of simplified, though accurate, electron-density models refined from the experimental data and by the progress in charge density analysis often in combination with theoretical work. Many years after the first successful charge density determination and analysis, scientists face new challenges, for example: (i) determination of the finer details of the electron-density distribution in the atomic cores, (ii) simultaneous refinement of electron charge and spin density or (iii) measuring crystals under perturbation. In this context, the possibility of obtaining experimental charge density at high pressure has recently been demonstrated [Casati et al. (2016). Nat. Commun. 7, 10901]. This paper reports on the necessities and pitfalls of this new challenge, focusing on the species syn-1,6:8,13-biscarbonyl[14]annulene. The experimental requirements, the expected data quality and data corrections are discussed in detail, including warnings about possible shortcomings. At the same time, new modelling techniques are proposed, which could enable specific information to be extracted, from the limited and less accurate observations, like the degree of localization of double bonds, which is fundamental to the scientific case under examination.

Uncovering novel phase structures in \\Box ^k scalar theories with the renormalization group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safari, M.; Vacca, G. P.

2018-03-01

We present a detailed version of our recent work on the RG approach to multicritical scalar theories with higher derivative kinetic term φ (-\\Box )^kφ and upper critical dimension d_c = 2nk/(n-1). Depending on whether the numbers k and n have a common divisor two classes of theories have been distinguished. For coprime k and n-1 the theory admits a Wilson-Fisher type fixed point. We derive in this case the RG equations of the potential and compute the scaling dimensions and some OPE coefficients, mostly at leading order in ɛ . While giving new results, the critical data we provide are compared, when possible, and accord with a recent alternative approach using the analytic structure of conformal blocks. Instead when k and n-1 have a common divisor we unveil a novel interacting structure at criticality. \\Box ^2 theories with odd n, which fall in this class, are analyzed in detail. Using the RG flows it is shown that a derivative interaction is unavoidable at the critical point. In particular there is an infrared fixed point with a pure derivative interaction at which we compute the scaling dimensions and, for the particular example of \\Box ^2 theory in d_c=6, also some OPE coefficients.

Instrumenting caves to collect hydrologic and geochemical data: case study from James Cave, Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schreiber, Madeline E.; Schwartz, Benjamin F.; Orndorff, William; Doctor, Daniel H.; Eagle, Sarah D.; Gerst, Jonathan D.

2015-01-01

Karst aquifers are productive groundwater systems, supplying approximately 25 % of the world’s drinking water. Sustainable use of this critical water supply requires information about rates of recharge to karst aquifers. The overall goal of this project is to collect long-term, high-resolution hydrologic and geochemical datasets at James Cave, Virginia, to evaluate the quantity and quality of recharge to the karst system. To achieve this goal, the cave has been instrumented for continuous (10-min interval) measurement of the (1) temperature and rate of precipitation; (2) temperature, specific conductance, and rate of epikarst dripwater; (3) temperature of the cave air; and (4) temperature, conductivity, and discharge of the cave stream. Instrumentation has also been installed to collect both composite and grab samples of precipitation, soil water, the cave stream, and dripwater for geochemical analysis. This chapter provides detailed information about the instrumentation, data processing, and data management; shows examples of collected datasets; and discusses recommendations for other researchers interested in hydrologic and geochemical monitoring of cave systems. Results from the research, briefly described here and discussed in more detail in other publications, document a strong seasonality of the start of the recharge season, the extent of the recharge season, and the geochemistry of recharge.

26 CFR 1.482-8 - Examples of the best method rule.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... illustrate the comparative analysis required to apply this rule. As with all of the examples in these... case. Example 10. Cost of services plus method preferred to other methods. (i) FP designs and...

26 CFR 1.482-8 - Examples of the best method rule.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... illustrate the comparative analysis required to apply this rule. As with all of the examples in these... case. Example 10. Cost of services plus method preferred to other methods. (i) FP designs and...

26 CFR 1.482-8 - Examples of the best method rule.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... illustrate the comparative analysis required to apply this rule. As with all of the examples in these... case. Example 10. Cost of services plus method preferred to other methods. (i) FP designs and...

26 CFR 1.482-8 - Examples of the best method rule.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... illustrate the comparative analysis required to apply this rule. As with all of the examples in these... case. Example 10. Cost of services plus method preferred to other methods. (i) FP designs and...

Manual for Transference Work Scale; a micro-analytical tool for therapy process analyses.

PubMed

Ulberg, Randi; Amlo, Svein; Høglend, Per

2014-11-18

The present paper is a manual for the Transference Work Scale (TWS). The inter-rater agreement on the 26 TWS items was good to excellent and previously published. TWS is a therapy process rating scale focusing on Transference Work (TW) (i.e. analysis of the patient-therapist relationship). TW is considered a core active ingredient in dynamic psychotherapy. Adequate process scales are needed to identify and analyze in-session effects of therapist techniques in psychodynamic psychotherapy and empirically establish their links to outcome. TWS was constructed to identify and categorize relational (transference) interventions, and explore the in-session impact of analysis of the patient-therapist relationship (transference work). TWS has sub scales that rate timing, content, and valence of the transference interventions, as well as response from the patient. Descriptions and elaborations of the items in TWS are provided. Clinical examples of transference work from the First Experimental Study of Transference Interpretations (FEST) are included and followed by examples of how to rate transcripts from therapy sessions with TWS. The present manual describes in detail the rating procedure when using Transference Work Scale. Ratings are illustrated with clinical examples from FEST. TWS might be a potentially useful tool to explore the interaction of timing, category, and valence of transference work in predicting in-session patient response as well as treatment outcome. TWS might prove especially suitable for intensive case studies combining quantitative and narrative data. First Experimental Study of Transference-interpretations (FEST307/95). ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00423462. URL: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00423462?term=FEST&rank=2.

Root zone water quality model (RZWQM2): Model use, calibration and validation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ma, Liwang; Ahuja, Lajpat; Nolan, B.T.; Malone, Robert; Trout, Thomas; Qi, Z.

2012-01-01

The Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) has been used widely for simulating agricultural management effects on crop production and soil and water quality. Although it is a one-dimensional model, it has many desirable features for the modeling community. This article outlines the principles of calibrating the model component by component with one or more datasets and validating the model with independent datasets. Users should consult the RZWQM2 user manual distributed along with the model and a more detailed protocol on how to calibrate RZWQM2 provided in a book chapter. Two case studies (or examples) are included in this article. One is from an irrigated maize study in Colorado to illustrate the use of field and laboratory measured soil hydraulic properties on simulated soil water and crop production. It also demonstrates the interaction between soil and plant parameters in simulated plant responses to water stresses. The other is from a maize-soybean rotation study in Iowa to show a manual calibration of the model for crop yield, soil water, and N leaching in tile-drained soils. Although the commonly used trial-and-error calibration method works well for experienced users, as shown in the second example, an automated calibration procedure is more objective, as shown in the first example. Furthermore, the incorporation of the Parameter Estimation Software (PEST) into RZWQM2 made the calibration of the model more efficient than a grid (ordered) search of model parameters. In addition, PEST provides sensitivity and uncertainty analyses that should help users in selecting the right parameters to calibrate.

Normative Command and Control Influences: A Study of Cohesion in Terrorist Organizations and Their Effect on Society

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

general conclusions from specific examples. For this reason, single case studies will not be used in this thesis. Instead, short examples drawn from...potential members perceive others as wanting to relieve their internal conflicts using the same methods, in this case , violence.35...against the nation-state group. In this case , the smaller group, especially with leadership advocating opposing values, may develop norms that do

Theoretical studies on bimolecular reaction dynamics

PubMed Central

Clary, David C.

2008-01-01

This perspective discusses progress in the theory of bimolecular reaction dynamics in the gas phase. The examples selected show that definitive quantum dynamical computations are providing insights into the detailed mechanisms of chemical reactions. PMID:18626015

The cost of uniqueness in groundwater model calibration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Catherine; Doherty, John

2006-04-01

Calibration of a groundwater model requires that hydraulic properties be estimated throughout a model domain. This generally constitutes an underdetermined inverse problem, for which a solution can only be found when some kind of regularization device is included in the inversion process. Inclusion of regularization in the calibration process can be implicit, for example through the use of zones of constant parameter value, or explicit, for example through solution of a constrained minimization problem in which parameters are made to respect preferred values, or preferred relationships, to the degree necessary for a unique solution to be obtained. The "cost of uniqueness" is this: no matter which regularization methodology is employed, the inevitable consequence of its use is a loss of detail in the calibrated field. This, in turn, can lead to erroneous predictions made by a model that is ostensibly "well calibrated". Information made available as a by-product of the regularized inversion process allows the reasons for this loss of detail to be better understood. In particular, it is easily demonstrated that the estimated value for an hydraulic property at any point within a model domain is, in fact, a weighted average of the true hydraulic property over a much larger area. This averaging process causes loss of resolution in the estimated field. Where hydraulic conductivity is the hydraulic property being estimated, high averaging weights exist in areas that are strategically disposed with respect to measurement wells, while other areas may contribute very little to the estimated hydraulic conductivity at any point within the model domain, this possibly making the detection of hydraulic conductivity anomalies in these latter areas almost impossible. A study of the post-calibration parameter field covariance matrix allows further insights into the loss of system detail incurred through the calibration process to be gained. A comparison of pre- and post-calibration parameter covariance matrices shows that the latter often possess a much smaller spectral bandwidth than the former. It is also demonstrated that, as an inevitable consequence of the fact that a calibrated model cannot replicate every detail of the true system, model-to-measurement residuals can show a high degree of spatial correlation, a fact which must be taken into account when assessing these residuals either qualitatively, or quantitatively in the exploration of model predictive uncertainty. These principles are demonstrated using a synthetic case in which spatial parameter definition is based on pilot points, and calibration is implemented using both zones of piecewise constancy and constrained minimization regularization.