eap Gene as novel target for specific identification of Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Hussain, Muzaffar; von Eiff, Christof; Sinha, Bhanu; Joost, Insa; Herrmann, Mathias; Peters, Georg; Becker, Karsten

2008-02-01

The cell surface-associated extracellular adherence protein (Eap) mediates adherence of Staphylococcus aureus to host extracellular matrix components and inhibits inflammation, wound healing, and angiogenesis. A well-characterized collection of S. aureus and non-S. aureus staphylococcal isolates (n = 813) was tested for the presence of the Eap-encoding gene (eap) by PCR to investigate the use of the eap gene as a specific diagnostic tool for identification of S. aureus. Whereas all 597 S. aureus isolates were eap positive, this gene was not detectable in 216 non-S. aureus staphylococcal isolates comprising 47 different species and subspecies of coagulase-negative staphylococci and non-S. aureus coagulase-positive or coagulase-variable staphylococci. Furthermore, non-S. aureus isolates did not express Eap homologs, as verified on the transcriptional and protein levels. Based on these data, the sensitivity and specificity of the newly developed PCR targeting the eap gene were both 100%. Thus, the unique occurrence of Eap in S. aureus offers a promising tool particularly suitable for molecular diagnostics of this pathogen.

Workplace Stress, Organizational Factors and EAP Utilization.

PubMed

Azzone, Vanessa; McCann, Bernard; Merrick, Elizabeth Levy; Hiatt, Deirdre; Hodgkin, Dominic; Horgan, Constance

2009-01-01

This study examined relationships between workplace stress, organizational factors and use of EAP counseling services delivered by network providers in a large, privately-insured population. Claims data were linked to measures of workplace stress, focus on wellness/prevention, EAP promotion, and EAP activities for health care plan enrollees from 26 employers. The association of external environment and work organization variables with use of EAP counseling services was examined. Higher levels of EAP promotion and worksite activities were associated with greater likelihood of service use. Greater focus on wellness/prevention and unusual and significant stress were associated with lower likelihood of service use. Results provide stakeholders with insights on approaches to increasing utilization of EAP services.

Workplace Stress, Organizational Factors and EAP Utilization

PubMed Central

Azzone, Vanessa; McCann, Bernard; Merrick, Elizabeth Levy; Hiatt, Deirdre; Hodgkin, Dominic; Horgan, Constance

2013-01-01

This study examined relationships between workplace stress, organizational factors and use of EAP counseling services delivered by network providers in a large, privately-insured population. Claims data were linked to measures of workplace stress, focus on wellness/prevention, EAP promotion, and EAP activities for health care plan enrollees from 26 employers. The association of external environment and work organization variables with use of EAP counseling services was examined. Higher levels of EAP promotion and worksite activities were associated with greater likelihood of service use. Greater focus on wellness/prevention and unusual and significant stress were associated with lower likelihood of service use. Results provide stakeholders with insights on approaches to increasing utilization of EAP services. PMID:24058322

EAP as artificial muscles - progress and challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2004-01-01

During the last decade and a half new polymers have emerged that respond to electrical stimulation with a significant shape or size change. This capability of electroactive polymer (EAP) materials is attracting the attention of engineers and scientists from many different disciplines.

Converging the capabilities of EAP artificial muscles and the requirements of bio-inspired robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, David F.; White, Victor

2004-07-01

The characteristics of Electro-actuated polymers (EAP) are typically considered inadequate for applications in robotics. But in recent years, there has been both dramatic increases in EAP technological capbilities and reductions in power requirements for actuating bio-inspired robotics. As the two trends continue to converge, one may anticipate that dramatic breakthroughs in biologically inspired robotic actuation will result due to the marraige of these technologies. This talk will provide a snapshot of how EAP actuator scientists and roboticists may work together on a common platform to accelerate the growth of both technologies. To demonstrate this concept of a platform to accelerate this convergence, the authors will discuss their work in the niche application of robotic facial expression. In particular, expressive robots appear to be within the range of EAP actuation, thanks to their low force requirements. Several robots will be shown that demonstrate realistic expressions with dramatically decreased force requirements. Also, detailed descriptions will be given of the engineering innovations that have enabled these robotics advancements-most notably, Structured-Porosity Elastomer Materials (SPEMs). SPEM manufacturing techniques create delicate cell-structures in a variety of elastomers that maintain the high elongation characteristics of the mother material, but because of the porisity, behave as sponge-materials, thus lower the force required to emulate facial expressions to levels output by several extant EAP actuators.

Anisotropic D-EAP Electrodes and their Application in Spring Roll Actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Xiaomeng

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) exhibit shape change when subjected to an electric field. They are lightweight, soft, and inexpensive, while they are easy to process, shape, and tune to offer a broad range of mechanical and electrical properties. Dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAP) constitute a class of EAPs with great potential. D-EAPs consist of physically or chemically cross-linked macromolecular networks and are mechanically isotopic. Therefore, in most actuator applications that require directional electromechanical response, it is necessary to use other complex means to direct the stress/strain in the preferred direction. In this work, a simple carbon nanotube (CNT) based electrode for D-EAP actuators is demonstrated that vastly improves directional strain response originating from the mechanical anisotropy of the electrode material. Using this novel approach, the mechanical anisotropy, defined as the ratio of initial modulus in fiber direction and that in cross-fiber direction, of the CNT electroded VHB actuators, ranges from 7.9 to 11.2. Hence, the CNT-VHB flat film actuators show high directed linear actuation strain in cross-fiber direction of greater than 25% meanwhile almost no strain in fiber direction at a relatively low electric field (120 V mum-1). The morphology of the CNT sheets has critical influence on their mechanical properties and resultant actuator performance. The results demonstrate the efficacy of microcombing and selective laser etching processes to improve the CNT fiber alignment to produce pure unidirectional strain of 33% at a relatively moderate electric field. Unidirectional D-EAP composite laminates using polyurethane and polyamide monofilaments are also employed in spring roll actuators to investigate their directional mechanical and electromechanical properties. While CNT electroded D-EAP spring roll actuators were found to have about the same performance as actuators with carbon grease electrodes (6.5% strain in CNT

Integrating CALL into an Iranian EAP Course: Constraints and Affordances

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mehran, Parisa; Alizadeh, Mehrasa

2015-01-01

Iranian universities have recently displayed a growing interest in integrating Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) into teaching/learning English. The English for Academic Purposes (EAP) context, however, is not keeping pace with the current changes since EAP courses are strictly text-based and exam-oriented, and little research has thus…

On the impact of self-clearing on electroactive polymer (EAP) actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Saad; Ounaies, Zoubeida; Lanagan, Michael T.

2017-10-01

Electroactive polymer (EAP)-based actuators have large potential for a wide array of applications; however, their practical implementation is still a challenge because of the requirement of high driving voltage, which most often leads to premature defect-driven electrical breakdown. Polymer-based capacitors have the ability to clear defects with partial electrical breakdown and subsequent removal of a localized electrode section near the defect. In this study, this process, which is known as self-clearing, is adopted for EAP technologies. We report a methodical approach to self-clear an EAP, more specifically P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) terpolymer, to delay premature defect-driven electrical breakdown of the terpolymer actuators at high operating electric fields. Breakdown results show that electrical breakdown strength is improved up to 18% in comparison to a control sample after self-clearing. Furthermore, the electromechanical performance in terms of blocked force and free displacement of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) terpolymer-based bending actuators are examined after self-clearing and precleared samples show improved blocked force, free displacement and maximum sustainable electric field compared to control samples. The study demonstrates that controlled self-clearing of EAPs improves the breakdown limit and reliability of the EAP actuators for practical applications without impeding their electromechanical performance.

Controllable Curved Mirrors Made from Single-Layer EAP Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bao, Xiaoqi; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, Stewart

2004-01-01

A document proposes that lightweight, deployable, large-aperture, controllable curved mirrors made of reflectively coated thin electroactive-polymer (EAP) films be developed for use in spaceborne microwave and optical systems. In these mirrors, the EAP films would serve as both structures and actuators. EAPs that are potentially suitable for such use include piezoelectric, electrostrictive, ferroelectric, and dielectric polymers. These materials exhibit strains proportional to the squares of applied electric fields. Utilizing this phenomenon, a curved mirror according to the proposal could be made from a flat film, upon which a nonuniform electrostatic potential (decreasing from the center toward the edge) would be imposed to obtain a required curvature. The effect would be analogous to that of an old-fashioned metalworking practice in which a flat metal sheet is made into a bowl by hammering it repeatedly, the frequency of hammer blows decreasing with distance from the center. In operation, the nonuniform electrostatic potential could be imposed by use of an electron gun. Calculations have shown that by use of a single- layer film made of a currently available EAP, it would be possible to control the focal length of a 2-m-diameter mirror from infinity to 1.25 m.

The Staphylococcus aureus extracellular adherence protein (Eap) adopts an elongated but structured conformation in solution.

PubMed

Hammel, Michal; Nemecek, Daniel; Keightley, J Andrew; Thomas, George J; Geisbrecht, Brian V

2007-12-01

The extracellular adherence protein (Eap) of Staphylococcus aureus participates in a wide range of protein-protein interactions that facilitate the initiation and dissemination of Staphylococcal disease. In this report, we describe the use of a multidisciplinary approach to characterize the solution structure of full-length Eap. In contrast to previous reports suggesting that a six-domain isoform of Eap undergoes multimerization, sedimentation equilibrium analytical ultracentrifugation data revealed that a four-domain isoform of Eap is a monomer in solution. In vitro proteolysis and solution small angle X-ray scattering studies both indicate that Eap adopts an extended conformation in solution, where the linkers connecting sequential EAP modules are solvent exposed. Construction of a low-resolution model of full-length Eap using a combination of ab initio deconvolution of the SAXS data and rigid body modeling of the EAP domain crystal structure suggests that full-length Eap may present several unique concave surfaces capable of participating in ligand binding. These results also raise the possibility that such surfaces may be held together by additional interactions between adjacent EAP modules. This hypothesis is supported by a comparative Raman spectroscopic analysis of full-length Eap and a stoichiometric solution of the individual EAP modules, which indicates the presence of additional secondary structure and a greater extent of hydrogen/deuterium exchange protection in full-length Eap. Our results provide the first insight into the solution structure of full-length Eap and an experimental basis for interpreting the EAP domain crystal structures within the context of the full-length molecule. They also lay a foundation for future studies into the structural and molecular bases of Eap-mediated protein-protein interactions with its many ligands.

Contractive tension force stack actuator based on soft dielectric EAP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovacs, Gabor; Düring, Lukas

2009-03-01

Among the electronic polymers EAPs especially the dielectric elastomers are functional materials that have promising potential as muscle-like actuators due to their inherent compliancy and good overall performance. The combination of huge active deformations, high energy densities, good efficiencies and fast response is unique to dielectric elastomers. Furthermore, they are lightweight, have a simple structure and can be easily tailored to various applications. Up to now most scientific research work has been focused on the planar expanding actuation mode due to the fact that the commercially available acrylic material VHB 4910 (3M) can easily be processed to planar actuators and has demonstrated very high actuation performance when pre-strained. Many different actuator designs have been developed and tested which expands in plane when voltage is applied and shrinks back as soon as the applied charges are removed from the electrodes. Obviously the contractive operation mode at activation is required for a wide range of application. Due to the principle of operation of soft DE EAP, mainly two directions to performed work against external loads are possible. Beside of the commonly used expanding actuation in planar direction the contractile actuation in thickness direction of the DE film represents a very promising option in the multilayer configuration. First approaches have been presented by the folded actuator design and by the multilayer tactile display device. In this study a novel approach for active structures driven by soft dielectric EAP is presented, which can perform contractive displacements at external tensile load. The device is composed of an array of equal segments, where the dielectric films are arranged in a pile-up configuration. In order to maintain satisfying structural integrity when external tension load is applied special attention was paid to the compliant electrode design which takes a central importance concerning the force transmission

How Perceptions of Mental Illness Impact EAP Utilization.

PubMed

McRee, Jayme

2017-01-01

Studies of employee assistance program (EAP) clinical use across multiple industries and multiple EAP delivery models range from highs greater than 5% to lows of less than 1 %. Despite the range in utilization, the rates of employee behaviors that indicate a behavioral health issue are significantly higher, suggesting far too little use of EAPs overall. Studies of the costs to an employer for an employee with a mental health issue are as high as 37% lost annual productivity. EAPs have attempted to raise utilization through a variety of efforts, with mixed results. Most EAP utilization initiatives fail to address the impact of stigma, misunderstandings about mental illness and the reluctance of many employees to seek counseling as an option for better management of stress, work-life balance and overall mental wellness. For both employers and EAPs, addressing the impact of stigma and perceptions of mental illness is costly, requiring greater direct employee engagement and education. However, it is a more effective means of increasing EAP use than current practices and, ultimately, can result in significantly higher net gains in productivity while reducing employers' direct costs.

The Staphylococcus aureus extracellular adherence protein (Eap) adopts an elongated but structured conformation in solution

PubMed Central

Hammel, Michal; Němeček, Daniel; Keightley, J. Andrew; Thomas, George J.; Geisbrecht, Brian V.

2007-01-01

The extracellular adherence protein (Eap) of Staphylococcus aureus participates in a wide range of protein–protein interactions that facilitate the initiation and dissemination of Staphylococcal disease. In this report, we describe the use of a multidisciplinary approach to characterize the solution structure of full-length Eap. In contrast to previous reports suggesting that a six-domain isoform of Eap undergoes multimerization, sedimentation equilibrium analytical ultracentrifugation data revealed that a four-domain isoform of Eap is a monomer in solution. In vitro proteolysis and solution small angle X-ray scattering studies both indicate that Eap adopts an extended conformation in solution, where the linkers connecting sequential EAP modules are solvent exposed. Construction of a low-resolution model of full-length Eap using a combination of ab initio deconvolution of the SAXS data and rigid body modeling of the EAP domain crystal structure suggests that full-length Eap may present several unique concave surfaces capable of participating in ligand binding. These results also raise the possibility that such surfaces may be held together by additional interactions between adjacent EAP modules. This hypothesis is supported by a comparative Raman spectroscopic analysis of full-length Eap and a stoichiometric solution of the individual EAP modules, which indicates the presence of additional secondary structure and a greater extent of hydrogen/deuterium exchange protection in full-length Eap. Our results provide the first insight into the solution structure of full-length Eap and an experimental basis for interpreting the EAP domain crystal structures within the context of the full-length molecule. They also lay a foundation for future studies into the structural and molecular bases of Eap-mediated protein–protein interactions with its many ligands. PMID:18029416

EDITORIAL: Electroactive polymer materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Kim, Kwang J.; Ryeol Choi, Hyouk; Madden, John D. W.

2007-04-01

years, a series of new materials have emerged that exhibit large displacement in response to electrical stimulation. This capability is making them highly attractive as actuators for their operational similarity to biological muscles, particularly their resilience, quiet operation, damage tolerance and ability to induce large actuation strains (stretching, contracting or bending). The application of these materials as actuators involves multi-disciplines including materials, electromechanics, chemistry, computers and electronics. Even though the force of actuation of existing EAP materials and their robustness requires further improvement, there has already been a series of reported successes in the development of EAP-actuated mechanisms. Using EAP to replace existing actuators may be a difficult challenge and therefore it is highly desirable to identify a niche application where EAP materials would not need to compete with existing technologies. EAP materials can be divided into two major groups based on their activation mechanism: ionic or electronic. Electronic EAPs, such as electrostrictive, electrostatic, piezoelectric and ferroelectric, are driven by Coulomb forces. These types of EAP material can be made to hold the induced displacement while activated under a DC voltage, allowing them to be considered for robotic applications. These materials have high mechanical energy density and they can be operated in air with no major constraints. However, electronic EAPs require high activation fields (>10 V/μm) that are close to the breakdown level. In contrast to electronic EAPs, ionic EAPs are materials that involve the transport of ions and they consist of two electrodes and an electrolyte. The activation of ionic EAPs can be achieved by voltages as low as 1-2 volts. Examples of ionic EAPs include gels, polymer-metal composites, conducting polymers and carbon nanotubes. Their disadvantages are a need to maintain wetness and their low electromechanical coupling

EAP Referrals: From Supervisor Training to Client Assessment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Rob; Colan, Neil

For several decades Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have been a resource in the workplace to handle troubled employees. The areas of supervisor training and employee motivation provide opportunities for involvement of psychologists in the EAP field. Surveys conducted with EAP directors revealed that many programs are planning to do supervisor…

Model-free and analytical EAP reconstruction via spherical polar Fourier diffusion MRI.

PubMed

Cheng, Jian; Ghosh, Aurobrata; Jiang, Tianzi; Deriche, Rachid

2010-01-01

How to estimate the diffusion Ensemble Average Propagator (EAP) from the DWI signals in q-space is an open problem in diffusion MRI field. Many methods were proposed to estimate the Orientation Distribution Function (ODF) that is used to describe the fiber direction. However, ODF is just one of the features of the EAP. Compared with ODF, EAP has the full information about the diffusion process which reflects the complex tissue micro-structure. Diffusion Orientation Transform (DOT) and Diffusion Spectrum Imaging (DSI) are two important methods to estimate the EAP from the signal. However, DOT is based on mono-exponential assumption and DSI needs a lot of samplings and very large b values. In this paper, we propose Spherical Polar Fourier Imaging (SPFI), a novel model-free fast robust analytical EAP reconstruction method, which almost does not need any assumption of data and does not need too many samplings. SPFI naturally combines the DWI signals with different b-values. It is an analytical linear transformation from the q-space signal to the EAP profile represented by Spherical Harmonics (SH). We validated the proposed methods in synthetic data, phantom data and real data. It works well in all experiments, especially for the data with low SNR, low anisotropy, and non-exponential decay.

Descriptive study of external employee assistance program providers (EAP) in Japan.

PubMed

Muto, Takashi; Haruyama, Yasuo; Higashi, Toshiaki

2012-01-01

The mental health problems of employees have become a major occupational health issue in Japan. External employee assistance program providers (EAP) have become important in mental health care for workers, but their activities are poorly documented. This descriptive study was undertaken to clarify the status and future tasks of EAP in Japan. The subjects were all EAP (n=27) registered in the Japanese Chapter of Employee Assistance Professionals Association. The questionnaire survey was conducted in January 2007. We received 13 replies, a response rate of 54.2%. Most EAP provided seminars, stress checks, stress management, counseling, and support for a return to work. The number of EAP contracted with small-scale enterprises was small. EAP communicated infrequently with companies. To promote the use of EAP, their advertising, education and training of staff, accumulation of scientific evidence, development of an official certification system for staff, and improvement of contents of EAP services were cited.

Extended Nonfiction Readers for EAP Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitzsimmons-Doolan, Shannon; Davis, Jessica; Stoller, Fredricka L.; Crawford, William

2012-01-01

Content-based instruction course designers have many important decisions to make when developing courses for postsecondary English for academic purposes (EAP) students. One important consideration revolves around deciding if students would benefit most from the use of sustained content (Murphy & Stoller, 2001) or a topical approach (Brinton,…

A CoAP-Based Network Access Authentication Service for Low-Power Wide Area Networks: LO-CoAP-EAP.

PubMed

Garcia-Carrillo, Dan; Marin-Lopez, Rafael; Kandasamy, Arunprabhu; Pelov, Alexander

2017-11-17

The Internet-of-Things (IoT) landscape is expanding with new radio technologies. In addition to the Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network (LR-WPAN), the recent set of technologies conforming the so-called Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LP-WAN) offers long-range communications, allowing one to send small pieces of information at a reduced energy cost, which promotes the creation of new IoT applications and services. However, LP-WAN technologies pose new challenges since they have strong limitations in the available bandwidth. In general, a first step prior to a smart object being able to gain access to the network is the process of network access authentication. It involves authentication, authorization and key management operations. This process is of vital importance for operators to control network resources. However, proposals for managing network access authentication in LP-WAN are tailored to the specifics of each technology, which could introduce interoperability problems in the future. In this sense, little effort has been put so far into providing a wireless-independent solution for network access authentication in the area of LP-WAN. To fill this gap, we propose a service named Low-Overhead CoAP-EAP (LO-CoAP-EAP), which is based on previous work designed for LR-WPAN. LO-CoAP-EAP integrates the use of Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) infrastructures and the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) protocol. For this integration, we use the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) to design a network authentication service independent of the type of LP-WAN technology. LO-CoAP-EAP represents a trade-off between flexibility, wireless technology independence, scalability and performance in LP-WAN.

A CoAP-Based Network Access Authentication Service for Low-Power Wide Area Networks: LO-CoAP-EAP

PubMed Central

Garcia-Carrillo, Dan; Marin-Lopez, Rafael; Kandasamy, Arunprabhu; Pelov, Alexander

2017-01-01

The Internet-of-Things (IoT) landscape is expanding with new radio technologies. In addition to the Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network (LR-WPAN), the recent set of technologies conforming the so-called Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LP-WAN) offers long-range communications, allowing one to send small pieces of information at a reduced energy cost, which promotes the creation of new IoT applications and services. However, LP-WAN technologies pose new challenges since they have strong limitations in the available bandwidth. In general, a first step prior to a smart object being able to gain access to the network is the process of network access authentication. It involves authentication, authorization and key management operations. This process is of vital importance for operators to control network resources. However, proposals for managing network access authentication in LP-WAN are tailored to the specifics of each technology, which could introduce interoperability problems in the future. In this sense, little effort has been put so far into providing a wireless-independent solution for network access authentication in the area of LP-WAN. To fill this gap, we propose a service named Low-Overhead CoAP-EAP (LO-CoAP-EAP), which is based on previous work designed for LR-WPAN. LO-CoAP-EAP integrates the use of Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) infrastructures and the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) protocol. For this integration, we use the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) to design a network authentication service independent of the type of LP-WAN technology. LO-CoAP-EAP represents a trade-off between flexibility, wireless technology independence, scalability and performance in LP-WAN. PMID:29149040

The Staphyloccous aureus Eap protein activates expression of proinflammatory cytokines.

PubMed

Scriba, Thomas J; Sierro, Sophie; Brown, Eric L; Phillips, Rodney E; Sewell, Andrew K; Massey, Ruth C

2008-05-01

The extracellular adhesion protein (Eap) secreted by the major human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is known to have several effects on human immunity. We have recently added to knowledge of these roles by demonstrating that Eap enhances interactions between major histocompatibility complex molecules and human leukocytes. Several studies have indicated that Eap can induce cytokine production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). To date, there has been no rigorous attempt to identify the breadth of cytokines produced by Eap stimulation or to identify the cell subsets that respond. Here, we demonstrate that Eap induces the secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) by CD14(+) leukocytes (monocytes and macrophages) within direct ex vivo PBMC populations (note that granulocytes are also CD14(+) but are largely depleted from PBMC preparations). Anti-intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (CD54) antibodies inhibited this induction and implicated a role for this known Eap binding protein in cellular activation. IL-6 and TNF-alpha secretion by murine cells exposed to Eap was also observed. The activation of CD14(+) cells by Eap suggests that it could play a significant role in both septic shock and fever, two of the major pathological features of S. aureus infections.

The Costs of an Enhanced Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Intervention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

French, Michael T.; Dunlap, Laura J.; Zarkin, Gary A.; Karuntzos, Georgia T.

1998-01-01

This study estimates the economic costs of an enhanced Employee Assistance Program (EAP) intervention at a large midwestern EAP that serves 90 worksites. Results specify developmental and implementation costs and provide benchmark cost estimated for other EAPs that may be considering enhanced services. (SLD)

Counseling and the Bystander-Equity Model of Supervisory Helping Behavior: Directions for EAP Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerstein, Lawrence H.; Bayer, Gregory A.

1991-01-01

Discusses contribution of Bystander-Equity Model of Supervisory Helping Behavior to pursuit of employee assistance program (EAP) research based on traditions of field of counseling. Offers structure for pursuing empirical and applied activities in EAP settings. Encourages counseling researchers and practitioners to respond to challenge of working…

EMPLOYER CHOICES IN EAP DESIGN AND WORKSITE SERVICES.

PubMed

McCann, Bernard; Azzone, Vanessa; Merrick, Elizabeth L; Hiatt, Deirdre; Hodgkin, Dominic; Horgan, Constance M

2010-01-01

In today's complex private healthcare market, employers have varied preferences for particular features of behavioral health products such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Factors which may influence these preferences include: establishment size, type of organization, industry, workplace substance abuse regulations, and structure of health insurance benefits. This study of 103 large employer purchasers from a single managed behavioral healthcare organization investigated the impact of such variables on the EAP features that employers select to provide to workers and their families. Our findings indicate that for this group of employers, preferences for the type and delivery mode of EAP counseling services are fairly universal, while number of sessions provided and choices for EAP-provided worksite activities are much more varied, and may be more reflective of the diverse characteristics, organizational missions and workplace culture found among larger employers in the US.

Honing EAP Learners' Public Speaking Skills by Analyzing TED Talks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leopold, Lisa

2016-01-01

Despite the importance of public speaking skills for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students' academic and professional success, few EAP textbooks incorporate authentic, professional speech models. Thus, many EAP instructors have turned to TED talks for dynamic speech models. Yet a single TED talk may be too long for viewing in class and may…

Evidence for multiple modes of neutrophil serine protease recognition by the EAP family of Staphylococcal innate immune evasion proteins.

PubMed

Stapels, Daphne A C; Woehl, Jordan L; Milder, Fin J; Tromp, Angelino T; van Batenburg, Aernoud A; de Graaf, Wilco C; Broll, Samuel C; White, Natalie M; Rooijakkers, Suzan H M; Geisbrecht, Brian V

2018-02-01

Neutrophils contain high levels of chymotrypsin-like serine proteases (NSPs) within their azurophilic granules that have a multitude of functions within the immune system. In response, the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus has evolved three potent inhibitors (Eap, EapH1, and EapH2) that protect the bacterium as well as several of its secreted virulence factors from the degradative action of NSPs. We previously showed that these so-called EAP domain proteins represent a novel class of NSP inhibitors characterized by a non-covalent inhibitory mechanism and a distinct target specificity profile. Based upon high levels of structural homology amongst the EAP proteins and the NSPs, as well as supporting biochemical data, we predicted that the inhibited complex would be similar for all EAP/NSP pairs. However, we present here evidence that EapH1 and EapH2 bind the canonical NSP, Neutrophil Elastase (NE), in distinct orientations. We discovered that alteration of EapH1 residues at the EapH1/NE interface caused a dramatic loss of affinity and inhibition of NE, while mutation of equivalent positions in EapH2 had no effect on NE binding or inhibition. Surprisingly, mutation of residues in an altogether different region of EapH2 severely impacted both the NE binding and inhibitory properties of EapH2. Even though EapH1 and EapH2 bind and inhibit NE and a second NSP, Cathepsin G, equally well, neither of these proteins interacts with the structurally related, but non-proteolytic granule protein, azurocidin. These studies expand our understanding of EAP/NSP interactions and suggest that members of this immune evasion protein family are capable of diverse target recognition modes. © 2017 The Protein Society.

EMPLOYER CHOICES IN EAP DESIGN AND WORKSITE SERVICES

PubMed Central

McCann, Bernard; Azzone, Vanessa; Merrick, Elizabeth L.; Hiatt, Deirdre; Hodgkin, Dominic; Horgan, Constance M.

2011-01-01

SUMMARY In today’s complex private healthcare market, employers have varied preferences for particular features of behavioral health products such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Factors which may influence these preferences include: establishment size, type of organization, industry, workplace substance abuse regulations, and structure of health insurance benefits. This study of 103 large employer purchasers from a single managed behavioral healthcare organization investigated the impact of such variables on the EAP features that employers select to provide to workers and their families. Our findings indicate that for this group of employers, preferences for the type and delivery mode of EAP counseling services are fairly universal, while number of sessions provided and choices for EAP-provided worksite activities are much more varied, and may be more reflective of the diverse characteristics, organizational missions and workplace culture found among larger employers in the US. PMID:22768017

Extracting quantitative measures from EAP: a small clinical study using BFOR.

PubMed

Hosseinbor, A Pasha; Chung, Moo K; Wu, Yu-Chien; Fleming, John O; Field, Aaron S; Alexander, Andrew L

2012-01-01

The ensemble average propagator (EAP) describes the 3D average diffusion process of water molecules, capturing both its radial and angular contents, and hence providing rich information about complex tissue microstructure properties. Bessel Fourier orientation reconstruction (BFOR) is one of several analytical, non-Cartesian EAP reconstruction schemes employing multiple shell acquisitions that have recently been proposed. Such modeling bases have not yet been fully exploited in the extraction of rotationally invariant q-space indices that describe the degree of diffusion anisotropy/restrictivity. Such quantitative measures include the zero-displacement probability (P(o)), mean squared displacement (MSD), q-space inverse variance (QIV), and generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA), and all are simply scalar features of the EAP. In this study, a general relationship between MSD and q-space diffusion signal is derived and an EAP-based definition of GFA is introduced. A significant part of the paper is dedicated to utilizing BFOR in a clinical dataset, comprised of 5 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 4 healthy controls, to estimate P(o), MSD, QIV, and GFA of corpus callosum, and specifically, to see if such indices can detect changes between normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and healthy white matter (WM). Although the sample size is small, this study is a proof of concept that can be extended to larger sample sizes in the future.

Self-Disclosure as a Predictor of EAP Supervisory Utilization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Donohoe, Timothy L.; Johnson, James T.; Taquino, Maurice A.

1999-01-01

The value of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPS) has been cited in a variety of published papers and articles. An important managerial element relative to the assessment and referral of troubled employees has been supervisory training. There has been numerous studies highlighting the various factors and circumstances associated with supervisory behavior and EAP referrals. The inclusion of emotional awareness factors in EAP supervisory utilization has not been thoroughly investigated, although frequently found in the literature as a training and development objective for managers in business and education. The present study sought to determine what role supervisory denial and anxiety avoidance plays in confrontation of troubled employees and if admission of specific, internal emotional events is a characteristic among EAP utilizing supervisors.

Directions for Development of the Field of Electroactive Polymer (EAP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2011-01-01

In last few years, the rate of development and advances in the field of EAP has accelerated significantly and it is increasingly getting closer to the point of finding them used in commercial products. Substantial development has been reported in the understanding of their drive mechanisms and the parameters that control their electro-activation behavior. Further, efforts are being made to develop mass production techniques with greatly improved actuation capability and operation durability. The recent efforts to develop energy harvesting techniques, haptic interfacing (including refreshable braille displays), and toys are further increasing the likelihood of finding niches for these materials. In this paper, the author sought to examine the potential directions for the future development of the field of EAP in relation to the state-of-the-art.

Directions for development of the field of electroactive polymer (EAP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2011-04-01

In last few years, the rate of development and advances in the field of EAP has accelerated significantly and it is increasingly getting closer to the point of finding them used in commercial products. Substantial development has been reported in the understanding of their drive mechanisms and the parameters that control their electro-activation behavior. Further, efforts are being made to develop mass production techniques with greatly improved actuation capability and operation durability. The recent efforts to develop energy harvesting techniques, haptic interfacing (including refreshable braille displays), and toys are further increasing the likelihood of finding niches for these materials. In this paper, the author sought to examine the potential directions for the future development of the field of EAP in relation to the state-of-the-art.

14 CFR 120.115 - Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS AND OPERATORS FOR COMPENSATION OR HIRE: CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAM Drug Testing Program Requirements § 120.115 Employee Assistance Program (EAP). (a... the employee and supervisor EAP training in the employer's drug testing program. [Doc. No. FAA-2008...

EAP and LLNP Students: Common Problems and Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Thi Minh Phuong

2010-01-01

As English learners originate from many cultural and language backgrounds, they come to class with different circumstances. This paper examines the backgrounds, common problems and solutions for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students and Language, Literacy, and Numeracy Programme (LLNP) students. EAP students are from Meridian International…

Optimizing Depression Care: Opportunities for the EAP.

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

Kreuch, Tony J.

Depression is a major workplace concern with significant impact on employee productivity, attendance and “presenteeism” and often affects the company bottom line in areas such as cost impact, employee morale, worker turnover and affected families. However, despite the frequent challenge of depression in the workplace, EAPs are often not well-equipped to fully address these employees. Often, the individual will either be directed to a 24 hour call center or seen briefly onsite by an EAP professional and referred to a treating provider without a full assessment or comprehensive approach. Diagnostic practices may be informal without use of validated tools andmore » without a full assessment of risk or identification of appropriate level of care. However, the EAP may be ideally placed within an organization to have a significant positive impact on this condition. This article will summarize my recommendations regarding EAP strategies for optimizing assessment and care for employees who are struggling with depression. I will also briefly review a working model for the assessment and treatment of depression that we have developed at my company using best practices and a collaborative model for tracking outcomes.« less

46 CFR 16.401 - Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Employee Assistance Program (EAP). 16.401 Section 16.401 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MERCHANT MARINE OFFICERS AND SEAMEN CHEMICAL TESTING Employee Assistance Programs § 16.401 Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The employer shall provide an...

Extracellular adherence protein (Eap) from Staphylococcus aureus does not function as a superantigen.

PubMed

Haggar, A; Flock, J-I; Norrby-Teglund, A

2010-08-01

Extracellular adherence protein (Eap) from Staphylococcus aureus has been reported to have strong anti-inflammatory properties, which make Eap a potential anti-inflammatory agent. However, Eap has also been demonstrated to trigger T-cell activation and to share structural homology with superantigens. In this study, we focused on whether Eap fulfilled the definition criteria for a superantigen. We demonstrate that T-cell activation by Eap is dependent on both major histocompatibility complex class II and intercellular adhesion molecule type 1, that cellular processing is required for Eap to elicit T-cell proliferation, and that the kinetics of proliferation resemble the profile of a conventional antigen and not that of a superantigen.

An Analysis of Curriculum Renewal in EAP Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yurekli, Aynur

2012-01-01

This study aims at describing the new approach to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teaching based on the results of the curriculum renewal conducted for the freshman "Academic Skills in English" courses (ENG 101 and ENG 102) with reference to the Faculty of Computer Sciences. The study is based on the results of the needs analysis…

A place for marriage and family services in employee assistance programs (EAPs): a survey of EAP client problems and needs.

PubMed

Shumway, Sterling T; Wampler, Richard S; Dersch, Charette; Arredondo, Rudy

2004-01-01

Marriage and family services have not been widely recognized as part of employee assistance programs (EAP), although family and relational problems are widely cited as sources of problems on the job. EAP clients (N = 800, 97% self-referred) indicated how much family, psychological/emotional, drug, alcohol, employment-related, legal, and medical problems troubled them and the need for services in each area. Psychological/emotional (66%) and family (65%) problem areas frequently were rated "considerable" or "extreme." Both areas were rated as "considerable" or "extreme" by 48.6% of participants. In view of the evidence that marriage and family services can be effective with both family and psychological/emotional problems, professionals who are competent to provide such services have much to offer EAP programs.

Pre and Post Test Evaluations of Students in the Needs-Analysis Based EAP Course at Undergraduate Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nafissi, Zohreh; Rezaeipanah, Fariba; Monsefi, Roya

2017-01-01

Iran's education system is exam-based and to gain admission to universities at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels, candidates have to sit a competitive examination. For this reason, developing an EAP course which prepares the candidates for these examinations is of crucial importance. The present study attempted to develop an EAP…

Progress toward EAP actuators for biomimetic social robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, D.

2013-04-01

Social robotics and artificial intelligence have progressed steadily in recent years, appearing in a variety of useful applications and products as well as breakthrough research. However, limitations in conventional motors continue to limit the possibilities of bio-inspired robotics. Such motors are needed for locomotion, grasping and manipulation, and social expressions and gestures. EAP actuators, being more like biological muscle in key regards, could revolutionize the hardware for such robots, if made robust, powerful, and manufacturable at reasonable prices. The author presents a survey of the progress and opportunities for EAP actuators in these fields, and discusses the latest work of his team in developing and manufacturing social robots that could benefit from EAP actuators.

EAP Service Use in a Managed Behavioral Health Care Organization: From the Employee Perspective.

PubMed

Merrick, Elizabeth L; Hodgkin, Dominic; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M; McCann, Bernard

2011-01-01

Contemporary employee assistance program (EAP) services are typically provided in broad-brush programs delivered by large external vendors in a network model. Yet research has not kept pace with EAP evolution, including in terms of how EAP clients themselves view services. We surveyed a random sample of EAP service users from a national provider (361 respondents). About one-third of respondents reported getting help for workplace issues. Most learned about the EAP through employer communications such as the company website. The large majority reported that the EAP helped them "a lot" or "some," suggesting they valued this benefit.

EAP Service Use in a Managed Behavioral Health Care Organization: From the Employee Perspective

PubMed Central

Hodgkin, Dominic; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M.; McCann, Bernard

2011-01-01

SUMMARY Contemporary employee assistance program (EAP) services are typically provided in broad-brush programs delivered by large external vendors in a network model. Yet research has not kept pace with EAP evolution, including in terms of how EAP clients themselves view services. We surveyed a random sample of EAP service users from a national provider (361 respondents). About one-third of respondents reported getting help for workplace issues. Most learned about the EAP through employer communications such as the company website. The large majority reported that the EAP helped them “a lot” or “some,” suggesting they valued this benefit. PMID:21966281

Exploring Reading Comprehension Needs of Iranian EAP Students of Health Information Management (HIM): A Triangulated Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atai, Mahmood Reza; Nazari, Ogholgol

2011-01-01

Discipline-based English for Academic Purposes (EAP) reading programs in Iran are designed to fill the gap between the students' general English reading competence and their ability to read authentic discipline-specific texts. This study attempted to assess target and present reading comprehension needs of EAP students of Health Information…

EAP actuators aid the quest for the 'Holy Braille' of tactile displays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Runyan, Noel; Blazie, Deane

2010-04-01

The authors present the worldwide need for electronic Braille displays to promote literacy among the blind. The use of of EAP's to produce Braille displays is encouraged and detailed descriptions of the technology of Braille are presented. Prior art is covered since the early 1950's through present day displays based mostly on piezoelectric technologies. EAP's offer the promise of the "Holy Braille", the ability to display a full page of Braille electronically. Details on "how not to make a Braille display" are covered in prior art.

EAP's Response to Personal Stress and Productivity: Implications for Occupational Social Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramanathan, Chathapuram S.

1992-01-01

Used pretest-posttest design to investigate influence of employee assistance program (EAP) on employee stress and productivity at time of initial contact with EAP and two and four months later. Findings from 47 employees who used EAP services revealed that, although personal stress and employee productivity were related, employee assistance…

Iranian English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Stakeholders' Attitudes toward Using the Internet in EAP Courses for Civil Engineering Students: Promises and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atai, Mahmood Reza; Dashtestani, Reza

2013-01-01

English for academic purposes (EAP) has established itself as a considerable part of English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction in Iranian universities. Considering the Internet as a major educational source in EAP reading courses, it is highly important that the stakeholders have positive attitudes toward it and be aware of promises and…

Transfer Climate and EAP Education: Students Perceptions of Challenges to Learning Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Mark Andrew

2010-01-01

This study examined the applicability of the construct transfer climate in EAP education. In an EAP setting, transfer climate can be viewed as the support for learning transfer from an EAP course that students perceive in mainstream academic courses. The research question was as follows: What can a transfer climate perspective reveal about…

Beyond Needs Analysis: Soft Systems Methodology for Meaningful Collaboration in EAP Course Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tajino, Akira; James, Robert; Kijima, Kyoichi

2005-01-01

Designing an EAP course requires collaboration among various concerned stakeholders, including students, subject teachers, institutional administrators and EAP teachers themselves. While needs analysis is often considered fundamental to EAP, alternative research methodologies may be required to facilitate meaningful collaboration between these…

Fostering Transformative Practitioners for Critical EAP: Possibilities and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Brian

2009-01-01

In this article, I explore the often difficult transfer of theory to practice in respect to promoting the conceptual role of transformative intellectual/practitioner through a pre-service "social issues project" for future EAP and ESL teachers. Following an examination of more established role options in EAP (e.g. technician, reflective…

A Case for Faculty Involvement in EAP Placement Testing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Cindy; Templeman, Elizabeth

2009-01-01

The EAP placement procedure at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) involves multiple measures to assess the language skills of incoming students, some of which are facilitated and all of which are assessed by ESL faculty. In order to determine the effectiveness of this comprehensive EAP placement process and the effect of the faculty factor, a…

The Spatial Politics of Gender in EAP Classroom Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Appleby, Roslyn

2009-01-01

This paper explores some of the challenges faced by EAP teachers as they address gender issues that arise when teaching in a non-Western cultural context. It draws on interviews with four Australian teachers regarding their experiences in delivering EAP programs in East Timor as part of an international aid effort, and focuses on critical…

Integrated EAP/Managed Behavioral Health Plan Utilization by Persons with Substance Use Disorders

PubMed Central

Levy Merrick, Elizabeth S.; Hodgkin, Dominic; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M.; Greenfield, Shelly F.; McCann, Bernard

2011-01-01

New federal parity and health reform legislation, promising increased behavioral health care access and a focus on prevention, has heightened interest in employee assistance programs (EAPs). This study investigated service utilization by persons with a primary substance use disorder (SUD) diagnosis in a managed behavioral healthcare organization's integrated EAP/managed behavioral health care product (N=1,158). In 2004, 25.0% of clients used the EAP first for new treatment episodes. After initial EAP utilization, 44.4% received no additional formal services through the plan and 40.4% received regular outpatient services. Overall, outpatient care, intensive outpatient/day treatment, and inpatient/residential detoxification were most common. About half of clients had co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses. Mental health service utilization was extensive. Findings suggest that for service users with primary SUD diagnoses in an integrated EAP/MBHC product, the EAP benefit plays a key role at the front end of treatment and is often only one component of treatment episodes. PMID:21185684

A Corpus-Based EAP Course for NNS Doctoral Students: Moving from Available Specialized Corpora to Self-Compiled Corpora

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, David; Swales, John

2006-01-01

This paper presents a discussion of an experimental, innovative course in corpus-informed EAP for doctoral students. Participants were given access to specialized corpora of academic writing and speaking, instructed in the tools of the trade (web- and PC-based concordancers) and gradually inducted into the skills needed to best exploit the data…

sae is essential for expression of the staphylococcal adhesins Eap and Emp.

PubMed

Harraghy, Niamh; Kormanec, Jan; Wolz, Christiane; Homerova, Dagmar; Goerke, Christiane; Ohlsen, Knut; Qazi, Saara; Hill, Philip; Herrmann, Mathias

2005-06-01

Eap and Emp are two Staphylococcus aureus adhesins initially described as extracellular matrix binding proteins. Eap has since emerged as being important in adherence to and invasion of eukaryotic cells, as well as being described as an immunomodulator and virulence factor in chronic infections. This paper describes the mapping of the transcription start point of the eap and emp promoters. Moreover, using reporter-gene assays and real-time PCR in defined regulatory mutants, environmental conditions and global regulators affecting expression of eap and emp were investigated. Marked differences were found in expression of eap and emp between strain Newman and the 8325 derivatives SH1000 and 8325-4. Moreover, both genes were repressed in the presence of glucose. Analysis of expression of both genes in various regulatory mutants revealed that sarA and agr were involved in their regulation, but the data suggested that there were additional regulators of both genes. In a sae mutant, expression of both genes was severely repressed. sae expression was also reduced in the presence of glucose, suggesting that repression of eap and emp in glucose-containing medium may, in part, be a consequence of a decrease in expression of sae.

EAP artificial muscle actuators for bio-inspired intelligent social robotics (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, David F.

2017-04-01

Bio-inspired intelligent robots are coming of age in both research and industry, propelling market growth for robots and A.I. However, conventional motors limit bio-inspired robotics. EAP actuators and sensors could improve the simplicity, compliance, physical scaling, and offer bio-inspired advantages in robotic locomotion, grasping and manipulation, and social expressions. For EAP actuators to realize their transformative potential, further innovations are needed: the actuators must be robust, fast, powerful, manufacturable, and affordable. This presentation surveys progress, opportunities, and challenges in the author's latest work in social robots and EAP actuators, and proposes a roadmap for EAP actuators in bio-inspired intelligent robotics.

Fast and Analytical EAP Approximation from a 4th-Order Tensor.

PubMed

Ghosh, Aurobrata; Deriche, Rachid

2012-01-01

Generalized diffusion tensor imaging (GDTI) was developed to model complex apparent diffusivity coefficient (ADC) using higher-order tensors (HOTs) and to overcome the inherent single-peak shortcoming of DTI. However, the geometry of a complex ADC profile does not correspond to the underlying structure of fibers. This tissue geometry can be inferred from the shape of the ensemble average propagator (EAP). Though interesting methods for estimating a positive ADC using 4th-order diffusion tensors were developed, GDTI in general was overtaken by other approaches, for example, the orientation distribution function (ODF), since it is considerably difficult to recuperate the EAP from a HOT model of the ADC in GDTI. In this paper, we present a novel closed-form approximation of the EAP using Hermite polynomials from a modified HOT model of the original GDTI-ADC. Since the solution is analytical, it is fast, differentiable, and the approximation converges well to the true EAP. This method also makes the effort of computing a positive ADC worthwhile, since now both the ADC and the EAP can be used and have closed forms. We demonstrate our approach with 4th-order tensors on synthetic data and in vivo human data.

Evaluate Your EAP: Can It Help Support Employee Rights Legislation?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Katherine C.

1997-01-01

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are emerging as an efficient way to address employee rights, particularly in light of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Well-managed EAPs help maintain a healthy, motivated, productive workforce, show effort to provide reasonable accommodation of employee needs, and may…

Exploring Teacher Beliefs in Teaching EAP at Low Proficiency Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander, Olwyn

2012-01-01

Teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) requires teachers experienced in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) to acquire additional skills, abilities and approaches. Beliefs about CLT teaching may not be appropriate for teaching EAP, especially to low level learners. Making teachers aware of their beliefs is the first step in helping them to…

Biomimetic actuators using electroactive polymers (EAP) as artificial muscles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2006-01-01

Evolution has resolved many of nature's challenges leading to lasting solutions with maximal performance and effective use of resources. Nature's inventions have always inspired human achievements leading to effective materials, structures, tools, mechanisms, processes, algorithms, methods, systems and many other benefits. The field of mimicking nature is known as Biomimetics and one of its topics includes electroactive polymers that gain the moniker artificial muscles. Integrating EAP with embedded sensors, self-repair and many other capabilities that are used in composite materials can add greatly to the capability of smart biomimetic systems. Such development would enable fascinating possibilities potentially turning science fiction ideas into engineering reality.

IL17 Mediates Pelvic Pain in Experimental Autoimmune Prostatitis (EAP)

PubMed Central

Murphy, Stephen F.; Schaeffer, Anthony J.; Done, Joseph; Wong, Larry; Bell-Cohn, Ashlee; Roman, Kenny; Cashy, John; Ohlhausen, Michelle; Thumbikat, Praveen

2015-01-01

Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is the most common form of prostatitis, accounting for 90–95% of all diagnoses. It is a complex multi-symptom syndrome with unknown etiology and limited effective treatments. Previous investigations highlight roles for inflammatory mediators in disease progression by correlating levels of cytokines and chemokines with patient reported symptom scores. It is hypothesized that alteration of adaptive immune mechanisms results in autoimmunity and subsequent development of pain. Mouse models of CPPS have been developed to delineate these immune mechanisms driving pain in humans. Using the experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP) in C57BL/6 mice model of CPPS we examined the role of CD4+T-cell subsets in the development and maintenance of prostate pain, by tactile allodynia behavioral testing and flow cytometry. In tandem with increased CD4+IL17A+ T-cells upon EAP induction, prophylactic treatment with an anti-IL17 antibody one-day prior to EAP induction prevented the onset of pelvic pain. Therapeutic blockade of IL17 did not reverse pain symptoms indicating that IL17 is essential for development but not maintenance of chronic pain in EAP. Furthermore we identified a cytokine, IL7, to be associated with increased symptom severity in CPPS patients and is increased in patient prostatic secretions and the prostates of EAP mice. IL7 is fundamental to development of IL17 producing cells and plays a role in maturation of auto-reactive T-cells, it is also associated with autoimmune disorders including multiple sclerosis and type-1 diabetes. More recently a growing body of research has pointed to IL17’s role in development of neuropathic and chronic pain. This report presents novel data on the role of CD4+IL17+ T-cells in development and maintenance of pain in EAP and CPPS. PMID:25933188

IL17 Mediates Pelvic Pain in Experimental Autoimmune Prostatitis (EAP).

PubMed

Murphy, Stephen F; Schaeffer, Anthony J; Done, Joseph; Wong, Larry; Bell-Cohn, Ashlee; Roman, Kenny; Cashy, John; Ohlhausen, Michelle; Thumbikat, Praveen

2015-01-01

Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is the most common form of prostatitis, accounting for 90-95% of all diagnoses. It is a complex multi-symptom syndrome with unknown etiology and limited effective treatments. Previous investigations highlight roles for inflammatory mediators in disease progression by correlating levels of cytokines and chemokines with patient reported symptom scores. It is hypothesized that alteration of adaptive immune mechanisms results in autoimmunity and subsequent development of pain. Mouse models of CPPS have been developed to delineate these immune mechanisms driving pain in humans. Using the experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP) in C57BL/6 mice model of CPPS we examined the role of CD4+T-cell subsets in the development and maintenance of prostate pain, by tactile allodynia behavioral testing and flow cytometry. In tandem with increased CD4+IL17A+ T-cells upon EAP induction, prophylactic treatment with an anti-IL17 antibody one-day prior to EAP induction prevented the onset of pelvic pain. Therapeutic blockade of IL17 did not reverse pain symptoms indicating that IL17 is essential for development but not maintenance of chronic pain in EAP. Furthermore we identified a cytokine, IL7, to be associated with increased symptom severity in CPPS patients and is increased in patient prostatic secretions and the prostates of EAP mice. IL7 is fundamental to development of IL17 producing cells and plays a role in maturation of auto-reactive T-cells, it is also associated with autoimmune disorders including multiple sclerosis and type-1 diabetes. More recently a growing body of research has pointed to IL17's role in development of neuropathic and chronic pain. This report presents novel data on the role of CD4+IL17+ T-cells in development and maintenance of pain in EAP and CPPS.

The crystal structures of EAP domains from Staphylococcus aureus reveal an unexpected homology to bacterial superantigens.

PubMed

Geisbrecht, Brian V; Hamaoka, Brent Y; Perman, Benjamin; Zemla, Adam; Leahy, Daniel J

2005-04-29

The Eap (extracellular adherence protein) of Staphylococcus aureus functions as a secreted virulence factor by mediating interactions between the bacterial cell surface and several extracellular host proteins. Eap proteins from different Staphylococcal strains consist of four to six tandem repeats of a structurally uncharacterized domain (EAP domain). We have determined the three-dimensional structures of three different EAP domains to 1.8, 2.2, and 1.35 A resolution, respectively. These structures reveal a core fold that is comprised of an alpha-helix lying diagonally across a five-stranded, mixed beta-sheet. Comparison of EAP domains with known structures reveals an unexpected homology with the C-terminal domain of bacterial superantigens. Examination of the structure of the superantigen SEC2 bound to the beta-chain of a T-cell receptor suggests a possible ligand-binding site within the EAP domain (Fields, B. A., Malchiodi, E. L., Li, H., Ysern, X., Stauffacher, C. V., Schlievert, P. M., Karjalainen, K., and Mariuzza, R. (1996) Nature 384, 188-192). These results provide the first structural characterization of EAP domains, relate EAP domains to a large class of bacterial toxins, and will guide the design of future experiments to analyze EAP domain structure/function relationships.

Fast and Analytical EAP Approximation from a 4th-Order Tensor

PubMed Central

Ghosh, Aurobrata; Deriche, Rachid

2012-01-01

Generalized diffusion tensor imaging (GDTI) was developed to model complex apparent diffusivity coefficient (ADC) using higher-order tensors (HOTs) and to overcome the inherent single-peak shortcoming of DTI. However, the geometry of a complex ADC profile does not correspond to the underlying structure of fibers. This tissue geometry can be inferred from the shape of the ensemble average propagator (EAP). Though interesting methods for estimating a positive ADC using 4th-order diffusion tensors were developed, GDTI in general was overtaken by other approaches, for example, the orientation distribution function (ODF), since it is considerably difficult to recuperate the EAP from a HOT model of the ADC in GDTI. In this paper, we present a novel closed-form approximation of the EAP using Hermite polynomials from a modified HOT model of the original GDTI-ADC. Since the solution is analytical, it is fast, differentiable, and the approximation converges well to the true EAP. This method also makes the effort of computing a positive ADC worthwhile, since now both the ADC and the EAP can be used and have closed forms. We demonstrate our approach with 4th-order tensors on synthetic data and in vivo human data. PMID:23365552

Discourse Itineraries in an EAP Classroom: A Collaborative Critical Literacy Praxis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chun, Christian Wai

2010-01-01

This classroom ethnography documents the developing critical literacy pedagogy of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructor over the course of several terms. My research, which involved extensive collaboration with the EAP instructor, explores how specific classroom practices and discourses are enacted and mediated through dialogic…

The role of the EAP in the identification and treatment of substance abuse.

PubMed

Kramer, R M

1998-12-01

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are cost-effective strategies for employers to contain the substantial direct and indirect costs of substance abuse in the workplace. EAPs offer prevention, early detection, assessment of referral, and after-care programs to help stem the enormous costs of substance abuse in the workplace. Most effective employer substance abuse programs integrate drug-testing and EAP services to ensure a well coordinated, cost-effective program.

An EAP Program and Students' Success at a Canadian University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keefe, Karin; Shi, Ling

2017-01-01

Many universities have instituted intensive English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs to support international students. This qualitative study used interviews to gain insights into the experiences of 8 non-native English speaking (NNES) students who completed an EAP program before they enrolled in disciplinary courses at a Canadian university.…

Teaching Writing within the Disciplines: A Viable Approach for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leopold, Lisa

2011-01-01

This case study of an adjunct-model English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing course linked to a policy-analysis course describes an effective approach for putting "specificity" into practice in EAP curriculum design. The rationale for interdisciplinary collaboration, the positive learning outcomes from the EAP writing course, the…

EAP recordings in ineraid patients--correlations with psychophysical measures and possible implications for patient fitting.

PubMed

Zimmerling, Martin J; Hochmair, Erwin S

2002-04-01

Objective measurements can be helpful for cochlear implant fitting of difficult populations, as for example very young children. One method, the recording of the electrically evoked compound action potential (EAP), measures the nerve recruitment in the cochlea in response to stimulation through the implant. For coding strategies implemented at a moderate stimulation rate of 250 pps per channel, useful correlations between EAP data and psychophysical data have been already found. With new systems running at higher rates, it is important to check these correlations again. This study investigates the correlations between psychophysical data and EAP measures calculated from EAP amplitude growth functions. EAP data were recorded in 12 Ineraid subjects. Additionally, behavioral thresholds (THR) and maximum acceptable loudness levels (MAL) were determined for stimulation rates of 80 pps and 2,020 pps for each electrode. Useful correlations between EAP data and psychophysical data were found at the low stimulation rate (80 pps). However, at the higher stimulation rate (2,020 pps) correlations were not significant. They were improved substantially, however, by introducing a factor that corrected for disparities due to temporal integration. Incorporation of this factor, which controls for the influence of the stimulation rate on the threshold, improved the correlations between EAP measures recorded at 80 pps and psychophysical MALs measured at 2,020 pps to better than r = 0.70. EAP data as such can only be used to predict behavioral THRs or MCLs at low stimulation rates. To cope with temporal integration effects at higher stimulation rates, EAP data must be rate corrected. The introduction of a threshold-rate-factor is a promising way to achieve that goal. Further investigations need to be performed.

Antibody response to the extracellular adherence protein (Eap) of Staphylococcus aureus in healthy and infected individuals.

PubMed

Joost, Insa; Jacob, Susanne; Utermöhlen, Olaf; Schubert, Uwe; Patti, Joseph M; Ong, Mei-Fang; Gross, Jürgen; Justinger, Christoph; Renno, Jörg H; Preissner, Klaus T; Bischoff, Markus; Herrmann, Mathias

2011-06-01

The extracellular adherence protein (Eap) from Staphylococcus aureus has been suggested as a vaccine candidate and for therapeutic use due to its immunomodulating and antiangiogenic properties; however, little is known about anti-Eap antibodies in humans. We determined anti-Eap antibody titers by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot and measured serum samples from 92 patients with proven S. aureus infections and 93 healthy controls. The functionality of antibodies was assessed by a phagocytosis assay using Eap-coated fluorescent microspheres. Antibodies were detected in all human samples, but not in mice. Patients showed significantly higher titers than controls [immunoglobulin M (IgM), P=0.007; IgG, P<0.0001]. Patients with deep or severe infections showed higher titers than those with superficial or mild disease. Eap alone was sufficient to promote phagocytosis by peripheral blood mononuclear cell and granulocytes that was moderately enhanced in the presence of human serum, but no correlation was found with the levels of anti-Eap antibodies. Anti-Eap antibodies are prevalent in all tested humans and correlate with the severity of S. aureus infection; however, they do not seem to provide protection against invasive infections. Before considering Eap for therapy or as a vaccine candidate, further studies are warranted to assess the impact of the interference between Eap and its specific antibodies. © 2011 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

EAP: Employee Assistance Programs in the Public Schools. Reference & Resource Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hacker, Carol

Employee assistance programs (EAP's) have been set up by many businesses and organizations to help employees resolve their personal problems so they can maintain or resume an acceptable job performance level. So far, only a few public school districts have considered or implemented such programs. This monograph examines EAP's in general and…

Academic Literacies: Providing a Space for the Socio-Political Dynamics of EAP

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Joan

2012-01-01

This article highlights the potential of academic literacies as a theoretical framework for EAP, encompassing not only work on texts, but the wider, socio-political, geopolitical, and institutional contexts and practices in and with which EAP operates. An academic literacies approach foregrounds social practices, and one particular practice, that…

Collaborative Academic Projects on Social Network Sites to Socialize EAP Students into Academic Communities of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dashtestani, Reza

2018-01-01

Learning English for academic purposes (EAP) can help university students promote their academic literacy through socializing them into academic communities of practice. This study examined the impact of the use of collaborative projects on three social network sites on EAP students' attitudes towards EAP and academic content learning. Three…

The possible physical mechanism for the EAP-SR co-action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Zhiqiang; Feng, Guolin; Dogar, Muhammad Mubashar; Huang, Gang

2017-11-01

The anomalous characteristics of summer precipitation and atmospheric circulation in the East Asia-West Pacific Region (EA-WP) associated with the co-action of East Asia/Pacific teleconnection-Silk Road teleconnection (EAP-SR) are investigated in this study. The compositions of EAP-SR phase anomalies can be expressed as pattern I (+ +), pattern II (+ -), pattern III (- -), and pattern IV (- +) using EAP and SR indices. It is found that the spatial distribution of summer precipitation anomalies in EA-WP corresponding to pattern I (III) shows a tripole structure in the meridional direction and a zonal dipole structure in the subtropical region, while pattern II (IV) presents a tripole pattern in meridional direction with compressed and continuous anomalies in the zonal direction over the subtropical region. The similar meridional and zonal structures are also found in the geopotential height anomalies at 500-hPa, as well as wind anomalies and moisture convergence at 850-hPa. Finally, a schematic mechanism for the EAP-SR co-action upon the summer precipitation in EA-WP is built: (1) Pattern I (III) exhibits that the negative (positive) sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies over tropical East Pacific may cause the enhanced (weakened) convective activity dominating the West Pacific, trigger the positive (negative) EAP teleconnection and produce more (less) precipitation. Besides, the negative (positive) SST anomalies over the Indonesia Maritime Continent (IMC) may further weaken (strengthen) anomalous downward (upward) motion over the South China Sea (SCS), cause negative (positive) geopotential height anomalies at the middle troposphere and surrounding regions through the function of the tropical Hadley circulation. Then the negative (positive) geopotential height anomalies could motivate the positive (negative) EAP teleconnection through the northward propagation of wave-activity perturbation. Meanwhile, a positive (negative) geopotential height anomalous pattern

Bessel Fourier orientation reconstruction: an analytical EAP reconstruction using multiple shell acquisitions in diffusion MRI.

PubMed

Hosseinbor, Ameer Pasha; Chung, Moo K; Wu, Yu-Chien; Alexander, Andrew L

2011-01-01

The estimation of the ensemble average propagator (EAP) directly from q-space DWI signals is an open problem in diffusion MRI. Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) is one common technique to compute the EAP directly from the diffusion signal, but it is burdened by the large sampling required. Recently, several analytical EAP reconstruction schemes for multiple q-shell acquisitions have been proposed. One, in particular, is Diffusion Propagator Imaging (DPI) which is based on the Laplace's equation estimation of diffusion signal for each shell acquisition. Viewed intuitively in terms of the heat equation, the DPI solution is obtained when the heat distribution between temperatuere measurements at each shell is at steady state. We propose a generalized extension of DPI, Bessel Fourier Orientation Reconstruction (BFOR), whose solution is based on heat equation estimation of the diffusion signal for each shell acquisition. That is, the heat distribution between shell measurements is no longer at steady state. In addition to being analytical, the BFOR solution also includes an intrinsic exponential smootheing term. We illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by showing results on both synthetic and real MR datasets.

Insertional inactivation of Eap in Staphylococcus aureus strain Newman confers reduced staphylococcal binding to fibroblasts.

PubMed

Hussain, Muzaffar; Haggar, Axana; Heilmann, Christine; Peters, Georg; Flock, Jan-Ingmar; Herrmann, Mathias

2002-06-01

To initiate invasive infection, Staphylococcus aureus must adhere to host substrates, such as the extracellular matrix or eukaryotic cells, by virtue of different surface proteins (adhesins). Recently, we identified a 60-kDa cell-secreted extracellular adherence protein (Eap) of S. aureus strain Newman with broad-spectrum binding characteristics (M. Palma, A. Haggar, and J. I. Flock, J. Bacteriol. 181:2840-2845, 1999), and we have molecularly confirmed Eap to be an analogue of the previously identified major histocompatibility complex class II analog protein (Map) (M. Hussain, K. Becker, C. von Eiff, G. Peter, and M. Herrmann, Clin. Diagn. Lab. Immunol. 8:1281-1286, 2001). Previous analyses of the Eap/Map function performed with purified protein did not allow dissection of its precise role in the complex situation of the staphylococcal whole cell presenting several secreted and wall-bound adhesins. Therefore, the role of Eap was investigated by constructing a stable eap::ermB deletion in strain Newman and by complementation of the mutant. Patterns of extracted cell surface proteins analyzed both by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and by Western ligand assays with various adhesive matrix molecules clearly confirmed the absence of Eap in the mutant. However, binding and adhesion tests using whole staphylococcal cells demonstrated that both the parent and mutant strains bound equally well to fibronectin- and fibrinogen-coated surfaces, possibly due to their recognition by other staphylococcal adhesins. Furthermore, Eap mediated staphylococcal agglutination of both wild-type and mutant cells. In contrast, the mutant adhered to a significantly lesser extent to cultured fibroblasts (P < 0.001) than did the wild type, while adherence was restorable upon complementation. Furthermore, adherence to both epithelial cells (P < 0.05) and fibroblasts (not significant) could be blocked with antibodies against Eap, whereas preimmune serum was not active

The challenges that employees who abuse substances experience when returning to work after completion of employee assistance programme (EAP).

PubMed

Soeker, Shaheed; Matimba, Tandokazi; Machingura, Last; Msimango, Henry; Moswaane, Bobo; Tom, Sinazo

2015-01-01

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are responsible for helping employees cope with problems such as: mental distress, alcoholism and other drug dependencies, marital and financial difficulties--in short, the whole host of personal and family troubles endemic to the human condition. The study explored the challenges that employees who abuse substances experience when returning to work after the completion of an employee assistance program. The study used a qualitative exploratory descriptive research design. Three male participants and two key informants participated in the study. One semi structured interview was conducted with each one of the participants and one semi structured interview with the key informants. Four themes emerged: 1) Loss of one's worker role identity, 2) Negative influences of the community continues to effect the success of EAP, 3) EAP as a vehicle for change and, 4) Healthy occupations strengthen EAP. This study portrayed the following: how substance abuse effect the worker role of individuals employed in the open labor market, the challenges and facilitators experienced by employees who abuse substances when returning to their previous work roles and how occupation based interventions can be incorporated in EAP programs. Occupational therapists could use the health promotion approach, work simplification, energy conservation techniques and ergonomic analysis techniques.

The Effective Use of EAPs: Retrenchment Leads to Emphasis on Helping Troubled Employees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pogue, Gregory

1994-01-01

During a period of retrenchment, colleges and universities are increasingly developing employee assistance programs (EAPs) to help personnel cope with personal and work-related problems. Successful EAPs have top management commitment, have written policies and procedure, focus on employee performance, provide professional assistance, involve the…

Measuring the bending of asymmetric planar EAP structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, Florian M.; Zhao, Xue; Thalmann, Peter; Deyhle, Hans; Urwyler, Prabitha; Kovacs, Gabor; Müller, Bert

2013-04-01

The geometric characterization of low-voltage dielectric electro-active polymer (EAP) structures, comprised of nanometer thickness but areas of square centimeters, for applications such as artificial sphincters requires methods with nanometer precision. Direct optical detection is usually restricted to sub-micrometer resolution because of the wavelength of the light applied. Therefore, we propose to take advantage of the cantilever bending system with optical readout revealing a sub-micrometer resolution at the deflection of the free end. It is demonstrated that this approach allows us to detect bending of rather conventional planar asymmetric, dielectric EAP-structures applying voltages well below 10 V. For this purpose, we built 100 μm-thin silicone films between 50 nm-thin silver layers on a 25 μm-thin polyetheretherketone (PEEK) substrate. The increase of the applied voltage in steps of 50 V until 1 kV resulted in a cantilever bending that exhibits only in restricted ranges the expected square dependence. The mean laser beam displacement on the detector corresponded to 6 nm per volt. The apparatus will therefore become a powerful mean to analyze and thereby improve low-voltage dielectric EAP-structures to realize nanometer-thin layers for stack actuators to be incorporated into artificial sphincter systems for treating severe urinary and fecal incontinence.

The cellular RNA-binding protein EAP recognizes a conserved stem-loop in the Epstein-Barr virus small RNA EBER 1.

PubMed Central

Toczyski, D P; Steitz, J A

1993-01-01

EAP (EBER-associated protein) is an abundant, 15-kDa cellular RNA-binding protein which associates with certain herpesvirus small RNAs. We have raised polyclonal anti-EAP antibodies against a glutathione S-transferase-EAP fusion protein. Analysis of the RNA precipitated by these antibodies from Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)- or herpesvirus papio (HVP)-infected cells shows that > 95% of EBER 1 (EBV-encoded RNA 1) and the majority of HVP 1 (an HVP small RNA homologous to EBER 1) are associated with EAP. RNase protection experiments performed on native EBER 1 particles with affinity-purified anti-EAP antibodies demonstrate that EAP binds a stem-loop structure (stem-loop 3) of EBER 1. Since bacterially expressed glutathione S-transferase-EAP fusion protein binds EBER 1, we conclude that EAP binding is independent of any other cellular or viral protein. Detailed mutational analyses of stem-loop 3 suggest that EAP recognizes the majority of the nucleotides in this hairpin, interacting with both single-stranded and double-stranded regions in a sequence-specific manner. Binding studies utilizing EBER 1 deletion mutants suggest that there may also be a second, weaker EAP-binding site on stem-loop 4 of EBER 1. These data and the fact that stem-loop 3 represents the most highly conserved region between EBER 1 and HVP 1 suggest that EAP binding is a critical aspect of EBER 1 and HVP 1 function. Images PMID:8380232

Teachers' Voice vs. Students' Voice: A Needs Analysis Approach to English for Acadmic Purposes (EAP) in Iran

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eslami, Zohreh R.

2010-01-01

EAP plays a highly important role in countries where English is used mainly for academic purposes. However, EAP programs have been developed without conducting a systematic needs analysis from both the students' and instructors' perspective. The purpose of this study is to describe the perception that EAP students and instructors have of the…

Designing and Evaluating an EAP Reading Textbook: English for Political Science and Economics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sauzier-Uchida, Emi

2009-01-01

This study aims to report an attempt to design and organise a content-based EAP reading course in political science and economics at a university in Japan, and to shed some light on learners' actual practices and preferences through the use of survey- and interview-based research participated in by 438 students. A principal axis of this project…

Multimodal Genre Systems in EAP Writing Pedagogy: Reflecting on a Needs Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molle, Daniella; Prior, Paul

2008-01-01

This article reports on a genre-based needs analysis for a graduate course in English for academic purposes (EAP) at a large public U.S. university. In particular, it describes the theoretical reconceptualizations of genre analysis that the data provoked. Using ethnographic methods, an investigation of academic genres in several classrooms in…

The extracellular adherence protein (Eap) of Staphylococcus aureus inhibits wound healing by interfering with host defense and repair mechanisms.

PubMed

Athanasopoulos, Athanasios N; Economopoulou, Matina; Orlova, Valeria V; Sobke, Astrid; Schneider, Darius; Weber, Holger; Augustin, Hellmut G; Eming, Sabine A; Schubert, Uwe; Linn, Thomas; Nawroth, Peter P; Hussain, Muzaffar; Hammes, Hans-Peter; Herrmann, Mathias; Preissner, Klaus T; Chavakis, Triantafyllos

2006-04-01

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen interfering with host-cell functions. Impaired wound healing is often observed in S aureus-infected wounds, yet, the underlying mechanisms are poorly defined. Here, we identify the extracellular adherence protein (Eap) of S aureus to be responsible for impaired wound healing. In a mouse wound-healing model wound closure was inhibited in the presence of wild-type S aureus and this effect was reversible when the wounds were incubated with an isogenic Eap-deficient strain. Isolated Eap also delayed wound closure. In the presence of Eap, recruitment of inflammatory cells to the wound site as well as neovascularization of the wound were prevented. In vitro, Eap significantly reduced intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1)-dependent leukocyte-endothelial interactions and diminished the consequent activation of the proinflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor kappaB (NFkappaB) in leukocytes associated with a decrease in expression of tissue factor. Moreover, Eap blocked alphav-integrin-mediated endothelial-cell migration and capillary tube formation, and neovascularization in matrigels in vivo. Collectively, the potent anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic properties of Eap provide an underlying mechanism that may explain the impaired wound healing in S aureus-infected wounds. Eap may also serve as a lead compound for new anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic therapies in several pathologies.

Reflections on the GUN CONTROL Simulation: Pedagogical Implications for EAP Writing Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salies, Tania Gastao

2007-01-01

This article critically reflects on the GUN CONTROL simulation (Salies, 1994a) by retaking ideas advanced by Salies (2002) and applying them to the context of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing classes in Brazil. It examines how controlled practice relates to learners' performance on the first draft in a simulation-based content unit…

Improving Students' Report Writing Quality in an EAP Context: Group versus Individual

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ali, Holi Ibrahim Holi

2012-01-01

This paper looks into report writing quality on both individual and group bases in an EAP context. A total of 100 EFL students at post foundation level in a University College in Oman, and 15 EFL teachers were selected randomly. Questionnaires were administered to investigate their perceptions and experiences with report writing quality on…

Isolation and characterization of a bacteriophage phiEap-2 infecting multidrug resistant Enterobacter aerogenes

PubMed Central

Li, Erna; Wei, Xiao; Ma, Yanyan; Yin, Zhe; Li, Huan; Lin, Weishi; Wang, Xuesong; Li, Chao; Shen, Zhiqiang; Zhao, Ruixiang; Yang, Huiying; Jiang, Aimin; Yang, Wenhui; Yuan, Jing; Zhao, Xiangna

2016-01-01

Enterobacter aerogenes (Enterobacteriaceae) is an important opportunistic pathogen that causes hospital-acquired pneumonia, bacteremia, and urinary tract infections. Recently, multidrug-resistant E. aerogenes have been a public health problem. To develop an effective antimicrobial agent, bacteriophage phiEap-2 was isolated from sewage and its genome was sequenced because of its ability to lyse the multidrug-resistant clinical E. aerogenes strain 3-SP. Morphological observations suggested that the phage belongs to the Siphoviridae family. Comparative genome analysis revealed that phage phiEap-2 is related to the Salmonella phage FSL SP-031 (KC139518). All of the structural gene products (except capsid protein) encoded by phiEap-2 had orthologous gene products in FSL SP-031 and Serratia phage Eta (KC460990). Here, we report the complete genome sequence of phiEap-2 and major findings from the genomic analysis. Knowledge of this phage might be helpful for developing therapeutic strategies against E. aerogenes. PMID:27320081

Isolation and characterization of a bacteriophage phiEap-2 infecting multidrug resistant Enterobacter aerogenes.

PubMed

Li, Erna; Wei, Xiao; Ma, Yanyan; Yin, Zhe; Li, Huan; Lin, Weishi; Wang, Xuesong; Li, Chao; Shen, Zhiqiang; Zhao, Ruixiang; Yang, Huiying; Jiang, Aimin; Yang, Wenhui; Yuan, Jing; Zhao, Xiangna

2016-06-20

Enterobacter aerogenes (Enterobacteriaceae) is an important opportunistic pathogen that causes hospital-acquired pneumonia, bacteremia, and urinary tract infections. Recently, multidrug-resistant E. aerogenes have been a public health problem. To develop an effective antimicrobial agent, bacteriophage phiEap-2 was isolated from sewage and its genome was sequenced because of its ability to lyse the multidrug-resistant clinical E. aerogenes strain 3-SP. Morphological observations suggested that the phage belongs to the Siphoviridae family. Comparative genome analysis revealed that phage phiEap-2 is related to the Salmonella phage FSL SP-031 (KC139518). All of the structural gene products (except capsid protein) encoded by phiEap-2 had orthologous gene products in FSL SP-031 and Serratia phage Eta (KC460990). Here, we report the complete genome sequence of phiEap-2 and major findings from the genomic analysis. Knowledge of this phage might be helpful for developing therapeutic strategies against E. aerogenes.

Electroactive Polymer (EAP) Actuation of Mechanisms and Robotic Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Y.; Leary, S.; Harrison, J.; Smith, J.

1999-01-01

Actuators are responsible to the operative capability of manipulation systems and robots. In recent years, electroactive polymers (EAP) have emerged as potential alternative to conventional actuators.

Computer Literacy in Learning Academic English: Iranian EAP Students' and Instructors' Attitudes and Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alavi, Seyed Mohammad; Borzabadi, Davood; Dashtestani, Reza

2016-01-01

This study aimed to analyze perceptions of Iranian English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students on their computer literacy levels. A total of 641 undergraduate students of civil engineering and 34 EAP instructors participated in the study. Data collection instruments included questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Findings confirmed that…

The anchorless adhesin Eap (extracellular adherence protein) from Staphylococcus aureus selectively recognizes extracellular matrix aggregates but binds promiscuously to monomeric matrix macromolecules.

PubMed

Hansen, Uwe; Hussain, Muzaffar; Villone, Daniela; Herrmann, Mathias; Robenek, Horst; Peters, Georg; Sinha, Bhanu; Bruckner, Peter

2006-05-01

Besides a number of cell wall-anchored adhesins, the majority of Staphylococcus aureus strains produce anchorless, cell wall-associated proteins, such as Eap (extracellular adherence protein). Eap contains four to six tandem repeat (EAP)-domains. Eap mediates diverse biological functions, including adherence and immunomodulation, thus contributing to S. aureus pathogenesis. Eap binding to host macromolecules is unusually promiscuous and includes matrix or matricellular proteins as well as plasma proteins. The structural basis of this promiscuity is poorly understood. Here, we show that in spite of the preferential location of the binding epitopes within triple helical regions in some collagens there is a striking specificity of Eap binding to different collagen types. Collagen I, but not collagen II, is a binding substrate in monomolecular form. However, collagen I is virtually unrecognized by Eap when incorporated into banded fibrils. By contrast, microfibrils containing collagen VI as well as basement membrane-associated networks containing collagen IV, or aggregates containing fibronectin bound Eap as effectively as the monomeric proteins. Therefore, Eap-binding to extracellular matrix ligands is promiscuous at the molecular level but not indiscriminate with respect to supramolecular structures containing the same macromolecules. In addition, Eap bound to banded fibrils after their partial disintegration by matrix-degrading proteinases, including matrix metalloproteinase 1. Therefore, adherence to matrix suprastructures by S. aureus can be supported by inflammatory reactions.

14 CFR 120.115 - Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS AND OPERATORS FOR COMPENSATION OR HIRE: CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAM Drug Testing Program Requirements § 120.115 Employee Assistance Program (EAP). (a... employer's drug testing plan submitted to the FAA for approval. ...

14 CFR 120.115 - Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS AND OPERATORS FOR COMPENSATION OR HIRE: CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAM Drug Testing Program Requirements § 120.115 Employee Assistance Program (EAP). (a... employer's drug testing plan submitted to the FAA for approval. ...

14 CFR 120.115 - Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS AND OPERATORS FOR COMPENSATION OR HIRE: CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAM Drug Testing Program Requirements § 120.115 Employee Assistance Program (EAP). (a... employer's drug testing plan submitted to the FAA for approval. ...

14 CFR 120.115 - Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS AND OPERATORS FOR COMPENSATION OR HIRE: CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAM Drug Testing Program Requirements § 120.115 Employee Assistance Program (EAP). (a... employer's drug testing plan submitted to the FAA for approval. ...

Beliefs on Learning and Teaching Language Components: The Case of Iranian EAP and EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsi, Gholamreza

2017-01-01

The present study intended to investigate the possible difference between EAP and EFL learners' beliefs concerning learning and teaching of language components, namely, vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. Furthermore, this study examined the association between EAP and EFL learners' beliefs and their language components' development. To this…

Arrays of EAP micro-actuators for single-cell stretching applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbari, S.; Niklaus, M.; Shea, H.

2010-04-01

Mechanical stimuli are critical for the development and maintenance of most tissues such as muscles, cartilage, bones and blood vessels. The commercially available cell culture systems replicating the in vivo environment are typically based on simple membrane cell-stretching equipment, which can only measure the average response of large colonies of cells over areas of greater than one cm2. We present here the conceptual design and the complete fabrication process of an array of 128 Electro-Active Polymer (EAP) micro-actuators which are uni-axially stretched and hence used to impose unidirectional strain on single cells, make it feasible to do experiments on the cytomechanics of individual cells. The Finite Element Method is employed to study the effect of different design parameters on achievable strain, leading to the optimized design. Compliant gold electrodes are deposited by low-energy ion implantation on both sides of a PDMS membrane, as this technique allows making electrodes that support large strain with minimal stiffening of the elastomer. The membrane is bonded to a rigid support, leading to an array of 100×100 μm2 EAP actuators.

Receptivity to Learner-Driven Feedback in EAP

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maas, Clare

2017-01-01

There is still debate surrounding what constitutes the most effective feedback on EFL learners' writing, particularly in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) settings. Unanswered questions are found in the literature on topics such as the best formats for feedback, the role of technology, authors' authority over written texts, and ways of helping…

Interaction between the Staphylococcus aureus extracellular adherence protein Eap and its subdomains with platelets.

PubMed

Palankar, Raghavendra; Binsker, Ulrike; Haracska, Bianca; Wesche, Jan; Greinacher, Andreas; Hammerschmidt, Sven

2018-04-18

S. aureus associated bacteremia can lead to severe infections with high risk of mortality (e.g. sepsis, infective endocarditis). Many virulence factors and adhesins of S. aureus are known to directly interact with platelets. Extracellular adherence protein, Eap, one of the most important virulence factors in S. aureus mediated infections is a multi-tandem domain protein and has been shown to interact with almost all cell types in the human circulatory system. By using amine reactive fluorescent N-hydroxysuccinimidyl (NHS)-ester dyes and by direct detection with primary fluorescently conjugated anti-histidine (His-tag) antibodies against detect N-terminal His6, we show Eap subdomain Eap D 3 D 4 specifically interacts and rapidly activates human platelets. Furthermore, we validate our finding by using site directed directional immobilization of Eap D 3 D 4 through N-terminal His 6 on nickel (II)-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) functionalized bacteriomimetic microbead arrays to visualize real-time platelet activation through calcium release assay. These methods offer an easily adoptable protocols for screening of S.aureus derived virulence factors and adhesins with platelets. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

EAP viewpoint on unpublished data from paediatric clinical trials.

PubMed

Schrier, L; Illy, K; Valiulis, A; Wyder, C; Stiris, T

2018-02-01

European children and paediatricians rely heavily on the fair, complete and timely publication of data obtained from paediatric randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Selective publication and reporting of paediatric RCTs is common practice. Industry-sponsored trials are more likely to remain unpublished, and take longer to get published compared with trials sponsored by others. However, also academic sponsors contribute to inefficiencies in publishing clinical data. Publication bias violates the ethical obligation that investigators have towards study participants, leads to considerable inefficiencies in research and a waste of financial and human resources, and has the potential to distort evidence for treatment approaches. The European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP) therefore actively supports initiatives that increase the public dissemination of paediatric clinical trial data. The EAP will raise awareness about the guidelines for Good Publication Practice among European paediatricians and subspecialty societies.

The structure of EAP-groups and self-autopermutable subgroups.

PubMed

Housieni, Shima; Moghaddam, Mohammad Reza Rajabzadeh

2014-01-01

A subgroup H of a given group G is said to be autopermutable, if HH(α) = H(α)H for all α ∈ Aut(G). We also call H a self-autopermutable subgroup of G, when HH(α) = H(α)H implies that H(α) = H. Moreover, G is said to be EAP-group, if every subgroup of G is autopermutable. One notes that if α runs over the inner automorphisms of the group, one obtains the notions of conjugate-permutability, self-conjugate-permutability, and ECP-groups, which were studied by Foguel in 1997, Li and Meng in 2007, and Xu and Zhang in 2005, respectively. In the present paper, we determine the structure of a finite EAP-group when its centre is of index 4 in G. We also show that self-autopermutability and characteristic properties are equivalent for nilpotent groups.

Parametric dictionary learning for modeling EAP and ODF in diffusion MRI.

PubMed

Merlet, Sylvain; Caruyer, Emmanuel; Deriche, Rachid

2012-01-01

In this work, we propose an original and efficient approach to exploit the ability of Compressed Sensing (CS) to recover diffusion MRI (dMRI) signals from a limited number of samples while efficiently recovering important diffusion features such as the ensemble average propagator (EAP) and the orientation distribution function (ODF). Some attempts to sparsely represent the diffusion signal have already been performed. However and contrarly to what has been presented in CS dMRI, in this work we propose and advocate the use of a well adapted learned dictionary and show that it leads to a sparser signal estimation as well as to an efficient reconstruction of very important diffusion features. We first propose to learn and design a sparse and parametric dictionary from a set of training diffusion data. Then, we propose a framework to analytically estimate in closed form two important diffusion features: the EAP and the ODF. Various experiments on synthetic, phantom and human brain data have been carried out and promising results with reduced number of atoms have been obtained on diffusion signal reconstruction, thus illustrating the added value of our method over state-of-the-art SHORE and SPF based approaches.

EAP Curriculum Alignment and Social Acculturation: Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tweedie, M. Gregory; Kim, Marcia

2015-01-01

The role of English as a second language (ESL) teachers and instruction as factors in student social and psychological acculturation is widely acknowledged. However, the function of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is less well known in this regard, because research has focused largely on academic acculturation. This qualitative study…

Strain-specific induction of experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP) in mice.

PubMed

Jackson, Christopher M; Flies, Dallas B; Mosse, Claudio A; Parwani, Anil; Hipkiss, Edward L; Drake, Charles G

2013-05-01

Prostatitis, a clinical syndrome characterized by pelvic pain and inflammation, is common in adult males. Although several induced and spontaneous murine models of prostatitis have been explored, the role of genetic background on induction has not been well-defined. Using a standard methodology for the induction of experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP), we investigated both acute and chronic inflammation on several murine genetic backgrounds. In our colony, nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice evinced spontaneous prostatitis that was not augmented by immunization with rat prostate extract (RPE). In contrast, the standard laboratory strain Balb/c developed chronic inflammation in response to RPE immunization. Development of EAP in other strains was variable. These data suggest that Balb/c mice injected with RPE may provide a useful model for chronic prostatic inflammation. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Strain-Specific Induction of Experimental Autoimmune Prostatitis (EAP) in Mice

PubMed Central

Jackson, Christopher M.; Flies, Dallas B.; Mosse, Claudio A.; Parwani, Anil; Hipkiss, Edward L.; Drake, Charles G.

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND Prostatitis, a clinical syndrome characterized by pelvic pain and inflammation, is common in adult males. Although several induced and spontaneous murine models of prostatitis have been explored, the role of genetic background on induction has not been well-defined. METHODS Using a standard methodology for the induction of experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP), we investigated both acute and chronic inflammation on several murine genetic backgrounds. RESULTS In our colony, nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice evinced spontaneous prostatitis that was not augmented by immunization with rat prostate extract (RPE). In contrast, the standard laboratory strain Balb/c developed chronic inflammation in response to RPE immunization. Development of EAP in other strains was variable. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that Balb/c mice injected with RPE may provide a useful model for chronic prostatic inflammation. PMID:23129407

Effects of EAP follow-up on prevention of relapse among substance abuse clients.

PubMed

Foote, A; Erfurt, J C

1991-05-01

Clients entering an employee assistance program (EAP) of a large manufacturing plant in 1985 who were assessed as having an alcohol or drug abuse problem (N = 325) were randomized into an experimental "special follow-up" group and a control "regular care" group. The regular care group received follow-up only as needed (following the usual practice of the EAP), while a follow-up counselor was hired to make routine contacts with the special follow-up group. Study intake continued through 1985, and follow-up continued through the end of 1986. Data collected on study subjects included EAP participation data, absenteeism, number of hospitalizations, health care claims paid and disability claims paid. The major study hypothesis was that EAP clients randomly allocated to special follow-up would show better results than regular care clients (i.e., would have fewer relapses, better job attendance and lower health benefit utilization during the follow-up year). The follow-up intervention was incompletely implemented due to a variety of organizational problems. Differences between the two groups on the six outcome measures were not statistically significant, although clients in the special follow-up group did show better results than clients in the regular care group on the three measures related to substance abuse. Differences on these three measures were marginally significant in regression analyses after controlling for the effects of number of follow-up visits, age, race and chronicity.

Promoting Reflection on Science, Technology, and Society among Engineering Students through an EAP Online Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arno-Macia, Elisabet; Rueda-Ramos, Carmen

2011-01-01

With the new European framework, as EAP lecturers in an engineering college, we are reappraising our teaching and the position of our courses. From the perspective of engineering education in the 21st century, we believe that EAP teaching can focus not only on language and communication needs, but also on developing critical thinking about science…

Learner Corpora: The Missing Link in EAP Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilquin, Gaetanelle; Granger, Sylviane; Paquot, Magali

2007-01-01

This article deals with the place of learner corpora, i.e. corpora containing authentic language data produced by learners of a foreign/second language, in English for academic purposes (EAP) pedagogy and sets out to demonstrate that they have a valuable contribution to make to the field. Following an initial brief introduction to corpus-based…

Human-like robots as platforms for electroactive polymers (EAP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2008-03-01

Human-like robots, which have been a science fiction for many years, are increasingly becoming an engineering reality thanks to many technology advances in recent years. Humans have always sought to imitate the human appearance, functions and intelligence and as the capability progresses they may become our household appliance or even companion. Biomimetic technologies are increasingly becoming common tools to support the development of such robots. As artificial muscles, electroactive polymers (EAP) are offering important actuation capability for making such machines lifelike. The current limitations of EAP are hampering the possibilities that can be adapted in such robots but progress is continually being made. As opposed to other human made machines and devices, this technology raises various questions and concerns that need to be addressed. These include the need to prevent accidents, deliberate harm, or their use in crimes. In this paper the state-of-the-art and the challenges will be reviewed.

An all-organic composite actuator material with a high dielectric constant.

PubMed

Zhang, Q M; Li, Hengfeng; Poh, Martin; Xia, Feng; Cheng, Z-Y; Xu, Haisheng; Huang, Cheng

2002-09-19

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) can behave as actuators, changing their shape in response to electrical stimulation. EAPs that are controlled by external electric fields--referred to here as field-type EAPs--include ferroelectric polymers, electrostrictive polymers, dielectric elastomers and liquid crystal polymers. Field-type EAPs can exhibit fast response speeds, low hysteresis and strain levels far above those of traditional piezoelectric materials, with elastic energy densities even higher than those of piezoceramics. However, these polymers also require a high field (>70 V micro m(-1)) to generate such high elastic energy densities (>0.1 J cm(-3); refs 4, 5, 9, 10). Here we report a new class of all-organic field-type EAP composites, which can exhibit high elastic energy densities induced by an electric field of only 13 V micro m(-1). The composites are fabricated from an organic filler material possessing very high dielectric constant dispersed in an electrostrictive polymer matrix. The composites can exhibit high net dielectric constants while retaining the flexibility of the matrix. These all-organic actuators could find applications as artificial muscles, 'smart skins' for drag reduction, and in microfluidic systems for drug delivery.

A 2-year cohort study on the impact of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) on depression and suicidal thoughts in male Japanese workers.

PubMed

Nakao, Mutsuhiro; Nishikitani, Mariko; Shima, Satoru; Yano, Eiji

2007-11-01

Depression and suicide-related behaviours are important issues for workers, and the number of Japanese companies contracting with the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to promote employees' mental health has recently increased. However, no longitudinal studies have reported that the EAP maintains or improves the overall level of depression among employees qualitatively. Thus, we attempted to assess the impact of the EAP on depression and suicide-related behaviours in the workplace. A cohort study was conducted on 283 male Japanese employees aged 22-38 years at a Japanese information-technology company introducing the EAP. Because the privacy policy of the EAP service made it difficult to perform a randomised design in the workplace, 22 men working at an affiliated company without the EAP were used as a reference group. All the subjects completed the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) and Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) consisting of job demands, control, and social support before the EAP was introduced to establish a baseline and after 2 years. In the EAP group, the total HAM-D scores significantly decreased after the 2-year study period (P=0.0011); the changes in the scores of the five HAM-D items (i.e., suicidal thoughts, agitation, psychomotor retardation, guilt, and depressed mood) were significant. Specifically, 19 (86%) of the 22 workers with a positive response to the suicidal thoughts item (i.e., score >or= 1) at baseline reported that they no longer had suicidal thoughts (i.e., score=0) after the 2 year study period. No significant changes were observed in the reference group. The three JCQ scores were not significantly different between the baseline and after the 2 year study period in both groups. Although further studies are needed, EAPs may be a promising strategy for maintaining the good mental health of workers.

Enhancing the Quality of EAP Writing through Overt Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wee, Roselind; Sim, Jacqueline; Jusoff, Kamaruzaman

2009-01-01

This paper examines how overt teaching is instrumental in reducing subject-verb agreement (SVA) errors of Malaysian EAP learners which in turn improves the quality of their writing. The researchers used overt teaching of these grammatical items, that is, SVA and investigated how this method has significantly benefitted the learners who were second…

The Impact of an EAP Course on Postgraduate Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Storch, Neomy; Tapper, Joanna

2009-01-01

This study assessed the impact of completing an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course on the writing of postgraduate learners. We begin this paper by describing a course offered for credit to postgraduate international students at a university in Australia, and then report on a large-scale study (n = 69) which investigated the improvement (if…

We strongly support childhood immunisation-statement from the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP).

PubMed

Dornbusch, Hans Juergen; Hadjipanayis, Adamos; Del Torso, Stefano; Mercier, Jean-Christophe; Wyder, Corinne; Schrier, Lenneke; Ross-Russell, Robert; Stiris, Tom; Ludvigsson, Jonas F

2017-05-01

The eradication of smallpox and the elimination of several other infectious diseases from much of the world has provided convincing evidence that vaccines are among the most effective interventions for promoting health. The current scepticism about immunisation among members of the new US administration carries a risk of decreasing immunisation rates also in Europe. While only a small minority of the population are strongly anti-vaccine, their public activities have significantly influenced an uncertainty among the general population about both the safety of and the necessity for vaccination. Therefore, the EAP calls for greater publically available, scientifically supported information on vaccination, particularly targeted at health care providers, for the further development of electronically based immunisation information systems (IIS). We further call on all European countries to work together both in legislative and public health arenas in order to increase vaccination coverage among the paediatric population. In the interest of children and their parents, the EAP expresses its strong support for childhood immunisation and recommended vaccination schedules. We are prepared to work with governments and media and share the extensive evidence demonstrating the effectiveness and safety of vaccines.

The extracellular adherence protein (Eap) of Staphylococcus aureus acts as a proliferation and migration repressing factor that alters the cell morphology of keratinocytes.

PubMed

Eisenbeis, Janina; Peisker, Henrik; Backes, Christian S; Bur, Stephanie; Hölters, Sebastian; Thewes, Nicolas; Greiner, Markus; Junker, Christian; Schwarz, Eva C; Hoth, Markus; Junker, Kerstin; Preissner, Klaus T; Jacobs, Karin; Herrmann, Mathias; Bischoff, Markus

2017-02-01

Staphyloccocus aureus is a major human pathogen and a common cause for superficial and deep seated wound infections. The pathogen is equipped with a large arsenal of virulence factors, which facilitate attachment to various eukaryotic cell structures and modulate the host immune response. One of these factors is the extracellular adherence protein Eap, a member of the "secretable expanded repertoire adhesive molecules" (SERAM) protein family that possesses adhesive and immune modulatory properties. The secreted protein was previously shown to impair wound healing by interfering with host defense and neovascularization. However, its impact on keratinocyte proliferation and migration, two major steps in the re-epithelialization process of wounds, is not known. Here, we report that Eap affects the proliferation and migration capacities of keratinocytes by altering their morphology and adhesive properties. In particular, treatment of non-confluent HaCaT cell cultures with Eap resulted in cell morphology changes as well as a significant reduction in cell proliferation and migration. Eap-treated HaCaT cells changed their appearance from an oblong via a trapezoid to an astral-like shape, accompanied by decreases in cell volume and cell stiffness, and exhibited significantly increased cell adhesion. Eap had a similar influence on endothelial and cancer cells, indicative for a general effect of Eap on eukaryotic cell morphology and functions. Specifically, Eap was found to interfere with growth factor-stimulated activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway that is known to be responsible for cell shape modulation, induction of proliferation and migration of epithelial cells. Western blot analyses revealed that Eap blocked the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (Erk1/2) in keratinocyte growth factor (KGF)-stimulated HaCaT cells. Together, these data add another antagonistic mechanism of Eap in wound healing, whereby the

Simulation/Gaming in the EAP Writing Class: Benefits and Drawbacks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salies, Tania Gastao

2002-01-01

Describes an integrated use of simulation/gaming in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) class, analyzes benefits and drawbacks, and suggest how the technique could apply to other specific contexts. Explains how international students ran a simulation on gun control; discusses the debriefing process; and considers motivation, metacognitive…

Implementing long-term EAP follow-up with clients and family members to help prevent relapse-With implications for primary prevention.

PubMed

Foote, A; Googins, B; Moriarty, M; Sandonato, C; Nadolski, J; Jefferson, C

1994-12-01

This paper reports on a study in progress which involves (a) regular post-treatment contact by employee assistance program (EAP) staff with employees who seek help through the EAP, and (b) contact with a family member or other support person designated by the employee. The contacts are designed to provide support for maintenance of therapeutic gains, assistance in adjusting to current life situations, and early identification and prevention of relapse. The study will evaluate the process of initiating these contacts and will examine their effectiveness at reducing relapse. Factors associated with implementing these services in an EAP context are discussed.

A Promising Tool for Helping Vulnerable Workers? An Exploration of the Use of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to Help Low-Wage Workers on College Campuses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hahn, Andrew B.

2005-01-01

Employee assistance programs, or EAPs, are an employee benefit designed to help workers meet their work and family needs. However, questions have been raised about the design, utilization, and scale of services that EAPs make possible for low-wage workers. This article explores whether on college campuses an EAP benefit can simultaneously meet the…

1H, 15N, and 13C resonance assignments of the third domain from the S. aureus innate immune evasion protein Eap.

PubMed

Herrera, Alvaro I; Ploscariu, Nicoleta T; Geisbrecht, Brian V; Prakash, Om

2018-04-01

Staphylococcus aureus is a widespread and persistent pathogen of humans and livestock. The bacterium expresses a wide variety of virulence proteins, many of which serve to disrupt the host's innate immune system from recognizing and clearing bacteria with optimal efficiency. The extracellular adherence protein (Eap) is a multidomain protein that participates in various protein-protein interactions that inhibit the innate immune response, including both the complement system (Woehl et al in J Immunol 193:6161-6171, 2014) and Neutrophil Serine Proteases (NSPs) (Stapels et al in Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111:13187-13192, 2014). The third domain of Eap, Eap3, is an ~ 11 kDa protein that was recently shown to bind complement component C4b (Woehl et al in Protein Sci 26:1595-1608, 2017) and therefore play an essential role in inhibiting the classical and lectin pathways of complement (Woehl et al in J Immunol 193:6161-6171, 2014). Since structural characterization of Eap3 is still incomplete, we acquired a series of 2D and 3D NMR spectra of Eap3 in solution. Here we report the backbone and side-chain 1 H, 15 N, and 13 C resonance assignments of Eap3 and its predicted secondary structure via the TALOS-N server. The assignment data have been deposited in the BMRB data bank under accession number 27087.

Diagnosing EAP Writing Ability Using the Reduced Reparameterized Unified Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Youn-Hee

2011-01-01

Despite the increasing interest in and need for test information for use in instructional practice and student learning, there have been few attempts to systematically link a diagnostic approach to English for academic purposes (EAP) writing instruction and assessment. In response to this need for research, this study examined the extent to which…

Impaired Job Performance and Critical Incidents: Factors Influencing Supervisory EAP Referrals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harley, David A.

Relatively little empirical research has been done on the supervisory referral of employees to employee assistance programs (EAPs). Inclusion of constructive confrontation (supervisory referral) into program standards and its continued promotion as a "central strategy" of program theory and operation calls for critical investigation of…

Survival analysis to explore the characteristics of employee assistance program (EAP) referrals that remain employed.

PubMed

Macdonald, S; Albert, W; Maynard, M; French, P

1989-02-01

This study examined characteristics of referrals to employee assistance programs (EAP) associated with subsequent termination of employment. As well, relationships between characteristics of the referrals and program characteristics were explored. Longitudinal data were collected at several time periods for 163 referrals to EAPs from five organizations. Survival analysis was conducted to determine which variables were associated with termination of employment. Females, cohabitating couples, and employees who worked for the organization for 5 or more years were most likely to remain employed. One interesting finding was that people with alcohol problems were significantly more likely to be formal referrals.

The Margins as "Third Space": EAP Teacher Professionalism in Canadian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacDonald, Jennifer

2016-01-01

Teachers of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in the Canadian university setting often experience professional marginalization in terms of lack of status, clarity of mandate, or administrative home within their institutions. Despite having broadly benefited the ESL/EAL sector in Canada, traditional trait-focused professionalization efforts have…

Bimonthly 24 h infusion of high-dose 5-fluorouracil vs EAP regimen in patients with advanced gastric cancer. A randomized phase II study.

PubMed

Popov, I P; Jelić, S B; Krivokapić, Z V; Jezdić, S D; Pesko, P M; Micev, M T; Babić, D R

2008-01-01

To investigate the activity and toxicity of high dose (HD) infusional 5-FU in comparison to EAP regimen as first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Histologically confirmed measurable advanced gastric cancer, age < 72 yr, ECOG performance status 0-2, no prior chemo- and radiotherapy, adequate organ functions. EAP arm: doxorubicin (40 mg/m(2)), etoposide (360 mg/m(2)), and cisplatin (80 mg/m(2)) every 28 d; HD 5-FU arm: 5-FU 2.6 g/m(2) 24 h infusion, biweekly. Sixty patients were randomized. Patient characteristics (arms EAP/HD 5-FU): Median age 57/55 yr, median PS 1/1, LAD (patients) 3/8, M1 (patients) 27/22. Median number of cycles (range): EAP arm 4 (2-8), HD 5-FU arm 2 (1-8). Worst toxicity per cycle (grade 3 and 4 in%): Neutropenia 20/3, thrombocytopenia 9/0, anemia 9/13, diarrhea 3/10, nausea 17/7, vomiting 10/0 for EAP and HD 5-FU arms, respectively. All patients were eligible for response in both arms. Confirmed response rate (95%CI): EAP arm 34% [16-50%]/HD 5-FU arm 10% (0-21%), no change: 46/40%, progression of disease: 20/50, respectively. Overall survival (range): EAP arm A 7 mo [3-27], HD 5-FU arm 6 mo (4-25). Infusional HD 5-FU showed a low incidence of severe toxicity. But given the low efficacy of 5-FU in the dosage we applied in the study, it cannot be recommended as a single treatment for further studies. Assessment of higher dose intensity and/or dose density of 5-FU, with introduction of other active drugs in combination, could be an option for further studies.

Mapping the transcription start points of the Staphylococcus aureus eap, emp, and vwb promoters reveals a conserved octanucleotide sequence that is essential for expression of these genes.

PubMed

Harraghy, Niamh; Homerova, Dagmar; Herrmann, Mathias; Kormanec, Jan

2008-01-01

Mapping the transcription start points of the eap, emp, and vwb promoters revealed a conserved octanucleotide sequence (COS). Deleting this sequence abolished the expression of eap, emp, and vwb. However, electrophoretic mobility shift assays gave no evidence that this sequence was a binding site for SarA or SaeR, known regulators of eap and emp.

A New Outlook on EAP Literacies: General and Specific English Territories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zohrabi, Mohammad

2010-01-01

In designing an EAP (English for Academic Purposes) course it is necessary that we consider several factors: students' objectives, needs, levels and interests, course and institution's goals, and availability of resources. In this paper it is strived to elucidate the differences between EGP (English for General purposes) and ESP (English for…

Surfactant protein A (SP-A)-mediated clearance of Staphylococcus aureus involves binding of SP-A to the staphylococcal adhesin eap and the macrophage receptors SP-A receptor 210 and scavenger receptor class A.

PubMed

Sever-Chroneos, Zvjezdana; Krupa, Agnieszka; Davis, Jeremy; Hasan, Misbah; Yang, Ching-Hui; Szeliga, Jacek; Herrmann, Mathias; Hussain, Muzafar; Geisbrecht, Brian V; Kobzik, Lester; Chroneos, Zissis C

2011-02-11

Staphylococcus aureus causes life-threatening pneumonia in hospitals and deadly superinfection during viral influenza. The current study investigated the role of surfactant protein A (SP-A) in opsonization and clearance of S. aureus. Previous studies showed that SP-A mediates phagocytosis via the SP-A receptor 210 (SP-R210). Here, we show that SP-R210 mediates binding and control of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus by macrophages. We determined that SP-A binds S. aureus through the extracellular adhesin Eap. Consequently, SP-A enhanced macrophage uptake of Eap-expressing (Eap(+)) but not Eap-deficient (Eap(-)) S. aureus. In a reciprocal fashion, SP-A failed to enhance uptake of Eap(+) S. aureus in peritoneal Raw264.7 macrophages with a dominant negative mutation (SP-R210(DN)) blocking surface expression of SP-R210. Accordingly, WT mice cleared infection with Eap(+) but succumbed to sublethal infection with Eap- S. aureus. However, SP-R210(DN) cells compensated by increasing non-opsonic phagocytosis of Eap(+) S. aureus via the scavenger receptor scavenger receptor class A (SR-A), while non-opsonic uptake of Eap(-) S. aureus was impaired. Macrophages express two isoforms: SP-R210(L) and SP-R210(S). The results show that WT alveolar macrophages are distinguished by expression of SP-R210(L), whereas SR-A(-/-) alveolar macrophages are deficient in SP-R210(L) expressing only SP-R210(S). Accordingly, SR-A(-/-) mice were highly susceptible to both Eap(+) and Eap(-) S. aureus. The lungs of susceptible mice generated abnormal inflammatory responses that were associated with impaired killing and persistence of S. aureus infection in the lung. In conclusion, alveolar macrophage SP-R210(L) mediates recognition and killing of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus in vivo, coordinating inflammatory responses and resolution of S. aureus pneumonia through interaction with SR-A.

Perceived Views of Language Teachers on the Use of Needs Analysis in ESP Materials Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ali, Holi Ibrahim Holi; Salih, Abdel Rahman Abdalla

2013-01-01

Needs analysis is generally believed to be important in ESP/EAP context because it enables practitioners and materials writers to find out about their real learners' needs. Therefore, this study is set out to investigate EFL teachers' beliefs and views about need analysis use and practices, specifically in the ESP/EAP tertiary context of the…

Reading and Writing as Academic Literacy in EAP Program of Indonesian Leaners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solikhah, Imroatus

2015-01-01

This study investigates academic literacy imposed in reading and writing for academic purposes in the EAP program. This study uses descriptive design elaborating data from curriculum documents and interviews. Involving 45 participants from IAIN Surakarta and Veteran University, data were analyzed using constant-comparison and inductive analysis…

The Pronunciation Component in Teaching EAP in Cameroonian Universities: Some Proposals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Safotso, Gilbert Tagne

2016-01-01

In Cameroonian universities, EAP is generally seen as a marginalised unit, and its teaching is abandoned to part-time secondary school teachers, or doctorate students who have little or no knowledge of the subject. Most of the time, these teachers do not know the real objective of the subject, and do not master it. In some universities, each…

Closed-loop control of a core free rolled EAP actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarban, Rahimullah; Oubaek, Jakob; Jones, Richard W.

2009-03-01

Tubular dielectric electro-active polymer actuators, also referred as tubular InLastors, have many possible applications. One of the most obvious is as a positioning push-type device. This work examines the feedback closed-loop control of a core-free tubular InLastor fabricated from sheets of PolyPowerTM, an EAP material developed by Danfoss PolyPower A/S, which uses a silicone elastomer in conjunction with smart compliant electrode technology. This is part of an ongoing study to develop a precision positioning feedback control system for this device. Initially proportional and integral (PI) control is considered to provide position control of the tubular InLastor. Control of the tubular Inlastors require more than conventional control, used for linear actuators, because the InLastors display highly nonlinear static voltage-strain and voltage-force characteristics as well as dynamic hysteresis and time-dependent strain behavior. In an attempt to overcome the nonlinear static voltage-strain characteristics of the Inlastors and for improving the dynamic performance of the controlled device, a gain scheduling algorithm is then integrated into the PI controlled system.

How fish swim: flexible fin thrusters as an EAP platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lauder, George V.

2007-04-01

Fish are capable of remarkable locomotor performance and use their fins extensively for both propulsion and maneuvering. Recent interest in using fishes as inspiration for the design of a new generation of autonomous underwater vehicles has prompted both new experimental studies of fish locomotor function and efforts to use electroactive polymers (EAP) as actuators in fish-inspired propulsive devices. The fins of fishes allow precise control over body position and vectoring of thrust during propulsion and maneuvering. Recent experimental studies of fish locomotion have revealed that fins exhibit much greater flexibility than previously suspected and that there is considerable deformation of the fin surface during locomotion. The fins of the large group known as ray-finned fishes are supported by fin rays, which have a bilaminar structure that allows active curvature control of the ray and fin surface by the fin musculature. Fish have up to seven different fins, and these fins may interact with each other hydrodynamically during locomotion. Fish fins provide an excellent test platform for the use of electroactive polymer actuators as the frequency of movement is typically less than 5 Hz, and fin muscle strains typically range from 2 to 10%. Recent developments of biorobotic fish pectoral fins actuated with EAP are reviewed.

A Study of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices of Adult ESOL and EAP Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhodes, Christy M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine how frequently adult education English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers in Florida used specific culturally responsive teaching practices and how important they believed those practices were to their teaching. Using Ginsberg and Wlodkowski's…

The Multimodalities of Globalization: Teaching a YouTube Video in an EAP Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chun, Christian W.

2012-01-01

This article examines the ways in which a multimodal text--a YouTube video on globalization and business--was mediated in two English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classrooms, and how these mediations shaped the instructor's and her students' meaning-making in specific ways. I first explore the complex multimodal discourses involved with this…

Surfactant Protein A (SP-A)-mediated Clearance of Staphylococcus aureus Involves Binding of SP-A to the Staphylococcal Adhesin Eap and the Macrophage Receptors SP-A Receptor 210 and Scavenger Receptor Class A*

PubMed Central

Sever-Chroneos, Zvjezdana; Krupa, Agnieszka; Davis, Jeremy; Hasan, Misbah; Yang, Ching-Hui; Szeliga, Jacek; Herrmann, Mathias; Hussain, Muzafar; Geisbrecht, Brian V.; Kobzik, Lester; Chroneos, Zissis C.

2011-01-01

Staphylococcus aureus causes life-threatening pneumonia in hospitals and deadly superinfection during viral influenza. The current study investigated the role of surfactant protein A (SP-A) in opsonization and clearance of S. aureus. Previous studies showed that SP-A mediates phagocytosis via the SP-A receptor 210 (SP-R210). Here, we show that SP-R210 mediates binding and control of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus by macrophages. We determined that SP-A binds S. aureus through the extracellular adhesin Eap. Consequently, SP-A enhanced macrophage uptake of Eap-expressing (Eap+) but not Eap-deficient (Eap−) S. aureus. In a reciprocal fashion, SP-A failed to enhance uptake of Eap+ S. aureus in peritoneal Raw264.7 macrophages with a dominant negative mutation (SP-R210(DN)) blocking surface expression of SP-R210. Accordingly, WT mice cleared infection with Eap+ but succumbed to sublethal infection with Eap- S. aureus. However, SP-R210(DN) cells compensated by increasing non-opsonic phagocytosis of Eap+ S. aureus via the scavenger receptor scavenger receptor class A (SR-A), while non-opsonic uptake of Eap− S. aureus was impaired. Macrophages express two isoforms: SP-R210L and SP-R210S. The results show that WT alveolar macrophages are distinguished by expression of SP-R210L, whereas SR-A−/− alveolar macrophages are deficient in SP-R210L expressing only SP-R210S. Accordingly, SR-A−/− mice were highly susceptible to both Eap+ and Eap− S. aureus. The lungs of susceptible mice generated abnormal inflammatory responses that were associated with impaired killing and persistence of S. aureus infection in the lung. In conclusion, alveolar macrophage SP-R210L mediates recognition and killing of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus in vivo, coordinating inflammatory responses and resolution of S. aureus pneumonia through interaction with SR-A. PMID:21123169

Constraining the parameters of the EAP sea ice rheology from satellite observations and discrete element model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsamados, Michel; Heorton, Harry; Feltham, Daniel; Muir, Alan; Baker, Steven

2016-04-01

The new elastic-plastic anisotropic (EAP) rheology that explicitly accounts for the sub-continuum anisotropy of the sea ice cover has been implemented into the latest version of the Los Alamos sea ice model CICE. The EAP rheology is widely used in the climate modeling scientific community (i.e. CPOM stand alone, RASM high resolution regional ice-ocean model, MetOffice fully coupled model). Early results from sensitivity studies (Tsamados et al, 2013) have shown the potential for an improved representation of the observed main sea ice characteristics with a substantial change of the spatial distribution of ice thickness and ice drift relative to model runs with the reference visco-plastic (VP) rheology. The model contains one new prognostic variable, the local structure tensor, which quantifies the degree of anisotropy of the sea ice, and two parameters that set the time scale of the evolution of this tensor. Observations from high resolution satellite SAR imagery as well as numerical simulation results from a discrete element model (DEM, see Wilchinsky, 2010) have shown that these individual floes can organize under external wind and thermal forcing to form an emergent isotropic sea ice state (via thermodynamic healing, thermal cracking) or an anisotropic sea ice state (via Coulombic failure lines due to shear rupture). In this work we use for the first time in the context of sea ice research a mathematical metric, the Tensorial Minkowski functionals (Schroeder-Turk, 2010), to measure quantitatively the degree of anisotropy and alignment of the sea ice at different scales. We apply the methodology on the GlobICE Envisat satellite deformation product (www.globice.info), on a prototype modified version of GlobICE applied on Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and on the DEM ice floe aggregates. By comparing these independent measurements of the sea ice anisotropy as well as its temporal evolution against the EAP model we are able to constrain the

Relationship between University Level and Employment of Language-Learning Strategies: A Study of EAP Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghafournia, Narjes

2014-01-01

This study scrutinized the relationship between utilizing language-learning strategies and university levels in reading-comprehension process of language learners in Iran. The participants comprised 406 EAP students at three university levels. The findings reflected significant differences among the students in implementing learning strategies.…

Biologically Inspired Technology Using Electroactive Polymers (EAP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2006-01-01

Evolution allowed nature to introduce highly effective biological mechanisms that are incredible inspiration for innovation. Humans have always made efforts to imitate nature's inventions and we are increasingly making advances that it becomes significantly easier to imitate, copy, and adapt biological methods, processes and systems. This brought us to the ability to create technology that is far beyond the simple mimicking of nature. Having better tools to understand and to implement nature's principles we are now equipped like never before to be inspired by nature and to employ our tools in far superior ways. Effectively, by bio-inspiration we can have a better view and value of nature capability while studying its models to learn what can be extracted, copied or adapted. Using electroactive polymers (EAP) as artificial muscles is adding an important element to the development of biologically inspired technologies.

The Construction of EAP Textbooks in Chinese Context from the Perspective of Eco-Education Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dali, Ning

2017-01-01

The increase of international exchange in education triggers strong demand for learning English language skills in various academic disciplines among Chinese students, which brings up a wide implementation of EAP (English for academic purposes) learning in universities in China. However, the teaching and learning result do not seem to be as…

Changing International Student and Business Staff Perceptions of In-Sessional EAP: Using the CEM Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sloan, Diane; Porter, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

This article addresses the question of whether the existing approach to EAP delivery implemented at the University of Northumbria is supporting the learning needs of the international student body. In addressing this the article documents the background, research and preliminary findings relating to provision of an in-sessional English for…

Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used by EAP Learners: The Case of the Students of Social Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haghi, Eshrat Bazarmaj; Pasand, Parastou Gholami

2013-01-01

The significance of using language learning strategies in general and vocabulary learning strategies in particular is quite clear to both language learners and language specialists. Being familiar with and making use of a range of different vocabulary learning strategies is a great aid for EAP learners in dealing with unknown words. The present…

Understanding Test-Takers' Perceptions of Difficulty in EAP Vocabulary Tests: The Role of Experiential Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oruç Ertürk, Nesrin; Mumford, Simon E.

2017-01-01

This study, conducted by two researchers who were also multiple-choice question (MCQ) test item writers at a private English-medium university in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context, was designed to shed light on the factors that influence test-takers' perceptions of difficulty in English for academic purposes (EAP) vocabulary, with the…

Moderating Top-Down Policy Impact and Supporting EAP Curricular Renewal: Exploring the Potential of Diagnostic Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Janna D.

2009-01-01

A Canadian university required a new admissions policy in order to increase the fairness of procedures for second language (L2) international students, admitted provisionally to the university with mandatory language course requirements. This necessitated reform of the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) curriculum, but there was no agreement…

Application of bias voltage to tune the resonant frequency of membrane-based electroactive polymer energy harvesters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Lin; Grissom, Michael; Fisher, Frank T.

2016-05-01

Vibration-based energy harvesting has been widely investigated to as a means to generate low levels of electrical energy for applications such as wireless sensor networks. However, for optimal performance it is necessary to ensure that resonant frequencies of the device match the ambient vibration frequencies for maximum energy harvested. Here a novel resonant frequency tuning approach is proposed by applying a bias voltage to a pre-stretched electroactive polymer (EAP) membrane, such that the resulting changes in membrane tension can tune the device to match the environmental vibration source. First, a material model which accounts for the change in properties due to the pre-stretch of a VHB 4910 EAP membrane is presented. The effect of the bias voltage on the EAP membrane, which induces an electrostatic pressure and corresponding reduction in membrane thickness, are then determined. The FEM results from ANSYS agree well with an analytical hyperelastic model of the activation response of the EAP membrane. Lastly, through a mass-loaded circular membrane vibration model, the effective resonant frequency of the energy harvester can be determined as a function of changes in membrane tension due to the applied bias voltage. In the case of an EAP membrane, pre-stretch contributes to the pre-stretch stiffness of the system while the applied bias voltage contributes to a change in bias voltage stiffness of the membrane. Preliminary experiments verified the resonant frequencies corresponding to the bias voltages predicted from the appropriate models. The proposed bias voltage tuning approach for the EAP membrane may provide a novel tuning strategy to enable energy harvesting from various ambient vibration sources in various application environments.

The Impact of EAP Study on the Academic Experiences of International Postgraduate Students in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terraschke, Agnes; Wahid, Ridwan

2011-01-01

EAP courses usually not only aim to improve students' level of English but also to convey useful academic study skills and introduce students to the common genres of their discipline. These are extra skills and information other international students do not have ready access to. Yet, few studies have focused on how the academic experiences of…

L'E.A.P. ou l'anglais enseigne dans les etudes superieures. Un guide pour le debutant (E.A.P. or English for Academic Purposes: A Guide for the Beginner).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roe, Peter J.

1981-01-01

Addresses those readers who are not familiar with EAP, offering an introductory discussion of its objectives and methods, in two parts. Devotes the first part to the needs that justify an EAP approach, and the second to its methodology, with particular attention to interdisciplinary, task-oriented instruction. Societe Nouvelle Didier Erudition, 40…

Designing and Delivering an e-Presessional Course in EAP for the 21st First Century International Student

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Julie; White, Steven

2012-01-01

Summer pre-sessional courses in English for academic purposes (EAP), which prepare growing numbers of international students for degree programmes at UK universities, are facing greater challenges in how to provide the physical space and human resources for their effective and efficient delivery. The affordances of the internet now make other…

Enabling novel planetary and terrestrial mechanisms using electroactive materials at the JPL's NDEAA Lab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Chang, Zensheu; Lih, Shyh-Shiuh

2004-01-01

Increasingly, electroactive materials are used to produce acutators, sensors, displays and other elements of mechanisms and devices. In recognition of the potential of these materials, research at the JPL's NDEAA Lab have led to many novel space and terrestrial applications. This effort involves mostly the use of piezoelectric and electroactive polymers (EAP).

Processfolio: Uniting Academic Literacies and Critical Emancipatory Action Research for Practitioner-Led Inquiry into EAP Writing Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, Jayne

2017-01-01

This article reports on the design and implementation of an alternative form of writing assessment in a UK English for Academic Purposes (EAP) pre-sessional course. The assessment, termed processfolio, was a response to research inquiry into how writing assessment in a local context negated student agency and inculcated disempowering models of…

Pre-Reading Materials from Subject Matter Texts--Learner Choices and the Underlying Learner Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Shu-Chen; Cheng, Yuh-Show; Chern, Chiou-Lan

2006-01-01

In this study, attempts were made to design pre-reading materials for EAP reading using resources available from the subject matter texts. These materials were considered more facilitative in motivating learners to read and helping them to understand rather than to decode the texts. EFL college participants read three articles with three types of…

Biophysical modelling of phytoplankton communities from first principles using two-layered spheres: Equivalent Algal Populations (EAP) model.

PubMed

Robertson Lain, L; Bernard, S; Evers-King, H

2014-07-14

There is a pressing need for improved bio-optical models of high biomass waters as eutrophication of coastal and inland waters becomes an increasing problem. Seasonal boom conditions in the Southern Benguela and persistent harmful algal production in various inland waters in Southern Africa present valuable opportunities for the development of such modelling capabilities. The phytoplankton-dominated signal of these waters additionally addresses an increased interest in Phytoplankton Functional Type (PFT) analysis. To these ends, an initial validation of a new model of Equivalent Algal Populations (EAP) is presented here. This paper makes a first order comparison of two prominent phytoplankton Inherent Optical Property (IOP) models with the EAP model, which places emphasis on explicit bio-physical modelling of the phytoplankton population as a holistic determinant of inherent optical properties. This emphasis is shown to have an impact on the ability to retrieve the detailed phytoplankton spectral scattering information necessary for PFT applications and to successfully simulate reflectance across wide ranges of physical environments, biomass, and assemblage characteristics.

Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (Tell): An Update and a Principled Framework for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chau, Juliana; Lee, Alfred

2014-01-01

The range and number of technologies currently available have yielded both opportunities and challenges for language educators. This study aims to review recent technology-enhanced language learning (TeLL) research, and to examine their potential relevance to EAP pedagogy, curricula, assessment and instruction. The results of this study show TeLL…

Research Trends of Soft Actuators based on Electroactive Polymers and Conducting Polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneto, K.

2016-04-01

Artificial muscles (or soft actuators) based on electroactive polymers (EAPs) are attractive power sources to drive human-like robots in place of electrical motor, because they are quiet, powerful, light weight and compact. Among EAPs for soft actuators, conducting polymers are superior in strain, stress, deformation form and driving voltage compared with the other EAPs. In this paper, the research trends of EAPs and conducting polymers are reviewed by retrieval of the papers and patents. The research activity of EAP actuators showed the maximum around 2010 and somehow declining now days. The reasons for the reducing activity are found to be partly due to problems of conducting polymer actuators for the practical application. The unique characteristics of conducting polymer actuators are mentioned in terms of the basic mechanisms of actuation, creeping, training effect and shape retention under high tensile loads. The issues and limitation of conducting polymer soft actuators are discussed.

Dielectric and Electromechanical Properties of Polyurethane and Polydimethylsiloxane Blends and their Nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cakmak, Enes

Conventional means of converting electrical energy to mechanical work are generally considered too noisy and bulky for many contemporary technologies such as microrobotic, microfluidic, and haptic devices. Dielectric electroactive polymers (D-EAPs) constitude a growing class of electroactive polymers (EAP) that are capable of producing mechanica work induced by an applied electric field. D-EAPs are considered remarkably efficient and well suited for a wide range of applications, including ocean-wave energy harvesters and prosthetic devices. However, the real-world application of D-EAPs is very limited due to a number of factors, one of which is the difficulty of producing high actuation strains at acceptably low electric fields. D-EAPs are elastomeric polymers and produce large strain response induced by external electric field. The electromechanical properties of D-EAPs depend on the dielectric properties and mechanical properties of the D-EAP. In terms of dielectric behavior, these actuators require a high dielectric constant, low dielectric loss, and high dielectric strength to produce an improved actuation response. In addition to their dielectric properties, the mechanical properties of D-EAPs, such as elastic moduli and hysteresis, are also of importance. Therefore, material properties are a key feature of D-EAP technology. DE actuator materials reported in the literature cover many types of elastomers and their composites formed with dielectric fillers. Along with polymeric matrix materials, various ceramic, metal, and organic fillers have been employed in enhancing dielectric behavior of DEs. This work describes an effort to characterize elastomer blends and composites of different matrix and dielectric polymer fillers according to their dielectric, mechanical, and electromechanical responses. This dissertation focuses on the development and characterization of polymer-polymer blends and composites from a high-k polyurethane (PU) and polydimethylsiloxane

Association of PPP1R13L and CD3EAP polymorphisms with risk and survival of non-small cell lung cancer in Chinese non-smoking females

PubMed Central

Feng, Xu; Fang, Xue; Xia, Lingzi; Ren, Yangwu; Li, Xuelian; Quan, Xiaowei; Zhou, Baosen

2017-01-01

PPP1R13L and CD3EAP were confirmed to play important roles in transcription and apoptosis. SNPs in PPP1R13L and CD3EAP may be associated with lung cancer risk and survival. This study investigated the association of PPP1R13L rs1005165 and CD3EAP rs967591 with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) risk and survival in Chinese non-smoking females. 442 NSCLC cases and 480 cancer-free controls were conducted in the case-control study, and 283 cases were in cohort study. Genotype was determined by Taqman real-time PCR. The statistical analyses were performed by SPSS 22.0 software. We found that rs1005165 and rs967591 were significantly associated with NSCLC risk in Chinese non-smoking females. For rs1005165, compared with homozygous wild CC genotype, carriers of CT or TT genotype had lower risk of NSCLC (adjusted ORs were 0.675 and 0.713, 95% CI were 0.461-0.988 and 0.525-0.968, respectively), adjusted OR for dominant model was 0.702, 95% CI was 0.526-0.937. For rs967591, AA genotype (adjusted OR = 0.721, 95% CI = 0.532-0.978) and at least one A allele (GA+AA) (adjusted OR = 0.716, 95% CI = 0.536-0.956) were significantly correlated with lower risk of NSCLC, compared with GG genotype. But we didn’t find correlation between the two SNPs and survival time in Chinese non-smoking NSCLC females. In general, we found PPP1R13L rs1005165 and CD3EAP rs967591 might be associated with lower NSCLC risk in Chinese non-smoking females, but no significant relationship was found with NSCLC survival. PMID:29108262

Biophysical modelling of phytoplankton communities from first principles using two-layered spheres: Equivalent Algal Populations (EAP) model: erratum.

PubMed

Lain, Lisl Robertson; Bernard, Stewart; Matthews, Mark W

2016-11-28

We regret that the Rrs spectra shown for the EAP modelled high biomass validation in Fig. 7 [Opt. Express, 22, 16745 (2014)] are incorrect. They are corrected here. The closest match of modelled to measured effective diameter is for a generalised 16 μm dinoflagellate population and not a 12 μm one as previously stated. These corrections do not affect the discussion or the conclusions of the paper.

Electromechanically active polymer transducers: research in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpi, Federico; Graz, Ingrid; Jager, Edwin; Ladegaard Skov, Anne; Vidal, Frédéric

2013-10-01

Smart materials and structures based on electromechanically active polymers (EAPs) represent a fast growing and stimulating field of research and development. EAPs are materials capable of changing dimensions and/or shape in response to suitable electrical stimuli. They are commonly classified in two major families: ionic EAPs (activated by an electrically induced transport of ions and/or solvent) and electronic EAPs (activated by electrostatic forces). These polymers show interesting properties, such as sizable active strains and/or stresses in response to electrical driving, high mechanical flexibility, low density, structural simplicity, ease of processing and scalability, no acoustic noise and, in most cases, low costs. Since many of these characteristics can also describe natural muscle tissues from an engineering standpoint, it is not surprising that EAP transducers are sometimes also referred to as 'muscle-like smart materials' or 'artificial muscles'. They are used not only to generate motion, but also to sense or harvest energy from it. In particular, EAP electromechanical transducers are studied for applications that can benefit from their 'biomimetic' characteristics, with possible usages from the micro- to the macro-scale, spanning several disciplines, such as mechatronics, robotics, automation, biotechnology and biomedical engineering, haptics, fluidics, optics and acoustics. Currently, the EAP field is just undergoing its initial transition from academic research into commercialization, with companies starting to invest in this technology and the first products appearing on the market. This focus issue is intentionally aimed at gathering contributions from the most influential European groups working in the EAP field. In fact, today Europe hosts the broadest EAP community worldwide. The rapid expansion of the EAP field in Europe, where it historically has strong roots, has stimulated the creation of the 'European Scientific Network for Artificial

A viscoelastic model for dielectric elastomers based on a continuum mechanical formulation and its finite element implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bueschel, A.; Klinkel, S.; Wagner, W.

2011-04-01

Smart materials are active and multifunctional materials, which play an important part for sensor and actuator applications. These materials have the potential to transform passive structures into adaptive systems. However, a prerequisite for the design and the optimization of these materials is, that reliable models exist, which incorporate the interaction between the different combinations of thermal, electrical, magnetic, optical and mechanical effects. Polymeric electroelastic materials, so-called electroactive polymer (EAP), own the characteristic to deform if an electric field is applied. EAP's possesses the benefit that they share the characteristic of polymers, these are lightweight, inexpensive, fracture tolerant, elastic, and the chemical and physical structure is well understood. However, the description "electroactive polymer" is a generic term for many kinds of different microscopic mechanisms and polymeric materials. Based on the laws of electromagnetism and elasticity, a visco-electroelastic model is developed and implemented into the finite element method (FEM). The presented three-dimensional solid element has eight nodes and trilinear interpolation functions for the displacement and the electric potential. The continuum mechanics model contains finite deformations, the time dependency and the nearly incompressible behavior of the material. To describe the possible, large time dependent deformations, a finite viscoelastic model with a split of the deformation gradient is used. Thereby the time dependent characteristic of polymeric materials is incorporated through the free energy function. The electromechanical interactions are considered by the electrostatic forces and inside the energy function.

Task-Based Language Teaching and English for Academic Purposes: An Investigation into Instructor Perceptions and Practice in the Canadian Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglas, Scott Roy; Kim, Marcia

2014-01-01

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs designed to meet postsecondary English language proficiency requirements are a common pathway to higher education for students from non-English-speaking backgrounds. Grounded in a Canadian context, this study seeks to examine the prevalence of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in EAP, common examples…

Electroactive polymers for sensing

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Electromechanical coupling in electroactive polymers (EAPs) has been widely applied for actuation and is also being increasingly investigated for sensing chemical and mechanical stimuli. EAPs are a unique class of materials, with low-moduli high-strain capabilities and the ability to conform to surfaces of different shapes. These features make them attractive for applications such as wearable sensors and interfacing with soft tissues. Here, we review the major types of EAPs and their sensing mechanisms. These are divided into two classes depending on the main type of charge carrier: ionic EAPs (such as conducting polymers and ionic polymer–metal composites) and electronic EAPs (such as dielectric elastomers, liquid-crystal polymers and piezoelectric polymers). This review is intended to serve as an introduction to the mechanisms of these materials and as a first step in material selection for both researchers and designers of flexible/bendable devices, biocompatible sensors or even robotic tactile sensing units. PMID:27499846

Artificial Muscles Based on Electroactive Polymers as an Enabling Tool in Biomimetics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Y.

2007-01-01

Evolution has resolved many of nature's challenges leading to working and lasting solutions that employ principles of physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, materials science, and many other fields of science and engineering. Nature's inventions have always inspired human achievements leading to effective materials, structures, tools, mechanisms, processes, algorithms, methods, systems, and many other benefits. Some of the technologies that have emerged include artificial intelligence, artificial vision, and artificial muscles, where the latter is the moniker for electroactive polymers (EAPs). To take advantage of these materials and make them practical actuators, efforts are made worldwide to develop capabilities that are critical to the field infrastructure. Researchers are developing analytical model and comprehensive understanding of EAP materials response mechanism as well as effective processing and characterization techniques. The field is still in its emerging state and robust materials are still not readily available; however, in recent years, significant progress has been made and commercial products have already started to appear. In the current paper, the state-of-the-art and challenges to artificial muscles as well as their potential application to biomimetic mechanisms and devices are described and discussed.

Numerical study on 3D composite morphing actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oishi, Kazuma; Saito, Makoto; Anandan, Nishita; Kadooka, Kevin; Taya, Minoru

2015-04-01

There are a number of actuators using the deformation of electroactive polymer (EAP), where fewer papers seem to have focused on the performance of 3D morphing actuators based on the analytical approach, due mainly to their complexity. The present paper introduces a numerical analysis approach on the large scale deformation and motion of a 3D half dome shaped actuator composed of thin soft membrane (passive material) and EAP strip actuators (EAP active coupon with electrodes on both surfaces), where the locations of the active EAP strips is a key parameter. Simulia/Abaqus Static and Implicit analysis code, whose main feature is the high precision contact analysis capability among structures, are used focusing on the whole process of the membrane to touch and wrap around the object. The unidirectional properties of the EAP coupon actuator are used as input data set for the material properties for the simulation and the verification of our numerical model, where the verification is made as compared to the existing 2D solution. The numerical results can demonstrate the whole deformation process of the membrane to wrap around not only smooth shaped objects like a sphere or an egg, but also irregularly shaped objects. A parametric study reveals the proper placement of the EAP coupon actuators, with the modification of the dome shape to induce the relevant large scale deformation. The numerical simulation for the 3D soft actuators shown in this paper could be applied to a wider range of soft 3D morphing actuators.

Final quality of life and safety data for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with cabazitaxel in the UK Early Access Programme (EAP) (NCT01254279).

PubMed

Bahl, Amit; Masson, Susan; Malik, Zafar; Birtle, Alison J; Sundar, Santhanam; Jones, Rob J; James, Nicholas D; Mason, Malcolm D; Kumar, Satish; Bottomley, David; Lydon, Anna; Chowdhury, Simon; Wylie, James; de Bono, Johann S

2015-12-01

To compile the safety profile and quality of life (QoL) data for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with cabazitaxel in the UK Early Access Programme (UK EAP). A total of 112 patients participated at 12 UK cancer centres. All had mCRPC with disease progression during or after docetaxel. Patients received cabazitaxel 25 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks with prednisolone 10 mg daily for up to 10 cycles. Safety assessments were performed before each cycle and QoL was recorded at alternate cycles using the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire and visual analogue scale (VAS). The safety profile was compiled after completion of the UK EAP and QoL measures were analysed to record trends. No formal statistical analysis was carried out. The incidences of neutropenic sepsis (6.3%), grade 3 and 4 diarrhoea (4.5%) and grade 3 and 4 cardiac toxicity (0%) were low. Neutropenic sepsis episodes, though low, occurred only in patients who did not receive prophylactic granulocyte-colony stimulating factor. There were trends towards improved VAS and EQ-5D-3L pain scores during treatment. The UK EAP experience indicates that cabazitaxel might improve QoL in mCRPC and represents an advance and a useful addition to the armamentarium of treatment for patients whose disease has progressed during or after docetaxel. In view of the potential toxicity, careful patient selection is important. © 2015 The Authors BJU International © 2015 BJU International Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Application of EAP materials toward a refreshable Braille display

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Spigna, N.; Chakraborti, P.; Yang, P.; Ghosh, T.; Franzon, P.

2009-03-01

The development of a multiline, refreshable Braille display will assist with the full inclusion and integration of blind people into society. The use of both polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film planar bending mode actuators and silicone dielectric elastomer cylindrical tube actuators have been investigated for their potential use in a Braille cell. A liftoff process that allows for aggressive scaling of miniature bimorph actuators has been developed using standard semiconductor lithography techniques. The PVDF bimorphs have been demonstrated to provide enough displacement to raise a Braille dot using biases less than 1000V and operating at 10Hz. In addition, silicone tube actuators have also been demonstrated to achieve the necessary displacement, though requiring higher voltages. The choice of electrodes and prestrain conditions aimed at maximizing axial strain in tube actuators are discussed. Characterization techniques measuring actuation displacement and blocking forces appropriate for standard Braille cell specifications are presented. Finally, the integration of these materials into novel cell designs and the fabrication of a prototype Braille cell are discussed.

Electroactive Polymers as Artificial Muscles - Reality and Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Y.

2001-01-01

Electroactive Polymers (EAPs) are emerging as effective displacement actuators. These materials offer the closest resemblance of biological muscle potentially enabling unique capabilities changing the paradigm about robots construction. Under a NASA task, several EAP driven mechanisms were developed including dust wiper, gripper, and robotic arm EAP are inducing a low actuation force limiting the applications that can use their current capability. In recognition of this limitation a series of international forums were established including SPIE conference, Webhub, Newsletter, and Newsgroup. A challenge was posed to the EAP community to have an arm wrestling between robot that is equipped with EAP actuators and human.

Electroactive polymer-based devices for e-textiles in biomedicine.

PubMed

Carpi, Federico; De Rossi, Danilo

2005-09-01

This paper describes the early conception and latest developments of electroactive polymer (EAP)-based sensors, actuators, electronic components, and power sources, implemented as wearable devices for smart electronic textiles (e-textiles). Such textiles, functioning as multifunctional wearable human interfaces, are today considered relevant promoters of progress and useful tools in several biomedical fields, such as biomonitoring, rehabilitation, and telemedicine. After a brief outline on ongoing research and the first products on e-textiles under commercial development, this paper presents the most highly performing EAP-based devices developed by our lab and other research groups for sensing, actuation, electronics, and energy generation/storage, with reference to their already demonstrated or potential applicability to electronic textiles.

Impact of Employee Assistance Services on Depression, Anxiety, and Risky Alcohol Use: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

PubMed

Richmond, Melissa K; Pampel, Fred C; Wood, Randi C; Nunes, Ana P

2016-07-01

To test the impact of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) on reducing employee depression, anxiety, and risky alcohol use, and whether improvements in clinical symptoms lead to improved work outcomes. The study used a prospective, quasi-experimental design with propensity score matching. Participants (n = 344) came from 20 areas of state government. EAP (n = 156) and non-EAP (n = 188) employees were matched on baseline demographic, psychosocial, and work-related characteristics that differentiate EAP from non-EAP users. Follow-up surveys were collected 2 to 12 months later (M = 6.0). EAP significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, but not at-risk alcohol use. EAP reductions in depression and anxiety mediated EAP-based reductions in absenteeism and presenteeism. EAPs provide easy-to-access work-based services that are effective at improving employee mental health.

Coupled modeling and simulation of electro-elastic materials at large strains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Possart, Gunnar; Steinmann, Paul; Vu, Duc-Khoi

2006-03-01

In the recent years various novel materials have been developed that respond to the application of electrical loading by large strains. An example is the class of so-called electro-active polymers (EAP). Certainly these materials are technologically very interesting, e.g. for the design of actuators in mechatronics or in the area of artificial tissues. This work focuses on the phenomenological modeling of such materials within the setting of continuum-electro-dynamics specialized to the case of electro-hyperelastostatics and the corresponding computational setting. Thereby a highly nonlinear coupled problem for the deformation and the electric potential has to be considered. The finite element method is applied to solve the underlying equations numerically and some exemplary applications are presented.

Encapsulation of ionic electroactive polymers: reducing the interaction with environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaakson, P.; Aabloo, A.; Tamm, T.

2016-04-01

Ionic electro-active polymer (iEAP) actuators are composite materials that change their mechanical properties in response to external electrical stimulus. The interest in these devices is mainly driven by their capability to generate biomimetic movements, and their potential use in soft robotics. The driving voltage of an iEAP-actuator (0.5… 3 V) is at least an order of magnitude lower than that needed for other types of electroactive polymers. To apply iEAP-actuators in potential real-world applications, the capability of operating in different environments (open air, different solvents) must be available. In their natural form, the iEAP-actuators are capable of interacting with the surrounding environment (evaporation of solvent from the electrolyte solution, ion or solvent exchange, humidity effects), therefore, for prevention of unpredictable behavior of the actuator and the contamination of the environment, encapsulation of the actuator is needed. The environmental contamination aspect of the encapsulation material is substantial when selecting an applicable encapsulant. The suitable encapsulant should form thin films, be light in weight, elastic, fit tightly, low cost, and easily reproducible. The main goal of the present study is to identify and evaluate the best potential encapsulation techniques for iEAPactuators. Various techniques like thin film on liquid coating, dip coating, hot pressing, hot rolling; and several materials like polydimethylsiloxane, polyurethane, nitrocellulose, paraffin-composite-films were investigated. The advantages and disadvantages of the combinations of the above mentioned techniques and materials are discussed. Successfully encapsulated iEAP-actuators gained durability and were stably operable for long periods of time under ambient conditions. The encapsulation process also increased the stability of the iEAP-actuator by minimizing the environment effects. This makes controlling iEAP-actuators more straight-forward and

Lightweight CoAP-Based Bootstrapping Service for the Internet of Things.

PubMed

Garcia-Carrillo, Dan; Marin-Lopez, Rafael

2016-03-11

The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming increasingly important in several fields of industrial applications and personal applications, such as medical e-health, smart cities, etc. The research into protocols and security aspects related to this area is continuously advancing in making these networks more reliable and secure, taking into account these aspects by design. Bootstrapping is a procedure by which a user obtains key material and configuration information, among other parameters, to operate as an authenticated party in a security domain. Until now solutions have focused on re-using security protocols that were not developed for IoT constraints. For this reason, in this work we propose a design and implementation of a lightweight bootstrapping service for IoT networks that leverages one of the application protocols used in IoT : Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP). Additionally, in order to provide flexibility, scalability, support for large scale deployment, accountability and identity federation, our design uses technologies such as the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) and Authentication Authorization and Accounting (AAA). We have named this service CoAP-EAP. First, we review the state of the art in the field of bootstrapping and specifically for IoT. Second, we detail the bootstrapping service: the architecture with entities and interfaces and the flow operation. Third, we obtain performance measurements of CoAP-EAP (bootstrapping time, memory footprint, message processing time, message length and energy consumption) and compare them with PANATIKI. The most significant and constrained representative of the bootstrapping solutions related with CoAP-EAP. As we will show, our solution provides significant improvements, mainly due to an important reduction of the message length.

Lightweight CoAP-Based Bootstrapping Service for the Internet of Things

PubMed Central

Garcia-Carrillo, Dan; Marin-Lopez, Rafael

2016-01-01

The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming increasingly important in several fields of industrial applications and personal applications, such as medical e-health, smart cities, etc. The research into protocols and security aspects related to this area is continuously advancing in making these networks more reliable and secure, taking into account these aspects by design. Bootstrapping is a procedure by which a user obtains key material and configuration information, among other parameters, to operate as an authenticated party in a security domain. Until now solutions have focused on re-using security protocols that were not developed for IoT constraints. For this reason, in this work we propose a design and implementation of a lightweight bootstrapping service for IoT networks that leverages one of the application protocols used in IoT : Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP). Additionally, in order to provide flexibility, scalability, support for large scale deployment, accountability and identity federation, our design uses technologies such as the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) and Authentication Authorization and Accounting (AAA). We have named this service CoAP-EAP. First, we review the state of the art in the field of bootstrapping and specifically for IoT. Second, we detail the bootstrapping service: the architecture with entities and interfaces and the flow operation. Third, we obtain performance measurements of CoAP-EAP (bootstrapping time, memory footprint, message processing time, message length and energy consumption) and compare them with PANATIKI. The most significant and constrained representative of the bootstrapping solutions related with CoAP-EAP. As we will show, our solution provides significant improvements, mainly due to an important reduction of the message length. PMID:26978362

Evolutionary Action score of TP53 (EAp53) identifies high risk mutations associated with decreased survival and increased distant metastases in head and neck cancer

PubMed Central

Neskey, David M.; Osman, Abdullah A.; Ow, Thomas J.; Katsonis, Panagiotis; McDonald, Thomas; Hicks, Stephanie C.; Hsu, Teng-Kuei; Pickering, Curtis R.; Ward, Alexandra; Patel, Ameeta; Yordy, John S.; Skinner, Heath D.; Giri, Uma; Sano, Daisuke; Story, Michael D.; Beadle, Beth M.; El-Naggar, Adel K.; Kies, Merrill S.; William, William N.; Caulin, Carlos; Frederick, Mitchell; Kimmel, Marek; Myers, Jeffrey N.; Lichtarge, Olivier

2015-01-01

TP53 is the most frequently altered gene in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with mutations occurring in over two third of cases, but the prognostic significance of these mutations remains elusive. In the current study, we evaluated a novel computational approach termed Evolutionary Action (EAp53) to stratify patients with tumors harboring TP53 mutations as high or low risk, and validated this system in both in vivo and in vitro models. Patients with high risk TP53 mutations had the poorest survival outcomes and the shortest time to the development of distant metastases. Tumor cells expressing high risk TP53 mutations were more invasive and tumorigenic and they exhibited a higher incidence of lung metastases. We also documented an association between the presence of high risk mutations and decreased expression of TP53 target genes, highlighting key cellular pathways that are likely to be dysregulated by this subset of p53 mutations which confer particularly aggressive tumor behavior. Overall, our work validated EAp53 as a novel computational tool that may be useful in clinical prognosis of tumors harboring p53 mutations. PMID:25634208

Flexible Low-Mass Devices and Mechanisms Actuated by Electroactive Polymers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Y; Leary, S.; Shahinpoor, M.; Harrison, J. O.; Smith, J.

1999-01-01

Miniature, lightweight, miser actuators that operate similar to biological muscles can be used to develop robotic devices with unmatched capabilities to impact many technology areas. Electroactive polymers (EAP) offer the potential to producing such actuators and their main attractive feature is their ability to induce relatively large bending or longitudinal strain. Generally, these materials produce a relatively low force and the applications that can be considered at the current state of the art are relatively limited. This reported study is concentrating on the development of effective EAPs and the resultant enabling mechanisms employing their unique characteristics. Several EAP driven mechanisms, which emulate human hand, were developed including a gripper, manipulator arm and surface wiper. The manipulator arm was made of a composite rod with an EAP actuator consisting of a scrolled rope that is activated longitudinally by an electrostatic field. A gripper was made to serve as an end effector and it consisted of multiple bending EAP fingers for grabbing and holding such objects as rocks. An EAP surface wiper was developed to operate like a human finger and to demonstrate the potential to remove dust from optical and IR windows as well as solar cells. These EAP driven devices are taking advantage of the large actuation displacement of these materials but there is need for a significantly greater actuation force capability.

Benzimidazole Based Aerogel Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhine, Wendell E. (Inventor); Mihalcik, David (Inventor)

2016-01-01

The present invention provides aerogel materials based on imidazoles and polyimidazoles. The polyimidazole based aerogel materials can be thermally stable up to 500 C or more, and can be carbonized to produce a carbon aerogel having a char yield of 60% or more, specifically 70% or more. The present invention also provides methods of producing polyimidazole based aerogel materials by reacting at least one monomer in a suitable solvent to form a polybenzimidazole gel precursor solution, casting the polybenzimidazole gel precursor solution into a fiber reinforcement phase, allowing the at least one gel precursor in the precursor solution to transition into a gel material, and drying the gel materials to remove at least a portion of the solvent, to obtain an polybenzimidazole-based aerogel material.

Large-strain, multiform movements from designable electrothermal actuators based on large highly anisotropic carbon nanotube sheets.

PubMed

Li, Qingwei; Liu, Changhong; Lin, Yuan-Hua; Liu, Liang; Jiang, Kaili; Fan, Shoushan

2015-01-27

Many electroactive polymer (EAP) actuators use diverse configurations of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as pliable electrodes to realize discontinuous, agile movements, for CNTs are conductive and flexible. However, the reported CNT-based EAP actuators could only accomplish simple, monotonous actions. Few actuators were extended to complex devices because efficiently preparing a large-area CNT electrode was difficult, and complex electrode design has not been carried out. In this work, we successfully prepared large-area CNT paper (buckypaper, BP) through an efficient approach. The BP is highly anisotropic, strong, and suitable as flexible electrodes. By means of artful graphic design and processing on BP, we fabricated various functional BP electrodes and developed a series of BP-polymer electrothermal actuators (ETAs). The prepared ETAs can realize various controllable movements, such as large-stain bending (>180°), helical curling (∼ 630°), or even bionic actuations (imitating human-hand actions). These functional and interesting movements benefit from flexible electrode design and the anisotropy of BP material. Owing to the advantages of low driving voltage (20-200 V), electrolyte-free and long service life (over 10000 times), we think the ETAs will have great potential applications in the actuator field.

Dual-responsive soft actuators based on self-assembled polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Seung Jae; Park, Moon Jeong

Electroactive polymer actuators (EAPs) have been extensively studied for biomimetic technologies such as artificial muscles and soft robotics. While a large deformation can be achievable from EAPs under relatively low-driving voltages, the slow response time has long been a fundamental drawback of EAPs. Here, we investigate a new soft actuator capable of responding two different external stimuli. The actuator is composed of electroactive polymer and light-responsive polymer. We have employed ionic block copolymers having well-connected ion-conduction channels to raise response to electric-field. Light-responsive polymers were additionally incorporated into them to control the deformation of the actuator in an independent manner. Noteworthy observation in the present study is that the dual-responsive polymers resulted in synergetic achievement of high bending strain and fast response time, which marked a significant improvement from the conventional EAPs.

The Development of a Corpus-Based Tool for Exploring Domain-Specific Collocational Knowledge in English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Ping-Yu; Chen, Chien-Ming; Tsao, Nai-Lung; Wible, David

2015-01-01

Since it was published, Coxhead's (2000) Academic Word List (AWL) has been frequently used in English for academic purposes (EAP) classrooms, included in numerous teaching materials, and re-examined in light of various domain-specific corpora. Although well-received, the AWL has been criticized for ignoring some important facts that words still…

LDEF materials data bases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Funk, Joan G.; Strickland, John W.; Davis, John M.

1993-01-01

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) and the accompanying experiments were composed of and contained a wide variety of materials representing the largest collection of materials flown in low Earth orbit (LEO) and retrieved for ground based analysis to date. The results and implications of the mechanical, thermal, optical, and electrical data from these materials are the foundation on which future LEO space missions will be built. The LDEF Materials Special Investigation Group (MSIG) has been charged with establishing and developing data bases to document these materials and their performance to assure not only that the data are archived for future generations but also that the data are available to the spacecraft user community in an easily accessed, user-friendly form. This paper discusses the format and content of the three data bases developed or being developed to accomplish this task. The hardware and software requirements for each of these three data bases are discussed along with current availability of the data bases. This paper also serves as a user's guide to the MAPTIS LDEF Materials Data Base.

Use of spring-roll EAP actuator applied as end-effector of a hyper-redundant robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Errico, Gianmarco; Fava, Victor; Resta, Ferruccio; Ripamonti, Francesco

2015-04-01

This paper presents a hyper-redundant continuous robot used to perform work in places which humans can not reach. This type of robot is generally a bio-inspired solution, it is composed by a lot of flexible segments driven by multiple actuators and its dynamics is described by a lot degrees of freedom. In this paper a model composed of some rigid links connected to each other by revolution joint is presented. In each link a torsional spring is added in order to simulate the resistant torque between the links and the interactions among the cables and the robot during the relative rotation. Moreover a type of EAP actuator, called spring roll, is used as the end-effector of the robot. Through a suitable sensor, such as a camera, the spring roll allows to track a target and it closes the control loop on the robot to follow it.

Graphene-based smart materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Xiaowen; Cheng, Huhu; Zhang, Miao; Zhao, Yang; Qu, Liangti; Shi, Gaoquan

2017-09-01

The high specific surface area and the excellent mechanical, electrical, optical and thermal properties of graphene make it an attractive component for high-performance stimuli-responsive or 'smart' materials. Complementary to these inherent properties, functionalization or hybridization can substantially improve the performance of these materials. Typical graphene-based smart materials include mechanically exfoliated perfect graphene, chemical vapour deposited high-quality graphene, chemically modified graphene (for example, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide) and their macroscopic assemblies or composites. These materials are sensitive to a range of stimuli, including gas molecules or biomolecules, pH value, mechanical strain, electrical field, and thermal or optical excitation. In this Review, we outline different graphene-based smart materials and their potential applications in actuators, chemical or strain sensors, self-healing materials, photothermal therapy and controlled drug delivery. We also introduce the working mechanisms of graphene-based smart materials and discuss the challenges facing the realization of their practical applications.

Employee assistance program services for intimate partner violence and client satisfaction with these services.

PubMed

Pollack, Keshia M; McKay, Tasseli; Cumminskey, Chris; Clinton-Sherrod, A Monique; Lindquist, Christine H; Lasater, Beth M; Walters, Jennifer L Hardison; Krotki, Karol; Grisso, Jeane Ann

2010-08-01

To describe intimate partner violence (IPV) services available through employee assistance programs (EAPs) and determine women's satisfaction with these services. A mixed-methods study consisting of semistructured telephone interviews with 28 EAPs about IPV-related services and a national web-based survey of 1765 women regarding their interactions with EAPs when seeking IPV-related assistance. Data were collected in the fall of 2008. EAPs provide fairly extensive services to individuals experiencing IPV. Satisfaction with EAP services for IPV was significantly associated with annual income and the type of help received from the EAP, but not with type of IPV experienced. EAP representatives described challenges with accurately identifying IPV victims and women expressed concerns with confidentiality. Future efforts to enhance the ability of EAPs to respond effectively to IPV should address confidentially and strengthen how IPV-related assistance is delivered.

Vanadium based materials as electrode materials for high performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Yan; Li, Bing; Guo, Wei; Pang, Huan; Xue, Huaiguo

2016-10-01

As a kind of supercapacitors, pseudocapacitors have attracted wide attention in recent years. The capacitance of the electrochemical capacitors based on pseudocapacitance arises mainly from redox reactions between electrolytes and active materials. These materials usually have several oxidation states for oxidation and reduction. Many research teams have focused on the development of an alternative material for electrochemical capacitors. Many transition metal oxides have been shown to be suitable as electrode materials of electrochemical capacitors. Among them, vanadium based materials are being developed for this purpose. Vanadium based materials are known as one of the best active materials for high power/energy density electrochemical capacitors due to its outstanding specific capacitance and long cycle life, high conductivity and good electrochemical reversibility. There are different kinds of synthetic methods such as sol-gel hydrothermal/solvothermal method, template method, electrospinning method, atomic layer deposition, and electrodeposition method that have been successfully applied to prepare vanadium based electrode materials. In our review, we give an overall summary and evaluation of the recent progress in the research of vanadium based materials for electrochemical capacitors that include synthesis methods, the electrochemical performances of the electrode materials and the devices.

Towards a physics-based multiscale modelling of the electro-mechanical coupling in electro-active polymers.

PubMed

Cohen, Noy; Menzel, Andreas; deBotton, Gal

2016-02-01

Owing to the increasing number of industrial applications of electro-active polymers (EAPs), there is a growing need for electromechanical models which accurately capture their behaviour. To this end, we compare the predicted behaviour of EAPs undergoing homogeneous deformations according to three electromechanical models. The first model is a phenomenological continuum-based model composed of the mechanical Gent model and a linear relationship between the electric field and the polarization. The electrical and the mechanical responses according to the second model are based on the physical structure of the polymer chain network. The third model incorporates a neo-Hookean mechanical response and a physically motivated microstructurally based long-chains model for the electrical behaviour. In the microstructural-motivated models, the integration from the microscopic to the macroscopic levels is accomplished by the micro-sphere technique. Four types of homogeneous boundary conditions are considered and the behaviours determined according to the three models are compared. For the microstructurally motivated models, these analyses are performed and compared with the widely used phenomenological model for the first time. Some of the aspects revealed in this investigation, such as the dependence of the intensity of the polarization field on the deformation, highlight the need for an in-depth investigation of the relationships between the structure and the behaviours of the EAPs at the microscopic level and their overall macroscopic response.

Ras Labs-CASIS-ISS NL experiment for synthetic muscle returned to Earth: resistance to ionizing radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasmussen, Lenore; Albers, Leila N.; Rodriguez, Simone; Gentile, Charles; Meixler, Lewis D.; Ascione, George; Hitchner, Robert; Taylor, James; Hoffman, Dan; Cylinder, David; Gaza, Ramona; Moy, Leon; Mark, Patrick S.; Prillaman, Daniel L.; Nodarse, Robert; Menegus, Michael J.; Ratto, Jo Ann; Thellen, Christopher T.; Froio, Danielle; Valenza, Logan; Poirier, Catherine; Sinkler, Charles; Corl, Dylan; Hablani, Surbhi; Fuerst, Tyler; Gallucci, Sergio; Blocher, Whitney; Liffland, Stephanie

2017-04-01

SpaceX CRS-6 payload, and after 1+ year space exposure, returned to Earth on May 11, 2016 on SpaceX CRS-8. The results were very good, with the survival of all flown samples, which compared very well with the ground control samples. The most significant change observed was color change (yellowing) in some of the flown EAP samples, which in polymers can be indicative of accelerated aging. While the Synthetic Muscle Experiment was in orbit on the ISS-NL, photo events occur every 4 to 6 weeks to observe any changes, such as color, in the samples. Both the 32 flown EAP samples and 32 ground control samples were tested for pH, material integrity, durometer, and electroactivity, with very good results. The samples were also analyzed using stereo microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM)), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Smart electroactive polymer based materials and actuators promise to transform prostheses and robots, allowing for the treatment, reduction, and prevention of debilitating injury and fatalities, and to further our exploration by land, sea, air, and space.

Effect of Bending Stiffness of the Electroactive Polymer Element on the Performance of a Hybrid Actuator System (HYBAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Tian-Bing; Su, Ji; Jiang, Xiaoning; Rehrig, Paul W.; Zhang, Shujun; Shrout, Thomas R.; Zhang, Qiming

2006-01-01

An electroactive polymer (EAP)-ceramic hybrid actuation system (HYBAS) was developed recently at NASA Langley Research Center. This paper focuses on the effect of the bending stiffness of the EAP component on the performance of a HYBAS, in which the actuation of the EAP element can match the theoretical prediction at various length/thickness ratios for a constant elastic modulus of the EAP component. The effects on the bending stiffness of the elastic modulus and length/thickness ratio of the EAP component were studied. A critical bending stiffness to keep the actuation of the EAP element suitable for a rigid beam theory-based modeling was found for electron irradiated P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer. For example, the agreement of experimental data and theoretical modeling for a HYBAS with the length/thickness ratio of EAP element at 375 times is demonstrated. However, the beam based theoretical modeling becomes invalid (i.e., the profile of the HYBAS movement does not follow the prediction of theoretical modeling) when the bending stiffness is lower than a critical value.

49 CFR 199.113 - Employee assistance program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) PIPELINE SAFETY DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING Drug Testing § 199.113 Employee assistance program. (a) Each operator shall provide an employee... must be drug tested based on reasonable cause. The operator may establish the EAP as a part of its...

49 CFR 199.113 - Employee assistance program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) PIPELINE SAFETY DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING Drug Testing § 199.113 Employee assistance program. (a) Each operator shall provide an employee... must be drug tested based on reasonable cause. The operator may establish the EAP as a part of its...

49 CFR 199.113 - Employee assistance program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) PIPELINE SAFETY DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING Drug Testing § 199.113 Employee assistance program. (a) Each operator shall provide an employee... must be drug tested based on reasonable cause. The operator may establish the EAP as a part of its...

49 CFR 199.113 - Employee assistance program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) PIPELINE SAFETY DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING Drug Testing § 199.113 Employee assistance program. (a) Each operator shall provide an employee... must be drug tested based on reasonable cause. The operator may establish the EAP as a part of its...

49 CFR 199.113 - Employee assistance program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) PIPELINE SAFETY DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING Drug Testing § 199.113 Employee assistance program. (a) Each operator shall provide an employee... must be drug tested based on reasonable cause. The operator may establish the EAP as a part of its...

The Use of Discourse Analysis To Enhance ESP Teacher Knowledge: An Example Using Aviation English.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Patricia; Girginer, Handan

2002-01-01

Provides an example of one process used by a teacher-researcher to increase and expand the use of relevant materials, knowledgeable teachers, and teamwork with subject matter professionals in English for academic purposes' (EAP) programs. The study was conducted for an EAP program in a civil aviation school in Turkey. (Author/VWL)

The mechanism of growth of the low-frequency East Asia-Pacific teleconnection and the triggering role of tropical intraseasonal oscillation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jiabao; Wen, Zhiping; Wu, Renguang; Guo, Yuanyuan; Chen, Zesheng

2016-06-01

The East Asia-Pacific (EAP) pattern is a well-known meridional teleconnection over East Asia during boreal summer. In this study, the mechanism for growth of the EAP on intraseasonal timescale is investigated through a vorticity budget. It is found that the beta-effect and high-frequency transient eddies have primary contributions to the growth of the low-frequency EAP. The former leads to a westward shift of disturbances associated with the low-frequency EAP and the latter favors an amplification of disturbances, respectively. The interaction between low-frequency disturbances and zonal flow has a damping effect by dragging disturbances eastward. The impact of boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) on the triggering of the low-frequency EAP is also examined in this study based on observational analysis and a linear model experiment. It is shown that an elongated anomalous convection band located in the vicinity of Philippines associated with the dominant mode of BSISO has a significant impact on the initiation of low-frequency EAP via Rossby wave propagation, whereas anomalous convection located over the North Indian Ocean has a limited impact. Based on the results of present study, the low-frequency EAP could be a self-sustained mode, and the BSISO plays a substantial role in triggering the low-frequency EAP.

High Performance Electroactive Polymer Actuators Based on Sulfonated Block Copolymers Comprising Ionic Liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Onnuri; Park, Moon Jeong

2015-03-01

Electroactive polymer (EAP) actuators that show reversible deformation under external electric stimulus have attracted great attention toward a range of biomimetic applications such as microsensors and artificial muscles. Key challenges to advance the technologies can be placed on the achievement of fast response time, low driving voltage, and durable operation in air. In present study, we are motivated to solve these issues by employing self-assembled block copolymers containing ionic liquids (ILs) as polymer layers in the actuator based on knowledge of factors affecting electromechanical properties of actuators. By controlling the block architecture and molecular weight of block copolymers, bending strain and durability were controlled in a straightforward manner. It has also been revealed that the type of IL makes impact on the EAP actuator performance by determining ion migration dynamics. Our actuators demonstrated large bending strains (up to 4%) under low voltages of 1-3V, which far exceeds the best performance of other EAP actuators reported in the literature. To underpin the molecular-level understanding of actuation mechanisms underlying the improved performance, we carried out in situ spectroscopy and in situ scattering experiments under actuation.

Materials And Processes Technical Information System (MAPTIS) LDEF materials data base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Funk, Joan G.; Strickland, John W.; Davis, John M.

1993-01-01

A preliminary Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Materials Data Base was developed by the LDEF Materials Special Investigation Group (MSIG). The LDEF Materials Data Base is envisioned to eventually contain the wide variety and vast quantity of materials data generated from LDEF. The data is searchable by optical, thermal, and mechanical properties, exposure parameters (such as atomic oxygen flux) and author(s) or principal investigator(s). Tne LDEF Materials Data Base was incorporated into the Materials and Processes Technical Information System (MAPTIS). MAPTIS is a collection of materials data which has been computerized and is available to engineers, designers, and researchers in the aerospace community involved in the design and development of spacecraft and related hardware. The LDEF Materials Data Base is described and step-by-step example searches using the data base are included. Information on how to become an authorized user of the system is included.

Artificial Muscle Kits for the Classroom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Commonly referred to as "artificial muscles," electroactive polymer (EAP) materials are lightweight strips of highly flexible plastic that bend or stretch when subjected to electric voltage. EAP materials may prove to be a substitution for conventional actuation components such as motors and gears. Since the materials behave similarly to biological muscles, this emerging technology has the potential to develop improved prosthetics and biologically-inspired robots, and may even one day replace damaged human muscles. The practical application of artificial muscles provides a challenge, however, since the material requires improved effectiveness and durability before it can fulfill its potential.

Continuous diffusion signal, EAP and ODF estimation via Compressive Sensing in diffusion MRI.

PubMed

Merlet, Sylvain L; Deriche, Rachid

2013-07-01

In this paper, we exploit the ability of Compressed Sensing (CS) to recover the whole 3D Diffusion MRI (dMRI) signal from a limited number of samples while efficiently recovering important diffusion features such as the Ensemble Average Propagator (EAP) and the Orientation Distribution Function (ODF). Some attempts to use CS in estimating diffusion signals have been done recently. However, this was mainly an experimental insight of CS capabilities in dMRI and the CS theory has not been fully exploited. In this work, we also propose to study the impact of the sparsity, the incoherence and the RIP property on the reconstruction of diffusion signals. We show that an efficient use of the CS theory enables to drastically reduce the number of measurements commonly used in dMRI acquisitions. Only 20-30 measurements, optimally spread on several b-value shells, are shown to be necessary, which is less than previous attempts to recover the diffusion signal using CS. This opens an attractive perspective to measure the diffusion signals in white matter within a reduced acquisition time and shows that CS holds great promise and opens new and exciting perspectives in diffusion MRI (dMRI). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparing marriage and family therapy students to become employee assistance professionals*.

PubMed

Smith, T A; Salts, C J; Smith, C W

1989-10-01

While the number of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) has grown tremendously, opportunities for marriage and family therapists in EAP settings have not been adequately described. This paper addresses issues pertinent to training Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) students to develop the skills needed to become EAP professionals. Qualifications for becoming an EAP professional are described and suggestions are made as to how these skills may be taught within the framework of an academically based MFT training program.

Employee assistance programs: history and program description.

PubMed

Gilbert, B

1994-10-01

1. The history and development of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can be traced back to the 1800s. There are currently over 10,000 EAPs in the United States. 2. Standards for program accreditation and counselor certification have been established for EAPs. The "core technology of Employee Assistance Programs" includes identification of behavioural problems based on job performance issues, expert consultation with supervisors, appropriate use of constructive confrontation, microlinkages with treatment providers and resources, macrolinkages between providers, resources, and work organizations, focus on substance abuse, and evaluation of employee success based on job performance. 3. Some EAPs take a broad brush approach, and incorporate health promotion and managed care functions.

Failure modes in electroactive polymer thin films with elastic electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Tommasi, D.; Puglisi, G.; Zurlo, G.

2014-02-01

Based on an energy minimization approach, we analyse the elastic deformations of a thin electroactive polymer (EAP) film sandwiched by two elastic electrodes with non-negligible stiffness. We analytically show the existence of a critical value of the electrode voltage for which non-homogeneous solutions bifurcate from the homogeneous equilibrium state, leading to the pull-in phenomenon. This threshold strongly decreases the limit value proposed in the literature considering only homogeneous deformations. We explicitly discuss the influence of geometric and material parameters together with boundary conditions in the attainment of the different failure modes observed in EAP devices. In particular, we obtain the optimum values of these parameters leading to the maximum activation performances of the device.

EPR-based material modelling of soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faramarzi, Asaad; Alani, Amir M.

2013-04-01

In the past few decades, as a result of the rapid developments in computational software and hardware, alternative computer aided pattern recognition approaches have been introduced to modelling many engineering problems, including constitutive modelling of materials. The main idea behind pattern recognition systems is that they learn adaptively from experience and extract various discriminants, each appropriate for its purpose. In this work an approach is presented for developing material models for soils based on evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR). EPR is a recently developed hybrid data mining technique that searches for structured mathematical equations (representing the behaviour of a system) using genetic algorithm and the least squares method. Stress-strain data from triaxial tests are used to train and develop EPR-based material models for soil. The developed models are compared with some of the well-known conventional material models and it is shown that EPR-based models can provide a better prediction for the behaviour of soils. The main benefits of using EPR-based material models are that it provides a unified approach to constitutive modelling of all materials (i.e., all aspects of material behaviour can be implemented within a unified environment of an EPR model); it does not require any arbitrary choice of constitutive (mathematical) models. In EPR-based material models there are no material parameters to be identified. As the model is trained directly from experimental data therefore, EPR-based material models are the shortest route from experimental research (data) to numerical modelling. Another advantage of EPR-based constitutive model is that as more experimental data become available, the quality of the EPR prediction can be improved by learning from the additional data, and therefore, the EPR model can become more effective and robust. The developed EPR-based material models can be incorporated in finite element (FE) analysis.

Employee assistance programs in the new millennium.

PubMed

Masi, Dale A

2005-01-01

This article presents an overall view of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Beginning with the history, this article describes various models and essential ingredients of EAPs. It then discusses current trends including integration with Work/Life, web-based services, EAP accreditation, and the growth of international programs. Several issues are discussed including the need for licensing done nationally rather than by states and the effect the lack of substance abuse and brief counseling education has had on the delivery of EAP services. Future directions for EAPs emphasize the importance of quality assurance and the development of performance measurements, performance guarantees, and outcome measurements. The formation of the Alliance for Employee Assistance Advancement, an organization of organizations, completes the description and shows a new direction for EAPs in the next millennium.

A review of integrating electroactive polymers as responsive systems for specialized drug delivery applications.

PubMed

Pillay, Viness; Tsai, Tong-Sheng; Choonara, Yahya E; du Toit, Lisa C; Kumar, Pradeep; Modi, Girish; Naidoo, Dinesh; Tomar, Lomas K; Tyagi, Charu; Ndesendo, Valence M K

2014-06-01

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are promising candidate materials for the design of drug delivery technologies, especially in conditions where an "on-off" drug release mechanism is required. To achieve this, EAPs such as polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, ethylene vinyl acetate, and polyethylene may be blended into responsive hydrogels in conjunction with the desired drug to obtain a patient-controlled drug release system. The "on-off" drug release mechanism can be achieved through the environmental-responsive nature of the interpenetrating hydrogel-EAP complex via (i) charged ions initiated diffusion of drug molecules; (ii) conformational changes that occur during redox switching of EAPs; or (iii) electroerosion. These release mechanisms are not exhaustive and new release mechanisms are still under investigation. Therefore, this review seeks to provide a concise incursion and critical overview of EAPs and responsive hydrogels as a strategy for advanced drug delivery, for example, controlled release of neurotransmitters, sulfosalicyclic acid from cross-linked hydrogel, and vaccine delivery. The review further discusses techniques such as linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, and chronoamperometry for the determination of the redox capability of EAPs. The future implications of the hydrogel-EAP composites include, but not limited to, application toward biosensors, DNA hybridizations, microsurgical tools, and miniature bioreactors and may be utilized to their full potential in the form of injectable devices as nanorobots or nanobiosensors. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

PANATIKI: A Network Access Control Implementation Based on PANA for IoT Devices

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Pedro Moreno; Lopez, Rafa Marin; Gomez Skarmeta, Antonio F.

2013-01-01

Internet of Things (IoT) networks are the pillar of recent novel scenarios, such as smart cities or e-healthcare applications. Among other challenges, these networks cover the deployment and interaction of small devices with constrained capabilities and Internet protocol (IP)-based networking connectivity. These constrained devices usually require connection to the Internet to exchange information (e.g., management or sensing data) or access network services. However, only authenticated and authorized devices can, in general, establish this connection. The so-called authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) services are in charge of performing these tasks on the Internet. Thus, it is necessary to deploy protocols that allow constrained devices to verify their credentials against AAA infrastructures. The Protocol for Carrying Authentication for Network Access (PANA) has been standardized by the Internet engineering task force (IETF) to carry the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), which provides flexible authentication upon the presence of AAA. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first deep study of the feasibility of EAP/PANA for network access control in constrained devices. We provide light-weight versions and implementations of these protocols to fit them into constrained devices. These versions have been designed to reduce the impact in standard specifications. The goal of this work is two-fold: (1) to demonstrate the feasibility of EAP/PANA in IoT devices; (2) to provide the scientific community with the first light-weight interoperable implementation of EAP/PANA for constrained devices in the Contiki operating system (Contiki OS), called PANATIKI. The paper also shows a testbed, simulations and experimental results obtained from real and simulated constrained devices. PMID:24189332

PANATIKI: a network access control implementation based on PANA for IoT devices.

PubMed

Moreno Sanchez, Pedro; Marin Lopez, Rafa; Gomez Skarmeta, Antonio F

2013-11-01

Internet of Things (IoT) networks are the pillar of recent novel scenarios, such as smart cities or e-healthcare applications. Among other challenges, these networks cover the deployment and interaction of small devices with constrained capabilities and Internet protocol (IP)-based networking connectivity. These constrained devices usually require connection to the Internet to exchange information (e.g., management or sensing data) or access network services. However, only authenticated and authorized devices can, in general, establish this connection. The so-called authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) services are in charge of performing these tasks on the Internet. Thus, it is necessary to deploy protocols that allow constrained devices to verify their credentials against AAA infrastructures. The Protocol for Carrying Authentication for Network Access (PANA) has been standardized by the Internet engineering task force (IETF) to carry the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), which provides flexible authentication upon the presence of AAA. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first deep study of the feasibility of EAP/PANA for network access control in constrained devices. We provide light-weight versions and implementations of these protocols to fit them into constrained devices. These versions have been designed to reduce the impact in standard specifications. The goal of this work is two-fold: (1) to demonstrate the feasibility of EAP/PANA in IoT devices; (2) to provide the scientific community with the first light-weight interoperable implementation of EAP/PANA for constrained devices in the Contiki operating system (Contiki OS), called PANATIKI. The paper also shows a testbed, simulations and experimental results obtained from real and simulated constrained devices.

Ras Labs.-CASIS-ISS NL experiment for synthetic muscle: resistance to ionizing radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasmussen, Lenore; Sandberg, Eric; Albers, Leila N.; Rodriguez, Simone; Gentile, Charles A.; Meixler, Lewis D.; Ascione, George; Hitchner, Robert; Taylor, James; Hoffman, Dan; Cylinder, David; Moy, Leon; Mark, Patrick S.; Prillaman, Daniel L.; Nordarse, Robert; Menegus, Michael J.; Ratto, Jo Ann; Thellen, Christopher; Froio, Danielle; Furlong, Cosme; Razavi, Payam; Valenza, Logan; Hablani, Surbhi; Fuerst, Tyler; Gallucci, Sergio; Blocher, Whitney; Liffland, Stephanie

2016-04-01

, 14 2015 on the SpaceX-6 payload, and will return to Earth in 2016. The most significant change from the on Earth radiation exposure was color change in the irradiated EAP samples, which in polymers can be indicative of accelerated aging. There was visible yellowing in the irradiated samples compared to the control samples, which were not irradiated and were clear and colorless. While the Synthetic Muscle Experiment is in orbit on the ISS-NL, photo events occur every 4 to 6 weeks to observe any changes, such as color, in the samples. The bulk of the testing will occur when these EAP samples return back to Earth, and will be compared to the duplicate experiment that remains on Earth (the control experiment). Smart electroactive polymer based materials and actuators promise to transform prostheses and robots, allowing for the treatment, reduction, and prevention of debilitating injury and fatalities, and to further our exploration by land, sea, air, and space.

A Preliminary Assessment of Google Scholar as a Source of EAP Students' Research Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helms-Park, Rena; Radia, Pavlina; Stapleton, Paul

2007-01-01

While the use of a search engine to find secondary sources is now a commonplace practice among undergraduate writers, recent studies show that students' online searches often lead to materials that are wholly or partially unsuitable for academic purposes. Accordingly, this project set out to determine whether using a more specialized search…

Bessel Fourier Orientation Reconstruction (BFOR): An Analytical Diffusion Propagator Reconstruction for Hybrid Diffusion Imaging and Computation of q-Space Indices

PubMed Central

Hosseinbor, A. Pasha; Chung, Moo K.; Wu, Yu-Chien; Alexander, Andrew L.

2012-01-01

The ensemble average propagator (EAP) describes the 3D average diffusion process of water molecules, capturing both its radial and angular contents. The EAP can thus provide richer information about complex tissue microstructure properties than the orientation distribution function (ODF), an angular feature of the EAP. Recently, several analytical EAP reconstruction schemes for multiple q-shell acquisitions have been proposed, such as diffusion propagator imaging (DPI) and spherical polar Fourier imaging (SPFI). In this study, a new analytical EAP reconstruction method is proposed, called Bessel Fourier orientation reconstruction (BFOR), whose solution is based on heat equation estimation of the diffusion signal for each shell acquisition, and is validated on both synthetic and real datasets. A significant portion of the paper is dedicated to comparing BFOR, SPFI, and DPI using hybrid, non-Cartesian sampling for multiple b-value acquisitions. Ways to mitigate the effects of Gibbs ringing on EAP reconstruction are also explored. In addition to analytical EAP reconstruction, the aforementioned modeling bases can be used to obtain rotationally invariant q-space indices of potential clinical value, an avenue which has not yet been thoroughly explored. Three such measures are computed: zero-displacement probability (Po), mean squared displacement (MSD), and generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA). PMID:22963853

Graphene-based materials for tissue engineering.

PubMed

Shin, Su Ryon; Li, Yi-Chen; Jang, Hae Lin; Khoshakhlagh, Parastoo; Akbari, Mohsen; Nasajpour, Amir; Zhang, Yu Shrike; Tamayol, Ali; Khademhosseini, Ali

2016-10-01

Graphene and its chemical derivatives have been a pivotal new class of nanomaterials and a model system for quantum behavior. The material's excellent electrical conductivity, biocompatibility, surface area and thermal properties are of much interest to the scientific community. Two-dimensional graphene materials have been widely used in various biomedical research areas such as bioelectronics, imaging, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. In this review, we will highlight the recent applications of graphene-based materials in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In particular, we will discuss the application of graphene-based materials in cardiac, neural, bone, cartilage, skeletal muscle, and skin/adipose tissue engineering. We will also discuss the potential risk factors of graphene-based materials in tissue engineering. In conclusion, we will outline the opportunities in the usage of graphene-based materials for clinical applications. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Biocompatibility of Resin-based Dental Materials

PubMed Central

Moharamzadeh, Keyvan; Brook, Ian M.; Van Noort, Richard

2009-01-01

Oral and mucosal adverse reactions to resin-based dental materials have been reported. Numerous studies have examined the biocompatibility of restorative dental materials and their components, and a wide range of test systems for the evaluation of the biological effects of these materials have been developed. This article reviews the biological aspects of resin-based dental materials and discusses the conventional as well as the new techniques used for biocompatibility assessment of dental materials.

Benthic macrofauna assemblages and biochemical properties of sediments in two Antarctic regions differently affected by climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sañé, E.; Isla, E.; Gerdes, D.; Montiel, A.; Gili, J.-M.

2012-03-01

Lipid, protein and carbohydrate concentrations have been determined in sediment cores from the continental shelf in the South Eastern Weddell Sea (SEWS), where no ice shelves have been present at least for thousands of years, and the continental shelf off the Eastern Antarctic Peninsula (EAP), in the area where two ice shelf collapses occurred in 1995 and 2002. On one hand, SEWS presents an important flux of fresh organic matter to the seabed during summer, whereas on the other hand, the presence of ice shelves in EAP hampered photosynthesis restricting the input of organic matter to advected refractory material. In the present study, biochemical variables and benthic macrofauna abundance, biomass and diversity confirmed differences between the two regions. Lipid concentrations were higher in SEWS than in EAP, whereas carbohydrate concentrations were higher in the latter region. These differences were attributed to the higher concentration of labile and refractory material, respectively. Biomass, abundance and diversity of the macrofauna were higher in SEWS than in EAP, where benthic communities started receiving a fresh organic matter input only after the recent ice shelf collapses. As regards macrofauna composition, both regions presented macrobenthic communities associated to early stages of recolonization.

Passive Sensor Materials Based on Liquid Crystals

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-12

REPORT Passive Sensor Materials based on Liquid Crystals 14. ABSTRACT 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: Research supported by this grant entitled “Passive...Sensor Materials Based on Liquid Crystals” revolved around an investigation of liquid crystalline materials for use in passive sensors for chemical... based on Liquid Crystals Report Title ABSTRACT Research supported by this grant entitled “Passive Sensor Materials Based on Liquid Crystals” revolved

Silk Fibroin Based Porous Materials

PubMed Central

Zhang, Qiang; Yan, Shuqin; Li, Mingzhong

2009-01-01

Silk from the Bombyx mori silkworm is a protein-based fiber. Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) is one of the most important candidates for biomedical porous material based on its superior machinability, biocompatibility, biodegradation, bioresorbability, and so on. In this paper, we have reviewed the key features of SF. Moreover we have focused on the morphous, technical processing, and biocompatibility of SF porous materials, followed by the application research. Finally, we provide a perspective the potential and problems of SF porous materials.

Employee assistance programs: a workplace resource to address intimate partner violence.

PubMed

Pollack, Keshia M; Austin, Whitney; Grisso, Jeane Ann

2010-04-01

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem with significant impact on the workplace. Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are a confidential benefit to assist employees and their families with a variety of problems that may negatively affect their job performance. The purpose of this systematic review is to study the extant literature to identify articles that have explored the role of EAPs in addressing IPV. We searched Medline, PsychINFO, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) for English-language papers that have explored how EAPs can address IPV. Articles published through 2008 were included. Our review yielded nine articles, mostly from EAP-centered journals. Nearly all of the studies were published before the year 2000 and primarily describe the need for EAPs to be more engaged in preventing violence against women. Most of the studies were commentaries, often using case reports to support recommendations on how EAPs could address IPV. Results from the two intervention studies revealed close connections between EAP clients being treated for alcoholism and IPV perpetration and the effectiveness of a standardized tool to identify EAP clients experiencing IPV. Research in this area is in its infancy, and more studies are needed to inform the formulation of evidence-based policies and programs that guide the role of EAPs in addressing IPV. The lack of research on how EAPs address IPV is alarming, as many employers state that they often refer employees affected by IPV to the EAP for assistance.

Polyphosphazine-based polymer materials

DOEpatents

Fox, Robert V.; Avci, Recep; Groenewold, Gary S.

2010-05-25

Methods of removing contaminant matter from porous materials include applying a polymer material to a contaminated surface, irradiating the contaminated surface to cause redistribution of contaminant matter, and removing at least a portion of the polymer material from the surface. Systems for decontaminating a contaminated structure comprising porous material include a radiation device configured to emit electromagnetic radiation toward a surface of a structure, and at least one spray device configured to apply a capture material onto the surface of the structure. Polymer materials that can be used in such methods and systems include polyphosphazine-based polymer materials having polyphosphazine backbone segments and side chain groups that include selected functional groups. The selected functional groups may include iminos, oximes, carboxylates, sulfonates, .beta.-diketones, phosphine sulfides, phosphates, phosphites, phosphonates, phosphinates, phosphine oxides, monothio phosphinic acids, and dithio phosphinic acids.

The impact of employee assistance services on workplace outcomes: Results of a prospective, quasi-experimental study.

PubMed

Richmond, Melissa K; Pampel, Fred C; Wood, Randi C; Nunes, Ana P

2017-04-01

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are widely used to help employees experiencing personal or work-related difficulties that impact work productivity. However, rigorous research on the effectiveness of programs to improve work-related outcomes is lacking. The current study represents a major advance in EAP research by using a prospective, quasi-experimental design with a large and diverse employee base. Using propensity scores calculated from demographic, social, work-related, and psychological variables collected on baseline surveys, we matched 156 employees receiving EAP to 188 non-EAP employees. Follow-up surveys were collected from 2 to 12 months post-baseline (M = 6.0). At follow-up, EAP employees had significantly greater reductions in absenteeism (b = -.596, p = .001) and presenteeism (b = -.217, p = .038), but not workplace distress (b = -.079, p = .448), than did non-EAP employees. Tests of moderation of baseline alcohol use, depression, anxiety, and productivity indicate that for the most part, the program works equally well for all groups. However, EAP did more to reduce absenteeism for those who began with lower severity of depression and anxiety at baseline. Results provide the scientific rigor needed to demonstrate EAP impact on improved work outcomes. In the first study of its kind, findings confirm the value of EAPs to help employees address personal and work-related concerns that are affecting job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Future perspectives of resin-based dental materials.

PubMed

Jandt, Klaus D; Sigusch, Bernd W

2009-08-01

This concise review and outlook paper gives a view of selected potential future developments in the area of resin-based biomaterials with an emphasis on dental composites. A selection of key publications (1 book, 35 scientific original publications and 1 website source) covering the areas nanotechnology, antimicrobial materials, stimuli responsive materials, self-repairing materials and materials for tissue engineering with direct or indirect relations and/or implications to resin-based dental materials is critically reviewed and discussed. Connections between these fields and their potential for resin-based dental materials are highlighted and put in perspective. The need to improve shrinkage properties and wear resistance is obvious for dental composites, and a vast number of attempts have been made to accomplish these aims. Future resin-based materials may be further improved in this respect if, for example nanotechnology is applied. Dental composites may, however, reach a completely new quality by utilizing new trends from materials science, such as introducing nanostructures, antimicrobial properties, stimuli responsive capabilities, the ability to promote tissue regeneration or repair of dental tissues if the composites were able to repair themselves. This paper shows selected potential future developments in the area of resin-based dental materials, gives basic and industrial researchers in dental materials science, and dental practitioners a glance into the potential future of these materials, and should stimulate discussion about needs and future developments in the area.

New Cork-Based Materials and Applications.

PubMed

Gil, Luís

2015-02-10

This review work is an update of a previous work reporting the new cork based materials and new applications of cork based materials. Cork is a material which has been used for multiple applications. The most known uses of cork are in stoppers (natural and agglomerated cork) for alcoholic beverages, classic floor covering with composite cork tiles (made by the binding of cork particles with different binders), and thermal/acoustic/vibration insulation with expanded corkboard in buildings and some other industrial fields. Many recent developments have been made leading to new cork based materials. Most of these newly developed cork materials are not yet on the market, but they represent new possibilities for engineers, architects, designers and other professionals which must be known and considered, potentially leading to their industrialization. This paper is a review covering the last five years of innovative cork materials and applications also mentioning previous work not reported before.

New Cork-Based Materials and Applications

PubMed Central

Gil, Luís

2015-01-01

This review work is an update of a previous work reporting the new cork based materials and new applications of cork based materials. Cork is a material which has been used for multiple applications. The most known uses of cork are in stoppers (natural and agglomerated cork) for alcoholic beverages, classic floor covering with composite cork tiles (made by the binding of cork particles with different binders), and thermal/acoustic/vibration insulation with expanded corkboard in buildings and some other industrial fields. Many recent developments have been made leading to new cork based materials. Most of these newly developed cork materials are not yet on the market, but they represent new possibilities for engineers, architects, designers and other professionals which must be known and considered, potentially leading to their industrialization. This paper is a review covering the last five years of innovative cork materials and applications also mentioning previous work not reported before. PMID:28787962

Navigating Uncharted Waters: An Accelerated Content-Based English for Academic Purposes Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hernandez, Kelly; Thomas, Michelle; Schuemann, Cynthia

2012-01-01

In 2008, Miami Dade College received a $1.9 million Title V grant from the US Department of Education to develop an Accelerated Content-Based English for Academic Purposes (EAP) track called Project ACE for ESL students. The ACE curriculum is anchored by the principles of flexibility, contextualization, and faculty buy-in--critical matters given…

Tungsten - Yttrium Based Nuclear Structural Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramana, Chintalapalle; Chessa, Jack; Martinenz, Gustavo

2013-04-01

The challenging problem currently facing the nuclear science community in this 21st century is design and development of novel structural materials, which will have an impact on the next-generation nuclear reactors. The materials available at present include reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steels, dispersion strengthened reduced activation ferritic steels, and vanadium- or tungsten-based alloys. These materials exhibit one or more specific problems, which are either intrinsic or caused by reactors. This work is focussed towards tungsten-yttrium (W-Y) based alloys and oxide ceramics, which can be utilized in nuclear applications. The goal is to derive a fundamental scientific understanding of W-Y-based materials. In collaboration with University of Califonia -- Davis, the project is designated to demonstrate the W-Y based alloys, ceramics and composites with enhanced physical, mechanical, thermo-chemical properties and higher radiation resistance. Efforts are focussed on understanding the microstructure, manipulating materials behavior under charged-particle and neutron irradiation, and create a knowledge database of defects, elemental diffusion/segregation, and defect trapping along grain boundaries and interfaces. Preliminary results will be discussed.

A screen for over-secretion of proteins by yeast based on a dual component cellular phosphatase and immuno-chromogenic stain for exported bacterial alkaline phosphatase reporter

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background To isolate over-secretors, we subjected to saturation mutagenesis, a strain of P.pastoris exporting E. coli alkaline phosphatase (EAP) fused to the secretory domain of the yeast α factor pheromone through cellular PHO1/KEX2 secretory processing signals as the α-sec-EAP reporter protein. Direct chromogenic staining for α-sec-EAP activity is non-specific as its NBT/BCIP substrate cross-reacts with cellular phosphatases which can be inhibited with Levulinic acid. However, the parental E(P) strain only exports detectable levels of α-sec-EAP at 69 hours and not within the 36 hour period post-seeding required for effective screening with the consequent absence of a reference for secretion. We substituted the endogenous cellular phosphatase activity as a comparative reference for secretion rate and levels as well as for colony alignment while elevating specificity and sensitivity of detection of the exported protein with other innovative modifications of the immuno-chromogenic staining application for screening protein export mutants. Results Raising the specificity and utility of staining for α-sec-EAP activity required 5 modifications including some to published methods. These included, exploitation of endogenous phosphatase activity, reduction of the cell/protein burden, establishment of the direct relation between concentrations of transcriptional inducer and exported membrane immobilized protein and concentrations of protein exported into growth media, amplification of immuno-specificity and sensitivity of detection of α-sec-EAP reporter enzyme signal and restriction of staining to optimal concentrations of antisera and time periods. The resultant immuno-chromogenic screen allows for the detection of early secretion and as little as 1.3 fold over-secretion of α-sec-EAP reporter protein by E(M) mutants in the presence of 10 fold -216 fold higher concentrations of HSA. Conclusions The modified immuno-chromogenic screen is sensitive, specific and has

Nanocellulose based polymer composite for acoustical materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farid, Mohammad; Purniawan, Agung; Susanti, Diah; Priyono, Slamet; Ardhyananta, Hosta; Rahmasita, Mutia E.

2018-04-01

Natural fibers are biodegradable materials that are innovatively and widely used for composite reinforcement in automotive components. Nanocellulose derived from natural fibers oil palm empty bunches have properties that are remarkable for use as a composite reinforcement. However, there have not been many investigations related to the use of nanocellulose-based composites for wideband sound absorption materials. The specimens of nanocellulose-based polyester composite were prepared using a spray method. An impedance tube method was used to measure the sound absorption coefficient of this composite material. To reveal the characteristics of the nanocellulose-based polyester composite material, SEM (scanning electron microscope), TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra Red), TGA (Thermogravimetric Analysis), and density tests were performed. Sound absorption test results showed the average value of sound absorption coefficient of 0.36 to 0,46 for frequency between 500 and 4000 Hz indicating that this nanocellulose-based polyester composite materials had a tendency to wideband sound absorption materials and potentially used as automotive interior materials.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy: The Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association's Model Overview of Equine-Based Modalities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Notgrass, Clayton G.; Pettinelli, J. Douglas

2015-01-01

This article describes the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association's (EAGALA) experiential model called "Equine Assisted Psychotherapy" (EAP). EAGALA's model is based on the Association for Experiential Education's (AEE) tenets and is focused on the learner's experience with horses. Drawing on the historical use of equines in the…

LDEF materials special investigation group's data bases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strickland, John W.; Funk, Joan G.; Davis, John M.

1993-01-01

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was composed of and contained a wide array of materials, representing the largest collection of materials flown for space exposure and returned for ground-based analyses to date. The results and implications of the data from these materials are the foundation on which future space missions will be built. The LDEF Materials Special Investigation Group (MSIG) has been tasked with establishing and developing data bases to document these materials and their performance to assure not only that the data are archived for future generations but also that the data are available to the space user community in an easily accessed, user-friendly form. The format and content of the data bases developed or being developed to accomplish this task are discussed. The hardware and software requirements for each of the three data bases are discussed along with current availability of the data bases.

Material Characterization of Microsphere-Based Scaffolds with Encapsulated Raw Materials

PubMed Central

Sridharan, BanuPriya; Mohan, Neethu; Berkland, Cory J.; Detamore, Michael S.

2016-01-01

“Raw materials,” or materials capable of serving both as building blocks and as signals, which are often but not always natural materials, are taking center stage in biomaterials for contemporary regenerative medicine. In osteochondral tissue engineering, a field leveraging the underlying bone to facilitate cartilage regeneration, common raw materials include chondroitin sulfate (CS) for cartilage and β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) for bone. Building on our previous work with gradient scaffolds based on microspheres, here we delved deeper into the characterization of individual components. In the current study, the release of CS and TCP from poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microsphere-based scaffolds was evaluated over a time period of 4 weeks. Raw material encapsulated groups were compared to ‘blank’ groups and evaluated for surface topology, molecular weight, and mechanical performance as a function of time. The CS group may have led to increased surface porosity, and the addition of CS improved the mechanical performance of the scaffold. The finding that CS was completely released into the surrounding media by 4 weeks has a significant impact on future in vivo studies, given rapid bioavailability. The addition of TCP seemed to contribute to the rough external appearance of the scaffold. The current study provides an introduction to degradation patterns of homogenous raw material encapsulated scaffolds, providing characterization data to advance the field of microsphere-based scaffolds in tissue engineering. PMID:27040236

Promoting Information Literacy of Pre-Medical Students through Project-Based Learning: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saliba, Reya; Mussleman, Paul; Fernandes, Melanie; Bendriss, Rachid

2017-01-01

This study describes the implementation of information literacy (IL) skills through the use of the project-based learning (PjBL) method in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course. Participants were Arabic speaking students enrolled in the Foundation Program that prepared them for the pre-medical curriculum in a U.S. medical college in the…

Educating Organizational Consumers about Employee Assistance Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roman, Paul M.; And Others

1987-01-01

Provides an overview of the value of employee assistance programs (EAP) as mechanisms to solve organizational problems. The article is based on a field study of 480 EAPs in private sector organizations with 500 or more employees. (JOW)

1-dimension nano-material-based flexible device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xing; Zhou, Zhaoying; Zheng, Fuzhong

2009-11-01

1D nano-material-based flexible devices has attracted considerable attention owing to the growing need of the high-sensitivity flexible sensor, portable consumer electronics etc.. In this paper, the 1D nano-materials-based flexible device on polyimide substrate was proposed. The bottom-up and top-down combined process were used for constructing the ZnO nanowire and the CNT-based flexible devices. Their electrical characteristics were also investigated. The measurement results demonstrate that the flexible device covered with a layer of Al2O3 has good ohm electrical contact behavior between the nano-material and micro-electrodes. The proposed 1D nano-material-based flexible device shows the application potential in the sensing fields.

Learning material recommendation based on case-based reasoning similarity scores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masood, Mona; Mokmin, Nur Azlina Mohamed

2017-10-01

A personalized learning material recommendation is important in any Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS). Case-based Reasoning (CBR) is an Artificial Intelligent Algorithm that has been widely used in the development of ITS applications. This study has developed an ITS application that applied the CBR algorithm in the development process. The application has the ability to recommend the most suitable learning material to the specific student based on information in the student profile. In order to test the ability of the application in recommending learning material, two versions of the application were created. The first version displayed the most suitable learning material and the second version displayed the least preferable learning material. The results show the application has successfully assigned the students to the most suitable learning material.

Theoretical Evaluation of Electroactive Polymer Based Micropump Diaphragm for Air Flow Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Tian-Bing; Su, Ji; Zhang, Qiming

2004-01-01

An electroactive polymer (EAP), high energy electron irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDFTrFE)] copolymer, based actuation micropump diaphragm (PAMPD) have been developed for air flow control. The displacement strokes and profiles as a function of amplifier and frequency of electric field have been characterized. The volume stroke rates (volume rate) as function of electric field, driving frequency have been theoretically evaluated, too. The PAMPD exhibits high volume rate. It is easily tuned with varying of either amplitude or frequency of the applied electric field. In addition, the performance of the diaphragms were modeled and the agreement between the modeling results and experimental data confirms that the response of the diaphragms follow the design parameters. The results demonstrated that the diaphragm can fit some future aerospace applications to replace the traditional complex mechanical systems, increase the control capability and reduce the weight of the future air dynamic control systems. KEYWORDS: Electroactive polymer (EAP), micropump, diaphragm, actuation, displacement, volume rate, pumping speed, clamping ratio.

Programmable and functional electrothermal bimorph actuators based on large-area anisotropic carbon nanotube paper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qingwei; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan

2018-04-01

Electro-active polymer (EAP) actuators, such as electronic, ionic and electrothermal (ET) actuators, have become an important branch of next-generation soft actuators in bionic robotics. However, most reported EAP actuators could realize only simple movements, being restricted by the small area of flexible electrodes and simple designs. We prepared large-area flexible electrodes of high anisotropy, made of oriented carbon nanotube (CNT) paper, and carried out artful graphic designs and processing on the electrodes to make functional ET bimorph actuators which can realize large bending deformations (over 220°, curvature > 1.5 cm-1) and bionic movements driven by electricity. The anisotropy of CNT paper benefits electrode designs and multiform actuations for complex actuators. Based on the large-area CNT paper, more interesting and functional actuators can be designed and prepared which will have practical applications in the fields of artificial muscles, complicated actuations, and soft and bionic robotics.

Analyzing Genre Exemplars in Preparation for Writing: The Case of an L2 Graduate Student in the ESP Genre-Based Instructional Framework of Academic Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, An

2008-01-01

Some researchers believe that the ESP genre-based framework of writing instruction is effective in teaching discipline-specific English EAP writing to L2 learners, especially to advanced L2 graduate students. However, studies examining students' genre-based learning in such a framework are still underrepresented in current ESP genre-based…

A nonlinear generalized continuum approach for electro-elasticity including scale effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skatulla, S.; Arockiarajan, A.; Sansour, C.

2009-01-01

Materials characterized by an electro-mechanically coupled behaviour fall into the category of so-called smart materials. In particular, electro-active polymers (EAP) recently attracted much interest, because, upon electrical loading, EAP exhibit a large amount of deformation while sustaining large forces. This property can be utilized for actuators in electro-mechanical systems, artificial muscles and so forth. When it comes to smaller structures, it is a well-known fact that the mechanical response deviates from the prediction of classical mechanics theory. These scale effects are due to the fact that the size of the microscopic material constituents of such structures cannot be considered to be negligible small anymore compared to the structure's overall dimensions. In this context so-called generalized continuum formulations have been proven to account for the micro-structural influence to the macroscopic material response. Here, we want to adopt a strain gradient approach based on a generalized continuum framework [Sansour, C., 1998. A unified concept of elastic-viscoplastic Cosserat and micromorphic continua. J. Phys. IV Proc. 8, 341-348; Sansour, C., Skatulla, S., 2007. A higher gradient formulation and meshfree-based computation for elastic rock. Geomech. Geoeng. 2, 3-15] and extend it to also encompass the electro-mechanically coupled behaviour of EAP. The approach introduces new strain and stress measures which lead to the formulation of a corresponding generalized variational principle. The theory is completed by Dirichlet boundary conditions for the displacement field and its derivatives normal to the boundary as well as the electric potential. The basic idea behind this generalized continuum theory is the consideration of a micro- and a macro-space which together span the generalized space. As all quantities are defined in this generalized space, also the constitutive law, which is in this work conventional electro-mechanically coupled nonlinear

Triarylborane-Based Materials for OLED Applications.

PubMed

Turkoglu, Gulsen; Cinar, M Emin; Ozturk, Turan

2017-09-13

Multidisciplinary research on organic fluorescent molecules has been attracting great interest owing to their potential applications in biomedical and material sciences. In recent years, electron deficient systems have been increasingly incorporated into fluorescent materials. Triarylboranes with the empty p orbital of their boron centres are electron deficient and can be used as strong electron acceptors in conjugated organic fluorescent materials. Moreover, their applications in optoelectronic devices, energy harvesting materials and anion sensing, due to their natural Lewis acidity and remarkable solid-state fluorescence properties, have also been investigated. Furthermore, fluorescent triarylborane-based materials have been commonly utilized as emitters and electron transporters in organic light emitting diode (OLED) applications. In this review, triarylborane-based small molecules and polymers will be surveyed, covering their structure-property relationships, intramolecular charge transfer properties and solid-state fluorescence quantum yields as functional emissive materials in OLEDs. Also, the importance of the boron atom in triarylborane compounds is emphasized to address the key issues of both fluorescent emitters and their host materials for the construction of high-performance OLEDs.

Material-based figure of merit for caloric materials

DOE PAGES

Griffith, L. D.; Mudryk, Y.; Slaughter, J.; ...

2018-01-21

Efficient use of reversible thermal effects in magnetocaloric, electrocaloric, and elastocaloric materials is a promising avenue that can lead to a substantially increased efficiency of refrigeration and heat pumping devices, most importantly those used in household and commercial cooling applications near ambient temperature. A proliferation in caloric materials research has resulted in a wide array of materials where only the isothermal change in entropy in response to a handful of different field strengths over a limited range of temperatures has been evaluated and reported. Given the abundance of such data, there is a clear need for a simple and reliablemore » figure of merit enabling fast screening and down-selection to justify further detailed characterization of those materials systems that hold the greatest promise. Based on the analysis of several well-known materials that exhibit vastly different magnetocaloric effects, the Temperature averaged Entropy Change (TEC) is introduced as a suitable early indicator of the material’s utility for magnetocaloric cooling applications, and its adoption by the caloric community is recommended.« less

Material-based figure of merit for caloric materials

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

Griffith, L. D.; Mudryk, Y.; Slaughter, J.

Efficient use of reversible thermal effects in magnetocaloric, electrocaloric, and elastocaloric materials is a promising avenue that can lead to a substantially increased efficiency of refrigeration and heat pumping devices, most importantly those used in household and commercial cooling applications near ambient temperature. A proliferation in caloric materials research has resulted in a wide array of materials where only the isothermal change in entropy in response to a handful of different field strengths over a limited range of temperatures has been evaluated and reported. Given the abundance of such data, there is a clear need for a simple and reliablemore » figure of merit enabling fast screening and down-selection to justify further detailed characterization of those materials systems that hold the greatest promise. Based on the analysis of several well-known materials that exhibit vastly different magnetocaloric effects, the Temperature averaged Entropy Change (TEC) is introduced as a suitable early indicator of the material’s utility for magnetocaloric cooling applications, and its adoption by the caloric community is recommended.« less

Expanded Access Programs

PubMed Central

Van Campen, Luann E.; Garnett, Timothy

2015-01-01

Expanded access is a regulatory mechanism by which an investigational drug can be made available outside of a clinical trial to treat patients with serious or life-threatening conditions for which there are no satisfactory treatment options. An expanded access program (EAP) is the formal plan under which preapproval access to an investigational drug can be provided to a group of patients. Although an EAP is a regulated program, the decision to authorize an EAP is the responsibility of the biopharmaceutical sponsor. Because of the significant impact an EAP can have on current patients, drug development, and future patients, we propose that a sponsor’s decision must be based not only on regulatory criteria but also on ethical and practical considerations regarding implementation of an EAP. Such an approach will help ensure that decisions and plans uphold ethical precepts such as fairness, promoting good, and minimizing risk of harm. PMID:29473010

New Horizons in Organizational Stress Prevention Approaches.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGaffey, Thomas N.

1978-01-01

Discusses and describes some active Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). An EAP is a stress intervention program that, when combined with other stress prevention procedures, can serve as an effective base for developing a comprehensive managerial system for combating organizational stress. (Author/IRT)

Emerging terahertz photodetectors based on two-dimensional materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jie; Qin, Hua; Zhang, Kai

2018-01-01

Inspired by the innovations in photonics and nanotechnology, the remarkable properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials have renewed interest for the development of terahertz (THz) photodetectors. The versatility of these materials enables ultrafast and ultrasensitive photodetection of THz radiation at room temperature. The atomically thin characteristic together with van der Waals interactions among the layers make it easy to scaling down and integrate with other 2D materials based devices, as well as silicon chips. Efforts have increased fast in the past decade in developing proof-of-concept and the further prospective THz photodetectors based on 2D materials. Here, the recent progress on the exploring of THz photodetectors based on 2D materials is reviewed. We summarized the THz photodetectors under different physical mechanism and introduced the state-of-the-art THz photodetectors based on various promising 2D materials, such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), black phosphorus (BP) and topological insulators (TIs). A brief discussion on the remaining challenges and a perspective of the 2D materials based THz photodetectors are also given.

DNA-based nonlinear photonic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heckman, Emily M.; Grote, James G.; Yaney, Perry P.; Hopkins, F. K.

2004-10-01

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), extracted from salmon sperm through an enzyme isolation process, is a by-product of Japan"s fishing industry. To make DNA a suitable material for nonlinear optic (NLO) applications, it is precipitated with a surfactant complex, hexadecyltrimethlammonium chloride (CTMA). Preliminary characterization studies suggest DNA-CTMA may be a suitable host material for guest-host NLO polymer based electro-optic (EO) waveguide devices. The optical and electromagnetic properties of DNA-CTMA, as well as the development and EO measurement of a disperse red 1 (DR1) guest / DNA/CTMA host NLO material, are reported. Comparisons to a DR1 guest / poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) host NLO material are made.

Manganese oxide-based materials as electrochemical supercapacitor electrodes.

PubMed

Wei, Weifeng; Cui, Xinwei; Chen, Weixing; Ivey, Douglas G

2011-03-01

Electrochemical supercapacitors (ECs), characteristic of high power and reasonably high energy densities, have become a versatile solution to various emerging energy applications. This critical review describes some materials science aspects on manganese oxide-based materials for these applications, primarily including the strategic design and fabrication of these electrode materials. Nanostructurization, chemical modification and incorporation with high surface area, conductive nanoarchitectures are the three major strategies in the development of high-performance manganese oxide-based electrodes for EC applications. Numerous works reviewed herein have shown enhanced electrochemical performance in the manganese oxide-based electrode materials. However, many fundamental questions remain unanswered, particularly with respect to characterization and understanding of electron transfer and atomic transport of the electrochemical interface processes within the manganese oxide-based electrodes. In order to fully exploit the potential of manganese oxide-based electrode materials, an unambiguous appreciation of these basic questions and optimization of synthesis parameters and material properties are critical for the further development of EC devices (233 references).

Resilient Modulus Characterization of Alaskan Granular Base Materials

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-08-01

Resilient modulus (MR) of base course material is an important material input for : pavement design. In Alaska, due to distinctiveness of local climate, material source, : fines content and groundwater level, resilient properties of D-1 granular base...

Recent progress in graphene-material-based optical sensors.

PubMed

Deng, Xianghua; Tang, Hao; Jiang, Jianhui

2014-11-01

Graphene material has been widely used for optical sensors owing to its excellent properties, including high-energy transfer efficiency, large surface area, and great biocompatibility. Different analytes such as nucleic acids, proteins, and small molecules can be detected by graphene-material-based optical sensors. This review provides a comprehensive discussion of graphene-material-based optical sensors focusing on detection mechanisms and biosensor designs. Challenges and future perspectives for graphene-material-based optical sensors are also presented.

[Preface for special issue on bio-based materials (2016)].

PubMed

Weng, Yunxuan

2016-06-25

Bio-based materials are new materials or chemicals with renewable biomass as raw materials such as grain, legume, straw, bamboo and wood powder. This class of materials includes bio-based polymer, biobased fiber, glycotechnology products, biobased rubber and plastics produced by biomass thermoplastic processing and basic biobased chemicals, for instance, bio-alcohols, organic acids, alkanes, and alkenes, obtained by bio-synthesis, bio-processing and bio-refinery. Owing to its environmental friendly and resource conservation, bio-based materials are becoming a new dominant industry taking the lead in the world scientific and technological innovation and economic development. An overview of bio-based materials development is reported in this special issue, and the industrial status and research progress of the following aspects, including biobased fiber, polyhydroxyalkanoates, biodegradable mulching film, bio-based polyamide, protein based biomedical materials, bio-based polyurethane, and modification and processing of poly(lactic acid), are introduced.

Protein-Based Drug-Delivery Materials

PubMed Central

Jao, Dave; Xue, Ye; Medina, Jethro; Hu, Xiao

2017-01-01

There is a pressing need for long-term, controlled drug release for sustained treatment of chronic or persistent medical conditions and diseases. Guided drug delivery is difficult because therapeutic compounds need to survive numerous transport barriers and binding targets throughout the body. Nanoscale protein-based polymers are increasingly used for drug and vaccine delivery to cross these biological barriers and through blood circulation to their molecular site of action. Protein-based polymers compared to synthetic polymers have the advantages of good biocompatibility, biodegradability, environmental sustainability, cost effectiveness and availability. This review addresses the sources of protein-based polymers, compares the similarity and differences, and highlights characteristic properties and functionality of these protein materials for sustained and controlled drug release. Targeted drug delivery using highly functional multicomponent protein composites to guide active drugs to the site of interest will also be discussed. A systematical elucidation of drug-delivery efficiency in the case of molecular weight, particle size, shape, morphology, and porosity of materials will then be demonstrated to achieve increased drug absorption. Finally, several important biomedical applications of protein-based materials with drug-delivery function—including bone healing, antibiotic release, wound healing, and corneal regeneration, as well as diabetes, neuroinflammation and cancer treatments—are summarized at the end of this review. PMID:28772877

Protein-Based Drug-Delivery Materials.

PubMed

Jao, Dave; Xue, Ye; Medina, Jethro; Hu, Xiao

2017-05-09

There is a pressing need for long-term, controlled drug release for sustained treatment of chronic or persistent medical conditions and diseases. Guided drug delivery is difficult because therapeutic compounds need to survive numerous transport barriers and binding targets throughout the body. Nanoscale protein-based polymers are increasingly used for drug and vaccine delivery to cross these biological barriers and through blood circulation to their molecular site of action. Protein-based polymers compared to synthetic polymers have the advantages of good biocompatibility, biodegradability, environmental sustainability, cost effectiveness and availability. This review addresses the sources of protein-based polymers, compares the similarity and differences, and highlights characteristic properties and functionality of these protein materials for sustained and controlled drug release. Targeted drug delivery using highly functional multicomponent protein composites to guide active drugs to the site of interest will also be discussed. A systematical elucidation of drug-delivery efficiency in the case of molecular weight, particle size, shape, morphology, and porosity of materials will then be demonstrated to achieve increased drug absorption. Finally, several important biomedical applications of protein-based materials with drug-delivery function-including bone healing, antibiotic release, wound healing, and corneal regeneration, as well as diabetes, neuroinflammation and cancer treatments-are summarized at the end of this review.

An investigation of a thermally steerable electroactive polymer/shape memory polymer hybrid actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Kailiang; Bortolin, Robert S.; Zhang, Q. M.

2016-02-01

This paper investigates the thermal response of a hybrid actuator composed of an electroactive polymer (EAP) and a shape memory polymer (SMP). This study introduces the concept of using the large strain from a phase transition (ferroelectric to paraelectric phase) induced by temperature change in a poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) film to tune the shape of an SMP film above its glass transition temperature (Tg). Based on the material characterization data, it is revealed that the thickness ratio of the EAP/SMP films plays a critical role in the displacement of the actuator. Further, it is also demonstrated that the displacement of the hybrid actuator can be tailored by varying the temperature, and finite element method simulation results fit well with the measurement data. This specially designed hybrid actuator shows great promise for future morphing aircraft applications.

FeOx‐Based Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage

PubMed Central

Ma, Jingyi; Guo, Xiaotian; Yan, Yan; Xue, Huaiguo

2018-01-01

Abstract Iron oxides (FeOx), such as Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 materials, have attracted much attention because of their rich abundance, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, FeOx, which is similar to most transition metal oxides, possesses a poor rate capability and cycling life. Thus, FeOx‐based materials consisting of FeOx, carbon, and metal‐based materials have been widely explored. This article mainly discusses FeOx‐based materials (Fe2O3 and Fe3O4) for electrochemical energy storage applications, including supercapacitors and rechargeable batteries (e.g., lithium‐ion batteries and sodium‐ion batteries). Furthermore, future perspectives and challenges of FeOx‐based materials for electrochemical energy storage are briefly discussed.

Biodegradable soy protein isolate-based materials: a review.

PubMed

Song, Fei; Tang, Dao-Lu; Wang, Xiu-Li; Wang, Yu-Zhong

2011-10-10

Recently, there is an increasing interest of using bio-based polymers instead of conventional petroleum-based polymers to fabricate biodegradable materials. Soy protein isolate (SPI), a protein with reproducible resource, good biocompatibility, biodegradability, and processability, has a significant potential in the food industry, agriculture, bioscience, and biotechnology. Up to now, several technologies have been applied to prepare SPI-based materials with equivalent or superior physical and mechanical properties compared with petroleum-based materials. The aim of this review is focused on discussion of the advantages and limitations of native SPI as well as the bulk and surface modification strategies for SPI. Moreover, some applications of SPI-based materials, especially for food preservation and packaging technology, were discussed.

Functional materials based on nanocrystalline cellulose

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Surov, O. V.; Voronova, M. I.; Zakharov, A. G.

2017-10-01

The data on the synthesis of functional materials based on nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) published over the past 10 years are analyzed. The liquid-crystal properties of NCC suspensions, methods of investigation of NCC suspensions and films, conditions for preserving chiral nematic structure in the NCC films after removal of the solvent and features of templated sol-gel synthesis of functional materials based on NCC are considered. The bibliography includes 106 references.

Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy for adolescents experiencing depression and/or anxiety: A therapist's perspective.

PubMed

Wilson, Kaitlyn; Buultjens, Melissa; Monfries, Melissa; Karimi, Leila

2017-01-01

Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) are thought to overcome some of the limitations of traditional therapies as they do not rely exclusively on language as a medium for change. One such Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) approach involves horses as a therapeutic medium. Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) comprises a collaborative effort between a licensed therapist and a horse professional working with clients to address treatment goals. The purpose of the present Australian-based qualitative study was to examine EAP facilitators' perspectives on the biospychosocial benefits and therapeutic outcomes of EAP for adolescents experiencing depression and/or anxiety. The findings suggest a range of improvements within adolescent clients, including increases in confidence, self-esteem and assertiveness, as well as a decrease in undesirable behaviours. The effectiveness of the therapy was thought to be due to the experiential nature of involving horses in therapy. The lack of understanding in the wider community about EAP was seen as a barrier to recognition and acceptance of EAP as a valid therapeutic intervention.

Conductive polymer-based material

DOEpatents

McDonald, William F [Utica, OH; Koren, Amy B [Lansing, MI; Dourado, Sunil K [Ann Arbor, MI; Dulebohn, Joel I [Lansing, MI; Hanchar, Robert J [Charlotte, MI

2007-04-17

Disclosed are polymer-based coatings and materials comprising (i) a polymeric composition including a polymer having side chains along a backbone forming the polymer, at least two of the side chains being substituted with a heteroatom selected from oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus and combinations thereof; and (ii) a plurality of metal species distributed within the polymer. At least a portion of the heteroatoms may form part of a chelation complex with some or all of the metal species. In many embodiments, the metal species are present in a sufficient concentration to provide a conductive material, e.g., as a conductive coating on a substrate. The conductive materials may be useful as the thin film conducting or semi-conducting layers in organic electronic devices such as organic electroluminescent devices and organic thin film transistors.

Preparing Marriage and Family Therapy Students to Become Employee Assistance Professionals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Thomas A., Jr.; And Others

1989-01-01

Addresses issues pertinent to training Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) students to develop the skills needed to become Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) professionals. Describes qualifications for becoming EAP professional. Suggests how skills may be taught within the framework of an academically based MFT training program. (Author/ABL)

Employee Attitudes toward an Internal Employee Assistance Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harlow, Kirk C.

1998-01-01

Surveys employees (N=16,603) who had used a large multinational company's employee assistance program (EAP), adult dependents who had used the EAP, employees who had not used the EAP, and adult dependents who had not used the EAP. Findings indicate that EAP users viewed the EAP more positively than nonusers. (Author/MKA)

Predicting likelihood of seeking help through the employee assistance program among salaried and union hourly employees.

PubMed

Delaney, W; Grube, J W; Ames, G M

1998-03-01

This research investigated belief, social support and background predictors of employee likelihood to use an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for a drinking problem. An anonymous cross-sectional survey was administered in the home. Bivariate analyses and simultaneous equations path analysis were used to explore a model of EAP use. Survey and ethnographic research were conducted in a unionized heavy machinery manufacturing plant in the central states of the United States. A random sample of 852 hourly and salaried employees was selected. In addition to background variables, measures included: likelihood of going to an EAP for a drinking problem, belief the EAP can help, social support for the EAP from co-workers/others, belief that EAP use will harm employment, and supervisor encourages the EAP for potential drinking problems. Belief in EAP efficacy directly increased the likelihood of going to an EAP. Greater perceived social support and supervisor encouragement increased the likelihood of going to an EAP both directly and indirectly through perceived EAP efficacy. Black and union hourly employees were more likely to say they would use an EAP. Males and those who reported drinking during working hours were less likely to say they would use an EAP for a drinking problem. EAP beliefs and social support have significant effects on likelihood to go to an EAP for a drinking problem. EAPs may wish to focus their efforts on creating an environment where there is social support from coworkers and encouragement from supervisors for using EAP services. Union networks and team members have an important role to play in addition to conventional supervisor intervention.

Cement-based materials' characterization using ultrasonic attenuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Punurai, Wonsiri

The quantitative nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of cement-based materials is a critical area of research that is leading to advances in the health monitoring and condition assessment of the civil infrastructure. Ultrasonic NDE has been implemented with varying levels of success to characterize cement-based materials with complex microstructure and damage. A major issue with the application of ultrasonic techniques to characterize cement-based materials is their inherent inhomogeneity at multiple length scales. Ultrasonic waves propagating in these materials exhibit a high degree of attenuation losses, making quantitative interpretations difficult. Physically, these attenuation losses are a combination of internal friction in a viscoelastic material (ultrasonic absorption), and the scattering losses due to the material heterogeneity. The objective of this research is to use ultrasonic attenuation to characterize the microstructure of heterogeneous cement-based materials. The study considers a real, but simplified cement-based material, cement paste---a common bonding matrix of all cement-based composites. Cement paste consists of Portland cement and water but does not include aggregates. First, this research presents the findings of a theoretical study that uses a set of existing acoustics models to quantify the scattered ultrasonic wavefield from a known distribution of entrained air voids. These attenuation results are then coupled with experimental measurements to develop an inversion procedure that directly predicts the size and volume fraction of entrained air voids in a cement paste specimen. Optical studies verify the accuracy of the proposed inversion scheme. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of using attenuation to measure the average size, volume fraction of entrained air voids and the existence of additional larger entrapped air voids in hardened cement paste. Finally, coherent and diffuse ultrasonic waves are used to develop a direct

[Employee assistance program].

PubMed

Shima, Satoru; Tanaka, Katsutoshi; Ohba, Sayo

2002-03-01

Recently the EAP has received much attention in Japan. The first EAP service in the US was conducted by employees who had recovered from alcohol problems. In the early days EAP providers focused on addiction, but mainly after 1980 they expanded their service areas to include mental health, marital problems, legal problems and financial problems. In Japan the EAP was first received attention as a counseling resource outside the workplace where employees could seek professional help confidentially, but the main reasons why this system now interests employers are as a risk-management tool and an outsourcing of mental health services, since the growing number of mental health cases in the workplace has been a big issue for employers. Two movements have also contributed to more recognition of the EAP: one is guidelines on compensation for mental health cases in the workplace and the other is guidelines on mental health promotion in the workplace. There are four types of EAP systems: internal EAP, external EAP, combination EAP, and consortium EAP. EAP core technology consists of 8 functions including problem identification, Crisis intervention, Short-term intervention, Consultation with work organization leader. The literature on cost-benefit analysis of the EAP is very limited. Although the available data suggest that the EAP is highly cost-effective, further studies are needed with the sufficient statistical quality. In Japan the most important issues in the EAP are the standardization and quality assurance of EAP services. For this purpose development of a good educational system for EAP professionals is needed.

Developing School Connectedness among Diverse Youth through Extracurricular Programming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Randall; Evans, William P.

2005-01-01

Extracurricular activity participation (EAP) is a formalized opportunity for youth to experience non-classroom-based, prosocial programming. A considerable amount of research, using both cross-sectional and longitudinal samples, has found important relationships between EAP and a decreased likelihood of dropping out and substance use, as well as…

"Many Secrets Are Told around Horses": An Ethnographic Study of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Tiem, Jennifer

2014-01-01

This dissertation presents an ethnography of equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) based on nine months of fieldwork at "Equine Healers," a non-profit organization in central Colorado that specialized in various therapeutic modalities associated with EAP. In bridging scholarly work around animals, a literature suffused with the notion of…

Employee assistance programs: a prevention and treatment prescription for problems in health care organizations.

PubMed

Rotarius, T; Liberman, A; Liberman, J S

2000-09-01

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are a by-product of community-based mental health services--making behavioral care available in an outpatient ambulatory setting. This manuscript outlines an application of EAPs to health care workers and the multiplicity of challenges they must confront and describes the importance of timely intervention and support.

Alcohol & drug abuse: Revisiting employee assistance programs and substance use problems in the workplace: key issues and a research agenda.

PubMed

Merrick, Elizabeth S Levy; Volpe-Vartanian, Joanna; Horgan, Constance M; McCann, Bernard

2007-10-01

This column describes employee assistance program (EAPs) and identifies key issues for contemporary EAPs. These programs began as occupational alcohol programs and have evolved into more comprehensive resources. To better understand contemporary EAPs, the authors suggest a research agenda that includes descriptive studies to provide an up-to-date picture of services; investigations of how contemporary EAPs address substance use problems, including management consultation for early identification; further study of EAPs' effects on outcomes, such as productivity and work group outcomes; examination of the relationship between EAPs and other workplace resources; further examination of influences on EAP utilization; and development and testing of EAP performance measures.

Developing Novel Protein-based Materials using Ultrabithorax: Production, Characterization, and Functionalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Zhao

2011-12-01

Compared to 'conventional' materials made from metal, glass, or ceramics, protein-based materials have unique mechanical properties. Furthermore, the morphology, mechanical properties, and functionality of protein-based materials may be optimized via sequence engineering for use in a variety of applications, including textile materials, biosensors, and tissue engineering scaffolds. The development of recombinant DNA technology has enabled the production and engineering of protein-based materials ex vivo. However, harsh production conditions can compromise the mechanical properties of protein-based materials and diminish their ability to incorporate functional proteins. Developing a new generation of protein-based materials is crucial to (i) improve materials assembly conditions, (ii) create novel mechanical properties, and (iii) expand the capacity to carry functional protein/peptide sequences. This thesis describes development of novel protein-based materials using Ultrabithorax, a member of the Hox family of proteins that regulate developmental pathways in Drosophila melanogaster. The experiments presented (i) establish the conditions required for the assembly of Ubx-based materials, (ii) generate a wide range of Ubx morphologies, (iii) examine the mechanical properties of Ubx fibers, (iv) incorporate protein functions to Ubx-based materials via gene fusion, (v) pattern protein functions within the Ubx materials, and (vi) examine the biocompatibility of Ubx materials in vitro. Ubx-based materials assemble at mild conditions compatible with protein folding and activity, which enables Ubx chimeric materials to retain the function of appended proteins in spatial patterns determined by materials assembly. Ubx-based materials also display mechanical properties comparable to existing protein-based materials and demonstrate good biocompatibility with living cells in vitro. Taken together, this research demonstrates the unique features and future potential of novel Ubx-based

Employee Assistance Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Hermine Zagat

1985-01-01

The author reports company responses to a questionnaire concerning employee assistance programs (EAP). Answers concern EAP structure, staff training, use of outside consultant, services provided by EAPs, program administration, employee confidence in EAPs, advertising the program, program philosophy, problems encountered by EAP users, coverage and…

Superconductivity in dense carbon-based materials

DOE PAGES

Lu, Siyu; Liu, Hanyu; Naumov, Ivan I.; ...

2016-03-08

Guided by a simple strategy in searching of new superconducting materials we predict that high temperature superconductivity can be realized in classes of high-density materials having strong sp 3 chemical bonding and high lattice symmetry. Here, we examine in detail sodalite carbon frameworks doped with simple metals such as Li, Na, and Al. Though such materials share some common features with doped diamond, their doping level is not limited and the density of states at the Fermi level in them can be as high as that in the renowned MgB 2. Altogether, with other factors, this boosts the superconducting temperaturemore » (T c) in the materials investigated to higher levels compared to doped diamond. For example, the superconducting T c of sodalite-like NaC 6 is predicted to be above 100 K. This phase and a series of other sodalite-based superconductors are predicted to be metastable phases but are dynamically stable. In owing to the rigid carbon framework of these and related dense carbon-materials, these doped sodalite-based structures could be recoverable as potentially useful superconductors.« less

Powder based superdielectric materials for novel Capacitor design

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

SUPERDIELECTRIC MATERIALS FOR NOVEL CAPACITOR DESIGN by Clayton W. Petty June 2017 Thesis Advisor: Jonathan Phillips Second Reader: Anthony...thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE POWDER-BASED SUPERDIELECTRIC MATERIALS FOR NOVEL CAPACITOR DESIGN 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Clayton W...unlimited. POWDER-BASED SUPERDIELECTRIC MATERIALS FOR NOVEL CAPACITOR DESIGN Clayton W. Petty Lieutenant, Junior Grade, United States Navy B.S

On nonlinear thermo-electro-elasticity.

PubMed

Mehnert, Markus; Hossain, Mokarram; Steinmann, Paul

2016-06-01

Electro-active polymers (EAPs) for large actuations are nowadays well-known and promising candidates for producing sensors, actuators and generators. In general, polymeric materials are sensitive to differential temperature histories. During experimental characterizations of EAPs under electro-mechanically coupled loads, it is difficult to maintain constant temperature not only because of an external differential temperature history but also because of the changes in internal temperature caused by the application of high electric loads. In this contribution, a thermo-electro-mechanically coupled constitutive framework is proposed based on the total energy approach. Departing from relevant laws of thermodynamics, thermodynamically consistent constitutive equations are formulated. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed thermo-electro-mechanically coupled framework, a frequently used non-homogeneous boundary-value problem, i.e. the extension and inflation of a cylindrical tube, is solved analytically. The results illustrate the influence of various thermo-electro-mechanical couplings.

On nonlinear thermo-electro-elasticity

PubMed Central

Mehnert, Markus; Hossain, Mokarram

2016-01-01

Electro-active polymers (EAPs) for large actuations are nowadays well-known and promising candidates for producing sensors, actuators and generators. In general, polymeric materials are sensitive to differential temperature histories. During experimental characterizations of EAPs under electro-mechanically coupled loads, it is difficult to maintain constant temperature not only because of an external differential temperature history but also because of the changes in internal temperature caused by the application of high electric loads. In this contribution, a thermo-electro-mechanically coupled constitutive framework is proposed based on the total energy approach. Departing from relevant laws of thermodynamics, thermodynamically consistent constitutive equations are formulated. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed thermo-electro-mechanically coupled framework, a frequently used non-homogeneous boundary-value problem, i.e. the extension and inflation of a cylindrical tube, is solved analytically. The results illustrate the influence of various thermo-electro-mechanical couplings. PMID:27436985

[Current status of bio-based materials industry in China].

PubMed

Diao, Xiaoqian; Weng, Yunxuan; Huang, Zhigang; Yang, Nan; Wang, Xiyuan; Zhang, Min; Jin, Yujuan

2016-06-25

In recent years, bio-based materials are becoming a new dominant industry leading the scientific and technological innovation, and economic development of the world. We reviewed the new development of bio-based materials industry in China, analyzed the entire market of bio-based materials products comprehensively, and also stated the industry status of bio-based chemicals, such as lactic acid, 1,3-propanediol, and succinic acid; biodegradable bio-based polymers, such as co-polyester of diacid and diol, polylactic acid, carbon dioxide based copolymer, polyhydroxyalknoates, polycaprolactone, and thermoplastic bio-based plastics; non-biodegradable bio-based polymers, such as bio-based polyamide, polytrimethylene terephthalate, bio-based polyurethane, and bio-based fibers.

The employee as client: perceptions of a work-based alcohol treatment program.

PubMed

Googins, B; Kurtz, N R

1984-01-01

The clients' reports provide invaluable insights into the EAP in which they participated. Overall, they reaffirmed the viability of occupational alcoholism programs as an effective intervention in problem drinking. They did raise serious questions about the fit between the theoretical expectations of EAPs and actual practice. They felt work performance problems were poorly documented and therefore were not used in the confrontation-referral process. As a consequence, early problem identification, seen as one of the major advantages of occupational intervention, does not seem to take place. Most of the clients felt they were referred only after long periods of problem drinking. While the reports of the clients represent an insider's view of the EAP, an obvious question that arises is how valid are their reports? Precisely because they are the targets of the EAP activity and because their problem drinking is generally seen as deviant behavior, their reports may be clouded by fear, rationalization, attempts to please others in the work organization and endless other personal concerns. The validity of self-reports are always difficult to assess. The usual precautions were taken in collecting the data, including assurance of confidentiality, voluntary participation in the study, assurance that the research team was independent of any work-related interest group and the use of neutral grounds for data collection. While all of these add some measure of confidence to the reports, they do not constitute guarantees of validity. Another source of evidence for validity is corroborating evidence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Preventing Sudden Cardiac Death: Automated External Defibrillators in Ohio High Schools.

PubMed

Lear, Aaron; Hoang, Minh-Ha; Zyzanski, Stephen J

2015-10-01

Ohio passed legislation in 2004 for optional public funding of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in all Ohio high schools. To report occurrences of sudden cardiac arrest in which AEDs were used in Ohio high schools and to evaluate the adherence of Ohio high schools with AEDs to state law and published guidelines on AEDs and emergency action plans (EAPs) in schools. Cross-sectional survey. Web-based survey. A total of 264 of 827 schools that were members of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. We surveyed schools on AED use, AED maintenance, and EAPs. Twenty-five episodes of AED deployment at 22 schools over an 11-year period were reported; 8 (32%) involved students and 17 (68%) involved adults. The reported survival rate was 60% (n = 15). Most events (n = 20, 80%) in both students and adults occurred at or near athletic facilities. The annual use rate of AEDs was 0.7%. Fifty-three percent (n = 140) of schools reported having an EAP in place for episodes of cardiac arrest. Of the schools with EAPs, 57% (n = 80) reported having rehearsed them. Our data supported the placement of AEDs in high schools given the frequency of use for sudden cardiac arrest and the survival rate reported. They also suggested the need for increased awareness of recommendations for EAPs and the need to formulate and practice EAPs. School EAPs should emphasize planning for events in the vicinity of athletic facilities.

Water vapor movement in freezing aggregate base materials.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

The objectives of this research were to 1) measure the extent to which water vapor movement results in : water accumulation in freezing base materials; 2) evaluate the effect of soil stabilization on water vapor movement : in freezing base materials;...

Effect of egg albumen protein addition on physicochemical properties and nanostructure of gelatin from fish skin.

PubMed

Cai, Luyun; Feng, Jianhui; Peng, Xichun; Regenstein, Joe M; Li, Xiuxia; Li, Jianrong; Zhao, Wei

2016-12-01

The physicochemical properties and nanostructure of mixtures of egg albumen protein (EAP) and gelatin from under-utilised grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ) skins were studied. The gelatin with 1% EAP had an acceptable gel strength. The addition of 5% EAP significantly increased the melting and gelling temperatures of gelatin gels. Additionally, the colour turned white and the crystallinity was higher in gelatin gels with gradient concentrations of EAP (1, 3, and 5%). Gelatin with 5% EAP had the highest G' values while gelatin with 1% EAP had the lowest G' values. Atomic force microscopy showed the heterogeneous nanostructure of fish gelatin, and a simple coacervate with a homogeneous distribution was only observed with the addition of 1% EAP, indicating interaction between gelatin and EAP. These results showed that EAP effect fish gelatin's physicochemical and nanostructure properties and has potential applications in foods and pharmaceuticals.

The effect of Employee Assistance Programs use on healthcare utilization.

PubMed

Zarkin, G A; Bray, J W; Qi, J

2000-04-01

To estimate the effect of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) use on healthcare utilization as measured by health claims. A unique data set that combines individual-level information on EAP utilization, demographic information, and health insurance claims from 1991 to 1995 for all employees of a large midwestern employer. Using "fixed-effect" econometric models that control for unobserved differences between individuals' propensities to use healthcare resources and the EAP, we perform our analyses in two steps. First, for those employees who visited the EAP, we test whether post-EAP claims differ from pre-EAP claims. Second, we combine claims data of individuals who went to an EAP with those of individuals who did not use an EAP to test whether differences in utilization exist between EAP users and nonusers. From the EAP we obtained the date of first EAP contact for all employees who used the service, and from the company's human resources department we obtained limited demographic data on all employees. We obtained healthcare utilization claims data on all employees and their dependents from the company's two healthcare plans: a fee-for-service (FFS) plan and a health maintenance organization (HMO) plan. We found that going to an EAP substantially increases both the probability of an alcohol, drug abuse, or mental health (ADM) claim and the number of ADM claims in the same quarter as EAP contact. The increased probability of an ADM claim persists for approximately 11 quarters after the initial contact, while the increased ADM charges persist for approximately six quarters after the initial EAP contact. Our results strongly suggest that the EAP is able to identify behavioral and other health problems that may affect workplace performance and prompt EAP users to access ADM and other healthcare. Consistent with the stated goals of many EAPs, including the one examined in this study, this process should improve individuals' health, family functioning, and workplace

The effect of Employee Assistance Programs use on healthcare utilization.

PubMed Central

Zarkin, G A; Bray, J W; Qi, J

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effect of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) use on healthcare utilization as measured by health claims. DATA SOURCES: A unique data set that combines individual-level information on EAP utilization, demographic information, and health insurance claims from 1991 to 1995 for all employees of a large midwestern employer. STUDY DESIGN: Using "fixed-effect" econometric models that control for unobserved differences between individuals' propensities to use healthcare resources and the EAP, we perform our analyses in two steps. First, for those employees who visited the EAP, we test whether post-EAP claims differ from pre-EAP claims. Second, we combine claims data of individuals who went to an EAP with those of individuals who did not use an EAP to test whether differences in utilization exist between EAP users and nonusers. DATA COLLECTION METHODS: From the EAP we obtained the date of first EAP contact for all employees who used the service, and from the company's human resources department we obtained limited demographic data on all employees. We obtained healthcare utilization claims data on all employees and their dependents from the company's two healthcare plans: a fee-for-service (FFS) plan and a health maintenance organization (HMO) plan. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that going to an EAP substantially increases both the probability of an alcohol, drug abuse, or mental health (ADM) claim and the number of ADM claims in the same quarter as EAP contact. The increased probability of an ADM claim persists for approximately 11 quarters after the initial contact, while the increased ADM charges persist for approximately six quarters after the initial EAP contact. CONCLUSIONS: Our results strongly suggest that the EAP is able to identify behavioral and other health problems that may affect workplace performance and prompt EAP users to access ADM and other healthcare. Consistent with the stated goals of many EAPs, including the one examined in

Materiality in a Practice-Based Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Svabo, Connie

2009-01-01

Purpose: The paper aims to provide an overview of the vocabulary for materiality which is used by practice-based approaches to organizational knowing. Design/methodology/approach: The overview is theoretically generated and is based on the anthology Knowing in Organizations: A Practice-based Approach edited by Nicolini, Gherardi and Yanow. The…

The preliminary Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) materials data base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Funk, Joan G.; Strickland, John W.; Davis, John M.

1992-01-01

A preliminary Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Materials Data Base was developed by the LDEF Materials Special Investigation Group (MSIG). The LDEF Materials Data Base is envisioned to eventually contain the wide variety and vast quantity of materials data generated for LDEF. The data is searchable by optical, thermal, and mechanical properties, exposure parameters (such as atomic oxygen flux), and author(s) or principal investigator(s). The LDEF Materials Data Base was incorporated into the Materials and Processes Technical Information System (MAPTIS). MAPTIS is a collection of materials data which was computerized and is available to engineers, designers, and researchers in the aerospace community involved in the design and development of spacecraft and related hardware. This paper describes the LDEF Materials Data Base and includes step-by-step example searches using the data base. Information on how to become an authorized user of the system is included.

Multiple sources supply eolian mineral dust to the Atlantic sector of coastal Antarctica: Evidence from recent snow layers at the top of Berkner Island ice sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bory, Aloys; Wolff, Eric; Mulvaney, Robert; Jagoutz, Emil; Wegner, Anna; Ruth, Urs; Elderfield, Harry

2010-03-01

The Sr and Nd isotopic composition of dust extracted from recent snow layers at the top of Berkner Island ice sheet (located within the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf at the southern end of the Weddell Sea) enables us, for the first time, to document dust provenance in Antarctica outside the East Antarctic Plateau (EAP) where all previous studies based on isotopic fingerprinting were carried out. Berkner dust displays an overall crust-like isotopic signature, characterized by more radiogenic 87Sr/ 86Sr and much less radiogenic 143Nd/ 144Nd compared to dust deposited on the EAP during glacial periods. Differences with EAP interglacial dust are not as marked but still significant, indicating that present-day Berkner dust provenance is distinct, at least to some extent, from that of the dust reaching the EAP. The fourteen snow-pit sub-seasonal samples that were obtained span a two-year period (2002-2003) and their dust Sr and Nd isotopic composition reveals that multiple sources are at play over a yearly time period. Southern South America, Patagonia in particular, likely accounts for part of the observed spring/summer dust deposition maxima, when isotopic composition is shifted towards "younger" isotopic signatures. In the spring, possible additional inputs from Australian sources would also be supported by the data. Most of the year, however, the measured isotopic signatures would be best explained by a sustained background supply from putative local sources in East Antarctica, which carry old-crust-like isotopic fingerprints. Whether the restricted East Antarctic ice-free areas produce sufficient eolian material has yet to be substantiated however. The fact that large (> 5 μm) particles represent a significant fraction of the samples throughout the entire time-series supports scenarios that involve contributions from proximal sources, either in Patagonia and/or Antarctica (possibly including snow-free areas in the Antarctic Peninsula and other areas as well). This also

RIM as the data base management system for a material properties data base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karr, P. H.; Wilson, D. J.

1984-01-01

Relational Information Management (RIM) was selected as the data base management system for a prototype engineering materials data base. The data base provides a central repository for engineering material properties data, which facilitates their control. Numerous RIM capabilities are exploited to satisfy prototype data base requirements. Numerical, text, tabular, and graphical data and references are being stored for five material types. Data retrieval will be accomplished both interactively and through a FORTRAN interface. The experience gained in creating and exercising the prototype will be used in specifying requirements for a production system.

42 CFR 405.718 - Expedited appeals process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Part A § 405.718 Expedited appeals process. (a) Conditions for use of expedited appeals process (EAP). A party may use the EAP to request court review in place of an administrative law judge (ALJ..., with the request for the EAP. (b) Content of the request for EAP. The request for the EAP: (1) Alleges...

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

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

Blackburn, Jeffrey L.; Ferguson, Andrew J.; Cho, Chungyeon

Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specificmore » energy (i.e., W g-1) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting.« less

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

DOE PAGES

Blackburn, Jeffrey L.; Ferguson, Andrew J.; Cho, Chungyeon; ...

2018-01-22

Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specificmore » energy (i.e., W g-1) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting.« less

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices.

PubMed

Blackburn, Jeffrey L; Ferguson, Andrew J; Cho, Chungyeon; Grunlan, Jaime C

2018-03-01

Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specific energy (i.e., W g -1 ) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Wearable energy sources based on 2D materials.

PubMed

Yi, Fang; Ren, Huaying; Shan, Jingyuan; Sun, Xiao; Wei, Di; Liu, Zhongfan

2018-05-08

Wearable energy sources are in urgent demand due to the rapid development of wearable electronics. Besides flexibility and ultrathin thickness, emerging 2D materials present certain extraordinary properties that surpass the properties of conventional materials, which make them advantageous for high-performance wearable energy sources. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of recent advances in 2D material based wearable energy sources including wearable batteries, supercapacitors, and different types of energy harvesters. The crucial roles of 2D materials in the wearable energy sources are highlighted. Based on the current progress, the existing challenges and future prospects are outlined and discussed.

Molecular Design of Benzodithiophene-Based Organic Photovoltaic Materials.

PubMed

Yao, Huifeng; Ye, Long; Zhang, Hao; Li, Sunsun; Zhang, Shaoqing; Hou, Jianhui

2016-06-22

Advances in the design and application of highly efficient conjugated polymers and small molecules over the past years have enabled the rapid progress in the development of organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology as a promising alternative to conventional solar cells. Among the numerous OPV materials, benzodithiophene (BDT)-based polymers and small molecules have come to the fore in achieving outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) and breaking 10% efficiency barrier in the single junction OPV devices. Remarkably, the OPV device featured by BDT-based polymer has recently demonstrated an impressive PCE of 11.21%, indicating the great potential of this class of materials in commercial photovoltaic applications. In this review, we offered an overview of the organic photovoltaic materials based on BDT from the aspects of backbones, functional groups, alkyl chains, and device performance, trying to provide a guideline about the structure-performance relationship. We believe more exciting BDT-based photovoltaic materials and devices will be developed in the near future.

42 CFR 405.853 - Expedited appeals process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

....853 Expedited appeals process. (a) Conditions for use of expedited appeals process (EAP). A party may use the EAP set forth in § 405.718 of this chapter to request court review in place of the ALJ hearing... the request for an EAP. (b) Content of the request for EAP. The request for an EAP: (1) Alleges that...

Revisiting Employee Assistance Programs and Substance Use Problems in the Workplace: Key Issues and a Research Agenda

PubMed Central

Levy Merrick, Elizabeth S.; Volpe-Vartanian, Joanna; Horgan, Constance M.; McCann, Bernard

2012-01-01

This column describes employee assistance program (EAPs) and identifies key issues for contemporary EAPs. These programs began as occupational alcohol programs and have evolved into more comprehensive resources. To better understand contemporary EAPs, the authors suggest a research agenda at includes descriptive studies to provide an up-to-date picture of services; investigations of how contemporary EAPs address substance use problems, including management consultation for early identification; further study of EAPs’ effects on outcomes, such as productivity and work group outcomes; examination of the relationship between EAPs and other workplace resources; further examination of influences on EAP utilization; and development and testing of EAP performance measures. PMID:17914000

Graphene-based two-dimensional Janus materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, Sze-Wing; Noor, Nuruzzaman; Zheng, Zijian

2018-04-01

Two-dimensional (2D) Janus materials with opposing components and properties on two sides have recently attracted fevered attention from various research fields for use as, for example, oil/water separating membranes, interfacial layers for mass transfer, 2D sensors and actuators. The Janus structure allows for a unidirectional transportation system and programmed response to certain stimuli to be achieved. Graphene, the 2D honeycomb network formed from one atomic layer of carbon atoms, has also received substantial research interest because of its intriguing structure and fascinating properties. The high mechanical strength, flexibility and optical transparency make graphene a unique candidate as a building block of 2D Janus materials through asymmetric modification with different functional groups on the graphene surfaces. This article reviews graphene-based 2D Janus materials, starting with a theoretical understanding of the behavior of Janus graphene. Then, different strategies for fabricating Janus graphene and its derivatives are reviewed in detail according to the chemical strategies of the modification methods. The applications of graphene-based Janus materials are discussed with a specific focus on the Janus structures that lead to bandgap engineering, as well as the construction of a responsive system on graphene.

Characterization of asphalt treated base course material

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-06-01

Asphalt-treated bases are often used in new pavements; the materials are available and low-cost, but there is little data on how these materials perform in cold regions. : This study investigated four ATB types (hot asphalt, emulsion, foamed asphalt,...

A family systems-based model of organizational intervention.

PubMed

Shumway, Sterling T; Kimball, Thomas G; Korinek, Alan W; Arredondo, Rudy

2007-04-01

Employee assistance professionals are expected to be proficient at intervening in organizations and creating meaningful behavioral change in interpersonal functioning. Because of their training in family systems theories and concepts, marriage and family therapists (MFTs) are well suited to serve organizations as "systems consultants." Unfortunately, the authors were unable to identify any family systems-based models for organizational intervention that have been empirically tested and supported. In this article, the authors present a family systems-based model of intervention that they developed while working in an employee assistance program (EAP). They also present research that was used to refine the model and to provide initial support for its effectiveness.

Preventing Sudden Cardiac Death: Automated External Defibrillators in Ohio High Schools

PubMed Central

Lear, Aaron; Hoang, Minh-Ha; Zyzanski, Stephen J.

2015-01-01

Context Ohio passed legislation in 2004 for optional public funding of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in all Ohio high schools. Objective To report occurrences of sudden cardiac arrest in which AEDs were used in Ohio high schools and to evaluate the adherence of Ohio high schools with AEDs to state law and published guidelines on AEDs and emergency action plans (EAPs) in schools. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Web-based survey. Patients or Other Participants A total of 264 of 827 schools that were members of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. Main Outcome Measure(s) We surveyed schools on AED use, AED maintenance, and EAPs. Results Twenty-five episodes of AED deployment at 22 schools over an 11-year period were reported; 8 (32%) involved students and 17 (68%) involved adults. The reported survival rate was 60% (n = 15). Most events (n = 20, 80%) in both students and adults occurred at or near athletic facilities. The annual use rate of AEDs was 0.7%. Fifty-three percent (n = 140) of schools reported having an EAP in place for episodes of cardiac arrest. Of the schools with EAPs, 57% (n = 80) reported having rehearsed them. Conclusions Our data supported the placement of AEDs in high schools given the frequency of use for sudden cardiac arrest and the survival rate reported. They also suggested the need for increased awareness of recommendations for EAPs and the need to formulate and practice EAPs. School EAPs should emphasize planning for events in the vicinity of athletic facilities. PMID:26381367

Material recognition based on thermal cues: Mechanisms and applications

PubMed Central

Ho, Hsin-Ni

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Some materials feel colder to the touch than others, and we can use this difference in perceived coldness for material recognition. This review focuses on the mechanisms underlying material recognition based on thermal cues. It provides an overview of the physical, perceptual, and cognitive processes involved in material recognition. It also describes engineering domains in which material recognition based on thermal cues have been applied. This includes haptic interfaces that seek to reproduce the sensations associated with contact in virtual environments and tactile sensors aim for automatic material recognition. The review concludes by considering the contributions of this line of research in both science and engineering. PMID:29687043

Material recognition based on thermal cues: Mechanisms and applications.

PubMed

Ho, Hsin-Ni

2018-01-01

Some materials feel colder to the touch than others, and we can use this difference in perceived coldness for material recognition. This review focuses on the mechanisms underlying material recognition based on thermal cues. It provides an overview of the physical, perceptual, and cognitive processes involved in material recognition. It also describes engineering domains in which material recognition based on thermal cues have been applied. This includes haptic interfaces that seek to reproduce the sensations associated with contact in virtual environments and tactile sensors aim for automatic material recognition. The review concludes by considering the contributions of this line of research in both science and engineering.

Polyazulene based materials for heavy metal ions detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oprisanu, A.; Ungureanu, E. M.; Isopescu, R.; Birzan, L.; Mihai, M.; Vasiliu, C.

2017-06-01

Azulene is a special monomer used to functionalize electrodes, due to its spontaneous electron drift from the seven-membered ring to the five-membered ring. The seven-membered ring of the molecule may act as electron acceptor, while the five-membered ring - as electron donor. This leads to very attractive properties for the synthesis of functional advanced materials like: materials with nonlinear optical and photorefractive properties, cathode materials for lithium batteries, or light emitting diodes based on organic materials. Azulene derivatives have been used rarely to the metal ions electroanalysis. Our study concerns the synthesis and electrochemical characterization of a new azulene based monomer 4-(azulen-1-yl)-2,6-bis((E)-2-(thiophen-3-yl)vinyl)pyridine (L). L has been used to obtain modified electrodes by electrochemical polymerization. PolyL films modified electrodes have been characterized by cyclic voltammetry in ferrocene solutions. The complexing properties of polyL based functional materials have been investigated towards heavy metals (Pb, Cd Hg, Cu) by preconcentration - anodic stripping technique in order to analyze the content of these cations from water samples.

Physicians' perceptions of an eczema action plan for atopic dermatitis.

PubMed

Ntuen, Edidiong; Taylor, Sarah L; Kinney, Megan; O'Neill, Jenna L; Krowchuk, Daniel P; Feldman, Steven R

2010-01-01

Poor adherence to topical medications in atopic dermatitis may lead to exposure to more costly and potentially toxic systemic agents. Written action plans (WAPs) improve adherence and treatment outcomes in asthma patients and may be useful for children with atopic dermatitis. To assess physicians' perceptions of a WAP for atopic dermatitis and their openness to using it. An Eczema Action Plan (EAP) was modeled from those used in pediatric asthma. A brief survey to assess the perceived practicality and usefulness of the EAP was sent to 48 pediatricians in our local area and to 17 pediatric dermatologists nationally. Survey items included layout, graphics, readability, accuracy, and utility. Qualitative analyses were performed due to small sample sizes. Seventeen pediatricians from five community practices and eight pediatric dermatologists responded (response rates of 35% and 41%, respectively). Layout was rated as excellent by 59% of pediatricians and 43% of pediatric dermatologists, the graphics were rated good (60% and 70%), the readability as good to excellent (100% and 86%), the accuracy as excellent or good (83% and 86%), and usefulness as good to excellent (100% of both groups). Most (71%) of the pediatric dermatologists reported already having their own patient education materials for atopic dermatitis, but none of the pediatricians did. All pediatricians and 60% of pediatric dermatologists reported they were likely to use the EAP in their clinical practices. Limitations included the sample size being small, but it still provided for qualitative assessment of generalists and sub-specialists. We did not assess how the EAP would be perceived by patients or their families. The practice settings of the community and academic physicians are not identical, which may make for weakened comparisons. Pediatricians are open to using an EAP for atopic dermatitis. If an EAP were effective at improving adherence and outcomes in atopic dermatitis, widespread implementation

Optimization of the gypsum-based materials by the sequential simplex method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doleželová, Magdalena; Vimmrová, Alena

2017-11-01

The application of the sequential simplex optimization method for the design of gypsum based materials is described. The principles of simplex method are explained and several examples of the method usage for the optimization of lightweight gypsum and ternary gypsum based materials are given. By this method lightweight gypsum based materials with desired properties and ternary gypsum based material with higher strength (16 MPa) were successfully developed. Simplex method is a useful tool for optimizing of gypsum based materials, but the objective of the optimization has to be formulated appropriately.

[Evidence-based management of medical disposable materials].

PubMed

Yang, Hai

2009-03-01

Evidence-based management of medical disposable materials pays attention to collect evidence comprehensively and systematically, accumulate and create evidence through its own work and also evaluate evidence strictly. This can be used as a function to guide out job. Medical disposable materials evidence system contains product register qualification, product quality certification, supplier's behavior, internal and external communication evidence. Managers can find different ways in creating and using evidence referring to specific inside and outside condition. Evidence-based management can help accelerating the development of management of medical disposable materials from traditional experience pattern to a systematic and scientific pattern. It also has the very important meaning to improve medical quality, control the unreasonable growth of medical expense and make purchase and supply chain be more efficient.

MARS-MD: rejection based image domain material decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bateman, C. J.; Knight, D.; Brandwacht, B.; McMahon, J.; Healy, J.; Panta, R.; Aamir, R.; Rajendran, K.; Moghiseh, M.; Ramyar, M.; Rundle, D.; Bennett, J.; de Ruiter, N.; Smithies, D.; Bell, S. T.; Doesburg, R.; Chernoglazov, A.; Mandalika, V. B. H.; Walsh, M.; Shamshad, M.; Anjomrouz, M.; Atharifard, A.; Vanden Broeke, L.; Bheesette, S.; Kirkbride, T.; Anderson, N. G.; Gieseg, S. P.; Woodfield, T.; Renaud, P. F.; Butler, A. P. H.; Butler, P. H.

2018-05-01

This paper outlines image domain material decomposition algorithms that have been routinely used in MARS spectral CT systems. These algorithms (known collectively as MARS-MD) are based on a pragmatic heuristic for solving the under-determined problem where there are more materials than energy bins. This heuristic contains three parts: (1) splitting the problem into a number of possible sub-problems, each containing fewer materials; (2) solving each sub-problem; and (3) applying rejection criteria to eliminate all but one sub-problem's solution. An advantage of this process is that different constraints can be applied to each sub-problem if necessary. In addition, the result of this process is that solutions will be sparse in the material domain, which reduces crossover of signal between material images. Two algorithms based on this process are presented: the Segmentation variant, which uses segmented material classes to define each sub-problem; and the Angular Rejection variant, which defines the rejection criteria using the angle between reconstructed attenuation vectors.

Responding to the Affordable Care Act: a leadership opportunity for social workers in employee assistance programs.

PubMed

Frauenholtz, Susan

2014-08-01

Until recently, estimates indicated that more than half of Americans obtain health insurance through their employers. Yet the employer-based system leaves many vulnerable populations, such as low-wage and part-time workers, without coverage. The changes authorized by the Affordable Care Act (2010), and in particular the Health Insurance Marketplace (also known as health insurance exchanges), which became operational in 2014, are projected to have a substantial impact on the provision of employer-based health care coverage. Because health insurance is so intricately woven with employment, social workers in employee assistance programs (EAPs) are positioned to assume an active leadership role in guiding and developing the needed changes to employer-based health care that will occur as the result of health care reform. This article describes the key features and functions of the Health Insurance Marketplace and proposes an innovative role for EAP social workers in implementing the exchanges within their respective workplaces and communities. How EAP social workers can act as educators, advocates, and brokers of the exchanges, and the challenges they may face in their new roles, are discussed, and the next steps EAP social workers can take to prepare for health reform-related workplace changes are delineated.

Room temperature ferromagnetism in a phthalocyanine based carbon material

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

Honda, Z., E-mail: honda@fms.saitama-u.ac.jp; Sato, K.; Sakai, M.

2014-02-07

We report on a simple method to fabricate a magnetic carbon material that contains nitrogen-coordinated transition metals and has a large magnetic moment. Highly chlorinated iron phthalocyanine was used as building blocks and potassium as a coupling reagent to uniformly disperse nitrogen-coordinated iron atoms on the phthalocyanine based carbon material. The iron phthalocyanine based carbon material exhibits ferromagnetic properties at room temperature and the ferromagnetic phase transition occurs at T{sub c} = 490 ± 10 K. Transmission electron microscopy observation, X-ray diffraction analysis, and the temperature dependence of magnetization suggest that the phthalocyanine molecules form three-dimensional random networks in the iron phthalocyanine based carbon material.

Corpus-Based Research and Pedagogy in EAP: From Lexis to Genre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flowerdew, Lynne

2015-01-01

This plenary paper showcases current corpus-based research on written academic English, illustrating the tight links that exist between corpus research and pedagogic applications. I first explicate Sinclair's concept of the "lexical approach", which underpins much corpus research and pedagogy. I then discuss studies which focus on…

Approaches used by employee assistance programs to address perpetration of intimate partner violence.

PubMed

Walters, Jennifer L Hardison; Pollack, Keshia M; Clinton-Sherrod, Monique; Lindquist, Christine H; McKay, Tasseli; Lasater, Beth M

2012-01-01

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are workplace resources available to employees with problems impacting work performance. EAPs are well-positioned to address intimate partner violence (IPV), a major public health problem with workplace impacts. A purposeful sample of 28 EAPs across the United States was surveyed to identify policies and programs to address IPV, including perpetration. Most EAPs did not report having standardized approaches for addressing IPV perpetration. EAPs also described significant barriers to identifying IPV perpetrators, with the majority relying on self-disclosure on the part of the perpetrator when contacting the EAP. These results suggest that many EAPs--even when interacting with employees who present with issues known to correlate with IPV--are missing a potential opportunity to assess and intervene with IPV perpetrators.

An Efficacy Trial of Research-Based Curriculum Materials with Curriculum-Based Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Joseph A.; Getty, Stephen R.; Kowalski, Susan M.; Wilson, Christopher D.; Carlson, Janet; Van Scotter, Pamela

2015-01-01

This study examined the efficacy of a curriculum-based intervention for high school science students. Specifically, the intervention was two years of research-based, multidisciplinary curriculum materials for science supported by comprehensive professional development for teachers that focused on those materials. A modest positive effect was…

Mechanical properties of wood-based composite materials

Treesearch

Zhiyong Cai; Robert J. Ross

2010-01-01

The term composite is used to describe any wood material bonded together with adhesives. The current product mix ranges from fiberboard to laminated beams and components. In this chapter, wood-based composite materials are classified into the following categories: panel products (plywood, oriented strandboard (OSB), particleboard, fiberboard, medium-density fiberboard...

1D Piezoelectric Material Based Nanogenerators: Methods, Materials and Property Optimization

PubMed Central

Li, Xing; Sun, Mei; Wei, Xianlong; Shan, Chongxin

2018-01-01

Due to the enhanced piezoelectric properties, excellent mechanical properties and tunable electric properties, one-dimensional (1D) piezoelectric materials have shown their promising applications in nanogenerators (NG), sensors, actuators, electronic devices etc. To present a clear view about 1D piezoelectric materials, this review mainly focuses on the characterization and optimization of the piezoelectric properties of 1D nanomaterials, including semiconducting nanowires (NWs) with wurtzite and/or zinc blend phases, perovskite NWs and 1D polymers. Specifically, the piezoelectric coefficients, performance of single NW-based NG and structure-dependent electromechanical properties of 1D nanostructured materials can be respectively investigated through piezoresponse force microscopy, atomic force microscopy and the in-situ scanning/transmission electron microcopy. Along with the introduction of the mechanism and piezoelectric properties of 1D semiconductor, perovskite materials and polymers, their performance improvement strategies are summarized from the view of microstructures, including size-effect, crystal structure, orientation and defects. Finally, the extension of 1D piezoelectric materials in field effect transistors and optoelectronic devices are simply introduced. PMID:29570639

Nanocluster-based white-light-emitting material employing surface tuning

DOEpatents

Wilcoxon, Jess P [Albuquerque, NM; Abrams, Billie L [Albuquerque, NM; Thoma, Steven G [Albuquerque, NM

2007-06-26

A method for making a nanocrystal-based material capable of emitting light over a sufficiently broad spectral range to appear white. Surface-modifying ligands are used to shift and broaden the emission of semiconductor nanocrystals to produce nanoparticle-based materials that emit white light.

Levels of substance use and willingness to use the Employee Assistance Program.

PubMed

Reynolds, G Shawn; Lehman, Wayne E K

2003-01-01

Individuals with drinking and drug problems may become particularly reluctant to seek help. To remove barriers to services, more needs to be understood about factors that influence help-seeking decisions. It was hypothesized that certain social psychological influences (attitudes, group cohesion, trust in management) might buffer a reluctance to use services provided by an external Employee Assistance Program (EAP). A random sampling of municipal employees (n = 793) completed anonymous questionnaires that assessed willingness to use the EAP, individual drinking and drug use, attitudes toward policy, work group cohesion, and trust in management. Data from the questionnaires were analyzed with multivariate regression analyses to examine the interacting effects of substance abuse and proposed moderators (gender, race, awareness of the EAP, perceptions of policy, cohesion) on willingness to use the EAP. The results demonstrated that although substance abusers were less willing to use the EAP than were nonusers, substance abusers who were aware of the EAP, who had favorable attitudes toward policy, and who did not tolerate coworker substance abuse were as willing to use the EAP as were nonusers. The results also showed that employees with greater awareness of the EAP, support for policy, and perceptions of work group cohesion reported significantly greater willingness to use the EAP than did employees with relatively less awareness of the EAP, policy support, and cohesion. Workplace prevention efforts that are designed to increase the use of EAP services should intentionally target the workplace environment and social context. Creating the awareness and favorability of the EAP, policy, and work group cohesion might buffer substance abusers' reluctance to seek help.

A composite material based on recycled tires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malers, L.; Plesuma, R.; Locmele, L.

2009-01-01

The present study is devoted to the elaboration and investigation of a composite material based on mechanically grinded recycled tires and a polymer binder. The correlation between the content of the binder, some technological parameters, and material properties of the composite was clarified. The apparent density, the compressive stress at a 10% strain, the compressive elastic modulus in static and cyclic loadings, and the insulating properties (acoustic and thermal) were the parameters of special interest of the present investigation. It is found that a purposeful variation of material composition and some technological parameters leads to multifunctional composite materials with different and predictable mechanical and insulation properties.

Exploratory studies of new avenues to achieve high electromechanical response and high dielectric constant in polymeric materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Cheng

High performance soft electronic materials are key elements in advanced electronic devices for broad range applications including capacitors, actuators, artificial muscles and organs, smart materials and structures, microelectromechanical (MEMS) and microfluidic devices, acoustic devices and sensors. This thesis exploits new approaches to improve the electromechanical response and dielectric response of these materials. By making use of novel material phenomena such as large anisotropy in dipolar response in liquid crystals (LCs) and all-organic composites in which high dielectric constant organic solids and conductive polymers are either physically blended into or chemically grafted to a polymer matrix, we demonstrate that high dielectric constant and high electromechanical conversion efficiency comparable to that in ceramic materials can be achieved. Nano-composite approach can also be utilized to improve the performance of the electronic electroactive polymers (EAPs) and composites, for example, exchange coupling between the fillers and matrix with very large dielectric contrast can lead to significantly enhance the dielectric response as well as electromechanical response when the heterogeneity size of the composite is comparable to the exchange length. In addition to the dielectric composites, in which high dielectric constant fillers raise the dielectric constant of composites, conductive percolation can also lead to high dielectric constant in polymeric materials. An all-polymer percolative composite is introduced which exhibits very high dielectric constant (>7,000). The flexible all-polymer composites with a high dielectric constant make it possible to induce a high electromechanical response under a much reduced electric field in the field effect electroactive polymer (EAP) actuators (a strain of 2.65% with an elastic energy density of 0.18 J/cm3 can be achieved under a field of 16 V/mum). Agglomeration of the particles can also be effectively prevented

Recent Progress on PEDOT-Based Thermoelectric Materials

PubMed Central

Wei, Qingshuo; Mukaida, Masakazu; Kirihara, Kazuhiro; Naitoh, Yasuhisa; Ishida, Takao

2015-01-01

The thermoelectric properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-based materials have attracted attention recently because of their remarkable electrical conductivity, power factor, and figure of merit. In this review, we summarize recent efforts toward improving the thermoelectric properties of PEDOT-based materials. We also discuss thermoelectric measurement techniques and several unsolved problems with the PEDOT system such as the effect of water absorption from the air and the anisotropic thermoelectric properties. In the last part, we describe our work on improving the power output of thermoelectric modules by using PEDOT, and we outline the potential applications of polymer thermoelectric generators. PMID:28787968

Recent Progress on PEDOT-Based Thermoelectric Materials.

PubMed

Wei, Qingshuo; Mukaida, Masakazu; Kirihara, Kazuhiro; Naitoh, Yasuhisa; Ishida, Takao

2015-02-16

The thermoelectric properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-based materials have attracted attention recently because of their remarkable electrical conductivity, power factor, and figure of merit. In this review, we summarize recent efforts toward improving the thermoelectric properties of PEDOT-based materials. We also discuss thermoelectric measurement techniques and several unsolved problems with the PEDOT system such as the effect of water absorption from the air and the anisotropic thermoelectric properties. In the last part, we describe our work on improving the power output of thermoelectric modules by using PEDOT, and we outline the potential applications of polymer thermoelectric generators.

Job Satisfaction among Employee Assistance Professionals: A National Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sweeney, Anthony P.; Hohenshil, Thomas H.; Fortune, Jimmie C.

2002-01-01

Study examines job satisfaction in a national sample of employee assistance program (EAP) professionals. Data were collected from 210 EAP professionals through mailed surveys. Results indicate that respondents employed by external EAP organizations were more satisfied with their jobs than those who were employed by internal EAPs. (Contains 20…

Organizational Hierarchy, Employee Status, and Use of Employee Assistance Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerstein, Lawrence; And Others

1993-01-01

Examined role of organizational hierarchy and staff status in number of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) referrals made by potential helpers and relationship of these variables to personal EAP use among 157 supervisors and 232 employees. Supervisors suggested more EAP referrals than did employees. Middle level staff received EAP services more…

Knitted radar absorbing materials (RAM) based on nickel-cobalt magnetic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teber, Ahmet; Unver, Ibrahim; Kavas, Huseyin; Aktas, Bekir; Bansal, Rajeev

2016-05-01

There has been a long-standing interest in the development of flexible, lightweight, thin, and reconfigurable radar absorbing materials (RAM) for military applications such as camouflaging ground-based hardware against airborne radar observation. The use of polymeric Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fabrics as a host matrix for magnetic metal nano-particles (either at the yarn-stage or after weaving the fabric) for shielding and absorbing applications has been described in the literature. In our experimental investigation, the relative concentrations of Nickel and Cobalt as well as the coating time are varied with a view to optimizing the microwave absorption characteristics of the resulting PAN-based composite material in the radar-frequency bands (X, Ku, and K). It is found that the PAN samples with the shortest coating time have the best return losses (under -20 dB return loss over a moderate bandwidth).

A Review of Research Methods Used to Examine Employee Assistance Program Delivery Options.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Csiernik, Rick

1995-01-01

This review of literature on Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) focuses on EAP delivery options. More than half of the 48 studies reviewed used a case study approach. EAPs provided by on-staff professionals were the most frequently discussed delivery option, although this is not the most dominant form of EAP provision. (SLD)

Gelatin-Based Materials in Ocular Tissue Engineering.

PubMed

Rose, James B; Pacelli, Settimio; Haj, Alicia J El; Dua, Harminder S; Hopkinson, Andrew; White, Lisa J; Rose, Felicity R A J

2014-04-17

Gelatin has been used for many years in pharmaceutical formulation, cell culture and tissue engineering on account of its excellent biocompatibility, ease of processing and availability at low cost. Over the last decade gelatin has been extensively evaluated for numerous ocular applications serving as cell-sheet carriers, bio-adhesives and bio-artificial grafts. These different applications naturally have diverse physical, chemical and biological requirements and this has prompted research into the modification of gelatin and its derivatives. The crosslinking of gelatin alone or in combination with natural or synthetic biopolymers has produced a variety of scaffolds that could be suitable for ocular applications. This review focuses on methods to crosslink gelatin-based materials and how the resulting materials have been applied in ocular tissue engineering. Critical discussion of recent innovations in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine will highlight future opportunities for gelatin-based materials in ophthalmology.

Gelatin-Based Materials in Ocular Tissue Engineering

PubMed Central

Rose, James B.; Pacelli, Settimio; El Haj, Alicia J.; Dua, Harminder S.; Hopkinson, Andrew; White, Lisa J.; Rose, Felicity R. A. J.

2014-01-01

Gelatin has been used for many years in pharmaceutical formulation, cell culture and tissue engineering on account of its excellent biocompatibility, ease of processing and availability at low cost. Over the last decade gelatin has been extensively evaluated for numerous ocular applications serving as cell-sheet carriers, bio-adhesives and bio-artificial grafts. These different applications naturally have diverse physical, chemical and biological requirements and this has prompted research into the modification of gelatin and its derivatives. The crosslinking of gelatin alone or in combination with natural or synthetic biopolymers has produced a variety of scaffolds that could be suitable for ocular applications. This review focuses on methods to crosslink gelatin-based materials and how the resulting materials have been applied in ocular tissue engineering. Critical discussion of recent innovations in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine will highlight future opportunities for gelatin-based materials in ophthalmology. PMID:28788609

Secreted Immunomodulatory Proteins of Staphylococcus aureus Activate Platelets and Induce Platelet Aggregation.

PubMed

Binsker, Ulrike; Palankar, Raghavendra; Wesche, Jan; Kohler, Thomas P; Prucha, Josephine; Burchhardt, Gerhard; Rohde, Manfred; Schmidt, Frank; Bröker, Barbara M; Mamat, Uwe; Pané-Farré, Jan; Graf, Anica; Ebner, Patrick; Greinacher, Andreas; Hammerschmidt, Sven

2018-04-01

Staphylococcus aureus can cause bloodstream infections associated with infective endocarditis (IE) and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC). Both complications involve platelets. In view of an increasing number of antibiotic-resistant strains, new approaches to control systemic S. aureus infection are gaining importance. Using a repertoire of 52 recombinant S. aureus proteins in flow cytometry-based platelet activation and aggregation assays, we identified, in addition to the extracellular adherence protein Eap, three secreted staphylococcal proteins as novel platelet activating proteins. Eap and the chemotaxis inhibitory protein of S. aureus (CHIPS), the formyl peptide receptor-like 1 inhibitory protein (FLIPr) and the major autolysin Atl induced P-selectin expression in washed platelets and platelet-rich plasma. Similarly, AtlA, CHIPS and Eap induced platelet aggregation in whole blood. Fluorescence microscopy illustrated that P-selectin expression is associated with calcium mobilization and re-organization of the platelet actin cytoskeleton. Characterization of the functionally active domains of the major autolysin AtlA and Eap indicates that the amidase domain of Atl and the tandem repeats 3 and 4 of Eap are crucial for platelet activation. These results provide new insights in S. aureus protein interactions with platelets and identify secreted proteins as potential treatment targets in case of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus infection. Schattauer GmbH Stuttgart.

Complex coacervate-based materials for biomedicine.

PubMed

Blocher, Whitney C; Perry, Sarah L

2017-07-01

There has been increasing interest in complex coacervates for deriving and transporting biomaterials. Complex coacervates are a dense, polyelectrolyte-rich liquid that results from the electrostatic complexation of oppositely charged macroions. Coacervates have long been used as a strategy for encapsulation, particularly in food and personal care products. More recent efforts have focused on the utility of this class of materials for the encapsulation of small molecules, proteins, RNA, DNA, and other biomaterials for applications ranging from sensing to biomedicine. Furthermore, coacervate-related materials have found utility in other areas of biomedicine, including cartilage mimics, tissue culture scaffolds, and adhesives for wet, biological environments. Here, we discuss the self-assembly of complex coacervate-based materials, current challenges in the intelligent design of these materials, and their utility applications in the broad field of biomedicine. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2017, 9:e1442. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1442 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Design and evaluation of foamed asphalt base materials.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-05-01

Foamed asphalt stabilized base (FASB) combines reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), recycled : concrete (RC), and/or graded aggregate base (GAB) with a foamed asphalt binder to produce a : partially stabilized base material. The objectives of this study...

The influence of passband limitation on the waveform of extracellular action potential.

PubMed

Mizuhiki, Takashi; Inaba, Kiyonori; Setogawa, Tsuyoshi; Toda, Koji; Ozaki, Shigeru; Shidara, Muneteka

2012-03-01

The duration of the extracellular action potential (EAP) in single neuronal recording has often been used as a clue to infer biochemical, physiological or functional substrate of the recorded neurons, e.g. neurochemical type. However, when recording a neuronal activity, the high-pass filter is routinely used to achieve higher signal-to-noise ratio. Signal processing theory predicts that passband limitation stretches the waveform of discrete brief impulse. To examine whether the duration of filtered EAP could be the reliable measure, we investigated the influence of high-pass filter both by simulation and unfiltered unit recording data from monkey dorsal raphe. Consistent with the findings in recent theoretical study, the unfiltered EAPs displayed the sharp wave without following bumps. The duration of unfiltered EAP was not correlated with that of filtered EAP. Thus the duration of original EAP cannot be estimated from filtered EAP. It is needed to reexamine the EAP duration measured for classifying the neurons whose activities were recorded under the passband limitation in the related studies. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Graphene-based materials for energy conversion.

PubMed

Sahoo, Nanda Gopal; Pan, Yongzheng; Li, Lin; Chan, Siew Hwa

2012-08-08

With the depletion of conventional energy sources, the demand for renewable energy and energy-efficient devices continues to grow. As a novel 2D nanomaterial, graphene attracts considerable research interest due to its unique properties and is a promising material for applications in energy conversion and storage devices. Recently, the fabrication of fuel cells and solar cells using graphene for various functional parts has been studied extensively. This research news summarizes and compares the advancements that have been made and are in progress in the utilization of graphene-based materials for energy conversion.

Using Android-Based Educational Game for Learning Colloid Material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sari, S.; Anjani, R.; Farida, I.; Ramdhani, M. A.

2017-09-01

This research is based on the importance of the development of student’s chemical literacy on Colloid material using Android-based educational game media. Educational game products are developed through research and development design. In the analysis phase, material analysis is performed to generate concept maps, determine chemical literacy indicators, game strategies and set game paths. In the design phase, product packaging is carried out, then validation and feasibility test are performed. Research produces educational game based on Android that has the characteristics that is: Colloid material presented in 12 levels of game in the form of questions and challenges, presents visualization of discourse, images and animation contextually to develop the process of thinking and attitude. Based on the analysis of validation and trial results, the product is considered feasible to use.

Graphene-Based Materials for Lithium-Ion Hybrid Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Ma, Yanfeng; Chang, Huicong; Zhang, Miao; Chen, Yongsheng

2015-09-23

Lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitors (LIHSs), also called Li-ion capacitors, have attracted much attention due to the combination of the rapid charge-discharge and long cycle life of supercapacitors and the high energy-storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries. Thus, LIHSs are expected to become the ultimate power source for hybrid and all-electric vehicles in the near future. As an electrode material, graphene has many advantages, including high surface area and porous structure, high electric conductivity, and high chemical and thermal stability, etc. Compared with other electrode materials, such as activated carbon, graphite, and metal oxides, graphene-based materials with 3D open frameworks show higher effective specific surface area, better control of channels, and higher conductivity, which make them better candidates for LIHS applications. Here, the latest advances in electrode materials for LIHSs are briefly summarized, with an emphasis on graphene-based electrode materials (including 3D graphene networks) for LIHS applications. An outlook is also presented to highlight some future directions. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Cleared DoD Employees at Risk - Report 2 A Study of Barriers to Seeking Help

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-01-01

PERSEREC examined the relationship between DoD security policy and federally mandated employee assistance programs ( EAPs ) for civilians and...counseling/referral services for military personnel to identify any barriers for cleared DoD employees to using these programs . The study, based largely on...appendices that provides background information for the interested reader on such topics as the EAP movement, military counseling/referral programs , and DoD personnel security policies and programs .

DoD Civilian Drug Abuse Testing Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-23

employee assistance programs ( EAPs ). DoD Components must obtain approval of the ASD(HA) for specimen collection and laboratory testing... Employee . A DoD employee paid from appropriated funds. 2. Employee Assistance Programs ( EAPs ). DoD Component-based counseling programs that offer...Renumber Ś." to ř." Subparagraph E.5.a.(2), line 1. After "(2)" insert " Employee Assistance Programs " and enclose "

Material identification based on electrostatic sensing technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Kai; Chen, Xi; Li, Jingnan

2018-04-01

When the robot travels on the surface of different media, the uncertainty of the medium will seriously affect the autonomous action of the robot. In this paper, the distribution characteristics of multiple electrostatic charges on the surface of materials are detected, so as to improve the accuracy of the existing electrostatic signal material identification methods, which is of great significance to help the robot optimize the control algorithm. In this paper, based on the electrostatic signal material identification method proposed by predecessors, the multi-channel detection circuit is used to obtain the electrostatic charge distribution at different positions of the material surface, the weights are introduced into the eigenvalue matrix, and the weight distribution is optimized by the evolutionary algorithm, which makes the eigenvalue matrix more accurately reflect the surface charge distribution characteristics of the material. The matrix is used as the input of the k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN)classification algorithm to classify the dielectric materials. The experimental results show that the proposed method can significantly improve the recognition rate of the existing electrostatic signal material recognition methods.

An Integrated, Problem-Based Learning Material: The "Satellite" Module

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selcuk, Gamze Sezgin; Emiroglu, Handan Byacioglu; Tarakci, Mehmet; Ozel, Mustafa

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study is to introduce a problem-based learning material, the Satellite Module, that has integrated some of the subjects included in the disciplines of physics and mathematics at an introductory level in undergraduate education. The reason why this modular and problem-based material has been developed is to enable students to…

Study of wheat protein based materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Peng

Wheat gluten is a naturally occurring protein polymer. It is produced in abundance by the agricultural industry, is biodegradable and very inexpensive (less than $0.50/lb). It has unique viscoelastic properties, which makes it a promising alternative to synthetic plastics. The unplasticized wheat gluten is, however, brittle. Plasticizers such as glycerol are commonly used to give flexibility to the articles made of wheat gluten but with the penalty of greatly reduced stiffness. Former work showed that the brittleness of wheat gluten can also be improved by modifying it with a tri-thiol additive with no penalty of reduced stiffness. However, the cost of the customer designed tri-thiol additive was very high and it was unlikely to make a cost effective material from such an expensive additive. Here we designed a new, inexpensive thiol additive called SHPVA. It was synthesized from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) through a simple esterification reaction. The mechanical data of the molded wheat gluten/SHPVA material indicated that wheat gluten was toughened by SHPVA. As a control, the wheat gluten/PVA material showed no improvement compared with wheat gluten itself. Several techniques have been used to characterize this novel protein/polymer blend. Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) study showed two phases in both wheat gluten/PVA and wheat gluten/SHPVA material. However, scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures indicated that PVA was macroscopically separated from wheat gluten, while wheat gluten/SHPVA had a homogeneous look. The phase image from the atomic force microscope (AFM) gave interesting contrast based on the difference in the mechanical properties of these two phases. The biodegradation behavior of these protein/polymer blends was examined in soil. SHPVA was not degraded in the time period of the experiment. Wheat gluten/SHPVA degraded slower than wheat gluten. We also developed some other interesting material systems based on wheat gluten, including the

Evaluation of an employee assistance program.

PubMed

Nadolski, J N; Sandonato, C E

1987-01-01

The objective of the EAP effectiveness study was to determine the effectiveness of the EAP counseling services. The results demonstrate that employees who received help from the company's EAP subsequently improved their work performance. Although these results cannot be generalized to other EAPs, the results are encouraging and point toward a need for more research in this area.

Satellite Contamination and Materials Outgassing Knowledge base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minor, Jody L.; Kauffman, William J. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Satellite contamination continues to be a design problem that engineers must take into account when developing new satellites. To help with this issue, NASA's Space Environments and Effects (SEE) Program funded the development of the Satellite Contamination and Materials Outgassing Knowledge base. This engineering tool brings together in one location information about the outgassing properties of aerospace materials based upon ground-testing data, the effects of outgassing that has been observed during flight and measurements of the contamination environment by on-orbit instruments. The knowledge base contains information using the ASTM Standard E- 1559 and also consolidates data from missions using quartz-crystal microbalances (QCM's). The data contained in the knowledge base was shared with NASA by government agencies and industry in the US and international space agencies as well. The term 'knowledgebase' was used because so much information and capability was brought together in one comprehensive engineering design tool. It is the SEE Program's intent to continually add additional material contamination data as it becomes available - creating a dynamic tool whose value to the user is ever increasing. The SEE Program firmly believes that NASA, and ultimately the entire contamination user community, will greatly benefit from this new engineering tool and highly encourages the community to not only use the tool but add data to it as well.

CNT-based Thermal Interface Materials for Load-Bearing Aerospace Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-01

CNT -based Thermal Interface Materials for Load-Bearing Aerospace Applications Michael Bifano, Pankaj Kaul and Vikas Prakash (PI) Department...4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE CNT -based Thermal Interface Materials for Load-Bearing Aerospace Applications 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c...Z39-18 Objective Develop multifunctional CNT -epoxy Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) for load bearing aerospace applications. Emphasis - To

[Status of traditional Chinese medicine materials seed and seedling breeding bases].

PubMed

Li, Ying; Huang, Lu-Qi; Zhang, Xiao-Bo; Wang, Hui; Cheng, Meng; Zhang, Tian; Yang, Guang

2017-11-01

Seeds and seedlings are the material basis of traditional Chinese medicine materials production, and the construction of traditional Chinese medicine materials seed and seedling breeding bases is beneficial to the production of high-quality traditional Chinese medicine materials. The construction of traditional Chinese medicine materials seed and seedling breeding bases is one of the major topics of Chinese medica resources census pilot. Targets, tasks of traditional Chinese medicine materials seed and seedling breeding bases based on Chinese medica resources census pilot were expounded.Construction progress including hardware construction, germplasm conservation and breeding, procedures and standardsestablishment, social servicesare presented. Development counter measures were proposed for the next step: perfect the standard and system, maintain and strengthen the breeding function, strengthen the cultivation of multi-level talents, explore market development model, joint efforts to deepen services and development. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Metal-matrix radiation-protective composite materials based on aluminum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherdyntsev, V. V.; Gorshenkov, M. V.; Danilov, V. D.; Kaloshkin, S. D.; Gul'bin, V. N.

2013-05-01

A method of mechanical activation providing a homogeneous distribution of reinforcing boron-bearing components and tungsten nanopowder in the matrix is recommended for making an aluminum-based radiation- protective material. Joint mechanical activation and subsequent extrusion are used to produce aluminum- based composites. The structure and the physical, mechanical and tribological characteristics of the composite materials are studied.

Improved method and composition for immobilization of waste in cement-based material

DOEpatents

Tallent, O.K.; Dodson, K.E.; McDaniel, E.W.

1987-10-01

A composition and method for fixation or immobilization of aqueous hazardous waste material in cement-based materials (grout) is disclosed. The amount of drainable water in the cured grout is reduced by the addition of an ionic aluminum compound to either the waste material or the mixture of waste material and dry-solid cement- based material. This reduction in drainable water in the cured grout obviates the need for large, expensive amounts of gelling clays in grout materials and also results in improved consistency and properties of these cement-based waste disposal materials.

Carbon-based nanomaterials: multifunctional materials for biomedical engineering.

PubMed

Cha, Chaenyung; Shin, Su Ryon; Annabi, Nasim; Dokmeci, Mehmet R; Khademhosseini, Ali

2013-04-23

Functional carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs) have become important due to their unique combinations of chemical and physical properties (i.e., thermal and electrical conductivity, high mechanical strength, and optical properties), and extensive research efforts are being made to utilize these materials for various industrial applications, such as high-strength materials and electronics. These advantageous properties of CBNs are also actively investigated in several areas of biomedical engineering. This Perspective highlights different types of carbon-based nanomaterials currently used in biomedical applications.

Development of a poly(dimethylacrylamide) based matrix material for solid phase high density peptide array synthesis employing a laser based material transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridder, Barbara; Foertsch, Tobias C.; Welle, Alexander; Mattes, Daniela S.; von Bojnicic-Kninski, Clemens M.; Loeffler, Felix F.; Nesterov-Mueller, Alexander; Meier, Michael A. R.; Breitling, Frank

2016-12-01

Poly(dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) based matrix materials were developed for laser-based in situ solid phase peptide synthesis to produce high density arrays. In this specific array synthesis approach, amino acid derivatives are embedded into a matrix material, serving as a ;solid; solvent material at room temperature. Then, a laser pulse transfers this mixture to the target position on a synthesis slide, where the peptide array is synthesized. Upon heating above the glass transition temperature of the matrix material, it softens, allowing diffusion of the amino acid derivatives to the synthesis surface and serving as a solvent for peptide bond formation. Here, we synthesized PDMA six-arm star polymers, offering the desired matrix material properties, using atom transfer radical polymerization. With the synthesized polymers as matrix material, we structured and synthesized arrays with combinatorial laser transfer. With densities of up to 20,000 peptide spots per cm2, the resolution could be increased compared to the commercially available standard matrix material. Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry experiments revealed the penetration behavior of an amino acid derivative into the prepared acceptor synthesis surface and the effectiveness of the washing protocols.

Key Writing Challenges of Practice-Based Doctorates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

San Miguel, Caroline; Nelson, Cynthia D.

2007-01-01

Building on the increasing interest within English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in postgraduate literacy development, this article examines the complexities of writing research at the academic/professional interface. It analyses two literature reviews by professional doctorate students at an Australian university who were writing research in their…

Silica based hybrid materials for drug delivery and bioimaging.

PubMed

Bagheri, Elnaz; Ansari, Legha; Abnous, Khalil; Taghdisi, Seyed Mohammad; Charbgoo, Fahimeh; Ramezani, Mohammad; Alibolandi, Mona

2018-05-10

Silica hybrid materials play an important role in improvement of novel progressive functional nanomaterials. Study in silica hybrid functional materials is supported by growing interest in providing intelligent materials that combine best of the inorganic silica structure along with organic or biological realms. Hybrid silica materials do not only provide fantastic opportunities for the design of novel materials for research but their represented unique properties open versatile applications specifically in nanomedicine since it was recognized by US FDA as a safe material for human trials. By combining various materials with different characteristics along with silica NPs as building blocks, silica-based hybrid vehicles were developed. In this regard, silica-based hybrid materials have shown great capabilities as unique carriers for bioimaging and/or drug delivery purposes. In the aforementioned hybrid systems, silica was preferred as a main building block of the hybrid structure, which is easily functionalized with different materials, bio-molecules and targeting ligands while providing biocompatibility for the system. This review will cover a full description of different hybrids of silica nanoparticles including silica-polymer, silica-protein, silica-peptide, silica-nucleic acid, silica-gold, silica-quantum dot, and silica-magnetic nanoparticles and their applications as therapeutic or imaging systems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Staphylococcus aureus secretes a unique class of neutrophil serine protease inhibitors

PubMed Central

Stapels, Daphne A. C.; Ramyar, Kasra X.; Bischoff, Markus; von Köckritz-Blickwede, Maren; Milder, Fin J.; Ruyken, Maartje; Eisenbeis, Janina; McWhorter, William J.; Herrmann, Mathias; van Kessel, Kok P. M.; Geisbrecht, Brian V.; Rooijakkers, Suzan H. M.

2014-01-01

Neutrophils are indispensable for clearing infections with the prominent human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Here, we report that S. aureus secretes a family of proteins that potently inhibits the activity of neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs): neutrophil elastase (NE), proteinase 3, and cathepsin G. The NSPs, but not related serine proteases, are specifically blocked by the extracellular adherence protein (Eap) and the functionally orphan Eap homologs EapH1 and EapH2, with inhibitory-constant values in the low-nanomolar range. Eap proteins are together essential for NSP inhibition by S. aureus in vitro and promote staphylococcal infection in vivo. The crystal structure of the EapH1/NE complex showed that Eap molecules constitute a unique class of noncovalent protease inhibitors that occlude the catalytic cleft of NSPs. These findings increase our insights into the complex pathogenesis of S. aureus infections and create opportunities to design novel treatment strategies for inflammatory conditions related to excessive NSP activity. PMID:25161283

Factors that influence the use and perceptions of employee assistance programs at six worksites.

PubMed

French, M T; Dunlap, L J; Roman, P M; Steele, P D

1997-10-01

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) have gained significant importance in contemporary worksites. This article uses data from 6 case studies to examine several research questions regarding the relationship between worker demographic (e.g., gender, job tenure, and marital status), substance use, and workplace policies and the actual and potential use of the company EAP. Unlike in most of the existing literature, the authors did not find that gender, marital status, or job dissatisfaction are statistically related to actual or potential EAP use at most worksites. However, job tenure and some substance use behaviors were related to actual EAP use in a positive and statistically significant way. Another important finding, underlying the credible integration of EAPs into worksite culture, is the positive and robust relationship between employee trust and confidence in the EAP and actual use. The results of our study both reinforce some long-established principles in the EAP field and encourage further consideration of other beliefs.

Atomic oxygen interaction with spacecraft materials: Relationship between orbital and ground-based testing for materials certification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cross, Jon B.; Koontz, Steven L.; Lan, Esther H.

1993-01-01

The effects of atomic oxygen on boron nitride (BN), silicon nitride (Si3N4), Intelsat 6 solar cell interconnects, organic polymers, and MoS2 and WS2 dry lubricant, were studied in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) flight experiments and in a ground based simulation facility. Both the inflight and ground based experiments employed in situ electrical resistance measurements to detect penetration of atomic oxygen through materials and Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) analysis to measure chemical composition changes. Results are given. The ground based results on the materials studied to date show good qualitative correlation with the LEO flight results, thus validating the simulation fidelity of the ground based facility in terms of reproducing LEO flight results. In addition it was demonstrated that ground based simulation is capable of performing more detailed experiments than orbital exposures can presently perform. This allows the development of a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms involved in the LEO environment degradation of materials.

A Biofilm Pocket Model to Evaluate Different Non-Surgical Periodontal Treatment Modalities in Terms of Biofilm Removal and Reformation, Surface Alterations and Attachment of Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts

PubMed Central

Hägi, Tobias T.; Klemensberger, Sabrina; Bereiter, Riccarda; Nietzsche, Sandor; Cosgarea, Raluca; Flury, Simon; Lussi, Adrian; Sculean, Anton; Eick, Sigrun

2015-01-01

Background and Aim There is a lack of suitable in vitro models to evaluate various treatment modalities intending to remove subgingival bacterial biofilm. Consequently, the aims of this in vitro-study were: a) to establish a pocket model enabling mechanical removal of biofilm and b) to evaluate repeated non-surgical periodontal treatment with respect to biofilm removal and reformation, surface alterations, tooth hard-substance-loss, and attachment of periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts. Material and Methods Standardized human dentin specimens were colonized by multi-species biofilms for 3.5 days and subsequently placed into artificially created pockets. Non-surgical periodontal treatment was performed as follows: a) hand-instrumentation with curettes (CUR), b) ultrasonication (US), c) subgingival air-polishing using erythritol (EAP) and d) subgingival air-polishing using erythritol combined with chlorhexidine digluconate (EAP-CHX). The reduction and recolonization of bacterial counts, surface roughness (Ra and Rz), the caused tooth substance-loss (thickness) as well as the attachment of PDL fibroblasts were evaluated and statistically analyzed by means of ANOVA with Post-Hoc LSD. Results After 5 treatments, bacterial reduction in biofilms was highest when applying EAP-CHX (4 log10). The lowest reduction was found after CUR (2 log10). Additionally, substance-loss was the highest when using CUR (128±40 µm) in comparison with US (14±12 µm), EAP (6±7 µm) and EAP-CHX (11±10) µm). Surface was roughened when using CUR and US. Surfaces exposed to US and to EAP attracted the highest numbers of PDL fibroblasts. Conclusion The established biofilm model simulating a periodontal pocket combined with interchangeable placements of test specimens with multi-species biofilms enables the evaluation of different non-surgical treatment modalities on biofilm removal and surface alterations. Compared to hand instrumentation the application of ultrasonication and of air

Dual-mode operation of 2D material-base hot electron transistors

PubMed Central

Lan, Yann-Wen; Torres, Jr., Carlos M.; Zhu, Xiaodan; Qasem, Hussam; Adleman, James R.; Lerner, Mitchell B.; Tsai, Shin-Hung; Shi, Yumeng; Li, Lain-Jong; Yeh, Wen-Kuan; Wang, Kang L.

2016-01-01

Vertical hot electron transistors incorporating atomically-thin 2D materials, such as graphene or MoS2, in the base region have been proposed and demonstrated in the development of electronic and optoelectronic applications. To the best of our knowledge, all previous 2D material-base hot electron transistors only considered applying a positive collector-base potential (VCB > 0) as is necessary for the typical unipolar hot-electron transistor behavior. Here we demonstrate a novel functionality, specifically a dual-mode operation, in our 2D material-base hot electron transistors (e.g. with either graphene or MoS2 in the base region) with the application of a negative collector-base potential (VCB < 0). That is, our 2D material-base hot electron transistors can operate in either a hot-electron or a reverse-current dominating mode depending upon the particular polarity of VCB. Furthermore, these devices operate at room temperature and their current gains can be dynamically tuned by varying VCB. We anticipate our multi-functional dual-mode transistors will pave the way towards the realization of novel flexible 2D material-based high-density and low-energy hot-carrier electronic applications. PMID:27581550

Dual-mode operation of 2D material-base hot electron transistors.

PubMed

Lan, Yann-Wen; Torres, Carlos M; Zhu, Xiaodan; Qasem, Hussam; Adleman, James R; Lerner, Mitchell B; Tsai, Shin-Hung; Shi, Yumeng; Li, Lain-Jong; Yeh, Wen-Kuan; Wang, Kang L

2016-09-01

Vertical hot electron transistors incorporating atomically-thin 2D materials, such as graphene or MoS2, in the base region have been proposed and demonstrated in the development of electronic and optoelectronic applications. To the best of our knowledge, all previous 2D material-base hot electron transistors only considered applying a positive collector-base potential (VCB > 0) as is necessary for the typical unipolar hot-electron transistor behavior. Here we demonstrate a novel functionality, specifically a dual-mode operation, in our 2D material-base hot electron transistors (e.g. with either graphene or MoS2 in the base region) with the application of a negative collector-base potential (VCB < 0). That is, our 2D material-base hot electron transistors can operate in either a hot-electron or a reverse-current dominating mode depending upon the particular polarity of VCB. Furthermore, these devices operate at room temperature and their current gains can be dynamically tuned by varying VCB. We anticipate our multi-functional dual-mode transistors will pave the way towards the realization of novel flexible 2D material-based high-density and low-energy hot-carrier electronic applications.

Graphene and graphene-based materials for energy storage applications.

PubMed

Zhu, Jixin; Yang, Dan; Yin, Zongyou; Yan, Qingyu; Zhang, Hua

2014-09-10

With the increased demand in energy resources, great efforts have been devoted to developing advanced energy storage and conversion systems. Graphene and graphene-based materials have attracted great attention owing to their unique properties of high mechanical flexibility, large surface area, chemical stability, superior electric and thermal conductivities that render them great choices as alternative electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage systems. This Review summarizes the recent progress in graphene and graphene-based materials for four energy storage systems, i.e., lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, lithium-sulfur batteries and lithium-air batteries. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

SYNTHESIS of MOLECULE/POLYMER-BASED MAGNETIC MATERIALS

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

Miller, Joel S.

2016-02-01

We have synthesized and characterized several families of organic-based magnets, a new area showing that organic species can exhibit the technologically important property of magnetic ordering. Thin film magnets with ordering temperatures exceeding room temperature have been exceeded. Hence, organic-based magnets represent a new class of materials that exhibit magnetic ordering and do not require energy-intensive metallurgical processing and are based upon Earth-abundant elements.

Employed women with alcohol problems who seek help from employee assistance programs. Description and comparisons.

PubMed

Blum, T C; Roman, P M; Harwood, E M

1995-01-01

After a brief description of employee assistance programs (EAP), we present data collected from 6,400 employees from 84 worksites who used the services of EAPs, a portion of whom were assessed by the EAP as having alcohol-related problems and/or received scores on the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) indicative of a potential alcohol-related problem. In addition, data were collected at intake from the EAP administrators, and employment status of the employee clients was assessed 18 to 24 months later. These data indicate that EAPs are effective in sustaining the employment of most women with alcohol-related problems who seek services from EAPs and that EAPs' goal of early intervention is especially realized among women with alcohol problems. Other conclusions include: women with alcohol problems do not enter EAPs through routes that are strikingly different from those of men; many of the gender differences that are revealed are associated with job status differences; employed women with alcohol problems are detached from nuclear families, with markedly low rates of current marriage; even when married, spouses are less likely to play a role in the referral of women with alcohol problems than the spouses of the men; and, there is no clear indication that women are the target of any form of discrimination in the process of EAP utilization. However, women are considerably more likely to have less adequate insurance coverage, according to the EAP administrators' assessment reported at client intake, than their male counterparts, leading to treatment choices that may be less than appropriate.

Employee assistance program services for alcohol and other drug problems: implications for increased identification and engagement in treatment.

PubMed

Jacobson, Jodi M; Sacco, Paul

2012-01-01

Fourteen million U.S. workers meet the diagnostic criteria for substance dependence, costing millions in lost productivity. Prior research suggests that employees who follow through with their Employee Assistance Program's (EAP) recommendations are more likely to participate and remain engaged in alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment programs. This study identified rates of lifetime EAP service use for AOD problems and compared adults who reported using EAP services for AOD problems with those who used services other than EAP. Researchers analyzed a subset of participants from the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions who reported having received help for an AOD problem (NESARC, 2001-2002). Statistical analyses tested for differences in sociodemographic variables, lifetime mental health and substance abuse disorders, and health disability between EAP services users and users of other types of services. Among adults who sought services for AOD problems (n= 2,272), 7.58% (n= 166) reported using EAP services for these problems at some point during their lives. Major depressive disorder (lifetime), a drug use disorder (lifetime), and Black race/ethnicity were associated with a greater likelihood that someone would seek EAP services for help with their AOD problem. Results provide a foundation for researchers to understand who uses EAP services for AOD problems. Health and mental health professionals should increase their knowledge of EAP services to improve continuity of care for employees with AOD problems. EAPs are in a unique position to reach out to vulnerable employees in the workplace and engage them in treatment. Copyright © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Microstructural characterization of catalysis product of nanocement based materials: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutan, Norsuzailina Mohamed; Izaitul Akma Ideris, Nur; Taib, Siti Noor Linda; Lee, Delsye Teo Ching; Hassan, Alsidqi; Kudnie Sahari, Siti; Mohamad Said, Khairul Anwar; Rahman Sobuz, Habibur

2018-03-01

Cement as an essential element for cement-based products contributed to negative environmental issues due to its high energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission during its production. These issues create the need to find alternative materials as partial cement replacement where studies on the potential of utilizing silica based materials as partial cement replacement come into picture. This review highlights the effectiveness of microstructural characterization techniques that have been used in the studies that focus on characterization of calcium hydroxide (CH) and calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) formation during hydration process of cement-based product incorporating nano reactive silica based materials as partial cement replacement. Understanding the effect of these materials as cement replacement in cement based product focusing on the microstructural development will lead to a higher confidence in the use of industrial waste as a new non-conventional material in construction industry that can catalyse rapid and innovative advances in green technology.

Employee assistance programs: a worldwide perspective.

PubMed

Burgess, K M; O'Donnell, W J; Bennett, A A; von Vietinghoff-Scheel, K

1997-08-01

Once limited to U.S. corporations, employee assistance programs (EAPs) are now spreading around the world. The authors review global EAP trends and identify similarities and differences among EAPs in North America, Europe, Central and South America, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Caribbean. Through affiliations between international professional associations and services to multinational corporations, the EAP field is quietly creating globalized behavioral health services.

Employee assistance programs: an employer's guide to emerging liability issues.

PubMed

Parliman, G C; Edwards, E L

1992-01-01

Increasing numbers of employers are implementing employee assistance programs (EAPs) designed to assist employees with personal issues that affect their work performance. Studies show that EAPs can dramatically increase employee productivity, but the benefits from EAPs have been accompanied by a less welcome development: lawsuits filed against employers by employees who allege that they suffered harm in the course of obtaining services through their employers' EAPs. Although the potential for liability will always exist, the employer that adheres to certain guidelines will be able to minimize its risk and make its EAP well worth the investment.

The effect of employee assistance plan benefits on the use of outpatient behavioral health care.

PubMed

Hodgkin, Dominic; Merrick, Elizabeth L; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M; McGuire, Thomas G

2010-12-01

Nearly half of all US workers have access to an employee assistance plan (EAP). At the same time, most large US employers also purchase health benefits for their employees, and these benefits packages typically include behavioral health services. There is some potential overlap in services covered by the EAP and the health plan, and some employers choose to purchase the two jointly as an 'integrated product'. It is not clear whether EAP services substitute for outpatient behavioral health care services covered by the health plan. To evaluate how the number of EAP visits covered affects the use of regular outpatient behavioral health care (number of visits, and total spending), in an integrated product setting. Analysis of claims, eligibility and benefits data for 26,464 users of behavioral health care for the year 2005. For both EAP and regular behavioral health care, the individuals were enrolled with Managed Health Network (MHN), a large national specialty insurance plan. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to investigate the determinants of the number of regular outpatient visits, and spending for regular outpatient care. To address skewness in the dependent variables, the estimation used generalized linear models with a log link. A limited instrumental variable analysis was used to test for endogeneity of the number of EAP visits covered. Nearly half the enrollees in this sample were in employer plans that allowed 4-5 EAP visits per treatment episode, and 31% were allowed 3 EAP visits per year. Having an EAP visit allowance of 4-5 sessions per episode predicts fewer regular outpatient visits, compared with having an allowance of 3 sessions per year. More generous EAP allowances also reduce payments for outpatient care, with one exception. Greater availability of EAP benefits appears to reduce utilization of regular outpatient care, supporting the idea that the two types of care are to some extent perceived as substitutes. One limitation of this

Designing Web-Based Educative Curriculum Materials for the Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callahan, Cory; Saye, John; Brush, Thomas

2013-01-01

This paper reports on a design experiment of web-based curriculum materials explicitly created to help social studies teachers develop their professional teaching knowledge. Web-based social studies curriculum reform efforts, human-centered interface design, and investigations into educative curriculum materials are reviewed, as well as…

Changes in erectile organ structure and function in a rat model of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

PubMed

Wang, X-J; Xia, L-L; Xu, T-Y; Zhang, X-H; Zhu, Z-W; Zhang, M-G; Liu, Y; Xu, C; Zhong, S; Shen, Z-J

2016-04-01

There is a growing recognition of the association between chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and erectile dysfunction (ED); however, most of the reports are based on questionnaires which cannot distinguish between organic and functional ED. The purpose of this study was to determine the exact relationship between CP/CPPS and ED, and to investigate the changes in erectile organ structure and function in a rat model of CP/CPPS. We established a rat model of experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP), which is a valid model for CP/CPPS. Erectile function in EAP and normal rats was comparable after cavernous nerve electrostimulation. The serum testosterone and oestradiol levels, ultrastructure of the corpus cavernosum and expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and neuronal nitric oxide synthase in the two groups were similar; however, there was a decrease in smooth muscle-to-collagen ratio and alpha-smooth muscle actin expression and an increase in transforming growth factor-beta 1 expression was observed in EAP rats. Thus, organic ED may not exist in EAP rats. We speculate that ED complained by patients with CP/CPPS may be psychological, which could be caused by impairment in the quality of life; however, further studies are needed to fully understand the potential mechanisms underlying the penile fibrosis in EAP rats. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Dam break analysis and flood inundation map of Krisak dam for emergency action plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juliastuti, Setyandito, Oki

2017-11-01

The Indonesian Regulation which refers to the ICOLD Regulation (International Committee on Large Dam required have the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) guidelines because of the dams have potential failure. In EAP guidelines there is a management of evacuation where the determination of the inundation map based on flood modeling. The purpose of the EAP is to minimize the risk of loss of life and property in downstream which caused by dam failure. This paper will describe about develop flood modeling and inundation map in Krisak dam using numerical methods through dam break analysis (DBA) using hydraulic model Zhong Xing HY-21. The approaches of dam failure simulation are overtopping and piping. Overtopping simulation based on quadrangular, triangular and trapezium fracture. Piping simulation based on cracks of orifice. Using results of DBA, hazard classification of Krisak dam is very high. The nearest village affected dam failure is Singodutan village (distance is 1.45 kilometer from dam) with inundation depth is 1.85 meter. This result can be used by stakeholders such as emergency responders and the community at risk in formulating evacuation procedure.

Nanotechnology-based restorative materials for dental caries management

PubMed Central

Melo, Mary A.S.; Guedes, Sarah F.F.; Xu, Hockin H.K.; Rodrigues, Lidiany K.A.

2013-01-01

Nanotechnology has been applied to dental materials as an innovative concept for the development of materials with better properties and anticaries potential. In this review we discuss the current progress and future applications of functional nanoparticles incorporated in dental restorative materials as useful strategies to dental caries management. We also overview proposed antimicrobial and remineralizing mechanisms. Nanomaterials have great potential to decrease biofilm accumulation, inhibit the demineralization process, to be used for remineralizing tooth structure, and to combat caries-related bacteria. These results are encouraging and open the doors to future clinical studies that will allow the therapeutic value of nanotechnology-based restorative materials to be established. PMID:23810638

Material model for physically based rendering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robart, Mathieu; Paulin, Mathias; Caubet, Rene

1999-09-01

In computer graphics, a complete knowledge of the interactions between light and a material is essential to obtain photorealistic pictures. Physical measurements allow us to obtain data on the material response, but are limited to industrial surfaces and depend on measure conditions. Analytic models do exist, but they are often inadequate for common use: the empiric ones are too simple to be realistic, and the physically-based ones are often to complex or too specialized to be generally useful. Therefore, we have developed a multiresolution virtual material model, that not only describes the surface of a material, but also its internal structure thanks to distribution functions of microelements, arranged in layers. Each microelement possesses its own response to an incident light, from an elementary reflection to a complex response provided by its inner structure, taking into account geometry, energy, polarization, . . ., of each light ray. This model is virtually illuminated, in order to compute its response to an incident radiance. This directional response is stored in a compressed data structure using spherical wavelets, and is destined to be used in a rendering model such as directional radiosity.

Electrophysiology of blunted emotional bias in psychopathic personality.

PubMed

Carolan, Patrick L; Jaspers-Fayer, Fern; Asmaro, Deyar T; Douglas, Kevin S; Liotti, Mario

2014-01-01

Diminished emotional capacity is a core characteristic of psychopathic personality. We examined behavioral and electrophysiological differences in attentional bias to emotional material in 34 healthy individuals rated high or low in psychopathic traits using the short form of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (18 high-trait, 16 low-trait). While performing an emotional Stroop task, high-trait participants displayed reduced emotional modulation of the late positive potential (LPP, 400-600 ms), and early anterior positivity (EAP, 200-300 ms) amplitudes. Results suggest blunted bias to affective content in psychopathic personality, characterized by diminished early capture to emotional salience (EAP) and dampened cognitive emotional processing (LPP). Copyright © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Employee Assistance Programs in the 1980s: Expanding Career Options for Counselors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forrest, Donald V.

1983-01-01

Suggests that Employee Assistance Programs (EAPS) offer new and expanded work opportunities for counselors. Reviews the history of EAPS, current philosophy and program components, and implications for counselors as EAPs move from crisis intervention toward prevention. (JAC)

The use of graphene based materials for fuel cell, photovoltaics, and supercapacitor electrode materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsang, Alpha C. H.; Kwok, Holly Y. H.; Leung, Dennis Y. C.

2017-05-01

This manuscript presents the methodology of the production of 2D and 3D graphene based material, and their applications in fuel cell, supercapacitor, and photovoltic in recent years. Due to the uniqueness and attractive properties of graphene nanosheets, a large number of techniques have been developed for raw graphene preparation, from a chemical method to a physical deposition of carbon vapor under extreme conditions. A variety of graphene based materials were also prepared from raw graphene or graphene oxide, including the metal loaded, metal oxides loaded, to the foreign elements doped graphene. Both two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) structured graphene were covered. These materials included the bulk or template hybrid composite, containing graphene hydrogel, graphene aerogel, or graphene foam and its derived products. They were widely used in green energy device research, which exhibited strong activity, and developed some special usage in recent research.

Wood-based composite materials : panel products, glued-laminated timber, structural composite lumber, and wood-nonwood composite materials

Treesearch

Nicole M. Stark; Zhiyong Cai; Charles Carll

2010-01-01

This chapter gives an overview of the general types and composition of wood-based composite products and the materials and processes used to manufacture them. It describes conventional wood-based composite panels and structural composite materials intended for general construction, interior use, or both. This chapter also describes wood–nonwood composites. Mechanical...

Graphene-based filament material for thermal ionization

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

Hewitt, J.; Shick, C.; Siegfried, M.

The use of graphene oxide materials for thermal ionization mass spectrometry analysis of plutonium and uranium has been investigated. Filament made from graphene oxide slurries have been 3-D printed. A method for attaching these filaments to commercial thermal ionization post assemblies has been devised. Resistive heating of the graphene based filaments under high vacuum showed stable operation in excess of 4 hours. Plutonium ion production has been observed in an initial set of filaments spiked with the Pu 128 Certified Reference Material.

Action potential propagation recorded from single axonal arbors using multi-electrode arrays.

PubMed

Tovar, Kenneth R; Bridges, Daniel C; Wu, Bian; Randall, Connor; Audouard, Morgane; Jang, Jiwon; Hansma, Paul K; Kosik, Kenneth S

2018-04-11

We report the presence of co-occurring extracellular action potentials (eAPs) from cultured mouse hippocampal neurons among groups of planar electrodes on multi-electrode arrays (MEAs). The invariant sequences of eAPs among co-active electrode groups, repeated co-occurrences and short inter-electrode latencies are consistent with action potential propagation in unmyelinated axons. Repeated eAP co-detection by multiple electrodes was widespread in all our data records. Co-detection of eAPs confirms they result from the same neuron and allows these eAPs to be isolated from all other spikes independently of spike sorting algorithms. We averaged co-occurring events and revealed additional electrodes with eAPs that would otherwise be below detection threshold. We used these eAP cohorts to explore the temperature sensitivity of action potential propagation and the relationship between voltage-gated sodium channel density and propagation velocity. The sequence of eAPs among co-active electrodes 'fingerprints' neurons giving rise to these events and identifies them within neuronal ensembles. We used this property and the non-invasive nature of extracellular recording to monitor changes in excitability at multiple points in single axonal arbors simultaneously over several hours, demonstrating independence of axonal segments. Over several weeks, we recorded changes in inter-electrode propagation latencies and ongoing changes in excitability in different regions of single axonal arbors. Our work illustrates how repeated eAP co-occurrences can be used to extract physiological data from single axons with low electrode density MEAs. However, repeated eAP co-occurrences leads to over-sampling spikes from single neurons and thus can confound traditional spike-train analysis.

Two-Dimensional Materials for Halide Perovskite-Based Optoelectronic Devices.

PubMed

Chen, Shan; Shi, Gaoquan

2017-06-01

Halide perovskites have high light absorption coefficients, long charge carrier diffusion lengths, intense photoluminescence, and slow rates of non-radiative charge recombination. Thus, they are attractive photoactive materials for developing high-performance optoelectronic devices. These devices are also cheap and easy to be fabricated. To realize the optimal performances of halide perovskite-based optoelectronic devices (HPODs), perovskite photoactive layers should work effectively with other functional materials such as electrodes, interfacial layers and encapsulating films. Conventional two-dimensional (2D) materials are promising candidates for this purpose because of their unique structures and/or interesting optoelectronic properties. Here, we comprehensively summarize the recent advancements in the applications of conventional 2D materials for halide perovskite-based photodetectors, solar cells and light-emitting diodes. The examples of these 2D materials are graphene and its derivatives, mono- and few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), graphdiyne and metal nanosheets, etc. The research related to 2D nanostructured perovskites and 2D Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites as efficient and stable photoactive layers is also outlined. The syntheses, functions and working mechanisms of relevant 2D materials are introduced, and the challenges to achieving practical applications of HPODs using 2D materials are also discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Graphene-based composite materials.

PubMed

Stankovich, Sasha; Dikin, Dmitriy A; Dommett, Geoffrey H B; Kohlhaas, Kevin M; Zimney, Eric J; Stach, Eric A; Piner, Richard D; Nguyen, SonBinh T; Ruoff, Rodney S

2006-07-20

Graphene sheets--one-atom-thick two-dimensional layers of sp2-bonded carbon--are predicted to have a range of unusual properties. Their thermal conductivity and mechanical stiffness may rival the remarkable in-plane values for graphite (approximately 3,000 W m(-1) K(-1) and 1,060 GPa, respectively); their fracture strength should be comparable to that of carbon nanotubes for similar types of defects; and recent studies have shown that individual graphene sheets have extraordinary electronic transport properties. One possible route to harnessing these properties for applications would be to incorporate graphene sheets in a composite material. The manufacturing of such composites requires not only that graphene sheets be produced on a sufficient scale but that they also be incorporated, and homogeneously distributed, into various matrices. Graphite, inexpensive and available in large quantity, unfortunately does not readily exfoliate to yield individual graphene sheets. Here we present a general approach for the preparation of graphene-polymer composites via complete exfoliation of graphite and molecular-level dispersion of individual, chemically modified graphene sheets within polymer hosts. A polystyrene-graphene composite formed by this route exhibits a percolation threshold of approximately 0.1 volume per cent for room-temperature electrical conductivity, the lowest reported value for any carbon-based composite except for those involving carbon nanotubes; at only 1 volume per cent, this composite has a conductivity of approximately 0.1 S m(-1), sufficient for many electrical applications. Our bottom-up chemical approach of tuning the graphene sheet properties provides a path to a broad new class of graphene-based materials and their use in a variety of applications.

Does an employee assistance programme benefit employers and employees alike?

PubMed

MacAlister, E

1999-09-01

EAPs are not a psychological sticking plaster. They are a clinically and corporately balanced service which benefits the employee, via the direct services and the employer, via the feedback in the form of usage statistics derived from the continuous tracking of the account through which organizational and employment issues are identified. Well positioned EAPs offer employees confidential counselling, and information services including legal, financial and child-based issues and are able to offer employers tailored training and consultancy.

EB and EUV lithography using inedible cellulose-based biomass resist material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takei, Satoshi; Hanabata, Makoto; Oshima, Akihiro; Kashiwakura, Miki; Kozawa, Takahiro; Tagawa, Seiichi

2016-03-01

The validity of our approach of inedible cellulose-based resist material derived from woody biomass has been confirmed experimentally for the use of pure water in organic solvent-free water spin-coating and tetramethylammonium hydroxide(TMAH)-free water-developable techniques of eco-conscious electron beam (EB) and extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The water developable, non-chemically amplified, high sensitive, and negative tone resist material in EB and EUV lithography was developed for environmental affair, safety, easiness of handling, and health of the working people. The inedible cellulose-based biomass resist material was developed by replacing the hydroxyl groups in the beta-linked disaccharides with EB and EUV sensitive groups. The 50-100 nm line and space width, and little footing profiles of cellulose-based biomass resist material on hardmask and layer were resolved at the doses of 10-30 μC/cm2. The eco-conscious lithography techniques was referred to as green EB and EUV lithography using inedible cellulose-based biomass resist material.

Information Management and Employee Assistance Program Imperatives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bickerton, Richard

1987-01-01

The ALMACA Clearinghouse for Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Information collects and disseminates EAP-specific data to provide subscribers with information to maintain their own competence and to improve upon the understanding and use of EAP practices and procedures. (JOW)

Dental fiber-post resin base material: a review

PubMed Central

Xu, Chun; Zhang, Fu-qiang

2014-01-01

Teeth that have short clinical crown, which are not alone enough to support the definitive restoration can be best treated using the post and core system. The advantages of fiber post over conventional metallic post materials have led to its wide acceptance. In addition to that the combination of aesthetic and mechanical benefits of fiber post has provided it with a rise in the field of dentistry. Also the results obtained from some clinical trials have encouraged the clinicians to use the fiber posts confidently. Fiber posts are manufactured from pre-stretched fibers impregnated within a resin matrix. The fibers could that be of carbon, glass/silica, and quartz, whereas Epoxy and bis-GMA are the most widely used resin bases. But recently studies are also found to be going on for polyimide as possible material for the fiber post resin base as a substitute for the conventional materials. PMID:24605208

Unconventional supercapacitors from nanocarbon-based electrode materials to device configurations.

PubMed

Liu, Lili; Niu, Zhiqiang; Chen, Jun

2016-07-25

As energy storage devices, supercapacitors that are also called electrochemical capacitors possess high power density, excellent reversibility and long cycle life. The recent boom in electronic devices with different functions in transparent LED displays, stretchable electronic systems and artificial skin has increased the demand for supercapacitors to move towards light, thin, integrated macro- and micro-devices with transparent, flexible, stretchable, compressible and/or wearable abilities. The successful fabrication of such supercapacitors depends mainly on the preparation of innovative electrode materials and the design of unconventional supercapacitor configurations. Tremendous research efforts have been recently made to design and construct innovative nanocarbon-based electrode materials and supercapacitors with unconventional configurations. We review here recent developments in supercapacitors from nanocarbon-based electrode materials to device configurations. The advances in nanocarbon-based electrode materials mainly include the assembly technologies of macroscopic nanostructured electrodes with different dimensions of carbon nanotubes/nanofibers, graphene, mesoporous carbon, activated carbon, and their composites. The electrodes with macroscopic nanostructured carbon-based materials overcome the issues of low conductivity, poor mechanical properties, and limited dimensions that are faced by conventional methods. The configurational design of advanced supercapacitor devices is presented with six types of unconventional supercapacitor devices: flexible, micro-, stretchable, compressible, transparent and fiber supercapacitors. Such supercapacitors display unique configurations and excellent electrochemical performance at different states such as bending, stretching, compressing and/or folding. For example, all-solid-state simplified supercapacitors that are based on nanostructured graphene composite paper are able to maintain 95% of the original capacity at

EFRC: Polymer-Based Materials for Harvesting Solar Energy (stimulus)"

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

Russell, Thomas P.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is proposing an Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) on Polymer-Based Materials for Harvesting Solar Energy that will integrate the widely complementary experimental and theoretical expertise of 23 faculty at UMass-Amherst Departments with researchers from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania State University and Konarka Technologies, Inc. Collaborative efforts with researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Bayreuth, Seoul National University and Tohoku University will complement and expand the experimental efforts in the EFRC. Our primary research aim of this EFRC is the development of hybrid polymer-based devices withmore » efficiencies more than twice the current organic-based devices, by combining expertise in the design and synthesis of photoactive polymers, the control and guidance of polymer-based assemblies, leadership in nanostructured polymeric materials, and the theory and modeling of non-equilibrium structures. A primary goal of this EFRC is to improve the collection and conversion efficiency of a broader spectral range of solar energy using the directed self-assembly of polymer-based materials so as to optimize the design and fabrication of inexpensive devices.« less

The effectiveness of physics learning material based on South Kalimantan local wisdom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartini, Sri; Misbah, Helda, Dewantara, Dewi

2017-08-01

The local wisdom is essential element incorporated into learning process. However, there are no learning materials in Physics learning process which contain South Kalimantan local wisdom. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a Physics learning material based on South Kalimantan local wisdom. The objective of this research is to produce products in the form of learning material based on South Kalimantan local wisdom that is feasible and effective based on the validity, practicality, effectiveness of learning material and achievement of waja sampai kaputing (wasaka) character. This research is a research and development which refers to the ADDIE model. Data were obtained through the validation sheet of learning material, questionnaire, the test of learning outcomes and the sheet of character assesment. The research results showed that (1) the validity category of the learning material was very valid, (2) the practicality category of the learning material was very practical, (3) the effectiveness category of thelearning material was very effective, and (4) the achivement of wasaka characters was very good. In conclusion, the Physics learning materials based on South Kalimantan local wisdom are feasible and effective to be used in learning activities.

Theoretical Study on Nano-Catalyst Burn Rate

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-26

the adsorbed system EAP +surface and the adsorption state, with a positive value of Eads being thermodynamically favorable: Eads = (Esurface + EAP ... EAP +surface, (1) The interaction between the TiO2 surfaces and the AP molecules has been analyzed by

Micromechanics Based Failure Analysis of Heterogeneous Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sertse, Hamsasew M.

In recent decades, heterogeneous materials are extensively used in various industries such as aerospace, defense, automotive and others due to their desirable specific properties and excellent capability of accumulating damage. Despite their wide use, there are numerous challenges associated with the application of these materials. One of the main challenges is lack of accurate tools to predict the initiation, progression and final failure of these materials under various thermomechanical loading conditions. Although failure is usually treated at the macro and meso-scale level, the initiation and growth of failure is a complex phenomena across multiple scales. The objective of this work is to enable the mechanics of structure genome (MSG) and its companion code SwiftComp to analyze the initial failure (also called static failure), progressive failure, and fatigue failure of heterogeneous materials using micromechanics approach. The initial failure is evaluated at each numerical integration point using pointwise and nonlocal approach for each constituent of the heterogeneous materials. The effects of imperfect interfaces among constituents of heterogeneous materials are also investigated using a linear traction-displacement model. Moreover, the progressive and fatigue damage analyses are conducted using continuum damage mechanics (CDM) approach. The various failure criteria are also applied at a material point to analyze progressive damage in each constituent. The constitutive equation of a damaged material is formulated based on a consistent irreversible thermodynamics approach. The overall tangent modulus of uncoupled elastoplastic damage for negligible back stress effect is derived. The initiation of plasticity and damage in each constituent is evaluated at each numerical integration point using a nonlocal approach. The accumulated plastic strain and anisotropic damage evolution variables are iteratively solved using an incremental algorithm. The damage analyses

The viscoelastic effect in bending bucky-gel actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruusamäe, Karl; Mukai, Ken; Sugino, Takushi; Asaka, Kinji

2014-03-01

Electromechanically active polymers (EAP) are considered a good actuator candidate for a variety of reasons, e.g. they are soft, easy to miniaturize and operate without audible noise. The main structural component in EAPs is, as the name states, a type of deformable polymer. As polymers are known to exhibit a distinct mechanical response, the nature of polymer materials should never be neglected when characterizing and modeling the performance of EAP actuators. Bucky-gel actuators are a subtype of EAPs where ion-containing polymer membrane acts as an electronically insulating separator between two electrodes of carbon nanotubes and ionic liquid. In many occasions, the electrodes also contain polymer for the purpose of binding it together. Therefore, mechanically speaking, bucky-gel actuators are composite structures with layers of different mechanical nature. The viscoelastic response and the shape change property are perhaps the most characteristic effects in polymers. These effects are known to have high dependence on factors such as the type of polymer, the concentration of additives and the structural ratio of different layers. At the same time, most reports about optimization of EAP actuators describe the alteration of electromechanical performance dependent on the same factors. In this paper, the performance of bucky-gel actuators is measured as a function between the output force and bending deflection. It is observed that effective stiffness of these actuators depends on the input voltage. This finding is also supported by dynamic mechanical analysis which demonstrates that the viscoelastic response of bucky-gel laminate depends on both frequency and temperature. Moreover, the dynamic mechanical analysis reveals that in the range of standard operation temperatures, tested samples were in their glass transition region, which made it possible to alter their shape by using mechanical fixing. The mechanical fixity above 90% was obtained when high

Fabrication of 1-dimension nano-material-based device and its electrical characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xing; Zhou, Zhaoying; Zheng, Fuzhong; Zhang, Min

2008-12-01

In recent years, many kinds of 1-dimension nano-materials (Carbon nanotube, ZnO nanobelt and nanowire etc.) continue to emerge which exhibit distinct and unique electromechanical, piezoelectric, photoelectrical properties. In this paper, a 1-dimension nano-materials-based device was proposed. The bottom-up and top-down combined process were used for constructing CNT-array-based device and ZnO nanowire device. The electrical characteristics of the 1D nano-materials-based devices were also investigated. The measurement results of electrical characteristics demonstrate that it is ohm electrical contact behavior between the nano-material and micro-electrodes in the proposed device which also have the field effect. The proposed 1D nano-material-based device shows the application potential in the sensing fields.

Polyethylene Based Materials for Biofilm Carriers Used in Wastewater Treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moga, I. C.; Iordache, O. I.; Petrescu, G.; Pricop, F.; Dumitrescu, I.

2018-06-01

The moving bed biofilm technology is based on biofilm carriers on which consortia of microorganisms attach, develop and grow. Around the world are known many biofilm carrier variants made of varied materials. The most common materials are based on polyethylene since this material has a close to water density. The authors propose a novel biofilm carrier to be used in tertiary treatment for tannery and paper-mill wastewaters. The biological treatment is based on fungal activity. The selected fungal strains will be grown on innovative polyethylene carriers containing cellulose. The carrier will be designed to be exploited in a moving bed bioreactor and to favour fungal growth in the presence of competing bacteria.

Electroactive 3D materials for cardiac tissue engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gelmi, Amy; Zhang, Jiabin; Cieslar-Pobuda, Artur; Ljunngren, Monika K.; Los, Marek Jan; Rafat, Mehrdad; Jager, Edwin W. H.

2015-04-01

By-pass surgery and heart transplantation are traditionally used to restore the heart's functionality after a myocardial Infarction (MI or heart attack) that results in scar tissue formation and impaired cardiac function. However, both procedures are associated with serious post-surgical complications. Therefore, new strategies to help re-establish heart functionality are necessary. Tissue engineering and stem cell therapy are the promising approaches that are being explored for the treatment of MI. The stem cell niche is extremely important for the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells and tissue regeneration. For the introduction of stem cells into the host tissue an artificial carrier such as a scaffold is preferred as direct injection of stem cells has resulted in fast stem cell death. Such scaffold will provide the proper microenvironment that can be altered electronically to provide temporal stimulation to the cells. We have developed an electroactive polymer (EAP) scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering. The EAP scaffold mimics the extracellular matrix and provides a 3D microenvironment that can be easily tuned during fabrication, such as controllable fibre dimensions, alignment, and coating. In addition, the scaffold can provide electrical and electromechanical stimulation to the stem cells which are important external stimuli to stem cell differentiation. We tested the initial biocompatibility of these scaffolds using cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs), and continued onto more sensitive induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). We present the fabrication and characterisation of these electroactive fibres as well as the response of increasingly sensitive cell types to the scaffolds.

Fabrication of advanced particles and particle-based materials assisted by droplet-based microfluidics.

PubMed

Wang, Jing-Tao; Wang, Juan; Han, Jun-Jie

2011-07-04

Recent advances in the fabrication of complex particles and particle-based materials assisted by droplet-based microfluidics are reviewed. Monodisperse particles with expected internal structures, morphologies, and sizes in the range of nanometers to hundreds of micrometers have received a good deal of attention in recent years. Due to the capability of generating monodisperse emulsions and of executing precise control and operations on the suspended droplets inside the microchannels, droplet-based microfluidic devices have become powerful tools for fabricating complex particles with desired properties. Emulsions and multiple-emulsions generated in the microfluidic devices can be composed of a variety of materials including aqueous solutions, gels, polymers and solutions containing functional nanoparticles. They are ideal microreactors or fine templates for synthesizing advanced particles, such as polymer particles, microcapsules, nanocrystals, and photonic crystal clusters or beads by further chemical or physical operations. These particles are promising materials that may be applicable for many fields, such as photonic materials, drug delivery systems, and bio-analysis. From simple to complex, from spherical to nonspherical, from polymerization and reaction crystallization to self-assembly, this review aims to help readers be aware of the many aspects of this field. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

An overview of the applications of graphene-based materials in supercapacitors.

PubMed

Huang, Yi; Liang, Jiajie; Chen, Yongsheng

2012-06-25

Due to their unique 2D structure and outstanding intrinsic physical properties, such as extraordinarily high electrical conductivity and large surface area, graphene-based materials exhibit great potential for application in supercapacitors. In this review, the progress made so far for their applications in supercapacitors is reviewed, including electrochemical double-layer capacitors, pseudo-capacitors, and asymmetric supercapacitors. Compared with traditional electrode materials, graphene-based materials show some novel characteristics and mechanisms in the process of energy storage and release. Several key issues for improving the structure of graphene-based materials and for achieving better capacitor performance, along with the current outlook for the field, are also discussed. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High resistivity iron-based, thermally stable magnetic material for on-chip integrated inductors

DOEpatents

Deligianni, Hariklia; Gallagher, William J.; Mason, Maurice; O'Sullivan, Eugene J.; Romankiw, Lubomyr T.; Wang, Naigang

2017-03-07

An on-chip magnetic structure includes a palladium activated seed layer and a substantially amorphous magnetic material disposed onto the palladium activated seed layer. The substantially amorphous magnetic material includes nickel in a range from about 50 to about 80 atomic % (at. %) based on the total number of atoms of the magnetic material, iron in a range from about 10 to about 50 at. % based on the total number of atoms of the magnetic material, and phosphorous in a range from about 0.1 to about 30 at. % based on the total number of atoms of the magnetic material. The magnetic material can include boron in a range from about 0.1 to about 5 at. % based on the total number of atoms of the magnetic material.

Electro-Statically Stricted Polymers (ESSP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, C.; Bar-Cohen, Y.; Leary, S.

1999-01-01

Miniature, lightweight, miser actuators that operate similar to biological muscles can be used to develop robotic devices with unmatched capabilities and impact many technology areas. Electroactive polymers (EAP) offer the potential to producing such actuators and their main attractive feature is their ability to induce relatively large bending or longitudinal strain. EAP actuators can change the paradigm about the complexity of robots, where robotic components such as motors, gears, bearings, and others can be eliminated with simple drive mechanisms. Generally, these materials produce a relatively low force and the applications that can be considered at the current state of the art are relatively limited. While improved material are being developed there is a need for methods to develop longitudinal actuators that can contract similar to muscles. In this study, the authors began investigating the electromechanical behavior of polymers in reaction to a complex configuration of electric fields. A computer model was used to simulate the electromechanical response. Efforts were made to develop both the material basis as well as the electromechanical modeling of the actuator.

Dynamic Camouflage Materials Based on Silk-Reflectin Chimeras

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-01

Dynamic Camouflage Materials Based on Silk -Reflectin Chimeras Final Performance Report for FA9550-09-1-0513 (Program Manager: Hugh DeLong...efforts to bioengineer silk -reflectin chimeric proteins, with the silk component serving as one of the organizing elements for material functions and...Further contributions may also come from the silk due to its novel light guiding properties and diffractive optics. Variants in silk block sizes

Carbon-Based Nanomaterials: Multi-Functional Materials for Biomedical Engineering

PubMed Central

Cha, Chaenyung; Shin, Su Ryon; Annabi, Nasim; Dokmeci, Mehmet R.; Khademhosseini, Ali

2013-01-01

Functional carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs) have become important due to their unique combinations of chemical and physical properties (i.e., thermal and electrical conductivity, high mechanical strength, and optical properties), extensive research efforts are being made to utilize these materials for various industrial applications, such as high-strength materials and electronics. These advantageous properties of CBNs are also actively investigated in several areas of biomedical engineering. This Perspective highlights different types of carbon-based nanomaterials currently used in biomedical applications. PMID:23560817

Workplace substance abuse prevention and help seeking: comparing team-oriented and informational training.

PubMed

Bennett, J B; Lehman, W E

2001-07-01

Employees fail to seek help for alcohol or drug (AOD) abuse because of unhealthy work climates, stigma, and distrust in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). To address such problems, the authors randomly assigned groups of municipal employees (N = 260) to 2 types of training: a 4-hr informational review of EAPs and policy and an 8-hr training that embedded messages about AOD reduction in the context of team building and stress management. Pre- and posttraining and 6-month follow-up surveys assessed change. Group privacy regulation, EAP trust, help seeking, and peer encouragement increased for team training. Stigma of substance users decreased for information training. EAP/policy knowledge increased for both groups. A control group showed little change. Help seeking and peer encouragement also predicted EAP utilization. Integrating both team and informational training may be the most effective for improving help seeking and EAP utilization.

Cost of employee assistance programs: comparison of national estimates from 1993 and 1995.

PubMed

French, M T; Zarkin, G A; Bray, J W; Hartwell, T D

1999-02-01

The cost and financing of mental health services is gaining increasing importance with the spread of managed care and cost-cutting measures throughout the health care system. The delivery of mental health services through structured employee assistance programs (EAPs) could be undermined by revised health insurance contracts and cutbacks in employer-provided benefits at the workplace. This study uses two recently completed national surveys of EAPs to estimate the costs of providing EAP services during 1993 and 1995. EAP costs are determined by program type, worksite size, industry, and region. In addition, information on program services is reported to determine the most common types and categories of services and whether service delivery changes have occurred between 1993 and 1995. The results of this study will be useful to EAP managers, mental health administrators, and mental health services researchers who are interested in the delivery and costs of EAP services.

High resistivity iron-based, thermally stable magnetic material for on-chip integrated inductors

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

Deligianni, Hariklia; Gallagher, William J.; Mason, Maurice

An on-chip magnetic structure includes a palladium activated seed layer and a substantially amorphous magnetic material disposed onto the palladium activated seed layer. The substantially amorphous magnetic material includes nickel in a range from about 50 to about 80 atomic % (at. %) based on the total number of atoms of the magnetic material, iron in a range from about 10 to about 50 at. % based on the total number of atoms of the magnetic material, and phosphorous in a range from about 0.1 to about 30 at. % based on the total number of atoms of the magneticmore » material. The magnetic material can include boron in a range from about 0.1 to about 5 at. % based on the total number of atoms of the magnetic material.« less

Alloy-Based Anode Materials toward Advanced Sodium-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Lao, Mengmeng; Zhang, Yu; Luo, Wenbin; Yan, Qingyu; Sun, Wenping; Dou, Shi Xue

2017-12-01

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered as promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries owing to the abundant sodium resources. However, the limited energy density, moderate cycling life, and immature manufacture technology of SIBs are the major challenges hindering their practical application. Recently, numerous efforts are devoted to developing novel electrode materials with high specific capacities and long durability. In comparison with carbonaceous materials (e.g., hard carbon), partial Group IVA and VA elements, such as Sn, Sb, and P, possess high theoretical specific capacities for sodium storage based on the alloying reaction mechanism, demonstrating great potential for high-energy SIBs. In this review, the recent research progress of alloy-type anodes and their compounds for sodium storage is summarized. Specific efforts to enhance the electrochemical performance of the alloy-based anode materials are discussed, and the challenges and perspectives regarding these anode materials are proposed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Design of Functional Materials based on Liquid Crystalline Droplets.

PubMed

Miller, Daniel S; Wang, Xiaoguang; Abbott, Nicholas L

2014-01-14

This brief perspective focuses on recent advances in the design of functional soft materials that are based on confinement of low molecular weight liquid crystals (LCs) within micrometer-sized droplets. While the ordering of LCs within micrometer-sized domains has been explored extensively in polymer-dispersed LC materials, recent studies performed with LC domains with precisely defined size and interfacial chemistry have unmasked observations of confinement-induced ordering of LCs that do not follow previously reported theoretical predictions. These new findings, which are enabled in part by advances in the preparation of LCs encapsulated in polymeric shells, are opening up new opportunities for the design of soft responsive materials based on surface-induced ordering transitions. These materials are also providing new insights into the self-assembly of biomolecular and colloidal species at defects formed by LCs confined to micrometer-sized domains. The studies presented in this perspective serve additionally to highlight gaps in knowledge regarding the ordering of LCs in confined systems.

State Employee Assistance Programs: Organization and Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemp, Donna R.

1985-01-01

Describes a study conducted to determine how many state governments had established employee assistance programs (EAPs). Results concerned how state EAPs are organized, services provided, cost of programs, what dollars or productive benefits were calculated, and what problems have been encountered by state EAPs. (CT)

Assistance Programs: A Timely Solution for the Adult Education Setting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Shannon M.

1998-01-01

Discusses the use of formal employee assistance programs (EAPs) with adult students who have personal problems that could affect their school performance. Looks at the differences between EAPs and traditional counseling services: EAPs have a written assistance policy; they institutionalize consistency; they are confidential. (JOW)

Advanced Materials for Health Monitoring with Skin-Based Wearable Devices.

PubMed

Jin, Han; Abu-Raya, Yasmin Shibli; Haick, Hossam

2017-06-01

Skin-based wearable devices have a great potential that could result in a revolutionary approach to health monitoring and diagnosing disease. With continued innovation and intensive attention to the materials and fabrication technologies, development of these healthcare devices is progressively encouraged. This article gives a concise, although admittedly non-exhaustive, didactic review of some of the main concepts and approaches related to recent advances and developments in the scope of skin-based wearable devices (e.g. temperature, strain, biomarker-analysis werable devices, etc.), with an emphasis on emerging materials and fabrication techniques in the relevant fields. To give a comprehensive statement, part of the review presents and discusses different aspects of these advanced materials, such as the sensitivity, biocompatibility and durability as well as the major approaches proposed for enhancing their chemical and physical properties. A complementary section of the review linking these advanced materials with wearable device technologies is particularly specified. Some of the strong and weak points in development of each wearable material/device are highlighted and criticized. Several ideas regarding further improvement of skin-based wearable devices are also discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Developing learning material of introduction to operation research course based on problem-based learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yerizon; Jazwinarti; Yarman

2018-01-01

Students have difficulties experience in the course Introduction to Operational Research (PRO). The purpose of this study is to analyze the requirement of students in the developing lecturing materials PRO based Problem Based Learning which is valid, practice, and effective. Lecture materials are developed based on Plomp’s model. The development process of this device consists of 3 phases: front-end analysis/preliminary research, development/prototype phase and assessment phase. Preliminary analysis was obtained by observation and interview. From the research, it is found that students need the student’s worksheet (LKM) for several reasons: 1) no LKM available, 2) presentation of subject not yet based on real problem, 3) experiencing difficulties from current learning source.

Rhombohedral cubic semiconductor materials on trigonal substrate with single crystal properties and devices based on such materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Yeonjoon (Inventor); Choi, Sang Hyouk (Inventor); King, Glen C. (Inventor); Elliott, James R. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

Growth conditions are developed, based on a temperature-dependent alignment model, to enable formation of cubic group IV, group II-V and group II-VI crystals in the [111] orientation on the basal (0001) plane of trigonal crystal substrates, controlled such that the volume percentage of primary twin crystal is reduced from about 40% to about 0.3%, compared to the majority single crystal. The control of stacking faults in this and other embodiments can yield single crystalline semiconductors based on these materials that are substantially without defects, or improved thermoelectric materials with twinned crystals for phonon scattering while maintaining electrical integrity. These methods can selectively yield a cubic-on-trigonal epitaxial semiconductor material in which the cubic layer is substantially either directly aligned, or 60 degrees-rotated from, the underlying trigonal material.

A Study on Active Disaster Management System for Standardized Emergency Action Plan using BIM and Flood Damage Estimation Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, C.; Om, J.; Hwang, J.; Joo, K.; Heo, J.

2013-12-01

In recent, the frequency of extreme flood has been increasing due to climate change and global warming. Highly flood damages are mainly caused by the collapse of flood control structures such as dam and dike. In order to reduce these disasters, the disaster management system (DMS) through flood forecasting, inundation mapping, EAP (Emergency Action Plan) has been studied. The estimation of inundation damage and practical EAP are especially crucial to the DMS. However, it is difficult to predict inundation and take a proper action through DMS in real emergency situation because several techniques for inundation damage estimation are not integrated and EAP is supplied in the form of a document in Korea. In this study, the integrated simulation system including rainfall frequency analysis, rainfall-runoff modeling, inundation prediction, surface runoff analysis, and inland flood analysis was developed. Using this system coupled with standard GIS data, inundation damage can be estimated comprehensively and automatically. The standard EAP based on BIM (Building Information Modeling) was also established in this system. It is, therefore, expected that the inundation damages through this study over the entire area including buildings can be predicted and managed.

Confidentiality and the employee assistance program professional.

PubMed

Mistretta, E F; Inlow, L B

1991-02-01

During the last two decades EAPs have offered employees confidential assessment, counseling, and referral. Many occupational health nurses have taken on the role of EAP professional or function as the liaison between the EAP counselor and the employee. The occupational health nurse involved in any EAP issue must adhere to the standards of confidentiality. The federal and state laws, company policy, and professional codes of ethics regarding these clients must be clearly understood, especially related to the issue of confidentiality.

Biomimetics as a Model for Inspiring Human Innovation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2006-01-01

Electroactive polymers (EAP) are human made actuators that are the closest to mimic biological muscles. Technology was advanced to the level that biologically inspired robots are taking increasing roles in the world around us and making science fiction ideas a closer engineering reality. Artificial technologies (AI, AM, and others) are increasingly becoming practical tools for making biologically inspired devices and instruments with enormous potential for space applications. Polymer materials are used to produce figures that resemble human and animals. These materials are widely employed by the movie industry for making acting figures and by the orthopedic industry to construct cyborg components. There are still many challenges ahead that are critical to making such possibilities practical. The annual armwrestling contest is providing an exciting measure of how well advances in EAP are implemented to address the field challenges. There is a need to document natures inventions in an engineering form to possibly inspire new capabilities.

Low-frequency oscillations of the East Asia-Pacific teleconnection pattern and their impacts on persistent heavy precipitation in the Yangtze-Huai River valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Lei; Zhai, Panmao; Chen, Yang; Ni, Yunqi

2016-06-01

Based on the daily reanalysis data from NCEP-NCAR and daily precipitation data from the China National Meteorological Information Center, an ensemble empirical mode decomposition method is employed to extract the predominant oscillation modes of the East Asia-Pacific (EAP) teleconnection pattern. The influences of these low-frequency modes on persistent heavy precipitation in the Yangtze-Huai River (YHR) valley are investigated. The results indicate that the EAP pattern and rainfall in YHR valley both exhibit remarkable 10-30- and 30-60-day oscillations. The impacts of the EAP pattern on the YHR persistent heavy precipitation can be found on both the 10-30- and 30-60-day timescales—the 10-30-day scale for most cases. Composite analysis indicates that, on the 10-30-day timescale, formation of the EAP pattern in the lower and middle troposphere is determined by convective systems near the tropical western Pacific; whereas in the middle troposphere, the phase transition is jointly contributed by both the dispersion of zonal wave energies at higher latitudes and convective systems over the South China Sea. In the context of the 10-30-day EAP pattern, the anomalously abundant moisture is transported by an anomalous subtropical anticyclone system, and strong moisture convergence results from that anomalous anticyclone system and a cyclonic system in the midlatitude East Asia. Such a combination of systems persists for at least three days, contributing to the formation of persistent heavy precipitation in the YHR valley.

Extracurricular Activity Participation in High School: Mechanisms Linking Participation to Math Achievement and 4-Year College Attendance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, David S.

2016-01-01

Extracurricular activity participation (EAP) has been positively linked with increased academic achievement and college attendance. However, the mechanisms linking EAP to educational outcomes are poorly understood. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), this study contributes to our understanding of the relationship between EAP and…

The Organization as Client: Broadening the Concept of Employee Assistance Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Googins, Bradley; Davidson, Bruce N.

1993-01-01

Notes that many employee assistance programs (EAPs) are broadening their function to address rapidly changing human and social issues of environments in which they operate, refocusing practice to include organization as the client. Discusses traditional EAP practice, evolution of EAPs, changes confronting corporations, and alternative model in…

Integrated employee assistance program/managed behavioral health plan utilization by persons with substance use disorders.

PubMed

Merrick, Elizabeth S Levy; Hodgkin, Dominic; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M; Greenfield, Shelly F; McCann, Bernard

2011-04-01

New federal parity and health reform legislation, promising increased behavioral health care access and a focus on prevention, has heightened interest in employee assistance programs (EAPs). This study investigated service utilization by persons with a primary substance use disorder (SUD) diagnosis in a managed behavioral health care (MBHC) organization's integrated EAP/MBHC product (N = 1,158). In 2004, 25.0% of clients used the EAP first for new treatment episodes. After initial EAP utilization, 44.4% received no additional formal services through the plan, and 40.4% received regular outpatient services. Overall, outpatient care, intensive outpatient/day treatment, and inpatient/residential detoxification were most common. About half of the clients had co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses. Mental health service utilization was extensive. Findings suggest that for service users with primary SUD diagnoses in an integrated EAP/MBHC product, the EAP benefit plays a key role at the front end of treatment and is often only one component of treatment episodes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

CMOS compatible electrode materials selection in oxide-based memory devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuo, V. Y.-Q.; Li, M.; Guo, Y.; Wang, W.; Yang, Y.; Jiang, Y.; Robertson, J.

2016-07-01

Electrode materials selection guidelines for oxide-based memory devices are constructed from the combined knowledge of observed device operation characteristics, ab-initio calculations, and nano-material characterization. It is demonstrated that changing the top electrode material from Ge to Cr to Ta in the Ta2O5-based memory devices resulted in a reduction of the operation voltages and current. Energy Dispersed X-ray (EDX) Spectrometer analysis clearly shows that the different top electrode materials scavenge oxygen ions from the Ta2O5 memory layer at various degrees, leading to different oxygen vacancy concentrations within the Ta2O5, thus the observed trends in the device performance. Replacing the Pt bottom electrode material with CMOS compatible materials (Ru and Ir) further reduces the power consumption and can be attributed to the modification of the Schottky barrier height and oxygen vacancy concentration at the electrode/oxide interface. Both trends in the device performance and EDX results are corroborated by the ab-initio calculations which reveal that the electrode material tunes the oxygen vacancy concentration via the oxygen chemical potential and defect formation energy. This experimental-theoretical approach strongly suggests that the proper selection of CMOS compatible electrode materials will create the critical oxygen vacancy concentration to attain low power memory performance.

An effective method to screen sodium-based layered materials for sodium ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xu; Zhang, Zihe; Yao, Sai; Chen, An; Zhao, Xudong; Zhou, Zhen

2018-03-01

Due to the high cost and insufficient resource of lithium, sodium-ion batteries are widely investigated for large-scale applications. Typically, insertion-type materials possess better cyclic stability than alloy-type and conversion-type ones. Therefore, in this work, we proposed a facile and effective method to screen sodium-based layered materials based on Materials Project database as potential candidate insertion-type materials for sodium ion batteries. The obtained Na-based layered materials contains 38 kinds of space group, which reveals that the credibility of our screening approach would not be affected by the space group. Then, some important indexes of the representative materials, including the average voltage, volume change and sodium ion mobility, were further studied by means of density functional theory computations. Some materials with extremely low volume changes and Na diffusion barriers are promising candidates for sodium ion batteries. We believe that our classification algorithm could also be used to search for other alkali and multivalent ion-based layered materials, to accelerate the development of battery materials.

Competitive light absorbers in photoactive dental resin-based materials.

PubMed

Hadis, Mohammed A; Shortall, Adrian C; Palin, William M

2012-08-01

The absorbance profile of photoinitiators prior to, during and following polymerization of light curable resin-based materials will have a significant effect on the cure and color properties of the final material. So-called "colorless" photoinitiators are used in some light-activated resin-based composite restorative materials to lessen the yellowing effect of camphoroquinone (CQ) in order to improve the esthetic quality of dental restorations. This work characterizes absorption properties of commonly used photoinitiators, an acylphosphine oxide (TPO) and CQ, and assesses their influence on material discoloration. Dimethacrylate resin formulations contained low (0.0134 mol/dm(3)), intermediate (0.0405 mol/dm(3)) or high (0.0678 mol/dm(3)) concentrations of the photoinitiators and the inhibitor, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) at 0, 0.1 or 0.2% by mass. Disc shaped specimens (n = 3) of each resin were polymerized for 60s using a halogen light curing unit. Dynamic measurements of photoinitiator absorption, polymer conversion and reaction temperature were performed. A spectrophotometer was used to measure the color change before and after cure. GLM three-way analysis of variance revealed significant differences (p<0.001), where photoinitiator concentration (df = 2; F = 618.83)>photoinitiator type (df = 1; F = 176.12)>% BHT (df = 2, F = 13.17). BHT concentration affected the rate of polymerization and produced lower conversion in some of the CQ-based resins. Significant differences between photoinitiator type and concentrations were seen in color (where TPO resins became yellower and camphoroquinone resins became less yellow upon irradiation). Reaction temperature, kinetics and conversion also differed significantly for both initiators (p<0.001). Despite TPO-based resins producing a visually perceptible color change upon polymerization, the color change was significantly less than that produced with CQ-based resins. Although some photoinitiators such as TPO may be a

Lignin Based Carbon Materials for Energy Storage Applications

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

Chatterjee, Sabornie; Saito, Tomonori; Rios, Orlando

The implementation of Li-ion battery technology into electric and hybrid electric vehicles and portable electronic devices such as smart phones, laptops and tablets, creates a demand for efficient, economic and sustainable materials for energy storage. However, the high cost and long processing time associated with manufacturing battery-grade anode and cathode materials are two big constraints for lowering the total cost of batteries and environmentally friendly electric vehicles. Lignin, a byproduct of the pulp and paper industry and biorefinery, is one of the most abundant and inexpensive natural biopolymers. It can be efficiently converted to low cost carbon fibers with optimalmore » properties for use as anode materials. Recent developments in the preparation of lignin precursors and conversion to carbon fiber-based anode materials have created a new class of anode materials with excellent electrochemical characteristics suitable for immediate use in existing Li- or Na-ion battery technologies.« less

Telephonic screening and brief intervention for alcohol misuse among workers contacting the employee assistance program: A feasibility study.

PubMed

McPherson, Tracy L; Goplerud, Eric; Derr, Dennis; Mickenberg, Judy; Courtemanche, Sherry

2010-11-01

Substantial empirical support exists for alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) in medical, but not non-medical settings such as the workplace. Workplace settings remain underutilised for delivering evidenced-based health services. This research aims to translate medical research into behavioural health-care practice in a telephonic call centre acting as a point of entry into an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The goal of the study is to examine the feasibility of implementing routine telephonic alcohol SBIRT in an EAP call centre and assess whether routine SBIRT results in increased identification of workers who misuse alcohol. The design was pretest-posttest, one-group, pre-experimental. An alcohol SBIRT program developed based on World Health Organization recommendations was implemented in one EAP call centre serving one large employer. Workers were offered screening using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) during intake, brief counselling using motivational interviewing, referral to counselling, and follow-up. At 5 months, 93% of workers contacting the EAP completed the AUDIT-C: 40% prescreened positive and 52% went on to screen at moderate or high risk for an alcohol problem. Overall identification rate (18%) approached general US population estimates. Most agreed to follow-up and three-quarters set an appointment for face-to-face counselling. Integration of routine alcohol SBIRT into EAP practice is feasible in telephonic delivery systems and increases identification and opportunity for brief motivational counselling. When SBIRT is seamlessly integrated workers are willing to answer questions about alcohol and participate in follow-up.[McPherson TL, Goplerud E, Derr D, Mickenberg J, Courtemanche S. Telephonic screening and brief intervention for alcohol misuse among workers contacting the employee assistance program: A feasibility study. © 2010 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Raman spectroscopy of graphene-based materials and its applications in related devices.

PubMed

Wu, Jiang-Bin; Lin, Miao-Ling; Cong, Xin; Liu, He-Nan; Tan, Ping-Heng

2018-03-05

Graphene-based materials exhibit remarkable electronic, optical, and mechanical properties, which has resulted in both high scientific interest and huge potential for a variety of applications. Furthermore, the family of graphene-based materials is growing because of developments in preparation methods. Raman spectroscopy is a versatile tool to identify and characterize the chemical and physical properties of these materials, both at the laboratory and mass-production scale. This technique is so important that most of the papers published concerning these materials contain at least one Raman spectrum. Thus, here, we systematically review the developments in Raman spectroscopy of graphene-based materials from both fundamental research and practical (i.e., device applications) perspectives. We describe the essential Raman scattering processes of the entire first- and second-order modes in intrinsic graphene. Furthermore, the shear, layer-breathing, G and 2D modes of multilayer graphene with different stacking orders are discussed. Techniques to determine the number of graphene layers, to probe resonance Raman spectra of monolayer and multilayer graphenes and to obtain Raman images of graphene-based materials are also presented. The extensive capabilities of Raman spectroscopy for the investigation of the fundamental properties of graphene under external perturbations are described, which have also been extended to other graphene-based materials, such as graphene quantum dots, carbon dots, graphene oxide, nanoribbons, chemical vapor deposition-grown and SiC epitaxially grown graphene flakes, composites, and graphene-based van der Waals heterostructures. These fundamental properties have been used to probe the states, effects, and mechanisms of graphene materials present in the related heterostructures and devices. We hope that this review will be beneficial in all the aspects of graphene investigations, from basic research to material synthesis and device applications.

School Employee Assistance Programs in New York State.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevens, R. Craig

1986-01-01

The article reports on the following aspects of employee assistance programs (EAPs), which are designed to counter employee personal problems that could impair work performance: 1) administrative views on EAPs; 2) district ratings of EAPs; 3) funding; 4) types of problems handled; and 5) success of the programs. (PS)

Managing Employee Assistance Programmes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidenberg, Olive C.; Cordery, John L.

1990-01-01

Interviews with 20 branch managers and 20 accountants in an Australian bank determined factors influencing the success of an employee assistance program (EAP). It was found that policies requiring supervisors to act against normal managerial practice doom EAPs to failure. Organizational analysis to integrate the EAP within existing organizational…

Employee assistance programs: a primer for buyer and seller.

PubMed

Dixon, K

1988-06-01

A growing number of firms in private industry now sponsor or contract with groups of mental health professionals to provide employee assistance programs (EAPs). Factors that have influenced the increasing demand for EAPs include corporations' humanitarian concern for employees with mental health problems, a desire to contain rising health costs and reduce corporate losses, and the need for effective supervisory systems for managing troubled employees. To assist corporate consumers in judging the quality of EAP services and to guide mental health practitioners who wish to enter the EAP field, criteria are provided for evaluating the following aspects of EAP programs: policy development, employee orientation, supervisor training, availability during nonbusiness hours, assessment and diagnostic services, crisis counseling, referral, quality assurance, program evaluation, and cost.

Development and validation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) based instructional material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gustiani, Ineu; Widodo, Ari; Suwarma, Irma Rahma

2017-05-01

This study is intended to examine the development and validation of simple machines instructional material that developed based on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) framework that provides guidance to help students learn and practice for real life and enable individuals to use knowledge and skills they need to be an informed citizen. Sample of this study consist of one class of 8th grader at a junior secondary school in Bandung, Indonesia. To measure student learning, a pre-test and post-test were given before and after implementation of the STEM based instructional material. In addition, a questionnaire of readability was given to examine the clarity and difficulty level of each page of instructional material. A questionnaire of students' response towards instructional material given to students and teachers at the end of instructional material reading session to measure layout aspects, content aspects and utility aspects of instructional material for being used in the junior secondary school classroom setting. The results show that readability aspect and students' response towards STEM based instructional material of STEM based instructional material is categorized as very high. Pretest and posttest responses revealed that students retained significant amounts information upon completion of the STEM instructional material. Student overall learning gain is 0.67 which is categorized as moderate. In summary, STEM based instructional material that was developed is valid enough to be used as educational materials necessary for conducting effective STEM education.

Competency-Based Education Curriculum for Machine Shop. Student Material.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Associated Educational Consultants, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA.

This publication contains the student material for the machine shop competency-based education curriculum for secondary students in West Virginia. It has been developed to facilitate the learning of skills necessary for a career as a machinist. The tasks in the curriculum are those actually performed on the job. The materials are intended for use…

Carbon-Based Functional Materials Derived from Waste for Water Remediation and Energy Storage.

PubMed

Ma, Qinglang; Yu, Yifu; Sindoro, Melinda; Fane, Anthony G; Wang, Rong; Zhang, Hua

2017-04-01

Carbon-based functional materials hold the key for solving global challenges in the areas of water scarcity and the energy crisis. Although carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene have shown promising results in various fields of application, their high preparation cost and low production yield still dramatically hinder their wide practical applications. Therefore, there is an urgent call for preparing carbon-based functional materials from low-cost, abundant, and sustainable sources. Recent innovative strategies have been developed to convert various waste materials into valuable carbon-based functional materials. These waste-derived carbon-based functional materials have shown great potential in many applications, especially as sorbents for water remediation and electrodes for energy storage. Here, the research progress in the preparation of waste-derived carbon-based functional materials is summarized, along with their applications in water remediation and energy storage; challenges and future research directions in this emerging research field are also discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Bottlebrush elastomers: a promising molecular engineering route to tunable, prestrain-free dielectric elastomers (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vatankhah-Varnosfaderani, Mohammad; Daniel, William F. M.; Zhushma, Alexandr P.; Li, Qiaoxi; Morgan, Benjamin J.; Matyjaszewski, Krzysztof; Armstrong, Daniel P.; Dobrynin, Andrey V.; Sheyko, Sergei S.; Spontak, Richard J.

2017-04-01

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) refer to a broad range of relatively soft materials that change size and/or shape upon application of an electrical stimulus. Of these, dielectric elastomers (DEs) generated from either chemically- or physically-crosslinked polymer networks afford the highest levels of electroactuation strain, thereby making this class of EAPs the leading technology for artificial-muscle applications. While mechanically prestraining elastic networks remarkably enhances DEs electroactuation, external prestrain protocols severely limit both actuator performance and device implementation due to gradual DE stress relaxation and the presence of a cumbersome load frame. These drawbacks have persisted with surprisingly minimal advances in the actuation of single-component elastomers since the dawn of the "pre-strain era" introduced by Pelrine et al. (Science, 2000). In this work, we present a bottom-up, molecular-based strategy for the design of prestrain-free (freestanding) DEs derived from covalently-crosslinked bottlebrush polymers. This architecture, wherein design factors such as crosslink density, graft density and graft length can all be independently controlled, yields inherently strained polymer networks that can be readily adapted to a variety of chemistries. To validate the use of these molecularly-tunable materials as DEs, we have synthesized a series of bottlebrush silicone elastomers in as-cast shapes. Examination of these materials reveals that they undergo giant electroactuation strains (>300%) at relatively low fields (<10 V/m), thereby outperforming all commercial DEs to date and opening new opportunities in responsive soft-material technologies (e.g., robotics). The molecular design approach to controlling (electro)mechanical developed here is independent of chemistry and permits access to an unprecedented range of actuation properties from elastomeric materials with traditionally modest electroactuation performance (e

Programmable and Multifunctional DNA-Based Materials for Biomedical Applications.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuezhou; Tu, Jing; Wang, Dongqing; Zhu, Haitao; Maity, Sajal Kumar; Qu, Xiangmeng; Bogaert, Bram; Pei, Hao; Zhang, Hongbo

2018-06-01

DNA encodes the genetic information; recently, it has also become a key player in material science. Given the specific Watson-Crick base-pairing interactions between only four types of nucleotides, well-designed DNA self-assembly can be programmable and predictable. Stem-loops, sticky ends, Holliday junctions, DNA tiles, and lattices are typical motifs for forming DNA-based structures. The oligonucleotides experience thermal annealing in a near-neutral buffer containing a divalent cation (usually Mg 2+ ) to produce a variety of DNA nanostructures. These structures not only show beautiful landscape, but can also be endowed with multifaceted functionalities. This Review begins with the fundamental characterization and evolutionary trajectory of DNA-based artificial structures, but concentrates on their biomedical applications. The coverage spans from controlled drug delivery to high therapeutic profile and accurate diagnosis. A variety of DNA-based materials, including aptamers, hydrogels, origamis, and tetrahedrons, are widely utilized in different biomedical fields. In addition, to achieve better performance and functionality, material hybridization is widely witnessed, and DNA nanostructure modification is also discussed. Although there are impressive advances and high expectations, the development of DNA-based structures/technologies is still hindered by several commonly recognized challenges, such as nuclease instability, lack of pharmacokinetics data, and relatively high synthesis cost. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Single Wall Carbon Nanotube-Based Structural Health Sensing Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watkins, A. Neal; Ingram, JoAnne L.; Jordan, Jeffrey D.; Wincheski, Russell A.; Smits, Jan M.; Williams, Phillip A.

2004-01-01

Single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-based materials represent the future aerospace vehicle construction material of choice based primarily on predicted strength-to-weight advantages and inherent multifunctionality. The multifunctionality of SWCNTs arises from the ability of the nanotubes to be either metallic or semi-conducting based on their chirality. Furthermore, simply changing the environment around a SWCNT can change its conducting behavior. This phenomenon is being exploited to create sensors capable of measuring several parameters related to vehicle structural health (i.e. strain, pressure, temperature, etc.) The structural health monitor is constructed using conventional electron-beam lithographic and photolithographic techniques to place specific electrode patterns on a surface. SWCNTs are then deposited between the electrodes using a dielectrophoretic alignment technique. Prototypes have been constructed on both silicon and polyimide substrates, demonstrating that surface-mountable and multifunctional devices based on SWCNTs can be realized.

Strain-dependent characterization of electrode and polymer network of electrically activated polymer actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Töpper, Tino; Osmani, Bekim; Weiss, Florian M.; Winterhalter, Carla; Wohlfender, Fabian; Leung, Vanessa; Müller, Bert

2015-04-01

Fecal incontinence describes the involuntary loss of bowel content and affects about 45 % of retirement home residents and overall more than 12 % of the adult population. Artificial sphincter implants for treating incontinence are currently based on mechanical systems with failure rates resulting in revision after three to five years. To overcome this drawback, artificial muscle sphincters based on bio-mimetic electro-active polymer (EAP) actuators are under development. Such implants require polymer films that are nanometer-thin, allowing actuation below 24 V, and electrodes that are stretchable, remaining conductive at strains of about 10 %. Strain-dependent resistivity measurements reveal an enhanced conductivity of 10 nm compared to 30 nm sputtered Au on silicone for strains higher than 5 %. Thus, strain-dependent morphology characterization with optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy could demonstrate these phenomena. Cantilever bending measurements are utilized to determine elastic/viscoelastic properties of the EAP films as well as their long-term actuation behavior. Controlling these properties enables the adjustment of growth parameters of nanometer-thin EAP actuators.

Nanocellulose-Based Materials for Water Purification

PubMed Central

Voisin, Hugo; Bergström, Lennart; Liu, Peng; Mathew, Aji P.

2017-01-01

Nanocellulose is a renewable material that combines a high surface area with high strength, chemical inertness, and versatile surface chemistry. In this review, we will briefly describe how nanocellulose is produced, and present—in particular, how nanocellulose and its surface modified versions affects the adsorption behavior of important water pollutants, e.g., heavy metal species, dyes, microbes, and organic molecules. The processing of nanocellulose-based membranes and filters for water purification will be described in detail, and the uptake capacity, selectivity, and removal efficiency will also be discussed. The processing and performance of nanocellulose-based membranes, which combine a high removal efficiency with anti-fouling properties, will be highlighted. PMID:28336891

Public Sector Employee Assistance Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemp, Donna R.; Verlinde, Beverly

This document discusses employee assistance programs (EAPs), programs which have been developed to help employees deal with personal problems that seriously affect job performance. It reviews literature which specifically addresses EAPs in the public sector, noting that there are no exact figures on how many public entities have EAPs. Previous…

Charge transport in metal oxide nanocrystal-based materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Runnerstrom, Evan Lars

There is probably no class of materials more varied, more widely used, or more ubiquitous than metal oxides. Depending on their composition, metal oxides can exhibit almost any number of properties. Of particular interest are the ways in which charge is transported in metal oxides: devices such as displays, touch screens, and smart windows rely on the ability of certain metal oxides to conduct electricity while maintaining visible transparency. Smart windows, fuel cells, and other electrochemical devices additionally rely on efficient transport of ionic charge in and around metal oxides. Colloidal synthesis has enabled metal oxide nanocrystals to emerge as a relatively new but highly tunable class of materials. Certain metal oxide nanocrystals, particularly highly doped metal oxides, have been enjoying rapid development in the last decade. As in myriad other materials systems, structure dictates the properties of metal oxide nanocrystals, but a full understanding of how nanocrystal synthesis, the processing of nanocrystal-based materials, and the structure of nanocrystals relate to the resulting properties of nanocrystal-based materials is still nascent. Gaining a fundamental understanding of and control over these structure-property relationships is crucial to developing a holistic understanding of metal oxide nanocrystals. The unique ability to tune metal oxide nanocrystals by changing composition through the introduction of dopants or by changing size and shape affords a way to study the interplay between structure, processing, and properties. This overall goal of this work is to chemically synthesize colloidal metal oxide nanocrystals, process them into useful materials, characterize charge transport in materials based on colloidal metal oxide nanocrystals, and develop ways to manipulate charge transport. In particular, this dissertation characterizes how the charge transport properties of metal oxide nanocrystal-based materials depend on their processing and

Photonuclear-based, nuclear material detection system for cargo containers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, J. L.; Yoon, W. Y.; Norman, D. R.; Haskell, K. J.; Zabriskie, J. M.; Watson, S. M.; Sterbentz, J. W.

2005-12-01

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been developing electron accelerator-based, photonuclear inspection technologies for over a decade. A current need, having important national implications, has been with the detection of smuggled nuclear material within air- and, especially, sea-cargo transportation containers. This paper describes the latest pulsed, photonuclear inspection system for nuclear material detection and identification in cargo configurations, the numerical responses of 5 kg of a nuclear material placed within selected cargo configurations, and the technology's potential role in addressing future inspection needs.

Modeling Deficits from Early Auditory Information Processing to Psychosocial Functioning in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Thomas, Michael L.; Green, Michael F.; Hellemann, Gerhard; Sugar, Catherine A.; Tarasenko, Melissa; Calkins, Monica E.; Greenwood, Tiffany A.; Gur, Raquel E.; Gur, Ruben C.; Lazzeroni, Laura C.; Nuechterlein, Keith H.; Radant, Allen D.; Seidman, Larry J.; Shiluk, Alexandra L.; Siever, Larry J.; Silverman, Jeremy M.; Sprock, Joyce; Stone, William S.; Swerdlow, Neal R.; Tsuang, Debby W.; Tsuang, Ming T.; Turetsky, Bruce I.; Braff, David L.; Light, Gregory A.

2017-01-01

Importance Neurophysiological measures of early auditory information processing (EAP) are used as endophenotypes in genomic studies and biomarkers in clinical intervention studies. Research in schizophrenia has established correlations among measures of EAP, cognition, clinical symptoms, and functional outcome. Clarifying these relationships by determining the pathways through which deficits in EAP affect functioning would suggest when and where to therapeutically intervene. Objective We sought to characterize the pathways from EAP to outcome and to estimate the extent to which enhancement of basic information processing might improve both cognition and psychosocial functioning in schizophrenia. Design Cross-sectional data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine the associations between EAP, cognition, negative symptoms, and functional outcome. Setting Participants were recruited from the community at five geographically distributed laboratories as part of the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia-2 (COGS-2). Participants This well-characterized cohort of schizophrenia patients (N = 1,415) underwent EAP and cognitive testing as well as thorough clinical and functional assessment. Main Outcome and Measures EAP was measured by mismatch negativity, P3a, and reorienting negativity. Cognition was measured by the Letter Number Span test and scales from the California Verbal Learning Test - Second Edition, the Wechsler Memory Scale Third Edition, and the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery. Negative symptoms were measured by the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Functional outcome was measured by the Role Functioning Scale. Results EAP had a direct effect on cognition (β = 0.37, p < .001), cognition had a direct effect on negative symptoms (β = −0.16, p < .001), and both cognition (β = 0.26, p < .001) and experiential negative symptoms (β = −0.75, p < .001) had direct effects on functional outcome. Overall, EAP had a

The Severity of Retinal Degeneration in Rp1h Gene-Targeted Mice Is Dependent on Genetic Background

PubMed Central

Liu, Qin; Saveliev, Alexei; Pierce, Eric A.

2009-01-01

Purpose The severity of disease in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) can vary significantly, even among patients with the same primary mutations. It is hypothesized that modifier genes play important roles in determining the severity of RP, including the retinitis pigmentosa 1 (RP1) form of disease. To investigate the basis of variation in disease expression for RP1 disease, the authors generated congenic mice with a gene-targeted retinitis pigmentosa 1 homolog (Rp1h) allele (Rp1htm1Eap) on several different genetic backgrounds and analyzed their retinal phenotypes. Methods The Rp1htm1Eap allele was placed onto the C57BL/6J, DBA1/J, and A/J backgrounds. Retinal function of the resultant congenic mice was evaluated using electroretino-graphic analyses. Retinal structure and ultrastructure were evaluated using light and electron microscopy. Rp1h protein location was determined with immunofluorescence microscopy. Results Analysis of the retinal phenotype of incipient congenic (N6) B6.129S-Rp1h+/tm1Eap, DBA.129S(B6)-Rp1h+/tm1Eap, and A.129S(B6)-Rp1h+/tm1Eap mice at 1 year of age showed retinal degeneration only in the A.129S(B6)-Rp1h+/tm1Eap mice. Further analyses revealed that the photoreceptors of the fully congenic A.129S(B6)-Rp1h+/tm1Eap mice show evidence of degeneration at 6 months of age and are almost completely lost by 18 months of age. In contrast, the photoreceptor cells in the fully congenic B6.129S-Rp1h+/tm1Eap mice remain healthy up to 18 months. Conclusions The severity of the retinal degeneration caused by the Rp1htm1Eap allele is notably dependent on genetic background. The development and characterization of the B6.129S-Rp1h+/tm1Eap and A.129S(B6)-Rp1h+/tm1Eap congenic mouse lines will facilitate identification of sequence alterations in genes that modify the severity of RP1 disease. PMID:19060274

The severity of retinal degeneration in Rp1h gene-targeted mice is dependent on genetic background.

PubMed

Liu, Qin; Saveliev, Alexei; Pierce, Eric A

2009-04-01

The severity of disease in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) can vary significantly, even among patients with the same primary mutations. It is hypothesized that modifier genes play important roles in determining the severity of RP, including the retinitis pigmentosa 1 (RP1) form of disease. To investigate the basis of variation in disease expression for RP1 disease, the authors generated congenic mice with a gene-targeted retinitis pigmentosa 1 homolog (Rp1h) allele (Rp1h(tm1Eap)) on several different genetic backgrounds and analyzed their retinal phenotypes. The Rp1h(tm1Eap) allele was placed onto the C57BL/6J, DBA1/J, and A/J backgrounds. Retinal function of the resultant congenic mice was evaluated using electroretinographic analyses. Retinal structure and ultrastructure were evaluated using light and electron microscopy. Rp1h protein location was determined with immunofluorescence microscopy. Analysis of the retinal phenotype of incipient congenic (N6) B6.129S-Rp1h(+/tm1Eap), DBA.129S(B6)-Rp1h(+/tm1Eap), and A.129S(B6)-Rp1h(+/tm1Eap) mice at 1 year of age showed retinal degeneration only in the A.129S(B6)-Rp1h(+/tm1Eap) mice. Further analyses revealed that the photoreceptors of the fully congenic A.129S(B6)-Rp1h(+/tm1Eap) mice show evidence of degeneration at 6 months of age and are almost completely lost by 18 months of age. In contrast, the photoreceptor cells in the fully congenic B6.129S-Rp1h(+/tm1Eap) mice remain healthy up to 18 months. The severity of the retinal degeneration caused by the Rp1h(tm1Eap) allele is notably dependent on genetic background. The development and characterization of the B6.129S-Rp1h(+/tm1Eap) and A.129S(B6)-Rp1h(+/tm1Eap) congenic mouse lines will facilitate identification of sequence alterations in genes that modify the severity of RP1 disease.

Super Dielectric Material Based Capacitors: Punched Membrane/Gel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petty, C. W.; Phillips, J.

2018-05-01

Extensive testing showed, as predicted, that punched membranes, filled with a gel containing aqueous salt solutions, behave as superdielectric materials (SDM). Punched membrane superdielectrics employed herein consisted of a commercial cellulose based membrane material, Celgard 16 μ thick, a material frequently used as a separator material in supercapacitors, into which macroscopic holes (ca. 2.5 mm) were punched with a laser cutter, and the holes subsequently filled with a gel-like material composed of fumed silica, NaCl and water. The gross dielectric constants measured, generally > 105, and the energy densities, > 40 J/cm3 during slow discharge, were in the range expected for superdielectric materials. The measured capacitance and energy density tracked the number of holes punched/area filled with the dielectric gel. Also, the observed power law decrease in all parameters including energy, power and capacitance, followed the same trends observed in other classes of SDM. Control studies included testing dielectrics composed of Celgard into which no holes were punched, but the SDM gel spread, also produced values consistent with the SDM model: no measurable capacitance using the standard protocol. Finally, the values measured suggest these materials rival the energy density of some common battery types at low discharge rates, and surpass the best commercial supercapacitors at low discharge rates.

Material processing with fiber based ultrafast pulse delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumbach, S.; Stockburger, R.; Führa, B.; Zoller, S.; Thum, S.; Moosmann, J.; Maier, D.; Kanal, F.; Russ, S.; Kaiser, E.; Budnicki, A.; Sutter, D. H.; Pricking, S.; Killi, A.

2018-02-01

We report on TRUMPF's ultrafast laser systems equipped with industrialized hollow core fiber laser light cables. Beam guidance in general by means of optical fibers, e.g. for multi kilowatt cw laser systems, has become an integral part of laser-based material processing. One advantage of fiber delivery, among others, is the mechanical separation between laser and processing head. An equally important benefit is given by the fact that the fiber end acts as an opto-mechanical fix-point close to successive optical elements in the processing head. Components like lenses, diffractive optical elements etc. can thus be designed towards higher efficiency which results in better material processing. These aspects gain increasing significance when the laser system operates in fundamental mode which is usually the case for ultrafast lasers. Through the last years beam guidance of ultrafast laser pulses by means of hollow core fiber technology established very rapidly. The combination of TRUMPF's long-term stable ultrafast laser sources, passive fiber coupling, connector and packaging forms a flexible and powerful system for laser based material processing well suited for an industrial environment. In this article we demonstrate common material processing applications with ultrafast lasers realized with TRUMPF's hollow core fiber delivery. The experimental results are contrasted and evaluated against conventional free space propagation in order to illustrate the performance of flexible ultrafast beam delivery.

Design and evaluation of foamed asphalt base materials : [research summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-05-01

Foamed asphalt stabilized base (FASB) combines reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), : recycled concrete (RC), and/or graded aggregate base (GAB) with a foamed asphalt : binder to produce a partially stabilized base material. Although widely used, most :...

Materials Integration and Doping of Carbon Nanotube-based Logic Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geier, Michael

Over the last 20 years, extensive research into the structure and properties of single- walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) has elucidated many of the exceptional qualities possessed by SWCNTs, including record-setting tensile strength, excellent chemical stability, distinctive optoelectronic features, and outstanding electronic transport characteristics. In order to exploit these remarkable qualities, many application-specific hurdles must be overcome before the material can be implemented in commercial products. For electronic applications, recent advances in sorting SWCNTs by electronic type have enabled significant progress towards SWCNT-based integrated circuits. Despite these advances, demonstrations of SWCNT-based devices with suitable characteristics for large-scale integrated circuits have been limited. The processing methodologies, materials integration, and mechanistic understanding of electronic properties developed in this dissertation have enabled unprecedented scales of SWCNT-based transistor fabrication and integrated circuit demonstrations. Innovative materials selection and processing methods are at the core of this work and these advances have led to transistors with the necessary transport properties required for modern circuit integration. First, extensive collaborations with other research groups allowed for the exploration of SWCNT thin-film transistors (TFTs) using a wide variety of materials and processing methods such as new dielectric materials, hybrid semiconductor materials systems, and solution-based printing of SWCNT TFTs. These materials were integrated into circuit demonstrations such as NOR and NAND logic gates, voltage-controlled ring oscillators, and D-flip-flops using both rigid and flexible substrates. This dissertation explores strategies for implementing complementary SWCNT-based circuits, which were developed by using local metal gate structures that achieve enhancement-mode p-type and n-type SWCNT TFTs with widely separated and