a Schema for Extraction of Indoor Pedestrian Navigation Grid Network from Floor Plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Lei; Song, Yiquan

2016-06-01

The requirement of the indoor navigation related tasks such emergency evacuation calls for efficient solutions for handling data sources. Therefore, the navigation grid extraction from existing floor plans draws attentions. To this, we have to thoroughly analyse the source data, such as Autocad dxf files. Then, we could establish a sounding navigation solution, which firstly complements the basic navigation rectangle boundaries, secondly subdivides these rectangles and finally generates accessible networks with these refined rectangles. Test files are introduced to validate the whole workflow and evaluate the solution performance. In conclusion, we have achieved the preliminary step of forming up accessible network from the navigation grids.

KETENE FORMATION IN INTERSTELLAR ICES: A LABORATORY STUDY

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

Hudson, Reggie L.; Loeffler, Mark J., E-mail: Reggie.Hudson@NASA.gov

2013-08-20

The formation of ketene (H{sub 2}CCO, ethenone) in polar and apolar ices was studied with in situ 0.8 MeV proton irradiation, far-UV photolysis, and infrared spectroscopic analyses at 10-20 K. Using isotopically enriched reagents, unequivocal evidence was obtained for ketene synthesis in H{sub 2}O-rich and CO{sub 2}-rich ices, and several reaction products were identified. Results from scavenging experiments suggested that ketene was formed by free-radical pathways, as opposed to acid-base processes or redox reactions. Finally, we use our results to draw conclusions about the formation and stability of ketene in the interstellar medium.

Children's Headache: Drawings in the Diagnostic Work Up.

PubMed

Mazzotta, Silvia; Pavlidis, Elena; Cordori, Cecilia; Spagnoli, Carlotta; Pini, Luigi Alberto; Pisani, Francesco

2015-08-01

This study aims to evaluate the drawings effectiveness in childhood headache assessment. Headache is a common cause of pain in children. Although drawings have been used in childhood to recognize psychological insights and pain perception, they were rarely used for headache characterization. We collected drawings from 67 subjects with cephalalgia during a 22-month timeframe. The clinical diagnosis was made according to the 2nd edition of The International Headache Classification. Drawings were independently categorized as migraine or tension-type headache (TTH) by two child neuropsychiatrists blinded to the clinical data. Cohen kappa for interrater agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) were calculated. Subjects were also divided into three age groups to assess the influence of age. Finally, a control group of 90 subjects was collected and K-means cluster analysis was performed. The drawings had a sensitivity of 85.71 and 81.48%, a specificity of 81.48 and 85.71%, and a PPV of 85.71 and 81.48%, for migraine and TTH diagnosis, respectively. Drawings by the older age group showed the highest predictability degree. Finally, by mean of cluster analysis, 59 of the 67 patients were correctly classified, whereas control subjects were similarly distributed between the two clusters. Drawings are a useful instrument for migraine and TTH differential diagnosis. Thus, we suggest their inclusion in childhood headache diagnostic assessment. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The effect of temperature and drawing ratio on the mechanical properties of polypropylene monofilaments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taheri, Hesam; Nóbrega, João Miguel; Samyn, Pieter; Covas, José Antonio

2014-05-01

In this work, the simultaneous effect of both temperature and drawing ratio during processing of polypropylene monofilaments has been investigated. The basis of this work specifically aims at emphasizing the conditions of temperature and drawing ratio applied in the cooling bath, in order to find out under which conditions the named parameters can be applied in a processing line under continuous extrusion. The effects of temperature are studied for a constant total drawing ratio to analyze the influences on mechanical properties and structural differences of the final polypropylene monofilament. The quenched monofilaments were drawn around an adjustable guide assembly in the quench bath and first drawing stage, imparting thermal and mechanical treatments to the filaments. In the heating stage, monofilaments are affected to high-speed draw rolls while passing through the oven. As such, the best conditions to produce a polypropylene monofilament with high tenacity strength were determined. Results of this study show that the monofilament properties are significantly affected by temperature in the cooling zone. The nature of the first drawing had a significant effect on the end properties and monofilaments with modulus of 637 MPa have finally been manufactured. We have also proposed a new hypothesis, which is termed "gap nucleation" and determine this phenomenon in the gap between die and cooling bath.

Perceptual Drawing as a Learning Tool in a College Biology Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landin, Jennifer

2011-12-01

The use of drawing in the classroom has a contentious history in the U.S. education system. While most instructors and students agree that the activity helps students focus and observe more details, there is a lack of empirical data to support these positions. This study examines the use of three treatments (writing a description, drawing a perceptual image, or drawing a perceptual image after participating in a short instructional lesson on perceptual drawing) each week over the course of a semester. The students in the "Drawing with Instruction" group exhibit a small but significantly higher level of content knowledge by the end of the semester. When comparing Attitude Toward Biology and Observational Skills among the three groups, inconclusive results restrict making any conclusions. Student perceptions of the task are positive, although not as strong as indicated by other studies. A student behavior observed during the first study led to another question regarding student cognitive processes, and demonstrated cognitive change in student-rendered drawings. The data from the second study indicate that hemispheric dominance or visual/verbal learning do not impact learning from perceptual drawing activities. However, conservatism and need for closure are inversely proportional to the change seen in student drawings over the course of a lesson. Further research is needed to verify these conclusions, as the second study has a small number of participants.

Color sensitivity of the multi-exposure HDR imaging process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenseigne, Boris; Jacobs, Valéry Ann; Withouck, Martijn; Hanselaer, Peter; Jonker, Pieter P.

2013-04-01

Multi-exposure high dynamic range(HDR) imaging builds HDR radiance maps by stitching together different views of a same scene with varying exposures. Practically, this process involves converting raw sensor data into low dynamic range (LDR) images, estimate the camera response curves, and use them in order to recover the irradiance for every pixel. During the export, applying white balance settings and image stitching, which both have an influence on the color balance in the final image. In this paper, we use a calibrated quasi-monochromatic light source, an integrating sphere, and a spectrograph in order to evaluate and compare the average spectral response of the image sensor. We finally draw some conclusion about the color consistency of HDR imaging and the additional steps necessary to use multi-exposure HDR imaging as a tool to measure the physical quantities such as radiance and luminance.

Teaching Note--Was the Champions League Draw Rigged?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tijms, Henk

2015-01-01

This teaching note gives a real-life example of Bayesian thinking. It discusses how credible accusations are that the outcome of the draw for the quarter-finals in the 2013 European Champions League Football was manipulated.

Broken Robustness Analysis: How to make proper climate change conclusions in contradictory multimodal measurement contexts.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keyser, V.

2015-12-01

Philosophers of science discuss how multiple modes of measurement can generate evidence for the existence and character of a phenomenon (Horwich 1982; Hacking 1983; Franklin and Howson 1984; Collins 1985; Sober 1989; Trout 1993; Culp 1995; Keeley 2002; Staley 2004; Weber 2005; Keyser 2012). But how can this work systematically in climate change measurement? Additionally, what conclusions can scientists and policy-makers draw when different modes of measurement fail to be robust by producing contradictory results? First, I present a new technical account of robust measurement (RAMP) that focuses on the physical independence of measurement processes. I detail how physically independent measurement processes "check each other's results." (This account is in contrast to philosophical accounts of robustness analysis that focus on independent model assumptions or independent measurement products or results.) Second, I present a puzzle about contradictory and divergent climate change measures, which has consistently re-emerged in climate measurement. This discussion will focus on land, drilling, troposphere, and computer simulation measures. Third, to systematically solve this climate measurement puzzle, I use RAMP in the context of drought measurement in order to generate a classification of measurement processes. Here, I discuss how multimodal precipitation measures—e.g., measures of precipitation deficit like the Standard Precipitation Index vs. air humidity measures like the Standardized Relative Humidity Index--can help with the classification scheme of climate change measurement processes. Finally, I discuss how this classification of measures can help scientists and policy-makers draw effective conclusions in contradictory multimodal climate change measurement contexts.

Assessing treatment effects in older breast cancer patients: systematic review of observational research methods.

PubMed

de Glas, N A; Kiderlen, M; de Craen, A J M; Hamaker, M E; Portielje, J E A; van de Velde, C J H; Liefers, G J; Bastiaannet, E

2015-03-01

Solid evidence of treatment effects in older women with breast cancer is lacking, as they are generally underrepresented in randomized clinical trials on which guideline recommendations are based. An alternative way to study treatment effects in older patients could be to use data from observational studies. However, using appropriate methods in analyzing observational data is a key condition in order to draw valid conclusions, as directly comparing treatments generally results in biased estimates due to confounding by indication. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the methods that have been used in observational studies that assessed the effects of breast cancer treatment on survival, breast cancer survival and recurrence in older patients (aged 65 years and older). Studies were identified through systematic review of the literature published between January 1st 2009 and December 13th 2013 in the PubMed database and EMBASe. Finally, 31 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of these, 22 studies directly compared two treatments. Fifteen out of these 22 studies addressed the problem of confounding by indication, while seven studies did not. Nine studies used some form of instrumental variable analysis. In conclusion, the vast majority of observational studies that investigate treatment effects in older breast cancer patients compared treatments directly. These studies are therefore likely to be biased. Observational research will be essential to improve treatment and outcome of older breast cancer patients, but the use of accurate methods is essential to draw valid conclusions from this type of data. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Friction modifier using adherent metallic multilayered or mixed element layer conversion coatings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schramm, Harry F. (Inventor); Defalco, Frank G. (Inventor); Starks, Sr., Lloyd L. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A process for creating conversion coatings and spin, drawing, and extrusion finishes for surfaces, wherein the conversion coatings and spin, drawing, and extrusion finishes contain potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, silicon, and one or more non-alkaline metals. The process comprises forming a first aqueous solution of silicate, potassium hydroxide, and ammonium hydroxide; forming a second aqueous solution of water, phosphoric acid, ammonium hydroxide, an alkali metal hydroxide, and one or more non-alkaline metals, and then combining the first solution with the second solution to form a final solution. This final solution forms an anti-friction multi-layer conversion coating or a spin, drawing, and extrusion finish on a surface when applied to the surface, either directly or as an additive in lubricating fluids.

Drawing conclusions: The effect of instructions on children's confabulation and fantasy errors.

PubMed

Macleod, Emily; Gross, Julien; Hayne, Harlene

2016-01-01

Drawing is commonly used in forensic and clinical interviews with children. In these interviews, children are often allowed to draw without specific instructions about the purpose of the drawing materials. Here, we examined whether this practice influenced the accuracy of children's reports. Seventy-four 5- and 6-year-old children were interviewed one to two days after they took part in an interactive event. Some children were given drawing materials to use during the interview. Of these children, some were instructed to draw about the event, and some were given no additional instructions at all. Children who were instructed to draw about the event, or who were interviewed without drawing, made few errors. In contrast, children who drew without being given specific instructions reported more errors that were associated with both confabulation and fantasy. We conclude that, to maximise accuracy during interviews involving drawing, children should be directed to draw specifically about the interview topic.

Lessons learned from the misuse of mathematical models: The 2008 financial crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campanario, M. L.; Lara, J. A.

2014-10-01

In this paper, we report the immediate causes of the 2008 financial crisis, in the shape of products of financial engineering associated with human greed and stupidity, and necessarily aided and abetted by the Black-Scholes-Merton model, and the mediate, and deeper, causesderived from development promoted by the scientific and technological binomial. We finally draw realistic conclusions regarding the inexorable effects that logically derive from the above causes. An important finding is that human beingsare the only animals to make the same mistake twice. The necessaryconditions are again being generated and will soon be sufficient for acrash, like the one thatcaused the 2007-08 financial crisis, to recur.

Advanced torque converters for robotics and space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

This report describes the results of the evaluation of a novel torque converter concept. Features of the concept include: (1) automatic and rapid adjustment of effective gear ratio in response to changes in external torque (2) maintenance of output torque at zero output velocity without loading the input power source and (3) isolation of input power source from load. Two working models of the concept were fabricated and tested, and a theoretical analysis was performed to determine the limits of performance. It was found that the devices are apparently suited to certain types of tool driver applications, such as screwdrivers, nut drivers and valve actuators. However, quantiative information was insufficient to draw final conclusion as to robotic applications.

18. Photocopy of scaled drawing (from the Engineering Office of ...

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

18. Photocopy of scaled drawing (from the Engineering Office of the Veterans Administration) originally drawn by Trone, November 9, 1933. Final revisions date December 10, 1957. Basement plan. - Roanoke Veterans Administration Hospital, Building No. 6, 1970 Roanoke Boulevard, Salem, Salem, VA

Review of Recent Literature on Figure Drawing Tests as Related to Research Problems in Art Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McWhinnie, Harold J.

1971-01-01

McFee's perception-delineation theory is supported. Major methodological problems of the psychological research presented are in the area of set and the control of specific art materials. Among the conclusions: figure drawing may not be culture fair; a person trained in visual arts should be employed in research using figure drawing tests. (VW)

19. Photocopy of scaled drawing (from the Engineering Office of ...

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

19. Photocopy of scaled drawing (from the Engineering Office of the Veterans Administration) originally drawn by Trone, November 9, 1933. Final revisions date December 9, 1957. First floor plan. - Roanoke Veterans Administration Hospital, Building No. 6, 1970 Roanoke Boulevard, Salem, Salem, VA

20. Photocopy of scaled drawing (from the Engineering Office of ...

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

20. Photocopy of scaled drawing (from the Engineering Office of the Veterans Administration) originally drawn by Trone, November 9, 1933. Final revisions date December 6, 1957. Second floor plan. - Roanoke Veterans Administration Hospital, Building No. 6, 1970 Roanoke Boulevard, Salem, Salem, VA

Mod-5A wind turbine generator program design report. Volume 4: Drawings and specifications, book 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

The design, development and analysis of the 7.3 MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator is documented. This volume contains the drawings and specifications developed for the final design. This volume is divided into 5 books of which this is the third, containing drawings 47A380074 through 47A380126. A full breakdown parts listing is provided as well as a where used list.

Comparative analysis of sustainable consumption and production in Visegrad region - conclusions for textile and clothing sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koszewska, M.; Militki, J.; Mizsey, P.; Benda-Prokeinova, R.

2017-10-01

Gradual environmental degradation, shrinking of non-renewable resources, and lower quality of life are directly or indirectly arising from snowballing consumption. These unfavorable processes concern increasingly textile and clothing sector and are increasingly being felt in Visegrad Region (V4). The objective of the article was to access current consumption patterns in V4 countries, identify the factors that influence those patterns and finally to draw the conclusions for more sustainable consumption and production models as well as to make a comparative analysis of the results across V4 countries. A consumer survey was conducted to examine V4 citizens’ attitudes and behaviors in the context of sustainable consumption. To ensure sample size and comparability across countries 2000 randomly-selected V4 citizens, aged 18 and over, were interviewed. To analyze the supply side of the market and legal framework, the desk research was used. The results allowed to give some guidelines for the joint V4 strategy for solving ecological and social problems of V4 countries as well as the conclusions for textile and clothing sector.

A Comparative Study on Emerging Electric Vehicle Technology Assessments

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

Ford, Jonathan; Khowailed, Gannate; Blackburn, Julia

2011-03-01

Numerous organizations have published reports in recent years that investigate the ever changing world of electric vehicle (EV) technologies and their potential effects on society. Specifically, projections have been made on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with these vehicles and how they compare to conventional vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Similar projections have been made on the volumes of oil that these vehicles can displace by consuming large amounts of grid electricity instead of petroleum-based fuels. Finally, the projected rate that these new vehicle fleets will enter the market varies significantly among organizations. New ideas, technologies, and possibilities aremore » introduced often, and projected values are likely to be refined as industry announcements continue to be made. As a result, over time, a multitude of projections for GHG emissions, oil displacement, and market penetration associated with various EV technologies has resulted in a wide range of possible future outcomes. This leaves the reader with two key questions: (1) Why does such a collective range in projected values exist in these reports? (2) What assumptions have the greatest impact on the outcomes presented in these reports? Since it is impractical for an average reader to review and interpret all the various vehicle technology reports published to date, Sentech Inc. and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have conducted a comparative study to make these interpretations. The primary objective of this comparative study is to present a snapshot of all major projections made on GHG emissions, oil displacement, or market penetration rates of EV technologies. From the extensive data found in relevant publications, the key assumptions that drive each report's analysis are identified and 'apples-to-apples' comparisons between all major report conclusions are attempted. The general approach that was taken in this comparative study is comprised of six primary steps: (1) Search Relevant Literature - An extensive search of recent analyses that address the environmental impacts, market penetration rates, and oil displacement potential of various EV technologies was conducted; (2) Consolidate Studies - Upon completion of the literature search, a list of analyses that have sufficient data for comparison and that should be included in the study was compiled; (3) Identify Key Assumptions - Disparity in conclusions very likely originates from disparity in simple assumptions. In order to compare 'apples-to-apples,' key assumptions were identified in each study to provide the basis for comparing analyses; (4) Extract Information - Each selected report was reviewed, and information on key assumptions and data points was extracted; (5) Overlay Data Points - Visual representations of the comprehensive conclusions were prepared to identify general trends and outliers; and (6) Draw Final Conclusions - Once all comparisons are made to the greatest possible extent, the final conclusions were draw on what major factors lead to the variation in results among studies.« less

Reporting from Qatar, this is Al-Jazeera

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-15

facts of the stories and draw conclusions to Al-Jazeera’s motives and the effects of its reporting on U.S. military operations in Iraq. REPORTING FROM...vignettes examine the facts of the stories and draw conclusions to Al-Jazeera’s motives and the effects of its reporting on U.S. military operations...after a period of five years and no longer reliant on state funds through the sale of program advertisement and exclusive video footage to other

75 FR 59933 - Specifications and Drawings for Construction of Direct Buried Plant

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-29

... for Construction of Direct Buried Plant AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. ACTION: Final rule..., Specifications and Drawings for Construction of Direct Buried Plant (Form 515a). The revised specifications will include new construction units for Fiber-to-the-Home, remove redundant or outdated requirements, and...

The DAB model of drawing processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hochhaus, Larry W.

1989-01-01

The problem of automatic drawing was investigated in two ways. First, a DAB model of drawing processes was introduced. DAB stands for three types of knowledge hypothesized to support drawing abilities, namely, Drawing Knowledge, Assimilated Knowledge, and Base Knowledge. Speculation concerning the content and character of each of these subsystems of the drawing process is introduced and the overall adequacy of the model is evaluated. Second, eight experts were each asked to understand six engineering drawings and to think aloud while doing so. It is anticipated that a concurrent protocol analysis of these interviews can be carried out in the future. Meanwhile, a general description of the videotape database is provided. In conclusion, the DAB model was praised as a worthwhile first step toward solution of a difficult problem, but was considered by and large inadequate to the challenge of automatic drawing. Suggestions for improvements on the model were made.

Analysis of Market Opportunities for Chinese Private Express Delivery Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Changbing; Bai, Lijun; Tong, Xiaoqing

China's express delivery market has become the arena in which each express enterprise struggles to chase due to the huge potential demand and high profitable prospects. So certain qualitative and quantitative forecast for the future changes of China's express delivery market will help enterprises understand various types of market conditions and social changes in demand and adjust business activities to enhance their competitiveness timely. The development of China's express delivery industry is first introduced in this chapter. Then the theoretical basis of the regression model is overviewed. We also predict the demand trends of China's express delivery market by using Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis from qualitative and quantitative aspects, respectively. Finally, we draw some conclusions and recommendations for China's express delivery industry.

An integrative approach to unravel the Ceratitis FAR (Diptera, Tephritidae) cryptic species complex: a review

PubMed Central

De Meyer, Marc; Delatte, Hélène; Ekesi, Sunday; Jordaens, Kurt; Kalinová, Blanka; Manrakhan, Aruna; Mwatawala, Maulid; Steck, Gary; Van Cann, Joannes; Vaníčková, Lucie; Břízová, Radka; Virgilio, Massimiliano

2015-01-01

Abstract This paper reviews all information gathered from different disciplines and studies to resolve the species status within the Ceratitis FAR (Ceratitis fasciventris, Ceratitis anonae, Ceratitis rosa) complex, a group of polyphagous fruit fly pest species (Diptera, Tephritidae) from Africa. It includes information on larval and adult morphology, wing morphometrics, cuticular hydrocarbons, pheromones, microsatellites, developmental physiology and geographic distribution. The general consensus is that the FAR complex comprises Ceratitis anonae, two species within Ceratitis rosa (so-called R1 and R2) and two putatitve species under Ceratitis fasciventris. The information regarding the latter is, however, too limited to draw final conclusions on specific status. Evidence for this recognition is discussed with reference to publications providing further details. PMID:26798270

High pressure study on molecular mobility of leucrose

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaminski, K.; Kaminska, E.; Hensel-Bielowka, S.; Pawlus, S.; Paluch, M.; Ziolo, J.

2008-08-01

Broadband dielectric measurements on leucrose were performed under ambient and high pressure. We showed that in this disaccharide, there are two secondary relaxation modes, a slower one sensitive to pressure and a faster one that is not. This finding clearly indicates that the faster secondary relaxation originates from the intramolecular motion. This conclusion contradicted previous interpretations of this mode observed for trehalose and maltitol, systems very closely related to leucrose. In addition, pressure sensitivity of the slower relaxation confirms our recent interpretation about the character of this process. Furthermore, we discovered that unlike the faster relaxation, the slower secondary relaxation is sensitive to the thermodynamic history of measurements. Finally, monitoring the changes in maximum loss of the slower secondary relaxation measured at the same pressure and temperature conditions for glasses obtained via different thermodynamic routes enabled us to draw a conclusion about the density of the formed glasses. Our observations may be helpful in establishing a new method of suppressing crystallization of amorphous drugs.

Study of providing omnidirectional vibration isolation to entire space shuttle payload packages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, C. S.; Robinson, G. D.; Weber, D. E.

1974-01-01

Techniques to provide omnidirectional vibration isolation for a space shuttle payload package were investigated via a reduced-scale model. Development, design, fabrication, assembly and test evaluation of a 0.125-scale isolation model are described. Final drawings for fabricated mechanical components are identified, and prints of all drawings are included.

Wicked Learning: Reflecting on "Learning to Be Drier"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golding, Barry; Brown, Mike; Foley, Annette; Smith, Erica; Campbell, Coral; Schulz, Christine; Angwin, Jennifer; Grace, Lauri

2009-01-01

In this final, collaborative paper in the "Learning to be drier" edition, we reflect on and draw together some of the key threads from the diverse narratives in our four site papers from across the southern Murray-Darling Basin. Our paper title, "Wicked learning", draws on a recent body literature (Rittel & Webber 1973)…

Drawing Disorders in Alzheimer's Disease and Other Forms of Dementia.

PubMed

Trojano, Luigi; Gainotti, Guido

2016-04-21

Drawing is a multicomponential process that can be impaired by many kinds of brain lesions. Drawing disorders are very common in Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, and can provide clinical information for the distinction of the different dementing diseases. In our review we started from an overview of the neural and cognitive bases of drawing, and from a recollection of the drawing tasks more frequently used for assessing individuals with dementia. Then, we analyzed drawing disorders in dementia, paying special attention to those observed in Alzheimer's disease, from the prodromal stages of the amnesic mild cognitive impairment to the stages of full-blown dementia, both in the sporadic forms with late onset in the entorhino-hippocampal structures and in those with early onset in the posterior neocortical structures. We reviewed the drawing features that could differentiate Alzheimer's disease from vascular dementia and from the most frequent forms of degenerative dementia, namely frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body disease. Finally, we examined some peculiar aspects of drawing disorders in dementia, such as perseverations, rotations, and closing-in. We argue that a careful analysis of drawing errors helps to differentiate the different forms of dementia more than overall accuracy in drawing.

Conversion of KEGG metabolic pathways to SBGN maps including automatic layout

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Biologists make frequent use of databases containing large and complex biological networks. One popular database is the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) which uses its own graphical representation and manual layout for pathways. While some general drawing conventions exist for biological networks, arbitrary graphical representations are very common. Recently, a new standard has been established for displaying biological processes, the Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN), which aims to unify the look of such maps. Ideally, online repositories such as KEGG would automatically provide networks in a variety of notations including SBGN. Unfortunately, this is non‐trivial, since converting between notations may add, remove or otherwise alter map elements so that the existing layout cannot be simply reused. Results Here we describe a methodology for automatic translation of KEGG metabolic pathways into the SBGN format. We infer important properties of the KEGG layout and treat these as layout constraints that are maintained during the conversion to SBGN maps. Conclusions This allows for the drawing and layout conventions of SBGN to be followed while creating maps that are still recognizably the original KEGG pathways. This article details the steps in this process and provides examples of the final result. PMID:23953132

The effect of bridge exercise accompanied by the abdominal drawing-in maneuver on an unstable support surface on the lumbar stability of normal adults.

PubMed

Gong, Wontae

2015-01-01

[Purpose] The present study sought to investigate the influence on static and dynamic lumbar stability of bridge exercise accompanied by an abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) performed on an uneven support surface. [Subjects] A total of 30 participants were divided into an experimental group (15 participants) and a control group (15 participants). [Methods] The experimental group performed bridge exercise on an unstable surface, whereas the control group performed bridge exercise on a stable surface. The respective bridge exercises were performed for 30 minutes, 3 times per week, for 6 weeks. The static lumbar stability (SLS) and dynamic lumbar stability (DLS) of both the experimental group and the control group were measured using a pressure biofeedback unit. [Results] In the comparison of the initial and final results of the experimental and control groups, only the SLS and DLS of the experimental group were found to be statistically significant. [Conclusion] The results of the present study show that when using bridge exercise to improve SLS and DLS, performing the bridge exercise accompanied by ADIM on an uneven surface is more effective than performing the exercise on a stable surface.

Drawing in nursing PBL.

PubMed

Chan, Zenobia C Y

2013-08-01

The implementation of art education in nursing is said to have positive effects on nursing students. Most studies applied visual art dialogues or object design, whereas the effectiveness of drawing as a teaching and learning method is rarely examined and discussed. This paper aimed to discuss the potential and effectiveness of drawing as a learning and teaching method. Four drawings which were created by Hong Kong nursing students are demonstrated and the students' perspectives of how drawing enhanced learning are shown in this paper. Topics on drawing as a fun teaching and learning method and the way it can enhance critical thinking and creativity are also discussed. In conclusion, the activity was a great success, and students enjoyed the learning process and reflected positive comments. However, we cannot conclude that drawing is an effective teaching and learning method based on a single paper, therefore more similar studies should be conducted to investigate this method. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feedback control in deep drawing based on experimental datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, P.; Heingärtner, J.; Aichholzer, W.; Hortig, D.; Hora, P.

2017-09-01

In large-scale production of deep drawing parts, like in automotive industry, the effects of scattering material properties as well as warming of the tools have a significant impact on the drawing result. In the scope of the work, an approach is presented to minimize the influence of these effects on part quality by optically measuring the draw-in of each part and adjusting the settings of the press to keep the strain distribution, which is represented by the draw-in, inside a certain limit. For the design of the control algorithm, a design of experiments for in-line tests is used to quantify the influence of the blank holder force as well as the force distribution on the draw-in. The results of this experimental dataset are used to model the process behavior. Based on this model, a feedback control loop is designed. Finally, the performance of the control algorithm is validated in the production line.

Bending Distortion Analysis of a Steel Shaft Manufacturing Chain from Cold Drawing to Grinding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dias, Vinicius Waechter; da Silva Rocha, Alexandre; Zottis, Juliana; Dong, Juan; Epp, Jérémy; Zoch, Hans Werner

2017-04-01

Shafts are usually manufactured from bars that are cold drawn, cut machined, induction hardened, straightened, and finally ground. The main distortion is characterized by bending that appears after induction hardening and is corrected by straightening and/or grinding. In this work, the consequence of the variation of manufacturing parameters on the distortion was analyzed for a complete manufacturing route for production of induction hardened shafts made of Grade 1045 steel. A DoE plan was implemented varying the drawing angle, cutting method, induction hardening layer depth, and grinding penetration depth. The distortion was determined by calculating curvature vectors from dimensional analysis by 3D coordinate measurements. Optical microscopy, microhardness testing, residual stress analysis, and FEM process simulation were used to evaluate and understand effects of the main carriers of distortion potential. The drawing process was identified as the most significant influence on the final distortion of the shafts.

Response to Taguchi and Noma on "relationship between directionality and orientation in drawings by young children and adults.

PubMed

Karev, George B

2006-02-01

When assessing the relationship between direction and orientation in drawings by young children and adults, Taguchi and Noma used a fish-drawing task. However, the fish is not convenient enough as an object for such a task so it is highly preferable to use, instead of a single object, a set of several objects to assess directionality quantitatively. These authors' conclusions do not acknowledge alternative explanations.

Why Save a Can?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutierrez, Melida; Johnson, Cheryl

2009-01-01

This activity ties together the recycling of aluminum and the protection of rain forests. Students use critical thinking to study the effects of open pit mining of bauxite in rain forests and then draw their own conclusions about how to minimize the impact of bauxite mining and boost recycling efforts within their communities. Drawing conclusions…

Graph Drawing Aesthetics-Created by Users, Not Algorithms.

PubMed

Purchase, H C; Pilcher, C; Plimmer, B

2012-01-01

Prior empirical work on layout aesthetics for graph drawing algorithms has concentrated on the interpretation of existing graph drawings. We report on experiments which focus on the creation and layout of graph drawings: participants were asked to draw graphs based on adjacency lists, and to lay them out "nicely." Two interaction methods were used for creating the drawings: a sketch interface which allows for easy, natural hand movements, and a formal point-and-click interface similar to a typical graph editing system. We find, in common with many other studies, that removing edge crossings is the most significant aesthetic, but also discover that aligning nodes and edges to an underlying grid is important. We observe that the aesthetics favored by participants during creation of a graph drawing are often not evident in the final product and that the participants did not make a clear distinction between the processes of creation and layout. Our results suggest that graph drawing systems should integrate automatic layout with the user's manual editing process, and provide facilities to support grid-based graph creation.

Applying a punch with microridges in multistage deep drawing processes.

PubMed

Lin, Bor-Tsuen; Yang, Cheng-Yu

2016-01-01

The developers of high aspect ratio components aim to minimize the processing stages in deep drawing processes. This study elucidates the application of microridge punches in multistage deep drawing processes. A microridge punch improves drawing performance, thereby reducing the number of stages required in deep forming processes. As an example, the original eight-stage deep forming process for a copper cylindrical cup with a high aspect ratio was analyzed by finite element simulation. Microridge punch designs were introduced in Stages 4 and 7 to replace the original punches. In addition, Stages 3 and 6 were eliminated. Finally, these changes were verified through experiments. The results showed that the microridge punches reduced the number of deep drawing stages yielding similar thickness difference percentages. Further, the numerical and experimental results demonstrated good consistency in the thickness distribution.

Noise exposure in movie theaters: a preliminary study of sound levels during the showing of 25 films.

PubMed

Warszawa, Anna; Sataloff, Robert T

2010-09-01

The harmful effects of noise exposure during leisure-time activities are beginning to receive some scrutiny. We conducted a preliminary study to investigate the noise levels during the showings of 25 different films. During each screening, various sound measurements were made with a dosimeter. The movies were classified on the basis of both their Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rating and their genre, and the size of the theater and the size of the audience were taken into consideration in the final analysis. Our findings suggest that the sound levels of many movies might be harmful to hearing, although we can draw no definitive conclusions. We did not discern any relationship between noise levels and either MPAA rating or genre. Further studies are recommended.

[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.

Fully Adaptive Radar Modeling and Simulation Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-01

Graeme E . Smith The Ohio State University Bruce L. McKinley Signal Processing Consultants, Inc. APRIL 2017 Final Report THIS IS A...AIR FORCE MATERIEL COMMAND UNITED STATES AIR FORCE NOTICE AND SIGNATURE PAGE Using Government drawings, specifications, or other data ...formulated or supplied the drawings, specifications, or other data does not license the holder or any other person or corporation; or convey any

Using Insider Research in MEd Final Projects to Bridge the Theory/Practice Gap

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arar, Khalid

2018-01-01

This paper aims to identify key issues involved in MEd final project supervision and to highlight the potential of supervision from an academic institution to change educational reality through the postgraduate student-teachers' work-based final project as insider researchers in Israeli schools. It draws on analysis of case-study data from two…

Psychological Distress and Drawing Tests among Women with Breast Cancer

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS) as a screening tool for the breast cancer patients with psychological distress. Methods All of 64 patients with breast cancer participated in this study. Patients' depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) when the DDS was applied to the partipicants. Results Depressed patients used more enclosure in the Feeling drawings (P = 0.002) and tilt in Free drawings (P = 0.048). Patients with anxiety drew a picture over 67% of the paper (P = 0.015) in Tree drawing and more medium pressure (P = 0.049) in Feeling drawings. Thirty four subjects (77.3%) of unstable emotion group used over 67% of the space (P = 0.002). More Landscapes were observed in the Feeling drawings of unstable patients (P = 0.042). Conclusion These results suggested that DDS could be used as a supplemental screening tool for psychological distress in breast cancer patients. PMID:29686600

Brief report: new evidence for a social-specific imagination deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Ten Eycke, Kayla D; Müller, Ulrich

2015-01-01

Previous research suggests that children with autism have deficits in drawing imaginative content. However, these conclusions are largely based on tasks that require children to draw impossible persons, and performance on this task may be limited by social deficits. To determine the generality of the deficit in imagination in children with autism, we asked 25 children with autism (mean age 9;7) and 29 neurotypically developing children (mean age 8;7) to draw an imaginative person and house. Drawings of imaginary houses by children with autism did not differ from those by neurotypically developing controls, but drawings of persons were significantly less imaginative. These findings suggest that the impairment in imagination among children with autism may be specific to social stimuli.

A study with ESI PAM-STAMP® on the influence of tool deformation on final part quality during a forming process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vrolijk, Mark; Ogawa, Takayuki; Camanho, Arthur; Biasutti, Manfredi; Lorenz, David

2018-05-01

As a result from the ever increasing demand to produce lighter vehicles, more and more advanced high-strength materials are used in automotive industry. Focusing on sheet metal cold forming processes, these materials require high pressing forces and exhibit large springback after forming. Due to the high pressing forces deformations occur in the tooling geometry, introducing dimensional inaccuracies in the blank and potentially impact the final springback behavior. As a result the tool deformations can have an impact on the final assembly or introduce cosmetic defects. Often several iterations are required in try-out to obtain the required tolerances, with costs going up to as much as 30% of the entire product development cost. To investigate the sheet metal part feasibility and quality, in automotive industry CAE tools are widely used. However, in current practice the influence of the tool deformations on the final part quality is generally neglected and simulations are carried out with rigid tools to avoid drastically increased calculation times. If the tool deformation is analyzed through simulation it is normally done at the end of the drawing prosses, when contact conditions are mapped on the die structure and a static analysis is performed to check the deflections of the tool. But this method does not predict the influence of these deflections on the final quality of the part. In order to take tool deformations into account during drawing simulations, ESI has developed the ability to couple solvers efficiently in a way the tool deformations can be real-time included in the drawing simulation without high increase in simulation time compared to simulations with rigid tools. In this paper a study will be presented which demonstrates the effect of tool deformations on the final part quality.

The “Face” of Diabetes

PubMed Central

Liesch, Shari K; Babler, Elizabeth K

2016-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this descriptive pilot study was to assess the ability of youth to create a meaningful drawing related to living with type 1 diabetes and explore the benefits of expressing emotion through drawing in future interventional work. Methods: Youth aged 4 to 19 years (N = 242) with type I diabetes attending routine follow-up appointments within a pediatric specialty clinic were asked to draw: “If diabetes had a face what would it look like?” Results: Drawings reflected many emotions and ranged from simple to complex in detail. Drawings reflected multiple experiences of living with diabetes including emotions, tools used for management, and effects of self-care. Conclusions: Youth were able to create drawings reflecting their experience of living with diabetes. Youth conveyed a variety of emotions, attitudes, and experiences in drawing the “face” of diabetes. Drawing during clinic visits provides opportunity to explore the unspoken experiences of living with a chronic health condition, which may not be obtained during routine clinical information gathering. Deeper understanding of patient’s lived experience may assist providers in therapeutic management. PMID:28725833

Seizure drawings: insight into the self-image of children with epilepsy.

PubMed

Stafstrom, Carl E; Havlena, Janice

2003-02-01

Epilepsy is a chronic disorder that is associated with numerous psychological challenges, especially in children. Drawings have been underutilized as a method to obtain insight into psychological issues in children with epilepsy. We asked 105 children with epilepsy, ages 5 to 18 years, to draw a picture of what it is like to have a seizure. Across ages and epilepsy syndromes, the drawings showed evidence of impaired self-concept, low self-esteem, and a sense of helplessness and vulnerability. Overall, the drawings of human figures were less developed than expected for chronological age. In some drawings, indicators of underlying depression were found. When considered by epilepsy syndrome or seizure type, some specific artistic features were noted. Children with simple partial (motor) seizures drew distorted body parts, especially limbs. Those with complex partial seizures depicted sensory symptoms and mental status changes such as confusion. Children with generalized tonic-clonic seizures showed shaking extremities. Drawings by children with absence seizures illustrated mainly staring. In conclusion, drawings are a powerful method to examine the self-concept of children with epilepsy and gain insight into their feelings about themselves and their world.

Spatially discrete thermal drawing of biodegradable microneedles for vascular drug delivery.

PubMed

Choi, Chang Kuk; Lee, Kang Ju; Youn, Young Nam; Jang, Eui Hwa; Kim, Woong; Min, Byung-Kwon; Ryu, WonHyoung

2013-02-01

Spatially discrete thermal drawing is introduced as a novel method for the fabrication of biodegradable microneedles with ultra-sharp tip ends. This method provides the enhanced control of microneedle shapes by spatially controlling the temperature of drawn polymer as well as drawing steps and speeds. Particular focus is given on the formation of sharp tip ends of microneedles at the end of thermal drawing. Previous works relied on the fracture of polymer neck by fast drawing that often causes uncontrolled shapes of microneedle tips. Instead, this approach utilizes the surface energy of heated polymer to form ultra-sharp tip ends. We have investigated the effect of such temperature control, drawing speed, and drawing steps in thermal drawing process on the final shape of microneedles using biodegradable polymers. XRD analysis was performed to analyze the effect of thermal cycle on the biodegradable polymer. Load-displacement measurement also showed the dependency of mechanical strengths of microneedles on the microneedle shapes. Ex vivo vascular tissue insertion and drug delivery demonstrated microneedle insertion to tunica media layer of canine aorta and drug distribution in the tissue layer. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gearsketch: An Adaptive Drawing-Based Learning Environment for the Gears Domain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leenaars, Frank A.; Joolingen, Wouter R.; Gijlers, Hannie; Bollen, Lars

2014-01-01

GearSketch is a learning environment for the gears domain, aimed at students in the final years of primary school. It is designed for use with a touchscreen device and is based on ideas from drawing-based learning and research on cognitive tutors. At the heart of GearSketch is a domain model that is used to transform learners' strokes into…

Preparation and assessment of carboxylate polyelectrolyte as draw solute for forward osmosis.

PubMed

Cui, Hongtao; Zhang, Hanmin; Jiang, Wei; Yang, Fenglin

2018-02-01

Reverse draw solute diffusion not only reduces the water flux in forward osmosis (FO), but also contaminates the feed solution and eventually increases the regeneration cost of draw solution. In the present study, a new polyelectrolyte was synthesized as FO draw solute to address this problem. Acrylic acid and sodium p-styrenesulfonate monomers with hydrophilic group were used to fabricate carboxylate polyelectrolyte through free radical polymerization reaction. Results demonstrated that the osmotic pressure of carboxylate polyelectrolyte solution had a good linear relationship with concentration, and the viscosity of 0.18 g/mL solution was less than 5.4 cP. Active layer facing draw solution produced the initial water flux of 11.77 LMH and active layer facing feed solution yielded the initial water flux of 6.68 LMH when the concentration of draw solution was 0.18 g/mL. The reverse solute flux was around 1 gMH, and specific reverse solute flux of 0.18 g/mL carboxylate polyelectrolyte draw solution was 0.11 g/L which was much lower than that of traditional inorganic salts. Finally, diluted draw solution was regenerated via ultrafiltration, and the recovery efficiency of 94.78% was achieved. So, carboxylate polyelectrolyte can be suitable draw solute for FO.

Drawing Firmer Conclusions: Autistic Children Show No Evidence of a Local Processing Bias in a Controlled Copying Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Alastair D.; Kenny, Lorcan; Rudnicka, Anna; Briscoe, Josie; Pellicano, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Drawing tasks are frequently used to test competing theories of visuospatial skills in autism. Yet, methodological differences between studies have led to inconsistent findings. To distinguish between accounts based on local bias or global deficit, we present a simple task that has previously revealed dissociable local/global impairments in…

Online Emotional Inferences in Written and Auditory Texts: A Study with Children and Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diergarten, Anna Katharina; Nieding, Gerhild

2016-01-01

Emotional inferences are conclusions that a reader draws about the emotional state of a story's protagonist. In this study, we examined whether children and adults draw emotional inferences while reading short stories or listening to an aural presentation of short stories. We used an online method that assesses inferences during reading with a…

Why undertake a pilot in a qualitative PhD study? Lessons learned to promote success.

PubMed

Wray, Jane; Archibong, Uduak; Walton, Sean

2017-01-23

Background Pilot studies can play an important role in qualitative studies. Methodological and practical issues can be shaped and refined by undertaking pilots. Personal development and researchers' competence are enhanced and lessons learned can inform the development and quality of the main study. However, pilot studies are rarely published, despite their potential to improve knowledge and understanding of the research. Aim To present the main lessons learned from undertaking a pilot in a qualitative PhD study. Discussion This paper draws together lessons learned when undertaking a pilot as part of a qualitative research project. Important methodological and practical issues identified during the pilot study are discussed including access, recruitment, data collection and the personal development of the researcher. The resulting changes to the final study are also highlighted. Conclusion Sharing experiences of and lessons learned in a pilot study enhances personal development, improves researchers' confidence and competence, and contributes to the understanding of research. Implications for practice Pilots can be used effectively in qualitative studies to refine the final design, and provide the researcher with practical experience to enhance confidence and competence.

Minimally inconsistent reasoning in Semantic Web.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaowang

2017-01-01

Reasoning with inconsistencies is an important issue for Semantic Web as imperfect information is unavoidable in real applications. For this, different paraconsistent approaches, due to their capacity to draw as nontrivial conclusions by tolerating inconsistencies, have been proposed to reason with inconsistent description logic knowledge bases. However, existing paraconsistent approaches are often criticized for being too skeptical. To this end, this paper presents a non-monotonic paraconsistent version of description logic reasoning, called minimally inconsistent reasoning, where inconsistencies tolerated in the reasoning are minimized so that more reasonable conclusions can be inferred. Some desirable properties are studied, which shows that the new semantics inherits advantages of both non-monotonic reasoning and paraconsistent reasoning. A complete and sound tableau-based algorithm, called multi-valued tableaux, is developed to capture the minimally inconsistent reasoning. In fact, the tableaux algorithm is designed, as a framework for multi-valued DL, to allow for different underlying paraconsistent semantics, with the mere difference in the clash conditions. Finally, the complexity of minimally inconsistent description logic reasoning is shown on the same level as the (classical) description logic reasoning.

Minimally inconsistent reasoning in Semantic Web

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xiaowang

2017-01-01

Reasoning with inconsistencies is an important issue for Semantic Web as imperfect information is unavoidable in real applications. For this, different paraconsistent approaches, due to their capacity to draw as nontrivial conclusions by tolerating inconsistencies, have been proposed to reason with inconsistent description logic knowledge bases. However, existing paraconsistent approaches are often criticized for being too skeptical. To this end, this paper presents a non-monotonic paraconsistent version of description logic reasoning, called minimally inconsistent reasoning, where inconsistencies tolerated in the reasoning are minimized so that more reasonable conclusions can be inferred. Some desirable properties are studied, which shows that the new semantics inherits advantages of both non-monotonic reasoning and paraconsistent reasoning. A complete and sound tableau-based algorithm, called multi-valued tableaux, is developed to capture the minimally inconsistent reasoning. In fact, the tableaux algorithm is designed, as a framework for multi-valued DL, to allow for different underlying paraconsistent semantics, with the mere difference in the clash conditions. Finally, the complexity of minimally inconsistent description logic reasoning is shown on the same level as the (classical) description logic reasoning. PMID:28750030

Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Applied to ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

In September 2013, EPA announced the availability of the final report, Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Applied to Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Flame-Retardant Coatings in Upholstery Textiles: A Case Study Presenting Priority Research Gaps for Future Risk Assessments. This final report presents a case study of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs); it focuses on the specific example of MWCNTs as used in flame-retardant coatings applied to upholstery textiles. This case study is organized around the comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) framework, which structures available information pertaining to the product life cycle, environmental transport and fate, exposure-dose in receptors (i.e., humans, ecological populations, and the environment), and potential impacts in these receptors. A group of experts representing multiple disciplines and multiple sector perspectives used an earlier draft of the case study in conjunction with a structured workshop process to identify and prioritize research gaps that, if pursued, could inform future MWCNT assessment efforts. The final report is not a health, risk, or exposure assessment and as such does not draw conclusions about potential risks, or present an exhaustive review of the literature. Rather, it presents the MWCNT research priorities that experts identified in this application of CEA in order to aid research planning throughout the scientific community. The outcomes of these research efforts may subsequ

Participating in a community of practice as a prerequisite for becoming a nurse - Trajectories as final year nursing students.

PubMed

Thrysoe, Lars; Hounsgaard, Lise; Dohn, Nina Bonderup; Wagner, Lis

2010-11-01

Participating in a community of practice (CoP) is essential for final year nursing students. The article describes the opportunities of student nurses to participate as members of a CoP, and how these opportunities were exploited. Ten students in their final clinical practice were included. Empirical data were generated through participant observation and individual interviews, focusing on the participants' interaction with the staff and were analysed within a phenomenological-hermeneutic framework. The results showed that the students were to a greater or lesser extent participatory in the CoP, depending on what both the students and the members of the staff did to make participation possible. The conclusion is that the students' participation is strengthened by the students and nurses showing interest in getting to know each other professionally and socially and by the students having the opportunity to contribute their knowledge. There must be an awareness of the unfortunate consequence of formalisation of learning in practice which can create a distancing learning space in the informal learning landscape by drawing students out of active participation in community of practice. Depending on the extent to which these aspects are present, participation can become an essential factor in the clinical phase of nursing education. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brief Report: New Evidence for a Social-Specific Imagination Deficit in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ten Eycke, Kayla D.; Müller, Ulrich

2015-01-01

Previous research suggests that children with autism have deficits in drawing imaginative content. However, these conclusions are largely based on tasks that require children to draw impossible persons, and performance on this task may be limited by social deficits. To determine the generality of the deficit in imagination in children with autism,…

Picturing Obama: Race, High School Students and a Critical Methodology of the Visual

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, William L.

2017-01-01

I draw on methodological findings from a case study on how high school students of color make sense of dominant narratives of race and politics in the Obama American Era. Incorporating literature from critical race theory, visual research methods, and the writings of cultural scholar Stuart Hall, I draw conclusions from this inquiry project as a…

Quality assurance and accreditation of engineering education in Jordan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aqlan, Faisal; Al-Araidah, Omar; Al-Hawari, Tarek

2010-06-01

This paper provides a study of the quality assurance and accreditation in the Jordanian higher education sector and focuses mainly on engineering education. It presents engineering education, accreditation and quality assurance in Jordan and considers the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) for a case study. The study highlights the efforts undertaken by the faculty of engineering at JUST concerning quality assurance and accreditation. Three engineering departments were accorded substantial equivalency status by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology in 2009. Various measures of quality improvement, including curricula development, laboratories improvement, computer facilities, e-learning, and other supporting services are also discussed. Further assessment of the current situation is made through two surveys, targeting engineering instructors and students. Finally, the paper draws conclusions and proposes recommendations to enhance the quality of engineering education at JUST and other Jordanian educational institutions.

[Time-Temperature indicators (TTI). A means of quality control of produce].

PubMed

Durand, M P

1996-11-01

The author, after having dwelt on the mediatic importance of bacterial food poisonings, analyses their reasons, insisting on the importance of the temperature as a factor of bacterial growth. Among the cures for the association temperature-bacterial growth, the author draws attention to the benefits of the use of the time temperature indicators (TTI). He describes the purposes, the required qualities, the principles of activity. The "Lifelines TTI" proves to be interesting. The author describes the principles of activity, the directions for reading the results, the practical application. Finally he describes the remarks following on its use in large scale in a group of chain-stores. In the conclusion, the author points that these TTI are an attractive technical innovation regarding to the fresh foods, for the control of coldness in the human nutrition.

The Clinical Use of Robots for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Critical Review

PubMed Central

Diehl, Joshua J.; Schmitt, Lauren M.; Villano, Michael; Crowell, Charles R.

2011-01-01

We examined peer-reviewed studies in order to understand the current status of empirically-based evidence on the clinical applications of robots in the diagnosis and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Studies are organized into four broad categories: (a) the response of individuals with ASD to robots or robot-like behavior in comparison to human behavior, (b) the use of robots to elicit behaviors, (c) the use of robots to model, teach, and/or practice a skill, and (d) the use of robots to provide feedback on performance. A critical review of the literature revealed that most of the findings are exploratory and have methodological limitations that make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the clinical utility of robots. Finally, we outline the research needed to determine the incremental validity of this technique. PMID:22125579

Recent Advances in the Application of Magnetic Nanoparticles as a Support for Homogeneous Catalysts

PubMed Central

Govan, Joseph; Gun’ko, Yurii K.

2014-01-01

Magnetic nanoparticles are a highly valuable substrate for the attachment of homogeneous inorganic and organic containing catalysts. This review deals with the very recent main advances in the development of various nanocatalytic systems by the immobilisation of homogeneous catalysts onto magnetic nanoparticles. We discuss magnetic core shell nanostructures (e.g., silica or polymer coated magnetic nanoparticles) as substrates for catalyst immobilisation. Then we consider magnetic nanoparticles bound to inorganic catalytic mesoporous structures as well as metal organic frameworks. Binding of catalytically active small organic molecules and polymers are also reviewed. After that we briefly deliberate on the binding of enzymes to magnetic nanocomposites and the corresponding enzymatic catalysis. Finally, we draw conclusions and present a future outlook for the further development of new catalytic systems which are immobilised onto magnetic nanoparticles. PMID:28344220

The genesis of errors in drawing.

PubMed

Chamberlain, Rebecca; Wagemans, Johan

2016-06-01

The difficulty adults find in drawing objects or scenes from real life is puzzling, assuming that there are few gross individual differences in the phenomenology of visual scenes and in fine motor control in the neurologically healthy population. A review of research concerning the perceptual, motoric and memorial correlates of drawing ability was conducted in order to understand why most adults err when trying to produce faithful representations of objects and scenes. The findings reveal that accurate perception of the subject and of the drawing is at the heart of drawing proficiency, although not to the extent that drawing skill elicits fundamental changes in visual perception. Instead, the decisive role of representational decisions reveals the importance of appropriate segmentation of the visual scene and of the influence of pictorial schemas. This leads to the conclusion that domain-specific, flexible, top-down control of visual attention plays a critical role in development of skill in visual art and may also be a window into creative thinking. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Metabolic network visualization eliminating node redundance and preserving metabolic pathways

PubMed Central

Bourqui, Romain; Cottret, Ludovic; Lacroix, Vincent; Auber, David; Mary, Patrick; Sagot, Marie-France; Jourdan, Fabien

2007-01-01

Background The tools that are available to draw and to manipulate the representations of metabolism are usually restricted to metabolic pathways. This limitation becomes problematic when studying processes that span several pathways. The various attempts that have been made to draw genome-scale metabolic networks are confronted with two shortcomings: 1- they do not use contextual information which leads to dense, hard to interpret drawings, 2- they impose to fit to very constrained standards, which implies, in particular, duplicating nodes making topological analysis considerably more difficult. Results We propose a method, called MetaViz, which enables to draw a genome-scale metabolic network and that also takes into account its structuration into pathways. This method consists in two steps: a clustering step which addresses the pathway overlapping problem and a drawing step which consists in drawing the clustered graph and each cluster. Conclusion The method we propose is original and addresses new drawing issues arising from the no-duplication constraint. We do not propose a single drawing but rather several alternative ways of presenting metabolism depending on the pathway on which one wishes to focus. We believe that this provides a valuable tool to explore the pathway structure of metabolism. PMID:17608928

On the use of drawing tasks in neuropsychological assessment.

PubMed

Smith, Alastair D

2009-03-01

Drawing tasks have attained a central position in neuropsychological assessment and are considered a rich source of information about the presence (or absence) of cognitive and perceptuo-motor abilities. However, unlike other tests of cognitive impairment, drawing tasks are often administered without reference to normative models of graphic production, and their results are often analyzed qualitatively. I begin this article by delineating the different ways in which drawing errors have been used to indicate particular functional deficits in neurological patients. I then describe models of drawing that have been explicitly based on the errors observed in patient drawings. Finally, the case is made for developing a more sensitive set of metrics in order to quantitatively assess patient performance. By providing a finer grain of analysis to assessment we will not only be better able to characterize the consequences of cognitive dysfunction, but may also be able to more subtly characterize and dissociate patients who would otherwise have been placed in the same broad category of impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceptions of diabetes obtained through drawing in childhood and adolescence

PubMed Central

Pera, Pilar Isla; Lois, María Palacin; Matheu, Carmen López; Pérez, María Honrubia; Rodriguez, Ana María Gómez; Camps, Eulalia Armengol; Villalba, Carmen Sanchez; Soria, Roser Insa; Cuadra, Assumpta Rigol; Marre, Diana

2013-01-01

Objective To examine whether drawing is useful in the detection of problems of psychosocial adaptation in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and in improving communication with health professionals. Methods We performed an exploratory descriptive study in 199 children and adolescents with T1D aged 4–13 years. The participants were asked to render a drawing on a suggested topic. The variables analyzed were related to the drawing and to clinical and sociodemographic data. Results Most participants showed evidence of having a well-balanced personality, but there were also signs of affective or psychosocial difficulties. Conclusion Drawing is a useful technique by which to identify children’s and adolescents’ feelings and possible problems in adapting to T1D, as well as to gain information directly from the children themselves. Future studies should delimit the possibilities of this technique in clinical practice in greater detail. PMID:23814467

Effects of lumbopelvic sling and abdominal drawing-in exercises on lung capacity in healthy adults.

PubMed

Kim, Myoung-Kwon; Cha, Hyun-Gyu; Shin, Young-Jun

2016-08-01

[Purpose] To examine the effects of lumbopelvic sling and abdominal drawing-in exercises on the lung capacities of healthy subjects. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-nine healthy subjects with no orthopedic history of the back were recruited. Subjects were randomly assigned to a experimental group and control group. Subjects were allocated to one of two groups; an experimental group that underwent lumbopelvic sling and abdominal drawing-in exercises and a control group that underwent treadmill and abdominal drawing-in exercises. Lung capacities were evaluated 4 weeks after exercises. [Results] The experimental group showed significant increments in EV, ERV, IRV, VT vs. pre-intervention results, and the control group showed significant increments in the EVC and IRV. Significant intergroup differences were observed in terms of post-training gains in EVC, IRV, and VT. [Conclusion] Combined application of lumbopelvic sling and abdominal drawing-in exercises were found to have a positive effect on lung capacity.

Projective drawings for assessing stress among subjects with medical symptoms compatible with sick building syndrome, and validation of a modified version of the Stress Load Index from the Drawing Personality Profile: a pilot study.

PubMed

Runeson, Roma; Wahlstedt, Kurt; Norbäck, Dan

2007-02-01

It was hypothesized that subjects with medical symptoms would show more signs of stress in projective drawings. A Stress Load Index, including five signs of stress in drawings, was evaluated. A questionnaire with an instruction to draw "a person in the rain" was sent to a cohort of 195 subjects, and the drawings were analysed blindly for eight stress items. Men had a higher index than women (p < .05) and drew clouds more often (p < .05). Drawing of clouds was associated with headache (adjOR = 4.28; 95% CI 1.75; 11.68). Drawing of puddles was associated with ocular symptoms (adjOR = 3.22; 95% CI 1.38, 7.50), facial dermal symptoms (adjOR= 2.94; 95% CI 1.28, 6.81), and tiredness (adjOR = 2.44; 95% CI 1.05, 5.67). Drawing of long rain strokes was associated with nasal symptoms (adjOR = 2.28; 95% CI 1.05, 2.06) and headache (adjOR = 3.20; 95% CI 1.28, 8.05). Age and stress load were predictors of sick building syndrome symptoms (p < .05). In conclusion, a nonverbal projective drawing test detected sex differences which represent directions opposite to those with verbal methods. These need empirical assessment.

Past research and fabrication conducted at SCK•CEN on ferritic ODS alloys used as cladding for FBR's fuel pins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Bremaecker, Anne

2012-09-01

In the 1960s in the frame of the sodium-cooled fast breeders, SCK•CEN decided to develop claddings made with ferritic stainless materials because of their specific properties, namely a higher thermal conductivity, a lower thermal expansion, a lower tendency to He-embrittlement, and a lower swelling than the austenitic stainless steels. To enhance their lower creep resistance at 650-700 °C arose the idea to strengthen the microstructure by oxide dispersions. This was the starting point of an ambitious programme where both the matrix and the dispersions were optimized. A purely ferritic 13 wt% Cr matrix was selected and its mechanical strength was improved through addition of ferritizing elements. Results of tensile and stress-rupture tests showed that Ti and Mo were the most beneficial elements, partly because of the chi-phase precipitation. In 1973 the optimized matrix composition was Fe-13Cr-3.5Ti-2Mo. To reach creep properties similar to those of AISI 316, different dispersions and methods were tested: internal oxidation (that was not conclusive), and the direct mixing of metallic and oxide powders (Al2O3, MgO, ZrO2, TiO2, ZrSiO4) followed by pressing, sintering, and extrusion. The compression and extrusion parameters were determined: extrusion as hollow at 1050 °C, solution annealing at 1050 °C/15 min, cleaning, cold drawing to the final dimensions with intermediate annealings at 1050 °C, final annealing at 1050 °C, straightening and final aging at 800 °C. The choice of titania and yttria powders and their concentrations were finalized on the basis of their out-of-pile and in-pile creep and tensile strength. As soon as a resistance butt welding machine was developed and installed in a glove-box, fuel segments with PuO2 were loaded in the Belgian MTR BR2. The fabrication parameters were continuously optimized: milling and beating, lubrication, cold drawing (partial and final reduction rates, temperature, duration, atmosphere and furnace). Specific non-destructive tests (ultrasonic and eddy currents) were also developed. In-pile creep in argon and in liquid sodium was deeply studied on pressurized segments irradiated up to 75 dpaNRT. Finally two fuel assemblies cladded with such ODS alloys were irradiated in Phenix to the max dose of 90 dpa. Creep deformation and swelling were limited but the irradiation-induced embrittlement became acute. The programme was stopped shortly after the Chernobyl disaster, before the embrittlement problem was solved.

The Performance of American Indian Children on the Draw-A-Man Test. National Study of American Indian Education, Series III, No. 2, Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levensky, Kay

As a part of the National Study of American Indian Education, this document reports on 1700 American Indian primary school children (representing 14 tribal groups and 12 states) who were administered the Goodenough Draw-A-Man Test (DAM) as a measure of mental alertness. A comparison is given of the Indian and white children's scores. It appears…

Listening Effectively

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-04-01

detail to several talented artists and ask them to draw what you describe. Chances are that each one will draw a distinctively different picture...sister’s promised ride to gymnastics class hadn’t arrived, and it was the night of her final rehearsal before a performance. So he made the decision...proud of you for three reasons: you got your sister to gymnastics rehearsal, you were honest about it, and you are my son.” Supervisors often wonder

Applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory to Compare Higher Education Students' Motivation for Using Social Networking Sites: Experiences from Iran, Malaysia, United Kingdom, and South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karimi, Leila; Khodabandelou, Rouhollah; Ehsani, Maryam; Ahmad, Muhammad

2014-01-01

Drawing from the Uses and Gratifications Theory, this study examined the Gratification Sought and the Gratification Obtained from using Social Networking Sites among Iranian, Malaysian, British, and South African higher education students. This comparison allowed to drawing conclusions about how social networking sites fulfill users' needs with…

Boy v. Girl? How Gender Shapes Who We Are, What We Want, and How We Get Along.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrahams, George; Ahlbrand, Sheila

Noting that the middle-school years are a time when adolescents "try on" roles and attitudes, test boundaries, and draw tentative conclusions about personal and social behaviors, this book draws on findings of a survey of nearly 2,000 10- to 17-year-olds regarding perceived and real differences between girls and boys to guide teens…

Older Age Relates to Worsening of Fine Motor Skills: A Population-Based Study of Middle-Aged and Elderly Persons

PubMed Central

Hoogendam, Yoo Young; van der Lijn, Fedde; Vernooij, Meike W.; Hofman, Albert; Niessen, Wiro J.; van der Lugt, Aad; Ikram, M. Arfan; van der Geest, Jos N.

2014-01-01

Introduction: In a population-based study of 1,912 community-dwelling persons of 45 years and older, we investigated the relation between age and fine motor skills using the Archimedes spiral-drawing test. Also, we studied the effect of brain volume on fine motor skills. Methods: Participants were required to trace a template of a spiral on an electronic drawing board. Clinical scores from this test were obtained by visual assessment of the drawings. Quantitative measures were objectively determined from the recorded data of the drawings. As tremor is known to occur increasingly with advancing age, we also rated drawings to assess presence of tremor. Results: We found presence of a tremor in 1.3% of the drawings. In the group without tremor, we found that older age was related to worse fine motor skills. Additionally, participants over the age of 75 showed increasing deviations from the template when drawing the spiral. Larger cerebral volume and smaller white matter lesion volume were related to better spiral-drawing performance, whereas cerebellar volume was not related to spiral-drawing performance. Conclusion: Older age is related to worse fine motor skills, which can be captured by clinical scoring or quantitative measures of the Archimedes spiral-drawing test. Persons with a tremor performed worse on almost all measures of the spiral-drawing test. Furthermore, larger cerebral volume is related to better fine motor skills. PMID:25309436

The Work Softening Behavior of Pure Mg Wire during Cold Drawing.

PubMed

Sun, Liuxia; Bai, Jing; Xue, Feng; Chu, Chenglin; Meng, Jiao

2018-04-13

We performed multiple-pass cold drawing for pure Mg wire which showed excellent formability (~138% accumulative true strain) at room temperature. Different from the continuous work hardening occurring during cold drawing of Mg alloy wires, for pure Mg, an initially rapid increase in hardness and strength was followed by significant work softening and finally reached a steady-state level, approximately 40~45 HV. The work softening can be attributed to the dynamic recovery and recrystallization of pure Mg at room temperature. Meanwhile, an abrupt change in texture component also was detected with the transition from work hardening to softening in the strain range of 28~34%. During the whole drawing, the strongest texture component gradually transformed from as-extruded basal to <10 1 ¯ 0> fiber (~28% accumulative true strain), and then rapidly returned to the weak basal texture.

Rasch family models in e-learning: analyzing architectural sketching with a digital pen.

PubMed

Scalise, Kathleen; Cheng, Nancy Yen-Wen; Oskui, Nargas

2009-01-01

Since architecture students studying design drawing are usually assessed qualitatively on the basis of their final products, the challenges and stages of their learning have remained masked. To clarify the challenges in design drawing, we have been using the BEAR Assessment System and Rasch family models to measure levels of understanding for individuals and groups, in order to correct pedagogical assumptions and tune teaching materials. This chapter discusses the analysis of 81 drawings created by architectural students to solve a space layout problem, collected and analyzed with digital pen-and-paper technology. The approach allows us to map developmental performance criteria and perceive achievement overlaps in learning domains assumed separate, and then re-conceptualize a three-part framework to represent learning in architectural drawing. Results and measurement evidence from the assessment and Rasch modeling are discussed.

Improving the prediction of the final part geometry in high strength steels U drawing by means of advanced material and friction models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Argandoña, Eneko Saenz; Mendiguren, Joseba; Otero, Irune; Mugarra, Endika; Otegi, Nagore; Galdos, Lander

2018-05-01

Steel has been used in vehicles from the automotive industry's inception. Different steel grades are continually being developed in order to satisfy new fuel economy requirements. For example, advanced high strength steel grades (AHSS) are widely used due to their good strength/weight ratio. Because each steel grade has a different microstructure composition and hardness, they show different behaviors when they are subjected to different strain paths. Similarly, the friction behavior when using different contact pressures is considerably altered. In the present paper, four different steel grades, ZSt380, DP600, DP780 and Fortiform 1050 materials are deeply characterized using uniaxial and cyclic tension-compression tests. Coefficient of friction (COF) is also obtained using strip drawing tests. These results have been used to calibrate mixed kinematic-hardening material models as well as pressure dependent friction models. Finally, the geometrical accuracy of the different material and friction models has been evaluated by comparing the numerical predictions with experimental demonstrators obtained using a U-Drawing tester.

Looking Forward--Strategies for Inclusivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eddy, Pamela L.

2017-01-01

This final chapter draws together the ways in which intersectionality occurs for a range of stakeholders regarding constructions of gender in community colleges and provides tactics for increasing equity.

Perseveration Found in a Human Drawing Task: Six-Fingered Hands Drawn by Patients with Right Anterior Insula and Operculum Damage

PubMed Central

Niki, Chiharu; Maruyama, Takashi; Muragaki, Yoshihiro; Kumada, Takatsune

2014-01-01

Background. Perseveration has been observed in a number of behavioural contexts, including speaking, writing, and drawing. However, no previous report describes patients who show perseveration only for drawing a human figure. Objective. The present report describes a group of patients who show body awareness-related cognitive impairment during a human figure drawing task, a different presentation from previously described neuropsychological cases. Methods. Participants were 15 patients who had a frontal lobe brain tumour around the insula cortex of the right hemisphere and had subsequently undergone a neurosurgical resective operation. Participants were asked to draw a human figure in both “hands-down” and “hands-up” configurations. Results. Eight of the 15 patients drew a human figure with six fingers during the “hands-up” and the “hands-down” human figure drawing tasks (one patient drew eight fingers). A statistical analysis of potential lesion areas revealed damage to the right anterior frontal insula and operculum in this group of patients relative to the five-finger drawing group. Conclusions. Our findings reveal a newly described neuropsychological phenomenon that could reflect impairment in attention directed towards body representations. PMID:24876665

Using drawings to explore patients’ perceptions of their illness: a scoping review

PubMed Central

Cheung, Melissa Mei Yin; Saini, Bandana; Smith, Lorraine

2016-01-01

Background An emerging approach for investigating patient perspectives of their illness is the use of drawings. Objective This scoping review consolidates findings from current literature regarding the use of drawings to explore patients’ perceptions and experiences of their illness and treatment. Methods Electronic databases (Medline, PubMed, Embase, PsychINFO, Cinahl, Art Index and Scopus) and reference lists were searched to identify published English language studies using participant-generated drawings to explore adults’ perceptions and experiences of their illness and treatment. Using the scoping methodological framework, data were analyzed with respect to each study’s design, key findings and implications. Results Thirty-two studies were identified and these reflected diversities in both health conditions and methods of data collection and analysis. Participants’ drawings revealed new, insightful knowledge about patients’ perceptions, beliefs and experiences of their condition and were associated with clinical and psychological markers of health. Drawing was a powerful adjunct to traditional data collection approaches, and demonstrated potential benefits for participants. This review provides detailed insights and guidance on the use of drawings in research and clinical practice. Conclusion Drawing is a novel and potentially valuable technique for exploring patients’ perceptions and experiences about their illness and treatment. Advancing the methodology and applicability of drawings in this area will assist in the future development of this technique, with benefits for the patient, researcher and health care professional alike. PMID:27920550

Selection of species and sampling areas: The importance of inference

Treesearch

Paul Stephen Corn

2009-01-01

Inductive inference, the process of drawing general conclusions from specific observations, is fundamental to the scientific method. Platt (1964) termed conclusions obtained through rigorous application of the scientific method as "strong inference" and noted the following basic steps: generating alternative hypotheses; devising experiments, the...

Numerical and Experimental Study on Manufacture of a Novel High-Capacity Engine Oil Pan Subjected to Hydro-Mechanical Deep Drawing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, D. Y.; Xu, Y.; Zhang, S. H.; El-Aty, A. Abd; Ma, Y.

2017-09-01

The oil pan is equipped at the bottom of engine crankcase of the automobile to prevent impurity and collect the lubrication oil from the surfaces of the engine which is helpful for heat dissipation and oxidation prevention. The present study aims at manufacturing a novel high-capacity engine oil pan, which is considered as a complex shaped component with features of thin wall, large size and asymmetric deep cavity through both numerical and experimental methods. The result indicated that it is difficult to form the current part through the common deep drawing process. Accordingly, the hydro-mechanical deep drawing technology was conducted, which consisted of two steps, previous local drawing and the final integral deep drawing with hydraulic pressure. The finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out to investigate the influence of initial blank dimension and the key process parameters such as loading path, draw-bead force and fillet radius on the formability of the sheet blank. Compared with the common deep drawing, the limit drawing ratio by hydro-mechanical deep drawing can be increased from 2.34 to 2.77, while the reduction in blank wall thickness can be controlled in the range of 28%. The formability is greatly improved without any defects such as crack and wrinkle by means of parameters optimisation. The results gained from simulation keep a reasonable agreement with that obtained from experiment trials.

High efficiency vapor-fed AMTEC system for direct conversion. Appendices for final report

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

Anderson, W.G.; Bland, J.J.

1997-05-23

This report consists of four appendices for the final report. They are: Appendix A: 700 C Vapor-Fed AMTEC Cell Calculations; Appendix B: 700 C Vapor-Fed AMTEC Cell Parts Drawings; Appendix C: 800 C Vapor-Fed AMTEC Cell Calculations; and Appendix D: 800 C Wick-Pumped AMTEC Cell System Design.

Satellite-Derived Sea Surface Temperature: Workshop 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

This is the third of a series of three workshops, sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to investigate the state of the art in global sea surface temperature measurements from space. Three workshops were necessary to process and analyze sufficient data from which to draw conclusions on the accuracy and reliability of the satellite measurements. In this workshop, the final two (out of a total of four) months of satellite and in situ data chosen for study were processed and evaluated. Results from the AVHRR, HIRS, SMMR, and VAS sensors, in comparison with in situ data from ships, XBTs, and buoys, confirmed satellite rms accuracies in the 0.5 to 1.0 C range, but with variable biases. These accuracies may degrade under adverse conditions for specific sensors. A variety of color maps, plots, and statistical tables are provided for detailed study of the individual sensor SST measurements.

A Survey of Research Progress and Development Tendency of Attribute-Based Encryption

PubMed Central

Pang, Liaojun; Yang, Jie; Jiang, Zhengtao

2014-01-01

With the development of cryptography, the attribute-based encryption (ABE) draws widespread attention of the researchers in recent years. The ABE scheme, which belongs to the public key encryption mechanism, takes attributes as public key and associates them with the ciphertext or the user's secret key. It is an efficient way to solve open problems in access control scenarios, for example, how to provide data confidentiality and expressive access control at the same time. In this paper, we survey the basic ABE scheme and its two variants: the key-policy ABE (KP-ABE) scheme and the ciphertext-policy ABE (CP-ABE) scheme. We also pay attention to other researches relating to the ABE schemes, including multiauthority, user/attribute revocation, accountability, and proxy reencryption, with an extensive comparison of their functionality and performance. Finally, possible future works and some conclusions are pointed out. PMID:25101313

Recent Advances of Solution-Processed Metal Oxide Thin-Film Transistors.

PubMed

Xu, Wangying; Li, Hao; Xu, Jian-Bin; Wang, Lei

2018-03-06

Solution-processed metal oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) are considered as one of the most promising transistor technologies for future large-area flexible electronics. This review surveys the recent advances in solution-based oxide TFTs, including n-type oxide semiconductors, oxide dielectrics and p-type oxide semiconductors. Firstly, we provide an introduction on oxide TFTs and the TFT configurations and operating principles. Secondly, we present the recent progress in solution-processed n-type transistors, with a special focus on low-temperature and large-area solution processed approaches as well as novel non-display applications. Thirdly, we give a detailed analysis of the state-of-the-art solution-processed oxide dielectrics for low-voltage electronics. Fourthly, we discuss the recent progress in solution-based p-type oxide semiconductors, which will enable the highly desirable future low-cost large-area complementary circuits. Finally, we draw the conclusions and outline the perspectives over the research field.

Modeling users, context and devices for ambient assisted living environments.

PubMed

Castillejo, Eduardo; Almeida, Aitor; López-de-Ipiña, Diego; Chen, Liming

2014-03-17

The participation of users within AAL environments is increasing thanks to the capabilities of the current wearable devices. Furthermore, the significance of considering user's preferences, context conditions and device's capabilities help smart environments to personalize services and resources for them. Being aware of different characteristics of the entities participating in these situations is vital for reaching the main goals of the corresponding systems efficiently. To collect different information from these entities, it is necessary to design several formal models which help designers to organize and give some meaning to the gathered data. In this paper, we analyze several literature solutions for modeling users, context and devices considering different approaches in the Ambient Assisted Living domain. Besides, we remark different ongoing standardization works in this area. We also discuss the used techniques, modeled characteristics and the advantages and drawbacks of each approach to finally draw several conclusions about the reviewed works.

Modeling Users, Context and Devices for Ambient Assisted Living Environments

PubMed Central

Castillejo, Eduardo; Almeida, Aitor; López-de-Ipiña, Diego; Chen, Liming

2014-01-01

The participation of users within AAL environments is increasing thanks to the capabilities of the current wearable devices. Furthermore, the significance of considering user's preferences, context conditions and device's capabilities help smart environments to personalize services and resources for them. Being aware of different characteristics of the entities participating in these situations is vital for reaching the main goals of the corresponding systems efficiently. To collect different information from these entities, it is necessary to design several formal models which help designers to organize and give some meaning to the gathered data. In this paper, we analyze several literature solutions for modeling users, context and devices considering different approaches in the Ambient Assisted Living domain. Besides, we remark different ongoing standardization works in this area. We also discuss the used techniques, modeled characteristics and the advantages and drawbacks of each approach to finally draw several conclusions about the reviewed works. PMID:24643006

IMIA Educational Recommendations and Nursing Informatics.

PubMed

Mantas, John; Hasman, Arie

2017-01-01

The updated version of the IMIA educational recommendations has given an adequate guidelines platform for developing educational programs in Biomedical and Health Informatics at all levels of education, vocational training, and distance learning. This chapter will provide a brief introduction of the recommendations pinpointing aspects for developing and assessing educational programs. We will provide a review of the existing feedback we have acquired during the IMIA site visits of accrediting educational programs at a worldwide level and discuss implementations issues. A brief overview of existing academic programs in Europe, North America and in other regions, especially for programs related to Nursing and to Nursing Informatics is provided. Finally, we will draw conclusions as how the IMIA recommendations may be required to be fitted into the specific needs of the Nursing Informatics and the needs of the Nursing professionals when they apply the recommendations to their academic and/or hospital/professional environments.

The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence

PubMed Central

Lusardi, Annamaria; Mitchell, Olivia S.

2017-01-01

This paper undertakes an assessment of a rapidly growing body of economic research on financial literacy. We start with an overview of theoretical research which casts financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. Endogenizing financial knowledge has important implications for welfare as well as policies intended to enhance levels of financial knowledge in the larger population. Next, we draw on recent surveys to establish how much (or how little) people know and identify the least financially savvy population subgroups. This is followed by an examination of the impact of financial literacy on economic decision-making in the United States and elsewhere. While the literature is still young, conclusions may be drawn about the effects and consequences of financial illiteracy and what works to remedy these gaps. A final section offers thoughts on what remains to be learned if researchers are to better inform theoretical and empirical models as well as public policy. PMID:28579637

The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence.

PubMed

Lusardi, Annamaria; Mitchell, Olivia S

2014-03-01

This paper undertakes an assessment of a rapidly growing body of economic research on financial literacy. We start with an overview of theoretical research which casts financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. Endogenizing financial knowledge has important implications for welfare as well as policies intended to enhance levels of financial knowledge in the larger population. Next, we draw on recent surveys to establish how much (or how little) people know and identify the least financially savvy population subgroups. This is followed by an examination of the impact of financial literacy on economic decision-making in the United States and elsewhere. While the literature is still young, conclusions may be drawn about the effects and consequences of financial illiteracy and what works to remedy these gaps. A final section offers thoughts on what remains to be learned if researchers are to better inform theoretical and empirical models as well as public policy.

[Corrigendum] Suppression of CUL4A attenuates TGF-β1-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer cells.

PubMed

Wang, Yunshan; Liu, Xiaoyan; Zheng, Hui; Wang, Qin; An, Li; Wei, Guangwei

2017-11-01

Following the publication of this article, a reader drew to our attention an anomaly associated with the data presented in Fig. 8. The reader found that the two images of the Control group treated with TGF-β1 in Fig. 8 have some overlap. After careful scrutiny, we found that we somehow misused a migation image for invasion (lower pannel) when constructing the final figure. This does not affect the interpretation of the experiments and the conclusions of the study. A corrected version of Fig. 8 is presented here. We would like to thank the reader of our article for drawing this matter to our attention. [the original article was published in the International Journal of Molecular Medicine 40: 1114-1124, 2017; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2017.3118].

Exploring the influence of social activity on scientific career

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Zonglin; Xie, Zheng; Li, Jianping; Yang, Qian

2018-06-01

For researchers, does activity in academic society influence their careers? In scientometrics, the activity can be expressed through the number of collaborators and scientific careers through the number of publications and citations of authors. We provide empirical evidence from four datasets of representative journals and explore the correlations between each two of the three indices. By using a hypothetical extraction method, we divide authors into patterns which can reflect the different extent of preference for social activity, according to their contributions to the correlation between the number of collaborators and that of papers. Furthermore, we choose two of the patterns as a sociable one and an unsociable one and then compare both of the expected value and the distribution of publications and citations for authors between sociable pattern and unsociable pattern. Finally, we draw a conclusion that social activity could be favorable for authors to promote academic outcomes and obtain recognition.

Quartz-Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy: A Review

PubMed Central

Patimisco, Pietro; Scamarcio, Gaetano; Tittel, Frank K.; Spagnolo, Vincenzo

2014-01-01

A detailed review on the development of quartz-enhanced photoacoustic sensors (QEPAS) for the sensitive and selective quantification of molecular trace gas species with resolved spectroscopic features is reported. The basis of the QEPAS technique, the technology available to support this field in terms of key components, such as light sources and quartz-tuning forks and the recent developments in detection methods and performance limitations will be discussed. Furthermore, different experimental QEPAS methods such as: on-beam and off-beam QEPAS, quartz-enhanced evanescent wave photoacoustic detection, modulation-cancellation approach and mid-IR single mode fiber-coupled sensor systems will be reviewed and analysed. A QEPAS sensor operating in the THz range, employing a custom-made quartz-tuning fork and a THz quantum cascade laser will be also described. Finally, we evaluated data reported during the past decade and draw relevant and useful conclusions from this analysis. PMID:24686729

Intelligence and culture: how culture shapes what intelligence means, and the implications for a science of well-being.

PubMed Central

Sternberg, Robert J; Grigorenko, Elena L

2004-01-01

This paper discusses the relationship between culture and intelligence. The main message of the paper is that intelligence cannot fully or even meaningfully be understood outside its cultural context. Behaviour that is considered intelligent in one culture may be considered unintelligent in another culture, and vice versa. Moreover, people in different cultures have different implicit (folk) theories of intelligence, so may not even mean the same thing by the word. The relationships between different aspects of intelligence can vary across cultures, with correlations that are positive in one setting proving to be negative in another. The paper opens with a general discussion of issues regarding the relationship between the two concepts. It then describes the theory of successful intelligence, which motivates our work on the interface between culture and intelligence. Finally, the article draws some conclusions. PMID:15347533

A Multidimensional View of Personal Health Systems for Underserved Populations

PubMed Central

Botts, Nathan E; Burkhard, Richard J

2010-01-01

The advent of electronic personal health records (PHR) provides a major opportunity to encourage positive health management practices, such as chronic disease management. Yet, to date there has been little attention toward the use of PHRs where advanced health information services are perhaps most needed, namely, in underserved communities. Drawing upon research conducted with safety net providers and patients, the authors propose a multi-level analytical framework for guiding actions aimed at fostering PHR adoption and utilization. The authors first outline distinctive user and technical requirements that need to be considered. Next, they assess organizational requirements necessary to implement PHRs within health systems bound by limited resources. Finally, the authors analyze the overriding health care policy context that can facilitate or thwart such efforts. The conclusion notes that heightened national attention toward health information technology and reform provides a significant opportunity for initiatives whose goal is to increase widepread access to PHRs. PMID:20685644

Toxicological benchmarks for potential contaminants of concern for effects on soil and litter invertebrates and heterotrophic process

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

Will, M.E.; Suter, G.W. II

1995-09-01

An important step in ecological risk assessments is screening the chemicals occur-ring on a site for contaminants of potential concern. Screening may be accomplished by comparing reported ambient concentrations to a set of toxicological benchmarks. Multiple endpoints for assessing risks posed by soil-borne contaminants to organisms directly impacted by them have been established. This report presents benchmarks for soil invertebrates and microbial processes and addresses only chemicals found at United States Department of Energy (DOE) sites. No benchmarks for pesticides are presented. After discussing methods, this report presents the results of the literature review and benchmark derivation for toxicity tomore » earthworms (Sect. 3), heterotrophic microbes and their processes (Sect. 4), and other invertebrates (Sect. 5). The final sections compare the benchmarks to other criteria and background and draw conclusions concerning the utility of the benchmarks.« less

The Brazilian Audit Tribunal's role in improving the federal environmental licensing process

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

Lima, Luiz Henrique, E-mail: luizhlima@terra.com.b; Magrini, Alessandra, E-mail: ale@ppe.ufrj.b; Centro de Tecnologia - Bloco C Sala 211, Ilha do Fundao, 21949-900 - Rio de Janeiro, Caixa-Postal: 68565, RJ

This article describes the role played by the Brazilian Audit Tribunal (Tribunal de Contas da Uniao - TCU) in the external auditing of environmental management in Brazil, highlighting the findings of an operational audit conducted in 2007 of the federal environmental licensing process. Initially, it records the constitutional and legal framework of Brazilian environmental licensing, describing the powers and duties granted to federal, state and municipal institutions. In addition, it presents the responsibilities of the TCU in the environmental area, comparing these with those of other Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) that are members of the International Organization of Supreme Auditmore » Institutions (INTOSAI). It also describes the work carried out in the operational audit of the Brazilian environmental licensing process and its main conclusions and recommendations. Finally, it draws a parallel between the findings and recommendations made in Brazil with those of academic studies and audits conducted in other countries.« less

A note on bound constraints handling for the IEEE CEC'05 benchmark function suite.

PubMed

Liao, Tianjun; Molina, Daniel; de Oca, Marco A Montes; Stützle, Thomas

2014-01-01

The benchmark functions and some of the algorithms proposed for the special session on real parameter optimization of the 2005 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC'05) have played and still play an important role in the assessment of the state of the art in continuous optimization. In this article, we show that if bound constraints are not enforced for the final reported solutions, state-of-the-art algorithms produce infeasible best candidate solutions for the majority of functions of the IEEE CEC'05 benchmark function suite. This occurs even though the optima of the CEC'05 functions are within the specified bounds. This phenomenon has important implications on algorithm comparisons, and therefore on algorithm designs. This article's goal is to draw the attention of the community to the fact that some authors might have drawn wrong conclusions from experiments using the CEC'05 problems.

Religion, health and medicine in African Americans: implications for physicians.

PubMed

Levin, Jeff; Chatters, Linda M; Taylor, Robert Joseph

2005-02-01

Recent years have seen a burgeoning of research and writing on the connections between religion and health. The very best of this work comes from epidemiologic studies of African Americans. This paper summarizes results of these investigations, including findings identifying effects of religious participation on both physical and mental health outcomes. Evidence mostly supports a protective religious effect on morbidity and mortality and on depressive symptoms and overall psychological distress among African Americans. This paper also carefully discusses what the results of these studies mean and do not mean, an important consideration due to frequent misinterpretations of findings on this topic. Because important distinctions between epidemiologic and clinical studies tend to get glossed over, reports of religion-health associations oftentimes draw erroneous conclusions that foster unrealistic expectations about the role of faith and spirituality in health and healing. Finally, implications are discussed for clinical practice, medical education and public health.

Consciousness and abilities of dream characters observed during lucid dreaming.

PubMed

Tholey, P

1989-04-01

A description of several phenomenological experiments is given. These were done to investigate of which cognitive accomplishments dream characters are capable in lucid dreams. Nine male experienced lucid dreamers participated as subjects. They were directed to set different tasks to dream characters they met while lucid dreaming. Dream characters were asked to draw or write, to name unknown words, to find rhyme words, to make verses, and to solve arithmetic problems. Part of the dream characters actually agreed to perform the tasks and were successful, although the arithmetic accomplishments were poor. From the phenomenological findings, nothing contradicts the assumption that dream characters have consciousness in a specific sense. Herefrom the conclusion was drawn, that in lucid dream therapy communication with dream characters should be handled as if they were rational beings. Finally, several possibilities of assessing the question, whether dream characters possess consciousness, can be examined with the aid of psychophysiological experiments.

Traditional and emerging forms of dental practice. Cost, accessibility, and quality factors.

PubMed Central

Rovin, S; Nash, J

1982-01-01

The traditional and predominant manner of delivering dental care is through a fee-for-service, private practice system. A number of alternative dental care delivery systems have emerged and are being tested, and others are just emerging. These systems include department store practices, hospital dental services, health maintenance organizations, the independent practice of dental hygiene, and denturism. Although it is too soon to draw final conclusions about the efficacy and effectiveness of these systems, we examine them for their potential to compete with and change the way dental care is currently delivered. Using the parameters of cost, accessibility, and quality, we compare these systems to traditional dental practice. Some of these emerging forms clearly have the potential to complete favorably with traditional practice. Other seem less likely to alter the existing system substantially. The system which can best control costs, increase accessibility, and enhance quality will gain the competitive edge. PMID:7091453

Research on the application in disaster reduction for using cloud computing technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Liang; Fan, Yida; Wang, Xingling

Cloud Computing technology has been rapidly applied in different domains recently, promotes the progress of the domain's informatization. Based on the analysis of the state of application requirement in disaster reduction and combining the characteristics of Cloud Computing technology, we present the research on the application of Cloud Computing technology in disaster reduction. First of all, we give the architecture of disaster reduction cloud, which consists of disaster reduction infrastructure as a service (IAAS), disaster reduction cloud application platform as a service (PAAS) and disaster reduction software as a service (SAAS). Secondly, we talk about the standard system of disaster reduction in five aspects. Thirdly, we indicate the security system of disaster reduction cloud. Finally, we draw a conclusion the use of cloud computing technology will help us to solve the problems for disaster reduction and promote the development of disaster reduction.

Religion, health and medicine in African Americans: implications for physicians.

PubMed Central

Levin, Jeff; Chatters, Linda M.; Taylor, Robert Joseph

2005-01-01

Recent years have seen a burgeoning of research and writing on the connections between religion and health. The very best of this work comes from epidemiologic studies of African Americans. This paper summarizes results of these investigations, including findings identifying effects of religious participation on both physical and mental health outcomes. Evidence mostly supports a protective religious effect on morbidity and mortality and on depressive symptoms and overall psychological distress among African Americans. This paper also carefully discusses what the results of these studies mean and do not mean, an important consideration due to frequent misinterpretations of findings on this topic. Because important distinctions between epidemiologic and clinical studies tend to get glossed over, reports of religion-health associations oftentimes draw erroneous conclusions that foster unrealistic expectations about the role of faith and spirituality in health and healing. Finally, implications are discussed for clinical practice, medical education and public health. PMID:15712787

So you want to do research? 3. An introduction to qualitative methods.

PubMed

Meadows, Keith A

2003-10-01

This article describes some of the key issues in the use of qualitative research methods. Starting with a description of what qualitative research is and outlining some of the distinguishing features between quantitative and qualitative research, examples of the type of setting where qualitative research can be applied are provided. Methods of collecting information through in-depth interviews and group discussions are discussed in some detail, including issues around sampling and recruitment, the use of topic guides and techniques to encourage participants to talk openly. An overview on the analysis of qualitative data discusses aspects on data reduction, display and drawing conclusions from the data. Approaches to ensuring rigour in the collection, analysis and reporting of qualitative research are discussed and the concepts of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability are described. Finally, guidelines for the reporting of qualitative research are outlined and the need to write for a particular audience is discussed.

Young hands, old books: Drawings by children in a fourteenth-century manuscript, LJS MS. 361

PubMed Central

Thorpe, Deborah Ellen

2016-01-01

Abstract This article scrutinises three marginal drawings in LJS 361, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Libraries. It first considers the provenance of the manuscript, questioning how it got into the hands of children. Then, it combines developmental psychology with close examination of the material evidence to develop a list of criteria to attribute the drawings to children. There is consideration of the features that help us estimate the age of the artists, and which indicate that one drawing was a collaborative effort between two children. A potential relationship is identified between the doodles and the subject matter of the text, prompting questions about pre-modern child education and literacy. Finally, the article considers the implications of this finding in both codicology and social history since these marginal illustrations demonstrate that children were active in the material life of medieval books. PMID:27517059

Young hands, old books: Drawings by children in a fourteenth-century manuscript, LJS MS. 361.

PubMed

Thorpe, Deborah Ellen

This article scrutinises three marginal drawings in LJS 361, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Libraries. It first considers the provenance of the manuscript, questioning how it got into the hands of children. Then, it combines developmental psychology with close examination of the material evidence to develop a list of criteria to attribute the drawings to children. There is consideration of the features that help us estimate the age of the artists, and which indicate that one drawing was a collaborative effort between two children. A potential relationship is identified between the doodles and the subject matter of the text, prompting questions about pre-modern child education and literacy. Finally, the article considers the implications of this finding in both codicology and social history since these marginal illustrations demonstrate that children were active in the material life of medieval books.

Analysis of Soft Drinks Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: A Mentorship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Arkim; Myers, Craig; Crull, George; Curtis, Michael; Pasciak Patterson, Pamela

1999-10-01

This mentorship was designed to expose a student to the laboratory routine for a chemist at Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS). The student visited BMS, collaborated with BMS scientists, and actually completed a project on site. He was asked to determine the identity of an unknown sample of soft drink retrieved from a fictitious crime scene using NMR spectroscopy. He designed an experiment to test the unknown sample and used samples of purified sugar, purified caffeine, purified citric acid, Coke, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Diet 7-Up, and Sam's Diet Cola as controls. The results were analyzed and presented in a final report. The student was able to determine if the unknown contained sugar, caffeine, Nutrasweet, or sodium benzoate. He learned how to compile relevant information, conduct an experiment, collect and analyze data, draw conclusions, and prepare and edit a formal report. In addition to learning the uses of NMR, he also learned some of its limitations. In the final report, he was encouraged to reflect on the difficulties a scientist might encounter when trying to identify NMR peaks without an "ingredient list" like those of the soft drink cans. The experience was rewarding for the student and all scientists involved.

Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA announced the release of the final report, Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray. This report represents a case study of engineered nanoscale silver (nano-Ag), focusing on the specific example of nano-Ag as possibly used in disinfectant sprays. This case study is organized around the comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) framework, which structures available information pertaining to the product life cycle, environmental transport and fate, exposure-dose in receptors (i.e., humans, ecological populations, and the environment), and potential impacts in these receptors. The document does not draw conclusions about potential risks. Instead, it is intended to be used as part of a process to identify what is known and unknown about nano-Ag in a selected application. In turn, the external review draft of the document provided a starting point to identify and prioritize possible research directions to support future assessments of nanomaterials. The information presented in the case study and the questions raised in this document are a foundation for a process to determine priorities among various research topics and directions. After that process has been completed, a final chapter will be added to this document to summarize highlights from preceding chapters and the major research issues that have emerged.

Plant food supplements with anti-inflammatory properties: a systematic review (I).

PubMed

Dell'Agli, Mario; Di Lorenzo, Chiara; Badea, Mihaela; Sangiovanni, Enrico; Dima, Lorena; Bosisio, Enrica; Restani, Patrizia

2013-01-01

Plant food supplements (PFS) receive great acceptance by European consumers. However, quality and efficacy of these products remain a question of concern. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize and critically evaluate the evidence for or against the efficacy of PFS for coping inflammatory conditions by considering epidemiological and human intervention studies. The review, which consists of two parts, considers Olea europea L., Camellia sinensis L., Vitis vinifera L., and Matricaria recutita L., which are herbal material frequently used also as food. The search retrieved 1251 publications. By applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, the final number of papers was 91. Vitis vinifera L. showed promising results, but other trials should be performed in order to assessing the efficacy. Surprisingly, it was impossible to draw conclusions for the anti-inflammatory effect of Camellia sinensis L. as green tea. No studies were found on the leaves of Olea europea L. whereas more human trials are needed to assess the anti-inflammatory effect of olive oil. Only one study for Matricaria recutita L. was selected. In conclusion, it is advisable to conduct further studies with more homogeneous population and larger number of subjects by avoiding the heterogeneity of the herbal preparations considered.

Spectroscopic characterization of ligands on the surface of water dispersible NaGdF4:Ln3+ nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cichos, J.; Karbowiak, M.

2012-05-01

For electronic or biomedical applications it is desirable to have ligand-free water-dispersible nanocrystals (NCs). The commonly used FTIR spectroscopy often provides a direct evidence for molecules on the surface. In some cases, however, the strong bands of solvent molecules may obscure the peaks of surface bounded ligands. We show that in this regard the emission spectroscopy may be used as a more reliable probing tool. The relevant information can be obtained from emission and excitation spectra, emission decay times as well as from analysis of relative efficiency of excitation energy transfer from Gd3+ to Eu3+ ions. Using these methods we tested samples obtained by various synthetic routes and indicated that only nitrosonium tetrafluoroborate (NOBF4) removes successfully the organic ligands from the nanocrystals surface, yielding organic ligand-free NCs dispersible in aqueous solutions. The conclusions drawn from emission spectroscopy are useful for interpretation of results of FTIR, Raman and NMR studies. The detailed assignment of FTIR peaks for oleate-capped and oleate-free NCs is also provided. Finally, we point to the risk of drawing erroneous conclusions about colloidal stability of nanocrystals if refractive indexes of NCs and medium are similar.

Glutamate-Modulating Drugs as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

PubMed Central

Marinova, Zoya; Chuang, De-Maw; Fineberg, Naomi

2017-01-01

Objective: Abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disease commonly associated with severe distress and impairment of social functioning. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors and/or cognitive behavioural therapy are the therapy of choice, however up to 40% of patients do not respond to treatment. Glutamatergic signalling has also been implicated in OCD. The aim of the current study was to review the clinical evidence for therapeutic utility of glutamate-modulating drugs as an augmentation or monotherapy in OCD patients. Methods: We conducted a search of the MEDLINE database for clinical studies evaluating the effect of glutamate-modulating drugs in OCD. Results: Memantine is the compound most consistently showing a positive effect as an augmentation therapy in OCD. Anti-convulsant drugs (lamotrigine, topiramate) and riluzole may also provide therapeutic benefit to some OCD patients. Finally, ketamine may be of interest due to its potential for a rapid onset of action. Conclusion: Further randomized placebo-controlled trials in larger study populations are necessary in order to draw definitive conclusions on the utility of glutamate-modulating drugs in OCD. Furthermore, genetic and epigenetic factors, clinical symptoms and subtypes predicting treatment response to glutamate-modulating drugs need to be investigated systematically. PMID:28322166

Stakeholder views on flood risk management in Hungary's Upper Tisza Basin.

PubMed

Vari, Anna; Linnerooth-Bayer, Joanne; Ferencz, Zoltan

2003-06-01

With escalating costs of flood mitigation and relief, a challenge for the Hungarian government is to develop a flood mitigation and insurance/relief system that is viewed as efficient and fair by the many stakeholders involved. To aid policymakers in this task, this article reports on a recent study to elicit stakeholder views on flood risk management in the Upper Tisza Basin, including views on appropriate means of reducing losses and for transferring the residual losses from the direct victims to taxpayers or an insurance pool. This study is part of a project to develop an integrated approach to flood risk management coordinated by the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in collaboration with Swedish and Hungarian researchers. The discussion begins by describing the background of flood risk management problems in the Upper Tisza Basin. The results of interviews carried out with selected key stakeholders and the results of a public survey eliciting views on flood risk management are reported. The final section draws conclusions on incorporating stakeholder views into a flood risk management model, which will be used to illustrate policy paths at an upcoming stakeholder workshop. The conclusions are also of direct interest to Hungarian policymakers.

Drawing conclusions: a re-examination of empirical and conceptual bases for psychological evaluation of children from their drawings.

PubMed

Thomas, G V; Jolley, R P

1998-05-01

Although consideration of children's art work (usually drawings) in clinical investigations of children referred to psychologists is fairly common, there is little evidence for the reliability and validity of such assessments. We consider a variety of possible mechanisms which could operate to influence the characteristics of children's drawings, and review the evidence that such mechanisms operate to allow meaningful psychological evaluations of children from their drawings. The problem for making a reliable interpretation of the significance of a drawing is that a given feature could plausibly support several very different interpretations, depending which of many possible processes was active or dominant in the production of the drawing. Evidence from studies of clinical populations and experimental studies with non-selected samples are reviewed in the light of these possibilities. The review indicates that drawings are inaccurate and unreliable as personality or state assessments but can be influenced by children's emotional attitudes towards the topics depicted. The form of that expression, however, may be personal and idiosyncratic. Analogue studies of these effects undertaken with non-clinical samples under controlled conditions have produced mixed results. At best the reported effects are small. Children's drawings on their own are too complexly determined and inherently ambiguous to be reliable sole indicators of the emotional experiences of the children who drew them. Further research is needed to establish the extent to which such drawings can usefully facilitate assessment of children by other means or provide useful support as one of several converging lines of evidence.

Comparison of changes in oxygenated hemoglobin during the tree-drawing task between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls

PubMed Central

Nakano, Shinya; Shoji, Yoshihisa; Morita, Kiichiro; Igimi, Hiroyasu; Sato, Mamoru; Ishii, Youhei; Kondo, Akihiko; Uchimura, Naohisa

2018-01-01

Background Tree-drawing test is used as a projective psychological test that expresses the abnormal internal experience in patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Despite the widely accepted view that the cognitive function is involved in characteristic tree-drawing in patients with SZ, no study has psychophysiologically examined it. The present study aimed to investigate the involvement of cognitive function during tree-drawing in patients with SZ. For that purpose, we evaluated the brain function in patients with SZ during a tree-drawing task by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and compared them with those in healthy controls. Patients and methods The subjects were 28 healthy controls and 28 patients with SZ. Changes in the oxygenated hemoglobin ([oxy-Hb]) concentration in both the groups during the task of drawing a tree imagined freely (free-drawing task) and the task of copying an illustration of a tree (copying task) were measured by using NIRS. Results Because of the difference between the task conditions, [oxy-Hb] levels in controls during the free-drawing task were higher than that during the copying task at the bilateral frontal pole regions and left inferior frontal region. Because of the difference between the groups, [oxy-Hb] levels at the left middle frontal region, bilateral inferior frontal regions, bilateral inferior parietal regions, and left superior temporal region during the free-drawing task in patients were lower than that in controls. Conclusion [oxy-Hb] during the tree-drawing task in patients with SZ was lower than that in healthy controls. Our results suggest that brain dysfunction in patients with SZ might be associated with their tree-drawing. PMID:29719398

Drawing conclusions from within-group comparisons and selected subsets of data leads to unsubstantiated conclusions: Letter regarding Malakellis et al.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Malakellis et al. conducted an ambitious quasi-experimental evaluation of "multiple initiatives at [the] individual, community, and school policy level to support healthier nutrition and physical activity" among children. In the abstract they concluded, "There was some evidence of effectiveness of t...

EXPOsOMICS: final policy workshop and stakeholder consultation.

PubMed

Turner, Michelle C; Vineis, Paolo; Seleiro, Eduardo; Dijmarescu, Michaela; Balshaw, David; Bertollini, Roberto; Chadeau-Hyam, Marc; Gant, Timothy; Gulliver, John; Jeong, Ayoung; Kyrtopoulos, Soterios; Martuzzi, Marco; Miller, Gary W; Nawrot, Timothy; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Phillips, David H; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Samet, Jonathan; Vermeulen, Roel; Vlaanderen, Jelle; Vrijheid, Martine; Wild, Christopher; Kogevinas, Manolis

2018-02-15

The final meeting of the EXPOsOMICS project "Final Policy Workshop and Stakeholder Consultation" took place 28-29 March 2017 to present the main results of the project and discuss their implications both for future research and for regulatory and policy activities. This paper summarizes presentations and discussions at the meeting related with the main results and advances in exposome research achieved through the EXPOsOMICS project; on other parallel research initiatives on the study of the exposome in Europe and in the United States and their complementarity to EXPOsOMICS; lessons learned from these early studies on the exposome and how they may shape the future of research on environmental exposure assessment; and finally the broader implications of exposome research for risk assessment and policy development on environmental exposures. The main results of EXPOsOMICS in relation to studies of the external exposome and internal exposome in relation to both air pollution and water contaminants were presented as well as new technologies for environmental health research (adductomics) and advances in statistical methods. Although exposome research strengthens the scientific basis for policy development, there is a need in terms of showing added value for public health to: improve communication of research results to non-scientific audiences; target research to the broader landscape of societal challenges; and draw applicable conclusions. Priorities for future work include the development and standardization of methodologies and technologies for assessing the external and internal exposome, improved data sharing and integration, and the demonstration of the added value of exposome science over conventional approaches in answering priority policy questions.

CSMP Mathematics for the Upper Primary Grades Part II, Teacher's Guide [and] Worksheets. General Introduction. The World of Numbers. Final Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heidema, Clare; Schweitzer, Janis

This guide represents the final experimental version of a pilot project conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The ideas and manner of presentation are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized as having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and models of our numeration system (the…

CSMP Mathematics for the Upper Primary Grades Part I, Teacher's Guide [and] Worksheets. General Introduction. The World of Numbers. Final Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heidema, Clare; Schweitzer, Janis

This guide represents the final experimental version of a pilot project conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The ideas and manner of presentation are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized as having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and models of our numeration system (the…

Review of Final Year MSP Evaluations, Performance Period 2007. Analytic and Technical Support for Mathematics and Science Partnerships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bobronnikov, Ellen; Rhodes, Hilary; Bradley, Cay

2010-01-01

This final report culminates the evaluation and technical assistance provided for the U.S. Department of Education's Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) Program and its projects since 2005. As part of this support, Abt Associates looked across the portfolio of projects funded by the MSP program to draw lessons on best practices. This…

Photographic copy of undated 12” x 36” pen and ink ...

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

Photographic copy of undated 12” x 36” pen and ink drawing by Modjeski, Masters and Chase, Bridge Engineers. Illustrator Unknown. Loose in oversized box located at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Archives Center, Work and Industry Division, Washington, D.C. PEN AND INK DRAWING OF FINAL PROPOSAL OF “BRIDGE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, NEW ORLEANS, LA.” - Huey P. Long Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River approximately midway between nine & twelve mile points upstream from & west of New Orleans, Jefferson, Jefferson Parish, LA

[Mediaeval anatomic iconography (Part II)].

PubMed

Barg, L

1996-01-01

In the second part of his paper the author has presented a mediaeval anatomical draft based on empirical studies. From the first drawings from XVth century showing the places of blood-letting and connected with astrological prognostics, to systematical drawings by Guido de Vigevano. He has stressed the parallel existence of two lines of teaching anatomy; one based on philosophical concepts (discussed in the first part of paper), the second one based on empirical concepts. The latter trend has formed the grounds for final transformation, which has taken place in anatomical science in age of Renaissance.

Experimental analysis of the sheet metal forming behavior of newly developed press hardening steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meza-García, Enrique; Kräusel, Verena; Landgrebe, Dirk

2018-05-01

The aim of this work was the characterization of the newly developed press hardening sheet alloys 1800 PHS and 2000 PHS developed by SSAB with regard to their hot forming behavior on the basis of the experimental determination of relevant mechanical and technological properties. For this purpose conventional and non-conventional sheet metal testing methods were used. To determine the friction coefficient, the strip drawing test was applied, while the deep drawing cup test was used to determine the maximum draw depth. Finally, a V-bending test was carried out to evaluate the springback behavior of the investigated alloys by varying the blank temperature and quenching media. This work provides a technological guideline for the production of press hardened sheet parts made of these investigated sheet metals.

Methotrexate and Pregnancy

MedlinePlus

... methotrexate to draw firm conclusions. One 2009 review paper reported no increase in miscarriage or birth defect ... methotrexate in the first trimester. While reassuring, this paper does not mean there is no risk for ...

Electronic construction collaboration system -- final phase : [tech transfer summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-07-01

Construction projects have been growing more complex in terms of : project team composition, design aspects, and construction processes. : To help manage the shop/working drawings and requests for information : (RFIs) for its large, complex projects,...

Expression of pain and distress in children during dental extractions through drawings as a projective measure: A clinical study

PubMed Central

Pala, Sai Priya; Nuvvula, Sivakumar; Kamatham, Rekhalakshmi

2016-01-01

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of drawings as a projective measure of pain and distress in children undergoing dental extractions. METHODS: Children in the age range of 4-13 years with existence of untreatable caries or over-retained primary teeth, indicated for extractions were included. Pain was assessed using one behavioral [faces, legs, activity, cry and consolability (FLACC)] scale; and a self report measure; faces pain scale-revised (FPS-R), at two points of time, after completion of local anesthetic administration and after extraction. The general behavior of children was assessed with Wright’s modification of Frankl rating scale. At the end of the session, children were instructed to represent, themselves along with the dentist and their experiences of the dental treatment through drawing. The drawings were scored utilizing Child drawing: Hospital scale (CD: H) manual and correlated with FLACC, FPS-R and Frankl using Pearson correlation test. RESULTS: A positive correlation, though statistically not significant, was observed between CD: H scores and all other considered parameters (Frankl, FPS-R and FLACC) in the present study. CONCLUSION: Drawings could not act as surrogate measure of child’s pain; however, they acted as a narrative of his/her experiences and reflection of inner emotions. Hence, drawings can be used as an additional dental armamentarium. PMID:26862509

Forum Response: Ethics in Business and Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, James A.

2003-01-01

Discusses the teaching of business ethics. Draws conclusions about teaching business ethics noting that such instruction must start with the principles of capitalism and the functions of a market economy. (SG)

Learner-generated drawing for phonological and orthographic dyslexic readers.

PubMed

Wang, Li-Chih; Yang, Hsien-Ming; Tasi, Hung-Ju; Chan, Shih-Yi

2013-01-01

This study presents an examination of learner-generated drawing for different reading comprehension subtypes of dyslexic students and control students. The participants were 22 phonological dyslexic students, 20 orthographic dyslexic students, 21 double-deficit dyslexic students, and 45 age-, gender-, and IQ-matched control students. The major evaluation tools included word recognition task, orthographic task, phonological awareness task, and scenery texts and questions. Comparisons of the four groups of students showed differences among phonological dyslexia, orthographic dyslexia, double-deficit dyslexia, and the chronological age control groups in pre- and posttest performance of scenery texts. Differences also existed in relevant questions and the effect of the learner-generated drawing method. The pretest performance showed problems in the dyslexic samples in reading the scenery texts and answering relevant questions. The posttest performance revealed certain differences among phonological dyslexia, orthographic dyslexia, double-deficit dyslexia, and the chronological age control group. Finally, all dyslexic groups obtained a great effect from using the learner-generated drawing, particularly orthographic dyslexia. These results suggest that the learner-generated drawing was also useful for dyslexic students, with the potential for use in the classroom for teaching text reading to dyslexic students. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the challenges of drawing conclusions from p-values just below 0.05

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

In recent years, researchers have attempted to provide an indication of the prevalence of inflated Type 1 error rates by analyzing the distribution of p-values in the published literature. De Winter & Dodou (2015) analyzed the distribution (and its change over time) of a large number of p-values automatically extracted from abstracts in the scientific literature. They concluded there is a ‘surge of p-values between 0.041–0.049 in recent decades’ which ‘suggests (but does not prove) questionable research practices have increased over the past 25 years.’ I show the changes in the ratio of fractions of p-values between 0.041–0.049 over the years are better explained by assuming the average power has decreased over time. Furthermore, I propose that their observation that p-values just below 0.05 increase more strongly than p-values above 0.05 can be explained by an increase in publication bias (or the file drawer effect) over the years (cf. Fanelli, 2012; Pautasso, 2010, which has led to a relative decrease of ‘marginally significant’ p-values in abstracts in the literature (instead of an increase in p-values just below 0.05). I explain why researchers analyzing large numbers of p-values need to relate their assumptions to a model of p-value distributions that takes into account the average power of the performed studies, the ratio of true positives to false positives in the literature, the effects of publication bias, and the Type 1 error rate (and possible mechanisms through which it has inflated). Finally, I discuss why publication bias and underpowered studies might be a bigger problem for science than inflated Type 1 error rates, and explain the challenges when attempting to draw conclusions about inflated Type 1 error rates from a large heterogeneous set of p-values. PMID:26246976

Outcomes with individual versus group physical therapy for treating urinary incontinence and low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Robertson, Belinda; Harding, Katherine E

2014-11-01

To evaluate the existing evidence comparing the outcomes of rehabilitation conducted in a group setting and individual therapy for patients receiving rehabilitation. Electronic databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PEDro, and OT Seeker were searched from the earliest date possible to July 2013. Additional references were identified by manual scanning of reference lists. Randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of group therapy compared with individual therapy for patients receiving rehabilitation were included for review. Two reviewers independently applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify included articles. Initial search identified 1527 potential articles, of which 16 trials with 2337 participants were included in the final review. Data extraction was completed for all included trials by one reviewer, using a customized data extraction form. Data were checked for accuracy by a second reviewer. Trials were independently assessed by 2 reviewers for methodological quality using the PEDro scale. Trials meeting inclusion criteria had been conducted in back pain (n=6 studies), urinary incontinence (n=5), learning disability (n=2), hearing loss (n=1), joint replacement (n=1), and aphasia (n=1). Meta-analysis of physical therapy trials in back pain and urinary incontinence reporting sufficient homogeneous data showed no significant difference in outcomes for group versus individual therapy. These results were also supported by qualitative analysis of the remaining studies in these populations, but there is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions regarding other clinical areas. Evidence shows that providing rehabilitation in a group format results in equivalent clinical outcomes to provision of similar therapy in an individual format in the treatment of back pain and urinary incontinence. There is currently insufficient evidence to draw similar conclusions in other populations or fields of rehabilitation. Copyright © 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

CSMP Mathematics for the Upper Primary Grades Part I, Teacher's Guide. The Languages of Strings and Arrows. Geometry and Measurement. Workbooks. Final Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CEMREL, Inc., St. Ann, MO.

This guide represents the final experimental version of a pilot project conducted in the Unites States between 1973 and 1976. The ideas and manner of presentation are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized as having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and models of our numeration system (the…

The fear of others: a pilot study of social anxiety processes in paranoia.

PubMed

Newman Taylor, Katherine; Stopa, Luisa

2013-01-01

There is good reason to consider the role of social anxiety processes in paranoia; both the research and clinical literature indicate significant overlap between the two presentations. The aim of this study was to explore cognition and behaviour that are typically associated with social phobia, in people with paranoia, and then to draw out theoretical and clinical implications. We used a cross-sectional between-subjects design to compare participants with persecutory delusions (without social phobia), social phobia, a clinical control group with panic disorder, and a non-clinical control group. Ten to 15 people were recruited to each of four groups, with a final total of 48 participants. Each person completed measures of automatic thoughts, underlying assumptions, core beliefs and behaviour, and took part in a semi-structured interview designed to assess process (self-consciousness and attentional focus) and metacognitive beliefs. Surprisingly, measures of cognition and behaviour yielded no systematic differences between people with persecutory delusions and social phobia. People with persecutory delusions may experience overt and underlying cognition typically associated with social phobia, and behave in similar ways in response to perceived social threat. These initial results indicate: (i) that larger scale research is now warranted in order to draw firm conclusions about social anxiety processes in paranoia; (ii) more specific hypotheses to be tested; and (iii) a clinical model of paranoia, based on the cognitive model of social phobia, which might now usefully be validated.

SLIT: indications, follow-up, and management.

PubMed

Dávila, I; Navarro, A; Domínguez-Ortega, J; Alonso, A; Antolín-Amérigo, D; Diéguez, M C; González-Mancebo, E; Martíns, C; Martínez, C; Núñez, B; Prior, N; Rechel, M; Rosado, A; Ruiz-Hornillos, J; Sansosti, A; Torrecillas, M; Jerez, M J

2014-01-01

Specific sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has been proved to be a safe and effective approach in respiratory allergy. However, further research is required on aspects such as patient selection, use of optimal dosing, effects on asthma, long-term effects, and management of adverse reactions. In addition, the widely heterogeneous nature of studies on SLIT performed to date and the application of the criteria for subcutaneous immunotherapy make it difficult for the prescribing clinician to draw accurate and useful conclusions. Therefore, the QUASAR Group (QUality in the Administration of SLIT in Allergic Rhinitis), which comprises allergologists with broad clinical experience in SLIT, investigated the latest research findings and available data on this approach. Working parties were formed in 3 different categories: selection of candidates for SLIT, treatment efficacy, and adverse reactions. We performed a PubMed search for articles that were representative of each category and found 850. From these, we finally selected 266 articles, which were reviewed to retrieve data on SLIT. Evidence for each clinical question was graded according to the Oxford classification. The resulting text was evaluated on 3 occasions by all the members of the group until the final version was agreed upon. In this version, we review available evidence on SLIT, particularly with pollens, which is the subject of most articles. In areas where evidence is insufficient, an alternative agreed upon by the members of the QUASAR group is presented. Finally, we propose algorithms for selecting candidates for SLIT and for management of adverse events.

Clinical usefulness of the clock drawing test applying rasch analysis in predicting of cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Yoo, Doo Han; Lee, Jae Shin

2016-07-01

[Purpose] This study examined the clinical usefulness of the clock drawing test applying Rasch analysis for predicting the level of cognitive impairment. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 187 stroke patients with cognitive impairment were enrolled in this study. The 187 patients were evaluated by the clock drawing test developed through Rasch analysis along with the mini-mental state examination of cognitive evaluation tool. An analysis of the variance was performed to examine the significance of the mini-mental state examination and the clock drawing test according to the general characteristics of the subjects. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to determine the cutoff point for cognitive impairment and to calculate the sensitivity and specificity values. [Results] The results of comparison of the clock drawing test with the mini-mental state showed significant differences in according to gender, age, education, and affected side. A total CDT of 10.5, which was selected as the cutoff point to identify cognitive impairement, showed a sensitivity, specificity, Youden index, positive predictive, and negative predicive values of 86.4%, 91.5%, 0.8, 95%, and 88.2%. [Conclusion] The clock drawing test is believed to be useful in assessments and interventions based on its excellent ability to identify cognitive disorders.

Self-Image Perception of 171 Children and Adolescents With Cleft Lip and Palate From 22 Countries

PubMed Central

Abd-Elsayed, Alaa A.; Delgado, Sergio V.; Livingstone, Morgan

2013-01-01

Background Cleft lip (CL) and cleft palate (CP) are among the most common congenital deformities of the head and neck. They are associated with many problems, physical and psychological. We describe 171 children and adolescents with CL/CP from 22 countries who were asked to draw their faces in a self-image perception drawing 2 hours before surgery to repair their deformities. Methods The aim of the study was to explore whether children and adolescents with CL and CP perceived themselves as deformed when given the opportunity to draw their faces before surgery to repair their deformities. Children were asked to lie down on a large piece of paper to have their body outline traced. Subsequently, the children were asked to draw their faces within the outline. Results All of the children included in this study drew their faces with normal mouths. Conclusion None of the 171 patients with CL/CP drew their deformity when asked to draw their faces; the reasons are not clear. The children may have wanted to compensate for their disability with the constructive use of fantasy as they anticipated the surgery to repair their CL/CP. An additional hypothesis is that the children felt the need to draw an image that they knew represented their parents' desires. PMID:23789006

When integration fails: Prokaryote phylogeny and the tree of life.

PubMed

O'Malley, Maureen A

2013-12-01

Much is being written these days about integration, its desirability and even its necessity when complex research problems are to be addressed. Seldom, however, do we hear much about the failure of such efforts. Because integration is an ongoing activity rather than a final achievement, and because today's literature about integration consists mostly of manifesto statements rather than precise descriptions, an examination of unsuccessful integration could be illuminating to understand better how it works. This paper will examine the case of prokaryote phylogeny and its apparent failure to achieve integration within broader tree-of-life accounts of evolutionary history (often called 'universal phylogeny'). Despite the fact that integrated databases exist of molecules pertinent to the phylogenetic reconstruction of all lineages of life, and even though the same methods can be used to construct phylogenies wherever the organisms fall on the tree of life, prokaryote phylogeny remains at best only partly integrated within tree-of-life efforts. I will examine why integration does not occur, compare it with integrative practices in animal and other eukaryote phylogeny, and reflect on whether there might be different expectations of what integration should achieve. Finally, I will draw some general conclusions about integration and its function as a 'meta-heuristic' in the normative commitments guiding scientific practice. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inelastic Rescattering in B Decays to π π , π K, and K bar K, and Extraction of γ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zenczykowski, P.

2002-07-01

We discuss all contributions from inelastic SU(3)-symmetric rescattering in B decays into a final pair of pseudoscalar mesons PP = π π , Kbar {K}, π K. FSI-induced modifications of amplitudes obtained from the quark-line approach are described in terms of a few parameters which take care of all possible SU(3)-symmetric forms relevant for final-state interactions. Although in general it appears impossible to uniquely determine FSI effects from the combined set of all π π , K bar {K}, and π K data, drawing some conclusions is feasible. In particular, it is shown that in leading order the amplitudes of strangeness-changing B decays depend on only one additional complex FSI-related parameter apart from those present in the definitions of penguin and tree amplitudes. It is also shown that joint considerations of U-spin-related Δ S=0 and | Δ S|=1 decay amplitudes are modified when non-negligible SU(3)-symmetric FSI are present. In particular, if rescattering in B+ → K+bar {K}0 is substantial, determination of the CP-violating weak angle γ from B+ → π + K0, B0d → π -K+, B0s → π + K-, and their CP counterparts might be susceptible to important FSI-induced corrections.

Dispersal, isolation and diversification with continued gene flow in an Andean tropical dry forest.

PubMed

Toby Pennington, R; Lavin, Matt

2017-07-01

The Andes are the world's longest mountain chain, and the tropical Andes are the world's richest biodiversity hot spot. The origin of the tropical Andean cordillera is relatively recent because the elevation of the mountains was relatively low (400-2500 m palaeoelevations) only 10 MYA with final uplift being rapid. These final phases of the Andean orogeny are thought to have had a fundamental role in shaping processes of biotic diversification and biogeography, with these effects reaching far from the mountains themselves by changing the course of rivers and deposition of mineral-rich Andean sediments across the massive Amazon basin. In a recent issue of Molecular Ecology, Oswald, Overcast, Mauck, Andersen, and Smith (2017) investigate the biogeography and diversification of bird species in the Andes of Peru and Ecuador. Their study is novel in its focus on tropical dry forests (Figure 1) rather than more mesic biomes such as rain forests, cloud forests and paramos, which tend to be the focus of science and conservation in the Andean hot spot. It is also able to draw powerful conclusions via the first deployment of genomic approaches to a biogeographic question in the threatened dry forests of the New World. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Practical Implementation of Semi-Automated As-Built Bim Creation for Complex Indoor Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, S.; Jung, J.; Heo, J.

2015-05-01

In recent days, for efficient management and operation of existing buildings, the importance of as-built BIM is emphasized in AEC/FM domain. However, fully automated as-built BIM creation is a tough issue since newly-constructed buildings are becoming more complex. To manage this problem, our research group has developed a semi-automated approach, focusing on productive 3D as-built BIM creation for complex indoor environments. In order to test its feasibility for a variety of complex indoor environments, we applied the developed approach to model the `Charlotte stairs' in Lotte World Mall, Korea. The approach includes 4 main phases: data acquisition, data pre-processing, geometric drawing, and as-built BIM creation. In the data acquisition phase, due to its complex structure, we moved the scanner location several times to obtain the entire point clouds of the test site. After which, data pre-processing phase entailing point-cloud registration, noise removal, and coordinate transformation was followed. The 3D geometric drawing was created using the RANSAC-based plane detection and boundary tracing methods. Finally, in order to create a semantically-rich BIM, the geometric drawing was imported into the commercial BIM software. The final as-built BIM confirmed that the feasibility of the proposed approach in the complex indoor environment.

Increasing response rates to follow-up questionnaires in health intervention research: Randomized controlled trial of a gift card prize incentive.

PubMed

Morgan, Amy J; Rapee, Ronald M; Bayer, Jordana K

2017-08-01

Background/aims Achieving a high response rate to follow-up questionnaires in randomized controlled trials of interventions is important for study validity. Few studies have tested the value of incentives in increasing response rates to online questionnaires in clinical trials of health interventions. This study evaluated the effect of a gift card prize-draw incentive on response rates to follow-up questionnaires within a trial of an online health intervention. Method The study was embedded in a host randomized controlled trial of an online parenting program for child anxiety. A total of 433 participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups: (1) being informed that they would enter a gift card prize-draw if they completed the final study questionnaire (24-week follow-up) and (2) not informed about the prize-draw. All participants had a 1 in 20 chance of winning an AUD50 gift card after they completed the online questionnaire. Results The odds of the informed group completing the follow-up questionnaire were significantly higher than the uninformed group, (79.6% vs 68.5%, odds ratio = 1.79, 95% confidence interval = 1.15-2.79). This response rate increase of 11.1% (95% confidence interval = 2.8-19.1) occurred in both intervention and control groups in the host randomized controlled trial. The incentive was also effective in increasing questionnaire commencement (84.6% vs 75.9%, odds ratio = 1.74, 95% confidence interval = 1.07-2.84) and reducing the delay in completing the questionnaire (19.9 vs 22.6 days, hazard ratio = 1.34, 95% confidence interval = 1.07-1.67). Conclusion This study adds to evidence for the effectiveness of incentives to increase response rates to follow-up questionnaires in health intervention trials.

Workshop on Fielded Applications of Machine Learning

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-05-11

This report summaries the talks presented at the Workshop on Fielded Applications of Machine Learning , and draws some initial conclusions about the state of machine learning and its potential for solving real-world problems.

School Age Populations Research Needs - NCS Dietary Assessment Literature Review

Cancer.gov

Drawing conclusions about the validity of available dietary assessment instruments in school age children is hampered by the differences in instruments, research design, reference methods, and populations in the validation literature.

Causal interpretation of correlational studies – Analysis of medical news on the website of the official journal for German physicians

PubMed Central

Rahn, Anne Christin; Bock, Merle; Mühlhauser, Ingrid

2018-01-01

Background Media frequently draws inappropriate causal statements from observational studies. We analyzed the reporting of study results in the Medical News section of the German medical journal Deutsches Ärzteblatt (DÄ). Methods Study design: Retrospective quantitative content analysis of randomly selected news reports and related original journal articles and press releases. A medical news report was selected if headlines comprised at least two linked variables. Two raters independently categorized the headline and text of each news report, conclusions of the abstract and full text of the related journal article, and the press release. The assessment instrument comprised five categories from ‘neutral’ to ‘unconditionally causal’. Outcome measures: degree of matching between 1) news headlines and conclusions of the journal article, 2) headlines and text of news reports, 3) text and conclusions, and 4) headlines and press releases. We analyzed whether news headlines rated as unconditionally causal based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Results One-thousand eighty-seven medical news reports were published between April 2015 and May 2016. The final random sample comprised 176 news reports and 100 related press releases. Degree of matching: 1) 45% (79/176) for news headlines and journal article conclusions, 2) 55% (97/176) for headlines and text, 3) 53% (93/176) for text and conclusions, and 4) 41% (41/100) for headlines and press releases. Exaggerations were found in 45% (80/176) of the headlines compared to the conclusions of the related journal article. Sixty-five of 137 unconditionally causal statements of the news headlines were phrased more weakly in the subsequent news text body. Only 52 of 137 headlines (38%) categorized as unconditionally causal reported RCTs. Conclusion Reporting of medical news in the DÄ medical journal is misleading. Most headlines that imply causal associations were not based on RCTs. Medical journalists should follow standards of reporting scientific study results. PMID:29723258

Virus replication as a phenotypic version of polynucleotide evolution.

PubMed

Antoneli, Fernando; Bosco, Francisco; Castro, Diogo; Janini, Luiz Mario

2013-04-01

In this paper, we revisit and adapt to viral evolution an approach based on the theory of branching process advanced by Demetrius et al. (Bull. Math. Biol. 46:239-262, 1985), in their study of polynucleotide evolution. By taking into account beneficial effects, we obtain a non-trivial multivariate generalization of their single-type branching process model. Perturbative techniques allows us to obtain analytical asymptotic expressions for the main global parameters of the model, which lead to the following rigorous results: (i) a new criterion for "no sure extinction", (ii) a generalization and proof, for this particular class of models, of the lethal mutagenesis criterion proposed by Bull et al. (J. Virol. 18:2930-2939, 2007), (iii) a new proposal for the notion of relaxation time with a quantitative prescription for its evaluation, (iv) the quantitative description of the evolution of the expected values in four distinct "stages": extinction threshold, lethal mutagenesis, stationary "equilibrium", and transient. Finally, based on these quantitative results, we are able to draw some qualitative conclusions.

Enlarging the bounds of moral philosophy: Why did Isaac Newton conclude the Opticks the way he did?

PubMed Central

Henry, John

2017-01-01

This paper draws attention to the remarkable closing words of Isaac Newton's Optice (1706) and subsequent editions of the Opticks (1718, 1721), and tries to suggest why Newton chose to conclude his book with a puzzling allusion to his own unpublished conclusions about the history of religion. Newton suggests in this concluding passage that the bounds of moral philosophy will be enlarged as natural philosophy is ‘perfected’. Asking what Newton might have had in mind, the paper first considers the idea that he was foreshadowing the ‘moral Newtonianism’ developed later in the eighteenth century; then it considers the idea that he was perhaps pointing to developments in natural theology. Finally, the paper suggests that Newton wanted to at least signal the importance of attempting to recover the true original religion, and perhaps was hinting at his intention to publish his own extensive research on the history of the Church.

Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This draft document presents a case study of engineered nanoscale silver (nano-Ag), focusing on the specific example of nano-Ag as possibly used in disinfectant sprays. This case study is organized around a comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) framework, which combines a product life-cycle perspective with the risk assessment paradigm. The document does not draw conclusions about potential risks. Instead, it is intended to be used as part of a process to identify what is known and unknown about nano-Ag in a selected application and can be used as a starting point to identify and prioritize possible research directions to support future assessments of nanomaterials. The information presented in the case study and the questions raised in this document are a foundation for a process to determine priorities among various research topics and directions. After that process has been completed, a final chapter will be added to this document to summarize highlights from preceding chapters and the major research issues that have emerged.

Models of Temporal Discounting 1937-2000: An Interdisciplinary Exchange between Economics and Psychology.

PubMed

Grüne-Yanoff, Till

2015-12-01

Today's models of temporal discounting are the result of multiple interdisciplinary exchanges between psychology and economics. Although these exchanges did not result in an integrated discipline, they had important effects on all disciplines involved. The paper describes these exchanges from the 1930s onwards, focusing on two episodes in particular: an attempted synthesis by psychiatrist George Ainslie and others in the 1970s; and the attempted application of this new discounting model by a generation of economists and psychologists in the 1980s, which ultimately ended in the diversity of measurements disappointment. I draw four main conclusions. First, multiple notions of temporal discounting must be conceptually distinguished. Second, behavioral economics is not an integration or unification of psychology and economics. Third, the analysis identifies some central disciplinary markers that distinguish modeling strategies in economics and psychology. Finally, it offers a case of interdisciplinary success that does not fit the currently dominant account of interdisciplinarity as integration.

Traumatic injury pattern analysis in a light rail transit death: a retrospective case study.

PubMed

Kendell, Ashley E; Fleischman, Julie M; Fulginiti, Laura C

2015-05-01

Within the context of medical examiner's offices, forensic anthropologists are increasingly being asked to assist with the interpretation of traumatic skeletal injury. This case study presents an example of trauma analysis performed by forensic anthropologists at the Maricopa County Forensic Science Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The primary goal of this study is to document an uncommon pattern of traumatic injury-severe grinding abrasions of the lower appendage that macroscopically resemble sharp force trauma, especially as observed in dismemberment cases-resulting from an individual being dragged beneath a Light Rail train for c. 1.7 miles. The abraded skeletal elements include a femoral shaft fragment, a femoral head portion, and the right foot. Second, this study aims to illustrate the efficacy of forensic anthropological analysis of patterned skeletal trauma. Finally, this study demonstrates the critical importance of analyzing scene information before drawing conclusions as to the etiology of a traumatic injury pattern. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Recent CCQE results from MINERvA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Anushree; Minerva Collaboration

2017-01-01

The MINER νA detector situated in Fermilab, is designed to make precision cross section measurements for neutrino scattering processes on various nuclei. I will present the two most recent results from the MINER νA charged current quasi-elastic (CCQE) studies. The event sample for both analyses are the CCQE-like final state topology and contain contributions from quasi-elastic and inelastic processes where pions are absorbed in the nucleus. One of the analyses is the MINER νA experiment's first double-differential scattering cross sections for antineutrinos on the hydrocarbon target in the few-GeV range relevant to experiments such as DUNE and NOvA. We compare to models produced by different model generators, and are able to draw first conclusions about the predictions of these models. Another analysis, is the CCQE-like analysis for neutrinos on the nuclear targets of carbon, iron and lead. The ratio of differential cross sections on these targets to the differential cross section on the hydrocarbon target are examined to study nuclear effects.

Consistency among distance measurements: transparency, BAO scale and accelerated expansion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avgoustidis, Anastasios; Verde, Licia; Jimenez, Raul

2009-06-01

We explore consistency among different distance measures, including Supernovae Type Ia data, measurements of the Hubble parameter, and determination of the Baryon acoustic oscillation scale. We present new constraints on the cosmic transparency combining H(z) data together with the latest Supernovae Type Ia data compilation. This combination, in the context of a flat ΛCDM model, improves current constraints by nearly an order of magnitude although the constraints presented here are parametric rather than non-parametric. We re-examine the recently reported tension between the Baryon acoustic oscillation scale and Supernovae data in light of possible deviations from transparency, concluding that the source of the discrepancy may most likely be found among systematic effects of the modelling of the low redshift data or a simple ~ 2-σ statistical fluke, rather than in exotic physics. Finally, we attempt to draw model-independent conclusions about the recent accelerated expansion, determining the acceleration redshift to be zacc = 0.35+0.20-0.13 (1-σ).

A review of clinical trials of oxytocin in Prader-Willi syndrome.

PubMed

Rice, Lauren J; Einfeld, Stewart L; Hu, Nan; Carter, C Sue

2018-03-01

PWS is a severe developmental disability for which there is no known treatment. The oxytocin system is currently a primary target for intervention. The aim of this article is to review the evidence for the efficacy of intranasal oxytocin in PWS. To date, there have been five clinical trials of oxytocin in PWS. Four of these studies reported that oxytocin improved behaviors. However, each of these studies suffered important limitations that likely influenced the findings. For example, one study did not include a control group. Another study did not statistically analyze the effects of oxytocin on behavior. The final two studies used study-specific measures for which psychometric properties have not been assessed. Because of these limitations, the most appropriate conclusion to draw from the existing studies is that there is currently no convincing evidence that intranasal oxytocin improves symptoms of PWS. However, this does not mean that oxytocin is not involved in PWS. Rather, it suggests that further work is needed to understand the nature of the PWS oxytocin abnormality.

The ethics of 'public understanding of ethics'--why and how bioethics expertise should include public and patients' voices.

PubMed

Schicktanz, Silke; Schweda, Mark; Wynne, Brian

2012-05-01

"Ethics" is used as a label for a new kind of expertise in the field of science and technology. At the same time, it is not clear what ethical expertise consists in and what its political status in modern democracies can be. Starting from the "participatory turn" in recent social research and policy, we will argue that bioethical reasoning has to include public views of and attitudes towards biomedicine. We will sketch the outlines of a bioethical conception of "public understanding of ethics," addressing three different issues: (a) the methodological relevance of moral questions and problems raised by lay persons in everyday life regarding biomedicine and technology, (b) the normative relevance of such lay moralities for the justification of ethical decisions, and (c) the necessity of public deliberation in this context. Finally, we draw conclusions in view of the concepts and methods such a conception of "public understanding of ethics" should employ.

Culture, perception, and artistic visualization: a comparative study of children's drawings in three Siberian cultural groups.

PubMed

Istomin, Kirill V; Panáková, Jaroslava; Heady, Patrick

2014-01-01

In a study of three indigenous and non-indigenous cultural groups in northwestern and northeastern Siberia, framed line tests and a landscape drawing task were used to examine the hypotheses that test-based assessments of context sensitivity and independence are correlated with the amount of contextual information contained in drawings, and with the order in which the focal and background objects are drawn. The results supported these hypotheses, and inspection of the regression relationships suggested that the intergroup variations in test performance were likely to result from differences in the attention accorded to contextual information, as revealed by the drawings. Social and environmental explanations for the group differences in context sensitivity are also discussed. The conclusions support the argument that cultural differences in artistic styles and perceptual tests reflect the same underlying perceptual tendencies, and they are consistent with the argument that these tendencies reflect corresponding differences in patterns of social and environmental interaction. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Current and anticipated uses of thermal-hydraulic codes in Spain

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

Pelayo, F.; Reventos, F.

1997-07-01

Spanish activities in the field of Applied Thermal-Hydraulics are steadily increasing as the codes are becoming practicable enough to efficiently sustain engineering decision in the Nuclear Power industry. Before reaching this point, a lot of effort has been devoted to achieve this goal. This paper briefly describes this process, points at the current applications and draws conclusions on the limitations. Finally it establishes the applications where the use of T-H codes would be worth in the future, this in turn implies further development of the codes to widen the scope of application and improve the general performance. Due to themore » different uses of the codes, the applications mainly come from the authority, industry, universities and research institutions. The main conclusion derived from this paper establishes that further code development is justified if the following requisites are considered: (1) Safety relevance of scenarios not presently covered is established. (2) A substantial gain in margins or the capability to use realistic assumptions is obtained. (3) A general consensus on the licensability and methodology for application is reached. The role of Regulatory Body is stressed, as the most relevant outcome of the project may be related to the evolution of the licensing frame.« less

48 CFR 1404.7003 - Exceptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... operational purposes that have no public interest, educational, scientific, or research value; (b) Classified... preliminary planning reports that will appear later in revised or final form; (d) Journal and magazine articles; or (e) Disclosure materials containing any description, specification, data, plan, or drawing of...

LST CGM Generator and Viewer Final Report CRADA No. TSB-1558-98

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

Vickers, Don; Larson, Don

The purpose of this project was to jointly develop and test a software plug-in that would convert native Pro /ENGINEER digital engineering drawings to Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) format. If it was not feasible to convert the Pro/ENGINEER files, we planned to develop and test a similar conversion of native AutoCAD engineering drawings to CGM. CGM viewer plug-ins were developed as needed. There were four main tasks in this project: 1. Requirements for CGM Plug-in 2. Product Evaluation 3. Product Development Feasibility Study 4. Developing a "Plug-In" Application.

Catalytic Chemistry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borer, Londa; And Others

1996-01-01

Describes an approach for making chemistry relevant to everyday life. Involves the study of kinetics using the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by vegetable juices. Allows students to design and carry out experiments and then draw conclusions from their results. (JRH)

Exploring students' conceptions of science learning via drawing: a cross-sectional analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsieh, Wen-Min; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2017-02-01

This cross-sectional study explored students' conceptions of science learning via drawing analysis. A total of 906 Taiwanese students in 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade were asked to use drawing to illustrate how they conceptualise science learning. Students' drawings were analysed using a coding checklist to determine the presence or absence of specified attributes. Data analysis showed that the majority of students pictured science learning as school-based, involving certain types of experiment or teacher lecturing. In addition, notable cross-sectional differences were found in the 'Activity' and 'Emotions and attitudes' categories in students' drawings. Three major findings were made: (1) lower grade level students conceptualised science learning with a didactic approach, while higher graders might possess a quantitative view of science learning (i.e. how much is learned, not how well it is learned), (2) students' positive and negative emotions and attitudes toward science learning reversed around middle school, and (3) female students expressed significantly more positive emotions and attitudes than their male counterparts. In conclusion, higher graders' unfruitful conceptions of science learning warrant educators' attention. Moreover, further investigation of girls' more positive emotions and attitudes found in this study is needed.

Formability analysis of aluminum alloys through deep drawing process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pranavi, U.; Janaki Ramulu, Perumalla; Chandramouli, Ch; Govardhan, Dasari; Prasad, PVS. Ram

2016-09-01

Deep drawing process is a significant metal forming process used in the sheet metal forming operations. From this process complex shapes can be manufactured with fewer defects. Deep drawing process has different effectible process parameters from which an optimum level of parameters should be identified so that an efficient final product with required mechanical properties will be obtained. The present work is to evaluate the formability of Aluminum alloy sheets using deep drawing process. In which effects of punch radius, lubricating conditions, die radius, and blank holding forces on deep drawing process observed for AA 6061 aluminum alloy sheet of 2 mm thickness. The numerical simulations are performed for deep drawing of square cups using three levels of aforesaid parameters like lubricating conditions and blank holding forces and two levels of punch radii and die radii. For numerical simulation a commercial FEM code is used in which Hollomon's power law and Hill's 1948 yield criterions are implemented. The deep drawing setup used in the FEM code is modeled using a CAD tool by considering the modeling requirements from the literature. Two different strain paths (150x150mm and 200x200mm) are simulated. Punch forces, thickness distributions and dome heights are evaluated for all the conditions. In addition failure initiation and propagation is also observed. From the results, by increasing the coefficient of friction and blank holding force, punch force, thickness distribution and dome height variations are observed. The comparison has done and the optimistic parameters were suggested from the results. From this work one can predict the formability for different strain paths without experimentation.

Enhancing observation by drawing: Alveolinids models by Manfred Reichel (1896-1984)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leria, Maria

2017-04-01

Graphic representation is a fundamental tool in morphological studies, as paleontology. A paradigmatic example is the alveolinid drawings of Prof. Manfred Reichel (1896-1984). Thanks to these drawings his research on foraminifera, had an important impact on micropaleontology. Manfred Reichel studied Fine Arts, but later he began a scientific career on biological sciences and becoming a professor in micropaleontology, at the Geological and Paleontological Institute of the University of Basel, Switzerland. His background in art had a benefit in his scientific production, especially with the extremely complex foraminiferal structures. By means of illustrations, inspired by the French naturalists, he was able to solve the most complex internal architecture of forams. His drawings display foraminifera's internal 3D structure in such a comprehensible way that has not been improved using modern techniques. His work has been used by different generations of paleontologist to understand the internal architecture of forams and are still used today. The aim of this study is to analyze the process that Reichel followed to create some of his most representative drawings. This study is based on the examination of a selection of Reichel's drawings (n>40) held at the Natural History Museum in Basel. In addition, his family and students have been interviewed supplying useful information to understand how he applied his artistic skills to teach and research. This study illustrates the steps followed by Reichel in the creation of a drawing of alveolinid. The process represents the transformation of the morphological data from 2D images (polished rock sections) into a comprehensible 3D image. A description of the process of observation, comparison, sketches and studies, concluding with the final three-dimensional drawing is shown. The results show that that the classical convention in drawing is still and irreplaceable tool in natural sciences, because it allows to define aspects that cannot be equally appreciated shown by other means (text or photography). Drawing it can also be a scientific analytical tool with an artistic identity, we present an example where rigor is intrinsically linked to a high sensibility, and a deep knowledge of drawing that brings as a result a beautiful piece of art.

To draw or not to draw? Examining the necessity of problem diagrams using massive open online course experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhongzhou; Demirci, Neset; Choi, Youn-Jeng; Pritchard, David E.

2017-06-01

Previous research on problem diagrams suggested that including a supportive diagram, one that does not provide necessary problem solving information, may bring little, or even negative, benefit to students' problem solving success. We tested the usefulness of problem diagrams on 12 different physics problems (6A/B experiments) in our massive open online course. By analyzing over 8000 student responses in total, we found that including a problem diagram that contains no significant additional information only slightly improves the first attempt correct rate for the few most spatially complex problems, and has little impact on either the final correct percentage or the time spent on solving the problem. On the other hand, in half of the cases, removing the diagram significantly increased the fraction of students' drawing their own diagrams during problem solving. The increase in drawing behavior is largely independent of students' physics abilities. In summary, our results suggest that for many physics problems, the benefit of a diagram is exceedingly small and may not justify the effort of creating one.

Introduction: Principles of quantum gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crowther, Karen; Rickles, Dean

2014-05-01

In this introduction, we describe the rationale behind this special issue on Principles of Quantum Gravity. We explain what we mean by 'principles' and relate this to the various contributions. Finally, we draw out some general themes that can be found running throughout these contributions.

State arterial highway system peer city study : Task Assignment #C-04-03 : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-08-01

Addressing state highways within urban areas is a challenge for New York State, New York City and Buffalo. Drawing upon experiences from around the United States, this report explores how specific issue areas maintenance responsibilities, plannin...

Research and develop locking design for NJDOT junction boxes : final report, April 2009.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-01

The report outlines the guidelines for securing electrical junction box covers to the junction box to prevent vandalism. The report provides details drawings that show various methods for securing the junction box cover to the junction box.

Francesco's last divertissement: The Little Prince's Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tozzi, P.

The last accomplishment of Francesco in public outreach, was a book devoted to children, based on the character of the Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Francesco completed the text, and Sylvie made the drawings. The book is now finally printed.

77 FR 27066 - Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-08

... by Nimer and Lundahl (2007) in finding multiple studies with poor research designs and other methodological problems that made it hard for those authors to draw firm conclusions. Even where studies focused...

A universal test for gravitational decoherence

PubMed Central

Pfister, C.; Kaniewski, J.; Tomamichel, M.; Mantri, A.; Schmucker, R.; McMahon, N.; Milburn, G.; Wehner, S.

2016-01-01

Quantum mechanics and the theory of gravity are presently not compatible. A particular question is whether gravity causes decoherence. Several models for gravitational decoherence have been proposed, not all of which can be described quantum mechanically. Since quantum mechanics may need to be modified, one may question the use of quantum mechanics as a calculational tool to draw conclusions from the data of experiments concerning gravity. Here we propose a general method to estimate gravitational decoherence in an experiment that allows us to draw conclusions in any physical theory where the no-signalling principle holds, even if quantum mechanics needs to be modified. As an example, we propose a concrete experiment using optomechanics. Our work raises the interesting question whether other properties of nature could similarly be established from experimental observations alone—that is, without already having a rather well-formed theory of nature to make sense of experimental data. PMID:27694976

Theories of Power, Poverty, and Law: In Commemoration of the Contributions of Peter Bachrach--Power, Law, and Final Thoughts: The Contributions of Peter Bachrach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Elizabeth M.

2010-01-01

I am pleased to be part of this symposium to celebrate the life and work of Peter Bachrach. Although my focus is the relevance of Peter's ideas of power to law, I want to begin with some personal comments as well as raise some final thoughts, drawing on others' contributions. Like so many of Peter's other students, I adored him. Peter's joy in…

Effects of hypnosis and level of processing on repeated recall of line drawings.

PubMed

McKelvie, S J; Pullara, M

1988-07-01

Moderately susceptible subjects (N = 30) initially judged 30 line drawings of objects for pleasantness (deep processing) and 30 line drawings for visual complexity (shallow processing), after which they were given two immediate recall tests. Following a 48-hr delay, subjects were allocated randomly to hypnosis, simulation, or neutral control conditions and were tested four more times. Subjects produced more correct and incorrect responses over the six trials and gave a higher number of correct responses for deep items than for shallow items. Over the last four trials, hypnosis had no general facilitative effect relative to the other two treatments, but the effect of depth was strongest for hypnotized subjects, who recalled more deep items than did the controls. Finally, both hypnotized and simulating subjects rated their recall as more involuntary and their experimental treatment as more helpful than did the controls. Caution is urged in the forensic use of hypnosis as a retrieval device.

Applied photo interpretation for airbrush cartography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Inge, J. L.; Bridges, P. M.

1976-01-01

Lunar and planetary exploration has required the development of new techniques of cartographic portrayal. Conventional photo-interpretive methods employing size, shape, shadow, tone, pattern, and texture are applied to computer-processed satellite television images. Comparative judgements are affected by illumination, resolution, variations in surface coloration, and transmission or processing artifacts. The portrayal of tonal densities in a relief illustration is performed using a unique airbrush technique derived from hill-shading of contour maps. The control of tone and line quality is essential because the mid-gray to dark tone densities must be finalized prior to the addition of highlights to the drawing. This is done with an electric eraser until the drawing is completed. The drawing density is controlled with a reflectance-reading densitometer to meet certain density guidelines. The versatility of planetary photo-interpretive methods for airbrushed map portrayals is demonstrated by the application of these techniques to the synthesis of nonrelief data.

Analyzing prospective teachers' images of scientists using positive, negative and stereotypical images of scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subramaniam, Karthigeyan; Esprívalo Harrell, Pamela; Wojnowski, David

2013-04-01

Background and purpose : This study details the use of a conceptual framework to analyze prospective teachers' images of scientists to reveal their context-specific conceptions of scientists. The conceptual framework consists of context-specific conceptions related to positive, stereotypical and negative images of scientists as detailed in the literature on the images, role and work of scientists. Sample, design and method : One hundred and ninety-six drawings of scientists, generated by prospective teachers, were analyzed using the Draw-A-Scientist-Test Checklist (DAST-C), a binary linear regression and the conceptual framework. Results : The results of the binary linear regression analysis revealed a statistically significant difference for two DAST-C elements: ethnicity differences with regard to drawing a scientist who was Caucasian and gender differences for indications of danger. Analysis using the conceptual framework helped to categorize the same drawings into positive, stereotypical, negative and composite images of a scientist. Conclusions : The conceptual framework revealed that drawings were focused on the physical appearance of the scientist, and to a lesser extent on the equipment, location and science-related practices that provided the context of a scientist's role and work. Implications for teacher educators include the need to understand that there is a need to provide tools, like the conceptual framework used in this study, to help prospective teachers to confront and engage with their multidimensional perspectives of scientists in light of the current trends on perceiving and valuing scientists. In addition, teacher educators need to use the conceptual framework, which yields qualitative perspectives about drawings, together with the DAST-C, which yields quantitative measure for drawings, to help prospective teachers to gain a holistic outlook on their drawings of scientists.

Causal interpretation of correlational studies - Analysis of medical news on the website of the official journal for German physicians.

PubMed

Buhse, Susanne; Rahn, Anne Christin; Bock, Merle; Mühlhauser, Ingrid

2018-01-01

Media frequently draws inappropriate causal statements from observational studies. We analyzed the reporting of study results in the Medical News section of the German medical journal Deutsches Ärzteblatt (DÄ). Study design: Retrospective quantitative content analysis of randomly selected news reports and related original journal articles and press releases. A medical news report was selected if headlines comprised at least two linked variables. Two raters independently categorized the headline and text of each news report, conclusions of the abstract and full text of the related journal article, and the press release. The assessment instrument comprised five categories from 'neutral' to 'unconditionally causal'. Outcome measures: degree of matching between 1) news headlines and conclusions of the journal article, 2) headlines and text of news reports, 3) text and conclusions, and 4) headlines and press releases. We analyzed whether news headlines rated as unconditionally causal based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). One-thousand eighty-seven medical news reports were published between April 2015 and May 2016. The final random sample comprised 176 news reports and 100 related press releases. Degree of matching: 1) 45% (79/176) for news headlines and journal article conclusions, 2) 55% (97/176) for headlines and text, 3) 53% (93/176) for text and conclusions, and 4) 41% (41/100) for headlines and press releases. Exaggerations were found in 45% (80/176) of the headlines compared to the conclusions of the related journal article. Sixty-five of 137 unconditionally causal statements of the news headlines were phrased more weakly in the subsequent news text body. Only 52 of 137 headlines (38%) categorized as unconditionally causal reported RCTs. Reporting of medical news in the DÄ medical journal is misleading. Most headlines that imply causal associations were not based on RCTs. Medical journalists should follow standards of reporting scientific study results.

Measurement of bridge deck layout prior to concrete placement : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-01-01

The main objective of this research was to develop a method of measuring and : producing as built bridge drawings. This was the first step in the feasibility : assessment for automated bridge deck paving. The research goes to show the : standard meth...

Inference as Prediction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Jane

2007-01-01

Inference, or decision making, is seen in curriculum documents as the final step in a statistical investigation. For a formal statistical enquiry this may be associated with sophisticated tests involving probability distributions. For young students without the mathematical background to perform such tests, it is still possible to draw informal…

Enacting Post-Reflexive Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vagle, Mark D.; Monette, Rachel; Thiel, Jaye Johnson; Wester-Neal, Katie

2017-01-01

The purpose of this article is to re-conceptualize Schön's call for a phenomenology of practice--moving away from reflection and towards "post-reflexion"--by explicitly drawing on philosophical and methodological tenets of phenomenology, specifically some of Vagle's theorizing of a "post-intentional phenomenology." Finally, we…

Picassoesque Portraits.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basso, Robert

1998-01-01

Presents a lesson plan that enabled students to create their own portraits in the style of Pablo Picasso; students utilized their initial collages/drawings, enlarging them with an overhead projector, to paint their final products using oil pastels. Indicates the students also learned about the different "periods" of Picasso's artistic…

Newman Unit 1 advanced solar repowering. Final report

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

None

1982-04-01

The five appendices give the selection process and system specification of the Newman Unit 1 solar repowering system, including the conceptual design drawings and diagrams; input data for the simulation program; and a review of the most important characteristics of the existing plant. (LEW)

Flying High with Spring.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrington, Carolyn Lang

2000-01-01

Presents an art activity for first grade that uses multicolor scratch paper. Explains that students make scratch-drawings of bird nests, then, as a class, discuss types of birds and bird positions (such as sitting or flying), and finally each creates a bird to add to the nest. (CMK)

On Blowing Trumpets to the Tulips: To Prove or Not to Prove the Null Hypothesis--Comment on Bosch, Steinkamp, and Boller (2006)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, David B.; Shadish, William R.

2006-01-01

The H. Bosch, F. Steinkamp, and E. Boller (see record 2006-08436-001) meta-analysis reaches mixed and cautious conclusions about the possibility of psychokinesis. The authors argue that, for both methodological and philosophical reasons, it is nearly impossible to draw any conclusions from this body of research. The authors do not agree that any…

If We Don’t, Who Will? The Employment of the United States Army to Combat Potential Pandemic Outbreaks in West Africa

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-12

27 viii Threats to Validity and Biases ...draw conclusions and make recommendations for future research. Threats to Validity and Biases There are a several issues that pose a threat to...validity and bias to the research. Threats to validity affect the accuracy of the research and soundness of the conclusion. Threats to external validity

Application of a nanofibrous composite membrane to the fertilizer-driven forward osmosis process for irrigation water use.

PubMed

An, Hee-Kyung; Lee, Chang-Gu; Park, Seong-Jik

2017-11-01

In this study, we fabricated a nanofibrous composite (NFC) membrane as a substrate to produce forward osmosis (FO) membranes, and we also assessed the use of liquid fertilizer as a draw solution for the FO process in order to produce agricultural irrigation water. Commercial cellulose triacetate (CTA) and thin-film composite (TFC) FO membranes were included in this study. Under FO tests, the NFC, CTA, and TFC membranes achieved initial osmotic water flux values of 35.31, 6.85, and 3.31 L/m 2 ·h and final osmotic water flux values of 12.62, 6.31, and 3.85 L/m 2  h, respectively. The reason for the high osmotic water flux of the NFC membrane is because its nanofiber layer has low tortuosity, high porosity, and a low thickness, resulting in a reduction in the internal concentration polarization phenomenon. When liquid fertilizer was used as the draw solution, the water flux values in the FO experiments for the NFC, CTA, and TFC membranes were 15.54, 5.46, and 2.54 L/m 2  h. Finally, our results revealed that the FO process using liquid fertilizer as a draw solution can be applied to produce agricultural irrigation water from brackish water and the newly fabricated NFC membrane can be applied to the FO process.

Ex-Huming an Old Issue.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Robert T.; Jackson, Lee A.

1992-01-01

Reviews research on inductive reasoning errors, including seeing patterns or relationships where none exist, neglecting statistical regression, overgeneralizing unrepresentative data, and drawing conclusions based on incomplete decision matrices. Considers "false consensus effect," through which associations with like-minded people lead one to…

Preschool Age Populations Research Needs - NCS Dietary Assessment Literature Review

Cancer.gov

Drawing conclusions from the validation studies on preschool populations discussed in this chapter is difficult because of the varied study designs, the relatively small study populations, and limited number of studies on each dietary assessment method.

Older adults’ attitudes toward noncompetent subjects participating in Alzheimers research

PubMed Central

Karlawish, Jason; Rubright, Jonathan; Casarett, David; Cary, Mark; TenHave, Thomas; Sankar, Pamela

2008-01-01

Objective Since research that enrolls noncompetent patients with Alzheimers disease and does not present potential benefit to subjects is the source of substantial ethical controversy, we assessed willingness to have a proxy for research decision making, and, for each of two Alzheimers disease biomarker studies (minimal risk blood draw and a greater than minimal risk blood draw and lumbar puncture), willingness to grant an advance consent, and willingness to grant a proxy leeway over advance consent. Methods Face to face survey of 538 persons 65 and over who resided in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region Results The majority 83% (445/538) granted advance consent to a blood draw study and nearly half to a blood draw plus lumbar puncture 259 (48%). Most persons (96%) were willing to identify a proxy for research decision making and most were willing to grant their proxy leeway over their advance consent: blood draw 434 (81%), and 375 (70%) blood draw plus lumbar puncture. Combining the preferences for advance consent and leeway, the proportion who would permit being enrolled in the blood draw and spinal fluid sample studies were, respectively, 92% (497/538) and 75% (404/538). Multi-variate models showed that willingness to be enrolled in research was most strongly associated with a favorable attitude about biomedical research. Conclusions Older adults generally support enrolling noncompetent persons with Alzheimers disease into research that does not present a benefit to subjects. Willingness to grant their proxy leeway over advance consent and a favorable attitude about biomedical research substantially explain this willingness. PMID:18923066

Optimized Gen-II FeCrAl cladding production in large quantity for campaign testing

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

Yamamoto, Yukinori; Sun, Zhiqian; Pint, Bruce A.

2016-06-03

There are two major objectives in this report; (1) to optimize microstructure control of ATF FeCrAl alloys during tube drawing processes, and (2) to provide an update on the progress of ATF FeCrAl tube production via commercial manufacturers. Experimental efforts have been made to optimize the process parameters balancing the tube fabricability, especially for tube drawing processes, and microstructure control of the final tube products. Lab-scale sheet materials of Gen II FeCrAl alloys (Mo-containing and Nb-containing FeCrAl alloys) were used in the study, combined with a stepwise warm-rolling process and intermediate annealing, aiming to simulate the tube drawing process inmore » a commercial tube manufacturer. The intermediate annealing at 650ºC for 1h was suggested for the tube-drawing process of Mo-containing FeCrAl alloys because it successfully softened the material by recovering the work hardening introduced through the rolling step, without inducing grain coarsening due to recrystallization. The final tube product is expected to have stabilized deformed microstructure providing the improved tensile properties with sufficient ductility. Optimization efforts on Nb-containing FeCrAl alloys focused on the effect of alloying additions and annealing conditions on the stability of deformed microstructure. Relationships between the second-phase precipitates (Fe 2Nb-Laves phase) and microstructure stability are discussed. FeCrAl tube production through commercial tube manufacturers is currently in progress. Three different manufacturers, Century Tubes, Inc. (CTI), Rhenium Alloys, Inc. (RAI), and Superior Tube Company, Inc. (STC), are providing capabilities for cold-drawing, warm-drawing, and HPTR cold-pilgering, respectively. The first two companies are currently working on large quantity tube production (expected 250 ft length) of Gen I model FeCrAl alloy (B136Y3, at CTI) and Gen II (C35M4, at RAI), with the process parameters obtained from the experimental efforts. The expected delivery dates are at the end of July, 2016, and the middle of June, 2016, respectively. Tube production at STC would be the first attempt to apply cold-pilgering to the FeCrAl alloys. Communication has been initiated, and the materials have been machined for the cold-pilgering process.« less

Sentiment of Emojis

PubMed Central

Kralj Novak, Petra; Smailović, Jasmina; Sluban, Borut; Mozetič, Igor

2015-01-01

There is a new generation of emoticons, called emojis, that is increasingly being used in mobile communications and social media. In the past two years, over ten billion emojis were used on Twitter. Emojis are Unicode graphic symbols, used as a shorthand to express concepts and ideas. In contrast to the small number of well-known emoticons that carry clear emotional contents, there are hundreds of emojis. But what are their emotional contents? We provide the first emoji sentiment lexicon, called the Emoji Sentiment Ranking, and draw a sentiment map of the 751 most frequently used emojis. The sentiment of the emojis is computed from the sentiment of the tweets in which they occur. We engaged 83 human annotators to label over 1.6 million tweets in 13 European languages by the sentiment polarity (negative, neutral, or positive). About 4% of the annotated tweets contain emojis. The sentiment analysis of the emojis allows us to draw several interesting conclusions. It turns out that most of the emojis are positive, especially the most popular ones. The sentiment distribution of the tweets with and without emojis is significantly different. The inter-annotator agreement on the tweets with emojis is higher. Emojis tend to occur at the end of the tweets, and their sentiment polarity increases with the distance. We observe no significant differences in the emoji rankings between the 13 languages and the Emoji Sentiment Ranking. Consequently, we propose our Emoji Sentiment Ranking as a European language-independent resource for automated sentiment analysis. Finally, the paper provides a formalization of sentiment and a novel visualization in the form of a sentiment bar. PMID:26641093

Articulation Workshop in Drafting. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catonsville Community Coll., MD.

Drafting students from vocational/technical and high schools frequently repeat the same experiences and courses and work with the same instructional materials when they enroll in college engineering drawing, and architecture programs. In order to minimize needless repetition and address the problem of articulation between such schools and the…

Solar heater/cooler for mass market

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

Electrical energy consumption is reduced by half for 2 1/2 story office building. 138 liquid flat plate solar collectors are mounted on building roof, which faces nearly due south. Final project report includes detailed drawings and photographs, operation and maintenance manual, acceptance test plan, and related information.

The effect of abdominal drawing-in exercise and myofascial release on pain, flexibility, and balance of elderly females.

PubMed

Yu, Seong Hun; Sim, Yong Hyeon; Kim, Myung Hoon; Bang, Ju Hee; Son, Kyung Hyun; Kim, Jae Woong; Kim, Hyun Jin

2016-10-01

[Purpose] This study is designed to compare the effects of abdominal drawing-in exercise and myofascial release on pain, flexibility, and balance of elderly females. [Subjects and Methods] Forty elderly females aged 65 or older who had complained of low back pain for three months or longer were selected as the subjects. They were randomly and equally assigned to either an abdominal drawing-in group or a myofascial release group. The subjects conducted exercise three times per week, 40 minutes each time, for eight weeks. As evaluation tools, visual analogue scale for pain, remodified schober test for flexibility, and upright posture with eye opening on hard platform, upright posture with eye closing on hard platform, upright posture with eye opening on soft platform, upright posture with eye closing on soft platform using tetrax for balance were used. [Results] The abdominal drawing-in exercise group saw significant difference in pain and balance after the exercise compared to before the exercise. The myofascial release group saw significant difference in pain and flexibility after exercise compared to before the exercise. [Conclusion] The above study showed that abdominal drawing-in exercise affected elderly females regarding pain and balance and myofascial release influenced their pain and flexibility.

Improved Necker Cube Drawing-Based Assessment Battery for Constructional Apraxia: The Mie Constructional Apraxia Scale (MCAS)

PubMed Central

Satoh, Masayuki; Mori, Chika; Matsuda, Kana; Ueda, Yukito; Tabei, Ken-ichi; Kida, Hirotaka; Tomimoto, Hidekazu

2016-01-01

Background/Aims Constructional apraxia (CA) is usually diagnosed by having patients draw figures; however, the reported assessments only evaluate the drawn figure. We designed a new assessment battery for CA (the Mie Constructional Apraxia Scale, MCAS) which includes both the shape and drawing process, and investigated its utility against other assessment methods. Methods We designed the MCAS, and evaluated inter- and intrarater reliability. We also investigated the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values in dementia patients, and compared MCAS assessment with other reported batteries in the same subjects. Results Moderate interrater reliability was shown for speech therapists with limited experience. Moderate to substantial intrarater reliability was shown several weeks after initial assessment. When cutoff scores and times were set at 2/3 points and 39/40 s, sensitivity and specificity were 77.1 and 70.4%, respectively, with positive and negative predictive values of 80.0 and 66.7%, respectively. Dementia patients had significantly worse scores and times for Necker cube drawing than an elderly control group on the MCAS, and on other assessments. Conclusions We conclude that the MCAS, which includes both the assessment of the drawn Necker cube shape and the drawing process, is useful for detecting even mild CA. PMID:27790241

Leonardo da Vinci and Andreas Vesalius; the shoulder girdle and the spine, a comparison.

PubMed

Ganseman, Y; Broos, P

2008-01-01

Leonardo Da Vinci and Andreas Vesalius were two important renaissance persons; Vesalius was a surgeon-anatomist who delivered innovative work on the study of the human body, Leonardo da Vinci was an artist who delivered strikingly accurate and beautiful drawings on the human body. Below we compare both masters with regard to their knowledge of the working of the muscles, their method and system of dissection and their system and presentation of the drawings. The investigation consisted of a comparison between both anatomists, in particular concerning their study on the shoulder girdle and spine, by reviewing their original work as well as already existing literature on this subject. The investigation led to the conclusion that the drawings mentioned meant a change in history, and were of high quality, centuries ahead of their time. Both were anatomists, both were revolutionary, only one changed history at the moment itself, while the other changed history centuries later. Leonardo has made beautiful drawings that are at a match with the drawings of today or are even better. Vesalius set the start for medicine as a science as it is until this day. Their lives differed as strongly as their impact. In the light of their time, the achievement they made was extraordinary.

Chemical Data Reporting Fact Sheet: Chemicals Snapshot

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet provides a brief overview of the chemical manufacturing, processing, and use information collected for the 2012 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. Users do not have access to the complete CDR data set and should draw conclusions with care.

USE OF SCALE INVARIANCE IN EVALUATING JUDGEMENT INDICATORS

EPA Science Inventory

Indicators are used to draw conclusions about ecological endpoints when these endpoints cannot be measured directly. In many cases, inference about an endpoint are only possible because assumptions have been made about the relationship between indicator and endpoint; we refer to ...

Skepticism and Denial: Drawing a line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byrne, J. M.; Brown, M. B.; Peacock, K.

2016-12-01

Climate denialism is distinct from a merely skeptical attitude towards generally accepted views in climate science. But drawing the line between them takes care—there are similarities between skepticism and denial, including a shared reluctance to accept conclusions that nearly all qualified scientists take to be well-justified. Here we will explore both how to draw the line, and how to effectively communicate the differences between denial and skepticism. Identifying which of these two terms best describes someone's attitude turns on whether they reject a generally accepted view based on a `high threshold' for acceptance of conclusions in general, or from a preference that the conclusion in question be false. In most cases, denialism manifests in disregard and mistreatment of evidence, including selective quotation, credulous endorsement of bad sources and incredulous rejection of good sources. Historically, current accepted views became dominant as alternatives were excluded and arguments supporting current views accumulated. The accumulated record of evidence and successful application of those views sets a high bar for proposed alternatives to them. Pure skeptics may refuse to endorse generally accepted views without rejecting or distorting the strong evidence for those views, and typically support policy responses based on the implications of that evidence. But deniers who reject scientific conclusions reject the evidence for those views while endorsing views that a true skeptic would regard as less plausible and well-supported than the accepted views. Thus motivated cognition is the key to defining denial. Pascal's famous argument for belief in God illustrates the problem: even assuming God's existence to be extremely improbable, the expected value of believing is far higher than the expected value of disbelieving. But Pascal's argument undermines its own methodology: without reasons to rely on beliefs as reliable guides to successful action, cost-benefit calculations cannot be justified at all. The contribution of this work to the proposed course will aim to ensure students learn how the basic principles needed to understand anthropogenic warming emerged, and why those principles are solidly grounded.

Diabetes in pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and proposed codification of definitions.

PubMed

Feig, Denice S; Corcoy, Rosa; Jensen, Dorte Moller; Kautzky-Willer, Alexandra; Nolan, Christopher J; Oats, Jeremy J N; Sacks, David A; Caimari, Francisca; McIntyre, H David

2015-10-01

Rising rates of diabetes in pregnancy have led to an escalation in research in this area. As in any area of clinical research, definitions of outcomes vary from study to study, making it difficult to compare research findings and draw conclusions. Our aim was to compile and create a repository of definitions, which could then be used universally. A systematic review of the literature was performed on published and ongoing randomized controlled trials in the area of diabetes in pregnancy between 01 Jan 2000 and 01 Jun 2012. Other sources included the World Health Organization and Academic Society Statements. The advice of experts was sought when appropriate definitions were lacking. Among the published randomized controlled trials on diabetes and pregnancy, 171 abstracts were retrieved, 64 full texts were reviewed and 53 were included. Among the ongoing randomized controlled trials published in ClinicalTrials.gov, 90 protocols were retrieved and 25 were finally included. The definitions from these were assembled and the final maternal definitions and foetal definitions were agreed upon by consensus. It is our hope that the definitions we have provided (i) will be widely used in the reporting of future studies in the area of diabetes in pregnancy, that they will (ii) facilitate future systematic reviews and formal meta analyses and (iii) ultimately improve outcomes for mothers and babies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Parent-Child Play across Cultures: Advancing Play Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roopnarine, Jaipaul L.; Davidson, Kimberly L.

2015-01-01

In this article, the authors argue for a greater understanding of children's play across cultures through better integration of scientific thinking about the developed and developing societies, through consideration of socialization beliefs and goals, and, finally, through the use of more complex models in research investigations. They draw on…

40 CFR 35.2040 - Grant application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...: (a) Step 2+3: Combined design and building of a treatment works and building related services and... limitations on award (§§ 35.2100 through 35.2127); (5) Final design drawings and specifications; (6) The..., a preliminary layout of the distribution and drainage systems, and an explanation of the intended...

40 CFR 35.2040 - Grant application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...: (a) Step 2+3: Combined design and building of a treatment works and building related services and... limitations on award (§§ 35.2100 through 35.2127); (5) Final design drawings and specifications; (6) The..., a preliminary layout of the distribution and drainage systems, and an explanation of the intended...

40 CFR 35.2040 - Grant application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...: (a) Step 2+3: Combined design and building of a treatment works and building related services and... limitations on award (§§ 35.2100 through 35.2127); (5) Final design drawings and specifications; (6) The..., a preliminary layout of the distribution and drainage systems, and an explanation of the intended...

40 CFR 35.2040 - Grant application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...: (a) Step 2+3: Combined design and building of a treatment works and building related services and... limitations on award (§§ 35.2100 through 35.2127); (5) Final design drawings and specifications; (6) The..., a preliminary layout of the distribution and drainage systems, and an explanation of the intended...

40 CFR 35.2040 - Grant application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...: (a) Step 2+3: Combined design and building of a treatment works and building related services and... limitations on award (§§ 35.2100 through 35.2127); (5) Final design drawings and specifications; (6) The..., a preliminary layout of the distribution and drainage systems, and an explanation of the intended...

Bringing Culture in: Community Responses to Apology, Reconciliation, and Reparations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Bruce Granville

2006-01-01

In this paper, the author describes historic Coast Salish ritual practices and the concepts regarding wrongdoing and redemption that underlie them. He draws out the implications, particularly the associated dangers, derived from these existing rituals for ritual work conducted by outsiders engaging Coast Salish peoples. Finally, he considers the…

Development of Facilities for an Ocean Engineering Laboratory. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nash, W. A.; And Others

A collection of seven laboratory facilities and processes dedicated to improving student understanding of the fundamental concepts associated with the structural mechanics of oceanic structures is described. Complete working drawings covering all mechanical and electrical aspects of these systems are presented so that the systems may be reproduced…

Bridging Knowledge: A Collective Undergraduate Thesis Development Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holdsworth, Jason K.; Arun, Özgür

2017-01-01

While there are various approaches to gerontological and geriatrics (and social sciences) education globally, a component commonly included in undergraduate education is a final thesis project. In Turkey, the Department of Gerontology at Akdeniz University has undertaken a unique approach to thesis development that values and draws on accessing…

The Development of Validated Museum Exhibits. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicol, Elizabeth H.

Exhibit development, as conceived in this report, is an evolutionary process, drawing the museum visitor into the collaborative venture of testing and improving the exhibits. The findings of contemporary learning research were put to work in the arrangement of activities and specimens that engaged children through self-instructional sequences. The…

Graphing with "LogoWriter."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoder, Sharon K.

This book discusses four kinds of graphs that are taught in mathematics at the middle school level: pictographs, bar graphs, line graphs, and circle graphs. The chapters on each of these types of graphs contain information such as starting, scaling, drawing, labeling, and finishing the graphs using "LogoWriter." The final chapter of the…

Beyond Cultural Relativism: An Ecological Model for Rhetorical Ethics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mackin, Jim

A model intended to overcome the cultural relativism of determining what is an ethical act draws an analogy to environmental studies. Beginning with the concepts of "telos" (final purpose) and "archai" (priority), the notion of an ecosystem of ethics avoids limitation to a particular historical definition of good. Since the…

Project fires. Volume 2: Protective ensemble performance standards, phase 1B

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abeles, F. J.

1980-05-01

The design of the prototype protective ensemble was finalized. Prototype ensembles were fabricated and then subjected to a series of qualification tests which were based upon the protective ensemble performance standards PEPS requirements. Engineering drawings and purchase specifications were prepared for the new protective ensemble.

Data management and language enhancement for generalized set theory computer language for operation of large relational databases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Finley, Gail T.

1988-01-01

This report covers the study of the relational database implementation in the NASCAD computer program system. The existing system is used primarily for computer aided design. Attention is also directed to a hidden-surface algorithm for final drawing output.

Effect of pretreatment and membrane orientation on fluxes for concentration of whey with high foulants by using NH3/CO2 in forward osmosis.

PubMed

Seker, M; Buyuksari, E; Topcu, S; Babaoglu, D S; Celebi, D; Keskinler, B; Aydiner, C

2017-11-01

Usage of forward osmosis membrane in FO mode, in which active and support layers of the membrane were in contact with the feed and the draw solutions respectively, provided higher initial water flux (12L/m 2 h) than the usage of membrane in PRO mode (6L/m 2 h) having opposite orientation but fluxes approached to each other after 4h during concentration of whey with NH 3 /CO 2 as draw salt. High organic and inorganic foulants of whey was considered as reason for observed result in addition to lower solute resistivity. Initial water flux (8,5L/m 2 h) was lower when pre-treatment was applied before forward osmosis process but final flux (4L/m 2 h) was equal flux of non pre-treatment. Reduction of solute resistivity or absence of hydraulic pressure can be reasons for lower initial flux. Detection of organic carbon but absence of lactose in draw solution showed passage of molecules being different than lactose into draw solution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fabrication and mechanical behavior of dye-doped polymer optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Changhong; Kuzyk, Mark G.; Ding, Jow-Lian; Johns, William E.; Welker, David J.

2002-07-01

The purpose of this article is to study the materials physics behind dye-doped polymethyl metharcylate (PMMA) that is important for the optical fiber drawing process. We report effects of the fabrication process on the mechanical properties of the final fiber. The qualitative degree of polymer chain alignment is found to increase with the drawing force, which in turn decreases with the drawing temperature and increases with the drawing ratio. The chain alignment relaxes when the fibers are annealed at 95 degC with a commensurate decrease in fiber length and increase in diameter. The annealed fiber has higher ductility but lower strength than the unannealed fiber. Both the yield and tensile strengths are dependent on the strain rate. The relationship between tensile strength, sigmab, and fiber diameter, d, is found empirically to be sigmab[is proportional to]d-0.5. The yield strength appears to be less sensitive to the fiber diameter than the tensile strength. For PMMA doped with disperse red 1 azo dye, the yield strength, tensile strength, and Young's modulus peak at a dye concentration of 0.0094 wt %. These results are useful for designing polymer optical fibers with well-defined mechanical properties.

An investigation of school violence through Turkish children's drawings.

PubMed

Yurtal, Filiz; Artut, Kazim

2010-01-01

This study investigates Turkish children's perception of violence in school as represented through drawings and narratives. In all, 66 students (12 to 13 years old) from the middle socioeconomic class participated. To elicit children's perception of violence, they were asked to draw a picture of a violent incident they had heard, experienced, or witnessed. Children mostly drew pictures of violent events among children (33 pictures). Also, there were pictures of violent incidents perpetrated by teachers and directors against children. It was observed that violence influenced children. Violence was mostly depicted in school gardens (38 pictures), but there were violent incidents everywhere, such as in classrooms, corridors, and school stores as well. Moreover, it was found that brute force was the most referred way of violence in the children's depictions (38 pictures). In conclusion, children clearly indicated that there was violence in schools and they were affected by it.

Alfred Russel Wallace's world of final causes.

PubMed

Smith, Charles H

2013-12-01

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) is an important figure in the history of science, but there remain many questions about the nature of his world view, and how it developed. Here, Wallace's appreciation of the role of final causes in evolution is linked to some of its probable origins, with an emphasis on the influence of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). The question is then asked whether a final causes-based scientific agenda might be possible, and answered by drawing attention to two current efforts in that direction by Adrian Bejan, and by the author. A sketch of the latter approach, adapted from Spinozian thinking, is given, with an empirical example involving drainage basin morphology that suggests structural influences of a final causes sort.

Math and the Mona Lisa

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

Atalay, Bulent

2004-05-03

Bulent Atalay discusses content from his book entitled "Math and the Mona Lisa" which covers Leonardo Da Vinci and how he combined his love of science, math, and art to draw dramatic conclusions about the natural world. He also describes how mathematics influences art and architecture.

Macro Learning on a Micro Scale. Link Biology and Chemistry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falk, Peter M.

1990-01-01

Described are several laboratory investigations that may be used to introduce biochemistry. Topics covered include carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and metabolism. Reactions, stock solution formulas, and procedures are listed. Emphasized are individualizing work, designing alternative investigations, solving problems, and drawing conclusions. (KR)

The CTD Science Practical Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bathory, Zoltan

1985-01-01

As part of Hungary's Curriculum Theory Department (CTD-80) assessment, 1,543 14-year-olds were tested in the performance of science experiments in physics and chemistry. Skills included observing, measuring, hypothesizing, and drawing conclusions. Results are presented, and implications for curriculum are suggested. (GDC)

Attitudes towards Refugee Education and Its Link to Xenophobia in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, James Adam, III

2017-01-01

This paper attempts to deconstruct the resistance among a majority of Americans to admit Syrian refugees. Using a survey of secondary and post-secondary students and faculty in New Mexico, I attempt to draw conclusions regarding this resistance.

Emotional Expression in Simple Line Drawings of a Robot's Face Leads to Higher Offers in the Ultimatum Game.

PubMed

Terada, Kazunori; Takeuchi, Chikara

2017-01-01

In the present study, we investigated whether expressing emotional states using a simple line drawing to represent a robot's face can serve to elicit altruistic behavior from humans. An experimental investigation was conducted in which human participants interacted with a humanoid robot whose facial expression was shown on an LCD monitor that was mounted as its head (Study 1). Participants were asked to play the ultimatum game, which is usually used to measure human altruistic behavior. All participants were assigned to be the proposer and were instructed to decide their offer within 1 min by controlling a slider bar. The corners of the robot's mouth, as indicated by the line drawing, simply moved upward, or downward depending on the position of the slider bar. The results suggest that the change in the facial expression depicted by a simple line drawing of a face significantly affected the participant's final offer in the ultimatum game. The offers were increased by 13% when subjects were shown contingent changes of facial expression. The results were compared with an experiment in a teleoperation setting in which participants interacted with another person through a computer display showing the same line drawings used in Study 1 (Study 2). The results showed that offers were 15% higher if participants were shown a contingent facial expression change. Together, Studies 1 and 2 indicate that emotional expression in simple line drawings of a robot's face elicits the same higher offer from humans as a human telepresence does.

Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease Based on the Patient's Creative Drawing Process: First Results with a Novel Neuropsychological Testing Method.

PubMed

Heymann, Petra; Gienger, Regine; Hett, Andreas; Müller, Stephan; Laske, Christoph; Robens, Sibylle; Ostermann, Thomas; Elbing, Ulrich

2018-01-01

Based on the knowledge of art therapy, we developed a new neuropsychological drawing test in order to identify individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as well as dementia patients and healthy controls (HC). By observing a variety of drawing characteristics of 92 participants with a mean age of 67.7, art therapy and dementia experts discriminate HC from MCI, early dementia of the Alzheimer-type (eDAT), and moderate dementia of the Alzheimer-type (mDAT) by the process analysis of tree drawings on a digitizing tablet. The art therapist's average categorical rating of healthy and MCI or demented individuals matched the clinical diagnosis by 88%. In a first small study, we analyzed interrater reliability, sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predicted values of our tree drawing test (TDT) in comparison with the clock drawing test (CDT). Similar values of moderate interrater reliability were found for the TDT (0.56) as well as for the CDT (0.54). A significant high sensitivity of 0.9 within this binary impairment scale (HC versus impaired or demented) can be demonstrated. Substantial values for the specificity (0.67) could be obtained that however remain under a perfect value of the CDT (1.0). Considering 31 individuals that received the clinical diagnosis "impaired or demented" the TDT shows a higher recognition rate for the MCI group than the CDT. Furthermore in 8 of 12 borderline cases of clinical diagnosis, the outcome of the TDT diagnosis was consistent with the final clinical result.

Emotional Expression in Simple Line Drawings of a Robot's Face Leads to Higher Offers in the Ultimatum Game

PubMed Central

Terada, Kazunori; Takeuchi, Chikara

2017-01-01

In the present study, we investigated whether expressing emotional states using a simple line drawing to represent a robot's face can serve to elicit altruistic behavior from humans. An experimental investigation was conducted in which human participants interacted with a humanoid robot whose facial expression was shown on an LCD monitor that was mounted as its head (Study 1). Participants were asked to play the ultimatum game, which is usually used to measure human altruistic behavior. All participants were assigned to be the proposer and were instructed to decide their offer within 1 min by controlling a slider bar. The corners of the robot's mouth, as indicated by the line drawing, simply moved upward, or downward depending on the position of the slider bar. The results suggest that the change in the facial expression depicted by a simple line drawing of a face significantly affected the participant's final offer in the ultimatum game. The offers were increased by 13% when subjects were shown contingent changes of facial expression. The results were compared with an experiment in a teleoperation setting in which participants interacted with another person through a computer display showing the same line drawings used in Study 1 (Study 2). The results showed that offers were 15% higher if participants were shown a contingent facial expression change. Together, Studies 1 and 2 indicate that emotional expression in simple line drawings of a robot's face elicits the same higher offer from humans as a human telepresence does. PMID:28588520

Transmission electron microscopy artifacts in characterization of the nanomaterial-cell interactions.

PubMed

Leung, Yu Hang; Guo, Mu Yao; Ma, Angel P Y; Ng, Alan M C; Djurišić, Aleksandra B; Degger, Natalie; Leung, Frederick C C

2017-07-01

We investigated transmission electron microscopy artifacts obtained using standard sample preparation protocols applied to the investigation of Escherichia coli cells exposed to common nanomaterials, such as TiO 2 , Ag, ZnO, and MgO. While the common protocols for some nanomaterials result only in known issues of nanomaterial-independent generation of anomalous deposits due to fixation and staining, for others, there are reactions between the nanomaterial and chemicals used for post-fixation or staining. Only in the case of TiO 2 do we observe only the known issues of nanomaterial-independent generation of anomalous deposits due to exceptional chemical stability of this material. For the other three nanomaterials, different artifacts are observed. For each of those, we identify causes of the observed problems and suggest alternative sample preparation protocols to avoid artifacts arising from the sample preparation, which is essential for correct interpretation of the obtained images and drawing correct conclusions on cell-nanomaterial interactions. Finally, we propose modified sample preparation and characterization protocols for comprehensive and conclusive investigations of nanomaterial-cell interactions using electron microscopy and for obtaining clear and unambiguous revelation whether the nanomaterials studied penetrate the cells or accumulate at the cell membranes. In only the case of MgO and ZnO, the unambiguous presence of Zn and Mg could be observed inside the cells.

Can We Draw General Conclusions from Interval Training Studies?

PubMed

Viana, Ricardo Borges; de Lira, Claudio Andre Barbosa; Naves, João Pedro Araújo; Coswig, Victor Silveira; Del Vecchio, Fabrício Boscolo; Ramirez-Campillo, Rodrigo; Vieira, Carlos Alexandre; Gentil, Paulo

2018-04-19

Interval training (IT) has been used for many decades with the purpose of increasing performance and promoting health benefits while demanding a relatively small amount of time. IT can be defined as intermittent periods of intense exercise separated by periods of recovery and has been divided into high-intensity interval training (HIIT), sprint interval training (SIT), and repeated sprint training (RST). IT use has resulted in the publication of many studies and many of them with conflicting results and positions. The aim of this article was to move forward and understand the studies' protocols in order to draw accurate conclusions, as well as to avoid previous mistakes and effectively reproduce previous protocols. When analyzing the literature, we found many inconsistencies, such as the controversial concept of 'supramaximal' effort, a misunderstanding with regard to the term 'high intensity,' and the use of different strategies to control intensity. The adequate definition and interpretation of training intensity seems to be vital, since the results of IT are largely dependent on it. These observations are only a few examples of the complexity involved in IT prescription, and are discussed to illustrate some problems with the current literature regarding IT. Therefore, it is our opinion that it is not possible to draw general conclusions about IT without considering all variables used in IT prescription, such as exercise modality, intensity, effort and rest times, and participants' characteristics. In order to help guide researchers and health professionals in their practices it is important that experimental studies report their methods in as much detail as possible and future reviews and meta-analyses should critically discuss the articles included in the light of their methods to avoid inappropriate generalizations.

Patients’ Non-Medical Characteristics Contribute to Collective Medical Decision-Making at Multidisciplinary Oncological Team Meetings

PubMed Central

Restivo, Léa; Apostolidis, Thémis; Bouhnik, Anne-Déborah; Garciaz, Sylvain; Aurran, Thérèse; Julian-Reynier, Claire

2016-01-01

Background The contribution of patients’ non-medical characteristics to individual physicians’ decision-making has attracted considerable attention, but little information is available on this topic in the context of collective decision-making. Medical decision-making at cancer centres is currently carried out using a collective approach, at MultiDisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings. The aim of this study was to determine how patients’ non-medical characteristics are presented at MDT meetings and how this information may affect the team’s final medical decisions. Design Observations were conducted at a French Cancer Centre during MDT meetings at which non-standard cases involving some uncertainty were discussed from March to May 2014. Physicians’ verbal statements and predefined contextual parameters were collected with a non-participant observational approach. Non numerical data collected in the form of open notes were then coded for quantitative analysis. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed. Results In the final sample of patients’ records included and discussed (N = 290), non-medical characteristics were mentioned in 32.8% (n = 95) of the cases. These characteristics corresponded to demographics in 22.8% (n = 66) of the cases, psychological data in 11.7% (n = 34), and relational data in 6.2% (n = 18). The patient’s age and his/her “likeability” were the most frequently mentioned characteristics. In 17.9% of the cases discussed, the final decision was deferred: this outcome was positively associated with the patients’ non-medical characteristics and with uncertainty about the outcome of the therapeutic options available. Limitations The design of the study made it difficult to draw definite cause-and-effect conclusions. Conclusion The Social Representations approach suggests that patients’ non-medical characteristics constitute a kind of tacit professional knowledge that may be frequently mobilised in physicians’ everyday professional practice. The links observed between patients’ attributes and the medical decisions made at these meetings show that these attributes should be taken into account in order to understand how medical decisions are reached in difficult situations of this kind. PMID:27167521

Integrated editing system for Japanese text and image information "Linernote"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Kazuto

Integrated Japanese text editing system "Linernote" developed by Toyo Industries Co. is explained. The system has been developed on the concept of electronic publishing. It is composed of personal computer NEC PC-9801 VX and other peripherals. Sentence, drawing and image data is inputted and edited under the integrated operating environment in the system and final text is printed out by laser printer. Handling efficiency of time consuming work such as pattern input or page make up has been improved by draft image data indication method on CRT. It is the latest DTP system equipped with three major functions, namly, typesetting for high quality text editing, easy drawing/tracing and high speed image processing.

Looking for a bulk point

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

Maldacena, Juan; Simmons-Duffin, David; Zhiboedov, Alexander

Here, we consider Lorentzian correlators of local operators. In perturbation theory, singularities occur when we can draw a position-space Landau diagram with null lines. In theories with gravity duals, we can also draw Landau diagrams in the bulk. We also argue that certain singularities can arise only from bulk diagrams, not from boundary diagrams. As has been previously observed, these singularities are a clear diagnostic of bulk locality. We analyze some properties of these perturbative singularities and discuss their relation to the OPE and the dimensions of double-trace operators. In the exact nonperturbative theory, we expect no singularity at thesemore » locations. Finally, we prove this statement in 1+1 dimensions by CFT methods.« less

Looking for a bulk point

DOE PAGES

Maldacena, Juan; Simmons-Duffin, David; Zhiboedov, Alexander

2017-01-03

Here, we consider Lorentzian correlators of local operators. In perturbation theory, singularities occur when we can draw a position-space Landau diagram with null lines. In theories with gravity duals, we can also draw Landau diagrams in the bulk. We also argue that certain singularities can arise only from bulk diagrams, not from boundary diagrams. As has been previously observed, these singularities are a clear diagnostic of bulk locality. We analyze some properties of these perturbative singularities and discuss their relation to the OPE and the dimensions of double-trace operators. In the exact nonperturbative theory, we expect no singularity at thesemore » locations. Finally, we prove this statement in 1+1 dimensions by CFT methods.« less

Modified rod-in-tube for high-NA tellurite glass fiber fabrication: materials and technologies.

PubMed

Chen, Qiuling; Wang, Hui; Wang, Qingwei; Chen, Qiuping; Hao, Yinlei

2015-02-01

In this paper, we report the whole fabrication process for high-numerical aperture (NA) tellurite glass fibers from material preparation to preform fabrication, and eventually, fiber drawing. A tellurite-based high-NA (0.9) magneto-optical glass fiber was drawn successfully and characterized. First, matchable core and cladding glasses were fabricated and matched in terms of physical properties. Second, a uniform bubble-free preform was fabricated by means of a modified rod-in-tube technique. Finally, the fiber drawing process was studied and optimized. The high-NA fibers (∅(core), 40-50 μm and ∅(cladding), 120-130 μm) so obtained were characterized for their geometrical and optical properties.

What Do Differences Between Multi-voxel and Univariate Analysis Mean? How Subject-, Voxel-, and Trial-level Variance Impact fMRI Analysis

PubMed Central

Davis, Tyler; LaRocque, Karen F.; Mumford, Jeanette; Norman, Kenneth A.; Wagner, Anthony D.; Poldrack, Russell A.

2014-01-01

Multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) has led to major changes in how fMRI data are analyzed and interpreted. Many studies now report both MVPA results and results from standard univariate voxel-wise analysis, often with the goal of drawing different conclusions from each. Because MVPA results can be sensitive to latent multidimensional representations and processes whereas univariate voxel-wise analysis cannot, one conclusion that is often drawn when MVPA and univariate results differ is that the activation patterns underlying MVPA results contain a multidimensional code. In the current study, we conducted simulations to formally test this assumption. Our findings reveal that MVPA tests are sensitive to the magnitude of voxel-level variability in the effect of a condition within subjects, even when the same linear relationship is coded in all voxels. We also find that MVPA is insensitive to subject-level variability in mean activation across an ROI, which is the primary variance component of interest in many standard univariate tests. Together, these results illustrate that differences between MVPA and univariate tests do not afford conclusions about the nature or dimensionality of the neural code. Instead, targeted tests of the informational content and/or dimensionality of activation patterns are critical for drawing strong conclusions about the representational codes that are indicated by significant MVPA results. PMID:24768930

A proposed framework for the systematic review and integrated assessment (SYRINA) of endocrine disrupting chemicals.

PubMed

Vandenberg, Laura N; Ågerstrand, Marlene; Beronius, Anna; Beausoleil, Claire; Bergman, Åke; Bero, Lisa A; Bornehag, Carl-Gustaf; Boyer, C Scott; Cooper, Glinda S; Cotgreave, Ian; Gee, David; Grandjean, Philippe; Guyton, Kathryn Z; Hass, Ulla; Heindel, Jerrold J; Jobling, Susan; Kidd, Karen A; Kortenkamp, Andreas; Macleod, Malcolm R; Martin, Olwenn V; Norinder, Ulf; Scheringer, Martin; Thayer, Kristina A; Toppari, Jorma; Whaley, Paul; Woodruff, Tracey J; Rudén, Christina

2016-07-14

The issue of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is receiving wide attention from both the scientific and regulatory communities. Recent analyses of the EDC literature have been criticized for failing to use transparent and objective approaches to draw conclusions about the strength of evidence linking EDC exposures to adverse health or environmental outcomes. Systematic review methodologies are ideal for addressing this issue as they provide transparent and consistent approaches to study selection and evaluation. Objective methods are needed for integrating the multiple streams of evidence (epidemiology, wildlife, laboratory animal, in vitro, and in silico data) that are relevant in assessing EDCs. We have developed a framework for the systematic review and integrated assessment (SYRINA) of EDC studies. The framework was designed for use with the International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS) and World Health Organization (WHO) definition of an EDC, which requires appraisal of evidence regarding 1) association between exposure and an adverse effect, 2) association between exposure and endocrine disrupting activity, and 3) a plausible link between the adverse effect and the endocrine disrupting activity. Building from existing methodologies for evaluating and synthesizing evidence, the SYRINA framework includes seven steps: 1) Formulate the problem; 2) Develop the review protocol; 3) Identify relevant evidence; 4) Evaluate evidence from individual studies; 5) Summarize and evaluate each stream of evidence; 6) Integrate evidence across all streams; 7) Draw conclusions, make recommendations, and evaluate uncertainties. The proposed method is tailored to the IPCS/WHO definition of an EDC but offers flexibility for use in the context of other definitions of EDCs. When using the SYRINA framework, the overall objective is to provide the evidence base needed to support decision making, including any action to avoid/minimise potential adverse effects of exposures. This framework allows for the evaluation and synthesis of evidence from multiple evidence streams. Finally, a decision regarding regulatory action is not only dependent on the strength of evidence, but also the consequences of action/inaction, e.g. limited or weak evidence may be sufficient to justify action if consequences are serious or irreversible.

Teachers' Practices of Inquiry When Teaching Investigations: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dudu, Washington T.; Vhurumuku, Elaosi

2012-01-01

Teacher practices are essential for supporting learners in scientific inquiry practices of framing research questions, designing and conducting investigations, collecting data, and drawing conclusions. This study examines instructional practices of two Grade 11 Physical Science teachers engaged in teaching practical investigations. Data were…

Body Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bombaugh, Ruth; Jefferys, Lynn

2006-01-01

In this article, the authors demonstrate how a simple math lab incorporating monthly height measurements can address multiple science and mathematics standards such as collecting, organizing, and describing data in context; drawing conclusions; and making hypotheses from these data. Although the yearlong math lab can be accomplished in either the…

Continuing Professional Education Delivery Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weeks, James P.

This investigation of delivery systems for continuing professional education provides an overview of current operational delivery systems in continuing professional education, drawing on experience as found in the literature. Learning theories and conclusions are woven into the descriptive text. Delivery systems profiled in the paper include the…

Development from Grades V through XI of Children's Ability to Make Correct Causal Inferences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Benjamin; Tuddenham, Read D.

1979-01-01

Unless sensitized to avoid them, Ss (regardless of grade) tended to draw overly sweeping inferences, perhaps because of a need for closure. Older Ss, however, were more successful at suspending judgment when no definite conclusion was justified. (Author/DLS)

Solid Waste Reduction--A Hands-on Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiessinger, Diane

1991-01-01

This lesson plan uses grocery shopping to demonstrate the importance of source reduction in the handling of solid waste problems. Students consider different priorities in shopping (convenience, packaging, and waste reduction) and draw conclusions about the relationship between packaging techniques and solid waste problems. (MCO)

Specification and tolerancing of bulk glass material imperfections with ISO standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krisiloff, Allen J.

2017-08-01

Standards for the specification of tolerances for glass material imperfections have been evolving over the past 40 years. Today, several individual ISO Standards for drawings and drawing notation - ISO 10110-2, ISO-10110-3, and ISO- 10110-4, which were last revised in 1996 and 1997 - are being merged and re-written to incorporate technical improvements and enhance the clarity of presentation. The new standard, tentatively numbered ISO 10110-18, is on schedule for release in 2018. It will also provide notation to directly utilize concepts and quality classes defined in ISO 12123, the newly revised standard for raw glass material. New ways to specify striae and a way to specify raw material specifications on a finished part drawing are two additional highlights of the revised versions of this set of ISO standards. This paper will discuss the old shortcomings, their corrections, and the new features incorporated into the set of standards currently under final development and whose publication is expected next year.

The Scope of Usage-Based Theory

PubMed Central

Ibbotson, Paul

2013-01-01

Usage-based approaches typically draw on a relatively small set of cognitive processes, such as categorization, analogy, and chunking to explain language structure and function. The goal of this paper is to first review the extent to which the “cognitive commitment” of usage-based theory has had success in explaining empirical findings across domains, including language acquisition, processing, and typology. We then look at the overall strengths and weaknesses of usage-based theory and highlight where there are significant debates. Finally, we draw special attention to a set of culturally generated structural patterns that seem to lie beyond the explanation of core usage-based cognitive processes. In this context we draw a distinction between cognition permitting language structure vs. cognition entailing language structure. As well as addressing the need for greater clarity on the mechanisms of generalizations and the fundamental units of grammar, we suggest that integrating culturally generated structures within existing cognitive models of use will generate tighter predictions about how language works. PMID:23658552

Current randomized control trials, observational studies and meta analysis in off-pump coronary surgery.

PubMed

Parissis, Haralabos; Lau, Man Chi; Parissis, Mondrian; Lampridis, Savvas; Graham, Victoria; Al-Saudi, Reza; Mhandu, Peter

2015-12-17

The off-pump literature is divided into three eras: the "early phase" with results favouring off-pump surgery supported with randomized control trials (RCTs) mainly from Bristol, UK; an "intermediate phase" dominated by the results of the ROOBY trial and finally a more "contemporary phase" whereby the off/on-pump argument is unsettled. Although the literature has failed to project an overall superiority of off-pump versus on-pump surgery, nevertheless, small randomized control trials and large meta-analysis studies are concluding that the incidence of a stroke is less than 1 % when an aortic off-pump techniques (especially the non-touch technique) are advocated in patients with diseased ascending aorta. Furthermore, off-pump combined with hybrid procedures may lead to a reduction of adverse outcome in the aged high-risk population with concomitant poor left ventricular function and co-morbidities.The current review attempts to bring an insight onto the last ten years knowledge on the on/off-pump debate, with an aim to draw some clear conclusions in order to allow practitioners to reflect on the subject.

Illegality of international population movements in Poland.

PubMed

Okolski, M

2000-01-01

Until the beginning of the 1990s Poland did not receive foreign migrants. Thereafter, the situation changed dramatically. A large part of the inflow proved to be illegal migrants, many of whom were in transit to Western Europe. Although these movements gradually declined in the second half of the decade, some became increasingly identified with relatively sophisticated smuggling of people. Foreigners smuggled from the South to the West, together with the international criminal networks assisting them, became typical of the migratory movements of people in Central and Eastern Europe during the 1990s. This article seeks to describe illegal migration from the perspective of Poland, a country often perceived as a major transit area in the smuggling of persons to Western Europe. The conclusions draw on the findings of several surveys recently carried out in Poland. Basic concepts related to illegal migration are defined and juxtaposed, and various myths and stereotypes concerning it that most often stem from the paucity of empirical evidence are examined. Finally, the trends observed in Poland are interpreted within the larger context of contemporary European migration.

Depression and embodiment: phenomenological reflections on motility, affectivity, and transcendence.

PubMed

Aho, Kevin A

2013-11-01

This paper integrates personal narratives with the methods of phenomenology in order to draw some general conclusions about 'what it means' and 'what it feels like' to be depressed. The analysis has three parts. First, it explores the ways in which depression disrupts everyday experiences of spatial orientation and motility. This disruption makes it difficult for the person to move and perform basic functional tasks, resulting in a collapse or contraction of the life-world. Second, it illustrates how depression creates a situational atmosphere of emotional indifference that reduces the person's ability to qualitatively distinguish what matters in his or her life because nothing stands out as significant or important anymore. In this regard, depression is distinct from other feelings because it is not directed towards particular objects or situations but to the world as a whole. Finally, the paper examines how depression diminishes the possibility for 'self-creation' or 'self-making'. Restricted by the illness, depression becomes something of a destiny, preventing the person from being open and free to access a range of alternative self-interpretations, identities, and possible ways of being-in-the-world.

Practical Formal Verification of Diagnosability of Large Models via Symbolic Model Checking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cavada, Roberto; Pecheur, Charles

2003-01-01

This document reports on the activities carried out during a four-week visit of Roberto Cavada at the NASA Ames Research Center. The main goal was to test the practical applicability of the framework proposed, where a diagnosability problem is reduced to a Symbolic Model Checking problem. Section 2 contains a brief explanation of major techniques currently used in Symbolic Model Checking, and how these techniques can be tuned in order to obtain good performances when using Model Checking tools. Diagnosability is performed on large and structured models of real plants. Section 3 describes how these plants are modeled, and how models can be simplified to improve the performance of Symbolic Model Checkers. Section 4 reports scalability results. Three test cases are briefly presented, and several parameters and techniques have been applied on those test cases in order to produce comparison tables. Furthermore, comparison between several Model Checkers is reported. Section 5 summarizes the application of diagnosability verification to a real application. Several properties have been tested, and results have been highlighted. Finally, section 6 draws some conclusions, and outlines future lines of research.

Preliminary radiometric calibration assessment of ALOS AVNIR-2

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bouvet, M.; Goryl, P.; Chander, G.; Santer, R.; Saunier, S.

2008-01-01

This paper summarizes the activities carried out in the frame of the data quality activities of the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2) sensor onboard the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS). Assessment of the radiometric calibration of the AVNIR-2 multi-spectral imager is achieved via three intercomparisons to currently flying sensors over the Libyan desert, during the first year of operation. AU three methodologies indicate a slight underestimation of AVNIR-2 in band 1 by 4 to 7% with respect to other sensors radiometric scale. Band 2 does not show any obvious bias. Results for band 3 are affected by saturation due to inappropriate gain setting. Two methodologies indicate no significant bias in band 4. Preliminary results indicate possible degradations of the AVNIR-2 channels, which, when modeled as an exponentially decreasing functions, have time constants of respectively 13.2 %.year-1, 8.8%.year-1 and 0.1%.year-1 in band 1, 2 and 4 (with respect to the radiometric scale of the MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, MERIS). Longer time series of AVNIR-2 data are needed to draw final conclusions. ?? 2007 IEEE.

Preliminary design report for OTEC stationkeeping subsystems (SKSS)

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

Not Available

1979-12-12

Lockheed Ocean Systems with IMODCO prepared these preliminary designs for OTEC Stationkeeping Subsystems (SKSS) under contract to NOAA in support of the Department of Energy OTEC program. The results of Tasks III, V, and VI are presented in this design report. The report consists of five sections: introduction, preliminary designs for the multiple anchor leg (MAL) and tension anchor leg (TAL), costs and schedule, and conclusions. Extensive appendixes provide detailed descriptions of design methodology and include backup calculations and data to support the results presented. The objective of this effort is to complete the preliminary designs for the barge-MAL andmore » Spar-TAL SKSS. A set of drawings is provided for each which show arrangements, configuration, component details, engineering description, and deployment plan. Loads analysis, performance assessment, and sensitivity to requirements are presented, together with the methodology employed to analyze the systems and to derive the results presented. Life cycle costs and schedule are prepared and compared on a common basis. Finally, recommendations for the Commercial Plant SKSS are presented for both platform types.« less

Corticosteroids for severe influenza pneumonia: A critical appraisal

PubMed Central

Nedel, Wagner Luis; Nora, David Garcia; Salluh, Jorge Ibrain Figueira; Lisboa, Thiago; Póvoa, Pedro

2016-01-01

Influenza pneumonia is associated with high number of severe cases requiring hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions with high mortality. Systemic steroids are proposed as a valid therapeutic option even though its effects are still controversial. Heterogeneity of published data regarding study design, population demographics, severity of illness, dosing, type and timing of corticosteroids administered constitute an important limitation for drawing robust conclusions. However, it is reasonable to admit that, as it was not found any advantage of corticosteroid therapy in so diverse conditions, such beneficial effects do not exist at all. Its administration is likely to increase overall mortality and such trend is consistent regardless of the quality as well as the sample size of studies. Moreover it was shown that corticosteroids might be associated with higher incidence of hospital-acquired pneumonia and longer duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay. Finally, it is reasonable to conclude that corticosteroids failed to demonstrate any beneficial effects in the treatment of patients with severe influenza infection. Thus its current use in severe influenza pneumonia should be restricted to very selected cases and in the setting of clinical trials. PMID:26855898

The Physiological Basis and Clinical Use of the Binaural Interaction Component of the Auditory Brainstem Response

PubMed Central

Klump, Georg M.; Tollin, Daniel J.

2016-01-01

The auditory brainstem response (ABR) is a sound-evoked non-invasively measured electrical potential representing the sum of neuronal activity in the auditory brainstem and midbrain. ABR peak amplitudes and latencies are widely used in human and animal auditory research and for clinical screening. The binaural interaction component (BIC) of the ABR stands for the difference between the sum of the monaural ABRs and the ABR obtained with binaural stimulation. The BIC comprises a series of distinct waves, the largest of which (DN1) has been used for evaluating binaural hearing in both normal hearing and hearing-impaired listeners. Based on data from animal and human studies, we discuss the possible anatomical and physiological bases of the BIC (DN1 in particular). The effects of electrode placement and stimulus characteristics on the binaurally evoked ABR are evaluated. We review how inter-aural time and intensity differences affect the BIC and, analyzing these dependencies, draw conclusion about the mechanism underlying the generation of the BIC. Finally, the utility of the BIC for clinical diagnoses are summarized. PMID:27232077

Preliminary appraisal of the geohydrologic aspects of drainage wells, Orlando area, central Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kimrey, Joel O.

1978-01-01

The Floridan aquifer contains two highly transmissive cavernous zones in the Orlando area: an upper producing zone about 150-600 feet below land surface; and a lower producing zone about 1,100-1,500 feet below land surface. Natural head differences are downward and there is hydraulic connection between the two producing zones. Drainage wells are finished open-end into the upper producing zone and emplace surface waters directly into that zone by gravity. Quantitatively, their use constitutes an effective method of artificial recharge. Their negative aspects relate to the probably poor, but unknown, quality of the recharge water. Caution is suggested in drawing definite and final conclusions on the overall geohydrologic and environmental effects of drainage wells prior to the collection and interpretation of a considerable quantity of new data. Though few ground-water pollution problems have been documented to date, the potential for such pollution should be seriously considered in light of the prob-able continuing need to use drainage wells; the probable volumes and quality of water involved; and the hydraulic relations between the two producing zones.

A critical commentary on Derek Morgan's unpublished manuscript: 'coming Back to Life: The Normal Chaos of Medical Law' and how to deal with property in human cells.

PubMed

Capps, Benjamin J

2014-01-01

This article is an analysis of Derek Morgan's manuscript-'Coming Back to Life: The Normal Chaos of Medical Law', which remained unpublished at his death in 2011. Morgan made two claims in the manuscript: (1) medical practitioners and patients approach health from the different perspectives of 'reason' and 'emotion' respectively, while medical law treads the line between these ultimately resulting in 'normal chaos'. (2) In this respect, medical law ought to be coaxed 'back to life' so that it can address broader principles and values in respect to practical resolution; however, it has, in the face of this chaos, become dull in its ambitions. In this article, I first analyse these two claims in detail, before, second, illustrating the 'normal chaos' of medical law using the debate over ownership of human cells and tissues. I draw my own conclusions as to whether Morgan's final thesis was successful. © The Author [2014]. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Between the confusion of tongues and the gift of tongues. Or working as a psychoanalyst in a foreign language.

PubMed

Jiménez, Juan Pablo

2004-12-01

The author worked as a psychoanalyst for 5 years in Germany. In this paper, he attempts to answer the question 'How was it possible that, in spite of his imperfect knowledge of German, notwithstanding a deepening understanding of the language during his residence in the country, he was able to successfully treat so many patients? ' He starts by putting forward some distinctions between the activity of interpretation as translation of the unconscious with the patient in session and the activity of translation of texts. After a brief exegetic review of the myths of Babel and Pentecost, he suggests that the analyst working in a foreign language moves between 'the confusion of tongues' and the 'gift of tongues', that is, between Babel and Pentecost. He presents some vignettes to illustrate typical situations he encountered in his practice. Finally, he draws some conclusions from this experience of psychoanalytic polyglotism, mainly on the basis of the communicative function that modern infant research assigns to affect attunement and verbal language.

Faux-Pas Test: A Proposal of a Standardized Short Version.

PubMed

Fernández-Modamio, Mar; Arrieta-Rodríguez, Marta; Bengochea-Seco, Rosario; Santacoloma-Cabero, Iciar; Gómez de Tojeiro-Roce, Juan; García-Polavieja, Bárbara; González-Fraile, Eduardo; Martín-Carrasco, Manuel; Griffin, Kim; Gil-Sanz, David

2018-06-26

Previous research on theory of mind suggests that people with schizophrenia have difficulties with complex mentalization tasks that involve the integration of cognition and affective mental states. One of the tools most commonly used to assess theory of mind is the Faux-Pas Test. However, it presents two main methodological problems: 1) the lack of a standard scoring system; 2) the different versions are not comparable due to a lack of information on the stories used. These methodological problems make it difficult to draw conclusions about performance on this test by people with schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to develop a reduced version of the Faux-Pas test with adequate psychometric properties. The test was administered to control and clinical groups. Interrater and test-retest reliability were analyzed for each story in order to select the set of 10 stories included in the final reduced version. The shortened version showed good psychometric properties for controls and patients: test-retest reliability of 0.97 and 0.78, inter-rater reliability of 0.95 and 0.87 and Cronbach's alpha of 0.82 and 0.72.

Diagnosis of the OCD Patients using Drawing Features of the Bender Gestalt Shapes

PubMed Central

Boostani, R.; Asadi, F.; Mohammadi, N.

2017-01-01

Background: Since psychological tests such as questionnaire or drawing tests are almost qualitative, their results carry a degree of uncertainty and sometimes subjectivity. The deficiency of all drawing tests is that the assessment is carried out after drawing the objects and lots of information such as pen angle, speed, curvature and pressure are missed through the test. In other words, the psychologists cannot assess their patients while running the tests. One of the famous drawing tests to measure the degree of Obsession Compulsion Disorder (OCD) is the Bender Gestalt, though its reliability is not promising. Objective: The main objective of this study is to make the Bender Gestalt test quantitative; therefore, an optical pen along with a digital tablet is utilized to preserve the key drawing features of OCD patients during the test. Materials and Methods: Among a large population of patients who referred to a special clinic of OCD, 50 under therapy subjects voluntarily took part in this study. In contrast, 50 subjects with no sign of OCD performed the test as a control group. This test contains 9 shapes and the participants were not constraint to draw the shapes in a certain interval of time; consequently, to classify the stream of feature vectors (samples through drawing) Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is employed and its flexibility increased by incorporating the fuzzy technique into its learning scheme. Results: Applying fuzzy HMM classifier to the data stream of subjects could classify two groups up to 95.2% accuracy, whereas the results by applying the standard HMM resulted in 94.5%. In addition, multi-layer perceptron (MLP), as a strong static classifier, is applied to the features and resulted in 86.6% accuracy. Conclusion: Applying the pair of T-test to the results implies a significant supremacy of the fuzzy HMM to the standard HMM and MLP classifiers. PMID:28462208

Distance, Online and Campus Higher Education: Reflections on Learning Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPhee, Iain; Soderstrom, Tor

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss performance in postgraduate education in Sweden and Scotland. Drawing on two cases, the paper considers three themes: differences in students' performance by study mode, differences in students' performance by length of study, and finally comparing performance by study mode between modules in…

Quantitative Skills as a Graduate Learning Outcome: Exploring Students' Evaluative Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Kelly E.; Adams, Peter; Goos, Merrilyn

2017-01-01

In the biosciences, quantitative skills are an essential graduate learning outcome. Efforts to evidence student attainment at the whole of degree programme level are rare and making sense of such data is complex. We draw on assessment theories from Sadler (evaluative expertise) and Boud (sustainable assessment) to interpret final-year bioscience…

Project FIRES [Firefighters' Integrated Response Equipment System]. Volume 2: Protective Ensemble Performance Standards, Phase 1B

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abeles, F. J.

1980-01-01

The design of the prototype protective ensemble was finalized. Prototype ensembles were fabricated and then subjected to a series of qualification tests which were based upon the protective ensemble performance standards PEPS requirements. Engineering drawings and purchase specifications were prepared for the new protective ensemble.

Openings for Researching Environment and Place in Children's Literature: Ecologies, Potentials, Realities and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reid, Alan; Payne, Phillip G.; Cutter-Mackenzie, Amy

2010-01-01

This not quite "final" ending of this special issue of "Environmental Education Research" traces a series of hopeful, if somewhat difficult and at times challenging, openings for researching experiences of environment and place through children's literature. In the first instance, we draw inspiration from the contributors who…

Are You Ready to Take the Plunge? Create an Amusement Park.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mueller, Andrea; Brown, Rod

2000-01-01

Describes an activity on charting 6th and 7th grade students' ideas about a potential science project. Summarizes a five week project on creating a new ride or redesigning existing rides in an amusement park, including research and sketches, final drawings, models of rides, and class presentations. (YDS)

The Status of Graphical Presentation in Interior/Architectural Design Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gurel, Meltem O.; Basa, Inci

2004-01-01

This article argues that interior/architectural design education favours a dominance of final presentation over the design process in the studio environment, particularly in the evaluation of a project. It suggests that the appeal of design juries for pleasant drawings, which may shift the emphasis from the project itself to its representation,…

The Importance of the Personal Element in Collaborative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell-Williams, Zinnia; Wilkins, Paul; Mclean, Meabh; Nevin, Wendy; Wastell, Karyn; Wheat, Rebecca

2004-01-01

This account draws on the experience of five final-year students of human communication and one tutor from the Manchester Metropolitan University who conducted collaborative research into life stages. The research was personally developmental for all those involved and resulted in an increased sense of personal power. The authors discuss the use…

Excellence within Student Affairs: Understanding the Practice of Integrating Academic and Student Affairs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozaki, C. Casey; Hornak, Anne M.

2014-01-01

In this final chapter, the authors synthesize and draw from chapters across this volume to provide concluding remarks and recommendations. The authors suggest that core to the discussion of excellence of student affairs in community colleges are the concepts of integration and collaboration. As professionals tasked with supporting the student…

78 FR 23503 - Hazardous Materials; Temporary Reduction of Registration Fees

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-19

... the annual registration fee to account for any unexpended balance in the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) Fund. Due to an unexpended balance that has accumulated in the Fund, PHMSA is lowering the... and thus draw down the unexpended balance as soon as possible, PHMSA is issuing this final rule...

Early Tracking or Finally Leaving? Determinants of Early Study Success in First-Year University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brouwer, Jasperina; Jansen, Ellen; Hofman, Adriaan; Flache, Andreas

2016-01-01

Two theoretical approaches underlie this investigation of the determinants of early study success among first-year university students. Specifically, to extend Walberg's educational productivity model, this study draws on the expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation in a contemporary university context. The survey data came from 407…

NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hosler, E. Ramon (Editor); Armstrong, Dennis W. (Editor)

1989-01-01

The contractor's report contains all sixteen final reports prepared by the participants in the 1989 Summer Faculty Fellowship Program. Reports describe research projects on a number of different topics. Interface software, metal corrosion, rocket triggering lightning, automatic drawing, 60-Hertz power, carotid-cardiac baroreflex, acoustic fields, robotics, AI, CAD/CAE, cryogenics, titanium, and flow measurement are discussed.

In This Decade, Mission to the Moon.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC.

The development and accomplishments of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from its inception in 1958 to the final preparations for the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 are traced in this brochure. A brief account of the successes of projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo is presented and many color photographs and drawings of the…

Performing Inferential Statistics Prior to Data Collection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trafimow, David; MacDonald, Justin A.

2017-01-01

Typically, in education and psychology research, the investigator collects data and subsequently performs descriptive and inferential statistics. For example, a researcher might compute group means and use the null hypothesis significance testing procedure to draw conclusions about the populations from which the groups were drawn. We propose an…

Mystery Boxes: Helping Children Improve Their Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rule, Audrey C.

2007-01-01

This guest editorial describes ways teachers can use guessing games about an unknown item in a "mystery box" to help children improve their abilities to listen to others, recall information, ask purposeful questions, classify items by class, make inferences, synthesize information, and draw conclusions. The author presents information…

Conclusions, Reflections, and Prospects for Future Research, Policy, and Programming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark-Kazak, Christina

2012-01-01

This concluding chapter draws together some of the key themes from the contributions and proposes some recommended areas for future research, policy, and programming. It highlights the artificiality of categorization processes related to both migration and childhood that independent child migrants encounter, and problematizes the…

Dahlbeck and Pure Ontology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mackenzie, Jim

2016-01-01

This article responds to Johan Dahlbeck's "Towards a pure ontology: Children's bodies and morality" ["Educational Philosophy and Theory," vol. 46 (1), 2014, pp. 8-23 (EJ1026561)]. His arguments from Nietzsche and Spinoza do not carry the weight he supposes, and the conclusions he draws from them about pedagogy would be…

Brain Stretchers Book 4--Advanced.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Carolyn

This book provides puzzles, games, and mathematical activities for students in elementary grades. Number concepts and arithmetic are common topics. These classic math, logic, and word-problem activities encourage students to become flexible, creative thinkers while teaching them to draw valid conclusions based on logic and evidence. Each activity…

Thinking big

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, Harry

2008-02-01

Physicists are often quick to discount social research based on qualitative techniques such as ethnography and "deep case studies" - where a researcher draws conclusions about a community based on immersion in the field - thinking that only quantitative research backed up by statistical analysis is sound. The balance is not so clear, however.

The Impact of Data Fragmentation on High-Throughput Clinical Phenotyping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wei, Weiqi

2012-01-01

Subject selection is essential and has become the rate-limiting step for harvesting knowledge to advance healthcare through clinical research. Present manual approaches inhibit researchers from conducting deep and broad studies and drawing confident conclusions. High-throughput clinical phenotyping (HTCP), a recently proposed approach, leverages…

Effects of Scaffolds and Scientific Reasoning Ability on Web-Based Scientific Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Hui-Ling; Weng, Hsiao-Lan; She, Hsiao-Ching

2016-01-01

This study examined how background knowledge, scientific reasoning ability, and various scaffolding forms influenced students' science knowledge and scientific inquiry achievements. The students participated in an online scientific inquiry program involving such activities as generating scientific questions and drawing evidence-based conclusions,…

The Localized Corrosion of Aluminum Alloys - A Review.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-07-01

will be typical rather than comprehensive . The purpose will be to draw from these reports certain well-founded, and well-accepted conclusions useful...established by Nilsen and Bardal (161) who measured the pitting potential, Ep, the protection potential, E4 and, Ecrit . , above which the sample

Freshly Squeezed? I Prefer Concentrated!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strachan, Amy

2015-01-01

We cannot expect every child to leave primary school with the aspiration of becoming a scientist. It is, however, achievable for children to move through their education seeing the implications of science in everything we do. Questioning, predicting, interpreting data, drawing conclusions, communicating evidence and evaluating procedures are all…

Personalized Multi-Student Improvement Based on Bayesian Cybernetics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaburlasos, Vassilis G.; Marinagi, Catherine C.; Tsoukalas, Vassilis Th.

2008-01-01

This work presents innovative cybernetics (feedback) techniques based on Bayesian statistics for drawing questions from an Item Bank towards personalized multi-student improvement. A novel software tool, namely "Module for Adaptive Assessment of Students" (or, "MAAS" for short), implements the proposed (feedback) techniques. In conclusion, a pilot…

Diagnosing Portuguese Students' Misconceptions about the Mineral Concept

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monteiro, Antonio; Nobrega, Clevio; Abrantes, Isabel; Gomes, Celeste

2012-01-01

Educational researchers and teachers are well aware that misconceptions--erroneous ideas that differ from the scientifically accepted ones--are very common amongst students. Daily experiences, creative and perceptive thinking and science textbooks give rise to students' misconceptions which lead them to draw erroneous conclusions that become…

Genie Inference Engine Rule Writer’s Guide.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-08-01

33 APPENDIX D. Animal Bootstrap File.............................................................. 39...APPENDIX E. Sample Run of Animal Identification Expert System.......................... 43 APPENDIX F. Numeric Test Knowledge Base...and other data s.tructures stored in the knowledge base (KB), queries the user for input, and draws conclusions. Genie (GENeric Inference Engine) is

Making Sense of Data: Context Matters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovett, Jennifer N.; Lee, Hollylynne S.

2016-01-01

To draw conclusions from data, we need to understand the context of the data and the measurement units. In 2007, Franklin and colleagues presented the "Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Report" to provide teachers with a framework to assist in developing students' investigation of statistical…

Effects of Cognitive Demand on Word Encoding in Adults Who Stutter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Pei-Tzu

2011-01-01

The etiology of persistent stuttering is unknown, but stuttering has been attributed to multiple potential factors, including difficulty in processing language-related information, but findings remain inconclusive regarding any "specific" linguistic deficit potentially causing stuttering. One particular challenge in drawing conclusions is the…

Memorisation methods in science education: tactics to improve the teaching and learning practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pals, Frits F. B.; Tolboom, Jos L. J.; Suhre, Cor J. M.; van Geert, Paul L. C.

2018-01-01

How can science teachers support students in developing an appropriate declarative knowledge base for solving problems? This article focuses on the question whether the development of students' memory of scientific propositions is better served by writing propositions down on paper or by making drawings of propositions either by silent or muttering rehearsal. By means of a memorisation experiment with eighth- and ninth-grade students, we answer this question. In this experiment, students received instruction to memorise nine science propositions and to reproduce them afterwards. To support memorisation students were randomly assigned either to a group that received instruction to write each proposition on paper or to a group that received instruction to make a drawing about the content of the proposition. In addition, half of the students in both groups received instruction to mutter and the other half of them received instruction to write or draw in silence. The main conclusion from the experiment is that after four weeks students who had made a drawing remembered significantly more propositions than those who had memorised the propositions by writing them down. Our research further revealed that it did not matter whether students muttered or memorised silently.

Digital Clock Drawing: differentiating "thinking" versus "doing" in younger and older adults with depression.

PubMed

Cohen, Jamie; Penney, Dana L; Davis, Randall; Libon, David J; Swenson, Rodney A; Ajilore, Olusola; Kumar, Anand; Lamar, Melissa

2014-10-01

Psychomotor slowing has been documented in depression. The digital Clock Drawing Test (dCDT) provides: (i) a novel technique to assess both cognitive and motor aspects of psychomotor speed within the same task and (ii) the potential to uncover subtleties of behavior not previously detected with non-digitized modes of data collection. Using digitized pen technology in 106 participants grouped by Age (younger/older) and Affect (euthymic/unmedicated depressed), we recorded cognitive and motor output by capturing how the clock is drawn rather than focusing on the final product. We divided time to completion (TTC) for Command and Copy conditions of the dCDT into metrics of percent of drawing (%Ink) versus non-drawing (%Think) time. We also obtained composite Z-scores of cognition, including attention/information processing (AIP), to explore associations of %Ink and %Think times to cognitive and motor performance. Despite equivalent TTC, %Ink and %Think Command times (Copy n.s.) were significant (AgeXAffect interaction: p=.03)-younger depressed spent a smaller proportion of time drawing relative to thinking compared to the older depressed group. Command %Think time negatively correlated with AIP in the older depressed group (r=-.46; p=.02). Copy %Think time negatively correlated with AIP in the younger depressed (r=-.47; p=.03) and older euthymic groups (r=-.51; p=.01). The dCDT differentiated aspects of psychomotor slowing in depression regardless of age, while dCDT/cognitive associates for younger adults with depression mimicked patterns of older euthymics.

Ergogenic aids in sport

PubMed

Santesteban Moriones, Virginia; Ibáñez Santos, Javier

2017-02-01

Introduction: Very few nutritional supplements have scientifically demonstrated their effectiveness as an ergogenic aid. This review will examine creatine monohydrate (MC), the β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB), sodium bicarbonate (BS), the β-alanine and caffeine. Objectives: To analyze the effi cacy, mechanisms of action, dose, side effects and some sports that can benefit from their consumption. Methods: Searching in PubMed bibliographic database reviews from the last 15 years and original articles from the last 5 years of the studied substances. Results: Doses of 20 mg/day for 4-7 days are effective in improving strength and muscular power and performance in short and repeated sprints. HMB at doses of 3 g/day for at least 2 weeks contributes to increased lean mass and fat-free mass. The intake of 0.3 g/kg of BS improves performance on tests of 400-1,500 meters in athletics and intermittent sprints. Meanwhile, doses of 80 mg/kg/day of β-alanine for 4-10 weeks may improve performance in high-intensity intermittent exercise. Finally, caffeine at doses of 2 mg/kg improves responsiveness and 3-6 mg/kg improves performance in endurance tests. Conclusions: The revised supplements have shown their efficacy in physical performance, but it is needed to keep in mind that most studies have been conducted with recreational-level athletes. Generally, the better the individual´s fitness level is the less improvement in physical performance the supplement shows. However, an increase of only 1% may sometimes allow the athlete to advance several positions in a final. Finally, we should draw attention to the importance of optimizing nutrition before considering the introduction of sports supplements, especially in children and youth. All analyzed substances have scientific basis supporting its ergogenic effect. All of them can be found in the market with Certificate of Quality and Purit

Kinematic and Pressure Features of Handwriting and Drawing: Preliminary Results Between Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer Disease and Healthy Controls.

PubMed

Garre-Olmo, Josep; Faúndez-Zanuy, Marcos; López-de-Ipiña, Karmele; Calvó-Perxas, Laia; Turró-Garriga, Oriol

2017-01-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative dementia of old age, and the leading chronic disease contributor to disability and dependence among older people worldwide. Clinically, AD is characterized by a progressive cognitive decline that interferes with the ability to perform the activities of daily living. Handwriting and drawing are complex human activities that entail an intricate blend of cognitive, kinesthetic, and perceptual-motor features. To compare the kinematic characteristics of handwriting and drawing between patients with AD, patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy controls. We used a cross-sectional and observational design to assess the kinematic and pressure features of handwriting and drawing using a computerized system. Participants were asked to copy one sentence, write a dictated sentence and an own sentence, copy two and-three dimensions drawings, and to execute the clock drawing test. By means of discriminant analyses, we explored the value of several kinematic features in order to classify participants depending on their degree of cognitive functioning. The sample consisted of 52 participants (23 AD, 12 MCI, and 17 healthy controls) with a mean age of 69.7 years (SD=8.11). The degree of correct classification was largely dependent on the nature of the groups to be classified and the specific task, and ranged between 63.5% and 100%. Diagnostic accuracy based on kinematic measures showed higher specificity values for distinguishing between normal and impaired cognition (MCI and AD), and higher sensitivity was obtained when distinguishing between impaired cognition levels (MCI vs. AD). The kinematic features of writing and drawing procedures, rather than the final product, may be a useful and objective complement to the clinical assessment of patients with cognitive impairment. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Improved process robustness by using closed loop control in deep drawing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barthau, M.; Liewald, M.; Christian, Held

2017-09-01

The production of irregular shaped deep-drawing parts with high quality requirements, which are common in today’s automotive production, permanently challenges production processes. High requirements on lightweight construction of passenger car bodies following European regulations until 2020 have been massively increasing the use of high strength steels substantially for years and are also leading to bigger challenges in sheet metal part production. Of course, the more and more complex shapes of today’s car body shells also intensify the issue due to modern and future design criteria. The metal forming technology tries to meet these challenges by developing a highly sophisticated layout of deep drawing dies that consider part quality requirements, process robustness and controlled material flow during the deep or stretch drawing process phase. A new method for controlling material flow using a closed loop system was developed at the IFU Stuttgart. In contrast to previous approaches, this new method allows a control intervention during the deep-drawing stroke. The blank holder force around the outline of the drawn part is used as control variable. The closed loop is designed as trajectory follow up with feed forward control. The used command variable is the part-wall stress that is measured with a piezo-electric measuring pin. In this paper the used control loop will be described in detail. The experimental tool that was built for testing the new control approach is explained here with its features. A method for gaining the follow up trajectories from simulation will also be presented. Furthermore, experimental results considering the robustness of the deep drawing process and the gain in process performance with developed control loop will be shown. Finally, a new procedure for the industrial application of the new control method of deep drawing will be presented by using a new kind of active element to influence the local blank holder pressure onto part flange.

Creative Soil Conservation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Martha

2010-01-01

Take plant lessons outdoors with this engaging and inquiry-based activity in which third-grade students learn how to apply soil conservation methods to growing plants. They also collect data and draw conclusions about the effectiveness of their method of soil conservation. An added benefit to this activity is that the third-grade students played…

A Systematic Review of Depression Treatments in Primary Care for Latino Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cabassa, Leopoldo J.; Hansen, Marissa C.

2007-01-01

Objective: A systematic literature review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing depression treatments in primary care for Latinos is conducted. The authors rate the methodological quality of studies, examine cultural and linguistic adaptations, summarize clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness findings, and draw conclusions for improving…

Secrets of a Mass Grave

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ament, Caitlin Marie; Graham, Theodore J.

2017-01-01

This article presents a unit of study in which students examine skeletons and draw conclusions from the evidence they find in a simulated mass grave. The activity involves the foundation of forensic anthropology--interpreting the structure of skeletal remains to determine sex, age, height, and possible cause of death. Working through a series of…

Seat Belts in School Buses: A Technical Analysis of the Literature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Splaine, Pam; Frankel, Steven M.

This report, prepared for the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools superintendent and board members, identifies the questions concerning seat belt use in school buses, examines relevant literature, and draws some conclusions. According to the literature, seat belts are one of many alternative and interdependent safety devices built into…

The Law School as a Base for Interdisciplinary Studies in a University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willrich, Mason

1974-01-01

Discusses the objectives of the Center for the Study of Science, Technology and Public Policy at the School of Law of the University of Virginia, summarizes the center's activities, and draws conclusions concerning the future role of a problem-oriented, interdisciplinary study in legal education. (Author/PG)

Brief Report: Immune Factors in Autism: A Critical Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krause, Ilan; He, Ziao-Song; Gershwin, M. Eric; Shoenfeld, Yehuda

2002-01-01

This article reviews studies linking autistic disorder with various immune factors. It concludes that although various immune system abnormalities have been reported in children with autism, previous studies are largely association based and it remains difficult to draw conclusions regarding the role of immune factors in the etiopathogenesis of…

Iconic Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sakitt, Barbara

1976-01-01

Describes a series of experiments showing that in normal subjects (a) iconic storage occurs primarily in the retina in the photoreceptors and (b) under conditions of dark pre- and postexposure fields, the icon is mainly a rod phenomenon. Draws conclusions based on these experiments, discusses previous work done by others, and attempts to reconcile…

ETV Programmes: Review of Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaudhary, Sohanvir; Panda, Santosh

1997-01-01

Reviews research on educational television (ETV), focusing on teacher and student attitudes; impact on children and teachers and in-service education in media; and utilization. Also reviews a few studies on the impact and utilization of educational radio broadcasts. Draws broad conclusions about the use, design, and learning process of ETV. (PEN)

Connectivity and Resilience: A Multidimensional Analysis of Infrastructure Impacts in the Southwestern Amazon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perz, Stephen G.; Shenkin, Alexander; Barnes, Grenville; Cabrera, Liliana; Carvalho, Lucas A.; Castillo, Jorge

2012-01-01

Infrastructure is a worldwide policy priority for national development via regional integration into the global economy. However, economic, ecological and social research draws contrasting conclusions about the consequences of infrastructure. We present a synthetic approach to the study of infrastructure, focusing on a multidimensional treatment…

(Ig)Noble Lies: Personal Historicism and Richard Mulcaster's "Positions Concerning the Bringing up of Children" (1581)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Barros, Eric

2013-01-01

Attempting to push early modern presentism to the radical, logical conclusion of a more personal historicism, this essay draws on a number of interpretive practices and theoretical insights--Stephen Greenblatt's self-reflectivity, Toni Morrison's "rememory," Marianne Hirsch's "postmemory," bell hooks's "passion of…

Identifying Country-Specific Cultures of Physics Education: A Differential Item Functioning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mesic, Vanes

2012-01-01

In international large-scale assessments of educational outcomes, student achievement is often represented by unidimensional constructs. This approach allows for drawing general conclusions about country rankings with respect to the given achievement measure, but it typically does not provide specific diagnostic information which is necessary for…

To House the Migrant.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Paul F.

Commissioned by the New York State Center for Migrant Studies to develop a report on improvement in the living environment of migrant workers during their sojourn within New York State, the author draws his conclusions from such information sources as interviews with migrants, growers, and state and national officials; personal labor camp visits;…

Data Interpretation: Using Probability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drummond, Gordon B.; Vowler, Sarah L.

2011-01-01

Experimental data are analysed statistically to allow researchers to draw conclusions from a limited set of measurements. The hard fact is that researchers can never be certain that measurements from a sample will exactly reflect the properties of the entire group of possible candidates available to be studied (although using a sample is often the…

Out of the Stone Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kademan, Robyn

2005-01-01

One of the most beneficial uses for technology in the science classroom is data manipulation. During labs and other learning experiences, students can quickly put the data they collect into spreadsheets or databases. Then they can make comparisons, create graphs, draw conclusions, sort the data in new ways, and, ultimately, give their data…

75 FR 13745 - Office of Innovation and Improvement Overview Information; Ready To Teach Program-General...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-23

... on rigorous, scientifically based research methods to assess the effectiveness of a particular... and programs; and (B) Includes research that-- (i) Employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on... hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn; (iii) Relies on measurements or observational methods...

Do State Examinations Measure Teacher Quality?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrell, Pamela Esprivalo

2009-01-01

This study investigates teacher content knowledge of candidates enrolled in an online graduate teacher certification programme. Descriptive data and linear regression were used to draw conclusions about the content area knowledge of individuals in the sample and the significance of the predictors examined. Descriptive data show 1/3 of the 8-12…

Extending Engineering Practice Research with Shared Qualitative Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trevelyan, James

2016-01-01

Research on engineering practice is scarce and sharing of qualitative research data can reduce the effort required for an aspiring researcher to obtain enough data from engineering workplaces to draw generalizable conclusions, both qualitative and quantitative. This paper describes how a large shareable qualitative data set on engineering…

Supporting the M-Learning Based Knowledge Transfer in University Education and Corporate Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benedek, András; Molnár, György

2014-01-01

The evolution of today's connective forms of teaching and learning draws attention to expansion of "space" in which teaching and learning moments: engaging the attention, knowledge transfer, acquisition, demonstration, experience, experiment research and practice, conclusions are organized around a more free method. Due to these…

Overview of hemlock health

Treesearch

Dennis R. Souto; Kathleen S. Shields

2000-01-01

Although many insects and diseases are associated with hemlock, we will, ironically, draw our first conclusion, that hemlocks are very sensitive to the stress of insect defoliation, from a tale of gypsy moth defoliation. The unprecedented gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) outbreak of 1981, when nearly 13 million acres were defoliated in the Northeast...

Designing a Master Program in Educational Leadership: Trends, Reflections, and Conclusions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aitken, Art; Bedard, George; Darroch, Amber

This paper presents a dialogue about the current context for educational leadership preparation that draws upon worldwide thought and discussion on the issue. Topics considered include recognition by faculty at the University of Lethbridge that educational leadership has problems in content alignment, relevance, and pedagogy. Research shows that…

Crashing the Language Barrier! The English Language: The Way It Is.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Dorothy S.

Intended for adults in search of improved language skills and their leaders, this handbook provides opportunities to strengthen abilities to listen, observe, organize, solve problems, evaluate, and draw tentative conclusions about the English language. The handbook contains a proposition about the English language, suggests procedures to confirm…

Design and Implementation Considerations for Alternative Teacher Compensation Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brodsky, Andrew; DeCesare, Dale; Kramer-Wine, Jennifer

2010-01-01

Over the past decade, educators and policymakers have used a variety of approaches to designing and implementing teacher compensation programs. These approaches include federal incentive funds, state-level programs, and district initiatives. This article reviews 6 such programs in order to identify themes and draw conclusions relevant to…

The Emotional Life of the Toddler.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lieberman, Alicia F.

Noting that parenting a toddler can be both exhilarating and frustrating, this book draws on lifelong research into children's emotional development to provide parents with a better understanding of toddlers' emotional range and how it affects toddler behavior. The 10 chapters and the conclusion cover the following areas: (1) the emotional…

Online Learners and Their Learning Strategies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dewar, Tammy; Whittington, Dave

2000-01-01

Describes an experiment that looked at how adult learners made use of their Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI[R]), a personality assessment tool, type to cope with the challenges of learning in an online environment. Presents results of the experiment, and draws tentative conclusions. Provides notes related to the four psychological dimensions of…

An effective and efficient assessment process

Treesearch

Russell T. Graham; Theresa B. Jain

1999-01-01

Depending on the agency, discipline, or audience, assessments supply data and information to address relevant policy questions and to help make decisions. If properly executed, assessment processes can draw conclusions and make recommendations on how to manage natural resources. Assessments, especially large ones, can be easily influenced by internal and external...

Perceptions of Undergraduate Graphic Design Students on the Educational Potential of Facebook

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Souleles, Nicos

2012-01-01

The popularity of Facebook among university students inevitably raises questions on the educational potential of this Social Networking Site for Higher Education. From the limited literature on the instructional uses of Facebook, one can draw conflicting conclusions. Benefits were identified through the communicative potential, student…

World Wide Web Homepage Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tillman, Michael L.

This paper examines hypermedia design and draws conclusions about how educational research and theory applies to various aspects of World Wide Web (WWW) homepage design. "Hypermedia" is defined as any collection of information which may be textual, graphical, visual, or auditory in nature and which may be accessed via a nonlinear route.…

Affirmative Action: Opportunity or Obstacle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altman, Ellen; Promis, Patricia

Data about managerial positions and applicants were collected in an attempt to draw conclusions about the extent to which gender and ethnicity relate to the outcomes of the search and screen process for middle and senior management positions in academic libraries, and to determine any effects of affirmative action on promotion from within.…

Win, Lose, and Drawing Conclusions: Bellows, Boxing, and Progressivism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Peter A.

1992-01-01

Presents a lesson plan in which George Bellows's painting "Both Members of this Club" is analyzed as a historical document illustrating the Progressive movement. Suggests that the lesson can introduce students to a different form of historical communication. Includes background information and procedures for approaching the lesson.…

Errors of Inference in Structural Equation Modeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCoach, D. Betsy; Black, Anne C.; O'Connell, Ann A.

2007-01-01

Although structural equation modeling (SEM) is one of the most comprehensive and flexible approaches to data analysis currently available, it is nonetheless prone to researcher misuse and misconceptions. This article offers a brief overview of the unique capabilities of SEM and discusses common sources of user error in drawing conclusions from…

Harvard Education Letter. Volume 27, Number 1, January-February 2011

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walser, Caroline T., Ed.

2011-01-01

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) The Greening of Environmental Ed: Teachers Focus on Complexity, Evidence, and Letting Students Draw Their Own Conclusions (Lucy Hood); (2) Like Teacher,…

Sciencewise: Discovering Scientific Process through Problem Solving. Book 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holley, Dennis

This book of activities uses problem solving to help students develop the basic science process skills of observing, predicting, designing/experimenting, eliminating, and drawing conclusions. The activities are divided into two sections: Dynamo Demos and Creative Challenges. The teacher-led Dynamo Demos help students to develop science process…

Sciencewise: Discovering Scientific Process through Problem Solving. Book 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holley, Dennis

This book of activities uses problem solving to help students develop the basic science process skills of observing, predicting, designing/experimenting, eliminating, and drawing conclusions. The activities are divided into two sections: Dynamo Demos and Creative Challenges. The teacher-led Dynamo Demos help students to develop science process…

Basic Inferences of Scientific Reasoning, Argumentation, and Discovery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawson, Anton E.

2010-01-01

Helping students better understand how scientists reason and argue to draw scientific conclusions has long been viewed as a critical component of scientific literacy, thus remains a central goal of science instruction. However, differences of opinion persist regarding the nature of scientific reasoning, argumentation, and discovery. Accordingly,…

Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards in the Educational Sector.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKinney, Joseph R.; Place, A. William

1993-01-01

Reviews the grievance-arbitration process and examines the judiciary's approach to handling appeals of arbitrators' awards. Analyzes 213 court decisions made during a 10-year period involving appeals of arbitrators' awards. Draws some conclusions and further examines the relationship of the grievance-arbitration appeals process to public education…

Learning science through talking science in elementary classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tank, Kristina Maruyama; Coffino, Kara

2014-03-01

Elementary students in grade two make sense of science ideas and knowledge through their contextual experiences. Mattis Lundin and Britt Jakobson find in their research that early grade students have sophisticated understandings of human anatomy and physiology. In order to understand what students' know about human body and various systems, both drawings and spoken responses provide rich evidence of their understanding of the connections between science drawings and verbal explanations. In this forum contribution, we present several theoretical connections between everyday language and science communication and argue that building communication skills in science are essential. We also discuss how young participants should be valued and supported in research. Finally we discuss the need for multimodal research methods when the research participants are young.

Population pharmacokinetics of unbound hydrocortisone in critically ill neonates and infants with vasopressor-resistant hypotension

PubMed Central

Vezina, Heather E.; Ng, Chee M.; Vazquez, Delia M.; Barks, John D.; Bhatt-Mehta, Varsha

2014-01-01

Objective To determine the population pharmacokinetics of unbound hydrocortisone (HC) in critically ill neonates and infants receiving intravenous HC for treatment of vasopressor-resistant hypotension and to identify patient-specific sources of pharmacokinetic variability. Design Prospective observational cohort study. Setting Level 3 neonatal intensive care unit. Patients Sixty-two critically ill neonates and infants receiving intravenous HC as part of standard of care for the treatment of vasopressor-resistant hypotension: median gestational age 28 weeks (range, 23 to 41), median weight 1.2 kg (range, 0.5 to 4.4), 29 females. Interventions None. Measurements Unbound baseline cortisol and post-dose HC concentrations measured from blood samples being drawn for routine laboratory tests. Main Results A one compartment model best described the data. Allometric weight and postmenstrual age (PMA) were significant covariates on unbound HC clearance (CL) and volume of distribution (V). Final population estimates for CL, V, and baseline cortisol concentration were 20.2 L/h, 244 L, and 1.37 ng/mL, respectively. Using the median weight and PMA of our subjects (i.e. 1.2 kg and 28 weeks) in the final model, the typical unbound HC CL and V were 1.0 L/h and 4.2 L, respectively. The typical half-life for unbound HC was 2.9 hours. A sharp and continuous increase in unbound HC CL was observed at 35 weeks PMA. Conclusions We report the first pharmacokinetic data for unbound HC, the pharmacologically active moiety, in critically ill neonates and infants with vasopressor-resistant hypotension. Unbound HC CL increased with body weight and was faster in children with an older PMA. Unbound HC CL increased sharply at 35 weeks PMA and continued to mature thereafter. This study lays the groundwork for evaluating unbound HC exposure-response relationships and drawing definitive conclusions about the dosing of intravenous HC in critically-ill neonates and infants with vasopressor-resistant hypotension. PMID:24797719

Visual Literacy in Primary Science: Exploring Anatomy Cross-Section Production Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

García Fernández, Beatriz; Ruiz-Gallardo, José Reyes

2017-01-01

Are children competent producing anatomy cross-sections? To answer this question, we carried out a case study research aimed at testing graphic production skills in anatomy of nutrition. The graphics produced by 118 children in the final year of primary education were analysed. The children had to draw a diagram of a human cross section,…

Ma te ora ka mohio/"Through Life There Is Learning"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Findsen, Brian; Golding, Barry; Krašovec, Sabina Jelenc; Schmidt-Hertha, Bernhard

2017-01-01

In our final paper we reflectively stand back and ask, "What do we know and what have we learnt about lifelong learning in later life from the international Getting of Wisdom Exchange program and process, including the research papers in this volume?" In critically addressing this question we draw not only on new insights from the papers…

Building Colleges for the Future: Pedagogical and Ideological Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Rob

2017-01-01

This article focuses on the "Building Colleges for the Future" (BCF) initiative (2008) which saw a wave of new-build Further Education (FE) colleges spring up across England in the final years of the New Labour government. It draws on qualitative data from a research study focusing on four new-build colleges in the West Midlands of…

CSMP Mathematics for the First Grade Part II, Teacher's Guide [and] Worksheets. Final Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saunders, Kevin; Schweitzer, Janis

This Teacher's Guide for first-grade mathematics is an outgrowth of an extended pilot project conducted nationwide between 1973 and 1976. The manner of presentation and the pedagogical ideas and tools are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized as having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and…

CSMP Mathematics for the First Grade Part I, Teacher's Guide [and] Worksheets. Final Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saunders, Kevin; And Others

This Teacher's Guide for first-grade mathematics is an outgrowth of an extended pilot project conducted nationwide between 1973 and 1976. The manner of presentation and the pedagogical ideas and tools are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized as having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and…

Be That Teacher! Breaking the Cycle for Struggling Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Risko, Victoria J.; Walker-Dalhouse, Doris

2012-01-01

Tens of thousands of students begin each new school year with the hope that they will finally find "the" teacher who will help them succeed as readers, writers, and learners. This book shows how teachers can provide the type of differentiated instruction that struggling readers need by drawing on students' individual and cultural backgrounds, as…

The Role of Morbidity for Proxy-Reported Well-Being in the Last Year of Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerlach, Katharina; Ram, Nilam; Infurna, Frank J.; Vogel, Nina; Wagner, Gert G.; Gerstorf, Denis

2017-01-01

Late-life well-being often shows steep deteriorations, but the contributing factors are not well understood, in part because data about people's final year of life are scarce. Here, we draw from and test theoretical perspectives that health-related vulnerabilities undermine the experience and skills older adults typically use to maintain…

Los Caminos: Latino/a Youth Forging Pathways in Pursuit of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irizarry, Jason G.

2012-01-01

This article draws from data collected as part of a 3-year ethnographic study that followed two groups of Latino/a students through their final years of high school, the college application process, and for some, the inception of their postsecondary studies. Using Latino/a critical theory as an analytical framework, this article provides insights…

A Different Approach to the Evaluation of Research Libraries. Research Brief No. 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Council on Library and Information Resources, Washington, DC.

In 1996, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) supported a project at Rutgers University that applied new economic theories to measuring how well research libraries fulfill their service roles. This summary draws on the original proposal and the final report from the project's directors. The evaluation of library performance is…

High Temperature Test Facility Preliminary RELAP5-3D Input Model Description

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

Bayless, Paul David

A RELAP5-3D input model is being developed for the High Temperature Test Facility at Oregon State University. The current model is described in detail. Further refinements will be made to the model as final as-built drawings are released and when system characterization data are available for benchmarking the input model.

Solar Hot Water for Motor Inn--Texas City, Texas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Final report describes solar domestic-hot-water heater installation at LaQuinta Motor Inn, Texas City, Texas which furnished 63% of total hot-water load of new 98-unit inn. Report presents a description of system, drawings and photographs of collectors, operations and maintenance instructions, manufacturers' specifications for pumps, and an engineer's report on performance.

The Work Orientations of Australian University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Jeannette; Pick, David

2008-01-01

It is the aim of this paper to provide a better understanding of how university students in Australia are preparing for their future work in the labour market through their work orientations. It draws upon a survey of over 300 final-year undergraduates to present their rationales for engaging in paid work, and their preferences for different job…

Moving beyond Homophobia, Harassment and Intolerance: Gay Male University Students' Alternative Narratives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taulke-Johnson, Richard

2008-01-01

This paper draws on a small-scale qualitative study of the lived experiences of gay male students in their final year of undergraduate study at a UK university. In contrast to the narratives almost universally reported in academic literature, anti-gay victimisation and harassment were not experienced or framed as dominant discourses in the stories…

A Study of Anger and the Elementary Student. Research Brief #25.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyer, Robin; Wise, Stephanie

A survey was developed to study anger in elementary school students drawing on the experience of school counselors and teachers. The final survey was distributed to elementary school counselors, school administrators, and teachers to use with children referred for anger control issues. In 7 elementary schools, 1 female and 36 male students in…

Your Laughter Will Be My Laughter: Reflections of a Grandmother

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wightman, Barbara

2004-01-01

Navajos believe that there are four discrete moments when the spirit enters the human baby: first at conception, again when the mother first feels movement, at birth when baby draws his first breath, and finally, when the baby first laughs. The author, an occupational therapist in early intervention, uses these four key moments as a framework to…

"Risky" Subjects: Theorizing Migration as Risk and Implications for Newcomers in Schools and Societies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Sophia

2018-01-01

This article theorizes migration as risk, drawing on Biesta's notion of risk. The author explores how productive risk connects with emancipation, seeing the risky migrant subjects in societies in new ways, rather than positioning them as marginalized threats. Finally, the author connects the theory of migration as risk to current qualitative data…

State of the art in the validation of screening methods for the control of antibiotic residues: is there a need for further development?

PubMed

Gaudin, Valérie

2017-09-01

Screening methods are used as a first-line approach to detect the presence of antibiotic residues in food of animal origin. The validation process guarantees that the method is fit-for-purpose, suited to regulatory requirements, and provides evidence of its performance. This article is focused on intra-laboratory validation. The first step in validation is characterisation of performance, and the second step is the validation itself with regard to pre-established criteria. The validation approaches can be absolute (a single method) or relative (comparison of methods), overall (combination of several characteristics in one) or criterion-by-criterion. Various approaches to validation, in the form of regulations, guidelines or standards, are presented and discussed to draw conclusions on their potential application for different residue screening methods, and to determine whether or not they reach the same conclusions. The approach by comparison of methods is not suitable for screening methods for antibiotic residues. The overall approaches, such as probability of detection (POD) and accuracy profile, are increasingly used in other fields of application. They may be of interest for screening methods for antibiotic residues. Finally, the criterion-by-criterion approach (Decision 2002/657/EC and of European guideline for the validation of screening methods), usually applied to the screening methods for antibiotic residues, introduced a major characteristic and an improvement in the validation, i.e. the detection capability (CCβ). In conclusion, screening methods are constantly evolving, thanks to the development of new biosensors or liquid chromatography coupled to tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods. There have been clear changes in validation approaches these last 20 years. Continued progress is required and perspectives for future development of guidelines, regulations and standards for validation are presented here.

How can payback from health services research be assessed?

PubMed

Buxton, M; Hanney, S

1996-01-01

Throughout the world there is a growing recognition that health care should be research-led. This strengthens the requirement for expenditure on health services research to be justified by demonstrating the benefits it produces. However, payback from health research and development is a complex concept and little used term. Five main categories of payback can be identified: knowledge; research benefits; political and administrative benefits; health sector benefits; and broader economic benefits. Various models of research utilization together with previous assessments of payback from research helped in the development of a new conceptual model of how and where payback may occur. The model combines an input-output perspective with an examination of the permeable interfaces between research and its environment. The model characterizes research projects in terms of Inputs, Processes, and Primary Outputs. The last consist of knowledge and research benefits. There are two interfaces between the project and its environment. The first (Project Specification, Selection and Commissioning) is the link with Research Needs Assessment. The second (Dissemination) should lead to Secondary Outputs (which are policy or administrative decisions), and usually Applications (which take the form of behavioural changes), from which Impacts or Final Outcomes result. It is at this final stage that health and wider economic benefits can be measured. A series of case studies were used to assess the feasibility both of applying the model and the payback categorization. The paper draws various conclusions from the case studies and identifies a range of issues for further work.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation to the cerebellum improves handwriting and cyclic drawing kinematics in focal hand dystonia.

PubMed

Bradnam, Lynley V; Graetz, Lynton J; McDonnell, Michelle N; Ridding, Michael C

2015-01-01

There is increasing evidence that the cerebellum has a role in the pathophysiology of primary focal hand dystonia and might provide an intervention target for non-invasive brain stimulation to improve function of the affected hand. The primary objective of this study was to determine if cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improves handwriting and cyclic drawing kinematics in people with hand dystonia, by reducing cerebellar-brain inhibition (CBI) evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Eight people with dystonia (5 writer's dystonia, 3 musician's dystonia) and eight age-matched controls completed the study and underwent cerebellar anodal, cathodal and sham tDCS in separate sessions. Dystonia severity was assessed using the Writer's Cramp Rating Scale (WRCS) and the Arm Dystonia Disability Scale (ADDS). The kinematic measures that differentiated the groups were; mean stroke frequency during handwriting and fast cyclic drawing and average pen pressure during light cyclic drawing. TMS measures of cortical excitability were no different between people with FHD and controls. There was a moderate, negative relationship between TMS-evoked CBI at baseline and the WRCS in dystonia. Anodal cerebellar tDCS reduced handwriting mean stroke frequency and average pen pressure, and increased speed and reduced pen pressure during fast cyclic drawing. Kinematic measures were not associated with a decrease in CBI within an individual. In conclusion, cerebellar anodal tDCS appeared to improve kinematics of handwriting and circle drawing tasks; but the underlying neurophysiological mechanism remains uncertain. A study in a larger homogeneous population is needed to further investigate the possible therapeutic benefit of cerebellar tDCS in dystonia.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation to the cerebellum improves handwriting and cyclic drawing kinematics in focal hand dystonia

PubMed Central

Bradnam, Lynley V.; Graetz, Lynton J.; McDonnell, Michelle N.; Ridding, Michael C.

2015-01-01

There is increasing evidence that the cerebellum has a role in the pathophysiology of primary focal hand dystonia and might provide an intervention target for non-invasive brain stimulation to improve function of the affected hand. The primary objective of this study was to determine if cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improves handwriting and cyclic drawing kinematics in people with hand dystonia, by reducing cerebellar-brain inhibition (CBI) evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Eight people with dystonia (5 writer’s dystonia, 3 musician’s dystonia) and eight age-matched controls completed the study and underwent cerebellar anodal, cathodal and sham tDCS in separate sessions. Dystonia severity was assessed using the Writer’s Cramp Rating Scale (WRCS) and the Arm Dystonia Disability Scale (ADDS). The kinematic measures that differentiated the groups were; mean stroke frequency during handwriting and fast cyclic drawing and average pen pressure during light cyclic drawing. TMS measures of cortical excitability were no different between people with FHD and controls. There was a moderate, negative relationship between TMS-evoked CBI at baseline and the WRCS in dystonia. Anodal cerebellar tDCS reduced handwriting mean stroke frequency and average pen pressure, and increased speed and reduced pen pressure during fast cyclic drawing. Kinematic measures were not associated with a decrease in CBI within an individual. In conclusion, cerebellar anodal tDCS appeared to improve kinematics of handwriting and circle drawing tasks; but the underlying neurophysiological mechanism remains uncertain. A study in a larger homogeneous population is needed to further investigate the possible therapeutic benefit of cerebellar tDCS in dystonia. PMID:26042019

Embodiment design for a multipropellant resistojet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bao, Johnny; Chilosi, Thierry; Goodwin, Jason; Mocio, Jim; Yeh, Bruce

1993-01-01

This document presents the design of a multipropellant resistojet to use as an auxiliary propulsion system on the Space Station. Such a system is necessary to counteract atmospheric drag effects encountered by the Station in its orbit. NASA specifications are strictly followed with emphasis on reliability, operating life, multipropellant capability, and exhaust emission control. Several design variants are considered, and the final solution is a resistojet with an electronic pressure regulator, variable control, an internal flow heater, and a conical nozzle. To construct the resistojet, the important components are resolved independently and then integrated with secondary units. The document also includes engineering drawings of the final design with assembly instructions. Before final utilization, a prototype testing is recommended to uncover possible problems.

Abelson Helper Integration Site-1 Gene Variants on Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder

PubMed Central

Porcelli, Stefano; Han, Changsu; Lee, Soo-Jung; Patkar, Ashwin A.; Masand, Prakash S.; Balzarro, Beatrice; Alberti, Siegfried; De Ronchi, Diana; Serretti, Alessandro

2014-01-01

Objective The present study aimed to explore whether 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the AHI1 gene could be associated with major depressive disorder (MD) and bipolar disorder (BD), and whether they could predict clinical outcomes in mood disorders. Methods One hundred and eighty-four (184) patients with MD, 170 patients with BD and 170 healthy controls were genotyped for 4 AHI1 SNPs (rs11154801, rs7750586, rs9647635 and rs9321501). Baseline and final clinical measures for MD patients were assessed through the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Allelic and genotypic frequencies in MD and BD subjects were compared with those of each disorder and healthy group using the χ2 statistics. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to test possible influences of SNPs on treatment efficacy. Results The rs9647635 A/A was more represented in subjects with BD as compared with MD and healthy subjects together. The rs9647635 A/A was also more presented in patients with MD than in healthy subjects. With regard to the allelic analysis, rs9647635 A allele was more represented in subjects with BD compared with healthy subjects, while it was not observed between patients with MD and healthy subjects. Conclusion Our findings provide potential evidence of an association between some variants of AHI1 and mood disorders susceptibility but not with clinical outcomes. However, we will need to do more adequately-powered and advanced association studies to draw any conclusion due to clear limitations. PMID:25395981

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation for Treatment of Muscle Impairment: Critical Review and Recommendations for Clinical Practice

PubMed Central

Houghton, Pamela; Anthony, Joseph; Rennie, Sandy; Shay, Barbara L.; Hoens, Alison M.

2017-01-01

Purpose: In response to requests from physiotherapists for guidance on optimal stimulation of muscle using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), a review, synthesis, and extraction of key data from the literature was undertaken by six Canadian physical therapy (PT) educators, clinicians, and researchers in the field of electrophysical agents. The objective was to identify commonly treated conditions for which there was a substantial body of literature from which to draw conclusions regarding the effectiveness of NMES. Included studies had to apply NMES with visible and tetanic muscle contractions. Method: Four electronic databases (CINAHL, Embase, PUBMED, and SCOPUS) were searched for relevant literature published between database inceptions until May 2015. Additional articles were identified from bibliographies of the systematic reviews and from personal collections. Results: The extracted data were synthesized using a consensus process among the authors to provide recommendations for optimal stimulation parameters and application techniques to address muscle impairments associated with the following conditions: stroke (upper or lower extremity; both acute and chronic), anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, patellofemoral pain syndrome, knee osteoarthritis, and total knee arthroplasty as well as critical illness and advanced disease states. Summaries of key details from each study incorporated into the review were also developed. The final sections of the article outline the recommended terminology for describing practice using electrical currents and provide tips for safe and effective clinical practice using NMES. Conclusion: This article provides physiotherapists with a resource to enable evidence-informed, effective use of NMES for PT practice. PMID:29162949

At Last! Aye, and There's the Rub.

PubMed

Capron, Alexander M

2017-07-01

Mea culpa. In 1981 the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, of which I was the Executive Director, recommended to the President and Congress that all federal departments and agencies that conduct or support human subjects research adopt "as a common core" the HHS regulations, "while permitting additions needed by any department or agency that are not inconsistent with these core provisions." The commission believed-rightly, I still think-that having uniformity would ease administration, reduce regulatory burdens, simplify oversight, and make research more efficient. Yet our naïve expectation the task could be accomplished in 180 days meant that we failed to anticipate that if it took much longer-namely, the 10 years that passed before the Common Rule was issued-federal officials would thereafter be reluctant to change the regulations and that when they tried to do so twenty years later, with the issuance of the ANPRM in 2011, they would propose comprehensive revisions. I argue that was the wrong conclusion to draw from the difficulties in issuing the first Common Rule, and that the process of producing the new "final rule" on January 19, 2017-during which many of the proposed changes were either dumped or promulgated without being adequately vetted-reinforces the conclusion that a more incremental process, with ongoing involvement of the public through an advisory body like the President's Commission, would be a much better way to proceed.

The Effect of Chin-cup Therapy in Class III Malocclusion: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Mousoulea, Sophia; Tsolakis, Ioannis; Ferdianakis, Efstratios; Tsolakis, Apostolos I.

2016-01-01

Background: The treatment of Class III malocclusion has been challenging for orthodontists. Among a plethora of treatment modalities, the chin-cup is considered a traditional appliance for early orthopedic intervention. Objective: The present study aims to investigate the current scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of chin-cup therapy in Class III malocclusion of prognathic growing patients. Method: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed/Medline and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from January 1954 to October 2015. Articles were selected based on established inclusion/ exclusion criteria. Results: The search strategy resulted in 3285 articles.14 studies were selected for the final analysis. They were all CCTs, 13 of retrospective and 1 of prospective design. Methodological quality was evaluated by a risk of bias assessment, as suggested by the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Non-Randomized Studies on Interventions. The reported evidence presented favorable short-term outcomes both in hard and soft tissues improving the Class III profile, as well as desirable dento-alveolar changes, positively affecting the Class III malocclusion. Conclusion: There is considerable agreement between studies that chin-cup therapy can be considered for the short-term treatment of growing patients with Class III malocclusion, as indicated by favorable changes both in the hard and soft tissues. The existence of considerable risk of bias in all selected studies and the unclear long-term effectiveness of chin-cup therapy highlight the need for further investigation to draw reliable conclusions. PMID:28077971

Botallo's error, or the quandaries of the universality assumption.

PubMed

Bartolomeo, Paolo; Seidel Malkinson, Tal; de Vito, Stefania

2017-01-01

One of the founding principles of human cognitive neuroscience is the so-called universality assumption, the postulate that neurocognitive mechanisms do not show major differences among individuals. Without negating the importance of the universality assumption for the development of cognitive neuroscience, or the importance of single-case studies, here we aim at stressing the potential dangers of interpreting the pattern of performance of single patients as conclusive evidence concerning the architecture of the intact neurocognitive system. We take example from the case of Leonardo Botallo, an Italian surgeon of the Renaissance period, who claimed to have discovered a new anatomical structure of the adult human heart. Unfortunately, Botallo's discovery was erroneous, because what he saw in the few samples he examined was in fact the anomalous persistence of a fetal structure. Botallo's error is a reminder of the necessity to always strive for replication, despite the major hindrance of a publication system heavily biased towards novelty. In the present paper, we briefly discuss variations and anomalies in human brain anatomy and introduce the issue of variability in cognitive neuroscience. We then review some examples of the impact on cognition of individual variations in (1) brain structure, (2) brain functional organization and (3) brain damage. We finally discuss the importance and limits of single case studies in the neuroimaging era, outline potential ways to deal with individual variability, and draw some general conclusions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

General Aviation in Nebraska: Nebraska SATS Project Background Paper No. 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Russell; Wachal, Jocelyn

2000-01-01

The Nebraska SATS project is a state-level component of NASA's Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS). During the next several years the project will examine several different factors affecting SATS implementation in Nebraska. These include economic and taxation issues, public policy issues, airport planning processes, information dissemination strategies, and systemic change factors. This background paper profiles the general aviation system in Nebraska. It is written to provide information about the "context" within which SATS will be pursued. The primary focus is thus on describing and providing background information about the current situation. A secondary focus is on drawing general conclusions about the ability of the current system to incorporate the types of changes implied by SATS. First, some brief information on the U.S. aviation system is provided. The next two sections profile the current general aviation aircraft and pilot base. Nebraska's system of general aviation airports is then described. Within this section of the paper, information is provided on the different types of general aviation airports in Nebraska, airport activity levels and current infrastructure. The fourth major section of the background paper looks at Nebraska's local airport authorities. These special purpose local governments oversee the majority of the general aviation airports in the state. Among the items examined are total expenditures, capital expenditures and planning activities. Next, the paper provides background information on the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics (NDA) and recent Federal funding for general aviation in Nebraska. The final section presents summary conclusions.

A Virtual Dig--Joining Archaeology and Fiction to Promote Critical and Historical Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, David

2003-01-01

In this article, the author describes "Dr. Gesundheit and the Mysteries of Snake Valley," a mini-unit that he designed so that his middle-level students could learn to interpret archaeological diagrams, work cooperatively to discover relationships among their observations, and draw well-founded conclusions. The unit requires approximately four…

A Review and Perspective on Lean in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balzer, William K.; Francis, David E.; Krehbiel, Timothy C.; Shea, Nicholas

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the accumulated body of research on Lean in higher education, draw conclusions to help guide successful Lean implementations and propose future research directions to establish a rich base of knowledge that informs both practice and research. Design/methodology/approach This literature review…

A Project-based Spiral Curriculum for Introductory Courses in ChE: Part 3. Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DiBiasio, David; Comparini, Lisa; Dixon, Anthony G.; Clark, William M.

2001-01-01

Presents the third part of a series on the development and implementation of project-based spiral curriculum in chemical engineering. Focuses on the details of the assessment design, describes the results of the assessment, and draws conclusions about the success of the program. (Contains 18 references.) (ASK)

Treatment Integrity of Interventions with Children in the School Psychology Literature from 1995 to 2008

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanetti, Lisa M. Hagermoser; Gritter, Katie L.; Dobey, Lisa M.

2011-01-01

Increased accountability in education has resulted in a focus on implementing interventions with strong empirical support. Both student outcome and treatment integrity data are needed to draw valid conclusions about intervention effectiveness. Reviews of the literature in other fields (e.g., applied behavior analysis, prevention science) suggest…

Cortical Bases of Elementary Deductive Reasoning: Inference, Memory, and Metadeduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reverberi, Carlo; Shallice, Tim; D'Agostini, Serena; Skrap, Miran; Bonatti, Luca L.

2009-01-01

Elementary deduction is the ability of unreflectively drawing conclusions from explicit or implicit premises, on the basis of their logical forms. This ability is involved in many aspects of human cognition and interactions. To date, limited evidence exists on its cortical bases. We propose a model of elementary deduction in which logical…

Are We Asking the Right Questions?: A Conceptual Review of the Educational Development Literature in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amundsen, Cheryl; Wilson, Mary

2012-01-01

This is a conceptual review of the literature variously referred to as faculty development, educational development, instructional development, and academic development in higher education. Previous empirical reviews covering more than 30 years of published literature could draw only tentative and weak conclusions about the effectiveness of…

The Sweetest Chocolate Milk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newton, Kristie J.

2010-01-01

Using a nonroutine problem can be an effective way to encourage students to draw on prior knowledge, work together, and reach important conclusions about the mathematics they are learning. This article discusses a problem on the mathematical preparation of chocolate milk which was adapted from an old book of puzzles (Linn 1969) and has been used…

Third Culture Kids: Transition and Persistence When Repatriating to Attend University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jennison Smith, Virginia M

2011-01-01

Scope and Method of Study. This qualitative study used heuristic phenomenology and involved 20 interviews at 3 different sites, 2 focus groups, formal and informal observations, and the analysis of various artifacts including photos, drawings, and documents. Findings and Conclusions. Third culture kids are a diverse group of individuals who spent…

Development and Evaluation of a Model-Supported Scientific Inquiry Training Program for Elementary Teachers in Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ertikanto, Chandra; Herpratiwi; Yunarti, Tina; Saputra, Andrian

2017-01-01

A teacher training program, named Model-Supported Scientific Inquiry Training Program (MSSITP) has been successfully developed to improve the inquiry skills of Indonesian elementary teachers. The skills enhanced by MSSITP are defining problems, formulating hypotheses, planning and doing investigations, drawing conclusions, and communicating the…

The Importance of Statistical Modeling in Data Analysis and Inference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rollins, Derrick, Sr.

2017-01-01

Statistical inference simply means to draw a conclusion based on information that comes from data. Error bars are the most commonly used tool for data analysis and inference in chemical engineering data studies. This work demonstrates, using common types of data collection studies, the importance of specifying the statistical model for sound…

Measuring Change in Social Interaction Skills of Young Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, Allison B.

2012-01-01

Designing effective treatments for improving early social behaviors in autism has been identified as a critical research need. One barrier to drawing conclusions about optimal treatments for children with autism is the use of highly varied dependent measures in the treatment literature. Contributing to this is the absence of "gold standard"…

Conclusion: Women around the World Reshaping Leadership for Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grogan, Margaret

2010-01-01

Purpose: This short essay aims to reflect on the global experiences women in education have had in becoming leaders as noted in the articles in this special issue on women's leadership. Design/methodology/approach: The essay draws upon relevant historical and contemporary literature about women in the professions and in the workforce. Findings:…

Forces of the Wild. Nature. Teacher's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Jordan

This curriculum guide was developed for use with public television's Nature series. The materials in the guide are designed to help students actively participate in the study and experience of nature. Students are encouraged to view the programs as a scientist would, observing natural phenomena and drawing conclusions. Each lesson in the Teacher's…

Comparing Societies from the 1500s in the Sixth Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matson, Trista; Henning, Mary Beth

2008-01-01

Inquiry is the process by which teachers give students an open-ended question, and then students investigate the evidence and draw conclusions based upon their findings. This method promotes critical thinking, as students cite evidence to support their opinions. Inquiry is most effective when it builds upon students' prior knowledge. To promote…

6883 Maintenance Training Simulator Development Utilizing Imagery Techniques.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-05-01

increased motivation (as by its game-like setting), etc. These questions are left for future inquiry. 26 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The imagery training...the output of power supply PS4 ." 46. 46 ; 20b. Read instructions (imagery group only). "To ready the board, take the one drawing that is titled

Great Explorations in Mathematics: Grades 5-8. Teacher's Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyches, Richard W.; And Others

This volume is a teacher's edition in a series of books that contain open-ended exploration activities and experiments. These activities allow and encourage students to set their own goals, use their own creativity and ideas, investigate the wonders of nature, learn about the workings of real businesses, and draw conclusions from their…

A Challenge to Vocational Educators. Patrick J. O'Connor Distinguished Scholars. 1994 Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Maria; Burrell, Lewis

This document contains two papers dealing with challenges facing vocational educators. "Producing a Competent Workforce for the Year 2000: Industry Expectations of Education" (Lewis Burrell) draws the following conclusions: (1) employers and educators need to form a close coalition to plan, design, and execute a system of education and training…

Functional Grammar in the Context of Linguistic Applications in Turkish Language Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epcacan, Cahit

2013-01-01

In the last century, language researches adopted the scientific method and linguistics became an autonomous discipline. Linguistics is a framework concept that analyzes all languages in the world in various contexts according to its own rules and draws conclusions using the systematic approach. Functional linguistics is a linguistic trend that…

International Comparisons and Sensitivity to Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiliam, Dylan

2008-01-01

While international comparisons such as those provided by PISA may be meaningful in terms of overall judgements about the performance of educational systems, caution is needed in terms of more fine-grained judgements. In particular it is argued that the results of PISA to draw conclusions about the quality of instruction in different systems is…

How Broad Liberal Arts Training Produces Phd Economists: Carleton's Story

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bourne, Jenny; Grawe, Nathan D.

2015-01-01

Several recent studies point to strong performance in economics PhD programs of graduates from liberal arts colleges. While every undergraduate program is unique and the likelihood of selection bias combines with small sample sizes to caution against drawing strong conclusions, the authors reflect on their experience at Carleton College to…

Review of Family Financial Decision Making: Suggestions for Future Research and Implications for Financial Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Jinhee; Gutter, Michael S.; Spangler, Taylor

2017-01-01

This article reviews the theories and literature in intrahousehold financial decisions, spousal partners and financial decision making, family system and financial decision process, children, and financial decisions. The article draws conclusions from the literature review and discusses directions for future research and educational programs. Most…

Exploring the Self-concept of Adults with Mild Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pestana, Claudio

2015-01-01

This qualitative study aimed to add to the research on the self-concept of adults with mild learning disabilities and to generate a deeper understanding of their self-perceptions rather than draw generalised quantitative conclusions. Eight adults diagnosed with mild learning disabilities receiving support from a supported living project were…

Thick Descriptions: A Language for Articulating Ethnographic Media Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldman-Segall, Ricki

"Thick descriptions" are descriptions that are layered enough to draw conclusions and uncover the intentions of a given act, event, or process. In a video environment, thick descriptions are images, gestures, or sequences that convey meaning. Neither the quantity nor the resolution of the images makes the descriptions thick. Thickness is…

Tracer Evolution at High Latitudes in Winter (SOLVE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plumb, R. Alan

2001-01-01

Prior to the SOLVE deployment, we modified and ran a chemical transport model (CTM) to set up a stratospheric climatology for 1 September 1999. During and immediately following the SOLVE deployments, we ran the model in near-real-time and used these results in conjunction with SOLVE observations to draw conclusions about stratospheric transport.

Quantitative Data Analysis--In the Graduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albers, Michael J.

2017-01-01

A quantitative research study collects numerical data that must be analyzed to help draw the study's conclusions. Teaching quantitative data analysis is not teaching number crunching, but teaching a way of critical thinking for how to analyze the data. The goal of data analysis is to reveal the underlying patterns, trends, and relationships of a…

Dominant Personality Types in Public Accounting: Selection Bias or Indoctrinated?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burton, Hughlene; Daugherty, Brian; Dickins, Denise; Schisler, Dan

2016-01-01

Prior studies concerning the personality type and preferences of accountants generally draw conclusions based upon the reports of either practicing accountants, or accounting students, at a single point in time. So while much is known about the personality type of accountants in general, left unexplored is the question of whether public…

Ancient India: The Asiatic Ethiopians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Carolyn McPherson

This curriculum unit was developed by a participant in the 1993 Fulbright-Hays Program "India: Continuity and Change." The unit attempts to place India in the "picture frame" of the ancient world as a part of a whole, not as a separate entity. Reading materials enable students to draw broader general conclusions based on the…

Professional Development for School Improvement: The Case of Indiana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruddy, Anne-Maree; Prusinski, Ellen

2012-01-01

Drawing on data collected during an evaluation of Indiana schools receiving Title I 1003(g) School Improvement Fund grants in the 2008-2009 school year, this article explores how professional development can be used to support school improvement efforts. This article upholds the conclusion that when activities support the development of a…

Building bridges: marketing managed care to ethnically diverse populations.

PubMed

Rosen, M B

1996-12-01

America's population "stew" creates specific challenges to health plans attempting to reach ethnically differentiated enrollee groups. In this article, the author provides snapshots of four ethnic groups, suggests some marketing considerations when preparing communications to these groups, and helps draw some conclusions about marketing managed care products to a culturally diverse population.

Making Sense of Undergraduate Students' Reflections as They Learn through Writing an Action Research Proposal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maoto, S.

2011-01-01

This article explores learning opportunities offered by students' written reflections as they learn through writing an action research proposal. From tapping into students' reported struggles, I analysed data using three stages of qualitative data analysis: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing (Miles and Huberman 1994). It emerged…

Inquiry-Based Learning Approach in Physical Education: Stimulating and Engaging Students in Physical and Cognitive Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Østergaard, Lars Domino

2016-01-01

Inquiry is an approach that promotes engagement, motivation and learning, and which involves use of cognitive knowledge, bodily experience and communicative skills. Usually the inquiry method with skills like observations, planning, investigations, experimenting and drawing conclusions is related to natural sciences, but this paper describes an…

The Theory and Practice of Alternative Certification: Implications for the Improvement of Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawley, Willis D.

1990-01-01

Identifies questions related to the processes and consequences of alternative teacher certification (AC), answers questions with research-based facts, proposes key elements of a model AC program, and draws conclusions about the directions AC may take and its probable effects on educational reform and on the professionalization of teaching. (SM)

The Dark Side of the Tube

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagler, Amy; Wagler, Ron

2014-01-01

Every high school graduate should be able to use data analysis and statistical reasoning to draw conclusions about the world. Two core statistical concepts for students to understand are the role of variability in measures and evaluating the effect of a variable. In the activity presented in this article, students investigate a scientific question…

Writing and drawing with both hands as indicators of hemispheric dominance.

PubMed

Labak, Irena; Snajder, Darija; Srzentić, Mirna Kostović; Bensić, Mirta; Nist, Marina; Ilakovac, Vesna; Heffer, Marija

2011-01-01

Brain lateralization is a common term used to describe dominance of one brain hemisphere over another for a specific function. The right hand dominance in writing, controlled by the left hemisphere, is preceded by development of communicative gesticulation and followed by development of speech in the same hemisphere. We assumed that some people are not aware of their own capability of using the other hand for tasks involving fine motor sequential movements. To prove this hypothesis, the participants were asked to perform one trained task (writing) and one less-trained task (drawing) with a dominant and a non-dominant hand. The final sample was comprised of 1189 children from 14 elementary schools and 8 high schools in the Osijek area, of which 685 elementary school children were attending 1st to 4th grade and 504 high school children were attending 3rd and 4th grade. The participants were asked to write two words, draw a specific object (a vase with flowers) and fill out a questionnaire with 10 questions concerning the classification of handedness and cerebral hemisphere dominance. The self-reported cerebral lateralization assessed in the questionnaire was compared with the drawing and the writing performance. The self-reported and objectively measured hand dominance deviated in the cases of the ambidextrous who consider themselves right-handers. Given the fact that the number of ambidextrous persons was greater in elementary schools than in high schools, we concluded how training of the right hand decreases the ability of using both hands equally for either of the tested functions - writing and drawing.

Production Process of Biocompatible Magnesium Alloy Tubes Using Extrusion and Dieless Drawing Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kustra, Piotr; Milenin, Andrij; Płonka, Bartłomiej; Furushima, Tsuyoshi

2016-06-01

Development of technological production process of biocompatible magnesium tubes for medical applications is the subject of the present paper. The technology consists of two stages—extrusion and dieless drawing process, respectively. Mg alloys for medical applications such as MgCa0.8 are characterized by low technological plasticity during deformation that is why optimization of production parameters is necessary to obtain good quality product. Thus, authors developed yield stress and ductility model for the investigated Mg alloy and then used the numerical simulations to evaluate proper manufacturing conditions. Grid Extrusion3d software developed by authors was used to determine optimum process parameters for extrusion—billet temperature 400 °C and extrusion velocity 1 mm/s. Based on those parameters the tube with external diameter 5 mm without defects was manufactured. Then, commercial Abaqus software was used for modeling dieless drawing. It was shown that the reduction in the area of 60% can be realized for MgCa0.8 magnesium alloy. Tubes with the final diameter of 3 mm were selected as a case study, to present capabilities of proposed processes.

Ultra-weak FBG and its refractive index distribution in the drawing optical fiber.

PubMed

Guo, Huiyong; Liu, Fang; Yuan, Yinquan; Yu, Haihu; Yang, Minghong

2015-02-23

For the online writing of ultra-weak fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in the drawing optical fibers, the effects of the intensity profile, pulse fluctuation and pulse width of the excimer laser, as well as the transverse and longitudinal vibrations of the optical fiber have been investigated. Firstly, using Lorentz-Loren equation, Gladstone-Dale mixing rule and continuity equation, we have derived the refractive index (RI) fluctuation along the optical fiber and the RI distribution in the FBG, they are linear with the gradient of longitudinal vibration velocity. Then, we have prepared huge amounts of ultra-weak FBGs in the non-moving optical fiber and obtained their reflection spectra, the measured reflection spectra shows that the intensity profile and pulse fluctuation of the excimer laser, as well as the transverse vibration of the optical fiber are little responsible for the inconsistency of ultra-weak FBGs. Finally, the effect of the longitudinal vibration of the optical fiber on the inconsistency of ultra-weak FBGs has been discussed, and the vibration equations of the drawing optical fiber are given in the appendix.

E-Beam Capture Aid Drawing Based Modelling on Cell Biology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hidayat, T.; Rahmat, A.; Redjeki, S.; Rahman, T.

2017-09-01

The objectives of this research are to find out how far Drawing-based Modeling assisted with E-Beam Capture could support student’s scientific reasoning skill using Drawing - based Modeling approach assisted with E-Beam Capture. The research design that is used for this research is the Pre-test and Post-test Design. The data collection of scientific reasoning skills is collected by giving multiple choice questions before and after the lesson. The data analysis of scientific reasoning skills is using scientific reasoning assessment rubric. The results show an improvement of student’s scientific reasoning in every indicator; an improvement in generativity which shows 2 students achieving high scores, 3 students in elaboration reasoning, 4 students in justification, 3 students in explanation, 3 students in logic coherency, 2 students in synthesis. The research result in student’s explanation reasoning has the highest number of students with high scores, which shows 20 students with high scores in the pre-test and 23 students in post-test and synthesis reasoning shows the lowest number, which shows 1 student in the pretest and 3 students in posttest. The research result gives the conclusion that Drawing-based Modeling approach assisted with E-Beam Capture could not yet support student’s scientific reasoning skills comprehensively.

An exploratory study of the potential learning benefits for medical students in collaborative drawing: creativity, reflection and ‘critical looking’

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Building on a series of higher educational arts/medicine initiatives, an interdisciplinary drawing module themed on the human body was developed for both year 3 Craft students and year 3 Medicine degree students. This became the subject of a research project exploring how the collaborative approach to drawing adopted on this module impacted on the students’ learning. In this article, emphasis is given to issues thought to have most potential relevance to medical education. Methods Using an ethnographic research design, the methods adopted were: direct observation of all aspects of the module sessions, audio and video recordings and photographs of the sessions, the incorporation of a semi-structured discussion at the end of each session, and anonymous student questionnaires. Results A number of key themes emerged. The complex, phased and multi-sensory nature of the ‘critical looking’ skills developed through the drawing exercises was seen as of potential value in medical education, being proposed as analogous to processes involved in clinical examination and diagnosis. The experience of interdisciplinary collaborative drawing was significant to the students as a creative, participatory and responsive form of learning. The emphasis on the physical experience of drawing and the thematic use of the human body as drawing subject led to reflective discussions about bodily knowledge and understanding. There were indications that students had a meta-cognitive awareness of the learning shifts that had occurred and the sessions provoked constructive self-reflective explorations of pre-professional identity. Conclusions This preliminary study suggests, through the themes identified, that there may be potential learning outcomes for medical students in this model of interdisciplinary collaborative drawing of the human body. Further research is needed to explore their applicability and value to medical education. There is a need to explore in more depth the beliefs, motivations and learning styles of medical students opting for the module, the significance and weighting of different learning and teaching elements in the module and the impact of the learning on medical students in the immediate post-module phase. PMID:23773830

The Technology of Unequal Rights for Women: Patent Drawings of a Voting Machine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hussey, Michael

2008-01-01

In 1878, Senator Aaron A. Sargent of California introduced to the Senate an amendment to the Constitution "Conferring upon Women the Right of Suffrage." Drafted by Susan B. Anthony, this same amendment would be introduced on a near-yearly basis until its final passage by Congress on May 19, 1919. Varying degrees of voting rights presented an…

CSMP Mathematics for the Intermediate Grades Part IV, Teacher's Guide. General Introduction. Workbooks. Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Armstrong, Richard; And Others

This guide represents the final experimental version of a pilot project which was conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The ideas and the manner of presentation are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized for having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and models of our numeration…

CSMP Mathematics for the Intermediate Grades Part I, Teacher's Guide. General Introduction. Workbooks. Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Burt; And Others

This guide represents the final experimental version of an extended pilot project which was conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The manner of presentation and pedagogical ideas and tools are based on the works of George and Frederique Papy. They are recognized as having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams")…

CSMP Mathematics for the Intermediate Grades Part III, Teacher's Guide [and] Worksheets. General Introduction. Workbooks. Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harpel, Jim; And Others

This guide represents the final experimental version of a pilot project which was conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The ideas and the manner of presentation are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized for having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and models of our numeration…

CSMP Mathematics for the Intermediate Grades Part I, Teacher's Guide [and] Worksheets. The World of Numbers. Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CEMREL, Inc., St. Ann, MO.

This guide represents the final experimental version of an extended pilot project which was conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The manner of presentation and pedagogical ideas and tools are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized as having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams")…

CSMP Mathematics for the Intermediate Grades Part III, Teacher's Guide. The World of Numbers. Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CEMREL, Inc., St. Ann, MO.

This guide represents the final experimental version of a pilot project which was conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The ideas and the manner of presentation are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized for having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and models of our numeration…

CSMP Mathematics for the Intermediate Grades Part II, Teacher's Guide. General Introduction. Workbooks. Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harpel, Jim; And Others

This guide represents the final experimental version of a pilot project which was conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The ideas and the manner of presentation are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized for having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and models of our numeration…

Vygotsky's Stage Theory: The Psychology of Art and the Actor under the Direction of "Perezhivanie"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smagorinsky, Peter

2011-01-01

This article reviews Vygotsky's writings on arts (particularly logocentric art including the theater) and emotions, drawing on his initial exploration in "The Psychology of Art" and his final considerations set forth in a set of essays, treatises, and lectures produced in the last years of his life. The review of "The Psychology of Art" includes…

CSMP Mathematics for the Intermediate Grades Part IV, Teacher's Guide. The World of Numbers. Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CEMREL, Inc., St. Ann, MO.

This guide represents the final experimental version of a pilot project which was conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The ideas and the manner of presentation are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized for having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and models of our numeration…

Fighting, Anger, Frustration and Tears: Matthew's Story of Hegemonic Masculinity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keddie, Amanda

2006-01-01

This paper draws on Matthew's story to illustrate the conflicting discourses of being a boy and being a student. Matthew is 12 years old and in Grade Six, his final year at Banrock Primary (a K-6 Australian State School). School is far from a happy place for Matthew--his tearful accounts of his combative relationships with his peers and his…

Inferring cognition from action: does martyrdom imply its motive?

PubMed

Weiss, David J; Weiss, Jie

2014-08-01

Drawing inferences about the decision utilities of suicide terrorists from their final action is tempting, but hazardous. Direct elicitation of those utilities would be more informative, but is infeasible. Substituting examination of archival materials for elicitation makes the assumption that leaders and bombers have similar utilities. Insight regarding the beliefs of terrorist leaders might be available from observations of recruitment strategies.

Engaging Disaffected Learners in Key Stage 4 through Work-Related Learning in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Caroline; Laczik, Andrea

2016-01-01

Work-Related Learning (WRL) has been enthusiastically embraced by UK governments since the 1990s as a means of reengaging learners in the final years of compulsory schooling. However, recent years have seen a policy shift away from WRL towards a more academic curriculum for all young people. Drawing on a qualitative study commissioned by the…

Designing for Diverse Learning: Case Study of Place-Based Learning in Design and Technologies Pre-Service Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Best, Marnie; MacGregor, Denise; Price, Deborah

2017-01-01

Place-based learning experiences in Design and Technologies education connect people and place with design processes and products. Drawing on place-based learning, this case study shares the experiences of eight final year pre-service Design and Technologies education students from the University of South Australia as they collaborated with…

Modelling Job-Related and Personality Predictors of Intention to Pursue Accounting Careers among Undergraduate Students in Ghana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mbawuni, Joseph; Nimako, Simon Gyasi

2015-01-01

This study principally investigates job-related and personality factors that determine Ghanaian accounting students' intentions to pursue careers in accounting. It draws on a rich body of existing literature to develop a research model. Primary data were collected from a cross-sectional survey of 516 final year accounting students in a Ghanaian…

More than a Metaphor: The Education of Joseph Knecht

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Peter

2008-01-01

Education is a key theme in Hermann Hesse's final novel, "The Glass Bead Game". The book begins with a narrator's introduction, in which the Glass Bead Game is described as a way of playing with the total contents of culture--of drawing connections between disciplines, knowledge and values. The main part of the novel is devoted to the life of…

Nutrition Health Promotion in Schools in the UK: Learning from Food Standards Agency Funded Schools Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolfe, Jennifer; Stockley, Lynn

2005-01-01

Objective: To test the feasibility and effectiveness of dietary change interventions in UK school-based settings. This overview draws out the main lessons that were learnt from these studies, for both practitioners and researchers. Design: A review and analysis of the final reports from five studies commissioned by the Food Standards Agency.…

Design of control system for optical fiber drawing machine driven by double motor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yue Chen; Bo, Yu Ming; Wang, Jun

2018-01-01

Micro channel Plate (MCP) is a kind of large-area array electron multiplier with high two-dimensional spatial resolution, used as high-performance night vision intensifier. The high precision control of the fiber is the key technology of the micro channel plate manufacturing process, and it was achieved by the control of optical fiber drawing machine driven by dual-motor in this paper. First of all, utilizing STM32 chip, the servo motor drive and control circuit was designed to realize the dual motor synchronization. Secondly, neural network PID control algorithm was designed for controlling the fiber diameter fabricated in high precision; Finally, the hexagonal fiber was manufactured by this system and it shows that multifilament diameter accuracy of the fiber is +/- 1.5μm.

What are applied ethics?

PubMed

Allhoff, Fritz

2011-03-01

This paper explores the relationships that various applied ethics bear to each other, both in particular disciplines and more generally. The introductory section lays out the challenge of coming up with such an account and, drawing a parallel with the philosophy of science, offers that applied ethics may either be unified or disunified. The second section develops one simple account through which applied ethics are unified, vis-à-vis ethical theory. However, this is not taken to be a satisfying answer, for reasons explained. In the third section, specific applied ethics are explored: biomedical ethics; business ethics; environmental ethics; and neuroethics. These are chosen not to be comprehensive, but rather for their traditions or other illustrative purposes. The final section draws together the results of the preceding analysis and defends a disunity conception of applied ethics.

Results of I Love My Sun Project 2014-2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosna, Zbysek; Macusova, Eva; Kouba, Daniel; Blanch, Estefania; Humlova, Danka

2016-08-01

I Love My Sun is educational project for 4-11 years old children (primary schools). It started as European COST 724 project developed by the team of prof. Dr. Y. Tulunay. During the event, children first draw their idea of the Sun. After that, about 20 min long presentation and discussion is performed by a young scientist in the field of Space and Plasma Physics. Finally, the children use new knowledge, draw their new idea of the Sun and the pictures "before" and "after" are compared. Czech version of the project has been performed since September 2014 in 16 classes of Czech primary schools. Spanish version of the project has been performed at the Ebro Observatory with 60 pre-school children. Up to now we collected more than 300 pairs of pictures.

Live texturing of augmented reality characters from colored drawings.

PubMed

Magnenat, Stéphane; Ngo, Dat Tien; Zünd, Fabio; Ryffel, Mattia; Noris, Gioacchino; Rothlin, Gerhard; Marra, Alessia; Nitti, Maurizio; Fua, Pascal; Gross, Markus; Sumner, Robert W

2015-11-01

Coloring books capture the imagination of children and provide them with one of their earliest opportunities for creative expression. However, given the proliferation and popularity of digital devices, real-world activities like coloring can seem unexciting, and children become less engaged in them. Augmented reality holds unique potential to impact this situation by providing a bridge between real-world activities and digital enhancements. In this paper, we present an augmented reality coloring book App in which children color characters in a printed coloring book and inspect their work using a mobile device. The drawing is detected and tracked, and the video stream is augmented with an animated 3-D version of the character that is textured according to the child's coloring. This is possible thanks to several novel technical contributions. We present a texturing process that applies the captured texture from a 2-D colored drawing to both the visible and occluded regions of a 3-D character in real time. We develop a deformable surface tracking method designed for colored drawings that uses a new outlier rejection algorithm for real-time tracking and surface deformation recovery. We present a content creation pipeline to efficiently create the 2-D and 3-D content. And, finally, we validate our work with two user studies that examine the quality of our texturing algorithm and the overall App experience.

Effect of the Yield Stress and r-value Distribution on the Earing Profile of Cup Drawing with Yld2000-2d Yield Function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lou, Yanshan; Bae, Gihyun; Lee, Changsoo; Huh, Hoon

2010-06-01

This paper deals with the effect of the yield stress and r-value distribution on the earing in the cup drawing. The anisotropic yield function, Yld2000-2d yield function, is selected to describe the anisotropy of two metal sheets, 719B and AA5182-O. The tool dimension is referred from the Benchmark problem of NUMISHEET'2002. The Downhill Simplex method is applied to identify the anisotropic coefficients in Yld2000-2d yield function. Simulations of the drawing process are performed to investigate the earing profile of two materials. The earing profiles obtained from simulations are compared with the analytical model developed by Hosford and Caddell. Simulations are conducted with respect to the change of the yield stress and r-value distribution, respectively. The correlation between the anisotropy and the earing tendency is investigated based on simulation data. Finally, the earing mechanism is analyzed through the deformation process of the blank during the cup deep drawing. It can be concluded that ears locate at angular positions with lower yield stress and higher r-value while the valleys appear at the angular position with higher yield stress and lower r-value. The effect of the yield stress distribution is more important for the cup height distribution than that of the r-value distribution.

Walking on water: the biomechanics of Michael A. MacConaill (1902-1987).

PubMed

Prendergast, P J; Lee, T C

2006-01-01

Biomechanics is a subject that draws on knowledge from many disciplines. One of its great practitioners in the last century was the Irish anatomist M.A. MacConaill. In this paper, we review some of MacConaill's fundamental contributions to biomechanics, namely: the hydrodynamic theory of synovial joint lubrication, the kinematics of joint motion and conjunct rotations; and the theory of spurt and shunt muscles. The aim is to revisit these topics in the light of current research, and to draw some conclusions about the import of his research in the context of recent developments in the field. The paper concludes with a discussion of science in Ireland, the development of the field of biomechanics since MacConaill's time, and some other matters.

Mod-5A wind turbine generator program design report. Volume 3: Final design and system description, book 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

The design, development and analysis of the 7.3MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator is documented. The report is divided into four volumes: Volume 1 summarizes the entire MOD-5A program, Volume 2 discusses the conceptual and preliminary design phases, Volume 3 describes the final design of the MOD-5A, and Volume 4 contains the drawings and specifications developed for the final design. Volume 3, book 2 describes the performance and characteristics of the MOD-5A wind turbine generator in its final configuration. The subsystem for power generation, control, and instrumentation subsystems is described in detail. The manufacturing and construction plans, and the preparation of a potential site on Oahu, Hawaii, are documented. The quality assurance and safety plan, and analyses of failure modes and effects, and reliability, availability and maintainability are presented.

Mixed integer programming model for optimizing the layout of an ICU vehicle

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background This paper presents a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model for designing the layout of the Intensive Care Units' (ICUs) patient care space. In particular, this MIP model was developed for optimizing the layout for materials to be used in interventions. This work was developed within the framework of a joint project between the Madrid Technical Unverstity and the Medical Emergency Services of the Madrid Regional Government (SUMMA 112). Methods The first task was to identify the relevant information to define the characteristics of the new vehicles and, in particular, to obtain a satisfactory interior layout to locate all the necessary materials. This information was gathered from health workers related to ICUs. With that information an optimization model was developed in order to obtain a solution. From the MIP model, a first solution was obtained, consisting of a grid to locate the different materials needed for the ICUs. The outcome from the MIP model was discussed with health workers to tune the solution, and after slightly altering that solution to meet some requirements that had not been included in the mathematical model, the eventual solution was approved by the persons responsible for specifying the characteristics of the new vehicles. According to the opinion stated by the SUMMA 112's medical group responsible for improving the ambulances (the so-called "coaching group"), the outcome was highly satisfactory. Indeed, the final design served as a basis to draw up the requirements of a public tender. Results As a result from solving the Optimization model, a grid was obtained to locate the different necessary materials for the ICUs. This grid had to be slightly altered to meet some requirements that had not been included in the mathematical model. The results were discussed with the persons responsible for specifying the characteristics of the new vehicles. Conclusion The outcome was highly satisfactory. Indeed, the final design served as a basis to draw up the requirements of a public tender. The authors advocate this approach to address similar problems within the field of Health Services to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of the processes involved. Problems such as those in operation rooms or emergency rooms, where the availability of a large amount of material is critical are eligible to be dealt with in a simmilar manner. PMID:19995438

The Application of Orthophosphate to Reduce Elevated Copper Levels in a New Building with High DIC Water

EPA Science Inventory

Public water utilities in the United States are required to meet the 1991 Lead and Copper Rule action level of 1.3 mg/L for copper I drinking water. The effect of water chemistry on Cu(II) solubility has been studied, and drawing upon conclusions from this research , new copper ...

New Hydrokinetic Turbine for Free Surface Gravitational Wave Transformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berins, J.

2017-12-01

The present article deals with an alternative form of energy - the conversion of marine/ocean wave energy using an axial self-regulating blade (SB) hydrokinetic turbine (ASRBHK turbine). The article analyses the operation of the ASRBHK turbine and draws the resulting conclusions about the mechanism, in which the power transfer element is a self-regulating blade.

Teachers' Self-Perceptions in England and Germany: Methodological Nationalism and Negative Points of Reference in Comparative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Bargen, Imke

2017-01-01

The field of comparative education traditionally compares nations and cultures to gain a deeper understanding of educational phenomena. The nation-state often functions as the only unit of comparison, which increases methodological nationalism. It is dangerous to draw simplistic conclusions because they focus on national particularities alone and…

Source and Message Factors in Persuasion: A Reply to Stiff's Critique of the Elaboration Likelihood Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petty, Richard E.; And Others

1987-01-01

Answers James Stiff's criticism of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion. Corrects certain misperceptions of the ELM and criticizes Stiff's meta-analysis that compares ELM predictions with those derived from Kahneman's elastic capacity model. Argues that Stiff's presentation of the ELM and the conclusions he draws based on the data…

"Teach For"/"Teach First" Candidates: What Conclusions Do They Draw from Their Time in Teaching?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Suzanne; Volkoff, Veronica; Dulfer, Nicky

2015-01-01

"Teach For" and "Teach First" programs now constitute a significant pathway into teaching in a number of countries. One criterion for selection into these programs is leadership capacity, and evidence indicates that many candidates do move into leadership roles in education, business, and policy in the years following their…

Injury to plants from rapidly dropping temperature in Washington and northern Idaho

Treesearch

R. Daubenmire

1957-01-01

In nearly 70 years of recorded weather history, Washington and northern Idaho have on three occasions experienced exceptionally sharp freezes in late autumn or early winter that caused considerable damage to plants. A brief review of these events is warranted since the records are consistent enough to permit the drawing of significant conclusions.

Iniciativa sobre Efectividad: Primeros frutos (Initiative about Effectiveness: First Fruits).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moreno Garcia, Teresa, Ed.

2001-01-01

This Spanish- and Portuguese-language bulletin is a follow-up to No. 15 (PS 030 558), which examined some Effectiveness Initiative (EI) projects. This issue presents some beginning efforts to reflect on what has been learned through EI and to draw conclusions. The articles cover the results of EI projects from such angles as their relations with…

Effectiveness of e-Lab Use in Science Teaching at the Omani Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al Musawi, A.; Ambusaidi, A.; Al-Balushi, S.; Al-Balushi, K.

2015-01-01

Computer and information technology can be used so that students can individually, in groups, or by electronic demonstration experiment and draw conclusion for the required activities in an electronic form in what is now called "e-lab". It enables students to conduct experiments more flexibly and in an interactive way using multimedia.…

The Role of Social Networks in Physical and Relational Aggression among Young Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Low, Sabina; Polanin, Joshua R.; Espelage, Dorothy L.

2013-01-01

Despite the veritable influence of the peer context on the elaboration of adolescent aggression, few studies of relational aggression have directly identified and measured peer groups, limiting our ability to draw formal conclusions about the level and nature of peer influence. The current study used a developmental framework to examine peer group…

Capacity Building through Integration and Transformational Leadership--A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stöcklin, Sacha

2011-01-01

This article suggests that educational managers can have an influence through leadership by establishing certain moderators that integrate and shape the faculty into a solid team working towards a high performing organisation. The study looks at a case in China and draws suggestions that could be used in other similar settings. The conclusion is…

The Psychologist's Troubled Background: Major Related Life Experiences of Psychology and Law Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werz, Janina; Buechner, Vanessa L.

2017-01-01

This study explores major-related life experiences (MRLE) of psychology and law students to examine the stereotype of the wounded psychology student. Previous studies have shown that psychology students know people with mental disorders and are seeking treatment themselves. However, these studies do not allow drawing conclusions about the…

The Benefits of Florida's Test-Based Promotion System. Civic Report. No. 68

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winters, Marcus A.

2012-01-01

State and municipal policymakers are increasingly addressing the practice of social promotion in schools--moving children along to the next grade whether or not they have mastered the curriculum--by mandating test-based grade promotion. This paper draws conclusions about the effects of a policy limiting social promotion. To do so, it employs a…

An Analysis of Female Lecturers' Participation in Civil Engineering Research and Development Activities at One Polytechnic in Zimbabwe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chikuvadze, Pinias; Matswetu, Vimbai Sharon; Mugijima, Samuel

2015-01-01

This study sought to explore female lecturers' participation in civil engineering research and development activities at one polytechnic in Zimbabwe. Case study design was chosen for this study to make predictions, narration of events, comparisons and drawing of conclusions. The female lecturers were purposively sampled to participate in the…

A Cross Canada Inventory: Evidence of 21st Century Educational Reform in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Amy

2017-01-01

This paper reports on an initial website review of Ministries of Education, provincial teacher associations and select school jurisdictions across Canada with respect to their publically available and visible policy commitments to 21st century educational reforms. This review was conducted for the purposes of drawing conclusions about the current…

Mobilizing Ethnic Equality in Admissions to Schools: Litigation, Politics, and Educational Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perry-Hazan, Lotem; Perelstain, Oshrat

2018-01-01

This study explores the impact of litigation on the mobilization of ethnic equality in the admission to Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) schools in Israel, and examines the socio-political mechanisms that have shaped this impact. It uses a case-study approach and draws on an analysis of documents and interviews. The findings confirm the conclusions of…

Taking Care with Attachment Disorders and Autistic-Like Traits: The Potential Significance of Cognitive Markers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melling, Richard; Smethurst, Nicola

2017-01-01

The behaviours associated with the attachment disorders (ADs) appear to overlap substantially with those linked to the autism spectrum (AS). Given the similarities between the two conditions this article urges caution when drawing conclusions concerning the likely aetiology of presenting difficulties in any particular case. Attention is drawn to…

From Petrodollars to Petroeuros: Are the Dollar’s Days as an International Reserve Currency Drawing to an End?

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-11-03

price of oil less transparent, require continuous updating to minimize currency arbitrage , and could make the market less liquid as available capital...there are plenty of cheap ways for traders to hedge against currency risk if they are concerned about movements in the dollar. Conclusions

Feasibility and Behavioral Effects of an At-Home Multi-Night Sleep Restriction Protocol for Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beebe, Dean W.; Fallone, Gahan; Godiwala, Neha; Flanigan, Matt; Martin, David; Schaffner, Laura; Amin, Raouf

2008-01-01

Background: Sleep deprivation is common among adolescents and has been associated with adverse behavioral and educational outcomes. However, it is difficult to draw strong causal conclusions because of a dearth of experimental sleep research. In part, this appears related to methodological challenges when working with this population. This study…

Hazardous Waste Management and Community Involvement in Canada: The Case of Montreal's Rural-Urban Fringe.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andre, Pierre; And Others

1995-01-01

Deals with conflicts associated with the management, disposal, and storage of hazardous wastes from the perspective of interests expressed in the local community. Analyzes three case studies to demonstrate the changing roles and relative importance of local and nonlocal interests. Draws conclusions regarding the significance of the analysis for…

Recreating Realities: An Ethnographic/Case Study Approach to the Historic Composition Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Claywell, Gina

Traditional histories of American college composition instruction in the 19th and 20th centuries examine primarily the textbooks used in those courses, then draw conclusions based on the content of those textbooks about the activities and attitudes expressed in the classroom. The canon of composition historiography is lacking in several ways: the…

Synthesis of Aryl-Substituted 2,4-Dinitrophenylamines: Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution as a Problem-Solving and Collaborative-Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, Elvira Santos; Garcia, Irma Cruz Gavilan; Gomez, Eva Florencia Lejarazo; Vilchis-Reyes, Miguel Angel

2010-01-01

A series of experiments based on problem-solving and collaborative-learning pedagogies are described that encourage students to interpret results and draw conclusions from data. Different approaches including parallel library synthesis, solvent variation, and leaving group variation are used to study a nucleophilic aromatic substitution of…

22 CFR 96.49 - Provision of medical and social information in incoming cases.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... on the known health risks in the specific region or country where the child resides. (e) If the... data and perceptions the individual used to draw his or her conclusions; (4) A review of...) Information about the full range of any tests performed on the child, including tests addressing known risk...

Educating for the Future in Family Life. Information Series No. 228.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Elizabeth J.

This paper utilizes knowledge gained from work on future issues related to families, the work of futurists on social trends and technological development, and recent studies in home economics to draw conclusions regarding what people will need to know in the 1980s and beyond to be intelligent consumers and effective homemakers. The first of six…

Putting Sociology First--Reconsidering the Role of the Social in "Nature of Science" Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zemplen, Gabor A.

2009-01-01

Contrasting two examples from 2005, a creationism-trial and a recent textbook, the article shows two different ways of employing social considerations to demarcate science from non-science. Drawing conclusions from the comparison, and citing some of the leading proponents of science studies, the paper argues for a novel perspective in teaching…

The Impact of Adjacent-Dependencies and Staged-Input on the Learnability of Center-Embedded Hierarchical Structures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lai, Jun; Poletiek, Fenna H.

2011-01-01

A theoretical debate in artificial grammar learning (AGL) regards the learnability of hierarchical structures. Recent studies using an A[superscript n]B[superscript n] grammar draw conflicting conclusions ([Bahlmann and Friederici, 2006] and [De Vries et al., 2008]). We argue that 2 conditions crucially affect learning A[superscript…

Summary of Forest health monitoring: 2006 national technical report

Treesearch

Mark J. Ambrose

2009-01-01

Forest Health Monitoring (FHM), together with cooperating researchers both in and outside of the Forest Service, continues to investigate a variety of issues relating to forest health. This report provides some of the latest analyses and results. The broad range of indicators presented demonstrates one reason it can be difficult to draw general conclusions about the...

Barriers to Implementing Treatment Integrity Procedures in School Psychology Research: Survey of Treatment Outcome Researchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanetti, Lisa M. Hagermoser; DiGennaro Reed, Florence D.

2012-01-01

Treatment integrity data are essential to drawing valid conclusions in treatment outcome studies. Such data, however, are not always included in peer-reviewed research articles in school psychology or related fields. To gain a better understanding of why treatment integrity data are lacking in the school psychology research, we surveyed the…

Hydrostatic collapse research in support of the Oman India gas pipeline

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

Stark, P.R.; McKeehan, D.S.

1995-12-01

This paper provides a summary of the collapse test program conducted as part of the technical development for the Ultra Deep Oman to India Pipeline. The paper describes the motivation for conducting the collapse test program, outlines the test objectives and procedures, presents the results obtained, and draws conclusions on the factors affecting collapse resistance.

Villain or Savior? The American Discourse on Homework, 1850-2003

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Brian P.; Schlossman, Steven L.

2004-01-01

This article examines homework's place in American K-12 schooling over the last century and draws three main conclusions. First, homework has always aroused strong passions pro and con. Second, despite prominent press reports to the contrary in the early 20th century and again today, the best evidence suggests that most parents have consistently…

Trends in public attitudes towards the use of wildland fire

Treesearch

Katie Knotek

2006-01-01

This paper summarizes a select set of research studies conducted over the past 40 years, drawing conclusions on trends in public attitudes about the use of wildland fire in federally-designated Wilderness. The research includes trend studies conducted with visitors to Wilderness areas in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana. Each research study used a...

An Experiment-Oriented Approach to Teaching the Kinetic Molecular Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiseman, Frank L., Jr.

1979-01-01

This paper reports an experiment in the teaching of the kinetic molecular theory to nonscience majors by the inquiry method. It allows the student to develop an essentially correct view of gases, liquids, and solids on the atomic or molecular level, and illustrates how one can draw conclusions about the molecular level by simple visual…

Vaginal Testosterone for Management of Aromatase Inhibitor-Related Sexual Dysfunction: An Integrative Review.

PubMed

Lemke, Emily A; Madsen, Lydia T; Dains, Joyce E

2017-05-01

Women taking aromatase inhibitors (AIs) as part of the management of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer experience more symptoms of sexual dysfunction, including vaginal atrophy, as opposed to postmenopausal women and women treated with tamoxifen (Nolvadex®). Vaginal testosterone could be an alternative to estrogen, which is contraindicated in this population.
. A systematic review was completed by searching PubMed and Scopus databases.
. 64 search results were reduced to a final sample of 3 articles after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria.
. Published results suggest that vaginally applied testosterone doses of 150 mcg and 300 mcg improve symptoms of sexual dysfunction in women taking AIs. Minimal side effects are observed, and estradiol levels are not affected by vaginally applied testosterone. Additional research is needed to evaluate vaginal testosterone in women taking AIs.
. Vaginal testosterone shows preliminary promise as an option to manage sexual side effects of AI therapy in postmenopausal cancer survivors; however, available data are too limited to draw practice-changing conclusions.
. Large-scale randomized, controlled trials need to be completed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vaginal testosterone in women taking AIs.

What Was Learned in Predicting Slender Airframe Aerodynamics with the F16-XL Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rizzi, Arthur; Lucking, James M.

2014-01-01

The CAWAPI-2 coordinated project has been underway to improve CFD predictions of slender airframe aerodynamics. The work is focused on two flow conditions and leverages a unique flight data set obtained with the F-16XL aircraft for comparison and verification. These conditions, a low-speed high angle-of-attack case and a transonic low angle-of-attack case, were selected from a prior prediction campaign wherein the CFD failed to provide acceptable results. In re-visiting these two cases, approaches for improved results include better, denser grids using more grid adaptation to local flow features as well as unsteady higher-fidelity physical modeling like hybrid RANS/URANS-LES methods. The work embodies predictions from multiple numerical formulations that are contributed from multiple organizations where some authors investigate other possible factors that could explain the discrepancies in agreement, e.g. effects due to deflected control surfaces during the flight tests, as well as static aeroelastic deflection of the outer wing. This paper presents the synthesis of all the results and findings and draws some conclusions that lead to an improved understanding of the underlying flow physics, and finally making the connections between the physics and aircraft features.

Numerical sedimentation particle-size analysis using the Discrete Element Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bravo, R.; Pérez-Aparicio, J. L.; Gómez-Hernández, J. J.

2015-12-01

Sedimentation tests are widely used to determine the particle size distribution of a granular sample. In this work, the Discrete Element Method interacts with the simulation of flow using the well known one-way-coupling method, a computationally affordable approach for the time-consuming numerical simulation of the hydrometer, buoyancy and pipette sedimentation tests. These tests are used in the laboratory to determine the particle-size distribution of fine-grained aggregates. Five samples with different particle-size distributions are modeled by about six million rigid spheres projected on two-dimensions, with diameters ranging from 2.5 ×10-6 m to 70 ×10-6 m, forming a water suspension in a sedimentation cylinder. DEM simulates the particle's movement considering laminar flow interactions of buoyant, drag and lubrication forces. The simulation provides the temporal/spatial distributions of densities and concentrations of the suspension. The numerical simulations cannot replace the laboratory tests since they need the final granulometry as initial data, but, as the results show, these simulations can identify the strong and weak points of each method and eventually recommend useful variations and draw conclusions on their validity, aspects very difficult to achieve in the laboratory.

The Role of Dissemination as a Fundamental Part of a Research Project.

PubMed

Marín-González, Esther; Malmusi, Davide; Camprubí, Lluís; Borrell, Carme

2017-04-01

Dissemination and communication of research should be considered as an integral part of any research project. Both help in increasing the visibility of research outputs, public engagement in science and innovation, and confidence of society in research. Effective dissemination and communication are vital to ensure that the conducted research has a social, political, or economical impact. They draw attention of governments and stakeholders to research results and conclusions, enhancing their visibility, comprehension, and implementation. In the European project SOPHIE (Evaluating the Impact of Structural Policies on Health Inequalities and Their Social Determinants and Fostering Change), dissemination was an essential component of the project in order to achieve the purpose of fostering policy change based on research findings. Here we provide our experience and make some recommendations based on our learning. A strong use of online communication (website, Twitter, and Slideshare accounts), the production of informative videos, the research partnership with civil society organizations, and the organization of final concluding scientific events, among other instruments, helped to reach a large public within the scientific community, civil society, and the policy making arena and to influence the public view on the impact on health and equity of certain policies.

The role of the sun in the celestial compass of dung beetles

PubMed Central

Dacke, M.; el Jundi, Basil; Smolka, Jochen; Byrne, Marcus; Baird, Emily

2014-01-01

Recent research has focused on the different types of compass cues available to ball-rolling beetles for orientation, but little is known about the relative precision of each of these cues and how they interact. In this study, we find that the absolute orientation error of the celestial compass of the day-active dung beetle Scarabaeus lamarcki doubles from 16° at solar elevations below 60° to an error of 29° at solar elevations above 75°. As ball-rolling dung beetles rely solely on celestial compass cues for their orientation, these insects experience a large decrease in orientation precision towards the middle of the day. We also find that in the compass system of dung beetles, the solar cues and the skylight cues are used together and share the control of orientation behaviour. Finally, we demonstrate that the relative influence of the azimuthal position of the sun for straight-line orientation decreases as the sun draws closer to the horizon. In conclusion, ball-rolling dung beetles possess a dynamic celestial compass system in which the orientation precision and the relative influence of the solar compass cues change over the course of the day. PMID:24395963

The role of the sun in the celestial compass of dung beetles.

PubMed

Dacke, M; el Jundi, Basil; Smolka, Jochen; Byrne, Marcus; Baird, Emily

2014-01-01

Recent research has focused on the different types of compass cues available to ball-rolling beetles for orientation, but little is known about the relative precision of each of these cues and how they interact. In this study, we find that the absolute orientation error of the celestial compass of the day-active dung beetle Scarabaeus lamarcki doubles from 16° at solar elevations below 60° to an error of 29° at solar elevations above 75°. As ball-rolling dung beetles rely solely on celestial compass cues for their orientation, these insects experience a large decrease in orientation precision towards the middle of the day. We also find that in the compass system of dung beetles, the solar cues and the skylight cues are used together and share the control of orientation behaviour. Finally, we demonstrate that the relative influence of the azimuthal position of the sun for straight-line orientation decreases as the sun draws closer to the horizon. In conclusion, ball-rolling dung beetles possess a dynamic celestial compass system in which the orientation precision and the relative influence of the solar compass cues change over the course of the day.

Evaluating the welfare of the child in same-sex families.

PubMed

Pennings, Guido

2011-07-01

Within the field of medically assisted reproduction, the welfare of the child is advanced as the major argument to decide the acceptability of certain applications. This argument, however, needs a complex framework in order to be understood and used properly. The effect of empirical evidence regarding the welfare of the child on people's judgments about the acceptability of same-sex families will differ for utilitarians and deontologists. Deontologists who are opposed to same-sex families will not change their mind when confronted with reassuring evidence. However, utilitarians also frequently use the evidence wrongly or draw the wrong conclusions. The reasonable welfare standard is put forward to avoid counterintuitive judgments and to block comparative reasoning that may follow from the use of heterosexual families as a control in follow-up research. Finally, a number of problems related to the use of parental sexual orientation as a criterion are discussed. The discrimination against same-sex families will not be overturned by empirical evidence about the welfare of the children. Children in same-sex families are generally doing well but their situation could be improved if their parents' relationship were to be socially and legally recognized.

The clinical significance of loneliness: a literature review.

PubMed

Heinrich, Liesl M; Gullone, Eleonora

2006-10-01

Satisfying social relationships are vital for good mental and physical health. Accordingly, we recommend that the alleviation and prevention of social relationship deficits be a key focus of clinicians. In this review, we focus on loneliness as a crucial marker of social relationship deficits and contend that loneliness should command clinicians' attention in its own right--not just as an adjunct to the treatment of other problems such as depression. With a particular focus on the adolescent developmental period, this review is organized into five sections: Drawing on developmental and evolutionary psychology theories, the nature of social relationships and the function they serve is first discussed. In the second section, loneliness is introduced as an exemplar of social relationship deficits. Here a definition of loneliness is provided, as well as an explanation of why it may pose a situation of concern. This is followed by a review of the prototypic features of loneliness through examination of its affective, cognitive, and behavioral correlates. The fourth section includes a review of theories related to the antecedent and maintenance factors involved in loneliness. Finally, methodological and theoretical considerations are addressed, and conclusions and proposals for future research directions are put forth.

The importance of invertebrates when considering the impacts of anthropogenic noise

PubMed Central

Morley, Erica L.; Jones, Gareth; Radford, Andrew N.

2014-01-01

Anthropogenic noise is now recognized as a major global pollutant. Rapidly burgeoning research has identified impacts on individual behaviour and physiology through to community disruption. To date, however, there has been an almost exclusive focus on vertebrates. Not only does their central role in food webs and in fulfilling ecosystem services make imperative our understanding of how invertebrates are impacted by all aspects of environmental change, but also many of their inherent characteristics provide opportunities to overcome common issues with the current anthropogenic noise literature. Here, we begin by explaining why invertebrates are likely to be affected by anthropogenic noise, briefly reviewing their capacity for hearing and providing evidence that they are capable of evolutionary adaptation and behavioural plasticity in response to natural noise sources. We then discuss the importance of quantifying accurately and fully both auditory ability and noise content, emphasizing considerations of direct relevance to how invertebrates detect sounds. We showcase how studying invertebrates can help with the behavioural bias in the literature, the difficulties in drawing strong, ecologically valid conclusions and the need for studies on fitness impacts. Finally, we suggest avenues of future research using invertebrates that would advance our understanding of the impact of anthropogenic noise. PMID:24335986

The importance of invertebrates when considering the impacts of anthropogenic noise.

PubMed

Morley, Erica L; Jones, Gareth; Radford, Andrew N

2014-02-07

Anthropogenic noise is now recognized as a major global pollutant. Rapidly burgeoning research has identified impacts on individual behaviour and physiology through to community disruption. To date, however, there has been an almost exclusive focus on vertebrates. Not only does their central role in food webs and in fulfilling ecosystem services make imperative our understanding of how invertebrates are impacted by all aspects of environmental change, but also many of their inherent characteristics provide opportunities to overcome common issues with the current anthropogenic noise literature. Here, we begin by explaining why invertebrates are likely to be affected by anthropogenic noise, briefly reviewing their capacity for hearing and providing evidence that they are capable of evolutionary adaptation and behavioural plasticity in response to natural noise sources. We then discuss the importance of quantifying accurately and fully both auditory ability and noise content, emphasizing considerations of direct relevance to how invertebrates detect sounds. We showcase how studying invertebrates can help with the behavioural bias in the literature, the difficulties in drawing strong, ecologically valid conclusions and the need for studies on fitness impacts. Finally, we suggest avenues of future research using invertebrates that would advance our understanding of the impact of anthropogenic noise.

Study on the method of maintaining bathtub water temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaoyan

2017-05-01

In order to make the water temperature constant and the spillage to its minimum, we use finite element method and grid transformation and have established an optimized model for people in the bathtub both in time and space, which is based on theories of heat convection and heat conduction and three-dimensional second-order equation. For the first question, we have worked out partial differential equations for three-dimensional heat convection. In the meantime, we also create an optimized temperature model in time and space by using initial conditions and boundary conditions. For the second question we have simulated the shape and volume of the tub and the human gestures in the tub based on the first question. As for the shape and volume of the tub, we draw conclusion that the tub whose surface area is little contains water with higher temperature. Thus, when we are designing bathtubs we can decrease the area so that we'll have less loss heat. For different gestures when people are bathing, we have found that gestures have no obvious influence on variations of water temperature. Finally, we did some simulating calculations, and did some analysis on precision and sensitivity

Low-lying level structure of 56Cu and its implications for the rp process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ong, W.-J.; Langer, C.; Montes, F.; Aprahamian, A.; Bardayan, D. W.; Bazin, D.; Brown, B. A.; Browne, J.; Crawford, H.; Cyburt, R.; Deleeuw, E. B.; Domingo-Pardo, C.; Gade, A.; George, S.; Hosmer, P.; Keek, L.; Kontos, A.; Lee, I.-Y.; Lemasson, A.; Lunderberg, E.; Maeda, Y.; Matos, M.; Meisel, Z.; Noji, S.; Nunes, F. M.; Nystrom, A.; Perdikakis, G.; Pereira, J.; Quinn, S. J.; Recchia, F.; Schatz, H.; Scott, M.; Siegl, K.; Simon, A.; Smith, M.; Spyrou, A.; Stevens, J.; Stroberg, S. R.; Weisshaar, D.; Wheeler, J.; Wimmer, K.; Zegers, R. G. T.

2017-05-01

The low-lying energy levels of proton-rich 56Cu have been extracted using in-beam γ -ray spectroscopy with the state-of-the-art γ -ray tracking array GRETINA in conjunction with the S800 spectrograph at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. Excited states in 56Cu serve as resonances in the 55Ni(p ,γ )56Cu reaction, which is a part of the rp process in type-I x-ray bursts. To resolve existing ambiguities in the reaction Q value, a more localized isobaric multiplet mass equation (IMME) fit is used, resulting in Q =639 ±82 keV. We derive the first experimentally constrained thermonuclear reaction rate for 55Ni(p ,γ )56Cu . We find that, with this new rate, the rp process may bypass the 56Ni waiting point via the 55Ni(p ,γ ) reaction for typical x-ray burst conditions with a branching of up to ˜40 % . We also identify additional nuclear physics uncertainties that need to be addressed before drawing final conclusions about the rp -process reaction flow in the 56Ni region.

Machine Learning and Data Mining for Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Monitoring

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

Russell, S; Vaidya, S

2009-07-30

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is gaining renewed attention in light of growing worldwide interest in mitigating risks of nuclear weapons proliferation and testing. Since the International Monitoring System (IMS) installed the first suite of sensors in the late 1990's, the IMS network has steadily progressed, providing valuable support for event diagnostics. This progress was highlighted at the recent International Scientific Studies (ISS) Conference in Vienna in June 2009, where scientists and domain experts met with policy makers to assess the current status of the CTBT Verification System. A strategic theme within the ISS Conference centered on exploring opportunitiesmore » for further enhancing the detection and localization accuracy of low magnitude events by drawing upon modern tools and techniques for machine learning and large-scale data analysis. Several promising approaches for data exploitation were presented at the Conference. These are summarized in a companion report. In this paper, we introduce essential concepts in machine learning and assess techniques which could provide both incremental and comprehensive value for event discrimination by increasing the accuracy of the final data product, refining On-Site-Inspection (OSI) conclusions, and potentially reducing the cost of future network operations.« less

Modeling the interface of platinum and α-quartz(001): Implications for sintering

DOE PAGES

Plessow, Philipp N.; Sánchez-Carrera, Roel S.; Li, Lin; ...

2016-05-04

We present a first-principles study which aims to understand the metal–support interaction of platinum nanoparticles on α-quartz(001) and, more generally, silica. The thermodynamic stability of the α-quartz(001) surface and its interface with Pt(111) are investigated as a function of temperature and partial pressure of H 2O and O 2. Potential defects in the α-quartz(001) surface as well as the adsorption energies of the Pt atom are also studied. This allows us to draw conclusions concerning nanoparticle shape and the resistance toward particle migration based on the interface free energies. We find that, as for the clean α-quartz(001) surface, a dry,more » reconstructed interface is expected at temperatures that are high but within experimentally relevant ranges. On an ideal, dry, reconstructed surface, particle migration is predicted to be a fast sintering mechanism. On real surfaces, defects may locally prevent reconstruction and act as anchoring points. Finally, the energetics of the adsorption of platinum atoms on α-quartz(001) do not support surface-mediated single-atom migration as a viable path for sintering on the investigated surfaces.« less

Effect of Particle Morphology on Cold Spray Deposition of Chromium Carbide-Nickel Chromium Cermet Powders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandez, Ruben; Jodoin, Bertrand

2017-08-01

Nickel chromium-chromium carbide coatings provide good corrosion and wear resistance at high temperatures, making them ideal for applications where a harsh environment and high temperatures are expected. Thermal spray processes are preferred as deposition technique of cermets, but the high process temperatures can lead to decarburization and reduction of the coatings properties. Cold spray uses lower temperatures preventing decarburization. Since the metallic phase remains solid, the feedstock powder morphology becomes crucial on the deposition behavior. Six commercially available powders were studied, varying in morphology and metal/ceramic ratios. The powders were categorized into 4 groups depending on their morphology. Spherical powders lead to substrate erosion due to their limited overall ductility. Porous agglomerated and sintered powders lead to severely cracked coatings. For dense agglomerated and sintered powders, the outcome depended on the initial metal/ceramic ratio: powders with 25 wt.% NiCr led to substrate erosion while 35 wt.% NiCr powders led to dense coatings. Finally, blended ceramic-metal mixtures also lead to dense coatings. All coatings obtained had lower ceramic content than the initial feedstock powders. Interrupted spray tests, combined with FEA, helped drawing conclusions on the deposition behavior to explain the obtained results.

Psychological distress in chronic craniomandibular and cervical spinal pain patients.

PubMed

Visscher, C M; Lobbezoo, F; de Boer, W; van der Meulen, M; Naeije, M

2001-06-01

Recent studies to chronic pain have shown that the number of painful body areas is related to the level of psychological distress. Therefore, the first aim of this study was to analyse differences in level of psychological distress between craniomandibular pain patients with or without cervical spinal pain. In this analysis, the number of painful body areas below the cervical spine was also taken into account. The second aim was to determine psychological differences between subgroups of craniomandibular pain patients. In this study, 103 out of 250 persons with or without craniomandibular pain were included in the final analyses. Patients who suffered from both craniomandibular and cervical spinal pain showed higher levels of psychological distress, as measured with the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) than patients with local craniomandibular pain and persons without pain. Further, a positive relationship was found between the number of painful body areas below the cervical spine, as measured on a body drawing, and the SCL-90 scores. No psychological differences were found between myogenous and arthrogenous craniomandibular pain patients. In conclusion, chronic craniomandibular pain patients with a coexistent cervical spinal pain showed more psychological distress compared to patients with only a local craniomandibular pain and asymptomatic persons.

Measurement of the Antineutrino Double-Differential Charged-Current Quasi-Elastic Scattering Cross Section at MINERvA

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

Patrick, Cheryl

Next-generation neutrino oscillation experiments, such as DUNE and Hyper-Kamiokande, hope to measure charge-parity (CP) violation in the lepton sector. In order to do this, they must dramatically reduce their current levels of uncertainty, particularly those due to neutrino-nucleus interaction models. As CP violation is a measure of the difference between the oscillation properties of neutrinos and antineutrinos, data about how the less-studied antineutrinos interact is especially valuable. We present the MINERvA experiment's first double-differential scattering cross sections for antineutrinos on scintillator, in the few-GeV range relevant to experiments such as DUNE and NOvA. We also present total antineutrino-scintillator quasi-elastic crossmore » sections as a function of energy, which we compare to measurements from previous experiments. As well as being useful to help reduce oscillation experiments' uncertainty, our data can also be used to study the prevalence of various cor relation and final-state interaction effects within the nucleus. We compare to models produced by different model generators, and are able to draw first conclusions about the predictions of these models.« less

Diagnosis and treatment of late-onset hypogonadism: systematic review and meta-analysis of TRT outcomes.

PubMed

Corona, G; Rastrelli, G; Maggi, M

2013-08-01

Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) is a relatively common conditions affecting the aging male. The aim of this review is to summarize the available evidence regarding LOH and its interaction with general health. LOH is often comorbid to obesity and several chronic diseases. For this reason lifestyle modifications should be strongly encouraged in LOH subjects with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and good treatment balance of chronic diseases. Medical therapy of LOH should be individualized depending on the etiology of the disease and the patient's expectations. Available evidence seems to suggest that testosterone replacement therapy is able to improve central obesity (subjects with MetS) and glycometabolic control (patients with MetS and T2DM), as well as to increase lean body mass (HIV, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), along with insulin resistance (MetS) and peripheral oxygenation (chronic kidney diseases). However, it should be recognized that the number of studies on benefits of T supplementation is too limited to draw final conclusions. Longer and larger studies are needed to better clarify the role of TRT in such chronic conditions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neck blast disease influences grain yield and quality traits of aromatic rice.

PubMed

Khan, Mohammad Ashik Iqbal; Bhuiyan, Md Rejwan; Hossain, Md Shahadat; Sen, Partha Pratim; Ara, Anjuman; Siddique, Md Abubakar; Ali, Md Ansar

2014-11-01

A critical investigation was conducted to find out the effect of neck blast disease on yield-contributing characters, and seed quality traits of aromatic rice in Bangladesh. Both healthy and neck-blast-infected panicles of three aromatic rice cultivars (high-yielding and local) were collected and investigated at Plant Pathology Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Gazipur, Bangladesh. All of the tested varieties were highly susceptible to neck blast disease under natural conditions, though no leaf blast symptoms appear on leaves. Neck blast disease increased grain sterility percentages, reduced grain size, yield and quality traits of seeds. The degrees of yield and seed quality reduction depended on disease severity and variety's genetic make-up. Unfilled grains were the main source of seed-borne pathogen, especially for blast in the seed lot. Transmission of blast pathogen from neck (panicle base) to seed was very poor. These findings are important, especially concerning the seed certification programme in which seed lots are certified on the basis of field inspection. Finally, controlled experiments are needed to draw more critical conclusions. Copyright © 2014 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Formability of dual-phase steels in deep drawing of rectangular parts: Influence of blank thickness and die radius

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López, Ana María Camacho; Regueras, José María Gutiérrez

2017-10-01

The new goals of automotive industry related with environment concerns, the reduction of fuel emissions and the security requirements have driven up to new designs which main objective is reducing weight. It can be achieved through new materials such as nano-structured materials, fibre-reinforced composites or steels with higher strength, among others. Into the last group, the Advance High Strength Steels (AHSS) and particularly, dual-phase steels are in a predominant situation. However, despite of their special characteristics, they present issues related to their manufacturability such as springback, splits and cracks, among others. This work is focused on the deep drawing processof rectangular shapes, a very usual forming operation that allows manufacturing several automotive parts like oil pans, cases, etc. Two of the main parameters in this process which affect directly to the characteristics of final product are blank thickness (t) and die radius (Rd). Influence of t and Rd on the formability of dual-phase steels has been analysed considering values typically used in industrial manufacturing for a wide range of dual-phase steels using finite element modelling and simulation; concretely, the influence of these parameters in the percentage of thickness reduction pt(%), a quite important value for manufactured parts by deep drawing operations, which affects to its integrity and its service behaviour. Modified Morh Coulomb criteria (MMC) has been used in order to obtain Fracture Forming Limit Diagrams (FFLD) which take into account an important failure mode in dual-phase steels: shear fracture. Finally, a relation between thickness reduction percentage and studied parameters has been established fordual-phase steels, obtaining a collection of equations based on Design of Experiments (D.O.E) technique, which can be useful in order to predict approximate results.

The Role of Interdisciplinary GIS and Data Curation Librarians in Enhancing Authentic Scientific Research in the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Branch, B. D.; Fosmire, M.

2012-12-01

Data science is a recently evolved area of scientific inquiry, where data, often collected by others, is analyzed by independent investigators to draw new conclusions. As such, data literacy needs to be incorporated into authentic research activities. The earth sciences in particular have a trove of data that resides in national data centers as well as individual investigators' labs, which can be repurposed to provide the inputs for students to make their own inquiries into the data. With the amount of data available, students can make more substantive conclusions than if relying just on data they've collected themselves. A new scientific role is that of the data scientist or data curation specialist. This person understands best practices in data and knowledge management and can translate those skills into an environment appropriate for K-20 students and teachers. In particular, data curation specialists can transform raw data into data that is audience appropriate that can be re-used. First, appropriate research data can be located, as well as foundational or baseline data (topography, political maps, etc.), and that data needs to be converted (or directions for conversion supplied) so that it can be ingested into the processing system used for the activity. Furthermore, data needs to be organized, especially as it is processed by students, and multiple versions of data created. Data also should be appropriately annotated to allow for effective sharing among students and determining reproducibility of the data. Finally, appropriate visualization of the data can be facilitated by a data curation specialist. To provide a concrete example, one of the authors developed, a data-driven authentic research project for a group of middle school students looking at water quality in a North Carolina community. Students needed to find relevant hydrologic, environmental, and political data as inputs for their project. They then collected local data to add to the standard data, so they could build a profile of water quality over time. Once the data had been appropriately collected, processed, and added, students could then develop queries to run against the data to evaluate their research questions. Simple statistical analysis was then run to determine the validity of their conclusions, and finally, presentations were developed to explain their results. Furthermore, students were empowered to connect the results of the research project to suggest policy changes for their community.

CSMP Mathematics for the Intermediate Grades Part II, Teacher's Guide [and] Worksheets. The World of Numbers. Experimental Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CEMREL, Inc., St. Ann, MO.

This guide represents the final experimental version of a pilot project which was conducted in the United States between 1973 and 1976. The ideas and the manner of presentation are based on the works of Georges and Frederique Papy. They are recognized for having introduced colored arrow drawings ("papygrams") and models of our numeration…

Integrated Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A). Performance Verification Reports: Final Comprehensive Performance Test Report, P/N: 1356006-1, S.N: 202/A2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Platt, R.

1998-01-01

This is the Performance Verification Report. the process specification establishes the requirements for the comprehensive performance test (CPT) and limited performance test (LPT) of the earth observing system advanced microwave sounding unit-A2 (EOS/AMSU-A2), referred to as the unit. The unit is defined on drawing 1356006.

Quality Assurance Assessment of the F-35 Lightning II Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-30

assurance personnel had not verified epoxy primer, urethane topcoat, and abrasion - resistant coating processes. In another case, there was no indication...other for electrical resistance . A review of drawing requirements and discussions Contractor Assessments DODIG-2013-140 │ 11 with personnel noted that...the operators were not required to perform the electrical resistance verification, even though it was later determined to be required. Finally, the

Japan 1945-1989: Re-Creating a Modern Nation. A Humanities Approach to Japanese History, Part IV.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parisi, Lynn; Masalski, Kathleen Woods

This curriculum unit is the final volume of a four-part series. Noting that the humanities reveal the values and beliefs that underlie social, political, and economic institutions, the unit contends that the study of other countries and their histories may be greatly enriched by a humanities approach that draws on the fields of literature,…

Educational Triage and Ability-Grouping in Primary Mathematics: A Case-Study of the Impacts on Low-Attaining Pupils

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Rachel

2014-01-01

This case-study, drawing on an unanticipated theme arising from a wider study of ability-grouping in primary mathematics, documents some of the consequences of educational triage in the final year of one primary school. The paper discusses how a process of educational triage, as a response to accountability pressures, is justified by teachers on…

Language of Mechanisms: Exam Analysis Reveals Students' Strengths, Strategies, and Errors When Using the Electron-Pushing Formalism (Curved Arrows) in New Reactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flynn, Alison B.; Featherstone, Ryan B.

2017-01-01

This study investigated students' successes, strategies, and common errors in their answers to questions that involved the electron-pushing (curved arrow) formalism (EPF), part of organic chemistry's language. We analyzed students' answers to two question types on midterms and final exams: (1) draw the electron-pushing arrows of a reaction step,…

Hate Won, but Love Will Have the Final Word: Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology, and the Moral Imperative of Resistance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirylo, James D

2017-01-01

In the context of the recent presidential election in the United States, this article examines the place of critical pedagogy and liberation theology and its positionality in impacting the moral imperative of resisting a climate of hate and intolerance. Particularly drawing from the work of Peter McLaren, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Paulo Freire and…

Software Engineering Research/Developer Collaborations in 2005

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pressburger, Tom

2006-01-01

In CY 2005, three collaborations between software engineering technology providers and NASA software development personnel deployed three software engineering technologies on NASA development projects (a different technology on each project). The main purposes were to benefit the projects, infuse the technologies if beneficial into NASA, and give feedback to the technology providers to improve the technologies. Each collaboration project produced a final report. Section 2 of this report summarizes each project, drawing from the final reports and communications with the software developers and technology providers. Section 3 indicates paths to further infusion of the technologies into NASA practice. Section 4 summarizes some technology transfer lessons learned. Also included is an acronym list.

Graph drawing using tabu search coupled with path relinking.

PubMed

Dib, Fadi K; Rodgers, Peter

2018-01-01

Graph drawing, or the automatic layout of graphs, is a challenging problem. There are several search based methods for graph drawing which are based on optimizing an objective function which is formed from a weighted sum of multiple criteria. In this paper, we propose a new neighbourhood search method which uses a tabu search coupled with path relinking to optimize such objective functions for general graph layouts with undirected straight lines. To our knowledge, before our work, neither of these methods have been previously used in general multi-criteria graph drawing. Tabu search uses a memory list to speed up searching by avoiding previously tested solutions, while the path relinking method generates new solutions by exploring paths that connect high quality solutions. We use path relinking periodically within the tabu search procedure to speed up the identification of good solutions. We have evaluated our new method against the commonly used neighbourhood search optimization techniques: hill climbing and simulated annealing. Our evaluation examines the quality of the graph layout (objective function's value) and the speed of layout in terms of the number of evaluated solutions required to draw a graph. We also examine the relative scalability of each method. Our experimental results were applied to both random graphs and a real-world dataset. We show that our method outperforms both hill climbing and simulated annealing by producing a better layout in a lower number of evaluated solutions. In addition, we demonstrate that our method has greater scalability as it can layout larger graphs than the state-of-the-art neighbourhood search methods. Finally, we show that similar results can be produced in a real world setting by testing our method against a standard public graph dataset.

Graph drawing using tabu search coupled with path relinking

PubMed Central

Rodgers, Peter

2018-01-01

Graph drawing, or the automatic layout of graphs, is a challenging problem. There are several search based methods for graph drawing which are based on optimizing an objective function which is formed from a weighted sum of multiple criteria. In this paper, we propose a new neighbourhood search method which uses a tabu search coupled with path relinking to optimize such objective functions for general graph layouts with undirected straight lines. To our knowledge, before our work, neither of these methods have been previously used in general multi-criteria graph drawing. Tabu search uses a memory list to speed up searching by avoiding previously tested solutions, while the path relinking method generates new solutions by exploring paths that connect high quality solutions. We use path relinking periodically within the tabu search procedure to speed up the identification of good solutions. We have evaluated our new method against the commonly used neighbourhood search optimization techniques: hill climbing and simulated annealing. Our evaluation examines the quality of the graph layout (objective function’s value) and the speed of layout in terms of the number of evaluated solutions required to draw a graph. We also examine the relative scalability of each method. Our experimental results were applied to both random graphs and a real-world dataset. We show that our method outperforms both hill climbing and simulated annealing by producing a better layout in a lower number of evaluated solutions. In addition, we demonstrate that our method has greater scalability as it can layout larger graphs than the state-of-the-art neighbourhood search methods. Finally, we show that similar results can be produced in a real world setting by testing our method against a standard public graph dataset. PMID:29746576

Formability of paperboard during deep-drawing with local steam application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franke, Wilken; Stein, Philipp; Dörsam, Sven; Groche, Peter

2018-05-01

The use of paperboard can significantly improve the environmental compatibility of everyday products such as packages. Nevertheless, most packages are currently made of plastics, since the three-dimensional shaping of paperboard is possible only to a limited extent. In order to increase the forming possibilities, deep drawing of cardboard has been intensively investigated for more than a decade. An improvement with regard to increased forming limits has been achieved by heating of the tool parts, which leads to a softening of paperboard constituents such as lignin. A further approach is the moistening of the samples, whereby the hydrogen bonds between the fibers are weakened and as a result an increase of the formability. It is expected that a combination of both parameter approaches will result in a significant increase in the forming capacity and in the shape accuracy. For this reason, a new tool concept is introduced within the scope of this work which makes it possible to moisten samples during the deep drawing process by means of steam supply. The conducted investigations show that spring-back in the preferred fiber direction can be reduced by 38 %. Orthogonal to the preferred fiber direction a reduction of spring back of up to 79 % is determined, which corresponds to a perfect shape. Moreover, it was determined that the steam duration and the initial moisture content have an influence on the final shape. In addition to the increased dimensional accuracy, an optimized wrinkle compression compared to conventional deep drawing is found. According to the results, it can be summarized that a steam application in the deep drawing of paperboard significantly improves the part quality.

The effect of short-term high versus normal protein intake on whole-body protein synthesis and balance in children following cardiac surgery: a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial.

PubMed

Geukers, Vincent G; Dijsselhof, Monique E; Jansen, Nicolaas J G; Breur, Johannes M P J; van Harskamp, Dewi; Schierbeek, Henk; van Goudoever, Johannes B; Bos, Albert P; Sauerwein, Hans P

2015-07-28

Infants undergoing cardiac surgery are at risk of a negative protein balance, due to increased proteolysis in response to surgery and the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit, and limited intake. The aim of the study was to quantify the effect on protein kinetics of a short-term high-protein (HP) diet in infants following cardiac surgery. In a prospective, double-blinded, randomized trial we compared the effects of a HP (5 g · kg(-1) · d(-1)) versus normal protein (NP, 2 g · kg(-1) · d(-1)) enteral diet on protein kinetics in children <24 months, on day 2 following surgical repair of congenital heart disease. Valine kinetics and fractional albumin synthesis rate (FSRalb) were measured with mass spectrometry using [1-(13)C]valine infusion. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to investigate differences between group medians. Additionally, the Hodges-Lehmann procedure was used to create a confidence interval with a point estimate of median differences between groups. Twenty-eight children (median age 9 months, median weight 7 kg) participated in the study, of whom in only 20 subjects isotopic data could be used for final calculations. Due to underpowering of our study, we could not draw conclusions on the primary outcome parameters. We observed valine synthesis rate of 2.73 (range: 0.94 to 3.36) and 2.26 (1.85 to 2.73) μmol · kg(-1) · min(-1) in the HP and NP diet, respectively. The net valine balance was 0.54 (-0.73 to 1.75) and 0.24 (-0.20 to 0.63) μmol · kg(-1) · min(-1) in the HP and NP group. Between groups, there was no difference in FSRalb. We observed increased oxidation and BUN in the HP diet, compared to the NP diet, as a plausible explanation of the metabolic fate of surplus protein. It is plausible that the surplus protein in the HP group has caused the increase of valine oxidation and ureagenesis, compared to the NP group. Because too few patients had completed the study, we were unable to draw conclusions on the effect of a HP diet on protein synthesis and balance. We present our results as new hypothesis generating data. Dutch Trial Register NTR2334.

NEO Test Stand Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pike, Cody J.

2015-01-01

A project within SwampWorks is building a test stand to hold regolith to study how dust is ejected when exposed to the hot exhaust plume of a rocket engine. The test stand needs to be analyzed, finalized, and fabrication drawings generated to move forward. Modifications of the test stand assembly were made with Creo 2 modeling software. Structural analysis calculations were developed by hand to confirm if the structure will hold the expected loads while optimizing support positions. These calculations when iterated through MatLab demonstrated the optimized position of the vertical support to be 98'' from the far end of the stand. All remaining deflections were shown to be under the 0.6'' requirement and internal stresses to meet NASA Ground Support Equipment (GSE) Safety Standards. Though at the time of writing, fabrication drawings have yet to be generated, but are expected shortly after.

Critical evaluation of colon submucosal microdialysis in awake, mobile rats.

PubMed

Cibicek, Norbert; Ehrmann, Jiri; Proskova, Jitka; Vecera, Rostislav

2018-01-01

Sensors able to record large bowel physiology and biochemistry in situ in awake rodents are lacking. Microdialysis is a mini-invasive technique that may be utilized to continuously deliver or recover low-molecular substances from various tissues. In this experiment we evaluated the feasibility of in vivo microdialysis to monitor extracellular fluid chemistry in the descending colon submucosa of conscious, freely moving rodents. Following surgical implantation of a microdialysis probe, male Wistar rats were housed in metabolic cages where they were analgized and clinically followed for four days with free access to standard diet and water. To assess local microcirculation and probe function, glucose, lactate, glucose-to-lactate ratio and urea clearance were determined in the dialysates from the three postoperative days with focus on the final 24-h period. In an attempt to mitigate the expected tissue inflammatory response, one group of animals had the catheters perfused with 5-aminosalicylic acid-enriched medium with final concentration 1 μmol/L. For verification of probe position and the assessment of the surrounding foreign body reaction, standard histological and immunohistochemical methods were employed. Microdialysis of rat gut is associated with considerable technical challenges that may lead to the loss of probe function and high drop-out rate. In this setting, limited data did not allow to draw any firm conclusion regarding local anti-inflammatory effectiveness of 5-aminosalicylic acid perfusion. Although intestinal microdialysis may be suitable for larger anesthetized animals, low reproducibility of the presented method compromises its routine experimental use in awake and freely moving small-sized rodents.

A Rural Implementation of a 52 Node Mixed Wireless Mesh Network in Macha, Zambia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Backens, Jonathan; Mweemba, Gregory; van Stam, Gertjan

In spite of increasing international and academic attention, there remains many challenges facing real world implementations of developing technologies. There has been considerable hype behind Wireless Mesh Networking as the ubiquitous solution for rural ICT in the developing world. In this paper, we present the real world rural mesh network implementation in the village of Macha, Zambia and draw both performance conclusions as well as overall experiential conclusions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and analyze our low cost solution and extrapolate future trends for rural ICT implementations in Zambia.

MAGNETIC BEHAVIOR OF FUNCTIONALLY MODIFIED SPINEL Ni0.4Ca0.6Fe2O4 NANOFERRITE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasad, Arun S.; Dhawan, M. S.; Dolia, S. N.; Samariya, Arvind; Reddy, V. R.; Singhal, R. K.; Predeep, P.

2011-06-01

The editorial board discovered that the data points in several sections of the Mossbauer spectra as given in Figs. 3(a) and 3(b) are exactly identical. This is impossible and nonphysical for the measurement of two different samples (or for that matter not even for the same sample!). The only conclusion we can draw from this figure is that some of the data is fabricated. As a result, the results and conclusions as described in the paper are unacceptable. This article is retracted from its publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys. B.

Television's impact on children.

PubMed

Zuckerman, D M; Zuckerman, B S

1985-02-01

Television has a major impact on children's knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Research has demonstrated the association between television viewing and four areas: (1) children's aggressive behavior; (2) racial and sex-role stereotypes; (3) decreased interest in reading and school activities; and (4) poorer health habits and attitudes. Methodological limitations make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about a causal relationship between television viewing and children's behavior. Representative studies in these four areas are reviewed, important methodological concerns are pointed out, and conclusions from the research findings are drawn. The implications of the data for pediatricians and other health professionals are discussed.

Optimization of an asymmetric thin-walled tube in rotary draw bending process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Xin; Liao, Juan; Vincze, Gabriela; Gracio, Jose J.

2013-12-01

The rotary draw bending is one of the advanced thin-walled tube forming processes with high efficiency, low consumption and good flexibility in several industries such as automotive, aerospace and shipping. However it may cause undesirable deformations such as over-thinning and ovalization, which bring the weakening of the strength and difficulties in the assembly process respectively. Accurate modeling and effective optimization design to eliminate or reduce undesirable deformations in tube bending process have been a challenging topic. In this paper, in order to study the deformation behaviors of an asymmetric thin-walled tube in rotary draw bending process, a 3D elastic-plastic finite element model has been built under the ABAQUS environment, and the reliability of the model is validated by comparison with experiment. Then, the deformation mechanism of thin-walled tube in bending process was briefly analysis and the effects of wall thickness ratio, section height width ratio and mandrel extension on wall thinning and ovalization in bending process were investigated by using Response Surface Methodology. Finally, multi-objective optimization method was used to obtain an optimum solution of design variables based on simulation results.

Diffusion and Interface Effects during Preparation of All-Solid Microstructured Fibers

PubMed Central

Jens, Kobelke; Jörg, Bierlich; Katrin, Wondraczek; Claudia, Aichele; Zhiwen, Pan; Sonja, Unger; Kay, Schuster; Hartmut, Bartelt

2014-01-01

All-solid microstructured optical fibers (MOF) allow the realization of very flexible optical waveguide designs. They are prepared by stacking of doped silica rods or canes in complex arrangements. Typical dopants in silica matrices are germanium and phosphorus to increase the refractive index (RI), or boron and fluorine to decrease the RI. However, the direct interface contact of stacking elements often causes interrelated chemical reactions or evaporation during thermal processing. The obtained fiber structures after the final drawing step thus tend to deviate from the targeted structure risking degrading their favored optical functionality. Dopant profiles and design parameters (e.g., the RI homogeneity of the cladding) are controlled by the combination of diffusion and equilibrium conditions of evaporation reactions. We show simulation results of diffusion and thermal dissociation in germanium and fluorine doped silica rod arrangements according to the monitored geometrical disturbances in stretched canes or drawn fibers. The paper indicates geometrical limits of dopant structures in sub-µm-level depending on the dopant concentration and the thermal conditions during the drawing process. The presented results thus enable an optimized planning of the preform parameters avoiding unwanted alterations in dopant concentration profiles or in design parameters encountered during the drawing process. PMID:28788219

Diffusion and Interface Effects during Preparation of All-Solid Microstructured Fibers.

PubMed

Jens, Kobelke; Jörg, Bierlich; Katrin, Wondraczek; Claudia, Aichele; Zhiwen, Pan; Sonja, Unger; Kay, Schuster; Hartmut, Bartelt

2014-09-25

All-solid microstructured optical fibers (MOF) allow the realization of very flexible optical waveguide designs. They are prepared by stacking of doped silica rods or canes in complex arrangements. Typical dopants in silica matrices are germanium and phosphorus to increase the refractive index (RI), or boron and fluorine to decrease the RI. However, the direct interface contact of stacking elements often causes interrelated chemical reactions or evaporation during thermal processing. The obtained fiber structures after the final drawing step thus tend to deviate from the targeted structure risking degrading their favored optical functionality. Dopant profiles and design parameters (e.g., the RI homogeneity of the cladding) are controlled by the combination of diffusion and equilibrium conditions of evaporation reactions. We show simulation results of diffusion and thermal dissociation in germanium and fluorine doped silica rod arrangements according to the monitored geometrical disturbances in stretched canes or drawn fibers. The paper indicates geometrical limits of dopant structures in sub-µm-level depending on the dopant concentration and the thermal conditions during the drawing process. The presented results thus enable an optimized planning of the preform parameters avoiding unwanted alterations in dopant concentration profiles or in design parameters encountered during the drawing process.