48 CFR 15.602 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., Small Business Innovation Research topics, Small Business Technology Transfer Research topics, Program Research and Development Announcements, or any other Government-initiated solicitation or program. When the new and innovative ideas do not fall under topic areas publicized under those programs or techniques...

History of the Innovation of Damage Control for Management of Trauma Patients: 1902-2016.

PubMed

Roberts, Derek J; Ball, Chad G; Feliciano, David V; Moore, Ernest E; Ivatury, Rao R; Lucas, Charles E; Fabian, Timothy C; Zygun, David A; Kirkpatrick, Andrew W; Stelfox, Henry T

2017-05-01

To review the history of the innovation of damage control (DC) for management of trauma patients. DC is an important development in trauma care that provides a valuable case study in surgical innovation. We searched bibliographic databases (1950-2015), conference abstracts (2009-2013), Web sites, textbooks, and bibliographies for articles relating to trauma DC. The innovation of DC was then classified according to the Innovation, Development, Exploration, Assessment, and Long-term study model of surgical innovation. The "innovation" of DC originated from the use of therapeutic liver packing, a practice that had previously been abandoned after World War II because of adverse events. It then "developed" into abbreviated laparotomy using "rapid conservative operative techniques." Subsequent "exploration" resulted in the application of DC to increasingly complex abdominal injuries and thoracic, peripheral vascular, and orthopedic injuries. Increasing use of DC laparotomy was followed by growing reports of postinjury abdominal compartment syndrome and prophylactic use of the open abdomen to prevent intra-abdominal hypertension after DC laparotomy. By the year 2000, DC surgery had been widely adopted and was recommended for use in surgical journals, textbooks, and teaching courses ("assessment" stage of innovation). "Long-term study" of DC is raising questions about whether the procedure should be used more selectively in the context of improving resuscitation practices. The history of the innovation of DC illustrates how a previously abandoned surgical technique was adapted and readopted in response to an increased understanding of trauma patient physiology and changing injury patterns and trauma resuscitation practices.

Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arndt, Nancy Y.

The capacity to produce imagery has been regarded as a powerful agent in the healing process and the use of mental imagery as a healing technique is well established. Freud developed the technique of free association and Jung developed several innovative imagery techniques designed to explore the unconscious. Others have used imagery and…

INNOVATIVE METHODS FOR EMISSION-INVENTORY DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION: WORKSHOP SUMMARY

EPA Science Inventory

Emission inventories are an essential tool for evaluating, managing, and regulating air pollution. Refinements and innovations in instruments that measure air pollutants, models that calculate emissions as well as techniques for data management and uncertainty assessment are nee...

Loop mediated isothermal amplification: An innovative gene amplification technique for animal diseases.

PubMed

Sahoo, Pravas Ranjan; Sethy, Kamadev; Mohapatra, Swagat; Panda, Debasis

2016-05-01

India being a developing country mainly depends on livestock sector for its economy. However, nowadays, there is emergence and reemergence of more transboundary animal diseases. The existing diagnostic techniques are not so quick and with less specificity. To reduce the economy loss, there should be a development of rapid, reliable, robust diagnostic technique, which can work with high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Loop mediated isothermal amplification assay is a rapid gene amplification technique that amplifies nucleic acid under an isothermal condition with a set of designed primers spanning eight distinct sequences of the target. This assay can be used as an emerging powerful, innovative gene amplification diagnostic tool against various pathogens of livestock diseases. This review is to highlight the basic concept and methodology of this assay in livestock disease.

Novel GM animal technologies and their governance.

PubMed

Bruce, Ann; Castle, David; Gibbs, Corrina; Tait, Joyce; Whitelaw, C Bruce A

2013-08-01

Scientific advances in methods of producing genetically modified (GM) animals continue, yet few such animals have reached commercial production. Existing regulations designed for early techniques of genetic modification pose formidable barriers to commercial applications. Radically improved techniques for producing GM animals invite a re-examination of current regulatory regimes. We critically examine current GM animal regulations, with a particular focus on the European Union, through a framework that recognises the importance of interactions among regulatory regimes, innovation outcomes and industry sectors. The current focus on the regulation of risk is necessary but is unable to discriminate among applications and tends to close down broad areas of application rather than facilitate innovation and positive industry interactions. Furthermore, the fields of innovative animal biosciences appear to lack networks of organisations with co-ordinated future oriented actions. Such networks could drive coherent programmes of innovation towards particular visions and contribute actively to the development of regulatory systems for GM animals. The analysis presented makes the case for regulatory consideration of each animal bioscience related innovation on the basis of the nature of the product itself and not the process by which it was developed.

Solution mechanism guide: implementing innovation within a research & development organization.

PubMed

Keeton, Kathryn E; Richard, Elizabeth E; Davis, Jeffrey R

2014-10-01

In order to create a culture more open to novel problem-solving mechanisms, NASA's Human Health and Performance Directorate (HH&P) created a strategic knowledge management tool that educates employees about innovative problem-solving techniques, the Solution Mechanism Guide (SMG). The SMG is a web-based, interactive guide that leverages existing and innovative problem-solving methods and presents this information as a unique user experience so that the employee is empowered to make the best decision about which problem-solving tool best meets their needs. By integrating new and innovative methods with existing problem solving tools, the SMG seamlessly introduces open innovation and collaboration concepts within HH&P to more effectively address human health and performance risks. This commentary reviews the path of creating a more open and innovative culture within HH&P and the process and development steps that were taken to develop the SMG.

The application of welat latino for creating paes in solo wedding bride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ihsani, Ade Novi Nurul; Krisnawati, Maria; Prasetyaningtyas, Wulansari; Anggraeni, Puput; Bela, Herlina Tria; Zunaedah, Putri Wahyu

2018-03-01

The purposes of this research were: 1) to find out the process of creating innovative welat, 2) to find out how to use innovative welat for Solo wedding bride paes creation. The method used in the research was research and development (R & D). Sampling technique in this research was purposive sampling by using 13 people as models. The data collection technique used observation and documentation. Data analysis technique used descriptive technique. The results of the study showed that 1) there were two times design change of the validity of welat creation, each product passed through several stages of designing, forming, determining the material and printing, 3) the first way of using the welat determined the distance dot between the cengkorongan of both forms by using welat according to the existed mold. In conclusion, Innovative welat can produce paes in accordance with the standard and shorten the process.

Techniques for development of safety-related software for surgical robots.

PubMed

Varley, P

1999-12-01

Regulatory bodies require evidence that software controlling potentially hazardous devices is developed to good manufacturing practices. Effective techniques used in other industries assume long timescales and high staffing levels and can be unsuitable for use without adaptation in developing electronic healthcare devices. This paper discusses a set of techniques used in practice to develop software for a particular innovative medical product, an endoscopic camera manipulator. These techniques include identification of potential hazards and tracing their mitigating factors through the project lifecycle.

Innovation in Layer-by-Layer Assembly.

PubMed

Richardson, Joseph J; Cui, Jiwei; Björnmalm, Mattias; Braunger, Julia A; Ejima, Hirotaka; Caruso, Frank

2016-12-14

Methods for depositing thin films are important in generating functional materials for diverse applications in a wide variety of fields. Over the last half-century, the layer-by-layer assembly of nanoscale films has received intense and growing interest. This has been fueled by innovation in the available materials and assembly technologies, as well as the film-characterization techniques. In this Review, we explore, discuss, and detail innovation in layer-by-layer assembly in terms of past and present developments, and we highlight how these might guide future advances. A particular focus is on conventional and early developments that have only recently regained interest in the layer-by-layer assembly field. We then review unconventional assemblies and approaches that have been gaining popularity, which include inorganic/organic hybrid materials, cells and tissues, and the use of stereocomplexation, patterning, and dip-pen lithography, to name a few. A relatively recent development is the use of layer-by-layer assembly materials and techniques to assemble films in a single continuous step. We name this "quasi"-layer-by-layer assembly and discuss the impacts and innovations surrounding this approach. Finally, the application of characterization methods to monitor and evaluate layer-by-layer assembly is discussed, as innovation in this area is often overlooked but is essential for development of the field. While we intend for this Review to be easily accessible and act as a guide to researchers new to layer-by-layer assembly, we also believe it will provide insight to current researchers in the field and help guide future developments and innovation.

[Recent Development of Atomic Spectrometry in China].

PubMed

Xiao, Yuan-fang; Wang, Xiao-hua; Hang, Wei

2015-09-01

As an important part of modern analytical techniques, atomic spectrometry occupies a decisive status in the whole analytical field. The development of atomic spectrometry also reflects the continuous reform and innovation of analytical techniques. In the past fifteen years, atomic spectrometry has experienced rapid development and been applied widely in many fields in China. This review has witnessed its development and remarkable achievements. It contains several directions of atomic spectrometry, including atomic emission spectrometry (AES), atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), and atomic mass spectrometry (AMS). Emphasis is put on the innovation of the detection methods and their applications in related fields, including environmental samples, biological samples, food and beverage, and geological materials, etc. There is also a brief introduction to the hyphenated techniques utilized in atomic spectrometry. Finally, the prospects of atomic spectrometry in China have been forecasted.

Getting Clearer About Surgical Innovation: A New Definition and a New Tool to Support Responsible Practice.

PubMed

Hutchison, Katrina; Rogers, Wendy; Eyers, Anthony; Lotz, Mianna

2015-12-01

This article presents an original definition of surgical innovation and a practical tool for identifying planned innovations. These will support the responsible introduction of surgical innovations. Frameworks developed for the safer introduction of surgical innovations rely upon identifying cases of innovation; oversight cannot occur unless innovations are identified. However, there is no consensus among surgeons about which interventions they consider innovative; existing definitions are vague and impractical. Using conceptual analysis, this article synthesizes findings from relevant literature, and from qualitative research with surgeons, to develop an original definition of surgical innovation and a tool for prospectively identifying planned surgical innovations. The tool has been developed in light of feedback from health care professionals, surgeons, and policy makers. This definition of innovation distinguishes between variations, introduction of established interventions, and innovations in surgical techniques or use of devices. It can be applied easily and consistently, is sensitive to the key features of innovation (newness and degree of change), is prospective, and focuses on features relevant to safety and evaluation. The accompanying tool is deliberately broad so that appropriate supports may, if necessary, be provided each time that a surgeon does something "new." The definition presented in this article overcomes a number of practical challenges. The definition and tool will be of value in supporting responsible surgical innovation, in particular, through the prospective identification of planned innovations.

Innovative Reactive and Proactive Graduate Student Recruiting Techniques.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laird, Hugh E., II

1989-01-01

The evolution of the recruiting techniques used by the University of Arizona's pharmacology and toxicology graduate program are described, considerations in the development of recruitment efforts are discussed, and issues for the profession to examine in developing a long-term strategy for recruiting students are outlined. (MSE)

Ontogeny of a surgical technique: Robotic kidney transplantation with regional hypothermia.

PubMed

Sood, Akshay; McCulloch, Peter; Dahm, Philipp; Ahlawat, Rajesh; Jeong, Wooju; Bhandari, Mahendra; Menon, Mani

2016-01-01

Innovation is a hallmark of surgical practice. It is generally accepted that a new procedure will undergo technical changes during its evolution; however, quantitative accounts of the process are limited. Multiple groups, including our own, have recently described a minimally-invasive approach to conventional kidney transplantation (KT) operation. Unique to our experience is a structured development of the technique within the confines of a safe surgical innovation framework - the IDEAL framework (idea, development, exploration, assessment, long-term monitoring; stages 0-4). We here provide a first-hand narrative of the progress of robotic KT operation from preclinical trial to clinical application. Overall, 54 patients underwent robotic KT with regional hypothermia successfully. Major technical changes including selection of optimal patient position (flank vs. lithotomy), robotic instrumentation, vascular occlusion method (bulldog vs. tourniquet) and suture material (prolene vs. GoreTex) occurred early during the procedure development (IDEAL stage 0, preclinical). Minor technical changes such as utilization of the aortic punch for arteriotomy (case 3), use of barbed suture during ureteroneocystostomy (case 6) and extraperitonealization of the graft kidney (case 6) that increased the efficiency and safety of the procedure continued throughout procedure development (IDEAL stages 1-2, clinical stages). We demonstrate that a surgical technique evolves continually; although, the majority of technical alterations occur early in the life-cycle of the procedure. Development of a new technique within the confines a structured surgical innovation framework allows for evidence based progression of the technique and may minimize the risk of harm to the patient. Copyright © 2015 IJS Publishing Group Limited. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NIST Role in Advancing Innovation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semerjian, Hratch

2006-03-01

According to the National Innovation Initiative, a report of the Council on Competitiveness, innovation will be the single most important factor in determining America's success through the 21^st century. NIST mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology -- in ways that enhance economic security and improve the quality of life for all Americans. NIST innovations in measurement science and technology often become the basis for new industrial capabilities. Several examples of such developments will be discussed, including the development of techniques for manipulation and measurement of biomolecules which may become the building blocks for molecular electronics; expansion of the frontiers of quantum theory to develop the field of quantum computing and communication; development of atomic scale measurement capabilities for future nano- and molecular scale electronic devices; development of a lab-on-a-chip that can detect within seconds trace amounts of toxic chemicals in water, or can be used for rapid DNA analysis; and standards to facilitate supply chain interoperability.

A Survey of Techniques for Security Architecture Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-05-01

to be corrected immediately. 49 DSTO-TR-1438 A software phenomenon is the "user innovation network", examples of such networks being "free" and "open...source" software projects. These networks have innovation development, production, distribution and consumption all being performed by users/self...manufacturers. "User innovation networks can function entirely independently of manufacturers because (1) at least some users have sufficient incentive to

Speeding Products to Market: Waiting Time to First Product Introduction in New Firms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoonhoven, Claudia Bird; And Others

1990-01-01

Using event-history analysis techniques, a longitudinal study of the semiconductor industry found that substantial technological innovation lengthens development times and reduces the speed with which first products reach the marketplace. Organizations that undertook lower levels of technological innovation had relatively lower monthly…

Inaugural editorial: Military Medical Research.

PubMed

Ren, Guo-Quan

2014-01-01

Military medicine is one of the most innovative part of human civilization. Along with the rapid development of medicine and advances in military techniques, military medicine has become the focus and intersection of new knowledge and new technologies. Innovation and development within military medicine are always ongoing, with a long and challenging path ahead. The establishment of "Military Medical Research" is expected to be a bounden responsibility in the frontline of Chinese military medicine.

Robotic kidney transplantation with regional hypothermia: evolution of a novel procedure utilizing the IDEAL guidelines (IDEAL phase 0 and 1).

PubMed

Menon, Mani; Abaza, Ronney; Sood, Akshay; Ahlawat, Rajesh; Ghani, Khurshid R; Jeong, Wooju; Kher, Vijay; Kumar, Ramesh K; Bhandari, Mahendra

2014-05-01

Surgical innovation is essential for progress of surgical science, but its implementation comes with potential harms during the learning phase. The Balliol Collaboration has recommended a set of guidelines (Innovation, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term study [IDEAL]) that permit innovation while minimizing complications. To utilize the IDEAL model of surgical innovation in the development of a novel surgical technique, robotic kidney transplantation (RKT) with regional hypothermia, and describe the process of discovery and development. Phase 0 (simulation) studies included the establishment of techniques for pelvic cooling, graft placement in a robotic prostatectomy model, and simulation of the RKT procedure in a cadaveric model. Phase 1 (innovation) studies began in January 2013 and involved treatment of a highly selective small group of patients (n=7), using the principles utilized in the phase 0 studies, at a tertiary referral center. IDEAL model implementation in the development of RKT with regional hypothermia. For phase 0 studies, the outcomes evaluated included pelvic and body temperature measurements, and technical feasibility assessment. The primary outcome during phase 1 was post-transplant graft function. Other outcomes measured were operative and ischemic times, perioperative complications, and intracorporeal graft surface temperature. Phase 0 (simulation phase): Pelvic cooling to 15-20(o)C was achieved reproducibly. Using the surgical approach developed for robotic radical prostatectomy, vascular and ureterovesical anastomoses could be done without redocking the robot. Phase 1 (innovation phase): All patients underwent live-donor RKT in the lithotomy position. All grafts functioned immediately. Mean console, anastomotic, and warm ischemia times were 154 min, 29 min, and 2 min, respectively. One patient was re-explored on postoperative day 1. Adherence to the IDEAL guidelines put forth by the Balliol Collaboration provided a practical framework for the establishment of a novel surgical procedure, RKT with regional hypothermia, without exposing the initial patients to unacceptable risk. The IDEAL model allows safe introduction of new surgical techniques without compromising patient outcomes. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Observational techniques for solar flare gamma-rays, hard X-rays, and neutrons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Robert P.

1989-01-01

The development of new instrumentation and techniques for solar hard X-ray, gamma ray and neutron observations from spacecraft and/or balloon-borne platforms is examined. The principal accomplishments are: (1) the development of a two segment germanium detector which is near ideal for solar hard X-ray and gamma ray spectroscopy; (2) the development of long duration balloon flight techniques and associated instrumentation; and (3) the development of innovative new position sensitive detectors for hard X-ray and gamma rays.

Which Advisory System to Support Innovation in Conservation Agriculture? The Case of Madagascar's Lake Alaotra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faure, Guy; Penot, Eric; Rakotondravelo, Jean Chrysostome; Ramahatoraka, Haja Andrisoa; Dugue, Patrick; Toillier, Aurelie

2013-01-01

Purpose: To promote sustainable agriculture, various development projects are encouraging farmers around Madagascar's Lake Alaotra to adopt conservation agriculture techniques. This article's objective is to analyze the capacity of a project-funded advisory system to accompany such an innovation and to design and implement an advisory method aimed…

Mastering the HRD Matrix: Generating ROI by Linking to Business Strategy. Innovative Session.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalata, Erica D.; Satterfield, Mary Ellen; Klees, Phyllis

This innovative session provides a vehicle for facilitating dialogue and practical application of effective tools for linking human resource development (HRD) strategies with business/organizational strategies. The primary goal is to provide an increased understanding of and skill using practical, research-based approaches and techniques to build…

JUST in time health emergency interventions: an innovative approach to training the citizen for emergency situations using virtual reality techniques and advanced IT tools (the VR Tool).

PubMed

Manganas, A; Tsiknakis, M; Leisch, E; Ponder, M; Molet, T; Herbelin, B; Magnetat-Thalmann, N; Thalmann, D; Fato, M; Schenone, A

2004-01-01

This paper reports the results of the second of the two systems developed by JUST, a collaborative project supported by the European Union under the Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme. The most innovative content of the project has been the design and development of a complementary training course for non-professional health emergency operators, which supports the traditional learning phase, and which purports to improve the retention capability of the trainees. This was achieved with the use of advanced information technology techniques, which provide adequate support and can help to overcome the present weaknesses of the existing training mechanisms.

Innovative acoustic techniques for studying new materials and new developments in solid state physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maynard, Julian D.

1994-06-01

The goals of this project involve the use of innovative acoustic techniques to study new materials and new developments in solid state physics. Major accomplishments include (a) the preparation and publication of a number of papers and book chapters, (b) the measurement and new analysis of more samples of aluminum quasicrystal and its cubic approximant to eliminate the possibility of sample artifacts, (c) the use of resonant ultrasound to measure acoustic attenuation and determine the effects of heat treatment on ceramics, (d) the extension of our technique for measuring even lower (possibly the lowest) infrared optical absorption coefficient, and (e) the measurement of the effects of disorder on the propagation of a nonlinear pulse, and (f) the observation of statistical effects in measurements of individual bond breaking events in fracture.

A New Era of Minimally Invasive Surgery: Progress and Development of Major Technical Innovations in General Surgery Over the Last Decade.

PubMed

Siddaiah-Subramanya, Manjunath; Tiang, Kor Woi; Nyandowe, Masimba

2017-10-01

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) continues to play an important role in general surgery as an alternative to traditional open surgery as well as traditional laparoscopic techniques. Since the 1980s, technological advancement and innovation have seen surgical techniques in MIS rapidly grow as it is viewed as more desirable. MIS, which includes natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) and single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), is less invasive and has better cosmetic results. The technological growth and adoption of NOTES and SILS by clinicians in the last decade has however not been uniform. We look at the differences in new developments and advancement in the different techniques in the last 10 years. We also aim to explain these differences as well as the implications in general surgery for the future.

Hot-wire anemometry in hypersonic helium flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wagner, R. D.; Weinstein, L. M.

1974-01-01

Hot-wire anemometry techniques are described that have been developed and used for hypersonic-helium-flow studies. The short run time available dictated certain innovations in applying conventional hot-wire techniques. Some examples are given to show the application of the techniques used. Modifications to conventional equipment are described, including probe modifications and probe heating controls.

Cognitive Analysis of Meaning and Acquired Mental Representations as an Alternative Measurement Method Technique to Innovate E-Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morales-Martinez, Guadalupe Elizabeth; Lopez-Ramirez, Ernesto Octavio; Castro-Campos, Claudia; Villarreal-Treviño, Maria Guadalupe; Gonzales-Trujillo, Claudia Jaquelina

2017-01-01

Empirical directions to innovate e-assessments and to support the theoretical development of e-learning are discussed by presenting a new learning assessment system based on cognitive technology. Specifically, this system encompassing trained neural nets that can discriminate between students who successfully integrated new knowledge course…

PARTITIONING INTERWELL TRACER TEST FOR NAPL SOURCE CHARACTERIZATION: A GENERAL OVERVIEW

EPA Science Inventory

Innovative and nondestructive characterization techniques have been developed to locate and quantify nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) in the vadose and saturated zones in the subsurface environment. One such technique is the partitioning interwell tracer test (PITT). The PITT i...

Hospitals as learning organizations: fostering innovation through interactive learning.

PubMed

Dias, Casimiro; Escoval, Ana

2015-01-01

The article aims to provide an analytical understanding of hospitals as "learning organizations." It further analyzes the development of learning organizations as a way to enhance innovation and performance in the hospital sector. The article pulls together primary data on organizational flexibility, innovation, and performance from 95 administrators from hospital boards in Portugal, collected through a survey, interviews with hospital's boards, and a nominal group technique with a panel of experts on health systems. Results show that a combination of several organizational traits of the learning organization enhances its capacity for innovation development. The logistic model presented reveals that hospitals classified as "advanced learning organizations" have 5 times more chance of developing innovation than "basic learning organizations." Empirical findings further pointed out incentives, standards, and measurement requirements as key elements for integration of service delivery systems and expansion of the current capacity for structured and real-time learning in the hospital sector. The major implication arising from this study is that policy needs to combine instruments that promote innovation opportunities and incentives, with instruments stimulating the further development of the core components of learning organizations. Such a combination of policy instruments has the potential to ensure a wide external cooperation through a learning infrastructure.

Predicting Innovation Acceptance by Simulation in Virtual Environments (Theoretical Foundations)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

León, Noel; Duran, Roberto; Aguayo, Humberto; Flores, Myrna

This paper extends the current development of a methodology for Computer Aided Innovation. It begins with a presentation of concepts related to the perceived capabilities of virtual environments in the Innovation Cycle. The main premise establishes that it is possible to predict the acceptance of a new product in a specific market, by releasing an early prototype in a virtual scenario to quantify its general reception and to receive early feedback from potential customers. The paper continues to focus this research on a synergistic extension of techniques that have their origins in optimization and innovation disciplines. TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving), extends the generation of variants with Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) and finally to present the designer and the intended customer, creative and innovative alternatives. All of this developed on a virtual software interface (Virtual World). The work continues with a general description of the project as a step forward to improve the overall strategy.

Importance And Role Of Competence In Professional Career Of Product Develop Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miltenović, Aleksandar; Banić, Milan; Miltenović, Vojislav

2015-07-01

Product development is a creative task where is systematically created a new product, which makes possible to firms to offer attractive, innovative and market oriented products. In conditions of fierce competition and saturated markets, companies that do not innovate are stagnating and disappear from the market. Innovation is therefore every intervention which can reduce production costs, enables optimum utilization of available human, energy and material resources, improve product quality, improve the placement, which leads to an increase in competitiveness. A prerequisite for fulfillment of the above-mentioned tasks is that the companies have engineers with the appropriate competencies, which are able to, through creativity, innovation and fascinating technique of creating new or improving existing products and lunch it on the market. The paper discusses the role and importance of the competences that are necessary for a successful professional career of product development engineers.

A review of extra-articular prosthetic stabilization of the cranial cruciate ligament-deficient stifle.

PubMed

Tonks, C A; Lewis, D D; Pozzi, A

2011-01-01

Extra-articular prosthetic stabilization techniques have been used as a method of stabilization of the cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL)-deficient stifle for decades. During extra-articular prosthetic stabilization, the prosthesis is anchored to the femur and tibia, and tensioned in the attempt to resolve femorotibial instability. The position of the anchor points of the prosthesis is crucial for restoring a normal range of joint motion and mitigating alterations in prosthesis tension during motion. Recently developed techniques offer several innovations with potential advantages such as bone-to-bone fixation, prosthetic materials with better mechanical properties, and improved isometry of the anchor points. Whether these innovations provide clinically superior results to the traditional techniques such as lateral circumfabellar-tibial suture techniques has yet to be determined.

Development and validation of a sensor-based health monitoring model for the Parkview Bridge deck.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-31

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) using full-depth precast deck panels is an innovative technique that brings all : the benefits listed under ABC to full fruition. However, this technique needs to be evaluated and the performance of : the bridge ...

A historical overview of magnetic resonance imaging, focusing on technological innovations.

PubMed

Ai, Tao; Morelli, John N; Hu, Xuemei; Hao, Dapeng; Goerner, Frank L; Ager, Bryan; Runge, Val M

2012-12-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has now been used clinically for more than 30 years. Today, MRI serves as the primary diagnostic modality for many clinical problems. In this article, historical developments in the field of MRI will be discussed with a focus on technological innovations. Topics include the initial discoveries in nuclear magnetic resonance that allowed for the advent of MRI as well as the development of whole-body, high field strength, and open MRI systems. Dedicated imaging coils, basic pulse sequences, contrast-enhanced, and functional imaging techniques will also be discussed in a historical context. This article describes important technological innovations in the field of MRI, together with their clinical applicability today, providing critical insights into future developments.

Ultrasonic technique for inspection of GPHS capsule girth weld integrity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Placr, Arnost

1993-05-01

An innovative nondestructive examination (NDE) technique for the inspection of integrity of General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) capsule girth welds was developed employing a Lamb wave as the mode of the sound propagation. Reliability of the Lamb wave technique was tested on GPHS capsules using plutonium pallet simulators. All ten capsules, which were previously rejected, passed ultrasonic (UT) inspection using the Lamb wave technique.

Development of innovative techniques and principles that may be used as models to improve plant performance. Final report

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

Hanna, Wayne W.; Burton, Glenn W.

2000-06-25

We developed fundamental methods and techniques for transferring germplasm from wild to cultivated species. Germplasm transferred included diverse cytoplasms, new genes for pest resistance, genes controlling dry matter yield and apomixis. Some of the germplasm has been shown to be valuable in plant breeding and has been incorporated into commercial cultivators.

Surgical innovation and quality assurance: Can we have both?

PubMed

Georgeson, Keith

2015-06-01

Innovation is the major force for progress in pediatric surgery. Most of the progress in surgery has evolved secondary to novel approaches developed by surgeons confronted with difficult pathologic conditions. Up to the present time, most surgical innovation has been practiced with few rules for guidance. Innovation to make surgical procedures more effective and less morbid is highly desirable. However, the absence of oversight has the potential to lead to unbridled human experimentation. The quality improvement movement in medicine is attempting to improve outcomes using evidence-based clinical pathways. Quality improvement aims to decrease the variation in therapeutic approaches by scientifically defining best practices. There is a significant potential for autonomous surgical innovators to clash with well-meaning proponents of quality improvement. A suggested remedy to encourage surgical innovators while protecting patients from unintended harm is for institutions to develop Surgical Innovation Committees to evaluate and give oversight to the early application of new techniques and devices. Scientific evaluation under the auspices of an IRB should follow when feasible. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Innovations in interventional pain management of chronic spinal pain.

PubMed

Manchikanti, Laxmaiah; Boswell, Mark V; Hirsch, Joshua A

2016-09-01

Interventional pain management dates back to 1901, with significant innovations, which include the definition, literature synthesis, pathophysiology, and technical interventions. Interventional pain management and interventional techniques include neural blockade, neural ablative procedures, spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, intrathecal drug delivery systems, minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD®), percutaneous endoscopic spinal decompression, and regenerative medicine. In addition, advances are also related to the evidence synthesis of comparative effectiveness research. Expert commentary: Multiple innovations in interventional pain management and potential innovations may reduce costs and improve care and outcomes with proper evidence synthesis and application of principles of evidence-based medicine. Innovations in interventional pain management in managing chronic spinal pain depend on extensive research and appropriate evidence synthesis. Innovations should be developed in conjunction with health care policy based on principles of evidence-based medicine.

Development and validation of a sensor-based health monitoring model for the Parkview Bridge deck : [appendices].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-31

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) using full-depth precast deck panels is an innovative technique that brings all the benefits listed under ABC to full fruition. However, this technique needs to be evaluated and the performance of the bridge need...

Development of Surfaces Optically Suitable for Flat Solar Panels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Desmet, D.; Jason, A.; Parr, A.

1977-01-01

Innovations in reflectometry techniques are described; and the development of an absorbing selective coating is discussed along with details of surface properties. Conclusions as to the parameterization desired for practical applications of selective surfaces are provided.

Propulsion simulation for magnetically suspended wind tunnel models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joshi, Prakash B.; Beerman, Henry P.; Chen, James; Krech, Robert H.; Lintz, Andrew L.; Rosen, David I.

1990-01-01

The feasibility of simulating propulsion-induced aerodynamic effects on scaled aircraft models in wind tunnels employing Magnetic Suspension and Balance Systems. The investigation concerned itself with techniques of generating exhaust jets of appropriate characteristics. The objectives were to: (1) define thrust and mass flow requirements of jets; (2) evaluate techniques for generating propulsive gas within volume limitations imposed by magnetically-suspended models; (3) conduct simple diagnostic experiments for techniques involving new concepts; and (4) recommend experiments for demonstration of propulsion simulation techniques. Various techniques of generating exhaust jets of appropriate characteristics were evaluated on scaled aircraft models in wind tunnels with MSBS. Four concepts of remotely-operated propulsion simulators were examined. Three conceptual designs involving innovative adaptation of convenient technologies (compressed gas cylinders, liquid, and solid propellants) were developed. The fourth innovative concept, namely, the laser-assisted thruster, which can potentially simulate both inlet and exhaust flows, was found to require very high power levels for small thrust levels.

NASA's Public Participation Universe: Why and How the U.S. Space Agency Is Democratizing Its Approaches to Innovation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaminski, Amy; Buquo, Lynn; Roman, Monsi; Beck, Beth; Thaller, Michelle

2016-01-01

This paper analyzes NASA's increasing effort to invite greater public participation in its techno scientific work through open innovation methodologies. First we examine why NASA has expanded its use of these approaches, noting the roles of an intertwined set of forcing functions including budget constraints, the availability of technological resources, and committed individuals. Next we outline the strategies the agency has invoked to engage the public in research, technology development, and other activities to advance and shape NASA's mission. As we show, promoting greater public involvement has entailed facilitating the NASA workforce's familiarity with open innovation approaches as well as developing projects and creating outreach strategies appropriate to the envisioned participant base. We then discuss the wide variety of outcomes NASA's open innovation initiatives have yielded in support of NASA research and development objectives as well as benefits to participants and others. We conclude with a discussion of the remaining barriers to the use of open innovation techniques as a standard practice and the strategies in work to overcome those barriers so the full potential of a democratized approach to innovation can be realized.

The Surgery Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Program (SIEDP): An Experiential Learning Program for Surgery Faculty to Ideate and Implement Innovations in Health care.

PubMed

Servoss, Jonathan; Chang, Connie; Olson, David; Ward, Kevin R; Mulholland, Michael W; Cohen, Mark S

2017-10-05

Surgeons are continually engaged in the incorporation of new technologies in their practice. In the operating room and beyond, they combine technical skill with creative problem solving to improve tools and techniques for patient care, making them natural innovators. However, despite their innovative tendencies, education on entrepreneurship and commercialization is severely lacking. Moreover, with increasing pressure to meet productivity metrics, their availability to learn the complexities of commercialization is limited. To address these challenges, we designed the Surgery Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Program (SIEDP) with the objective to advance faculty innovations, develop new departmental innovation initiatives, and improve faculty education in the area of innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization. The SIEDP is a first-of-its-kind experiential learning program specifically designed for busy clinical and research faculty in a major academic surgery department. Participants ideated and formed teams around health care innovations as they progressed through a 9-month curriculum of expert guest lectures and interactive workshops. A postprogram evaluation and outcome tracking method was used to evaluate attainment of educational objectives and project development milestones. The Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Eleven surgery faculty of varying academic rank and surgical subspecialties. The program generated 2 faculty startup companies, 1 departmental commercial product, 3 patent disclosures, and 3 innovations that received additional funding. All participants in the program reported a significant increase in their understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship and that participation was a worthwhile faculty development activity. Despite the various challenges and time constraints of surgical practices, programs like SIEDP can educate surgeons and other academicians on innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization and add value to the academic mission of providing excellent education, research, and clinical care. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

NPS transportation innovative finance options

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-05-01

This paper provides a summary of innovative transportation finance techniques and discusses their applicability to the National Park Service (NPS). The primary finding of this analysis is that while NPS is engaging in innovative finance techniques su...

EAES recommendations on methodology of innovation management in endoscopic surgery.

PubMed

Neugebauer, Edmund A M; Becker, Monika; Buess, Gerhard F; Cuschieri, Alfred; Dauben, Hans-Peter; Fingerhut, Abe; Fuchs, Karl H; Habermalz, Brigitte; Lantsberg, Leonid; Morino, Mario; Reiter-Theil, Stella; Soskuty, Gabriela; Wayand, Wolfgang; Welsch, Thilo

2010-07-01

Under the mandate of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) a guideline on methodology of innovation management in endoscopic surgery has been developed. The primary focus of this guideline is patient safety, efficacy, and effectiveness. An international expert panel was invited to develop recommendations for the assessment and introduction of surgical innovations. A consensus development conference (CDC) took place in May 2009 using the method of a nominal group process (NGP). The recommendations were presented at the annual EAES congress in Prague, Czech Republic, on June 18th, 2009 for discussion and further input. After further Delphi processes between the experts, the final recommendations were agreed upon. The development and implementation of innovations in surgery are addressed in five sections: (1) definition of an innovation, (2) preclinical and (3) clinical scientific development, (4) scientific approval, and (5) implementation along with monitoring. Within the present guideline each of the sections and several steps are defined, and several recommendations based on available evidence have been agreed within each category. A comprehensive workflow of the different steps is given in an algorithm. In addition, issues of health technology assessment (HTA) serving to estimate efficiency followed by ethical directives are given. Innovations into clinical practice should be introduced with the highest possible grade of safety for the patient (nil nocere: do no harm). The recommendations can contribute to the attainment of this objective without preventing future promising diagnostic and therapeutic innovations in the field of surgery and allied techniques.

Second-order spherical optoelectronic detector for 3D multi-particles wave emission and propagation in space time domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romano, Francesco; Cimmino, Rosario F.

2017-09-01

This paper concerns a feasibility study on a 2nd order spherical, or three-dimensional, angular momentum and linear momentum detector for photonic radiation applications. It has been developed in order to obtain a paraxial approximation of physical events observed under Coulomb gauge condition, which is essential to compute both the longitudinal and transverse rotational components of the observed 3-D vortex field, generally neglected by conventional detection systems under current usage. Since light and laser beams are neither full transversal or rotational phenomena, to measure directly and in the same time both the energy, mainly not-rotational, related to the relevant part of the linear momentum and the potential solenoidal energy (vortex), related to the angular momentum, 2nd order spherical, or 3-D, detector techniques are required. In addition, direct 2nd order measure techniques enable development of TEM + DEM [17] studies, therefore allowing for monochromatic complex wave detection with a paraxial accuracy in the relativistic time-space domain. Light and optic or Electromagnetic 2nd order 3-D AnM energy may usefully be used in tre-dimensional optical TEM, noTEM, DEM vortex or laser communications The paper illustrates an innovative quadratic order 3-D spherical model detector applied to directly measure a light source power spectrum and compares the performances of this innovative technique with those obtained with a traditional 1st order system. Results from a number of test experiments conducted in cooperation with INAF Observatories of ArcetriFlorence and Medicina-Bologna (Italy), and focused on telescopic observations of the inter-stellar electromagnetic radiations, are also summarized. The innovative quadratic-order spherical detector turns out to be optimal for optical and/or radio telescopes application, optical and optoelectronic sensors development and gravitational wave 2nd order detectors implementation. Although the proposed method is very innovative, it shows a very good adherence with results obtained with the conventional techniques in current usage.

Innovative hyperspectral imaging (HSI) based techniques applied to end-of-life concrete drill core characterization for optimal dismantling and materials recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonifazi, Giuseppe; Picone, Nicoletta; Serranti, Silvia

2015-02-01

The reduction of EOL concrete disposal in landfills, together with a lower exploitation of primary raw materials, generates a strong interest to develop, set-up and apply innovative technologies to maximize Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW) conversion into useful secondary raw materials. Such a goal can be reached starting from a punctual in-situ efficient characterization of the objects to dismantle in order to develop demolition actions aimed to set up innovative mechanical-physical processes to recover the different materials and products to recycle. In this paper an innovative recycling-oriented characterization strategy based on HyperSpectral Imaging (HSI) is described in order to identify aggregates and mortar in drill core samples from end-of-life concrete. To reach this goal, concrete drill cores from a demolition site were systematically investigated by HSI in the short wave infrared field (1000-2500 nm). Results obtained by the adoption of the HSI approach showed as this technology can be successfully applied to analyze quality and characteristics of C&DW before dismantling and as final product to reutilise after demolition-milling-classification actions. The proposed technique and the related recognition logics, through the spectral signature detection of finite physical domains (i.e. concrete slice and/or particle) of different nature and composition, allows; i) to develop characterization procedures able to quantitatively assess end-of-life concrete compositional/textural characteristics and ii) to set up innovative sorting strategies to qualify the different materials constituting drill core samples.

Innovative acoustic technique for studying new materials and new developments in solid state physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maynard, Julian D.

1993-10-01

The goals of this project involve the use of innovative acoustic techniques to study new materials and new developments in solid state physics, such as effects in mesoscopic electronic systems. Major accomplishments include (1) the preparation and publication of a number of major papers and chapters in books, (2) the comparison of the anisotropy of an aluminum alloy quasicrystal with that of its cubic approximant, (3) the measurement of the elastic constants of a diamond substitute material, TiB2, (4) the measurement of an extremely low (possibly the lowest) infrared optical-absorption coefficient, (5) the measurement of the effects of disorder on the propagation of a nonlinear pulse, and (6) the acquisition of initial data in an experiment on the onset of fracture.

Military uses of groundwater: a driver of innovation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robins, N. S.; Rose, E. P. F.

2009-07-01

Military need has been a positive driver to the development of the modern day, and now mature, science of hydrogeology. The important synergy between geology and water supply was appreciated by military men in the mid-nineteenth century but the first real test of this learning only took place in the First World War. German, British and American geologists then mapped water resources and the potential for exploiting groundwater in Belgium and northern France. Technical innovations included deployment of rapid drilling techniques and the promotion of well screens for use in unconsolidated sediments. The mapping techniques were developed further during the Second World War when innovative remote mapping of enemy-occupied territory became an important planning tool to both Allied and German armies. Work in North Africa and other arid and semi-arid terrains promoted insight into the occurrence of groundwater in fresh-water aquifers little replenished by recharge. Mapping of hard rock basement-type environments in the islands of Jersey and Guernsey by German geologists was a concept new to the British Isles. Collectively, these varied initiatives provided part of the foundation for post-Second World War development of modern-day applied hydrogeology.

Medical laser application: translation into the clinics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sroka, Ronald; Stepp, Herbert; Hennig, Georg; Brittenham, Gary M.; Rühm, Adrian; Lilge, Lothar

2015-06-01

Medical laser applications based on widespread research and development is a very dynamic and increasingly popular field from an ecological as well as an economic point of view. Conferences and personal communication are necessary to identify specific requests and potential unmet needs in this multi- and interdisciplinary discipline. Precise gathering of all information on innovative, new, or renewed techniques is necessary to design medical devices for introduction into clinical applications and finally to become established for routine treatment or diagnosis. Five examples of successfully addressed clinical requests are described to show the long-term endurance in developing light-based innovative clinical concepts and devices. Starting from laboratory medicine, a noninvasive approach to detect signals related to iron deficiency is shown. Based upon photosensitization, fluorescence-guided resection had been discovered, opening the door for photodynamic approaches for the treatment of brain cancer. Thermal laser application in the nasal cavity obtained clinical acceptance by the introduction of new laser wavelengths in clinical consciousness. Varicose veins can be treated by innovative endoluminal treatment methods, thus reducing side effects and saving time. Techniques and developments are presented with potential for diagnosis and treatment to improve the clinical situation for the benefit of the patient.

An exploration of the applicability of situational segmentation in the health care market: development of a situational taxonomy.

PubMed

Gehrt, K C; Pinto, M B

1990-01-01

Competition in the health care market has intensified in recent years. Health care providers are increasingly adopting innovative marketing techniques to secure their positions in the marketplace. This paper examines an innovative marketing technique, situational segmentation, and assesses its applicability to the health care market. Situational segmentation has proven useful in many consumer goods markets but has received little attention in the context of health care marketing. A two-stage research process is used to develop a taxonomy of situational factors pertinent to health care choice. In stage one, focus group interviews are used to gather information which is instrumental to questionnaire development. In stage two, the responses of 151 subjects to a 51 item questionnaire are factor analyzed. The results demonstrate that situational segmentation is a viable strategy in the health care market.

Outside-In Systems Pharmacology Combines Innovative Computational Methods With High-Throughput Whole Vertebrate Studies.

PubMed

Schulthess, Pascal; van Wijk, Rob C; Krekels, Elke H J; Yates, James W T; Spaink, Herman P; van der Graaf, Piet H

2018-04-25

To advance the systems approach in pharmacology, experimental models and computational methods need to be integrated from early drug discovery onward. Here, we propose outside-in model development, a model identification technique to understand and predict the dynamics of a system without requiring prior biological and/or pharmacological knowledge. The advanced data required could be obtained by whole vertebrate, high-throughput, low-resource dose-exposure-effect experimentation with the zebrafish larva. Combinations of these innovative techniques could improve early drug discovery. © 2018 The Authors CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Alternative evaluation of innovations’ effectiveness in mechanical engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puryaev, A. S.

2017-09-01

The aim of present work is approbation of the developed technique for assessing innovations’ effectiveness. We demonstrate an alternative assessment of innovations’ effectiveness (innovation projects) in mechanical engineering on illustrative example. It is proposed as an alternative to the traditional method technique based on the value concept and the method of “Cash flow”.

A Mobile-Based E-Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ojokoh, Bolanle Adefowoke; Doyeni, Olubimtan Ayo; Adewale, Olumide Sunday; Isinkaye, Folasade Olubusola

2013-01-01

E-learning is an innovative approach for delivering electronically mediated, well-designed, learner-centred interactive learning environments by utilizing internet and digital technologies with respect to instructional design principles. This paper presents the application of Software Development techniques in the development of a Mobile Based…

Antiviral Information Management System (AIMS): a prototype for operational innovation in drug development.

PubMed

Jadhav, Pravin R; Neal, Lauren; Florian, Jeff; Chen, Ying; Naeger, Lisa; Robertson, Sarah; Soon, Guoxing; Birnkrant, Debra

2010-09-01

This article presents a prototype for an operational innovation in knowledge management (KM). These operational innovations are geared toward managing knowledge efficiently and accessing all available information by embracing advances in bioinformatics and allied fields. The specific components of the proposed KM system are (1) a database to archive hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment data in a structured format and retrieve information in a query-capable manner and (2) an automated analysis tool to inform trial design elements for HCV drug development. The proposed framework is intended to benefit drug development by increasing efficiency of dose selection and improving the consistency of advice from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is also hoped that the framework will encourage collaboration among FDA, industry, and academic scientists to guide the HCV drug development process using model-based quantitative analysis techniques.

The Evolvement of Automobile Steering System Based on TRIZ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xinjun; Zhang, Shuang

Products and techniques pass through a process of birth, growth, maturity, death and quit the stage like biological evolution process. The developments of products and techniques conform to some evolvement rules. If people know and hold these rules, they can design new kind of products and forecast the develop trends of the products. Thereby, enterprises can grasp the future technique directions of products, and make product and technique innovation. Below, based on TRIZ theory, the mechanism evolvement, the function evolvement and the appearance evolvement of automobile steering system had been analyzed and put forward some new ideas about future automobile steering system.

Writing a technical note.

PubMed

Ng, K H; Peh, W C G

2010-02-01

A technical note is a short article giving a brief description of a specific development, technique or procedure, or it may describe a modification of an existing technique, procedure or device applicable to medicine. The technique, procedure or device described should have practical value and should contribute to clinical diagnosis or management. It could also present a software tool, or an experimental or computational method. Technical notes are variously referred to as technical innovations or technical developments. The main criteria for publication will be the novelty of concepts involved, the validity of the technique and its potential for clinical applications.

[The future of radiology: What can we expect within the next 10 years?].

PubMed

Nensa, F; Forsting, M; Wetter, A

2016-03-01

More than other medical discipline, radiology is marked by technical innovation and continuous development, as well as the optimization of the underlying physical principles. In this respect, several trends that will crucially change and develop radiology over the next decade can be observed. Through the use of ever faster computer tomography, which also shows an ever-decreasing radiation exposure, the "workhorse" of radiology will have an even greater place and displace conventional X‑ray techniques further. In addition, hybrid imaging, which is based on a combination of nuclear medicine and radiological techniques (keywords: PET/CT, PET/MRI) will become much more established and, in particular, will improve oncological imaging further, allowing increasingly individualized imaging for specific tracers and techniques of functional magnetic resonance imaging for a particular tumour. Future radiology will be strongly characterized by innovations in the software and Internet industry, which will enable new image viewing and processing methods and open up new possibilities in the context of the organization of radiological work.

The impact of therapeutic reference pricing on innovation in cardiovascular medicine.

PubMed

Sheridan, Desmond; Attridge, Jim

2006-12-01

Therapeutic reference pricing (TRP) places medicines to treat the same medical condition into groups or 'clusters' with a single common reimbursed price. Underpinning this economic measure is an implicit assumption that the products included in the cluster have an equivalent effect on a typical patient with this disease. 'Truly innovative' products can be exempt from inclusion in the cluster. This increasingly common approach to cost containment allocates products into one of two categories - truly innovative or therapeutically equivalent. This study examines the implications of TRP against the step-wise evolution of drugs for cardiovascular conditions over the past 50 years. It illustrates the complex interactions between advances in understanding of cellular and molecular disease mechanisms, diagnostic techniques, treatment concepts, and the synthesis, testing and commercialisation of products. It confirms the highly unpredictable and incremental nature of the innovation process. Medical progress in terms of improvement in patient outcomes over the long-term depends on the cumulative effect of year after year of painstaking incremental advances. It shows that the parallel processes of advances in scientific knowledge and the industrial 'investment-innovative cycle' involve highly developed sets of complementary capabilities and resources. A framework is developed to assess the impact of TRP upon research and development investment decisions and the development of therapeutic classes. We conclude that a simple categorisation of products as either 'truly innovative' or 'therapeutically equivalent' is inconsistent with the incremental processes of innovation and the resulting differentiated product streams revealed by our analysis. Widespread introduction of TRP would probably have prematurely curtailed development of many incremental innovations that became the preferred 'product of choice' by physicians for some indications and patients in managing the incidence of cardiovascular disease.

Service and Methods Demonstrations Program Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-12-01

The Service and Methods Demonstrations (SMD) Program was established in 1974 to promote the development and widespread adoption of innovative transit services and transportation management techniques throughout the United States. The program focuses ...

Innovative smart micro sensors for Army weaponry applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruffin, Paul B.; Brantley, Christina; Edwards, Eugene

2008-03-01

Micro sensors offer the potential solution to cost, size, and weight issues associated with smart networked sensor systems designed for environmental/missile health monitoring and rocket out-gassing/fuel leak detection, as well as situational awareness on the battlefield. In collaboration with the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville), University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa and Birmingham), Alabama A&M University (Normal), and Streamline Automation (Huntsville, AL), scientists and engineers at the Army Aviation & Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) are investigating several nano-based technologies to solve the problem of sensing extremely small levels of toxic gases associated with both chemical warfare agents (in air and liquids) and potential rocket motor leaks. Innovative techniques are being devised to adapt voltammetry, which is a well established technique for the detection and quantification of substances dissolved in liquids, to low-cost micro sensors for detecting airborne chemical agents and potential missile propellant leakages. In addition, a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique, which enhances Raman scattered light by excitation of surface plasmons on nanoporous metal surfaces (nanospheres), is being investigated to develop novel smart sensors for the detection of chemical agents (including rocket motor out-gassing) and potential detection of home-made explosive devices. In this paper, results are delineated that are associated with experimental studies, which are conducted for the aforementioned cases and for several other nano-based technology approaches. The design challenges of each micro sensor technology approach are discussed. Finally, a comparative analysis of the various innovative micro-sensor techniques is provided.

Social Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pederson, Clara A., Comp.

The booklet presents 15 articles describing innovative social studies materials and teaching techniques. It was designed to help classroom teachers develop and implement social studies programs at the elementary school level. The materials were developed by teachers in education programs at the University of North Dakota from 1968-77. The first…

Environmental Education: A Holistic Approach Using "Wall Chart" with "Manual"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nwachukwu, M. A.; Okoro, Uwaezu; Ntesat, Brownson; Nwachukwu, Ijeoma M.

2014-01-01

Human activities such as inequitable and unsustainable production and consumption of earth resources cause "environmental problems." There is need to develop research and innovative techniques towards public understanding of these environmental problems and sustainable development. This paper contains the first edition of…

SCIENCE RESULTS INTEGRATION. BRINGING MOLECULAR BIOLOGY TECHNIQUES TO REGIONAL WATER MONITORING PROGRAMS

EPA Science Inventory

EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) develops innovative methods for use in environmental monitoring and assessment by scientists in Regions, states, and Tribes. Molecular-biology-based methods are not yet established in the environmental monitoring "tool box". SRI (Sci...

Next-Generation Technologies for Multiomics Approaches Including Interactome Sequencing

PubMed Central

Ohashi, Hiroyuki; Miyamoto-Sato, Etsuko

2015-01-01

The development of high-speed analytical techniques such as next-generation sequencing and microarrays allows high-throughput analysis of biological information at a low cost. These techniques contribute to medical and bioscience advancements and provide new avenues for scientific research. Here, we outline a variety of new innovative techniques and discuss their use in omics research (e.g., genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics, and interactomics). We also discuss the possible applications of these methods, including an interactome sequencing technology that we developed, in future medical and life science research. PMID:25649523

Grasping the health horizon: toward a virtual, interoperable platform of health innovations.

PubMed

Dawe, Marcus; Dugdale, Paul; Mcgann, Mathew

2015-01-01

The emergence of digital health, wearables, apps, telehealth and the proliferation of health services online are all indications that health is undergoing rapid innovation. Health innovation however has been traditionally slow, high cost and the commercialisation journey was not a guaranteed path to adoption outside the setting where it was developed whether in a hospital, university, clinic or lab. Most significant with this new explosion of health innovations is the sheer volume. The startup revolution, mobile health, personalised heath and globalisation of knowledge means that consumers are demanding innovations and are pulling health innovations through commercialisation with new modes of funding such as crowdsourcing and direct vendor purchases. Our Australian team initiated a project to use machine learning, data mining and classification techniques to bring together and analyse this expansion of heath innovations from all over the world. Following two years of data aggregation and quality analysis we present our findings which are applied to over 200,000 innovations from more than 25,000 organisations. Our findings have identified the dynamics and basis for a marketplace for health innovations that could assist innovators, health practitioners, consumers, investors and other health participants to research, evaluate and promote these innovations.

Building America Top Innovations 2014 Profile: Cost-Optimized Attic Insulation Solution for Factory-Built Homes

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

none,

This 2014 Top Innovation profile describes a low-cost, low-tech attic insulation technique developed by the ARIES Building America team with help from Southern Energy Homes and Johns Manville. Increasing attic insulation in manufactured housing has been a significant challenge due to cost, production and transportation constraints. The simplicity of this dense-pack solution to increasing attic insulation R-value promises real hope for widespread industry adoption.

Pathways and Challenges to Innovation in Aerospace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Terrile, Richard J.

2010-01-01

This paper explores impediments to innovation in aerospace and suggests how successful pathways from other industries can be adopted to facilitate greater innovation. Because of its nature, space exploration would seem to be a ripe field of technical innovation. However, engineering can also be a frustratingly conservative endeavor when the realities of cost and risk are included. Impediments like the "find the fault" engineering culture, the treatment of technical risk as almost always evaluated in terms of negative impact, the difficult to account for expansive Moore's Law growth when making predictions, and the stove-piped structural organization of most large aerospace companies and federally funded research laboratories tend to inhibit cross-cutting technical innovation. One successful example of a multi-use cross cutting application that can scale with Moore's Law is the Evolutionary Computational Methods (ECM) technique developed at the Jet Propulsion Lab for automated spectral retrieval. Future innovations like computational engineering and automated design optimization can potentially redefine space exploration, but will require learning lessons from successful innovators.

User-Centered Innovation: A Model for "Early Usability Testing."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sugar, William A.; Boling, Elizabeth

The goal of this study is to show how some concepts and techniques from disciplines outside Instructional Systems Development (ISD) have the potential to extend and enhance the traditional view of ISD practice when they are employed very early in the ISD process. The concepts and techniques employed were user-centered in design and usability, and…

Use of Case Study Methods in Human Resource Management, Development, and Training Courses: Strategies and Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxwell, James R.; Gilberti, Anthony F.; Mupinga, Davison M.

2006-01-01

This paper will study some of the problems associated with case studies and make recommendations using standard and innovative methodologies effectively. Human resource management (HRM) and resource development cases provide context for analysis and decision-making designs in different industries. In most HRM development and training courses…

Method-centered digital communities on protocols.io for fast-paced scientific innovation.

PubMed

Kindler, Lori; Stoliartchouk, Alexei; Teytelman, Leonid; Hurwitz, Bonnie L

2016-01-01

The Internet has enabled online social interaction for scientists beyond physical meetings and conferences. Yet despite these innovations in communication, dissemination of methods is often relegated to just academic publishing. Further, these methods remain static, with subsequent advances published elsewhere and unlinked. For communities undergoing fast-paced innovation, researchers need new capabilities to share, obtain feedback, and publish methods at the forefront of scientific development. For example, a renaissance in virology is now underway given the new metagenomic methods to sequence viral DNA directly from an environment. Metagenomics makes it possible to "see" natural viral communities that could not be previously studied through culturing methods. Yet, the knowledge of specialized techniques for the production and analysis of viral metagenomes remains in a subset of labs.  This problem is common to any community using and developing emerging technologies and techniques. We developed new capabilities to create virtual communities in protocols.io, an open access platform, for disseminating protocols and knowledge at the forefront of scientific development. To demonstrate these capabilities, we present a virology community forum called VERVENet. These new features allow virology researchers to share protocols and their annotations and optimizations, connect with the broader virtual community to share knowledge, job postings, conference announcements through a common online forum, and discover the current literature through personalized recommendations to promote discussion of cutting edge research. Virtual communities in protocols.io enhance a researcher's ability to: discuss and share protocols, connect with fellow community members, and learn about new and innovative research in the field.  The web-based software for developing virtual communities is free to use on protocols.io. Data are available through public APIs at protocols.io.

Innovation and behavioral flexibility in wild redfronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons).

PubMed

Huebner, Franziska; Fichtel, Claudia

2015-05-01

Innovations and problem-solving abilities can provide animals with important ecological advantages as they allow individuals to deal with novel social and ecological challenges. Innovation is a solution to a novel problem or a novel solution to an old problem, with the latter being especially difficult. Finding a new solution to an old problem requires individuals to inhibit previously applied solutions to invent new strategies and to behave flexibly. We examined the role of experience on cognitive flexibility to innovate and to find new problem-solving solutions with an artificial feeding task in wild redfronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons). Four groups of lemurs were tested with feeding boxes, each offering three different techniques to extract food, with only one technique being available at a time. After the subjects learned a technique, this solution was no longer successful and subjects had to invent a new technique. For the first transition between task 1 and 2, subjects had to rely on their experience of the previous technique to solve task 2. For the second transition, subjects had to inhibit the previously learned technique to learn the new task 3. Tasks 1 and 2 were solved by most subjects, whereas task 3 was solved by only a few subjects. In this task, besides behavioral flexibility, especially persistence, i.e., constant trying, was important for individual success during innovation. Thus, wild strepsirrhine primates are able to innovate flexibly, suggesting a general ecological relevance of behavioral flexibility and persistence during innovation and problem solving across all primates.

The Online Catalog Revolution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilgour, Frederick G.

1984-01-01

A review of library technological development and card catalog innovations of the past century and a half precedes a discussion of online public access catalog development. Design requirements and purpose of the online catalog, access techniques and provisions, costs, and future integration are highlighted. Twenty-two references are listed. (EJS)

Managing Conflict in Temporary Management Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilemon, David L.

1973-01-01

As organizational tasks have grown more complex, several innovative temporary management systems such as matrix management have been developed. The Apollo space program has been an important contribution to the development of matrix management techniques. Discusses the role of conflict within the matrix, its determinants, and the process of…

Why bundled payments could drive innovation: an example from interventional oncology.

PubMed

Steele, Joseph R; Jones, A Kyle; Ninan, Elizabeth P; Clarke, Ryan K; Odisio, Bruno C; Avritscher, Rony; Murthy, Ravi; Mahvash, Armeen

2015-03-01

Some have suggested that the current fee-for-service health care payment system in the United States stifles innovation. However, there are few published examples supporting this concept. We implemented an innovative temporary balloon occlusion technique for yttrium 90 radioembolization of nonresectable liver cancer. Although our balloon occlusion technique was associated with similar patient outcomes, lower cost, and faster procedure times compared with the standard-of-care coil embolization technique, our technique failed to gain widespread acceptance. Financial analysis revealed that because the balloon occlusion technique avoided a procedural step associated with a lucrative Current Procedural Terminology billing code, this new technique resulted in a significant decrease in hospital and physician revenue in the current fee-for-service payment system, even though the new technique would provide a revenue enhancement through cost savings in a bundled payment system. Our analysis illustrates how in a fee-for-service payment system, financial disincentives can stifle innovation and advancement of health care delivery. Copyright © 2015 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

An Overview of 2014 SBIR Phase 1 and Phase 2 Air-Breathing Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Hung D.; Steele, Gynelle C.; Morris, Jessica R.

2015-01-01

NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focuses on technological innovation by investing in development of innovative concepts and technologies to help NASA mission directorates address critical research needs for Agency programs. This report highlights nine of the innovative SBIR 2014 Phase I and Phase II projects that emphasize one of NASA Glenn Research Center's six core competencies-Air-Breathing Propulsion. The technologies cover a wide spectrum of applications such as development of X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging method for the measurement of complex 3D ice shapes, phased array techniques for low signal-to-noise ratio wind tunnels, compact kinetic mechanisms for petroleum-derived and alternative aviation fuels, and hybrid electric propulsion systems for a multirotor aircraft. Each featured technology describes an innovation, technical objective, and highlights NASA commercial and industrial applications. This report provides as an opportunity for NASA engineers, researchers, and program managers to learn how NASA SBIR technologies could help their programs and projects, and lead to collaborations and partnerships between the small SBIR companies and NASA that would benefit both.

The Development and Application of Airway Devices in China

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiangdong; Ma, Wuhua; Liu, Renyu; Yao, Shanglong

2017-01-01

Airway management is one of the most important tasks for anesthesiologists. Anesthesiologists are experts in airway management and have made tremendous contribution to the development of the airway devices. Chinese anesthesiologists have made significant contribution in introducing advanced airway management and developing innovative techniques and devices for airway management in China. This article overviews the development and application of airway devices in China as well as the dedication and contribution of Chinese experts in the development of novel airway devices. With the development of science and technology accompanied by the advanced knowledge in airway management, more effective and safe artificial airways will be developed for clinical practice. The authors believe that Chinese experts will continue their outstanding contribution to the development of innovative airway devices, systems and knowledge. PMID:28191485

Innovations in Delta Differential One-Way Range: from Viking to Mars Science Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Border, James S.

2009-01-01

The Deep Space Network has provided the capability for very-long-baseline interferometry measurements in support of spacecraft navigation since the late 1970s. Both system implementation and the importance of such measurements to flight projects have evolved significantly over the past three decades. Innovations introduced through research and development programs have led to much better performance. This paper provides an overview of the development and use of interferometric tracking techniques in the DSN starting with the Viking era and continuing with a description of the current system and its planned use to support Mars Science Laboratory.

From novelty to the every-day: the evolution of ureteroscopy.

PubMed

Ridyard, Douglas; Dagrosa, Lawrence; Pais, Vernon M

2016-12-01

Ureteroscopy revolutionized the surgical approach to the upper urinary tract, and is well recognized as a cornerstone of modern urology. Although now commonplace, ureteroscopic equipment and techniques were truly revolutionary. A review of the innovations and innovators that developed ureteroscopic surgery sets the stage for a more thorough understanding of what can be done ureteroscopically, and may additionally better inform what limitations remain. Given that future advancements in urologic therapy will be dependent upon a similar pursuit of paradigm shifting improvements in disease management, an overview of the development of modern ureteroscopy may inspire such change.

Prince Edward Island Newstarts' Comprehensive Manpower Development System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connor, Thomas R.

1971-01-01

An approach to new methods of helping disadvantaged people gain employment taken by Prince Edward Island Newstart is outlined. This approach is a Comprehensive Manpower Development System. The major components of the system consist of: (1) variants of some standard manpower training programs, (2) innovative recruitment and assignment techniques,…

ALES: An Innovative Argument-Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abbas, Safia; Sawamura, Hajime

2010-01-01

This paper presents the development of an Argument-Learning System (ALES). The idea is based on the AIF (argumentation interchange format) ontology using "Walton theory". ALES uses different mining techniques to manage a highly structured arguments repository. This repository was designed, developed and implemented by the authors. The aim is to…

The Impact of Collaboration, Empowerment, and Choice: An Empirical Examination of the Collaborative Course Development Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aiken, K. Damon; Heinze, Timothy C.; Meuter, Matthew L.; Chapman, Kenneth J.

2017-01-01

This research empirically tests collaborative course development (CCD)-a pedagogy presented in the 2016 "Marketing Education Review Special Issue on Teaching Innovations". A team of researchers taught experimental courses using CCD methods (employing various techniques including syllabus building, "flex-tures," free-choice…

Systems Engineering of Education I: The Evolution of Systems Thinking in Education, 2nd Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silvern, Leonard C.

This document methodically traces the development of the fundamental concepts of systems thinking in education from Harbert to contemporary innovators. The discussion explains narrative models, concentrating on educational flowcharting techniques and mathematical models related to developments in engineering and physical science. The presentation…

Plasticity during Childhood and Adolescence: Innovative Approaches to Investigating Neurocognitive Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen Kadosh, Kathrin; Linden, David E. J.; Lau, Jennifer Y. F.

2013-01-01

Adolescence is a period of profound change, which holds substantial developmental milestones, but also unique challenges to the individual. In this opinion paper, we highlight the potential of combining two recently developed behavioural and neural training techniques (cognitive bias modification and functional magnetic neuroimaging-based…

Knowledge Management Orientation: An Innovative Perspective to Hospital Management.

PubMed

Ghasemi, Matina; Ghadiri Nejad, Mazyar; Bagzibagli, Kemal

2017-12-01

By considering innovation as a new project in hospitals, all the project management's standard steps should be followed in execution. This study investigated the validation of a new set of measures in terms of providing a procedure for knowledge management-oriented innovation that enriches the hospital management system. The relation between innovation and all the knowledge management areas, as the main constructs of project management, was illustrated by referring to project management standard steps and previous studies. Through consultations and meetings with a committee of professional project managers, a questionnaire was developed to measure ten knowledge management areas in hospital's innovation process. Additionally, a group of experts from hospital managers were invited to comment on the applicability of the questionnaires by considering if the items are measurable in hospitals practically. A close-ended, Likert-type scale items, consisted of ten sections, were developed based on project management body of knowledge thorough Delphi technique. It enables the managers to evaluate hospitals' situation to be aware whether the organization follows the knowledge management standards in innovation process or not. By pilot study, confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted to ensure the validity and reliability of the measurement items. The developed items seem to have a potential to help hospital managers and subsequently delivering new products/services successfully based on the standard procedures in their organization. In all innovation processes, the knowledge management areas and their standard steps help hospital managers by a new tool as questionnaire format.

Using Novel 2D Image Manipulation Methods to Aid Initial Concept Generation with Postgraduate Industrial Design Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurn, Karl; Storer, Ian

2015-01-01

The aim of this paper is to provide educators and industrial design professionals with an insight into the development of innovative design ideation images manipulation techniques and, highlight how these techniques could be used to not only improve student ideation skills, but also as design enablers for a broader range of professionals working…

Headspace Theater: An Innovative Method for Experiential Learning of Psychiatric Symptomatology Using Modified Role-Playing and Improvisational Theater Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballon, Bruce C.; Silver, Ivan; Fidler, Donald

2007-01-01

Objective: Headspace Theater has been developed to allow small group learning of psychiatric conditions by creating role-play situations in which participants are placed in a scenario that simulates the experience of the condition. Method: The authors conducted a literature review of role-playing techniques, interactive teaching, and experiential…

Innovation in Sales Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spencer, R. W.

1974-01-01

The British Gas Corporation has formulated and refined the incident process of training into their own method, which they call developing case study. Sales trainees learn indoor and outdoor sales techniques for selling central heating through self-taught case studies. (DS)

Ultrasonic technique for measuring porosity of plasma-sprayed alumina coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parthasarathi, S.; Tittmann, B. R.; Onesto, E. J.

1997-12-01

Porosity is an important factor in plasma-sprayed coatings, especially ceramic coatings. Excessive poros-ity can adversely affect the performance of the coated component in various ways. An ultrasonic nonde-structive measurement technique has been developed to measure porosity in plasma-sprayed alumina coatings. The technique is generic and can be extended to other ceramic coating systems. To test the tech-nique, freestanding alumina coatings with varying levels of porosity were fabricated via plasma spray. Samples with varying porosity, obtained through innovative fabrication techniques, were used to gener-ate a calibration curve. The ultrasonic velocity in the low-frequency range was found to be dependent on the density of freestanding coatings (measured via Archimedian techniques). This dependence is the basis of the development of a technique to measure the density of coatings.

Development and Evaluation of a Prep Course for Chemistry Graduate Teaching Assistants at a Research University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marbach-Ad, Gili; Schaefer, Kathryn L.; Kumi, Bryna C.; Friedman, Lee A.; Thompson, Katerina V.; Doyle, Michael P.

2012-01-01

This study describes the development and evaluation of a prep course for chemistry graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). The course was developed around three major goals: (i) building a community for new GTAs and socializing them into the department; (ii) modeling teaching with well-documented, innovative teaching and learning techniques; and…

Investment, regulation, and uncertainty: managing new plant breeding techniques.

PubMed

Smyth, Stuart J; McDonald, Jillian; Falck-Zepeda, Jose

2014-01-01

As with any technological innovation, time refines the technology, improving upon the original version of the innovative product. The initial GM crops had single traits for either herbicide tolerance or insect resistance. Current varieties have both of these traits stacked together and in many cases other abiotic and biotic traits have also been stacked. This innovation requires investment. While this is relatively straight forward, certain conditions need to exist such that investments can be facilitated. The principle requirement for investment is that regulatory frameworks render consistent and timely decisions. If the certainty of regulatory outcomes weakens, the potential for changes in investment patterns increases.   This article provides a summary background to the leading plant breeding technologies that are either currently being used to develop new crop varieties or are in the pipeline to be applied to plant breeding within the next few years. Challenges for existing regulatory systems are highlighted. Utilizing an option value approach from investment literature, an assessment of uncertainty regarding the regulatory approval for these varying techniques is undertaken. This research highlights which technology development options have the greatest degree of uncertainty and hence, which ones might be expected to see an investment decline.

If You Build It, They Will Come: How to Establish an Academic Innovation Enterprise.

PubMed

Srimathveeravalli, Govindarajan; Balesh, Elie; Cheng, Christopher P; Chen, David

2017-06-01

The rapid growth of minimally invasive, image-guided intervention has redefined the procedural management of multiple disease entities. The process of innovation which has characterized the growth of interventional radiology can be best described as "needs-based," whereby practicing interventionalists identify unmet clinical needs and subsequently invent solutions to achieve desired technical and clinical outcomes. Historically, catheters and other percutaneous devices were developed with rudimentary manufacturing techniques and subsequently translated to patients with relatively little regulatory oversight. Since then, the resources required and financial costs of interventional technology development have grown exponentially. Fortunately, advances in software development, new methods of rapid prototyping, and commoditization of hardware components have made in-house engineering feasible once again. This has created an opportunity for academic medical centers to translate their research into testable prototypes in humans sooner and at reduced costs, and academic interventional radiology divisions are now leveraging these developments to create collaborative centers of innovation. This article describes five such organizational formats for collaboration and innovation in the academic setting, describing the structure, opportunities, requirements, and caveats of each model. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The German collaborative project SUGAR Utilization of a natural treasure - Developing innovative techniques for the exploration and production of natural gas from hydrate-bearing sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haeckel, M.; Bialas, J.; Wallmann, K. J.

2009-12-01

Gas hydrates occur in nature at all active and passive continental margins as well as in permafrost regions, and vast amounts of natural gas are bound in those deposits. Geologists estimate that twice as much carbon is bound in gas hydrates than in any other fossil fuel reservoir, such as gas, oil and coal. Hence, natural gas hydrates represent a huge potential energy resource that, in addition, could be utilized in a CO2-neutral and therefore environmentally friendly manner. However, the utilization of this natural treasure is not as easy as the conventional production of oil or natural gas and calls for new and innovative techniques. In the framework of the large-scale collaborative research project SUGAR (Submarine Deposits of Gas Hydrates - Exploration, Production and Transportation), we aim to produce gas from methane hydrates and to sequester carbon dioxide from power plants and other industrial sources as CO2 hydrates in the same host sediments. Thus, the SUGAR project addresses two of the most pressing and challenging topics of our time: development of alternative energy strategies and greenhouse gas mitigation techniques. The SUGAR project is funded by two federal German ministries and the German industry for an initial period of three years. In the framework of this project new technologies starting from gas hydrate exploration techniques over drilling technologies and innovative gas production methods to CO2 storage in gas hydrates and gas transportation technologies will be developed and tested. Beside the performance of experiments, numerical simulation studies will generate data regarding the methane production and CO2 sequestration in the natural environment. Reservoir modelling with respect to gas hydrate formation and development of migration pathways complete the project. This contribution will give detailed information about the planned project parts and first results with focus on the production methods.

A review of second law techniques applicable to basic thermal science research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drost, M. Kevin; Zamorski, Joseph R.

1988-11-01

This paper reports the results of a review of second law analysis techniques which can contribute to basic research in the thermal sciences. The review demonstrated that second law analysis has a role in basic thermal science research. Unlike traditional techniques, second law analysis accurately identifies the sources and location of thermodynamic losses. This allows the development of innovative solutions to thermal science problems by directing research to the key technical issues. Two classes of second law techniques were identified as being particularly useful. First, system and component investigations can provide information of the source and nature of irreversibilities on a macroscopic scale. This information will help to identify new research topics and will support the evaluation of current research efforts. Second, the differential approach can provide information on the causes and spatial and temporal distribution of local irreversibilities. This information enhances the understanding of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and heat and mass transfer, and may suggest innovative methods for reducing irreversibilities.

Validation of Innovative Exploration Technologies for Newberry Volcano: Drill Site Location Map 2010

DOE Data Explorer

Jaffe, Todd

2012-01-01

Newberry seeks to explore "blind" (no surface evidence) convective hydrothermal systems associated with a young silicic pluton on the flanks of Newberry Volcano. This project will employ a combination of innovative and conventional techniques to identify the location of subsurface geothermal fluids associated with the hot pluton. Newberry project drill site location map 2010. Once the exploration mythology is validated, it can be applied throughout the Cascade Range and elsewhere to locate and develop “blind” geothermal resources.

An innovative chairside bleaching protocol for treating stained dentition: initial results.

PubMed

Miara, P

2000-09-01

For years, investigators have attempted to develop a predictable means of bleaching pathologically and nonpathologically stained dentition. While previous efforts have modified the concentration of the bleaching material, the duration of the procedure, and the manner by which the bleaching agent is activated, the ability to affect a significant shade improvement remains an elusive objective. This article demonstrates an innovative technique used to influence the penetration of oxygen ions into the tooth enamel, which may resolve this clinical dilemma.

Research and development of optical measurement techniques for aerospace propulsion research: A NASA Lewis Research Center perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lesco, Daniel J.

1991-01-01

The applied research effort required to develop new nonintrusive measurement techniques capable of obtaining the data required by aerospace propulsion researchers and of operating in the harsh environments encountered in research and test facilities is discussed and illustrated through several ongoing projects at NASA's Lewis Research Center. Factors including length of development time, funding levels, and collaborative support from fluid-thermal researchers are cited. Progress in developing new instrumentation via a multi-path approach, including NASA research, grant, and government-sponsored research through mechanisms like the Small Business Innovative Research program, is also described.

Cancer Survivor Eric Dishman Is On a Precision Medicine Mission | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

MedlinePlus

... and personalized care, as well as for inventing innovation techniques that incorporate ethnography, the systematic study of people and cultures, and other social methods into the design and development of new ...

Application of bluetooth technology to rural freeway speed data collection.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-10-01

Bluetooth data collection devices are an innovative technique for measuring travel times and speeds on roadway segments. This project developed a system capable of recording Bluetooth MAC addresses with a timestamp and determining the space mean spee...

Accelerating Innovation Through Coopetition: The Innovation Learning Network Experience.

PubMed

McCarthy, Chris; Ford Carleton, Penny; Krumpholz, Elizabeth; Chow, Marilyn P

Coopetition, the simultaneous pursuit of cooperation and competition, is a growing force in the innovation landscape. For some organizations, the primary mode of innovation continues to be deeply secretive and highly competitive, but for others, a new style of shared challenges, shared purpose, and shared development has become a superior, more efficient way of working to accelerate innovation capabilities and capacity. Over the last 2 decades, the literature base devoted to coopetition has gradually expanded. However, the field is still in its infancy. The majority of coopetition research is qualitative, primarily consisting of case studies. Few studies have addressed the nonprofit sector or service industries such as health care. The authors believe that this article may offer a unique perspective on coopetition in the context of a US-based national health care learning alliance designed to accelerate innovation, the Innovation Learning Network or ILN. The mission of the ILN is to "Share the joy and pain of innovation," accelerating innovation by sharing solutions, teaching techniques, and cultivating friendships. These 3 pillars (sharing, teaching, and cultivating) form the foundation for coopetition within the ILN. Through the lens of coopetition, we examine the experience of the ILN over the last 10 years and provide case examples that illustrate the benefits and challenges of coopetition in accelerating innovation in health care.

Narrowing the Skills Gap for Innovation: An Empirical Study in the Hospital Sector

PubMed Central

Escoval, Ana

2014-01-01

Background The current financial crisis and the increasing burden of chronic diseases are challenging hospitals to enhance their innovation capacity to deliver new and more effective health services. However, the shortage of skills has been widely recognized as a key obstacle for innovation. Ensuring the presence of a skilled workforce has become a priority for the health system in Portugal and across Europe. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the demand of new skills and their influence in both investments in innovation and development of skills. Methods We used a mixed-methods approach combining statistical analysis of data survey and content analysis of semistructured interviews with the Administration Boards of hospitals, using a nominal group technique. Results The results illustrate an increasing demand of a broad range of skills for innovation development, including responsibility and quality consciousness (with a significant increase of 55%, 52/95), adaptation skills (with an increase of 44%, 42/95) and cooperation and communication skills (with an increase of 55%, 52/95). Investments in the development of skills for innovation are mainly focused on aligning professional training with an organizational strategy (69%, 66/95) as well as collaboration in taskforces (61%, 58/95) and cross-department teams (60%, 57/95). However, the dynamics between the supply and demand of skills for innovation are better explained through a broader perspective of organizational changes towards enhancing learning opportunities and engagement of health professionals to boost innovation. Conclusions The results of this study illustrate that hospitals are unlikely to enhance their innovation capacity if they pursue strategies failing to match the skills needed. Within this context, hospitals with high investments in innovation tend to invest more in skills development. The demand of skills and investments in training are influenced by many other factors, including the hospital’s strategies, as well as changes in the work organization. Relevant implications for managers and policy makers can be drawn from the empirical findings of this paper, building on the current efforts from leading innovating hospitals that are already defining the future of health care. PMID:27025197

Narrowing the Skills Gap for Innovation: An Empirical Study in the Hospital Sector.

PubMed

Dias, Casimiro; Escoval, Ana

2014-09-23

The current financial crisis and the increasing burden of chronic diseases are challenging hospitals to enhance their innovation capacity to deliver new and more effective health services. However, the shortage of skills has been widely recognized as a key obstacle for innovation. Ensuring the presence of a skilled workforce has become a priority for the health system in Portugal and across Europe. The aim of this study was to examine the demand of new skills and their influence in both investments in innovation and development of skills. We used a mixed-methods approach combining statistical analysis of data survey and content analysis of semistructured interviews with the Administration Boards of hospitals, using a nominal group technique. The results illustrate an increasing demand of a broad range of skills for innovation development, including responsibility and quality consciousness (with a significant increase of 55%, 52/95), adaptation skills (with an increase of 44%, 42/95) and cooperation and communication skills (with an increase of 55%, 52/95). Investments in the development of skills for innovation are mainly focused on aligning professional training with an organizational strategy (69%, 66/95) as well as collaboration in taskforces (61%, 58/95) and cross-department teams (60%, 57/95). However, the dynamics between the supply and demand of skills for innovation are better explained through a broader perspective of organizational changes towards enhancing learning opportunities and engagement of health professionals to boost innovation. The results of this study illustrate that hospitals are unlikely to enhance their innovation capacity if they pursue strategies failing to match the skills needed. Within this context, hospitals with high investments in innovation tend to invest more in skills development. The demand of skills and investments in training are influenced by many other factors, including the hospital's strategies, as well as changes in the work organization. Relevant implications for managers and policy makers can be drawn from the empirical findings of this paper, building on the current efforts from leading innovating hospitals that are already defining the future of health care.

Accelerating innovation in information and communication technology for health.

PubMed

Crean, Kevin W

2010-02-01

Around the world, inventors are creating novel information and communication technology applications and systems that can improve health for people in disparate settings. However, it is very difficult to find investment funding needed to create business models to expand and develop the prototype technologies. A comprehensive, long-term investment strategy for e-health and m-health is needed. The field of social entrepreneurship offers an integrated approach to develop needed investment models, so that innovations can reach more patients, more effectively. Specialized financing techniques and sustained support from investors can spur the expansion of mature technologies to larger markets, accelerating global health impacts.

Innovative Techniques Simplify Vibration Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2010-01-01

In the early years of development, Marshall Space Flight Center engineers encountered challenges related to components in the space shuttle main engine. To assess the problems, they evaluated the effects of vibration and oscillation. To enhance the method of vibration signal analysis, Marshall awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to AI Signal Research, Inc. (ASRI), in Huntsville, Alabama. ASRI developed a software package called PC-SIGNAL that NASA now employs on a daily basis, and in 2009, the PKP-Module won Marshall s Software of the Year award. The technology is also used in many industries: aircraft and helicopter, rocket engine manufacturing, transportation, and nuclear power."

Developing Materials for Biology Teaching. Asian Programme of Educational Innovation for Development (APEID) Report of a Sub-Regional Workshop (Bangkok, Thailand, August 3-12, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Bangkok (Thailand). Regional Office for Education in Asia and the Pacific.

The major purposes of this workshop were to develop teaching and learning materials on certain selected key biology concepts relevant to environmental, genetic, and agricultural aspects, and to develop exemplary training materials on certain teacher competencies relating to laboratory and field techniques. Chapter One reports on the status and…

Steel bridge fabrication technologies in Europe and Japan

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-03-01

The objective of this scanning tour was to conduct a broad overview of newly developed manufacturing techniques that are in use abroad for steel bridge fabrication and erection. The trip focused on the role of steel production, design, innovation, an...

PARTITIONING TRACERS FOR MEASURING RESIDUAL NAPL: FIELD-SCALE TEST RESULTS

EPA Science Inventory

The difficult task of locating and quantifying nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) present in the vadose and saturated zones has prompted the development of innovative, nondestructive characterization techniques. The use of the interwell partitioning tracer's (IWPT) test, in which ...

ARCTIC FOUNDATIONS, INC. FREEZE BARRIER TECHNOLOGY; INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT

EPA Science Inventory

Arctic Foundations, Inc. (AFI), of Anchorage, Alaska has developed a freeze barrier technology designed to prevent the migration of contaminants in groundwater by completely isolating contaminant source areas until appropriate remediation techniques can be applied. With this tech...

Contemporary Play Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaefer, Charles E., Ed.; Gerard Kaduson, Heidi, Ed.

2006-01-01

This highly practical book presents current developments in play therapy, including innovative applications for particular problems and populations. Contributors first discuss the latest ideas and techniques emerging from object-relations, experiential, dynamic, and narrative perspectives. Next, research evaluating the effectiveness of play…

Transverse joint configuration development and testing for a modular bridge deck replacement system.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-03-01

According to the 2009 Report Card for Americas Infrastructure, one in four of the nations bridges are listed as : structurally deficient of functionally obsolete, establishing a dire need for new and innovative repair and replacement : techniqu...

Knowledge Management Orientation: An Innovative Perspective to Hospital Management

PubMed Central

GHASEMI, Matina; GHADIRI NEJAD, Mazyar; BAGZIBAGLI, Kemal

2017-01-01

Background: By considering innovation as a new project in hospitals, all the project management’s standard steps should be followed in execution. This study investigated the validation of a new set of measures in terms of providing a procedure for knowledge management-oriented innovation that enriches the hospital management system. Methods: The relation between innovation and all the knowledge management areas, as the main constructs of project management, was illustrated by referring to project management standard steps and previous studies. Through consultations and meetings with a committee of professional project managers, a questionnaire was developed to measure ten knowledge management areas in hospital’s innovation process. Additionally, a group of experts from hospital managers were invited to comment on the applicability of the questionnaires by considering if the items are measurable in hospitals practically. Results: A close-ended, Likert-type scale items, consisted of ten sections, were developed based on project management body of knowledge thorough Delphi technique. It enables the managers to evaluate hospitals’ situation to be aware whether the organization follows the knowledge management standards in innovation process or not. By pilot study, confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted to ensure the validity and reliability of the measurement items. Conclusion: The developed items seem to have a potential to help hospital managers and subsequently delivering new products/services successfully based on the standard procedures in their organization. In all innovation processes, the knowledge management areas and their standard steps help hospital managers by a new tool as questionnaire format. PMID:29259938

Room for improvement? Leadership, innovation culture and uptake of quality improvement methods in general practice.

PubMed

Apekey, Tanefa A; McSorley, Gerry; Tilling, Michelle; Siriwardena, A Niroshan

2011-04-01

Leadership and innovation are currently seen as essential elements for the development and maintenance of high-quality care. Little is known about the relationship between leadership and culture of innovation and the extent to which quality improvement methods are used in general practice. This study aimed to assess the relationship between leadership behaviour, culture of innovation and adoption of quality improvement methods in general practice. Self-administered postal questionnaires were sent to general practitioner quality improvement leads in one county in the UK between June and December 2007. The questionnaire consisted of background information, a 12-item scale to assess leadership behaviour, a seven-dimension self-rating scale for culture of innovation and questions on current use of quality improvement tools and techniques. Sixty-three completed questionnaires (62%) were returned. Leadership behaviours were not commonly reported. Most practices reported a positive culture of innovation, featuring relationship most strongly, followed by targets and information but rated lower on other dimensions of rewards, risk and resources. There was a significant positive correlation between leadership behaviour and the culture of innovation (r = 0.57; P < 0.001). Apart from clinical audit and significant event analysis, quality improvement methods were not adopted by most participating practices. Leadership behaviours were infrequently reported and this was associated with a limited culture of innovation in participating general practices. There was little use of quality improvement methods beyond clinical and significant event audit. Practices need support to enhance leadership skills, encourage innovation and develop quality improvement skills if improvements in health care are to accelerate. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Current trends in explosive detection techniques.

PubMed

Caygill, J Sarah; Davis, Frank; Higson, Seamus P J

2012-01-15

The detection of explosives and explosive-related compounds has become a heightened priority in recent years for homeland security and counter-terrorism applications. There has been a huge increase in research within this area-through both the development of new, innovative detection approaches and the improvement of existing techniques. Developments for miniaturisation, portability, field-ruggedisation and improvements in stand-off distances, selectivity and sensitivity have been necessary to develop and improve techniques. This review provides a consolidation of information relating to recent advances in explosive detection techniques without being limited to one specific research area or explosive type. The focus of this review will be towards advances in the last 5 years, with the reader being referred to earlier reviews where appropriate. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Thomson Reuters innovation award research brief: the use of patent analytics in measuring innovation in India.

PubMed

Stembridge, Bob

2009-09-01

There are six different factors that can be used to assess the inventiveness of an organization and to determine how efficiently they apply invention resources to innovate effectively. This research briefing describes the techniques used to measure certain aspects of patenting activity by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) headquartered in India. The techniques are used to identify the most innovative SMEs in India in order to determine the winners of the Innovation Award 2009 from Thomson Reuters, awarded at InfoVision 2009 in Bangalore. Copyright 2009 Prous Science, S.A.U. or its licensors. All rights reserved.

Using Innovative Technologies for Manufacturing and Evaluating Rocket Engine Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Betts, Erin M.; Hardin, Andy

2011-01-01

Many of the manufacturing and evaluation techniques that are currently used for rocket engine component production are traditional methods that have been proven through years of experience and historical precedence. As we enter into a new space age where new launch vehicles are being designed and propulsion systems are being improved upon, it is sometimes necessary to adopt new and innovative techniques for manufacturing and evaluating hardware. With a heavy emphasis on cost reduction and improvements in manufacturing time, manufacturing techniques such as Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) and white light scanning are being adopted and evaluated for their use on J-2X, with hopes of employing both technologies on a wide variety of future projects. DMLS has the potential to significantly reduce the processing time and cost of engine hardware, while achieving desirable material properties by using a layered powdered metal manufacturing process in order to produce complex part geometries. The white light technique is a non-invasive method that can be used to inspect for geometric feature alignment. Both the DMLS manufacturing method and the white light scanning technique have proven to be viable options for manufacturing and evaluating rocket engine hardware, and further development and use of these techniques is recommended.

A Hybrid Optimization Framework with POD-based Order Reduction and Design-Space Evolution Scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghoman, Satyajit S.

The main objective of this research is to develop an innovative multi-fidelity multi-disciplinary design, analysis and optimization suite that integrates certain solution generation codes and newly developed innovative tools to improve the overall optimization process. The research performed herein is divided into two parts: (1) the development of an MDAO framework by integration of variable fidelity physics-based computational codes, and (2) enhancements to such a framework by incorporating innovative features extending its robustness. The first part of this dissertation describes the development of a conceptual Multi-Fidelity Multi-Strategy and Multi-Disciplinary Design Optimization Environment (M3 DOE), in context of aircraft wing optimization. M 3 DOE provides the user a capability to optimize configurations with a choice of (i) the level of fidelity desired, (ii) the use of a single-step or multi-step optimization strategy, and (iii) combination of a series of structural and aerodynamic analyses. The modularity of M3 DOE allows it to be a part of other inclusive optimization frameworks. The M 3 DOE is demonstrated within the context of shape and sizing optimization of the wing of a Generic Business Jet aircraft. Two different optimization objectives, viz. dry weight minimization, and cruise range maximization are studied by conducting one low-fidelity and two high-fidelity optimization runs to demonstrate the application scope of M3 DOE. The second part of this dissertation describes the development of an innovative hybrid optimization framework that extends the robustness of M 3 DOE by employing a proper orthogonal decomposition-based design-space order reduction scheme combined with the evolutionary algorithm technique. The POD method of extracting dominant modes from an ensemble of candidate configurations is used for the design-space order reduction. The snapshot of candidate population is updated iteratively using evolutionary algorithm technique of fitness-driven retention. This strategy capitalizes on the advantages of evolutionary algorithm as well as POD-based reduced order modeling, while overcoming the shortcomings inherent with these techniques. When linked with M3 DOE, this strategy offers a computationally efficient methodology for problems with high level of complexity and a challenging design-space. This newly developed framework is demonstrated for its robustness on a nonconventional supersonic tailless air vehicle wing shape optimization problem.

Novel diagnostic techniques for celiac disease.

PubMed

Kurppa, Kalle; Taavela, Juha; Saavalainen, Päivi; Kaukinen, Katri; Lindfors, Katri

2016-07-01

The diagnosis of celiac disease has long been based on the demonstration of gluten-induced small-bowel mucosal damage. However, due to the constantly increasing disease prevalence and limitations in the histology-based criteria there is a pressure towards more serology-based diagnostics. The serological tools are being improved and new non-invasive methods are being developed, but the constantly refined endoscopic and histologic techniques may still prove helpful. Moreover, growing understanding of the disease pathogenesis has led researchers to suggest completely novel approaches to celiac disease diagnostics regardless of disease activity. In this review, we will elucidate the most recent development and possible future innovations in the diagnostic techniques for celiac disease.

Latest trends in craniomaxillofacial surgical instrumentation.

PubMed

Yim, Michael; Demke, Joshua

2012-08-01

To review the past year's literature regarding recent innovations in surgical instrumentation for craniomaxillofacial surgery. Current advances in surgical instrumentation have led to many improvements in the field, allowing greater visualization and precision both before and during procedures. One of the common goals is to achieve excellent outcomes with minimal complications, while at the same time minimizing invasiveness of surgery. Highlighted innovations include greater capacities for acquisition of data, leading to improved imaging modalities and expansion of computer-assisted surgical techniques; continued developments in biomaterials used in various reconstructions; and novel uses of bone cutting and bone fixation instrumentation. Technology in the field of craniomaxillofacial surgery is developing rapidly, leading to novel instrumentation being utilized across a broad spectrum of areas. Published data have been encouraging to date, indicating an ever increasing adaptation of these innovations in clinical practice. Future efforts need to focus on cost-benefit analysis and constructing larger-scale studies to better understand effectiveness and patient outcomes.

New Statistical Methodology for Determining Cancer Clusters

Cancer.gov

The development of an innovative statistical technique that shows that women living in a broad stretch of the metropolitan northeastern United States, which includes Long Island, are slightly more likely to die from breast cancer than women in other parts of the Northeast.

An Optimal Mitigation Strategy Against the Asteroid Impact Threat with Short Warning Time

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wie, Bong; Barbee, Brent; Pitz, Alan; Kaplinger, Brian; Hawkins, Matt; Winkler, Tim; Premaratne, Pavithra; Vardaxis, George; Lyzhoft, Joshua; Zimmerman, Ben

2015-01-01

To develop an innovative yet practically implementable mitigation technique for the most probable impact threat of an asteroid or comet with short warning time (i.e., when we don't have sufficient warning times for a deflection mission).

An Example of Process Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karl, Marion C.

The inappropriateness of standard experimental research design, which can stifle innovations, is discussed in connection with the problems of designing practical techniques for evaluating a Title III curriculum development project. The project, involving 12 school districts and 2,500 students, teaches concept understanding, critical thinking, and…

Recent advances in vacuum sciences and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mozetič, M.; Ostrikov, K.; Ruzic, D. N.; Curreli, D.; Cvelbar, U.; Vesel, A.; Primc, G.; Leisch, M.; Jousten, K.; Malyshev, O. B.; Hendricks, J. H.; Kövér, L.; Tagliaferro, A.; Conde, O.; Silvestre, A. J.; Giapintzakis, J.; Buljan, M.; Radić, N.; Dražić, G.; Bernstorff, S.; Biederman, H.; Kylián, O.; Hanuš, J.; Miloševič, S.; Galtayries, A.; Dietrich, P.; Unger, W.; Lehocky, M.; Sedlarik, V.; Stana-Kleinschek, K.; Drmota-Petrič, A.; Pireaux, J. J.; Rogers, J. W.; Anderle, M.

2014-04-01

Recent advances in vacuum sciences and applications are reviewed. Novel optical interferometer cavity devices enable pressure measurements with ppm accuracy. The innovative dynamic vacuum standard allows for pressure measurements with temporal resolution of 2 ms. Vacuum issues in the construction of huge ultra-high vacuum devices worldwide are reviewed. Recent advances in surface science and thin films include new phenomena observed in electron transport near solid surfaces as well as novel results on the properties of carbon nanomaterials. Precise techniques for surface and thin-film characterization have been applied in the conservation technology of cultural heritage objects and recent advances in the characterization of biointerfaces are presented. The combination of various vacuum and atmospheric-pressure techniques enables an insight into the complex phenomena of protein and other biomolecule conformations on solid surfaces. Studying these phenomena at solid-liquid interfaces is regarded as the main issue in the development of alternative techniques for drug delivery, tissue engineering and thus the development of innovative techniques for curing cancer and cardiovascular diseases. A review on recent advances in plasma medicine is presented as well as novel hypotheses on cell apoptosis upon treatment with gaseous plasma. Finally, recent advances in plasma nanoscience are illustrated with several examples and a roadmap for future activities is presented.

To Design and Evaluate a 12th Grade Course in the Principles of Economics; Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiggins, Suzanne E.; Sperling, John G.

Reported is the design, development, and evaluation of a one-semester course on the principles of economics for twelfth grade students. The course is intended to develop students' capacity for economic reasoning through economic theory and empirical research. To do this, teaching materials and innovative techniques for teacher training were…

Internal corrosion monitoring of subsea oil and gas production equipment

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

Joosten, M.W.; Fischer, K.P.; Strommen, R.

1995-04-01

Nonintrusive techniques will dominate subsea corrosion monitoring compared with the intrusive methods because such methods do not interfere with pipeline operations. The long-term reliability of the nonintrusive techniques in general is considered to be much better than that of intrusive-type probes. The nonintrusive techniques based on radioactive tracers (TLA, NA) and FSM and UT are expected to be the main types of subsea corrosion monitoring equipment in the coming years. Available techniques that could be developed specifically for subsea applications are: electrochemical noise, corrosion potentials (using new types of reference electrodes), multiprobe system for electrochemical measurements, and video camera inspectionmore » (mini-video camera with light source). The following innovative techniques have potential but need further development: ion selective electrodes, radioactive tracers, and Raman spectroscopy.« less

Development and Optimization of a Fluorescent Differential Display PCR System for Analyzing the Stress Response in Lactobacillus sakei Strains

PubMed Central

Bonomo, Maria Grazia; Sico, Maria Anna; Grieco, Simona; Salzano, Giovanni

2009-01-01

Lactobacillus sakei is widely used as starter in the production process of Italian fermented sausages and its growth and survival are affected by various factors. We studied the differential expression of genome in response to different stresses by the fluorescent differential display (FDD) technique. This study resulted in the development and optimization of an innovative technique, with a high level of reproducibility and quality, which allows the identification of gene expression changes associated with different microbial behaviours under different growth conditions. PMID:22253979

Six Thinking Hats and Social Workers' Innovative Competence: An Experimental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azeez, Razaq Olugbenga

2016-01-01

Employees, no doubt, are the main force in organizations, and their innovative behaviours are vital for outcome efficacy. Innovative organisations, therefore, need creative employees who generate new ideas for product or process of innovation. This study investigated the effect of six thinking hats creativity technique on innovative competence of…

Electronic Creativity Techniques for Organizational Innovation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siau, Keng L.

1996-01-01

Discusses using advanced electronic and communication technology to improve organizational innovation. Group creativity techniques, such as electronic brainstorming, PMI (a brainstorming approach involving plus, minus, and interesting points), synectics, and their verbal counterparts are compared. Electronic PMI and synectics are found to be…

Fostering Interdisciplinary Thinking through an International Development Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellett, Rachel L.; Esperanza, Jennifer; Phan, Diep

2016-01-01

Despite widespread acknowledgment of the importance of interdisciplinary pedagogy, disciplinary teaching remains the norm on most campuses, primarily due to cost and institutional constraints. Bridging the gap between literature on interdisciplinary teaching and active-learning techniques, this article describes an innovative and less costly…

An Effective Model of In-Service Workshops for Elementary Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manning, Patricia C.; Dziuban, Charles

After needs assessments were conducted in six Florida school districts, strategies were developed for implementing creative and relevant workshops emphasizing curricular innovations and individualized instruction. Procedures and techniques evolved from 50 workshops given to 1500 elementary school teachers. Among the activities were: multimedia…

76 FR 24032 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-29

... phases: First, for planning; second, for early information technology development; and third, for... collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to... the Cooperative Agreements to Support Innovative Exchange Information Technology Systems. Level One...

Improved techniques for thermomechanical testing in support of deformation modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Castelli, Michael G.; Ellis, John R.

1992-01-01

The feasibility of generating precise thermomechanical deformation data to support constitutive model development was investigated. Here, the requirement is for experimental data that is free from anomalies caused by less than ideal equipment and procedures. A series of exploratory tests conducted on Hastelloy X showed that generally accepted techniques for strain controlled tests were lacking in at least three areas. Specifically, problems were encountered with specimen stability, thermal strain compensation, and temperature/mechanical strain phasing. The source of these difficulties was identified and improved thermomechanical testing techniques to correct them were developed. These goals were achieved by developing improved procedures for measuring and controlling thermal gradients and by designing a specimen specifically for thermomechanical testing. In addition, innovative control strategies were developed to correctly proportion and phase the thermal and mechanical components of strain. Subsequently, the improved techniques were used to generate deformation data for Hastelloy X over the temperature range, 200 to 1000 C.

Cartilage-Repair Innovation at a Standstill: Methodologic and Regulatory Pathways to Breaking Free.

PubMed

Lyman, Stephen; Nakamura, Norimasa; Cole, Brian J; Erggelet, Christoph; Gomoll, Andreas H; Farr, Jack

2016-08-03

Articular cartilage defects strongly predispose patients to developing early joint degeneration and osteoarthritis, but for more than 15 years, no new cartilage-repair technologies that we know of have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Many studies examining novel approaches to cartilage repair, including cell, tissue, or matrix-based techniques, have shown great promise, but completing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to establish safety and efficacy has been challenging, providing a major barrier to bringing these innovations into clinical use. In this article, we review reasons that surgical innovations are not well-suited for testing through RCTs. We also discuss how analytical methods for reducing bias, such as propensity scoring, make prospective observational studies a potentially viable alternative for testing the safety and efficacy of cartilage-repair and other novel therapies, offering the real possibility of therapeutic innovation. Copyright © 2016 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated.

Probabilistic seasonal Forecasts to deterministic Farm Leve Decisions: Innovative Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mwangi, M. W.

2015-12-01

Climate change and vulnerability are major challenges in ensuring household food security. Climate information services have the potential to cushion rural households from extreme climate risks. However, most the probabilistic nature of climate information products is not easily understood by majority of smallholder farmers. Despite the probabilistic nature, climate information have proved to be a valuable climate risk adaptation strategy at the farm level. This calls for innovative ways to help farmers understand and apply climate information services to inform their farm level decisions. The study endeavored to co-design and test appropriate innovation systems for climate information services uptake and scale up necessary for achieving climate risk development. In addition it also determined the conditions necessary to support the effective performance of the proposed innovation system. Data and information sources included systematic literature review, secondary sources, government statistics, focused group discussions, household surveys and semi-structured interviews. Data wasanalyzed using both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques. Quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Qualitative data was analyzed using qualitative techniques, which involved establishing the categories and themes, relationships/patterns and conclusions in line with the study objectives. Sustainable livelihood, reduced household poverty and climate change resilience were the impact that resulted from the study.

Algorithm Building and Learning Programming Languages Using a New Educational Paradigm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Anshul K.; Singhal, Manik; Gupta, Manu Sheel

2011-08-01

This research paper presents a new concept of using a single tool to associate syntax of various programming languages, algorithms and basic coding techniques. A simple framework has been programmed in Python that helps students learn skills to develop algorithms, and implement them in various programming languages. The tool provides an innovative and a unified graphical user interface for development of multimedia objects, educational games and applications. It also aids collaborative learning amongst students and teachers through an integrated mechanism based on Remote Procedure Calls. The paper also elucidates an innovative method for code generation to enable students to learn the basics of programming languages using drag-n-drop methods for image objects.

Next-generation sequencing: hype and hope for development of personalized radiation therapy?

PubMed

Tinhofer, Ingeborg; Niehr, Franziska; Konschak, Robert; Liebs, Sandra; Munz, Matthias; Stenzinger, Albrecht; Weichert, Wilko; Keilholz, Ulrich; Budach, Volker

2015-08-28

The introduction of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in the field of cancer research has boosted worldwide efforts of genome-wide personalized oncology aiming at identifying predictive biomarkers and novel actionable targets. Despite considerable progress in understanding the molecular biology of distinct cancer entities by the use of this revolutionary technology and despite contemporaneous innovations in drug development, translation of NGS findings into improved concepts for cancer treatment remains a challenge. The aim of this article is to describe shortly the NGS platforms for DNA sequencing and in more detail key achievements and unresolved hurdles. A special focus will be given on potential clinical applications of this innovative technique in the field of radiation oncology.

Dissolution enhancement of atorvastatin calcium by co-grinding technique.

PubMed

Prabhu, Priyanka; Patravale, Vandana

2016-08-01

Atorvastatin calcium (AC) is a BCS class II drug which shows poor bioavailability due to inadequate dissolution. Solid dispersions present a promising option to enhance the solubility of poorly soluble drugs. Co-grinding with hydrophilic excipients is an easy and economical technique to improve the solubility of poorly soluble drugs and is free from usage of organic solvents. The aim of the present study was to explore novel carrier VBP-1 (organosulphur compound) for formulating a solid dispersion by using a simple, commercially viable co-grinding technique to enhance the dissolution of AC and to develop an oral formulation of the same. Composition of the solid dispersion was optimized based on the release profile in pH 1.2 buffer. The optimized solid dispersion was further characterized for flow properties, DSC, FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, contact angle, SEM studies and release profile in phosphate buffer pH 6.8. The developed solid dispersion gave similar release profile as the innovator formulation (Lipitor® tablets) in both pH 1.2 buffer and phosphate buffer pH 6.8. The developed solid dispersion was formulated into hard gelatin capsules (size 3). The developed capsules were found to give similar release as the innovator formulation in both pH 1.2 buffer and phosphate buffer pH 6.8. The developed capsules were found to be stable for a period of 6 months. Anti-hyperlipidemic efficacy studies in rats showed higher reduction in cholesterol and triglyceride levels by the developed capsules in comparison to pure AC. In conclusion, novel carrier VBP-1 was successfully employed to enhance the dissolution of AC using co-grinding technique.

77 FR 18793 - Spectrum Sharing Innovation Test-Bed Pilot Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-28

.... 120322212-2212-01] Spectrum Sharing Innovation Test-Bed Pilot Program AGENCY: National Telecommunications... Innovation Test-Bed pilot program to assess whether devices employing Dynamic Spectrum Access techniques can... Spectrum Sharing Innovation Test-Bed (Test-Bed) pilot program to examine the feasibility of increased...

Advanced Visualization and Interactive Display Rapid Innovation and Discovery Evaluation Research (VISRIDER) Program Task 6: Point Cloud Visualization Techniques for Desktop and Web Platforms

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-01

ADVANCED VISUALIZATION AND INTERACTIVE DISPLAY RAPID INNOVATION AND DISCOVERY EVALUATION RESEARCH (VISRIDER) PROGRAM TASK 6: POINT CLOUD...To) OCT 2013 – SEP 2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE ADVANCED VISUALIZATION AND INTERACTIVE DISPLAY RAPID INNOVATION AND DISCOVERY EVALUATION RESEARCH...various point cloud visualization techniques for viewing large scale LiDAR datasets. Evaluate their potential use for thick client desktop platforms

Profiling Oman education data using data visualization technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alalawi, Sultan Juma Sultan; Shaharanee, Izwan Nizal Mohd; Jamil, Jastini Mohd

2016-10-01

This research works presents an innovative data visualization technique to understand and visualize the information of Oman's education data generated from the Ministry of Education Oman "Educational Portal". The Ministry of Education in Sultanate of Oman have huge databases contains massive information. The volume of data in the database increase yearly as many students, teachers and employees enter into the database. The task for discovering and analyzing these vast volumes of data becomes increasingly difficult. Information visualization and data mining offer a better ways in dealing with large volume of information. In this paper, an innovative information visualization technique is developed to visualize the complex multidimensional educational data. Microsoft Excel Dashboard, Visual Basic Application (VBA) and Pivot Table are utilized to visualize the data. Findings from the summarization of the data are presented, and it is argued that information visualization can help related stakeholders to become aware of hidden and interesting information from large amount of data drowning in their educational portal.

Laser-supported diaphanoscopy: an innovative technique for locating gastric stromal tumors in gastroscopic-laparoscopic rendezvous: a case series.

PubMed

Patrzyk, M; Schreiber, A; Heidecke, C D; Glitsch, A

2009-12-01

Development of an innovative method of endoscopic laser-supported diaphanoscopy, for precise demonstration of the location of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) at laparoscopy is described. The equipment consists of a light transmission cable with an anchoring system for the gastric mucosa, a connecting system for the light source, and the laser light source itself. During surgery, transillumination by laser is used to show the shape of the tumor. The resection margins are then marked by electric coagulation. Ten patients have been successfully treated using this technique in laparoscopic-endoscopic rendezvous procedures. Average time of surgery was 123 minutes. The time for marking the shape of the tumor averaged 16 minutes. Depending on tumor location and size, 4-7 marks were used, and resection margins were 4-15 mm. This new and effective technique facilitates precise locating of gastric GISTs leading to exact and tissue-sparing transmural laparoscopic resections. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart New York.

From World War to Woods Hole: The Use of Wartime Research Models for Curriculum Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudolph, John L.

2002-01-01

Considers the curriculum reform movement of the 1950s as an experiment in applying innovative research and development techniques perfected by scientists during World War II, tracing the development of newer methods of scientific analysis and examining how they were imported from military research to the field of education by a select group of…

Philippines Wind Energy Resource Atlas Development

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

Elliott, D.

2000-11-29

This paper describes the creation of a comprehensive wind energy resource atlas for the Philippines. The atlas was created to facilitate the rapid identification of good wind resource areas and understanding of the salient wind characteristics. Detailed wind resource maps were generated for the entire country using an advanced wind mapping technique and innovative assessment methods recently developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Telecommunications Policy Research Conference. Future of the Telecommunications Network Section. Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Telecommunications Policy Research Conference, Inc., Washington, DC.

The paper for which an abstract is presented here, "Future Network Architectures" (Anthony Rutowski), discussed innovations in processing/switching and transmission technologies, including the development of new broadband optical transfer modes using label and position multiplexing techniques. It is suggested that future network…

Catalog of Exemplary Projects: 1984-85.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Virginia Community Coll. System, Sterling. Inst. for Instructional Excellence.

This compilation of abstracts represents 39 projects that were funded by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia under Adapter Grants (which involve experimentation with instructional methods or techniques) or Developer Grants (which involve the implementation of a uniquely innovative teaching method or other instructional procedure).…

U.S. GERMAN BILATERAL WORKING GROUP: AN INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN REVITALIZING CONTAMINATED LAND

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) entered into a Bilateral partnership in 1990 to study each country's efforts in developing and demonstrating innovative tools, techniques and approaches in areas relate...

Development of an innovative solar absorber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodchild, Gavin

Solar thermal systems have great potential to replace or reduce the dependence of conventional fossil fuel based heating technologies required for space and water heating. Specifically solar domestic hot water systems can contribute 50-75% of the annual thermal load. To date residential users have been slow to purchase and install systems, primarily due to the large monetary investment required to purchase and install a system. Recent innovations in materials design and manufacturing techniques, offer opportunities for the development of absorber plate designs that have the potential to reduce cost, increase efficiency and reduce payback periods. Consequently, this design study was conducted in conjunction with industrial partners to develop an improved absorber based on roll bond manufacturing that can be produced at reduced cost with comparable or greater thermal efficiency.

Accuracy Improvement of Neutron Nuclear Data on Minor Actinides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harada, Hideo; Iwamoto, Osamu; Iwamoto, Nobuyuki; Kimura, Atsushi; Terada, Kazushi; Nakao, Taro; Nakamura, Shoji; Mizuyama, Kazuhito; Igashira, Masayuki; Katabuchi, Tatsuya; Sano, Tadafumi; Takahashi, Yoshiyuki; Takamiya, Koichi; Pyeon, Cheol Ho; Fukutani, Satoshi; Fujii, Toshiyuki; Hori, Jun-ichi; Yagi, Takahiro; Yashima, Hiroshi

2015-05-01

Improvement of accuracy of neutron nuclear data for minor actinides (MAs) and long-lived fission products (LLFPs) is required for developing innovative nuclear system transmuting these nuclei. In order to meet the requirement, the project entitled as "Research and development for Accuracy Improvement of neutron nuclear data on Minor ACtinides (AIMAC)" has been started as one of the "Innovative Nuclear Research and Development Program" in Japan at October 2013. The AIMAC project team is composed of researchers in four different fields: differential nuclear data measurement, integral nuclear data measurement, nuclear chemistry, and nuclear data evaluation. By integrating all of the forefront knowledge and techniques in these fields, the team aims at improving the accuracy of the data. The background and research plan of the AIMAC project are presented.

Personalized reminiscence therapy M-health application for patients living with dementia: Innovating using open source code repository.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn W B; Ho, Roger C M

2017-01-01

Dementia is known to be an illness which brings forth marked disability amongst the elderly individuals. At times, patients living with dementia do also experience non-cognitive symptoms, and these symptoms include that of hallucinations, delusional beliefs as well as emotional liability, sexualized behaviours and aggression. According to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, non-pharmacological techniques are typically the first-line option prior to the consideration of adjuvant pharmacological options. Reminiscence and music therapy are thus viable options. Lazar et al. [3] previously performed a systematic review with regards to the utilization of technology to delivery reminiscence based therapy to individuals who are living with dementia and has highlighted that technology does have benefits in the delivery of reminiscence therapy. However, to date, there has been a paucity of M-health innovations in this area. In addition, most of the current innovations are not personalized for each of the person living with Dementia. Prior research has highlighted the utility for open source repository in bioinformatics study. The authors hoped to explain how they managed to tap upon and make use of open source repository in the development of a personalized M-health reminiscence therapy innovation for patients living with dementia. The availability of open source code repository has changed the way healthcare professionals and developers develop smartphone applications today. Conventionally, a long iterative process is needed in the development of native application, mainly because of the need for native programming and coding, especially so if the application needs to have interactive features or features that could be personalized. Such repository enables the rapid and cost effective development of application. Moreover, developers are also able to further innovate, as less time is spend in the iterative process.

Analysing barriers to service improvement using a multi-level theory of innovation: the case of glaucoma outpatient clinics.

PubMed

Turner, Simon; Vasilakis, Christos; Utley, Martin; Foster, Paul; Kotecha, Aachal; Fulop, Naomi J

2018-05-01

The development and implementation of innovation by healthcare providers is understood as a multi-determinant and multi-level process. Theories at different analytical levels (i.e. micro and organisational) are needed to capture the processes that influence innovation by providers. This article combines a micro theory of innovation, actor-network theory, with organisational level processes using the 'resource based view of the firm'. It examines the influence of, and interplay between, innovation-seeking teams (micro) and underlying organisational capabilities (meso) during innovation processes. We used ethnographic methods to study service innovations in relation to ophthalmology services run by a specialist English NHS Trust at multiple locations. Operational research techniques were used to support the ethnographic methods by mapping the care process in the existing and redesigned clinics. Deficiencies in organisational capabilities for supporting innovation were identified, including manager-clinician relations and organisation-wide resources. The article concludes that actor-network theory can be combined with the resource-based view to highlight the influence of organisational capabilities on the management of innovation. Equally, actor-network theory helps to address the lack of theory in the resource-based view on the micro practices of implementing change. © 2018 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL.

New Challenges in Tribology: Wear Assessment Using 3D Optical Scanners

PubMed Central

Valigi, Maria Cristina; Logozzo, Silvia; Affatato, Saverio

2017-01-01

Wear is a significant mechanical and clinical problem. To acquire further knowledge on the tribological phenomena that involve freeform mechanical components or medical prostheses, wear tests are performed on biomedical and industrial materials in order to solve or reduce failures or malfunctions due to material loss. Scientific and technological advances in the field of optical scanning allow the application of innovative devices for wear measurements, leading to improvements that were unimaginable until a few years ago. It is therefore important to develop techniques, based on new instrumentations, for more accurate and reproducible measurements of wear. The aim of this work is to discuss the use of innovative 3D optical scanners and an experimental procedure to detect and evaluate wear, comparing this technique with other wear evaluation methods for industrial components and biomedical devices. PMID:28772905

Concepts and effects of damping in isolators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerley, J.

1984-01-01

A series of innovative designs and inventions which led to the solution of many aerospace vibration and shock problems through damping techniques is presented. The design of damped airborne structures has presented a need for such creative innovation. The primary concern was to discover what concepts were necessary for good structural damping. Once these concepts are determined and converted into basic principles, the design of hardware follows. The following hardware and techniques were developed in support of aerospace program requirements: shipping containers, alignment cables for precision mechanisms, isolation of small components such as relays and flight instruments, isolation for heavy flight equipment, coupling devices, universal joints, use of wire mesh to replace cable, isolation of 16-dB, 5000 lb horn, and compound damping devices to get better isolation from shock and vibration in a high steady environment.

New Challenges in Tribology: Wear Assessment Using 3D Optical Scanners.

PubMed

Valigi, Maria Cristina; Logozzo, Silvia; Affatato, Saverio

2017-05-18

Wear is a significant mechanical and clinical problem. To acquire further knowledge on the tribological phenomena that involve freeform mechanical components or medical prostheses, wear tests are performed on biomedical and industrial materials in order to solve or reduce failures or malfunctions due to material loss. Scientific and technological advances in the field of optical scanning allow the application of innovative devices for wear measurements, leading to improvements that were unimaginable until a few years ago. It is therefore important to develop techniques, based on new instrumentations, for more accurate and reproducible measurements of wear. The aim of this work is to discuss the use of innovative 3D optical scanners and an experimental procedure to detect and evaluate wear, comparing this technique with other wear evaluation methods for industrial components and biomedical devices.

2012 Global Summit on Regulatory Science (GSRS-2012)--modernizing toxicology.

PubMed

Miller, Margaret A; Tong, Weida; Fan, Xiaohui; Slikker, William

2013-01-01

Regulatory science encompasses the tools, models, techniques, and studies needed to assess and evaluate product safety, efficacy, quality, and performance. Several recent publications have emphasized the role of regulatory science in improving global health, supporting economic development and fostering innovation. As for other scientific disciplines, research in regulatory science is the critical element underpinning the development and advancement of regulatory science as a modern scientific discipline. As a regulatory agency in the 21st century, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has an international component that underpins its domestic mission; foods, drugs, and devices are developed and imported to the United States from across the world. The Global Summit on Regulatory Science, an international conference for discussing innovative technologies, approaches, and partnerships that enhance the translation of basic science into regulatory applications, is providing leadership for the advancement of regulatory sciences within the global context. Held annually, this international conference provides a platform where regulators, policy makers, and bench scientists from various countries can exchange views on how to develop, apply, and implement innovative methodologies into regulatory assessments in their respective countries, as well as developing a harmonized strategy to improve global public health through global collaboration.

77 FR 28882 - Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-16

... innovative methods, techniques, and approaches for dealing with occupational safety and health problems... ICR was not submitted to OMB before the original expiration date. Since the Right to Know movement in the late 1970s, NIOSH has been developing methods and materials to notify subjects of its...

SUPERFUND TREATABILITY CLEARINGHOUSE: FINAL REPORT: DEVELOPMENT OF OPTIMUM TREATMENT SYSTEM FOR WASTEWATER LAGOONS PHASE II - SOLVENT EXTRACTION LABORATORY TESTING

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Army surveyed innovative treatment techniques for restoration of hazardous waste lagoons and selected solvent extraction as cost-effective restoration for further study. This treatability study focuses on treatment of organic (explosive) contaminated lagoon sediments w...

The Gaston System: A Community Plans for the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smyre, Rick

1987-01-01

In response to pervasive problems of low income, anticipated loss of employment in the textile industry, high dropout rates, high crime rates, and poor relationships among municipalities, Gaston County, North Carolina, has developed an innovative set of processes for promoting cooperation and facilitating leadership techniques. The Gaston System…

BIOSENSORS RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE MONITORING TECHNIQUES THAT SUPPORT EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT RELATED TO THE SUPERFUND PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

One of the approaches for reducing uncertainties in the assessment of human exposure is to better characterize the hazardous wastes that contaminate our environment. A significant limitation to this approach, however, is that sampling and laboratory analysis of contaminated envi...

The Role of Graphing Calculators in Mathematics Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waits, Bert K.; Demana, Franklin

This essay describes the role of graphing calculators in mathematics reform. Among the topics discussed are the history of graphing calculators in mathematics education, recent technological innovations, and professional development opportunities. The case is made for a balanced approach between calculator use and paper-and-pencil techniques.…

The Counselor and Coronary Heart Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ottens, Allen J.

1977-01-01

It is clear that steps can be taken for heart disease prevention and that counselors must give thought to adapting existing ideas and techniques and to developing and experimenting with new and innovative preventive tactics. Of utmost importance is the belief that behavioral intervention is both warranted and worthwhile. (Author)

Accelerated bridge construction utilizing precast pier caps on state highway 69 over Turkey Creek, Huerfano County, CO.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-07-01

The purpose of this report is to document Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) techniques on IBRD : (Innovative Bridge Research and Development) project 102470 for the construction of Bridge N-16-Q : on State Highway 69 over Turkey Creek. The constr...

An Intelligent Semantic E-Learning Framework Using Context-Aware Semantic Web Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Weihong; Webster, David; Wood, Dawn; Ishaya, Tanko

2006-01-01

Recent developments of e-learning specifications such as Learning Object Metadata (LOM), Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), Learning Design and other pedagogy research in semantic e-learning have shown a trend of applying innovative computational techniques, especially Semantic Web technologies, to promote existing content-focused…

Lieko Earle | NREL

Science.gov Websites

evaluations of innovative building envelopes, water heating, and HVAC systems. She also conducts laboratory barriers for emerging and advanced retrofit systems to be implemented on a broad basis, as well as field Monitoring (NILM) techniques, and control strategies to develop cost-effective systems that integrate

Predicting the Emplacement of Improvised Explosive Devices: An Innovative Solution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lerner, Warren D.

2013-01-01

In this quantitative correlational study, simulated data were employed to examine artificial-intelligence techniques or, more specifically, artificial neural networks, as they relate to the location prediction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). An ANN model was developed to predict IED placement, based upon terrain features and objects…

Researching the Effects of Frame-Focused Instruction on Second Language Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sokolova, Elena; Burmistrova, Anna

2012-01-01

In the context of globalization, the research of innovative teaching methods and techniques becomes relevant. The traditional teaching approach where the training of practice material is preceded by rule-presentation (explanation + mechanical form-oriented practice) does not meet the requirements of constantly developing rational language…

The Future of Higher Education in Nigeria: Global Challenges and Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oni, Adesoji A.; Alade, Ibiwumi A.

2008-01-01

Among the numerous components of development of higher education are; growth in quantity, quality, relevance and diversity of curriculum [programme and courses]; widening of access and broadening of equity, innovation in teaching methods and techniques; improvement in the quantity and quality of research activities; more and better community…

RAISED between Cultures: New Resources for Working with Children of Immigrant or Refugee Background

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brosinsky, Larissa; Georgis, Rebecca; Gokiert, Rebecca; Mejia, Teresa; Kirova, Anna

2018-01-01

The pressing needs of populations with unique challenges, such as immigrants or refugees, often stimulate important innovation in development of educational techniques and resources. This article highlights the RAISED between Cultures model, a conceptual framework for understanding children's experiences holistically and promoting intercultural…

[GERD: endoscopic antireflux therapies].

PubMed

Caca, K

2006-08-02

A couple of minimally-invasive, endoscopic antireflux procedures have been developed during the last years. Beside endoscopic suturing these included injection/implantation technique of biopolymers and application of radiofrequency. Radiofrequency (Stretta) has proved only a very modest effect, while implantation techniques have been abandoned due to lack of long-term efficacy (Gatekeeper) or serious side effects (Enteryx). While first generation endoluminal suturing techniques (EndoCinch, ESD) demonstrated a proof of principle their lack of durability, due to suture loss, led to the development of a potentially durable transmural plication technique (Plicator). In a prospective-randomized, sham-controlled trial the Plicator procedure proved superiority concerning reflux symptoms, medication use and esophageal acid exposure (24-h-pH-metry). While long-term data have to be awaited to draw final conclusions, technical improvements will drive innovation in this field.

EDITORIAL: Imaging systems and techniques Imaging systems and techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Wuqiang; Giakos, George; Nikita, Konstantina; Pastorino, Matteo; Karras, Dimitrios

2009-10-01

The papers in this special issue focus on providing the state-of-the-art approaches and solutions to some of the most challenging imaging areas, such as the design, development, evaluation and applications of imaging systems, measuring techniques, image processing algorithms and instrumentation, with an ultimate aim of enhancing the measurement accuracy and image quality. This special issue explores the principles, engineering developments and applications of new imaging systems and techniques, and encourages broad discussion of imaging methodologies, shaping the future and identifying emerging trends. The multi-faceted field of imaging requires drastic adaptation to the rapid changes in our society, economy, environment and technological evolution. There is an urgent need to address new problems, which tend to be either static but complex, or dynamic, e.g. rapidly evolving with time, with many unknowns, and to propose innovative solutions. For instance, the battles against cancer and terror, monitoring of space resources and enhanced awareness, management of natural resources and environmental monitoring are some of the areas that need to be addressed. The complexity of the involved imaging scenarios and demanding design parameters, e.g. speed, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), specificity, contrast, spatial resolution, scatter rejection, complex background and harsh environments, necessitate the development of a multi-functional, scalable and efficient imaging suite of sensors, solutions driven by innovation, and operation on diverse detection and imaging principles. Efficient medical imaging techniques capable of providing physiological information at the molecular level present another important research area. Advanced metabolic and functional imaging techniques, operating on multiple physical principles, and using high-resolution, high-selectivity nano-imaging methods, quantum dots, nanoparticles, biomarkers, nanostructures, nanosensors, micro-array imaging chips and nano-clinics for optical diagnostics and targeted therapy, can play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. These techniques can also be used to provide efficient drug delivery for treatment of other diseases, with increased sensitivity and specificity. Similarly, enhanced stand-off detection, classification, identification and surveillance techniques, for comprehensive civilian and military target protection and enhanced space situational awareness can open new frontiers of research and applications in the defence arena and homeland security. For instance, the development of potential imaging sensor architectures, enhanced remote sensing systems, ladars, lidars and radars can provide data capable of ensuring continuous monitoring of various imaging/physical/chemical parameters under different operating conditions, using both active and passive detection principles, reconfigurable and scalable focal plane array architectures, reliable systems for stand-off detection of explosives, and enhanced airport security. The above areas pose challenging problems to the technical community and indicate an ever-growing need for innovative and auspicious solutions. We would like to thank all authors for their valuable contributions, without which this special issue would not have become reality.

A Survey on Ambient Intelligence in Health Care

PubMed Central

Acampora, Giovanni; Cook, Diane J.; Rashidi, Parisa; Vasilakos, Athanasios V.

2013-01-01

Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is a new paradigm in information technology aimed at empowering people’s capabilities by the means of digital environments that are sensitive, adaptive, and responsive to human needs, habits, gestures, and emotions. This futuristic vision of daily environment will enable innovative human-machine interactions characterized by pervasive, unobtrusive and anticipatory communications. Such innovative interaction paradigms make ambient intelligence technology a suitable candidate for developing various real life solutions, including in the health care domain. This survey will discuss the emergence of ambient intelligence (AmI) techniques in the health care domain, in order to provide the research community with the necessary background. We will examine the infrastructure and technology required for achieving the vision of ambient intelligence, such as smart environments and wearable medical devices. We will summarize of the state of the art artificial intelligence methodologies used for developing AmI system in the health care domain, including various learning techniques (for learning from user interaction), reasoning techniques (for reasoning about users’ goals and intensions) and planning techniques (for planning activities and interactions). We will also discuss how AmI technology might support people affected by various physical or mental disabilities or chronic disease. Finally, we will point to some of the successful case studies in the area and we will look at the current and future challenges to draw upon the possible future research paths. PMID:24431472

A Survey on Ambient Intelligence in Health Care.

PubMed

Acampora, Giovanni; Cook, Diane J; Rashidi, Parisa; Vasilakos, Athanasios V

2013-12-01

Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is a new paradigm in information technology aimed at empowering people's capabilities by the means of digital environments that are sensitive, adaptive, and responsive to human needs, habits, gestures, and emotions. This futuristic vision of daily environment will enable innovative human-machine interactions characterized by pervasive, unobtrusive and anticipatory communications. Such innovative interaction paradigms make ambient intelligence technology a suitable candidate for developing various real life solutions, including in the health care domain. This survey will discuss the emergence of ambient intelligence (AmI) techniques in the health care domain, in order to provide the research community with the necessary background. We will examine the infrastructure and technology required for achieving the vision of ambient intelligence, such as smart environments and wearable medical devices. We will summarize of the state of the art artificial intelligence methodologies used for developing AmI system in the health care domain, including various learning techniques (for learning from user interaction), reasoning techniques (for reasoning about users' goals and intensions) and planning techniques (for planning activities and interactions). We will also discuss how AmI technology might support people affected by various physical or mental disabilities or chronic disease. Finally, we will point to some of the successful case studies in the area and we will look at the current and future challenges to draw upon the possible future research paths.

Technological innovation in the United States.

PubMed

Kilgour, F G

1965-01-01

This paper presents nearly three and a half centuries of American invention, and is particularly concerned with primary invention as distinct from development, production, and service engineering. One apparent but not real exception to this statement is that one section will be devoted to the American invention of production engineering. Various factors have stimulated, guided, and inhibited American inventiveness; indeed, colonial status during nearly half the historical period being examined all but stifled technological innovation. It will also become clear that American disenchantment with basic scientific activity diminished the relative magnitude of her innovations after the advent of the technique of applied research in Europe following the middle of the nineteenth century. This circumstance is particularly obvious in the cases of chemical and electrical engineering, the first of the applied sciences.

Innovative signal processing for Johnson Noise thermometry

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

Ezell, N. Dianne Bull; Britton, Jr, Charles L.; Roberts, Michael

This report summarizes the newly developed algorithm that subtracted the Electromagnetic Interference (EMI). The EMI performance is very important to this measurement because any interference in the form on pickup from external signal sources from such as fluorescent lighting ballasts, motors, etc. can skew the measurement. Two methods of removing EMI were developed and tested at various locations. This report also summarizes the testing performed at different facilities outside Oak Ridge National Laboratory using both EMI removal techniques. The first EMI removal technique reviewed in previous milestone reports and therefore this report will detail the second method.

A case management agency and bank create a service innovation.

PubMed

Katz, K S; Stowe, A W

1992-01-01

Connecticut Community Care, Inc. (CCCI), a statewide, nonprofit case management agency, in collaboration with Connecticut National Bank (CNB), developed a unique model of delivering case management services to bank trust clients. No reports of such a collaborative model have been found in the published literature in the United States. The article presents a historical overview of this innovative initiative; the identification of the target population; the delivery of the assessment, coordination, and monitoring services; and the marketing techniques. Utilization statistics, a synopsis of the model outcomes as viewed by the trust officers, and suggestions for replication are also presented.

Evaluating the enhancement and improvement of China's technology and financial services platform innovation strategy.

PubMed

Wu, Ching-Sung; Hu, Kuang-Hua; Chen, Fu-Hsiang

2016-01-01

The development of high-tech industry has been prosperous around the world in past decades, while technology and finance have already become the most significant issues in the information era. While high-tech firms are a major force behind a country's economic development, it requires a lot of money for the development process, as well as the financing difficulties for its potential problems, thus, how to evaluate and establish appropriate technology and financial services platforms innovation strategy has become one of the most critical and difficult issues. Moreover, how the chosen intertwined financial environment can be optimized in order that high-tech firms financing problems can be decided has seldom been addressed. Thus, this research aims to establish a technology and financial services platform innovation strategy improvement model, as based on the hybrid MADM model, which addresses the main causal factors and amended priorities in order to strengthen ongoing planning. A DEMATEL technique, as based on Analytic Network Process, as well as modified VIKOR, will be proposed for selecting and re-configuring the aspired technology and financial services platform. An empirical study, as based on China's technology and financial services platform innovation strategy, will be provided for verifying the effectiveness of this proposed methodology. Based on expert interviews, technology and financial services platforms innovation strategy improvement should be made in the following order: credit guarantee platform ( C )_credit rating platform ( B )_investment and finance platform ( A ).

Principles over principals? How innovation affects the agency relationship in medical and legal practice.

PubMed

Polaris, Julian J Z

2014-01-01

This Note outlines a conceptual framework for defining and analyzing innovation in the professional practice of medicine and law. The two professions have structural and historical similarities, and both are organized around the principal-agent relationship. Some types of professional activity adhere to the traditional agency model of principal-centered practice, but innovative professionals who develop novel tools and techniques often deviate from the agency model in interesting ways. This Note explores how that distinction plays out by identifying examples from academic medicine, public interest "cause lawyering", and corporate law. The field of medicine is governed by a regulatory regime that strictly differentiates routine practice from the experimental activities of clinical research, but the legal profession is governed by a monolithic code of conduct that does not explicitly acknowledge the types of innovation described here. Certain key events in the twentieth century help to explain why the government has chosen to tightly regulate innovation in medicine but not in law, and it turns out that innovators in both fields have found ways to stretch or bend the rules. These observations shed light on each profession's unique culture and can inform current debates over regulatory reform.

Robust detection, isolation and accommodation for sensor failures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Emami-Naeini, A.; Akhter, M. M.; Rock, S. M.

1986-01-01

The objective is to extend the recent advances in robust control system design of multivariable systems to sensor failure detection, isolation, and accommodation (DIA), and estimator design. This effort provides analysis tools to quantify the trade-off between performance robustness and DIA sensitivity, which are to be used to achieve higher levels of performance robustness for given levels of DIA sensitivity. An innovations-based DIA scheme is used. Estimators, which depend upon a model of the process and process inputs and outputs, are used to generate these innovations. Thresholds used to determine failure detection are computed based on bounds on modeling errors, noise properties, and the class of failures. The applicability of the newly developed tools are demonstrated on a multivariable aircraft turbojet engine example. A new concept call the threshold selector was developed. It represents a significant and innovative tool for the analysis and synthesis of DiA algorithms. The estimators were made robust by introduction of an internal model and by frequency shaping. The internal mode provides asymptotically unbiased filter estimates.The incorporation of frequency shaping of the Linear Quadratic Gaussian cost functional modifies the estimator design to make it suitable for sensor failure DIA. The results are compared with previous studies which used thresholds that were selcted empirically. Comparison of these two techniques on a nonlinear dynamic engine simulation shows improved performance of the new method compared to previous techniques

Innovating for quality and value: Utilizing national quality improvement programs to identify opportunities for responsible surgical innovation.

PubMed

Woo, Russell K; Skarsgard, Erik D

2015-06-01

Innovation in surgical techniques, technology, and care processes are essential for improving the care and outcomes of surgical patients, including children. The time and cost associated with surgical innovation can be significant, and unless it leads to improvements in outcome at equivalent or lower costs, it adds little or no value from the perspective of the patients, and decreases the overall resources available to our already financially constrained healthcare system. The emergence of a safety and quality mandate in surgery, and the development of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) allow needs-based surgical care innovation which leads to value-based improvement in care. In addition to general and procedure-specific clinical outcomes, surgeons should consider the measurement of quality from the patients' perspective. To this end, the integration of validated Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) into actionable, benchmarked institutional outcomes reporting has the potential to facilitate quality improvement in process, treatment and technology that optimizes value for our patients and health system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Institutional Review Board approval and innovation in urology: current practice and safety issues.

PubMed

Sundaram, Varun; Vemana, Goutham; Bhayani, Sam B

2014-02-01

To retrospectively review recent publications describing novel procedures/techniques, and describe the Institutional Review Board (IRB)/ethics approval process and potential ethical dilemmas in their reporting. We searched PubMed for papers about innovative or novel procedures/techniques between 2011 and August 2012. A query of titles/abstracts in the Journal of Urology, Journal of Endourology, European Urology, BJU International, and Urology identified relevant papers. These results were reviewed for human studies that described an innovative technique, procedure, approach, initial series, and/or used new technology. In all, 91 papers met criteria for inclusion; 25 from the Journal of Endourology, 14 from the Journal of Urology, nine from European Urology, 15 from the BJU International and 28 from Urology. IRB/ethics approval was given for an experimental procedure or database in 24% and 22%, respectively. IRB/ethics approval was not mentioned in 52.7% of studies. Published IRB/ethics approvals for innovative techniques are heterogeneous including database, retrospective, and prospective approvals. Given the concept that innovations are likely not in the legal or ethical standard of care, strong consideration should be given to obtaining IRB/ethics approval before the actual procedure, instead of approval to merely report database outcomes. © 2013 The Authors. BJU International © 2013 BJU International.

Comparison of Traditional and Innovative Techniques to Solve Technical Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perchonok, Michele

2011-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the use of traditional and innovative techniques to solve technical challenges in food storage technology. The planning for a mission to Mars is underway, and the food storage technology improvements requires that improvements be made. This new technology is required, because current food storage technology is inadequate,refrigerators or freezers are not available for food preservation, and that a shelf life of 5 years is expected. A 10 year effort to improve food packaging technology has not enhanced significantly food packaging capabilities. Two innovation techniques were attempted InnoCentive and Yet2.com and have provided good results, and are still under due diligence for solver verification.

Technological innovations for a sustainable business model in the semiconductor industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levinson, Harry J.

2014-09-01

Increasing costs of wafer processing, particularly for lithographic processes, have made it increasingly difficult to achieve simultaneous reductions in cost-per-function and area per device. Multiple patterning techniques have made possible the fabrication of circuit layouts below the resolution limit of single optical exposures but have led to significant increases in the costs of patterning. Innovative techniques, such as self-aligned double patterning (SADP) have enabled good device performance when using less expensive patterning equipment. Other innovations have directly reduced the cost of manufacturing. A number of technical challenges must be overcome to enable a return to single-exposure patterning using short wavelength optical techniques, such as EUV patterning.

CNS drug development in Europe--past progress and future challenges.

PubMed

Nutt, David J; Attridge, Jim

2014-01-01

Despite enormous progress in defining, diagnosing and treating mental disorders, EU health systems face a mounting challenge in responding to 'unmet need'. Mental illnesses produce a societal burden that exceeds that for either cancers or cardiovascular conditions. Leveraging advances in science and medicine to make available new innovative medicines is a key component in responding to this challenge. The dominant paradigm has been, is and will continue to be, one of incremental progress. Better medicines for depression, anxiety and psychoses in the working age population would add great value to patients and improve labour productivity. But psychotropic medicines face exceptional challenges in demonstrating their added value, due to uncertainty in patient diagnosis, selecting treatments and ensuring adherence. Also, there are major difficulties in estimating costs. Advances in understanding brain processes, identifying biomarkers and neuro-imaging techniques promise far more effective 'diagnostic-therapeutic' treatments and improved patient outcomes in the future. Currently there are valuable incremental innovations in late development, which may well fail to recover their R&D costs, because of very low reimbursed prices. This will send a signal to innovators not to persist with product development in this area. Recently several leading companies have withdrawn from R&D in these mental disorders. This is a worrying development since building the capabilities to succeed in any disease sector takes many years and, once dismantled, they cannot easily be re-established. Three policy interventions could improve innovation incentives: Further 'push' incentives under i) and streamlining under ii) alone will not reverse the decline in investment incentives. An EU consensus, based upon an innovation model which encompasses the Research, Development and Market phases as a single cyclical process, which addresses the weak 'market pull incentives' under iii) is needed. There is a very real risk that without such an integrated approach to policy reforms, innovation in psychotropic medicines will become a 'desert' in the same way that it did for antibiotics in the 1990's. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Critical analysis of procurement techniques in construction management sectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, Suman Tiwari Suresh; Chan, Shiau Wei; Faraz Mubarak, Muhammad

2018-04-01

Over the last three decades, numerous procurement techniques have been one of the highlights of the Construction Management (CM) for ventures, administration contracting, venture management as well as design and construct. Due to the development and utilization of those techniques, various researchers have explored the criteria for their choice and their execution in terms of time, cost and quality. Nevertheless, there is a lack of giving an account on the relationship between the procurement techniques and the progressed related issues, for example, supply chain, sustainability, innovation and technology development, lean construction, constructability, value management, Building Information Modelling (BIM) as well as e-procurement. Through chosen papers from the reputable CM-related academic journals, the specified scopes of these issues are methodically assessed with the objective to explore the status and trend in procurement related research. The result of this paper contributes theoretically as well as practically to the researchers and industrialist in order to be aware and appreciate the development of procurement techniques.

Variables Associated with Environmental Scanning among Clinicians at Substance Abuse Treatment Clinics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koch, Alison L.; Arfken, Cynthia L.; Agius, Elizabeth; Dickson, Marcus W.; Mitchelson, Jacqueline K.

2005-01-01

Introduction: Environmental scanning, as a component of absorptive capacity, has been shown to be associated with increased use of innovative treatment techniques at substance abuse treatment programmes. As the transfer of innovative, evidence-based treatment techniques from research to practice is gaining attention, we aimed to identify variables…

Novel surgical techniques, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and innovative immunosuppression in kidney transplantation.

PubMed

Nowacki, Maciej; Nazarewski, Łukasz; Kloskowski, Tomasz; Tyloch, Dominik; Pokrywczyńska, Marta; Pietkun, Katarzyna; Jundziłł, Arkadiusz; Tyloch, Janusz; Habib, Samy L; Drewa, Tomasz

2016-10-01

On the 60 th anniversary of the first successfully performed renal transplantation, we summarize the historical, current and potential future status of kidney transplantation. We discuss three different aspects with a potential significant influence on kidney transplantation progress: the development of surgical techniques, the influence of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, and changes in immunosuppression. We evaluate the standard open surgical procedures with modern techniques and compare them to less invasive videoscopic as well as robotic techniques. The role of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as a potential method for future kidney regeneration or replacement and the interesting search for novel solutions in the field of immunosuppression will be discussed. After 60 years since the first successfully performed kidney transplantation, we can conclude that the greatest achievements are associated with the development of surgical techniques and with planned systemic immunosuppression.

Novel surgical techniques, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and innovative immunosuppression in kidney transplantation

PubMed Central

Nowacki, Maciej; Nazarewski, Łukasz; Tyloch, Dominik; Pokrywczyńska, Marta; Pietkun, Katarzyna; Jundziłł, Arkadiusz; Tyloch, Janusz; Habib, Samy L.; Drewa, Tomasz

2016-01-01

On the 60th anniversary of the first successfully performed renal transplantation, we summarize the historical, current and potential future status of kidney transplantation. We discuss three different aspects with a potential significant influence on kidney transplantation progress: the development of surgical techniques, the influence of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, and changes in immunosuppression. We evaluate the standard open surgical procedures with modern techniques and compare them to less invasive videoscopic as well as robotic techniques. The role of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as a potential method for future kidney regeneration or replacement and the interesting search for novel solutions in the field of immunosuppression will be discussed. After 60 years since the first successfully performed kidney transplantation, we can conclude that the greatest achievements are associated with the development of surgical techniques and with planned systemic immunosuppression. PMID:27695507

Governing Methods: Policy Innovation Labs, Design and Data Science in the Digital Governance of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williamson, Ben

2015-01-01

Policy innovation labs are emerging knowledge actors and technical experts in the governing of education. The article offers a historical and conceptual account of the organisational form of the policy innovation lab. Policy innovation labs are characterised by specific methods and techniques of design, data science, and digitisation in public…

The integration of system specifications and program coding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luebke, W. R.

1970-01-01

Experience in maintaining up-to-date documentation for one module of the large-scale Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System 2 (MEDLARS 2) is described. Several innovative techniques were explored in the development of this system's data management environment, particularly those that use PL/I as an automatic documenter. The PL/I data description section can provide automatic documentation by means of a master description of data elements that has long and highly meaningful mnemonic names and a formalized technique for the production of descriptive commentary. The techniques discussed are practical methods that employ the computer during system development in a manner that assists system implementation, provides interim documentation for customer review, and satisfies some of the deliverable documentation requirements.

Innovative single-shot diagnostics for electrons accelerated through laser-plasma interaction at FLAME

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bisesto, F. G.; Anania, M. P.; Chiadroni, E.; Cianchi, A.; Costa, G.; Curcio, A.; Ferrario, M.; Galletti, M.; Pompili, R.; Schleifer, E.; Zigler, A.

2017-05-01

Plasma wakefield acceleration is the most promising acceleration technique known nowadays, able to provide very high accelerating fields (> 100 GV/m), enabling acceleration of electrons to GeV energy in few centimeters. Here we present all the plasma related activities currently underway at SPARC LAB exploiting the high power laser FLAME. In particular, we will give an overview of the single shot diagnostics employed: Electro Optic Sampling (EOS) for temporal measurement and optical transition radiation (OTR) for an innovative one shot emittance measurements. In detail, the EOS technique has been employed to measure for the first time the longitudinal profile of electric field of fast electrons escaping from a solid target, driving the ions and protons acceleration, and to study the impact of using different target shapes. Moreover, a novel scheme for one shot emittance measurements based on OTR, developed and tested at SPARC LAB LINAC, will be shown.

Multi-Innovation Gradient Iterative Locally Weighted Learning Identification for A Nonlinear Ship Maneuvering System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Wei-wei; Ren, Jun-sheng; Li, Tie-shan

2018-06-01

This paper explores a highly accurate identification modeling approach for the ship maneuvering motion with fullscale trial. A multi-innovation gradient iterative (MIGI) approach is proposed to optimize the distance metric of locally weighted learning (LWL), and a novel non-parametric modeling technique is developed for a nonlinear ship maneuvering system. This proposed method's advantages are as follows: first, it can avoid the unmodeled dynamics and multicollinearity inherent to the conventional parametric model; second, it eliminates the over-learning or underlearning and obtains the optimal distance metric; and third, the MIGI is not sensitive to the initial parameter value and requires less time during the training phase. These advantages result in a highly accurate mathematical modeling technique that can be conveniently implemented in applications. To verify the characteristics of this mathematical model, two examples are used as the model platforms to study the ship maneuvering.

Learning from an Unsuccessful Study Idea: Reflection and Application of Innovative Techniques to Prevent Future Failures.

PubMed

Fujihara, Yuki; Saito, Taichi; Huetteman, Helen E; Sterbenz, Jennifer M; Chung, Kevin C

2018-04-01

A well-organized, thoughtful study design is essential for creating an impactful study. However, pressures promoting high output from researchers can lead to rushed study proposals that overlook critical weaknesses in the study design that can affect the validity of the conclusions. Researchers can benefit from thorough review of past failed proposals when crafting new research ideas. Conceptual frameworks and root cause analysis are two innovative techniques that can be used during study development to identify flaws and prevent study failures. In addition, conceptual frameworks and root cause analysis can be combined to complement each other to provide both a big picture and detailed view of a study proposal. This article describes these two common analytical methods and provides an example of how they can be used to evaluate and improve a study design by critically examining a previous failed research idea.

The innovation of cryo-SEM freeze-fracturing methodology demonstrated on high pressure frozen biofilm.

PubMed

Hrubanova, Kamila; Nebesarova, Jana; Ruzicka, Filip; Krzyzanek, Vladislav

2018-07-01

In this study we present an innovative method for the preparation of fully hydrated samples of microbial biofilms of cultures Staphylococcus epidermidis, Candida parapsilosis and Candida albicans. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) and high-pressure freezing (HPF) rank among cutting edge techniques in the electron microscopy of hydrated samples such as biofilms. However, the combination of these techniques is not always easily applicable. Therefore, we present a method of combining high-pressure freezing using EM PACT2 (Leica Microsystems), which fixes hydrated samples on small sapphire discs, with a high resolution SEM equipped with the widely used cryo-preparation system ALTO 2500 (Gatan). Using a holder developed in house, a freeze-fracturing technique was applied to image and investigate microbial cultures cultivated on the sapphire discs. In our experiments, we focused on the ultrastructure of the extracellular matrix produced during cultivation and the relationships among microbial cells in the biofilm. The main goal of our investigations was the detailed visualization of areas of the biofilm where the microbial cells adhere to the substrate/surface. We show the feasibility of this technique, which is clearly demonstrated in experiments with various freeze-etching times. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Inheritance and evolution of acupuncture manipulation techniques of Zhejiang acupuncture masters in modern times].

PubMed

Yu, Daxiong; Ma, Ruijie; Fang, Jianqiao

2015-05-01

There are many eminent acupuncture masters in modern times in the regions of Zhejiang province, which has developed the acupuncture schools of numerous characteristics and induces the important impacts at home and abroad. Through the literature collection on the acupuncture schools in Zhejiang and the interviews to the parties involved, it has been discovered that the acupuncture manipulation techniques of acupuncture masters in modern times are specifically featured. Those techniques are developed on the basis of Neijing (Internal Classic), Jinzhenfu (Ode to Gold Needle) and Zhenjiu Dacheng (Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion). No matter to obey the old maxim or study by himself, every master lays the emphasis on the research and interpretation of classical theories and integrates the traditional with the modern. In the paper, the acupuncture manipulation techniques of Zhejiang acupuncture masters in modern times are stated from four aspects, named needling techniques in Internal Classic, feijingzouqi needling technique, penetrating needling technique and innovation of acupuncture manipulation.

Microseismic techniques for avoiding induced seismicity during fluid injection

DOE PAGES

Matzel, Eric; White, Joshua; Templeton, Dennise; ...

2014-01-01

The goal of this research is to develop a fundamentally better approach to geological site characterization and early hazard detection. We combine innovative techniques for analyzing microseismic data with a physics-based inversion model to forecast microseismic cloud evolution. The key challenge is that faults at risk of slipping are often too small to detect during the site characterization phase. Our objective is to devise fast-running methodologies that will allow field operators to respond quickly to changing subsurface conditions.

The modern history and evolution of percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

PubMed

Patel, Sutchin R; Nakada, Stephen Y

2015-02-01

Serendipity, innovative physicians, evolving techniques for renal access, and improvements in equipment and radiology led to the evolution of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). We searched urology texts and the literature for sources pertaining to the history and development of PCNL. In 1941, Rupel and Brown performed the first nephroscopy when a rigid cystoscope was passed into the kidney following open surgery. Willard Goodwin, in 1955, while trying to perform a renal arteriogram, placed a needle into the collecting system of a hydronephrotic kidney and performed the first antegrade nephrostogram. He left a tube to drain the kidney, thereby placing the first nephrostomy tube. By 1976, Fernström and Johansson were the first to describe a technique for extracting renal calculi through a percutaneous nephrostomy under radiological control. In 1978, Arthur Smith, would describe the first antegrade stent placement when he introduced a Gibbons stent through a percutaneous nephrostomy in a patient with a reimplanted ureter. Dr. Smith would coin the term "endourology" to describe closed, controlled manipulation of the genitourinary tract. His collaboration with Kurt Amplatz, an interventional radiologist and medical inventor, would lead to numerous innovations that would further advance PCNL. In the 1980s the process of renal access and tract dilation was improved upon and the use of a rigid cystoscope was replaced by offset nephroscopes with a large straight working channel. Radiographic innovations, including improvements in fluoroscopy would further aid in renal access. The development of various lithotripsy devices and the introduction of the holmium laser improved the efficiency of stone fragmentation and clearance. The increased clinical experience and utilization of PCNL would lead to the characterization of stone-free rates and complications for the procedure. Serendipity, innovations in renal access, optics, radiology, and improvements in lithotripsy all contributed to the modern day PCNL.

How Can Sport Biomechanics Contribute to the Advance of World Record and Best Athletic Performance?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Li

2012-01-01

Modern history has evidence that sport biomechanics provide valuable contribution in the pursuit of "faster, higher, and stronger." In this article, the contribution of sport biomechanics to the Olympic Games has been divided into three different categories: improve the physical capacity of the athletes, develop innovative techniques in…

Applications of simulation technology in psychiatric mental health nursing education.

PubMed

Brown, J F

2008-10-01

The purpose of this paper is to review the use of simulation in education across the health professionals, to describe the development and implementation of innovative simulation techniques for an undergraduate psychiatric mental-health nursing course, and to identify lessons learned and future directions for successful simulation experiences in psychiatric nursing.

From Spectator to Composer: The Roses and Rocks in the Life of a Language Teacher

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsaiyan, Seyyedeh Fahimeh; Ghajar, Sue-San Ghahremani; Salahimoghaddam, Soheila; Janahmadi, Fatemeh

2016-01-01

The growing need for professional development requires the language teachers not to be mere consumers of commercial instructional materials or implementers of sets of mandated or recommended techniques, but to attempt to generate their own classroom materials, seek innovative pedagogical approaches, explore the contexts in which their designed…

Implementation and Assessment of a Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics Undergraduate Degree Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pham, Daphne Q. -D.; Higgs, David C.; Statham, Anne; Schleiter, Mary Kay

2008-01-01

The Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside has developed and implemented an innovative, multidisciplinary undergraduate curriculum in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics (MBB). The objective of the MBB program is to give students a hands-on facility with molecular biology theories and laboratory techniques, an…

Cooperative Learning Environment with the Web 2.0 Tool E-Portfolios

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Or Kan, Soh

2011-01-01

In recent years, the development of information and communication technology (ICT) in the world and Malaysia namely has created a significant impact on the methods of communicating information and knowledge to the learners and consequently, innovative teaching techniques have evolved to change the ways teachers teach and the ways students learn.…

Research with Children: Methodological Issues and Innovative Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fargas-Malet, Montserrat; McSherry, Dominic; Larkin, Emma; Robinson, Clive

2010-01-01

In the past few decades, a growing body of literature examining children's perspectives on their own lives has developed within a variety of disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, anthropology and geography. This article provides a brief up-to-date examination of methodological and ethical issues that researchers may need to consider when…

The Use of Theatrical Skits in Instructional Television Lectures: A Comparative Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koontz, F. R.; And Others

This study describes the development of an innovative instructional technique, peculiar to television, that presents information in a dramatic form through televised skits. Primary concerns of the project were the measurement of student attitudes toward receiving instructional television material in skit form, the measurement of the amount of…

Increasing Access to an ASD Imitation Intervention via a Telehealth Parent Training Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wainer, Allison L.; Ingersoll, Brooke R.

2015-01-01

Systematic research focused on developing and improving strategies for the dissemination and implementation of effective ASD services is essential. An innovative and promising area of research is the use of telehealth programs to train parents of children with ASD in intervention techniques. A hybrid telehealth program, combining self-directed…

New technology recipes include horseradish, vinegar, mushrooms

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

Bishop, J.

1995-08-01

Technology development for more effective environmental management continues to abound. This article contains some recent innovations in the following areas: wastewater treatment; site remediation; and air pollution control. In addition several emerging technologies address solid and hazardous waste management with techniques designed to reduce waste volume, recycle valuable materials and create new energy sources.

Windows into the Visual Brain: New Discoveries about the Visual System, Its Functions, and Implications for Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jan, James E.; Heaven, Roberta K. B.; Matsuba, Carey; Langley, M. Beth; Roman-Lantzy, Christine; Anthony, Tanni L

2013-01-01

Introduction: In recent years, major progress has been made in understanding the human visual system because of new investigative techniques. These developments often contradict older concepts about visual function. Methods: A detailed literature search and interprofessional discussions. Results: Recent innovative neurological tests are described…

Innovative Problems of Improving the Quality of Life of the Welfare State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Panachev, Valery D.

2016-01-01

Improvement of the population quality of life should be based on promoting healthy lifestyle, active physical exercises and sports activities as one of its main priorities. In order to facilitate the achievement of this priority, the author proposes management technique of complicated coordination movements in space in the development of…

Methodological Advances in the Study of Self-Concept.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Terrence J.

Critical review of previous techniques for the measurement of an individual's self-concept (SC) is a necessary prelude to the development of more adequate methodologies. This paper focuses on recent methodological innovations in the study of the self, namely, those derived from cognitive social psychology. A view of the self as a cognitive…

Using Tangible Companions for Enhancing Learning English Conversation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yi Hsuan; Young, Shelley S.-C.; Jang, Jyh-Shing Roger

2013-01-01

In this study, the researchers attempted to extend the concept of learning companions from the virtual world to the real physical environment and made a breakthrough in technique development of tangible learning robots. The aim of this study was to explore an innovative way by combining the speech recognition technology with educational robots in…

Development of an economical thin, quiet, long-lasting, high friction surface layer for economical use in Illinois, volume 2 : field construction, field testing, and engineering benefit analysis.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-03-01

This project provides techniques to improve hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlays specifically through the use of : special additives and innovative surfacing technologies with aggregates that are locally available in Illinois. The : ultimate goal is to imp...

Innovative Techniques for Studying New Materials and New Developments in Solid State Physics

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-09-14

acoustic resonators to study superfluid-filled silica aerogel , high Tc superconductors, and quasicrystals", to be published in J. Low Temp. Phys. 4. J. D...McKenna, and J. D. Maynard, "Using acoustic resonators to study superfluid-filled silica aerogel , high Tc superconductors, and quasicrystals", Symposium

Reading?...Pah! (I Got It!): Innovative Reading Techniques for Successful Deaf Readers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schimmel, Connie (Ruth) S.; Edwards, Sandra G.; Prickett, Hugh T.

1999-01-01

A reading program utilizing five components (a shortcut to phonemic awareness, Adapted Dolch words, Bridge lists and the Bridging process, reading comprehension, and American Sign Language development/language experience stories) resulted in dramatic gains in the reading levels of 48 elementary students at a residential school for the deaf.…

The health sciences communicator as faculty developer.

PubMed

Battles, J B; Kirk, L M; Dowell, D L; Frnka, S

1989-01-01

To determine the content for a model faculty development program for primary care faculty, a combination of the Delphi and Nominal Group Technique was used resulting in a curriculum with five units of instruction: development of curriculum and instruction, teaching methods, evaluation, administration, and academic survival skills. A philosophy for conducting faculty development is presented which includes concepts of andragogy, technology transfer, the diffusion of innovation, and networking. Program types include short-term, long-term, and extended programs such as fellowships.

Engine component instrumentation development facility at NASA Lewis Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruckner, Robert J.; Buggele, Alvin E.; Lepicovsky, Jan

1992-01-01

The Engine Components Instrumentation Development Facility at NASA Lewis is a unique aeronautics facility dedicated to the development of innovative instrumentation for turbine engine component testing. Containing two separate wind tunnels, the facility is capable of simulating many flow conditions found in most turbine engine components. This facility's broad range of capabilities as well as its versatility provide an excellent location for the development of novel testing techniques. These capabilities thus allow a more efficient use of larger and more complex engine component test facilities.

Innovative biomarkers in psychiatric disorders: a major clinical challenge in psychiatry.

PubMed

Lozupone, Madia; Seripa, Davide; Stella, Eleonora; La Montagna, Maddalena; Solfrizzi, Vincenzo; Quaranta, Nicola; Veneziani, Federica; Cester, Alberto; Sardone, Rodolfo; Bonfiglio, Caterina; Giannelli, Gianluigi; Bisceglia, Paola; Bringiotti, Roberto; Daniele, Antonio; Greco, Antonio; Bellomo, Antonello; Logroscino, Giancarlo; Panza, Francesco

2017-09-01

Currently, the diagnosis of psychiatric illnesses is based upon DSM-5 criteria. Although endophenotype-specificity for a particular disorder is discussed, the identification of objective biomarkers is ongoing for aiding diagnosis, prognosis, or clinical response to treatment. We need to improve the understanding of the biological abnormalities in psychiatric illnesses across conventional diagnostic boundaries. The present review investigates the innovative post-genomic knowledge used for psychiatric illness diagnostics and treatment response, with a particular focus on proteomics. Areas covered: This review underlines the contribution that psychiatric innovative biomarkers have reached in relation to diagnosis and theragnosis of psychiatric illnesses. Furthermore, it encompasses a reliable representation of their involvement in disease through proteomics, metabolomics/pharmacometabolomics and lipidomics techniques, including the possible role that gut microbiota and CYP2D6 polimorphisms may play in psychiatric illnesses. Expert opinion: Etiologic heterogeneity, variable expressivity, and epigenetics may impact clinical manifestations, making it difficult for a single measurement to be pathognomonic for multifaceted psychiatric disorders. Academic, industry, or government's partnerships may successfully identify and validate new biomarkers so that unfailing clinical tests can be developed. Proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics techniques are considered to be helpful tools beyond neuroimaging and neuropsychology for the phenotypic characterization of brain diseases.

Accelerating what works: using qualitative research methods in developing a change package for a learning collaborative.

PubMed

Sorensen, Asta V; Bernard, Shulamit L

2012-02-01

Learning (quality improvement) collaboratives are effective vehicles for driving coordinated organizational improvements. A central element of a learning collaborative is the change package-a catalogue of strategies, change concepts, and action steps that guide participants in their improvement efforts. Despite a vast literature describing learning collaboratives, little to no information is available on how the guiding strategies, change concepts, and action items are identified and developed to a replicable and actionable format that can be used to make measurable improvements within participating organizations. The process for developing the change package for the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative entailed environmental scan and identification of leading practices, case studies, interim debriefing meetings, data synthesis, and a technical expert panel meeting. Data synthesis involved end-of-day debriefings, systematic qualitative analyses, and the use of grounded theory and inductive data analysis techniques. This approach allowed systematic identification of innovative patient safety and clinical pharmacy practices that could be adopted in diverse environments. A case study approach enabled the research team to study practices in their natural environments. Use of grounded theory and inductive data analysis techniques enabled identification of strategies, change concepts, and actionable items that might not have been captured using different approaches. Use of systematic processes and qualitative methods in identification and translation of innovative practices can greatly accelerate the diffusion of innovations and practice improvements. This approach is effective whether or not an individual organization is part of a learning collaborative.

From Brainstorming to C-Sketch to Principles of Historical Innovators: Ideation Techniques to Enhance Student Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Christina; Wood, Kristin; Jensen, Dan

2012-01-01

The heart and soul of engineering is innovation and our ability to improve the human condition through design. To enrich engineering education, it is critical that we advance our teaching in innovation and design processes. This research focuses on the ideation component of innovation through the investigation of a suite of concept generation…

EC MoDeRn Project: In-situ Demonstration of Innovative Monitoring Technologies for Geological Disposal - 12053

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

Breen, B.J.; Garcia-Sineriz, J.L.; Maurer, H.

2012-07-01

Monitoring to provide information on the evolution of geological disposal presents several challenges. The 4-year, euros M 5, EC MoDeRn Project (http://www.modern-fp7.eu/), which commenced in 2009, addresses monitoring processes, state-of-the-art technology and innovative research and development of monitoring techniques. This paper discusses some of the key drivers for the development of innovative monitoring techniques and provides outlines of the demonstration programmes being conducted within MoDeRn. The aim is to develop these innovative monitoring techniques and to demonstrate them under realistic conditions present in underground laboratories. These demonstration projects, applying a range of different monitoring techniques, are being carried out atmore » underground research facilities in different geological environments at HADES URL in Belgium (plastic clay), Bure in France (indurated clay) and at Grimsel Test Site (granite) in Switzerland. These are either built upon existing infrastructure (EC ESDRED Low pH shotcrete and TEM experiments at Grimsel; and PRACLAY experiment and underground galleries in HADES) or will be attached to infrastructure that is being developed and financed by resources outside of this project (mock-up disposal cell in Bure). At Grimsel Test Site, cross-hole and hole-to-tunnel seismic methods are being employed as a means to monitor induced changes in an artificially saturated bentonite wall confined behind a shotcrete plug. Recognising the limitations for travel-time tomography for monitoring a disposal cell, full waveform inversion techniques are being employed to enhance the capacity to monitor remote from the excavation. At the same Grimsel location, an investigation will be conducted of the potential for using a high frequency wireless (HFW) sensor network embedded within the barrier system; this will include the possibility of providing energy remotely to isolated sensors. At the HADES URL, the monitoring programme will utilise the PRACLAY gallery equipped to simulate a disposal gallery for heat-generating high-level waste evaluating fibre-optic based sensing techniques, including distributed sensing for thermal distribution and long-term reliability in harsh conditions. It also includes the potential to improve the treatment of signals from micro-seismic monitoring to enable enhanced understanding of the evolution around the gallery following its excavation due to ventilation, saturation and heating, and to image a water-bearing concretion layer. HADES URL will also be used to test wireless techniques to transmit monitoring data from the underground to the surface. The main focus of this contribution is to evaluate magneto-inductive data transmission; and to optimise energy usage. At the Bure underground facility in France, monitoring systems have been developed and will be embedded into the steel liner for the mock-up high-level waste disposal tunnel. The aim of this programme is to establish the capacity to conduct integrated monitoring activities inside the disposal cell, on the cell liner and in the near-field and to assess the capability of the monitoring to withstand construction and liner emplacement procedures. These projects, which are supported by focused development and testing of the monitoring systems, will allow the testing of both the effectiveness of these techniques applied to disposal situations and to understand the limits of these monitoring technologies. This approach should also enhance the confidence of key stakeholders in the ability to understand/confirm the changes occurring within a disposal cell. In addition, remote or 'non-intrusive' monitoring technologies are evaluated to provide a means of enhancing understanding of what is occurring in an isolated disposal cell. The projects also test solutions for embedded monitoring systems in challenging (risk of damage) situations. The outputs from this work will lead to improved understanding of these state-of-the-art techniques and allow focused development of those techniques beneficial to future monitoring programmes. It is also planned, as part of the MoDeRn programme of stakeholder engagement to show some of these monitoring demonstrations to lay stakeholders in order to receive their feed-back on the approach taken and their views on the value of this work. This feedback will help improve our understanding of how this work and future work on monitoring can be more effectively communicated. (authors)« less

Energy Innovation Hubs: A Home for Scientific Collaboration

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

Chu, Steven

Secretary Chu will host a live, streaming Q&A session with the directors of the Energy Innovation Hubs on Tuesday, March 6, at 2:15 p.m. EST. The directors will be available for questions regarding their teams' work and the future of American energy. Ask your questions in the comments below, or submit them on Facebook, Twitter (@energy), or send an e-mail to newmedia@hq.doe.gov, prior or during the live event. Dr. Hank Foley is the director of the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings, which is pioneering new data intensive techniques for designing and operating energy efficient buildings, including advanced computermore » modeling. Dr. Douglas Kothe is the director of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, which uses powerful supercomputers to create "virtual" reactors that will help improve the safety and performance of both existing and new nuclear reactors. Dr. Nathan Lewis is the director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, which focuses on how to produce fuels from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. The Energy Innovation Hubs are major integrated research centers, with researchers from many different institutions and technical backgrounds. Each hub is focused on a specific high priority goal, rapidly accelerating scientific discoveries and shortening the path from laboratory innovation to technological development and commercial deployment of critical energy technologies. Ask your questions in the comments below, or submit them on Facebook, Twitter (@energy), or send an e-mail to newmedia@energy.gov, prior or during the live event. The Energy Innovation Hubs are major integrated research centers, with researchers from many different institutions and technical backgrounds. Each Hub is focused on a specific high priority goal, rapidly accelerating scientific discoveries and shortening the path from laboratory innovation to technological development and commercial deployment of critical energy technologies. Dr. Hank Holey is the director of the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings, which is pioneering new data intensive techniques for designing and operating energy efficient buildings, including advanced computer modeling. Dr. Douglas Kothe is the director of the Modeling and Simulation for Nuclear Reactors Hub, which uses powerful supercomputers to create "virtual" reactors that will help improve the safety and performance of both existing and new nuclear reactors. Dr. Nathan Lewis is the director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis Hub, which focuses on how to produce biofuels from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.« less

Energy Innovation Hubs: A Home for Scientific Collaboration

ScienceCinema

Chu, Steven

2017-12-11

Secretary Chu will host a live, streaming Q&A session with the directors of the Energy Innovation Hubs on Tuesday, March 6, at 2:15 p.m. EST. The directors will be available for questions regarding their teams' work and the future of American energy. Ask your questions in the comments below, or submit them on Facebook, Twitter (@energy), or send an e-mail to newmedia@hq.doe.gov, prior or during the live event. Dr. Hank Foley is the director of the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings, which is pioneering new data intensive techniques for designing and operating energy efficient buildings, including advanced computer modeling. Dr. Douglas Kothe is the director of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, which uses powerful supercomputers to create "virtual" reactors that will help improve the safety and performance of both existing and new nuclear reactors. Dr. Nathan Lewis is the director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, which focuses on how to produce fuels from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. The Energy Innovation Hubs are major integrated research centers, with researchers from many different institutions and technical backgrounds. Each hub is focused on a specific high priority goal, rapidly accelerating scientific discoveries and shortening the path from laboratory innovation to technological development and commercial deployment of critical energy technologies. Ask your questions in the comments below, or submit them on Facebook, Twitter (@energy), or send an e-mail to newmedia@energy.gov, prior or during the live event. The Energy Innovation Hubs are major integrated research centers, with researchers from many different institutions and technical backgrounds. Each Hub is focused on a specific high priority goal, rapidly accelerating scientific discoveries and shortening the path from laboratory innovation to technological development and commercial deployment of critical energy technologies. Dr. Hank Holey is the director of the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings, which is pioneering new data intensive techniques for designing and operating energy efficient buildings, including advanced computer modeling. Dr. Douglas Kothe is the director of the Modeling and Simulation for Nuclear Reactors Hub, which uses powerful supercomputers to create "virtual" reactors that will help improve the safety and performance of both existing and new nuclear reactors. Dr. Nathan Lewis is the director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis Hub, which focuses on how to produce biofuels from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.

Completing the puzzle: AOLI full-commissioning fresh results and AIV innovations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velasco, S.; Colodro-Conde, C.; López, R. L.; Oscoz, A.; Valdivia, J. J. F.; Rebolo, R.; Femenía, B.; King, D. L.; Labadie, L.; Mackay, C.; Muthusubramanian, B.; Pérez-Garrido, A.; Puga, M.; Rodríguez-Coira, G.; Rodríguez-Ramos, L. F.; Rodríguez-Ramos, J. M.

2017-03-01

The Adaptive Optics Lucky Imager (AOLI) is a new instrument designed to combine adaptive optics (AO) and lucky imaging (LI) techniques to deliver high spatial resolution in the visible, about 20 mas, from ground-based telescopes. Here we present details of the integration and verification phases explaining the defiance that we have faced and the innovative and versatile solution of modular integration for each of its subsystems that we have developed. Modularity seems a clue key for opto-mechanical integration success in the extremely-big telescopes era. We present here the very fresh preliminary results after its first fully-working observing run on the WHT.

Managing Innovation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Ronald V.

The management of innovation in instruction in English as a second language can benefit from the experience and techniques of management in the world of commerce as well as from theories and procedures in education. A systematic approach to the management of innovation emphasizes the importance of clearly defined objectives, evaluation that…

Trends in polymeric electrospun fibers and their use as oral biomaterials.

PubMed

Meireles, Agnes B; Corrêa, Daniella K; da Silveira, João Vw; Millás, Ana Lg; Bittencourt, Edison; de Brito-Melo, Gustavo Ea; González-Torres, Libardo A

2018-05-01

Electrospinning is one of the techniques to produce structured polymeric fibers in the micro or nano scale and to generate novel materials for biomedical proposes. Electrospinning versatility provides fibers that could support different surgical and rehabilitation treatments. However, its diversity in equipment assembly, polymeric materials, and functional molecules to be incorporated in fibers result in profusion of recent biomaterials that are not fully explored, even though the recognized relevance of the technique. The present article describes the main electrospun polymeric materials used in oral applications, and the main aspects and parameters of the technique. Natural and synthetic polymers, blends, and composites were identified from the available literature and recent developments. Main applications of electrospun fibers were focused on drug delivery systems, tissue regeneration, and material reinforcement or modification, although studies require further investigation in order to enable direct use in human. Current and potential usages as biomaterials for oral applications must motivate the development in the use of electrospinning as an efficient method to produce highly innovative biomaterials, over the next few years. Impact statement Nanotechnology is a challenge for many researchers that look for obtaining different materials behaviors by modifying characteristics at a very low scale. Thus, the production of nanostructured materials represents a very important field in bioengineering, in which the electrospinning technique appears as a suitable alternative. This review discusses and provides further explanation on this versatile technique to produce novel polymeric biomaterials for oral applications. The use of electrospun fibers is incipient in oral areas, mainly because of the unfamiliarity with the technique. Provided disclosure, possibilities and state of the art are aimed at supporting interested researchers to better choose proper materials, understand, and design new experiments. This work seeks to encourage many other researchers-Dentists, Biologists, Engineers, Pharmacists-to develop innovative materials from different polymers. We highlight synthetic and natural polymers as trends in treatments to motivate an advance in the worldwide discussion and exploration of this interdisciplinary field.

Innovation and social transmission in experimental micro-societies: exploring the scope of cumulative culture in young children.

PubMed

McGuigan, Nicola; Burdett, Emily; Burgess, Vanessa; Dean, Lewis; Lucas, Amanda; Vale, Gillian; Whiten, Andrew

2017-12-05

The experimental study of cumulative culture and the innovations essential to it is a young science, with child studies so rare that the scope of cumulative cultural capacities in childhood remains largely unknown. Here we report a new experimental approach to the inherent complexity of these phenomena. Groups of 3-4-year-old children were presented with an elaborate array of challenges affording the potential cumulative development of a variety of techniques to gain increasingly attractive rewards. In contrast to a prior study, we found evidence for elementary forms of cumulative cultural progress, with inventions of solutions at lower levels spreading to become shared innovations, and some children then building on these to create more advanced but more rewarding innovations. This contrasted with markedly more constrained progress when children worked only by themselves, or if groups faced only the highest-level challenges from the start. Further experiments that introduced higher-level inventions via the inclusion of older children, or that created ecological change, with the easiest habitual solutions no longer possible, encouraged higher levels of cumulative innovation. Our results show children are not merely 'cultural sponges', but when acting in groups, display the beginnings of cycles of innovation and observational learning that sustain cumulative progress in problem solving.This article is part of the themed issue 'Process and pattern in innovations from cells to societies'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Integration of optical measurement methods with flight parameter measurement systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopecki, Grzegorz; Rzucidlo, Pawel

2016-05-01

During the AIM (advanced in-flight measurement techniques) and AIM2 projects, innovative modern techniques were developed. The purpose of the AIM project was to develop optical measurement techniques dedicated for flight tests. Such methods give information about aircraft elements deformation, thermal loads or pressure distribution, etc. In AIM2 the development of optical methods for flight testing was continued. In particular, this project aimed at the development of methods that could be easily applied in flight tests in an industrial setting. Another equally important task was to guarantee the synchronization of the classical measuring system with cameras. The PW-6U glider used in flight tests was provided by the Rzeszów University of Technology. The glider had all the equipment necessary for testing the IPCT (image pattern correlation technique) and IRT (infrared thermometry) methods. Additionally, equipment adequate for the measurement of typical flight parameters, registration and analysis has been developed. This article describes the designed system, as well as presenting the system’s application during flight tests. Additionally, the results obtained in flight tests show certain limitations of the IRT method as applied.

The "All-Inside" Arthroscopic Broström Procedure Augmented With a Proximal Suture Anchor: An Innovative Technique.

PubMed

Cottom, James M; Richardson, Phillip E

Arthroscopic treatments of chronic lateral ankle stability have been reported in the literature. The authors report on an innovative technique augmenting the "All- Inside" Arthroscopic Broström procedure with an additional suture anchor. Copyright © 2016 American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Community Schools in Ohio: Implementation Issues and Impact on Ohio's Education System. Volume I.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio State Legislative Office of Education Oversight, Columbus.

Community schools were created in Ohio to provide additional educational options for children in low-performing schools and to develop innovative teaching and management techniques that may be transferable to traditional public schools. In 1997 the Ohio General Assembly required the Legislative Office of Education Oversight (LOEO) to evaluate the…

Systematic Image Based Optical Alignment and Tensegrity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zeiders, Glenn W.; Montgomery, Edward E, IV (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This presentation will review the objectives and current status of two Small Business Innovative Research being performed by the Sirius Group, under the direction of MSFC. They all relate to the development of advanced optical systems technologies for automated segmented mirror alignment techniques and fundamental design methodologies for ultralight structures. These are important to future astronomical missions in space.

Developing Employability Skills in Information System Graduates: Traditional vs. Innovative Teaching Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osmani, Mohamad; Hindi, Nitham M.; Weerakkody, Vishanth

2018-01-01

It is widely acknowledged that traditional teaching methods such as lectures, textbooks and case study techniques on their own are not adequate to improving the most in-demand employability skills for graduates. The aim of this article is to explore the potential impact that novel learning and teaching methods can have on improving the…

A Psychosynthesis Approach to the Use of Mental Imagery with Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Michael H.

1997-01-01

States that the techniques of mental imagery can help adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse access the inner wisdom necessary to identify, understand, and creatively address issues from the past and develop new and healthier patterns of thinking and behaving. Documents the innovative ways psychosynthesis uses mental imagery with this client…

TRAC Innovative Visualization Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-14

Therefore, TRAC analysts need a way to analyze the effectiveness of their visualization design choices. Currently, TRAC does not have a methodology ...to analyze visualizations used to support an analysis story. Our research team developed a visualization design methodology to create effective...visualizations that support an analysis story. First, we based our methodology on the latest research on design thinking, cognitive learning, and

An Innovative Plant Genomics and Gene Annotation Program for High School, Community College, and University Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hacisalihoglu, Gokhan; Hilgert, Uwe; Nash, E. Bruce; Micklos, David A.

2008-01-01

Today's biology educators face the challenge of training their students in modern molecular biology techniques including genomics and bioinformatics. The Dolan DNA Learning Center (DNALC) of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has developed and disseminated a bench- and computer-based plant genomics curriculum for biology faculty. In 2007, a five-day…

2014 Summer Series - Kristin Yvonne Rozier - No More Helicopter Parenting: Intelligent Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-06-10

Safety is NASA's top priority! The search for innovative new ways to validate and verify is vital for the development of safety-critical systems. Such techniques have been successfully used to assure systems for air traffic control, airplane separation assurance, autopilots, logic designs, medical devices, and other functions that ensure human safety.

Updating Assessment Styles: Website Development Rather than Report Writing for Project Based Learning Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Nicola

2017-01-01

While teaching methods tend to be updated frequently, the implementation of new innovative assessment tools is much slower. For example project based learning has become popular as a teaching technique, however, the assessment tends to be via traditional reports. This paper reports on the implementation and evaluation of using website development…

On-line biofilm monitoring by "BIOX" electrochemical probe.

PubMed

Mollica, A; Cristiani, P

2003-01-01

The innovative electrochemical monitoring probe (BIOX) recently developed to improve the antifouling treatments of cooling systems in industrial plants is presented. On the basis of the good results obtained from applications on marine sites, some research has been stated to validate this technique in biofilm growth and prevention of microbial corrosion in fresh and drinking waters.

Cultural Practices in Making of Installation Art: A New Perspective to Preparing Future Art Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Li-Tsu

In Taiwan, traditional pedagogy and technique-oriented teaching methods have become too outdated to enable students to fight with a society full of complicated and confusing socio-cultural phenomena. An art education curriculum change is needed, and innovative art programs should be developed with careful consideration of the socio-cultural…

[Clinical Application of Analytical and Medical Instruments Mainly Using MS Techniques].

PubMed

Tanaka, Koichi

2016-02-01

Analytical instruments for clinical use are commonly required to confirm the compounds and forms related to diseases with the highest possible sensitivity, quantitative performance, and specificity and minimal invasiveness within a short time, easily, and at a low cost. Advancements of technical innovation for Mass Spectrometer (MS) have led to techniques that meet such requirements. Besides confirming known substances, other purposes and advantages of MS that are not fully known to the public are using MS as a tool to discover unknown phenomena and compounds. An example is clarifying the mechanisms of human diseases. The human body has approximately 100 thousand types of protein, and there may be more than several million types of protein and their metabolites. Most of them have yet to be discovered, and their discovery may give birth to new academic fields and lead to the clarification of diseases, development of new medicines, etc. For example, using the MS system developed under "Contribution to drug discovery and diagnosis by next generation of advanced mass spectrometry system," one of the 30 projects of the "Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology" (FIRST program), and other individual basic technologies, we succeeded in discovering new disease biomarker candidates for Alzheimer's disease, cancer, etc. Further contribution of MS to clinical medicine can be expected through the development and improvement of new techniques, efforts to verify discoveries, and communications with the medical front.

Innovation Abstracts; Volume XIV, 1992.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

1992-01-01

This series of 30 one- to two-page abstracts covering 1992 highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) faculty recognition and orientation; (2) the Amado M. Pena, Jr., Scholarship Program; (3) innovative teaching techniques, with individual abstracts…

Celebrating Two Decades of Innovation, 1968-1988.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Gregory, Ed.

An interpretive overview is provided of the innovative instructional and managerial techniques implemented by the 16 member colleges of the League for Innovation in the Community College between 1968 and 1988. Chapter 1 reviews the origins and history of the League, highlighting its early (1968-75) emphasis on curriculum and instructional…

Status and Trend of Automotive Power Packaging

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

Liang, Zhenxian

2012-01-01

Comprehensive requirements in aspects of cost, reliability, efficiency, form factor, weight, and volume for power electronics modules in modern electric drive vehicles have driven the development of automotive power packaging technology intensively. Innovation in materials, interconnections, and processing techniques is leading to enormous improvements in power modules. In this paper, the technical development of and trends in power module packaging are evaluated by examining technical details with examples of industrial products. The issues and development directions for future automotive power module packaging are also discussed.

Dual-energy contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM).

PubMed

Daniaux, Martin; De Zordo, Tobias; Santner, Wolfram; Amort, Birgit; Koppelstätter, Florian; Jaschke, Werner; Dromain, Clarisse; Oberaigner, Willi; Hubalek, Michael; Marth, Christian

2015-10-01

Dual-energy contrast-enhanced mammography is one of the latest developments in breast care. Imaging with contrast agents in breast cancer was already known from previous magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography studies. However, high costs, limited availability-or high radiation dose-led to the development of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM). We reviewed the current literature, present our experience, discuss the advantages and drawbacks of CESM and look at the future of this innovative technique.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program FY 1991. Program Solicitation 91.1

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-10-01

battlefield. Technological advances in the development of broadband ECM,ECCM and ESM are required. Multispectral Sensor Technology needs to be developed...such as missiles, aircraft, ground vehicles, artillery and high value assets should be addressed. Smart munitions ECM techniques must be as broadband as... Broadband W-band and Higher RF Medium Power Amplifier NAVAL TRAINING SYSTEMS CENTER N91- 35 High Definition TV Projection Via Single Crystal CRT

Examining the articulation of innovativeness in co-creative firms: a neural network approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Tollo, Giacomo; Tanev, Stoyan

2010-10-01

Value co-creation is an emerging marketing and innovation paradigm describing a broader opening of the firm to its customers by providing them with the opportunity to become active participants in the design and development of personalized products, services and experiences. The aim of the present contribution is to provide preliminary results from a research project focusing on the relationship between value co-creation and the perception of innovation in technology-driven firms. The data was collected in a previous study using web search techniques and factor analysis to identify the key co-creation components and the frequency of firms' online comments about their new products, processes and services. The present work focuses on using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approach to understand if the extent of value co-creation activities can be thought of as an indicator of the perception of innovation. The preliminary simulation results indicate the existence of such relationship. The ANN approach does not suggest a specific model but the relationship that was found out between the forecasted values of the perception of innovation and its actual values clearly points in this direction.

Examining the articulation of innovativeness in co-creative firms: a neural network approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Tollo, Giacomo; Tanev, Stoyan

2011-03-01

Value co-creation is an emerging marketing and innovation paradigm describing a broader opening of the firm to its customers by providing them with the opportunity to become active participants in the design and development of personalized products, services and experiences. The aim of the present contribution is to provide preliminary results from a research project focusing on the relationship between value co-creation and the perception of innovation in technology-driven firms. The data was collected in a previous study using web search techniques and factor analysis to identify the key co-creation components and the frequency of firms' online comments about their new products, processes and services. The present work focuses on using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approach to understand if the extent of value co-creation activities can be thought of as an indicator of the perception of innovation. The preliminary simulation results indicate the existence of such relationship. The ANN approach does not suggest a specific model but the relationship that was found out between the forecasted values of the perception of innovation and its actual values clearly points in this direction.

Can you teach an old parrot new tricks? Cognitive development in wild kaka (Nestor meridionalis)

PubMed Central

Shaw, Rachael C.; Burns, Kevin C.

2016-01-01

Despite recent efforts to characterize innovative individuals within a species, we still know very little about the ontogeny of innovation ability. A number of studies have found that innovation rates are correlated with personality traits, such as neophilia and exploration. Juvenile birds are frequently more neophilic and explorative, yet few studies have found evidence of age-related differences in innovative problem-solving success. Here, we show consistently higher innovation efficiency in juveniles of a wild, omnivorous parrot species across a variety of tasks and contexts. We tested 104 kaka (Nestor meridionalis), ranging in age from four months to 13 years. Twenty-four individuals participated in all three of our problem-solving tasks, two of which involved a familiar feeder and one an entirely novel apparatus. Juveniles were the most efficient problem-solvers in all three tasks. By contrast, the adults’ success was context dependent and limited to the novel apparatus, which did not require modification of a pre-learned behavioural response. This suggests greater behavioural flexibility in the juvenile birds, who also showed higher persistence and exploratory diversity than adults. These traits may enable young kaka to discover efficient foraging techniques, which are then maintained throughout adulthood. PMID:27252018

Disseminating educational innovations in health care practice: training versus social networks.

PubMed

Jippes, Erik; Achterkamp, Marjolein C; Brand, Paul L P; Kiewiet, Derk Jan; Pols, Jan; van Engelen, Jo M L

2010-05-01

Improvements and innovation in health service organization and delivery have become more and more important due to the gap between knowledge and practice, rising costs, medical errors, and the organization of health care systems. Since training and education is widely used to convey and distribute innovative initiatives, we examined the effect that following an intensive Teach-the-Teacher training had on the dissemination of a new structured competency-based feedback technique of assessing clinical competencies among medical specialists in the Netherlands. We compared this with the effect of the structure of the social network of medical specialists, specifically the network tie strength (strong ties versus weak ties). We measured dissemination of the feedback technique by using a questionnaire filled in by Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics residents (n=63). Data on network tie strength was gathered with a structured questionnaire given to medical specialists (n=81). Social network analysis was used to compose the required network coefficients. We found a strong effect for network tie strength and no effect for the Teach-the-Teacher training course on the dissemination of the new structured feedback technique. This paper shows the potential that social networks have for disseminating innovations in health service delivery and organization. Further research is needed into the role and structure of social networks on the diffusion of innovations between departments and the various types of innovations involved. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Progress in imaging techniques].

PubMed

Mishima, Kazuaki; Otsuka, Tsukasa

2013-05-01

Today it is common to perform real-time diagnosis and treatment via live broadcast as a method of education and to spread new technology for diagnosis and therapy in medical fields. Live medical broadcasts have developed along with broadcast technology. In the early days, live video feeds were sent from operating rooms to classrooms and lecture halls in universities and hospitals. However, the development of imaging techniques and communication networks enabled live broadcasts that bi-directionally link operating rooms and meeting halls during scientific meetings and live demonstration courses. Live broadcasts therefore became an important method for education and the dissemination of new medical technologies. The development of imaging techniques has contributed to more realistic live broadcasts through such innovative techniques as three-dimensional viewing and higher-definition 4K technology. In the future, live broadcasts will be transmitted on personal computers using regular Internet connections. In addition to the enhancement of image delivery technology, it will also be necessary to examine the entire image delivery environment carefully, including issues of security and privacy of personal information.

Preliminary Evaluation of BIM-based Approaches for Schedule Delay Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chou, Hui-Yu; Yang, Jyh-Bin

2017-10-01

The problem of schedule delay commonly occurs in construction projects. The quality of delay analysis depends on the availability of schedule-related information and delay evidence. More information used in delay analysis usually produces more accurate and fair analytical results. How to use innovative techniques to improve the quality of schedule delay analysis results have received much attention recently. As Building Information Modeling (BIM) technique has been quickly developed, using BIM and 4D simulation techniques have been proposed and implemented. Obvious benefits have been achieved especially in identifying and solving construction consequence problems in advance of construction. This study preforms an intensive literature review to discuss the problems encountered in schedule delay analysis and the possibility of using BIM as a tool in developing a BIM-based approach for schedule delay analysis. This study believes that most of the identified problems can be dealt with by BIM technique. Research results could be a fundamental of developing new approaches for resolving schedule delay disputes.

Active Control Technology at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Antcliff, Richard R.; McGowan, Anna-Marie R.

2000-01-01

NASA Langley has a long history of attacking important technical opportunities from a broad base of supporting disciplines. The research and development at Langley in this subject area range from the test tube to the test flight. The information covered here will range from the development of innovative new materials, sensors and actuators, to the incorporation of smart sensors and actuators in practical devices, to the optimization of the location of these devices, to, finally, a wide variety of applications of these devices utilizing Langley's facilities and expertise. Advanced materials are being developed for sensors and actuators, as well as polymers for integrating smart devices into composite structures. Contributions reside in three key areas: computational materials; advanced piezoelectric materials; and integrated composite structures. The computational materials effort is focused on developing predictive tools for the efficient design of new materials with the appropriate combination of properties for next generation smart airframe systems. Research in the area of advanced piezoelectrics includes optimizing the efficiency, force output, use temperature, and energy transfer between the structure and device for both ceramic and polymeric materials. For structural health monitoring, advanced non-destructive techniques including fiber optics are being developed for detection of delaminations, cracks and environmental deterioration in aircraft structures. The computational materials effort is focused on developing predictive tools for the efficient design of new materials with the appropriate combination of properties for next generation smart airframe system. Innovative fabrication techniques processing structural composites with sensor and actuator integration are being developed.

[Innovative therapeutic strategies for intravesical drug administration].

PubMed

Moch, C; Salmon, D; Rome, P; Marginean, R; Pivot, C; Colombel, M; Pirot, F

2013-05-01

Perspectives for innovative pharmaceutical molecules and intravesical administration of pharmacological agents are presented in the present review carried out from a recent literature. This review of the literature was built by using the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases running 20keywords revealing 34publications between 1983 and 2012. The number of referenced articles on ScienceDirect has increased in recent years, highlighting the interest of scientists for intravesical drug administration and the relevance of innovating drug delivery systems. Different modalities of intravesical administration using physical (e.g., iontophoresis, electroporation) or chemical techniques (e.g., enzyme, solvent, nanoparticles, liposomes, hydrogels) based on novel formulation methods are reported. Finally, the development of biopharmaceuticals (e.g., bacillus Calmette-Guérin, interferon α) and gene therapies is also presented and analyzed in this review. The present review exhibits new development in the pipeline for emerging intravesical drug administration strategies. Knowledge of all these therapies allows practitioners to propose a specific and tailored treatment to each patient with limiting systemic side effects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Enabling Spacecraft Formation Flying in Any Earth Orbit Through Spaceborne GPS and Enhanced Autonomy Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, F. H.; Bristow, J. O.; Carpenter, J. R.; Garrison, J. L.; Hartman, K. R.; Lee, T.; Long, A. C.; Kelbel, D.; Lu, V.; How, J. P.;

Computer-Enhanced Visual Learning Method: A Paradigm to Teach and Document Surgical Skills

PubMed Central

Maizels, Max; Mickelson, Jennie; Yerkes, Elizabeth; Maizels, Evelyn; Stork, Rachel; Young, Christine; Corcoran, Julia; Holl, Jane; Kaplan, William E.

2009-01-01

Innovation Changes in health care are stimulating residency training programs to develop new methods for teaching surgical skills. We developed Computer-Enhanced Visual Learning (CEVL) as an innovative Internet-based learning and assessment tool. The CEVL method uses the educational procedures of deliberate practice and performance to teach and learn surgery in a stylized manner. Aim of Innovation CEVL is a learning and assessment tool that can provide students and educators with quantitative feedback on learning a specific surgical procedure. Methods involved examine quantitative data of improvement in surgical skills. Herein, we qualitatively describe the method and show how program directors (PDs) may implement this technique in their residencies. Results CEVL allows an operation to be broken down into teachable components. The process relies on feedback and remediation to improve performance, with a focus on learning that is applicable to the next case being performed. CEVL has been shown to be effective for teaching pediatric orchiopexy and is being adapted to additional adult and pediatric procedures and to office examination skills. The CEVL method is available to other residency training programs. PMID:21975716

Medical simulation technology: educational overview, industry leaders, and what's missing.

PubMed

Spooner, Nicholas; Hurst, Stephen; Khadra, Mohamed

2012-01-01

Modern medical simulation technology (MST) debuted in 1960 with the development of Resusci Annie (Laerdal 2007), which assisted students in the acquisition of proper ventilation and compression techniques used during basic life support. Following a steady stream of subsequent technological advances and innovations, MST manufacturers are now able to offer training aids capable of facilitating innovative learning in such diverse areas as human patient simulators, simulated clinical environments, virtual procedure stations, virtual medical environments, electronic tutors, and performance recording. The authors list a number of the most popular MSTs presently available while citing evaluative efforts undertaken to date regarding the efficacy of MST to the medical profession. They conclude by proposing a variety of simulation innovations of prospective interest to both medical and technology personnel while offering healthcare administrators a series of recommended considerations when planning to integrate MST into existing medical systems.

Research progress on the brewing techniques of new-type rice wine.

PubMed

Jiao, Aiquan; Xu, Xueming; Jin, Zhengyu

2017-01-15

As a traditional alcoholic beverage, Chinese rice wine (CRW) with high nutritional value and unique flavor has been popular in China for thousands of years. Although traditional production methods had been used without change for centuries, numerous technological innovations in the last decades have greatly impacted on the CRW industry. However, reviews related to the technology research progress in this field are relatively few. This article aimed at providing a brief summary of the recent developments in the new brewing technologies for making CRW. Based on the comparison between the conventional methods and the innovative technologies of CRW brewing, three principal aspects were summarized and sorted, including the innovation of raw material pretreatment, the optimization of fermentation and the reform of sterilization technology. Furthermore, by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, various issues are addressed related to the prospect of the CRW industry. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technological innovations in surgical approach for thyroid cancer.

PubMed

Lang, Brian Hung-Hin; Lo, Chung-Yau

2010-01-01

Over the last decade, surgeons have witnessed dramatic changes in surgical practice as a result of the introduction of new technological advancement. Some of these changes include refinement of techniques in thyroid cancer surgery. The development of various endoscopic thyroidectomy techniques, the addition of the da Vinci robot, and the use of operative adjuncts in thyroid surgery, such as intraoperative neuromonitoring and quick intraoperative parathyroid hormone, have made thyroid cancer surgery not only safer and better accepted by patients with thyroid cancer but also offer them more surgical treatment options.

Utilization of Innovations and Techniques of Educational Technology in Delivering of Educational Practicum and Its Impact on Increasing Academic Achievement among Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibrahim, Hatim G.

2017-01-01

The current study aims to identify the utilization of innovations and techniques of educational technology in teaching of educational practicum and its impact on increasing academic achievement among pre-service teachers. The study sample consisted of (60) pre-service teachers (student teachers) randomly selected from public middle and secondary…

Numerical simulations of mechanical properties of innovative pothole patching materials featuring high toughness, low viscosity nano-molecular resins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, K. Y.; Yuan, W.; Ju, J. W.; Yang, J. M.; Kao, W.; Carlson, L.

2012-04-01

As asphalt pavements age and deteriorate, recurring pothole repair failures and propagating alligator cracks in the asphalt pavements have become a serious issue to our daily life and resulted in high repairing costs for pavement and vehicles. To solve this urgent issue, pothole repair materials with superior durability and long service life are needed. In the present work, revolutionary pothole patching materials with high toughness, high fatigue resistance that are reinforced with nano-molecular resins have been developed to enhance their resistance to traffic loads and service life of repaired potholes. In particular, DCPD resin (dicyclopentadiene, C10H12) with a Rhuthinium-based catalyst is employed to develop controlled properties that are compatible with aggregates and asphalt binders. In this paper, a multi-level numerical micromechanics-based model is developed to predict the mechanical properties of these innovative nanomolecular resin reinforced pothole patching materials. Coarse aggregates in the finite element analysis are modeled as irregular shapes through image processing techniques and randomly-dispersed coated particles. The overall properties of asphalt mastic, which consists of fine aggregates, asphalt binder, cured DCPD and air voids are theoretically estimated by the homogenization technique of micromechanics. Numerical predictions are compared with suitably designed experimental laboratory results.

Concurrent Probabilistic Simulation of High Temperature Composite Structural Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abdi, Frank

1996-01-01

A computational structural/material analysis and design tool which would meet industry's future demand for expedience and reduced cost is presented. This unique software 'GENOA' is dedicated to parallel and high speed analysis to perform probabilistic evaluation of high temperature composite response of aerospace systems. The development is based on detailed integration and modification of diverse fields of specialized analysis techniques and mathematical models to combine their latest innovative capabilities into a commercially viable software package. The technique is specifically designed to exploit the availability of processors to perform computationally intense probabilistic analysis assessing uncertainties in structural reliability analysis and composite micromechanics. The primary objectives which were achieved in performing the development were: (1) Utilization of the power of parallel processing and static/dynamic load balancing optimization to make the complex simulation of structure, material and processing of high temperature composite affordable; (2) Computational integration and synchronization of probabilistic mathematics, structural/material mechanics and parallel computing; (3) Implementation of an innovative multi-level domain decomposition technique to identify the inherent parallelism, and increasing convergence rates through high- and low-level processor assignment; (4) Creating the framework for Portable Paralleled architecture for the machine independent Multi Instruction Multi Data, (MIMD), Single Instruction Multi Data (SIMD), hybrid and distributed workstation type of computers; and (5) Market evaluation. The results of Phase-2 effort provides a good basis for continuation and warrants Phase-3 government, and industry partnership.

Progress in Exosome Isolation Techniques

PubMed Central

Li, Pin; Kaslan, Melisa; Lee, Sze Han; Yao, Justin; Gao, Zhiqiang

2017-01-01

Exosomes are one type of membrane vesicles secreted into extracellular space by most types of cells. In addition to performing many biological functions particularly in cell-cell communication, cumulative evidence has suggested that several biological entities in exosomes like proteins and microRNAs are closely associated with the pathogenesis of most human malignancies and they may serve as invaluable biomarkers for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy. This provides a commanding impetus and growing demands for simple, efficient, and affordable techniques to isolate exosomes. Capitalizing on the physicochemical and biochemical properties of exosomes, a number of techniques have been developed for the isolation of exosomes. This article summarizes the advances in exosome isolation techniques with an emphasis on their isolation mechanism, performance, challenges, and prospects. We hope that this article will provide an overview of exosome isolation techniques, opening up new perspectives towards the development more innovative strategies and devices for more time saving, cost effective, and efficient isolations of exosomes from a wide range of biological matrices. PMID:28255367

Progress in Exosome Isolation Techniques.

PubMed

Li, Pin; Kaslan, Melisa; Lee, Sze Han; Yao, Justin; Gao, Zhiqiang

2017-01-01

Exosomes are one type of membrane vesicles secreted into extracellular space by most types of cells. In addition to performing many biological functions particularly in cell-cell communication, cumulative evidence has suggested that several biological entities in exosomes like proteins and microRNAs are closely associated with the pathogenesis of most human malignancies and they may serve as invaluable biomarkers for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy. This provides a commanding impetus and growing demands for simple, efficient, and affordable techniques to isolate exosomes. Capitalizing on the physicochemical and biochemical properties of exosomes, a number of techniques have been developed for the isolation of exosomes. This article summarizes the advances in exosome isolation techniques with an emphasis on their isolation mechanism, performance, challenges, and prospects. We hope that this article will provide an overview of exosome isolation techniques, opening up new perspectives towards the development more innovative strategies and devices for more time saving, cost effective, and efficient isolations of exosomes from a wide range of biological matrices.

Reconfigurable Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) Processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Velev, Miroslav N.

2015-01-01

Future NASA missions will depend on radiation-hardened, power-efficient processing systems-on-a-chip (SOCs) that consist of a range of processor cores custom tailored for space applications. Aries Design Automation, LLC, has developed a processing SOC that is optimized for software-defined radio (SDR) uses. The innovation implements the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) RazorII voltage management technique, a microarchitectural mechanism that allows processor cores to self-monitor, self-analyze, and selfheal after timing errors, regardless of their cause (e.g., radiation; chip aging; variations in the voltage, frequency, temperature, or manufacturing process). This highly automated SOC can also execute legacy PowerPC 750 binary code instruction set architecture (ISA), which is used in the flight-control computers of many previous NASA space missions. In developing this innovation, Aries Design Automation has made significant contributions to the fields of formal verification of complex pipelined microprocessors and Boolean satisfiability (SAT) and has developed highly efficient electronic design automation tools that hold promise for future developments.

The innovative landscape design on the old dense area based on community participation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soemardiono, B.; Rachmawati, M.

2018-03-01

Kembang Jepun area on the east side of the Kali Mas extends to the edge of the river. Along with the development of the city, Kembang Jepun denser, and these districts are facing some issues with limited landscape elements such as land and water elements, lacking in vegetation element in the settlement and services area, and non-optimal streetscape arrangement in the historic town and make the old city less attractive. In the other side, this historic section of the city has the great potential to be developed in order to support the economic developments of the city. Large Scale Intervention is the method of collaboration in developing area which possesses the meaning in the sustainable urban development. So community involvement is an important key factor in the design process and implementation as well as the type of participation and the technique of the process. The expected result of this paper is how to develop the innovative landscape design in the developing old dense area of Kembang Jepun based on community participation.

Towards automating the discovery of certain innovative design principles through a clustering-based optimization technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandaru, Sunith; Deb, Kalyanmoy

2011-09-01

In this article, a methodology is proposed for automatically extracting innovative design principles which make a system or process (subject to conflicting objectives) optimal using its Pareto-optimal dataset. Such 'higher knowledge' would not only help designers to execute the system better, but also enable them to predict how changes in one variable would affect other variables if the system has to retain its optimal behaviour. This in turn would help solve other similar systems with different parameter settings easily without the need to perform a fresh optimization task. The proposed methodology uses a clustering-based optimization technique and is capable of discovering hidden functional relationships between the variables, objective and constraint functions and any other function that the designer wishes to include as a 'basis function'. A number of engineering design problems are considered for which the mathematical structure of these explicit relationships exists and has been revealed by a previous study. A comparison with the multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) approach reveals the practicality of the proposed approach due to its ability to find meaningful design principles. The success of this procedure for automated innovization is highly encouraging and indicates its suitability for further development in tackling more complex design scenarios.

US-GERMAN BILATERAL WORKING GROUP: AN INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN REVITALIZING CONTAMINATED LAND IN PROCEEDINGS OF CABERNET 2005: THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MANAGING URBAN LAND, APRIL 13-15, 2005, BELFAST IRELAND

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) entered into a Bilateral partnership in 1990 to study each country's efforts in developing and demonstrating innovative tools, techniques and approaches in areas relate...

NASA Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davusm Daniel J.; McArthur, J. Craig

2008-01-01

By incorporating rigorous engineering practices, innovative manufacturing processes and test techniques, a unique multi-center government/contractor partnership, and a clean-sheet design developed around the primary requirements for the International Space Station (ISS) and Lunar missions, the Upper Stage Element of NASA's Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), the "Ares I," is a vital part of the Constellation Program's transportation system.

NASA Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper State Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Daniel J.

2008-01-01

By incorporating rigorous engineering practices, innovative manufacturing processes and test techniques, a unique multi-center government/contractor partnership, and a clean-sheet design developed around the primary requirements for the International Space Station (ISS) and Lunar missions, the Upper Stage Element of NASA s Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), the "Ares I," is a vital part of the Constellation Program s transportation system.

School and Community Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing within Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale Region, and the Dilemmas of Educational Leadership in Gasfield Boomtowns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schafft, Kai A.; Biddle, Catharine

2014-01-01

Innovations associated with gas and oil drilling technology, including new hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques, have recently led to dramatic boomtown development in many rural areas that have endured extended periods of economic decline. The Marcellus Shale play, one of the world's largest gas-bearing shale formations, lies…

A 21st Century Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Americas National Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-01

areas. Advanced Computing and Communications The exponential growth of the digital economy, driven by ubiquitous computing and communication...weapons- focused R&D, many of the capabilities being developed have significant dual-use potential. Digital connectivity, for instance, brings...scale than traditional recombinant DNA techniques, and to share these designs digitally . Nanotechnology promises the ability to engineer entirely

Training 8-Year-Old French Immersion Students in Metalinguistic Analysis: An Innovation in Form-Focused Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouffard, Laura Annie; Sarkar, Mela

2008-01-01

Most research on language awareness in a second language (L2) has been carried out with adult learners. This research presents data showing that pedagogical techniques can be devised enabling children as young as 8 to develop metalinguistic awareness of their emerging L2 system. Building on existing work by Canadian researchers, this…

A Research on the Construction of University R&D Management Team in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jia, Ning

2007-01-01

The system of Chinese universities R&D as a branch of the system of the whole country R&D, has a great effect on the development and innovation of the country's science and technique. Consequently, it's important to construct an effective management team with high diathesis for University R&D management. Based on the statistics of the…

Graphic Poetry: How to Help Students Get the Most out of Pictures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiang, River Ya-ling

2013-01-01

This paper attempts to give an account of some innovative work in paintings and modern poetry and to show how modern poets, such as Jane Flanders and Anne Sexton, the two American poets in particular, express and develop radically new conventions for their respective arts. Also elaborated are how such changes in artistic techniques are related to…

Ready or Not? Assessing Change Readiness for Implementation of the Geospatial Technology Competency Model[c

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Annulis, Heather M.; Gaudet, Cyndi H.

2007-01-01

A shortage of a qualified and skilled workforce exists to meet the demands of the geospatial industry (NASA, 2002). Solving today's workforce issues requires new and innovative methods and techniques for this high growth, high technology industry. One tool to support workforce development is a competency model which can be used to build a…

Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benson, C. D.; Faherty, W. B.

1978-01-01

The development of the Apollo f launch facilities and launch operations is described from the beginning of design through the final launch. Management techniques, innovation in automation, and testing on the ground to avoid failures in space are among the topics covered. The impact of the Apollo program on the citrus groves and quiet beaches of Florida's east coast is included.

A Method for Using Adjacency Matrices to Analyze the Connections Students Make within and between Concepts: The Case of Linear Algebra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selinski, Natalie E.; Rasmussen, Chris; Wawro, Megan; Zandieh, Michelle

2014-01-01

The central goals of most introductory linear algebra courses are to develop students' proficiency with matrix techniques, to promote their understanding of key concepts, and to increase their ability to make connections between concepts. In this article, we present an innovative method using adjacency matrices to analyze students' interpretation…

The Effects of Math Video Games on Learning: A Randomized Evaluation Study with Innovative Impact Estimation Techniques. CRESST Report 841

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chung, Gregory K. W. K.; Choi, Kilchan; Baker, Eva L.; Cai, Li

2014-01-01

A large-scale randomized controlled trial tested the effects of researcher-developed learning games on a transfer measure of fractions knowledge. The measure contained items similar to standardized assessments. Thirty treatment and 29 control classrooms (~1500 students, 9 districts, 26 schools) participated in the study. Students in treatment…

Europe Report, Science and Technology

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-30

to certain basic products of the food industry such as beer, vinegar , 51 spirits, starches, etc. It is also assumed that modern biotechnologies...Czechoslovak food production. This is also the objective of innovative and modernizing programs in the fermented food sectors. The program for the...cattle and improves fodder utilization, assuming balanced doses of fodder. The development of fermentation techniques of production will occur within

Antibody Engineering for Pursuing a Healthier Future

PubMed Central

Saeed, Abdullah F. U. H.; Wang, Rongzhi; Ling, Sumei; Wang, Shihua

2017-01-01

Since the development of antibody-production techniques, a number of immunoglobulins have been developed on a large scale using conventional methods. Hybridoma technology opened a new horizon in the production of antibodies against target antigens of infectious pathogens, malignant diseases including autoimmune disorders, and numerous potent toxins. However, these clinical humanized or chimeric murine antibodies have several limitations and complexities. Therefore, to overcome these difficulties, recent advances in genetic engineering techniques and phage display technique have allowed the production of highly specific recombinant antibodies. These engineered antibodies have been constructed in the hunt for novel therapeutic drugs equipped with enhanced immunoprotective abilities, such as engaging immune effector functions, effective development of fusion proteins, efficient tumor and tissue penetration, and high-affinity antibodies directed against conserved targets. Advanced antibody engineering techniques have extensive applications in the fields of immunology, biotechnology, diagnostics, and therapeutic medicines. However, there is limited knowledge regarding dynamic antibody development approaches. Therefore, this review extends beyond our understanding of conventional polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. Furthermore, recent advances in antibody engineering techniques together with antibody fragments, display technologies, immunomodulation, and broad applications of antibodies are discussed to enhance innovative antibody production in pursuit of a healthier future for humans. PMID:28400756

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

DOE PAGES

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

2015-01-30

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

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

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

Jones, Keith; Ramakrishnan, Girish; Uchimiya, Minori

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

Innovation in surgical technology and techniques: Challenges and ethical issues.

PubMed

Geiger, James D; Hirschl, Ronald B

2015-06-01

The pace of medical innovation continues to increase. The deployment of new technologies in surgery creates many ethical challenges including how to determine safety of the technology, what is the timing and process for deployment of a new technology, how are patients informed before undergoing a new technology or technique, how are the outcomes of a new technology evaluated and how are the responsibilities of individual patients and society at large balanced. Ethical considerations relevant to the implementation of ECMO and robotic surgery are explored to further discussion of how we can optimize the delicate balance between innovation and regulation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Small Business Innovations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Kennedy Space Center, EIC Laboratories invented a Raman Spectrograph with fiber optic sampling for space applications such as sensing hazardous fuel vapors and making on-board rapid analyses of chemicals and minerals. Raman spectroscopy is a laser-based measurement technique that provides through a unique vibrational spectrum a molecular 'fingerprint,' and can function in aqueous environments. EIC combined optical fiber technology with Raman methods to develop sensors that can be operated at a distance from the spectrographic analysis instruments and the laser excitation source. EIC refined and commercialized the technology to create the Fiber Optic Raman Spectrograph and the RamanProbe. Commercial applications range from process control to monitoring hazardous materials.

Bariatric surgery: assessing opportunities for value innovation.

PubMed

Tarantino, David P; Smith, Darlene B

2005-03-01

Obesity has been increasing over the past two decades, and the amount of medical and media attention given to bariatric surgery as a promising option for morbidly obese individuals is growing. The growth of bariatric surgery also has been attributed to improved surgical technique, the increase in surgeons trained in laparoscopic procedures, as well increased public awareness with celebrities having successfully undergone surgery. The number of surgeons and hospitals offering bariatric services is increasing. How then does a surgeon or a hospital develop a competitive strategy? The first step is to understand the health-care industry. The key forces are rivalry among present competitors, and the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. While bariatric surgery currently is in a growth phase, time and competition will force practitioners to compete on the basis of price, unless they find true competitive advantage. Value innovation, is a means of creating new marketing space by looking across the conventionally defined boundaries of business--across substitute industries, across strategic groups, across buyer groups, across complementary product and service offerings, and across the functional-emotional orientation of an industry. One can compete by offering similar services focusing primarily on cost efficiencies as the key to profitability. Alternatively, one can break free from the pack by innovating and focusing on delivering superior value to the customer. As the market for bariatric surgery becomes increasingly overcrowded, profitable growth is not sustainable without developing a clear differential advantage in the market. Value innovation allows you to develop that advantage.

Innovative single-shot diagnostics for electrons from laser wakefield acceleration at FLAME

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bisesto, F. G.; Anania, M. P.; Cianchi, A.; Chiadroni, E.; Curcio, A.; Ferrario, M.; Pompili, R.; Zigler, A.

2017-07-01

Plasma wakefield acceleration is the most promising acceleration technique known nowadays, able to provide very high accelerating fields (> 100 GV/m), enabling acceleration of electrons to GeV energy in few centimeters. Here we present all the plasma related activities currently underway at SPARC_LAB exploiting the high power laser FLAME. In particular, we will give an overview of the single shot diagnostics employed: Electro Optic Sampling (EOS) for temporal measurement and Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) for an innovative one shot emittance measurements. In detail, the EOS technique has been employed to measure for the first time the longitudinal profile of electric field of fast electrons escaping from a solid target, driving the ions and protons acceleration, and to study the impact of using different target shapes. Moreover, a novel scheme for one shot emittance measurements based on OTR, developed and tested at SPARC_LAB LINAC, used in an experiment on electrons from laser wakefield acceleration still undergoing, will be shown.

Smokey comes of age: Unmanned aerial systems for fire management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Twidwell, Dirac; Allen, Craig R.; Detweiler, Carrick; Higgins, James; Laney, Christian; Elbaum, Sebastian

2016-01-01

During the past century, fire management has focused on techniques both to protect human communities from catastrophic wildfire and to maintain fire-dependent ecological systems. However, despite a large and increasing allocation of resources and personnel to achieve these goals, fire management objectives at regional to global scales are not being met. Current fire management techniques are clearly inadequate for the challenges faced by fire managers, and technological innovations are needed. Advances in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology provide opportunities for innovation in fire management and science. In many countries, fire management organizations are beginning to explore the potential of UAS for monitoring fires. We have taken the next step and developed a prototype that can precisely ignite fires as part of wildfire suppression tactics or prescribed fires (fire intentionally ignited within predetermined conditions to reduce hazardous fuels, improve habitat, or mitigate for large wildfires). We discuss the potential for these technologies to benefit fire management activities, while acknowledging the sizeable sociopolitical barriers that prevent their immediate broad application.

Material requirements for the adoption of unconventional silicon crystal and wafer growth techniques for high-efficiency solar cells

DOE PAGES

Hofstetter, Jasmin; del Cañizo, Carlos; Wagner, Hannes; ...

2015-10-15

Silicon wafers comprise approximately 40% of crystalline silicon module cost and represent an area of great technological innovation potential. Paradoxically, unconventional wafer-growth techniques have thus far failed to displace multicrystalline and Czochralski silicon, despite four decades of innovation. One of the shortcomings of most unconventional materials has been a persistent carrier lifetime deficit in comparison to established wafer technologies, which limits the device efficiency potential. In this perspective article, we review a defect-management framework that has proven successful in enabling millisecond lifetimes in kerfless and cast materials. Control of dislocations and slowly diffusing metal point defects during growth, coupled tomore » effective control of fast-diffusing species during cell processing, is critical to enable high cell efficiencies. As a result, to accelerate the pace of novel wafer development, we discuss approaches to rapidly evaluate the device efficiency potential of unconventional wafers from injection-dependent lifetime measurements.« less

[Thirty years of laser-assisted microvascular anastomosis (LAMA): what are the clinical perspectives?].

PubMed

Leclère, F M; Duquennoy-Martinot, V; Schoofs, M; Buys, B; Mordon, S

2011-02-01

Since the first studies by Jain and Gorisch (1979), laser-assisted anastomoses have been steadily developed to a stage where clinical use is within reach. The laser-assisted vascular microanastomosis (LAMA) procedure is performed more quickly than conventional anastomosis, the surgically induced vessel damage is limited, and reduced bleeding after unclamping is observed. A Medline literature search, for the January 1979 to February 2010 period, was performed to review articles focusing on the LAMA technique. The search yielded a total of 354 publications, of which 87 were relevant: 82 were animal series and five clinical studies. Microsurgical techniques and principal characteristics of LAMA in patients are the focus of the analysis. This study discusses the technological innovations and new orientations in laser welding. The first two clinical series using the 1.9-μm diode laser appear promising. Technical innovation will most likely lead to greater ease of use of the laser handpiece in the operating room. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Material requirements for the adoption of unconventional silicon crystal and wafer growth techniques for high-efficiency solar cells

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

Hofstetter, Jasmin; del Cañizo, Carlos; Wagner, Hannes

Silicon wafers comprise approximately 40% of crystalline silicon module cost and represent an area of great technological innovation potential. Paradoxically, unconventional wafer-growth techniques have thus far failed to displace multicrystalline and Czochralski silicon, despite four decades of innovation. One of the shortcomings of most unconventional materials has been a persistent carrier lifetime deficit in comparison to established wafer technologies, which limits the device efficiency potential. In this perspective article, we review a defect-management framework that has proven successful in enabling millisecond lifetimes in kerfless and cast materials. Control of dislocations and slowly diffusing metal point defects during growth, coupled tomore » effective control of fast-diffusing species during cell processing, is critical to enable high cell efficiencies. As a result, to accelerate the pace of novel wafer development, we discuss approaches to rapidly evaluate the device efficiency potential of unconventional wafers from injection-dependent lifetime measurements.« less

The commercialization of optical techniques in Russian regions: experience and problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kartushina, Tatyana N.; Firsova, Anna A.

2005-06-01

In this article we made an attempt to consider some problems of Russia in the field of innovations. So the survey of situation with Russian innovation structures was given and also the necessity of region informatization was underlined. Moreover the basic problems in the field of innovations were revealed: the lack of experienced personal, bureaucracy barriers and not clear "rules of game" in the field of innovation activity. On top of that we were able to examine the activity of innovation enterprise ("Volgasvyazmontaj" Saratov, Russia).

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

Smalyuk, V. A.; Robey, H. F.; Casey, D. T.

Several new platforms have been developed to experimentally measure hydrodynamic instabilities in all phases of indirect-drive, inertial confinement fusion implosions on National Ignition Facility. At the ablation front, instability growth of pre-imposed modulations was measured with a face-on, x-ray radiography platform in the linear regime using the Hydrodynamic Growth Radiography (HGR) platform. Modulation growth of "native roughness" modulations and engineering features (fill tubes and capsule support membranes) were measured in conditions relevant to layered DT implosions. A new experimental platform was developed to measure instability growth at the ablator-ice interface. Here in the deceleration phase of implosions, several experimental platformsmore » were developed to measure both low-mode asymmetries and high-mode perturbations near peak compression with x-ray and nuclear techniques. In one innovative technique, the self-emission from the hot spot was enhanced with argon dopant to "self-backlight" the shell in-flight. To stabilize instability growth, new "adiabat-shaping" techniques were developed using the HGR platform and applied in layered DT implosions.« less

Mix and hydrodynamic instabilities on NIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smalyuk, V. A.; Robey, H. F.; Casey, D. T.; Clark, D. S.; Döppner, T.; Haan, S. W.; Hammel, B. A.; MacPhee, A. G.; Martinez, D.; Milovich, J. L.; Peterson, J. L.; Pickworth, L.; Pino, J. E.; Raman, K.; Tipton, R.; Weber, C. R.; Baker, K. L.; Bachmann, B.; Berzak Hopkins, L. F.; Bond, E.; Caggiano, J. A.; Callahan, D. A.; Celliers, P. M.; Cerjan, C.; Dixit, S. N.; Edwards, M. J.; Felker, S.; Field, J. E.; Fittinghoff, D. N.; Gharibyan, N.; Grim, G. P.; Hamza, A. V.; Hatarik, R.; Hohenberger, M.; Hsing, W. W.; Hurricane, O. A.; Jancaitis, K. S.; Jones, O. S.; Khan, S.; Kroll, J. J.; Lafortune, K. N.; Landen, O. L.; Ma, T.; MacGowan, B. J.; Masse, L.; Moore, A. S.; Nagel, S. R.; Nikroo, A.; Pak, A.; Patel, P. K.; Remington, B. A.; Sayre, D. B.; Spears, B. K.; Stadermann, M.; Tommasini, R.; Widmayer, C. C.; Yeamans, C. B.; Crippen, J.; Farrell, M.; Giraldez, E.; Rice, N.; Wilde, C. H.; Volegov, P. L.; Gatu Johnson, M.

2017-06-01

Several new platforms have been developed to experimentally measure hydrodynamic instabilities in all phases of indirect-drive, inertial confinement fusion implosions on National Ignition Facility. At the ablation front, instability growth of pre-imposed modulations was measured with a face-on, x-ray radiography platform in the linear regime using the Hydrodynamic Growth Radiography (HGR) platform. Modulation growth of "native roughness" modulations and engineering features (fill tubes and capsule support membranes) were measured in conditions relevant to layered DT implosions. A new experimental platform was developed to measure instability growth at the ablator-ice interface. In the deceleration phase of implosions, several experimental platforms were developed to measure both low-mode asymmetries and high-mode perturbations near peak compression with x-ray and nuclear techniques. In one innovative technique, the self-emission from the hot spot was enhanced with argon dopant to "self-backlight" the shell in-flight. To stabilize instability growth, new "adiabat-shaping" techniques were developed using the HGR platform and applied in layered DT implosions.

Mix and hydrodynamic instabilities on NIF

DOE PAGES

Smalyuk, V. A.; Robey, H. F.; Casey, D. T.; ...

2017-06-01

Several new platforms have been developed to experimentally measure hydrodynamic instabilities in all phases of indirect-drive, inertial confinement fusion implosions on National Ignition Facility. At the ablation front, instability growth of pre-imposed modulations was measured with a face-on, x-ray radiography platform in the linear regime using the Hydrodynamic Growth Radiography (HGR) platform. Modulation growth of "native roughness" modulations and engineering features (fill tubes and capsule support membranes) were measured in conditions relevant to layered DT implosions. A new experimental platform was developed to measure instability growth at the ablator-ice interface. Here in the deceleration phase of implosions, several experimental platformsmore » were developed to measure both low-mode asymmetries and high-mode perturbations near peak compression with x-ray and nuclear techniques. In one innovative technique, the self-emission from the hot spot was enhanced with argon dopant to "self-backlight" the shell in-flight. To stabilize instability growth, new "adiabat-shaping" techniques were developed using the HGR platform and applied in layered DT implosions.« less

Investigation of Models and Estimation Techniques for GPS Attitude Determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrick, J.

1996-01-01

Much work has been done in the Flight Dynamics Analysis Branch (FDAB) in developing algorithms to met the new and growing field of attitude determination using the Global Positioning SYstem (GPS) constellation of satellites. Flight Dynamics has the responsibility to investigate any new technology and incorporate the innovations in the attitude ground support systems developed to support future missions. The work presented here is an investigative analysis that will produce the needed adaptation to allow the Flight Dynamics Support System (FDSS) to incorporate GPS phase measurements and produce observation measurements compatible with the FDSS. A simulator was developed to produce the necessary measurement data to test the models developed for the different estimation techniques used by FDAB. This paper gives an overview of the current modeling capabilities of the simulator models and algorithms for the adaptation of GPS measurement data and results from each of the estimation techniques. Future analysis efforts to evaluate the simulator and models against inflight GPS measurement data are also outlined.

Canadian regulatory perspectives on genome engineered crops

PubMed Central

Smyth, Stuart J.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT New breeding techniques in plant agriculture exploded upon the scene about two years ago, in 2014. While these innovative plant breeding techniques, soon to be led by CRISPR/Cas9, initially appear to hold tremendous promise for plant breeding, if not a revolution for the industry, the question of how the products of these technologies will be regulated is rapidly becoming a key aspect of the technology's future potential. Regulation of innovative technologies and products has always lagged that of the science, but in the past decade, regulatory systems in many jurisdictions have become gridlocked as they try to regulate genetically modified (GM) crops. This regulatory incapability to efficiently assess and approve innovative new agricultural products is particularly important for new plant breeding techniques as if these techniques are classified as genetically modified breeding techniques, then their acceptance and future will diminish considerably as they will be rejected by the European Union. Conversely, if the techniques are accepted as conventional plant breeding, then the future is blindingly bright. This article examines the international debate about the regulation of new plant breeding techniques and then assesses how the Canadian regulatory system has approached the regulation of these technologies through two more public product approvals, GM apples and GM potatoes, then discusses other crop variety approval and those in the regulatory pipeline. PMID:27858499

Innovations in recreation management: importance, diffusion, and implementation.

Treesearch

Ingrid Schneider; Dorothy Anderson; Pamela Jakes

1993-01-01

Uses a Delphi technique to (1) identify important innovations in recreation resource management, (2) determine their relative importance in meeting recreation management objectives, (3) and gather information about their diffusion and implementation.

Ten Reasons for IT Educators to Be Early Adopters of IT Innovations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillard, Sharlett; Bailey, Denice; Nolan, Ernest

2008-01-01

Professionals in the information technology field are bombarded with an incessant stream of innovations in hardware and software as well as practices, methods, and techniques. IT educators are among the first targets in the market and must decide if and when to adopt these innovations in their instruction of students and professional endeavors.…

The MU-RAY experiment. An application of SiPM technology to the understanding of volcanic phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anastasio, A.; Ambrosino, F.; Basta, D.; Bonechi, L.; Brianzi, M.; Bross, A.; Callier, S.; Cassese, F.; Castellini, G.; Ciaranfi, R.; Cimmino, L.; D'Alessandro, R.; De Fazio, B.; de La Taille, C.; Garufi, F.; Iacobucci, G.; Martini, M.; Masone, V.; Mattone, C.; Miyamoto, S.; Montesi, M. C.; Nishiyama, R.; Noli, P.; Orazi, M.; Parascandolo, L.; Passeggio, G.; Peluso, R.; Pla-Dalmau, A.; Raux, L.; Rocco, R.; Rubinov, P.; Saracino, G.; Scarlini, E.; Scarpato, G.; Sekhniaidze, G.; Starodubtsev, O.; Strolin, P.; Taketa, A.; Tanaka, H. K. M.; Tanaka, M.; Uchida, T.

2013-08-01

The purpose of the MU-RAY project is to develop an innovative approach to the study of volcanoes and their monitoring based on a particle physics approach. The test site is Vesuvio: one of the higher risk volcanoes in the world. In this context, muon radiography is an innovative method of enormous impact. This is an imaging technique which relies on the measurement, by means of a cosmic ray telescope, of the absorption in the volcano of muons with near-horizontal trajectories, produced by the interactions of cosmic rays with the atmosphere. Since 2003 this technique has been successfully used on volcanoes in Japan, providing pictures of their vertices with resolutions much better than those obtained with the traditional techniques based on gravimeters. Researchers from Naples and Florence are currently involved in the construction and testing of a prototype telescope based on the use of bars of plastic scintillator with a triangular section whose scintillation light is collected by special fibres (wave length shifters) and transported to SiPM (Silicon photomultipliers). A complete prototype telescope, consisting of three xy scintillation planes and 1 m2 active area has been assembled and is now under test.

Solar and Space Physics Science Enabled by Pico and Nano Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swenson, C.; Fish, C. S.

2012-12-01

The most significant advances in solar and space physics, or Heliophysics, over the next decade are most likely to derive from new observational techniques. The connection between advances in scientific understanding and technology has historically been demonstrated across many disciplines and time. Progress on some of the most compelling scientific problems will most likely occur through multipoint observations within the space environment to understand the coupling between disparate regions: Heliosphere, magnetosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere and mesosphere. Multipoint measurements are also needed to develop understanding of the various scalars or vector field signatures (i.e gradients, divergence) that arise from coupling processes that occur across temporal and spatial scales or within localized regions. The resources that are available over the next decades for all areas of Heliophysics research have limits and it is therefore important that the community be innovative in developing new observational techniques to advance science. One of the most promising new observational techniques becoming available are miniaturized sensors and satellite systems called pico- or nano-satellites and CubeSats. These are enabled by the enormous investment of the commercial, medical, and defense industries in producing highly capable, portable and low-power battery-operated consumer electronics, in-situ composition probes, and novel reconnaissance sensors. The advancements represented by these technologies have direct application in developing pico- or nano-satellites and CubeSats system for Heliophysics research. In this talk we overview the current environment and technologies surrounding these novel small satellites and discuss the types and capabilities of the miniature sensors that are being developed. We discuss how pico- or nano-satellites and CubeSats can be used to address highest priority science identified in the Decadal Survey and the innovations and advancements that are required to make substantial progress.

Advances in Electrically Driven Thermal Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Didion, Jeffrey R.

2017-01-01

Electrically Driven Thermal Management is a vibrant technology development initiative incorporating ISS based technology demonstrations, development of innovative fluid management techniques and fundamental research efforts. The program emphasizes high temperature high heat flux thermal management required for future generations of RF electronics and power electronic devices. This presentation reviews i.) preliminary results from the Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) Long Term Flight Demonstration launched on STP-H5 payload in February 2017 ii.) advances in liquid phase flow distribution control iii.) development of the Electrically Driven Liquid Film Boiling Experiment under the NASA Microgravity Fluid Physics Program.

Alternatives in the complement and structure of NASA teleprocessing resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The results are presented of a program to identify technical innovations which would have an impact on NASA data processing and describe as fully as possible the development work necessary to exploit them. Seven of these options for NASA development, as the opportunities to participate in and enhance the advancing information system technology were called, are reported. A detailed treatment is given of three of the options, involving minicomputers, mass storage devices and software development techniques. These areas were picked by NASA as having the most potential for improving their operations.

Will Regulatory and Financial Considerations Dampen Innovation in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory?

PubMed

Gilligan, Peter H; Miller, Melissa B

2016-02-02

Over a million prosthetic joints are placed in patients in the United States annually. Of those that fail, 25% will be due to infection, with an estimated cost approaching 1 billion dollars. Despite the clinical and economic importance of these infections, the techniques for their detection are relatively insensitive. An innovative method for detecting these infections by using blood culture bottles (BCB) to culture specimens of periprosthetic tissue (PPT) was described in a recent article [T. N. Peel, et al., mBio 7(1):e01776-15, 2016, doi:10.1128/mBio.01776-15]. There are two potential stumbling blocks to the widespread implementation of this innovation. First, the FDA judges such an application of BCB as an "off-label use" and as such, a laboratory-developed test (LDT). LDTs are coming under greater scrutiny by the FDA and may require extensive, costly validation studies in laboratories that adopt this methodology. Second, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has established a Hospital Acquired Condition Reduction Act under which institutions performing in the lowest quartile forfeit 1% of their Medicare reimbursement. Hospital-acquired infections are an important component of this quality metric. Although prosthetic joint infection (PJI) rates are not currently a hospital quality metric, given their cost and increasing frequency, it is reasonable to expect that they may become one. Will those with financial oversight allow an innovative technique that will require an expensive validation and may put the institution at risk for loss of CMS reimbursement? Copyright © 2016 Gilligan and Miller.

Informed consent for innovative surgery: A survey of patients and surgeons

PubMed Central

Lee Char, Susan J.; Hills, Nancy K.; Lo, Bernard; Kirkwood, Kimberly S.

2012-01-01

Background Unlike new drugs and medical devices, most surgical procedures are developed outside clinical trials, without regulatory oversight. Surgical professional organizations have discussed how new procedures should be introduced into practice, without agreement on what topics informed consent discussions must include. To provide surgeons with more specific guidance, we wanted to determine what information patients and surgeons consider essential to disclose before an innovative surgical procedure. Methods 85 attending surgeons and 383 adult postoperative patients completed surveys. Using a 6-point Likert scale, participants rated the importance of discussing 16 types of information preoperatively for 3 techniques (standard open, laparoscopic, robotic) offered for a hypothetical partial hepatectomy. Results Compared with surgeons, patients placed more importance on nearly all types of information, particularly volumes and outcomes. For all 3 techniques, around 80% of patients indicated that they could not decide on surgery without being told whether it would be the surgeon’s first time doing the procedure. When considering an innovative robotic surgery, a clear majority of both patients and surgeons agreed that it was essential to disclose the procedure’s novel nature, potentially unknown risks and benefits, and whether it would be the surgeon’s first time performing the procedure. Conclusions To promote informed decision making and autonomy among patients considering innovative surgery, surgeons should disclose the procedure’s novel nature, potentially unknown risks and benefits, and whether the surgeon would be performing the procedure for the first time. When accurate volumes and outcomes data are available, surgeons should also discuss these with patients. PMID:23218878

Characterization and reclamation assessment for the Central Shops Diesel Storage Facility, Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina

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

Fliermans, C.B.; Hazen, T.C.; Bledsoe, H.

1993-10-01

The contamination of subsurface terrestrial environments by organic contaminants is a global phenomenon. The remediation of such environments requires innovative assessment techniques and strategies for successful clean-ups. Central Shops Diesel Storage Facility at Savannah River Site was characterized to determine the extent of subsurface diesel fuel contamination using innovative approaches and effective bioremediation techniques for clean-up of the contaminant plume have been established.

Quantum Sensing and Communications Being Developed for Nanotechnology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lekki, John D.; Nguyen, Quang-Viet

2005-01-01

An interdisciplinary quantum communications and sensing research effort for application in microdevices has been underway at the NASA Glenn Research Center since 2000. Researchers in Glenn's Instrumentation and Controls, Communications Technology, and Propulsion and Turbomachinery Divisions have been working together to study and develop techniques that utilize quantum effects for sensing and communications. The emerging technology provides an innovative way to communicate faster and farther using less power and to sense, measure, and image environmental properties in ways that are not possible with existing technology.

Industry-University SBIR NDT Projects — A Critical Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinhart, Eugene R.

2007-03-01

The Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, funded by various United States government agencies (DOD, DOE, NSF, etc.), provides funds for Research and Development (R&D) of nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques and equipment, thereby supplying valuable money for NDT development by small businesses and stimulating cooperative university programs. A review and critical assessment of the SBIR program as related to NDT is presented and should provide insight into reasons for or against pursuing this source of R&D funding.

Use and potential of nanotechnology in cosmetic dermatology.

PubMed

Morganti, Pierfrancesco

2010-02-24

Biotechnology and nanotechnology are the key technologies of the twenty-first century, having enormous potential for innovation and growth. The academic and industrial goals for these technologies are the development of nanoscale biomolecular substances and analytical instruments for investigating cell biology at the cellular and molecular levels. Developments in nanotechnology will provide opportunities for cosmetic dermatology to develop new biocompatible and biodegradable therapeutics, delivery systems and more active compounds. Cosmetics have the primary function of keeping up a good appearance, changing the appearance, or correcting body odors, while maintaining the skin and its surroundings in good conditions. Thus cosmetic dermatology, recognizing the new realities of skin care products, has to emphasize the functional aspects of cosmetics through an understanding of their efficacy and safety in promoting good health. Nanoscience may help the scientific community to find more innovative and efficacious cosmetics. Understanding the physical model of the cell as a machine is essential to understand how all the cell components work together to accomplish a task. The efficacy and safety of new nanomaterials has to be deeply studied by ex vivo tests and innovative laboratory techniques. New delivery systems and natural nanocompounds, such as chitin nanofibrils for wound healing, are being used in cosmetic dermatology with good results, as are nanostructured TiO(2) and ZnO sunscreens. The challenge is open.

Computing in Hydraulic Engineering Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, J. G.

2011-12-01

Civil engineers, pioneers of our civilization, are rarely perceived as leaders and innovators in modern society because of retardations in technology innovation. This crisis has resulted in the decline of the prestige of civil engineering profession, reduction of federal funding on deteriorating infrastructures, and problems with attracting the most talented high-school students. Infusion of cutting-edge computer technology and stimulating creativity and innovation therefore are the critical challenge to civil engineering education. To better prepare our graduates to innovate, this paper discussed the adaption of problem-based collaborative learning technique and integration of civil engineering computing into a traditional civil engineering curriculum. Three interconnected courses: Open Channel Flow, Computational Hydraulics, and Sedimentation Engineering, were developed with emphasis on computational simulations. In Open Channel flow, the focuses are principles of free surface flow and the application of computational models. This prepares students to the 2nd course, Computational Hydraulics, that introduce the fundamental principles of computational hydraulics, including finite difference and finite element methods. This course complements the Open Channel Flow class to provide students with in-depth understandings of computational methods. The 3rd course, Sedimentation Engineering, covers the fundamentals of sediment transport and river engineering, so students can apply the knowledge and programming skills gained from previous courses to develop computational models for simulating sediment transport. These courses effectively equipped students with important skills and knowledge to complete thesis and dissertation research.

Management Information System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

New Automated Management Information Center (AMIC) employs innovative microcomputer techniques to create color charts, viewgraphs, or other data displays in a fraction of the time formerly required. Developed under Kennedy Space Center's contract by Boeing Services International Inc., Seattle, WA, AMIC can produce an entirely new informational chart in 30 minutes, or an updated chart in only five minutes. AMIC also has considerable potential as a management system for business firms.

Improving the Leader Development Experience in Army Units

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

conditions and creating a “ sweet spot” between order and chaos and simplicity and complexity, leaders can modify the experience to better align it with...subordinates to exercise initiative, overcome adversity, consider innovative solutions, or taste failure may not achieve maximum growth and are not...division commander’s behavior, preferences , and priorities become known down to battalion and lower levels.49 Some might view these techniques as

Packaged Food

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

After studies found that many elderly persons don't eat adequately because they can't afford to, they have limited mobility, or they just don't bother, Innovated Foods, Inc. and JSC developed shelf-stable foods processed and packaged for home preparation with minimum effort. Various food-processing techniques and delivery systems are under study and freeze dried foods originally used for space flight are being marketed. (See 77N76140)

Innovative Inspection Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

beam and holding the binoculars at the same time. Night-vision glasses with magnification were mentioned but no inspectors we met had direct...angles for an actual lightbulb , the mean spherical candlepower is used as a measure of light output. The MSCP is measured using an integrating...needs special glasses to separate the alternating images, one image for the right and one for the left eye. StereoGraphics Corporation has developed a

Student production: making a realistic stereo CG short film in six months

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramasamy, Celambarasan

2010-02-01

This paper breaks down the R&D and production challenges faced on a stereoscopic CG short film that was developed on a six month time budget. Using this film as an example, the manner in which technical innovation and story telling techniques can be used to emphasize the strengths and hide the weaknesses of a limited timeframe student production is discussed.

Law and Order in Grade 6-E: A Story of Chaos and Innovation in a Ghetto School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, M. Kimbrough

This book deals with the development and details of a variant of the open classroom technique, based upon the author's experiences as a sixth grade teacher at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Roxbury Massachusetts Middle School. The system has four major differences from conventional classrooms: (1) Kids sit in groups spread around the room rather than…

Working Group Reports and Presentations: Virtual Worlds and Virtual Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LAmoreaux, Claudia

2006-01-01

Scientists and engineers are continually developing innovative methods to capitalize on recent developments in computational power. Virtual worlds and virtual exploration present a new toolset for project design, implementation, and resolution. Replication of the physical world in the virtual domain provides stimulating displays to augment current data analysis techniques and to encourage public participation. In addition, the virtual domain provides stakeholders with a low cost, low risk design and test environment. The following document defines a virtual world and virtual exploration, categorizes the chief motivations for virtual exploration, elaborates upon specific objectives, identifies roadblocks and enablers for realizing the benefits, and highlights the more immediate areas of implementation (i.e. the action items). While the document attempts a comprehensive evaluation of virtual worlds and virtual exploration, the innovative nature of the opportunities presented precludes completeness. The authors strongly encourage readers to derive additional means of utilizing the virtual exploration toolset.

SOIL AND SEDIMENT SAMPLING METHODS

EPA Science Inventory

The EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response's (OSWER) Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) needs innovative methods and techniques to solve new and difficult sampling and analytical problems found at the numerous Superfund sites throughout th...

48 CFR 15.602 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Government to encourage the submission of new and innovative ideas in response to Broad Agency Announcements... new and innovative ideas do not fall under topic areas publicized under those programs or techniques, the ideas may be submitted as unsolicited proposals. ...

Cooperative Factors, Cooperative Innovation Effect and Innovation Performance for Chinese Firms: an Empirical Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Xuemei

Based on a survey to 1206 Chinese firms, this paper empirically explores the factors impacting cooperative innovation effect of firms, and seeks to explore the relationship between cooperative innovation effect (CIE) and innovation performance using the technique of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The study finds there are significant positive relationships between basic sustaining factors, factors of government and policy, factors of cooperation mechanism and social network, and cooperative innovation effect. However, the result reveals that factors of government and policy demonstrate little impact on the CIE of firms compared with other factors. It is hoped that the findings can pave the way for future studies in improving cooperative innovation capacity for firms in emerging countries.

Ambroise Paré (1510-1590) and His Innovative Work on the Treatment of War Injuries.

PubMed

Markatos, Konstantinos; Tzivra, Anna; Tsoutsos, Spyridon; Tsourouflis, Gerasimos; Karamanou, Marianna; Androutsos, Georgios

2018-04-01

The purpose of this study is to summarize the innovations of Ambroise Paré (1510-1590) on the treatment of war wounds and improving amputation technique through ligature in arteries and veins. Ambroise Paré debunked the widely accepted idea that gun powder was poisonous for wounds. He also minimized the use of cautery of wounds by his dressing methods and the application of ligature during amputations. All these innovative rationales revolutionized the practice of war surgery during the Renaissance and paved the way for the introduction of modern surgery. Nevertheless, although his wound dressing innovations became widely accepted, the same did not happen with ligature and amputation; those techniques could become widely applicable if one could somehow control bleeding until the blood vessels had been tied. This became possible much later in the 18th century when Jean Louis Petit invented the first useful and efficient tourniquet.

Healthcare Hackathons Provide Educational and Innovation Opportunities: A Case Study and Best Practice Recommendations.

PubMed

Silver, Julie K; Binder, David S; Zubcevik, Nevena; Zafonte, Ross D

2016-07-01

Physicians and other healthcare professionals are often the end users of medical innovation; however, they are rarely involved in the beginning design stages. This often results in ineffective healthcare solutions with poor adoption rates. At the early design stage, innovation would benefit from input from healthcare professionals. This report describes the first-ever rehabilitation hackathon-an interdisciplinary and competitive team event aimed at accelerating and improving healthcare solutions and providing an educational experience for participants. Hackathons are gaining traction as a way to accelerate innovation by bringing together a diverse group of interdisciplinary professionals from different industries who work collaboratively in teams and learn from each other, focus on a specific problem ("pain point"), develop a solution using design thinking techniques, pitch the solution to participants, gather fast feedback and quickly alter the prototype design ("pivoting"). 102 hackers including 19 (18.6 %) physicians and other professionals participated, and over the course of 2 days worked in teams, pitched ideas and developed design prototypes. Three awards were given for prototypes that may improve function in persons with disabilities. 43 hackers were women (42.2 %) and 59 men (57.8 %); they ranged in age from 16 to 79 years old; and, of the 75 hackers who reported their age, 63 (84 %) were less than 40 years old and 12 (16 %) were 40 years or older. This report contributes to the emerging literature on healthcare hackathons as a means of providing interdisciplinary education and training and supporting innovation.

JAG Tearing Technique with Radiofrequency Guide Wire for Aortic Fenestration in Thoracic Endovascular Aneurysm Repair

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

Ricci, Carmelo; Ceccherini, Claudio, E-mail: claudiocec@hotmail.it; Leonini, Sara

An innovative approach, the JAG tearing technique, was performed during thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair in a patient with previous surgical replacement of the ascending aorta with a residual uncomplicated type B aortic dissection who developed an aneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta with its lumen divided in two parts by an intimal flap. The proximal landing zone was suitable to place a thoracic stent graft. The distal landing zone was created by cutting the intimal flap in the distal third of the descending thoracic aorta with a radiofrequency guide wire and intravascular ultrasound catheter.

Physicochemical Characterization of Iron Carbohydrate Colloid Drug Products.

PubMed

Zou, Peng; Tyner, Katherine; Raw, Andre; Lee, Sau

2017-09-01

Iron carbohydrate colloid drug products are intravenously administered to patients with chronic kidney disease for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia. Physicochemical characterization of iron colloids is critical to establish pharmaceutical equivalence between an innovator iron colloid product and generic version. The purpose of this review is to summarize literature-reported techniques for physicochemical characterization of iron carbohydrate colloid drug products. The mechanisms, reported testing results, and common technical pitfalls for individual characterization test are discussed. A better understanding of the physicochemical characterization techniques will facilitate generic iron carbohydrate colloid product development, accelerate products to market, and ensure iron carbohydrate colloid product quality.

Pilot workload and fatigue: A critical survey of concepts and assessment techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gartner, W. B.; Murphy, M. R.

1976-01-01

The principal unresolved issues in conceptualizing and measuring pilot workload and fatigue are discussed. These issues are seen as limiting the development of more useful working concepts and techniques and their application to systems engineering and management activities. A conceptual analysis of pilot workload and fatigue, an overview and critique of approaches to the assessment of these phenomena, and a discussion of current trends in the management of unwanted workload and fatigue effects are presented. Refinements and innovations in assessment methods are recommended for enhancing the practical significance of workload and fatigue studies.

Technological innovations in the development of cardiovascular clinical information systems.

PubMed

Hsieh, Nan-Chen; Chang, Chung-Yi; Lee, Kuo-Chen; Chen, Jeen-Chen; Chan, Chien-Hui

2012-04-01

Recent studies have shown that computerized clinical case management and decision support systems can be used to assist surgeons in the diagnosis of disease, optimize surgical operation, aid in drug therapy and decrease the cost of medical treatment. Therefore, medical informatics has become an extensive field of research and many of these approaches have demonstrated potential value for improving medical quality. The aim of this study was to develop a web-based cardiovascular clinical information system (CIS) based on innovative techniques, such as electronic medical records, electronic registries and automatic feature surveillance schemes, to provide effective tools and support for clinical care, decision-making, biomedical research and training activities. The CIS developed for this study contained monitoring, surveillance and model construction functions. The monitoring layer function provided a visual user interface. At the surveillance and model construction layers, we explored the application of model construction and intelligent prognosis to aid in making preoperative and postoperative predictions. With the use of the CIS, surgeons can provide reasonable conclusions and explanations in uncertain environments.

Systems Engineering Metrics: Organizational Complexity and Product Quality Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mog, Robert A.

1997-01-01

Innovative organizational complexity and product quality models applicable to performance metrics for NASA-MSFC's Systems Analysis and Integration Laboratory (SAIL) missions and objectives are presented. An intensive research effort focuses on the synergistic combination of stochastic process modeling, nodal and spatial decomposition techniques, organizational and computational complexity, systems science and metrics, chaos, and proprietary statistical tools for accelerated risk assessment. This is followed by the development of a preliminary model, which is uniquely applicable and robust for quantitative purposes. Exercise of the preliminary model using a generic system hierarchy and the AXAF-I architectural hierarchy is provided. The Kendall test for positive dependence provides an initial verification and validation of the model. Finally, the research and development of the innovation is revisited, prior to peer review. This research and development effort results in near-term, measurable SAIL organizational and product quality methodologies, enhanced organizational risk assessment and evolutionary modeling results, and 91 improved statistical quantification of SAIL productivity interests.

Meter shop equipment, techniques, and operation

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

Smith, R.F.

1995-12-01

The development of new equipment inevitably results in new techniques and operational procedures to be implemented. Innovative techniques can result in operational changes and the development of new equipment. An operational modification opens the door for the development of new ideas, new equipment, and new techniques. This constant cycle of change promotes a continuous series of economic evaluations and decisions. Equipment and technological changes in measuring natural gas have resulted in modifications from past practices. The changes underway today will influence the way we plan and budget for the future, and, most notably, will change the way we repair gasmore » meters. The meter shop of today will need to look at the way that these changes will become available and how they will help efforts in reducing costs and increasing productivity. For instance, the standard three- and four-chambered diaphragm gas meter design has not been significantly changed in the past few decades aside from having heavy, cast iron bodies changed to lightweight aluminum bodies and utilizing a few plastic parts. But changes have been made, and more are on the threshold.« less

INNOVATIONS IN EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE BIOLOGY TEACHING LABORATORY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BARTHELEMY, RICHARD E.; AND OTHERS

LABORATORY TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENT APPROPRIATE FOR TEACHING BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE CURRICULUM STUDY BIOLOGY ARE EMPHASIZED. MAJOR CATEGORIES INCLUDE (1) LABORATORY FACILITIES, (2) EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES FOR CULTURE OF MICRO-ORGANISMS, (3) LABORATORY ANIMALS AND THEIR HOUSING, (4) TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING PLANT GROWTH, (5) TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING…

Investment, regulation, and uncertainty

PubMed Central

Smyth, Stuart J; McDonald, Jillian; Falck-Zepeda, Jose

2014-01-01

As with any technological innovation, time refines the technology, improving upon the original version of the innovative product. The initial GM crops had single traits for either herbicide tolerance or insect resistance. Current varieties have both of these traits stacked together and in many cases other abiotic and biotic traits have also been stacked. This innovation requires investment. While this is relatively straight forward, certain conditions need to exist such that investments can be facilitated. The principle requirement for investment is that regulatory frameworks render consistent and timely decisions. If the certainty of regulatory outcomes weakens, the potential for changes in investment patterns increases.   This article provides a summary background to the leading plant breeding technologies that are either currently being used to develop new crop varieties or are in the pipeline to be applied to plant breeding within the next few years. Challenges for existing regulatory systems are highlighted. Utilizing an option value approach from investment literature, an assessment of uncertainty regarding the regulatory approval for these varying techniques is undertaken. This research highlights which technology development options have the greatest degree of uncertainty and hence, which ones might be expected to see an investment decline. PMID:24499745

Technological innovation in video-assisted thoracic surgery.

PubMed

Özyurtkan, Mehmet Oğuzhan; Kaba, Erkan; Toker, Alper

2017-01-01

The popularity of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) which increased worldwide due to the recent innovations in thoracic surgical technics, equipment, electronic devices that carry light and vision and high definition monitors. Uniportal VATS (UVATS) is disseminated widely, creating a drive to develop new techniques and instruments, including new graspers and special staplers with more angulation capacities. During the history of VATS, the classical 10 mm 0° or 30° rigid rod lens system, has been replaced by new thoracoscopes providing a variable angle technology and allowing 0° and 120° range of vision. Besides, the tip of these novel thoracoscopes can be positioned away from the operating side minimize fencing with other thoracoscopic instruments. The curved-tip stapler technology, and better designed endostaplers helped better dissection, precision of control, more secure staple lines. UVATS also contributed to the development of embryonic natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery. Three-dimensional VATS systems facilitated faster and more accurate grasping, suturing, and dissection of the tissues by restoring natural 3D vision and the perception of depth. Another innovation in VATS is the energy-based coagulative and tissue fusion technology which may be an alternative to endostaplers.

The past, present, and future of urgent matters: lessons learned from a decade of emergency department flow improvement.

PubMed

McClelland, Mark Stephen; Lazar, Danielle; Sears, Vickie; Wilson, Marcia; Siegel, Bruce; Pines, Jesse M

2011-12-01

Over the past decade, emergency departments (ED) have encountered major challenges due to increased crowding and a greater public focus on quality measurement and quality improvement. Responding to these challenges, many EDs have worked to improve their processes and develop new and innovative models of care delivery. Urgent Matters has contributed to ED quality and patient flow improvement by working with hospitals throughout the United States. Recognizing that EDs across the country are struggling with many of the same issues, Urgent Matters-a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)-has sought to identify, develop, and disseminate innovative approaches, interventions, and models to improve ED flow and quality. Using a variety of techniques, such as learning networks (collaboratives), national conferences, e-newsletters, webinars, best practices toolkits, and social media, Urgent Matters has served as a thought leader and innovator in ED quality improvement initiatives. The Urgent Matters Seven Success Factors were drawn from the early work done by program participants and propose practical guidelines for implementing and sustaining ED improvement activities. This article chronicles the history, activities, lessons learned, and future of the Urgent Matters program. © 2011 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

CERN openlab: Engaging industry for innovation in the LHC Run 3-4 R&D programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girone, M.; Purcell, A.; Di Meglio, A.; Rademakers, F.; Gunne, K.; Pachou, M.; Pavlou, S.

2017-10-01

LHC Run3 and Run4 represent an unprecedented challenge for HEP computing in terms of both data volume and complexity. New approaches are needed for how data is collected and filtered, processed, moved, stored and analysed if these challenges are to be met with a realistic budget. To develop innovative techniques we are fostering relationships with industry leaders. CERN openlab is a unique resource for public-private partnership between CERN and leading Information Communication and Technology (ICT) companies. Its mission is to accelerate the development of cutting-edge solutions to be used by the worldwide HEP community. In 2015, CERN openlab started its phase V with a strong focus on tackling the upcoming LHC challenges. Several R&D programs are ongoing in the areas of data acquisition, networks and connectivity, data storage architectures, computing provisioning, computing platforms and code optimisation and data analytics. This paper gives an overview of the various innovative technologies that are currently being explored by CERN openlab V and discusses the long-term strategies that are pursued by the LHC communities with the help of industry in closing the technological gap in processing and storage needs expected in Run3 and Run4.

Redundancy management for efficient fault recovery in NASA's distributed computing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malek, Miroslaw; Pandya, Mihir; Yau, Kitty

1991-01-01

The management of redundancy in computer systems was studied and guidelines were provided for the development of NASA's fault-tolerant distributed systems. Fault recovery and reconfiguration mechanisms were examined. A theoretical foundation was laid for redundancy management by efficient reconfiguration methods and algorithmic diversity. Algorithms were developed to optimize the resources for embedding of computational graphs of tasks in the system architecture and reconfiguration of these tasks after a failure has occurred. The computational structure represented by a path and the complete binary tree was considered and the mesh and hypercube architectures were targeted for their embeddings. The innovative concept of Hybrid Algorithm Technique was introduced. This new technique provides a mechanism for obtaining fault tolerance while exhibiting improved performance.

What does an innovative teaching assignment strategy mean to nursing students?

PubMed

Neuman, Lois H; Pardue, Karen T; Grady, Janet L; Gray, Mary Tod; Hobbins, Bonnie; Edelstein, Jan; Herrman, Judith W

2009-01-01

The concept of innovation in nursing education has been addressed in published literature on faculty-defined and faculty-created teaching strategies and instructional methods. In this project, innovation is defined as "using knowledge to create ways and services that are new (or perceived as new) in order to transform systems" (Pardue, Tagliareni, Valiga, Davison-Price, & Orchowsky, 2005). Studies on nursing student perceptions of innovation are limited, and it is unclear how undergraduate and graduate students conceptualize innovative learning experiences. This project explored students' perceptions of their experiences with instructor-defined, innovative teaching/learning strategies in four types of nursing education programs. Issues nurse educators should consider as they apply new techniques to their teaching are discussed.

Demand-pull and environmental innovations: Estimating the effects of innovative public procurement.

PubMed

Ghisetti, Claudia

2017-12-01

This paper contributes to the emerging literature on the adoption of environmental innovation, by investigating the so far unexplored role of governmental demand in stimulating 'greener' production choices. Specifically, the role of innovative public procurement in driving the adoption and diffusion of sustainable manufacturing technologies is analysed. Results, based on firm-level data in the 28 Member States of the European Union, Switzerland and the USA, are obtained through non-parametric matching techniques. Those outline the crucial role of innovative public procurement in the uptake of environmental innovations. This confirms the relevance of such policy instrument in allowing countries to achieve a decarbonised and sustainable growth path which is compatible with competitiveness goals.

Funding and Strategic Alignment Guidance for Infusing Small Business Innovation Research Technology Into Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Projects at NASA Glenn Research Center for 2015

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Hung D.; Steele, Gynelle C.; Morris, Jessica R.

2015-01-01

This document is intended to enable the more effective transition of NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) SBIR technologies funded by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program as well as its companion, the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program into NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) projects. Primarily, it is intended to help NASA program and project managers find useful technologies that have undergone extensive research and development (RRD), through Phase II of the SBIR program; however, it can also assist non-NASA agencies and commercial companies in this process. aviation safety, unmanned aircraft, ground and flight test technique, low emissions, quiet performance, rotorcraft

NASA's aircraft icing technology program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinmann, John J.

1991-01-01

NASA' Aircraft Icing Technology program is aimed at developing innovative technologies for safe and efficient flight into forecasted icing. The program addresses the needs of all aircraft classes and supports both commercial and military applications. The program is guided by three key strategic objectives: (1) numerically simulate an aircraft's response to an in-flight icing encounter, (2) provide improved experimental icing simulation facilities and testing techniques, and (3) offer innovative approaches to ice protection. Our research focuses on topics that directly support stated industry needs, and we work closely with industry to assure a rapid and smooth transfer of technology. This paper presents selected results that illustrate progress towards the three strategic objectives, and it provides a comprehensive list of references on the NASA icing program.

Visualization of delamination in composite materials utilizing advanced X-ray imaging techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vavrik, D.; Jakubek, J.; Jandejsek, I.; Krejci, F.; Kumpova, I.; Zemlicka, J.

2015-04-01

This work is focused on the development of instrumental radiographic methods for detection of delaminations in layered carbon fibre reinforced plastic composites used in the aerospace industry. The main limitation of current visualisation techniques is a very limited possibility to image so-called closed delaminations in which delaminated layers are in contact practically with no physical gap. In this contribution we report the development of innovative methods for closed delamination detection using an X-ray phase contrast technique for which the distance between delamination surfaces is not relevant. The approach is based on the energetic sensitivity of phase-enhanced radiography. Based on the applied methodology, we can distinguish both closed and open delamination. Further we have demonstrated the possibility to visualise open delaminations characterised by a physical gap between delaminated layers. This delamination type was successfully identified and visualized utilizing a high resolution and computed tomography table-top technique based on proper beam-hardening effect correction.

B.F. Skinner and the auditory inkblot: The rise and fall of the verbal summator as a projective technique.

PubMed

Rutherford, Alexandra

2003-11-01

Behaviorist B.F. Skinner is not typically associated with the fields of personality assessment or projective testing. However, early in his career Skinner developed an instrument he named the verbal summator, which, at one point, he referred to as a device for "snaring out complexes," much like an auditory analogue of the Rorschach inkblots. Skinner's interest in the projective potential of his technique was relatively short lived, but whereas he used the verbal summator to generate experimental data for his theory of verbal behavior, several other clinicians and researchers exploited this potential and adapted the verbal summator technique for both research and applied purposes. The idea of an auditory inkblot struck many as a useful innovation, and the verbal summator spawned the tautophone test, the auditory apperception test, and the Azzageddi test, among others. This article traces the origin, development, and eventual demise of the verbal summator as an auditory projective technique.

Electrical characterization of a Mapham inverter using pulse testing techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baumann, E. D.; Myers, I. T.; Hammond, A. N.

1990-01-01

Electric power requirements for aerospace missions have reached megawatt power levels. Within the next few decades, it is anticipated that a manned lunar base, interplanetary travel, and surface exploration of the Martian surface will become reality. Several research and development projects aimed at demonstrating megawatt power level converters for space applications are currently underway at the NASA Lewis Research Center. Innovative testing techniques will be required to evaluate the components and converters, when developed, at their rated power in the absence of costly power sources, loads, and cooling systems. Facilities capable of testing these components and systems at full power are available, but their use may be cost prohibitive. The use of a multiple pulse testing technique is proposed to determine the electrical characteristics of large megawatt level power systems. Characterization of a Mapham inverter is made using the proposed technique and conclusions are drawn concerning its suitability as an experimental tool to evaluate megawatt level power systems.

Development of AN Innovative Three-Dimensional Complete Body Screening Device - 3D-CBS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crosetto, D. B.

2004-07-01

This article describes an innovative technological approach that increases the efficiency with which a large number of particles (photons) can be detected and analyzed. The three-dimensional complete body screening (3D-CBS) combines the functional imaging capability of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with those of the anatomical imaging capability of Computed Tomography (CT). The novel techniques provide better images in a shorter time with less radiation to the patient. A primary means of accomplishing this is the use of a larger solid angle, but this requires a new electronic technique capable of handling the increased data rate. This technique, combined with an improved and simplified detector assembly, enables executing complex real-time algorithms and allows more efficiently use of economical crystals. These are the principal features of this invention. A good synergy of advanced techniques in particle detection, together with technological progress in industry (latest FPGA technology) and simple, but cost-effective ideas provide a revolutionary invention. This technology enables over 400 times PET efficiency improvement at once compared to two to three times improvements achieved every five years during the past decades. Details of the electronics are provided, including an IBM PC board with a parallel-processing architecture implemented in FPGA, enabling the execution of a programmable complex real-time algorithm for best detection of photons.

Imaging live cells at high spatiotemporal resolution for lab-on-a-chip applications.

PubMed

Chin, Lip Ket; Lee, Chau-Hwang; Chen, Bi-Chang

2016-05-24

Conventional optical imaging techniques are limited by the diffraction limit and difficult-to-image biomolecular and sub-cellular processes in living specimens. Novel optical imaging techniques are constantly evolving with the desire to innovate an imaging tool that is capable of seeing sub-cellular processes in a biological system, especially in three dimensions (3D) over time, i.e. 4D imaging. For fluorescence imaging on live cells, the trade-offs among imaging depth, spatial resolution, temporal resolution and photo-damage are constrained based on the limited photons of the emitters. The fundamental solution to solve this dilemma is to enlarge the photon bank such as the development of photostable and bright fluorophores, leading to the innovation in optical imaging techniques such as super-resolution microscopy and light sheet microscopy. With the synergy of microfluidic technology that is capable of manipulating biological cells and controlling their microenvironments to mimic in vivo physiological environments, studies of sub-cellular processes in various biological systems can be simplified and investigated systematically. In this review, we provide an overview of current state-of-the-art super-resolution and 3D live cell imaging techniques and their lab-on-a-chip applications, and finally discuss future research trends in new and breakthrough research areas of live specimen 4D imaging in controlled 3D microenvironments.

Knowledge Innovation System: The Common Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Debra M. Amidon

1993-01-01

The Knowledge Innovation System is a management technique in which a networked enterprise uses knowledge flow as a collaborative advantage. Enterprise Management System-Architecture, which can be applied to collaborative activities, has five domains: economic, sociological, psychological, managerial, and technological. (SK)

Technology development of fabrication techniques for advanced solar dynamic concentrators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richter, Scott W.

1991-01-01

The objective of the advanced concentrator program is to develop the technology that will lead to lightweight, highly reflective, accurate, scaleable, and long lived space solar dynamic concentrators. The advanced concentrator program encompasses new and innovative concepts, fabrication techniques, materials selection, and simulated space environmental testing. Fabrication techniques include methods of fabricating the substrates and coating substrate surfaces to produce high quality optical surfaces, acceptable for further coating with vapor deposited optical films. The selected materials to obtain a high quality optical surface include microsheet glass and Eccocoat EP-3 epoxy, with DC-93-500 selected as a candidate silicone adhesive and levelizing layer. The following procedures are defined: cutting, cleaning, forming, and bonding microsheet glass. Procedures are also defined for surface cleaning, and EP-3 epoxy application. The results and analyses from atomic oxygen and thermal cycling tests are used to determine the effects of orbital conditions in a space environment.

Fifty years of solid-phase extraction in water analysis--historical development and overview.

PubMed

Liska, I

2000-07-14

The use of an appropriate sample handling technique is a must in an analysis of organic micropollutants in water. The efforts to use a solid phase for the recovery of analytes from a water matrix prior to their detection have a long history. Since the first experimental trials using activated carbon filters that were performed 50 years ago, solid-phase extraction (SPE) has become an established sample preparation technique. The initial experimental applications of SPE resulted in widespread use of this technique in current water analysis and also to adoption of SPE into standardized analytical methods. During the decades of its evolution, chromatographers became aware of the advantages of SPE and, despite many innovations that appeared in the last decade, new SPE developments are still expected in the future. A brief overview of 50 years of the history of the use of SPE in organic trace analysis of water is given in presented paper.

The status and development of treatment techniques of typical waste electrical and electronic equipment in China: a review.

PubMed

He, Yunxia; Xu, Zhenming

2014-04-01

A large quantity of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is being generated because technical innovation promotes the unceasing renewal of products. China's household appliances and electronic products have entered the peak of obsolescence. Due to lack of technology and equipment, recycling of WEEE is causing serious environment pollution. In order to achieve the harmless disposal and resource utilization of WEEE, researchers have performed large quantities of work, and some demonstration projects have been built recently. In this paper, the treatment techniques of typical WEEE components, including printed circuit boards, refrigerator cabinets, toner cartridges, cathode ray tubes, liquid crystal display panels, batteries (Ni-Cd and Li-ion), hard disk drives, and wires are reviewed. An integrated recycling system with environmentally friendly and highly efficient techniques for processing WEEE is proposed. The orientation of further development for WEEE recycling is also proposed.

Protein purification and analysis: next generation Western blotting techniques.

PubMed

Mishra, Manish; Tiwari, Shuchita; Gomes, Aldrin V

2017-11-01

Western blotting is one of the most commonly used techniques in molecular biology and proteomics. Since western blotting is a multistep protocol, variations and errors can occur at any step reducing the reliability and reproducibility of this technique. Recent reports suggest that a few key steps, such as the sample preparation method, the amount and source of primary antibody used, as well as the normalization method utilized, are critical for reproducible western blot results. Areas covered: In this review, improvements in different areas of western blotting, including protein transfer and antibody validation, are summarized. The review discusses the most advanced western blotting techniques available and highlights the relationship between next generation western blotting techniques and its clinical relevance. Expert commentary: Over the last decade significant improvements have been made in creating more sensitive, automated, and advanced techniques by optimizing various aspects of the western blot protocol. New methods such as single cell-resolution western blot, capillary electrophoresis, DigiWest, automated microfluid western blotting and microchip electrophoresis have all been developed to reduce potential problems associated with the western blotting technique. Innovative developments in instrumentation and increased sensitivity for western blots offer novel possibilities for increasing the clinical implications of western blot.

Quantitative Analysis of Technological Innovation in Knee Arthroplasty: Using Patent and Publication Metrics to Identify Developments and Trends.

PubMed

Dalton, David M; Burke, Thomas P; Kelly, Enda G; Curtin, Paul D

2016-06-01

Surgery is in a constant continuum of innovation with refinement of technique and instrumentation. Arthroplasty surgery potentially represents an area with highly innovative process. This study highlights key area of innovation in knee arthroplasty over the past 35 years using patent and publication metrics. Growth rates and patterns are analyzed. Patents are correlated to publications as a measure of scientific support. Electronic patent and publication databases were searched over the interval 1980-2014 for "knee arthroplasty" OR "knee replacement." The resulting patent codes were allocated into technology clusters. Citation analysis was performed to identify any important developments missed on initial analysis. The technology clusters identified were further analyzed, individual repeat searches performed, and growth curves plotted. The initial search revealed 3574 patents and 16,552 publications. The largest technology clusters identified were Unicompartmental, Patient-Specific Instrumentation (PSI), Navigation, and Robotic knee arthroplasties. The growth in patent activity correlated strongly with publication activity (Pearson correlation value 0.892, P < .01), but was growing at a faster rate suggesting a decline in vigilance. PSI, objectively the fastest growing technology in the last 5 years, is currently in a period of exponential growth that began a decade ago. Established technologies in the study have double s-shaped patent curves. Identifying trends in emerging technologies is possible using patent metrics and is useful information for training and regulatory bodies. The decline in ratio of publications to patents and the uninterrupted growth of PSI are developments that may warrant further investigation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrative laser medicine and high-tech acupuncture at the medical university of graz, austria, europe.

PubMed

Litscher, Gerhard

2012-01-01

At the moment, modernization of acupuncture has a high priority. On the traditional side, acupuncture has only recently been awarded the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO. On the innovative side, high-tech acupuncture is a registered trademark in Austria. Acupuncture has been used for medical treatment for thousands of years. A large number of empirical data are available but the technical quantification of effects was not possible up to now. Using electroacupuncture, needle, or laser stimulation and modern biomedical techniques, it was possible for the first time to quantify changes in biological activities caused by acupuncture. This paper which serves as introduction for the special issue "High-Tech Acupuncture and Integrative Laser Medicine" of the present journal, focuses on the latest innovative aspects that underline the further enhancement and development of acupuncture. Special emphasis is given to new methodological and technical investigations, for example, results obtained from all kinds of acupuncture innovations (e.g., teleacupuncture) and integrative laser medicine.

Integrative Laser Medicine and High-Tech Acupuncture at the Medical University of Graz, Austria, Europe

PubMed Central

Litscher, Gerhard

2012-01-01

At the moment, modernization of acupuncture has a high priority. On the traditional side, acupuncture has only recently been awarded the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO. On the innovative side, high-tech acupuncture is a registered trademark in Austria. Acupuncture has been used for medical treatment for thousands of years. A large number of empirical data are available but the technical quantification of effects was not possible up to now. Using electroacupuncture, needle, or laser stimulation and modern biomedical techniques, it was possible for the first time to quantify changes in biological activities caused by acupuncture. This paper which serves as introduction for the special issue “High-Tech Acupuncture and Integrative Laser Medicine” of the present journal, focuses on the latest innovative aspects that underline the further enhancement and development of acupuncture. Special emphasis is given to new methodological and technical investigations, for example, results obtained from all kinds of acupuncture innovations (e.g., teleacupuncture) and integrative laser medicine. PMID:22570669

Kangaroo Mother Care in Colombia: A Subaltern Health Innovation against For-profit Biomedicine.

PubMed

Abadía-Barrero, César Ernesto

2018-01-24

This ethnographic study presents the origins, growth, and collapse of the first Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) program, a well-established practice for neonatal care created in 1978 in Colombia. The WHO and UNICEF praised this zero-cost revolutionary technique for its promotion of skin-to-skin contact between premature and low-birth-weight newborns and family members. KMC facilitates early hospital discharge, brings many clinical and psychological benefits, and constitutes an excellent alternative to placing babies in incubators. However, these benefits and political potential against biomedical interventions were undermined after being relabeled as a "reverse innovation," a business concept that encourages corporate investments in low-income countries to develop technologies that can both solve global health problems and boost multinational corporations profits. In response, I propose "subaltern health innovations" as a label for KMC that accounts for the power dynamics in global health between health care initiatives that originate in the Global South and neoliberal configurations of for-profit biomedicine. © 2018 by the American Anthropological Association.

History of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Columbia University: A Century at the Vanguard of Clinical Care, Education, and Innovation.

PubMed

Argenziano, Michael; Smith, Craig R; Spotnitz, Henry M; Steinglass, Kenneth M; Bacha, Emile

2016-01-01

The Columbia University Cardiothoracic Surgery Program dates back to the earliest days of the specialty itself, when the first pioneers ventured into the chest, and eventually the heart, to treat diseases previously believed to be beyond the reach of medicine. This spirit of innovation, creativity, and vision has grown over the ensuing century and has driven the development of advances that have defined the specialty and saved countless lives. From novel techniques for the repair of complex congenital cardiac defects and acquired cardiovascular diseases, to comprehensive management of lung and esophageal maladies, and to the marvel of minimally invasive and percutaneous interventions, the march of progress has never been stronger, more dramatic, or more consequential that it is at Columbia today. Fueled by people who -- as descendants of those early pioneers -- have been raised in the "Columbia culture," the commitment to innovation and education has never been greater. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

[Research-oriented experimental course of plant cell and gene engineering for undergraduates].

PubMed

Xiaofei, Lin; Rong, Zheng; Morigen, Morigen

2015-04-01

Research-oriented comprehensive experimental course for undergraduates is an important part for their training of innovation. We established an optional course of plant cell and gene engineering for undergraduates using our research platform. The course is designed to study the cellular and molecular basis and experimental techniques for plant tissue culture, isolation and culture of protoplast, genetic transformation, and screening and identification of transgenic plants. To develop undergraduates' ability in experimental design and operation, and inspire their interest in scientific research and innovation consciousness, we integrated experimental teaching and practice in plant genetic engineering on the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels. Students in the course practiced an experimental teaching model featured by two-week teaching of principles, independent experimental design and bench work, and ready-to-access laboratory. In this paper, we describe the contents, methods, evaluation system and a few issues to be solved in this course, as well as the general application and significance of the research-oriented experimental course in reforming undergraduates' teaching and training innovative talents.

Coevolution in management fashion: an agent-based model of consultant-driven innovation.

PubMed

Strang, David; David, Robert J; Akhlaghpour, Saeed

2014-07-01

The rise of management consultancy has been accompanied by increasingly marked faddish cycles in management techniques, but the mechanisms that underlie this relationship are not well understood. The authors develop a simple agent-based framework that models innovation adoption and abandonment on both the supply and demand sides. In opposition to conceptions of consultants as rhetorical wizards who engineer waves of management fashion, firms and consultants are treated as boundedly rational actors who chase the secrets of success by mimicking their highest-performing peers. Computational experiments demonstrate that consultant-driven versions of this dynamic in which the outcomes of firms are strongly conditioned by their choice of consultant are robustly faddish. The invasion of boom markets by low-quality consultants undercuts popular innovations while simultaneously restarting the fashion cycle by prompting the flight of high-quality consultants into less densely occupied niches. Computational experiments also indicate conditions involving consultant mobility, aspiration levels, mimic probabilities, and client-provider matching that attenuate faddishness.

Current Status of Interventional Radiology Treatment of Infrapopliteal Arterial Disease

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

Rand, T., E-mail: thomas.rand@wienkav.at; Uberoi, R.

2013-06-15

Treatment of infrapopliteal arteries has developed to a standard technique during the past two decades. With the introduction of innovative devices, a variety of techniques has been created and is still under investigation. Treatment options range from plain balloon angioplasty (POBA), all sorts of stent applications, such as bare metal, balloon expanding, self-expanding, coated and drug-eluting stents, and bio-absorbable stents, to latest developments, such as drug-eluting balloons. Regarding the scientific background, several prospective, randomized studies with relevant numbers of patients have been (or will be) published that are Level I evidence. In contrast to older studies, which primarily were basedmore » mostly on numeric parameters, such as diameters or residual stenoses, more recent study concepts focus increasingly on clinical features, such as amputation rate improvement or changes of clinical stages and quality of life standards. Although it is still not decided, which of the individual techniques might be the best one, we can definitely conclude that whatever treatment of infrapopliteal arteries will be used it is of substantial benefit for the patient. Therefore, the goal of this review is to give an overview about the current developments and techniques for the treatment of infrapopliteal arteries, to present clinical and technical results, to weigh individual techniques, and to discuss the recent developments.« less

Managing Innovation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Ronald V.

1987-01-01

Proposes a systematic approach to the management of innovation in the teaching of English as a second language, based on an integration of techniques from the world of commerce and theories and procedures derived from education. The approach emphasizes the importance of clear understanding of aims. (CB)

Significant and Basic Innovations in Urban Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolyasnikov, V. A.

2017-11-01

The article considers the development features of the innovative urban planning in the USSR and Russia in XVIII - XX centuries. Innovative urban planning is defined as an activity on innovations creation and their implementation to obtain a socio-economic, political, environmental or other effect. In the course of urban development history this activity represents a cyclic wave process in which there are phases of rise and fall. The study of cyclic waves in the development of innovative urban planning uses the concept of basic and epochal innovations selection. This concept was developed by scientists for the study of cyclic wave processes in economics. Its adaptation to the conditions of innovative urban planning development allows one to introduce the concept of “basic innovation” and “significant innovation” in the theory and practice of settlement formation and their systems as well as to identify opportunities to highlight these innovations in the history of Russian urban planning. From these positions, six innovation waves committed to the urban development over the past 300 years are being investigated. The observed basic innovations in the domestic urban area show that urban development is a vital area for ensuring the country’s geopolitical security. Basic innovations are translated in time and modernized under new conditions of urban planning development. In this regard, we can predict the development of four basic innovations in post-Soviet Russia.

Plastic Cubesat: An innovative and low-cost way to perform applied space research and hands-on education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piattoni, Jacopo; Candini, Gian Paolo; Pezzi, Giulio; Santoni, Fabio; Piergentili, Fabrizio

2012-12-01

This paper describes the design and the manufacturing of a Cubesat platform based on a plastic structure. The Cubesat structure has been realized in plastic material (ABS) using a "rapid prototyping" technique. The "rapid prototyping" technique has several advantages including fast implementation, accuracy in manufacturing small parts and low cost. Moreover, concerning the construction of a small satellite, this technique is very useful thanks to the accuracy achievable in details, which are sometimes difficult and expensive to realize with the use of tools machine. The structure must be able to withstand the launch loads. For this reason, several simulations using an FEM simulation and an intensive vibration test campaign have been performed in the system development and test phase. To demonstrate that this structure is suitable for hosting a complete satellite system, offering innovative integrated solutions, other subsystems have been developed and assembled. Despite its small size, this single unit (1U) Cubesat has a system for active attitude control, a redundant telecommunication system, a payload camera and a photovoltaic system based on high efficiency solar cells. The developed communication subsystem has small dimensions, low power consumption and low cost. An example of the innovations introduced is the antenna system, which has been manufactured inside the ABS structure. The communication protocol which has been implemented, the AX.25 protocol, is mainly used by radio amateurs. The communication system has the capability to transmit both telemetry and data from the payload, in this case a microcamera. The attitude control subsystem is based on an active magnetic system with magnetorquers for detumbling and momentum dumping and three reaction wheels for fine control. It has a total dimension of about 50×50×50 mm. A microcontroller implements the detumbling control law autonomously taking data from integrated magnetometers and executes pointing maneuvers on the basis of commands received in real time from ground. The subsystems developed for this Cubesat have also been designed to be scaled up for larger satellites such as 2U or 3U Cubesats. The additional volume can be used for more complex payloads. Thus the satellite can be used as a low cost platform for companies, institutions or universities to test components in space.

Germanium Lift-Off Masks for Thin Metal Film Patterning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Ari

2012-01-01

A technique has been developed for patterning thin metallic films that are, in turn, used to fabricate microelectronics circuitry and thin-film sensors. The technique uses germanium thin films as lift-off masks. This requires development of a technique to strip or undercut the germanium chemically without affecting the deposited metal. Unlike in the case of conventional polymeric lift-off masks, the substrate can be exposed to very high temperatures during processing (sputter deposition). The reason why polymeric liftoff masks cannot be exposed to very high temperatures (greater than 100 C) is because (a) they can become cross linked, making lift-off very difficult if not impossible, and (b) they can outgas nitrogen and oxygen, which then can react with the metal being deposited. Consequently, this innovation is expected to find use in the fabrication of transition edge sensors and microwave kinetic inductance detectors, which use thin superconducting films deposited at high temperature as their sensing elements. Transition edge sensors, microwave kinetic inductance detectors, and their circuitry are comprised of superconducting thin films, for example Nb and TiN. Reactive ion etching can be used to pattern these films; however, reactive ion etching also damages the underlying substrate, which is unwanted in many instances. Polymeric lift-off techniques permit thin-film patterning without any substrate damage, but they are difficult to remove and the polymer can outgas during thin-film deposition. The outgassed material can then react with the film with the consequence of altered and non-reproducible materials properties, which, in turn, is deleterious for sensors and their circuitry. The purpose of this innovation was to fabricate a germanium lift-off mask to be used for patterning thin metal films.

The CSSIAR v.1.00 Software: A new tool based on SIAR to assess soil redistribution using Compound Specific Stable Isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sergio, de los Santos-Villalobos; Claudio, Bravo-Linares; dos Anjos Roberto, Meigikos; Renan, Cardoso; Max, Gibbs; Andrew, Swales; Lionel, Mabit; Gerd, Dercon

Soil erosion is one of the biggest challenges for food production around the world. Many techniques have been used to evaluate and mitigate soil degradation. Nowadays isotopic techniques are becoming a powerful tool to assess soil apportionment. One of the innovative techniques used is the Compound Specific Stable Isotopes (CSSI) analysis, which has been used to track down sediments and specify their sources by the isotopic signature of δ13 C in specific fatty acids. The application of this technique on soil apportionment has been recently developed, however there is a lack of user-friendly Software for data processing and interpretation. The aim of this article is to introduce a new open source tool for working with data sets generated by the use of the CSSI technique to assess soil apportionment, called the CSSIARv1.00 Software

Transducer technology transfer to bio-engineering applications. [aerospace stress transducer for heart function analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duran, E. N.; Lewis, G. W.; Feldstein, C.; Corday, E.; Meerbaum, S.; Lang, T.

1973-01-01

The results of a technology transfer of a miniature unidirectional stress transducer, developed for experimental stress analysis in the aerospace field, to applications in bioengineering are reported. By modification of the basic design and innovations in attachment techniques, the transducer was successfully used in vivo on the myocardium of large dogs to record the change in contractile force due to coronary occlusion, reperfusion, and intervention.

Center for Innovative Minimally Invasive Therapy (CIMIT)

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-10-01

diffuse through to deeper tissue to underlying capillaries. The same principle can be applied to oral drug delivery. Using microfabrication techniques...Steven L. The Effects of Testing Environment on the Viscoelastic Properties of Soft Tissues . In S. Cotin and D. Metaxas (Eds.): ISMS 2003, LNCS 3078, pp. 9...cardiomyocytes in mammals. Regeneration of myocardial tissue is an actively developing area of research aiming to restore cardiac function. We hypothesized that a

Final Report for the ZERT Project: Basic Science of Retention Issues, Risk Assessment & Measurement, Monitoring and Verification for Geologic Sequestration

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

Spangler, Lee; Cunningham, Alfred; Lageson, David

2011-03-31

ZERT has made major contributions to five main areas of sequestration science: improvement of computational tools; measurement and monitoring techniques to verify storage and track migration of CO{sub 2}; development of a comprehensive performance and risk assessment framework; fundamental geophysical, geochemical and hydrological investigations of CO{sub 2} storage; and investigate innovative, bio-based mitigation strategies.

Composition design for (PrNd–La–Ce)2Fe14B melt-spun magnets by machine learning technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Rui; Liu, Yao; Zuo, Shu-Lan; Zhao, Tong-Yun; Hu, Feng-Xia; Sun, Ji-Rong; Shen, Bao-Gen

2018-04-01

Not Available Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2014CB643702), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51590880), the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KJZD-EW-M05), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFB0700903).

Improving Fatigue Performance of AHSS Welds

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

Feng, Zhili; Yu, Xinghua; Erdman, III, Donald L.

Reported herein is technical progress on a U.S. Department of Energy CRADA project with industry cost-share aimed at developing the technical basis and demonstrate the viability of innovative in-situ weld residual stresses mitigation technology that can substantially improve the weld fatigue performance and durability of auto-body structures. The developed technology would be costeffective and practical in high-volume vehicle production environment. Enhancing weld fatigue performance would address a critical technology gap that impedes the widespread use of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) and other lightweight materials for auto body structure light-weighting. This means that the automotive industry can take full advantage ofmore » the AHSS in strength, durability and crashworthiness without the concern of the relatively weak weld fatigue performance. The project comprises both technological innovations in weld residual stress mitigation and due-diligence residual stress measurement and fatigue performance evaluation. Two approaches were investigated. The first one was the use of low temperature phase transformation (LTPT) weld filler wire, and the second focused on novel thermo-mechanical stress management technique. Both technical approaches have resulted in considerable improvement in fatigue lives of welded joints made of high-strength steels. Synchrotron diffraction measurement confirmed the reduction of high tensile weld residual stresses by the two weld residual stress mitigation techniques.« less

An engineering perspective on 3D printed personalized scaffolds for tracheal suspension technique

PubMed Central

An, Jia

2016-01-01

3D printing is a large family of many distinct technologies covering a wide range of topics. From an engineering point of view, there should be considerations for selection of design, material, and process when using 3D printing for surgical technique innovation such as personalized scaffolds. Moreover, cost should also be considered if there are equally effective alternatives to the innovation. Furthermore, engineering considerations and options should be clearly communicated and readily available to surgeons for advancement in future. PMID:28149624

An engineering perspective on 3D printed personalized scaffolds for tracheal suspension technique.

PubMed

An, Jia; Chua, Chee Kai

2016-12-01

3D printing is a large family of many distinct technologies covering a wide range of topics. From an engineering point of view, there should be considerations for selection of design, material, and process when using 3D printing for surgical technique innovation such as personalized scaffolds. Moreover, cost should also be considered if there are equally effective alternatives to the innovation. Furthermore, engineering considerations and options should be clearly communicated and readily available to surgeons for advancement in future.

BMP analysis system for watershed-based stormwater management.

PubMed

Zhen, Jenny; Shoemaker, Leslie; Riverson, John; Alvi, Khalid; Cheng, Mow-Soung

2006-01-01

Best Management Practices (BMPs) are measures for mitigating nonpoint source (NPS) pollution caused mainly by stormwater runoff. Established urban and newly developing areas must develop cost effective means for restoring or minimizing impacts, and planning future growth. Prince George's County in Maryland, USA, a fast-growing region in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, has developed a number of tools to support analysis and decision making for stormwater management planning and design at the watershed level. These tools support watershed analysis, innovative BMPs, and optimization. Application of these tools can help achieve environmental goals and lead to significant cost savings. This project includes software development that utilizes GIS information and technology, integrates BMP processes simulation models, and applies system optimization techniques for BMP planning and selection. The system employs the ESRI ArcGIS as the platform, and provides GIS-based visualization and support for developing networks including sequences of land uses, BMPs, and stream reaches. The system also provides interfaces for BMP placement, BMP attribute data input, and decision optimization management. The system includes a stand-alone BMP simulation and evaluation module, which complements both research and regulatory nonpoint source control assessment efforts, and allows flexibility in the examining various BMP design alternatives. Process based simulation of BMPs provides a technique that is sensitive to local climate and rainfall patterns. The system incorporates a meta-heuristic optimization technique to find the most cost-effective BMP placement and implementation plan given a control target, or a fixed cost. A case study is presented to demonstrate the application of the Prince George's County system. The case study involves a highly urbanized area in the Anacostia River (a tributary to Potomac River) watershed southeast of Washington, DC. An innovative system of management practices is proposed to minimize runoff, improve water quality, and provide water reuse opportunities. Proposed management techniques include bioretention, green roof, and rooftop runoff collection (rain barrel) systems. The modeling system was used to identify the most cost-effective combinations of management practices to help minimize frequency and size of runoff events and resulting combined sewer overflows to the Anacostia River.

Weatherization Innovation Pilot Program: Program Overview and Philadelphia Project Highlight (Fact Sheet)

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

Not Available

2012-01-01

Case Study with WIPP program overview, information regarding eligibility, and successes from Pennsylvania's Commission on Economic Opportunity (CEO) that demonstrate innovative approaches that maximize the benefit of the program. The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) recently launched the Weatherization Innovation Pilot Program (WIPP) to accelerate innovations in whole-house weatherization and advance DOE's goal of increasing the energy efficiency and health and safety of homes of low-income families. Since 2010, WIPP has helped weatherization service providers as well as new and nontraditional partners leverage non-federal financial resources to supplement federal grants, saving taxpayer money.more » WIPP complements the Weatherization Assistance program (WAP), which operates nation-wide, in U.S. territories and in three Native American tribes. 16 grantees are implementing weatherization innovation projects using experimental approaches to find new and better ways to weatherize homes. They are using approaches such as: (1) Financial tools - by understanding a diverse range of financing mechanisms, grantees can maximize the impact of the federal grant dollars while providing high-quality work and benefits to eligible low-income clients; (2) Green and healthy homes - in addition to helping families reduce their energy costs, grantees can protect their health and safety. Two WIPP projects (Connecticut and Maryland) will augment standard weatherization services with a comprehensive green and healthy homes approach; (3) New technologies and techniques - following the model of continuous improvement in weatherization, WIPP grantees will continue to use new and better technologies and techniques to improve the quality of work; (4) Residential energy behavior change - Two grantees are rigorously testing home energy monitors (HEMs) that display energy used in kilowatt-hours, allowing residents to monitor and reduce their energy use, and another is examining best-practices for mobile home energy efficiency; (5) Workforce development and volunteers - with a goal of creating a self-sustaining weatherization model that does not require future federal investment, three grantees are adapting business models successful in other sectors of the home performance business to perform weatherization work. Youthbuild is training youth to perform home energy upgrades to eligible clients and Habitat for Humanity is developing a model for how to incorporate volunteer labor in home weatherization. These innovative approaches will improve key weatherization outcomes, such as: Increasing the total number of homes that are weatherized; Reducing the weatherization cost per home; Increasing the energy savings in each weatherized home; Increasing the number of weatherization jobs created and retained; and Reducing greenhouse gas emissions.« less

UTILITY EXPERIENCE WITH INNOVATIVE WATER MAIN REHAB TECHNIQUES

EPA Science Inventory

All utilities are motivated to renew their aging infrastructure in the most efficient manner with respect to cost and minimal disruption to the community. American Water was given an opportunity to participate in an EPA funded project to demonstrate innovative water (and wastewa...

Innovative green technique for preparing of flame retardant cotton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Due to its environmentally benign character, microwave-assisted or supercritical carbon dioxide high pressure reactors are considered in green chemistry as a substitute for organic solvents in chemical reactions. In this paper, an innovative approach for preparation of flame retardant cotton fabric ...

GEM detector performance with innovative micro-TPC readout in high magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garzia, I.; Alexeev, M.; Amoroso, A.; Baldini Ferroli, R.; Bertani, M.; Bettoni, D.; Bianchi, F.; Calcaterra, A.; Canale, N.; Capodiferro, M.; Cassariti, V.; Cerioni, S.; Chai, J. Y.; Chiozzi, S.; Cibinetto, G.; Cossio, F.; Cotta Ramusino, A.; De Mori, F.; Destefanis, M.; Dong, J.; Evangelisti, F.; Evangelisti, F.; Farinelli, R.; Fava, L.; Felici, G.; Fioravanti, E.; Gatta, M.; Greco, M.; Lavezzi, L.; Leng, C. Y.; Li, H.; Maggiora, M.; Malaguti, R.; Marcello, S.; Melchiorri, M.; Mezzadri, G.; Mignone, M.; Morello, G.; Pacetti, S.; Patteri, P.; Pellegrino, J.; Pelosi, A.; Rivetti, A.; Rolo, M. D.; Savrié, M.; Scodeggio, M.; Soldani, E.; Sosio, S.; Spataro, S.; Tskhadadze, E.; Verma, S.; Wheadon, R.; Yan, L.

2018-01-01

Gas detector development is one of the pillars of the research in fundamental physics. Since several years, a new concept of detectors, called Micro Pattern Gas Detector (MPGD), allowed to overcome several problems related to other types of commonly used detectors, like drift chamber and micro strips detectors, reducing the rate of discharges and providing better radiation tolerance. Among the most used MPGDs are the Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs). Invented by Sauli in 1997, nowadays GEMs have become an important reality for particle detectors in high energy physics. Commonly deployed as fast timing detectors and triggers, their fast response, high rate capability and high radiation hardness make them also suitable as tracking detectors. The readout scheme is one of the most important features in tracking technology. Analog readout based on the calculation of the center of gravity technique allows to overcome the limit imposed by digital pads, whose spatial resolution is limited by the pitch dimensions. However, the presence of high external magnetic fields can distort the electronic cloud and affect the performance. The development of the micro-TPC reconstruction method brings GEM detectors into a new prospective, improving significantly the spatial resolutionin presence of high magnetic fields. This innovative technique allows to reconstruct the 3-dimensional particle position, as Time Projection Chamber, but within a drift gap of a few millimeters. In these report, the charge centroid and micro-TPC methods are described in details. We discuss the results of several test beams performed with planar chambers in magnetic field. These results are one of the first developments of micro-TPC technique for GEM detectors, which allows to reach unprecedented performance in a high magnetic field of 1 T.

Innovative trident fixation technique for allograft knee arthrodesis for high-grade osteosarcoma around the knee.

PubMed

Su, Alvin W; Chen, Wei-Ming; Chen, Cheng-Fong; Chen, Tain-Hsiung

2009-11-01

Reconstruction for osteosarcoma around the knee after wide resection faces the challenge of great bone defect and future limb length discrepancy in the skeletally immature patients. Modern prosthetic reconstruction may provide good results, but the longevity may be of concern and may not be affordable in certain communities. Allograft knee arthrodesis still has its role in light of bone stock preservation and cost-effectiveness. We developed the innovative trident fixation technique utilizing three Steinmann pins to minimize limb length inequality without jeopardizing knee fusion stability. Twelve patients were enrolled. The mean age was 11.5 (10-13) years. Two had high-grade osteosarcoma in proximal tibia and others in distal femur. Two patients died of oncological disease. The median follow-up of the disease-free 10 patients was 47 (41-60) months. All allograft-host bone junctions healed uneventfully without major complications except one allograft fracture. The average limb length discrepancy was 1.45 (1.0-2.1) cm at latest follow-up. This straightforward technique was successful in knee arthrodesis with minimized limb length inequality. Accordingly, in light of bone stock preservation and longevity for the young children, it may be a surgical alternative for malignant bone tumors around the knee.

SOIL AND SEDIMENT SAMPLING METHODS | Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response's (OSWER) Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) needs innovative methods and techniques to solve new and difficult sampling and analytical problems found at the numerous Superfund sites throughout the United States. Inadequate site characterization and a lack of knowledge of surface and subsurface contaminant distributions hinders EPA's ability to make the best decisions on remediation options and to conduct the most effective cleanup efforts. To assist OSWER, NERL conducts research to improve their capability to more accurately, precisely, and efficiently characterize Superfund, RCRA, LUST, oil spills, and brownfield sites and to improve their risk-based decision making capabilities, research is being conducted on improving soil and sediment sampling techniques and improving the sampling and handling of volatile organic compound (VOC) contaminated soils, among the many research programs and tasks being performed at ESD-LV.Under this task, improved sampling approaches and devices will be developed for characterizing the concentration of VOCs in soils. Current approaches and devices used today can lose up to 99% of the VOCs present in the sample due inherent weaknesses in the device and improper/inadequate collection techniques. This error generally causes decision makers to markedly underestimate the soil VOC concentrations and, therefore, to greatly underestimate the ecological

Pay-off-biased social learning underlies the diffusion of novel extractive foraging traditions in a wild primate

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The type and variety of learning strategies used by individuals to acquire behaviours in the wild are poorly understood, despite the presence of behavioural traditions in diverse taxa. Social learning strategies such as conformity can be broadly adaptive, but may also retard the spread of adaptive innovations. Strategies like pay-off-biased learning, by contrast, are effective at diffusing new behaviour but may perform poorly when adaptive behaviour is common. We present a field experiment in a wild primate, Cebus capucinus, that introduced a novel food item and documented the innovation and diffusion of successful extraction techniques. We develop a multilevel, Bayesian statistical analysis that allows us to quantify individual-level evidence for different social and individual learning strategies. We find that pay-off-biased and age-biased social learning are primarily responsible for the diffusion of new techniques. We find no evidence of conformity; instead rare techniques receive slightly increased attention. We also find substantial and important variation in individual learning strategies that is patterned by age, with younger individuals being more influenced by both social information and their own individual experience. The aggregate cultural dynamics in turn depend upon the variation in learning strategies and the age structure of the wild population. PMID:28592681

Informed consent for innovative surgery: a survey of patients and surgeons.

PubMed

Lee Char, Susan J; Hills, Nancy K; Lo, Bernard; Kirkwood, Kimberly S

2013-04-01

Unlike new drugs and medical devices, most surgical procedures are developed outside clinical trials and without regulatory oversight. Surgical professional organizations have discussed how new procedures should be introduced into practice without agreement on what topics informed consent discussions must include. To provide surgeons with more specific guidance, we wanted to determine what information patients and surgeons consider essential to disclose before an innovative surgical procedure. Of those approached, 85 of 113 attending surgeons and 383 of 541 adult postoperative patients completed surveys; responses to the surveys were 75% and 71%, respectively. Using a 6-point Likert scale, participants rated the importance of discussing 16 types of information preoperatively for 3 techniques (standard open, laparoscopic, robotic) offered for a hypothetic partial hepatectomy. Compared with surgeons, patients placed more importance on nearly all types of information, particularly volumes and outcomes. For all 3 techniques, approximately 80% of patients indicated that they could not decide on surgery without being told whether it would be the surgeon's first time doing the procedure. When considering an innovative robotic surgery, a clear majority of both patients and surgeons agreed that it was essential to disclose the novel nature of the procedure, potentially unknown risks and benefits, and whether it would be the surgeon's first time performing the procedure. To promote informed decision-making and autonomy among patients considering innovative surgery, surgeons should disclose the novel nature of the procedure, potentially unknown risks and benefits, and whether the surgeon would be performing the procedure for the first time. When accurate volumes and outcomes data are available, surgeons should also discuss these with patients. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

MERINOVA: Meteorological risks as drivers of environmental innovation in agro-ecosystem management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gobin, Anne; Oger, Robert; Marlier, Catherine; Van De Vijver, Hans; Vandermeulen, Valerie; Van Huylenbroeck, Guido; Zamani, Sepideh; Curnel, Yannick; Mettepenningen, Evi

2013-04-01

The BELSPO funded project 'MERINOVA' deals with risks associated with extreme weather phenomena and with risks of biological origin such as pests and diseases. The major objectives of the proposed project are to characterise extreme meteorological events, assess the impact on Belgian agro-ecosystems, characterise their vulnerability and resilience to these events, and explore innovative adaptation options to agricultural risk management. The project comprises of five major parts that reflect the chain of risks: (i) Hazard: Assessing the likely frequency and magnitude of extreme meteorological events by means of probability density functions; (ii) Impact: Analysing the potential bio-physical and socio-economic impact of extreme weather events on agro-ecosystems in Belgium using process-based modelling techniques commensurate with the regional scale; (iii) Vulnerability: Identifying the most vulnerable agro-ecosystems using fuzzy multi-criteria and spatial analysis; (iv) Risk Management: Uncovering innovative risk management and adaptation options using actor-network theory and fuzzy cognitive mapping techniques; and, (v) Communication: Communicating to research, policy and practitioner communities using web-based techniques. The different tasks of the MERINOVA project require expertise in several scientific disciplines: meteorology, statistics, spatial database management, agronomy, bio-physical impact modelling, socio-economic modelling, actor-network theory, fuzzy cognitive mapping techniques. These expertises are shared by the four scientific partners who each lead one work package. The MERINOVA project will concentrate on promoting a robust and flexible framework by demonstrating its performance across Belgian agro-ecosystems, and by ensuring its relevance to policy makers and practitioners. Impacts developed from physically based models will not only provide information on the state of the damage at any given time, but also assist in understanding the links between different factors causing damage and determining bio-physical vulnerability. Socio-economic impacts will enlarge the basis for vulnerability mapping, risk management and adaptation options. A strong expert and end-user network will be established to help disseminating and exploiting project results to meet user needs.

Instrumentation for motor-current signature analysis using synchronous sampling

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

Castleberry, K.N.

1996-07-01

Personnel in the Instrumentation and Controls Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in association with the United States Enrichment Corporation, the U.S. Navy, and various Department of Energy sponsors, have been involved in the development and application of motor-current signature analysis for several years. In that time, innovation in the field has resulted in major improvements in signal processing, analysis, and system performance and capabilities. Recent work has concentrated on industrial implementation of one of the most promising new techniques. This report describes the developed method and the instrumentation package that is being used to investigate and develop potential applications.

Methods and costs of thin-seam mining. Final report, 25 September 1977-24 January 1979. [Thin seam in association with a thick seam

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

Finch, T.E.; Fidler, E.L.

1981-02-01

This report defines the state of the art (circa 1978) in removing thin coal seams associated with vastly thicker seams found in the surface coal mines of the western United States. New techniques are evaluated and an innovative method and machine is proposed. Western states resource recovery regulations are addressed and representative mining operations are examined. Thin seam recovery is investigated through its effect on (1) overburden removal, (2) conventional seam extraction methods, and (3) innovative techniques. Equations and graphs are used to accommodate the variable stratigraphic positions in the mining sequence on which thin seams occur. Industrial concern andmore » agency regulations provided the impetus for this study of total resource recovery. The results are a compendium of thin seam removal methods and costs. The work explains how the mining industry recovers thin coal seams in western surface mines where extremely thick seams naturally hold the most attention. It explains what new developments imply and where to look for new improvements and their probable adaptability.« less

Quantum control of the normal modes of benzene with ultrafast laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauer, Petra; Dou, Yusheng; Torralva, Ben; Allen, Roland

2005-03-01

Remarkable innovations in laser technology have made it possible to create laser pulses with ultrashort durations (below 100 femtoseconds) and ultrahigh intensities (above 1 terawatt per cm^2). To understand the behavior of complex molecules and materials in this new regime of physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science requires innovative techniques which complement experiment and standard theory, and which can treat situations in which conventional approximations like the Born- Oppenheimer approximation, the Franck-Condon principle, and Fermi's golden rule are no longer valid. In this talk we describe a method that we are developing, semiclassical electron-radiation-ion dyanmics (SERID), which can be used to perform simulations of the coupled dynamics of electrons and nuclei in an intense radiation field. We have employed this technique in studying the normal modes of benzene, and the possibility of controlling these modes by optimizing the laser pulses that are applied to the molecule. Animations will be shown of particular normal modes, including the breathing and beating modes, illustrating their symmetries and other properties, and of the photodissociation of benzene when the laser pulse exceeds a threshold intensity.

Early craniometric tools as a predecessor to neurosurgical stereotaxis.

PubMed

Serletis, Demitre; Pait, T Glenn

2016-06-01

In this paper the authors trace the history of early craniometry, referring to the technique of obtaining cranial measurements for the accurate correlation of external skull landmarks to specific brain regions. Largely drawing on methods from the newly emerging fields of physical anthropology and phrenology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, basic mathematical concepts were combined with simplistic (yet at the time, innovative) mechanical tools, leading to the first known attempts at craniocerebral topography. It is important to acknowledge the pioneers of this pre-imaging epoch, who applied creativity and ingenuity to tackle the challenge of reproducibly and reliably accessing a specific target in the brain. In particular, with the emergence of Broca's theory of cortical localization, in vivo craniometric tools, and the introduction of 3D coordinate systems, several innovative devices were conceived that subsequently paved the way for modern-day stereotactic techniques. In this context, the authors present a comprehensive and systematic review of the most popular craniometric tools developed during this time period (prior to the stereotactic era) for the purposes of craniocerebral measurement and target localization.

Ionic liquids in solid-phase microextraction: a review.

PubMed

Ho, Tien D; Canestraro, Anthony J; Anderson, Jared L

2011-06-10

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) has undergone a surge in popularity within the field of analytical chemistry in the past two decades since its introduction. Owing to its nature of extraction, SPME has become widely known as a quick and cost-effective sample preparation technique. Although SPME has demonstrated extraordinary versatility in sampling capabilities, the technique continues to experience a tremendous growth in innovation. Presently, increasing efforts have been directed towards the engineering of novel sorbent material in order to expand the applicability of SPME for a wider range of analytes and matrices. This review highlights the application of ionic liquids (ILs) and polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) as innovative sorbent materials for SPME. Characterized by their unique physico-chemical properties, these compounds can be structurally-designed to selectively extract target analytes based on unique molecular interactions. To examine the advantages of IL and PIL-based sorbent coatings in SPME, the field is reviewed by gathering available experimental data and exploring the sensitivity, linear calibration range, as well as detection limits for a variety of target analytes in the methods that have been developed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Supersonics Project - Airport Noise Tech Challenge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bridges, James

2010-01-01

The Airport Noise Tech Challenge research effort under the Supersonics Project is reviewed. While the goal of "Improved supersonic jet noise models validated on innovative nozzle concepts" remains the same, the success of the research effort has caused the thrust of the research to be modified going forward in time. The main activities from FY06-10 focused on development and validation of jet noise prediction codes. This required innovative diagnostic techniques to be developed and deployed, extensive jet noise and flow databases to be created, and computational tools to be developed and validated. Furthermore, in FY09-10 systems studies commissioned by the Supersonics Project showed that viable supersonic aircraft were within reach using variable cycle engine architectures if exhaust nozzle technology could provide 3-5dB of suppression. The Project then began to focus on integrating the technologies being developed in its Tech Challenge areas to bring about successful system designs. Consequently, the Airport Noise Tech Challenge area has shifted efforts from developing jet noise prediction codes to using them to develop low-noise nozzle concepts for integration into supersonic aircraft. The new plan of research is briefly presented by technology and timelines.

Conservative Surgical Approach to Restore Necrotic Columella in Patients Undergoing Neonatal Usage of Nasogastric Tube.

PubMed

Inchingolo, Francesco; Abenavoli, Fabio Massimo; De Angelis, Francesca; Orefici, Alessandro; Santacroce, Luigi; Dipalma, Gianna

2017-01-01

A common complication, related to the use of nasogastric tube during the 1 st day of life, is the necrosis of the columella. Esthetic damage in the early age typically leads to a healing request with very high result expectations. We aimed to develop and use an innovative surgical technique. We used our technique in four cases. Our technique requires two flaps designed with two paramedian release incisions. The two flaps will be sutured to what remains of the fibrous septum; finally, the two flaps will be sutured together in the medial region. Postoperative course was devoid of any complication. All patients gained esthetic improvements and an increase in the volume of the columella on the sagittal and frontal planes. This technique allows a conservative approach with low donor site morbidity and rapid postoperative course.

A technique for measuring vertically and horizontally polarized microwave brightness temperatures using electronic polarization-basis rotation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gasiewski, Albin J.

1992-01-01

This technique for electronically rotating the polarization basis of an orthogonal-linear polarization radiometer is based on the measurement of the first three feedhorn Stokes parameters, along with the subsequent transformation of this measured Stokes vector into a rotated coordinate frame. The technique requires an accurate measurement of the cross-correlation between the two orthogonal feedhorn modes, for which an innovative polarized calibration load was developed. The experimental portion of this investigation consisted of a proof of concept demonstration of the technique of electronic polarization basis rotation (EPBR) using a ground based 90-GHz dual orthogonal-linear polarization radiometer. Practical calibration algorithms for ground-, aircraft-, and space-based instruments were identified and tested. The theoretical effort consisted of radiative transfer modeling using the planar-stratified numerical model described in Gasiewski and Staelin (1990).

Development of the AOML Hurricane Research System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeh, K.; Gopalakrishnan, S.; Zhang, X.; Bao, J.; Quirino, T.; Sainani, V.; Rogers, R.; Aberson, S.; Marks, F.; Atlas, R.

2008-12-01

NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) has committed to the development of a modeling and data-assimilation system recently. This Hurricane Research System (HRS) aims to improve hurricane forecast by developing innovative modeling techniques, and by assimilating the hurricane inner-core data that is timely collected with aircrafts by the scientists at the AOML Hurricane Research Division (HRD), in addition to the data collected by other channels. We have started the development of the HRS by implementing a moving nest within a regional domain on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Nonhydrostatic Mesoscale Model (NMM). The dynamically moving nest is used to track the hurricane with an enhanced resolution to better simulate the hurricane structure with more accurate dynamical and physical processes. Combining with the diagnostic expertise at the HRD, and benefiting from the community efforts, we have quickly composed the HRS with excellent ingredients from various organizations. This baseline system has been in experimental operation for this hurricane season, and early result with these experiments seems quite promising. We have also developed a new visualization tool and an efficient post-processor emphasizing diagnostic functionality to facilitate hurricane research. Further development of the HRS includes the implementation of a third, moving nest to advance the model resolution to 1 km or higher with the limited computing resource. Innovative model initialization techniques and versatile hurricane-diagnostic tools are undergoing development. An Ensemble Kalman Filter is being constructed for the HRS to assimilate observation data. Physical parameterizations are being refined to improve the forcing and heating mechanisms, and ocean model coupling is to be implemented for realistic air-sea interactions. We will report the status up to date.

One more chemo or one too many? Defining the limits of treatment and innovation in medical oncology.

PubMed

Baszanger, Isabelle

2012-09-01

During the past few years, debates have frequently erupted in oncology journals regarding the question of whether to prolong or end treatment. These debates have been informed by developments from both within and outside the field. Within Bioethics, some writers have put forward a number of principles for judging the legitimacy of medical interventions, notably that of patient autonomy. Broad social and political developments have also profoundly affected medical practices at the end of life. Though therapeutic options have evolved, whether to stop or to pursue treatment in the face of certain death has been a central issue in medical oncology since the early 1950s. A critical appraisal of the history of this issue can help us to better understand the tangled relationship(s) between innovation, "cure," death, and the symptoms and subjective experiences of sufferers. This paper addresses an aspect of this complex problem, namely how limits are established regarding both treatment and therapeutic innovation near the end of life. Utilizing a grounded theory and situational analysis approach it traces how the issues at stake were defined and the ways in which the dilemma was progressively transformed as a result of the combined effects of a proliferating number of stakeholders, molecules, instruments, and techniques. It discusses three different moments, as they epitomize how the links between chemotherapy and palliation were construed through the evolving forms of clinical research and innovative therapies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A health promotion practicum targeting the college-age population.

PubMed

Diebold, C M; Chappell, H W; Robinson, M K

2000-01-01

Senior and sophomore baccalaureate nursing students at the University of Kentucky developed a health promotion exposition that targeted college students. This experience gave senior students the opportunity to practice leadership and management skills, such as planning, organizing, collaborating, delegating, evaluating, and time management and conflict resolution. Sophomore students developed teaching abilities, practiced assessment and communication techniques, and increased their knowledge of health-promoting behaviors. Both groups experienced team building and demonstrated accountability. Students reported a positive learning experience that met various course objectives in an innovative way.

Assessment of scaffold porosity: the new route of micro-CT.

PubMed

Bertoldi, Serena; Farè, Silvia; Tanzi, Maria Cristina

2011-01-01

A complete morphologic characterization of porous scaffolds for tissue engineering application is fundamental, as the architectural parameters, in particular porosity, strongly affect the mechanical and biological performance of the structures. Therefore, appropriate techniques for this purpose need to be selected. Several techniques for the assessment of scaffold porosity have been proposed, including Scanning Electron Microscopy observation, mercury and liquid extrusion porosimetry, gas pycnometry, and capillary flow porometry. Each of these techniques has several drawbacks and, a combination of different techniques is often required so as to achieve an in depth study of the morphologic properties of the scaffold. A single technique is often limited and suitable only for the assessment of a specific parameter. To overcome this limit, the most attractive option would be a single nondestructive technique, yet capable of providing a comprehensive set of data. It appears that micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) can potentially fulfill this role. Initially developed to characterize the 3D trabecular microarchitecture of bone, its use has been recently exploited by researchers for the morphologic characterization of porous biomaterials, as it enables obtaining a full assessment of the porous structures both in terms of pore size and interconnected porosity. This review aims to explore the use of micro-CT in scaffold characterization, comparing it with other previously developed techniques; we also focus on the contribution of this innovative tool to the development of scaffold-based tissue engineering application.

Managing for Innovation in the Age of Information Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Downes, Robin N.

1987-01-01

Discusses the need for innovative management techniques if integrated library systems are to be implemented successfully, as well as the opportunity the installation process provides to reexamine the organizational structure and objectives of the library and to introduce a creative organizational environment. (CLB)

Innovative technologies for powder metallurgy-based disk superalloys: Progress and proposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chong-Lin, Jia; Chang-Chun, Ge; Qing-Zhi, Yan

2016-02-01

Powder metallurgy (PM) superalloys are an important class of high temperature structural materials, key to the rotating components of aero engines. In the purview of the present challenges associated with PM superalloys, two novel approaches namely, powder preparation and the innovative spray-forming technique (for making turbine disk) are proposed and studied. Subsequently, advanced technologies like electrode-induction-melting gas atomization (EIGA), and spark-plasma discharge spheroidization (SPDS) are introduced, for ceramic-free superalloy powders. Presently, new processing routes are sought after for preparing finer and cleaner raw powders for disk superalloys. The progress of research in spray-formed PM superalloys is first summarized in detail. The spray-formed superalloy disks specifically exhibit excellent mechanical properties. This paper reviews the recent progress in innovative technologies for PM superalloys, with an emphasis on new ideas and approaches, central to the innovation driving techniques like powder processing and spray forming. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50974016 and 50071014).

Multimedia: Developing Creativity and Innovation in Engineering, Science,

Science.gov Websites

Find ScienceCinema Search Results Multimedia: Developing Creativity and Innovation in Engineering , Science, and Medicine Citation Details Title: Developing Creativity and Innovation in Engineering, Science , and Medicine Title: Developing Creativity and Innovation in Engineering, Science, and Medicine Authors

Triaxial testing system for pressure core analysis using image processing technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoneda, J.; Masui, A.; Tenma, N.; Nagao, J.

2013-11-01

In this study, a newly developed innovative triaxial testing system to investigate strength, deformation behavior, and/or permeability of gas hydrate bearing-sediments in deep sea is described. Transport of the pressure core from the storage chamber to the interior of the sealing sleeve of a triaxial cell without depressurization was achieved. An image processing technique was used to capture the motion and local deformation of a specimen in a transparent acrylic triaxial pressure cell and digital photographs were obtained at each strain level during the compression test. The material strength was successfully measured and the failure mode was evaluated under high confining and pore water pressures.

Recent advances in micro-scale and nano-scale high-performance liquid-phase chromatography for proteome research.

PubMed

Tao, Dingyin; Zhang, Lihua; Shan, Yichu; Liang, Zhen; Zhang, Yukui

2011-01-01

High-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS-MS) is regarded as one of the most powerful techniques for separation and identification of proteins. Recently, much effort has been made to improve the separation capacity, detection sensitivity, and analysis throughput of micro- and nano-HPLC, by increasing column length, reducing column internal diameter, and using integrated techniques. Development of HPLC columns has also been rapid, as a result of the use of submicrometer packing materials and monolithic columns. All these innovations result in clearly improved performance of micro- and nano-HPLC for proteome research.

Development of innovative technique that may be used as models for the increase of biomass production with grasses and other species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burton, G. W.; Hanna, W. W.

1981-09-01

Techniques for biomass increase are discussed: irradiation breeding of sterile triploid turf bermuda grasses; irradiation breeding of sterile Coastcross-1, a forage grass hybrid to increase winter hardiness; heterosis resulting from crossing specific irradiation induced mutants with their normal inbred parent; use of mitomycin and streptomycin to create cytoplasmic male sterile mutants in pearl millet; biomass of napiergrass; evaluation of mutagen induced lignin mutants to maximize metabolizable energy in sorghum; interspecific crosses in Pennisetum; production of homozygous translocation tester stocks; use of radiation to induce and transfer reproductive behavior in plants; and genetics of radiation induced mutations.

[Analysis on the trend of innovation and development in the field of ophthalmology].

PubMed

Shan, L H; An, X Y; Xu, M M; Fan, S P; Zhong, H; Ni, P; Chi, H

2018-06-11

Objective: To systematically analyze the innovation and development trend in the field of ophthalmology. Methods: The latest ophthalmology funding program from the National Eye Institute and National Natural Science Foundation of China, and funding project for 2012 to 2016 from the National Institutes of Health, National Natural Science Foundation of China and National key research and development plan of China was collected. Using the comparative analysis method, the major ophthalmology funding areas at home and abroad were analyzed. Papers published in 2012 to 2016 in the field of ophthalmology were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection, among which ESI highly cited papers and hot papers were particularly selected. Using bibliometric methods, the time trend of the number of papers and the citation frequency were analyzed. Using the co-occurrence cluster analysis method, the continued focuses and emerging concerns of ophthalmology papers was analyzed. Results: The funding plan of the National Eye Institute mainly covers nine major diseases in ophthalmology. NSFC focuses on retinal damage and repair mechanisms. The National Key Research and Development Program of China focuses on research on high-end ophthalmic implants. NIH continues to focus on the molecular mechanisms of blinding eye disease such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, corneal disease and cataracts, basic research in genetics, and advanced diagnostic techniques such as imaging. Latest areas of interest involve gene editing techniques and the application of stem cell technology in ophthalmology. In China, research and application of stem cells in ophthalmic diseases, intraocular sustained-release drug carrier, and precision medicine research in ophthalmology are emerging areas of funding. In 2012 to 2016, research topics of 168 papers collected by ESI focused on macular degeneration, retinal diseases, glaucoma and other eye diseases. How to quickly promote new drugs and new technological achievements to the clinical application is a problem in the field of ophthalmology. How to change the ophthalmology clinic model, so as to provide patients with convenient and quality service, has become a research topic that needs to be given attention to. Conclusions: Based on the multidimensional analysis of innovation and development in the field of ophthalmology, cross application and integration of ophthalmology and high - tech fields such as advanced imaging technology, stem cell technology, gene editing technology, molecular targeting, and artificial intelligence will provide a strong basis for the enhancement of China's ophthalmology research innovation and international competitiveness. Research efforts for ophthalmic transformation should be strengthened, in order to realize the clinical application of the achievements as soon as possible. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2018, 54: 452 - 463) .

Investigation of Potential Thermal Processing Techniques for the Enhancement of PS300 High Temperature Solid Lubricant Coatings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benoy, Patricia A.

2000-01-01

Contemporary trends in rotating machinery development have produced a continuous evolution towards ever increasing speeds and higher operating temperatures. This process has been particularly evident in aerospace and automotive applications such as turbochargers. The combination of high temperature and high speed has exceeded the capacity of mainstream liquid lubrication technology. The NASA Glenn Research Center has been at the forefront in developing innovative solid lubricants for the oil free protection of rotating machinery under these extreme environmental conditions. The most recent of these is the PS 300 series of plasma sprayed solid lubricant coatings. St Louis University and NASA Glenn Research Center entered into this cooperative agreement to investigate potential thermal processing techniques for the enhancement of the PS 304 solid lubricant.

Northern Everglades, Florida, satellite image map

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomas, Jean-Claude; Jones, John W.

2002-01-01

These satellite image maps are one product of the USGS Land Characteristics from Remote Sensing project, funded through the USGS Place-Based Studies Program with support from the Everglades National Park. The objective of this project is to develop and apply innovative remote sensing and geographic information system techniques to map the distribution of vegetation, vegetation characteristics, and related hydrologic variables through space and over time. The mapping and description of vegetation characteristics and their variations are necessary to accurately simulate surface hydrology and other surface processes in South Florida and to monitor land surface changes. As part of this research, data from many airborne and satellite imaging systems have been georeferenced and processed to facilitate data fusion and analysis. These image maps were created using image fusion techniques developed as part of this project.

Study on Enhanceing Mechanisim and Policy on Energy Efficiency of Electrical Motor System in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ren; Zhao, Yuejin; Liu, Meng; Chen, Lili; Yang, Ming

2017-12-01

Motor is a kind of terminal energy-consumption equipment with the maximum power consumption in China every year; compared with international advanced level, the technical innovation of motor equipment, speed regulating system, drive system and automatic intelligent control technique in China still lag behind relatively; the standard technical service support system of motor system is not complete, the energy conserving transformation mode needs to be innovated, and the market development mechanism of motor industry is not perfect, etc. This paper analyzes the promotion mechanism and policy on energy efficiency of the motor system in China in recent years, studies the demonstration cases of successful promotion of high-efficiency motor, standard labeling, financial finance and tax policy, and puts forward suggestions on promotion of high-efficiency motor in China.

Evolution and revolution: gauging the impact of technological and technical innovation on Olympic performance.

PubMed

Balmer, Nigel; Pleasence, Pascoe; Nevill, Alan

2012-01-01

A number of studies have pointed to a plateauing of athletic performance, with the suggestion that further improvements will need to be driven by revolutions in technology or technique. In the present study, we examine post-war men's Olympic performance in jumping events (pole vault, long jump, high jump, triple jump) to determine whether performance has indeed plateaued and to present techniques, derived from models of human growth, for assessing the impact of technological and technical innovation over time (logistic and double logistic models of growth). Significantly, two of the events involve well-documented changes in technology (pole material in pole vault) or technique (the Fosbury Flop in high jump), while the other two do not. We find that in all four cases, performance appears to have plateaued and that no further "general" improvement should be expected. In the case of high jump, the double logistic model provides a convenient method for modelling and quantifying a performance intervention (in this case the Fosbury Flop). However, some shortcomings are revealed for pole vault, where evolutionary post-war improvements and innovation (fibre glass poles) were concurrent, preventing their separate identification in the model. In all four events, it is argued that further general growth in performance will indeed need to rely predominantly on technological or technical innovation.

Innovative application of virtual display technique in virtual museum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jiankang

2017-09-01

Virtual museum refers to display and simulate the functions of real museum on the Internet in the form of 3 Dimensions virtual reality by applying interactive programs. Based on Virtual Reality Modeling Language, virtual museum building and its effective interaction with the offline museum lie in making full use of 3 Dimensions panorama technique, virtual reality technique and augmented reality technique, and innovatively taking advantages of dynamic environment modeling technique, real-time 3 Dimensions graphics generating technique, system integration technique and other key virtual reality techniques to make sure the overall design of virtual museum.3 Dimensions panorama technique, also known as panoramic photography or virtual reality, is a technique based on static images of the reality. Virtual reality technique is a kind of computer simulation system which can create and experience the interactive 3 Dimensions dynamic visual world. Augmented reality, also known as mixed reality, is a technique which simulates and mixes the information (visual, sound, taste, touch, etc.) that is difficult for human to experience in reality. These technologies make virtual museum come true. It will not only bring better experience and convenience to the public, but also be conducive to improve the influence and cultural functions of the real museum.

KNMI DataLab experiences in serving data-driven innovations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noteboom, Jan Willem; Sluiter, Raymond

2016-04-01

Climate change research and innovations in weather forecasting rely more and more on (Big) data. Besides increasing data from traditional sources (such as observation networks, radars and satellites), the use of open data, crowd sourced data and the Internet of Things (IoT) is emerging. To deploy these sources of data optimally in our services and products, KNMI has established a DataLab to serve data-driven innovations in collaboration with public and private sector partners. Big data management, data integration, data analytics including machine learning and data visualization techniques are playing an important role in the DataLab. Cross-domain data-driven innovations that arise from public-private collaborative projects and research programmes can be explored, experimented and/or piloted by the KNMI DataLab. Furthermore, advice can be requested on (Big) data techniques and data sources. In support of collaborative (Big) data science activities, scalable environments are offered with facilities for data integration, data analysis and visualization. In addition, Data Science expertise is provided directly or from a pool of internal and external experts. At the EGU conference, gained experiences and best practices are presented in operating the KNMI DataLab to serve data-driven innovations for weather and climate applications optimally.

Overcoming Codes and Standards Barriers to Innovations in Building Energy Efficiency

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

Cole, Pamala C.; Gilbride, Theresa L.

2015-02-15

In this journal article, the authors discuss approaches to overcoming building code barriers to energy-efficiency innovations in home construction. Building codes have been a highly motivational force for increasing the energy efficiency of new homes in the United States in recent years. But as quickly as the codes seem to be changing, new products are coming to the market at an even more rapid pace, sometimes offering approaches and construction techniques unthought of when the current code was first proposed, which might have been several years before its adoption by various jurisdictions. Due to this delay, the codes themselves canmore » become barriers to innovations that might otherwise be helping to further increase the efficiency, comfort, health or durability of new homes. . The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America, a program dedicated to improving the energy efficiency of America’s housing stock through research and education, is working with the U.S. housing industry through its research teams to help builders identify and remove code barriers to innovation in the home construction industry. The article addresses several approaches that builders use to achieve approval for innovative building techniques when code barriers appear to exist.« less

Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). Volume 3. Air Force Abstracts of Phase 1 Awards 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

The development of low-cost fabrication processes for high-performance composites is of paramount importance in the economical use of composites in...This proposal offers to evaluate the feasibility of marrying multiscale image processing techniques to multisensor image data. The product would be a...biotechnology to the production of 4-hydroxybenzocyclobutene will allow bulk manufacture of this polymer precursor by more economical means than is

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy in pediatric age group: Assessment of effectiveness and complications

PubMed Central

Ozden, Ender; Mercimek, Mehmet Necmettin

2016-01-01

Management of kidney stone disease in pediatric population is a challenging condition in urology practice. While the incidence of kidney stone is increasing in those group, technological innovations have conrtibuted to the development of minimally invasive treatment of urinary stone disease such as mini-percutenous nephrolitotomy (mini-PCNL), micro-PCNL, ultra mini-PCNL. In this review we tried to evaluate the effect of new teratment techniques on pediatric kidney stones. PMID:26788467

Maritime Patrol Innovation: USN PBY Catalina Squadrons in the Pacific Area of Operations, 1941-1945

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-15

particularly hazardous due to unpredictable swells and wind. Even the most experienced pilots popped rivets in the hull when landing at sea. Large enough...holes sometimes developed and threatened to sink the aircraft. Flying mechanics regularly used pencils as impromptu rivets ; thus, the navigator’s...need to learn new techniques with new equipment. For instance, consider a future battle-space in which the electromagnetic spectrum is unavailable

Topological study of nanomaterials using surface-enhanced ellipsometric contrast microscopy (SEEC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muckenhirn, Sylvain

2016-03-01

Innovations in nanotechnology are empowering scientists to deepen their understanding of physical, chemical and biological mechanisms. Powerful and precise characterization systems are essential to meet researchers' requirements. SEEC (Surface Enhanced Ellipsometric Contrast) microscopy is an innovative advanced optical technique based on ellipsometric and interference fringes of Fizeau principles. This technique offers live and label-free topographic imaging of organic, inorganic and biological samples with high Z resolution (down to 0.1nm thickness), and enhanced X-Y detection limit (down to 1.5nm width). This technique has been successfully applied to the study of nanometric films and structures, biological layers, and nano-objects. We applied SEEC technology to different applications explored below.

Headspace techniques in foods, fragrances and flavors: an overview.

PubMed

Rouseff, R; Cadwallader, K

2001-01-01

Headspace techniques have traditionally involved the collection of volatiles in the vapor state under either dynamic or static conditions as a means of determining concentrations in the product of interest. A brief overview of contemporary headspace applications and recent innovations are presented from the literature and Chapters in this book. New approaches used to concentrate volatiles under static conditions such as solid phase micro extraction, SPME, are examined. Advances in purge and trap applications and automation are also presented. Innovative methods of evaluating headspace volatiles using solid state sensor arrays (electronic noses) or mass spectrometers without prior separation are referenced. Numerous food and beverage headspace techniques are also reviewed. Advantages, limitations and alternatives to headspace analysis are presented.

How to Develop Innovators? Innovation Education for the Gifted

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shavinina, Larisa

2013-01-01

Many people correctly believe that a majority of innovators come from the population of gifted and talented children. If we want to develop innovative abilities of the gifted, then a special, new direction in gifted education is needed: innovation education. This article introduces innovation education, which refers to a wide range of educational…

Chemical Probes for Visualizing Intact Animal and Human Brain Tissue.

PubMed

Lai, Hei Ming; Ng, Wai-Lung; Gentleman, Steve M; Wu, Wutian

2017-06-22

Newly developed tissue clearing techniques can be used to render intact tissues transparent. When combined with fluorescent labeling technologies and optical sectioning microscopy, this allows visualization of fine structure in three dimensions. Gene-transfection techniques have proved very useful in visualizing cellular structures in animal models, but they are not applicable to human brain tissue. Here, we discuss the characteristics of an ideal chemical fluorescent probe for use in brain and other cleared tissues, and offer a comprehensive overview of currently available chemical probes. We describe their working principles and compare their performance with the goal of simplifying probe selection for neuropathologists and stimulating probe development by chemists. We propose several approaches for the development of innovative chemical labeling methods which, when combined with tissue clearing, have the potential to revolutionize how we study the structure and function of the human brain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Making technological innovation work for sustainable development.

PubMed

Anadon, Laura Diaz; Chan, Gabriel; Harley, Alicia G; Matus, Kira; Moon, Suerie; Murthy, Sharmila L; Clark, William C

2016-08-30

This paper presents insights and action proposals to better harness technological innovation for sustainable development. We begin with three key insights from scholarship and practice. First, technological innovation processes do not follow a set sequence but rather emerge from complex adaptive systems involving many actors and institutions operating simultaneously from local to global scales. Barriers arise at all stages of innovation, from the invention of a technology through its selection, production, adaptation, adoption, and retirement. Second, learning from past efforts to mobilize innovation for sustainable development can be greatly improved through structured cross-sectoral comparisons that recognize the socio-technical nature of innovation systems. Third, current institutions (rules, norms, and incentives) shaping technological innovation are often not aligned toward the goals of sustainable development because impoverished, marginalized, and unborn populations too often lack the economic and political power to shape innovation systems to meet their needs. However, these institutions can be reformed, and many actors have the power to do so through research, advocacy, training, convening, policymaking, and financing. We conclude with three practice-oriented recommendations to further realize the potential of innovation for sustainable development: (i) channels for regularized learning across domains of practice should be established; (ii) measures that systematically take into account the interests of underserved populations throughout the innovation process should be developed; and (iii) institutions should be reformed to reorient innovation systems toward sustainable development and ensure that all innovation stages and scales are considered at the outset.

Making technological innovation work for sustainable development

PubMed Central

Anadon, Laura Diaz; Harley, Alicia G.; Matus, Kira; Moon, Suerie; Murthy, Sharmila L.

2016-01-01

This paper presents insights and action proposals to better harness technological innovation for sustainable development. We begin with three key insights from scholarship and practice. First, technological innovation processes do not follow a set sequence but rather emerge from complex adaptive systems involving many actors and institutions operating simultaneously from local to global scales. Barriers arise at all stages of innovation, from the invention of a technology through its selection, production, adaptation, adoption, and retirement. Second, learning from past efforts to mobilize innovation for sustainable development can be greatly improved through structured cross-sectoral comparisons that recognize the socio-technical nature of innovation systems. Third, current institutions (rules, norms, and incentives) shaping technological innovation are often not aligned toward the goals of sustainable development because impoverished, marginalized, and unborn populations too often lack the economic and political power to shape innovation systems to meet their needs. However, these institutions can be reformed, and many actors have the power to do so through research, advocacy, training, convening, policymaking, and financing. We conclude with three practice-oriented recommendations to further realize the potential of innovation for sustainable development: (i) channels for regularized learning across domains of practice should be established; (ii) measures that systematically take into account the interests of underserved populations throughout the innovation process should be developed; and (iii) institutions should be reformed to reorient innovation systems toward sustainable development and ensure that all innovation stages and scales are considered at the outset. PMID:27519800

Real -time dispatching modelling for trucks with different capacities in open pit mines / Modelowanie w czasie rzeczywistym przewozów ciężarówek o różnej ładowności w kopalni odkrywkowej

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahangaran, Daryoush Kaveh; Yasrebi, Amir Bijan; Wetherelt, Andy; Foster, Patrick

2012-10-01

Application of fully automated systems for truck dispatching plays a major role in decreasing the transportation costs which often represent the majority of costs spent on open pit mining. Consequently, the application of a truck dispatching system has become fundamentally important in most of the world's open pit mines. Recent experiences indicate that by decreasing a truck's travelling time and the associated waiting time of its associated shovel then due to the application of a truck dispatching system the rate of production will be considerably improved. Computer-based truck dispatching systems using algorithms, advanced and accurate software are examples of these innovations. Developing an algorithm of a computer- based program appropriated to a specific mine's conditions is considered as one of the most important activities in connection with computer-based dispatching in open pit mines. In this paper the changing trend of programming and dispatching control algorithms and automation conditions will be discussed. Furthermore, since the transportation fleet of most mines use trucks with different capacities, innovative methods, operational optimisation techniques and the best possible methods for developing the required algorithm for real-time dispatching are selected by conducting research on mathematical-based planning methods. Finally, a real-time dispatching model compatible with the requirement of trucks with different capacities is developed by using two techniques of flow networks and integer programming.

The Inception of OMA in the Development of Modal Testing Technology for Wind Turbines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, George H., III; Carne. Thomas G.

2008-01-01

Wind turbines are immense, flexible structures with aerodynamic forces acting on the rotating blades at harmonics of the turbine rotational frequency, which are comparable to the modal frequencies of the structure. Predicting and experimentally measuring the modal frequencies of wind turbines has been important to their successful design and operation. Performing modal tests on wind turbine structures over 100 meters tall is a substantial challenge, which has inspired innovative developments in modal test technology. For wind turbines, a further complication is that the modal frequencies are dependent on the turbine rotation speed. The history and development of a new technique for acquiring the modal parameters using output-only response data, called the Natural Excitation Technique (NExT), will be reviewed, showing historical tests and techniques. The initial attempts at output-only modal testing began in the late 1980's with the development of NExT in the 1990's. NExT was a predecessor to OMA, developed to overcome these challenges of testing immense structures excited with environmental inputs. We will trace the difficulties and successes of wind turbine modal testing from 1982 to the present. Keywords: OMA, Modal Analysis, NExT, Wind Turbines, Wind Excitation

Thirty Years of Innovation in Seismology with the IRIS Consortium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sumy, D. F.; Woodward, R.; Aderhold, K.; Ahern, T. K.; Anderson, K. R.; Busby, R.; Detrick, R. S.; Evers, B.; Frassetto, A.; Hafner, K.; Simpson, D. W.; Sweet, J. R.; Taber, J.

2015-12-01

The United States academic seismology community, through the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Consortium, has promoted and encouraged a rich environment of innovation and experimentation in areas such as seismic instrumentation, data processing and analysis, teaching and curriculum development, and academic science. As the science continually evolves, IRIS helps drive the market for new research tools that enable science by establishing a variety of standards and goals. This has often involved working directly with manufacturers to better define the technology required, co-funding key development work or early production prototypes, and purchasing initial production runs. IRIS activities have helped establish de-facto international standards and impacted the commercial sector in areas such as seismic instrumentation, open-access data management, and professional development. Key institutional practices, conducted and refined over IRIS' thirty-year history of operations, have focused on open-access data availability, full retention of maximum-bandwidth, continuous data, and direct community access to state-of-the-art seismological instrumentation and software. These practices have helped to cultivate and support a thriving commercial ecosystem, and have been a key element in the professional development of multiple generations of seismologists who now work in both industry and academia. Looking toward the future, IRIS is increasing its engagement with industry to better enable bi-directional exchange of techniques and technology, and enhancing the development of tomorrow's workforce. In this presentation, we will illustrate how IRIS has promoted innovations grown out of the academic community and spurred technological advances in both academia and industry.

Fully integrated biochip platforms for advanced healthcare.

PubMed

Carrara, Sandro; Ghoreishizadeh, Sara; Olivo, Jacopo; Taurino, Irene; Baj-Rossi, Camilla; Cavallini, Andrea; de Beeck, Maaike Op; Dehollain, Catherine; Burleson, Wayne; Moussy, Francis Gabriel; Guiseppi-Elie, Anthony; De Micheli, Giovanni

2012-01-01

Recent advances in microelectronics and biosensors are enabling developments of innovative biochips for advanced healthcare by providing fully integrated platforms for continuous monitoring of a large set of human disease biomarkers. Continuous monitoring of several human metabolites can be addressed by using fully integrated and minimally invasive devices located in the sub-cutis, typically in the peritoneal region. This extends the techniques of continuous monitoring of glucose currently being pursued with diabetic patients. However, several issues have to be considered in order to succeed in developing fully integrated and minimally invasive implantable devices. These innovative devices require a high-degree of integration, minimal invasive surgery, long-term biocompatibility, security and privacy in data transmission, high reliability, high reproducibility, high specificity, low detection limit and high sensitivity. Recent advances in the field have already proposed possible solutions for several of these issues. The aim of the present paper is to present a broad spectrum of recent results and to propose future directions of development in order to obtain fully implantable systems for the continuous monitoring of the human metabolism in advanced healthcare applications.

Fully Integrated Biochip Platforms for Advanced Healthcare

PubMed Central

Carrara, Sandro; Ghoreishizadeh, Sara; Olivo, Jacopo; Taurino, Irene; Baj-Rossi, Camilla; Cavallini, Andrea; de Beeck, Maaike Op; Dehollain, Catherine; Burleson, Wayne; Moussy, Francis Gabriel; Guiseppi-Elie, Anthony; De Micheli, Giovanni

2012-01-01

Recent advances in microelectronics and biosensors are enabling developments of innovative biochips for advanced healthcare by providing fully integrated platforms for continuous monitoring of a large set of human disease biomarkers. Continuous monitoring of several human metabolites can be addressed by using fully integrated and minimally invasive devices located in the sub-cutis, typically in the peritoneal region. This extends the techniques of continuous monitoring of glucose currently being pursued with diabetic patients. However, several issues have to be considered in order to succeed in developing fully integrated and minimally invasive implantable devices. These innovative devices require a high-degree of integration, minimal invasive surgery, long-term biocompatibility, security and privacy in data transmission, high reliability, high reproducibility, high specificity, low detection limit and high sensitivity. Recent advances in the field have already proposed possible solutions for several of these issues. The aim of the present paper is to present a broad spectrum of recent results and to propose future directions of development in order to obtain fully implantable systems for the continuous monitoring of the human metabolism in advanced healthcare applications. PMID:23112644

The status and developments of leather solid waste treatment: A mini-review.

PubMed

Jiang, Huiyan; Liu, Junsheng; Han, Wei

2016-05-01

Leather making is one of the most widespread industries in the world. The production of leather goods generates different types of solid wastes and wastewater. These wastes will pollute the environment and threat the health of human beings if they are not well treated. Consequently, the treatment of pollution caused by the wastes from leather tanning is really important. In comparison with the disposal of leather wastewater, the treatment of leather solid wastes is more intractable. Hence, the treatment of leather solid wastes needs more innovations. To keep up with the rapid development of the modern leather industry, various innovative techniques have been newly developed. In this mini-review article, the major achievements in the treatment of leather solid wastes are highlighted. Emphasis will be placed on the treatment of chromium-tanned solid wastes; some new approaches are also discussed. We hope that this mini-review can provide some valuable information to promote the broad understanding and effective treatment of leather solid wastes in the leather industry. © The Author(s) 2016.

Little people, big lessons: an innovative strategy to develop interpersonal skills in undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Reid Searl, Kerry; McAllister, Margaret; Dwyer, Trudy; Krebs, Katrina Lane; Anderson, Carina; Quinney, Loretto; McLellan, Sandy

2014-09-01

Learning the skills of child health nursing requires more than technical skill development. Humanistic attributes such as being genuine, accepting and empathic are imperative in gaining the trust of a child and in helping them feel comforted and safe in a health care setting. Interpersonal theory has a long history in nursing and numerous contemporary theories have drawn on the seminal work of Peplau to advance nursing practice. However, rarely has this theory been applied to simulation learning. This paper reports on an innovative simulation technique that blends interpersonal theory with puppets. Qualitative evaluation using focus group method with fifteen undergraduate nursing students revealed that the pedagogy had a positive impact on characteristics of the learner, the learning process and on interpersonal communication skills development. The study deepened insights about the educative process and led to learning impacts that suggest that puppet-based learning is a powerful medium to bridge theory and practice, bringing the importance of interpersonal theory to life for students. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Innovation Abstracts, Volume XV, 1993.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

1993-01-01

This volume of 30 one- to two-page abstracts from 1993 highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) role-playing to encourage critical thinking; (2) team learning techniques to cultivate business skills; (3) librarian-instructor partnerships to create…

Realistic Approach to Innovation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawson, Garth C.

Part of the Omaha police in-service training program was devoted to innovative approaches to solving police department problems and improving community relations. The sessions were an attempt to use the brainstorming technique to elicit new solutions to everyday problems faced by the rank-and-file members of the police department. The report…

Diffusion of Innovation: A Plea for Indigenous Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubdy, Rani

2008-01-01

Much of curriculum innovation in English language teaching in the context of former colonial countries has been derivative rather than generative, imitative rather than self-initiated or self-regulatory. This trend is in part the result of historical exigencies that made the importation of ELT approaches, methods, and techniques for classroom…

Language and Related Approaches to the Writing Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seesholtz, Melvin C.

Providing instruction in language theory is an innovative technique for use in remedial and other composition courses in the two-year college. Such innovations provide intellectually stimulating material to students who lose interest when confronted with traditional grammar and composition. Students are acquainted with American Edited English in…

Strategies for Teaching Brainstorming in Design Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mentzer, Nathan; Farrington, Shawn; Tennenhouse, Jason

2015-01-01

Innovation has been an important aspect of economic and scientific success in the United States for decades. Hobday, Coffey, Saalfeld, and Colwell (2011) suggested that, in order to produce innovative ideas, one must have a design-thinking mentality. This article provides the readers with an example of brainstorming techniques that have been…

Managerial Innovation: Rules for Successful Implementation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baldridge, J. Victor

1980-01-01

The Higher Education Research Institute studied the impact of Exxon Foundation grants from the Resource Allocation and Management Program (RAMP) at 49 private colleges to determine if and how college planning and financial stability were affected by changes in management techniques. Rules for supporting innovations at various phases of a project's…

Particle Swarm Imaging (PSIM) - Innovative Gamma-Ray Assay - 13497

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

Parvin, Daniel; Clarke, Sean; Humes, Sarah J.

2013-07-01

Particle Swarm Imaging is an innovative technique used to perform quantitative gamma-ray assay. The innovation overcomes some of the difficulties associated with the accurate measurement and declaration of measurement uncertainties of radionuclide inventories within waste items when the distribution of activity is unknown. Implementation requires minimal equipment, with field measurements and results obtained using only a single electrically cooled HRGS gamma-ray detector. Examples of its application in the field are given in this paper. (authors)

Uptake of an innovation in surgery: observations from the cluster-randomized Quality Initiative in Rectal Cancer trial.

PubMed

Simunovic, Marko; Coates, Angela; Smith, Andrew; Thabane, Lehana; Goldsmith, Charles H; Levine, Mark N

2013-12-01

Theory suggests the uptake of a medical innovation is influenced by how potential adopters perceive innovation characteristics and by characteristics of potential adopters. Innovation adoption is slow among the first 20% of individuals in a target group and then accelerates. The Quality Initiative in Rectal Cancer (QIRC) trial assessed if rectal cancer surgery outcomes could be improved through surgeon participation in the QIRC strategy. We tested if traditional uptake of innovation concepts applied to surgeons in the experimental arm of the trial. The QIRC strategy included workshops, access to opinion leaders, intraoperative demonstrations, postoperative questionnaires, and audit and feedback. For intraoperative demonstrations, a participating surgeon invited an outside surgeon to demonstrate optimal rectal surgery techniques. We used surgeon timing in a demonstration to differentiate early and late adopters of the QIRC strategy. Surgeons completed surveys on perceptions of the strategy and personal characteristics. Nineteen of 56 surgeons (34%) requested an operative demonstration on their first case of rectal surgery. Early and late adopters had similar perceptions of the QIRC strategy and similar characteristics. Late adopters were less likely than early adopters to perceive an advantage for the surgical techniques promoted by the trial (p = 0.023). Most traditional diffusion of innovation concepts did not apply to surgeons in the QIRC trial, with the exception of the importance of perceptions of comparative advantage.

Single-tooth anesthesia: pressure-sensing technology provides innovative advancement in the field of dental local anesthesia.

PubMed

Hochman, Mark N

2007-04-01

This article will review standard techniques for intraligamentary injection and describe the technology and technique behind a new single-tooth anesthesia system. This system and technique represents a technological advancement and a greater understanding of intraligamentary anesthesia.

Merging spatially variant physical process models under an optimized systems dynamics framework.

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

Cain, William O.; Lowry, Thomas Stephen; Pierce, Suzanne A.

The complexity of water resource issues, its interconnectedness to other systems, and the involvement of competing stakeholders often overwhelm decision-makers and inhibit the creation of clear management strategies. While a range of modeling tools and procedures exist to address these problems, they tend to be case specific and generally emphasize either a quantitative and overly analytic approach or present a qualitative dialogue-based approach lacking the ability to fully explore consequences of different policy decisions. The integration of these two approaches is needed to drive toward final decisions and engender effective outcomes. Given these limitations, the Computer Assisted Dispute Resolution systemmore » (CADRe) was developed to aid in stakeholder inclusive resource planning. This modeling and negotiation system uniquely addresses resource concerns by developing a spatially varying system dynamics model as well as innovative global optimization search techniques to maximize outcomes from participatory dialogues. Ultimately, the core system architecture of CADRe also serves as the cornerstone upon which key scientific innovation and challenges can be addressed.« less

The Undergraduate ALFALFA Team: A Model for Undergraduate Participation and Outreach in Large Research Collaborations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, A. M.; Koopmann, R.; Higdon, S.; Balonek, T. J.; Haynes, M. P.; Giovanelli, R.; Adams, E. A. K.; Kent, B. R.; Stierwalt, S.

2011-09-01

The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) blind neutral hydrogen survey is an ongoing project that includes an innovative undergraduate outreach component promoting the participation of students and faculty at undergraduate-focused institutions in a large, multi-year research collaboration. The survey, which will ultimately detect ˜30,000 gas-rich galaxies, provides resources and authentic opportunities for undergraduates and faculty, including a high fraction of women and minorities, through the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team (UAT), an NSF-sponsored consortium of 18 participating institutions. The UAT experience features annual workshops at the Arecibo Observatory with hands-on experience for undergrad participants and their faculty mentors. Graduate students on the Cornell ALFALFA Team help plan and facilitate UAT activities and benefit by developing their own skills as mentors, project supervisors, and science communicators. The UAT is developing online lesson plans and activity guides that make use of the ALFALFA online data archive and of innovative learning techniques supported by the findings of astronomy education research.

Designing the molecular future.

PubMed

Schneider, Gisbert

2012-01-01

Approximately 25 years ago the first computer applications were conceived for the purpose of automated 'de novo' drug design, prominent pioneering tools being ALADDIN, CAVEAT, GENOA, and DYLOMMS. Many of these early concepts were enabled by innovative techniques for ligand-receptor interaction modeling like GRID, MCSS, DOCK, and CoMFA, which still provide the theoretical framework for several more recently developed molecular design algorithms. After a first wave of software tools and groundbreaking applications in the 1990s--expressly GROW, GrowMol, LEGEND, and LUDI representing some of the key players--we are currently witnessing a renewed strong interest in this field. Innovative ideas for both receptor and ligand-based drug design have recently been published. We here provide a personal perspective on the evolution of de novo design, highlighting some of the historic achievements as well as possible future developments of this exciting field of research, which combines multiple scientific disciplines and is, like few other areas in chemistry, subject to continuous enthusiastic discussion and compassionate dispute.

Experience inheritance from famous specialists based on real-world clinical research paradigm of traditional Chinese medicine.

PubMed

Song, Guanli; Wang, Yinghui; Zhang, Runshun; Liu, Baoyan; Zhou, Xuezhong; Zhou, Xiaji; Zhang, Hong; Guo, Yufeng; Xue, Yanxing; Xu, Lili

2014-09-01

The current modes of experience inheritance from famous specialists in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) include master and disciple, literature review, clinical-epidemiology-based clinical research observation, and analysis and data mining via computer and database technologies. Each mode has its advantages and disadvantages. However, a scientific and instructive experience inheritance mode has not been developed. The advent of the big data era as well as the formation and practice accumulation of the TCM clinical research paradigm in the real world have provided new perspectives, techniques, and methods for inheriting experience from famous TCM specialists. Through continuous exploration and practice, the research group proposes the innovation research mode based on the real-world TCM clinical research paradigm, which involves the inheritance and innovation of the existing modes. This mode is formulated in line with its own development regularity of TCM and is expected to become the main mode of experience inheritance in the clinical field.

The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health Project: A 21st Century Childhood Pneumonia Etiology Study

PubMed Central

O’Brien, Katherine L.; Deloria-Knoll, Maria; Murdoch, David R.; Feikin, Daniel R.; DeLuca, Andrea N.; Driscoll, Amanda J.; Baggett, Henry C.; Brooks, W. Abdullah; Howie, Stephen R. C.; Kotloff, Karen L.; Madhi, Shabir A.; Maloney, Susan A.; Sow, Samba; Thea, Donald M.; Scott, J. Anthony

2012-01-01

The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) project is a 7-country, standardized, comprehensive evaluation of the etiologic agents causing severe pneumonia in children from developing countries. During previous etiology studies, between one-quarter and one-third of patients failed to yield an obvious etiology; PERCH will employ and evaluate previously unavailable innovative, more sensitive diagnostic techniques. Innovative and rigorous epidemiologic and analytic methods will be used to establish the causal association between presence of potential pathogens and pneumonia. By strategic selection of study sites that are broadly representative of regions with the greatest burden of childhood pneumonia, PERCH aims to provide data that reflect the epidemiologic situation in developing countries in 2015, using pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines. PERCH will also address differences in host, environmental, and/or geographic factors that might determine pneumonia etiology and, by preserving specimens, will generate a resource for future research and pathogen discovery. PMID:22403238

The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health Project: a 21st century childhood pneumonia etiology study.

PubMed

Levine, Orin S; O'Brien, Katherine L; Deloria-Knoll, Maria; Murdoch, David R; Feikin, Daniel R; DeLuca, Andrea N; Driscoll, Amanda J; Baggett, Henry C; Brooks, W Abdullah; Howie, Stephen R C; Kotloff, Karen L; Madhi, Shabir A; Maloney, Susan A; Sow, Samba; Thea, Donald M; Scott, J Anthony

2012-04-01

The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) project is a 7-country, standardized, comprehensive evaluation of the etiologic agents causing severe pneumonia in children from developing countries. During previous etiology studies, between one-quarter and one-third of patients failed to yield an obvious etiology; PERCH will employ and evaluate previously unavailable innovative, more sensitive diagnostic techniques. Innovative and rigorous epidemiologic and analytic methods will be used to establish the causal association between presence of potential pathogens and pneumonia. By strategic selection of study sites that are broadly representative of regions with the greatest burden of childhood pneumonia, PERCH aims to provide data that reflect the epidemiologic situation in developing countries in 2015, using pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines. PERCH will also address differences in host, environmental, and/or geographic factors that might determine pneumonia etiology and, by preserving specimens, will generate a resource for future research and pathogen discovery.

Designing the molecular future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Gisbert

2012-01-01

Approximately 25 years ago the first computer applications were conceived for the purpose of automated `de novo' drug design, prominent pioneering tools being ALADDIN, CAVEAT, GENOA, and DYLOMMS. Many of these early concepts were enabled by innovative techniques for ligand-receptor interaction modeling like GRID, MCSS, DOCK, and CoMFA, which still provide the theoretical framework for several more recently developed molecular design algorithms. After a first wave of software tools and groundbreaking applications in the 1990s—expressly GROW, GrowMol, LEGEND, and LUDI representing some of the key players—we are currently witnessing a renewed strong interest in this field. Innovative ideas for both receptor and ligand-based drug design have recently been published. We here provide a personal perspective on the evolution of de novo design, highlighting some of the historic achievements as well as possible future developments of this exciting field of research, which combines multiple scientific disciplines and is, like few other areas in chemistry, subject to continuous enthusiastic discussion and compassionate dispute.

Concepts for the translation of genome-based innovations into public health: a comprehensive overview.

PubMed

Syurina, Elena V; Schulte In den Bäumen, Tobias; Brand, Angela; Ambrosino, Elena; Feron, Frans Jm

2013-03-01

Recent vast and rapid development of genome-related sciences is followed by the development of different assessment techniques or attempts to adapt the existing ones. The aim of this article is to give an overview of existing concepts for the assessment and translation of innovations into healthcare, applying a descriptive analysis of their present use by public health specialists and policy makers. The international literature review identified eight concepts including Health Technology Assessment, analytic validity, clinical validity, clinical utility, ethical, legal and social implications, Public Health Wheel and others. This study gives an overview of these concepts (including the level of current use) applying a descriptive analysis of their present use by public health specialists and policy makers. Despite the heterogeneity of the analyzed concepts and difference in use in everyday healthcare practice, the cross-integration of these concepts is important in order to improve translation speed and quality. Finally, some recommendations are made regarding the most applicable translational concepts.

Who is that masked educator? Deconstructing the teaching and learning processes of an innovative humanistic simulation technique.

PubMed

McAllister, Margaret; Searl, Kerry Reid; Davis, Susan

2013-12-01

Simulation learning in nursing has long made use of mannequins, standardized actors and role play to allow students opportunity to practice technical body-care skills and interventions. Even though numerous strategies have been developed to mimic or amplify clinical situations, a common problem that is difficult to overcome in even the most well-executed simulation experiences, is that students may realize the setting is artificial and fail to fully engage, remember or apply the learning. Another problem is that students may learn technical competence but remain uncertain about communicating with the person. Since communication capabilities are imperative in human service work, simulation learning that only achieves technical competence in students is not fully effective for the needs of nursing education. Furthermore, while simulation learning is a burgeoning space for innovative practices, it has been criticized for the absence of a basis in theory. It is within this context that an innovative simulation learning experience named "Mask-Ed (KRS simulation)", has been deconstructed and the active learning components examined. Establishing a theoretical basis for creative teaching and learning practices provides an understanding of how, why and when simulation learning has been effective and it may help to distinguish aspects of the experience that could be improved. Three conceptual theoretical fields help explain the power of this simulation technique: Vygotskian sociocultural learning theory, applied theatre and embodiment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG): A Community Repository of Proven Alternative Assessment Instruments for STEM Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeilik, M.; Garvin-Doxas, K.

2003-12-01

FLAG, the Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide (http://www.flaguide.org/) is a NSF funded website that offers broadly-applicable, self-contained modular classroom assessment techniques (CATs) and discipline-specific tools for STEM instructors creating new approaches to evaluate student learning, attitudes and performance. In particular, the FLAG contains proven techniques for alterative assessments---those needed for reformed, innovative STEM courses. Each tool has been developed, tested and refined in real classrooms at colleges and universities. The FLAG also contains an assessment primer, a section to help you select the most appropriate assessment technique(s) for your course goals, and other resources. In addition to references on instrument development and field-tested instruments on attitudes towards science, the FLAG also includes discipline-specific tools in Physics, Astronomy, Biology, and Mathematics. Building of the Geoscience collection is currently under way with the development of an instrument for detecting misconceptions of incoming freshmen on Space Science, which is being developed with the help of the Committee on Space Science and Astronomy of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Additional field-tested resources from the Geosciences are solicited from the community. Contributions should be sent to Michael Zeilik, zeilik@la.unm.edu. This work has been supported in part by NSF grant DUE 99-81155.

ABC deck panel testing.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-09-01

Accelerated Bridge Construction techniques have resulted in innovative options that : save time and money during the construction of bridges. One such group of techniques : that has generated considerable interest is the usage of individual precast c...

Innovation, systemic appropriation and prevention in the granite mining sector: The case of humidification.

PubMed

Mendes, R W B; Pueyo, V; Béguin, P; Duarte, F J C M

2017-01-01

This research was conducted in the Brazilian granite mining sector. After epidemiological studies, it was established that professional pneumoconiosis is related to the inhalation of dust. Therefore, the Brazilian mining health and safety regulatory standard made it compulsory to provide humidification throughout the extraction and mineral treatment processes. To develop the concept of systemic appropriation of the technological innovations that aim to protect the worker's health. Until now, appropriation has usually been presented in its individual dimensions. In this article, the focus is placed on the collective and organizational aspects of this appropriation. Two methodological approaches were used: interviews with the different individuals involved in order to report the history of the implementation of technical devices which meet the humidification norm; and ergonomic analysis of the work of the operators who used these devices. The appropriation of the technical devices occurred at two distinct levels: 1) Individual, related to the direct contact of the operator with the instrument; 2) Systemic, as the effects of the innovation propagated through the system affecting interdependent tasks, adaptation of the work organization and new production strategies. The implementation of prevention norms require innovations which are necessarily accompanied by transformations in the companies' techniques, work and management.

75 FR 29560 - Identifying Unmet Public Health Needs and Facilitating Innovation in Medical Device Development...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-26

...] Identifying Unmet Public Health Needs and Facilitating Innovation in Medical Device Development; Notice of... entitled ``Identifying Unmet Public Health Needs and Facilitating Innovation in Medical Device Development... an initiative to proactively facilitate medical device innovation to address unmet public health...

Application of additive laser technologies in the gas turbine blades design process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shevchenko, I. V.; Rogalev, A. N.; Osipov, S. K.; Bychkov, N. M.; Komarov, I. I.

2017-11-01

An emergence of modern innovative technologies requires delivering new and modernization existing design and production processes. It is especially relevant for designing the high-temperature turbines of gas turbine engines, development of which is characterized by a transition to higher parameters of working medium in order to improve their efficient performance. A design technique for gas turbine blades based on predictive verification of thermal and hydraulic models of their cooling systems by testing of a blade prototype fabricated using the selective laser melting technology was presented in this article. Technique was proven at the time of development of the first stage blade cooling system for the high-pressure turbine. An experimental procedure for verification of a thermal model of the blades with convective cooling systems based on the comparison of heat-flux density obtained from the numerical simulation data and results of tests in a liquid-metal thermostat was developed. The techniques makes it possible to obtain an experimentally tested blade version and to exclude its experimental adjustment after the start of mass production.

Reasons for adopting technological innovations reducing physical workload in bricklaying.

PubMed

de Jong, A M; Vink, P; de Kroon, J C A

2003-09-15

In this paper the adoption of technological innovations to improve the work of bricklayers and bricklayers' assistants is evaluated. Two studies were performed among 323 subjects to determine the adoption of the working methods, the perceived workload, experiences with the working methods, and the reasons for adopting the working methods. Furthermore, a comparison of the results of the studies was made with those of two similar studies in the literature. The results show that more than half of the sector adopted the innovations. The perceived workload was reduced. The employees and employers are satisfied with the working methods and important reasons for adoption were cost/benefit advantages, improvement of work and health, and increase in productivity. Problems preventing the adoption were the use of the working methods at specific sites, for instance in renovation work. The adoption of the new working methods could perhaps have been higher or faster if more attention had been paid to the active participation of bricklayers and bricklayers' assistants during the development of the new working methods and to the use of modern media techniques, such as the Internet and CD/DVD.

Biomolecule-embedded metal-organic frameworks as an innovative sensing platform.

PubMed

Kempahanumakkagari, Sureshkumar; Kumar, Vanish; Samaddar, Pallabi; Kumar, Pawan; Ramakrishnappa, Thippeswamy; Kim, Ki-Hyun

Technological advancements combined with materials research have led to the generation of enormous types of novel substrates and materials for use in various biological/medical, energy, and environmental applications. Lately, the embedding of biomolecules in novel and/or advanced materials (e.g., metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), nanoparticles, hydrogels, graphene, and their hybrid composites) has become a vital research area in the construction of an innovative platform for various applications including sensors (or biosensors), biofuel cells, and bioelectronic devices. Due to the intriguing properties of MOFs (e.g., framework architecture, topology, and optical properties), they have contributed considerably to recent progresses in enzymatic catalysis, antibody-antigen interactions, or many other related approaches. Here, we aim to describe the different strategies for the design and synthesis of diverse biomolecule-embedded MOFs for various sensing (e.g., optical, electrochemical, biological, and miscellaneous) techniques. Additionally, the benefits and future prospective of MOFs-based biomolecular immobilization as an innovative sensing platform are discussed along with the evaluation on their performance to seek for further development in this emerging research area. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Developing a validation for environmental sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adewale, Bamgbade Jibril; Mohammed, Kamaruddeen Ahmed; Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd; Aziz, Zulkifli

2016-08-01

One of the agendas for addressing environmental protection in construction is to reduce impacts and make the construction activities more sustainable. This important consideration has generated several research interests within the construction industry, especially considering the construction damaging effects on the ecosystem, such as various forms of environmental pollution, resource depletion and biodiversity loss on a global scale. Using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling technique, this study validates environmental sustainability (ES) construct in the context of large construction firms in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was carried out where data was collected from Malaysian large construction firms using a structured questionnaire. Results of this study revealed that business innovativeness and new technology are important in determining environmental sustainability (ES) of the Malaysian construction firms. It also established an adequate level of internal consistency reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity for each of this study's constructs. And based on this result, it could be suggested that the indicators for organisational innovativeness dimensions (business innovativeness and new technology) are useful to measure these constructs in order to study construction firms' tendency to adopt environmental sustainability (ES) in their project execution.

The Beneficial Role of Mobility for the Emergence of Innovation.

PubMed

Armano, Giuliano; Javarone, Marco Alberto

2017-05-11

Innovation is a key ingredient for the evolution of several systems, including social and biological ones. Focused investigations and lateral thinking may lead to innovation, as well as serendipity and other random discovery processes. Some individuals are talented at proposing innovation (say innovators), while others at deeply exploring proposed novelties, at getting further insights on a theory, or at developing products, services, and so on (say developers). This separation in terms of innovators and developers raises an issue of paramount importance: under which conditions a system is able to maintain innovators? According to a simple model, this work investigates the evolutionary dynamics that characterize the emergence of innovation. In particular, we consider a population of innovators and developers, in which agents form small groups whose composition is crucial for their payoff. The latter depends on the heterogeneity of the formed groups, on the amount of innovators they include, and on an award-factor that represents the policy of the system for promoting innovation. Under the hypothesis that a "mobility" effect may support the emergence of innovation, we compare the equilibria reached by our population in different cases. Results confirm the beneficial role of "mobility", and the emergence of further interesting phenomena.

Underwater Photogrammetry, Coded Target and Plenoptic Technology: a Set of Tools for Monitoring Red Coral in Mediterranean Sea in the Framework of the "perfect" Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drap, P.; Royer, J. P.; Nawaf, M. M.; Saccone, M.; Merad, D.; López-Sanz, À.; Ledoux, J. B.; Garrabou, J.

2017-02-01

PErfECT "Photogrammetry, gEnetic, Ecology for red coral ConservaTion" is a project leaded by the Laboratoire des Sciences de lInformation et des Systmes (LSIS - UMR 7296 CNRS) from the Aix-Marseille University (France) in collaboration with the Spanish National Agency for Scientific Research (CSIC, Spain). The main objective of the project is to develop innovative Tools for the conservation of the Mediterranean red coral, Corallium rubrum. PErfECT was funded by the Total Fundation. The adaptation of digital photogrammetric techniques for use in submarine is rapidly increasing in recent years. In fact, these techniques are particularly well suited for use in underwater environments. PErfECT developed different photogrammetry tools to enhance the red coral population surveys based in: (i) automatic orientation on coded quadrats, (ii) use of NPR (Non Photo realistic Rendering) techniques, (iii) the calculation of distances between colonies within local populations and finally (iv) the use of plenoptic approaches in underwater conditions.

An Intraoperative β- Detecting Probe for Radio-Guided Surgery in Tumour Resection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russomando, Andrea; Bellini, Fabio; Bocci, Valerio; Collamati, Francesco; De Lucia, Erika; Faccini, Riccardo; Marafini, Michela; Mattei, Ilaria; Chiodi, Giacomo; Patera, Vincenzo; Recchia, Luigi; Sarti, Alessio; Sciubba, Adalberto; Camillocci, Elena Solfaroli; Paramatti, Riccardo; Voena, Cecilia; Donnarumma, Raffaella; Mancini-Terracciano, Carlo; Morganti, Silvio

2016-10-01

The development of the β- based radio-guided surgery aims to extend the technique to those tumours where surgery is the only possible treatment and the assessment of the resection would most profit from the low background around the lesion, as for brain tumours. To validate the technique, prototypes of the intraoperative β- probe have been developed. This paper discusses the design details of one of the prototypes and its tests performed in laboratory. In such tests particular care has to be taken to reproduce the surgical field conditions. The tests showed that the prototype under study has 70% efficiency on electrons with an energy threshold at 540 keV, a point-like resolution of 2.8±0.1 mm, and a sensitivity to photons lower than 1%. The tests also demonstrated, with an innovative technique to produce specific phantoms, that 0.5 ml residuals can be safely identified in 1 s with tumor-non-tumor ratio equal to 10.

High-rise housing in the city of Samara: the first steps on the path to sustainable development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vavilova, Tatiana Ya.; Makeeva, Elena Yu.

2018-03-01

This paper outlines theoretical background of high-rise housing and discusses its design experience. It particularly focuses on environmental, social and economic aspects which are among crucial sustainable development issues. The authors dwell upon the implementation of innovative solutions that meet principles and goals of sustainable development and take construction objects built in Samara (which is one of the largest metropolises in Russia) as an example. The research also investigates the quality of project designs and reveals techniques corresponding to the "green standards". It considers the issues of practicing high-rise building construction in specific urban conditions and identifies unresolved architectural problems.

U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences 1940-2015: 75 years of Science and Innovation

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

allegedly designed to im- prove human performance (such as neurolinguistic programming , para- psychology techniques, and super learning programs ), Gen...Integration program today. 5 Diversity and Integration of the Force From the 1970s through today, ARI has been central in providing the Army with...the 1980s, ARI worked with TRADOC and USAREC to establish and enhance the Army’s recruitment program , including develop- ing recruiter training

Unified Multimodal Measurement for Performance Indication Research, Evaluation, and Effectiveness (UMMPIREE): Phase I Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-01-25

generally a researcher into methods and techniques (i.e., the science) of assessment. This stakeholder may observe ongoing events/experiments or may use... Research Visualization Tool. A first step toward finding a method to link research . 3.1.2 Phase II: Linking and the Network Approach During Phase I, we...innovations. In the former realm, UMMPIREE will develop a method to link assessments from different research studies to guide research

Aerospace management techniques: Commercial and governmental applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milliken, J. G.; Morrison, E. J.

1971-01-01

A guidebook for managers and administrators is presented as a source of useful information on new management methods in business, industry, and government. The major topics discussed include: actual and potential applications of aerospace management techniques to commercial and governmental organizations; aerospace management techniques and their use within the aerospace sector; and the aerospace sector's application of innovative management techniques.

Service innovation management practices in the telecommunications industry: what does cross country analysis reveal?

PubMed

Rahman, Syed Abidur; Taghizadeh, Seyedeh Khadijeh; Ramayah, T; Ahmad, Noor Hazlina

2015-01-01

Service innovation management practice is currently being widely scrutinized mainly in the developed countries, where it has been initiated. The current study attempts to propose a framework and empirically validate and explain the service innovation practices for successful performance in the telecommunications industry of two developing countries, Malaysia and Bangladesh. The research framework proposes relationships among organisational culture, operating core (innovation process, cross-functional organisation, and implementation of tools/technology), competition-informed pricing, and performance. A total of 176 usable data from both countries are analysed for the purpose of the research. The findings show that organisational culture tends to be more influential on innovation process and cross-functional organisation in Malaysian telecommunication industry. In contrast, implementation of tools/technology plays a more instrumental role in competition-informed pricing practices in Bangladesh. This study revealed few differences in the innovation management practices between two developing countries. The findings have strategic implications for the service sectors in both the developing countries regarding implementation of innovative enterprises, especially in Bangladesh where innovation is the basis for survival. Testing the innovation management practices in the developing countries perhaps contains uniqueness in the field of innovation management.

Teams as innovative systems: multilevel motivational antecedents of innovation in R&D teams.

PubMed

Chen, Gilad; Farh, Jiing-Lih; Campbell-Bush, Elizabeth M; Wu, Zhiming; Wu, Xin

2013-11-01

Integrating theories of proactive motivation, team innovation climate, and motivation in teams, we developed and tested a multilevel model of motivators of innovative performance in teams. Analyses of multisource data from 428 members of 95 research and development (R&D) teams across 33 Chinese firms indicated that team-level support for innovation climate captured motivational mechanisms that mediated between transformational leadership and team innovative performance, whereas members' motivational states (role-breadth self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation) mediated between proactive personality and individual innovative performance. Furthermore, individual motivational states and team support for innovation climate uniquely promoted individual innovative performance, and, in turn, individual innovative performance linked team support for innovation climate to team innovative performance. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Wind energy prospecting: socio-economic value of a new wind resource assessment technique based on a NASA Earth science dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanvyve, E.; Magontier, P.; Vandenberghe, F. C.; Delle Monache, L.; Dickinson, K.

2012-12-01

Wind energy is amongst the fastest growing sources of renewable energy in the U.S. and could supply up to 20 % of the U.S power production by 2030. An accurate and reliable wind resource assessment for prospective wind farm sites is a challenging task, yet is crucial for evaluating the long-term profitability and feasibility of a potential development. We have developed an accurate and computationally efficient wind resource assessment technique for prospective wind farm sites, which incorporates innovative statistical techniques and the new NASA Earth science dataset MERRA. This technique produces a wind resource estimate that is more accurate than that obtained by the wind energy industry's standard technique, while providing a reliable quantification of its uncertainty. The focus now is on evaluating the socio-economic value of this new technique upon using the industry's standard technique. Would it yield lower financing costs? Could it result in lower electricity prices? Are there further down-the-line positive consequences, e.g. job creation, time saved, greenhouse gas decrease? Ultimately, we expect our results will inform efforts to refine and disseminate the new technique to support the development of the U.S. renewable energy infrastructure. In order to address the above questions, we are carrying out a cost-benefit analysis based on the net present worth of the technique. We will describe this approach, including the cash-flow process of wind farm financing, how the wind resource assessment factors in, and will present current results for various hypothetical candidate wind farm sites.

Supportive techniques and devices for endoscopic submucosal dissection of gastric cancer.

PubMed

Sakurazawa, Nobuyuki; Kato, Shunji; Fujita, Itsuo; Kanazawa, Yoshikazu; Onodera, Hiroyuki; Uchida, Eiji

2012-06-16

The indications for endoscopic treatment have expanded in recent years, and relatively intestinal-type mucosal stomach carcinomas with a low potential for metastasis are now often resected en bloc by endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), even if they measure over 20 mm in size. However, ESD requires complex maneuvers, which entails a long operation time, and is often accompanied by complications such as bleeding and perforation. Many technical developments have been implemented to overcome these complications. The scope, cutting device, hemostasis device, and other supportive devices have been improved. However, even with these innovations, ESD remains a potentially complex procedure. One of the major difficulties is poor visualization of the submucosal layer resulting from the poor countertraction afforded during submucosal dissection. Recently, countertraction devices have been developed. In this paper, we introduce countertraction techniques and devices mainly for gastric cancer.

South Florida Everglades: satellite image map

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, John W.; Thomas, Jean-Claude; Desmond, G.B.

2001-01-01

These satellite image maps are one product of the USGS Land Characteristics from Remote Sensing project, funded through the USGS Place-Based Studies Program (http://access.usgs.gov/) with support from the Everglades National Park (http://www.nps.gov/ever/). The objective of this project is to develop and apply innovative remote sensing and geographic information system techniques to map the distribution of vegetation, vegetation characteristics, and related hydrologic variables through space and over time. The mapping and description of vegetation characteristics and their variations are necessary to accurately simulate surface hydrology and other surface processes in South Florida and to monitor land surface changes. As part of this research, data from many airborne and satellite imaging systems have been georeferenced and processed to facilitate data fusion and analysis. These image maps were created using image fusion techniques developed as part of this project.

INcreasing Security and Protection through Infrastructure REsilience: The INSPIRE Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Antonio, Salvatore; Romano, Luigi; Khelil, Abdelmajid; Suri, Neeraj

The INSPIRE project aims at enhancing the European potential in the field of security by ensuring the protection of critical information infrastructures through (a) the identification of their vulnerabilities and (b) the development of innovative techniques for securing networked process control systems. To increase the resilience of such systems INSPIRE will develop traffic engineering algorithms, diagnostic processes and self-reconfigurable architectures along with recovery techniques. Hence, the core idea of the INSPIRE project is to protect critical information infrastructures by appropriately configuring, managing, and securing the communication network which interconnects the distributed control systems. A working prototype will be implemented as a final demonstrator of selected scenarios. Controls/Communication Experts will support project partners in the validation and demonstration activities. INSPIRE will also contribute to standardization process in order to foster multi-operator interoperability and coordinated strategies for securing lifeline systems.

Intraoperative β{sup -} detecting probe for radio-guided surgery in tumour resection

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

Solfaroli Camillocci, Elena; Bellini, Fabio; Bocciy, Valerio

The development of the β{sup -} based radio-guided surgery aims to extend the technique to those tumours where surgery is the only possible treatment and the assessment of the resection would most profit from the low background around the lesion, as for brain tumours. Feasibility studies on meningioma and gliomas already estimated the potentiality of this new treatment. To validate the technique, a prototype of the intraoperative probe detecting β{sup -} decays and specific phantoms simulating tumour remnant patterns embedded in healthy tissue have been realized. The response of the probe in this simulated environment is tested with dedicated procedures.more » This document discusses the innovative aspects of the method, the status of the developed intraoperative β{sup -} detecting probe and the results of the preclinical tests. (authors)« less

Additive manufacturing technology in reconstructive surgery.

PubMed

Fuller, Scott C; Moore, Michael G

2016-10-01

Technological advances have been part and parcel of modern reconstructive surgery, in that practitioners of this discipline are continually looking for innovative ways to perfect their craft and improve patient outcomes. We are currently in a technological climate wherein advances in computers, imaging, and science have coalesced with resulting innovative breakthroughs that are not merely limited to improved outcomes and enhanced patient care, but may provide novel approaches to training the next generation of reconstructive surgeons. New developments in software and modeling platforms, imaging modalities, tissue engineering, additive manufacturing, and customization of implants are poised to revolutionize the field of reconstructive surgery. The interface between technological advances and reconstructive surgery continues to expand. Additive manufacturing techniques continue to evolve in an effort to improve patient outcomes, decrease operative time, and serve as instructional tools for the training of reconstructive surgeons.

PREFACE: International Scientific and Technical Conference ''Innovative Mechanical Engineering Technologies, Equipment and Materials-2014''

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nail, K.

2015-06-01

In the period from 3 to 5 December 2014 the city of Kazan hosted the International Scientific Conference ''Innovative mechanical engineering technologies, equipment and materials - 2014'' (ISC ''vIMETEM - 2014''). The event was followed by the 14th International specialized exhibition ''Engineering. Metalworking. Kazan'' The main objective of the annual conference was for participants to discuss scientific and technical achievements in the design and manufacture of engineering products, the expansion of cooperation between scientific organizations and enterprises of machine-building complex and the definition of perspective ways of creation and development of new techniques, technologies and materials. The conference ''IMETEM'' was devoted to the 90th anniversary of Fayzrahman Salahovich Yunusov, who made a great contribution in the field of aviation technology. Kashapov Nail, D.Sc., professor (Kazan Federal University)

Background Characterization Techniques For Pattern Recognition Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noah, Meg A.; Noah, Paul V.; Schroeder, John W.; Kessler, Bernard V.; Chernick, Julian A.

1989-08-01

The Department of Defense has a requirement to investigate technologies for the detection of air and ground vehicles in a clutter environment. The use of autonomous systems using infrared, visible, and millimeter wave detectors has the potential to meet DOD's needs. In general, however, the hard-ware technology (large detector arrays with high sensitivity) has outpaced the development of processing techniques and software. In a complex background scene the "problem" is as much one of clutter rejection as it is target detection. The work described in this paper has investigated a new, and innovative, methodology for background clutter characterization, target detection and target identification. The approach uses multivariate statistical analysis to evaluate a set of image metrics applied to infrared cloud imagery and terrain clutter scenes. The techniques are applied to two distinct problems: the characterization of atmospheric water vapor cloud scenes for the Navy's Infrared Search and Track (IRST) applications to support the Infrared Modeling Measurement and Analysis Program (IRAMMP); and the detection of ground vehicles for the Army's Autonomous Homing Munitions (AHM) problems. This work was sponsored under two separate Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) programs by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), White Oak MD, and the Army Material Systems Analysis Activity at Aberdeen Proving Ground MD. The software described in this paper will be available from the respective contract technical representatives.

INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS FOR DETECTING AND LOCATING LEAKS IN WASTE IMPOUNDMENT LINER SYSTEMS: ACOUSTIC EMISSION MONITORING AND TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETRY

EPA Science Inventory

This project is part of a program to investigate the use of innovative techniques for detecting and locating leaks in waste impoundment liners. Laboratory and small scale field studies were undertaken to evaluate the potential of Acoustic Emission Monitoring (AEM) and Time Domain...

Distributive Marketing Education: Innovative Instructional Techniques in Distributive Marketing Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.

The conference featured more than 40 presentations representing existing and planned innovative programs in all levels of distributive marketing education in six States. In addition to the presentations (not reproduced in their entirety in the report), there were sessions and workshops for secondary, post secondary, and adult levels and for city…

Focused Group Interviews as an Innovative Quanti-Qualitative Methodology (QQM): Integrating Quantitative Elements into a Qualitative Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grim, Brian J.; Harmon, Alison H.; Gromis, Judy C.

2006-01-01

There is a sharp divide between quantitative and qualitative methodologies in the social sciences. We investigate an innovative way to bridge this gap that incorporates quantitative techniques into a qualitative method, the "quanti-qualitative method" (QQM). Specifically, our research utilized small survey questionnaires and experiment-like…

NASA Chief Technologist on Panel at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-15

During MIT's "Better MIT Innovation Week 2018," a group of experts discussed innovation as a critical component to and professional accomplishment. From left: Rebecca Chui, founder, RootsStudio; Reinaldo Normand, entrepreneur in residence, MIT; Douglas Terrier, NASA chief technologist; Linda Foster, chief technologist, Lockheed Martin. (Photo: Damian Barabonkov/MIT Technique)

NASA Chief Technologist Speaks at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-15

NASA Chief Technologist Douglas Terrier joined students, faculty and experts in Boston as part of MIT's "Better MIT Innovation Week 2018," a week-long program promoting leadership, entrepreneurship and action for a better future. During the February event, Terrier spoke about a culture of innovation at America's Space Program. (Photo: Damian Barabonkov/MIT Technique)

Innovative Teaching Ideas. A Sharing of Teaching Tips, Ideas and Methods.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tenney, Richard W., Ed.; And Others

Compiled from materials collected from 150 teachers of agriculture across New York State who participated in a series of 11 regional agriculture inservice workshops, this resource guide contains innovative techniques for classroom operation as well as suggestions for using available resources. The ideas have been organized into the following eight…

The Development of Lightweight Electronics Enclosures for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fenske, Matthew T.; Barth, Jane L.; Didion, Jeffrey R.; Mule, Peter

1999-01-01

This paper outlines the end to end effort to produce lightweight electronics enclosures for NASA GSFC electronics applications with the end goal of presenting an array of lightweight box options for a flight opportunity. Topics including the development of requirements, design of three different boxes, utilization of advanced materials and processes, and analysis and test will be discussed. Three different boxes were developed independently and in parallel. A lightweight machined Aluminum box, a cast Aluminum box and a composite box were designed, fabricated, and tested both mechanically and thermally. There were many challenges encountered in meeting the requirements with a non-metallic enclosure and the development of the composite box employed several innovative techniques.

[Ten years retrospective review of the application of digital medical technology in general surgery in China].

PubMed

Fang, C H; Lau, Y Y; Zhou, W P; Cai, W

2017-12-01

Digital medical technology is a powerful tool which has forcefully promoted the development of general surgery in China. In this article, we reviews the application status of three-dimensional visualization and three-dimensional printing technology in general surgery, introduces the development situation of surgical navigation guided by optical and electromagnetic technology and preliminary attempt to combined with mixed reality applied to complicated hepatectomy, looks ahead the development direction of digital medicine in the era of artificial intelligence and big data on behalf of surgical robot and radiomics. Surgeons should proactively master these advanced techniques and accelerate the innovative development of general surgery in China.

Theoretical Bound of CRLB for Energy Efficient Technique of RSS-Based Factor Graph Geolocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kahar Aziz, Muhammad Reza; Heriansyah; Saputra, EfaMaydhona; Musa, Ardiansyah

2018-03-01

To support the increase of wireless geolocation development as the key of the technology in the future, this paper proposes theoretical bound derivation, i.e., Cramer Rao lower bound (CRLB) for energy efficient of received signal strength (RSS)-based factor graph wireless geolocation technique. The theoretical bound derivation is crucially important to evaluate whether the energy efficient technique of RSS-based factor graph wireless geolocation is effective as well as to open the opportunity to further innovation of the technique. The CRLB is derived in this paper by using the Fisher information matrix (FIM) of the main formula of the RSS-based factor graph geolocation technique, which is lied on the Jacobian matrix. The simulation result shows that the derived CRLB has the highest accuracy as a bound shown by its lowest root mean squared error (RMSE) curve compared to the RMSE curve of the RSS-based factor graph geolocation technique. Hence, the derived CRLB becomes the lower bound for the efficient technique of RSS-based factor graph wireless geolocation.

Transmission Electron Microscopy for Nanomedicine: Novel Applications for Long-established Techniques

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

During the last twenty years, the research in nanoscience and nanotechnology has dramatically increased and, in the last decade, the interest has progressively been oriented towards biomedical applications, giving rise to a new field termed nanomedicine. Transmission electron microscopy is a valuable technique not only for the thorough physico-chemical characterization of newly synthesized nanoparticulates, but especially to explore the effects of nanocomposites on biological systems, providing essential information for the development of efficient therapeutic and diagnostic strategies. Thus, for the progress of nanotechnology in the biomedical field, experts in cell biology, histochemistry and ultramicroscopy should always support the chemists, physicists and pharmacologists engaged in the synthesis and characterization of innovative nanoconstructs. PMID:28076938

New developments for the detection and treatment of cardiac vasculopathy.

PubMed

Clerkin, Kevin J; Ali, Ziad A; Mancini, Donna M

2017-02-15

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a major limitation to long-term survival after heart transplantation. Innovative new techniques to diagnose CAV have been applied to detect disease. This review will examine the current diagnostic and treatment options available to clinicians for CAV. Diagnostic modalities addressing the pathophysiology underlying CAV (arterial wall thickening and decreased coronary blood flow) improve diagnostic sensitivity when compared to traditional (angiography and dobutamine stress echocardiography) techniques. Limited options are available to prevent and treat CAV; however, progress has been made in making an earlier and more accurate diagnosis. Future research is needed to identify the optimal time to modify immunosuppression and investigate novel treatments for CAV.

The total hemispheric emissivity of painted aluminum honeycomb at cryogenic temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuttle, J.; Canavan, E.; DiPirro, M.; Li, X.; Knollenberg, P.

2014-01-01

NASA uses high-emissivity surfaces on deep-space radiators and thermal radiation absorbers in test chambers. Aluminum honeycomb core material, when coated with a high-emissivity paint, provides a lightweight, mechanically robust, and relatively inexpensive black surface that retains its high emissivity down to low temperatures. At temperatures below about 100 Kelvin, this material performs much better than the paint itself. We measured the total hemispheric emissivity of various painted honeycomb configurations using an adaptation of an innovative technique developed for characterizing thin black coatings. These measurements were performed from room temperature down to 30 Kelvin. We describe the measurement technique and compare the results with predictions from a detailed thermal model of each honeycomb configuration.

Present challenges in hadrontherapy techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amaldi, U.; Braccini, S.

2011-07-01

Hadrontherapy is a high-precision technique in cancer radiation therapy, which allows obtaining a superior conformal treatment with respect to photons used in conventional radiation therapy. To reach this ambitious goal without reducing the patient throughput needed in a hospital-based environment, the physical and radiobiological properties of charged hadrons, protons and carbon ions in particular, have to be exploited at best, making use of the most modern technologies issued from research in nuclear and particle physics. In the present days, we are assisting to a continuous technological challenge, leading to the conception and to the development of innovative methods and instruments. In this paper, the most relevant challenges in dose delivery systems, gantries, imaging, quality assurance and particle accelerators are reviewed.

Spacecraft Charge Monitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goembel, L.

2003-12-01

We are currently developing a flight prototype Spacecraft Charge Monitor (SCM) with support from NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The device will use a recently proposed high energy-resolution electron spectroscopic technique to determine spacecraft floating potential. The inspiration for the technique came from data collected by the Atmosphere Explorer (AE) satellites in the 1970s. The data available from the AE satellites indicate that the SCM may be able to determine spacecraft floating potential to within 0.1 V under certain conditions. Such accurate measurement of spacecraft charge could be used to correct biases in space plasma measurements. The device may also be able to measure spacecraft floating potential in the solar wind and in orbit around other planets.

Surface chemistry and microscopy of food powders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgain, Jennifer; Petit, Jeremy; Scher, Joël; Rasch, Ron; Bhandari, Bhesh; Gaiani, Claire

2017-12-01

Despite high industrial and scientific interest, a comprehensive review of the surface science of food powders is still lacking. There is a real gap between scientific concerns of the field and accessible reviews on the subject. The global description of the surface of food powders by multi-scale microscopy approaches seems to be essential in order to investigate their complexity and take advantage of their high innovation potential. Links between these techniques and the interest to develop a multi-analytical approach to investigate scientific questions dealing with powder functionality are discussed in the second part of the review. Finally, some techniques used in others fields and showing promising possibilities in the food powder domain will be highlighted.

The Total Hemispheric Emissivity of Painted Aluminum Honeycomb at Cryogenic Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tuttle, J.; Canavan, E.; DiPirro, M.; Li, X.; Knollenberg, K.

2013-01-01

NASA uses high-emissivity surfaces on deep-space radiators or thermal radiation absorbers in test chambers. Aluminum honeycomb core material, when coated with a high-emissivity paint, provides a lightweight, mechanically robust, and relatively inexpensive black surface that retains its high emissivity down to low temperatures. At temperatures below about 100 Kelvin, this material performs much better than the paint itself. We measured the total hemispheric emissivity of various painted honeycomb configurations using an adaptation of an innovative technique developed for characterizing thin black coatings. These measurements were performed from room temperature down to 30 Kelvin. We describe the measurement technique and compare the results with predictions from a detailed thermal model of each honeycomb configuration.

Sacral nerve stimulation for neuromodulation of the lower urinary tract.

PubMed

Hubsher, Chad P; Jansen, Robert; Riggs, Dale R; Jackson, Barbara J; Zaslau, Stanley

2012-10-01

Sacral neuromodulation (SNM) has become a standard treatment option for patients suffering from urinary urge incontinence, urgency-frequency, and/or nonobstructive urinary retention refractory to conservative and pharmacologic treatment. Since its initial development, the manufacturer of InterStim therapy (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA), has introduced technical modifications, while surgeons and researchers have adapted and published various innovations and alterations of the implantation technique. In this article, we feature our SNM technique including patient selection, comprehensive dialogue/evaluation, procedure details, and appropriate follow up. Although there is often great variability in patients with lower urinary tract dysfunction, we maintain that great success can be achieved with a systematic and methodical approach to SNM.

Innovation through developing consumers’ community. Part I: Innovation in action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gălăţanu (Avram, E.; Avasilcăi, S.

2015-11-01

Technological changes and need for innovation represents the main concerns for organizational growth and profitability. However the main priority is still about achieving high performance through product development and consumers' engagement activities. As implementation of open innovation applications increased and value co — creation became well known and major process, companies were engaged into value co — innovation activities. From this point of view the need for joint efforts with consumers in product development arose. Thus the primary condition for an organization to be consumer centric is to define clear the vision and mission which reflects the common efforts for co — creation and diffusion of innovation. As Research & Development processes evolved and interest for innovative concepts and products arose, companies started to implement the specific instruments for consumers' attraction and engagement into design and product development. The digitalized innovation became the main source for establishing the direct communication with the consumers. In order to achieve organization growth, profitability and recognition, the companies should be aware of the innovation importance and the need for internal change. From this point of view, there is necessary to assess the organizational structures, to implement new policies and to establish strategic targets. Basically it is justified the need for platform occurrence and development. Based on case study of BMW Group, recognised leader in automotive industry for innovative concepts, there will be analysed main features within organizational context which promotes the innovation implementation. There will be provided the review of the BMW Group experience of innovation activities, main consumers' engagement strategies, the values which promote the consumer — centric product development, new opportunities assessment, major policies and concerns. The foreseen result is to understand how companies are adapting to the technical and innovation changes as the main criteria for future product development and consumers' engagement motivation through the platform — based communication.

Innovative approach towards understanding optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garg, Amit; Bharadwaj, Sadashiv Raj; Kumar, Raj; Shudhanshu, Avinash Kumar; Verma, Deepak Kumar

2016-01-01

Over the last few years, there has been a decline in the students’ interest towards Science and Optics. Use of technology in the form of various types of sensors and data acquisition systems has come as a saviour. Till date, manual routine tools and techniques are used to perform various experimental procedures in most of the science/optics laboratories in our country. The manual tools are cumbersome whereas the automated ones are costly. It does not enthuse young researchers towards the science laboratories. There is a need to develop applications which can be easily integrated, tailored at school and undergraduate level laboratories and are economical at the same time. Equipments with advanced technologies are available but they are uneconomical and have complicated working principle with a black box approach. The present work describes development of portable tools and applications which are user-friendly. This is being implemented using open-source physical computing platform based on a simple low cost microcontroller board and a development environment for writing software. The present paper reports the development of an automated spectrometer, an instrument used in almost all optics experiments at undergraduate level, and students’ response to this innovation. These tools will inspire young researchers towards science and facilitate development of advance low cost equipments making life easier for Indian as well as developing nations.

Innovative Materials for Aircraft Morphing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, J. O.; Wise, S. A.; Bryant, R. G.; Cano, R. J.; Gates, T. S.; Hinkley, J. A.; Rogowski, R. S.; Whitley, K. S.

1997-01-01

Reported herein is an overview of the research being conducted within the Materials Division at NASA Langley Research Center on the development of smart material technologies for advanced airframe systems. The research is a part of the Aircraft Morphing Program which is a new six-year research program to develop smart components for self-adaptive airframe systems. The fundamental areas of materials research within the program are computational materials; advanced piezoelectric materials; advanced fiber optic sensing techniques; and fabrication of integrated composite structures. This paper presents a portion of the ongoing research in each of these areas of materials research.

The Role in the Virtual Astronomical Observatory in the Era of Massive Data Sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berriman, G. Bruce; Hanisch, Robert J.; Lazio, T. Joseph W.

2012-01-01

The Virtual Observatory (VO) is realizing global electronic integration of astronomy data. One of the long-term goals of the U.S. VO project, the Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO), is development of services and protocols that respond to the growing size and complexity of astronomy data sets. This paper describes how VAO staff are active in such development efforts, especially in innovative strategies and techniques that recognize the limited operating budgets likely available to astronomers even as demand increases. The project has a program of professional outreach whereby new services and protocols are evaluated.

Stitching Techniques Advance Optics Manufacturing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2010-01-01

Because NASA depends on the fabrication and testing of large, high-quality aspheric (nonspherical) optics for applications like the James Webb Space Telescope, it sought an improved method for measuring large aspheres. Through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards from Goddard Space Flight Center, QED Technologies, of Rochester, New York, upgraded and enhanced its stitching technology for aspheres. QED developed the SSI-A, which earned the company an R&D 100 award, and also developed a breakthrough machine tool called the aspheric stitching interferometer. The equipment is applied to advanced optics in telescopes, microscopes, cameras, medical scopes, binoculars, and photolithography."

Bearing defect signature analysis using advanced nonlinear signal analysis in a controlled environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zoladz, T.; Earhart, E.; Fiorucci, T.

1995-01-01

Utilizing high-frequency data from a highly instrumented rotor assembly, seeded bearing defect signatures are characterized using both conventional linear approaches, such as power spectral density analysis, and recently developed nonlinear techniques such as bicoherence analysis. Traditional low-frequency (less than 20 kHz) analysis and high-frequency envelope analysis of both accelerometer and acoustic emission data are used to recover characteristic bearing distress information buried deeply in acquired data. The successful coupling of newly developed nonlinear signal analysis with recovered wideband envelope data from accelerometers and acoustic emission sensors is the innovative focus of this research.