explore alternative approaches: Topics by Science.gov

Sample records for explore alternative approaches

Alternate Approaches to Exploration: The Single Crew Module Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chambliss, Joe

2011-01-01

The Cx Program envisioned exploration of the moon and mars using an extrapolation of the Apollo approach. If new technology development initiatives are successful, they will provide capabilities that can enable alternate approaches. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the Cx approaches for lunar and Mars missions and some of the alternatives that were considered. Then an alternative approach referred to as a Single Crew Module approach is described. The SCM concept employs new technologies in a way that could reduce exploration cost and possibly schedule. Options to the approaches will be presented and discussed.
Alternative approaches to providing passenger transportation in low density cities : the case of Council Bluffs, Iowa

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-09-01

This study explores transportation alternatives for Council Bluffs. The intention is to explore alternatives that may potentially prove viable for other small cities faced with scattered development patterns and limited population density. The study ...
Alternative approaches for identifying acute systemic toxicity: Moving from research to regulatory testing.

PubMed

Hamm, Jon; Sullivan, Kristie; Clippinger, Amy J; Strickland, Judy; Bell, Shannon; Bhhatarai, Barun; Blaauboer, Bas; Casey, Warren; Dorman, David; Forsby, Anna; Garcia-Reyero, Natàlia; Gehen, Sean; Graepel, Rabea; Hotchkiss, Jon; Lowit, Anna; Matheson, Joanna; Reaves, Elissa; Scarano, Louis; Sprankle, Catherine; Tunkel, Jay; Wilson, Dan; Xia, Menghang; Zhu, Hao; Allen, David

2017-06-01

Acute systemic toxicity testing provides the basis for hazard labeling and risk management of chemicals. A number of international efforts have been directed at identifying non-animal alternatives for in vivo acute systemic toxicity tests. A September 2015 workshop, Alternative Approaches for Identifying Acute Systemic Toxicity: Moving from Research to Regulatory Testing, reviewed the state-of-the-science of non-animal alternatives for this testing and explored ways to facilitate implementation of alternatives. Workshop attendees included representatives from international regulatory agencies, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and industry. Resources identified as necessary for meaningful progress in implementing alternatives included compiling and making available high-quality reference data, training on use and interpretation of in vitro and in silico approaches, and global harmonization of testing requirements. Attendees particularly noted the need to characterize variability in reference data to evaluate new approaches. They also noted the importance of understanding the mechanisms of acute toxicity, which could be facilitated by the development of adverse outcome pathways. Workshop breakout groups explored different approaches to reducing or replacing animal use for acute toxicity testing, with each group crafting a roadmap and strategy to accomplish near-term progress. The workshop steering committee has organized efforts to implement the recommendations of the workshop participants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Alternative Approaches for Identifying Acute Systemic Toxicity: Moving from Research to Regulatory Testing

PubMed Central

Hamm, Jon; Sullivan, Kristie; Clippinger, Amy J.; Strickland, Judy; Bell, Shannon; Bhhatarai, Barun; Blaauboer, Bas; Casey, Warren; Dorman, David; Forsby, Anna; Garcia-Reyero, Natàlia; Gehen, Sean; Graepel, Rabea; Hotchkiss, Jon; Lowit, Anna; Matheson, Joanna; Reaves, Elissa; Scarano, Louis; Sprankle, Catherine; Tunkel, Jay; Wilson, Dan; Xia, Menghang; Zhu, Hao; Allen, David

2017-01-01

Acute systemic toxicity testing provides the basis for hazard labeling and risk management of chemicals. A number of international efforts have been directed at identifying non-animal alternatives for in vivo acute systemic toxicity tests. A September 2015 workshop, Alternative Approaches for Identifying Acute Systemic Toxicity: Moving from Research to Regulatory Testing, reviewed the state-of-the-science of non-animal alternatives for this testing and explored ways to facilitate implementation of alternatives. Workshop attendees included representatives from international regulatory agencies, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and industry. Resources identified as necessary for meaningful progress in implementing alternatives included compiling and making available high-quality reference data, training on use and interpretation of in vitro and in silico approaches, and global harmonization of testing requirements. Attendees particularly noted the need to characterize variability in reference data to evaluate new approaches. They also noted the importance of understanding the mechanisms of acute toxicity, which could be facilitated by the development of adverse outcome pathways. Workshop breakout groups explored different approaches to reducing or replacing animal use for acute toxicity testing, with each group crafting a roadmap and strategy to accomplish near-term progress. The workshop steering committee has organized efforts to implement the recommendations of the workshop participants. PMID:28069485
A novel training approach to activate alternative behaviors for smoking in depressed smokers.

PubMed

Kopetz, Catalina; MacPherson, Laura; Mitchell, Avery D; Houston-Ludlam, Alexandra N; Wiers, Reinout W

2017-02-01

The current research developed and tested a novel training strategy to alter the implicit associations between alternative behaviors to smoking and negative affect, and explored its effects on depressive symptoms and on smoking behavior as part of a quit attempt. Using a joystick, participants identified as smokers with depressive symptoms were trained to approach alternative behaviors to smoking in the context of negative affect. Specifically, in the experimental condition, participants were trained to avoid smoking-related targets and to approach alternative activities. In the control condition, participants pushed and pulled an equal amount of smoking and alternative activity-related targets. Compared with the participants in the control condition, those in the experimental condition showed an increase in the accessibility of the alternative activity relative to smoking and a decrease in depressive symptoms. Smoking outcomes did not differ significantly across the 2 conditions. Taken together these results indicate that the value of alternative behaviors to smoking can be modified in the lab without participants' conscious intentions with implications for depressive symptomatology. Future research is required to explore the impact of such training on smoking outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
Reference Mission Version 3.0 Addendum to the Human Exploration of Mars: The Reference Mission of the NASA Mars Exploration Study Team. Addendum; 3.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drake, Bret G. (Editor)

1998-01-01

This Addendum to the Mars Reference Mission was developed as a companion document to the NASA Special Publication 6107, "Human Exploration of Mars: The Reference Mission of the NASA Mars Exploration Study Team." It summarizes changes and updates to the Mars Reference Missions that were developed by the Exploration Office since the final draft of SP 6107 was printed in early 1999. The Reference Mission is a tool used by the exploration community to compare and evaluate approaches to mission and system concepts that could be used for human missions to Mars. It is intended to identify and clarify system drivers, significant sources of cost, performance, risk, and schedule variation. Several alternative scenarios, employing different technical approaches to solving mission and technology challenges, are discussed in this Addendum. Comparing alternative approaches provides the basis for continual improvement to technology investment plan and a general understanding of future human missions to Mars. The Addendum represents a snapshot of work in progress in support of planning for future human exploration missions through May 1998.
Researching Student "Becoming" in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Bronwyn

2013-01-01

The "alternative" methodological approach that I discuss in this paper is one that I suggest can be employed for exploring higher degree research student "becoming," that is, for exploring the relationship between learning, writing and identity or subject formation. This approach is informed by an unlikely amalgam of…
Overcoming Acculturation: Physical Education Recruits' Experiences of an Alternative Pedagogical Approach to Games Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moy, Brendan; Renshaw, Ian; Davids, Keith; Brymer, Eric

2016-01-01

Background: Physical education teacher education (PETE) programmes have been identified as a critical platform to encourage the exploration of alternative teaching approaches by pre-service teachers. However, the socio-cultural constraint of acculturation or past physical education and sporting experiences results in the maintenance of the status…
Stepping off the Well-Trodden Path: Is a Wilder Pedagogy Possible?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Daniel

2016-01-01

This article sets out to explore alternative approaches to education, wilder approaches that seek to embrace the innate self-will of young people as a positive starting point for enlarging personal freedoms in education. These alternatives are presented as a rebuttal against educational practices that portray young people's native autonomy as an…
"Iitaohkanao'pi--The Meeting Place Project": An Alternative Approach to Young People's Concerts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasiak, Edwin B.

2005-01-01

This study explored alternative approaches to young people's concerts aimed at extending musical appreciations and cultural understandings while promoting interest in concert attendance among upper elementary students. The project, an artistic and cross-cultural collaboration grounded in a spirit of mutual respect, consisted of three components:…
Alternatives to IQ Testing: An Approach to the Identification of Gifted "Minority" Children. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hilliard, Asa G., III

This paper explores historical, behavioral, and cultural aspects of cross-cultural assessment as background to a discussion of alternative approaches to I.Q. testing as a way of identifying gifted minority children. Chapter I, "Cross Cultural Assessment in Historical Perspective," is a historical look at cross-racial attitudes on intelligence and…
Wildfire evacuation and its alternatives: perspectives from four United States' communities

Treesearch

Sarah McCaffrey; Alan Rhodes; Melanie Stidham

2015-01-01

Recent years have seen growing interest within the United States fire management community in exploring alternatives to the standard approach of evacuating entire populations that are threatened by a wildfire. There has been particular interest in what can be learned from the Australian approach, whereby residents choose whether or not to evacuate under the '...
Cheminformatics and Data Mining Approaches for Exploring the Alternatives Testing Landscsape: Case Studies in ToxCast and Skin Sensitization (BOSC CSS)

EPA Science Inventory

Cheminformatics approaches and structure-based rules are being used to evaluate and explore the ToxCast chemical landscape and associated high-throughput screening (HTS) data. We have shown that the library provides comprehensive coverage of the knowledge domains and target inven...
Alternatives to the stochastic "noise vector" approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Forcrand, Philippe; Jäger, Benjamin

2018-03-01

Several important observables, like the quark condensate and the Taylor coefficients of the expansion of the QCD pressure with respect to the chemical potential, are based on the trace of the inverse Dirac operator and of its powers. Such traces are traditionally estimated with "noise vectors" sandwiching the operator. We explore alternative approaches based on polynomial approximations of the inverse Dirac operator.
Zero-Tolerance Discipline Approaches: Perspectives from Exemplary Alternative Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kruse, Timothy L.

2012-01-01

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore alternative school administrator, teacher, and student perceptions of the factors that surround zero-tolerance discipline policies and practices, and to identify discipline alternatives that do not remove or exclude students from the school setting. A case study was…
Haraway's "Bag Lady Story-Telling": Relocating Childhood and Learning within a "Post-Human Landscape"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Affrica; Blaise, Mindy; Giugni, Miriam

2013-01-01

In this article, we explore some alternate ways of approaching childhood and learning by taking three short forays into what Donna Haraway calls a "post-human landscape". This exploration takes us beyond the horizons of orthodox educational approaches, in which the individual child is typically seen to be developing and learning within…
A neural net-based approach to software metrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boetticher, G.; Srinivas, Kankanahalli; Eichmann, David A.

1992-01-01

Software metrics provide an effective method for characterizing software. Metrics have traditionally been composed through the definition of an equation. This approach is limited by the fact that all the interrelationships among all the parameters be fully understood. This paper explores an alternative, neural network approach to modeling metrics. Experiments performed on two widely accepted metrics, McCabe and Halstead, indicate that the approach is sound, thus serving as the groundwork for further exploration into the analysis and design of software metrics.
Using expert judgments to explore robust alternatives for forest management under climate change.

PubMed

McDaniels, Timothy; Mills, Tamsin; Gregory, Robin; Ohlson, Dan

2012-12-01

We develop and apply a judgment-based approach to selecting robust alternatives, which are defined here as reasonably likely to achieve objectives, over a range of uncertainties. The intent is to develop an approach that is more practical in terms of data and analysis requirements than current approaches, informed by the literature and experience with probability elicitation and judgmental forecasting. The context involves decisions about managing forest lands that have been severely affected by mountain pine beetles in British Columbia, a pest infestation that is climate-exacerbated. A forest management decision was developed as the basis for the context, objectives, and alternatives for land management actions, to frame and condition the judgments. A wide range of climate forecasts, taken to represent the 10-90% levels on cumulative distributions for future climate, were developed to condition judgments. An elicitation instrument was developed, tested, and revised to serve as the basis for eliciting probabilistic three-point distributions regarding the performance of selected alternatives, over a set of relevant objectives, in the short and long term. The elicitations were conducted in a workshop comprising 14 regional forest management specialists. We employed the concept of stochastic dominance to help identify robust alternatives. We used extensive sensitivity analysis to explore the patterns in the judgments, and also considered the preferred alternatives for each individual expert. The results show that two alternatives that are more flexible than the current policies are judged more likely to perform better than the current alternatives on average in terms of stochastic dominance. The results suggest judgmental approaches to robust decision making deserve greater attention and testing. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.
Cognitive Academic Learning Approaches through ESL Content Area Instruction with Career Exploration Strategies (Project CALA). Final Evaluation Report, 1992-93. OER Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guadalupe, Deana R.

This report presents an evaluation of the Cognitive Academic Learning Approaches through ESL Content Area Instruction with Career Exploration Strategies (Project CALA)), an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII-funded project in its fifth and last year of operation at International High School, a bilingual special alternative high…
Career Exploration Program: A Cluster Approach. Publication No. 0057.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ansbro, William; And Others

Based on the occupational clusters designated by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, this curriculum guide presents a career exploration program for junior high and middle school students. The program, presented in eighty-minute weekly sessions, is designed as an alternative activity in which students can elect to explore a wide…

Design Mining Interacting Wind Turbines.

PubMed

Preen, Richard J; Bull, Larry

2016-01-01

An initial study has recently been presented of surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithms used to design vertical-axis wind turbines wherein candidate prototypes are evaluated under fan-generated wind conditions after being physically instantiated by a 3D printer. Unlike other approaches, such as computational fluid dynamics simulations, no mathematical formulations were used and no model assumptions were made. This paper extends that work by exploring alternative surrogate modelling and evolutionary techniques. The accuracy of various modelling algorithms used to estimate the fitness of evaluated individuals from the initial experiments is compared. The effect of temporally windowing surrogate model training samples is explored. A surrogate-assisted approach based on an enhanced local search is introduced; and alternative coevolution collaboration schemes are examined.
On the Suitability of MPI as a PGAS Runtime

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

Daily, Jeffrey A.; Vishnu, Abhinav; Palmer, Bruce J.

2014-12-18

Partitioned Global Address Space (PGAS) models are emerging as a popular alternative to MPI models for designing scalable applications. At the same time, MPI remains a ubiquitous communication subsystem due to its standardization, high performance, and availability on leading platforms. In this paper, we explore the suitability of using MPI as a scalable PGAS communication subsystem. We focus on the Remote Memory Access (RMA) communication in PGAS models which typically includes {\\em get, put,} and {\\em atomic memory operations}. We perform an in-depth exploration of design alternatives based on MPI. These alternatives include using a semantically-matching interface such as MPI-RMA,more » as well as not-so-intuitive interfaces such as MPI two-sided with a combination of multi-threading and dynamic process management. With an in-depth exploration of these alternatives and their shortcomings, we propose a novel design which is facilitated by the data-centric view in PGAS models. This design leverages a combination of highly tuned MPI two-sided semantics and an automatic, user-transparent split of MPI communicators to provide asynchronous progress. We implement the asynchronous progress ranks approach and other approaches within the Communication Runtime for Exascale which is a communication subsystem for Global Arrays. Our performance evaluation spans pure communication benchmarks, graph community detection and sparse matrix-vector multiplication kernels, and a computational chemistry application. The utility of our proposed PR-based approach is demonstrated by a 2.17x speed-up on 1008 processors over the other MPI-based designs.« less
Alternative Assessment Methods Based on Categorizations, Supporting Technologies, and a Model for Betterment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ben-Jacob, Marion G.; Ben-Jacob, Tyler E.

2014-01-01

This paper explores alternative assessment methods from the perspective of categorizations. It addresses the technologies that support assessment. It discusses initial, formative, and summative assessment, as well as objective and subjective assessment, and formal and informal assessment. It approaches each category of assessment from the…
Economics in the School Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brenneke, Judith Staley; Soper, John C.

1987-01-01

Various approaches to developing and implementing economics curricula are explored, including positive and normative economics, teacher-developed informal curriculum, district-developed formal curriculum, "outside" curriculum, the infusion approach, or as a separate course. It is suggested that a "blend" of the alternatives may optimize the…
The Costs and Potential Benefits of Alternative Scholarly Publishing Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houghton, John W.

2011-01-01

Introduction: This paper reports on a study undertaken for the UK Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), which explored the economic implications of alternative scholarly publishing models. Rather than simply summarising the study's findings, this paper focuses on the approach and presents a step-by-step account of the research process,…
A Whole-Person Approach to Educating for Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Podger, Dimity Margaret; Mustakova-Possardt, Elena; Reid, Anna

2010-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of a whole-person approach to educating for sustainability (EfS), with a focus on persons' identity, motivation and higher order dispositions. To propose that approach as an alternative to the prevalent focus on specific capabilities and competencies in higher education for…
Exploring Alternative Characteristic Curve Approaches to Linking Parameter Estimates from the Generalized Partial Credit Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, James S.; Bao, Han; Huang, Chun-Wei; Gagne, Phill

Characteristic curve approaches for linking parameters from the generalized partial credit model were examined for cases in which common (anchor) items are calibrated separately in two groups. Three of these approaches are simple extensions of the test characteristic curve (TCC), item characteristic curve (ICC), and operating characteristic curve…
Low-latency Science Exploration of Planetary Bodies: a Demonstration Using ISS in Support of Mars Human Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thronson, Harley A.; Valinia, Azita; Bleacher, Jacob; Eigenbrode, Jennifer; Garvin, Jim; Petro, Noah

2014-01-01

We summarize a proposed experiment to use the International Space Station to formally examine the application and validation of low-latency telepresence for surface exploration from space as an alternative, precursor, or potentially as an adjunct to astronaut "boots on the ground." The approach is to develop and propose controlled experiments, which build upon previous field studies and which will assess the effects of different latencies (0 to 500 msec), task complexity, and alternate forms of feedback to the operator. These experiments serve as an example of a pathfinder for NASA's roadmap of missions to Mars with low-latency telerobotic exploration as a precursor to astronaut's landing on the surface to conduct geological tasks.
Grief and Mourning Reactions Following Abortion and Miscarriage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Widener, Anmarie J.

1996-01-01

Explores current research on psychological reactions following induced and spontaneous abortions. Provides examples of studies wherein researchers have used a loss model to understand this experience. Explores possible reasons for the apparent inattention to grief reactions following this type of loss and offers an alternative approach to the loss…
Understanding "Price" and the Environment: Exploring Upper Secondary Students' Conceptual Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ignell, Caroline; Davies, Peter; Lundholm, Cecilia

2017-01-01

Purpose: To explore changes in upper secondary students' conceptions of environmental issues in how prices are determined and how they should be determined. Design: The study uses an "alternative frameworks" conceptual change approach to examine change in the conceptions of fifteen business and economic students. Students were asked…
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ratcliff, Blair N

Some conceptual design features of the total internally reflecting,imaging Cherenkov counter (DIRC) are described. Limits of the DIRC approach to particle identification, and a few features of alternative DIRC designs, are briefly explored.
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ratcliff, Blair N

Some general conceptual design features of total internally reflecting, imaging Cherenkov counters (DIRCs) are described. Limits of the DIRC approach to particle identification and a few features of alternative DIRC designs are briefly explored.
Bayesian Factor Analysis as a Variable Selection Problem: Alternative Priors and Consequences

PubMed Central

Lu, Zhao-Hua; Chow, Sy-Miin; Loken, Eric

2016-01-01

Factor analysis is a popular statistical technique for multivariate data analysis. Developments in the structural equation modeling framework have enabled the use of hybrid confirmatory/exploratory approaches in which factor loading structures can be explored relatively flexibly within a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) framework. Recently, a Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) approach (Muthén & Asparouhov, 2012) has been proposed as a way to explore the presence of cross-loadings in CFA models. We show that the issue of determining factor loading patterns may be formulated as a Bayesian variable selection problem in which Muthén and Asparouhov’s approach can be regarded as a BSEM approach with ridge regression prior (BSEM-RP). We propose another Bayesian approach, denoted herein as the Bayesian structural equation modeling with spike and slab prior (BSEM-SSP), which serves as a one-stage alternative to the BSEM-RP. We review the theoretical advantages and disadvantages of both approaches and compare their empirical performance relative to two modification indices-based approaches and exploratory factor analysis with target rotation. A teacher stress scale data set (Byrne, 2012; Pettegrew & Wolf, 1982) is used to demonstrate our approach. PMID:27314566
Cost-Effectiveness of Alternative Approaches to Computer-Assisted Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levin, Henry M.; And Others

Operating on the premise that different approaches to computer-assisted instruction (CAI) may use different configurations of hardware and software, different curricula, and different organizational and personnel arrangements, this study explored the feasibility of collecting evaluations of CAI to evaluate the comparative cost-effectiveness of…
Learning Outcomes and Student-Perceived Value of Clay Modeling and Cat Dissection in Undergraduate Human Anatomy and Physiology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeHoff, Mary Ellen; Clark, Krista L.; Meganathan, Karthikeyan

2011-01-01

Alternatives and/or supplements to animal dissection are being explored by educators of human anatomy at different academic levels. Clay modeling is one such alternative that provides a kinesthetic, three-dimensional, constructive, and sensory approach to learning human anatomy. The present study compared two laboratory techniques, clay modeling…
Exploring the Effectiveness of Different Approaches to Teaching Finite Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smeal, Mary; Walker, Sandra; Carter, Jamye; Simmons-Johnson, Carolyn; Balam, Esenc

2013-01-01

Traditionally, mathematics has been taught using a very direct approach which the teacher explains the procedure to solve a problem and the students use pencil and paper to solve the problem. However, a variety of alternative approaches to mathematics have surfaced from a number of different directions. The purpose of this study was to examine the…
Besides Precision & Recall: Exploring Alternative Approaches to Evaluating an Automatic Indexing Tool for MEDLINE

PubMed Central

Névéol, Aurélie; Zeng, Kelly; Bodenreider, Olivier

2006-01-01

Objective This paper explores alternative approaches for the evaluation of an automatic indexing tool for MEDLINE, complementing the traditional precision and recall method. Materials and methods The performance of MTI, the Medical Text Indexer used at NLM to produce MeSH recommendations for biomedical journal articles is evaluated on a random set of MEDLINE citations. The evaluation examines semantic similarity at the term level (indexing terms). In addition, the documents retrieved by queries resulting from MTI index terms for a given document are compared to the PubMed related citations for this document. Results Semantic similarity scores between sets of index terms are higher than the corresponding Dice similarity scores. Overall, 75% of the original documents and 58% of the top ten related citations are retrieved by queries based on the automatic indexing. Conclusions The alternative measures studied in this paper confirm previous findings and may be used to select particular documents from the test set for a more thorough analysis. PMID:17238409
Besides precision & recall: exploring alternative approaches to evaluating an automatic indexing tool for MEDLINE.

PubMed

Neveol, Aurélie; Zeng, Kelly; Bodenreider, Olivier

2006-01-01

This paper explores alternative approaches for the evaluation of an automatic indexing tool for MEDLINE, complementing the traditional precision and recall method. The performance of MTI, the Medical Text Indexer used at NLM to produce MeSH recommendations for biomedical journal articles is evaluated on a random set of MEDLINE citations. The evaluation examines semantic similarity at the term level (indexing terms). In addition, the documents retrieved by queries resulting from MTI index terms for a given document are compared to the PubMed related citations for this document. Semantic similarity scores between sets of index terms are higher than the corresponding Dice similarity scores. Overall, 75% of the original documents and 58% of the top ten related citations are retrieved by queries based on the automatic indexing. The alternative measures studied in this paper confirm previous findings and may be used to select particular documents from the test set for a more thorough analysis.
Organizing for teamwork in healthcare: an alternative to team training?

PubMed

Rydenfält, Christofer; Odenrick, Per; Larsson, Per Anders

2017-05-15

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how organizational design could support teamwork and to identify organizational design principles that promote successful teamwork. Design/methodology/approach Since traditional team training sessions take resources away from production, the alternative approach pursued here explores the promotion of teamwork by means of organizational design. A wide and pragmatic definition of teamwork is applied: a team is considered to be a group of people that are set to work together on a task, and teamwork is then what they do in relation to their task. The input - process - output model of teamwork provides structure to the investigation. Findings Six teamwork enablers from the healthcare team literature - cohesion, collaboration, communication, conflict resolution, coordination, and leadership - are discussed, and the organizational design measures required to implement them are identified. Three organizational principles are argued to facilitate the teamwork enablers: team stability, occasions for communication, and a participative and adaptive approach to leadership. Research limitations/implications The findings could be used as a foundation for intervention studies to improve team performance or as a framework for evaluation of existing organizations. Practical implications By implementing these organizational principles, it is possible to achieve many of the organizational traits associated with good teamwork. Thus, thoughtful organization for teamwork can be used as an alternative or complement to the traditional team training approach. Originality/value With regards to the vast literature on team training, this paper offers an alternative perspective on how to improve team performance in healthcare.
Virtual and Concrete Manipulatives: A Comparison of Approaches for Solving Mathematics Problems for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouck, Emily C.; Satsangi, Rajiv; Doughty, Teresa Taber; Courtney, William T.

2014-01-01

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are included in general education classes and expected to participate in general education content, such as mathematics. Yet, little research explores academically-based mathematics instruction for this population. This single subject alternating treatment design study explored the effectiveness of…

Occupational medicine: toward a worker/patient empowerment approach to occupational illness.

PubMed

Lax, Michael B

2002-01-01

Clinicians practicing occupational medicine are increasingly confronted with patients who have complex illnesses with chronic nonspecific symptoms. Most clinicians use the traditional tools of biomedicine to diagnose and treat the illness, determine etiology, and assess disability. This article argues that the biomedical approach is inadequate to effectively evaluate and treat occupational illness. After reviewing several critiques of biomedicine, including biopsychosocial, feminist, class, and critical theory/postmodern perspectives, the author offers an alternative approach that builds on aspects of these perspectives as well as the "popular education" work of Paulo Freire. Constraints on, and possibilities for, the development of an alternative approach that attempts to build patients' capacities for transformative action are explored.
Toward a More Effective Economic Principles Class: The Florida State University Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuckman, Barbara; Tuckman, Howard

1975-01-01

This special issue explores alternative approaches to teaching the college introductory economics course. Using insights gained from learning theory, suggestions from the Joint Council on Economic Education, and trial and error, several faculty members at the Florida State University experimented with various techniques and approaches designed to…
Can Creativity Predict Cognitive Reserve?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmiero, Massimiliano; Di Giacomo, Dina; Passafiume, Domenico

2016-01-01

Cognitive reserve relies on the ability to effectively cope with aging and brain damage by using alternate processes to approach tasks when standard approaches are no longer available. In this study, the issue if creativity can predict cognitive reserve has been explored. Forty participants (mean age: 61 years) filled out: the Cognitive Reserve…
Micro Processes of Learning: Exploring the Interplay between Conceptions, Meanings and Expressions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderberg, Elsie; Alvegard, Christer; Svensson, Lennart; Johansson, Thorsten

2009-01-01

The article describes qualitative variation in micro processes of learning, focusing the dynamic interplay between conceptions, expressions and meanings of expressions in students' learning in higher education. The intentional-expressive approach employed is an alternative approach to the function of language use in learning processes. In the…
Assessment with Children Who Need Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC): Clinical Decisions of AAC Specialists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lund, Shelley K.; Quach, Wendy; Weissling, Kristy; McKelvey, Miechelle; Dietz, Aimee

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who are augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) specialists approach the assessment process for 2 case studies, 1 child with cerebral palsy and 1 with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of the study was to answer the following questions: (a) How do…
Communicating with parents of children with autism about vaccines and complementary and alternative approaches.

PubMed

Gupta, Vidya Bhushan

2010-05-01

Despite incontrovertible evidence that vaccines do not cause autism, some parents continue to refuse them and many parents of children with autism seek hope in unproven and potentially harmful complementary and alternative (CAM) approaches. This commentary explores the reasons for such behaviors and proposes that pediatricians may support parents in their pursuit of hope in unproven treatments as long as these are not potentially harmful to the child or prohibitively expensive. While respecting parental autonomy and hope the pediatricians should share with parents their concerns about lack of scientific evidence about CAM and potential for harm by some approaches.
An Alternative Approach for the Analyses and Interpretation of Attachment Sort Items

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirkland, John; Bimler, David; Drawneek, Andrew; McKim, Margaret; Scholmerich, Axel

2004-01-01

Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) is a tool for quantifying observations about toddler/caregiver relationships. Previous studies have applied factor analysis to the full 90 AQS item set to explore the structure underlying them. Here we explore that structure by applying multidimensional scaling (MDS) to judgements of inter-item similarity. AQS items are…
Approaches to Internet Searching: An Analysis of Student in Grades 2 to 12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lien, Cynthia

2000-01-01

Examines Internet search approaches by 123 students, and analyzes search methodologies relative to search successes. Presents three findings: (1) student experience with the Internet is closely correlated with ability to explore alternative search methods; (2) student level; and (3) a collaborative work among students in a classroom setting may…
Culturally Responsible Mentoring: Exploring the Impact of an Alternative Approach for Preparing Student Teachers for Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zozakiewicz, Cathy

2010-01-01

Teacher education is challenged with preparing teachers to work effectively with culturally diverse students. Gaps in the research literature demonstrate that more bridging is needed between teacher education coursework and student teaching experiences, particularly in terms of supervision approaches that consider multicultural issues. This study…
An Alternative Approach to the Extended Drude Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gantzler, N. J.; Dordevic, S. V.

2018-05-01

The original Drude model, proposed over a hundred years ago, is still used today for the analysis of optical properties of solids. Within this model, both the plasma frequency and quasiparticle scattering rate are constant, which makes the model rather inflexible. In order to circumvent this problem, the so-called extended Drude model was proposed, which allowed for the frequency dependence of both the quasiparticle scattering rate and the effective mass. In this work we will explore an alternative approach to the extended Drude model. Here, one also assumes that the quasiparticle scattering rate is frequency dependent; however, instead of the effective mass, the plasma frequency becomes frequency-dependent. This alternative model is applied to the high Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ (Bi2212) with Tc = 92 K, and the results are compared and contrasted with the ones obtained from the conventional extended Drude model. The results point to several advantages of this alternative approach to the extended Drude model.
Assessing the Market Potential for New Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Voorhees, Richard A.

1987-01-01

A case study of Arapahoe Community College's marketing research approach to program planning illustrates a range of techniques for heightening alertness to new markets, exploring rising opportunities, and sometimes, quantifying the attractiveness of alternatives. (Author/MSE)
An Informal Overview of the Unitary Group Approach

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

Sonnad, V.; Escher, J.; Kruse, M.

The Unitary Groups Approach (UGA) is an elegant and conceptually unified approach to quantum structure calculations. It has been widely used in molecular structure calculations, and holds the promise of a single computational approach to structure calculations in a variety of different fields. We explore the possibility of extending the UGA to computations in atomic and nuclear structure as a simpler alternative to traditional Racah algebra-based approaches. We provide a simple introduction to the basic UGA and consider some of the issues in using the UGA with spin-dependent, multi-body Hamiltonians requiring multi-shell bases adapted to additional symmetries. While the UGAmore » is perfectly capable of dealing with such problems, it is seen that the complexity rises dramatically, and the UGA is not at this time, a simpler alternative to Racah algebra-based approaches.« less
Exploring the Possibilities and Limitations of Service-Learning: A Critical Analysis of College Student Narratives about HIV/AIDS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Susan Robb; LePeau, Lucy A.; Robbins, Claire K.

2013-01-01

This article reports the results of a study that explored the possibilities and limitations of service-learning by deconstructing the narratives about HIV/AIDS that emerged from five college students who participated in an alternative spring break program. Employing a critical (Rhoads, 1997) and anti-foundational (Butin, 2010) approach to inquiry,…
"L2 Assessment and Testing" Teacher Education: An Exploration of Alternative Assessment Approaches Using New Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papadima-Sophocleous, Salomi

2017-01-01

Most Second Language (L2) Teacher Training Assessment and Testing courses focus on testing. Through the development of a Master of Arts (MA) in a computer assisted language learning module (based on a constructivist and "practise what you preach" approach, entailing that the teachers experience firsthand the assessment types they were…
Mixed methods research.

PubMed

Halcomb, Elizabeth; Hickman, Louise

2015-04-08

Mixed methods research involves the use of qualitative and quantitative data in a single research project. It represents an alternative methodological approach, combining qualitative and quantitative research approaches, which enables nurse researchers to explore complex phenomena in detail. This article provides a practical overview of mixed methods research and its application in nursing, to guide the novice researcher considering a mixed methods research project.
The Relationship between Computer-Assisted Instruction and Alternative Programs to Enhance Fifth-Grade Mathematics Success on the Annual Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Tommy Howard

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between using computer-assisted instruction (CAI) size and success on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) mathematics exam with fifth-grade students in Texas compared to the effect of alternative improvement approaches used by a control group. Research explored the use of…
Martin Buber's I-Thou Perspective as an Alternative Approach to Antibullying Efforts. A Response to "Exploring Prosocial Behavior through Structured Philosophical Dialogue: A Quantitative Evaluation"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nolan, Carrie M.; Stitzlein, Sarah

2016-01-01

The paper "Exploring Prosocial Behavior through Structured Philosophical Dialogue: A Quantitative Evaluation" ambitiously made the argument that a pedagogy grounded in dialogical inquiry as part of the Philosophy for Children program will positively affect incidents of bullying in schools. This response to the author's work includes a…
DIRC Dreams: Research Directions for the Next Generation of Internally Reflected Imaging Counters

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

Ratcliff, Blair N.

1999-08-17

Some conceptual design features of the total internally reflecting,imaging Cherenkov counter (DIRC) are described. Limits of the DIRC approach to particle identification, and a few features of alternative DIRC designs, are briefly explored.
Introducing linear functions: an alternative statistical approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nolan, Caroline; Herbert, Sandra

2015-12-01

The introduction of linear functions is the turning point where many students decide if mathematics is useful or not. This means the role of parameters and variables in linear functions could be considered to be `threshold concepts'. There is recognition that linear functions can be taught in context through the exploration of linear modelling examples, but this has its limitations. Currently, statistical data is easily attainable, and graphics or computer algebra system (CAS) calculators are common in many classrooms. The use of this technology provides ease of access to different representations of linear functions as well as the ability to fit a least-squares line for real-life data. This means these calculators could support a possible alternative approach to the introduction of linear functions. This study compares the results of an end-of-topic test for two classes of Australian middle secondary students at a regional school to determine if such an alternative approach is feasible. In this study, test questions were grouped by concept and subjected to concept by concept analysis of the means of test results of the two classes. This analysis revealed that the students following the alternative approach demonstrated greater competence with non-standard questions.
Alternative Fuels Data Center: Johnson Space Center Explores Alternative

Science.gov Websites

Fuel Vehicles Johnson Space Center Explores Alternative Fuel Vehicles to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Johnson Space Center Explores Alternative Fuel Vehicles on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Johnson Space Center Explores Alternative Fuel Vehicles on

Terrorism, Civil Liberties, and Preventive Approaches to Technology: The Difficult Choices Western Societies Face in the War on Terrorism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jurgensen, Arnd

2004-01-01

This article explores public policy alternatives to the current war on terrorism. Western society's vulnerability to terrorism has been dealt with primarily by expanding the law enforcement and surveillance authority of governments at the expense of the freedoms and civil liberties of the public. This approach threatens to undermine the…
Integrated Surface Power Strategy for Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rucker, Michelle

2015-01-01

A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) study team evaluated surface power needs for a conceptual crewed 500-day Mars mission. This study had four goals: 1. Determine estimated surface power needed to support the reference mission; 2. Explore alternatives to minimize landed power system mass; 3. Explore alternatives to minimize Mars Lander power self-sufficiency burden; and 4. Explore alternatives to minimize power system handling and surface transportation mass. The study team concluded that Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) oxygen propellant production drives the overall surface power needed for the reference mission. Switching to multiple, small Kilopower fission systems can potentially save four to eight metric tons of landed mass, as compared to a single, large Fission Surface Power (FSP) concept. Breaking the power system up into modular packages creates new operational opportunities, with benefits ranging from reduced lander self-sufficiency for power, to extending the exploration distance from a single landing site. Although a large FSP trades well for operational complexity, a modular approach potentially allows Program Managers more flexibility to absorb late mission changes with less schedule or mass risk, better supports small precursor missions, and allows a program to slowly build up mission capability over time. A number of Kilopower disadvantages-and mitigation strategies-were also explored.
Methods for exploring uncertainty in groundwater management predictions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guillaume, Joseph H. A.; Hunt, Randall J.; Comunian, Alessandro; Fu, Baihua; Blakers, Rachel S; Jakeman, Anthony J.; Barreteau, Olivier; Hunt, Randall J.; Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel; Ross, Andrew

2016-01-01

Models of groundwater systems help to integrate knowledge about the natural and human system covering different spatial and temporal scales, often from multiple disciplines, in order to address a range of issues of concern to various stakeholders. A model is simply a tool to express what we think we know. Uncertainty, due to lack of knowledge or natural variability, means that there are always alternative models that may need to be considered. This chapter provides an overview of uncertainty in models and in the definition of a problem to model, highlights approaches to communicating and using predictions of uncertain outcomes and summarises commonly used methods to explore uncertainty in groundwater management predictions. It is intended to raise awareness of how alternative models and hence uncertainty can be explored in order to facilitate the integration of these techniques with groundwater management.
Reaching Mars: multi-criteria R&D portfolio selection for Mars exploration technology planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, J. H.; Dolgin, B. P.; Weisbin, C. R.

2003-01-01

The exploration of Mars has been the focus of increasing scientific interest about the planet and its relationship to Earth. A multi-criteria decision-making approach was developed to address the question, Given a Mars program composed of mission concepts dependent on a variety of alternative technology development programs, which combination of technologies would enable missions to maximize science return under a constrained budget?.
Device and circuit analysis of a sub 20 nm double gate MOSFET with gate stack using a look-up-table-based approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, S.; Dasgupta, A.; Das, R.; Kar, M.; Kundu, A.; Sarkar, C. K.

2017-12-01

In this paper, we explore the possibility of mapping devices designed in TCAD environment to its modeled version developed in cadence virtuoso environment using a look-up table (LUT) approach. Circuit simulation of newly designed devices in TCAD environment is a very slow and tedious process involving complex scripting. Hence, the LUT based modeling approach has been proposed as a faster and easier alternative in cadence environment. The LUTs are prepared by extracting data from the device characteristics obtained from device simulation in TCAD. A comparative study is shown between the TCAD simulation and the LUT-based alternative to showcase the accuracy of modeled devices. Finally the look-up table approach is used to evaluate the performance of circuits implemented using 14 nm nMOSFET.
Federal funding of rail rehabilitation : a review of alternative approaches

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-09-01

This study explores the proposed mechanisms for injecting federal funds into the rehabilitation of the fixed plant of U.S. railroads--that is, the roadbed, ballast, ties, signaling systems, yards and terminals that make up the physical rail system. T...
Reflections on Educating Educational Administrators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miklos, Erwin; Chapman, Donald

This paper presents a history of educational administration among Canada's provinces, discusses the status of university preparation programs, and explores theories of formalized and alternative approaches. Before the 1950's, little interest existed in administrators' formal preparation. Consolidation of schools led to graduate programs, but the…
Alternatives to neonicotinoid insecticides for pest control: case studies in agriculture and forestry.

PubMed

Furlan, Lorenzo; Kreutzweiser, David

2015-01-01

Neonicotinoid insecticides are widely used for control of insect pests around the world and are especially pervasive in agricultural pest management. There is a growing body of evidence indicating that the broad-scale and prophylactic uses of neonicotinoids pose serious risks of harm to beneficial organisms and their ecological function. This provides the impetus for exploring alternatives to neonicotinoid insecticides for controlling insect pests. We draw from examples of alternative pest control options in Italian maize production and Canadian forestry to illustrate the principles of applying alternatives to neonicotinoids under an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy. An IPM approach considers all relevant and available information to make informed management decisions, providing pest control options based on actual need. We explore the benefits and challenges of several options for management of three insect pests in maize crops and an invasive insect pest in forests, including diversifying crop rotations, altering the timing of planting, tillage and irrigation, using less sensitive crops in infested areas, applying biological control agents, and turning to alternative reduced risk insecticides. Continued research into alternatives is warranted, but equally pressing is the need for information transfer and training for farmers and pest managers and the need for policies and regulations to encourage the adoption of IPM strategies and their alternative pest control options.
Humanizing Prisons with Animals: A Closer Look at "Cell Dogs" and Horse Programs in Correctional Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deaton, Christiane

2005-01-01

If correctional education aims to transform individuals and bring about change, we need to consider the whole person who comes with human needs, emotions and attitudes. In order to expand our approach, alternative programs should be explored. A somewhat unusual but very promising approach to address offenders' human needs is the use of animals in …
Analysis of yield and oil from a series of canola breeding trials. Part II. Exploring variety by environment interaction using factor analysis.

PubMed

Cullis, B R; Smith, A B; Beeck, C P; Cowling, W A

2010-11-01

Exploring and exploiting variety by environment (V × E) interaction is one of the major challenges facing plant breeders. In paper I of this series, we presented an approach to modelling V × E interaction in the analysis of complex multi-environment trials using factor analytic models. In this paper, we develop a range of statistical tools which explore V × E interaction in this context. These tools include graphical displays such as heat-maps of genetic correlation matrices as well as so-called E-scaled uniplots that are a more informative alternative to the classical biplot for large plant breeding multi-environment trials. We also present a new approach to prediction for multi-environment trials that include pedigree information. This approach allows meaningful selection indices to be formed either for potential new varieties or potential parents.
Towards a Postmodern Research Agenda For Public Relations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holtzhausen, Derina R.

2002-01-01

Explores the possibility of postmodernism as an alternative theoretical approach to public relations. Examines modernist public relations as a hegemonic practice that interpolates practitioners into the system to legitimize the perspectives and actions of corporate managers as objective knowledge. Concludes with suggestions for a postmodern…
Risk adjustment policy options for casemix funding: international lessons in financing reform.

PubMed

Antioch, Kathryn M; Ellis, Randall P; Gillett, Steve; Borovnicar, Daniel; Marshall, Ric P

2007-09-01

This paper explores modified hospital casemix payment formulae that would refine the diagnosis-related group (DRG) system in Victoria, Australia, which already makes adjustments for teaching, severity and demographics. We estimate alternative casemix funding methods using multiple regressions for individual hospital episodes from 2001 to 2003 on 70 high-deficit DRGs, focussing on teaching hospitals where the largest deficits have occurred. Our casemix variables are diagnosis- and procedure-based severity markers, counts of diagnoses and procedures, disease types, complexity, day outliers, emergency admission and "transfers in." The results are presented for four policy options that vary according to whether all of the dollars or only some are reallocated, whether all or some hospitals are used and whether the alternatives augment or replace existing payments. While our approach identifies variables that help explain patient cost variations, hospital-level simulations suggest that the approaches explored would only reduce teaching hospital underpayment by about 10%. The implications of various policy options are discussed.
Exploring compression techniques for ROOT IO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Z.; Bockelman, B.

2017-10-01

ROOT provides an flexible format used throughout the HEP community. The number of use cases - from an archival data format to end-stage analysis - has required a number of tradeoffs to be exposed to the user. For example, a high “compression level” in the traditional DEFLATE algorithm will result in a smaller file (saving disk space) at the cost of slower decompression (costing CPU time when read). At the scale of the LHC experiment, poor design choices can result in terabytes of wasted space or wasted CPU time. We explore and attempt to quantify some of these tradeoffs. Specifically, we explore: the use of alternate compressing algorithms to optimize for read performance; an alternate method of compressing individual events to allow efficient random access; and a new approach to whole-file compression. Quantitative results are given, as well as guidance on how to make compression decisions for different use cases.
The Capability Approach and Early Childhood Education Curricula: An Investigation into Teachers' Beliefs and Practices. Arbeit, Bildung & Gesellschaft/Labour, Education & Society. Volume 35

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potsi, Autoanneta

2016-01-01

This book explores the Capability Approach (CA) as an alternative critical lens through which to regard early childhood education (ECE) curricula. The CA framework is a counter narrative to the narrow instrumentalism that reduces education to a mere process of academic skills acquisition for a future workplace. Primarily the book draws on the…
Perspectives on evolving dental care payment and delivery models.

PubMed

Rubin, Marcie S; Edelstein, Burton L

2016-01-01

Health care reform is well under way in the United States as reflected in evolving delivery, financing, and payment approaches that are affecting medicine ahead of dentistry. The authors explored health systems changes under way, distinguished historical and organizational differences between medicine and dentistry, and developed alternative models to characterize the relationships between these professions. The authors explored a range of medical payment approaches, including those tied to objective performance metrics, and their potential application to dentistry. Advances in understanding the essential role of oral health in general health have pulled dentistry into the broader discussion of care integration and payment reform. Dentistry's fit with primary and specialty medical care may take a variety of forms. Common provider payment approaches in dentistry-fee-for-service, capitation, and salary-are tied insufficiently to performance when measured as either health processes or health outcomes. Dentistry can anticipate potential payment reforms by observing changes already under way in medicine and by understanding alternative payment approaches that are tied to performance metrics, such as those now in development by the Dental Quality Alliance and others. Novel forms of dental practice may be expected to evolve continuously as medical-dental integration and payment reforms that promote accountability evolve. Copyright © 2016 American Dental Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Coming to Do Mathematics in the Margins

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Raymond; Redmond, Trevor

2015-01-01

This paper explores teacher' "identity" as two teachers talk about teaching mathematics in classrooms situated within two different contexts of learning--mainstream and alternative. Employing a form of discourse analysis framed within a participation approach to learning, this paper describes teacher identity in terms of the norms and…
78 FR 35808 - Proposed priority-Rehabilitation Training: Rehabilitation Long-Term Training Program-Vocational...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-14

..., Labor, and the Social Security Administration. The goal of this conference was to explore several..., research report, 1-15. Proposed Priority The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative... practicable--the costs of cumulative regulations; (3) In choosing among alternative regulatory approaches...
Use of ethnographic approaches to the study of health experiences in relation to natural landscapes.

PubMed

O'Brien, Liz; Varley, Pete

2012-11-01

This paper discusses the use of ethnographic approaches to explore how engagement with natural landscapes might benefit people's health. Drawing on a selected review of empirical research we identified 30 relevant research papers that utilised qualitative methods to explore health issues and engagement with nature. Three examples of 'alternative' - i.e. non-mainstream qualitative approaches - are used to illustrate how different methods can be used to explore people's experiences of engaging with nature for health. While quantitative methods are dominant in health research, qualitative approaches are becoming more widely used. Approaches such as autoethnography can add value to nature and health studies by providing opportunities for researchers to be self-critical of their role as a researcher. Accompanied visits and visual ethnography can afford the researcher rich data about bodily movement, facial expressions and journeys, as well as dialogues associated with the meanings of nature for health. The paper concludes by suggesting that ethnographic methods can provide useful and important insights into why people engage with the natural environment and the range of health benefits they may gain from contact with nature.
Capturing the essence of a metabolic network: a flux balance analysis approach.

PubMed

Murabito, Ettore; Simeonidis, Evangelos; Smallbone, Kieran; Swinton, Jonathan

2009-10-07

As genome-scale metabolic reconstructions emerge, tools to manage their size and complexity will be increasingly important. Flux balance analysis (FBA) is a constraint-based approach widely used to study the metabolic capabilities of cellular or subcellular systems. FBA problems are highly underdetermined and many different phenotypes can satisfy any set of constraints through which the metabolic system is represented. Two of the main concerns in FBA are exploring the space of solutions for a given metabolic network and finding a specific phenotype which is representative for a given task such as maximal growth rate. Here, we introduce a recursive algorithm suitable for overcoming both of these concerns. The method proposed is able to find the alternate optimal patterns of active reactions of an FBA problem and identify the minimal subnetwork able to perform a specific task as optimally as the whole. Our method represents an alternative to and an extension of other approaches conceived for exploring the space of solutions of an FBA problem. It may also be particularly helpful in defining a scaffold of reactions upon which to build up a dynamic model, when the important pathways of the system have not yet been well-defined.
Validation of Alternative In Vitro Methods to Animal Testing: Concepts, Challenges, Processes and Tools.

PubMed

Griesinger, Claudius; Desprez, Bertrand; Coecke, Sandra; Casey, Warren; Zuang, Valérie

This chapter explores the concepts, processes, tools and challenges relating to the validation of alternative methods for toxicity and safety testing. In general terms, validation is the process of assessing the appropriateness and usefulness of a tool for its intended purpose. Validation is routinely used in various contexts in science, technology, the manufacturing and services sectors. It serves to assess the fitness-for-purpose of devices, systems, software up to entire methodologies. In the area of toxicity testing, validation plays an indispensable role: "alternative approaches" are increasingly replacing animal models as predictive tools and it needs to be demonstrated that these novel methods are fit for purpose. Alternative approaches include in vitro test methods, non-testing approaches such as predictive computer models up to entire testing and assessment strategies composed of method suites, data sources and decision-aiding tools. Data generated with alternative approaches are ultimately used for decision-making on public health and the protection of the environment. It is therefore essential that the underlying methods and methodologies are thoroughly characterised, assessed and transparently documented through validation studies involving impartial actors. Importantly, validation serves as a filter to ensure that only test methods able to produce data that help to address legislative requirements (e.g. EU's REACH legislation) are accepted as official testing tools and, owing to the globalisation of markets, recognised on international level (e.g. through inclusion in OECD test guidelines). Since validation creates a credible and transparent evidence base on test methods, it provides a quality stamp, supporting companies developing and marketing alternative methods and creating considerable business opportunities. Validation of alternative methods is conducted through scientific studies assessing two key hypotheses, reliability and relevance of the test method for a given purpose. Relevance encapsulates the scientific basis of the test method, its capacity to predict adverse effects in the "target system" (i.e. human health or the environment) as well as its applicability for the intended purpose. In this chapter we focus on the validation of non-animal in vitro alternative testing methods and review the concepts, challenges, processes and tools fundamental to the validation of in vitro methods intended for hazard testing of chemicals. We explore major challenges and peculiarities of validation in this area. Based on the notion that validation per se is a scientific endeavour that needs to adhere to key scientific principles, namely objectivity and appropriate choice of methodology, we examine basic aspects of study design and management, and provide illustrations of statistical approaches to describe predictive performance of validated test methods as well as their reliability.

Critical Ontology for an Enactive Music Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Schyff, Dylan; Schiavio, Andrea; Elliott, David J.

2016-01-01

An enactive approach to music education is explored through the lens of critical ontology. Assumptions central to Western academic music culture are critically discussed; and the concept of "ontological education" is introduced as an alternative framework. We argue that this orientation embraces more primordial ways of knowing and being,…
Single-Phase Mail Survey Design for Rare Population Subgroups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brick, J. Michael; Andrews, William R.; Mathiowetz, Nancy A.

2016-01-01

Although using random digit dialing (RDD) telephone samples was the preferred method for conducting surveys of households for many years, declining response and coverage rates have led researchers to explore alternative approaches. The use of address-based sampling (ABS) has been examined for sampling the general population and subgroups, most…
Challenging Normative Assumptions Regarding Disengaged Youth: A Phenomenological Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewthwaite, Brian; Wilson, Kimberley; Wallace, Valda; McGinty, Sue; Swain, Luke

2017-01-01

This paper explores the experiences of 12 young people, all teenagers, who have chosen to attend alternative schools known as flexible learning options within the Australian context. Using a phenomenological approach, the study seeks to understand their experiences outside the normalised public discourse that they had "disengaged" from…
Fostering Organizational Performance: The Role of Learning and Intrapreneurship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molina, Carlos; Callahan, Jamie L.

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the connections between individual learning, intrapreneurship, and organizational learning to create an alternative model of how learning facilitates performance in organizations. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper selecting targeted scholarly works that provide support for the…
Exploring Communities of Music in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dabback, William M.

2010-01-01

Community music practices may offer paths to broaden the scope of the music education field by providing meaningful alternatives to traditional approaches found in many formal music education systems. As specific social settings shape and define community music, prominent researchers have called for further investigation into practices in the…
Repeating Decimals: An Alternative Teaching Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Appova, Aina K.

2017-01-01

To help middle school students make better sense of decimals and fraction, the author and an eighth-grade math teacher worked on a 90-minute lesson that focused on representing repeating decimals as fractions. They embedded experimentations and explorations using technology and calculators to help promote students' intuitive and conceptual…
Entrepreneurship: The College as a Business Enterprise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cejda, Brent D.; Jolley, Michael R.

2014-01-01

This chapter explores the concept of entrepreneurial waves, with a special focus on the "third wave" of entrepreneurial ventures: alternative means of funding programs and services in light of continued reductions in public financial support and as an approach to building strong and sustainable relationships with external constituencies.…
Exploring Alternative Approaches for Presenting Evaluation Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Jeremiah; Hall, Jori; Greene, Jennifer C.; Ahn, Jeehae

2013-01-01

Evaluators have an obligation to present clearly the results of their evaluative efforts. Traditionally, such presentations showcase formal written and oral reports, with dispassionate language and graphs, tables, quotes, and vignettes. These traditional forms do not reach all audiences nor are they likely to include the most powerful presentation…
Maths Games: A Universal Design Approach to Mathematical Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchheister, Kelley; Jackson, Christa; Taylor, Cynthia E.

2017-01-01

Providing students with an opportunity to explore mathematical content through games allows teachers to include tasks that: (1) present alternative representations of the content; (2) welcome various expressions of mathematical reasoning; and (3) incorporate variations that empower all students to engage in the problem solving process. Games not…
The Effects on the Family of Life-Threatening Childhood Disease.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Gary M.; And Others

1980-01-01

Presented at the National Conference of the Forum for Death Education and Counselling, Washington, 1978, this paper explores the effects of childhood malignancy on family dynamics. Problem areas include marital difficulties, forgotten siblings, and the necessity of alternating between a "sick" and "well" world. Constructive approaches are…
Pursuing an Ethic of Care: A Case Study of One Female Superintendent

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rico, Rachelle G.

2009-01-01

This instrumental case study explores how the Ethic of Care is experienced within one Midwestern school system as an alternative approach to traditional school system hierarchical infrastructures. Through the qualitative tradition of portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997), this study documents the caring leadership actions, behaviors…
Materializing 'Competence': Perspectives from International STEM Scholars

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canagarajah, Suresh

2018-01-01

Applied linguists have been exploring approaches to second language acquisition and competence that move beyond a prioritization of cognition and grammar that was derived from the foundational structuralist legacy in linguistics. Recently, for example, they have collaborated in putting together an integrated alternative model (Douglas Fir Group,…
Rudolph Diesel Meets the Soybean: "Greasing" the Wheels of Chemical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Angela G.; Wright, Marcus W.

2007-01-01

The impact of biodiesel on classrooms and teaching laboratories has potential similar to country's energy security and could help introduce environmental concepts, thermodynamics, titrations, combustion and chemical reactions. While researchers are exploring new methods and approaches to alternative fuels and renewable energy, the educators could…
Questioning Collectives and Agencies: A Commentary on Curricular Choices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, Jenny

2015-01-01

This commentary explores theoretical alternatives for viewing the problem identified by Volny Fages and Virginie Albe in their article entitled Social issues in nanoscience and nanotechnology Master's degrees: The socio-political stakes of curricular choices. An approach to social research is suggested that would render visible the associations…
Stepping Up to Motherhood among Inner-City Teens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shanok, Arielle F.; Miller, Lisa

2007-01-01

This mixed-methods, context-oriented study explored transitions to motherhood among pregnant and newly parenting inner-city teenagers (n = 80) attending an alternative public school. Additionally, a novel research approach was assessed. Using data from a 2-year psychotherapy trial, inductive content analyses of therapy sessions and post hoc…
Rethinking Postsecondary Remediation: Exploring an Experiential Learning Approach to College Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Relles, Stefani R.

2016-01-01

This article contributes to the national discourse on college readiness and postsecondary remediation reform. It discusses an experiential learning model of writing remediation as an alternative to traditional basic skills instruction. Such a model may be practical to support the degree completion rates of underprepared writers whose…
Footprints: Strategies for Non-Traditional Program Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frechtling, Joy A., Ed.

Papers in this collection explore alternative and nontraditional approaches to evaluation. They provide options, speculations, and propositions that affect each thinker's ideas on how to trace the impact of National Science Foundation-supported programs. Organized around a central theme of footprints as evidence of a program's impact, the papers…
An integrative top-down and bottom-up qualitative model construction framework for exploration of biochemical systems.

PubMed

Wu, Zujian; Pang, Wei; Coghill, George M

Computational modelling of biochemical systems based on top-down and bottom-up approaches has been well studied over the last decade. In this research, after illustrating how to generate atomic components by a set of given reactants and two user pre-defined component patterns, we propose an integrative top-down and bottom-up modelling approach for stepwise qualitative exploration of interactions among reactants in biochemical systems. Evolution strategy is applied to the top-down modelling approach to compose models, and simulated annealing is employed in the bottom-up modelling approach to explore potential interactions based on models constructed from the top-down modelling process. Both the top-down and bottom-up approaches support stepwise modular addition or subtraction for the model evolution. Experimental results indicate that our modelling approach is feasible to learn the relationships among biochemical reactants qualitatively. In addition, hidden reactants of the target biochemical system can be obtained by generating complex reactants in corresponding composed models. Moreover, qualitatively learned models with inferred reactants and alternative topologies can be used for further web-lab experimental investigations by biologists of interest, which may result in a better understanding of the system.
Complementary and alternative medicine for pain management in U.S.- and foreign-born Chinese women with breast cancer.

PubMed

Wong-Kim, Evaon; Merighi, Joseph R

2007-11-01

This study explores beliefs about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use for pain management among 15 U.S.-born and 15 foreign-born Chinese women with breast cancer. For this investigation, trilingual interviewers conducted individual, face-to-face, qualitative interviews in Cantonese, Mandarin, or English. All study participants lived in San Francisco, and the foreign-born women had resided in the U.S. for 15 years or fewer. Findings indicate that many participants consider CAM a viable method of pain management. However, concerns about affordability and quality of treatment prevent some women from using CAM on a regular basis. Many participants indicated that Western health care providers are poorly equipped to provide CAM to manage the pain resulting from breast cancer treatment. Future research should explore how access to CAM can be improved for poor and uninsured patients with cancer and how alternative approaches to pain management can be integrated more broadly in the U.S. health care system.
How to make a particular case for person-centred patient care: A commentary on Alexandra Parvan.

PubMed

Graham, George

2018-06-14

In recent years, a person-centred approach to patient care in cases of mental illness has been promoted as an alternative to a disease orientated approach. Alexandra Parvan's contribution to the person-centred approach serves to motivate an exploration of the approach's most apt metaphysical assumptions. I argue that a metaphysical thesis or assumption about both persons and their uniqueness is an essential element of being person-centred. I apply the assumption to issues such as the disorder/disease distinction and to the continuity of mental health and illness. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Exploration of a Capability-Focused Aerospace System of Systems Architecture Alternative with Bilayer Design Space, Based on RST-SOM Algorithmic Methods

PubMed Central

Li, Zhifei; Qin, Dongliang

2014-01-01

In defense related programs, the use of capability-based analysis, design, and acquisition has been significant. In order to confront one of the most challenging features of a huge design space in capability based analysis (CBA), a literature review of design space exploration was first examined. Then, in the process of an aerospace system of systems design space exploration, a bilayer mapping method was put forward, based on the existing experimental and operating data. Finally, the feasibility of the foregoing approach was demonstrated with an illustrative example. With the data mining RST (rough sets theory) and SOM (self-organized mapping) techniques, the alternative to the aerospace system of systems architecture was mapping from P-space (performance space) to C-space (configuration space), and then from C-space to D-space (design space), respectively. Ultimately, the performance space was mapped to the design space, which completed the exploration and preliminary reduction of the entire design space. This method provides a computational analysis and implementation scheme for large-scale simulation. PMID:24790572
Exploration of a capability-focused aerospace system of systems architecture alternative with bilayer design space, based on RST-SOM algorithmic methods.

PubMed

Li, Zhifei; Qin, Dongliang; Yang, Feng

2014-01-01

In defense related programs, the use of capability-based analysis, design, and acquisition has been significant. In order to confront one of the most challenging features of a huge design space in capability based analysis (CBA), a literature review of design space exploration was first examined. Then, in the process of an aerospace system of systems design space exploration, a bilayer mapping method was put forward, based on the existing experimental and operating data. Finally, the feasibility of the foregoing approach was demonstrated with an illustrative example. With the data mining RST (rough sets theory) and SOM (self-organized mapping) techniques, the alternative to the aerospace system of systems architecture was mapping from P-space (performance space) to C-space (configuration space), and then from C-space to D-space (design space), respectively. Ultimately, the performance space was mapped to the design space, which completed the exploration and preliminary reduction of the entire design space. This method provides a computational analysis and implementation scheme for large-scale simulation.
MICROWAVE-ACCELERATED CARBON-NITROGEN BOND FORMATION: A GREEN CHEMICAL APPROACH FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF AMINES AND HETEROCYCLES IN AQUEOUS MEDIA

EPA Science Inventory

The concept of "green chemistry" is widely adopted to meet the fundamental scientific challenges of protecting the human health and environment while simultaneously achieving commercial viability. One of the thrust areas for achieving this target is to explore alternative reactio...
Critical Change for the Greater Good: Multicultural Perceptions in Educational Leadership toward Social Justice and Equity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santamaría, Lorri J.

2014-01-01

Background: Educational leadership for social justice and equity is the primary leadership response to inclusive and equitable education. This inquiry builds on multicultural education and educational leadership to explore an alternative approach to mainstream leadership practice. Purpose: To examine ways in which educational leaders of color in…
A Bayesian Belief Network Approach to Explore Alternative Decisions for Sediment Control and water Storage Capacity at Lago Lucchetti, Puerto Rico

EPA Science Inventory

A Bayesian belief network (BBN) was developed to characterize the effects of sediment accumulation on the water storage capacity of Lago Lucchetti (located in southwest Puerto Rico) and to forecast the life expectancy (usefulness) of the reservoir under different management scena...
Threats without Threateners? Exploring Intersections of Threats to the Global Commons and National Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

used for public services, or for sale outside the community. Notice that this alternative approach to policy is worth considering whether or not the...function like an iTunes app store, except that they would be for physical products. Consumers looking for new products would connect with designers sell
Development of an acute oral toxicity dataset to facilitate assessment of existing QSARs and development of new models (WC10)

EPA Science Inventory

Acute oral toxicity data are used to meet both regulatory and non-regulatory needs. Recently, there have been efforts to explore alternative approaches for predicting acute oral toxicity such as QSARs. Evaluating the performance and scope of existing models and investigating the ...
Pacific Yew: A Facultative Riparian Conifer with an Uncertain Future

Treesearch

Stanley Scher; Bert Schwarzschild

1989-01-01

Increasing demands for Pacific yew bark, a source of an anticancer agent, have generated interest in defining the yew resource and in exploring strategies to conserve this species. The distribution, riparian requirements and ecosystem functions of yew populations in coastal and inland forests of northern California are outlined and alternative approaches to conserving...
Exploring Alternative Approaches to Child Outcome Assessments in Children's Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell-Barr, Verity; Lavelle, Marie; Wickett, Karen

2012-01-01

In England, early years education services and the children and who attend them are the subject of increasing scrutiny and assessment. While these assessments offer a number of benefits in terms of tracking child development and ensuring the efficient use of public monies, they also impose restrictions to practice, limits to understandings of…
In-School Suspensions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Christopher G.

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature regarding some of the past practices of discipline and to explore the changes in discipline that have been made in our schools, the alternatives that have resulted, and a specific approach--in-school suspension--that has taken root in contemporary education as a result of this change. A review…
From Simplicism to Complexity in Leadership Identity and Preparation: Exploring the Lineage and Dark Secrets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lumby, Jacky; English, Fenwick

2009-01-01

This article challenges the largely Western, functionalist and unitary notion of the self which underlies contemporary international approaches to educational leadership preparation. It locates an alternative concept of the self as simultaneously singular and multiple in deep-rooted and persisting mythic, religious and metaphysical thinking. The…
Exploring Student Integration Patterns in Two-Way Immersion Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Martha I.

2011-01-01

Two-way immersion (TWI) programs teach English Learners (ELs) and native English speakers in the same classroom using both languages in an immersion approach. Studies suggest that TWI programs result in greater student integration, thus providing a promising alternative for Spanish speaking ELs, who are frequently concentrated in high poverty,…
Space Communications Capability Roadmap Interim Review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spearing, Robert; Regan, Michael

2005-01-01

Contents include the following: Identify the need for a robust communications and navigation architecture for the success of exploration and science missions. Describe an approach for specifying architecture alternatives and analyzing them. Establish a top level architecture based on a network of networks. Identify key enabling technologies. Synthesize capability, architecture and technology into an initial capability roadmap.
Mutual-Choice Placement--A Humanistic Approach to Student Teaching Assignments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Easterly, Jean L.

Student teaching may be defined as a complex intermingling of roles and institutions. Few, however, would dispute that the core of student teaching is that unique relationship which occurs between two persons--the student teacher and the cooperating teacher. This relationship may be explored by examining two alternative models for matching student…
On the Limits of Contemporary Moral Education: Psychological and Sociological Perspectives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leming, James S.

The paper explores reasons for the failure of contemporary approaches to moral education and suggests an alternative based on theories of prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior comprises actions intended to aid another person or group of people without the actors' anticipation of external rewards. Cultural and social factors appear to be most…
Health Promotion and Complementary Medicine: The Extent and Future of Professional Collaboration and Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Faith

2006-01-01

Purpose: To explore the professional interface between health promotion (HP) and complementary and alternative medicine. Design/methodology/approach: A discussion paper, based on qualitative research involving in-depth interviews with 52 participants from either side of the interface. Findings: The current interface is predominantly limited to…
Re-Appraising Ideas of Musicality in Intercultural Contexts of Music Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Flynn, John

2005-01-01

This article examines ideas of musicality as they may apply to local, national and intercultural contexts of music education. Conceptions of multicultural music education are explored in the light of alternative approaches to musicality adapted from ethnomusicological perspectives. It is argued that while recently published music curricula in many…
Opportunities and Possibilities: Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Educational Researcher

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agrey, Loren G.

2014-01-01

The opportunities that philosophical hermeneutics provide as a research tool are explored and it is shown that this qualitative research method can be employed as a valuable tool for the educational researcher. Used as an alternative to the standard quantitative approach to educational research, currently being the dominant paradigm of data…
A Comparison of Alternative Narrative Approaches to Video Description for Animated Comedy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fels, Deborah I.; Udo, John Patrick; Diamond, Jonas E.; Diamond, Jeremy I.

2006-01-01

This study explored the feasibility of using a first-person narrative style for video description of an animated comedy, "Odd Job Jack." It found that viewers who are blind find the first-person style more engaging, entertaining, and preferable but less trustworthy than the more conventional third-person description style.
Exploring Alternative Approaches to Methodology in Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niaz, Mansoor

2004-01-01

The objective of this study is to provide in-service teachers an opportunity to become familiar with the controversial nature of progress in science (growth of knowledge) and its implications for research methodology in education. The study is based on 41 participants who had registered for a nine-week course on Methodology of Investigation in…

The Woman Athlete and Alternative Approaches to Explaining Sport Participation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeSensi, Joy T.

This study explored the model of feminist frameworks offered by Jagger and Struhl (1978) in the women's sport setting. The framework offers a classification of models of feminism (Liberalism, Marxism, Radicalism, and Socialism) describing the forms of women's oppression and offers a solution for eliminating such oppression. The Jaggen and Struhl's…
The Self-Managing School: A Matter of Being and of Becoming.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beavis, Allan K.

This paper explores possibilities within a paradigm that is an alternative to the reductionist, mechanistic paradigm of school-based management. The use of a "sporting team" concept (from a dynamic, holistic paradigm) rather than a "ship's crew" model (from a reductionist approach) is advocated. Using research on the governance…
Evaluation of a Truancy Diversion Program at Nine At-Risk Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haight, Courtney M.; Chapman, Gillian V.; Hendron, Marisa; Loftis, Rachel; Kearney, Christopher A.

2014-01-01

Many schools are faced with the prospect of soaring absenteeism rates, despite the use of traditional truancy courts and other legal interventions. A recent trend in the literature has been to explore alternative, hybrid, and multidisciplinary approaches to address the underlying obstacles to school attendance. These programs are often integrated…
Teaching Direct Current Theory Using a Field Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stocklmayer, Susan

2010-01-01

Principles of direct current have long been recognised in the literature as presenting difficulties for learners. Most of these difficulties have been reported in the context of the traditional electron flow model. In this paper, an alternative approach for high school students using a field model is explored. Findings from a range of short pilot…
Slash Writers and Guinea Pigs as Models for a Scientific Multiliteracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weinstein, Matthew

2006-01-01

This paper explores alternative approaches to the conception of scientific literacy, drawing on cultural studies and emerging practices in language arts as its framework. The paper reviews historic tensions in the understanding of scientific literacy and then draws on the multiliteracies movement in language arts to suggest a scientific…
"Media Mediators": Advocating an Alternate Paradigm for Critical Adult Education ICT Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Remtulla, Karim A.

2010-01-01

This article explores the efficacy of current education program approaches to prepare instructors to achieve critical thinking and active learning from their students by integrating ICTs with traditional adult education practices. An argument is put forward that the increasing presence and influence of ICTs in education necessitates a paradigmatic…
A Smooth Road from Conventional Teaching to Distance Learning in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nishinosono, Haruo

2002-01-01

As a result of rapid developments in information and communication technology (ICT), dramatic changes are taking place in approaches to teaching and learning in university and school classrooms. These changes offer new opportunities to explore entirely new methods of instruction in teacher education. ICT provides alternatives to conventional…
Affects and Politics in Classroom: A Group-Based Approach to Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janvier, Antoine; Wustefeld, Sophie

2017-01-01

Group dynamics in the classroom are a fundamental aspect of learning which, it is argued here, has not received sufficient academic interest. Increasingly, however, research on critical and alternative pedagogy is concerned with exploring the benefits of collaborative learning. This paper recalls the insights of two streams of French institutional…
Analysis of Institutionally Specific Retention Research: A Comparison between Survey and Institutional Database Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caison, Amy L.

2007-01-01

This study empirically explores the comparability of traditional survey-based retention research methodology with an alternative approach that relies on data commonly available in institutional student databases. Drawing on Tinto's [Tinto, V. (1993). "Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition" (2nd Ed.), The University…
Introducing Linear Functions: An Alternative Statistical Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nolan, Caroline; Herbert, Sandra

2015-01-01

The introduction of linear functions is the turning point where many students decide if mathematics is useful or not. This means the role of parameters and variables in linear functions could be considered to be "threshold concepts". There is recognition that linear functions can be taught in context through the exploration of linear…
Education for change in a post-modern world: redefining revolution.

PubMed

Cameron, P; Willis, K; Crack, G

1995-10-01

Social and behavioural sciences are established components in the curriculum of undergraduate nursing degrees. The purpose is to introduce future and practising nurses to the social and political influences which inform their workplaces and practices. Inevitably an awareness of the structural barriers and the powerful political interests involved in health can lead to feelings of powerlessness and despair of achieving change. Yet the skills of critical analysis and political awareness developed in study such as this are essential for health workers in the increasingly complex and politically charged domain in which they work. This paper will explore problems and barriers encountered in development of curriculum and teaching social and behavioural sciences in health. It will propose an alternative conceptual model, based on post-structuralism, as one way of addressing these barriers. This approach shifts the focus from meta-theoretical sociological concepts such as class, gender and culture, to one of examining subject positions, discourse, contestation and local action, thus enabling the exploration and development of possibilities for change. The paper will also provide a case study to illustrate this alternative approach.
An interdisciplinary approach to mapping through scientific cartography, design and artistic expression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gardener, Joanna; Cartwright, William; Duxbury, Lesley

2018-05-01

This paper reports on the initial findings of an interdisciplinary study exploring perceptions of space and place through alternate ways of mapping. The research project aims to bring depth and meaning to places by utilising a combination of diverse influences and responses, including emotional, sensory, memory and imaginary. It investigates mapping from a designer's perspective, with further narration from both the cartographic science and fine art perspectives. It examines the role of design and artistic expression in the cartographic process, and its capacity to effect and transform the appearance, reading and meaning of the final cartographic outcome (Robinson 2010). The crossover between the cartographic sciences and the work of artists who explore space and place enables an interrogation of where these fields collide or alternatively merge, in order to challenge the definition of a map. By exploring cartography through the overlapping of the distinct fields of science and art, this study challenges and questions the tipping point of when a map ceases to be a map and becomes art.
From bioethics to a sociology of bio-knowledge.

PubMed

Petersen, Alan

2013-12-01

Growing recognition of bioethics' shortcomings, associated in large part with its heavy reliance on abstract principles, or so-called principlism, has led many scholars to propose that the field should be reformed or reconceptualised. Principlism is seen to de-contextualise the process of ethical decision-making, thus restricting bioethics' contributions to debate and policy on new and emergent biotechnologies. This article examines some major critiques of bioethics and argues for an alternative normative approach; namely, a sociology of bio-knowledge focussing on human rights. The article discusses the need for such an approach, including the challenges posed by the recent rise of 'the bio-economy'. It explores some potential alternative bases for a normative sociology of bio-knowledge, before presenting the elements of the proposed human rights-focused approach. This approach, it is argued, will benefit from the insights and concepts offered by various fields of critical scholarship, particularly the emergent sociology of human rights, science and technology studies, Foucaultian scholarship, and feminist bioethics. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Re-powering and site recycling in a competitive environment

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

Taylor, A.; Kahn, E.P.

1991-03-01

Re-powering and site recycling are strategies designed to expand electric generating capacity by using depreciated assets. The resource base for the these strategies is large. By 1995, over 170,000 MW of fossil-fired capacity will be in excess of thirty years old, and approaching the end of its conventional economic lifetime. This paper explores how these assets might be developed using competitive market forces. While some re-powering is being pursued under traditional ratebase regulation, there are four other generic alternatives. These are: (1) utility investment at fixed prices with regulatory pre-approval, (2) utility investment under competitive bidding, (3) utility leasing formore » private producer development, and (4) utility sale of sites for private producer development. Issues associated with each alternative are explored and illustrated with examples. State regulatory policy will be the critical determinant of whether a market develops for depreciated power plants. Financial incentives will stimulate utilities to re-deploy depreciated assets. This means some form of profit-sharing between customers and shareholders of the grains from asset sales. Different approaches to profit sharing are reviewed. These developments are still in an experimental state, however, and no single approach appears to have emerged as a dominant trend. 36 refs., 1 tab.« less
Irrigating The Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamson, D.

2017-12-01

Water insecurity and water inequality are international issues that reduce economic growth. Countries are adopting alternative approaches to rebalance the share of water between all users to mitigate economic loss for this and future generations. However, recent reforms have struggled to provide the necessary arguments to obtain political protection of the process. In the absence of proof, rent-seeking arguments have challenged the benefit of restoring environmental flows by arguing that policy design fails to maximise the environmental benefits. This is a problem in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), where despite establishing 3,200GL of environmental water, the policy is still under threat. Applied water economic policy advice fails, when it does not deal with uncertainty. The state-contingent analysis approach can map how individual decision makers can adapt to alternative states of water supply (i.e. drought, normal and wet) by reallocating inputs to obtain state-described outputs. By modelling changes to the states, or the frequency of the states occurring, climate change can modelled, and decision management responses explored. By treating the environment as another set of production systems, lessons learnt from managing perennial and annual agricultural production systems during the Millennium Drought in the MDB can be applied to explore the limits of irrigating the environment. The demand for water by a production system is a combination of state-general (must be irrigated every year e.g. perennial crop or permanent wetland) and state specific inputs (irrigate in response to the realise state). In simple terms, the greater the component of state-general water requirements a production system has, the less resilience it has when water supply is highly variable and if water is not available then production systems are irreversibly lost. While production systems that only need state-allocable water can adapt to alternative levels of scarcity without irreversible losses. This relationship then helps evaluate the alternative strategies for as environmental manager to maximise the gains from environmental flows. By utilizing a directed flow network, the trade-offs between hard and soft targets, and trading between alternative water users can be explored.
Achieving biopolymer synergy in systems chemistry.

PubMed

Bai, Yushi; Chotera, Agata; Taran, Olga; Liang, Chen; Ashkenasy, Gonen; Lynn, David G

2018-05-31

Synthetic and materials chemistry initiatives have enabled the translation of the macromolecular functions of biology into synthetic frameworks. These explorations into alternative chemistries of life attempt to capture the versatile functionality and adaptability of biopolymers in new orthogonal scaffolds. Information storage and transfer, however, so beautifully represented in the central dogma of biology, require multiple components functioning synergistically. Over a single decade, the emerging field of systems chemistry has begun to catalyze the construction of mutualistic biopolymer networks, and this review begins with the foundational small-molecule-based dynamic chemical networks and peptide amyloid-based dynamic physical networks on which this effort builds. The approach both contextualizes the versatile approaches that have been developed to enrich chemical information in synthetic networks and highlights the properties of amyloids as potential alternative genetic elements. The successful integration of both chemical and physical networks through β-sheet assisted replication processes further informs the synergistic potential of these networks. Inspired by the cooperative synergies of nucleic acids and proteins in biology, synthetic nucleic-acid-peptide chimeras are now being explored to extend their informational content. With our growing range of synthetic capabilities, structural analyses, and simulation technologies, this foundation is radically extending the structural space that might cross the Darwinian threshold for the origins of life as well as creating an array of alternative systems capable of achieving the progressive growth of novel informational materials.
Conventional vs Biomimetic Approaches to the Exploration of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellery, A.

It is not usual to refer to convention in planetary exploration missions by virtue of the innovation required for such projects. The term conventional refers to the methodologies, tools and approaches typically adopted in engineering that are applied to such missions. Presented is a "conventional" Mars rover mission in which the author was involved - ExoMars - into which is interspersed references to examples where biomimetic approaches may yield superior capabilities. Biomimetics is a relatively recently active area of research which seeks to examine how biological systems solve the problem of survival in the natural environment. Biological organisms are autonomous entities that must survive in a hostile world adapting both adaptivity and robustness. It is not then surprising that biomimetics is particularly useful when applied to robotic elements of a Mars exploration mission. I present a number of areas in which biomimetics may yield new solutions to the problem of Mars exploration - optic flow navigation, potential field navigation, genetically-evolved neuro-controllers, legged locomotion, electric motors implementing muscular behaviour, and a biomimetic drill based on the wood wasp ovipositor. Each of these techniques offers an alternative approach to conventional ones. However, the perceptive hurdles are likely to dwarf the technical hurdles in implementing many of these methods in the near future.
Learning-Centred Leadership or Pedagogical Leadership? An Alternative Approach to Leadership in Education Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Male, Trevor; Palaiologou, Ioanna

2012-01-01

The history of leadership in educational settings that has a principal focus on student learning is one dominated by Western cultures, particularly those in the USA; also, it has developed two near-identical models of leadership commonly known as "instructional" or "learning-centred". This paper explores the relevance of these…
An Alternative Time for Telling: When Conceptual Instruction Prior to Exploration Improves Mathematical Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fyfe, Emily R.; DeCaro, Marci S.; Rittle-Johnson, Bethany

2013-01-01

An emerging consensus suggests that guided discovery, which combines discovery and instruction, is a more effective educational approach than either one in isolation. The goal of this study was to examine two specific forms of guided discovery, testing whether conceptual instruction should precede or follow exploratory problem solving. In both…
Scientology and Catholicism Do Mix: A Note on Teaching New Religions in a Catholic Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmalz, Mathew N.

2006-01-01

This note from the classroom explores teaching new or alternative religions within the context of a Roman Catholic Liberal Arts College. The essay will specifically focus on a section of a course entitled "Modern Religious Movements" in which students were asked to consider different methodological approaches to the teaching and study of…

Robust Evaluation Matrix: Towards a More Principled Offline Exploration of Instructional Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doroudi, Shayan; Aleven, Vincent; Brunskill, Emma

2017-01-01

The gold standard for identifying more effective pedagogical approaches is to perform an experiment. Unfortunately, frequently a hypothesized alternate way of teaching does not yield an improved effect. Given the expense and logistics of each experiment, and the enormous space of potential ways to improve teaching, it would be highly preferable if…
Exploring how alternative mapping approaches influence fireshed assessment and human community exposure to wildfire

Treesearch

Joe H. Scott; Matthew P. Thompson; Julie W. Gilbertson-Day

2015-01-01

Attaining fire-adapted human communities has become a key focus of collaborative planning on landscapes across the western United States and elsewhere. The coupling of fire simulation with GIS has expanded the analytical base to support such planning efforts, particularly through the "fireside" concept that identifies areas where wildfires could ignite and...
Symbolic Interactionism in Music Education: Eight Strategies for Collaborative Improvisation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monk, Augusto

2013-01-01

Learning improvisation in music is often treated as the process of gaining skills to spontaneously perform within the conventions of a style. Alternatively, learning improvisation can offer musicians a place to explore sound as it happens in free improvisation. Within the school setting, the former approach is commonly used in the jazz programs,…
Embodying Learning: Post-Cartesian Pedagogy and the Academic Study of Religion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lelwica, Michelle Mary

2009-01-01

This paper explores the concept and practice of "embodied pedagogy" as an alternative to the Cartesian approach to knowledge that is tacitly embedded in traditional modes of teaching and learning about religion. My analysis highlights a class I co-teach that combines the study of Aikido (a Japanese martial art) with seminar-style discussions of…
Estimation of daily stream flow of southeastern coastal plain watersheds by combining estimated magnitude and sequence

Treesearch

Herbert Ssegane; Devendra M. Amatya; E.W. Tollner; Zhaohua Dai; Jami E. Nettles

2013-01-01

Commonly used methods to predict streamflow at ungauged watersheds implicitly predict streamflow magnitude and temporal sequence concurrently. An alternative approach that has not been fully explored is the conceptualization of streamflow as a composite of two separable components of magnitude and sequence, where each component is estimated separately and then combined...
Computational approaches to metabolic engineering utilizing systems biology and synthetic biology.

PubMed

Fong, Stephen S

2014-08-01

Metabolic engineering modifies cellular function to address various biochemical applications. Underlying metabolic engineering efforts are a host of tools and knowledge that are integrated to enable successful outcomes. Concurrent development of computational and experimental tools has enabled different approaches to metabolic engineering. One approach is to leverage knowledge and computational tools to prospectively predict designs to achieve the desired outcome. An alternative approach is to utilize combinatorial experimental tools to empirically explore the range of cellular function and to screen for desired traits. This mini-review focuses on computational systems biology and synthetic biology tools that can be used in combination for prospective in silico strain design.
Israeli nurses' attitudes to the holistic approach to health and their use of complementary and alternative therapies.

PubMed

Orkaby, Brurya; Greenberger, Chaya

2015-03-01

To examine nurses' attitudes to holistic and biomedical approaches to health care and the correlation between the two and to explore the extent of recommending and using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by nurses and its correlation with attitudes toward the holistic approach to care. In this cross-sectional correlational study, a structured questionnaire was completed anonymously by 213 Israeli hospital-based nurses from various departments. Nurses perceived both approaches as critical to optimal health care: a positive correlation emerged of attitudes to the two approaches. Nurses recommended and used CAM extensively; most therapies were recommended and/or used by 70% or more of the respondents. Nurses with more positive attitudes toward holistic care tended to recommend and use CAM to a greater extent. Biomedical and holistic approaches are perceived by nurses to coexist within nursing professional boundaries and form a broad basis for optimal health care. Nurses' attitudes to the holistic approach appear to promote recommendation and/or use of CAM in practice. More training in CAM should be offered in nursing educational frameworks and research should continue to establish evidence for CAM's effectiveness. © The Author(s) 2014.
Contact Angle Measurements: an Alternative Approach Towards Understanding the Mechanism of Increased Drug Dissolution from Ethylcellulose Tablets Containing Surfactant and Exploring the Relationship Between Their Contact Angles and Dissolution Behaviors.

PubMed

Liu, Tiaotiao; Hao, Jingqiang; Yang, Baixue; Hu, Beibei; Cui, Zhixiang; Li, Sanming

2018-05-01

The addition of surfactant in tablet was a well-defined approach to improve drug dissolution rate. While the selected surfactant played a vital role in improving the wettability of tablet by medium, it was equally important to improve the dissolution rate by permeation effect due to production of pores or the reduced inter-particle adhesion. Furthermore, understanding the mechanism of dissolution rate increased was significant. In this work, contact angle measurement was taken up as an alternative approach for understanding the dissolution rate enhancement for tablet containing surfactant. Ethylcellulose, as a substrate, was used to prepare tablet. Four surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), and sodium lauryl sulfonate (SLS), were used. Berberine hydrochloride, metformin hydrochloride, and rutin were selected as model drugs. The contact angle of tablet in the absence and presence of surfactant was measured to explore the mechanism. The dissolution test was investigated to verify the mechanism and to establish a correlation with the contact angle. The result showed that the mechanism was the penetration effect rather than the wetting effect. The dissolution increased with a reduction in the contact angle. DTAB was found to obtain the highest level of dissolution enhancement and the lowest contact angle, while SDS, SDBS, and SLS were found to be the less effective in both dissolution enhancement and contact angle decrease. Therefore, contact angle was a good indicator for dissolution behavior besides exploring the mechanism of increased dissolution, which shows great potential in formula screening.
Air and Water System (AWS) Design and Technology Selection for the Vision for Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry; Kliss, Mark

2005-01-01

This paper considers technology selection for the crew air and water recycling systems to be used in long duration human space exploration. The specific objectives are to identify the most probable air and water technologies for the vision for space exploration and to identify the alternate technologies that might be developed. The approach is to conduct a preliminary first cut systems engineering analysis, beginning with the Air and Water System (AWS) requirements and the system mass balance, and then define the functional architecture, review the International Space Station (ISS) technologies, and discuss alternate technologies. The life support requirements for air and water are well known. The results of the mass flow and mass balance analysis help define the system architectural concept. The AWS includes five subsystems: Oxygen Supply, Condensate Purification, Urine Purification, Hygiene Water Purification, and Clothes Wash Purification. AWS technologies have been evaluated in the life support design for ISS node 3, and in earlier space station design studies, in proposals for the upgrade or evolution of the space station, and in studies of potential lunar or Mars missions. The leading candidate technologies for the vision for space exploration are those planned for Node 3 of the ISS. The ISS life support was designed to utilize Space Station Freedom (SSF) hardware to the maximum extent possible. The SSF final technology selection process, criteria, and results are discussed. Would it be cost-effective for the vision for space exploration to develop alternate technology? This paper will examine this and other questions associated with AWS design and technology selection.
Evaluation Of Different Power Conditioning Options For Stirling Generators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garrigos, A.; Blanes, J. M.; Carrasco, J. A.; Maset, E.; Montalban, G.; Ejea, J.; Ferreres, A.; Sanchis, E.

2011-10-01

Free-piston Stirling engines are an interesting alternative for electrical power systems, especially in deep space missions where photovoltaic systems are not feasible. This kind of power generators contains two main parts, the Stirling machine and the linear alternator that converts the mechanical energy from the piston movement to electrical energy. Since the generated power is in AC form, several aspects should be assessed to use such kind of generators in a spacecraft power system: AC/DC topologies, power factor correction, power regulation techniques, integration into the power system, etc. This paper details power generator operation and explores different power conversion approaches.
Report of the 90-day study on human exploration of the Moon and Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

The basic mission sequence to achieve the President's goal is clear: begin with Space Station Freedom in the 1990's, return to the Moon to stay early in the Next century, and then journey to Mars. Five reference approaches are modeled building on past programs and recent studies to reflect wide-ranging strategies that incorporate varied program objectives, schedules, technologies, and resource availabilities. The reference approaches are (1) balance and speed; (2) the earliest possible landing on Mars; (3) reduce logistics from Earth; (4) schedule adapted to Space Station Freedom; and (5) reduced scales. The study and programmatic assessment have shown that the Human Exploration Initiative is indeed a feasible approach to achieving the President's goals. Several reasonable alternatives exist, but a long-range commitment and significant resources will be required. However, the value of the program and the benefits to the Nation are immeasurable.
Enhancing data utilization through adoption of cloud-based data architectures (Invited Paper 211869)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kearns, E. J.

2017-12-01

A traditional approach to data distribution and utilization of open government data involves continuously moving those data from a central government location to each potential user, who would then utilize them on their local computer systems. An alternate approach would be to bring those users to the open government data, where users would also have access to computing and analytics capabilities that would support data utilization. NOAA's Big Data Project is exploring such an alternate approach through an experimental collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, IBM, Microsoft Azure, and the Open Commons Consortium. As part of this ongoing experiment, NOAA is providing open data of interest which are freely hosted by the Big Data Project Collaborators, who provide a variety of cloud-based services and capabilities to enable utilization by data users. By the terms of the agreement, the Collaborators may charge for those value-added services and processing capacities to recover their costs to freely host the data and to generate profits if so desired. Initial results have shown sustained increases in data utilization from 2 to over 100 times previously-observed access patterns from traditional approaches. Significantly increased utilization speed as compared to the traditional approach has also been observed by NOAA data users who have volunteered their experiences on these cloud-based systems. The potential for implementing and sustaining the alternate cloud-based approach as part of a change in operational data utilization strategies will be discussed.
Concept relationship editor: a visual interface to support the assertion of synonymy relationships between taxonomic classifications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craig, Paul; Kennedy, Jessie

2008-01-01

An increasingly common approach being taken by taxonomists to define the relationships between taxa in alternative hierarchical classifications is to use a set-based notation which states relationship between two taxa from alternative classifications. Textual recording of these relationships is cumbersome and difficult for taxonomists to manage. While text based GUI tools are beginning to appear which ease the process, these have several limitations. Interactive visual tools offer greater potential to allow taxonomists to explore the taxa in these hierarchies and specify such relationships. This paper describes the Concept Relationship Editor, an interactive visualisation tool designed to support the assertion of relationships between taxonomic classifications. The tool operates using an interactive space-filling adjacency layout which allows users to expand multiple lists of taxa with common parents so they can explore and assert relationships between two classifications.
Community Schools As An Educational Alternative In Africa: A Critique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoppers, Wim

2005-05-01

With a view to basic formal education, this study explores actual experiences and potential values of current community-school initiatives in Africa. Using data from different programmes around the continent, it examines their dynamics in terms of various conceptions about alternative provisions for basic education. The wider policy question posed is whether community schools can respond in a meaningful and viable manner to the interests of learners and their communities, meet social-policy goals of equity and social justice, and foster reform. While its conclusions remain tentative, the study explores effective but problematic approaches supported by communities, non-governmental organizations and governments. It gives particular attention to those elements promoting empowerment and transforming educational provision and local socio-economic conditions. It also raises fundamental questions about sustainability and equity as well as the responsiveness of schools to community needs and their ability to assist learners in overcoming disadvantage and marginality.
Exploring Language Choice and Identity Construction in "In-Between" Sites: Ethnic Media and Community Languages Schools in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubino, Antonia; Cruickshank, Ken

2016-01-01

Australian research on immigrant languages has paid little attention to interactional approaches to language alternation as identity construction, and sites other than the family and the mainstream school. We argue for the need of studies that take into account a wider range of sites, in particular "community" sites, and adopt…
The Role of Trust between International Students and Their American Instructors at Intensive English-Language Programs at American Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mirzoyants, Anastasia

2012-01-01

The study proposes an alternative approach to studying interpersonal trust. The researcher uses the Rasch analysis to design a quantitative instrument that can be used to measure trust when exploring the effects that various aspects of educational environment have on students' experiences. Prior empirical studies examined trust from a…
Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Himmele, Persida; Himmele, William

2011-01-01

Yes, there are easy-to-use and incredibly effective alternatives to the "stand and deliver" approach to teaching that causes so many students to tune out--or even drop out. Here's your opportunity to explore dozens of ways to engage K-12 students in active learning and allow them to demonstrate the depth of their knowledge and understanding. The…
Alternative Career Formation Perspectives: Lessons for Educational Leadership from Law, Medicine, and Training for the Priesthood.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daresh, John C.; Playko, Marsha A.

One of the suggestions for improving the professional development of school leaders is to adopt some of the practices used in other professional fields. This paper explores three models of professional development traditionally followed in medicine, law, and the Catholic priesthood to assess the extent to which these approaches are likely to…
Funding alternatives in EHR adoption: beyond HITECH incentives and traditional approaches.

PubMed

Wang, Tiankai; Wang, Yangmei; Biedermann, Sue

2013-05-01

The meaningful use incentives under HITECH may be inadequate to address the financial challenges many hospitals face in implementing electronic health records (EHRs). Hospitals can fill the capital gap between EHR costs and available funds by exploring other potential funding sources. These sources include additional grants, funding permissible under EHR regulations, vendor financing, and tax benefits under IRS Section 179.
Greener "Solutions" for the Organic Chemistry Teaching Lab: Exploring the Advantages of Alternative Reaction Media

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKenzie, Lallie C.; Huffman, Lauren M.; Hutchison, James E.; Rogers, Courtney E.; Goodwin, Thomas E.; Spessard, Gary O.

2009-01-01

A major approach for implementing green chemistry is the discovery and development of synthetic strategies that reduce the quantity of solvent needed, eliminate it altogether, or rely on new reaction media. An increasing number of examples have demonstrated that greener reaction solvents or media can enhance performance as well as reduce hazard.…

A Qualitative Approach to Understanding the Role of Lecture Capture in Student Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Gareth; Ivaldi, Antonia

2017-01-01

Lectures continue to be the dominant form of university teaching, and lecture capture technologies are tentatively taken up to support this form of delivery, rather than being used as a viable alternative. Much of the previous research, however, has been self-reports or survey-based, with far less attention given to qualitative explorations. This…
Modifying Defining Issues Test (DIT) as a Tool for Assessing Secondary Students' Social-Emotional Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ee, Jessie

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the use of an alternative instrument to assess the social-emotional competence (SEC) of secondary school students in Singapore. The instrument was used in a larger study to explore an approach to infuse social-emotional learning in the curriculum for children in school. The design of this research instrument is based on the…
Ways of Knowing, Sharing, and Translating Agricultural Knowledge and Perspectives: Alternative Epistemologies across Non-Formal and Informal Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mars, Matthew M.; Ball, Anna L.

2016-01-01

The mainstream agricultural literacy movement has been mostly focused on school-based learning through formal curricula and standardized non-formal models (e.g., FFA, 4-H). The purpose of the current study is to qualitatively explore through a grounded theory approach, the development, sharing, and translation of diverse forms of agricultural…
A Driving Bioinformatics Approach to Explore Co-regulation of AOX Gene Family Members During Growth and Development.

PubMed

Costa, José Hélio; Arnholdt-Schmitt, Birgit

2017-01-01

The alternative oxidase (AOX) gene family is a hot candidate for functional marker development that could help plant breeding on yield stability through more robust plants based on multi-stress tolerance. However, there is missing knowledge on the interplay between gene family members that might interfere with the efficiency of marker development. It is common view that AOX1 and AOX2 have different physiological roles. Nevertheless, both family member groups act in terms of molecular-biochemical function as "typical" alternative oxidases and co-regulation of AOX1 and AOX2 had been reported. Although conserved sequence differences had been identified, the basis for differential effects on physiology regulation is not sufficiently explored.This protocol gives instructions for a bioinformatics approach that supports discovering potential interaction of AOX family members in regulating growth and development. It further provides a strategy to elucidate the relevance of gene sequence diversity and copy number variation for final functionality in target tissues and finally the whole plant. Thus, overall this protocol provides the means for efficiently identifying plant AOX variants as functional marker candidates related to growth and development.
Guided exploration in virtual environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beckhaus, Steffi; Eckel, Gerhard; Strothotte, Thomas

2001-06-01

We describe an application supporting alternating interaction and animation for the purpose of exploration in a surround- screen projection-based virtual reality system. The exploration of an environment is a highly interactive and dynamic process in which the presentation of objects of interest can give the user guidance while exploring the scene. Previous systems for automatic presentation of models or scenes need either cinematographic rules, direct human interaction, framesets or precalculation (e.g. precalculation of paths to a predefined goal). We report on the development of a system that can deal with rapidly changing user interest in objects of a scene or model as well as with dynamic models and changes of the camera position introduced interactively by the user. It is implemented as a potential-field based camera data generating system. In this paper we describe the implementation of our approach in a virtual art museum on the CyberStage, our surround-screen projection-based stereoscopic display. The paradigm of guided exploration is introduced describing the freedom of the user to explore the museum autonomously. At the same time, if requested by the user, guided exploration provides just-in-time navigational support. The user controls this support by specifying the current field of interest in high-level search criteria. We also present an informal user study evaluating this approach.
Time, space, and disorder in the expanding proteome universe.

PubMed

Minde, David-Paul; Dunker, A Keith; Lilley, Kathryn S

2017-04-01

Proteins are highly dynamic entities. Their myriad functions require specific structures, but proteins' dynamic nature ranges all the way from the local mobility of their amino acid constituents to mobility within and well beyond single cells. A truly comprehensive view of the dynamic structural proteome includes: (i) alternative sequences, (ii) alternative conformations, (iii) alternative interactions with a range of biomolecules, (iv) cellular localizations, (v) alternative behaviors in different cell types. While these aspects have traditionally been explored one protein at a time, we highlight recently emerging global approaches that accelerate comprehensive insights into these facets of the dynamic nature of protein structure. Computational tools that integrate and expand on multiple orthogonal data types promise to enable the transition from a disjointed list of static snapshots to a structurally explicit understanding of the dynamics of cellular mechanisms. © 2017 The Authors. Proteomics Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
A Multi-Case Study of Professional Ethics in Alternative Education: Exploring Perspectives of Alternative School Administrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duke, Richard T. RT, IV

2017-01-01

This qualitative case study explored perspectives of alternative school leaders regarding professional ethics and standards. The study researched two components of alternative school leadership: effective alternative school characteristics based on professional standards and making decisions around the best interests of students. This study…
The logic of the floral transition: Reverse-engineering the switch controlling the identity of lateral organs.

PubMed

Dinh, Jean-Louis; Farcot, Etienne; Hodgman, Charlie

2017-09-01

Much laboratory work has been carried out to determine the gene regulatory network (GRN) that results in plant cells becoming flowers instead of leaves. However, this also involves the spatial distribution of different cell types, and poses the question of whether alternative networks could produce the same set of observed results. This issue has been addressed here through a survey of the published intercellular distribution of expressed regulatory genes and techniques both developed and applied to Boolean network models. This has uncovered a large number of models which are compatible with the currently available data. An exhaustive exploration had some success but proved to be unfeasible due to the massive number of alternative models, so genetic programming algorithms have also been employed. This approach allows exploration on the basis of both data-fitting criteria and parsimony of the regulatory processes, ruling out biologically unrealistic mechanisms. One of the conclusions is that, despite the multiplicity of acceptable models, an overall structure dominates, with differences mostly in alternative fine-grained regulatory interactions. The overall structure confirms the known interactions, including some that were not present in the training set, showing that current data are sufficient to determine the overall structure of the GRN. The model stresses the importance of relative spatial location, through explicit references to this aspect. This approach also provides a quantitative indication of how likely some regulatory interactions might be, and can be applied to the study of other developmental transitions.
Gene therapy for hemophilia

PubMed Central

Rogers, Geoffrey L.; Herzog, Roland W.

2015-01-01

Hemophilia is an X-linked inherited bleeding disorder consisting of two classifications, hemophilia A and hemophilia B, depending on the underlying mutation. Although the disease is currently treatable with intravenous delivery of replacement recombinant clotting factor, this approach represents a significant cost both monetarily and in terms of quality of life. Gene therapy is an attractive alternative approach to the treatment of hemophilia that would ideally provide life-long correction of clotting activity with a single injection. In this review, we will discuss the multitude of approaches that have been explored for the treatment of both hemophilia A and B, including both in vivo and ex vivo approaches with viral and nonviral delivery vectors. PMID:25553466
Approach and Issues Relating to Shield Material Design to Protect Astronauts from Space Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, J. W.; Cucinotta, F. A.; Miller, J.; Shinn, J. L.; Thibeault, S. A.; Singleterry, R. C.; Simonsen, L. C.; Kim, M. H.

2001-01-01

One major obstacle to human space exploration is the possible limitations imposed by the adverse effects of long-term exposure to the space environment. Even before human spaceflight began, the potentially brief exposure of astronauts to the very intense random solar energetic particle (SEP) events was of great concern. A new challenge appears in deep space exploration from exposure to the low-intensity heavy-ion flux of the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) since the missions are of long duration and the accumulated exposures can be high. Since aluminum (traditionally used in spacecraft to avoid potential radiation risks) leads to prohibitively expensive mission launch costs, alternative materials need to be explored. An overview of the materials related issues and their impact on human space exploration will be given.
Decision analysis in clinical cardiology: When is coronary angiography required in aortic stenosis

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

Georgeson, S.; Meyer, K.B.; Pauker, S.G.

1990-03-15

Decision analysis offers a reproducible, explicit approach to complex clinical decisions. It consists of developing a model, typically a decision tree, that separates choices from chances and that specifies and assigns relative values to outcomes. Sensitivity analysis allows exploration of alternative assumptions. Cost-effectiveness analysis shows the relation between dollars spent and improved health outcomes achieved. In a tutorial format, this approach is applied to the decision whether to perform coronary angiography in a patient who requires aortic valve replacement for critical aortic stenosis.
Animal welfare versus food quality: factors influencing organic consumers' preferences for alternatives to piglet castration without anaesthesia.

PubMed

Heid, Astrid; Hamm, Ulrich

2013-10-01

Surgical piglet castration without pain relief has been banned in organic farming in the EU since the beginning of 2012. Alternative methods therefore need to be implemented that improve animal welfare and solve the underlying problem of boar taint. This paper explores German organic consumers' preferences for piglet castration without pain relief and three alternative methods. In an innovative approach using a multi-criteria decision making procedure, qualitative data from focus group discussions were compared with quantitative results from Vickrey auctions. Overall, participants preferred all alternatives to castration without pain relief. Different aspects influenced willingness-to-pay for the methods. Animal welfare was important for the evaluation of castration without pain relief and castration with anaesthesia. Food safety played a major role for willingness-to-pay for immunocastration, while taste and, to some extent, animal welfare were dominant factors for fattening of boars. These differences should be considered when communicating the alternatives. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Patterning and templating for nanoelectronics.

PubMed

Galatsis, Kosmas; Wang, Kang L; Ozkan, Mihri; Ozkan, Cengiz S; Huang, Yu; Chang, Jane P; Monbouquette, Harold G; Chen, Yong; Nealey, Paul; Botros, Youssry

2010-02-09

The semiconductor industry will soon be launching 32 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology node using 193 nm lithography patterning technology to fabricate microprocessors with more than 2 billion transistors. To ensure the survival of Moore's law, alternative patterning techniques that offer advantages beyond conventional top-down patterning are aggressively being explored. It is evident that most alternative patterning techniques may not offer compelling advantages to succeed conventional top-down lithography for silicon integrated circuits, but alternative approaches may well indeed offer functional advantages in realising next-generation information processing nanoarchitectures such as those based on cellular, bioinsipired, magnetic dot logic, and crossbar schemes. This paper highlights and evaluates some patterning methods from the Center on Functional Engineered Nano Architectonics in Los Angeles and discusses key benchmarking criteria with respect to CMOS scaling.
Problem of lunar mascons: An alternative approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barenbaum, A. A.; Shpekin, M. I.

2018-01-01

The origin of lunar mascons is discussed on the base of results of the orbital experimental exploration of the Moon by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter missions. We lead the discussion on the basis of representations of Galactocentric paradigm which links processes in the Solar System and on its planets with the Galaxy influences. The article describes a new approach to the interpretation of the crater data, which takes into account the quasi-periodic bombardments of the Moon by galactic comets. We present a preliminary evaluation of the age of mascons as well as of craters and mares on the Moon based on this approach.
The Impact of Taiwanese College Students' Learning Motivation from Self-Determination Perspective on Learning Outcomes: Moderating Roles of Multi-Traits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ho, Sophia Shi-Huei

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore the associations among learning motivation, engagement and outcomes, and the moderating role of various traits in the relationship between deep approaches to learning and outcomes. Based on data from 2,340 students in multiple universities in Taiwan, this study proposes two alternative models, tested by…
Acceptance as a Normative Aspect of the Process of Coming to Understand Emotionally Charged Concepts: Upper-Secondary School Students Make Meaning of Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trostek, Jonas R.

2016-01-01

Previous research on how students' acceptance of emotionally charged theories relates to their understanding is based on the measurement of acceptance and understanding as two separate variables. As an alternative, the present study takes a qualitative approach with the aim of exploring what 24 upper-secondary school students accept when they come…
The Study of Life Review. An Approach to the Investigation of Intellectual Development across the Life Span. Studien und Berichte 47.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staudinger, Ursula M.

A study looked for age differences in the quality of responses to the Life Review Task (LRT), studied the LRT itself as a tool for exploring wisdom and intellectual functioning in adulthood, and considered personality characteristics and life experience as alternative predictors of response quality. Sixty-three West German women of different ages…
Finding the Right Fit: Assessing the Impact of Traditional v. Large Lecture/Small Lab Course Formats on a General Education Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wildermuth, Susan M.; French, Tammy; Fredrick, Edward

2013-01-01

This study explores alternative approaches for teaching general education courses burdened with serving extremely large enrollments. It compares the effectiveness of a self-contained course in which each course section is taught by one instructor to a large lecture/small lab format in which all course enrollees attend one large lecture section and…
Behavioral Dynamics in the Cooperative Control of Mixed Human/Robotic Teams

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-05

models of cognitive and social psychology play a major role in the work. A particular objective is to develop a fundamental understanding of how...dynamics. In addition to exploring cognitive and social psychological aspects of decision making, research is focused on formal approaches to...SUBJECT TERMS human-machine interactions, two-alternative-forced-choice (TAFC), cognitive and social psychological aspects of decision making, action
Exploring Online Students' Self-Regulated Learning with Self-Reported Surveys and Log Files: A Data Mining Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Moon-Heum; Yoo, Jin Soung

2017-01-01

Many researchers who are interested in studying students' online self-regulated learning (SRL) have heavily relied on self-reported surveys. Data mining is an alternative technique that can be used to discover students' SRL patterns from large data logs saved on a course management system. The purpose of this study was to identify students' online…

Concern About Hunger May Increase Receptivity to GMOs.

PubMed

Carter, B Elijah; Conn, Caitlin C; Wiles, Jason R

2016-07-01

Due to a phenomenon known as the 'backfire effect', intuition-based opinions can be inadvertently strengthened by evidence-based counterarguments. Students' views on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) may be subject to this effect. We explored the impact of an empathetically accessible topic, world hunger, on receptivity to GMO technology as an alternative to direct evidence-based approaches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Assessing multi-taxa sensitivity to the human footprint, habitat fragmentation and loss by exploring alternative scenarios of dispersal ability and population size: A simulation approach

Treesearch

Brian K. Hand; Samuel A. Cushman; Erin L. Landguth; John Lucotch

2014-01-01

Quantifying the effects of landscape change on population connectivity is compounded by uncertainties about population size and distribution and a limited understanding of dispersal ability for most species. In addition, the effects of anthropogenic landscape change and sensitivity to regional climatic conditions interact to strongly affect habitat...
Super-resolved Parallel MRI by Spatiotemporal Encoding

PubMed Central

Schmidt, Rita; Baishya, Bikash; Ben-Eliezer, Noam; Seginer, Amir; Frydman, Lucio

2016-01-01

Recent studies described an alternative “ultrafast” scanning method based on spatiotemporal (SPEN) principles. SPEN demonstrates numerous potential advantages over EPI-based alternatives, at no additional expense in experimental complexity. An important aspect that SPEN still needs to achieve for providing a competitive acquisition alternative entails exploiting parallel imaging algorithms, without compromising its proven capabilities. The present work introduces a combination of multi-band frequency-swept pulses simultaneously encoding multiple, partial fields-of-view; together with a new algorithm merging a Super-Resolved SPEN image reconstruction and SENSE multiple-receiving methods. The ensuing approach enables one to reduce both the excitation and acquisition times of ultrafast SPEN acquisitions by the customary acceleration factor R, without compromises in either the ensuing spatial resolution, SAR deposition, or the capability to operate in multi-slice mode. The performance of these new single-shot imaging sequences and their ancillary algorithms were explored on phantoms and human volunteers at 3T. The gains of the parallelized approach were particularly evident when dealing with heterogeneous systems subject to major T2/T2* effects, as is the case upon single-scan imaging near tissue/air interfaces. PMID:24120293
Unintended Consequences in Cancer Care Delivery Created by the Medicare Part B Proposal: Is the Clinical Rationale for the Experiment Flawed?

PubMed

Gordan, Lucio; Grogg, Amy; Blazer, Marlo; Fortner, Barry

2017-02-01

Medicare currently enrolls ≥ 45 million adults, and by 2030 this is projected to increase to ≥ 80 million beneficiaries. With this growth, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposal, the Medicare Part B Drug Payment Model, to shrink drug expenditures, a major contributor to overall health care costs. For this to not adversely affect patient outcomes, lower-cost alternative medications with equivalent efficacy and no increased toxicity must be available. This is often not true in the treatment of cancer. Herein, we examine the flaws in the rationale of the CMS and the potential unintended consequences of this experiment. We identified the top three oncology expenditures (rituximab, bevacizumab, and trastuzumab) and their vetted alternatives (per the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines) to ascertain whether lower-cost equivalent alternatives are available. Drug cost was based on April 2016 average sale price. We explored both efficacy of the agents and, when applicable, toxicity to compare alternatives to these high-dollar medications. For the largest Medicare oncology drug expenditures, there is not a lower-cost option with equal efficacy for their primary indications. Without lower-cost alternatives, the unintended consequence of this CMS experiment may include curtailing access to care or an increase in patient/program costs. The CMS proposal, by simply lowering reimbursement for drugs, does not acknowledge the value of these agents and could unintentionally reduce quality of care. Alternative approaches to value-based care, such as the Oncology Care Model and similar frameworks, should be explored.
Termites: a Retinex implementation based on a colony of agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simone, Gabriele; Audino, Giuseppe; Farup, Ivar; Rizzi, Alessandro

2012-01-01

This paper describes a novel implementation of the Retinex algorithm with the exploration of the image done by an ant swarm. In this case the purpose of the ant colony is not the optimization of some constraints but is an alternative way to explore the image content as diffused as possible, with the possibility of tuning the exploration parameters to the image content trying to better approach the Human Visual System behavior. For this reason, we used "termites", instead of ants, to underline the idea of the eager exploration of the image. The paper presents the spatial characteristics of locality and discusses differences in path exploration with other Retinex implementations. Furthermore a psychophysical experiment has been carried out on eight images with 20 observers and results indicate that a termite swarm should investigate a particular region of an image to find the local reference white.
OEXP exploration studies technical report. Volume 3: Special reports, studies, and indepth systems assessments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, Barney B.; Bland, Dan

1988-01-01

The Office of Exploration (OEXP) at NASA has been tasked with defining and recommending alternatives for an early 1990's national decision on a focused program of manned exploration of the Solar System. The Mission analysis and System Engineering (MASE) group, which is managed by the Exploration Studies Office at the Johnson Space Center, is responsible for coordinating the technical studies necessary for accomplishing such a task. This technical report, produced by the MASE, describes the process used to conduct exploration studies and discusses the mission developed in a case study approach. The four case studies developed in FY88 include: (1) a manned expedition to PHOBOS; (2) a manned expedition to MARS; (3) a lunar surface observatory; and a lunar outpost to early Mars evolution. The final outcome of this effort is a set of programmatic and technical conclusions and recommendations for the following year's work.
On implementing clinical decision support: achieving scalability and maintainability by combining business rules and ontologies.

PubMed

Kashyap, Vipul; Morales, Alfredo; Hongsermeier, Tonya

2006-01-01

We present an approach and architecture for implementing scalable and maintainable clinical decision support at the Partners HealthCare System. The architecture integrates a business rules engine that executes declarative if-then rules stored in a rule-base referencing objects and methods in a business object model. The rules engine executes object methods by invoking services implemented on the clinical data repository. Specialized inferences that support classification of data and instances into classes are identified and an approach to implement these inferences using an OWL based ontology engine is presented. Alternative representations of these specialized inferences as if-then rules or OWL axioms are explored and their impact on the scalability and maintenance of the system is presented. Architectural alternatives for integration of clinical decision support functionality with the invoking application and the underlying clinical data repository; and their associated trade-offs are discussed and presented.
Rethinking cultural competence: insights from indigenous community treatment settings.

PubMed

Wendt, Dennis C; Gone, Joseph P

2012-04-01

Multicultural professional psychologists routinely assert that psychotherapeutic interventions require culturally competent delivery for ethnoracial minority clients to protect the distinctive cultural orientations of these clients. Dominant disciplinary conceptualizations of cultural competence are "kind of person" models that emphasize specialized awareness, knowledge, and skills on the part of the practitioner. Even within psychology, this approach to cultural competence is controversial owing to professional misgivings concerning its culturally essentialist assumptions. Unfortunately, alternative "process-oriented" models of cultural competence emphasize such generic aspects of therapeutic interaction that they remain in danger of losing sight of culture altogether. Thus, for cultural competence to persist as a meaningful construct, an alternative approach that avoids both essentialism and generalism must be recovered. One means to capture this alternative is to shift focus away from culturally competent therapists toward culturally commensurate therapies. Indigenous communities in North America represent interesting sites for exploring this shift, owing to widespread political commitments to Aboriginal cultural reclamation in the context of postcoloniality. Two examples from indigenous communities illustrate a continuum of cultural commensurability that ranges from global psychotherapeutic approaches at one end to local healing traditions at the other. Location of culturally integrative efforts by indigenous communities along this continuum illustrates the possibility for local, agentic, and intentional deconstructions and reconstructions of mental health interventions in a culturally hybrid fashion.
A Qualitative Exploration Into the Parent-Child Feeding Relationship: How Parents of Preschoolers Divide the Responsibilities of Feeding with Their Children.

PubMed

Loth, Katie A; Nogueira de Brito, Junia; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Fisher, Jennifer Orlet; Berge, Jerica M

2018-04-05

To explore the extent to which parents divide responsibilities of feeding (what, when, where, how much, and whether) with their children and the factors that influence parents' approach to feeding. Individual interviews. Parents (n = 40) of preschoolers. Division of feeding responsibilities; motivation for feeding approach; challenges to feeding. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded using deductive and inductive content analysis. Parent's approaches to feeding varied widely. A few parents followed the Division of Responsibility approach closely. Instead, many parents gave their child more than the recommended amount of influence over what foods were served and offered children less than the recommended amount of autonomy over the whether and how much of eating. Meals and snacks were approached differently; parents exhibited less control over the timing of snacks as well as the types and amounts of foods eaten during snacks, compared with the control exhibited during meals. This data supports future research to understand the impact of this framework on child health outcomes when it is adhered to on all eating occasions, including snacks. Researchers and clinicians should collaborate to explore alternative frameworks that encourage parents to provide the structure and autonomy support shown to yield positive outcomes in children. Copyright © 2018 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Alternative Strategies for Exploring Mars and the Moons of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drake, Bret G.; Baker, John D.; Hoffman, Stephen J.; Landau, Damon; Voels, Stephen A.

2012-01-01

The possible human exploration of Mars represents one of civilization s next major challenges and is an enterprise that would confirm the potential of humans to leave our home planet system and make our way outward into the cosmos. As exploration endeavors begin to set sights beyond low Earth orbit, potential exploration of the surface of Mars continues to serve as the horizon destination to help focus technology development and research efforts. Recent thoughts on exploration follow a flexible path approach beginning with missions that do not extend down into planetary gravity wells including surface exploration. Consistent with that flexible path strategy is the notion of exploring the moons of Mars, namely Phobos and Deimos, prior to exploring the surface. The premise behind this thought is that exploring Mars moons would be less costly and risky since these missions would avoid the difficulties associated with landing on the surface and subsequent ascent back to orbit. A complete assessment of this strategy has not been performed in the context of the flexible path approach and is needed to clearly understand all of the advantages and disadvantages. This paper examines the strategic implications of possible human exploration of the moons of Mars as a potential prelude to surface exploration. Various operational concepts for Phobos and Deimos exploration that include the infusion of different propulsion technologies are assessed in terms of mission duration, technologies required, overall risk and difficulty, and operational construct. Finally, the strategic implications of each concept are assessed to determine the overall key challenges and strategic links to other key flexible path destinations.
Alternative Strategies for Exploring Mars and the Moons of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drake, Bret G.; Baker, John D.; Hoffman, Stephen J.; Landau, Damon; Voels, Stephen A.

2012-01-01

The human exploration of Mars represents one of civilizations next major challenges and is an enterprise that would confirm the potential of humans to leave our home planet system and make our way outward into the cosmos. As exploration endeavors begin to set sights beyond low-Earth orbit, exploration of the surface of Mars continues to serve as the horizon destination to help focus technology development and research efforts. Recent thoughts on exploration follow a flexible path approach beginning with missions which do not extend down into planetary gravity wells including surface exploration. Consistent with that flexible path strategy is the notion of exploring the moons of Mars, namely Phobos and Deimos, prior to exploring the surface. The premise behind this thought is that exploring Mars moons would be less costly and risky since these missions would avoid the difficulties associated with landing on the surface and subsequent ascent back to orbit. A complete assessment of this strategy has not been performed in the context of the flexible path approach and is needed to clearly understand all of the advantages and disadvantages. This paper examines the strategic implications of human exploration of the moons of Mars as a potential prelude to surface exploration. Various operational concepts for Phobos and Deimos exploration that include the infusion of different propulsion technologies are assessed in terms of mission duration, technologies required, overall risk and difficulty, and operational construct. Finally, the strategic implications of each concept are assessed to determine the overall key challenges and strategic links to other key flexible path destinations.
Social networks and smoking: exploring the effects of peer influence and smoker popularity through simulations.

PubMed

Schaefer, David R; Adams, Jimi; Haas, Steven A

2013-10-01

Adolescent smoking and friendship networks are related in many ways that can amplify smoking prevalence. Understanding and developing interventions within such a complex system requires new analytic approaches. We draw on recent advances in dynamic network modeling to develop a technique that explores the implications of various intervention strategies targeted toward micro-level processes. Our approach begins by estimating a stochastic actor-based model using data from one school in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The model provides estimates of several factors predicting friendship ties and smoking behavior. We then use estimated model parameters to simulate the coevolution of friendship and smoking behavior under potential intervention scenarios. Namely, we manipulate the strength of peer influence on smoking and the popularity of smokers relative to nonsmokers. We measure how these manipulations affect smoking prevalence, smoking initiation, and smoking cessation. Results indicate that both peer influence and smoking-based popularity affect smoking behavior and that their joint effects are nonlinear. This study demonstrates how a simulation-based approach can be used to explore alternative scenarios that may be achievable through intervention efforts and offers new hypotheses about the association between friendship and smoking.
Social Networks and Smoking: Exploring the Effects of Influence and Smoker Popularity through Simulations

PubMed Central

Schaefer, David R.; adams, jimi; Haas, Steven A.

2015-01-01

Adolescent smoking and friendship networks are related in many ways that can amplify smoking prevalence. Understanding and developing interventions within such a complex system requires new analytic approaches. We draw upon recent advances in dynamic network modeling to develop a technique that explores the implications of various intervention strategies targeted toward micro-level processes. Our approach begins by estimating a stochastic actor-based model using data from one school in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The model provides estimates of several factors predicting friendship ties and smoking behavior. We then use estimated model parameters to simulate the co-evolution of friendship and smoking behavior under potential intervention scenarios. Namely, we manipulate the strength of peer influence on smoking and the popularity of smokers relative to nonsmokers. We measure how these manipulations affect smoking prevalence, smoking initiation, and smoking cessation. Results indicate that both peer influence and smoking-based popularity affect smoking behavior, and that their joint effects are nonlinear. This study demonstrates how a simulation-based approach can be used to explore alternative scenarios that may be achievable through intervention efforts and offers new hypotheses about the association between friendship and smoking. PMID:24084397
Harmonisation of animal testing alternatives in China.

PubMed

Cheng, Shujun; Qu, Xiaoting; Qin, Yao

2017-12-01

More and more countries are lining up to follow the EU's approach and implement a full ban on the sale of cosmetics that have been tested on animals, which has been the case in the EU since 2013. Besides animal welfare considerations, the need for mutual acceptance of data (MAD) and harmonisation of the global market have made the move toward non-animal testing a desirable general trend for countries worldwide. Over the last 10 years, the concept of alternative methods has been gradually developing in China. This has seen the harmonisation of relevant legislation, the organisation of various theoretical and hands-on training sessions, the exploration of method validation, the adoption of internationally recognised methods, the propagation of alternative testing standards, and an in-depth investigation into the potential use of in vitro methods in the biosciences. There are barriers to this progress, including the demand for a completely new infrastructure, the need to build technology capability, the requirement for a national standardisation system formed through international co-operation, and the lack of technical assistance to facilitate self-innovation. China is now increasing speed in harmonising its approach to the use of non-animal alternatives, accelerating technological development and attempting to incorporate non-animal, in vitro, testing methods into the national regulatory system.
Heutagogy: An alternative practice based learning approach.

PubMed

Bhoyrub, John; Hurley, John; Neilson, Gavin R; Ramsay, Mike; Smith, Margaret

2010-11-01

Education has explored and utilised multiple approaches in attempts to enhance the learning and teaching opportunities available to adult learners. Traditional pedagogy has been both directly and indirectly affected by andragogy and transformational learning, consequently widening our understandings and approaches toward view teaching and learning. Within the context of nurse education, a major challenge has been to effectively apply these educational approaches to the complex, unpredictable and challenging environment of practice based learning. While not offered as a panacea to such challenges, heutagogy is offered in this discussion paper as an emerging and potentially highly congruent educational framework to place around practice based learning. Being an emergent theory its known conceptual underpinnings and possible applications to nurse education need to be explored and theoretically applied. Through placing the adult learner at the foreground of grasping learning opportunities as they unpredictability emerge from a sometimes chaotic environment, heutagogy can be argued as offering the potential to minimise many of the well published difficulties of coordinating practice with faculty teaching and learning. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Investigating the Reading-to-Write Processes and Source Use of L2 Postgraduate Students in Real-Life Academic Tasks: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCulloch, Sharon

2013-01-01

Existing studies of source use in academic student writing tend to i), focus more on the writing than the reading end of the reading-to-write continuum and ii), involve the use of insufficiently "naturalistic" writing tasks. Thus, in order to explore the potential of an alternative approach, this paper describes an exploratory case study…
Renormalization of Einstein gravity through a derivative-dependent field redefinition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slovick, Brian

2018-01-01

This work explores an alternative solution to the problem of renormalizability in Einstein gravity. In the proposed approach, Einstein gravity is transformed into the renormalizable theory of four-derivative gravity by applying a local field redefinition containing an infinite number of higher derivatives. It is also shown that the current-current amplitude is invariant with the field redefinition, and thus the unitarity of Einstein gravity is preserved.
National Incomes Policy and Manpower Problems. Proceedings of the Annual Research Conference in Industrial Relations (14th, Los Angeles, California, March 16, 1971).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California Univ., Los Angeles. Inst. of Industrial Relations.

Two current economic dilemmas concern how to increase the supply of money without risking further inflation and how to influence wage-price decisions. The major purposes of the conference presented in this document were to define a national incomes policy, to explore alternative approaches to wage-price decisions, and to assess their implications…
iMindMap as an Innovative Tool in Teaching and Learning Accounting: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wan Jusoh, Wan Noor Hazlina; Ahmad, Suraya

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the use of iMindMap software as an interactive tool in the teaching and learning method and also to be able to consider iMindMap as an alternative instrument in achieving the ultimate learning outcome. Design/Methodology/Approach: Out of 268 students of the management accounting at the University of…
The major synthetic evolutionary transitions.

PubMed

Solé, Ricard

2016-08-19

Evolution is marked by well-defined events involving profound innovations that are known as 'major evolutionary transitions'. They involve the integration of autonomous elements into a new, higher-level organization whereby the former isolated units interact in novel ways, losing their original autonomy. All major transitions, which include the origin of life, cells, multicellular systems, societies or language (among other examples), took place millions of years ago. Are these transitions unique, rare events? Have they instead universal traits that make them almost inevitable when the right pieces are in place? Are there general laws of evolutionary innovation? In order to approach this problem under a novel perspective, we argue that a parallel class of evolutionary transitions can be explored involving the use of artificial evolutionary experiments where alternative paths to innovation can be explored. These 'synthetic' transitions include, for example, the artificial evolution of multicellular systems or the emergence of language in evolved communicating robots. These alternative scenarios could help us to understand the underlying laws that predate the rise of major innovations and the possibility for general laws of evolved complexity. Several key examples and theoretical approaches are summarized and future challenges are outlined.This article is part of the themed issue 'The major synthetic evolutionary transitions'. © 2016 The Author(s).

The major synthetic evolutionary transitions

PubMed Central

Solé, Ricard

2016-01-01

Evolution is marked by well-defined events involving profound innovations that are known as ‘major evolutionary transitions'. They involve the integration of autonomous elements into a new, higher-level organization whereby the former isolated units interact in novel ways, losing their original autonomy. All major transitions, which include the origin of life, cells, multicellular systems, societies or language (among other examples), took place millions of years ago. Are these transitions unique, rare events? Have they instead universal traits that make them almost inevitable when the right pieces are in place? Are there general laws of evolutionary innovation? In order to approach this problem under a novel perspective, we argue that a parallel class of evolutionary transitions can be explored involving the use of artificial evolutionary experiments where alternative paths to innovation can be explored. These ‘synthetic’ transitions include, for example, the artificial evolution of multicellular systems or the emergence of language in evolved communicating robots. These alternative scenarios could help us to understand the underlying laws that predate the rise of major innovations and the possibility for general laws of evolved complexity. Several key examples and theoretical approaches are summarized and future challenges are outlined. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The major synthetic evolutionary transitions’. PMID:27431528
Mission Architecture Comparison for Human Lunar Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Geffre, Jim; Robertson, Ed; Lenius, Jon

2006-01-01

The Vision for Space Exploration outlines a bold new national space exploration policy that holds as one of its primary objectives the extension of human presence outward into the Solar System, starting with a return to the Moon in preparation for the future exploration of Mars and beyond. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently engaged in several preliminary analysis efforts in order to develop the requirements necessary for implementing this objective in a manner that is both sustainable and affordable. Such analyses investigate various operational concepts, or mission architectures , by which humans can best travel to the lunar surface, live and work there for increasing lengths of time, and then return to Earth. This paper reports on a trade study conducted in support of NASA s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate investigating the relative merits of three alternative lunar mission architecture strategies. The three architectures use for reference a lunar exploration campaign consisting of multiple 90-day expeditions to the Moon s polar regions, a strategy which was selected for its high perceived scientific and operational value. The first architecture discussed incorporates the lunar orbit rendezvous approach employed by the Apollo lunar exploration program. This concept has been adapted from Apollo to meet the particular demands of a long-stay polar exploration campaign while assuring the safe return of crew to Earth. Lunar orbit rendezvous is also used as the baseline against which the other alternate concepts are measured. The first such alternative, libration point rendezvous, utilizes the unique characteristics of the cislunar libration point instead of a low altitude lunar parking orbit as a rendezvous and staging node. Finally, a mission strategy which does not incorporate rendezvous after the crew ascends from the Moon is also studied. In this mission strategy, the crew returns directly to Earth from the lunar surface, and is thus referred to as direct return. Figures of merit in the areas of safety and mission success, mission effectiveness, extensibility, and affordability are used to evaluate and compare the lunar orbit rendezvous, libration point rendezvous, and direct return architectures, and this paper summarizes the results of those assessments.
Studies into the nature of cosmic acceleration: Dark energy or a modification to gravity on cosmological scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dossett, Jason Nicholas

Since its discovery more than a decade ago, the problem of cosmic acceleration has become one of the largest in cosmology and physics as a whole. An unknown dark energy component of the universe is often invoked to explain this observation. Mathematically, this works because inserting a cosmic fluid with a negative equation of state into Einstein's equations provides an accelerated expansion. There are, however, alternative explanations for the observed cosmic acceleration. Perhaps the most promising of the alternatives is that, on the very largest cosmological scales, general relativity needs to be extended or a new, modified gravity theory must be used. Indeed, many modified gravity models are not only able to replicate the observed accelerated expansion without dark energy, but are also more compatible with a unified theory of physics. Thus it is the goal of this dissertation to develop and study robust tests that will be able to distinguish between these alternative theories of gravity and the need for a dark energy component of the universe. We will study multiple approaches using the growth history of large-scale structure in the universe as a way to accomplish this task. These approaches include studying what is known as the growth index parameter, a parameter that describes the logarithmic growth rate of structure in the universe, which describes the rate of formation of clusters and superclusters of galaxies over the entire age of the universe. We will explore the effectiveness of this parameter to distinguish between general relativity and modifications to gravity physics given realistic expectations of results from future experiments. Next, we will explore the modified growth formalism wherein deviations from the growth expected in general relativity are parameterized via changes to the growth equations, i.e. the perturbed Einstein's equations. We will also explore the impact of spatial curvature on these tests. Finally, we will study how dark energy with some unusual properties will affect the conclusiveness of these tests.
The incentives created by a harm reduction approach to smoking cessation: Snus and smoking in Sweden and Finland.

PubMed

Maki, Jennifer

2015-06-01

Tobacco harm reduction involves advocating the use of a less harmful alternative to smoking for those users who are unwilling or unable to quit. The net effect of such an approach is unclear as it may create opposing incentives. Although some smokers may substitute toward this less harmful alternative, it may reduce the incentive to quit by undermining public health efforts and may act as a gateway to smoking. This research paper aims to answer the question: Does the availability of a less harmful alternative to smoking lead to cessation? To explore the opposing incentives created by a harm reduction approach to smoking cessation, I focus on the role of snus, a popular smokeless tobacco product in Scandinavia that is widely used in Sweden. This paper exploits a quasi-natural experiment to examine the net effect resulting from these opposing incentives. While two Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Finland, joined the European Union (EU) in 1995, Finland was subject to a pre-existing EU ban on oral tobacco products while Sweden received an exemption. A difference in differences framework is used to estimate the change in the smoking rate in Finland due to the implementation of the ban. A secondary analysis uses Finnish smoking data to test for a structural break in trend. In the post-ban period, smoking was 3.47 percentage points higher in Finland relative to what it would have been in the absence of the ban. The availability of snus, a less harmful alternative to smoking, appears to have had a positive impact (reduction) on the smoking rate. Offering acceptable alternatives to cigarettes is critical in reducing smoking prevalence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Gauge symmetry and constraints structure for topologically massive AdS gravity: a symplectic viewpoint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez-Tzompantzi, Omar; Escalante, Alberto

2018-05-01

By applying the Faddeev-Jackiw symplectic approach we systematically show that both the local gauge symmetry and the constraint structure of topologically massive gravity with a cosmological constant Λ , elegantly encoded in the zero-modes of the symplectic matrix, can be identified. Thereafter, via a suitable partial gauge-fixing procedure, the time gauge, we calculate the quantization bracket structure (generalized Faddeev-Jackiw brackets) for the dynamic variables and confirm that the number of physical degrees of freedom is one. This approach provides an alternative to explore the dynamical content of massive gravity models.
The Structure of Temperament in Preschoolers: A Two-Stage Factor Analytic Approach

PubMed Central

Dyson, Margaret W.; Olino, Thomas M.; Durbin, C. Emily; Goldsmith, H. Hill; Klein, Daniel N.

2012-01-01

The structure of temperament traits in young children has been the subject of extensive debate, with separate models proposing different trait dimensions. This research has relied almost exclusively on parent-report measures. The present study used an alternative approach, a laboratory observational measure, to explore the structure of temperament in preschoolers. A 2-stage factor analytic approach, exploratory factor analyses (n = 274) followed by confirmatory factor analyses (n = 276), was used. We retrieved an adequately fitting model that consisted of 5 dimensions: Sociability, Positive Affect/Interest, Dysphoria, Fear/Inhibition, and Constraint versus Impulsivity. This solution overlaps with, but is also distinct from, the major models derived from parent-report measures. PMID:21859196
Options and Risk for Qualification of Electric Propulsion System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Michelle; Daniel, Charles; Cook, Steve (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Electric propulsion vehicle systems envelop a wide range of propulsion alternatives including solar and nuclear, which present unique circumstances for qualification. This paper will address the alternatives for qualification of electric propulsion spacecraft systems. The approach taken will be to address the considerations for qualification at the various levels of systems definition. Additionally, for each level of qualification the system level risk implications will be developed. Also, the paper will explore the implications of analysis verses test for various levels of systems definition, while retaining the objectives of a verification program. The limitations of terrestrial testing will be explored along with the risk and implications of orbital demonstration testing. The paper will seek to develop a template for structuring of a verification program based on cost, risk and value return. A successful verification program should establish controls and define objectives of the verification compliance program. Finally the paper will seek to address the political and programmatic factors, which may impact options for system verification.
Environmental economics of lignin derived transport fuels.

PubMed

Obydenkova, Svetlana V; Kouris, Panos D; Hensen, Emiel J M; Heeres, Hero J; Boot, Michael D

2017-11-01

This paper explores the environmental and economic aspects of fast pyrolytic conversion of lignin, obtained from 2G ethanol plants, to transport fuels for both the marine and automotive markets. Various scenarios are explored, pertaining to aggregation of lignin from several sites, alternative energy carries to replace lignin, transport modalities, and allocation methodology. The results highlight two critical factors that ultimately determine the economic and/or environmental fuel viability. The first factor, the logistics scheme, exhibited the disadvantage of the centralized approach, owing to prohibitively expensive transportation costs of the low energy-dense lignin. Life cycle analysis (LCA) displayed the second critical factor related to alternative energy carrier selection. Natural gas (NG) chosen over additional biomass boosts well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions (WTW GHG) to a level incompatible with the reduction targets set by the U.S. renewable fuel standard (RFS). Adversely, the process' economics revealed higher profits vs. fossil energy carrier. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Rapid Startup and Loading of an Attached Growth, Simultaneous Nitrification/Denitrification Membrane Aerated Bioreactor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyer, Caitlin; Vega, Leticia

2014-01-01

The Membrane Aerated Bioreactor (MABR) is an attached-growth biological system for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. This design is an innovative approach to common terrestrial wastewater treatments for nitrogen and carbon removal. Implementing a biologically-based water treatment system for long-duration human exploration is an attractive, low energy alternative to physiochemical processes. Two obstacles to implementing such a system are (1) the "start-up" duration from inoculation to steady-state operations and (2) the amount of surface area needed for the biological activity to occur. The Advanced Water Recovery Systems (AWRS) team at JSC explored these two issues through two tests; a rapid inoculation study and a wastewater loading study. Results from these tests demonstrate that the duration from inoculation to steady state can be reduced to two weeks and that the surface area to volume ratio baseline used in the Alternative Water Processor (AWP) test was higher than what was needed to remove the organic carbon and ammonium from the system.
Opening the Solar System: An Advanced Nuclear Spacecraft for Human Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Werka, R. O.; Percy, T. K.

2014-01-01

Human exploration of the solar system is limited by our technology, not our imagination. We dream of a time when we can freely travel among the planets and truly become a spacefaring people. However, the current state of our technology limits our options for architecting missions to other planets. Instead of sailing the seas of space in the way that we cruise the seas of Earth, our limited propulsion technology requires us to depart Earth on a giant cluster of gas tanks and return in a lifeboat. This inefficient approach to exploration is evident in many of today's leading mission plans for human flights to Mars, asteroids, and other destinations. The cost and complexity of this approach to mission architecting makes it extremely difficult to realize our dreams of exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This does not need to be the case. Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have been investigating the feasibility of a new take on nuclear propulsion with the performance to enable a paradigm shift in human space exploration. During the fall of 2013, engineers at MSFC's Advanced Concepts Office developed a spacecraft concept (pictured below) around this new propulsion technology and redefined the human Mars mission to show its full potential. This spacecraft, which can be launched with a fleet of soon-to-be available SLS launch vehicles, is fueled primarily with hydrogen, and is fully reusable with no staging required. The reusable nature of this design enables a host of alternative mission architectures that more closely resemble an ocean voyage than our current piecemeal approach to exploration.
An Interactive Multi-Model for Consensus on Climate Change

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

Kocarev, Ljupco

This project purports to develop a new scheme for forming consensus among alternative climate models, that give widely divergent projections as to the details of climate change, that is more intelligent than simply averaging the model outputs, or averaging with ex post facto weighting factors. The method under development effectively allows models to assimilate data from one another in run time with weights that are chosen in an adaptive training phase using 20th century data, so that the models synchronize with one another as well as with reality. An alternate approach that is being explored in parallel is the automatedmore » combination of equations from different models in an expert-system-like framework.« less
Quality metrics in high-dimensional data visualization: an overview and systematization.

PubMed

Bertini, Enrico; Tatu, Andrada; Keim, Daniel

2011-12-01

In this paper, we present a systematization of techniques that use quality metrics to help in the visual exploration of meaningful patterns in high-dimensional data. In a number of recent papers, different quality metrics are proposed to automate the demanding search through large spaces of alternative visualizations (e.g., alternative projections or ordering), allowing the user to concentrate on the most promising visualizations suggested by the quality metrics. Over the last decade, this approach has witnessed a remarkable development but few reflections exist on how these methods are related to each other and how the approach can be developed further. For this purpose, we provide an overview of approaches that use quality metrics in high-dimensional data visualization and propose a systematization based on a thorough literature review. We carefully analyze the papers and derive a set of factors for discriminating the quality metrics, visualization techniques, and the process itself. The process is described through a reworked version of the well-known information visualization pipeline. We demonstrate the usefulness of our model by applying it to several existing approaches that use quality metrics, and we provide reflections on implications of our model for future research. © 2010 IEEE
Performance-Based Financing to Strengthen the Health System in Benin: Challenging the Mainstream Approach

PubMed Central

Paul, Elisabeth; Lamine Dramé, Mohamed; Kashala, Jean-Pierre; Ekambi Ndema, Armand; Kounnou, Marcel; Codjovi Aïssan, Julien; Gyselinck, Karel

2018-01-01

Background: Performance-based financing (PBF) is often proposed as a way to improve health system performance. In Benin, PBF was launched in 2012 through a World Bank-supported project. The Belgian Development Agency (BTC) followed suit through a health system strengthening (HSS) project. This paper analyses and draws lessons from the experience of BTC-supported PBF alternative approach – especially with regards to institutional aspects, the role of demand-side actors, ownership, and cost-effectiveness – and explores the mechanisms at stake so as to better understand how the "PBF package" functions and produces effects Methods: An exploratory, theory-driven evaluation approach was adopted. Causal mechanisms through which PBF is hypothesised to impact on results were singled out and explored. This paper stems from the co-authors’ capitalisation of experiences; mixed methods were used to collect, triangulate and analyse information. Results are structured along Witter et al framework. Results: Influence of context is strong over PBF in Benin; the policy is donor-driven. BTC did not adopt the World Bank’s mainstream PBF model, but developed an alternative approach in line with its HSS support programme, which is grounded on existing domestic institutions. The main features of this approach are described (decentralised governance, peer review verification, counter-verification entrusted to health service users’ platforms), as well as its adaptive process. PBF has contributed to strengthen various aspects of the health system and led to modest progress in utilisation of health services, but noticeable improvements in healthcare quality. Three mechanisms explaining observed outcomes within the context are described: comprehensive HSS at district level; acting on health workers’ motivation through a complex package of incentives; and increased accountability by reinforcing dialogue with demand-side actors. Cost-effectiveness and sustainability issues are also discussed. Conclusion: BTC’s alternative PBF approach is both promising in terms of effects, ownership and sustainability, and less resource consuming. This experience testifies that PBF is not a uniform or rigid model, and opens the policy ground for recipient governments to put their own emphasis and priorities and design ad hoc models adapted to their context specificities. However, integrating PBF within the normal functioning of local health systems, in line with other reforms, is a big challenge. PMID:29325401
Desalination of Impaired Water Using Geothermal Energy

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

Turchi, Craig S; Akar, Sertac; Cath, Tzahi

Membrane distillation (MD) and nanofiltration (NF) are explored as a means to provide high quality water for on-site use at the Tuscarora geothermal power plant in northern Nevada. The plant uses a wet cooling tower, but decreasing flow from the wells providing makeup water necessitates exploration for alternative water or alternative cooling sources. Scenarios are explored to extend cooling water by (1) extracting fresh water from the geothermal brine, (2) upgrading the makeup-water quality to allow for increased cycles of concentration in the cooling tower, or (3) recovering water from the cooling tower blowdown. The preliminary cost analysis indicates thatmore » applying NF to extract water from the injection brine is the most attractive option of the scenarios examined. This approach may be useful for other plants as well. The estimated cost for the NF treatment of the injection brine ranges from $0.63/m3 to $0.45/m3 and provides a reduction in the current makeup well flows of 35% to 71%. Savings from the reduction in makeup well pumping and chemical treatment do not fully offset the estimated cost of the proposed treatment systems; the site will have to weigh the cost of these water treatment options versus alternatives in light of the diminishing flows from the existing cooling-water wells. Testing is planned to quantify the performance of the proposed NF and MD technologies and help refine the estimated system costs.« less
Web quality control for lectures: Supercourse and Amazon.com.

PubMed

Linkov, Faina; LaPorte, Ronald; Lovalekar, Mita; Dodani, Sunita

2005-12-01

Peer review has been at the corner stone of quality control of the biomedical journals in the past 300 years. With the emergency of the Internet, new models of quality control and peer review are emerging. However, such models are poorly investigated. We would argue that the popular system of quality control used in Amazon.com offers a way to ensure continuous quality improvement in the area of research communications on the Internet. Such system is providing an interesting alternative to the traditional peer review approaches used in the biomedical journals and challenges the traditional paradigms of scientific publishing. This idea is being explored in the context of Supercourse, a library of 2,350 prevention lectures, shared for free by faculty members from over 150 countries. Supercourse is successfully utilizing quality control approaches that are similar to Amazon.com model. Clearly, the existing approaches and emerging alternatives for quality control in scientific communications needs to be assessed scientifically. Rapid explosion of internet technologies could be leveraged to produce better, more cost effective systems for quality control in the biomedical publications and across all sciences.
Imbedded-Fracture Formulation of THMC Processes in Fractured Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeh, G. T.; Tsai, C. H.; Sung, R.

2016-12-01

Fractured media consist of porous materials and fracture networks. There exist four approaches to mathematically formulating THMC (Thermal-Hydrology-Mechanics-Chemistry) processes models in the system: (1) Equivalent Porous Media, (2) Dual Porosity or Dual Continuum, (3) Heterogeneous Media, and (4) Discrete Fracture Network. The first approach cannot explicitly explore the interactions between porous materials and fracture networks. The second approach introduces too many extra parameters (namely, exchange coefficients) between two media. The third approach may make the problems too stiff because the order of material heterogeneity may be too much. The fourth approach ignore the interaction between porous materials and fracture networks. This talk presents an alternative approach in which fracture networks are modeled with a lower dimension than the surrounding porous materials. Theoretical derivation of mathematical formulations will be given. An example will be illustrated to show the feasibility of this approach.
A method to evaluate utility for architectural comparisons for a campaign to explore the surface of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, Eric D.; Webb, Ryan R.; deWeck, Olivier L.

2016-11-01

There is a general consensus that Mars is the next high priority destination for human space exploration. There has been no lack of analysis and recommendations for human missions to Mars, including, for example, the NASA Design Reference Architectures and the Mars Direct proposal. These studies and others usually employ the traditional approach of selecting a baseline mission architecture and running individual trade studies. However, this can cause blind spots, as not all combinations are explored. An alternative approach is to holistically analyze the entire architectural trade-space such that all of the possible system interactions are identified and measured. In such a framework, an optimal design is sought by minimizing cost for maximal value. While cost is relatively easy to model for manned spaceflight, value is more difficult to define. In our efforts to develop a surface base architecture for the MIT Mars 2040 project, we explored several methods for quantifying value, including technology development benefits, challenge, and various metrics for measuring scientific return. We developed a science multi-score method that combines astrobiology and geologic research goals, which is weighted by the crew-member hours that can be used for scientific research rather than other activities.
Skyscape Archaeology: an emerging interdiscipline for archaeoastronomers and archaeologists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henty, Liz

2016-02-01

For historical reasons archaeoastronomy and archaeology differ in their approach to prehistoric monuments and this has created a divide between the disciplines which adopt seemingly incompatible methodologies. The reasons behind the impasse will be explored to show how these different approaches gave rise to their respective methods. Archaeology investigations tend to concentrate on single site analysis whereas archaeoastronomical surveys tend to be data driven from the examination of a large number of similar sets. A comparison will be made between traditional archaeoastronomical data gathering and an emerging methodology which looks at sites on a small scale and combines archaeology and astronomy. Silva's recent research in Portugal and this author's survey in Scotland have explored this methodology and termed it skyscape archaeology. This paper argues that this type of phenomenological skyscape archaeology offers an alternative to large scale statistical studies which analyse astronomical data obtained from a large number of superficially similar archaeological sites.
Exploration studies technical report, FY1988 status. Volume 1: Technical summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The Office of Exploration (OEXP) at NASA Headquarters has been tasked with defining and recommending alternatives for an early 1990's nationaL decision on a focused program of human exploration of the solar system. The Mission Analysis and System Engineering (MASE) group, which is managed by the Exploration Studies Office at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, is responsible for coordinating the technical studies necessary for accomplishing such a task. This technical report, produced by the MASE, describes the process that has been developed in a case study approach. The four case studies developed in FY88 include: (1) Human Expedition to Phobos; (2) Human Expedition to Mars; (3) Lunar Observatory; and (4) Lunar Outpost to Early Mars Evolution. The final outcome of this effort is a set of programmatic and technical conclusions and recommendations for the following year's work.
Alternating event processes during lifetimes: population dynamics and statistical inference.

PubMed

Shinohara, Russell T; Sun, Yifei; Wang, Mei-Cheng

2018-01-01

In the literature studying recurrent event data, a large amount of work has been focused on univariate recurrent event processes where the occurrence of each event is treated as a single point in time. There are many applications, however, in which univariate recurrent events are insufficient to characterize the feature of the process because patients experience nontrivial durations associated with each event. This results in an alternating event process where the disease status of a patient alternates between exacerbations and remissions. In this paper, we consider the dynamics of a chronic disease and its associated exacerbation-remission process over two time scales: calendar time and time-since-onset. In particular, over calendar time, we explore population dynamics and the relationship between incidence, prevalence and duration for such alternating event processes. We provide nonparametric estimation techniques for characteristic quantities of the process. In some settings, exacerbation processes are observed from an onset time until death; to account for the relationship between the survival and alternating event processes, nonparametric approaches are developed for estimating exacerbation process over lifetime. By understanding the population dynamics and within-process structure, the paper provide a new and general way to study alternating event processes.

How 'alternative' is CAM? Rethinking conventional dichotomies between biomedicine and complementary/alternative medicine.

PubMed

Ning, Ana M

2013-03-01

The aim of this article is to interrogate the pervasive dichotomization of 'conventional' and 'alternative' therapies in popular, academic and medical literature. Specifically, I rethink the concepts such as holism, vitalism, spirituality, natural healing and individual responsibility for health care as taken-for-granted alternative ideologies. I explore how these ideologies are not necessarily 'alternative', but integral to the practice of clinical medicine as well as socially and culturally dominant values, norms and practices related to health and health care in Canada and elsewhere. These reflections address both theoretical and applied concerns central to the study of integration of different medical practices in western industrialized nations such as Canada. Overall, in examining homologies present in both biomedicine and complementary/alternative medicine (CAM), this article rethinks major social practices against binary oppositions by illustrating through literature review that the biomedical and CAM models may be homologous in their original inceptions and in recent cross-fertilizations towards a rigorous approach in medicine. By highlighting biomedicine and CAM as homologous symbolic systems, this article also sheds light on the potential for enhancing dialogue between diverse perspectives to facilitate an integrative health care system that meets multiple consumer needs.
A Non-Conventional Interdiction Strategy for the Global War on Terror

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

thesis is to explore an alternative strategic focus for the Department of Defense to implement in the conduct of the Global War on Terrorism. Our...thesis is as follows: A non-conventional approach to strategic policy, led by an enhanced Foreign Internal Defense concept, and judicious execution of...been and continues to be limited by its conventional tactical successes, when what is required is strategic application of FID, UW, and limited
The Application of Computer-Assisted Instruction to the Training and Education of US Army Band Officers, Warrant Officers, Bandmasters, and Enlisted Bandpersons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkins, Colette Jousse

This paper is the result of a feasibility study on the implementation of computer-assisted-instruction (CAI) for the U.S. Army Bands. The study analyzes the state-of-the-art capabilities of CAI with regard to Army requirements. The contract for the study states: "The objective of this task is to explore and analyze alternate approaches to…
The role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Germany - a focus group study of GPs.

PubMed

Joos, Stefanie; Musselmann, Berthold; Miksch, Antje; Rosemann, Thomas; Szecsenyi, Joachim

2008-06-12

There has been a marked increase in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in recent years worldwide. In Germany, apart from 'Heilpraktiker' (= state-licensed, non-medical CAM practitioners), some general practitioners (GPs) provide CAM in their practices. This paper aims to explore the attitudes of GPs about the role of CAM in Germany, in relation to the healthcare system, quality of care, medical education and research. Furthermore, experiences of GPs integrating CAM in their daily practice were explored. Using a qualitative methodological approach 3 focus groups with a convenience sample of 17 GPs were conducted. The discussions were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The majority of the participating GPs had integrated one or more CAM therapies into their every-day practice. Four key themes were identified based on the topics covered in the focus groups: the role of CAM within the German healthcare system, quality of care, education and research. Within the theme 'role of CAM within the healthcare system' there were five categories: integration of CAM, CAM in the Statutory Health Insurance, modernisation of the Statutory Health Insurance Act, individual healthcare services and 'Heilpraktiker'. Regarding quality of care there were two broad groups of GPs: those who thought patients would benefit from standardizing CAM and those who feared that quality control would interfere with the individual approach of CAM. The main issues identified relating to research and education were the need for the development of alternative research strategies and the low quality of existing CAM education respectively. The majority of the participating GPs considered CAM as a reasonable complementary approach within primary care. The study increased our understanding of GPs attitudes about the role of CAM within the German healthcare system and the use of 'Heilpraktiker' as a competing CAM-provider. It seems to be a need for increased funding for research, better education and remuneration by the Statutory Health Insurance in order to improve access to 'Integrative medicine' in Germany.
Candidiasis: predisposing factors, prevention, diagnosis and alternative treatment.

PubMed

Martins, Natália; Ferreira, Isabel C F R; Barros, Lillian; Silva, Sónia; Henriques, Mariana

2014-06-01

Candidiasis is the most common opportunistic yeast infection. Candida species and other microorganisms are involved in this complicated fungal infection, but Candida albicans continues to be the most prevalent. In the past two decades, it has been observed an abnormal overgrowth in the gastrointestinal, urinary and respiratory tracts, not only in immunocompromised patients, but also related to nosocomial infections and even in healthy individuals. There is a widely variety of causal factors that contribute to yeast infection which means that candidiasis is a good example of a multifactorial syndrome. Due to rapid increase in the incidence in these infections, this is the subject of numerous studies. Recently, the focus of attention is the treatment and, above all, the prevention of those complications. The diagnosis of candidiasis could become quite complicated. Prevention is the most effective "treatment," much more than eradication of the yeast with antifungal agents. There are several aspects to consider in the daily routine that can provide a strength protection. However, a therapeutic approach is necessary when the infection is established, and therefore, other alternatives should be explored. This review provides an overview on predisposition factors, prevention and diagnosis of candidiasis, highlighting alternative approaches for candidiasis treatment.
Social impact evaluation : Some implications of the specific decisional context approach for anticipatory project assessment with special reference to available alternatives and to techniques of evaluating the social impacts of the anticipated effects of such alternatives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mayo, L. H.

1972-01-01

The implications are explored of the specific decision context approach to anticipatory project assessment. More specifically, it is hypothesized that with respect to any given effect of a proposed project or action (mobility, job opportunities, air pollution, population distribution, etc.) such effect will likely differ in probability and/or magnitude from one decisional context to another; that the social desirability or undesirability of a given effect is a function (will differ with) each specific decisional context; that therefore the social impact of such effect will in all likelihood differ with each specific decisional context; and that the social significance of even the dame social impact of a given effect will vary from one decisional context to another when such social impact interacts with (competes with or reinforces) the social impacts of other effects. It also follows from this analysis that the respective roles of scientific method (demonstrable data) and adversarial system will not only differ with each specific decisional context but with each alternative course of action available to the decisional entity in each specific context.
Humane Education in Brazil: Organisation, Challenges and Opportunities.

PubMed

Bachinski, Róber; Tréz, Thales; Alves, Gutemberg G; de C M Garcia, Rita; Oliveira, Simone T; da S Alonso, Luciano; Heck, Júlio X; Dias, Claudia M C; Costa Neto, João M; Rocha, Alexandro A; Ruiz, Valeska R R; Paixão, Rita L

2015-11-01

Humane education and the debate on alternatives to harmful animal use for training is a relatively recent issue in Brazil. While animal use in secondary education has been illegal since the late 1970s, animal use in higher science education is widespread. However, alternatives to animal experiments in research and testing have recently received attention from the Government, especially after the first legislation on animal experiments was passed, in 2008. This article proposes that higher science education should be based on a critical and humane approach. It outlines the recent establishment of the Brazilian Network for Humane Education (RedEH), as a result of the project, Mapping Animal Use for Undergraduate Education in Brazil, which was recognised by the 2014 Lush Prize. The network aims to create a platform to promote change in science education in Brazil, starting by quantitatively and qualitatively understanding animal use, developing new approaches adapted to the current needs in Brazil and Latin America, and communicating these initiatives nationally. This paper explores the trajectory of alternatives and replacement methods to harmful animal use in training and education, as well as the status of humane education in Brazil, from the point of view of educators and researchers engaged with the network.
Evaluation of occupational health interventions using a randomized controlled trial: challenges and alternative research designs.

PubMed

Schelvis, Roosmarijn M C; Oude Hengel, Karen M; Burdorf, Alex; Blatter, Birgitte M; Strijk, Jorien E; van der Beek, Allard J

2015-09-01

Occupational health researchers regularly conduct evaluative intervention research for which a randomized controlled trial (RCT) may not be the most appropriate design (eg, effects of policy measures, organizational interventions on work schedules). This article demonstrates the appropriateness of alternative designs for the evaluation of occupational health interventions, which permit causal inferences, formulated along two study design approaches: experimental (stepped-wedge) and observational (propensity scores, instrumental variables, multiple baseline design, interrupted time series, difference-in-difference, and regression discontinuity). For each design, the unique characteristics are presented including the advantages and disadvantages compared to the RCT, illustrated by empirical examples in occupational health. This overview shows that several appropriate alternatives for the RCT design are feasible and available, which may provide sufficiently strong evidence to guide decisions on implementation of interventions in workplaces. Researchers are encouraged to continue exploring these designs and thus contribute to evidence-based occupational health.
Potential Applications of Modularity to Enable a Deep Space Habitation Capability for Future Human Exploration Beyond Low-Earth Orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simon, Matthew A.; Toups, Larry; Smitherman, David

2012-01-01

Evaluating preliminary concepts of a Deep Space Habitat (DSH) enabling long duration crewed exploration of asteroids, the Moon, and Mars is a technically challenging problem. Sufficient habitat volumes and equipment, necessary to ensure crew health and functionality, increase propellant requirements and decrease launch flexibility to deliver multiple elements on a single launch vehicle; both of which increase overall mission cost. Applying modularity in the design of the habitat structures and subsystems can alleviate these difficulties by spreading the build-up of the overall habitation capability across several smaller parts. This allows for a more flexible habitation approach that accommodates various crew mission durations and levels of functionality. This paper provides a technical analysis of how various modular habitation approaches can impact the parametric design of a DSH with potential benefits in mass, packaging volume, and architectural flexibility. This includes a description of the desired long duration habitation capability, the definition of a baseline model for comparison, a small trade study to investigate alternatives, and commentary on potentially advantageous configurations to enable different levels of habitability. The approaches investigated include modular pressure vessel strategies, modular subsystems, and modular manufacturing approaches to habitat structure. The paper also comments upon the possibility of an integrated habitation strategy using modular components to create all short and long duration habitation elements required in the current exploration architectures.
An introduction to shuttle/LDEF retrieval operations: The R-bar approach option. [orbital mechanics and braking schedule

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, W. M.

1978-01-01

Simulated orbiter direct approaches during long duration exposure facility (LDEF) retrieval operations reveal that the resultant orbiter jet plume fields can significantly disturb LDEF. An alternate approach technique which utilizes orbital mechanics forces in lieu of jets to brake the final orbiter/LDEF relative motion during the final approach, is described. Topics discussed include: rendezvous operations from the terminal phase initiation burn through braking at some standoff distance from LDEF, pilot and copilot activities, the cockpit instrumentation employed, and a convenient coordinate frame for studying the relative motion between two orbiting bodies. The basic equations of motion for operating on the LDEF radius vector are introduced. Practical considerations of implementing an R-bar approach, namely, orbiter/LDEF relative state uncertainties and orbiter control system limitations are explored. A possible R-bar approach strategy is developed and demonstrated.
Nurses' beliefs, experiences and practice regarding complementary and alternative medicine in Taiwan.

PubMed

Smith, Graeme D; Wu, Shu-Chen

2012-09-01

To gain an insight into this issue, this study used a qualitative approach and aims to explore and describe nurses' beliefs, experiences and practice regarding complementary and alternative medicine in Taiwan. The integration of complementary and alternative medicine with conventional medicine has become more common worldwide in recent years. An increase in patient use and an expansion of nurses using complementary and alternative medicine has spawned further investigation. Most published studies have concentrated on the usage of complementary and alternative medicine in western societies and have focused principally on physicians' attitudes and practice patterns in this regard. Despite the large amount of time and the unique relationship that nurses share with their patients, little research has investigated the nurse's attitudes and practice regarding complementary and alternative medicine. Moreover, there has been no previous research into understanding this issue from the Taiwanese nursing perspective. A qualitative research design. By using an exploratory, descriptive, qualitative approach, data were collected from 11 registered nurses. The methods of the data collection were in-depth, semi-structured interviews, field notes and memos and the data were analysed using the constant comparative method. Three major categories emerged from the data; namely, a 'lack of clear definition', 'limited experience' and 'high interest' towards complementary and alternative medicine. These results suggest that the definition of complementary and alternative medicine is often unclear for nurses in Taiwan. Due to the organisational policies and personal knowledge base, very few nurses integrate complementary and alternative medicine into their daily practice. However, the nurses in Taiwan show a great desire to participate in complementary and alternative medicine continuing education programmes. This study is not only significant in filling the gap in the existing literature, but is also important in understanding this issue from the nurses' perspective, to offer a series of recommendations for policy, nursing education, nursing practice and suggestions for further research. This study highlights the importance of nursing attitude in the use of complementary and alternative medicine. Clinical nurses have the potential to provide appropriate information to their patients to ensure safe complementary and alternative medicine use. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Bridging the gap between regulatory acceptance and industry use of non-animal methods.

PubMed

Clippinger, Amy J; Hill, Erin; Curren, Rodger; Bishop, Patricia

2016-01-01

Collaboration between industry and regulators resulted in the development of a decision tree approach using in vitro or ex vivo assays to replace animal tests when determining the eye irritation potential of antimicrobial cleaning products (AMCPs) under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs' hazard classification and labeling system. A policy document issued by the EPA in 2013 and updated in 2015 describes the alternate testing framework that industry could apply to new registrations of AMCPs and, on a case-by-case basis, to conventional pesticide products. Despite the collaborative effort, the availability of relevant non-animal methods, and the EPA's change in policy, only a limited number of AMCPs have been registered using the framework. Companies continue to conduct animal tests when registering AMCPs due to various challenges surrounding adoption of the new testing framework; however, recent discussions between industry, regulators, and other interested parties have identified ways these challenges may be overcome. In this article we explore how use of the alternate framework could be expanded through efforts such as increasing international harmonization, more proactively publicizing the framework, and enhancing the training of regulatory reviewers. Not only can these strategies help to increase use of the EPA alternate eye irritation framework, they can also be applied to facilitate the uptake of other alternative approaches to animal testing in the future.
In-situ resource utilization for the human exploration of Mars : a Bayesian approach to valuation of precursor missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Jeffrey H.

2006-01-01

The need for sufficient quantities of oxygen, water, and fuel resources to support a crew on the surface of Mars presents a critical logistical issue of whether to transport such resources from Earth or manufacture them on Mars. An approach based on the classical Wildcat Drilling Problem of Bayesian decision theory was applied to the problem of finding water in order to compute the expected value of precursor mission sample information. An implicit (required) probability of finding water on Mars was derived from the value of sample information using the expected mass savings of alternative precursor missions.
Characterization and classification of oral tissues using excitation and emission matrix: a statistical modeling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanniyappan, Udayakumar; Gnanatheepaminstein, Einstein; Prakasarao, Aruna; Dornadula, Koteeswaran; Singaravelu, Ganesan

2017-02-01

Cancer is one of the most common human threats around the world and diagnosis based on optical spectroscopy especially fluorescence technique has been established as the standard approach among scientist to explore the biochemical and morphological changes in tissues. In this regard, the present work aims to extract spectral signatures of the various fluorophores present in oral tissues using parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). Subsequently, the statistical analysis also to be performed to show its diagnostic potential in distinguishing malignant, premalignant from normal oral tissues. Hence, the present study may lead to the possible and/or alternative tool for oral cancer diagnosis.
Classifying clinical decision making: a unifying approach.

PubMed

Buckingham, C D; Adams, A

2000-10-01

This is the first of two linked papers exploring decision making in nursing which integrate research evidence from different clinical and academic disciplines. Currently there are many decision-making theories, each with their own distinctive concepts and terminology, and there is a tendency for separate disciplines to view their own decision-making processes as unique. Identifying good nursing decisions and where improvements can be made is therefore problematic, and this can undermine clinical and organizational effectiveness, as well as nurses' professional status. Within the unifying framework of psychological classification, the overall aim of the two papers is to clarify and compare terms, concepts and processes identified in a diversity of decision-making theories, and to demonstrate their underlying similarities. It is argued that the range of explanations used across disciplines can usefully be re-conceptualized as classification behaviour. This paper explores problems arising from multiple theories of decision making being applied to separate clinical disciplines. Attention is given to detrimental effects on nursing practice within the context of multidisciplinary health-care organizations and the changing role of nurses. The different theories are outlined and difficulties in applying them to nursing decisions highlighted. An alternative approach based on a general model of classification is then presented in detail to introduce its terminology and the unifying framework for interpreting all types of decisions. The classification model is used to provide the context for relating alternative philosophical approaches and to define decision-making activities common to all clinical domains. This may benefit nurses by improving multidisciplinary collaboration and weakening clinical elitism.
Time series regression model for infectious disease and weather.

PubMed

Imai, Chisato; Armstrong, Ben; Chalabi, Zaid; Mangtani, Punam; Hashizume, Masahiro

2015-10-01

Time series regression has been developed and long used to evaluate the short-term associations of air pollution and weather with mortality or morbidity of non-infectious diseases. The application of the regression approaches from this tradition to infectious diseases, however, is less well explored and raises some new issues. We discuss and present potential solutions for five issues often arising in such analyses: changes in immune population, strong autocorrelations, a wide range of plausible lag structures and association patterns, seasonality adjustments, and large overdispersion. The potential approaches are illustrated with datasets of cholera cases and rainfall from Bangladesh and influenza and temperature in Tokyo. Though this article focuses on the application of the traditional time series regression to infectious diseases and weather factors, we also briefly introduce alternative approaches, including mathematical modeling, wavelet analysis, and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. Modifications proposed to standard time series regression practice include using sums of past cases as proxies for the immune population, and using the logarithm of lagged disease counts to control autocorrelation due to true contagion, both of which are motivated from "susceptible-infectious-recovered" (SIR) models. The complexity of lag structures and association patterns can often be informed by biological mechanisms and explored by using distributed lag non-linear models. For overdispersed models, alternative distribution models such as quasi-Poisson and negative binomial should be considered. Time series regression can be used to investigate dependence of infectious diseases on weather, but may need modifying to allow for features specific to this context. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Modeling Of In-Vehicle Human Exposure to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter

PubMed Central

Liu, Xiaozhen; Frey, H. Christopher

2012-01-01

A method for estimating in-vehicle PM2.5 exposure as part of a scenario-based population simulation model is developed and assessed. In existing models, such as the Stochastic Exposure and Dose Simulation model for Particulate Matter (SHEDS-PM), in-vehicle exposure is estimated using linear regression based on area-wide ambient PM2.5 concentration. An alternative modeling approach is explored based on estimation of near-road PM2.5 concentration and an in-vehicle mass balance. Near-road PM2.5 concentration is estimated using a dispersion model and fixed site monitor (FSM) data. In-vehicle concentration is estimated based on air exchange rate and filter efficiency. In-vehicle concentration varies with road type, traffic flow, windspeed, stability class, and ventilation. Average in-vehicle exposure is estimated to contribute 10 to 20 percent of average daily exposure. The contribution of in-vehicle exposure to total daily exposure can be higher for some individuals. Recommendations are made for updating exposure models and implementation of the alternative approach. PMID:23101000
Scripting MODFLOW model development using Python and FloPy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bakker, Mark; Post, Vincent E. A.; Langevin, Christian D.; Hughes, Joseph D.; White, Jeremy; Starn, Jeffrey; Fienen, Michael N.

2016-01-01

Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are commonly used to construct and postprocess numerical groundwater flow and transport models. Scripting model development with the programming language Python is presented here as an alternative approach. One advantage of Python is that there are many packages available to facilitate the model development process, including packages for plotting, array manipulation, optimization, and data analysis. For MODFLOW-based models, the FloPy package was developed by the authors to construct model input files, run the model, and read and plot simulation results. Use of Python with the available scientific packages and FloPy facilitates data exploration, alternative model evaluations, and model analyses that can be difficult to perform with GUIs. Furthermore, Python scripts are a complete, transparent, and repeatable record of the modeling process. The approach is introduced with a simple FloPy example to create and postprocess a MODFLOW model. A more complicated capture-fraction analysis with a real-world model is presented to demonstrate the types of analyses that can be performed using Python and FloPy.
Evaluation of Generation Alternation Models in Evolutionary Robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oiso, Masashi; Matsumura, Yoshiyuki; Yasuda, Toshiyuki; Ohkura, Kazuhiro

For efficient implementation of Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) to a desktop grid computing environment, we propose a new generation alternation model called Grid-Oriented-Deletion (GOD) based on comparison with the conventional techniques. In previous research, generation alternation models are generally evaluated by using test functions. However, their exploration performance on the real problems such as Evolutionary Robotics (ER) has not been made very clear yet. Therefore we investigate the relationship between the exploration performance of EA on an ER problem and its generation alternation model. We applied four generation alternation models to the Evolutionary Multi-Robotics (EMR), which is the package-pushing problem to investigate their exploration performance. The results show that GOD is more effective than the other conventional models.
42 CFR 456.371 - Exploration of alternative services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Exploration of alternative services. 456.371 Section 456.371 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... Facilities Medical, Psychological, and Social Evaluations and Admission Review § 456.371 Exploration of...

Timeless Configuration Space and the Emergence of Classical Behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomes, Henrique

2018-06-01

The inherent difficulty in talking about quantum decoherence in the context of quantum cosmology is that decoherence requires subsystems, and cosmology is the study of the whole Universe. Consistent histories gave a possible answer to this conundrum, by phrasing decoherence as loss of interference between alternative histories of closed systems. When one can apply Boolean logic to a set of histories, it is deemed `consistent'. However, the vast majority of the sets of histories that are merely consistent are blatantly nonclassical in other respects, and further constraints than just consistency need to be invoked. In this paper, I attempt to give an alternative answer to the issues faced by consistent histories, by exploring a timeless interpretation of quantum mechanics of closed systems. This is done solely in terms of path integrals in non-relativistic, timeless, configuration space. What prompts a fresh look at such foundational problems in this context is the advent of multiple gravitational models in which Lorentz symmetry is not fundamental, but only emergent. And what allows this approach to overcome previous barriers to a timeless, conditional probabilities interpretation of quantum mechanics is the new notion of records—made possible by an inherent asymmetry of configuration space. I outline and explore consequences of this approach for foundational issues of quantum mechanics, such as the natural emergence of the Born rule, conservation of probabilities, and the Sleeping Beauty paradox.
What Is the Difference between a Calorie and a Carbohydrate?--Exploring Nutrition Education Opportunities in Alternative School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norquest, Michele; Phelps, Josh; Hermann, Janice; Kennedy, Tay

2015-01-01

Extension-based nutrition educators have indicated current curricula do not engage alternative school students' interests. The study reported here explored nutrition education opportunities at alternative schools in Oklahoma. Data collection involved focus groups gathering student perspectives regarding preferred teaching and learning styles, and…
Exploring Dimensions of Social Inclusion among Alternative Learning Centres in the USA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Dawn X.; Barnes, Rachelle Redmond

2016-01-01

Increasing disparities in out-of-school suspension and dropout rates have led a number of school districts to develop alternative models of education to include alternative learning centres (ALCs). Using an exploratory mixed methods design, this study explores dimensions of social inclusion among ALCs, located in the southeastern region of the…
Children's views on microneedle use as an alternative to blood sampling for patient monitoring.

PubMed

Mooney, Karen; McElnay, James C; Donnelly, Ryan F

2014-10-01

To explore children's views on microneedle use for this population, particularly as an alternative approach to blood sampling, in monitoring applications, and so, examine the acceptability of this approach to children. Focus groups were conducted with children (aged 10-14 years) in a range of schools across Northern Ireland. Convenience sampling was employed, i.e. children involved in a university-directed community-outreach project (Pharmacists in Schools) were recruited. A total of 86 children participated in 13 focus groups across seven schools in Northern Ireland. A widespread disapproval for blood sampling was evident, with pain, blood and traditional needle visualisation particularly unpopular aspects. In general, microneedles had greater visual acceptability and caused less fear. A patch-based design enabled minimal patient awareness of the monitoring procedure, with personalised designs, e.g. cartoon themes, favoured. Children's concerns included possible allergy and potential inaccuracies with this novel approach; however, many had confidence in the judgement of healthcare professionals if deeming this technique appropriate. They considered paediatric patient education critical for acceptance of this new approach and called for an alternative name, without any reference to 'needles'. The findings presented here support the development of blood-free, minimally invasive techniques and provide an initial indication of microneedle acceptability in children, particularly for monitoring purposes. A proactive response to these unique insights should enable microneedle array design to better meet the needs of this end-user group. Further work in this area is recommended to ascertain the perspectives of a purposive sample of children with chronic conditions who require regular monitoring. © 2013 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Modular Approach to Launch Vehicle Design Based on a Common Core Element

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Creech, Dennis M.; Threet, Grady E., Jr.; Philips, Alan D.; Waters, Eric D.; Baysinger, Mike

2010-01-01

With a heavy lift launch vehicle as the centerpiece of our nation's next exploration architecture's infrastructure, the Advanced Concepts Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center initiated a study to examine the utilization of elements derived from a heavy lift launch vehicle for other potential launch vehicle applications. The premise of this study is to take a vehicle concept, which has been optimized for Lunar Exploration, and utilize the core stage with other existing or near existing stages and boosters to determine lift capabilities for alternative missions. This approach not only yields a vehicle matrix with a wide array of capabilities, but also produces an evolutionary pathway to a vehicle family based on a minimum development and production cost approach to a launch vehicle system architecture, instead of a purely performance driven approach. The upper stages and solid rocket booster selected for this study were chosen to reflect a cross-section of: modified existing assets in the form of a modified Delta IV upper stage and Castor-type boosters; potential near term launch vehicle component designs including an Ares I upper stage and 5-segment boosters; and longer lead vehicle components such as a Shuttle External Tank diameter upper stage. The results of this approach to a modular launch system are given in this paper.
Office of Exploration: Exploration studies technical report. Volume 2: Studies approach and results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, Barney B.; Bland, Dan

1988-01-01

The NASA Office of Exploration has been tasked with defining and recommending alternatives for an early 1990's national decision on a focused program of human exploration of the solar system. The Mission Analysis and System Engineering (MASE) group, which is managed by the Exploration Studies Office at the Johnson Space Center, is responsible for coordinating the technical studies necessary for accomplishing such a task. This technical report describes the process that has been developed in a case study approach. The four case studies that were developed in FY88 include: (1) human expedition to Phobos; (2) human expeditions to Mars; (3) lunar observatory; and (4) lunar outpost to early Mars evolution. The final outcome of this effort is a set of programmatic and technical conclusions and recommendations for the following year's work. Volume 2 describes the case study process, the technical results of each of the case studies, and opportunities for additional study. Included in the discussion of each case study is a description of the mission key features and profile. Mission definition and manifesting are detailed, followed by a description of the mission architecture and infrastructure. Systems concepts for the required orbital nodes, transportation systems, and planetary surface systems are discussed. Prerequisite implementation plans resulting from the synthesized case studies are described and in-depth assessments are presented.
Desired Precision in Multi-Objective Optimization: Epsilon Archiving or Rounding Objectives?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asadzadeh, M.; Sahraei, S.

2016-12-01

Multi-objective optimization (MO) aids in supporting the decision making process in water resources engineering and design problems. One of the main goals of solving a MO problem is to archive a set of solutions that is well-distributed across a wide range of all the design objectives. Modern MO algorithms use the epsilon dominance concept to define a mesh with pre-defined grid-cell size (often called epsilon) in the objective space and archive at most one solution at each grid-cell. Epsilon can be set to the desired precision level of each objective function to make sure that the difference between each pair of archived solutions is meaningful. This epsilon archiving process is computationally expensive in problems that have quick-to-evaluate objective functions. This research explores the applicability of a similar but computationally more efficient approach to respect the desired precision level of all objectives in the solution archiving process. In this alternative approach each objective function is rounded to the desired precision level before comparing any new solution to the set of archived solutions that already have rounded objective function values. This alternative solution archiving approach is compared to the epsilon archiving approach in terms of efficiency and quality of archived solutions for solving mathematical test problems and hydrologic model calibration problems.
On the analysis of very small samples of Gaussian repeated measurements: an alternative approach.

PubMed

Westgate, Philip M; Burchett, Woodrow W

2017-03-15

The analysis of very small samples of Gaussian repeated measurements can be challenging. First, due to a very small number of independent subjects contributing outcomes over time, statistical power can be quite small. Second, nuisance covariance parameters must be appropriately accounted for in the analysis in order to maintain the nominal test size. However, available statistical strategies that ensure valid statistical inference may lack power, whereas more powerful methods may have the potential for inflated test sizes. Therefore, we explore an alternative approach to the analysis of very small samples of Gaussian repeated measurements, with the goal of maintaining valid inference while also improving statistical power relative to other valid methods. This approach uses generalized estimating equations with a bias-corrected empirical covariance matrix that accounts for all small-sample aspects of nuisance correlation parameter estimation in order to maintain valid inference. Furthermore, the approach utilizes correlation selection strategies with the goal of choosing the working structure that will result in the greatest power. In our study, we show that when accurate modeling of the nuisance correlation structure impacts the efficiency of regression parameter estimation, this method can improve power relative to existing methods that yield valid inference. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A bi-population based scheme for an explicit exploration/exploitation trade-off in dynamic environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben-Romdhane, Hajer; Krichen, Saoussen; Alba, Enrique

2017-05-01

Optimisation in changing environments is a challenging research topic since many real-world problems are inherently dynamic. Inspired by the natural evolution process, evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are among the most successful and promising approaches that have addressed dynamic optimisation problems. However, managing the exploration/exploitation trade-off in EAs is still a prevalent issue, and this is due to the difficulties associated with the control and measurement of such a behaviour. The proposal of this paper is to achieve a balance between exploration and exploitation in an explicit manner. The idea is to use two equally sized populations: the first one performs exploration while the second one is responsible for exploitation. These tasks are alternated from one generation to the next one in a regular pattern, so as to obtain a balanced search engine. Besides, we reinforce the ability of our algorithm to quickly adapt after cnhanges by means of a memory of past solutions. Such a combination aims to restrain the premature convergence, to broaden the search area, and to speed up the optimisation. We show through computational experiments, and based on a series of dynamic problems and many performance measures, that our approach improves the performance of EAs and outperforms competing algorithms.
Veterinary professional associates: does the profession's foresight include a mid-tier professional similar to physician assistants?

PubMed

Kogan, Lori R; Stewart, Sherry M

2009-01-01

The projected shortage of veterinarians has created a need to explore alternatives designed to meet society's future demands. A veterinary professional health care provider, similar to the human medical profession's physician assistant (PA), is one such alternative. To explore this option, this paper provides background information on the development of PAs, including the motivations behind the initiative and the history of the role's development. Rather than aiming for a persuasive appeal, the authors have written this article with the intent of fostering discussion. It is suggested that perhaps veterinary professional associates, modeled after PAs, could be employed to handle routine veterinary care and thereby allow veterinarians additional time to focus on the more demanding and challenging aspects of veterinary medicine. Perhaps a team approach, similar to the physician/PA team, could help the field of veterinary medicine to better serve both clients and patients. As veterinary medicine directs its attention toward the new challenges on the horizon, creative solutions will be needed. Perhaps some variation of a veterinary professional associate is worthy of future discussion.
Revisiting Nuclear Thermal Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Percy, Thomas K.; Rodriguez, Mitchell

2017-01-01

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) has long been considered as a viable in-space transportation alternative for delivering crew and cargo to the Martian system. While technology development work in nuclear propulsion has continued over the year, general interest in NTP propulsion applications has historically been tied directly to the ebb and flow of interest in sending humans to explore Mars. As far back as the 1960’s, plans for NTP-based human Mars exploration have been proposed and periodically revisited having most recently been considered as part of NASA Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0. NASA has been investigating human Mars exploration strategies tied to its current Journey to Mars for the past few years however, NTP has only recently been added into the set of alternatives under consideration for in-space propulsion under the Mars Study Capability (MSC) team, formerly the Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) team. The original charter of the EMC was to find viable human Mars exploration approaches that relied heavily on technology investment work already underway, specifically related to the development of large Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) systems. The EMC team baselined several departures from traditional Mars exploration ground rules to enable these types of architectures. These ground rule changes included lower energy conjunction class trajectories with corresponding longer flight times, aggregation of mission elements in cis-Lunar space rather than Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and, in some cases, the pre-deployment of Earth return propulsion systems to Mars. As the MSC team continues to refine the in-space transportation trades, an NTP-based architecture that takes advantage of some of these ground rule departures is being introduced.
An Exploration of Inter-District Sharing Alternatives for Belle Plaine and HLV. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Scott A.

In an effort to address the costs incurred by declining enrollments while still maintaining quality education, 2 small Iowa school districts explored 84 sharing alternatives. The utility (fitness/usefullness) of each alternative was rated by the school board, school staff, and a community sample from each district via a specially constructed…
Integrating complementary therapies into health care education: a cautious approach.

PubMed

Richardson, J

2001-11-01

The movement of complementary therapy training and education into higher education in the United Kingdom (UK) and the interest in alternative therapeutic approaches within the health professions presents an ideal opportunity for multidisciplinary teaching and shared learning. The diversity and similarities of complementary therapies and areas of convergence with conventional healthcare practice can be explored. The recent publication of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology report on complementary and alternative medicine (HL Paper 123) provides a broader context for discussion and makes specific recommendations about regulation, education and research in the UK. This paper considers the appropriateness of integrating complementary therapies into education for conventional healthcare practitioners, what we should integrate, and when might be the most appropriate time in the education of healthcare practitioners to introduce different therapeutic modalities and their respective philosophical languages. Rather than present a range of solutions, the paper raises some fundamental issues that are central to the integration of complementary therapeutic approaches. If these issues are neglected as we hurry to incorporate different 'techniques' into our conventional practice, we may simply be left with additional tools that we are ill equipped to use.
Performance-Based Financing to Strengthen the Health System in Benin: Challenging the Mainstream Approach.

PubMed

Paul, Elisabeth; Lamine Dramé, Mohamed; Kashala, Jean-Pierre; Ekambi Ndema, Armand; Kounnou, Marcel; Codjovi Aïssan, Julien; Gyselinck, Karel

2017-04-15

Performance-based financing (PBF) is often proposed as a way to improve health system performance. In Benin, PBF was launched in 2012 through a World Bank-supported project. The Belgian Development Agency (BTC) followed suit through a health system strengthening (HSS) project. This paper analyses and draws lessons from the experience of BTC-supported PBF alternative approach - especially with regards to institutional aspects, the role of demand-side actors, ownership, and cost-effectiveness - and explores the mechanisms at stake so as to better understand how the "PBF package" functions and produces effects. An exploratory, theory-driven evaluation approach was adopted. Causal mechanisms through which PBF is hypothesised to impact on results were singled out and explored. This paper stems from the co-authors' capitalisation of experiences; mixed methods were used to collect, triangulate and analyse information. Results are structured along Witter et al framework. Influence of context is strong over PBF in Benin; the policy is donor-driven. BTC did not adopt the World Bank's mainstream PBF model, but developed an alternative approach in line with its HSS support programme, which is grounded on existing domestic institutions. The main features of this approach are described (decentralised governance, peer review verification, counter-verification entrusted to health service users' platforms), as well as its adaptive process. PBF has contributed to strengthen various aspects of the health system and led to modest progress in utilisation of health services, but noticeable improvements in healthcare quality. Three mechanisms explaining observed outcomes within the context are described: comprehensive HSS at district level; acting on health workers' motivation through a complex package of incentives; and increased accountability by reinforcing dialogue with demand-side actors. Cost-effectiveness and sustainability issues are also discussed. BTC's alternative PBF approach is both promising in terms of effects, ownership and sustainability, and less resource consuming. This experience testifies that PBF is not a uniform or rigid model, and opens the policy ground for recipient governments to put their own emphasis and priorities and design ad hoc models adapted to their context specificities. However, integrating PBF within the normal functioning of local health systems, in line with other reforms, is a big challenge. © 2018 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Enabling Venus In-Situ Science - Deployable Entry System Technology, Adaptive Deployable Entry and Placement Technology (ADEPT): A Technology Development Project funded by Game Changing Development Program of the Space Technology Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wercinski, Paul F.; Venkatapathy, Ethiraj; Gage, Peter J.; Yount, Bryan C.; Prabhu, Dinesh K.; Smith, Brandon; Arnold, James O.; Makino, alberto; Peterson, Keith Hoppe; Chinnapongse, Ronald I.

2012-01-01

Venus is one of the important planetary destinations for scientific exploration, but: The combination of extreme entry environment coupled with extreme surface conditions have made mission planning and proposal efforts very challenging. We present an alternate, game-changing approach (ADEPT) where a novel entry system architecture enables more benign entry conditions and this allows for greater flexibility and lower risk in mission design
Political impediments to a tobacco endgame

PubMed Central

Rabe, Barry George

2013-01-01

Any serious consideration of exploring a tobacco endgame in the USA must build upon the enviable track record of reducing tobacco use through a mixture of federal and state policies. This foundation may pose particular challenges in approaching an endgame, including questions of national political feasibility, public support, limitations of sub-federal experimentation and recruitment of future political champions. Advocates must demonstrate a compelling need for a dramatic expansion beyond existing efforts, amid competition from alternative issues and little apparent public appetite for such an initiative. PMID:23591512
Citizen's actions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The various ways in which energy may be conserved by individual citizens as consumers were explored. The following barriers against citizens implementing an effective conservation program were described: credibility gap between producers and consumers, consumptive lifestyles, inverted rate structure, low fuel costs, and initial costs compared to life cycle costs. The following indices for saving energy were identified: time to develop alternatives, scarcity of fuels, reduction of dependence on imports, and decreasing environmental pollution. The various approaches to encourage energy conservation by individuals were described, followed by specific conclusions and recommendations.
The Cognitive Academic Learning Approaches through E.S.L. Content Areas with Career Exploration Strategies Program for Bilingual High School Students in New York City. Project CALA, 1988-89. OREA Final Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berney, Tomi D.; And Others

Project CALA was a special alternative program at the International High School in Queens (New York City). In its first year, the project provided instructional and support services, emphasizing career education, to 171 high school students of limited English proficiency (LEP) who had lived in the United States for less than 4 years. The project…
Stories, skulls, and colonial collections.

PubMed

Roque, Ricardo

2011-01-01

The essay explores the hypothesis of colonial collecting processes involving the active addition of the colonial context and historical past to museum objects through the production of short stories. It examines the emergent historicity of collections through a focus on the "histories" that museum workers and colonial agents have been attaching to scientific collections of human skulls. Drawing on the notions of collection trajectory and historiographical work, it offers an alternative perspective from which to approach the creation of singular histories and individual archives for objects in collections.
Isomer effects on polyimide properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stump, B. L.

1978-01-01

Thermally stable polyimide polymers were prepared. Parameters explored include asymmetry of substitution, addition of alkyl substituents to an aromatic ring, and an increase in the number of aromatic rings present in the diamine monomer. It is shown that the use of an asymmetrical diamine in the preparation of a polyimide produces a polymer with a markedly lowered glass transition temperature. This is achieved with little or no sacrifice of thermal stability. An alternate approach taken was to prepare imide monomers which are capable of addition-type polymerization.

Use of a Spreadsheet to Calculate the Net Charge of Peptides and Proteins as a Function of pH: An Alternative to Using "Canned" Programs to Estimate the Isoelectric Point of These Important Biomolecules

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sims, Paul A.

2010-01-01

An approach is presented that utilizes a spreadsheet to allow students to explore different means of calculating and visualizing how the charge on peptides and proteins varies as a function of pH. In particular, the concept of isoelectric point is developed to allow students to compare the results of their spreadsheet calculations with those of…
The United States Remains Unprepared for Oil Import Disruptions. Volume II. Detailed Review of Current Emergency Programs and Alternative Approaches.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-29

limited to one tank of gas per week, while 40 percent could fill up twice. If gas stations were closed on Sundays, the percentages, respectively, would be...Mixing Gas and Coal in Existing Electric Facilities X-1 Establishing a Strategic Natural Gas Reserve X-2 Exploring the Possibility of Negotiating...Advisory Group LNG Liquefied Natural Gas MBD Thousand Barrels Per Day MER Maximum Efficient Rate of Production MMB Million Barrels MMBD Million Barrels
Multidimensional NMR approaches towards highly resolved, sensitive and high-throughput quantitative metabolomics.

PubMed

Marchand, Jérémy; Martineau, Estelle; Guitton, Yann; Dervilly-Pinel, Gaud; Giraudeau, Patrick

2017-02-01

Multi-dimensional NMR is an appealing approach for dealing with the challenging complexity of biological samples in metabolomics. This article describes how spectroscopists have recently challenged their imagination in order to make 2D NMR a powerful tool for quantitative metabolomics, based on innovative pulse sequences combined with meticulous analytical chemistry approaches. Clever time-saving strategies have also been explored to make 2D NMR a high-throughput tool for metabolomics, relying on alternative data acquisition schemes such as ultrafast NMR. Currently, much work is aimed at drastically boosting the NMR sensitivity thanks to hyperpolarisation techniques, which have been used in combination with fast acquisition methods and could greatly expand the application potential of NMR metabolomics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Plant trait detection with multi-scale spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamon, J. A.; Wang, R.

2017-12-01

Proximal and remote sensing using imaging spectrometry offers new opportunities for detecting plant traits, with benefits for phenotyping, productivity estimation, stress detection, and biodiversity studies. Using proximal and airborne spectrometry, we evaluated variation in plant optical properties at various spatial and spectral scales with the goal of identifying optimal scales for distinguishing plant traits related to photosynthetic function. Using directed approaches based on physiological vegetation indices, and statistical approaches based on spectral information content, we explored alternate ways of distinguishing plant traits with imaging spectrometry. With both leaf traits and canopy structure contributing to the signals, results exhibit a strong scale dependence. Our results demonstrate the benefits of multi-scale experimental approaches within a clear conceptual framework when applying remote sensing methods to plant trait detection for phenotyping, productivity, and biodiversity studies.
Cell Based Therapeutic Approach in Vascular Surgery: Application and Review

PubMed Central

Rocca, Aldo; Tafuri, Domenico; Paccone, Marianna; Giuliani, Antonio; Zamboli, Anna Ginevra Immacolata; Surfaro, Giuseppe; Paccone, Andrea; Compagna, Rita; Amato, Maurizo; Serra, Raffaele; Amato, Bruno

2017-01-01

Abstract Multipotent stem cells - such as mesenchymal stem/stromal cells and stem cells derived from different sources like vascular wall are intensely studied to try to rapidly translate their discovered features from bench to bedside. Vascular wall resident stem cells recruitment, differentiation, survival, proliferation, growth factor production, and signaling pathways transduced were analyzed. We studied biological properties of vascular resident stem cells and explored the relationship from several factors as Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) and regulations of biological, translational and clinical features of these cells. In this review we described a translational and clinical approach to Adult Vascular Wall Resident Multipotent Vascular Stem Cells (VW-SCs) and reported their involvement in alternative clinical approach as cells based therapy in vascular disease like arterial aneurysms or peripheral arterial obstructive disease. PMID:29071303
Implementing High-Performance Geometric Multigrid Solver with Naturally Grained Messages

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

Shan, Hongzhang; Williams, Samuel; Zheng, Yili

2015-10-26

Structured-grid linear solvers often require manually packing and unpacking of communication data to achieve high performance.Orchestrating this process efficiently is challenging, labor-intensive, and potentially error-prone.In this paper, we explore an alternative approach that communicates the data with naturally grained messagesizes without manual packing and unpacking. This approach is the distributed analogue of shared-memory programming, taking advantage of the global addressspace in PGAS languages to provide substantial programming ease. However, its performance may suffer from the large number of small messages. We investigate theruntime support required in the UPC ++ library for this naturally grained version to close the performance gapmore » between the two approaches and attain comparable performance at scale using the High-Performance Geometric Multgrid (HPGMG-FV) benchmark as a driver.« less
A multidimensional approach to food production decision making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, K. F.; Chhatre, A.; Chiarelli, D. D.; Fargione, J.; Rao, N.; Richter, B. D.; Singh, D.; DeFries, R. S.

2017-12-01

Humanity faces the grand challenge of feeding a growing, more affluent population in the coming decades while reducing the environmental burden of agriculture. Approaches that integrate food security and environmental goals offer promise for achieving a more sustainable global food system. Here we use the case of cereal production in India to explore a multidimensional framework intended to inform sustainable pathways in food security. We show that by placing greater emphasis on cereals alternative to rice and wheat (i.e., maize, millets, and sorghum) it is possible for the country to realize substantial water savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions, enhance the climate resilience of farmers, and address important nutrient deficiencies. By replacing rice areas in each district with the most consumed alternative cereals, we show that it is possible to reduce consumptive freshwater demand by 22%, improve the production of iron (+27%), zinc (+11%), and fiber (+31%), and maintain protein supply with only a modest reduction in calories (-9%). Replacing rice areas with the most locally produced alternative cereal or the cereal with the lowest water footprint yielded even greater benefits across all dimensions. These multiple benefits can be realized without cropland expansion and take into account the geographies of dietary preference and local knowledge on cultivation.
Navigation strategy training using virtual reality in six chronic stroke patients: A novel and explorative approach to the rehabilitation of navigation impairment.

PubMed

Claessen, Michiel H G; van der Ham, Ineke J M; Jagersma, Elbrich; Visser-Meily, Johanna M A

2016-10-01

Recent studies have shown that navigation impairment is a common complaint after brain injury. Effective training programmes aiming to improve navigation ability in neurological patients are, however, scarce. The few reported programmes are merely focused on recalling specific routes rather than encouraging brain-damaged patients to use an alternative navigation strategy, applicable to any route. Our aim was therefore to investigate the feasibility of a (virtual reality) navigation training as a tool to instruct chronic stroke patients to adopt an alternative navigation strategy. Navigation ability was systematically assessed before the training. The training approach was then determined based on the individual pattern of navigation deficits of each patient. The use of virtual reality in the navigation strategy training in six middle-aged stroke patients was found to be highly feasible. Furthermore, five patients learned to (partially) apply an alternative navigation strategy in the virtual environment, suggesting that navigation strategies are mouldable rather than static. In the evaluation of their training experiences, the patients judged the training as valuable and proposed some suggestions for further improvement. The notion that the navigation strategy people use can be influenced after a short training procedure is a novel finding and initiates a direction for future studies.
High-intensity interval exercise and cerebrovascular health: curiosity, cause, and consequence

PubMed Central

Lucas, Samuel J E; Cotter, James D; Brassard, Patrice; Bailey, Damian M

2015-01-01

Exercise is a uniquely effective and pluripotent medicine against several noncommunicable diseases of westernised lifestyles, including protection against neurodegenerative disorders. High-intensity interval exercise training (HIT) is emerging as an effective alternative to current health-related exercise guidelines. Compared with traditional moderate-intensity continuous exercise training, HIT confers equivalent if not indeed superior metabolic, cardiac, and systemic vascular adaptation. Consequently, HIT is being promoted as a more time-efficient and practical approach to optimize health thereby reducing the burden of disease associated with physical inactivity. However, no studies to date have examined the impact of HIT on the cerebrovasculature and corresponding implications for cognitive function. This review critiques the implications of HIT for cerebrovascular function, with a focus on the mechanisms and translational impact for patient health and well-being. It also introduces similarly novel interventions currently under investigation as alternative means of accelerating exercise-induced cerebrovascular adaptation. We highlight a need for studies of the mechanisms and thereby also the optimal dose-response strategies to guide exercise prescription, and for studies to explore alternative approaches to optimize exercise outcomes in brain-related health and disease prevention. From a clinical perspective, interventions that selectively target the aging brain have the potential to prevent stroke and associated neurovascular diseases. PMID:25833341
High-intensity interval exercise and cerebrovascular health: curiosity, cause, and consequence.

PubMed

Lucas, Samuel J E; Cotter, James D; Brassard, Patrice; Bailey, Damian M

2015-06-01

Exercise is a uniquely effective and pluripotent medicine against several noncommunicable diseases of westernised lifestyles, including protection against neurodegenerative disorders. High-intensity interval exercise training (HIT) is emerging as an effective alternative to current health-related exercise guidelines. Compared with traditional moderate-intensity continuous exercise training, HIT confers equivalent if not indeed superior metabolic, cardiac, and systemic vascular adaptation. Consequently, HIT is being promoted as a more time-efficient and practical approach to optimize health thereby reducing the burden of disease associated with physical inactivity. However, no studies to date have examined the impact of HIT on the cerebrovasculature and corresponding implications for cognitive function. This review critiques the implications of HIT for cerebrovascular function, with a focus on the mechanisms and translational impact for patient health and well-being. It also introduces similarly novel interventions currently under investigation as alternative means of accelerating exercise-induced cerebrovascular adaptation. We highlight a need for studies of the mechanisms and thereby also the optimal dose-response strategies to guide exercise prescription, and for studies to explore alternative approaches to optimize exercise outcomes in brain-related health and disease prevention. From a clinical perspective, interventions that selectively target the aging brain have the potential to prevent stroke and associated neurovascular diseases.
Multilayer apparent magnetization mapping approach and its application in mineral exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, L.; Meng, X.; Chen, Z.

2016-12-01

Apparent magnetization mapping is a technique to estimate magnetization distribution in the subsurface from the observed magnetic data. It has been applied for geologic mapping and mineral exploration for decades. Apparent magnetization mapping usually models the magnetic layer as a collection of vertical, juxtaposed prisms in both horizontal directions, whose top and bottom surfaces are assumed to be horizontal or variable-depth, and then inverts or deconvolves the magnetic anomalies in the space or frequency domain to determine the magnetization of each prism. The conventional mapping approaches usually assume that magnetic sources contain no remanent magnetization. However, such assumptions are not always valid in mineral exploration of metallic ores. In this case, the negligence of the remanence will result in large geologic deviation or the occurrence of negative magnetization. One alternate strategy is to transform the observed magnetic anomalies into some quantities that are insensitive or weakly sensitive to the remanence and then subsequently to perform inversion on these quantities, without needing any a priori information about remanent magnetization. Such kinds of quantities include the amplitude of the magnetic total field anomaly (AMA), and the normalized magnetic source strength (NSS). Here, we present a space-domain inversion approach for multilayer magnetization mapping based on the AMA for reducing effects of remanence. In the real world, magnetization usually varies vertically in the subsurface. If we use only one-layer model for mapping, the result is simply vertical superposition of different magnetization distributions. Hence, a multi-layer model for mapping would be a more realistic approach. We test the approach on the real data from a metallic deposit area in North China. The results demonstrated that our approach is feasible and produces considerable magnetization distribution from top layer to bottom layer in the subsurface.
Aligning for Innovation - Alignment Strategy to Drive Innovation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Hurel; Teltschik, David; Bussey, Horace, Jr.; Moy, James

2010-01-01

With the sudden need for innovation that will help the country achieve its long-term space exploration objectives, the question of whether NASA is aligned effectively to drive the innovation that it so desperately needs to take space exploration to the next level should be entertained. Authors such as Robert Kaplan and David North have noted that companies that use a formal system for implementing strategy consistently outperform their peers. They have outlined a six-stage management systems model for implementing strategy, which includes the aligning of the organization towards its objectives. This involves the alignment of the organization from the top down. This presentation will explore the impacts of existing U.S. industrial policy on technological innovation; assess the current NASA organizational alignment and its impacts on driving technological innovation; and finally suggest an alternative approach that may drive the innovation needed to take the world to the next level of space exploration, with NASA truly leading the way.
Comparison of Propulsion Options for Human Exploration of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drake, Bret G.; McGuire, Melissa L.; McCarty, Steven L.

2018-01-01

NASA continues to advance plans to extend human presence beyond low-Earth orbit leading to human exploration of Mars. The plans being laid out follow an incremental path, beginning with initial flight tests followed by deployment of a Deep Space Gateway (DSG) in cislunar space. This Gateway, will serve as the initial transportation node for departing and returning Mars spacecraft. Human exploration of Mars represents the next leap for humankind because it will require leaving Earth on a long mission with very limited return, rescue, or resupply capabilities. Although Mars missions are long, approaches and technologies are desired which can reduce the time that the crew is away from Earth. This paper builds off past analyses of NASA's exploration strategy by providing more detail on the performance of alternative in-space transportation options with an emphasis on reducing total mission duration. Key options discussed include advanced chemical, nuclear thermal, nuclear electric, solar electric, as well as an emerging hybrid propulsion system which utilizes a combination of both solar electric and chemical propulsion.
The Exploration Atmospheres Working Group's Report on Space Radiation Shielding Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barghouty, A. F.; Thibeault, S. A.

2006-01-01

This part of Exploration Atmospheres Working Group analyses focuses on the potential use of nonmetallic composites as the interior walls and structural elements exposed to the atmosphere of the spacecraft or habitat. The primary drive to consider nonmetallic, polymer-based composites as an alternative to aluminum structure is due to their superior radiation shielding properties. But as is shown in this analysis, these composites can also be made to combine superior mechanical properties with superior shielding properties. In addition, these composites can be made safe; i.e., with regard to flammability and toxicity, as well as "smart"; i.e., embedded with sensors for the continuous monitoring of material health and conditions. The analysis main conclusions are that (1) smart polymer-based composites are an enabling technology for safe and reliable exploration missions, and (2) an adaptive, synergetic systems approach is required to meet the missions requirements from structure, properties, and processes to crew health and protection for exploration missions.
An Exploration of Alternative Scoring Methods Using Curriculum-Based Measurement in Early Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Abigail A.; Poch, Apryl L.; Lembke, Erica S.

2018-01-01

This manuscript describes two empirical studies of alternative scoring procedures used with curriculum-based measurement in writing (CBM-W). Study 1 explored the technical adequacy of a trait-based rubric in first grade. Study 2 explored the technical adequacy of a trait-based rubric, production-dependent, and production-independent scores in…
The teaching-learning approach and critical thinking development: a qualitative exploration of Taiwanese nursing students.

PubMed

Lin, Chun-Chih; Han, Chin-Yen; Pan, I-Ju; Chen, Li-Chin

2015-01-01

Health care professionals are challenged by the complexities of the health care environment. This study uses a qualitative approach to explore how teaching strategy affects the development of critical thinking (CT) among Taiwanese baccalaureate-level nursing students. Data collected from 109 students' reflection reports were analyzed using content analysis. Three categories generated by the analysis were the teaching-learning strategy, enhancing CT, and transiting into a different learning style. The teaching-learning strategy consisted of concept mapping, question and answer, and real-life case studies. CT was enhanced alternately by self-directed learning, the realization of the gap between known and unknown, and connecting the gap between theoretical nursing knowledge and clinical practice. The study results emphasize participants' perceptions of becoming a critical thinker, turning into an active learner, and eventually achieving self-confidence. These learning effects invest the wisdom of teaching-learning with a far-reaching significance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
In silico optimization of a guava antimicrobial peptide enables combinatorial exploration for peptide design.

PubMed

Porto, William F; Irazazabal, Luz; Alves, Eliane S F; Ribeiro, Suzana M; Matos, Carolina O; Pires, Állan S; Fensterseifer, Isabel C M; Miranda, Vivian J; Haney, Evan F; Humblot, Vincent; Torres, Marcelo D T; Hancock, Robert E W; Liao, Luciano M; Ladram, Ali; Lu, Timothy K; de la Fuente-Nunez, Cesar; Franco, Octavio L

2018-04-16

Plants are extensively used in traditional medicine, and several plant antimicrobial peptides have been described as potential alternatives to conventional antibiotics. However, after more than four decades of research no plant antimicrobial peptide is currently used for treating bacterial infections, due to their length, post-translational modifications or high dose requirement for a therapeutic effect . Here we report the design of antimicrobial peptides derived from a guava glycine-rich peptide using a genetic algorithm. This approach yields guavanin peptides, arginine-rich α-helical peptides that possess an unusual hydrophobic counterpart mainly composed of tyrosine residues. Guavanin 2 is characterized as a prototype peptide in terms of structure and activity. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis indicates that the peptide adopts an α-helical structure in hydrophobic environments. Guavanin 2 is bactericidal at low concentrations, causing membrane disruption and triggering hyperpolarization. This computational approach for the exploration of natural products could be used to design effective peptide antibiotics.
A technical guide to tDCS, and related non-invasive brain stimulation tools

PubMed Central

Woods, AJ; Antal, A; Bikson, M; Boggio, PS; Brunoni, AR; Celnik, P; Cohen, LG; Fregni, F; Herrmann, CS; Kappenman, ES; Knotkova, H; Liebetanz, D; Miniussi, C; Miranda, PC; Paulus, W; Priori, A; Reato, D; Stagg, C; Wenderoth, N; Nitsche, MA

2015-01-01

Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), including transcranial direct and alternating current stimulation (tDCS, tACS) are non-invasive brain stimulation techniques increasingly used for modulation of central nervous system excitability in humans. Here we address methodological issues required for tES application. This review covers technical aspects of tES, as well as applications like exploration of brain physiology, modelling approaches, tES in cognitive neurosciences, and interventional approaches. It aims to help the reader to appropriately design and conduct studies involving these brain stimulation techniques, understand limitations and avoid shortcomings, which might hamper the scientific rigor and potential applications in the clinical domain. PMID:26652115
Defined contribution health care: future direction or fantasy?

PubMed

Ostuw, R

2000-01-01

Will payers embrace defined contribution plans as an alternative to traditional health insurance or is this new approach a pipe dream? Are consumers truly ready to make informed decisions on purchasing their own health care? This article explores barriers to defined contribution health plans, including consumer reluctance to take ownership of buying insurance and a preference for the cost predictability of liberal coverage in employer-sponsored programs versus MSAs or higher co-payment arrangements. For the ultimate form of defined contribution health care to work, several tax and insurance barriers must be overcome. As a practical matter, the author argues that the current employer-sponsored approach is the most efficient system for large employers.
Shock ignition: a new approach to high gain inertial confinement fusion on the national ignition facility.

PubMed

Perkins, L J; Betti, R; LaFortune, K N; Williams, W H

2009-07-24

Shock ignition, an alternative concept for igniting thermonuclear fuel, is explored as a new approach to high gain, inertial confinement fusion targets for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Results indicate thermonuclear yields of approximately 120-250 MJ may be possible with laser drive energies of 1-1.6 MJ, while gains of approximately 50 may still be achievable at only approximately 0.2 MJ drive energy. The scaling of NIF energy gain with laser energy is found to be G approximately 126E (MJ);{0.510}. This offers the potential for high-gain targets that may lead to smaller, more economic fusion power reactors and a cheaper fusion energy development path.

A multitasking behavioral control system for the Robotic All Terrain Lunar Exploration Rover (RATLER)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klarer, P.

1994-01-01

An alternative methodology for designing an autonomous navigation and control system is discussed. This generalized hybrid system is based on a less sequential and less anthropomorphic approach than that used in the more traditional artificial intelligence (AI) technique. The architecture is designed to allow both synchronous and asynchronous operations between various behavior modules. This is accomplished by intertask communications channels which implement each behavior module and each interconnection node as a stand-alone task. The proposed design architecture allows for construction of hybrid systems which employ both subsumption and traditional AI techniques as well as providing for a teleoperator's interface. Implementation of the architecture is planned for the prototype Robotic All Terrain Lunar Explorer Rover (RATLER) which is described briefly.
Political economy of the energy-groundwater nexus in India: exploring issues and assessing policy options

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shah, Tushaar; Giordano, Mark; Mukherji, Aditi

2012-08-01

Indian agriculture is trapped in a complex nexus of groundwater depletion and energy subsidies. This nexus is the product of past public policy choices that initially offered opportunities to India's small-holder-based irrigation economy but has now generated in its wake myriad economic, social, and environmental distortions. Conventional `getting-the-price-right' solutions to reduce these distortions have consistently been undermined by the invidious political economy that the nexus has created. The historical evolution of the nexus is outlined, the nature and scale of the distortions it has created are explored, and alternative approaches which Indian policy makers can use to limit, if not eliminate, the damaging impacts of the distortions, are analysed.
The Potential of the Imitation Game Method in Exploring Healthcare Professionals' Understanding of the Lived Experiences and Practical Challenges of Chronically Ill Patients.

PubMed

Wehrens, Rik

2015-09-01

This paper explores the potential and relevance of an innovative sociological research method known as the Imitation Game for research in health care. Whilst this method and its potential have until recently only been explored within sociology, there are many interesting and promising facets that may render this approach fruitful within the health care field, most notably to questions about the experiential knowledge or 'expertise' of chronically ill patients (and the extent to which different health care professionals are able to understand this experiential knowledge). The Imitation Game can be especially useful because it provides a way to map this experiential knowledge more systematically, without falling in the dual trap of either over-relying on in-depth, but highly specific phenomenological 'insider'-approaches that are hard to generalize, or, alternatively, problematically reducing the rich life-worlds of patients to a set of indicators in a questionnaire. The main focus of this paper is theoretical and conceptual: explaining the Imitation Game method, discussing its usefulness in the health care domain, and exploring the ways in which the approach can be utilized for chronic illness care. The paper presents both a conceptual and empirical exploration of how the Imitation Game method and its underlying theoretical concepts of 'contributory expertise' and 'interactional expertise' can be transferred from the sociological realm to the field of health care, what kinds of insights can be gained from the method, which methodological issues it may raise, and what potentially fruitful research routes can be explored. I argue that the Imitation Game can be thought of as a 'social learning experiment' that simultaneously enables the participants to learn from each other's perspectives, allows researchers to explore exciting new possibilities, and also offers the tools to intervene in the practice that is being studied.
Exploring sets of molecules from patents and relationships to other active compounds in chemical space networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunimoto, Ryo; Bajorath, Jürgen

2017-09-01

Patents from medicinal chemistry represent a rich source of novel compounds and activity data that appear only infrequently in the scientific literature. Moreover, patent information provides a primary focal point for drug discovery. Accordingly, text mining and image extraction approaches have become hot topics in patent analysis and repositories of patent data are being established. In this work, we have generated network representations using alternative similarity measures to systematically compare molecules from patents with other bioactive compounds, visualize similarity relationships, explore the chemical neighbourhood of patent molecules, and identify closely related compounds with different activities. The design of network representations that combine patent molecules and other bioactive compounds and view patent information in the context of current bioactive chemical space aids in the analysis of patents and further extends the use of molecular networks to explore structure-activity relationships.
Scalable metadata environments (MDE): artistically impelled immersive environments for large-scale data exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

West, Ruth G.; Margolis, Todd; Prudhomme, Andrew; Schulze, Jürgen P.; Mostafavi, Iman; Lewis, J. P.; Gossmann, Joachim; Singh, Rajvikram

2014-02-01

Scalable Metadata Environments (MDEs) are an artistic approach for designing immersive environments for large scale data exploration in which users interact with data by forming multiscale patterns that they alternatively disrupt and reform. Developed and prototyped as part of an art-science research collaboration, we define an MDE as a 4D virtual environment structured by quantitative and qualitative metadata describing multidimensional data collections. Entire data sets (e.g.10s of millions of records) can be visualized and sonified at multiple scales and at different levels of detail so they can be explored interactively in real-time within MDEs. They are designed to reflect similarities and differences in the underlying data or metadata such that patterns can be visually/aurally sorted in an exploratory fashion by an observer who is not familiar with the details of the mapping from data to visual, auditory or dynamic attributes. While many approaches for visual and auditory data mining exist, MDEs are distinct in that they utilize qualitative and quantitative data and metadata to construct multiple interrelated conceptual coordinate systems. These "regions" function as conceptual lattices for scalable auditory and visual representations within virtual environments computationally driven by multi-GPU CUDA-enabled fluid dyamics systems.
Questioning diagnoses in clinical practice: a thematic analysis of clinical psychologists' accounts of working beyond diagnosis in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Randall-James, James; Coles, Steven

2018-02-08

The British Psychological Society proposes that clinical psychologists are well placed to move beyond psychiatric diagnoses and develop alternative practices. This study sought to explore what the application of these guiding principles looks like in clinical practice, the challenges faced and possible routes forward. A purpose-designed survey was completed by 305 respondents and a thematic analysis completed. Thematic analysis was used to identify five superordinate themes relating to individuals, relational, others, structures and society, comprising of a total of 21 group themes. The presented group themes highlight an array of approaches to practicing beyond diagnosis and factors that help and hinder such action; from scaffolding change, becoming leaders, relating to the multi-disciplinary team, restructuring services and the processes of change. A key concept was "playing the diagnostic game". "Playing the diagnostic game" enables psychologists to manage an array of tensions and anxieties: conflicts between belief and practice, relationships with colleagues, and dilemmas of position and power. It also potentially limits a concerted questioning of diagnosis and consideration of alternatives. An alternative conceptual framework for non-diagnostic practice is needed to aid the collective efforts of clinical psychologists developing their practice beyond diagnosis, some of which have been highlighted in this study. Until then, ways of mitigating the perceived threats to questioning diagnosis need further exploration, theorising and backing.
Exploring the Use of Cost-Benefit Analysis to Compare Pharmaceutical Treatments for Menorrhagia.

PubMed

Sanghera, Sabina; Frew, Emma; Gupta, Janesh Kumar; Kai, Joe; Roberts, Tracy Elizabeth

2015-09-01

The extra-welfarist theoretical framework tends to focus on health-related quality of life, whilst the welfarist framework captures a wider notion of well-being. EQ-5D and SF-6D are commonly used to value outcomes in chronic conditions with episodic symptoms, such as heavy menstrual bleeding (clinically termed menorrhagia). Because of their narrow-health focus and the condition's periodic nature these measures may be unsuitable. A viable alternative measure is willingness to pay (WTP) from the welfarist framework. We explore the use of WTP in a preliminary cost-benefit analysis comparing pharmaceutical treatments for menorrhagia. A cost-benefit analysis was carried out based on an outcome of WTP. The analysis is based in the UK primary care setting over a 24-month time period, with a partial societal perspective. Ninety-nine women completed a WTP exercise from the ex-ante (pre-treatment/condition) perspective. Maximum average WTP values were elicited for two pharmaceutical treatments, levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) and oral treatment. Cost data were offset against WTP and the net present value derived for treatment. Qualitative information explaining the WTP values was also collected. Oral treatment was indicated to be the most cost-beneficial intervention costing £107 less than LNG-IUS and generating £7 more benefits. The mean incremental net present value for oral treatment compared with LNG-IUS was £113. The use of the WTP approach was acceptable as very few protests and non-responses were observed. The preliminary cost-benefit analysis results recommend oral treatment as the first-line treatment for menorrhagia. The WTP approach is a feasible alternative to the conventional EQ-5D/SF-6D approaches and offers advantages by capturing benefits beyond health, which is particularly relevant in menorrhagia.
Genetics and Molecular Biology of Hydrogen Metabolism in Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria

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

Wall, Judy D.

The degradation of our environment and the depletion of fossil fuels make the exploration of alternative fuels evermore imperative. Among the alternatives is biohydrogen which has high energy content by weight and produces only water when combusted. Considerable effort is being expended to develop photosynthetic systems -- algae, cyanobacteria, and anaerobic phototrophs -- for sustainable H 2 production. While promising, this approach also has hurdles such as the harvesting of light in densely pigmented cultures that requires costly constant mixing and large areas for exposure to sunlight. Little attention is given to fermentative H 2 generation. Thus understanding the microbialmore » pathways to H 2 evolution and metabolic processes competing for electrons is an essential foundation that may expand the variety of fuels that can be generated or provide alternative substrates for fine chemical production. We studied a widely found soil anaerobe of the class Deltaproteobacteria, a sulfate-reducing bacterium to determine the electron pathways used during the oxidation of substrates and the potential for hydrogen production.« less
The role of disease management in pay-for-performance programs for improving the care of chronically ill patients.

PubMed

Beich, Jeff; Scanlon, Dennis P; Ulbrecht, Jan; Ford, Eric W; Ibrahim, Ibrahim A

2006-02-01

To date, pay-for-performance programs targeting the care of persons with chronic conditions have primarily been directed at physicians and provide an alternative to health plan-sponsored chronic disease management (DM) programs. Both approaches require similar infrastructure, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages for program implementation. Pay-for-performance programs use incentives based on patient outcomes; however, an alternative system might incorporate measures of structure and process. Using a conceptual framework, the authors explore the variation in 50 diabetes DM programs using data from the 2002 National Business Coalition on Health's eValue8 Request for Information (RFI). The authors raise issues relevant to the assignment of accountability for patient outcomes to either health plans or physicians. They analyze the association between RFI scores measuring structures and processes, and HEDIS diabetes intermediate outcome measures. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of using the RFI scores as an alternative metric for pay-for-performance programs are discussed.
Integrating Multiple Approaches to Solving Solar Wind Turbulence Problems (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karimabadi, H.; Roytershteyn, V.

2013-12-01

The ultimate understanding of the solar wind turbulence must explain the physical process and their connection at all scales ranging from the largest down to electron kinetic scales. This is a daunting task and as a result a more piecemeal approach to the problem has been followed. For example, the role of each wave has been explored in isolation and in simulations with scales limited to those of the underlying waves. In this talk, we present several issues with this approach and offer an alternative with an eye towards more realistic simulations of solar wind turbulence. The main simulation techniques used have been MHD, Hall MHD, hybrid, fully kinetic, and gyrokinetic. We examine the limitations of each approach and their viability for studies of solar wind turbulence. Finally, the effect of initial conditions on the resulting turbulence and their comparison with solar wind are demonstrated through several kinetic simulations.
Stem cells as biological heart pacemakers.

PubMed

Gepstein, Lior

2005-12-01

Abnormalities in the pacemaker function of the heart or in cardiac impulse conduction may result in the appearance of a slow heart rate, traditionally requiring the implantation of a permanent electronic pacemaker. In recent years, a number of experimental approaches have been developed in an attempt to generate biological alternatives to implantable electronic devices. These strategies include, initially, a number of gene therapy approaches (aiming to manipulate the expression of ionic currents or their modulators and thereby convert quiescent cardiomyocytes into pacemaking cells) and, more recently, the use of cell therapy and tissue engineering. The latter approach explored the possibility of grafting pacemaking cells, either derived directly during the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells or engineered from mesenchymal stem cells, into the myocardium. This review will describe each of these approaches, focusing mainly on the stem cell strategies, their possible advantages and shortcomings, as well as the avenues required to make biological pacemaking a clinical reality.
Relationship between mediation analysis and the structured life course approach

PubMed Central

Howe, Laura D; Smith, Andrew D; Macdonald-Wallis, Corrie; Anderson, Emma L; Galobardes, Bruna; Lawlor, Debbie A; Ben-Shlomo, Yoav; Hardy, Rebecca; Cooper, Rachel; Tilling, Kate; Fraser, Abigail

2016-01-01

Abstract Many questions in life course epidemiology involve mediation and/or interaction because of the long latency period between exposures and outcomes. In this paper, we explore how mediation analysis (based on counterfactual theory and implemented using conventional regression approaches) links with a structured approach to selecting life course hypotheses. Using theory and simulated data, we show how the alternative life course hypotheses assessed in the structured life course approach correspond to different combinations of mediation and interaction parameters. For example, an early life critical period model corresponds to a direct effect of the early life exposure, but no indirect effect via the mediator and no interaction between the early life exposure and the mediator. We also compare these methods using an illustrative real-data example using data on parental occupational social class (early life exposure), own adult occupational social class (mediator) and physical capability (outcome). PMID:27681097
[Alternative approaches in thyroid surgery].

PubMed

Maurer, E; Wächter, S; Bartsch, D K

2017-08-01

In thyroid surgery multiple different cervical minimally invasive (partly endoscopically assisted) and extracervical endoscopic (partly robot-assisted) approaches have been developed in the last 20 years. The aim of all these alternative approaches to the thyroid gland is optimization of the cosmetic result. The indications for the use of alternative and conventional approaches are principally the same. Important requirements for the use of alternative methods are nevertheless a broad experience in conventional thyroid operations of the thyroid and adequate patient selection under consideration of the size of the thyroid and the underlying pathology. Contraindications for the use of alternative approaches are a large size of the thyroid gland including local symptoms, advanced carcinomas, reoperations and previous radiations of the anterior neck. The current article gives an overview of the clinically implemented alternative approaches for thyroid surgery. Of those the majority must still be considered as experimental. The alternative approaches to the thyroid gland can be divided in cervical minimally invasive, extracervical endosopic (robot-assisted) and transoral operations (natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, NOTES). Since conventional thyroid operations are standardized procedures with low complication rates, alternative approaches to the thyroid gland are considered critically in Germany. The request for a perfect cosmetic result should not overweigh patients' safety. Only a few alternative approaches (e. g. MIVAT, RAT) can yet be considered as a safe addition in experienced hands in highly selected patients.
Insect Phylogenomics: Exploring the Source of Incongruence Using New Transcriptomic Data

PubMed Central

Simon, Sabrina; Narechania, Apurva; DeSalle, Rob; Hadrys, Heike

2012-01-01

The evolution of the diverse insect lineages is one of the most fascinating issues in evolutionary biology. Despite extensive research in this area, the resolution of insect phylogeny especially of interordinal relationships has turned out to be still a great challenge. One of the challenges for insect systematics is the radiation of the polyneopteran lineages with several contradictory and/or unresolved relationships. Here, we provide the first transcriptomic data for three enigmatic polyneopteran orders (Dermaptera, Plecoptera, and Zoraptera) to clarify one of the most debated issues among higher insect systematics. We applied different approaches to generate 3 data sets comprising 78 species and 1,579 clusters of orthologous genes. Using these three matrices, we explored several key mechanistic problems of phylogenetic reconstruction including missing data, matrix selection, gene and taxa number/choice, and the biological function of the genes. Based on the first phylogenomic approach including these three ambiguous polyneopteran orders, we provide here conclusive support for monophyletic Polyneoptera, contesting the hypothesis of Zoraptera + Paraneoptera and Plecoptera + remaining Neoptera. In addition, we employ various approaches to evaluate data quality and highlight problematic nodes within the Insect Tree that still exist despite our phylogenomic approach. We further show how the support for these nodes or alternative hypotheses might depend on the taxon- and/or gene-sampling. PMID:23175716
Socio-economic Evaluation Of Different Alternatives For Flood Protection Within The Rivierenland-project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boot, S. P.; van Ast, J. A.

The Netherlands have a tradition of protecting land against flooding from the main rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt by means of an extensive system of dikes. In recent years, however, this approach to protection has been increasingly questioned with re- gard to its sustainability and cost-effectiveness. The argument is that although the continued elevation of dikes may be technically feasible, there are several disadvan- tages to this approach. Firstly, a vast network of dikes requires a very high degree of organisation of water management, in which mistakes can not be afforded. Such a high degree of organisation may not always be maintainable in the future, due to changed economic or political circumstances. Secondly, it may not be the most cost- effective system for maintaining safety in the long term. Thirdly, it may not be the most desirable approach in terms of sustainability. One of the alternatives to contin- ued dike-elevation is the concept 'room for the river' ('ruimte voor de rivier'), which aims to give more space to rivers in the horizontal in stead of the vertical dimen- sion. This approach would reduce the risk of flooding, defined as the product of the probability and the consequences of flooding. In order to explore the long term con- sequences of both alternatives ('dike elevation' and 'room for the river'), the ministry of Verkeer en Waterstaat (Public Works, Transport and Water Management) started the 'Rivierenland'-project. The comparison of the alternatives mentioned was based on a fictitious project to adjust a region of The Netherlands, between the rivers Rhine and Meuse, to the concept of 'room for water'. The consequence of this adjustment would be that safety within that region would no longer be safeguarded by dikes, but by adjusting daily life to the 'demands of the water'. Part of the 'Rivierenland'-project was an analysis of the socio-economic costs and benefits of the alternative approaches. Within this analysis, a study was performed to identify the requirements an economic evaluation of the project-alternatives would have to meet to do justice to the specific characteristics of the project. These specific characteristics were its mere size (both in spatial and in financial terms), the duration and complexity of the decision-making process, and uncertainty about the effects of the alternatives. Requirements for the method to be used were an integrated analysis of the effects and the taking into account of both the short and the long term effects (over a hundred years) of the alternatives. As a result of these characteristics and requirements, the decision-making process in- volves considerations of intra- and intergenerational equity, the discount factor to be used, transparency of the decision-making process to the public and the possibility to adapt the results of the economic evaluation to changing insights and opinions.
Rational engineering of the Neurospora VS ribozyme to allow substrate recognition via different kissing-loop interactions.

PubMed

Lacroix-Labonté, Julie; Girard, Nicolas; Dagenais, Pierre; Legault, Pascale

2016-08-19

The Neurospora VS ribozyme is a catalytic RNA that has the unique ability to specifically recognize and cleave a stem-loop substrate through formation of a highly stable kissing-loop interaction (KLI). In order to explore the engineering potential of the VS ribozyme to cleave alternate substrates, we substituted the wild-type KLI by other known KLIs using an innovative engineering method that combines rational and combinatorial approaches. A bioinformatic search of the protein data bank was initially performed to identify KLIs that are structurally similar to the one found in the VS ribozyme. Next, substrate/ribozyme (S/R) pairs that incorporate these alternative KLIs were kinetically and structurally characterized. Interestingly, several of the resulting S/R pairs allowed substrate cleavage with substantial catalytic efficiency, although with reduced activity compared to the reference S/R pair. Overall, this study describes an innovative approach for RNA engineering and establishes that the KLI of the trans VS ribozyme can be adapted to cleave other folded RNA substrates. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.
Scripting MODFLOW Model Development Using Python and FloPy.

PubMed

Bakker, M; Post, V; Langevin, C D; Hughes, J D; White, J T; Starn, J J; Fienen, M N

2016-09-01

Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are commonly used to construct and postprocess numerical groundwater flow and transport models. Scripting model development with the programming language Python is presented here as an alternative approach. One advantage of Python is that there are many packages available to facilitate the model development process, including packages for plotting, array manipulation, optimization, and data analysis. For MODFLOW-based models, the FloPy package was developed by the authors to construct model input files, run the model, and read and plot simulation results. Use of Python with the available scientific packages and FloPy facilitates data exploration, alternative model evaluations, and model analyses that can be difficult to perform with GUIs. Furthermore, Python scripts are a complete, transparent, and repeatable record of the modeling process. The approach is introduced with a simple FloPy example to create and postprocess a MODFLOW model. A more complicated capture-fraction analysis with a real-world model is presented to demonstrate the types of analyses that can be performed using Python and FloPy. © 2016, National Ground Water Association.
Integrative intervention: a new perspective and brief review in aphasia.

PubMed

Marshall, Rebecca Shisler; Mohapatra, Bijoyaa

2017-09-01

While integrative treatment practices have become a popular treatment in different areas of study, its use in the field of aphasiology is still limited. The following paper is an attempt to address the different alternative practices that could potentially be used to remediate aphasia. A narrative review was completed regarding integrative intervention that could potentially apply to aphasia population. Through this article we have explored various treatment options for integrative health care in aphasiology. Integrative treatments including brain specific antioxidants, progesterone and estradiol therapy, nutrition, synbiotic treatment, exercise, yoga, meditation and positive mood states have demonstrated positive changes in health and behavior in healthy aging or disorders such as stroke and aphasia. Offering integrative treatment for people with aphasia allows potential for high impact gains when combined with current speech language therapeutic practices. This paper highlights the rehabilitation possibilities for aphasia therapy. Combining complementary and traditional treatment approaches could be viewed as one of the contemporary approaches to clinical practice and research for practitioners and health care systems. Implications for Rehabilitation There has been very little research that explores the potential of various types of integrative treatment for individuals with aphasia. An integrative approach to the treatment of aphasia has potential for future clinical application. Combining treatment approaches could be viewed as a viable approach to clinical practice and in the health care system.
GWIPS‐viz as a tool for exploring ribosome profiling evidence supporting the synthesis of alternative proteoforms

PubMed Central

Michel, Audrey M.; Ahern, Anna M.; Donohue, Claire A.

2015-01-01

The boundaries of protein coding sequences are more difficult to define at the 5′ end than at the 3′ end due to potential multiple translation initiation sites (TISs). Even in the presence of phylogenetic data, the use of sequence information only may not be sufficient for the accurate identification of TISs. Traditional proteomics approaches may also fail because the N‐termini of newly synthesized proteins are often processed. Thus ribosome profiling (ribo‐seq), producing a snapshot of the ribosome distribution across the entire transcriptome, is an attractive experimental technique for the purpose of TIS location exploration. The GWIPS‐viz (Genome Wide Information on Protein Synthesis visualized) browser (http://gwips.ucc.ie) provides free access to the genomic alignments of ribo‐seq data and corresponding mRNA‐seq data along with relevant annotation tracks. In this brief, we illustrate how GWIPS‐viz can be used to explore the ribosome occupancy at the 5′ ends of protein coding genes to assess the activity of AUG and non‐AUG TISs responsible for the synthesis of proteoforms with alternative or heterogeneous N‐termini. The presence of ribo‐seq tracks for various organisms allows for cross‐species comparison of orthologous genes and the availability of datasets from multiple laboratories permits the assessment of the technical reproducibility of the ribosome densities. PMID:25736862
Alternative face models for 3D face registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salah, Albert Ali; Alyüz, Neşe; Akarun, Lale

2007-01-01

3D has become an important modality for face biometrics. The accuracy of a 3D face recognition system depends on a correct registration that aligns the facial surfaces and makes a comparison possible. The best results obtained so far use a one-to-all registration approach, which means each new facial surface is registered to all faces in the gallery, at a great computational cost. We explore the approach of registering the new facial surface to an average face model (AFM), which automatically establishes correspondence to the pre-registered gallery faces. Going one step further, we propose that using a couple of well-selected AFMs can trade-off computation time with accuracy. Drawing on cognitive justifications, we propose to employ category-specific alternative average face models for registration, which is shown to increase the accuracy of the subsequent recognition. We inspect thin-plate spline (TPS) and iterative closest point (ICP) based registration schemes under realistic assumptions on manual or automatic landmark detection prior to registration. We evaluate several approaches for the coarse initialization of ICP. We propose a new algorithm for constructing an AFM, and show that it works better than a recent approach. Finally, we perform simulations with multiple AFMs that correspond to different clusters in the face shape space and compare these with gender and morphology based groupings. We report our results on the FRGC 3D face database.

Sexual challenges with aging: integrating the GES approach in an elderly couple.

PubMed

McCarthy, Barry; Pierpaoli, Christina

2015-01-01

An advantage of sexuality after 60 years of age is the increased need for couple involvement to promote desire, pleasure, eroticism, and satisfaction inherent to the healthy aging process. This case study clinically explores the complex psychobiosocial interactions for understanding, assessing, and treating sexual problems for couples age 60 years and older, emphasizing the Good Enough Sex approach of variable, flexible, and shared sexual pleasure. Aging couples are discouraged from appraising their sexual experiences within the parameters of the pass/fail binary of the traditional individual performance model and are instead encouraged to embrace the evolving elasticity of their sexual experiences. The Good Enough Sex model espouses an approachable and satisfying alternative for the promotion of sexual function and satisfaction throughout the life span, with particular interest in late adulthood sexual health.
An evaluation of some alternative approaches for reducing fan tone noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dittmar, James H.; Woodward, Richard P.

1992-02-01

The potential of two alternative approaches for reducing fan ton noise was investigated in this study. One of these approaches increases the number of rotor blades to shift the tone noise to higher frequencies that are not rated as strongly by the perceived noise scale. This alternative fan also would have a small number of long chord stator vanes which would reduce the stator response and lower rotor-stator interaction noise. Comparison of the conventional and alternative fan concepts showed that this alternative approach has as large or larger a perceived tone noise reduction potential as the conventional approach. The other alternative, a high Mach number inlet, is evaluated both for its noise attenuation and for its change in noise directivity.
Transboundary water conflict resolution mechanisms: toward convergence between theory and practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tayia, Ahmed; Madani, Kaveh

2016-04-01

Transboundary waters are expected be one of the biggest challenges for human development over the next decades. The growing global water scarcity and interdependence among water-sharing countries have created tensions over shared water resources around the world. Therefore, interest in studying transboundary water conflict resolution has grown over the last decades. This research focuses on transboundary water resources conflict resolution mechanisms. A more a specific concern is to explore the mechanisms of allocating of transboundary water resources among riparian states. The literature of transboundary water resources conflict has brought various approaches for allocating of transboundary water resources among riparian countries. Some of these approaches have focused on the negotiation process, such the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Other approaches have analysed the economic dimension of transboundary water disputes, in an attempt to identify optimal economic criteria for water allocation, such as the "social planner" approach and the "water market" approach. A more comprehensive approach has been provided by game theory that has brought together the economic and political dimensions of the water dispute management. The study attempts to provide a map for the relation between theory and practice in the field of transboundary water conflict resolution. Therefore, it explores the approaches that have been used to analyse real transboundary water disputes management. Moreover, it examines the approaches that have been suggested in literature as mechanisms of transboundary water conflict resolution. Finally, it identifies the techniques that have been used in practice to solve transboundary water conflicts and attempts to evaluate the sustainability of the resulting regulatory institutional arrangements.
Comparative SIFT-MS, GC-MS and FTIR analysis of methane fuel produced in biogas stations and in artificial photosynthesis over acidic anatase TiO2 and montmorillonite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knížek, Antonín; Dryahina, Ksenyia; Španěl, Patrik; Kubelík, Petr; Kavan, Ladislav; Zukalová, Markéta; Ferus, Martin; Civiš, Svatopluk

2018-06-01

The era of fossil fuels is slowly nearing its inevitable end and the urgency of alternative energy sources basic research, exploration and testing becomes ever more important. Storage and alternative production of energy from fuels, such as methane, represents one of the many alternative approaches. Natural gas containing methane represents a powerful source of energy producing large volume of greenhouse gases. However, methane can be also produced in closed, CO2-neutral cycles. In our study, we compare detailed chemical composition of CH4 fuel produced in two different processes: Classical production of biogas in a rendering station, industrial wastewater treatment station and landfill gas station together with novel approach of artificial photosynthesis from CO2 over acidic anatase TiO2 in experimental apparatus developed in our laboratory. The analysis of CH4 fuel produced in these processes is important. Trace gaseous traces can be for example corrosive or toxic, low quality of the mixture suppresses effectivity of energy production, etc. In this analysis, we present a combination of two methods: High resolution Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (HR-FTIR) suitable for the main component analysis; and the complementary extremely sensitive method of Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) and gas chromatography (GC-MS), which are in turn best suited for trace analysis. The combination of these methods provides more information than any single of them would be able to and promises a new possible analytical approach to fuel and gaseous mixture analysis.
Priority of a Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Preference Relation with a Normal Distribution in Meteorological Disaster Risk Assessment.

PubMed

Wang, Lihong; Gong, Zaiwu

2017-10-10

As meteorological disaster systems are large complex systems, disaster reduction programs must be based on risk analysis. Consequently, judgment by an expert based on his or her experience (also known as qualitative evaluation) is an important link in meteorological disaster risk assessment. In some complex and non-procedural meteorological disaster risk assessments, a hesitant fuzzy linguistic preference relation (HFLPR) is often used to deal with a situation in which experts may be hesitant while providing preference information of a pairwise comparison of alternatives, that is, the degree of preference of one alternative over another. This study explores hesitation from the perspective of statistical distributions, and obtains an optimal ranking of an HFLPR based on chance-restricted programming, which provides a new approach for hesitant fuzzy optimisation of decision-making in meteorological disaster risk assessments.
Mainstream medicine versus complementary and alternative medicine in the witness box: resolving the clash of ideologies.

PubMed

Kune, Randall; Kune, Gabriel

2007-02-01

Mainstream medical philosophy and practice differ in many respects from those of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), differences which are explored in this article. Because of a resurgence of CAM therapies, courts and tribunals will scrutinise CAM in more and more contexts in the future. Such court cases may require the resolution of conflicts between opinions of CAM and medical experts. This article considers how courts evaluate such opinions where experts hold conflicting ideologies or philosophical approaches, and addresses the following questions: Do the opinions of CAM practitioners qualify as "expert" opinions in court? How do the courts examine the basis of such opinions? Are they systematically given less weight than the opinions of mainstream medical practitioners? Will recent procedural reforms for hearing expert evidence make it easier for courts to resolve these issues?
Assessment With Children Who Need Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC): Clinical Decisions of AAC Specialists.

PubMed

Lund, Shelley K; Quach, Wendy; Weissling, Kristy; McKelvey, Miechelle; Dietz, Aimee

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who are augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) specialists approach the assessment process for 2 case studies, 1 child with cerebral palsy and 1 with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of the study was to answer the following questions: (a) How do clinicians with expertise approach the AAC assessment process for children with developmental disabilities? (b) Can any initial hypothesis be drawn about how SLPs approach the assessment of children with motor versus social interactive deficits? This study used a phenomenological qualitative design. The researchers conducted 2 in-depth, semistructured interviews with 8 SLPs who specialized in AAC and self-identified as primarily working with children. Four major themes emerged from the data: area of assessment, method of assessment, evaluation preparation, and parent education. Each major theme contained multiple subthemes and categories within those subthemes. Participants discussed similar areas of assessment for both cases, indicating that some aspects of AAC assessment are universal. However, the specific aspects of what they were assessing and how they went about assessing them differed between the 2 cases. The results of the current study provide an outline of an assessment protocol for children with complex communication needs.
Creating a new investment pool for innovative health systems research.

PubMed

Laba, Tracey-Lea; Patel, Anushka; Jan, Stephen

2017-05-01

Recent trends in health research funding towards 'safe bets' is discouraging investment into the development of health systems interventions and choking off a vital area of policy-relevant research. This paper argues that to encourage investment into innovative and perceivably riskier health systems research, researchers need to create more attractive business cases by exploring alternative approaches to the design and evaluation of health system interventions. At the same time, the creation of dedicated funding opportunities to support this work, as well as for relevant early career researchers, is needed.
Time measurements with a mobile device using sound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wisman, Raymond F.; Spahn, Gabriel; Forinash, Kyle

2018-05-01

Data collection is a fundamental skill in science education, one that students generally practice in a controlled setting using equipment only available in the classroom laboratory. However, using smartphones with their built-in sensors and often free apps, many fundamental experiments can be performed outside the laboratory. Taking advantage of these tools often require creative approaches to data collection and exploring alternative strategies for experimental procedures. As examples, we present several experiments using smartphones and apps that record and analyze sound to measure a variety of physical properties.
Stabilization and Solidification of Nitric Acid Effluent Waste at Y-12

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

Singh, Dileep; Lorenzo-Martin, Cinta

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) at the Y-12 plant is investigating approaches for the treatment (stabilization and solidification) of a nitric acid waste effluent that contains uranium. Because the pH of the waste stream is 1-2, it is a difficult waste stream to treat and stabilize by a standard cement-based process. Alternative waste forms are being considered. In this regard, Ceramicrete technology, developed at Argonne National Laboratory, is being explored as an option to solidify and stabilize the nitric acid effluent wastes.
Reflections on modern macroeconomics: Can we travel along a safer road?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaffeo, E.; Catalano, M.; Clementi, F.; Delli Gatti, D.; Gallegati, M.; Russo, A.

2007-08-01

In this paper we sketch some reflections on the pitfalls and inconsistencies of the research program-currently dominant among the profession-aimed at providing microfoundations to macroeconomics along a Walrasian perspective. We argue that such a methodological approach constitutes an unsatisfactory answer to a well-posed research question, and that alternative promising routes have been long mapped out but only recently explored. In particular, we discuss a recent agent-based, truly non-Walrasian macroeconomic model, and we use it to envisage new challenges for future research.
Performance-enhancing drug use in young athletes.

PubMed

Laos, Carla; Metzl, Jordan D

2006-10-01

This article explores the issue of performance-enhancing drug use in adolescent athletes. The article describes current substances that are being used by adolescent athletes, explains their positive and negative effects, examines factors contributing to their increased use in adolescent athletes, and discusses approaches to educating adolescents about alternate means of enhancing their athletic performance. It is hoped that this information will be useful toward encouraging young athletes to pursue, safe, healthy, and natural means of performance enhancement, such as practice and strength training, to improve sports performance in a safe, effective manner.
Understanding How People with Mental Health Difficulties Experience Substance Use.

PubMed

Chorlton, Emma; Smith, Ian C

2016-01-01

Quantitative studies dominate research exploring reasons for substance use and experiences of substance use by people with mental health difficulties. This limits the depth of understanding which can be gained about these experiences. In the present article, we synthesized current qualitative research in this area to provide enhanced theoretical knowledge of these experiences. Following a systematic literature search, we identified 12 studies which explored how people with mental health difficulties experienced using substances, and which met additional inclusion criterion. We used Noblit and Hare's metaethnographic approach to qualitatively synthesize these studies. Synthesis led to the development of two themes; "substance use mediates acceptance and social inclusion" and "substance use provides perceived opportunities for control and power." The findings suggest that in the studies reviewed people's motivation for substance use was embedded in social and psychological contexts. It indicated that substance use could provide perceived benefits such as mediating the impact of mental health stigma, enabling the development of alternative identities, increasing their sense of power and providing opportunities for social inclusion. Mental health and substance use workers should therefore aim to develop alternative opportunities for people with co-occurring disorders to gain such benefits, and seek to challenge mental health stigma.
Culture, personal experience and agency.

PubMed

McCarthy, John; Sullivan, Paul; Wright, Peter

2006-06-01

In this article, we explore what we perceive to be a gap between agency as articulated in practice theories and agency as personally experienced. The gap is not created by a turn to practice in theorizing, but by the tendency to produce theoretical representations that silence the particularity of experience and the diversity of voices in experience. In exploring the gap, we identify aspects of practice theories that explicitly commit to theoretical representation over personal experience and describe Bakhtin's commitment to action and personal experience as an alternative. In order to exemplify Bakhtin's approach in practice, we then present an analysis of one artist-teacher's experience of her own agency in making art and in teaching. Finally, we comment on what a commitment to representational theorizing does to accounts of an artist's activities and personal experience.
Benchmark dose analysis via nonparametric regression modeling

PubMed Central

Piegorsch, Walter W.; Xiong, Hui; Bhattacharya, Rabi N.; Lin, Lizhen

2013-01-01

Estimation of benchmark doses (BMDs) in quantitative risk assessment traditionally is based upon parametric dose-response modeling. It is a well-known concern, however, that if the chosen parametric model is uncertain and/or misspecified, inaccurate and possibly unsafe low-dose inferences can result. We describe a nonparametric approach for estimating BMDs with quantal-response data based on an isotonic regression method, and also study use of corresponding, nonparametric, bootstrap-based confidence limits for the BMD. We explore the confidence limits’ small-sample properties via a simulation study, and illustrate the calculations with an example from cancer risk assessment. It is seen that this nonparametric approach can provide a useful alternative for BMD estimation when faced with the problem of parametric model uncertainty. PMID:23683057
Gentlest ascent dynamics for calculating first excited state and exploring energy landscape of Kohn-Sham density functionals.

PubMed

Li, Chen; Lu, Jianfeng; Yang, Weitao

2015-12-14

We develop the gentlest ascent dynamics for Kohn-Sham density functional theory to search for the index-1 saddle points on the energy landscape of the Kohn-Sham density functionals. These stationary solutions correspond to excited states in the ground state functionals. As shown by various examples, the first excited states of many chemical systems are given by these index-1 saddle points. Our novel approach provides an alternative, more robust way to obtain these excited states, compared with the widely used ΔSCF approach. The method can be easily generalized to target higher index saddle points. Our results also reveal the physical interest and relevance of studying the Kohn-Sham energy landscape.
Beyond the classroom: using technology to meet the educational needs of multigenerational perinatal nurses.

PubMed

Gallo, Ana-Maria

2011-01-01

For the first time in history, there are 4 distinct generations of nurses working side by side at the clinical bedside: Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. All the generations have their unique personalities, beliefs, values, and learning styles. Approach to learning range from the traditional instructional method preferred by the Veteran's nurses to the more advanced technology (eg, Web-based, webinars, simulations, podcasts, and blogs) approach favored by Generation Y. Nurse educators and clinical nurse specialists must consider each generation's style of learning to best engage, stimulate, and promote transference and assimilations of new knowledge. This article briefly describes the generational learning style differences and explores alternative educational modalities to the traditional classroom instruction.
The Family Courts and parentage of children conceived through overseas commercial surrogacy arrangements: A child-centred approach.

PubMed

Sifris, Adiva

2015-12-01

This article adopts a child-centred approach to the vexed issue of commercial surrogacy. These arrangements are prohibited throughout Australia. Nevertheless, Australians are travelling overseas and entering into commercial surrogacy arrangements. This article addresses the dilemma confronting the Family Courts when the commissioning parents and the child return to Australia. Should the Family Courts make parenting orders enabling the commissioning parents to raise the child? Alternatively, should they make parentage orders legally recognising the commissioning parents as the child's parents? After exploring the existing legislative structure and its application, the interest theory of children's rights is utilised to justify changes to the law so that the commissioning parents are regarded as the child's legal parents.
A technical guide to tDCS, and related non-invasive brain stimulation tools.

PubMed

Woods, A J; Antal, A; Bikson, M; Boggio, P S; Brunoni, A R; Celnik, P; Cohen, L G; Fregni, F; Herrmann, C S; Kappenman, E S; Knotkova, H; Liebetanz, D; Miniussi, C; Miranda, P C; Paulus, W; Priori, A; Reato, D; Stagg, C; Wenderoth, N; Nitsche, M A

2016-02-01

Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), including transcranial direct and alternating current stimulation (tDCS, tACS) are non-invasive brain stimulation techniques increasingly used for modulation of central nervous system excitability in humans. Here we address methodological issues required for tES application. This review covers technical aspects of tES, as well as applications like exploration of brain physiology, modelling approaches, tES in cognitive neurosciences, and interventional approaches. It aims to help the reader to appropriately design and conduct studies involving these brain stimulation techniques, understand limitations and avoid shortcomings, which might hamper the scientific rigor and potential applications in the clinical domain. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. All rights reserved.
Implantable Systems for Continuous Liquorpheresis and CSF Replacement

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Liquorpheresis (cerebrospinal fluid filtration) comprises a therapeutical approach that has been proposed to treat several neurological conditions where antibodies, inflammatory mediators, or abnormal peptides are the cause or play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Continuous or intermittent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) replacement may be an alternative approach not explored thus far. Here, we review previous experiences in the use of liquorpheresis in autoimmune and degenerative neurological diseases. Then we describe previous technical reports and provide some new innovations in order to design bidirectional CSF shunting systems that can be complemented either with a deposit of artificial CSF or with a filter of CSF, allowing CSF replacement or liquorpheresis respectively. Both options would lead to mechanical dilution of the patient’s CSF. PMID:28413734

Toward Enhancing Treatment for Pregnant Smokers: Laying the Groundwork for the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Approaches.

PubMed

Loree, Amy M; Ondersma, Steven J; Grekin, Emily R

2017-05-01

Although effective treatments exist, most women who smoke during pregnancy neither seek nor receive treatment. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments (eg, mindfulness, yoga, and acupuncture) may be attractive, low-cost options that can be used to assist a large proportion of pregnant women with smoking cessation. This study examined participant characteristics and treatment utilization among pregnant smokers in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in order to explore the prevalence and predictors of CAM use for any purpose within this population. Results indicated that a considerable proportion (6.9%-29.1%) of pregnant smokers are already accessing CAM, particularly Whites and those of greater socioeconomic status. Use of yoga, meditation, and massage increased across study waves. NSDUH participants were most likely to report seeking chiropractic or massage therapy; NHIS participants most frequently reported use of herbs/supplements, deep breathing, and meditation. Up to roughly a quarter of women endorsed traditional/conventional and CAM treatment use, suggesting that some pregnant smokers are open to trying a variety of approaches to promote health. Further research is needed to validate CAM treatments for smoking cessation and to guide safety and treatment recommendations during pregnancy. CAM treatments may be an attractive treatment alternative for pregnant smokers. However, no previous investigations have examined whether pregnant smokers seek out these treatments. Using nationally representative survey data, the present study aimed to explore whether pregnant smokers use CAM treatments. We found that approximately 7%-29% of pregnant smokers reported using a variety of CAM methods, suggesting the need for further investigation into the efficacy and dissemination of CAM for smoking in pregnancy. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.
A physiological perspective for utility or futility of alcohol-based hand rub gel against nausea-vomiting: is it P-6 acupoint or transnasal aroma?

PubMed

Gupta, Deepak; Mazumdar, Ashish; Stellini, Michael

2014-09-01

Nausea-vomiting is a common and unpleasant phenomenon with numerous underlying mechanisms and pathways that are not always well elucidated. In clinical practice, refractory nausea-vomiting is encountered in several settings. Antiemetic medications may reduce these symptoms but are not always effective in all patients. In the absence of a well-defined optimal strategy for management of nausea-vomiting, the search for better approaches to treat this distressing symptom continues. One of the alternative treatment approaches is a compounded formulation called ABHR gel that is comprised of multiple antiemetic medications and has been shown to be useful for symptomatic relief in some patients with refractory nausea-vomiting. It has been suggested that alternative mechanisms should be explored to explain the perceived efficacy of ABHR gel, because transdermal absorption leading to nil-to-minimal or subtherapeutic blood concentrations of active ingredients does not explain the role of ABHR gel in the treatment of nausea-vomiting. In the current paper, we discuss possible mechanisms that may explain ABHR transdermal gel's efficacy. Compounded ABHR transdermal gel formulation's efficacy in antagonizing nausea-vomiting that has been recently questioned may be explained by alternative mechanisms mediated through the P-6 acupoint stimulation and facial-nasal, cooling-related counterstimulation. © The Author(s) 2013.
76 FR 27850 - Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Modification of the Rules and Regulations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-13

... continue exploring alternative marketing strategies. DATES: Effective July 1, 2011; comments received by... opportunity to continue exploring alternative marketing strategies. The authority for regulation is provided... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Part 946 [Doc. No. AMS-FV-11-0024...
What Next? Promoting Alternatives to Ability Grouping.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wheelock, Anne; Hawley, Willis D.

With new knowledge and tools at their disposal, educators at all levels are exploring alternatives to ability grouping in order to improve schooling for all students. Bringing about positive results requires the development and utilization of knowledge about how ability grouping affects schools, exploration of beliefs that support grouping, and…
Evaluating Health Workers' Potential Resistance to New Interventions: A Role for Discrete Choice Experiments

PubMed Central

Lagarde, Mylene; Smith Paintain, Lucy; Antwi, Gifti; Jones, Caroline; Greenwood, Brian; Chandramohan, Daniel; Tagbor, Harry; Webster, Jayne

2011-01-01

Background The currently recommended approach for preventing malaria in pregnancy (MiP), intermittent preventive treatment with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP-IPT), has been questioned due to the spread of resistance to SP. Whilst trials are underway to test the efficacy of future alternative approaches, it is important to start exploring the feasibility of their implementation. Methods and Findings This study uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) method to assess the potential resistance of health workers to changing strategies for control of MiP. In Ashanti region in Ghana, 133 antenatal clinic health workers were presented with 16 choice sets of two alternative policy options, each consisting of a bundle of six attributes representing certain clinical guidelines for controlling MiP (type of approach and drug used), possible associated maternal and neo-natal outcomes, workload and financial incentives. The data were analysed using a random effects logit model. Overall, staff showed a preference for a curative approach with pregnant women tested for malaria parasites and treated only if positive, compared to a preventive approach (OR 1.6; p = 0.001). Increasing the incidence of low birth weight or severe anaemia by 1% would reduce the odds of preferring an approach by 18% and 10% respectively. Midwives were more resistant to potential changes to current guidelines than lower-level cadres. Conclusions In Ashanti Region, resistance to change by antenatal clinic workers from a policy of SP-IPT to IST would generally be low, and it would disappear amongst midwives if health outcomes for the mother and baby were improved by the new strategy. DCEs are a promising approach to identifying factors that will increase the likelihood of effective implementation of new interventions immediately after their efficacy has been proven. PMID:21886800
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wright, F.M. Jr.; Best, D.A.; Clarke, R.T.

The need for even more efficient reservoir characterization and management has forced a change in the way Mobil Oil provides technical support to its production operations. We`ve learned that to be successful, a good understanding of the reservoir is essential. This includes an understanding of the technical and business significance of reservoir heterogeneities at different stages of field development. A multi-disciplinary understanding of the business of integrated reservoir characterization is essential and to facilitate this understanding, Mobil has developed a highly successful {open_quotes}Reservoir Characterization Field Seminar{close_quotes}. Through specific team based case studies that incorporate outcrop examples and data the programmore » provides participants the opportunity to explore historic and alternative approaches to reservoir description, characterization and management. We explore appropriate levels and timing of data gathering, technology applications, risk assessment and management practices at different stages of field development. The case studies presented throughout the course are a unique element of the program which combine real life and hypothetical problem sets that explore how different technical disciplines interact, the approaches to a problem solving they use, the assumptions and uncertainties contained in their contributions and the impact those conclusions may have on other disciplines involved in the overall reservoir management process. The team building aspect of the course was an added bonus.« less
Alternatives to antibiotics: a symposium on the challenges and solutions for animal production.

PubMed

Seal, Bruce S; Lillehoj, Hyun S; Donovan, David M; Gay, Cyril G

2013-06-01

Antibiotics are one of the most important medical discoveries of the 20th century and will remain an essential tool for treating animal and human diseases in the 21st century. However, antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens and concerns over their extensive use in food animals has garnered global interest in limiting antibiotic use in animal agriculture. Yet, limiting the availability of medical interventions to prevent and control animal diseases on the farm will directly impact global food security and safety as well as animal and human health. Insufficient attention has been given to the scientific breakthroughs and novel technologies that provide alternatives to antibiotics. The objectives of the symposium 'Alternatives to Antibiotics' were to highlight promising research results and novel technologies that could potentially lead to alternatives to conventional antibiotics, and assess challenges associated with their commercialization, and provide actionable strategies to support development of alternative antimicrobials. The symposium focused on the latest scientific breakthroughs and technologies that could provide new options and alternative strategies for preventing and treating diseases of animals. Some of these new technologies have direct applications as medical interventions for human health, but the focus of the symposium was animal production, animal health and food safety during food-animal production. Five subject areas were explored in detail through scientific presentations and expert panel discussions, including: (1) alternatives to antibiotics, lessons from nature; (2) immune modulation approaches to enhance disease resistance and to treat animal diseases; (3) gut microbiome and immune development, health and diseases; (4) alternatives to antibiotics for animal production; and (5) regulatory pathways to enable the licensure of alternatives to antibiotics.
Constrained creation of poetic forms during theme-driven exploration of a domain defined by an N-gram model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gervás, Pablo

2016-04-01

Most poetry-generation systems apply opportunistic approaches where algorithmic procedures are applied to explore the conceptual space defined by a given knowledge resource in search of solutions that might be aesthetically valuable. Aesthetical value is assumed to arise from compliance to a given poetic form - such as rhyme or metrical regularity - or from evidence of semantic relations between the words in the resulting poems that can be interpreted as rhetorical tropes - such as similes, analogies, or metaphors. This approach tends to fix a priori the aesthetic parameters of the results, and imposes no constraints on the message to be conveyed. The present paper describes an attempt to initiate a shift in this balance, introducing means for constraining the output to certain topics and allowing a looser mechanism for constraining form. This goal arose as a result of the need to produce poems for a themed collection commissioned to be included in a book. The solution adopted explores an approach to creativity where the goals are not solely aesthetic and where the results may be surprising in their poetic form. An existing computer poet, originally developed to produce poems in a given form but with no specific constraints on their content, is put to the task of producing a set of poems with explicit restrictions on content, and allowing for an exploration of poetic form. Alternative generation methods are devised to overcome the difficulties, and the various insights arising from these new methods and the impact they have on the set of resulting poems are discussed in terms of their potential contribution to better poetry-generation systems.
Why Do Health Economists Promote Technology Adoption Rather Than the Search for Efficiency? A Proposal for a Change in Our Approach to Economic Evaluation in Health Care.

PubMed

Scotland, Graham; Bryan, Stirling

2017-02-01

At a time of intense pressure on health care budgets, the technology management challenge is for disinvestment in low-value technologies and reinvestment in higher value alternatives. The aim of this article is to explore ways in which health economists might begin to redress the observed imbalance between the evaluation of new and existing in-use technologies. The argument is not against evaluating new technologies but in favor of the "search for efficiency," where the ultimate objective is to identify reallocations that improve population health in the face of resource scarcity. We explore why in-use technologies may be of low value and consider how economic evaluation analysts might embrace a broader efficiency lens, first through "technology management" (a process of analysis and evidence-informed decision making throughout a technology's life cycle) and progressing through "pathway management" (the search for efficiency gains across entire clinical care pathways). A number of model-based examples are used to illustrate the approaches.
Microcredit and the social determinants of health: a conceptual approach.

PubMed

Salt, Rebekah

2011-01-01

Social determinants of health, such as human behavior, environment, and socioeconomics, contribute to health disparities at the individual and population levels. The association between socioeconomics and health is established, and it is acknowledged that people with a lower socioeconomic status experience poorer health. The impetus of microcredit programs is to provide financial alternatives for low-income populations, the majority of whom are women with limited or no access to traditional lending, to start small businesses, generate income, and progress toward self-sufficiency. The income-health link within the context of microcredit has been internationally acknowledged; however, there is scarce research in this area in the United States. This article presents a review of the conceptual approach used to explore the microcredit and health link from a public health nursing perspective. Establishing conceptual foundations can enhance research focused on targeted interventions aimed at lasting change in social and health status. Exploring the link between microcredit and health can enrich research efforts and may offer innovative strategies and interventions to improve health-promoting capacity in impoverished groups. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Exploring a shared leadership perspective for NHS doctors.

PubMed

Willcocks, Stephen George; Wibberley, Gemma

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore involving doctors in shared leadership. It examines the policies that have led to the focus on shared leadership and the implications for practice. This is a conceptual paper, examining policy developments and key literature to understand the move towards shared leadership. It focuses on UK NHS, and in particular doctors, although the concepts will be relevant to other disciplines in healthcare, and healthcare systems in other countries. This paper suggests that the shared-leadership approach for doctors has potential given the nature of clinical practice, the inherently collaborative nature of healthcare and the demands of new healthcare organisations. Health policy reform, generally, will mean that all doctors need to be engaged with leadership, albeit, perhaps, at different levels, and with different degrees of formality. Leadership will remain an important precondition for the success of the reforms. This is likely to be the case for other countries involved in healthcare reform. To highlight the benefits and barriers to shared leadership for doctors. Offers an alternative to traditional approaches to leadership.
External Pulsed Plasma Propulsion (EPPP) Analysis Maturation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonometti, Joesph A.; Morton, P. Jeff; Schmidt, George R. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

External Pulsed Plasma Propulsion (EPPP) systems are at the stage of engineering infancy with evolving paradigms for application. performance and general characteristics. Recent efforts have focused on an approach that employs existing technologies with near term EPPP development for usage in interplanetary exploration and asteroid/comet deflection. if mandated. The inherent advantages of EPPP are discussed and its application to a variety of propulsion concepts is explored. These include, but are not limited to, utilizing energy sources such as fission. fusion and antimatter, as well as, improved chemical explosives. A mars mission scenario is presented as a demonstration of its capability using existing technologies. A suggested alternate means to improve EPPP efficiencies could also lead to a heavy lift (non-nuclear) launch vehicle capability. Conceivably, true low-cost, access to space is possible using advanced explosive propellants and/or coupling the EPPP vehicle to a "beam propellant" concept. EPPP systems appear to offer an approach that can potentially cover ETO through interstellar transportation capability. A technology roadmap is presented that shows mutual benefits pertaining to a substantial number of existing space propulsion and research areas.
Quantile Regression for Analyzing Heterogeneity in Ultra-high Dimension

PubMed Central

Wang, Lan; Wu, Yichao

2012-01-01

Ultra-high dimensional data often display heterogeneity due to either heteroscedastic variance or other forms of non-location-scale covariate effects. To accommodate heterogeneity, we advocate a more general interpretation of sparsity which assumes that only a small number of covariates influence the conditional distribution of the response variable given all candidate covariates; however, the sets of relevant covariates may differ when we consider different segments of the conditional distribution. In this framework, we investigate the methodology and theory of nonconvex penalized quantile regression in ultra-high dimension. The proposed approach has two distinctive features: (1) it enables us to explore the entire conditional distribution of the response variable given the ultra-high dimensional covariates and provides a more realistic picture of the sparsity pattern; (2) it requires substantially weaker conditions compared with alternative methods in the literature; thus, it greatly alleviates the difficulty of model checking in the ultra-high dimension. In theoretic development, it is challenging to deal with both the nonsmooth loss function and the nonconvex penalty function in ultra-high dimensional parameter space. We introduce a novel sufficient optimality condition which relies on a convex differencing representation of the penalized loss function and the subdifferential calculus. Exploring this optimality condition enables us to establish the oracle property for sparse quantile regression in the ultra-high dimension under relaxed conditions. The proposed method greatly enhances existing tools for ultra-high dimensional data analysis. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed procedure. The real data example we analyzed demonstrates that the new approach reveals substantially more information compared with alternative methods. PMID:23082036
A covariant approach to entropic dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ipek, Selman; Abedi, Mohammad; Caticha, Ariel

2017-06-01

Entropic Dynamics (ED) is a framework for constructing dynamical theories of inference using the tools of inductive reasoning. A central feature of the ED framework is the special focus placed on time. In [2] a global entropic time was used to derive a quantum theory of relativistic scalar fields. This theory, however, suffered from a lack of explicit or manifest Lorentz symmetry. In this paper we explore an alternative formulation in which the relativistic aspects of the theory are manifest. The approach we pursue here is inspired by the methods of Dirac, Kuchař, and Teitelboim in their development of covariant Hamiltonian approaches. The key ingredient here is the adoption of a local notion of entropic time, which allows compatibility with an arbitrary notion of simultaneity. However, in order to ensure that the evolution does not depend on the particular sequence of hypersurfaces, we must impose a set of constraints that guarantee a consistent evolution.
Comparative LCA of decentralized wastewater treatment alternatives for non-potable urban reuse.

PubMed

Opher, Tamar; Friedler, Eran

2016-11-01

Municipal wastewater (WW) effluent represents a reliable and significant source for reclaimed water, very much needed nowadays. Water reclamation and reuse has become an attractive option for conserving and extending available water sources. The decentralized approach to domestic WW treatment benefits from the advantages of source separation, which makes available simple small-scale systems and on-site reuse, which can be constructed on a short time schedule and occasionally upgraded with new technological developments. In this study we perform a Life Cycle Assessment to compare between the environmental impacts of four alternatives for a hypothetical city's water-wastewater service system. The baseline alternative is the most common, centralized approach for WW treatment, in which WW is conveyed to and treated in a large wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and is then discharged to a stream. The three alternatives represent different scales of distribution of the WW treatment phase, along with urban irrigation and domestic non-potable water reuse (toilet flushing). The first alternative includes centralized treatment at a WWTP, with part of the reclaimed WW (RWW) supplied back to the urban consumers. The second and third alternatives implement de-centralized greywater (GW) treatment with local reuse, one at cluster level (320 households) and one at building level (40 households). Life cycle impact assessment results show a consistent disadvantage of the prevailing centralized approach under local conditions in Israel, where seawater desalination is the marginal source of water supply. The alternative of source separation and GW reuse at cluster level seems to be the most preferable one, though its environmental performance is only slightly better than GW reuse at building level. Centralized WW treatment with urban reuse of WWTP effluents is not advantageous over decentralized treatment of GW because the supply of RWW back to consumers is very costly in materials and energy. Electricity is a major driver of the impacts in most categories, pertaining mostly to potable water production and supply. Infrastructure was found to have a notable effect on metal depletion, human toxicity and freshwater and marine ecotoxicity. Sensitivity to major model parameters was analyzed. A shift to a larger share of renewable energy sources in the electricity mix results in a dramatic improvement in most impact categories. Switching to a mix of water sources, rather than the marginal source, leads to a significant reduction in most impacts. It is concluded that under the conditions tested, a decentralized approach to urban wastewater management is environmentally preferable to the common centralized system. It is worth exploring such options under different conditions as well, in cases which new urban infrastructure is planned or replacement of old infrastructure is required. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A technology assessment of alternative communications systems for the space exploration initiative

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponchak, Denise S.; Zuzek, John E.; Whyte, Wayne A., Jr.; Spence, Rodney L.; Sohn, Philip Y.

1990-01-01

Telecommunications, Navigation, and Information Management (TNIM) services are vital to accomplish the ambitious goals of the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). A technology assessment is provided for four alternative lunar and Mars operational TNIM systems based on detailed communications link analyses. The four alternative systems range from a minimum to a fully enhanced capability and use frequencies from S-band, through Ka-band, and up to optical wavelengths. Included are technology development schedules as they relate to present SEI mission architecture time frames.
Understanding Conic Sections Using Alternate Graph Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Elizabeth M.; Jones, Elizabeth

2006-01-01

This article describes two alternative coordinate systems and their use in graphing conic sections. This alternative graph paper helps students explore the idea of eccentricity using the definitions of the conic sections.
The European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA): promoting alternative methods in Europe and beyond.

PubMed

Cozigou, Gwenole; Crozier, Jonathan; Hendriksen, Coenraad; Manou, Irene; Ramirez-Hernandez, Tzutzuy; Weissenhorn, Renate

2015-03-01

Here in we introduce the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) and its activities, which are focused on international cooperation toward alternative methods. The EPAA is one of the leading organizations in Europe for the promotion of alternative approaches to animal testing. Its innovative public-private partnership structure enables a consensus-driven dialogue across 7 industry sectors to facilitate interaction between regulators and regulated stakeholders. Through a brief description of EPAA's activities and organizational structure, we first articulate the value of this collaboration; we then focus on 2 key projects driven by EPAA. The first project aims to address research gaps on stem cells for safety testing, whereas the second project strives for an approach toward demonstration of consistency in vaccine batch release testing. We highlight the growing need for harmonization of international acceptance and implementation of alternative approaches and for increased international collaboration to foster progress on nonanimal alternatives.
Advances in organ preserving strategies in rectal cancer patients.

PubMed

Stijns, Rutger C H; Tromp, Mike-Stephen R; Hugen, Niek; de Wilt, Johannes H W

2018-02-01

Treatment of rectal cancer patients has been subjected to change over the past thirty years. Total mesorectal excision is considered the cornerstone of rectal cancer treatment, but is also associated with significant morbidity resulting in an impaired quality of life. The addition of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy to surgery has shown to improve survival and local control and may lead to a partial or even complete response (CR). This raises questions regarding the necessity for subsequent radical surgery. After careful patient selection local excision and wait-and-see approaches are explored, aiming to improve quality of life without compromising oncological outcome. A multimodality diagnostic approach for optimal staging is crucial in determining the appropriate neoadjuvant treatment regimen. Adequate endoscopic restaging of rectal tumours after multimodality treatment will aid in selecting patients who are eligible for an organ preserving approach. The role and accuracy of imaging in the detection of the primary tumour, residual rectal cancer or local recurrence seems vital. Alternative neoadjuvant regimens are currently explored to increase the rate of clinical CRs, which may support organ preserving approaches. This review aims to generate insight into the advances in diagnostics and treatment modalities in all stages of rectal cancer and will highlight future studies that may support further implementation of organ preservation treatment in rectal cancer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.
Using Alternate Energy Sources. The Illinois Plan for Industrial Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois State Univ., Normal.

This guide, which is one in the "Exploration" series of curriculum guides intended to assist junior high and middle school industrial educators in helping their students explore diverse industrial situations and technologies used in industry, deals with using alternate energy sources. The following topics are covered in the individual lessons:…

Adaptation responses to increasing drought frequency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loch, A. J.; Adamson, D. C.; Schwabe, K.

2016-12-01

Using state contingent analysis we discuss how and why irrigators adapt to alternative water supply signals. This analysis approach helps to illustrate how and why producers currently use state-general and state-allocable inputs to adapt and respond to known and possible future climatic alternative natures. Focusing on the timing of water allocations, we explore inherent differences in the demand for water by two key irrigation sectors: annual and perennial producers which in Australia have allowed a significant degree of risk-minimisation during droughts. In the absence of land constraints, producers also had a capacity to respond to positive state outcomes and achieve super-normal profits. In the future, however, the probability of positive state outcomes is uncertain; production systems may need to adapt to minimise losses and/or achieve positive returns under altered water supply conditions that may arise as a consequence of more frequent drought states. As such, producers must assess whether altering current input/output choice sets in response to possible future climate states will enhance their long-run competitive advantage for both expected new normal and extreme water supply outcomes. Further, policy supporting agricultural sector climate change resilience must avoid poorly-designed strategies that increase producer vulnerability in the face of drought. Our analysis explores the reliability of alternative water property right bundles and how reduced allocations across time influence alternative responses by producers. We then extend our analysis to explore how management strategies could adapt to two possible future drier state types: i) where an average reduction in water supply is experienced; and ii) where the frequency of droughts increase. The combination of these findings are subsequently used to discuss the role water reform policy has to deal with current and future climate scenarios. We argue current policy strategies could drive producers to more homogeneous production systems over time, which ultimately entail risky adaptation options under future water supply availability or increased drought frequency scenarios. Lastly, our analysis has shown the flexibility of applying SCA toward examining uncertainty surrounding future states of nature under climate change.
The data base management system alternative for computing in the human services.

PubMed

Sircar, S; Schkade, L L; Schoech, D

1983-01-01

The traditional incremental approach to computerization presents substantial problems as systems develop and grow. The Data Base Management System approach to computerization was developed to overcome the problems resulting from implementing computer applications one at a time. The authors describe the applications approach and the alternative Data Base Management System (DBMS) approach through their developmental history, discuss the technology of DBMS components, and consider the implications of choosing the DBMS alternative. Human service managers need an understanding of the DBMS alternative and its applicability to their agency data processing needs. The basis for a conscious selection of computing alternatives is outlined.
Model-order reduction of lumped parameter systems via fractional calculus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollkamp, John P.; Sen, Mihir; Semperlotti, Fabio

2018-04-01

This study investigates the use of fractional order differential models to simulate the dynamic response of non-homogeneous discrete systems and to achieve efficient and accurate model order reduction. The traditional integer order approach to the simulation of non-homogeneous systems dictates the use of numerical solutions and often imposes stringent compromises between accuracy and computational performance. Fractional calculus provides an alternative approach where complex dynamical systems can be modeled with compact fractional equations that not only can still guarantee analytical solutions, but can also enable high levels of order reduction without compromising on accuracy. Different approaches are explored in order to transform the integer order model into a reduced order fractional model able to match the dynamic response of the initial system. Analytical and numerical results show that, under certain conditions, an exact match is possible and the resulting fractional differential models have both a complex and frequency-dependent order of the differential operator. The implications of this type of approach for both model order reduction and model synthesis are discussed.
A New Method for a Virtue-Based Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum: Pilot Test Results.

PubMed

Berling, Eric; McLeskey, Chet; O'Rourke, Michael; Pennock, Robert T

2018-02-03

Drawing on Pennock's theory of scientific virtues, we are developing an alternative curriculum for training scientists in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) that emphasizes internal values rather than externally imposed rules. This approach focuses on the virtuous characteristics of scientists that lead to responsible and exemplary behavior. We have been pilot-testing one element of such a virtue-based approach to RCR training by conducting dialogue sessions, modeled upon the approach developed by Toolbox Dialogue Initiative, that focus on a specific virtue, e.g., curiosity and objectivity. During these structured discussions, small groups of scientists explore the roles they think the focus virtue plays and should play in the practice of science. Preliminary results have shown that participants strongly prefer this virtue-based model over traditional methods of RCR training. While we cannot yet definitively say that participation in these RCR sessions contributes to responsible conduct, these pilot results are encouraging and warrant continued development of this virtue-based approach to RCR training.
An ethical approach to resolving value conflicts in child protection.

PubMed

Webb, E; Moynihan, S

2010-01-01

Child protection professionals working in diverse societies are regularly faced with value conflicts. Recognising these, and resolving them in the best interests of children, is a task that requires child protection specialists to make complex judgements and decisions. In this paper the philosophical concepts of absolutism and relativism to child abuse are applied, and it explores how this approach has practical relevance to solving ethical dilemmas in child protection. Children's interests are best served by erring towards an absolutist approach to the diagnosis and recognition of maltreatment and towards a relativistic approach in determining how services respond to a harmful incident or situation. Absolutism and relativism are not alternatives, but part of a continuous process of recognising and negotiating ever-changing community, national and global norms. At the service level the dichotomy transpires into the need to be culturally competent in handling the conflicting needs, rights and values of children, families, communities and professionals, whilst retaining the skill of child advocacy.
Relationship between mediation analysis and the structured life course approach.

PubMed

Howe, Laura D; Smith, Andrew D; Macdonald-Wallis, Corrie; Anderson, Emma L; Galobardes, Bruna; Lawlor, Debbie A; Ben-Shlomo, Yoav; Hardy, Rebecca; Cooper, Rachel; Tilling, Kate; Fraser, Abigail

2016-08-01

Many questions in life course epidemiology involve mediation and/or interaction because of the long latency period between exposures and outcomes. In this paper, we explore how mediation analysis (based on counterfactual theory and implemented using conventional regression approaches) links with a structured approach to selecting life course hypotheses. Using theory and simulated data, we show how the alternative life course hypotheses assessed in the structured life course approach correspond to different combinations of mediation and interaction parameters. For example, an early life critical period model corresponds to a direct effect of the early life exposure, but no indirect effect via the mediator and no interaction between the early life exposure and the mediator. We also compare these methods using an illustrative real-data example using data on parental occupational social class (early life exposure), own adult occupational social class (mediator) and physical capability (outcome). © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.
From actors to agents in socio-ecological systems models

PubMed Central

Rounsevell, M. D. A.; Robinson, D. T.; Murray-Rust, D.

2012-01-01

The ecosystem service concept has emphasized the role of people within socio-ecological systems (SESs). In this paper, we review and discuss alternative ways of representing people, their behaviour and decision-making processes in SES models using an agent-based modelling (ABM) approach. We also explore how ABM can be empirically grounded using information from social survey. The capacity for ABM to be generalized beyond case studies represents a crucial next step in modelling SESs, although this comes with considerable intellectual challenges. We propose the notion of human functional types, as an analogy of plant functional types, to support the expansion (scaling) of ABM to larger areas. The expansion of scope also implies the need to represent institutional agents in SES models in order to account for alternative governance structures and policy feedbacks. Further development in the coupling of human-environment systems would contribute considerably to better application and use of the ecosystem service concept. PMID:22144388
Climate change, resource use and food security in midcentury under a range of plausible scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiebe, K.

2016-12-01

Achieving and maintaining food security at local, national and global scales is challenged by changes in population, income and climate, among other socioeconomic and biophysical drivers. Assessing these challenges and possible solutions over the coming decades requires a systematic and multidisciplinary approach. The Global Futures and Strategic Foresight program, a CGIAR initiative led by the International Food Policy Research Institute in collaboration with the 14 other CGIAR research centers, is working to improve tools and conduct ex ante assessments of promising technologies, investments and policies under alternative global futures to inform decision making in the CGIAR and its partners. Alternative socioeconomic and climate scenarios are explored using an integrated system of climate, water, crop and economic models. This presentation will share findings from recent projections of food production and prices to 2050 at global and regional scales, together with their potential implications for land and water use, food security, nutrition and health.
Judi Dench's age-inappropriateness and the role of M: challenging normative temporality.

PubMed

Krainitzki, Eva

2014-04-01

This article approaches Judi Dench's role as M in the long-running James Bond series from a gender and ageing studies' perspective and explores this character's subversion of normative concepts of gender and temporality. Based on the assumption that cultural narratives shape our understanding of ageing, it examines how M disrupts prescribed age- and gender roles, presenting an alternative within films which otherwise perpetuate normative notions of a sexualised, youthful femininity. It focusses on Dench's return as M in Casino Royale (2006), as an instance of anachronism (Russo, 1999), subverting viewers' expectation of linear timelines and examines M's challenge of normative age-appropriateness in Skyfall (2012). Despite M's portrayal as a more vulnerable female character in the latter, this article presents her character as an alternative to traditional portrayals of older women on screen. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Alternating evolutionary pressure in a genetic algorithm facilitates protein model selection

PubMed Central

Offman, Marc N; Tournier, Alexander L; Bates, Paul A

2008-01-01

Background Automatic protein modelling pipelines are becoming ever more accurate; this has come hand in hand with an increasingly complicated interplay between all components involved. Nevertheless, there are still potential improvements to be made in template selection, refinement and protein model selection. Results In the context of an automatic modelling pipeline, we analysed each step separately, revealing several non-intuitive trends and explored a new strategy for protein conformation sampling using Genetic Algorithms (GA). We apply the concept of alternating evolutionary pressure (AEP), i.e. intermediate rounds within the GA runs where unrestrained, linear growth of the model populations is allowed. Conclusion This approach improves the overall performance of the GA by allowing models to overcome local energy barriers. AEP enabled the selection of the best models in 40% of all targets; compared to 25% for a normal GA. PMID:18673557
Global change - Geoengineering and space exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jenkins, Lyle M.

1992-01-01

Geoengineering options and alternatives are proposed for mitigating the effects of global climate change and depletion of the ozone layer. Geoengineering options were discussed by the National Academy of Science Panel on the Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming. Several of the ideas conveyed in their published report are space-based or depend on space systems for implementation. Among the geoengineering options using space that are discussed include the use of space power systems as an alternative to fossil fuels for generating electricity, the use of lunar He-3 to aid in the development of fusion energy, and the establishment of a lunar power system for solar energy conversion and electric power beaming back to earth. Other geoengineering options are discussed. They include the space-based modulation of hurricane forces and two space-based approaches in dealing with ozone layer depletion. The engineering challenges and policy implementation issues are discussed for these geongineering options.
Hebbian learning in a model with dynamic rate-coded neurons: an alternative to the generative model approach for learning receptive fields from natural scenes.

PubMed

Hamker, Fred H; Wiltschut, Jan

2007-09-01

Most computational models of coding are based on a generative model according to which the feedback signal aims to reconstruct the visual scene as close as possible. We here explore an alternative model of feedback. It is derived from studies of attention and thus, probably more flexible with respect to attentive processing in higher brain areas. According to this model, feedback implements a gain increase of the feedforward signal. We use a dynamic model with presynaptic inhibition and Hebbian learning to simultaneously learn feedforward and feedback weights. The weights converge to localized, oriented, and bandpass filters similar as the ones found in V1. Due to presynaptic inhibition the model predicts the organization of receptive fields within the feedforward pathway, whereas feedback primarily serves to tune early visual processing according to the needs of the task.
From actors to agents in socio-ecological systems models.

PubMed

Rounsevell, M D A; Robinson, D T; Murray-Rust, D

2012-01-19

The ecosystem service concept has emphasized the role of people within socio-ecological systems (SESs). In this paper, we review and discuss alternative ways of representing people, their behaviour and decision-making processes in SES models using an agent-based modelling (ABM) approach. We also explore how ABM can be empirically grounded using information from social survey. The capacity for ABM to be generalized beyond case studies represents a crucial next step in modelling SESs, although this comes with considerable intellectual challenges. We propose the notion of human functional types, as an analogy of plant functional types, to support the expansion (scaling) of ABM to larger areas. The expansion of scope also implies the need to represent institutional agents in SES models in order to account for alternative governance structures and policy feedbacks. Further development in the coupling of human-environment systems would contribute considerably to better application and use of the ecosystem service concept.
Translating Vision into Design: A Method for Conceptual Design Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carpenter, Joyce E.

2003-01-01

One of the most challenging tasks for engineers is the definition of design solutions that will satisfy high-level strategic visions and objectives. Even more challenging is the need to demonstrate how a particular design solution supports the high-level vision. This paper describes a process and set of system engineering tools that have been used at the Johnson Space Center to analyze and decompose high-level objectives for future human missions into design requirements that can be used to develop alternative concepts for vehicles, habitats, and other systems. Analysis and design studies of alternative concepts and approaches are used to develop recommendations for strategic investments in research and technology that support the NASA Integrated Space Plan. In addition to a description of system engineering tools, this paper includes a discussion of collaborative design practices for human exploration mission architecture studies used at the Johnson Space Center.
Medicare Part D Beneficiaries' Plan Switching Decisions and Information Processing.

PubMed

Han, Jayoung; Urmie, Julie

2017-03-01

Medicare Part D beneficiaries tend not to switch plans despite the government's efforts to engage beneficiaries in the plan switching process. Understanding current and alternative plan features is a necessary step to make informed plan switching decisions. This study explored beneficiaries' plan switching using a mixed-methods approach, with a focus on the concept of information processing. We found large variation in beneficiary comprehension of plan information among both switchers and nonswitchers. Knowledge about alternative plans was especially poor, with only about half of switchers and 2 in 10 nonswitchers being well informed about plans other than their current plan. We also found that helpers had a prominent role in plan decision making-nearly twice as many switchers as nonswitchers worked with helpers for their plan selection. Our study suggests that easier access to helpers as well as helpers' extensive involvement in the decision-making process promote informed plan switching decisions.
Receptionists' role in new approaches to consultations in primary care: a focused ethnographic study.

PubMed

Brant, Heather Dawn; Atherton, Helen; Bikker, Annemieke; Porqueddu, Tania; Salisbury, Chris; McKinstry, Brian; Campbell, John; Gibson, Andy; Ziebland, Sue

2018-06-04

The receptionist is pivotal to the smooth running of general practice in the UK, communicating with patients and booking appointments. The authors aimed to explore the role of the receptionist in the implementation of new approaches to consultations in primary care. The authors conducted a team-based focused ethnography. Three researchers observed eight general practices across England and Scotland between June 2015 and May 2016. Interviews were conducted with 39 patients and 45 staff in the practices, all of which had adopted one or more methods (telephone, email, e-consultation, or internet video) for providing an alternative to face-to-face consultation. Receptionists have a key role in facilitating patient awareness regarding new approaches to consultations in primary care, while at the same time ensuring that patients receive a consultation appropriate to their needs. In this study, receptionists' involvement in implementation and planning for the introduction of alternative approaches to face-to-face consultations was minimal, despite the expectation that they would be involved in delivery. A shared understanding within practices of the potential difficulties and extra work that might ensue for reception staff was lacking. This might contribute to the low uptake by patients of potentially important innovations in service delivery. Involvement of the wider practice team in planning and piloting changes, supporting team members through service reconfiguration, and providing an opportunity to discuss and contribute to modifications of any new system would ensure that reception staff are suitably prepared to support the introduction of a new approach to consultations. © British Journal of General Practice 2018.
Evaluation of simulation alternatives for the brute-force ray-tracing approach used in backlight design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desnijder, Karel; Hanselaer, Peter; Meuret, Youri

2016-04-01

A key requirement to obtain a uniform luminance for a side-lit LED backlight is the optimised spatial pattern of structures on the light guide that extract the light. The generation of such a scatter pattern is usually performed by applying an iterative approach. In each iteration, the luminance distribution of the backlight with a particular scatter pattern is analysed. This is typically performed with a brute-force ray-tracing algorithm, although this approach results in a time-consuming optimisation process. In this study, the Adding-Doubling method is explored as an alternative way for evaluating the luminance of a backlight. Due to the similarities between light propagating in a backlight with extraction structures and light scattering in a cloud of light scatterers, the Adding-Doubling method which is used to model the latter could also be used to model the light distribution in a backlight. The backlight problem is translated to a form upon which the Adding-Doubling method is directly applicable. The calculated luminance for a simple uniform extraction pattern with the Adding-Doubling method matches the luminance generated by a commercial raytracer very well. Although successful, no clear computational advantage over ray tracers is realised. However, the dynamics of light propagation in a light guide as used the Adding-Doubling method, also allow to enhance the efficiency of brute-force ray-tracing algorithms. The performance of this enhanced ray-tracing approach for the simulation of backlights is also evaluated against a typical brute-force ray-tracing approach.
Analysis of the linkage between rain and flood regime and its application to regional flood frequency estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunderlik, Juraj M.; Burn, Donald H.

2002-04-01

Improving techniques of flood frequency estimation at ungauged sites is one of the foremost goals of contemporary hydrology. River flood regime is a resultant reflection of a composite catchment hydrologic response to flood producing processes. In this sense the process of identifying homogeneous pooling groups can be plausibly based on catchment similarity in flood regime. Unfortunately the application of any pooling approach that is based on flood regime is restricted to gauged sites. Because flood regime can be markedly determined by rainfall regime, catchment similarity in rainfall regime can be an alternative option for identifying flood frequency pooling groups. An advantage of such a pooling approach is that rainfall data are usually spatially and temporary more abundant than flood data and the approach can also be applied at ungauged sites. Therefore in this study we have quantified the linkage between rainfall and flood regime and explored the appropriateness of substituting rainfall regime for flood regime in regional pooling schemes. Two different approaches to describing rainfall regime similarity using tools of directional statistics have been tested and used for evaluation of the potential of rainfall regime for identification of hydrologically homogeneous pooling groups. The outputs were compared to an existing pooling framework adopted in the Flood Estimation Handbook. The results demonstrate that regional pooling based on rainfall regime information leads to a high number of initially homogeneous groups and seems to be a sound pooling alternative for catchments with a close linkage between rain and flood regimes.
The critical domain size of stochastic population models.

PubMed

Reimer, Jody R; Bonsall, Michael B; Maini, Philip K

2017-02-01

Identifying the critical domain size necessary for a population to persist is an important question in ecology. Both demographic and environmental stochasticity impact a population's ability to persist. Here we explore ways of including this variability. We study populations with distinct dispersal and sedentary stages, which have traditionally been modelled using a deterministic integrodifference equation (IDE) framework. Individual-based models (IBMs) are the most intuitive stochastic analogues to IDEs but yield few analytic insights. We explore two alternate approaches; one is a scaling up to the population level using the Central Limit Theorem, and the other a variation on both Galton-Watson branching processes and branching processes in random environments. These branching process models closely approximate the IBM and yield insight into the factors determining the critical domain size for a given population subject to stochasticity.
Exploration of developmental approaches to companion animal antimicrobials: providing for the unmet therapeutic needs of dogs and cats.

PubMed

Apley, M; Claxton, R; Davis, C; DeVeau, I; Donecker, J; Lucas, A; Neal, A; Papich, M

2010-04-01

The American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (AAVPT) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) co-sponsored a workshop to explore approaches for developing companion animal antimicrobials. This workshop was developed in response to the shortage of antimicrobials labeled for dogs and cats, as there is a shortage of approved antimicrobials for the range of infectious diseases commonly treated in small animal practice. The objective of the workshop was to identify alternative approaches to data development to support new indications consistent with the unmet therapeutic needs of dogs and cats. The indications for currently approved antimicrobials do not reflect the broader range of infectious diseases that are commonly diagnosed and treated by the veterinarian. Therefore, the labels for these approved antimicrobials provide limited information to the veterinarian for appropriate therapeutic decision-making beyond the few indications listed. Industry, veterinary practice, and regulatory challenges to the development of new antimicrobial indications were discussed. The workshop resulted in short- and long-term recommendations. Short-term recommendations focus on the use of additional data considerations for product labeling. Long-term recommendations center on legislative or regulatory legal initiatives. The workshop recommendations will need collaboration from industry, academia, and regulatory authorities and a legal shift in the drug approval and availability processes.

Revisualising 'porn': how young adults' consumption of sexually explicit Internet movies can inform approaches to Canadian sexual health promotion.

PubMed

Hare, Kathleen A; Gahagan, Jacqueline; Jackson, Lois; Steenbeek, Audrey

2015-01-01

The Internet offers an invaluable opportunity to re-imagine ideas, constructs and disciplines to create innovative sexual health promotion interventions. To gain insight into what young adults (aged 19-28) may be seeking in online sexual resources and approaches, this study explored how young people perceived their sexual health to be influenced by their consumption of the highly utilised sexual medium of Sexually Explicit Internet Movies [SEIM]. Employing an exploratory, qualitative methodology, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 urban, heterosexual young adults, who self-identified as having consumed SEIM for a period of at least one year. All interviews were audiotaped with permission, transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed to identify emergent thematic concepts. Participants described utilising SEIM as an all-inclusive sexual forum to learn more about the positive aspects of sexual health, in a context that they viewed as being devoid of alternatives. Young adults' perceptions of the utility of SEIM suggest that it would be beneficial to create novel, sex-positive online sexual health interventions. Further exploration is clearly warranted on how Internet resources that are related to sexual health, such as SEIM, can be utilised to facilitate innovative approaches to online sexual health promotion.
Music as a manifestation of life: exploring enactivism and the 'eastern perspective' for music education.

PubMed

van der Schyff, Dylan

2015-01-01

The enactive approach to cognition is developed in the context of music and music education. I discuss how this embodied point of view affords a relational and bio-cultural perspective on music that decentres the Western focus on language, symbol and representation as the fundamental arbiters of meaning. I then explore how this 'life-based' approach to cognition and meaning-making offers a welcome alternative to standard Western academic approaches to music education. More specifically, I consider how the enactive perspective may aid in developing deeper ecological understandings of the transformative, extended and interpenetrative nature of the embodied musical mind; and thus help (re)connect students and teachers to the lived experience of their own learning and teaching. Following this, I examine related concepts associated with Buddhist psychology in order to develop possibilities for a contemplative music pedagogy. To conclude, I consider how an enactive-contemplative perspective may help students and teachers awaken to the possibilities of music education as 'ontological education.' That is, through a deeper understanding of 'music as a manifestation of life' rediscover their primordial nature as autopoietic and world-making creatures and thus engage more deeply with musicality as a means of forming richer and more compassionate relationships with their peers, their communities and the 'natural' and cultural worlds they inhabit.
Real Time Optima Tracking Using Harvesting Models of the Genetic Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baskaran, Subbiah; Noever, D.

1999-01-01

Tracking optima in real time propulsion control, particularly for non-stationary optimization problems is a challenging task. Several approaches have been put forward for such a study including the numerical method called the genetic algorithm. In brief, this approach is built upon Darwinian-style competition between numerical alternatives displayed in the form of binary strings, or by analogy to 'pseudogenes'. Breeding of improved solution is an often cited parallel to natural selection in.evolutionary or soft computing. In this report we present our results of applying a novel model of a genetic algorithm for tracking optima in propulsion engineering and in real time control. We specialize the algorithm to mission profiling and planning optimizations, both to select reduced propulsion needs through trajectory planning and to explore time or fuel conservation strategies.
A multi-valued neutrosophic qualitative flexible approach based on likelihood for multi-criteria decision-making problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Juan-juan; Wang, Jian-qiang; Yang, Wu-E.

2017-01-01

In this paper, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problems based on the qualitative flexible multiple criteria method (QUALIFLEX), in which the criteria values are expressed by multi-valued neutrosophic information, are investigated. First, multi-valued neutrosophic sets (MVNSs), which allow the truth-membership function, indeterminacy-membership function and falsity-membership function to have a set of crisp values between zero and one, are introduced. Then the likelihood of multi-valued neutrosophic number (MVNN) preference relations is defined and the corresponding properties are also discussed. Finally, an extended QUALIFLEX approach based on likelihood is explored to solve MCDM problems where the assessments of alternatives are in the form of MVNNs; furthermore an example is provided to illustrate the application of the proposed method, together with a comparison analysis.
Appreciative inquiry: a research tool for mental health services.

PubMed

Hennessy, Julia L; Hughes, Frances

2014-06-01

Appreciative inquiry (AI) provides an alternative approach to the inquisitional style of uncovering "what went wrong and who is at fault" to instead "what can be done to make things better," thus creating an environment that enables one to discover (investigate), dream (what could have been done instead), design (what needs to be done to bring about change), and deliver/ destiny (working with a whole of health and community approach to obtain the positive outcomes for mental health consumers). AI is transformational in nature and provides a way of viewing organizations from an enabling perspective. This article discusses the concept of AI, highlights opportunities and challenges that may be encountered, and explores the possibility of applying the AI concept to mental health research/inquiry. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.
Pictures of pain: their contribution to the neuroscience of empathy.

PubMed

Schott, G D

2015-03-01

The study of empathy, a translation of the term 'Einfühlung', originated in 19th century Germany in the sphere of aesthetics, and was followed by studies in psychology and then neuroscience. During the past decade the links between empathy and art have started to be investigated, but now from the neuroscientific perspective, and two different approaches have emerged. Recently, the primacy of the mirror neuron system and its association with automaticity and imitative, simulated movement has been envisaged. But earlier, a number of eminent art historians had pointed to the importance of cognitive responses to art; these responses might plausibly be subserved by alternative neural networks. Focusing here mainly on pictures depicting pain and evoking empathy, both approaches are considered by summarizing the evidence that either supports the involvement of the mirror neuron system, or alternatively suggests other neural networks are likely to be implicated. The use of such pictures in experimental studies exploring the underlying neural processes, however, raises a number of concerns, and suggests caution is exercised in drawing conclusions concerning the networks that might be engaged. These various networks are discussed next, taking into account the affective and sensory components of the pain experience, before concluding that both mirror neuron and alternative neural networks are likelyto be enlisted in the empathetic response to images of pain. A somewhat similar duality of spontaneous and cognitive processes may perhaps also be paralleled in the creation of such images. While noting that some have repudiated the neuroscientific approach to the subject, pictures are nevertheless shown here to represent an unusual but invaluable tool in the study of pain and empathy. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
A Meta-Analysis of Red Yeast Rice: An Effective and Relatively Safe Alternative Approach for Dyslipidemia

PubMed Central

Li, Yinhua; Jiang, Long; Jia, Zhangrong; Xin, Wei; Yang, Shiwei; Yang, Qiu; Wang, Luya

2014-01-01

Objective To explore whether red yeast rice is a safe and effective alternative approach for dyslipidemia. Methods Pubmed, the Cochrane Library, EBSCO host, Chinese VIP Information (VIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Databases were searched for appropriate articles. Randomized trials of RYR (not including Xuezhikang and Zhibituo) and placebo as control in patients with dyslipidemia were considered. Two authors read all papers and independently extracted all relevant information. The primary outcomes were serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The secondary outcomes were increased levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, creatinine and fasting blood glucose. Results A total of 13 randomized, placebo-controlled trials containing 804 participants were analyzed. Red yeast rice exhibited significant lowering effects on serum TC [WMD = −0.97 (95% CI: −1.13, −0.80) mmol/L, P<0.001], TG [WMD = −0.23 (95% CI: −0.31, −0.14) mmol/L, P<0.001], and LDL-C [WMD = −0.87 (95% CI: −1.03, −0.71) mmol/L, P<0.001] but no significant increasing effect on HDL-C [WMD = 0.08 (95% CI: −0.02, 0.19) mmol/L, P = 0.11] compared with placebo. No serious side effects were reported in all trials. Conclusions The meta-analysis suggests that red yeast rice is an effective and relatively safe approach for dyslipidemia. However, further long-term, rigorously designed randomized controlled trials are still warranted before red yeast rice could be recommended to patients with dyslipidemia, especially as an alternative to statins. PMID:24897342
Pictures of pain: their contribution to the neuroscience of empathy

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The study of empathy, a translation of the term ‘Einfühlung’, originated in 19th century Germany in the sphere of aesthetics, and was followed by studies in psychology and then neuroscience. During the past decade the links between empathy and art have started to be investigated, but now from the neuroscientific perspective, and two different approaches have emerged. Recently, the primacy of the mirror neuron system and its association with automaticity and imitative, simulated movement has been envisaged. But earlier, a number of eminent art historians had pointed to the importance of cognitive responses to art; these responses might plausibly be subserved by alternative neural networks. Focusing here mainly on pictures depicting pain and evoking empathy, both approaches are considered by summarizing the evidence that either supports the involvement of the mirror neuron system, or alternatively suggests other neural networks are likely to be implicated. The use of such pictures in experimental studies exploring the underlying neural processes, however, raises a number of concerns, and suggests caution is exercised in drawing conclusions concerning the networks that might be engaged. These various networks are discussed next, taking into account the affective and sensory components of the pain experience, before concluding that both mirror neuron and alternative neural networks are likelyto be enlisted in the empathetic response to images of pain. A somewhat similar duality of spontaneous and cognitive processes may perhaps also be paralleled in the creation of such images. While noting that some have repudiated the neuroscientific approach to the subject, pictures are nevertheless shown here to represent an unusual but invaluable tool in the study of pain and empathy. PMID:25614024
Assembling the salon: Learning from alternative forms of body work in dementia care.

PubMed

Ward, Richard; Campbell, Sarah; Keady, John

2016-11-01

This article explores the labour and experiences of a hitherto entirely overlooked section of the dementia care workforce: care-based hairdressers. Reporting on findings from the ESRC-funded 'Hair and Care' project, the analysis and discussion focus upon the 'doing of hair' in the context of dementia care. The authors challenge existing assumptions and approaches to the management of appearance in dementia care, arguing for greater recognition of the subjective and culturally meaningful qualities of a visit to the salon. The article draws upon a wider debate on body work as a framework for the discussion, and considers the employment and working conditions of this largely hidden group of workers in the care system. The article offers an account of the praxis of care-based hairdressing, with particular attention paid to narrative, intercorporeal and place-making practices in the salon, showing how a particular approach to the body shapes the labour, relationships and activities that unfold within it. The authors argue that as an alternative form of body work much can be learned from hairdressing that can inform and enhance the provision of dementia care. © 2016 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.
Application of Temperature-Controlled Thermal Atomization for Printing Electronics in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Chih-Hao; Thompson, Furman V.

2017-01-01

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a technology that builds three dimensional objects by adding material layer-upon-layer throughout the fabrication process. The Electrical, Electronic and Electromechanical (EEE) parts packaging group at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is investigating how various AM and 3D printing processes can be adapted to the microgravity environment of space to enable on demand manufacturing of electronics. The current state-of-the art processes for accomplishing the task of printing electronics through non-contact, direct-write means rely heavily on the process of atomization of liquid inks into fine aerosols to be delivered ultimately to a machine's print head and through its nozzle. As a result of cumulative International Space Station (ISS) research into the behaviors of fluids in zero-gravity, our experience leads us to conclude that the direct adaptation of conventional atomization processes will likely fall short and alternative approaches will need to be explored. In this report, we investigate the development of an alternative approach to atomizing electronic materials by way of thermal atomization, to be used in place of conventional aerosol generation and delivery processes for printing electronics in space.
40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner or operator may... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...
40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner or operator may... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...
40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... of the LCL approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...
40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner or operator may... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...
Use of videotape for off-line viewing of computer-assisted radionuclide cardiology studies

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

Thrall, J.H.; Pitt, B.; Marx, R.S.

1978-02-01

Videotape offers an inexpensive method for off-line viewing of dynamic radionuclide cardiac studies. Two approaches to videotaping have been explored and demonstrated to be feasible. In the first, a video camera in conjunction with a cassette-type recorder is used to record from the computer display scope. Alternatively, for computer systems already linked to video display units, the video signal can be routed directly to the recorder. Acceptance and use of tracer cardiology studies will be enhanced by increased availability of the studies for clinical review. Videotape offers an inexpensive flexible means of achieving this.
Critical reflections on culture in nursing.

PubMed

Gray, Patricia; Thomas, Debera J

2006-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of a view of culture as a sociopolitical construction, and to explore implications for incorporating this view into U.S. nursing education and practice. Current definitions of culture, cultural diversity, and cultural competence are examined to highlight ways in which a traditional, essentialist view is reflected. Examples of an alternative, constructivist view are provided through discussion and in a series of questions. These questions serve as the basis for considering new approaches in U.S. nursing education and health care based on view of culture as a dynamic and ever-changing sociopolitical construction.
Picking the Best from the All-Resources Menu: Advanced Tools for Resource Planning

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

Palmintier, Bryan S

Introduces the wide range of electric power systems modeling types and associated questions they can help answer. The presentation focusses on modeling needs for high levels of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), renewables, and inverter-based technologies as alternatives to traditional centralized power systems. Covers Dynamics, Production Cost/QSTS, Metric Assessment, Resource Planning, and Integrated Simulations with examples drawn from NREL's past and on-going projects. Presented at the McKnight Foundation workshop on 'An All-Resources Approach to Planning for a More Dynamic, Low-Carbon Grid' exploring grid modernization options to replace retiring coal plants in Minnesota.
75 FR 19979 - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Announcement of Workshop on the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-16

... Complementary and Alternative Medicine Announcement of Workshop on the Deconstruction of Back Pain ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) invites the... Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) was established in 1999 with the mission of exploring complementary and...
Alternative approaches for better municipal solid waste management in Mumbai, India

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

Rathi, Sarika

2006-07-01

Waste is an unavoidable by product of human activities. Economic development, urbanization and improving living standards in cities, have led to an increase in the quantity and complexity of generated waste. Rapid growth of population and industrialization degrades the urban environment and places serious stress on natural resources, which undermines equitable and sustainable development. Inefficient management and disposal of solid waste is an obvious cause of degradation of the environment in most cities of the developing world. Municipal corporations of the developing countries are not able to handle increasing quantities of waste, which results in uncollected waste on roads andmore » in other public places. There is a need to work towards a sustainable waste management system, which requires environmental, institutional, financial, economic and social sustainability. This study explores alternative approaches to municipal solid waste (MSW) management and estimates the cost of waste management in Mumbai, India. Two alternatives considered in the paper are community participation and public private partnership in waste management. Data for the present study are from various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and from the private sector involved in waste management in Mumbai. Mathematical models are used to estimate the cost per ton of waste management for both of the alternatives, which are compared with the cost of waste management by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). It is found that the cost per ton of waste management is Rs. 1518 (US$35) with community participation; Rs. 1797 (US$41) with public private partnership (PPP); and Rs. 1908 (US$44) when only MCGM handles the waste. Hence, community participation in waste management is the least cost option and there is a strong case for comprehensively involving community participation in waste management.« less
Cluster Analysis Identifies Distinct Pathogenetic Patterns in C3 Glomerulopathies/Immune Complex-Mediated Membranoproliferative GN.

PubMed

Iatropoulos, Paraskevas; Daina, Erica; Curreri, Manuela; Piras, Rossella; Valoti, Elisabetta; Mele, Caterina; Bresin, Elena; Gamba, Sara; Alberti, Marta; Breno, Matteo; Perna, Annalisa; Bettoni, Serena; Sabadini, Ettore; Murer, Luisa; Vivarelli, Marina; Noris, Marina; Remuzzi, Giuseppe

2018-01-01

Membranoproliferative GN (MPGN) was recently reclassified as alternative pathway complement-mediated C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) and immune complex-mediated membranoproliferative GN (IC-MPGN). However, genetic and acquired alternative pathway abnormalities are also observed in IC-MPGN. Here, we explored the presence of distinct disease entities characterized by specific pathophysiologic mechanisms. We performed unsupervised hierarchical clustering, a data-driven statistical approach, on histologic, genetic, and clinical data and data regarding serum/plasma complement parameters from 173 patients with C3G/IC-MPGN. This approach divided patients into four clusters, indicating the existence of four different pathogenetic patterns. Specifically, this analysis separated patients with fluid-phase complement activation (clusters 1-3) who had low serum C3 levels and a high prevalence of genetic and acquired alternative pathway abnormalities from patients with solid-phase complement activation (cluster 4) who had normal or mildly altered serum C3, late disease onset, and poor renal survival. In patients with fluid-phase complement activation, those in clusters 1 and 2 had massive activation of the alternative pathway, including activation of the terminal pathway, and the highest prevalence of subendothelial deposits, but those in cluster 2 had additional activation of the classic pathway and the highest prevalence of nephrotic syndrome at disease onset. Patients in cluster 3 had prevalent activation of C3 convertase and highly electron-dense intramembranous deposits. In addition, we provide a simple algorithm to assign patients with C3G/IC-MPGN to specific clusters. These distinct clusters may facilitate clarification of disease etiology, improve risk assessment for ESRD, and pave the way for personalized treatment. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Exploring alternative methods for vegetation control and maintenance along roadsides.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-02-01

The search for alternative methods for controlling : and maintaining vegetation along roadsides has : just begun. This work was initiated to find : alternatives to the traditional methods for roadside : vegetation maintenance that includes the use of...
Hazard assessment of nitrosamine and nitramine by-products of amine-based CCS: alternative approaches.

PubMed

Buist, H E; Devito, S; Goldbohm, R A; Stierum, R H; Venhorst, J; Kroese, E D

2015-04-01

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are considered vital and economic elements for achieving global CO2 reduction targets, and is currently introduced worldwide (for more information on CCS, consult for example the websites of the International Energy Agency (http://www.iea.org/topics/ccs/) and the Global CCS Institute (http://www.globalccsinstitute.com/)). One prominent CCS technology, the amine-based post-combustion process, may generate nitrosamines and their related nitramines as by-products, the former well known for their potential mutagenic and carcinogenic properties. In order to efficiently assess the carcinogenic potency of any of these by-products this paper reviews and discusses novel prediction approaches consuming less time, money and animals than the traditionally applied 2-year rodent assay. For this, available animal carcinogenicity studies with N-nitroso compounds and nitramines have been used to derive carcinogenic potency values, that were subsequently used to assess the predictive performance of alternative prediction approaches for these chemicals. Promising cancer prediction models are the QSARs developed by the Helguera group, in vitro transformation assays, and the in vivo initiation-promotion, and transgenic animal assays. All these models, however, have not been adequately explored for this purpose, as the number of N-nitroso compounds investigated is yet too limited, and therefore further testing with relevant N-nitroso compounds is needed. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.
An evaluation of selected in silico models for the assessment ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Skin sensitization remains an important endpoint for consumers, manufacturers and regulators. Although the development of alternative approaches to assess skin sensitization potential has been extremely active over many years, the implication of regulations such as REACH and the Cosmetics Directive in EU has provided a much stronger impetus to actualize this research into practical tools for decision making. Thus there has been considerable focus on the development, evaluation, and integration of alternative approaches for skin sensitization hazard and risk assessment. This includes in silico approaches such as (Q)SARs and expert systems. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive performance of a selection of in silico models and then to explore whether combining those models led to an improvement in accuracy. A dataset of 473 substances that had been tested in the local lymph node assay (LLNA) was compiled. This comprised 295 sensitizers and 178 non-sensitizers. Four freely available models were identified - 2 statistical models VEGA and MultiCASE model A33 for skin sensitization (MCASE A33) from the Danish National Food Institute and two mechanistic models Toxtree’s Skin sensitization Reaction domains (Toxtree SS Rxn domains) and the OASIS v1.3 protein binding alerts for skin sensitization from the OECD Toolbox (OASIS). VEGA and MCASE A33 aim to predict sensitization as a binary score whereas the mechanistic models identified reaction domains or structura
An assessment of a collaborative mapping approach for exploring land use patterns for several European metropolises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jokar Arsanjani, Jamal; Vaz, Eric

2015-03-01

Until recently, land surveys and digital interpretation of remotely sensed imagery have been used to generate land use inventories. These techniques however, are often cumbersome and costly, allocating large amounts of technical and temporal costs. The technological advances of web 2.0 have brought a wide array of technological achievements, stimulating the participatory role in collaborative and crowd sourced mapping products. This has been fostered by GPS-enabled devices, and accessible tools that enable visual interpretation of high resolution satellite images/air photos provided in collaborative mapping projects. Such technologies offer an integrative approach to geography by means of promoting public participation and allowing accurate assessment and classification of land use as well as geographical features. OpenStreetMap (OSM) has supported the evolution of such techniques, contributing to the existence of a large inventory of spatial land use information. This paper explores the introduction of this novel participatory phenomenon for land use classification in Europe's metropolitan regions. We adopt a positivistic approach to assess comparatively the accuracy of these contributions of OSM for land use classifications in seven large European metropolitan regions. Thematic accuracy and degree of completeness of OSM data was compared to available Global Monitoring for Environment and Security Urban Atlas (GMESUA) datasets for the chosen metropolises. We further extend our findings of land use within a novel framework for geography, justifying that volunteered geographic information (VGI) sources are of great benefit for land use mapping depending on location and degree of VGI dynamism and offer a great alternative to traditional mapping techniques for metropolitan regions throughout Europe. Evaluation of several land use types at the local level suggests that a number of OSM classes (such as anthropogenic land use, agricultural and some natural environment classes) are viable alternatives for land use classification. These classes are highly accurate and can be integrated into planning decisions for stakeholders and policymakers.
A Method of Accounting for Enzyme Costs in Flux Balance Analysis Reveals Alternative Pathways and Metabolite Stores in an Illuminated Arabidopsis Leaf.

PubMed

Cheung, C Y Maurice; Ratcliffe, R George; Sweetlove, Lee J

2015-11-01

Flux balance analysis of plant metabolism is an established method for predicting metabolic flux phenotypes and for exploring the way in which the plant metabolic network delivers specific outcomes in different cell types, tissues, and temporal phases. A recurring theme is the need to explore the flexibility of the network in meeting its objectives and, in particular, to establish the extent to which alternative pathways can contribute to achieving specific outcomes. Unfortunately, predictions from conventional flux balance analysis minimize the simultaneous operation of alternative pathways, but by introducing flux-weighting factors to allow for the variable intrinsic cost of supporting each flux, it is possible to activate different pathways in individual simulations and, thus, to explore alternative pathways by averaging thousands of simulations. This new method has been applied to a diel genome-scale model of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaf metabolism to explore the flexibility of the network in meeting the metabolic requirements of the leaf in the light. This identified alternative flux modes in the Calvin-Benson cycle revealed the potential for alternative transitory carbon stores in leaves and led to predictions about the light-dependent contribution of alternative electron flow pathways and futile cycles in energy rebalancing. Notable features of the analysis include the light-dependent tradeoff between the use of carbohydrates and four-carbon organic acids as transitory storage forms and the way in which multiple pathways for the consumption of ATP and NADPH can contribute to the balancing of the requirements of photosynthetic metabolism with the energy available from photon capture. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.
Short Shrift to Long Lists: An Alternative Approach to the Development of Performance Standards for School Principals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Louden, William; Wildy, Helen

1999-01-01

Describes examples of standards frameworks for principals' work operant in three countries and describes an alternative approach based on interviewing 40 Australian principals. By combining qualitative case studies with probabilistic measurement techniques, the alternative approach provides contextually rich descriptions of growth in performance…
A complex systems science perspective for whole systems of complementary and alternative medicine research.

PubMed

Koithan, Mary; Bell, Iris R; Niemeyer, Kathryn; Pincus, David

2012-01-01

Whole systems complementary and alternative medicine (WS-CAM) approaches share a basic worldview that embraces interconnectedness; emergent, non-linear outcomes to treatment that include both local and global changes in the human condition; a contextual view of human beings that are inseparable from and responsive to their environments; and interventions that are complex, synergistic, and interdependent. These fundamental beliefs and principles run counter to the assumptions of reductionism and conventional biomedical research methods that presuppose unidimensional simple causes and thus dismantle and individually test various interventions that comprise only single aspects of the WSCAM system. This paper will demonstrate the superior fit and practical advantages of using complex adaptive systems (CAS) and related modeling approaches to develop the scientific basis for WS-CAM. Furthermore, the details of these CAS models will be used to provide working hypotheses to explain clinical phenomena such as (a) persistence of changes for weeks to months between treatments and/or after cessation of treatment, (b) nonlocal and whole systems changes resulting from therapy, (c) Hering's law, and (d) healing crises. Finally, complex systems science will be used to offer an alternative perspective on cause, beyond the simple reductionism of mainstream mechanistic ontology and more parsimonious than the historical vitalism of WS-CAM. Rather, complex systems science provides a scientifically rigorous, yet essentially holistic ontological perspective with which to conceptualize and empirically explore the development of disease and illness experiences, as well as experiences of healing and wellness. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.
A computational integrative approach based on alternative splicing analysis to compare immortalized and primary cancer cells.

PubMed

Tripathi, Kumar Parijat; Granata, Ilaria; Guarracino, Mario Rosario

2017-10-01

Immortalized cell lines are widely used to study the effectiveness and toxicity of anti cancer drugs as well as to assess the phenotypic characteristics of cancer cells, such as proliferation and migration ability. Unfortunately, cell lines often show extremely different properties than tumor tissues. Also the primary cells, that are deprived of the in vivo environment, might adapt to artificial conditions, and differ from the tissue they should represent. Despite these considerations, cell lines are still one of the most used cancer models due to their availability and capability to expand without limitation, but the clinical relevance of their use is still a big issue in cancer research. Many studies tried to overcome this task, comparing cell lines and tumor samples through the definition of the genomic and transcriptomic differences. To this aim, most of them used nucleotide variation or gene expression data. Here we introduce a different strategy based on alternative splicing detection and integration of DNA and RNA sequencing data, to explore the differences between immortalized and tissue-derived cells at isoforms level. Furthermore, in order to better investigate the heterogeneity of both cell populations, we took advantage of a public available dataset obtained with a new simultaneous omics single cell sequencing methodology. The proposed pipeline allowed us to identify, through a computational and prediction approach, putative mutated and alternative spliced transcripts responsible for the dissimilarity between immortalized and primary hepato carcinoma cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Human Exploration of Mars: The Reference Mission of the NASA Mars Exploration Study Team

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Connolly, John

1998-01-01

The Reference Mission was developed over a period of several years and was published in NASA Special Publication 6107 in July 1997. The purpose of the Reference Mission was to provide a workable model for the human exploration of Mars, which is described in enough detail that alternative strategies and implementations can be compared and evaluated. NASA is continuing to develop the Reference Mission and expects to update this report in the near future. It was the purpose of the Reference Mission to develop scenarios based on the needs of scientists and explorers who want to conduct research on Mars; however, more work on the surface-mission aspects of the Reference Mission is required and is getting under way. Some aspects of the Reference Mission that are important for the consideration of the surface mission definition include: (1) a split mission strategy, which arrives at the surface two years before the arrival of the first crew; (2) three missions to the outpost site over a 6-year period; (3) a plant capable of producing rocket propellant for lifting off Mars and caches of water, O, and inert gases for the life-support system; (4) a hybrid physico-chemical/bioregenerative life-support system, which emphasizes the bioregenerative system more in later parts of the scenario; (5) a nuclear reactor power supply, which provides enough power for all operations, including the operation of a bioregenerative life-support system as well as the propellant and consumable plant; (6) capability for at least two people to be outside the habitat each day of the surface stay; (7) telerobotic and human-operated transportation vehicles, including a pressurized rover capable of supporting trips of several days' duration from the habitat; (7) crew stay times of 500 days on the surface, with six-person crews; and (8) multiple functional redundancies to reduce risks to the crews on the surface. New concepts are being sought that would reduce the overall cost for this exploration program and reducing the risks that are indigenous to Mars exploration. Among those areas being explored are alternative space propulsion approaches, solar vs. nuclear power, and reductions in the size of crews.
Role of thought-related beliefs and coping strategies in the escalation of intrusive thoughts: an analog to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Marcks, Brook A; Woods, Douglas W

2007-11-01

Cognitive-behavioral models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) assume that obsessions have their origin in normal intrusive thoughts. These models propose that certain beliefs, such as thought-action fusion (TAF) beliefs, combined with the use of ineffective coping strategies, such as thought suppression, lead to the development of OCD. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between these variables in a non-clinical sample in addition to exploring the effects of an alternative, acceptance-based coping strategy. This study explored the relationship between TAF beliefs, thought suppression, and OC-consistent symptoms via mediational analyses. Results showed that thought suppression mediated the relationship between TAF beliefs and OC-consistent symptoms. This study also experimentally examined the effects of various coping strategies (suppression, acceptance, or monitor-only) on the frequency of a distressing intrusion and appraisal ratings (e.g., anxiety, guilt, responsibility) after a TAF induction. Spontaneous suppression in the monitor-only group made comparisons of the experimental data difficult. However, analyses provided preliminary evidence suggesting that thought suppression is related to more intrusions, higher levels of anxiety, and negative appraisals, whereas an acceptance-based approach may be a useful alternative. Additional findings, limitations of the current study, and directions for future research are discussed.
Real-Time Tau Protein Detection by Sandwich-Based Piezoelectric Biosensing: Exploring Tubulin as a Mass Enhancer.

PubMed

Li, Dujuan; Scarano, Simona; Lisi, Samuele; Palladino, Pasquale; Minunni, Maria

2018-03-22

Human tau protein is one of the most advanced and accepted biomarkers for AD and tauopathies diagnosis in general. In this work, a quartz crystal balance (QCM) immunosensor was developed for the detection of human tau protein in buffer and artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF), through both direct and sandwich assays. Starting from a conventional immuno-based sandwich strategy, two monoclonal antibodies recognizing different epitopes of tau protein were used, achieving a detection limit for the direct assay in nanomolar range both in HBES-EP and aCSF. Afterward, for exploring alternative specific receptors as secondary recognition elements for tau protein biosensing, we tested tubulin and compared its behavior to a conventional secondary antibody in the sandwich assay. Tau-tubulin binding has shown an extended working range coupled to a signal improvement in comparison with the conventional secondary antibody-based approach, showing a dose-response trend at lower tau concentration than is usually investigated and closer to the physiological levels in the reference matrix for protein tau biomarker. Our results open up new and encouraging perspectives for the use of tubulin as an alternative receptor for tau protein with interesting features due to the possibility of taking advantage of its polymerization and reversible binding to this key hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.
A resilience approach can improve anadromous fish restoration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waldman, John R.; Wilson, Karen A.; Mather, Martha E.; Snyder, Noah P.

2016-01-01

Most anadromous fish populations remain at low levels or are in decline despite substantial investments in restoration. We explore whether a resilience perspective (i.e., a different paradigm for understanding populations, communities, and ecosystems) is a viable alternative framework for anadromous fish restoration. Many life history traits have allowed anadromous fish to thrive in unimpacted ecosystems but have become contemporary curses as anthropogenic effects increase. This contradiction creates a significant conservation challenge but also makes these fish excellent candidates for a resilience approach. A resilience approach recognizes the need to maintain life history, population, and habitat characteristics that increase the ability of a population to withstand and recover from multiple disturbances. To evaluate whether a resilience approach represents a viable strategy for anadromous fish restoration, we review four issues: (1) how resilience theory can inform anadromous fish restoration, (2) how a resilience-based approach is fundamentally different than extant anadromous fish restoration strategies, (3) ecological characteristics that historically benefited anadromous fish persistence, and (4) examples of how human impacts harm anadromous fish and how a resilience approach might produce more successful outcomes. We close by suggesting new research and restoration directions for implementation of a resilience-based approach.
Dynamic Approaches to Language Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Srinivasan, Narayanan

2007-01-01

Symbolic rule-based approaches have been a preferred way to study language and cognition. Dissatisfaction with rule-based approaches in the 1980s lead to alternative approaches to study language, the most notable being the dynamic approaches to language processing. Dynamic approaches provide a significant alternative by not being rule-based and…
Seeking Educational Excellence Everywhere: An Exploration into the Impact of Academisation on Alternative Education Provision in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dean, Charlotte

2016-01-01

This article presents a policy analysis of the UK Government's Academies programme and explores the impact that this might have on young people who have become disengaged from the mainstream education system and are thus educated in "alternative provision" (AP) settings. It argues that the academisation proposals curtail some of the…
Alternative Break Programs and the Factors that Contribute to Changes in Students' Lives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niehaus, Elizabeth Kathleen

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to and ways in which student participants in Alternative Break (AB) programs report that their AB experience influenced their intentions or plans to volunteer, engage in advocacy, or study or travel abroad, or their major or career plans. Additional analysis explored the specific program…
Exploring the persistence of stream-dwelling trout populations under alternative real-world turbidity regimes with an individual-based model

Treesearch

Bret C. Harvey; Steven F. Railsback

2009-01-01

We explored the effects of elevated turbidity on stream-resident populations of coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii using a spatially explicit individual-based model. Turbidity regimes were contrasted by means of 15-year simulations in a third-order stream in northwestern California. The alternative regimes were based on multiple-year, continuous...
A Subjective Assessment of Alternative Mission Architecture Operations Concepts for the Human Exploration of Mars at NASA Using a Three-Dimensional Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tavana, Madjid

2003-01-01

The primary driver for developing missions to send humans to other planets is to generate significant scientific return. NASA plans human planetary explorations with an acceptable level of risk consistent with other manned operations. Space exploration risks can not be completely eliminated. Therefore, an acceptable level of cost, technical, safety, schedule, and political risks and benefits must be established for exploratory missions. This study uses a three-dimensional multi-criteria decision making model to identify the risks and benefits associated with three alternative mission architecture operations concepts for the human exploration of Mars identified by the Mission Operations Directorate at Johnson Space Center. The three alternatives considered in this study include split, combo lander, and dual scenarios. The model considers the seven phases of the mission including: 1) Earth Vicinity/Departure; 2) Mars Transfer; 3) Mars Arrival; 4) Planetary Surface; 5) Mars Vicinity/Departure; 6) Earth Transfer; and 7) Earth Arrival. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and subjective probability estimation are used to captures the experts belief concerning the risks and benefits of the three alternative scenarios through a series of sequential, rational, and analytical processes.
Development of Carbon Dioxide Removal Systems for Advanced Exploration Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knox, James C.; Trinh, Diep; Gostowski, Rudy; King, Eric; Mattox, Emily M.; Watson, David; Thomas, John

2012-01-01

"NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program is pioneering new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities, and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit" (NASA 2012). These forays beyond the confines of earth's gravity will place unprecedented demands on launch systems. They must not only blast out of earth's gravity well as during the Apollo moon missions, but also launch the supplies needed to sustain a crew over longer periods for exploration missions beyond earth's moon. Thus all spacecraft systems, including those for the separation of metabolic carbon dioxide and water from a crewed vehicle, must be minimized with respect to mass, power, and volume. Emphasis is also placed on system robustness both to minimize replacement parts and ensure crew safety when a quick return to earth is not possible. Current efforts are focused on improving the current state-of-the-art systems utilizing fixed beds of sorbent pellets by seeking more robust pelletized sorbents, evaluating structured sorbents, and examining alternate bed configurations to improve system efficiency and reliability. These development efforts combine testing of sub-scale systems and multi-physics computer simulations to evaluate candidate approaches, select the best performing options, and optimize the configuration of the selected approach, which is then implemented in a full-scale integrated atmosphere revitalization test. This paper describes the carbon dioxide (CO2) removal hardware design and sorbent screening and characterization effort in support of the Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) project within the AES program. A companion paper discusses development of atmosphere revitalization models and simulations for this project.
Multiple NEO Rendezvous, Reconnaissance and In Situ Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klaus, K.; Elsperman, M. S.; Cook, T.; Smith, D.

2010-12-01

We propose a two spacecraft mission (Mother Ship and Small Body Lander) rendezvous with multiple Near Earth Objects (NEO). This two spacecraft mission mimics the likely architecture approach that human explorers will use: a “mother ship”(MS) designed to get from Earth to the NEO and a “Small Body Lander”(SBL) that performs in situ investigation on or close to the NEO’s surface. The MS carries the SBL to the target NEO. Once at the target NEO, the MS conducts an initial reconnaissance in order to produce a high resolution map of the surface. This map is used to identify coordinates of interest which are sent to the SBL. The SBL un-docks from the MS to rendezvous with the NEO and collect data. Landings are possible, though the challenges of anchoring to the NEO surface are significant. The SBL design is flexible and adaptable, enabling science data collection on or near the surface. After surface investigations are completed on the first NEO, the SBL will return and autonomously rendezvous and dock with the MS. The MS then goes to the next NEO target. During transit to the next NEO, the SBL could be refueled by the MS, a TRL8 capability demonstrated on the DARPA/NASA Orbital Express mission in 2007, or alternately sized to operate without requiring refueling depending on the mission profile. The mission goals are to identify surface hazards; quantify engineering boundary conditions for future human visits, and identify resources for future exploitation. The mission goals will be accomplished through the execution of key mission objectives: (1) high-resolution surface topography; (2) surface composition and mineralogy; (3) radiation environment near NEO; and (4) mechanical properties of the surface. Essential SBL instruments include: a) LIDAR (Obj. 1); b) 3D, high- resolution hyperspectral imaging cameras (Obj. 2); c) radiation sensor package (Obj. 3); and d) strain gauges (Obj. 4). Additional or alternative instruments could include: e) x-ray fluorescence or laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) sensor package (Obj. 2); f) gamma ray/neutron spectrometry package (Obj. 2); and g) radiometer package (to address variations in thermal environment). The ability to reach, survey, sample, and analyze multiple NEOs at close proximity is an enormous capability that can enable NASA to rapidly achieve the primary Exploration Precursor Robotic Mission (xPRM) Program goal of characterizing NEOs for future human exploration. Instead of launching multiple dedicated missions to each NEO of interest, a multi-NEO sortie mission can be planned and executed to achieve the same mission objectives with one launch, dramatically reducing the cost of NEO exploration. Collectively, our NEO Exploration System Architecture provides solutions for a wide variety of exploration activities using a common spacecraft bus and common core instrumentation for the spacecraft. This engineering consistency will substantially improve the probability of mission success, increase the likelihood of maintaining an aggressive launch schedule, and decrease the total cost of multiple missions. NASA successfully used this approach with the robotic precursors leading up to the Apollo missions, and we see significant benefits from this same programmatic approach for the xPRM program.
Integration of preclinical and clinical knowledge to predict intravenous PK in human: bilastine case study.

PubMed

Vozmediano, Valvanera; Ortega, Ignacio; Lukas, John C; Gonzalo, Ana; Rodriguez, Monica; Lucero, Maria Luisa

2014-03-01

Modern pharmacometrics can integrate and leverage all prior proprietary and public knowledge. Such methods can be used to scale across species or comparators, perform clinical trial simulation across alternative designs, confirm hypothesis and potentially reduce development burden, time and costs. Crucial yet typically lacking in integration is the pre-clinical stage. Prediction of PK in man, using in vitro and in vivo studies in different animal species, is increasingly well theorized but could still find wider application in drug development. The aim of the present work was to explore methods for bridging pharmacokinetic knowledge from animal species (i.v. and p.o.) and man (p.o.) into i.v. in man using the antihistamine drug bilastine as example. A model, predictive of i.v. PK in man, was developed on data from two pre-clinical species (rat and dog) and p.o. in man bilastine trials performed earlier. In the knowledge application stage, two different approaches were used to predict human plasma concentration after i.v. of bilastine: allometry (several scaling methods) and a semi-physiological method. Both approaches led to successful predictions of key i.v. PK parameters of bilastine in man. The predictive i.v. PK model was validated using later data from a clinical study of i.v. bilastine. Introduction of such knowledge in development permits proper leveraging of all emergent knowledge as well as quantification-based exploration of PK scenario, e.g. in special populations (pediatrics, renal insufficiency, comedication). In addition, the methods permit reduction or elimination and certainly optimization of learning trials, particularly those concerning alternative off-label administration routes.

Exploring matrix effects and quantifying organic additives in hydraulic fracturing associated fluids using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Nell, Marika; Helbling, Damian E

2018-05-23

Hydraulic fracturing (HF) operations utilize millions of gallons of water amended with chemical additives including biocides, corrosion inhibitors, and surfactants. Fluids injected into the subsurface return to the surface as wastewaters, which contain a complex mixture of additives, transformation products, and geogenic chemical constituents. Quantitative analytical methods are needed to evaluate wastewater disposal alternatives or to conduct adequate exposure assessments. However, our narrow understanding of how matrix effects change the ionization efficiency of target analytes limits the quantitative analysis of polar to semi-polar HF additives by means of liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS). To address this limitation, we explored the ways in which matrix chemistry influences the ionization of seventeen priority HF additives with a modified standard addition approach. We then used the data to quantify HF additives in HF-associated fluids. Our results demonstrate that HF additives generally exhibit suppressed ionization in HF-associated fluids, though HF additives that predominantly form sodiated adducts exhibit significantly enhanced ionization in produced water samples, which is largely the result of adduct shifting. In a preliminary screening, we identified glutaraldehyde and 2-butoxyethanol along with homologues of benzalkonium chloride (ADBAC), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and polypropylene glycol (PPG) in HF-associated fluids. We then used matrix recovery factors to provide the first quantitative measurements of individual homologues of ADBAC, PEG, and PPG in HF-associated fluids ranging from mg L-1 levels in hydraulic fracturing fluid to low μg L-1 levels in PW samples. Our approach is generalizable across sample types and shale formations and yields important data to evaluate wastewater disposal alternatives or implement exposure assessments.
Quantification of source uncertainties in Seismic Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (SPTHA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selva, J.; Tonini, R.; Molinari, I.; Tiberti, M. M.; Romano, F.; Grezio, A.; Melini, D.; Piatanesi, A.; Basili, R.; Lorito, S.

2016-06-01

We propose a procedure for uncertainty quantification in Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (PTHA), with a special emphasis on the uncertainty related to statistical modelling of the earthquake source in Seismic PTHA (SPTHA), and on the separate treatment of subduction and crustal earthquakes (treated as background seismicity). An event tree approach and ensemble modelling are used in spite of more classical approaches, such as the hazard integral and the logic tree. This procedure consists of four steps: (1) exploration of aleatory uncertainty through an event tree, with alternative implementations for exploring epistemic uncertainty; (2) numerical computation of tsunami generation and propagation up to a given offshore isobath; (3) (optional) site-specific quantification of inundation; (4) simultaneous quantification of aleatory and epistemic uncertainty through ensemble modelling. The proposed procedure is general and independent of the kind of tsunami source considered; however, we implement step 1, the event tree, specifically for SPTHA, focusing on seismic source uncertainty. To exemplify the procedure, we develop a case study considering seismic sources in the Ionian Sea (central-eastern Mediterranean Sea), using the coasts of Southern Italy as a target zone. The results show that an efficient and complete quantification of all the uncertainties is feasible even when treating a large number of potential sources and a large set of alternative model formulations. We also find that (i) treating separately subduction and background (crustal) earthquakes allows for optimal use of available information and for avoiding significant biases; (ii) both subduction interface and crustal faults contribute to the SPTHA, with different proportions that depend on source-target position and tsunami intensity; (iii) the proposed framework allows sensitivity and deaggregation analyses, demonstrating the applicability of the method for operational assessments.
A conceptual framework for assessing interorganizational integration and interprofessional collaboration.

PubMed

Willumsen, Elisabeth; Ahgren, Bengt; Ødegård, Atle

2012-05-01

The need for collaboration in health and social welfare is well documented internationally. It is related to the improvement of services for the users, particularly target groups with multiple problems. However, there is still insufficient knowledge of the complex area of collaboration, and the interprofessional literature highlights the need to develop adequate research approaches for exploring collaboration between organizations, professionals and service users. This paper proposes a conceptual framework based on interorganizational and interprofessional research, with focus on the concepts of integration and collaboration. Furthermore, the paper suggests how two measurement instruments can be combined and adapted to the welfare context in order to explore collaboration between organizations, professionals and service users, thereby contributing to knowledge development and policy improvement. Issues concerning reliability, validity and design alternatives, as well as the importance of management, clinical implications and service user involvement in future research, are discussed.
Nuclear subs to explore Arctic?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The international community of scientists has become interested in the idea of using a nuclear submarine to explore the Arctic and other inaccessible regions of the World Ocean. Several alternative approaches to formulating a concept and the respective plan of action put forward by different expert groups have been amply discussed [Eos, May 12, 1992; Navy News and Undersea Technology, November 9, 1992]. The Russian Academy of Sciences has created a working group, “Science-NSM,” to coordinate efforts in working out the concept of the project and the plan of action, determine the main scientific and applied problems and criteria for selecting the type of nuclear submarine to be rebuilt, appraise the possible solutions of occurring problems, as well as to effect international contacts. Members of the group include E. P. Velikhov (chairman), vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences; D. M. Klimov (deputy chairman); and Y. D. Chasheckin (scientific secretary).
Architecture Synthesis and Reduced-Cost Architectures for Human Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodcock, Gordon

2004-01-01

Development of architectures for human exploration missions has been pursued in the international aerospace community for a long time. This paper attempts a different approach and way of looking at architectures. Most of the emphasis is on lunar architectures with a brief look at Mars. The first step is to set forth overarching gods in order to understand origins of requirements. Then, principles and guidelines are developed for architecture formulation. It is argued that safety and cost are the primary factors. Alternative mission profiles are examined for adherence to the principles, and specific architectures formulated according to the guidelines. The guidelines themselves indicate preferred evolution paths from lunar to Mars architectures. Results of example calculations are given to illustrate the process, and an evolution path is recommended. Safety and cost criteria tend to conflict, but it is shown that cost-efficient architectures can be enhanced for good safety ratings at modest cost.
Comparisons of the utility of researcher-defined and participant-defined successful ageing.

PubMed

Brown, Lynsey J; Bond, Malcolm J

2016-03-01

To investigate the impact of different approaches for measuring 'successful ageing', four alternative researcher and participant definitions were compared, including a novel measure informed by cluster analysis. Rates of successful ageing were explored, as were their relative associations with age and measures of successful adaptation, to assess construct validity. Participants, aged over 65, were recruited from community-based organisations. Questionnaires (assessing successful ageing, lifestyle activities and selective optimisation with compensation) were completed by 317 individuals. Successful ageing ranged from 11.4% to 87.4%, with higher rates evident from participant definitions. Though dependent upon the definition, successful agers were typically younger, reported greater engagement with lifestyle activities and more frequent optimisation. While the current study suggested an improved classification algorithm using a common research definition, future research should explore how subjective and objective aspects of successful ageing may be combined to derive a measure relevant to policy and practice. © 2016 AJA Inc.
Is it possible to identify a trend in problem/failure data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Church, Curtis K.

1990-01-01

One of the major obstacles in identifying and interpreting a trend is the small number of data points. Future trending reports will begin with 1983 data. As the problem/failure data are aggregated by year, there are just seven observations (1983 to 1989) for the 1990 reports. Any statistical inferences with a small amount of data will have a large degree of uncertainty. Consequently, a regression technique approach to identify a trend is limited. Though trend determination by failure mode may be unrealistic, the data may be explored for consistency or stability and the failure rate investigated. Various alternative data analysis procedures are briefly discussed. Techniques that could be used to explore problem/failure data by failure mode are addressed. The data used are taken from Section One, Space Shuttle Main Engine, of the Calspan Quarterly Report dated April 2, 1990.
Exploring Important Influences on the Healthfulness of Prostate Cancer Survivors’ Diets

PubMed Central

Coa, Kisha I.; Smith, Katherine Clegg; Klassen, Ann C.; Thorpe, Roland J.; Caulfield, Laura E.

2015-01-01

A cancer diagnosis is often conceptualized as a teachable moment when individuals might be motivated to make lifestyle changes. Many prostate cancer survivors, however, do not adhere to dietary guidelines. In this article, we explore how cancer impacted prostate cancer survivors’ diets and identify important influences on diet. Twenty prostate cancer survivors completed three 24-hour dietary recalls and an in-depth dietary interview. We analyzed interviews using a constant comparison approach, and dietary recall data quantitatively to assess quality and qualitatively to identify food choices patterns. Most men reported not making dietary changes following their cancer diagnosis, but did express an interest in healthy eating, primarily to facilitate weight loss. Men portrayed barriers to healthy eating that often outweighed their motivation to eat healthy. Public health programs should consider alternative ways of framing healthy eating programs for prostate cancer survivors that might be more effective than a cancer-specific focus. PMID:25857653
Rapid Start-up and Loading of an Attached Growth, Simultaneous Nitrification/Denitrification Membrane Aerated Bioreactor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyer, Caitlin E.; Pensinger, Stuart; Pickering, Karen D.; Barta, Daniel; Shull, Sarah A.; Vega, Letticia M.; Christenson, Dylan; Jackson, W. Andrew

2015-01-01

Membrane aerated bioreactors (MABR) are attached-growth biological systems used for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification to reclaim water from waste. This design is an innovative approach to common terrestrial wastewater treatments for nitrogen and carbon removal and implementing a biologically-based water treatment system for long-duration human exploration is an attractive, low energy alternative to physiochemical processes. Two obstacles to implementing such a system are (1) the "start-up" duration from inoculation to steady-state operations and (2) the amount of surface area needed for the biological activity to occur. The Advanced Water Recovery Systems (AWRS) team at JSC explored these two issues through two tests; a rapid inoculation study and a wastewater loading study. Results from these tests demonstrate that the duration from inoculation to steady state can be reduced to under two weeks, and that despite low ammonium removal rates, the MABRs are oversized.
A canine model of Cohen syndrome: Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome.

PubMed

Shearman, Jeremy R; Wilton, Alan N

2011-05-23

Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome (TNS) is a common autosomal recessive neutropenia in Border collie dogs. We used a candidate gene approach and linkage analysis to show that the causative gene for TNS is VPS13B. We chose VPS13B as a candidate because of similarities in clinical signs between TNS and Cohen syndrome, in human, such as neutropenia and a typical facial dysmorphism. Linkage analysis using microsatellites close to VPS13B showed positive linkage of the region to TNS. We sequenced each of the 63 exons of VPS13B in affected and control dogs and found that the causative mutation in Border collies is a 4 bp deletion in exon 19 of the largest transcript that results in premature truncation of the protein. Cohen syndrome patients present with mental retardation in 99% of cases, but learning disabilities featured in less than half of TNS affected dogs. It has been implied that loss of the alternate transcript of VPS13B in the human brain utilising an alternate exon, 28, may cause mental retardation. Mice cannot be used to test this hypothesis as they do not express the alternate exon. We show that dogs do express alternate transcripts in the brain utilising an alternate exon homologous to human exon 28. Dogs can be used as a model organism to explore the function of the alternately spliced transcript of VPS13B in the brain. TNS in Border collies is the first animal model for Cohen syndrome and can be used to study the disease aetiology.
A canine model of Cohen syndrome: Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome (TNS) is a common autosomal recessive neutropenia in Border collie dogs. Results We used a candidate gene approach and linkage analysis to show that the causative gene for TNS is VPS13B. We chose VPS13B as a candidate because of similarities in clinical signs between TNS and Cohen syndrome, in human, such as neutropenia and a typical facial dysmorphism. Linkage analysis using microsatellites close to VPS13B showed positive linkage of the region to TNS. We sequenced each of the 63 exons of VPS13B in affected and control dogs and found that the causative mutation in Border collies is a 4 bp deletion in exon 19 of the largest transcript that results in premature truncation of the protein. Cohen syndrome patients present with mental retardation in 99% of cases, but learning disabilities featured in less than half of TNS affected dogs. It has been implied that loss of the alternate transcript of VPS13B in the human brain utilising an alternate exon, 28, may cause mental retardation. Mice cannot be used to test this hypothesis as they do not express the alternate exon. We show that dogs do express alternate transcripts in the brain utilising an alternate exon homologous to human exon 28. Conclusion Dogs can be used as a model organism to explore the function of the alternately spliced transcript of VPS13B in the brain. TNS in Border collies is the first animal model for Cohen syndrome and can be used to study the disease aetiology. PMID:21605373
Beliefs and perceptions of women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who refused conventional treatment in favor of alternative therapies.

PubMed

Citrin, Dennis L; Bloom, Diane L; Grutsch, James F; Mortensen, Sara J; Lis, Christopher G

2012-01-01

Although breast cancer is a highly treatable disease, some women reject conventional treatment opting for unproven "alternative therapy" that may contribute to poor health outcomes. This study sought to understand why some women make this decision and to identify messages that might lead to greater acceptance of evidence-based treatment. This study explored treatment decision making through in-depth interviews with 60 breast cancer patients identified by their treating oncologists. Thirty refused some or all conventional treatment, opting for alternative therapies, whereas 30 accepted both conventional and alternative treatments. All completed the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Rotter Locus of Control scale. Negative first experiences with "uncaring, insensitive, and unnecessarily harsh" oncologists, fear of side effects, and belief in the efficacy of alternative therapies were key factors in the decision to reject potentially life-prolonging conventional therapy. Refusers differed from controls in their perceptions of the value of conventional treatment, believing that chemotherapy and radiotherapy were riskier (p < .0073) and less beneficial (p < .0001) than did controls. Controls perceived alternative medicine alone as riskier than did refusers because its value for treating cancer is unproven (p < .0001). Refusers believed they could heal themselves naturally from cancer with simple holistic methods like raw fruits, vegetables, and supplements. According to interviewees, a compassionate approach to cancer care plus physicians who acknowledge their fears, communicate hope, educate them about their options, and allow them time to come to terms with their diagnosis before starting treatment might have led them to better treatment choices.
A normal mode-based geometric simulation approach for exploring biologically relevant conformational transitions in proteins.

PubMed

Ahmed, Aqeel; Rippmann, Friedrich; Barnickel, Gerhard; Gohlke, Holger

2011-07-25

A three-step approach for multiscale modeling of protein conformational changes is presented that incorporates information about preferred directions of protein motions into a geometric simulation algorithm. The first two steps are based on a rigid cluster normal-mode analysis (RCNMA). Low-frequency normal modes are used in the third step (NMSim) to extend the recently introduced idea of constrained geometric simulations of diffusive motions in proteins by biasing backbone motions of the protein, whereas side-chain motions are biased toward favorable rotamer states. The generated structures are iteratively corrected regarding steric clashes and stereochemical constraint violations. The approach allows performing three simulation types: unbiased exploration of conformational space; pathway generation by a targeted simulation; and radius of gyration-guided simulation. When applied to a data set of proteins with experimentally observed conformational changes, conformational variabilities are reproduced very well for 4 out of 5 proteins that show domain motions, with correlation coefficients r > 0.70 and as high as r = 0.92 in the case of adenylate kinase. In 7 out of 8 cases, NMSim simulations starting from unbound structures are able to sample conformations that are similar (root-mean-square deviation = 1.0-3.1 Å) to ligand bound conformations. An NMSim generated pathway of conformational change of adenylate kinase correctly describes the sequence of domain closing. The NMSim approach is a computationally efficient alternative to molecular dynamics simulations for conformational sampling of proteins. The generated conformations and pathways of conformational transitions can serve as input to docking approaches or as starting points for more sophisticated sampling techniques.
Acquisition of Nominal Morphophonological Alternations in Russian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomas, Ekaterina; van de Vijver, Ruben; Demuth, Katherine; Petocz, Peter

2017-01-01

Morphophonological alternations can make target-like production of grammatical morphemes challenging due to changes in form depending on the phonological environment. This article explores the acquisition of morphophonological alternations involving the interacting patterns of vowel deletion and stress shift in Russian-speaking children (aged…
A jackknife approach to quantifying single-trial correlation between covariance-based metrics undefined on a single-trial basis.

PubMed

Richter, Craig G; Thompson, William H; Bosman, Conrado A; Fries, Pascal

2015-07-01

The quantification of covariance between neuronal activities (functional connectivity) requires the observation of correlated changes and therefore multiple observations. The strength of such neuronal correlations may itself undergo moment-by-moment fluctuations, which might e.g. lead to fluctuations in single-trial metrics such as reaction time (RT), or may co-fluctuate with the correlation between activity in other brain areas. Yet, quantifying the relation between moment-by-moment co-fluctuations in neuronal correlations is precluded by the fact that neuronal correlations are not defined per single observation. The proposed solution quantifies this relation by first calculating neuronal correlations for all leave-one-out subsamples (i.e. the jackknife replications of all observations) and then correlating these values. Because the correlation is calculated between jackknife replications, we address this approach as jackknife correlation (JC). First, we demonstrate the equivalence of JC to conventional correlation for simulated paired data that are defined per observation and therefore allow the calculation of conventional correlation. While the JC recovers the conventional correlation precisely, alternative approaches, like sorting-and-binning, result in detrimental effects of the analysis parameters. We then explore the case of relating two spectral correlation metrics, like coherence, that require multiple observation epochs, where the only viable alternative analysis approaches are based on some form of epoch subdivision, which results in reduced spectral resolution and poor spectral estimators. We show that JC outperforms these approaches, particularly for short epoch lengths, without sacrificing any spectral resolution. Finally, we note that the JC can be applied to relate fluctuations in any smooth metric that is not defined on single observations. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Hankin and Reeves' approach to estimating fish abundance in small streams: Limitations and alternatives

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thompson, W.L.

2003-01-01

Hankin and Reeves' (1988) approach to estimating fish abundance in small streams has been applied in stream fish studies across North America. However, their population estimator relies on two key assumptions: (1) removal estimates are equal to the true numbers of fish, and (2) removal estimates are highly correlated with snorkel counts within a subset of sampled stream units. Violations of these assumptions may produce suspect results. To determine possible sources of the assumption violations, I used data on the abundance of steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss from Hankin and Reeves' (1988) in a simulation composed of 50,000 repeated, stratified systematic random samples from a spatially clustered distribution. The simulation was used to investigate effects of a range of removal estimates, from 75% to 100% of true fish abundance, on overall stream fish population estimates. The effects of various categories of removal-estimates-to-snorkel-count correlation levels (r = 0.75-1.0) on fish population estimates were also explored. Simulation results indicated that Hankin and Reeves' approach may produce poor results unless removal estimates exceed at least 85% of the true number of fish within sampled units and unless correlations between removal estimates and snorkel counts are at least 0.90. A potential modification to Hankin and Reeves' approach is the inclusion of environmental covariates that affect detection rates of fish into the removal model or other mark-recapture model. A potential alternative approach is to use snorkeling combined with line transect sampling to estimate fish densities within stream units. As with any method of population estimation, a pilot study should be conducted to evaluate its usefulness, which requires a known (or nearly so) population of fish to serve as a benchmark for evaluating bias and precision of estimators.
Contemporary management issues confronting fisheries science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, Kenneth T.; Brickman, David

2001-06-01

Stock collapses have occurred worldwide. The most frequently cited cause is over-fishing, suggesting that fisheries management has been ineffective in controlling exploitation rates. The progression of a fishery from an over-exploited to a collapsed state involves impairment of the reproductive capacity of the target species, i.e. recruitment over-fishing. In many cases, this occurs by reduction of the spawning stock biomass (SSB) through the systematic elimination of spawning components within a stock complex. While operational definitions of minimum levels of SSB have been developed, they have seldom been applied and never adopted in a Canadian groundfish management context. The answer to the question of how much is enough to perpetuate a stock under exploitation has been illusive. Serebryakov [J. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer, 47 (1990) 267] has advocated definition of critical levels of SSB based on survival rates (R/SSB). We review his method and discuss the utility of the approach. An alternative approach to the problem of estimating minimum SSB is through a fundamental revision of the traditional stock and recruitment relationship. Explicit theoretical SSB thresholds below which reproduction/recruitment is severely impaired based upon density-dependent mating success (or Allee effects) is considered a superior approach to the question of how much is enough because of its ecological grounding. However, the successful application of this approach will require re-definition of the space/time scales of the management unit. Finally, support is growing for the establishment of closed areas or "no-take zones" as an alternative approach to managing the problems of fishing a stock complex by enabling sub-populations to escape fishing. While the expected benefits of areas protected from fishing are numerous, clear demonstrations of benefits of such areas in marine temperate ecosystems are lacking. In fact, unintended negative consequences may result from such actions.
Direct-to-consumer marketing of evidence-based psychological interventions: introduction.

PubMed

Santucci, Lauren C; McHugh, R Kathryn; Barlow, David H

2012-06-01

The dissemination and implementation of evidence-based psychological interventions (EBPIs) to service provision settings has been a major challenge. Most efforts to disseminate and implement EBPIs have focused on clinicians and clinical systems as the consumers of these treatments and thus have targeted efforts to these groups. An alternative, complementary approach to achieve more widespread utilization of EBPIs is to disseminate directly to patients themselves. The aim of this special section is to explore several direct-to-consumer (i.e., patient) dissemination and education efforts currently underway. This manuscript highlights the rationale for direct-to-patient dissemination strategies as well as the application of marketing science to dissemination efforts. Achieving greater access to EBPIs will require the use of multiple approaches to overcome the many and varied barriers to successful dissemination and implementation. Copyright Â© 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Advanced Secure Optical Image Processing for Communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al Falou, Ayman

2018-04-01

New image processing tools and data-processing network systems have considerably increased the volume of transmitted information such as 2D and 3D images with high resolution. Thus, more complex networks and long processing times become necessary, and high image quality and transmission speeds are requested for an increasing number of applications. To satisfy these two requests, several either numerical or optical solutions were offered separately. This book explores both alternatives and describes research works that are converging towards optical/numerical hybrid solutions for high volume signal and image processing and transmission. Without being limited to hybrid approaches, the latter are particularly investigated in this book in the purpose of combining the advantages of both techniques. Additionally, pure numerical or optical solutions are also considered since they emphasize the advantages of one of the two approaches separately.
Integrating issues of substance abuse and addiction into the predoctoral dental curriculum.

PubMed

Brondani, Mario A; Pattanaporn, Komkham

2013-09-01

Methodological discussions about the teaching of substance abuse and addiction in predoctoral dental curricula typically fall short. This article explores the pedagogy employed to present and discuss the relevance of addiction (mostly to illicit drugs) to the dental profession in the first-year predoctoral dental curriculum at the University of British Columbia. These pedagogical approaches are multifaceted and include a role-play scenario with a standardized patient; an interactive guest lecture-based seminar and a community panel of personal testimonials; students' written reflections; and the provision of clinical care to patients with a past or current history of addiction. Students' reflections illustrate the impact of these approaches upon their views of addiction and the dental profession. This pedagogy exposes students to alternative views on substance abuse and addiction, challenges their values and beliefs, and fosters dialogue.

Inference by Exclusion in Goffin Cockatoos (Cacatua goffini)

PubMed Central

O’Hara, Mark; Auersperg, Alice M. I.; Bugnyar, Thomas; Huber, Ludwig

2015-01-01

Inference by exclusion, the ability to base choices on the systematic exclusion of alternatives, has been studied in many nonhuman species over the past decade. However, the majority of methodologies employed so far are hard to integrate into a comparative framework as they rarely use controls for the effect of neophilia. Here, we present an improved approach that takes neophilia into account, using an abstract two-choice task on a touch screen, which is equally feasible for a large variety of species. To test this approach we chose Goffin cockatoos (Cacatua goffini), a highly explorative Indonesian parrot species, which have recently been reported to have sophisticated cognitive skills in the technical domain. Our results indicate that Goffin cockatoos are able to solve such abstract two-choice tasks employing inference by exclusion but also highlight the importance of other response strategies. PMID:26244692
Short Lesson Plan Associated with Increased Acceptance of Evolutionary Theory and Potential Change in Three Alternate Conceptions of Macroevolution in Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abraham, Joel K.; Perez, Kathryn E.; Downey, Nicholas; Herron, Jon C.; Meir, Eli

2012-01-01

Undergraduates commonly harbor alternate conceptions about evolutionary biology; these alternate conceptions often persist, even after intensive instruction, and may influence acceptance of evolution. We interviewed undergraduates to explore their alternate conceptions about macroevolutionary patterns and designed a 2-h lesson plan to present…
A finite element approach to self-consistent field theory calculations of multiblock polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ackerman, David M.; Delaney, Kris; Fredrickson, Glenn H.; Ganapathysubramanian, Baskar

2017-02-01

Self-consistent field theory (SCFT) has proven to be a powerful tool for modeling equilibrium microstructures of soft materials, particularly for multiblock polymers. A very successful approach to numerically solving the SCFT set of equations is based on using a spectral approach. While widely successful, this approach has limitations especially in the context of current technologically relevant applications. These limitations include non-trivial approaches for modeling complex geometries, difficulties in extending to non-periodic domains, as well as non-trivial extensions for spatial adaptivity. As a viable alternative to spectral schemes, we develop a finite element formulation of the SCFT paradigm for calculating equilibrium polymer morphologies. We discuss the formulation and address implementation challenges that ensure accuracy and efficiency. We explore higher order chain contour steppers that are efficiently implemented with Richardson Extrapolation. This approach is highly scalable and suitable for systems with arbitrary shapes. We show spatial and temporal convergence and illustrate scaling on up to 2048 cores. Finally, we illustrate confinement effects for selected complex geometries. This has implications for materials design for nanoscale applications where dimensions are such that equilibrium morphologies dramatically differ from the bulk phases.
A finite element approach to self-consistent field theory calculations of multiblock polymers

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

Ackerman, David M.; Delaney, Kris; Fredrickson, Glenn H.

Self-consistent field theory (SCFT) has proven to be a powerful tool for modeling equilibrium microstructures of soft materials, particularly for multiblock polymers. A very successful approach to numerically solving the SCFT set of equations is based on using a spectral approach. While widely successful, this approach has limitations especially in the context of current technologically relevant applications. These limitations include non-trivial approaches for modeling complex geometries, difficulties in extending to non-periodic domains, as well as non-trivial extensions for spatial adaptivity. As a viable alternative to spectral schemes, we develop a finite element formulation of the SCFT paradigm for calculating equilibriummore » polymer morphologies. We discuss the formulation and address implementation challenges that ensure accuracy and efficiency. We explore higher order chain contour steppers that are efficiently implemented with Richardson Extrapolation. This approach is highly scalable and suitable for systems with arbitrary shapes. We show spatial and temporal convergence and illustrate scaling on up to 2048 cores. Finally, we illustrate confinement effects for selected complex geometries. This has implications for materials design for nanoscale applications where dimensions are such that equilibrium morphologies dramatically differ from the bulk phases.« less
Hyperspectral Super-Resolution of Locally Low Rank Images From Complementary Multisource Data.

PubMed

Veganzones, Miguel A; Simoes, Miguel; Licciardi, Giorgio; Yokoya, Naoto; Bioucas-Dias, Jose M; Chanussot, Jocelyn

2016-01-01

Remote sensing hyperspectral images (HSIs) are quite often low rank, in the sense that the data belong to a low dimensional subspace/manifold. This has been recently exploited for the fusion of low spatial resolution HSI with high spatial resolution multispectral images in order to obtain super-resolution HSI. Most approaches adopt an unmixing or a matrix factorization perspective. The derived methods have led to state-of-the-art results when the spectral information lies in a low-dimensional subspace/manifold. However, if the subspace/manifold dimensionality spanned by the complete data set is large, i.e., larger than the number of multispectral bands, the performance of these methods mainly decreases because the underlying sparse regression problem is severely ill-posed. In this paper, we propose a local approach to cope with this difficulty. Fundamentally, we exploit the fact that real world HSIs are locally low rank, that is, pixels acquired from a given spatial neighborhood span a very low-dimensional subspace/manifold, i.e., lower or equal than the number of multispectral bands. Thus, we propose to partition the image into patches and solve the data fusion problem independently for each patch. This way, in each patch the subspace/manifold dimensionality is low enough, such that the problem is not ill-posed anymore. We propose two alternative approaches to define the hyperspectral super-resolution through local dictionary learning using endmember induction algorithms. We also explore two alternatives to define the local regions, using sliding windows and binary partition trees. The effectiveness of the proposed approaches is illustrated with synthetic and semi real data.
A Pareto-optimal moving average multigene genetic programming model for daily streamflow prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danandeh Mehr, Ali; Kahya, Ercan

2017-06-01

Genetic programming (GP) is able to systematically explore alternative model structures of different accuracy and complexity from observed input and output data. The effectiveness of GP in hydrological system identification has been recognized in recent studies. However, selecting a parsimonious (accurate and simple) model from such alternatives still remains a question. This paper proposes a Pareto-optimal moving average multigene genetic programming (MA-MGGP) approach to develop a parsimonious model for single-station streamflow prediction. The three main components of the approach that take us from observed data to a validated model are: (1) data pre-processing, (2) system identification and (3) system simplification. The data pre-processing ingredient uses a simple moving average filter to diminish the lagged prediction effect of stand-alone data-driven models. The multigene ingredient of the model tends to identify the underlying nonlinear system with expressions simpler than classical monolithic GP and, eventually simplification component exploits Pareto front plot to select a parsimonious model through an interactive complexity-efficiency trade-off. The approach was tested using the daily streamflow records from a station on Senoz Stream, Turkey. Comparing to the efficiency results of stand-alone GP, MGGP, and conventional multi linear regression prediction models as benchmarks, the proposed Pareto-optimal MA-MGGP model put forward a parsimonious solution, which has a noteworthy importance of being applied in practice. In addition, the approach allows the user to enter human insight into the problem to examine evolved models and pick the best performing programs out for further analysis.
Strategic decision making under climate change: a case study on Lake Maggiore water system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Micotti, M.; Soncini Sessa, R.; Weber, E.

2014-09-01

Water resources planning processes involve different kinds of decisions that are generally evaluated under a stationary climate scenario assumption. In general, the possible combinations of interventions are mutually compared as single alternatives. However, the ongoing climate change requires us to reconsider this approach. Indeed, what have to be compared are not individual alternatives, but families of alternatives, characterized by the same structural decisions, i.e. by actions that have long-term effects and entail irrevocable changes in the system. The rationale is that the structural actions, once they have been implemented, cannot be easily modified, while the management decisions can be adapted to the evolving conditions. This paper considers this methodological problem in a real case study, in which a strategic decision has to be taken: a new barrage was proposed to regulate Lake Maggiore outflow, but, alternatively, either the present barrage can be maintained with its present regulation norms or with a new one. The problem was dealt with by multi-criteria decision analysis involving many stakeholders and two decision-makers. An exhaustive set of indicators was defined in the participatory process, conducted under the integrated water resource management paradigm, and many efficient (in Pareto sense) regulation policies were identified. The paper explores different formulations of a global index to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the classes of alternatives under both stationary and changing hydrological scenarios in order to assess their adaptability to the ongoing climate change.
Performing 'pragmatic holism': Professionalisation and the holistic discourse of non-medically qualified acupuncturists and homeopaths in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Givati, Assaf

2015-01-01

Complementary and alternative medicine practitioners have often utilised 'holism' as a key identification mark of their practice, distancing themselves from 'the reductionist biomedicine'. However, the past couple of decades have witnessed increased engagement of several complementary and alternative medicines in professionalisation, which includes a degree of biomedical alignment while 'reducing' holistic claims in order to provide practice with a 'credible outlook' and move closer to the mainstream, a development which challenges the role of holism in complementary and alternative medicine practices. This article explores the strategies by which two groups of complementary and alternative medicine practitioners, namely, non-medically qualified acupuncturists and homeopaths in the United Kingdom, pragmatically accommodate holistic notions as a professional resource, a process of negotiation between maintaining their holistic premise, on the one hand, and the drive to professionalise and enhance their societal status, on the other. Based on in-depth interviews with non-medically qualified acupuncture and homeopathy practitioners and school principals, textual analysis of practitioners' web sites and observation of practice, the findings demonstrate the dynamic approach to 'holism' in complementary and alternative medicine practice. This discourse, through which practitioners use a range of strategies in order to 'narrow' or 'expand' their holistic expression, can be described as 'pragmatic holism', by which they try to make gains from the formalisation/standardisation processes, without losing the therapies' holistic outlook and appeal. © The Author(s) 2014.
Social Media for the Promotion of Holistic Self-Participatory Care: An Evidence Based Approach. Contribution of the IMIA Social Media Working Group.

PubMed

Miron-Shatz, T; Hansen, M M; Grajales, F J; Martin-Sanchez, F; Bamidis, P D

2013-01-01

As health information is becoming increasingly accessible, social media offers ample opportunities to track, be informed, share and promote health. These authors explore how social media and holistic care may work together; more specifically however, our objective is to document, from different perspectives, how social networks have impacted, supported and helped sustain holistic self-participatory care. A literature review was performed to investigate the use of social media for promoting health in general and complementary alternative care. We also explore a case study of an intervention for improving the health of Greek senior citizens through digital and other means. The Health Belief Model provides a framework for assessing the benefits of social media interventions in promoting comprehensive participatory self-care. Some interventions are particularly effective when integrating social media with real-world encounters. Yet not all social media tools are evidence-based and efficacious. Interestingly, social media is also used to elicit patient ratings of treatments (e.g., for depression), often demonstrating the effectiveness of complementary treatments, such as yoga and mindfulness meditation. To facilitate the use of social media for the promotion of complementary alternative medicine through self-quantification, social connectedness and sharing of experiences, exploration of concrete and abstract ideas are presented here within. The main mechanisms by which social support may help improve health - emotional support, an ability to share experiences, and non-hierarchal roles, emphasizing reciprocity in giving and receiving support - are integral to social media and provide great hope for its effective use.
Additional Developments in Atmosphere Revitalization Modeling and Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coker, Robert F.; Knox, James C.; Cummings, Ramona; Brooks, Thomas; Schunk, Richard G.

2013-01-01

NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program is developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities, and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. These forays beyond the confines of earth's gravity will place unprecedented demands on launch systems. They must launch the supplies needed to sustain a crew over longer periods for exploration missions beyond earth's moon. Thus all spacecraft systems, including those for the separation of metabolic carbon dioxide and water from a crewed vehicle, must be minimized with respect to mass, power, and volume. Emphasis is also placed on system robustness both to minimize replacement parts and ensure crew safety when a quick return to earth is not possible. Current efforts are focused on improving the current state-of-the-art systems utilizing fixed beds of sorbent pellets by evaluating structured sorbents, seeking more robust pelletized sorbents, and examining alternate bed configurations to improve system efficiency and reliability. These development efforts combine testing of sub-scale systems and multi-physics computer simulations to evaluate candidate approaches, select the best performing options, and optimize the configuration of the selected approach. This paper describes the continuing development of atmosphere revitalization models and simulations in support of the Atmosphere Revitalization Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM)
Advanced Space Transportation Concepts and Propulsion Technologies for a New Delivery Paradigm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, John W.; McCleskey, Carey M.; Rhodes, Russel E.; Lepsch, Roger A.; Henderson, Edward M.; Joyner, Claude R., III; Levack, Daniel J. H.

2013-01-01

This paper describes Advanced Space Transportation Concepts and Propulsion Technologies for a New Delivery Paradigm. It builds on the work of the previous paper "Approach to an Affordable and Productive Space Transportation System". The scope includes both flight and ground system elements, and focuses on their compatibility and capability to achieve a technical solution that is operationally productive and also affordable. A clear and revolutionary approach, including advanced propulsion systems (advanced LOX rich booster engine concept having independent LOX and fuel cooling systems, thrust augmentation with LOX rich boost and fuel rich operation at altitude), improved vehicle concepts (autogeneous pressurization, turbo alternator for electric power during ascent, hot gases to purge system and keep moisture out), and ground delivery systems, was examined. Previous papers by the authors and other members of the Space Propulsion Synergy Team (SPST) focused on space flight system engineering methods, along with operationally efficient propulsion system concepts and technologies. This paper continues the previous work by exploring the propulsion technology aspects in more depth and how they may enable the vehicle designs from the previous paper. Subsequent papers will explore the vehicle design, the ground support system, and the operations aspects of the new delivery paradigm in greater detail.
Can an employer-based health insurance system be just?

PubMed

Jecker, N S

1993-01-01

It is America's distinctive practice to tie private health insurance to employment, and recent proposals have tried to retain this link through mandating that all employers provide health insurance to their employees. My primary approach to these issues is neither economic, nor historical, nor political but ethical. After a brief historical overview, I outline a general approach to evaluating the ethical significance of linking the distributions of distinct goods. I examine whether an unjust distribution of jobs spoils justice in the distribution of health insurance, taking as a central example gender inequities in employment and exploring their impact on job-based health insurance. Second, I explore the possibility that justly awarding jobs guarantees justice in employment-sponsored insurance. However, linking the distributions of different goods remains problematic, because such links inevitably undermine equality by enabling the same individuals to enjoy advantages in many different distributive areas. Finally, I examine recent proposals to reform America's health care system by requiring all employers to provide health insurance to their employees. I argue that such proposals lend themselves to the same ethical problems that the current system does and urge greater attention to alternative reform options.
Combustion instability and active control: Alternative fuels, augmentors, and modeling heat release

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sammy Ace

Experimental and analytical studies were conducted to explore thermo-acoustic coupling during the onset of combustion instability in various air-breathing combustor configurations. These include a laboratory-scale 200-kW dump combustor and a 100-kW augmentor featuring a v-gutter flame holder. They were used to simulate main combustion chambers and afterburners in aero engines, respectively. The three primary themes of this work includes: 1) modeling heat release fluctuations for stability analysis, 2) conducting active combustion control with alternative fuels, and 3) demonstrating practical active control for augmentor instability suppression. The phenomenon of combustion instabilities remains an unsolved problem in propulsion engines, mainly because of the difficulty in predicting the fluctuating component of heat release without extensive testing. A hybrid model was developed to describe both the temporal and spatial variations in dynamic heat release, using a separation of variables approach that requires only a limited amount of experimental data. The use of sinusoidal basis functions further reduced the amount of data required. When the mean heat release behavior is known, the only experimental data needed for detailed stability analysis is one instantaneous picture of heat release at the peak pressure phase. This model was successfully tested in the dump combustor experiments, reproducing the correct sign of the overall Rayleigh index as well as the remarkably accurate spatial distribution pattern of fluctuating heat release. Active combustion control was explored for fuel-flexible combustor operation using twelve different jet fuels including bio-synthetic and Fischer-Tropsch types. Analysis done using an actuated spray combustion model revealed that the combustion response times of these fuels were similar. Combined with experimental spray characterizations, this suggested that controller performance should remain effective with various alternative fuels. Active control experiments validated this analysis while demonstrating 50-70% reduction in the peak spectral amplitude. A new model augmentor was built and tested for combustion dynamics using schlieren and chemiluminescence techniques. Novel active control techniques including pulsed air injection were implemented and the results were compared with the pulsed fuel injection approach. The pulsed injection of secondary air worked just as effectively for suppressing the augmentor instability, setting up the possibility of more efficient actuation strategy.
Using intersectionality to explore experiences of disability and HIV among women and men in Zambia.

PubMed

Yoshida, Karen; Hanass-Hancock, Jill; Nixon, Stephanie; Bond, Virginia

2014-01-01

Little is known about the experiences of people with disabilities (PWD) who live with HIV. Existing research largely assumes a "double burden" approach, which views HIV as doubling the load for people already burdened by disability. Intersectionality (a dynamic process of converging systems of relationships) offers an alternative approach for understanding differences in experience. This study uses an intersectional approach to explore the experiences of PWD in Zambia who have become HIV-positive. We conducted semi-structured, in depth interviews with 21 PWD who live with HIV in Zambia (12 women, 9 men). Participants had various impairments (visual, hearing, mobility, intellectual). Interviews were conducted to meet participants' accessibility preferences. Our intersectional analysis demonstrates the dynamic and situational emergent meanings and consequences for PWD who are living with HIV related to: (1) meanings of HIV and disability linked with time and trajectory; (2) oppression and negotiation related to accessing health services and (3) social roles and relationships. Three case studies illustrate these circumstances. Intersectionality offers a complementary approach for examining the complex interrelationship among HIV, disability, gender and time among PWD living with HIV. Findings illustrate directions for improved services and policies for this important group. Rehabilitation services need to take a cross-disability (multiple disabilities) approach working with people living with HIV and disability. Rehabilitation, as illustrated by a CBR approach, needs to include services that will facilitate not only health, but education, jobs and housing for people living with HIV and disability. Rehabilitation needs to make more direct connections with Zambia social service sector to help address the fluctuating experience of living with HIV and disability.
Alternative alignments development and evaluation for the US 220 project in Maryland.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-06-01

This project aims to find the preferred alternative alignments for the Maryland section of existing US 220, using the highway : alignment optimization (HAO) model. The model was used to explore alternative alignments within a 4,000 foot-wide buffer o...
Strategy alternatives for homeland air and cruise missile defense.

PubMed

Murphy, Eric M; Payne, Michael D; Vanderwoude, Glenn W

2010-10-01

Air and cruise missile defense of the U.S. homeland is characterized by a requirement to protect a large number of critical assets nonuniformly dispersed over a vast area with relatively few defensive systems. In this article, we explore strategy alternatives to make the best use of existing defense resources and suggest this approach as a means of reducing risk while mitigating the cost of developing and acquiring new systems. We frame the issue as an attacker-defender problem with simultaneous moves. First, we outline and examine the relatively simple problem of defending comparatively few locations with two surveillance systems. Second, we present our analysis and findings for a more realistic scenario that includes a representative list of U.S. critical assets. Third, we investigate sensitivity to defensive strategic choices in the more realistic scenario. As part of this investigation, we describe two complementary computational methods that, under certain circumstances, allow one to reduce large computational problems to a more manageable size. Finally, we demonstrate that strategic choices can be an important supplement to material solutions and can, in some cases, be a more cost-effective alternative. © 2010 Society for Risk Analysis.
Using vignettes to explore work-based learning: Part 1.

PubMed

Wareing, Mark

This is the first of two articles exploring the use of vignettes as an alternative method of presenting the data arising from interviews. The interviews were carried out as part of research into work-based learning: both articles are based on findings from a hermeneutic phenomenological study into the lived experience of foundation degree mentors and their students-healthcare assistants undertaking a foundation degree in health and social care in order to become assistant practitioners. Part 1 presents a vignette of a notional workplace mentor (Staff Nurse Sophie) that describes her lived experience supporting two equally notional foundation degree students. Sophie's perspective will be a distillation of data arising from interviews with eight workplace mentors, all employed on acute wards within a large NHS hospital trust. The vignette attempts to demonstrate the role of the workplace mentor in the support of work-based learning, and the interprofessional factors that determine the landscape of workplace learning for foundation degree students. The potential of a vignette to assist in a deeper hermeneutic understanding of meanings arising from data will be explored, and the limitations of the approach considered.
Exploring team working and shared leadership in multi-disciplinary cancer care.

PubMed

Willcocks, Stephen George

2018-02-05

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relevance of shared leadership to multi-disciplinary cancer care. It examines the policy background and applies concepts from shared leadership to this context. It includes discussion of the implications and recommendations. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper examining policy documents and secondary literature on the topic. While it focuses on the UK National Health Services, it is also relevant to other countries given they follow a broadly similar path with regard to multi-disciplinary working. Findings The paper suggests that shared leadership is a possible way forward for multi-disciplinary cancer care, particularly as policy developments are supportive of this. It shows that a shared perspective is likely to be beneficial to the further development of multi-disciplinary working. Research limitations/implications Adopting shared leadership needs to be explored further using appropriate empirical research. Practical implications The paper offers comments on the implications of introducing shared leadership and makes recommendations including being aware of the barriers to its implementation. Originality/value The paper offers an alternative view on leadership in the health-care context.
Working with a fractional object: enactments of appetite in interdisciplinary work in anthropology and biomedicine.

PubMed

Christensen, Bodil Just; Hillersdal, Line; Holm, Lotte

2017-08-01

This paper explores the productive tensions occurring in an interdisciplinary research project on weight loss after obesity surgery. The study was a bio-medical/anthropological collaboration investigating to what extent eating patterns, the subjective experience of hunger and physiological mechanisms are involved in appetite regulation that might determine good or poor response to the surgery. Linking biomedical and anthropological categories and definitions of central concepts about the body turned out to be a major challenge in the collaborative analysis. Notably, the conception of what constitutes 'appetite' was a key concern, as each discipline has its particular definition and operationalization of the term. In response, a material-semiotic approach was chosen which allowed for a reconceptualization of appetite as a 'fractional object', engaged in multiple relations and enacted differently in each instance. This perspective produced creative contrasts and offered alternative explorations of both scientific knowledge production and anthropological practices. The paper thereby explores the interfaces between anthropology and medical science by attending to the challenges and opportunities that result from destabilising an assumed fixed and well-defined concept associated with the body.
Bacterial Surface Glycans: Microarray and QCM Strategies for Glycophenotyping and Exploration of Recognition by Host Receptors.

PubMed

Kalograiaki, Ioanna; Campanero-Rhodes, María A; Proverbio, Davide; Euba, Begoña; Garmendia, Junkal; Aastrup, Teodor; Solís, Dolores

2018-01-01

Bacterial surfaces are decorated with a diversity of carbohydrate structures that play important roles in the bacteria-host relationships. They may offer protection against host defense mechanisms, elicit strong antigenic responses, or serve as ligands for host receptors, including lectins of the innate immune system. Binding by these lectins may trigger defense responses or, alternatively, promote attachment, thereby enhancing infection. The outcome will depend on the particular bacterial surface landscape, which may substantially differ among species and strains. In this chapter, we describe two novel methods for exploring interactions directly on the bacterial surface, based on the generation of bacterial microarrays and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor chips. Bacterial microarrays enable profiling of accessible carbohydrate structures and screening of their recognition by host receptors, also providing information on binding avidity, while the QCM approach allows determination of binding affinity and kinetics. In both cases, the chief element is the use of entire bacterial cells, so that recognition of the bacterial glycan epitopes is explored in their natural environment. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Natural resource management and gender: reflections from watershed programmes in India.

PubMed

Shah, A

2000-01-01

This paper examines a watershed project in India which adheres to the fourth type of policy intervention that is within the gender, environment and development perspective. These policy interventions are projects for men and women, jointly, where the objectives are the improvement of the community as a whole or the economic growth of a state. It is noted that the existing approach in watershed development in the country lays special emphasis on vegetative measures for conservation of soil water as compared to the earlier emphasis on soil works and water harvesting structures. This approach is considered to be more beneficial environmentally as opposed to intensive agriculture. In the context of gender issues, although women's participation is emphasized in the implementation of the project, several limitations have been specified. In view of this, alternative approaches for ensuring sustainable livelihood and women's role within it are explored and recommended. Moreover, an analysis of the GED interface in the specific context of rain-fed farming in the western part of the country is included.
Social motor coordination during adult-child interactions.

PubMed

Pfeiffer, Rita; Wallace, Mark; Lense, Miriam

2018-05-04

Social motor coordination (SMC) pertains to the timing of contingent movements during social interactions and is of high relevance for successful social and musical interactions. Semi-automated, objective methods are increasingly being used to analyze SMC, though it is unclear if these methods are feasible in naturalistic settings with young children. The purpose of the current preliminary study was to explore SMC in adult-child dyads during semi-structured social interactions. Thirteen dyads (mean age of children = 36 months) participated in a predictable turn-taking task from a social communication assessment, and a semi-automated frame-difference approach was used to capture movement activity. Relative timing and activity approaches revealed that, while there is some evidence of co-occurring movement, the dyad predominantly exhibited patterns of responsive movement activity (e.g., turn taking or alternating movement) consistent with the activity's structure. Future work may extend these approaches to social musical interactions in order to examine movement coordination and prosocial behavior during joint music-making activities with young children. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.
Approach to managing patients with sulfa allergy

PubMed Central

Ponka, David

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE To present an approach to use of sulfonamide-based (sulfa) medications for patients with sulfa allergy and to explore whether sulfa medications are contraindicated for patients who require them but are allergic to them. SOURCES OF INFORMATION A search of current pharmacology textbooks and of MEDLINE from 1966 to the present using the MeSH key words “sulfonamide” and “drug sensitivity” revealed review articles, case reports, one observational study (level II evidence), and reports of consensus opinion (level III evidence). MAIN MESSAGE Cross-reactivity between sulfa antibiotics and nonantibiotics is rare, but on occasion it can affect the pharmacologic and clinical management of patients with sulfa allergy. CONCLUSION How a physician approaches using sulfa medications for patients with sulfa allergy depends on the certainty and severity of the initial allergy, on whether alternatives are available, and on whether the contemplated agent belongs to the same category of sulfa medications (ie, antibiotic or nonantibiotic) as the initial offending agent. PMID:17279201
Marketing human organs: the autonomy paradox.

PubMed

Marshall, P A; Thomasma, D C; Daar, A S

1996-03-01

The severe shortage of organs for transplantation and the continual reluctance of the public to voluntarily donate has prompted consideration of alternative strategies for organ procurement. This paper explores the development of market approaches for procuring human organs for transplantation and considers the social and moral implications of organ donation as both a "gift of life" and a "commodity exchange." The problematic and paradoxical articulation of individual autonomy in relation to property rights and marketing human body parts is addressed. We argue that beliefs about proprietorship over human body parts and the capacity to provide consent for organ donation are culturally constructed. We contend that the political and economic framework of biomedicine, in western and non-western nations, influences access to transplantation technology and shapes the form and development of specific market approaches. Finally, we suggest that marketing approaches for organ procurement are and will be negotiated within cultural parameters constrained by several factors: beliefs about the physical body and personhood, religious traditions, economic conditions, and the availability of technological resources.
Real-Time PCR Quantification Using A Variable Reaction Efficiency Model

PubMed Central

Platts, Adrian E.; Johnson, Graham D.; Linnemann, Amelia K.; Krawetz, Stephen A.

2008-01-01

Quantitative real-time PCR remains a cornerstone technique in gene expression analysis and sequence characterization. Despite the importance of the approach to experimental biology the confident assignment of reaction efficiency to the early cycles of real-time PCR reactions remains problematic. Considerable noise may be generated where few cycles in the amplification are available to estimate peak efficiency. An alternate approach that uses data from beyond the log-linear amplification phase is explored with the aim of reducing noise and adding confidence to efficiency estimates. PCR reaction efficiency is regressed to estimate the per-cycle profile of an asymptotically departed peak efficiency, even when this is not closely approximated in the measurable cycles. The process can be repeated over replicates to develop a robust estimate of peak reaction efficiency. This leads to an estimate of the maximum reaction efficiency that may be considered primer-design specific. Using a series of biological scenarios we demonstrate that this approach can provide an accurate estimate of initial template concentration. PMID:18570886
Ross filter pairs for metal artefact reduction in x-ray tomography: a case study based on imaging and segmentation of metallic implants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arhatari, Benedicta D.; Abbey, Brian

2018-01-01

Ross filter pairs have recently been demonstrated as a highly effective means of producing quasi-monoenergetic beams from polychromatic X-ray sources. They have found applications in both X-ray spectroscopy and for elemental separation in X-ray computed tomography (XCT). Here we explore whether they could be applied to the problem of metal artefact reduction (MAR) for applications in medical imaging. Metal artefacts are a common problem in X-ray imaging of metal implants embedded in bone and soft tissue. A number of data post-processing approaches to MAR have been proposed in the literature, however these can be time-consuming and sometimes have limited efficacy. Here we describe and demonstrate an alternative approach based on beam conditioning using Ross filter pairs. This approach obviates the need for any complex post-processing of the data and enables MAR and segmentation from the surrounding tissue by exploiting the absorption edge contrast of the implant.
Food Reinforcement and Eating: A Multilevel Analysis

PubMed Central

Epstein, Leonard H.; Leddy, John J.; Temple, Jennifer L.; Faith, Myles S.

2008-01-01

Eating represents a choice among many alternative behaviors. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of how food reinforcement and behavioral choice theory are related to eating and to show how this theoretical approach may help organize research on eating from molecular genetics through treatment and prevention of obesity. Special emphasis is placed on how food reinforcement and behavioral choice theory are relevant to understanding excess energy intake and obesity and how they provide a framework for examining factors that may influence eating and are outside of those that may regulate energy homeostasis. Methods to measure food reinforcement are reviewed, along with factors that influence the reinforcing value of eating. Contributions of neuroscience and genetics to the study of food reinforcement are illustrated by using the example of dopamine. Implications of food reinforcement for obesity and positive energy balance are explored, with suggestions for novel approaches to obesity treatment based on the synthesis of behavioral and pharmacological approaches to food reinforcement. PMID:17723034
Composite Bus Structure for the SMEX/WIRE Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosanova, Giulio G.

1998-01-01

In an effort to reduce the weight and optimize the structural design of the Small Explorer (SMEX) Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) spacecraft, it has become desirable to change the material and construction from mechanically fastened aluminum structure to a fully bonded fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) structure. GSFC has developed the WIRE spacecraft structural bus design concept, including the instrument and launch vehicle requirements. The WIRE Satellite is the fifth of a series of SMEX satellites to be launched once per year. GSFC has chosen Composite Optics Inc. (COI) as the prime contractor for the development and procurement of the WIRE composite structure. The detailed design of the fully bonded FRC structure is based on COI's Short Notice Accelerated Production SATellite ("SNAPSAT") approach. SNAPSAT is a state of the art design and manufacturing technology for advanced composite materials which utilizes flat-stock detail parts bonded together to produce a final structural assembly. The structural design approach adopted for the WIRE structure provides a very viable alternative to both traditional aluminum construction as well as high tech. molded type composite structures. This approach to composite structure design is much less costly than molded or honeycomb sandwich type composite construction, but may cost slightly more than conventional aluminum construction on the subsystem level. However on the overall program level the weight saving achieved is very cost effective, since the primary objective is to allocate more mass for science payloads.
Music as a manifestation of life: exploring enactivism and the ‘eastern perspective’ for music education

PubMed Central

van der Schyff, Dylan

2015-01-01

The enactive approach to cognition is developed in the context of music and music education. I discuss how this embodied point of view affords a relational and bio-cultural perspective on music that decentres the Western focus on language, symbol and representation as the fundamental arbiters of meaning. I then explore how this ‘life-based’ approach to cognition and meaning-making offers a welcome alternative to standard Western academic approaches to music education. More specifically, I consider how the enactive perspective may aid in developing deeper ecological understandings of the transformative, extended and interpenetrative nature of the embodied musical mind; and thus help (re)connect students and teachers to the lived experience of their own learning and teaching. Following this, I examine related concepts associated with Buddhist psychology in order to develop possibilities for a contemplative music pedagogy. To conclude, I consider how an enactive-contemplative perspective may help students and teachers awaken to the possibilities of music education as ‘ontological education.’ That is, through a deeper understanding of ‘music as a manifestation of life’ rediscover their primordial nature as autopoietic and world-making creatures and thus engage more deeply with musicality as a means of forming richer and more compassionate relationships with their peers, their communities and the ‘natural’ and cultural worlds they inhabit. PMID:25870576
Design an optimum safety policy for personnel safety management - A system dynamic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balaji, P.

2014-10-01

Personnel safety management (PSM) ensures that employee's work conditions are healthy and safe by various proactive and reactive approaches. Nowadays it is a complex phenomenon because of increasing dynamic nature of organisations which results in an increase of accidents. An important part of accident prevention is to understand the existing system properly and make safety strategies for that system. System dynamics modelling appears to be an appropriate methodology to explore and make strategy for PSM. Many system dynamics models of industrial systems have been built entirely for specific host firms. This thesis illustrates an alternative approach. The generic system dynamics model of Personnel safety management was developed and tested in a host firm. The model was undergone various structural, behavioural and policy tests. The utility and effectiveness of model was further explored through modelling a safety scenario. In order to create effective safety policy under resource constraint, DOE (Design of experiment) was used. DOE uses classic designs, namely, fractional factorials and central composite designs. It used to make second order regression equation which serve as an objective function. That function was optimized under budget constraint and optimum value used for safety policy which shown greatest improvement in overall PSM. The outcome of this research indicates that personnel safety management model has the capability for acting as instruction tool to improve understanding of safety management and also as an aid to policy making.
Space station group activities habitability module study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nixon, David

1986-01-01

This study explores and analyzes architectural design approaches for the interior of the Space Station Habitability Module (originally defined as Habitability Module 1 in Space Station Reference Configuration Decription, JSC-19989, August 1984). In the Research Phase, architectural program and habitability design guidelines are specified. In the Schematic Design Phase, a range of alternative concepts is described and illustrated with drawings, scale-model photographs and design analysis evaluations. Recommendations are presented on the internal architectural, configuration of the Space Station Habitability Module for such functions as the wardroom, galley, exercise facility, library and station control work station. The models show full design configurations for on-orbit performance.
Counseling the pregnant adolescent.

PubMed

Dibiasi, V; Sturgis, S H

1980-07-01

Approaches employed in counseling pregnant adolescents at the Crittenton Clinic in Boston are described. Concentrating on concrete issues of management of the pregnancy -- supplying information and exploring the pros and cons of various alternatives are advocated; probing into the psychological and emotional background of the pregnant adolescent is discouraged. Counseling about contraceptives and taking into account each individual situation are considered essential. Case studies are reviewed and figures representing the attitudes and contraceptive use of patients 1 year after abortion are presented. It is considered important to establish a trusting relationship with the adolescent, which will increase the likelihood that she will return for follow-up and additional help if she needs it.
Pedagogy and the Art of Death: Reparative Readings of Death and Dying in Margaret Edson's Wit.

PubMed

Gottlieb, Christine M

2015-11-19

Wit explores modes of reading representations of death and dying, both through the play's sustained engagement with Donne's Holy Sonnets and through Vivian's self-reflexive approach to her illness and death. I argue that the play dramatizes reparative readings, a term coined by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick to describe an alternative to the paranoid reading practices that have come to dominate literary criticism. By analyzing the play's reparative readings of death and dying (as well as its representation of the shortcomings of paranoid readings), I show how Wit provides lessons about knowledge-making and reading practices in the field of health humanities.
Ethics in a time of contagion: a relational perspective.

PubMed

Austin, Wendy

2008-12-01

In times of contagion, the key role of nurses brings fears, dangers, and unique demands. The ethics of such challenges need to be explored and understood. Using Callahan's framework for thinking ethically and Taylor's "worries" of modern life, the author elucidates some of the challenges and then argues that the current approach to pandemic ethics, with its reliance on moral reasoning, is insufficient to guide nurses' ethical actions. Relational ethics, which explicitly situates ethics within relationships and our commitment to one another, and which recognizes that context matters in ethical decision-making, is offered as a viable alternative for nurses in considering how to respond.
The paradox of homeless youth pregnancy: a review of challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Begun, Stephanie

2015-01-01

Compared to their housed counterparts, homeless youth become pregnant at exceptionally high rates. Causes of such pregnancies are multifaceted, while a paradoxically high proportion of these pregnancies are intended. This review discusses causes and risk factors associated with homeless youth pregnancies, and notes experiences of pregnancy decision-making discord, challenges encountered during and following pregnancy, and difficulties faced by homeless youth when or if they become parents. Because homeless youth face a wide array of unique risks, future research would benefit from exploring alternative approaches to prevention to reduce pregnancies and improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes among this population.
A Fifth Option for Funding Long-Term Care in Canada - Shift the Resources from Medical Treatment and Universal Pension Entitlements.

PubMed

Emery, J C Herbert

2016-01-01

Needs for non-medical residential care services, long-term care (LTC), will increase over the next 30 years as Canada's population ages. Adams and Vanin (2016) explore four options for raising the public and private monies required to meet LTC needs. In this commentary, I raise a fifth option for finding the resources to meet emerging LTC needs. An alternative approach is to divert resources from Canada's well-resourced, but inefficient, medical treatment system. The dividend of provinces pursuing long overdue reforms to medicare is the liberation of public funds to finance emerging priorities for Canadians like LTC.
Lunar mission safety and rescue: Escape/rescue analysis and plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

The results are presented of the technical analysis of escape/rescue/survival situations, crew survival techniques, alternate escape/rescue approaches and vehicles, and the advantages and disadvantages of each for advanced lunar exploration. Candidate escape/rescue guidelines are proposed and elements of a rescue plan developed. The areas of discussions include the following: lunar arrival/departure operations, lunar orbiter operations, lunar surface operations, lunar surface base escape/rescue analysis, lander tug location operations, portable airlock, emergency pressure suit, and the effects of no orbiting lunar station, no lunar surface base, and no foreign lunar orbit/surface operations on the escape/rescue plan.
Conformational analysis of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides using molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Frank, Martin

2015-01-01

Complex carbohydrates usually have a large number of rotatable bonds and consequently a large number of theoretically possible conformations can be generated (combinatorial explosion). The application of systematic search methods for conformational analysis of carbohydrates is therefore limited to disaccharides and trisaccharides in a routine analysis. An alternative approach is to use Monte-Carlo methods or (high-temperature) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the conformational space of complex carbohydrates. This chapter describes how to use MD simulation data to perform a conformational analysis (conformational maps, hydrogen bonds) of oligosaccharides and how to build realistic 3D structures of large polysaccharides using Conformational Analysis Tools (CAT).
Alternatives to Suspension: A Government Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Thomas G.; Zoldy, Scott

2011-01-01

Student discipline and the ineffectiveness of out-of-school suspension is examined in light of the Ontario (Canada) legislative reform that supported a greater emphasis on progressive discipline alternatives to out-of-school suspension. Alternative discipline herein is explored via the behavior education plan, the school survival group, and…
Alternative Education Completers: A Phenomenological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Becky L.; Holt, Carleton R.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the elements of the alternative education experience significant to successful completion of the program. This phenomenological paradigm provided the framework for all aspects of the qualitative study. Students, parents, administrators, and staff members of two alternative programs in the southeast Kansas…

Marital Alternatives and Marital Disruption.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Udry, J. Richard

1981-01-01

Explores the usefulness of "marital alternatives" as a dimension in explaining marital stability, using longitudinal data from a panel of married, White, urban couples from 16 urban areas. Results indicated the dimension of marital alternatives appeared to be a better predictor of marital disruption than marital satisfaction. (Author/RC)
Tomographic PIV: particles versus blobs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Champagnat, Frédéric; Cornic, Philippe; Cheminet, Adam; Leclaire, Benjamin; Le Besnerais, Guy; Plyer, Aurélien

2014-08-01

We present an alternative approach to tomographic particle image velocimetry (tomo-PIV) that seeks to recover nearly single voxel particles rather than blobs of extended size. The baseline of our approach is a particle-based representation of image data. An appropriate discretization of this representation yields an original linear forward model with a weight matrix built with specific samples of the system’s point spread function (PSF). Such an approach requires only a few voxels to explain the image appearance, therefore it favors much more sparsely reconstructed volumes than classic tomo-PIV. The proposed forward model is general and flexible and can be embedded in a classical multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) or a simultaneous multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (SMART) inversion procedure. We show, using synthetic PIV images and by way of a large exploration of the generating conditions and a variety of performance metrics, that the model leads to better results than the classical tomo-PIV approach, in particular in the case of seeding densities greater than 0.06 particles per pixel and of PSFs characterized by a standard deviation larger than 0.8 pixels.
Beyond the Rhetoric of Empowerment: Speak the Language, Live the Experience of the Rural Poor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lekoko, Rebecca Nthogo; van der Merwe, Marietjie

2006-05-01

Growth in rural communities, along with attendant changes in social, economic and environmental conditions, challenges members of these communities to take even more responsibility for their lives than in the past. While there is a need to promote sustainable economic prosperity, it is important that developmental approaches should not compromise the potential of citizens to meet these challenges independently. The present contribution is based on a phenomenological study that explored approaches to community development in Botswana. One of the key findings was that these were dominated by a bureaucratized welfare scheme, as the government gave free food and farming implements to poor people in an approach referred to as atlhama-o-je (`open-your-mouth-and-eat'). The present contribution reflects on the consequences of using this type of approach, arguing that instead of bringing real hope to the rural poor, it generated counterproductive attitudes. In conclusion, the authors suggest alternative strategies that take account of the life experiences of the rural poor and render them less dependent on government intervention for their well-being.
Random Initialisation of the Spectral Variables: an Alternate Approach for Initiating Multivariate Curve Resolution Alternating Least Square (MCR-ALS) Analysis.

PubMed

Kumar, Keshav

2017-11-01

Multivariate curve resolution alternating least square (MCR-ALS) analysis is the most commonly used curve resolution technique. The MCR-ALS model is fitted using the alternate least square (ALS) algorithm that needs initialisation of either contribution profiles or spectral profiles of each of the factor. The contribution profiles can be initialised using the evolve factor analysis; however, in principle, this approach requires that data must belong to the sequential process. The initialisation of the spectral profiles are usually carried out using the pure variable approach such as SIMPLISMA algorithm, this approach demands that each factor must have the pure variables in the data sets. Despite these limitations, the existing approaches have been quite a successful for initiating the MCR-ALS analysis. However, the present work proposes an alternate approach for the initialisation of the spectral variables by generating the random variables in the limits spanned by the maxima and minima of each spectral variable of the data set. The proposed approach does not require that there must be pure variables for each component of the multicomponent system or the concentration direction must follow the sequential process. The proposed approach is successfully validated using the excitation-emission matrix fluorescence data sets acquired for certain fluorophores with significant spectral overlap. The calculated contribution and spectral profiles of these fluorophores are found to correlate well with the experimental results. In summary, the present work proposes an alternate way to initiate the MCR-ALS analysis.
Multivariate ordination identifies vegetation types associated with spider conservation in brassica crops

PubMed Central

Saqib, Hafiz Sohaib Ahmed; You, Minsheng

2017-01-01

Conservation biological control emphasizes natural and other non-crop vegetation as a source of natural enemies to focal crops. There is an unmet need for better methods to identify the types of vegetation that are optimal to support specific natural enemies that may colonize the crops. Here we explore the commonality of the spider assemblage—considering abundance and diversity (H)—in brassica crops with that of adjacent non-crop and non-brassica crop vegetation. We employ spatial-based multivariate ordination approaches, hierarchical clustering and spatial eigenvector analysis. The small-scale mixed cropping and high disturbance frequency of southern Chinese vegetation farming offered a setting to test the role of alternate vegetation for spider conservation. Our findings indicate that spider families differ markedly in occurrence with respect to vegetation type. Grassy field margins, non-crop vegetation, taro and sweetpotato harbour spider morphospecies and functional groups that are also present in brassica crops. In contrast, pumpkin and litchi contain spiders not found in brassicas, and so may have little benefit for conservation biological control services for brassicas. Our findings also illustrate the utility of advanced statistical approaches for identifying spatial relationships between natural enemies and the land uses most likely to offer alternative habitats for conservation biological control efforts that generates testable hypotheses for future studies. PMID:29085741
Evaluating the sources and functions of gradiency in phoneme categorization: An individual differences approach.

PubMed

Kapnoula, Efthymia C; Winn, Matthew B; Kong, Eun Jong; Edwards, Jan; McMurray, Bob

2017-09-01

During spoken language comprehension listeners transform continuous acoustic cues into categories (e.g., /b/ and /p/). While long-standing research suggests that phonetic categories are activated in a gradient way, there are also clear individual differences in that more gradient categorization has been linked to various communication impairments such as dyslexia and specific language impairments (Joanisse, Manis, Keating, & Seidenberg, 2000; López-Zamora, Luque, Álvarez, & Cobos, 2012; Serniclaes, Van Heghe, Mousty, Carré, & Sprenger-Charolles, 2004; Werker & Tees, 1987). Crucially, most studies have used 2-alternative forced choice (2AFC) tasks to measure the sharpness of between-category boundaries. Here we propose an alternative paradigm that allows us to measure categorization gradiency in a more direct way. Furthermore, we follow an individual differences approach to (a) link this measure of gradiency to multiple cue integration, (b) explore its relationship to a set of other cognitive processes, and (c) evaluate its role in individuals' ability to perceive speech in noise. Our results provide validation for this new method of assessing phoneme categorization gradiency and offer preliminary insights into how different aspects of speech perception may be linked to each other and to more general cognitive processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
Oxygen- and Nitrogen-Enriched 3D Porous Carbon for Supercapacitors of High Volumetric Capacity.

PubMed

Li, Jia; Liu, Kang; Gao, Xiang; Yao, Bin; Huo, Kaifu; Cheng, Yongliang; Cheng, Xiaofeng; Chen, Dongchang; Wang, Bo; Sun, Wanmei; Ding, Dong; Liu, Meilin; Huang, Liang

2015-11-11

Efficient utilization and broader commercialization of alternative energies (e.g., solar, wind, and geothermal) hinges on the performance and cost of energy storage and conversion systems. For now and in the foreseeable future, the combination of rechargeable batteries and electrochemical capacitors remains the most promising option for many energy storage applications. Porous carbonaceous materials have been widely used as an electrode for batteries and supercapacitors. To date, however, the highest specific capacitance of an electrochemical double layer capacitor is only ∼200 F/g, although a wide variety of synthetic approaches have been explored in creating optimized porous structures. Here, we report our findings in the synthesis of porous carbon through a simple, one-step process: direct carbonization of kelp in an NH3 atmosphere at 700 °C. The resulting oxygen- and nitrogen-enriched carbon has a three-dimensional structure with specific surface area greater than 1000 m(2)/g. When evaluated as an electrode for electrochemical double layer capacitors, the porous carbon structure demonstrated excellent volumetric capacitance (>360 F/cm(3)) with excellent cycling stability. This simple approach to low-cost carbonaceous materials with unique architecture and functionality could be a promising alternative to fabrication of porous carbon structures for many practical applications, including batteries and fuel cells.
Rheological Characterization as an Alternative Method to Indentation for Determining the Setting Time of Restorative and Endodontic Cements

PubMed Central

Nicholson, Timothy M.; Kahler, Bill

2017-01-01

This study explored an alternative approach using rheology to assess setting time. The following cements were tested: ProRoot® MTA (Dentsply, Tulsa, OK, USA), Biodentine® (Septodont, Saint Maur des Fosses, France), Fuji VII®, FujiVII® EP, and Fuji IX® (from GC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), RealSeal SE™ Sealer (SybronEndo, Amersfoort, The Netherlands), AH 26® and AH Plus (both from Dentsply DeTrey, Konstanz, Germany). Freshly mixed cements were placed into a strain-controlled rheometer (1 rad·s−1 with an applied strain of 0.01%). From measurements of elastic modulus over time, the time taken to reach 90% of the plateau elastic modulus (designated as the setting time) was determined for each cement. In increasing order, the setting times were as follows: Fuji VII EP 3.3 min, Fuji VII 3.6 min, Fuji IX 3.7 min, ProRoot MTA 5.1 min, Biodentine 15.9 min, RealSeal 22.2 min, AH Plus 5933 min, and AH 26 5067 min. However, ProRoot MTA did not yield reliable results. The time to reach the 90% plateau elastic modulus correlates well with the setting time of glass ionomer cements and Biodentine. Using this approach gives much longer setting times for endodontic sealers than previously recognized. PMID:29261125
Identification of Reliable Components in Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS): a Data-Driven Approach across Metabolic Processes.

PubMed

Motegi, Hiromi; Tsuboi, Yuuri; Saga, Ayako; Kagami, Tomoko; Inoue, Maki; Toki, Hideaki; Minowa, Osamu; Noda, Tetsuo; Kikuchi, Jun

2015-11-04

There is an increasing need to use multivariate statistical methods for understanding biological functions, identifying the mechanisms of diseases, and exploring biomarkers. In addition to classical analyses such as hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and partial least squares discriminant analysis, various multivariate strategies, including independent component analysis, non-negative matrix factorization, and multivariate curve resolution, have recently been proposed. However, determining the number of components is problematic. Despite the proposal of several different methods, no satisfactory approach has yet been reported. To resolve this problem, we implemented a new idea: classifying a component as "reliable" or "unreliable" based on the reproducibility of its appearance, regardless of the number of components in the calculation. Using the clustering method for classification, we applied this idea to multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS). Comparisons between conventional and modified methods applied to proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H-NMR) spectral datasets derived from known standard mixtures and biological mixtures (urine and feces of mice) revealed that more plausible results are obtained by the modified method. In particular, clusters containing little information were detected with reliability. This strategy, named "cluster-aided MCR-ALS," will facilitate the attainment of more reliable results in the metabolomics datasets.
Analyzing coastal environments by means of functional data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sierra, Carlos; Flor-Blanco, Germán; Ordoñez, Celestino; Flor, Germán; Gallego, José R.

2017-07-01

Here we used Functional Data Analysis (FDA) to examine particle-size distributions (PSDs) in a beach/shallow marine sedimentary environment in Gijón Bay (NW Spain). The work involved both Functional Principal Components Analysis (FPCA) and Functional Cluster Analysis (FCA). The grainsize of the sand samples was characterized by means of laser dispersion spectroscopy. Within this framework, FPCA was used as a dimension reduction technique to explore and uncover patterns in grain-size frequency curves. This procedure proved useful to describe variability in the structure of the data set. Moreover, an alternative approach, FCA, was applied to identify clusters and to interpret their spatial distribution. Results obtained with this latter technique were compared with those obtained by means of two vector approaches that combine PCA with CA (Cluster Analysis). The first method, the point density function (PDF), was employed after adapting a log-normal distribution to each PSD and resuming each of the density functions by its mean, sorting, skewness and kurtosis. The second applied a centered-log-ratio (clr) to the original data. PCA was then applied to the transformed data, and finally CA to the retained principal component scores. The study revealed functional data analysis, specifically FPCA and FCA, as a suitable alternative with considerable advantages over traditional vector analysis techniques in sedimentary geology studies.
Increased productivity through waste reduction effort in oil and gas company

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hidayati, J.; Silviana, NA; Matondang, RA

2018-02-01

National companies engaged in oil and gas activities in the upstream sector. In general, the on going operations include drilling, exploration, and production activities with the result being crude oil channelled for shipment. Production activities produce waste gas (flare) of 0.58 MMSCFD derived from 17.05% of natural gas produced. Gas flares are residual gases that have been burning through flare stacks to avoid toxic gases such as H2S and CO that are harmful to human health and the environment. Therefore, appropriate environmental management is needed; one of them is by doing waste reduction business. Through this approach, it is expected that waste reduction efforts can affect the improvement of environmental conditions while increasing the productivity of the company. In this research begins by identifying the existence of problems on the company related to the amount of waste that is excessive and potentially to be reduced. Alternative improvements are then formulated and selected by their feasibility to be implemented through financial analysis, and the estimation of alternative contributions to the level of productivity. The result of this research is an alternative solution to solve the problem of the company by doing technological based engineering by reusing gas flare into fuel for incinerator machine. This alternative contributes to the increased productivity of material use by 23.32%, humans 83.8%, capital 10.13 %, and waste decreased by 0.11%.
Unsteady Analysis of Inlet-Compressor Acoustic Interactions Using Coupled 3-D and 1-D CFD Codes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suresh, A.; Cole, G. L.

2000-01-01

It is well known that the dynamic response of a mixed compression supersonic inlet is very sensitive to the boundary condition imposed at the subsonic exit (engine face) of the inlet. In previous work, a 3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) inlet code (NPARC) was coupled at the engine face to a 3-D turbomachinery code (ADPAC) simulating an isolated rotor and the coupled simulation used to study the unsteady response of the inlet. The main problem with this approach is that the high fidelity turbomachinery simulation becomes prohibitively expensive as more stages are included in the simulation. In this paper, an alternative approach is explored, wherein the inlet code is coupled to a lesser fidelity 1-D transient compressor code (DYNTECC) which simulates the whole compressor. The specific application chosen for this evaluation is the collapsing bump experiment performed at the University of Cincinnati, wherein reflections of a large-amplitude acoustic pulse from a compressor were measured. The metrics for comparison are the pulse strength (time integral of the pulse amplitude) and wave form (shape). When the compressor is modeled by stage characteristics the computed strength is about ten percent greater than that for the experiment, but the wave shapes are in poor agreement. An alternate approach that uses a fixed rise in duct total pressure and temperature (so-called 'lossy' duct) to simulate a compressor gives good pulse shapes but the strength is about 30 percent low.
Educational Telecommunications Alternatives for Alaska. Product 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilke, Jennifer L.; And Others

This study explores a wide variety of technical alternatives, from equipment needs and on-the-ground system design, to equipment operation and suggested applications for department activities, both now and in the future. Some suggested alternatives include (1) communication satellites, (2) one way audio transmission, (3) one and two way hard copy…
Chemically controlled closed-loop insulin delivery.

PubMed

Ravaine, Valérie; Ancla, Christophe; Catargi, Bogdan

2008-11-24

Alternative treatments for diabetes are currently being investigated to improve both patient comfort and avoid complications due to hyperglycaemia episodes. In the absence of a cure like pancreas or beta-islets transplants, the ideal method would be an artificial "closed-loop" system able to mimic pancreas activity. This would operate continuously and automatically, causing appropriate response to losses and gains in glucose levels. Chemically controlled closed-loop insulin delivery has been explored by two main strategies. The first one consists in delivering insulin with a glucose-responsive matrix. Polymeric hydrogels that swell or shrink according to the glucose concentration allow delivering insulin doses adapted to the glucose concentration. The second strategy consists in modifying insulin itself with glucose-sensitive functional groups that trigger its activity. Recent developments made in these areas represent significant progress in terms of biocompatibility, selectivity, pharmacokinetics, and easiness of administration, as required for in vivo applications. Although some issues still have to be overcome, this field of research is promising as a possible alternative to other approaches for diabetes treatment.
An alternative discourse of productive aging: A self-restrained approach in older Chinese people in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Luo, Minxia; Chui, Ernest Wing-Tak

2016-08-01

While Western discourses regarding productive aging emphasize individuals' contributions to economic productivity, the Confucian cultural heritage of the Chinese community may provide an alternative perspective. This qualitative study explores interpretations of what constitutes productive aging, based on a series of in-depth interviews with older Chinese people in Hong Kong. It shows that some of these individuals adopted a passive and indirect interpretation of productive aging, distinct from that found in Western countries. The Confucianism-based, collectivist, normative order underpinning Hong Kong society disposed these older people to adopting a self-restrained attitude with the aim of avoiding becoming a burden to others, especially family members. Such a tendency toward self-restraint or avoidance also encompassed a compromise between ideals and reality, with the older people opting to compromise their expectations of the younger generation as a whole, their adult children in particular, in terms of respect and reciprocity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Moving Beyond the Behavior-Change Framework for Smoking Cessation: Lessons for a Critical Ontology From the Case of Inpatient Psychiatric Units.

PubMed

Birnbaum, Shira

2018-06-01

Leading scholars have called on nursing schools to pay more attention to smoking cessation in the education of nursing students. This article argues that attention to this subject should include a rethinking of the behavior-change framework that forms the methodological basis of this field. Drawing on classic and contemporary work in sociology, anthropology, and critical public health, this article explores the specific example of smoking in long-term inpatient units to illustrate the limitations of a behavior-based ontology and suggest an alternative conceptual vocabulary. An alternative approach posits smoking as a social practice. It sheds light on situational factors that incentivize smoking and might be contributing to patient resistance to cessation. A different conceptual framing of smoking can point to interventions beyond the level of individuals, focusing instead on the broader interface between people and situations, where decisions and desires meet institutional and organizational dynamics and structures of opportunity and access.
Species trees for the tree swallows (Genus Tachycineta): an alternative phylogenetic hypothesis to the mitochondrial gene tree.

PubMed

Dor, Roi; Carling, Matthew D; Lovette, Irby J; Sheldon, Frederick H; Winkler, David W

2012-10-01

The New World swallow genus Tachycineta comprises nine species that collectively have a wide geographic distribution and remarkable variation both within- and among-species in ecologically important traits. Existing phylogenetic hypotheses for Tachycineta are based on mitochondrial DNA sequences, thus they provide estimates of a single gene tree. In this study we sequenced multiple individuals from each species at 16 nuclear intron loci. We used gene concatenated approaches (Bayesian and maximum likelihood) as well as coalescent-based species tree inference to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships of the genus. We examined the concordance and conflict between the nuclear and mitochondrial trees and between concatenated and coalescent-based inferences. Our results provide an alternative phylogenetic hypothesis to the existing mitochondrial DNA estimate of phylogeny. This new hypothesis provides a more accurate framework in which to explore trait evolution and examine the evolution of the mitochondrial genome in this group. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The lived experience of girl-to-girl aggression in marginalized girls.

PubMed

Zenz Adamshick, Pamela

2010-04-01

Girl-to-girl aggression is increasingly being recognized as a health problem, and the number of teenage girls involved in serious fighting is on the rise. Research on the experiences of girl-to-girl aggression in marginalized girls who are out of the mainstream because of poor relationship skills and physical aggression is notably absent, yet this group is at heightened risk for persistent violence. In this study I used the interpretive phenomenological approach to study the lived experience of girl-to-girl aggression in girls who were marginalized and attending an alternative school because of physically aggressive behavior. Data were collected over a 4-month period by means of in-depth interviews and field notes. For this population, girl-to-girl aggression provided self-protection, expressed girls' identity, and was also a means to finding attachment, connection, and friendship. These findings have multidisciplinary implications for interventions with physically aggressive girls, including mentoring programs, in-school support groups, and exploration of a paradigm shift in the use of alternative schools.
A Review of the Responses of Two- and Three-Dimensional Engineered Tissues to Electric Fields

PubMed Central

Hronik-Tupaj, Marie

2012-01-01

The application of external biophysical signals is one approach to tissue engineering that is explored less often than more traditional additions of exogenous biochemical and chemical factors to direct cell and tissue outcomes. The study of bioelectromagnetism and the field of electrotherapeutics have evolved over the years, and we review biocompatible electric stimulation devices and their successful application to tissue growth. Specifically, information on capacitively coupled alternating current, inductively coupled alternating current, and direct current devices is described. Cell and tissue responses from the application of these devices, including two- and three-dimensional in vitro studies and in vivo studies, are reviewed with regard to cell proliferation, adhesion, differentiation, morphology, and migration and tissue function. The current understanding of cellular mechanisms related to electric stimulation is detailed. The advantages of electric stimulation are compared with those pf other techniques, and areas in which electric fields are used as an adjuvant therapy for healing and regeneration are discussed. PMID:22046979
An Alternative Approach to Teaching Public Speaking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fetzer, Ronald C.

1977-01-01

Describes the visual image approach as an alternative method of public speaking instruction based on the principle that meaning is associated with the object that meaning represents. Presents a rationale, objectives, procedures and results of implementation of this approach. (MH)

Environmental assessment of spatial plan policies through land use scenarios

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

Geneletti, Davide, E-mail: davide.geneletti@ing.unitn.it

2012-01-15

This paper presents a method based on scenario analysis to compare the environmental effects of different spatial plan policies in a range of possible futures. The study aimed at contributing to overcome two limitations encountered in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for spatial planning: poor exploration of how the future might unfold, and poor consideration of alternative plan policies. Scenarios were developed through what-if functions and spatial modeling in a Geographical Information System (GIS), and consisted in maps that represent future land uses under different assumptions on key driving forces. The use of land use scenarios provided a representation of howmore » the different policies will look like on the ground. This allowed gaining a better understanding of the policies' implications on the environment, which could be measured through a set of indicators. The research undertook a case-study approach by developing and assessing land use scenarios for the future growth of Caia, a strategically-located and fast-developing town in rural Mozambique. The effects of alternative spatial plan policies were assessed against a set of environmental performance indicators, including deforestation, loss of agricultural land, encroachment of flood-prone areas and wetlands and access to water sources. In this way, critical environmental effects related to the implementation of each policy were identified and discussed, suggesting possible strategies to address them. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Research Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The method contributes to two critical issues in SEA: exploration of the future and consideration of alternatives. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Future scenarios are used to test the environmental performance of different spatial plan policies in uncertainty conditions. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Spatially-explicit land use scenarios provide a representation of how different policies will look like on the ground.« less
Low-Latency Science Exploration of Planetary Bodies: How ISS Might Be Used as Part of a Low-Latency Analog Campaign for Human Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thronson, Harley; Valinia, Azita; Bleacher, Jacob; Eigenbrode, Jennifer; Garvin, Jim; Petro, Noah

2014-01-01

We suggest that the International Space Station be used to examine the application and validation of low-latency telepresence for surface exploration from space as an alternative, precursor, or potentially as an adjunct to astronaut "boots on the ground." To this end, controlled experiments that build upon and complement ground-based analog field studies will be critical for assessing the effects of different latencies (0 to 500 milliseconds), task complexity, and alternate forms of feedback to the operator. These experiments serve as an example of a pathfinder for NASA's roadmap of missions to Mars with low-latency telerobotic exploration as a precursor to astronaut's landing on the surface to conduct geological tasks.
An Alternate Configuration of the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Robert L., Jr.

2014-01-01

The NASA Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV) Team has developed an alternate configuration of the vehicle that can be used as a lunar lander. The MMSEV was originally conceived of during the Constellation program as the successor to the Apollo lunar rover as a pressurized rover for two-person, multiday excursions on the lunar surface. Following the cancellation of the Constellation program, the MMSEV has been reconfigured to serve as a free-flying scout vehicle for exploration of a Near Earth Asteroid and is also being assessed for use as a Habitable Airlock in a Cislunar microgravity spacecraft. The Alternate MMSEV (AMMSEV) variant of the MMSEV would serve as the transport vehicle for a four-person lunar crew, providing descent from an orbiting spacecraft or space station and ascent back to the spaceborne asset. This paper will provide a high level overview of the MMSEV and preliminary results from human-in-the-loop testing.
Are Conventional Farmers Conventional? Analysis of the Environmental Orientations of Conventional New Zealand Farmers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fairweather, John R.; Hunt, Lesley M.; Rosin, Chris J.; Campbell, Hugh R.

2009-01-01

Within the political economy of agriculture and agrofood literatures there are examples of approaches that reject simple dichotomies between alternatives and the mainstream. In line with such approaches, we challenge the assumption that alternative agriculture, and its attendant improved environmental practices, alternative management styles, less…
Promoting food security and well-being among poor and HIV/AIDS affected households: lessons from an interactive and integrated approach.

PubMed

Swaans, Kees; Broerse, Jacqueline; Meincke, Maylin; Mudhara, Maxwell; Bunders, Joske

2009-02-01

Participatory and interdisciplinary approaches have been suggested to develop appropriate agricultural innovations as an alternative strategy to improve food security and well-being among HIV/AIDS affected households. However, sustainable implementation of such interactive approaches is far from easy and straight forward. This study reports of the Interactive Learning and Action (ILA) approach, a methodology for agricultural innovation which has been adapted to the context of HIV/AIDS. Role players in agriculture and health were brought together to stimulate and sustain innovation among three support groups for poor and affected households in a rural high HIV/AIDS prevalence area in South Africa. The effectiveness of the approach was evaluated using both outcome and process criteria. The results indicate that an interactive approach in which service providers/researchers engage themselves as actors to explore the livelihood system and develop appropriate solutions in joint collaboration with resource users has potential. However, it also revealed that cooperation among participants and stakeholders at the interface of agriculture and HIV/AIDS is complicated and sensitive to erosion. Of particular concern was the difficulty of mobilizing members from poor and affected households to participate and to overcome stigma and discrimination. Lessons and potential applications for the further development of interactive approaches are discussed.
Inkjet Printing of Proteins: an Experimental Approach.

PubMed

Montenegro-Nicolini, Miguel; Miranda, Víctor; Morales, Javier O

2017-01-01

Peptides and proteins represent a promissory group of molecules used by the pharmaceutical industry for drug therapy with great potential for development. However, the administration of these molecules presents a series of difficulties, making necessary the exploration of new alternatives like the buccal route of administration to improve drug therapy compliance. Although drop-on demand printers have been explored for small molecule drugs with promising results, the development of delivery systems for peptides and proteins through inkjet printing has seen little development. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of using a thermal inkjet printing system for dispensing lysozyme and ribonuclease-A as model proteins. To address the absorption limitations of a potential buccal use, a permeation enhancer (sodium deoxycholate) was also studied in formulations. We found that a conventional printer successfully printed both proteins, exhibiting very high printing efficiency. Furthermore, the protein structure was not affected and minor effects were observed in the enzymatic activity after the printing process. In conclusion, we provide evidence for the usage of an inexpensive, easy to use, reliable, and reproducible thermal inkjet printing system to dispense proteins solutions for potential buccal application. Our research significantly contributes to present an alternative for manufacturing biologics delivery systems, with emphasis in buccal applications. Next steps of developments will be aimed at the use of new materials for printing, controlled release, and protection strategies for proteins and peptides.
Mind the gap! Lay and medical perceptions of risks associated with the use of alternative treatment and conventional medicine.

PubMed

Salamonsen, Anita

2015-01-01

Studies on the widespread use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) demonstrate that CAM users base their treatment decisions on both subjective, experience-based knowledge and medical knowledge. The aim of this study was to explore lay and medical risk perceptions associated with CAM and conventional medicine. In this explorative qualitative study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 25 Norwegian CAM users with cancer or multiple sclerosis and 12 doctors. The interviews revealed fundamental differences in risk perceptions influencing treatment decisions and risk communication in a clinical setting. While CAM users considered conventional medicine as potentially risky and related this to experiences of severe adverse effects, CAM was perceived as natural and safe. Doctors' risk perceptions were quite the contrary, mainly because of lack of scientific evidence for CAM as a safe and beneficial treatment option. For the safety of CAM users, such divergent risk perceptions may have far-reaching consequences. CAM users should be taken seriously with their self-perception as decision-makers considering their approaches to experiences, knowledge, and science. An awareness of differing lay and medical risk perceptions associated with CAM and conventional medicine in research, doctor-patient communication, and education of patients and doctors is thus important to optimize patient safety in complex health care systems. © 2015 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.
Using Combinatorial Approach to Improve Students' Learning of the Distributive Law and Multiplicative Identities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Yu-Ling; Chang, Ching-Kuch

2009-01-01

This article reports an alternative approach, called the combinatorial model, to learning multiplicative identities, and investigates the effects of implementing results for this alternative approach. Based on realistic mathematics education theory, the new instructional materials or modules of the new approach were developed by the authors. From…
Alternate charging profiles for the onboard nickel cadmium batteries of the Explorer Platform/Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rao, Gopalakrishna M.; Prettyman-Lukoschek, Jill S.

1995-01-01

The Explorer Platform/Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EP/EUVE) spacecraft power is provided by the Modular Power Subsystems (MPS) which contains three 50 ampere-hour Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries. The batteries were fabricated by McDonnell Douglas Electronics Systems Company, with the cells fabricated by Gates Aerospace Batteries (GAB), Gainesville, Florida. Shortly following launch, the battery performance characteristics showed similar signatures as the anomalous performance observed on both the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO). This prompted the development and implementation of alternate charging profiles to optimize the spacecraft battery performance. The Flight Operations Team (FOT), under the direction of Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) EP/EUVE Project and Space Power Applications Branch have monitored and managed battery performance through control of the battery Charge to Discharge (C/D) ratio and implementation of a Solar Array (SA) offset. This paper provides a brief overview of the EP/EUVE mission, the MPS, the FOT's battery management for achieving the alternate charging profile, and the observed spacecraft battery performance.
Taiwanese Students' Alternative Conceptions of Animal Biodiversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yen, Chiung-Fen; Yao, Tsung-Wei; Mintzes, Joel J.

2007-01-01

This study explored and documented Taiwanese students' alternative conceptions of animal classification. We examined the understanding of the "animal", "vertebrate" and "invertebrate", "fish", "amphibian", "reptile", "bird", and "mammal" concepts among elementary,…
Candidate-based proteomics in the search for biomarkers of cardiovascular disease

PubMed Central

Anderson, Leigh

2005-01-01

The key concept of proteomics (looking at many proteins at once) opens new avenues in the search for clinically useful biomarkers of disease, treatment response and ageing. As the number of proteins that can be detected in plasma or serum (the primary clinical diagnostic samples) increases towards 1000, a paradoxical decline has occurred in the number of new protein markers approved for diagnostic use in clinical laboratories. This review explores the limitations of current proteomics protein discovery platforms, and proposes an alternative approach, applicable to a range of biological/physiological problems, in which quantitative mass spectrometric methods developed for analytical chemistry are employed to measure limited sets of candidate markers in large sets of clinical samples. A set of 177 candidate biomarker proteins with reported associations to cardiovascular disease and stroke are presented as a starting point for such a ‘directed proteomics’ approach. PMID:15611012
Investigating and developing engineering students' mathematical modelling and problem-solving skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wedelin, Dag; Adawi, Tom; Jahan, Tabassum; Andersson, Sven

2015-09-01

How do engineering students approach mathematical modelling problems and how can they learn to deal with such problems? In the context of a course in mathematical modelling and problem solving, and using a qualitative case study approach, we found that the students had little prior experience of mathematical modelling. They were also inexperienced problem solvers, unaware of the importance of understanding the problem and exploring alternatives, and impeded by inappropriate beliefs, attitudes and expectations. Important impacts of the course belong to the metacognitive domain. The nature of the problems, the supervision and the follow-up lectures were emphasised as contributing to the impacts of the course, where students show major development. We discuss these empirical results in relation to a framework for mathematical thinking and the notion of cognitive apprenticeship. Based on the results, we argue that this kind of teaching should be considered in the education of all engineers.
Modeling helical proteins using residual dipolar couplings, sparse long-range distance constraints and a simple residue-based force field

PubMed Central

Eggimann, Becky L.; Vostrikov, Vitaly V.; Veglia, Gianluigi; Siepmann, J. Ilja

2013-01-01

We present a fast and simple protocol to obtain moderate-resolution backbone structures of helical proteins. This approach utilizes a combination of sparse backbone NMR data (residual dipolar couplings and paramagnetic relaxation enhancements) or EPR data with a residue-based force field and Monte Carlo/simulated annealing protocol to explore the folding energy landscape of helical proteins. By using only backbone NMR data, which are relatively easy to collect and analyze, and strategically placed spin relaxation probes, we show that it is possible to obtain protein structures with correct helical topology and backbone RMS deviations well below 4 Å. This approach offers promising alternatives for the structural determination of proteins in which nuclear Overha-user effect data are difficult or impossible to assign and produces initial models that will speed up the high-resolution structure determination by NMR spectroscopy. PMID:24639619
[Prevention of schizophrenia: a review].

PubMed

Balhara, Yatan Pal Singh

2013-01-01

Research over the years has introduced multiple interventions for schizophrenia. Notwithstanding the nature of intervention pharmacological or psychological a complete cure for the condition remains a much-desired, yet unachieved goal. What is required is an exploration of alternative intervention strategies for treating schizophrenia a preventive approach is such an option. The chronic nature of schizophrenia and its associated disabilities have a tremendously negative affect the quality of life of patients, their families, and communities. Among the preferred approaches to reducing the negative consequences associated with the disorder is the prevention of its emergence. This review aimed to present the available data on the prevention of schizophrenia data that suggest some pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions have a potential role in the prevention of schizophrenia. Nonetheless, the findings are restricted to a few sites and are at best preliminary; as such, the findings must be replicated in new studies that include large samples and different settings.
Gender, politics, and radioactivity research in interwar Vienna: the case of the Institute for Radium Research.

PubMed

Rentetzi, Maria

2004-09-01

This essay explores the significance of political and ideological context as well as experimental culture for the participation of women in radioactivity research. It argues that the politics of Red Vienna and the culture of radioactivity research specific to the Viennese setting encouraged exceptional gender politics within the Institute for Radium Research in the interwar years. The essay further attempts to provide an alternative approach to narratives that concentrate on personal dispositions and stereotypical images of women in science to explain the disproportionately large number of women in radioactivity research. Instead, the emphasis here is on the institutional context in which women involved themselves in radioactivity in interwar Vienna. This approach places greater importance on contingencies of time and place and highlights the significance of the cultural and political context in a historical study while at the same time shedding light on the interrelation between scientific practices and gender.
Corporate Diversity Programs and Gender Inequality in the Oil and Gas Industry.

PubMed

Williams, Christine L; Kilanski, Kristine; Muller, Chandra

2014-11-01

Since the 1980s, major U.S. corporations have embraced diversity as a management strategy to increase the number of women in top jobs. Diversity management programs include targeted recruitment, hiring, and promotions policies; mentoring programs; affinity groups; and diversity training. Few of these programs have proven effective in achieving gender diversity in the corporate world, despite their widespread popularity. To explore the reasons for this, the authors investigate the experiences of women scientists in the oil and gas industry who are targeted by these programs. In-depth interviews reveal possible reasons why these programs fail to achieve their intended goals. The authors find that these programs can paradoxically reinforce gender inequality and male dominance in the industry. The authors discuss alternative approaches for addressing gender inequality in work organizations and conclude with implications of their findings for corporate approaches to promoting diversity and for future research.
End-of-life ethics and disability: differing perspectives on case-based teaching.

PubMed

Kaufert, Joseph; Wiebe, Rhonda; Schwartz, Karen; Labine, Lisa; Lutfiyya, Zana Marie; Pearse, Catherine

2010-05-01

The way in which medical professionals engage in bioethical issues ultimately reflects the type of care such patients are likely to receive. It is therefore critical for doctors and other health care professionals to have a broad understanding of disability. Our purpose in this paper is to explore ways of teaching bioethical issues to first year medical students by integrating alternative approaches. Such approaches include (a) the use of the narrative format, (b) the inclusion of a disability perspective, and (c) the presentation and facilitation of classes by people with disabilities. We consider how these new kinds of presentations are evaluated by students, faculty, people with disabilities and professional ethicists. We hope new knowledge may provide health care professionals with a greater understanding of the perspectives of patients with disabilities, who are confronted by conflicting ethical values and frameworks for decision-making in their interaction with such professionals.
Recent progress in the synthesis of metal–organic frameworks

DOE PAGES

Sun, Yujia; Zhou, Hong -Cai

2015-09-25

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted considerable attention for various applications due to their tunable structure, porosity and functionality. In general, MOFs have been synthesized from isolated metal ions and organic linkers under hydrothermal or solvothermal conditions via one-spot reactions. The emerging precursor approach and kinetically tuned dimensional augmentation strategy add more diversity to this field. In addition, to speed up the crystallization process and create uniform crystals with reduced size, many alternative synthesis routes have been explored. Recent advances in microwave-assisted synthesis and electrochemical synthesis are presented in this review. In recent years, post-synthetic approaches have been shown to bemore » powerful tools to synthesize MOFs with modified functionality, which cannot be attained via de novo synthesis. In this study, some current accomplishments of post-synthetic modification (PSM) based on covalent transformations and coordinative interactions as well as post-synthetic exchange (PSE) in robust MOFs are provided.« less
Dose-response relationships in multifunctional food design: assembling the evidence.

PubMed

Aggett, Peter J

2012-03-01

Demonstrating single and multiple functions attributable to foods or specific food components is a challenge. The International Life Sciences Institute Europe co-ordinated EU concerted actions, Functional Food Science in Europe (FUFOSE) and the Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims on Food (PASSCLAIM), respectively, addressed the soundness of the evidence and its coherence with a mechanistic schema comprising valid markers of exposure, intermediate and final outcomes and the quality and integrity of the evidence overall. Demonstrating causality often relies on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, in public health and biomedical science there is concern about the suitability of RCTs as sole standards of evidence-based approaches. Alternative and complementary approaches using updated Hill's viewpoints for appraising the evidence can be used in conjunction with evidence-based mechanistic reasoning and the quality criteria proposed in FUFOSE and PASSCLAIM to design studies and to assemble evidence exploring single or multiple benefits from food components and foods.
Cell and small animal models for phenotypic drug discovery.

PubMed

Szabo, Mihaly; Svensson Akusjärvi, Sara; Saxena, Ankur; Liu, Jianping; Chandrasekar, Gayathri; Kitambi, Satish S

2017-01-01

The phenotype-based drug discovery (PDD) approach is re-emerging as an alternative platform for drug discovery. This review provides an overview of the various model systems and technical advances in imaging and image analyses that strengthen the PDD platform. In PDD screens, compounds of therapeutic value are identified based on the phenotypic perturbations produced irrespective of target(s) or mechanism of action. In this article, examples of phenotypic changes that can be detected and quantified with relative ease in a cell-based setup are discussed. In addition, a higher order of PDD screening setup using small animal models is also explored. As PDD screens integrate physiology and multiple signaling mechanisms during the screening process, the identified hits have higher biomedical applicability. Taken together, this review highlights the advantages gained by adopting a PDD approach in drug discovery. Such a PDD platform can complement target-based systems that are currently in practice to accelerate drug discovery.

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