40 CFR 792.120 - Protocol.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the test system. (8) A description of the experimental design, including methods for the control of... at which the study is being conducted. (4) The proposed experimental start and termination dates. (5...

40 CFR 792.120 - Protocol.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... the test system. (8) A description of the experimental design, including methods for the control of... at which the study is being conducted. (4) The proposed experimental start and termination dates. (5...

40 CFR 792.120 - Protocol.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the test system. (8) A description of the experimental design, including methods for the control of... at which the study is being conducted. (4) The proposed experimental start and termination dates. (5...

Scene-based nonuniformity correction with reduced ghosting using a gated LMS algorithm.

PubMed

Hardie, Russell C; Baxley, Frank; Brys, Brandon; Hytla, Patrick

2009-08-17

In this paper, we present a scene-based nouniformity correction (NUC) method using a modified adaptive least mean square (LMS) algorithm with a novel gating operation on the updates. The gating is designed to significantly reduce ghosting artifacts produced by many scene-based NUC algorithms by halting updates when temporal variation is lacking. We define the algorithm and present a number of experimental results to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method in comparison to several previously published methods including other LMS and constant statistics based methods. The experimental results include simulated imagery and a real infrared image sequence. We show that the proposed method significantly reduces ghosting artifacts, but has a slightly longer convergence time. (c) 2009 Optical Society of America

Experimental Methods for Protein Interaction Identification and Characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uetz, Peter; Titz, Björn; Cagney, Gerard

There are dozens of methods for the detection of protein-protein interactions but they fall into a few broad categories. Fragment complementation assays such as the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) system are based on split proteins that are functionally reconstituted by fusions of interacting proteins. Biophysical methods include structure determination and mass spectrometric (MS) identification of proteins in complexes. Biochemical methods include methods such as far western blotting and peptide arrays. Only the Y2H and protein complex purification combined with MS have been used on a larger scale. Due to the lack of data it is still difficult to compare these methods with respect to their efficiency and error rates. Current data does not favor any particular method and thus multiple experimental approaches are necessary to maximally cover the interactome of any target cell or organism.

Experimental Mathematics and Computational Statistics

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

Bailey, David H.; Borwein, Jonathan M.

2009-04-30

The field of statistics has long been noted for techniques to detect patterns and regularities in numerical data. In this article we explore connections between statistics and the emerging field of 'experimental mathematics'. These includes both applications of experimental mathematics in statistics, as well as statistical methods applied to computational mathematics.

Modeling vibration response and damping of cables and cabled structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spak, Kaitlin S.; Agnes, Gregory S.; Inman, Daniel J.

2015-02-01

In an effort to model the vibration response of cabled structures, the distributed transfer function method is developed to model cables and a simple cabled structure. The model includes shear effects, tension, and hysteretic damping for modeling of helical stranded cables, and includes a method for modeling cable attachment points using both linear and rotational damping and stiffness. The damped cable model shows agreement with experimental data for four types of stranded cables, and the damped cabled beam model shows agreement with experimental data for the cables attached to a beam structure, as well as improvement over the distributed mass method for cabled structure modeling.

Magnetohydrodynamic generator experimental studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierson, E. S.

1972-01-01

The results for an experimental study of a one wavelength MHD induction generator operating on a liquid flow are presented. First the design philosophy and the experimental generator design are summarized, including a description of the flow loop and instrumentation. Next a Fourier series method of treating the fact that the magnetic flux density produced by the stator is not a pure traveling sinusoid is described and some results summarized. This approach appears to be of interest after revisions are made, but the initial results are not accurate. Finally, some of the experimental data is summarized for various methods of excitation.

Quantum tomography for measuring experimentally the matrix elements of an arbitrary quantum operation.

PubMed

D'Ariano, G M; Lo Presti, P

2001-05-07

Quantum operations describe any state change allowed in quantum mechanics, including the evolution of an open system or the state change due to a measurement. We present a general method based on quantum tomography for measuring experimentally the matrix elements of an arbitrary quantum operation. As input the method needs only a single entangled state. The feasibility of the technique for the electromagnetic field is shown, and the experimental setup is illustrated based on homodyne tomography of a twin beam.

Taguchi method of experimental design in materials education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weiser, Martin W.

1993-01-01

Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the Taguchi Method of experimental design as applied to Materials Science will be discussed. This is a fractional factorial method that employs the minimum number of experimental trials for the information obtained. The analysis is also very simple to use and teach, which is quite advantageous in the classroom. In addition, the Taguchi loss function can be easily incorporated to emphasize that improvements in reproducibility are often at least as important as optimization of the response. The disadvantages of the Taguchi Method include the fact that factor interactions are normally not accounted for, there are zero degrees of freedom if all of the possible factors are used, and randomization is normally not used to prevent environmental biasing. In spite of these disadvantages it is felt that the Taguchi Method is extremely useful for both teaching experimental design and as a research tool, as will be shown with a number of brief examples.

Laboratory test methods for combustion stability properties of solid propellants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strand, L. D.; Brown, R. S.

1992-01-01

An overview is presented of experimental methods for determining the combustion-stability properties of solid propellants. The methods are generally based on either the temporal response to an initial disturbance or on external methods for generating the required oscillations. The size distribution of condensed-phase combustion products are characterized by means of the experimental approaches. The 'T-burner' approach is shown to assist in the derivation of pressure-coupled driving contributions and particle damping in solid-propellant rocket motors. Other techniques examined include the rotating-valve apparatus, the impedance tube, the modulated throat-acoustic damping burner, and the magnetic flowmeter. The paper shows that experimental methods do not exist for measuring the interactions between acoustic velocity oscillations and burning propellant.

An experimental investigation devoted to determine heat transfer characteristics in a radiant ceiling heating system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koca, Aliihsan; Acikgoz, Ozgen; Çebi, Alican; Çetin, Gürsel; Dalkilic, Ahmet Selim; Wongwises, Somchai

2018-02-01

Investigations on heated ceiling method can be considered as a new research area in comparison to the common wall heating-cooling and cooled ceiling methods. In this work, heat transfer characteristics of a heated radiant ceiling system was investigated experimentally. There were different configurations for a single room design in order to determine the convective and radiative heat transfer rates. Almost all details on the arrangement of the test chamber, hydraulic circuit and radiant panels, the measurement equipment and experimental method including uncertainty analysis were revealed in detail indicating specific international standards. Total heat transfer amount from the panels were calculated as the sum of radiation to the unheated surfaces, convection to the air, and conduction heat loss from the backside of the panels. Integral expression of the view factors was calculated by means of the numerical evaluations using Matlab code. By means of this experimental chamber, the radiative, convective and total heat-transfer coefficient values along with the heat flux values provided from the ceiling to the unheated surrounding surfaces have been calculated. Moreover, the details of 28 different experimental case study measurements from the experimental chamber including the convective, radiative and total heat flux, and heat output results are given in a Table for other researchers to validate their theoretical models and empirical correlations.

Literature search of publications concerning the prediction of dynamic inlet flow distortion and related topics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schweikhhard, W. G.; Chen, Y. S.

1983-01-01

Publications prior to March 1981 were surveyed to determine inlet flow dynamic distortion prediction methods and to catalog experimental and analytical information concerning inlet flow dynamic distortion prediction methods and to catalog experimental and analytical information concerning inlet flow dynamics at the engine-inlet interface of conventional aircraft (excluding V/STOL). The sixty-five publications found are briefly summarized and tabulated according to topic and are cross-referenced according to content and nature of the investigation (e.g., predictive, experimental, analytical and types of tests). Three appendices include lists of references, authors, organizations and agencies conducting the studies. Also, selected materials summaries, introductions and conclusions - from the reports are included. Few reports were found covering methods for predicting the probable maximum distortion. The three predictive methods found are those of Melick, Jacox and Motycka. The latter two require extensive high response pressure measurements at the compressor face, while the Melick Technique can function with as few as one or two measurements.

Method and apparatus for in-situ drying investigation and optimization of slurry drying methodology

DOEpatents

Armstrong, Beth L.; Daniel, Claus; Howe, Jane Y.; Kiggans, Jr, James O.; Sabau, Adrian S.; Wood, III, David L.; Kalnaus, Sergiy

2016-05-10

A method of drying casted slurries that includes calculating drying conditions from an experimental model for a cast slurry and forming a cast film. An infrared heating probe is positioned on one side of the casted slurry and a thermal probe is positioned on an opposing side of the casted slurry. The infrared heating probe may control the temperature of the casted slurry during drying. The casted slurry may be observed with an optical microscope, while applying the drying conditions from the experimental model. Observing the casted slurry includes detecting the incidence of micro-structural changes in the casted slurry during drying to determine if the drying conditions from the experimental model are optimal.

The Teaching of General Solution Methods to Pattern Finding Problems through Focusing on an Evaluation and Improvement Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishida, Junichi

1997-01-01

Examines the effects of a teaching strategy in which fifth-grade students evaluated the strengths or weaknesses of solution methods to pattern finding problems, including an experimental and control group each consisting of 34 elementary students, in Japan. The experimental group showed a significantly better performance on the retention test…

Classification of conductance traces with recurrent neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lauritzen, Kasper P.; Magyarkuti, András; Balogh, Zoltán; Halbritter, András; Solomon, Gemma C.

2018-02-01

We present a new automated method for structural classification of the traces obtained in break junction experiments. Using recurrent neural networks trained on the traces of minimal cross-sectional area in molecular dynamics simulations, we successfully separate the traces into two classes: point contact or nanowire. This is done without any assumptions about the expected features of each class. The trained neural network is applied to experimental break junction conductance traces, and it separates the classes as well as the previously used experimental methods. The effect of using partial conductance traces is explored, and we show that the method performs equally well using full or partial traces (as long as the trace just prior to breaking is included). When only the initial part of the trace is included, the results are still better than random chance. Finally, we show that the neural network classification method can be used to classify experimental conductance traces without using simulated results for training, but instead training the network on a few representative experimental traces. This offers a tool to recognize some characteristic motifs of the traces, which can be hard to find by simple data selection algorithms.

A processing centre for the CNES CE-GPS experimentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suard, Norbert; Durand, Jean-Claude

1994-01-01

CNES is involved in a GPS (Global Positioning System) geostationary overlay experimentation. The purpose of this experimentation is to test various new techniques in order to select the optimal station synchronization method, as well as the geostationary spacecraft orbitography method. These new techniques are needed to develop the Ranging GPS Integrity Channel services. The CNES experimentation includes three transmitting/receiving ground stations (manufactured by IN-SNEC), one INMARSAT 2 C/L band transponder and a processing center named STE (Station de Traitements de l'Experimentation). Not all the techniques to be tested are implemented, but the experimental system has to include several functions; part of the future system simulation functions, such as a servo-loop function, and in particular a data collection function providing for rapid monitoring of system operation, analysis of existing ground station processes, and several weeks of data coverage for other scientific studies. This paper discusses system architecture and some criteria used in its design, as well as the monitoring function, the approach used to develop a low-cost and short-life processing center in collaboration with a CNES sub-contractor (ATTDATAID), and some results.

The influence of contextual teaching with the problem solving method on students' knowledge and attitudes toward horticulture, science, and school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitcher, Carrie Lynn

2005-08-01

Adolescence is marked with many changes in the development of higher order thinking skills. As students enter high school they are expected to utilize these skills to solve problems, become abstract thinkers, and contribute to society. The goal of this study was to assess horticultural science knowledge achievement and attitude toward horticulture, science, and school in high school agriculture students. There were approximately 240 high school students in the sample including both experimental and control groups from California and Washington. Students in the experimental group participated in an educational program called "Hands-On Hortscience" which emphasized problem solving in investigation and experimentation activities with greenhouse plants, soilless media, and fertilizers. Students in the control group were taught by the subject matter method. The activities included in the Hands-On Hortscience curriculum were created to reinforce teaching the scientific method through the context of horticulture. The objectives included evaluating whether the students participating in the Hands-On Hortscience experimental group benefited in the areas of science literacy, data acquisition and analysis, and attitude toward horticulture, science, and school. Pre-tests were administered in both the experimental and control groups prior to the research activities and post-tests were administered after completion. The survey questionnaire included a biographical section and attitude survey. Significant increases in hortscience achievement were found from pre-test to post-test in both control and experimental study groups. The experimental treatment group had statistically higher achievement scores than the control group in the two areas tested: scientific method (p=0.0016) and horticulture plant nutrition (p=0.0004). In addition, the students participating in the Hands-On Hortscience activities had more positive attitudes toward horticulture, science, and school (p=0.0033). Students who were more actively involved in hands-on projects had higher attitude scores compared to students who were taught traditional methods alone. In demographic comparisons, females had more positive attitudes toward horticulture science than males; and students from varying ethnic backgrounds had statistically different achievement (p=0.0001). Ethnicity was determined with few students in each background, 8 in one ethnicity and 10 students in another. Youth organization membership such as FFA or 4-H had no significant bearing on achievement or attitude.

Analytical and experimental study of axisymmetric truncated plug nozzle flow fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muller, T. J.; Sule, W. P.; Fanning, A. E.; Giel, T. V.; Galanga, F. L.

1972-01-01

Experimental and analytical investigation of the flow field and base pressure of internal-external-expansion truncated plug nozzles are discussed. Experimental results for two axisymmetric, conical plug-cylindrical shroud, truncated plug nozzles are presented for both open and closed wake operations. These results include extensive optical and pressure data covering nozzle flow field and base pressure characteristics, diffuser effects, lip shock strength, Mach disc behaviour, and the recompression and reverse flow regions. Transonic experiments for a special planar transonic section are presented. An extension of the analytical method of Hall and Mueller to include the internal shock wave from the shroud exit is presented for closed wake operation. Results of this analysis include effects on the flow field and base pressure of ambient pressure ratio, nozzle geometry, and the ratio of specific heats. Static thrust is presented as a function of ambient pressure ratio and nozzle geometry. A new transonic solution method is also presented.

Validation of experimental molecular crystal structures with dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations.

PubMed

van de Streek, Jacco; Neumann, Marcus A

2010-10-01

This paper describes the validation of a dispersion-corrected density functional theory (d-DFT) method for the purpose of assessing the correctness of experimental organic crystal structures and enhancing the information content of purely experimental data. 241 experimental organic crystal structures from the August 2008 issue of Acta Cryst. Section E were energy-minimized in full, including unit-cell parameters. The differences between the experimental and the minimized crystal structures were subjected to statistical analysis. The r.m.s. Cartesian displacement excluding H atoms upon energy minimization with flexible unit-cell parameters is selected as a pertinent indicator of the correctness of a crystal structure. All 241 experimental crystal structures are reproduced very well: the average r.m.s. Cartesian displacement for the 241 crystal structures, including 16 disordered structures, is only 0.095 Å (0.084 Å for the 225 ordered structures). R.m.s. Cartesian displacements above 0.25 A either indicate incorrect experimental crystal structures or reveal interesting structural features such as exceptionally large temperature effects, incorrectly modelled disorder or symmetry breaking H atoms. After validation, the method is applied to nine examples that are known to be ambiguous or subtly incorrect.

Hybrid Particle-Element Simulation of Impact on Composite Orbital Debris Shields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fahrenthold, Eric P.

2004-01-01

This report describes the development of new numerical methods and new constitutive models for the simulation of hypervelocity impact effects on spacecraft. The research has included parallel implementation of the numerical methods and material models developed under the project. Validation work has included both one dimensional simulations, for comparison with exact solutions, and three dimensional simulations of published hypervelocity impact experiments. The validated formulations have been applied to simulate impact effects in a velocity and kinetic energy regime outside the capabilities of current experimental methods. The research results presented here allow for the expanded use of numerical simulation, as a complement to experimental work, in future design of spacecraft for hypervelocity impact effects.

Overview of an Advanced Hypersonic Structural Concept Test Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, Craig A.; Hudson, Larry D.; Piazza, Anthony

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation provides an overview of hypersonics M&S advanced structural concepts development and experimental methods. The discussion on concepts development includes the background, task objectives, test plan, and current status of the C/SiC Ruddervator Subcomponent Test Article (RSTA). The discussion of experimental methods examines instrumentation needs, sensors of interest, and examples of ongoing efforts in the development of extreme environment sensors.

Modeling of Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Signaling: Computational and Experimental Protocols.

PubMed

Fey, Dirk; Aksamitiene, Edita; Kiyatkin, Anatoly; Kholodenko, Boris N

2017-01-01

The advent of systems biology has convincingly demonstrated that the integration of experiments and dynamic modelling is a powerful approach to understand the cellular network biology. Here we present experimental and computational protocols that are necessary for applying this integrative approach to the quantitative studies of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling networks. Signaling by RTKs controls multiple cellular processes, including the regulation of cell survival, motility, proliferation, differentiation, glucose metabolism, and apoptosis. We describe methods of model building and training on experimentally obtained quantitative datasets, as well as experimental methods of obtaining quantitative dose-response and temporal dependencies of protein phosphorylation and activities. The presented methods make possible (1) both the fine-grained modeling of complex signaling dynamics and identification of salient, course-grained network structures (such as feedback loops) that bring about intricate dynamics, and (2) experimental validation of dynamic models.

Assessing the Role of Anhydrite in the KT Mass Extinction: Hints from Shock-loading Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skala, R.; Lnagenhorst, F.; Hoerz, F.

2004-01-01

Various killing mechanisms have been suggested to contribute to the mass extinctions at the KT boundary, including severe, global deterioration of the atmosphere and hydrosphere due to SO(x) released from heavily shocked, sulfate-bearing target rocks. The devolatilization of anhydrite is predominantly inferred from thermodynamic considerations and lacks experimental confirmation. To date, the experimentally determined shock behavior of anhydrite is limited to solid-state effects employing X-ray diffraction methods. The present report employs additional methods to characterize experimentally shocked anhydrite.

Icing simulation: A survey of computer models and experimental facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potapczuk, M. G.; Reinmann, J. J.

1991-01-01

A survey of the current methods for simulation of the response of an aircraft or aircraft subsystem to an icing encounter is presented. The topics discussed include a computer code modeling of aircraft icing and performance degradation, an evaluation of experimental facility simulation capabilities, and ice protection system evaluation tests in simulated icing conditions. Current research focussed on upgrading simulation fidelity of both experimental and computational methods is discussed. The need for increased understanding of the physical processes governing ice accretion, ice shedding, and iced airfoil aerodynamics is examined.

Icing simulation: A survey of computer models and experimental facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potapczuk, M. G.; Reinmann, J. J.

1991-01-01

A survey of the current methods for simulation of the response of an aircraft or aircraft subsystem to an icing encounter is presented. The topics discussed include a computer code modeling of aircraft icing and performance degradation, an evaluation of experimental facility simulation capabilities, and ice protection system evaluation tests in simulated icing conditions. Current research focused on upgrading simulation fidelity of both experimental and computational methods is discussed. The need for the increased understanding of the physical processes governing ice accretion, ice shedding, and iced aerodynamics is examined.

An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Increasing Academic Learning Time for College Undergraduate Students' Achievement in Kuwait

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Shammari, Zaid; Mohammad, Anwar; Al-Shammari, Bandar

2010-01-01

The study investigated the effectiveness of increasing ALT for college students' achievement in Kuwait. In Phase 1, 37 students participated (22, experimental; 15, control); in Phase 2, 19 students participated (8, sub-experimental; 11, sub-control). Several experimental research methods used in conducting this study, including development of a…

Methods for determining the internal thrust of scramjet engine modules from experimental data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Voland, Randall T.

1990-01-01

Methods for calculating zero-fuel internal drag of scramjet engine modules from experimental measurements are presented. These methods include two control-volume approaches, and a pressure and skin-friction integration. The three calculation techniques are applied to experimental data taken during tests of a version of the NASA parametric scramjet. The methods agree to within seven percent of the mean value of zero-fuel internal drag even though several simplifying assumptions are made in the analysis. The mean zero-fuel internal drag coefficient for this particular engine is calculated to be 0.150. The zero-fuel internal drag coefficient when combined with the change in engine axial force with and without fuel defines the internal thrust of an engine.

An artificial-intelligence technique for qualitatively deriving enzyme kinetic mechanisms from initial-velocity measurements and its application to hexokinase.

PubMed Central

Garfinkel, L; Cohen, D M; Soo, V W; Garfinkel, D; Kulikowski, C A

1989-01-01

We have developed a computer method based on artificial-intelligence techniques for qualitatively analysing steady-state initial-velocity enzyme kinetic data. We have applied our system to experiments on hexokinase from a variety of sources: yeast, ascites and muscle. Our system accepts qualitative stylized descriptions of experimental data, infers constraints from the observed data behaviour and then compares the experimentally inferred constraints with corresponding theoretical model-based constraints. It is desirable to have large data sets which include the results of a variety of experiments. Human intervention is needed to interpret non-kinetic information, differences in conditions, etc. Different strategies were used by the several experimenters whose data was studied to formulate mechanisms for their enzyme preparations, including different methods (product inhibitors or alternate substrates), different experimental protocols (monitoring enzyme activity differently), or different experimental conditions (temperature, pH or ionic strength). The different ordered and rapid-equilibrium mechanisms proposed by these experimenters were generally consistent with their data. On comparing the constraints derived from the several experimental data sets, they are found to be in much less disagreement than the mechanisms published, and some of the disagreement can be ascribed to different experimental conditions (especially ionic strength). PMID:2690819

A Novel Analysis Method for Paired-Sample Microbial Ecology Experiments.

PubMed

Olesen, Scott W; Vora, Suhani; Techtmann, Stephen M; Fortney, Julian L; Bastidas-Oyanedel, Juan R; Rodríguez, Jorge; Hazen, Terry C; Alm, Eric J

2016-01-01

Many microbial ecology experiments use sequencing data to measure a community's response to an experimental treatment. In a common experimental design, two units, one control and one experimental, are sampled before and after the treatment is applied to the experimental unit. The four resulting samples contain information about the dynamics of organisms that respond to the treatment, but there are no analytical methods designed to extract exactly this type of information from this configuration of samples. Here we present an analytical method specifically designed to visualize and generate hypotheses about microbial community dynamics in experiments that have paired samples and few or no replicates. The method is based on the Poisson lognormal distribution, long studied in macroecology, which we found accurately models the abundance distribution of taxa counts from 16S rRNA surveys. To demonstrate the method's validity and potential, we analyzed an experiment that measured the effect of crude oil on ocean microbial communities in microcosm. Our method identified known oil degraders as well as two clades, Maricurvus and Rhodobacteraceae, that responded to amendment with oil but do not include known oil degraders. Our approach is sensitive to organisms that increased in abundance only in the experimental unit but less sensitive to organisms that increased in both control and experimental units, thus mitigating the role of "bottle effects".

Endoscopic Shearography and Thermography Methods for Nondestructive Evaluation of Lined Pressure Vessels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, S. S.; Lansing, M. D.

1997-01-01

The goal of this research effort was the development of methods for shearographic and thermographic inspection of coatings, bonds, or laminates inside rocket fuel or oxidizer tanks, fuel lines, and other closed structures. The endoscopic methods allow imaging and inspection inside cavities that are traditionally inaccessible with shearography or thermography cameras. The techniques are demonstrated and suggestions for practical application are made in this report. Drawings of the experimental setups, detailed procedures, and experimental data are included.

Time-dependent solution for axisymmetric flow over a blunt body with ideal gas, CF4, or equilibrium air chemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, H. H., II; Spall, J. R.

1986-01-01

A time-asymptotic method has been used to obtain steady-flow solutions for axisymmetric inviscid flow over several blunt bodies including spheres, paraboloids, ellipsoids, and spherically blunted cones. Comparisons with experimental data and results of other computational methods have demonstrated that accurate solutions can be obtained using this approach. The method should prove useful as an analysis tool for comparing with experimental data and for making engineering calculations for blunt reentry vehicles.

Time-dependent solution for axisymmetric flow over a blunt body with ideal gas, CF4, or equilibrium air chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, H. H., II; Spall, J. R.

1986-07-01

A time-asymptotic method has been used to obtain steady-flow solutions for axisymmetric inviscid flow over several blunt bodies including spheres, paraboloids, ellipsoids, and spherically blunted cones. Comparisons with experimental data and results of other computational methods have demonstrated that accurate solutions can be obtained using this approach. The method should prove useful as an analysis tool for comparing with experimental data and for making engineering calculations for blunt reentry vehicles.

Endoscopic Shearography and Thermography Methods for Nondestructive Evaluation of Lined Pressure Vessels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lansing, Matthew D.; Bullock, Michael W.

1996-01-01

The goal of this research effort was the development of methods for shearography and thermography inspection of coatings, bonds, or laminates inside rocket fuel or oxidizer tanks, fuel lines, and other closed structures. The endoscopic methods allow imaging and inspection inside cavities which are traditionally inaccessible with shearography or thermography cameras. The techniques are demonstrated and suggestions for practical application are made in this report. Drawings of the experimental setups, detailed procedures, and experimental data are included.

Water-waves on linear shear currents. A comparison of experimental and numerical results.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Bruno; Seez, William; Touboul, Julien; Rey, Vincent; Abid, Malek; Kharif, Christian

2016-04-01

Propagation of water waves can be described for uniformly sheared current conditions. Indeed, some mathematical simplifications remain applicable in the study of waves whether there is no current or a linearly sheared current. However, the widespread use of mathematical wave theories including shear has rarely been backed by experimental studies of such flows. New experimental and numerical methods were both recently developed to study wave current interactions for constant vorticity. On one hand, the numerical code can simulate, in two dimensions, arbitrary non-linear waves. On the other hand, the experimental methods can be used to generate waves with various shear conditions. Taking advantage of the simplicity of the experimental protocol and versatility of the numerical code, comparisons between experimental and numerical data are discussed and compared with linear theory for validation of the methods. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The DGA (Direction Générale de l'Armement, France) is acknowledged for its financial support through the ANR grant N° ANR-13-ASTR-0007.

Method for improving the limit of detection in a data signal

DOEpatents

Synovec, Robert E.; Yueng, Edward S.

1989-10-17

A method for improving the limit of detection for a data set in which experimental noise is uncorrelated along a given abscissa and an analytical signal is correlated to the abscissa, the steps comprising collecting the data set, converting the data set into a data signal including an analytical portion and the experimental noise portion, designating and adjusting a baseline of the data signal to center the experimental noise numerically about a zero reference, and integrating the data signal preserving the corresponding information for each point of the data signal. The steps of the method produce an enhanced integrated data signal which improves the limit of detection of the data signal.

Method for improving the limit of detection in a data signal

DOEpatents

Synovec, R.E.; Yueng, E.S.

1989-10-17

Disclosed is a method for improving the limit of detection for a data set in which experimental noise is uncorrelated along a given abscissa and an analytical signal is correlated to the abscissa, the steps comprising collecting the data set, converting the data set into a data signal including an analytical portion and the experimental noise portion, designating and adjusting a baseline of the data signal to center the experimental noise numerically about a zero reference, and integrating the data signal preserving the corresponding information for each point of the data signal. The steps of the method produce an enhanced integrated data signal which improves the limit of detection of the data signal. 8 figs.

Retrieval of the non-depolarizing components of depolarizing Mueller matrices by using symmetry conditions and least squares minimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuntman, Ertan; Canillas, Adolf; Arteaga, Oriol

2017-11-01

Experimental Mueller matrices contain certain amount of uncertainty in their elements and these uncertainties can create difficulties for decomposition methods based on analytic solutions. In an earlier paper [1], we proposed a decomposition method for depolarizing Mueller matrices by using certain symmetry conditions. However, because of the experimental error, that method creates over-determined systems with non-unique solutions. Here we propose to use least squares minimization approach in order to improve the accuracy of our results. In this method, we are taking into account the number of independent parameters of the corresponding symmetry and the rank constraints on the component matrices to decide on our fitting model. This approach is illustrated with experimental Mueller matrices that include material media with different Mueller symmetries.

How Dangerous Can Localized Corrosion Be? An Experiment that Studies Its Effects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Celdran, R.; Gonzalo, P.

1988-01-01

Considers three common cases of localized corrosion of metals: pitting, crevice, and stress corrosion. Provides experimental methods for studying all three methods. Includes a discussion of expected results. (ML)

A critical evaluation of various methods for the analysis of flow-solid interaction in a nest of thin cylinders subjected to cross flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Sang-Wook

1987-01-01

Various experimental, analytical, and numerical analysis methods for flow-solid interaction of a nest of cylinders subjected to cross flows are reviewed. A nest of cylinders subjected to cross flows can be found in numerous engineering applications including the Space Shuttle Maine Engine-Main Injector Assembly (SSME-MIA) and nuclear reactor heat exchangers. Despite its extreme importance in engineering applications, understanding of the flow-solid interaction process is quite limited and design of the tube banks are mostly dependent on experiments and/or experimental correlation equations. For future development of major numerical analysis methods for the flow-solid interaction of a nest of cylinders subjected to cross flow, various turbulence models, nonlinear structural dynamics, and existing laminar flow-solid interaction analysis methods are included.

X-Gliders: Exploring Flight Research with Experimental Gliders. Educational Brief.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC.

This brief discusses X-gliders and flight research with experimental gliders. In this activity, designed for grades K-4, students will learn how to change the flight characteristics of a glider using scientific inquiry methods. Glider plans and a template are included. (MVL)

A novel analysis method for paired-sample microbial ecology experiments

DOE PAGES

Olesen, Scott W.; Vora, Suhani; Techtmann, Stephen M.; ...

2016-05-06

Many microbial ecology experiments use sequencing data to measure a community s response to an experimental treatment. In a common experimental design, two units, one control and one experimental, are sampled before and after the treatment is applied to the experimental unit. The four resulting samples contain information about the dynamics of organisms that respond to the treatment, but there are no analytical methods designed to extract exactly this type of information from this configuration of samples. Here we present an analytical method specifically designed to visualize and generate hypotheses about microbial community dynamics in experiments that have paired samplesmore » and few or no replicates. The method is based on the Poisson lognormal distribution, long studied in macroecology, which we found accurately models the abundance distribution of taxa counts from 16S rRNA surveys. To demonstrate the method s validity and potential, we analyzed an experiment that measured the effect of crude oil on ocean microbial communities in microcosm. Our method identified known oil degraders as well as two clades, Maricurvus and Rhodobacteraceae, that responded to amendment with oil but do not include known oil degraders. Furthermore, our approach is sensitive to organisms that increased in abundance only in the experimental unit but less sensitive to organisms that increased in both control and experimental units, thus mitigating the role of bottle effects .« less

A novel analysis method for paired-sample microbial ecology experiments

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

Olesen, Scott W.; Vora, Suhani; Techtmann, Stephen M.

Many microbial ecology experiments use sequencing data to measure a community s response to an experimental treatment. In a common experimental design, two units, one control and one experimental, are sampled before and after the treatment is applied to the experimental unit. The four resulting samples contain information about the dynamics of organisms that respond to the treatment, but there are no analytical methods designed to extract exactly this type of information from this configuration of samples. Here we present an analytical method specifically designed to visualize and generate hypotheses about microbial community dynamics in experiments that have paired samplesmore » and few or no replicates. The method is based on the Poisson lognormal distribution, long studied in macroecology, which we found accurately models the abundance distribution of taxa counts from 16S rRNA surveys. To demonstrate the method s validity and potential, we analyzed an experiment that measured the effect of crude oil on ocean microbial communities in microcosm. Our method identified known oil degraders as well as two clades, Maricurvus and Rhodobacteraceae, that responded to amendment with oil but do not include known oil degraders. Furthermore, our approach is sensitive to organisms that increased in abundance only in the experimental unit but less sensitive to organisms that increased in both control and experimental units, thus mitigating the role of bottle effects .« less

Adaptive Filtration of Physiological Artifacts in EEG Signals in Humans Using Empirical Mode Decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grubov, V. V.; Runnova, A. E.; Hramov, A. E.

2018-05-01

A new method for adaptive filtration of experimental EEG signals in humans and for removal of different physiological artifacts has been proposed. The algorithm of the method includes empirical mode decomposition of EEG, determination of the number of empirical modes that are considered, analysis of the empirical modes and search for modes that contains artifacts, removal of these modes, and reconstruction of the EEG signal. The method was tested on experimental human EEG signals and demonstrated high efficiency in the removal of different types of physiological EEG artifacts.

40 CFR 792.120 - Protocol.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the test system. (8) A description of the experimental design, including methods for the control of... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Protocol. 792.120 Section 792.120... at which the study is being conducted. (4) The proposed experimental start and termination dates. (5...

Manual of Scaling Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bond, Thomas H. (Technical Monitor); Anderson, David N.

2004-01-01

This manual reviews the derivation of the similitude relationships believed to be important to ice accretion and examines ice-accretion data to evaluate their importance. Both size scaling and test-condition scaling methods employing the resulting similarity parameters are described, and experimental icing tests performed to evaluate scaling methods are reviewed with results. The material included applies primarily to unprotected, unswept geometries, but some discussion of how to approach other situations is included as well. The studies given here and scaling methods considered are applicable only to Appendix-C icing conditions. Nearly all of the experimental results presented have been obtained in sea-level tunnels. Recommendations are given regarding which scaling methods to use for both size scaling and test-condition scaling, and icing test results are described to support those recommendations. Facility limitations and size-scaling restrictions are discussed. Finally, appendices summarize the air, water and ice properties used in NASA scaling studies, give expressions for each of the similarity parameters used and provide sample calculations for the size-scaling and test-condition scaling methods advocated.

42 CFR 431.424 - Evaluation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... evaluations. Demonstration evaluations will include the following: (1) Quantitative research methods. (i... of appropriate evaluation strategies (including experimental and other quantitative and qualitative... demonstration. (ii) CMS will consider alternative evaluation designs when quantitative designs are technically...

42 CFR 431.424 - Evaluation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... evaluations. Demonstration evaluations will include the following: (1) Quantitative research methods. (i... of appropriate evaluation strategies (including experimental and other quantitative and qualitative... demonstration. (ii) CMS will consider alternative evaluation designs when quantitative designs are technically...

42 CFR 431.424 - Evaluation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... evaluations. Demonstration evaluations will include the following: (1) Quantitative research methods. (i... of appropriate evaluation strategies (including experimental and other quantitative and qualitative... demonstration. (ii) CMS will consider alternative evaluation designs when quantitative designs are technically...

Advanced quantitative magnetic nondestructive evaluation methods - Theory and experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barton, J. R.; Kusenberger, F. N.; Beissner, R. E.; Matzkanin, G. A.

1979-01-01

The paper reviews the scale of fatigue crack phenomena in relation to the size detection capabilities of nondestructive evaluation methods. An assessment of several features of fatigue in relation to the inspection of ball and roller bearings suggested the use of magnetic methods; magnetic domain phenomena including the interaction of domains and inclusions, and the influence of stress and magnetic field on domains are discussed. Experimental results indicate that simplified calculations can be used to predict many features of these results; the data predicted by analytic models which use finite element computer analysis predictions do not agree with respect to certain features. Experimental analyses obtained on rod-type fatigue specimens which show experimental magnetic measurements in relation to the crack opening displacement and volume and crack depth should provide methods for improved crack characterization in relation to fracture mechanics and life prediction.

Revegetation practices on the Santa Rita Experimental Range

Treesearch

Bruce D. Munda; Mark J. Pater

2003-01-01

This paper discusses the revegetation activites on the Santa Rita Experimental Range since 1903. Revegetation research includes experiments to evaluate adaptation, seedbed preparation, and sowing methods. We also discuss criteria used to determine if a site has the potential for a successful revegetation. Successful revegetation was initially based on plant emergence...

A Direct Method for Viewing Ferromagnetic Phase Transition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lue, Chin-Shan

1994-01-01

Provides a method, using the Rowland ring as a specimen, to observe the phase transition process directly on the oscilloscope and even extract the critical exponent of ferromagnetic transition. Includes theory, experimental setup, and results. (MVL)

X-Ray photoelectron diffraction and photoelectron holography as methods for investigating the local atomic structure of the surface of solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, M. V.; Ogorodnikov, I. I.; Vorokh, A. S.

2014-01-01

The state-of-the-art theory and experimental applications of X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) and photoelectron holography (PH) are discussed. These methods are rapidly progressing and serve to examine the surface atomic structure of solids, including nanostructures formed on surfaces during adsorption of gases, epitaxial film growth, etc. The depth of analysis by these methods is several nanometres, which makes it possible to characterize the positions of atoms localized both on and beneath the surface. A remarkable feature of the XPD and PH methods is their sensitivity to the type of examined atoms and, in the case of high energy resolution, to the particular chemical form of the element under study. The data on experimental applications of XPD and PH to studies of various surface structures are analyzed and generalized. The bibliography includes 121 references.

Fault-tolerant clock synchronization validation methodology. [in computer systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Ricky W.; Palumbo, Daniel L.; Johnson, Sally C.

1987-01-01

A validation method for the synchronization subsystem of a fault-tolerant computer system is presented. The high reliability requirement of flight-crucial systems precludes the use of most traditional validation methods. The method presented utilizes formal design proof to uncover design and coding errors and experimentation to validate the assumptions of the design proof. The experimental method is described and illustrated by validating the clock synchronization system of the Software Implemented Fault Tolerance computer. The design proof of the algorithm includes a theorem that defines the maximum skew between any two nonfaulty clocks in the system in terms of specific system parameters. Most of these parameters are deterministic. One crucial parameter is the upper bound on the clock read error, which is stochastic. The probability that this upper bound is exceeded is calculated from data obtained by the measurement of system parameters. This probability is then included in a detailed reliability analysis of the system.

[Comparison of minimally invasive extraction and traditional method in the extraction of impacted mandibular third molar].

PubMed

Xu, Fang; Zhang, Hui-Xia

2016-10-01

To compare minimally invasive extraction and traditional method in the extraction of impacted mandibular third molar. One hundred and sixty patients with impacted mandibular third molar were equally divided into two groups. Patients in the experimental group were treated with minimally invasive extraction, using implant machine and luxator, while patients in the control group were treated with traditional methods including use of orthodox chisel. The operation time, intraoperative and postoperative complications including deformation of extraction sockets, dry socket, limitation of mouth opening, pain and swelling, and fear were observed and compared between the two groups. The data were analyzed with SPSS18.0 software package. The operation time was (17.32±1.01) min in the experimental group, significantly shorter than the control group which was (33.46±1.12）min (P<0.05); significant difference was found in the incidence of root fracture, medium or severe tooth sockets deformation and incidence of psychological fear during operation between the control group and experimental group(P<0.05); the degree of mouth opening after surgery, the incidence of moderate or severe pain after surgery was significantly lower in the experimental than in the control group(P<0.05). Minimally invasive extraction of mandibular impacted wisdom tooth is better than traditional method, with shorter operation time and less intraoperative and postoperative complications, which should be widely applied in clinic.

Antioxidative Categorization of Twenty Amino Acids Based on Experimental Evaluation.

PubMed

Xu, Naijin; Chen, Guanqun; Liu, Hui

2017-11-27

In view of the great importance bestowed on amino acids as antioxidants in oxidation resistance, we attempted two common redox titration methods in this report, including micro-potassium permanganate titration and iodometric titration, to measure the antioxidative capacity of 20 amino acids, which are the construction units of proteins in living organisms. Based on the relative intensities of the antioxidative capacity, we further conducted a quantitative comparison and found out that the product of experimental values obtained from the two methods was proven to be a better indicator for evaluating the relative antioxidative capacity of amino acids. The experimental results were largely in accordance with structural analysis made on amino acids. On the whole, the 20 amino acids concerned could be divided into two categories according to their antioxidative capacity. Seven amino acids, including tryptophan, methionine, histidine, lysine, cysteine, arginine and tyrosine, were greater in total antioxidative capacity compared with the other 13 amino acids.

Combining existing numerical models with data assimilation using weighted least-squares finite element methods.

PubMed

Rajaraman, Prathish K; Manteuffel, T A; Belohlavek, M; Heys, Jeffrey J

2017-01-01

A new approach has been developed for combining and enhancing the results from an existing computational fluid dynamics model with experimental data using the weighted least-squares finite element method (WLSFEM). Development of the approach was motivated by the existence of both limited experimental blood velocity in the left ventricle and inexact numerical models of the same flow. Limitations of the experimental data include measurement noise and having data only along a two-dimensional plane. Most numerical modeling approaches do not provide the flexibility to assimilate noisy experimental data. We previously developed an approach that could assimilate experimental data into the process of numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equations, but the approach was limited because it required the use of specific finite element methods for solving all model equations and did not support alternative numerical approximation methods. The new approach presented here allows virtually any numerical method to be used for approximately solving the Navier-Stokes equations, and then the WLSFEM is used to combine the experimental data with the numerical solution of the model equations in a final step. The approach dynamically adjusts the influence of the experimental data on the numerical solution so that more accurate data are more closely matched by the final solution and less accurate data are not closely matched. The new approach is demonstrated on different test problems and provides significantly reduced computational costs compared with many previous methods for data assimilation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Absolute electron-impact total ionization cross sections of chlorofluoromethanes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez, Roberto; Sierra, Borja; Redondo, Carolina; Rayo, María N. Sánchez; Castaño, Fernando

2004-12-01

An experimental study is reported on the electron-impact total ionization cross sections (TICSs) of CCl4, CCl3F, CCl2F2, and CClF3 molecules. The kinetic energy of the colliding electrons was in the 10-85 eV range. TICSs were obtained as the sum of the partial ionization cross sections of all fragment ions, measured and identified in a linear double focusing time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The resulting TICS profiles—as a function of the electron-impact energy—have been compared both with those computed by ab initio and (semi)empirical methods and with the available experimental data. The computational methods used include the binary-encounter-Bethe (BEB) modified to include atoms with principal quantum numbers n⩾3, the Deutsch and Märk (DM) formalism, and the modified additivity rule (MAR). It is concluded that both modified BEB and DM methods fit the experimental TICS for (CF4), CClF3, CCl2F2, CCl3F, and CCl4 to a high accuracy, in contrast with the poor accord of the MAR method. A discussion on the factors influencing the discrepancies of the fittings is presented.

Experimental design and quantitative analysis of microbial community multiomics.

PubMed

Mallick, Himel; Ma, Siyuan; Franzosa, Eric A; Vatanen, Tommi; Morgan, Xochitl C; Huttenhower, Curtis

2017-11-30

Studies of the microbiome have become increasingly sophisticated, and multiple sequence-based, molecular methods as well as culture-based methods exist for population-scale microbiome profiles. To link the resulting host and microbial data types to human health, several experimental design considerations, data analysis challenges, and statistical epidemiological approaches must be addressed. Here, we survey current best practices for experimental design in microbiome molecular epidemiology, including technologies for generating, analyzing, and integrating microbiome multiomics data. We highlight studies that have identified molecular bioactives that influence human health, and we suggest steps for scaling translational microbiome research to high-throughput target discovery across large populations.

User’s Guide for T.E.S.T. (version 4.2) (Toxicity Estimation Software Tool) A Program to Estimate Toxicity from Molecular Structure

EPA Science Inventory

The user's guide describes the methods used by TEST to predict toxicity and physical properties (including the new mode of action based method used to predict acute aquatic toxicity). It describes all of the experimental data sets included in the tool. It gives the prediction res...

[Comparative study of two treatment methods for acute periodontal abscess].

PubMed

Jin, Dong-mei; Wang, Wei-qian

2012-10-01

The aim of this short-term study was to compare the clinical efficacy of 2 different methods to treat acute periodontal abscesses. After patient selection, 100 cases of acute periodontal abscess were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group was treated by supra- and subgingival scaling, while the control group was treated by incision and drainage. A clinical examination was carried out to record the following variables: subjective clinical variables including pain, edema, redness and swelling; objective clinical variables including gingival index(GI), bleeding index(BI), probing depth(PD),suppuration, lymphadenopathy and tooth mobility. The data was analyzed with SPSS 19.0 software package. RESULES: Subjective clinical variables demonstrated statistically significant improvements with both methods from the first day after treatment and lasted for at least 30 days(P<0.05), but the results of experimental group showed much better than the control group 1 day and 7 days after treatment. 30 days after treatment, there was no significant difference between the two groups in pain and swelling improvement(P>0.05), but the experimental group showed more improvement in edema and redness than the control group(P<0.05).On improving objective variables, the experimental group showed significant improvement in GI,BI,PD and suppuration 1 day after treatment(P<0.05).After 7 days, all objective clinical variables in the experimental group improved significantly(P<0.05) in the control group, there were significant improvements in GI,suppuration,lymphadenopathy and tooth mobility(P<0.05) but the four variables of the experimental group showed more improvement than the control group(P<0.05).After 30 days, all objective clinical variables improved significantly in both groups as compared to baseline, but in the experimental group, improvements were more significant regarding to GI,BI,PD,suppuration and tooth mobility(P<0.05). The method of supra- and subgingival scaling was rapid and effective in treatment of acute periodontal abscesses.

Verification and Validation of Monte Carlo N-Particle 6 for Computing Gamma Protection Factors

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-26

methods for evaluating RPFs, which it used for the subsequent 30 years. These approaches included computational modeling, radioisotopes , and a high...1.2.1. Past Methods of Experimental Evaluation ........................................................ 2 1.2.2. Modeling Efforts...Other Considerations ......................................................................................... 14 2.4. Monte Carlo Methods

Solving the electron and electron-nuclear Schroedinger equations for the excited states of helium atom with the free iterative-complement-interaction method

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

Nakashima, Hiroyuki; Hijikata, Yuh; Nakatsuji, Hiroshi

2008-04-21

Very accurate variational calculations with the free iterative-complement-interaction (ICI) method for solving the Schroedinger equation were performed for the 1sNs singlet and triplet excited states of helium atom up to N=24. This is the first extensive applications of the free ICI method to the calculations of excited states to very high levels. We performed the calculations with the fixed-nucleus Hamiltonian and moving-nucleus Hamiltonian. The latter case is the Schroedinger equation for the electron-nuclear Hamiltonian and includes the quantum effect of nuclear motion. This solution corresponds to the nonrelativistic limit and reproduced the experimental values up to five decimal figures. Themore » small differences from the experimental values are not at all the theoretical errors but represent the physical effects that are not included in the present calculations, such as relativistic effect, quantum electrodynamic effect, and even the experimental errors. The present calculations constitute a small step toward the accurately predictive quantum chemistry.« less

Analysis of Waves in Space Plasma (WISP) near field simulation and experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richie, James E.

1992-01-01

The WISP payload scheduler for a 1995 space transportation system (shuttle flight) will include a large power transmitter on board at a wide range of frequencies. The levels of electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC) must be addressed to insure the safety of the shuttle crew. This report is concerned with the simulation and experimental verification of EMI/EMC for the WISP payload in the shuttle cargo bay. The simulations have been carried out using the method of moments for both thin wires and patches to stimulate closed solids. Data obtained from simulation is compared with experimental results. An investigation of the accuracy of the modeling approach is also included. The report begins with a description of the WISP experiment. A description of the model used to simulate the cargo bay follows. The results of the simulation are compared to experimental data on the input impedance of the WISP antenna with the cargo bay present. A discussion of the methods used to verify the accuracy of the model is shown to illustrate appropriate methods for obtaining this information. Finally, suggestions for future work are provided.

Statistical analysis and application of quasi experiments to antimicrobial resistance intervention studies.

PubMed

Shardell, Michelle; Harris, Anthony D; El-Kamary, Samer S; Furuno, Jon P; Miller, Ram R; Perencevich, Eli N

2007-10-01

Quasi-experimental study designs are frequently used to assess interventions that aim to limit the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. However, previous studies using these designs have often used suboptimal statistical methods, which may result in researchers making spurious conclusions. Methods used to analyze quasi-experimental data include 2-group tests, regression analysis, and time-series analysis, and they all have specific assumptions, data requirements, strengths, and limitations. An example of a hospital-based intervention to reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection rates and reduce overall length of stay is used to explore these methods.

Psychological Interventions to Facilitate Employment Outcomes for Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fong, Carlton J.; Murphy, Kathleen M.; Westbrook, John D.; Markle, Minda M.

2018-01-01

Purpose: The objective was to examine experimental and quasi-experimental studies about interventions that (i) included behavioral, psychological, educational, or vocational components; (ii) involved cancer survivors aged 18 years or older; and (iii) assessed employment outcomes. Methods: The aims were both to describe the variety of interventions…

Experimental Modal Analysis of Rectangular and Circular Beams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emory, Benjamin H.; Zhu, Wei Dong

2006-01-01

Analytical and experimental methods are used to determine the natural frequencies and mode shapes of Aluminum 6061-T651 beams with rectangular and circular cross-sections. A unique test stand is developed to provide the rectangular beam with different boundary conditions including clamped-free, clamped-clamped, clamped-pinned, and pinned-pinned.…

Return to Our Roots: Raising Radishes to Teach Experimental Design. Methods and Techniques.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stallings, William M.

1993-01-01

Reviews research in teaching applied statistics. Concludes that students should analyze data from studies they have designed and conducted. Describes an activity in which students study germination and growth of radish seeds. Includes a table providing student instructions for both the experimental procedure and data analysis. (CFR)

An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Concept Mapping on Turkish Students' Academic Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erdogan, Yavuz

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the experimental studies which test the effectiveness of the concept mapping instructional strategy compared to the traditional teaching method. Meta-analysis was used to calculate the effect size of the concept mapping strategy on academic success. Therefore, the analysis includes experimental studies conducted in Turkey…

Experimental study on secondary electron emission characteristics of Cu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Shenghua; Liu, Yudong; Wang, Pengcheng; Liu, Weibin; Pei, Guoxi; Zeng, Lei; Sun, Xiaoyang

2018-02-01

Secondary electron emission (SEE) of a surface is the origin of the multipacting effect which could seriously deteriorate beam quality and even perturb the normal operation of particle accelerators. Experimental measurements on secondary electron yield (SEY) for different materials and coatings have been developed in many accelerator laboratories. In fact, the SEY is just one parameter of secondary electron emission characteristics which include spatial and energy distribution of emitted electrons. A novel experimental apparatus was set up in China Spallation Neutron Source, and an innovative method was applied to obtain the whole characteristics of SEE. Taking Cu as the sample, secondary electron yield, its dependence on beam injection angle, and the spatial and energy distribution of secondary electrons were achieved with this measurement device. The method for spatial distribution measurement was first proposed and verified experimentally. This contribution also tries to give all the experimental results a reasonable theoretical analysis and explanation.

METHODS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF TRICKLING FILTER PLANT PERFORMANCE. PART II. CHEMICAL ADDITION

EPA Science Inventory

An experimental program to explore potential methods for removing phosphorus and generally enhancing trickling filter plant performance was conducted at the Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Preliminary investigations included jar testing with se...

Motion estimation of subcellular structures from fluorescence microscopy images.

PubMed

Vallmitjana, A; Civera-Tregon, A; Hoenicka, J; Palau, F; Benitez, R

2017-07-01

We present an automatic image processing framework to study moving intracellular structures from live cell fluorescence microscopy. The system includes the identification of static and dynamic structures from time-lapse images using data clustering as well as the identification of the trajectory of moving objects with a probabilistic tracking algorithm. The method has been successfully applied to study mitochondrial movement in neurons. The approach provides excellent performance under different experimental conditions and is robust to common sources of noise including experimental, molecular and biological fluctuations.

An experimental system for coiled tubing partial underbalanced drilling (CT-PUBD) technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, H. Z.; Ji, Z. S.; Zhao, H. Q.; Chen, Z. L.; Zhang, H. Z.

2018-05-01

To improve the rate of penetration (ROP) in hard formations, a new high-speed drilling technique called Coiled Tubing Partial Underbalanced Drilling (CT-PUBD) is proposed. This method uses a rotary packer to realize an underbalanced condition near the bit by creating a micro-annulus and an overbalanced condition at the main part of the annulus. A new full-scale laboratory experimental system is designed and set up to study the hydraulic characteristics and drilling performance of this method. The system is composed of a drilling system, circulation system, and monitor system, including three key devices, namely, cuttings discharge device, rotary packer, and backflow device. The experimental results showed that the pressure loss increased linearly with the flow rate of the drilling fluid. The high drilling speed of CT-PUBD proved it a better drilling method than the conventional drilling. The experimental system may provide a fundamental basis for the research of CT-PUBD, and the results proved that this new method is feasible in enhancing ROP and guaranteeing the drilling safety.

Effects of teaching communication skills using a video clip on a smart phone on communication competence and emotional intelligence in nursing students.

PubMed

Choi, Yeonja; Song, Eunju; Oh, Eunjung

2015-04-01

This study aims to verify the communication skills training for nursing students by using a video clip on a smart phone. The study settings were the nursing departments of two universities in South Korea. This study was a quasi-experimental one using a nonequivalent control group pre-posttest design. The experimental and control groups consisted of second-year nursing students who had taken a communication course. The experimental group included 45 students, and the control group included 42 students. The experimental group improved more significantly than the control group in communication competence and emotional intelligence. Using a video clip on a smart phone is helpful for communication teaching method. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perspectives on the simulation of protein–surface interactions using empirical force field methods

PubMed Central

Latour, Robert A.

2014-01-01

Protein–surface interactions are of fundamental importance for a broad range of applications in the fields of biomaterials and biotechnology. Present experimental methods are limited in their ability to provide a comprehensive depiction of these interactions at the atomistic level. In contrast, empirical force field based simulation methods inherently provide the ability to predict and visualize protein–surface interactions with full atomistic detail. These methods, however, must be carefully developed, validated, and properly applied before confidence can be placed in results from the simulations. In this perspectives paper, I provide an overview of the critical aspects that I consider being of greatest importance for the development of these methods, with a focus on the research that my combined experimental and molecular simulation groups have conducted over the past decade to address these issues. These critical issues include the tuning of interfacial force field parameters to accurately represent the thermodynamics of interfacial behavior, adequate sampling of these types of complex molecular systems to generate results that can be comparable with experimental data, and the generation of experimental data that can be used for simulation results evaluation and validation. PMID:25028242

Effects of Drama Method on Speaking Anxieties of Pre-Service Teachers and Their Opinions about the Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sevim, Oguzhan

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of the drama method on speaking anxieties of pre-service teachers and their opinions about the method. In the study, mixed method including experimental design, quantitative, and basic qualitative research was used. The study was carried out with 77 first grade students from day-time and evening…

A Comparison of Reduced Order Modeling Techniques Used in Dynamic Substructuring.

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

Roettgen, Dan; Seegar, Ben; Tai, Wei Che

Experimental dynamic substructuring is a means whereby a mathematical model for a substructure can be obtained experimentally and then coupled to a model for the rest of the assembly to predict the response. Recently, various methods have been proposed that use a transmission simulator to overcome sensitivity to measurement errors and to exercise the interface between the substructures; including the Craig-Bampton, Dual Craig-Bampton, and Craig-Mayes methods. This work compares the advantages and disadvantages of these reduced order modeling strategies for two dynamic substructuring problems. The methods are first used on an analytical beam model to validate the methodologies. Then theymore » are used to obtain an experimental model for structure consisting of a cylinder with several components inside connected to the outside case by foam with uncertain properties. This represents an exceedingly difficult structure to model and so experimental substructuring could be an attractive way to obtain a model of the system.« less

A Comparison of Reduced Order Modeling Techniques Used in Dynamic Substructuring [PowerPoint

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

Roettgen, Dan; Seeger, Benjamin; Tai, Wei Che

Experimental dynamic substructuring is a means whereby a mathematical model for a substructure can be obtained experimentally and then coupled to a model for the rest of the assembly to predict the response. Recently, various methods have been proposed that use a transmission simulator to overcome sensitivity to measurement errors and to exercise the interface between the substructures; including the Craig-Bampton, Dual Craig-Bampton, and Craig-Mayes methods. This work compares the advantages and disadvantages of these reduced order modeling strategies for two dynamic substructuring problems. The methods are first used on an analytical beam model to validate the methodologies. Then theymore » are used to obtain an experimental model for structure consisting of a cylinder with several components inside connected to the outside case by foam with uncertain properties. This represents an exceedingly difficult structure to model and so experimental substructuring could be an attractive way to obtain a model of the system.« less

Influencing Transfer and Baccalaureate Attainment for Community College Students through State Grant Aid: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Texas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bordoloi Pazich, Loni

2014-01-01

This study uses statewide longitudinal data from Texas to estimate the impact of a state grant program intended to encourage low-income community college students to transfer to four-year institutions and complete the baccalaureate. Quasi-experimental methods employed include propensity score matching and regression discontinuity. Results indicate…

Identifying the Oscillatory Mechanism of the Glucose Oxidase-Catalase Coupled Enzyme System.

PubMed

Muzika, František; Jurašek, Radovan; Schreiberová, Lenka; Radojković, Vuk; Schreiber, Igor

2017-10-12

We provide experimental evidence of periodic and aperiodic oscillations in an enzymatic system of glucose oxidase-catalase in a continuous-flow stirred reactor coupled by a membrane with a continuous-flow reservoir supplied with hydrogen peroxide. To describe such dynamics, we formulate a detailed mechanism based on partial results in the literature. Finally, we introduce a novel method for estimation of unknown kinetic parameters. The method is based on matching experimental data at an oscillatory instability with stoichiometric constraints of the mechanism formulated by applying the stability theory of reaction networks. This approach has been used to estimate rate coefficients in the catalase part of the mechanism. Remarkably, model simulations show good agreement with the observed oscillatory dynamics, including apparently chaotic intermittent behavior. Our method can be applied to any reaction system with an experimentally observable dynamical instability.

Uniform Sampling Table Method and its Applications II--Evaluating the Uniform Sampling by Experiment.

PubMed

Chen, Yibin; Chen, Jiaxi; Chen, Xuan; Wang, Min; Wang, Wei

2015-01-01

A new method of uniform sampling is evaluated in this paper. The items and indexes were adopted to evaluate the rationality of the uniform sampling. The evaluation items included convenience of operation, uniformity of sampling site distribution, and accuracy and precision of measured results. The evaluation indexes included operational complexity, occupation rate of sampling site in a row and column, relative accuracy of pill weight, and relative deviation of pill weight. They were obtained from three kinds of drugs with different shape and size by four kinds of sampling methods. Gray correlation analysis was adopted to make the comprehensive evaluation by comparing it with the standard method. The experimental results showed that the convenience of uniform sampling method was 1 (100%), odds ratio of occupation rate in a row and column was infinity, relative accuracy was 99.50-99.89%, reproducibility RSD was 0.45-0.89%, and weighted incidence degree exceeded the standard method. Hence, the uniform sampling method was easy to operate, and the selected samples were distributed uniformly. The experimental results demonstrated that the uniform sampling method has good accuracy and reproducibility, which can be put into use in drugs analysis.

Healing X-ray scattering images

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

Liu, Jiliang; Lhermitte, Julien; Tian, Ye

X-ray scattering images contain numerous gaps and defects arising from detector limitations and experimental configuration. Here, we present a method to heal X-ray scattering images, filling gaps in the data and removing defects in a physically meaningful manner. Unlike generic inpainting methods, this method is closely tuned to the expected structure of reciprocal-space data. In particular, we exploit statistical tests and symmetry analysis to identify the structure of an image; we then copy, average and interpolate measured data into gaps in a way that respects the identified structure and symmetry. Importantly, the underlying analysis methods provide useful characterization of structuresmore » present in the image, including the identification of diffuseversussharp features, anisotropy and symmetry. The presented method leverages known characteristics of reciprocal space, enabling physically reasonable reconstruction even with large image gaps. The method will correspondingly fail for images that violate these underlying assumptions. The method assumes point symmetry and is thus applicable to small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data, but only to a subset of wide-angle data. Our method succeeds in filling gaps and healing defects in experimental images, including extending data beyond the original detector borders.« less

Healing X-ray scattering images

DOE PAGES

Liu, Jiliang; Lhermitte, Julien; Tian, Ye; ...

2017-05-24

X-ray scattering images contain numerous gaps and defects arising from detector limitations and experimental configuration. Here, we present a method to heal X-ray scattering images, filling gaps in the data and removing defects in a physically meaningful manner. Unlike generic inpainting methods, this method is closely tuned to the expected structure of reciprocal-space data. In particular, we exploit statistical tests and symmetry analysis to identify the structure of an image; we then copy, average and interpolate measured data into gaps in a way that respects the identified structure and symmetry. Importantly, the underlying analysis methods provide useful characterization of structuresmore » present in the image, including the identification of diffuseversussharp features, anisotropy and symmetry. The presented method leverages known characteristics of reciprocal space, enabling physically reasonable reconstruction even with large image gaps. The method will correspondingly fail for images that violate these underlying assumptions. The method assumes point symmetry and is thus applicable to small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data, but only to a subset of wide-angle data. Our method succeeds in filling gaps and healing defects in experimental images, including extending data beyond the original detector borders.« less

Advanced X-ray Spectroscopic Methods for Studying Iron-Sulfur-Containing Proteins and Model Complexes.

PubMed

DeBeer, Serena

2018-01-01

In this chapter, a brief overview of X-ray spectroscopic methods that may be utilized to obtain insight into the geometric and electronic structure of iron-sulfur proteins is provided. These methods include conventional methods, such as metal and ligand K-edge X-ray absorption, as well as more advanced methods including nonresonant and resonant X-ray emission. In each section, the basic information content of the spectra is highlighted and important experimental considerations are discussed. Throughout the chapter, recent applications to iron-sulfur-containing models and proteins are highlighted. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Theoretical Study of the Electric Dipole Moment Function of the CIO Molecule

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pettersson, Lars G. M.; Langhoff, Stephen R.; Chong, Delano P.

1986-01-01

The potential energy function and electric dipole moment function (EDMF) are computed for CIO Chi(sup 2)Pi using several different techniques to include electron correlation. The EDMF is used to compute Einstein coefficients, vibrational lifetimes, and dipole moments in higher vibrational levels. Remaining questions concerning the position of the maximum of the EDMF may be resolved through experimental measurement of dipole moments of higher vibrational levels. The band strength of the 1-0 fundamental transition is computed to be 12 +/- 2 /sq cm atm in good agreement with three experimental values, but larger than a recent value of 5 /sq cm atm determined from infrared heterodyne spectroscopy. The theoretical methods used include SCF, CASSCF, multireference singles plus doubles configuration interaction (MRCI) and contracted CI, coupled pair functional (CPF), and a modified version of the CPF method. The results obtained using the different methods are critically compared.

Geotextile reinforced bridge approach embankment : Lake River Bridge - Malin Highway , Klamath County, Oregon : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-08-01

An experimental construction method was evaluated at the Lost River Bridge in Klamath County to reduce the discontinuity between the bridge and the roadway. The method included combining soil in six 300-mm lifts interlaced with geotextile reinforceme...

The momentum transfer of incompressible turbulent separated flow due to cavities with steps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, R. E.; Norton, D. J.

1977-01-01

An experimental study was conducted using a plate test bed having a turbulent boundary layer to determine the momentum transfer to the faces of step/cavity combinations on the plate. Experimental data were obtained from configurations including an isolated configuration and an array of blocks in tile patterns. A momentum transfer correlation model of pressure forces on an isolated step/cavity was developed with experimental results to relate flow and geometry parameters. Results of the experiments reveal that isolated step/cavity excrecences do not have a unique and unifying parameter group due in part to cavity depth effects and in part to width parameter scale effects. Drag predictions for tile patterns by a kinetic pressure empirical method predict experimental results well. Trends were not, however, predicted by a method of variable roughness density phenomenology.

Stochastic Time Models of Syllable Structure

PubMed Central

Shaw, Jason A.; Gafos, Adamantios I.

2015-01-01

Drawing on phonology research within the generative linguistics tradition, stochastic methods, and notions from complex systems, we develop a modelling paradigm linking phonological structure, expressed in terms of syllables, to speech movement data acquired with 3D electromagnetic articulography and X-ray microbeam methods. The essential variable in the models is syllable structure. When mapped to discrete coordination topologies, syllabic organization imposes systematic patterns of variability on the temporal dynamics of speech articulation. We simulated these dynamics under different syllabic parses and evaluated simulations against experimental data from Arabic and English, two languages claimed to parse similar strings of segments into different syllabic structures. Model simulations replicated several key experimental results, including the fallibility of past phonetic heuristics for syllable structure, and exposed the range of conditions under which such heuristics remain valid. More importantly, the modelling approach consistently diagnosed syllable structure proving resilient to multiple sources of variability in experimental data including measurement variability, speaker variability, and contextual variability. Prospects for extensions of our modelling paradigm to acoustic data are also discussed. PMID:25996153

1983 AFOSR/AFRPL Chemical Rocket Research Meeting, Abstracts and Agenda. Includes: Abstracts on Advanced Diagnostics of Reacting Flow, 28 February - 3 March 1983, Lancaster, California.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-02-01

blow-off stability and fractional conversion was evaluated for design of an experimental study of these phenomena. The apparatus designed will be...the development of an array of experimental methods and test strategies designed to unravel a complex process that is very difficult to observe directly...this effort of lead field theoretic analysis as a design basis has made that possible. The experimental phase of the effort has three major

Investigation of flowfields found in typical combustor geometries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lilley, D. G.

1985-01-01

Activities undertaken during the entire course of research are summarized. Studies were concerned with experimental and theoretical research on 2-D axisymmetric geometries under low speed nonreacting, turbulent, swirling flow conditions typical of gas turbine and ramjet combustion chambers. They included recirculation zone characterization, time-mean and turbulence simulation in swirling recirculating flow, sudden and gradual expansion flowfields, and furher complexities and parameter influences. The study included the investigation of: a complete range of swirl strengths; swirler performance; downstream contraction nozzle sizes and locations; expansion ratios; and inlet side-wall angles. Their individual and combined effects on the test section flowfield were observed, measured and characterized. Experimental methods included flow visualization (with smoke and neutrally-buoyant helium-filled soap bubbles), five-hole pitot probe time-mean velocity field measurements, and single-, double-, and triple-wire hot-wire anemometry measurements of time-mean velocities, normal and shear Reynolds sresses. Computational methods included development of the STARPIC code from the primitive-variable TEACH computer code, and its use in flowfield prediction and turbulence model development.

Effect of mandibular distraction osteogenesis on the temporomandibular joint: a systematic review of animal experimental studies.

PubMed

Andersen, Kristian; Pedersen, Thomas Klit; Hauge, Ellen Margrethe; Schou, Søren; Nørholt, Sven Erik

2014-04-01

The present systematic review aimed to test the hypothesis of no effect of mandibular distraction osteogenesis on the temporomandibular joint. Animal experimental studies from January 1985 to August 2013 were included. Studies were searched in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library. A total of 289 articles were identified, and 17 were included. Included studies were characterized by a high risk of bias and by inhomogeneity related to animal species, experimental procedures, and evaluation methods. Mandibular distraction osteogenesis within physiologic limits may be followed by adaptive changes in bone, disk, and cartilage. Increased daily rates and total activation length may influence the severity of the adaptive changes. Animal experimental studies indicate that mandibular distraction osteogenesis may induce adaptive changes in the temporomandibular joint. Adaptive changes may be influenced by increased daily rates and total length of distraction osteogenesis. Well-designed studies are needed before final conclusions can be drawn. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Methods of Microcomputer Research in Early Childhood Special Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fujiura, Glenn; Johnson, Lawrence J.

1986-01-01

The review of some recent studies on use of microcomputers in early childhood special education highlights methodological issues including the qualitative quantitative distinction and the interdependence of research design and interpretation. Imbedding qualitative methods into quasi- or true-experimental designs can provide more information than…

A Quick Method for Determining the Density of Single Crystals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roman, Pascual; Gutierrez-Zorrilla, Juan M.

1985-01-01

Shows how the Archimedes method is used to determine the density of a single crystal of ammonium oxalate monohydrate. Also shows how to calculate the density of other chemicals when they are available as single crystals. Experimental procedures and materials needed are included. (JN)

Illuminating Tradespace Decisions Using Efficient Experimental Space-Filling Designs for the Engineered Resilient System Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-30

7. Building Statistical Metamodels using Simulation Experimental Designs ............................................... 34 7.1. Statistical Design...system design drivers across several different domain models, our methodology uses statistical metamodeling to approximate the simulations’ behavior. A...output. We build metamodels using a number of statistical methods that include stepwise regression, boosted trees, neural nets, and bootstrap forest

Illuminating Tradespace Decisions Using Efficient Experimental Space-Filling Designs for the Engineered Resilient System Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

7. Building Statistical Metamodels using Simulation Experimental Designs ............................................... 34 7.1. Statistical Design...system design drivers across several different domain models, our methodology uses statistical metamodeling to approximate the simulations’ behavior. A...output. We build metamodels using a number of statistical methods that include stepwise regression, boosted trees, neural nets, and bootstrap forest

A School-Randomized Clinical Trial of an Integrated Social-Emotional Learning and Literacy Intervention: Impacts after 1 School Year

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Stephanie M.; Brown, Joshua L.; Hoglund, Wendy L. G.; Aber, J. Lawrence

2010-01-01

Objective: To report experimental impacts of a universal, integrated school-based intervention in social-emotional learning and literacy development on change over 1 school year in 3rd-grade children's social-emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Method: This study employed a school-randomized, experimental design and included 942…

Ab initio thermodynamic model for magnesium carbonates and hydrates.

PubMed

Chaka, Anne M; Felmy, Andrew R

2014-09-04

An ab initio thermodynamic framework for predicting properties of hydrated magnesium carbonate minerals has been developed using density-functional theory linked to macroscopic thermodynamics through the experimental chemical potentials for MgO, water, and CO2. Including semiempirical dispersion via the Grimme method and small corrections to the generalized gradient approximation of Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof for the heat of formation yields a model with quantitative agreement for the benchmark minerals brucite, magnesite, nesquehonite, and hydromagnesite. The model shows how small differences in experimental conditions determine whether nesquehonite, hydromagnesite, or magnesite is the result of laboratory synthesis from carbonation of brucite, and what transformations are expected to occur on geological time scales. Because of the reliance on parameter-free first-principles methods, the model is reliably extensible to experimental conditions not readily accessible to experiment and to any mineral composition for which the structure is known or can be hypothesized, including structures containing defects, substitutions, or transitional structures during solid state transformations induced by temperature changes or processes such as water, CO2, or O2 diffusion. Demonstrated applications of the ab initio thermodynamic framework include an independent means to evaluate differences in thermodynamic data for lansfordite, predicting the properties of Mg analogues of Ca-based hydrated carbonates monohydrocalcite and ikaite, which have not been observed in nature, and an estimation of the thermodynamics of barringtonite from the stoichiometry and a single experimental observation.

The determination of accurate dipole polarizabilities alpha and gamma for the noble gases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rice, Julia E.; Taylor, Peter R.; Lee, Timothy J.; Almloef, Jan

1989-01-01

The static dipole polarizabilities alpha and gamma for the noble gases helium through xenon were determined using large flexible one-particle basis sets in conjunction with high-level treatments of electron correlation. The electron correlation methods include single and double excitation coupled-cluster theory (CCSD), an extension of CCSD that includes a perturbational estimate of connected triple excitations, CCSD(T), and second order perturbation theory (MP2). The computed alpha and gamma values are estimated to be accurate to within a few percent. Agreement with experimental data for the static hyperpolarizability gamma is good for neon and xenon, but for argon and krypton the differences are larger than the combined theoretical and experimental uncertainties. Based on our calculations, we suggest that the experimental value of gamma for argon is too low; adjusting this value would bring the experimental value of gamma for krypton into better agreement with our computed result. The MP2 values for the polarizabilities of neon, argon, krypton and zenon are in reasonabe agreement with the CCSD and CCSD(T) values, suggesting that this less expensive method may be useful in studies of polarizabilities for larger systems.

Method of fission heat flux determination from experimental data

DOEpatents

Paxton, Frank A.

1999-01-01

A method is provided for determining the fission heat flux of a prime specimen inserted into a specimen of a test reactor. A pair of thermocouple test specimens are positioned at the same level in the holder and a determination is made of various experimental data including the temperature of the thermocouple test specimens, the temperature of bulk water channels located in the test holder, the gamma scan count ratios for the thermocouple test specimens and the prime specimen, and the thicknesses of the outer clads, the fuel fillers, and the backclad of the thermocouple test specimen. Using this experimental data, the absolute value of the fission heat flux for the thermocouple test specimens and prime specimen can be calculated.

Stator and Rotor Flux Based Deadbeat Direct Torque Control of Induction Machines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenny, Barbara H.; Lorenz, Robert D.

2001-01-01

A new, deadbeat type of direct torque control is proposed, analyzed, and experimentally verified in this paper. The control is based on stator and rotor flux as state variables. This choice of state variables allows a graphical representation which is transparent and insightful. The graphical solution shows the effects of realistic considerations such as voltage and current limits. A position and speed sensorless implementation of the control, based on the self-sensing signal injection technique, is also demonstrated experimentally for low speed operation. The paper first develops the new, deadbeat DTC methodology and graphical representation of the new algorithm. It then evaluates feasibility via simulation and experimentally demonstrates performance of the new method with a laboratory prototype including the sensorless methods.

Acute and chronic animal models for the evaluation of anti-diabetic agents

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Diabetes mellitus is a potentially morbid condition with high prevalence worldwide thus being a major medical concern. Experimental induction of diabetes mellitus in animal models is essential for the advancement of our knowledge and understanding of the various aspects of its pathogenesis and ultimately finding new therapies and cure. Experimental diabetes mellitus is generally induced in laboratory animals by several methods that include: chemical, surgical and genetic (immunological) manipulations. Most of the experiments in diabetes are carried out in rodents, although some studies are still performed in larger animals. The present review highlights the various methods of inducing diabetes in experimental animals in order to test the newer drugs for their anti-diabetic potential. PMID:22257465

Stator and Rotor Flux Based Deadbeat Direct Torque Control of Induction Machines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenny, Barbara H.; Lorenz, Robert D.

2003-01-01

A new, deadbeat type of direct torque control is proposed, analyzed and experimentally verified in this paper. The control is based on stator and rotor flux as state variables. This choice of state variables allows a graphical representation which is transparent and insightful. The graphical solution shows the effects of realistic considerations such as voltage and current limits. A position and speed sensorless implementation of the control, based on the self-sensing signal injection technique, is also demonstrated experimentally for low speed operation. The paper first develops the new, deadbeat DTC methodology and graphical representation of the new algorithm. It then evaluates feasibility via simulation and experimentally demonstrates performance of the new method with a laboratory prototype including the sensorless methods.

Stator and Rotor Flux Based Deadbeat Direct Torque Control of Induction Machines. Revision 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenny, Barbara H.; Lorenz, Robert D.

2002-01-01

A new, deadbeat type of direct torque control is proposed, analyzed, and experimentally verified in this paper. The control is based on stator and rotor flux as state variables. This choice of state variables allows a graphical representation which is transparent and insightful. The graphical solution shows the effects of realistic considerations such as voltage and current limits. A position and speed sensorless implementation of the control, based on the self-sensing signal injection technique, is also demonstrated experimentally for low speed operation. The paper first develops the new, deadbeat DTC methodology and graphical representation of the new algorithm. It then evaluates feasibility via simulation and experimentally demonstrates performance of the new method with a laboratory prototype including the sensorless methods.

Measurement of non-uniform residual stresses by combined Moiré interferometry and hole-drilling method: Theory, experimental method and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ya, Min; Dai, Fulong; Xie, Huimin; Lü, Jian

2003-12-01

Hole-drilling method is one of the most convenient methods for engineering residual stress measurement. Combined with moiré interferometry to obtain the relaxed whole-field displacement data, hole-drilling technique can be used to solve non-uniform residual stress problems, both in-depth and in-plane. In this paper, the theory of moiré interferometry and incremental hole-drilling (MIIHD) for non-uniform residual stress measurement is introduced. Three dimensional finite element model is constructed by ABAQUS to obtain the coefficients for the residual stress calculation. An experimental system including real-time measurement, automatic data processing and residual stresses calculation is established. Two applications for non-uniform in-depth residual stress of surface nanocrystalline material and non-uniform in-plane residual stress of friction stir welding are presented. Experimental results show that MIIHD is effective for both non-uniform in-depth and in-plane residual stress measurements.

Experimental and numerical characterization of expanded glass granules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaudry, Mohsin Ali; Woitzik, Christian; Düster, Alexander; Wriggers, Peter

2018-07-01

In this paper, the material response of expanded glass granules at different scales and under different boundary conditions is investigated. At grain scale, single particle tests can be used to determine properties like Young's modulus or crushing strength. With experiments like triaxial and oedometer tests, it is possible to examine the bulk mechanical behaviour of the granular material. Our experimental investigation is complemented by a numerical simulation where the discrete element method is used to compute the mechanical behaviour of such materials. In order to improve the simulation quality, effects such as rolling resistance, inelastic behaviour, damage, and crushing are also included in the discrete element method. Furthermore, the variation of the material properties of granules is modelled by a statistical distribution and included in our numerical simulation.

Molecular Diffusion Coefficients: Experimental Determination and Demonstration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fate, Gwendolyn; Lynn, David G.

1990-01-01

Presented are laboratory methods which allow the demonstration and determination of the diffusion coefficients of compounds ranging in size from water to small proteins. Included are the procedures involving the use of a spectrometer, UV cell, triterated agar, and oxygen diffusion. Results including quantification are described. (CW)

Evaluation of tissue fixation methods to inactivate Mycobacterium bovis under routine laboratory conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) is the etiological agent of tuberculosis in mammals including humans. The seriousness of disease and low infective dose require that the agent be handled under biosafety level 3 conditions. Many experimental protocols include histological examination of infected tissue...

Single Cell Spectroscopy: Noninvasive Measures of Small-Scale Structure and Function

PubMed Central

Mousoulis, Charilaos; Xu, Xin; Reiter, David A.; Neu, Corey P.

2013-01-01

The advancement of spectroscopy methods attained through increases in sensitivity, and often with the coupling of complementary techniques, has enabled real-time structure and function measurements of single cells. The purpose of this review is to illustrate, in light of advances, the strengths and the weaknesses of these methods. Included also is an assessment of the impact of the experimental setup and conditions of each method on cellular function and integrity. A particular emphasis is placed on noninvasive and nondestructive techniques for achieving single cell detection, including nuclear magnetic resonance, in addition to physical, optical, and vibrational methods. PMID:23886910

26 CFR 1.446-1 - General rule for methods of accounting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... also the accounting treatment of any item. Examples of such over-all methods are the cash receipts and... special items include the accounting treatment prescribed for research and experimental expenditures, soil... books of account and on his return, as for example, a reconciliation of any differences between such...

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2017-01-01

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

An approach to achieve progress in spacecraft shielding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thoma, K.; Schäfer, F.; Hiermaier, S.; Schneider, E.

2004-01-01

Progress in shield design against space debris can be achieved only when a combined approach based on several tools is used. This approach depends on the combined application of advanced numerical methods, specific material models and experimental determination of input parameters for these models. Examples of experimental methods for material characterization are given, covering the range from quasi static to very high strain rates for materials like Nextel and carbon fiber-reinforced materials. Mesh free numerical methods have extraordinary capabilities in the simulation of extreme material behaviour including complete failure with phase changes, combined with shock wave phenomena and the interaction with structural components. In this paper the benefits from combining numerical methods, material modelling and detailed experimental studies for shield design are demonstrated. The following examples are given: (1) Development of a material model for Nextel and Kevlar-Epoxy to enable numerical simulation of hypervelocity impacts on complex heavy protection shields for the International Space Station. (2) The influence of projectile shape on protection performance of Whipple Shields and how experimental problems in accelerating such shapes can be overcome by systematic numerical simulation. (3) The benefits of using metallic foams in "sandwich bumper shields" for spacecraft and how to approach systematic characterization of such materials.

Quantum tomography for collider physics: illustrations with lepton-pair production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martens, John C.; Ralston, John P.; Takaki, J. D. Tapia

2018-01-01

Quantum tomography is a method to experimentally extract all that is observable about a quantum mechanical system. We introduce quantum tomography to collider physics with the illustration of the angular distribution of lepton pairs. The tomographic method bypasses much of the field-theoretic formalism to concentrate on what can be observed with experimental data. We provide a practical, experimentally driven guide to model-independent analysis using density matrices at every step. Comparison with traditional methods of analyzing angular correlations of inclusive reactions finds many advantages in the tomographic method, which include manifest Lorentz covariance, direct incorporation of positivity constraints, exhaustively complete polarization information, and new invariants free from frame conventions. For example, experimental data can determine the entanglement entropy of the production process. We give reproducible numerical examples and provide a supplemental standalone computer code that implements the procedure. We also highlight a property of complex positivity that guarantees in a least-squares type fit that a local minimum of a χ 2 statistic will be a global minimum: There are no isolated local minima. This property with an automated implementation of positivity promises to mitigate issues relating to multiple minima and convention dependence that have been problematic in previous work on angular distributions.

New Finger Biometric Method Using Near Infrared Imaging

PubMed Central

Lee, Eui Chul; Jung, Hyunwoo; Kim, Daeyeoul

2011-01-01

In this paper, we propose a new finger biometric method. Infrared finger images are first captured, and then feature extraction is performed using a modified Gaussian high-pass filter through binarization, local binary pattern (LBP), and local derivative pattern (LDP) methods. Infrared finger images include the multimodal features of finger veins and finger geometries. Instead of extracting each feature using different methods, the modified Gaussian high-pass filter is fully convolved. Therefore, the extracted binary patterns of finger images include the multimodal features of veins and finger geometries. Experimental results show that the proposed method has an error rate of 0.13%. PMID:22163741

An Improved Experimental Method for Simulating Erosion Processes by Concentrated Channel Flow

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiao-Yan; Zhao, Yu; Mo, Bin; Mi, Hong-Xing

2014-01-01

Rill erosion is an important process that occurs on hill slopes, including sloped farmland. Laboratory simulations have been vital to understanding rill erosion. Previous experiments obtained sediment yields using rills of various lengths to get the sedimentation process, which disrupted the continuity of the rill erosion process and was time-consuming. In this study, an improved experimental method was used to measure the rill erosion processes by concentrated channel flow. By using this method, a laboratory platform, 12 m long and 3 m wide, was used to construct rills of 0.1 m wide and 12 m long for experiments under five slope gradients (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 degrees) and three flow rates (2, 4, and 8 L min−1). Sediment laden water was simultaneously sampled along the rill at locations 0.5 m, 1 m, 2 m, 3 m, 4 m, 5 m, 6 m, 7 m, 8 m, 10 m, and 12 m from the water inlet to determine the sediment concentration distribution. The rill erosion process measured by the method used in this study and that by previous experimental methods are approximately the same. The experimental data indicated that sediment concentrations increase with slope gradient and flow rate, which highlights the hydraulic impact on rill erosion. Sediment concentration increased rapidly at the initial section of the rill, and the rate of increase in sediment concentration reduced with the rill length. Overall, both experimental methods are feasible and applicable. However, the method proposed in this study is more efficient and easier to operate. This improved method will be useful in related research. PMID:24949621

Modal analysis applied to circular, rectangular, and coaxial waveguides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoppe, D. J.

1988-01-01

Recent developments in the analysis of various waveguide components and feedhorns using Modal Analysis (Mode Matching Method) are summarized. A brief description of the theory is presented, and the important features of the method are pointed out. Specific examples in circular, rectangular, and coaxial waveguides are included, with comparisons between the theory and experimental measurements. Extensions to the methods are described.

Optimization and evaluation of a method to detect adenoviruses in river water

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This dataset includes the recoveries of spiked adenovirus through various stages of experimental optimization procedures. This dataset is associated with the following publication:McMinn , B., A. Korajkic, and A. Grimm. Optimization and evaluation of a method to detect adenoviruses in river water. JOURNAL OF VIROLOGICAL METHODS. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 231(1): 8-13, (2016).

The Effect of Using Cooperative Learning Method on Tenth Grade Students' Learning Achievement and Attitude towards Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rabgay, Tshewang

2018-01-01

The study investigated the effect of using cooperative learning method on tenth grade students' learning achievement in biology and their attitude towards the subject in a Higher Secondary School in Bhutan. The study used a mixed method approach. The quantitative component included an experimental design where cooperative learning was the…

Obtaining the lattice energy of the anthracene crystal by modern yet affordable first-principles methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sancho-García, J. C.; Aragó, J.; Ortí, E.; Olivier, Y.

2013-05-01

The non-covalent interactions in organic molecules are known to drive their self-assembly to form molecular crystals. We compare, in the case of anthracene and against experimental (electronic-only) sublimation energy, how modern quantum-chemical methods are able to calculate this cohesive energy taking into account all the interactions between occurring dimers in both first-and second-shells. These include both O(N6)- and O(N5)-scaling methods, Local Pair Natural Orbital-parameterized Coupled-Cluster Single and Double, and Spin-Component-Scaled-Møller-Plesset perturbation theory at second-order, respectively, as well as the most modern family of conceived density functionals: double-hybrid expressions in several variants (B2-PLYP, mPW2-PLYP, PWPB95) with customized dispersion corrections (-D3 and -NL). All-in-all, it is shown that these methods behave very accurately producing errors in the 1-2 kJ/mol range with respect to the experimental value taken into account the experimental uncertainty. These methods are thus confirmed as excellent tools for studying all kinds of interactions in chemical systems.

Low-Density Nozzle Flow by the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo and Continuum Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, Chang-Hong; Kim, Sku C.; Stubbs, Robert M.; Dewitt, Kenneth J.

1994-01-01

Two different approaches, the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method based on molecular gasdynamics, and a finite-volume approximation of the Navier-Stokes equations, which are based on continuum gasdynamics, are employed in the analysis of a low-density gas flow in a small converging-diverging nozzle. The fluid experiences various kinds of flow regimes including continuum, slip, transition, and free-molecular. Results from the two numerical methods are compared with Rothe's experimental data, in which density and rotational temperature variations along the centerline and at various locations inside a low-density nozzle were measured by the electron-beam fluorescence technique. The continuum approach showed good agreement with the experimental data as far as density is concerned. The results from the DSMC method showed good agreement with the experimental data, both in the density and the rotational temperature. It is also shown that the simulation parameters, such as the gas/surface interaction model, the energy exchange model between rotational and translational modes, and the viscosity-temperature exponent, have substantial effects on the results of the DSMC method.

Frequency-Domain Identification Of Aeroelastic Modes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Acree, C. W., Jr.; Tischler, Mark B.

1991-01-01

Report describes flight measurements and frequency-domain analyses of aeroelastic vibrational modes of wings of XV-15 tilt-rotor aircraft. Begins with description of flight-test methods. Followed by brief discussion of methods of analysis, which include Fourier-transform computations using chirp z transformers, use of coherence and other spectral functions, and methods and computer programs to obtain frequencies and damping coefficients from measurements. Includes brief description of results of flight tests and comparisions among various experimental and theoretical results. Ends with section on conclusions and recommended improvements in techniques.

Codeine and its alternates for pain and cough relief*

PubMed Central

Eddy, Nathan B.; Friebel, Hans; Hahn, Klaus-Jürgen; Halbach, Hans

1969-01-01

This report—the third of a series on codeine and its alternates for pain and cough relief—presents a detailed review of the physiology and pathophysiology of cough, the methods for the experimental and clinical measurement of the antitussive action of drugs, possible mechanisms of action of antitussive agents, and includes a compilation of experimental results and clinical experience with codeine as an antitussive. PMID:4896168

Determination of Vertical Borehole and Geological Formation Properties using the Crossed Contour Method.

PubMed

Leyde, Brian P; Klein, Sanford A; Nellis, Gregory F; Skye, Harrison

2017-03-01

This paper presents a new method called the Crossed Contour Method for determining the effective properties (borehole radius and ground thermal conductivity) of a vertical ground-coupled heat exchanger. The borehole radius is used as a proxy for the overall borehole thermal resistance. The method has been applied to both simulated and experimental borehole Thermal Response Test (TRT) data using the Duct Storage vertical ground heat exchanger model implemented in the TRansient SYstems Simulation software (TRNSYS). The Crossed Contour Method generates a parametric grid of simulated TRT data for different combinations of borehole radius and ground thermal conductivity in a series of time windows. The error between the average of the simulated and experimental bore field inlet and outlet temperatures is calculated for each set of borehole properties within each time window. Using these data, contours of the minimum error are constructed in the parameter space of borehole radius and ground thermal conductivity. When all of the minimum error contours for each time window are superimposed, the point where the contours cross (intersect) identifies the effective borehole properties for the model that most closely represents the experimental data in every time window and thus over the entire length of the experimental data set. The computed borehole properties are compared with results from existing model inversion methods including the Ground Property Measurement (GPM) software developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Line Source Model.

Development plan for the External Hazards Experimental Group. Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program

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

Coleman, Justin Leigh; Smith, Curtis Lee; Burns, Douglas Edward

This report describes the development plan for a new multi-partner External Hazards Experimental Group (EHEG) coordinated by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) within the Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) technical pathway of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program. Currently, there is limited data available for development and validation of the tools and methods being developed in the RISMC Toolkit. The EHEG is being developed to obtain high-quality, small- and large-scale experimental data validation of RISMC tools and methods in a timely and cost-effective way. The group of universities and national laboratories that will eventually form the EHEG (which is ultimately expectedmore » to include both the initial participants and other universities and national laboratories that have been identified) have the expertise and experimental capabilities needed to both obtain and compile existing data archives and perform additional seismic and flooding experiments. The data developed by EHEG will be stored in databases for use within RISMC. These databases will be used to validate the advanced external hazard tools and methods.« less

Rotational relaxation of molecular hydrogen at moderate temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sharma, S. P.

1994-01-01

Using a coupled rotation-vibration-dissociation model the rotational relaxation times for molecular hydrogen as a function of final temperature (500-5000 K), in a hypothetical scenario of sudden compression, are computed. The theoretical model is based on a master equation solver. The bound-bound and bound-free transition rates have been computed using a quasiclassical trajectory method. A review of the available experimental data on the rotational relaxation of hydrogen is presented, with a critical overview of the method of measurements and data reduction, including the sources of errors. These experimental data are then compared with the computed results.

Calibration of a portable HPGe detector using MCNP code for the determination of 137Cs in soils.

PubMed

Gutiérrez-Villanueva, J L; Martín-Martín, A; Peña, V; Iniguez, M P; de Celis, B; de la Fuente, R

2008-10-01

In situ gamma spectrometry provides a fast method to determine (137)Cs inventories in soils. To improve the accuracy of the estimates, one can use not only the information on the photopeak count rates but also on the peak to forward-scatter ratios. Before applying this procedure to field measurements, a calibration including several experimental simulations must be carried out in the laboratory. In this paper it is shown that Monte Carlo methods are a valuable tool to minimize the number of experimental measurements needed for the calibration.

Fracture Test Methods for Plastically Responding COPV Liners

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dawicke, David S.; Lewis, Joseph C.

2009-01-01

An experimental procedure for evaluating the validity of using uniaxial tests to provide a conservative bound on the fatigue crack growth rate behavior small cracks in bi-axially loaded Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) liners is described. The experimental procedure included the use of a laser notch to quickly generate small surface fatigue cracks with the desired size and aspect ratios. An out-of-plane constraint system was designed to allow fully reversed, fully plastic testing of thin sheet uniaxial coupons. Finally, a method was developed to determine to initiate small cracks in the liner of COPVs.

Density functional theory calculations of 95Mo NMR parameters in solid-state compounds.

PubMed

Cuny, Jérôme; Furet, Eric; Gautier, Régis; Le Pollès, Laurent; Pickard, Chris J; d'Espinose de Lacaillerie, Jean-Baptiste

2009-12-21

The application of periodic density functional theory-based methods to the calculation of (95)Mo electric field gradient (EFG) and chemical shift (CS) tensors in solid-state molybdenum compounds is presented. Calculations of EFG tensors are performed using the projector augmented-wave (PAW) method. Comparison of the results with those obtained using the augmented plane wave + local orbitals (APW+lo) method and with available experimental values shows the reliability of the approach for (95)Mo EFG tensor calculation. CS tensors are calculated using the recently developed gauge-including projector augmented-wave (GIPAW) method. This work is the first application of the GIPAW method to a 4d transition-metal nucleus. The effects of ultra-soft pseudo-potential parameters, exchange-correlation functionals and structural parameters are precisely examined. Comparison with experimental results allows the validation of this computational formalism.

A logic-based method to build signaling networks and propose experimental plans.

PubMed

Rougny, Adrien; Gloaguen, Pauline; Langonné, Nathalie; Reiter, Eric; Crépieux, Pascale; Poupon, Anne; Froidevaux, Christine

2018-05-18

With the dramatic increase of the diversity and the sheer quantity of biological data generated, the construction of comprehensive signaling networks that include precise mechanisms cannot be carried out manually anymore. In this context, we propose a logic-based method that allows building large signaling networks automatically. Our method is based on a set of expert rules that make explicit the reasoning made by biologists when interpreting experimental results coming from a wide variety of experiment types. These rules allow formulating all the conclusions that can be inferred from a set of experimental results, and thus building all the possible networks that explain these results. Moreover, given an hypothesis, our system proposes experimental plans to carry out in order to validate or invalidate it. To evaluate the performance of our method, we applied our framework to the reconstruction of the FSHR-induced and the EGFR-induced signaling networks. The FSHR is known to induce the transactivation of the EGFR, but very little is known on the resulting FSH- and EGF-dependent network. We built a single network using data underlying both networks. This leads to a new hypothesis on the activation of MEK by p38MAPK, which we validate experimentally. These preliminary results represent a first step in the demonstration of a cross-talk between these two major MAP kinases pathways.

Experiments With Magnetic Vector Potential

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skinner, J. W.

1975-01-01

Describes the experimental apparatus and method for the study of magnetic vector potential (MVP). Includes a discussion of inherent errors in the calculations involved, precision of the results, and further applications of MVP. (GS)

Single scattering from nonspherical Chebyshev particles: A compendium of calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiscombe, W. J.; Mugnai, A.

1986-01-01

A large set of exact calculations of the scattering from a class of nonspherical particles known as Chebyshev particles' has been performed. Phase function and degree of polarization in random orientation, and parallel and perpendicular intensities in fixed orientations, are plotted for a variety of particles shapes and sizes. The intention is to furnish a data base against which both experimental data, and the predictions of approximate methods, can be tested. The calculations are performed with the widely-used Extended Boundary Condition Method. An extensive discussion of this method is given, including much material that is not easily available elsewhere (especially the analysis of its convergence properties). An extensive review is also given of all extant methods for nonspherical scattering calculations, as well as of the available pool of experimental data.

Modeling the mechanical properties of ultra-thin polymer films [Structural modeling of films of atomic scale thickness

DOE PAGES

Espinosa-Loza, Francisco; Stadermann, Michael; Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel; ...

2017-11-16

A modeling method to extract the mechanical properties of ultra-thin films (10–100 nm thick) from experimental data generated by indentation of freestanding circular films using a spherical indenter is presented. The relationship between the mechanical properties of the film and experimental parameters including load, and deflection are discussed in the context of a constitutive material model, test variables, and analytical approaches. As a result, elastic and plastic regimes are identified by comparison of finite element simulation and experimental data.

Modeling the mechanical properties of ultra-thin polymer films [Structural modeling of films of atomic scale thickness

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

Espinosa-Loza, Francisco; Stadermann, Michael; Aracne-Ruddle, Chantel

A modeling method to extract the mechanical properties of ultra-thin films (10–100 nm thick) from experimental data generated by indentation of freestanding circular films using a spherical indenter is presented. The relationship between the mechanical properties of the film and experimental parameters including load, and deflection are discussed in the context of a constitutive material model, test variables, and analytical approaches. As a result, elastic and plastic regimes are identified by comparison of finite element simulation and experimental data.

Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of a Mechanical Lever System Driven by a DC Motor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nana, B.; Fautso Kuiate, G.; Yamgoué, S. B.

This paper presents theoretical and experimental results on the investigation of the dynamics of a nonlinear electromechanical system made of a lever arm actuated by a DC motor and controlled through a repulsive magnetic force. We use the method of harmonic balance to derive oscillatory solutions. Theoretical tools such as, bifurcation diagrams, Lyapunov exponents, phase portraits, are used to unveil the rich nonlinear behavior of the system including chaos and hysteresis. The experimental results are in close accordance with the theoretical predictions.

Optimization Method of a Low Cost, High Performance Ceramic Proppant by Orthogonal Experimental Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Y.; Tian, Y. M.; Wang, K. Y.; Li, G.; Zou, X. W.; Chai, Y. S.

2017-09-01

This study focused on optimization method of a ceramic proppant material with both low cost and high performance that met the requirements of Chinese Petroleum and Gas Industry Standard (SY/T 5108-2006). The orthogonal experimental design of L9(34) was employed to study the significance sequence of three factors, including weight ratio of white clay to bauxite, dolomite content and sintering temperature. For the crush resistance, both the range analysis and variance analysis reflected the optimally experimental condition was weight ratio of white clay to bauxite=3/7, dolomite content=3 wt.%, temperature=1350°C. For the bulk density, the most important factor was the sintering temperature, followed by the dolomite content, and then the ratio of white clay to bauxite.

Experimental method for testing diffraction properties of reflection waveguide holograms.

PubMed

Xie, Yi; Kang, Ming-Wu; Wang, Bao-Ping

2014-07-01

Waveguide holograms' diffraction properties include peak wavelength and diffraction efficiency, which play an important role in determining their display performance. Based on the record and reconstruction theory of reflection waveguide holograms, a novel experimental method for testing diffraction properties is introduced and analyzed in this paper, which uses a plano-convex lens optically contacted to the surface of the substrate plate of the waveguide hologram, so that the diffracted light beam can be easily detected. Then an experiment is implemented. The designed reconstruction wavelength of the test sample is 530 nm, and its diffraction efficiency is 100%. The experimental results are a peak wavelength of 527.7 nm and a diffraction efficiency of 94.1%. It is shown that the tested value corresponds well with the designed value.

Requirement definition of passenger motor transport enterprises for spare parts by method of short-term combined forecasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulatov, S. V.

2018-05-01

The article considers the method of short-term combined forecasting, which includes theoretical and experimental estimates of the need for details of units and assemblies, which allows obtaining the optimum number of spare parts necessary for rolling stock operation without downtime in repair areas.

Einstein Slew Survey: Data analysis innovations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elvis, Martin S.; Plummer, David; Schachter, Jonathan F.; Fabbiano, G.

1992-01-01

Several new methods were needed in order to make the Einstein Slew X-ray Sky Survey. The innovations which enabled the Slew Survey to be done are summarized. These methods included experimental approach to large projects, parallel processing on a LAN, percolation source detection, minimum action identifications, and rapid dissemination of the whole data base.

Development and applications of optical interferometric micrometrology in the Angstrom and subangstrom range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lauer, James L.; Abel, Phillip B.

1988-01-01

The characteristics of the scanning tunneling microscope and atomic force microscope (AFM) are briefly reviewed, and optical methods, mainly interferometry, of sufficient resolution to measure AFM deflections are discussed. The methods include optical resonators, laser interferometry, multiple-beam interferometry, and evanescent wave detection. Experimental results using AFM are reviewed.

Calibration of collection procedures for the determination of precipitation chemistry

Treesearch

James N. Galloway; Gene E. Likens

1976-01-01

Precipitation is currently collected by several methods, including several different designs of collection apparatus. We are investigating these differing methods and designs to determine which gives the most representative sample of precipitation for the analysis of some 25 chemical parameters. The experimental site, located in Ithaca, New York, has 22 collectors of...

Reconstruction of phonon relaxation times from systems featuring interfaces with unknown properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forghani, Mojtaba; Hadjiconstantinou, Nicolas G.

2018-05-01

We present a method for reconstructing the phonon relaxation-time function τω=τ (ω ) (including polarization) and associated phonon free-path distribution from thermal spectroscopy data for systems featuring interfaces with unknown properties. Our method does not rely on the effective thermal-conductivity approximation or a particular physical model of the interface behavior. The reconstruction is formulated as an optimization problem in which the relaxation times are determined as functions of frequency by minimizing the discrepancy between the experimentally measured temperature profiles and solutions of the Boltzmann transport equation for the same system. Interface properties such as transmissivities are included as unknowns in the optimization; however, because for the thermal spectroscopy problems considered here the reconstruction is not very sensitive to the interface properties, the transmissivities are only approximately reconstructed and can be considered as byproducts of the calculation whose primary objective is the accurate determination of the relaxation times. The proposed method is validated using synthetic experimental data obtained from Monte Carlo solutions of the Boltzmann transport equation. The method is shown to remain robust in the presence of uncertainty (noise) in the measurement.

Boundary Electron and Beta Dosimetry-Quantification of the Effects of Dissimilar Media on Absorbed Dose

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nunes, Josane C.

1991-02-01

This work quantifies the changes effected in electron absorbed dose to a soft-tissue equivalent medium when part of this medium is replaced by a material that is not soft -tissue equivalent. That is, heterogeneous dosimetry is addressed. Radionuclides which emit beta particles are the electron sources of primary interest. They are used in brachytherapy and in nuclear medicine: for example, beta -ray applicators made with strontium-90 are employed in certain ophthalmic treatments and iodine-131 is used to test thyroid function. More recent medical procedures under development and which involve beta radionuclides include radioimmunotherapy and radiation synovectomy; the first is a cancer modality and the second deals with the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, the possibility of skin surface contamination exists whenever there is handling of radioactive material. Determination of absorbed doses in the examples of the preceding paragraph requires considering boundaries of interfaces. Whilst the Monte Carlo method can be applied to boundary calculations, for routine work such as in clinical situations, or in other circumstances where doses need to be determined quickly, analytical dosimetry would be invaluable. Unfortunately, few analytical methods for boundary beta dosimetry exist. Furthermore, the accuracy of results from both Monte Carlo and analytical methods has to be assessed. Although restricted to one radionuclide, phosphorus -32, the experimental data obtained in this work serve several purposes, one of which is to provide standards against which calculated results can be tested. The experimental data also contribute to the relatively sparse set of published boundary dosimetry data. At the same time, they may be useful in developing analytical boundary dosimetry methodology. The first application of the experimental data is demonstrated. Results from two Monte Carlo codes and two analytical methods, which were developed elsewhere, are compared with experimental data. Monte Carlo results compare satisfactory with experimental results for the boundaries considered. The agreement with experimental results for air interfaces is of particular interest because of discrepancies reported previously by another investigator who used data obtained from a different experimental technique. Results from one of the analytical methods differ significantly from the experimental data obtained here. The second analytical method provided data which approximate experimental results to within 30%. This is encouraging but it remains to be determined whether this method performs equally well for other source energies.

Methods for recording and measuring tonic GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition

PubMed Central

Bright, Damian P.; Smart, Trevor G.

2013-01-01

Tonic inhibitory conductances mediated by GABAA receptors have now been identified and characterized in many different brain regions. Most experimental studies of tonic GABAergic inhibition have been carried out using acute brain slice preparations but tonic currents have been recorded under a variety of different conditions. This diversity of recording conditions is likely to impact upon many of the factors responsible for controlling tonic inhibition and can make comparison between different studies difficult. In this review, we will firstly consider how various experimental conditions, including age of animal, recording temperature and solution composition, are likely to influence tonic GABAA conductances. We will then consider some technical considerations related to how the tonic conductance is measured and subsequently analyzed, including how the use of current noise may provide a complementary and reliable method for quantifying changes in tonic current. PMID:24367296

Optimization of an angle-beam ultrasonic approach for characterization of impact damage in composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henry, Christine; Kramb, Victoria; Welter, John T.; Wertz, John N.; Lindgren, Eric A.; Aldrin, John C.; Zainey, David

2018-04-01

Advances in NDE method development are greatly improved through model-guided experimentation. In the case of ultrasonic inspections, models which provide insight into complex mode conversion processes and sound propagation paths are essential for understanding the experimental data and inverting the experimental data into relevant information. However, models must also be verified using experimental data obtained under well-documented and understood conditions. Ideally, researchers would utilize the model simulations and experimental approach to efficiently converge on the optimal solution. However, variability in experimental parameters introduce extraneous signals that are difficult to differentiate from the anticipated response. This paper discusses the results of an ultrasonic experiment designed to evaluate the effect of controllable variables on the anticipated signal, and the effect of unaccounted for experimental variables on the uncertainty in those results. Controlled experimental parameters include the transducer frequency, incidence beam angle and focal depth.

The BAPE 2 balloon-borne CO2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Degnan, J. J.; Walker, H. E.; Peruso, C. J.; Johnson, E. H.; Klein, B. J.; Mcelroy, J. H.

1972-01-01

The systems and techniques which were utilized in the experiment to establish an air-to-ground CO2 laser heterodyne link are described along with the successes and problems encountered when the heterodyne receiver and laser transmitter package were removed from the controlled environment of the laboratory. Major topics discussed include: existing systems and the underlying principles involved in their operation; experimental techniques and optical alignment methods which were found to be useful; theoretical calculations of signal strengths expected under a variety of test conditions and in actual flight; and the experimental results including problems encountered and their possible solutions.

Advanced Methods for Aircraft Engine Thrust and Noise Benefits: Nozzle-Inlet Flow Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morgan, Morris H.; Gilinsky, Mikhail; Patel, Kaushal; Coston, Calvin; Blankson, Isaiah M.

2003-01-01

The research is focused on a wide regime of problems in the propulsion field as well as in experimental testing and theoretical and numerical simulation analyses for advanced aircraft and rocket engines. Results obtained are based on analytical methods, numerical simulations and experimental tests at the NASA LaRC and Hampton University computer complexes and experimental facilities. The main objective of this research is injection, mixing and combustion enhancement in propulsion systems. The sub-projects in the reporting period are: (A) Aero-performance and acoustics of Telescope-shaped designs. The work included a pylon set application for SCRAMJET. (B) An analysis of sharp-edged nozzle exit designs for effective fuel injection into the flow stream in air-breathing engines: triangular-round and diamond-round nozzles. (C) Measurement technique improvements for the HU Low Speed Wind Tunnel (HU LSWT) including an automatic data acquisition system and a two component (drag-lift) balance system. In addition, a course in the field of aerodynamics was developed for the teaching and training of HU students.

Overview of the Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heeg, Jennifer; Chwalowski, Pawel; Florance, Jennifer P.; Wieseman, Carol D.; Schuster, David M.; Perry, Raleigh B.

2013-01-01

The Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop brought together an international community of computational fluid dynamicists as a step in defining the state of the art in computational aeroelasticity. This workshop's technical focus was prediction of unsteady pressure distributions resulting from forced motion, benchmarking the results first using unforced system data. The most challenging aspects of the physics were identified as capturing oscillatory shock behavior, dynamic shock-induced separated flow and tunnel wall boundary layer influences. The majority of the participants used unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes codes. These codes were exercised at transonic Mach numbers for three configurations and comparisons were made with existing experimental data. Substantial variations were observed among the computational solutions as well as differences relative to the experimental data. Contributing issues to these differences include wall effects and wall modeling, non-standardized convergence criteria, inclusion of static aeroelastic deflection, methodology for oscillatory solutions, post-processing methods. Contributing issues pertaining principally to the experimental data sets include the position of the model relative to the tunnel wall, splitter plate size, wind tunnel expansion slot configuration, spacing and location of pressure instrumentation, and data processing methods.

Electron collisions with phenol: Total, integral, differential, and momentum transfer cross sections and the role of multichannel coupling effects on the elastic channel

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

Costa, Romarly F. da; Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, 09210-580 Santo André, São Paulo; Oliveira, Eliane M. de

2015-03-14

We report theoretical and experimental total cross sections for electron scattering by phenol (C{sub 6}H{sub 5}OH). The experimental data were obtained with an apparatus based in Madrid and the calculated cross sections with two different methodologies, the independent atom method with screening corrected additivity rule (IAM-SCAR), and the Schwinger multichannel method with pseudopotentials (SMCPP). The SMCPP method in the N{sub open}-channel coupling scheme, at the static-exchange-plus-polarization approximation, is employed to calculate the scattering amplitudes at impact energies ranging from 5.0 eV to 50 eV. We discuss the multichannel coupling effects in the calculated cross sections, in particular how the numbermore » of excited states included in the open-channel space impacts upon the convergence of the elastic cross sections at higher collision energies. The IAM-SCAR approach was also used to obtain the elastic differential cross sections (DCSs) and for correcting the experimental total cross sections for the so-called forward angle scattering effect. We found a very good agreement between our SMCPP theoretical differential, integral, and momentum transfer cross sections and experimental data for benzene (a molecule differing from phenol by replacing a hydrogen atom in benzene with a hydroxyl group). Although some discrepancies were found for lower energies, the agreement between the SMCPP data and the DCSs obtained with the IAM-SCAR method improves, as expected, as the impact energy increases. We also have a good agreement among the present SMCPP calculated total cross section (which includes elastic, 32 inelastic electronic excitation processes and ionization contributions, the latter estimated with the binary-encounter-Bethe model), the IAM-SCAR total cross section, and the experimental data when the latter is corrected for the forward angle scattering effect [Fuss et al., Phys. Rev. A 88, 042702 (2013)].« less

Foundations of measurement and instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warshawsky, Isidore

1990-01-01

The user of instrumentation has provided an understanding of the factors that influence instrument performance, selection, and application, and of the methods of interpreting and presenting the results of measurements. Such understanding is prerequisite to the successful attainment of the best compromise among reliability, accuracy, speed, cost, and importance of the measurement operation in achieving the ultimate goal of a project. Some subjects covered are dimensions; units; sources of measurement error; methods of describing and estimating accuracy; deduction and presentation of results through empirical equations, including the method of least squares; experimental and analytical methods of determining the static and dynamic behavior of instrumentation systems, including the use of analogs.

Experimental characterization of the perceptron laser rangefinder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kweon, I. S.; Hoffman, Regis; Krotkov, Eric

1991-01-01

In this report, we characterize experimentally a scanning laser rangefinder that employs active sensing to acquire three-dimensional images. We present experimental techniques applicable to a wide variety of laser scanners, and document the results of applying them to a device manufactured by Perceptron. Nominally, the sensor acquires data over a 60 deg x 60 deg field of view in 256 x 256 pixel images at 2 Hz. It digitizes both range and reflectance pixels to 12 bits, providing a maximum range of 40 m and a depth resolution of 1 cm. We present methods and results from experiments to measure geometric parameters including the field of view, angular scanning increments, and minimum sensing distance. We characterize qualitatively problems caused by implementation flaws, including internal reflections and range drift over time, and problems caused by inherent limitations of the rangefinding technology, including sensitivity to ambient light and surface material. We characterize statistically the precision and accuracy of the range measurements. We conclude that the performance of the Perceptron scanner does not compare favorably with the nominal performance, that scanner modifications are required, and that further experimentation must be conducted.

Stochastic Nature in Cellular Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Bo; Liu, Sheng-Jun; Wang, Qi; Yan, Shi-Wei; Geng, Yi-Zhao; Sakata, Fumihiko; Gao, Xing-Fa

2011-11-01

The importance of stochasticity in cellular processes is increasingly recognized in both theoretical and experimental studies. General features of stochasticity in gene regulation and expression are briefly reviewed in this article, which include the main experimental phenomena, classification, quantization and regulation of noises. The correlation and transmission of noise in cascade networks are analyzed further and the stochastic simulation methods that can capture effects of intrinsic and extrinsic noise are described.

First-Principles Modeling of Hydrogen Storage in Metal Hydride Systems

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

J. Karl Johnson

The objective of this project is to complement experimental efforts of MHoCE partners by using state-of-the-art theory and modeling to study the structure, thermodynamics, and kinetics of hydrogen storage materials. Specific goals include prediction of the heats of formation and other thermodynamic properties of alloys from first principles methods, identification of new alloys that can be tested experimentally, calculation of surface and energetic properties of nanoparticles, and calculation of kinetics involved with hydrogenation and dehydrogenation processes. Discovery of new metal hydrides with enhanced properties compared with existing materials is a critical need for the Metal Hydride Center of Excellence. Newmore » materials discovery can be aided by the use of first principles (ab initio) computational modeling in two ways: (1) The properties, including mechanisms, of existing materials can be better elucidated through a combined modeling/experimental approach. (2) The thermodynamic properties of novel materials that have not been made can, in many cases, be quickly screened with ab initio methods. We have used state-of-the-art computational techniques to explore millions of possible reaction conditions consisting of different element spaces, compositions, and temperatures. We have identified potentially promising single- and multi-step reactions that can be explored experimentally.« less

Method for preparation and readout of polyatomic molecules in single quantum states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patterson, David

2018-03-01

Polyatomic molecular ions contain many desirable attributes of a useful quantum system, including rich internal degrees of freedom and highly controllable coupling to the environment. To date, the vast majority of state-specific experimental work on molecular ions has concentrated on diatomic species. The ability to prepare and read out polyatomic molecules in single quantum states would enable diverse experimental avenues not available with diatomics, including new applications in precision measurement, sensitive chemical and chiral analysis at the single-molecule level, and precise studies of Hz-level molecular tunneling dynamics. While cooling the motional state of a polyatomic ion via sympathetic cooling with a laser-cooled atomic ion is straightforward, coupling this motional state to the internal state of the molecule has proven challenging. Here we propose a method for readout and projective measurement of the internal state of a trapped polyatomic ion. The method exploits the rich manifold of technically accessible rotational states in the molecule to realize robust state preparation and readout with far less stringent engineering than quantum logic methods recently demonstrated on diatomic molecules. The method can be applied to any reasonably small (≲10 atoms) polyatomic ion with an anisotropic polarizability.

Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Mufflers with Comments on Engine-Exhaust Muffler Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Don D , Jr; Stokes, George M; Moore, Dewey; Stevens, George L , Jr

1954-01-01

Equations are presented for the attenuation characteristics of single-chamber and multiple-chamber mufflers of both the expansion-chamber and resonator types, for tuned side-branch tubes, and for the combination of an expansion chamber with a resonator. Experimental curves of attenuation plotted against frequency are presented for 77 different mufflers with a reflection-free tailpipe termination. The experiments were made at room temperature without flow; the sound source was a loud-speaker. A method is given for including the tailpipe reflections in the calculations. Experimental attenuation curves are presented for four different muffler-tailpipe combinations, and the results are compared with the theory. The application of the theory to the design of engine-exhaust mufflers is discussed, and charts are included for the assistance of the designer.

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques Applied to the Quantitative Characterization of Textile Composite Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, James G.

1997-01-01

In this Progress Report, we describe our recent developments of advanced ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation methods applied to the characterization of anisotropic materials. We present images obtained from experimental measurements of ultrasonic diffraction patterns for a thin woven composite in an immersion setup. In addition, we compare apparent signal loss measurements of the thin woven composite for phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive detection methods. All images of diffraction patterns have been included on the accompanying CD-ROM in the Adobe(Trademark) Portable Document Format (PDF). Due to the extensive amount of data, however, hardcopies of only a small representative selection of the images are included within the printed report. This Progress Report presents experimental results that support successful implementation of single element as well as one and two-dimensional ultrasonic array technologies for the inspection of textile composite structures. In our previous reports, we have addressed issues regarding beam profiles of ultrasonic pressure fields transmitted through a water reference path and transmitted through a thin woven composite sample path. Furthermore, we presented experimental results of the effect of a thin woven composite on the magnitude of an insonifying ultrasonic pressure field. In addition to the study of ultrasonic beam profiles, we consider issues relevant to the application of single-element, one-dimensional, and two-dimensional array technologies towards probing the mechanical properties of advanced engineering composites and structures. We provide comparisons between phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive detection methods for determination of textile composite structure parameters. We also compare phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive - - ---- ----- apparent signal loss measurements in an effort to study the phenomenon of phase cancellation at the face of a finite-aperture single-element receiver. Furthermore, in this Progress Report we extend our work on ultrasonic beam profile issues through investigation of the phase fronts of the pressure field. In Section H of this Progress Report we briefly describe the experimental arrangement and methods for data acquisition of the ultrasonic diffraction patterns upon transmission through a thin woven composite. Section III details the analysis of the experimental data followed by the experimental results in Section IV. Finally, a discussion of the observations and conclusions is found in Section V.

Dietary α-eleostearic acid ameliorates experimental inflammatory bowel disease in mice by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ.

PubMed

Lewis, Stephanie N; Brannan, Lera; Guri, Amir J; Lu, Pinyi; Hontecillas, Raquel; Bassaganya-Riera, Josep; Bevan, David R

2011-01-01

Treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are modestly effective and associated with side effects from prolonged use. As there is no known cure for IBD, alternative therapeutic options are needed. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) has been identified as a potential target for novel therapeutics against IBD. For this project, compounds were screened to identify naturally occurring PPARγ agonists as a means to identify novel anti-inflammatory therapeutics for experimental assessment of efficacy. Here we provide complementary computational and experimental methods to efficiently screen for PPARγ agonists and demonstrate amelioration of experimental IBD in mice, respectively. Computational docking as part of virtual screening (VS) was used to test binding between a total of eighty-one compounds and PPARγ. The test compounds included known agonists, known inactive compounds, derivatives and stereoisomers of known agonists with unknown activity, and conjugated trienes. The compound identified through VS as possessing the most favorable docked pose was used as the test compound for experimental work. With our combined methods, we have identified α-eleostearic acid (ESA) as a natural PPARγ agonist. Results of ligand-binding assays complemented the screening prediction. In addition, ESA decreased macrophage infiltration and significantly impeded the progression of IBD-related phenotypes through both PPARγ-dependent and -independent mechanisms in mice with experimental IBD. This study serves as the first significant step toward a large-scale VS protocol for natural PPARγ agonist screening that includes a massively diverse ligand library and structures that represent multiple known target pharmacophores.

Dietary α-Eleostearic Acid Ameliorates Experimental Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Mice by Activating Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ

PubMed Central

Lewis, Stephanie N.; Brannan, Lera; Guri, Amir J.; Lu, Pinyi; Hontecillas, Raquel; Bassaganya-Riera, Josep; Bevan, David R.

2011-01-01

Background Treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are modestly effective and associated with side effects from prolonged use. As there is no known cure for IBD, alternative therapeutic options are needed. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) has been identified as a potential target for novel therapeutics against IBD. For this project, compounds were screened to identify naturally occurring PPARγ agonists as a means to identify novel anti-inflammatory therapeutics for experimental assessment of efficacy. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we provide complementary computational and experimental methods to efficiently screen for PPARγ agonists and demonstrate amelioration of experimental IBD in mice, respectively. Computational docking as part of virtual screening (VS) was used to test binding between a total of eighty-one compounds and PPARγ. The test compounds included known agonists, known inactive compounds, derivatives and stereoisomers of known agonists with unknown activity, and conjugated trienes. The compound identified through VS as possessing the most favorable docked pose was used as the test compound for experimental work. With our combined methods, we have identified α-eleostearic acid (ESA) as a natural PPARγ agonist. Results of ligand-binding assays complemented the screening prediction. In addition, ESA decreased macrophage infiltration and significantly impeded the progression of IBD-related phenotypes through both PPARγ-dependent and –independent mechanisms in mice with experimental IBD. Conclusions/Significance This study serves as the first significant step toward a large-scale VS protocol for natural PPARγ agonist screening that includes a massively diverse ligand library and structures that represent multiple known target pharmacophores. PMID:21904603

Laboratory Techniques for the Blind

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tombaugh, Dorothy

1972-01-01

Describes modifications of laboratory procedures for the BSCS Green Version biology, including dissection, microbiology, animal behavior, physiology, biochemistry, and genetics that make the methods suitable for direct experimentation by blind students. Discusses models as substitutes for microscopy. (AL)

Strain-Life Assessment of Grainex Mar-M 247 for NASA's Turbine Seal Test Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delgado, Irebert R.; Halford, Gary R.; Steinetz, Bruce M.; Rimnac, Clare M.

2004-01-01

NASA s Turbine Seal Test Facility is used to test air-to-air seals for use primarily in advanced jet engine applications. Combinations of high temperature, high speed, and high pressure limit the disk life, due to the concern of crack initiation in the bolt holes of the Grainex Mar-M 247 disk. The primary purpose of this current work is to determine an inspection interval to ensure safe operation. The current work presents high temperature fatigue strain-life data for test specimens cut from an actual Grainex Mar-M 247 disk. Several different strain-life models were compared to the experimental data including the Manson-Hirschberg Method of Universal Slopes, the Halford-Nachtigall Mean Stress Method, and the Modified Morrow Method. The Halford-Nachtigall Method resulted in only an 18 percent difference between predicted and experimental results. Using the experimental data at a 99.95 percent prediction level and the presence of 6 bolt holes it was found that the disk should be inspected after 665 cycles based on a total strain of 0.5 percent at 649 C.

Experimental and DFT studies on the vibrational spectra of 1H-indene-2-boronic acid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alver, Özgur; Kaya, Mehmet Fatih

2014-11-01

Stable conformers and geometrical molecular structures of 1H-indene-2-boronic acid (I-2B(OH)2) were studied experimentally and theoretically using FT-IR and FT-Raman spectroscopic methods. FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra were recorded in the region of 4000-400 cm-1, and 3700-400 cm-1, respectively. The optimized geometric structures were searched by Becke-3-Lee-Yang-Parr (B3LYP) hybrid density functional theory method with 6-31++G(d,p) basis set. Vibrational wavenumbers of I-2B(OH)2 were calculated using B3LYP density functional methods including 6-31++G(d,p) basis set. Experimental and theoretical results show that density functional B3LYP method gives satisfactory results for predicting vibrational wavenumbers except OH stretching modes which is probably due to increasing unharmonicity in the high wave number region and possible intra and inter molecular interaction at OH edges. To support the assigned vibrational wavenumbers, the potential energy distribution (PED) values were also calculated using VEDA 4 (Vibrational Energy Distribution Analysis) program.

Experimental and simulation flow rate analysis of the 3/2 directional pneumatic valve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blasiak, Slawomir; Takosoglu, Jakub E.; Laski, Pawel A.; Pietrala, Dawid S.; Zwierzchowski, Jaroslaw; Bracha, Gabriel; Nowakowski, Lukasz; Blasiak, Malgorzata

The work includes a study on the comparative analysis of two test methods. The first method - numerical method, consists in determining the flow characteristics with the use of ANSYS CFX. A modeled poppet directional valve 3/2 3D CAD software - SolidWorks was used for this purpose. Based on the solid model that was developed, simulation studies of the air flow through the way valve in the software for computational fluid dynamics Ansys CFX were conducted. The second method - experimental, entailed conducting tests on a specially constructed test stand. The comparison of the test results obtained on the basis of both methods made it possible to determine the cross-correlation. High compatibility of the results confirms the usefulness of the numerical procedures. Thus, they might serve to determine the flow characteristics of directional valves as an alternative to a costly and time-consuming test stand.

Numerical simulation for the air entrainment of aerated flow with an improved multiphase SPH model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Hang; Li, Ran; Pu, Xunchi; Zhang, Hongwei; Feng, Jingjie

2017-11-01

Aerated flow is a complex hydraulic phenomenon that exists widely in the field of environmental hydraulics. It is generally characterised by large deformation and violent fragmentation of the free surface. Compared to Euler methods (volume of fluid (VOF) method or rigid-lid hypothesis method), the existing single-phase Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method has performed well for solving particle motion. A lack of research on interphase interaction and air concentration, however, has affected the application of SPH model. In our study, an improved multiphase SPH model is presented to simulate aeration flows. A drag force was included in the momentum equation to ensure accuracy of the air particle slip velocity. Furthermore, a calculation method for air concentration is developed to analyse the air entrainment characteristics. Two studies were used to simulate the hydraulic and air entrainment characteristics. And, compared with the experimental results, the simulation results agree with the experimental results well.

Counterbalancing for serial order carryover effects in experimental condition orders.

PubMed

Brooks, Joseph L

2012-12-01

Reactions of neural, psychological, and social systems are rarely, if ever, independent of previous inputs and states. The potential for serial order carryover effects from one condition to the next in a sequence of experimental trials makes counterbalancing of condition order an essential part of experimental design. Here, a method is proposed for generating counterbalanced sequences for repeated-measures designs including those with multiple observations of each condition on one participant and self-adjacencies of conditions. Condition ordering is reframed as a graph theory problem. Experimental conditions are represented as vertices in a graph and directed edges between them represent temporal relationships between conditions. A counterbalanced trial order results from traversing an Euler circuit through such a graph in which each edge is traversed exactly once. This method can be generalized to counterbalance for higher order serial order carryover effects as well as to create intentional serial order biases. Modern graph theory provides tools for finding other types of paths through such graph representations, providing a tool for generating experimental condition sequences with useful properties. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Simultaneous determination of multiclass preservatives including isothiazolinones and benzophenone-type UV filters in household and personal care products by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

PubMed

Lopez-Gazpio, Josu; Garcia-Arrona, Rosa; Millán, Esmeralda

2015-04-01

In this work, a simple and reliable micellar electrokinetic chromatography method for the separation and quantification of 14 preservatives, including isothiazolinones, and two benzophenone-type UV filters in household, cosmetic and personal care products was developed. The selected priority compounds are widely used as ingredients in many personal care products, and are included in the European Regulation concerning cosmetic products. The electrophoretic separation parameters were optimized by means of a modified chromatographic response function in combination with an experimental design, namely a central composite design. After optimization of experimental conditions, the BGE selected for the separation of the targets consisted of 60 mM SDS, 18 mM sodium tetraborate, pH 9.4 and 10% v/v methanol. The MEKC method was checked in terms of linearity, LODs and quantification, repeatability, intermediate precision, and accuracy, providing appropriate values (i.e. R(2) ≥ 0.992, repeatability RSD values ˂9%, and accuracy 90-115%). Applicability of the validated method was successfully assessed by quantifying preservatives and UV filters in commercial consumer products. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

[Case-control study on methods of limb length control in hip arthroplasty].

PubMed

Zhang, Yang-yang; Zuo, Jian-lin; Gao, Zhong-li

2016-02-01

To introduce a new measuring tool for measuring postoperative limb length exactly, and to provide a convenient and effective method to control limb length after total hip replacement. From January 2013 to September 2014, 102 patients undergoing primary unilateral hip replacement were divided into two groups: experimental group and control group. There were 51 patients in the experimental group, including 25 males and 26 females, ranging in age from 37 to 92 years old, with an average of 60.41 years old. The patients in experimental group were treated with new method to control limb length. Other 51 patients in the control group, including 27 males and 24 females, ranging in age from 35 to 87 years old, with an average of 61.00 years old. The patients in the control group were treated with normal methods such as shuck test or limb touching. All the patients were operated by the same experienced surgeon. In the experimental group,total hip arthroplasties (THA) were performed on 35 patients with avascular necrosis of the femoral head or femoral neck fracture, and 16 patients were treated with hemiarthroplasty (HA). In the control group, 38 patients received THA and 13 patients received HA. On the anterior-posterior X-ray radiograph, several indexes were measured as follows: the distance of bilateral femoral offset (a), the height from tip of great trochanter to the rotation center of the femoral head (b) and the vertical distance between the top of the minor trochanter and the two tear drops line (c). The leg length discrepancy can be assessed with three parameters as follows: d1, the absolute value of the difference between the bilateral a values; d2, the difference between the bilateral b values; d3, the difference between the bilateral c values. The SPSS 21.0 was applied for the statistical analysis. In the experimental and control groups, d1 were 4.49 mm and 7.32 mm (P = 0.013); d2 were 2.37 mm and 4.32 mm (P = 0.033); d3 were 3.32 mm and 6.08 mm (P = 0.031). The values of d1, d2 and d3 in the experimental group were significant smaller than those in the control group. The new measuring tool and method can be used to control the limb length and offset effectively during operation.

Improving protein–protein interactions prediction accuracy using protein evolutionary information and relevance vector machine model

PubMed Central

An, Ji‐Yong; Meng, Fan‐Rong; Chen, Xing; Yan, Gui‐Ying; Hu, Ji‐Pu

2016-01-01

Abstract Predicting protein–protein interactions (PPIs) is a challenging task and essential to construct the protein interaction networks, which is important for facilitating our understanding of the mechanisms of biological systems. Although a number of high‐throughput technologies have been proposed to predict PPIs, there are unavoidable shortcomings, including high cost, time intensity, and inherently high false positive rates. For these reasons, many computational methods have been proposed for predicting PPIs. However, the problem is still far from being solved. In this article, we propose a novel computational method called RVM‐BiGP that combines the relevance vector machine (RVM) model and Bi‐gram Probabilities (BiGP) for PPIs detection from protein sequences. The major improvement includes (1) Protein sequences are represented using the Bi‐gram probabilities (BiGP) feature representation on a Position Specific Scoring Matrix (PSSM), in which the protein evolutionary information is contained; (2) For reducing the influence of noise, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method is used to reduce the dimension of BiGP vector; (3) The powerful and robust Relevance Vector Machine (RVM) algorithm is used for classification. Five‐fold cross‐validation experiments executed on yeast and Helicobacter pylori datasets, which achieved very high accuracies of 94.57 and 90.57%, respectively. Experimental results are significantly better than previous methods. To further evaluate the proposed method, we compare it with the state‐of‐the‐art support vector machine (SVM) classifier on the yeast dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that our RVM‐BiGP method is significantly better than the SVM‐based method. In addition, we achieved 97.15% accuracy on imbalance yeast dataset, which is higher than that of balance yeast dataset. The promising experimental results show the efficiency and robust of the proposed method, which can be an automatic decision support tool for future proteomics research. For facilitating extensive studies for future proteomics research, we developed a freely available web server called RVM‐BiGP‐PPIs in Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) for predicting PPIs. The web server including source code and the datasets are available at http://219.219.62.123:8888/BiGP/. PMID:27452983

Determination of Vertical Borehole and Geological Formation Properties using the Crossed Contour Method

PubMed Central

Leyde, Brian P.; Klein, Sanford A; Nellis, Gregory F.; Skye, Harrison

2017-01-01

This paper presents a new method called the Crossed Contour Method for determining the effective properties (borehole radius and ground thermal conductivity) of a vertical ground-coupled heat exchanger. The borehole radius is used as a proxy for the overall borehole thermal resistance. The method has been applied to both simulated and experimental borehole Thermal Response Test (TRT) data using the Duct Storage vertical ground heat exchanger model implemented in the TRansient SYstems Simulation software (TRNSYS). The Crossed Contour Method generates a parametric grid of simulated TRT data for different combinations of borehole radius and ground thermal conductivity in a series of time windows. The error between the average of the simulated and experimental bore field inlet and outlet temperatures is calculated for each set of borehole properties within each time window. Using these data, contours of the minimum error are constructed in the parameter space of borehole radius and ground thermal conductivity. When all of the minimum error contours for each time window are superimposed, the point where the contours cross (intersect) identifies the effective borehole properties for the model that most closely represents the experimental data in every time window and thus over the entire length of the experimental data set. The computed borehole properties are compared with results from existing model inversion methods including the Ground Property Measurement (GPM) software developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Line Source Model. PMID:28785125

Use of the dynamic stiffness method to interpret experimental data from a nonlinear system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Bin; Brennan, M. J.; Gatti, G.

2018-05-01

The interpretation of experimental data from nonlinear structures is challenging, primarily because of dependency on types and levels of excitation, and coupling issues with test equipment. In this paper, the use of the dynamic stiffness method, which is commonly used in the analysis of linear systems, is used to interpret the data from a vibration test of a controllable compressed beam structure coupled to a test shaker. For a single mode of the system, this method facilitates the separation of mass, stiffness and damping effects, including nonlinear stiffness effects. It also allows the separation of the dynamics of the shaker from the structure under test. The approach needs to be used with care, and is only suitable if the nonlinear system has a response that is predominantly at the excitation frequency. For the structure under test, the raw experimental data revealed little about the underlying causes of the dynamic behaviour. However, the dynamic stiffness approach allowed the effects due to the nonlinear stiffness to be easily determined.

Experimental Methods for Trapping Ions Using Microfabricated Surface Ion Traps

PubMed Central

Hong, Seokjun; Lee, Minjae; Kwon, Yeong-Dae; Cho, Dong-il "Dan"; Kim, Taehyun

2017-01-01

Ions trapped in a quadrupole Paul trap have been considered one of the strong physical candidates to implement quantum information processing. This is due to their long coherence time and their capability to manipulate and detect individual quantum bits (qubits). In more recent years, microfabricated surface ion traps have received more attention for large-scale integrated qubit platforms. This paper presents a microfabrication methodology for ion traps using micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technology, including the fabrication method for a 14 µm-thick dielectric layer and metal overhang structures atop the dielectric layer. In addition, an experimental procedure for trapping ytterbium (Yb) ions of isotope 174 (174Yb+) using 369.5 nm, 399 nm, and 935 nm diode lasers is described. These methodologies and procedures involve many scientific and engineering disciplines, and this paper first presents the detailed experimental procedures. The methods discussed in this paper can easily be extended to the trapping of Yb ions of isotope 171 (171Yb+) and to the manipulation of qubits. PMID:28872137

The Effect of Montessori Method on Cognitive Tempo of Kindergarten Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kayili, Gökhan

2018-01-01

This study was undertaken to discover the effect of the Montessori Method on the cognitive tempo of 4-5-year-old children. Using an experimental pre-test-post-test paired control group design, the study sample included 60 children attending Ihsan Dogramaci Applied Nursery School (affiliated to Selcuk University, Department of Health Sciences) in…

A Comparison of Methods to Test for Mediation in Multisite Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pituch, Keenan A.; Whittaker, Tiffany A.; Stapleton, Laura M.

2005-01-01

A Monte Carlo study extended the research of MacKinnon, Lockwood, Hoffman, West, and Sheets (2002) for single-level designs by examining the statistical performance of four methods to test for mediation in a multilevel experimental design. The design studied was a two-group experiment that was replicated across several sites, included a single…

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THREE METHODS OF TRAINING INDUSTRIAL EXECUTIVES IN READING IMPROVEMENT (PH.D. THESIS).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

JONES, DAN H.

TO COMPARE THREE METHODS OF TRAINING FOR READING IMPROVEMENT, 56 EXECUTIVES OF ONE CORPORATION WERE DIVIDED INTO FOUR GROUPS, EQUATED ACCORDING TO READING RATE, READING COMPREHENSION, READING INDEX, MENTAL ALERTNESS SCORES, AGE, AND VOCABULARY. GROUP A WAS TRAINED WITH THE AID OF ALL AVAILABLE COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT INCLUDING THE HARVARD FILMS, THE…

College Students' Achievement and Understanding of Experimental and Theoretical Probability: The Role of Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papaieronymou, Irini

2012-01-01

This study examined the role of particular tasks implemented through two instructional methods on college students' "achievement" and understanding of probability. A mixed methods design that utilized a pre-test and post-test was used. This included treatment and control groups, each comprised of students in three sections of an…

Stability of Materials in High Temperature Water Vapor: SOFC Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Opila, E. J.; Jacobson, N. S.

2010-01-01

Solid oxide fuel cell material systems require long term stability in environments containing high-temperature water vapor. Many materials in fuel cell systems react with high-temperature water vapor to form volatile hydroxides which can degrade cell performance. In this paper, experimental methods to characterize these volatility reactions including the transpiration technique, thermogravimetric analysis, and high pressure mass spectrometry are reviewed. Experimentally determined data for chromia, silica, and alumina volatility are presented. In addition, data from the literature for the stability of other materials important in fuel cell systems are reviewed. Finally, methods for predicting material recession due to volatilization reactions are described.

An improved method for predicting the effects of flight on jet mixing noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, J. R.

1979-01-01

The NASA method (1976) for predicting the effects of flight on jet mixing noise was improved. The earlier method agreed reasonably well with experimental flight data for jet velocities up to about 520 m/sec (approximately 1700 ft/sec). The poorer agreement at high jet velocities appeared to be due primarily to the manner in which supersonic convection effects were formulated. The purely empirical supersonic convection formulation of the earlier method was replaced by one based on theoretical considerations. Other improvements of an empirical nature included were based on model-jet/free-jet simulated flight tests. The revised prediction method is presented and compared with experimental data obtained from the Bertin Aerotrain with a J85 engine, the DC-10 airplane with JT9D engines, and the DC-9 airplane with refanned JT8D engines. It is shown that the new method agrees better with the data base than a recently proposed SAE method.

Insights into the Hydrogen-Atom Transfer of the Blue Aroxyl.

PubMed

Bächle, Josua; Marković, Marijana; Kelterer, Anne-Marie; Grampp, Günter

2017-10-19

An experimental and theoretical study on hydrogen-atom transfer dynamics in the hydrogen-bonded substituted phenol/phenoxyl complex of the blue aroxyl (2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenoxyl) is presented. The experimental exchange dynamics is determined in different organic solvents from the temperature-dependent alternating line-width effect in the continuous-wave ESR spectrum. From bent Arrhenius plots, effective tunnelling contributions with parallel heavy-atom motion are concluded. To clarify the transfer mechanism, reaction paths for different conformers of the substituted phenol/phenoxyl complex are modelled theoretically. Various DFT and post-Hartree-Fock methods including multireference methods are applied. From the comparison of experimental and theoretical data it is concluded that the system favours concerted hydrogen-atom transfer along a parabolic reaction path caused by heavy-atom motion. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Modal interactions due to friction in the nonlinear vibration response of the "Harmony" test structure: Experiments and simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Claeys, M.; Sinou, J.-J.; Lambelin, J.-P.; Todeschini, R.

2016-08-01

The nonlinear vibration response of an assembly with friction joints - named "Harmony" - is studied both experimentally and numerically. The experimental results exhibit a softening effect and an increase of dissipation with excitation level. Modal interactions due to friction are also evidenced. The numerical methodology proposed groups together well-known structural dynamic methods, including finite elements, substructuring, Harmonic Balance and continuation methods. On the one hand, the application of this methodology proves its capacity to treat a complex system where several friction movements occur at the same time. On the other hand, the main contribution of this paper is the experimental and numerical study of evidence of modal interactions due to friction. The simulation methodology succeeds in reproducing complex form of dynamic behavior such as these modal interactions.

Experimental data of the static behavior of reinforced concrete beams at room and low temperature.

PubMed

Mirzazadeh, M Mehdi; Noël, Martin; Green, Mark F

2016-06-01

This article provides data on the static behavior of reinforced concrete at room and low temperature including, strength, ductility, and crack widths of the reinforced concrete. The experimental data on the application of digital image correlation (DIC) or particle image velocimetry (PIV) in measuring crack widths and the accuracy and precision of DIC/PIV method with temperature variations when is used for measuring strains is provided as well.

Studies on biomass char gasification and dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Zhanping; You, Shijun; Ma, Xiaoyan

2018-01-01

The gasification performances of two kinds of biomass char by experiment methods are studied, including conversion rate and gasification gas component with temperature and time. Experimental results show that gasification temperature has important effects on the conversion rate and gas component. In the range of experimental temperature, char conversion rates are no more than 30.0%. The apparent activation energies and apparent reaction frequency factors of two biomass chars are obtained through kinetic studies.

Method and apparatus for determination of mechanical properties of functionally-graded materials

DOEpatents

Giannakopoulos, Antonios E.; Suresh, Subra

1999-01-01

Techniques for the determination of mechanical properties of homogenous or functionally-graded materials from indentation testing are presented. The technique is applicable to indentation on the nano-scale through the macro-scale including the geological scale. The technique involves creating a predictive load/depth relationship for a sample, providing an experimental load/depth relationship, comparing the experimental data to the predictive data, and determining a physical characteristic from the comparison.

Membranes and Films from Polymers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blumberg, Avrom A.

1986-01-01

Provides background information on polymeric films and membranes including production methods, special industrial and medical applications, laboratory preparation, and an experimental investigation of a porous cellulose acetate membrane. Presents a demonstration to distinguish between high- and low-density polyethylene. (JM)

Data base for the prediction of inlet external drag

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcmillan, O. J.; Perkins, E. W.; Perkins, S. C., Jr.

1980-01-01

Results are presented from a study to define and evaluate the data base for predicting an airframe/propulsion system interference effect shown to be of considerable importance, inlet external drag. The study is focused on supersonic tactical aircraft with highly integrated jet propulsion systems, although some information is included for supersonic strategic aircraft and for transport aircraft designed for high subsonic or low supersonic cruise. The data base for inlet external drag is considered to consist of the theoretical and empirical prediction methods as well as the experimental data identified in an extensive literature search. The state of the art in the subsonic and transonic speed regimes is evaluated. The experimental data base is organized and presented in a series of tables in which the test article, the quantities measured and the ranges of test conditions covered are described for each set of data; in this way, the breadth of coverage and gaps in the existing experimental data are evident. Prediction methods are categorized by method of solution, type of inlet and speed range to which they apply, major features are given, and their accuracy is assessed by means of comparison to experimental data.

Digital evaluation of sitting posture comfort in human-vehicle system under Industry 4.0 framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Qing; Kang, Jinsheng; Sun, Wenlei; Li, Zhaobo; Huo, Xiao

2016-09-01

Most of the previous studies on the vibration ride comfort of the human-vehicle system were focused only on one or two aspects of the investigation. A hybrid approach which integrates all kinds of investigation methods in real environment and virtual environment is described. The real experimental environment includes the WBV(whole body vibration) test, questionnaires for human subjective sensation and motion capture. The virtual experimental environment includes the theoretical calculation on simplified 5-DOF human body vibration model, the vibration simulation and analysis within ADAMS/VibrationTM module, and the digital human biomechanics and occupational health analysis in Jack software. While the real experimental environment provides realistic and accurate test results, it also serves as core and validation for the virtual experimental environment. The virtual experimental environment takes full advantages of current available vibration simulation and digital human modelling software, and makes it possible to evaluate the sitting posture comfort in a human-vehicle system with various human anthropometric parameters. How this digital evaluation system for car seat comfort design is fitted in the Industry 4.0 framework is also proposed.

Theoretical and experimental determination of K - and L -shell x-ray relaxation parameters in Ni

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerra, M.; Sampaio, J. M.; Parente, F.; Indelicato, P.; Hönicke, P.; Müller, M.; Beckhoff, B.; Marques, J. P.; Santos, J. P.

2018-04-01

Fluorescence yields (FY) for the Ni K and L shells were determined by a theoretical and an experimental group within the framework of the International Initiative on X-ray Fundamental Parameters (FPs) collaboration. Coster-Kronig (CK) parameters were also measured for the L shell of Ni. Theoretical calculations of the same parameters were performed using the Dirac-Fock method, including relativistic and QED corrections. The experimental values for the FY and CK were determined at the PTB laboratory in the synchrotron radiation facility BESSY II, Berlin, Germany, and are compared to the corresponding calculated values.

Local Intrinsic Dimension Estimation by Generalized Linear Modeling.

PubMed

Hino, Hideitsu; Fujiki, Jun; Akaho, Shotaro; Murata, Noboru

2017-07-01

We propose a method for intrinsic dimension estimation. By fitting the power of distance from an inspection point and the number of samples included inside a ball with a radius equal to the distance, to a regression model, we estimate the goodness of fit. Then, by using the maximum likelihood method, we estimate the local intrinsic dimension around the inspection point. The proposed method is shown to be comparable to conventional methods in global intrinsic dimension estimation experiments. Furthermore, we experimentally show that the proposed method outperforms a conventional local dimension estimation method.

A data driven method for estimation of B(avail) and appK(D) using a single injection protocol with [¹¹C]raclopride in the mouse.

PubMed

Wimberley, Catriona J; Fischer, Kristina; Reilhac, Anthonin; Pichler, Bernd J; Gregoire, Marie Claude

2014-10-01

The partial saturation approach (PSA) is a simple, single injection experimental protocol that will estimate both B(avail) and appK(D) without the use of blood sampling. This makes it ideal for use in longitudinal studies of neurodegenerative diseases in the rodent. The aim of this study was to increase the range and applicability of the PSA by developing a data driven strategy for determining reliable regional estimates of receptor density (B(avail)) and in vivo affinity (1/appK(D)), and validate the strategy using a simulation model. The data driven method uses a time window guided by the dynamic equilibrium state of the system as opposed to using a static time window. To test the method, simulations of partial saturation experiments were generated and validated against experimental data. The experimental conditions simulated included a range of receptor occupancy levels and three different B(avail) and appK(D) values to mimic diseases states. Also the effect of using a reference region and typical PET noise on the stability and accuracy of the estimates was investigated. The investigations showed that the parameter estimates in a simulated healthy mouse, using the data driven method were within 10±30% of the simulated input for the range of occupancy levels simulated. Throughout all experimental conditions simulated, the accuracy and robustness of the estimates using the data driven method were much improved upon the typical method of using a static time window, especially at low receptor occupancy levels. Introducing a reference region caused a bias of approximately 10% over the range of occupancy levels. Based on extensive simulated experimental conditions, it was shown the data driven method provides accurate and precise estimates of B(avail) and appK(D) for a broader range of conditions compared to the original method. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimizing Associative Experimental Design for Protein Crystallization Screening

PubMed Central

Dinç, Imren; Pusey, Marc L.; Aygün, Ramazan S.

2016-01-01

The goal of protein crystallization screening is the determination of the main factors of importance to crystallizing the protein under investigation. One of the major issues about determining these factors is that screening is often expanded to many hundreds or thousands of conditions to maximize combinatorial chemical space coverage for maximizing the chances of a successful (crystalline) outcome. In this paper, we propose an experimental design method called “Associative Experimental Design (AED)” and an optimization method includes eliminating prohibited combinations and prioritizing reagents based on AED analysis of results from protein crystallization experiments. AED generates candidate cocktails based on these initial screening results. These results are analyzed to determine those screening factors in chemical space that are most likely to lead to higher scoring outcomes, crystals. We have tested AED on three proteins derived from the hyperthermophile Thermococcus thioreducens, and we applied an optimization method to these proteins. Our AED method generated novel cocktails (count provided in parentheses) leading to crystals for three proteins as follows: Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (4), HAD superfamily hydrolase (2), Nucleoside kinase (1). After getting promising results, we have tested our optimization method on four different proteins. The AED method with optimization yielded 4, 3, and 20 crystalline conditions for holo Human Transferrin, archaeal exosome protein, and Nucleoside diphosphate kinase, respectively. PMID:26955046

Computation of Pressurized Gas Bearings Using CE/SE Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cioc, Sorin; Dimofte, Florin; Keith, Theo G., Jr.; Fleming, David P.

2003-01-01

The space-time conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) method is extended to compute compressible viscous flows in pressurized thin fluid films. This numerical scheme has previously been used successfully to solve a wide variety of compressible flow problems, including flows with large and small discontinuities. In this paper, the method is applied to calculate the pressure distribution in a hybrid gas journal bearing. The formulation of the problem is presented, including the modeling of the feeding system. the numerical results obtained are compared with experimental data. Good agreement between the computed results and the test data were obtained, and thus validate the CE/SE method to solve such problems.

Interaction between an elastic structure and free-surface flows: experimental versus numerical comparisons using the PFEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Idelsohn, S. R.; Marti, J.; Souto-Iglesias, A.; Oñate, E.

2008-12-01

The paper aims to introduce new fluid structure interaction (FSI) tests to compare experimental results with numerical ones. The examples have been chosen for a particular case for which experimental results are not much reported. This is the case of FSI including free surface flows. The possibilities of the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) [1] for the simulation of free surface flows is also tested. The simulations are run using the same scale as the experiment in order to minimize errors due to scale effects. Different scenarios are simulated by changing the boundary conditions for reproducing flows with the desired characteristics. Details of the input data for all the examples studied are given. The aim is to identifying benchmark problems for FSI including free surface flows for future comparisons between different numerical approaches.

Characterization of Aluminum Honeycomb and Experimentation for Model Development and Validation, Volume I: Discovery and Characterization Experiments for High-Density Aluminum Honeycomb

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

Lu, Wei-Yang; Korellis, John S.; Lee, Kenneth L.

2006-08-01

Honeycomb is a structure that consists of two-dimensional regular arrays of open cells. High-density aluminum honeycomb has been used in weapon assemblies to mitigate shock and protect payload because of its excellent crush properties. In order to use honeycomb efficiently and to certify the payload is protected by the honeycomb under various loading conditions, a validated honeycomb crush model is required and the mechanical properties of the honeycombs need to be fully characterized. Volume I of this report documents an experimental study of the crush behavior of high-density honeycombs. Two sets of honeycombs were included in this investigation: commercial grademore » for initial exploratory experiments, and weapon grade, which satisfied B61 specifications. This investigation also includes developing proper experimental methods for crush characterization, conducting discovery experiments to explore crush behaviors for model improvement, and identifying experimental and material uncertainties.« less

PREFACE: The International Workshop on Positron Studies of Defects 2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugita, Kazuki; Shirai, Yasuharu

2016-01-01

The International Workshop on Positron Studies of Defects 2014 (PSD-14) was held in Kyoto, Japan from 14-19 September, 2014. The PSD Workshop brought together positron scientists interested in studying defects to an international platform for presenting and discussing recent results and achievements, including new experimental and theoretical methods in the field. The workshop topics can be characterized as follows: • Positron studies of defects in semiconductors and oxides • Positron studies of defects in metals • New experimental methods and equipment • Theoretical calculations and simulations of momentum distributions, positron lifetimes and other characteristics for defects • Positron studies of defects in combination with complementary methods • Positron beam studies of defects at surfaces, interfaces, in sub-surface regions and thin films • Nanostructures and amorphous materials

Design rules for biomolecular adhesion: lessons from force measurements.

PubMed

Leckband, Deborah

2010-01-01

Cell adhesion to matrix, other cells, or pathogens plays a pivotal role in many processes in biomolecular engineering. Early macroscopic methods of quantifying adhesion led to the development of quantitative models of cell adhesion and migration. The more recent use of sensitive probes to quantify the forces that alter or manipulate adhesion proteins has revealed much greater functional diversity than was apparent from population average measurements of cell adhesion. This review highlights theoretical and experimental methods that identified force-dependent molecular properties that are central to the biological activity of adhesion proteins. Experimental and theoretical methods emphasized in this review include the surface force apparatus, atomic force microscopy, and vesicle-based probes. Specific examples given illustrate how these tools have revealed unique properties of adhesion proteins and their structural origins.

Application of the vortex-lattice technique to the analysis of thin wings with vortex separation and thick multi-element wings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, C. W.; Bhateley, I. C.

1976-01-01

Two techniques for extending the range of applicability of the basic vortex-lattice method are discussed. The first improves the computation of aerodynamic forces on thin, low-aspect-ratio wings of arbitrary planforms at subsonic Mach numbers by including the effects of leading-edge and tip vortex separation, characteristic of this type wing, through use of the well-known suction-analogy method of E. C. Polhamus. Comparisons with experimental data for a variety of planforms are presented. The second consists of the use of the vortex-lattice method to predict pressure distributions over thick multi-element wings (wings with leading- and trailing-edge devices). A method of laying out the lattice is described which gives accurate pressures on the top and part of the bottom surface of the wing. Limited comparisons between the result predicted by this method, the conventional lattice arrangement method, experimental data, and 2-D potential flow analysis techniques are presented.

Plant Tissue Culture in a Bag.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beck, Mike

2000-01-01

Describes the use of an oven bag as a sterile chamber for culture initiation and tissue transfer. Plant tissue culture is an ideal tool for introducing students to plants, cloning, and experimental design. Includes materials, methods, discussion, and conclusion sections. (SAH)

Scrap? This Program Grows on It!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schureman, Robert

1975-01-01

A high school industrial arts program in plastics recycling provided students direct contact with production methods of the plastics industry as well as awareness of governmental functions. Experimentation included fuel cells, paving and construction composites, soil composites, and watercraft flotation. (EA)

A Simple Experimental Demonstration of Microbial Growth and Interaction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wainwright, Milton

1988-01-01

Described is a simple, safe, and inexpensive experiment which allows secondary school pupils to observe how fungi and bacteria grow and interact with each other. Included are discussions of materials, methods, observations, and a historical comment. (Author/CW)

Experiments in ESP.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guerin, Stephen M.; Guerin, Clark L.

1979-01-01

Discusses a phenomenon called Extrasensory Perception (ESP) whereby information is gained directly by the mind without the use of the ordinary senses. Experiments in ESP and the basic equipment and methods are presented. Statistical evaluation of ESP experimental results are also included. (HM)

76 FR 65200 - Risk Assessment on Norovirus in Bivalve Molluscan Shellfish: Request for Comments and for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-20

..., eaten raw and cooked, including method of cooking (e.g., steaming, frying, or baking); 2. Distribution...., steaming, frying, or baking) for bivalve molluscan shellfish, by species; 4. Experimental data and models...

Introducing Undergraduates to a Research Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weinberg, Robert

1974-01-01

Discusses a student project which is intended to teach undergraduates concepts and techniques of nuclear physics, experimental methods used in particle detection, and provide experience in a functioning research environment. Included are detailed procedures for carrying out the project. (CC)

Teaching Oscillations with a Small Computer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calvo, J. L.; And Others

1983-01-01

Describes a simple, inexpensive electronic circuit used as a small analog computer in an experimental approach to the study of oscillations. Includes circuit diagram and an example of the method using steps followed by students studying underdamped oscillatory motion. (JN)

Predicting Acquisition of Learning Outcomes: A Comparison of Traditional and Activity-Based Instruction in an Introductory Statistics Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geske, Jenenne A.; Mickelson, William T.; Bandalos, Deborah L.; Jonson, Jessica; Smith, Russell W.

The bulk of experimental research related to reforms in the teaching of statistics concentrates on the effects of alternative teaching methods on statistics achievement. This study expands on that research by including an examination of the effects of instructor and the interaction between instructor and method on achievement as well as attitudes,…

Modulation format identification aided hitless flexible coherent transceiver.

PubMed

Xiang, Meng; Zhuge, Qunbi; Qiu, Meng; Zhou, Xingyu; Zhang, Fangyuan; Tang, Ming; Liu, Deming; Fu, Songnian; Plant, David V

2016-07-11

We propose a hitless flexible coherent transceiver enabled by a novel modulation format identification (MFI) scheme for dynamic agile optical networks. The modulation format transparent digital signal processing (DSP) is realized by a block-wise decision-directed least-mean-square (DD-LMS) equalizer for channel tracking, and a pilot symbol aided superscalar phase locked loop (PLL) for carrier phase estimation (CPE). For the MFI, the modulation format information is encoded onto the pilot symbols initially used for CPE. Therefore, the proposed MFI method does not require extra overhead. Moreover, it can identify arbitrary modulation formats including multi-dimensional formats, and it enables tracking of the format change for short data blocks. The performance of the proposed hitless flexible coherent transceiver is successfully evaluated with five modulation formats including QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, Hybrid QPSK/8QAM and set-partitioning (SP)-512-QAM. We show that the proposed MFI method induces a negligible performance penalty. Moreover, we experimentally demonstrate that such a hitless transceiver can adapt to fast block-by-block modulation format switching. Finally, the performance improvement of the proposed MFI method is experimentally verified with respect to other commonly used MFI methods.

Experimental analysis of computer system dependability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iyer, Ravishankar, K.; Tang, Dong

1993-01-01

This paper reviews an area which has evolved over the past 15 years: experimental analysis of computer system dependability. Methodologies and advances are discussed for three basic approaches used in the area: simulated fault injection, physical fault injection, and measurement-based analysis. The three approaches are suited, respectively, to dependability evaluation in the three phases of a system's life: design phase, prototype phase, and operational phase. Before the discussion of these phases, several statistical techniques used in the area are introduced. For each phase, a classification of research methods or study topics is outlined, followed by discussion of these methods or topics as well as representative studies. The statistical techniques introduced include the estimation of parameters and confidence intervals, probability distribution characterization, and several multivariate analysis methods. Importance sampling, a statistical technique used to accelerate Monte Carlo simulation, is also introduced. The discussion of simulated fault injection covers electrical-level, logic-level, and function-level fault injection methods as well as representative simulation environments such as FOCUS and DEPEND. The discussion of physical fault injection covers hardware, software, and radiation fault injection methods as well as several software and hybrid tools including FIAT, FERARI, HYBRID, and FINE. The discussion of measurement-based analysis covers measurement and data processing techniques, basic error characterization, dependency analysis, Markov reward modeling, software-dependability, and fault diagnosis. The discussion involves several important issues studies in the area, including fault models, fast simulation techniques, workload/failure dependency, correlated failures, and software fault tolerance.

Characterization of Bond Strength of U-Mo Fuel Plates Using the Laser Shockwave Technique: Capabilities and Preliminary Results

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

J. A. Smith; D. L. Cottle; B. H. Rabin

2013-09-01

This report summarizes work conducted to-date on the implementation of new laser-based capabilities for characterization of bond strength in nuclear fuel plates, and presents preliminary results obtained from fresh fuel studies on as-fabricated monolithic fuel consisting of uranium-10 wt.% molybdenum alloys clad in 6061 aluminum by hot isostatic pressing. Characterization involves application of two complementary experimental methods, laser-shock testing and laser-ultrasonic imaging, collectively referred to as the Laser Shockwave Technique (LST), that allows the integrity, physical properties and interfacial bond strength in fuel plates to be evaluated. Example characterization results are provided, including measurement of layer thicknesses, elastic properties ofmore » the constituents, and the location and nature of generated debonds (including kissing bonds). LST provides spatially localized, non-contacting measurements with minimum specimen preparation, and is ideally suited for applications involving radioactive materials, including irradiated materials. The theoretical principles and experimental approaches employed in characterizing nuclear fuel plates are described, and preliminary bond strength measurement results are discussed, with emphasis on demonstrating the capabilities and limitations of these methods. These preliminary results demonstrate the ability to distinguish bond strength variations between different fuel plates. Although additional development work is necessary to validate and qualify the test methods, these results suggest LST is viable as a method to meet fuel qualification requirements to demonstrate acceptable bonding integrity.« less

Experimental data of the static behavior of reinforced concrete beams at room and low temperature

PubMed Central

Mirzazadeh, M. Mehdi; Noël, Martin; Green, Mark F.

2016-01-01

This article provides data on the static behavior of reinforced concrete at room and low temperature including, strength, ductility, and crack widths of the reinforced concrete. The experimental data on the application of digital image correlation (DIC) or particle image velocimetry (PIV) in measuring crack widths and the accuracy and precision of DIC/PIV method with temperature variations when is used for measuring strains is provided as well. PMID:27158650

Which Method of Assigning Bond Orders in Lewis Structures Best Reflects Experimental Data? An Analysis of the Octet Rule and Formal Charge Systems for Period 2 and 3 Nonmetallic Compounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

See, Ronald F.

2009-01-01

Two systems were evaluated for drawing Lewis structures of period 2 and 3 non-metallic compounds: the octet rule and minimization of formal charge. The test set of molecules consisted of the oxides, halides, oxohalides, oxoanions, and oxoacids of B, N, O, F, Al, P, S, and Cl. Bond orders were quantified using experimental data, including bond…

Species and temperature predictions in a semi-industrial MILD furnace using a non-adiabatic conditional source-term estimation formulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Labahn, Jeffrey William; Devaud, Cecile

2017-05-01

A Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulation of the semi-industrial International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF) furnace is performed using a non-adiabatic Conditional Source-term Estimation (CSE) formulation. This represents the first time that a CSE formulation, which accounts for the effect of radiation on the conditional reaction rates, has been applied to a large scale semi-industrial furnace. The objective of the current study is to assess the capabilities of CSE to accurately reproduce the velocity field, temperature, species concentration and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission for the IFRF furnace. The flow field is solved using the standard k-ε turbulence model and detailed chemistry is included. NOx emissions are calculated using two different methods. Predicted velocity profiles are in good agreement with the experimental data. The predicted peak temperature occurs closer to the centreline, as compared to the experimental observations, suggesting that the mixing between the fuel jet and vitiated air jet may be overestimated. Good agreement between the species concentrations, including NOx, and the experimental data is observed near the burner exit. Farther downstream, the centreline oxygen concentration is found to be underpredicted. Predicted NOx concentrations are in good agreement with experimental data when calculated using the method of Peters and Weber. The current study indicates that RANS-CSE can accurately predict the main characteristics seen in a semi-industrial IFRF furnace.

Experimental Measurements at the MASURCA Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Assal, W.; Bosq, J. C.; Mellier, F.

2012-12-01

Dedicated to the neutronics studies of fast and semi-fast reactor lattices, MASURCA (meaning “mock-up facility for fast breeder reactor studies at CADARACHE”) is an airflow cooled fast reactor operating at a maximum power of 5 kW playing an important role in the CEA research activities. At this facility, a lot of neutron integral experimental programs were undertaken. The purpose of this poster is to show a panorama of the facility from this experimental measurement point of view. A hint at the forthcoming refurbishment will be included. These programs include various experimental measurements (reactivity, distributions of fluxes, reaction rates), performed essentially with fission chambers, in accordance with different methods (noise methods, radial or axial traverses, rod drops) and involving several devices systems (monitors, fission chambers, amplifiers, power supplies, data acquisition systems ...). For this purpose are implemented electronics modules to shape the signals sent from the detectors in various mode (fluctuation, pulse, current). All the electric and electronic devices needed for these measurements and the relating wiring will be fully explained through comprehensive layouts. Data acquired during counting performed at the time of startup phase or rod drops are analyzed by the mean of a Neutronic Measurement Treatment (TMN in French) programmed on the basis of the MATLAB software. This toolbox gives the opportunity of data files management, reactivity valuation from neutronics measurements and transient or divergence simulation at zero power. Particular TMN using at MASURCA will be presented.

Overview of clinical research design.

PubMed

Hartung, Daniel M; Touchette, Daniel

2009-02-15

Basic concepts and terminology of clinical research design are presented for new clinical investigators. Clinical research, research involving human subjects, can be described as either observational or experimental. The findings of all clinical research can be threatened by issues of bias and confounding. Biases are systematic errors in how study subjects are selected or measured, which result in false inferences. Confounding is a distortion in findings that is attributable to mixing variable effects. Uncontrolled observation research is generally more prone to bias and confounding than experimental research. Observational research includes designs such as the cohort study, case-control study, and cross-sectional study, while experimental research typically involves a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The cohort study, which includes the RCT, defines subject allocation on the basis of exposure interest (e.g., drug, disease-management program) and follows the patients to assess the outcomes. The case-control study uses the primary outcome of interest (e.g., adverse event) to define subject allocation, and different exposures are assessed in a retrospective manner. Cross-sectional research evaluates both exposure and outcome concurrently. Each of these design methods possesses different strengths and weaknesses in answering research questions, as well as underlying many study subtypes. While experimental research is the strongest method for establishing causality, it can be difficult to accomplish under many scenarios. Observational clinical research offers many design alternatives that may be appropriate if planned and executed carefully.

Liquid li structure and dynamics: A comparison between OFDFT and second nearest-neighbor embedded-atom method

DOE PAGES

Chen, Mohan; Vella, Joseph R.; Panagiotopoulos, Athanassios Z.; ...

2015-04-08

The structure and dynamics of liquid lithium are studied using two simulation methods: orbital-free (OF) first-principles molecular dynamics (MD), which employs OF density functional theory (DFT), and classical MD utilizing a second nearest-neighbor embedded-atom method potential. The properties we studied include the dynamic structure factor, the self-diffusion coefficient, the dispersion relation, the viscosity, and the bond angle distribution function. Our simulation results were compared to available experimental data when possible. Each method has distinct advantages and disadvantages. For example, OFDFT gives better agreement with experimental dynamic structure factors, yet is more computationally demanding than classical simulations. Classical simulations can accessmore » a broader temperature range and longer time scales. The combination of first-principles and classical simulations is a powerful tool for studying properties of liquid lithium.« less

An approximate theoretical method for modeling the static thrust performance of non-axisymmetric two-dimensional convergent-divergent nozzles. M.S. Thesis - George Washington Univ.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Craig A.

1995-01-01

An analytical/numerical method has been developed to predict the static thrust performance of non-axisymmetric, two-dimensional convergent-divergent exhaust nozzles. Thermodynamic nozzle performance effects due to over- and underexpansion are modeled using one-dimensional compressible flow theory. Boundary layer development and skin friction losses are calculated using an approximate integral momentum method based on the classic karman-Polhausen solution. Angularity effects are included with these two models in a computational Nozzle Performance Analysis Code, NPAC. In four different case studies, results from NPAC are compared to experimental data obtained from subscale nozzle testing to demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of the NPAC method. In several cases, the NPAC prediction matched experimental gross thrust efficiency data to within 0.1 percent at a design NPR, and to within 0.5 percent at off-design conditions.

Numerical method to determine mechanical parameters of engineering design in rock masses.

PubMed

Xue, Ting-He; Xiang, Yi-Qiang; Guo, Fa-Zhong

2004-07-01

This paper proposes a new continuity model for engineering in rock masses and a new schematic method for reporting the engineering of rock continuity. This method can be used to evaluate the mechanics of every kind of medium; and is a new way to determine the mechanical parameters used in engineering design in rock masses. In the numerical simulation, the experimental parameters of intact rock were combined with the structural properties of field rock. The experimental results for orthogonally-jointed rock are given. The results included the curves of the stress-strain relationship of some rock masses, the curve of the relationship between the dimension Delta and the uniaxial pressure-resistant strength sc of these rock masses, and pictures of the destructive procedure of some rock masses in uniaxial or triaxial tests, etc. Application of the method to engineering design in rock masses showed the potential of its application to engineering practice.

Exploring the Conformational Transitions of Biomolecular Systems Using a Simple Two-State Anisotropic Network Model

PubMed Central

Jo, Sunhwan; Bahar, Ivet; Roux, Benoît

2014-01-01

Biomolecular conformational transitions are essential to biological functions. Most experimental methods report on the long-lived functional states of biomolecules, but information about the transition pathways between these stable states is generally scarce. Such transitions involve short-lived conformational states that are difficult to detect experimentally. For this reason, computational methods are needed to produce plausible hypothetical transition pathways that can then be probed experimentally. Here we propose a simple and computationally efficient method, called ANMPathway, for constructing a physically reasonable pathway between two endpoints of a conformational transition. We adopt a coarse-grained representation of the protein and construct a two-state potential by combining two elastic network models (ENMs) representative of the experimental structures resolved for the endpoints. The two-state potential has a cusp hypersurface in the configuration space where the energies from both the ENMs are equal. We first search for the minimum energy structure on the cusp hypersurface and then treat it as the transition state. The continuous pathway is subsequently constructed by following the steepest descent energy minimization trajectories starting from the transition state on each side of the cusp hypersurface. Application to several systems of broad biological interest such as adenylate kinase, ATP-driven calcium pump SERCA, leucine transporter and glutamate transporter shows that ANMPathway yields results in good agreement with those from other similar methods and with data obtained from all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, in support of the utility of this simple and efficient approach. Notably the method provides experimentally testable predictions, including the formation of non-native contacts during the transition which we were able to detect in two of the systems we studied. An open-access web server has been created to deliver ANMPathway results. PMID:24699246

Mobile device geo-localization and object visualization in sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemaire, Simon; Bodensteiner, Christoph; Arens, Michael

2014-10-01

In this paper we present a method to visualize geo-referenced objects on modern smartphones using a multi- functional application design. The application applies different localization and visualization methods including the smartphone camera image. The presented application copes well with different scenarios. A generic application work flow and augmented reality visualization techniques are described. The feasibility of the approach is experimentally validated using an online desktop selection application in a network with a modern of-the-shelf smartphone. Applications are widespread and include for instance crisis and disaster management or military applications.

An analysis method for two-dimensional transonic viscous flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bavitz, P. C.

1975-01-01

A method for the approximate calculation of transonic flow over airfoils, including shock waves and viscous effects, is described. Numerical solutions are obtained by use of a computer program which is discussed in the appendix. The importance of including the boundary layer in the analysis is clearly demonstrated, as well as the need to improve on existing procedures near the trailing edge. Comparisons between calculations and experimental data are presented for both conventional and supercritical airfoils, emphasis being on the surface pressure distribution, and good agreement is indicated.

On the Possibility of Studying the Reactions of the Thermal Decomposition of Energy Substances by the Methods of High-Resolution Terahertz Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaks, V. L.; Domracheva, E. G.; Chernyaeva, M. B.; Pripolzin, S. I.; Revin, L. S.; Tretyakov, I. V.; Anfertyev, V. A.; Yablokov, A. A.; Lukyanenko, I. A.; Sheikov, Yu. V.

2018-02-01

We show prospects for using the method of high-resolution terahertz spectroscopy for a continuous analysis of the decomposition products of energy substances in the gas phase (including short-lived ones) in a wide temperature range. The experimental setup, which includes a terahertz spectrometer for studying the thermal decomposition reactions, is described. The results of analysis of the gaseous decomposition products of energy substances by the example of ammonium nitrate heated from room temperature to 167°C are presented.

Evaluation of a Consistent LES/PDF Method Using a Series of Experimental Spray Flames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heye, Colin; Raman, Venkat

2012-11-01

A consistent method for the evolution of the joint-scalar probability density function (PDF) transport equation is proposed for application to large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent reacting flows containing evaporating spray droplets. PDF transport equations provide the benefit of including the chemical source term in closed form, however, additional terms describing LES subfilter mixing must be modeled. The recent availability of detailed experimental measurements provide model validation data for a wide range of evaporation rates and combustion regimes, as is well-known to occur in spray flames. In this work, the experimental data will used to investigate the impact of droplet mass loading and evaporation rates on the subfilter scalar PDF shape in comparison with conventional flamelet models. In addition, existing model term closures in the PDF transport equations are evaluated with a focus on their validity in the presence of regime changes.

Characterizing multi-photon quantum interference with practical light sources and threshold single-photon detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarrete, Álvaro; Wang, Wenyuan; Xu, Feihu; Curty, Marcos

2018-04-01

The experimental characterization of multi-photon quantum interference effects in optical networks is essential in many applications of photonic quantum technologies, which include quantum computing and quantum communication as two prominent examples. However, such characterization often requires technologies which are beyond our current experimental capabilities, and today's methods suffer from errors due to the use of imperfect sources and photodetectors. In this paper, we introduce a simple experimental technique to characterize multi-photon quantum interference by means of practical laser sources and threshold single-photon detectors. Our technique is based on well-known methods in quantum cryptography which use decoy settings to tightly estimate the statistics provided by perfect devices. As an illustration of its practicality, we use this technique to obtain a tight estimation of both the generalized Hong‑Ou‑Mandel dip in a beamsplitter with six input photons and the three-photon coincidence probability at the output of a tritter.

ENFIN--A European network for integrative systems biology.

PubMed

Kahlem, Pascal; Clegg, Andrew; Reisinger, Florian; Xenarios, Ioannis; Hermjakob, Henning; Orengo, Christine; Birney, Ewan

2009-11-01

Integration of biological data of various types and the development of adapted bioinformatics tools represent critical objectives to enable research at the systems level. The European Network of Excellence ENFIN is engaged in developing an adapted infrastructure to connect databases, and platforms to enable both the generation of new bioinformatics tools and the experimental validation of computational predictions. With the aim of bridging the gap existing between standard wet laboratories and bioinformatics, the ENFIN Network runs integrative research projects to bring the latest computational techniques to bear directly on questions dedicated to systems biology in the wet laboratory environment. The Network maintains internally close collaboration between experimental and computational research, enabling a permanent cycling of experimental validation and improvement of computational prediction methods. The computational work includes the development of a database infrastructure (EnCORE), bioinformatics analysis methods and a novel platform for protein function analysis FuncNet.

Experimental methods and transport models for drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier.

PubMed

Fu, Bingmei M

2012-06-01

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a dynamic barrier essential for maintaining the micro-environment of the brain. Although the special anatomical features of the BBB determine its protective role for the central nervous system (CNS) from blood-born neurotoxins, however, the BBB extremely limits the therapeutic efficacy of drugs into the CNS, which greatly hinders the treatment of major brain diseases. This review summarized the unique structures of the BBB, described a variety of in vivo and in vitro experimental methods for determining the transport properties of the BBB, e.g., the permeability of the BBB to water, ions, and solutes including nutrients, therapeutic agents and drug carriers, and presented newly developed mathematical models which quantitatively correlate the anatomical structures of the BBB with its barrier functions. Finally, on the basis of the experimental observations and the quantitative models, several strategies for drug delivery through the BBB were proposed.

Experimental Methods and Transport Models for Drug Delivery across the Blood-Brain Barrier

PubMed Central

Fu, Bingmei M

2017-01-01

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a dynamic barrier essential for maintaining the micro-environment of the brain. Although the special anatomical features of the BBB determine its protective role for the central nervous system (CNS) from blood-born neurotoxins, however, the BBB extremely limits the therapeutic efficacy of drugs into the CNS, which greatly hinders the treatment of major brain diseases. This review summarized the unique structures of the BBB, described a variety of in vivo and in vitro experimental methods for determining the transport properties of the BBB, e.g., the permeability of the BBB to water, ions, and solutes including nutrients, therapeutic agents and drug carriers, and presented newly developed mathematical models which quantitatively correlate the anatomical structures of the BBB with its barrier functions. Finally, on the basis of the experimental observations and the quantitative models, several strategies for drug delivery through the BBB were proposed. PMID:22201587

The effect of Missouri mathematics project learning model on students’ mathematical problem solving ability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Handayani, I.; Januar, R. L.; Purwanto, S. E.

2018-01-01

This research aims to know the influence of Missouri Mathematics Project Learning Model to Mathematical Problem-solving Ability of Students at Junior High School. This research is a quantitative research and uses experimental research method of Quasi Experimental Design. The research population includes all student of grade VII of Junior High School who are enrolled in the even semester of the academic year 2016/2017. The Sample studied are 76 students from experimental and control groups. The sampling technique being used is cluster sampling method. The instrument is consisted of 7 essay questions whose validity, reliability, difficulty level and discriminating power have been tested. Before analyzing the data by using t-test, the data has fulfilled the requirement for normality and homogeneity. The result of data shows that there is the influence of Missouri mathematics project learning model to mathematical problem-solving ability of students at junior high school with medium effect.

A novel infrared small moving target detection method based on tracking interest points under complicated background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Xiabin; Huang, Xinsheng; Zheng, Yongbin; Bai, Shengjian; Xu, Wanying

2014-07-01

Infrared moving target detection is an important part of infrared technology. We introduce a novel infrared small moving target detection method based on tracking interest points under complicated background. Firstly, Difference of Gaussians (DOG) filters are used to detect a group of interest points (including the moving targets). Secondly, a sort of small targets tracking method inspired by Human Visual System (HVS) is used to track these interest points for several frames, and then the correlations between interest points in the first frame and the last frame are obtained. Last, a new clustering method named as R-means is proposed to divide these interest points into two groups according to the correlations, one is target points and another is background points. In experimental results, the target-to-clutter ratio (TCR) and the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves are computed experimentally to compare the performances of the proposed method and other five sophisticated methods. From the results, the proposed method shows a better discrimination of targets and clutters and has a lower false alarm rate than the existing moving target detection methods.

Numerical Modelling of Femur Fracture and Experimental Validation Using Bone Simulant.

PubMed

Marco, Miguel; Giner, Eugenio; Larraínzar-Garijo, Ricardo; Caeiro, José Ramón; Miguélez, María Henar

2017-10-01

Bone fracture pattern prediction is still a challenge and an active field of research. The main goal of this article is to present a combined methodology (experimental and numerical) for femur fracture onset analysis. Experimental work includes the characterization of the mechanical properties and fracture testing on a bone simulant. The numerical work focuses on the development of a model whose material properties are provided by the characterization tests. The fracture location and the early stages of the crack propagation are modelled using the extended finite element method and the model is validated by fracture tests developed in the experimental work. It is shown that the accuracy of the numerical results strongly depends on a proper bone behaviour characterization.

Progress on control experiments of flexible structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juang, Jer-Nan

1990-01-01

Progress at the NASA Langley Research Center in the area of control experiments for flexible structures is described. First the author presents the experimental results for a linear model which represents slewing maneuvers of a generic space station solar panel carried out to evaluate experimentally some control technologies. Then the status of the rotational/translational maneuvering experiment of a flexible steel panel carried by a translation cart is presented. Finally, experimental results of the NASA minimast testbed using velocity command stepper motors as reaction mass reactors are shown. All the test configurations are briefly described, including actuator and sensor, test setup, and test software. The status of some research activities oriented primarily to the experimental methods for control of flexible structures is presented.

Exploring the distinction between experimental resonant modes and theoretical eigenmodes: from vibrating plates to laser cavities.

PubMed

Tuan, P H; Wen, C P; Yu, Y T; Liang, H C; Huang, K F; Chen, Y F

2014-02-01

Experimentally resonant modes are commonly presumed to correspond to eigenmodes in the same bounded domain. However, the one-to-one correspondence between theoretical eigenmodes and experimental observations is never reached. Theoretically, eigenmodes in numerous classical and quantum systems are the solutions of the homogeneous Helmholtz equation, whereas resonant modes should be solved from the inhomogeneous Helmholtz equation. In the present paper we employ the eigenmode expansion method to derive the wave functions for manifesting the distinction between eigenmodes and resonant modes. The derived wave functions are successfully used to reconstruct a variety of experimental results including Chladni figures generated from the vibrating plate, resonant patterns excited from microwave cavities, and lasing modes emitted from the vertical cavity.

Modeling and Characterization of Near-Crack-Tip Plasticity from Micro- to Nano-Scales

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glaessgen, Edward H.; Saether, Erik; Hochhalter, Jacob; Smith, Stephen W.; Ransom, Jonathan B.; Yamakov, Vesselin; Gupta, Vipul

2010-01-01

Methodologies for understanding the plastic deformation mechanisms related to crack propagation at the nano-, meso- and micro-length scales are being developed. These efforts include the development and application of several computational methods including atomistic simulation, discrete dislocation plasticity, strain gradient plasticity and crystal plasticity; and experimental methods including electron backscattered diffraction and video image correlation. Additionally, methodologies for multi-scale modeling and characterization that can be used to bridge the relevant length scales from nanometers to millimeters are being developed. The paper focuses on the discussion of newly developed methodologies in these areas and their application to understanding damage processes in aluminum and its alloys.

Modeling and Characterization of Near-Crack-Tip Plasticity from Micro- to Nano-Scales

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glaessgen, Edward H.; Saether, Erik; Hochhalter, Jacob; Smith, Stephen W.; Ransom, Jonathan B.; Yamakov, Vesselin; Gupta, Vipul

2011-01-01

Methodologies for understanding the plastic deformation mechanisms related 10 crack propagation at the nano, meso- and micro-length scales are being developed. These efforts include the development and application of several computational methods including atomistic simulation, discrete dislocation plasticity, strain gradient plasticity and crystal plasticity; and experimental methods including electron backscattered diffraction and video image correlation. Additionally, methodologies for multi-scale modeling and characterization that can be used to bridge the relevant length scales from nanometers to millimeters are being developed. The paper focuses on the discussion of newly developed methodologies in these areas and their application to understanding damage processes in aluminum and its alloys.

The 20th Annual Prostate Cancer Foundation Scientific Retreat report.

PubMed

Miyahira, Andrea K; Simons, Jonathan W; Soule, Howard R

2014-06-01

The 20th Annual Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) Scientific Retreat was held from October 24 to 26, 2013, in National Harbor, Maryland. This event is held annually for the purpose of convening a diverse group of leading experimental and clinical researchers from academia, industry, and government to present and discuss critical and emerging topics relevant to prostate cancer (PCa) biology, and the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of PCa patients, with a focus on results that will lend to treatments for the most life-threatening stages of this disease. The themes that were highlighted at this year's event included: (i) mechanisms of PCa initiation and progression: cellular origins, neurons and neuroendocrine PCa, long non-coding RNAs, epigenetics, tumor cell metabolism, tumor-immune interactions, and novel molecular mechanisms; (ii) advancements in precision medicine strategies and predictive biomarkers of progression, survival, and drug sensitivities, including the analysis of circulating tumor cells and cell-free tumor DNA-new methods for liquid biopsies; (iii) new treatments including epigenomic therapy and immunotherapy, discovery of new treatment targets, and defining and targeting mechanisms of resistance to androgen-axis therapeutics; and (iv) new experimental and clinical epidemiology methods and techniques, including PCa population studies using patho-epidemiology. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An algebra-based method for inferring gene regulatory networks.

PubMed

Vera-Licona, Paola; Jarrah, Abdul; Garcia-Puente, Luis David; McGee, John; Laubenbacher, Reinhard

2014-03-26

The inference of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from experimental observations is at the heart of systems biology. This includes the inference of both the network topology and its dynamics. While there are many algorithms available to infer the network topology from experimental data, less emphasis has been placed on methods that infer network dynamics. Furthermore, since the network inference problem is typically underdetermined, it is essential to have the option of incorporating into the inference process, prior knowledge about the network, along with an effective description of the search space of dynamic models. Finally, it is also important to have an understanding of how a given inference method is affected by experimental and other noise in the data used. This paper contains a novel inference algorithm using the algebraic framework of Boolean polynomial dynamical systems (BPDS), meeting all these requirements. The algorithm takes as input time series data, including those from network perturbations, such as knock-out mutant strains and RNAi experiments. It allows for the incorporation of prior biological knowledge while being robust to significant levels of noise in the data used for inference. It uses an evolutionary algorithm for local optimization with an encoding of the mathematical models as BPDS. The BPDS framework allows an effective representation of the search space for algebraic dynamic models that improves computational performance. The algorithm is validated with both simulated and experimental microarray expression profile data. Robustness to noise is tested using a published mathematical model of the segment polarity gene network in Drosophila melanogaster. Benchmarking of the algorithm is done by comparison with a spectrum of state-of-the-art network inference methods on data from the synthetic IRMA network to demonstrate that our method has good precision and recall for the network reconstruction task, while also predicting several of the dynamic patterns present in the network. Boolean polynomial dynamical systems provide a powerful modeling framework for the reverse engineering of gene regulatory networks, that enables a rich mathematical structure on the model search space. A C++ implementation of the method, distributed under LPGL license, is available, together with the source code, at http://www.paola-vera-licona.net/Software/EARevEng/REACT.html.

Gear and Transmission Research at NASA Lewis Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, Dennis P.

1997-01-01

This paper is a review of some of the research work of the NASA Lewis Research Center Mechanical Components Branch. It includes a brief review of the NASA Lewis Research Center and the Mechanical Components Branch. The research topics discussed are crack propagation of gear teeth, gear noise of spiral bevel and other gears, design optimization methods, methods we have investigated for transmission diagnostics, the analytical and experimental study of gear thermal conditions, the analytical and experimental study of split torque systems, the evaluation of several new advanced gear steels and transmission lubricants and the evaluation of various aircraft transmissions. The area of research needs for gearing and transmissions is also discussed.

14 CFR § 1240.102 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... experimental or beta phase of development, that performs in accordance with its specifications, and includes... mathematical, engineering or scientific concept, idea, design, process, or product. (h) Innovator means any..., method, process, machine, manufacture, design, or composition of matter, or any new and useful...

The Graduate Program in Pharmacology at the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burkman, Allan M.

1976-01-01

Ohio State's traditional graduate program is discussed in terms of student requirements, including competence in research strategy and experimental design, manipulative technique, and oral and written communication. Methods for meeting these requirements are reviewed briefly. (LBH)

Use of normal propyl bromide solvents for extraction and recovery of asphalt cements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-11-01

Four normal propyl bromide (nPB) solvents were evaluated for use as chlorinated solvent replacements in typical hot mix asphalt (HMA) extraction and recovery processes. The experimental design included one method of extraction (centrifuge), one metho...

Mapping Bone Mineral Density Obtained by Quantitative Computed Tomography to Bone Volume Fraction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pennline, James A.; Mulugeta, Lealem

2017-01-01

Methods for relating or mapping estimates of volumetric Bone Mineral Density (vBMD) obtained by Quantitative Computed Tomography to Bone Volume Fraction (BVF) are outlined mathematically. The methods are based on definitions of bone properties, cited experimental studies and regression relations derived from them for trabecular bone in the proximal femur. Using an experimental range of values in the intertrochanteric region obtained from male and female human subjects, age 18 to 49, the BVF values calculated from four different methods were compared to the experimental average and numerical range. The BVF values computed from the conversion method used data from two sources. One source provided pre bed rest vBMD values in the intertrochanteric region from 24 bed rest subject who participated in a 70 day study. Another source contained preflight vBMD values from 18 astronauts who spent 4 to 6 months on the ISS. To aid the use of a mapping from BMD to BVF, the discussion includes how to formulate them for purpose of computational modeling. An application of the conversions would be used to aid in modeling of time varying changes in vBMD as it relates to changes in BVF via bone remodeling and/or modeling.

Damage detection in composite materials using Lamb wave methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kessler, Seth S.; Spearing, S. Mark; Soutis, Constantinos

2002-04-01

Cost-effective and reliable damage detection is critical for the utilization of composite materials. This paper presents part of an experimental and analytical survey of candidate methods for in situ damage detection of composite materials. Experimental results are presented for the application of Lamb wave techniques to quasi-isotropic graphite/epoxy test specimens containing representative damage modes, including delamination, transverse ply cracks and through-holes. Linear wave scans were performed on narrow laminated specimens and sandwich beams with various cores by monitoring the transmitted waves with piezoceramic sensors. Optimal actuator and sensor configurations were devised through experimentation, and various types of driving signal were explored. These experiments provided a procedure capable of easily and accurately determining the time of flight of a Lamb wave pulse between an actuator and sensor. Lamb wave techniques provide more information about damage presence and severity than previously tested methods (frequency response techniques), and provide the possibility of determining damage location due to their local response nature. These methods may prove suitable for structural health monitoring applications since they travel long distances and can be applied with conformable piezoelectric actuators and sensors that require little power.

Comparison between Different Methods for Biomechanical Assessment of Ex Vivo Fracture Callus Stiffness in Small Animal Bone Healing Studies

PubMed Central

Steiner, Malte; Volkheimer, David; Meyers, Nicholaus; Wehner, Tim; Wilke, Hans-Joachim; Claes, Lutz; Ignatius, Anita

2015-01-01

For ex vivo measurements of fracture callus stiffness in small animals, different test methods, such as torsion or bending tests, are established. Each method provides advantages and disadvantages, and it is still debated which of those is most sensitive to experimental conditions (i.e. specimen alignment, directional dependency, asymmetric behavior). The aim of this study was to experimentally compare six different testing methods regarding their robustness against experimental errors. Therefore, standardized specimens were created by selective laser sintering (SLS), mimicking size, directional behavior, and embedding variations of respective rat long bone specimens. For the latter, five different geometries were created which show shifted or tilted specimen alignments. The mechanical tests included three-point bending, four-point bending, cantilever bending, axial compression, constrained torsion, and unconstrained torsion. All three different bending tests showed the same principal behavior. They were highly dependent on the rotational direction of the maximum fracture callus expansion relative to the loading direction (creating experimental errors of more than 60%), however small angular deviations (<15°) were negligible. Differences in the experimental results between the bending tests originate in their respective location of maximal bending moment induction. Compared to four-point bending, three-point bending is easier to apply on small rat and mouse bones under realistic testing conditions and yields robust measurements, provided low variation of the callus shape among the tested specimens. Axial compressive testing was highly sensitive to embedding variations, and therefore cannot be recommended. Although it is experimentally difficult to realize, unconstrained torsion testing was found to be the most robust method, since it was independent of both rotational alignment and embedding uncertainties. Constrained torsional testing showed small errors (up to 16.8%, compared to corresponding alignment under unconstrained torsion) due to a parallel offset between the specimens’ axis of gravity and the torsional axis of rotation. PMID:25781027

NMR, FT-IR, Raman and UV-Vis spectroscopic investigation and DFT study of 6-Bromo-3-Pyridinyl Boronic Acid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dikmen, Gökhan; Alver, Özgür

2015-11-01

Possible stable conformers and geometrical molecular structures of 6-Bromo-3-Pyridinyl Boronic acid (6B3PBA; C5H5BBrNO2) were studied experimentally and theoretically using FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic methods. FT-IR and Raman spectra were recorded in the region of 4000-400 cm-1 and 3700-400 cm-1, respectively. The structural properties were investigated further, using 1H, 13C, 1H coupled 13C, HETCOR, COSY and APT NMR techniques. The optimized geometric structures were searched by Becke-3-Lee-Yang-Parr (B3LYP) hybrid density functional theory method with 6-311++G(d, p) basis set. Vibrational wavenumbers of 6B3PBA were calculated whereby B3LYP density functional methods including 6-311++G(d, p), 6-311G(d, p), 6-311G(d), 6-31G(d, p) and 6-31G(d) basis sets. The comparison of the experimentally and theoretically obtained results using mean absolute error and experimental versus calculated correlation coefficients for the vibrational wavenumbers indicates that B3LYP method with 6-311++G(d, p) gives more satisfactory results for predicting vibrational wavenumbers when compared to the 6-311G(d, p), 6-311G(d), 6-31G(d, p) and 6-31G(d) basis sets. However, this method and none of the mentioned methods here seem suitable for the calculations of OH stretching modes, most likely because increasing unharmonicity in the high wave number region and possible intra and inter molecular interactions at OH edges lead some deviations between experimental and theoretical results. Moreover, reliable vibrational assignments were made on the basis of total energy distribution (TED) calculated using scaled quantum mechanical (SQM) method.

Gene Profiling in Experimental Models of Eye Growth: Clues to Myopia Pathogenesis

PubMed Central

Stone, Richard A.; Khurana, Tejvir S.

2010-01-01

To understand the complex regulatory pathways that underlie the development of refractive errors, expression profiling has evaluated gene expression in ocular tissues of well-characterized experimental models that alter postnatal eye growth and induce refractive errors. Derived from a variety of platforms (e.g. differential display, spotted microarrays or Affymetrix GeneChips), gene expression patterns are now being identified in species that include chicken, mouse and primate. Reconciling available results is hindered by varied experimental designs and analytical/statistical features. Continued application of these methods offers promise to provide the much-needed mechanistic framework to develop therapies to normalize refractive development in children. PMID:20363242

Investigation of activation cross-sections of deuteron induced reactions on vanadium up to 40 MeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tárkányi, F.; Ditrói, F.; Takács, S.; Hermanne, A.; Baba, M.; Ignatyuk, A. V.

2011-08-01

Experimental excitation functions for deuteron induced reactions up to 40 MeV on natural vanadium were measured with the activation method using a stacked foil irradiation technique. From high resolution gamma spectrometry cross-section data for the production of 51Cr, 48V, 48,47,46Sc and 47Ca were determined. Comparisons with the earlier published data are presented and results for values predicted by different theoretical codes are included. Thick target yields were calculated from a fit to our experimental excitation curves and compared with the earlier experimental data. Depth distribution curves used for thin layer activation (TLA) are also presented.

SAW based micro- and acousto-fluidics in biomedicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramasamy, Mouli; Varadan, Vijay K.

2017-04-01

Protein association starts with random collisions of individual proteins. Multiple collisions and rotational diffusion brings the molecules to a state of orientation. Majority of the protein associations are influenced by electrostatic interactions. To introduce: electrostatic rate enhancement, Brownian dynamics and transient complex theory has been traditionally used. Due to the recent advances in interdisciplinary sciences, an array of molecular assembly methods is being studied. Protein nanostructural assembly and macromolecular crowding are derived from the subsets of biochemistry to study protein-protein interactions and protein self-assembly. This paper tries to investigate the issue of enhancing the protein self-association rate, and bridging the gap between the simulations and experimental results. The methods proposed here include: electrostatic rate enhancement, macromolecular crowing, nanostructural protein assembly, microfluidics based approaches and magnetic force based approaches. Despite the suggestions of several methods, microfluidic and magnetic force based approaches seem to serve the need of protein assembly in a wider scale. Congruence of these approaches may also yield better results. Even though, these methods prove to be conceptually strong, to prevent the disagreement of theory and practice, a wide range of experiments is required. This proposal intends to study theoretical and experimental methods to successfully implement the aforementioned assembly strategies, and conclude with an extensive analysis of experimental data to address practical feasibility.

Bayesian Normalization Model for Label-Free Quantitative Analysis by LC-MS

PubMed Central

Nezami Ranjbar, Mohammad R.; Tadesse, Mahlet G.; Wang, Yue; Ressom, Habtom W.

2016-01-01

We introduce a new method for normalization of data acquired by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in label-free differential expression analysis. Normalization of LC-MS data is desired prior to subsequent statistical analysis to adjust variabilities in ion intensities that are not caused by biological differences but experimental bias. There are different sources of bias including variabilities during sample collection and sample storage, poor experimental design, noise, etc. In addition, instrument variability in experiments involving a large number of LC-MS runs leads to a significant drift in intensity measurements. Although various methods have been proposed for normalization of LC-MS data, there is no universally applicable approach. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian normalization model (BNM) that utilizes scan-level information from LC-MS data. Specifically, the proposed method uses peak shapes to model the scan-level data acquired from extracted ion chromatograms (EIC) with parameters considered as a linear mixed effects model. We extended the model into BNM with drift (BNMD) to compensate for the variability in intensity measurements due to long LC-MS runs. We evaluated the performance of our method using synthetic and experimental data. In comparison with several existing methods, the proposed BNM and BNMD yielded significant improvement. PMID:26357332

Estimation of Hydrodynamic Impact Loads and Pressure Distributions on Bodies Approximating Elliptical Cylinders with Special Reference to Water Landings of Helicopters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schnitzer, Emanuel; Hathaway, Melvin E

1953-01-01

An approximate method for computing water loads and pressure distributions on lightly loaded elliptical cylinders during oblique water impacts is presented. The method is of special interest for the case of emergency water landings of helicopters. This method makes use of theory developed and checked for landing impacts of seaplanes having bottom cross sections of V and scalloped contours. An illustrative example is given to show typical results obtained from the use of the proposed method of computation. The accuracy of the approximate method was evaluated through comparison with limited experimental data for two-dimensional drops of a rigid circular cylinder at a trim of 0 degrees and a flight -path angle of 90 degrees. The applicability of the proposed formulas to the design of rigid hulls is indicated by the rough agreement obtained between the computed and experimental results. A detailed computational procedure is included as an appendix.

Robust and Efficient Biomolecular Clustering of Tumor Based on ${p}$ -Norm Singular Value Decomposition.

PubMed

Kong, Xiang-Zhen; Liu, Jin-Xing; Zheng, Chun-Hou; Hou, Mi-Xiao; Wang, Juan

2017-07-01

High dimensionality has become a typical feature of biomolecular data. In this paper, a novel dimension reduction method named p-norm singular value decomposition (PSVD) is proposed to seek the low-rank approximation matrix to the biomolecular data. To enhance the robustness to outliers, the Lp-norm is taken as the error function and the Schatten p-norm is used as the regularization function in the optimization model. To evaluate the performance of PSVD, the Kmeans clustering method is then employed for tumor clustering based on the low-rank approximation matrix. Extensive experiments are carried out on five gene expression data sets including two benchmark data sets and three higher dimensional data sets from the cancer genome atlas. The experimental results demonstrate that the PSVD-based method outperforms many existing methods. Especially, it is experimentally proved that the proposed method is more efficient for processing higher dimensional data with good robustness, stability, and superior time performance.

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in Reducing Aggression of Individuals at the Juvenile Correction and Rehabilitation Center.

PubMed

Milani, Atefeh; Nikmanesh, Zahra; Farnam, Ali

2013-12-01

In the present era, delinquency in children and adolescents is undoubtedly a difficult and upsetting issue attracting the attention of many experts such as psychologists, sociologists, and criminologists. These experts often try to answer why a number of children and adolescents engage in various crimes such as aggressive and anti-social crimes. They also try to find out how these crimes can be prevented. The present study investigates the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy training (MBCT) in reducing aggression in a juvenile correction and rehabilitation center of Zahedan province during years 1991 to 1992. This experimental study included an experimental and a control group with a pretest, posttest, and follow-up approach. The Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire (1992) was used for data collection. The sample group included 22 (10 experimental and 12 control groups) adolescent males in a juvenile correction and rehabilitation center of Zahedan province who were selected through a census method. Using a matching method based on the pre-test scores of the aggression questionnaire, they were then divided into two equivalent categories and were randomly assigned to the two groups. Mindfulness-based cognitive training took the group training in 8 sessions administered on experimental group. The follow-up test was conducted two weeks after the end of the posttest sessions. The results were analyzed using ANCOVA. The results of ANCOVA showed that mindfulness-based cognitive training could significantly reduce aggression during posttest and follow-up test phases in the experimental group, compared to the control group (P < 0.01). Moreover, the results indicated the effectiveness of this method in significantly reducing anger, physical aggression, and hostility during posttest and follow-up test phases (P < 0.05). However, no significant reduction was observed in the verbal aggression subscale. According to the results of the present study, mindfulness-based cognitive training seems to be effective for reducing aggressive behaviors.

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

Leyva, A.; Cabal, A.; Pinera, I.

The present paper synthesizes the results obtained in the evaluation of a 64 microstrips crystalline silicon detector coupled to RX64 ASIC, designed for high-energy physics experiments, as a useful X-ray detector in advanced medical radiography, specifically in digital mammography. Research includes the acquisition of two-dimensional radiography of a mammography phantom using the scanning method, and the comparison of experimental profile with mathematically simulated one. The paper also shows the experimental images of three biological samples taken from breast biopsies, where it is possible to identify the presence of possible pathological tissues.

Aeroacoustic and Performance Simulations of a Test Scale Open Rotor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Claus, Russell W.

2013-01-01

This paper explores a comparison between experimental data and numerical simulations of the historical baseline F31/A31 open rotor geometry. The experimental data were obtained at the NASA Glenn Research Center s Aeroacoustic facility and include performance and noise information for a variety of flow speeds (matching take-off and cruise). The numerical simulations provide both performance and aeroacoustic results using the NUMECA s Fine-Turbo analysis code. A non-linear harmonic method is used to capture the rotor/rotor interaction.

The experimental determination of the moments of inertia of airplanes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soule, Hartley A; Miller, Marvel P

1934-01-01

The application of the pendulum method to the experimental determination of the moments of inertia of airplanes is discussed in this report. Particular reference is made to the effects of the air, in which the airplane is immersed, on the swinging tests and to the procedure by which these effects are taken into account. This procedure has been used for some time, and the data on several airplanes for which the moments of inertia have been found are included.

Search for Polarization Effects in the Antiproton Production Process

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

Grzonka, D.; Kilian, K.; Ritman, J.

For the production of a polarized antiproton beam, various methods have been suggested including the possibility that antiprotons may be produced polarized which will be checked experimentally. The polarization of antiprotons produced under typical conditions for antiproton beam preparation will be measured at the CERN/PS. If the production process creates some polarization, a polarized antiproton beam could be prepared by a rather simple modification of the antiproton beam facility. The detection setup and the expected experimental conditions are described.

Experimental approaches to well controlled studies of thin-film nucleation and growth.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poppa, H.; Moorhead, R. D.; Heinemann, K.

1972-01-01

Particular features and the performance of two experimental systems are described for quantitative studies of thin-film nucleation and growth processes including epitaxial depositions. System I consists of a modified LEED-Auger instrument combined with high-resolution electron microscopy. System II is a UHV electron microscope adapted for in-situ deposition studies. The two systems complement each other ideally, and the combined use of both can result in a comprehensive investigation of vapor deposition processes not obtainable with any other known method.

Concept of multiple-cell cavity for axion dark matter search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Junu; Youn, SungWoo; Ahn, Saebyeok; Kim, Jihn E.; Semertzidis, Yannis K.

2018-02-01

In cavity-based axion dark matter search experiments exploring high mass regions, multiple-cavity design is under consideration as a method to increase the detection volume within a given magnet bore. We introduce a new idea, referred to as a multiple-cell cavity, which provides various benefits including a larger detection volume, simpler experimental setup, and easier phase-matching mechanism. We present the characteristics of this concept and demonstrate the experimental feasibility with an example of a double-cell cavity.

Overview of the DAEDALOS project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bisagni, Chiara

2015-10-01

The "Dynamics in Aircraft Engineering Design and Analysis for Light Optimized Structures" (DAEDALOS) project aimed to develop methods and procedures to determine dynamic loads by considering the effects of dynamic buckling, material damping and mechanical hysteresis during aircraft service. Advanced analysis and design principles were assessed with the scope of partly removing the uncertainty and the conservatism of today's design and certification procedures. To reach these objectives a DAEDALOS aircraft model representing a mid-size business jet was developed. Analysis and in-depth investigation of the dynamic response were carried out on full finite element models and on hybrid models. Material damping was experimentally evaluated, and different methods for damping evaluation were developed, implemented in finite element codes and experimentally validated. They include a strain energy method, a quasi-linear viscoelastic material model, and a generalized Maxwell viscous material damping. Panels and shells representative of typical components of the DAEDALOS aircraft model were experimentally tested subjected to static as well as dynamic loads. Composite and metallic components of the aircraft model were investigated to evaluate the benefit in terms of weight saving.

The Quality of Methods Reporting in Parasitology Experiments

PubMed Central

Flórez-Vargas, Oscar; Bramhall, Michael; Noyes, Harry; Cruickshank, Sheena; Stevens, Robert; Brass, Andy

2014-01-01

There is a growing concern both inside and outside the scientific community over the lack of reproducibility of experiments. The depth and detail of reported methods are critical to the reproducibility of findings, but also for making it possible to compare and integrate data from different studies. In this study, we evaluated in detail the methods reporting in a comprehensive set of trypanosomiasis experiments that should enable valid reproduction, integration and comparison of research findings. We evaluated a subset of other parasitic (Leishmania, Toxoplasma, Plasmodium, Trichuris and Schistosoma) and non-parasitic (Mycobacterium) experimental infections in order to compare the quality of method reporting more generally. A systematic review using PubMed (2000–2012) of all publications describing gene expression in cells and animals infected with Trypanosoma spp was undertaken based on PRISMA guidelines; 23 papers were identified and included. We defined a checklist of essential parameters that should be reported and have scored the number of those parameters that are reported for each publication. Bibliometric parameters (impact factor, citations and h-index) were used to look for association between Journal and Author status and the quality of method reporting. Trichuriasis experiments achieved the highest scores and included the only paper to score 100% in all criteria. The mean of scores achieved by Trypanosoma articles through the checklist was 65.5% (range 32–90%). Bibliometric parameters were not correlated with the quality of method reporting (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient <−0.5; p>0.05). Our results indicate that the quality of methods reporting in experimental parasitology is a cause for concern and it has not improved over time, despite there being evidence that most of the assessed parameters do influence the results. We propose that our set of parameters be used as guidelines to improve the quality of the reporting of experimental infection models as a pre-requisite for integrating and comparing sets of data. PMID:25076044

The quality of methods reporting in parasitology experiments.

PubMed

Flórez-Vargas, Oscar; Bramhall, Michael; Noyes, Harry; Cruickshank, Sheena; Stevens, Robert; Brass, Andy

2014-01-01

There is a growing concern both inside and outside the scientific community over the lack of reproducibility of experiments. The depth and detail of reported methods are critical to the reproducibility of findings, but also for making it possible to compare and integrate data from different studies. In this study, we evaluated in detail the methods reporting in a comprehensive set of trypanosomiasis experiments that should enable valid reproduction, integration and comparison of research findings. We evaluated a subset of other parasitic (Leishmania, Toxoplasma, Plasmodium, Trichuris and Schistosoma) and non-parasitic (Mycobacterium) experimental infections in order to compare the quality of method reporting more generally. A systematic review using PubMed (2000-2012) of all publications describing gene expression in cells and animals infected with Trypanosoma spp was undertaken based on PRISMA guidelines; 23 papers were identified and included. We defined a checklist of essential parameters that should be reported and have scored the number of those parameters that are reported for each publication. Bibliometric parameters (impact factor, citations and h-index) were used to look for association between Journal and Author status and the quality of method reporting. Trichuriasis experiments achieved the highest scores and included the only paper to score 100% in all criteria. The mean of scores achieved by Trypanosoma articles through the checklist was 65.5% (range 32-90%). Bibliometric parameters were not correlated with the quality of method reporting (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient <-0.5; p>0.05). Our results indicate that the quality of methods reporting in experimental parasitology is a cause for concern and it has not improved over time, despite there being evidence that most of the assessed parameters do influence the results. We propose that our set of parameters be used as guidelines to improve the quality of the reporting of experimental infection models as a pre-requisite for integrating and comparing sets of data.

Discontinuity stresses in metallic pressure vessels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

The state of the art, criteria, and recommended practices for the theoretical and experimental analyses of discontinuity stresses and their distribution in metallic pressure vessels for space vehicles are outlined. The applicable types of pressure vessels include propellant tanks ranging from main load-carrying integral tank structure to small auxiliary tanks, storage tanks, solid propellant motor cases, high pressure gas bottles, and pressurized cabins. The major sources of discontinuity stresses are discussed, including deviations in geometry, material properties, loads, and temperature. The advantages, limitations, and disadvantages of various theoretical and experimental discontinuity analysis methods are summarized. Guides are presented for evaluating discontinuity stresses so that pressure vessel performance will not fall below acceptable levels.

Practical Entanglement Estimation for Spin-System Quantum Simulators.

PubMed

Marty, O; Cramer, M; Plenio, M B

2016-03-11

We present practical methods to measure entanglement for quantum simulators that can be realized with trapped ions, cold atoms, and superconducting qubits. Focusing on long- and short-range Ising-type Hamiltonians, we introduce schemes that are applicable under realistic experimental conditions including mixedness due to, e.g., noise or temperature. In particular, we identify a single observable whose expectation value serves as a lower bound to entanglement and that may be obtained by a simple quantum circuit. As such circuits are not (yet) available for every platform, we investigate the performance of routinely measured observables as quantitative entanglement witnesses. Possible applications include experimental studies of entanglement scaling in critical systems and the reliable benchmarking of quantum simulators.

Time series modeling of human operator dynamics in manual control tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biezad, D. J.; Schmidt, D. K.

1984-01-01

A time-series technique is presented for identifying the dynamic characteristics of the human operator in manual control tasks from relatively short records of experimental data. Control of system excitation signals used in the identification is not required. The approach is a multi-channel identification technique for modeling multi-input/multi-output situations. The method presented includes statistical tests for validity, is designed for digital computation, and yields estimates for the frequency responses of the human operator. A comprehensive relative power analysis may also be performed for validated models. This method is applied to several sets of experimental data; the results are discussed and shown to compare favorably with previous research findings. New results are also presented for a multi-input task that has not been previously modeled to demonstrate the strengths of the method.

Time-domain reflectance diffuse optical tomography with Mellin-Laplace transform for experimental detection and depth localization of a single absorbing inclusion

PubMed Central

Puszka, Agathe; Hervé, Lionel; Planat-Chrétien, Anne; Koenig, Anne; Derouard, Jacques; Dinten, Jean-Marc

2013-01-01

We show how to apply the Mellin-Laplace transform to process time-resolved reflectance measurements for diffuse optical tomography. We illustrate this method on simulated signals incorporating the main sources of experimental noise and suggest how to fine-tune the method in order to detect the deepest absorbing inclusions and optimize their localization in depth, depending on the dynamic range of the measurement. To finish, we apply this method to measurements acquired with a setup including a femtosecond laser, photomultipliers and a time-correlated single photon counting board. Simulations and experiments are illustrated for a probe featuring the interfiber distance of 1.5 cm and show the potential of time-resolved techniques for imaging absorption contrast in depth with this geometry. PMID:23577292

Time Series Modeling of Human Operator Dynamics in Manual Control Tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biezad, D. J.; Schmidt, D. K.

1984-01-01

A time-series technique is presented for identifying the dynamic characteristics of the human operator in manual control tasks from relatively short records of experimental data. Control of system excitation signals used in the identification is not required. The approach is a multi-channel identification technique for modeling multi-input/multi-output situations. The method presented includes statistical tests for validity, is designed for digital computation, and yields estimates for the frequency response of the human operator. A comprehensive relative power analysis may also be performed for validated models. This method is applied to several sets of experimental data; the results are discussed and shown to compare favorably with previous research findings. New results are also presented for a multi-input task that was previously modeled to demonstrate the strengths of the method.

Assessment of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Models for Shock Boundary-Layer Interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeBonis, James R.; Oberkampf, William L.; Wolf, Richard T.; Orkwis, Paul D.; Turner, Mark G.; Babinsky, Holger

2011-01-01

A workshop on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) prediction of shock boundary-layer interactions (SBLIs) was held at the 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting. As part of the workshop numerous CFD analysts submitted solutions to four experimentally measured SBLIs. This paper describes the assessment of the CFD predictions. The assessment includes an uncertainty analysis of the experimental data, the definition of an error metric and the application of that metric to the CFD solutions. The CFD solutions provided very similar levels of error and in general it was difficult to discern clear trends in the data. For the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes methods the choice of turbulence model appeared to be the largest factor in solution accuracy. Large-eddy simulation methods produced error levels similar to RANS methods but provided superior predictions of normal stresses.

Applicability of linearized-theory attached-flow methods to design and analysis of flap systems at low speeds for thin swept wings with sharp leading edges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlson, Harry W.; Darden, Christine M.

1987-01-01

Low-speed experimental force and data on a series of thin swept wings with sharp leading edges and leading and trailing-edge flaps are compared with predictions made using a linearized-theory method which includes estimates of vortex forces. These comparisons were made to assess the effectiveness of linearized-theory methods for use in the design and analysis of flap systems in subsonic flow. Results demonstrate that linearized-theory, attached-flow methods (with approximate representation of vortex forces) can form the basis of a rational system for flap design and analysis. Even attached-flow methods that do not take vortex forces into account can be used for the selection of optimized flap-system geometry, but design-point performance levels tend to be underestimated unless vortex forces are included. Illustrative examples of the use of these methods in the design of efficient low-speed flap systems are included.

Mutations that Cause Human Disease: A Computational/Experimental Approach

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

Beernink, P; Barsky, D; Pesavento, B

International genome sequencing projects have produced billions of nucleotides (letters) of DNA sequence data, including the complete genome sequences of 74 organisms. These genome sequences have created many new scientific opportunities, including the ability to identify sequence variations among individuals within a species. These genetic differences, which are known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), are particularly important in understanding the genetic basis for disease susceptibility. Since the report of the complete human genome sequence, over two million human SNPs have been identified, including a large-scale comparison of an entire chromosome from twenty individuals. Of the protein coding SNPs (cSNPs), approximatelymore » half leads to a single amino acid change in the encoded protein (non-synonymous coding SNPs). Most of these changes are functionally silent, while the remainder negatively impact the protein and sometimes cause human disease. To date, over 550 SNPs have been found to cause single locus (monogenic) diseases and many others have been associated with polygenic diseases. SNPs have been linked to specific human diseases, including late-onset Parkinson disease, autism, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. The ability to predict accurately the effects of these SNPs on protein function would represent a major advance toward understanding these diseases. To date several attempts have been made toward predicting the effects of such mutations. The most successful of these is a computational approach called ''Sorting Intolerant From Tolerant'' (SIFT). This method uses sequence conservation among many similar proteins to predict which residues in a protein are functionally important. However, this method suffers from several limitations. First, a query sequence must have a sufficient number of relatives to infer sequence conservation. Second, this method does not make use of or provide any information on protein structure, which can be used to understand how an amino acid change affects the protein. The experimental methods that provide the most detailed structural information on proteins are X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. However, these methods are labor intensive and currently cannot be carried out on a genomic scale. Nonetheless, Structural Genomics projects are being pursued by more than a dozen groups and consortia worldwide and as a result the number of experimentally determined structures is rising exponentially. Based on the expectation that protein structures will continue to be determined at an ever-increasing rate, reliable structure prediction schemes will become increasingly valuable, leading to information on protein function and disease for many different proteins. Given known genetic variability and experimentally determined protein structures, can we accurately predict the effects of single amino acid substitutions? An objective assessment of this question would involve comparing predicted and experimentally determined structures, which thus far has not been rigorously performed. The completed research leveraged existing expertise at LLNL in computational and structural biology, as well as significant computing resources, to address this question.« less

An Approach to the Evaluation of Hypermedia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knussen, Christina; And Others

1991-01-01

Discusses methods that may be applied to the evaluation of hypermedia, based on six models described by Lawton. Techniques described include observation, self-report measures, interviews, automated measures, psychometric tests, checklists and criterion-based techniques, process models, Experimentally Measuring Usability (EMU), and a naturalistic…

A Membrane Gas Separation Experiment for the Undergraduate Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Richard A.; Sandall, Orville C.

1991-01-01

Described is a membrane experiment that provides students with experience in fundamental engineering skills such as mass balances, modeling, and using the computer as a research tool. Included are the experimental design, theory, method of solution, sample calculations, and conclusions. (KR)

Research Projects 1968.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swedish Council for Personnel Administration, Stockholm.

The 39 research projects described cover several fields within the social and behavioral sciences related to personnel administration. The project description format includes: (1) project title, (2) principal investigator, (3) institution, (4) advisor, (5) grants, (6) background and purpose, (7) scope, material, methods, experimental design, (8)…

A Laboratory Exercise in the Determination of Carbohydrate Structures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Bernard J.; Robyt, John F.

1988-01-01

Describes an experiment in which students are given a naturally occurring oligosaccharide as an unknown and are asked to determine both its monosaccharide composition and its structure. Discusses methods and experimental techniques including thin layer chromatography and the use of enzymes. (CW)

Scientific computations section monthly report, November 1993

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

Buckner, M.R.

1993-12-30

This progress report from the Savannah River Technology Center contains abstracts from papers from the computational modeling, applied statistics, applied physics, experimental thermal hydraulics, and packaging and transportation groups. Specific topics covered include: engineering modeling and process simulation, criticality methods and analysis, plutonium disposition.

LEPER: Library of Experimental PhasE Relations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, F.; Gordon, S.; Mukherjee, S.; Hirschmann, M.; Ghiorso, M.

2006-12-01

The Library of Experimental PhasE Relations (LEPER) seeks to compile published experimental determinations of magmatic phase equilibria and provide those data on the web with a searchable and downloadable interface. Compiled experimental data include the conditions and durations of experiments, the bulk compositions of experimental charges, and the identity, compositions and proportions of phases observed, and, where available, estimates of experimental and analytical uncertainties. Also included are metadata such as the type of experimental device, capsule material, and method(s) of quantitative analysis. The database may be of use to practicing experimentalists as well as the wider Earth science community. Experimentalists may find the data useful for planning new experiments and will easily be able to compare their results to the full body of previous experimentnal data. Geologists may use LEPER to compare rocks sampled in the field with experiments performed on similar bulk composition or with experiments that produced similar-composition product phases. Modelers may use LEPER to parameterize partial melting of various lithologies. One motivation for compiling LEPER is for calibration of updated and revised versions of MELTS, however, it is hoped that the availability of LEPER will facilitate formulation and calibration of additional thermodynamic or empirical models of magmatic phase relations and phase equilibria, geothermometers and more. Data entry for LEPER is occuring presently: As of August, 2006, >6200 experiments have been entered, chiefly from work published between 1997 and 2005. A prototype web interface has been written and beta release on the web is anticipated in Fall, 2006. Eventually, experimentalists will be able to submit their new experimental data to the database via the web. At present, the database contains only data pertaining to the phase equilibria of silicate melts, but extension to other experimental data involving other fluids or sub-solidus phase equilibria may be contemplated. Also, the data are at present limited to natural or near-natural systems, but in the future, extension to synthetic (i.e., CMAS, etc.) systems is also possible. Each would depend in part on whether there is community demand for such databases. A trace element adjunct to LEPER is presently in planning stages.

Designing Free Energy Surfaces That Match Experimental Data with Metadynamics

DOE PAGES

White, Andrew D.; Dama, James F.; Voth, Gregory A.

2015-04-30

Creating models that are consistent with experimental data is essential in molecular modeling. This is often done by iteratively tuning the molecular force field of a simulation to match experimental data. An alternative method is to bias a simulation, leading to a hybrid model composed of the original force field and biasing terms. Previously we introduced such a method called experiment directed simulation (EDS). EDS minimally biases simulations to match average values. We also introduce a new method called experiment directed metadynamics (EDM) that creates minimal biases for matching entire free energy surfaces such as radial distribution functions and phi/psimore » angle free energies. It is also possible with EDM to create a tunable mixture of the experimental data and free energy of the unbiased ensemble with explicit ratios. EDM can be proven to be convergent, and we also present proof, via a maximum entropy argument, that the final bias is minimal and unique. Examples of its use are given in the construction of ensembles that follow a desired free energy. Finally, the example systems studied include a Lennard-Jones fluid made to match a radial distribution function, an atomistic model augmented with bioinformatics data, and a three-component electrolyte solution where ab initio simulation data is used to improve a classical empirical model.« less

The Influence of an Extensive Inquiry-Based Field Experience on Pre-Service Elementary Student Teachers' Science Teaching Beliefs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharyya, Sumita; Volk, Trudi; Lumpe, Andrew

2009-06-01

This study examined the effects of an extensive inquiry-based field experience on pre service elementary teachers’ personal agency beliefs, a composite measure of context beliefs and capability beliefs related to teaching science. The research combined quantitative and qualitative approaches and included an experimental group that utilized the inquiry method and a control group that used traditional teaching methods. Pre- and post-test scores for the experimental and control groups were compared. The context beliefs of both groups showed no significant change as a result of the experience. However, the control group’s capability belief scores, lower than those of the experimental group to start with, declined significantly; the experimental group’s scores remained unchanged. Thus, the inquiry-based field experience led to an increase in personal agency beliefs. The qualitative data suggested a new hypothesis that there is a spiral relationship among teachers’ ability to establish communicative relationships with students, desire for personal growth and improvement, ability to implement multiple instructional strategies, and possession of substantive content knowledge. The study concludes that inquiry-based student teaching should be encouraged in the training of elementary school science teachers. However, the meaning and practice of the inquiry method should be clearly delineated to ensure its correct implementation in the classroom.

Designing free energy surfaces that match experimental data with metadynamics.

PubMed

White, Andrew D; Dama, James F; Voth, Gregory A

2015-06-09

Creating models that are consistent with experimental data is essential in molecular modeling. This is often done by iteratively tuning the molecular force field of a simulation to match experimental data. An alternative method is to bias a simulation, leading to a hybrid model composed of the original force field and biasing terms. We previously introduced such a method called experiment directed simulation (EDS). EDS minimally biases simulations to match average values. In this work, we introduce a new method called experiment directed metadynamics (EDM) that creates minimal biases for matching entire free energy surfaces such as radial distribution functions and phi/psi angle free energies. It is also possible with EDM to create a tunable mixture of the experimental data and free energy of the unbiased ensemble with explicit ratios. EDM can be proven to be convergent, and we also present proof, via a maximum entropy argument, that the final bias is minimal and unique. Examples of its use are given in the construction of ensembles that follow a desired free energy. The example systems studied include a Lennard-Jones fluid made to match a radial distribution function, an atomistic model augmented with bioinformatics data, and a three-component electrolyte solution where ab initio simulation data is used to improve a classical empirical model.

Photolytic generation of nitric oxide through a porous glass partitioning membrane.

PubMed

Zhelyaskov, V R; Godwin, D W

1998-01-01

We report a new method of generating nitric oxide that possesses several potential advantages for experimental use. This method consists of a microphotolysis chamber where NO is released by illuminating photolabile NO donors with light from a xenon lamp. NO then diffuses through a porous glass membrane to the experimental preparation. We observed that the rate of NO generation is a linear function of light intensity. Due to a dynamic equilibrium between the mechanisms of NO generation and dissipation (by diffusion or oxidation) the NO concentration in the experimental cuvette can be reversibly and reproducibly controlled. The major potential advantages of this device include its use as a NO point source, and the ability to partition the NO donor compound from the experimental preparation by a porous glass membrane. The diffusion of the caging moiety through the membrane is insignificant as seen by absorption spectroscopy due to its large relative size to NO. In this way, the porous glass membrane protects the preparation from the potential bioactive effects of the caging moiety, which is an important consideration for biological experiments.

Joint surface modeling with thin-plate splines.

PubMed

Boyd, S K; Ronsky, J L; Lichti, D D; Salkauskas, K; Chapman, M A; Salkauskas, D

1999-10-01

Mathematical joint surface models based on experimentally determined data points can be used to investigate joint characteristics such as curvature, congruency, cartilage thickness, joint contact areas, as well as to provide geometric information well suited for finite element analysis. Commonly, surface modeling methods are based on B-splines, which involve tensor products. These methods have had success; however, they are limited due to the complex organizational aspect of working with surface patches, and modeling unordered, scattered experimental data points. An alternative method for mathematical joint surface modeling is presented based on the thin-plate spline (TPS). It has the advantage that it does not involve surface patches, and can model scattered data points without experimental data preparation. An analytical surface was developed and modeled with the TPS to quantify its interpolating and smoothing characteristics. Some limitations of the TPS include discontinuity of curvature at exactly the experimental surface data points, and numerical problems dealing with data sets in excess of 2000 points. However, suggestions for overcoming these limitations are presented. Testing the TPS with real experimental data, the patellofemoral joint of a cat was measured with multistation digital photogrammetry and modeled using the TPS to determine cartilage thicknesses and surface curvature. The cartilage thickness distribution ranged between 100 to 550 microns on the patella, and 100 to 300 microns on the femur. It was found that the TPS was an effective tool for modeling joint surfaces because no preparation of the experimental data points was necessary, and the resulting unique function representing the entire surface does not involve surface patches. A detailed algorithm is presented for implementation of the TPS.

Improving protein-protein interactions prediction accuracy using protein evolutionary information and relevance vector machine model.

PubMed

An, Ji-Yong; Meng, Fan-Rong; You, Zhu-Hong; Chen, Xing; Yan, Gui-Ying; Hu, Ji-Pu

2016-10-01

Predicting protein-protein interactions (PPIs) is a challenging task and essential to construct the protein interaction networks, which is important for facilitating our understanding of the mechanisms of biological systems. Although a number of high-throughput technologies have been proposed to predict PPIs, there are unavoidable shortcomings, including high cost, time intensity, and inherently high false positive rates. For these reasons, many computational methods have been proposed for predicting PPIs. However, the problem is still far from being solved. In this article, we propose a novel computational method called RVM-BiGP that combines the relevance vector machine (RVM) model and Bi-gram Probabilities (BiGP) for PPIs detection from protein sequences. The major improvement includes (1) Protein sequences are represented using the Bi-gram probabilities (BiGP) feature representation on a Position Specific Scoring Matrix (PSSM), in which the protein evolutionary information is contained; (2) For reducing the influence of noise, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method is used to reduce the dimension of BiGP vector; (3) The powerful and robust Relevance Vector Machine (RVM) algorithm is used for classification. Five-fold cross-validation experiments executed on yeast and Helicobacter pylori datasets, which achieved very high accuracies of 94.57 and 90.57%, respectively. Experimental results are significantly better than previous methods. To further evaluate the proposed method, we compare it with the state-of-the-art support vector machine (SVM) classifier on the yeast dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that our RVM-BiGP method is significantly better than the SVM-based method. In addition, we achieved 97.15% accuracy on imbalance yeast dataset, which is higher than that of balance yeast dataset. The promising experimental results show the efficiency and robust of the proposed method, which can be an automatic decision support tool for future proteomics research. For facilitating extensive studies for future proteomics research, we developed a freely available web server called RVM-BiGP-PPIs in Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) for predicting PPIs. The web server including source code and the datasets are available at http://219.219.62.123:8888/BiGP/. © 2016 The Authors Protein Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Protein Society.

Design for inadvertent damage in composite laminates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singhal, Surendra N.; Chamis, Christos C.

1992-01-01

Simplified predictive methods and models to computationally simulate durability and damage in polymer matrix composite materials/structures are described. The models include (1) progressive fracture, (2) progressively damaged structural behavior, (3) progressive fracture in aggressive environments, (4) stress concentrations, and (5) impact resistance. Several examples are included to illustrate applications of the models and to identify significant parameters and sensitivities. Comparisons with limited experimental data are made.

Comparative study on diagonal equivalent methods of masonry infill panel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amalia, Aniendhita Rizki; Iranata, Data

2017-06-01

Infrastructure construction in earthquake prone area needs good design process, including modeling a structure in a correct way to reduce damages caused by an earthquake. Earthquakes cause many damages e.g. collapsed buildings that are dangerous. An incorrect modeling in design process certainly affects the structure's ability in responding to load, i.e. an earthquake load, and it needs to be paid attention to in order to reduce damages and fatalities. A correct modeling considers every aspect that affects the strength of a building, including stiffness of resisting lateral loads caused by an earthquake. Most of structural analyses still use open frame method that does not consider the effect of stiffness of masonry panel to the stiffness and strength of the whole structure. Effect of masonry panel is usually not included in design process, but the presence of this panel greatly affects behavior of the building in responding to an earthquake. In worst case scenario, it can even cause the building to collapse as what has been reported after great earthquakes worldwide. Modeling a structure with masonry panel as consideration can be performed by designing the panel as compression brace or shell element. In designing masonry panel as a compression brace, there are fourteen methods popular to be used by structure designers formulated by Saneinejad-Hobbs, Holmes, Stafford-Smith, Mainstones, Mainstones-Weeks, Bazan-Meli, Liauw Kwan, Paulay and Priestley, FEMA 356, Durani Luo, Hendry, Al-Chaar, Papia and Chen-Iranata. Every method has its own equation and parameters to use, therefore the model of every method was compared to results of experimental test to see which one gives closer values. Moreover, those methods also need to be compared to the open frame to see if they can result values within limits. Experimental test that was used in comparing all methods was taken from Mehrabi's research (Fig. 1), which was a prototype of a frame in a structure with 0.5 scale and the ratio of height to width of 1 to 1.5. Load used in the experiment was based on Uniform Building Code (UBC) 1991. Every method compared was calculated first to get equivalent diagonal strut width. The second step was modelling method using structure analysis software as a frame with a diagonal in a linear mode. The linear mode was chosen based on structure analysis commonly used by structure designers. The frame was loaded and for every model, its load and deformation values were identified. The values of load - deformation of every method were compared to those of experimental test specimen by Mehrabi and open frame. From comparative study performed, Holmes' and Bazan-Meli's equations gave results the closest to the experimental test specimen by Mehrabi. Other equations that gave close values within the limit (by comparing it to the open frame) are Saneinejad-Hobbs, Stafford-Smith, Bazan-Meli, Liauw Kwan, Paulay and Priestley, FEMA 356, Durani Luo, Hendry, Papia and Chen-Iranata.

Solar cell radiation handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carter, J. R., Jr.; Tada, H. Y.

1973-01-01

A method is presented for predicting the degradation of a solar array in a space radiation environment. Solar cell technology which emphasizes the cell parameters that degrade in a radiation environment, is discussed along with the experimental techniques used in the evaluation of radiation effects. Other topics discussed include: theoretical aspects of radiation damage, methods for developing relative damage coefficients, nature of the space radiation environment, method of calculating equivalent fluence from electron and proton energy spectrums and relative damage coefficients, and comparison of flight data with estimated degradation.

Inclusion of fluorophores in cyclodextrins: a closer look at the fluorometric determination of association constants by linear and nonlinear fitting procedures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hutterer, Rudi

2018-01-01

The author discusses methods for the fluorometric determination of affinity constants by linear and nonlinear fitting methods. This is outlined in particular for the interaction between cyclodextrins and several anesthetic drugs including benzocaine. Special emphasis is given to the limitations of certain fits, and the impact of such studies on enzyme-substrate interactions are demonstrated. Both the experimental part and methods of analysis are well suited for students in an advanced lab.

Octupole correlations in the 144Ba nucleus described with symmetry-conserving configuration-mixing calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernard, Rémi N.; Robledo, Luis M.; Rodríguez, Tomás R.

2016-06-01

We study the interplay of quadrupole and octupole degrees of freedom in the structure of the isotope 144Ba. A symmetry-conserving configuration-mixing method (SCCM) based on a Gogny energy density functional (EDF) has been used. The method includes particle number, parity, and angular momentum restoration as well as axial quadrupole and octupole shape mixing within the generator coordinate method. Predictions both for excitation energies and electromagnetic transition probabilities are in good agreement with the most recent experimental data.

Prediction of overall and blade-element performance for axial-flow pump configurations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Serovy, G. K.; Kavanagh, P.; Okiishi, T. H.; Miller, M. J.

1973-01-01

A method and a digital computer program for prediction of the distributions of fluid velocity and properties in axial flow pump configurations are described and evaluated. The method uses the blade-element flow model and an iterative numerical solution of the radial equilbrium and continuity conditions. Correlated experimental results are used to generate alternative methods for estimating blade-element turning and loss characteristics. Detailed descriptions of the computer program are included, with example input and typical computed results.

Detection of delamination defects in CFRP materials using ultrasonic signal processing.

PubMed

Benammar, Abdessalem; Drai, Redouane; Guessoum, Abderrezak

2008-12-01

In this paper, signal processing techniques are tested for their ability to resolve echoes associated with delaminations in carbon fiber-reinforced polymer multi-layered composite materials (CFRP) detected by ultrasonic methods. These methods include split spectrum processing (SSP) and the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. A simulation study on defect detection was performed, and results were validated experimentally on CFRP with and without delamination defects taken from aircraft. Comparison of the methods for their ability to resolve echoes are made.

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

Marshall, William BJ J; Rearden, Bradley T

The validation of neutron transport methods used in nuclear criticality safety analyses is required by consensus American National Standards Institute/American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS) standards. In the last decade, there has been an increased interest in correlations among critical experiments used in validation that have shared physical attributes and which impact the independence of each measurement. The statistical methods included in many of the frequently cited guidance documents on performing validation calculations incorporate the assumption that all individual measurements are independent, so little guidance is available to practitioners on the topic. Typical guidance includes recommendations to select experiments from multiple facilitiesmore » and experiment series in an attempt to minimize the impact of correlations or common-cause errors in experiments. Recent efforts have been made both to determine the magnitude of such correlations between experiments and to develop and apply methods for adjusting the bias and bias uncertainty to account for the correlations. This paper describes recent work performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory using the Sampler sequence from the SCALE code system to develop experimental correlations using a Monte Carlo sampling technique. Sampler will be available for the first time with the release of SCALE 6.2, and a brief introduction to the methods used to calculate experiment correlations within this new sequence is presented in this paper. Techniques to utilize these correlations in the establishment of upper subcritical limits are the subject of a companion paper and will not be discussed here. Example experimental uncertainties and correlation coefficients are presented for a variety of low-enriched uranium water-moderated lattice experiments selected for use in a benchmark exercise by the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety Subgroup on Uncertainty Analysis in Criticality Safety Analyses. The results include studies on the effect of fuel rod pitch on the correlations, and some observations are also made regarding difficulties in determining experimental correlations using the Monte Carlo sampling technique.« less

Ethical review of human experimentation in the consumer products industry.

PubMed

Steadman, J H

1998-04-01

Ethical review of human experimentation in the consumer products industry is important and provides instructive parallels and contrasts with clinical medical research. The procedures used in Unilever NV/plc are described. A central body sets standards for and monitors compliance with ethical review of human studies throughout Unilever. Guidance has been produced on many topics including issues applying generally to human experimentation and more specifically to the consumer products sector. Deficiencies and inconsistencies in the procedures for ethical review and the care of subjects during the conduct of studies have been identified and corrected. Appropriate uniform standards have been achieved across all Unilever operations. All human experimentation in the industry needs adequate ethical review. Although the methods used by individual companies may differ, procedures must ensure uniform high standards across a global industry.

Controlled experiments for dense gas diffusion: Experimental design and execution, model comparison

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

Egami, R.; Bowen, J.; Coulombe, W.

1995-07-01

An experimental baseline CO2 release experiment at the DOE Spill Test Facility on the Nevada Test Site in Southern Nevada is described. This experiment was unique in its use of CO2 as a surrogate gas representative of a variety of specific chemicals. Introductory discussion places the experiment in historical perspective. CO2 was selected as a surrogate gas to provide a data base suitable for evaluation of model scenarios involving a variety of specific dense gases. The experiment design and setup are described, including design rationale and quality assurance methods employed. Resulting experimental data are summarized. Data usefulness is examined throughmore » a preliminary comparison of experimental results with simulations performed using the SLAV and DEGADIS dense gas models.« less

ELEVEN BROADCASTING EXPERIMENTS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

PERRATON, HILARY D.

A REVIEW IS MADE OF EXPERIMENTAL COURSES COMBINING THE USE OF RADIO, TELEVISION, AND CORRESPONDENCE STUDY AND GIVEN BY THE NATIONAL EXTENSION COLLEGE IN ENGLAND. COURSES INCLUDED ENGLISH, MATHEMATICS, SOCIAL WORK, PHYSICS, STATISTICS, AND COMPUTERS. TWO METHODS OF LINKING CORRESPONDENCE COURSES TO BROADCASTS WERE USED--IN MATHEMATICS AND SOCIAL…

14 CFR 1240.102 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Contributions Board. (d) Commercial quality refers to computer software that is not in an experimental or beta..., engineering or scientific concept, idea, design, process, or product, reported as new technology on NASA Form...) Invention includes any act, method, process, machine, manufacture, design, or composition of matter, or any...

14 CFR 1240.102 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Contributions Board. (d) Commercial quality refers to computer software that is not in an experimental or beta..., engineering or scientific concept, idea, design, process, or product, reported as new technology on NASA Form...) Invention includes any act, method, process, machine, manufacture, design, or composition of matter, or any...

Advanced Feedback Methods in Information Retrieval.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salton, G.; And Others

1985-01-01

In this study, automatic feedback techniques are applied to Boolean query statements in online information retrieval to generate improved query statements based on information contained in previously retrieved documents. Feedback operations are carried out using conventional Boolean logic and extended logic. Experimental output is included to…

Experimental evolution of multicellularity using microbial pseudo-organisms.

PubMed

Queller, David C; Strassmann, Joan E

2013-02-23

In a major evolutionary transition to a new level of organization, internal conflicts must be controlled before the transition can truly be successful. One such transition is that from single cells to multicellularity. Conflicts among cells in multicellular organisms can be greatly reduced if they consist of genetically identical clones. However, mutations to cheaters that experience one round of within-individual selection could still be a problem, particularly for certain life cycles. We propose an experimental evolution method to investigate this issue, using micro-organisms to construct multicellular pseudo-organisms, which can be evolved under different artificial life cycles. These experiments can be used to test the importance of various life cycle features in maintaining cooperation. They include structured reproduction, in which small propagule size reduces within-individual genetic variation. They also include structured growth, which increases local relatedness within individual bodies. Our method provides a novel way to test how different life cycles favour cooperation, even for life cycles that do not exist.

A novel series of 1, 4-Dihydropyridine (DHP) derivatives bearing thiazolidin-4-one: From synthesis to structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bade, Tahseen S.; Ebrahimi, Hossein Pasha; Alsalim, Tahseen A.; Titinchi, Salam J. J.; Abbo, Hanna S.; Bolandnazar, Zeinab; Ebrahimi, Amirpasha

2017-06-01

A novel series of 1, 4-Dihydropyridine (DHP) thiazolidin-4-one compounds derived from dihydropyridine hydrazones Schiff bases with thioglycolic acid were synthesized through an efficient Hantzsch reaction and experimentally characterized by spectral methods using IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectroscopic methods. Herein, DHPs were synthesized by an improved Hantzsch procedure in the excellent yields by three different conditions including reflux condensation, fusion, and the microwave irradiation. An additional comparison of applied methodology routes was used to confirm the advantages including short reaction time, good yields, and operational simplicity. Furthermore, the structural and electronic properties of the studied molecules were theoretically investigated by performing density functional theory (DFT) to access reliable results to the experimental values. The molecular geometry, HOMO, and LUMO of the studied compounds were calculated. The theoretical 13C chemical shift results were also calculated using the gauge independent atomic orbital (GIAO) approach and their respective linear correlations were obtained.

Recent progress of the Laser-driven Ion-beam Trace Probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xiaoyi; Xiao, Chijie; Chen, Yihang; Xu, Tianchao; Yu, Yi; Xu, Min; Wang, Long; Lin, Chen; Wang, Xiaogang

2017-10-01

The Laser-driven Ion-beam Trace Probe (LITP) is a new method to diagnose the poloidal magnetic field and radial electric field in tokamaks. Recently significant progresses have been made as follows. 1) The experimental system has been set up on the PKU Plasma Test (PPT) linear device and begun to validate the principle of LITP, including the ion source, the ion detector and the poloidal magnetic field cable. Preliminary experimental results matched the theoretical prediction well. 2) The reconstruction principle has been improved including the nonlinear effect. 3) Tomography methods have been applied in the reconstruction codes. Now the laser-driven ion-beam accelerator has been setup on the PPT device, and further test of LITP will start soon. After that a prototype of LITP system will be designed and setup on the HL-2A tokamak device. This work was supported by the CHINA MOST under 2012YQ030142, ITER-CHINA program 2015GB120001 and National Natural Science Foundation of China under 11575014 and 11375053.

Dynamic equilibration of airway smooth muscle contraction during physiological loading.

PubMed

Latourelle, Jeanne; Fabry, Ben; Fredberg, Jeffrey J

2002-02-01

Airway smooth muscle contraction is the central event in acute airway narrowing in asthma. Most studies of isolated muscle have focused on statically equilibrated contractile states that arise from isometric or isotonic contractions. It has recently been established, however, that muscle length is determined by a dynamically equilibrated state of the muscle in which small tidal stretches associated with the ongoing action of breathing act to perturb the binding of myosin to actin. To further investigate this phenomenon, we describe in this report an experimental method for subjecting isolated muscle to a dynamic microenvironment designed to closely approximate that experienced in vivo. Unlike previous methods that used either time-varying length control, force control, or time-invariant auxotonic loads, this method uses transpulmonary pressure as the controlled variable, with both muscle force and muscle length free to adjust as they would in vivo. The method was implemented by using a servo-controlled lever arm to load activated airway smooth muscle strips with transpulmonary pressure fluctuations of increasing amplitude, simulating the action of breathing. The results are not consistent with classical ideas of airway narrowing, which rest on the assumption of a statically equilibrated contractile state; they are consistent, however, with the theory of perturbed equilibria of myosin binding. This experimental method will allow for quantitative experimental evaluation of factors that were previously outside of experimental control, including sensitivity of muscle length to changes of tidal volume, changes of lung volume, shape of the load characteristic, loss of parenchymal support and inflammatory thickening of airway wall compartments.

Theoretical and experimental analyses to determine the effects of crystal orientation and grain size on the thermoelectric properties of oblique deposited bismuth telluride thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morikawa, Satoshi; Satake, Yuji; Takashiri, Masayuki

2018-06-01

The effects of crystal orientation and grain size on the thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 thin films were investigated by conducting experimental and theoretical analyses. To vary the crystal orientation and grain size, we performed oblique deposition, followed by thermal annealing treatment. The crystal orientation decreased as the oblique angle was increased, while the grain size was not changed significantly. The thermoelectric properties were measured at room temperature. A theoretical analysis was performed using a first principles method based on density functional theory. Then the semi-classical Boltzmann transport equation was used in the relaxation time approximation, with the effect of grain size included. Furthermore, the effect of crystal orientation was included in the calculation based on a simple semi-experimental model. A maximum power factor of 11.6 µW/(cm·K2) was obtained at an oblique angle of 40°. The calculated thermoelectric properties were in very good agreement with the experimentally measured values.

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques Applied to the Quantitative Characterization of Textile Composite Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, James G.

1997-01-01

In this Progress Report, we describe our further development of advanced ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation methods applied to the characterization of anisotropic materials. We present images obtained from experimental measurements of ultrasonic diffraction patterns transmitted through water only and transmitted through water and a thin woven composite. All images of diffraction patterns have been included on the accompanying CD-ROM in the JPEG format and Adobe TM Portable Document Format (PDF), in addition to the inclusion of hardcopies of the images contained in this report. In our previous semi-annual Progress Report (NAG 1-1848, December, 1996), we proposed a simple model to simulate the effect of a thin woven composite on an insonifying ultrasonic pressure field. This initial approach provided an avenue to begin development of a robust measurement method for nondestructive evaluation of anisotropic materials. In this Progress Report, we extend that work by performing experimental measurements on a single layer of a five-harness biaxial woven composite to investigate how a thin, yet architecturally complex, material interacts with the insonifying ultrasonic field. In Section 2 of this Progress Report we describe the experimental arrangement and methods for data acquisition of the ultrasonic diffraction patterns upon transmission through a thin woven composite. We also briefly describe the thin composite specimen investigated. Section 3 details the analysis of the experimental data followed by the experimental results in Section 4. Finally, a discussion of the observations and conclusions is found in Section 5.

A global parallel model based design of experiments method to minimize model output uncertainty.

PubMed

Bazil, Jason N; Buzzard, Gregory T; Rundell, Ann E

2012-03-01

Model-based experiment design specifies the data to be collected that will most effectively characterize the biological system under study. Existing model-based design of experiment algorithms have primarily relied on Fisher Information Matrix-based methods to choose the best experiment in a sequential manner. However, these are largely local methods that require an initial estimate of the parameter values, which are often highly uncertain, particularly when data is limited. In this paper, we provide an approach to specify an informative sequence of multiple design points (parallel design) that will constrain the dynamical uncertainty of the biological system responses to within experimentally detectable limits as specified by the estimated experimental noise. The method is based upon computationally efficient sparse grids and requires only a bounded uncertain parameter space; it does not rely upon initial parameter estimates. The design sequence emerges through the use of scenario trees with experimental design points chosen to minimize the uncertainty in the predicted dynamics of the measurable responses of the system. The algorithm was illustrated herein using a T cell activation model for three problems that ranged in dimension from 2D to 19D. The results demonstrate that it is possible to extract useful information from a mathematical model where traditional model-based design of experiments approaches most certainly fail. The experiments designed via this method fully constrain the model output dynamics to within experimentally resolvable limits. The method is effective for highly uncertain biological systems characterized by deterministic mathematical models with limited data sets. Also, it is highly modular and can be modified to include a variety of methodologies such as input design and model discrimination.

Protein loop modeling using a new hybrid energy function and its application to modeling in inaccurate structural environments.

PubMed

Park, Hahnbeom; Lee, Gyu Rie; Heo, Lim; Seok, Chaok

2014-01-01

Protein loop modeling is a tool for predicting protein local structures of particular interest, providing opportunities for applications involving protein structure prediction and de novo protein design. Until recently, the majority of loop modeling methods have been developed and tested by reconstructing loops in frameworks of experimentally resolved structures. In many practical applications, however, the protein loops to be modeled are located in inaccurate structural environments. These include loops in model structures, low-resolution experimental structures, or experimental structures of different functional forms. Accordingly, discrepancies in the accuracy of the structural environment assumed in development of the method and that in practical applications present additional challenges to modern loop modeling methods. This study demonstrates a new strategy for employing a hybrid energy function combining physics-based and knowledge-based components to help tackle this challenge. The hybrid energy function is designed to combine the strengths of each energy component, simultaneously maintaining accurate loop structure prediction in a high-resolution framework structure and tolerating minor environmental errors in low-resolution structures. A loop modeling method based on global optimization of this new energy function is tested on loop targets situated in different levels of environmental errors, ranging from experimental structures to structures perturbed in backbone as well as side chains and template-based model structures. The new method performs comparably to force field-based approaches in loop reconstruction in crystal structures and better in loop prediction in inaccurate framework structures. This result suggests that higher-accuracy predictions would be possible for a broader range of applications. The web server for this method is available at http://galaxy.seoklab.org/loop with the PS2 option for the scoring function.

A composite experimental dynamic substructuring method based on partitioned algorithms and localized Lagrange multipliers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbiati, Giuseppe; La Salandra, Vincenzo; Bursi, Oreste S.; Caracoglia, Luca

2018-02-01

Successful online hybrid (numerical/physical) dynamic substructuring simulations have shown their potential in enabling realistic dynamic analysis of almost any type of non-linear structural system (e.g., an as-built/isolated viaduct, a petrochemical piping system subjected to non-stationary seismic loading, etc.). Moreover, owing to faster and more accurate testing equipment, a number of different offline experimental substructuring methods, operating both in time (e.g. the impulse-based substructuring) and frequency domains (i.e. the Lagrange multiplier frequency-based substructuring), have been employed in mechanical engineering to examine dynamic substructure coupling. Numerous studies have dealt with the above-mentioned methods and with consequent uncertainty propagation issues, either associated with experimental errors or modelling assumptions. Nonetheless, a limited number of publications have systematically cross-examined the performance of the various Experimental Dynamic Substructuring (EDS) methods and the possibility of their exploitation in a complementary way to expedite a hybrid experiment/numerical simulation. From this perspective, this paper performs a comparative uncertainty propagation analysis of three EDS algorithms for coupling physical and numerical subdomains with a dual assembly approach based on localized Lagrange multipliers. The main results and comparisons are based on a series of Monte Carlo simulations carried out on a five-DoF linear/non-linear chain-like systems that include typical aleatoric uncertainties emerging from measurement errors and excitation loads. In addition, we propose a new Composite-EDS (C-EDS) method to fuse both online and offline algorithms into a unique simulator. Capitalizing from the results of a more complex case study composed of a coupled isolated tank-piping system, we provide a feasible way to employ the C-EDS method when nonlinearities and multi-point constraints are present in the emulated system.

Impact of Family Planning Health Education on the Knowledge and Attitude among Yasoujian Women

PubMed Central

Mahamed, Fariba; Parhizkar, Saadat; Shirazi, Alireza Raygan

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of health education on the knowledge and attitude regarding family planning and contraception’s method among the women who obligatory attended the Premarital Counseling Center in Yasouj city, Iran. An experimental study was carried out and a total of 200 women were selected for the study using convenience sampling method among women who attended in the health centre in order to utilize the necessary premarital actions. Respondents were divided by two experimental and control groups randomly. A pre-evaluation was done on the knowledge and attitude on family planning using a structured questionnaire. After which, the health education for experimental group was done within four educational sessions during 4 consecutive weeks and control group underwent traditional education method. Post evaluation was utilized for any changes regarding their knowledge and attitude among the respondents immediately after the intervention. Independent and paired t-test was used to evaluate the mean knowledge and attitude scores differences among both groups. Results showed that there was a significant improvement in respondents’ knowledge and attitude after educational program in experimental group (p<0.001), while no significant difference was observed in knowledge and attitude of control group. The finding also indicated that age was significantly associated with the level of respondents’ knowledge. These results deal the effectiveness of the educational method. In conclusion, the educational method is effective in increasing the knowledge and improving the attitude of women regarding family planning in Yasouj compared to current used educational method. Future educational programs need to incorporate the features that have been associated with successful interventions in the past, as well as including their own evaluation procedures. PMID:22980158

Experimental Psychopathology Paradigms for Alcohol Use Disorders: Applications for Translational Research

PubMed Central

Bujarski, Spencer; Ray, Lara A.

2016-01-01

In spite of high prevalence and disease burden, scientific consensus on the etiology and treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) has yet to be reached. The development and utilization of experimental psychopathology paradigms in the human laboratory represents a cornerstone of AUD research. In this review, we describe and critically evaluate the major experimental psychopathology paradigms developed for AUD, with an emphasis on their implications, strengths, weaknesses, and methodological considerations. Specifically we review alcohol administration, self-administration, cue-reactivity, and stress-reactivity paradigms. We also provide an introduction to the application of experimental psychopathology methods to translational research including genetics, neuroimaging, pharmacological and behavioral treatment development, and translational science. Through refining and manipulating key phenotypes of interest, these experimental paradigms have the potential to elucidate AUD etiological factors, improve the efficiency of treatment developments, and refine treatment targets thus advancing precision medicine. PMID:27266992

Experimental psychopathology paradigms for alcohol use disorders: Applications for translational research.

PubMed

Bujarski, Spencer; Ray, Lara A

2016-11-01

In spite of high prevalence and disease burden, scientific consensus on the etiology and treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) has yet to be reached. The development and utilization of experimental psychopathology paradigms in the human laboratory represents a cornerstone of AUD research. In this review, we describe and critically evaluate the major experimental psychopathology paradigms developed for AUD, with an emphasis on their implications, strengths, weaknesses, and methodological considerations. Specifically we review alcohol administration, self-administration, cue-reactivity, and stress-reactivity paradigms. We also provide an introduction to the application of experimental psychopathology methods to translational research including genetics, neuroimaging, pharmacological and behavioral treatment development, and translational science. Through refining and manipulating key phenotypes of interest, these experimental paradigms have the potential to elucidate AUD etiological factors, improve the efficiency of treatment developments, and refine treatment targets thus advancing precision medicine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Drryl P. Butt; Brian Jaques

Research conducted for this NERI project has advanced the understanding and feasibility of nitride nuclear fuel processing. In order to perform this research, necessary laboratory infrastructure was developed; including basic facilities and experimental equipment. Notable accomplishments from this project include: the synthesis of uranium, dysprosium, and cerium nitrides using a novel, low-cost mechanical method at room temperature; the synthesis of phase pure UN, DyN, and CeN using thermal methods; and the sintering of UN and (Ux, Dy1-x)N (0.7 ≤ X ≤ 1) pellets from phase pure powder that was synthesized in the Advanced Materials Laboratory at Boise State University.

[Photography as analysis document, body and medicine: theory, method and criticism--the experience of Museo Nacional de Medicina Enrique Laval].

PubMed

Robinson, César Leyton; Caballero, Andrés Díaz

2007-01-01

This article is an experimental methodological reflection on the use of medical images as useful documents for constructing the history of medicine. A method is used that is based on guidelines or analysis topics that include different ways of viewing documents, from aesthetic, technical, social and political theories to historical and medical thinking. Some exercises are also included that enhance the proposal for the reader: rediscovering the worlds in society that harbor these medical photographical archives to obtain a new theoretical approach to the construction of the history of medical science.

Phase-change lines, scale breaks, and trend lines using Excel 2013.

PubMed

Deochand, Neil; Costello, Mack S; Fuqua, R Wayne

2015-01-01

The development of graphing skills for behavior analysts is an ongoing process. Specialized graphing software is often expensive, is not widely disseminated, and may require specific training. Dixon et al. (2009) provided an updated task analysis for graph making in the widely used platform Excel 2007. Vanselow and Bourret (2012) provided online tutorials that outline some alternate methods also using Office 2007. This article serves as an update to those task analyses and includes some alternative and underutilized methods in Excel 2013. To examine the utility of our recommendations, 12 psychology graduate students were presented with the task analyses, and the experimenters evaluated their performance and noted feedback. The task analyses were rated favorably. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Nuclease Target Site Selection for Maximizing On-target Activity and Minimizing Off-target Effects in Genome Editing

PubMed Central

Lee, Ciaran M; Cradick, Thomas J; Fine, Eli J; Bao, Gang

2016-01-01

The rapid advancement in targeted genome editing using engineered nucleases such as ZFNs, TALENs, and CRISPR/Cas9 systems has resulted in a suite of powerful methods that allows researchers to target any genomic locus of interest. A complementary set of design tools has been developed to aid researchers with nuclease design, target site selection, and experimental validation. Here, we review the various tools available for target selection in designing engineered nucleases, and for quantifying nuclease activity and specificity, including web-based search tools and experimental methods. We also elucidate challenges in target selection, especially in predicting off-target effects, and discuss future directions in precision genome editing and its applications. PMID:26750397

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

Schaeffel, J.A.; Mullinix, B.R.; Ranson, W.F.

An experimental technique to simulate and evaluate the effects of high concentrations of x-rays resulting from a nuclear detonation on missile structures is presented. Data from 34 tests are included to demonstrate the technique. The effects of variations in the foil thickness, capacitor voltage, and plate thickness on the total impulse and maximum strain in the structure were determined. The experimental technique utilizes a high energy capacitor discharge unit to explode an aluminum foil on the surface of the structure. The structural response is evaluated by optical methods using the grid slope deflection method. The fringe patterns were recorded usingmore » a high-speed framing camera. The data were digitized using an optical comparator with an x-y table. The analysis was performed on a CDC 6600 computer.« less

Three-Dimensional Displacement Measurement Using Diffractive Optic Interferometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbert, John A.; Cole, Helen J.; Shepherd, Robert L.; Ashley Paul R.

1999-01-01

This paper introduces a powerful new optical method which utilizes diffractive optic interferometry (DOI) to measure both in-plane and out-of-plane displacement with variable sensitivity using the same optical system. Sensitivity is varied by utilizing various combinations of the different wavefronts produced by a conjugate pair of binary Optical elements; a transmission grating is used to produce several illumination beams while a reflective grating replicated on the surface of a specimen, provides the reference for the undeformed state. A derivation of the equations which govern the method is included along with a discussion Of the experimental tests conducted to verify the theory. Overall, the results are excellent, with experimental data agreeing to within a few percent of the theoretical predictions.

A Review of Transmission Diagnostics Research at NASA Lewis Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zakajsek, James J.

1994-01-01

This paper presents a summary of the transmission diagnostics research work conducted at NASA Lewis Research Center over the last four years. In 1990, the Transmission Health and Usage Monitoring Research Team at NASA Lewis conducted a survey to determine the critical needs of the diagnostics community. Survey results indicated that experimental verification of gear and bearing fault detection methods, improved fault detection in planetary systems, and damage magnitude assessment and prognostics research were all critical to a highly reliable health and usage monitoring system. In response to this, a variety of transmission fault detection methods were applied to experimentally obtained fatigue data. Failure modes of the fatigue data include a variety of gear pitting failures, tooth wear, tooth fracture, and bearing spalling failures. Overall results indicate that, of the gear fault detection techniques, no one method can successfully detect all possible failure modes. The more successful methods need to be integrated into a single more reliable detection technique. A recently developed method, NA4, in addition to being one of the more successful gear fault detection methods, was also found to exhibit damage magnitude estimation capabilities.

MLACP: machine-learning-based prediction of anticancer peptides

PubMed Central

Manavalan, Balachandran; Basith, Shaherin; Shin, Tae Hwan; Choi, Sun; Kim, Myeong Ok; Lee, Gwang

2017-01-01

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, and use of therapeutic peptides to target and kill cancer cells has received considerable attention in recent years. Identification of anticancer peptides (ACPs) through wet-lab experimentation is expensive and often time consuming; therefore, development of an efficient computational method is essential to identify potential ACP candidates prior to in vitro experimentation. In this study, we developed support vector machine- and random forest-based machine-learning methods for the prediction of ACPs using the features calculated from the amino acid sequence, including amino acid composition, dipeptide composition, atomic composition, and physicochemical properties. We trained our methods using the Tyagi-B dataset and determined the machine parameters by 10-fold cross-validation. Furthermore, we evaluated the performance of our methods on two benchmarking datasets, with our results showing that the random forest-based method outperformed the existing methods with an average accuracy and Matthews correlation coefficient value of 88.7% and 0.78, respectively. To assist the scientific community, we also developed a publicly accessible web server at www.thegleelab.org/MLACP.html. PMID:29100375

Infrared Ship Target Segmentation Based on Spatial Information Improved FCM.

PubMed

Bai, Xiangzhi; Chen, Zhiguo; Zhang, Yu; Liu, Zhaoying; Lu, Yi

2016-12-01

Segmentation of infrared (IR) ship images is always a challenging task, because of the intensity inhomogeneity and noise. The fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering is a classical method widely used in image segmentation. However, it has some shortcomings, like not considering the spatial information or being sensitive to noise. In this paper, an improved FCM method based on the spatial information is proposed for IR ship target segmentation. The improvements include two parts: 1) adding the nonlocal spatial information based on the ship target and 2) using the spatial shape information of the contour of the ship target to refine the local spatial constraint by Markov random field. In addition, the results of K -means are used to initialize the improved FCM method. Experimental results show that the improved method is effective and performs better than the existing methods, including the existing FCM methods, for segmentation of the IR ship images.

Prediction of ground effects on aircraft noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pao, S. P.; Wenzel, A. R.; Oncley, P. B.

1978-01-01

A unified method is recommended for predicting ground effects on noise. This method may be used in flyover noise predictions and in correcting static test-stand data to free-field conditions. The recommendation is based on a review of recent progress in the theory of ground effects and of the experimental evidence which supports this theory. It is shown that a surface wave must be included sometimes in the prediction method. Prediction equations are collected conveniently in a single section of the paper. Methods of measuring ground impedance and the resulting ground-impedance data are also reviewed because the recommended method is based on a locally reactive impedance boundary model. Current practice of estimating ground effects are reviewed and consideration is given to practical problems in applying the recommended method. These problems include finite frequency-band filters, finite source dimension, wind and temperature gradients, and signal incoherence.

Viscous-inviscid interaction method including wake effects for three-dimensional wing-body configurations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Streett, C. L.

1981-01-01

A viscous-inviscid interaction method has been developed by using a three-dimensional integral boundary-layer method which produces results in good agreement with a finite-difference method in a fraction of the computer time. The integral method is stable and robust and incorporates a model for computation in a small region of streamwise separation. A locally two-dimensional wake model, accounting for thickness and curvature effects, is also included in the interaction procedure. Computation time spent in converging an interacted result is, many times, only slightly greater than that required to converge an inviscid calculation. Results are shown from the interaction method, run at experimental angle of attack, Reynolds number, and Mach number, on a wing-body test case for which viscous effects are large. Agreement with experiment is good; in particular, the present wake model improves prediction of the spanwise lift distribution and lower surface cove pressure.

Isothermal Titration Calorimetry Can Provide Critical Thinking Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Dale E.; Goode, David R.; Seney, Caryn S.; Boatwright, Jennifer M.

2016-01-01

College chemistry faculties might not have considered including isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) in their majors' curriculum because experimental data from this instrumental method are often analyzed via automation (software). However, the software-based data analysis can be replaced with a spreadsheet-based analysis that is readily…

Laboratory Demonstration of Low-Cost Method for Producing Thin Film on Nonconductors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebong, A. U.; And Others

1991-01-01

A low-cost procedure for metallizing a silicon p-n junction diode by electroless nickel plating is reported. The procedure demonstrates that expensive salts can be excluded without affecting the results. The experimental procedure, measurement, results, and discussion are included. (Author/KR)

A Practical and Convenient Diffusion Apparatus: An Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Experiment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clifford, Ben; Ochiai, E. I.

1980-01-01

Described is a diffusion apparatus to be used in an undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory experiment to determine the diffusion coefficients of aqueous solutions of sucrose and potassium dichromate. Included is the principle of the method, apparatus design and description, and experimental procedure. (Author/DS)

Teaching the Scientific Method: It's All in the Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayers, James M.; Ayers, Kathleen M.

2007-01-01

A three unit module of inquiry, including morphological comparison, cladogram construction, and data mining has been developed to teach students the nature of experimental science. Students generate angiosperm morphological data, form cladistic hypotheses, then mine taxonomic, bioinformatic and historical data from many sources to replicate and…

[Experimental rationale for the parameters of a rapid method for oxidase activity determination].

PubMed

Butorina, N N

2010-01-01

Experimental rationale is provided for the parameters of a rapid (1-2-min) test to concurrently determine the oxidase activity of all bacteria grown on the membrane filter after water filtration. Oxidase reagents that are the aqueous solutions of tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride and demethyl-p-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride have been first ascertained to exert no effect on the viability and enzymatic activity of bacteria after one-hour contact. An algorithm has been improved for the rapid oxidase activity test: the allowable time for bacteria to contact oxidase reagents and procedures for minimizing the effect on bacterial biochemical activity following the contact. An accelerated method based on lactose medium with tergitol 7 and Endo agar has been devised to determine coliform bacteria, by applying the rapid oxidase test: the time of a final response is 18-24 hours. The method has been included into GOST 52426-2005.

Experimental studies of forensic odontology to aid in the identification process

PubMed Central

Saxena, Susmita; Sharma, Preeti; Gupta, Nitin

2010-01-01

The importance of dental identification is on the increase year after year. With the passage of time, the role of forensic odontology has increased as very often teeth and dental restorations are the only means of identification. Forensic odontology has played a key role in identification of persons in mass disasters (aviation, earthquakes, Tsunamis), in crime investigations, in ethnic studies, and in identification of decomposed and disfigured bodies like that of drowned persons, fire victims, and victims of motor vehicle accidents. The various methods employed in forensic odontology include tooth prints, radiographs, photographic study, rugoscopy, cheiloscopy and molecular methods. Investigative methods applied in forensic odontology are reasonably reliable, yet the shortcomings must be accounted for to make it a more meaningful and relevant procedure. This paper gives an overview of the various experimental studies to aid in the identification processes, discussing their feasibilities and limitations in day-to-day practice. PMID:21731343

Incompressible Navier-Stokes Computations with Heat Transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiris, Cetin; Kwak, Dochan; Rogers, Stuart; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

The existing pseudocompressibility method for the system of incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is extended to heat transfer problems by including the energy equation. The solution method is based on the pseudo compressibility approach and uses an implicit-upwind differencing scheme together with the Gauss-Seidel line relaxation method. Current computations use one-equation Baldwin-Barth turbulence model which is derived from a simplified form of the standard k-epsilon model equations. Both forced and natural convection problems are examined. Numerical results from turbulent reattaching flow behind a backward-facing step will be compared against experimental measurements for the forced convection case. The validity of Boussinesq approximation to simplify the buoyancy force term will be investigated. The natural convective flow structure generated by heat transfer in a vertical rectangular cavity will be studied. The numerical results will be compared by experimental measurements by Morrison and Tran.

Designing Studies That Would Address the Multilayered Nature of Health Care

PubMed Central

Pennell, Michael; Rhoda, Dale; Hade, Erinn M.; Paskett, Electra D.

2010-01-01

We review design and analytic methods available for multilevel interventions in cancer research with particular attention to study design, sample size requirements, and potential to provide statistical evidence for causal inference. The most appropriate methods will depend on the stage of development of the research and whether randomization is possible. Early on, fractional factorial designs may be used to screen intervention components, particularly when randomization of individuals is possible. Quasi-experimental designs, including time-series and multiple baseline designs, can be useful once the intervention is designed because they require few sites and can provide the preliminary evidence to plan efficacy studies. In efficacy and effectiveness studies, group-randomized trials are preferred when randomization is possible and regression discontinuity designs are preferred otherwise if assignment based on a quantitative score is possible. Quasi-experimental designs may be used, especially when combined with recent developments in analytic methods to reduce bias in effect estimates. PMID:20386057

SimRNA: a coarse-grained method for RNA folding simulations and 3D structure prediction.

PubMed

Boniecki, Michal J; Lach, Grzegorz; Dawson, Wayne K; Tomala, Konrad; Lukasz, Pawel; Soltysinski, Tomasz; Rother, Kristian M; Bujnicki, Janusz M

2016-04-20

RNA molecules play fundamental roles in cellular processes. Their function and interactions with other biomolecules are dependent on the ability to form complex three-dimensional (3D) structures. However, experimental determination of RNA 3D structures is laborious and challenging, and therefore, the majority of known RNAs remain structurally uncharacterized. Here, we present SimRNA: a new method for computational RNA 3D structure prediction, which uses a coarse-grained representation, relies on the Monte Carlo method for sampling the conformational space, and employs a statistical potential to approximate the energy and identify conformations that correspond to biologically relevant structures. SimRNA can fold RNA molecules using only sequence information, and, on established test sequences, it recapitulates secondary structure with high accuracy, including correct prediction of pseudoknots. For modeling of complex 3D structures, it can use additional restraints, derived from experimental or computational analyses, including information about secondary structure and/or long-range contacts. SimRNA also can be used to analyze conformational landscapes and identify potential alternative structures. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Intermolecular shielding contributions studied by modeling the 13C chemical-shift tensors of organic single crystals with plane waves

PubMed Central

Johnston, Jessica C.; Iuliucci, Robbie J.; Facelli, Julio C.; Fitzgerald, George; Mueller, Karl T.

2009-01-01

In order to predict accurately the chemical shift of NMR-active nuclei in solid phase systems, magnetic shielding calculations must be capable of considering the complete lattice structure. Here we assess the accuracy of the density functional theory gauge-including projector augmented wave method, which uses pseudopotentials to approximate the nodal structure of the core electrons, to determine the magnetic properties of crystals by predicting the full chemical-shift tensors of all 13C nuclides in 14 organic single crystals from which experimental tensors have previously been reported. Plane-wave methods use periodic boundary conditions to incorporate the lattice structure, providing a substantial improvement for modeling the chemical shifts in hydrogen-bonded systems. Principal tensor components can now be predicted to an accuracy that approaches the typical experimental uncertainty. Moreover, methods that include the full solid-phase structure enable geometry optimizations to be performed on the input structures prior to calculation of the shielding. Improvement after optimization is noted here even when neutron diffraction data are used for determining the initial structures. After geometry optimization, the isotropic shift can be predicted to within 1 ppm. PMID:19831448

Computations and estimates of rate coefficients for hydrocarbon reactions of interest to the atmospheres of outer solar system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laufer, A. H.; Gardner, E. P.; Kwok, T. L.; Yung, Y. L.

1983-01-01

The rate coefficients, including Arrhenius parameters, have been computed for a number of chemical reactions involving hydrocarbon species for which experimental data are not available and which are important in planetary atmospheric models. The techniques used to calculate the kinetic parameters include the Troe and semiempirical bond energy-bond order (BEBO) or bond strength-bond length (BSBL) methods.

Bulk photovoltaic effect in epitaxial (K, Nb) substituted BiFeO3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agarwal, Radhe; Zheng, Fan; Sharma, Yogesh; Hong, Seungbum; Rappe, Andrew; Katiyar, Ram

We studied the bulk photovoltaic effect in epitaxial (K, Nb) modified BiFeO3 (BKFNO) thin films using theoretical and experimental methods. Epitaxial BKFNO thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). First, we have performed first principles density function theory (DFT) using DFT +U method to calculate electronic band structure, including Hubbard-Ueff (Ueff =U-J) correction into Hamiltonian. The electronic band structure calculations showed a direct band gap at 1.9 eV and a defect level at 1.7 eV (in a 40 atom BKFNO supercell), sufficiently lower in comparison to the experimentally observed values. Furthermore, the piezoforce microscopy (PFM) measurements indicated the presence of striped polydomains in BKFNO thin films. Angle-resolved PFM measurements were also performed to find domain orientation and net polarization directions in these films. The experimental studies of photovoltaic effect in BKNFO films showed a short circuit current of 59 micro amp/cm2 and open circuit voltage of 0.78 V. We compared our experimental results with first principles shift current theory calculations of bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE).The synergy between theory and experimental results provided a realization of significant role of BPVE in order to understand the photovoltaic mechanism in ferroelectrics.

An Integrated Optimization Design Method Based on Surrogate Modeling Applied to Diverging Duct Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanan, Lu; Qiushi, Li; Shaobin, Li

2016-12-01

This paper presents an integrated optimization design method in which uniform design, response surface methodology and genetic algorithm are used in combination. In detail, uniform design is used to select the experimental sampling points in the experimental domain and the system performance is evaluated by means of computational fluid dynamics to construct a database. After that, response surface methodology is employed to generate a surrogate mathematical model relating the optimization objective and the design variables. Subsequently, genetic algorithm is adopted and applied to the surrogate model to acquire the optimal solution in the case of satisfying some constraints. The method has been applied to the optimization design of an axisymmetric diverging duct, dealing with three design variables including one qualitative variable and two quantitative variables. The method of modeling and optimization design performs well in improving the duct aerodynamic performance and can be also applied to wider fields of mechanical design and seen as a useful tool for engineering designers, by reducing the design time and computation consumption.

Gene Ontology annotations at SGD: new data sources and annotation methods

PubMed Central

Hong, Eurie L.; Balakrishnan, Rama; Dong, Qing; Christie, Karen R.; Park, Julie; Binkley, Gail; Costanzo, Maria C.; Dwight, Selina S.; Engel, Stacia R.; Fisk, Dianna G.; Hirschman, Jodi E.; Hitz, Benjamin C.; Krieger, Cynthia J.; Livstone, Michael S.; Miyasato, Stuart R.; Nash, Robert S.; Oughtred, Rose; Skrzypek, Marek S.; Weng, Shuai; Wong, Edith D.; Zhu, Kathy K.; Dolinski, Kara; Botstein, David; Cherry, J. Michael

2008-01-01

The Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD; http://www.yeastgenome.org/) collects and organizes biological information about the chromosomal features and gene products of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although published data from traditional experimental methods are the primary sources of evidence supporting Gene Ontology (GO) annotations for a gene product, high-throughput experiments and computational predictions can also provide valuable insights in the absence of an extensive body of literature. Therefore, GO annotations available at SGD now include high-throughput data as well as computational predictions provided by the GO Annotation Project (GOA UniProt; http://www.ebi.ac.uk/GOA/). Because the annotation method used to assign GO annotations varies by data source, GO resources at SGD have been modified to distinguish data sources and annotation methods. In addition to providing information for genes that have not been experimentally characterized, GO annotations from independent sources can be compared to those made by SGD to help keep the literature-based GO annotations current. PMID:17982175

Application of the correlation constrained multivariate curve resolution alternating least-squares method for analyte quantitation in the presence of unexpected interferences using first-order instrumental data.

PubMed

Goicoechea, Héctor C; Olivieri, Alejandro C; Tauler, Romà

2010-03-01

Correlation constrained multivariate curve resolution-alternating least-squares is shown to be a feasible method for processing first-order instrumental data and achieve analyte quantitation in the presence of unexpected interferences. Both for simulated and experimental data sets, the proposed method could correctly retrieve the analyte and interference spectral profiles and perform accurate estimations of analyte concentrations in test samples. Since no information concerning the interferences was present in calibration samples, the proposed multivariate calibration approach including the correlation constraint facilitates the achievement of the so-called second-order advantage for the analyte of interest, which is known to be present for more complex higher-order richer instrumental data. The proposed method is tested using a simulated data set and two experimental data systems, one for the determination of ascorbic acid in powder juices using UV-visible absorption spectral data, and another for the determination of tetracycline in serum samples using fluorescence emission spectroscopy.

Identification of modal parameters including unmeasured forces and transient effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cauberghe, B.; Guillaume, P.; Verboven, P.; Parloo, E.

2003-08-01

In this paper, a frequency-domain method to estimate modal parameters from short data records with known input (measured) forces and unknown input forces is presented. The method can be used for an experimental modal analysis, an operational modal analysis (output-only data) and the combination of both. A traditional experimental and operational modal analysis in the frequency domain starts respectively, from frequency response functions and spectral density functions. To estimate these functions accurately sufficient data have to be available. The technique developed in this paper estimates the modal parameters directly from the Fourier spectra of the outputs and the known input. Instead of using Hanning windows on these short data records the transient effects are estimated simultaneously with the modal parameters. The method is illustrated, tested and validated by Monte Carlo simulations and experiments. The presented method to process short data sequences leads to unbiased estimates with a small variance in comparison to the more traditional approaches.

[Developments in preparation and experimental method of solid phase microextraction fibers].

PubMed

Yi, Xu; Fu, Yujie

2004-09-01

Solid phase microextraction (SPME) is a simple and effective adsorption and desorption technique, which concentrates volatile or nonvolatile compounds from liquid samples or headspace of samples. SPME is compatible with analyte separation and detection by gas chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, and other instrumental methods. It can provide many advantages, such as wide linear scale, low solvent and sample consumption, short analytical times, low detection limits, simple apparatus, and so on. The theory of SPME is introduced, which includes equilibrium theory and non-equilibrium theory. The novel development of fiber preparation methods and relative experimental techniques are discussed. In addition to commercial fiber preparation, different newly developed fabrication techniques, such as sol-gel, electronic deposition, carbon-base adsorption, high-temperature epoxy immobilization, are presented. Effects of extraction modes, selection of fiber coating, optimization of operating conditions, method sensitivity and precision, and systematical automation, are taken into considerations in the analytical process of SPME. A simple perspective of SPME is proposed at last.

Recovering the dynamics of root growth and development using novel image acquisition and analysis methods

PubMed Central

Wells, Darren M.; French, Andrew P.; Naeem, Asad; Ishaq, Omer; Traini, Richard; Hijazi, Hussein; Bennett, Malcolm J.; Pridmore, Tony P.

2012-01-01

Roots are highly responsive to environmental signals encountered in the rhizosphere, such as nutrients, mechanical resistance and gravity. As a result, root growth and development is very plastic. If this complex and vital process is to be understood, methods and tools are required to capture the dynamics of root responses. Tools are needed which are high-throughput, supporting large-scale experimental work, and provide accurate, high-resolution, quantitative data. We describe and demonstrate the efficacy of the high-throughput and high-resolution root imaging systems recently developed within the Centre for Plant Integrative Biology (CPIB). This toolset includes (i) robotic imaging hardware to generate time-lapse datasets from standard cameras under infrared illumination and (ii) automated image analysis methods and software to extract quantitative information about root growth and development both from these images and via high-resolution light microscopy. These methods are demonstrated using data gathered during an experimental study of the gravitropic response of Arabidopsis thaliana. PMID:22527394

Recovering the dynamics of root growth and development using novel image acquisition and analysis methods.

PubMed

Wells, Darren M; French, Andrew P; Naeem, Asad; Ishaq, Omer; Traini, Richard; Hijazi, Hussein I; Hijazi, Hussein; Bennett, Malcolm J; Pridmore, Tony P

2012-06-05

Roots are highly responsive to environmental signals encountered in the rhizosphere, such as nutrients, mechanical resistance and gravity. As a result, root growth and development is very plastic. If this complex and vital process is to be understood, methods and tools are required to capture the dynamics of root responses. Tools are needed which are high-throughput, supporting large-scale experimental work, and provide accurate, high-resolution, quantitative data. We describe and demonstrate the efficacy of the high-throughput and high-resolution root imaging systems recently developed within the Centre for Plant Integrative Biology (CPIB). This toolset includes (i) robotic imaging hardware to generate time-lapse datasets from standard cameras under infrared illumination and (ii) automated image analysis methods and software to extract quantitative information about root growth and development both from these images and via high-resolution light microscopy. These methods are demonstrated using data gathered during an experimental study of the gravitropic response of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Determination of component volumes of lipid bilayers from simulations.

PubMed Central

Petrache, H I; Feller, S E; Nagle, J F

1997-01-01

An efficient method for extracting volumetric data from simulations is developed. The method is illustrated using a recent atomic-level molecular dynamics simulation of L alpha phase 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine bilayer. Results from this simulation are obtained for the volumes of water (VW), lipid (V1), chain methylenes (V2), chain terminal methyls (V3), and lipid headgroups (VH), including separate volumes for carboxyl (Vcoo), glyceryl (Vgl), phosphoryl (VPO4), and choline (Vchol) groups. The method assumes only that each group has the same average volume regardless of its location in the bilayer, and this assumption is then tested with the current simulation. The volumes obtained agree well with the values VW and VL that have been obtained directly from experiment, as well as with the volumes VH, V2, and V3 that require certain assumptions in addition to the experimental data. This method should help to support and refine some assumptions that are necessary when interpreting experimental data. Images FIGURE 4 PMID:9129826

An experimental facility for the visual study of turbulent flows.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brodkey, R. S.; Hershey, H. C.; Corino, E. R.

1971-01-01

An experimental technique which allows visual observations of the wall area in turbulent pipe flow is described in detail. It requires neither the introduction of any injection or measuring device into the flow nor the presence of a two-phase flow or of a non-Newtonian fluid. The technique involves suspending solid MgO particles of colloidal size in trichloroethylene and photographing their motions near the wall with a high speed movie camera moving with the flow. Trichloroethylene was chosen in order to eliminate the index of refraction problem in a curved wall. Evaluation of the technique including a discussion of limitations is included. Also the technique is compared with previous methods of visual observations of turbulent flow.

An evaluation of alternative reactor vessel cutting technologies for the experimental boiling water reactor at Argonne National Laboratory

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

Boing, L.E.; Henley, D.R.; Manion, W.J.

1989-12-01

Metal cutting techniques that can be used to segment the reactor pressure vessel of the Experimental Boiling Water Reactor (EBWR) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) have been evaluated by Nuclear Energy Services. Twelve cutting technologies are described in terms of their ability to perform the required task, their performance characteristics, environmental and radiological impacts, and cost and schedule considerations. Specific recommendations regarding which technology should ultimately be used by ANL are included. The selection of a cutting method was the responsibility of the decommissioning staff at ANL, who included a relative weighting of the parameters described in this document inmore » their evaluation process. 73 refs., 26 figs., 69 tabs.« less

Optimal Experiment Design for Thermal Characterization of Functionally Graded Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cole, Kevin D.

2003-01-01

The purpose of the project was to investigate methods to accurately verify that designed , materials meet thermal specifications. The project involved heat transfer calculations and optimization studies, and no laboratory experiments were performed. One part of the research involved study of materials in which conduction heat transfer predominates. Results include techniques to choose among several experimental designs, and protocols for determining the optimum experimental conditions for determination of thermal properties. Metal foam materials were also studied in which both conduction and radiation heat transfer are present. Results of this work include procedures to optimize the design of experiments to accurately measure both conductive and radiative thermal properties. Detailed results in the form of three journal papers have been appended to this report.

Estimating Colloidal Contact Model Parameters Using Quasi-Static Compression Simulations.

PubMed

Bürger, Vincent; Briesen, Heiko

2016-10-05

For colloidal particles interacting in suspensions, clusters, or gels, contact models should attempt to include all physical phenomena experimentally observed. One critical point when formulating a contact model is to ensure that the interaction parameters can be easily obtained from experiments. Experimental determinations of contact parameters for particles either are based on bulk measurements for simulations on the macroscopic scale or require elaborate setups for obtaining tangential parameters such as using atomic force microscopy. However, on the colloidal scale, a simple method is required to obtain all interaction parameters simultaneously. This work demonstrates that quasi-static compression of a fractal-like particle network provides all the necessary information to obtain particle interaction parameters using a simple spring-based contact model. These springs provide resistances against all degrees of freedom associated with two-particle interactions, and include critical forces or moments where such springs break, indicating a bond-breakage event. A position-based cost function is introduced to show the identifiability of the two-particle contact parameters, and a discrete, nonlinear, and non-gradient-based global optimization method (simplex with simulated annealing, SIMPSA) is used to minimize the cost function calculated from deviations of particle positions. Results show that, in principle, all necessary contact parameters for an arbitrary particle network can be identified, although numerical efficiency as well as experimental noise must be addressed when applying this method. Such an approach lays the groundwork for identifying particle-contact parameters from a position-based particle analysis for a colloidal system using just one experiment. Spring constants also directly influence the time step of the discrete-element method, and a detailed knowledge of all necessary interaction parameters will help to improve the efficiency of colloidal particle simulations.

A novel approach to the experimental study on methane/steam reforming kinetics using the Orthogonal Least Squares method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sciazko, Anna; Komatsu, Yosuke; Brus, Grzegorz; Kimijima, Shinji; Szmyd, Janusz S.

2014-09-01

For a mathematical model based on the result of physical measurements, it becomes possible to determine their influence on the final solution and its accuracy. However, in classical approaches, the influence of different model simplifications on the reliability of the obtained results are usually not comprehensively discussed. This paper presents a novel approach to the study of methane/steam reforming kinetics based on an advanced methodology called the Orthogonal Least Squares method. The kinetics of the reforming process published earlier are divergent among themselves. To obtain the most probable values of kinetic parameters and enable direct and objective model verification, an appropriate calculation procedure needs to be proposed. The applied Generalized Least Squares (GLS) method includes all the experimental results into the mathematical model which becomes internally contradicted, as the number of equations is greater than number of unknown variables. The GLS method is adopted to select the most probable values of results and simultaneously determine the uncertainty coupled with all the variables in the system. In this paper, the evaluation of the reaction rate after the pre-determination of the reaction rate, which was made by preliminary calculation based on the obtained experimental results over a Nickel/Yttria-stabilized Zirconia catalyst, was performed.

Structural health monitoring in composite materials using frequency response methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kessler, Seth S.; Spearing, S. Mark; Atalla, Mauro J.; Cesnik, Carlos E. S.; Soutis, Constantinos

2001-08-01

Cost effective and reliable damage detection is critical for the utilization of composite materials in structural applications. Non-destructive evaluation techniques (e.g. ultrasound, radiography, infra-red imaging) are available for use during standard repair and maintenance cycles, however by comparison to the techniques used for metals these are relatively expensive and time consuming. This paper presents part of an experimental and analytical survey of candidate methods for the detection of damage in composite materials. The experimental results are presented for the application of modal analysis techniques applied to rectangular laminated graphite/epoxy specimens containing representative damage modes, including delamination, transverse ply cracks and through-holes. Changes in natural frequencies and modes were then found using a scanning laser vibrometer, and 2-D finite element models were created for comparison with the experimental results. The models accurately predicted the response of the specimems at low frequencies, but the local excitation and coalescence of higher frequency modes make mode-dependent damage detection difficult and most likely impractical for structural applications. The frequency response method was found to be reliable for detecting even small amounts of damage in a simple composite structure, however the potentially important information about damage type, size, location and orientation were lost using this method since several combinations of these variables can yield identical response signatures.

Numerical and experimental analyses of the radiant heat flux produced by quartz heating systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, Travis L.; Ash, Robert L.

1994-01-01

A method is developed for predicting the radiant heat flux distribution produced by tungsten filament, tubular fused-quartz envelope heating systems with reflectors. The method is an application of Monte Carlo simulation, which takes the form of a random walk or ray tracing scheme. The method is applied to four systems of increasing complexity, including a single lamp without a reflector, a single lamp with a Hat reflector, a single lamp with a parabolic reflector, and up to six lamps in a six-lamp contoured-reflector heating unit. The application of the Monte Carlo method to the simulation of the thermal radiation generated by these systems is discussed. The procedures for numerical implementation are also presented. Experiments were conducted to study these quartz heating systems and to acquire measurements of the corresponding empirical heat flux distributions for correlation with analysis. The experiments were conducted such that several complicating factors could be isolated and studied sequentially. Comparisons of the experimental results with analysis are presented and discussed. Good agreement between the experimental and simulated results was obtained in all cases. This study shows that this method can be used to analyze very complicated quartz heating systems and can account for factors such as spectral properties, specular reflection from curved surfaces, source enhancement due to reflectors and/or adjacent sources, and interaction with a participating medium in a straightforward manner.

The Description of Shale Reservoir Pore Structure Based on Method of Moments Estimation

PubMed Central

Li, Wenjie; Wang, Changcheng; Shi, Zejin; Wei, Yi; Zhou, Huailai; Deng, Kun

2016-01-01

Shale has been considered as good gas reservoir due to its abundant interior nanoscale pores. Thus, the study of the pore structure of shale is of great significance for the evaluation and development of shale oil and gas. To date, the most widely used approaches for studying the shale pore structure include image analysis, radiation and fluid invasion methods. The detailed pore structures can be studied intuitively by image analysis and radiation methods, but the results obtained are quite sensitive to sample preparation, equipment performance and experimental operation. In contrast, the fluid invasion method can be used to obtain information on pore size distribution and pore structure, but the relative simple parameters derived cannot be used to evaluate the pore structure of shale comprehensively and quantitatively. To characterize the nanoscale pore structure of shale reservoir more effectively and expand the current research techniques, we proposed a new method based on gas adsorption experimental data and the method of moments to describe the pore structure parameters of shale reservoir. Combined with the geological mixture empirical distribution and the method of moments estimation principle, the new method calculates the characteristic parameters of shale, including the mean pore size (x¯), standard deviation (σ), skewness (Sk) and variation coefficient (c). These values are found by reconstructing the grouping intervals of observation values and optimizing algorithms for eigenvalues. This approach assures a more effective description of the characteristics of nanoscale pore structures. Finally, the new method has been applied to analyze the Yanchang shale in the Ordos Basin (China) and Longmaxi shale from the Sichuan Basin (China). The results obtained well reveal the pore characteristics of shale, indicating the feasibility of this new method in the study of the pore structure of shale reservoir. PMID:26992168

The Description of Shale Reservoir Pore Structure Based on Method of Moments Estimation.

PubMed

Li, Wenjie; Wang, Changcheng; Shi, Zejin; Wei, Yi; Zhou, Huailai; Deng, Kun

2016-01-01

Shale has been considered as good gas reservoir due to its abundant interior nanoscale pores. Thus, the study of the pore structure of shale is of great significance for the evaluation and development of shale oil and gas. To date, the most widely used approaches for studying the shale pore structure include image analysis, radiation and fluid invasion methods. The detailed pore structures can be studied intuitively by image analysis and radiation methods, but the results obtained are quite sensitive to sample preparation, equipment performance and experimental operation. In contrast, the fluid invasion method can be used to obtain information on pore size distribution and pore structure, but the relative simple parameters derived cannot be used to evaluate the pore structure of shale comprehensively and quantitatively. To characterize the nanoscale pore structure of shale reservoir more effectively and expand the current research techniques, we proposed a new method based on gas adsorption experimental data and the method of moments to describe the pore structure parameters of shale reservoir. Combined with the geological mixture empirical distribution and the method of moments estimation principle, the new method calculates the characteristic parameters of shale, including the mean pore size (mean), standard deviation (σ), skewness (Sk) and variation coefficient (c). These values are found by reconstructing the grouping intervals of observation values and optimizing algorithms for eigenvalues. This approach assures a more effective description of the characteristics of nanoscale pore structures. Finally, the new method has been applied to analyze the Yanchang shale in the Ordos Basin (China) and Longmaxi shale from the Sichuan Basin (China). The results obtained well reveal the pore characteristics of shale, indicating the feasibility of this new method in the study of the pore structure of shale reservoir.

Damage Identification in Beam Structure using Spatial Continuous Wavelet Transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janeliukstis, R.; Rucevskis, S.; Wesolowski, M.; Kovalovs, A.; Chate, A.

2015-11-01

In this paper the applicability of spatial continuous wavelet transform (CWT) technique for damage identification in the beam structure is analyzed by application of different types of wavelet functions and scaling factors. The proposed method uses exclusively mode shape data from the damaged structure. To examine limitations of the method and to ascertain its sensitivity to noisy experimental data, several sets of simulated data are analyzed. Simulated test cases include numerical mode shapes corrupted by different levels of random noise as well as mode shapes with different number of measurement points used for wavelet transform. A broad comparison of ability of different wavelet functions to detect and locate damage in beam structure is given. Effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithms are demonstrated experimentally on two aluminum beams containing single mill-cut damage. The modal frequencies and the corresponding mode shapes are obtained via finite element models for numerical simulations and by using a scanning laser vibrometer with PZT actuator as vibration excitation source for the experimental study.

Robust model-based analysis of single-particle tracking experiments with Spot-On

PubMed Central

Grimm, Jonathan B; Lavis, Luke D

2018-01-01

Single-particle tracking (SPT) has become an important method to bridge biochemistry and cell biology since it allows direct observation of protein binding and diffusion dynamics in live cells. However, accurately inferring information from SPT studies is challenging due to biases in both data analysis and experimental design. To address analysis bias, we introduce ‘Spot-On’, an intuitive web-interface. Spot-On implements a kinetic modeling framework that accounts for known biases, including molecules moving out-of-focus, and robustly infers diffusion constants and subpopulations from pooled single-molecule trajectories. To minimize inherent experimental biases, we implement and validate stroboscopic photo-activation SPT (spaSPT), which minimizes motion-blur bias and tracking errors. We validate Spot-On using experimentally realistic simulations and show that Spot-On outperforms other methods. We then apply Spot-On to spaSPT data from live mammalian cells spanning a wide range of nuclear dynamics and demonstrate that Spot-On consistently and robustly infers subpopulation fractions and diffusion constants. PMID:29300163

Robust model-based analysis of single-particle tracking experiments with Spot-On.

PubMed

Hansen, Anders S; Woringer, Maxime; Grimm, Jonathan B; Lavis, Luke D; Tjian, Robert; Darzacq, Xavier

2018-01-04

Single-particle tracking (SPT) has become an important method to bridge biochemistry and cell biology since it allows direct observation of protein binding and diffusion dynamics in live cells. However, accurately inferring information from SPT studies is challenging due to biases in both data analysis and experimental design. To address analysis bias, we introduce 'Spot-On', an intuitive web-interface. Spot-On implements a kinetic modeling framework that accounts for known biases, including molecules moving out-of-focus, and robustly infers diffusion constants and subpopulations from pooled single-molecule trajectories. To minimize inherent experimental biases, we implement and validate stroboscopic photo-activation SPT (spaSPT), which minimizes motion-blur bias and tracking errors. We validate Spot-On using experimentally realistic simulations and show that Spot-On outperforms other methods. We then apply Spot-On to spaSPT data from live mammalian cells spanning a wide range of nuclear dynamics and demonstrate that Spot-On consistently and robustly infers subpopulation fractions and diffusion constants. © 2018, Hansen et al.

A simple experimental method to study depigmenting agents.

PubMed

Abella, M L; de Rigal, J; Neveux, S

2007-08-01

The first objective of the study was to verify that a controlled UV exposure of four areas of the forearms together with randomized product application enabled to compare treatment efficacy and then to compare the depigmenting efficacy of different products with a simple experimental method. Sixteen volunteers received 0.7 minimal erythermal dose for four consecutive days. Products tested were ellagic acid (0.5%), vitamin C (5%) and C8-LHA (2%). Product application started 72 h post last exposure, was repeated for 42 days, the control zone being exposed, non-treated. Colour measurements included Chromameter, Chromasphere, Spectro-colorimeter and visual assessment. Comparison of colour values at day 1 and at day 7 showed that all zones were comparably tanned, allowing a rigorous comparison of the treatments. We report a new simple experimental model, which enables the rapid comparison of different depigmenting products. The efficacy and good tolerance of C8-LHA make it an excellent candidate for the treatment of hyperpigmentory disorders.

A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study for Silver Electroplating

PubMed Central

Liu, Anmin; Ren, Xuefeng; An, Maozhong; Zhang, Jinqiu; Yang, Peixia; Wang, Bo; Zhu, Yongming; Wang, Chong

2014-01-01

A novel method combined theoretical and experimental study for environmental friendly silver electroplating was introduced. Quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were employed for predicting the behaviour and function of the complexing agents. Electronic properties, orbital information, and single point energies of the 5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DMH), nicotinic acid (NA), as well as their silver(I)-complexes were provided by quantum chemical calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). Adsorption behaviors of the agents on copper and silver surfaces were investigated using MD simulations. Basing on the data of quantum chemical calculations and MD simulations, we believed that DMH and NA could be the promising complexing agents for silver electroplating. The experimental results, including of electrochemical measurement and silver electroplating, further confirmed the above prediction. This efficient and versatile method thus opens a new window to study or design complexing agents for generalized metal electroplating and will vigorously promote the level of this research region. PMID:24452389

Real-Time Leaky Lamb Wave Spectrum Measurement and Its Application to NDE of Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lih, Shyh-Shiuh; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

1999-01-01

Numerous analytical and theoretical studies of the behavior of leaky Lamb waves (LLW) in composite materials were documented in the literature. One of the key issues that are constraining the application of this method as a practical tool is the amount of data that needs to be acquired and the slow process that is involved with such experiments. Recently, a methodology that allows quasi real-time acquisition of LLW dispersion data was developed. At each angle of incidence the reflection spectrum is available in real time from the experimental setup and it can be used for rapid detection of the defects. This technique can be used to rapidly acquire the various plate wave modes along various angles of incidence for the characterization of the material elastic properties. The experimental method and data acquisition technique will be described in this paper. Experimental data was used to examine a series of flaws including porosity and delaminations and demonstrated the efficiency of the developed technique.

E-Flux2 and SPOT: Validated Methods for Inferring Intracellular Metabolic Flux Distributions from Transcriptomic Data.

PubMed

Kim, Min Kyung; Lane, Anatoliy; Kelley, James J; Lun, Desmond S

2016-01-01

Several methods have been developed to predict system-wide and condition-specific intracellular metabolic fluxes by integrating transcriptomic data with genome-scale metabolic models. While powerful in many settings, existing methods have several shortcomings, and it is unclear which method has the best accuracy in general because of limited validation against experimentally measured intracellular fluxes. We present a general optimization strategy for inferring intracellular metabolic flux distributions from transcriptomic data coupled with genome-scale metabolic reconstructions. It consists of two different template models called DC (determined carbon source model) and AC (all possible carbon sources model) and two different new methods called E-Flux2 (E-Flux method combined with minimization of l2 norm) and SPOT (Simplified Pearson cOrrelation with Transcriptomic data), which can be chosen and combined depending on the availability of knowledge on carbon source or objective function. This enables us to simulate a broad range of experimental conditions. We examined E. coli and S. cerevisiae as representative prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms respectively. The predictive accuracy of our algorithm was validated by calculating the uncentered Pearson correlation between predicted fluxes and measured fluxes. To this end, we compiled 20 experimental conditions (11 in E. coli and 9 in S. cerevisiae), of transcriptome measurements coupled with corresponding central carbon metabolism intracellular flux measurements determined by 13C metabolic flux analysis (13C-MFA), which is the largest dataset assembled to date for the purpose of validating inference methods for predicting intracellular fluxes. In both organisms, our method achieves an average correlation coefficient ranging from 0.59 to 0.87, outperforming a representative sample of competing methods. Easy-to-use implementations of E-Flux2 and SPOT are available as part of the open-source package MOST (http://most.ccib.rutgers.edu/). Our method represents a significant advance over existing methods for inferring intracellular metabolic flux from transcriptomic data. It not only achieves higher accuracy, but it also combines into a single method a number of other desirable characteristics including applicability to a wide range of experimental conditions, production of a unique solution, fast running time, and the availability of a user-friendly implementation.

Self-mixing laser diode included in scanning microwave microscope to the control of probe nanodisplacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usanov, D. A.; Skripal, A. V.; Astakhov, E. I.; Dobdin, S. Y.

2018-04-01

The possibilities of self-mixing interferometry for measuring nanodisplacement of a probe included in a near-field scanning microwave microscope have been considered. The features of the formation of a laser interference signal at current modulation of the wavelength of laser radiation have been investigated. Experimental responses of a semiconductor laser system included in scanning microwave microscope to control nanodisplacement of the probe have been demonstrated.To register the nanodisplacement of the probe, it is proposed to use the method of determining the stationary phase of a laser interference signal by low-frequency spectrum of a semiconductor laser. The change of the amplitudes of the spectral components in the spectrum of the interference signal due to creation of the standing wave in the external resonator of the laser self-mixing system has been shown. The form of the interference signal at current modulation of the radiation wavelength was experimentally obtained when the probe moves with a step of 80 nm. The results of measuring nanodisplacements of an electromagnetic translator STANDA 8MVT40-13 have been demonstrated. Deviation of the nanodisplacement of the proposed method does not exceed 15%.

Rapid experimental measurements of physicochemical properties to inform models and testing.

PubMed

Nicolas, Chantel I; Mansouri, Kamel; Phillips, Katherine A; Grulke, Christopher M; Richard, Ann M; Williams, Antony J; Rabinowitz, James; Isaacs, Kristin K; Yau, Alice; Wambaugh, John F

2018-05-02

The structures and physicochemical properties of chemicals are important for determining their potential toxicological effects, toxicokinetics, and route(s) of exposure. These data are needed to prioritize the risk for thousands of environmental chemicals, but experimental values are often lacking. In an attempt to efficiently fill data gaps in physicochemical property information, we generated new data for 200 structurally diverse compounds, which were rigorously selected from the USEPA ToxCast chemical library, and whose structures are available within the Distributed Structure-Searchable Toxicity Database (DSSTox). This pilot study evaluated rapid experimental methods to determine five physicochemical properties, including the log of the octanol:water partition coefficient (known as log(K ow ) or logP), vapor pressure, water solubility, Henry's law constant, and the acid dissociation constant (pKa). For most compounds, experiments were successful for at least one property; log(K ow ) yielded the largest return (176 values). It was determined that 77 ToxPrint structural features were enriched in chemicals with at least one measurement failure, indicating which features may have played a role in rapid method failures. To gauge consistency with traditional measurement methods, the new measurements were compared with previous measurements (where available). Since quantitative structure-activity/property relationship (QSAR/QSPR) models are used to fill gaps in physicochemical property information, 5 suites of QSPRs were evaluated for their predictive ability and chemical coverage or applicability domain of new experimental measurements. The ability to have accurate measurements of these properties will facilitate better exposure predictions in two ways: 1) direct input of these experimental measurements into exposure models; and 2) construction of QSPRs with a wider applicability domain, as their predicted physicochemical values can be used to parameterize exposure models in the absence of experimental data. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Laser Journal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1991-12-01

The major results of an experimental study of a slab Nd:YAG laser are reported in the article; the laser was successfully developed by the authors. The major findings include the following: (1) a method for cooling the blended flowing air and water, as well the related experimental parameters; (2) by using a crossed lens cavity, the authors further improved the anomalous capability within the compensation cavity of the slab laser, as well as higher insensitivity of the system to maladjustment; and (3) a processing technique and major points of slab YAG laser medium.

Multi-spectral digital holographic microscopy for enhanced quantitative phase imaging of living cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kemper, Björn; Kastl, Lena; Schnekenburger, Jürgen; Ketelhut, Steffi

2018-02-01

Main restrictions of using laser light in digital holographic microscopy (DHM) are coherence induced noise and parasitic reflections in the experimental setup which limit resolution and measurement accuracy. We explored, if coherence properties of partial coherent light sources can be generated synthetically utilizing spectrally tunable lasers. The concept of the method is demonstrated by label-free quantitative phase imaging of living pancreatic tumor cells and utilizing an experimental configuration including a commercial microscope and a laser source with a broad tunable spectral range of more than 200 nm.

Interactions of Water Vapor with Oxides at Elevated Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobson, Nathan; Opila, Elizabeth; Copland, Evan; Myers, Dwight

2003-01-01

Many volatile metal hydroxides form by reaction of the corresponding metal oxide with water vapor. These reactions are important in a number of high temperature corrosion processes. Experimental methods for studying the thermodynamics of metal hydroxides include: gas leak Knudsen cell mass spectrometry, free jet sampling mass spectrometry, transpiration and hydrogen-oxygen flame studies. The available experimental information is reviewed and the most stable metal hydroxide species are correlated with position in the periodic table. Current studies in our laboratory on the Si-O-H system are discussed.

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

Latychevskaia, Tatiana, E-mail: tatiana@physik.uzh.ch; Fink, Hans-Werner; Chushkin, Yuriy

Coherent diffraction imaging is a high-resolution imaging technique whose potential can be greatly enhanced by applying the extrapolation method presented here. We demonstrate the enhancement in resolution of a non-periodical object reconstructed from an experimental X-ray diffraction record which contains about 10% missing information, including the pixels in the center of the diffraction pattern. A diffraction pattern is extrapolated beyond the detector area and as a result, the object is reconstructed at an enhanced resolution and better agreement with experimental amplitudes is achieved. The optimal parameters for the iterative routine and the limits of the extrapolation procedure are discussed.

Baseline measurement of the noise generated by a short-to-medium range jet transport flying standard ILS approaches and level flyovers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hastings, E. C., Jr.; Shanks, R. E.; Mueller, A. W.

1975-01-01

The results of baseline noise flight tests are presented. Data are given for a point 1.85 kilometers (1.0 nautical mile) from the runway threshold, and experimental results of level flyover noise at altitudes of 122 meters (400 feet) and 610 meters (2,000 feet) are also shown for several different power levels. The experimental data are compared with data from other sources and reasonable agreement is noted. A description of the test technique, instrumentation, and data analysis methods is included.

Quantum melting of a two-dimensional Wigner crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolgopolov, V. T.

2017-10-01

The paper reviews theoretical predictions about the behavior of two-dimensional low-density electron systems at nearly absolute zero temperatures, including the formation of an electron (Wigner) crystal, crystal melting at a critical electron density, and transitions between crystal modifications in more complex (for example, two-layer) systems. The paper presents experimental results obtained from real two-dimensional systems in which the nonconducting (solid) state of the electronic system with indications of collective localization is actually realized. Experimental methods for detecting a quantum liquid-solid phase interface are discussed.

Flow Pattern Phenomena in Two-Phase Flow in Microchannels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keska, Jerry K.; Simon, William E.

2004-02-01

Space transportation systems require high-performance thermal protection and fluid management techniques for systems ranging from cryogenic fluid management devices to primary structures and propulsion systems exposed to extremely high temperatures, as well as for other space systems such as cooling or environment control for advanced space suits and integrated circuits. Although considerable developmental effort is being expended to bring potentially applicable technologies to a readiness level for practical use, new and innovative methods are still needed. One such method is the concept of Advanced Micro Cooling Modules (AMCMs), which are essentially compact two-phase heat exchangers constructed of microchannels and designed to remove large amounts of heat rapidly from critical systems by incorporating phase transition. The development of AMCMs requires fundamental technological advancement in many areas, including: (1) development of measurement methods/systems for flow-pattern measurement/identification for two-phase mixtures in microchannels; (2) development of a phenomenological model for two-phase flow which includes the quantitative measure of flow patterns; and (3) database development for multiphase heat transfer/fluid dynamics flows in microchannels. This paper focuses on the results of experimental research in the phenomena of two-phase flow in microchannels. The work encompasses both an experimental and an analytical approach to incorporating flow patterns for air-water mixtures flowing in a microchannel, which are necessary tools for the optimal design of AMCMs. Specifically, the following topics are addressed: (1) design and construction of a sensitive test system for two-phase flow in microchannels, one which measures ac and dc components of in-situ physical mixture parameters including spatial concentration using concomitant methods; (2) data acquisition and analysis in the amplitude, time, and frequency domains; and (3) analysis of results including evaluation of data acquisition techniques and their validity for application in flow pattern determination.

Synthesis and Labeling of RNA In Vitro

PubMed Central

Huang, Chao; Yu, Yi-Tao

2013-01-01

This unit discusses several methods for generating large amounts of uniformly labeled, end-labeled, and site-specifically labeled RNAs in vitro. The methods involve a number of experimental procedures, including RNA transcription, 5′ dephosphorylation and rephosphorylation, 3′ terminal nucleotide addition (via ligation), site-specific RNase H cleavage directed by 2′-O-methyl RNA-DNA chimeras, and 2-piece splint ligation. The applications of these RNA radiolabeling approaches are also discussed. PMID:23547015

[Research status and prospects of DNA test on difficult specimens].

PubMed

Dang, Hua-Wei; Mao, Jiong; Wang, Hui; Huang, Jiang-Ping; Bai, Xiao-Gang

2012-02-01

This paper reviews the advances of DNA detection on three types of difficult biological specimens including degraded samples, trace evidences and mixed samples. The source of different samples, processing methods and announcements were analyzed. New methods such as mitochondrial test system, changing the original experimental conditions, low-volume PCR amplification and new technologies such as whole genome amplification techniques, laser capture micro-dissection, and mini-STR technology in recent years are introduced.

An artificial viscosity method for the design of supercritical airfoils

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcfadden, G. B.

1979-01-01

A numerical technique is presented for the design of two-dimensional supercritical wing sections with low wave drag. The method is a design mode of the analysis code H which gives excellent agreement with experimental results and is widely used in the aircraft industry. Topics covered include the partial differential equations of transonic flow, the computational procedure and results; the design procedure; a convergence theorem; and description of the code.

Current techniques for the real-time processing of complex radar signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clay, E.

A real-time processing technique has been developed for the microwave receiver of the Brahms radar station. The method allows such target signatures as the radar cross section (RCS) of the airframes and rotating parts, the one-dimensional tomography of aircraft, and the RCS of electromagnetic decoys to be characterized. The method allows optimization of experimental parameters including the analysis frequency band, the receiver gain, and the wavelength range of EM analysis.

School Programs Targeting Stress Management in Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraag, Gerda; Zeegers, Maurice P.; Kok, Gerjo; Hosman, Clemens; Abu-Saad, Huda Huijer

2006-01-01

Introduction: This meta-analysis evaluates the effect of school programs targeting stress management or coping skills in school children. Methods: Articles were selected through a systematic literature search. Only randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies were included. The standardized mean differences (SMDs) between baseline…

Proposed key characteristics of male reproductive toxicants as a method for organizing and screening mechanistic evidence for non-cancer outcomes.

EPA Science Inventory

The adoption of systematic review practices for risk assessment includes integration of evidence obtained from experimental, epidemiological, and mechanistic studies. Although mechanistic evidence plays an important role in mode of action analysis, the process of sorting and anal...

Using a Quasi-Experimental Research Design to Assess Knowledge in Continuing Medical Education Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markert, Ronald J.; O'Neill, Sally C.; Bhatia, Subhash C.

2003-01-01

Introduction: The objectives of continuing medical education (CME) programs include knowledge acquisition, skill development, clinical reasoning and decision making, and health care outcomes. We conducted a yearlong medical education research study in which knowledge acquisition in our CME programs was assessed. Method: A randomized…

Testing the Fracture Behaviour of Chocolate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, L. B.; Goodall, R.

2011-01-01

In teaching the materials science aspects of physics, mechanical behaviour is important due to its relevance to many practical applications. This article presents a method for experimentally examining the toughness of chocolate, including a design for a simple test rig, and a number of experiments that can be performed in the classroom. Typical…

Connecting Theory to Practice: Evaluating a Brain-Based Writing Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffee, Dale T.

2007-01-01

This 10 week longitudinal evaluation study evaluated a brain-based learning curriculum proposed by Smilkstein (2003) by comparing student performance in a traditional basic writing curriculum with NHLP-oriented basic writing curriculum. The study included two classes each of experimental and traditional methods. Results of the data, gathered by…

47 CFR 101.129 - Transmitter location.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... survey tests to be made pursuant to an experimental license under part 5 of this chapter. In such cases... data obtained from such surveys and its analysis, including a description of the methods used and the name, address and qualifications of the engineer making the survey, must be supplied to the Commission...

47 CFR 101.129 - Transmitter location.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... survey tests to be made pursuant to an experimental license under part 5 of this chapter. In such cases... data obtained from such surveys and its analysis, including a description of the methods used and the name, address and qualifications of the engineer making the survey, must be supplied to the Commission...

Planetary Quarantine Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The activities of the Planetary Quarantine Department at Sandia Laboratories during the period April 1965 through June 1972 are summarized. Included are the rationale, the methods, and the results of modeling and experimentation used in dry heat, radiation, thermoradiation, and chemical sterilization studies. Publications describing these activities and accounts of closely related research are also furnished.

Abstinence, Social Norms, and Drink Responsibly Messages: A Comparison Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glassman, Tavis J.; Kruger, Jessica Sloan; Deakins, Bethany A.; Paprzycki, Peter; Blavos, Alexis A.; Hutzelman, Erin N.; Diehr, Aaron

2016-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine which type of prevention message (abstinence, social norms, or responsible drinking) was most effective at reducing alcohol consumption. Participants: The subjects from this study included 194 college students from a public university. Methods: Researchers employed a quasi-experimental design,…

An Experimental Comparison of Similarity Assessment Measures for 3D Models on Constrained Surface Deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quan, Lulin; Yang, Zhixin

2010-05-01

To address the issues in the area of design customization, this paper expressed the specification and application of the constrained surface deformation, and reported the experimental performance comparison of three prevail effective similarity assessment algorithms on constrained surface deformation domain. Constrained surface deformation becomes a promising method that supports for various downstream applications of customized design. Similarity assessment is regarded as the key technology for inspecting the success of new design via measuring the difference level between the deformed new design and the initial sample model, and indicating whether the difference level is within the limitation. According to our theoretical analysis and pre-experiments, three similarity assessment algorithms are suitable for this domain, including shape histogram based method, skeleton based method, and U system moment based method. We analyze their basic functions and implementation methodologies in detail, and do a series of experiments on various situations to test their accuracy and efficiency using precision-recall diagram. Shoe model is chosen as an industrial example for the experiments. It shows that shape histogram based method gained an optimal performance in comparison. Based on the result, we proposed a novel approach that integrating surface constrains and shape histogram description with adaptive weighting method, which emphasize the role of constrains during the assessment. The limited initial experimental result demonstrated that our algorithm outperforms other three algorithms. A clear direction for future development is also drawn at the end of the paper.

An algebra-based method for inferring gene regulatory networks

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The inference of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from experimental observations is at the heart of systems biology. This includes the inference of both the network topology and its dynamics. While there are many algorithms available to infer the network topology from experimental data, less emphasis has been placed on methods that infer network dynamics. Furthermore, since the network inference problem is typically underdetermined, it is essential to have the option of incorporating into the inference process, prior knowledge about the network, along with an effective description of the search space of dynamic models. Finally, it is also important to have an understanding of how a given inference method is affected by experimental and other noise in the data used. Results This paper contains a novel inference algorithm using the algebraic framework of Boolean polynomial dynamical systems (BPDS), meeting all these requirements. The algorithm takes as input time series data, including those from network perturbations, such as knock-out mutant strains and RNAi experiments. It allows for the incorporation of prior biological knowledge while being robust to significant levels of noise in the data used for inference. It uses an evolutionary algorithm for local optimization with an encoding of the mathematical models as BPDS. The BPDS framework allows an effective representation of the search space for algebraic dynamic models that improves computational performance. The algorithm is validated with both simulated and experimental microarray expression profile data. Robustness to noise is tested using a published mathematical model of the segment polarity gene network in Drosophila melanogaster. Benchmarking of the algorithm is done by comparison with a spectrum of state-of-the-art network inference methods on data from the synthetic IRMA network to demonstrate that our method has good precision and recall for the network reconstruction task, while also predicting several of the dynamic patterns present in the network. Conclusions Boolean polynomial dynamical systems provide a powerful modeling framework for the reverse engineering of gene regulatory networks, that enables a rich mathematical structure on the model search space. A C++ implementation of the method, distributed under LPGL license, is available, together with the source code, at http://www.paola-vera-licona.net/Software/EARevEng/REACT.html. PMID:24669835

Semiempirical Theories of the Affinities of Negative Atomic Ions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edie, John W.

1961-01-01

The determination of the electron affinities of negative atomic ions by means of direct experimental investigation is limited. To supplement the meager experimental results, several semiempirical theories have been advanced. One commonly used technique involves extrapolating the electron affinities along the isoelectronic sequences, The most recent of these extrapolations Is studied by extending the method to Include one more member of the isoelectronic sequence, When the results show that this extension does not increase the accuracy of the calculations, several possible explanations for this situation are explored. A different approach to the problem is suggested by the regularities appearing in the electron affinities. Noting that the regular linear pattern that exists for the ionization potentials of the p electrons as a function of Z, repeats itself for different degrees of ionization q, the slopes and intercepts of these curves are extrapolated to the case of the negative Ion. The method is placed on a theoretical basis by calculating the Slater parameters as functions of q and n, the number of equivalent p-electrons. These functions are no more than quadratic in q and n. The electron affinities are calculated by extending the linear relations that exist for the neutral atoms and positive ions to the negative ions. The extrapolated. slopes are apparently correct, but the intercepts must be slightly altered to agree with experiment. For this purpose one or two experimental affinities (depending on the extrapolation method) are used in each of the two short periods. The two extrapolation methods used are: (A) an isoelectronic sequence extrapolation of the linear pattern as such; (B) the same extrapolation of a linearization of this pattern (configuration centers) combined with an extrapolation of the other terms of the ground configurations. The latter method Is preferable, since it requires only experimental point for each period. The results agree within experimental error with all data, except with the most recent value of C, which lies 10% lower.

Nonlinear analysis of structures. [within framework of finite element method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Armen, H., Jr.; Levine, H.; Pifko, A.; Levy, A.

1974-01-01

The development of nonlinear analysis techniques within the framework of the finite-element method is reported. Although the emphasis is concerned with those nonlinearities associated with material behavior, a general treatment of geometric nonlinearity, alone or in combination with plasticity is included, and applications presented for a class of problems categorized as axisymmetric shells of revolution. The scope of the nonlinear analysis capabilities includes: (1) a membrane stress analysis, (2) bending and membrane stress analysis, (3) analysis of thick and thin axisymmetric bodies of revolution, (4) a general three dimensional analysis, and (5) analysis of laminated composites. Applications of the methods are made to a number of sample structures. Correlation with available analytic or experimental data range from good to excellent.

Autonomous space target recognition and tracking approach using star sensors based on a Kalman filter.

PubMed

Ye, Tao; Zhou, Fuqiang

2015-04-10

When imaged by detectors, space targets (including satellites and debris) and background stars have similar point-spread functions, and both objects appear to change as detectors track targets. Therefore, traditional tracking methods cannot separate targets from stars and cannot directly recognize targets in 2D images. Consequently, we propose an autonomous space target recognition and tracking approach using a star sensor technique and a Kalman filter (KF). A two-step method for subpixel-scale detection of star objects (including stars and targets) is developed, and the combination of the star sensor technique and a KF is used to track targets. The experimental results show that the proposed method is adequate for autonomously recognizing and tracking space targets.

The Effect of Metacognitive Instruction on Problem Solving Skills in Iranian Students of Health Sciences

PubMed Central

Safari, Yahya; Meskini, Habibeh

2016-01-01

Background: Learning requires application of such processes as planning, supervision, monitoring and reflection that are included in the metacognition. Studies have shown that metacognition is associated with problem solving skills. The current research was conducted to investigate the impact of metacognitive instruction on students’ problem solving skills. Methods: The study sample included 40 students studying in the second semester at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, 2013-2014. They were selected through convenience sampling technique and were randomly assigned into two equal groups of experimental and control. For the experimental group, problem solving skills were taught through metacognitive instruction during ten two-hour sessions and for the control group, problem solving skills were taught via conventional teaching method. The instrument for data collection included problem solving inventory (Heppner, 1988), which was administered before and after instruction. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire had been previously confirmed. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, mean and standard deviation and the hypotheses were tested by t-test and ANCOVA. Results: The findings of the posttest showed that the total mean scores of problem solving skills in the experimental and control groups were 151.90 and 101.65, respectively, indicating a significant difference between them (p<0.001). This difference was also reported to be statistically significant between problem solving skills and its components, including problem solving confidence, orientation-avoidance coping style and personal control (p<0.001). No significant difference, however, was found between the students’ mean scores in terms of gender and major. Conclusion: Since metacognitive instruction has positive effects on students’ problem solving skills and is required to enhance academic achievement, metacognitive strategies are recommended to be taught to the students. PMID:26234970

Experimental measurements on transverse vibration characteristics of piezoceramic rectangular plates by optical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Chien-Ching; Lin, Hsien-Yang

2005-09-01

This study provides two non-contact optical techniques to investigate the transverse vibration characteristics of piezoceramic rectangular plates in resonance. These methods, including the amplitude-fluctuation electronic speckle pattern interferometry (AF-ESPI) and laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV), are full-field measurement for AF-ESPI and point-wise displacement measurement for LDV, respectively. The edges of these piezoceramic rectangular plates may either be fixed or free. Both resonant frequencies and mode shapes of vibrating piezoceramic plates can be obtained simultaneously by AF-ESPI. Excellent quality of the interferometric fringe patterns for the mode shapes is obtained. In the LDV system, a built-in dynamic signal analyzer (DSA) composed of DSA software and a plug-in waveform generator board can provide the piezoceramic plates with the swept-sine excitation signal, whose gain at corresponding frequencies is analyzed by the DSA software. The peaks appeared in the frequency response curve are resonant frequencies. In addition to these optical methods, the numerical computation based on the finite element analysis is used to verify the experimental results. Good agreements of the mode shapes and resonant frequencies are obtained for experimental and numerical results.

Neuropharmacological Manipulation of Restrained and Free-flying Honey Bees, Apis mellifera.

PubMed

Søvik, Eirik; Plath, Jenny A; Devaud, Jean-Marc; Barron, Andrew B

2016-11-26

Honey bees demonstrate astonishing learning abilities and advanced social behavior and communication. In addition, their brain is small, easy to visualize and to study. Therefore, bees have long been a favored model amongst neurobiologists and neuroethologists for studying the neural basis of social and natural behavior. It is important, however, that the experimental techniques used to study bees do not interfere with the behaviors being studied. Because of this, it has been necessary to develop a range of techniques for pharmacological manipulation of honey bees. In this paper we demonstrate methods for treating restrained or free-flying honey bees with a wide range of pharmacological agents. These include both noninvasive methods such as oral and topical treatments, as well as more invasive methods that allow for precise drug delivery in either systemic or localized fashion. Finally, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method and describe common hurdles and how to best overcome them. We conclude with a discussion on the importance of adapting the experimental method to the biological questions rather than the other way around.

The Effects of Incorporating Web-assisted Learning with Team Teaching in Seventh-grade Science Classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, Syh-Jong

2006-05-01

Due to the implementation of a 9-year integrated curriculum scheme in Taiwan, research on team teaching and web-based technology appears to be urgent. The purpose of this study was incorporated web-assisted learning with team teaching in seventh-grade science classes. The specific research question concerned student performance and attitudes about the teaching method. Two certified science teachers and four classes of the seventh graders participated in this study. It used a mixed methods design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The main data included students’ scores, questionnaires, teachers’ self-reflections, and the researcher’s interviews with teachers. The results showed that the average final examination scores of students experiencing the experimental teaching method were higher than that of those receiving traditional teaching. The two teaching methods showed significant difference in respect of students’ achievement. The research had limitations because of students’ abilities of data collection, computer use, and discussion, but more than one-half of the students preferred the experimental method to traditional teaching. However, team teachers would encounter the problems of technology ability, time constraints, and entrance examination pressure.

An evaluation method for nanoscale wrinkle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y. P.; Wang, C. G.; Zhang, L. M.; Tan, H. F.

2016-06-01

In this paper, a spectrum-based wrinkling analysis method via two-dimensional Fourier transformation is proposed aiming to solve the difficulty of nanoscale wrinkle evaluation. It evaluates the wrinkle characteristics including wrinkling wavelength and direction simply using a single wrinkling image. Based on this method, the evaluation results of nanoscale wrinkle characteristics show agreement with the open experimental results within an error of 6%. It is also verified to be appropriate for the macro wrinkle evaluation without scale limitations. The spectrum-based wrinkling analysis is an effective method for nanoscale evaluation, which contributes to reveal the mechanism of nanoscale wrinkling.

Determination of maximal amount of minor gases adsorbed in a shale sample by headspace gas chromatography.

PubMed

Zhang, Chun-Yun; Hu, Hui-Chao; Chai, Xin-Sheng; Pan, Lei; Xiao, Xian-Ming

2014-02-07

In this paper, we present a novel method for determining the maximal amount of ethane, a minor gas species, adsorbed in a shale sample. The method is based on the time-dependent release of ethane from shale samples measured by headspace gas chromatography (HS-GC). The study includes a mathematical model for fitting the experimental data, calculating the maximal amount gas adsorbed, and predicting results at other temperatures. The method is a more efficient alternative to the isothermal adsorption method that is in widespread use today. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A real-time TV logo tracking method using template matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhi; Sang, Xinzhu; Yan, Binbin; Leng, Junmin

2012-11-01

A fast and accurate TV Logo detection method is presented based on real-time image filtering, noise eliminating and recognition of image features including edge and gray level information. It is important to accurately extract the optical template using the time averaging method from the sample video stream, and then different templates are used to match different logos in separated video streams with different resolution based on the topology features of logos. 12 video streams with different logos are used to verify the proposed method, and the experimental result demonstrates that the achieved accuracy can be up to 99%.

Experimental and finite element investigation of the buckling characteristics of a beaded skin panel for a hypersonic aircraft. Ph.D. Thesis. Final Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siegel, W. H.

1978-01-01

As part of NASA's continuing research into hypersonics and 85 square foot hypersonic wing test section of a proposed hypersonic research airplane was laboratory tested. The project reported on in this paper has carried the hypersonic wing test structure project one step further by testing a single beaded panel to failure. The primary interest was focused upon the buckling characteristics of the panel under pure compression with boundary conditions similar to those found in a wing mounted condition. Three primary phases of analysis are included in the report. These phases include: experimental testing of the beaded panel to failure; finite element structural analysis of the beaded panel with the computer program NASTRAN; a summary of the semiclassical buckling equations for the beaded panel under purely compressive loads. Comparisons between each of the analysis methods are also included.

The psychological science of addiction.

PubMed

Gifford, Elizabeth; Humphreys, Keith

2007-03-01

To discuss the contributions and future course of the psychological science of addiction. The psychology of addiction includes a tremendous range of scientific activity, from the basic experimental laboratory through increasingly broad relational contexts, including patient-practitioner interactions, families, social networks, institutional settings, economics and culture. Some of the contributions discussed here include applications of behavioral principles, cognitive and behavioral neuroscience and the development and evaluation of addiction treatment. Psychology has at times been guilty of proliferating theories with relatively little pruning, and of overemphasizing intrapersonal explanations for human behavior. However, at its best, defined as the science of the individual in context, psychology is an integrated discipline using diverse methods well-suited to capture the multi-dimensional nature of addictive behavior. Psychology has a unique ability to integrate basic experimental and applied clinical science and to apply the knowledge gained from multiple levels of analysis to the pragmatic goal of reducing the prevalence of addiction.

Effects of breathing exercises on lung capacity and muscle activities of elderly smokers.

PubMed

Jun, Hyun-Ju; Kim, Ki-Jong; Nam, Ki-Won; Kim, Chang-Heon

2016-06-01

[Purpose] Elderly smokers have a reduced chest diameter due to weakening of the respiratory muscles, and this results in decreased ventilation, leading to a vicious circle. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of an intervention program to enhance the pulmonary function and muscle activity of elderly smokers. [Subjects and Methods] Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups or a control (CG) group. The experimental groups performed exercises three times per week for six weeks, whereas the CG performed no exercises. One of the experimental groups performed a Feedback Breathing Exercise (FBE) for 15 minutes, and the other repeated three sets of Balloon-Blowing Exercises (BBE) with sufficient rest of more than one minute between sets. [Results] In the experimental groups, FVC, FEV1/FVC, PEF and muscle activity of the rectus abdominis significantly improved after four weeks, but no significant differences were observed in FEV1 or VC after six weeks. [Conclusion] The results show that FBE and BBE improved the pulmonary functions of elderly smokers, demonstrating the potential benefits of the development of various training methods using balloons, and group programs, including recreational factors, for increasing respiratory muscles strength.

Effects of breathing exercises on lung capacity and muscle activities of elderly smokers

PubMed Central

Jun, Hyun-Ju; Kim, Ki-Jong; Nam, Ki-Won; Kim, Chang-Heon

2016-01-01

[Purpose] Elderly smokers have a reduced chest diameter due to weakening of the respiratory muscles, and this results in decreased ventilation, leading to a vicious circle. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of an intervention program to enhance the pulmonary function and muscle activity of elderly smokers. [Subjects and Methods] Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups or a control (CG) group. The experimental groups performed exercises three times per week for six weeks, whereas the CG performed no exercises. One of the experimental groups performed a Feedback Breathing Exercise (FBE) for 15 minutes, and the other repeated three sets of Balloon-Blowing Exercises (BBE) with sufficient rest of more than one minute between sets. [Results] In the experimental groups, FVC, FEV1/FVC, PEF and muscle activity of the rectus abdominis significantly improved after four weeks, but no significant differences were observed in FEV1 or VC after six weeks. [Conclusion] The results show that FBE and BBE improved the pulmonary functions of elderly smokers, demonstrating the potential benefits of the development of various training methods using balloons, and group programs, including recreational factors, for increasing respiratory muscles strength. PMID:27390394

Experimental and CFD evidence of multiple solutions in a naturally ventilated building.

PubMed

Heiselberg, P; Li, Y; Andersen, A; Bjerre, M; Chen, Z

2004-02-01

This paper considers the existence of multiple solutions to natural ventilation of a simple one-zone building, driven by combined thermal and opposing wind forces. The present analysis is an extension of an earlier analytical study of natural ventilation in a fully mixed building, and includes the effect of thermal stratification. Both computational and experimental investigations were carried out in parallel with an analytical investigation. When flow is dominated by thermal buoyancy, it was found experimentally that there is thermal stratification. When the flow is wind-dominated, the room is fully mixed. Results from all three methods have shown that the hysteresis phenomena exist. Under certain conditions, two different stable steady-state solutions are found to exist by all three methods for the same set of parameters. As shown by both the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental results, one of the solutions can shift to another when there is a sufficient perturbation. These results have probably provided the strongest evidence so far for the conclusion that multiple states exist in natural ventilation of simple buildings. Different initial conditions in the CFD simulations led to different solutions, suggesting that caution must be taken when adopting the commonly used 'zero initialization'.

The Effectiveness of the Barton’s Intervention Program on Reading Comprehension and Reading Attitude of Students with Dyslexia

PubMed Central

Mihandoost, Zeinab; Elias, Habibah

2011-01-01

Objective: The current research tested the differences in reading attitude and reading comprehension in the dyslexic students between the control group and the experimental group following the Barton intervention program. Methods: Dyslexia screening instrument and reading text were employed in order to identify dyslexic students. The population of the study included 138 dyslexic students studying in schools in Ilam, Iran. From this population, 64 students were randomly selected and assigned to an experimental group as well as a control group. The experimental group was taught for 36 sessions, using the Barton’s method at two levels, and ten lessons were provided to improve the reading skill. The reading comprehension and reading attitude instruments were employed for the measurement of the attitude and comprehension before and after the intervention program. Results: The analysis of covariance showed a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group following the Barton intervention program. Conclusion: This study showed that dyslexic students learned to read, and a more direct instruction related to decoding could influence their progress more than the general exposure to education. PMID:24644446

Chemometric optimization of the robustness of the near infrared spectroscopic method in wheat quality control.

PubMed

Pojić, Milica; Rakić, Dušan; Lazić, Zivorad

2015-01-01

A chemometric approach was applied for the optimization of the robustness of the NIRS method for wheat quality control. Due to the high number of experimental (n=6) and response variables to be studied (n=7) the optimization experiment was divided into two stages: screening stage in order to evaluate which of the considered variables were significant, and optimization stage to optimize the identified factors in the previously selected experimental domain. The significant variables were identified by using fractional factorial experimental design, whilst Box-Wilson rotatable central composite design (CCRD) was run to obtain the optimal values for the significant variables. The measured responses included: moisture, protein and wet gluten content, Zeleny sedimentation value and deformation energy. In order to achieve the minimal variation in responses, the optimal factor settings were found by minimizing the propagation of error (POE). The simultaneous optimization of factors was conducted by desirability function. The highest desirability of 87.63% was accomplished by setting up experimental conditions as follows: 19.9°C for sample temperature, 19.3°C for ambient temperature and 240V for instrument voltage. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrodeless plasma acceleration system using rotating magnetic field method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furukawa, T.; Takizawa, K.; Kuwahara, D.; Shinohara, S.

2017-11-01

We have proposed Rotating Magnetic Field (RMF) acceleration method as one of electrodeless plasma accelerations. In our experimental scheme, plasma generated by an rf (radio frequency) antenna, is accelerated by RMF antennas, which consist of two-pair, opposed, facing coils, and these antennas are outside of a discharge tube. Therefore, there is no wear of electrodes, degrading the propulsion performance. Here, we will introduce our RMF acceleration system developed, including the experimental device, e.g., external antennas, a tapered quartz tube, a vacuum chamber, external magnets, and a pumping system. In addition, we can change RMF operation parameters (RMF applied current IRMF and RMF current phase difference ϕ, focusing on RMF current frequency fRMF) by adjusting matching conditions of RMF, and investigate the dependencies on plasma parameters (electron density ne and ion velocity vi); e.g., higher increases of ne and vi (˜360 % and 55 %, respectively) than previous experimental results were obtained by decreasing fRMF from 5 MHz to 0.7 MHz, whose RMF penetration condition was better according to Milroy's expression. Moreover, time-varying component of RMF has been measured directly to survey the penetration condition experimentally.

A comparison of experimental and theoretical results for leakage, pressure gradients, and rotordynamic coefficients for tapered annular gas seal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elrod, D. A.; Childs, D. W.

1986-01-01

A brief review of current annular seal theory and a discussion of the predicted effect on stiffness of tapering the seal stator are presented. An outline of Nelson's analytical-computational method for determining rotordynamic coefficients for annular compressible-flow seals is included. Modifications to increase the maximum rotor speed of an existing air-seal test apparatus at Texas A&M University are described. Experimental results, including leakage, entrance-loss coefficients, pressure distributions, and normalized rotordynamic coefficients, are presented for four convergent-tapered, smooth-rotor, smooth-stator seals. A comparison of the test results shows that an inlet-to-exit clearance ratio of 1.5 to 2.0 provides the maximum direct stiffness, a clearance ratio of 2.5 provides the greatest stability, and a clearance ratio of 1.0 provides the least stability. The experimental results are compared to theoretical results from Nelson's analysis with good agreement. Test results for cross-coupled stiffness show less sensitivity of fluid prerotation than predicted.

Evaluation of space shuttle main engine fluid dynamic frequency response characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, T. G.

1980-01-01

In order to determine the POGO stability characteristics of the space shuttle main engine liquid oxygen (LOX) system, the fluid dynamic frequency response functions between elements in the SSME LOX system was evaluated, both analytically and experimentally. For the experimental data evaluation, a software package was written for the Hewlett-Packard 5451C Fourier analyzer. The POGO analysis software is documented and consists of five separate segments. Each segment is stored on the 5451C disc as an individual program and performs its own unique function. Two separate data reduction methods, a signal calibration, coherence or pulser signal based frequency response function blanking, and automatic plotting features are included in the program. The 5451C allows variable parameter transfer from program to program. This feature is used to advantage and requires only minimal user interface during the data reduction process. Experimental results are included and compared with the analytical predictions in order to adjust the general model and arrive at a realistic simulation of the POGO characteristics.

A review on the effects of different parameters on contact heat transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdollahi, H.; Shahraki, S.; Motahari-Nezhad, M.

2017-07-01

In this paper, a complete literature review for thermal contact between fixed and periodic contacting surfaces and also thermal contact between exhaust valve and its seat in internal combustion engines is presented. Furthermore, the effects of some parameters such as contact pressure, contact frequency, the contacting surfaces topography and roughness, curvature radius of surfaces, loading-unloading cycles, gas gap conductance and properties, interface interstitial material properties, surfaces coatings and surfaces temperature on thermal contact conductance are investigated according to the papers presented in this field. The reviewed papers and studies included theoretical/ analytical/experimental and numerical studies on thermal contact conductance. In studying the thermal contact between exhaust valve and its seat, most of the experimental studies include two axial rods as the exhaust valve, and seat and the one ends of both rods are considered at constant and different temperatures. In the experimental methods, the temperatures of multi-points on rods are measured in different conditions, and thermal contact conductance is estimated using them.

The Penn State Safety Floor: Part I--Design parameters associated with walking deflections.

PubMed

Casalena, J A; Ovaert, T C; Cavanagh, P R; Streit, D A

1998-08-01

A new flooring system has been developed to reduce peak impact forces to the hips when humans fall. The new safety floor is designed to remain relatively rigid under normal walking conditions, but to deform elastically when impacted during a fall. Design objectives included minimizing peak force experienced by the femur during a fall-induced impact, while maintaining a maximum of 2 mm of floor deflection during walking. Finite Element Models (FEMs) were developed to capture the complex dynamics of impact response between two deformable bodies. Validation of the finite element models included analytical calculations of theoretical buckling column response, experimental quasi-static loading of full-scale flooring prototypes, and flooring response during walking trials. Finite Element Method results compared well with theoretical and experimental data. Both finite element and experimental data suggest that the proposed safety floor can effectively meet the design goal of 2 mm maximum deflection during walking, while effectively reducing impact forces during a fall.

The visual cliff's forgotten menagerie: rats, goats, babies, and myth-making in the history of psychology.

PubMed

Rodkey, Elissa N

2015-01-01

Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk's famous visual cliff experiment is one of psychology's classic studies, included in most introductory textbooks. Yet the famous version which centers on babies is actually a simplification, the result of disciplinary myth-making. In fact the visual cliff's first subjects were rats, and a wide range of animals were tested on the cliff, including chicks, turtles, lambs, kid goats, pigs, kittens, dogs, and monkeys. The visual cliff experiment was more accurately a series of experiments, employing varying methods and a changing apparatus, modified to test different species. This paper focuses on the initial, nonhuman subjects of the visual cliff, resituating the study in its original experimental logic, connecting it to the history of comparative psychology, Gibson's interest in comparative psychology, as well as gender-based discrimination. Recovering the visual cliff's forgotten menagerie helps to counter the romanticization of experimentation by focusing on the role of extrascientific factors, chance, complexity, and uncertainty in the experimental process. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

Andronov, V.A.; Zhidov, I.G.; Meskov, E.E.

The report presents the basic results of some calculations, theoretical and experimental efforts in the study of Rayleigh-Taylor, Kelvin-Helmholtz, Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities and the turbulent mixing which is caused by their evolution. Since the late forties the VNIIEF has been conducting these investigations. This report is based on the data which were published in different times in Russian and foreign journals. The first part of the report deals with calculations an theoretical techniques for the description of hydrodynamic instabilities applied currently, as well as with the results of several individual problems and their comparison with the experiment. These methods can bemore » divided into two types: direct numerical simulation methods and phenomenological methods. The first type includes the regular 2D and 3D gasdynamical techniques as well as the techniques based on small perturbation approximation and on incompressible liquid approximation. The second type comprises the techniques based on various phenomenological turbulence models. The second part of the report describes the experimental methods and cites the experimental results of Rayleigh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meskov instability studies as well as of turbulent mixing. The applied methods were based on thin-film gaseous models, on jelly models and liquid layer models. The research was done for plane and cylindrical geometries. As drivers, the shock tubes of different designs were used as well as gaseous explosive mixtures, compressed air and electric wire explosions. The experimental results were applied in calculational-theoretical technique calibrations. The authors did not aim at covering all VNIIEF research done in this field of science. To a great extent the choice of the material depended on the personal contribution of the author in these studies.« less

The use of continuous culture in systems biology investigations.

PubMed

Winder, Catherine L; Lanthaler, Karin

2011-01-01

When acquiring data for systems biology studies, it is essential to perform the experiments in controlled and reproducible conditions. Advances in the fields of proteomics and metabolomics allow the quantitative analysis of the components of the biological cell. It is essential to include a method in the experimental pipeline to culture the biological system in controlled and reproducible conditions to facilitate the acquisition of high-quality data. The employment of continuous culture methods for the growth of microorganisms is an ideal tool to achieve these objectives. This chapter will review the continuous culture approaches which may be applied in such studies, outline the experimental options which should be considered, and describe the approach applied in the production of steady-state cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pretreatment of rapeseed straw by sodium hydroxide.

PubMed

Kang, Kyeong Eop; Jeong, Gwi-Taek; Park, Don-Hee

2012-06-01

Pretreatment method for rapeseed straw by sodium hydroxide was investigated for production of bioethanol and biobutanol. Various pretreatment parameters, including temperature, time, and sodium hydroxide concentration were optimized using a statistical method which is a central composite design of response surface methodology. In the case of sodium hydroxide pretreatment, optimal pretreatment conditions were found to be 7.9% sodium hydroxide concentration, 5.5 h of reaction time, and 68.4 °C of reaction temperature. The maximum glucose yield which can be recovered by enzymatic hydrolysis at the optimum conditions was 95.7% and the experimental result was 94.0 ± 4.8%. This experimental result was in agreement with the model prediction. An increase of surface area and pore size in pretreated rapeseed straw by sodium hydroxide pretreatment was observed by scanning electron microscope.

Inverse analysis of water profile in starch by non-contact photopyroelectric method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frandas, A.; Duvaut, T.; Paris, D.

2000-07-01

The photopyroelectric (PPE) method in a non-contact configuration was proposed to study water migration in starch sheets used for biodegradable packaging. A 1-D theoretical model was developed, allowing the study of samples having a water profile characterized by an arbitrary continuous function. An experimental setup was designed or this purpose which included the choice of excitation source, detection of signals, signal and data processing, and cells for conditioning the samples. We report here the development of an inversion procedure allowing for the determination of the parameters that influence the PPE signal. This procedure led to the optimization of experimental conditions in order to identify the parameters related to the water profile in the sample, and to monitor the dynamics of the process.

Inferring phase equations from multivariate time series.

PubMed

Tokuda, Isao T; Jain, Swati; Kiss, István Z; Hudson, John L

2007-08-10

An approach is presented for extracting phase equations from multivariate time series data recorded from a network of weakly coupled limit cycle oscillators. Our aim is to estimate important properties of the phase equations including natural frequencies and interaction functions between the oscillators. Our approach requires the measurement of an experimental observable of the oscillators; in contrast with previous methods it does not require measurements in isolated single or two-oscillator setups. This noninvasive technique can be advantageous in biological systems, where extraction of few oscillators may be a difficult task. The method is most efficient when data are taken from the nonsynchronized regime. Applicability to experimental systems is demonstrated by using a network of electrochemical oscillators; the obtained phase model is utilized to predict the synchronization diagram of the system.

Difference method to search for the anisotropy of primary cosmic radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlyuchenko, V. P.; Martirosov, R. M.; Nikolskaya, N. M.; Erlykin, A. D.

2018-01-01

The original difference method used in the search for an anisotropy of primary cosmic radiation at the knee region of its energy spectrum is considered. Its methodical features and properties are analyzed. It is shown that this method, in which properties of particle fluxes (rather than an intensity) are investigated, is stable against random experimental errors and allows one to separate anomalies connected with the laboratory coordinate system from anomalies in the celestial coordinate system. The method uses the multiple scattering of charged particles in the magnetic fields of the Galaxy to study the whole celestial sphere, including the regions outside the line of sight of the installation.

Air ions and respiratory function outcomes: a comprehensive review

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background From a mechanistic or physical perspective there is no basis to suspect that electric charges on clusters of air molecules (air ions) would have beneficial or deleterious effects on respiratory function. Yet, there is a large lay and scientific literature spanning 80 years that asserts exposure to air ions affects the respiratory system and has other biological effects. Aims This review evaluates the scientific evidence in published human experimental studies regarding the effects of exposure to air ions on respiratory performance and symptoms. Methods We identified 23 studies (published 1933–1993) that met our inclusion criteria. Relevant data pertaining to study population characteristics, study design, experimental methods, statistical techniques, and study results were assessed. Where relevant, random effects meta-analysis models were utilized to quantify similar exposure and outcome groupings. Results The included studies examined the therapeutic benefits of exposure to negative air ions on respiratory outcomes, such as ventilatory function and asthmatic symptoms. Study specific sample sizes ranged between 7 and 23, and studies varied considerably by subject characteristics (e.g., infants with asthma, adults with emphysema), experimental method, outcomes measured (e.g., subjective symptoms, sensitivity, clinical pulmonary function), analytical design, and statistical reporting. Conclusions Despite numerous experimental and analytical differences across studies, the literature does not clearly support a beneficial role in exposure to negative air ions and respiratory function or asthmatic symptom alleviation. Further, collectively, the human experimental studies do not indicate a significant detrimental effect of exposure to positive air ions on respiratory measures. Exposure to negative or positive air ions does not appear to play an appreciable role in respiratory function. PMID:24016271

A Multi-Disciplinary University Research Initiative in Hard and Soft Information Fusion: Overview, Research Strategies and Initial Results

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-01

Multisource Information Fusion ( CMIF ) along with a team including the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), Iona College (Iona), and Tennessee State...License. 14. ABSTRACT The University at Buffalo (UB) Center for Multisource Information Fusion ( CMIF ) along with a team including the Pennsylvania...of CMIF current research on methods for Test and Evaluation ([7], [8]) involving for example large- factor-space experimental design techniques ([9

Multi-type sensor placement and response reconstruction for building structures: Experimental investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Rong-Pan; Xu, You-Lin; Zhan, Sheng

2018-01-01

Estimation of lateral displacement and acceleration responses is essential to assess safety and serviceability of high-rise buildings under dynamic loadings including earthquake excitations. However, the measurement information from the limited number of sensors installed in a building structure is often insufficient for the complete structural performance assessment. An integrated multi-type sensor placement and response reconstruction method has thus been proposed by the authors to tackle this problem. To validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method, an experimental investigation using a cantilever beam with multi-type sensors is performed and reported in this paper. The experimental setup is first introduced. The finite element modelling and model updating of the cantilever beam are then performed. The optimal sensor placement for the best response reconstruction is determined by the proposed method based on the updated FE model of the beam. After the sensors are installed on the physical cantilever beam, a number of experiments are carried out. The responses at key locations are reconstructed and compared with the measured ones. The reconstructed responses achieve a good match with the measured ones, manifesting the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. Besides, the proposed method is also examined for the cases of different excitations and unknown excitation, and the results prove the proposed method to be robust and effective. The superiority of the optimized sensor placement scheme is finally demonstrated through comparison with two other different sensor placement schemes: the accelerometer-only scheme and non-optimal sensor placement scheme. The proposed method can be applied to high-rise buildings for seismic performance assessment.

Photogrammetry Applied to Wind Tunnel Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Tian-Shu; Cattafesta, L. N., III; Radeztsky, R. H.; Burner, A. W.

2000-01-01

In image-based measurements, quantitative image data must be mapped to three-dimensional object space. Analytical photogrammetric methods, which may be used to accomplish this task, are discussed from the viewpoint of experimental fluid dynamicists. The Direct Linear Transformation (DLT) for camera calibration, used in pressure sensitive paint, is summarized. An optimization method for camera calibration is developed that can be used to determine the camera calibration parameters, including those describing lens distortion, from a single image. Combined with the DLT method, this method allows a rapid and comprehensive in-situ camera calibration and therefore is particularly useful for quantitative flow visualization and other measurements such as model attitude and deformation in production wind tunnels. The paper also includes a brief description of typical photogrammetric applications to temperature- and pressure-sensitive paint measurements and model deformation measurements in wind tunnels.

Research Methods Tutor: evaluation of a dialogue-based tutoring system in the classroom.

PubMed

Arnott, Elizabeth; Hastings, Peter; Allbritton, David

2008-08-01

Research Methods Tutor (RMT) is a dialogue-based intelligent tutoring system for use in conjunction with undergraduate psychology research methods courses. RMT includes five topics that correspond to the curriculum of introductory research methods courses: ethics, variables, reliability, validity, and experimental design. We evaluated the effectiveness of the RMT system in the classroom using a nonequivalent control group design. Students in three classes (n = 83) used RMT, and students in two classes (n = 53) did not use RMT. Results indicated that the use of RMT yieldedstrong learning gains of 0.75 standard deviations above classroom instruction alone. Further, the dialogue-based tutoring condition of the system resulted in higher gains than did the textbook-style condition (CAI version) of the system. Future directions for RMT include the addition of new topics and tutoring elements.

Systems Biology in Immunology – A Computational Modeling Perspective

PubMed Central

Germain, Ronald N.; Meier-Schellersheim, Martin; Nita-Lazar, Aleksandra; Fraser, Iain D. C.

2011-01-01

Systems biology is an emerging discipline that combines high-content, multiplexed measurements with informatic and computational modeling methods to better understand biological function at various scales. Here we present a detailed review of the methods used to create computational models and conduct simulations of immune function, We provide descriptions of the key data gathering techniques employed to generate the quantitative and qualitative data required for such modeling and simulation and summarize the progress to date in applying these tools and techniques to questions of immunological interest, including infectious disease. We include comments on what insights modeling can provide that complement information obtained from the more familiar experimental discovery methods used by most investigators and why quantitative methods are needed to eventually produce a better understanding of immune system operation in health and disease. PMID:21219182

Automatic patient-adaptive bleeding detection in a capsule endoscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Yun Sub; Kim, Yong Ho; Lee, Dong Ha; Lee, Sang Ho; Song, Jeong Joo; Kim, Jong Hyo

2009-02-01

We present a method for patient-adaptive detection of bleeding region for a Capsule Endoscopy (CE) images. The CE system has 320x320 resolution and transmits 3 images per second to receiver during around 10-hour. We have developed a technique to detect the bleeding automatically utilizing color spectrum transformation (CST) method. However, because of irregular conditions like organ difference, patient difference and illumination condition, detection performance is not uniform. To solve this problem, the detection method in this paper include parameter compensation step which compensate irregular image condition using color balance index (CBI). We have investigated color balance through sequential 2 millions images. Based on this pre-experimental result, we defined ΔCBI to represent deviate of color balance compared with standard small bowel color balance. The ΔCBI feature value is extracted from each image and used in CST method as parameter compensation constant. After candidate pixels were detected using CST method, they were labeled and examined with a bleeding character. We tested our method with 4,800 images in 12 patient data set (9 abnormal, 3 normal). Our experimental results show the proposed method achieves (before patient adaptive method : 80.87% and 74.25%, after patient adaptive method : 94.87% and 96.12%) of sensitivity and specificity.

Charge transfer complex between 2,3-diaminopyridine with chloranilic acid. Synthesis, characterization and DFT, TD-DFT computational studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Ahmary, Khairia M.; Habeeb, Moustafa M.; Al-Obidan, Areej H.

2018-05-01

New charge transfer complex (CTC) between the electron donor 2,3-diaminopyridine (DAP) with the electron acceptor chloranilic (CLA) acid has been synthesized and characterized experimentally and theoretically using a variety of physicochemical techniques. The experimental work included the use of elemental analysis, UV-vis, IR and 1H NMR studies to characterize the complex. Electronic spectra have been carried out in different hydrogen bonded solvents, methanol (MeOH), acetonitrile (AN) and 1:1 mixture from AN-MeOH. The molecular composition of the complex was identified to be 1:1 from Jobs and molar ratio methods. The stability constant was determined using minimum-maximum absorbances method where it recorded high values confirming the high stability of the formed complex. The solid complex was prepared and characterized by elemental analysis that confirmed its formation in 1:1 stoichiometric ratio. Both IR and NMR studies asserted the existence of proton and charge transfers in the formed complex. For supporting the experimental results, DFT computations were carried out using B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) method to compute the optimized structures of the reactants and complex, their geometrical parameters, reactivity parameters, molecular electrostatic potential map and frontier molecular orbitals. The analysis of DFT results strongly confirmed the high stability of the formed complex based on existing charge transfer beside proton transfer hydrogen bonding concordant with experimental results. The origin of electronic spectra was analyzed using TD-DFT method where the observed λmax are strongly consisted with the computed ones. TD-DFT showed the contributed states for various electronic transitions.

Design and experimental results of the 1-T Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bates, E. M.; Birmingham, W. J.; Romero-Talamás, C. A.

2018-05-01

The Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA) is a 1-Tesla (T) technical prototype of the 10 T Adjustable Long Pulsed High-Field Apparatus. BETA's final design specifications are highlighted in this paper which include electromagnetic, thermal, and stress analyses. We discuss here the design and fabrication of BETA's core, vessel, cooling, and electrical subsystems. The electrical system of BETA is composed of a scalable solid-state DC breaker circuit. Experimental results display the stable operation of BETA at 1 T. These results are compared to both analytical design and finite element calculations. Experimental results validate analytical magnet designing methods developed at the Dusty Plasma Laboratory. The theoretical steady state maxima and the limits of BETA's design are explored in this paper.

Experimental and numerical investigation of a packed-bed thermal energy storage device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Bei; Wang, Yan; Bai, Fengwu; Wang, Zhifeng

2017-06-01

This paper presents a pilot-scale setup built to study a packed bed thermal energy storage device based on ceramic balls randomly poured into a cylindrical tank while using air as heat transfer fluid. Temperature distribution of ceramic balls throughout the packed bed is investigated both experimentally and numerically. Method of characteristic is adopted to improve the numerical computing efficiency, and mesh independence is verified to guarantee the accuracy of numerical solutions and the economy of computing time cost at the same time. Temperature in tests is as high as over 600 °C, and modeling prediction shows good agreements with experimental results under various testing conditions when heat loss is included and thermal properties of air are considered as temperature dependent.

Design and experimental results of the 1-T Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA).

PubMed

Bates, E M; Birmingham, W J; Romero-Talamás, C A

2018-05-01

The Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA) is a 1-Tesla (T) technical prototype of the 10 T Adjustable Long Pulsed High-Field Apparatus. BETA's final design specifications are highlighted in this paper which include electromagnetic, thermal, and stress analyses. We discuss here the design and fabrication of BETA's core, vessel, cooling, and electrical subsystems. The electrical system of BETA is composed of a scalable solid-state DC breaker circuit. Experimental results display the stable operation of BETA at 1 T. These results are compared to both analytical design and finite element calculations. Experimental results validate analytical magnet designing methods developed at the Dusty Plasma Laboratory. The theoretical steady state maxima and the limits of BETA's design are explored in this paper.

Experimental transition probabilities for Mn II spectral lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manrique, J.; Aguilera, J. A.; Aragón, C.

2018-06-01

Transition probabilities for 46 spectral lines of Mn II with wavelengths in the range 2000-3500 Å have been measured by CSigma laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (Cσ-LIBS). For 28 of the lines, experimental data had not been reported previously. The Cσ-LIBS method, based in the construction of generalized curves of growth called Cσ graphs, avoids the error due to self-absorption. The samples used to generate the laser-induced plasmas are fused glass disks prepared from pure MnO. The Mn concentrations in the samples and the lines included in the study are selected to ensure the validity of the model of homogeneous plasma used. The results are compared to experimental and theoretical values available in the literature.

Activation cross-sections of proton induced reactions on vanadium in the 37-65 MeV energy range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ditrói, F.; Tárkányi, F.; Takács, S.; Hermanne, A.

2016-08-01

Experimental excitation functions for proton induced reactions on natural vanadium in the 37-65 MeV energy range were measured with the activation method using a stacked foil irradiation technique. By using high resolution gamma spectrometry cross-section data for the production of 51,48Cr, 48V, 48,47,46,44m,44g,43Sc and 43,42K were determined. Comparisons with the earlier published data are presented and results predicted by different theoretical codes (EMPIRE and TALYS) are included. Thick target yields were calculated from a fit to our experimental excitation curves and compared with the earlier experimental yield data. Depth distribution curves to be used for thin layer activation (TLA) are also presented.

Mechanical properties and oxidation and corrosion resistance of reduced-chromium 304 stainless steel alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, J. R.; Barrett, C. A.; Gyorgak, C. A.

1979-01-01

An experimental program was undertaken to identify effective substitutes for part of the Cr in 304 stainless steel as a method of conserving the strategic element Cr. Although special emphasis was placed on tensile properties, oxidation and corrosion resistance were also examined. Results indicate that over the temperature range of -196 C to 540 C the yield stress of experimental austenitic alloys with only 12 percent Cr compare favorably with the 18 percent Cr in 304 stainless steel. Oxidation resistance and in most cases corrosion resistance for the experimental alloys were comparable to the commercial alloy. Effective substitutes for Cr included Al, Mo, Si, Ti, and V, while Ni and Mn contents were increased to maintain an austenitic structure.

Analytical and experimental study of high phase order induction motors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klingshirn, Eugene A.

1989-01-01

Induction motors having more than three phases were investigated to determine their suitability for electric vehicle applications. The objective was to have a motor with a current rating lower than that of a three-phase motor. The name chosen for these is high phase order (HPO) motors. Motors having six phases and nine phases were given the most attention. It was found that HPO motors are quite suitable for electric vehicles, and for many other applications as well. They have characteristics which are as good as or better than three-phase motors for practically all applications where polyphase induction motors are appropriate. Some of the analysis methods are presented, and several of the equivalent circuits which facilitate the determination of harmonic currents and losses, or currents with unbalanced sources, are included. The sometimes large stator currents due to harmonics in the source voltages are pointed out. Filters which can limit these currents were developed. An analysis and description of these filters is included. Experimental results which confirm and illustrate much of the theory are also included. These include locked rotor test results and full-load performance with an open phase. Also shown are oscillograms which display the reduction in harmonic currents when a filter is used with the experimental motor supplied by a non-sinusoidal source.

2-D Circulation Control Airfoil Benchmark Experiments Intended for CFD Code Validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Englar, Robert J.; Jones, Gregory S.; Allan, Brian G.; Lin, Johb C.

2009-01-01

A current NASA Research Announcement (NRA) project being conducted by Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) personnel and NASA collaborators includes the development of Circulation Control (CC) blown airfoils to improve subsonic aircraft high-lift and cruise performance. The emphasis of this program is the development of CC active flow control concepts for both high-lift augmentation, drag control, and cruise efficiency. A collaboration in this project includes work by NASA research engineers, whereas CFD validation and flow physics experimental research are part of NASA s systematic approach to developing design and optimization tools for CC applications to fixed-wing aircraft. The design space for CESTOL type aircraft is focusing on geometries that depend on advanced flow control technologies that include Circulation Control aerodynamics. The ability to consistently predict advanced aircraft performance requires improvements in design tools to include these advanced concepts. Validation of these tools will be based on experimental methods applied to complex flows that go beyond conventional aircraft modeling techniques. This paper focuses on recent/ongoing benchmark high-lift experiments and CFD efforts intended to provide 2-D CFD validation data sets related to NASA s Cruise Efficient Short Take Off and Landing (CESTOL) study. Both the experimental data and related CFD predictions are discussed.

The energy separation between the classical and nonclassical isomers of protonated acetylene - An extensive study in one- and n-particle space saturation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindh, Roland; Rice, Julia E.; Lee, Timothy J.

1991-01-01

The energy separation between the classical and nonclassical forms of protonated acetylene has been reinvestigated in light of the recent experimentally deduced lower bound to this value of 6.0 kcal/mol. The objective of the present study is to use state-of-the-art ab initio quantum mechanical methods to establish this energy difference to within chemical accuracy (i.e., about 1 kcal/mol). The one-particle basis sets include up to g-type functions and the electron correlation methods include single and double excitation coupled-cluster (CCSD), the CCSD(T) extension, multireference configuration interaction, and the averaged coupled-pair functional methods. A correction for zero-point vibrational energies has also been included, yielding a best estimate for the energy difference between the classical and nonclassical forms of 3.7 + or - 1.3 kcal/mol.

A new method based on the Butler-Volmer formalism to evaluate voltammetric cation and anion sensors.

PubMed

Cano, Manuel; Rodríguez-Amaro, Rafael; Fernández Romero, Antonio J

2008-12-11

A new method based on the Butler-Volmer formalism is applied to assess the capability of two voltammetric ion sensors based on polypyrrole films: PPy/DBS and PPy/ClO4 modified electrodes were studied as voltammetric cation and anion sensors, respectively. The reversible potential versus electrolyte concentrations semilogarithm plots provided positive calibration slopes for PPy/DBS and negative ones for PPy/ClO4, as was expected from the proposed method and that based on the Nernst equation. The slope expressions deduced from Butler-Volmer include the electron-transfer coefficient, which allows slope values different from the ideal Nernstian value to be explained. Both polymeric films exhibited a degree of ion-selectivity when they were immersed in mixed-analyte solutions. Selectivity coefficients for the two proposed voltammetric cation and anion sensors were obtained by several experimental methods, including the separated solution method (SSM) and matched potential method (MPM). The K values acquired by the different methods were very close for both polymeric sensors.

Design approaches to experimental mediation☆

PubMed Central

Pirlott, Angela G.; MacKinnon, David P.

2016-01-01

Identifying causal mechanisms has become a cornerstone of experimental social psychology, and editors in top social psychology journals champion the use of mediation methods, particularly innovative ones when possible (e.g. Halberstadt, 2010, Smith, 2012). Commonly, studies in experimental social psychology randomly assign participants to levels of the independent variable and measure the mediating and dependent variables, and the mediator is assumed to causally affect the dependent variable. However, participants are not randomly assigned to levels of the mediating variable(s), i.e., the relationship between the mediating and dependent variables is correlational. Although researchers likely know that correlational studies pose a risk of confounding, this problem seems forgotten when thinking about experimental designs randomly assigning participants to levels of the independent variable and measuring the mediator (i.e., “measurement-of-mediation” designs). Experimentally manipulating the mediator provides an approach to solving these problems, yet these methods contain their own set of challenges (e.g., Bullock, Green, & Ha, 2010). We describe types of experimental manipulations targeting the mediator (manipulations demonstrating a causal effect of the mediator on the dependent variable and manipulations targeting the strength of the causal effect of the mediator) and types of experimental designs (double randomization, concurrent double randomization, and parallel), provide published examples of the designs, and discuss the strengths and challenges of each design. Therefore, the goals of this paper include providing a practical guide to manipulation-of-mediator designs in light of their challenges and encouraging researchers to use more rigorous approaches to mediation because manipulation-of-mediator designs strengthen the ability to infer causality of the mediating variable on the dependent variable. PMID:27570259

Design approaches to experimental mediation.

PubMed

Pirlott, Angela G; MacKinnon, David P

2016-09-01

Identifying causal mechanisms has become a cornerstone of experimental social psychology, and editors in top social psychology journals champion the use of mediation methods, particularly innovative ones when possible (e.g. Halberstadt, 2010, Smith, 2012). Commonly, studies in experimental social psychology randomly assign participants to levels of the independent variable and measure the mediating and dependent variables, and the mediator is assumed to causally affect the dependent variable. However, participants are not randomly assigned to levels of the mediating variable(s), i.e., the relationship between the mediating and dependent variables is correlational. Although researchers likely know that correlational studies pose a risk of confounding, this problem seems forgotten when thinking about experimental designs randomly assigning participants to levels of the independent variable and measuring the mediator (i.e., "measurement-of-mediation" designs). Experimentally manipulating the mediator provides an approach to solving these problems, yet these methods contain their own set of challenges (e.g., Bullock, Green, & Ha, 2010). We describe types of experimental manipulations targeting the mediator (manipulations demonstrating a causal effect of the mediator on the dependent variable and manipulations targeting the strength of the causal effect of the mediator) and types of experimental designs (double randomization, concurrent double randomization, and parallel), provide published examples of the designs, and discuss the strengths and challenges of each design. Therefore, the goals of this paper include providing a practical guide to manipulation-of-mediator designs in light of their challenges and encouraging researchers to use more rigorous approaches to mediation because manipulation-of-mediator designs strengthen the ability to infer causality of the mediating variable on the dependent variable.

Cardiac Risk and Disordered Eating: Decreased R Wave Amplitude in Women with Bulimia Nervosa and Women with Subclinical Binge/Purge Symptoms.

PubMed

Green, Melinda; Rogers, Jennifer; Nguyen, Christine; Blasko, Katherine; Martin, Amanda; Hudson, Dominique; Fernandez-Kong, Kristen; Kaza-Amlak, Zauditu; Thimmesch, Brandon; Thorne, Tyler

2016-11-01

The purpose of the present study was threefold. First, we examined whether women with bulimia nervosa (n = 12) and women with subthreshold binge/purge symptoms (n = 20) showed decreased mean R wave amplitude, an indicator of cardiac risk, on electrocardiograph compared to asymptomatic women (n = 20). Second, we examined whether this marker was pervasive across experimental paradigms, including before and after sympathetic challenge tasks. Third, we investigated behavioural predictors of this marker, including binge frequency and purge frequency assessed by subtype (dietary restriction, excessive exercise, self-induced vomiting, and laxative abuse). Results of a 3 (ED symptom status) × 5 (experimental condition) mixed factorial ANCOVA (covariates: body mass index, age) indicated women with bulimia nervosa and women with subclinical binge/purge symptoms demonstrated significantly reduced mean R wave amplitude compared to asymptomatic women; this effect was pervasive across experimental conditions. Multiple regression analyses showed binge and purge behaviours, most notably laxative abuse as a purge method, predicted decreased R wave amplitude across all experimental conditions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Geo-material microfluidics at reservoir conditions for subsurface energy resource applications.

PubMed

Porter, Mark L; Jiménez-Martínez, Joaquín; Martinez, Ricardo; McCulloch, Quinn; Carey, J William; Viswanathan, Hari S

2015-10-21

Microfluidic investigations of flow and transport in porous and fractured media have the potential to play a significant role in the development of future subsurface energy resource technologies. However, the majority of experimental systems to date are limited in applicability due to operating conditions and/or the use of engineered material micromodels. We have developed a high pressure and temperature microfluidic experimental system that allows for direct observations of flow and transport within geo-material micromodels (e.g. rock, cement) at reservoir conditions. In this manuscript, we describe the experimental system, including our novel micromodel fabrication method that works in both geo- and engineered materials and utilizes 3-D tomography images of real fractures as micromodel templates to better represent the pore space and fracture geometries expected in subsurface formations. We present experimental results that highlight the advantages of using real-rock micromodels and discuss potential areas of research that could benefit from geo-material microfluidic investigations. The experiments include fracture-matrix interaction in which water imbibes into the shale rock matrix from etched fractures, supercritical CO2 (scCO2) displacing brine in idealized and realistic fracture patterns, and three-phase flow involving scCO2-brine-oil.

[Evaluation of nutrition instruction in a group of Senegalese students at the secondary level].

PubMed

Sakiliba, H; Turgeon-O'brien, H; Vallières, A; Plante, J

2001-04-01

In Senegal, nutrition instruction was implanted in 1981 in the national curriculum of biology and has never been evaluated since. The purpose of this study, was to evaluate the effect of a six weeks nutrition instruction program on improving nutrition knowledge and nutrition attitudes in an experimental group including 81 subjects aged 16.7+/-1.2 years and a control group including 80 subjects aged 15.7+/-1.3 years. These subjects came respectively from third and fourth grade. A questionnaire on knowledge and one on attitudes were administered to the experimental group, before and after the nutrition instruction, while the control group, who did not received any nutrition instruction, also answered the questionnaires. Results indicate that the adjusted mean knowledge posttest scores did not significantly increase in the experimental group compared to the control group. In addition, the adjusted mean attitude postscores of the boys and girls of the experimental group on the attitude scale "Nutrition affects health" were significantly higher from that of the control group. An evaluation of the nutrition curriculum and the teaching methods is suggested in order to improve the effectiveness of this nutrition program.

Quantifying properties of hot and dense QCD matter through systematic model-to-data comparison

DOE PAGES

Bernhard, Jonah E.; Marcy, Peter W.; Coleman-Smith, Christopher E.; ...

2015-05-22

We systematically compare an event-by-event heavy-ion collision model to data from the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Using a general Bayesian method, we probe multiple model parameters including fundamental quark-gluon plasma properties such as the specific shear viscosity η/s, calibrate the model to optimally reproduce experimental data, and extract quantitative constraints for all parameters simultaneously. Furthermore, the method is universal and easily extensible to other data and collision models.

Computational Insights into the O2-evolving complex of photosystem II

PubMed Central

Sproviero, Eduardo M.; McEvoy, James P.; Gascón, José A.; Brudvig, Gary W.; Batista, Victor S.

2009-01-01

Mechanistic investigations of the water-splitting reaction of the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII) are fundamentally informed by structural studies. Many physical techniques have provided important insights into the OEC structure and function, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy as well as mass spectrometry (MS), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy applied in conjunction with mutagenesis studies. However, experimental studies have yet to yield consensus as to the exact configuration of the catalytic metal cluster and its ligation scheme. Computational modeling studies, including density functional (DFT) theory combined with quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) hybrid methods for explicitly including the influence of the surrounding protein, have proposed chemically satisfactory models of the fully ligated OEC within PSII that are maximally consistent with experimental results. The inorganic core of these models is similar to the crystallographic model upon which they were based but comprises important modifications due to structural refinement, hydration and proteinaceous ligation which improve agreement with a wide range of experimental data. The computational models are useful for rationalizing spectroscopic and crystallographic results and for building a complete structure-based mechanism of water-splitting in PSII as described by the intermediate oxidation states of the OEC. This review summarizes these recent advances in QM/MM modeling of PSII within the context of recent experimental studies. PMID:18483777

Experimental verification of a CT-based Monte Carlo dose-calculation method in heterogeneous phantoms.

PubMed

Wang, L; Lovelock, M; Chui, C S

1999-12-01

To further validate the Monte Carlo dose-calculation method [Med. Phys. 25, 867-878 (1998)] developed at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, we have performed experimental verification in various inhomogeneous phantoms. The phantom geometries included simple layered slabs, a simulated bone column, a simulated missing-tissue hemisphere, and an anthropomorphic head geometry (Alderson Rando Phantom). The densities of the inhomogeneity range from 0.14 to 1.86 g/cm3, simulating both clinically relevant lunglike and bonelike materials. The data are reported as central axis depth doses, dose profiles, dose values at points of interest, such as points at the interface of two different media and in the "nasopharynx" region of the Rando head. The dosimeters used in the measurement included dosimetry film, TLD chips, and rods. The measured data were compared to that of Monte Carlo calculations for the same geometrical configurations. In the case of the Rando head phantom, a CT scan of the phantom was used to define the calculation geometry and to locate the points of interest. The agreement between the calculation and measurement is generally within 2.5%. This work validates the accuracy of the Monte Carlo method. While Monte Carlo, at present, is still too slow for routine treatment planning, it can be used as a benchmark against which other dose calculation methods can be compared.

Effect of acupressure on fatigue in women with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Bastani, Farideh; Sobhani, Marzie; Emamzadeh Ghasemi, Hormat Sadat

2015-01-26

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of progressive neurological disability. The prevalence of MS is much more common in women than men. The women are exposed to a variety of symptoms including fatigue. Acupressure is a noninvasive procedure that can be used to control symptoms including fatigue. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of acupressure on fatigue in women with multiple sclerosis. A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 100 women with MS at Tehran MS Association. The subjects were equally allocated to experimental group and a placebo group (50 women per group) by blocking randomization method. The experimental group were received acupressure, at the true points (ST36, SP6, LI4) and the placebo group, were received touching at the same points. Fatigue was measured by a Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) in the groups at immediately prior to, two and four weeks after the beginning of the intervention. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics by SPSS version 17. The findings indicated no differences in demographic characteristics and the severity of fatigue at the baseline in two groups (p=0.54). But there were significant reductions of the mean score of fatigue in the experimental group compared to the placebo group immediately, two and four weeks after the intervention respectively (p=0.03, p?0/001, p=0.04). According to the findings, the study provided an alternative method for health care providers including nurses to train acupressure to the clients with MS to managing their fatigue.

Chemical vapor deposition growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruth, R. P.; Manasevit, H. M.; Kenty, J. L.; Moudy, L. A.; Simpson, W. I.; Yang, J. J.

1976-01-01

The chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for the growth of Si sheet on inexpensive substrate materials is investigated. The objective is to develop CVD techniques for producing large areas of Si sheet on inexpensive substrate materials, with sheet properties suitable for fabricating solar cells meeting the technical goals of the Low Cost Silicon Solar Array Project. Specific areas covered include: (1) modification and test of existing CVD reactor system; (2) identification and/or development of suitable inexpensive substrate materials; (3) experimental investigation of CVD process parameters using various candidate substrate materials; (4) preparation of Si sheet samples for various special studies, including solar cell fabrication; (5) evaluation of the properties of the Si sheet material produced by the CVD process; and (6) fabrication and evaluation of experimental solar cell structures, using standard and near-standard processing techniques.

Databases and Associated Tools for Glycomics and Glycoproteomics.

PubMed

Lisacek, Frederique; Mariethoz, Julien; Alocci, Davide; Rudd, Pauline M; Abrahams, Jodie L; Campbell, Matthew P; Packer, Nicolle H; Ståhle, Jonas; Widmalm, Göran; Mullen, Elaine; Adamczyk, Barbara; Rojas-Macias, Miguel A; Jin, Chunsheng; Karlsson, Niclas G

2017-01-01

The access to biodatabases for glycomics and glycoproteomics has proven to be essential for current glycobiological research. This chapter presents available databases that are devoted to different aspects of glycobioinformatics. This includes oligosaccharide sequence databases, experimental databases, 3D structure databases (of both glycans and glycorelated proteins) and association of glycans with tissue, disease, and proteins. Specific search protocols are also provided using tools associated with experimental databases for converting primary glycoanalytical data to glycan structural information. In particular, researchers using glycoanalysis methods by U/HPLC (GlycoBase), MS (GlycoWorkbench, UniCarb-DB, GlycoDigest), and NMR (CASPER) will benefit from this chapter. In addition we also include information on how to utilize glycan structural information to query databases that associate glycans with proteins (UniCarbKB) and with interactions with pathogens (SugarBind).

Plans and Example Results for the 2nd AIAA Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heeg, Jennifer; Chwalowski, Pawel; Schuster, David M.; Raveh, Daniella; Jirasek, Adam; Dalenbring, Mats

2015-01-01

This paper summarizes the plans for the second AIAA Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop. The workshop is designed to assess the state-of-the-art of computational methods for predicting unsteady flow fields and aeroelastic response. The goals are to provide an impartial forum to evaluate the effectiveness of existing computer codes and modeling techniques, and to identify computational and experimental areas needing additional research and development. This paper provides guidelines and instructions for participants including the computational aerodynamic model, the structural dynamic properties, the experimental comparison data and the expected output data from simulations. The Benchmark Supercritical Wing (BSCW) has been chosen as the configuration for this workshop. The analyses to be performed will include aeroelastic flutter solutions of the wing mounted on a pitch-and-plunge apparatus.

Calculation of acoustic field based on laser-measured vibration velocities on ultrasonic transducer surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Liang; Zhao, Nannan; Gao, Zhijian; Mao, Kai; Chen, Wenyu; Fu, Xin

2018-05-01

Determination of the distribution of a generated acoustic field is valuable for studying ultrasonic transducers, including providing the guidance for transducer design and the basis for analyzing their performance, etc. A method calculating the acoustic field based on laser-measured vibration velocities on the ultrasonic transducer surface is proposed in this paper. Without knowing the inner structure of the transducer, the acoustic field outside it can be calculated by solving the governing partial differential equation (PDE) of the field based on the specified boundary conditions (BCs). In our study, the BC on the transducer surface, i.e. the distribution of the vibration velocity on the surface, is accurately determined by laser scanning measurement of discrete points and follows a data fitting computation. In addition, to ensure the calculation accuracy for the whole field even in an inhomogeneous medium, a finite element method is used to solve the governing PDE based on the mixed BCs, including the discretely measured velocity data and other specified BCs. The method is firstly validated on numerical piezoelectric transducer models. The acoustic pressure distributions generated by a transducer operating in an homogeneous and inhomogeneous medium, respectively, are both calculated by the proposed method and compared with the results from other existing methods. Then, the method is further experimentally validated with two actual ultrasonic transducers used for flow measurement in our lab. The amplitude change of the output voltage signal from the receiver transducer due to changing the relative position of the two transducers is calculated by the proposed method and compared with the experimental data. This method can also provide the basis for complex multi-physical coupling computations where the effect of the acoustic field should be taken into account.

Theoretical and experimental study on active sound transmission control based on single structural mode actuation using point force actuators.

PubMed

Sanada, Akira; Tanaka, Nobuo

2012-08-01

This study deals with the feedforward active control of sound transmission through a simply supported rectangular panel using vibration actuators. The control effect largely depends on the excitation method, including the number and locations of actuators. In order to obtain a large control effect at low frequencies over a wide frequency, an active transmission control method based on single structural mode actuation is proposed. Then, with the goal of examining the feasibility of the proposed method, the (1, 3) mode is selected as the target mode and a modal actuation method in combination with six point force actuators is considered. Assuming that a single input single output feedforward control is used, sound transmission in the case minimizing the transmitted sound power is calculated for some actuation methods. Simulation results showed that the (1, 3) modal actuation is globally effective at reducing the sound transmission by more than 10 dB in the low-frequency range for both normal and oblique incidences. Finally, experimental results also showed that a large reduction could be achieved in the low-frequency range, which proves the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

Data-driven reverse engineering of signaling pathways using ensembles of dynamic models.

PubMed

Henriques, David; Villaverde, Alejandro F; Rocha, Miguel; Saez-Rodriguez, Julio; Banga, Julio R

2017-02-01

Despite significant efforts and remarkable progress, the inference of signaling networks from experimental data remains very challenging. The problem is particularly difficult when the objective is to obtain a dynamic model capable of predicting the effect of novel perturbations not considered during model training. The problem is ill-posed due to the nonlinear nature of these systems, the fact that only a fraction of the involved proteins and their post-translational modifications can be measured, and limitations on the technologies used for growing cells in vitro, perturbing them, and measuring their variations. As a consequence, there is a pervasive lack of identifiability. To overcome these issues, we present a methodology called SELDOM (enSEmbLe of Dynamic lOgic-based Models), which builds an ensemble of logic-based dynamic models, trains them to experimental data, and combines their individual simulations into an ensemble prediction. It also includes a model reduction step to prune spurious interactions and mitigate overfitting. SELDOM is a data-driven method, in the sense that it does not require any prior knowledge of the system: the interaction networks that act as scaffolds for the dynamic models are inferred from data using mutual information. We have tested SELDOM on a number of experimental and in silico signal transduction case-studies, including the recent HPN-DREAM breast cancer challenge. We found that its performance is highly competitive compared to state-of-the-art methods for the purpose of recovering network topology. More importantly, the utility of SELDOM goes beyond basic network inference (i.e. uncovering static interaction networks): it builds dynamic (based on ordinary differential equation) models, which can be used for mechanistic interpretations and reliable dynamic predictions in new experimental conditions (i.e. not used in the training). For this task, SELDOM's ensemble prediction is not only consistently better than predictions from individual models, but also often outperforms the state of the art represented by the methods used in the HPN-DREAM challenge.

Data-driven reverse engineering of signaling pathways using ensembles of dynamic models

PubMed Central

Henriques, David; Villaverde, Alejandro F.; Banga, Julio R.

2017-01-01

Despite significant efforts and remarkable progress, the inference of signaling networks from experimental data remains very challenging. The problem is particularly difficult when the objective is to obtain a dynamic model capable of predicting the effect of novel perturbations not considered during model training. The problem is ill-posed due to the nonlinear nature of these systems, the fact that only a fraction of the involved proteins and their post-translational modifications can be measured, and limitations on the technologies used for growing cells in vitro, perturbing them, and measuring their variations. As a consequence, there is a pervasive lack of identifiability. To overcome these issues, we present a methodology called SELDOM (enSEmbLe of Dynamic lOgic-based Models), which builds an ensemble of logic-based dynamic models, trains them to experimental data, and combines their individual simulations into an ensemble prediction. It also includes a model reduction step to prune spurious interactions and mitigate overfitting. SELDOM is a data-driven method, in the sense that it does not require any prior knowledge of the system: the interaction networks that act as scaffolds for the dynamic models are inferred from data using mutual information. We have tested SELDOM on a number of experimental and in silico signal transduction case-studies, including the recent HPN-DREAM breast cancer challenge. We found that its performance is highly competitive compared to state-of-the-art methods for the purpose of recovering network topology. More importantly, the utility of SELDOM goes beyond basic network inference (i.e. uncovering static interaction networks): it builds dynamic (based on ordinary differential equation) models, which can be used for mechanistic interpretations and reliable dynamic predictions in new experimental conditions (i.e. not used in the training). For this task, SELDOM’s ensemble prediction is not only consistently better than predictions from individual models, but also often outperforms the state of the art represented by the methods used in the HPN-DREAM challenge. PMID:28166222

The influence of the design matrix on treatment effect estimates in the quantitative analyses of single-subject experimental design research.

PubMed

Moeyaert, Mariola; Ugille, Maaike; Ferron, John M; Beretvas, S Natasha; Van den Noortgate, Wim

2014-09-01

The quantitative methods for analyzing single-subject experimental data have expanded during the last decade, including the use of regression models to statistically analyze the data, but still a lot of questions remain. One question is how to specify predictors in a regression model to account for the specifics of the design and estimate the effect size of interest. These quantitative effect sizes are used in retrospective analyses and allow synthesis of single-subject experimental study results which is informative for evidence-based decision making, research and theory building, and policy discussions. We discuss different design matrices that can be used for the most common single-subject experimental designs (SSEDs), namely, the multiple-baseline designs, reversal designs, and alternating treatment designs, and provide empirical illustrations. The purpose of this article is to guide single-subject experimental data analysts interested in analyzing and meta-analyzing SSED data. © The Author(s) 2014.

Operator- and software-related post-experimental variability and source of error in 2-DE analysis.

PubMed

Millioni, Renato; Puricelli, Lucia; Sbrignadello, Stefano; Iori, Elisabetta; Murphy, Ellen; Tessari, Paolo

2012-05-01

In the field of proteomics, several approaches have been developed for separating proteins and analyzing their differential relative abundance. One of the oldest, yet still widely used, is 2-DE. Despite the continuous advance of new methods, which are less demanding from a technical standpoint, 2-DE is still compelling and has a lot of potential for improvement. The overall variability which affects 2-DE includes biological, experimental, and post-experimental (software-related) variance. It is important to highlight how much of the total variability of this technique is due to post-experimental variability, which, so far, has been largely neglected. In this short review, we have focused on this topic and explained that post-experimental variability and source of error can be further divided into those which are software-dependent and those which are operator-dependent. We discuss these issues in detail, offering suggestions for reducing errors that may affect the quality of results, summarizing the advantages and drawbacks of each approach.

EMEN2: An Object Oriented Database and Electronic Lab Notebook

PubMed Central

Rees, Ian; Langley, Ed; Chiu, Wah; Ludtke, Steven J.

2013-01-01

Transmission electron microscopy and associated methods such as single particle analysis, 2-D crystallography, helical reconstruction and tomography, are highly data-intensive experimental sciences, which also have substantial variability in experimental technique. Object-oriented databases present an attractive alternative to traditional relational databases for situations where the experiments themselves are continually evolving. We present EMEN2, an easy to use object-oriented database with a highly flexible infrastructure originally targeted for transmission electron microscopy and tomography, which has been extended to be adaptable for use in virtually any experimental science. It is a pure object-oriented database designed for easy adoption in diverse laboratory environments, and does not require professional database administration. It includes a full featured, dynamic web interface in addition to APIs for programmatic access. EMEN2 installations currently support roughly 800 scientists worldwide with over 1/2 million experimental records and over 20 TB of experimental data. The software is freely available with complete source. PMID:23360752

The Impact of Sound-Field Systems on Learning and Attention in Elementary School Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dockrell, Julie E.; Shield, Bridget

2012-01-01

Purpose: The authors evaluated the installation and use of sound-field systems to investigate the impact of these systems on teaching and learning in elementary school classrooms. Methods: The evaluation included acoustic surveys of classrooms, questionnaire surveys of students and teachers, and experimental testing of students with and without…

In situ potential distribution measurement in an all-vanadium flow battery.

PubMed

Liu, Qinghua; Turhan, Ahmet; Zawodzinski, Thomas A; Mench, Matthew M

2013-07-18

An experimental method for measurement of local redox potential within multilayer electrodes was developed and applied to all-vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). Through-plane measurement at the positive side reveals several important phenomena including potential distribution, concentration distribution of active species and the predominant reaction location within the porous carbon electrodes.

Assessing Student Openness to Inquiry-Based Learning in Precalculus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Thomas; Bailey, Brad; Briggs, Karen; Holliday, John

2017-01-01

The authors have completed a 2-year quasi-experimental study on the use of inquiry-based learning (IBL) in precalculus. This study included six traditional lecture-style courses and seven modified Moore method courses taught by three instructors. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to investigate the attitudes and beliefs of the…

26 CFR 1.446-1 - General rule for methods of accounting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... special items include the accounting treatment prescribed for research and experimental expenditures, soil... for all taxpayers. Each taxpayer shall adopt such forms and systems as are, in his judgment, best... form of cash. It is sufficient that such items can be valued in terms of money. For general rules...

26 CFR 1.446-1 - General rule for methods of accounting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... special items include the accounting treatment prescribed for research and experimental expenditures, soil... for all taxpayers. Each taxpayer shall adopt such forms and systems as are, in his judgment, best... form of cash. It is sufficient that such items can be valued in terms of money. For general rules...

Exploring the Associations among Nutrition, Science, and Mathematics Knowledge for an Integrative, Food-Based Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stage, Virginia C.; Kolasa, Kathryn M.; Díaz, Sebastián R.; Duffrin, Melani W.

2018-01-01

Background: Explore associations between nutrition, science, and mathematics knowledge to provide evidence that integrating food/nutrition education in the fourth-grade curriculum may support gains in academic knowledge. Methods: Secondary analysis of a quasi-experimental study. Sample included 438 students in 34 fourth-grade classrooms across…

Effects of a Conversation Intervention on the Expressive Vocabulary Development of Prekindergarten Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruston, Hilary P.; Schwanenflugel, Paula J.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a conversation intervention including 500 min of linguistically and cognitively complex talk on the expressive vocabulary growth of prekindergarten children. Method: Children (N = 73) were randomly assigned to control or a 10-week experimental intervention condition. Twice…

Information, Affect and Action: Motivating Reduction of Risk Behaviors for HIV/AIDS in Kenya and Tanzania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardre, Patricia L.; Garcia, Fe; Apamo, Peter; Mutheu, Lucy; Ndege, Monica

2012-01-01

This study reports assessment of motivational and perceptual components of a youth and community AIDS awareness education program, focusing on effectiveness across program sites. The design of this investigation was quasi-experimental, with two intervention districts and one control each, in Kenya and Tanzania. Methods included questionnaires…

Classroom Simulation to Prepare Teachers to Use Evidence-Based Comprehension Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ely, Emily; Alves, Kat D.; Dolenc, Nathan R.; Sebolt, Stephanie; Walton, Emily A.

2018-01-01

Reading comprehension is an area of weakness for many students, including those with disabilities. Innovative technology methods may play a role in improving teacher readiness to use evidence-based comprehension practices for all students. In this experimental study, researchers examined a classroom simulation (TLE TeachLivE™) to improve…

Assessing Student Scientific Expression Using Media: The Media-Enhanced Science Presentation Rubric (MESPR)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mott, Michael S.; Chessin, Debby A.; Sumrall, William J.; Rutherford, Angela S.; Moore, Virginia J.

2011-01-01

The current study evaluated an assessment designed to dually promote student understanding of the experimental method and student ability to include digital and visual qualities in their presentations of scientific experiment results. The rubric, the Media-Enhanced Science Presentation Rubric (MESPR) focuses teacher-student dialogue along the…

A summary and evaluation of semi-empirical methods for the prediction of helicopter rotor noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pegg, R. J.

1979-01-01

Existing prediction techniques are compiled and described. The descriptions include input and output parameter lists, required equations and graphs, and the range of validity for each part of the prediction procedures. Examples are provided illustrating the analysis procedure and the degree of agreement with experimental results.

Kiss High Blood Pressure Goodbye: The Relationship between Dark Chocolate and Hypertension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordmoe, Eric D.

2008-01-01

This article reports on a delicious finding from a recent study claiming a causal link between dark chocolate consumption and blood pressure reductions. In the article, I provide ideas for using this study to whet student appetites for a discussion of statistical ideas, including experimental design, measurement error and inference methods.

75 FR 8957 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-26

....fda.gov/ScienceResearch/SpecialTopics/WomensHealthResearch/ucm134844.htm . FDA regulations (21 CFR 201... ``mental modeling,'' a qualitative research method that compares a model of the priorities, perceptions... are rarely included in experimental research studies of the medication because of concerns that the...

Multiple Objectives Achieved with a Germination Experiment in a Science Education Biology Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergwerff, Ken; Warners, David

2007-01-01

In our college course, "Life Science for Elementary School Teachers," our investigation assesses the germination success of an invasive plant, purple loosestrife, compared to native wildflowers. Topics addressed include the scientific method, experimental design, seed dormancy, plant competition, ethno-botany, and success of non-native plants. The…

A Reliability Simulator for Radiation-Hard Microelectronics Development

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-07-01

1 3.0 PHASE II WORK PLANS ................................................................ 2... plan . The correlation experimental details including the devices utilized, the hot-carrier stressing and the wafer-level radiation correlation procedure...channel devices, and a new lifetime extrapolation method is demonstrated for p-channel devices. 3.0 PHASE II WORK PLANS The Phase 1I program consisted of

Digital holographic 3D imaging spectrometry (a review)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshimori, Kyu

2017-09-01

This paper reviews recent progress in the digital holographic 3D imaging spectrometry. The principle of this method is a marriage of incoherent holography and Fourier transform spectroscopy. Review includes principle, procedure of signal processing and experimental results to obtain a multispectral set of 3D images for spatially incoherent, polychromatic objects.

Interdisciplinary Outdoor Education, Behavior of Mealworms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knaack, Janey

This manual is intended for use by second grade teachers as a guide for 35 activities for the study of the behavior of mealworms. The activities are intended to help instill in pupils a joy and excitement for inquiry and experimentation, plus an appreciation and understanding of basic scientific methods. Introductory subject material includes a…

Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy of Acetylene in the Lecture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briggs, Thomas E.; Sanders, Scott T.

2006-01-01

Lecture-based experimental methods that include topics ranging from basic signal processing to the proper use of thermocouples to advanced optical techniques such as laser-induced fluorescence are described. The data obtained from this demonstration could be provided to the students in digital form to obtain useful engineering results such as an…

An Automated and Programed Laboratory for Instruction in the Areas of Speech and Communication. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coleman, Thomas; Langberg, George

An experimental public school speech therapy program is described, which offers automated, programed instruction in sound production and auditory training. The experiment includes self-teaching methods, as well as utilization of paraprofessional personnel under the supervision of a qualified speech therapist. Although the automated program was…

BETA (Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bates, Evan M.; Birmingham, William J.; Rivera, William F.; Romero-Talamas, Carlos A.

2017-10-01

The Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA) is a 1-Tesla (T) prototype of the 10-T Adjustable Long Pulse High-Field Apparatus (ALPHA). These water-cooled resistive magnets use high DC currents to produce strong uniform magnetic fields. Presented here is the successful completion of the BETA project and experimental results validating analytical magnet designing methods developed at the Dusty Plasma Laboratory (DPL). BETA's final design specifications will be highlighted which include electromagnetic, thermal and stress analyses. The magnet core design will be explained which include: Bitter Arcs, helix starters, and clamping annuli. The final version of the magnet's vessel and cooling system are also presented, as well as the electrical system of BETA, which is composed of a unique solid-state breaker circuit. Experimental results presented will show the operation of BETA at 1 T. The results are compared to both analytical design methods and finite element analysis calculations. We also explore the steady state maximums and theoretical limits of BETA's design. The completion of BETA validates the design and manufacturing techniques that will be used in the succeeding magnet, ALPHA.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy versus nasogastric tube feeding for patients with head and neck cancer: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Wang, Jinfeng; Liu, Minjie; Liu, Chao; Ye, Yun; Huang, Guanhong

2014-01-01

There are two main enteral feeding strategies—namely nasogastric (NG) tube feeding and percutaneous gastrostomy—used to improve the nutritional status of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). But up till now there has been no consistent evidence about which method of enteral feeding is the optimal method for this patient group. To compare the effectiveness of percutaneous gastrostomy and NGT feeding in patients with HNC, relevant literature was identified through Medline, Embase, Pubmed, Cochrane, Wiley and manual searches. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-experimental studies comparing percutaneous gastrostomy—including percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) and percutaneous fluoroscopic gastrostomy (PFG) —with NG for HNC patients. Data extraction recorded characteristics of intervention, type of study and factors that contributed to the methodological quality of the individual studies. Data were then compared with respect to nutritional status, duration of feeding, complications, radiotherapy delays, disease-free survival and overall survival. Methodological quality of RCTs and non-experimental studies were assessed with separate standard grading scales. It became apparent from our studies that both feeding strategies have advantages and disadvantages. PMID:24453356

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy versus nasogastric tube feeding for patients with head and neck cancer: a systematic review.

PubMed

Wang, Jinfeng; Liu, Minjie; Liu, Chao; Ye, Yun; Huang, Guanhong

2014-05-01

There are two main enteral feeding strategies-namely nasogastric (NG) tube feeding and percutaneous gastrostomy-used to improve the nutritional status of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). But up till now there has been no consistent evidence about which method of enteral feeding is the optimal method for this patient group. To compare the effectiveness of percutaneous gastrostomy and NGT feeding in patients with HNC, relevant literature was identified through Medline, Embase, Pubmed, Cochrane, Wiley and manual searches. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-experimental studies comparing percutaneous gastrostomy-including percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) and percutaneous fluoroscopic gastrostomy (PFG) -with NG for HNC patients. Data extraction recorded characteristics of intervention, type of study and factors that contributed to the methodological quality of the individual studies. Data were then compared with respect to nutritional status, duration of feeding, complications, radiotherapy delays, disease-free survival and overall survival. Methodological quality of RCTs and non-experimental studies were assessed with separate standard grading scales. It became apparent from our studies that both feeding strategies have advantages and disadvantages.

Computation of turbulent boundary layer flows with an algebraic stress turbulence model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Sang-Wook; Chen, Yen-Sen

1986-01-01

An algebraic stress turbulence model is presented, characterized by the following: (1) the eddy viscosity expression is derived from the Reynolds stress turbulence model; (2) the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate equation is improved by including a production range time scale; and (3) the diffusion coefficients for turbulence equations are adjusted so that the kinetic energy profile extends further into the free stream region found in most experimental data. The turbulent flow equations were solved using a finite element method. Examples include: fully developed channel flow, fully developed pipe flow, flat plate boundary layer flow, plane jet exhausting into a moving stream, circular jet exhausting into a moving stream, and wall jet flow. Computational results compare favorably with experimental data for most of the examples considered. Significantly improved results were obtained for the plane jet flow, the circular jet flow, and the wall jet flow; whereas the remainder are comparable to those obtained by finite difference methods using the standard kappa-epsilon turbulence model. The latter seems to be promising with further improvement of the expression for the eddy viscosity coefficient.

High heat flux measurements and experimental calibrations/characterizations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kidd, Carl T.

1992-01-01

Recent progress in techniques employed in the measurement of very high heat-transfer rates in reentry-type facilities at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) is described. These advances include thermal analyses applied to transducer concepts used to make these measurements; improved heat-flux sensor fabrication methods, equipment, and procedures for determining the experimental time response of individual sensors; performance of absolute heat-flux calibrations at levels above 2,000 Btu/cu ft-sec (2.27 kW/cu cm); and innovative methods of performing in-situ run-to-run characterizations of heat-flux probes installed in the test facility. Graphical illustrations of the results of extensive thermal analyses of the null-point calorimeter and coaxial surface thermocouple concepts with application to measurements in aerothermal test environments are presented. Results of time response experiments and absolute calibrations of null-point calorimeters and coaxial thermocouples performed in the laboratory at intermediate to high heat-flux levels are shown. Typical AEDC high-enthalpy arc heater heat-flux data recently obtained with a Calspan-fabricated null-point probe model are included.

Animal models of post-ischemic forced use rehabilitation: methods, considerations, and limitations

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Many survivors of stroke experience arm impairments, which can severely impact their quality of life. Forcing use of the impaired arm appears to improve functional recovery in post-stroke hemiplegic patients, however the mechanisms underlying improved recovery remain unclear. Animal models of post-stroke rehabilitation could prove critical to investigating such mechanisms, however modeling forced use in animals has proven challenging. Potential problems associated with reported experimental models include variability between stroke methods, rehabilitation paradigms, and reported outcome measures. Herein, we provide an overview of commonly used stroke models, including advantages and disadvantages of each with respect to studying rehabilitation. We then review various forced use rehabilitation paradigms, and highlight potential difficulties and translational problems. Lastly, we discuss the variety of functional outcome measures described by experimental researchers. To conclude, we outline ongoing challenges faced by researchers, and the importance of translational communication. Many stroke patients rely critically on rehabilitation of post-stroke impairments, and continued effort toward progression of rehabilitative techniques is warranted to ensure best possible treatment of the devastating effects of stroke. PMID:23343500

English semantic word-pair norms and a searchable Web portal for experimental stimulus creation.

PubMed

Buchanan, Erin M; Holmes, Jessica L; Teasley, Marilee L; Hutchison, Keith A

2013-09-01

As researchers explore the complexity of memory and language hierarchies, the need to expand normed stimulus databases is growing. Therefore, we present 1,808 words, paired with their features and concept-concept information, that were collected using previously established norming methods (McRae, Cree, Seidenberg, & McNorgan Behavior Research Methods 37:547-559, 2005). This database supplements existing stimuli and complements the Semantic Priming Project (Hutchison, Balota, Cortese, Neely, Niemeyer, Bengson, & Cohen-Shikora 2010). The data set includes many types of words (including nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.), expanding on previous collections of nouns and verbs (Vinson & Vigliocco Journal of Neurolinguistics 15:317-351, 2008). We describe the relation between our and other semantic norms, as well as giving a short review of word-pair norms. The stimuli are provided in conjunction with a searchable Web portal that allows researchers to create a set of experimental stimuli without prior programming knowledge. When researchers use this new database in tandem with previous norming efforts, precise stimuli sets can be created for future research endeavors.

Genome-wide identification of the subcellular localization of the Escherichia coli B proteome using experimental and computational methods.

PubMed

Han, Mee-Jung; Yun, Hongseok; Lee, Jeong Wook; Lee, Yu Hyun; Lee, Sang Yup; Yoo, Jong-Shin; Kim, Jin Young; Kim, Jihyun F; Hur, Cheol-Goo

2011-04-01

Escherichia coli K-12 and B strains have most widely been employed for scientific studies as well as industrial applications. Recently, the complete genome sequences of two representative descendants of E. coli B strains, REL606 and BL21(DE3), have been determined. Here, we report the subproteome reference maps of E. coli B REL606 by analyzing cytoplasmic, periplasmic, inner and outer membrane, and extracellular proteomes based on the genome information using experimental and computational approaches. Among the total of 3487 spots, 651 proteins including 410 non-redundant proteins were identified and characterized by 2-DE and LC-MS/MS; they include 440 cytoplasmic, 45 periplasmic, 50 inner membrane, 61 outer membrane, and 55 extracellular proteins. In addition, subcellular localizations of all 4205 ORFs of E. coli B were predicted by combined computational prediction methods. The subcellular localizations of 1812 (43.09%) proteins of currently unknown function were newly assigned. The results of computational prediction were also compared with the experimental results, showing that overall precision and recall were 92.16 and 92.16%, respectively. This work represents the most comprehensive analyses of the subproteomes of E. coli B, and will be useful as a reference for proteome profiling studies under various conditions. The complete proteome data are available online (http://ecolib.kaist.ac.kr). Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Title: Experimental and analytical study of frictional anisotropy of nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riedo, Elisa; Gao, Yang; Li, Tai-De; Chiu, Hsiang-Chih; Kim, Suenne; Klinke, Christian; Tosatti, Erio

The frictional properties of Carbon and Boron Nitride nanotubes (NTs) are very important in a variety of applications, including composite materials, carbon fibers, and micro/nano-electromechanical systems. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool to investigate with nanoscale resolution the frictional properties of individual NTs. Here, we report on an experimental study of the frictional properties of different types of supported nanotubes by AFM. We also propose a quantitative model to describe and then predict the frictional properties of nanotubes sliding on a substrate along (longitudinal friction) or perpendicular (transverse friction) their axis. This model provides a simple but general analytical relationship that well describes the acquired experimental data. As an example of potential applications, this experimental method combined with the proposed model can guide to design better NTs-ceramic composites, or to self-assemble the nanotubes on a surface in a given direction. M. Lucas et al., Nature Materials 8, 876-881 (2009).

Direct Numerical Simulation of Liquid Nozzle Spray with Comparison to Shadowgraphy and X-Ray Computed Tomography Experimental Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Poppel, Bret; Owkes, Mark; Nelson, Thomas; Lee, Zachary; Sowell, Tyler; Benson, Michael; Vasquez Guzman, Pablo; Fahrig, Rebecca; Eaton, John; Kurman, Matthew; Kweon, Chol-Bum; Bravo, Luis

2014-11-01

In this work, we present high-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) results of liquid fuel injection from a pressure-swirl atomizer and compare the simulations to experimental results obtained using both shadowgraphy and phase-averaged X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans. The CFD and experimental results focus on the dense near-nozzle region to identify the dominant mechanisms of breakup during primary atomization. Simulations are performed using the NGA code of Desjardins et al (JCP 227 (2008)) and employ the volume of fluid (VOF) method proposed by Owkes and Desjardins (JCP 270 (2013)), a second order accurate, un-split, conservative, three-dimensional VOF scheme providing second order density fluxes and capable of robust and accurate high density ratio simulations. Qualitative features and quantitative statistics are assessed and compared for the simulation and experimental results, including the onset of atomization, spray cone angle, and drop size and distribution.

NASA Prototype All Composite Tank Cryogenic Pressure Tests to Failure with Structural Health Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Werlink, Rudolph J.; Pena, Francisco

2015-01-01

This Paper will describe the results of pressurization to failure of 100 gallon composite tanks using liquid nitrogen. Advanced methods of health monitoring will be compared as will the experimental data to a finite element model. The testing is wholly under NASA including unique PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) based active vibration technology. Other technologies include fiber optics strain based systems including NASA AFRC technology, Acoustic Emission, Acellent smart sensor, this work is expected to lead to a practical in-Sutu system for composite tanks.

Simulation of one-sided heating of boiler unit membrane-type water walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurepin, M. P.; Serbinovskiy, M. Yu.

2017-03-01

This study describes the results of simulation of the temperature field and the stress-strain state of membrane-type gastight water walls of boiler units using the finite element method. The methods of analytical and standard calculation of one-sided heating of fin-tube water walls by a radiative heat flux are analyzed. The methods and software for input data calculation in the finite-element simulation, including thermoelastic moments in welded panels that result from their one-sided heating, are proposed. The method and software modules are used for water wall simulation using ANSYS. The results of simulation of the temperature field, stress field, deformations and displacement of the membrane-type panel for the boiler furnace water wall using the finite-element method, as well as the results of calculation of the panel tube temperature, stresses and deformations using the known methods, are presented. The comparison of the known experimental results on heating and bending by given moments of membrane-type water walls and numerical simulations is performed. It is demonstrated that numerical results agree with high accuracy with the experimental data. The relative temperature difference does not exceed 1%. The relative difference of the experimental fin mutual turning angle caused by one-sided heating by radiative heat flux and the results obtained in the finite element simulation does not exceed 8.5% for nondisplaced fins and 7% for fins with displacement. The same difference for the theoretical results and the simulation using the finite-element method does not exceed 3% and 7.1%, respectively. The proposed method and software modules for simulation of the temperature field and stress-strain state of the water walls are verified and the feasibility of their application in practical design is proven.

Overview Article: Identifying transcriptional cis-regulatory modules in animal genomes

PubMed Central

Suryamohan, Kushal; Halfon, Marc S.

2014-01-01

Gene expression is regulated through the activity of transcription factors and chromatin modifying proteins acting on specific DNA sequences, referred to as cis-regulatory elements. These include promoters, located at the transcription initiation sites of genes, and a variety of distal cis-regulatory modules (CRMs), the most common of which are transcriptional enhancers. Because regulated gene expression is fundamental to cell differentiation and acquisition of new cell fates, identifying, characterizing, and understanding the mechanisms of action of CRMs is critical for understanding development. CRM discovery has historically been challenging, as CRMs can be located far from the genes they regulate, have few readily-identifiable sequence characteristics, and for many years were not amenable to high-throughput discovery methods. However, the recent availability of complete genome sequences and the development of next-generation sequencing methods has led to an explosion of both computational and empirical methods for CRM discovery in model and non-model organisms alike. Experimentally, CRMs can be identified through chromatin immunoprecipitation directed against transcription factors or histone post-translational modifications, identification of nucleosome-depleted “open” chromatin regions, or sequencing-based high-throughput functional screening. Computational methods include comparative genomics, clustering of known or predicted transcription factor binding sites, and supervised machine-learning approaches trained on known CRMs. All of these methods have proven effective for CRM discovery, but each has its own considerations and limitations, and each is subject to a greater or lesser number of false-positive identifications. Experimental confirmation of predictions is essential, although shortcomings in current methods suggest that additional means of validation need to be developed. PMID:25704908

Nanostructured silver sulfide: synthesis of various forms and their application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadovnikov, S. I.; Rempel, A. A.; Gusev, A. I.

2018-04-01

The results of experimental studies on nanostructured silver sulfide are analyzed and generalized. The influence of small particle size on nonstoichiometry of silver sulfide is discussed. Methods for the synthesis of various forms of nanostructured Ag2S including nanopowders, stable colloidal solutions, quantum dots, core–shell nanoparticles and heteronanostructures are described. The advantages and drawbacks of different synthetic procedures are analyzed. Main fields of application of nanostructured silver sulfide are considered. The bibliography includes 184 references.

Current status and future prospects for enabling chemistry technology in the drug discovery process.

PubMed

Djuric, Stevan W; Hutchins, Charles W; Talaty, Nari N

2016-01-01

This review covers recent advances in the implementation of enabling chemistry technologies into the drug discovery process. Areas covered include parallel synthesis chemistry, high-throughput experimentation, automated synthesis and purification methods, flow chemistry methodology including photochemistry, electrochemistry, and the handling of "dangerous" reagents. Also featured are advances in the "computer-assisted drug design" area and the expanding application of novel mass spectrometry-based techniques to a wide range of drug discovery activities.

Effectiveness of a patient education plan on knowledge of post-op venous thromboembolism survival skills.

PubMed

Green, Julie; Bernhofer, Esther I

2018-04-01

To investigate the effectiveness of a multimethod venous thromboembolism prevention patient education plan on participants' knowledge retention. A potential complication of surgery requiring general anaesthesia, worldwide, is the development of life-threatening venous thromboembolism. Patients need education on preventing, recognising and immediately responding to a suspected thromboembolism. Written instructional materials given to patients at discharge may be inadequate. A randomised controlled trial. Setting was multiple general surgery units at a large Midwestern United States academic medical centre. Sample included patients recovering from surgery with general anaesthesia: (N = 66), 68% female, 34 = experimental, 32 = usual care. Prior to discharge, participants in the experimental group were given a multimethod venous thromboembolism prevention education plan including a video, pamphlet and verbal instruction; control group received usual instructional pamphlet. Both groups received a knowledge test immediately before instruction. Two weeks following discharge, a phone call was made to participants to complete the postinstruction test. The relevant EQUATOR guideline, CONSORT checklist, was used for reporting this study. There were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, race, length of stay, surgery and history of venous thromboembolism among participants and group or test score results. No statistically significant difference in postinstruction score was found between groups. However, there was a trend in greater perception of importance in all groups and higher knowledge scores in the experimental group, with the percentage of participants in the experimental group answering all questions correctly rising from 38.2% correct to 73.5% correct. Teaching patients the importance of knowing venous thromboembolism signs and preventive/survival skills is potentially life-saving and nurses must know the importance of using the most effective methods for the learning needs of their patients. Further research including different education methods and testing is suggested. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluation of a research circulation control airfoil using Navier-Stokes methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shrewsbury, George D.

1987-01-01

The compressible Reynolds time averaged Navier-Stokes equations were used to obtain solutions for flows about a two dimensional circulation control airfoil. The governing equations were written in conservation form for a body-fitted coordinate system and solved using an Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) procedure. A modified algebraic eddy viscosity model was used to define the turbulent characteristics of the flow, including the wall jet flow over the Coanda surface at the trailing edge. Numerical results are compared to experimental data obtained for a research circulation control airfoil geometry. Excellent agreement with the experimental results was obtained.

Generation of an activation map for decommissioning planning of the Berlin Experimental Reactor-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapins, Janis; Guilliard, Nicole; Bernnat, Wolfgang

2017-09-01

The BER-II is an experimental facility with 10 MW that was operated since 1974. Its planned operation will end in 2019. To support the decommissioning planning, a map with the overall distribution of relevant radionuclides has to be created according to the state of the art. In this paper, a procedure to create these 3-d maps using a combination of MCNP and deterministic methods is presented. With this approach, an activation analysis is performed for the whole reactor geometry including the most remote parts of the concrete shielding.

FMC/TFM experimental comparisons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spencer, Roger; Sunderman, Ruth; Todorov, Evgueni

2018-04-01

Ultrasonic full matrix capture/total focusing method (FMC/TFM) technology has progressed significantly over the past few years and has seen increased use in industry. The technology has the potential to provide better detection and measurement capabilities for weld flaws, as well as, many other applications including additive manufacturing. This project looked at the effectiveness of FMC/TFM for detection and sizing of both planar and volumetric flaw types. FMC/TFM experimental data was collected and processed using multiple combinations of probe types and wave propagation modes. The data was then compared to typical ultrasonic phased-array results, as well as FMC/TFM inspection simulations.

Numerical evaluation of heating in the human head due to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Uyen; Brown, Steve; Chang, Isaac; Krycia, Joe; Mirotznik, Mark S.

2003-06-01

In this paper we present a numerical model for evaluating tissue heating during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our method, which included a detailed anatomical model of a human head, calculated both the electromagnetic power deposition and the associated temperature elevations during a MRI head examination. Numerical studies were conducted using a realistic birdcage coil excited at frequencies ranging from 63 MHz to 500 MHz. The model was validated both experimentally and analytically. The experimental validation was performed at the MR test facility located at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH).

Recent developments in structural proteomics for protein structure determination.

PubMed

Liu, Hsuan-Liang; Hsu, Jyh-Ping

2005-05-01

The major challenges in structural proteomics include identifying all the proteins on the genome-wide scale, determining their structure-function relationships, and outlining the precise three-dimensional structures of the proteins. Protein structures are typically determined by experimental approaches such as X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. However, the knowledge of three-dimensional space by these techniques is still limited. Thus, computational methods such as comparative and de novo approaches and molecular dynamic simulations are intensively used as alternative tools to predict the three-dimensional structures and dynamic behavior of proteins. This review summarizes recent developments in structural proteomics for protein structure determination; including instrumental methods such as X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, and computational methods such as comparative and de novo structure prediction and molecular dynamics simulations.

Experimental and first principle study of the structure, electronic, optical and luminescence properties of M-type GdNbO4 phosphor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Shoujun; Zhang, Haotian; Zhang, Qingli; Chen, Yuanzhi; Dou, Renqin; Peng, Fang; Liu, Wenpeng; Sun, Dunlu

2018-06-01

In this work, GdNbO4 polycrystalline with monoclinic phase was prepared by traditional high-temperature solid-state reaction. Its structure was determined by X-ray diffraction and its unit cell parameters were obtained with Rietveld refinement method. Its luminescence properties (including absorbance, emission and luminescence lifetime) were investigated with experiment method and the CIE chromaticity coordinate was presented. Furthermore, a systematic theoretical calculation (including band gap, density of states and optical properties) based on the density function theory methods was performed on GdNbO4. Lastly, a comparison between experiment and calculated results was conducted. The calculated and experiment results obtained in this work can provide an essential understanding of GdNbO4 material.

Comparison of Classification Methods for Detecting Emotion from Mandarin Speech

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pao, Tsang-Long; Chen, Yu-Te; Yeh, Jun-Heng

It is said that technology comes out from humanity. What is humanity? The very definition of humanity is emotion. Emotion is the basis for all human expression and the underlying theme behind everything that is done, said, thought or imagined. Making computers being able to perceive and respond to human emotion, the human-computer interaction will be more natural. Several classifiers are adopted for automatically assigning an emotion category, such as anger, happiness or sadness, to a speech utterance. These classifiers were designed independently and tested on various emotional speech corpora, making it difficult to compare and evaluate their performance. In this paper, we first compared several popular classification methods and evaluated their performance by applying them to a Mandarin speech corpus consisting of five basic emotions, including anger, happiness, boredom, sadness and neutral. The extracted feature streams contain MFCC, LPCC, and LPC. The experimental results show that the proposed WD-MKNN classifier achieves an accuracy of 81.4% for the 5-class emotion recognition and outperforms other classification techniques, including KNN, MKNN, DW-KNN, LDA, QDA, GMM, HMM, SVM, and BPNN. Then, to verify the advantage of the proposed method, we compared these classifiers by applying them to another Mandarin expressive speech corpus consisting of two emotions. The experimental results still show that the proposed WD-MKNN outperforms others.

Dissecting Reactor Antineutrino Flux Calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sonzogni, A. A.; McCutchan, E. A.; Hayes, A. C.

2017-09-01

Current predictions for the antineutrino yield and spectra from a nuclear reactor rely on the experimental electron spectra from 235U, 239Pu, 241Pu and a numerical method to convert these aggregate electron spectra into their corresponding antineutrino ones. In the present work we investigate quantitatively some of the basic assumptions and approximations used in the conversion method, studying first the compatibility between two recent approaches for calculating electron and antineutrino spectra. We then explore different possibilities for the disagreement between the measured Daya Bay and the Huber-Mueller antineutrino spectra, including the 238U contribution as well as the effective charge and the allowed shape assumption used in the conversion method. We observe that including a shape correction of about +6 % MeV-1 in conversion calculations can better describe the Daya Bay spectrum. Because of a lack of experimental data, this correction cannot be ruled out, concluding that in order to confirm the existence of the reactor neutrino anomaly, or even quantify it, precisely measured electron spectra for about 50 relevant fission products are needed. With the advent of new rare ion facilities, the measurement of shape factors for these nuclides, for many of which precise beta intensity data from TAGS experiments already exist, would be highly desirable.

Dissecting Reactor Antineutrino Flux Calculations

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

Sonzogni, A. A.; McCutchan, E. A.; Hayes, A. C.

2017-09-15

Current predictions for the antineutrino yield and spectra from a nuclear reactor rely on the experimental electron spectra from 235 U , 239 Pu , 241 Pu and a numerical method to convert these aggregate electron spectra into their corresponding antineutrino ones. In our present work we investigate quantitatively some of the basic assumptions and approximations used in the conversion method, studying first the compatibility between two recent approaches for calculating electron and antineutrino spectra. We then explore different possibilities for the disagreement between the measured Daya Bay and the Huber-Mueller antineutrino spectra, including the 238 U contribution as wellmore » as the effective charge and the allowed shape assumption used in the conversion method. Here, we observe that including a shape correction of about + 6 % MeV - 1 in conversion calculations can better describe the Daya Bay spectrum. Because of a lack of experimental data, this correction cannot be ruled out, concluding that in order to confirm the existence of the reactor neutrino anomaly, or even quantify it, precisely measured electron spectra for about 50 relevant fission products are needed. With the advent of new rare ion facilities, the measurement of shape factors for these nuclides, for many of which precise beta intensity data from TAGS experiments already exist, would be highly desirable.« less