More than 3,200 Books and DVDs Donated to Annual Book Swap | Poster

Cancer.gov

Robin Meckley, Contributing Writer The Scientific Library’s 14th Annual Book and Media Swap, held on April 16 in the lobby of Building 549, proved to be a popular event. When the swap was rescheduled from fall 2013 to spring 2014, the library staff was uncertain if the response would be equal to previous years, said Sue Wilson, principal manager of the Scientific Library. NCI at Frederick employees rose to the challenge, however, with 87 people donating more than 3,200 books and DVDs, according to Pam Noble, serials technician and book swap team leader. By the end of the first day of the swap, almost half of the materials had been claimed.

20 CFR 405.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... continuing disability review or age-18 redetermination. Document includes books, records, correspondence, papers, as well as forms of electronic media such as video tapes, CDs, and DVDs. Evidence means evidence...

20 CFR 405.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... include a continuing disability review or age-18 redetermination. Document includes books, records, correspondence, papers, as well as forms of electronic media such as video tapes, CDs, and DVDs. Evidence means...

20 CFR 405.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... include a continuing disability review or age-18 redetermination. Document includes books, records, correspondence, papers, as well as forms of electronic media such as video tapes, CDs, and DVDs. Evidence means...

20 CFR 405.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... include a continuing disability review or age-18 redetermination. Document includes books, records, correspondence, papers, as well as forms of electronic media such as video tapes, CDs, and DVDs. Evidence means...

Write Strategy for Dual-Layer Digital Versatile Discs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabata, Hiroshi; Tokui, Kenji; Higuchi, Shinji; Moriizumi, Hirokazu; Matsumoto, Ikuo

2006-02-01

A novel write strategy for rewritable dual-layer digital versatile discs (DVDs) was studied. This new strategy involves the erase top pulse which is included in the conventional write strategy for single-layer DVDs in present market. By thermal calculations, it was confirmed that this erase top pulse has an affect on the rapid heating of recording films. We observed that this new strategy enabled the improvement in data qualities on the layer near the laser incident (L0) effectively in 2 × and 4 ×-speed recordings even if L0 had a high optical transparency. Furthermore we also demonstrated a combination of what with the 2T-period strategy on the layer far from the laser incident (L1) realized a well-balanced signal performance for dual-layer DVD media.

12 CFR 1732.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., electronic tapes and back-up tapes, optical discs, CD-ROMS, and DVDs), and voicemail records; (2) Where the information is stored or located, including network servers, desktop or laptop computers and handheld...

Helpful Resources for Childbirth Educators and Parents

PubMed Central

Shilling, Teri

2007-01-01

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of current media resources (books and DVDs) that address topics related to pregnancy, birth, labor-support skills for nurses, and pregnancy massage.

Musculoskeletal education in physical medicine and rehabilitation residency programs.

PubMed

Smith, Jay; Krabak, Brian J; Malanga, Gerard A; Moutvic, Margaret A

2004-10-01

To characterize current musculoskeletal (MSK) education experiences in physical medicine and rehabilitation residency programs and to identify perceived barriers to providing more extensive MSK education experiences. In addition, to establish utilization patterns for the PASSOR Physical Examination Core Competencies List. Between March and November 2003, all 81 physical medicine and rehabilitation residency program directors were asked to complete an MSK education survey developed by the authors. A total of 69 of 81 program directors (86%) responded after multiple contacts. The most frequently utilized MSK education formats were MSK lecture series, MSK departmental conferences, and physical examination workshops. Potential barriers to expanded MSK education included money, time, and staff number. Given unlimited resources, most residency programs would greatly increase utilization of visiting lecturers, CD-ROMs/DVDs, objective structured clinical examinations, and physical examination videos. Of the 30 program directors who recalled receiving the Core Competencies List, only 40% (12 of 30) have formally integrated the list into their residency training. Barriers to implementation included logistical challenges and lack of direction regarding implementation. Residency program directors indicate a strong interest in expanding resident MSK education through the use of CD-ROMs/DVDs, physical examination videos, objective structured clinical examinations, and visiting lecturer programs. CD-ROMs/DVDs and videos represent particularly attractive educational formats for supplementing resident MSK education due to the advantages of central production, nominal costs, widespread distribution, multimedia capabilities, and accessibility. These educational formats should be considered for targeted educational initiatives to enhance resident MSK education, regardless of residency program size or resources.

HD-DVD: the next consumer electronics revolution?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Topiwala, Pankaj N.

2003-11-01

The DVD is emerging as one of the world's favorite consumer electronics product, rapidly replacing analog videotape in the US and many other markets at prodigious rates. It is capable of offering a full feature-length, standard-definition movie in crisp rendition on TV. TV technology is itself in the midst of switching from analog to digital TV, with high-definition being the main draw. In fact, the US government has been advocating that switch over to digital TC, with both carrot and stick approaches, for nearly two decades, with only modest results--about 2% penetration. Under FCC herding, broadcasters are falling in the digital line--slowly, and sans profit. Meanwhile, delivery of HD content on portable media would be a great solution. Indeed, a new disk technology based on blue lasers is coming; but its widespread adoption may yet be four to five yeras away. But a promising new video codec--H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, the latest coding standard jointly developed by the Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) of ITU-T and Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) of ISO/IEC, just might be the missing link. It offers substantial coding gains over MPEG-2, used in today's DVDs. With H.264, it appears possible to put HD movies on today's red-laser DVDs. Since consumers love DVDs, and HD--when they can see it, can H.264 and HD-DVD ignite a new revolution, now? It may have a huge impact on (H)DTV adoption rates.

Optical imaging module for astigmatic detection system

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

Wang, Wei-Min; Cheng, Chung-Hsiang; Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan

2016-05-15

In this paper, an optical imaging module design for an astigmatic detection system (ADS) is presented. The module is based on a commercial optical pickup unit (OPU) and it contains a coaxial illuminant for illuminating a specimen. Furthermore, the imaging module facilitates viewing the specimen and the detection laser spot of the ADS with a lateral resolution of approximately 1 μm without requiring the removal of an element of the OPU. Two polarizers and one infrared filter are used to eliminate stray laser light in the OPU and stray light produced by the illuminant. Imaging modules designed for digital versatilemore » disks (DVDs) and Blu-ray DVDs were demonstrated. Furthermore, the module can be used for imaging a small cantilever with approximate dimensions of 2 μm (width) × 5 μm (length), and therefore, it has the potential to be used in high-speed atomic force microscopy.« less

Warm-up before laparoscopic surgery is not essential.

PubMed

Weston, Maree K; Stephens, Jacqueline H; Schafer, Amy; Hewett, Peter J

2014-03-01

Several recent studies have suggested that warming up prior to surgery may improve surgical performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether warming up prior to laparoscopic surgery improves surgical performance or reduces surgery duration. Between August 2011 and January 2012, a randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare two warm-up modalities to no warm-up. The study was conducted at a single site, with nine surgeons performing 72 laparoscopic cholecystectomies and 37 laparoscopic appendicectomies. Prior to surgery, surgeons were randomized to either laparoscopic trainer box warm-up, PlayStation 2 warm-up or no warm-up. The activity was performed within 30 min of surgery commencing. Patients provided informed consent for the surgery to be digitally recorded. Digital videodiscs (DVDs) were reviewed by an independent and blinded assessor. Data were collected on duration of surgery, level of training and perceived surgical difficulty. Surgical performance was graded using a validated scoring system. From the 109 operations performed, there were 75 usable DVDs. Overall, there were no statistical differences in the demographics of patients and surgeons in the three treatment groups, nor in the subset that had useable DVDs. There were no statistical differences in the duration of surgery or surgeon's perceived surgical difficulty. There was no statistical difference in surgical performance. This study suggests that warm-up prior to laparoscopic cholecystectomy or appendicectomy is not essential, acknowledging that there are several study limitations that preclude definitive conclusion. © 2012 The Authors. ANZ Journal of Surgery © 2012 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Bibliography of Citizenship Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CASAS - Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (NJ1), 2008

2008-01-01

The 2008 CASAS "Bibliography of Citizenship Materials" lists available instructional resources for citizenship education. It focuses on materials appropriate for preparing people for the naturalization process and the standardized citizenship examination. Resources include textbooks, audio materials, software and Videos/DVDs. The bibliography also…

14 CFR 382.69 - What requirements must carriers meet concerning the accessibility of videos, DVDs, and other...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... carriers must use an equivalent non-video alternative for transmitting the briefing to passengers with... audio-visual displays played on aircraft for informational purposes that were created under your control...

14 CFR 382.69 - What requirements must carriers meet concerning the accessibility of videos, DVDs, and other...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... carriers must use an equivalent non-video alternative for transmitting the briefing to passengers with... audio-visual displays played on aircraft for informational purposes that were created under your control...

14 CFR 382.69 - What requirements must carriers meet concerning the accessibility of videos, DVDs, and other...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... carriers must use an equivalent non-video alternative for transmitting the briefing to passengers with... audio-visual displays played on aircraft for informational purposes that were created under your control...

Helpful Resources for Childbirth Educators and Parents

PubMed Central

Shilling, Teri

2007-01-01

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of books and DVDs that address topics related to maternity care in the United States, health and childbearing experiences of women in third-world countries, traumatic birth, and pregnancy massage.

78 FR 69691 - Draft Guidance for Industry on Product Name Placement, Size, and Prominence in Advertising and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-20

... such as Internet promotion, social media, emails, CD-ROMs, and DVDs. Following issuance of the guidance... materials. The recommendations in the draft guidance pertain to product names in traditional print media...

16 CFR 1200.2 - Definition of children's product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

.... However, electronic devices such as CD players, DVD players, game consoles, book readers, digital media... fixtures (including, but not limited to: Rocking chairs, shelving units, televisions, digital music players... intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger. (4) DVDs, Video Games, and Computer Products...

The Evolution of Communication from Hieroglyphics to DVDs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzgerald, Mike

2006-01-01

Communication spreads knowledge worldwide. It could be argued that "communication" is one of the greatest human achievements. In this article, the author briefly describes some key technologies associated with the archiving and communication of information. Since communication technologies continue to evolve at a fast pace, he simply focuses on…

Actors and Avatars: Why Learners Prefer Digital Agents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donovan, Paul

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare learner experiences of recorded instructional videos (DVDs) with Machinima. Design/methodology/approach: In this exploratory study, sets of learning sequences in management skills training were delivered to 32 learners using both methods, and learner reactions were gathered using post-event…

Einstein for Everyone

ScienceCinema

Piccioni, Robert

2018-04-25

Young Einstein was a rebel who seemed doomed to fail. How did he overcome rejection to become the most famous scientist in history? We will discuss and explain all his theories in plain English and without math, and we will discover how Einstein's achievements impact our lives through DVDs, GPS, iPods, computers and green energy.

The Chemistry of Optical Discs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birkett, David

2002-01-01

Explains the chemistry used in compact discs (CD), digital versatile discs (DVD), and magneto-optical (MO) discs focusing on the steps of initial creation of the mold, the molding of the polycarbonate, the deposition of the reflective layers, the lacquering of the CDs, and the bonding of DVDs. (Contains 15 references.) (YDS)

Screen Media and Young Children: Who Benefits?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardany, Audrey Berger

2010-01-01

Since the airing of "Sesame Street" in 1985, television produced for children has expanded to more television shows and educational media that includes videos, DVDs, and computer products. Viewing screen media is pervasive in the environments of young children, and companies are designing products for our youngest viewers--infants and toddlers.…

Einstein for Everyone

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

Piccioni, Robert

2010-10-05

Young Einstein was a rebel who seemed doomed to fail. How did he overcome rejection to become the most famous scientist in history? We will discuss and explain all his theories in plain English and without math, and we will discover how Einstein's achievements impact our lives through DVDs, GPS, iPods, computers and green energy.

Let's Get Physical-Or Not

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Ann

2005-01-01

Necessity is still the mother of invention, and physical processing is a reality for most libraries. Ergo, the inevitable development of Indigo Media and its innovative MediaPrint software, which allows distributors to overlay customized labels, logos, barcodes, and artwork onto retail labels of audiobooks, CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, on a…

Using Feature Films in Language Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seferoglu, Golge

2008-01-01

This study aimed at finding students' perspectives on integrating feature films on digital versatile discs (DVDs) in oral communication classes of advanced English as foreign language (EFL) learners. A total of 29 students being trained as teachers of English participated in the study. Data were collected through a survey questionnaire. All…

Interactive Communication by Applying Contemporary Media in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tatkovic, Nevenka; Ruzic, Maja

2005-01-01

Today society has become a multimedia society, turned towards new forms of communication, ready for changes and the new communicational challenges. The students, surrounded by PCs, mobile phones and ever so sophisticated software, videos, wireless sets and TVs, DVDs, satellite transmissions and "the media above all other media"--the…

Attentional Drift: An Exploratory Study into the Development of an Attention Level Monitoring System Based on Human Eye Fixation

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

1979). As drivers’ daily commuting times increase, and as new technologies such as Blackberrys , navigation systems, DVDs, etc., become more pervasive...Thomas, L.C., & Wickens, C.D. (2001). Visual displays and cognitive tunneling : frames of reference effects on spatial judgments and change

Librarian of the Year 2009: Team Cedar Rapids

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, John N., III

2009-01-01

When flood came to Cedar Rapids city, the Cedar Rapids Public Library (CRPL), IA, lost 160,000 items including large parts of its adult and youth collections, magazines, newspapers, reference materials, CDs, and DVDs. Most of its public access computers were destroyed as was its computer lab and microfilm equipment. The automatic circulation and…

75 FR 52552 - Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement-Curriculum Development: Implementing and Sustaining an...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-26

... Corrections (NIC) is seeking applications for the development of a competency-based, blended modality training..., handouts, exercises, etc.). The use of blended learning tools such as a live web-based training environment (e.g., WebEx), DVDs, satellite/Internet broadcasts, e-learning, or supplemental online training...

Interactional Quality Depicted in Infant and Toddler Videos: Where Are the Interactions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenstermacher, Susan K.; Barr, Rachel; Brey, Elizabeth; Pempek, Tiffany A.; Ryan, Maureen; Calvert, Sandra L.; Shwery, Clay E.; Linebarger, Deborah

2010-01-01

This study examined the social-emotional content and the quality of social interactions depicted in a sample of 58 DVDs marketed towards infants and toddlers. Infant-directed videos rarely used social interactions between caregiver and child or between peers to present content. Even when videos explicitly targeted social-emotional content,…

Books and DVDs Offer Excellent Resources for Childbirth Education Classes

PubMed Central

Shilling, Teri

2006-01-01

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on the second edition of The Labor Progress Handbook, a book by Penny Simkin and Ruth Ancheta; What Babies Want, a documentary directed by Debby Takikawa; A Pleasing Birth, a book by Raymond De Vries; and Baby Tata, a DVD production by Baby Tata LLC.

New Essentials for the Library as Learning Commons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gamble, Jay

2011-01-01

Library teachers can no longer do business as usual--their students' deep learning is at risk! Expanding current collection of books, CDs, and DVDs is progress, but library teachers cannot allow their facilities to become warehouses for information resources. Their library learning commons should be a place buzzing with the hustle and bustle of…

Pakinggan at Unawain: Comprehending Intermediate Filipino. [DVD Set

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramos, Teresita V.

2004-01-01

Watching while listening promotes understanding and makes learning Filipino a lively and engaging experience. This set of two DVDs presents 42 video dialogs to help students move beyond the beginning level in mastering Filipino structures and functions. The units cover nine thematic areas: (1) meeting people; (2) food; (3) household activities;…

A DVD Spectroscope: A Simple, High-Resolution Classroom Spectroscope

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wakabayashi, Fumitaka; Hamada, Kiyohito

2006-01-01

Digital versatile disks (DVDs) have successfully made up an inexpensive but high-resolution spectroscope suitable for classroom experiments that can easily be made with common material and gives clear and fine spectra of various light sources and colored material. The observed spectra can be photographed with a digital camera, and such images can…

Infant-Directed Media: An Analysis of Product Information and Claims

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenstermacher, Susan K.; Barr, Rachel; Salerno, Katherine; Garcia, Amaya; Shwery, Clay E.; Calvert, Sandra L.; Linebarger, Deborah L.

2010-01-01

Infant DVDs typically have titles and even company names that imply some educational benefit. It is not known whether these educational claims are reflected in actual content. The present study examined this question. Of 686 claims (across 58 programs) listed on packaging, websites and promotional materials, implicit claims were most frequent…

Media Literacy: What, Why, and How?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grace, Donna J.

2005-01-01

Literacy has traditionally been associated with the printed word. But today, print literacy is not enough. Children and youth need to learn to "read" and interpret visual images as well. Film, television, videos, DVDs, computer games, and the Internet all hold a prominent and pervasive place in one's culture. Its presence in people's lives is only…

36 CFR § 1235.46 - What electronic media may be used for transferring records to the National Archives of the United...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...), respectively. (2) 18-track 3480-class cartridges must be recorded at 37,871 bpi that meet ANSI X3.180..., § 1235.4). (c) Compact-Disk, Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) and Digital Video Disks (DVDs). Agencies may use...

A Healthy Delivery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eastwood, Elizabeth J.

2008-01-01

Books on the topic of pregnancy abound; in fact, publishers are more attentive to the subject than ever. According to R.R. Bowker's "Books in Print," 226 nonfiction pregnancy titles were published in 2006, a 30 percent increase over the decade before. Add to this glut all the magazines, DVDs, web sites, and TV programs available on the topic, and…

Streaming Video--The Wave of the Video Future!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Laura

2004-01-01

Videos and DVDs give the teachers more flexibility than slide projectors, filmstrips, and 16mm films but teachers and students are excited about a new technology called streaming. Streaming allows the educators to view videos on demand via the Internet, which works through the transfer of digital media like video, and voice data that is received…

Leisure Participation and Enjoyment among the Elderly: Individual Characteristics and Sociability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Su-Yen; Fu, Yang-Chih

2008-01-01

Using data from a national survey of adults in Taiwan, this study explored how often older adults participate in and how much they enjoy 2 mostly-solitary leisure activities (reading books and watching TV/DVDs/videos) and 2 mostly-social leisure activities (socializing with friends and engaging in physical activities). According to ordinal…

Film Format Pandemonium

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malczewski, Benjamin

2010-01-01

Every day, Americans borrow 2.1 million DVDs from public libraries. Barely beating libraries out for the top spot is Netflix, at 2.2 million daily rentals. This is according to the OCLC 2010 survey "How Libraries Stack Up." (Redbox vending-machine rentals lag behind at 1.1 million, while DVD rental chain Blockbuster is no longer in the running,…

Perspectives in Time: Using the Arts to Teach Proust and His World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moser, Janet

2009-01-01

Arts resources available on the Internet and DVDs provide a flexible, richly resonant, student-friendly framework for a coordinated study of the connections between the style and structure of Proust's novel and the social and cultural worlds he depicts. "In Search of Lost Time", a product of an artistic revolution as well as a critical…

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations: Portraits of Individuals with Disabilities in Star Trek

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shepherd, Terry L.

2007-01-01

Weekly television series have more influence on American society than any other form of media, and with many of these series available on DVDs, television series are readily accessible to most consumers. Studying television series provides a unique perspective on society's view of individuals with disabilities and influences how teachers and peers…

New Resources for Childbirth Educators and Parents

PubMed Central

Shilling, Teri

2008-01-01

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of new media resources for childbirth educators and for expectant and new parents. The topics of DVDs and books reviewed here include fatherhood, labor-support techniques, optimal labor positions, infant massage, breastfeeding, healthy nutrition during the childbearing year, understanding a newborn's cues, personal viewpoints on cesarean birth, and postpartum massage.

In Defense of Memorization: The Role of Periodization in Historical Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neumann, Dave

2011-01-01

The author is a master packer. Last summer, anticipating the thousand-mile drive from southern California to Colorado, he packed their Sienna so that everything had its logical place, from the DVDs to the audio books, from the beef jerky to the bottled Starbucks mocha. Of course, at first he had to explain to everyone else where things were, since…

An Integrated Skills Approach Using Feature Movies in EFL at Tertiary Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuncay, Hidayet

2014-01-01

This paper presents the results of a case study based on an integrated skills approach using feature movies (DVDs) in EFL syllabi at the tertiary level. 100 students took part in the study and the data was collected through a three - section survey questionnaire: demographic items, 18 likert scale questions and an open-ended question. The data…

The Doubles: Evaluation of a Substance Abuse Education Curriculum for Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epstein, Joel; Collins, Karen Kadela; Thomson, Nicole Renick; Pancella, Thom; Pauley, Danielle

2007-01-01

"The Doubles," funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is a seven-episode series of media tools designed to teach third- and fourth-grade students about the science of drug addiction. The program's curriculum was delivered through a set of DVDs, interactive CD-ROMs, workbooks, or an Internet Site. Results indicate that although the…

The Ethics of DeCSS Posting: Towards Assessing the Morality of the Internet Posting of DVD Copyright Circumvention Software

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eschenfelder, Kristin R.; Howard, Robert Glenn; Desai, Anuj C.

2006-01-01

Introduction: We investigate the conditions under which posting software known as "DeCSS" on the Internet is ethical. DeCSS circumvents the access and copy control protection measures on commercial DVDs. Through our investigation, we point to limitations in current frameworks used to assess ethical computer based civil disobedience.…

Children's Media Use and Sleep Problems: Issues and Unanswered Questions. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmerman, Frederick J.

2008-01-01

Research shows that most children and adolescents do not get enough high-quality sleep, and that their sleep times appear to have declined over the last two decades. Coinciding with this trend has been the rise in popularity of new media forms including the Internet, video games, cell phones and DVDs. Because of the immediacy and interactivity of…

Managing Perception: A Twenty-First Century Imperative

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-02-13

computer users not logged on, insurgents have distributed CDs and DVDs. This material, enhanced with video , soundtracks, and professional editing...news, and bloggers, and e-mails, and digital cameras, and Sony video cams, and all of these things that bring so much information near instantaneously...December 2005. 10 Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press, “Pentagon Describes Iraq Propaganda Plan,” Miami Herald, 4 December 2005, [article on-line

From ABCs to DVDs: Profiles of Infants' Home Media Environments in the First Two Years of Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mol, Suzanne E.; Neuman, Susan B.; Strouse, Gabrielle A.

2014-01-01

The very definition of print exposure has evolved in recent years as has the production of new media for infants and toddlers. Recognising that parents now have a confluence of media to select from, our study was designed to provide a richer understanding of home-literacy environments among 100 infants. Three profiles of families' home media…

Denver Reengineers: By Relying More on Vendors and Technology, Jo Sarling Explains How the Denver Public Library Shifted Resources to the Public

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarling, Jo

2005-01-01

This article gives details of the developments and changes in the Denver Public Library (DPL). Through a review of advancements in technology, vendor capabilities, staffing levels and talent, as well as outsourcing opportunities, DPL reinvented its workflow and processing. The result? The once giant stacks of books, CDs, videos, and DVDs waiting…

Longitudinal relations of television, electronic games, and digital versatile discs with changes in diet in adolescents.

PubMed

Falbe, Jennifer; Willett, Walter C; Rosner, Bernard; Gortmaker, Steve L; Sonneville, Kendrin R; Field, Alison E

2014-10-01

Youth spend more time with screens than any activity except sleeping. Screen time is a risk factor for obesity, possibly because of the influence of food and beverage advertising on diet. We sought to assess longitudinal relations of screen time [ie, television, electronic games, digital versatile discs (DVDs)/videos, and total screen time] with the 2-y changes in consumption of foods of low nutritional quality (FLNQ) that are commonly advertised on screens [ie, sugar-sweetened beverages, fast food, sweets, salty snacks, and the sum of these foods (total FLNQ)] and fruit and vegetables. With the use of 2004, 2006, and 2008 waves of the Growing Up Today Study II, which consisted of a cohort of 6002 female and 4917 male adolescents aged 9-16 y in 2004, we assessed screen time (change and baseline) in relation to the 2-y dietary changes. Regression models included 4604 girls and 3668 boys with complete screen time and diet data on ≥2 consecutive questionnaires. Each hour-per-day increase in television, electronic games, and DVDs/videos was associated with increased intake of total FLNQ (range: 0.10-0.28 servings/d; P < 0.05). Each hour-per-day increase in total screen time predicted increased intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, fast food, sweets, and salty snacks (range: 0.02-0.06 servings/d; P < 0.001) and decreased intakes of fruit and vegetables (range: -0.05 to -0.02 servings/d; P < 0.05). Greater screen time at baseline (except electronic games in boys) was associated with subsequent increased intake of total FLNQ, and greater screen time at baseline (except DVDs/videos) was associated with decreased intake of fruit and vegetables (P < 0.05). Across sex and food groups and in sensitivity analyses, television was most consistently associated with dietary changes. Increases in screen time were associated with increased consumption of foods and beverages of low nutritional quality and decreased consumption of fruit and vegetables. Our results caution against excessive use of screen media, especially television, in youth. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

More than 3,200 Books and DVDs Donated to Annual Book Swap | Poster

Cancer.gov

Robin Meckley, Contributing Writer The Scientific Library’s 14th Annual Book and Media Swap, held on April 16 in the lobby of Building 549, proved to be a popular event. When the swap was rescheduled from fall 2013 to spring 2014, the library staff was uncertain if the response would be equal to previous years, said Sue Wilson, principal manager of the Scientific Library. NCI

New Resources for Childbirth Educators and Parents

PubMed Central

Shilling, Teri; Bingham, Stacie

2010-01-01

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of new media resources for childbirth educators and for expectant and new parents. The books, CD, and DVDs reviewed in this issue's column address the following topics: natural, safe, and healthy birth practices; doula care; breastfeeding; empowering women to make healthy lifestyle choices during pregnancy; encouraging mothers to bond with their babies before birth; and fathers' and partners' supportive role during labor and birth.

Timing Is Everything: One Teacher's Exploration of the Best Time to Use Visual Media in a Science Unit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drury, Debra

2006-01-01

Kids today are growing up with televisions, movies, videos and DVDs, so it's logical to assume that this type of media could be motivating and used to great effect in the classroom. But at what point should film and other visual media be used? Are there times in the inquiry process when showing a film or incorporating other visual media is more…

A compact disc under skimming light rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Luca, R.; Di Mauro, M.; Fiore, O.; Naddeo, A.

2018-03-01

The optical properties of a compact disc (CD) under "skimming" light rays have been analyzed. We have noticed that a clear green line can be detected when the disc is irradiated with light rays coming from a lamp in such a way that only those skimming the CD, held horizontally, are selected. We provide a physical interpretation of this phenomenon on the basis of elementary optics concepts. Extension of these concepts to digital versatile discs (DVDs) is given.

The Annual Fall Book Swap Is On! | Poster

Cancer.gov

The Scientific Library staff is happy to announce that our 17th Annual Book and Media Swap will be held again this year beginning on Wednesday, November 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Building 549. If you need to make room for new books, are looking for new homes for your old books, or are tired of viewing those same old DVDs over and over, then the Swap is for you.

CTC Sentinel. Volume 6, Issue 1

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

Alexis Arieff, “Political Transition in Tunisia,” Con - gressional Research Service, June 18, 2012. JAnuARy 2013 . VoL 6. IssUE 1 “Since the revolution in...political risk analyst. 41 For example, when a group of Salafists attacked pro - testers who expressed solidarity for the owner of Nass- ma TV, Nabil...viewed Boko Haram pro - paganda CDs and DVDs, which were available in border markets until the Nigerien and Cameroonian authorities enforced a ban on

CTC Sentinel. Volume 6, Issue 1

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

Arieff, “Political Transition in Tunisia,” Con - gressional Research Service, June 18, 2012. JAnuARy 2013 . VoL 6. IssUE 1 “Since the revolution in 2011...risk analyst. 41 For example, when a group of Salafists attacked pro - testers who expressed solidarity for the owner of Nass- ma TV, Nabil Karoui, no...Boko Haram pro - paganda CDs and DVDs, which were available in border markets until the Nigerien and Cameroonian authorities enforced a ban on them in

Use of Big-Screen Films in Multiple Childbirth Education Classroom Settings

PubMed Central

Kaufman, Tamara

2010-01-01

Although two recent films, Orgasmic Birth and Pregnant in America, were intended for the big screen, they can also serve as valuable teaching resources in multiple childbirth education settings. Each film conveys powerful messages about birth and today's birthing culture. Depending on a childbirth educator's classroom setting (hospital, birthing center, or home birth environment), particular portions in each film, along with extra clips featured on the films' DVDs, can enhance an educator's curriculum and spark compelling discussions with class participants. PMID:21358831

Military Review: The Professional Journal of the U.S. Army, August 2008. Special Edition: Counterinsurgency Reader II

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-08-01

method to obtain the information Soldiers need to succeed in counterinsurgency. 133 Paper and COIN: Exploiting the Enemy’s Documents Major Vernie...people (IDPs) Use technicians to make DVDs and web site Extortion: provide “protection” merchant’s vehicles Pass info tea shop grid 17S12345678...merchant who provides printing and materials for paper TCP: Traffic Control Point, SAF: Small Arms Fire, MNF-I: Multi-National Forces-Iraq from local

Podcasting: contemporary patient education.

PubMed

Abreu, Daniel V; Tamura, Thomas K; Sipp, J Andrew; Keamy, Donald G; Eavey, Roland D

2008-04-01

Portable video technology is a widely available new tool with potential to be used by pediatric otolaryngology practices for patient and family education. Podcasts are media broadcasts that employ this new technology. They can be accessed via the Internet and viewed either on a personal computer or on a handheld device, such as an iPod or an MP3 player. We wished to examine the feasibility of establishing a podcast-hosting Web site. We digitally recorded pediatric otologic procedures in the operating room and saved the digital files to DVDs. We then edited the DVDs at home with video-editing software on a personal computer. Next, spoken narrative was recorded with audio-recording software and combined with the edited video clips. The final products were converted into the M4V file format, and the final versions were uploaded onto our hospital's Web site. We then downloaded the podcasts onto a high-quality portable media player so that we could evaluate their quality. All of the podcasts are now on the hospital Web site, where they can be downloaded by patients and families at no cost. The site includes instructions on how to download the appropriate free software for viewing the podcasts on a portable media player or on a computer. Using this technology for patient education expands the audience and permits portability of information. We conclude that a home computer can be used to inexpensively create informative surgery demonstrations that can be accessed via a Web site and transferred to portable viewing devices with excellent quality.

The Annual Fall Book Swap Is On! | Poster

Cancer.gov

The Scientific Library staff is happy to announce that our 17th Annual Book and Media Swap will be held again this year beginning on Wednesday, November 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Building 549. If you need to make room for new books, are looking for new homes for your old books, or are tired of viewing those same old DVDs over and over, then the Swap is for you. Collection for materials has already begun, but donations will continue to be accepted through Tuesday, October 31.

Adiposity and different types of screen time.

PubMed

Falbe, Jennifer; Rosner, Bernard; Willett, Walter C; Sonneville, Kendrin R; Hu, Frank B; Field, Alison E

2013-12-01

Few prospective studies have examined separate forms of screen time in relation to adiposity. Our objective was to assess independent relations of television, electronic games (video/computer), and digital versatile disc (DVD)/videos and total screen time with change in adolescent BMI. Using data from the 2004, 2006, and 2008 waves of the ongoing Growing up Today Study II, we assessed baseline and 2-year change in reported screen time in relation to concurrent change in BMI among 4287 girls and 3505 boys aged 9 to 16 years in 2004. Gender-specific models adjusted for previous BMI, age, race/ethnicity, growth/development, months between questionnaires, and physical activity. Among girls and boys, each hour per day increase in reported television viewing was associated with a 0.09 increase in BMI (Ps < .001), and each hour per day increase in total screen time was associated with a 0.07 increase among girls and 0.05 increase among boys (Ps < .001). Among girls only, greater baseline television, games, and total screen time and change in DVDs/videos were associated with gains in BMI (Ps < .05). BMI gains associated with change in television and total screen time were stronger among overweight girls than lean girls (Ps-heterogeneity < .001). Television, which remains the steadiest source of food advertising, was most consistently associated with BMI gains. Among girls, electronic games and DVDs/videos were also related to increased BMI, possibly due to influences of product placements and advergames on diet and/or distracted eating. Adolescents, especially overweight adolescents, may benefit from reduced time with multiple types of media.

Adiposity and Different Types of Screen Time

PubMed Central

Rosner, Bernard; Willett, Walter C.; Sonneville, Kendrin R.; Hu, Frank B.; Field, Alison E.

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Few prospective studies have examined separate forms of screen time in relation to adiposity. Our objective was to assess independent relations of television, electronic games (video/computer), and digital versatile disc (DVD)/videos and total screen time with change in adolescent BMI. METHODS: Using data from the 2004, 2006, and 2008 waves of the ongoing Growing up Today Study II, we assessed baseline and 2-year change in reported screen time in relation to concurrent change in BMI among 4287 girls and 3505 boys aged 9 to 16 years in 2004. Gender-specific models adjusted for previous BMI, age, race/ethnicity, growth/development, months between questionnaires, and physical activity. RESULTS: Among girls and boys, each hour per day increase in reported television viewing was associated with a 0.09 increase in BMI (Ps < .001), and each hour per day increase in total screen time was associated with a 0.07 increase among girls and 0.05 increase among boys (Ps < .001). Among girls only, greater baseline television, games, and total screen time and change in DVDs/videos were associated with gains in BMI (Ps < .05). BMI gains associated with change in television and total screen time were stronger among overweight girls than lean girls (Ps-heterogeneity < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Television, which remains the steadiest source of food advertising, was most consistently associated with BMI gains. Among girls, electronic games and DVDs/videos were also related to increased BMI, possibly due to influences of product placements and advergames on diet and/or distracted eating. Adolescents, especially overweight adolescents, may benefit from reduced time with multiple types of media. PMID:24276840

New Resources for Childbirth Educators and Parents

PubMed Central

Shilling, Teri

2009-01-01

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of new media resources for childbirth educators and for expectant and new parents. The books and DVDs reviewed in this issue's column address the following topics: new directions for childbirth education classes; pregnancy tips for expectant mothers; empowering women to give birth naturally; midwifery care; breastfeeding; labyrinths and “laborinths” (an alternative approach to preparing for birth); preterm labor; understanding newborns' language cues; and exercise programs during pregnancy and the postnatal period, as well as exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor and help new mothers deal with incontinence. PMID:20514118

Surface plasmon resonance-enabled antibacterial digital versatile discs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, Xuan; Chung, Pei-Yu; Jiang, Peng; Dai, Jianli

2012-02-01

We report the achievement of effective sterilization of exemplary bacteria including Escherichia coli and Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores on a digital versatile disc (DVD). The spiral arrangement of aluminum-covered pits generates strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption of near-infrared light, leading to high surface temperature that could even damage the DVD plastics. Localized protein denaturation and high sterilization efficiency have been demonstrated by using a fluorescence microscope and cell cultures. Numerical simulations have also been conducted to model the SPR properties and the surface temperature distribution of DVDs under laser illumination. The theoretical predictions agree reasonably well with the experimental results.

Distributed Disdrometer and Rain Gauge Measurement Infrastructure Developed for GPM Ground Validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, Walter A.; Bringi, V. N.; Gatlin, Patrick; Phillips, Dustin; Schwaller, Mathew; Tokay, Ali; Wingo, Mathew; Wolff, David

2010-01-01

Global Precipitation Mission (GPM)retrieval algorithm validation requires datasets characterizing the 4-D structure, variability, and correlation properties of hydrometeor particle size distributions (PSD) and accumulations over satellite fields of view (FOV;<10 km). Collection of this data provides a means to assess retrieval errors related to beam filling and algorithm PSD assumptions. Hence, GPM Ground Validation is developing a deployable network of precipitation gauges and disdrometers to provide fine-scale measurements of PSD and precipitation accumulation variability. These observations will be combined with dual-frequency, polarimetric, and profiling radar data in a bootstrapping fashion to extend validated PSD measurements to a large coverage domain. Accordingly, a total of 24 Parsivel disdrometers(PD), 5 3rd-generation 2D Video Disdrometers (2DVD), 70 tipping bucket rain gauges (TBRG),9 weighing gauges, 7 Hot-Plate precipitation sensors (HP), and 3 Micro Rain Radars (MRR) have been procured. In liquid precipitation the suite of TBRG, PD and 2DVD instruments will quantify a broad spectrum of rain rate and PSD variability at sub-kilometer scales. In the envisioned network configuration 5 2DVDs will act as reference points for 16 collocated PD and TBRG measurements. We find that PD measurements provide similar measures of the rain PSD as observed with collocated 2DVDs (e.g., D0, Nw) for rain rates less than 15 mm/hr. For heavier rain rates we will rely on 2DVDs for PSD information. For snowfall we will combine point-redundant observations of SWER distributed over three or more locations within a FOV. Each location will contain at least one fenced weighing gauge, one HP, two PDs, and a 2DVD. MRRs will also be located at each site to extend the measurement to the column. By collecting SWER measurements using different instrument types that employ different measurement techniques our objective is to separate measurement uncertainty from natural variability in SWER and PSD. As demonstrated using C3VP polarimetric radar, gauge, and 2DVD/PD datasets these measurements can be combined to bootstrap an area wide SWER estimate via constrained modification of density-diameter and radar reflectivity-snowfall relationships. These data will be combined with snowpack, airborne microphysics, radar, radiometer, and tropospheric sounding data to refine GPM snowfall retrievals. The gauge and disdrometer instruments are being developed to operate autonomously when necessary using solar power and wireless communications. These systems will be deployed in numerous field campaigns through 2016. Planned deployment of these systems include field campaigns in Finland (2010), Oklahoma (2011), Canada (2012) and North Carolina (2013). GPM will also deploy 20 pairs of TBRGs within a 25 km2 region along the Virginia coast under NASA NPOL radar coverage in order to quantify errors in point-area rainfall measurements.

Home environment relationships with children's physical activity, sedentary time, and screen time by socioeconomic status.

PubMed

Tandon, Pooja S; Zhou, Chuan; Sallis, James F; Cain, Kelli L; Frank, Lawrence D; Saelens, Brian E

2012-07-26

Children in households of lower socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to be overweight/obese. We aimed to determine if home physical activity (PA) environments differed by SES and to explore home environment mediators of the relation of family SES to children's PA and sedentary behavior. Participants were 715 children aged 6 to 11 from the Neighborhood Impact on Kids (NIK) Study. Household SES was examined using highest educational attainment and income. Home environment was measured by parent report on a survey. Outcomes were child's accelerometer-measured PA and parent-reported screen time. Mediation analyses were conducted for home environment factors that varied by SES. Children from lower income households had greater media access in their bedrooms (TV 52% vs. 14%, DVD player 39% vs. 14%, video games 21% vs. 9%) but lower access to portable play equipment (bikes 85% vs. 98%, jump ropes 69% vs. 83%) compared to higher income children. Lower SES families had more restrictive rules about PA (2.5 vs. 2.0). Across SES, children watched TV/DVDs with parents/siblings more often than they engaged in PA with them. Parents of lower SES watched TV/DVDs with their children more often (3.1 vs. 2.5 days/week). Neither total daily and home-based MVPA nor sedentary time differed by SES. Children's daily screen time varied from 1.7 hours/day in high SES to 2.4 in low SES families. Media in the bedroom was related to screen time, and screen time with parents was a mediator of the SES--screen time relationship. Lower SES home environments provided more opportunities for sedentary behavior and fewer for PA. Removing electronic media from children's bedrooms has the potential to reduce disparities in chronic disease risk.

Active Gaming Among High School Students--United States, 2010.

PubMed

Song, MinKyoung; Carroll, Dianna D; Lee, Sarah M; Fulton, Janet E

2015-08-01

Our study is the first to describe the prevalence and correlates (demographics, body mass index [BMI], sedentary behaviors, and physical activity) of high school youth who report active videogame playing (active gaming) in a U.S. representative sample. The National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study of 2010 provided data for this study. Active gaming was assessed as the number of days in the 7 days prior to the survey that students in grades 9-12 (14-18 years of age) reported participating in active videogames (e.g., "Wii™ Fit" [Nintendo, Kyoto, Japan], "Dance Dance Revolution" [Konami, Osaka, Japan]). Students reporting ≥1 days were classified as active gamers. Logistic regression was used to examine the association among active gaming and demographic characteristics, BMI, sedentary behaviors, and physical activity. Among 9125 U.S. high school students in grades 9-12 surveyed, 39.9 percent (95 percent confidence interval=37.9 percent, 42.0 percent) reported active gaming. Adjusting for covariates, the following characteristics were positively associated (P<0.05) with active gaming: being in 9th and 10th grades compared with being in 12th grade; being of black, non-Hispanic race/ethnicity; being overweight or obese; watching DVDs >0 hours/day; watching TV >0 hours/day; and meeting guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity. Four out of 10 U.S. high school students report participating in active gaming. Active gamers tend to spend more time watching DVDs or TV, meet guidelines for physical activity, and/or be overweight or obese compared with nonactive gamers. These findings may serve to provide a baseline to track active gaming in U.S. youth and inform interventions that target sedentary behaviors and/or physical activity.

Television and children's executive function.

PubMed

Lillard, Angeline S; Li, Hui; Boguszewski, Katie

2015-01-01

Children spend a lot of time watching television on its many platforms: directly, online, and via videos and DVDs. Many researchers are concerned that some types of television content appear to negatively influence children's executive function. Because (1) executive function predicts key developmental outcomes, (2) executive function appears to be influenced by some television content, and (3) American children watch large quantities of television (including the content of concern), the issues discussed here comprise a crucial public health issue. Further research is needed to reveal exactly what television content is implicated, what underlies television's effect on executive function, how long the effect lasts, and who is affected. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Resources for Childbirth Educators and Parents

PubMed Central

Shilling, Teri

2009-01-01

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of new media resources for childbirth educators and expectant and new parents. The books, CDs, DVDs, and kits reviewed in this issue's column include the following topics: the birth experiences of mothers who survived childhood sexual abuse; lively teaching techniques and ideas to help energize and enhance childbirth education classes; breastfeeding in the workplace; expectant fathers; perspectives on motherhood; unique, helpful tools for childbirth educators to use in designing their class content, addressing the stages of labor, and discussing planned cesarean birth; exercises for pregnant women on bedrest; and a compilation of presentations featured at Birthing the Future's international symposiums. PMID:20190851

Home environment relationships with children’s physical activity, sedentary time, and screen time by socioeconomic status

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Children in households of lower socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to be overweight/obese. We aimed to determine if home physical activity (PA) environments differed by SES and to explore home environment mediators of the relation of family SES to children’s PA and sedentary behavior. Methods Participants were 715 children aged 6 to 11 from the Neighborhood Impact on Kids (NIK) Study. Household SES was examined using highest educational attainment and income. Home environment was measured by parent report on a survey. Outcomes were child’s accelerometer-measured PA and parent-reported screen time. Mediation analyses were conducted for home environment factors that varied by SES. Results Children from lower income households had greater media access in their bedrooms (TV 52% vs. 14%, DVD player 39% vs. 14%, video games 21% vs. 9%) but lower access to portable play equipment (bikes 85% vs. 98%, jump ropes 69% vs. 83%) compared to higher income children. Lower SES families had more restrictive rules about PA (2.5 vs. 2.0). Across SES, children watched TV/DVDs with parents/siblings more often than they engaged in PA with them. Parents of lower SES watched TV/DVDs with their children more often (3.1 vs. 2.5 days/week). Neither total daily and home-based MVPA nor sedentary time differed by SES. Children’s daily screen time varied from 1.7 hours/day in high SES to 2.4 in low SES families. Media in the bedroom was related to screen time, and screen time with parents was a mediator of the SES--screen time relationship. Conclusions Lower SES home environments provided more opportunities for sedentary behavior and fewer for PA. Removing electronic media from children’s bedrooms has the potential to reduce disparities in chronic disease risk. PMID:22835155

New Resources for Childbirth Educators and Parents

PubMed Central

Shilling, Teri

2009-01-01

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of new media resources for childbirth educators and for expectant and new parents. The DVDs and books reviewed in this issue's column address the following topics: cultural views of labor and birth, as portrayed in the U.S. media; natural, safe, and healthy birth practices; memoirs of a midwife; a description of doula care to share with the children of expectant parents; baby behaviors; empowering women to choose the birth experience they want; making informed decisions about cesarean surgery; information and stories of hope for parents dealing with an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit; ways for parents to cope with perinatal or neonatal loss; and fathers' supportive role during the prenatal and postpartum periods. PMID:20808429

Pathways in heart failure disease management across socioeconomic spectra.

PubMed

Hebert, Kathy; Gogichaishvili, Ilia; Gopie, Stephanie; Arcement, Lee

2011-12-01

Caring for heart failure patients with a low socioeconomic status presents a unique set of challenges for health care providers. Heart failure disease management programs can integrate the use of teaching DVDs to overcome deficiencies in health literacy and take advantage of the Wal-Mart/Target $4 dollar medication program to provide life-saving medical therapy. In addition, open discussions with the patient and family regarding the costs of medications and the reality of what they can afford to pay monthly on a long term basis can guide the physician to prescribing medications by prioritizing use with a focus on evidence-based data for the medications with the highest mortality reduction. Finally, connecting inpatient visits to outpatient visits through the use of electronic medical records systems can facilitate avoidance of unnecessary repeat lab and diagnostic testing.

Do babies learn from baby media?

PubMed

DeLoache, Judy S; Chiong, Cynthia; Sherman, Kathleen; Islam, Nadia; Vanderborght, Mieke; Troseth, Georgene L; Strouse, Gabrielle A; O'Doherty, Katherine

2010-11-01

In recent years, parents in the United States and worldwide have purchased enormous numbers of videos and DVDs designed and marketed for infants, many assuming that their children would benefit from watching them. We examined how many new words 12- to 18-month-old children learned from viewing a popular DVD several times a week for 4 weeks at home. The most important result was that children who viewed the DVD did not learn any more words from their monthlong exposure to it than did a control group. The highest level of learning occurred in a no-video condition in which parents tried to teach their children the same target words during everyday activities. Another important result was that parents who liked the DVD tended to overestimate how much their children had learned from it. We conclude that infants learn relatively little from infant media and that their parents sometimes overestimate what they do learn.

Eternal 5D data storage by ultrafast laser writing in glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; ČerkauskaitÄ--, A.; Drevinskas, R.; Patel, A.; Beresna, M.; Kazansky, P. G.

2016-03-01

Securely storing large amounts of information over relatively short timescales of 100 years, comparable to the span of the human memory, is a challenging problem. Conventional optical data storage technology used in CDs and DVDs has reached capacities of hundreds of gigabits per square inch, but its lifetime is limited to a decade. DNA based data storage can hold hundreds of terabytes per gram, but the durability is limited. The major challenge is the lack of appropriate combination of storage technology and medium possessing the advantages of both high capacity and long lifetime. The recording and retrieval of the digital data with a nearly unlimited lifetime was implemented by femtosecond laser nanostructuring of fused quartz. The storage allows unprecedented properties including hundreds of terabytes per disc data capacity, thermal stability up to 1000 °C, and virtually unlimited lifetime at room temperature opening a new era of eternal data archiving.

A community based prevention of weight gain intervention (Mothers In Motion) among young low-income overweight and obese mothers: design and rationale.

PubMed

Chang, Mei-Wei; Nitzke, Susan; Brown, Roger; Resnicow, Ken

2014-03-25

Over 45% of American women 20-39 years old are at risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other health conditions because they are overweight or obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is disproportionately high among low-income women. This paper describes the study design and rationale of a community based intervention (Mothers In Motion, MIM) aimed to prevent weight gain among low-income overweight and obese mothers 18-39 years old by promoting stress management, healthy eating, and physical activity. Peer recruiters approach participants from 5 Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Michigan. The MIM delivers theory-based, culturally-sensitive intervention messages via a combination of DVDs and peer support group teleconferences (PSGTs). The DVD features African American and white overweight and obese WIC mothers who participated in a healthy lifestyle intervention patterned after MIM. The PSGTs are led by paraprofessionals from Michigan State University Extension and WIC providers in Michigan who are trained in motivational interviewing and group facilitation skills. Participants are randomly assigned to an intervention (n=350) or comparison group (n=175). The intervention group receives a 16-week intervention on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Participants are asked to watch 10 MIM DVD chapters at home and join 10 PSGT sessions by phone. The comparison group receives printed educational materials. The primary outcome is body weight. Secondary outcomes include dietary fat, fruit, and vegetable intake; physical activity; stress, and affect. Mediators are self-efficacy, emotional coping response, social support, and autonomous motivation. Telephone interviews and in-person data collection at WIC offices occur at 3 time points: baseline, immediately, and 3 months after the 16-week intervention. If MIM shows effectiveness, it could have a favorable impact on public health and community programs. The DVDs and PSGTs will be disseminated in WIC, Extension, clinical practice that promote healthy lifestyles for similar target audiences to make a broad contribution to the prevention of weight gain in low-income mothers. Also, our methodology can be adapted by researchers and community stakeholders to help other low-income populations prevent weight gain. Clinical Trials Number: NCT01839708.

Hinode, the Sun, and public outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaji, K.; Tonooka, H.; Shimojo, M.; Tokimasa, N.; Suzuki, D.; Nakamichi, A.; Shimoikura, I.

2015-03-01

Extended Abstract Hinode is a solar observation satellite in Japan and its launch was in September 2006. Its name means ``SUNRISE`` in Japanese. It has three instruments onboard in visible light, X-ray, EUV to solve mystery of coronal heating and origins of magnetic fields. Hinode has been providing us with impressive solar data, which are very important for not only investigating solar phenomena but also giving new knowledge about the sun to the public. In order to efficiently communicate Hinode data to the public, we organized working group for public use of Hinode data. which are composed of both researchers and educators in collaboration. As follow, we introduce our activities in brief. For the public use of Hinode data, at first, we produced two DVDs introducing Hinode observation results. In particular, second DVD contains a movie for kids, which are devloped to picturebook. Now, it is under producing an illustrated book and a planetarium program. It turn out that the DVDs help the public understand the sun from questionnaire surveys. Second, we developed teaching materials from Hinode data and had a science classroom about the sun, solar observations, practice with PC such as imaging software at junior high school. As the results, they had much interests in Hinode data. Third, we have joint observations with high school students and so on in a few years. The students compare their own data with Hinode data and have a presentation at science contests. The joint observations make their motivation higher in their activities. It is important to record and report our activities in some ways. So, we positively publish papers and have presentions in domestic/international meetings. Though we are supported in budget, resources and so on by NAOJ Hinode Team, we apply research funds for promoting our EPO activities and acquire some funds such as NAOJ Joint Research Expenses and Grands-Aid for Scientific Research Funds since the launch. This way, since its launch, we have continued various and constant EPO activities for the public use of Hinode data and have been giving intense impacts and high interest to the public. As the result, our activities contribute in further extension of Hinode Mission. Those are quite unique and would be reference of other similar ones. Hinode is now operating and solar activities might get more higher. As long as SUN RISE, we would GO FORWARD!!

Advertisements for children's entertainment products in a popular parenting magazine: sedentary or active?

PubMed

Basch, Corey H; Kecojevic, Aleksandar; Cadorett, Valerie; Basch, Charles E

2017-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe advertisements of children's entertainment products in a popular magazine, Parents, and to determine if they illustrated behavior that was physically active or sedentary. Methods: The sample was comprised of Parents magazines (January 2010 to December 2015). Coding involved determining if the advertisement was promoting sedentary or active behavior. Results: Nearly all of the 169 advertisements in the sample (n = 166; 97.6%) were for products that depicted sedentary behavior. The most common types of entertainment products advertised were DVDs (n = 72), plastic stacking products (n = 18), books (n=14), and electronic devices (n = 13). The most popular theme that appeared in the advertisements was the entertainment product would enhance intelligence (n = 85; 50.3%, 95% CI: 0.43-0.58). The overwhelming majority (n = 136; 80.5%. 95% CI: 0.76-0.87) of the advertisements involved the presence of a character. Conclusion: This type of advertising does not contribute to the nation's goals of increasing physical activity among youth.

On the possibility of producing definitive magnetic observatory data within less than one year

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandić, Igor; Korte, Monika

2017-04-01

Geomagnetic observatory data are fundamental in geomagnetic field studies and are widely used in other applications. Often they are combined with satellite and ground survey data. Unfortunately, the observatory definitive data are only available with a time lag ranging from several months up to more than a year. The reason for this lag is the annual production of the final calibration values, i.e. baselines that are used to correct preliminary data from continuously recording magnetometers. In this paper, we will show that the preparation of definitive geomagnetic data is possible within a calendar year and presents an original method for prompt and automatic estimation of the observatory baselines. The new baselines, obtained in a mostly automatic manner, are compared with the baselines reported on INTERMAGNET DVDs for the 2009-2011 period. The high quality of the baselines obtained by the proposed method indicates its suitability for data processing in fully automatic observatories when automated absolute instruments will be deployed at remote sites.

System on a chip with MPEG-4 capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yassa, Fathy; Schonfeld, Dan

2002-12-01

Current products supporting video communication applications rely on existing computer architectures. RISC processors have been used successfully in numerous applications over several decades. DSP processors have become ubiquitous in signal processing and communication applications. Real-time applications such as speech processing in cellular telephony rely extensively on the computational power of these processors. Video processors designed to implement the computationally intensive codec operations have also been used to address the high demands of video communication applications (e.g., cable set-top boxes and DVDs). This paper presents an overview of a system-on-chip (SOC) architecture used for real-time video in wireless communication applications. The SOC specifications answer to the system requirements imposed by the application environment. A CAM-based video processor is used to accelerate data intensive video compression tasks such as motion estimations and filtering. Other components are dedicated to system level data processing and audio processing. A rich set of I/Os allows the SOC to communicate with other system components such as baseband and memory subsystems.

Ultra-high density optical data storage in common transparent plastics.

PubMed

Kallepalli, Deepak L N; Alshehri, Ali M; Marquez, Daniela T; Andrzejewski, Lukasz; Scaiano, Juan C; Bhardwaj, Ravi

2016-05-25

The ever-increasing demand for high data storage capacity has spurred research on development of innovative technologies and new storage materials. Conventional GByte optical discs (DVDs and Bluray) can be transformed into ultrahigh capacity storage media by encoding multi-level and multiplexed information within the three dimensional volume of a recording medium. However, in most cases the recording medium had to be photosensitive requiring doping with photochromic molecules or nanoparticles in a multilayer stack or in the bulk material. Here, we show high-density data storage in commonly available plastics without any special material preparation. A pulsed laser was used to record data in micron-sized modified regions. Upon excitation by the read laser, each modified region emits fluorescence whose intensity represents 32 grey levels corresponding to 5 bits. We demonstrate up to 20 layers of embedded data. Adjusting the read laser power and detector sensitivity storage capacities up to 0.2 TBytes can be achieved in a standard 120 mm disc.

A Brazilian educational experiment: teleradiology on web TV.

PubMed

Silva, Angélica Baptista; de Amorim, Annibal Coelho

2009-01-01

Since 2004, educational videoconferences have been held in Brazil for paediatric radiologists in training. The RUTE network has been used, a high-speed national research and education network. Twelve videoconferences were recorded by the Health Channel and transformed into TV programmes, both for conventional broadcast and for access via the Internet. Between October 2007 and December 2009 the Health Channel website registered 2378 hits. Our experience suggests that for successful recording of multipoint videoconferences, four areas are important: (1) a pre-planned script is required, for both physicians and film-makers; (2) particular care is necessary when editing the audiovisual material; (3) the audio and video equipment requires careful adjustment to preserve clinical discussions and the quality of radiology images; (4) to produce a product suitable for both TV sets and computer devices, the master tape needs to be encoded in low resolution digital video formats for Internet media (wmv and rm format for streaming, and compressed zip files for downloading) and MPEG format for DVDs.

Exercise Therapy Interventions in Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis: Comparison of the Effects of DVD and Website-Based Interventions.

PubMed

Uesugi, Yuko; Koyanagi, Junichiro; Takagi, Keishi; Yamaguchi, Ryota; Hayashi, Shinya; Nishii, Takashi

2018-05-07

Prevalence of developmental hip dysplasia is high in Japan. Exercise therapy has been proven effective to treat certain aspects of hip osteoarthritis. Moreover, therapy provided via digital video discs (DVDs) and websites allows patients to exercise in the comfort of their own homes. However, no studies have evaluated the effectiveness of visual instructions in patients with hip disorders. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of exercise therapy administered via DVD and that administered via a website. We developed a six-step progressive exercise therapy program for patients with hip osteoarthritis, which included three kinds each of open kinetic chain and closed kinetic chain exercises. Once the program was developed, exercise DVDs were produced. In addition to the six-step exercise program, our website was enabled to count the number of exercises performed by each patient and was accessible via the Internet at any time. Patients with hip osteoarthritis for whom surgery was not advised were enrolled by one university hospital in the Kansai area in Japan. Clinical symptoms and hip function were quantified using the Japanese Orthopedic Association Hip Disease Evaluation Questionnaire (JHEQ) and the Oxford Hip Score (OHS). Quality of life was measured using the SF-8 Health Survey, and self-efficacy for continued exercise was measured using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Questionnaires were completed preintervention and after 6 months. At 6-month follow-up, 10 DVD users (1 male, 9 female; mean age 51.3, SD 16.1 years) and 18 website users (2 male, 16 female; mean age 52.4, SD 10.4 years) were reachable. The change in each parameter could not be confirmed a significant improvement. However, most items tended to reflect overall improvement during the 6 months of intervention (P=.05-.94; paired t test). Regarding effect size, we considered a small effect to be greater than 0.2. Little effect was observed for JHEQ pain, SF-8 physical component summary (PCS), and SF-8 mental component summary in the DVD group, as well as OHS, SF-8 (PCS), and GSES in the website group. When comparing the effectiveness of exercise therapy between our DVD and website, we found that although both groups tended to improve in physical function, only the website group showed tendency of enhanced self-efficacy. ©Yuko Uesugi, Junichiro Koyanagi, Keishi Takagi, Ryota Yamaguchi, Shinya Hayashi, Takashi Nishii. Originally published in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology (http://rehab.jmir.org), 07.05.2018.

Descriptive study of sedentary behaviours in 35,444 French working adults: cross-sectional findings from the ACTI-Cités study.

PubMed

Saidj, Madina; Menai, Mehdi; Charreire, Hélène; Weber, Christiane; Enaux, Christophe; Aadahl, Mette; Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle; Hercberg, Serge; Simon, Chantal; Oppert, Jean-Michel

2015-04-14

Given the unfavourable health outcomes associated with sedentary behaviours, there is a need to better understand the context in which these behaviours take place to better address this public health concern. We explored self-reported sedentary behaviours by type of day (work/non-work), occupation, and perceptions towards physical activity, in a large sample of adults. We assessed sedentary behaviours cross-sectionally in 35,444 working adults (mean ± SD age: 44.5 ± 13.0 y) from the French NutriNet-Santé web-based cohort. Participants self-reported sedentary behaviours, assessed as domain-specific sitting time (work, transport, leisure) and time spent in sedentary entertainment (TV/DVD, computer and other screen-based activities, non-screen-based activities) on workdays and non-workdays, along with occupation type (ranging from mainly sitting to heavy manual work) and perceptions towards physical activity. Associations of each type of sedentary behaviour with occupation type and perceptions towards physical activity were analysed by day type in multiple linear regression analyses. On workdays, adults spent a mean (SD) of 4.17 (3.07) h/day in work sitting, 1.10 (1.69) h/day in transport sitting, 2.19 (1.62) h/day in leisure-time sitting, 1.53 (1.24) h/day viewing TV/DVDs, 2.19 (2.62) h/day on other screen time, and 0.97 (1.49) on non-screen time. On non-workdays, this was 0.85 (1.53) h/day in transport sitting, 3.19 (2.05) h/day in leisure-time sitting, 2.24 (1.76) h/day viewing TV/DVDs, 1.85 (1.74) h/day on other screen time, and 1.30 (1.35) on non-screen time. Time spent in sedentary behaviours differed by occupation type, with more sedentary behaviour outside of work (both sitting and entertainment time), in those with sedentary occupations, especially on workdays. Negative perceptions towards physical activity were associated with more sedentary behaviour outside of work (both sitting and entertainment time), irrespective of day type. A substantial amount of waking hours was spent in different types of sedentary behaviours on workdays and non-workdays. Being sedentary at work was associated with more sedentary behaviour outside of work. Negative perceptions towards physical activity may influence the amount of time spent in sedentary behaviours. These data should help to better identify target groups in public health interventions to reduce sedentary behaviours in working adults.

Are sexual media exposure, parental restrictions on media use and co-viewing TV and DVDs with parents and friends associated with teenagers' early sexual behaviour?☆

PubMed Central

Parkes, Alison; Wight, Daniel; Hunt, Kate; Henderson, Marion; Sargent, James

2013-01-01

Sexual content in teenagers' media diets is known to predict early sexual behaviour. Research on sexual content has not allowed for the social context of media use, which may affect selection and processing of content. This study investigated whether sexual media content and/or contextual factors (co-viewing, parental media restrictions) were associated with early sexual behaviour using 2251 14–15 year-olds from Scotland, UK. A third (n = 733) reported sexual intercourse. In multivariable analysis the likelihood of intercourse was lower with parental restriction of sexual media and same-sex peer co-viewing; but higher with mixed-sex peer co-viewing. Parental co-viewing, other parental restrictions on media and sexual film content exposure were not associated with intercourse. Findings suggest the context of media use may influence early sexual behaviour. Specific parental restrictions on sexual media may offer more protection against early sex than other restrictions or parental co-viewing. Further research is required to establish causal mechanisms. PMID:24215959

Anticipatory guidance preferences of Latina migrant farmworker mothers

PubMed Central

Kilanowski, Jill F.

2011-01-01

Introduction The purpose of the study was to learn preferences of Latina migrant farmworker (MFW) mothers’ in the presentation of health education materials by discussing the strengths and weaknesses of numerous mixed-media samples. Method This community-based participatory study was qualitative and descriptive in design. Focus groups were conducted in Spanish in four Midwest migrant camps with a convenience sample of mothers (n=31). Adult learning and cultural care theories guided the study. Various modes of educational materials on various topics were presented. Results Mothers preferred comic book-style handouts, games, food replicas, text in English/Spanish, and DVDs, but almost all did not have media-playing equipment. They did not like black-and-white photos, or cartoon-like illustrations. Identified themes of importance were colored illustrations, sizes mothers could easily carry in purses, and limited verbiage on a page. Discussion Learned knowledge will be used to customize health promotion interventions that are sensitive to MFW preferred learning styles. The findings from this study can inform other interventions with Latino populations and serve as a prototype for other populations of immigrant non-English speaking mothers. PMID:23611456

An intervention to preschool children for reducing screen time: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Yilmaz, G; Demirli Caylan, N; Karacan, C D

2015-05-01

Screen time, defined as time spent watching television, DVDs, or videos or playing computer or video games, has been related to serious health consequences in children, such as impaired language acquisition, violent behaviour, tobacco smoking and obesity. Our aim was to determine if a simple intervention aimed at preschool-aged children, applied at the health maintenance visits, in the primary care setting, would be effective in reducing screen time. We used a two group randomized controlled trial design. Two- to 6-year-old children and their parents were randomly assigned to receive an intervention to reduce their screen time, BMI and parental report of aggressive behaviour. At the end of the intervention we made home visits at 2, 6 and 9 months and the parents completed questionnaire. Parents in the intervention group reported less screen time and less aggressive behaviour than those in the control group but there were no differences in BMI z scores. This study shows that a preschool-based intervention can lead to reductions in young children's television/video viewing. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Advertisements for children’s entertainment products in a popular parenting magazine: sedentary or active?

PubMed Central

Basch, Corey H.; Kecojevic, Aleksandar; Cadorett, Valerie; Basch, Charles E.

2017-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe advertisements of children’s entertainment products in a popular magazine, Parents, and to determine if they illustrated behavior that was physically active or sedentary. Methods: The sample was comprised of Parents magazines (January 2010 to December 2015). Coding involved determining if the advertisement was promoting sedentary or active behavior. Results: Nearly all of the 169 advertisements in the sample (n = 166; 97.6%) were for products that depicted sedentary behavior. The most common types of entertainment products advertised were DVDs (n = 72), plastic stacking products (n = 18), books (n=14), and electronic devices (n = 13). The most popular theme that appeared in the advertisements was the entertainment product would enhance intelligence (n = 85; 50.3%, 95% CI: 0.43-0.58). The overwhelming majority (n = 136; 80.5%. 95% CI: 0.76-0.87) of the advertisements involved the presence of a character. Conclusion: This type of advertising does not contribute to the nation’s goals of increasing physical activity among youth. PMID:28058242

Fabrication of ferroelectric polymer nanostructures on flexible substrates by soft-mold reverse nanoimprint lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Jingfeng; Lu, Haidong; Li, Shumin; Tan, Li; Gruverman, Alexei; Ducharme, Stephen

2016-01-01

Conventional nanoimprint lithography with expensive rigid molds is used to pattern ferroelectric polymer nanostructures on hard substrate for use in, e.g., organic electronics. The main innovation here is the use of inexpensive soft polycarbonate molds derived from recordable DVDs and reverse nanoimprint lithography at low pressure, which is compatible with flexible substrates. This approach was implemented to produce regular stripe arrays with a spacing of 700 nm from vinylidene fluoride co trifluoroethylene ferroelectric copolymer on flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrates. The nanostructures have very stable and switchable piezoelectric response and good crystallinity, and are highly promising for use in organic electronics enhanced or complemented by the unique properties of the ferroelectric polymer, such as bistable polarization, piezoelectric response, pyroelectric response, or electrocaloric function. The soft-mold reverse nanoimprint lithography also leaves little or no residual layer, affording good isolation of the nanostructures. This approach reduces the cost and facilitates large-area, high-throughput production of isolated functional polymer nanostructures on flexible substrates for the increasing application of ferroelectric polymers in flexible electronics.

Flexible and disposable plasmonic refractive index sensor using nanoimprint lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohapatra, Saswat; Moirangthem, Rakesh S.

2018-03-01

Nanostructure based plasmonic sensors are highly demanding in various areas due to their label-free and real-time detection capability. In this work, we developed an inexpensive flexible plasmonic sensor using optical disc nanograting via soft UV-nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL). The polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp was used to transfer the nanograting structure from digital versatile discs (DVDs) to flexible and transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Further, the plasmonic sensing substrate was obtained after coating a gold thin film on the top of the imprinted sample. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) modes excited on gold coated nanograting structure appeared as a dip in the reflectance spectra measured at normal incident of white light in ambient air medium. Electromagnetic simulation based on finite element method (FEM) was used to understand and analyze the excited SPR modes and it is a very close agreement with the experimental results. The bulk refractive index (RI) sensing was performed by the sensor chip using water-glycerol mixture with different concentrations. Experimentally, the bulk RI sensitivity was found to be 797+/-17 nm/RIU.

Are sexual media exposure, parental restrictions on media use and co-viewing TV and DVDs with parents and friends associated with teenagers' early sexual behaviour?

PubMed

Parkes, Alison; Wight, Daniel; Hunt, Kate; Henderson, Marion; Sargent, James

2013-12-01

Sexual content in teenagers' media diets is known to predict early sexual behaviour. Research on sexual content has not allowed for the social context of media use, which may affect selection and processing of content. This study investigated whether sexual media content and/or contextual factors (co-viewing, parental media restrictions) were associated with early sexual behaviour using 2251 14-15 year-olds from Scotland, UK. A third (n = 733) reported sexual intercourse. In multivariable analysis the likelihood of intercourse was lower with parental restriction of sexual media and same-sex peer co-viewing; but higher with mixed-sex peer co-viewing. Parental co-viewing, other parental restrictions on media and sexual film content exposure were not associated with intercourse. Findings suggest the context of media use may influence early sexual behaviour. Specific parental restrictions on sexual media may offer more protection against early sex than other restrictions or parental co-viewing. Further research is required to establish causal mechanisms. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of ferroelectric polymer nanostructures on flexible substrates by soft-mold reverse nanoimprint lithography.

PubMed

Song, Jingfeng; Lu, Haidong; Li, Shumin; Tan, Li; Gruverman, Alexei; Ducharme, Stephen

2016-01-08

Conventional nanoimprint lithography with expensive rigid molds is used to pattern ferroelectric polymer nanostructures on hard substrate for use in, e.g., organic electronics. The main innovation here is the use of inexpensive soft polycarbonate molds derived from recordable DVDs and reverse nanoimprint lithography at low pressure, which is compatible with flexible substrates. This approach was implemented to produce regular stripe arrays with a spacing of 700 nm from vinylidene fluoride co trifluoroethylene ferroelectric copolymer on flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrates. The nanostructures have very stable and switchable piezoelectric response and good crystallinity, and are highly promising for use in organic electronics enhanced or complemented by the unique properties of the ferroelectric polymer, such as bistable polarization, piezoelectric response, pyroelectric response, or electrocaloric function. The soft-mold reverse nanoimprint lithography also leaves little or no residual layer, affording good isolation of the nanostructures. This approach reduces the cost and facilitates large-area, high-throughput production of isolated functional polymer nanostructures on flexible substrates for the increasing application of ferroelectric polymers in flexible electronics.

Blue laser diode (LD) and light emitting diode (LED) applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergh, Arpad A.

2004-09-01

The family of blue LEDs, edge emitting and surface emitting lasers, enable a number of applications. Blue lasers are used in digital applications such as optical storage in high density DVDs. The resolution of the spot size and hence the storage density is diffraction limited and is inversely proportional to the square of the wavelength of the laser. Other applications include printing, optical scanners, and high-resolution photo-lithography.As light emitters, blue LEDs are used for signaling and in direct view large area emissive displays. They are also making inroads into signage and LCD back-lighting, mobile platforms, and decorative accent lighting in curtains, furniture, etc.Blue LEDs produce white light either with phosphor wavelength converters or in combination with red and green LEDs. The full potential of LED light sources will require three devices to enable complete control over color and intensity.Sensing and medical/bio applications have a major impact on home security, on monitoring the environment, and on health care. New emerging diagnostic and therapeutic applications will improve the quality and reduce the cost of health care.

Children, wired – for better and for worse

PubMed Central

Bavelier, Daphne; Green, C. Shawn; Dye, Matthew W. G.

2011-01-01

Children today encounter and utilize technology constantly both at home and in school. Television, DVDs, video games, the internet, cell phones and PDAs – all now play a formative role in many children’s development. Given that the term “technology” subsumes a large variety of somewhat independent items, it may not be surprising that current research indicates causes for both optimism and for concern that depend upon the content of the technology, the context in which the technology immerses the user, and the developmental stage of the user. Furthermore, because the field is still, relative to other natural sciences, in its infancy, results can be surprising. For example, video games designed to be reasonably mindless result in a widespread enhancement of various abilities, acting, we will argue, as exemplary learning tools. Counter-intuitive outcomes like these, besides being practically relevant, challenge and eventually lead to refinement of theories concerning fundamental principles of brain plasticity and learning. Thus, technology offers us a range of tools, not just for promoting certain behaviors, but also for studying the neural bases of learning and development. PMID:20826302

Data files from the Grays Harbor Sediment Transport Experiment Spring 2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Landerman, Laura A.; Sherwood, Christopher R.; Gelfenbaum, Guy; Lacy, Jessica; Ruggiero, Peter; Wilson, Douglas; Chisholm, Tom; Kurrus, Keith

2005-01-01

This publication consists of two DVD-ROMs, both of which are presented here. This report describes data collected during the Spring 2001 Grays Harbor Sediment Transport Experiment, and provides additional information needed to interpret the data. Two DVDs accompany this report; both contain documentation in html format that assist the user in navigating through the data. DVD-ROM-1 contains a digital version of this report in .pdf format, raw Aquatec acoustic backscatter (ABS) data in .zip format, Sonar data files in .avi format, and coastal processes and morphology data in ASCII format. ASCII data files are provided in .zip format; bundled coastal processes ASCII files are separated by deployment and instrument; bundled morphology ASCII files are separated into monthly data collection efforts containing the beach profiles collected (or extracted from the surface map) at that time; weekly surface maps are also bundled together. DVD-ROM-2 contains a digital version of this report in .pdf format, the binary data files collected by the SonTek instrumentation, calibration files for the pressure sensors, and Matlab m-files for loading the ABS data into Matlab and cleaning-up the optical backscatter (OBS) burst time-series data.

Chem Gems & Joules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason, Diana S.

2002-09-01

Learn about the chemistry (and some physics) of optical discs such as CDs, CD-ROMs, and DVDs from David Birkett (p 1081). Beginning on p 1088, Johnson and Yalkowsky present some neat models (commercial or build-yourself) that assemble of their own accord into appropriate structures for liquid and solid water. Do you need a low-cost, small-scale heating device? How about adapting a soldering iron as described on p 1109? If you are interested in cooperative learning, the comparison with lecturing that begins on p 1131 will provide useful information. The latest in our series commemorating the centenary of the Nobel Prizes begins on p 1055. The many interconnections among the research of prizewinners described in this series provides interesting tidbits to humanize chemical kinetics. Do you have hydrogen peroxide, sulfur, or potassium chromate in your lab or chemical storage area? Learn about hazards of these substances from the letter to the editor on p 1070 and the CLIPs on p 1063, p 1064, and p 1065. Finally, keep up with chemical education news at the ACS and the NSF by reading the statements of candidates for the ACS presidency (p 1036 and p 1037) and the commentary by Ellis on p 1034.

Experimental analysis in recording transmission and reflection holograms at the same time and location.

PubMed

Toishi, Mitsuru; Tanaka, Tomiji; Watanabe, Kenjiro

2006-09-01

Holographic recording media with a reflection layer are useful because they make it possible to maintain backward compatibility with CDs and DVDs, and a conventional servo system is easily attachable. The incident beam is fed back to the recording layer by the reflection layer, so there are four beam pairs to record the transmission and reflection holograms. We analyze the basic property of the transmission and reflection holograms and evaluate the problem when the transmission and reflection holograms are recorded at the same time. It is shown that the shrinkage in the photopolymer medium has a different effect on each hologram, so the readout image from the two holograms is misaligned. Those diffraction beams make the interference pattern, and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the output image decreased. Taking into account the difference in wavelength selectivity between the transmission and the reflection holograms, we propose a way to select one hologram to get the diffraction beam and eliminate the interference pattern using the tuning readout wavelength. By using this method, we can eliminate the diffraction beam from the reflection hologram and keep a high SNR.

Solar System Educators Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knudsen, R.

2004-11-01

The Solar System Educators Program is a nationwide network of highly motivated teachers who lead workshops that show other teachers in their local communities how to successfully incorporate NASA materials and research into their classes. Currently there are 57 Solar System Educators in 37 states whose workshops are designed to assist their fellow teachers in understanding and including standards-based NASA materials into their classroom activities. Solar System Educators attend a training institute during their first year in the program and have the option of attending subsequent annual institutes. The volunteers in this program receive additional web-based mission-specific telecon trainings in conjunction with the Solar System Ambassadors. Resource and handout materials in the form of DVDs, posters, pamphlets, fact sheets, postcards and bookmarks are also provided. Scientists can get involved with this program by partnering with the Solar System Educators in their regions, presenting at their workshops and mentoring these outstanding volunteers. This formal education program helps optimize project funding set aside for education through the efforts of these volunteer master teachers. At the same time, teachers become familiar with NASA's educational materials with which to inspire students into pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

A Practical Method for the Vinylation of Aromatic Halides using Inexpensive Organosilicon Reagents

PubMed Central

Denmark, Scott E.; Butler, Christopher R.

2009-01-01

The preparation of styrenes by palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of aromatic iodides and bromides with divinyltetramethyldisiloxane (DVDS) in the presence of inexpensive silanolate activators has been developed. To facilitate the discovery of optimal reaction conditions, Design of Experiment protocols were used. By the guided selection of reagents, stoichiometries, temperatures, and solvents the vinylation reaction was rapidly optimized with three stages consisting of ca. 175 experiments (of a possible 1440 combinations). A variety of aromatic iodides undergo cross-coupling at room temperature in the presence of potassium trimethylsilanoate using Pd(dba)2 in DMF in good yields. Triphenylphosphine oxide is needed to extend catalyst lifetime. Application of these conditions to aryl bromides was accomplished by the development of two complementary protocols. First, the direct implementation of the successful reaction conditions using aryl iodides at elevated temperature in THF provided the corresponding styrenes in good to excellent yields. Alternatively, the use of potassium triethylsilanolate and a bulky “Buchwald-type” ligand allows for the vinylation reactions to occur at or just above room temperature. A wide range of bromides underwent coupling in good yields for each of the protocols described. PMID:18303892

From the surface to volume: concepts for the next generation of optical-holographic data-storage materials.

PubMed

Bruder, Friedrich-Karl; Hagen, Rainer; Rölle, Thomas; Weiser, Marc-Stephan; Fäcke, Thomas

2011-05-09

Optical data storage has had a major impact on daily life since its introduction to the market in 1982. Compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), and Blu-ray discs (BDs) are universal data-storage formats with the advantage that the reading and writing of the digital data does not require contact and is therefore wear-free. These formats allow convenient and fast data access, high transfer rates, and electricity-free data storage with low overall archiving costs. The driving force for development in this area is the constant need for increased data-storage capacity and transfer rate. The use of holographic principles for optical data storage is an elegant way to increase the storage capacity and the transfer rate, because by this technique the data can be stored in the volume of the storage material and, moreover, it can be optically processed in parallel. This Review describes the fundamental requirements for holographic data-storage materials and compares the general concepts for the materials used. An overview of the performance of current read-write devices shows how far holographic data storage has already been developed. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Economic value analysis of the return from the Korean astronaut program and the science culture diffusion activity in Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Soyeon; Jang, Hyun-Jin; Lee, Hyo Suk; Yu, Jong-Phil; Kim, Soyeon; Lee, Joohee; Hur, Hee-Young

2013-06-01

In this study, we analyze the economic effects from the Korean Astronaut Program (KAP) and the subsequent Science Culture Diffusion Activity (SCDA). Korea has had a huge practical effect on the development of science and technology and has increased international awareness of Korea by producing Korea's first astronaut. There has also been a large, ripple effect on space related industries. In addition, the KAP has exercised a far-reaching influence on Korean society and culture by boosting all science and engineering and inspiring national pride. After the KAP, astronauts' outreach activities, such as lectures for the general public; interviews on television, newspapers and magazines; participating in children's science camps; and distributing publications and DVDs about astronaut program for general public, were instituted for diffusing science culture. Thus, positive effects such as the promotion of Korea's level of technology, student interest in science and engineering fields, and the expansion of the industrial base were reinforced after the KAP. This study is aimed at evaluating the economic significance and the value of return through analyzing the effects of the KAP and the subsequent Science Culture Diffusion Activity.

Automated MALDI matrix deposition method with inkjet printing for imaging mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Baluya, Dodge L; Garrett, Timothy J; Yost, Richard A

2007-09-01

Careful matrix deposition on tissue samples for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is critical for producing reproducible analyte ion signals. Traditional methods for matrix deposition are often considered an art rather than a science, with significant sample-to-sample variability. Here we report an automated method for matrix deposition, employing a desktop inkjet printer (<$200) with 5760 x 1440 dpi resolution and a six-channel piezoelectric head that delivers 3 pL/drop. The inkjet printer tray, designed to hold CDs and DVDs, was modified to hold microscope slides. Empty ink cartridges were filled with MALDI matrix solutions, including DHB in methanol/water (70:30) at concentrations up to 40 mg/mL. Various samples (including rat brain tissue sections and standards of small drug molecules) were prepared using three deposition methods (electrospray, airbrush, inkjet). A linear ion trap equipped with an intermediate-pressure MALDI source was used for analyses. Optical microscopic examination showed that matrix crystals were formed evenly across the sample. There was minimal background signal after storing the matrix in the cartridges over a 6-month period. Overall, the mass spectral images gathered from inkjet-printed tissue specimens were of better quality and more reproducible than from specimens prepared by the electrospray and airbrush methods.

Design, development, and evaluation of an interactive simulator for engineering ethics education (SEEE).

PubMed

Chung, Christopher A; Alfred, Michael

2009-06-01

Societal pressures, accreditation organizations, and licensing agencies are emphasizing the importance of ethics in the engineering curriculum. Traditionally, this subject has been taught using dogma, heuristics, and case study approaches. Most recently a number of organizations have sought to increase the utility of these approaches by utilizing the Internet. Resources from these organizations include on-line courses and tests, videos, and DVDs. While these individual approaches provide a foundation on which to base engineering ethics, they may be limited in developing a student's ability to identify, analyze, and respond to engineering ethics situations outside of the classroom environment. More effective approaches utilize a combination of these types of approaches. This paper describes the design and development of an internet based interactive Simulator for Engineering Ethics Education. The simulator places students in first person perspective scenarios involving different types of ethical situations. Students must gather data, assess the situation, and make decisions. This requires students to develop their own ability to identify and respond to ethical engineering situations. A limited comparison between the internet based interactive simulator and conventional internet web based instruction indicates a statistically significant improvement of 32% in instructional effectiveness. The simulator is currently being used at the University of Houston to help fulfill ABET requirements.

Basic surgical training in the era of the European Working Time Directive: what are the problems and solutions?

PubMed

Skipworth, R J E; Terrace, J D; Fulton, L A; Anderson, D N

2008-11-01

Imposed reductions in working hours will impact significantly on the ability of surgical trainees to achieve competency. The objective of this study was to obtain the opinions of Scottish surgical trainees concerning the training they receive, in order to inform and guide the development of future, high-standard training programmes. An anonymous questionnaire was sent to basic surgical trainees on the Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee Basic Surgical Rotations commencing after August 2002. Thirty six questionnaire responses were analysed. Very few of the returned comments were complimentary to the existing training structure; indeed, most comments demonstrated significant trainee disappointment. Despite "regular" exposure to operative sessions, training tutorials and named consultant trainers, the most common concern was a perceived lack of high-quality, structured, operative exposure and responsibility. Textbooks and journals remain the most frequently utilised learning tools, with high-tech systems such as teleconferencing, videos, CD-ROMS, and DVDs being poorly exploited. Current surgical training is not meeting the expectation of the majority of its trainees. To solve this problem will require extensive revision of attitudes and current educational format. A greater emphasis on the integration of 21st century learning tools in the training programme may help bridge this gap.

Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruttley, Tara; Tate-Brown, Judy

2016-01-01

To date, research on the International Space Station (ISS) has helped answer scientific questions ranging from 'How do fluids flow in space?' to 'What are the origins of the universe?', and the science and technology returns have grown at a steady pace. The on-orbit international crew have been busier than ever performing research and technology development activities for use on Earth and in space. As of October 1, 2016, more than 2000 investigations were conducted across the international partnership resulting in more than 1900 publications in journals, conferences, and other gray literature (such as magazines, DVDs, and patents). This report is intended to provide an overall highlight of research results published from October 1, 2015 to October 1, 2016 from investigations operated on the ISS. These results represent the research of approximately 500 scientists around the world for investigations sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos), the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Like a typical laboratory on Earth, the logistics of the ISS allows for many investigations to be carried forward over several ISS crew expeditions, enabling repeated experimentation and data collection important for answering critical research questions. Impacts of these results reach beyond the field of space research into traditional areas of science in multidisciplinary ways.

Ethical aspects of sexual medicine. Internet, vibrators, and other sex aids: toys or therapeutic instruments?

PubMed

Jannini, Emmanuele A; Limoncin, Erika; Ciocca, Giacomo; Buehler, Stephanie; Krychman, Michael

2012-12-01

Sexual health is the result of a complex interplay between social, relational, intrapsychic, and medical aspects. Sexual health care professionals (SHCP) may face several ethical issues. Some SHCP prescribe Internet pornography for both diagnosis and therapy and some others directly sell vibrators and sex aids in their offices. Five scientists, with different perspectives, debate the ethical aspects in the clinical practice of the SHCP. To give to the Journal of Sexual Medicine's reader enough data to form her/his own opinion on an important ethical topic. Expert #1, who is Controversy's Section Editor, together with two coworkers, expert psycho-sexologists, reviews data from literature regarding the use of the Internet in the SHCP. Expert #2 argues that licensed professionals, who treat sexual problems, should not sell sexual aids such as vibrators, lubricants, erotica, and instructional DVDs to their clients. On the other hand, Expert #3 is in favor of the possibility, for the patient, to directly purchase sexual aids from the SHCP in order to avoid embarrassment, confusion, and non-adherence to treatment. Evidence and intelligence would suggest that both the Internet (in selected subjects) and the vibrators (in the correct clinical setting), with the due efforts in counseling the patients and tailoring their therapy, are not-harmful, excellent tools in promoting sexual health. © 2012 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Documentation of surgical specimens using digital video technology.

PubMed

Melín-Aldana, Héctor; Carter, Barbara; Sciortino, Debra

2006-09-01

Digital technology is commonly used for documentation of specimens in anatomic pathology and has been mainly limited to still photographs. Technologic innovations, such as digital video, provide additional, in some cases better, options for documentation. To demonstrate the applicability of digital video to the documentation of surgical specimens. A Canon Elura MC40 digital camcorder was used, and the unedited movies were transferred to a Macintosh PowerBook G4 computer. Both the camcorder and specimens were hand-held during filming. The movies were edited using the software iMovie. Annotations and histologic photographs may be easily incorporated into movies when editing, if desired. The finished movies are best viewed in computers which contain the free program QuickTime Player. Movies may also be incorporated onto DVDs, for viewing in standard DVD players or appropriately equipped computers. The final movies are on average 2 minutes in duration, with a file size between 2 and 400 megabytes, depending on the intended use. Because of file size, distribution is more practical via CD or DVD, but movies may be compressed for distribution through the Internet (e-mail, Web sites) or through internal hospital networks. Digital video is a practical, easy, and affordable methodology for specimen documentation, permitting a better 3-dimensional understanding of the specimens. Discussions with colleagues, student education, presentation at conferences, and other educational activities can be enhanced with the implementation of digital video technology.

Repeated exposure to media messages encouraging parent-child communication about sex: differential trajectories for mothers and fathers.

PubMed

Blitstein, Jonathan L; Evans, W Douglas; Davis, Kevin C; Kamyab, Kian

2012-01-01

To examine changes in parent-child communication related to sexual behavior after exposure to public health messages. Randomized, controlled trial that was part of precampaign message testing. Exposure occurred online or through DVDs mailed to participants and viewed on their personal computers. Data collection occurred via a secure Web site. Participants included parents (n  =  1969) living with a child age 10 to 14 years drawn from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. Treatment participants were exposed to video, audio, and print advertisements that promoted the benefits of speaking to their children early and often about delaying initiation of sexual activity; messages also directed parents to an informational Web site. The dependent variable assessed frequency of parent-child communication related to sexual behavior. The primary independent variable was treatment assignment. Longitudinal growth modeling that included five waves of data. The trajectory of growth over time differed between fathers in the treatment group and fathers in the control group (F[1, 2357]  =  4.15; p < .042), indicating more frequent communication among treatment fathers than among control fathers. Trajectories did not differ between mothers in treatment and control groups. This study demonstrates that father-child and mother-child communication patterns differ over time in response to public health messages. Findings have implication for researchers developing health marketing campaigns.

New ways in creating pixelgram images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malureanu, Radu; Di Fabrizio, Enzo

2006-09-01

Since the diffraction gratings were invented, their use in various security systems has been exploited. Their big advantage is the low production cost and, in the same time, the difficulty of replicating them. Most of the nowadays security systems are using those gratings to prove their originality. They can be seen on all the CDs, DVDs, most of the major credit cards and even on the wine bottles. In this article we present a new way of making such gratings without changing the production steps but generating an even more difficult to be replicated item. This new way consists not only in changing the grating period so that various false colours can be seen, but also their orientation so that for a complete check of the grating it should be seen under a certain solid angle. In the same time, one can also keep the possibility to change the grating period so this way various colours can be seen for each angle variation. By combining these two techniques (changing period and changing the angle ones) one can indeed create different images for each view angle and thus increasing the security of the object. In the same time, as can be seen, from the fabrication point of view no further complications appear. The production steps are identical, the only difference being the pattern. The resolution of the grating is not increased necessarily so neither from this point of view will complications appear.

Using the RE-AIM framework to evaluate the statewide dissemination of a school-based physical activity and nutrition curriculum: "Exercise Your Options".

PubMed

Dunton, Genevieve F; Lagloire, Renee; Robertson, Trina

2009-01-01

Examine the reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a physical activity and nutrition curriculum for middle-school students. Nonexperimental pilot evaluation of a statewide dissemination trial. California middle schools during the 2006 to 2007 school year. Sixteen classes (N = 668 students and 16 teachers) sampled from the statewide pool who used the program. An eight-lesson nutrition and physical activity curriculum, "Exercise Your Options" (EYO), including a teacher guide, video clips, a student activity booklet, and ancillary materials was made available to teachers. Program records, classroom observations, teacher surveys, and student presurveys and postsurveys (assessing physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and dietary intake). Descriptive statistics and multilevel random-coefficient modeling. The EYO program reached 234,442 middle-school students in California. During the program, total physical activity increased (p < .001), whereas watching TV/DVDs and playing electronic games/computer use decreased (p < .05). Intake of dairy products increased (p < .05), whereas consumption of sugars/sweets decreased (p < .001). Forty-two percent of eligible middle-school classrooms ordered the program materials. Eighty-six percent of sampled teachers implemented all of the lessons. Over the past 5 years, 51% of all middle-school students in California were exposed to the program. The EYO program showed its potential for moderate to high public health impact among California middle-school students.

Non-communicable diseases and adherence to Mediterranean diet.

PubMed

Caretto, Antonio; Lagattolla, Valeria

2015-01-01

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) also known as chronic diseases last for a long time and progress generally slow. Major non-communicable diseases are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. Unhealthy lifestyles and food behaviours play an important role for determining such diseases. The change in unhealthy behaviours or the maintenance of healthy lifestyles has enormous value in the reduction of diseases and longer life expectancy not only on an individual level but for the community as a whole. Recent meta-analyses reported Mediterranean diet to be an optimal diet when adopted as a whole, in order to preserve and maintain a good health status. A greater adherence score to the Mediterranean diet (2-point increase) was related to induce an 8% reduction in overall mortality, a 10% reduced risk of CVD and a 4% reduction in neoplastic diseases. However, there is no direct method in quantifying and evaluating adherence, therefore a large number of indirect indices in several studies have been proposed, with a last unifying score. Recently more and more e-health techniques such as web communication or desktop publishing (DVDs and so on) are being used, obtaining good results in the Mediterranean diet adherence. For successfully changing the unhealthy lifestyles and food behaviours of the population, interventions at all levels are needed with the cooperation of Institutions, mass media, agricultural and food industry and healthcare professionals guided by expert scientific societies.

Typeability of DNA in Touch Traces Deposited on Paper and Optical Data Discs.

PubMed

Sołtyszewski, Ireneusz; Szeremeta, Michał; Skawrońska, Małgorzata; Niemcunowicz-Janica, Anna; Pepiński, Witold

2015-01-01

Nucleated epithelial cells that are transferred by casual touching and handling of objects are the primary source of biological evidence that is found in high-volume crimes. Cellular material associated with touch traces usually contains low levels of DNA template making it challenging to acquire an informative profile. The main purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of DNA typing in fingerprints deposited on optical data discs and the office paper. Latent fingerprints were made by 60 subjects of both sexes (30 males and 30 females). A highly effective DNA extraction method with QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen) and an increased sensitivity PCR by AmpFlSTR® NGM™ Amplification Kit (Applied Biosystems) carried out at standard 30 cycles and at increased 34 cycles were used. The mean value of total DNA recovery was 0.4 ng from CDs/DVDs and 0.3 ng from the office paper. Amplification of Low Template DNA (LT-DNA) resulted in improved analytical success by increasing the number of PCR cycles from standard 30 to 34. On the other hand, the increased PCR cycles resulted in allele drop-ins showing additional peaks, the majority of which were outside the stutter positions. Rigorous procedures and interpretation guidelines are required during LT-DNA for producing reliable and reproducible DNA profiles for forensic purposes.

Individual reactions to viewing preferred video representations of the natural environment: A comparison of mental and physical reactions.

PubMed

Tsutsumi, Masae; Nogaki, Hiroshi; Shimizu, Yoshihisa; Stone, Teresa Elizabeth; Kobayashi, Toshio

2017-01-01

Globally, awareness of the vital link between health and the natural environment is growing. This pilot study, based on the idea of "forest bathing," or shinrin-yoku, the mindful use of all five senses to engage with nature in a natural environment, was initiated in order to determine whether stimulation by viewing an individual's preferred video of sea or forest had an effect on relaxation. The participants were 12 healthy men in their twenties and they were divided into two groups based on their preference for sea or forest scenery by using the Visual Analogue Scale. The participants watched 90 min DVDs of sea with natural sounds and forest with natural sounds while their heart rate variability and Bispectral Index System value were measured by using MemCalc/Tawara and a Bispectral Index System monitor. The participants were divided into two groups of six based on their preference for sea or forest scenery and each indicator was compared between them. Significant differences in a decrease in heart rate, increase in high frequency, and sustained arousal level were observed while viewing the preferred video. These results indicated that the viewing individual's preferred video of sea or forest had a relaxation effect. This study suggests that individual preferences should be taken into consideration for video relaxation therapy. © 2016 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

Transition of a dental histology course from light to virtual microscopy.

PubMed

Weaker, Frank J; Herbert, Damon C

2009-10-01

The transition of the dental histology course at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Dental School was completed gradually over a five-year period. A pilot project was initially conducted to study the feasibility of integrating virtual microscopy into a traditional light microscopic lecture and laboratory course. Because of the difficulty of procuring quality calcified and decalcified sections of teeth, slides from the student loan collection in the oral histology block of the course were outsourced for conversion to digital images and placed on DVDs along with a slide viewer. The slide viewer mimicked the light microscope, allowing horizontal and vertical movement and changing of magnification, and, in addition, a feature to capture static images. In a survey, students rated the ease of use of the software, quality of the images, maneuverability of the images, and questions regarding use of the software, effective use of laboratory, and faculty time. Because of the positive support from the students, our entire student loan collection of 153 glass slides was subsequently converted to virtual images and distributed on an Apricorn pocket external hard drive. Students were asked to assess the virtual microscope over a four-year period. As a result of the surveys, light microscopes have been totally eliminated, and microscope exams have been replaced with project slide examinations. In the future, we plan to expand our virtual slides and incorporate computer testing.

Drop Size Distribution Measurements Supporting the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement Mission: Infrastructure and Preliminary Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, Walter A.; Carey, Lawerence D.; Gatlin, Patrick N.; Wingo, Matthew; Tokay, Ali; Wolff, David B.; Bringi, V. N.

2011-01-01

Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) retrieval algorithm validation requires datasets that characterize the 4-D structure, variability, and correlation properties of hydrometeor particle size distributions (PSD) and accumulations over satellite fields of view (5 -- 50 km). Key to this process is the combined use of disdrometer and polarimetric radar platforms. Here the disdrometer measurements serve as a reference for up-scaling dual-polarimetric radar observations of the PSD to the much larger volumetric sampling domain of the radar. The PSD observations thus derived provide a much larger data set for assessing DSD variability, and satellite-based precipitation retrieval algorithm assumptions, in all three spatial dimensions for a range of storm types and seasons. As one component of this effort, the GPM Ground Validation program recently acquired five 3rd generation 2D Video disdrometers as part of its Disdrometer and Radar Observations of Precipitation Facility (DROP), currently hosted in northern Alabama by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. These next-generation 2DVDs were operated and evaluated in different phases of data collection under the scanning domain of the UAH ARMOR C-band dual-polarimetric radar. During this period approximately 7500 minutes of PSD data were collected and processed to create gamma size distribution parameters using a truncated method of moments approach. After creating the gamma parameter datasets the DSDs were then used as input to T-matrix code for computation of polarimetric radar moments at C-band. The combined dataset was then analyzed with two basic objectives in mind: 1) the investigation of seasonal variability in the rain PSD parameters as observed by the 2DVDs; 2) the use of combined polarimetric moments and observed gamma distribution parameters in a functional form to retrieve PSD parameters in 4-D using the ARMOR radar for precipitation occurring in different seasons and for different rain system types. Preliminary results suggest that seasonal variations in the DSD parameters do occur, but are most pronounced when comparing tropical PSDs to either winter or summer convective precipitation. For example the previously documented shift to relatively smaller drop diameters in higher number concentrations for equivalent rain rate bins was observed in tropical storm rainbands occurring over Huntsville. On a more inter seasonal basis empirical fits between parameters such as D0 and ZDR do not appear to exhibit robust seasonal biases- i.e., one fit seems to work for all seasons within acceptable standard error (O[10%]) for estimates of D0. In polarimetric retrievals of the vertical variability in PSD (rain layer) for a tropical rainband we find that the Do varies with height when partitioned by specified precipitation categories (e.g., convective or stratiform, heavy and light stratiform etc.) but this variation is of order 10-20% and is smaller than the difference in D0 observed between the basic delineation of convective and stratiform precipitation types. Currently we are expanding our analysis of the vertical structure of the PSD to include several seasonally and/or dynamically-different storm system types (e.g., winter convection and stratiform events; summer mid-latitude convective etc.) sampled by ARMOR. The study will present the results of our combined analyses.

Comparative Effectiveness of Dental Anatomy Carving Pedagogy: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

de Azevedo, Renato de A; da Rosa, Wellington Luiz de O; da Silva, Adriana F; Correa, Marcos B; Torriani, Marcos A; Lund, Rafael G

2015-08-01

The aim of this study was to review the effectiveness of methods used for teaching dental anatomy carving to dental students in operative dentistry as evaluated in published studies. This systematic review is described in accordance with the PRISMA statement. Two independent reviewers performed a systematic literature search of research published from January 1945 until May 2014. Seven databases were screened: MedLine (PubMed), Lilacs, IBECS, Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO, and The Cochrane Library. After removing duplicates, only studies using dental carving to assess the practical knowledge of anatomy were selected. The tabulated data were organized by title of article, names of authors, number of students assessed, assessment method, material used, groups tested, main results, and conclusions. The methodology quality was assessed according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Initially, 2,258 studies were identified in all databases. Five articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in this review. According to these studies, the geometric method, teaching step-by-step along with the teacher, and adjuvant methods such as the use of tutors and teaching through digital media with DVDs proved to be effective in improving learning. There is no standard technique that is widely accepted for the teaching of dental carving, nor is there an appropriately validated method of evaluation to verify whether the teaching methods used are effective for the acquisition of skills and expertise in dental anatomy by students.

Social support may buffer the effect of intrafamilial stressors on preschool children's television viewing time in low-income families.

PubMed

Li, Kaigang; Jurkowski, Janine M; Davison, Kirsten K

2013-12-01

Excessive television (TV) viewing in preschool children has been linked to negative outcomes during childhood, including childhood obesity. In a sample of low-income families, this study examined associations between intrafamilial factors and preschool children's TV-viewing time and the moderating effect of social support from nonfamily members on this association. In 2010, 129 mothers/female guardians of 2- to 5-year-old children enrolled at five Head Start centers in Rensselaer County, New York, completed a self-report survey. The survey assessed child TV-viewing time (including TV, DVDs, and videos) and intrafamilial risk factors, including maternal perceived stress, depressive symptoms, TV viewing, leisure-time physical activity (inactivity), and family functioning. Social support from nonfamily members (nonfamily social support) was also measured and examined as an effect modifier. Children watched TV an average of 160 minutes per day. Moderate depressive symptoms (Personal Health Questionnaire depression scale scores ≥10), higher perceived stress, poorer family functioning, and higher maternal TV-viewing were significantly and independently associated with greater minutes of child TV viewing, controlling for covariates. In all instances, nonfamily social support moderated these associations, such that negative experiences within the family environment were linked with higher child TV-viewing time under conditions of low nonfamily social support, but not high nonfamily support. Social support from nonfamily members may buffer potentially negative effects of intrafamilial factors on preschool children's TV-viewing time.

A pilot study of medical student attitudes to, and use of, commercial movies that address public health issues

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background An innovative approach to learning public health by using feature-length commercial movies was piloted in the fourth year of a medical degree. We aimed to explore how students responded to this approach and the relative effectiveness of two promotional strategies. Firstly we placed DVDs of 15 movies (with public health-related content) in the medical school library. Then alternating groups of students (total n = 82 students) were exposed to either a brief promotional intervention or a more intensive intervention involving a class presentation. The response rates were 99% at baseline and 85% at follow-up. Findings The level and strength of support for using movies in public health training increased after exposure to the public health module with significantly more students "strongly agreeing". Student behaviour, in terms of movies viewed or accessed from the library, also suggested student interest. While there were no statistically significant differences in median viewing or library access rates between the two intervention groups, the distribution of viewing patterns was shifted favourably. Those exposed to the more intensive intervention (class presentation) were significantly more likely to have reported watching at least one movie (97% vs. 81%; p = 0.033) or to having accessed at least one movie from the library (100% vs. 70%, p = 0.0001). Conclusions This pilot study found that the students had very positive attitudes towards viewing public health-related commercial movies. Movie access rates from the library were also favourable. PMID:21473773

Home fire safety education for parents of newborns.

PubMed

Lehna, Carlee; Fahey, Erin; Janes, Erika G; Rengers, Sharon; Williams, Joseph; Scrivener, Drane; Myers, John

2015-09-01

In children under 1 year of age, the proportion of unintentional burns increases with infant age and mobility. Infants are not able to avoid burns and are dependent on parental or adult help. Treatment of burns in young children is expensive in terms of the life-long costs. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in home fire safety (HFS) knowledge and practices over time for parents of newborn children and expecting parents. HFS knowledge of 103 parents was assessed at baseline, immediately after watching a DVD on HFS (recall), and at 2-week follow-up (retention). In addition, the United States Fire Administration (USFA)/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Home Safety Checklist which examines HFS practices in the homes was administered. Seventy percent of the participants were Caucasian, 65% were married, and 81% were first-time parents. HFS knowledge increased significantly from baseline to recall (45±12% vs. 87±17% correct responses, p<0.0001), but declined to 75±18% correct at retention. That is, an individual's baseline scores nearly doubled at recall (42±11% change in baseline score), but only increased by 67% at retention (30±15% change in baseline score). For a subsample of parents who completed the USFA Checklist (n=22), the mean percentage of advocated practices followed was 71±11% (range: 40-89%). Using DVDs was an effective educational modality for increasing HFS knowledge. This addressed an important problem of decreasing burns in infants through increasing parent knowledge and HFS practices using a short, inexpensive DVD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Doppler-derived myocardial systolic strain rate is a strong index of left ventricular contractility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenberg, Neil L.; Firstenberg, Michael S.; Castro, Peter L.; Main, Michael; Travaglini, Agnese; Odabashian, Jill A.; Drinko, Jeanne K.; Rodriguez, L. Leonardo; Thomas, James D.; Garcia, Mario J.

2002-01-01

BACKGROUND: Myocardial fiber strain is directly related to left ventricular (LV) contractility. Strain rate can be estimated as the spatial derivative of velocities (dV/ds) obtained by tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE). The purposes of the study were (1) to determine whether TDE-derived strain rate may be used as a noninvasive, quantitative index of contractility and (2) to compare the relative accuracy of systolic strain rate against TDE velocities alone. METHODS AND RESULTS: TDE color M-mode images of the interventricular septum were recorded from the apical 4-chamber view in 7 closed-chest anesthetized mongrel dogs during 5 different inotropic stages. Simultaneous LV volume and pressure were obtained with a combined conductance-high-fidelity pressure catheter. Peak elastance (Emax) was determined as the slope of end-systolic pressure-volume relationships during caval occlusion and was used as the gold standard of LV contractility. Peak systolic TDE myocardial velocities (Sm) and peak (epsilon'(p)) and mean (epsilon'(m)) strain rates obtained at the basal septum were compared against Emax by linear regression. Emax as well as TDE systolic indices increased during inotropic stimulation with dobutamine and decreased with the infusion of esmolol. A stronger association was found between Emax and epsilon'(p) (r=0.94, P<0.01, y=0.29x+0.46) and epsilon'(m) (r=0.88, P<0.01) than for Sm (r=0.75, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: TDE-derived epsilon'(p) and epsilon'(m) are strong noninvasive indices of LV contractility. These indices appear to be more reliable than S(m), perhaps by eliminating translational artifact.

Learning physical examination skills outside timetabled training sessions: what happens and why?

PubMed

Duvivier, Robbert J; van Geel, Koos; van Dalen, Jan; Scherpbier, Albert J J A; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

2012-08-01

Lack of published studies on students' practice behaviour of physical examination skills outside timetabled training sessions inspired this study into what activities medical students undertake to improve their skills and factors influencing this. Six focus groups of a total of 52 students from Years 1-3 using a pre-established interview guide. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methods. The interview guide was based on questionnaire results; overall response rate for Years 1-3 was 90% (n = 875). Students report a variety of activities to improve their physical examination skills. On average, students devote 20% of self-study time to skill training with Year 1 students practising significantly more than Year 3 students. Practice patterns shift from just-in-time learning to a longitudinal selfdirected approach. Factors influencing this change are assessment methods and simulated/real patients. Learning resources used include textbooks, examination guidelines, scientific articles, the Internet, videos/DVDs and scoring forms from previous OSCEs. Practising skills on fellow students happens at university rooms or at home. Also family and friends were mentioned to help. Simulated/real patients stimulated students to practise of physical examination skills, initially causing confusion and anxiety about skill performance but leading to increased feelings of competence. Difficult or enjoyable skills stimulate students to practise. The strategies students adopt to master physical examination skills outside timetabled training sessions are self-directed. OSCE assessment does have influence, but learning takes place also when there is no upcoming assessment. Simulated and real patients provide strong incentives to work on skills. Early patient contacts make students feel more prepared for clinical practice.

Synthesis, Processing, and Thermoelectric Properties of Germanium-Antimony-Tellurium Based Compounds and Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Jared Brett

Society has become increasingly more aware of the negative impacts which nonrenewable energy sources have on the environment, and therefore the search for new and more efficient means of energy production has become an important research endeavor. Thermoelectric modules possess the unique ability to convert wasted heat into useful electrical energy via solid state processes, which could vastly improve the efficiency of a number of applications. The materials which accomplish this are typically comprised of semiconductors which exhibit high electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal resistivity. Together these properties give us a gauge for the overall efficiency of the thermal to electrical energy conversion. Phase change materials are a class of materials primarily used for optical data storage in CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs. Today's state of the art phase change materials are based on alloys of GeTe and Sb2Te3. These materials have also been found to exhibit high thermoelectric efficiencies. These high efficiencies stem from their complex crystal structure and degenerate semiconducting nature. The purpose of this work was to study and engineer the thermoelectric properties of various alloys and compounds which belong to this family of materials. Specifically studied were the compounds Ge4SbTe5 and Ge17Sb2Te20. In each case various synthesis and processing strategies were implemented to increase the thermoelectric performance and better understand the fundamental electrical and thermal properties. Finally various proposals for future work on these materials are presented, all of which are based on the findings described herein.

Social Interaction Affects Neural Outcomes of Sign Language Learning As a Foreign Language in Adults.

PubMed

Yusa, Noriaki; Kim, Jungho; Koizumi, Masatoshi; Sugiura, Motoaki; Kawashima, Ryuta

2017-01-01

Children naturally acquire a language in social contexts where they interact with their caregivers. Indeed, research shows that social interaction facilitates lexical and phonological development at the early stages of child language acquisition. It is not clear, however, whether the relationship between social interaction and learning applies to adult second language acquisition of syntactic rules. Does learning second language syntactic rules through social interactions with a native speaker or without such interactions impact behavior and the brain? The current study aims to answer this question. Adult Japanese participants learned a new foreign language, Japanese sign language (JSL), either through a native deaf signer or via DVDs. Neural correlates of acquiring new linguistic knowledge were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The participants in each group were indistinguishable in terms of their behavioral data after the instruction. The fMRI data, however, revealed significant differences in the neural activities between two groups. Significant activations in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were found for the participants who learned JSL through interactions with the native signer. In contrast, no cortical activation change in the left IFG was found for the group who experienced the same visual input for the same duration via the DVD presentation. Given that the left IFG is involved in the syntactic processing of language, spoken or signed, learning through social interactions resulted in an fMRI signature typical of native speakers: activation of the left IFG. Thus, broadly speaking, availability of communicative interaction is necessary for second language acquisition and this results in observed changes in the brain.

Culturally adaptive storytelling intervention versus didactic intervention to improve hypertension control in Vietnam: a cluster-randomized controlled feasibility trial.

PubMed

Nguyen, Hoa L; Allison, Jeroan J; Ha, Duc A; Chiriboga, Germán; Ly, Ha N; Tran, Hanh T; Nguyen, Cuong K; Dang, Diem M; Phan, Ngoc T; Vu, Nguyen C; Nguyen, Quang P; Goldberg, Robert J

2017-01-01

Vietnam is experiencing an epidemiologic transition with an increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Novel, large-scale, effective, and sustainable interventions to control hypertension in Vietnam are needed. We report the results of a cluster-randomized feasibility trial at 3 months follow-up conducted in Hung Yen province, Vietnam, designed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of two community-based interventions to improve hypertension control: a "storytelling" intervention, "We Talk about Our Hypertension," and a didactic intervention. The storytelling intervention included stories about strategies for coping with hypertension, with patients speaking in their own words, and didactic content about the importance of healthy lifestyle behaviors including salt reduction and exercise. The didactic intervention included only didactic content. The storytelling intervention was delivered by two DVDs at 3-month intervals; the didactic intervention included only one installment. The trial was conducted in four communes, equally randomized to the two interventions. The mean age of the 160 study patients was 66 years, and 54% were men. Most participants described both interventions as understandable, informative, and motivational. Between baseline and 3 months, mean systolic blood pressure declined by 8.2 mmHg (95% CI 4.1-12.2) in the storytelling group and by 5.5 mmHg (95% CI 1.4-9.5) in the didactic group. The storytelling group also reported a significant increase in hypertension medication adherence. Both interventions were well accepted in several rural communities and were shown to be potentially effective in lowering blood pressure. A large-scale randomized trial is needed to compare the effectiveness of the two interventions in controlling hypertension. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02483780.

WHOI and SIO (I): Next Steps toward Multi-Institution Archiving of Shipboard and Deep Submergence Vehicle Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Detrick, R. S.; Clark, D.; Gaylord, A.; Goldsmith, R.; Helly, J.; Lemmond, P.; Lerner, S.; Maffei, A.; Miller, S. P.; Norton, C.; Walden, B.

2005-12-01

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have joined forces with the San Diego Supercomputer Center to build a testbed for multi-institutional archiving of shipboard and deep submergence vehicle data. Support has been provided by the Digital Archiving and Preservation program funded by NSF/CISE and the Library of Congress. In addition to the more than 92,000 objects stored in the SIOExplorer Digital Library, the testbed will provide access to data, photographs, video images and documents from WHOI ships, Alvin submersible and Jason ROV dives, and deep-towed vehicle surveys. An interactive digital library interface will allow combinations of distributed collections to be browsed, metadata inspected, and objects displayed or selected for download. The digital library architecture, and the search and display tools of the SIOExplorer project, are being combined with WHOI tools, such as the Alvin Framegrabber and the Jason Virtual Control Van, that have been designed using WHOI's GeoBrowser to handle the vast volumes of digital video and camera data generated by Alvin, Jason and other deep submergence vehicles. Notions of scalability will be tested, as data volumes range from 3 CDs per cruise to 200 DVDs per cruise. Much of the scalability of this proposal comes from an ability to attach digital library data and metadata acquisition processes to diverse sensor systems. We are able to run an entire digital library from a laptop computer as well as from supercomputer-center-size resources. It can be used, in the field, laboratory or classroom, covering data from acquisition-to-archive using a single coherent methodology. The design is an open architecture, supporting applications through well-defined external interfaces maintained as an open-source effort for community inclusion and enhancement.

Collaborative Research: Tomographic imaging of laser-plasma structures

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

Downer, Michael

The interaction of intense short laser pulses with ionized gases, or plasmas, underlies many applications such as acceleration of elementary particles, production of energy by laser fusion, generation of x-ray and far-infrared “terahertz” pulses for medical and materials probing, remote sensing of explosives and pollutants, and generation of guide stars. Such laser-plasma interactions create tiny electron density structures (analogous to the wake behind a boat) inside the plasma in the shape of waves, bubbles and filaments that move at the speed of light, and evolve as they propagate. Prior to recent work by the PI of this proposal, detailed knowledgemore » of such structures came exclusively from intensive computer simulations. Now “snapshots” of these elusive, light-velocity structures can be taken in the laboratory using dynamic variant of holography, the technique used to produce ID cards and DVDs, and dynamic variant of tomography, the technique used in medicine to image internal bodily organs. These fast visualization techniques are important for understanding, improving and scaling the above-mentioned applications of laser-plasma interactions. In this project, we accomplished three things: 1) We took holographic pictures of a laser-driven plasma-wave in the act of accelerating electrons to high energy, and used computer simulations to understand the pictures. 2) Using results from this experiment to optimize the performance of the accelerator, and the brightness of x-rays that it emits. These x-rays will be useful for medical and materials science applications. 3) We made technical improvements to the holographic technique that enables us to see finer details in the recorded pictures. Four refereed journal papers were published, and two students earned PhDs and moved on to scientific careers in US National Laboratories based on their work under this project.« less

Conversion of the Aeronautics Interactive Workstation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riveras, Nykkita L.

2004-01-01

This summer I am working in the Educational Programs Office. My task is to convert the Aeronautics Interactive Workstation from a Macintosh (Mac) platform to a Personal Computer (PC) platform. The Aeronautics Interactive Workstation is a workstation in the Aerospace Educational Laboratory (AEL), which is one of the three components of the Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA). The AEL is a state-of-the-art, electronically enhanced, computerized classroom that puts cutting-edge technology at the fingertips of participating students. It provides a unique learning experience regarding aerospace technology that features activities equipped with aerospace hardware and software that model real-world challenges. The Aeronautics Interactive Workstation, in particular, offers a variety of activities pertaining to the history of aeronautics. When the Aeronautics Interactive Workstation was first implemented into the AEL it was designed with Macromedia Director 4 for a Mac. Today it is being converted to Macromedia DirectorMX2004 for a PC. Macromedia Director is the proven multimedia tool for building rich content and applications for CDs, DVDs, kiosks, and the Internet. It handles the widest variety of media and offers powerful features for building rich content that delivers red results, integrating interactive audio, video, bitmaps, vectors, text, fonts, and more. Macromedia Director currently offers two programmingkripting languages: Lingo, which is Director's own programmingkripting language and JavaScript. In the workstation, Lingo is used in the programming/scripting since it was the only language in use when the workstation was created. Since the workstation was created with an older version of Macromedia Director it hosted significantly different programming/scripting protocols. In order to successfully accomplish my task, the final product required correction of Xtra and programming/scripting errors. I also had to convert the Mac platform file extensions into compatible file extensions for a PC.

Motivating patients with shoulder and back pain to self-care: can a videotape of exercise support physiotherapy?

PubMed

Miller, J S; Litva, A; Gabbay, M

2009-03-01

The National Health Service is developing an ethos of self-care. Patients are being encouraged to become proficient in helping themselves. This has long been a philosophy of the physiotherapy profession, where self-care between consultations has been an integral part of the treatment process through encouraging the uptake of self-care skills training. This study explored how patients with shoulder and back pain perceived videotaped exercises and instructions to support their routine physiotherapy, and how the videotape was used. A videotape, developed by physiotherapists for patients with musculoskeletal problems, of exercises to view at home was given to patients by their physiotherapists to support their routine physiotherapy consultations. A qualitative methodology was used to examine how patients responded to being given a videotape of exercises and instructions between consultations. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The study was based in 26 general practices that had access to practice-based physiotherapists in two primary care trusts in the north-west of England. Thirty-three patients with shoulder and back pain who received a videotape of exercises and advice were interviewed. Three themes emerged from the data: finding space for exercise; remembering and doing exercises; and supporting the physiotherapy-patient relationship. Patients discussed aspects of motivation, and described how a videotape of exercises might support or inhibit the performance of exercises prescribed by physiotherapists. Patients identified a range of different ways in which they derived support from the videotape. The videotape supported patients with a variety of different needs as it enhanced their ability to complete exercises correctly. Videotapes (or DVDs) are useful for patients and could be adopted as a tool to support treatment.

Diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and perceptions of the environment in young adults.

PubMed

Lake, A A; Townshend, T; Alvanides, S; Stamp, E; Adamson, A J

2009-10-01

Few studies have explored both food behaviour and physical activity in an environmental context. Most research in this area has focused on adults; the aim of the present study was to describe perceptions of the environment, diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns in 16-20 year olds in full-time education (Newcastle, UK). Participants (n = 73) recruited from a college and sixth-form college completed a UK version of the Youth Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Survey, which included measures of sedentary behaviour. A validated food frequency questionnaire was completed and a factor applied to produce an estimated mean daily frequency of intake of each item, which was converted to nutrient intakes. A rank for Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) was assigned to their home postcode. Analysis explored associations between sedentary behaviours and nutrient intake. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, most participants reported being physically active for at least 1 h day(-1) on 3-4 (n = 28) or 5-7 days (n = 31). There were no significant differences in nutrient intake according to sample quartile IMD position. Sedentary behaviours were significantly associated with less healthy eating patterns. Higher total energy (P = 0.02), higher fat (P = 0.005), percentage energy from fat (P = 0.035) and lower carbohydrate intakes (P = 0.004) were significantly associated with more time spent watching DVDs at the weekend. This combination of sedentary behaviour and less healthy eating patterns has important implications for long-term health (e.g. the tracking of being overweight and obesity from adolescence into adulthood). Understanding behaviour relationships is an important step in developing interventions in this age group.

Multimedia-based training on Internet platforms improves surgical performance: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Pape-Koehler, Carolina; Immenroth, Marc; Sauerland, Stefan; Lefering, Rolf; Lindlohr, Cornelia; Toaspern, Jens; Heiss, Markus

2013-05-01

Surgical procedures are complex motion sequences that require a high level of preparation, training, and concentration. In recent years, Internet platforms providing surgical content have been established. Used as a surgical training method, the effect of multimedia-based training on practical surgical skills has not yet been evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of multimedia-based training on surgical performance. A 2 × 2 factorial, randomized controlled trial with a pre- and posttest design was used to test the effect of multimedia-based training in addition to or without practical training on 70 participants in four groups defined by the intervention used: multimedia-based training, practical training, and combination training (multimedia-based training + practical training) or no training (control group). The pre- and posttest consisted of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a Pelvi-Trainer and was video recorded, encoded, and saved on DVDs. These were evaluated by blinded raters using a modified objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS). The main evaluation criterion was the difference in OSATS score between the pre- and posttest (ΔOSATS) results in terms of a task-specific checklist (procedural steps scored as correct or incorrect). The groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic parameters, surgical experience, and pretest OSATS scores. The ΔOSATS results were highest in the multimedia-based training group (4.7 ± 3.3; p < 0.001). The practical training group achieved 2.5 ± 4.3 (p = 0.028), whereas the combination training group achieved 4.6 ± 3.5 (p < 0.001), and the control group achieved 0.8 ± 2.9 (p = 0.294). Multimedia-based training improved surgical performance significantly and thus could be considered a reasonable tool for inclusion in surgical curricula.

Worldwide Impact: International Year of Astronomy Dark Skies Awareness Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, C. E.; Pompea, S. M.; Isbell, D.

2009-12-01

The arc of the Milky Way seen from a truly dark location is part of our planet's natural heritage. More than one fifth of the world population, two thirds of the United States population and one half of the European Union population have already lost naked eye visibility of the Milky Way. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a serious and growing issue that impacts astronomical research, the economy, ecology, energy conservation, human health, public safety and our shared ability to see the night sky. For this reason, “Dark Skies Awareness” is a global cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy. Its goal is to raise public awareness of the impact of artificial lighting on local environments by getting people worldwide involved in a variety of programs through: - New Technology (website, podcasts, social networking, Second Life) - Educational Materials (Great Switch Out, a traveling exhibit, brochures, posters, CDs, DVDs, educational kit) - The Arts (photo contest) - Events (Earth Hour, International Dark Sky Week, World Night in Defense of Starlight, Dark Skies Discovery Sites, Sidewalk Astronomy, Nights in the Parks) - Citizen Science Programs (5 star hunting programs & Quiet Skies) Dark Skies Communities (Starlight Initiative, International Dark Sky Communities) Many countries around the world have participated in these programs. We will highlight 24 countries in particular and focus on successful techniques used in aspects of the programs, results and impact on the audience, and plans and challenges for maintaining or extending the program beyond the International Year of Astronomy. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is partially funded from a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Astronomy Division. The National Optical Astronomy Observatory is host to the IYA2009 Dark Skies Awareness programs and is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under cooperative agreement with NSF.

Building the capacity to build capacity in e-health in sub-Saharan Africa: the KwaZulu-Natal experience.

PubMed

Mars, Maurice

2012-01-01

Sub-Saharan Africa has a disproportionate burden of disease and an extreme shortage of health workers. There are already too few doctors to train doctors in specialities and sub-specialties. E-health is seen as a possible solution through distance education, telemedicine, and computerized health information systems but there are few people trained in e-health. We describe 12 years of experience at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZ-N) in education and training in postgraduate medical disciplines, medical informatics, and telemedicine. Videoconferencing of seminars and grand rounds to regional training hospitals commenced in 2001 and has grown to 40 h of interactive conferencing taking place weekly during academic terms involving over 33,000 participants in 2010. Videoconferenced sessions are directly recorded to DVD and DVDs are sent to other medical schools in Africa that do not have the infrastructure to directly connect. E-HEALTH EDUCATION: Students and academic staff were initially sent to the United States for training in medical informatics and workshops were held in South Africa for people from sub-Saharan Africa. This led to the development of postgraduate academic programs in medical informatics and telemedicine at UKZ-N. African students were then brought to UKZ-N for training. The model was changed from UKZ-N to students and staff based at their home universities with the aim of building capacity in the staff at partner institutions so that they can in time offer their own e-health academic programs. The need for capacity development in all aspects of e-health in sub-Saharan Africa is great and innovative solutions are required.

A Preliminary Analysis of Precipitation Properties and Processes during NASA GPM IFloodS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carey, Lawrence; Gatlin, Patrick; Petersen, Walt; Wingo, Matt; Lang, Timothy; Wolff, Dave

2014-01-01

The Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) is a NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) ground measurement campaign, which took place in eastern Iowa from May 1 to June 15, 2013. The goals of the field campaign were to collect detailed measurements of surface precipitation using ground instruments and advanced weather radars while simultaneously collecting data from satellites passing overhead. Data collected by the radars and other ground instruments, such as disdrometers and rain gauges, will be used to characterize precipitation properties throughout the vertical column, including the precipitation type (e.g., rain, graupel, hail, aggregates, ice crystals), precipitation amounts (e.g., rain rate), and the size and shape of raindrops. The impact of physical processes, such as aggregation, melting, breakup and coalescence on the measured liquid and ice precipitation properties will be investigated. These ground observations will ultimately be used to improve rainfall estimates from satellites and in particular the algorithms that interpret raw data for the upcoming GPM mission's Core Observatory satellite, which launches in 2014. The various precipitation data collected will eventually be used as input to flood forecasting models in an effort to improve capabilities and test the utility and limitations of satellite precipitation data for flood forecasting. In this preliminary study, the focus will be on analysis of NASA NPOL (S-band, polarimetric) radar (e.g., radar reflectivity, differential reflectivity, differential phase, correlation coefficient) and NASA 2D Video Disdrometers (2DVDs) measurements. Quality control and processing of the radar and disdrometer data sets will be outlined. In analyzing preliminary cases, particular emphasis will be placed on 1) documenting the evolution of the rain drop size distribution (DSD) as a function of column melting processes and 2) assessing the impact of range on ground-based polarimetric radar estimates of DSD properties.

Kidney transplant and the digital divide: is information and communication technology a barrier or a bridge to transplant for African Americans?

PubMed

Lockwood, Mark B; Saunders, Milda R; Lee, Christopher S; Becker, Yolanda T; Josephson, Michelle A; Chon, W James

2013-12-01

Barriers to kidney transplant for African Americans are well documented in the literature. Little information on ownership of information and communication technology and use of such technology in transplant populations has been published. To characterize racial differences related to ownership and use of information and communication technology in kidney transplant patients. A single-center, cross-sectional survey study. An urban Midwestern transplant center. 78 pretransplant patients and 177 transplant recipients. The survey consisted of 6 demographic questions, 3 disease-related questions, and 9 technology-related questions. Dichotomous (yes/no) and Likert-scale items were the basis for the survey. Cell phone use was high and comparable between groups (94% in African Americans, 90% in whites, P= .22). A vast majority (75% of African Americans and 74% of whites) reported being "comfortable" sending and receiving text messages. Computer ownership (94.3% vs 79.3%) and Internet access (97.7% vs 80.7%) were greater among whites than African Americans (both P< .01). Fewer African Americans were frequent users of the Internet (27.1% vs 56.3%) and e-mail (61.6% vs 79.3%) than whites (both P<.01). More African Americans than whites preferred education in a classroom setting (77% vs 60%; P< .005) and educational DVDs (66% vs 46%; P< .002). The use of cell phone technology and text messaging was ubiquitous and comparable between groups, but computer and Internet access and frequency of use were not. Reaching out to the African American community may best be accomplished by using cell phone/text messaging as opposed to Internet-based platforms.

Comparing Weight Loss-Maintenance Outcomes of a Worksite-Based Lifestyle Program Delivered via DVD and Face-to-Face: A Randomized Trial.

PubMed

Ing, Claire Townsend; Miyamoto, Robin E S; Fang, Rui; Antonio, Mapuana; Paloma, Diane; Braun, Kathryn L; Kaholokula, Joseph Keawe'aimoku

2018-03-01

Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders have high rates of overweight and obesity compared with other ethnic groups in Hawai'i. Effective weight loss and weight loss-maintenance programs are needed to address obesity and obesity-related health inequities for this group. Compare the effectiveness of a 9-month, worksite-based, weight loss-maintenance intervention delivered via DVD versus face-to-face in continued weight reduction and weight loss maintenance beyond the initial weight loss phase. We tested DVD versus face-to-face delivery of the PILI@Work Program's 9-month, weight loss-maintenance phase in Native Hawaiian-serving organizations. After completing the 3-month weight loss phase, participants ( n = 217) were randomized to receive the weight loss-maintenance phase delivered via trained peer facilitators or DVDs. Participant assessments at randomization and postintervention included weight, height, blood pressure, physical functioning, exercise frequency, and fat intake. Eighty-three face-to-face participants were retained at 12 months (74.1%) compared with 73 DVD participants (69.5%). There was no significant difference between groups in weight loss or weight loss maintenance. The number of lessons attended in Phase 1 of the intervention (β = 0.358, p = .022) and baseline systolic blood pressure (β = -0.038, p = .048) predicted percent weight loss at 12 months. Weight loss maintenance was similar across groups. This suggests that low-cost delivery methods for worksite-based interventions targeting at-risk populations can help address obesity and obesity-related disparities. Additionally, attendance during the weight loss phase and lower baseline systolic blood pressure predicted greater percent weight loss during the weight loss-maintenance phase, suggesting that early engagement and initial physical functioning improve long-term weight loss outcomes.

Policies and Procedures for Reviewing Medical Images From Portable Media: Survey of Radiology Departments

PubMed Central

Kalia, Vivek; Carrino, John A.; Macura, Katarzyna J.

2015-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this study was to survey current practices for portable media (CDs and DVDs) use for medical imaging in both academic and nonacademic radiology departments in the United States. Methods This survey was a stratified, nonrandom sample, 22-question electronic survey, using SurveyMonkey, of members of the Association of Administrators in Academic Radiology, the Association for Medical Imaging Management, and the University HealthSystem Consortium, conducted in November 2009. Questions were grouped by media production and media viewing practices. Results One hundred and two individual responses to the survey were received. Ninety-eight percent of respondents said that their institutions produced Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)-compliant media, with only 2.0% uncertain. Only 22.2% of respondents claimed that their institutions produced Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Portable Data for Imaging (PDI)-compliant media, while 71.6% were uncertain. Rates of DICOM and IHE PDI compliance did not differ between academic and nonacademic centers. As for testing digital media produced at the institutions for DICOM and IHE PDI compliance, only 16.0% of respondents’ institutions routinely did so. Conclusions Three main problem areas regarding portable media became evident from this study: (1) access, (2) importability, and (3) viewing issues, and problems with any of the 3 can delay patient care. Noncompliance and a lack of knowledge about compliance were found to be major issues in the present study, more so for IHE PDI than for DICOM, and there is much room for improvement. Recommendations include that radiology practices should routinely generate only media compliant with DICOM and IHE PDI and should test for compliance. PMID:21211763

Marine data management: a positive evolution from JGOFS to OCEANS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avril, B.

2003-04-01

The JGOFS project has been highly successful in providing new insights into global biogeochemical cycling of carbon and associated elements in the oceans through a multi-national effort at the regional scale (process studies in the North Atlantic, Arabian Sea, Equatorial Pacific, Southern Ocean and North Pacific), global scale (carbon survey) and from long-term measurements at key ocean sites (time-series). The database thus created is very large and complex in diversity and format, and it is currently managed at the international level, thank to the efforts of the JGOFS Data Management Task Team. To be fully usable for current and future studies, the JGOFS datasets will be organised as a single database (so-called, the International JGOFS Master Dataset), in a single format and in a single location (in the World Data Centre (WDC) system, thanks to an initiative of PANGAEA / WDC-MARE; and on CDs or DVDs) before the end of the project (Dec. 2003). This should be achieved by adapting previously developed tools, especially from the US-JGOFS DMO (for the user query interface) and from ODV/PANGAEA (for the datasets visualization and metadata handling). Whilst the OCEANS project science and implementation plans are being prepared, the international oceanographic community is now hoping to benefit from the JGOFS data management experience and to elaborate beforehand the best design and practices for its data management. The draft OCEANS data management plan (international data policy and recommendations for participating international agencies and national data managers) is presented. This plan should result in the rapid and full availability of data, and its long-term preservation and accessibility, thanks to a better, integrated and fully implemented data management system.

Nanogap embedded silver gratings for surface plasmon enhanced fluorescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhatnagar, Kunal

Plasmonic nanostructures have been extensively used in the past few decades for applications in sub-wavelength optics, data storage, optoelectronic circuits, microscopy and bio-photonics. The enhanced electromagnetic field produced at the metal and dielectric interface by the excitation of surface plasmons via incident radiation can be used for signal enhancement in fluorescence and surface enhanced Raman scattering studies. Novel plasmonic structures have shown to provide very efficient and extreme light concentration at the nano-scale in recent years. The enhanced electric field produced within a few hundred nanometers of these surfaces can be used to excite fluorophores in the surrounding environment. Fluorescence based bio-detection and bio-imaging are two of the most important tools in the life sciences and improving the qualities and capabilities of fluorescence based detectors and imaging equipment remains a big challenge for industry manufacturers. We report a novel fabrication technique for producing nano-gap embedded periodic grating substrates on the nanoscale using a store bought HD-DVD and conventional soft lithography procedures. Polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSSQ) polymer is used as the ink for the micro-contact printing process with PDMS stamps obtained from the inexpensive HD-DVDs as master molds. Fluorescence enhancement factors of up to 118 times were observed with these silver nanostructures in conjugation with Rhodamine-590 fluorescent dye. These substrates are ideal candidates for a robust and inexpensive optical system with applications such as low-level fluorescence based analyte detection, single molecule imaging, and surface enhanced Raman studies. Preliminary results in single molecule experiments have also been obtained by imaging individual 3 nm and 20 nm dye-doped nanoparticles attached to the silver plasmonic gratings using epi-fluorescence microscopy.

Exercise Among Women With Ovarian Cancer: A Feasibility and Pre-/Post-Test Exploratory Pilot Study.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaochen; McClean, Daniel; Ko, Emily; Morgan, Mark A; Schmitz, Kathryn

2017-05-01

To establish the feasibility and acceptability of completing a higher dose of the planned physical activity volume among women with ovarian cancer, including those undergoing active treatment. 
. A pre-/post-test exercise intervention. All participants were asked to complete 225 minutes per week of physical activity for 26 weeks. Multiple supports were provided, including exercise DVDs, self-reported logs, and an objective physical activity tracker (Fitbit®).
. Home-based exercise intervention with in-person training and telephone follow-ups.
. 10 women with ovarian cancer who were treated within Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
. Home-based, in-person exercise counseling was provided by an exercise trainer weekly for the first six weeks and then monthly for a total of 26 weeks. Weekly follow-up telephone calls were used to assess exercise adherence and barriers to completing exercise, review symptom changes, and provide behavioral support. 
. Feasibility and acceptability.
. Eight participants completed the study and achieved at least 80% of the prescribed exercise dose. Five participants were undergoing chemotherapy simultaneously. Participants experienced no adverse events during the 26-week intervention. Compared to baseline, average steps increased by 1,593 per day and moderate-intensity physical activity increased by 15 minutes per day. 
. A 225-minutes-per-week exercise program is feasible and acceptable in a population of patients with ovarian cancer. Participants significantly improved their physical activity during the 26-week intervention.
. The findings suggest that nursing professionals could recommend that women with ovarian cancer exercise 225 minutes per week regardless of cancer and/or treatment trajectory. For those experiencing aches and pains, behavioral supports and suggestions of a lower exercise dose are needed to maintain physical activity.

Building the Capacity to Build Capacity in e-Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: The KwaZulu-Natal Experience

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Abstract Background: Sub-Saharan Africa has a disproportionate burden of disease and an extreme shortage of health workers. There are already too few doctors to train doctors in specialities and sub-specialties. E-health is seen as a possible solution through distance education, telemedicine, and computerized health information systems but there are few people trained in e-health. We describe 12 years of experience at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZ-N) in education and training in postgraduate medical disciplines, medical informatics, and telemedicine. Medical Education: Videoconferencing of seminars and grand rounds to regional training hospitals commenced in 2001 and has grown to 40 h of interactive conferencing taking place weekly during academic terms involving over 33,000 participants in 2010. Videoconferenced sessions are directly recorded to DVD and DVDs are sent to other medical schools in Africa that do not have the infrastructure to directly connect. E-health Education: Students and academic staff were initially sent to the United States for training in medical informatics and workshops were held in South Africa for people from sub-Saharan Africa. This led to the development of postgraduate academic programs in medical informatics and telemedicine at UKZ-N. African students were then brought to UKZ-N for training. The model was changed from UKZ-N to students and staff based at their home universities with the aim of building capacity in the staff at partner institutions so that they can in time offer their own e-health academic programs. Conclusions: The need for capacity development in all aspects of e-health in sub-Saharan Africa is great and innovative solutions are required. PMID:22150714

Teaching and sharing about the Sun in the United States and with Spanish language resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peticolas, L. M.; Craig, N.; Hawkins, I.; Walker, C.

2007-05-01

The United States has many different scientific agencies that fund research on solar science, including the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Because there is a large population of Spanish-speaking people in the US, some of the resources developed by the education components of research projects take into account broader cultural perspectives on science and are developed in Spanish. We will describe the education and outreach programs of three solar programs funded by NASA and NSF, the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) program, the "We Are One Under the Sun" Program, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) education program. The STEREO program aims to teach about the Sun through different venues including teacher workshops and courses, teacher materials, turning solar data from STEREO into sound, working with museums, and creating solar posters, CDs, DVDs, and lenticulars. The "We are One Under the Sun" program focuses on Native Americans and Hispanics of Native heritage. It works by merging culture, ancient observatories, and the latest NASA solar science to engage children, youth, and the general public in science and technology through solar traditions in their own indigenous culture. The NOAO Educational Outreach Program was established to make the science and scientists of NOAO more accessible to the K-12 and college-level communities. We will focus on the NOAO solar projects and Spanish-Language Astronomy Materials Educational Center program, which provides multiple types of Spanish- language materials for teachers. These programs have had different levels of outreach in Spanish-speaking countries, namely Mexico (STEREO and "We are One Under the Sun") and Chile (NOAO). We will describe these efforts and give links to the Spanish and English resources available to learn and teach about the Sun.

DVD - digital versatile disks

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

Gaunt, R.

1997-05-01

An international standard has emerged for the first true multimedia format. Digital Versatile Disk (by its official name), you may know it as Digital Video Disks. DVD has applications in movies, music, games, information CD-ROMS, and many other areas where massive amounts of digital information is needed. Did I say massive amounts of data? Would you believe over 17 gigabytes on a single piece of plastic the size of an audio-CD? That`s the promise, at least, by the group of nine electronics manufacturers who have agreed to the format specification, and who hope to make this goal a reality bymore » 1998. In this major agreement, which didn`t come easily, the manufacturers will combine Sony and Phillip`s one side double-layer NMCD format with Toshiba and Matsushita`s double sided Super-Density disk. By Spring of this year, they plan to market the first 4.7 gigabyte units. The question is: Will DVD take off? Some believe that read-only disks recorded with movies will be about as popular as video laser disks. They say that until the eraseable/writable DVD arrives, the consumer will most likely not buy it. Also, DVD has a good market for replacement of CD- Roms. Back in the early 80`s, the international committee deciding the format of the audio compact disk decided its length would be 73 minutes. This, they declared, would allow Beethoven`s 9th Symphony to be contained entirely on a single CD. Similarly, today it was agreed that playback length of a single sided, single layer DVD would be 133 minutes, long enough to hold 94% of all feature-length movies. Further, audio can be in Dolby`s AC-3 stereo or 5.1 tracks of surround sound, better than CD-quality audio (16-bits at 48kHz). In addition, there are three to five language tracks, copy protection and parental ``locks`` for R rated movies. DVD will be backwards compatible with current CD-ROM and audio CD formats. Added versatility comes by way of multiple aspect rations: 4:3 pan-scan, 4:3 letterbox, and 16:9 widescreen. MPEG-2 is the selected image compression format, with full ITU Rec. 601 video resolution (72Ox480). MPEG-2 and AC-3 are also part of the U.S. high definition Advance Television standard (ATV). DVD has an average video bit rate of 3.5 Mbits/sec or 4.69Mbits/sec for image and sound. Unlike digital television transmission, which will use fixed length packets for audio and video, DVD will use variable length packets with a maximum throughput of more than 1OMbits/sec. The higher bit rate allows for less compression of difficult to encode material. Even with all the compression, narrow-beam red light lasers are required to significantly increase the physical data density of a platter by decreasing the size of the pits. This allows 4.7 gigabytes of data on a single sided, single layer DVD. The maximum 17 gigabyte capacity is achieved by employing two reflective layers on both sides of the disk. To read the imbedded layer of data, the laser`s focal length is altered so that the top layer pits are not picked up by the reader. It will be a couple of years before we have dual-layer, double-sided DVDS, and it will be achieved in four stages. The first format to appear will be the single sided, single layer disk (4.7 gigabytes). That will allow Hollywood to begin releasing DVD movie titles. DVD-ROM will be the next phase, allowing 4.7 gigabytes of CD-ROM-like content. The third stage will be write-once disks, and stage four will be rewritable disks. These last stages presents some issues which have yet to be resolved. For one, copyrighted materials may have some form of payment system, and there is the issue that erasable disks reflect less light than today`s DVDS. The problem here is that their data most likely will not be readable on earlier built players.« less

Using geographic information systems to identify prospective marketing areas for a special library.

PubMed

McConnaughy, Rozalynd P; Wilson, Steven P

2006-05-04

The Center for Disability Resources (CDR) Library is the largest collection of its kind in the Southeastern United States, consisting of over 5,200 books, videos/DVDs, brochures, and audiotapes covering a variety of disability-related topics, from autism to transition resources. The purpose of the library is to support the information needs of families, faculty, students, staff, and other professionals in South Carolina working with individuals with disabilities. The CDR Library is funded on a yearly basis; therefore, maintaining high usage is crucial. A variety of promotional efforts have been used to attract new patrons to the library. Anyone in South Carolina can check out materials from the library, and most of the patrons use the library remotely by requesting materials, which are then mailed to them. The goal of this project was to identify areas of low geographic usage as a means of identifying locations for future library marketing efforts. Nearly four years worth of library statistics were compiled in a spreadsheet that provided information per county on the number of checkouts, the number of renewals, and the population. Five maps were created using ArcView GIS software to create visual representations of patron checkout and renewal behavior per county. Out of the 46 counties in South Carolina, eight counties never checked out materials from the library. As expected urban areas and counties near the library's physical location have high usage totals. The visual representation of the data made identification of low usage regions easier than using a standalone database with no visual-spatial component. The low usage counties will be the focus of future Center for Disability Resources Library marketing efforts. Due to the impressive visual-spatial representations created with Geographic Information Systems, which more efficiently communicate information than stand-alone database information can, librarians may benefit from the software's use as a supplemental tool for tracking library usage and planning promotional efforts.

Clinical effectiveness of a skills training intervention for caregivers in improving patient and caregiver health following in-patient treatment for severe anorexia nervosa: pragmatic randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Hibbs, Rebecca; Magill, Nicholas; Goddard, Elizabeth; Rhind, Charlotte; Raenker, Simone; Macdonald, Pamela; Todd, Gill; Arcelus, Jon; Morgan, John; Beecham, Jennifer; Schmidt, Ulrike; Landau, Sabine

2015-01-01

Background Families express a need for information to support people with severe anorexia nervosa. Aims To examine the impact of the addition of a skills training intervention for caregivers (Experienced Caregivers Helping Others, ECHO) to standard care. Method Patients over the age of 12 (mean age 26 years, duration 72 months illness) with a primary diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and their caregivers were recruited from 15 in-patient services in the UK. Families were randomised to ECHO (a book, DVDs and five coaching sessions per caregiver) or treatment as usual. Patient (n=178) and caregiver (n=268) outcomes were measured at discharge and 6 and 12 months after discharge. Results Patients with caregivers in the ECHO group had reduced eating disorder psychopathology (EDE-Q) and improved quality of life (WHO-Quol; both effects small) and reduced in-patient bed days (7–12 months post-discharge). Caregivers in the ECHO group had reduced burden (Eating Disorder Symptom Impact Scale, EDSIS), expressed emotion (Family Questionnaire, FQ) and time spent caregiving at 6 months but these effects were diminished at 12 months. Conclusions Small but sustained improvements in symptoms and bed use are seen in the intervention group. Moreover, caregivers were less burdened and spent less time providing care. Caregivers had most benefit at 6 months suggesting that booster sessions, perhaps jointly with the patients, may be needed to maintain the effect. Sharing skills and information with caregivers may be an effective way to improve outcomes. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) was registered with Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN06149665. Declaration of interest J.T. is a co-author of the book used in the ECHO intervention and receives royalties. Copyright and usage © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2015. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence. PMID:27703724

Can neighborhoods explain racial/ethnic differences in adolescent inactivity?

PubMed

Richmond, Tracy K; Field, Alison E; Rich, Michael

2007-01-01

To determine if neighborhoods and their attributes contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent inactivity. We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 17,007), a nationally representative school-based study in the United States. Stratifying by gender, we used multivariate linear regression and multi-level modeling to determine whether neighborhood of residence may partially explain racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent physical inactivity, defined as hours viewing television or videos/DVDs and/or playing computer/video games each week. Participants lived in largely segregated communities. Black and Hispanic adolescent girls reported higher levels of inactivity than White adolescent girls (21 vs. 15 vs. 13 hours/week, respectively, p <0.001). Similar patterns were seen in adolescent boys, with Black adolescent males reporting a mean of 26 hours/week; Hispanic boys a mean of 20 hours/week; and White boys a mean of 17 hours/week of inactivity (p <0.001). After accounting for between-neighborhood variation, there were no residual within-neighborhood differences in inactivity between Hispanic and White adolescent girls (gamma = -0.06, p =0.93); when living in the same neighborhood Hispanic and White girls had similar levels of inactivity. Black adolescent girls and boys were found to have higher levels of inactivity no matter where they lived (gamma =7.00, p <0.001 for girls; gamma = 6.96, p <0.001 for boys). Hispanic boys had similar patterns of inactivity to White boys (gamma =-1.57, p = 0.12). In both males and females, the reported rate of violent crime in the neighborhood was associated with inactivity, despite the individual's perception of his/her neighborhood as safe not being predictive. Although inactivity varies by race/ethnicity and gender, only in Hispanic adolescent girls does neighborhood fully explain the differential use. Our findings suggest that approaches other than changing neighborhood characteristics are needed to eliminate racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent inactivity.

Theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior-based dietary interventions in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Hackman, Christine L; Knowlden, Adam P

2014-01-01

Background Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in many nations around the world. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA) have been used to successfully plan and evaluate numerous interventions for many different behaviors. The aim of this study was to systematically review and synthesize TPB and TRA-based dietary behavior interventions targeting adolescents and young adults. Methods The following databases were systematically searched to find articles for this review: Academic Search Premier; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL); Education Resources Information Center (ERIC); Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); and MEDLINE. Inclusion criteria for articles were: 1) primary or secondary interventions, 2) with any quantitative design, 3) published in the English language, 4) between January 2003 and March 2014, 5) that targeted adolescents or young adults, 6) which included dietary change behavior as the outcome, and 7) utilized TPB or TRA. Results Of the eleven intervention studies evaluated, nine resulted in dietary behavior change that was attributed to the treatment. Additionally, all but one study found there to be a change in at least one construct of TRA or TPB, while one study did not measure constructs. All of the studies utilized some type of quantitative design, with two employing quasi-experimental, and eight employing randomized control trial design. Among the studies, four utilized technology including emails, social media posts, information on school websites, web-based activities, audio messages in classrooms, interactive DVDs, and health-related websites. Two studies incorporated goal setting and four employed persuasive communication. Conclusion Interventions directed toward changing dietary behaviors in adolescents should aim to incorporate multi-faceted, theory-based approaches. Future studies should consider utilizing randomized control trial design and operationalize variables. More research is needed to identify the optimal TPB and TRA modalities to modify dietary behaviors. PMID:24966710

Theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior-based dietary interventions in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review.

PubMed

Hackman, Christine L; Knowlden, Adam P

2014-01-01

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in many nations around the world. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA) have been used to successfully plan and evaluate numerous interventions for many different behaviors. The aim of this study was to systematically review and synthesize TPB and TRA-based dietary behavior interventions targeting adolescents and young adults. THE FOLLOWING DATABASES WERE SYSTEMATICALLY SEARCHED TO FIND ARTICLES FOR THIS REVIEW: Academic Search Premier; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL); Education Resources Information Center (ERIC); Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); and MEDLINE. Inclusion criteria for articles were: 1) primary or secondary interventions, 2) with any quantitative design, 3) published in the English language, 4) between January 2003 and March 2014, 5) that targeted adolescents or young adults, 6) which included dietary change behavior as the outcome, and 7) utilized TPB or TRA. Of the eleven intervention studies evaluated, nine resulted in dietary behavior change that was attributed to the treatment. Additionally, all but one study found there to be a change in at least one construct of TRA or TPB, while one study did not measure constructs. All of the studies utilized some type of quantitative design, with two employing quasi-experimental, and eight employing randomized control trial design. Among the studies, four utilized technology including emails, social media posts, information on school websites, web-based activities, audio messages in classrooms, interactive DVDs, and health-related websites. Two studies incorporated goal setting and four employed persuasive communication. Interventions directed toward changing dietary behaviors in adolescents should aim to incorporate multi-faceted, theory-based approaches. Future studies should consider utilizing randomized control trial design and operationalize variables. More research is needed to identify the optimal TPB and TRA modalities to modify dietary behaviors.

Early experience in establishing and evaluating an ACGME-approved international general surgery rotation.

PubMed

Tarpley, Margaret; Hansen, Erik; Tarpley, John L

2013-01-01

In 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Surgery Residency Review Committee first provided guidelines for elective international general surgery rotations. The Vanderbilt general surgery residency program received Surgery Residency Review Committee approval for a fourth-year elective in Kenya beginning in the 2011-2012 academic year. Because this rotation would break ground culturally and geographically, and as an educational partnership, a briefing and debriefing process was developed for this ground-breaking year. Our objectives were to prepare residents to maximize the experience without competing for cases with local trainees or overburdening the host institution and to perform continuous quality assessment and improvement as each resident returned back. Briefing included health protection strategies, a procedures manual containing step-by-step preparation activities, and cultural-sensitivity training. Institutional Review Board exemption approval was obtained to administer a questionnaire created for returning residents concerning educational value, relations with local trainees, physical environment, and personal perceptions that would provide the scaffold for the debriefing conference. The questionnaire coupled with the debriefing discussion for the first 9 participants revealed overall satisfaction with the rotation and the briefing process, good health, and no duty hours or days-off issues. Other findings include the following: (1) emotional effect of observing African families weigh cost in medical decision making; (2) satisfactory access to educational resources; (3) significant exposure to specialties such as urology and radiology; and (4) toleration of 4 weeks as a single and expressed need for leisure activity materials such as books, DVDs, or games. The responses triggered adjustments in the briefing sessions and travel preparation. The host institution invited the residents to return for the 2012-2013 year as well as 2013-2014. Detailed preparation and the follow-up evaluation for assessment and improvement of this nascent international surgery experience are associated with resident satisfaction and the host institution has agreed to continue the rotation. Copyright © 2013 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. All rights reserved.

Phase-change materials for non-volatile memory devices: from technological challenges to materials science issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noé, Pierre; Vallée, Christophe; Hippert, Françoise; Fillot, Frédéric; Raty, Jean-Yves

2018-01-01

Chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs), such as Ge-Sb-Te alloys, have shown outstanding properties, which has led to their successful use for a long time in optical memories (DVDs) and, recently, in non-volatile resistive memories. The latter, known as PCM memories or phase-change random access memories (PCRAMs), are the most promising candidates among emerging non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies to replace the current FLASH memories at CMOS technology nodes under 28 nm. Chalcogenide PCMs exhibit fast and reversible phase transformations between crystalline and amorphous states with very different transport and optical properties leading to a unique set of features for PCRAMs, such as fast programming, good cyclability, high scalability, multi-level storage capability, and good data retention. Nevertheless, PCM memory technology has to overcome several challenges to definitively invade the NVM market. In this review paper, we examine the main technological challenges that PCM memory technology must face and we illustrate how new memory architecture, innovative deposition methods, and PCM composition optimization can contribute to further improvements of this technology. In particular, we examine how to lower the programming currents and increase data retention. Scaling down PCM memories for large-scale integration means the incorporation of the PCM into more and more confined structures and raises materials science issues in order to understand interface and size effects on crystallization. Other materials science issues are related to the stability and ageing of the amorphous state of PCMs. The stability of the amorphous phase, which determines data retention in memory devices, can be increased by doping the PCM. Ageing of the amorphous phase leads to a large increase of the resistivity with time (resistance drift), which has up to now hindered the development of ultra-high multi-level storage devices. A review of the current understanding of all these issues is provided from a materials science point of view.

The Machinery Of Climate Anti-Science, Its Efforts Against Education, Top To Bottom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mashey, J. R.

2014-12-01

"There's always one every year" a fine local science teacher said after once again being hassled by a vocal parent for teaching appropriate climate science in school. How does that happen? The machinery of climate anti-science starts from the top with funders working through a maze of money paths, think tanks and front groups, employing spokespeople who can be portrayed as experts. While much of the money flows are still dark, some have been exposed over the last few years, and the effects finally filter down to the state and local levels of education. Among others, the Heartland Institute has a long history of trying to inject anti-science into K-12 and college education, having sent books, DVDs or brochures to teachers or school boards, as well as monthly newsletters to state legislators. Such are aimed at the top of the state or local organizations that affect education. For a vocal subset of the citizenry, a constant flow of misinformation from books, blogs, newsletters and some newspapers and magazines stirs action such as writing letters to editors, complaining to schools, calling on pseudo-experts and demanding equal time for pseudoscience. As the teacher said, it only takes one person to cause trouble at the local level. After a brief review of the overall machinery, this focuses on examples of anti-education tactics seen already, with some brief advice for climate scientists and educators who need to understand the machinery that supports such tactics. Some earlier history is included in http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/23/fakery-2-more-funny-finances-free-tax, but other attempts have surfaced in last few years, including state-wide efforts to reject Common Core Educational standard to avoid teaching climate science. Fortunately, school boards sometimes respond quite well, including one just recently in Pennsylvania.

Lifestyle interventions based on the diabetes prevention program delivered via eHealth: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Joiner, Kevin L; Nam, Soohyun; Whittemore, Robin

2017-07-01

The objective was to describe Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)-based lifestyle interventions delivered via electronic, mobile, and certain types of telehealth (eHealth) and estimate the magnitude of the effect on weight loss. A systematic review was conducted. PubMed and EMBASE were searched for studies published between January 2003 and February 2016 that met inclusion and exclusion criteria. An overall estimate of the effect on mean percentage weight loss across all the interventions was initially conducted. A stratified meta-analysis was also conducted to determine estimates of the effect across the interventions classified according to whether behavioral support by counselors post-baseline was not provided, provided remotely with communication technology, or face-to-face. Twenty-two studies met the inclusion/exclusion criteria, in which 26 interventions were evaluated. Samples were primarily white and college educated. Interventions included Web-based applications, mobile phone applications, text messages, DVDs, interactive voice response telephone calls, telehealth video conferencing, and video on-demand programing. Nine interventions were stand-alone, delivered post-baseline exclusively via eHealth. Seventeen interventions included additional behavioral support provided by counselors post-baseline remotely with communication technology or face-to-face. The estimated overall effect on mean percentage weight loss from baseline to up to 15months of follow-up across all the interventions was -3.98%. The subtotal estimate across the stand-alone eHealth interventions (-3.34%) was less than the estimate across interventions with behavioral support given by a counselor remotely (-4.31%), and the estimate across interventions with behavioral support given by a counselor in-person (-4.65%). There is promising evidence of the efficacy of DPP-based eHealth interventions on weight loss. Further studies are needed particularly in racially and ethnically diverse populations with limited levels of educational attainment. Future research should also focus on ways to optimize behavioral support. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sexual diversity in the United States: Results from a nationally representative probability sample of adult women and men

PubMed Central

Herbenick, Debby; Bowling, Jessamyn; Fu, Tsung-Chieh (Jane); Guerra-Reyes, Lucia; Sanders, Stephanie

2017-01-01

In 2015, we conducted a cross-sectional, Internet-based, U.S. nationally representative probability survey of 2,021 adults (975 men, 1,046 women) focused on a broad range of sexual behaviors. Individuals invited to participate were from the GfK KnowledgePanel®. The survey was titled the 2015 Sexual Exploration in America Study and survey completion took about 12 to 15 minutes. The survey was confidential and the researchers never had access to respondents’ identifiers. Respondents reported on demographic items, lifetime and recent sexual behaviors, and the appeal of 50+ sexual behaviors. Most (>80%) reported lifetime masturbation, vaginal sex, and oral sex. Lifetime anal sex was reported by 43% of men (insertive) and 37% of women (receptive). Common lifetime sexual behaviors included wearing sexy lingerie/underwear (75% women, 26% men), sending/receiving digital nude/semi-nude photos (54% women, 65% men), reading erotic stories (57% of participants), public sex (≥43%), role-playing (≥22%), tying/being tied up (≥20%), spanking (≥30%), and watching sexually explicit videos/DVDs (60% women, 82% men). Having engaged in threesomes (10% women, 18% men) and playful whipping (≥13%) were less common. Lifetime group sex, sex parties, taking a sexuality class/workshop, and going to BDSM parties were uncommon (each <8%). More Americans identified behaviors as “appealing” than had engaged in them. Romantic/affectionate behaviors were among those most commonly identified as appealing for both men and women. The appeal of particular behaviors was associated with greater odds that the individual had ever engaged in the behavior. This study contributes to our understanding of more diverse adult sexual behaviors than has previously been captured in U.S. nationally representative probability surveys. Implications for sexuality educators, clinicians, and individuals in the general population are discussed. PMID:28727762

Pan-Arctic TV Series on Inuit wellness: a northern model of communication for social change?

PubMed

Johnson, Rhonda; Morales, Robin; Leavitt, Doreen; Carry, Catherine; Kinnon, Dianne; Rideout, Denise; Clarida, Kath

2011-06-01

This paper provides highlights of a utilization-focused evaluation of a collaborative Pan-Arctic Inuit Wellness TV Series that was broadcast live in Alaska and Canada in May 2009. This International Polar Year (IPY) communication and outreach project intended to (1) share information on International Polar Year research progress, disseminate findings and explore questions with Inuit in Alaska, Canada and Greenland; (2) provide a forum for Inuit in Alaska, Canada and Greenland to showcase innovative health and wellness projects; (3) ensure Inuit youth and adult engagement throughout; and (4) document and reflect on the overall experience for the purposes of developing and "testing" a participatory communication model. Utilization-focused formative evaluation of the project, with a focus on overall objectives, key messages and lessons learned to facilitate program improvement. Participant observation, surveys, key informant interviews, document review and website tracking. Promising community programs related to 3 themes - men's wellness, maternity care and youth resilience - in diverse circumpolar regions were highlighted, as were current and stillevolving findings from ongoing Arctic research. Multiple media methods were used to effectively deliver and receive key messages determined by both community and academic experts. Local capacity and new regional networks were strengthened. Evidence-based resources for health education and community action were archived in digital formats (websites and DVDs), increasing accessibility to otherwise isolated individuals and remote communities. The Pan-Arctic Inuit Wellness TV Series was an innovative, multi-dimensional communication project that raised both interest and awareness about complex health conditions in the North and stimulated community dialogue and potential for increased collaborative action. Consistent with a communication for social change approach, the project created new networks, increased motivation to act and provided new tools to do so, and increased local community involvement and "voice" in the discussion and dissemination of successful strategies to promote Inuit wellness.

EDITORIAL: Big science at the nanoscale Big science at the nanoscale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, Mark

2009-10-01

In 1990, the journal Nanotechnology was the first academic publication dedicated to disseminating the results of research in what was then a new field of scientific endeavour. To celebrate the 20th volume of Nanotechnology, we are publishing a special issue of top research papers covering all aspects of this multidisciplinary science, including biology, electronics and photonics, quantum phenomena, sensing and actuating, patterning and fabrication, material synthesis and the properties of nanomaterials. In the early 1980s, scanning probe microscopes brought the concepts of matter and interactions at the nanoscale into visual reality, and hastened a flurry of activity in the burgeoning new field of nanoscience. Twenty years on and nanotechnology has truly come of age. The ramifications are pervasive throughout daily life in communication, health care and entertainment technology. For example, DVDs have now consigned videotapes to the ark and mobile phones are as prevalent as house keys, and these technologies already look set to be superseded by internet phones and Blu-Ray discs. Nanotechnology has been in the unique position of following the explosive growth of this discipline from its outset. The surge of activity in the field is notable in the number of papers published by the journal each year, which has skyrocketed. The journal is now published weekly, publishing over 1400 articles a year. What is more, the quality of these articles is also constantly improving; the average number of citations to articles within two years of publication, quantified by the ISI impact factor, continues to increase every year. The rate of activity in the field shows no signs of slowing down, as is evident from the wealth of great research published each week. The aim of the 20th volume special issue is to present some of the very best and most recent research in many of the wide-ranging fields covered by the journal, a celebration of the present state of play in nanotechnology and a stimulating glimpse of future directions in the field.

Sexual diversity in the United States: Results from a nationally representative probability sample of adult women and men.

PubMed

Herbenick, Debby; Bowling, Jessamyn; Fu, Tsung-Chieh Jane; Dodge, Brian; Guerra-Reyes, Lucia; Sanders, Stephanie

2017-01-01

In 2015, we conducted a cross-sectional, Internet-based, U.S. nationally representative probability survey of 2,021 adults (975 men, 1,046 women) focused on a broad range of sexual behaviors. Individuals invited to participate were from the GfK KnowledgePanel®. The survey was titled the 2015 Sexual Exploration in America Study and survey completion took about 12 to 15 minutes. The survey was confidential and the researchers never had access to respondents' identifiers. Respondents reported on demographic items, lifetime and recent sexual behaviors, and the appeal of 50+ sexual behaviors. Most (>80%) reported lifetime masturbation, vaginal sex, and oral sex. Lifetime anal sex was reported by 43% of men (insertive) and 37% of women (receptive). Common lifetime sexual behaviors included wearing sexy lingerie/underwear (75% women, 26% men), sending/receiving digital nude/semi-nude photos (54% women, 65% men), reading erotic stories (57% of participants), public sex (≥43%), role-playing (≥22%), tying/being tied up (≥20%), spanking (≥30%), and watching sexually explicit videos/DVDs (60% women, 82% men). Having engaged in threesomes (10% women, 18% men) and playful whipping (≥13%) were less common. Lifetime group sex, sex parties, taking a sexuality class/workshop, and going to BDSM parties were uncommon (each <8%). More Americans identified behaviors as "appealing" than had engaged in them. Romantic/affectionate behaviors were among those most commonly identified as appealing for both men and women. The appeal of particular behaviors was associated with greater odds that the individual had ever engaged in the behavior. This study contributes to our understanding of more diverse adult sexual behaviors than has previously been captured in U.S. nationally representative probability surveys. Implications for sexuality educators, clinicians, and individuals in the general population are discussed.

The Mental Activity and eXercise (MAX) trial: Effects on physical function and quality of life among older adults with cognitive complaints.

PubMed

Middleton, Laura E; Ventura, Maria I; Santos-Modesitt, Wendy; Poelke, Gina; Yaffe, Kristine; Barnes, Deborah E

2018-01-01

Older adults with cognitive complaints are vulnerable to dementia, physical impairments, and poor quality of life. Exercise and mental activity may improve physical function and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) but combinations have not been investigated systematically. The Mental Activity and eXercise (MAX) trial found that mental activity plus exercise over 12weeks improved cognitive function (primary outcome) in sedentary older adults with cognitive complaints. To investigate the effects of combinations of two mental activity and exercise programs on physical function and HRQOL (secondary outcomes). Participants (n=126, age 73±6years, 65% women) were randomized to 12weeks of exercise (aerobic exercise or stretching/toning, 3×60min/week) plus mental activity (computer-based cognitive training or educational DVDs, 3×60min/week) using a factorial design. Assessments included the Senior Fitness Test (physical function), Short Form-12 physical and mental sub-scales (HRQOL), and CHAMPS questionnaire (physical activity). There were no differences between groups at baseline (p>0.05). We observed improvements over time in most physical function measures [chair stands (p-for-time=0.001), arm curls (p-for-time<0.001), step test (p-for-time=0.003), sit & reach (p-for-time=0.01), and back scratch (p-for-time=0.04)] and in physical HRQOL (p-for-time=0.04). There were no differences in change between groups (group∗time p>0.05). Changes in most physical function measures and physical HRQOL correlated with physical activity changes. Combined mental activity and exercise interventions of various types can improve both physical function and physical HRQOL among sedentary older adults with cognitive complaints. Exercise control group design should be carefully considered as even light exercise may induce benefits in vulnerable older adults. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DSD Characteristics of a Mid-Winter Tornadic Storm Using C-Band Polarimetric Radar and Two 2D-Video Disdrometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thurai, M.; Petersen, W. A.; Carey, L. A.

2010-01-01

Drop size distributions in an evolving tornadic storm are examined using C-band polarimetric radar observations and two 2D-video disdrometers. The E-F2 storm occurred in mid-winter (21 January 2010) in northern Alabama, USA, and caused widespread damage. The evolution of the storm occurred within the C-band radar coverage and moreover, several minutes prior to touch down, the storm passed over a site where several disdrometers including two 2D video disdrometers (2DVD) had been installed. One of the 2DVDs is a low profile unit and the other is a new next generation compact unit currently undergoing performance evaluation. Analyses of the radar data indicate that the main region of precipitation should be treated as a "big-drop" regime case. Even the measured differential reflectivity values (i.e. without attenuation correction) were as high as 6-7 dB within regions of high reflectivity. Standard attenuation-correction methods using differential propagation phase have been "fine tuned" to be applicable to the "big drop" regime. The corrected reflectivity and differential reflectivity data are combined with the co-polar correlation coefficient and specific differential phase to determine the mass-weighted mean diameter, Dm, and the width of the mass spectrum, (sigma)M, as well as the intercept parameter , Nw. Significant areas of high Dm (3-4 mm) were retrieved within the main precipitation areas of the tornadic storm. The "big drop" regime assumption is substantiated by the two sets of 2DVD measurements. The Dm values calculated from 1-minute drop size distributions reached nearly 4 mm, whilst the maximum drop diameters were over 6 mm. The fall velocity measurements from the 2DVD indicate almost all hydrometeors to be fully melted at ground level. Drop shapes for this event are also being investigated from the 2DVD camera data.

The Mental Activity and eXercise (MAX) trial: a randomized controlled trial to enhance cognitive function in older adults.

PubMed

Barnes, Deborah E; Santos-Modesitt, Wendy; Poelke, Gina; Kramer, Arthur F; Castro, Cynthia; Middleton, Laura E; Yaffe, Kristine

2013-05-13

The prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia are projected to rise dramatically during the next 40 years, and strategies for maintaining cognitive function with age are critically needed. Physical or mental activity alone result in relatively small, domain-specific improvements in cognitive function in older adults; combined interventions may have more global effects. To examine the combined effects of physical plus mental activity on cognitive function in older adults. Randomized controlled trial with a factorial design. San Francisco, California. A total of 126 inactive, community-residing older adults with cognitive complaints. All participants engaged in home-based mental activity (1 h/d, 3 d/wk) plus class-based physical activity (1 h/d, 3 d/wk) for 12 weeks and were randomized to either mental activity intervention (MA-I; intensive computer) or mental activity control (MA-C; educational DVDs) plus exercise intervention (EX-I; aerobic) or exercise control (EX-C; stretching and toning); a 2 × 2 factorial design was used so that there were 4 groups: MA-I/EX-I, MA-I/EX-C, MA-C/EX-1, and MA-C/EX-C. Global cognitive change based on a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Participants had a mean age of 73.4 years; 62.7% were women, and 34.9% were Hispanic or nonwhite. There were no significant differences between the groups at baseline. Global cognitive scores improved significantly over time (mean, 0.16 SD; P < .001) but did not differ between groups in the comparison between MA-I and MA-C (ignoring exercise, P = .17), the comparison between EX-I and EX-C (ignoring mental activity, P = .74), or across all 4 randomization groups (P = .26). In inactive older adults with cognitive complaints, 12 weeks of physical plus mental activity was associated with significant improvements in global cognitive function with no evidence of difference between intervention and active control groups. These findings may reflect practice effects or may suggest that the amount of activity is more important than the type in this subject population. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00522899.

Associations between food and beverage consumption and different types of sedentary behaviours in European preschoolers: the ToyBox-study.

PubMed

Miguel-Berges, María L; Santaliestra-Pasias, Alba M; Mouratidou, Theodora; Androutsos, Odysseas; de Craemer, Marieke; Pinket, An-Sofie; Birnbaum, Julia; Koletzko, Berthold; Iotova, Violeta; Usheva, Natalia; Kulaga, Zbigniew; Gozdz, Magdalena; Manios, Yannis; Moreno, Luis A

2017-08-01

To examine the association between food and beverage consumption and time spent in different sedentary behaviours such as watching TV and DVDs, playing computer/video games and quiet play/activities in preschoolers. A sample of 6431 (51.8 % males) European preschoolers aged 3.5-5.5 years from six survey centres was included in the data analyses. Data on dietary habits and sedentary behaviours [watching TV, playing computer and quiet play (both during weekdays and weekend days)] were collected via standardized proxy-administered questionnaires. One-way analysis of covariance and general linear model (adjusted for sex, maternal education, body mass index and centre) were conducted. The results of the generalized linear model showed that the more strong associations in both males and females who were watching TV for > 1 h/day during weekdays were positively associated with increased consumption of fizzy drinks (β = 0.136 for males and β = 0.156 for females), fresh and packed juices (β = 0.069, β = 0.089), sweetened milk (β = 0.119, β = 0.078), cakes and biscuits (β = 0.116, β = 0.145), chocolate (β = 0.052, β = 0.090), sugar-based desserts and pastries (β = 0.234, β = 0.250), salty snacks (β = 0.067, β = 0.056), meat/poultry/processed meat (β = 0.067, β = 0.090) and potatoes (β = 0.071, β = 0.067), and negative associations were observed for the consumption of fruits (β = -0.057, β = -0.099), vegetables (β = -0.056, β = -0.082) and fish (β = -0.013, β = -0.013). During weekend days, results were comparable. In European preschoolers, sedentary behaviours were associated with consumption of energy-dense foods and fizzy drinks. The present findings will contribute to improve the strategies to prevent overweight, obesity and nutrition-related chronic diseases from early childhood.

An oral health education video game for high caries risk children: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Aljafari, Ahmad; Rice, Colm; Gallagher, Jennifer Elizabeth; Hosey, Marie Therese

2015-05-28

Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood in the world. Many children develop caries early in their lives, and go on to develop further caries and sepsis as they grow up, indicating failure in prevention. As a result, many end up requiring general anaesthesia to undergo treatment for a disease that is completely preventable. Previous studies have suggested that the families of these children need better oral health education as well as better support in implementing healthy practices at home, as they feel impeded by broader life challenges. Parents of these children have suggested utilizing modern technologies, such as the internet, DVDs and video games as methods of delivery of education that might fit in with their busy lifestyles. The aim of this investigation is to assess the acceptability and efficiency of an oral health education video game directed at these children and their families. A two-armed phase-II randomized controlled trial will assess a children's oral health education video game in comparison with verbal oral health education in terms of: family satisfaction, effect on oral health knowledge, and effect on dietary and oral hygiene habits. Up to 110 four- to ten-year-old children, referred for tooth extraction under general anaesthesia due to caries, will be recruited. A sample of 45 participants in each group will be needed to provide 80% statistical power. The primary outcome measures for this study are: (1) parent and child satisfaction with the intervention, as indicated using a visual analogue scale; (2) improvement in the child's dietary knowledge measured by a pictorial dietary quiz; and (3) changes in the child's diet and oral hygiene habits, measured using a children's dietary questionnaire completed by the parent, and snacking and toothbrushing diaries completed by the child. Measures will be taken at baseline, directly after the intervention, and three months later. This study is a phase-II randomized controlled trial of an oral health education video game for high caries risk children and their families. Few protocols such as this are available in this much-needed research area. ISRCTN94617251.

Developing Aesthetically Compelling Visualizations for Documenting and Communicating Alaskan Glacier and Landscape Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molnia, B. F.

2016-12-01

For 50 years I have investigated glacier dynamics and attempted to convey this information to others. Since 2000, my focus has been on capturing and documenting decadal and century-scale Alaskan glacier and landscape change using precision repeat photography and on broadly communicate these results through simple, aesthetically compelling, unambiguous visualizations. As a young geologist, I spent the summer of 1968 on the Juneau Icefield, photographing its surface features and margins. Since then, I have taken 150,000 photographs of Alaskan glaciers and collected 5,000 historical Alaskan photographs taken by other, the earliest dating back to 1883. This database and my passion for photographing glaciers became the basis for an on-going investigation aimed at visually documenting glacier and landscapes change at more than 200 previously photographed Alaskan locations in Glacier Bay and Kenai Fjords National Parks, Prince William Sound, and the Coast Mountains. Repeat photography is a technique in which a historical and a modern photograph, both having similar fields of view, are compared and contrasted to quantitatively and qualitatively determine their similarities and differences. In precision repeat photography, both photographs have the same field of view, ideally being photographed from the identical location. Since 2000, I have conducted nearly 20 field campaigns to systematically revisit and re-photograph more than 225 fields of view previously captured in the historical photographs. As aesthetics are important in successfully communicating what has changed, substantial time and effort is invested in capturing new, comparable, generally cloud free photographs at each revisited site. The resulting modern images are then paired with similar field-of-view historical images to produce compelling, aesthetic photo pairs which depict long-term glacier, landscape, and ecosystem changes. As a few sites have multiple historical images, photo triplets or quadruplets are sometimes possible. Several approaches have been tried to produce aesthetic compelling visualization. These have included sliders, dissolves, adjacent pairs, a website, and DVDs. Providing high resolution pairs to users and letting them adapt the images to their individual needs has also been very successful.

Hands-on physics displays for undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akerlof, Carl W.

2014-07-01

Initiated by Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, the Exploratorium in San Francisco has been the model for hands-on science museums throughout the world. The key idea has been to bring people with all levels of scientific background in contact with interesting and attractive exhibits that require the active participation of the visitor. Unfortunately, many science museums are now forced to cater primarily to very young audiences, often 8 years old or less, with predictable constraints on the intellectual depth of their exhibits. To counter this trend, the author has constructed several hands-on displays for the University of Michigan Physics Department that demonstrate: (1) magnetic levitation of pyrolytic graphite, (2) the varied magnetic induction effects in aluminum, copper and air, (3) chaotic motion of a double pendulum, (4) conservation of energy and momentum in a steel ball magnetic accelerator, (5) the diffraction pattern of red and green laser pointer beams created by CDs and DVDs, (6) a magnetic analog of the refraction of light at a dielectric boundary and (7) optical rotation of light in an aqueous fructose solution. Each of these exhibits can be constructed for something like $1000 or less and are robust enough to withstand unsupervised public use. The dynamic behavior of these exhibits will be shown in accompanying video sequences. The following story has a history that goes back quite a few years. In the late 70's, I was spending time at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center accompanied by my family that included our two grade school children. Needless to say, we much enjoyed weekend excursions to all sorts of interesting sites in the Bay Area, especially the Exploratorium, an unusual science museum created by Frank Oppenheimer that opened in 1969. The notion that exhibits would be designed specifically for "hands-on" interactions was at that time quite revolutionary. This idea captivated a number of people everywhere including a friend in Ann Arbor, Cynthia Yao. With a core group of a few dozen people, Cynthia convinced the City of Ann Arbor to allow free use of an old firehouse. The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum opened its doors to the public in 1982 and remains a thriving institution to this day.

Drop Shapes Versus Fall Velocities in Rain: 2 Contrasting Examples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thurai, M.; Bringi, V. N.; Petersen, W. A.; Carey, L. D.; Gatlin, P. N.; Tokay, A.

2011-01-01

Rainfall retrievals from polarimetric radar measurements require the knowledge of four fundamental rain microstructure parameters, namely, drop size distribution, drop shape distribution, canting angles and drop fall velocities. Some recent measurements of all four parameters in natural rain are summarized in [1]. In this paper, we perform an in-depth analysis of two events, using two co-located 2D video disdrometers (2DVD; see [2]) both with high calibration accuracy, and a C-band polarimetric radar [3], located 15 km away. The two events, which occurred 7 days apart (on the 18th and the 25th of Dec 2009), had moderate-to-intense rainfall rates, but the second event had an embedded convection line within the storm. The line had passed over the 2DVD site, thus enabling the shapes and fall velocities to be determined as the line crossed the site. The first event was also captured in a similar manner by both the 2DVDs as well as the C-band radar. Drop fall velocity measurements for, say, the 3 mm drops show noticeable differences between the two events. Whereas for the first event, the velocity distribution showed a narrow and symmetric distribution, with a mode at the expected value (7.95 m/s, as given by the formula in [4]), the second event produced a wider distribution with a significant skewness towards lower velocities (although its mode too was close to the expected value). Moreover, the slower 3 mm drops in the second event occurred when the convection line was directly over the 2DVD site (03:35-03:45 utc), and not before nor after. A similar trend was observed in terms of the horizontal dimensions of the 3 mm drops, i.e. large fluctuations during the same time period, but not outside the period. Vertical dimensions of the drops also fluctuated but not to the same extent. Interestingly, the horizontal dimensions tended towards larger values during the 10-minute period, implying an increase in drop oblateness, which in turn indicates the possibility of the horizontal mode oscillation, one of the three fundamental modes of drop oscillations [5], albeit the most difficult one to excite.

Improving physical functional and quality of life in older adults with multiple sclerosis via a DVD-delivered exercise intervention: a study protocol.

PubMed

Wójcicki, Thomas R; Roberts, Sarah A; Learmonth, Yvonne C; Hubbard, Elizabeth A; Kinnett-Hopkins, Dominque; Motl, Robert W; McAuley, Edward

2014-12-01

There is a need to identify innovative, low-cost and broad-reaching strategies for promoting exercise and improving physical function in older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). This randomised controlled pilot trial will test the efficacy of a 6-month, DVD-delivered exercise intervention to improve functional performance and quality of life in older adults with MS. Participants will be randomised either into a DVD-delivered exercise condition or an attentional control condition. This novel approach to programme delivery provides participants with detailed exercise instructions which are presented in a progressive manner and includes a variety of modifications to better meet varying levels of physical abilities. The targeted exercises focus on three critical elements of functional fitness: flexibility, strength and balance. It is hypothesised that participants who are randomised to the exercise DVD condition will demonstrate improvements in physical function compared with participants assigned to the attentional control condition. Data analysis will include a 2 (condition)×2 (time) mixed factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) that follows intent-to-treat principles, as well as an examination of effect sizes. Participants will take part in qualitative interviews about perspectives on physical activity and programme participation. The study protocol was approved by a university institutional review board and registered with a federal database. Participants will be asked to read and sign a detailed informed consent document and will be required to provide a physician's approval to participate in the study. The exercise DVDs include an overview of safety-related concerns and recommendations relative to exercise participation, as well as detailed instructions highlighting the proper execution of each exercise presented on screen. Following completion of this trial, data will be immediately analysed and results will be presented at scientific meetings and published in scholarly journals. Clinical Trials NCT01993095. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Alaska Volcano Observatory Seismic Network Data Availability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixon, J. P.; Haney, M. M.; McNutt, S. R.; Power, J. A.; Prejean, S. G.; Searcy, C. K.; Stihler, S. D.; West, M. E.

2009-12-01

The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) established in 1988 as a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, monitors active volcanoes in Alaska. Thirty-three volcanoes are currently monitored by a seismograph network consisting of 193 stations, of which 40 are three-component stations. The current state of AVO’s seismic network, and data processing and availability are summarized in the annual AVO seismological bulletin, Catalog of Earthquake Hypocenters at Alaska Volcanoes, published as a USGS Data Series (most recent at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/467). Despite a rich seismic data set for 12 VEI 2 or greater eruptions, and over 80,000 located earthquakes in the last 21 years, the volcanic seismicity in the Aleutian Arc remains understudied. Initially, AVO seismic data were only provided via a data supplement as part of the annual bulletin, or upon request. Over the last few years, AVO has made seismic data more available with the objective of increasing volcano seismic research on the Aleutian Arc. The complete AVO earthquake catalog data are now available through the annual AVO bulletin and have been submitted monthly to the on-line Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) composite catalog since 2008. Segmented waveform data for all catalog earthquakes are available upon request and efforts are underway to make this archive web accessible as well. Continuous data were first archived using a tape backup, but the availability of low cost digital storage media made a waveform backup of continuous data a reality. Currently the continuous AVO waveform data can be found in several forms. Since late 2002, AVO has burned all continuous waveform data to DVDs, as well as storing these data in Antelope databases at the Geophysical Institute. Beginning in 2005, data have been available through a Winston Wave Server housed at the USGS in Anchorage. AVO waveform data were added to the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Management Center (IRIS-DMC) beginning in 2008 and now includes continuous waveform data from all available AVO seismograph stations in real time. Data coverage is available through the DMC’s Metadata Aggregator.

A New Educational Scaffolding Approach to Support Authentic Solar Research in the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demuth, N.; Walker, C. E.; Isbell, D. M.; Pompea, S. M.

2006-12-01

Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education (TLRBSE) is a multi-year teacher professional development program sponsored by NSF and administered through the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). The program reaches the formal education community through a national audience of well-trained and supported middle- and high-school teachers. Every year, a new cohort of teachers prepare for research through an on-line course in the spring. In the summer they conduct astronomy research at NOAO, working with astronomer-mentors to gather and analyze their data. They then return to their classrooms and engage their students in inquiry-based astronomy research using this authentic data. TLRBSE has much to offer teachers both inside and outside the program who wish to initiate research in the classroom. However, the activation energy to conduct authentic research is high. To address the needs of a wider audience of teachers and students, steps have been taken to supply web-based foundational resources for the solar research program. Teachers can use this "solar scaffolding" to support the implementation of authentic solar research in the classroom. The scaffolding files on the webpage will serve as a template for other TLRBSE research strands, as well as enable non-TLRBSE middle and high school teachers to download and use TLRBSE data in their own classrooms. The resultant webpage has links to high quality, vetted resources (webpages, interactives, movies, etc.) that provide content background and lesson plans relevant to solar research. Tools on presenting research, print resources, sample articles on research, videos, DVDs, and posters are included. Powerpoint presentations have been provided with lecture notes on themes ranging from "Why Study the Sun" to "The Nature of Light." Sample teaching materials give examples for a calendar to implement the research project, a daily point sheet, a rubric for a student poster evaluation, a student research project description and a student self evaluation. Various background activities help to pave the way to more challenging solar research projects. As a culminating feature, the website includes several downloadable support files from the TLRBSE solar research project, as well as the solar data files and software programs. These scaffolding resources and future directions will be described in detail. NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. For further information on the TLRBSE.

AGI's Earth Science Week and Education Resources Network: Connecting Teachers to Geoscience Organizations and Classroom Resources that Support NGSS Implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robeck, E.; Camphire, G.; Brendan, S.; Celia, T.

2016-12-01

There exists a wide array of high quality resources to support K-12 teaching and motivate student interest in the geosciences. Yet, connecting teachers to those resources can be a challenge. Teachers working to implement the NGSS can benefit from accessing the wide range of existing geoscience resources, and from becoming part of supportive networks of geoscience educators, researchers, and advocates. Engaging teachers in such networks can be facilitated by providing them with information about organizations, resources, and opportunities. The American Geoscience Institute (AGI) has developed two key resources that have great value in supporting NGSS implement in these ways. Those are Earth Science Week, and the Education Resources Network in AGI's Center for Geoscience and Society. For almost twenty years, Earth Science Week, has been AGI's premier annual outreach program designed to celebrate the geosciences. Through its extensive web-based resources, as well as the physical kits of posters, DVDs, calendars and other printed materials, Earth Science Week offers an array of resources and opportunities to connect with the education-focused work of important geoscience organizations such as NASA, the National Park Service, HHMI, esri, and many others. Recently, AGI has initiated a process of tagging these and other resources to NGSS so as to facilitate their use as teachers develop their instruction. Organizing Earth Science Week around themes that are compatible with topics within NGSS contributes to the overall coherence of the diverse array of materials, while also suggesting potential foci for investigations and instructional units. More recently, AGI has launched its Center for Geoscience and Society, which is designed to engage the widest range of audiences in building geoscience awareness. As part of the Center's work, it has launched the Education Resources Network (ERN), which is an extensive searchable database of all manner of resources for geoscience education. Where appropriate, the resources on the ERN are tagged to components of the NGSS making this a one-stop portal for geoscience education materials. Providers of non-commercial geoscience education resources, especially those that align with the NGSS, can contact AGI so that their materials can be added to Earth Science Week and the ERN.

Specifying content and mechanisms of change in interventions to change professionals' practice: an illustration from the Good Goals study in occupational therapy.

PubMed

Kolehmainen, Niina; Francis, Jill J

2012-10-18

It is widely agreed that interventions to change professionals' practice need to be clearly specified. This involves (1) selecting and defining the intervention techniques, (2) operationalising the techniques and deciding their delivery, and (3) formulating hypotheses about the mechanisms through which the techniques are thought to result in change. Descriptions of methods to achieve these objectives are limited. This paper reports methods and illustrates outputs from a study to meet these objectives, specifically from the Good Goals study to improve occupational therapists' caseload management practice. (1) Behaviour change techniques were identified and selected from an existing matrix that maps techniques to determinants. An existing coding manual was used to define the techniques. (2) A team of occupational therapists generated context-relevant, acceptable modes of delivery for the techniques; these data were compared and contrasted with previously collected data, literature on caseload management, and the aims of the intervention. (3) Hypotheses about the mechanisms of change were formulated by drawing on the matrix and on theories of behaviour change. (1) Eight behaviour change techniques were selected: goal specified; self-monitoring; contract; graded tasks; increasing skills (problem solving, decision making, goal setting); coping skills; rehearsal of relevant skills; social processes of encouragement, support, and pressure; demonstration by others; and feedback. (2) A range of modes of delivery were generated (e.g., graded tasks' consisting of series of clinical cases and situations that become increasingly difficult). Conditions for acceptable delivery were identified (e.g., 'self-monitoring' was acceptable only if delivered at team level). The modes of delivery were specified as face-to-face training, task sheets, group tasks, DVDs, and team-based weekly meetings. (3) The eight techniques were hypothesized to target caseload management practice through eleven mediating variables. Three domains were hypothesized to be most likely to change: beliefs about capabilities, motivation and goals, and behavioural regulation. The project provides an exemplar of a systematic and reportable development of a quality-improvement intervention, with its methods likely to be applicable to other projects. A subsequent study of the intervention has provided early indication that use of systematic methods to specify interventions may help to maximize acceptability and effectiveness.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Tractor and Machinery Certification Program: management styles and perceptions held by community stakeholders and instructors.

PubMed

Jepsen, S D

2012-07-01

A mixed-mode, descriptive study was conducted on the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Tractor and Machinery Certification Program. Legislated by the Fair Labors Standards Act, the Hazardous Occupations Order in Agriculture (HOOA) was enacted in 1968 as a public policy measure to reduce the number of injuries to youth on farms. An educational exemption allows youth 14 and 15 years of age to work for hire after they successfully complete a training program. In the 40+ years since the legislation went into effect prescribing such training exemptions, deficiencies and variations have occurred in the quality of the educational program and the system by which agencies certify young people. To gain a better understanding of the DOL Tractor and Machinery Certification program, community stakeholders were asked to identify management practices, curriculum resources, and perceptions of the DOL program. The study design used qualitative data from 49 agricultural representatives participating in regional focus groups and quantitative data from 330 community instructors responding to an electronic-formatted questionnaire (representing a 70.7% response rate) in an effort to answer the question: "What is the current status of the DOL Tractor and Machinery Certification program in the United States?" The findings revealed that 55.2% of the instructors taught a qualifying DOL program. Of these, the certification was administered through an Extension or 4-H program (68.7%), an agricultural education program (24.7%), or as a combination of Extension and agricultural education (6.0%). Course instructors believed the training was beneficial to students and had opportunity to attract more students than currently enrolled These instructors placed a higher value on standardized teaching materials than on standardized testing procedures; they also supported the need for additional teaching aids, which included hands-on activities, videotapes, student workbooks, and DVDs. Study participants did not believe the program should be offered in its entirety as a self-study program but suggested that portions of the training could be offered in that manner The local instructors identified four primary issues that would increase the effectiveness of the DOL Tractor and Machinery Certification program: community awareness, employer support, access to teaching resources, and enforcement of the legislation.

A multi-level intervention in subsidized housing sites to increase fruit and vegetable access and intake: Rationale, design and methods of the 'Live Well, Viva Bien' cluster randomized trial.

PubMed

Gans, Kim M; Gorham, Gemma; Risica, Patricia M; Dulin-Keita, Akilah; Dionne, Laura; Gao, Tina; Peters, Sarah; Principato, Ludovica

2016-06-28

Adequate fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake is important for disease prevention. Yet, most Americans, especially low-income and racial/ethnic minorities, do not eat adequate amounts. These disparities are partly attributable to food environments in low-income neighborhoods where residents often have limited access to affordable, healthful food and easy access to inexpensive, unhealthful foods. Increasing access to affordable healthful food in underserved neighborhoods through mobile markets is a promising, year-round strategy for improving dietary behaviors and reducing F&V intake disparities. However, to date, there have been no randomized controlled trials studying their effectiveness. The objective of the 'Live Well, Viva Bien' (LWVB) cluster randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the efficacy of a multicomponent mobile market intervention at increasing F&V intake among residents of subsidized housing complexes. One housing complex served as a pilot site for the intervention group and the remaining 14 demographically-matched sites were randomized into either the intervention or control group. The intervention group received bimonthly, discount, mobile, fresh F&V markets in conjunction with a nutrition education intervention (two F&V campaigns, newsletters, DVDs and cooking demonstrations) for 12 months. The control group received physical activity and stress reduction interventions. Outcome measures include F&V intake (measured by two validated F&V screeners at baseline, six-month and twelve-months) along with potential psychosocial mediating variables. Extensive quantitative and qualitative process evaluation was also conducted throughout the study. Modifying neighborhood food environments in ways that increase access to affordable, healthful food is a promising strategy for improving dietary behaviors among low-income, racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk for obesity and other food-related chronic diseases. Discount, mobile F&V markets address all the major barriers to eating more F&V (high cost, poor quality, limited access and limited time to shop and cook) and provide a year-round solution to limited access to healthful food in low-income neighborhoods. LWVB is the first randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of mobile markets at increasing F&V intake. If proven efficacious at increasing F&V consumption, LWVB could be disseminated widely to neighborhoods that have low access to fresh F&V. Clinicatrials.gov registration number: NCT02669472 First Received: January 19, 2016.

Archive of Chirp Seismic Reflection Data Collected During USGS Cruises 01SCC01 and 01SCC02, Timbalier Bay and Offshore East Timbalier Island, Louisiana, June 30 - July 9 and August 1 - 12, 2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Calderon, Karynna; Dadisman, Shawn V.; Flocks, James G.; Wiese, Dana S.; Kindinger, Jack G.

2003-01-01

In June, July, and August of 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the University of New Orleans, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, conducted a shallow geophysical and sediment core survey of Timbalier Bay and the Gulf of Mexico offshore East Timbalier Island, Louisiana. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital seismic reflection data, trackline navigation files, trackline navigation maps, observers' logbooks, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) information, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. In addition, a gained digital Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) image of each seismic profile is provided. Please see Kulp and others (2002), Flocks and others (2003), and Kulp and others (in prep.) for further information about the sediment cores collected and the geophysical results. For convenience, a list of acronyms and abbreviations frequently used in this report is also included. This Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) document is readable on any computing platform that has standard DVD driver software installed. Documentation on this DVD was produced using Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) utilized by the World Wide Web (WWW) and allows the user to access the information using a web browser (i.e. Netscape, Internet Explorer). To access the information contained on these discs, open the file 'index.htm' located at the top level of each disc using a web browser. This report also contains WWW links to USGS collaborators and other agencies. These links are only accessible if access to the internet is available while viewing these DVDs. The archived chirp seismic reflection data are in standard Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) SEG-Y format (Barry et al., 1975) and may be downloaded for processing with public domain software such as Seismic Unix (SU), currently located at http://www.cwp.mines.edu/cwpcodes/index.html. Examples of SU processing scripts are provided in the CHIRP.tar file located in the SU subfolder of the SOFTWARE folder located at the top level of each disc. In-house (USGS) DOS and Microsoft Windows compatible software for viewing SEG-Y headers - DUMPSEGY.EXE (Zihlman, 1992) - is provided in the USGS subfolder of the SOFTWARE folder. Processed profile images, trackline navigation maps, logbooks, and formal metadata may be viewed with a web browser.

Screen time use in children under 3 years old: a systematic review of correlates.

PubMed

Duch, Helena; Fisher, Elisa M; Ensari, Ipek; Harrington, Alison

2013-08-23

A large percentage (68%) of children under age 3 use screen media, such as television, DVDs and video games, on a daily basis. Research suggests that increased screen time in young children is linked to negative health outcomes, including increased BMI, decreased cognitive and language development and reduced academic success. Reviews on correlates of screen time for young children have included preschool age children and children up to age 7; however, none have focused specifically on correlates among infants and toddlers. As research suggests that screen media use increases with age, examining correlates of early media exposure is essential to reducing exposure later in life. Thus, this paper systemically reviews literature published between January 1999 and January 2013 on correlates of screen time among children between 0 and 36 months of age. Two methods were used to conduct this review: (1) Computerized searches of databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC, Medline); and (2) Reference sections of existing reviews and primary studies. Inclusion criteria were: (1) The article included separate data for children 36 months and younger, (2) English language, (3) peer reviewed article, (4) analysis reported for screen viewing as a dependent variable, (5) original research article and, (6) examined correlates or associations between screen time and other demographic, contextual or behavioral variables. Articles were compiled between 2011 and 2013 and evaluation occurred in 2012 and 2013. The literature search identified 29 studies that met inclusion criteria. These studies investigated a total of 33 potential correlates, which were examined in this review. Findings suggest demographic variables most commonly correlated with high screen time among infants and toddlers are child's age (older) and race/ethnicity (minority). Child BMI, maternal distress/depression, television viewing time of the mother and cognitive stimulation in the home environment were also associated with screen media use. Studies reported that child sex, first born status, paternal education, non-English speaking family, two-parent household, number of children in the home and non-parental childcare were not associated with screen time among children aged 0-36 months. Associations were unclear (fewer than 60% of studies report an association) for maternal age, maternal education and household income. The remaining correlates were investigated in fewer than three studies and thus not coded for an association. The correlates identified in this study point to avenues for intervention to reduce screen time use in young children. However, further research is necessary to explore a number of environmental, socio-cultural and behavioral correlates that are under-examined in this population and may further inform prevention and intervention strategies.

Space education and outreach symposium (E1.). Structures for space education (2.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigues, Ivette; Carvalho, Himilcon

2008-07-01

The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) sponsors an outreach program aimed at promoting Brazilian space activities among students and teachers of primary and secondary schools. The program, called AEB Escola (Brazilian Space Agency School), was created in 2003 and, since then, has taken the space theme to thousands of students and teachers. The main goal of the AEB Escola Program is to make the Brazilian Space Program known among students and teachers. Additionally, it intends to use the space theme as a way to increase youth interest in studies in general, and in sciences in particular. The program focuses on teachers who, ultimately, are the ones responsible for introducing the subject to their students. And who also guarantee the continuity of the Program. An Astronautics and Space Science course is given to teachers by researchers involved with the Brazilian Space Program activities. The course has over 100 h of activities covering the following themes: Astronomy, Satellite Launcher Vehicles, Satellites and Space Platforms, Remote Sensing, Meteorology and Environmental Sciences, and Projects's Learning. The AEB Escola Program also promotes many other activities among students including lectures, contests, interactive exhibitions and hands-on activities. One of the consequences of such initiatives was the creation of two experiments taken to the International Space Station in April 2006 by the Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes. Moreover, a nationwide contest called Brazilian Astronomy and Astronautical Olympics (OBA) is held every year involving nearly half a million students, with ages ranging from 7 to 17. The top five students are taken to the International Astronomy Olympics, where Brazil has obtained many medals. The top 50 students of OBA are taken, along with their teachers, to the city of São José dos Campos, in the state of São Paulo, to participate in the Space Journey event. The journey lasts a week during which the participants get a chance to learn about the activities and infrastructure of the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) and the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE), the leading Brazilian institutions linked to Space activities. The material used by the teachers is produced by a net of partners, including universities and the Brazilian Ministry of Education. The material is produced both in printed and electronics format: CDs and DVDs, being distributed, free of charge, to thousands of schools. The paper introduces the concepts, methods, achievements and perspectives of the AEB Escola Program.

Reading disc-based bioassays with standard computer drives.

PubMed

Yu, Hua-Zhong; Li, Yunchao; Ou, Lily M-L

2013-02-19

Traditional methods of disease diagnosis are both time-consuming and labor-intensive, and many tests require expensive instrumentation and trained professionals, which restricts their use to biomedical laboratories. Because patients can wait several days (even weeks) for the results, the consequences of delayed treatment could be disastrous. Therefore, affordable and simple point-of-care (POC) biosensor devices could fill a diagnostic niche in the clinic or even at home, as personal glucose meters do for diabetics. These devices would allow patients to check their own health conditions and enable physicians to make prompt treatment decisions, which could improve the chances for rapid recovery and cure. Compact discs (CDs) provide inexpensive substrate materials for the preparation of microarray biochips, and conventional computer drives/disc players can be adapted as precise optical reading devices for signal processing. Researchers can employ the polycarbonate (PC) base of a CD as an alternative substrate to glass slides or silicon wafers for the preparation of microanalytical devices. Using the characteristic optical phenomena occurring on the metal layer of a CD, researchers can develop biosensors based on advanced spectroscopic readout (interferometry or surface plasmon resonance). If researchers integrate microfluidic functions with CD mechanics, they can control fluid transfer through the spinning motion of the disc, leading to "lab-on-a-CD" devices. Over the last decade, our laboratory has focused on the construction of POC biosensor devices from off-the-shelf CDs or DVDs and standard computer drives. Besides the initial studies of the suitability of CDs for surface and materials chemistry research (fabrication of self-assembled monolayers and oxide nanostructures), we have demonstrated that an ordinary optical drive, without modification of either the hardware or the software driver, can function as the signal transducing element for reading disc-based bioassays quantitatively. In this Account, we first provide a brief introduction to CD-related materials chemistry and microfluidics research. Then we describe the mild chemistry developed in our laboratory for the preparation of computer-readable biomolecular screening assays: photochemical activation of the polycarbonate (PC) disc surface and immobilization and delivery of probe and target biomolecules. We thoroughly discuss the analysis of the molecular recognition events: researchers can "read" these devices quantitatively with an unmodified optical drive of any personal computer. Finally, and critically, we illustrate our digitized molecular diagnosis approach with three trial systems: DNA hybridization, antibody-antigen binding, and ultrasensitive lead detection with a DNAzyme assay. These examples demonstrate the broad potential of this new analytical/diagnostic tool for medical screening, on-site food/water safety testing, and remote environmental monitoring.

Innovative video tailoring for dietary change: final results of the Good for you! cluster randomized trial.

PubMed

Gans, Kim M; Risica, Patricia Markham; Dulin-Keita, Akilah; Mello, Jennifer; Dawood, Mahin; Strolla, Leslie O; Harel, Ofer

2015-10-07

Effective, low-cost approaches are needed to enhance dietary behavior change. While both video and tailoring technology have been effective interventions to improve diet, these approaches have never been combined to study the effectiveness of tailored videos. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of Good For You!, a randomized trial that tested the efficacy of innovative, individually tailored videos in helping worksite employees decrease dietary fat and increase fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake. Worksites were matched on approximate size, type of company and workforce composition and randomized to one of three experimental conditions: Non-Tailored written information (NT) (n = 14), Tailored Written information (TW) (n = 14), or Tailored Written + Tailored Video (TW + TV) (n = 15). Evaluation was conducted at baseline, 4 and 7 months. We used the NCI Fat Screener and an adapted Food Habits Questionnaire (FHQ) to estimate fat intake and fat-related behaviors, the NCI F&V Screener and F&V Habits Questionnaire (FVHQ) to measure F&V intake and behaviors. Generalized linear models were examined for all outcome measurements. 2525 worksite employees were recruited. At 4 months, dietary fat intake decreased significantly more for TW (-2.95 %) and TW + TV (-3.14%) compared with NT (-2.42%). FHQ scores decreased significantly more for TW + TV than the other two groups. Fruit intake increased the most for TW + TV compared to NT and TW. Both TW (1.30 cups) and TW + TV (1.59 cups) increased F&V intake significantly more than NT (0.78 cups). TW + TV showed the largest increase in F&V behaviors on the FVFQ. At 8 months, dietary fat change continued to be significantly better for TW + TV (-3.48%) than NT (3.01%). F&V intake increased significantly more for the TW + TV group (1.38 cups) compared to the NT group (1.04 cups) and FVHQ changes were significantly greater in TW + TV and TW than for NT. The tailored intervention participants were more likely to decrease fat and increase F&V intake. The TW + TV group was generally the stronger of the two tailored interventions, especially at the longer term follow-up, demonstrating the promise of tailored video as an intervention to change eating habits. Future studies should explore newer channels and technologies in addition to DVDs for delivering tailored video interventions such as the internet and smart phones. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00301678.

ANDRILL Education and Public Outreach: A Legacy of the IPY

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rack, F. R.; Huffman, L. T.; Reed, J.; Harwood, D. M.; Berg, M.; Diamond, J.; Fox, A.; Dahlman, L. E.; Levy, R. H.

2009-12-01

ANDRILL field projects during the IPY included the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) and Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) drilling projects, and the Mackay Sea Valley (MSV) and Offshore New Harbor (ONH) seismic surveys. ANDRILL's international network of scientists, engineers, students and educators work together to convey an understanding of geoscience research and the process of science to non-technical audiences. ANDRILL education and public outreach (EPO) program goals are to: (1) promote environmental and polar science literacy for all audiences; (2) develop and disseminate engaging resources for formal and informal education; (3) develop and nurture a network of polar science educators; (4) spark the curiosity of students and the general public; (5) encourage students to pursue careers in science; (6) challenge misconceptions about scientific research; (7) provide professional development opportunities for educators; and, (8) encourage inquiry teaching in science education. During the IPY, ANDRILL established partnerships with several IPY projects to enhance science literacy and promote the IPY in formal and informal education and outreach venues. ANDRILL-led initiatives include the ARISE (ANDRILL Research Immersion for Science Educators) Program, Project Iceberg, the FLEXHIBIT (FLEXible exHIBIT; in partnership with Antarctica’s Climate Secrets/IPY Engaging Antarctica), and the Project Circle. ANDRILL partnerships developed with several museums and school districts for teacher professional development workshops and a variety of public events. A polar learning community was created from the ARISE participants and their many contacts, the Project Circle participants, and interested educators who contacted ANDRILL. EPO activities are continuing in the post-IPY period with additional funding. The ARISE program has been successful in building a team of educators and a network of international collaborations across grade levels and cultures. The ANDRILL website has expanded to include project outcomes, video journals, ARISE blogs, and other resources. The web pages continue to provide key educational outcomes by providing resources for students, teachers and the general public. The FLEXHIBIT banners and posters focus on five (5) Antarctic themes with a booklet of polar science activities. The banners are translated into German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Kiwi English with Maori subheadings. Smaller FLEXHIBIT posters with activities on the backs have been bundled into Teachers Packets that include two DVDs of ANDRILL’s educational content. The FLEXHIBIT posters have been translated into Italian, Spanish and Arabic. ANDRILL has demonstrated the value of EPO and has invested time and resources to improve polar and climate science literacy. ANDRILL’s EPO efforts give teachers, students and the public exposure to key scientific findings regarding climate change and the new knowledge interpreted from the ANDRILL cores.

The International Polar Year in Portugal: A New National Polar Programme and a Major Education and Outreach project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendes-Victor, L.; Vieira, G.; Xavier, J.; Canario, A.

2008-12-01

Before the International Polar Year, in Portugal polar research was conducted by a very small group of scientists integrated in foreign projects or research institutions. Portugal was not member of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR), the European Polar Board (EPB), neither a subscriber of the Antarctic Treaty. In 2004 Portuguese Polar researchers considered the IPY as an opportunity to change this situation and organized the national Committee for the IPY. The objectives were ambitious: to answer the aforementioned issues in defining and proposing a National Polar Programme. In late 2008, close to the end of the IPY, the objectives were attained, except the Antarctic Treaty signature that is, however, in an advanced stage, having been approved by consensus at the National Parliament in early 2007. Portugal joined SCAR in July 2006, the EPB in 2007 and a set of 5 Antarctic research projects forming the roots of the National Polar Programme (ProPolar) have been approved by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT-MCTES). Scientifically, the IPY can already be considered a major success in Portugal with an improvement in polar scientific research, in the number of scientists performing field work in the Antarctic, organizing polar science meetings and producing an expected increase in the number of polar science peer- reviewed papers. The Portuguese IPY scientific activities were accompanied by a major education and outreach project funded by the Agencia Ciência Viva (MCTES): LATITUDE60! Education for the Planet in the IPY. This project lead by the universities of Algarve, Lisbon and by the Portuguese Association of Geography Teachers is heavily interdisciplinary, programmed for all ages, from kindergarten to adults, and hoped to bring together scientists and society. LATITUDE60! was a major success and focussed on showing the importance of the polar regions for Earth's environment, emphasising on the implications of polar change for Portuguese society. Hundreds of events were organized, with activities lead by polar scientists and by about 400 teachers and thousands of students that got deeply involved in the IPY. The main activities were: the scientists go to school initiative, a national contest with over 8,000 participants that lead to a major exhibition and to the participation of 7 students in the Students on Ice Antarctic Expedition, an educational theatre play for kids presented n tens of schools, an IPY exhibition in the major shopping centers, public talks by scientists, production of educational materials (websites, a polar portal, on-line educational games, DVDs and class-oriented material), field stages with polar scientists, and the Polar Science Weekend with an attendance of over 7,000 people.

Very Large Rain Drops from 2D Video Disdrometers and Concomitant Polarimetric Radar Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thurai, Merhala; Gatlin, Patrick; Bringi, V. N.; Carey, Lawrence

2014-01-01

Drop size distribution (DSD) measurements using ground-based disdrometers (point measurements) have often been used to derive equations to relate radar observations to the integral rainfall parameters (Atlas et al. 1999, Bringi et al., 2003, Kozu et al., 2006, Tokay and Short, 1996, Ajayi and Owolabi, 1987, Battan, 1973). Disdrometers such as JWD, MRR and several others have a major limitation in measuring drops with equi-volume diameters (D(sub eq)) larger than 5 mm because they often rely on the velocity-diameter relationship which plateaus beyond this diameter range (Atlas et al., 1973, Gunn & Kinzer, 1949). Other disdrometers such as Parsivel also lack accuracy beyond this diameter range. The 2D video disdrometer (2DVD: Schönhuber et al., 2008) on the other hand gives drop-shape contours and velocities for each individual drop/hydrometeor falling through its sensor area; this provides a unique opportunity to study the role of very-large drops on radar measurements in particular those with polarimetric radar capability where DSDs with a significant component of very large drops may require special consideration given that the differential reflectivity and other polarimetric radar parameters including attenuation-correction methods will be sensitive to the concentrations of these large drops. A recent study on the occurrence of large drops by Gatlin et al. (2014) has compiled a large and diverse set of measurements made with the 2D video disdrometers from many locations around the globe. Some of the largest drops found in this study were 9 mm D(sub eq) and larger, and in this paper, we report on three such events, with maximum D(sub eq's) of 9.0, 9.1 and 9.7 mm, which occurred in Colorado, Northern Alabama, and Oklahoma, respectively. Detailed examination of the 2DVD data - in terms of shapes and fall velocities - has confirmed that these are fully-melted hydrometeors, although for the last case in Oklahoma, a bigger and non-fully-melted hydrometeor was also observed. All three events were also captured by polarimetric radars, namely the S-band CHILL radar operated by Colorado State University (Brunkow et al., 2000), the C-band ARMOR radar (Petersen et al., 2007) operated by University of Alabama in Huntsville, and NEXRADKVNX, operated by the US National Weather Service, respectively. For the last event, several other radar observations were also made, including two X-band radars operated by the US Dept. of Energy. Analyses of 2DVD data in conjunction with the corresponding radar observations are presented, along with some discussion on sampling issues related to the measurements of such large rain drops. The latter is addressed using maximum diameter D(sub max) measurements from 1-minute DSDs using two collocated 2DVDs for 37 events in Huntsville.

Digital image archiving: challenges and choices.

PubMed

Dumery, Barbara

2002-01-01

In the last five years, imaging exam volume has grown rapidly. In addition to increased image acquisition, there is more patient information per study. RIS-PACS integration and information-rich DICOM headers now provide us with more patient information relative to each study. The volume of archived digital images is increasing and will continue to rise at a steeper incline than film-based storage of the past. Many filmless facilities have been caught off guard by this increase, which has been stimulated by many factors. The most significant factor is investment in new digital and DICOM-compliant modalities. A huge volume driver is the increase in images per study from multi-slice technology. Storage requirements also are affected by disaster recovery initiatives and state retention mandates. This burgeoning rate of imaging data volume presents many challenges: cost of ownership, data accessibility, storage media obsolescence, database considerations, physical limitations, reliability and redundancy. There are two basic approaches to archiving--single tier and multi-tier. Each has benefits. With a single-tier approach, all the data is stored on a single media that can be accessed very quickly. A redundant copy of the data is then stored onto another less expensive media. This is usually a removable media. In this approach, the on-line storage is increased incrementally as volume grows. In a multi-tier approach, storage levels are set up based on access speed and cost. In other words, all images are stored at the deepest archiving level, which is also the least expensive. Images are stored on or moved back to the intermediate and on-line levels if they will need to be accessed more quickly. It can be difficult to decide what the best approach is for your organization. The options include RAIDs (redundant array of independent disks), direct attached RAID storage (DAS), network storage using RAIDs (NAS and SAN), removable media such as different types of tape, compact disks (CDs and DVDs) and magneto-optical disks (MODs). As you evaluate the various options for storage, it is important to consider both performance and cost. For most imaging enterprises, a single-tier archiving approach is the best solution. With the cost of hard drives declining, NAS is a very feasible solution today. It is highly reliable, offers immediate access to all exams, and easily scales as imaging volume grows. Best of all, media obsolescence challenges need not be of concern. For back-up storage, removable media can be implemented, with a smaller investment needed as it will only be used for a redundant copy of the data. There is no need to keep it online and available. If further system redundancy is desired, multiple servers should be considered. The multi-tier approach still has its merits for smaller enterprises, but with a detailed long-term cost of ownership analysis, NAS will probably still come out on top as the solution of choice for many imaging facilities.

A preliminary study on surface ground deformation near shallow foundation induced by strike-slip faulting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Pei-Syuan; Lin, Ming-Lang

2016-04-01

According to investigation of recent earthquakes, ground deformation and surface rupture are used to map the influenced range of the active fault. The zones of horizontal and vertical surface displacements and different features of surface rupture are investigated in the field, for example, the Greendale Fault 2010, MW 7.1 Canterbury earthquake. The buildings near the fault rotated and displaced vertically and horizontally due to the ground deformation. Besides, the propagation of fault trace detoured them because of the higher rigidity. Consequently, it's necessary to explore the ground deformation and mechanism of the foundation induced by strike-slip faulting for the safety issue. Based on previous study from scaled analogue model of strike-slip faulting, the ground deformation is controlled by material properties, depth of soil, and boundary condition. On the condition controlled, the model shows the features of ground deformation in the field. This study presents results from shear box experiment on small-scale soft clay models subjected to strike-slip faulting and placed shallow foundations on it in a 1-g environment. The quantifiable data including sequence of surface rupture, topography and the position of foundation are recorded with increasing faulting. From the result of the experiment, first en echelon R shears appeared. The R shears rotated to a more parallel angle to the trace and cracks pulled apart along them with increasing displacements. Then the P shears crossed the basement fault in the opposite direction appears and linked R shears. Lastly the central shear was Y shears. On the other hand, the development of wider zones of rupture, higher rising surface and larger the crack area on surface developed, with deeper depth of soil. With the depth of 1 cm and half-box displacement 1.2 cm, en echelon R shears appeared and the surface above the fault trace elevated to 1.15 mm (Dv), causing a 1.16 cm-wide zone of ground-surface rupture and deformation (W). Compared to the investigation in field, rupture of the Greendale Fault, produced a 30-km-long, 300-m-wide zone of ground-surface rupture and deformation (W), involving 5.29 m maximum horizontal , 1.45 m maximum vertical (Dv, max) and 2.59 m average net displacement. Meanwhile, en echelon R shears and cracks were recorded in some region. Besides, the 400-m depth of deep sedimentation (Ds) in the Christchurch City area. Greendale Fault showed close ratio Dv/Ds and W/Ds compared to the experimental case (in the same order), which indicated the wide zone of ground-surface rupture and deformation may be normalized with the vertical displacement (Dv). The foundation located above the basement-fault trace had obvious horizontal displacements and counter-clockwise rotation with increasing displacement. Horizontal displacements and rotation decreased with deeper depth of soil. The deeper embedded foundation caused more rotation. Besides, the soil near the foundation is confined and pressed when it rotates. Key words: strike-slip fault, shallow foundation, ground deformation

EDITORIAL: Semiconductor lasers: the first fifty years Semiconductor lasers: the first fifty years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvez, S.; Adams, M. J.

2012-09-01

Anniversaries call for celebrations. Since it is now fifty years since the first semiconductor lasers were reported, it is highly appropriate to celebrate this anniversary with a Special Issue dedicated to the topic. The semiconductor laser now has a major effect on our daily lives since it has been a key enabler in the development of optical fibre communications (and hence the internet and e-mail), optical storage (CDs, DVDs, etc) and barcode scanners. In the early 1960s it was impossible for most people (with the exception of very few visionaries) to foresee any of these future developments, and the first applications identified were for military purposes (range-finders, target markers, etc). Of course, many of the subsequent laser applications were made possible by developments in semiconductor materials, in the associated growth and fabrication technology, and in the increased understanding of the underlying fundamental physics. These developments continue today, so that the subject of semiconductor lasers, although mature, is in good health and continues to grow. Hence, we can be confident that the pervasive influence of semiconductor lasers will continue to develop as optoelectronics technology makes further advances into other sectors such as healthcare, security and a whole host of applications based on the global imperatives to reduce energy consumption, minimise environmental impact and conserve resources. The papers in this Special Issue are intended to tell some of the story of the last fifty years of laser development as well as to provide evidence of the current state of semiconductor laser research. Hence, there are a number of papers where the early developments are recalled by authors who played prominent parts in the story, followed by a selection of papers from authors who are active in today's exciting research. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the semiconductor laser was celebrated by the publication of a number of papers dealing with the early achievements in the June 1987 Special Issue of IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics. The Millennium Issue of IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics presented a further set of articles on historical aspects of the subject as well as a 'snapshot' of current research in June 2000. It is not the intention here to duplicate any of this historical material that is already available, but rather to complement it with personal recollections from researchers who were involved in laser development in the USA, France, Russia and the UK. Hence, in addition to fascinating accounts of the discovery of the theoretical condition for stimulated emission from semiconductors and of the pioneering work at IBM, there are two complementary views of the laser research at the Lebedev Institute, and personal insights into the developments at STL and at Bell Laboratories. These are followed by an account of the scientific and technological connections between the early pioneering breakthroughs and the commercialisation of semiconductor laser products. Turning to the papers from today's researchers, there is coverage of many of the current 'hot' topics including quantum cascade lasers, mid-infrared lasers, high-power lasers, the exciting developments in understanding and exploiting the nonlinear dynamics of lasers, and photonic integrated circuits with extremely high communication data capacity, as well as reports of recent progress on laser materials such as dilute nitrides and bismides, photonic crystals, quantum dots and organic semiconductors. Thanks are due to Jarlath McKenna for sterling support from IOP Publishing and to Peter Blood for instigating this Special Issue and inviting us to serve as Guest Editors.

ESO's Hidden Treasures Brought to Light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2011-01-01

ESO's Hidden Treasures 2010 astrophotography competition attracted nearly 100 entries, and ESO is delighted to announce the winners. Hidden Treasures gave amateur astronomers the opportunity to search ESO's vast archives of astronomical data for a well-hidden cosmic gem. Astronomy enthusiast Igor Chekalin from Russia won the first prize in this difficult but rewarding challenge - the trip of a lifetime to ESO's Very Large Telescope at Paranal, Chile. The pictures of the Universe that can be seen in ESO's releases are impressive. However, many hours of skilful work are required to assemble the raw greyscale data captured by the telescopes into these colourful images, correcting them for distortions and unwanted signatures of the instrument, and enhancing them so as to bring out the details contained in the astronomical data. ESO has a team of professional image processors, but for the ESO's Hidden Treasures 2010 competition, the experts decided to give astronomy and photography enthusiasts the opportunity to show the world what they could do with the mammoth amount of data contained in ESO's archives. The enthusiasts who responded to the call submitted nearly 100 entries in total - far exceeding initial expectations, given the difficult nature of the challenge. "We were completely taken aback both by the quantity and the quality of the images that were submitted. This was not a challenge for the faint-hearted, requiring both an advanced knowledge of data processing and an artistic eye. We are thrilled to have discovered so many talented people," said Lars Lindberg Christensen, Head of ESO's education and Public Outreach Department. Digging through many terabytes of professional astronomical data, the entrants had to identify a series of greyscale images of a celestial object that would reveal the hidden beauty of our Universe. The chance of a great reward for the lucky winner was enough to spur on the competitors; the first prize being a trip to ESO's Very Large Telescope in Paranal, Chile, with guided tours and the opportunity to participate in a night's observations. Runner-up prizes included an iPod, books and DVDs. Furthermore, the highest ranked images will be released for the world to see on www.eso.org as Photo Releases or Pictures of the Week, co-crediting the winners. The jury evaluated the entries based on the quality of the data processing, the originality of the image and the overall aesthetic feel. As several of the highest ranked images were submitted by the same people, the jury decided to make awards to the ten most talented participants, so as to give more people the opportunity to win a prize and reward their hard work and talent. The ten winners of the competition are: * First prize, a trip to Paranal + goodies: Igor Chekalin (Russia). * Second prize, an iPod Touch + goodies: Sergey Stepanenko (Ukraine). * Third Prize, VLT laser cube model + goodies: Andy Strappazzon (Belgium). * Fourth to tenth prizes, Eyes on the Skies Book + DVD + goodies: Joseph (Joe) DePasquale (USA), Manuel (Manu) Mejias (Argentina), Alberto Milani (Italy), Joshua (Josh) Barrington (USA), Oleg Maliy (Ukraine), Adam Kiil (United Kingdom), Javier Fuentes (Chile). The ten winners submitted the twenty highest ranked images: 1. M78 by Igor Chekalin. 2. NGC3169 & NGC3166 and SN 2003cg by Igor Chekalin. 3. NGC6729 by Sergey Stepanenko. 4. The Moon by Andy Strappazzon. 5. NGC 3621 by Joseph (Joe) DePasquale. 6. NGC 371 by Manuel (Manu) Mejias. 7. Dust of Orion Nebula (ESO 2.2m telescope) by Igor Chekalin. 8. NGC1850 EMMI by Sergey Stepanenko. 9. Abell 1060 by Manuel (Manu) Mejias. 10. Celestial Prominences NGC3582 by Joseph DePasquale. 11. Globular Cluster NGC288 by Alberto Milani. 12. Antennae Galaxies by Alberto Milani. 13. Sakurai's Object by Joshua (Josh) Barrington. 14. NGC 1929, N44 Superbubble by Manuel (Manu) Mejias. 15. NGC 3521 by Oleg Maliy. 16. NGC 6744 by Andy Strappazzon. 17. NGC 2217 by Oleg Maliy. 18. VIMOS.2008-01-31T07_16_47j by Adam Kiil. 19. NGC 2467 - number 2 by Josh Barrington. 20. Haffner 18 and 19 by Javier Fuentes. Igor Chekalin, winner of the trip to Paranal, says: "It was a great experience and pleasure to work with such amazing data. As an amateur astrophotographer, this was the most difficult processing and post-processing job I have ever done. My participation in the Hidden Treasures competition gave me a range of challenges, from installing new software to studying techniques and even operating systems that I did not know before." The success of the ESO's Hidden Treasures 2010 competition and the enthusiasm of the skilled participants made it easy to decide to run a follow-up to the competition. Stay tuned and check www.eso.org for news about ESO's Hidden Treasures 2011. More information ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

EVALSO: A New High-speed Data Link to Chilean Observatories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-11-01

Stretching 100 kilometres through Chile's harsh Atacama Desert, a newly inaugurated data cable is creating new opportunities at ESO's Paranal Observatory and the Observatorio Cerro Armazones. Connecting these facilities to the main Latin American scientific data backbone completes the last gap in the high-speed link between the observatories and Europe. This new cable is part of the EVALSO (Enabling Virtual Access to Latin American Southern Observatories) project [1], a European Commission FP7 [2] co-funded programme co-ordinated by the University of Trieste that includes ESO, Observatorio Cerro Armazones (OCA, part of Ruhr-Universität Bochum), the Chilean academic network REUNA and other organisations. As well as the cable itself, the EVALSO project involves buying capacity on existing infrastructure to complete a high-bandwidth connection from the Paranal area to ESO's headquarters near Munich, Germany. Project co-ordinator Fernando Liello said: "This project has been an excellent collaboration between the consortium members. As well as giving a fast connection to the two observatories, it brings wider benefits to the academic communities both in Europe and Latin America." The sites of Paranal and Armazones are ideal for astronomical observation due to their high altitude, clear skies and remoteness from light pollution. But their location means they are far from any pre-existing communications infrastructure, which until now has left them dependent on a microwave link to send scientific data back to a base station near Antofagasta. Telescopes at ESO's Paranal observatory produce well over 100 gigabytes of data per night, equivalent to more than 20 DVDs, even after compressing the files. While the existing link is sufficient to carry the data from the current generation of instruments at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), it does not have the bandwidth to handle data from the VISTA telescope (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, see eso0949), or for the new generation of VLT instruments coming online in the next few years. This means that for much of the data coming from Paranal, the only practical way to send it to ESO Headquarters has been to save it onto hard drives and send these by airmail. This can mean a wait of days or even weeks before observations from VISTA are ready for analysis. Even with this careful rationing of the connection and sophisticated data management to use the connection as efficiently as possible, the link can get saturated at peak times. While this causes no major problems at present, it indicates that the link is reaching capacity. ESO Director General Tim de Zeeuw said: "ESO's observatory at Paranal is growing, with new telescopes and instruments coming online. Our world-class scientific observatories need state-of-the-art infrastructure." In the place of the existing connection, which has a limit of 16 megabit/s (similar to home ADSL broadband), EVALSO will provide a much faster 10 gigabit/s link - a speed fast enough to transfer an entire DVD movie in a matter of seconds [3]. Mario Campolargo, Director, Emerging Technologies and Infrastructures at the European Commission, said: "It is strategically important that the community of astronomers of Europe gets the best access possible to the ESO observatories: this is one of the reasons why the European Union supports the deployment of regional e-infrastructures for science in Latin America and interlinks them with GÉANT [4] and other EU e-infrastructures." The dramatic increase in bandwidth will allow increased use of Paranal's data from a distance, in real-time. It will allow easier monitoring of the VISTA telescope's performance, and quicker access to VLT data, increasing the responsiveness of quality control. And with the expanded bandwidth, new opportunities will open up, such as astronomers and technicians taking part in meetings via high-definition videoconferencing without having to travel to Chile. Moreover, looking forward, the new link will provide enough bandwidth to keep up with the ever-growing volumes of information from Paranal and Armazones in future years, as new and bandwidth-intensive instruments come into use. Immediate remote access to data at a distant location is not just about saving money and making the observatory's work more efficient. For unexpected and unpredictable events, such as gamma-ray bursts, there is often not enough time for astronomers to travel to observatories, and EVALSO will give experts a chance to work remotely on these events almost as if they were at the observatory. Notes [1] EVALSO is funded under the European Commission FP7 and is a partnership among Universita degli Studi di Trieste (Italy), ESO, Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Germany), Consortium GARR (Gestione Ampliamento Rete Ricerca) (Italy), Universiteit Leiden (Netherlands), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (Italy), Queen Mary, University of London (UK), Cooperacion LatinoAmericana de Redes Avanzasas (CLARA) (Uruguay), and Red Universitaria Nacional (REUNA) (Chile). [2] FP7 (the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technical Development) is the European Union's main instrument for funding research. Its aim is to make, or keep, the EU as a world leader in its priority areas in science and technology. [3] The newly laid cable has a bandwidth of 10 gigabit/s. The entire network infrastructure between Paranal to ESO HQ in Germany is theoretically capable of transferring data at a maximum of 1 gigabit/s. [4] GÉANT is a pan-European data network dedicated to the research and education community. It connects 40 million users across 40 countries. More information ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

EDITORIAL: A tribute to Zhores Ivanovitch Alferov, a pioneer who changed our way of daily life A tribute to Zhores Ivanovitch Alferov, a pioneer who changed our way of daily life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bimberg, Dieter

2011-01-01

Can you think of living without the World Wide Web, e-mail, DVDs, CD-ROMs, the bar code scanner, mobile phones or high-efficiency solar cells? I cannot. These systems are part of the backbone of our modern civilization. And they have something in common: they are all devices based on the double heterostructure. Zhores Alferov (and independently Herbert Krömer) proposed its concept and its usefulness for semiconductor lasers in 1962, two years after the first demonstration of the first (solid-state) laser. InP-based double heterostructure lasers are today, and have been for more than 20 years, the enabling light sources for optical fiber communication, sending their photonic bits around the globe at enormous and ever-increasing rates. In 2009, 61% of the 500+ billion world market for laser systems was based on semiconductor lasers. Obviously a straightforward success story? Not really at the beginning, rather the kind of survival story of somebody who was producing an enormous number of ideas and trying to make them reality; his production of ideas has not yet stopped after 60 years of professional life. Let's have a look back at how it started. Zhores Alferov was born 80 years ago on 15 March 1930 in Vitebsk in eastern Byelorussia, an area where 47 years before him the famous painter Marc Chagall had been born. His parents believed in socialism and named him after the French socialist Jean Jaurès, the author of J'accuse. The war came when he was an adolescent and his admired older and only brother was killed in 1944 at the battle of Stalingrad. Despite the turmoil of war and post-war times he finished school successfully on time, was admitted to the V I Uljanov Electrotechnical Institute in Leningrad, studied physics and graduated there in 1952. In 1953 he started work at the Physico-Technical Institute in Leningrad, founded by Abraham Ioffe, the first PhD student of Conrad Rèntgen in Munich. Ioffe had initiated systematic studies of semiconductors at this institute in the thirties, leading to many important discoveries such as the metal-semiconductor contact, work that Ioffe did together with Frenkel. Seven years later, in 1960, another completely different direction of research created excitement and interest across the world, including for Zhores Alferov. The first demonstration of laser action in ruby by Theodore Maiman, verifying Einstein's prediction of stimulated emission (1917), was followed within 18 months by the demonstration of gas lasers and semiconductor diode lasers based on GaAs homojunctions. Solid-state and gas lasers from the very beginning operated at room temperature (RT), but semiconductor lasers did not. They operated only at the temperature of liquid He, at 4 K. Gas and solid-state lasers very quickly found a wide range of applications. Not so semiconductor lasers, being judged at that time to be useless. The whole world however, recognized at once how important it would be to have RT semiconductor lasers. Teams at Bell Labs, IBM, RCA etc. entered the race, but failed for a long time. The problem—as we now know—was the p-n homojunction. In a forward-biased homojunction the charge carriers are widely spread in space at room temperature with low peak carrier density. In addition, there are enormous losses of the light emitted in the junction. At that time a new subject appeared in the life of Zhores Alferov: the heterojunctions. Heterojunctions had already appeared on the horizon in the early days of electronics, starting in 1951 with theoretical proposals for improved transistors by Shockley, Krömer and others. Single heterostructures were tried for laser action and the temperature limit was pushed up to 77 K, an enormous progression compared with 4 K, but still completely academic. In 1963, Zhores Alferov and Rudi Kazarinov in a patent application, and Herbert Krömer in a publication, proposed independently of each other to confine carriers in a double heterostructure, leading to an increase of carrier density by several orders of magnitude in the confinement layer. Alferov and Kazarinov called it the superinjection effect. But there was no practical realization. The advantages of such a structure, as pointed out a little later by Zhores Alferov in 1966, would be efficient injection and localization of charge carriers in a material having a narrower energy gap surrounded by wide-gap material, and additionally, guidance of the emitted light by index of refraction steps at the heterojunction. The proposal was a theoretical one and the first attempts at experimental realization went in an unsuccessful direction, as may happen to any of us: the combination of indirect semiconductors with direct ones to form a heterostructure. Alferov and Kazarinov's patent was then considered by some in the community as paperwork. Then suddenly, material science and device physics merged. Zhores Alferov became aware that other researchers at Ioffe had successfully grown the ternary compound AlGaAs, lattice-matched to GaAs, but with a larger band gap. He had the instinct to realize how important that progress was. Ideally perfect AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs double heterostructures were grown on his initiative by liquid-phase epitaxy, lasers were processed and were observed to operate suddenly at RT. In 1968, results on the first double heterostructure laser operating at RT were submitted to Soviet Physics-Semiconductors. That was the breakthrough which ignited an explosion of work on many different applications of semiconductor lasers, which diffused, year by year, more and more into our daily life. Often, we do not realize that the same strategic principle exists, here the double heterostructure, which makes many completely different devices and systems work. Already in 1967, Zhores Alferov had started to discuss the first applications of such structures for electronic devices. A hetero-bipolar transistor was realized in 1973, nowadays a high-power and frequency-enabling device, e.g. for satellite telephones, in some ways continuing his work for the candidate degree when he had developed power rectifiers based on Ge and Si. Then, in 1970, he presented the first solar cells with efficiency >30% based on heterojunctions. Soon the Soviet Space Administration became aware of these results, and in 1986 the Soviet space station MIR was partially powered by solar cells developed by Alferov and Andre'ev. Finally in 1992, a joint research program between the author of this Editorial and Zhores Alferov, being both guest scientists at the same time at the University of California, on semiconductor quantum dots for the active zone of (nowadays many different) optoelectronic devices was proposed and inaugurated. Quantum dot lasers today have the lowest threshold current density of any semiconductor lasers. They are far superior to quantum wells as amplifiers, and their nonlinear optical applications such as cross-gain modulation in local area networks, present the basis for novel types of solar cells, nanoflash memories, single q-bit emitters for quantum cryptography etc. The story of inventing a concept and inventing applications seems to repeat in some way. This Semiconductor Science and Technology special edition presents contributions from about 100 researchers around the globe, who use in their work concepts invented by Zhores Alferov during his long active scientific life spanning six decades. They would like to pay a tribute to him and honour him on the occasion of his 80th birthday. This very personal way of saying thank you thus adds to the many prizes he has received during the past 40 years, starting with the Ballantine Gold Medal of the Franklin Institute, via the Nobel Prize for Physics 2000 to many honorary doctorates from institutes around the world.

Happy Anniversary, VLT !

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2004-04-01

Five years at the service of Europe's astronomers VLT 5 Years One of the world's most advanced astronomical research facilities, the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Atacama desert, celebrates an important anniversary today. On April 1, 1999, and following almost one year of extensive tests and careful trimming of its numerous high-tech parts, the first 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescope, Antu (UT1), was "handed over" to the astronomers. Since that date, science operations with this marvellous research tool have been continuous and intensive. Kueyen (UT2) started normal operations exactly one year later. Yepun (UT4) was offered to the scientific community in June 2001, while Melipal (UT3) followed in August 2001 [1]. Ever since, all four VLT Unit Telescopes, with an ever-growing suite of highly specialised, extremely powerful astronomical instruments have been in full operation, 365 nights a year. And this with unequalled success, as demonstrated by a long list of important scientific results, including a substantial number of exciting discoveries that are now opening new horizons in astrophysics. Moreover, thanks to heroic and persistent efforts by the dedicated teams of ESO scientists and engineers, the "downtime" due to technical problems has been very small, about 3 per cent, a number that is unequalled among the world's large telescope facilities. In addition, the weather conditions at the Paranal site in the dry Atacama desert in Northern Chile are truly excellent - this is indeed one of the best locations for astronomical observations on the surface of the Earth - and the corresponding "weather downtime" has only been around 10 per cent. This has resulted in an unbelievably low value of total downtime, most likely a new world record for ground-based 8-10 m class telescopes. VLT strong points The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is the world's largest and most advanced optical telescope. It comprises four 8.2-m reflecting Unit Telescopes (UTs) and will in due time also include four moving 1.8-m Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs), the first one of which successfully passed its first tests in January of this year (see ESO PR 01/04). With unprecedented optical resolution and unsurpassed surface area, the VLT produces extremely sharp images and can record light from the faintest and most remote objects in the Universe. It works at the limit of modern technology, regularly allowing the scientists to peer into new and unknown territories in the immense Universe. Contrary to other large astronomical telescopes, the VLT was designed from the beginning with the use of interferometry as a major goal. For this reason, the four 8.2-m Unit Telescopes were positioned in a quasi-trapezoidal configuration. The light beams from these telescopes, at this moment two-by-two, can be combined in the VLT Interferometer (VLTI). It provides the European scientific community with a ground-based telescope array with collecting power significantly greater than any other facilities available at present or being planned, offering imaging and spectroscopy capabilities at visible and infrared wavelengths. Seven of the planned ten first-generation astronomical instruments are now in operation at the VLT. They cover all major observing modes required to tackle current "hot", front-line research topics: * the multi-mode instrument FORS1 (FOcal Reducer and Spectrograph) and its twin, FORS2, * the Infrared Spectrometer And Array Camera (ISAAC) cryogenic infrared imager and spectrometer, * the UVES (Ultra-violet and Visible Echelle Spectrograph) high-dispersion spectrograph, * the NAOS-CONICA Adaptive Optics facility producing images as sharp as if taken in space [2], * the VIsible Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) four-channel multiobject spectrograph and imager - allowing to obtain low-resolution spectra of up to 1000 galaxies at a time * the Fibre Large Array Multi-Element Spectrograph (FLAMES) that offers the unique capability to study simultaneously and at high spectral resolution 100 individual stars in nearby galaxies. The remaining instruments - the high-resolution infrared spectrograph CRIRES, the Mid Infrared Spectrometer/Imager VISIR and the integral field spectrograph SINFONI - will be installed in 2004-2005. The observational statistics prove that these instruments are extremely efficient - they have some of the highest "shutter-open times" (i.e. percentage of the maximum possible observing time during which the instruments are collecting light from the astronomical objects) ever achieved. The astronomers are well served in this respect: the ISAAC instrument, for example, continues to be in the highest demand and has now performed smoothly during more than 1000 nights and two others, UVES and FORS, are now approaching the same number. Working together with astronomers and engineers at many research institutes in the ten ESO member countries, ESO is now in the process of defining second generation instruments and feasibility studies are well under way. Among the prime projects in this direction are a cryogenic multi-object spectrometer in the near-infrared 1 to 2.4 μm range ("KMOS"), a medium-resolution wide-band (0.32 to 2.4 μm) spectrometer ("X-shooter"), as well as a wide-field 3D optical spectrometer ("3D deep-field surveyor") and a high-contrast, adaptive optics assisted, imager ("planet finder"). In addition to these highly innovative instruments for the VLT UTs, specific instruments that will work with the combined light from several of the telescopes have also been conceived. The interferometric instrument MIDI will be offered to the astronomical community from today (April 1, 2004), fulfilling the VLTI promise. Great efforts have indeed gone into making observations with this very complex science machine as user-friendly as possible. Contrary to what is normally the case in this technically demanding branch of astronomy, scientists will find interferometric work at the VLTI quite similar to that of using the many other, more conventional VLT instruments. Science with the VLT The impressive battery of top-ranking instruments, coupled with the enormous light-collecting power of the VLT, has already provided a real research bonanza with many outstanding scientific results, some of which have been true breakthroughs. They include the amazing new knowledge about the Black Hole at the Galactic Centre, the farthest galaxy known, the most metal-poor and hence, oldest stars, accurate cosmochronological dating by means of Uranium and Thorium spectral lines, high-redshift galaxy rotation curves, micro-quasars, properties of the optical counterparts of gamma-ray bursts, high-redshift supernovae, etc. [3]. All of these advances attest to the power of the VLT and its mode of operational. Not to be forgotten is also the beauty of many of the stunning images obtained with this telescope, one of which was voted amongst the 10 most inspirational astronomical images of the past century [4]. Look at the numerous and detailed ESO Press Releases for more examples of research achievements from the VLT. This trend is also apparent in the productivity of the telescopes. The number of research publications resulting from VLT work in top ranking astronomical journals is steadily increasing with a total close to 700, hereof 250 in 2003 alone. Moreover, research articles based on VLT data are in the mean quoted twice as often as the average. The very high efficiency of the VLT "science machine" now generates huge amounts of data at a very high rate. These are stored in a permanent Science Archive Facility at ESO headquarters, which is jointly operated by ESO and the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF). From here, data are distributed daily to astronomers on DVDs and over the World Wide Web. The archive facility has been conceived and developed to enable astronomers to "mine" very efficiently the enormous volumes of data that is collected from the VLT. The archive now contains more than 1 million images or spectra taken by the four UTs with a total volume of about 50 Terabytes (50,000,000,000,000 bytes) of data. This corresponds to the content of about 25 million books of 1000 pages each; they would occupy more than 1000 kilometres of bookshelves! Looking towards the future Says Catherine Cesarsky, ESO Director General since 1999: " The Paranal Observatory has already given rise to an impressive number of scientific results, many of which could not have been obtained elsewhere. Overall, the VLT has been a most remarkable success, and will contribute to science at the highest level for years to come - a fantastic achievement of which we can all be justifiably proud." The work is now underway at full power to provide second-generation instruments for the VLT, to add three more Auxiliary Telescopes to the VLTI and to complement this unique research facility with the two wide-field survey ("pathfinding") telescopes - one to work in the visible part of the spectrum (the 2.5-m VST), the other in the infrared (the 4-m VISTA) - now being constructed at Paranal. Roberto Gilmozzi, director of Paranal Observatory, looks forward: " Ever more exciting times lie ahead for Paranal with new instruments like VISIR and SINFONI and the laser guide star, all of them coming this year. Five years after the start of operations on UT1, the observatory operates its telescopes with very little time set aside for engineering (less than 10%) and very low technical down time. Combined with excellent weather and great image quality, we provide the European community with unsurpassed observing capabilities. As director of this observatory since 1999, I have been privileged to be part of this adventure." The VLT is a fine example of the vast benefits of pooling resources from several countries and it is a flagship of contemporary European research. There is little doubt that for many years to come, ESO's Paranal Observatory with its powerful and efficient facilities will continue to play a leading role in astronomical research. Information for the media Associated material can be found on the corresponding Press Events webpage.

VLT Data Flow System Begins Operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1999-06-01

Building a Terabyte Archive at the ESO Headquarters The ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) is the sum of many sophisticated parts. The site at Cerro Paranal in the dry Atacama desert in Northern Chile is one of the best locations for astronomical observations from the surface of the Earth. Each of the four 8.2-m telescopes is a technological marvel with self-adjusting optics placed in a gigantic mechanical structure of the utmost precision, continuously controlled by advanced soft- and hardware. A multitude of extremely complex instruments with sensitive detectors capture the faint light from distant objects in the Universe and record the digital data fast and efficiently as images and spectra, with a minimum of induced noise. And now the next crucial link in this chain is in place. A few nights ago, following an extended test period, the VLT Data Flow System began providing the astronomers with a steady stream of high-quality, calibrated image and spectral data, ready to be interpreted. The VLT project has entered into a new phase with a larger degree of automation. Indeed, the first 8.2-m Unit Telescope, ANTU, with the FORS1 and ISAAC instruments, has now become a true astronomy machine . A smooth flow of data through the entire system ESO PR Photo 25a/99 ESO PR Photo 25a/99 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 292 pix - 104k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 584 pix - 264k] [High-Res - JPEG: 3000 x 2189 pix - 1.5M] Caption to ESO PR Photo 25a/99 : Simplified flow diagramme for the VLT Data Flow System . It is a closed-loop software system which incorporates various subsystems that track the flow of data all the way from the submission of proposals to storage of the acquired data in the VLT Science Archive Facility. The DFS main components are: Program Handling, Observation Handling, Telescope Control System, Science Archive, Pipeline and Quality Control. Arrows indicate lines of feedback. Already from the start of this project more than ten years ago, the ESO Very Large Telescope was conceived as a complex digital facility to explore the Universe. In order for astronomers to be able to use this marvellous research tool in the most efficient manner possible, the VLT computer software and hardware systems must guarantee a smooth flow of scientific information through the entire system. This process starts when the astronomers submit well-considered proposals for observing time and it ends with large volumes of valuable astronomical data being distributed to the international astronomical community. For this, ESO has produced an integrated collection of software and hardware, known as the VLT Data Flow System (DFS) , that manages and facilitates the flow of scientific information within the VLT Observatory. Early information about this new concept was published as ESO Press Release 12/96 and extensive tests were first carried out at ESOs 3.5-m New Technology Telescope (NTT) at La Silla, cf. ESO Press Release 03/97 [1]. The VLT DFS is a complete (end-to-end) system that guarantees the highest data quality by optimization of the observing process and repeated checks that identify and eliminate any problems. It also introduces automatic calibration of the data, i.e. the removal of external effects introduced by the atmospheric conditions at the time of the observations, as well as the momentary state of the telescope and the instruments. From Proposals to Observations In order to obtain observing time with ESO telescopes, also with the VLT, astronomers must submit a detailed observing proposal to the ESO Observing Programmes Committee (OPC) . It meets twice a year and ranks the proposals according to scientific merit. More than 1000 proposals are submitted each year, mostly by astronomers from the ESO members states and Chile; the competition is fierce and only a fraction of the total demand for observing time can be fulfilled. During the submission of observing proposals, DFS software tools available over the World Wide Web enable the astronomers to simulate their proposed observations and provide accurate estimates of the amount of telescope time they will need to complete their particular scientific programme. Once the proposals have been reviewed by the OPC and telescope time is awarded by the ESO management according to the recommendation by this Committee, the successful astronomers begin to assemble detailed descriptions of their intended observations (e.g. position in the sky, time and duration of the observation, the instrument mode, etc.) in the form of computer files called Observation Blocks (OBs) . The software to make OBs is distributed by ESO and used by the astronomers at their home institutions to design their observing programs well before the observations are scheduled at the telescope. The OBs can then be directly executed by the VLT and result in an increased efficiency in the collection of raw data (images, spectra) from the science instruments on the VLT. The activation (execution) of OBs can be done by the astronomer at the telescope on a particular set of dates ( visitor mode operation) or it can be done by ESO science operations astronomers at times which are optimally suited for the particular scientific programme ( service mode operation). An enormous VLT Data Archive ESO PR Photo 25b/99 ESO PR Photo 25b/99 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 465 pix - 160k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 929 pix - 568k] [High-Res - JPEG: 3000 x 3483 pix - 5.5M] Caption to ESO PR Photo 25b/99 : The first of several DVD storage robot at the VLT Data Archive at the ESO headquarters include 1100 DVDs (with a total capacity of about 16 Terabytes) that may be rapidly accessed by the archive software system, ensuring fast availbility of the requested data. The raw data generated at the telescope are stored by an archive system that sends these data regularly back to ESO headquarters in Garching (Germany) in the form of CD and DVD ROM disks. While the well-known Compact Disks (CD ROMs) store about 600 Megabytes (600,000,000 bytes) each, the new Digital Versatile Disks (DVD ROMs) - of the same physical size - can store up 3.9 Gigabytes (3,900,000,000 bytes) each, or over 6 times more. The VLT will eventually produce more than 20 Gigabytes (20,000,000,000 bytes) of astronomical data every night, corresponding to about 10 million pages of text [2]. Some of these data also pass through "software pipelines" that automatically remove the instrumental effects on the data and deliver data products to the astronomer that can more readily be turned into scientific results. Ultimately these data are stored in a permanent Science Archive Facility at ESO headquarters which is jointly operated by ESO and the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF). From here, data are distributed to astronomers on CD ROMs and over the World Wide Web. The archive facility is being developed to enable astronomers to "mine" the large volumes of data that will be collected from the VLT in the coming years. Within the first five years of operations the VLT is expected to produce around 100 Terabytes (100,000,000,000,000 bytes) of data. It is difficult to visualize this enormous amount of information. However, it corresponds to the content of 50 million books of 1000 pages each; they would occupy some 2,500 kilometres of bookshelves! The VLT Data Flow System enters into operation ESO PR Photo 25c/99 ESO PR Photo 25c/99 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 444 pix - 164k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 887 pix - 552k] [High-Res - JPEG: 3000 x 3327 pix - 6.4M] Caption to ESO PR Photo 25c/99 : Astronomers from ESO Data Flow Operations Group at work with the VLT Archive. Science operations with the first VLT 8.2-m telescope ( ANTU ) began on April 1, 1999. Following the first call for proposals to use the VLT in October 1998, the OPC met in December and the observing schedule was finalized early 1999. The related Observation Blocks were prepared by the astronomers in February and March. Service-mode observations began in April and by late May the first scientific programs conducted by ESO science operations were completed. Raw data, instrument calibration information and the products of pipeline processing from these programs have now been assembled and packed onto CD ROMs by ESO science operations staff. On June 15 the first CD ROMs were delivered to astronomers in the ESO community. This event marks the closing of the data flow loop at the VLT for the first time and the successful culmination of more than 5 years of hard work by ESO engineers and scientists to implement a system for efficient and effective scientific data flow. This was achieved by a cross-organization science operations team involving staff in Chile and Europe. With the VLT Data Flow System, a wider research community will have access to the enormous wealth of data from the VLT. It will help astronomers to keep pace with the new technologies and extensive capabilities of the VLT and so obtain world-first scientific results and new insights into the universe. Notes [1] A more technical description of the VLT Data Flow System is available in Chapter 10 of the VLT Whitebook. [2] By definition, one "normal printed page" contains 2,000 characters. How to obtain ESO Press Information ESO Press Information is made available on the World-Wide Web (URL: http://www.eso.org../ ). ESO Press Photos may be reproduced, if credit is given to the European Southern Observatory.

hwhap_Ep26_Can You Hear Me Now

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-01-05

Production Transcript for Ep26_Can You Hear Me Now.mp3 [00:00:00] >> Houston, We Have a Podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center, Episode 26, Can You Hear Me Now? I'm Gary Jordan and I'll be your host for the very first episode in 2018! Happy New Year! So on this podcast, this is where we bring in the experts, NASA scientists, engineers, astronauts, flight controllers, all the coolest people! We bring them right here on the show to tell you all the coolest stuff about what you want to know, about what's going on here at NASA. So, today, we're talking about space communications and communication networks with Bill Foster. He's a ground controller in mission control Houston, and we had a great discussion about how space communication works, what it'll look like in the future, and why it's so important to make missions successful. So with no further delay, let's go lightspeed and jump right ahead to our talk with Mr. Bill Foster. Enjoy! [00:00:45] [ Music & Radio Transmissions ] [00:01:09] >> Touch on this later if you want to, but one thing that I always wondered about, you know, the Apollo 13, the movie, you see them entering the blackout, and then there's this big tension because they're not talking after they're supposed to be out of the blackout. [00:01:22] >> This is after reentry, right? [00:01:24] >> Yep. Reentry, and everybody's worried and a minute goes back and, you know, the blackout is pretty predictable. You know when you're going to lose contact, you know when you should get it, so, there's no contact. Two minutes later or so, they make contact. [00:01:40] >> Yeah. But that's a tense two minutes! [00:01:42] >> So I went over -- I was at the space center Houston the other night when they premiered the mission control film. [00:01:49] >> That's right! [00:01:50] >> Which included that aspect of it, and afterwards, Krafton and Kranz and Lonny [phonetic] were all in front taking questions. Somebody asked them, why was the blackout longer than expected? And Kranz's answer was, we were so happy to hear them, we didn't really care. [Laughing] Then somebody finally answered the question. [00:02:12] >> Yeah. [00:02:13] >> For reentry over water, there was no ground station nearby, and they used what's called an ARIA, a-r-i-a aircraft. [00:02:23] >> Okay. [00:02:23] >> And what they said was, probably the, you know, the areas were always somewhat unreliable in a quarrying contact. They just may have been pointing -- looking the wrong way or they may have had an equipment issue onboard, but, you know, they came out of the blackout right when they should have, but it just took a couple of minutes for the aircraft to lock up on them. [00:02:45] >> Oh, wow! [00:02:46] >> So that was interesting. [00:02:47] >> Yeah! Well, how about that? Did -- are we recording? Yeah! [Laughter] We got it! Awesome! Well, that's great! Okay, so for those, yeah, we are -- I have Bill Foster here with me. He is a ground controller in mission control, and he did -- he's ground control -- at the ground control console in the mission control center in Houston for the International Space Station. I got to ask him, to start off, how's Major Tom? [00:03:13] >> We're still looking for him. [00:03:14] >> Oh, okay. [00:03:14] >> And we had a big setback early last year, we think we may have lost all hope of finding him when David Bowie passed away. [00:03:22] >> [Laughing] Yeah. Oh, that's an oldie, but I had -- I mean, how often can you do that, right? [00:03:27] >> I bring that up frequently when I'm talking to people, and that's one of the first things, we're still looking for Major Tom. It's not quite as good as it used to be. [00:03:37] >> [Laughing] I don't know, I think it's pretty good. I was dying to say that for -- for this podcast. But, so today we're going to be talking about space communication, how that works. You know, when you think about mission control Houston, you know, the center of talking with people in space and other centers, really, how does that work? You know, that's -- that's really the main question, and the thing I really want to answer. So, first of all, if you had to describe a ground controller in one or two sentences, what does a ground controller do? [00:04:06] >> TDRSto toilets. [Laughter] Three simple words. [00:04:10] >> Yeah! TDRS to toilets, okay. [00:04:12] >> Ground control is responsible for making sure our communications with the space station and any other human spacecraft is maintained, and that's the [inaudible] part of it, tracking and data relay satellite. That's the geosynchronous communication satellites we use to -- to talk to spacecraft today. And the toilet reference is just we also are responsible for anything to do with the mission control center facility itself. [00:04:37] >> Oh, I see. [00:04:38] >> I have grabbed a mop and headed into the ladies room one time many years ago. [00:04:42] >> Really? [00:04:43] >> Yeah, so. [00:04:43] >> Wow, okay, so that's -- I like that! So your control of the satellites, the TDRS satellites, and we'll talk about those later, but those -- those are the satellites that are way out in space, right? 23-ish... [00:04:52] >> 22,300 miles up. [00:04:54] >> That's it. Yeah, okay, all the way out there, down to the toilets that are right next to you in mission control? Wow. [00:05:01] >> We had a, coincidentally, had a power hit that affected pretty much all of JSC today. [00:05:05] >> Yeah, we just had it here too! [00:05:07] >> Yeah, so that was a big thing in the control center this morning, you know? Fortunately, our -- our backup battery systems and our diesel generators out back all kicked in and there was virtually no disruption to operations in the control center. So the ISS mission, they lost air conditioning in their room for about half an hour, you know, that wasn't enough time for it to heat up appreciably, but, beyond that, there were no notable impact. Some of the simulations, like the one that I was on, and the ISS simulation, they were affected, because the simulator building does not have the backup power. So, yeah, that took about an hour, hour and a half hit to the simulations, but the MCC stayed up. [00:05:51] >> Alright, all part of your day-to-day jobs, right? Is maintaining the power. So you do the -- are you in charge of the backup power too? [00:05:58] >> We -- we have to be aware of it. The Center of Operations Director here at JSC provides that power to us. They -- they maintain and -- and operate all of the systems, the diesel generators, the -- the large banks of batteries that are always online, but if we have a power issue, like we did today, then the GC is the first person that the flight director goes to to find out what's happening, and we'd have to make sure that our backroom support personnel are working with the center ops personnel to understand what happened, and to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure it's no impact, or minimal impact, operations. [00:06:38] >> Nice. Okay, well, okay, so, another, you know, a big thing that we really want to talk about today is -- is your responsibility, as ground controller, is the communication networks that gets us, you know, you in mission control, and -- and everyone there, especially CAPCOM oht, talking with the folks in space. That's really the thing. So, how is that set up? How do you go from the headset down in mission control to, you know, whatever the, I forget what the device is called, but where the astronauts talk into? [00:07:05] >> Well, it's -- it's a complicated system, but, as you said... [00:07:09] >> It's a loaded question, I guess. [00:07:10] >> Everyone in the control center has a headset all, you know, our biggest tool is communications, whether it's looking at data coming down to us, being able to send commands up, talking to the crew, or talking to each other. So we have our voice system that we call, DVICE, Digital Voice Interface Communications Equipment, say that a bunch of times. [00:07:30] >> Oh, yeah. Yeah, is it -- you pronounce it device or is it d-vice? You just do device? [00:07:35] >> I do device, but some people say, d-vice. [00:07:37] >> Okay. [00:07:37] >> But it's just, d-v-i-c-e. [00:07:39] >> Oh, okay, so, I boxed out the E, there it is. [00:07:42] >> Sort of stutter into it. So DVICE is a digital voice communication system. So when you put on your headset and you plug it into the console, the jacket that connects it to DVICE, and then you log into your DVICE, that's establishing a connection into a computer in another part of the building, and once you pull up a given voice conference, or we call them loops to talk on, when you talk, the DVICE system turns that into -- to bits, 1's and 0's, sends it over a fiber optic cable down to the computer system in the bottom. Sends it back out to anybody else that's listening on that loop, turns it back into audio. When CAPCOM talks on it, on the -- the space-to-ground loops, it goes down to DVICE, gets turned into audio, gets sent over to what we call air-to-ground voice equipment, or AGVE, that equipment takes it and modulates it, adds it to the command link that we have going up to the space station. [00:08:46] So it produces a combined 32 kilobit link that goes up to the station that has two voice channels, and, I'm sorry, 72 kilobit link, has two 32 kilobit voice channels and a 6 kilobit command channel in it. And onboard the station, the voice is pulled out, turned back into audio that the crew can hear, when they respond, the reverse process happens. It gets digitized, sent down on the link, sent over to AGVE, turned back into a voice signal, goes into DVICE where it's digitized again. Goes out on the fiber optic cables back up to the CAPCOM or anybody else that's listening to the space-to-ground and turned back into audible voice that you can hear. [00:09:30] >> Oh, wow. [00:09:30] >> So whether you're talking to the crew or I'm talking to someone at White Sands, New Mexico, that's the ground station for our TDRS satellites, or anywhere else in the country, or talking to our counterparts in Japan or Germany, our -- our Marshall Space Flight Center, that same process is happening, converting it into digital signals, sending it through land-based communications lines to other control centers where their voice system converts it back into something that's audible for the controllers on that end of the loop. [00:10:01] >> Wow! Okay, so, I'm imagining when it gets through the fiber optic cable to the part where it actually sends it to space, right, so you get -- you get to that, is that -- is that a dish? I'm imagining a dish. [00:10:12] >> At a certain point, it goes through a couple of dishes. [00:10:15] >> Oh, okay. [00:10:16] >> So -- so from the MCC, it goes out on just commercial T1 lines, basically, just communication lines. It goes to White Sands, New Mexico, it goes through a lot of processing equipment there, and then it goes into this large dish that's communicating with the TDRS satellite. So there -- there's a composite K-band signal, and K-band is a fairly large bandwidth signal that we send up to the -- the satellite. Now the TDRS uplink to the TDRS satellite is much larger because it combines not just ISS for mission control, but potentially other spacecraft users. [00:10:57] >> Hmm, so you share that -- those satellites? [00:10:59] >> Yeah, so that one dish going up to the satellite is going to a TDRS satellite that has two single access dishes, and each of those dishes can be pointing at a different spacecraft. It also has an array of what they call multiaccess dishes that could be going to up to six other additional satellites. So that uplink from the ground could be supporting up to 6 or 7, maybe even 8 different spacecraft. [00:11:26] >> Wow. [00:11:27] >> From the TDRS spacecraft, we always use, for -- for ISS or any human spacecraft, we use a single access dish. So we're the only customer on that particular dish on the TDRS satellite that's pointing at our spacecraft, ISS this case, and it's sending -- it takes that big KU output going up to it, and breaks out just mission control's communications, which contains the command and voice and video signals, because we're going to also send video or other information up to the space station. And sends it out on either S band or K band links to the spacecraft. [00:12:09] >> Wow. [00:12:10] >> So the S band link has just the commands and voice part of it. The K band link has two voice channels, typically does not have command data, although it could under certain circumstances, but it also has file uplinks, video uplinks, we can send video programming up to the crew. Now, the crew was there for six months at a time. [00:12:31] >> Right. [00:12:32] >> They get off work at the end of the day, they can't close the door, go get in their car and drive home. [00:12:36] >> Right. [00:12:37] >> But just like anybody else, it's nice to relax after work. So we have the ability to send up sports programming, news programming, depending on the crew, some of them just want to see video coming up from the control center, see the people that are supporting them. [00:12:52] >> Oh, cool! [00:12:52] >> So we had the ability to send programming up to them. They also had a lot of pre-recorded material onboard, DVDs, Blu-Rays, whatever, they can pick a lot of what they want ahead of time, to take up with them. [00:13:06] >> Very cool! So how -- I'm guessing this whole thing, right, of sending information on the S bands and K bands, all the way to the...is that instantaneous? All of that happening, like, as fast as I can snap my finger, or is it happening [inaudible]? [00:13:19] >> It's happening at the speed of light. [00:13:20] >> Oh, okay. [00:13:21] >> But consider light travels 186,000 miles per second, when you're going from here to White Sands, that's not that far compared to the speed of light, but now you go from White Sands 22,300 miles up into space, now you're getting a little bit of distance there. And then 22,300 miles, maybe 100 miles, back down to the orbiting spacecraft, but, of course, they're not necessarily directly under TDRS, so, you know, it could be a lot further than that. [00:13:51] >> Right. [00:13:52] >> So -- so just consider, it's about a 45,000 mile round trip to get there. Well, now you're talking about a significant fraction of the speed of light, up to a fourth, maybe even a little bit more than a fourth of that, so you are starting to talk about [pause] in the quarter to half a second delay, particularly if it's -- it's roundtrip, we talk to them, and they respond. Well, now you're going 90,000 miles roundtrip, plus the time it takes for the crew to hear what you're saying and respond to it. So, if you're talking to the crew from the ground, I've only done this once, and I've seen other people that don't do it often do the same thing, you talk. They don't respond in what your mind assumes as a normal response time. So you think they didn't hear you, and you start talking again, and about that time, their response is coming in. So it's -- it's real easy to talk over each other. So the -- the experience, CAPCOM, knows, say what you're going to say, wait, the response will be coming, and... [00:14:56] >> Oh, wow. [00:14:57] >> ...continue that way. [00:14:59] >> That's awesome! I didn't know. I mean, that -- I would have -- I would have thought it was instantaneous, but when you talk about, you know, the space station is 250 miles above the earth, that's not that far compared to 23-ish,000 miles for the -- for the satellites to go up and down. So, some recent news, is very soon, I forget how many days, well, at least by the time this comes out, it probably will have already happened, but at the time of this recording, April 13th, it hasn't happened yet, an ultra-high definition video.... [00:15:30] >> April 26th, I think. [00:15:31] >> April 26th, yeah. [00:15:32] >> We saw some words on that today, coming up, making sure our ground controllers that will be on console are ready to support that, to go ahead. [00:15:38] >> Yeah, so does that -- does that use the same network? [00:15:40] >> Yes. [00:15:41] >> Oh, and it can support ultra high definition? [00:15:43] >> Yeah, right -- right now, the -- the Space Station can support up to a 25-megabit uplink to the station using K band. So that's a pretty big pipe. But it can support up to 300 megabits downlink. [00:15:58] >> Oh! [00:15:58] >> You know, so that 4K ultra video, high-definition video, is going to come through that 300 megabit link down, that same link also supports 6 standard definition video channels down, to normal high-definition channels down, plus a lot of telemetry data, all the voice that comes down, so it -- you know, we're still not using all of it. [00:16:24] >> Yeah, wow! [00:16:25] >> However, the purpose of the Space Station is science, and science, sending a lot of the science data down does take a lot of bandwidth, and there are plans in work that are going to upgrade that downlink to a 600 megabit capability. [00:16:38] >> Oh, very cool. [00:16:39] >> Yeah, so. [00:16:39] >> Are you talking about videos for science too? Or -- or mainly, I guess everything, right? [00:16:44] >> Everything. [00:16:44] >> Yeah, like all data and video and audio, everything, so. [00:16:49] >> Everything in that -- that big pipe coming down. [00:16:52] >> That's -- it's got to be a big pipe to support all that stuff. [00:16:55] >> Yes, sir. [00:16:56] >> So let's go -- let's go back 23,000-ish miles above the earth to the TDRS satellites. So, you know, we keep -- we keep saying, TDRS , TDRS , TDRS , but, you know, what is that? What is that network? [00:17:07] >> Yeah, the TDRS network was established back in the early part of the shuttle program. You know, prior to that, and I guess you can take a step back to fully understand it, you know, look back at where we were with Mercury. When the Mercury program came, there was a need to get data from a spacecraft and to communicate to the spacecraft, but nothing existed. And NASA established a manned spaceflight network putting ground stations around the world, they looked at the -- the orbital track that a spacecraft was going to go on its first few orbits, launching due east from Kennedy Space Center, or, at that time, Cape Canaveral. And they placed ground stations to cover a lot of that area, in Africa and Australia, Bermuda, across the United States. So you had ground stations in Corpus Christi, for instance, in California, so when you launched, the spacecraft would go over those ground stations, and -- and if it was a straight overhead pass, it could last as long as eight minutes. [00:18:21] And during that time, you could communicate with it, but for Mercury, they really didn't have a good way to get the data back to the control center at Cape Canaveral. So they... [00:18:29] >> Oh, so this is going to the ground stations, right, not to the...? [00:18:32] >> Right, so they sent people out there and they had teletype communications between the ground stations and the mercury control center, where information could be passed back and forth to the people on the ground or the people back there. Well, they knew, as we were moving into Gemini and beyond, that that wasn't going to work. [00:18:49] >> Right. [00:18:50] >> Mission control in Houston was designed to have an integrated communications network, which was -- became known as the NASA communications network, or NASSCOM, that would connect all of this together, but you still had the limit that the spacecraft had to be over a ground station. And because of the way they were placed, for 2 or 3 orbits, you could have maybe not quite half of the orbit covered by ground stations, maybe less, but you'd have a lot of that where you can communicate with it. And that's how we did Apollo. Now for Apollo, they also used several tracking ships and aircraft to cover areas where there were no ground stations, but they knew there was going to be critical events happening. And those were all tied together, and all the data did go back to mission control in Houston. So we didn't have to send personnel out to the ground stations for Gemini, Apollo, or beyond, all of that came into the control center. [00:19:48] >> So there were no satellites established at this point, right? All -- all the information from the moon was going to all these different points on the earth? [00:19:54] >> That's correct. When we landed on the moon, when the first steps on the moon, I believe that was coming to us through Australia, through the Canberra, or -- oh, which station? It wasn't Canberra, but one of the stations in Australia. [00:20:07] >> Wow! [00:20:09] >> And all being relayed back to us. So, in fact, there was a -- a big controversy, not sure it's ever been completely settled about what Neil Armstrong actually said when he landed -- when he took his first step on the moon, was that, one small step for man or one small step for a man. And he claims he said a man, but you don't hear it, there's a lot of effort, including someone that had tapes from the Australian ground station in his attic [laughing], which probably about 10, 15 years ago were -- were discovered and sent back and I don't think that's still solved the mystery. The assumption was that it -- it came down clearly to Australia, but it was distorted in the transmission back to the control center. And I don't think we've ever really resolved that. So, officially, it's one small step for man. [00:21:02] >> Right. Oh, wow! How about that? Just a little bit of a -- little bit of a gap there. I remember seeing that, just because I was trying to come up with a name for this podcast, and I was like -- I was looking through like historical quotes and stuff, and I was like, I wonder if I can take like a, you know, one small step for man, or something like that? And I found, like, a little parentheses over a, because I guess there was this controversy around it. [00:21:24] >> And, again, I don't know that it was ever resolved. [00:21:26] >> Wow! [00:21:27] >> But we still, again, we still had these gaps in between ground stations that was a concern. And -- and moving into shuttle, which was going to be a -- a -- it never panned out to be what it was going to be, but a -- a reusable spacecraft that could be launched many times in the same year, you know, 30, 40, 50 flights a year, for the same orbiter. That would have been nice [laughter]. But communications was going to be even more important and -- and that's where they working to the -- the space network, the -- the -- all the ground stations were part of the ground network. There's also a deep space network, and when we went to the moon, we used the deep space network that was -- it's based out of the jet propulsion laboratory. [00:22:11] >> Okay, in California? [00:22:12] >> Right. So when you go above -- too far above low-earth orbit, then ground stations, normal ground stations, and their intent is no longer suffice, and you need the -- the very large ground stations, antennas that the deep space network provides, and instead of an antenna so much tracking a spacecraft, it goes across the horizon, the earth is tracking the spacecraft as it rotates around the world, when it gets far enough out. [00:22:43] >> Yeah. [00:22:43] >> But the antenna is still moving a little bit, but a lot slower for than something in low-earth orbit. [00:22:49] >> Were there -- were there large gaps then? If -- if there were all these [inaudible]? [00:22:52] >> For when you get far enough away, and the moon's far enough away, there are no gaps. You handover between Canberra, Australia to Goldstone to Madrid, and those are the three major, the main ground stations in the deep space network, and we will be using that again when we start flying the Orion missions. [00:23:12] >> Alright! So, yeah, it would have been -- I went out to JPL back in October, as a familiarization visit, to -- to look at the Goldstone location, to look at their operations at JPL and to start learning how the ground controllers here at Houston are going to be scheduling those assets in a similar way that we schedule the space network assets. [00:23:34] >> Oh, so the deep space network, you gotta -- you gotta share too, right? [00:23:37] >> Yeah. And the difference there, when we -- when we schedule a space network assets, which are used by a lot o of other users in low-earth orbit, we have to forecast roughly 17 days ahead of time to -- to schedule what we think we're going to need for a week's worth of -- of passes, so, tomorrow we'll be sending in a schedule request for a week that begins two weeks from Monday. [00:24:09] >> Oh, wow. [00:24:10] >> For the JPL, for the deep space network, you put those types of forecast requests in months in advance. [00:24:16] >> Oh. [00:24:17] >> And, you know, one of the things we look at, well, you know, for Orion missions, you almost certainly going to have a launch slip. So months in advance, we say, we're launching this day, we need this support based on our trajectory here, here, and here, and all of a sudden, we slip a day, and all of that's out the window. [00:24:36] >> So during an Orion mission then, so, I guess, you know, you'll be communicating with Orion, but then there's going to be periods during that mission, whatever -- whatever it may be, where you're going to have to trade off and maybe someone else is going to have to take priority for a little bit? [00:24:51] >> It's very possible. [00:24:52] >> Okay. [00:24:52] >> Yo uknow, for any mission, you've got periods that are higher priority than other periods. So you don't have to maintain constant communications with the spacecraft, and we don't with ISS. You know, we frequently have 20, 30 minute gaps, unless we need to have continuous comm. Same thing with -- with Orion. You know, when you're getting ready for a maneuver or an orbital burn or an inner-planetary burn, then you want to have communications, you want to be able to talk to the crew, you want to be able to look at the data coming from the spacecraft, particularly after the burn to make sure that it actually did what you expected it to do. So, during those periods, we will -- we will have solid communications for as long a period as we need to. But during quiescent periods, it's not as important, you know, you don't have to stay in touch the whole time, and other users, you know, are out there that, you know, you got to program Pluto, well, they want communications too. [00:25:54] >> Yeah! Yeah! Well, yeah, it makes a lot of sense. So I'm thinking, I mean, right now, I was just reading about Cassini. Cassini's going to start making passes on the inner rings and then, you know, make a controlled entry into Saturn to... [00:26:08] >> Suicide. [00:26:09] >> Yeah, suicide dive, kind of, so, you know, it doesn't affect [inaudible] or tighten or anything like that, and can cause contamination, so, you know, not to be -- not to be mean, but that's one less spacecraft we have to worry about on the deep space network [laughing]. [00:26:23] >> Well, and you're right. You know, it's really not a huge issue sharing times, again, for -- for most of the planetary spacecraft that are out there, it's not that difficult for them to plan months ahead of time. You know, they know when we're going to do this burn in a year and a half. You know, so they can plan when they need that communication. [00:26:45] >> Yeah. You guys must be really good at scheduling, if you're planning that far in advance. [00:26:51] >> Well, I got to -- got to admit, I admire the people at JPL, because the detail they go to, particularly if they're doing a -- a course correction, you know, want to sling around a planet and get a gravity assess to go somewhere else, you know, just the planning for when to make that happen is incredible, but then you also want to have that communications to verify that it's doing what you're doing. And, of course, when they do that, you know, when we're talking to the space station, we talked about the delay, it's -- it's near instantaneous, within a -- a quarter to half a second roundtrip. When you're talking something out of Pluto, it's hours. [00:27:33] >> Right. [00:27:33] >> You know, it's literally hours. It -- it was sort of funny watching some of the Mars landings, and you would see the people at JPL and their control center, and they would get data back that, you know, reentry has started, and they're up jumping and cheering, you know, and I'm thinking, we don't do that! Sit down! Behave yourselves! [Laughter] But, be it, there's nothing they can do at that point. That reentry started 20, 30 minutes ago. [00:28:01] >> Right! At that point, it's like -- it's like a replay. [00:28:04] >> Chutes are out! Yeah! Jump and down! You know, it's -- come on, you know, but, you know, for us, when the shuttle landed, chutes were out, you know, we still had work to do, and this was virtually real-time, so it's -- you know, you couldn't jump up and down and shout and whatever, but for JPL, yeah, that's okay. They're watching events that happened. You know, it may have already crashed and burned by that time, but they don't know it yet. [00:28:30] >> Yeah. [00:28:31] >> And, fortunately, in most cases, it didn't, and it lands very nicely and the rovers are wandering Mars, doing great things, years beyond what they were planned to do! So we got to admire those people out there. [00:28:42] >> Oh, yeah! Curiosity... [00:28:43] >> However, if you go to their control center, right in the center of it, they got this little glass, plexiglass plate with an emblem down there that declares they are the center of the universe. I don't know about that [laughter]. [00:28:58] >> A little egotistical, but okay. [00:29:00] >> It's a great place. [00:29:02] >> Oh, yeah. So they were using the deep space network then to watch... [00:29:04] >> Yeah, so they almost exclusively used the deep space network. [00:29:08] >> Okay, but I would say we use for the International Space Station the TDRS satellite. [00:29:13] >> Right, the space network. We -- we use the G and the ground network for space station, very rarely we use Wallops and White Sands and Armstrong, they're VHF radio capability as an emergency voice capability for the space station. We don't -- I don't think we've ever had to actually use it in an emergency situation, but we schedule passes several times a year to provide proficiency training for the ground stations, and also for the crew and operating the radios to talk to us. So, you know, we do that, but that's the only time we actually use ground station. For normal communications, it's all space network, TDRS. [00:29:58] >> So, the TDRS satellites, you said, you know, some of them are pointing towards the spacecraft and some of them are pointings out towards other things, and this is -- and this is a communication network that you have to share. But, you know, that -- that's 23,000 miles up, there's -- there's several satellites around the earth, right? [00:30:16] >> Yes. there are. [00:30:17] >> So how many are there, and how do they talk to each other? [00:30:21] >> We're [inaudible], I say our, the space network, I believe, on their 12th satellite on orbit. The first one was launched on STS6, back in the 1983 timeframe, I believe. It had problems getting up there. The -- the booster that was supposed to take into geosynchronous orbit malfunctioned. [00:30:46] >> On the satellite? Or on the...? [00:30:49] >> Yeah, for the TDRS satellite, it had an inertial upper stage booster... [00:30:54] >> Oh, okay. [00:30:54] >> That was attached to it that was going to burn, take into geosynch, then the booster would drop off. [00:30:59] >> Okay. [00:31:00] >> And the burn didn't happen correctly. It ended up in a very elliptical orbit, thousands of miles below where it should have been. [00:31:09] >> Oh, so I guess it's unreliable at that point, right? [00:31:12] >> What they had to do on that one, because each satellite has a certain amount of fuel onboard, propellant to basically keep it in its orbitor, to make slight adjustments if they need to drift it to a different part of the earth. They had to use a fair amount of that propellant to gently boost it up into the right orbit. So that -- that reduced its overall lifetime, it's no longer operational, but it did provide great support for many years. So that first one covered the Atlantic Ocean region. [00:31:46] >> Oh, okay. So, 23,000 miles up, that's -- you get that sliver, and I guess, you know, they used all the propellant to... [00:31:53] >> To get it up there, so you get almost a third of the earth. [00:31:55] >> A third of the earth, okay! That's decent. [00:31:58] >> So, and we use that beginning with STS-8, and -- which, before that point, the shuttles were using ground station just like everything else before it, every other spacecraft before that. So, you know, we had the limitations. You first orbit, you had a good amount of communications, first three orbits, and then you drifted off range of most of the ground stations. You might end up with an 8 minute pass every orbit or every 90 minutes. [00:32:25] >> Wow! [00:32:26] >> So, you know, from a control center standpoint, you know, that gives you a chance for a bit of a break, but we don't want that long of a break. We want to stay in touch with them. [00:32:35] >> That's right. 8 minutes is a long break, but, you know... [00:32:37] >> So when the first TDRS got up, we didn't cover a fair part of the orbit -- of half of the earth. Yeah, so starting somewhere with the Pacific to right before the Indian Ocean, you could cover communications. Then we later put up the next TDRS, and, unfortunately, it was destroyed in the Challenger accident. So the second TDRS never made it into space. STS-26, the return to flight, put up for the third TDRS, which became the second operational one, and that closed most of the orbit. You had a -- a -- sort of a banana-shaped sliver over the Indian Ocean that became known as the zone of exclusion. [00:33:22] >> Oh. [00:33:22] >> Where you didn't have communications. And the biggest problem there is, you've got to, you know, picture the TDRS satellites, they have to communicate through a ground station, and that ground station is in White Sands, New Mexico. So they have to be able to see White Sands. So you -- you put one satellite as far east of White Sands as you can, but still maintain good connection with the ground. You put the other one as far west as you can covering the Pacific Ocean region, but still being able to see the ground. [00:33:55] >> And then the other one on the other side? [00:33:57] >> Well, at -- at that point, that's all we had. [00:34:01] >> Oh! [00:34:01] >> But we did -- I think there was 7 TDRS that went up on shuttles before they started going through the expendables to put them up. [00:34:10] >> Oh, okay. [00:34:11] >> But, you know, we eventually got enough to have spares on orbit and solidly cover the east and west side. In the late 90's, there was a scientific satellite, it may have been TRN, but I forget specifically, they had a spacecraft emergency. And as part of the recovery of that, they really needed to have continuous coverage around the earth. So that zone of exclusion was a big hindrance to them. And they took one of the spare satellites, drifted it over the Indian Ocean, they brought up a ground station in the Canberra, Australia, one of the old deep space network stations, I think we still use it for deep space, but they put a capability there to talk to TDRS. And then sent back that -- sent that back to White Sand, so we -- we were able to close the ZOE. [00:35:03] >> Nice. That happened when? [00:35:07] >> I want to say '99, but it was the late -- it may have been, maybe it was the early 90's. Somewhere in the 1990's. So when I started as a GC, it was already there, and that was '97, so it was before '97. [00:35:22] >> Okay. [00:35:24] >> They -- yeah, we need this, and so they built a permanent ground station on Guam, which is known as the Guam Remote Ground Terminal, GRGT, and so we have that today, there's, you know, and so we have that today, you know, for space station, we have a satellite we call 275, it's -- which is the longitude that it's at. And we use it to cover the gap. For a long time, there were limitations to that, for instance, the ground link between Guam and White Sands didn't have enough bandwidth to cover video. So if we were only 275 satellite, we could cover the -- the telemetry and command and voice gap, but you couldn't get video up or down through that. Last year, I believe it was -- they upgraded the link between there and now we can have full video service, full bandwidth, so regardless of where we are in the world, we can have a full communications with the International Space Station. [00:36:28] >> Nice! [00:36:29] >> There's five satellites that we -- that the ISS uses. There's two over the eastern region, what we call TDRS East and TDRS Spare. There's two over the western region, TDRS West and a TDRS that we just refer to it by longitude, 171. [00:36:47] >> Okay. [00:36:47] >> And then we have 275 over the Indian Ocean. So we'll use three of them, you know, one east, one west, and one in the Indian Ocean to cover the entire orbit, if we need to, for -- for EVAs and spacewalks, for robotics operations where we need to have a good link to the ground. We'll declare a TDRS critical period, and for a period of several hours to maybe a day or more, we will schedule constantly during that period. If we don't have critical activities going on, then we'll schedule around important events. If there's a private conference with the crew, we want to make sure that we have good S band coverage, preferably good K band coverage if it's a private family conference where we're setting up a video teleconference capability, then we want to have that K band covered. So, the -- the ops plan control -- controllers in there that look at what's being planned, one of their backrooms generates the TDRS coverage request that says these are the times we really need to have that coverage, which is given to another position called pointing, which then uses tools that they have that -- that takes in the altitude timeline of the space station. [00:38:10] Which is important, because you need to know how the station is pointing it in a particular side to know whether it has a good -- a good view of a TDRS satellite or whether there's blockage to some of its antennas. And then they design which satellites were used at any given time, and that all goes into a forecast request that's provided to my position, the ground controllers, and then we work with the people out of White Sands to physically schedule those satellites for the time required. [00:38:40] >> I see. And so the ops planner, that's -- that's another flight controller position, right? Your ground control, ops planner, they're the ones planning out and they -- they determine those times and they send the information to you. [00:38:50] >> They take inputs from the increment lead team that says this is what the crew needs to do at any given time, and they pull all the science inputs and the crew inputs and everything into one, big package and have to come up with a plan of what coverage is needed to support that. And then it goes, like I said, to pointing, who determines what works and what doesn't work. You know, we have to be in view of the satellite, but we also have to have good antenna coverage for S band, S band is a lower data rate, and its -- doesn't require as precise pointing. [00:39:29] >> Okay. [00:39:29] >> So, the coverage for S band is a lot better, generally. K band is a very much higher rate signal that has a dish antenna on the space station that has to be precisely pointed at the dish antenna of the TDRS. And depending on the attitude of the space station, there's plenty of times where solar rays, trusses, or other structure of the space station block that. [00:39:54] >> And those are predictable, right? So even though you schedule, you prioritize the schedule for, say, a spacewalk, and you prioritize the schedule, you're still going to have little periods of -- of interruptions, and it's because of that? [00:40:06] >> Exactly. And -- and because of that, you know, you have two satellites over the east, two over the west. Sometimes you've got bad KU coverage over one of those satellites, but just because of a slight difference, maybe 3 to 4 degrees difference on orbit, but that's at 23,000 miles up, so that's quite an angular distance. You may have better coverage over the other -- from the other satellites. So pointing, they'll look at their tools and they'll say, well, normally, we would use TDRS East to cover this part of the world, but for this particular request, or requirement, TDRS Spare is going to provide better coverage. :45 Or normally we would take TDRS East until we run out of view of it, and then if we needed 275, hand up to it, or maybe that last portion of the pass is bad coverage, but 275 is good, and since we can do video through that now, then we can move on. They'll say, let's schedule this for that period of time. [00:41:05] >> Right. So there's a lot -- there's a lot going on behind the scenes that creates that clean coverage that we're just not aware of. There's handovers and all kinds... [00:41:13] >> That's all the forecast period. That's saying nothing ever changes, but it does change frequently. So in the real time period, you know, we -- once the forecast is scheduled and set, you enter the real time period about a week before you actually start using that. Which means pointing outcomes and says, well, the trajectory has changed a little bit since we generated that forecast request. Or this spacewalk has been added here, or something else, due to some reason that wasn't predicted ahead of time, and now we need different coverage. So that then comes into a -- a system where they generate a -- what we call a flight note that says, change up our coverage based on this, and the flight director will have to approve that, and then the GC, my position, will go work with White Sands and say, we -- we need to give up this time, but get this time, and White Sands may say, well, another user has that time, so what's the priority? [00:42:16] You know, can we bump the other user or, you know, is it a TDRS critical period that's driving that? In which case, we probably can bump the other use, because human spaceflight has higher priority, in general, than scientific spacecraft. [00:42:31] >> I see. [00:42:32] >> But not always. It -- there's lots... [00:42:35] >> But in -- in times of like a spacewalk or something, then I guess it would take -- it would kind of trump it? [00:42:40] >> Yes. It would -- it would trump it. Sometimes we have to get the management at Goddard involved to go arbitrate or -- or, you know, help us with our request. [00:42:51] >> Oh, you guys got to fight over the....? [00:42:52] >> There are times we do. And we -- we can never know who the other users are. You know, that's -- that's their business, not our business, they don't know who we are when we're asking for their time. So the terminology is a higher priority user needs this. [00:43:08] >> In general, who are some of the other folks that use the TDRS satellites? [00:43:11] >> Most of them are like Hubble space -- space telescope, TRM was a good example, different satellites doing earth sciences. But Department of Defense also uses them. [00:43:23] >> Oh! [00:43:24] >> And sometimes when you get a higher priority user, they really are a higher priority user, and we -- we can tell from the way things are being told to us that we don't need to go fight this battle, we're not going to win [laughter]. But if we have a spacecraft emergency, that bumps us up to the highest priority user. [00:43:43] >> Totally makes sense. So, we're running out of time just a little bit, but I do want to talk about one more thing before I let you go, and that's, I know, you know, we're talking about how the International Space Station has near instantaneous, you're saying quarter of a second-ish, roundtrip communication. I know if we go to Mars, when we go to Mars, that's going to take a long time. We're talking about way longer than just a fraction of a second. Are we -- are we training for what that's going to look like? [00:44:13] >> Yes, we are! That certainly is a consideration, we actually began several years ago with an experiment. I think it's been a while since we've done it, but we've put delay equipment into one of our space-to-ground channels up to the crew. We -- only one of them though. And it was a planned experiment with the crew where we would talk from the ground, and it would sit on the ground for 10 minutes before being sent up. [00:44:42] >> Yeah, right. [00:44:42] >> And the crew would respond, and it would sit on the ground for 10 minutes before being put into our voice system. So you'd have a 20-minute round-time delay. And -- and they would practice with simple tasks. You know, and that's depending on circumstances. You know, a 10 minute or longer one-way trip time is very possible as you head toward Mars. [00:45:04] >> Right. [00:45:05] >> The other day, when I was at that mission control film, Dr. Kraft was asked, you know, what the next step for NASA should be? And he says, I don't know why we're going to Mars? [00:45:16] >> Oh. [00:45:16] >> He said, you go to the moon and explore its resources, you're a 3 second voice time away. If you go to Mars, you're 40 minutes away. [00:45:25] >> Yeah. [00:45:25] >> And, you know, and there's a lot of other reasons on that, but -- but that's a good example. So -- so we're thinking along the lines of, well, right now, we talk to the crew, and we say, they're having a problem, and someone on the ground, well, this procedure says they should go do this, so we tell them that. Then they go do that, and then it doesn't work, and they say, well, that didn't work, what should I do next? And, well, go try this. Well, you can't do that real time when you're a 20 or 40 minute round trip voice path away. [00:45:57] >> Yeah, you have a problem, you're not getting an answer for 40 minutes. So you've got to frame your questions and your directions a lot differently. You know, we -- we want you to try this step, if that doesn't work, go to this part of the procedure, if that doesn't work, go to that part of the procedure. You've got to understand and think of what the problems could be ahead of time, and you want to package that conversation one way to include as much information and as much alternate things that they can do as possible, and they get that and they try it, and they'll have to package their response back in a similar way that says we did this and we did that and we did this, and maybe this worked, or maybe we got this indication, not that indication, you know, and so instead of a quick, 2 second voice uplink, you may have a 2 or 3 minute voice uplink to them, to give them a lot of options, they can go work, and then respond back. [00:46:58] So those types of things are part of the planning process, and -- and how do we handle this obstacle? We can't beat physics. So, how do we work with it to the best of our advantage? [00:47:10] >> Right. So the main thing really you discovered is that talking on Mars is going to be really, really annoying, so. [00:47:16] >> It will be. [00:47:17] >> [Laughing] But you're coming up with all the right techniques to make sure it's... [00:47:20] >> But we go back to the JPL session, you know, when they -- because they send back something say it worked, you can jump up and down and cheer, because, you know, you're not affecting anything real time. [00:47:31] >> Yeah. Very cool! Okay, well, I think that's -- that's about all the time we have. Bill, thank you so much for coming... [00:47:37] >> It's my pleasure. [00:47:38] >> ....and talking about space communication. Learned a lot, I'm sure there's much more to this topic. If there's anything we missed, stay tuned to after the outro music here, and we'll tell you about how to talk to us to see if there's -- if you have any suggestions for questions or topics that we can answer. So, Bill, thanks again for coming on the show, and hopefully we'll see you next time! [00:47:58] >> You bet! Y'all have a great day! [00:47:59] >> Thanks! [00:48:00] [ Music & Radio Transmissions ] Hey, thanks for sticking around! So, today we talked space communication with Bill Foster, and you can learn way more about it if you go on the internet! A great place to go for more information for pretty much everything, including learning about space communication. So I have a website here called, deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov, or you can just go and search for DSNow, that's deep space network now. It's a really cool website where, if you go, you can actually see which satellites are being used for which things in the deep space network. That was one of the main things that Bill and I talked about today. If you want to know more about the International Space Station, where we are sending a lot of our space communication now on a day-to-day basis, you can go to nasa.gov/iss, and learn everything about all the latest updates about the International Space Station. [00:49:13] We have blogs and articles and scientific updates on a day-to-day basis, so make sure you go there. We're also very active on social media for the International Space Station, on Facebook, it's -- the title of the page itself is called, The International Space Station, on Twitter, it's @space_station, and on Instagram, it's @ISS. If you go to any one of those, you can find some great information, but you can also use the hashtag, @asknasa, on any one of those platforms, and we'll take a look and you can submit an idea for a podcast topic or maybe you just have a question, and we'll try to address it later on a podcast, just make sure to mention, Houston, We Have a Podcast, in that hashtag. This podcast was recorded on April 13th, 2017. Thanks to John Stohl, Alex Perryman, and Matt McKinsey for helping with the script, and thanks again for Bill Foster for coming on the show. We'll see you next time!