Aspergillus fumigatus in Poultry

PubMed Central

Arné, Pascal; Thierry, Simon; Wang, Dongying; Deville, Manjula; Le Loc'h, Guillaume; Desoutter, Anaïs; Féménia, Françoise; Nieguitsila, Adélaïde; Huang, Weiyi; Chermette, René; Guillot, Jacques

2011-01-01

Aspergillus fumigatus remains a major respiratory pathogen in birds. In poultry, infection by A. fumigatus may induce significant economic losses particularly in turkey production. A. fumigatus develops and sporulates easily in poor quality bedding or contaminated feedstuffs in indoor farm environments. Inadequate ventilation and dusty conditions increase the risk of bird exposure to aerosolized spores. Acute cases are seen in young animals following inhalation of spores, causing high morbidity and mortality. The chronic form affects older birds and looks more sporadic. The respiratory tract is the primary site of A. fumigatus development leading to severe respiratory distress and associated granulomatous airsacculitis and pneumonia. Treatments for infected poultry are nonexistent; therefore, prevention is the only way to protect poultry. Development of avian models of aspergillosis may improve our understanding of its pathogenesis, which remains poorly understood. PMID:21826144

Kurtosis: A Forgotten Moment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McAlevey, Lynn G.; Stent, Alan F.

2018-01-01

The treatment of kurtosis in textbooks is both sparse and contradictory with applications rarely discussed. To address this, an easily understood definition of kurtosis is introduced and important applications are demonstrated. Two different approaches to teaching kurtosis are presented based on a financial application.

Geometric analysis of an observer on a spherical earth and an aircraft or satellite

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-09-30

This memorandum contains a large amount of technical detail. However, in significant contrast, : it addresses an easily-understood and fundamental need in surveillance and navigation systems : analysis quantifying the geometry of two locations re...

Transparency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaFee, Scott

2009-01-01

Citizens now expect access to information, particularly from public institutions like local school districts. They demand input and accountability. Cultural and technological changes, such as the Internet, make it possible for districts to comply. Yet transparency--the easily seen and understood actions of a school district and the thinking behind…

Revitalizing Space Operations through Total Quality Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baylis, William T.

1995-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to show the reader what total quality management (TQM) is and how to apply TQM in the space systems and management arena. TQM is easily understood, can be implemented in any type of business organization, and works.

Usability Testing: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chisman, Janet; Walbridge, Sharon; Diller, Karen

1999-01-01

Discusses the development and results of usability testing of Washington State University's Web-based OPAC (online public access catalog); examines how easily users could navigate the catalog and whether they understood what they were seeing; and identifies problems and what action if any was taken. (LRW)

Relative risk analysis of the use of radiation-emitting medical devices: A preliminary application

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

Jones, E.D.

This report describes the development of a risk analysis approach for evaluating the use of radiation-emitting medial devices. This effort was performed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The assessment approach has bee applied to understand the risks in using the Gamma Knife, a gamma irradiation therapy device. This effort represents an initial step to evaluate the potential role of risk analysis for developing regulations and quality assurance requirements in the use of nuclear medical devices. The risk approach identifies and assesses the most likely risk contributors and their relative importance for the medicalmore » system. The approach uses expert screening techniques and relative risk profiling to incorporate the type, quality, and quantity of data available and to present results in an easily understood form.« less

Areally Extensive Surface Bedrock Exposures on Mars: Many Are Clastic Rocks, Not Lavas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, A. Deanne; Warner, Nicholas H.; Golombek, Matthew P.; Head, James W.; Cowart, Justin C.

2018-02-01

Areally extensive exposures of intact olivine/pyroxene-enriched rock, as well as feldspar-enriched rock, are found in isolated locations throughout the Martian highlands. The petrogenetic origin(s) of these rock units are not well understood, but some previous studies favored an effusive volcanic origin partly on the basis of distinctive composition and relatively high thermal inertia. Here we show that the regolith development, crater retention, and morphological characteristics for many of these "bedrock plains" are not consistent with competent lavas and reinterpret the high thermal inertia orbital signatures to represent friable materials that are more easily kept free of comminution products through eolian activity. Candidate origins include pyroclastic rocks, impact-generated materials, or detrital sedimentary rocks. Olivine/pyroxene enrichments in bedrock plains relative to surrounding materials could have potentially formed through deflation and preferential removal of plagioclase.

The mineralogy and formation processes of Mars soil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banin, Amos

1992-01-01

The mineralogical nature of Mars soil is far from being understood, nor are the formation time and weathering processes known. Quantitatively, the two major mineral-forming elements in Mars soil are silicon and iron, constituting 44 and 19 percent of the soils as SiO4 and Fe2O3, respectively. The silicate phases have been studied only briefly, mostly because of their limited spectral fingerprinting in the VIS and NIR. Much attention was given to the iron minerals in the soil, due to their pronounced absorption in the VIS and NIR, making them easily detectable by telescopic observations. The available information on Mars soil mineralogy, mostly obtained by remote sensing, is reviewed, and it is hypothesized that it leads to the suggestion that nanophase short-range-order (amorphous) phases of the silicates and iron oxides abound in the soil.

Structures far from the head of comet Kohoutek. II - A discussion of the Swan Cloud of January 11 and of the general morphology of cometary plasma tails

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Niedner, M. B., Jr.; Brandt, J. C.

1980-01-01

Photographs show that the 'Swan Cloud' observed in comet Kohoutek on January 11, 1974 was an advanced stage of a plasma tail disconnection event, of which the rejected tail appeared to decelerate as it receded from the head. The event commenced with the development of strong tail ray activity followed by the actual tail disconnection, the merging of the disconnected tail with the new tail to form the Swan and the formation of arcade loops in the space between closing tail rays. The observed morphological sequence is easily understood in the sector boundary model (Niedner et al., 1978), and the arcade loops are proposed to be reconnected flux tubes between oppositely polarized tail rays in the incipient new tail which followed the disconnection

Task-oriented display design - Concept and example

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

1989-01-01

The general topic was in the area of display design alternatives for improved man-machine performance. The intent was to define and assess a display design concept oriented toward providing this task-oriented information. The major focus of this concept deals with the processing of data into parameters that are more relevant to the task of the human operator. Closely coupled to this concept of relevant information is the form or manner in which this information is actually presented. Conventional forms of presentation are normally a direct representation of the underlying data. By providing information in a form that is more easily assimilated and understood, a reduction in human error and cognitive workload may be obtained. A description of this proposed concept with a design example is provided. The application for the example was an engine display for a generic, twin-engine civil transport aircraft. The product of this concept was evaluated against a functionally similar, traditional display. The results of this evaluation showed that a task-oriented approach to design is a viable concept with regard to reducing user error and cognitive workload. The goal of this design process, providing task-oriented information to the user, both in content and form, appears to be a feasible mechanism for increasing the overall performance of a man-machine system.

Task-oriented display design: Concept and example

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

1989-01-01

The general topic was in the area of display design alternatives for improved man-machine performance. The intent was to define and assess a display design concept oriented toward providing this task-oriented information. The major focus of this concept deals with the processing of data into parameters that are more relevant to the task of the human operator. Closely coupled to this concept of relevant information is the form or manner in which this information is actually presented. Conventional forms of presentation are normally a direct representation of the underlying data. By providing information in a form that is more easily assimilated and understood, a reduction in human error and cognitive workload may be obtained. A description of this proposed concept with a design example is provided. The application for the example was an engine display for a generic, twin-engine civil transport aircraft. The product of this concept was evaluated against a functionally similar, traditional display. The results of this evaluation showed that a task-oriented approach to design is a viable concept with regard to reducing user error and cognitive workload. The goal of this design process, providing task-oriented information to the user, both in content and form, appears to be a feasible mechanism for increasing the overall performance of a man-machine system.

The Microcomputer and Instruction in Geometry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kantowski, Mary Grace

1981-01-01

The microcomputer has great potential for making high school geometry more stimulating and more easily understood by the students. The microcomputer can facilitate instruction in both the logico-deductive and spatial-visual aspects of geometry through graphics representations, simulation of motion, and its capability of interacting with the…

Multilingual Rehabilitation Terminology. A Preliminary Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner. , Elizabeth M.

In rehabilitation, the team approach demands harmonious communication among practitioners of many professions and occupations at many different levels. Technical terminology needs to be concurrently understood or able to be explained easily. Although rehabilitation terminology is still somewhat in a state of flux, enough terms have been identified…

Fluorine-containing composition for forming anti-reflection film on resist surface and pattern formation method

DOEpatents

Nishi, Mineo; Makishima, Hideo

1996-01-01

A composition for forming anti-reflection film on resist surface which comprises an aqueous solution of a water soluble fluorine compound, and a pattern formation method which comprises the steps of coating a photoresist composition on a substrate; coating the above-mentioned composition for forming anti-reflection film; exposing the coated film to form a specific pattern; and developing the photoresist, are provided. Since the composition for forming anti-reflection film can be coated on the photoresist in the form of an aqueous solution, not only the anti-reflection film can be formed easily, but also, the film can be removed easily by rinsing with water or alkali development. Therefore, by the pattern formation method according to the present invention, it is possible to form a pattern easily with a high dimensional accuracy.

Stateline: Critical Mass

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christie, Kathy

2005-01-01

In Physics "critical mass" refers to the minimum amount of fissionable material required to sustain a chain reaction. The adoption of state education policy isn't often equated with this concept, but occasionally solutions and ideas seem to gather around a common problem. If the solution at hand is simple, easily understood, and…

A Critique of Kirkpatrick's Evaluation Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reio, Thomas G., Jr.; Rocco, Tonette S.; Smith, Douglas H.; Chang, Elegance

2017-01-01

Donald Kirkpatrick published a series of articles originating from his doctoral dissertation in the late 1950s describing a four-level training evaluation model. From its beginning, it was easily understood and became one of the most influential evaluation models impacting the field of HRD. While well received and popular, the Kirkpatrick model…

Math + Science: A Solution. Introductory Investigations. Book 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiebe, Arthur, Ed.; And Others

Developed for use primarily with middle school age students, this introductory booklet provides a sample of innovative activities that integrate mathematics skills with science processes. The investigations employ a wide variety of readily available and easily understood materials. The 25 activities are sequenced from simple to complex according…

When Students Cut Themselves

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malikow, Max

2006-01-01

Masochism, the irrational self-infliction of pain, is more easily defined than understood. Once, a teacher used the word "cutting" only reference to a student skipping class. But, in recent years, it has taken on additional meaning. Cutting, or self-injury, is a deliberate self-harming behavior but without conscious suicidal ideation. To define…

Metrics in Career Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindbeck, John R.

The United States is rapidly becoming a metric nation. Industry, education, business, and government are all studying the issue of metrication to learn how they can prepare for it. The book is designed to help teachers and students in career education programs learn something about metrics. Presented in an easily understood manner, the textbook's…

The Language of Chemistry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bretz, Stacey Lowery; Meinwald, Jerrold

2002-01-01

Describes a new curriculum called The Language of Chemistry designed to illustrate how problems of biological and/or medical importance can be understood on a molecular basis and to show that the logic, knowledge, and language needed are easily accessible. Among the case studies in the curriculum are the giant peacock moth, bacterial chemotaxis,…

Targeting Efficient Studying--First-Semester Psychology Students' Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Öhrstedt, Maria; Scheja, Max

2018-01-01

Background: How students go about studying, including the learning activities that students engage in both during and between classes, is not easily understood. Previous research indicates that critical student features, such as approaches to learning and decisions of how to organise studying activities, develop in bidirectional interactions…

Crystal Projections on Balloons for an Introductory Mineralogy Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karfunkel, Barbara

1984-01-01

Discusses how the concept of crystallography, especially the relationship between spherical and stereographic projections of crystals, is more easily understood by undergraduate students if they make spherical projections of crystals. Recommends using transparent balloons and a felt-tipped marker to denote the locations of crystal axes, face…

Guidelines for Document Designers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felker, Daniel B.; And Others

Intended to improve the quality of public documents by making them clearer to the people who use them, this book contains document design principles concerned with writing documents that are visually distinct, attractive, and easily understood. Following an introduction, the major portion of the book presents the 25 principles, each of which…

Dollars for Dreams: Student Affairs Staff as Fundraisers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penney, Sophie W.; Rose, Barbara B.

This publication provides an educational tool for student affairs professionals involved in fundraising. It is designed to be easily accessible and understood by those with little experience with fundraising, and it will also serve as a useful resource for student affairs professionals who have partnered with fundraisers to, or who themselves…

The LBI Standard for Library Binding: The Glossary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parisi, Paul A.; Terrill-Oldham, Jan

1986-01-01

Contains a glossary of 33 terms for book preservation intended for use with the text of the eighth edition of "Library Binding Institute Standard for Library Binding." It defines words not easily understood by laypersons that actually appear in the standards and should be used along with the illustrations. (EM)

Chiral susceptibility and the scalar Ward identity.

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

Chang, L.; Liu, Y.-X.; Roberts, C. D.

2009-03-01

The chiral susceptibility is given by the scalar vacuum polarization at zero total momentum. This follows directly from the expression for the vacuum quark condensate so long as a nonperturbative symmetry preserving truncation scheme is employed. For QCD in-vacuum the susceptibility can rigorously be defined via a Pauli-Villars regularization procedure. Owing to the scalar Ward identity, irrespective of the form or Ansatz for the kernel of the gap equation, the consistent scalar vertex at zero total momentum can automatically be obtained and hence the consistent susceptibility. This enables calculation of the chiral susceptibility for markedly different vertex Ansaetze. For themore » two cases considered, the results were consistent and the minor quantitative differences easily understood. The susceptibility can be used to demarcate the domain of coupling strength within a theory upon which chiral symmetry is dynamically broken. Degenerate massless scalar and pseudoscalar bound-states appear at the critical coupling for dynamical chiral symmetry breaking.« less

Chiral susceptibility and the scalar Ward identity

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

Chang Lei; Liu Yuxin; Center of Theoretical Nuclear Physics, National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator, Lanzhou 730000

2009-03-15

The chiral susceptibility is given by the scalar vacuum polarization at zero total momentum. This follows directly from the expression for the vacuum quark condensate so long as a nonperturbative symmetry preserving truncation scheme is employed. For QCD in-vacuum the susceptibility can rigorously be defined via a Pauli-Villars regularization procedure. Owing to the scalar Ward identity, irrespective of the form or Ansatz for the kernel of the gap equation, the consistent scalar vertex at zero total momentum can automatically be obtained and hence the consistent susceptibility. This enables calculation of the chiral susceptibility for markedly different vertex Ansaetze. For themore » two cases considered, the results were consistent and the minor quantitative differences easily understood. The susceptibility can be used to demarcate the domain of coupling strength within a theory upon which chiral symmetry is dynamically broken. Degenerate massless scalar and pseudoscalar bound-states appear at the critical coupling for dynamical chiral symmetry breaking.« less

Tutorial: simulating chromatography with Microsoft Excel Macros.

PubMed

Kadjo, Akinde; Dasgupta, Purnendu K

2013-04-22

Chromatography is one of the cornerstones of modern analytical chemistry; developing an instinctive feeling for how chromatography works will be invaluable to future generation of chromatographers. Specialized software programs exist that handle and manipulate chromatographic data; there are also some that simulate chromatograms. However, the algorithm details of such software are not transparent to a beginner. In contrast, how spreadsheet tools like Microsoft Excel™ work is well understood and the software is nearly universally available. We show that the simple repetition of an equilibration process at each plate (a spreadsheet row) followed by discrete movement of the mobile phase down by a row, easily automated by a subroutine (a "Macro" in Excel), readily simulates chromatography. The process is readily understood by a novice. Not only does this permit simulation of isocratic and simple single step gradient elution, linear or multistep gradients are also easily simulated. The versatility of a transparent and easily understandable computational platform further enables the simulation of complex but commonly encountered chromatographic scenarios such as the effects of nonlinear isotherms, active sites, column overloading, on-column analyte degradation, etc. These are not as easily simulated by available software. Views of the separation as it develops on the column and as it is seen by an end-column detector are both available in real time. Excel 2010™ also permits a 16-level (4-bit) color gradation of numerical values in a column/row; this permits visualization of a band migrating down the column, much as Tswett may have originally observed, but in a numerical domain. All parameters of relevance (partition constants, elution conditions, etc.) are readily changed so their effects can be examined. Illustrative Excel spreadsheets are given in the Supporting Information; these are easily modified by the user or the user can write his/her own routine. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Commonsense Conceptions of Emergent Processes: Why Some Misconceptions Are Robust

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chi, Michelene T. H.

2005-01-01

This article offers a plausible domain-general explanation for why some concepts of processes are resistant to instructional remediation although other, apparently similar concepts are more easily understood. The explanation assumes that processes may differ in ontological ways: that some processes (such as the apparent flow in diffusion of dye in…

26 CFR 1.402(f)-1 - Required explanation of eligible rollover distributions; questions and answers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... in a series of periodic payments that are eligible rollover distributions? Q-4: May a plan... a reasonable period of time before making an eligible rollover distribution, to provide the...(f) notice must be designed to be easily understood and must explain the following: the rules under...

75 FR 36589 - Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; Amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act Regulations-Definitions...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-28

... regulatory research into the operation of the prepaid industry, we have encountered a number of distinct...: (1) Establish written AML programs that are reasonably designed to prevent the MSB from being used to... limitations of descriptive terms are easily understood. The term ``stored value'' gained a foothold following...

Forum Guide to School Courses for the Exchange of Data (SCED) Classification System. NFES 2014-802

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Forum on Education Statistics, 2014

2014-01-01

An individual student's educational experience often includes multiple transitions: progressing through K12 school levels, transitioning to postsecondary education or the workforce, and sometimes changing schools. It is important for both the student and the school systems that course information be easily understood and transferrable through each…

Derivative, Maxima and Minima in a Graphical Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rivera-Figueroa, Antonio; Ponce-Campuzano, Juan Carlos

2013-01-01

A deeper learning of the properties and applications of the derivative for the study of functions may be achieved when teachers present lessons within a highly graphic context, linking the geometric illustrations to formal proofs. Each concept is better understood and more easily retained when it is presented and explained visually using graphs.…

A Community Survey of the "Disadvantaged."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaumburg, Gary F.; Spriggs, Ted

The specific goals of this study were: (1) to develop a survey instrument for both the English and Spanish speaking that would be understood easily and be nonthreatening; (2) through the use of community representatives, select "items" to be included in the questionnaire that would be particularly relevant to the needs and problems of…

Transient Analysis Generator /TAG/ simulates behavior of large class of electrical networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, W. J.

1967-01-01

Transient Analysis Generator program simulates both transient and dc steady-state behavior of a large class of electrical networks. It generates a special analysis program for each circuit described in an easily understood and manipulated programming language. A generator or preprocessor and a simulation system make up the TAG system.

Effective Mathematics Teaching: Remediation Strategies: Grades K-5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clayton, Gypsy Abbott; And Others

This handbook is intended to contribute to the development of a theory of remedial instruction that can be easily understood and assimilated by teachers. The document evolved from research and workshop activity over a period of several years. It is designed for use by those with instructional or supervisory reponsibilities in elementary schools,…

32 CFR 505.4 - Collecting personal information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... language that is explicit, easily understood, and not so lengthy as to deter an individual from reading it... records notice(s). If none, the language to be used is: “Routine Use(s): None. However the ‘Blanket... requested information; (ii) Within the body with a notation of its location below the title; (iii) On the...

32 CFR 505.4 - Collecting personal information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... language that is explicit, easily understood, and not so lengthy as to deter an individual from reading it... records notice(s). If none, the language to be used is: “Routine Use(s): None. However the ‘Blanket... requested information; (ii) Within the body with a notation of its location below the title; (iii) On the...

32 CFR 505.4 - Collecting personal information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... language that is explicit, easily understood, and not so lengthy as to deter an individual from reading it... records notice(s). If none, the language to be used is: “Routine Use(s): None. However the ‘Blanket... requested information; (ii) Within the body with a notation of its location below the title; (iii) On the...

Directions in Mental Health Counseling, 1992.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Directions in Mental Health Counseling, 1992

1992-01-01

A collection of 12 lessons, this volume covers a wide range of concerns in mental health counseling. Each piece begins with an editorial comment, followed by an introduction which outlines the scope of the problem under consideration. The main body of each paper presents a clear, easily understood analysis of the subject under consideration. A…

Painting a picture across the landscape with ModelMap

Treesearch

Brian Cooke; Elizabeth Freeman; Gretchen Moisen; Tracey Frescino

2017-01-01

Scientists and statisticians working for the Rocky Mountain Research Station have created a software package that simplifies and automates many of the processes needed for converting models into maps. This software package, called ModelMap, has helped a variety of specialists and land managers to quickly convert data into easily understood graphical images. The...

Computers and Information Flow.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patrick, R. L.

This paper is designed to fill the need for an easily understood introduction to the computing and data processing field for the layman who has, or can expect to have, some contact with it. Information provided includes the unique terminology and jargon of the field, the various types of computers and the scope of computational capabilities, and…

UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education. UPDATE Yearbook

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2005

2005-01-01

The Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 issues of "UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education," in one print volume, presents hard facts and statistical data in a style that can be easily understood and appreciated by music researchers, teachers, graduates, and undergraduates alike. Includes advice to first-year music teachers, instrument…

Medical Terminology: A Phonological Analysis for Teaching English Pronunciation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jabbour-Lagocki, Judith

1992-01-01

A phonological analysis of medical terminology was developed as an answer to pleas from students in medical English courses in Austria. The analysis can serve as a model for other sciences in which a comparable predicament exists: Graeco-Latinate terms are readily understood when written, but not easily recognized when spoken. (JL)

Bottom-Up Analysis of Single-Case Research Designs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Richard I.; Vannest, Kimberly J.

2012-01-01

This paper defines and promotes the qualities of a "bottom-up" approach to single-case research (SCR) data analysis. Although "top-down" models, for example, multi-level or hierarchical linear models, are gaining momentum and have much to offer, interventionists should be cautious about analyses that are not easily understood, are not governed by…

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

Saunders, P.

The majority of general-purpose low-temperature handheld radiation thermometers are severely affected by the size-of-source effect (SSE). Calibration of these instruments is pointless unless the SSE is accounted for in the calibration process. Traditional SSE measurement techniques, however, are costly and time consuming, and because the instruments are direct-reading in temperature, traditional SSE results are not easily interpretable, particularly by the general user. This paper describes a simplified method for measuring the SSE, suitable for second-tier calibration laboratories and requiring no additional equipment, and proposes a means of reporting SSE results on a calibration certificate that should be easily understood bymore » the non-specialist user.« less

26 CFR 1.402(f)-1 - Required explanation of eligible rollover distributions; questions and answers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... each distribution in a series of periodic payments that are eligible rollover distributions? Q-4: May a... required, within a reasonable period of time before making an eligible rollover distribution, to provide... section 402(f) notice must be designed to be easily understood and must explain the following: the rules...

Using Google Earth to Teach the Magnitude of Deep Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Joel D.

2011-01-01

Most timeline analogies of geologic and evolutionary time are fundamentally flawed. They trade off the problem of grasping very long times for the problem of grasping very short distances. The result is an understanding of relative time with little comprehension of absolute time. Earlier work has shown that the distances most easily understood by…

42 CFR 417.124 - Administration and management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... various age, social, and income groups within its service area. (2) If an HMO has a medically underserved... easily understood by the average person who might enroll in the HMO. (ii) The description of benefits and... meaning it is given in the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) at 29 U.S.C. 1002(16...

Keeping Timbre in Mind: Working Memory for Complex Sounds that Can't Be Verbalized

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golubock, Jason L.; Janata, Petr

2013-01-01

Properties of auditory working memory for sounds that lack strong semantic associations and are not readily verbalized or sung are poorly understood. We investigated auditory working memory capacity for lists containing 2-6 easily discriminable abstract sounds synthesized within a constrained timbral space, at delays of 1-6 s (Experiment 1), and…

Research-Practice Partnerships: Building Engagement to Benefit Children and Youth. Social Policy Report Brief. Volume 30, Issue 4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bridgman, Anne

2017-01-01

Gaps exist between research and practice, with some researchers expressing frustration that practitioners do not use or misuse research findings, and some practitioners saying research is not relevant to their work or not easily accessible or understood. In research-practice partnerships, which have proliferated recently, researchers and…

A Flush Toilet Model for the Transistor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organtini, Giovanni

2012-01-01

In introductory physics textbooks, diodes working principles are usually well described in a relatively simple manner. According to our experience, they are well understood by students. Even when no formal derivation of the physics laws governing the current flow through a diode is given, the use of this device as a check valve is easily accepted.…

America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2017

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2017

2017-01-01

This report is a compendium of indicators about our Nation's young people. The report, the 20th produced by the Forum, presents 41 key indicators on important aspects of children's lives. These indicators are drawn from the most reliable Federal statistics, are easily understood by broad audiences, are objectively based on substantial research,…

Modular Engine Instrumentation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rice, W. J.; Birchenough, A. G.

1982-01-01

System that provides information and measurements never obtained before in real time has been developed. System shows not only real-time measurements but also results of computations of key combustion parameters in meaningful and easily understood display. Standard commercially-available shaft encoder plus data from pressure transducer act as principal drivers to device. Eventually, modular system could be developed into onboard controller for automobile engines.

Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice and Technical Appendix. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

This report on crime and justice aims to present statistical information in a format that can be easily understood by a nontechnical audience. It uses graphics and a nontechnical format to bring together data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports, the Bureau of the Census, the National…

E-ducating the Gaze: The Idea of a Poor Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masschelein, Jan

2010-01-01

Educating the gaze is easily understood as becoming conscious about what is "really" happening in the world and becoming aware of the way our gaze is itself bound to a perspective and particular position. However, the paper explores a different idea. It understands educating the gaze not in the sense of "educare" (teaching) but of "e-ducere" as…

A Clash of Symbols: An Analysis of Competing Images and Arguments in the AIDS Controversy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilder, Eric

Efforts to contain the spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) have been slowed by numerous arguing factions, political, religious, and medical, all of which perceive the AIDS epidemic through a different set of symbols. The images can be more easily understood using Kenneth Boulding's Threat, Integry, and Exchange (or TIE) model. The…

Requirements for Realizing the Full Potential of Informatics in the Field of Health Care.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wittenstrom, John C.

1991-01-01

The paper proposes a zero concept, health-oriented approach to applying informatics to two health care problems: first, the lack of easily understood and used terminology linking health problems and interventions to the concept of "health"; and second, the lack of a unifying principle on which to base all aspects of health care. (DB)

Research-Practice Partnerships: Building Two-Way Streets of Engagement. Social Policy Report. Volume 30, Number 4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tseng, Vivian; Easton, John Q.; Supplee, Lauren H.

2017-01-01

People have long bemoaned the silos of research and practice. Researchers express frustration that practitioners do not use or misuse research. Practitioners respond that research is not relevant to their work, or is not easily accessible or understood. Research-Practice Partnerships (RPPs) across the country are seeking to undo these patterns.…

Quantifying the Personal Creative Experience: Evaluation of Digital Creativity Support Tools Using Self-Report and Physiological Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carroll, Erin Ashley

2013-01-01

Creativity is understood intuitively, but it is not easily defined and therefore difficult to measure. This makes it challenging to evaluate the ability of a digital tool to support the creative process. When evaluating creativity support tools (CSTs), it is critical to look beyond traditional time, error, and other productivity measurements that…

Fate of Hexazinone and Picloram After Herbicide Site Preparation in a Cutover Northern Hardwood Forest

Treesearch

D.G. Neary; J.L. Michael; M.J.M. Wells

1985-01-01

Herbicides show promise to improve the efficiency and economics of forest stand conversion and regeneration. However, the impacts of herbicides on forest ecosystems and the ultimate fate of these chemicals are not completely understood. A major problem in pine regeneration in northern mixed hardwood forests is competition from fast-growing and easily sprouting species...

Teaching Students about Performance Anxiety: The Scratch Pad Pop-Up Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Donald U.; Eisensmith, Kevin E.

2010-01-01

Performance anxiety is a common problem for many students and an issue that educators often address. This article examines a model of performance anxiety based on working memory and attentional processes. The model is described in a way that is easily understood by students of all ages. It is then used to classify methods of reducing performance…

A Study to Determine the Contribution Made by Concept Maps to a Computer Architecture and Organization Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydogan, Tuncay; Ergun, Serap

2016-01-01

Concept mapping is a method of graphical learning that can be beneficial as a study method for concept linking and organization. Concept maps, which provide an elegant, easily understood representation of an expert's domain knowledge, are tools for organizing and representing knowledge. These tools have been used in educational environments to…

Understanding the Role of Today's School Principal: A Primer for Bridging Theory to Practice, Second Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kellough, Richard D.; Hill, Phillys

2014-01-01

The second edition of this handbook is an easily understood desk companion for new school principals and aspiring school leaders. The common-sense approach of the handbook guides new administrators through daily routines and challenges. In-service and university professionals, who provide coursework that includes a multi-topic overview of the…

Three-Dimensional Nuclear Chart--Understanding Nuclear Physics and Nucleosynthesis in Stars

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koura, Hiroyuki

2014-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) nuclear charts were created using toy blocks, which represent the atomic masses per nucleon number and the total half-lives for each nucleus in the entire region of the nuclear mass. The bulk properties of the nuclei can be easily understood by using these charts. Subsequently, these charts were used in outreach activities…

A Linguistic Framework for Assessing the Quality of Written Patient Information: Its Use in Assessing Methotrexate Information for Rheumatoid Arthritis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clerehan, Rosemary; Buchbinder, Rachelle; Moodie, Jane

2005-01-01

Patient information leaflets are an important adjunct to verbal exchange between doctor and patient. Their value is dependent upon whether they contain useful information from the viewpoint of the patient and are easily understood. We developed a framework based upon linguistic theory for assessing the quality of written patient information and…

The Meta Language of Accounting: What's the Level of Students' Understanding?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elson, Raymond J.; O'Callaghan, Susanne; Walker, John P.; Williams, Robert

2013-01-01

Students rely on rote knowledge to learn accounting concepts. However, this approach does not allow them to understanding the meta language of accounting. Meta language is simply the concepts and terms that are used in a profession and are easily understood by its users. Terms such as equity, assets, and balance sheet are part of the accounting…

A Proposal for Integrating Research and Teacher Professional Preparation: Innovation and Induction Corridors. White Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donovan, M. Suzanne

2015-01-01

In this white paper, the author addresses the current issues faced by policy makers for improving the K-12 education system in the United States. Reliance had been on: (1) incentives; and (2) accountability standards. These two policy levers promised a quick, easily understood response for a relatively small investment. While the logic of these…

Crevasse Splays Versus Avulsions: A Recipe for Land Building With Levee Breaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nienhuis, Jaap H.; Törnqvist, Torbjörn E.; Esposito, Christopher R.

2018-05-01

Natural-levee breaches can not only initiate an avulsion but also, under the right circumstances, lead to crevasse splay formation and overbank sedimentation. The formative conditions for crevasse splays are not well understood, yet such river sediment diversions form an integral part of billion-dollar coastal restoration projects. Here we use Delft3D to investigate the influence of vegetation and soil consolidation on the evolution of a natural-levee breach. Model simulations show that crevasse splays heal because floodplain aggradation reduces the water surface slope, decreasing water discharge into the flood basin. Easily erodible and unvegetated floodplains increase the likelihood for channel avulsions. Denser vegetation and less potential for soil consolidation result in small crevasse splays that are not only efficient sediment traps but also short-lived. Successful crevasse splays that generate the largest land area gain for the imported sediment require a delicate balance between water and sediment discharge, vegetation root strength, and soil consolidation.

Relative risk analysis in regulating the use of radiation-emitting medical devices. A preliminary application

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

Jones, E.D.; Banks, W.W.; Altenbach, T.J.

1995-09-01

This report describes a preliminary application of an analysis approach for assessing relative risks in the use of radiation- emitting medical devices. Results are presented on human-initiated actions and failure modes that are most likely to occur in the use of the Gamma Knife, a gamma irradiation therapy device. This effort represents an initial step in a US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plan to evaluate the potential role of risk analysis in regulating the use of nuclear medical devices. For this preliminary application of risk assessment, the focus was to develop a basic process using existing techniques for identifying themore » most likely risk contributors and their relative importance. The approach taken developed relative risk rankings and profiles that incorporated the type and quality of data available and could present results in an easily understood form. This work was performed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the NRC.« less

The presentation of seizures and epilepsy in YouTube videos.

PubMed

Wong, Victoria S S; Stevenson, Matthew; Selwa, Linda

2013-04-01

We evaluated videos on the social media website, YouTube, containing references to seizures and epilepsy. Of 100 videos, 28% contained an ictal event, and 25% featured a person with epilepsy recounting his or her personal experience. Videos most commonly fell into categories of Personal Experience/Anecdotal (44%) and Informative/Educational (38%). Fifty-one percent of videos were judged as accurate, and 9% were inaccurate; accuracy was not an applicable attribute in the remainder of the videos. Eighty-five percent of videos were sympathetic towards those with seizures or epilepsy, 9% were neutral, and only 6% were derogatory. Ninety-eight percent of videos were thought to be easily understood by a layperson. The user-generated content on YouTube appears to be more sympathetic and accurate compared to other forms of mass media. We are optimistic that with a shifting ratio towards sympathetic content about epilepsy, the amount of stigma towards epilepsy and seizures will continue to lessen. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anomalous diffusion on the Hanoi networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boettcher, S.; Gonçalves, B.

2008-11-01

Diffusion is modeled on the recently proposed Hanoi networks by studying the mean-square displacement of random walks with time, langr2rang~t2/dw. It is found that diffusion —the quintessential mode of transport throughout Nature— proceeds faster than ordinary, in one case with an exact, anomalous exponent dw=2- log2(phi)=1.30576... . It is an instance of a physical exponent containing the "golden ratio"\\phi=(1+\\sqrt{5})/2 that is intimately related to Fibonacci sequences and since Euclid's time has been found to be fundamental throughout geometry, architecture, art, and Nature itself. It originates from a singular renormalization group fixed point with a subtle boundary layer, for whose resolution phi is the main protagonist. The origin of this rare singularity is easily understood in terms of the physics of the process. Yet, the connection between network geometry and the emergence of phi in this context remains elusive. These results provide an accurate test of recently proposed universal scaling forms for first passage times.

Aircraft Capability Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mumaw, Randy; Feary, Mike

2018-01-01

This presentation presents an overview of work performed at NASA Ames Research Center in 2017. The work concerns the analysis of current aircraft system management displays, and the initial development of an interface for providing information about aircraft system status. The new interface proposes a shift away from current aircraft system alerting interfaces that report the status of physical components, and towards displaying the implications of degradations on mission capability. The proposed interface describes these component failures in terms of operational consequences of aircraft system degradations. The research activity was an effort to examine the utility of different representations of complex systems and operating environments to support real-time decision making of off-nominal situations. A specific focus was to develop representations that provide better integrated information to allow pilots to more easily reason about the operational consequences of the off-nominal situations. The work is also seen as a pathway to autonomy, as information is integrated and understood in a form that automated responses could be developed for the off-nominal situations in the future.

CaO-MgO-Al 2O 3-SiO 2 (CMAS) corrosion of Gd 2Zr 2O 7 and Sm 2Zr 2O 7

DOE PAGES

Wang, Honglong; Bakal, Ahmet; Zhang, Xingxing; ...

2016-08-08

Ceramic thermal barrier coatings are applied to superalloys used in gas turbine engineering to increase the operating temperature and the energy conversion efficiency. However, dust consisting of CaO-MgO-Al 2O 3-SiO 2 (CMAS) from the air can be injected into the engines and corrode the thermal barrier coatings. Lanthanide zirconates are promising materials in thermal barrier coatings due to their low thermal conductivities, good phase stability and good corrosion resistance. However, the corrosion resistance mechanism of CMAS on lanthanide zirconates is still not clearly understood. In this work, the corrosion mechanism of Gd 2Zr 2O 7 and Sm 2Zr 2O 7more » in CMAS is studied. Here, the results show that the CMAS can easily react with lanthanide zirconate thermal barrier coatings to form a dense layer, which can resist further corrosion« less

Developing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging measurement of the forces within 3D granular materials under external loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elrington, Stefan; Bertrand, Thibault; Frey, Merideth; Shattuck, Mark; O'Hern, Corey; Barrett, Sean

2014-03-01

Granular materials are comprised of an ensemble of discrete macroscopic grains that interact with each other via highly dissipative forces. These materials are ubiquitous in our everyday life ranging in scale from the granular media that forms the Earth's crust to that used in agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Granular materials exhibit complex behaviors that are poorly understood and cannot be easily described by statistical mechanics. Under external loads individual grains are jammed into place by a network of force chains. These networks have been imaged in quasi two-dimensional and on the outer surface of three-dimensional granular materials. Our goal is to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect contact forces deep within three-dimensional granular materials, using hydrogen-1 relaxation times as a reporter for changes in local stress and strain. To this end, we use a novel pulse sequence to narrow the line width of hydrogen-1 in rubber. Here we present our progress to date, and prospects for future improvements.

Modeling protein homopolymeric repeats: possible polyglutamine structural motifs for Huntington's disease.

PubMed

Lathrop, R H; Casale, M; Tobias, D J; Marsh, J L; Thompson, L M

1998-01-01

We describe a prototype system (Poly-X) for assisting an expert user in modeling protein repeats. Poly-X reduces the large number of degrees of freedom required to specify a protein motif in complete atomic detail. The result is a small number of parameters that are easily understood by, and under the direct control of, a domain expert. The system was applied to the polyglutamine (poly-Q) repeat in the first exon of huntingtin, the gene implicated in Huntington's disease. We present four poly-Q structural motifs: two poly-Q beta-sheet motifs (parallel and antiparallel) that constitute plausible alternatives to a similar previously published poly-Q beta-sheet motif, and two novel poly-Q helix motifs (alpha-helix and pi-helix). To our knowledge, helical forms of polyglutamine have not been proposed before. The motifs suggest that there may be several plausible aggregation structures for the intranuclear inclusion bodies which have been found in diseased neurons, and may help in the effort to understand the structural basis for Huntington's disease.

Public health incident management: Logistical and operational aspects of the 2009 initial outbreak of H1N1 influenza in Mexico.

PubMed

Cruz, Miguel A; Hawk, Nicole M; Poulet, Christopher; Rovira, Jose; Rouse, Edward N

2015-01-01

Hosting an international outbreak response team can pose a challenge to jurisdictions not familiar with incident management frameworks. Basic principles of team forming, organizing, and executing mission critical activities require simple and flexible communication that can be easily understood by the host country's public health leadership and international support agencies. Familiarity with incident command system principles before a public health emergency could save time and effort during the initial phases of the response and aid in operationalizing and sustaining complex field activities throughout the response. The 2009 initial outbreak of H1N1 in Mexico highlighted the importance of adequately organizing and managing limited resources and expertise using incident management principles. This case study describes logistical and operational aspects of the response and highlights challenges faced during this response that may be relevant to the organization of public health responses and incidents requiring international assistance and cooperation.

Public health incident management: logistical and operational aspects of the 2009 initial outbreak of H1N1 influenza in Mexico.

PubMed

Cruz, Miguel A; Hawk, Nicole M; Poulet, Christopher; Rovira, Jose; Rouse, Edward N

2015-01-01

Hosting an international outbreak response team can pose a challenge to jurisdictions not familiar with incident management frameworks. Basic principles of team forming, organizing, and executing mission critical activities require simple and flexible communication that can be easily understood by the host country's public health leadership and international support agencies. Familiarity with incident command system principles before a public health emergency could save time and effort during the initial phases of the response and aid in operationalizing and sustaining complex field activities throughout the response. The 2009 initial outbreak of H1N1 in Mexico highlighted the importance of adequately organizing and managing limited resources and expertise using incident management principles. This case study describes logistical and operational aspects of the response and highlights challenges faced during this response that may be relevant to the organization of public health responses and incidents requiring international assistance and cooperation.

How language production shapes language form and comprehension

PubMed Central

MacDonald, Maryellen C.

2012-01-01

Language production processes can provide insight into how language comprehension works and language typology—why languages tend to have certain characteristics more often than others. Drawing on work in memory retrieval, motor planning, and serial order in action planning, the Production-Distribution-Comprehension (PDC) account links work in the fields of language production, typology, and comprehension: (1) faced with substantial computational burdens of planning and producing utterances, language producers implicitly follow three biases in utterance planning that promote word order choices that reduce these burdens, thereby improving production fluency. (2) These choices, repeated over many utterances and individuals, shape the distributions of utterance forms in language. The claim that language form stems in large degree from producers' attempts to mitigate utterance planning difficulty is contrasted with alternative accounts in which form is driven by language use more broadly, language acquisition processes, or producers' attempts to create language forms that are easily understood by comprehenders. (3) Language perceivers implicitly learn the statistical regularities in their linguistic input, and they use this prior experience to guide comprehension of subsequent language. In particular, they learn to predict the sequential structure of linguistic signals, based on the statistics of previously-encountered input. Thus, key aspects of comprehension behavior are tied to lexico-syntactic statistics in the language, which in turn derive from utterance planning biases promoting production of comparatively easy utterance forms over more difficult ones. This approach contrasts with classic theories in which comprehension behaviors are attributed to innate design features of the language comprehension system and associated working memory. The PDC instead links basic features of comprehension to a different source: production processes that shape language form. PMID:23637689

Large-basis ab initio no-core shell model and its application to {sup 12}C

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

Navratil, P.; Vary, J. P.; Barrett, B. R.

2000-11-01

We present the framework for the ab initio no-core nuclear shell model and apply it to obtain properties of {sup 12}C. We derive two-body effective interactions microscopically for specific model spaces from the realistic CD-Bonn and the Argonne V8' nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials. We then evaluate binding energies, excitation spectra, radii, and electromagnetic transitions in the 0{Dirac_h}{Omega}, 2{Dirac_h}{Omega}, and 4{Dirac_h}{Omega} model spaces for the positive-parity states and the 1{Dirac_h}{Omega}, 3{Dirac_h}{Omega}, and 5{Dirac_h}{Omega} model spaces for the negative-parity states. Dependence on the model-space size, on the harmonic-oscillator frequency, and on the type of the NN potential, used for the effective interaction derivation,more » are studied. In addition, electromagnetic and weak neutral elastic charge form factors are calculated in the impulse approximation. Sensitivity of the form-factor ratios to the strangeness one-body form-factor parameters and to the influence of isospin-symmetry violation is evaluated and discussed. Agreement between theory and experiment is favorable for many observables, while others require yet larger model spaces and/or three-body forces. The limitations of the present results are easily understood by virtue of the trends established and previous phenomenological results.« less

Measuring the Tilt of the Earth's Axis with the Help of a Plastic Pipe and a Piece of Wood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isildak, R. Suat

2016-01-01

In this project, a method that had been developed using a single setup was employed to correctly measure the tilt of the Earth's axis on 21 June 2015. The method is an easily comprehensible and applicable technique that can be used in elementary science and astronomy courses and understood by students of every age group.

The Application of Reciprocal Teaching on the Subject of Straight Line Equation in Second Grade of Junior High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darsono

2015-01-01

Mathematics as an abstract science can be easily understood by a junior high school student when it is accompanied by concrete examples which is appropriate to the situation and conditions encountered. At the level of cognitive development, children actually very much based on the movements and actions. In this case, the children will learn at…

Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-04-12

together with their definitions, constitute approved DOD terminology for general use by all components of the Department of Defense. The Secretary...accepted dictionary, e.g., by Merriam- Webster. b. Terminology should be of general military or associated significance. Technical or highly...specialized terms may be included if they can be defined in easily understood language and if their inclusion is of general military or associated

Assessing the Validity of the Qualistar Early Learning Quality Rating and Improvement System as a Tool for Improving Child-Care Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zellman, Gail L.; Perlman, Michal; Le, Vi-Nhuan; Setodji, Claude Messan

2008-01-01

As a result of the generally low quality of child care in the United States and the increased emphasis on accountability in education policy, quality rating systems (QRSs) are proliferating in the child-care arena. QRSs assess child-care providers on multiple dimensions of quality and integrate these assessments into an easily understood summary…

To Determine the Percentage of Copper in a Brass Screw Using a Computer Interface with a Colorimeter.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horgan, Joan; Hedge, Robyn

1997-01-01

Year 11 students investigated the real-world problem of whether screws are really brass. It allowed them to use the colorimeter and computer interface in a way that was easily understood and models normal practice in testing laboratories. Screws were dissolved in nitric acid and their absorbance of red light was compared with a standard curve.…

Clustering high dimensional data using RIA

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

Aziz, Nazrina

2015-05-15

Clustering may simply represent a convenient method for organizing a large data set so that it can easily be understood and information can efficiently be retrieved. However, identifying cluster in high dimensionality data sets is a difficult task because of the curse of dimensionality. Another challenge in clustering is some traditional functions cannot capture the pattern dissimilarity among objects. In this article, we used an alternative dissimilarity measurement called Robust Influence Angle (RIA) in the partitioning method. RIA is developed using eigenstructure of the covariance matrix and robust principal component score. We notice that, it can obtain cluster easily andmore » hence avoid the curse of dimensionality. It is also manage to cluster large data sets with mixed numeric and categorical value.« less

Topological Landscapes: A Terrain Metaphor for ScientificData

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

Weber, Gunther H.; Bremer, Peer-Timo; Pascucci, Valerio

2007-08-01

Scientific visualization and illustration tools are designed to help people understand the structure and complexity of scientific data with images that are as informative and intuitive as possible. In this context, the use of metaphors plays an important role, since they make complex information easily accessible by using commonly known concepts. In this paper we propose a new metaphor, called 'Topological Landscapes', which facilitates understanding the topological structure of scalar functions. The basic idea is to construct a terrain with the same topology as a given dataset and to display the terrain as an easily understood representation of the actualmore » input data. In this projection from an n-dimensional scalar function to a two-dimensional (2D) model we preserve function values of critical points, the persistence (function span) of topological features, and one possible additional metric property (in our examples volume). By displaying this topologically equivalent landscape together with the original data we harness the natural human proficiency in understanding terrain topography and make complex topological information easily accessible.« less

The NASA NEESPI Data Portal: Products, Information, and Services

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shen, Suhung; Leptoukh, Gregory; Loboda, Tatiana; Csiszar, Ivan; Romanov, Peter; Gerasimov, Irina

2008-01-01

Studies have indicated that land cover and use changes in Northern Eurasia influence global climate system. However, the procedures are not fully understood and it is challenging to understand the interactions between the land changes in this region and the global climate. Having integrated data collections form multiple disciplines are important for studies of climate and environmental changes. Remote sensed and model data are particularly important die to sparse in situ measurements in many Eurasia regions especially in Siberia. The NASA GES DISC (Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center) NEESPI data portal has generated infrastructure to provide satellite remote sensing and numerical model data for atmospheric, land surface, and cryosphere. Data searching, subsetting, and downloading functions are available. ONe useful tool is the Web-based online data analysis and visualization system, Giovanni (Goddard Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure), which allows scientists to assess easily the state and dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems in Northern Eurasia and their interactions with global climate system. Recently, we have created a metadata database prototype to expand the NASA NEESPI data portal for providing a venue for NEESPI scientists fo find the desired data easily and leveraging data sharing within NEESPI projects. The database provides product level information. The desired data can be found through navigation and free text search and narrowed down by filtering with a number of constraints. In addition, we have developed a Web Map Service (WMS) prototype to allow access data and images from difference data resources.

A trust-wide review of clinical nurse specialists' productivity.

PubMed

Balsdon, Helen; Wilkinson, Susan

2014-04-01

The contribution made by clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) to patient care needs to be understood fully to provide assurance of effective use of resources. However, CNS roles are often poorly understood and not easily articulated. Due to the diversity of these roles, robust reviews of performance and economic benefits can be regarded as time consuming and resource intense, and many organisations enlist external agencies to clarify the contribution to care made by their CNSs. This article gives an overview of a Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust internal review of CNS roles without the support of an external agency. The review provided assurance that this group of nurses is being used effectively and identified opportunities to use the role in different ways to increase effectiveness.

Bird's eye view of black holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simien, Clayton

1998-03-01

Black hole theory can be quite complex, and from a mathematical point of view very abstract. However, from a bird's perspective its concepts and theories can be easily understood with the aid of a few fundamental ideas of physics. Black holes are just massive dead stars whose very existence originates from the ideas of the great mathematician and scientific pioneer, Pierre Laplace. These astrological wonders of the universe are currently governed by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. It must be understood that the laws of the universe in accord with the black hole are only valid to its surface known as the horizon . After the horizon, the laws of physics are no longer valid. Consequently, science is replaced with imaginative ideas that are meaningfully probable through hypothetical assumptions.

The intelligibility in Context Scale: validity and reliability of a subjective rating measure.

PubMed

McLeod, Sharynne; Harrison, Linda J; McCormack, Jane

2012-04-01

To describe a new measure of functional intelligibility, the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS), and evaluate its validity, reliability, and sensitivity using 3 clinical measures of severity of speech sound disorder: (a) percentage of phonemes correct (PPC), (b) percentage of consonants correct (PCC), and (c) percentage of vowels correct (PVC). Speech skills of 120 preschool children (109 with parent-/teacher-identified concern about how they talked and made speech sounds and 11 with no identified concern) were assessed with the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (Dodd, Hua, Crosbie, Holm, & Ozanne, 2002). Parents completed the 7-item ICS, which rates the degree to which children's speech is understood by different communication partners (parents, immediate family, extended family, friends, acquaintances, teachers, and strangers) on a 5-point scale. Parents' ratings showed that most children were always (5) or usually (4) understood by parents, immediate family, and teachers, but only sometimes (3) by strangers. Factor analysis confirmed the internal consistency of the ICS items; therefore, ratings were averaged to form an overall intelligibility score. The ICS had high internal reliability (α = .93), sensitivity, and construct validity. Criterion validity was established through significant correlations between the ICS and PPC (r = .54), PCC (r = .54), and PVC (r = .36). The ICS is a promising new measure of functional intelligibility. These data provide initial support for the ICS as an easily administered, valid, and reliable estimate of preschool children's intelligibility when speaking with people of varying levels of familiarity and authority.

Cognitive Performance Is Highly Sensitive to Prior Experience in Mice with a Learning and Memory Deficit: Failure Leads to More Failure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hebda-Bauer, Elaine K.; Watson, Stanley J.; Akil, Huda

2005-01-01

The impact of a previously successful or unsuccessful experience on the subsequent acquisition of a related task is not well understood. The nature of past experience may have even greater impact in individuals with learning deficits, as their cognitive processes can be easily disrupted. Mice with a targeted disruption of the [alpha] and [delta]…

"The Future Is Ours Too": A Training Process to Enable the Learning Perception and Increase Self-Efficacy in the Use of Tablets in the Elderly

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gatti, Fabiana M.; Brivio, Eleonora; Galimberti, Carlo

2017-01-01

The generational digital divide can be understood as a response to the physical and psychosocial decline of older people. Recently, there has been interest in reducing the generational digital divide because of societal costs, and several studies state that tablets seem to help the elderly due to usability and functions that easily fulfill the…

Frequency-Shift Hearing Aid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinstein, Leonard M.

1994-01-01

Proposed hearing aid maps spectrum of speech into band of lower frequencies at which ear remains sensitive. By redirecting normal speech frequencies into frequency band from 100 to 1,500 Hz, hearing aid allows people to understand normal conversation, including telephone calls. Principle operation of hearing aid adapted to other uses such as, clearing up noisy telephone or radio communication. In addition, loud-speakers more easily understood in presence of high background noise.

Collective instabilities

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

K.Y. Ng

2003-08-25

The lecture covers mainly Sections 2.VIII and 3.VII of the book ''Accelerator Physics'' by S.Y. Lee, plus mode-coupling instabilities and chromaticity-driven head-tail instability. Besides giving more detailed derivation of many equations, simple interpretations of many collective instabilities are included with the intention that the phenomena can be understood more easily without going into too much mathematics. The notations of Lee's book as well as the e{sup jwt} convention are followed.

Coding and traceability: cells and tissues in North America.

PubMed

Brubaker, Scott A; Wilson, Diane

2010-11-01

Cell and tissue banking professionals in North America have long understood the value of labeling their allografts with descriptive names that make them easily recognized. They have also understood that advantages exist in possessing the capability to track them internally and externally to better understand tissue handling from donation through distribution. An added insight that can assist with strategic planning is to know who uses them, how many, and for what purpose or application. Uniquely coding allografts naturally aids tracking in event of recall or the rare need to link them if implicated in an adverse outcome report. These values relate to an ability or inability to sufficiently track specific cell/tissue types throughout the allograft's lifetime. These concepts easily fit into the functions of a Quality Program and promote recipient safety. It is management oversight that drives the direction taken and either optimizes this knowledge or limits it. How concepts related to coding and tracing human cells and tissues for transplantation have evolved in North America, and where they may be headed, are described in this manuscript. Many protocols are in place but they exist in numerous operational silos. Quality Management System concepts should drive decision-making and include considerations for future planning beyond our own professional lifetimes.

A Guide to Effective Accountability Reporting: Designing Public Reports that Effectively Communicate Accountability, Assessment and Other Quantitative Education Indicators in an Easily Understood Format.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fast, Ellen Forte

This guide was developed to serve as a resource for the staffs of state education agencies and local education agencies who are responsible for producing state, district, or school report cards of the type required under many state or district accountability systems as well as under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The guide is not intended to…

Estimating the Heading Direction Using Normal Flow

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-01

understood (Faugeras and Maybank 1990), 3 Kinetic Stabilization under the assumption that optic flow or correspon- dence is known with some uncertainty...accelerometers can achieve very It can easily be shown (Koenderink and van Doom high accuracy, the same is not true for inexpensive 1975; Maybank 1985... Maybank . ’Motion from point matches: Multi- just don’t compute normal flow there (see Section 6). plicity of solutions". Int’l J. Computer Vision 4

Korean Affairs Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-03-16

laisse - faire kind of openness of self-control. 34 This fact can be easily understood from President Chon’s resolute nature in stating he would...restraint." One is enabled to predict the future political ruling style from the fact that President Chon’s policy address contained a serious...development. It si also a demonstration of one facet of President Chon’s political style which has surfaced over this period. It would be correct to

Using bacterial inclusion bodies to screen for amyloid aggregation inhibitors.

PubMed

Villar-Piqué, Anna; Espargaró, Alba; Sabaté, Raimon; de Groot, Natalia S; Ventura, Salvador

2012-05-03

The amyloid-β peptide (Aβ42) is the main component of the inter-neuronal amyloid plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The mechanism by which Aβ42 and other amyloid peptides assemble into insoluble neurotoxic deposits is still not completely understood and multiple factors have been reported to trigger their formation. In particular, the presence of endogenous metal ions has been linked to the pathogenesis of AD and other neurodegenerative disorders. Here we describe a rapid and high-throughput screening method to identify molecules able to modulate amyloid aggregation. The approach exploits the inclusion bodies (IBs) formed by Aβ42 when expressed in bacteria. We have shown previously that these aggregates retain amyloid structural and functional properties. In the present work, we demonstrate that their in vitro refolding is selectively sensitive to the presence of aggregation-promoting metal ions, allowing the detection of inhibitors of metal-promoted amyloid aggregation with potential therapeutic interest. Because IBs can be produced at high levels and easily purified, the method overcomes one of the main limitations in screens to detect amyloid modulators: the use of expensive and usually highly insoluble synthetic peptides.

Rapid, low-cost fluorescent assay of β-lactamase-derived antibiotic resistance and related antibiotic susceptibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erdem, S. Sibel; Khan, Shazia; Palanisami, Akilan; Hasan, Tayyaba

2014-10-01

Antibiotic resistance (AR) is increasingly prevalent in low and middle income countries (LMICs), but the extent of the problem is poorly understood. This lack of knowledge is a critical deficiency, leaving local health authorities essentially blind to AR outbreaks and crippling their ability to provide effective treatment guidelines. The crux of the problem is the lack of microbiology laboratory capacity available in LMICs. To address this unmet need, we demonstrate a rapid and simple test of β-lactamase resistance (the most common form of AR) that uses a modified β-lactam structure decorated with two fluorophores quenched due to their close proximity. When the β-lactam core is cleaved by β-lactamase, the fluorophores dequench, allowing assay speeds of 20 min to be obtained with a simple, streamlined protocol. Furthermore, by testing in competition with antibiotics, the β-lactamase-associated antibiotic susceptibility can also be extracted. This assay can be easily implemented into standard lab work flows to provide near real-time information of β-lactamase resistance, both for epidemiological purposes as well as individualized patient care.

Biodegradation of polyether algal toxins--isolation of potential marine bacteria.

PubMed

Shetty, Kateel G; Huntzicker, Jacqueline V; Rein, Kathleen S; Jayachandran, Krish

2010-12-01

Marine algal toxins such as brevetoxins, okadaic acid, yessotoxin, and ciguatoxin are polyether compounds. The fate of polyether toxins in the aqueous phase, particularly bacterial biotransformation of the toxins, is poorly understood. An inexpensive and easily available polyether structural analog salinomycin was used for enrichment and isolation of potential polyether toxin degrading aquatic marine bacteria from Florida bay area, and from red tide endemic sites in the South Florida Gulf coast. Bacterial growth on salinomycin was observed in most of the enrichment cultures from both regions with colony forming units ranging from 0 to 6×10(7) per mL. The salinomycin biodegradation efficiency of bacterial isolates determined using LC-MS ranged from 22% to 94%. Selected bacterial isolates were grown in media with brevetoxin as the sole carbon source to screen for brevetoxin biodegradation capability using ELISA. Out of the two efficient salinomycin biodegrading isolates MB-2 and MB-4, maximum brevetoxin biodegradation efficiency of 45% was observed with MB-4, while MB-2 was unable to biodegrade brevetoxin. Based on 16S rRNA sequence similarity MB-4 was found have a match with Chromohalobacter sp.

PC-based automation system streamlines operations

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

Bowman, J.

1995-10-01

The continued emergence of PC-based automation systems in the modern compressor station is driving the need for personnel who have the special skills need to support them. However, the dilemma is that operating budget restraints limit the overall number of people available to operate and maintain compressor stations. An ideal solution is to deploy automation systems which can be easily understood and supported by existing compressor station personnel. This paper reviews such a system developed by Waukesha-Pearce Industries, Inc.

Automated product recovery in a HG-196 photochemical isotope separation process

DOEpatents

Grossman, Mark W.; Speer, Richard

1992-01-01

A method of removing deposited product from a photochemical reactor used in the enrichment of .sup.196 Hg has been developed and shown to be effective for rapid re-cycling of the reactor system. Unlike previous methods relatively low temperatures are used in a gas and vapor phase process of removal. Importantly, the recovery process is understood in a quantitative manner so that scaling design to larger capacity systems can be easily carried out.

Gulf Coast Deep Water Port Facilities Study. Appendix D. Adverse Environmental Effects.

DTIC Science & Technology

1973-04-01

mds 2. Thigmotropic effect of submerged structures 3. Attachment or shelter for marine organisms 4. Gain of sheltered habitat (lee of islands) 5...marshplants Bay margin marine grass, clams, snails and blue crab Grass flats marine grass, clams, snails, black drum and t other fish Open bay with tidal...surrounding area. F. CONCLUSION The most direct and easily understood effects of dredging projects on marine biota are: I) the destruction and removal of

The physics of powerlifting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radenković, Lazar; Nešić, Ljubiša

2018-05-01

The main contribution of this paper is didactic adaptation of the biomechanical analysis of the three main lifts in powerlifting (squat, bench press, deadlift). We used simple models that can easily be understood by undergraduate college students to estimate the values of various physical quantities during powerlifting. Specifically, we showed how plate choice affects the bench press and estimated spine loads and torques at hip and knee during lifting. Theoretical calculations showed good agreement with experimental data, proving that the models are valid.

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

Karch, Andreas; Robinson, Brandon

Thermodynamic quantities associated with black holes in Anti-de Sitter space obey an interesting identity when the cosmological constant is included as one of the dynamical variables, the generalized Smarr relation. Here, we show that this relation can easily be understood from the point of view of the dual holographic field theory. It amounts to the simple statement that the extensive thermodynamic quantities of a large N gauge theory only depend on the number of colors, N, via an overall factor of N 2.

Automated product recovery in a Hg-196 photochemical isotope separation process

DOEpatents

Grossman, M.W.; Speer, R.

1992-07-21

A method of removing deposited product from a photochemical reactor used in the enrichment of [sup 196]Hg has been developed and shown to be effective for rapid re-cycling of the reactor system. Unlike previous methods relatively low temperatures are used in a gas and vapor phase process of removal. Importantly, the recovery process is understood in a quantitative manner so that scaling design to larger capacity systems can be easily carried out. 2 figs.

Categorization of compensatory motions in transradial myoelectric prosthesis users.

PubMed

Hussaini, Ali; Zinck, Arthur; Kyberd, Peter

2017-06-01

Prosthesis users perform various compensatory motions to accommodate for the loss of the hand and wrist as well as the reduced functionality of a prosthetic hand. Investigate different compensation strategies that are performed by prosthesis users. Comparative analysis. A total of 20 able-bodied subjects and 4 prosthesis users performed a set of bimanual activities. Movements of the trunk and head were recorded using a motion capture system and a digital video recorder. Clinical motion angles were calculated to assess the compensatory motions made by the prosthesis users. The video recording also assisted in visually identifying the compensations. Compensatory motions by the prosthesis users were evident in the tasks performed (slicing and stirring activities) as compared to the benchmark of able-bodied subjects. Compensations took the form of a measured increase in range of motion, an observed adoption of a new posture during task execution, and prepositioning of items in the workspace prior to initiating a given task. Compensatory motions were performed by prosthesis users during the selected tasks. These can be categorized into three different types of compensations. Clinical relevance Proper identification and classification of compensatory motions performed by prosthesis users into three distinct forms allows clinicians and researchers to accurately identify and quantify movement. It will assist in evaluating new prosthetic interventions by providing distinct terminology that is easily understood and can be shared between research institutions.

Qualitative assessment of the medieval fortifications condition with the use of remote sensing data (Republic of Tatarstan)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gainullin, Iskander I.; Khomyakov, Petr V.; Sitdikov, Airat G.; Usmanov, Bulat M.

2017-09-01

Archaeological monuments are an essential part of the cultural landscape. According to UNESCO directive, the "cultural landscape" is understood not simply as a result of joint creativity of man and nature, but as a purposefully formed natural and cultural territorial complex, which has structural, functional integrity, developing in specific physical and geographical, cultural and historical conditions. This article discusses the modern condition of the archaeological monuments of the Republic of Tatarstan, as a manmade part of the cultural landscape. Fortified settlements, with the system of defensive fortifications, were selected as the objects of study, as they are easily identified by remote sensing data. Identification and evaluation of monuments destruction risks is a priority in the study of medieval settlements. Due to the fact, that most of monuments is located on the small rivers banks, the first task of our study was to assess the risk of their destruction by natural processes. The second objective was to evaluate the role of the human factor in archaeological sites destruction. One of the main used methods is archival and modern remote sensing data analysis that also made able to correct the form of study settlements in comparison with existing plans, as well their size and location in the landscape. The results of research will help to identify trends in the monuments state and quantify the risks of their destruction.

Checklist for Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sills, Angelyn C.

1995-01-01

Describes a straightforward, workable strategy that involves a teacher checklist and short individual or student group conferences, with the goal of academic or behavioral improvements. Teachers can easily tick off marks on the checklist and return the form to the counselor; additionally, students can easily understand the format of the checklist.…

Holographic black hole chemistry

DOE PAGES

Karch, Andreas; Robinson, Brandon

2015-12-14

Thermodynamic quantities associated with black holes in Anti-de Sitter space obey an interesting identity when the cosmological constant is included as one of the dynamical variables, the generalized Smarr relation. Here, we show that this relation can easily be understood from the point of view of the dual holographic field theory. It amounts to the simple statement that the extensive thermodynamic quantities of a large N gauge theory only depend on the number of colors, N, via an overall factor of N 2.

Properties of various silicon oxide phases in thin films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ritter, E.

1980-01-01

Layers of SiO2 with reproducible properties can be manufactured relatively easily today. In the case of SiO and Si2O3 layers, it is necessary to carefully check all of the manufacturing parameters for producing layers with reproducible properties. The properties of the layers in the case of SiO2 do conform to expectations. In the case of Si2O3 and SiO, they can be understood at least qualitatively. Additional interesting models are available for a quantitative understanding.

Scalability of Robotic Controllers: Effects of Progressive Levels of Autonomy on Robotic Reconnaissance Tasks

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-01

facility. 2.2.4 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) The NASA-TLX is a subjective workload assessment tool ...No 6 NR If so, what type? Davinci (1) 14. Please describe the conditions under which you used the robotic system. Surgical (1) 15...2 Fantastic tool . Can see how this will save more lives by using the robot as the recon tool . 1 Interesting and fun. 3 Easily understood what to

Hysteresis Loss Analysis of Soft Magnetic Materials Under Direct Current Bias Conditions (Preprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

activation energies may not contribute to the magnetization process and higher energy walls may be mobilized, which would not be activated otherwise...measured hysteresis losses for the same Metglas core at a fixed Bmax of 0.1 Tesla . The origin of the observed behavior is easily understood by comparing...constant at 0.1 Tesla by changing the value of the applied field for each bias field, are given in Figure 5 for the Metglas material. Comparison of Figures

M and S Resource Discovery and Access (Communication des ressources de M and S et acces a ces ressources)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

the goal of refining the requirements and developing a specification for an operational use Metadata Registry (MDR). Simultaneously, the NATO...key role1. Specifically it is stated that: “M&S can be effectively used as a lead investment to enable the advancement and continuous evolution of...and properties that allow data to be quickly and easily understood and used in specific applications. Metadata, or data about data, is the

An Expert System for Automating Nuclear Strike Aircraft Replacement, Aircraft Beddown, and Logistics Movement for the Theater Warfare Exercise.

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-01

that can be easily understood. (9) Parallelism. Several system components may need to execute in parallel. For example, the processing of sensor data...knowledge base are not accessible for processing by the database. Also in the likely case that the expert system poses a series of related queries, the...hiharken nxpfilcs’Iog - Knowledge base for the automation of loCgistics rr-ovenet T’he Ii rectorY containing the strike aircraft replacement knowledge base

COREnet: The Fusion of Social Network Analysis and Target Audience Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

misunderstanding of MISO (PSYOP) not only in doctrine, but also in practice, is easily understood. MISO has a long history of name changes starting ...TAA does not strictly adhere to any particular theory; studying dynamics is a valid starting point for analysis, and is naturally congruent with the...provides a starting point for further analysis. The PO is a pre-approved objective by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) (JP 3–53, 2003, V-1

Tiger Team Assessments seventeen through thirty-five: A summary and analysis

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

Not Available

1992-12-01

On June 27, 1989, the Secretary of Energy, Admiral James D. Watkins, US Navy (Retired), announced a 10-Point Plan to strengthen environmental, safety, and health (ES H) programs and waste management activities at the US Department of Energy (DOE). The third initiative called for establishing an independent audit (the Tiger Teams) to assess DOE's major operating facilities and laboratories. As of November 1992, all 35 Tiger Team Assessments were completed and formally reported to the Secretary. In May 1991 a report providing an analysis and summary of the findings and root causes identified by the first 16 Tiger Team Assessmentsmore » was completed and submitted to the Secretary of Energy and to all DOE program managers. This document is intended to provide an easily used and easily understood summary and analysis of the information contained in Tiger Team Assessments numbers 17 through 35 to help DOE achieve ES H excellence.« less

Do Lyman-alpha photons escape from star-forming galaxies through dust-holes?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wofford, Aida

2012-10-01

The hydrogen Lyman-alpha line is arguably the most important signature of galaxies undergoing their first violent burst of star formation. Although Lya photons are easily destroyed by dust, candidate Lya emitters have been detected at z>5. Thus the line can potentially be used to probe galaxy formation and evolution, as long as the astrophysical processes that regulate the escape of Lya photons from star-forming galaxies are well understood.We request 15 orbits for imaging in Lya and the FUV continuum with ACS/SBC, and in the H-beta/H-alpha ratio {proxy for dust extinction} with WFC3/UVIS, a sample of isolated non-AGN face-on spirals for which our team previously obtained and analyzed COS FUV spectroscopy of the central regions. Each target shows a different Lya profile, i.e., pure absorption, P-Cygni like, and multiple-emission. From the COS data, we already know the starburst phase and H I gas velocity. The images would greatly increase the impact of our spectroscopic study by enabling us to 1} conclusively determine if Lya photons escape through dust-holes, 2} assess the relative importance of dust extinction, ISM kinematics, and starburst phase in regulating the Lya escape, 3} clarify what we can really learn from the Lya equivalent width, and 4} provide constraints on the dust extinction to Lya 3D radiative transfer models. Ultimately this program will inform our understanding of the Lya escape at high redshift by providing spatially resolved views of the local conditions within star-forming galaxies that favor escape.

Integrating transit and urban form : final report, December 2008.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-09-01

This study develops an integrated behavioral model of transit patronage and urban form. Although herein focused on transit, the framework can be easily generalized to study other forms of travel. Advanced econometric methods are used to test specific...

Mapping and distortions of auroral structures in the quiet magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufmann, Richard L.; Larson, Douglas J.; Lu, Chen

1990-01-01

The closed quiet magnetosphere model of Beard (1979) and Beard et al. (1982) is used to identify those features of commonly observed dayside auroras that can be explained by either of two processes: mapping distortions or distortions caused by nearby Birkeland currents. It is shown that single and multiple linear and hooked auroral forms can be easily explained in terms of mapping distortions in a quiet magnetosphere. On the other hand, the shapes of bright twisted or folded auroral forms can be more easily explained as distortions produced by localized Birkeland currents.

What is life? Bio-physical perspectives.

PubMed

Gladyshev, G P

2009-01-01

Life arises and develops in gravitationally bound atomic systems, under certain conditions, in the presence of the inflow of energy. A condition of structural dynamic reactivity to the energy inflow qualifies what are anthropomorphically considered as "alive objects". Alive objects, in this perspective, include such rudimentary animate atomic structures as the retinal molecule C20H28o to the herpes simplex virus C102H152N26o29 to the human being, a twenty-six element atomic structure, which can be quantified further as thermodynamic quasi-closed supramolecular systems, which are part of natural open systems. These systems appear and evolve in periodic conditions near to internal equilibrium. This systems attribute of dynamic life can be understood further by the determination and use of mathematical "state functions", which are functions that quantify the state of a system defined by the ensemble of physical quantities: temperature, pressure, composition, etc., which characterize the system, but neither by its surroundings nor by its history. In this view, the phenomenon of a life is easily understood as a general consequence of the laws of the universe, in particular, the laws of thermodynamics, which in the geocentric perspective translate to a formulation of "hierarchical thermodynamics" and a "principle of substance stability". The formation of living thermodynamic structures, in short, arises on the nanolevel by a constantly varying environment that causes variety of living forms. The definition of a life as the bio-chemical-physical phenomenon can thus be given on the basis of the exact sciences, i. e. chemistry, physics, and thermodynamics, without mention of numerous private attributes of a living substance and without physically baseless models of mathematical modeling, such as Prigoginean thermodynamics.

Biodegradation of polyether algal toxins–Isolation of potential marine bacteria

PubMed Central

SHETTY, KATEEL G.; HUNTZICKER, JACQUELINE V.; REIN, KATHLEEN S.; JAYACHANDRAN, KRISH

2012-01-01

Marine algal toxins such as brevetoxins, okadaic acid, yessotoxin, and ciguatoxin are polyether compounds. The fate of polyether toxins in the aqueous phase, particularly bacterial biotransformation of the toxins, is poorly understood. An inexpensive and easily available polyether structural analog salinomycin was used for enrichment and isolation of potential polyether toxin degrading aquatic marine bacteria from Florida bay area, and from red tide endemic sites in the South Florida Gulf coast. Bacterial growth on salinomycin was observed in most of the enrichment cultures from both regions with colony forming units ranging from 0 to 6 × 107 per mL. The salinomycin biodegradation efficiency of bacterial isolates determined using LC-MS ranged from 22% to 94%. Selected bacterial isolates were grown in media with brevetoxin as the sole carbon source to screen for brevetoxin biodegradation capability using ELISA. Out of the two efficient salinomycin biodegrading isolates MB-2 and MB-4, maximum brevetoxin biodegradation efficiency of 45% was observed with MB-4, while MB-2 was unable to biodegrade brevetoxin. Based on 16S rRNA sequence similarity MB-4 was found have a match with Chromohalobacter sp. PMID:20954040

Deficient Gene Expression in Protein Kinase Inhibitor α Null Mutant Mice

PubMed Central

Gangolli, Esha A.; Belyamani, Mouna; Muchinsky, Sara; Narula, Anita; Burton, Kimberly A.; McKnight, G. Stanley; Uhler, Michael D.; Idzerda, Rejean L.

2000-01-01

Protein kinase inhibitor (PKI) is a potent endogenous inhibitor of the cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKA). It functions by binding the free catalytic (C) subunit with a high affinity and is also known to export nuclear C subunit to the cytoplasm. The significance of these actions with respect to PKI's physiological role is not well understood. To address this, we have generated by homologous recombination mutant mice that are deficient in PKIα, one of the three isoforms of PKI. The mice completely lack PKI activity in skeletal muscle and, surprisingly, show decreased basal and isoproterenol-induced gene expression in muscle. Further examination revealed reduced levels of the phosphorylated (active) form of the transcription factor CREB (cAMP response element binding protein) in the knockouts. This phenomenon stems, at least in part, from lower basal PKA activity levels in the mutants, arising from a compensatory increase in the level of the RIα subunit of PKA. The deficit in gene induction, however, is not easily explained by current models of PKI function and suggests that PKI may play an as yet undescribed role in PKA signaling. PMID:10779334

Crystal Chemistry, Magnetic and Electrical Properties of La(2-X)BaXNiO4

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-02-01

alternating rock-salt, AO, and perovskite , ABe 3 , layers, with the separation between layers being almost twice the intraplanar distance between two B...t c 1.02, and it is most stable for t - 1.0. The 2 factor arises because the {110 planes of the perovskite layers are stacked alternately with the...a result of Ba 2 + substitution for La3 +.° This is easily understood with respect to the K2 NiF4 structure. The alternating perovskite and rock-salt

Finding Outbreaks Faster

PubMed Central

Smolinski, Mark S.; Olsen, Jennifer M.

2017-01-01

Rapid detection, reporting, and response to an infectious disease outbreak are critical to prevent localized health events from emerging as pandemic threats. Metrics to evaluate the timeliness of these critical activities, however, are lacking. Easily understood and comparable measures for tracking progress and encouraging investment in rapid detection, reporting, and response are sorely needed. We propose that the timeliness of outbreak detection, reporting, laboratory confirmation, response, and public communication should be considered as measures for improving global health security at the national level, allowing countries to track progress over time and inform investments in disease surveillance. PMID:28384035

Theoretical and experimental aspects of chaos control by time-delayed feedback.

PubMed

Just, Wolfram; Benner, Hartmut; Reibold, Ekkehard

2003-03-01

We review recent developments for the control of chaos by time-delayed feedback methods. While such methods are easily applied even in quite complex experimental context the theoretical analysis yields infinite-dimensional differential-difference systems which are hard to tackle. The essential ideas for a general theoretical approach are sketched and the results are compared to electronic circuits and to high power ferromagnetic resonance experiments. Our results show that the control performance can be understood on the basis of experimentally accessible quantities without resort to any model for the internal dynamics.

Compendium of methods for applying measured data to vibration and acoustic problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dejong, R. G.

1985-10-01

The scope of this report includes the measurement, analysis and use of vibration and acoustic data. The purpose of this report is then two-fold. First, it provides introductory material in an easily understood manner to engineers, technicians, and their managers in areas other than their specialties relating to the measurement, analysis and use of vibration and acoustic data. Second, it provides a quick reference source for engineers, technicians and their managers in the areas of their specialties relating to the measurement, analysis and use of vibration and acoustic data.

Multiple Weyl points and the sign change of their topological charges in woodpile photonic crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Ming-Li; Xiao, Meng; Chen, Wen-Jie; Chan, C. T.

2017-03-01

We show that Weyl points with topological charges 1 and 2 can be found in very simple chiral woodpile photonic crystals and the distribution of the charges can be changed by changing the material parameters without altering space-group symmetry. The underlying physics can be understood through a tight-binding model. Gapless surface states and their backscattering immune properties also are demonstrated in these systems. Obtaining Weyl points in these easily fabricated woodpile photonic crystals will facilitate the realization of Weyl point physics in optical and IR frequencies.

Molecular complexes of some anthraquinone anti-cancer drugs: experimental and computational study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Gogary, Tarek M.

2003-03-01

It is known that anti-cancer drugs target DNA in the cell. The mechanism of interaction of anti-cancer drugs with DNA is not fully understood. It is thought that the forces of interaction have some contribution from charge-transfer (CT) binding. The ability of some anthraquinones (AQs) anti-cancer drugs to form CT complexes with well-known electron donor molecules was investigated by NMR. The NMR spectroscopy has indicated the formation of CT complexes between 1,4-bis{[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl]amino}-5,8-dihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione, (AQ4), and its des-hydroxylated equivalent 1,4-bis{[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl]amino}anthracene-9,10-dione, (AQ4H), as electron acceptors and pyrene (PY) and hexamethylbenzene (HMB) as electron donors. Association constants of the formed CT complexes were determined from the NMR data. AQ4 showed weaker electron accepting power than AQ4H, which could be easily explained on the basis of the electron donating nature of the two-hydroxyl groups. AQ4 and AQ4H have higher stability constant with PY than with HMB. This reflects the weaker interaction of the AQs with the latter, which is a direct effect of the six bulky methyl groups. Electronic absorption spectroscopy of the studied system was performed in chloroform and showed the absence of new absorption bands. The extent of interaction between AQs and donors has been computed using molecular mechanics and quantum mechanics. The computed values were compared with the experimental results of association constants.

Using template/hotwire cutting to demonstrate moldless composite fabrication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coleman, J. Mario

1990-01-01

The objective of this experiment is to provide a simple, inexpensive composite fabrication technique which can be easily performed with a minimum of equipment and facilities. This process eliminates expensive female molds and uses only male molds which are easily formed from foam blocks. Once the mold is shaped, it is covered with fiberglass and becomes a structural component of the product.

Helical patterns of magnetization and magnetic charge density in iron whiskers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Templeton, Terry L.; Hanham, Scott D.; Arrott, Anthony S.

2018-05-01

Studies with the (1 1 1) axis along the long axis of an iron whisker, 40 years ago, showed two phenomena that have remained unexplained: 1) In low fields, there are six peaks in the ac susceptibility, separated by 0.2 mT; 2) Bitter patterns showed striped domain patterns. Multipole columns of magnetic charge density distort to form helical patterns of the magnetization, accounting for the peaks in the susceptibility from the propagation of edge solitons along the intersections of the six sides of a (1 1 1) whisker. The stripes follow the helices. We report micromagnetic simulations in cylinders with various geometries for the cross-sections from rectangular, to hexagonal, to circular, with wide ranges of sizes and lengths, and different anisotropies, including (0 0 1) whiskers and the hypothetical case of no anisotropy. The helical patterns have been there in previous studies, but overlooked. The surface swirls and body helices are connected, but have their own individual behaviors. The magnetization patterns are more easily understood when viewed observing the scalar divergences of the magnetization as isosurfaces of magnetic charge density. The plus and minus charge densities form columns that interact with unlike charges attracting, but not annihilating as they are paid for by a decrease in exchange energy. Just as they start to form the helix, the columns are multipoles. If one could stretch the columns, the self-energy of the charges in a column would be diminished while making the attractive interactions of the unlike charges larger. The columns elongate by becoming helical. The visualization of 3-D magnetic charge distributions aids in the understanding of magnetization in soft magnetic materials.

A micro-hydrology computation ordering algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Croley, Thomas E.

1980-11-01

Discrete-distributed-parameter models are essential for watershed modelling where practical consideration of spatial variations in watershed properties and inputs is desired. Such modelling is necessary for analysis of detailed hydrologic impacts from management strategies and land-use effects. Trade-offs between model validity and model complexity exist in resolution of the watershed. Once these are determined, the watershed is then broken into sub-areas which each have essentially spatially-uniform properties. Lumped-parameter (micro-hydrology) models are applied to these sub-areas and their outputs are combined through the use of a computation ordering technique, as illustrated by many discrete-distributed-parameter hydrology models. Manual ordering of these computations requires fore-thought, and is tedious, error prone, sometimes storage intensive and least adaptable to changes in watershed resolution. A programmable algorithm for ordering micro-hydrology computations is presented that enables automatic ordering of computations within the computer via an easily understood and easily implemented "node" definition, numbering and coding scheme. This scheme and the algorithm are detailed in logic flow-charts and an example application is presented. Extensions and modifications of the algorithm are easily made for complex geometries or differing microhydrology models. The algorithm is shown to be superior to manual ordering techniques and has potential use in high-resolution studies.

SEDIDAT: A BASIC program for the collection and statistical analysis of particle settling velocity data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, Robyn; Thornberg, Steven M.

SEDIDAT is a series of compiled IBM-BASIC (version 2.0) programs that direct the collection, statistical calculation, and graphic presentation of particle settling velocity and equivalent spherical diameter for samples analyzed using the settling tube technique. The programs follow a menu-driven format that is understood easily by students and scientists with little previous computer experience. Settling velocity is measured directly (cm,sec) and also converted into Chi units. Equivalent spherical diameter (reported in Phi units) is calculated using a modified Gibbs equation for different particle densities. Input parameters, such as water temperature, settling distance, particle density, run time, and Phi;Chi interval are changed easily at operator discretion. Optional output to a dot-matrix printer includes a summary of moment and graphic statistical parameters, a tabulation of individual and cumulative weight percents, a listing of major distribution modes, and cumulative and histogram plots of a raw time, settling velocity. Chi and Phi data.

Tiger Team Assessments seventeen through thirty-five: A summary and analysis. Volume 2

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

Not Available

1992-12-01

On June 27, 1989, the Secretary of Energy, Admiral James D. Watkins, US Navy (Retired), announced a 10-Point Plan to strengthen environmental, safety, and health (ES&H) programs and waste management activities at the US Department of Energy (DOE). The third initiative called for establishing an independent audit (the Tiger Teams) to assess DOE`s major operating facilities and laboratories. As of November 1992, all 35 Tiger Team Assessments were completed and formally reported to the Secretary. In May 1991 a report providing an analysis and summary of the findings and root causes identified by the first 16 Tiger Team Assessments wasmore » completed and submitted to the Secretary of Energy and to all DOE program managers. This document is intended to provide an easily used and easily understood summary and analysis of the information contained in Tiger Team Assessments numbers 17 through 35 to help DOE achieve ES&H excellence.« less

Solar-assisted photodegradation of isoproturon over easily recoverable titania catalysts.

PubMed

Tolosana-Moranchel, A; Carbajo, J; Faraldos, M; Bahamonde, A

2017-03-01

An easily recoverable homemade TiO 2 catalyst (GICA-1) has been evaluated during the overall photodegradation process, understood as photocatalytic efficiency and catalyst recovery step, in the solar light-assisted photodegradation of isoproturon and its reuse in two consecutive cycles. The global feasibility has been compared to the commercial TiO 2 P25. The homemade GICA-1 catalyst presented better sedimentation efficiency than TiO 2 P25 at all studied pHs, which could be explained by its higher average hydrodynamic particle size (3 μm) and other physicochemical surface properties. The evaluation of the overall process (isoproturon photo-oxidation + catalyst recovery) revealed GICA-1 homemade titania catalyst strengths: total removal of isoproturon in less than 60 min, easy recovery by sedimentation, and reusability in two consecutive cycles, without any loss of photocatalytic efficiency. Therefore, considering the whole photocatalytic cycle (good performance in photodegradation plus catalyst recovery step), the homemade GICA-1 photocatalyst resulted in more affordability than commercial TiO 2 P25. Graphical abstract.

Taking Another Look: Sensuous, Consistent Form.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Townley, Mary Ross

1983-01-01

There is a natural progression from making single objects to creating sculpture. By modeling the forms of objects like funnels and light bulbs, students become aware of the quality of curves and the edges of angles. Sculptural form in architecture can be understood as consistency in the forms. (CS)

An On-Line Technology Information System (OTIS) for Advanced Life Support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levri, Julie A.; Boulanger, Richard; Hoganm John A.; Rodriquez, Luis

2003-01-01

An On-line Technology Information System (OTIS) is currently being developed for the Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. This paper describes the preliminary development of OTIS, which is a system designed to provide centralized collection and organization of technology information. The lack of thorough, reliable and easily understood technology information is a major obstacle in effective assessment of technology development progress, trade studies, metric calculations, and technology selection for integrated testing. OTIS will provide a formalized, well-organized protocol to communicate thorough, accurate, current and relevant technology information between the hands-on technology developer and the ALS Community. The need for this type of information transfer system within the Solid Waste Management (SWM) element was recently identified and addressed. A SWM Technology Information Form (TIF) was developed specifically for collecting detailed technology information in the area of SWM. In the TIF, information is requested from SWM technology developers, based upon the Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Basic information is requested for low-TRL technologies, and more detailed information is requested as the TRL of the technology increases. A comparable form is also being developed for the wastewater processing element. In the future, similar forms will also be developed for the ALS elements of air revitalization, food processing, biomass production and thermal control. These ALS element-specific forms will be implemented in OTIS via a web-accessible interface,with the data stored in an object-oriented relational database (created in MySQLTM) located on a secure server at NASA Ames Research Center. With OTIS, ALS element leads and managers will be able to carry out informed research and development investment, thereby promoting technology through the TRL scale. OTIS will also allow analysts to make accurate evaluations of technology options. Additionally, the range and specificity of information solicited will help educate technology developers of programmatic needs.

Gender and Cooperation in Children: Experiments in Colombia and Sweden

PubMed Central

Cárdenas, Juan-Camilo; Dreber, Anna; von Essen, Emma; Ranehill, Eva

2014-01-01

In this article we compare cooperation among Colombian and Swedish children aged 9–12. We illustrate the dynamics of the prisoner's dilemma in a new task that is easily understood by children and performed during a physical education class. We find no robust evidence of a difference in cooperation between Colombia and Sweden overall. However, Colombian girls cooperate less than Swedish girls. We also find indications that girls in Colombia are less cooperative than boys. Finally, there is also a tendency for children to be more cooperative with boys than with girls on average. PMID:24614513

Impact of composites on future transport aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kinder, Robert H.

1993-01-01

In the current environment, new technology must be cost-effective in addition to improving operability. Various approaches have been used to determine the 'hurdle' or 'breakthrough' return that must be achieved to gain customer commitment for a new product or aircraft, or in this case, a new application of the technology. These approaches include return-on-investment, payback period, and addition to net worth. An easily understood figure-of-merit and one used by our airline customers is improvement in direct operating cost per seat-mile. Any new technology must buy its way onto the aircraft through reduction in direct operating cost (DOC).

Microcantilever sensor platform for UGV-based detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, Tyson T.; Halleck, A. E.; Schuler, Peter S.; Mahmud, K. K.; Hicks, David R.

2010-04-01

The increased use of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) drives the need for new lightweight, low cost sensors. Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) based microcantilever sensors are a promising technology to meet this need, because they can be manufactured at low cost on a mass scale, and are easily integrated into a UGV platform for detection of explosives and other threat agents. While the technology is extremely sensitive, selectivity is a major challenge and the response modes are not well understood. This work summarizes advances in characterizing ultrasensitive microcantilever responses, sampling considerations, and sensor design and cantilever coating methodologies consistent with UGV point detector needs.

[A favourable outcome in yellow nail syndrome: role of respiratory physiotherapy].

PubMed

Fournier, C; Just, N; Leroy, S; Wallaert, B

2003-12-01

The yellow nail syndrome is a rare condition that is easily diagnosed but the nail manifestations are poorly understood. A 51 year old patient presented with a chronic cough. The diagnosis was based on the typical appearance of the nails. The patient had bilateral basal bronchiectasis. Daily physiotherapy with bronchial drainage lead to a progressive improvement in the respiratory symptoms without recourse to antibiotics. Surprisingly the abnormalities of the nails disappeared after 2 years treatment. This observation illustrates the possibility of spontaneous resolution of severe nail abnormalities during the course of the yellow nail syndrome.

Effect of proline kinks on the mechanical unfolding of α-helices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arteca, Gustavo A.; Li, Zhiying

2004-12-01

Proteins unfold by applying an external force, although the microscopic mechanism is still not well understood. In this work, we use steered molecular dynamics to probe fundamental aspects of the stretching transition of α-helices, in particular how proline kinks and side chain dynamics would influence their ability to resist the applied force. We find that proline residues effectively 'cut' a helix in half when introduced on stable homopolymers, whereas their effect is smaller when present in helices that are more easily deformed. Our findings provide insight into the factors that may regulate the mechanical stretching of realistic protein domains.

Derivative, maxima and minima in a graphical context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera-Figueroa, Antonio; Ponce-Campuzano, Juan Carlos

2013-03-01

A deeper learning of the properties and applications of the derivative for the study of functions may be achieved when teachers present lessons within a highly graphic context, linking the geometric illustrations to formal proofs. Each concept is better understood and more easily retained when it is presented and explained visually using graphs. In this article, we explore the conditions of necessity or sufficiency of the criteria for determining the maxima and minima of a function. The implications for the teaching of derivatives and functions in undergraduate courses are discussed in light of our analysis of textbooks.

Minimum fuel control of a vehicle with a continuously variable transmission. [control system simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burghart, J. H.; Donoghue, J. F.

1980-01-01

The design and evaluation of a control system for a sedan with a heat engine and a continuously variable transmission, is considered in a effort to minimize fuel consumption and achieve satisfactory dynamic response of vehicle variables as the vehicle is driven over a standard driving cycle. Even though the vehicle system was highly nonlinear, attention was restricted to linear control algorithms which could be easily understood and implemented demonstrated by simulation. Simulation results also revealed that the vehicle could exhibit unexpected dynamic behavior which must be taken into account in any control system design.

Teaching medical students to use simple language when talking with patients.

PubMed

Cohen, I

1989-01-01

Physicians know much about health and illness. The information is often complicated and difficult to understand. Part of the physician's task is to help the patient understand the information so that the patient may help himself. The accurate transfer of the information requires that physicians have excellent communication skills. One such skill is the ability to use language which is easily understood by the patient. This study suggests that, after preclinical medical students assume a formal teaching role in secondary schools, they are more likely to use simpler language when talking with patients during their final undergraduate year.

A Simplified Shuttle Payload Thermal Analyzer /SSPTA/ program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bartoszek, J. T.; Huckins, B.; Coyle, M.

1979-01-01

A simple thermal analysis program for Space Shuttle payloads has been developed to accommodate the user who requires an easily understood but dependable analytical tool. The thermal analysis program includes several thermal subprograms traditionally employed in spacecraft thermal studies, a data management system for data generated by the subprograms, and a master program to coordinate the data files and thermal subprograms. The language and logic used to run the thermal analysis program are designed for the small user. In addition, analytical and storage techniques which conserve computer time and minimize core requirements are incorporated into the program.

Meteorite Dichotomy Implies that Jupiter Formed Early

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruijer, T. S.; Burkhardt, C.; Budde, G.; Kleine, T.

2018-05-01

Meteorites derive from two distinct nebular reservoirs that co-existed and remained spatially separated between 1 and 3–4 Ma after CAIs. This can most easily be explained if Jupiter acted as a barrier and formed early, within less than 1 Ma.

Drawing in Preschools: A Didactic Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frisch, Nina Scott

2006-01-01

To be understood, visually, often depends on how skilled one is in catching form and translating it into a two-dimensional surface. This is a challenge we are confronted with early in life. Children's learning strategies in drawing are not always understood or encouraged. This article presents a socio-cultural analysis from Norway of a pedagogical…

Rethinking covert stuttering.

PubMed

Constantino, Christopher Dominick; Manning, Walter H; Nordstrom, Susan Naomi

2017-09-01

The experience of passing as fluent, also called covert stuttering, has been uncritically framed as an inherently negative pursuit. Historically passing has been understood as a repression of one's true, authentic self in response to either psychological distress or social discrimination. The authors of this paper seek a more nuanced understanding of passing. We ask, how must a person relate to herself in order to pass as fluent? This is a qualitative research study in which the authors utilized the ethical theories of philosopher Michel Foucault to contextualize data obtained from semi-structured interviews with nine participants who pass as fluent. Rather than a repression of an authentic self our data suggests passing is more usefully understood as a form of resistance by people who stutter to a hostile society. Participants learned from experiences of delegitimization that their stuttering had ethical ramifications. Consequently, they used a variety of self-forming practices to pass and thereby achieve the privileges that come with perceived able-bodiedness. Passing as fluent is not an inauthentic form of stuttering but a form of stuttering that is produced through the use of specific technologies of communication. These technologies of communication are constituted by the unique ethical relationship of the person who stutters with herself. Passing can be understood as an active form of resistance rather than a passive form of repression. By theorizing passing as fluent as an ethical relationship, we open up the possibility of changing the relationship and performing it differently. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consuming Ecstasy: Representations of Male and Female Orgasm in Mainstream Pornography.

PubMed

Séguin, Léa J; Rodrigue, Carl; Lavigne, Julie

2018-01-01

Social representations, which appear in a variety of media, can influence the way sexual experiences are perceived and understood. While pornography is not the only medium in which orgasm is portrayed, it is the most explicit, and it is widespread and easily accessible. As such, pornography is an ideal medium for examining representations of male and female orgasm. PornHub's 50 most viewed videos of all time were viewed and coded for the frequency of male and female orgasm, orgasm-inducing sex acts (and whether activity inducing female orgasms included some form of clitoral stimulation), and auditory (verbal, vocal) and visual (bodily) indicators of orgasm. Content analysis was used to code and analyze the data. Results were analyzed in light of sexual script theory and previous orgasm research. Only 18.3% of women, compared to 78.0% of men, were shown reaching orgasm. Sex differences in depictions of orgasm, beyond the appearance of semen, were documented. Results support the male performance script as evident in pornographic depictions of orgasm, as well as coital and orgasm imperatives. As a result, representations of male and female orgasm in mainstream pornography may serve to perpetuate unrealistic beliefs and expectations in relation to female orgasm and male sexual performance.

Modeling Mode Choice Behavior Incorporating Household and Individual Sociodemographics and Travel Attributes Based on Rough Sets Theory

PubMed Central

Chen, Xuewu; Wei, Ming; Wu, Jingxian; Hou, Xianyao

2014-01-01

Most traditional mode choice models are based on the principle of random utility maximization derived from econometric theory. Alternatively, mode choice modeling can be regarded as a pattern recognition problem reflected from the explanatory variables of determining the choices between alternatives. The paper applies the knowledge discovery technique of rough sets theory to model travel mode choices incorporating household and individual sociodemographics and travel information, and to identify the significance of each attribute. The study uses the detailed travel diary survey data of Changxing county which contains information on both household and individual travel behaviors for model estimation and evaluation. The knowledge is presented in the form of easily understood IF-THEN statements or rules which reveal how each attribute influences mode choice behavior. These rules are then used to predict travel mode choices from information held about previously unseen individuals and the classification performance is assessed. The rough sets model shows high robustness and good predictive ability. The most significant condition attributes identified to determine travel mode choices are gender, distance, household annual income, and occupation. Comparative evaluation with the MNL model also proves that the rough sets model gives superior prediction accuracy and coverage on travel mode choice modeling. PMID:25431585

Compositional Models of Hematite-Rich Spherules (Blueberries) at Meridiani Planum, Mars and Constraints on Their Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, A.; Mittlefehldt, D.

2006-10-01

The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity discovered hematite-rich spherules (``blueberries'') believed to be diagenetic concretions formed in the bedrock in stagnant or slow-moving groundwater. These spherules likely precipitated from solution, but their origins are poorly understood. Three formation mechanisms are possible: inclusive, replacive and displacive. The first would result in a distinct spherule composition compared to the other two. We propose that chemical clues may help to constrain the nature of blueberry formation. We used Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer data for undisturbed soils that were blueberry-free and with visible blueberries at the surface in Microscopic Imager images. We made plots of the elements versus iron for the spherule-rich soils and compared them to a mixing line representative of a pure hematite end member spherule (called ``the zero model''). This modeled the replacive formation mechanism, in which pure hematite would replace all of the original material. If the spherules grew inclusively, chemical data should reflect a compositional component of the rock grains included during formation. Four models were developed to test for possible compositions of a rock component. These models could not easily explain the APXS data and thus demonstrate that the most plausible rock compositions are not components of blueberries.

Marine amoebae with cytoplasmic and perinuclear symbionts deeply branching in the Gammaproteobacteria

PubMed Central

Schulz, Frederik; Tyml, Tomáš; Pizzetti, Ilaria; Dyková, Iva; Fazi, Stefano; Kostka, Martin; Horn, Matthias

2015-01-01

Amoebae play an important ecological role as predators in microbial communities. They also serve as niche for bacterial replication, harbor endosymbiotic bacteria and have contributed to the evolution of major human pathogens. Despite their high diversity, marine amoebae and their association with bacteria are poorly understood. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of two novel marine amoebae together with their bacterial endosymbionts, tentatively named ‘Candidatus Occultobacter vannellae’ and ‘Candidatus Nucleophilum amoebae’. While one amoeba strain is related to Vannella, a genus common in marine habitats, the other represents a novel lineage in the Amoebozoa. The endosymbionts showed only low similarity to known bacteria (85–88% 16S rRNA sequence similarity) but together with other uncultured marine bacteria form a sister clade to the Coxiellaceae. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization and transmission electron microscopy, identity and intracellular location of both symbionts were confirmed; one was replicating in host-derived vacuoles, whereas the other was located in the perinuclear space of its amoeba host. This study sheds for the first time light on a so far neglected group of protists and their bacterial symbionts. The newly isolated strains represent easily maintainable model systems and pave the way for further studies on marine associations between amoebae and bacterial symbionts. PMID:26303516

BAS-drive trait modulates dorsomedial striatum activity during reward response-outcome associations.

PubMed

Costumero, Víctor; Barrós-Loscertales, Alfonso; Fuentes, Paola; Rosell-Negre, Patricia; Bustamante, Juan Carlos; Ávila, César

2016-09-01

According to the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, behavioral studies have found that individuals with stronger reward sensitivity easily detect cues of reward and establish faster associations between instrumental responses and reward. Neuroimaging studies have shown that processing anticipatory cues of reward is accompanied by stronger ventral striatum activity in individuals with stronger reward sensitivity. Even though establishing response-outcome contingencies has been consistently associated with dorsal striatum, individual differences in this process are poorly understood. Here, we aimed to study the relation between reward sensitivity and brain activity while processing response-reward contingencies. Forty-five participants completed the BIS/BAS questionnaire and performed a gambling task paradigm in which they received monetary rewards or punishments. Overall, our task replicated previous results that have related processing high reward outcomes with activation of striatum and medial frontal areas, whereas processing high punishment outcomes was associated with stronger activity in insula and middle cingulate. As expected, the individual differences in the activity of dorsomedial striatum correlated positively with BAS-Drive. Our results agree with previous studies that have related the dorsomedial striatum with instrumental performance, and suggest that the individual differences in this area may form part of the neural substrate responsible for modulating instrumental conditioning by reward sensitivity.

Quantitative investigation of non-hydrolytic disruptive activity on crystalline cellulose and application to recombinant swollenin.

PubMed

Wang, Yuguo; Tang, Rentao; Tao, Jin; Gao, Gui; Wang, Xiaonan; Mu, Ying; Feng, Yan

2011-09-01

For the efficient degradation and bioconversion of cellulosic biomass, it is important to efficiently disrupt and convert crystalline regions of cellulose into easily hydrolyzable regions than to simply hydrolyze cellulose. Expansin-like proteins such as swollenins have disruptive functions on lignocellulose, including crystalline cellulose, via non-hydrolytic mechanisms. In this work, we produced the swollenin from Trichoderma asperellum in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was then refolded into the bioactive form with simultaneous purification via a novel cellulose-assisted process. We devised a novel, simple, and efficient method to quantitatively determine the non-hydrolytic disruptive activity of swollenin on crystalline cellulose. This method is based on the synergism of the swollenin and the endoglucanase FnCel5A from Fervidobacterium nodosum. The change from crystalline regions into easily hydrolyzable forms, due to non-hydrolytic disruption, might be slight and not easily be observed. However, disrupted regions of cellulose could be hydrolyzed by FnCel5A, and reducing sugars were formed by the synergism. The disruptive function of the swollenin was quantitatively characterized by measuring the release of reducing sugars. These methods and processes will be useful for further research on non-hydrolytic disruptive bioactivities and provide novel approaches for the efficient and economical bioconversion of cellulosic biomass.

The ε-form of the differential equations for Feynman integrals in the elliptic case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Luise; Weinzierl, Stefan

2018-06-01

Feynman integrals are easily solved if their system of differential equations is in ε-form. In this letter we show by the explicit example of the kite integral family that an ε-form can even be achieved, if the Feynman integrals do not evaluate to multiple polylogarithms. The ε-form is obtained by a (non-algebraic) change of basis for the master integrals.

Data Processing on Database Management Systems with Fuzzy Query

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Şimşek, Irfan; Topuz, Vedat

In this study, a fuzzy query tool (SQLf) for non-fuzzy database management systems was developed. In addition, samples of fuzzy queries were made by using real data with the tool developed in this study. Performance of SQLf was tested with the data about the Marmara University students' food grant. The food grant data were collected in MySQL database by using a form which had been filled on the web. The students filled a form on the web to describe their social and economical conditions for the food grant request. This form consists of questions which have fuzzy and crisp answers. The main purpose of this fuzzy query is to determine the students who deserve the grant. The SQLf easily found the eligible students for the grant through predefined fuzzy values. The fuzzy query tool (SQLf) could be used easily with other database system like ORACLE and SQL server.

Constructivism in the Art Classroom: Praxis and Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Christine Marmé

2015-01-01

Constructivist thought and practice connect easily with forms of art education that emphasize choice and student agency. This article traces the contemporary forms of constructivism that vie with more structured pedagogical approaches in American schools and recommends policies and procedures that may preserve the qualities of constructivist…

Process for producing ceramic nitrides and carbonitrides and their precursors

DOEpatents

Brown, Gilbert M.; Maya, Leon

1988-01-01

A process for preparing ceramic nitrides and carbonitrides in the form of very pure, fine particulate powder. Appropriate precursor is prepared by reacting a transition metal alkylamide with ammonia to produce a mixture of metal amide and metal imide in the form of an easily pyrolyzable precipitate.

Process for producing ceramic nitrides anc carbonitrides and their precursors

DOEpatents

Brown, G.M.; Maya, L.

1987-02-25

A process for preparing ceramic nitrides and carbon nitrides in the form of very pure, fine particulate powder. Appropriate precursors is prepared by reaching a transition metal alkylamide with ammonia to produce a mixture of metal amide and metal imide in the form of an easily pyrolyzable precipitate.

Evaporation-based Ge/.sup.68 Ga Separation

DOEpatents

Mirzadeh, Saed; Whipple, Richard E.; Grant, Patrick M.; O'Brien, Jr., Harold A.

1981-01-01

Micro concentrations of .sup.68 Ga in secular equilibrium with .sup.68 Ge in strong aqueous HCl solution may readily be separated in ionic form from the .sup.68 Ge for biomedical use by evaporating the solution to dryness and then leaching the .sup.68 Ga from the container walls with dilute aqueous solutions of HCl or NaCl. The chloro-germanide produced during the evaporation may be quantitatively recovered to be used again as a source of .sup.68 Ga. If the solution is distilled to remove any oxidizing agents which may be present as impurities, the separation factor may easily exceed 10.sup.5. The separation is easily completed and the .sup.68 Ga made available in ionic form in 30 minutes or less.

Bias-Free Chemically Diverse Test Sets from Machine Learning.

PubMed

Swann, Ellen T; Fernandez, Michael; Coote, Michelle L; Barnard, Amanda S

2017-08-14

Current benchmarking methods in quantum chemistry rely on databases that are built using a chemist's intuition. It is not fully understood how diverse or representative these databases truly are. Multivariate statistical techniques like archetypal analysis and K-means clustering have previously been used to summarize large sets of nanoparticles however molecules are more diverse and not as easily characterized by descriptors. In this work, we compare three sets of descriptors based on the one-, two-, and three-dimensional structure of a molecule. Using data from the NIST Computational Chemistry Comparison and Benchmark Database and machine learning techniques, we demonstrate the functional relationship between these structural descriptors and the electronic energy of molecules. Archetypes and prototypes found with topological or Coulomb matrix descriptors can be used to identify smaller, statistically significant test sets that better capture the diversity of chemical space. We apply this same method to find a diverse subset of organic molecules to demonstrate how the methods can easily be reapplied to individual research projects. Finally, we use our bias-free test sets to assess the performance of density functional theory and quantum Monte Carlo methods.

Chaotic behaviour of Zeeman machines at introductory course of mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagy, Péter; Tasnádi, Péter

2016-05-01

Investigation of chaotic motions and cooperative systems offers a magnificent opportunity to involve modern physics into the basic course of mechanics taught to engineering students. In the present paper it will be demonstrated that Zeeman Machine can be a versatile and motivating tool for students to get introductory knowledge about chaotic motion via interactive simulations. It works in a relatively simple way and its properties can be understood very easily. Since the machine can be built easily and the simulation of its movement is also simple the experimental investigation and the theoretical description can be connected intuitively. Although Zeeman Machine is known mainly for its quasi-static and catastrophic behaviour, its dynamic properties are also of interest with its typical chaotic features. By means of a periodically driven Zeeman Machine a wide range of chaotic properties of the simple systems can be demonstrated such as bifurcation diagrams, chaotic attractors, transient chaos and so on. The main goal of this paper is the presentation of an interactive learning material for teaching the basic features of the chaotic systems through the investigation of the Zeeman Machine.

Evolution of coherence singularities of Schell-model beams.

PubMed

Rodrigo, José A; Alieva, Tatiana

2015-08-01

We show that the propagation of the widely used Schell-model partially coherent light can be easily understood using the ambiguity function. This approach is especially beneficial for the analysis of the mutual intensity of Schell-model beams (SMBs), which are associated with stable coherent beams such as Laguerre-, Hermite-, and Ince-Gaussian. We study the evolution of the coherence singularities during the SMB propagation. It is demonstrated that the distance of singularity formation depends on the coherence degree of the input beam. Moreover, it is proved that the shape, position, and number of singularity curves in far field are defined by the associated coherent beam.

Using MHD Models for Context for Multispacecraft Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiff, P. H.; Sazykin, S. Y.; Webster, J.; Daou, A.; Welling, D. T.; Giles, B. L.; Pollock, C.

2016-12-01

The use of global MHD models such as BATS-R-US to provide context to data from widely spaced multispacecraft mission platforms is gaining in popularity and in effectiveness. Examples are shown, primarily from the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) program compared to BATS-R-US. We present several examples of large-scale magnetospheric configuration changes such as tail dipolarization events and reconfigurations after a sector boundary crossing which are made much more easily understood by placing the spacecraft in the model fields. In general, the models can reproduce the large-scale changes observed by the various spacecraft but sometimes miss small-scale or rapid time changes.

Resource Prospector: Evaluating the ISRU Potential of the Lunar Poles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colaprete, A.; Elphic, R. C.; Andrews, D.; Bluethmann, W.; Quinn, J.; Chavers, D. G.

2017-12-01

Resource Prospector (RP) is a lunar volatiles prospecting mission being developed for potential flight in CY2021-2022. The mission includes a rover-borne payload that (1) can locate surface and near-subsurface volatiles, (2) excavate and analyze samples of the volatile-bearing regolith, and (3) demonstrate the form, extractability and usefulness of the materials. The primary mission goal for RP is to evaluate the In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) potential of the lunar poles. While it is now understood that lunar water and other volatiles have a much greater extent of distribution, possible forms, and concentrations than previously believed, to fully understand how viable these volatiles are as a resource to support human exploration of the solar system, the distribution and form needs to be understood at a "human" scale. That is, the "ore body" must be better understood at the scales it would be worked before it can be evaluated as a potential architectural element within any evolvable lunar or Mars campaign. This talk will provide an overview of the RP mission with an emphasis on mission goals and measurements, and will provide an update as to its current status.

Quick and Easy Rate Equations for Multistep Reactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savage, Phillip E.

2008-01-01

Students rarely see closed-form analytical rate equations derived from underlying chemical mechanisms that contain more than a few steps unless restrictive simplifying assumptions (e.g., existence of a rate-determining step) are made. Yet, work published decades ago allows closed-form analytical rate equations to be written quickly and easily for…

Molding cork sheets to complex shapes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sharpe, M. H.; Simpson, W. G.; Walker, H. M.

1977-01-01

Partially cured cork sheet is easily formed to complex shapes and then final-cured. Temperature and pressure levels required for process depend upon resin system used and final density and strength desired. Sheet can be bonded to surface during final cure, or can be first-formed in mold and bonded to surface in separate step.

Racial Shame and the Pleasure of Transformation: Richard Rodriguez's Queer Aesthetics of Assimilation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beltran, Cristina

2012-01-01

This essay analyzes Latino conservative thought by rethinking the logics of assimilation through a simultaneous exploration of aesthetic possibility and negative affect. Focusing on the writings of Richard Rodriguez, the essay considers how creative forms of self-individuation and political agency cannot easily be decoupled from negative forms of…

Breeding Poverty? Great Issues Lecture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latham, Glenn

People classified as "cultural familial retarded" form a segment of the U.S. population that is easily overlooked by society, yet constitutes a growing problem. Individuals with this inherited form of mental retardation (estimated to number in excess of 5 million) are reared in a culturally inferior milieu and have a need for life-long social…

Mesoscopic structure conditions the emergence of cooperation on social networks

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

Lozano, S.; Arenas, A.; Sanchez, A.

We study the evolutionary Prisoner's Dilemma on two social networks substrates obtained from actual relational data. We find very different cooperation levels on each of them that cannot be easily understood in terms of global statistical properties of both networks. We claim that the result can be understood at the mesoscopic scale, by studying the community structure of the networks. We explain the dependence of the cooperation level on the temptation parameter in terms of the internal structure of the communities and their interconnections. We then test our results on community-structured, specifically designed artificial networks, finding a good agreement withmore » the observations in both real substrates. Our results support the conclusion that studies of evolutionary games on model networks and their interpretation in terms of global properties may not be sufficient to study specific, real social systems. Further, the study allows us to define new quantitative parameters that summarize the mesoscopic structure of any network. In addition, the community perspective may be helpful to interpret the origin and behavior of existing networks as well as to design structures that show resilient cooperative behavior.« less

Adaptation of an evidence-based postpartum depression intervention: feasibility and acceptability of mothers and babies 1-on-1.

PubMed

Darius Tandon, S; Leis, Julie A; Ward, Erin A; Snyder, Hannah; Mendelson, Tamar; Perry, Deborah F; Carter, Mya; Hamil, Jaime; Le, Huynh-Nhu

2018-04-11

Mothers and Babies (MB) is a cognitive-behavioral intervention with demonstrated efficacy in reducing depressive symptoms and preventing depressive episodes among perinatal women when delivered in a group format by mental health professionals. Study aims were to describe the adaptation of MB into a 1-on-1 modality (MB 1-on-1) and provide data on the adapted intervention's acceptability and feasibility. Seventy-five home visitors trained on MB 1-on-1 delivered the 15-session intervention to 1-2 clients. Client acceptability data assessed intervention enjoyment, comprehension, and usefulness. Home visitor feasibility and acceptability data measured amount of intervention material delivered, client comprehension, and client engagement. Home visitors were all female with 8.8 years of experience on average. 117 clients completed acceptability surveys. Average client age was 21.9 years and 41% were pregnant. Home visitors completely covered 87.9% of sessions and reported clients totally understood MB material 82.5% of the time across sessions, although variability was found in comprehension across modules. 82.0% of clients found MB 1-on-1 enjoyable and 91.6% said they totally understood sessions, when averaged across sessions. Clients enjoyed content on noticing one's mood and pleasant activities. Implementation challenges were client engagement, facilitating completion of personal projects, and difficulty shifting between didactic and interactive activities. Clients found MB 1-on-1 to be enjoyable, easily understood, and useful. Home visitors reported excellent implementation fidelity and felt clients understood MB material. A refined 12-session version of MB 1-on-1 should be examined for its effectiveness in reducing depressive symptoms, given encouraging feasibility and acceptability data.

Predator perception and the interrelation between different forms of protective coloration

PubMed Central

Stevens, Martin

2007-01-01

Animals possess a range of defensive markings to reduce the risk of predation, including warning colours, camouflage, eyespots and mimicry. These different strategies are frequently considered independently, and with little regard towards predator vision, even though they may be linked in various ways and can be fully understood only in terms of predator perception. For example, camouflage and warning coloration need not be mutually exclusive, and may frequently exploit similar features of visual perception. This paper outlines how different forms of protective markings can be understood from predator perception and illustrates how this is fundamental in determining the mechanisms underlying, and the interrelation between, different strategies. Suggestions are made for future work, and potential mechanisms discussed in relation to various forms of defensive coloration, including disruptive coloration, eyespots, dazzle markings, motion camouflage, aposematism and mimicry. PMID:17426012

The School Short-Form Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory: Revised and Improved

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hills, Peter R.; Francis, Leslie J.; Jennings, Penelope

2011-01-01

The school short form of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory is a widely used measure of children's global self-esteem. Unlike the full-length scale, however, it has been generally understood that the short form does not allow differentiation between the major individual sources of self-esteem. The present study has examined the internal…

Method and apparatus for semi-solid material processing

DOEpatents

Han, Qingyou [Knoxville, TN; Jian, Xiaogang [Knoxville, TN; Xu, Hanbing [Knoxville, TN; Meek, Thomas T [Knoxville, TN

2009-02-24

A method of forming a material includes the steps of: vibrating a molten material at an ultrasonic frequency while cooling the material to a semi-solid state to form non-dendritic grains therein; forming the semi-solid material into a desired shape; and cooling the material to a solid state. The method makes semi-solid castings directly from molten materials (usually a metal), produces grain size usually in the range of smaller than 50 .mu.m, and can be easily retrofitted into existing conventional forming machine.

Method and apparatus for semi-solid material processing

DOEpatents

Han, Qingyou [Knoxville, TN; Jian, Xiaogang [Knoxville, TN; Xu, Hanbing [Knoxville, TN; Meek, Thomas T [Knoxville, TN

2009-11-24

A method of forming a material includes the steps of: vibrating a molten material at an ultrasonic frequency while cooling the material to a semi-solid state to form non-dendritic grains therein; forming the semi-solid material into a desired shape; and cooling the material to a solid state. The method makes semi-solid castings directly from molten materials (usually a metal), produces grain size usually in the range of smaller than 50 .mu.m, and can be easily retrofitted into existing conventional forming maching.

Method and apparatus for semi-solid material processing

DOEpatents

Han, Qingyou [Knoxville, TN; Jian, Xiaogang [Knoxville, TN; Xu, Hanbing [Knoxville, TN; Meek, Thomas T [Knoxville, TN

2007-05-15

A method of forming a material includes the steps of: vibrating a molten material at an ultrasonic frequency while cooling the material to a semi-solid state to form non-dendritic grains therein; forming the semi-solid material into a desired shape; and cooling the material to a solid state. The method makes semi-solid castings directly from molten materials (usually a metal), produces grain size usually in the range of smaller than 50 .mu.m, and can be easily retrofitted into existing conventional forming machine.

Eolian Signal of the Onset of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in North America Re-Deposited and Preserved As Paleo-Cave Sediments, Southwestern Colorado, U.S.a.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, J. E.; Soreghan, M. J.

2014-12-01

The Molas Formation is a loessite consisting of reddish silt of Early Pennsylvanian (Bashkirian) age. U-Pb age spectra of accessory zircons indicate long-distance (>2000 km) transport from the Grenville province in northeastern North America plus sources from the peri-Gondwanan terranes in southeastern North America and local sources in the Ancestral Rocky Mountains uplift. These eolian sediments formed a blanket deposit <30 m thick above a paleokarst landscape in southwestern Colorado, infilling solution valleys and burying karst towers developed on the underlying Mississippian (Tournaisian-Visean) Leadville Limestone. The loessite is an eolian signal for the probable onset of glaciation at multiple locations in tectonically uplifted mountainous areas in North America. However, the loessite is easily eroded and has low preservation potential. Prior to lithification, significant amounts of the loess were remobilized and transported into the underlying karst system. As paleo-cave deposits, encased in limestone and dolostone, the silt-rich deposits have a higher preservation potential, and the eolian signal of the onset of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age in North America is still recognizable. However, the following signal modification processes need to be understood: (1) source area weathering and pedogenesis; (2) land-atmosphere transfer processes; (3) deposition effects of paleotopography, vegetation and moisture conditions, and infiltration into open fractures and/or the matrix of colluvium; (4) remobilization by surface runoff into open fractures and/or groundwater piping/sapping processes in loess soils; (5) transport into vadose and phreatic karst passageways by episodic ("streamflood") hydrologic events, forming event deposits (debrites, inundites, and jointites); (6) breakout dome collapse (forming interbedded cave sediments, karst breccias, and speleothems); (7) lithification and diagenesis; (8) post-lithification modification including pervasive hydrothermal mineralization; and (9) correctly recognizing the age of the signal.

The Concept of Wind in Traditional Chinese Medicine

PubMed Central

Dashtdar, Mehrab; Dashtdar, Mohammad Reza; Dashtdar, Babak; Kardi, Karima; Shirazi, Mohammad khabaz

2016-01-01

The use of folk medicine has been widely embraced in many developed countries under the name of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) and is now becoming the mainstream in the UK and the rest of Europe, as well as in North America and Australia. Diversity, easy accessibility, broad continuity, relatively low cost, base levels of technological inputs, fewer side effects, and growing economic importance are some of the positive features of folk medicine. In this framework, a critical need exists to introduce the practice of folk medicine into public healthcare if the goal of reformed access to healthcare facilities is to be achieved. The amount of information available to public health practitioners about traditional medicine concepts and the utilization of that information are inadequate and pose many problems for the delivery of primary healthcare globally. Different societies have evolved various forms of indigenous perceptions that are captured under the broad concept of folk medicine, e.g., Persian, Chinese, Grecian, and African folk medicines, which explain the lack of universally accepted definitions of terms. Thus, the exchange of information on the diverse forms of folk medicine needs to be facilitated. Various concepts of Wind are found in books on traditional medicine, and many of those go beyond the boundaries established in old manuscripts and are not easily understood. This study intends to provide information, context, and guidance for the collection of all important information on the different concepts of Wind and for their simplification. This new vision for understanding earlier Chinese medicine will benefit public health specialists, traditional and complementary medicine practitioners, and those who are interested in historical medicine by providing a theoretical basis for the traditional medicines and the acupuncture that is used to eliminate Wind in order to treat various diseases. PMID:28097039

The Concept of Wind in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

PubMed

Dashtdar, Mehrab; Dashtdar, Mohammad Reza; Dashtdar, Babak; Kardi, Karima; Shirazi, Mohammad Khabaz

2016-12-01

The use of folk medicine has been widely embraced in many developed countries under the name of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) and is now becoming the mainstream in the UK and the rest of Europe, as well as in North America and Australia. Diversity, easy accessibility, broad continuity, relatively low cost, base levels of technological inputs, fewer side effects, and growing economic importance are some of the positive features of folk medicine. In this framework, a critical need exists to introduce the practice of folk medicine into public healthcare if the goal of reformed access to healthcare facilities is to be achieved. The amount of information available to public health practitioners about traditional medicine concepts and the utilization of that information are inadequate and pose many problems for the delivery of primary healthcare globally. Different societies have evolved various forms of indigenous perceptions that are captured under the broad concept of folk medicine, e.g., Persian, Chinese, Grecian, and African folk medicines, which explain the lack of universally accepted definitions of terms. Thus, the exchange of information on the diverse forms of folk medicine needs to be facilitated. Various concepts of Wind are found in books on traditional medicine, and many of those go beyond the boundaries established in old manuscripts and are not easily understood. This study intends to provide information, context, and guidance for the collection of all important information on the different concepts of Wind and for their simplification. This new vision for understanding earlier Chinese medicine will benefit public health specialists, traditional and complementary medicine practitioners, and those who are interested in historical medicine by providing a theoretical basis for the traditional medicines and the acupuncture that is used to eliminate Wind in order to treat various diseases.

Evolution of Mat Strength from the Paleoarchean to the Modern: A Record of Evolving Microbial Communities?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tice, M.; Pope, M.; Thornton, D.

2011-12-01

Fossil microbial mats, i.e. surface-attached communities of benthic microorganisms, form the most extensive record of life on Earth. Qualitatively changing mat morphologies from 3.43-0.56-billion-years-ago may reflect the evolution of microorganism communities or changing environmental conditions. However, mat morphogenesis is not well understood or easily quantifiable, making interpretation of the mat record difficult. We show that microbial mat cohesion increased from ~1 Pa to ~13 Pa at 2.7-billion-years-ago (Ga), and has remained high for most of the rest of Earth history. This initial increase may represent an early increase in the productivity of mat communities, a change in the composition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by mat-formers, or a change in the composition of seawater affecting EPS strength. The appearance of early high-strength communities was coincident with the appearance of voids representing gas bubbles in the apices of conical stromatolites; together, these changes may record the emergence of productive mat communities dominated by oxygenic cyanobacteria. The earliest high-strength communities, like early bubble-forming conical stromatolites, grew in low-energy environments. The appearance of high-strength communities in shallow-water environments starting 2.63-2.52 Ga coincided with the appearance of the first barrier reef complexes. We hypothesize that the first oxygenic cyanobacteria were most competitive with anoxygenic phototrophs in diffusion-limited environments. As the cyanobacteria became more proficient at oxygenic photosynthesis, they eventually outcompeted anoxygenic phototrophs in higher-energy environments. Competition with higher strength seaweed and grazing by metazoans has displaced mat communities from essentially all modern high-energy niches.

Handwriting Instruction for a High-Tech Society: Will Handwriting Be Necessary?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furner, Beatrice A.

Assuming that some handwriting will be necessary in the computer age, questions remain as to the instructional techniques that facilitate learning in handwriting, whether the cost and time required to teach two forms of writing can be justified, and which form is learned more easily and is better suited for use in a technological age. Effective…

An Experiment in Physical Chemistry: Polymorphism and Phase Stability in Acetaminophen (Paracetamol)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myrick, Michael L.; Baranowski, Megan; Profeta, Luisa T. M.

2010-01-01

Differential scanning calorimetry analyses of two easily prepared polymorphs of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) are recorded. The density of the forms can be found in the literature. Rules for heats of transition, heats of fusion, and density, as well as methods for determining the solid-solid transition temperature between the forms,…

The topological pressure-temperature phase diagram of fluoxetine nitrate: monotropy unexpectedly turning into enantiotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Céolin, René; Rietveld, Ivo B.

2017-04-01

The phase behavior of pharmaceuticals is important for regulatory requirements and dosage form development. Racemic fluoxetine nitrate possesses two crystalline forms for which initial measurements indicated that they have a monotropic relationship with form I the only stable form. By constructing the topological pressure-temperature phase diagram, it has been shown that unexpectedly form II has a stable domain in the phase diagram and can be easily obtained by heating and grinding. The pressure necessary to obtain form II is only 11 MPa, which is much lower than most pressure used for tableting in the pharmaceutical industry.

Hybrid discrete-time neural networks.

PubMed

Cao, Hongjun; Ibarz, Borja

2010-11-13

Hybrid dynamical systems combine evolution equations with state transitions. When the evolution equations are discrete-time (also called map-based), the result is a hybrid discrete-time system. A class of biological neural network models that has recently received some attention falls within this category: map-based neuron models connected by means of fast threshold modulation (FTM). FTM is a connection scheme that aims to mimic the switching dynamics of a neuron subject to synaptic inputs. The dynamic equations of the neuron adopt different forms according to the state (either firing or not firing) and type (excitatory or inhibitory) of their presynaptic neighbours. Therefore, the mathematical model of one such network is a combination of discrete-time evolution equations with transitions between states, constituting a hybrid discrete-time (map-based) neural network. In this paper, we review previous work within the context of these models, exemplifying useful techniques to analyse them. Typical map-based neuron models are low-dimensional and amenable to phase-plane analysis. In bursting models, fast-slow decomposition can be used to reduce dimensionality further, so that the dynamics of a pair of connected neurons can be easily understood. We also discuss a model that includes electrical synapses in addition to chemical synapses with FTM. Furthermore, we describe how master stability functions can predict the stability of synchronized states in these networks. The main results are extended to larger map-based neural networks.

From leader to leadership: clinician managers and where to next?

PubMed

Fulop, Liz; Day, Gary E

2010-08-01

Individual clinician leadership is at the forefront of health reforms in Australia as well as overseas with many programs run by health departments (and hospitals) generally focus on the development of individual leaders. This paper argues, along with others, that leadership in the clinician management context cannot be understood from an individualistic approach alone. Clinician managers, especially in the ranks of doctors, are usually described as 'hybrid-professional managers' as well as reluctant leaders for whom most leadership theories do not easily apply. Their experiences of leadership development programs run by health departments both in Australia and internationally are likely to be based on an individual leader-focussed approach that is driving health care reforms. These approaches work from three key assumptions: (1) study and fix the person; (2) give them a position or title; and (3) make them responsible for results. Some would argue that the combination of these three approaches equates to heroic and transformational leadership. Several alternative approaches to leadership development are presented to illustrate how reforms in healthcare, and notably in hospitals, must incorporate alternative approaches, such as those based on collective and relational forms of leadership. This does not mean eschewing individual approaches to leadership but rather, thinking of them differently and making them more relevant to the daily experiences of clinician managers. We conclude by highlighting several significant challenges facing leadership development for clinician managers that arise from these considerations.

PID feedback controller used as a tactical asset allocation technique: The G.A.M. model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gandolfi, G.; Sabatini, A.; Rossolini, M.

2007-09-01

The objective of this paper is to illustrate a tactical asset allocation technique utilizing the PID controller. The proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is widely applied in most industrial processes; it has been successfully used for over 50 years and it is used by more than 95% of the plants processes. It is a robust and easily understood algorithm that can provide excellent control performance in spite of the diverse dynamic characteristics of the process plant. In finance, the process plant, controlled by the PID controller, can be represented by financial market assets forming a portfolio. More specifically, in the present work, the plant is represented by a risk-adjusted return variable. Money and portfolio managers’ main target is to achieve a relevant risk-adjusted return in their managing activities. In literature and in the financial industry business, numerous kinds of return/risk ratios are commonly studied and used. The aim of this work is to perform a tactical asset allocation technique consisting in the optimization of risk adjusted return by means of asset allocation methodologies based on the PID model-free feedback control modeling procedure. The process plant does not need to be mathematically modeled: the PID control action lies in altering the portfolio asset weights, according to the PID algorithm and its parameters, Ziegler-and-Nichols-tuned, in order to approach the desired portfolio risk-adjusted return efficiently.

Direct Conjugation of Emerging Contaminants in Arabidopsis: Indication for an Overlooked Risk in Plants?

PubMed

Fu, Qiuguo; Zhang, Jianbo; Borchardt, Dan; Schlenk, Daniel; Gan, Jay

2017-06-06

Agricultural use of treated wastewater, biosolids, and animal wastes introduces a multitude of contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs) into the soil-plant system. The potential for food crops to accumulate CECs depends largely on their metabolism in plants, which at present is poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the metabolism of naproxen and ibuprofen, two of the most-used human drugs from the Profen family, in Arabidopsis thaliana cells and the Arabidopsis plant. The complementary use of high-resolution mass spectrometry and 14 C labeling allowed the characterization of both free and conjugated metabolites, as well as nonextractable residues. Naproxen and ibuprofen, in their parent form, were conjugated quickly and directly with glutamic acid and glutamine, and further with peptides, in A. thaliana cells. For example, after 120 h, the metabolites of naproxen accounted for >90% of the extractable chemical mass, while the intact parent itself was negligible. The structures of glutamate and glutamine conjugates were confirmed using synthesized standards and further verified in whole plants. Amino acid conjugates may easily deconjugate, releasing the parent molecule. This finding highlights the possibility that the bioactivity of such CECs may be effectively preserved through direct conjugation, a previously overlooked risk. Many other CECs are also carboxylic acids, such as the profens. Therefore, direct conjugation may be a common route for plant metabolism of these CECs, making it imperative to consider conjugates when assessing their risks.

Representing Human Expertise by the OWL Web Ontology Language to Support Knowledge Engineering in Decision Support Systems.

PubMed

Ramzan, Asia; Wang, Hai; Buckingham, Christopher

2014-01-01

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) often base their knowledge and advice on human expertise. Knowledge representation needs to be in a format that can be easily understood by human users as well as supporting ongoing knowledge engineering, including evolution and consistency of knowledge. This paper reports on the development of an ontology specification for managing knowledge engineering in a CDSS for assessing and managing risks associated with mental-health problems. The Galatean Risk and Safety Tool, GRiST, represents mental-health expertise in the form of a psychological model of classification. The hierarchical structure was directly represented in the machine using an XML document. Functionality of the model and knowledge management were controlled using attributes in the XML nodes, with an accompanying paper manual for specifying how end-user tools should behave when interfacing with the XML. This paper explains the advantages of using the web-ontology language, OWL, as the specification, details some of the issues and problems encountered in translating the psychological model to OWL, and shows how OWL benefits knowledge engineering. The conclusions are that OWL can have an important role in managing complex knowledge domains for systems based on human expertise without impeding the end-users' understanding of the knowledge base. The generic classification model underpinning GRiST makes it applicable to many decision domains and the accompanying OWL specification facilitates its implementation.

In Between or in the Middle of Everything — How to Find the Pathway for a Small Department Library During Multiple Internal and External Change Factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akerholt, L. N.; Christensen, A.

2010-10-01

The Astrophysics Library is one of the smallest libraries at the University of Oslo, serving 10 masters students and approximately 50 academic employees at the Department of Theoretical Astrophysics. But the small size does not reduce the pressure on the institution when it comes to internal and external change factors. Change factors are understood as circumstances which influence the department library, but are outside the control of normal library routines.In this paper we explore these change factors and try to establish a strategy to find our "path" for the future. We find that internal change factors are quite easily handled, given enough time and proper funding, while the nature of external change factors makes it harder to decide on a future course.To illustrate the pressure exerted on the department library we give a brief summation of the challenges we have met regarding internal and external change factors. Our experiences indicate that we should establish closer cooperation with the academic staff and students, and also call for an improved communication strategy towards other institutions such as the Museum of University History as well as the National Library of Norway. We explore new forms of communication and suggest developing these in collaboration with the academic staff.

Gene expression profiles responses to aphid feeding in chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium).

PubMed

Xia, Xiaolong; Shao, Yafeng; Jiang, Jiafu; Ren, Liping; Chen, Fadi; Fang, Weimin; Guan, Zhiyong; Chen, Sumei

2014-12-02

Chrysanthemum is an important ornamental plant all over the world. It is easily attacked by aphid, Macrosiphoniella sanbourni. The molecular mechanisms of plant defense responses to aphid are only partially understood. Here, we investigate the gene expression changes in response to aphid feeding in chrysanthemum leaf by RNA-Seq technology. Three libraries were generated from pooled leaf tissues of Chrysanthemum morifolium 'nannongxunzhang' that were collected at different time points with (Y) or without (CK) aphid infestations and mock puncture treatment (Z), and sequenced using an Illumina HiSeqTM 2000 platform. A total of 7,363,292, 7,215,860 and 7,319,841 clean reads were obtained in library CK, Y and Z, respectively. The proportion of clean reads was >97.29% in each library. Approximately 76.35% of the clean reads were mapped to a reference gene database including all known chrysanthemum unigene sequences. 1,157, 527 and 340 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the comparison of CK-VS-Y, CK-VS-Z and Z-VS-Y, respectively. These DEGs were involved in phytohormone signaling, cell wall biosynthesis, photosynthesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathway and transcription factor regulatory networks, and so on. Changes in gene expression induced by aphid feeding are shown to be multifaceted. There are various forms of crosstalk between different pathways those genes belonging to, which would allow plants to fine-tune its defense responses.

Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes or Inherited Disorders of Neuromuscular Transmission: Recent Discoveries and Open Questions

PubMed Central

Nicole, Sophie; Azuma, Yoshiteru; Bauché, Stéphanie; Eymard, Bruno; Lochmüller, Hanns; Slater, Clarke

2017-01-01

Congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) form a heterogeneous group of rare diseases characterized by fatigable muscle weakness. They are genetically-inherited and caused by defective synaptic transmission at the cholinergic neuromuscular junction (NMJ). The number of genes known to cause CMS when mutated is currently 30, and the relationship between fatigable muscle weakness and defective functions is quite well-understood for many of them. However, some of the most recent discoveries in individuals with CMS challenge our knowledge of the NMJ, where the basis of the pathology has mostly been investigated in animal models. Frontier forms between CMS and congenital myopathy, which have been genetically and clinically identified, underline the poorly understood interplay between the synaptic and extrasynaptic molecules in the neuromuscular system. In addition, precise electrophysiological and histopathological investigations of individuals with CMS suggest an important role of NMJ plasticity in the response to CMS pathogenesis. While efficient drug-based treatments are already available to improve neuromuscular transmission for most forms of CMS, others, as well as neurological and muscular comorbidities, remain resistant. Taken together, the available pathological data point to physiological issues which remain to be understood in order to achieve precision medicine with efficient therapeutics for all individuals suffering from CMS. PMID:29125502

Demonstrating the Direction of Angular Velocity in Circular Motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demircioglu, Salih; Yurumezoglu, Kemal; Isik, Hakan

2015-09-01

Rotational motion is ubiquitous in nature, from astronomical systems to household devices in everyday life to elementary models of atoms. Unlike the tangential velocity vector that represents the instantaneous linear velocity (magnitude and direction), an angular velocity vector is conceptually more challenging for students to grasp. In physics classrooms, the direction of an angular velocity vector is taught by the right-hand rule, a mnemonic tool intended to aid memory. A setup constructed for instructional purposes may provide students with a more easily understood and concrete method to observe the direction of the angular velocity. This article attempts to demonstrate the angular velocity vector using the observable motion of a screw mounted to a remotely operated toy car.

Trust in health research relationships: accounts of human subjects.

PubMed

McDonald, Michael; Townsend, Anne; Cox, Susan M; Paterson, Natasha Damiano; Lafrenière, Darquise

2008-12-01

TRUST IS FUNDAMENTAL in health research, yet there is little empirical evidence that explores the meaning of trust from the perspective of human subjects. The analysis presented here focuses on how human subjects talked about trust in the in-depth interviews. It emerged from the accounts that trust could not be assumed in the research setting, rather it was portrayed as a dynamic concept, built and easily broken, characterized by reciprocity and negotiation. Human subjects were ambivalent about who, when, what, and how much to trust in the research endeavor. This paper adds a fresh perspective to the literature on trust, and so offers a currently neglected, and little understood dimension to the discourse around health research ethics.

The 'sleeping beauty' galaxy NGC 4826: an almost textbook example of the Abelian Higgs vorto-source (-sink)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saniga, Metod

1995-03-01

It is demonstrated that the kinematic 'peculiarity' of the early Sab galaxy NGC 4826 can easily be understood in terms of the Abelian Higgs (AH) model of spiral galaxies. A cylindrically symmetric AH vorto-source (-sink) with a disk-to-bulge ratio Omega greater than 1 is discussed and the distributions of the diagonal components of the corresponding stress-energy tensor Tmu,nu are presented. It is argued that the sign-changing component Tphiphi could account for the existence of two counter-rotating gas disks while negative values of Trr imply inward gas motions as observed in the outer and transition regions of the galaxy.

Making NASA Earth Observing System Satellite Data Accessible to the K-12 and Citizen Scientist Communities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Susan W.; Phelps, Carrie S.; Chambers, Lin H.

2004-01-01

The Atmospheric Sciences Data Center (ASDC) at NASA s Langley Research Center houses over 700 data sets related to Earth s radiation budget, clouds, aerosols and tropospheric chemistry. These data sets are produced to increase academic understanding of the natural and anthropogenic perturbations that influence global climate change. The Mentoring and inquirY using NASA Data on Atmospheric and earth science for Teachers and Amateurs (MY NASA DATA) project has been established to systematically support educational activities at all levels of formal and informal education by reducing these large data holdings to microsets that will be easily explored and understood by the K-12 and the amateur scientist communities

Deep frequency modulation interferometry.

PubMed

Gerberding, Oliver

2015-06-01

Laser interferometry with pm/Hz precision and multi-fringe dynamic range at low frequencies is a core technology to measure the motion of various objects (test masses) in space and ground based experiments for gravitational wave detection and geodesy. Even though available interferometer schemes are well understood, their construction remains complex, often involving, for example, the need to build quasi-monolithic optical benches with dozens of components. In recent years techniques have been investigated that aim to reduce this complexity by combining phase modulation techniques with sophisticated digital readout algorithms. This article presents a new scheme that uses strong laser frequency modulations in combination with the deep phase modulation readout algorithm to construct simpler and easily scalable interferometers.

Enhancements to the Design Manager's Aide for Intelligent Decomposition (DeMAID)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, James L.; Barthelemy, Jean-Francois M.

1992-01-01

This paper discusses the addition of two new enhancements to the program Design Manager's Aide for Intelligent Decomposition (DeMAID). DeMAID is a knowledge-based tool used to aid a design manager in understanding the interactions among the tasks of a complex design problem. This is done by ordering the tasks to minimize feedback, determining the participating subsystems, and displaying them in an easily understood format. The two new enhancements include (1) rules for ordering a complex assembly process and (2) rules for determining which analysis tasks must be re-executed to compute the output of one task based on a change in input to that or another task.

Enhancements to the Design Manager's Aide for Intelligent Decomposition (DeMaid)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, James L.; Barthelemy, Jean-Francois M.

1992-01-01

This paper discusses the addition of two new enhancements to the program Design Manager's Aide for Intelligent Decomposition (DeMAID). DeMAID is a knowledge-based tool used to aid a design manager in understanding the interactions among the tasks of a complex design problem. This is done by ordering the tasks to minimize feedback, determining the participating subsystems, and displaying them in an easily understood format. The two new enhancements include (1) rules for ordering a complex assembly process and (2) rules for determining which analysis tasks must be re-executed to compute the output of one task based on a change in input to that or another task.

The Study of an Integrated Rating System for Supplier Quality Performance in the Semiconductor Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yu-Cheng; Yen, Tieh-Min; Tsai, Chih-Hung

This study provides an integrated model of Supplier Quality Performance Assesment (SQPA) activity for the semiconductor industry through introducing the ISO 9001 management framework, Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) Supplier Quality Performance Assesment and Taguchi`s Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S/N) techniques. This integrated model provides a SQPA methodology to create value for all members under mutual cooperation and trust in the supply chain. This method helps organizations build a complete SQPA framework, linking organizational objectives and SQPA activities to optimize rating techniques to promote supplier quality improvement. The techniques used in SQPA activities are easily understood. A case involving a design house is illustrated to show our model.

The Emergence of Organizing Structure in Conceptual Representation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lake, Brenden M.; Lawrence, Neil D.; Tenenbaum, Joshua B.

2018-01-01

Both scientists and children make important structural discoveries, yet their computational underpinnings are not well understood. Structure discovery has previously been formalized as probabilistic inference about the right structural form--where form could be a tree, ring, chain, grid, etc. (Kemp & Tenenbaum, 2008). Although this approach…

Aeolis Yardangs

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-01-12

This MGS MOC image shows a group of tapered ridges, known as yardangs, which formed by wind erosion of a relatively easily-eroded material, most likely sedimentary rock or volcanic ash deposits containing some fraction of sand-sized grains

United States - Japan Workshop on Dielectric and Piezoelectric Ceramics (3rd) Held in Toyama, Japan on November 9-12, 1986.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-07-30

produced by the hydrothern-al syn- thesis method is the most easily sinterable independent of whether or not an additive is added. Based on this...combination properties of a stacked ceramic formed of (E) and a conventional ceramic. Aml (I ,, __________ ,__ (Cl 0D) Er " -120 70 20 , Er- 0 - ’ 80 I so...such an additive for low firing temperature to easily sin- terable Barium Titanate obtained by the hydrothermal syn- thesis method. It is also

Metathesis depolymerizable surfactants

DOEpatents

Jamison, Gregory M [Albuquerque, NM; Wheeler, David R [Albuquerque, NM; Loy, Douglas A [Tucson, AZ; Simmons, Blake A [San Francisco, CA; Long, Timothy M [Evanston, IL; McElhanon, James R [Manteca, CA; Rahimian, Kamyar [Albuquerque, NM; Staiger, Chad L [Albuquerque, NM

2008-04-15

A class of surfactant molecules whose structure includes regularly spaced unsaturation in the tail group and thus, can be readily decomposed by ring-closing metathesis, and particularly by the action of a transition metal catalyst, to form small molecule products. These small molecules are designed to have increased volatility and/or enhanced solubility as compared to the original surfactant molecule and are thus easily removed by solvent extraction or vacuum extraction at low temperature. By producing easily removable decomposition products, the surfactant molecules become particularly desirable as template structures for preparing meso- and microstructural materials with tailored properties.

Modifying Optical Properties of ZnO Films by Forming Zn[subscript 1-x] Co[subscript x]O Solid Solutions via Spray Pyrolysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bentley, Anne K.; Weaver, Gabriela C.; Russell, Cianan B.; Fornes, William L.; Choi, Kyoung-Shin; Shih, Susan M.

2007-01-01

A simple and cost-effective experiment for the development and characterization of semiconductors using Uv-vis spectroscopy is described. The study shows that the optical properties of ZnO films can be easily modified by forming Zn[subscript 1-x] Co[subscript x]O solid solutions via spray pyrolysis.

Biogenic formation and growth of uraninite (UO₂).

PubMed

Lee, Seung Yeop; Baik, Min Hoon; Choi, Jong Won

2010-11-15

Biogenic UO₂ (uraninite) nanocrystals may be formed as a product of a microbial reduction process in uranium-enriched environments near the Earth's surface. We investigated the size, nanometer-scale structure, and aggregation state of UO₂ formed by iron-reducing bacterium, Shewanella putrefaciens CN32, from a uranium-rich solution. Characterization of biogenic UO₂ precipitates by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed that the UO₂ nanoparticles formed were highly aggregated by organic polymers. Nearly all of the nanocrystals were networked in more or less 100 nm diameter spherical aggregates that displayed some concentric UO₂ accumulation with heterogeneity. Interestingly, pure UO₂ nanocrystals were piled on one another at several positions via UO₂-UO₂ interactions, which seem to be intimately related to a specific step in the process of growing large single crystals. In the process, calcium that was easily complexed with aqueous uranium(VI) appeared not to be combined with bioreduced uranium(IV), probably due to its lower binding energy. However, when phosphate was added to the system, calcium was found to be easily associated with uranium(IV), forming a new uranium phase, ningyoite. These results will extend the limited knowledge of microbial uraniferous mineralization and may provide new insights into the fate of aqueous uranium complexes.

Loosely bound oxytetracycline in riverine sediments from two tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay

USGS Publications Warehouse

Simon, N.S.

2005-01-01

The fate of antibiotics that bind to riverine sediment is not well understood. A solution used in geochemical extraction schemes to determine loosely bound species in sediments, 1 M MgCl2 (pH 8), was chosen to determine loosely bound, and potentially bioavailable, tetracycline antibiotics (TCs), including oxytetracycline (5-OH tetracycline) (OTC) in sediment samples from two rivers on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Bottom sediments were collected at sites upstream from, at, and downstream from municipal sewage-treatment plants (STPs) situated on two natural waterways, Yellow Bank Stream, MD, and the Pocomoke River, MD. Concentrations of easily desorbed OTC ranged from 0.6 to approximately 1.2 ??g g-1 dry wt sediment in Yellow Bank Stream and from 0.7 to approximately 3.3 ??g g-1 dry wt sediment in the Pocomoke River. Concentrations of easily desorbable OTC were generally smaller in sediment upstream than in sediment downstream from the STP in the Pocomoke River. STPs and poultry manure are both potential sources of OTC to these streams. OTC that is loosely bound to sediment is subject to desorption. Other researchers have found desorbed TCs to be biologically active compounds.

Augmented Reality for Searching Potential Assets in Medan using GPS based Tracking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muchtar, M. A.; Syahputra, M. F.; Syahputra, N.; Ashrafia, S.; Rahmat, R. F.

2017-01-01

Every city is required to introduce its variety of potential assets so that the people know how to utilize or to develop their area. Potential assets include infrastructure, facilities, people, communities, organizations, customs that affects the characteristics and the way of life in Medan. Due to lack of socialization and information, most of people in Medan only know a few parts of the assets. Recently, so many mobile apps provide search and mapping locations used to find the location of potential assets in user’s area. However, the available information, such as text and digital maps, sometimes do not much help the user clearly and dynamically. Therefore, Augmented Reality technology able to display information in real world vision is implemented in this research so that the information can be more interactive and easily understood by user. This technology will be implemented in mobile apps using GPS based tracking and define the coordinate of user’s smartphone as a marker so that it can help people dynamically and easily find the location of potential assets in the nearest area based on the direction of user’s view on camera.

Unique Normal Form and the Associated Coefficients for a Class of Three-Dimensional Nilpotent Vector Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jing; Kou, Liying; Wang, Duo; Zhang, Wei

2017-12-01

In this paper, we mainly focus on the unique normal form for a class of three-dimensional vector fields via the method of transformation with parameters. A general explicit recursive formula is derived to compute the higher order normal form and the associated coefficients, which can be achieved easily by symbolic calculations. To illustrate the efficiency of the approach, a comparison of our result with others is also presented.

Amelogenesis imperfecta

MedlinePlus

... a tooth development disorder. It causes the tooth enamel to be thin and abnormally formed. Enamel is the outer layer of teeth. ... The enamel of the tooth is soft and thin. The teeth appear yellow and are easily damaged. Both baby ...

Photorefractive optical fuzzy-logic processor based on grating degeneracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Weishu; Yang, Changxi; Campbell, Scott; Yeh, Pochi

1995-04-01

A novel optical fuzzy-logic processor using light-induced gratings in photorefractive crystals is proposed and demonstrated. By exploiting grating degeneracy, one can easily implement parallel fuzzy-logic functions in disjunctive normal form.

Shaken baby symptoms (image)

MedlinePlus

... is a severe form of head injury caused by the baby's brain rebounding inside of the baby's skull when shaken. In this injury there is bruising of the brain, swelling, pressure, and bleeding (intracerebral hemorrhage). This can easily lead ...

Annual Research Review: Phenotypic and Causal Structure of Conduct Disorder in the Broader Context of Prevalent Forms of Psychopathology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lahey, Benjamin B.; Waldman, Irwin D.

2012-01-01

Background: A better understanding of the nature and etiology of conduct disorder (CD) can inform nosology and vice versa. We posit that any prevalent form of psychopathology, including CD, can be best understood if it is studied in the context of other correlated forms of child and adolescent psychopathology using formal models to guide inquiry.…

Life Out of Chaos

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arrhenius, Gustaf

2002-01-01

Doctinary overlays on the definition of life can effectively be avoided by focusing discussion on microorganisms, their vital processes, and their genetic pedigree. To reach beyond these present and highly advanced forms of life and to inquire about its origin it is necessary to consider the requirements imposed by the environment. These requirements include geophysically and geochemically acceptable conjectures for the generation of source compounds, their concentration from dilute solution, and their selective combination into functional biomolecules. For vital function these macromolecules require programming in the form of specific sequence motifs. This critical programming constitutes the scientifically least understood process in the origin of life. Once this stage has been surpassed the laws of Darwinian evolution can operate in ways that are understood and experimentally demonstrated.

[Hygienic risks in swimming pool: knowledge and behaviours of consumers of three structures in Crema, Parma and Naples].

PubMed

Liguori, G; Castaldi, S; Signorelli, C; Auxilia, F; Alfano, V; Saccani, E; Visciano, A; Fanti, M; Spinelli, A; Pasquarella, C

2007-01-01

The swimmers health's protection and the maintenance of good safety standards of structures can be guaranteed under observance of rules and the well management of the structures and activities. An anonymous questionnaire, with 38 items, was used in order to analyse and better understand the knowledge and behaviour of the users of three swimming pools in Crema, Naples and Parma. Socio-demographic features were similar in the three centres. One of the most important result was that the necessity of showers and foot-bath before entering the swimming pool is not well understood (77% and 78% respectively); caps and foot bath are, instead, almost always worn (98% and 97%). Knowledge on infection diseases transmitted by water is very poor, warts and mycosis being the best known. Sport structures are places where health and wellness can be affected. It is important to underline the role of behavioural rules as the use of showers, caps, and proper shoes. Authors recognize the swimming pool regulations as a valid tool for health promotion. It must be clear and easily understood and it has to be linked to a proper education pathway of all users and employees.

Study of the glass formation of high temperature superconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ethridge, Edwin C.; Kaukler, William F.; Rolin, Terry

1992-01-01

A number of compositions of ceramic oxide high T(sub c) superconductors were elevated for their glass formation ability by means of rapid thermal analysis during quenching, optical, and electron microscopy of the quenched samples, and with subsequent DSC measurements. Correlations between experimental measurements and the methodical composition changes identified the formulations of superconductors that can easily form glass. The superconducting material was first formed as a glass; then, with subsequent devitrification, it was formed into a bulk crystalline superconductor by a series of processing methods.

Thermodynamic Equilibrium Calculations on Cd Transformation during Sewage Sludge Incineration.

PubMed

Liu, Jing-yong; Huang, Limao; Sun, Shuiyu; Ning, Xun'an; Kuo, Jiahong; Sun, Jian; Wang, Yujie; Xie, Wuming

2016-06-01

Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations were performed to reveal the distribution of cadmium during the sewage sludge incineration process. During sludge incineration in the presence of major minerals, such as SiO2, Al2O3 and CaO, the strongest effect was exerted by SiO2 on the Cd transformation compared with the effect of others. The stable solid product of CdSiO3 was formed easily with the reaction between Cd and SiO2, which can restrain the emissions of gaseous Cd pollutants. CdCl2 was formed more easily in the presence of chloride during incineration, thus, the volatilization of Cd was advanced by increasing chlorine content. At low temperatures, the volatilization of Cd was restrained due to the formation of the refractory solid metal sulfate. At high temperatures, the speciation of Cd was not affected by the presence of sulfur, but sulfur could affect the formation temperature of gaseous metals.

Reconfigurable origami-inspired acoustic waveguides

PubMed Central

Babaee, Sahab; Overvelde, Johannes T. B.; Chen, Elizabeth R.; Tournat, Vincent; Bertoldi, Katia

2016-01-01

We combine numerical simulations and experiments to design a new class of reconfigurable waveguides based on three-dimensional origami-inspired metamaterials. Our strategy builds on the fact that the rigid plates and hinges forming these structures define networks of tubes that can be easily reconfigured. As such, they provide an ideal platform to actively control and redirect the propagation of sound. We design reconfigurable systems that, depending on the externally applied deformation, can act as networks of waveguides oriented along one, two, or three preferential directions. Moreover, we demonstrate that the capability of the structure to guide and radiate acoustic energy along predefined directions can be easily switched on and off, as the networks of tubes are reversibly formed and disrupted. The proposed designs expand the ability of existing acoustic metamaterials and exploit complex waveguiding to enhance control over propagation and radiation of acoustic energy, opening avenues for the design of a new class of tunable acoustic functional systems. PMID:28138527

Thermally-Activated Metal-to-Glass Bonding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallagher, B. D.

1986-01-01

Hermetic seals formed easily by use of metallo-organic film. Metallo-organic film thermally bonded to glass and soldered or welded to form hermetic seal. Film applied as ink consisting of silver neodecanoate in xylene. Relative amounts of ingredients selected to obtain desired viscosity. Material applied by printing or even by scribing with pen. Sealing technique useful in making solar-cell modules, microelectronic packages, and other hermetic silicon devices.

Stromquist, N., & Samoff, J. (2000). Knowledge Management Systems: On the Promise and Actual Forms of Information Technologies. "British Association for International and Comparative Education," 30(3), 323-332

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gramlich, Catherine

2003-01-01

In their article," Knowledge Management Systems: On the Promise and Actual Forms of Information Technologies, Stromquist and Samoff (2000)" critically examined the role of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) in education. Stromquist and Samoff (2000) defined a KMS as a system "which proposes to produce easily retrievable materials…

The Forms and Functions of Impulsive Actions: Implications for Behavioral Assessment and Therapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farmer, Richard F.; Golden, Jeannie A.

2009-01-01

Impulsivity is a central defining feature of several psychiatric disorders and a frequent correlate of many forms of psychopathology and maladjustment. Despite recognition of the importance of impulsivity to an understanding of a wide variety of clinically-relevant behaviors, this multifaceted construct remains ill-defined and not well understood.…

Network Search: A New Way of Seeing the Education Knowledge Domain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McFarland, Daniel; Klopfer, Eric

2010-01-01

Background: The educational knowledge domain may be understood as a system composed of multiple, co-evolving networks that reflect the form and content of a cultural field. This paper describes the educational knowledge domain as having a community structure (form) based in relations of production (authoring) and consumption (referencing), and a…

Should I stay or should I go? Understanding the shapeshifting rainbow trout/steelhead

Treesearch

Geoff Koch; Gordon Reeves

2015-01-01

Steelhead are the sea-going form of Oncorhynchus mykiss. Rainbow trout,also O. mykiss, remain in freshwater. Each form, or life-history, can produce offspring of the other, but the mechanism for this and potential effects that climate change may have on the species are poorly understood.Forest...

Pedagogical content knowledge: Knowledge of pedagogy novice teachers in mathematics learning on limit algebraic function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma'rufi, Budayasa, I. Ketut; Juniati, Dwi

2017-02-01

Teacher is one of the key aspects of student's achievement. Teachers should master content material taught, how to teach it, and can interpret the students' thinking so that students easily understand the subject matter. This research was a qualitative research that aimed at describing profile of PCK's teachers in mathematics on limit algebraic functions in terms of the differences of teaching experience. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and understanding of teachers is defined as involving the relationship between knowledge of teaching materials, how to transfer the subject matter, and the knowledge of students in mathematics on limit algebraic functions that the subject matter may be understood by students. The PCK components in this research were knowledge of subject matter, knowledge of pedagogy, and knowledge of students. Knowledge of pedagogy defines as knowledge and understanding of teachers about the planning and organization of the learning and teaching strategy of limit algebraic function. The subjects were two mathematics high school teachers who teach in class XI IPS. Data were collected through observation of learning during five meetings and interviews before and after the lesson continued with qualitative data analysis. Focus of this article was to describe novice teacher's knowledge of student in mathematics learning on limit algebraic function. Based on the results of the analysis of qualitative data the data concluded that novice teacher's knowledge of pedagogy in mathematics on limit algebraic function showed: 1) in teaching the definitions tend to identify prior knowledge of the student experience with the material to be studied, but not in the form of a problem, 2) in posing the questions tend to be monotonous non lead and dig, 3) in response to student questions preservice teachers do not take advantage of the characteristics or the potential of other students, 4) in addressing the problem of students, tend to use the drill approach and did not give illustrations easily to understand by students, 5) in teaching application concepts, tend to explain procedurally, without explaining the reasons why these steps are carried out, 6) less varied in the use of learning strategies.

Dynamical networks with topological self-organization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zak, M.

2001-01-01

Coupled evolution of state and topology of dynamical networks is introduced. Due to the well organized tensor structure, the governing equations are presented in a canonical form, and required attractors as well as their basins can be easily implanted and controlled.

Reducing Soot in Diesel Exhaust

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bellan, J.

1984-01-01

Electrically charged fuel improves oxidation. Fuel injection system reduces amount of soot formed in diesel engines. Spray injector electrically charges fuel droplets as they enter cylinder. Charged droplets repel each other, creating, dilute fuel mist easily penetrated by oxygen in cylinder.

Visual Working Memory Capacity: From Psychophysics and Neurobiology to Individual Differences

PubMed Central

Luck, Steven J.; Vogel, Edward K.

2013-01-01

Visual working memory capacity is of great interest because it is strongly correlated with overall cognitive ability, can be understood at the level of neural circuits, and is easily measured. Recent studies have shown that capacity influences tasks ranging from saccade targeting to analogical reasoning. A debate has arisen over whether capacity is constrained by a limited number of discrete representations or by an infinitely divisible resource, but the empirical evidence and neural network models currently favor a discrete item limit. Capacity differs markedly across individuals and groups, and recent research indicates that some of these differences reflect true differences in storage capacity whereas others reflect variations in the ability to use memory capacity efficiently. PMID:23850263

Monitoring and control requirement definition study for Dispersed Storage and Generation (DSG). Volume 5, appendix D: Cost-benefit considerations for providing dispersed storage and generation for electric utilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

Cost benefit considerations are extremely important in obtaining the acceptance of dispersed storage and generation (DSG) by the electric utilities. These considerations involved somewhat different economic analyses depending on whether the generation is utility, customer, or combined ownership. It is necessary to get acceptance of more easily understood methods for evaluating the economics of DSG because much of the benefits of DSG may accrue in the generation and transmission portions of the utility system while the costs tend to be centered in the distribution portion of that system. The influence of factors, such as reliability, capital costs, and other economic measures were also investigated.

On the role of weak interface in crack blunting process in nanoscale layered composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yi; Zhou, Qing; Zhang, Shuang; Huang, Ping; Xu, Kewei; Wang, Fei; Lu, Tianjian

2018-03-01

Heterointerface in a nanoscale metallic layered composite could improve its crack resistance. However, the influence of metallic interface structures on crack propagation has not been well understood at atomic scale. By using the method of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, the crack propagation behavior in Cu-Nb bilayer is compared with that in Cu-Ni bilayer. We find that the weak Cu-Nb interface plays an important role in hindering crack propagation in two ways: (i) dislocation nucleation at the interface releases stress concentration for the crack to propagate; (ii) the easily sheared weak incoherent interface blunts the crack tip. The results are helpful for understanding the interface structure dependent crack resistance of nanoscale bicrystal interfaces.

[Development of an instrument to measure psychosocial determinants of physical activity behavior among coronary heart disease patients].

PubMed

Mendez, Roberto Della Rosa; Rodrigues, Roberta Cunha Matheus; Cornélio, Marilia Estevam; Gallani, Maria Cecília Bueno Jayme; Godin, Gaston

2010-09-01

The aim of this study was to report the development and the analysis of content validity and reliability of the Psychosocial Determinants of Physical Activity among Coronary Heart Disease Patients Questionnaire, based on an extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior. In the content validity step, three experts evaluated the instrument which was, afterwards, pre-tested with five subjects in order to obtain a conceptually appropriate and easily understood instrument. Fifty-one patients participated in the evaluation of internal consistency of the reviewed instrument. Cronbach's alpha coefficients above 0.75 were observed for the constructs: Intention, Attitude, Subjective Norm, Self-efficacy and Habit. The new instrument demonstrated acceptable evidence of content validity and reliability.

The teacher taught? What Charles Darwin owed to John Lubbock

PubMed Central

Pearn, Alison

2014-01-01

The period around the publication of John Lubbock's Origin of civilisation in 1870 and Charles Darwin's Descent of man and selection in relation to sex the following year is key to a re-evaluation of the relationship between the two men, usually characterized as that of pupil and master. It is in the making of Descent that Lubbock's role as a scientific collaborator is most easily discerned, a role best understood within the social and political context of the time. Lubbock made Darwin—both the man and his science—acceptable and respectable. Less obvious is Darwin's conscious cultivation of Lubbock's patronage in both his private and public life, and Lubbock's equally conscious bestowal, culminating in his role in Darwin's burial in Westminster Abbey.

Stationarity: Wanted dead or alive?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lins, Larry F.; Cohn, Timothy A.

2011-01-01

Aligning engineering practice with natural process behavior would appear, on its face, to be a prudent and reasonable course of action. However, if we do not understand the long-term characteristics of hydroclimatic processes, how does one find the prudent and reasonable course needed for water management? We consider this question in light of three aspects of existing and unresolved issues affecting hydroclimatic variability and statistical inference: Hurst-Kolmogorov phenomena; the complications long-term persistence introduces with respect to statistical understanding; and the dependence of process understanding on arbitrary sampling choices. These problems are not easily addressed. In such circumstances, humility may be more important than physics; a simple model with well-understood flaws may be preferable to a sophisticated model whose correspondence to reality is uncertain.

Asia from Space: New Ideas for Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkinson, M. Justin

2011-01-01

Megafans, also known (incorrectly) as inland deltas, are partial cones of fluvial sediment with radii >100 km. Each is generated by a formative river avulsing across a lowland. The alluvial tract (channel, levee, overbank, etc.) is the building block for megafans. Planform and sectional analyses, based on SRTM data, reveal their conical, low-angle morphology. Megafans are not geologically rare as often assumed but a normal feature in the hierarchy of fluvial features that is slowly beginning to be understood. Our global survey contains a total of >150 examples worldwide, in all tectonic basin types, with a majority of smaller, more easily distinguished megafans occupying classic foreland basins (54%) which may explain the general view that megafans only form in Himalaya-like foreland basins, especially since the Kosi Megafan in the Indogangetic Plain is one of the best known in the geological literature. Recent research has shown that all actively alluviating basins are occupied by fanlike sediment masses, from the well known smaller and steeper alluvial fan (level 8 in Miall s hierarchy of fluvial forms), to the much larger megafan feature (level 9). A close relationship exists between upland basin size and fan size and slope. Larger upland drainage basins give rise to low-slope megafan sedimentation, which can cover very large areas where the receptacle basin exists individual megafan areas are 10(sup 3-5) square kilometers, and collectively cover 1.2 million square kilometers in South America, for example. The habitat of megafans is now sufficiently well understood that prediction of some modern cryptic megafan locations has been successfully achieved. Underground prediction therefore seems possible, where sufficient data exists. It seems necessary to distinguish megafans from (i) steep, coarse-grained mountain-front alluvial fans which are overwhelmingly coarse-grained, (ii) deltas, since megafans lack distal shoreline processes), and (iii) confined floodplains which lack radial drainage. Numerous other differences can be identified. As a normal component of the modern fluvial environment, megafans must exist in the subsurface. Megafan size, predictable channel patterns of the formative river, and the gradation from coarser to finer sediments from apex to toe of megafans are characteristics that ought to assist in understanding subsurface patterns of hydrocarbon host rocks, and possibly source rocks as well. We show examples from various producing basins. A roughness map of Asia, based on an algorithm developed for Mars, shows megafan landscapes to be dominated by short baseline roughness and low slopes, consistent with megafan-dominated plains worldwide. Interestingly, this a unique signature for a larger continental landform.

System and method for forming synthetic protein crystals to determine the conformational structure by crystallography

DOEpatents

Craig, George D.; Glass, Robert; Rupp, Bernhard

1997-01-01

A method for forming synthetic crystals of proteins in a carrier fluid by use of the dipole moments of protein macromolecules that self-align in the Helmholtz layer adjacent to an electrode. The voltage gradients of such layers easily exceed 10.sup.6 V/m. The synthetic protein crystals are subjected to x-ray crystallography to determine the conformational structure of the protein involved.

The effect of arsenic chemical form and mixing regime on arsenic mass transfer from soil to magnetite.

PubMed

Yang, Kyung; Kim, Byung-Chul; Nam, Kyoungphile; Choi, Yongju

2017-03-01

This study investigated the effect of chemical forms of arsenic (As) and soil-magnetite mixing regimes on As mass transfer in magnetite-amended soil. Two soil samples with different component ratios of As chemical forms were prepared. In the absence of magnetite, the amount of desorbable As was strongly dependent on the fraction of easily extractable As in soil. Contact of the soils with magnetite in a slurry phase significantly reduced soil As concentration for both soils. Changes in As concentrations in soil, magnetite, and water by the slurry phase contact were simulated using an As mass transfer model. The model parameters were determined independently for each process of As soil desorption and magnetite sorption. The experimentally measured As mass transfer from soil to magnetite was significantly greater than the simulation result. By sequential extraction, it was observed that the soil As concentration was significantly reduced not only for easily extractable As, but also for relatively strongly bound forms of As. Enclosing the magnetite in a dialysis bag substantially limited the As mass transfer from soil to magnetite. These results suggest that improving the mixture between Fe oxides and soils can facilitate the effectiveness of As stabilization using Fe oxides.

Genetically modified Medicago truncatula lacking calcium oxalate has increased calcium bioavailability and partially rescues vitamin D receptor knockout mice phenotypes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

How the distribution and sequestered form of plant macro/micro-nutrients influence their bioavailability, and ultimately impact human health, is poorly understood. The legume Medicago truncatula has a portion of its tissue calcium sequestered in the form of the calcium oxalate crystal, which reduces...

Role of Dentate Gyrus in Aligning Internal Spatial Map to External Landmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jong Won; Kim, Woon Ryoung; Sun, Woong; Jung, Min Whan

2009-01-01

Humans and animals form internal representations of external space based on their own body movement (dead reckoning) as well as external landmarks. It is poorly understood, however, how different types of information are integrated to form a unified representation of external space. To examine the role of dentate gyrus (DG) in this process, we…

Process for manufacture of semipermeable silicon nitride membranes

DOEpatents

Galambos, Paul Charles; Shul, Randy J.; Willison, Christi Gober

2003-12-09

A new class of semipermeable membranes, and techniques for their fabrication, have been developed. These membranes, formed by appropriate etching of a deposited silicon nitride layer, are robust, easily manufacturable, and compatible with a wide range of silicon micromachining techniques.

Star Formation in the Heart of the Swan

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-09

Best known as a swan winging its way across the night, the constellation Cygnus is easily seen in the northern hemisphere summertime sky. NASA WISE telescope captured this image of a huge complex of star-forming clouds and stellar clusters.

GHX, Broadlane form latest e-commerce linkup.

PubMed

2002-08-01

Broadlane agreed in June to connect its electronic commerce system to the supplier-owned site run by GHX. As a result, contract compliance could either improve or be more easily evaded, depending on hospitals' response to the wider choice of suppliers.

Work function and surface stability of tungsten-based thermionic electron emission cathodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobs, Ryan; Morgan, Dane; Booske, John

2017-11-01

Materials that exhibit a low work function and therefore easily emit electrons into vacuum form the basis of electronic devices used in applications ranging from satellite communications to thermionic energy conversion. W-Ba-O is the canonical materials system that functions as the thermionic electron emitter commercially used in a range of high-power electron devices. However, the work functions, surface stability, and kinetic characteristics of a polycrystalline W emitter surface are still not well understood or characterized. In this study, we examined the work function and surface stability of the eight lowest index surfaces of the W-Ba-O system using density functional theory methods. We found that under the typical thermionic cathode operating conditions of high temperature and low oxygen partial pressure, the most stable surface adsorbates are Ba-O species with compositions in the range of Ba0.125O-Ba0.25O per surface W atom, with O passivating all dangling W bonds and Ba creating work function-lowering surface dipoles. Wulff construction analysis reveals that the presence of O and Ba significantly alters the surface energetics and changes the proportions of surface facets present under equilibrium conditions. Analysis of previously published data on W sintering kinetics suggests that fine W particles in the size range of 100-500 nm may be at or near equilibrium during cathode synthesis and thus may exhibit surface orientation fractions well described by the calculated Wulff construction.

Sensitivity Analysis as a Tool to assess Energy-Water Nexus in India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priyanka, P.; Banerjee, R.

2017-12-01

Rapid urbanization, population growth and related structural changes with-in the economy of a developing country act as a stressor on energy and water demand, which forms a well-established energy-water nexus. Energy-water nexus is thoroughly studied at various spatial scales viz. city level, river basin level and national level- to guide different stakeholders for sustainable management of energy and water. However, temporal dimensions of energy-water nexus at national level have not been thoroughly investigated because of unavailability of relevant time-series data. In this study we investigated energy-water nexus at national level using environmentally-extended input-output tables for Indian economy (2004-2013) as provided by EORA database. Perturbation based sensitivity analysis is proposed to highlight the critical nodes of interactions among economic sectors which is further linked to detect the synergistic effects of energy and water consumption. Technology changes (interpreted as change in value of nodes) results in modification of interactions among economic sectors and synergy is affected through direct as well as indirect effects. Indirect effects are not easily understood through preliminary examination of data, hence sensitivity analysis within an input-output framework is important to understand the indirect effects. Furthermore, time series data helps in developing the understanding on dynamics of synergistic effects. We identified the key sectors and technology changes for Indian economy which will provide the better decision support for policy makers about sustainable use of energy-water resources in India.

ON THE MASS DISTRIBUTION AND BIRTH MASSES OF NEUTRON STARS

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

Oezel, Feryal; Psaltis, Dimitrios; Santos Villarreal, Antonio

We investigate the distribution of neutron star masses in different populations of binaries, employing Bayesian statistical techniques. In particular, we explore the differences in neutron star masses between sources that have experienced distinct evolutionary paths and accretion episodes. We find that the distribution of neutron star masses in non-recycled eclipsing high-mass binaries as well as of slow pulsars, which are all believed to be near their birth masses, has a mean of 1.28 M{sub Sun} and a dispersion of 0.24 M{sub Sun }. These values are consistent with expectations for neutron star formation in core-collapse supernovae. On the other hand,more » double neutron stars, which are also believed to be near their birth masses, have a much narrower mass distribution, peaking at 1.33 M{sub Sun }, but with a dispersion of only 0.05 M{sub Sun }. Such a small dispersion cannot easily be understood and perhaps points to a particular and rare formation channel. The mass distribution of neutron stars that have been recycled has a mean of 1.48 M{sub Sun} and a dispersion of 0.2 M{sub Sun }, consistent with the expectation that they have experienced extended mass accretion episodes. The fact that only a very small fraction of recycled neutron stars in the inferred distribution have masses that exceed {approx}2 M{sub Sun} suggests that only a few of these neutron stars cross the mass threshold to form low-mass black holes.« less

"I just googled and read everything": Exploring breast cancer survivors' use of the internet to find information on complementary medicine.

PubMed

Holmes, Michelle M; Bishop, Felicity L; Calman, Lynn

2017-08-01

Breast cancer survivors often turn to the internet as an information resource when deciding whether to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) but their use of online CAM-related resources is poorly understood. The objective was to explore breast cancer survivors' use of the internet when making decisions about CAM use. A purposive sample of 11 breast cancer survivors (mean age=56) completed a quantitative questionnaire and a qualitative telephone interview. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was used to guide interview questions. Framework analysis and descriptive statistics were used. United Kingdom. All participants found information on CAM using the internet and used some form of CAM after their diagnosis. Themes from the interviews went beyond the standard definitions of the TPB areas. Despite the lack of approval from their social network and healthcare team, participants used the internet to find information on CAM. Further, participants' cancer diagnosis changed their needs, transforming how they perceived and experienced the internet CONCLUSIONS: Participants' use of the internet was more complex than can easily be explained by the TPB and was inherently connected to the experience of self-management for the consequences of cancer and its treatment. As breast cancer survivors may not disclose their use of the internet to their healthcare team, healthcare professionals need to be aware that the information available on the internet plays a factor in the decision-making process to use CAM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Melting behavior of mixed U-Pu oxides under oxidizing conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strach, Michal; Manara, Dario; Belin, Renaud C.; Rogez, Jacques

2016-05-01

In order to use mixed U-Pu oxide ceramics in present and future nuclear reactors, their physical and chemical properties need to be well determined. The behavior of stoichiometric (U,Pu)O2 compounds is relatively well understood, but the effects of oxygen stoichiometry on the fuel performance and stability are often still obscure. In the present work, a series of laser melting experiments were carried out to determine the impact of an oxidizing atmosphere, and in consequence the departure from a stoichiometric composition on the melting behavior of six mixed uranium plutonium oxides with Pu content ranging from 14 to 62 wt%. The starting materials were disks cut from sintered stoichiometric pellets. For each composition we have performed two laser melting experiments in pressurized air, each consisting of four shots of different duration and intensity. During the experiments we recorded the temperature at the surface of the sample with a pyrometer. Phase transitions were qualitatively identified with the help of a reflected blue laser. The observed phase transitions occur at a systematically lower temperature, the lower the Pu content of the studied sample. It is consistent with the fact that uranium dioxide is easily oxidized at elevated temperatures, forming chemical species rich in oxygen, which melt at a lower temperature and are more volatile. To our knowledge this campaign is a first attempt to quantitatively determine the effect of O/M on the melting temperature of MOX.

Glass formability of high T(sub c) Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaukler, William F.

1992-01-01

A number of compositions of ceramic oxide high T(sub c) superconductors were evaluated for their glass formation ability by means of rapid thermal analysis during quenching, optical and electron microscopy of the quenched samples, and with subsequent DSC measurements. Correlations between experimental measurements and the methodical composition changes identified the formulations of superconductors that can easily form glass. The superconducting material was first formed as a glass, then with subsequent devitrification it was formed into bulk crystalline superconductor by a series of processing methods.

1H, 13C, 15N NMR analysis of sildenafil base and citrate (Viagra) in solution, solid state and pharmaceutical dosage forms.

PubMed

Wawer, Iwona; Pisklak, Maciej; Chilmonczyk, Zdzisław

2005-08-10

Sildenafil citrate (SC) (Viagra) and sildenafil base in pure form are easily and unequivocally characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Analysis of chemical shifts indicates that: (i) N6-H forms intramolecular hydrogen bonds, (ii) N25 is protonated in the salt and (iii) intermolecular OH...N hydrogen bonds involving N2 and N4 are present in the solid sildenafil citrate. 13C CPMAS NMR method has been proposed for the identification and quantitation of Viagra in its pharmaceutical formulations.

Self-Alining, Latching Joint For Folding Structural Elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bush, H. G.; Wallsom, R. E.

1982-01-01

Structural column elements assembled quickly and easily with aid of new center joint. Joint alines column elements automatically and fastens them together securely. Tapered half columns are stacked like paper cups, unfolded, and connected to other similar elements to form truss structures.

Remote file inquiry (RFI) system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

System interrogates and maintains user-definable data files from remote terminals, using English-like, free-form query language easily learned by persons not proficient in computer programming. System operates in asynchronous mode, allowing any number of inquiries within limitation of available core to be active concurrently.

An Easy Synthesis of Two Cage Hydrocarbons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dong, Dao Cong

1982-01-01

Describes a simple, three-step synthesis of two cage molecules, birdcage hydrocarbon (VIII) and its homologue, the homobirdcage hydrocarbon IX. Indicates that all products are easily purified and formed in high yields in this activity suitable for advanced undergraduate laboratory courses. (Author/JN)

Cyclic Voltammetry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Dennis H.; And Others

1983-01-01

Cyclic voltammetry is a simple experiment that has become popular in chemical research because it can provide useful information about redox reactions in a form which is easily obtained and interpreted. Discusses principles of the method and illustrates its use in the study of four electrode reactions. (Author/JN)

System and method for forming synthetic protein crystals to determine the conformational structure by crystallography

DOEpatents

Craig, G.D.; Glass, R.; Rupp, B.

1997-01-28

A method is disclosed for forming synthetic crystals of proteins in a carrier fluid by use of the dipole moments of protein macromolecules that self-align in the Helmholtz layer adjacent to an electrode. The voltage gradients of such layers easily exceed 10{sup 6}V/m. The synthetic protein crystals are subjected to x-ray crystallography to determine the conformational structure of the protein involved. 2 figs.

Module Configuration

DOEpatents

Oweis, Salah; D'Ussel, Louis; Chagnon, Guy; Zuhowski, Michael; Sack, Tim; Laucournet, Gaullume; Jackson, Edward J.

2002-06-04

A stand alone battery module including: (a) a mechanical configuration; (b) a thermal management configuration; (c) an electrical connection configuration; and (d) an electronics configuration. Such a module is fully interchangeable in a battery pack assembly, mechanically, from the thermal management point of view, and electrically. With the same hardware, the module can accommodate different cell sizes and, therefore, can easily have different capacities. The module structure is designed to accommodate the electronics monitoring, protection, and printed wiring assembly boards (PWAs), as well as to allow airflow through the module. A plurality of modules may easily be connected together to form a battery pack. The parts of the module are designed to facilitate their manufacture and assembly.

Rhythmic artifact of physiotherapy in intensive care unit EEG recordings.

PubMed

Young, Bryan; Raihan, Syed; Ladak, H; Kelly, Martin

2007-06-01

Intensive care unit EEG recordings are often contaminated by artifacts that are unseen elsewhere and are usually not documented. One is the rhythmic artifact of physiotherapy (RAP), which can follow the frequency of chest percussion or vibration with either fundamental or harmonic sinusoidal wave forms, affecting single or multiple channels. The occipital electrodes are the most commonly affected, but others can be involved separately or in combination. RAP can easily be mistaken for cerebrally originating rhythms, including seizures. RAP is most easily detected by examining the ECG channel, which usually captures the artifact, but video EEG provides another means, at least for chest percussion.

Still the last great open secret: Sexual harassment as systemic trauma.

PubMed

Fitzgerald, Louise F

2017-01-01

Despite being illegal for more than half a century, sexual harassment remains today the most pervasive form of violence against women, often encompassing other forms of violence in its ambit. This stubborn and pernicious persistence rests largely on (1) a pervasive system of attitudes and beliefs, accruing over centuries and embedded in a variety of cultural institutions, that denies and rationalizes systemic abuse of women; and (2), the organizational and institutional actors that serve to maintain this system, a phenomenon that has come to be known as institutional betrayal. These phenomena, the attitudinal aspects of "rape culture" combined with the iatrogenic features of organizations, institutions, make clear that sexual harassment and the cultural system in which it is embedded is best understood as "systemic trauma" requiring multilevel prevention and intervention systems that are yet to be fully identified or understood.

The impact of time on predicate forms in the manual modality: Signers, homesigners, and silent gesturers*

PubMed Central

Goldin-Meadow, Susan

2014-01-01

It is difficult to create spoken forms that can be understood on the spot. But the manual modality, in large part because of its iconic potential, allows us to construct forms that are immediately understood, thus requiring essentially no time to develop. This paper contrasts manual forms for actions produced over 3 time spans—by silent gesturers who are asked to invent gestures on the spot; by homesigners who have created gesture systems over their lifespans; and by signers who have learned a conventional sign language from other signers—and finds that properties of the predicate differ across these time spans. Silent gesturers use location to establish co-reference in the way established sign languages do, but show little evidence of the segmentation sign languages display in motion forms for manner and path, and little evidence of the finger complexity sign languages display in handshapes in predicates representing events. Homesigners, in contrast, not only use location to establish co-reference, but also display segmentation in their motion forms for manner and path and finger complexity in their object handshapes, although they have not yet decreased finger complexity to the levels found in sign languages in their handling handshapes. The manual modality thus allows us to watch language as it grows, offering insight into factors that may have shaped and may continue to shape human language. PMID:25329421

Purification and substrate specificity of polymorphic forms of esterase D from human erythrocytes.

PubMed Central

Scott, E M; Wright, R C

1978-01-01

Esterase D (EsD), purified from human erythrocytes and tested with a variety of substrates, hydrolyzed only triacetin, tributyrin, and certain soluble aryl esters of aliphatic acids. Esters of 4-methylumbelliferone were easily the best substrates. When the three genetically different isozymes were compared, the less common forms, EsD 2 and EsD 2-1, were less stable than EsD 1. With some substrates, the Michaelis constant of the EsD 2 form differed from that of the EsD 1 form. The EsD 2-1 hybrid form was usually, but not invariably, intermediate in properties. The physiologic significance of the genetic variability of this enzyme is unknown. PMID:623100

The Shape of Things: The Origin of Young Children's Knowledge of the Names and Properties of Geometric Forms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Verdine, Brian N.; Lucca, Kelsey R.; Golinkoff, Roberta M.; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathryn; Newcombe, Nora S.

2016-01-01

How do toddlers learn the names of geometric forms? Previous work suggests that preschoolers have fragmentary knowledge and that defining properties are not understood until well into elementary school. The current study investigated when children first begin to understand shape names and how they apply those labels to unusual instances. We tested…

Can Performance-Based Funding and Quality Assurance Solve the State "vs" Market Conundrum?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orr, Dominic

2005-01-01

This article focuses on methods of funding allocation and quality assurance as prominent levers of change in higher education reform today. It is their interplay which forms the main components of coordination frameworks. The arguments for more market or new forms of state intervention can only be understood in the context of such a framework.…

Research on Practice Carrier and Method Formed by Medical Humanistic Spirit for Medical Students: Tianjin Medical University as a Case in Point

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hou, Jie; Geng, Xin; Su, Zhenxing; Wang, Yutao

2014-01-01

Medical humanistic quality is an indispensable quality that eligible doctors should possess, and medical humanism is strongly advocated and carried forward by contemporary medicine. These are commonly understood worldwide, and formed by reflection on medicine and medical education. Cultivation of medical humanism requires in-depth discussions of…

Transformative Learning and the Form That Transforms: Towards a Psychosocial Theory of Recognition Using Auto/ Biographical Narrative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Linden

2014-01-01

In this article, I interrogate the changing forms that may be fundamental to transformative learning and how these are best chronicled and understood. Drawing on auto/biographical narrative research, I challenge the continuing primacy of a kind of overly disembodied, decontextualized cognition as the basis of transformation. Notions of epistemic…

Jocks, Teckers, and Nerds: The Role of the Adolescent Peer Group in the Formation and Maintenance of Secondary School Institutional Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brady, Patrick

2004-01-01

The adolescent peer group constitutes a vital component of the institutional culture of the contemporary secondary school. Formed among students and reinforced by administrators and teachers, it takes the form of a structured status hierarchy whose membership and boundaries are clearly understood within the school community. Individual students'…

Dealing with Emergence, Diversity and Multiplicity of Grammar and Interaction: The Japanese Clause-Ending Form TE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hashimoto, Yuria

2011-01-01

Grammar in natural interaction is an emergent, dynamic and adaptive system that is consistently subject to change. It is understood as a collection of open multiple subsystems, each of which is activated as the language users recurrently participate in a particular linguistic, interactional and social activity. When a certain linguistic form or…

Predictive failure analysis: planning for the worst so that it never happens!

PubMed

Hipple, Jack

2008-01-01

This article reviews an alternative approach to failure analysis involving a deliberate saboteurial approach rather than a checklist approach to disaster and emergency preparedness. This process is in the form of an algorithm that is easily applied to any planning situation.

Sporulation of Bacillus spp. within biofilms: a potential source of contamination in food processing environments.

PubMed

Faille, C; Bénézech, T; Midelet-Bourdin, G; Lequette, Y; Clarisse, M; Ronse, G; Ronse, A; Slomianny, C

2014-06-01

Bacillus strains are often isolated from biofilms in the food industries. Previous works have demonstrated that sporulation could occur in biofilms, suggesting that biofilms would be a significant source of food contamination with spores. In this study, we investigated the properties of mono-species and mixed Bacillus biofilms and the ability of Bacillus strains to sporulate inside biofilms. Bacillus strains were able to form mono-species biofilms on stainless steel coupons, with up to 90% spores after a 48 h-incubation. These spores were highly resistant to cleaning but were easily transferred to agar, mimicking the cross-contamination of food, thereby suggesting that biofilms would be of particular concern due to a potential for Bacillus spore food contamination. This hypothesis was strengthened by the fact that Bacillus strains were able to form mixed biofilms with resident strains and that sporulation still occurred easily in these complex structures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of Water Vapor and Surface Morphology on the Low Temperature Response of Metal Oxide Semiconductor Gas Sensors

PubMed Central

Maier, Konrad; Helwig, Andreas; Müller, Gerhard; Hille, Pascal; Eickhoff, Martin

2015-01-01

In this work the low temperature response of metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors is analyzed. Important characteristics of this low-temperature response are a pronounced selectivity to acid- and base-forming gases and a large disparity of response and recovery time constants which often leads to an integrator-type of gas response. We show that this kind of sensor performance is related to the trend of semiconductor gas sensors to adsorb water vapor in multi-layer form and that this ability is sensitively influenced by the surface morphology. In particular we show that surface roughness in the nanometer range enhances desorption of water from multi-layer adsorbates, enabling them to respond more swiftly to changes in the ambient humidity. Further experiments reveal that reactive gases, such as NO2 and NH3, which are easily absorbed in the water adsorbate layers, are more easily exchanged across the liquid/air interface when the humidity in the ambient air is high. PMID:28793583

Revealing the properties of defects formed by CH3NH2 molecules in organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite MAPbBr3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ji; Zhang, Ao; Yan, Jun; Li, Dan; Chen, Yunlin

2017-03-01

The properties of defects in organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite are widely studied from the first-principles calculation. However, the defects of methylamine (methylamine = CH3NH2), which would be easily formed during the preparation of the organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite, are rarely investigated. Thermodynamic properties as well as defect states of methylamine embedded MAPbX3 (MA = methyl-ammonium = CH3NH3, X = Br, I) are studied based on first-principles calculations of density functional theory. It was found that there is a shallow defect level near the highest occupied molecular orbital, which induced by the interstitial methylamine defect in MAPbBr3, will lead to an increase of photoluminescence. The calculation results showed that interstitial defect states of methylamine may move deeper due to the interaction between methylamine molecules and methyl-ammonium cations. It was also showed that the interstitial methylamine defect is stable at room temperature, and the defect can be removed easily by annealing.

Casting of superconducting composite materials (M-4)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Togano, Kazumasa

1993-01-01

An aluminum-lead-bismuth alloy is a flexible alloy and is promising for easily workable embedded-type, filament-dispersed superconducting wire material. It is difficult to produce homogeneous ingots of this material because it is easily separated into elements when melted on Earth due to the large specific gravity differences. In this experiment, a homogeneous alloy will first be produced in molten state in microgravity. It will then be returned to Earth and processed into a wire or tape form. It will then be dispersed as the second phase in micro texture form into the primary phase of aluminum. Superconducting wire material with high-critical-magnetic-field characteristics will be produced. The texture of the material will be observed, and its performance will be evaluated. In addition to the above alloy, a four-element alloy will be produced from silver, a rare Earth element, barium, and copper. The alloys will be oxidized and drawn into wire after being returned to Earth. The materials are expected to be forerunners in obtaining superconducting wire materials from oxide superconductors.

Positioning of the sensor cell on the sensing area using cell trapping pattern in incubation type planar patch clamp biosensor.

PubMed

Wang, Zhi-Hong; Takada, Noriko; Uno, Hidetaka; Ishizuka, Toru; Yawo, Hiromu; Urisu, Tsuneo

2012-08-01

Positioning the sensor cell on the micropore of the sensor chip and keeping it there during incubation are problematic tasks for incubation type planar patch clamp biosensors. To solve these problems, we formed on the Si sensor chip's surface a cell trapping pattern consisting of a lattice pattern with a round area 5 μm deep and with the micropore at the center of the round area. The surface of the sensor chip was coated with extra cellular matrix collagen IV, and HEK293 cells on which a chimera molecule of channel-rhodopsin-wide-receiver (ChR-WR) was expressed, were then seeded. We examined the effects of this cell trapping pattern on the biosensor's operation. In the case of a flat sensor chip without a cell trapping pattern, it took several days before the sensor cell covered the micropore and formed an almost confluent state. As a result, multi-cell layers easily formed and made channel current measurements impossible. On the other hand, the sensor chip with cell trapping pattern easily trapped cells in the round area, and formed the colony consisted of the cell monolayer covering the micropore. A laser (473 nm wavelength) induced channel current was observed from the whole cell arrangement formed using the nystatin perforation technique. The observed channel current characteristics matched measurements made by using a pipette patch clamp. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tutorial on Reed-Solomon error correction coding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Geisel, William A.

1990-01-01

This tutorial attempts to provide a frank, step-by-step approach to Reed-Solomon (RS) error correction coding. RS encoding and RS decoding both with and without erasing code symbols are emphasized. There is no need to present rigorous proofs and extreme mathematical detail. Rather, the simple concepts of groups and fields, specifically Galois fields, are presented with a minimum of complexity. Before RS codes are presented, other block codes are presented as a technical introduction into coding. A primitive (15, 9) RS coding example is then completely developed from start to finish, demonstrating the encoding and decoding calculations and a derivation of the famous error-locator polynomial. The objective is to present practical information about Reed-Solomon coding in a manner such that it can be easily understood.

Chaotic behavior in electro-rotation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemaire, E.; Lobry, L.

2002-11-01

We study the dynamics of an insulating cylinder in a weakly conducting liquid when submitted to a DC electric field. The cylinder is free to rotate along its long axis which is perpendicular to the applied field. Above a threshold value of the electric field, the cylinder rotates in either direction with constant angular velocity. This instability is known as Quincke rotation and can be easily understood by considering the polarization induced by the free charges accumulation on the cylinder surface. Here we present preliminary experimental results which exhibit a chaotic dynamics of the cylinder for higher electric fields: the velocity is no longer constant and the rotation direction changes randomly. By taking into account the finite Maxwell-Wagner polarization relaxation time, we show that this chaotic behavior can be described by the Lorenz equations.

Comprehensive glossary of weather terms for storm spotters. Technical memo

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

Branick, M.L.

1993-01-01

The glossary contains weather-related terms that may be either heard or used by severe local storm spotters or spotter groups. Its purposes are (1) to achieve some level of standardization in the definitions of the terms that are used, and (2) provide a reference from which the meanings of any terms, especially the lesser-used ones, can be found. The idea is to allow smooth and effective communication between storm spotters and forecasters, and vice versa. A complete list of terms probably is impossible to arrive at, but this list is as comprehensive as possible. The definitions are written in whatmore » hopefully passes as layman's terms. They are written to be easily understood by the storm spotter, regardless of his or her meteorological background.« less

Detection of quasars in the time domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, Matthew J.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Stern, Daniel J.; Drake, Andrew; Mahabal, Ashish

2017-06-01

The time domain is the emerging forefront of astronomical research with new facilities and instruments providing unprecedented amounts of data on the temporal behavior of astrophysical populations. Dealing with the size and complexity of this requires new techniques and methodologies. Quasars are an ideal work set for developing and applying these: they vary in a detectable but not easily quantifiable manner whose physical origins are poorly understood. In this paper, we will review how quasars are identified by their variability and how these techniques can be improved, what physical insights into their variability can be gained from studying extreme examples of variability, and what approaches can be taken to increase the number of quasars known. These will demonstrate how astroinformatics is essential to discovering and understanding this important population.

Observational Analysis of Coronal Fans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Talpeanu, D.-C.; Rachmeler, L; Mierla, Marilena

2017-01-01

Coronal fans (see Figure 1) are bright observational structures that extend to large distances above the solar surface and can easily be seen in EUV (174 angstrom) above the limb. They have a very long lifetime and can live up to several Carrington rotations (CR), remaining relatively stationary for many months. Note that they are not off-limb manifestation of similarly-named active region fans. The solar conditions required to create coronal fans are not well understood. The goal of this research was to find as many associations as possible of coronal fans with other solar features and to gain a better understanding of these structures. Therefore, we analyzed many fans and created an overview of their properties. We present the results of this statistical analysis and also a case study on the longest living fan.

"A dedicated missionary". Charles Galton Darwin and the new quantum mechanics in Britain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarro, Jaume

In this paper I discuss the work on quantum physics and wave mechanics by Charles Galton Darwin, a Cambridge wrangler of the last generation, as a case study to better understand the early reception of quantum physics in Britain. I argue that his proposal in the early 1920s to abandon the strict conservation of energy, as well as his enthusiastic embracement of wave mechanics at the end of the decade, can be easily understood by tracing his ontological and epistemological commitments to his early training in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos. I also suggest that Darwin's work cannot be neglected in a study of quantum physics in Britain, since he was one of very few fellows of the Royal Society able to judge and explain quantum physics and quantum mechanics.

Cultural adaptation of the Tuberculosis-related stigma scale to Brazil.

PubMed

Crispim, Juliane de Almeida; Touso, Michelle Mosna; Yamamura, Mellina; Popolin, Marcela Paschoal; Garcia, Maria Concebida da Cunha; Santos, Cláudia Benedita Dos; Palha, Pedro Fredemir; Arcêncio, Ricardo Alexandre

2016-06-01

The process of stigmatization associated with TB has been undervalued in national research as this social aspect is important in the control of the disease, especially in marginalized populations. This paper introduces the stages of the process of cultural adaptation in Brazil of the Tuberculosis-related stigma scale for TB patients. It is a methodological study in which the items of the scale were translated and back-translated with semantic validation with 15 individuals of the target population. After translation, the reconciled back-translated version was compared with the original version by the project coordinator in Southern Thailand, who approved the final version in Brazilian Portuguese. The results of the semantic validation conducted with TB patients enable the identification that, in general, the scale was well accepted and easily understood by the participants.

A developmental and genetic classification for midbrain-hindbrain malformations

PubMed Central

Millen, Kathleen J.; Dobyns, William B.

2009-01-01

Advances in neuroimaging, developmental biology and molecular genetics have increased the understanding of developmental disorders affecting the midbrain and hindbrain, both as isolated anomalies and as part of larger malformation syndromes. However, the understanding of these malformations and their relationships with other malformations, within the central nervous system and in the rest of the body, remains limited. A new classification system is proposed, based wherever possible, upon embryology and genetics. Proposed categories include: (i) malformations secondary to early anteroposterior and dorsoventral patterning defects, or to misspecification of mid-hindbrain germinal zones; (ii) malformations associated with later generalized developmental disorders that significantly affect the brainstem and cerebellum (and have a pathogenesis that is at least partly understood); (iii) localized brain malformations that significantly affect the brain stem and cerebellum (pathogenesis partly or largely understood, includes local proliferation, cell specification, migration and axonal guidance); and (iv) combined hypoplasia and atrophy of putative prenatal onset degenerative disorders. Pertinent embryology is discussed and the classification is justified. This classification will prove useful for both physicians who diagnose and treat patients with these disorders and for clinical scientists who wish to understand better the perturbations of developmental processes that produce them. Importantly, both the classification and its framework remain flexible enough to be easily modified when new embryologic processes are described or new malformations discovered. PMID:19933510

Science News or Astrological Debating: Chinese Records of the Transit of Venus of 1874

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Lingfeng

2012-09-01

The Venus transit is very important in the measuring of the distance between the sun and the earth. It ever occurred in 1874, but this time it was visible only in China and some other places in eastern sphere. So many astronomers of the western countries had to come to China to observe it. In traditional Chinese astrological explanation, the sun represented the emperor. If the sun were invaded by other stars, it means that the emperor and the country would have some ominous disasters. In late 19th century, western astronomical knowledge was widely translated into Chinese and understood by Chinese intellectuals. The Venus transit should easily be understood by Chinese intellectuals as one kind of astronomical phenomena. But early before the Venus transit taking place in 1874, many Chinese publications had to introduce this kind of celestial phenomena as science news because at same time, some influential news papers and journals also had some discussion on what astrological connection between the Venus transit of this time and the fortune of the country. This article collects these interesting Chinese records and discusses what different attitude to the Venus transit by Chinese intellectuals and officials during that period in which western learning was widely disseminated in China.

A model experiment to study swallowing of spherical and elongated particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marconati, Marco; Raut, Sharvari; Charkhi, Farshad; Burbidge, Adam; Engmann, Jan; Ramaioli, Marco

2017-06-01

Swallowing disorders are not uncommon among elderly and people affected by neurological diseases. For these patients the ingestion of solid grains, such as pharmaceutical oral solid formulations, could result in choking. This generally results in a low compliance in taking solid medications. The effect of the solid medication size on the real or perceived ease of swallowing is still to be understood from the mechanistic viewpoint. The interplay of the inclusion shape and the rheology of the liquid being swallowed together with the medication is also not fully understood. In this study, a model experiment was developed to study the oropharyngeal phase of swallowing, replicating the dynamics of the bolus flow induced by the tongue (by means of a roller driven by an applied force). Experiments were performed using a wide set of solid inclusions, dispersed in a thick Newtonian liquid. Predictions for a simple theory are compared with experiments. Results show that an increase in the grain size results in a slower dynamics of the swallowing. Furthermore, the experiments demonstrated the paramount role of shape, as flatter and more streamlined inclusions flow faster than spherical. This approach can support the design of new oral solid formulations that can be ingested more easily and effectively also by people with mild swallowing disorders.

South Polar Surface

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-14

It is high summer as NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft captures this image of the South Pole of Mars. The circular surface features may look like swiss cheese, but how they form, coalesce, and disappear is not fully understood.

The not-for-profit form and translational research: Kerr revisited?

PubMed Central

Joiner, Keith A

2005-01-01

Translational research conducted in academic health centers is confounded by the organizational structure in which the work is performed. Investigators must obtain research funding and appropriate recognition as a part of a research team in a not-for-profit environment which has more readily rewarded basic work, and individual accomplishments. What results is a unique form of conflict of interest, best understood by relating the basic principles underlying the not-for-profit form to the conduct of translational research in the AHC setting. PMID:15862130

Ice electrode electrolytic cell

DOEpatents

Glenn, D.F.; Suciu, D.F.; Harris, T.L.; Ingram, J.C.

1993-04-06

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing heavy metals from waste water, soils, or process streams by electrolytic cell means. The method includes cooling a cell cathode to form an ice layer over the cathode and then applying an electric current to deposit a layer of the heavy metal over the ice. The metal is then easily removed after melting the ice. In a second embodiment, the same ice-covered electrode can be employed to form powdered metals.

Ice electrode electrolytic cell

DOEpatents

Glenn, David F.; Suciu, Dan F.; Harris, Taryl L.; Ingram, Jani C.

1993-01-01

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing heavy metals from waste water, soils, or process streams by electrolytic cell means. The method includes cooling a cell cathode to form an ice layer over the cathode and then applying an electric current to deposit a layer of the heavy metal over the ice. The metal is then easily removed after melting the ice. In a second embodiment, the same ice-covered electrode can be employed to form powdered metals.

12 CFR 344.4 - Recordkeeping.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... format a bank deems appropriate, provided however, the records required by this section must clearly and.... Records may be maintained in hard copy, automated or electronic form provided the records are easily retrievable, readily available for inspection, and capable of being reproduced in a hard copy. A bank may...

Options for Technology Transfer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Richard E.; Sugarman, Barry

1989-01-01

Structural means by which institutions of higher education can tap technology are explored with an examination of the licensing of technological discoveries as well as the creation of start-up companies based upon university-developed technology. Additionally, the corporate structures that are being formed so that institutions can more easily hold…

EAST: Developing an Electronic Assessment and Storage Tool.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Katherine I.; Fernandez, Eugenia; Milionis, Tracey M.; Williamson, David M.

2002-01-01

Describes the purpose, development, analysis, prototyping, and features of the Electronic Assessment and Storage Tool (EAST). The Web-based system aids curriculum assessment at Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis through the ability to easily store artifacts in electronic form, support…

Spray-on electrodes enable EKG monitoring of physically active subjects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1966-01-01

Easily applied EKG electrodes monitor the heart signals of human subjects engaged in various physical exercises. The electrodes are formed from an air drying, electrically conductive cement mixture that can be applied to the skin by means of a modified commercially available spray gun.

THE LCIA MIDPOINT-DAMAGE FRAMEWORK OF THE UNEP/SETAC LIFE CYCLE INITIATIVE

EPA Science Inventory

LCIA methods can be grouped into two families: midpoint methods determining impact category indicators at an intermediate position of the impact pathways (e.g., ozone depletion potentials) and damage-oriented methods aiming at more easily interpretable results in the form of da...

Formative Processes of a Sliding Zone in Pelitic Schist - Implications of Microscopic Analyses on High-quality Drilled Cores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamasaki, S.; Chigira, M.

2009-04-01

Pelitic schist has been known to be easily deformed by gravitational force to form characteristic topographic and geologic features, but little is known about how they develop. This is mainly due to the fact that deformed politic schist is so fragile that it could not be obtained from subsurface without disturbance. We analyzed high-quality undisturbed cores obtained by using a sophisticated drilling technique from two typical pelitic schist landslide sites in Japan. We made analyses on physical, chemical, mineralogical properties and observations from mesoscopic to microscopic rock textures of these cores and found that a special layering of rock-forming minerals determines the locations of shearing by gravity and that there is specific water-rock interaction processes in pelitic schist. Pelitic schist consists of thinly alternating beds of black layers and quartz-rich layers, and a black layer has numerous microscopic layers containing abundant pyrite and graphite grains (pyrite-graphite layers). Many of the black layers were observed to have microfractures connected to open cracks, suggesting that relatively thick, continuous black layers are easily sheared to form an incipient sliding layer. Thus unevenly distributed pyrite-graphite layers likely to determine the potential location of microscopic slip in a rock mass. Shear displacement along black layers occurs unevenly, depending upon the microscopic heterogeneity in mineral composition as well as undulating shape of the layers. Open micro-cracks nearly perpendicular to the schistosity were commonly observed in quartz-rich layers in contact with black layers, suggesting that the shearing occurred with heterogeneous displacements along the black layer and that it occurred under the low confining pressure. This is in the incipient stage of a fracture zone. When shearing occurs along two thick neighboring black layers, the rock in between would be fractured, rotated and pulverized. In some cases, quartz-rich layers were fractured in a brittle manner and their fragments were rearranged to form micro-folds. Rocks are thus pulverized with multiple shear surfaces. Incipient fracture zones and their surroundings have many voids because they are made under low confining pressures near the ground surface, so oxidizing surface water easily percolates through them. Oxidizing water reacts with pyrite which is contained in pelitic schist, producing sulfuric acid through. The rocks therefore become deteriorated by the water-rock interaction and would be easily deformed. Such a combination of the physical processes of deformation and fracturing and the chemical process of weathering develop a sliding zone.

Fisher information for two gamma frailty bivariate Weibull models.

PubMed

Bjarnason, H; Hougaard, P

2000-03-01

The asymptotic properties of frailty models for multivariate survival data are not well understood. To study this aspect, the Fisher information is derived in the standard bivariate gamma frailty model, where the survival distribution is of Weibull form conditional on the frailty. For comparison, the Fisher information is also derived in the bivariate gamma frailty model, where the marginal distribution is of Weibull form.

Are natural and unnatural appetites equally controllable? A response to Jensen's "Is continence enough?".

PubMed

Smith, Janet E

2004-01-01

This response challenges Jensen's analysis in no substantial way. Rather, it explains more fully some of the moral character categories that Aristotle provides. It argues that Aristotle understood there to be two forms of continence: the continence that enables us to control natural appetites and"some form"of continence directed towards unnatural appetites, generally engendered by some pathology or abuse.

Fast dynamics in glass-forming polymers revisited

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

Colmenero, J.; Arbe, A.; Mijangos, C.

1997-12-31

The so called fast-dynamics of glass-forming systems as observed by time of flight (TOF) neutron scattering techniques is revisited. TOF-results corresponding to several glass-forming polymers with different chemical microstructure and glass-transition temperature are presented together with the theoretical framework proposed by the authors to interpret these results. The main conclusion is that the TOF-data can be explained in terms of quasiharmonic vibrations and the particular short time behavior of the segmental dynamics. The segmental dynamics display in the very short time range (t {approx} 2 ps) a crossover from a simple exponential behavior towards a non-exponential regime. The first exponentialmore » decay, which is controlled by C-C rotational barriers, can be understood as a trace of the behavior of the system in absence of the effects (correlations, cooperativity, memory effects {hor_ellipsis}) which characterize the dense supercooled liquid like state against the normal liquid state. The non-exponential regime at t > 2 ps corresponds to what is usually understood as {alpha} and {beta} relaxations. Some implications of these results are also discussed.« less

Adults' understanding of inversion concepts: how does performance on addition and subtraction inversion problems compare to performance on multiplication and division inversion problems?

PubMed

Robinson, Katherine M; Ninowski, Jerilyn E

2003-12-01

Problems of the form a + b - b have been used to assess conceptual understanding of the relationship between addition and subtraction. No study has investigated the same relationship between multiplication and division on problems of the form d x e / e. In both types of inversion problems, no calculation is required if the inverse relationship between the operations is understood. Adult participants solved addition/subtraction and multiplication/division inversion (e.g., 9 x 22 / 22) and standard (e.g., 2 + 27 - 28) problems. Participants started to use the inversion strategy earlier and more frequently on addition/subtraction problems. Participants took longer to solve both types of multiplication/division problems. Overall, conceptual understanding of the relationship between multiplication and division was not as strong as that between addition and subtraction. One explanation for this difference in performance is that the operation of division is more weakly represented and understood than the other operations and that this weakness affects performance on problems of the form d x e / e.

Semantic Interoperability Almost Without Using The Same Vocabulary: Is It Possible?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krisnadhi, A. A.

2016-12-01

Semantic interoperability, which is a key requirement in realizing cross-repository data integration, is often understood as using the same ontology or vocabulary. Consequently, within a particular domain, one can easily assume that there has to be one unifying domain ontology covering as many vocabulary terms in the domain as possible in order to realize any form of data integration across multiple data sources. Furthermore, the desire to provide very precise definition of those many terms led to the development of huge, foundational and domain ontologies that are comprehensive, but too complicated, restrictive, monolithic, and difficult to use and reuse, which cause common data providers to avoid using them. This problem is especially true in a domain as diverse as geosciences as it is virtually impossible to reach an agreement to the semantics of many terms (e.g., there are hundreds of definitions of forest used throughout the world). To overcome this challenge, modular ontology architecture has emerged in recent years, fueled among others, by advances in the ontology design pattern research. Each ontology pattern models only one key notion. It can act as a small module of a larger ontology. Such a module is developed in such a way that it is largely independent of how other notions in the same domain are modeled. This leads to an increased reusability. Furthermore, an ontology formed out of such modules would have an improved understandability over large, monolithic ontologies. Semantic interoperability in the aforementioned architecture is not achieved by enforcing the use of the same vocabulary, but rather, promoting alignment to the same ontology patterns. In this work, we elaborate how this architecture realizes the above idea. In particular, we describe how multiple data sources with differing perspectives and vocabularies can interoperate through this architecture. Building the solution upon semantic technologies such as Linked Data and the Web Ontology Language (OWL), we demonstrate how a data integration solution based on this idea can be realized over different data repositories.

Publication and Retrieval of Computational Chemical-Physical Data Via the Semantic Web. Final Technical Report

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

Ostlund, Neil

This research showed the feasibility of applying the concepts of the Semantic Web to Computation Chemistry. We have created the first web portal (www.chemsem.com) that allows data created in the calculations of quantum chemistry, and other such chemistry calculations to be placed on the web in a way that makes the data accessible to scientists in a semantic form never before possible. The semantic web nature of the portal allows data to be searched, found, and used as an advance over the usual approach of a relational database. The semantic data on our portal has the nature of a Giantmore » Global Graph (GGG) that can be easily merged with related data and searched globally via a SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL) that makes global searches for data easier than with traditional methods. Our Semantic Web Portal requires that the data be understood by a computer and hence defined by an ontology (vocabulary). This ontology is used by the computer in understanding the data. We have created such an ontology for computational chemistry (purl.org/gc) that encapsulates a broad knowledge of the field of computational chemistry. We refer to this ontology as the Gainesville Core. While it is perhaps the first ontology for computational chemistry and is used by our portal, it is only a start of what must be a long multi-partner effort to define computational chemistry. In conjunction with the above efforts we have defined a new potential file standard (Common Standard for eXchange – CSX for computational chemistry data). This CSX file is the precursor of data in the Resource Description Framework (RDF) form that the semantic web requires. Our portal translates CSX files (as well as other computational chemistry data files) into RDF files that are part of the graph database that the semantic web employs. We propose a CSX file as a convenient way to encapsulate computational chemistry data.« less

An AAA-DDD triply hydrogen-bonded complex easily accessible for supramolecular polymers.

PubMed

Han, Yi-Fei; Chen, Wen-Qiang; Wang, Hong-Bo; Yuan, Ying-Xue; Wu, Na-Na; Song, Xiang-Zhi; Yang, Lan

2014-12-15

For a complementary hydrogen-bonded complex, when every hydrogen-bond acceptor is on one side and every hydrogen-bond donor is on the other, all secondary interactions are attractive and the complex is highly stable. AAA-DDD (A=acceptor, D=donor) is considered to be the most stable among triply hydrogen-bonded sequences. The easily synthesized and further derivatized AAA-DDD system is very desirable for hydrogen-bonded functional materials. In this case, AAA and DDD, starting from 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, were synthesized with the Hantzsch pyridine synthesis and Friedländer annulation reaction. The association constant determined by fluorescence titration in chloroform at room temperature is 2.09×10(7)  M(-1) . The AAA and DDD components are not coplanar, but form a V shape in the solid state. Supramolecular polymers based on AAA-DDD triply hydrogen bonded have also been developed. This work may make AAA-DDD triply hydrogen-bonded sequences easily accessible for stimuli-responsive materials. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Incomplete form of Primary Hypertrophic Osteoarthropathy (Touraine-Solente-Gole Syndrome) Masquerading as Polyartrhalgia Diagnosed in Technetium-99m-Methylene Diphosphonate Scintigraphy: An Interesting Case Report.

PubMed

Sivathapandi, Thangalakshmi; Amalachandran, Jaykanth; Simon, Shelley; Elangovan, Indirani

2018-01-01

The primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (PHOA) (pachydermoperiostosis) is a rare genetic/hereditary disease characterized by skin changes (pachydermia), clubbing of fingers and periosteal thickening (periostitis) with sub-periosteal new bone formation. Here we describe a case of an adolescent male who presented with clubbing and polyarthralgia. On evaluation with scintigraphy and SPECT-CT, he was diagnosed to have incomplete form of PHOA(skeletal manifestations without skin changes). The identification of incomplete form of primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy which can be easily misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis is discussed here.

Activity-Induced Remodeling of Olfactory Bulb Microcircuits Revealed by Monosynaptic Tracing

PubMed Central

Arenkiel, Benjamin R.; Hasegawa, Hiroshi; Yi, Jason J.; Larsen, Rylan S.; Wallace, Michael L.; Philpot, Benjamin D.; Wang, Fan; Ehlers, Michael D.

2011-01-01

The continued addition of new neurons to mature olfactory circuits represents a remarkable mode of cellular and structural brain plasticity. However, the anatomical configuration of newly established circuits, the types and numbers of neurons that form new synaptic connections, and the effect of sensory experience on synaptic connectivity in the olfactory bulb remain poorly understood. Using in vivo electroporation and monosynaptic tracing, we show that postnatal-born granule cells form synaptic connections with centrifugal inputs and mitral/tufted cells in the mouse olfactory bulb. In addition, newly born granule cells receive extensive input from local inhibitory short axon cells, a poorly understood cell population. The connectivity of short axon cells shows clustered organization, and their synaptic input onto newborn granule cells dramatically and selectively expands with odor stimulation. Our findings suggest that sensory experience promotes the synaptic integration of new neurons into cell type-specific olfactory circuits. PMID:22216277

Electrokinetic removal of charged contaminant species from soil and other media using moderately conductive adsorptive materials

DOEpatents

Lindgren, Eric R.; Mattson, Earl D.

2001-01-01

Method for collecting and concentrating charged species, specifically, contaminant species in a medium, preferably soil. The method utilizes electrokinesis to drive contaminant species into and through a bed adjacent to a drive electrode. The bed comprises a moderately electrically conductive adsorbent material which is porous and is infused with water or other solvent capable of conducting electrical current. The bed material, preferably activated carbon, is easily removed and disposed of. Preferably, where activated carbon is used, after contaminant species are collected and concentrated, the mixture of activated carbon and contaminant species is removed and burned to form a stable and easily disposable waste product.

Large and pristine films of reduced graphene oxide

PubMed Central

Ahn, Sung Il; Kim, Kukjoo; Jung, Jura; Choi, Kyung Cheol

2015-01-01

A new self-assembly concept is introduced to form large and pristine films (15 cm in diameter) of reduced graphene oxide (RGO). The resulting film has different degrees of polarity on its two different sides due to the characteristic nature of the self-assembly process. The RGO film can be easily transferred from a glass substrate onto water and a polymer substrate after injection of water molecules between the RGO film and glass substrate using an electric steamer. The RGO film can also be easily patterned into various shapes with a resolution of around ±10 μm by a simple taping method, which is suitable for mass production of printed electronics at low cost. PMID:26689267

Electrodeposition of zinc hydroxysulfate nanosheets and reduction to zinc metal microdendrites on polypyrrole films.

PubMed

Andreoli, Enrico; Rooney, Denise A; Redington, Wynette; Gunning, Robert; Breslin, Carmel B

2012-01-01

Nanothin sheets made of zinc sulfate hydroxide hydrate, ZnSO4[Zn(OH)2]3 x 5H2O, are easily and quickly prepared using an innovative electrochemical route onto polypyrrole-polystyrene sulfonate (PPy-PSS) films. The sheets are characterized using a range of experimental techniques. The deposits are formed on the film surface with instantaneous nucleation to grow into a network of entangled nanosheets. The effect of the experimental conditions on the deposition is reported. Interestingly, the formation of the nanosheets is observed on PPy-PSS films only, and not on films doped with other sulfate/sulfonate dopants. The zinc nanosheets can be easily electrochemically reduced to metallic zinc microdentrites.

Urban Form, Health, and the Law’s Limits

PubMed Central

Buzbee, William W.

2003-01-01

Urban form, the law, and health are undoubtedly linked. However, nonlegal factors such as 20th-century reliance on the automobile as well as associated governmental actions and private investment choices have greatly influenced urban form, especially urban sprawl. The American system of federalism, with its traditional allocation of land-use legal authority to local governments, and resulting fragmented legal authority over causes and effects of urban sprawl, renders difficult legal efforts to reshape urban form. Legal frameworks and the dynamics and effects of urban sprawl are largely mismatched. Still, existing legal frameworks and modest legal reforms provide means to encourage or at least allow urban forms that are more conducive to health. However, the law will not easily transform urban form and deter urban sprawl. PMID:12948950

Trends in Soil Science education: moving from teacher's questioning to student's questioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roca, Núria

2017-04-01

Soil science has suffered from communication problems within its own discipline, with other disciplines (except perhaps agronomy) and with the general public. Prof. Dennis Greenland wrote the following in the early 1990s: "…soil scientists have also been frustrated as their advice has gone apparently unheeded. This may be because the advice is couched in terms more easily understood by other soil scientists than by politicians and economists who control the disposition of land. If soil science is to serve society fully it is essential that its arguments are presented in terms readily understood by all and with both scientific and economic rigor so that they are not easily refuted". Soil is a 3-dimensional body with properties that reflect the impact of climate, vegetation, fauna, man and topography on the soil's parent material over a variable time span. Therefore, soil sciences must integrate different knowledge of many disciplines. How should one go about the teaching and learning of a subject like soil science? This is an ever present question resident in the mind of a soil science teacher who knows that students will find soil science an inherently difficult subject to understand. Therefore, Soil Science cannot be taught in the same way. This paper proposes a mural construction that allows to understand soil formation, soil evolution and soil distribution. This experience has been realized with secondary teachers to offer tools for active learning methodologies. Therefore, this teaching project starts with a box and a global soil map distribution in a wall mural. The box contains many cards with soil properties, soil factors, soil process, soils orders and different natural soil photos as the pieces of a big puzzle. All these pieces will be arranged in the wall mural. These environments imply a new perspective of teaching: moving from a teacher-centered teaching to a student-centered teaching. In contrast to learning-before-doing— the model of most educational settings. The main functions such as encouraging students to think, arousing interest and curiosity, developing students' reflection and stimulate students to ask questions of their own will be developed with the construction of the mural.

Internet Tools Access Administrative Data at the University of Delaware.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobson, Carl

1995-01-01

At the University of Delaware, World Wide Web tools are used to produce multiplatform administrative applications, including hyperreporting, mixed media, electronic forms, and kiosk services. Web applications are quickly and easily crafted to interact with administrative databases. They are particularly suited to customer outreach efforts,…

Template Authoring Environment for the Automatic Generation of Narrative Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caropreso, Maria Fernanda; Inkpen, Diana; Keshtkar, Fazel; Khan, Shahzad

2012-01-01

Natural Language Generation (NLG) systems can make data accessible in an easily digestible textual form; but using such systems requires sophisticated linguistic and sometimes even programming knowledge. We have designed and implemented an environment for creating and modifying NLG templates that requires no programming knowledge, and can operate…

Using JournalMap to improve ecological knowledge discovery and visualization

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background/Question/Methods Most of the ecological research conducted around the world is tied to specific places, however, that location information is locked up in the text and figures of scientific articles in myriad forms that are not easily searchable. While access to ecological literature ha...

Person Perception in Young Children across Two Cultures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Eva E.; Corriveau, Kathleen H.; Harris, Paul L.

2016-01-01

To adult humans, the task of forming an impression of another social being seems effortless and even obligatory. In 2 experiments, we offer the first systematic cross-cultural examination of impression formation in European American and East Asian preschool children. Children across both cultures easily inferred basic personality traits, such as…

Seeing the Unseen: Molecular Visualization in Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finnan, Jeff; Taylor-Papp, Kim; Duran, Mesut

2005-01-01

In high school biology, students are challenged by many molecular concepts and structures. They meander through a number of molecular structures, some in macromolecular form: carbohydrates, amino acids, fatty acids, nucleotides. Student difficulties arise in part from inability to visualize what they can't easily see. Students struggle moving from…

Pollution: The Neglected Dimensions. Worldwatch Paper 27.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, Denis

Although progress has been made in combatting the most visible and easily controlled forms of pollution (exhaust, industrial waste, sewage, etc.), other pollutants have been largely ignored. Pollutants which are uncontrolled and which are increasingly recognized as dangerous include carbon dioxide, toxic substances such as dioxin, mirex, lindane,…

Design of numerical model for thermoacoustic devices using OpenFOAM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tisovsky, Tomas; Vit, Tomas

2017-09-01

Thermoacoustic devices are increasingly popular especially because of their construction simplicity and the ability to easily convert waste heat into the form of usable energy. Aim of this paper is to introduce some of the effective procedures for creating a complex mathematical model of thermoacoustic devices in OpenFOAM.

Using JournalMap to improve discovery and visualization of rangeland scientific knowledge

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Most of the ecological research conducted around the world is tied to specific places; however, that location information is locked up in the text and figures of scientific articles in myriad forms that are not easily searchable. While access to ecological literature has improved dramatically in the...

Dynamic similarity in erosional processes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scheidegger, A.E.

1963-01-01

A study is made of the dynamic similarity conditions obtaining in a variety of erosional processes. The pertinent equations for each type of process are written in dimensionless form; the similarity conditions can then easily be deduced. The processes treated are: raindrop action, slope evolution and river erosion. ?? 1963 Istituto Geofisico Italiano.

Coulomb Friction Damper

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Appleberry, W. T.

1983-01-01

Standard hydraulic shock absorber modified to form coulomb (linear friction) damper. Device damps very small velocities and is well suited for use with large masses mounted on soft springs. Damping force is easily adjusted for different loads. Dampers are more reliable than fluid dampers and also more economical to build and to maintain.

Windows: Life after Wire.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Razwick, Jerry

2003-01-01

Although wired glass is extremely common in school buildings, the International Building Code adopted new standards that eliminate the use of traditional wired glass in K-12 schools, daycare centers, and athletic facilities. Wired glass breaks easily, and the wires can cause significant injuries by forming dangerous snags when the glass breaks.…

Global diversity and distribution of macrofungi

Treesearch

Gregory M. Mueller; John P. Schmit; Patrick R. Leacock; Bart Buyck; Joaquin Cifuentes; Dennis E. Desjardin; Roy E. Halling; Kurt Hjortstam; Teresa Iturriaga; Karl-Henrik Larsson; D. Jean Lodge; Tom W. May; David Minter; Mario Rajchenberg; Scott A. Redhead; Leif Ryvarden; James M. Trappe; Roy Watling; Qiuxin Wu

2007-01-01

Data on macrofungal diversity and distribution patterns were compiled for major geographical regions of the world. Macrofungi are defined here to include ascomycetes and basidiomycetes with large, easily observed spore-bearing structures that form above or below ground. Each coauthor either provided data on a particular taxonomic group of macrofungi or information on...

Understanding measurement in light of its origins.

PubMed

Humphry, Stephen

2013-01-01

During the course of history, the natural sciences have seen the development of increasingly convenient short-hand symbolic devices for denoting physical quantities. These devices ultimately took the form of physical algebra. However, the convenience of algebra arguably came at a cost - a loss of the clarity of direct insights by Euclid, Galileo, and Newton into natural quantitative relations. Physical algebra is frequently interpreted as ordinary algebra; i.e., it is interpreted as though symbols denote (a) numbers and operations on numbers, as opposed to (b) physical quantities and quantitative relations. The paper revisits the way in which Newton understood and expressed physical definitions and laws. Accordingly, it reviews a compact form of notation that has been used to denote both: (a) ratios of physical quantities; and (b) compound ratios, involving two or more kinds of quantity. The purpose is to show that it is consistent with historical developments to regard physical algebra as a device for denoting relations among ratios. Understood in the historical context, the objective of measurement is to establish that a physical quantity stands in a specific ratio to another quantity of the same kind. To clarify the meaning of measurement in terms of the historical origins of physics carries basic implications for the way in which measurement is understood and approached. Possible implications for the social sciences are considered.

Incidence Rate of Canonical vs. Derived Medical Terminology in Natural Language.

PubMed

Topac, Vasile; Jurcau, Daniel-Alexandru; Stoicu-Tivadar, Vasile

2015-01-01

Medical terminology appears in the natural language in multiple forms: canonical, derived or inflected form. This research presents an analysis of the form in which medical terminology appears in Romanian and English language. The sources of medical language used for the study are web pages presenting medical information for patients and other lay users. The results show that, in English, medical terminology tends to appear more in canonical form while, in the case of Romanian, it is the opposite. This paper also presents the service that was created to perform this analysis. This tool is available for the general public, and it is designed to be easily extensible, allowing the addition of other languages.

Protecting the Turkish Straits from Maritime Terrorism: A Scheme to Impede Propeller Efficiency

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

electric fence, fire nozzle with pressurized water, optical laser distracter (a dazzle gun), Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) and other types of non...are easily ignited by machinery, cigarettes, and static electricity . Static electricity discharged when one walks on a carpet or brushes his/her hair...formed in the first tank car due to the impact with a signaling stake. The pressurized LPG was released as a two-phase jet: the liquid phase formed a

Nonaqueous solution synthesis process for preparing oxide powders of lead zirconate titanate and related materials

DOEpatents

Voigt, J.A.; Sipola, D.L.; Tuttle, B.A.; Anderson, M.T.

1999-06-01

A process is disclosed for producing powders of perovskite-type compounds which comprises mixing a metal alkoxide solution with a lead acetate solution to form a homogeneous, clear metal solution, adding an oxalic acid/n-propanol solution to this metal solution to form an easily filterable, free-flowing precursor powder and then calcining this powder. This process provides fine perovskite-phase powders with ferroelectric properties which are particularly useful in a variety of electronic applications. 4 figs.

Nonaqueous solution synthesis process for preparing oxide powders of lead zirconate titanate and related materials

DOEpatents

Voigt, James A.; Sipola, Diana L.; Tuttle, Bruce A.; Anderson, Mark T.

1999-01-01

A process for producing powders of perovskite-type compounds which comprises mixing a metal alkoxide solution with a lead acetate solution to form a homogeneous, clear metal solution, adding an oxalic acid/n-propanol solution to this metal solution to form an easily filterable, free-flowing precursor powder and then calcining this powder. This process provides fine perovskite-phase powders with ferroelectric properties which are particularly useful in a variety of electronic applications.

Converting Topographic Maps into Digital Form to Aid in Archeological Research in the Peten, Guatemala

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aldrich, Serena R.

1999-01-01

The purpose of my project was to convert a topographical map into digital form so that the data can be manipulated and easily accessed in the field. With the data in this particular format, Dr. Sever and his colleagues can highlight the specific features of the landscape that they require for their research of the ancient Mayan civilization. Digital elevation models (DEMs) can also be created from the digitized contour features adding another dimension to their research.

Calculating cellulose diffraction patterns

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although powder diffraction of cellulose is a common experiment, the patterns are not widely understood. The theory is mathematical, there are numerous different crystal forms, and the conventions are not standardized. Experience with IR spectroscopy is not directly transferable. An awful error, tha...

Strategy for optimum acquisition of information

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-10-01

This note is a brief tutorial on a strategy optimizing the acquisition of information. It is a procedure well know to decision theorists but hardly understood or applied by those making decisions about spending dollars, time and other forms of capita...

A simple method to equalize the workload when operating several small wastewater treatment plants: a case study.

PubMed

De Feo, G; De Gisi, S; Galasso, M

2013-01-01

The aim of the present study is to define a simple (and easy to use) method to equalize the workload of personnel operating several small wastewater treatment plants (SWWTPs). The approach is illustrated through a case study which is the result of collaboration between researchers and a water and wastewater management company operating in Southern Italy. The topic is important since personnel have a significant impact on the operating costs of SWWTPs, and the approach outlined results in the minimum number of staff being required to assure the management of the service. Four kinds of work units are considered: plant managers, assistant plant managers, laboratory technicians and executives. In order to develop a practical, feasible and easy to use method, the workload was evaluated considering only the population equivalent (PE) and the number of plants managed. The core of the method is the evaluation of the percentage of time that the personnel units devote to the operation of SWWTPs of the municipality considered. The proposed procedure offers a useful tool to equalize the workload, both in terms of PE and the number of plants managed, the procedure being easily modifiable to introduce other evaluation criteria. By using familiar concepts such as PE and number of plants managed, the approach of the method can easily be understood by management. It can also be readily adapted to other similar situations.

Natural Analogues - One Way to Help Build Public Confidence in the Predicted Performance of a Mined Geologic Repository for Nuclear Waste

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

Stuckless, J. S.

2002-02-26

The general public needs to have a way to judge the predicted long-term performance of the potential high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The applicability and reliability of mathematical models used to make this prediction are neither easily understood nor accepted by the public. Natural analogues can provide the average person with a tool to assess the predicted performance and other scientific conclusions. For example, hydrologists with the Yucca Mountain Project have predicted that most of the water moving through the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada will move through the host rock and around tunnels. Thus, seepage intomore » tunnels is predicted to be a small percentage of available infiltration. This hypothesis can be tested experimentally and with some quantitative analogues. It can also be tested qualitatively using a variety of analogues such as (1) well-preserved Paleolithic to Neolithic paintings in caves and rock shelters, (2) biological remains preserved in caves and rock shelters, and (3) artifacts and paintings preserved in man-made underground openings. These examples can be found in materials that are generally available to the non-scientific public and can demonstrate the surprising degree of preservation of fragile and easily destroyed materials for very long periods of time within the unsaturated zone.« less

Neural Network Machine Learning and Dimension Reduction for Data Visualization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liles, Charles A.

2014-01-01

Neural network machine learning in computer science is a continuously developing field of study. Although neural network models have been developed which can accurately predict a numeric value or nominal classification, a general purpose method for constructing neural network architecture has yet to be developed. Computer scientists are often forced to rely on a trial-and-error process of developing and improving accurate neural network models. In many cases, models are constructed from a large number of input parameters. Understanding which input parameters have the greatest impact on the prediction of the model is often difficult to surmise, especially when the number of input variables is very high. This challenge is often labeled the "curse of dimensionality" in scientific fields. However, techniques exist for reducing the dimensionality of problems to just two dimensions. Once a problem's dimensions have been mapped to two dimensions, it can be easily plotted and understood by humans. The ability to visualize a multi-dimensional dataset can provide a means of identifying which input variables have the highest effect on determining a nominal or numeric output. Identifying these variables can provide a better means of training neural network models; models can be more easily and quickly trained using only input variables which appear to affect the outcome variable. The purpose of this project is to explore varying means of training neural networks and to utilize dimensional reduction for visualizing and understanding complex datasets.

Calorie postings in chain restaurants in a low-income urban neighborhood: measuring practical utility and policy compliance.

PubMed

Cohn, Elizabeth Gross; Larson, Elaine L; Araujo, Christina; Sawyer, Vanessa; Williams, Olajide

2012-08-01

Current strategies for combating obesity include recent federal legislation mandating calorie count postings in chain restaurants. This study describes the current practice of menu board calorie postings in a low-income urban neighborhood, identifies the extent to which current practice complies with existing policy, and evaluates the practical utility of menu boards to consumers. We conclude that although most postings were legally compliant, they did not demonstrate utility. Menu postings for individual servings are easily understood, but complex math skills are needed to interpret meals designed to serve more than one person. In some items, calories doubled depending on flavor and the calorie posting did not give enough information to make healthier selections. We identified specific strategies to improve practical utility and provide recommendations for policy implementation.

New Computational Approach to Electron Transport in Irregular Graphene Nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason, Douglas; Heller, Eric; Prendergast, David; Neaton, Jeffrey

2009-03-01

For novel graphene devices of nanoscale-to-macroscopic scale, many aspects of their transport properties are not easily understood due to difficulties in fabricating devices with regular edges. Here we develop a framework to efficiently calculate and potentially screen electronic transport properties of arbitrary nanoscale graphene device structures. A generalization of the established recursive Green's function method is presented, providing access to arbitrary device and lead geometries with substantial computer-time savings. Using single-orbital nearest-neighbor tight-binding models and the Green's function-Landauer scattering formalism, we will explore the transmission function of irregular two-dimensional graphene-based nanostructures with arbitrary lead orientation. Prepared by LBNL under contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 and supported by the U.S. Dept. of Energy Computer Science Graduate Fellowship under grant DE-FG02-97ER25308.

A Course in Science and Pseudoscience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Richard

2009-04-01

A new course at Hockaday, Science and Pseudoscience, examines what we know, how we know it, and why we get fooled so often and so easily. This is a course in which we measure things we thought we understood and use statistical analysis to test our understanding. We investigate extraordinary claims through the methods of science, asking what makes a good scientific theory, and what makes scientific evidence. We examine urban myths, legends, bad science, medical quackery, and plain old hoaxes. We analyze claims of UFOs, cold fusion, astrology, structure-altered water, apricot pit cures, phlogiston and N-rays, phrenology and orgonomy, ghosts, telekinesis, crop circles and the Bermuda Triangle -- some may be true, some are plainly false, and some we're not really sure of. We develop equipment and scientific techniques to investigate extra-sensory perception, precognition, and EM disturbances.

Introduction to optical methods for characterizing liquid crystals at interfaces.

PubMed

Miller, Daniel S; Carlton, Rebecca J; Mushenheim, Peter C; Abbott, Nicholas L

2013-03-12

This Instructional Review describes methods and underlying principles that can be used to characterize both the orientations assumed spontaneously by liquid crystals (LCs) at interfaces and the strength with which the LCs are held in those orientations (so-called anchoring energies). The application of these methods to several different classes of LC interfaces is described, including solid and aqueous interfaces as well as planar and nonplanar interfaces (such as those that define a LC-in-water emulsion droplet). These methods, which enable fundamental studies of the ordering of LCs at polymeric, chemically functionalized, and biomolecular interfaces, are described in this Instructional Review on a level that can be easily understood by a nonexpert reader such as an undergraduate or graduate student. We focus on optical methods because they are based on instrumentation that is found widely in research and teaching laboratories.

Holistic quantum design of thermoelectric niobium oxynitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Music, Denis; Bliem, Pascal; Hans, Marcus

2015-06-01

We have applied holistic quantum design to thermoelectric NbON (space group Pm-3m). Even though transport properties are central in designing efficient thermoelectrics, mechanical properties should also be considered to minimize their thermal fatigue during multiple heating/cooling cycles. Using density functional theory, elastic constants of NbON were predicted and validated by nanoindentation measurements on reactively sputtered thin films. Based on large bulk-to-shear modulus ratio and positive Cauchy pressure, ceramic NbON appears ductile. These unusual properties may be understood by analyzing the electronic structure. Nb-O bonding is of covalent-ionic nature with metallic contributions. Second neighbor O-N bonds exhibit covalent-ionic character. Upon shear loading, these O-N bonds break giving rise to easily shearable planes. Ductile NbON, together with large Seebeck coefficient and low thermal expansion, is promising for thermoelectric applications.

An Analysis of Website Accessibility in Higher Education in Indonesia Based on WCAG 2.0 Guidelines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arasid, W.; Abdullah, A. G.; Wahyudin, D.; Abdullah, C. U.; Widiaty, I.; Zakaria, D.; Amelia, N.; Juhana, A.

2018-02-01

Website accessibility is a simple way to access a website by everyone so that information on the website can be easily understood. This study aims to improve the accessibility of universities’ website to analyze website accessibility problems based on WCAG 2.0 guidelines. This study analyzed 13 universities’ websites in West Java, Indonesia by using TAW as an evaluation tool. The evaluation results were presented in a graph showing the error rate of each university’s website. The same errors that occurred in almost all websites were: non-text content, info and relationships, page title, link purpose, language of page, on input, labels and instructions, parsing, and name, role, value criteria. This study was expected to provide information to the university and to perform as guidelines for website accessibility improvements.

The CIV processes in the CRIT experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadopoulos, K.

1992-03-01

A qualitative analysis is conducted to reconcile the experimental data from critical ionization velocity (CIV) studies with CIV theories. The experimental data are reviewed demonstrating that: (1) the wave frequency is variable and low; (2) the wave polarization is almost isotropic; (3) electron energization is not easily reconciled with the observed wave spectrum; and (4) ambient electron density plays a role in determining CIV triggering conditions. Analytical treatment is given to the dispersion relation of the lower hybrid wave (LWH) instability driven by the streaming of an ion beam generated by the interaction of the neutral cloud with the ambient atmosphere. By incorporating the LWH instabilities of strong turbulence and finite-size effects into theoretical CIV relationships, the observations can be interpreted. The issues raised by the experimental data are understood within the context of a hypothesis of backward propagating nonlinearly collapsing wavepackets.

Protein-mediated looping of DNA under tension requires supercoiling

PubMed Central

Yan, Yan; Leng, Fenfei; Finzi, Laura; Dunlap, David

2018-01-01

Abstract Protein-mediated DNA looping is ubiquitous in chromatin organization and gene regulation, but to what extent supercoiling or nucleoid associated proteins promote looping is poorly understood. Using the lac repressor (LacI), a paradigmatic loop-mediating protein, we measured LacI-induced looping as a function of either supercoiling or the concentration of the HU protein, an abundant nucleoid protein in Escherichia coli. Negative supercoiling to physiological levels with magnetic tweezers easily drove the looping probability from 0 to 100% in single DNA molecules under slight tension that likely exists in vivo. In contrast, even saturating (micromolar) concentrations of HU could not raise the looping probability above 30% in similarly stretched DNA or 80% in DNA without tension. Negative supercoiling is required to induce significant looping of DNA under any appreciable tension. PMID:29365152

Adaptation of the BDI-II in Mexico

PubMed Central

González, David Andrés; Reséndiz, Areli; Reyes-Lagunes, Isabel

2017-01-01

The number of Spanish-speaking individuals and immigrants in the United States has risen dramatically and is projected to continue to rise. The availability of appropriately translated and validated measurement instruments, such as the Beck Depression Inventory, is a priority for researchers and clinicians in the U.S. and Mexico, where the first edition of the BDI is still prominently used. The purpose of this study was to pilot a Mexican adaptation of the BDI-II and report initial psychometric characteristics. Two samples were used: students from across Mexico and community adults from Mexico City. Results indicated that the translation was easily understood by most individuals, had adequate internal consistency, and a three-factor structure (negative attitude, performance difficulties, and somatic elements) had the best fit. Implications for use with Mexican-origin Spanish speakers are discussed. PMID:28936017

The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager: Second Flight and Recent Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christe, S.; Krucker, S.; Glesener, L.; Ishikawa, S. N.; Ramsey, B.; Buitrago Casas, J. C.; Foster, N.

2014-12-01

Solar flares accelerate particles up to high energies through various acceleration mechanisms which are not currently understood. Hard X-rays are the most direct diagnostic of flare-accelerated electrons. However past and current hard x-ray observation lack the sensitivity and dynamic range necessary to observe the faint signature of accelerated electrons in the acceleration region, the solar corona. These limitations can be easily overcome through the use of HXR focusing optics coupled with solid state pixelated detectors. We present on recent updates on the FOXSI sounding rocket program. During its first flight FOXSI observed imaged a microflare with simultaneous observations by RHESSI. We present recent imaging analysis of the FOXSI observations and detailed comparison with RHESSI. New detector calibration results are also presented and, time-permitting, preliminary results from the second launch of FOXSI scheduled for December 2014.

Revealing the role of phospholipase Cβ3 in the regulation of VEGF-induced vascular permeability

PubMed Central

Hoeppner, Luke H.; Phoenix, Kathryn N.; Clark, Karl J.; Bhattacharya, Resham; Gong, Xun; Sciuto, Tracey E.; Vohra, Pawan; Suresh, Sandip; Bhattacharya, Santanu; Dvorak, Ann M.; Ekker, Stephen C.; Dvorak, Harold F.; Claffey, Kevin P.

2012-01-01

VEGF induces vascular permeability (VP) in ischemic diseases and cancer, leading to many pathophysiological consequences. The molecular mechanisms by which VEGF acts to induce hyperpermeability are poorly understood and in vivo models that easily facilitate real-time, genetic studies of VP do not exist. In the present study, we report a heat-inducible VEGF transgenic zebrafish (Danio rerio) model through which VP can be monitored in real time. Using this approach with morpholino-mediated gene knock-down and knockout mice, we describe a novel role of phospholipase Cβ3 as a negative regulator of VEGF-mediated VP by regulating intracellular Ca2+ release. Our results suggest an important effect of PLCβ3 on VP and provide a new model with which to identify genetic regulators of VP crucial to several disease processes. PMID:22674805

A one-kilogram quartz resonator as a mass standard.

PubMed

Vig, John; Howe, David

2013-02-01

The SI unit of mass, the kilogram, is defined by a single artifact, the International Prototype Kilogram. This artifact, the primary mass standard, suffers from long-term instabilities that are neither well understood nor easily monitored. A secondary mass standard consisting of a 1-kg quartz resonator in ultrahigh vacuum is proposed. The frequency stability of such a resonator is likely to be far higher than the mass stability of the primary mass standard. Moreover, the resonator would provide a link to the SI time-interval unit. When compared with a laboratory-grade atomic frequency standard or GPS time, the frequency of the resonator could be monitored, on a continuous basis, with 10(-15) precision in only a few days of averaging. It could also be coordinated, worldwide, with other resonator mass standards without the need to transport the standards.

LANL compact laser pumping simulation. Final task report

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

Feldman, B.S.; White, J.

1987-09-28

Rockwell has been tasked with the objective of both qualitatively and quantitatively defining the performance of LANL Compact Laser coupling systems. The performance criteria of the system will be based upon the magnitude and uniformity of the energy distribution in the laser pumping rod. Once this is understood, it will then be possible to improve the device performance via changes in the system`s component parameters. For this study, the authors have chosen to use the Los Alamos Radiometry Code (LARC), which was previously developed by Rockwell. LARC, as an analysis tool, is well suited for this problem because the codemore » contains the needed photometric calculation capability and easily handles the three-dimensionality of the problem. Also, LARC`s internal graphics can provide very informative visual displays of the optical system.« less

Modeling of Shock Waves with Multiple Phase Transitions in Condensed Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Missonnier, Marc; Heuzé, Olivier

2006-07-01

When a shock wave crosses a solid material and subjects it to solid-solid or solid-liquid phase transition, related phenomena occur: shock splitting, and the corresponding released shock wave after reflection. Modelling of these phenomena raises physical and numerical issues. After shock loading, such materials can reach different kinds of states: single-phase states, binary-phase states, and triple points. The thermodynamic path can be studied and easily understood in the (V,E) or (V,S) planes. In the case of 3 phase tin (β,γ, and liquid) submitted to shock waves, seven states can occur: β,γ, liquid, β-γ, β-liquid, γ-liquid, and β-γ-liquid. After studying the thermodynamic properties with a complete 3-phase Equation of State, we show the existence of these seven states with a hydrodynamic simulation.

The Formation of Cluster Populations Through Direct Galaxy Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Bradley W.; Smith, Beverly J.; Struck, Curtis

2016-01-01

Much progress has been made on the question of how globular clusters form. In particular, the study of extragalactic populations of young, high-mass clusters ("super star clusters") has revealed a class of objects can evolve into globular clusters. The process by which these clusters form, and how many survive long enough to become globular clusters, is not wholly understood. Here, we use new data on the colliding galaxy system Arp 261 to investigate the possibility that young, massive clusters form in greater numbers during direct galaxy collisions, compared to less direct tidal collisions.

Shaking the tyrant's bloody robe.

PubMed

Kiper, Jordan; Sosis, Richard

Group violence, despite much study, remains enigmatic. Its forms are numerous, its proximate causes myriad, and the interrelation of its forms and proximate causes poorly understood. We review its evolution, including preadaptations and selected propensities, and its putative environmental and psychological triggers. We then reconsider one of its forms, ethnoreligious violence, in light of recent discoveries in the behavioral and brain sciences. We find ethnoreligious violence to be characterized by identity fusion and by manipulation of religious traditions, symbols, and systems. We conclude by examining the confluence of causes and characteristics before and during Yugoslavia's wars of disintegration.

Developmental rodent models of fear and anxiety: from neurobiology to pharmacology.

PubMed

Ganella, Despina E; Kim, Jee Hyun

2014-10-01

Anxiety disorders pose one of the biggest threats to mental health in the world, and they predominantly emerge early in life. However, research of anxiety disorders and fear-related memories during development has been largely neglected, and existing treatments have been developed based on adult models of anxiety. The present review describes animal models of anxiety disorders across development and what is currently known of their pharmacology. To summarize, the underlying mechanisms of intrinsic 'unlearned' fear are poorly understood, especially beyond the period of infancy. Models using 'learned' fear reveal that through development, rats exhibit a stress hyporesponsive period before postnatal day 10, where they paradoxically form odour-shock preferences, and then switch to more adult-like conditioned fear responses. Juvenile rats appear to forget these aversive associations more easily, as is observed with the phenomenon of infantile amnesia. Juvenile rats also undergo more robust extinction, until adolescence where they display increased resistance to extinction. Maturation of brain structures, such as the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, along with the different temporal recruitment and involvement of various neurotransmitter systems (including NMDA, GABA, corticosterone and opioids) are responsible for these developmental changes. Taken together, the studies described in this review highlight that there is a period early in development where rats appear to be more robust in overcoming adverse early life experience. We need to understand the fundamental pharmacological processes underlying anxiety early in life in order to take advantage of this period for the treatment of anxiety disorders. © 2014 The British Pharmacological Society.

[Evaluation and improvement of the comprehension of informed consent documents].

PubMed

López-Picazo Ferrer, Julio José; Tomás Garcia, Nuria

2016-04-01

The information contained in a good informed consent form (ICF) must be understood by the patients. The aim of this study is to assess and improve the readability of the ICF submitted for accreditation in a tertiary hospital. Study of assessment and improvement of the quality of 132 ICF from 2 departments of a public tertiary hospital, divided into 3 phases: Initial assessment, intervention and reassessment. Both length and readability are assessed. Length is measured in words (adequate to 470, excessive over 940), and readability in INFLESZ points (suitable if over 55). The ICF contents initially proposed by departments were adapted by non-health-related trained persons, whose doubts about medical terms were resolved by the authors. To compare results between evaluations, relative improvement (in both length and INFLESZ) and statistical significances were calculated. 78.8% of the ICFs showed a desired length (CI95% 86,5-71,1) and a mean of 44.1 INFLESZ points (3.8% >55 points, CI95% 6,0-1,6). After the intervention, INFLESZ raised to 61.9 points (improvement 40.3%, P<.001), all ICF showing >55 points. The resulting ICFs had a longer description of the nature of the procedure (P<.0001) and a shorter description of their consequences, risks (P <.0001) and alternatives (P <.05). The introduction of improvement dynamics in the design of ICFs is possible and necessary because it produces more effective and easily readable ICFs. Copyright © 2015 AEC. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Renormalization in Quantum Field Theory and the Riemann-Hilbert Problem I: The Hopf Algebra Structure of Graphs and the Main Theorem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Connes, Alain; Kreimer, Dirk

This paper gives a complete selfcontained proof of our result announced in [6] showing that renormalization in quantum field theory is a special instance of a general mathematical procedure of extraction of finite values based on the Riemann-Hilbert problem. We shall first show that for any quantum field theory, the combinatorics of Feynman graphs gives rise to a Hopf algebra which is commutative as an algebra. It is the dual Hopf algebra of the enveloping algebra of a Lie algebra whose basis is labelled by the one particle irreducible Feynman graphs. The Lie bracket of two such graphs is computed from insertions of one graph in the other and vice versa. The corresponding Lie group G is the group of characters of . We shall then show that, using dimensional regularization, the bare (unrenormalized) theory gives rise to a loop where C is a small circle of complex dimensions around the integer dimension D of space-time. Our main result is that the renormalized theory is just the evaluation at z=D of the holomorphic part γ+ of the Birkhoff decomposition of γ. We begin to analyse the group G and show that it is a semi-direct product of an easily understood abelian group by a highly non-trivial group closely tied up with groups of diffeomorphisms. The analysis of this latter group as well as the interpretation of the renormalization group and of anomalous dimensions are the content of our second paper with the same overall title.

The Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy Survey. V. Statistical Study of Bars and Buckled Bars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhao-Yu; Ho, Luis C.; Barth, Aaron J.

2017-08-01

Simulations have shown that bars are subject to a vertical buckling instability that transforms thin bars into boxy or peanut-shaped structures, but the physical conditions necessary for buckling to occur are not fully understood. We use the large sample of local disk galaxies in the Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy Survey to examine the incidence of bars and buckled bars across the Hubble sequence. Depending on the disk inclination angle (I), a buckled bar reveals itself as either a boxy/peanut-shaped bulge (at high I) or as a barlens structure (at low I). We visually identify bars, boxy/peanut-shaped bulges, and barlenses, and examine the dependence of bar and buckled bar fractions on host galaxy properties, including Hubble type, stellar mass, color, and gas mass fraction. We find that the barred and unbarred disks show similar distributions in these physical parameters. The bar fraction is higher (70%-80%) in late-type disks with low stellar mass (M * < 1010.5 M ⊙) and high gas mass ratio. In contrast, the buckled bar fraction increases to 80% toward massive and early-type disks (M * > 1010.5 M ⊙), and decreases with higher gas mass ratio. These results suggest that bars are more difficult to grow in massive disks that are dynamically hotter than low-mass disks. However, once a bar forms, it can easily buckle in the massive disks, where a deeper potential can sustain the vertical resonant orbits. We also find a probable buckling bar candidate (ESO 506-G004) that could provide further clues to understand the timescale of the buckling process.

Disturbed zones; indicators of deep-seated subsurface faults in the Valley and Ridge and Appalachian structural front of Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pohn, Howard A.; Purdy, Terri L.

1982-01-01

Field studies of geologic structures in the Valley and Ridge and adjacent parts of the Appalachian Plateau provinces in Pennsylvania have shown a new type of structure, formerly poorly understood and frequently unmapped, is a significant indicator of deep-seated subsurface faulting. These structures, herein called disturbed zones, are formed by movement between closely spaced pairs of thrust faults. Disturbed zones are characterized at the surface by long, narrow, intensely folded and faulted zones of rocks in a relatively undisturbed stratigraphic sequence. These zones are frequently kilometers to tens of kilometers long and tens to hundreds of meters wide. Although disturbed zones generally occur in sequences of alternating siltstone and shale beds, they can also occur in other lithologies including massively-bedded sandstones and carbonates. Disturbed zones are not only easily recognized in outcrop but their presence can also be inferred on geologic maps by disharmonic fold patterns, which necessitates a detachment between adjacent units that show the disharmony. A number of geologic problems can be clarified by understanding the principles of the sequence of formation and the method of location of disturbed zones, including the interpretation of some published geologic cross sections and maps. The intense folding and faulting which accompanies the formation of a typical disturbed zone produces a region of fracture porosity which, if sealed off from the surface, might well serve as a commercially-exploitable hydrocarbon trap. We believe that the careful mapping of concentrations of disturbed zones can serve as an important exploration method which is much less expensive than speculation seismic lines.

Not all droughts are created equal: translating meteorological drought into woody plant mortality.

PubMed

Anderegg, Leander D L; Anderegg, William R L; Berry, Joseph A

2013-07-01

Widespread drought-induced mortality of woody plants has recently occurred worldwide, is likely to be exacerbated by future climate change and holds large ecological consequences. Yet despite decades of research on plant-water relations, the pathways through which drought causes plant mortality are poorly understood. Recent work on the physiology of tree mortality has begun to reveal how physiological dysfunction induced by water stress leads to plant death; however, we are still far from being able to predict tree mortality using easily observed or modeled meteorological variables. In this review, we contend that, in order to fully understand when and where plants will exceed mortality thresholds when drought occurs, we must understand the entire path by which precipitation deficit is translated into physiological dysfunction and lasting physiological damage. In temperate ecosystems with seasonal climate patterns, precipitation characteristics such as seasonality, timing, form (snow versus rain) and intensity interact with edaphic characteristics to determine when and how much water is actually available to plants as soil moisture. Plant and community characteristics then mediate how quickly water is used and seasonally varying plant physiology determines whether the resulting soil moisture deficit is physiologically damaging. Recent research suggests that drought seasonality and timing matter for how an ecosystem experiences drought. But, mortality studies that bridge the gaps between climatology, hydrology, plant ecology and plant physiology are rare. Drawing upon a broad hydrological and ecological perspective, we highlight key and underappreciated processes that may mediate drought-induced tree mortality and propose steps to better include these components in current research.

Use of Self-Organizing Maps for Balanced Scorecard analysis to monitor the performance of dialysis clinic chains.

PubMed

Cattinelli, Isabella; Bolzoni, Elena; Barbieri, Carlo; Mari, Flavio; Martin-Guerrero, José David; Soria-Olivas, Emilio; Martinez-Martinez, José Maria; Gomez-Sanchis, Juan; Amato, Claudia; Stopper, Andrea; Gatti, Emanuele

2012-03-01

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a validated tool to monitor enterprise performances against specific objectives. Through the choice and the evaluation of strategic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), it provides a measure of the past company's outcome and allows planning future managerial strategies. The Fresenius Medical Care (FME) BSC makes use of 30 KPIs for a continuous quality improvement strategy within its dialysis clinics. Each KPI is monthly associated to a score that summarizes the clinic efficiency for that month. Standard statistical methods are currently used to analyze the BSC data and to give a comprehensive view of the corporate improvements to the top management. We herein propose the Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs) as an innovative approach to extrapolate information from the FME BSC data and to present it in an easy-readable informative form. A SOM is a computational technique that allows projecting high-dimensional datasets to a two-dimensional space (map), thus providing a compressed representation. The SOM unsupervised (self-organizing) training procedure results in a map that preserves similarity relations existing in the original dataset; in this way, the information contained in the high-dimensional space can be more easily visualized and understood. The present work demonstrates the effectiveness of the SOM approach in extracting useful information from the 30-dimensional BSC dataset: indeed, SOMs enabled both to highlight expected relationships between the KPIs and to uncover results not predictable with traditional analyses. Hence we suggest SOMs as a reliable complementary approach to the standard methods for BSC interpretation.

Thermochemical emission and transformation of chlorinated paraffins in inert and oxidizing atmospheres.

PubMed

Xin, Shanzhi; Gao, Wei; Wang, Yawei; Jiang, Guibin

2017-10-01

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) generally function as flame retardants and plasticizers in various materials. They are most likely to be processed by thermal processes during the entire life cycle. However, data on the formation and emission of CPs during thermal processes are still not fully understood. In this study, we simulated industrial thermal processes to investigate the emission of medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) using commercial CP52 as the feedstock. We found that CP52 decomposed very easily at 210-320 °C. The decomposition of CPs generated large quantities of MCCPs and SCCPs. These remained in the residue at low temperature (∼200 °C) and were gradually released into the gas phase at higher temperatures. MCCPs and SCCPs were not detected in either the residue or the gas phase when the temperature exceeded 400 °C. However, considerable concentrations of aromatic and chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons (Cl-PAHs) were identified in the gas phase, and they were formed as the amount of SCCPs and MCCPs decreased. Cl-PAHs were dominated by low-chlorinated chlorobenzenes, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polychlorinated naphthalenes. Oxygen promoted the release and decomposition of SCCPs in the gas phase. The results of the present study revealed the release of MCCPs and SCCPs and their synergistic emission with Cl-PAHs when CPs were subjected to heat. This work may also provide data for developing multiple techniques to control the emission of CPs and Cl-PAHs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climate Change Information Dashboards for Water Resource Managers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buja, Lawrence

2016-04-01

It is in the context of its application that one needs to determine if climate information is of high quality and ultimately useful. Therefore, it is important that the intersection between data providers and data consumers is structured in form of an iterative and collaborative exchange where science and application viewpoints can be brought together. A traditional "loading dock"-style hand-off of data fails to optimally inform decisions. It is now broadly recognized that a collaborative, open exchange is better suited to generate credible and salient products and knowledge that can be more confidently used in decisions. But in order for this exchange to be successful in practice, it needs to be sufficiently efficient to actually facilitate an exploratory process that is inherently iterative to determine the most informative products. It also requires a transparent approach that is easily understood and communicated. We will present prototypes of Climate Information Dashboards that collect on a single page to integrate a suite of key climate information for resource managers. The content of dashboards is based on standardized products that can be assembled to meet specific needs. They were co-designed with the water resource managers and are tailored to selected management and decision topics. The visualizations are tuned to quickly provide the basic information, yet below individual diagnostics are more detailed analyses that can be consulted. These dashboards offer a flexible way to connect decision-makers to climate model output. Conversely, such dashboards can also be applied to inform model development by providing insight into a suite of key characteristics of model performance that have been identified as critical by a sector.

Standardizing patient-reported outcomes assessment in cancer clinical trials: a patient-reported outcomes measurement information system initiative.

PubMed

Garcia, Sofia F; Cella, David; Clauser, Steven B; Flynn, Kathryn E; Lad, Thomas; Lai, Jin-Shei; Reeve, Bryce B; Smith, Ashley Wilder; Stone, Arthur A; Weinfurt, Kevin

2007-11-10

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs), such as symptom scales or more broad-based health-related quality-of-life measures, play an important role in oncology clinical trials. They frequently are used to help evaluate cancer treatments, as well as for supportive and palliative oncology care. To be most beneficial, these PROs must be relevant to patients and clinicians, valid, and easily understood and interpreted. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Network, part of the National Institutes of Health Roadmap Initiative, aims to improve appreciably how PROs are selected and assessed in clinical research, including clinical trials. PROMIS is establishing a publicly available resource of standardized, accurate, and efficient PRO measures of major self-reported health domains (eg, pain, fatigue, emotional distress, physical function, social function) that are relevant across chronic illnesses including cancer. PROMIS is also developing measures of self-reported health domains specifically targeted to cancer, such as sleep/wake function, sexual function, cognitive function, and the psychosocial impacts of the illness experience (ie, stress response and coping; shifts in self-concept, social interactions, and spirituality). We outline the qualitative and quantitative methods by which PROMIS measures are being developed and adapted for use in clinical oncology research. At the core of this activity is the formation and application of item banks using item response theory modeling. We also present our work in the fatigue domain, including a short-form measure, as a sample of PROMIS methodology and work to date. Plans for future validation and application of PROMIS measures are discussed.

Functional form diagnostics for Cox's proportional hazards model.

PubMed

León, Larry F; Tsai, Chih-Ling

2004-03-01

We propose a new type of residual and an easily computed functional form test for the Cox proportional hazards model. The proposed test is a modification of the omnibus test for testing the overall fit of a parametric regression model, developed by Stute, González Manteiga, and Presedo Quindimil (1998, Journal of the American Statistical Association93, 141-149), and is based on what we call censoring consistent residuals. In addition, we develop residual plots that can be used to identify the correct functional forms of covariates. We compare our test with the functional form test of Lin, Wei, and Ying (1993, Biometrika80, 557-572) in a simulation study. The practical application of the proposed residuals and functional form test is illustrated using both a simulated data set and a real data set.

McDonald's vs Father Christmas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pratt, Dave; Simpson, Amanda

2004-01-01

Mathematics in textbooks and indeed in conventional classrooms is often presented as exercises or worksheets in which the mathematics itself has been processed into a form that is easily digested. This McDonald's version of mathematics ensures that the mathematical skill or technique is laid bare and typically the sole focus of attention. In this…

ARSENIC SPECIATION IN WATER AND DIETARY SAMPLES BY IC-ICP-MS WITH STRUCTURAL VERIFICATION VIA IC-ESI-MS/MS

EPA Science Inventory

The two predominate sources of arsenic exposure are water and dietary ingestion. Dietary sources can easily exceed drinking water exposures based on "total" arsenic measurements. This can be deceiving because arsenic's toxicity is strongly dependent on its chemical form and the...

On the Grammar of Silence: The Structure of My Undocumented Immigrant Writer's Block

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ledesma, Alberto

2015-01-01

In this reflective essay, Alberto Ledesma explores how being undocumented can produce a particular form of writer's block. He argues that there is a pattern of predictable silences and obfuscations inherent in all undocumented immigrant autobiographies that cannot be easily negotiated when undocumented students are asked to write about "their…

Effect of turning frequency and season on composting materials from swine high-rise facilities

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Composting of swine manure has several advantages, liquid slurries are converted to solid, the total volume of material is reduced and the stabilized product is more easily transported off-site. Despite this, swine waste is generally stored, treated and applied in its liquid form. The high-rise fini...

The Effects of a 12-Week Walking Program on Community-Dwelling Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Shun-Ping; Tsai, Tzu-I; Lii, Yun-Kung; Yu, Shu; Chou, Chen-Liang; Chen, I-Ju

2009-01-01

Walking is a popular and easily accessible form of physical activity. However, walking instruction for older adults is based on the evidence gathered from younger populations. This study evaluated walking conditions, strength, balance, and subjective health status after a 12-week walking-training program in community-dwelling adults greater than…

Crocodile Chemistry. [CD-ROM].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1999

This high school chemistry resource is an on-screen chemistry lab. In the program, students can experiment with a huge range of chemicals, choosing the form, quantity and concentrations. Dangerous or difficult experiments can be investigated safely and easily. A vast range of equipment can be set up, and complex simulations can be put together and…

Another Intuitive Approach to Stirling's Formula. Classroom Notes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osler, Thomas J.

2004-01-01

An intuitive derivation of Stirling's formula is presented, together with a modification that greatly improves its accuracy. The derivation is based on the closed form evaluation of the gamma function at an integer plus one-half. The modification is easily implemented on a hand-held calculator and often triples the number of significant digits…

Learning Profiles of Survivors of Pediatric Brain Tumors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barkon, Beverly

2009-01-01

By 2010 it is predicted that one in 900 adults will be survivors of some form of pediatric cancer. The numbers are somewhat lower for survivors of brain tumors, though their numbers are increasing. Schools mistakenly believe that these children easily fit pre-existing categories of disability. Though these students share some of the…

The cutaneous manifestations and common mimickers of physical child abuse.

PubMed

Mudd, Shawna S; Findlay, Jeanne S

2004-01-01

The cutaneous manifestations of physical child abuse are some of the most common and easily recognized forms of injury. To make an accurate assessment and diagnosis, it is important to differentiate between inflicted cutaneous injuries and mimickers of physical abuse. Likewise, an understanding of reporting guidelines helps guide practitioners in their decision making.

Using the Screened Coulomb Potential to Illustrate the Variational Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuniga, Jose; Bastida, Adolfo; Requena, Alberto

2012-01-01

The screened Coulomb potential, or Yukawa potential, is used to illustrate the application of the single and linear variational methods. The trial variational functions are expressed in terms of Slater-type functions, for which the integrals needed to carry out the variational calculations are easily evaluated in closed form. The variational…

Teaching Culture in a North American Context: Halloween Revisited.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mollica, Anthony; And Others

1996-01-01

Notes that information presented in dialog form in a foreign language lends itself more easily to conversation than does intricate narrative prose. Using background information on Halloween, the article adapts the text to present information about the target culture as well as to humorously present facts about the North American festivity.…

RANSLATIONS ON Eastern Europe Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs No. 1358.

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-02-24

form, and it is already in the second edition.) We provide students more easily with popular guides into the world of Greek mythology . But in fact...familiar with the mythology of the Old and New Testament as with Greek mythology to understand Sophocles. The other teachers who are interested

Problematizing Videogames: Teaching Students to Be Critical Players

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Love, Mark

2017-01-01

This contribution aims to familiarize educators with the unique ways in which videogames convey meaning as a media form and to provide an instrument, based on videogame theory, that educators can easily employ in intermediate and advanced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms to teach critical media literacy. In order to equip teachers…

Oxidation-Resistant Coating For Bipolar Lead/Acid Battery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bolstad, James J.

1993-01-01

Cathode side of bipolar substrate coated with nonoxidizable conductive layer. Coating prepared as water slurry of aqueous dispersion of polyethylene copolymer plus such conductive fillers as tin oxide, titanium, tantalum, or tungsten oxide. Applied easily to substrate of polyethylene carbon plastic. As slurry dries, conductive, oxidation-resistant coating forms on positive side of substrate.

Detection of microbial concentration in ice-cream using the impedance technique.

PubMed

Grossi, M; Lanzoni, M; Pompei, A; Lazzarini, R; Matteuzzi, D; Riccò, B

2008-06-15

The detection of microbial concentration, essential for safe and high quality food products, is traditionally made with the plate count technique, that is reliable, but also slow and not easily realized in the automatic form, as required for direct use in industrial machines. To this purpose, the method based on impedance measurements represents an attractive alternative since it can produce results in about 10h, instead of the 24-48h needed by standard plate counts and can be easily realized in automatic form. In this paper such a method has been experimentally studied in the case of ice-cream products. In particular, all main ice-cream compositions of real interest have been considered and no nutrient media has been used to dilute the samples. A measurement set-up has been realized using benchtop instruments for impedance measurements on samples whose bacteria concentration was independently measured by means of standard plate counts. The obtained results clearly indicate that impedance measurement represents a feasible and reliable technique to detect total microbial concentration in ice-cream, suitable to be implemented as an embedded system for industrial machines.

Earth observation image of Von Karman Vortices taken during STS-100

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-04-30

STS100-710-182 (19 April-1 May 2001) --- Easily recognizable in this STS-100 70mm frame are phenomena known as the von Karman vortices, which were forming in the stratocumulus field downwind from the volcanic island of Rishiri-to in the northern Sea of Japan off the northwest coast of Hokkaido, Japan. According to NASA scientists studying the STS-100 photo collection, these features form when a stable atmosphere with low clouds flows past a relatively small obstacle with a height greater than the depth of the cloud layer. Because the atmosphere is stable, a series of eddies form in the moving cloud field.

Refractive collimation beam shaper design and sensitivity analysis using a free-form profile construction method.

PubMed

Tsai, Chung-Yu

2017-07-01

A refractive laser beam shaper comprising two free-form profiles is presented. The profiles are designed using a free-form profile construction method such that each incident ray is directed in a certain user-specified direction or to a particular point on the target surface so as to achieve the required illumination distribution of the output beam. The validity of the proposed design method is demonstrated by means of ZEMAX simulations. The method is mathematically straightforward and easily implemented in computer code. It thus provides a convenient tool for the design and sensitivity analysis of laser beam shapers and similar optical components.

The Challenges of Searching, Finding, Reading, Understanding and Using Mars Mission Datasets for Science Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Jeffrey R.

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the problems that non-mission researchers have in accessing data to use in their analysis of Mars. The increasing complexity of Mars datasets results in custom software development by instrument teams that is often the only means to visualize and analyze the data. The solutions to the problem are to continue efforts toward synergizing data from multiple missions and making the data, s/w, derived products available in standardized, easily-accessible formats, encourage release of "lite" versions of mission-related software prior to end-of-mission, and planetary image data should be systematically processed in a coordinated way and made available in an easily accessed form. The recommendations of Mars Environmental GIS Workshop are reviewed.

An integrative contextual developmental model of male stalking.

PubMed

White, J; Kowalski, R M; Lyndon, A; Valentine, S

2000-01-01

This article evaluates current research and theory on stalking as a form of male violence against women. The integrative contextual developmental model (White & Kowalski, 1998) suggests that stalking, as legally defined, is best understood as a multiply determined form of violence, with variables identifiable at several levels, the sociocultural, interpersonal, dyadic, situational and intrapersonal. The model also serves as a framework for identifying gaps in current research and suggests directions for further work.

Contents and readability of currently used surgical/procedure informed consent forms in Nigerian tertiary health institutions.

PubMed

Ezeome, E R; Chuke, P I; Ezeome, I V

2011-01-01

Surgical informed consent forms should have evidence that their use will enhance a shared decision-making which is the fundamental objective of informed consent in clinical practice. In the absence of any guideline in Nigeria on the content and language of informed consent forms, we sort to examine the surgical and procedure consent forms used by Federal tertiary health institutions in Nigeria, to know whether they fulfill the basic elements of informed consent. The surgical and procedure informed consent forms of 33 tertiary health institutions in Nigeria were assessed for their readability and contents. Adequacy of their content was evaluated based on provision for 28 content items identified as necessary information to be provided in a good consent form. The potential of the forms to be comprehended were assessed with Flesch readability formula. The contents of majority of the forms were scant. None of the forms made provision for documentation of the patient's permission for blood transfusion, tissue disposal, awareness of the risks of not undergoing the prescribed treatment, and the risk of anesthesia. Risk disclosures were only mentioned in specific terms in 11.4% of the forms. Less than 10% of the forms made provisions for an interpreter, signature of anesthetists, alternative to the procedure to be mentioned, and answering of the patient's questions. The Flesch reading ease scores of the forms ranged from 34.1 (Difficult) to 67.5 (Standard), with a mean score of 55.2 (Fairly difficult level). Field evaluation of the forms show that they shall be partly understood by 13- to 15-year-old patients with basic education but are best understood by literate adult patients. The content of majority of the informed consent forms used in Nigerian tertiary health institutions are poor and their readability scores are not better than those used in developed parts of the world. Health Institutions in Nigeria should revise their informed consent forms to improve their contents and do a usability trial on the sample forms before deployment in order to ensure that they are comprehensible for their patient population.

BIOLUMINESCENT SENSORS FOR DETECTION OF BIOAVAILABLE HG(II) IN THE ENVIRONMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Biosensors for the detection of pollutants in the environment can complement analytical methods by distinguishing bioavailable from inert unavailable forms of the contaminants. y using fusions of the well understood TN21 mercury resistance operon (mer) with promoterless luxCDABE ...

48 CFR 52.237-7 - Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... ACQUISITION REGULATION (CONTINUED) CLAUSES AND FORMS SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES Text of... expressly agreed and understood that this is a nonpersonal services contract, as defined in Federal... services rendered, including by example, the Contractor's professional medical judgment, diagnosis, or...

Growth and defects of explosives crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cady, H. H.

Large single crystals of PETN, RDX, and TNT can be grown easily from evaporating ethyl acetate solutions. The crystals all share a similar type of defect that may not be commonly recognized. The defect generates conical faces, ideally mosaic crystals, and may account for the 'polymorphs' of TNT and detonator grades of PETN. TATB crystals manufactured by the amination of trichlorotrinitrobenzene in dry toluene entrain two forms of ammonium chloride. One of these forms causes 'worm holes' in the TATB crystals that may be the reason for its unusually low failure diameters. Strained HMX crystals form mechanical twins that can spontaneously revert back to the untwinned form when the straining force is removed. Large strains or temperatures above 100 C lock in the mechanical twins.

Readability assessment of patient education materials from the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.

PubMed

Kasabwala, Khushabu; Agarwal, Nitin; Hansberry, David R; Baredes, Soly; Eloy, Jean Anderson

2012-09-01

Americans are increasingly turning to the Internet as a source of health care information. These online resources should be written at a level readily understood by the average American. This study evaluates the readability of online patient education information available from the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) professional Web site using 7 different assessment tools that analyze the materials for reading ease and grade level of its target audience. Analysis of Internet-based patient education material from the AAO-HNSF Web site. Online patient education material from the AAO-HNSF was downloaded in January 2012 and assessed for level of readability using the Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, SMOG grading, Coleman-Liau Index, Gunning-Fog Index, Raygor Readability Estimate graph, and Fry Readability graph. The text from each subsection was pasted as plain text into Microsoft Word document, and each subsection was subjected to readability analysis using the software package Readability Studio Professional Edition Version 2012.1. All health care education material assessed is written between an 11th grade and graduate reading level and is considered "difficult to read" by the assessment scales. Online patient education materials on the AAO-HNSF Web site are written above the recommended 6th grade level and may need to be revised to make them more easily understood by a broader audience.

Lincos: An interplanetary language. [mathematical method for cosmic radio contact with extraterrestrial life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freudenthal, H.

1974-01-01

A language for cosmic contacts is envisioned that utilizes radio signals of different wavelengths as sounds to form words. These words are in most cases abbreviations of Latin words understood from their English and French cognates. The logistic syntax uses pauses for punctuation in a binary system; pairs of algebraic formulas are transmitted where in a such pair the second element is always derived from the first; between them is transmitted a word that is understood as -follows- by the listener. The concepts of difference in position, of motion, of space, and of mass can be mathematically described by this language.

A simple finite element method for non-divergence form elliptic equation

DOE PAGES

Mu, Lin; Ye, Xiu

2017-03-01

Here, we develop a simple finite element method for solving second order elliptic equations in non-divergence form by combining least squares concept with discontinuous approximations. This simple method has a symmetric and positive definite system and can be easily analyzed and implemented. We could have also used general meshes with polytopal element and hanging node in the method. We prove that our finite element solution approaches to the true solution when the mesh size approaches to zero. Numerical examples are tested that demonstrate the robustness and flexibility of the method.

Experimental entanglement distillation of two-qubit mixed states under local operations.

PubMed

Wang, Zhi-Wei; Zhou, Xiang-Fa; Huang, Yun-Feng; Zhang, Yong-Sheng; Ren, Xi-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2006-06-09

We experimentally demonstrate optimal entanglement distillation from two forms of two-qubit mixed states under local filtering operations according to the constructive method introduced by [F. Verstraete, Phys. Rev. A 64, 010101(R) (2001)10.1103/PhysRevA.64.010101]. In principle, our setup can be easily applied to distilling entanglement from arbitrary two-qubit partially mixed states. We also test the violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shinmony-Holt inequality for the distilled state from the first form of mixed state to show its "hidden nonlocality."

Hierarchical porous graphene/polyaniline composite film with superior rate performance for flexible supercapacitors.

PubMed

Meng, Yuena; Wang, Kai; Zhang, Yajie; Wei, Zhixiang

2013-12-23

A highly flexible graphene free-standing film with hierarchical structure is prepared by a facile template method. With a porous structure, the film can be easily bent and cut, and forms a composite with another material as a scaffold. The 3D graphene film exhibits excellent rate capability and its capacitance is further improved by forming a composite with polyaniline nanowire arrays. The flexible hierarchical composite proves to be an excellent electrode material for flexible supercapacitors. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A simple finite element method for non-divergence form elliptic equation

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

Mu, Lin; Ye, Xiu

Here, we develop a simple finite element method for solving second order elliptic equations in non-divergence form by combining least squares concept with discontinuous approximations. This simple method has a symmetric and positive definite system and can be easily analyzed and implemented. We could have also used general meshes with polytopal element and hanging node in the method. We prove that our finite element solution approaches to the true solution when the mesh size approaches to zero. Numerical examples are tested that demonstrate the robustness and flexibility of the method.

Expansion of the gravitational potential with computerized Poisson series

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Broucke, R.

1976-01-01

The paper describes a recursive formulation for the expansion of the gravitational potential valid for both the tesseral and zonal harmonics. The expansion is primarily in rectangular coordinates, but the classical orbit elements or equinoctial orbit elements can be easily substituted. The equations of motion for the zonal harmonics in both classical and equinoctial orbital elements are described in a form which will result in closed-form expressions for the first-order perturbations. In order to achieve this result, the true longitude or true anomaly have to be used as independent variables.

Analysis study of multispectral data, ERTS-A, from an area in West Pakistan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, R. G. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Geomorphic features related to a known porphyry copper deposit at Saindak, western Chagai District, Pakistan, are easily distinguished on ERTS-1 images. New geologic information from the images was used in conjunction with known geology to evaluate one previously known prospect area and to suggest two additional ones, but no new prospects were recognized on the basis of the images alone. The study also showed that Saindak-type deposits are not likely to be present in some extensive areas of the Chagai District. The Saindak deposit is in an area of relatively easily eroded folded sedimentary and volcanic rocks. The deposit is characterized by an elongate zone of easily eroded sulfide-rich rock surrounded by a resistant rim of hornfels and propylitically altered rock. Both this rim and the central sulfide-rich valley are conspicuous features on the images. Swarms of dikes are probably useful for distinguishing real rims from other resistant rock types, but there is no expression of them on the image, although they are easily seen on aerial photographs of the Saindak rim. The investigation showed that a rim like that at Saindak does not form if regional metamorphism has increased the resistance of the country rock to erosion, as in the Pakistan-Iran border region northwest of Saindak.

Crystal morphology of sunflower wax in soybean oil organogel

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

While sunflower wax has been recognized as an excellent organogelator for edible oil, the detailed morphology of sunflower wax crystals formed in an edible oil organogel has not been fully understood. In this study, polarized light microscopy, phase contrast microscopy, scanning electron microscopy ...

A Foucauldian Analysis of Homosexuality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drazenovich, George

2012-01-01

The present research paper approaches homosexuality from a Foucauldian perspective. Foucault's place and standing in a postmodern historical and cultural context will be explained. The paper outlines how homosexuality has been historically constructed and socially constituted. How sexuality became understood as a particular form of discourse, that…

Frontier Force: The Romance of the Foreign Legion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heggoy, Alf Andrew

1985-01-01

Of all the frontier forces in the modern world, the French Foreign Legion is perhaps the most widely known and yet the least understood. The realities and mystique of the Legion from the time it was formed in 1831 to the present are discussed. (RM)

Introduction to the Thematic Minireview Series: Brain glycogen metabolism.

PubMed

Carlson, Gerald M; Dienel, Gerald A; Colbran, Roger J

2018-05-11

The synthesis of glycogen allows for efficient intracellular storage of glucose molecules in a soluble form that can be rapidly released to enter glycolysis in response to energy demand. Intensive studies of glucose and glycogen metabolism, predominantly in skeletal muscle and liver, have produced innumerable insights into the mechanisms of hormone action, resulting in the award of several Nobel Prizes over the last one hundred years. Glycogen is actually present in all cells and tissues, albeit at much lower levels than found in muscle or liver. However, metabolic and physiological roles of glycogen in other tissues are poorly understood. This series of Minireviews summarizes what is known about the enzymes involved in brain glycogen metabolism and studies that have linked glycogen metabolism to multiple brain functions involving metabolic communication between astrocytes and neurons. Recent studies unexpectedly linking some forms of epilepsy to mutations in two poorly understood proteins involved in glycogen metabolism are also reviewed. © 2018 Carlson et al.

Finding Paleoclimates Using Pedogenic Carbonates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garapaty, C.; Bella Pratt, K.; Blisniuk, K.

2016-12-01

Carbonate rinds naturally form on the undersides of clasts in desert soil. These carbonate rinds can be used to determine past climates in these environments because they contain certain radioactive isotopes and stable isotopes. Radioactive isotopes can provide the age of soil formation because carbonate rinds only form after the soil. When the carbonates are forming on the rock, in desert soil, they trap miniscule amounts of uranium which will radioactively decay into thorium. Therefore, the uranium to thorium ratio found when the carbonates are analyzed can accurately give you the date of the sample. On the other hand stable isotopes help determine the average temperature at the time the carbonate was formed. The oxygen in the CO3- (carbonate) are usually 16O and 18O. The ratio of 16O to 18O can give you the temperature of the environment when the carbonates formed. This ratio depends on temperature because water with 16O evaporates first since it is lighter and 18O precipitates more easily because it is heavier. Evaporation, precipitation, and temperature change, easily alters the concentration of the ratio of 16O to 18O so it is easy to calculate the temperature, in that area and at that time, from it. The samples I worked on are from the Sonoran Desert in Southern California. I used a microscope, tweezers and a small pick to remove the carbonate from the clast and remove the biotite and other contamination from the carbonate. Later, we wash the samples by hand and by using an ultrasonic machine to make them even cleaner by washing away any loose material. We had to remove the biotite and wash away the loose material because the carbonates need to be clean in order for us to analyze it accurately.

Documentary bioethics: visual narratives for Generations X and Y.

PubMed

Stys, John C

2006-01-01

Narrative bioethics is primarily understood to involve storytelling through the use of literature. This article suggests that other forms of media are necessary to convey stories of an ethical nature to an audience broader than one being trained as medical professionals. "Documentary bioethics" is a manner to present and interpret stories of an ethical nature using forms of popular electronic media in a reality-based documentary style to society at large, specifically Generations X and Y.

A Simple Laser Teaching Aid for Transverse Mode Structure Demonstration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ren, Cheng; Zhang, Shulian

2009-01-01

A teaching aid for demonstrating the transverse mode structure in lasers is described. A novel device called "multi-dimension adjustable combined cat-eye reflector" has been constructed from easily available materials to form a He-Ne laser resonator. By finely adjusting the cat-eye, the boundary conditions of the laser cavity can be altered, which…

Making Ordered DNA and Protein Structures from Computer-Printed Transparency Film Cut-Outs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jittivadhna, Karnyupha; Ruenwongsa, Pintip; Panijpan, Bhinyo

2009-01-01

Instructions are given for building physical scale models of ordered structures of B-form DNA, protein [alpha]-helix, and parallel and antiparallel protein [beta]-pleated sheets made from colored computer printouts designed for transparency film sheets. Cut-outs from these sheets are easily assembled. Conventional color coding for atoms are used…

The stability of a class of synchronous generator damping model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jun

2018-03-01

Electricity is indispensable to modern society and the most convenient energy, it can be easily transformed into other forms of energy, has been widely used in engineering, transportation and so on, this paper studied the generator model with damping machine, using the Lyapunov function method, we obtain sufficient conditions for the asymptotic stability of the model.

QUEST - A Bayesian adaptive psychometric method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, A. B.; Pelli, D. G.

1983-01-01

An adaptive psychometric procedure that places each trial at the current most probable Bayesian estimate of threshold is described. The procedure takes advantage of the common finding that the human psychometric function is invariant in form when expressed as a function of log intensity. The procedure is simple, fast, and efficient, and may be easily implemented on any computer.

Short Research Report: Cyberbullying Levels of Impact in a Special School Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beer, Paula; Hallet, Fiona; Hawkins, Claire; Hewitson, Dawn

2017-01-01

Cyberbullying is defined as "an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself" (Smith et al., 2008, p. 376). There are many quantitative studies on cyberbullying, but now researchers argue that we need…

Cognitive Skills in the Charitable Giving Decisions of the Elderly

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Russell N., III

2011-01-01

Charitable giving is a common, and easily measurable, form of prosocial behavior. It may also provide a unique cognitive challenge in that it often requires identifying with the needs of distant others. Using a sample of 331 cognitively normal seniors (mean age of 76), this study examined the relationship between charitable giving and scores on 18…

Context Dependence of One-Question-per-Passage Measures of Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oaster, T. R. F.; And Others

This study hypothesized that items in the one-question-per-passage format would be less easily answered when administered without their associated contexts than conventional reading comprehension items. A total of 256 seventh and eighth grade students were administered both Forms 3A and 3B of the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress (STEP 11).…

10 CFR 32.61 - Ice detection devices containing strontium-90; requirements for license to manufacture or...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... physical form and maximum quantity of strontium-90 in the device; (2) Details of construction and design of... handling and installation of the device; (8) Any additional information, including experimental studies and... ordinary circumstances of use; (3) The device is so designed that it cannot be easily disassembled; (4) The...

SCANIT: centralized digitizing of forest resource maps or photographs

Treesearch

Elliot L. Amidon; E. Joyce Dye

1981-01-01

Spatial data on wildland resource maps and aerial photographs can be analyzed by computer after digitizing. SCANIT is a computerized system for encoding such data in digital form. The system, consisting of a collection of computer programs and subroutines, provides a powerful and versatile tool for a variety of resource analyses. SCANIT also may be converted easily to...

Extraction of Graph Information Based on Image Contents and the Use of Ontology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kanjanawattana, Sarunya; Kimura, Masaomi

2016-01-01

A graph is an effective form of data representation used to summarize complex information. Explicit information such as the relationship between the X- and Y-axes can be easily extracted from a graph by applying human intelligence. However, implicit knowledge such as information obtained from other related concepts in an ontology also resides in…

14 CFR 259.6 - Notice and contract of carriage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Web site shall post its Contract of Carriage on its Web site in easily accessible form, including all... Lengthy Tarmac Delays shall, if it has a Web site but does not include such Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays in its Contract of Carriage, post its Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays on its Web...

Using Spreadsheets to Help Students Think Recursively

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webber, Robert P.

2012-01-01

Spreadsheets lend themselves naturally to recursive computations, since a formula can be defined as a function of one of more preceding cells. A hypothesized closed form for the "n"th term of a recursive sequence can be tested easily by using a spreadsheet to compute a large number of the terms. Similarly, a conjecture about the limit of a series…

Novel time-temperature and 'consume-within' indicator based on gas-diffusion.

PubMed

Mills, A; Hawthorne, D; Graham, A; Lawrie, K

2016-11-29

The novel time-temperature indicator label comprises an ammonia sensitive indicator layer film pressed onto a second film, comprising an ammonia-generating, adhesive layer. When separated the blue-coloured indicator film reverts back to its original (ammonia free) yellow form at a controllable, temperature dependant rate. The labels are easily made and stored.

Mapping the Knowledge Topography: A Critical Appraisal of Geography Textbook Questions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mishra, Rishabh Kumar

2015-01-01

Textbook questions and exercises are quintessential part of every textbook. One can easily locate textbook questions at the end of the every chapter and also in between the texts. What are they meant for? Usually we think they are meant for assessing learners' understanding regarding subject knowledge, providing clue to teacher to form other…

The Role of Working Memory and Divided Attention in Metaphor Interpretation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iskandar, Sam; Baird, Anne D.

2014-01-01

Although several types of figurative language exist, neuropsychological tests of non-literal language have focused on proverbs. Metaphors in the form X is (a) Y (e.g., "The body's immunological response is a battle against disease.") place a lower demand on language skills and are more easily manipulated for novelty than proverbs.…

Young Girls Discovering Their Voice with Literacy and Readers Theater

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zambo, Debby

2011-01-01

The ideal female, as portrayed in the media, has a perfect body, owns many trendy and costly possessions, and is submissive and sexy. Young girls are easily influenced by the media's portrayal of teens and women, therefore, they may begin to form unrealistic ideas about beauty and begin to judge themselves and each other based on these…

14 CFR 259.6 - Notice and Contract of Carriage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Web site shall post its Contract of Carriage on its Web site in easily accessible form, including all... Lengthy Tarmac Delays shall, if it has a Web site but does not include such Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays in its Contract of Carriage, post its Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays on its Web...

Evaluation of log submergence to control EAB and preserve black ash for native American basketry

Treesearch

Therese M. Poland; Damon J. Crook; Tina M. Ciaramitaro

2011-01-01

Many Native American cultures use black ash, Fraxinus nigra, for basket-making because its ring-porous wood allows the annual layers of xylem to be easily separated. The emerald ash borer (EAB, Agrilus planipennis) is threatening North America's ash resource including black ash, and a centuries-old native art form. Native...

Teaching Healthy Habits to Young Children: Handwashing, Toileting and Toothbrushing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oshikanlu, Seyi

2006-01-01

Teaching children habits is a routine part of many early childhood program curricula, with teachers never really stopping to think about what or how teaching is affecting their students. Habits are formed with consistent practice. Habits can be taught to children easily when teachers have some creativity to the actions. In this article, the author…

From Print Texts to e-Books: The Changing Nature of Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larson, Lotta

2013-01-01

This article describes ways that e-books, a common form of technology, can be used to differentiate instruction, enhance literacy learning, and support Common Core State English Language Arts (ELA) Standards at the fifth-grade level. However, the strategies described can easily be adapted to suit a wide range of grade levels and instructional…

Chemically bonded phospho-silicate ceramics

DOEpatents

Wagh, Arun S.; Jeong, Seung Y.; Lohan, Dirk; Elizabeth, Anne

2003-01-01

A chemically bonded phospho-silicate ceramic formed by chemically reacting a monovalent alkali metal phosphate (or ammonium hydrogen phosphate) and a sparsely soluble oxide, with a sparsely soluble silicate in an aqueous solution. The monovalent alkali metal phosphate (or ammonium hydrogen phosphate) and sparsely soluble oxide are both in powder form and combined in a stochiometric molar ratio range of (0.5-1.5):1 to form a binder powder. Similarly, the sparsely soluble silicate is also in powder form and mixed with the binder powder to form a mixture. Water is added to the mixture to form a slurry. The water comprises 50% by weight of the powder mixture in said slurry. The slurry is allowed to harden. The resulting chemically bonded phospho-silicate ceramic exhibits high flexural strength, high compression strength, low porosity and permeability to water, has a definable and bio-compatible chemical composition, and is readily and easily colored to almost any desired shade or hue.

[A symptom oriented diagnostic approach to the workup of secondary forms of uveitis -- an internet based program for better and easier orientation in differential diagnosis].

PubMed

Wiehler, U; Schmidt, R; Skonetzki, S; Becker, M

2006-05-01

The long list of ophthalmologic findings and symptoms at a baseline examination of a patient with uveitis can have an impact on further laboratory workup and differential diagnosis. Based on publications and previous work, a decision tree was transformed into the expert system shell D3. A web-based Java Servlet was then programmed and published on our website (http://www.uveitiscenter.de at DiagnoseFinder). Ophthalmologic findings and symptoms of the patient can be checked with this online questionnaire, and recommendations for further laboratory tests and further care of the patient received. Retrospective analysis of 62 patients with characteristic features of secondary uveitis showed a good correlation between the actual diagnosis of the patient and the diagnosis found by the program. In 74% of cases, the correct diagnosis was found among other options. In 37%, only the correct diagnosis was found, while in 37% the correct diagnosis was found among other probable diagnoses. Not all forms of secondary uveitis were found easily by the software. This program is meant to be an easily accessible and simply employable help for the care of patients with a secondary form of uveitis. It is intended to be a support not only for residents in particular, but also for ophthalmologists in private practice who rarely treat patients with uveitis.

48 CFR 852.237-7 - Indemnification and medical liability insurance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CLAUSES AND FORMS SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES Texts of... expressly agreed and understood that this is a non-personal services contract, as defined in Federal... professional aspects of the services rendered, including by example, the Contractor's or its health-care...

Direct-Access Retrieval during Sentence Comprehension: Evidence from Sluicing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Andrea E.; McElree, Brian

2011-01-01

Language comprehension requires recovering meaning from linguistic form, even when the mapping between the two is indirect. A canonical example is ellipsis, the omission of information that is subsequently understood without being overtly pronounced. Comprehension of ellipsis requires retrieval of an antecedent from memory, without prior…

77 FR 70781 - Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-27

... states have enacted laws to reduce violence against healthcare workers by requiring workplace violence prevention programs. However, little is understood about how effective these laws are in reducing violence... the effectiveness of the regulations in this Act in reducing assault injuries to workers. Our central...

Disability as a Dialectical Concept: Building on Vygotsky's Defectology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bottcher, Louise; Dammeyer, Jesper

2012-01-01

The legacy of defectology, Vygotsky's theoretical work on children with disabilities, still offers a useful approach in disability research. Vygotsky understood disability as an incongruence between the individual's psychological structure and the structure of cultural forms. The incongruence describes a dialectical relation between the person…

The Nitrogen Balancing Act: Tracking the Environmental Performance of Food Production

PubMed Central

McLellan, Eileen L; Cassman, Kenneth G; Eagle, Alison J; Woodbury, Peter B; Sela, Shai; Tonitto, Christina; Marjerison, Rebecca D; van Es, Harold M

2018-01-01

Abstract Farmers, food supply-chain entities, and policymakers need a simple but robust indicator to demonstrate progress toward reducing nitrogen pollution associated with food production. We show that nitrogen balance—the difference between nitrogen inputs and nitrogen outputs in an agricultural production system—is a robust measure of nitrogen losses that is simple to calculate, easily understood, and based on readily available farm data. Nitrogen balance provides farmers with a means of demonstrating to an increasingly concerned public that they are succeeding in reducing nitrogen losses while also improving the overall sustainability of their farming operation. Likewise, supply-chain companies and policymakers can use nitrogen balance to track progress toward sustainability goals. We describe the value of nitrogen balance in translating environmental targets into actionable goals for farmers and illustrate the potential roles of science, policy, and agricultural support networks in helping farmers achieve them. PMID:29662247

Modeling cortical circuits.

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

Rohrer, Brandon Robinson; Rothganger, Fredrick H.; Verzi, Stephen J.

2010-09-01

The neocortex is perhaps the highest region of the human brain, where audio and visual perception takes place along with many important cognitive functions. An important research goal is to describe the mechanisms implemented by the neocortex. There is an apparent regularity in the structure of the neocortex [Brodmann 1909, Mountcastle 1957] which may help simplify this task. The work reported here addresses the problem of how to describe the putative repeated units ('cortical circuits') in a manner that is easily understood and manipulated, with the long-term goal of developing a mathematical and algorithmic description of their function. The approachmore » is to reduce each algorithm to an enhanced perceptron-like structure and describe its computation using difference equations. We organize this algorithmic processing into larger structures based on physiological observations, and implement key modeling concepts in software which runs on parallel computing hardware.« less

Orion Entry Performance-Based Center-of-Gravity Box

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rea, Jeremy R.

2010-01-01

The Orion capsule has many performance requirements for its atmospheric entry trajectory. Requirements on landing accuracy, maximum heating rate, total heat load, propellant usage, and sensed acceleration must all be satised. It is desired to define a methodology to translate the many performance requirements for an atmospheric entry trajectory into language easily understood by vehicle designers in terms of an allowable center-of-gravity box. This is possible by noting that most entry performance parameters for a capsule vehicle are mainly determined by the lift-to-drag ratio of the vehicle. However, the lift-to- drag ratio should be considered a probabilistic quantity rather than deterministic, where variations in the lift-to-drag are caused by both aerodynamic and center-of-gravity un- certainties. This paper discusses the technique used by the Orion program to define the allowable dispersions in center-of-gravity to achieve the desired entry performance while accounting for aerodynamic uncertainty.

Linear and nonlinear schemes applied to pitch control of wind turbines.

PubMed

Geng, Hua; Yang, Geng

2014-01-01

Linear controllers have been employed in industrial applications for many years, but sometimes they are noneffective on the system with nonlinear characteristics. This paper discusses the structure, performance, implementation cost, advantages, and disadvantages of different linear and nonlinear schemes applied to the pitch control of the wind energy conversion systems (WECSs). The linear controller has the simplest structure and is easily understood by the engineers and thus is widely accepted by the industry. In contrast, nonlinear schemes are more complicated, but they can provide better performance. Although nonlinear algorithms can be implemented in a powerful digital processor nowadays, they need time to be accepted by the industry and their reliability needs to be verified in the commercial products. More information about the system nonlinear feature is helpful to simplify the controller design. However, nonlinear schemes independent of the system model are more robust to the uncertainties or deviations of the system parameters.

Signs and genetics of rare cancer syndromes with gastroenterological features

PubMed Central

Bruno, William; Fornarini, Giuseppe; Ghiorzo, Paola

2015-01-01

Although the genetic bases of most hereditary cancer syndromes are known, and genetic tests are available for them, the incidence of the most rare of these syndromes is likely underestimated, partially because the clinical expression is neither fully understood nor easily diagnosed due to the variable and complex expressivity. The clinical features of a small pool of rare cancer syndromes include gastroenterological signs, though not necessarily tumors, that could require the intervention of a gastroenterologist during any of the phases of the clinical management. Herein we will attempt to spread the knowledge on these rare syndromes by summarizing the phenotype and genetic basis, and revising the peculiar gastroenterological signs whose underlying role in these rare hereditary cancer syndromes is often neglected. Close collaboration between geneticists and gastroenterologists could facilitate both the early identification of patients or relatives at-risk and the planning of multidisciplinary and tailored management of these subjects. PMID:26290627

Instructional Review: An Introduction to Optical Methods for Characterizing Liquid Crystals at Interfaces

PubMed Central

Miller, Daniel S.; Carlton, Rebecca J.; Mushenheim, Peter C.; Abbott, Nicholas L.

2013-01-01

This Instructional Review describes methods and underlying principles that can be used to characterize both the orientations assumed spontaneously by liquid crystals (LCs) at interfaces and the strength with which the LCs are held in those orientations (so-called anchoring energies). The application of these methods to several different classes of LC interfaces is described, including solid and aqueous interfaces as well as planar and non-planar interfaces (such as those that define a LC-in-water emulsion droplet). These methods, which enable fundamental studies of the ordering of LCs at polymeric, chemically-functionalized and biomolecular interfaces, are described in this article at a level that can be easily understood by a non-expert reader such as an undergraduate or graduate student. We focus on optical methods because they are based on instrumentation that is found widely in research and teaching laboratories. PMID:23347378

Stability of miRNA 5′terminal and seed regions is correlated with experimentally observed miRNA-mediated silencing efficacy

PubMed Central

Hibio, Naoki; Hino, Kimihiro; Shimizu, Eigo; Nagata, Yoshiro; Ui-Tei, Kumiko

2012-01-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of sequence-specific gene silencing. However, crucial factors that determine the efficacy of miRNA-mediated target gene silencing are poorly understood. Here we mathematized base-pairing stability and showed that miRNAs with an unstable 5′ terminal duplex and stable seed-target duplex exhibit strong silencing activity. The results are consistent with the previous findings that an RNA strand with unstable 5′ terminal in miRNA duplex easily loads onto the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), and miRNA recognizes target mRNAs with seed-complementary sequences to direct posttranscriptional repression. Our results suggested that both the unwinding and target recognition processes of miRNAs could be proficiently controlled by the thermodynamics of base-pairing in protein-free condition. Interestingly, such thermodynamic parameters might be evolutionarily well adapted to the body temperatures of various species. PMID:23251782

Causal structure of oscillations in gene regulatory networks: Boolean analysis of ordinary differential equation attractors.

PubMed

Sun, Mengyang; Cheng, Xianrui; Socolar, Joshua E S

2013-06-01

A common approach to the modeling of gene regulatory networks is to represent activating or repressing interactions using ordinary differential equations for target gene concentrations that include Hill function dependences on regulator gene concentrations. An alternative formulation represents the same interactions using Boolean logic with time delays associated with each network link. We consider the attractors that emerge from the two types of models in the case of a simple but nontrivial network: a figure-8 network with one positive and one negative feedback loop. We show that the different modeling approaches give rise to the same qualitative set of attractors with the exception of a possible fixed point in the ordinary differential equation model in which concentrations sit at intermediate values. The properties of the attractors are most easily understood from the Boolean perspective, suggesting that time-delay Boolean modeling is a useful tool for understanding the logic of regulatory networks.

DEVELOPING AND INSTRUCTING PRE-PERFORMANCE ROUTINES FOR TENPIN BOWLING COMPETITIONS (1).

PubMed

Lee, Seungmin; Lee, Keunchul; Kwon, Sungho

2015-06-01

This preliminary study developed pre-performance routines for tenpin bowlers and instructed them. To develop the routine, the situations before throwing the ball were divided into four phases; participants were examined through interviews and observations. This study used an A-B design; the A stage included the development of the routines for 3 wk., while the B stage included the instruction and two evaluations of the routine consistency. Practice was implemented for 4 hr. per day for 9 wk. The participants noted they understood the developed routine easily and experienced an atmosphere similar to that of a competition during training through the routines. They found it difficult to practice the relaxation phase, but emphasized that the relaxation phase was helpful. Consistent routines were associated with an improved mental state and performance in a competition. This study suggests that pre-performance routines stabilize the mental state of the athletes, apparently giving them a competitive advantage.

Interior ballistics of a two-stage light gas gun using velocity interferometry

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

Munson, D.E.; May, R.P.

1976-02-01

An extensive interior ballistics study of a two-stage light gas gun was performed which resulted in a detailed measurement of the projectile velocity as a continuous function of time. The two-stage gun consisted of a 88.9-mm i.d. pump stage and a 28.6-mm i.d. launch stage. Five main parameters of gun operation, propellant mass, piston mass, pump gas, pump gas pressure, and projectile mass were varied in this study. Projectile velocities were measured using a very precise velocity interferometer for any reflecting surface (VISAR) technique. The measurements showed that the initial acceleration of the projectile is discontinuous due to the shockmore » nature of the applied pressure on the projectile upon rupture of the burst diaphragm. These shock accelerations are understood easily via simple shock-tube theory. 9 figures, 3 tables.« less

Modeling the Object-Oriented Space Through Validated Measures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neal, Ralph D.

1996-01-01

In order to truly understand software and the software development process, software measurement must be better understood. A beginning step toward a better understanding of software measurement is the categorization of the measurements by some meaningful taxonomy. The most meaningful taxonomy would capture the basic nature of the subject oriented (O-O) space. The interesting characteristics of object oriented software offer a starting point for such a categorization of measures. A taxonomy has been developed based on fourteen characteristics of object-oriented software gathered from the literature This taxonomy allows us to easily see gaps and redundancies in the O-O measures. The taxonomy also clearly differentiates among taxa so that there is no ambiguity as to the taxon to which a measure belongs. The taxonomy has been populated with thirty-two measures that have been validated in the narrow sense of Fenton, using measurement theory with Zuse's augmentation.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot and other vortices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marcus, Philip S.

1993-01-01

A theoretical explanation of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) as the self-organization of vorticity in turbulence is presented. A number of properties of the GRS and other Jovian vortices that are unambiguous from the data are listed. The simplest possible model that explains these properties one at a time rather than in a difficult all-encompassing planetary global circulation model is presented. It is shown that Jovian vortices reflect the behavior of quasi-geostrophic (QG) vortices embedded in an east-west wind with bands of uniform potential vorticity. It is argued that most of the properties of the Jovian vortices can be easily explained and understood with QG theory. Many of the signatures of QG vortices are apparent on Voyager images. In numerical and laboratory experiments, QG vortices relax to approximately steady states like the Jovian vortices, rather than oscillating or rotating Kida ellipses.

Development of computer-assisted instruction application for statistical data analysis android platform as learning resource

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendikawati, P.; Arifudin, R.; Zahid, M. Z.

2018-03-01

This study aims to design an android Statistics Data Analysis application that can be accessed through mobile devices to making it easier for users to access. The Statistics Data Analysis application includes various topics of basic statistical along with a parametric statistics data analysis application. The output of this application system is parametric statistics data analysis that can be used for students, lecturers, and users who need the results of statistical calculations quickly and easily understood. Android application development is created using Java programming language. The server programming language uses PHP with the Code Igniter framework, and the database used MySQL. The system development methodology used is the Waterfall methodology with the stages of analysis, design, coding, testing, and implementation and system maintenance. This statistical data analysis application is expected to support statistical lecturing activities and make students easier to understand the statistical analysis of mobile devices.

Structure, Chemistry and Property Correlations in FeSe and 122 Pnictides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cava, Robert

2010-03-01

Determining how crystal structure and chemical bonding influence the properties of solids is at the heart of collaborative research programs between materials physicists and solid state chemists. In some materials, the high Tc copper oxides and colossal magnetoresistance manganates, for example, the subtleties of how structure, bonding and properties are coupled yields an almost baffling complexity, while in others, such as many classical intermetallic superconductors, the properties are more easily understood, with bonding and structure playing a less profound role. The new superconducting pnictides appear to fall somewhere between these two limits, and have so far been the subject of relatively little study by solid state chemists. Here I will describe some of our recent work on superconducting FeSe and superconductor-related ``122'' (ThCr2Si2-type) solid solution phases as examples of the kinds of insights that structural and chemical studies can contribute to understanding these important materials.

Cross-cultural Adaptation of the "Functional Activities Questionnaire - FAQ" for use in Brazil

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Maria Angélica dos Santos; Correa, Pricila Cristina Ribeiro; Lourenço, Roberto Alves

2011-01-01

Objective The aim of this paper was to present the results of the first stage of cross-cultural adaptation of the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ). Methods The tool was subjected to translation and re-translation, and the test-retest reliability of a proposed version for use in Brazil was analyzed. Results Of the 548 questionnaire respondents, a convenience sample of 68 informants was selected for retesting. Internal consistency was measured by Cronbach's alpha (0.95) while test-retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation (0.97). The findings have shown that FAQ is brief - averaging seven minutes to apply, easily understood and has good intra-rater test-retest reliability. Conclusion Our results suggest this adapted version of the FAQ is a reliable and stable tool which may be useful for assessing function in Brazilian elderly. Notwithstanding, the version should be subjected to further analysis with the aim of reaching functional equivalence. PMID:29213759

From Web Directories to Ontologies: Natural Language Processing Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaihrayeu, Ilya; Sun, Lei; Giunchiglia, Fausto; Pan, Wei; Ju, Qi; Chi, Mingmin; Huang, Xuanjing

Hierarchical classifications are used pervasively by humans as a means to organize their data and knowledge about the world. One of their main advantages is that natural language labels, used to describe their contents, are easily understood by human users. However, at the same time, this is also one of their main disadvantages as these same labels are ambiguous and very hard to be reasoned about by software agents. This fact creates an insuperable hindrance for classifications to being embedded in the Semantic Web infrastructure. This paper presents an approach to converting classifications into lightweight ontologies, and it makes the following contributions: (i) it identifies the main NLP problems related to the conversion process and shows how they are different from the classical problems of NLP; (ii) it proposes heuristic solutions to these problems, which are especially effective in this domain; and (iii) it evaluates the proposed solutions by testing them on DMoz data.

UNDERSTANDING FLOW OF ENERGY IN BUILDINGS USING MODAL ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY

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

John Gardner; Kevin Heglund; Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg

2013-07-01

It is widely understood that energy storage is the key to integrating variable generators into the grid. It has been proposed that the thermal mass of buildings could be used as a distributed energy storage solution and several researchers are making headway in this problem. However, the inability to easily determine the magnitude of the building’s effective thermal mass, and how the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system exchanges thermal energy with it, is a significant challenge to designing systems which utilize this storage mechanism. In this paper we adapt modal analysis methods used in mechanical structures to identifymore » the primary modes of energy transfer among thermal masses in a building. The paper describes the technique using data from an idealized building model. The approach is successfully applied to actual temperature data from a commercial building in downtown Boise, Idaho.« less

Content Management System for Developing a Virtual Platform for Association of Women's Aid with Lack of Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sainz de Abajo, Beatriz; Flores García, Alberto; García Salcines, Enrique; Burón Fernández, F. Javier; López Coronado, Miguel; de Castro Lozano, Carlos

In this paper we show a Virtual Platform for an Association of Women's Aid called Centro Integral de Ayuda a la Mujer (CIAM). After analyzing different Content Management Systems (CMS) and the benefits that its use would contribute to the development of the Virtual Platform, taking into account the needs and requirements set by CIAM, we have opted for the use of Joomla!. This free CMS, for its characteristics, is the most benefits provided us. The virtual platform design has been developed following customer specifications, to have understood the simplicity and easy handling of the resulting platform. This platform will be integrated into the Web portal that has the Amarex Association and it will be able to be administrates from the CIAM without specific knowledge of programming languages. If new services were necessary, they would be easily implemented, adding new modules and components to perform these services.

An Investigation Into The Viability Of Nanocrystalline Cellulose As A Packaging Material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glass, John

The focus of this proposal is to identify unexplored areas of research in the field of packaging science, specifically related to the incorporation of Nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC) as a functional material in fiber based packaging, as well as to highlight some of potential risks and unknowns in the product lifecycle. This research hypothesizes that incorporating NCC into wood fiber-based c-flute corrugated packaging medium will show a sufficient performance improvement to justify additional research. Nanomaterials, as a whole, are still being understood, including those using naturally occurring bases such as NCC. Further incremental testing with NCC will help provide a performance and safety baseline for the necessary future research prior to mass production. NCC holds great promise for the future: a commonly available, naturally occurring material that's easily recyclable and biodegradable, yet has the strength of steel. Due diligence is required for this material to come to market in a safe and sustainable manner.

Nonperturbative model for optical response under intense periodic fields with application to graphene in a strong perpendicular magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, J. L.; Guo, C.

2018-05-01

Graphene exhibits extremely strong optical nonlinearity in a perpendicular magnetic field, the optical conductivities show complicated field dependence at a moderate light intensity, and the perturbation theory fails. The full optical currents induced by a periodic field are nonperturbatively investigated in an equation-of-motion framework based on the Floquet theorem, with the scattering described phenomenologically. The nonlinear responses are understood in terms of the dressed electronic states, or Floquet states, which could be characterized by a weak probe light field. The method is illustrated for a magnetic field at 5 T and a driving field with photon energy 0.05 eV. Our results show that the perturbation theory works for weak fields <3 kV/cm, confirming the unusual strong light-matter interaction for Landau levels of graphene. Our approach can be easily extended to other systems.

Privacy and medical information on the Internet.

PubMed

Nelson, Steven B

2006-02-01

Health-care consumers are beginning to realize the presence and value of health-care information available on the Internet, but they need to be aware of risks that may be involved. In addition to delivering information, some Web sites collect information. Though not all of the information might be classified as protected health information, consumers need to realize what is collected and how it might be used. Consumers should know a Web site\\'s privacy policy before divulging any personal information. Health-care providers have a responsibility to know what information they are collecting and why. Web servers may collect large amounts of visitor information by default, and they should be modified to limit data collection to only what is necessary. Providers need to be cognizant of the many regulations concerning collection and disclosure of information obtained from consumers. Providers should also provide an easily understood privacy policy for users.

The stress analysis method for three-dimensional composite materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagai, Kanehiro; Yokoyama, Atsushi; Maekawa, Zen'ichiro; Hamada, Hiroyuki

1994-05-01

This study proposes a stress analysis method for three-dimensionally fiber reinforced composite materials. In this method, the rule-of mixture for composites is successfully applied to 3-D space in which material properties would change 3-dimensionally. The fundamental formulas for Young's modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson's ratio are derived. Also, we discuss a strength estimation and an optimum material design technique for 3-D composite materials. The analysis is executed for a triaxial orthogonally woven fabric, and their results are compared to the experimental data in order to verify the accuracy of this method. The present methodology can be easily understood with basic material mechanics and elementary mathematics, so it enables us to write a computer program of this theory without difficulty. Furthermore, this method can be applied to various types of 3-D composites because of its general-purpose characteristics.

A comparison of plants and animals in their responses to risk of consumption.

PubMed

Karban, Richard; Orrock, John L; Preisser, Evan L; Sih, Andrew

2016-08-01

Both plants and animals reduce their risk of being eaten by detecting and responding to herbivore and predator cues. Plants tend to be less mobile and rely on more local information perceived with widely dispersed and redundant tissues. As such, plants can more easily multi-task. Plants are more tolerant of damage and use damage to their own tissues as reliable cues of risk; plants have a higher threshold before responding to the threat of herbivory. Plants also use diverse cues that include fragments of plant tissue and molecular patterns from herbivores, herbivore feeding, or microbial associates of herbivores. Instead of fleeing from attackers, plants reallocate valuable resources to organs at less risk. They minimize unnecessary defenses against unrealized risks and costs of failing to defend against actual risk. Plants can remember and learn, although these abilities are poorly understood. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Getting in touch--3D printing in forensic imaging.

PubMed

Ebert, Lars Chr; Thali, Michael J; Ross, Steffen

2011-09-10

With the increasing use of medical imaging in forensics, as well as the technological advances in rapid prototyping, we suggest combining these techniques to generate displays of forensic findings. We used computed tomography (CT), CT angiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and surface scanning with photogrammetry in conjunction with segmentation techniques to generate 3D polygon meshes. Based on these data sets, a 3D printer created colored models of the anatomical structures. Using this technique, we could create models of bone fractures, vessels, cardiac infarctions, ruptured organs as well as bitemark wounds. The final models are anatomically accurate, fully colored representations of bones, vessels and soft tissue, and they demonstrate radiologically visible pathologies. The models are more easily understood by laypersons than volume rendering or 2D reconstructions. Therefore, they are suitable for presentations in courtrooms and for educational purposes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and Evaluation of a Basic First Aid Curriculum for Spanish-Speaking Dairy Workers.

PubMed

Meyerhoff, Anna; Tinc, Pamela J; Scott, Erika E

2016-07-27

. Over the past decade, the New York State dairy industry has grown substantially, resulting in an increase in immigrant workers who speak languages other than English. Estimates suggest that over 50% of workers on large New York dairies are Spanish-speaking individuals who immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala, Mexico, and other Latin American countries. With a growing population of Spanish-speaking workers, safety concerns on farms have become a prominent issue. This article reviews the development and evaluation of a basic dairy first aid curriculum, which is intended to educate Spanish-speaking immigrant dairy workers on emergency response and first aid. The materials developed are culturally relevant and can be easily understood by low-literacy, non-English-speaking workers. In evaluation of the materials using pre- and post-testing, a significant knowledge gain was identified in workers who participated in the training. Copyright© by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Robust transport signatures of topological superconductivity in topological insulator nanowires.

PubMed

de Juan, Fernando; Ilan, Roni; Bardarson, Jens H

2014-09-05

Finding a clear signature of topological superconductivity in transport experiments remains an outstanding challenge. In this work, we propose exploiting the unique properties of three-dimensional topological insulator nanowires to generate a normal-superconductor junction in the single-mode regime where an exactly quantized 2e2/h zero-bias conductance can be observed over a wide range of realistic system parameters. This is achieved by inducing superconductivity in half of the wire, which can be tuned at will from trivial to topological with a parallel magnetic field, while a perpendicular field is used to gap out the normal part, except for two spatially separated chiral channels. The combination of chiral mode transport and perfect Andreev reflection makes the measurement robust to moderate disorder, and the quantization of conductance survives to much higher temperatures than in tunnel junction experiments. Our proposal may be understood as a variant of a Majorana interferometer which is easily realizable in experiments.

Lodestone: Nature's own permanent magnet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wasilewski, P.

1976-01-01

Magnetic hysteresis and microstructural details are presented which explain why the class of magnetic iron ores defined as proto-lodestones, can behave as permanent magnets, i.e. lodestones. Certain of these proto-lodestones which are not permanent magnets can be made into permanent magnets by charging in a field greater than 1000 oersted. This fact, other experimental observations, and field evidence from antiquity and the middle ages, which seems to indicate that lodestones are found as localized patches within massive ore bodies, suggests that lightning might be responsible for the charging of lodestones. The large remanent magnetization, high values of coercive force, and good time stability for the remanent magnetization are all characteristics of proto-lodestone iron ores which behave magnetically as fine scale ( 10 micrometer) intergrowths when subjected to magnetic hysteresis analysis. The magnetic results are easily understood by analysis of the complex proto lodestone microstructural patterns observable at the micrometer scale and less.

Ultralow frequency waves in the magnetotails of the earth and the outer planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khurana, Krishan K.; Chen, Sheng H.; Hammond, C. M.; Kivelson, Margaret G.

1992-01-01

Ultralow frequency waves with periods greater than two minutes are characteristic features of planetary magnetotails. At Jupiter, changes in the wave characteristics across the boundary between the plasma sheet and the lobe have been used to identify this important plasma boundary. In the terrestrial lobes the wave amplitude can be relatively large, especially during intervals of intense geomagnetic activity. The wave power seen in the lobes of the magnetotails of the earth, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus is evaluated to evaluate a proposal by Smith et al. that the propagating waves generated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability on the magnetopause can heat the plasma through a resonant absorption of these waves. The results indicate that the wave power in the lobes is generally small and can be easily understood in the framework of coupled MHD waves generated in the plasma sheet.

The (C III lambda 1909/Si III lambda 1892) ratio as a diagnostic for planetary nebulae and symbiotic stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feibelman, Walter A.; Aller, Lawrence H.

1987-01-01

Suitable IUE archival material on planetary nebulae has been examined to determine the log R /F(lambda 1909 C III)/F(lambda 1892 Si III)/ as a discriminant for distinguishing planetary nebulae from symbiotic stars and related objects. The mean value of log R for 73 galactic planetaries is 1.4, while that of extragalactic planetaries appears to be slightly lower, and that for symbiotics is 0.3. The lower value of log R for symbiotics is easily understood as a consequence of their higher densities. A plot of log R versus N-epsilon indicates that 80 percent of the planetaries fall into the range of log R between 1.2 and 1.8, but some of the 'peculiar' and bipolar nebulae fall below log R = 1.2. The corresponding N(C++)/N(Si++) ionic ratio varies over a large range.

Building a bone μCT images atlas for micro-architecture recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freuchet, E.; Recur, B.; Guédon, Jp.; Kingston, A.; Autrusseau, F.; Amouriq, Y.

2015-03-01

Trabecular bone and its micro-architecture are of prime importance for health. Changes of bone micro-architecture are linked to different pathological situations like osteoporosis and begin now to be understood. In a previous paper, we started to investigate the relationships between bone and vessels and we also proposed to build a Bone Atlas. This study describes how to proceed for the elaboration and use of such an atlas. Here, we restricted the Atlas to legs (tibia, femur) of rats in order to work with well known geometry of the bone micro-architecture. From only 6 acquired bone, 132 trabecular bone volumes were generated using simple mathematical morphology tools. The variety and veracity of the created micro-architecture volumes is presented in this paper. Medical application and final goal would be to determinate bone micro-architecture with some angulated radiographs (3 or 4) and to easily diagnose the bone status (healthy, pathological or healing bone...).

Is Decoupling GDP Growth from Environmental Impact Possible?

PubMed

Ward, James D; Sutton, Paul C; Werner, Adrian D; Costanza, Robert; Mohr, Steve H; Simmons, Craig T

2016-01-01

The argument that human society can decouple economic growth-defined as growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP)-from growth in environmental impacts is appealing. If such decoupling is possible, it means that GDP growth is a sustainable societal goal. Here we show that the decoupling concept can be interpreted using an easily understood model of economic growth and environmental impact. The simple model is compared to historical data and modelled projections to demonstrate that growth in GDP ultimately cannot be decoupled from growth in material and energy use. It is therefore misleading to develop growth-oriented policy around the expectation that decoupling is possible. We also note that GDP is increasingly seen as a poor proxy for societal wellbeing. GDP growth is therefore a questionable societal goal. Society can sustainably improve wellbeing, including the wellbeing of its natural assets, but only by discarding GDP growth as the goal in favor of more comprehensive measures of societal wellbeing.

["As we're not willing to hang and behead and not able to deport...". On Emil Kraepelin's influence on Franz von Liszt].

PubMed

Schmidt-Recla, A; Steinberg, H

2008-03-01

Emil Kraepelin started his scientific career with a pamphlet demanding complete restructure of German penal law. It is well known that Kraepelin was a recipient of Cesare Lombroso's theses on degeneration and atavism. Therefore his demand for a correctional law completely replacing penal law is easily understood. Still undiscussed however is the question of whether Kraepelin's brochure had a decisive effect on German criminal law, especially on the so-called Marburg Program of Franz von Liszt, still viewed as the first emergence of modern criminal law and policies in Germany. Examination of this shows that despite major theoretical faults, Kraepelin came to conclusions that correspond remarkably with von Liszt's. Special focus should be directed on the psychologist Wilhelm Wundt, who criticised Kraepelin's juridical attempt in a very kind yet fundamental way, and on the relationship that existed between Kraepelin and von Liszt.

Stationarity: Wanted dead or alive?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lins, H.F.; Cohn, T.A.

2011-01-01

Aligning engineering practice with natural process behavior would appear, on its face, to be a prudent and reasonable course of action. However, if we do not understand the long-term characteristics of hydroclimatic processes, how does one find the prudent and reasonable course needed for water management? We consider this question in light of three aspects of existing and unresolved issues affecting hydroclimatic variability and statistical inference: Hurst-Kolmogorov phenomena; the complications long-term persistence introduces with respect to statistical understanding; and the dependence of process understanding on arbitrary sampling choices. These problems are not easily addressed. In such circumstances, humility may be more important than physics; a simple model with well-understood flaws may be preferable to a sophisticated model whose correspondence to reality is uncertain. ?? 2011 American Water Resources Association. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Capillary levelling as a probe of rheology in polymer thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGraw, Joshua D.; Jago, Nick M.; Dalnoki-Veress, Kari

2011-03-01

While measuring the rheology of bulk polymer systems is routine, when the size of a system becomes comparable to the molecular size, flow properties are poorly understood and hard to measure. Here, we present the results of experiments that are easily performed and can probe the rheological properties of polymer films that are mere tens of nanometres in thickness. We prepare glassy bilayer polymer films with height profiles well approximated by a step function. Upon annealing above the glass transition, broadening of the height profiles due to gradients in the Laplace pressure is observed. By validating the technique as a probe of the rheology with a range of molecular weights, we will show that this robust technique can be used to investigate the effects of confinement and interfaces on the rheology of ultrathin polymer films. Financial support from NSERC of Canada is gratefully acknowledged.

Vibron and phonon hybridization in dielectric nanostructures.

PubMed

Preston, Thomas C; Signorell, Ruth

2011-04-05

Plasmon hybridization theory has been an invaluable tool in advancing our understanding of the optical properties of metallic nanostructures. Through the prism of molecular orbital theory, it allows one to interpret complex structures as "plasmonic molecules" and easily predict and engineer their electromagnetic response. However, this formalism is limited to conducting particles. Here, we present a hybridization scheme for the external and internal vibrations of dielectric nanostructures that provides a straightforward understanding of the infrared signatures of these particles through analogy to existing hybridization models of both molecular orbitals and plasmons extending the range of applications far beyond metallic nanostructures. This method not only provides a qualitative understanding, but also allows for the quantitative prediction of vibrational spectra of complex nanoobjects from well-known spectra of their primitive building blocks. The examples of nanoshells illustrate how spectral features can be understood in terms of symmetry, number of nodal planes, and scale parameters.

Aerobic scope explains individual variation in feeding capacity

PubMed Central

Auer, Sonya K.; Salin, Karine; Anderson, Graeme J.; Metcalfe, Neil B.

2015-01-01

Links between metabolism and components of fitness such as growth, reproduction and survival can depend on food availability. A high standard metabolic rate (SMR; baseline energy expenditure) or aerobic scope (AS; the difference between an individual's maximum and SMR) is often beneficial when food is abundant or easily accessible but can be less important or even disadvantageous when food levels decline. While the mechanisms underlying these context-dependent associations are not well understood, they suggest that individuals with a higher SMR or AS are better able to take advantage of high food abundance. Here we show that juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta) with a higher AS were able to consume more food per day relative to individuals with a lower AS. These results help explain why a high aerobic capacity can improve performance measures such as growth rate at high but not low levels of food availability. PMID:26556902

New features in the design code Tlie

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Zeijts, Johannes

1993-12-01

We present features recently installed in the arbitrary-order accelerator design code Tlie. The code uses the MAD input language, and implements programmable extensions modeled after the C language that make it a powerful tool in a wide range of applications: from basic beamline design to high precision-high order design and even control room applications. The basic quantities important in accelerator design are easily accessible from inside the control language. Entities like parameters in elements (strength, current), transfer maps (either in Taylor series or in Lie algebraic form), lines, and beams (either as sets of particles or as distributions) are among the type of variables available. These variables can be set, used as arguments in subroutines, or just typed out. The code is easily extensible with new datatypes.

Material Removes Heavy Metal Ions From Water

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Philipp, Warren H., Jr.; Street, Kenneth W.; Hill, Carol; Savino, Joseph M.

1995-01-01

New high capacity ion-exchange polymer material removes toxic metal cations from contaminated water. Offers several advantages. High sensitivities for such heavy metals as lead, cadmium, and copper and capable of reducing concentrations in aqueous solutions to parts-per-billion range. Removes cations even when calcium present. Material made into variety of forms, such as thin films, coatings, pellets, and fibers. As result, adapted to many applications to purify contaminated water, usually hard wherever found, whether in wastewater-treatment systems, lakes, ponds, industrial plants, or homes. Another important feature that adsorbed metals easily reclaimed by either destructive or nondestructive process. Other tests show ion-exchange polymer made inexpensively; easy to use; strong, flexible, not easily torn; and chemically stable in storage, in aqueous solutions, and in acidic or basic solution.

Metal concentrations in aggregate interiors, exteriors, whole aggregates, and bulk of Costa Rican soils

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

Wilcke, W.; Kretzschmar, S.; Bundt, M.

1999-10-01

In many temperate soils the preferential weathering and leaching of aggregate surfaces and the nonaggregated material between aggregates depletes geogenic metals. It also shifts metals from strongly to more weakly bound metal forms. Deposited metals are sorbed preferentially on aggregate surfaces and between aggregates. The authors examined whether preferential desilication under tropical climate causes an enrichment in the aggregate exteriors in oxidic forms of metals. They also studied where deposited metals are bound in these soils. Aggregates (2--20 mm) were selected manually from the A horizons of eight Oxisols, six Andisols, two Mollisols, and two Inceptisols in Costa Rica. Allmore » samples were fractionated into interior and exterior portions and treated with a seven-step sequence to extract Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn. Total concentrations of all metals except Zn were higher in the aggregate exteriors than in the interiors. The average Cd and Pb concentrations in easily extractable fractions were significantly higher in the aggregate exteriors. There were no significant differences in metal partitioning between interiors and exteriors except for Pb, which had higher proportions in extractable forms with NH{sub 2}OH {center{underscore}dot} HCl {gt} NH{sub 4} - acetate, pH 6.0 {gt} EDTA in the exteriors. There were few significant differences in metal concentrations and partitioning between bulk soil and whole aggregates. The results may be explained by (i) preferential desilication of the aggregate exteriors and (ii) preferential sorption of deposited heavy metals mainly in easily extractable forms.« less

The Effect of Experimental Weathering on the Multiscale Pore Structure of Granites: A (U)SANS, Imaging Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anovitz, L. M.; Sheets, J.; Gu, X.; Brantley, S.; Cole, D. R.; Ilton, E. S.; Mildner, D. F. R.; Littrell, K. C.; Gagnon, C.

2017-12-01

The microstructure and evolution of pore space is a critically important factor controlling fluid flow properties in geological formations, including the migration and retention of water, gas and hydrocarbons, sequestration of wastes, the formation of ore deposits, and the evolution of metamorphic terranes. As noted by Navarre-Sitchler et al. (2013), pristine igneous bedrock does not usually contain significant water. However, infiltration of meteoric water causes the rock to begin to disaggregate, increasing the porosity and surface area. In many igneous rocks this process is enhanced by oxidation. However, the mechanisms of porosity formation during weathering are poorly understood, and we cannot accurately extrapolate laboratory reaction rates to the field in predictive numerical models. While there are many methods for interrogating pore structure, it is difficult to satisfactorily describe textural and porosity changes in rock samples using direct imaging techniques because of the wide variation in length scales involved. A combination of SANS, USANS and imaging is, however, well suited to this task. The weathering process in granite is especially complex. While more mafic rocks tend to alter diffusively, forming altered rims, stresses caused by oxidation of ferromagnesian minerals—particularly biotites—tend to cause granites to spall. In order to better understand the effects of oxidation on the weathering process we have performed a series of experiments on granite cores approximately 5/8" in diameter by 5/8" long. These have been reacted in a solution of Se6+ at 200°C for periods of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 256 and 438 days. The reaction of Se6+ to Se4+ is very oxidizing relative to that of the Fe2+ in the granite, the solution contained enough to buffer twice the ferrous iron expected in the rock sample, and no secondary phases are expected to form. Because of the geometry these are expected to form oxidized rims that grow with time prior to failure, and the reactive porosity and micro-stress-fractures are easily discernable and quantifiable by (U)SANS. Annular Cd masks were used to isolate core and rim processes during the (U)SANS analyses. These were supplemented by SEM analyses. Results suggest that reactive stresses play a significant role in the evolution of porosity during weathering.

Studies on the Immunochemical Techniques for Detection of Selected Fungal and Dinoflagellate Toxins

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-08-15

was tested. Alpha epimer ( natural form) was found to be more effective than the beta form in the RIA. Not only was much less antibody required, the...with tritiated reduced-VT, DAS, T-2, and DOVE. After completion of these studies, we should be able to understand the nature of such antibodies and to...the ELISA. The nature of the cross-linking of the toxin to BSA is poorly understood. Further studies should be directed to characterize the reaction

Starvation Promotes Odor/Feeding-Time Associations in Flies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chouhan, Nitin Singh; Wolf, Reinard; Heisenberg, Martin

2017-01-01

Starvation causes a motivational state that facilitates diverse behaviors such as feeding, walking, and search. Starved "Drosophila" can form odor/feeding-time associations but the role of starvation in encoding of "time" is poorly understood. Here we show that the extent of starvation is correlated with the fly's ability to…

The Coercive Sterilization of Aboriginal Women in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stote, Karen

2012-01-01

This paper considers the coercive sterilization of Aboriginal women in legislated and non-legislated form in Canada. I provide an historical and materialist critique of coercive sterilization. I argue for coercive sterilization to be understood as one of many policies employed to undermine Aboriginal women, to separate Aboriginal peoples from…

Drought and leaf herbivory influence floral volatiles and pollinator attraction

Treesearch

Laura A. Burkle; Justin B. Runyon

2016-01-01

The effects of climate change on species interactions are poorly understood. Investigating the mechanisms by which species interactions may shift under altered environmental conditions will help form a more predictive understanding of such shifts. In particular, components of climate change have the potential to strongly influence floral volatile organic...

Navigating Mythic Space in the Digital Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foley, Drew Thomas

2012-01-01

In prior ages, alternate worlds are associated with symbolic expressions of storied space, here termed "mythic space." The digital age brings new forms of virtual space that are co-existent with physical space. These virtual spaces may be understood as a contemporary representation of mythic space. This dissertation explores the paths by…

Secondary organic aerosol formation from fossil fuel sources contribute majority of summertime organic mass at Bakersfield

EPA Science Inventory

Secondary organic aerosols (SOA), known to form in the atmosphere from oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by anthropogenic and biogenic sources, are a poorly understood but substantial component of atmospheric particles. In this study, we examined the chemic...

Not Just Another Alternative School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gulson, Kalervo N.; Webb, P. Taylor

2016-01-01

In this article, we problematize the establishment of an Africentric Alternative School in Toronto, Canada. We argue that policy, and race and racializations cannot be understood outside of, or immune to, neoliberalism. We contend that policy is a form of racial biopolitics, and race is now produced through neoliberal markets, in conjunction with…

Literacy and Community Pariticpation. Prepublication Draft.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peschke, Edith

Literacy experts in composition have examined the exclusionary forces of academic discourse, and have identified various forms of classroom power that result from the system of academic literacy. Little is understood about the power relations that function to relate and regulate the classroom. Largely a humanistic notion, literacy has been defined…

Testing Students' Use of the Particulate Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williamson, Vickie; Huffman, Jason; Peck, Larry

2004-01-01

High School students' understanding about the particulate theory of matter and their use of particulate terminology is investigated. The Physical Changes Concepts Test (PCCT) was administered in two forms, an applied version and a theoretical version, to determine whether students scientifically understood the concepts well enough to apply them to…

Informal Spaces in Collaborations: Exploring the Edges/Boundaries of Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lom, Essie; Sullenger, Karen

2011-01-01

Self-directed, informal learning is a less recognized and understood form of professional development. Researching informal learning is almost an oxymoron. The process of studying learning contexts, such as informal, self-directed professional development, raises new challenges for researchers. Gaining insights into self-directed professional…

Hip-Hopping across China: Intercultural Formulations of Local Identities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrett, Catrice

2012-01-01

The linguistic dimensions of globalized hip-hop cannot be understood simply as a byproduct of English as an American export. As hip-hop mobilizes, it is common (and arguably necessary) for global hip-hop communities to struggle through purposeful, semiotically rooted dialectics over what constitutes "authentic" and respectable forms of…

Is deep dreaming the new collage?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boden, Margaret A.

2017-10-01

Deep dreaming (DD) can combine and transform images in surprising ways. But, being based in deep learning (DL), it is not analytically understood. Collage is an art form that is constrained along various dimensions. DD will not be able to generate collages until DL can be guided in a disciplined fashion.

What is PE?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coulter, Maura; Ní Chróinín, Déirdre

2013-01-01

Physical education is a socially constructed activity that forms one component of a wider physical culture that includes sport and health/physical activity. The terms sport and physical education are often used interchangeably in school contexts, where sport and health continue to shape what is understood by the term physical education. This study…

The Female Athlete Triad. Managing an Acute Risk to Long-Term Health.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nattiv, Aurelia; Lynch, Linda

1994-01-01

Amenorrhea, disordered eating, and osteoporosis form an interconnected, potentially fatal triad that is not widely understood. Physician vigilance when treating young female athletes can lead to early recognition and prevention of serious consequences. Physicians must help athletic young women participate in their sports in the healthiest, safest…

THE DRAMATIC MODE. LITERATURE CURRICULUM V, TEACHER VERSION.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

KITZHABER, ALBERT R.

DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE NARRATIVE AND DRAMATIC MODES CAN BEST BE UNDERSTOOD BY EMPHASIZING WHAT IT MEANS TO THINK AND CREATE DRAMATICALLY. ALTHOUGH BOOKS (WHICH ARE READ) AND PLAYS (WHICH ARE SEEN) TREAT PLOT, CHARACTER, AND SETTING SIMILARLY, CONVENTIONS THAT PARTICULARLY DISTINGUISH THEATRICAL FORM ARE--(1) THE AUTHENTICATING REALITY OF THE…

Radiographic Analysis of Simulated First Dorsal Interosseous and Opponens Pollicis Loading Upon Thumb CMC Joint Subluxation: A Cadaver Study.

PubMed

Adams, Julie E; O'Brien, Virginia; Magnusson, Erik; Rosenstein, Benjamin; Nuckley, David J

2018-01-01

Therapy programs to treat thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) arthritis may engage selective activation and reeducation of thenar muscles, particularly the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and opponens pollicis (OP) to reduce subluxation of the joint. We describe the effect of simulated selective activation of the FDI and OP muscles upon radiographic subluxation of the thumb CMC joint. In a cadaver model of CMC subluxation, loads were applied to the FDI, the OP, and then concomitantly at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% maximal loads and radial subluxation of the joint and reduction in subluxation was measured. Selective activation of the OP, alone, improved the subluxation ratio (SR) in a dose-dependent manner. Selective activation of FDI, alone, demonstrated minimal effects on SR. Concomitant activation of OP and FDI improved the SR across all loading states, and activation of 75% and greater, when compared with FDI activation alone, resulted in a statistically significant improvement in SR to within 10% of the presubluxed joint. Concomitant activation of the FDI and OP acts to reduce subluxation of the thumb CMC joint in a dose-dependent fashion. The OP is likely the predominant reducing force. Hand therapy programs that focus on selective strengthening programs likely function in part to encourage patients to activate the easily palpable and easily understood FDI. Concomitant coactivation of the OP may be the major reducing force to elicit clinical and radiographic reduction of subluxation, improved thumb positioning, and reduction of pain and arthritic symptoms.

Splitting of turbulent spot in transitional pipe flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xiaohua; Moin, Parviz; Adrian, Ronald J.

2017-11-01

Recent study (Wu et al., PNAS, 1509451112, 2015) demonstrated the feasibility and accuracy of direct computation of the Osborne Reynolds' pipe transition problem without the unphysical, axially periodic boundary condition. Here we use this approach to study the splitting of turbulent spot in transitional pipe flow, a feature first discovered by E.R. Lindgren (Arkiv Fysik 15, 1959). It has been widely believed that spot splitting is a mysterious stochastic process that has general implications on the lifetime and sustainability of wall turbulence. We address the following two questions: (1) What is the dynamics of turbulent spot splitting in pipe transition? Specifically, we look into any possible connection between the instantaneous strain rate field and the spot splitting. (2) How does the passive scalar field behave during the process of pipe spot splitting. In this study, the turbulent spot is introduced at the inlet plane through a sixty degree wide numerical wedge within which fully-developed turbulent profiles are assigned over a short time interval; and the simulation Reynolds numbers are 2400 for a 500 radii long pipe, and 2300 for a 1000 radii long pipe, respectively. Numerical dye is tagged on the imposed turbulent spot at the inlet. Splitting of the imposed turbulent spot is detected very easily. Preliminary analysis of the DNS results seems to suggest that turbulent spot slitting can be easily understood based on instantaneous strain rate field, and such spot splitting may not be relevant in external flows such as the flat-plate boundary layer.

Detection of Electrophilic and Nucleophilic Chemical Agents

DOEpatents

McElhanon, James R.; Shepodd, Timothy J.

2008-11-11

A "real time" method for detecting electrophilic and nucleophilic species generally by employing tunable, precursor sensor materials that mimic the physiological interaction of these agents to form highly florescent berberine-type alkaloids that can be easily and rapidly detected. These novel precursor sensor materials can be tuned for reaction with both electrophilic (chemical species, toxins) and nucleophilic (proteins and other biological molecules) species.

Recirculating electric air filter

DOEpatents

Bergman, Werner

1986-01-01

An electric air filter cartridge has a cylindrical inner high voltage eleode, a layer of filter material, and an outer ground electrode formed of a plurality of segments moveably connected together. The outer electrode can be easily opened to remove or insert filter material. Air flows through the two electrodes and the filter material and is exhausted from the center of the inner electrode.

To Ink or Not to Ink: The Meaning of Tattoos among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickson, Lynda; Dukes, Richard L.; Smith, Hilary; Strapko, Noel

2015-01-01

We examine the process of getting a tattoo and its meaning among 195 tattooed and 257 non-tattooed undergraduates. Most tattooed respondents contemplate getting a tattoo for months, get a professional tattoo, can cover it easily, and like it. Respondents acquire first tattoos to represent important role transitions and as a form of identity and…

Subjective Perception of Visual Distortions or Scotomas in Individuals with Retinitis Pigmentosa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wittich, Walter; Watanabe, Donald H.; Kapusta, Michael A.; Overbury, Olga

2011-01-01

It is often assumed that persons who develop ocular disease have some form of visual experience that makes them aware of their deficits. However, in the case of peripheral field loss or decreasing vision in dim lighting, as in retinitis pigmentosa, for example, symptoms are more obscure and may not be as easily identified by the persons who have…