Sample records for factors final technical

  1. Final Technical Report

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

    Glasser, Alan H.

    Final technical report on DE-SC0016106. This is the final technical report for a portion of the multi-institutional CEMM project. This report is centered around 3 publications and a seminar presentation, which have been submitted to E-Link.

  2. Final Technical Report

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

    Sobecky, Patricia A; Taillefert, Martial

    This final technical report describes results and findings from a research project to examine the role of microbial phosphohydrolase enzymes in naturally occurring subsurface microorganisms for the purpose of promoting the immobilization of the radionuclide uranium through the production of insoluble uranium phosphate minerals. The research project investigated the microbial mechanisms and the physical and chemical processes promoting uranium biomineralization and sequestration in oxygenated subsurface soils. Uranium biomineralization under aerobic conditions can provide a secondary biobarrier strategy to immobilize radionuclides should the metal precipitates formed by microbial dissimilatory mechanisms remobilize due to a change in redox state.

  3. Minnesota Deaf-Blind Technical Assistance Project. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kloos, Eric

    This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the 3-year federally supported Minnesota Deaf-Blind Technical Assistance Project. The project provided training and technical assistance, information sharing, and support services to families of children with deaf-blindness. Activities and accomplishments included: collaboration with…

  4. 10 CFR 52.157 - Contents of applications; technical information in final safety analysis report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ...; technical information in final safety analysis report. The application must contain a final safety analysis...) Information sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the applicable requirements regarding testing, analysis... 10 Energy 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Contents of applications; technical information in final...

  5. 10 CFR 52.157 - Contents of applications; technical information in final safety analysis report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ...; technical information in final safety analysis report. The application must contain a final safety analysis...) Information sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the applicable requirements regarding testing, analysis... 10 Energy 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Contents of applications; technical information in final...

  6. 10 CFR 52.157 - Contents of applications; technical information in final safety analysis report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ...; technical information in final safety analysis report. The application must contain a final safety analysis...) Information sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the applicable requirements regarding testing, analysis... 10 Energy 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Contents of applications; technical information in final...

  7. 10 CFR 52.157 - Contents of applications; technical information in final safety analysis report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ...; technical information in final safety analysis report. The application must contain a final safety analysis...) Information sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the applicable requirements regarding testing, analysis... 10 Energy 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Contents of applications; technical information in final...

  8. 48 CFR 1852.235-73 - Final Scientific and Technical Reports.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Final Scientific and Technical Reports. 1852.235-73 Section 1852.235-73 Federal Acquisition Regulations System NATIONAL..., including recommendations and conclusions based on the experience and results obtained. The final report...

  9. Final Technical Report

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

    Aristos Aristidou Natureworks); Robert Kean; Tom Schechinger

    2007-10-01

    The two main objectives of this project were: 1) to develop and test technologies to harvest, transport, store, and separate corn stover to supply a clean raw material to the bioproducts industry, and 2) engineer fermentation systems to meet performance targets for lactic acid and ethanol manufacturers. Significant progress was made in testing methods to harvest corn stover in a “single pass” harvest mode (collect corn grain and stover at the same time). This is technically feasible on small scale, but additional equipment refinements will be needed to facilitate cost effective harvest on a larger scale. Transportation models were developed,more » which indicate that at a corn stover yield of 2.8 tons/acre and purchase price of $35/ton stover, it would be unprofitable to transport stover more than about 25 miles; thus suggesting the development of many regional collection centers. Therefore, collection centers should be located within about 30 miles of the farm, to keep transportation costs to an acceptable level. These collection centers could then potentially do some preprocessing (to fractionate or increase bulk density) and/or ship the biomass by rail or barge to the final customers. Wet storage of stover via ensilage was tested, but no clear economic advantages were evident. Wet storage eliminates fire risk, but increases the complexity of component separation and may result in a small loss of carbohydrate content (fermentation potential). A study of possible supplier-producer relationships, concluded that a “quasi-vertical” integration model would be best suited for new bioproducts industries based on stover. In this model, the relationship would involve a multiyear supply contract (processor with purchase guarantees, producer group with supply guarantees). Price will likely be fixed or calculated based on some formula (possibly a cost plus). Initial quality requirements will be specified (but subject to refinement).Producers would invest in harvest

  10. Final Technical Report for ARRA Funding

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

    Rusack, Roger; Mans, Jeremiah; Poling, Ronald

    Final technical report of the University of Minnesota experimental high energy physics group for ARRA support. The Cryogenic Dark Matter Experiment (CDMS) used the funds received to construct a new passive shield to protect a high-purity germanium detector located in the Soudan mine in Northern Minnesota from cosmic rays. The BESIII and the CMS groups purchased computing hardware to assemble computer farms for data analysis and to generate large volumes of simulated data for comparison with the data collected.

  11. 76 FR 18624 - Research, Technical Assistance and Training Programs: Notice of Final Circular

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-04-04

    ... to FTA Circular 6100.1D, Research and Technical Assistance Training Program: Application Instructions... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Transit Administration Research, Technical Assistance and Training Programs: Notice of Final Circular AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT. ACTION...

  12. AIMES Final Technical Report

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

    Katz, Daniel S; Jha, Shantenu; Weissman, Jon

    2017-01-31

    This is the final technical report for the AIMES project. Many important advances in science and engineering are due to large-scale distributed computing. Notwithstanding this reliance, we are still learning how to design and deploy large-scale production Distributed Computing Infrastructures (DCI). This is evidenced by missing design principles for DCI, and an absence of generally acceptable and usable distributed computing abstractions. The AIMES project was conceived against this backdrop, following on the heels of a comprehensive survey of scientific distributed applications. AIMES laid the foundations to address the tripartite challenge of dynamic resource management, integrating information, and portable and interoperablemore » distributed applications. Four abstractions were defined and implemented: skeleton, resource bundle, pilot, and execution strategy. The four abstractions were implemented into software modules and then aggregated into the AIMES middleware. This middleware successfully integrates information across the application layer (skeletons) and resource layer (Bundles), derives a suitable execution strategy for the given skeleton and enacts its execution by means of pilots on one or more resources, depending on the application requirements, and resource availabilities and capabilities.« less

  13. AIMES Final Technical Report

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

    Weissman, Jon; Katz, Dan; Jha, Shantenu

    2017-01-31

    This is the final technical report for the AIMES project. Many important advances in science and engineering are due to large scale distributed computing. Notwithstanding this reliance, we are still learning how to design and deploy large-scale production Distributed Computing Infrastructures (DCI). This is evidenced by missing design principles for DCI, and an absence of generally acceptable and usable distributed computing abstractions. The AIMES project was conceived against this backdrop, following on the heels of a comprehensive survey of scientific distributed applications. AIMES laid the foundations to address the tripartite challenge of dynamic resource management, integrating information, and portable andmore » interoperable distributed applications. Four abstractions were defined and implemented: skeleton, resource bundle, pilot, and execution strategy. The four abstractions were implemented into software modules and then aggregated into the AIMES middleware. This middleware successfully integrates information across the application layer (skeletons) and resource layer (Bundles), derives a suitable execution strategy for the given skeleton and enacts its execution by means of pilots on one or more resources, depending on the application requirements, and resource availabilities and capabilities.« less

  14. Final Technical Report- Virginia Solar Pathways Project

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

    Bond, Katharine; Cosby, Sarah

    This Report provides a technical review of the final results of a funding award to Virginia Electric and Power Company (Dominion Energy Virginia (DEV) or the Company) for a project under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office. The three-year project was formally known as the Virginia Solar Pathways Project (VSPP or the Project). The purpose of the VSPP was to develop a collaborative utility-administered solar strategy (Solar Strategy) for DEV’s service territory in the Commonwealth that could serve as a replicable model for other states with similar policy environments.

  15. The Unfortunate Human Factor: A Selective History of Human Factors for Technical Communicators.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Robert R.

    1994-01-01

    Reviews moments in the history of human factors that are especially relevant to the field of technical communications. Discusses human factors research that is applicable to technical communications. Focuses on qualitative usability research, minimalism, and human activity interface design. (HB)

  16. The Independent Technical Analysis Process Final Report 2006-2007.

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

    Duberstein, Corey; Ham, Kenneth; Dauble, Dennis

    2007-03-01

    The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contracted with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to provide technical analytical support for system-wide fish passage information (BPA Project No. 2006-010-00). The goal of this project was to produce rigorous technical analysis products using independent analysts and anonymous peer reviewers. This project provided an independent technical source for non-routine fish passage analyses while allowing routine support functions to be performed by other well-qualified entities. The Independent Technical Analysis Process (ITAP) was created to provide non-routine analysis for fish and wildlife agencies and tribes in particular and the public in general on matters related tomore » juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead passage through the mainstem hydrosystem. The process was designed to maintain the independence of analysts and reviewers from parties requesting analyses, to avoid potential bias in technical products. The objectives identified for this project were to administer a rigorous, transparent process to deliver unbiased technical assistance necessary to coordinate recommendations for storage reservoir and river operations that avoid potential conflicts between anadromous and resident fish. Seven work elements, designated by numbered categories in the Pisces project tracking system, were created to define and accomplish project goals as follows: (1) 118 Coordination - Coordinate technical analysis and review process: (a) Retain expertise for analyst/reviewer roles. (b) Draft research directives. (c) Send directive to the analyst. (d) Coordinate two independent reviews of the draft report. (e) Ensure reviewer comments are addressed within the final report. (2) 162 Analyze/Interpret Data - Implement the independent aspects of the project. (3) 122 Provide Technical Review - Implement the review process for the analysts. (4) 132 Produce Annual Report - FY06 annual progress report with Pisces Disseminate (5

  17. Joint Technical Architecture for Robotic Systems (JTARS)-Final Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bradley, Arthur T.; Holloway, Sidney E., III

    2006-01-01

    This document represents the final report for the Joint Technical Architecture for Robotic Systems (JTARS) project, funded by the Office of Exploration as part of the Intramural Call for Proposals of 2005. The project was prematurely terminated, without review, as part of an agency-wide realignment towards the development of a Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and meeting the near-term goals of lunar exploration.

  18. Site Operator technical report. Final report (1992--1996)

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

    NONE

    1996-12-01

    The Southern California Edison Company (SCE) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) entered into cooperative agreement No. DE-FC07-91ID13077 on August 23, 1991, which expired on August 3, 1996. This cooperative agreement provided SCE with DOE cofunding for participation in the DOE`s Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Site Operator Program. In return, SCE provided the DOE with quarterly progress reports which include operating and maintenance data for the electric (EVs) vehicles in SCE`s fleet. Herein is SCE`s final report for the 1992 to 1996 agreement period. As of September 1, 1996 the SCE fleet had 65 electric vehicles in service. Amore » total of 578,200 miles had been logged. During the agreement period, SCE sent the DOE a total of 19 technical reports (Appendix B). This report summarizes the technical achievements which took place during a long, productive and rewarding, relationship with the DOE.« less

  19. Technical approach to groundwater restoration. Final report

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

    Not Available

    1993-11-01

    The Technical Approach to Groundwater Restoration (TAGR) provides general technical guidance to implement the groundwater restoration phase of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. The TAGR includes a brief overview of the surface remediation and groundwater restoration phases of the UMTRA Project and describes the regulatory requirements, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, and regulatory compliance. A section on program strategy discusses program optimization, the role of risk assessment, the observational approach, strategies for meeting groundwater cleanup standards, and remedial action decision-making. A section on data requirements for groundwater restoration evaluates the data quality objectives (DQO) andmore » minimum data required to implement the options and comply with the standards. A section on sits implementation explores the development of a conceptual site model, approaches to site characterization, development of remedial action alternatives, selection of the groundwater restoration method, and remedial design and implementation in the context of site-specific documentation in the site observational work plan (SOWP) and the remedial action plan (RAP). Finally, the TAGR elaborates on groundwater monitoring necessary to evaluate compliance with the groundwater cleanup standards and protection of human health and the environment, and outlines licensing procedures.« less

  20. Final Technical Report of Project DE-FG02-96ER14647

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

    Lundeen, Stephen R.

    This is the final technical report of work completed under DOE support over the period Sept. 1, 1996 until May 31, 2015. The title of the project was "Ion/Excited Atom Collision Studies with a Rydberg Target and a CO2 Laser" from 9/1/96 to 10/31/06, and "Properties of Actinide Ions from Measurements of Rydberg Ion Fine Structure" from 11/1/06 until 5/31/15. The primary technical results were a detailed experimental study of resonant charge transfer between Rydberg atoms and highly-charged ions, and unique measurements of many properties of multiply-charged Thorium ions.

  1. "Type Ia Supernovae: Tools for Studying Dark Energy" Final Technical Report

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

    Woosley, Stan; Kasen, Dan

    2017-05-10

    Final technical report for project "Type Ia Supernovae: Tools for the Study of Dark Energy" awarded jointly to scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Berkeley, for computer modeling, theory and data analysis relevant to the use of Type Ia supernovae as standard candles for cosmology.

  2. Final Technical Report, Wind Generator Project (Ann Arbor)

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

    Geisler, Nathan

    A Final Technical Report (57 pages) describing educational exhibits and devices focused on wind energy, and related outreach activities and programs. Project partnership includes the City of Ann Arbor, MI and the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum, along with additional sub-recipients, and U.S. Department of Energy/Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Report relays key milestones and sub-tasks as well as numerous graphics and images of five (5) transportable wind energy demonstration devices and five (5) wind energy exhibits designed and constructed between 2014 and 2016 for transport and use by the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum.

  3. Iowa Hill Pumped Storage Project Investigations - Final Technical Report

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

    Hanson, David

    2016-07-01

    This Final Technical Report is a summary of the activities and outcome of the Department of Energy (DOE) Assistance Agreement DE-EE0005414 with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). The Assistance Agreement was created in 2012 to support investigations into the Iowa Hill Pumped-storage Project (Project), a new development that would add an additional 400 MW of capacity to SMUD’s existing 688MW Upper American River Hydroelectric Project (UARP) in the Sierra Nevada mountains east of Sacramento, California.

  4. Admiralty Inlet Pilot Tidal Project Final Technical Report

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

    Collar, Craig

    This document represents the final report for the Admiralty Inlet Pilot Tidal Project, located in Puget Sound, Washington, United States. The Project purpose was to license, permit, and install a grid-connected deep-water tidal turbine array (two turbines) to be used as a platform to gather operational and environmental data on tidal energy generation. The data could then be used to better inform the viability of commercial tidal energy generation from technical, economic, social, and environmental standpoints. This data would serve as a critical step towards the responsible advancement of commercial scale tidal energy in the United States and around themore » world. In late 2014, Project activities were discontinued due to escalating costs, and the DOE award was terminated in early 2015. Permitting, licensing, and engineering design activities were completed under this award. Final design, deployment, operation, and monitoring were not completed. This report discusses the results and accomplishments achieved under the subject award.« less

  5. PITTSBURGH TECHNICAL HEALTH TRAINING INSTITUTE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. FINAL REPORT, VOLUME II.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    KISHKUNAS, LOUIS J.

    APPENDIXES TO THE "FINAL REPORT," VOLUME I (VT 005 511), ARE INCLUDED--(1) A SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT, (2) TECHNICAL BEHAVIOR CHECKLISTS, (3) PERFORMANCE INVENTORY FORMS USED IN ON-THE-JOB OBSERVATIONS, (4) REPORT FORM FOR TYPICAL JOB BEHAVIOR OF EMPLOYEE, (5) COOPERATING AREA HEALTH INSTITUTIONS, (6) TABLES OF Z SCORES…

  6. 77 FR 30512 - Native American Career and Technical Education Program; Final Waivers and Extension of Project...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Native American Career and Technical Education Program; Final Waivers and... American Career and Technical Education Program Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.101A. SUMMARY: For 60-month projects funded in fiscal year (FY) 2007 under the Native American Career...

  7. Final Technical Report

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

    Brizard, Alain J

    Final Technical Report for U.S. Department of Energy Grant No. DE-FG02-09ER55005 Nonlinear FLR Effects in Reduced Fluid Models Alain J. Brizard, Saint Michael's College The above-mentioned DoE grant was used to support research activities by the PI during a sabbatical leave from Saint Michael's College in 2009. The major focus of the work was the role played by guiding-center and gyrocenter (linear and nonlinear) polarization and magnetization effects in understanding transport processes in turbulent magnetized plasmas. The theoretical tools used for this work include Lie-transform perturbation methods and Lagrangian (variational) methods developed by the PI in previous work. The presentmore » final technical report lists (I) the peer-reviewed publications that were written based on work funded by the Grant; (II) invited and contributed conference presentations during the period funded by the Grant; and (III) seminars presented during the period funded by the Grant. I. Peer-reviewed Publications A.J. Brizard and N. Tronko, 2011, Exact momentum conservation for the gyrokinetic Vlasov- Poisson equations, Physics of Plasmas 18 , 082307:1-14 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3625554 ]. J. Decker, Y. Peysson, A.J. Brizard, and F.-X. Duthoit, 2010, Orbit-averaged guiding-center Fokker-Planck operator for numerical applications, Physics of Plasmas 17, 112513:1-12 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3519514]. A.J. Brizard, 2010, Noether derivation of exact conservation laws for dissipationless reduced fluid models, Physics of Plasmas 17, 112503:1-8 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3515303]. F.-X. Duthoit, A.J. Brizard, Y. Peysson, and J. Decker, 2010, Perturbation analysis of trapped particle dynamics in axisymmetric dipole geometry, Physics of Plasmas 17, 102903:1-9 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3486554]. A.J. Brizard, 2010, Exact energy conservation laws for full and truncated nonlinear gyrokinetic equations, Physics of Plasmas 17, 042303:1-11 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3374428]. A

  8. 32 CFR 37.895 - How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center? (a... 32 National Defense 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center? 37.895 Section 37.895 National Defense Department of...

  9. 32 CFR 37.895 - How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center? (a... 32 National Defense 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center? 37.895 Section 37.895 National Defense Department of...

  10. 32 CFR 37.895 - How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center? (a... 32 National Defense 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center? 37.895 Section 37.895 National Defense Department of...

  11. 32 CFR 37.895 - How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center? 37.895 Section 37.895 National Defense Department of... How is the final performance report to be sent to the Defense Technical Information Center? (a...

  12. Final Technical Report

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

    Eggeman, Tim; O'Neill, Brian

    2016-08-17

    ZeaChem Inc. and US DOE successfully demonstrated the ZeaChem process for producing sugars and ethanol from high-impact biomass feedstocks. The project was executed over a 5-year period under a $31.25 million cooperative agreement (80:20 Federal:ZeaChem cost share). The project was managed by dividing it into three budget periods. Activities during Budget Period 1 were limited to planning, permitting, and other pre-construction planning. Budget Period 2 activities included engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, start-up and initial operations through the Independent Engineer Test Runs. The scope of construction was limited to the Chem Frac and Hydrogenolysis units, as the Core Facility was alreadymore » in place. Construction was complete in December 2012, and the first cellulosic ethanol was produced in February 2013. Additional operational test runs were conducted during Budget Period 3 (completed June 2015) using hybrid poplar, corn stover, and wheat straw feedstocks, resulting in the production of cellulosic ethanol and various other biorefinery intermediates. The research adds to the understanding of the Chem Frac and Hydrogenolysis technologies in that the technical performance of each unit was measured, and the resulting data and operational experience can be used as the basis for engineering designs, thus mitigating risks for deployment in future commercial facilities. The Chem Frac unit was initially designed to be operated as two-stage dilute acid hydrolysis, with first stage conditions selected to remove the hemicellulose fraction of the feedstock, and the second stage conditions selected to remove the cellulose fraction. While the Chem Frac unit met or exceeded the design capacity of 10 ton(dry)/day, the technical effectiveness of the Chem Frac unit was below expectations in its initial two-stage dilute acid configuration. The sugars yields were low, the sugars were dilute, and the sugars had poor fermentability caused by excessive

  13. Human Factors Technologies: Past Promises, Future Issues. Final Technical Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alluisi, Earl A.

    This discussion of the major issues confronting the human factors profession begins by pointing out that the concepts of systems and system design are central to the roles and functions of the human factors specialist. Three related disciplines--human factors engineering, ergonomics, and human skilled performance--are briefly described, and the…

  14. Air Quality Modeling Technical Support Document for the Final Cross State Air Pollution Rule Update

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    In this technical support document (TSD) we describe the air quality modeling performed to support the final Cross State Air Pollution Rule for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

  15. 77 FR 30514 - Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education Program; Final Waiver and Extension of Project Period

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education Program; Final Waiver and.... ACTION: Notice. Overview Information Final Waiver and Extension of Project Period for the Native Hawaiian.... SUMMARY: For 36-month projects funded in fiscal year (FY) 2009 under the Native Hawaiian Career and...

  16. Factors that Influence Women's Technical Skill Development in Outdoor Adventure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warren, Karen; Loeffler, TA

    2006-01-01

    This article provides a theoretical foundation for understanding women's technical skill development (TSD) in outdoor adventure. An examination of societal and biological factors influencing women's TSD focuses on gender role socialization, sense of competence, technical conditioning, sexism, spatial ability, and risk-taking. The article suggests…

  17. Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements using Unmanned Systems (ERASMUS): Final Technical Report

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

    de Boer, Gijs; Lawrence, Dale; Palo, Scott

    2017-03-29

    This final technical report details activities undertaken as part of the referenced project. Included is information on the preparation of aircraft for deployment to Alaska, summaries of the three deployments covered under this project, and a brief description of the dataset and science directions pursued. Additionally, we provide information on lessons learned, publications, and presentations resulting from this work.

  18. Final Technical Report for contract number DE-FG02-05ER15670

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

    Glazebrook, Jane

    This is the final technical report for contract number DE-FG02-05ER15670. The project is now complete, and results of the project have been published. Two papers were published based on work done in the last three-year funding period. The DOIs of these papers are included below. The abstracts of the papers, providing summaries of the work, are included in the body of the report.

  19. SafeConnect Solar - Final Scientific/Technical Report (Updated)

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

    McNish, Zachary

    2016-02-03

    Final Scientific/Technical Report from Tier 0 SunShot Incubator award for hardware-based solution to reducing soft costs of installed solar. The primary objective of this project was for SafeConnect Solar (“SafeConnect”) to create working proof-of-concept hardware prototypes from its proprietary intellectual property and business concepts for a plug-and-play, safety-oriented hardware solution for photovoltaic solar systems. Specifically, SafeConnect sought to build prototypes of its “SmartBox” and related cabling and connectors, as well as the firmware needed to run the hardware. This hardware is designed to ensure a residential PV system installed with it can address all safety concerns that currently form themore » basis of AHJ electrical permitting and licensing requirements, thereby reducing the amount of permitting and specialized labor required on a residential PV system, and also opening up new sales channels and customer acquisition opportunities.« less

  20. Final Technical Report - Center for Technology for Advanced Scientific Component Software (TASCS)

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

    Sussman, Alan

    2014-10-21

    This is a final technical report for the University of Maryland work in the SciDAC Center for Technology for Advanced Scientific Component Software (TASCS). The Maryland work focused on software tools for coupling parallel software components built using the Common Component Architecture (CCA) APIs. Those tools are based on the Maryland InterComm software framework that has been used in multiple computational science applications to build large-scale simulations of complex physical systems that employ multiple separately developed codes.

  1. Final Technical Report for DE-FG02-98ER45737

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

    Ade, Harald W.

    This document represents the cumulative, final technical report for Grant No. DE-FG02- 98ER45737, the title of which has changed with each funding period, but the research pursued is within a coherent overall theme of methods and technique developments that exploit contrast at the carbon absorption edge to characterize complex organic materials and the use of these synchrotron radiation-based methods for important research challenges in polymer physics and Materials Science. The last three funding periods focused on organic devices and in particular organic solar cells (OSCs), owing to their extra-ordinarily complex morphology, yet high potential as a cheap and printable power-conversionmore » technology.« less

  2. Community College Technical Mathematics Project. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Self, Samuel L.

    The purpose of the research project was to develop an applied or technical mathematics curriculum which would meet the needs of vocational-technical students at the community college level. The research project was divided into three distinct phases: Identifying the mathematical concepts requisite for job-entry competencies in each of the…

  3. 76 FR 50202 - National Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center for Children Who Are Deaf-Blind; Final...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA No. 84.326T] National Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center for Children Who Are Deaf-Blind; Final Extension of Project Period and Waiver AGENCY: Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of...

  4. RADSOURCE. Volume 1, Part 1, A scaling factor prediction computer program technical manual and code validation: Final report

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

    Vance, J.N.; Holderness, J.H.; James, D.W.

    1992-12-01

    Waste stream scaling factors based on sampling programs are vulnerable to one or more of the following factors: sample representativeness, analytic accuracy, and measurement sensitivity. As an alternative to sample analyses or as a verification of the sampling results, this project proposes the use of the RADSOURCE code, which accounts for the release of fuel-source radionuclides. Once the release rates of these nuclides from fuel are known, the code develops scaling factors for waste streams based on easily measured Cobalt-60 (Co-60) and Cesium-137 (Cs-137). The project team developed mathematical models to account for the appearance rate of 10CFR61 radionuclides inmore » reactor coolant. They based these models on the chemistry and nuclear physics of the radionuclides involved. Next, they incorporated the models into a computer code that calculates plant waste stream scaling factors based on reactor coolant gamma- isotopic data. Finally, the team performed special sampling at 17 reactors to validate the models in the RADSOURCE code.« less

  5. Direct Final Rule: Nonroad Diesel Technical Amendments and Tier 3 Technical Relief Provision

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Rule making certain technical corrections to the rules establishing emission standards for nonroad diesel engines and amending those rules to provide manufacturers with a production technical relief provision for Tier 3 equipment.

  6. Not just trust: factors influencing learners' attempts to perform technical skills on real patients.

    PubMed

    Bannister, Susan L; Dolson, Mark S; Lingard, Lorelei; Keegan, David A

    2018-06-01

    As part of their training, physicians are required to learn how to perform technical skills on patients. The previous literature reveals that this learning is complex and that many opportunities to perform these skills are not converted into attempts to do so by learners. This study sought to explore and understand this phenomenon better. A multi-phased qualitative study including ethnographic observations, interviews and focus groups was conducted to explore the factors that influence technical skill learning. In a tertiary paediatric emergency department, staff physician preceptors, residents, nurses and respiratory therapists were observed in the delivery and teaching of technical skills over a 3-month period. A constant comparison methodology was used to analyse the data and to develop a constructivist grounded theory. We conducted 419 hours of observation, 18 interviews and four focus groups. We observed 287 instances of technical skills, of which 27.5% were attempted by residents. Thematic analysis identified 14 factors, grouped into three categories, which influenced whether residents attempted technical skills on real patients. Learner factors included resident initiative, perceived need for skill acquisition and competing priorities. Teacher factors consisted of competing priorities, interest in teaching, perceived need for residents to acquire skills, attributions about learners, assessments of competency, and trust. Environmental factors were competition from other learners, judgement that the patient was appropriate, buy-in from team members, consent from patient or caregivers, and physical environment constraints. Our findings suggest that neither the presence of a learner in a clinical environment nor the trust of the supervisor is sufficient to ensure the learner will attempt a technical skill. We characterise this phenomenon as representing a pool of opportunities to conduct technical skills on live patients that shrinks to a much smaller pool of

  7. Experimental Program Final Technical Progress Report: 15 February 2007 to 30 September 2012

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

    Kinney, Edward R.

    2014-09-12

    This is the final technical report of the grant DE-FG02-04ER41301 to the University of Colorado at Boulder entitled "Intermediate Energy Nuclear Physics" and describes the results of our funded activities during the period 15 February 2007 to 30 September 2012. These activities were primarily carried out at Fermilab, RHIC, and the German lab DESY. Significant advances in these experiments were carried out by members of the Colorado group and are described in detail.

  8. Final Technical Report: Advanced Measurement and Analysis of PV Derate Factors.

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

    King, Bruce Hardison; Burton, Patrick D.; Hansen, Clifford

    2015-12-01

    The Advanced Measurement and Analysis of PV Derate Factors project focuses on improving the accuracy and reducing the uncertainty of PV performance model predictions by addressing a common element of all PV performance models referred to as “derates”. Widespread use of “rules of thumb”, combined with significant uncertainty regarding appropriate values for these factors contribute to uncertainty in projected energy production.

  9. Technical Report - FINAL

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

    Barbara Luke, Director, UNLV Engineering Geophysics Laboratory

    2007-04-25

    Improve understanding of the earthquake hazard in the Las Vegas Valley and to assess the state of preparedness of the area's population and structures for the next big earthquake. 1. Enhance the seismic monitoring network in the Las Vegas Valley 2. Improve understanding of deep basin structure through active-source seismic refraction and reflection testing 3. Improve understanding of dynamic response of shallow sediments through seismic testing and correlations with lithology 4. Develop credible earthquake scenarios by laboratory and field studies, literature review and analyses 5. Refine ground motion expectations around the Las Vegas Valley through simulations 6. Assess current buildingmore » standards in light of improved understanding of hazards 7. Perform risk assessment for structures and infrastructures, with emphasis on lifelines and critical structures 8. Encourage and facilitate broad and open technical interchange regarding earthquake safety in southern Nevada and efforts to inform citizens of earthquake hazards and mitigation opportunities« less

  10. Effects of physical, technical, and tactical factors on final ladder position in semiprofessional rugby league.

    PubMed

    Gabbett, Tim J

    2014-07-01

    A limitation of most rugby league time-motion studies is that researchers have examined the demands of single teams, with no investigations of all teams in an entire competition. This study investigated the activity profiles and technical and tactical performances of successful and less-successful teams throughout an entire rugby league competition. In total, 185 rugby league players representing 11 teams from a semiprofessional competition participated in this study. Global positioning system analysis was completed across the entire season. Video footage from individual matches was also coded via notational analysis for technical and tactical performance of teams. Trivial to small differences were found among Top 4, Middle 4, and Bottom 4 teams for absolute and relative total distances covered and distances covered at low speeds. Small, nonsignificant differences (P = .054, ES = 0.31) were found between groups for the distance covered sprinting, with Top 4 teams covering greater sprinting distances than Bottom 4 teams. Top 4 teams made more meters in attack and conceded fewer meters in defense than Bottom 4 teams. Bottom 4 teams had a greater percentage of slow play-the-balls in defense than Top 4 teams (74.8% ± 7.3% vs 67.2% ± 8.3%). Middle 4 teams showed the greatest reduction in high-speed running from the first to the second half (-20.4%), while Bottom 4 teams completed 14.3% more high-speed running in the second half than in the first half. These findings demonstrate that a combination of activity profiles and technical and tactical performance are associated with playing success in semiprofessional rugby league players.

  11. Final Technical Report for SISGR: Ultrafast Molecular Scale Chemical Imaging

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

    Hersam, Mark C.; Guest, Jeffrey R.; Guisinger, Nathan P.

    2017-04-10

    The Northwestern-Argonne SISGR program utilized newly developed instrumentation and techniques including integrated ultra-high vacuum tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy/scanning tunneling microscopy (UHV-TERS/STM) and surface-enhanced femtosecond stimulated Raman scattering (SE-FSRS) to advance the spatial and temporal resolution of chemical imaging for the study of photoinduced dynamics of molecules on plasmonically active surfaces. An accompanying theory program addressed modeling of charge transfer processes using constrained density functional theory (DFT) in addition to modeling of SE-FSRS, thereby providing a detailed description of the excited state dynamics. This interdisciplinary and highly collaborative research resulted in 62 publications with ~ 48% of them being co-authored by multiplemore » SISGR team members. A summary of the scientific accomplishments from this SISGR program is provided in this final technical report.« less

  12. Herbert Easterly auxiliary truck heater. Final technical report

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

    Not Available

    The objective of this work was to continue the development of the Herbert Easterly heater apparatus for vehicles, such as semi-trailer tractors in order to fully establish its technical feasibility and provide the basis for its commercialization. This heater is auxiliary to the vehicle`s primary heating system. With the engine off it heats both the vehicle engine to a temperature at which it starts easily and the vehicle passenger compartment. Specifically, this heater is automatically ignitable, operates directly from the vehicle diesel fuel supply and preheats the vehicle engine fuel prior to combustion. During the course of this work ninemore » different versions of prototype heaters were designed, constructed and tested. All designs were based on the ideas and principles outlined in the Easterly patent. Each successive version incorporated design and fabrication improvements relative to the previous version. The final version, Prototype 9, utilized a multiple water jacket design to capture additional heat from the combustion gases prior to exhausting to the atmosphere. This final prototype exceeded the performance of a commercially available Webasto DBW-2010 using the same commercial burner as the one used in the Webasto unit. The time required to raise the heater fluid temperature by 120{degree}F was 23% less (20 minutes compared to 26 minutes) for Prototype 9 compared to the commercially available unit. In addition a prototype heat exchanger for preheating engine fuel was designed, fabricated and tested. It was also determined that the Prototype 9 auxiliary heater could operate at 85{degree}F for approximately 6 hours on a fully charged 12 volt marine battery rated to deliver 500 cold cranking amps.« less

  13. Application of Communications Satellites to Educational Development. Final Technical Report, September 1, 1969-August 31, 1975.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgan, Robert P.

    Research is summarized in a brief final report built around a four-section bibliography. The first section lists periodic progress reports and articles which provide an overview of the program, including articles which pertain primarily to educational rather than technical aspects of satellite utilization. Theses carried out in the fields of…

  14. 78 FR 57264 - Final Waiver and Extension of the Project Period for the Technical Assistance Coordination Center

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-18

    ...: 84.326Z.] Final Waiver and Extension of the Project Period for the Technical Assistance Coordination... project period. SUMMARY: The Secretary waives the requirements in the Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally prohibit project periods exceeding five years and extensions of project...

  15. Final Technical Report

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

    Stoessel, Chris

    2013-11-13

    This project developed a new high-performance R-10/high SHGC window design, reviewed market positioning and evaluated manufacturing solutions required for broad market adoption. The project objectives were accomplished by: identifying viable technical solutions based on modeling of modern and potential coating stacks and IGU designs; development of new coating material sets for HM thin film stacks, as well as improved HM IGU designs to accept multiple layers of HM films; matching promising new coating designs with new HM IGU designs to demonstrate performance gains; and, in cooperation with a window manufacturer, assess the potential for high-volume manufacturing and cost efficiency ofmore » a HM-based R-10 window with improved solar heat gain characteristics. A broad view of available materials and design options was applied to achieve the desired improvements. Gated engineering methodologies were employed to guide the development process from concept generation to a window demonstration. The project determined that a slightly de-rated window performance allows formulation of a path to achieve the desired cost reductions to support end consumer adoption.« less

  16. Factors influencing physical and technical variability in the English Premier League.

    PubMed

    Bush, Michael D; Archer, David T; Hogg, Robert; Bradley, Paul S

    2015-10-01

    To investigate match-to-match variability of physical and technical performances in English Premier League players and quantify the influence of positional and contextual factors. Match data (N = 451) were collected using a multicamera computerized tracking system across multiple seasons (2005-06 to 2012-13). The coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated from match to match for physical and technical performances in selected positions across different match contexts (location, standard, and result). Wide midfielders demonstrated the greatest CVs for total distance (4.9% ± 5.9%) and central midfielders the smallest (3.6% ± 2.0%); nevertheless, all positions exhibited CVs <5% (P > .05, effect size [ES] 0.1-0.3). Central defenders demonstrated the greatest CVs and wide midfielders the lowest for both high-intensity running (20.2% ± 8.8% and 13.7% ± 7.7%, P < .05, ES 0.4-0.8) and sprint distance (32.3% ± 13.8% and 22.6% ± 11.2%, P < .05, ES 0.5-0.8). Technical indicators such as tackles (83.7% ± 42.3%), possessions won (47.2% ± 27.9%), and interceptions (59.1% ± 37.3%) illustrated substantial variability for attackers compared with all other positions (P < .05, ES 0.4-1.1). Central defenders demonstrated large variability for the number of times tackled per match (144.9% ± 58.3%) and passes attempted and received compared with other positions (39.2% ± 17.5% and 46.9% ± 20.2%, P < .001, ES 0.6-1.8). Contextual factors had limited impact on the variability of physical and technical parameters. The data demonstrate that technical parameters varied more from match to match than physical parameters. Defensive players (fullbacks and central defenders) displayed higher CVs for offensive technical variables, while attacking players (attackers and wide midfielders) exhibited higher CVs for defensive technical variables. Physical and technical performances are variable per se regardless of context.

  17. Feasibility, efficacy, and predictive factors for the technical success of endoscopic nasogallbladder drainage: a prospective study.

    PubMed

    Yane, Kei; Maguchi, Hiroyuki; Katanuma, Akio; Takahashi, Kuniyuki; Osanai, Manabu; Kin, Toshifumi; Takaki, Ryo; Matsumoto, Kazuyuki; Gon, Katsushige; Matsumori, Tomoaki; Tomonari, Akiko; Nojima, Masanori

    2015-03-01

    Several studies have shown the useful-ness of endoscopic nasogallbladder drainage (ENGBD) in patients with acute cholecystitis. However, the procedure is difficult, and factors that affect technical success have not yet been clarified. We conducted a prospective study to eval-uate the technical feasibility, efficacy, and predictive factors for the technical success of ENGBD in patients with acute cholecystitis. All patients with moderate or severe acute cholecystitis who were enrolled underwent ENGBD between April 2009 and April 2011. Patients with surgically altered anatomy or pancreatobiliary malignancies were ex-cluded. The primary outcomes included technical success, clinical success, and complications. Factors that could affect the technical success were also examined. Of the 27 patients who underwent ENGBD during the study period, technical success was achieved in 21 (78%) and clinical improvement was achieved in 20 (95%). Early complications were encountered in four patients (15%). Gallbladder wall thickness (odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08 to 2.47) and age (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.35) were effective predictors of technical failure. ENGBD was effective in resolving acute cholecystitis; however, this modality was technically challenging and had a limited suc-cess rate. Because of technical difficulties, ENGBD should be reserved for limited indications. (Gut Liver, 2015;9239-246).

  18. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tumours: factors affecting technical failure of artificial ascites formation using an angiosheath.

    PubMed

    Kang, T W; Lee, M W; Hye, M J; Song, K D; Lim, S; Rhim, H; Lim, H K; Cha, D I

    2014-12-01

    To evaluate the technical feasibility of artificial ascites formation using an angiosheath before percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatic tumours and to determine predictive factors affecting the technical failure of artificial ascites formation. This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board. One hundred and thirteen patients underwent percutaneous RFA of hepatic tumours after trying to make artificial ascites using an angiosheath to avoid collateral thermal damage. The technical success rate of making artificial ascites using an angiosheath and conversion rate to other techniques after initial failure of making artificial ascites were evaluated. The technical success rate for RFA was assessed. In addition, potential factors associated with technical failure including previous history of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) or RFA, type of abdominal surgery, and adjacent perihepatic structures were reviewed. Predictive factors for the technical failure of artificial ascites formation were analysed using multivariate analysis. The technical success rates of artificial ascites formation by angiosheath and that of RFA were 84.1% (95/113) and 97.3% (110/113), respectively. The conversion rate to other techniques after the failure of artificial ascites formation using an angiosheath was 15.9% (18/113). Previous hepatic resection was the sole independent predictive factor affecting the technical failure of artificial ascites formation (p<0.001, odds ratio = 29.03, 95% confidence interval: 4.56-184.69). Making artificial ascites for RFA of hepatic tumours using an angiosheath was technically feasible in most cases. However, history of hepatic resection was a significant predictive factor affecting the technical failure of artificial ascites formation. Copyright © 2014 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Human Factors Analysis of Pipeline Monitoring and Control Operations: Final Technical Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2008-11-26

    The purpose of the Human Factors Analysis of Pipeline Monitoring and Control Operations project was to develop procedures that could be used by liquid pipeline operators to assess and manage the human factors risks in their control rooms that may adv...

  20. Final Technical Report

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

    Kirkpatrick, R. James

    This document serves as the final report for United States Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences Grant DE-FG02-08ER15929, “Computational and Spectroscopic Investigations of the Molecular Scale Structure and Dynamics of Geologically Important Fluids and Mineral-Fluid Interfaces” (R. James Kirkpatrick, P.I., A. O. Yazaydin, co-P.I.). The research under this grant was intimately tied to that supported by the parallel the grant of the same title at Alfred (DOE DE-FG02-10ER16128; Geoffrey M. Bowers, P.I.).

  1. Evaluation of some technical factors affecting surgical outcome in photorefractive keratectomy with the VISX 2020 excimer laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maguen, Ezra I.; Salz, James J.; Papaioannou, Thanassis; Nesburn, Anthony B.

    1995-05-01

    Some technical factors relating to the use of the VISX model 20/20 excimer laser for photorefractive keratectomy will be discussed and the way they affect the final optical correction will be demonstrated, as follows: (1) Discontinuation of nitrogen flow: improved corneal haze but induced a mean undercorrection of 0.8 D, 18 months postoperatively. (2) Discontinuation of the use of the fixation ring did not affect centration in a statistically significant fashion. (3) Enlargement of the optical from 5.0 mm to 6.0 mm zone did not affect the refractive outcome. Visual acuity was improved in eyes which had PRK done with a 6.0 mm optical zone.

  2. Highlights of the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook (Final Report)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA announced the release of the final report, Highlights of the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook. As a "highlights" document, this is a companion report to the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook (Final Report) EPA released in 2008. This highlights doc...

  3. Final Technical Progress Report: Development of Low-Cost Suspension Heliostat; December 7, 2011 - December 6, 2012

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

    Bender, W.

    2013-01-01

    Final technical progress report of SunShot Incubator Solaflect Energy. The project succeeded in demonstrating that the Solaflect Suspension Heliostat design is viable for large-scale CSP installations. Canting accuracy is acceptable and is continually improving as Solaflect improves its understanding of this design. Cost reduction initiatives were successful, and there are still many opportunities for further development and further cost reduction.

  4. Technical factors that affect anastomotic integrity following esophagectomy: systematic review and meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Markar, Sheraz R; Arya, Shobhit; Karthikesalingam, Alan; Hanna, George B

    2013-12-01

    Due to the significant contribution of anastomotic leak, with its disastrous consequences to patient morbidity and mortality, multiple parameters have been proposed and individually meta-analyzed for the formation of the ideal esophagogastric anastomosis following cancer resection. The purpose of this pooled analysis was to examine the main technical parameters that impact on anastomotic integrity. Medline, Embase, trial registries, and conference proceedings were searched. Technical factors evaluated included hand-sewn versus stapled esophagogastric anastomosis (EGA), cervical versus thoracic EGA, minimally invasive versus open esophagectomy, anterior versus posterior route of reconstruction and ischemic conditioning of the gastric conduit. The outcome of interest was the incidence of anastomotic leak, for which pooled odds ratios were calculated for each technical factor. No significant difference in the incidence of anastomotic leak was demonstrated for the following technical factors: hand-sewn versus stapled EGA, minimally invasive versus open esophagectomy, anterior versus posterior route of reconstruction and ischemic conditioning of the gastric conduit. Four randomized, controlled trials comprising 298 patients were included that compared cervical and thoracic EGA. Anastomotic leak was seen more commonly in the cervical group (13.64 %) than in the thoracic group (2.96 %). Pooled analysis demonstrated a significantly increased incidence of anastomotic leak in the cervical group (pooled odds ratio = 4.73; 95 % CI 1.61-13.9; P = 0.005). A tailored surgical approach to the patient's physiology and esophageal cancer stage is the most important factor that influences anastomotic integrity after esophagectomy.

  5. Matching Community and Technical College Professional/Technical Education Capacity to Employer Demand. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sommers, Paul; Heg, Deena

    A project was conducted to improve the state of Washington's community and technical college system by developing and using an improved occupational forecasting system to assess and respond to education and training needs. First, long-term occupational forecast data from Washington's Employment Security Department were matched with technical and…

  6. NEET-AMM Final Technical Report on Laser Direct Manufacturing (LDM) for Nuclear Power Components

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

    Anderson, Scott; Baca, Georgina; O'Connor, Michael

    2015-12-31

    Final technical report summarizes the program progress and technical accomplishments of the Laser Direct Manufacturing (LDM) for Nuclear Power Components project. A series of experiments varying build process parameters (scan speed and laser power) were conducted at the outset to establish the optimal build conditions for each of the alloys. Fabrication was completed in collaboration with Quad City Manufacturing Laboratory (QCML). The density of all sample specimens was measured and compared to literature values. Optimal build process conditions giving fabricated part densities close to literature values were chosen for making mechanical test coupons. Test coupons whose principal axis is onmore » the x-y plane (perpendicular to build direction) and on the z plane (parallel to build direction) were built and tested as part of the experimental build matrix to understand the impact of the anisotropic nature of the process.. Investigations are described 316L SS, Inconel 600, 718 and 800 and oxide dispersion strengthed 316L SS (Yttria) alloys.« less

  7. Technical factors associated with anastomotic leak after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

    PubMed

    Smith, Mark D; Adeniji, Abidemi; Wahed, Abdus S; Patterson, Emma; Chapman, William; Courcoulas, Anita P; Dakin, Gregory; Flum, David; McCloskey, Carol; Mitchell, James E; Pomp, Alfons; Staten, Myrlene; Wolfe, Bruce

    2015-01-01

    Anastomotic leak is one of the most serious complications after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Our objective was to examine the relationship between technical factors and incidence of clinically relevant anastomotic leak after RYGB in longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery (LABS). The setting of the study was 11 bariatric centers in the United States, university, and private practice. Patient characteristics, technical factors of surgery, and postoperative outcomes were assessed by trained researchers using standardized protocols. Correlation of surgical factors of patients undergoing RYGB (n = 4444) with the incidence of postoperative anastomotic leak was assessed by univariate χ(2) analysis. Forty-four participants (1.0%, 95% CI .7%-1.3%) experienced a clinically relevant anastomotic leak. Of these, 39 (89%) underwent abdominal reoperation and 3 (7%) died. Technical factors associated with anastomotic leak were open surgery (P<.0001), revision surgery (P<.0001), and use of an abdominal drain (P = .02). Provocative leak testing, method of gastrojejunostomy, and use of fibrin sealant were not associated with anastomotic leak. Anastomotic leak after RYGB was rare (1.0%). Most cases required reintervention; however, the majority (93%) recovered from this event. Open surgery, revision surgery, and routine drain placement were associated with increased leak rate. Some of these findings may be due to differences in preoperative patient risk. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. All rights reserved.

  8. Preoperative short hookwire placement for small pulmonary lesions: evaluation of technical success and risk factors for initial placement failure.

    PubMed

    Iguchi, Toshihiro; Hiraki, Takao; Matsui, Yusuke; Fujiwara, Hiroyasu; Masaoka, Yoshihisa; Tanaka, Takashi; Sato, Takuya; Gobara, Hideo; Toyooka, Shinichi; Kanazawa, Susumu

    2018-05-01

    To retrospectively evaluate the technical success of computed tomography fluoroscopy-guided short hookwire placement before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and to identify the risk factors for initial placement failure. In total, 401 short hookwire placements for 401 lesions (mean diameter 9.3 mm) were reviewed. Technical success was defined as correct positioning of the hookwire. Possible risk factors for initial placement failure (i.e., requirement for placement of an additional hookwire or to abort the attempt) were evaluated using logistic regression analysis for all procedures, and for procedures performed via the conventional route separately. Of the 401 initial placements, 383 were successful and 18 failed. Short hookwires were finally placed for 399 of 401 lesions (99.5%). Univariate logistic regression analyses revealed that in all 401 procedures only the transfissural approach was a significant independent predictor of initial placement failure (odds ratio, OR, 15.326; 95% confidence interval, CI, 5.429-43.267; p < 0.001) and for the 374 procedures performed via the conventional route only lesion size was a significant independent predictor of failure (OR 0.793, 95% CI 0.631-0.996; p = 0.046). The technical success of preoperative short hookwire placement was extremely high. The transfissural approach was a predictor initial placement failure for all procedures and small lesion size was a predictor of initial placement failure for procedures performed via the conventional route. • Technical success of preoperative short hookwire placement was extremely high. • The transfissural approach was a significant independent predictor of initial placement failure for all procedures. • Small lesion size was a significant independent predictor of initial placement failure for procedures performed via the conventional route.

  9. Highlights of the Exposure Factors Handbook (Final Report)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA announced the availability of the final report, Highlights of the Exposure Factors Handbook (EPA/600/R-10/030).This Highlights document presents an overview of the information provided in the Exposure Factors Handbook (U.S. EPA, 2011). Excerpts of each chapter of the ...

  10. Predicting Influential Factors of Secondary Career and Technical Education Teachers' Intent to Stay in the Profession

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dainty, Julie D.

    2012-01-01

    Retaining highly qualified career and technical education teachers is important in maintaining and growing quality secondary career and technical education programs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify factors contributing to teacher retention specifically in the area of career and technical education (CTE) and determine…

  11. Factors Influencing the Pursuit of IT Certifications: A Study of Minnesota Public Community and Technical College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilkens, Eric S.

    2013-01-01

    This quantitative study attempted to understand the factors that influence Minnesota community and technical college students to pursue Information Technology (IT) certification. The study investigated the problem of determining the factors that influence Minnesota community and technical college students to pursue IT certification along with…

  12. Factors that influence the non-technical skills performance of scrub nurses: a prospective study.

    PubMed

    Kang, Evelyn; Massey, Debbie; Gillespie, Brigid M

    2015-12-01

    To identify and describe the factors that impact on the performance of scrub nurses' non-technical skills performance during the intra-operative phase of surgery. Non-technical skills have been identified as important precursors to errors in the operating room. However, few studies have investigated factors influencing non-technical skills of scrub nurses. Prospective observational study. Structured observations were performed on a sample of 182 surgical procedures across eight specialities by two trained observers from August 2012-April 2013 at two hospital sites. Participants were purposively selected scrub nurses. Bivariate correlations and a multiple linear regression model were used to identify associations among length of surgery, patients' acuity using the American Society of Anesthesiologists classification system, team familiarity, number of occasions scout nurses leave the operating room, change of scout nurse and the outcome, the non-technical skills performance of scrub nurses. Patient acuity and team familiarity were the strongest predictors of scrub nurses' non-technical skills performance at hospital site A. There were no correlations between the predictors and the performance of scrub nurses at hospital site B. A dedicated surgical team and patient acuity potentially influence the performance of scrub nurses' non-technical skills. Familiarity with team members foster advanced planning, thus minimizing distractions and interruptions that impact on scrub nurses' performance. Development of interventions aimed at improving non-technical skills has the potential to make a substantial difference and enhance patient care. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Florida Study of Career and Technical Education. Final Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobson, Louis; Mokher, Christine

    2014-01-01

    A key goal of the "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006" ("Perkins IV") is to ensure career and technical education (CTE) programs are widely available for preparing high school and college students for "high skill, high wage, or high demand occupations in current or emerging professions"…

  14. A multinational report of technical factors on stereotactic body radiotherapy for oligometastases.

    PubMed

    Redmond, Kristin J; Lo, Simon S; Dagan, Roi; Poon, Ian; Foote, Matthew C; Erler, Darby; Lee, Young; Lohr, Frank; Biswas, Tithi; Ricardi, Umberto; Sahgal, Arjun

    2017-05-01

    Oligometastatic cancer is being increasingly managed with aggressive local therapy using stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). However, few guidelines exist. We summarize the results of an international survey reviewing technical factors for extracranial SBRT for oligometastatic disease to guide safe management. Seven high-volume centers contributed. Levels of agreement were categorized as strong (6-7 common responses), moderate (4-5), low (2-3) or no agreement. We present the results of a multi-national and multi-institutional survey of technical factors of SBRT for extracranial oligometastases. Key methods including target delineation, prescription doses, normal tissue constraints, imaging and set-up for safe implementation and practice of SBRT for oligometastasis have been identified. This manuscript will serve as a foundation for future clinical evaluations.

  15. Exposure Factors Handbook 2011 Edition (Final Report)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA announced the release of the final report, Exposure Factors Handbook: 2011 Edition (EPA/600/R-09/052F), prepared by the Office of Research and Development's National Center for Environmental Assessments (NCEA). This updated edition of the handbook provides the most up...

  16. Review of Final Year MSP Evaluations, Performance Period 2007. Analytic and Technical Support for Mathematics and Science Partnerships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bobronnikov, Ellen; Rhodes, Hilary; Bradley, Cay

    2010-01-01

    This final report culminates the evaluation and technical assistance provided for the U.S. Department of Education's Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) Program and its projects since 2005. As part of this support, Abt Associates looked across the portfolio of projects funded by the MSP program to draw lessons on best practices. This…

  17. Final Technical Report for Grant DE-FG02-04ER54795

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

    Merlino, Robert L

    This is the final technical report for DOE Grant #DE-FG02-04ER54795-Experimental Investigations of Fundamental Processes in Dusty Plasmas. A plasma is an ionized gas, and a dusty plasmas is a plasma that contains, in addition to electrons and ions, micron-sized dust particles. The dust particles acquire and electric charge in the plasma by collecting electrons and ions. The electrons move more rapidly than the ions, so the dust charge is negative. A 1 micron dust particle in a typical low temperature plasma has a charge corresponding to approximately 2000 electrons. Dusty plasmas are naturally found in astrophysical plasmas, planetary rings, technologicalmore » plasmas, and magnetic fusion plasmas. The goal of this project was to study in the laboratory, the basic physical processes that occur in dusty plasmas. This report provides a summary of the major scientific products and activities of this award.« less

  18. Project T.E.A.M. (Technical Education Advancement Modules). Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greenville Technical Coll., SC.

    Project TEAM (Technical Education Advancement Modules), a cooperative demonstration program for high technology training, created an introductory technical training program and a consumer education package emphasizing the benefits of technical training. The curriculum and training focus of the project began with an assessment of employee needs in…

  19. Final priority. Rehabilitation Training: Job-Driven Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center. Final priority.

    PubMed

    2014-08-19

    The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services announces a priority under the Rehabilitation Training program to establish a Job-Driven Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center (JDVRTAC). The Assistant Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2014 and later years. We take this action to focus on training in an area of national need. Specifically, this priority responds to the Presidential Memorandum to Federal agencies directing them to take action to address job-driven training for the Nation's workers. The JDVRTAC will provide technical assistance (TA) to State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies to help them develop for individuals with disabilities training and employment opportunities that meet the needs of today's employers.

  20. Final priority; Technical Assistance on State Data Collection--IDEA Data Management Center. Final priority.

    PubMed

    2014-08-05

    The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) announces a priority under the Technical Assistance on State Data Collection program. The Assistant Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2014 and later years. We take this action to fund a cooperative agreement to establish and operate an IDEA Data Management Center (Center) that will provide technical assistance (TA) to improve the capacity of States to meet the data collection requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

  1. 77 FR 46306 - Fluxapyroxad; Pesticide Tolerances Technical Amendment

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-03

    ...; Pesticide Tolerances Technical Amendment AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment. SUMMARY: EPA issued a final rule in the Federal Register of May 14, 2012, concerning.... Inadvertently, the terminology for the oilseed crop group and for dried plums was incorrect. This technical...

  2. Final Technical Report

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

    Alexander Pigarov

    2012-06-05

    This is the final report for the Research Grant DE-FG02-08ER54989 'Edge Plasma Simulations in NSTX and CTF: Synergy of Lithium Coating, Non-Diffusive Anomalous Transport and Drifts'. The UCSD group including: A.Yu. Pigarov (PI), S.I. Krasheninnikov and R.D. Smirnov, was working on modeling of the impact of lithium coatings on edge plasma parameters in NSTX with the multi-species multi-fluid code UEDGE. The work was conducted in the following main areas: (i) improvements of UEDGE model for plasma-lithium interactions, (ii) understanding the physics of low-recycling divertor regime in NSTX caused by lithium pumping, (iii) study of synergistic effects with lithium coatings andmore » non-diffusive ballooning-like cross-field transport, (iv) simulation of experimental multi-diagnostic data on edge plasma with lithium pumping in NSTX via self-consistent modeling of D-Li-C plasma with UEDGE, and (v) working-gas balance analysis. The accomplishments in these areas are given in the corresponding subsections in Section 2. Publications and presentations made under the Grant are listed in Section 3.« less

  3. An Inquiry into Testing of Information Retrieval Systems. Comparative Systems Laboratory Final Technical Report, Part III: CSL Related Studies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zull, Carolyn Gifford, Ed.; And Others

    This third volume of the Comparative Systems Laboratory (CSL) Final Technical Report is a collection of relatively independent studies performed on CSL materials. Covered in this document are studies on: (1) properties of files, including a study of the growth rate of a dictionary of index terms as influenced by number of documents in the file and…

  4. An approach to developing independent learning and non-technical skills amongst final year mining engineering students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Knobbs, C. G.; Grayson, D. J.

    2012-06-01

    There is mounting evidence to show that engineers need more than technical skills to succeed in industry. This paper describes a curriculum innovation in which so-called 'soft' skills, specifically inter-personal and intra-personal skills, were integrated into a final year mining engineering course. The instructional approach was designed to promote independent learning and to develop non-technical skills, essential for students on the threshold of becoming practising engineers. Three psychometric tests were administered at the beginning of the course to make students aware of their own and their classmates' characteristics. Substantial prescribed reading assignments preceded weekly group discussions. Several projects during the course required team work skills and application of content knowledge to real-world contexts. Results obtained from students' reflection papers, assignments related to 'soft' skills and end of course evaluations suggest that students' appreciation of the need for these skills, as well as their own perceived competence, increased during the course. Their ability to function as independent learners also increased.

  5. Installation and Assimilation of Educational Innovations in Vocational/Technical Programs in Post-Secondary Institutions. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Appel, Victor H.; Roueche, John E.

    The factors which contribute to the successful installation and assimilation of educational innovations were examined in relation to vocational/technical programs in eight post-secondary institutions. About 555 instructors, administrators, and non-teaching professional staff were surveyed regarding the level and extent of use of individualized…

  6. Risk factors for technical failure of endoscopic double self-expandable metallic stent placement by partial stent-in-stent method.

    PubMed

    Kawakubo, Kazumichi; Kawakami, Hiroshi; Toyokawa, Yoshihide; Otani, Koichi; Kuwatani, Masaki; Abe, Yoko; Kawahata, Shuhei; Kubo, Kimitoshi; Kubota, Yoshimasa; Sakamoto, Naoya

    2015-01-01

    Endoscopic double self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) placement by the partial stent-in-stent (PSIS) method has been reported to be useful for the management of unresectable hilar malignant biliary obstruction. However, it is technically challenging, and the optimal SEMS for the procedure remains unknown. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for technical failure of endoscopic double SEMS placement for unresectable malignant hilar biliary obstruction (MHBO). Between December 2009 and May 2013, 50 consecutive patients with MHBO underwent endoscopic double SEMS placement by the PSIS method. We retrospectively evaluated the rate of successful double SEMS placement and identified the risk factors for technical failure. The technical success rate for double SEMS placement was 82.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 69.2-90.2). On univariate analysis, the rate of technical failure was high in patients with metastatic disease and unilateral placement. Multivariate analysis revealed that metastatic disease was a significant risk factor for technical failure (odds ratio: 9.63, 95% CI: 1.11-105.5). The subgroup analysis after double guidewire insertion showed that the rate of technical success was higher in the laser-cut type SEMS with a large mesh and thick delivery system than in the braided type SEMS with a small mesh and thick delivery system. Metastatic disease was a significant risk factor for technical failure of double SEMS placement for unresectable MHBO. The laser-cut type SEMS with a large mesh and thin delivery system might be preferable for the PSIS procedure. © 2014 Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery.

  7. Can technical factors explain the volume-outcome relationship in gastric bypass surgery?

    PubMed

    Smith, Mark D; Patterson, Emma; Wahed, Abdus S; Belle, Steven H; Courcoulas, Anita P; Flum, David; Khandelwal, Saurabh; Mitchell, James E; Pomp, Alfons; Pories, Walter J; Wolfe, Bruce

    2013-01-01

    The existence of a relationship between surgeon volume and patient outcome has been reported for different complex surgical operations. This relationship has also been confirmed for patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) study. Despite multiple studies demonstrating volume-outcome relationships, fewer studies investigate the causes of this relationship. The purpose of the present study is to understand possible explanations for the volume-outcome relationship in LABS. LABS includes a 10-center, prospective study examining 30-day outcomes after bariatric surgery. The relationship between surgeon annual RYGB volume and incidence of a composite endpoint (CE) has been published previously. Technical aspects of RYGB surgery were compared between high and low volume surgeons. The previously published model was adjusted for select technical factors. High-volume surgeons (>100 RYGBs/yr) were more likely to perform a linear stapled gastrojejunostomy, use fibrin sealant, and place a drain at the gastrojejunostomy compared with low-volume surgeons (<25 RYGBs/yr), and less likely to perform an intraoperative leak test. After adjusting for the newly identified technical factors, the relative risk of CE was .93 per 10 RYGB/yr increase in volume, compared with .90 for clinical risk adjustment alone. High-volume surgeons exhibited certain differences in technique compared with low-volume surgeons. After adjusting for these differences, the strength of the volume-outcome relationship previously found was reduced only slightly, suggesting that other factors are also involved. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. All rights reserved.

  8. Studying the Cost and Value of Library Services: Final Report. Technical Report APLAB/94-3/1,2,3,4.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kantor, Paul B.; And Others

    This is the final technical report (in three parts) of a 15-month long project to study the costs and value of library functions at five major research libraries. Twenty-one services or service aspects were studied, and numerous measures of the importance or benefit of the service to the users were made. These measures were studied together to lay…

  9. NATO Scientific and Technical Information Service (NSTIS): functional description. Final report

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

    Molholm, K.N.; Blados, W.N.; Bulca, C.

    1987-08-01

    This report provides a functional description of the requirements for a NATO Scientific and Technical Information Service (NSTIS). The user requirements and much of the background information in this report were derived primarily from interviews with more than 60 NATO Headquarters staff members between 2 March and 25 March 1987. In addition, representatives of the Supreme Headquarters Applied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Technical Centre (STC), the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (Anti-Submarine Warfare Research) Centre (SACLANTCEN), the NATO Communications and Information Systems Agency (NACISA), The Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD), the U.S. Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), and themore » Technical Documentation Center for the Armed Forces in the Netherlands (TDCK), were interviewed, either in person or by telephone.« less

  10. Technical Directions In High Resolution Non-Impact Printers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dunn, S. Thomas; Dunn, Patrice M.

    1987-04-01

    There are several factors to consider when addressing the issue of non-impact printer resolution. One will find differences between the imaging resolution and the final output resolution, and most assuradly differences exist between the advertised and actual resolution of many of these systems. Beyond that some of the technical factors that effect the resolution of a system in-clude: . Scan Line Density . Overlap . Spot Size . Energy Profile . Symmetry of Imaging Generally speaking, the user of graphic arts equipment, is best advised to view output to determine the degree of acceptable quality.

  11. Programs of Study as a State Policy Mandate: A Longitudinal Study of the South Carolina Personal Pathways to Success Initiative. Final Technical Report: Major Findings and Implications

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hammond, Cathy; Drew, Sam F.; Withington, Cairen; Griffith, Cathy; Swiger, Caroline M.; Mobley, Catherine; Sharp, Julia L.; Stringfield, Samuel C.; Stipanovic, Natalie; Daugherty, Lindsay

    2013-01-01

    This is the final technical report from the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education's (NRCCTE's) five-year longitudinal study of South Carolina's Personal Pathway to Success initiative, which was authorized by the state's Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) in 2005. NRCCTE-affiliated researchers at the National…

  12. 7 CFR 614.7 - Preliminary technical determinations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Preliminary technical determinations. 614.7 Section... Preliminary technical determinations. (a) A preliminary technical determination becomes final 30 days after... purpose of gathering additional information and discussing the facts relating to the preliminary technical...

  13. Technical Factors Influencing Cone Packing Density Estimates in Adaptive Optics Flood Illuminated Retinal Images

    PubMed Central

    Lombardo, Marco; Serrao, Sebastiano; Lombardo, Giuseppe

    2014-01-01

    Purpose To investigate the influence of various technical factors on the variation of cone packing density estimates in adaptive optics flood illuminated retinal images. Methods Adaptive optics images of the photoreceptor mosaic were obtained in fifteen healthy subjects. The cone density and Voronoi diagrams were assessed in sampling windows of 320×320 µm, 160×160 µm and 64×64 µm at 1.5 degree temporal and superior eccentricity from the preferred locus of fixation (PRL). The technical factors that have been analyzed included the sampling window size, the corrected retinal magnification factor (RMFcorr), the conversion from radial to linear distance from the PRL, the displacement between the PRL and foveal center and the manual checking of cone identification algorithm. Bland-Altman analysis was used to assess the agreement between cone density estimated within the different sampling window conditions. Results The cone density declined with decreasing sampling area and data between areas of different size showed low agreement. A high agreement was found between sampling areas of the same size when comparing density calculated with or without using individual RMFcorr. The agreement between cone density measured at radial and linear distances from the PRL and between data referred to the PRL or the foveal center was moderate. The percentage of Voronoi tiles with hexagonal packing arrangement was comparable between sampling areas of different size. The boundary effect, presence of any retinal vessels, and the manual selection of cones missed by the automated identification algorithm were identified as the factors influencing variation of cone packing arrangements in Voronoi diagrams. Conclusions The sampling window size is the main technical factor that influences variation of cone density. Clear identification of each cone in the image and the use of a large buffer zone are necessary to minimize factors influencing variation of Voronoi diagrams of the cone

  14. Technical factors influencing cone packing density estimates in adaptive optics flood illuminated retinal images.

    PubMed

    Lombardo, Marco; Serrao, Sebastiano; Lombardo, Giuseppe

    2014-01-01

    To investigate the influence of various technical factors on the variation of cone packing density estimates in adaptive optics flood illuminated retinal images. Adaptive optics images of the photoreceptor mosaic were obtained in fifteen healthy subjects. The cone density and Voronoi diagrams were assessed in sampling windows of 320×320 µm, 160×160 µm and 64×64 µm at 1.5 degree temporal and superior eccentricity from the preferred locus of fixation (PRL). The technical factors that have been analyzed included the sampling window size, the corrected retinal magnification factor (RMFcorr), the conversion from radial to linear distance from the PRL, the displacement between the PRL and foveal center and the manual checking of cone identification algorithm. Bland-Altman analysis was used to assess the agreement between cone density estimated within the different sampling window conditions. The cone density declined with decreasing sampling area and data between areas of different size showed low agreement. A high agreement was found between sampling areas of the same size when comparing density calculated with or without using individual RMFcorr. The agreement between cone density measured at radial and linear distances from the PRL and between data referred to the PRL or the foveal center was moderate. The percentage of Voronoi tiles with hexagonal packing arrangement was comparable between sampling areas of different size. The boundary effect, presence of any retinal vessels, and the manual selection of cones missed by the automated identification algorithm were identified as the factors influencing variation of cone packing arrangements in Voronoi diagrams. The sampling window size is the main technical factor that influences variation of cone density. Clear identification of each cone in the image and the use of a large buffer zone are necessary to minimize factors influencing variation of Voronoi diagrams of the cone mosaic.

  15. Technical College Teachers Sharing Their Knowledge: Does Leadership, Institutional Factors or Barriers Predict Their Practices?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tahir, Lokman Mohd; Musah, Muhamad Berhanddin; Abdullah, Abdul Halim; Musta'amal, Aede Hatib; Abdullah, Mohd Hazim Asran

    2016-01-01

    This study determines the preferable leadership practised by colleges' directors, institutional factors and challenges encountered in knowledge sharing in Malaysian technical higher learning institutions (HLIs). Using a pragmatic mixed-method strand, we obtained 212 teachers and instructors' viewpoints on knowledge sharing factors and barriers.…

  16. Defense of Defense Human Factors Engineering Technical Advisory Group Meeting Summary

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-07-01

    Survivability ( Plaga ) • Wright, N; OSD and DSOC Helicopter Seating Studies Zehner, G; An Overview of USAF Anthropometry Plaga , J & Hill; SAFE Association...predictions. – 1230 - 1430 Standardization - 1472H (Poston) – 1230 - 1430 Human Factors in Extreme Environments & SS ( Plaga ) • Ganey, HCN...Classification (Personnel) LT Chris Foster Dr. Hector Acosta System Safety/Health Hazards/ Survivability (SS/HH/Sv) Mr. John Plaga Technical Society

  17. A Revision of Technical Mathematics Based on the NCTM Standards. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Near, Barbara

    Between 1993 and 1996, Henry Ford Community College (Michigan) worked with business, industry, and technical instructors to revise their Technical Mathematics program in accordance with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards. The purpose of the project was to restructure the technical math curriculum and create a context…

  18. Engineering Technical Review Planning Briefing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gardner, Terrie

    2012-01-01

    The general topics covered in the engineering technical planning briefing are 1) overviews of NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and Engineering, 2) the NASA Systems Engineering(SE) Engine and its implementation , 3) the NASA Project Life Cycle, 4) MSFC Technical Management Branch Services in relation to the SE Engine and the Project Life Cycle , 5) Technical Reviews, 6) NASA Human Factor Design Guidance , and 7) the MSFC Human Factors Team. The engineering technical review portion of the presentation is the primary focus of the overall presentation and will address the definition of a design review, execution guidance, the essential stages of a technical review, and the overall review planning life cycle. Examples of a technical review plan content, review approaches, review schedules, and the review process will be provided and discussed. The human factors portion of the presentation will focus on the NASA guidance for human factors. Human factors definition, categories, design guidance, and human factor specialist roles will be addressed. In addition, the NASA Systems Engineering Engine description, definition, and application will be reviewed as background leading into the NASA Project Life Cycle Overview and technical review planning discussion.

  19. Final Technical Report

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

    Held, Isaac; V. Balaji; Fueglistaler, Stephan

    We have constructed and analyzed a series of idealized models of tropical convection interacting with large-scale circulations, with 25-50km resolution and with 1-2km cloud resolving resolution to set the stage for rigorous tests of convection closure schemes in high resolution global climate models. Much of the focus has been on the climatology of tropical cyclogenesis in rotating systems and the related problem of the spontaneous aggregation of convection in non-rotating systems. The PI (Held) will be delivering the honorary Bjerknes lecture at the Fall 2016 AGU meeting in December on this work. We have also provided new analyses of long-standingmore » issues related to the interaction between convection and the large-scale circulation: Kelvin waves in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, water vapor transport into the stratosphere, and upper tropospheric temperature trends. The results of these analyses help to improve our understanding of processes, and provide tests for future high resolution global modeling. Our final goal of testing new convections schemes in next-generation global atmospheric models at GFDL has been left for future work due to the complexity of the idealized model results meant as tests for these models uncovered in this work and to computational resource limitations. 11 papers have been published with support from this grant, 2 are in review, and another major summary paper is in preparation.« less

  20. Final Technical Report

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

    Alexander Fridman

    2005-06-01

    This DOE project DE-FC36-04GO14052 ''Plasma Pilot Plant Test for Treating VOC Emissions from Wood Products Plants'' was conducted by Drexel University in cooperation with Georgia-Pacific (G-P) and Kurchatov Institute (KI). The objective of this project was to test the Plasma Pilot Plant capabilities in wood industry. The final goal of the project was to replace the current state-of-the-art, regenerative thermal oxidation (RTO) technology by Low-Temperature Plasma Technology (LTPT) in paper and wood industry for Volatile Organic Components (VOC) destruction in High Volume Low Concentration (HVLC) vent emissions. MetPro Corporation joined the team as an industrial partner from the environmental controlmore » business and a potential leader for commercialization. Concurrent Technology Corporation (CTC) has a separate contract with DOE for this technology evaluation. They prepared questionnaires for comparison of this technology and RTO, and made this comparison. These data are presented in this report along with the description of the technology itself. Experiments with the pilot plant were performed with average plasma power up to 3.6 kW. Different design of the laboratory and pilot plant pulsed coronas, as well as different analytical methods revealed many new peculiarities of the VOC abatement process. The work reported herein describes the experimental results for the VOCs removal efficiency with respect to energy consumption, residence time, water effect and initial concentration.« less

  1. [Analysis of work-related fatigue characteristics and its influencing factors in scientific and technical personnel].

    PubMed

    Yang, Ting; Zhou, Dinglun; Song, Mingying; Lan, Yajia

    2015-02-01

    To investigate the current status and characteristics of work-related fatigue among scientific and technical personnel and its associated factors, and to provide a scientific basis for further interventions. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the staff from a single scientific institution, using a self-administered questionnaire. Basic information of participants, Fatigue Scale-14, and Job Content Questionnaire were collected. The prevalence of work-related fatigue among the scientific and technical personnel was 54.6%; work-related fatigue was positively correlated with occupational stress (rs = 0.384, P < 0.05). Significant differences in the scores, proportions, and types of fatigue were found between different types of occupational stress. The associated factors of work-related fatigue included occupational stress profiles, social support, and educational status. A higher risk of work-related fatigue was found in the staff under high stress, compared with those under low stress (OR = 8.5, 95%CI = 3.9∼18.7). Social support served as a protective factor for work-related fatigue, while a higher level of education was correlated with more severe work-related fatigue. Work-related fatigue is common and serious among scientific and technical personnel, especially in those under high stress. Effective interventions according to occupational stress are of great importance to reduce work-related fatigue.

  2. Laser Technician Associate Degree Program. A Proposal Submitted to Wisconsin State Board of Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education. (Curriculum Development.) Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    North Central Technical Inst., Wausau, WI.

    This final report contains the program proposal with supporting data for developing curriculum materials for and implementing an associate-degree laser technology program at the North Central Technical Institute. The proposal outline provides this information: (1) objectives for the program designed to prepare a technician to safely operate,…

  3. Total Factor Productivity Growth, Technical Progress & Efficiency Change in Vietnam Coal Industry - Nonparametric Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phuong, Vu Hung

    2018-03-01

    This research applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to analyze Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and efficiency changes in Vietnam coal mining industry from 2007 to 2013. The TFP of Vietnam coal mining companies decreased due to slow technological progress and unimproved efficiency. The decadence of technical efficiency in many enterprises proved that the coal mining industry has a large potential to increase productivity through technical efficiency improvement. Enhancing human resource training, technology and research & development investment could help the industry to improve efficiency and productivity in Vietnam coal mining industry.

  4. An Examination of Factors Influencing Postsecondary Career and Technical Educational Engagement of African American Males

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cunningham, Natalie Jo

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the relative influence of career, financial, personal, and legal factors on African American male engagement in postsecondary career and technical education and to determine whether the influence of these factors was moderated by the participants having graduated or not graduated high school and by their…

  5. Partial Withdrawal and Final Rule for Nonroad Technical Amendments

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Amendments to the technical hardship provisions under the Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers related to the Tier 4 standards for nonroad diesel engines, and to the replacement engine exemption generally applicable to new nonroad engines.

  6. Head Start Impact Study. Technical Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Puma, Michael; Bell, Stephen; Cook, Ronna; Heid, Camilla; Shapiro, Gary; Broene, Pam; Jenkins, Frank; Fletcher, Philip; Quinn, Liz; Friedman, Janet; Ciarico, Janet; Rohacek, Monica; Adams, Gina; Spier, Elizabeth

    2010-01-01

    This Technical Report is designed to provide technical detail to support the analysis and findings presented in the "Head Start Impact Study Final Report" (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, January 2010). Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Head Start Impact Study and its findings. Chapter 2 provides technical information on the…

  7. Factors That Promote Motivation and Academic Engagement in a Career Technical Education Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loera, Gustavo; Nakamoto, Jonathan; Oh, Youn Joo; Rueda, Robert

    2013-01-01

    Drawing on social cognitive theory, this study examined the relationship between student and school-based factors (e.g., educational aspirations, quality of the program of study, and adults' impact on college enrollment) and students' academic engagement and satisfaction with student life in a career technical education (CTE) setting. This study…

  8. 78 FR 77563 - Technical Amendments

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-24

    ... NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION 12 CFR Parts 700, 701, and 704 RIN 3133-AE33 Technical Amendments AGENCY: National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The NCUA Board... credit unions. The technical amendments conform the regulations to a recent policy change adopted by the...

  9. Final Scientific/Technical Report

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

    Reeder, Richard; Phillips, Brian

    A variety of calcifying organisms produce a transient or metastable amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precursor phase that is assembled and subsequently transformed into a crystalline biomineral, typically calcite or aragonite. The complex shapes, hierarchical structures, and unique physical properties of the biominerals that result from this calcification pathway have stimulated interest in adapting these concepts for the design and creation of bio-inspired functional materials in the laboratory. ACC also forms as a reactive precursor in diverse inorganic systems and is likely to play a much broader role in calcium carbonate formation. Knowledge of the structure, composition, and behavior of thismore » metastable phase is critical for establishing a structural and mechanistic framework for calcium carbonate formation and its role in biogeochemical processes, including carbon cycling. Minor additives, such as magnesium, phosphorus, and organic macromolecules, are known to play important roles in controlling ACC stability, transformation kinetics, and selection of final crystalline polymorph. Molecular water also occurs in many types of ACC and is thought to play a structural role in its stability and transformation behavior. One of the major challenges that remain unresolved is identification of the structural basis for the role of these minor additives and molecular water. The absence of long-range order in ACC, and other amorphous phases, has posed a challenge for study by techniques commonly used for crystalline solids. Preliminary studies in our group show that the combination of two techniques, synchrotron X-ray-based pair distribution function (PDF) analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy can provide entirely new insight to structural properties of synthetic ACC over length scales that are most relevant for understanding its transformation properties. Building on preliminary experiments, we propose a systematic study of synthesis

  10. Technical Assistance for Southwest Solar Technologies Inc. Final Report

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

    Munoz-Ramos, Karina; Brainard, James Robert; McIntyre, Annie

    2012-07-01

    Southwest Solar Technologies Inc. is constructing a Solar-Fuel Hybrid Turbine energy system. This innovative energy system combines solar thermal energy with compressed air energy storage and natural gas fuel backup capability to provide firm, non-intermittent power. In addition, the energy system will have very little impact on the environment since, unlike other Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies, it requires minimal water. In 2008 Southwest Solar Technologies received a Solar America Showcase award from the Department of Energy for Technical Assistance from Sandia National Laboratories. This report details the work performed as part of the Solar America Showcase award for Southwestmore » Solar Technologies. After many meetings and visits between Sandia National Labs and Southwest Solar Technologies, several tasks were identified as part of the Technical Assistance and the analysis and results for these are included here.« less

  11. New Jersey Technical Assistance Project (N.J. TAP): "Educational Resources and Support Services on Behalf of Children with Multiple Sensory Impairment." Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New Jersey State Dept. of Education, Trenton.

    This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the New Jersey Technical Assistance Project, a project to improve educational resources and support services for students with multiple sensory impairment (deaf-blindness). Activities and accomplishments are presented in a tabular format for each project goal and objective. The project…

  12. Final Technical/Scientific Report: Commodity Scale Thermostable Enzymatic Transformations

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

    James J. Lalonde; Brian Davison

    2003-08-30

    The conversion of corn starch to high fructose corn-syrup sweetener is a commodity process, producing over 3 billion kg/y. In the last step of the process, an enzyme catalyst is used to convert glucose to the much sweeter sugar fructose. Due to incomplete conversion in the last step, the syrup must be purified using a chromatographic separation technique, which results in equal quantities of water being added to the syrup, and finally the water must be evaporated (up to 1 lb of water/lb of syrup). We have estimated the energy requirement in the evaporation step to be on the ordermore » of 13 billion BTU's/y. This process inefficiency could be eliminated if a thermostable form of glucose isomerase (GI), the enzyme catalyst used in the final step, was developed. Our chosen strategy was to develop an immobilized form of the enzyme in which the protein is first crystallized and then chemically cross-linked to form an insoluble particle. This so-called cross-linked enzyme crystal (CLE C(reg. sign)) technology had been shown to be a powerful method for enzyme stabilization for several other protein catalysts. In this work we have developed more than 30 CLEC preparations of glucose isomerase and tested them for activity and stability. We found these preparations to be highly active, with a 10-50 fold rate per gram of catalyst increase over existing commercial catalysts. The initial rates were also higher at higher temperatures as expected, however the efficiency of the CLEC GI preparations unexpectedly rapidly decreased to a low constant value with use at the higher temperatures. At this point, the source of this activity loss is unclear, however during this loss, the catalyst is found to form a solid mass indicating either breakage of the chemical cross-links or simple aggregation of the particles. It is likely that the increased mass transfer resistance due to this agglomeration is a major component of the activity loss. This research suggests that one potentially

  13. Professional Personnel Evaluation System: 1983-84 Final Technical Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doss, David A.

    This technical report summarizes the evaluation ratings given to professionals on probation or up for contract renewal in the Austin Independent School District. Graphs, tables, and rankings are presented for each specified population: all district teachers combined; teachers by school level (elementary, junior high, senior high); teachers by…

  14. High School Graduation Minimum Competency Requirements. Final Technical Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Austin Independent School District, TX. Office of Research and Evaluation.

    This technical report details the testing results and analyses supporting the evaluation findings related to the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) minimum competency graduation requirements. The graduation competency status of all AISD students in grades 8 to 12 are documented. The report provides additional information on the data…

  15. Modular Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) Program. Final technical report

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

    Not Available

    1992-12-31

    Section 2.0 of this report summarizes the MOD-RTG reference flight design, and Section 3.0 discusses the Ground Demonstration System design. Multicouple technology development is discussed in Section 4.0, and Section 5.0 lists all published technical papers prepared during the course of the contract.

  16. Develop a Comprehensive Technical Training and Data Collection Program for Structural Welders and Fitters: Technical Proposal

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-05-30

    implementation Final Report 4 TECHNICAL PLAN AND RESULTS Task 1: Initiate the Project Management System Two senior NGSS production management...1 Technical Plan and Results...Third the system is hosted on a handheld unit which provides the foremen with an efficient daily planning tool. The Pilot System which entails

  17. Effects of Demographic Characteristics, Educational Background, and Supporting Factors on ICT Readiness of Technical and Vocational Teachers in Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alazzam, Abu-Obaideh; Bakar, Ab Rahim; Hamzah, Ramlah; Asimiran, S.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine ICT readiness and the effects of demographic characteristics, educational background, and support factors on the ICT readiness of technical and vocational teachers in Malaysia. The questionnaire was administered to 329 technical and vocational teachers who are teaching engineering subjects in Malaysian…

  18. Final Technical Report

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

    Howe, Gary; Albritton, John; Denton, David

    -based gasification at increased efficiency and at significantly lower capital and operating costs than conventional syngas cleanup technologies. However, before the technology can be deemed ready for scale-up to a full commercial-scale demonstration, additional R&D testing is needed at the site to address the following critical technical risks: WDP sorbent stability and performance; Impact of WDP on downstream cleanup and conversion steps; Metallurgy and refractory; Syngas cleanup performance and controllability; Carbon capture performance and additional syngas cleanup The proposed plan to acquire this additional R&D data involves: Operation of the units to achieve an additional 3,000 hours of operation of the system within the performance period, with a target of achieving 1,000 hours of those hours via continuous operation of the entire integrated pre-commercial demonstration system; Rapid turnaround of repairs and/or modifications required as necessary to return any specific unit to operating status with documentation and lessons learned to support technology maturation, and; Proactive performance of maintenance activities during any unplanned outages and if possible while operating.« less

  19. Vocational Curriculum Modification. Teaching Technical Language to Learning Handicapped Students. Project HIRE: A Curriculum Management System for Instructing the Handicapped. Final Report, Volume 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gardner, David C.; And Others

    Volume 1 of the final report on Project HIRE reports the design, development, field-testing, and refining of self-instructional packages to teach entry level technical vocabulary to learning handicapped students mainstreamed in vocational programs. Volume 2, a management handbook, reports the methods and findings concerning development of…

  20. NetView technical research

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1993-01-01

    This is the Final Technical Report for the NetView Technical Research task. This report is prepared in accordance with Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) item A002. NetView assistance was provided and details are presented under the following headings: NetView Management Systems (NMS) project tasks; WBAFB IBM 3090; WPAFB AMDAHL; WPAFB IBM 3084; Hill AFB; McClellan AFB AMDAHL; McClellan AFB IBM 3090; and Warner-Robins AFB.

  1. Benchmark Analysis of Career and Technical Education in Lenawee County. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hollenbeck, Kevin

    The career and technical education (CTE) provided in grades K-12 in the county's vocational-technical center and 12 local public school districts of Lenawee County, Michigan, was benchmarked with respect to its attention to career development. Data were collected from the following sources: structured interviews with a number of key respondents…

  2. Final priority; technical assistance to improve state data capacity--National Technical Assistance Center to improve state capacity to accurately collect and report IDEA data. Final priority.

    PubMed

    2013-05-20

    The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services announces a priority under the Technical Assistance to Improve State Data Capacity program. The Assistant Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2013 and later years. We take this action to focus attention on an identified national need to provide technical assistance (TA) to States to improve their capacity to meet the data collection and reporting requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). We intend this priority to establish a TA center to improve State capacity to accurately collect and report IDEA data (Data Center).

  3. Balancing the health workforce: breaking down overall technical change into factor technical change for labour-an empirical application to the Dutch hospital industry.

    PubMed

    Blank, Jos L T; van Hulst, Bart L

    2017-02-17

    Well-trained, well-distributed and productive health workers are crucial for access to high-quality, cost-effective healthcare. Because neither a shortage nor a surplus of health workers is wanted, policymakers use workforce planning models to get information on future labour markets and adjust policies accordingly. A neglected topic of workforce planning models is productivity growth, which has an effect on future demand for labour. However, calculating productivity growth for specific types of input is not as straightforward as it seems. This study shows how to calculate factor technical change (FTC) for specific types of input. The paper first theoretically derives FTCs from technical change in a consistent manner. FTC differs from a ratio of output and input, in that it deals with the multi-input, multi-output character of the production process in the health sector. Furthermore, it takes into account substitution effects between different inputs. An application of the calculation of FTCs is given for the Dutch hospital industry for the period 2003-2011. A translog cost function is estimated and used to calculate technical change and FTC for individual inputs, especially specific labour inputs. The results show that technical change increased by 2.8% per year in Dutch hospitals during 2003-2011. FTC differs amongst the various inputs. The FTC of nursing personnel increased by 3.2% per year, implying that fewer nurses were needed to let demand meet supply on the labour market. Sensitivity analyses show consistent results for the FTC of nurses. Productivity growth, especially of individual outputs, is a neglected topic in workforce planning models. FTC is a productivity measure that is consistent with technical change and accounts for substitution effects. An application to the Dutch hospital industry shows that the FTC of nursing personnel outpaced technical change during 2003-2011. The optimal input mix changed, resulting in fewer nurses being needed to let

  4. 76 FR 80226 - Technical Amendments

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-23

    ... final rule, effective upon publication. Generally, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requires a.... Additionally, the APA requires that a final rule must have a delayed effective date of 30 days from the date of... delayed effective date requirement under the APA. 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). Again the technical change conforms...

  5. Main clinical, therapeutic and technical factors related to patient's maximum skin dose in interventional cardiology procedures

    PubMed Central

    Journy, N; Sinno-Tellier, S; Maccia, C; Le Tertre, A; Pirard, P; Pagès, P; Eilstein, D; Donadieu, J; Bar, O

    2012-01-01

    Objective The study aimed to characterise the factors related to the X-ray dose delivered to the patient's skin during interventional cardiology procedures. Methods We studied 177 coronary angiographies (CAs) and/or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties (PTCAs) carried out in a French clinic on the same radiography table. The clinical and therapeutic characteristics, and the technical parameters of the procedures, were collected. The dose area product (DAP) and the maximum skin dose (MSD) were measured by an ionisation chamber (Diamentor; Philips, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and radiosensitive film (Gafchromic; International Specialty Products Advanced Materials Group, Wayne, NJ). Multivariate analyses were used to assess the effects of the factors of interest on dose. Results The mean MSD and DAP were respectively 389 mGy and 65 Gy cm−2 for CAs, and 916 mGy and 69 Gy cm−2 for PTCAs. For 8% of the procedures, the MSD exceeded 2 Gy. Although a linear relationship between the MSD and the DAP was observed for CAs (r=0.93), a simple extrapolation of such a model to PTCAs would lead to an inadequate assessment of the risk, especially for the highest dose values. For PTCAs, the body mass index, the therapeutic complexity, the fluoroscopy time and the number of cine frames were independent explanatory factors of the MSD, whoever the practitioner was. Moreover, the effect of technical factors such as collimation, cinematography settings and X-ray tube orientations on the DAP was shown. Conclusion Optimising the technical options for interventional procedures and training staff on radiation protection might notably reduce the dose and ultimately avoid patient skin lesions. PMID:22457404

  6. Final Revisions Rule Significant Contribution Assessment TSD

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This Technical Support Document (TSD) presents quantitative assessments of the relationship between final revisions to the Transport Rule and the original analysis conducted for the final Transport Rule.

  7. 75 FR 15342 - Advisory Committees; Technical Amendment

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 14 [Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0001] Advisory Committees; Technical Amendment Agency: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its...

  8. 2012 Technical Corrections Fact Sheet

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Final Rule: 2012 Technical Corrections, Clarifying and Other Amendments to theGreenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, and Confidentiality Determinations for Certain DataElements of the Fluorinated Gas Source Category

  9. 'Buildings in Use' Study. Technical Factors.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wisconsin Univ., Milwaukee. School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

    The second report of the 'Buildings in Use' study documents the results of over 100 field tests conducted at four elementary schools, as well as discussion of these results and relevant technical specifications and details. The procedural framework used in the Field Tests Manual is followed and test results are rated numerically wherever possible.…

  10. Variations of Histone Modification Patterns: Contributions of Inter-plant Variability and Technical Factors

    PubMed Central

    Brabencová, Sylva; Ihnatová, Ivana; Potěšil, David; Fojtová, Miloslava; Fajkus, Jiří; Zdráhal, Zbyněk; Lochmanová, Gabriela

    2017-01-01

    Inter-individual variability of conspecific plants is governed by differences in their genetically determined growth and development traits, environmental conditions, and adaptive responses under epigenetic control involving histone post-translational modifications. The apparent variability in histone modifications among plants might be increased by technical variation introduced in sample processing during epigenetic analyses. Thus, to detect true variations in epigenetic histone patterns associated with given factors, the basal variability among samples that is not associated with them must be estimated. To improve knowledge of relative contribution of biological and technical variation, mass spectrometry was used to examine histone modification patterns (acetylation and methylation) among Arabidopsis thaliana plants of ecotypes Columbia 0 (Col-0) and Wassilewskija (Ws) homogenized by two techniques (grinding in a cryomill or with a mortar and pestle). We found little difference in histone modification profiles between the ecotypes. However, in comparison of the biological and technical components of variability, we found consistently higher inter-individual variability in histone mark levels among Ws plants than among Col-0 plants (grown from seeds collected either from single plants or sets of plants). Thus, more replicates of Ws would be needed for rigorous analysis of epigenetic marks. Regarding technical variability, the cryomill introduced detectably more heterogeneity in the data than the mortar and pestle treatment, but mass spectrometric analyses had minor apparent effects. Our study shows that it is essential to consider inter-sample variance and estimate suitable numbers of biological replicates for statistical analysis for each studied organism when investigating changes in epigenetic histone profiles. PMID:29270186

  11. Variations of Histone Modification Patterns: Contributions of Inter-plant Variability and Technical Factors.

    PubMed

    Brabencová, Sylva; Ihnatová, Ivana; Potěšil, David; Fojtová, Miloslava; Fajkus, Jiří; Zdráhal, Zbyněk; Lochmanová, Gabriela

    2017-01-01

    Inter-individual variability of conspecific plants is governed by differences in their genetically determined growth and development traits, environmental conditions, and adaptive responses under epigenetic control involving histone post-translational modifications. The apparent variability in histone modifications among plants might be increased by technical variation introduced in sample processing during epigenetic analyses. Thus, to detect true variations in epigenetic histone patterns associated with given factors, the basal variability among samples that is not associated with them must be estimated. To improve knowledge of relative contribution of biological and technical variation, mass spectrometry was used to examine histone modification patterns (acetylation and methylation) among Arabidopsis thaliana plants of ecotypes Columbia 0 (Col-0) and Wassilewskija (Ws) homogenized by two techniques (grinding in a cryomill or with a mortar and pestle). We found little difference in histone modification profiles between the ecotypes. However, in comparison of the biological and technical components of variability, we found consistently higher inter-individual variability in histone mark levels among Ws plants than among Col-0 plants (grown from seeds collected either from single plants or sets of plants). Thus, more replicates of Ws would be needed for rigorous analysis of epigenetic marks. Regarding technical variability, the cryomill introduced detectably more heterogeneity in the data than the mortar and pestle treatment, but mass spectrometric analyses had minor apparent effects. Our study shows that it is essential to consider inter-sample variance and estimate suitable numbers of biological replicates for statistical analysis for each studied organism when investigating changes in epigenetic histone profiles.

  12. 48 CFR 252.235-7011 - Final scientific or technical report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... technical report. 252.235-7011 Section 252.235-7011 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CLAUSES AND FORMS SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT... of the report; and (c) For submission of reports in other than paper copy, contact the Defense...

  13. 48 CFR 252.235-7011 - Final scientific or technical report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... technical report. 252.235-7011 Section 252.235-7011 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CLAUSES AND FORMS SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT... of the report; and (c) For submission of reports in other than paper copy, contact the Defense...

  14. 48 CFR 252.235-7011 - Final scientific or technical report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... technical report. 252.235-7011 Section 252.235-7011 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CLAUSES AND FORMS SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT... of the report; and (c) For submission of reports in other than paper copy, contact the Defense...

  15. 48 CFR 252.235-7011 - Final scientific or technical report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... technical report. 252.235-7011 Section 252.235-7011 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CLAUSES AND FORMS SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT... of the report; and (c) For submission of reports in other than paper copy, contact the Defense...

  16. 48 CFR 252.235-7011 - Final scientific or technical report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... technical report. 252.235-7011 Section 252.235-7011 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CLAUSES AND FORMS SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT... of the report; and (c) For submission of reports in other than paper copy, contact the Defense...

  17. Job Skills Education Program. Final Technical Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Florida State Univ., Tallahassee. Center for Educational Technology.

    This publication provides materials developed by a project designed to transfer a U.S. Army computer-based basic skills curriculum to applications in the vocational skills development of civilian adults. An executive summary of the final report describes the Job Skills Education Program (JSEP), which teaches academic skills that support vocational…

  18. Invention and Writing in Technical Work: Representing the Object.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winsor, Dorothy A.

    1994-01-01

    Describes the way invention is relevant to the practice of technical writing. Studies three engineering students engaged in a real-world project. Shows how the students' technical work and invention for the final report were simultaneous activities. Claims that invention for and through writing overlaps with technical invention. (HB)

  19. Factors affecting the technical efficiency of general hospitals in Iran: data envelopment analysis.

    PubMed

    Kalhor, Rohollah; Amini, Saeed; Sokhanvar, Mobin; Lotfi, Farhad; Sharifi, Marziye; Kakemam, Edris

    2016-03-01

    Restrictions on resource accessibility and its optimal application is the main challenge in organizations nowadays. The aim of this research was to study the technical efficiency and its related factors in Tehran general hospitals. This descriptive analytical study was conducted retrospectively in 2014. Fifty-four hospitals with private, university, and social security ownerships from the total 110 general hospitals were randomly selected for inclusion into this study on the basis of the share of ownership. Data were collected using a checklist with three sections, including background variables, inputs, and outputs. Seventeen (31.48%) hospitals had an efficiency score of 1 (highest efficiency score). The highest average efficiency score was in social security hospitals (84.32). Private and university hospitals ranked next with an average of 84.29 and 79.64, respectively. Analytical results showed that there was a significant relationship between hospital ownership, hospital type in terms of duty and specialization, educational field of the chief executive officer, and technical efficiency. There was no significant relationship between education level of hospital manager and technical efficiency. Most of the studied hospitals were operating at low efficiency. Therefore, policymakers should plan to improve the hospital operations and promote hospitals to an optimal level of efficiency.

  20. Technical Evaluation Motor No. 10 (TEM-10)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1993-01-01

    Technical Evaluation Motor No. 10 (TEM-10) was static fired on 27 Apr. 1993 at the Thiokol Corporation full-scale motor static test bay, T-24. This final test report documents the procedures, performance, and results of the static test firing of TEM-10. All observations, discussions, conclusions, and recommendations contained are final. Included is a presentation and discussion of TEM-10 performance, anomalies, and test results in concurrence with the objectives outlined in CTP-0110, Revision D, Space Shuttle Technical Evaluation Motor No. 10 (TEM-10) Static Fire Test Plan.

  1. Final June Revisions Rule Significant Contribution Assessment TSD

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This Technical Support Document (TSD) presents quantitative assessments of the relationship between the final February revisions to the Transport Rule, the final June revisions rule, and the original analysis conducted for the final Transport Rule.

  2. 2005 v4.3 Technical Support Document

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Emissions Modeling for the Final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Technical Support Document describes how updated 2005 NEI, version 2 emissions were processed for air quality modeling in support of the final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).

  3. Technical structure of the global nanoscience and nanotechnology literature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kostoff, Ronald N.; Koytcheff, Raymond G.; Lau, Clifford G. Y.

    2007-10-01

    Text mining was used to extract technical intelligence from the open source global nanotechnology and nanoscience research literature. An extensive nanotechnology/nanoscience-focused query was applied to the Science Citation Index/Social Science Citation Index (SCI/SSCI) databases. The nanotechnology/nanoscience research literature technical structure (taxonomy) was obtained using computational linguistics/document clustering and factor analysis. The infrastructure (prolific authors, key journals/institutions/countries, most cited authors/journals/documents) for each of the clusters generated by the document clustering algorithm was obtained using bibliometrics. Another novel addition was the use of phrase auto-correlation maps to show technical thrust areas based on phrase co-occurrence in Abstracts, and the use of phrase-phrase cross-correlation maps to show technical thrust areas based on phrase relations due to the sharing of common co-occurring phrases. The ˜400 most cited nanotechnology papers since 1991 were grouped, and their characteristics generated. Whereas the main analysis provided technical thrusts of all nanotechnology papers retrieved, analysis of the most cited papers allowed their characteristics to be displayed. Finally, most cited papers from selected time periods were extracted, along with all publications from those time periods, and the institutions and countries were compared based on their representation in the most cited documents list relative to their representation in the most publications list.

  4. Forecasting the Future Food Service World of Work. Final Report. Volume III. Technical Papers on the Future of the Food Service Industry. Service Management Reports.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powers, Thomas F., Ed.; Swinton, John R., Ed.

    This third and final volume of a study on the future of the food service industry contains the technical papers on which the information in the previous two volumes was based. The papers were written by various members of the Pennsylvania State University departments of economics, food science, nutrition, social psychology, and engineering and by…

  5. A Dissemination Model for New Technical Education Programs. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hull, Daniel M.

    The Technical Education Research Center-SW has conceived, tested, and refined a model for disseminating newly developed programs and materials throughout the nation. The model performed successfully in the dissemination of more than 50,000 educational units (modules) of Laser/Electro-Optics Technician (LEOT) materials during a four-year period…

  6. Final report on technical work accomplished under contract NASw-2953

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fredricks, R. W.

    1977-01-01

    A report is given on the technical work accomplished in the area of plasma physics. The subjects covered are: (1) oblique whistler instabilities, (2) current-limited electron beam injection, (3) three-dimensional ion sound turbulence, (4) theoretical aspects of sounder antenna operation and (5) whistler modes in bow shock structures.

  7. 75 FR 33682 - Export Administration Regulations; Technical Amendments

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-15

    ...-01] RIN 0694-AE93 Export Administration Regulations; Technical Amendments AGENCY: Bureau of Industry... Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) makes a technical amendment to the Export Administration... review of final decisions and orders issued in BIS export control administrative enforcement proceedings...

  8. Health care fraud and abuse data collection program: technical revisions to Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank data collection activities. Final rule.

    PubMed

    2004-09-21

    The rule finalizes technical changes to the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB) data collection reporting requirements by clarifying the types of personal numeric identifiers that may be reported to the data bank in connection with adverse actions. The rule clarifies that in lieu of a Social Security Number (SSN), an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) may be reported to the data bank when, in those limited situations, an individual does not have an SSN.

  9. Local/State Bilingual Project. 1981-82 Final Technical Report. Appendixes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Austin Independent School District, TX. Office of Research and Evaluation.

    The 1981-82 Local/State Bilingual Program Technical Report addresses the evaluation questions of the Local/State Bilingual Program Evaluation Design. It is organized into six appendixes. Each appendix reports the information collected by a specific measure. Each appendix consists of (1) an instrument description, (2) purpose of the measure, (3)…

  10. Development of German-English Machine Translation System. Final Technical Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lehmann, Winfred P.; Stachowitz, Rolf A.

    This report describes work on a pilot system for a fully automatic, high-quality translation of German scientific and technical text into English and gives the results of an experiment designed to show the system's capability to produce quality mechanical translation. The areas considered were: (1) grammar formalism, mainly involving the addition…

  11. 77 FR 39623 - Airworthiness Standards: Aircraft Engines; Technical Amendment

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-05

    ...] Airworthiness Standards: Aircraft Engines; Technical Amendment AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment. SUMMARY: This amendment clarifies aircraft engine... from applicants requesting FAA engine type certifications and aftermarket certifications, such as...

  12. 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.

  13. Systematized contact between inventors and industry. Final technical report

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

    Not Available

    1992-07-31

    A total of 139 inventions by private (individual) inventors were submitted to Technology Targeting Incorporated. Each inventor was told of the nature of the DOE-supported Project, through informational and promotional efforts by TTI, and each completed an Invention Submittal Form developed by TTI to describe the essential nature of the claimed invention. Many also submitted detailed descriptions, drawings, technical reports and similar supplemental materials giving a more comprehensive view of their inventions. Each invention was reviewed for technical and commercial merit, as well as for appropriateness of marketing through the Technology Targeting DataBase{trademark} (hereafter ``DATABASE). Overall, participating inventors were enthusiasticmore » about the Project and felt participation in it was rewording. Even when not selected for marketing, inventors were given an analysis of their inventions which could help them enhance the inventions and improve marketing efforts. Inventors whose inventions were selected for marketing were shown how to professionally market the inventions, including the format for Non Confidential Invention Summaries, the preferred form for Confidential Disclosure Agreements, targeting of business decision-makers responsible for technology evaluation, and the like; some of these inventors are still interacting with industrial contacts provided by TTI through this Project. All inventors received copies of patent abstracts uncovered in the prior art searches for their inventions and a copy of TTI`s booklet, Patent Law Basics for Individual Inventors.« less

  14. Systematized contact between inventors and industry. [Final Technical Report

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

    Not Available

    1992-07-31

    A total of 139 inventions by private (individual) inventors were submitted to Technology Targeting Incorporated. Each inventor was told of the nature of the DOE-supported Project, through informational and promotional efforts by TTI, and each completed an Invention Submittal Form developed by TTI to describe the essential nature of the claimed invention. Many also submitted detailed descriptions, drawings, technical reports and similar supplemental materials giving a more comprehensive view of their inventions. Each invention was reviewed for technical and commercial merit, as well as for appropriateness of marketing through the Technology Targeting DataBase[trademark] (hereafter DATABASE). Overall, participating inventors were enthusiasticmore » about the Project and felt participation in it was rewording. Even when not selected for marketing, inventors were given an analysis of their inventions which could help them enhance the inventions and improve marketing efforts. Inventors whose inventions were selected for marketing were shown how to professionally market the inventions, including the format for Non Confidential Invention Summaries, the preferred form for Confidential Disclosure Agreements, targeting of business decision-makers responsible for technology evaluation, and the like; some of these inventors are still interacting with industrial contacts provided by TTI through this Project. All inventors received copies of patent abstracts uncovered in the prior art searches for their inventions and a copy of TTI's booklet, Patent Law Basics for Individual Inventors.« less

  15. Word Lists to Simplify Vocabulary of Technical Information. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kincaid, J. Peter; And Others

    This report describes eight word lists developed for use as part of the computer readability editing system (CRES), which was developed to serve as an author's aid in improving the ease of comprehending Navy technical manuals and training materials. The system has features which flag uncommon and misspelled words and long sentences, suggest simple…

  16. The evaluation of a framework for measuring the non-technical ward round skills of final year nursing students: An observational study.

    PubMed

    Murray, Kara; McKenzie, Karen; Kelleher, Michael

    2016-10-01

    The importance of non-technical skills (NTS) to patient outcomes is increasingly being recognised, however, there is limited research into how such skills can be taught and evaluated in student nurses in relation toward rounds. This pilot study describes an evaluation of a NTS framework that could potentially be used to measure ward round skills of student nurses. The study used an observational design. Potential key NTS were identified from existing literature and NTS taxonomies. The proposed framework was then used to evaluate whether the identified NTS were evident in a series of ward round simulations that final year general nursing students undertook as part of their training. Finally, the views of a small group of qualified nurse educators, qualified nurses and general nursing students were sought about whether the identified NTS were important and relevant to practice. The proposed NTS framework included seven categories: Communication, Decision Making, Situational Awareness, Teamwork and Task Management, Student Initiative and Responsiveness to Patient. All were rated as important and relevant to practice. The pilot study suggests that the proposed NTS framework could be used as a means of evaluating student nurse competencies in respect of many non-technical skills required for a successful ward round. Further work is required to establish the validity of the framework in educational settings and to determine the extent to which it is of use in a non-simulated ward round setting. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. The Effect of Non-technical Factors in B2C E-Commerce

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sanayei, Ali; Shafe'Ei, Reza

    As e-commerce grows across industries worldwide , business are building web sites for presence as well as for online business. It is more than transferring current business operations to a new medium. This situation requires explaining main models, changing infrastructures, and notice to customer needs as their vital rights. Whilst increasing numbers of firms have launched themselves on the Internet, they are trying to consideration of the strategic implications of developing, implementing or running a Web site. Global competition, laws, and customer preferences are among the issues being affected by e-commerce. In this study many factors that effect on e-commerce are considered these factors have no technical issue in nature. Companies related factors, customers' knowledge, customers' trust and customers' behavior are the main effective factors in development of B2C e-commerce. In this research we surveyed the mentioned aspects by offering questionnaire to experts of e-commerce for companies. The results show there is a meaningful relationship between perception, knowledge, trust and attitude of customers and the company's capabilities in the other side with B2C e-commerce development.

  18. Simulator training and non-technical factors improve laparoscopic performance among OBGYN trainees.

    PubMed

    Ahlborg, Liv; Hedman, Leif; Nisell, Henry; Felländer-Tsai, Li; Enochsson, Lars

    2013-10-01

    To investigate how simulator training and non-technical factors affect laparoscopic performance among residents in obstetrics and gynecology. In this prospective study, trainees were randomized into three groups. The first group was allocated to proficiency-based training in the LapSimGyn(®) virtual reality simulator. The second group received additional structured mentorship during subsequent laparoscopies. The third group served as control group. At baseline an operation was performed and visuospatial ability, flow and self-efficacy were assessed. All groups subsequently performed three tubal occlusions. Self-efficacy and flow were assessed before and/or after each operation. Simulator training was conducted at the Center for Advanced Medical Simulation and Training, Karolinska University Hospital. Sterilizations were performed at each trainee's home clinic. Twenty-eight trainees/residents from 21 hospitals in Sweden were included. Visuospatial ability was tested by the Mental Rotation Test-A. Flow and self-efficacy were assessed by validated scales and questionnaires. Laparoscopic performance was measured as the duration of surgery. Visuospatial ability, self-efficacy and flow were correlated to the laparoscopic performance using Spearman's correlations. Differences between groups were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U-test. No differences across groups were detected at baseline. Self-efficacy scores before and flow scores after the third operation were significantly higher in the trained groups. Duration of surgery was significantly shorter in the trained groups. Flow and self-efficacy correlate positively with laparoscopic performance. Simulator training and non-technical factors appear to improve the laparoscopic performance among trainees/residents in obstetrics and gynecology. © 2013 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  19. Arizona Deafblind Project, 1995-1999. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind, Tucson.

    This final report describes accomplishments of the four-year federally funded Arizona Deafblind Project which attempted to: (1) identify all deafblind children in Arizona; (2) deliver technical assistance to families; (3) deliver technical assistance to service providers; and (4) enhance community oversight, coordination, and collaboration with…

  20. Polar source analysis : technical memorandum

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-09-29

    The following technical memorandum describes the development, testing and analysis of various polar source data sets. The memorandum also includes recommendation for potential inclusion in future releases of AEDT. This memorandum is the final deliver...

  1. Vehicle infrastructure integration proof of concept : technical description--vehicle : final report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-05-19

    This report provides the technical description of the VII system developed for the Cooperative Agreement VII Program between the USDOT and the VII Consortium. The basic architectural elements are summarized and detailed descriptions of the hardware a...

  2. Final Technical Report

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

    Sara Bergan, Executive Director; Brendan Jordan, Program Manager; Subcontractors as listed on the report.

    2007-06-06

    development can be done in such a way that also maximizes or improves upon conservation and other environmental goals (in some cases even when compared to idled land); Switchgrass and big bluestem work well together in simple mixture plots where big bluestem fills in around the switchgrass which alone grows in bunches and leaves patches of bare soil open and susceptible to erosion; Longer-term studies in the northern plains may also find that every other year harvest schemes produce as much biomass averaged over the years as annual harvests; Grasses can be grown for between $23 and $54/ton in the northern plains at production rates between 3 and 5 tons/acre; Land costs, yields, and harvest frequency are the largest determining factors in the farm scale economics. Without any land rent offset or incentive for production, and with annual harvesting, grass production is likely to be around $35/ton in the northern plains (farm gate); Average transportation costs range from $3 to $10/ton delivered to the plant gate. Average distance from the plant is the biggest factor - $3/ton at 10 miles, $10/ton at 50 miles; There is a substantial penalty paid on a per unit of energy produced basis when one converts grasses to bio-oil, but the bio-oil can then compete in higher priced fuel markets whereas grasses alone compete directly with relatively cheap coal; Bio oil or modified bio-oil (without the HA or other chemical fraction) is a suitable fuel for boiler and combustion turbines that would otherwise use residual fuel oil or number 2 diesel; Ensyn has already commercialized the use of HA in smokey flavorants for the food industry but that market is rather small. HA, however, is also found to be a suitable replacement for the much larger US market for ethanolamines and ethalyne oxides that are used as dispersants; Unless crude oil prices rise, the highest and best use of grass based bio-oil is primarily as a direct fuel. As prices rise, HA, phenol and other chemical fractions may become

  3. NUSC Technical Publications Guide.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1985-05-01

    Facility personnel especially that of A. Castelluzzo, E. Deland, J. Gesel , and E. Szlosek (all of Code 4343). Reviewed and Approved: 14 July 1980 D...their technical content and format. Review and approve the manual outline, the review manuscript, and the final camera - reproducible copy. Conduct in

  4. Technical Evaluation Motor No. 7 (TEM-7)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hughes, Phil

    1991-01-01

    The Technical Evaluation Motor No. 7 (TEM-7) test was a full-scale, full duration static test firing of a high performance motor-configuration solid rocket motor with nozzle vectoring. The final test report documents the procedures, performance, and results of the static test firing of TEM-7. All observations, discussions, conclusions, and recommendations included in the report are complete and final except for the TEM-7 fixed housing unbond investigation. A presentation and discussion of TEM-7 performance, anomalies, and test result concurrence with the objectives outlined in CTP-0107, Rev A, Space Shuttle Technical Evaluation Motor No. 7 (TEM-7) Static Fire Test Plan are included.

  5. Technical skills acquisition in surgery-bound senior medical students: an evaluation of student assertiveness.

    PubMed

    Talbott, Vanessa A; Marks, Joshua A; Bodzin, Adam S; Comeau, Jason A; Maxwell, Pinckney J; Isenberg, Gerald A; Martin, Niels D

    2012-01-01

    To prepare students pursuing surgical careers, we devised a senior subinternship curriculum supplement that focused on the acquisition of technical skills required of surgical residents. We hypothesized that more assertive students, those that accomplished more of the curriculum, would perform better on a technical skills Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Senior medical students rotating on their first general surgery subinternship were administered a 6-station OSCE on the first day of their subinternship and again during the final week of the month-long rotation. A self-directed, 38-task "scavenger hunt" representing common intern level clinical skills, procedures, and patient care activities was provided to each student. The study was performed at Jefferson Medical College, a large, private medical school in Philadelphia, PA. Forty-nine senior students completed surgical subinternships between July 2009 and September 2010, and participated both in the pre-/post-OSCEs and the scavenger hunt. Students performed significantly better on the post-rotation OSCE than on the pre-rotation OSCE; 70.2% ± 8.1% vs. 60.4% ± 12.0%, p < 0.0001. Assertiveness scores from the "scavenger hunt" did not correlate with final OSCE scores (r = -0.328, p = 0.25), and were negatively correlated with the change between pre- and post-OSCE scores (r = -0.573, p < 0.04). Individual student assertiveness scores were determined by the number of tasks completed over the course of the rotation. As surgical education becomes more streamlined with evolving work hour restrictions, medical school education is playing an increasingly pivotal role in preparing students for internship. In our study, individual assertiveness in completing structured self-directed learning tasks did not directly predict the acquisition of proficiency in technical skills. We feel assertiveness is overshadowed by other factors that may carry more weight in terms of technical skills acquisition. Further

  6. 76 FR 55213 - Technical Amendments to Federal Employees' Retirement System; Present Value Conversion Factors...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-07

    ...) revising the factor at 5 CFR 843.309(b)(2) used to convert a lump sum basic employee death benefit under 5... would apply to deaths occurring on or after October 1, 2004. The revised factor, however, applies to deaths occurring on or after October 1, 2011. Therefore, this document corrects the final regulation by...

  7. Final Scientific/Technical Report

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

    Brown, R. C.; McCarley, T. M.

    2006-05-04

    . Platform teams organize faculty and students for cross-disciplinary, systems-oriented research and collaborative learning. To date, nine platforms have been developed, although these will most likely be reorganized into a smaller number of broader topics. In the spring of 2004, BRT faculty initiated a regional partnership and collaborative learning program with colleagues at the University of Minnesota, Kansas State University, and South Dakota State University to develop distance education courses in biorenewable resources and technology. As a fledgling graduate program, the BRT graduate program didn’t have the breadth of resources to offer a large number of courses in biorenewables. Other schools faced a similar problem. The academic consortium as first conceived would allow students from the member schools to enroll in biorenewables courses from any of the participating schools, which would assure the necessary enrollment numbers to offer specialized course work. Since its inception, the collaborative curriculum partnership has expanded to include Louisiana State University and the University of Wisconsin. A second international curriculum development campaign was also initiated in the spring of 2004. In particular, several BRT faculty teamed with colleagues at the University of Arkansas, University of Washington, University of Gent (Belgium), National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse (France), and Technical University of Graz (Austria) to develop an EU-US exchange program in higher education and vocational education/training (entitled “Renewable Resources and Clean Technology”).« less

  8. Factor Structure and Reliability of the 2008 and 2009 SERU/UCUES Questionnaire Core. SERU Project Technical Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chatman, Steve

    2009-01-01

    This technical report summarizes the third independent factor analysis of the SERU/UCUES questionnaire responses of students with majors. The 2009 solution employed the same quantitative analysis used in the prior solutions--varimax orthogonal rotation to determine principal components followed by promax oblique rotation to identify…

  9. Programs of Study as a State Policy Mandate: A Longitudinal Study of the South Carolina Personal Pathways to Success Initiative. Unabridged Final Technical Report (Years 1-5)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hammond, Cathy; Withington, Cairen; Sharp, Julia L.; Mobley, Catherine; Drew, Sam F.; Stringfield, Samuel C.; Stipanovic, Natalie; Swiger, Caroline M.; Daugherty, Lindsay; Griffith, Cathy

    2014-01-01

    This final report presents findings from data collection and analysis conducted during a five-year study by the National Dropout Prevention Center (NDPC) at Clemson University, in conjunction with colleagues from the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) at the University of Louisville. This project was one of three…

  10. Coosa River Storage Annex, Talladega, Alabama Environmental Investigation, Final Management and Resources Utilization Plan

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-02-01

    to adequately assess the health and environmental risks associated with the closure and transfer of the Annex forI other use; and 3) identification of...1990); Draft Final Technical Plan, Draft Final Sampling Design Plan and Draft Final Health and Safety Plan, USATHAMA, June 1990. 2.1.2 Draft Final...Final Technical Plan, Sampling Design Plan and Health and Safety Plan) supplied by USATHAMA. The estimate may be revised, with USATHAMA approval, as

  11. Establishment of the International Power Institute. Final technical report

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

    Julius E. Coles

    The International Power Institute, in collaboration with American industries, seeks to address technical, political, economic and cultural issues of developing countries in the interest of facilitating profitable transactions in power related infrastructure projects. IPI works with universities, governments and commercial organizations to render project-specific recommendations for private-sector investment considerations. IPI also established the following goals: Facilitate electric power infrastructure transactions between developing countries and the US power industry; Collaborate with developing countries to identify development strategies to achieve energy stability; and Encourage market driven solutions and work collaboratively with other international trade energy, technology and banking organizations.

  12. Emissions Inventory Final Rule TSD

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This technical support document (TSD) provides the details of emissions data processing done in support of EPA's final rulemaking effort for the Federal Transport Rule, now known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.

  13. CEEM Final Technical Report

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

    Bowers, John

    chemical reactions that produce them. In response, the CEEM team developed well-defined molecular semiconductors that produce active layers with very high power conversion efficiencies, in other words they can convert a very high fraction of sunlight into useful electrical power. The fact that the semiconductor is formed from molecular species provides the basis for circumventing the unreliability of polymer counterparts and, as an additional bonus, allows one to attain much grater insight into the structure of the active layer. The latter is particularly important because efficient conversion is the result of a complex arrangement of two semiconductors that need to phase separate in a way akin to oil and water, but with domains that are described by nanoscale dimensions. CEEM was therefore able to provide deep insight into the influence of nanostructure, through the application of structural characterization tools and theoretical methods that describe how electrical charges migrate through the organic layer. Our research in light emitting diode (LED)-based solid state lighting (SSL) was directed at improving efficiency and reducing costs to enable the widespread deployment of economically-viable replacements for inefficient incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent-based lighting. Our specific focus was to advance the fundamental science and technology of light emitting diodes to both understand factors that limit efficiencies and to provide innovative and viable solutions to the current impediments. One of the main challenges we faced is the decrease in efficiency when LEDs are driven harder to increase light output---the so called “droop” effect. It requires large emitting surfaces to reach a desired optical output, and necessitates the use of costly heat sinks, both of which increase the cost. We successfully reduced droop by growing LED crystals having non-conventional orientations. As recognized by the award of the 2014 Nobel prize to the inventors of the nitride

  14. Joint Common Architecture Demonstration (JCA Demo) Final Report

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-07-28

    approach for implementing open systems [16], formerly known as the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA). OSA is a business and technical strategy to... TECHNICAL REPORT RDMR-AD-16-01 JOINT COMMON ARCHITECTURE DEMONSTRATION (JCA DEMO) FINAL REPORT Scott A. Wigginton... Modular Avionics .......................................................................... 5 E. Model-Based Engineering

  15. Final Technical Report for Year 5 Early Career Research Project "Viscosity and equation of state of hot and dense QCD matter"

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

    Molnar, Denes

    2016-05-25

    The Section below summarizes research activities and achievements during the fifth (last) year of the PI’s Early Career Research Project (ECRP). Unlike the first four years of the project, the last year was not funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ECRP advanced two main areas: i) radiative 3 ↔ 2 radiative transport, via development of a new computer code MPC/Grid that solves the Boltzmann transport equation in full 6+1D (3X+3V+time); and ii) application of relativistic hydrodynamics, via development of a self-consistent framework to convert viscous fluids to particles. In Year 5 we finalized thermalization studies withmore » radiative gg ↔ ggg transport (Sec. 1.1.1) and used nonlinear covariant transport to assess the accuracy of fluid-to-particle conversion models (Sec. 1.1.2), calculated observables with self-consistent fluid-to-particle conversion from realistic viscous hydrodynamic evolution (Secs. 1.2.1 and 1.2.2), extended the covariant energy loss formulation to heavy quarks (Sec. 1.4.1) and studied energy loss in small systems (Sec. 1.4.2), and also investigated how much of the elliptic flow could have non-hydrodynamic origin (Sec 1.3). Years 1-4 of the ECRP were ARRA-funded and, therefore, they have their own report document ’Final Technical Report for Years 1-4 of the Early Career Research Project “Viscosity and equation of state of hot and dense QCD matter”’ (same award number DE-SC0004035). The PI’s group was also part of the DOE JET Topical Collaboration, a multi-institution project that overlapped in time significantly with the ECRP. Purdue achievements as part of the JET Top- ical Collaboration are in a separate report “Final Technical Report summarizing Purdue research activities as part of the DOE JET Topical Collaboration” (award DE-SC0004077).« less

  16. Preliminary disposal limits, plume interaction factors, and final disposal limits

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

    Flach, G.

    In the 2008 E-Area Performance Assessment (PA), each final disposal limit was constructed as the product of a preliminary disposal limit and a plume interaction factor. The following mathematical development demonstrates that performance objectives are generally expected to be satisfied with high confidence under practical PA scenarios using this method. However, radionuclides that experience significant decay between a disposal unit and the 100-meter boundary, such as H-3 and Sr-90, can challenge performance objectives, depending on the disposed-of waste composition, facility geometry, and the significance of the plume interaction factor. Pros and cons of analyzing single disposal units or multiple disposalmore » units as a group in the preliminary disposal limits analysis are also identified.« less

  17. Research in Automatic Russian-English Scientific and Technical Lexicography. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI.

    Techniques of reversing English-Russian scientific and technical dictionaries into Russian-English versions through semi-automated compilation are described. Sections on manual and automatic processing discuss pre- and post-editing, the task program, updater (correction of errors and revision by specialist in a given field), the system employed…

  18. Troubleshooting Instruction in Vocational-Technical Education Via Dynamic Simulation. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Finch, Curtis R.

    This study was designed to examine the feasibility of using simulation as a means of teaching vocational-technical students to detect and identify malfunctions in selected electrical and mechanical systems. A dynamic simulator was employed which features interchangeable panels and logic that permits the simulation of electrical or mechanical…

  19. EDI and the Technical Communicator.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eiler, Mary Ann

    1994-01-01

    Assesses the role of technical communicators in electronic data interchange (EDI). Argues that, as experts in information design, human factors, instructional theory, and professional writing, technical communicators should be advocates of standard documentation protocols and should rethink the traditional concepts of "document" to…

  20. TADS Final Evaluation Report, 1980-81. Appendix S.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suarez, Tanya M.; And Others

    The document contains the final report of the Technical Assistance Development System (TADS), a program which provided technical assistance (TA) services to 53 Handicapped Children's Early Education Program (HCEEP) demonstration projects and 13 State Implementation Grants (SIGs). The evaluation report is divided into five sections. Section 1…

  1. 78 FR 41331 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Technical Amendments

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-07-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Defense Acquisition Regulations System 48 CFR Part 225 Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Technical Amendments AGENCY: Defense Acquisition Regulations System, Department of Defense (DoD). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: DoD is making technical amendment to the Defense...

  2. A data envelope analysis to assess factors affecting technical and economic efficiency of individual broiler breeder hens.

    PubMed

    Romero, L F; Zuidhof, M J; Jeffrey, S R; Naeima, A; Renema, R A; Robinson, F E

    2010-08-01

    This study evaluated the effect of feed allocation and energetic efficiency on technical and economic efficiency of broiler breeder hens using the data envelope analysis methodology and quantified the effect of variables affecting technical efficiency. A total of 288 Ross 708 pullets were placed in individual cages at 16 wk of age and assigned to 1 of 4 feed allocation groups. Three of them had feed allocated on a group basis with divergent BW targets: standard, high (standard x 1.1), and low (standard x 0.9). The fourth group had feed allocated on an individual bird basis following the standard BW target. Birds were classified in 3 energetic efficiency categories: low, average, and high, based on estimated maintenance requirements. Technical efficiency considered saleable chicks as output and cumulative ME intake and time as inputs. Economic efficiency of feed allocation treatments was analyzed under different cost scenarios. Birds with low feed allocation exhibited a lower technical efficiency (69.4%) than standard (72.1%), which reflected a reduced egg production rate. Feed allocation of the high treatment could have been reduced by 10% with the same chick production as the standard treatment. The low treatment exhibited reduced economic efficiency at greater capital costs, whereas high had reduced economic efficiency at greater feed costs. The average energetic efficiency hens had a lower technical efficiency in the low compared with the standard feed allocation. A 1% increment in estimated maintenance requirement changed technical efficiency by -0.23%, whereas a 1% increment in ME intake had a -0.47% effect. The negative relationship between technical efficiency and ME intake was counterbalanced by a positive correlation of ME intake and egg production. The negative relationship of technical efficiency and maintenance requirements was synergized by a negative correlation of hen maintenance and egg production. Economic efficiency methodologies are effective

  3. A longitudinal study on risk factors for neck and shoulder pain among young adults in the transition from technical school to working life.

    PubMed

    Hanvold, Therese N; Wærsted, Morten; Mengshoel, Anne Marit; Bjertness, Espen; Twisk, Jos; Veiersted, Kaj Bo

    2014-11-01

    The study examined the course of neck and shoulder pain among a cohort of technical school students entering working life. We also aimed to identify work-related and individual risk factors for neck and shoulder pain during this transition period. The study was designed as a prospective cohort study following 420 technical school students (167 student hairdressers, 118 student electricians, and 135 media/design students) from school, through their apprenticeship and into working life. Every 4 (th)month over a 6.5 year period (2002-2009), the participant`s neck and shoulder pain for the preceding four weeks was assessed. Mechanical and psychosocial workplace factors as well as individual factors were evaluated at baseline and/or during the follow-up period. Data were analyzed by generalized estimating equations (GEE). We found a significant increase in neck and shoulder pain over time in the transition from technical school to working life. High mechanical workload was associated with neck and shoulder pain among women, while a high level of shoulder muscle endurance capacity was associated with lower rates of neck and shoulder pain among men. Perceived muscle tension and ethnicity were the most consistent predictors for neck and shoulder pain, found among both women and men. Increased neck and shoulder pain was found in the transition from technical school to working life, and both work-related and individual factors were associated with pain development.

  4. 77 FR 37284 - Technical Amendments

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of Workers' Compensation Programs 20 CFR Parts 701, 702, 703, 725, and 726 RIN 1240-AA05 Technical Amendments AGENCY: Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Labor. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs is making [[Page 37285

  5. 77 FR 47495 - Final Priority; Technical Assistance on State Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting-National...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-08

    ... intervention and preschool service providers with data on their qualifications, certification, and preparation... Priority; Technical Assistance on State Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting--National IDEA Technical Assistance Center on Early Childhood Longitudinal Data Systems; Rule #0;#0;Federal Register / Vol. 77, No...

  6. Hydrogen energy systems studies. Final technical report

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

    Ogden, J.M.; Kreutz, T.; Kartha, S.

    1996-08-13

    The results of previous studies suggest that the use of hydrogen from natural gas might be an important first step toward a hydrogen economy based on renewables. Because of infrastructure considerations (the difficulty and cost of storing, transmitting and distributing hydrogen), hydrogen produced from natural gas at the end-user`s site could be a key feature in the early development of hydrogen energy systems. In the first chapter of this report, the authors assess the technical and economic prospects for small scale technologies for producing hydrogen from natural gas (steam reformers, autothermal reformers and partial oxidation systems), addressing the following questions:more » (1) What are the performance, cost and emissions of small scale steam reformer technology now on the market? How does this compare to partial oxidation and autothermal systems? (2) How do the performance and cost of reformer technologies depend on scale? What critical technologies limit cost and performance of small scale hydrogen production systems? What are the prospects for potential cost reductions and performance improvements as these technologies advance? (3) How would reductions in the reformer capital cost impact the delivered cost of hydrogen transportation fuel? In the second chapter of this report the authors estimate the potential demand for hydrogen transportation fuel in Southern California.« less

  7. Final Rule for Technical Amendments to the Highway and Nonroad Diesel Regulations

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This action corrects errors and omissions from the previous rules, makes minor changes to the regulations to assist entities with regulatory compliance, and makes technical amendments that resulted from discussions with various diesel stakeholders.

  8. A joint university-government technical editing program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stohrer, Freda F.; Pinelli, Thomas E.

    1978-01-01

    The NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and Old Dominion University have designed a mutually useful technical editing program. A university team made up of an English instructor and two graduate students - one from English, one from engineering - works with a senior editor from LaRC to prepare technical reports for publication. A round-robin technique gives the university team editorial commentary from both language and technical specialists; the senior editor from LaRC supervises reports through final publication. To date, the system has provided LaRC with a respectable product and university students with valuable on-the-job training.

  9. Technical Assistance and Training from the Document Design Project. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC.

    Contained in this report is a description of the technical assistance and training phase of the Document Design Project, a program funded by the National Institute of Education and intended to address and correct the readability problems posed by public documents. The first section of the report provides background material on the assistance and…

  10. Final Technical Report for Award DESC0011912, "Trimodal Tapping Mode Atomic Force Microscopy: Simultaneous 4D Mapping of Conservative and Dissipative Probe-Sample Interactions of Energy-Relevant Materials”

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

    Solares, Santiago D.

    The final project report covering the period 7/1/14-6/30/17 provides an overview of the technical accomplishments in the areas of (i) fundamental viscoelasticity, (ii) multifrequency atomic force microscopy, and (iii) characterization of energy-relevant materials with atomic force microscopy. A list of publications supported by the project is also provided.

  11. The role of non-technical skills in surgery

    PubMed Central

    Agha, Riaz A.; Fowler, Alexander J.; Sevdalis, Nick

    2015-01-01

    Non-technical skills are of increasing importance in surgery and surgical training. A traditional focus on technical skills acquisition and competence is no longer enough for the delivery of a modern, safe surgical practice. This review discusses the importance of non-technical skills and the values that underpin successful modern surgical practice. This narrative review used a number of sources including written and online, there was no specific search strategy of defined databases. Modern surgical practice requires; technical and non-technical skills, evidence-based practice, an emphasis on lifelong learning, monitoring of outcomes and a supportive institutional and health service framework. Finally these requirements need to be combined with a number of personal and professional values including integrity, professionalism and compassionate, patient-centred care. PMID:26904193

  12. A Study of Relationships among Technical, Tactical, Physical Parameters and Final Outcomes in Elite Soccer Matches as Analyzed by a Semiautomatic Video Tracking System.

    PubMed

    Filetti, Cristoforo; Ruscello, Bruno; D'Ottavio, Stefano; Fanelli, Vito

    2017-06-01

    The performance of a soccer team depends on many factors such as decision-making, cognitive and physical skills, and dynamic ever-changing space-time interactions between teammate and opponents in relation to the ball. Seventy ( n = 70) matches of the Italian SERIE A season 2013-2014 were investigated to analyze the mean performance of 360 players in terms of physical (physical efficiency index; PEI) and technical-tactical (technical efficiency index; TEI) standpoints. Using a semiautomatic video analysis system that has incorporated new parameters able to measure technical-tactical and physical efficiency (Patent IB2010/002593, 2011-ISA), the correlation between these new variables and how much it relates to the likelihood of winning were verified. Correlations between TEI and PEI were significant ( n = 140, r = .60, p < .001), and TEI showed a higher likelihood of winning than PEI factors ( p < .0001 vs. .0001, CI 95% [1.64, 3.00] vs. [1.28, 2.07]). Higher TEI and TEI + PEI differences between the teams were associated with a greater likelihood of winning, but PEI differences were not. Key performance indicators and this performance assessment method might be useful to better understand what determines winning and to assist the overall training process and match management.

  13. Scalable data management, analysis and visualization (SDAV) Institute. Final Scientific/Technical Report

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

    Geveci, Berk

    The purpose of the SDAV institute is to provide tools and expertise in scientific data management, analysis, and visualization to DOE’s application scientists. Our goal is to actively work with application teams to assist them in achieving breakthrough science, and to provide technical solutions in the data management, analysis, and visualization regimes that are broadly used by the computational science community. Over the last 5 years members of our institute worked directly with application scientists and DOE leadership-class facilities to assist them by applying the best tools and technologies at our disposal. We also enhanced our tools based on inputmore » from scientists on their needs. Many of the applications we have been working with are based on connections with scientists established in previous years. However, we contacted additional scientists though our outreach activities, as well as engaging application teams running on leading DOE computing systems. Our approach is to employ an evolutionary development and deployment process: first considering the application of existing tools, followed by the customization necessary for each particular application, and then the deployment in real frameworks and infrastructures. The institute is organized into three areas, each with area leaders, who keep track of progress, engagement of application scientists, and results. The areas are: (1) Data Management, (2) Data Analysis, and (3) Visualization. Kitware has been involved in the Visualization area. This report covers Kitware’s contributions over the last 5 years (February 2012 – February 2017). For details on the work performed by the SDAV institute as a whole, please see the SDAV final report.« less

  14. Final Scientific Technical Report Crowder College MARET Center

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

    Boyt, Art; Eberle, Dan; Hudson, Pam

    validating new applications of solar and other renewable technologies, the MARET Facility will house a wide variety of programs which will advance implementation of renewable energy throughout the region. These program goals include; Curriculum in renewable energy for pre-engineering transfer programs; Certification and degree programs for technical degrees for Energy Efficiency, Wind, Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal professionals; Short courses and workshops for building management and design professionals; Public education and demonstration projects in renewable energy through conferences and K-12 educational outreach; Technical degree offering in building construction incorporating “best practices” for energy efficiency and renewables; and Business incubators for new renewable energy businesses and new product development The new MARET facility will support the mission of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Program, “to improve America’s security, environmental quality, and economic prosperity through public-private partnerships that bring reliable and affordable solar energy technologies to the marketplace,” through a variety of educational and business assistance programs. Further, technical innovations planned for the MARET facility and its applied research activities will advance the Solar Program strategic goals to “reduce the cost of solar energy to the point it becomes competitive in relevant energy markets (e.g., buildings, power plants) and for solar technology to enable a sustainable solar industry.” Overarching Goals relative to program needs, future expansion, flexibility, quality of materials, and construction and operational costs:; Experimental: The structure and systems of the building operate as an educational resource. The systems are meant to be a source for data collection and study for building users and instructors; Educational: Part of the evolution of this building and its ongoing goals is to use the building as an educational tool

  15. Astrobee Periodic Technical Review (PTR) Delta 3

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Provencher, Christopher; Smith, Marion F.; Smith, Ernest Everett; Bualat, Maria Gabriele; Barlow, Jonathan Spencer

    2017-01-01

    Astrobee is a free flying robot for the inside of the International Space Station (ISS). The Periodic Technical Review (PTR) delta 3 is the final design review of the system presented to stakeholders.

  16. 2005 v4.2 Technical Support Document

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Technical Support Document for the Final Transport Rule describes how updated 2005 NEI, version 2 emissions and were processed for air quality modeling in support of the Cross-state Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR).

  17. Final Technical Report for subcontract number B612144

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

    Mayali, X.; Marcu, O.

    The original statement of work stipulated that the Subcontractor shall perform bacterial and algal cultivation and manipulation, microbe isolation, preparation of samples for sequencing and isotopic analysis, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. The Subcontractor shall work closely with Dr. Mayali and other LLNL scientists, and shall participate in monthly SFA meetings (either in person or by telephone). The Subcontractor shall deliver a final report at the conclusion of the work.

  18. Assessing neurosurgical non-technical skills: an exploratory study of a new behavioural marker system.

    PubMed

    Michinov, Estelle; Jamet, Eric; Dodeler, Virginie; Haegelen, Claire; Jannin, Pierre

    2014-10-01

    The management of non-technical skills is a major factor affecting teamwork quality and patient safety. This article presents a behavioural marker system for assessing neurosurgical non-technical skills (BMS-NNTS). We tested the BMS during deep brain stimulation surgery. We developed the BMS in three stages. First, we drew up a provisional assessment tool based on the literature and observation tools developed for other surgical specialties. We then analysed videos made in an operating room (OR) during deep brain stimulation operations in order to ensure there were no significant omissions from the skills list. Finally, we used five videos of operations to identify the behavioural markers of non-technical skills in verbal communications. Analyses of more than six hours of observations revealed 3515 behaviours from which we determined the neurosurgeon's non-technical skills behaviour pattern. The neurosurgeon frequently engaged in explicit coordination, situation awareness and leadership behaviours. In addition, the neurosurgeon's behaviours differed according to the stage of the operation and the OR staff members with whom she was communicating. Our behavioural marker system provides a structured approach to assessing non-technical skills in the field of neurosurgery. It can also be transferred to other surgical specialties and used in surgeon training curricula. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Final Technical Report for Years 1-4 of the Early Career Research Project "Viscosity and equation of state of hot and dense QCD matter" - ARRA portion

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

    Molnar, Denes

    2014-04-14

    The Section below summarizes research activities and achievements during the first four years of the PI’s Early Career Research Project (ECRP). Two main areas have been advanced: i) radiative 3 ↔ 2 radiative transport, via development of a new computer code MPC/Grid that solves the Boltzmann transport equation in full 6+1D (3X+3V+time) on both single-CPU and parallel computers; ii) development of a self-consistent framework to convert viscous fluids to particles, and application of this framework to relativistic heavy-ion collisions, in particular, determination of the shear viscosity. Year 5 of the ECRP is under a separate award number, and therefore itmore » has its own report document ’Final Technical Report for Year 5 of the Early Career Research Project “Viscosity and equation of state of hot and dense QCDmatter”’ (award DE-SC0008028). The PI’s group was also part of the DOE JET Topical Collaboration, a multi-institution project that overlapped in time significantly with the ECRP. Purdue achievements as part of the JET Topical Collaboration are in a separate report “Final Technical Report summarizing Purdue research activities as part of the DOE JET Topical Collaboration” (award DE-SC0004077).« less

  20. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2): Final Rule Additional Resources

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The final rule of fuels and fuel additives: renewable fuel standard program is published on March 26, 2010 and is effective on July 1, 2010. You will find the links to this final rule and technical amendments supporting this rule.

  1. Human Factors and Ergonomics for the Dental Profession.

    PubMed

    Ross, Al

    2016-09-01

    This paper proposes that the science of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) is suitable for wide application in dental education, training and practice to improve safety, quality and efficiency. Three areas of interest are highlighted. First it is proposed that individual and team Non-Technical Skills (NTS), such as communication, leadership and stress management can improve error rates and efficiency of procedures. Secondly, in a physically and technically challenging environment, staff can benefit from ergonomic principles which examine design in supporting safe work. Finally, examination of organizational human factors can help anticipate stressors and plan for flexible responses to multiple, variable demands, and fluctuating resources. Clinical relevance: HFE is an evidence-based approach to reducing error rates and procedural complications, and avoiding problems associated with stress and fatigue. Improved teamwork and organizational planning and efficiency can impact directly on patient outcomes.

  2. Promotion of the Equal Access of Girls and Women to Technical and Vocational Education. Studies on Technical and Vocational Education 7.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France).

    This monograph includes the final report of the International Expert Meeting on the Promotion of Equal Access of Girls and Women to Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, and country discussion papers. The final report is composed of an introduction that proposes that many Member States require special measures…

  3. Seminar for Preparation of Professional Personnel for Vocational-Technical Education. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dillon, Roy D.; Horner, James T.

    Seminar participants included college administrative officers, state vocational education directors, vocational-technical teacher educators, and Office of Education staff. The purpose of the June, 1968 seminar was to consider strategies for resolving critical vocational education personnel supply and demand problems. Presentations included in the…

  4. Technical assessment of maglev system concepts. Final report

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

    Lever, J.H.

    1998-10-01

    The Government Maglev System Assessment Team operated from 1991 to 1993 as part of the National Maglev Initiative. They assessed the technical viability of four US Maglev system concepts, using the French TGV high speed train and the German TR07 Maglev system as assessment baselines. Maglev in general offers advantages that include high speed potential, excellent system control, high capacity, low energy consumption, low maintenance, modest land requirements, low operating costs, and ability to meet a variety of transportation missions. Further, the US Maglev concepts could provide superior performance to TR07 for similar cost or similar performance for less cost.more » They also could achieve both lower trip times and lower energy consumption along typical US routes. These advantages result generally from the use of large gap magnetic suspensions, more powerful linear synchronous motors and tilting vehicles. Innovative concepts for motors, guideways, suspension, and superconducting magnets all contribute to a potential for superior long term performance of US Maglev systems compared with TGV and TR07.« less

  5. Control technology appendices for pollution control technical manuals. Final report, June 1982-February 1983

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

    Not Available

    1983-04-01

    The document is one of six technical handbooks prepared by EPA to help government officials granting permits to build synfuels facilities, synfuels process developers, and other interested parties. They provide technical data on waste streams from synfuels facilities and technologies capable of controlling them. Process technologies covered in the manuals include coal gasification, coal liquefaction by direct and idirect processing, and the extraction of oil from shale. The manuals offer no regulatory guidance, allowing the industry flexibility in deciding how best to comply with environmental regulations.

  6. Assurance Penalty Level Analysis Final Rule TSD

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This Technical Support Document (TSD) supports EPA’s determination that the final Transport Rule’s assurance provision penalty requirement provides sufficient deterrence against a state exceeding its assurance level.

  7. Final Technical Report - SciDAC Cooperative Agreement: Center for Wave Interactions with Magnetohydrodynamics

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

    Schnack, Dalton D.

    Final technical report for research performed by Dr. Thomas G. Jenkins in collaboration with Professor Dalton D. Schnack on SciDAC Cooperative Agreement: Center for Wave Interactions with Magnetohydrodyanics, DE-FC02-06ER54899, for the period of 8/15/06 - 8/14/11. This report centers on the Slow MHD physics campaign work performed by Dr. Jenkins while at UW-Madison and then at Tech-X Corporation. To make progress on the problem of RF induced currents affect magnetic island evolution in toroidal plasmas, a set of research approaches are outlined. Three approaches can be addressed in parallel. These are: (1) Analytically prescribed additional term in Ohm's law tomore » model the effect of localized ECCD current drive; (2) Introduce an additional evolution equation for the Ohm's law source term. Establish a RF source 'box' where information from the RF code couples to the fluid evolution; and (3) Carry out a more rigorous analytic calculation treating the additional RF terms in a closure problem. These approaches rely on the necessity of reinvigorating the computation modeling efforts of resistive and neoclassical tearing modes with present day versions of the numerical tools. For the RF community, the relevant action item is - RF ray tracing codes need to be modified so that general three-dimensional spatial information can be obtained. Further, interface efforts between the two codes require work as well as an assessment as to the numerical stability properties of the procedures to be used.« less

  8. Direct Final Rule for Technical Amendments for Marine Spark-Ignition Engines and Vessels

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Rule published September 16, 2010 to make technical amendments to the design standard for portable marine fuel tanks. This rule incorporates safe recommended practices, developed through industry consensus.

  9. Technical efficiency of selected hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia.

    PubMed

    Ali, Murad; Debela, Megersa; Bamud, Tewfik

    2017-12-01

    This study examines the relative technical efficiency of 12 hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia. Using six-year-round panel data for the period between 2007/08 and 2012/13, this study examines the technical efficiency, total factor productivity, and determinants of the technical inefficiency of hospitals. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and DEA- based Malmquist productivity index used to estimate relative technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and total factor productivity index of hospitals. Tobit model used to examine the determinants of the technical inefficiency of hospitals. The DEA Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) estimate indicated that 6 (50%), 5 (42%), 3 (25%), 3 (25%), 4 (33%), and 3 (25%) of the hospitals were technically inefficient while 9 (75%), 9 (75%), 7 (58%), 7 (58%), 7 (58%) and 8 (67%) of hospitals were scale inefficient between 2007/08 and 2012/13, respectively. On average, Malmquist Total Factor Productivity (MTFP) of the hospitals decreased by 3.6% over the panel period. The Tobit model shows that teaching hospital is less efficiency than other hospitals. The Tobit regression model further shows that medical doctor to total staff ratio, the proportion of outpatient visit to inpatient days, and the proportion of inpatients treated per medical doctor were negatively related with technical inefficiency of hospitals. Hence, policy interventions that help utilize excess capacity of hospitals, increase doctor to other staff ratio, and standardize number of inpatients treated per doctor would contribute to the improvement of the technical efficiency of hospitals.

  10. Final Technical Report: "Achieving Regional Energy Efficiency Potential in the Southeast”

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

    Mahoney, Mandy

    The overall objective of this award was to facilitate sharing of DOE resources and best practices as well as provide technical assistance to key stakeholders to support greater compliance with energy efficiency standards and increased energy savings. The outcomes of this award include greater awareness among key stakeholders on energy efficiency topics, increased deployment and utilization of DOE resources, and effective policies and programs to support energy efficiency in the Southeast.

  11. Evaluation of Flight Attendant Technical Knowledge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dunbar, Melisa G.; Chute, Rebecca D.; Rosekind, Mark (Technical Monitor)

    1997-01-01

    Accident and incident reports have indicated that flight attendants have numerous opportunities to provide the flight-deck crew with operational information that may prevent or lessen the severity of a potential problem. Additionally, as carrier fleets transition from three person to two person flight-deck crews, the reliance upon the cabin crew for the transfer of this information may increase further. Recent research indicates that flight attendants do not feel confident in their ability to describe mechanical parts or malfunctions of the aircraft, and the lack of flight attendant technical training has been referenced in a number of recent reports. Chute and Wiener describe five factors which may produce communication barriers between cockpit and cabin crews: the historical background of aviation, the physical separation of the two crews, psychosocial issues, regulatory factors, and organizational factors. By examining these areas of division we can identify possible bridges and address the implications of deficient cockpit/cabin communication on flight safety. Flight attendant operational knowledge may provide some mitigation of these barriers. The present study explored both flight attendant technical knowledge and flight attendant and pilot expectations of flight attendant technical knowledge. To assess the technical knowledge of cabin crewmembers, 177 current flight attendants from two U.S. carriers voluntarily completed a 13-item technical quiz. To investigate expectations of flight attendant technical knowledge, 181 pilots and a second sample of 96 flight attendants, from the same two airlines, completed surveys designed to capture each group's expectations of operational knowledge required of flight attendants. Analyses revealed several discrepancies between the present level of flight attendant operational knowledge and pilots' and flight attendants' expected and desired levels of technical knowledge. Implications for training will be discussed.

  12. Health Facility Graduation from Donor-Supported Intensive Technical Assistance and Associated Factors in Zambia.

    PubMed

    Koni, Phillip; Chishinga, Nathaniel; Nyirenda, Lameck; Kasonde, Prisca; Nsakanya, Richard; Welsh, Michael

    2015-01-01

    The FHI360-led Zambia Prevention Care and Treatment partnership II (ZPCT II) with funding from United States Agency for International Development, supports the Zambian Ministry of Health in scaling up HIV/AIDS services. To improve the quality of HIV/AIDS services, ZPCT II provides technical assistance until desired standards are met and districts are weaned-off intensive technical support, a process referred to as district graduation. This study describes the graduation process and determines performance domains associated with district graduation. Data were collected from 275 health facilities in 39 districts in 5 provinces of Zambia between 2008 and 2012. Performance in technical capacity, commodity management, data management and human resources domains were assessed in the following services areas: HIV counselling and testing and prevention of mother to child transmission, antiretroviral therapy/clinical care, pharmacy and laboratory. The overall mean percentage score was calculated by obtaining the mean of mean percentage scores for the four domains. Logistic regression models were used to obtain odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the domain mean percentage scores in graduated versus non-graduated districts; according to rural-urban, and province strata. 24 districts out of 39 graduated from intensive donor supported technical assistance while 15 districts did not graduate. The overall mean percentage score for all four domains was statistically significantly higher in graduated than non-graduated districts (93.2% versus 91.2%, OR = 1.34, 95%CI:1.20-1.49); including rural settings (92.4% versus 89.4%, OR = 1.43,95%CI:1.24-1.65). The mean percentage score in human resource domain was statistically significantly higher in graduated than non-graduated districts (93.6% versus 71.6%, OR = 5.81, 95%CI: 4.29-7.86) and in both rural and urban settings. QA/QI tools can be used to assess performance at health facilities and determine readiness for

  13. Health Facility Graduation from Donor-Supported Intensive Technical Assistance and Associated Factors in Zambia

    PubMed Central

    Koni, Phillip; Chishinga, Nathaniel; Nyirenda, Lameck; Kasonde, Prisca; Nsakanya, Richard; Welsh, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Introduction The FHI360-led Zambia Prevention Care and Treatment partnership II (ZPCT II) with funding from United States Agency for International Development, supports the Zambian Ministry of Health in scaling up HIV/AIDS services. To improve the quality of HIV/AIDS services, ZPCT II provides technical assistance until desired standards are met and districts are weaned-off intensive technical support, a process referred to as district graduation. This study describes the graduation process and determines performance domains associated with district graduation. Methods Data were collected from 275 health facilities in 39 districts in 5 provinces of Zambia between 2008 and 2012. Performance in technical capacity, commodity management, data management and human resources domains were assessed in the following services areas: HIV counselling and testing and prevention of mother to child transmission, antiretroviral therapy/clinical care, pharmacy and laboratory. The overall mean percentage score was calculated by obtaining the mean of mean percentage scores for the four domains. Logistic regression models were used to obtain odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the domain mean percentage scores in graduated versus non-graduated districts; according to rural-urban, and province strata. Results 24 districts out of 39 graduated from intensive donor supported technical assistance while 15 districts did not graduate. The overall mean percentage score for all four domains was statistically significantly higher in graduated than non-graduated districts (93.2% versus 91.2%, OR = 1.34, 95%CI:1.20–1.49); including rural settings (92.4% versus 89.4%, OR = 1.43,95%CI:1.24–1.65). The mean percentage score in human resource domain was statistically significantly higher in graduated than non-graduated districts (93.6% versus 71.6%, OR = 5.81, 95%CI: 4.29–7.86) and in both rural and urban settings. Conclusions QA/QI tools can be used to assess performance at

  14. Statewide Curriculum Articulation Project for Vocational-Technical Education in Minnesota. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burger, Laura J.; And Others

    The goal of this project was to develop, validate, and utilize a process for vertically articulating curriculum between secondary and post secondary levels of vocational technical education throughout the state of Minnesota. Procedures involved the identification of two areas of staff responsibility: research and development, and service to local…

  15. Charlotte Circle Outreach. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Calhoun, Mary Lynne; Rose, Terry L.; Prendergast, Donna

    This final report details the activities of the Charlotte Circle Outreach, a program designed to provide technical assistance and training to early intervention programs offering services to infants and young children with substantial disabilities, ages birth through two years. This mission was accomplished through cooperative planning with…

  16. Spatial abilities and technical skills performance in health care: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Langlois, Jean; Bellemare, Christian; Toulouse, Josée; Wells, George A

    2015-11-01

    The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between spatial abilities and technical skills performance in health care in beginners and to compare this relationship with those in intermediate and autonomous learners. Search criteria included 'spatial abilities' and 'technical skills'. Keywords related to these criteria were defined. A literature search was conducted to 20 December, 2013 in Scopus (including MEDLINE) and in several databases on EBSCOhost platforms (CINAHL Plus with Full Text, ERIC, Education Source and PsycINFO). Citations were obtained and reviewed by two independent reviewers. Articles related to retained citations were reviewed and a final list of eligible articles was determined. Articles were assessed for quality using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network-50 assessment instrument. Data were extracted from articles in a systematic way. Correlations between spatial abilities test scores and technical skills performance were identified. A series of 8289 citations was obtained. Eighty articles were retained and fully reviewed, yielding 36 eligible articles. The systematic review found a tendency for spatial abilities to be negatively correlated with the duration of technical skills and positively correlated with the quality of technical skills performance in beginners and intermediate learners. Pooled correlations of studies were -0.46 (p = 0.03) and -0.38 (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.53 to -0.21) for duration and 0.33 (95% CI 0.20-0.44) and 0.41 (95% CI 0.26-0.54) for quality of technical skills performance in beginners and intermediate learners, respectively. However, correlations between spatial abilities test scores and technical skills performance were not statistically significant in autonomous learners. Spatial abilities are an important factor to consider in selecting and training individuals in technical skills in health care. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bio-Products Final Technical Report

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

    Olivares, Jose A.; Baxter, Ivan; Brown, Judith

    2014-09-30

    The main objective of NAABB was to combine science, technology, and engineering expertise from across the nation to break down critical technical barriers to commercialization of algae-based biofuels. The approach was to address technology development across the entire value chain of algal biofuels production, from selection of strains to cultivation, harvesting, extraction, fuel conversion, and agricultural coproduct production. Sustainable practices and financial feasibility assessments ununderscored the approach and drove the technology development.

  18. Advanced Transportation System Studies Technical Area 2 (TA-2) Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle Development Contract. Volume 2; Technical Results

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1995-01-01

    The purpose of the Advanced Transportation System Studies (ATSS) Technical Area 2 (TA-2) Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle Development contract was to provide advanced launch vehicle concept definition and analysis to assist NASA in the identification of future launch vehicle requirements. Contracted analysis activities included vehicle sizing and performance analysis, subsystem concept definition, propulsion subsystem definition (foreign and domestic), ground operations and facilities analysis, and life cycle cost estimation. This document is Volume 2 of the final report for the contract. It provides documentation of selected technical results from various TA-2 analysis activities, including a detailed narrative description of the SSTO concept assessment results, a user's guide for the associated SSTO sizing tools, an SSTO turnaround assessment report, an executive summary of the ground operations assessments performed during the first year of the contract, a configuration-independent vehicle health management system requirements report, a copy of all major TA-2 contract presentations, a copy of the FLO launch vehicle final report, and references to Pratt & Whitney's TA-2 sponsored final reports regarding the identification of Russian main propulsion technologies.

  19. WindWaveFloat (WWF): Final Scientific Report

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

    Alla Weinstein; Roddier, Dominique; Banister, Kevin

    2012-03-30

    Principle Power Inc. and National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) have completed a contract to assess the technical and economic feasibility of integrating wave energy converters into the WindFloat, resulting in a new concept called the WindWaveFloat (WWF). The concentration of several devices on one platform could offer a potential for both economic and operational advantages. Wind and wave energy converters can share the electrical cable and power transfer equipment to transport the electricity to shore. Access to multiple generation devices could be simplified, resulting in cost saving at the operational level. Overall capital costs may also be reduced, provided thatmore » the design of the foundation can be adapted to multiple devices with minimum modifications. Finally, the WindWaveFloat confers the ability to increase energy production from individual floating support structures, potentially leading to a reduction in levelized energy costs, an increase in the overall capacity factor, and greater stability of the electrical power delivered to the grid. The research conducted under this grant investigated the integration of several wave energy device types into the WindFloat platform. Several of the resulting system designs demonstrated technical feasibility, but the size and design constraints of the wave energy converters (technical and economic) make the WindWaveFloat concept economically unfeasible at this time. Not enough additional generation could be produced to make the additional expense associated with wave energy conversion integration into the WindFloat worthwhile.« less

  20. 75 FR 48273 - Technical Service Provider Assistance

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service 7 CFR Part 652 RIN 0578-AA48 Technical Service Provider Assistance AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. ACTION: Final rule; Correcting amendment. SUMMARY: The Natural Resources...

  1. Social Science Research Institutes in the Quality American University. Final Technical Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Totman, Theodore L.

    The technical report presents a chapter outline and thesis summary of an investigation of social science research institutes in American universities. The bulk of the report presents the thesis in four sections. Section I proposes a typology of organized social research units (OSRUs) in the 11 universities studied. Dimensions used to classify the…

  2. Renewable Fuel Standard Program (RFS1): Final Rule Additional Resources

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The final rule of fuels and fuel additives: renewable fuel standard program is published on May 1, 2007 and is effective on September 1, 2007. You will find the links to this final rule and technical amendments supporting this rule.

  3. Emerging from Resistance: The Origins of the Virginia Technical College System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hodges, Richard Allen

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore factors leading to the founding of the Virginia Technical College System (VTCS). These factors are observed primarily within the timeframe of 1954-1966. The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) evolved from the Technical College System, and began in 1964. Classes started at the first technical colleges…

  4. Technical writing versus technical writing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dillingham, J. W.

    1981-01-01

    Two terms, two job categories, 'technical writer' and 'technical author' are discussed in terms of industrial and business requirements and standards. A distinction between 'technical writing' and technical 'writing' is made. The term 'technical editor' is also considered. Problems inherent in the design of programs to prepare and train students for these jobs are discussed. A closer alliance between industry and academia is suggested as a means of preparing students with competent technical communication skills (especially writing and editing skills) and good technical skills.

  5. State Compensatory Education. Final Technical Report 1975-76. Appendixes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Austin Independent School District, TX. Office of Research and Evaluation.

    This material consists of ten appendixes to the Final Report for 1976-77 on the implementation of the Texas state-supported compensatory education program in the Austin Independent School District as evaluated by that district's Office of Research and Evaluation. The instruments used in the evaluation process are described or presented in full,…

  6. 77 FR 18716 - Transportation Security Administration Postal Zip Code Change; Technical Amendment

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-28

    ... organizational changes and it has no substantive effect on the public. DATES: Effective March 28, 2012. FOR... No. 1572-9] Transportation Security Administration Postal Zip Code Change; Technical Amendment AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This rule is a technical change to...

  7. TEAM TRAINING. FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT FEBRUARY 1966-FEBRUARY 1967.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    BRIGGS, GEORGE E.; JOHNSTON, WILLIAM A.

    THIS IS THE FINAL REPORT ON A FOUR-YEAR PROGRAM OF LABORATORY RESEARCH ON TEAM TRAINING IN A COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER (CIC) CONTEXT. THE RESEARCH LITERATURE ON TEAM TRAINING IS REVIEWED, AND A SET OF CONCLUSIONS IS DRAWN WITH REGARD TO TEAM PERFORMANCE AS A FUNCTION OF TASK, TRAINING, AND COMMUNICATIONS VARIABLES. IN ADDITION, THE IMPLICATIONS…

  8. Factors influencing private health providers' technical quality of care for acute respiratory infections among under-five children in rural West Bengal, India.

    PubMed

    Chakraborty, Sarbani; Frick, Kevin

    2002-11-01

    In many developing countries, private health practitioners provide a significant portion of curative care for diseases which are of public health importance. Currently, health sector reform efforts in these countries are fostering increased participation of private providers in the delivery of health services, including those of public health importance. Guaranteeing good technical quality of care is critical to the process. However, little is known about private providers' technical quality of care (disease management practices) and the factors influencing these services. The purpose of this study was to contribute information on this topic. The study was conducted among private providers in rural West Bengal, India and focused on providers' disease management practices for acute respiratory infections (ARI) among under-five children. World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for ARI case management were used as the expected standard of care. Observations of patient-provider encounters and interviews with the providers and mothers were the main sources of data. The study found that private health providers in rural West Bengal have inadequate technical quality of care. The problem was related both to low levels of performance (limited potential) and inconsistency in performance (within-provider variation). Limited potential for good technical quality for ARI among the providers was related to lack of knowledge (technical incompetence). One of the important factors influencing within-provider variation was patient load. Since rural private providers operate on a fee-for-service payment system, there are incentives related to seeing many patients. The study concluded that to bring about sustainable improvements in private providers' ARI disease management practices, training programs and interventions that improved compliance were necessary.

  9. Dissemination of Continuing Education Materials Via Television Delivery Systems. Final Technical Report and Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Munushian, Jack

    In 1972, the University of Southern California School of Engineering established a 4-channel interactive instructional television network. It was designed to allow employees of participating industries to take regular university science and engineering courses and special continuing education courses at or near their work locations. Final progress…

  10. Illinois Clean Coal Institute 2005 annual report. Final technical report for the period September 1st, 2004, through August 31, 2005 on projects funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

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

    NONE

    2005-11-08

    This final technical report contains the abstracts and executive summaries of projects funded through the Illinois Clean Coal Institute solicitation entitled 'Request for proposals No. 04-1(ICCI/RFP04-1)'. Support of these projects is by the Office of Coal Development and Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The projects fall into the following categories: advanced coal mining technologies; coal preparation and coal production business practice; management of coal combustion byproducts; commercialization and technology transfer. Final project extensions are also recorded.

  11. SeaWiFS Technical Report Series. Volume 43; SeaWiFS Prelaunch Technical Report Series Final Cumulative Index

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Firestone, Elaine R. (Editor); Hooker, Stanford B.

    1998-01-01

    The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) is the follow-on ocean color instrument to the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS), which ceased operations in 1986, after an eight-year mission. SeaWiFS was launched on 1 August 1997, on the SeaStar satellite, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC). The SeaWiFS Project at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), undertook the responsibility of documenting all aspects of this mission, which is critical to the ocean color and marine science communities. This documentation, entitled the SeaWiFS Technical Report Series, is in the form of NASA Technical Memorandum Number 104566 and 1998-104566. All reports published are volumes within the series. This particular volume, which is the last of the so-called Prelaunch Series serves as a reference, or guidebook, to the previous 42 volumes and consists of 6 sections including: an addenda, an errata, an index to key words and phrases, lists of acronyms and symbols used, and a list of all references cited. The editors have published a cumulative index of this type after every five volumes. Each index covers the reference topics published in all previous editions, that is, each new index includes all of the information contained in the preceding indexes with the exception of any addenda.

  12. A Human Factors Analysis of Technical and Team Skills Among Surgical Trainees During Procedural Simulations in a Simulated Operating Theatre

    PubMed Central

    Moorthy, Krishna; Munz, Yaron; Adams, Sally; Pandey, Vikas; Darzi, Ara

    2005-01-01

    Background: High-risk organizations such as aviation rely on simulations for the training and assessment of technical and team performance. The aim of this study was to develop a simulated environment for surgical trainees using similar principles. Methods: A total of 27 surgical trainees carried out a simulated procedure in a Simulated Operating Theatre with a standardized OR team. Observation of OR events was carried out by an unobtrusive data collection system: clinical data recorder. Assessment of performance consisted of blinded rating of technical skills, a checklist of technical events, an assessment of communication, and a global rating of team skills by a human factors expert and trained surgical research fellows. The participants underwent a debriefing session, and the face validity of the simulated environment was evaluated. Results: While technical skills rating discriminated between surgeons according to experience (P = 0.002), there were no differences in terms of the checklist and team skills (P = 0.70). While all trainees were observed to gown/glove and handle sharps correctly, low scores were observed for some key features of communication with other team members. Low scores were obtained by the entire cohort for vigilance. Interobserver reliability was 0.90 and 0.89 for technical and team skills ratings. Conclusions: The simulated operating theatre could serve as an environment for the development of surgical competence among surgical trainees. Objective, structured, and multimodal assessment of performance during simulated procedures could serve as a basis for focused feedback during training of technical and team skills. PMID:16244534

  13. Description of the supporting factors of final project in Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty of Syiah Kuala University with multiple correspondence analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rusyana, Asep; Nurhasanah; Maulizasari

    2018-05-01

    Syiah Kuala University (Unsyiah) is hoped to have graduates who are qualified for working or creating a field of work. A final project course implementation process must be effective. This research uses data from the evaluation conducted by Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty (FMIPA) of Unsyiah. Some of the factors that support the completion of the final project are duration, guidance, the final project seminars, facility, public impact, and quality. This research aims to know the factors that have a relationship with the completion of the final project and identify similarities among variables. The factors that support the completion of the final project at every study program in FMIPA are (1) duration, (2) guidance and (3) facilities. These factors are examined for the correlations by chi-square test. After that, the variables are analyzed with multiple correspondence analysis. Based on the plot of correspondence, the activities of the guidance and facilities in Informatics Study Program are included in the fair category, while the guidance and facilities in the Chemistry are included in the best category. Besides that, students in Physics can finish the final project with the fastest completion duration, while students in Pharmacy finish for the longest time.

  14. Conjugated ionomers for photovoltaic applications: electric field driven charge separation in organic photovoltaics. Final Technical report

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

    Lonergan, Mark

    Final technical report for Conjugated ionomers for photovoltaic applications, electric field driven charge separation in organic photovoltaics. The central goal of the work we completed was been to understand the photochemical and photovoltaic properties of ionically functionalized conjugated polymers (conjugated ionomers or polyelectrolytes) and energy conversion systems based on them. We primarily studied two classes of conjugated polymer interfaces that we developed based either upon undoped conjugated polymers with an asymmetry in ionic composition (the ionic junction) or doped conjugated polymers with an asymmetry in doping type (the p-n junction). The materials used for these studies have primarily been themore » polyacetylene ionomers. We completed a detailed study of p-n junctions with systematically varying dopant density, photochemical creation of doped junctions, and experimental and theoretical work on charge transport and injection in polyacetylene ionomers. We have also completed related work on the use of conjugated ionomers as interlayers that improve the efficiency or organic photovoltaic systems and studied several important aspects of the chemistry of ionically functionalized semiconductors, including mechanisms of so-called "anion-doping", the formation of charge transfer complexes with oxygen, and the synthesis of new polyfluorene polyelectrolytes. We also worked worked with the Haley group at the University of Oregon on new indenofluorene-based organic acceptors.« less

  15. Self-management support by final year nursing students: A correlational study of performance and person-related associated factors.

    PubMed

    Duprez, Veerle; Beeckman, Dimitri; Verhaeghe, Sofie; Van Hecke, Ann

    2017-09-01

    Chronic conditions put a heavy burden on healthcare in every country. Supporting persons with a chronic illness to take an active role in the management of their condition is a core component in the Chronic Care Model. It implies confidence and good skills from professionals. To date, there is no evidence on final year nursing students' performance in supporting patients' self-management, nor on factors associated with this performance. To explore self-reported performance of supporting patients' self-management by final year nursing students, and person-related factors associated with this performance. A correlational multi-centre study of final year nursing students (N=256) from eight nursing schools. Students were recruited from a convenience sample of eight nursing schools. All final year students were invited to participate. Data were collected between January 2015 and May 2016 using self-administered validated questionnaires. Theoretical behavioural frameworks were used to select hypothesized associated factors for self-management support: self-efficacy to perform self-management support and socio-structural factors (Social Cognitive Theory); needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, and patient-invested contingent self-esteem (Self-Determination Theory); and attitudes towards supporting patients' self-management (Theory of Planned Behaviour). Final year nursing students (N=256) reported an overall low level of performance in delivering self-management support during internship. Students lacked mainly competencies in collaborative goal setting and shared decision making. Students reported a significant gap between their confidence and their actual performance in self-management support (p<0.001). About 33% of the variance in students' performance is predicted by four person-related factors, i.e. self-efficacy to perform self-management support, general feeling of competency on internship, belief on patients' knowledge about condition management, and

  16. Santa Barbara Final Technical Report

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

    Hacker, Angela; Hansen, Sherman; Watkins, Ashley

    2013-11-30

    This report serves as the Final Report for Santa Barbara County’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) BetterBuildings Neighborhood Program (BBNP) award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This report explains how DOE BBNP funding was invested to develop robust program infrastructure designed to help property owners complete energy improvements, thereby generating substantial outcomes for the local environment and economy. It provides an overview of program development and design within the grant period, program accomplishments and challenges to date, and a plan for the future sustainability of emPower, the County’s innovative clean energy and building efficiency program. Duringmore » the grant period, Santa Barbara County’s emPower program primarily targeted 32,000 owner occupied, single family, detached residential homes over 25 years old within the County. In order to help these homeowners and their contractors overcome market barriers to completing residential energy improvements, the program developed and promoted six voluntary, market-based service areas: 1) low cost residential financing (loan loss reserve with two local credit unions), 2) residential rebates, 3) local customer service, 4) expert energy advising, 5) workforce development and training, and 6) marketing, education and outreach. The main goals of the program were to lower building energy use, create jobs and develop a lasting regional building performance market. These services have generated important early outcomes and lessons after the program’s first two years in service. The DOE BBNP funding was extended through October 2014 to enable Santa Barbara County to generate continued outcomes. In fact, funding related to residential financing remains wholly available for the foreseeable future to continue offering Home Upgrade Loans to approximately 1,300 homeowners. The County’s investment of DOE BBNP funding was used to build a lasting, effective, and

  17. 45 CFR 2522.470 - What other factors or information may the Corporation consider in making final funding decisions?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... information may the Corporation consider in making final funding decisions? (a) The Corporation will seek to... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What other factors or information may the Corporation consider in making final funding decisions? 2522.470 Section 2522.470 Public Welfare Regulations...

  18. Final Technical Report for Quantum Embedding for Correlated Electronic Structure in Large Systems and the Condensed Phase

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

    Chan, Garnet Kin-Lic

    2017-04-30

    This is the final technical report. We briefly describe some selected results below. Developments in density matrix embedding. DMET is a quantum embedding theory that we introduced at the beginning of the last funding period, around 2012-2013. Since the first DMET papers, which demonstrated proof-of- principle calculations on the Hubbard model and hydrogen rings, we have carried out a number of different developments, including: Extending the DMET technology to compute broken symmetry phases, including magnetic phases and super- conductivity (Pub. 13); Calibrating the accuracy of DMET and its cluster size convergence against other methods, and formulation of a dynamical clustermore » analog (Pubs. 4, 10) (see Fig. 1); Implementing DMET for ab-initio molecular calculations, and exploring different self-consistency criteria (Pubs. 9, 14); Using embedding to defi ne quantum classical interfaces Pub. 2; Formulating DMET for spectral functions (Pub. 7) (see Fig. 1); Extending DMET to coupled fermion-boson problems (Pub. 12). Together with these embedding developments, we have also implemented a wide variety of impurity solvers within our DMET framework, including DMRG (Pub. 3), AFQMC (Pub. 10), and coupled cluster theory (CC) (Pub. 9).« less

  19. Final Revisions Rule State Budgets and New Unit Set-Asides TSD

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This technical support document shows the underlying data and calculations used to quantify the state budget revisions and new unit set-aside revisions made in the final revisions rule, as well as those revisions included in the direct final revisions rule

  20. A System for Evaluating Microcomputer Courseware for Vocational and Technical Education. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chase, Shirley A.; And Others

    A project was conducted to design a system for evaluating microcomputer courseware for vocational and technical education. Through a literature review and contacts with organizations and individuals involved in courseware evaluation and use, project staff identified and acquired for review documents pertaining to courseware evaulation, vocational…

  1. Marketing information: The technical report as product

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stoher, F. F.; Pinelli, T. E.

    1981-01-01

    Technical reports constitute a product, the primary means for communicating the results of research to the user. The Langley scientific and technical information (STI) review and evaluation project undertook a review of the technical report as an effective product for information communication. Style manuals describing theory and practice in technical report preparation; publication manuals covering such factors as design, layout, and type style; and copies of technical reports were obtained from industrial, academic, governmental, and research organizations. Based on an analysis of this material, criteria will be established for the report components, for the relationship of the components within the report context, and for the overall report organization. The criteria will be used as bench marks and compared with the publication standards currently used to prepare NASA technical reports.

  2. Wyoming Deaf/Blind Grant. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whitson, Joanne B.

    This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Wyoming Deaf-Blind Grant, a 3-year federally supported project to identify children who have deaf-blindness and to provide technical assistance in the development of educational services for these children. Major accomplishments of the project included: identification of more…

  3. 76 FR 68183 - Highlights of the Exposure Factors Handbook: 2011 Update Release of Final Report

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-11-03

    ... Update Release of Final Report AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the release of the report Highlights of the Exposure Factors Handbook... environmental agents. Dated: October 27, 2011. Darrell A. Winner, Acting Director, National Center for...

  4. Final Technical Report for DE-SC0012297

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

    Dell'Antonio, Ian

    This is the final report on the work performed in award DE-SC0012297, Cosmic Frontier work in support of the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration's work to develop algorithms, simulations, and statistical tests to ensure optimal extraction of the dark energy properties from galaxy clusters observed with LSST. This work focused on effects that could produce a systematic error on the measurement of cluster masses (that will be used to probe the effects of dark energy on the growth of structure). These effects stem from the deviations from pure ellipticity of the gravitational lensing signal and from the blending of lightmore » of neighboring galaxies. Both these effects are expected to be more significant for LSST than for the stage III experiments such as the Dark Energy Survey. We calculate the magnitude of the mass error (or bias) for the first time and demonstrate that it can be treated as a multiplicative correction and calibrated out, allowing mass measurements of clusters from gravitational lensing to meet the requirements of LSST's dark energy investigation.« less

  5. Final Technical Report on the Institute for Advanced Study in Student Personnel Work.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Callis, Robert

    This document reports the planning, implementation, and evaluation of a 9-month institute held at the University of Missouri-Columbia to prepare participants (approximately 20) for leadership positions in student personnel work at junior colleges and technical institutes. The following aspects of the instructional program are discussed and…

  6. O*NET Final Technical Report. Volume I [and] Volume II [and] Volume III.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Norman G.; Mumford, Michael D.; Borman, Walter C.; Jeanneret, P. Richard; Fleishman, Edwin A.; Levin, Kerry Y.

    This document contains the three volumes of the technical report for development of the prototype of the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which is intended to replace the "Dictionary of Occupational Titles.""General Introduction" (Norman G. Peterson) presents an overview of O*NET's purpose, content, and structure.…

  7. Theory of superconductivity in oxides. Final technical report

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

    Anderson, P.W.

    1988-05-18

    Progress was made towards a final theory of high-Tc superconductivity. The key elements are the work on normal-state properties and the actual mechanism for Tc. With the understanding (ZA) of the large anisotropy and other transport properties in the normal state, the model is uniquely determined: one must have one version or another of a holon-spinon quantum-fluid state, which is not a normal Fermi liquid. And with the recognition (HWA) of the large-repulsion holon-holon interactions, the author has the first way of thinking quantitatively about the superconducting state. Work on the pure Heisenberg system, which is related but not necessarilymore » crucial to understanding the superconducting properties is described.« less

  8. 7 CFR 1944.419 - Final grantee evaluation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...) PROGRAM REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) HOUSING Self-Help Technical Assistance Grants § 1944.419 Final grantee... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS..., application, this regulation, and any amendments. (a) This is a quantitative evaluation of the grantee to...

  9. Technical Report Cellulosic Based Black Liquor Gasification and Fuels Plant Final Technical Report

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

    Fornetti, Micheal; Freeman, Douglas

    2012-10-31

    The Cellulosic Based Black Liquor Gasification and Fuels Plant Project was developed to construct a black liquor to Methanol biorefinery in Escanaba, Michigan. The biorefinery was to be co-located at the existing pulp and paper mill, NewPage’s Escanaba Paper Mill and when in full operation would: • Generate renewable energy for Escanaba Paper Mill • Produce Methanol for transportation fuel of further refinement to Dimethyl Ether • Convert black liquor to white liquor for pulping. Black liquor is a byproduct of the pulping process and as such is generated from abundant and renewable lignocellulosic biomass. The biorefinery would serve tomore » validate the thermochemical pathway and economic models for black liquor gasification. It was a project goal to create a compelling new business model for the pulp and paper industry, and support the nation’s goal for increasing renewable fuels production and reducing its dependence on foreign oil. NewPage Corporation planned to replicate this facility at other NewPage Corporation mills after this first demonstration scale plant was operational and had proven technical and economic feasibility. An overview of the process begins with black liquor being generated in a traditional Kraft pulping process. The black liquor would then be gasified to produce synthesis gas, sodium carbonate and hydrogen sulfide. The synthesis gas is then cleaned with hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide removed, and fed into a Methanol reactor where the liquid product is made. The hydrogen sulfide is converted into polysulfide for use in the Kraft pulping process. Polysulfide is a known additive to the Kraft process that increases pulp yield. The sodium carbonate salts are converted to caustic soda in a traditional recausticizing process. The caustic soda is then part of the white liquor that is used in the Kraft pulping process. Cellulosic Based Black Liquor Gasification and Fuels Plant project set out to prove that black liquor

  10. Technical Performance as a Predictor of Clinical Outcomes in Laparoscopic Gastric Cancer Surgery.

    PubMed

    Fecso, Andras B; Bhatti, Junaid A; Stotland, Peter K; Quereshy, Fayez A; Grantcharov, Teodor P

    2018-03-23

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between technical performance and patient outcomes in laparoscopic gastric cancer surgery. Laparoscopic gastrectomy for cancer is an advanced procedure with high rate of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Many variables including patient, disease, and perioperative management factors have been shown to impact postoperative outcomes; however, the role of surgical performance is insufficiently investigated. A retrospective review was performed for all patients who had undergone laparoscopic gastrectomy for cancer at 3 teaching institutions between 2009 and 2015. Patients with available, unedited video-recording of their procedure were included in the study. Video files were rated for technical performance, using Objective Structured Assessments of Technical Skills (OSATS) and Generic Error Rating Tool instruments. The main outcome variable was major short-term complications. The effect of technical performance on patient outcomes was assessed using logistic regression analysis with backward selection strategy. Sixty-one patients with available video recordings were included in the study. The overall complication rate was 29.5%. The mean Charlson comorbidity index, type of procedure, and the global OSATS score were included in the final predictive model. Lower performance score (OSATS ≤29) remained an independent predictor for major short-term outcomes (odds ratio 6.49), while adjusting for comorbidities and type of procedure. Intraoperative technical performance predicts major short-term outcomes in laparoscopic gastrectomy for cancer. Ongoing assessment and enhancement of surgical skills using modern, evidence-based strategies might improve short-term patient outcomes. Future work should focus on developing and studying the effectiveness of such interventions in laparoscopic gastric cancer surgery.

  11. Technical parameters for specifying imagery requirements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Coan, Paul P.; Dunnette, Sheri J.

    1994-01-01

    Providing visual information acquired from remote events to various operators, researchers, and practitioners has become progressively more important as the application of special skills in alien or hazardous situations increases. To provide an understanding of the technical parameters required to specify imagery, we have identified, defined, and discussed seven salient characteristics of images: spatial resolution, linearity, luminance resolution, spectral discrimination, temporal discrimination, edge definition, and signal-to-noise ratio. We then describe a generalizing imaging system and identified how various parts of the system affect the image data. To emphasize the different applications of imagery, we have constrasted the common television system with the significant parameters of a televisual imaging system for technical applications. Finally, we have established a method by which the required visual information can be specified by describing certain technical parameters which are directly related to the information content of the imagery. This method requires the user to complete a form listing all pertinent data requirements for the imagery.

  12. Texas Hydrogen Education Final Scientific/Technical Report

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

    Hitchcock, David; Bullock, Dan

    2011-06-30

    fork lifts, and hydrogen fueling) are effective for engaging target audiences, and (3) a clear path forward is needed for state and local agencies interested in project implementation (funding, financing, preliminary design, technical assistance, etc.).« less

  13. High School Students' Perception of Career Technical Education and Factors that Influence Enrollment in Programs at a Regional Occupational Center

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    St. Gean, Laurie M.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to learn about the demographic profile of South Bay-area high school Career Technical Education (CTE) students (those who enroll in CTE courses outside the school day), their perceptions related to CTE, the people and other factors that influence them to enroll in CTE courses, and students' opinions on which…

  14. Seattle To Portland Inter-City ITS Corridor Study And Communications Plan, Final Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-03-01

    THIS DOCUMENT IS THE FINAL REPORT PRESENTING THE SEATTLE TO PORTLAND INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (ITS) EARLY DEPLOYMENT PLAN. THE FINAL REPORT SYNTHESIZES INFORMATION FROM TECHNICAL MEMORANDUMS 1 THROUGH 5; INCLUDING EXISTING AND FUTURE CONDITI...

  15. SIAM Conference on Geometric Design and Computing. Final Technical Report

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

    None

    2002-03-11

    The SIAM Conference on Geometric Design and Computing attracted 164 domestic and international researchers, from academia, industry, and government. It provided a stimulating forum in which to learn about the latest developments, to discuss exciting new research directions, and to forge stronger ties between theory and applications. Final Report

  16. 77 FR 8095 - Technical Corrections to Commission Regulations

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-14

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 18 CFR Part 2 [Docket No. RM11-30-000; Order No. 756] Technical Corrections to Commission Regulations Issued February 8, 2012. AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE. ACTION: Final rule: correcting amendment. SUMMARY: This document adds...

  17. 48 CFR 1852.235-73 - Final Scientific and Technical Reports.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... regarding appropriate electronic formats for final reports is available at http://www.sti.nasa.gov under....nasa.gov under the “Get Help” link. (e) In accordance with paragraph (d) of the Rights in Data—General... contained in NPR 2200.2, Guidelines for Documentation, Approval, and Dissemination of NASA Scientific and...

  18. 48 CFR 1852.235-73 - Final Scientific and Technical Reports.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... regarding appropriate electronic formats for final reports is available at http://www.sti.nasa.gov under....nasa.gov under the “Get Help” link. (e) In accordance with paragraph (d) of the Rights in Data—General... contained in NPR 2200.2, Guidelines for Documentation, Approval, and Dissemination of NASA Scientific and...

  19. 48 CFR 1852.235-73 - Final Scientific and Technical Reports.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... regarding appropriate electronic formats for final reports is available at http://www.sti.nasa.gov under....nasa.gov under the “Get Help” link. (e) In accordance with paragraph (d) of the Rights in Data—General... contained in NPR 2200.2, Guidelines for Documentation, Approval, and Dissemination of NASA Scientific and...

  20. 48 CFR 1852.235-73 - Final Scientific and Technical Reports.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... regarding appropriate electronic formats for final reports is available at http://www.sti.nasa.gov under....nasa.gov under the “Get Help” link. (e) In accordance with paragraph (d) of the Rights in Data—General... contained in NPR 2200.2, Guidelines for Documentation, Approval, and Dissemination of NASA Scientific and...

  1. Ahuachapan geothermal project: a technical and economic assessment

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

    Bloomster, C.H.; DiPippo; Kuwada, J.T.

    Theeconomic and technical factors involved in using geothermal energy at Ahuachapan are examined. The experience at Ahuachapan is evaluated in relation to conditions prevailing in El Salvador and to conditions in the U.S. technical characteristics considered are: geological characteristics, well programs and gathering system, well productivity and geofluid characteristics, and energy conversion systems. Economic factors considered for El Salvador are: construction costs; environmental control costs; operating experience and costs; financing; taxes, subsidies, or incentives; marketing; and electrical system characteristics. (MHR)

  2. 76 FR 11327 - Technical Amendments to Rule 17a-8: Financial Recordkeeping and Reporting of Currency and Foreign...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-02

    ... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 17 CFR Part 240 [Release No. 34-63949] Technical Amendments to...: Securities and Exchange Commission. ACTION: Final rule; technical amendments. SUMMARY: The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is adopting technical amendments to Rule 17a-8 under the Securities...

  3. National Data Program for the Marine Environment Technical Development Plan. Final Report, Volume Two.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    System Development Corp., Santa Monica, CA.

    A national data program for the marine environment is recommended. Volume 2 includes: (1) objectives, scope, and methodology; (2) summary of the technical development plan; (3) agency development plans - Great Lakes and coastal development and (4) marine data network development plans. (Author)

  4. Technical-tactical analysis of youth olympic taekwondo combat.

    PubMed

    Tornello, Francesco; Capranica, Laura; Minganti, Carlo; Chiodo, Salvatore; Condello, Giancarlo; Tessitore, Antonio

    2014-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to define the technical and tactical profiles of official youth taekwondo competitions played under the most recent rules of the International Taekwondo Federation. Tactical actions (i.e., attack, defense, and block), technical executions (from 1- to 4-point scores), kicking legs (i.e., front/rear and right/left), and overall technical effectiveness were investigated in relation to match outcome of semifinal and final competitions (n = 50) of youth (aged 13-14 years) black belt athletes during the Italian Taekwondo Cadet Championship. Differences (p < 0.001) were found among all action typologies (Attack: 50.9 ± 2.2%; Defense: 27.7 ± 1.5%; Block: 21.3 ± 1.6%), with winners showing fewer (p = 0.005) offensive actions and more (p = 0.001) defensive actions with respect to non-winners. Independently from match outcome, technical exchanges showed differences (p < 0.001) for technical executions. Winners resulted more efficient (p < 0.001) for both technical and tactical variables. In general, these findings showed that Cadets tend to adopt an offensive strategy. In considering that the adoption of the new electronic system requires athletes to execute correct technical actions to have a score assigned, coaches should emphasize the effectiveness of scoring techniques and help athletes to effectively improve their defense and counterattack capabilities.

  5. Validation of Technical Recommendations. Final Report. ISSOE Managing Student Progress.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ridley, Dennis; And Others

    This report is organized to provide a complete, logical presentation of the major steps taken in the third phase of research on dynamics of dissemination of the Instructional Support System for Occupational Education (ISSOE). It reports on the confirmation and validation of the Phase II Final Report on Dissemination Issues and the Phase III…

  6. New technology implementation: Technical, economic and political factors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dean, J. W., Jr.; Susman, G. I.; Porter, P. S.

    1985-01-01

    An analysis is presented of the process of implementing advanced manufacturing technology, based on studies of numerous organizations. This process is seen as consisting of a series of decisions with technical, economic, and political objectives. Frequency decisions involve specifications, equipment, resources/organization, and location. Problems in implementation are viewed as resulting from tradeoffs among the objectives, the tendency of decision makers to emphasize some objectives at the expense of others, and the propensity of problems to spread from one area to another. Three sets of recommendations, based on this analysis, are presented.

  7. The Successful Teacher in Technical Education: The Preparation of the Successful Teacher.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Storm, George

    The purposes of this study were to identify success factors in technical education teaching and to obtain subject matter recommendations for the improvement of technical teacher education. A national population of technical education directors offering post-secondary technical education programs in 1963 under Title III of the National Defense…

  8. Research in Information Processing and Computer Science. Final Technical Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carnegie-Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA. Social Studies Curriculum Center.

    This is the final scientific research report for the research in programing at Carnegie-Mellon University during 1968-1970. Three team programing efforts during the past two years have been the development of (1) BLISS--a system building language on the PDP-10 computer, (2) LC2--a conversational system on the IBM/360, and L*--a system building…

  9. 10 CFR 51.92 - Supplement to the final environmental impact statement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... changes in the proposed action that are relevant to environmental concerns; or (2) There are new and..., technical, and other benefits and costs of the proposed action, to the extent that the final environmental... costs; (5) Include an analysis of other energy alternatives, to the extent that the final environmental...

  10. Current good manufacturing practices, quality control procedures, quality factors, notification requirements, and records and reports, for infant formula. Final rule.

    PubMed

    2014-06-10

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is issuing a final rule that adopts, with some modifications, the interim final rule (IFR) entitled "Current Good Manufacturing Practices, Quality Control Procedures, Quality Factors, Notification Requirements, and Records and Reports, for Infant Formula'' (February 10, 2014). This final rule affirms the IFR's changes to FDA's regulations and provides additional modifications and clarifications. The final rule also responds to certain comments submitted in response to the request for comments in the IFR.

  11. A Factor Analysis of the Distance Education Surveys "Is Online Learning Right for Me?" and "What Technical Skills Do I Need?"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Michael C.

    2009-01-01

    This article presents the results of a factor analysis on the distance education surveys "Is Online Learning Right for Me?" and "What Technical Skills Do I Need?" Both surveys are 15-question, forced response, self-scoring guides that have face validity for individual traits and skills believed to contribute to potential success in an…

  12. Final Technical Report. DeepCwind Consortium Research Program. January 15, 2010 - March 31, 2013

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

    Dagher, Habib; Viselli, Anthony; Goupee, Andrew

    This is the final technical report for the U.S. Department of Energy-funded program, DE-0002981: DeepCwind Consortium Research Program. The project objective was the partial validation of coupled models and optimization of materials for offshore wind structures. The United States has a great opportunity to harness an indigenous abundant renewable energy resource: offshore wind. In 2010, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimated there to be over 4,000 GW of potential offshore wind energy found within 50 nautical miles of the US coastlines (Musial and Ram, 2010). The US Energy Information Administration reported the total annual US electric energy generation inmore » 2010 was 4,120 billion kilowatt-hours (equivalent to 470 GW) (US EIA, 2011), slightly more than 10% of the potential offshore wind resource. In addition, deep water offshore wind is the dominant US ocean energy resource available comprising 75% of the total assessed ocean energy resource as compared to wave and tidal resources (Musial, 2008). Through these assessments it is clear offshore wind can be a major contributor to US energy supplies. The caveat to capturing offshore wind along many parts of the US coast is deep water. Nearly 60%, or 2,450 GW, of the estimated US offshore wind resource is located in water depths of 60 m or more (Musial and Ram, 2010). At water depths over 60 m building fixed offshore wind turbine foundations, such as those found in Europe, is likely economically infeasible (Musial et al., 2006). Therefore floating wind turbine technology is seen as the best option for extracting a majority of the US offshore wind energy resource. Volume 1 - Test Site; Volume 2 - Coupled Models; and Volume 3 - Composite Materials« less

  13. Beowawe Bottoming Binary Unit - Final Technical Report for EE0002856

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

    McDonald, Dale Edward

    2013-02-12

    This binary plant is the first high-output refrigeration based waste heat recovery cycle in the industry. Its working fluid is environmentally friendly and as such, the permits that would be required with a butane based cycle are not necessary. The unit is modularized, meaning that the unit’s individual skids were assembled in another location and were shipped via truck to the plant site. This project proves the technical feasibility of using low temperature brine The development of the unit led to the realization of low temperature, high output, and environmentally friendly heat recovery systems through domestic research and engineering. Themore » project generates additional renewable energy for Nevada, resulting in cleaner air and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Royalty and tax payments to governmental agencies will increase, resulting in reduced financial pressure on local entities. The major components of the unit were sourced from American companies, resulting in increased economic activity throughout the country.« less

  14. Vocational-Technical Education Interface with Ohio's High Technology Business and Industrial Sector. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCormick, Robert W.

    This study explored the relationship of vocational-technical educational institutions in Ohio with business and industry using high-technology applications. The study attempted to determine what high-technology applications will be adopted by Ohio's business and industry in the next 5 years, what experience the schools have had in working with…

  15. National Institute of Statistical Sciences Data Confidentiality Technical Panel: Final Report. NCES 2011-608

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karr, Alan

    2011-01-01

    NCES asked the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS) to convene a technical panel of survey and policy experts to examine the NCES current and planned data dissemination strategies for confidential data with respect to: mandates and directives that NCES make data available; current and prospective technologies for protecting and…

  16. A Technical, User and Cost Comparison Study of Microfiche Duplicate Film Material. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prevel, James J.

    A technical, user and cost comparison study was undertaken to provide the Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse (ERIC) staff with data on silver halide, diazo, and vesicular type films for microfiche duplication. This information will allow ERIC to determine if diazo and/or vesicular films should be considered in producing ERIC duplicate…

  17. 2+2+2 Dissemination Project Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sloane, Diana; And Others

    An overview is provided in this three-part final report of a project designed to disseminate information to assist California high schools, Regional Occupation Programs, and colleges in developing and strengthening 2+2+2 programs. Part I reviews the following project objectives: (1) hire a project coordinator and technical assistant; (2) develop a…

  18. A phenomenographic study of the ability to address complex socio-technical systems via variation theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mendoza Garcia, John A.

    factor, recognizing the part-whole relationships, make effort in tailoring a solution that responds to stakeholders' needs, find the right problem, giving voice to others, and finally be aware of the need to iterate.

  19. Influence of biological, environmental and technical factors on phenolic content and antioxidant activities of Tunisian halophytes.

    PubMed

    Ksouri, Riadh; Megdiche, Wided; Falleh, Hanen; Trabelsi, Nejla; Boulaaba, Mondher; Smaoui, Abderrazak; Abdelly, Chedly

    2008-11-01

    Halophyte ability to withstand salt-triggered oxidative stress is governed by multiple biochemical mechanisms that facilitate retention and/or acquisition of water, protect chloroplast functioning, and maintain ion homeostasis. Most essential traits include the synthesis of osmolytes, specific proteins, and antioxidant molecules. This might explain the utilization of some halophytes as traditional medicinal and dietary plants. The present study aimed at assessing the phenolic content and antioxidant activities of some Tunisian halophytes (Cakile maritima, Limoniastrum monopetalum, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, M. edule, Salsola kali, and Tamarix gallica), depending on biological (species, organ and developmental stage), environmental, and technical (extraction solvent) factors. The total polyphenol contents and antioxidant activities (DPPH and superoxide radicals scavenging activities, and iron chelating and reducing powers) were strongly affected by the above-cited factors. Such variability might be of great importance in terms of valorising these halophytes as a source of naturally secondary metabolites, and the methods for phenolic and antioxidant production.

  20. Deployment and Intelligent Nanosatellite Operations Colorado Final Technical Report

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-09-28

    environmental factors will cause disturbance torques during orbit around the Earth . These factors are solar radiation pressure from the sun , aerodynamic...software. The 3- axis sensing of the magnetometer allows a vector the B- field of the Earth to be sensed. Geopack 2003 then can be utilized with the orbit ...gradient torque can be represented as the following: g, ; 3wo21 Eq. 2-11 where ow is the angular velocity of the spacecraft as it orbits the earth . DINO’s

  1. Flora of the Fraser Experimental Forest, Colorado. Forest Service general technical report (Final)

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

    Popovich, S.J.; Shepperd, W.D.; Reichert, D.W.

    1993-08-01

    The report lists 441 vascular plant taxa in 228 genera and 63 families encountered on the 9,300-ha Fraser Experimental Forest in central Colorado. Synonyms appearing in previous publications and other works pertaining to the Fraser Experimental Forest, as well as appropriate Colorado floras and less-technical field guides, are included. Plant communities and habitats are discussed, and a list of 54 lichens is also presented. A glossary of related terms is included.

  2. Final Technical Report: Electromagnetic Pump Insulation Materials Development and Testing (PLM-DOC-0005-2465) Report # DOEGEHB00613

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

    Krahn, John; Reed, Claude; Loewen, Eric

    Final Technical Report: Electromagnetic Pump Insulation Materials Development and Testing (Report # DOEGEHB00613) summarizes the information gathered from the analysis of the 160 m3/min EM Pump insulation that was tested in 2000-2002 and additional evaluations of new resilient, engineered insulation system evaluated and tested at both GRC and ANL. This report provides information on Tasks 1 and 2 of the entire project. This report also provides information in three broad areas: Historical and current data; Conclusions based on test data; and Insulation specifications for use in EM Pumps. The research for Task 2 builds upon Task 1: Update EM Pumpmore » Databank, which is summarized within this report. Where research for Task 3 and 4 Next-Generation EM Pump Analysis Tools identified parameters or analysis model that benefits Task 2 research, those items are noted within this report. The important design variables for the manufacture and operation of an EM Pump that the insulation research can evaluate are: space constraints; voltage capability of insulation system; maximum flux density through iron; flow rate and outlet pressure; efficiency and manufacturability. The development summary of the Electromagnetic Pump Insulation Materials Development and Testing was completed to include: Historical and current data; Conclusions based on test data; and Insulation specifications for use in EM Pumps.« less

  3. Optimizing the NASA Technical Report Server

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nelson, Michael L.; Maa, Ming-Hokng

    1996-01-01

    The NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS), a World Wide Web report distribution NASA technical publications service, is modified for performance enhancement, greater protocol support, and human interface optimization. Results include: Parallel database queries, significantly decreasing user access times by an average factor of 2.3; access from clients behind firewalls and/ or proxies which truncate excessively long Uniform Resource Locators (URLs); access to non-Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) databases and compatibility with the 239-50.3 protocol; and a streamlined user interface.

  4. PVWatts Version 1 Technical Reference

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

    Dobos, A. P.

    2013-10-01

    The NREL PVWatts(TM) calculator is a web application developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that estimates the electricity production of a grid-connected photovoltaic system based on a few simple inputs. PVWatts combines a number of sub-models to predict overall system performance, and makes several hidden assumptions about performance parameters. This technical reference details the individual sub-models, documents assumptions and hidden parameters, and explains the sequence of calculations that yield the final system performance estimation.

  5. King County Metro Transit Hybrid Articulated Buses: Final Evaluation Results

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

    Chandler, K.; Walkowicz, K.

    2006-12-01

    Final technical report compares and evaluates new diesel and diesel hybrid-electric articulated buses operated as part of the King County Metro Transit (KC Metro) fleet in Seattle, Washington. The evaluation lasted 12 months.

  6. Technical efficiency in milk production in underdeveloped production environment of India*.

    PubMed

    Bardhan, Dwaipayan; Sharma, Murari Lal

    2013-12-01

    The study was undertaken in Kumaon division of Uttarakhand state of India with the objective of estimating technical efficiency in milk production across different herd-size category households and factors influencing it. Total of 60 farm households having representation from different herd-size categories drawn from six randomly selected villages of plain and hilly regions of the division constituted the ultimate sampling units of the study. Stochastic frontier production function analysis was used to estimate the technical efficiency in milk production. Multivariate regression equations were fitted taking technical efficiency index as the regressand to identify the factors significantly influencing technical efficiency in milk production. The study revealed that variation in output across farms in the study area was due to difference in their technical efficiency levels. However, it was interesting to note that smallholder producers were more technically efficient in milk production than their larger counterparts, especially in the plains. Apart from herd size, intensity of market participation had significant and positive impact on technical efficiency in the plains. This provides definite indication that increasing the level of commercialization of dairy farms would have beneficial impact on their production efficiency.

  7. [Factors forming opnion on marijuana legalization in Poland among group of students from medical and technical college faculty].

    PubMed

    Suwała, Małgorzata; Gerstenkorn, Andrzej; Szewczyk, Anna

    2015-01-01

    Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the world. In 2010 17.6% of polish adult population (age 15-64) and 37.3% of youth (age 17-18) declared use of marijuana at least once in their lifetime. Recent years in Poland brought back public discussion regarding decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. The main goal of the study was to reveal the opinion about legalization of marijuana in Poland among students of medical and technical faculty in correlation with chosen socio-demographic factors, college major, attitude to tobacco smoking, use of drugs and religious practice. Study included 230 students (110 from Medical University of Lodz and 120 from Technical University of Lodz). Women consisted on 56.1% of surveyed and men on 43.9%. Study used audit survey as a research method. Results. 40.4% of students considered marijuana as "soft" drug and in majority (65.7%) are convinced that it is not addictive. The main part of studied group (83%) claimed that marijuana is easily accessible in Poland. The majority of the group (38.75%) was against marijuana legalization, a little bit less (35.2%) approved its legalization in Poland and 26.1% had no opinion. Type of college faculty had not been detected as a factor influencing support for legalization. Important factors influencing positive opinion on legalization was: living in the city, tobacco smoking, socializing with legalization supporters, lack of regular religious practice, drug use. CONCLUSION. Young people's diversified opinion regarding legalization of marijuana in Poland should encourage further discussion. Educational and preventive activities within different social groups are necessary to form a conscious opinion on legalization of marijuana in Poland based on the knowledge of actual scientific facts.

  8. 78 FR 34392 - Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff: Technical Considerations for Pen...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-07

    ...] Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff: Technical Considerations for Pen, Jet, and... availability of a final guidance document entitled ``Technical Considerations for Pen, Jet, and Related... developing information to support a marketing application for a pen, jet, or related injector device intended...

  9. Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update Allowance Allocation Final Rule TSD

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This Technical Support Document (TSD) provides information that supports EPA’s determination of unit-level allocations for existing and new units under the final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update.

  10. Development of Molten-Salt Heat Transfer Fluid Technology for Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plants - Public Final Technical Report

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

    Grogan, Dylan C. P.

    2013-08-15

    Executive Summary This Final Report for the "Development of Molten-Salt Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) Technology for Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plants” describes the overall project accomplishments, results and conclusions. Phase 1 analyzed the feasibility, cost and performance of a parabolic trough solar power plant with a molten salt heat transfer fluid (HTF); researched and/or developed feasible component options, detailed cost estimates and workable operating procedures; and developed hourly performance models. As a result, a molten salt plant with 6 hours of storage was shown to reduce Thermal Energy Storage (TES) cost by 43.2%, solar field cost by 14.8%, and levelizedmore » cost of energy (LCOE) by 9.8% - 14.5% relative to a similar state-of-the-art baseline plant. The LCOE savings range met the project’s Go/No Go criteria of 10% LCOE reduction. Another primary focus of Phase 1 and 2 was risk mitigation. The large risk areas associated with a molten salt parabolic trough plant were addressed in both Phases, such as; HTF freeze prevention and recovery, collector components and piping connections, and complex component interactions. Phase 2 analyzed in more detail the technical and economic feasibility of a 140 MWe,gross molten-salt CSP plant with 6 hours of TES. Phase 2 accomplishments included developing technical solutions to the above mentioned risk areas, such as freeze protection/recovery, corrosion effects of applicable molten salts, collector design improvements for molten salt, and developing plant operating strategies for maximized plant performance and freeze risk mitigation. Phase 2 accomplishments also included developing and thoroughly analyzing a molten salt, Parabolic Trough power plant performance model, in order to achieve the project cost and performance targets. The plant performance model and an extensive basic Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) quote were used to calculate a real levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 11.50

  11. Making a Difference in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers and Their Families: The Impacts of Early Head Start. Volumes I-III: Final Technical Report [and] Appendixes [and] Local Contributions to Understanding the Programs and Their Impacts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Love, John M.; Kisker, Ellen Eliason; Ross, Christine M.; Schochet, Peter Z.; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Paulsell, Diane; Boller, Kimberly; Constantine, Jill; Vogel, Cheri; Fuligni, Alison Sidle; Brady-Smith, Christy

    Early Head Start was designed in 1994 as a 2-generation program to enhance children's development and health, strengthen family and community partnerships, and support the staff delivering new services to low-income families with pregnant women, infants, or toddlers. This document contains the final technical report, appendixes, and local…

  12. Preliminary draft industrial siting administration permit application: Socioeconomic factors technical report. Final technical report, November 1980-May 1982. [Proposed WyCoalGas project in Converse County, Wyoming

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

    Not Available

    1982-01-01

    Under the with-project scenario, WyCoalGas is projected to make a difference in the long-range future of Converse County. Because of the size of the proposed construction and operations work forces, the projected changes in employment, income, labor force, and population will alter Converse County's economic role in the region. Specifically, as growth occurs, Converse County will begin to satisfy a larger portion of its own higher-ordered demands, those that are currently being satisfied by the economy of Casper. Business-serving and household-serving activities, currently absent, will find the larger income and population base forecast to occur with the WyCoalGas project desirable.more » Converse County's economy will begin to mature, moving away from strict dependence on extractive industries to a more sophisticated structure that could eventually appeal to national, and certainly, regional markets. The technical demand of the WyCoalGas plant will mean a significant influx of varying occupations and skills. The creation of basic manufacturing, advanced trade and service sectors, and concomitant finance and transportation firms will make Converse County more economically autonomous. The county will also begin to serve market center functions for the smaller counties of eastern Wyoming that currently rely on Casper, Cheyenne or other distant market centers. The projected conditions expected to exist in the absence of the WyCoalGas project, the socioeconomic conditions that would accompany the project, and the differences between the two scenarios are considered. The analysis is keyed to the linkages between Converse County and Natrona County.« less

  13. Achieving Hydrogen Storage Goals through High-Strength Fiber Glass - Final Technical Report

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

    Li, Hong; Johnson, Kenneth I.; Newhouse, Norman L.

    Led by PPG and partnered with Hexagon Lincoln and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the team recently carried out a project “Achieving Hydrogen Storage Goals through High-Strength Fiber Glass”. The project was funded by DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies office within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, starting on September 1, 2014 as a two-year project to assess technical and commercial feasibilities of manufacturing low-cost, high-strength glass fibers to replace T700 carbon fibers with a goal of reducing the composite total cost by 50% of the existing, commercial 700 bar hydrogen storage tanks used in personal vehicles.

  14. Final Technical Report of the project "Controlling Quantum Information by Quantum Correlations"

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

    Girolami, Davide

    The report describes hypotheses, aims, methods and results of the project 20170675PRD2, “Controlling Quantum Information by Quantum Correlations”, which has been run from July 31, 2017 to January 7, 2018. The technical work has been performed by Director’s Fellow Davide Girolami of the T-4 Division, Physics of Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, under the supervision of Wojciech Zurek (T-4), Lukasz Cincio (T-4), and Marcus Daniels (CCS-7). The project ended as Davide Girolami has been converted to J. R. Oppenheimer Fellow to work on the project 20180702PRD1, “Optimal Control of Quantum Machines”, started on January 8, 2018.

  15. An integrated analytical framework for quantifying the LCOE of waste-to-energy facilities for a range of greenhouse gas emissions policy and technical factors.

    PubMed

    Townsend, Aaron K; Webber, Michael E

    2012-07-01

    This study presents a novel integrated method for considering the economics of waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities with priced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions based upon technical and economic characteristics of the WTE facility, MSW stream, landfill alternative, and GHG emissions policy. The study demonstrates use of the formulation for six different policy scenarios and explores sensitivity of the results to ranges of certain technical parameters as found in existing literature. The study shows that details of the GHG emissions regulations have large impact on the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of WTE and that GHG regulations can either increase or decrease the LCOE of WTE depending on policy choices regarding biogenic fractions from combusted waste and emissions from landfills. Important policy considerations are the fraction of the carbon emissions that are priced (i.e. all emissions versus only non-biogenic emissions), whether emissions credits are allowed due to reducing fugitive landfill gas emissions, whether biogenic carbon sequestration in landfills is credited against landfill emissions, and the effectiveness of the landfill gas recovery system where waste would otherwise have been buried. The default landfill gas recovery system effectiveness assumed by much of the industry yields GHG offsets that are very close to the direct non-biogenic GHG emissions from a WTE facility, meaning that small changes in the recovery effectiveness cause relatively larger changes in the emissions factor of the WTE facility. Finally, the economics of WTE are dependent on the MSW stream composition, with paper and wood being advantageous, metal and glass being disadvantageous, and plastics, food, and yard waste being either advantageous or disadvantageous depending upon the avoided tipping fee and the GHG emissions price. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Factors Affecting Sign Retroreflectivity : final report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2001-01-01

    This study was undertaken to better understand the factors that may affect road sign retroreflectivity, specifically age and physical orientation. A better understanding of these factors could provide guidance to ODOT in managing its inventory of roa...

  17. 78 FR 13543 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Technical Amendments

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Defense Acquisition Regulations System 48 CFR Parts 201, 204, 215, 225, 227, 242, 245, and 252 Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Technical Amendments AGENCY: Defense Acquisition Regulations System, Department of Defense (DoD). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: DoD is...

  18. Final Technical Report: Amicus O&M Cooperative

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

    Bybee, Amanda

    Despite the maturation of the broader solar PV industry, the operations and maintenance (O&M) market segment is still relatively under developed. The lack of industry coherence jeopardizes the long-term performance of multiple gigawatts of installed capacity, and thus, the legitimacy of solar PV as a dependable source of electricity generation in the U.S. To address these challenges, the project team formed a new company, the Amicus Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Cooperative, whose mission is to ensure that solar PV fulfills its promise as a responsible and reliable energy source, for generations to come. Amicus O&M Cooperative created solutions to themore » market gaps by establishing a consistent level of O&M service offerings; standardizing scopes of work and legal agreements; training and certifying technicians; minimizing transaction costs for asset owners; and mitigating risk by creating redundancy in the companies who are able to perform work to these standards. We attracted double the number of member-companies originally forecast (goal: 10, actual: 20), broadening the reach of the service area, minimizing travel costs, and reducing response times for O&M services. We built a professional website and a software platform for managing work orders. Lastly, we have established multiple channels for communication among members, including monthly calls for sales topics and for technical/operational topics, an intranet for announcements/ questions/articles, and regular in-person meetings in association with the meetings of our sister cooperative, Amicus Solar. Throughout the project, participants sought feedback, input, and insights from stakeholders in the O&M market segment, including current and potential member-companies and potential clients. The problem statement above was confirmed many times over, with additional insight on the need for more workforce development, driving efficiency and lowering cost through better data analysis and remote diagnostics

  19. A Case Study of Technical Assistance to Demonstration Programs for Young Handicapped Children. Part III.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Behr, Shirley K.; And Others

    The report describes the third and final year of a 3-year case study of the technical assistance process as implemented by the Technical Assistance Development System (TADS) for the staffs of two demonstration programs for preschool handicapped children and their families. Following a review of TADS and the two demonstration programs, the…

  20. Non-technical skills training to enhance patient safety.

    PubMed

    Gordon, Morris

    2013-06-01

      Patient safety is an increasingly recognised issue in health care. Systems-based and organisational methods of quality improvement, as well as education focusing on key clinical areas, are common, but there are few reports of educational interventions that focus on non-technical skills to address human factor sources of error. A flexible model for non-technical skills training for health care professionals has been designed based on the best available evidence, and with sound theoretical foundations.   Educational sessions to improve non-technical skills in health care have been described before. The descriptions lack the details to allow educators to replicate and innovate further.   A non-technical skills training course that can be delivered as either a half- or full-day intervention has been designed and delivered to a number of mixed groups of undergraduate medical students and doctors in postgraduate training. Participant satisfaction has been high and patient safety attitudes have improved post-intervention.   This non-technical skills educational intervention has been built on a sound evidence base, and is described so as to facilitate replication and dissemination. With the key themes laid out, clinical educators will be able to build interventions focused on numerous clinical issues that pay attention to human factor contributors to safety. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. A Summary of Technical Problems Associated With Broadband Cable Teleservices Development. A Survey of Technical Requirements for Broadband Cable Teleservices; Volume One.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McManamon, P. M.; Utlaut, W. F.

    The results of a survey of cable television (CATV) and related technological industries are summarized. In this, the first of a series of seven reports, attention is focused upon some major technical factors which need to be considered in order that a transition from the technical state of today's cable television and services to new teleservices…

  2. Course of Study Project. Final Report. Vocational-Technical Education Departmental Report, Vol. 17, No. 18.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park. Div. of Occupational and Vocational Studies.

    Designed for use by area vocational-technical schools and other vocational programs, this project developed courses of study in eight occupational areas: commercial art, appliance repair, automotive mechanics, graphic arts, building trades maintenance, building construction trades, diesel mechanics, and welding. Course-of-study development…

  3. Degradation Factor Approach for Impacted Composite Structural Assessment: MSFC Center Director's Discretionary Fund Final Report, Project No. 96-17

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ortega, R.; Price, J. M.; Fox, D.

    2000-01-01

    This technical memorandum documents the results of the research to develop a concept for assessing the structural integrity of impacted composite structures using the strength degradation factor in conjunction with available finite element tools. For this purpose, a literature search was conducted, a plan for conducting impact testing on two laminates was developed, and a finite element model of the impact process was created. Specimens for the impact testing were fabricated to support the impact testing plan.

  4. Exposure Factors Handbook (1997, Final Report)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The "Exposure Factors Handbook" (EFH or "Handbook") provides a summary of the available statistical data on various factors used in assessing human exposure. This report is addressed to exposure assessors inside the Agency as well as outside, who need to obtain data on standard f...

  5. Final Technical Report - DE-EE0003542

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

    Haley, James D

    Wind has provided energy for thousands of years: some of the earliest windmill engineering designs date back to ancient Babylonia and India where wind would be used as a source of irrigation. Today, wind is the quickest growing resource in Americas expanding energy infrastructure. However, to continue to positively diversify Americas energy portfolio and further reduce the countrys reliance of foreign oil, the industry must grow substantially over the next two decades in both turbine installations and skilled industrial manpower to support. The wind sector is still an emergent industry requiring maturation and development of its labor force: dedicated trainingmore » is needed to provide the hard and soft skills to support the increasingly complex wind turbine generators as the technology evolves. Furthermore, the American workforce is facing a steep decline in available labor resources as the baby boomer generation enters retirement age. It is therefore vital that a process is quickly created for supporting the next generation of wind technicians. However, the manpower growth must incorporate three key components. First, the safety and technical training curriculum must be standardized across the industry - current wind educational programs are disparate and dedicated standardization programs must be further refined and implemented. Second, it is essential that the wind sector avoid disrupting other energy production industries by cannibalizing workers, which would indirectly affect the rest of Americas energy portfolio. The future wind workforce must be created organically utilizing either young people entering the workforce or train personnel emerging from careers outside of energy production. Third, the training must be quick and efficient as large amounts of wind turbines are being erected each year and this growth is expected to continue until at least 2035. One source that matches these three requirements is personnel transitioning from military service to

  6. Stem Inc. SunShot Incubator Program Final Technical Report

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

    Butterfield, Karen

    In this Energy Storage Control Algorithms project, Stem sought to develop tools and control algorithms to increase the value and reduce balance-of-system and grid integration costs associated with adding distributed solar generation to the grid. These advances fell under the headings SolarScope and SolarController. Stem sought to create initial market traction with a fully commercialized product for the solar industry to size storage systems (SolarScope) as well as a solar intermittency-mitigation framework for utilities (SolarController) in the course of the project. The company sought to align strategic growth plans and enable the rollout of the products to broader audiences inmore » multiple geographic regions by leveraging the major solar companies in the national market as partners. Both final products were both intended to be commercialized. They are: SolarScope: Analysis tool to identify viable PV + storage projects and thereby expedite the sales and interconnection processes. SolarScope combines customer load data, PV production estimates, utility rate tariff, and simulated storage into a simple user interface for PV developers. Developers can easily identify viable solar + storage sites without the need for complex and time consuming, site-by-site spreadsheet modeling. SolarContoller: Tool to autonomously dispatch distributed storage in order to mitigate voltage fluctuation and reduce curtailment. SolarController co-optimizes, in real time, storage dispatch for circuit stability and curtailment reduction, enabling higher penetrations of PV. SolarController is automated, not requiring utility dispatch or management, as Stem hardware senses grid voltage, frequency, customer load, PV production, and power factor. In the end the two products met with different outcomes. SolarScope was tested by potential users, and continues to be used as a foundational platform for partnership with key solar industry partners. SolarController, on the other hand, was

  7. Light Duty Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Validation Data. Final Technical Report

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

    Jelen, Deborah; Odom, Sara

    2015-04-30

    Electricore, along with partners from Quong & Associates, Inc., Honda R&D Americas (Honda), Nissan Technical Center North America (Nissan), and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (Toyota), participated in the Light Duty Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Validation Data program sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) (Cooperative Agreement No. DE-EE0005968). The goal of this program was to provide real world data from the operation of past and current FCEVs, in order to measure their performance and improvements over time. The program was successful; 85% of the data fields requestedmore » were provided and not restricted due to proprietary reasons. Overall, the team from Electricore provided at least 4.8 GB of data to DOE, which was combined with data from other participants to produce over 33 key data products. These products included vehicle performance and fuel cell stack performance/durability. The data were submitted to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center (NREL NFCTEC) and combined with input from other participants. NREL then produced composite data products (CDP) which anonymized the data in order to maintain confidentiality. The results were compared with past data, which showed a measurable improvement in FCEVs over the past several years. The results were presented by NREL at the 2014 Fuel Cell Seminar, and 2014 and 2015 (planned) DOE Annual Merit Review. The project was successful. The team provided all of the data agreed upon and met all of its goals. The project finished on time and within budget. In addition, an extra $62,911 of cost sharing was provided by the Electricore team. All participants believed that the method used to collect, combine, anonymize, and present the data was technically and economically effective. This project helped EERE meet its mission of ensuring America’s security and prosperity

  8. New York State technical and economic MAGLEV evaluation. Final report

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

    Not Available

    1991-06-01

    The study is the preliminary evaluation of magnetically levitated ground transportation systems (MAGLEV). The evaluation focuses on using the New York State Thruway right-of-way in combination with MAGLEV systems currently in development in Germany and Japan and those proposed for development in the United States. The Energy Authority's goal in cosponsoring the study was to determine if MAGLEV offered the potential to meet future New York State transportation demands cost-effectively, and to evaluate the benefits that the State might expect from supporting MAGLEV technology development and system implementation. According to the preliminary report, substantial economic benefits could accrue to themore » State through MAGLEV-related research, development, manufacturing and construction. Implementation would have a favorable impact on issues related to transportation, the environment and energy conservation. With the exception of the German Transrapid system, developing a domestic prototype MAGLEV vehicle would take seven to nine years; no insurmountable technical barriers are apparent. EMF shielding (electromagnetic fields) is, however, a concern. It will cost an estimated $1 billion to develop a new MAGLEV system design; however, innovative designs may reduce the price.« less

  9. SURVEY OF INFORMATION ON VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. FINAL REPORT.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corplan Associates, Chicago, IL. Technology Center.

    THE BASIC OBJECTIVE OF THE SURVEY WAS TO GATHER INFORMATION HELPFUL IN PLANNING AND DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PRIMARILY WITHIN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. OCCUPATIONAL NEEDS WERE IDENTIFIED FROM FORECASTS OF CHANGES IN CURRENT OCCUPATIONS, AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS, AND…

  10. 1988 Underground Storage Tanks; Technical Requirements; Final Rule and Underground Storage Tanks Containing Petroleum-Financial Responsibility Requirements and State Program Approval Objective; Final Rule

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA's 1988 regulations concerning USTs are contained in 40 CFR Part 280, 40 CFR Part 281 and 40 CFR Parts 282.50-282.105 and divided into three sections: technical requirements, financial responsibility requirements, and state program approval objectives.

  11. Effects of Human Factors in Engineering and Design for Teaching Mathematics: A Comparison Study of Online and Face-to-Face at a Technical College

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mativo, John M.; Hill, Roger B.; Godfrey, Paul W.

    2013-01-01

    The focus of this study was to examine four characteristics for successful and unsuccessful students enrolled in basic mathematics courses at a technical college. The characteristics, considered to be in part effects of human factors in engineering and design, examined the preferred learning styles, computer information systems competency,…

  12. Energy conservation policy evaluation. Study module IA. Volume II. Technical appendix. Final report

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

    Bergstresser, K.; Berney, R.E.; Carter, L.F.

    1978-01-01

    This volume contains detailed technical analyses of the 19 energy conservation measures which were discussed as regional policy options in the report proper (PB-274 337). For each measure there is a description of how the measure works to reduce consumption; an assessment of potential savings, costs, and returns to adopters; probable 'normal' adoption rates under present policies; and potential adoption rates if some additional conservation policy options are implemented. Report includes chapters on environmental residuals from energy end uses, and policy preferences of households and energy marketers.

  13. 76 FR 16531 - Technical Correction for Neurological Listing Cross-Reference

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-24

    ... 1-800-325-0778, or visit our Internet site, Social Security Online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov... SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 20 CFR Part 404 [Docket No. SSA-2011-0019] RIN 0960-AH33 Technical Correction for Neurological Listing Cross-Reference AGENCY: Social Security Administration. ACTION: Final...

  14. Comment Deadlines Established Regarding the LightSquared Technical Working Group Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-06-30

    On June 30, 2011, LightSquared Subsidiary LLC (LightSquared) submitted a final report of the : technical working group co-chaired by LightSquared and the United States Global Positioning System : (GPS) Industry Council (USGIC)1 and organized in respo...

  15. Final technical report DOE award DE-SC0007206 Improving CESM Efficiency to Study Variable C:N:P Stoichiometry in the Oceans

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

    Primeau, Francois William

    2016-02-11

    This report lists the accomplishments of the project, which includes: (1) analysis of inorganic nutrient concentration data as well as suspended particulate organic matter data in the ocean to demonstrate that the carbon to nitrogen to phosphorus ratios (C:N:P) of biological uptake and export vary on large spatial scales, (2) the development of a new computationally efficient method for simulating biogeochemical tracers in earth system models, (3) the application of the method to help calibrate an improved representation of dissolved organic matter in the ocean that includes variable C:N:P stoichiometry. This research is important because biological uptake of carbon andmore » nutrients in the upper ocean and export by sinking particles and downward mixing of dissolved organic matter helps maintain a vertical gradient in the carbon dioxide concentration in the ocean. This gradient is key to understanding the partitioning of CO2 between the ocean and the atmosphere. The final report lists seven peer reviewed scientific publications, one Ph.D. thesis, one technical report and two papers in preparation.« less

  16. Unified Technical Concepts--Phase II. Expand Application to Industrial Technologies and Adult Education. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Technical Education Research Center, Waco, TX.

    A project was conducted to develop a laboratory-based instructional system in physics for two-year technician programs that emphasizes both the analogies between basic physical principles and the applications of the principles in modern technology. The Unified Technical Concepts (UTC) system that was developed is (1) a reorganization of physics…

  17. Wisconsin Technical College System Board Equity Staff Development Workshops and Services--Phase IV. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baldus, Lorayne

    A staff development program on gender equity was conducted for personnel in Wisconsin's technical colleges using the train-the-trainer method. The training took two approaches: a class for college personnel and career challenge training for project directors of single parent and displaced homemaker grants. The inservice class resulted in increased…

  18. Expanding Horizons: A Program for Students Entering Nontraditional Technical Occupations. PY95 Final Detailed Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Austin Community Coll., TX.

    The Expanding Horizons Project at Austin Community College successfully achieved its goals for Project Year 1994-95. During the year, the project accomplished the following: raised public awareness of the need to overcome gender bias, promoted career opportunities in nontraditional technical occupations to more than 1,200 prospective students,…

  19. Digital-Computer Processing of Graphical Data. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freeman, Herbert

    The final report of a two-year study concerned with the digital-computer processing of graphical data. Five separate investigations carried out under this study are described briefly, and a detailed bibliography, complete with abstracts, is included in which are listed the technical papers and reports published during the period of this program.…

  20. Final Technical Report 09 LW 112

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

    Lenhoff, R J

    2010-11-28

    Since the development of new antibiotics is out-paced by the emergence of bacterial resistance to existing antibiotics, it is crucial to understand the genetic mechanisms underlying resistance existing antibiotics. At the center of this mystery is a poorly understood phenomenon, heteroresistance: the coexistence of multiple subpopulations with varying degrees of antibiotic resistance. A better understanding of the fundamental basis of heteroresistance could result in sorely needed breakthroughs in treatment options. This project proposed to leverage a novel microfluidic (microchemostat) technology to probe the heteroresistance phenomenon in bacteria, with the aim of restoring the efficacy of existing {beta}-lactam antibiotics. The clinicallymore » important bacteria Methicillin Resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was used as the test case of bacteria that exhibits antibiotic heteroresistance. MRSA is difficult to treat because it is resistant to all {beta}-lactam antibiotics, as well as other classes of antimicrobials. Whereas {beta}-lactams such as methicillin and oxacillin are the preferred antibiotics to treat S. aureus infections due to their efficacy and low side effects, accurate determination and use of oxacillin/methicillin dosage is hampered by heteroresistance. In fact, invasive MRSA infections now account for about 95,000 deaths per year, a number that exceeds the deaths due to either influenza or HIV (12). In some MRSA strains, two subpopulations of cells may coexist: both populations carry the mecA gene that confers resistance, but mecA is differentially expressed so that only a small number of cells are observed during in vitro testing. Why this occurs is not understood. Prior experiments have sought to explain this phenomenon with conflicting results, with technology being the primary barrier to test the system sufficiently. This is the final report on work accomplished under the Lab-wide LDRD project 09-LW-112. This project was awarded to Frederick

  1. The effect of environmental factors on technical and scale efficiency of primary health care providers in Greece.

    PubMed

    Kontodimopoulos, Nick; Moschovakis, Giorgos; Aletras, Vassilis H; Niakas, Dimitris

    2007-11-17

    The purpose of this study was to compare technical and scale efficiency of primary care centers from the two largest Greek providers, the National Health System (NHS) and the Social Security Foundation (IKA) and to determine if, and how, efficiency is affected by various exogenous factors such as catchment population and location. The sample comprised of 194 units (103 NHS and 91 IKA). Efficiency was measured with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) using three inputs, -medical staff, nursing/paramedical staff, administrative/other staff- and two outputs, which were the aggregated numbers of scheduled/emergency patient visits and imaging/laboratory diagnostic tests. Facilities were categorized as small, medium and large (<15,000, 15,000-30,000 and >30,000 respectively) to reflect catchment population and as urban/semi-urban or remote/island to reflect location. In a second stage analysis, technical and scale efficiency scores were regressed against facility type (NHS or IKA), size and location using multivariate Tobit regression. Regarding technical efficiency, IKA performed better than the NHS (84.9% vs. 70.1%, Mann-Whitney P < 0.001), smaller units better than medium-sized and larger ones (84.2% vs. 72.4% vs. 74.3%, Kruskal-Wallis P < 0.01) and remote/island units better than urban centers (81.1% vs. 75.7%, Mann-Whitney P = 0.103). As for scale efficiency, IKA again outperformed the NHS (89.7% vs. 85.9%, Mann-Whitney P = 0.080), but results were reversed in respect to facility size and location. Specifically, larger units performed better (96.3% vs. 90.9% vs. 75.9%, Kruskal-Wallis P < 0.001), and urban units showed higher scale efficiency than remote ones (91.9% vs. 75.3%, Mann-Whitney P < 0.001). Interestingly 75% of facilities appeared to be functioning under increasing returns to scale. Within-group comparisons revealed significant efficiency differences between the two primary care providers. Tobit regression models showed that facility type, size and location

  2. Seabird-oil spill behavior study. Volume 2. Technical report. Final report

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

    Varoujean, D.H.; Baltz, D.M.; Allen, B.

    1983-04-01

    This volume provides a technical discussion of a two year (1980-1982) study on the behavior of seabirds encountering oil-contaminated water. An information survey, undertaken in this study, indicated that out of nearly 300 references to seabird/oil research only 12 articles addressed the topic of seabird behavior in the presence of oil. Available evidence does, however, indicate that seabirds avoid or try to avoid making contract with petroleum oil. Field observations and experiments conducted in the study areas of natural oil seeps in the Santa Barbara Channel, California, revealed that (1) abundance of seabirds in the study area was relatively lowmore » when compared to that in oil-free areas of the Channel; (2) the age and/or the residency status of Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis) and Heerman's Gulls (Larus heermanni) were related to the frequency of interaction of these birds with oil.« less

  3. Development of High-Performance Cast Crankshafts. Final Technical Report

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

    Bauer, Mark E

    The objective of this project was to develop technologies that would enable the production of cast crankshafts that can replace high performance forged steel crankshafts. To achieve this, the Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) of the new material needs to be 850 MPa with a desired minimum Yield Strength (YS; 0.2% offset) of 615 MPa and at least 10% elongation. Perhaps more challenging, the cast material needs to be able to achieve sufficient local fatigue properties to satisfy the durability requirements in today’s high performance gasoline and diesel engine applications. The project team focused on the development of cast steel alloysmore » for application in crankshafts to take advantage of the higher stiffness over other potential material choices. The material and process developed should be able to produce high-performance crankshafts at no more than 110% of the cost of current production cast units, perhaps the most difficult objective to achieve. To minimize costs, the primary alloy design strategy was to design compositions that can achieve the required properties with minimal alloying and post-casting heat treatments. An Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) based approach was utilized, rather than relying only on traditional trial-and-error methods, which has been proven to accelerate alloy development time. Prototype melt chemistries designed using ICME were cast as test specimens and characterized iteratively to develop an alloy design within a stage-gate process. Standard characterization and material testing was done to validate the alloy performance against design targets and provide feedback to material design and manufacturing process models. Finally, the project called for Caterpillar and General Motors (GM) to develop optimized crankshaft designs using the final material and manufacturing processing path developed. A multi-disciplinary effort was to integrate finite element analyses by engine designers and geometry

  4. NASA Space Environments Technical Discipline Team Space Weather Activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Minow, J. I.; Nicholas, A. C.; Parker, L. N.; Xapsos, M.; Walker, P. W.; Stauffer, C.

    2017-12-01

    The Space Environment Technical Discipline Team (TDT) is a technical organization led by NASA's Technical Fellow for Space Environments that supports NASA's Office of the Chief Engineer through the NASA Engineering and Safety Center. The Space Environments TDT conducts independent technical assessments related to the space environment and space weather impacts on spacecraft for NASA programs and provides technical expertise to NASA management and programs where required. This presentation will highlight the status of applied space weather activities within the Space Environment TDT that support development of operational space weather applications and a better understanding of the impacts of space weather on space systems. We will first discuss a tool that has been developed for evaluating space weather launch constraints that are used to protect launch vehicles from hazardous space weather. We then describe an effort to better characterize three-dimensional radiation transport for CubeSat spacecraft and processing of micro-dosimeter data from the International Space Station which the team plans to make available to the space science community. Finally, we will conclude with a quick description of an effort to maintain access to the real-time solar wind data provided by the Advanced Composition Explorer satellite at the Sun-Earth L1 point.

  5. Improving the Dissemination of Scientific and Technical Information: A Practitioner's Guide to Innovation. (Final Report).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Capital Systems Group, Inc., Rockville, MD.

    The aim of this guide is to alert persons with an operational interest in scientific communication to new ideas, techniques, and equipment in the field of communication media and publications. The focus is on the dissemination of scientific information via the technical journal or its equivalent. Secondary dissemination of information such as…

  6. 27 Years of Impact: Vocational-Technical Education in Ohio. Final Annual Report under Federal Law.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ohio State Council on Vocational Education, Westerville.

    The Ohio Council on Vocational Education (OCOVE) was created to strengthen the career, vocational, and technical education services provided for Ohioans as a practical, efficient, and sure way to enhance the competitiveness of individual workers and the state and national economy. Some of the accomplishments of OCOVE during its 27 years of…

  7. Technical Change in the North American Forestry Sector: A Review

    Treesearch

    Jeffery C. Stier; David N. Bengston

    1992-01-01

    Economists have examined the impact of technical change on the forest products sector using the historical, index number, and econometric approaches. This paper reviews econometric analyses of the rate and bias of technical change, examining functional form, factors included, and empirical results. Studies are classified as first- second-, or third-generation...

  8. Dissemination of technical information from the oil-shale program

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

    Not Available

    1980-09-03

    Auditors found cause to believe that DOE was not receiving technical information from a jointly financed demonstration project in Colorado to produce shale oil means of the modified in-situ process. The governments right to use and disseminate technical information developed under the Cooperative Agreement is seen a a contractual right spelled out in the Agreement for cost sharing. Enforcement is necessary to lessen vulnerability to charges of subsidy of private research and development without adequate benefits to the public. This final report was prepared after sending the draft report to the Assistant Secretaries of Fossil Energy (FE) and of Resourcemore » Applications (RA) for comments. IG still takes issue with some of the comments by FE, which are attached. Comments by IR, also appended, point out operational changes at the DOE Technical Information Center, Oak Ridge, TN that will improve, its publication operations time.« less

  9. Impact of Medicare Advantage penetration and hospital competition on technical efficiency of nursing care in US intensive care units.

    PubMed

    Min, Ari; Scott, Linda D; Park, Chang; Vincent, Catherine; Ryan, Catherine J; Lee, Taewha

    2018-04-10

    This study aimed to evaluate technical efficiency of US intensive care units and determine the effects of environmental factors on technical efficiency in providing quality of nursing care. Data were obtained from the 2014 National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Data envelopment analysis was used to estimate technical efficiency for each intensive care unit. Multilevel modeling was used to determine the effects of environmental factors on technical efficiency. Overall, Medicare Advantage penetration and hospital competition in a market did not create pressure for intensive care units to become more efficient by reducing their inputs. However, these 2 environmental factors showed positive influences on technical efficiency in intensive care units with certain levels of technical efficiency. The implications of the study results for management strategies and health policy may vary according to the levels of technical efficiency in intensive care units. Further studies are needed to examine why and how intensive care units with particular levels of technical efficiency are differently affected by certain environmental factors. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Final Technical Report

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

    Magnuson, Timothy S.

    2013-09-10

    The biochemistry of bacterial proteins involved in redox transformations of metals and minerals is, without dispute, an important area of research. Nevertheless, most studies on bacterial metal transformation have focused not on biochemistry but on genetics and genomics. The objective of this research is to better understand the role of conformation change in electron transfer from cytochromes to minerals, a process that underpins respiratory metal reduction by bacteria in nature and in bioremediation strategies, including reductive immobilization of radioactive contaminants. Our DOE-funded work is specifically focused on answering long-standing questions about the biochemical behavior of these very interesting proteins, andmore » our findings thus far have already made impacts in the fields of environmental microbiology and biogeochemistry. Among the key findings from the project are 1) Successful large-scale production of biomass for protein isolation; 2) Purification of several c-type cytochromes for biochemical study; 3) Characterization of these proteins using spectrophotometric and electrochemical techniques; 4) Examination of protein conformational change and redox activity towards metal oxides using a small mass cytochrome c from Acidiphilium cryptum; 5) Proteomic characterization of A. cryptum biofilms; 6) Training of 2 undergraduate research assistants; 7) Publications and several meeting presentations.« less

  11. Final technical report

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

    Loveland, Walter David

    2016-08-27

    This report describes the research carried out under this grant for the period from 1997 to 2014. This work has been previously described in annual progress reports and renewal applications. As a result of this project, ~100 papers were published in open refereed journals and 107 invited talks were given by the PI. The research subjects covered by this project included the synthesis and characterization of super-heavy nuclei, the critical study of the reaction mechanisms used in these synthesis reactions, the mechanism(s) of intermediate energy and relativistic nuclear collisions, the study of reactions induced by radioactive nuclear beams, and generalmore » properties of the heaviest elements.« less

  12. Final Technical Report

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

    Michael Laub

    2008-12-29

    Our team of investigators from MIT (Michael Laub) and Stanford (Harley McAdams and Lucy Shapiro) conducted a multi-faceted, systematic experimental analysis of the 106 Caulobacter two-component signal transduction system proteins (62 histidine kinases and 44 response regulators) to understand how they coordinate cell cycle progression, metabolism, and response to environmental changes. These two-component signaling proteins were characterized at the genetic, biochemical, and genomic levels. The results generated by our laboratories have provided numerous insights into how Caulobacter cells sense and respond to a myriad of signals. As nearly all bacteria use two-component signaling for cell regulation, the results from thismore » project help to deepen our general understanding of bacterial signal transduction. The tools and approaches developed can be applied to other bacteria. In particular, work from the Laub laboratory now enables the systematic, rational rewiring of two-component signaling proteins, a major advance that stands to impact synthetic biology and the development of biosensors and other designer molecular circuits. Results are summarized from our work. Each section lists publications and publicly-available resources which result from the work described.« less

  13. Final Technical Report

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

    Li, Lian

    2017-03-08

    Our BES supported program integrates molecular beam epitaxy growth with in situ atomic scale imaging using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Aided by density functional theory calculations, we explore enhanced functionalities emerging from the interplay of strain, proximity, and spin-orbit interactions in heterostructures of wide band gap semiconductors, graphene, and Dirac materials, focusing on three thrusts: 1) doping wide bandgap semiconductors and graphene; 2) graphene nanoribbons and graphene-semiconductor heterostructures; and 3) Dirac materials. Our findings and discoveries have led to the publication of one book chapter and twenty-three refereed journal articles, including several in high impact journals suchmore » as Nature Communications, Physical Review Letters, and Nano Letters. Highlights of each thrust are provided in the report.« less

  14. Final Technical Report

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

    W. C. Griffith

    In this project we provide an example of how to develop multi-tiered models to go across levels of biological organization to provide a framework for relating results of studies of low doses of ionizing radiation. This framework allows us to better understand how to extrapolate laboratory results to policy decisions, and to identify future studies that will increase confidence in policy decisions. In our application of the conceptual Model we were able to move across multiple levels of biological assessment for rodents going from molecular to organism level for in vitro and in vivo endpoints and to relate these tomore » human in vivo organism level effects. We used the rich literature on the effects of ionizing radiation on the developing brain in our models. The focus of this report is on disrupted neuronal migration due to radiation exposure and the structural and functional implications of these early biological effects. The cellular mechanisms resulting in pathogenesis are most likely due to a combination of the three mechanisms mentioned. For the purposes of a computational model, quantitative studies of low dose radiation effects on migration of neuronal progenitor cells in the cerebral mantle of experimental animals were used. In this project we were able to show now results from studies of low doses of radiation can be used in a multidimensional framework to construct linked models of neurodevelopment using molecular, cellular, tissue, and organ level studies conducted both in vitro and in vivo in rodents. These models could also be linked to behavioral endpoints in rodents which can be compared to available results in humans. The available data supported modeling to 10 cGy with limited data available at 5 cGy. We observed gradual but non-linear changes as the doses decreased. For neurodevelopment it appears that the slope of the dose response decreases from 25 cGy to 10 cGy. Future studies of neurodevelopment should be able to better define the dose response in this range.« less

  15. Final Technical Report

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

    Wijewardhana, Rohana; Argyres, Philip

    2014-11-03

    Task A - Theory Research in theoretical physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Cincinnati has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy starting in 1984. Professors Peter Suranyi, Louis Witten, Fred Mansouri, L.C.R. Wijewardhana, Alexander Kagan and Philip Argyres have served as P.I.'s of the Cincinnati DOE theory task. Task B - Heavy Flavor Physics Research in experimental particle physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Cincinnati has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy since 1999. Professor Kay Kinoshita has served as P.I. on Task B since its inception. Taskmore » C - Neutrinos Over the past three years, Task C has been measuring the properties of neutrinos with the MiniBooNE and Daya Bay detectors and building two new neutrino experiments: MicroBooNE and LArIAT. In addition, the PI (Randy Johnson) has joined the long leadtime experiment, LBNE, and has participated in the R&D report for CHiPs. Results and progress on each of these experiments will be summarized below.« less

  16. Final Technical Report

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

    de Szoeke, Simon P.

    The investigator and DOE-supported student [1] retrieved vertical air velocity and microphysical fall velocity retrieval for VOCALS and CAP-MBL homogeneous clouds. [2] Calculated in-cloud and cloud top dissipation calculation and diurnal cycle computed for VOCALS. [3] Compared CAP-MBL Doppler cloud radar scenes with (Remillard et al. 2012) automated classification.

  17. Final technical report

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

    Richman, M.

    1996-08-01

    Granular flows of nearly elastic, identical spheres down bumpy inclines are described. A numerical technique is developed to overcome the difficulties associated with the ill-defined `tops` of these flows.

  18. Final Technical Report

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

    Rasure, John, et. al.

    Through past DOE funding, the MIND Research network has funded a national consortium effort that used multi-modal neuroimaging, genetics, and clinical assessment of subjects to study schizophrenia in both first episode and persistently ill patients. Although active recruitment of research participants is complete, this consortium remains active and productive in terms of analysis of this unique multi-modal data collected on over 320 subjects.

  19. Final Technical Report

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

    Shayya, Walid

    2007-03-20

    The state of New York through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has developed a suite of digester projects throughout the state to assess the potential for anaerobic digestion systems to improve manure management and concurrently produce energy through the production of heat and electrical power using the biogas produced from the digesters. Dairies comprise a significant part of the agribusiness and economy of the state of New York. Improving the energy efficiency and environmental footprint of dairies is a goal of NYSERDA. SUNY Morrisville State College (MSC) is part of a collection of state universities,more » dairy farms, cooperatives, and municipalities examining anaerobic digestion systems to achieve the goals of NYSERDA, the improvement of manure management, and reducing emissions to local dairy animal sites. The process for siting a digester system at the MSC’s free-stall Dairy Complex was initiated in 2002. The project involved the construction of an anaerobic digester that can accommodate the organic waste generated at Dairy complex located about a mile southeast of the main campus. Support for the project was provided through funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The DOE contribution to the project provided additional resources to construct an expanded facility to handle waste generated from the existing free-stall dairy and the newly-constructed barns. Construction on the project was completed in 2006 and the production of biogas started soon after the tanks were filled with the effluent generated at the Dairy Complex. The system has been in operation since December 17, 2006. The generated biogas was consistently flared starting from December 20, 2006, and until the operation of the internal combustion engine/generator set were first tested on the 9th of January, 2007. Flaring the biogas continued until the interconnect with the power grid was approved by NYSEG (the electrical power provider) and the combined heat and power generation (CHP) system was authorized to start on February 27, 2007. The system has been in operation since February 28, 2007, and is generating 45 to 50 kW of electrical power on continuous basis. The completed project will ultimately allow for investigating the facility of utilizing organic waste from a dairy operation in a hard-top plug-flow methane digester with the ultimate goal of reducing environmental risk, increasing economic benefits, and demonstrating the viability of an anaerobic methane digestion system. Many benefits are expected as a result of the completed project including our better understanding of the anaerobic digestion process and its management as well as the facility to utilize the methane digester as a demonstration site for dairy producers, farmers, and organic waste producers in New York State and the Northeast. Additional benefits include helping current and future students in dairy science and technology, agricultural business, environmental sciences, agricultural engineering, and other disciplines develop better understanding of underutilized biomass alternative energy technologies, environmental conservation, environmental stewardship, and sustainable agriculture.« less

  20. FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT

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

    Fargione, Joseph

    2012-02-24

    The United States has abundant wind resources, such that only about 3% of the resource would need to be developed to achieve the goal of producing 20% of electricity in the United States by 2030. Inappropriately sited wind development may result in conflicts with wildlife that can delay or derail development projects, increase projects costs, and may degrade important conservation values. The most cost-effective approach to reducing such conflicts is through landscape-scale siting early in project development. To support landscape scale siting that avoids sensitive areas for wildlife, we compiled a database on species distributions, wind resource, disturbed areas, andmore » land ownership. This database can be viewed and obtained via http://wind.tnc.org/awwi. Wind project developers can use this web tool to identify potentially sensitive areas and areas that are already disturbed and are therefore likely to be less sensitive to additional impacts from wind development. The United States goal of producing 20% of its electricity from wind energy by the year 2030 would require 241 GW of terrestrial nameplate capacity. We analyzed whether this goal could be met by using lands that are already disturbed, which would minimize impacts to wildlife. Our research shows that over 14 times the DOE goal could be produced on lands that are already disturbed (primarily cropland and oil and gas fields), after taking into account wind resource availability and areas that would be precluded from wind development because of existing urban development or because of development restrictions. This work was published in the peer reviewed science journal PLoS ONE (a free online journal) and can be viewed here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0017566. Even projects that are sited appropriately may have some impacts on wildlife habitat that can be offset with offsite compensatory mitigation. We demonstrate one approach to mapping and quantifying mitigation costs, using the state of Kansas as a case study. Our approach considers a range of conservation targets (species and habitat) and calculates mitigation costs based on actual costs of the conservation actions (protection and restoration) that would be needed to fully offset impacts. This work was published in the peer reviewed science journal PLoS ONE (a free online journal) and can be viewed here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0026698.« less

  1. Final Technical Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heckman, Timothy M.

    1997-01-01

    We have analysed ROSAT X-ray data for a small sample of starburst galaxies in order to understand the physical origin of the X-ray emission and probe the physics and phenomenology of galactic-scale outflows of hot gas ('superwinds') that are driven by tile mechanical energy supplied by the ensemble of supernovae in the starbursts. We have found that the X-ray emission in the ROSAT energy band comes from a population of compact hard sources (most likely X-ray binaries) and hot diffuse gas with a temperature ranging from a few to ten million K. This gas is spatially-extended on galactic scales and its properties are entirely consistent with theoretical expectations for a starburst-driven superwind. The starbursts studied span a range of roughly 1000 in bolometric luminosity and are hosted by galaxies ranging from dwarfs through L* spirals through ma,ior galactic mergers. The X-ray properties of these o@jecls scale in a natural way with the luminosity of tile starburst: more powerful starbursts are more X-ray luminous and create hot outflowing gas whose energy content is likewise larger.

  2. Final Technical Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Harper, D. A.

    1997-01-01

    Support for reduction and analysis of observations made with the Yorkes Observatory 60-channel far infrared camera on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory was funded through Federal Grant. Data was reduced and made available to the research group at Yorkes and guest observers, The reduced date is indexed on the World Wide Web. Portion of the data have been reported in the attached references.

  3. Final Technical Report

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

    Miller, Robert A.

    2007-04-18

    From September 1, 2002, to November 30, 2006, the Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) conducted over 120 industrial assessments across 19 different industry types in five different states. In the 1,000+ assessment recommendations written during the award, the UIC-IAC has written recommendations that, if implemented will save several millions of kilowatt-hours of electricity and several million British thermal units of natural gas annually. Additionally, the UIC-IAC has achieved an overall implementation rate in excess of 50%. During the overall span of the award period, the UIC-IAC has trained over 50 students, nearly 25%more » of which have remained in the energy field in some way after graduating from the IAC program. UIC-IAC students have received over $23,000 in scholarships in the last two years alone. During the course of the award, the UIC-IAC has made it a priority to incorporate ITP tools and technologies whenever possible. The ITP Best Practices tools have been used on several assessments and introduced to clients. DOE technologies are constantly compared against assessment clients to determine what technologies have reached the stage where they can effectively be introduced into industrial operations. The UIC-IAC has been involved in several projects for the Department of Energy (DOE), including energy assessments of Department of Defense bases and industrial facilities, the Plant Energy Profiler (PEP) tool assessment, and expanding the range of assessments to include large- energy users. Additionally, the UIC-IAC has forged a close relationship with the Midwest CHP Application Center, working to incorporate combined heat and power (CHP) and distributed generation (DG) technologies into industrial plants. The most recent project is the Save Energy Now (SEN) six- and 12-month follow-up surveys being conducted by UIC-IAC students. The SEN surveys are an effort for the DOE to determine the implementation rate of energy efficiency measures identified by Qualified System (QS) specialists throughout the nation. The UIC-IAC has also written several papers highlighting its work in the arena of energy efficiency. Currently, several UIC-IAC students have submitted a paper to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). This paper has been accepted by ACEEE and will be presented later in 2007.« less

  4. Final Technical Report

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

    Resasco, Daniel; Lobban, Lance; Crossley, Steven

    The goal was to develop a biomass conversion process that optimizes fractionation and conversion to maximize Carbon efficiency and Hydrogen consumption to obtain drop-in fuels. Selective fractionation of raw biomass was obtained via multi-stage thermal fractionation to produce different streams that are enriched in a particular chemical family (acids, furanics or phenolics). These streams were later catalytically upgraded in both liquid and vapor phase to perform C-C bond formation and hydrodeoxygenation. Among various upgrading strategies investigated we have identified an effective path in which cyclopentanone is a crucial intermediate that can be derived from furfural and other furanics obtained inmore » high concentrations from this thermal staged process. Cyclopentanone is a very versatile molecule, which can couple with itself to product high quality jet-fuel, or couple with phenolic or furanics to create long chain molecules. These (mono-oxygenated) compounds in the correct molecular weight fuel range can be hydrotreated to direct drop-in fuels. Interestingly, we have found that the conversion of furfural to cyclopentanone is not affected by the presence of acetic acid, and, more interestingly, it is enhanced by the presence of water. These are very significant findings, since water and acetic acid are always present in all streams from the primary conversion stage. These results have allowed to complete detailed life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis that have been back-fed to the experimentalists to refine the catalyst selection and process operations with the objective of maximizing C efficiency at minimum H utilization. These combined investigations have opened the possibility of an economically and technologically effective process that could result in commercial fuels produced from renewable sources at a cost that might be competitive with fossil fuels.« less

  5. Final Technical Report

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

    Dr. Asok K. Ray

    2012-05-22

    During the past decades, considerable theoretical efforts have been devoted to studying the electronic and geometric structures and related properties of surfaces. Such efforts are particularly important for systems like the actinides for which experimental work is relatively difficult to perform due to material problems and toxicity. The actinides are characterized by a gradual filling of the 5f-electron shell with the degree of localization increasing with the atomic number Z along the last series of the periodic table. The open shell of the 5f electrons determines the atomic, molecular, and solid state properties of the actinide elements and their compoundsmore » and understanding the quantum mechanics of the 5f electrons is the defining issue in the chemistry and physics of actinide elements. These elements are also characterized by the increasing prominence of relativistic effects and their studies can, in fact, help us understand the role of relativity throughout the periodic table. However, the electronic and geometric structures of the actinides, specifically the trans-uranium actinides and the roles of the 5f electrons in chemical bonding are still not well understood. This is crucial not only for our understanding of the actinides but also for the fact that the actinides constitute 'the missing link' between the d transition elements and the lanthanides. The 5f orbitals have properties intermediate between those of localized 4f and delocalized 3d orbitals. Thus, a proper understanding of the actinides will help us understand the behavior of the lanthanides and transition metals as well. In fact, there is an urgent need for continued extensive and detailed theoretical research in this area to provide significant and deep understandings of the electronic and geometric structures of the actinides. In this work, we have performed electronic structure studies for plutonium (Pu), americium (Am), and curium (Cm) surfaces, and molecular adsorptions on Pu and Am surfaces. In particular, the region at the boundary of Pu and Am, is widely believed to be the crossover region between d-like itinerant and f-like localized behavior The eventual goal is a complete understanding of the surface chemistry and physics processes of all actinide surfaces, defining the chemistry and physics of such heavy elements. Among the actinides, plutonium, with five 5f electrons in the solid state, is arguably the most complex, fascinating, and enigmatic element known to mankind and has attracted extraordinary scientific and technological interests because of its unique properties, generating a significant body of research in diverse areas, including superconductivity. Pu has, at least, six stable allotropes between room temperature and melting at atmospheric pressure, indicating that the valence electrons can hybridize into a number of complex bonding arrangements. Central and critical questions relate to the electronic structure, localization of the 5f electrons and the magnetism of Pu. For the light-actinides, from Th to Pu, the 5f electrons are believed to be delocalized, hybridizing with the 6d and 7s electrons. For the heavier actinides, Am and beyond, the 5f electrons are localized with the 5f orbitals progressively lower in energy relative to the 6d configuration. Hence, Pu is in a position where the 5f electronic behavior changes from itinerant to localized. As far as magnetism is concerned, a majority of the theoretical calculations continues to claim the existence of magnetism while almost all the experimental results do not find any support for such claims. The second element of interest to us, namely americium, occupies a central position in the actinide series with respect to the involvement of 5f electrons in metallic bonding. It is widely believed that the 5f electrons in Am are localized and that Am undergoes a series of crystallographic phase changes with pressure. Fully-relativistic all electron surface studies of the different phases of Am, initially for the dhcp and the fcc surfaces, can and have provided us with valuable information about chemical bonding in Am and the transitions from f-electron delocalization to f-electron localization in trans-uranium compounds. In particular, a comparative study of the electronic structures of the Pu and Am surfaces using the techniques of all-electron modern density functional theory and beyond can provide significant information about the role of 5f electrons in bond formation as also the localization of the 5f electrons, matters of considerable controversies. The change from metallic 5f bonding into local-moment nonbonding configurations that takes place between Pu and Am is rather unique in the periodic table and is at the very heart of our understanding of electronic structure. We believe that, considering the narrow bandwidth of surface states, any transition from itinerant to localized behavior first takes place at the actinide surfaces with possible reconstructions.« less

  6. Final Technical Report

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

    Lisa M. Daniels

    2002-05-08

    This project was very successful in terms of providing a unique source of information for rural communities and landowners. We are very pleased with the overall results and believe that this is a vital program for the sustainable development of wind energy. The outreach materials created by Windustry are filling a serious void in information about how local communities and rural landowners can participate in wind development projects. In our program implementation we learned how great the demand is for this type of information both through our hotline calls and website usage. We also realized that the materials require constantmore » updating and maintenance. There is a balance that needs to be found in printing the materials to have handouts ready at meetings for our primary target audience and more research and revisions for the website materials. All of this work is of an ongoing nature. Since this funding was awarded for one year, Windustry will be seeking other funding sources to continue the work in future years. Below is a summary of the Windustry accomplishments as well a sampling of website usage reports. Windustry is appreciative of the US DOE for its support of this wind energy industry work and the Wind Powering America initiative.« less

  7. Final Technical Report

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

    Newmarker, Marc; Campbell, Mark

    2012-03-16

    Design, validate at prototype level, and then demonstrate a full size, 800 MWht Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system based on Phase Changing Material (PCM) TES modules with round trip efficiency in excess of 93%. The PCM TES module would be the building block of a TES system which can be deployed at costs inline with the DOE benchmark of 2020. The development of a reliable, unsophisticated, modular, and scalable TES system designed to be massmanufactured utilizing advanced automated fabrication and assembly processes and field installed in the most cost-effective configuration could facilitate the attainment of a Levelized Cost of Energymore » (LCOE) of $.07/kWh by 2015. It was believed that the DOE targets can be attained by finding the best combinationTES module size, its optimal integration in the power cycle, and readily available PCM. Work under this project ultimately focused on the development and performance evaluation of a 100kWht prototype heat exchanger. The design utilizes a commercially available heat exchanger product to create a unique latent heat PCM storage module. The novel ideal associated with this technology is the inclusion of an agitation mechanism that is activated during the discharge process to improve heat transfer. The prototype unit did not meet the performance goals estimated through modeling, nor did the estimated costs of the system fall in line with the goals established by DOE.« less

  8. Final Technical Report

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

    Spivey, James J.

    The research summarized here has the goal of developing a fundamental understanding of how catalysts work. These materials are demonstrably essential to our daily life, from the cars we drive to the clothes we wear. Our Center advances the science behind how we prepare, analyze, and describe catalysts. This has been identified by one of the documents guiding Federal research objectives (Directing Matter and Energy: Five Challenges for Science and the Imagination): “Major challenges in heterogeneous catalysis are to more clearly define the nature of the active sites, to engineer at the molecular level catalysis with designed properties in threemore » dimensions, and to create new catalysts for new transformations.” This directly addresses this objective.« less

  9. Final technical report

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

    Edward DeLong

    2011-10-07

    Our overarching goals in this project were to: Develop and improve high-throughput sequencing methods and analytical approaches for quantitative analyses of microbial gene expression at the Hawaii Ocean Time Series Station and the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series Station; Conduct field analyses following gene expression patterns in picoplankton microbial communities in general, and Prochlorococcus flow sorted from that community, as they respond to different environmental variables (light, macronutrients, dissolved organic carbon), that are predicted to influence activity, productivity, and carbon cycling; Use the expression analyses of flow sorted Prochlorococcus to identify horizontally transferred genes and gene products, in particular those thatmore » are located in genomic islands and likely to confer habitat-specific fitness advantages; Use the microbial community gene expression data that we generate to gain insights, and test hypotheses, about the variability, genomic context, activity and function of as yet uncharacterized gene products, that appear highly expressed in the environment. We achieved the above goals, and even more over the course of the project. This includes a number of novel methodological developments, as well as the standardization of microbial community gene expression analyses in both field surveys, and experimental modalities. The availability of these methods, tools and approaches is changing current practice in microbial community analyses.« less

  10. Final June Revisions Rule State Budgets and New Unit Set-Asides TSD

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This technical support document (TSD) for the final revisions to the Transport Rule shows the underlying data and calculations used to quantify the state budget revisions and new unit set-aside revisions.

  11. INDOT Technical Training Plan : [Technical Summary

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-01-01

    A wide range of job classifications, increasing technical : performance expectations, licensing and certification requirements, : budget restrictions and frequent department : reorganization has made technical training of employees : more difficult, ...

  12. Technical Advance: Transcription factor, promoter, and enhancer utilization in human myeloid cells.

    PubMed

    Joshi, Anagha; Pooley, Christopher; Freeman, Tom C; Lennartsson, Andreas; Babina, Magda; Schmidl, Christian; Geijtenbeek, Teunis; Michoel, Tom; Severin, Jessica; Itoh, Masayoshi; Lassmann, Timo; Kawaji, Hideya; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Carninci, Piero; Forrest, Alistair R R; Rehli, Michael; Hume, David A

    2015-05-01

    The generation of myeloid cells from their progenitors is regulated at the level of transcription by combinatorial control of key transcription factors influencing cell-fate choice. To unravel the global dynamics of this process at the transcript level, we generated transcription profiles for 91 human cell types of myeloid origin by use of CAGE profiling. The CAGE sequencing of these samples has allowed us to investigate diverse aspects of transcription control during myelopoiesis, such as identification of novel transcription factors, miRNAs, and noncoding RNAs specific to the myeloid lineage. We further reconstructed a transcription regulatory network by clustering coexpressed transcripts and associating them with enriched cis-regulatory motifs. With the use of the bidirectional expression as a proxy for enhancers, we predicted over 2000 novel enhancers, including an enhancer 38 kb downstream of IRF8 and an intronic enhancer in the KIT gene locus. Finally, we highlighted relevance of these data to dissect transcription dynamics during progressive maturation of granulocyte precursors. A multifaceted analysis of the myeloid transcriptome is made available (www.myeloidome.roslin.ed.ac.uk). This high-quality dataset provides a powerful resource to study transcriptional regulation during myelopoiesis and to infer the likely functions of unannotated genes in human innate immunity. © The Author(s).

  13. The Family and Medical Leave Act. Final rule.

    PubMed

    2013-02-06

    This Final Rule amends certain regulations of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (the FMLA or the Act) to implement amendments to the military leave provisions of the Act made by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, which extends the availability of FMLA leave to family members of members of the Regular Armed Forces for qualifying exigencies arising out of the servicemember's deployment; defines those deployments covered under these provisions; extends FMLA military caregiver leave for family members of current servicemembers to include an injury or illness that existed prior to service and was aggravated in the line of duty on active duty; and extends FMLA military caregiver leave to family members of certain veterans with serious injuries or illnesses. This Final Rule also amends the regulations to implement the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act, which establishes eligibility requirements specifically for airline flight crewmembers and flight attendants for FMLA leave and authorizes the Department to issue regulations regarding the calculation of leave for such employees as well as special recordkeeping requirements for their employers. In addition, the Final Rule includes clarifying changes concerning the calculation of intermittent or reduced schedule FMLA leave; reorganization of certain sections to enhance clarity; the removal of the forms from the regulations; and technical corrections to the current regulations.

  14. Final Technical Report for DE-SC0005467

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

    Broccoli, Anthony J.

    2014-09-14

    The objective of this project is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the key atmospheric mechanisms and physical processes associated with temperature extremes in order to better interpret and constrain uncertainty in climate model simulations of future extreme temperatures. To achieve this objective, we first used climate observations and a reanalysis product to identify the key atmospheric circulation patterns associated with extreme temperature days over North America during the late twentieth century. We found that temperature extremes were associated with distinctive signatures in near-surface and mid-tropospheric circulation. The orientations and spatial scales of these circulation anomalies vary with latitude, season,more » and proximity to important geographic features such as mountains and coastlines. We next examined the associations between daily and monthly temperature extremes and large-scale, recurrent modes of climate variability, including the Pacific-North American (PNA) pattern, the northern annular mode (NAM), and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The strength of the associations are strongest with the PNA and NAM and weaker for ENSO, and also depend upon season, time scale, and location. The associations are stronger in winter than summer, stronger for monthly than daily extremes, and stronger in the vicinity of the centers of action of the PNA and NAM patterns. In the final stage of this project, we compared climate model simulations of the circulation patterns associated with extreme temperature days over North America with those obtained from observations. Using a variety of metrics and self-organizing maps, we found the multi-model ensemble and the majority of individual models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) generally capture the observed patterns well, including their strength and as well as variations with latitude and season. The results from this project indicate that current models are

  15. Technical indicators of economic performance in dairy sheep farming.

    PubMed

    Theodoridis, A; Ragkos, A; Roustemis, D; Arsenos, G; Abas, Z; Sinapis, E

    2014-01-01

    In this study, the level of technical efficiency of 58 sheep farms rearing the Chios breed in Greece was measured through the application of the stochastic frontier analysis method. A Translog stochastic frontier production function was estimated using farm accounting data of Chios sheep farms and the impact of various socio-demographic and biophysical factors on the estimated efficiency of the farms was evaluated. The farms were classified into efficiency groups on the basis of the estimated level of efficiency and a technical and economic descriptive analysis was applied in order to illustrate an indicative picture of their structure and productivity. The results of the stochastic frontier model indicate that there are substantial production inefficiencies among the Chios sheep farms and that these farms could increase their production through the improvement of technical efficiency, whereas the results of the inefficiency effects model reveal that the farm-specific explanatory factors can partly explain the observed efficiency differentials. The measurement of technical inefficiency and the detection of its determinants can be used to form the basis of policy recommendations that could contribute to the development of the sector.

  16. Probabilistic Multi-Factor Interaction Model for Complex Material Behavior

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abumeri, Galib H.; Chamis, Christos C.

    2010-01-01

    Complex material behavior is represented by a single equation of product form to account for interaction among the various factors. The factors are selected by the physics of the problem and the environment that the model is to represent. For example, different factors will be required for each to represent temperature, moisture, erosion, corrosion, etc. It is important that the equation represent the physics of the behavior in its entirety accurately. The Multi-Factor Interaction Model (MFIM) is used to evaluate the divot weight (foam weight ejected) from the external launch tanks. The multi-factor has sufficient degrees of freedom to evaluate a large number of factors that may contribute to the divot ejection. It also accommodates all interactions by its product form. Each factor has an exponent that satisfies only two points - the initial and final points. The exponent describes a monotonic path from the initial condition to the final. The exponent values are selected so that the described path makes sense in the absence of experimental data. In the present investigation, the data used were obtained by testing simulated specimens in launching conditions. Results show that the MFIM is an effective method of describing the divot weight ejected under the conditions investigated. The problem lies in how to represent the divot weight with a single equation. A unique solution to this problem is a multi-factor equation of product form. Each factor is of the following form (1 xi/xf)ei, where xi is the initial value, usually at ambient conditions, xf the final value, and ei the exponent that makes the curve represented unimodal that meets the initial and final values. The exponents are either evaluated by test data or by technical judgment. A minor disadvantage may be the selection of exponents in the absence of any empirical data. This form has been used successfully in describing the foam ejected in simulated space environmental conditions. Seven factors were required

  17. Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook (Final Report) ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The National Center for Environmental Assessment Staff (NCEA) have prepared this handbook to provide information on various physiological and behavioral factors commonly used in assessing children’s exposure to environmental chemicals. Children have different exposure circumstances than do adults. Understanding these differences is key for evaluating potential for environmental hazards from pollutants. They consume more of certain foods and water and have higher inhalation rates per unit of body weight than adults. Young children play close to the ground and come into contact with contaminated soil outdoors and with contaminated dust on surfaces and carpets indoors. Ingestion of human milk may be another potential pathway of exposure for infants and young children. The Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook provides a summary of statistical data on various exposure factors used in assessing children exposures. These factors include: drinking water consumption; soil ingestion and mouthing behavior; inhalation rates; dermal factors including skin surface area and soil adherence factors; consumption of retail and home-grown foods; breast milk intake; body weight; and activity pattern data.

  18. SLEEC: Semantics-Rich Libraries for Effective Exascale Computation. Final Technical Report

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

    Milind, Kulkarni

    SLEEC (Semantics-rich Libraries for Effective Exascale Computation) was a project funded by the Department of Energy X-Stack Program, award number DE-SC0008629. The initial project period was September 2012–August 2015. The project was renewed for an additional year, expiring August 2016. Finally, the project received a no-cost extension, leading to a final expiry date of August 2017. Modern applications, especially those intended to run at exascale, are not written from scratch. Instead, they are built by stitching together various carefully-written, hand-tuned libraries. Correctly composing these libraries is difficult, but traditional compilers are unable to effectively analyze and transform across abstraction layers.more » Domain specific compilers integrate semantic knowledge into compilers, allowing them to transform applications that use particular domain-specific languages, or domain libraries. But they do not help when new domains are developed, or applications span multiple domains. SLEEC aims to fix these problems. To do so, we are building generic compiler and runtime infrastructures that are semantics-aware but not domain-specific. By performing optimizations related to the semantics of a domain library, the same infrastructure can be made generic and apply across multiple domains.« less

  19. Solar Living House Final Technical Report

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

    Walters, Bradley

    permanent site constructions. This project suggest that high-performance buildings can be realized for more modest budgets. Public Benefits: Work on the Solar Living House and Solar Decathlon 2015 offered our student team unparalleled learning opportunities. Because of the duration of the project, a number of students participated at different points in their education, from first year undergraduates all the way through to advanced graduate students. The opportunity for collaboration with students and faculty from the National University of Singapore was also extraordinary, allowing for a sharing of technical knowledge and cultural exchange. The wider public has benefited from this work as its findings have been shared through public presentations and publications. It serves as a useful stepping stone along the path towards affordable, high-performance buildings.« less

  20. Technical snow production in skiing areas: conditions, practice, monitoring and modelling. A case study in Mayrhofen/Austria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strasser, Ulrich; Hanzer, Florian; Marke, Thomas; Rothleitner, Michael

    2017-04-01

    The production of technical snow today is a self-evident feature of modern alpine skiing resort management. Millions of Euros are invested every year for the technical infrastructure and its operation to produce a homogeneous and continuing snow cover on the skiing slopes for the winter season in almost every larger destination in the Alps. In Austria, skiing tourism is a significant factor of the national economic structure. We present the framing conditions of technical snow production in the mid-size skiing resort of Mayrhofen (Zillertal Alps/Austria, 136 km slopes, elevation range 630 - 2.500 m a.s.l.). Production conditions are defined by the availability of water, the planned date for the season opening, and the climatic conditions in the weeks before. By means of an adapted snow production strategy an attempt is made to ecologically and economically optimize the use of water and energy resources. Monitoring of the snow cover is supported by a network of low-cost sensors and mobile snow depth recordings. Finally, technical snow production is simulated with the spatially distributed, physically based hydroclimatological model AMUNDSEN. The model explicitly considers individual snow guns and distributes the produced snow along the slopes. The amount of simulated snow produced by each device is a function of its type, of actual wet-bulb temperature at the location, of ski area infrastructure (in terms of water supply and pumping capacity), and of snow demand.

  1. 77 FR 18914 - National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS): Technical Corrections

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-29

    ... 1121-AA79 National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS): Technical Corrections AGENCY... (OJP) is promulgating this direct final rule for its National Motor Vehicle Title Information System... INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph. II. Background The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System was...

  2. Work ability and associated factors of Brazilian technical-administrative workers in education.

    PubMed

    Godinho, Marluce Rodrigues; Greco, Rosangela Maria; Teixeira, Maria Teresa Bustamante; Teixeira, Liliane Reis; Guerra, Maximiliano Ribeiro; Chaoubah, Alfredo

    2016-01-02

    Studies about work ability have grown in importance owing to the worldwide aging of active populations. Research has shown that measuring work ability has a predictive value in cases of long-term sickness absence and early retirement. Our goal was to analyze the work ability and associated factors of civil servants from a higher education institution in Brazil. The participants in this cross-sectional study were 600 technical-administrative workers at a public university. Work ability was measured using the work ability index. The participants were as follows: 51.8% male; mean age of 45 years (SD = ±11); married or in a stable union (61.5%); holding a graduate degree (56.7%); having only one job (83.3%), working 40 h a week or less (78.6%); not working evenings (79.8%); and having direct contact with the public (58.3%). The prevalence of reduced work ability was 13.9%. The following factors were found to be associated with reduced work ability: age 50 years old or above (PR = 2.58; 95% CI 1.25-5.09); female (PR = 2.77; 95% CI 1.25-3.60); education up to secondary school (PR = 2.37; 95% CI 1.13-3.59); overall poor self-assessed health (PR = 2.96; 95% CI 1.32-3.93); signs and symptoms of depression (PR = 4.86; 95% CI 2.23-6.55); sedentariness (PR = 3.00; 95% CI 1.38-4.68) and poor social support at work (PR = 4.01; 95% CI 1.66-4.37). Most of the participants showed good work ability, but some subjects had reduced work ability. This study makes a contribution to expanding the discussion about the factors associated with work ability toward proposing actions for maintaining that ability or helping recovery in the case of diminished ability. Such actions can help reduce work absenteeism and early retirement, both of which have a social and economic impact in Brazil. Studying the determinants of work ability and recommendations to address those determinants will help efforts to improve the quality of life of individuals, both at work and personally, and promote healthy

  3. Development and evaluation of a patient-centred measurement tool for surgeons' non-technical skills.

    PubMed

    Yule, J; Hill, K; Yule, S

    2018-06-01

    Non-technical skills are essential for safe and effective surgery. Several tools to assess surgeons' non-technical skills from the clinician's perspective have been developed. However, a reliable measurement tool using a patient-centred approach does not currently exist. The aim of this study was to translate the existing Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) tool into a patient-centred evaluation tool. Data were gathered from four cohorts of patients using an iterative four-stage mixed-methods research design. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to establish the psychometric properties of the tool, focusing on validity, reliability, usability and parsimony. Some 534 patients were recruited to the study. A total of 24 patient-centred non-technical skill items were developed in stage 1, and reduced to nine items in stage 2 using exploratory factor analysis. In stage 3, confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that these nine items each loaded on to one of three factors, with excellent internal consistency: decision-making, leadership, and communication and teamwork. In stage 4, validity testing established that the new tool was independent of physician empathy and predictive of surgical quality. Surgical leadership emerged as the most dominant skill that patients could recognize and evaluate. A novel nine-item assessment tool has been developed. The Patients' Evaluation of Non-Technical Skills (PENTS) tool allows valid and reliable measurement of surgeons' non-technical skills from the patient perspective. © 2018 BJS Society Ltd Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Estimation of Biota Sediment Accumulation Factor (BSAF) from Paired Observations of Chemical Concentrations in Biota and Sediment (Final Report)

    EPA Science Inventory

    In March 2009, EPA's Ecological Risk Assessment Support Center (ERASC) released the final report entitled, Estimation of Biota Sediment Accumulation Factor (BSAF) from Paired Observations of Chemical Concentrations in Biota and Sediment. This report was written in response...

  5. Flow in porous media, phase behavior and ultralow interfacial tensions: mechanisms of enhanced petroleum recovery. Final technical report

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

    Davis, H.T.; Scriven, L.E.

    1982-01-01

    A major program of university research, longer-ranged and more fundamental in approach than industrial research, into basic mechanisms of enhancing petroleum recovery and into underlying physics, chemistry, geology, applied mathematics, computation, and engineering science has been built at Minnesota. The 1982 outputs of the interdisciplinary team of investigators were again ideas, instruments, techniques, data, understanding and skilled people: forty-one scientific and engineering papers in leading journals; four pioneering Ph.D. theses; numerous presentations to scientific and technical meetings, and to industrial, governmental and university laboratories; vigorous program of research visits to and from Minnesota; and two outstanding Ph.D.'s to research positionsmore » in the petroleum industry, one to a university faculty position, one to research leadership in a governmental institute. This report summarizes the 1982 papers and theses and features sixteen major accomplishments of the program during that year. Abstracts of all forty-five publications in the permanent literature are appended. Further details of information transfer and personnel exchange with industrial, governmental and university laboratories appear in 1982 Quarterly Reports available from the Department of Energy and are not reproduced here. The Minnesota program continues in 1983, notwithstanding earlier uncertainty about the DOE funding which finally materialized and is the bulk of support. Supplemental grants-in-aid from nine companies in the petroleum industry are important, as are the limited University and departmental contributions. 839 references, 172 figures, 29 tables.« less

  6. Devising a consensus definition and framework for non-technical skills in healthcare to support educational design: A modified Delphi study.

    PubMed

    Gordon, Morris; Baker, Paul; Catchpole, Ken; Darbyshire, Daniel; Schocken, Dawn

    2015-01-01

    Non-technical skills are a subset of human factors that focus on the individual and promote safety through teamwork and awareness. There is no widely adopted competency- or outcome-based framework for non-technical skills training in healthcare. The authors set out to devise such a framework using a modified Delphi approach. An exhaustive list of published and team suggested items was presented to the expert panel for ranking and to propose a definition. In the second round, a focused list was presented, as well as the proposed definition elements. The finalised framework was sent to the panel for review. Sixteen experts participated. The final framework consists of 16 competencies for all and eight specific competencies for team leaders. The consensus definition describes non-technical skills as "a set of social (communication and team work) and cognitive (analytical and personal behaviour) skills that support high quality, safe, effective and efficient inter-professional care within the complex healthcare system". The authors have produced a new competency framework, through the works of an International expert panel, which is not discipline specific that can be used by curriculum developers, educational innovators and clinical teachers to support developments in the field.

  7. Providing Computer-Based Information Services to an Academic Community. Final Technical Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bayer, Bernard

    The Mechanized Information Center (MIC) at the Ohio State University conducts retrospective and current awareness searches for faculty, students, and staff using data bases for agriculture, chemistry, education, psychology, and social sciences, as well as a multidisciplinary data base. The final report includes (1) a description of the background…

  8. Technical Efficiency and Organ Transplant Performance: A Mixed-Method Approach

    PubMed Central

    de-Pablos-Heredero, Carmen; Fernández-Renedo, Carlos; Medina-Merodio, Jose-Amelio

    2015-01-01

    Mixed methods research is interesting to understand complex processes. Organ transplants are complex processes in need of improved final performance in times of budgetary restrictions. As the main objective a mixed method approach is used in this article to quantify the technical efficiency and the excellence achieved in organ transplant systems and to prove the influence of organizational structures and internal processes in the observed technical efficiency. The results show that it is possible to implement mechanisms for the measurement of the different components by making use of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The analysis show a positive relationship between the levels related to the Baldrige indicators and the observed technical efficiency in the donation and transplant units of the 11 analyzed hospitals. Therefore it is possible to conclude that high levels in the Baldrige indexes are a necessary condition to reach an increased level of the service offered. PMID:25950653

  9. [Municipalities as a Model for New Careers and Redirection of Vocational-Technical Education Programs.] Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Institute for Local Self Government, Berkeley, CA.

    To meet the manpower needs of local governments, the model developed for this project redirects national and technical education toward new careers programs. Designed by task forces of professional personnel, the model utilizes existing local government resources, including funds for new career activities. Accomplishments of the project include:…

  10. Predictors of employer satisfaction: technical and non-technical skills.

    PubMed

    Danielson, Jared A; Wu, Tsui-Feng; Fales-Williams, Amanda J; Kirk, Ryan A; Preast, Vanessa A

    2012-01-01

    Employers of 2007-2009 graduates from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine were asked to respond to a survey regarding their overall satisfaction with their new employees as well as their new employees' preparation in several technical and non-technical skill areas. Seventy-five responses contained complete data and were used in the analysis. Four technical skill areas (data collection, data interpretation, planning, and taking action) and five non-technical skill areas (interpersonal skills, ability to deal with legal issues, business skills, making referrals, and problem solving) were identified. All of the skill area subscales listed above had appropriate reliability (Cronbach's alpha>0.70) and were positively and significantly correlated with overall employer satisfaction. Results of two simultaneous regression analyses indicated that of the four technical skill areas, taking action is the most salient predictor of employer satisfaction. Of the five non-technical skill areas, interpersonal skills, business skills, making referrals, and problem solving were the most important skills in predicting employer satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that all technical skills explained 25% of the variation in employer satisfaction; non-technical skills explained an additional 42% of the variation in employer satisfaction.

  11. M-X Environmental Technical Report. Socioeconomic Impact Estimates for White Pine County, Nevada. Detailed Tables.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-12-22

    8217AP0A095 772 HENNINGSON DURHAM AND RICHARDSON SANTA BARBARA CA F/G 16/1 B-B ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNICAL REPORT. SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT ESTIMA--ETC(U) DEC... Environmental Technical Reports,. 53ocioeconctnic’ Final r1eport Impact . Estimates for White Pine County, Nevada. ____________ Detailed Tables 6. PERFORMING...background information for the analysis contained in the M-X Deploment Area Selection and Land Withirawal/Acquisition Draft Environmental Impact Statement

  12. 77 FR 30516 - Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions Program; Final Waivers and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-23

    ...For 60-month projects funded in fiscal year (FY) 2007 under the Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions Program (TCPCTIP), the Secretary waives 34 CFR 75.250 and 75.261(c)(2) in order to extend the project period of these current TCPCTIP grantees through FY 2013, or longer, if Congress continues to appropriate funds under the existing TCPCTIP program authority. This action will enable the two current TCPCTIP grantees to seek continuation awards in FY 2012 for their current projects, and we will not announce a new TCPCTIP competition in FY 2012.

  13. Implantation of Right Kidneys: Is the Risk of Technical Graft Loss Real?

    PubMed

    Khan, Taqi T; Ahmad, Nadeem; Siddique, Kashif; Fourtounas, Konstantinos

    2018-05-01

    The left kidney (LK) is preferred by transplant surgeons, because its vein is always of good length and has a thick wall that enables safe suturing. On the other hand, the right renal vein is generally shorter and thinner walled, and well known for its technical difficulty during venous anastomosis, and can result in graft loss. We examined our living (LD) and deceased donor (DD) recipient data and compared the incidence of technical graft loss and early graft function in right and left kidneys. A cohort of 58 adult and pediatric recipients received an LD or DD kidney between January 2015 and December 2016. The donor and recipient data were retrieved and retrospectively analyzed. Technical graft loss was defined as graft thrombosis within the 7 days after transplant. Right kidneys (RKs) were not a risk factor for technical graft loss, and no graft was lost for technical reasons in either LD or DD transplants. Early graft function in LK and RKs was also comparable in the LD cohort, and there were no LKs in the DD cohort. Based on our data, the use of RKs was not a risk factor for technical graft loss and early graft function was comparable to LKs.

  14. 75 FR 16345 - Administrative Practices and Procedures; Good Guidance Practices; Technical Amendment

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-01

    .... FDA-1999-N-3539] (formerly Docket No. 1999N-4783) Administrative Practices and Procedures; Good Guidance Practices; Technical Amendment AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Final rule... Subjects in 21 CFR Part 10 Administrative practice and procedure, News media. 0 Therefore, under the...

  15. The Impact of Language and Culture on Technical Communication in Japan.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kohl, John R.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Analyzes ambiguity as a factor in Japanese language and culture as they affect technical communication. Presents and interprets results of a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the kinds of communication products they produce and use and their ideas of what should be taught in technical communication courses.…

  16. An Investigation of Spoken Brazilian Portuguese: Part I, Technical Report. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hutchins, John A.

    This final report of a study which developed a working corpus of spoken and written Portuguese from which syntactical studies could be conducted includes computer-processed data on which the findings and analysis are based. A data base, obtained by taping some 487 conversations between Brazil and the United States, serves as the corpus from which…

  17. Examination of Faculty Expectations of Technical College Administrators as an Important Factor in High Performing Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dupuis, Phyllis A.

    2009-01-01

    Popular thought supports the notion that faculty expectations of technical college administrators appear to be linked to the success or failure of an institution at accomplishing its mission. These expectations provide the basis for the development of relationships that foster the growth of technical training and thus the growth of a skilled…

  18. Research in Fiber Optics: Implications for Fiber Optics in Vocational-Technical Education. Final Report 1984-85.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bergen County Vocational-Technical High School, Hackensack, NJ.

    This project was conducted to determine the vocational, technical, and scientific skills and knowledge needed to work with the fiber optics applications that are in all areas of technology. A research assistant was hired by the project director to collect data and develop a research base for the project. Information was gathered through a…

  19. Services for Children with Deaf-Blindness in Louisiana. Final Performance Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teddlie, Charles

    This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Services for Children with Deaf-Blindness project, a 1-year federally supported project in Louisiana to improve identification and curriculum for these children by providing technical assistance and training to parents, school systems, and agency personnel. Project activities…

  20. Quality Concerns in Technical Education in India: A Quantifiable Quality Enabled Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gambhir, Victor; Wadhwa, N. C.; Grover, Sandeep

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The paper aims to discuss current Technical Education scenarios in India. It proposes modelling the factors affecting quality in a technical institute and then applying a suitable technique for assessment, comparison and ranking. Design/methodology/approach: The paper chose graph theoretic approach for quantification of quality-enabled…

  1. Paresthesia-Independence: An Assessment of Technical Factors Related to 10 kHz Paresthesia-Free Spinal Cord Stimulation.

    PubMed

    De Carolis, Giuliano; Paroli, Mery; Tollapi, Lara; Doust, Matthew W; Burgher, Abram H; Yu, Cong; Yang, Thomas; Morgan, Donna M; Amirdelfan, Kasra; Kapural, Leonardo; Sitzman, B Todd; Bundschu, Richard; Vallejo, Ricardo; Benyamin, Ramsin M; Yearwood, Thomas L; Gliner, Bradford E; Powell, Ashley A; Bradley, Kerry

    2017-05-01

    Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been successfully used to treat chronic intractable pain for over 40 years. Successful clinical application of SCS is presumed to be generally dependent on maximizing paresthesia-pain overlap; critical to achieving this is positioning of the stimulation field at the physiologic midline. Recently, the necessity of paresthesia for achieving effective relief in SCS has been challenged by the introduction of 10 kHz paresthesia-free stimulation. In a large, prospective, randomized controlled pivotal trial, HF10 therapy was demonstrated to be statistically and clinically superior to paresthesia-based SCS in the treatment of severe chronic low back and leg pain. HF10 therapy, unlike traditional paresthesia-based SCS, requires no paresthesia to be experienced by the patient, nor does it require paresthesia mapping at any point during lead implant or post-operative programming. To determine if pain relief was related to technical factors of paresthesia, we measured and analyzed the paresthesia responses of patients successfully using HF10 therapy. Prospective, multicenter, non-randomized, non-controlled interventional study. Outpatient pain clinic at 10 centers across the US and Italy. Patients with both back and leg pain already implanted with an HF10 therapy device for up to 24 months were included in this multicenter study. Patients provided pain scores prior to and after using HF10 therapy. Each patient's most efficacious HF10 therapy stimulation program was temporarily modified to a low frequency (LF; 60 Hz), wide pulse width (~470 mus), paresthesia-generating program. On a human body diagram, patients drew the locations of their chronic intractable pain and, with the modified program activated, all regions where they experienced LF paresthesia. Paresthesia and pain drawings were then analyzed to estimate the correlation of pain relief outcomes to overlap of pain by paresthesia, and the mediolateral distribution of paresthesia (as a

  2. Human Factors Assessment: The Passive Final Approach Spacing Tool (pFAST) Operational Evaluation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, Katharine K.; Sanford, Beverly D.

    1998-01-01

    Automation to assist air traffic controllers in the current terminal and en route air traff ic environments is being developed at Ames Research Center in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration. This automation, known collectively as the Center-TRACON Automation System (CTAS), provides decision- making assistance to air traffic controllers through computer-generated advisories. One of the CTAS tools developed specifically to assist terminal area air traffic controllers is the Passive Final Approach Spacing Tool (pFAST). An operational evaluation of PFAST was conducted at the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility. Human factors data collected during the test describe the impact of the automation upon the air traffic controller in terms of perceived workload and acceptance. Results showed that controller self-reported workload was not significantly increased or reduced by the PFAST automation; rather, controllers reported that the levels of workload remained primarily the same. Controller coordination and communication data were analyzed, and significant differences in the nature of controller coordination were found. Controller acceptance ratings indicated that PFAST was acceptable. This report describes the human factors data and results from the 1996 Operational Field Evaluation of Passive FAST.

  3. Final Report of Technical Assistance Provided to Guarantee Agencies with Recommendations for Further Improving Program Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Touche Ross and Co., Washington, DC.

    Technical assistance provided to loan guarantee agencies by Touche Ross and Co. under contract to the U.S. Office of Education (OE) is described. Objectives of the report are: to summarize the work performed and the results of each of the projects that were conducted; to describe certain prototype systems that were developed for the guarantee…

  4. Quality assurance in nuclear medicine facilities; availability of final recommendations--FDA. Notice.

    PubMed

    1985-05-13

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of final recommendations prepared by its Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) on quality assurance programs in nuclear medicine facilities. The final recommendations include the agency's rationale for the recommendations as well as references that can be used as well as references that can be used as guides in conducting quality control monitoring. These final recommendations are available as a technical report in CDRH's radiation recommendations series. They are intended to encourage and promote the development of voluntary quality assurance programs in nuclear medicine facilities.

  5. European Upper Atmosphere Server DIAS - Final Conference/ Abstract

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-01-10

    PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) INGV - Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Nat Instit Geophysics, Volcanology) Via di Vigna...organised by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Rome, Italy. D6.8 Report on the Final Conference - 3 - In general, the DIAS...the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia in Rome focused on the general overview of scientific and technical tools adopted by the DIAS

  6. Interplay among Technical, Socio-Emotional and Personal Factors in Written Feedback Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chong, Ivan

    2018-01-01

    The centrality of written feedback is clearly seen from the proliferation of research in the context of higher education. As an increasingly expanding field in research, the majority of written feedback studies have been interested in investigating the technical aspect of how feedback should be given in order to promote student learning. More…

  7. Technical Feasibility Study of an Effective Low-Toxicity Obscurant Material

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-08-01

    2. REPORT TYPE FINAL 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 04/2011 – 07/2012 4 . TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER W912HQ-11-C-0034 Technical...6 4 Work Package 3 – Laboratory-scale tests...chemistry to sea-salt aerosol. 4 The major component of sea-salt is sodium chloride. Sodium chloride can be very simply generated by the combustion

  8. Boiler MACT Technical Assistance (Fact Sheet)

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

    Not Available

    2012-03-01

    Fact sheet describing the changes to Environmental Protection Act process standards. The DOE will offer technical assistance to ensure that major sources burning coal and oil have information on cost-effective, clean energy strategies for compliance, and to promote cleaner, more efficient boiler burning to cut harmful pollution and reduce operational costs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to finalize the reconsideration process for its Clean Air Act pollution standards National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters (known as Boiler Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT)), in Spring 2012.more » This rule applies to large and small boilers in a wide range of industrial facilities and institutions. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will offer technical assistance to ensure that major sources burning coal or oil have information on cost-effective clean energy strategies for compliance, including combined heat and power, and to promote cleaner, more efficient boilers to cut harmful pollution and reduce operational costs.« less

  9. Diverse knowledges and competing interests: an essay on socio-technical problem-solving.

    PubMed

    di Norcia, Vincent

    2002-01-01

    Solving complex socio-technical problems, this paper claims, involves diverse knowledges (cognitive diversity), competing interests (social diversity), and pragmatism. To explain this view, this paper first explores two different cases: Canadian pulp and paper mill pollution and siting nuclear reactors in systematically sensitive areas of California. Solving such socio-technically complex problems involves cognitive diversity as well as social diversity and pragmatism. Cognitive diversity requires one to not only recognize relevant knowledges but also to assess their validity. Finally, it is suggested, integrating the resultant set of diverse relevant and valid knowledges determines the parameters of the solution space for the problem.

  10. 'Advancement of KHPS to DOE TRL 7/8' Project - Final Technical Report

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

    Adonizio, Mary Ann; Corren, Dean; Smith, Ron

    Final Report describing activities performed under the 'Advancement of the KHPS to DOE TRL 7/8' project, including the development of critical component test protocols, testing and analysis of the Gen5 KHPS main shaft seal, and continuing compliance work on approved operational environmental monitoring plans in anticipation of KHPS turbine installation at Verdant Power's Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project site in New York, NY.

  11. Technical clarity in inter-agency negotiations: Lessons from four hydropower projects

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Burkardt, Nina; Lamb, Berton Lee; Taylor, Jonathan G.; Waddle, Terry J.

    1995-01-01

    We investigated the effect of technical clarity on success in multi-party negotiations in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licensing process. Technical clarity is the shared understanding of dimensions such as the geographic extent of the project, range of flows to be considered, important species and life stages, and variety of water uses considered. The results of four hydropower licensing consultations are reported. Key participants were interviewed to ascertain the level of technical clarity present during the consultations and the degree to which the consultations were successful. Technical clarity appears to be a prerequisite for successful outcomes. Factors that enhance technical clarity include simple project design, new rather than existing projects, precise definition of issues, a sense of urgency to reach agreement, a sense of fairness among participants, and consistency in participation. Negotiators should not neglect the critical pre-negotiation steps of defining technical issues and determining appropriate studies, deciding how to interpret studies, and agreeing on responses to study results.

  12. Setting Performance Standards for Technical and Nontechnical Competence in General Surgery.

    PubMed

    Szasz, Peter; Bonrath, Esther M; Louridas, Marisa; Fecso, Andras B; Howe, Brett; Fehr, Adam; Ott, Michael; Mack, Lloyd A; Harris, Kenneth A; Grantcharov, Teodor P

    2017-07-01

    The objectives of this study were to (1) create a technical and nontechnical performance standard for the laparoscopic cholecystectomy, (2) assess the classification accuracy and (3) credibility of these standards, (4) determine a trainees' ability to meet both standards concurrently, and (5) delineate factors that predict standard acquisition. Scores on performance assessments are difficult to interpret in the absence of established standards. Trained raters observed General Surgery residents performing laparoscopic cholecystectomies using the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OSATS) and the Objective Structured Assessment of Non-Technical Skills (OSANTS) instruments, while as also providing a global competent/noncompetent decision for each performance. The global decision was used to divide the trainees into 2 contrasting groups and the OSATS or OSANTS scores were graphed per group to determine the performance standard. Parametric statistics were used to determine classification accuracy and concurrent standard acquisition, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were used to delineate predictive factors. Thirty-six trainees were observed 101 times. The technical standard was an OSATS of 21.04/35.00 and the nontechnical standard an OSANTS of 22.49/35.00. Applying these standards, competent/noncompetent trainees could be discriminated in 94% of technical and 95% of nontechnical performances (P < 0.001). A 21% discordance between technically and nontechnically competent trainees was identified (P < 0.001). ROC analysis demonstrated case experience and trainee level were both able to predict achieving the standards with an area under the curve (AUC) between 0.83 and 0.96 (P < 0.001). The present study presents defensible standards for technical and nontechnical performance. Such standards are imperative to implementing summative assessments into surgical training.

  13. Interchange rotation factors and player characteristics influence physical and technical performance in professional Australian Rules football.

    PubMed

    Dillon, Patrick A; Kempton, Thomas; Ryan, Samuel; Hocking, Joel; Coutts, Aaron J

    2018-03-01

    To examine the effects of match-related and individual player characteristics on activity profile and technical performance during rotations in professional Australian football. Longitudinal observational study. Global positioning system data and player rating scores were collected from 33 professional Australian football players during 15 Australian football League matches. Player rating scores were time aligned with their relative total and high-speed running (HSR) distance (>20kmh -1 ) for each on ground rotation. Individual players' maximal aerobic running speed (MAS) was determined from a two-kilometre trial. A multilevel linear mixed model was used to examine the influence of rotations on physical activity profiles and skill execution during match play. Rotation duration and accumulated distance resulted in a trivial-to-moderate reduction in relative total and HSR distances as well as relative rating points. The number of disposals in a rotation had a small positive effect on relative total and HSR distances and a large positive effect on relative rating points. MAS was associated with a moderate-to-large increase in relative total distance, but had a large negative effect on relative rating points. Previous rotation time, stoppages and the number of rotations in the quarter had a trivial-to-small negative effect on relative total and HSR distances. A greater speed (mmin -1 ) was associated with a trivial increase in rating points during a rotation, while there was a trivial decrease in relative total distance as rating points increased. The complex relationship between factors that influence activity profile and technical performance during rotations in Australian football needs to be considered when interpreting match performance. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Advancing Free Flight Through Human Factors: Workshop Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1995-08-01

    This report describes the results of the Advancing Free Flight Through Human : Factors technical workshop held on June 20 and 21, 1995. The purpose of this : technical workshop was to begin the process of identifying and solving human : factors issue...

  15. Progress in Emission Efficiency of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes: Basic Understanding and Its Technical Application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsutsui, Tetsuo; Takada, Noriyuki

    2013-11-01

    The technical history of when and how the basic understanding of the emission efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) was established over the last 50 years is described. At first, our understanding of emission efficiency in single-crystal and thin-film electroluminescence (EL) devices in the early stages before the Eastman-Kodak breakthrough, that is, the introduction of the concept of multilayer structures, is examined. Then our contemplation travels from the Eastman-Kodak breakthrough towards the presently widely accepted concept of emission efficiency. The essential issues concerning the emission efficiency of OLEDs are summarized to help readers to obtain a common understanding of OLED efficiency problems, and detailed discussions on the primary factors that determine emission efficiency are given. Finally, some comments on remaining issues are presented.

  16. Technical efficiency and productivity of Chinese county hospitals: an exploratory study in Henan province, China

    PubMed Central

    Cheng, Zhaohui; Tao, Hongbing; Cai, Miao; Lin, Haifeng; Lin, Xiaojun; Shu, Qin; Zhang, Ru-ning

    2015-01-01

    Objectives Chinese county hospitals have been excessively enlarging their scale during the healthcare reform since 2009. The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical efficiency and productivity of county hospitals during the reform process, and to determine whether, and how, efficiency is affected by various factors. Setting and participants 114 sample county hospitals were selected from Henan province, China, from 2010 to 2012. Outcome measures Data envelopment analysis was employed to estimate the technical and scale efficiency of sample hospitals. The Malmquist index was used to calculate productivity changes over time. Tobit regression was used to regress against 4 environmental factors and 5 institutional factors that affected the technical efficiency. Results (1) 112 (98.2%), 112 (98.2%) and 104 (91.2%) of the 114 sample hospitals ran inefficiently in 2010, 2011 and 2012, with average technical efficiency of 0.697, 0.748 and 0.790, respectively. (2) On average, during 2010–2012, productivity of sample county hospitals increased by 7.8%, which was produced by the progress in technical efficiency changes and technological changes of 0.9% and 6.8%, respectively. (3) Tobit regression analysis indicated that government subsidy, hospital size with above 618 beds and average length of stay assumed a negative sign with technical efficiency; bed occupancy rate, ratio of beds to nurses and ratio of nurses to physicians assumed a positive sign with technical efficiency. Conclusions There was considerable space for technical efficiency improvement in Henan county hospitals. During 2010–2012, sample hospitals experienced productivity progress; however, the adverse change in pure technical efficiency should be emphasised. Moreover, according to the Tobit results, policy interventions that strictly supervise hospital bed scale, shorten the average length of stay and coordinate the proportion among physicians, nurses and beds, would benefit hospital efficiency

  17. Technical Topic 3.2.2.d Bayesian and Non-Parametric Statistics: Integration of Neural Networks with Bayesian Networks for Data Fusion and Predictive Modeling

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-05-31

    and included explosives such as TATP, HMTD, RDX, RDX, ammonium nitrate , potassium perchlorate, potassium nitrate , sugar, and TNT. The approach...Distribution Unlimited UU UU UU UU 31-05-2016 15-Apr-2014 14-Jan-2015 Final Report: Technical Topic 3.2.2. d Bayesian and Non- parametric Statistics...of Papers published in non peer-reviewed journals: Final Report: Technical Topic 3.2.2. d Bayesian and Non-parametric Statistics: Integration of Neural

  18. 78 FR 34264 - Technical Corrections to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-07

    ...-AA03 Technical Corrections to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules AGENCY: Office for... corrections address certain inadvertent errors and omissions in the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement... (HHS or ``the Department'') published a final rule to implement changes to the HIPAA Privacy, Security...

  19. 76 FR 11414 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Independent Research and Development Technical...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-02

    ... Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Independent Research and Development Technical Descriptions (DFARS Case... (DFARS) to require contractors to report independent research and development (IR&D) projects generating... the address shown below on or before May 2, 2011, to be considered in the formation of the final rule...

  20. Final Technical Report - DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-07ER46424

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

    Stroud, David

    We present a final report on the activities undertaken under DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-07ER46424, titled "Interaction effects in quasi one-dimensional electronic systems," originally under the direction of Prof. Julia Meyer. The report includes an overview of the grant and the personnel involved, a list of publications acknowledging the grant, and a summary of the results and conclusions drawn from research supported by the grant.

  1. A Novel Slurry-Based Biomass Reforming Process Final Technical Report

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

    Emerson, Sean C.; Davis, Timothy D.; Peles, A.

    2011-09-30

    wood to hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide was repeatedly demonstrated in batch reactors varying in size from 50 mL to 7.6 L. The different wood sources (e.g., swamp maple, poplar, and commercial wood flour) were converted in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst and base at relatively low temperatures (e.g., 310°C) at sub-critical pressures sufficient to maintain the liquid phase. Both precious metal and base metal catalysts were found to be active for the liquid phase hydrolysis and reforming of wood. Pt-based catalysts, particularly Pt-Re, were shown to be more selective toward breaking C-C bonds, resulting in a higher selectivity to hydrogen versus methane. Ni-based catalysts were found to prefer breaking C-O bonds, favoring the production of methane. The project showed that increasing the concentration of base (base to wood ratio) in the presence of Raney Ni catalysts resulted in greater selectivity toward hydrogen but at the expense of increasing the production of undesirable organic acids from the wood, lowering the amount of wood converted to gas. It was shown that by modifying Ni-based catalysts with dopants, it was possible to reduce the base concentration while maintaining the selectivity toward hydrogen and increasing wood conversion to gas versus organic acids. The final stage of the project was the construction and testing of a demonstration unit for H2 production. This continuous flow demonstration unit consisted of wood slurry and potassium carbonate feed pump systems, two reactors for hydrolysis and reforming, and a gas-liquid separation system. The technical challenges associated with unreacted wood fines and Raney Ni catalyst retention limited the demonstration unit to using a fixed bed Raney Ni catalyst form. The lower activity of the larger particle Raney Ni in turn limited the residence time and thus the wood mass flow feed rate to 50 g min-1 for a 1 wt% wood slurry. The project demonstrated continuous H2 yields with unmodified, fixed bed

  2. Technical report on prototype intelligent network flow optimization (INFLO) dynamic speed harmonization and queue warning.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-06-01

    This Technical Report on Prototype Intelligent Network Flow Optimization (INFLO) Dynamic Speed Harmonization and Queue Warning is the final report for the project. It describes the prototyping, acceptance testing and small-scale demonstration of the ...

  3. 75 FR 37722 - OMB Approvals Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; Technical Amendment

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-30

    ... since its last update. B. Why is this Technical Amendment Issued as a Final Rule? The information... provisions since the last update of this table. The paperwork burden associated with these new provisions was... amendment updates the table that lists the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control numbers issued...

  4. Team Massachusetts & Central America Solar Decathlon 2015 Final Technical Report

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

    Lee, Kenneth

    Our team was Team MASSCA (Massachusetts and Central America), which was a partnership of Western New England University (WNE) located in Massachusetts USA, The Technological University of Panama (UTP), and Central American Technological University (UNITEC) of Honduras. Together we had a group of 6 faculty members and approximately 30 undergraduate students. Our house is ‘The EASI’ House, which stands for Efficient, Affordable, Solar Innovation. The EASI house is rectangular with two bedrooms and one bath, and offers a total square footage of 680. Based on competition estimates, The EASI house costs roughly $121,000. The EASI house has a 5kW solarmore » system. Faculty and students from all three institutions were represented at the competition in Irvine California. Team MASSCA did well considering this was our first entry in the Solar Decathlon competition. Team MASSCA won the following awards: First Place – Affordability Contest Second Place – Energy Balance Contest. The competition provided a great experience for our students (and faculty as well). This competition provided leadership, endurance, and technical knowledge/skills for our students, and was the single most important hands-on experience during their undergraduate years. We are extremely pleased with the awards we received. At the same time we have learned from our efforts and would do better if we were to compete in the future. Furthermore, as a result of our team’s Inter-Americas collaborative effort, UTP and WNE have partnered to form Team PANAMASS (PANAma and MASSachusetts) and have developed The 3 SMART House for the inaugural Solar Decathlon Latin America & Caribbean competition held in Colombia.« less

  5. Communication Platform Payload Definition (CPPD) study. Volume 2: Technical report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hunter, E. M.; Driggers, T.; Jorasch, R.

    1986-01-01

    This is Volume 2 (Technical Report) of the Ford Aerospace & Communications Corporation Final Report for the Communication Platform Payload Definition (CPPD) Study program conducted for NASA Lewis Research Center under contract No. NAS3-24235. This report presents the results of the study effort leading to five potential platform payloads to service CONUS and WARC Region 2 traffic demand as projected to the year 2008. The report addresses establishing the data bases, developing service aggregation scenarios, selecting and developing 5 payload concepts, performing detailed definition of the 5 payloads, costing them, identifying critical technology, and finally comparing the payloads with each other and also with non-aggregated equivalent services.

  6. Bibliography of Technical Publications and Papers, October 1978 - September 1979

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-11-01

    overnutrition. Symposium on Psychosocial Factors in Nutritional Problems, llth International Congress of Nutrition, Rio de Janeiro , Brazil, September...VBIOGRAPHY OF-TZHNICAL BLICATIONS AND An T7 Octber118 -Seu~imb~ 199k6. PERFORMNING OR0. REPORT NUMBER 7. AUTMOR( e ) S. CONTRACT -OR G ANT HNDMER~a) 9...Officer Advanced Class 79-2, US Army Quartermaster School, Fort Lee, VA, 14 August 1979. 6 OFFICE OF TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Technical Papers 12. ROSS, E . W

  7. Solar energy/utility interface - The technical issues

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tabors, R. D.; White, D. C.

    1982-01-01

    The technical and economic factors affecting an interface between solar/wind power sources and utilities are examined. Photovoltaic, solar thermal, and wind powered systems are subject to stochastic local climatic variations and as such may require full back-up services from utilities, which are then in a position of having reserve generating power and power lines and equipment which are used only part time. The low reliability which has degraded some economies of scale formerly associated with large, centralized power plants, and the lowered rate of the increase in electricity usage is taken to commend the inclusion of power sources with a modular nature such as is available from solar derived electrical generation. Technical issues for maintaining the quality of grid power and also effectively metering purchased and supplied back-up power as part of a homeostatic system of energy control are discussed. It is concluded that economic considerations, rather than technical issues, bear the most difficulty in integrating solar technologies into the utility network.

  8. Determining and Validating Barriers to Post-Secondary Vocational, Technical and Adult Education Programs in Wisconsin. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farning, Max; Borden, Sally

    A consortium of five Wisconsin Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) Districts (Gateway, Indianhead, Mid-State, Milwaukee, and Southwest) were utilized to identify, verify, and alleviate barriers to enrollment. A VTAE survey in 1976 identified six major reasons for individuals' failing to attend school after indicating an interest in…

  9. Technical approaches to characterizing and cleaning up iron and steel mill sites under the brownfields initiative. Final report

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

    NONE

    EPA has developed this guide to provide decision-makers, such as city planners, private sector developers, and other involved in redeveloping brownfields, with a better understanding of the technical issues involved in assessing and cleaning up iron and steel mill sites so they can make the most informed decisions possible. This overview of the technical process involved in assessing and cleaning up brownfields sites can assist planners in making decisions at various stages of the project. An understanding of land use and industrial processes conducted in the past at a site can help the planner to conceptualize the site and identifymore » likely areas of contamination that may require cleanup. Numerous resources are suggested to facilitate characterization of the site and consideration of cleanup technologies.« less

  10. A Pilot Program to Provide Ownership Skills to Seniors in the Vocational Technical Schools and Other Educational Institutions, Year Two. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norwich Regional Vocational Technical School, CT.

    Responding to a Small Business Administration statement that technical school graduates lack knowledge of business principles, the Norwich (Connecticut) Regional Vocational Technical School conducted a course in small business ownership/management for all of its seniors. The required course, a fifty-four-hour module, replaced one English,…

  11. Air Force Research Laboratory Wright Site Guide to Technical Publishing

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-04-01

    Scientific and Technical Reports—Elements, Organization, and Design manual (and a version modified for documents generated for AFRL) • Merriam-Webster’s...notice page --SF 298 --original graphics /halftones Indicate the following on the letter of transmittal sheet: --quantity of copies required for...Elements, Organization and Design ? The WRS CDRL for a final report requires that the standard be followed. The only exception is SBIR Phase 1

  12. Relationship between intraoperative non-technical performance and technical events in bariatric surgery.

    PubMed

    Fecso, A B; Kuzulugil, S S; Babaoglu, C; Bener, A B; Grantcharov, T P

    2018-03-30

    The operating theatre is a unique environment with complex team interactions, where technical and non-technical performance affect patient outcomes. The correlation between technical and non-technical performance, however, remains underinvestigated. The purpose of this study was to explore these interactions in the operating theatre. A prospective single-centre observational study was conducted at a tertiary academic medical centre. One surgeon and three fellows participated as main operators. All patients who underwent a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and had the procedures captured using the Operating Room Black Box ® platform were included. Technical assessment was performed using the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills and Generic Error Rating Tool instruments. For non-technical assessment, the Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) and Scrub Practitioners' List of Intraoperative Non-Technical Skills (SPLINTS) tools were used. Spearman rank-order correlation and N-gram statistics were conducted. Fifty-six patients were included in the study and 90 procedural steps (gastrojejunostomy and jejunojejunostomy) were analysed. There was a moderate to strong correlation between technical adverse events (r s  = 0·417-0·687), rectifications (r s  = 0·380-0·768) and non-technical performance of the surgical and nursing teams (NOTSS and SPLINTS). N-gram statistics showed that after technical errors, events and prior rectifications, the staff surgeon and the scrub nurse exhibited the most positive non-technical behaviours, irrespective of operator (staff surgeon or fellow). This study demonstrated that technical and non-technical performances are related, on both an individual and a team level. Valuable data can be obtained around intraoperative errors, events and rectifications. © 2018 BJS Society Ltd Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Final Report for the Development of the NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nelson, Michael L.

    2005-01-01

    The author performed a variety of research, development and consulting tasks for NASA Langley Research Center in the area of digital libraries (DLs) and supporting technologies, such as the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). In particular, the development focused on the NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS) and its transition from a distributed searching model to one that uses the OAI-PMH. The Open Archives Initiative (OAI) is an international consortium focused on furthering the interoperability of DLs through the use of "metadata harvesting". The OAI-PMH version of NTRS went into public production on April 28, 2003. Since that time, it has been extremely well received. In addition to providing the NTRS user community with a higher level of service than the previous, distributed searching version of NTRS, it has provided more insight into how the user community uses NTRS in a variety of deployment scenarios. This report details the design, implementation and maintenance of the NTRS. Source code is included in the appendices.

  14. Technical Notes on the Multifactor Method of Elementary School Closing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Puleo, Vincent T.

    This report provides preliminary technical information on a method for analyzing the factors involved in the closing of elementary schools. Included is a presentation of data and a brief discussion bearing on descriptive statistics, reliability, and validity. An intercorrelation matrix is also examined. The method employs 9 factors that have a…

  15. X-43A Final Flight Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grindle, Laurie

    2011-01-01

    The presentation will provide an overview of the final flight of the NASA X-43A project. The project consisted of three flights, two planned for Mach 7 and one for Mach 10. The first flight, conducted on June 2, 2001, was unsuccessful and resulted in a nine-month mishap investigation. A two-year return to flight effort ensued and concluded when the second Mach 7 flight was successfully conducted on March 27, 2004. The third and final flight, which occurred on November 16, 2004, was the first Mach 10 flight demonstration of an airframe-integrated, scramjet-powered, hypersonic vehicle. As such, the final flight presented first time technical challenges in addition to final flight project closeout concerns. The goals and objectives for the third flight as well as those for the project will be presented. The configuration of the Hyper-X stack including the X-43A, Hyper-X launch vehicle, and Hyper-X research vehicle adapter wil also be presented. Mission differences, vehicle modifications and lessons learned from the first and second flights as they applied to the third flight will also be discussed. Although X-43A flight 3 was always planned to be the final flight of the X-43A project, the X-43 program had two other vehicles and corresponding flight phases in X-43C and X-43B. Those other projects never manifested under the X-43 banner and X-43A flight 3 also became the final flight of X-43 program.

  16. Design Evaluation for Personnel, Training and Human Factors (DEPTH) Final Report.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1998-01-17

    human activity was primarily intended to facilitate man-machine design analyses of complex systems. By importing computer aided design (CAD) data, the human figure models and analysis algorithms can help to ensure components can be seen, reached, lifted and removed by most maintainers. These simulations are also useful for logistics data capture, training, and task analysis. DEPTH was also found to be useful in obtaining task descriptions for technical

  17. 75 FR 33167 - Technical Amendment Language Change From “Wholly” to “Fully”

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-11

    ... SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 20 CFR Parts 404, 405, 408, 416, and 418 [Docket No. SSA-2009-0062] RIN 0960-AH16 Technical Amendment Language Change From ``Wholly'' to ``Fully'' AGENCY: Social Security... these final rules, call Brian J. Rudick, Office of Regulations, Social Security Administration, 6401...

  18. 75 FR 49408 - Navigation and Navigable Waters; Technical, Organizational, and Conforming Amendments, Bridges

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-13

    ... Conforming Amendments, Bridges AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This rule makes non... technical corrections to Coast Guard bridge and navigable waters regulations. This rule will have no... announces or gathers public opinion or other information regarding bridge matters, nor will it change the...

  19. High/Scope Outreach Project. Final Report. October 1, 1983-September 30, 1984.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, Ypsilanti, MI.

    The final report reviews accomplishments of an outreach project designed to provide technical assistance and training to early childhood programs for handicapped children. The project features the Cognitively Oriented Preschool Curriculum, a developmental approach based on Piagetian theory and explained to build on the child's accomplishments. A…

  20. General Reevaluation Report for Flood Control Project: Raccoon River and Walnut Creek, West Des Moines-Des Moines, Iowa with Final Supplement Number 1 to the Final Environmental Impact Statement

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-07-01

    to the FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT D T C EIECTE SMAR 1 41990 US Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District JULY 1989 S03� 1601...SUPPLEMENT NO. 1 TO THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT NTIS z ITIC Av’, < , r Dist JULY 1989 TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTORS Primary study team personnel who are...AND COMMENTS 45 SECTION 6 - RECOMMENDATIONS 46 List of Tables No. Title Page 1 Impacts of Levee on Raccoon River Profiles 20 2 Impacts of Levee on

  1. Final Technical Report: "New Tools for Physics with Low-energy Antimatter"

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

    Surko, Clifford M.

    2013-10-02

    The objective of this research is to develop new tools to manipulate antimatter plasmas and to tailor them for specific scientific and technical uses. The work has two specific objectives. One is establishing the limits for positron accumulation and confinement in the form of single-component plasmas in Penning-Malmberg traps. This technique underpins a wealth of antimatter applications. A second objective is to develop an understanding of the limits for formation of cold, bright positron beams. The research done in this grant focused on particular facets of these goals. One focus was extracting tailored beams from a high-field Penning-Malmberg trap frommore » the magnetic field to form new kinds of high-quality electrostatic beams. A second goal was to develop the technology for colder trap-based beams using a cryogenically cooled buffer gas. A third objective was to conduct the basic plasma research to develop a new high-capacity multicell trap (MCT) for research with antimatter. Progress is reported here in all three areas. While the goal of this research is to develop new tools for manipulating positrons (i.e., the antiparticles of electrons), much of the work was done with test electron plasmas for increased data rate. Some of the techniques developed in the course of this work are also relevant to the manipulation and use of antiprotons.« less

  2. Success Factors of E-Learning Projects: A Technical Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alhomod, Sami; Shafi, Mohd Mudasir

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study is to identify the success factors of e learning programs in King Saud University from an engineer and technician's point of view. An extensive study of existing literature was done to determine the 11 success factors of e learning program. The factors identified as success factors are: Sufficient Users Training,…

  3. Launch Vehicle Design Process: Characterization, Technical Integration, and Lessons Learned

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blair, J. C.; Ryan, R. S.; Schutzenhofer, L. A.; Humphries, W. R.

    2001-01-01

    Engineering design is a challenging activity for any product. Since launch vehicles are highly complex and interconnected and have extreme energy densities, their design represents a challenge of the highest order. The purpose of this document is to delineate and clarify the design process associated with the launch vehicle for space flight transportation. The goal is to define and characterize a baseline for the space transportation design process. This baseline can be used as a basis for improving effectiveness and efficiency of the design process. The baseline characterization is achieved via compartmentalization and technical integration of subsystems, design functions, and discipline functions. First, a global design process overview is provided in order to show responsibility, interactions, and connectivity of overall aspects of the design process. Then design essentials are delineated in order to emphasize necessary features of the design process that are sometimes overlooked. Finally the design process characterization is presented. This is accomplished by considering project technical framework, technical integration, process description (technical integration model, subsystem tree, design/discipline planes, decision gates, and tasks), and the design sequence. Also included in the document are a snapshot relating to process improvements, illustrations of the process, a survey of recommendations from experienced practitioners in aerospace, lessons learned, references, and a bibliography.

  4. Methodology in Seeking Stakeholder Perceptions of Effective Technical Oral Presentations: An Exploratory Pilot Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bhattacharyya, Ena; Patil, Arun; Sargunan, Rajeswary Appacutty

    2010-01-01

    Engineering communication studies indicate the importance of oral presentations as an indispensable component of workplace oral communication activities; however, since there is limited literature regarding stakeholder perceptions of effective presentation skills and attributes in technical oral presentations or final year engineering project…

  5. Final Technical Report for "High Energy Physics at The University of Iowa"

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

    Mallik, Usha; Meurice, Yannick; Nachtman, Jane

    2013-07-31

    Particle Physics explores the very fundamental building blocks of our universe: the nature of forces, of space and time. By exploring very energetic collisions of sub-nuclear particles with sophisticated detectors at the colliding beam accelerators (as well as others), experimental particle physicists have established the current theory known as the Standard Model (SM), one of the several theoretical postulates to explain our everyday world. It explains all phenomena known up to a very small fraction of a second after the Big Bang to a high precision; the Higgs boson, discovered recently, was the last of the particle predicted by themore » SM. However, many other phenomena, like existence of dark energy, dark matter, absence of anti-matter, the parameters in the SM, neutrino masses etc. are not explained by the SM. So, in order to find out what lies beyond the SM, i.e., what conditions at the earliest fractions of the first second of the universe gave rise to the SM, we constructed the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN after the Tevatron collider at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Each of these projects helped us push the boundary further with new insights as we explore a yet higher energy regime. The experiments are extremely complex, and as we push the boundaries of our existing knowledge, it also requires pushing the boundaries of our technical knowhow. So, not only do we pursue humankind’s most basic intellectual pursuit of knowledge, we help develop technology that benefits today’s highly technical society. Our trained Ph.D. students become experts at fast computing, manipulation of large data volumes and databases, developing cloud computing, fast electronics, advanced detector developments, and complex interfaces in several of these areas. Many of the Particle physics Ph.D.s build their careers at various technology and computing facilities, even financial institutions use some of their skills of simulation and statistical prowess

  6. Comparison of Final Grades between a Traditional Classroom and Learning Community Classroom at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Beek, Dianne

    This study examines courses in the marketing program at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College to compare the academic performance of students in traditional and learning community classroom settings. Two sections of students, a traditional 17-week course and a block scheduled 5-week course, served as the sample in the study. The block scheduling…

  7. Ice Load Project Final Technical Report

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

    McCoy, Timothy J.; Brown, Thomas; Byrne, Alex

    As interest and investment in offshore wind projects increase worldwide, some turbines will be installed in locations where ice of significant thickness forms on the water surface. This ice moves under the driving forces of wind, current, and thermal effects and may result in substantial forces on bottom-fixed support structures. The North and Baltic Seas in Europe have begun to see significant wind energy development and the Great Lakes of the United States and Canada may host wind energy development in the near future. Design of the support structures for these projects is best performed through the use of anmore » integrated tool that can calculate the cumulative effects of forces due to turbine operations, wind, waves, and floating ice. The dynamic nature of ice forces requires that these forces be included in the design simulations, rather than added as static forces to simulation results. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard[2] for offshore wind turbine design and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard[3] for offshore structures provide requirements and algorithms for the calculation of forces induced by surface ice; however, currently none of the major wind turbine dynamic simulation codes provides the ability to model ice loads. The scope of work of the project described in this report includes the development of a suite of subroutines, collectively named IceFloe, that meet the requirements of the IEC and ISO standards and couples with four of the major wind turbine dynamic simulation codes. The mechanisms by which ice forces impinge on offshore structures generally include the forces required for crushing of the ice against vertical-sided structures and the forces required to fracture the ice as it rides up on conical-sided structures. Within these two broad categories, the dynamic character of the forces with respect to time is also dependent on other factors such as the velocity and thickness of the

  8. 75 FR 47211 - Navigation and Navigable Waters; Technical, Organizational, and Conforming Amendments, Sector...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-05

    ... Puget Sound, WA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This rule makes non-substantive... technical corrections to reflect the renaming of Sector Seattle to Sector Puget Sound as part of the Coast... organizational structure. Sector Seattle has been disestablished and Sector Puget Sound has been established in...

  9. ADAAG Review Federal Advisory Committee Recommendations for a New ADAAG. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, Washington, DC.

    This report presents the final recommendations, in the form of a new set of guidelines, of a federal advisory committee concerning revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). The guidelines provide scoping and technical requirements for the design, construction, and alteration of sites, facilities, buildings,…

  10. Systematic development of technical textiles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beer, M.; Schrank, V.; Gloy, Y.-S.; Gries, T.

    2016-07-01

    Technical textiles are used in various fields of applications, ranging from small scale (e.g. medical applications) to large scale products (e.g. aerospace applications). The development of new products is often complex and time consuming, due to multiple interacting parameters. These interacting parameters are production process related and also a result of the textile structure and used material. A huge number of iteration steps are necessary to adjust the process parameter to finalize the new fabric structure. A design method is developed to support the systematic development of technical textiles and to reduce iteration steps. The design method is subdivided into six steps, starting from the identification of the requirements. The fabric characteristics vary depending on the field of application. If possible, benchmarks are tested. A suitable fabric production technology needs to be selected. The aim of the method is to support a development team within the technology selection without restricting the textile developer. After a suitable technology is selected, the transformation and correlation between input and output parameters follows. This generates the information for the production of the structure. Afterwards, the first prototype can be produced and tested. The resulting characteristics are compared with the initial product requirements.

  11. The California spotted owl: a technical assessment of its current status

    Treesearch

    Jared Verner; Kevin S. McKelvey; Barry R. Noon; R. J. Gutierrez; Gordon I. Jr. Gould; Thomas W. Beck

    1992-01-01

    This report is based an the Final Repart submitted on May 8, 1992 by the Technical Assessment Team to the interagency Steering Committee for the California Spotted Owl Assessment. The 13 chapters cover the assessment of the current status of the California spotted owl, its biology and habitat use, and forests where the subspecies occurs in the Sierra Nevada and...

  12. 76 FR 64083 - Reliability Technical Conference; Notice of Technical Conference

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-17

    ... Technical Conference; Notice of Technical Conference Take notice that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold a Technical Conference on Tuesday, November 29, 2011, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and... System. The conference will explore the progress made on the priorities for addressing risks to...

  13. 44 CFR 9.12 - Final public notice.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... public with a statement of its final decision and shall explain the relevant factors considered by the... provided the final notice. (b) For actions for which an environmental impact statement is being prepared... environmental assessment was prepared, the Notice of No Significant Impact is adequate to constitute final...

  14. 44 CFR 9.12 - Final public notice.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... public with a statement of its final decision and shall explain the relevant factors considered by the... provided the final notice. (b) For actions for which an environmental impact statement is being prepared... environmental assessment was prepared, the Notice of No Significant Impact is adequate to constitute final...

  15. Program and Abstracts, Boron Americas IX Final Report

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

    Feakes, Debra A.

    The Scientific and Technical Information (STI) submitted includes the final report and a collection of abstracts for the Ninth Boron in the Americas Conference which was held May 19-22, 2004, in San Marcos, Texas. The topics covered in the abstracts include: Application in Medicine, Application in Organic Synthesis and Catalysis, Boranes and Carboranes, Materials and Polymers, Metallaboranes and Metallacarboranes, Organoboron Compounds, Synthesis and Catalysis, and Theoretical Studies. Attendees represented researchers from government, industry, and academia.

  16. Technical Efficiency of Hospitals in Tehran, Iran.

    PubMed

    Kakeman, Edris; Rahimi Forushani, Abbas; Dargahi, Hossein

    2016-04-01

    Nowadays, restriction on access and optimum use of resources is the main challenge of development in all organizations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the technical efficiency and its factors, influencing hospitals of Tehran. This research was a descriptive-analytical and retrospective study conducted in 2014-2015. Fifty two hospitals with public, private, and social security ownership type were selected for this study. The required data was collected by a researcher-made check list in 3 sections of background data, inputs and outputs. The data was analyzed by DEAP 1.0.2, and STATA-13 technique. Seventeen (31/48) of hospitals had the efficiency score of 1 as the highest technical efficiency. The highest average score of efficiency was related to social security hospitals as 84.32, and then the public and private hospitals with the average of 84.29 and 79.64 respectively. Tobit regression results showed that the size, type of practice, and ownership of hospitals were effective on the degree of their technical efficiency. However, there was no significant correlation between teaching / non-teaching hospitals with technical efficiency. Establishment of competition system among hospitals, constitution of medium size hospitals and allocation of budget to hospitals based on national accreditation system are recommended.

  17. Technical basis for external dosimetry at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

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

    Bradley, E.W.; Wu, C.F.; Goff, T.E.

    1993-12-31

    The WIPP External Dosimetry Program, administered by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Waste Isolation Division, for the US Department of Energy (DOE), provides external dosimetry support services for operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Site. These operations include the receipt, experimentation with, storage, and disposal of transuranic (TRU) wastes. This document describes the technical basis for the WIPP External Radiation Dosimetry Program. The purposes of this document are to: (1) provide assurance that the WIPP External Radiation Dosimetry Program is in compliance with all regulatory requirements, (2) provide assurance that the WIPP External Radiation Dosimetry Program is derived from amore » sound technical base, (3) serve as a technical reference for radiation protection personnel, and (4) aid in identifying and planning for future needs. The external radiation exposure fields are those that are documented in the WIPP Final Safety Analysis Report.« less

  18. Best Practices for Continuous Monitoring of Temperature and Flow in Wadeable Streams (Final Report)

    EPA Science Inventory

    This final report is a technical "best practices" document describing sensor deployment for and collection of continuous temperature and flow data at ungaged sites in wadeable streams. This document addresses questions related to equipment needs; configuration, placement, and ins...

  19. DE-FG02-08ER64658 (OASIS) - Final Technical Report

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

    Sharman, Jonathan

    Project OASIS (Operation of Advanced Structures, Interfaces and Sub-components for MEAs) was a 12 month project that ran from 1st September 2008 to 31st August 2009, and was managed by the Department of Energy Office of Science, Chicago Office, as Award No DE-FG02-08ER64658, with Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Inc. as the sole contractor. The project was completed on schedule, with technical successes (details below) and payment of the full grant award made by DOE. The aim of the project was the development of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for H2/air polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells that would give higher performancemore » under hot/dry and dry operating conditions, ideally with no loss of performance under wet conditions. Reducing or eliminating the need for humidifying the incoming gases will allow significant system cost and size reduction for many fuel cell applications including automotive, stationary and back-up power, and portable systems. Portable systems are also of particular interest in military markets. In previous work Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells had developed very stable, corrosion-resistant catalysts suitable for resisting degradation by carbon corrosion in particular. These materials were applied within the OASIS project as they are considered necessary for systems such as automotive where multiple start-stop events are experienced. These catalysts were contrasted with more conventional materials in the design of catalyst layers and novel microporous layers (MPLs) and gas diffusion layer (GDL) combinations were also explored. Early on in the work it was shown how much more aggressive high temperature operation is than dry operation. At the same humidity, tests at 110?C caused much more dehydration than tests at 80?C and the high temperature condition was much more revealing of improvements made to MEA design. Alloy catalysts were introduced and compared with Pt catalysts with a range of particle sizes. It was apparent that the

  20. Navy Technical Information Presentation System (NTIPS) Test and Implementation Strategy

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-12-01

    IC AROEROCK I NAOI S ~ i P RF R M N C AVI AT OIO N A N DDEPARTMENT STIPRUCTRMNES COMPUATIONAN DEPARTMENT -MATHEMATICS AND 17 LOGISTICS DEPARTMENT leI...and Subtitle) S . TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED NAVY TECHNICAL INFORMATION PRESENTATION Final SYSTEM (NTIPS) TEST AND IMPLEMENTATION 6. PERFORMING...CLASSIFICATION OP THIS PAGE (1nor. Data Enteed) ock 20 continued) system operation, training, maintenance, and logistics support. This system was

  1. Biasogram: Visualization of Confounding Technical Bias in Gene Expression Data

    PubMed Central

    Krzystanek, Marcin; Szallasi, Zoltan; Eklund, Aron C.

    2013-01-01

    Gene expression profiles of clinical cohorts can be used to identify genes that are correlated with a clinical variable of interest such as patient outcome or response to a particular drug. However, expression measurements are susceptible to technical bias caused by variation in extraneous factors such as RNA quality and array hybridization conditions. If such technical bias is correlated with the clinical variable of interest, the likelihood of identifying false positive genes is increased. Here we describe a method to visualize an expression matrix as a projection of all genes onto a plane defined by a clinical variable and a technical nuisance variable. The resulting plot indicates the extent to which each gene is correlated with the clinical variable or the technical variable. We demonstrate this method by applying it to three clinical trial microarray data sets, one of which identified genes that may have been driven by a confounding technical variable. This approach can be used as a quality control step to identify data sets that are likely to yield false positive results. PMID:23613961

  2. Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading. Final Technical Report

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

    Steve Winkelman; Tim Hargrave; Christine Vanderlan

    1999-10-01

    The authors conclude in this report that an upstream system would ensure complete regulatory coverage of transportation sector emissions in an efficient and feasible manner, and as such represents a key component of a national least-cost GHG emissions abatement strategy. The broad coverage provided by an upstream system recommends this approach over vehicle-maker based approaches, which would not cover emissions from heavy-duty vehicles and the aviation, marine and off-road sub-sectors. The on-road fleet approach unfairly and inefficiently burdens vehicle manufacturers with responsibility for emissions that they cannot control. A new vehicles approach would exclude emissions from vehicles on the roadmore » prior to program inception. The hybrid approach faces significant technical and political complications, and it is not clear that the approach would actually change behavior among vehicle makers and users, which is its main purpose. They also note that a trading system would fail to encourage many land use and infrastructure measures that affect VMT growth and GHG emissions. They recommend that this market failure be addressed by complementing the trading system with a program specifically targeting land use- and infrastructure-related activities. A key issue that must be addressed in designing a national GHG control strategy is whether or not it is necessary to guarantee GHG reductions from the transport sector. Neither an upstream system nor a downstream approach would do so, since both would direct capital to the least-cost abatement opportunities wherever they were found. They review two reasons why it may be desirable to force transportation sector reductions: first, that the long-term response to climate change will require reductions in all sectors; and second, the many ancillary benefits associated with transportation-related, and especially VMT-related, emissions reduction activities. If policy makers find it desirable to establish transportation

  3. The socio-technical organisation of community pharmacies as a factor in the Electronic Prescription Service Release Two implementation: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Harvey, Jasmine; Avery, Anthony J; Waring, Justin; Barber, Nick

    2012-12-20

    The introduction of a new method of transmitting prescriptions from general practices to community pharmacies in England (Electronic Prescription Service Release 2 (EPS2)) has generated debate on how it will change work practice. As EPS2 will be a key technical element in dispensing, we reviewed the literature to find that there were no studies on how social and technical elements come together to form work practice in community pharmacies. This means the debate has little point of reference. Our aim therefore was to study the ways social and technical elements of a community pharmacy are used to achieve dispensing through the development of a conceptual model on pharmacy work practice, and to consider how a core technical element such the EPS2 could change work practice. We used ethnographic methods inclusive of case-study observations and interviews to collect qualitative data from 15 community pharmacies that were in the process of adopting or were soon to adopt EPS2. We analysed the case studies thematically and used rigorous multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary interpretive validation techniques to cross analyse findings. In practice, dispensing procedures were not designed to take into account variations in human and technical integration, and assumed that repetitive and collective use of socio-technical elements were at a constant. Variables such as availability of social and technical resources, and technical know-how of staff were not taken into account in formalised procedures. Yet community pharmacies were found to adapt their dispensing in relation to the balance of social and technical elements available, and how much of the social and technical elements they were willing to integrate into dispensing. While some integrated as few technical elements as possible, some depended entirely on technical artefacts. This pattern also applied to the social elements of dispensing. Through the conceptual model development process, we identified three

  4. Project CREATE Final Report. Cooperative Resources To Enhance Access to Technology Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hampden County Employment and Training Consortium, Springfield, MA.

    These materials have been developed by Project CREATE (Cooperative Resources to Enhance Access to Jobs through Technical Education), a demonstration program designed to develop a network, specific activities, and resources that would provide education and support services to a wide audience. A 13-page final report describes the hands-on training…

  5. Final technical report for DE-SC00012633 AToM (Advanced Tokamak Modeling)

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

    Holland, Christopher; Orlov, Dmitri; Izzo, Valerie

    This final report for the AToM project documents contributions from University of California, San Diego researchers over the period of 9/1/2014 – 8/31/2017. The primary focus of these efforts was on performing validation studies of core tokamak transport models using the OMFIT framework, including development of OMFIT workflow scripts. Additional work was performed to develop tools for use of the nonlinear magnetohydrodynamics code NIMROD in OMFIT, and its use in the study of runaway electron dynamics in tokamak disruptions.

  6. Green-House-Gas-Reduced Coal-and-Biomass-to-Liquid-Based Jet Fuel (GHGR-CBTL) Process - Final Technical report

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

    Lux, Kenneth; Imam, Thamina; Chevanan, Nehru

    This Final Technical Report describes the work and accomplishments of the project entitled, “Green-House-Gas-Reduced Coal-and-Biomass-to-Liquid-Based Jet Fuel (GHGR-CBTL) Process”. The main objective of the project was to raise the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the GHGR-CBTL fuel-production technology from TRL 4 to TRL 5 by producing a drop-in synthetic Jet Propellant 8 (JP-8) with a greenhouse-gas footprint less than or equal to petroleum-based JP-8 by utilizing mixtures of coal and biomass as the feedstock. The system utilizes the patented Altex fuel-production technology, which incorporates advanced catalysts developed by Pennsylvania State University. While the system was not fabricated and tested, majormore » efforts were expended to design the 1-TPD and a full-scale plant. The system was designed, a Block-Flow Diagram (BFD), a Process-Flow Diagram (PFD), and Piping-and-Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs) were produced, a Bill of Materials (BOM) and associated spec sheets were produced, commercially available components were selected and procured, custom components were designed and fabricated, catalysts were developed and screened for performance, and permitting activities were conducted. Optimization tests for JP-8 production using C2 olefin as the feed were performed over a range of temperatures, pressures and WHSVs. Liquid yields of between 63 to 65% with 65% JP-8 fraction (41-42% JP-8 yield) at 50 psig were achieved. Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) was performed by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and a GHGR-CBTL module was added to the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET®) model. Based upon the experimental results, the plant design was reconfigured for zero natural-gas imports and minimal electricity imports. The LCA analysis of the reconfigured process utilizing the GREET model showed that if the char from the process was utilized to produce combined heat and power (CHP) then a feed containing 23 wt

  7. Final Scientific/Technical Report for Program Title: Solar Powered Dewvaporation Desalination System

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

    Ranganathan, Shashidhar

    Desalination technologies have been used increasingly throughout the world to produce the drinking water from the brackish ground and sea water for the past few decades. Among the commercially available desalination technologies, reverse osmosis (RO) and multi-stage flash distillation are the most widely used technologies globally. However, these technologies are difficult to be directly integrated with green energies without converting them to electricity. Dewvaporation, a desalination process, uses saturated steam as a carrier-gas to evaporate water from saline feeds and form pure condensate. It has the major technical benefit of reusing energy, released from vapor condensation, multiple times. The currentmore » proposal has been planned to address this issue. In Phase I, we have successfully demonstrated the feasibility of a new plasmonic nanoparticle based approach through fabrication and evaluation of a solar powered water vapor generation module. The water vapor generation module allows generation of high temperature plasmon on a fiber bundle end, where strong water and plasmon interaction occurs generating water vapor. Plasmon enhanced water evaporation has been realized on plasmonic nanoparticle immobilized substrate with an energy conversion efficiency of over 50%.« less

  8. Technical efficiency and productivity of Chinese county hospitals: an exploratory study in Henan province, China.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Zhaohui; Tao, Hongbing; Cai, Miao; Lin, Haifeng; Lin, Xiaojun; Shu, Qin; Zhang, Ru-Ning

    2015-09-09

    Chinese county hospitals have been excessively enlarging their scale during the healthcare reform since 2009. The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical efficiency and productivity of county hospitals during the reform process, and to determine whether, and how, efficiency is affected by various factors. 114 sample county hospitals were selected from Henan province, China, from 2010 to 2012. Data envelopment analysis was employed to estimate the technical and scale efficiency of sample hospitals. The Malmquist index was used to calculate productivity changes over time. Tobit regression was used to regress against 4 environmental factors and 5 institutional factors that affected the technical efficiency. (1) 112 (98.2%), 112 (98.2%) and 104 (91.2%) of the 114 sample hospitals ran inefficiently in 2010, 2011 and 2012, with average technical efficiency of 0.697, 0.748 and 0.790, respectively. (2) On average, during 2010-2012, productivity of sample county hospitals increased by 7.8%, which was produced by the progress in technical efficiency changes and technological changes of 0.9% and 6.8%, respectively. (3) Tobit regression analysis indicated that government subsidy, hospital size with above 618 beds and average length of stay assumed a negative sign with technical efficiency; bed occupancy rate, ratio of beds to nurses and ratio of nurses to physicians assumed a positive sign with technical efficiency. There was considerable space for technical efficiency improvement in Henan county hospitals. During 2010-2012, sample hospitals experienced productivity progress; however, the adverse change in pure technical efficiency should be emphasised. Moreover, according to the Tobit results, policy interventions that strictly supervise hospital bed scale, shorten the average length of stay and coordinate the proportion among physicians, nurses and beds, would benefit hospital efficiency. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where

  9. Predisposition Factors of Career and Technical Education Transfer Students: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hioki, Warren; Lester, Derek; Martinez, Mario

    2015-01-01

    Six college students, who were career and technical education (CTE) transfer students in the state of Nevada, were interviewed Spring Semester of 2009. The study used a hermeneutic phenomenology framework as the method to identify those predisposition variables that heavily influenced the students in their decision to transfer to a senior…

  10. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Final rule.

    PubMed

    2016-05-17

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) is issuing a final rule to amend the regulations implementing Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 as they relate to employer-sponsored wellness programs. This rule addresses the extent to which an employer may offer an inducement to an employee for the employee's spouse to provide information about the spouse's manifestation of disease or disorder as part of a health risk assessment (HRA) administered in connection with an employer-sponsored wellness program. Several technical changes to the existing regulations are included. Published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the EEOC also issued a final rule to amend the regulations and interpretive guidance implementing Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that addresses the extent to which employers may use incentives to encourage employees to participate in wellness programs that ask them to respond to disability-related inquiries and/or undergo medical examinations.

  11. Technical-Induced Hemolysis in Patients with Respiratory Failure Supported with Veno-Venous ECMO - Prevalence and Risk Factors.

    PubMed

    Lehle, Karla; Philipp, Alois; Zeman, Florian; Lunz, Dirk; Lubnow, Matthias; Wendel, Hans-Peter; Göbölös, Laszlo; Schmid, Christof; Müller, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence and risk factors for technical-induced hemolysis in adults supported with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (vvECMO) and to analyze the effect of hemolytic episodes on outcome. This was a retrospective, single-center study that included 318 adult patients (Regensburg ECMO Registry, 2009-2014) with acute respiratory failure treated with different modern miniaturized ECMO systems. Free plasma hemoglobin (fHb) was used as indicator for hemolysis. Throughout a cumulative support duration of 4,142 days on ECMO only 1.7% of the fHb levels were above a critical value of 500 mg/l. A grave rise in fHb indicated pumphead thrombosis (n = 8), while acute oxygenator thrombosis (n = 15) did not affect fHb. Replacement of the pumphead normalized fHb within two days. Neither pump or cannula type nor duration on the first system was associated with hemolysis. Multiple trauma, need for kidney replacement therapy, increased daily red blood cell transfusion requirements, and high blood flow (3.0-4.5 L/min) through small-sized cannulas significantly resulted in augmented blood cell trauma. Survivors were characterized by lower peak levels of fHb [90 (60, 142) mg/l] in comparison to non-survivors [148 (91, 256) mg/l, p≤0.001]. In conclusion, marked hemolysis is not common in vvECMO with modern devices. Clinically obvious hemolysis often is caused by pumphead thrombosis. High flow velocity through small cannulas may also cause technical-induced hemolysis. In patients who developed lung failure due to trauma, fHb was elevated independantly of ECMO. In our cohort, the occurance of hemolysis was associated with increased mortality.

  12. SHIELDS Final Technical Report

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

    Jordanova, Vania Koleva

    Predicting variations in the near-Earth space environment that can lead to spacecraft damage and failure, i.e. “space weather”, remains a big space physics challenge. A new capability was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to understand, model, and predict Space Hazards Induced near Earth by Large Dynamic Storms, the SHIELDS framework. This framework simulates the dynamics of the Surface Charging Environment (SCE), the hot (keV) electrons representing the source and seed populations for the radiation belts, on both macro- and micro-scale. In addition to using physics-based models (like RAM-SCB, BATS-R-US, and iPIC3D), new data assimilation techniques employing data frommore » LANL instruments on the Van Allen Probes and geosynchronous satellites were developed. An order of magnitude improvement in the accuracy in the simulation of the spacecraft surface charging environment was thus obtained. SHIELDS also includes a post-processing tool designed to calculate the surface charging for specific spacecraft geometry using the Curvilinear Particle-In-Cell (CPIC) code and to evaluate anomalies' relation to SCE dynamics. Such diagnostics is critically important when performing forensic analyses of space-system failures.« less

  13. Final Scientific/Technical Report

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

    Newbold, Kenneth F.

    2013-11-26

    Led by James Madison University, Valley 25x?25 promotes using a diverse energy portfolio to achieve the goal of 25 percent renewable energy by 2025, including renewables like wind, biomass, solar, and geothermal. A primary emphasis is energy efficiency, which offers the best opportunities to decrease the use and impact of non-renewable energy sources. Endorsed by the national 25x?25 organization, Valley 25x?25 serves as an East Coast Demonstration Project, and as such, partners with regional businesses, local and state governments, institutions of higher education, and K-12 schools to explore how Valley resources can contribute to the development of innovative energy solutions.

  14. RASSP final technical report

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    1992-10-01

    The overall objective of the DARPA/Tri-Service RASSP program is to demonstrate a capability to rapidly specify, produce, and yield domain-specific, affordable signal processors for use in Department of Defense systems such as automatic target acquisition, tracking, and recognition, electronic countermeasures, communications, and SIGINT. The objective of the study phase is to specify a recommended program plan for the government to use as a template for procurement of the RASSP design system and demonstration program. To accomplish that objective, the study phase program tasks are to specify a development methodology for signal processors (adaptable to various organizational design styles, and application areas), analyze the requirements in CAD/CAE tools to support the development methodology, identify the state and development plans of the industry relative to this area, and to recommend the additional developments not currently being addressed by the industry, which are recommended as RASSP developments. In addition, the RASSP study phase will define a linking approach for electronically linking design centers to manufacturing centers so a complete cycle for prototyping can be accomplished with significantly reduced cycle time.

  15. RASSP Final Technical Report.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-10-21

    Virtual Prototyping Support 5-27 5.3.6.3 Hardware/Software Co-design Support 5-27 5.3.6.4 Mixed Analog/Digital Design Support 5-28 5.3.6.5 VHDL Modeling...0.6 0.3 50 1 1 1 73.2 23.4 19.6" 84 "kIuded $11.M p•rmhed undwe contr" "kh"ded SUM pcsed undr c SDollm Include purchae of poducts , malntenmce, ard...year on utilization of standards and COTS technology however does result in an achievable system performance which is less that what would be

  16. Final Scientific/Technical Report

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

    Liang, Yanna

    To increase our understanding of coal biogasification and move this technology closer toward field scale demonstration, we have thoroughly investigated coal bioconversion both ex situ and in situ. Specifically, we have screened a total of 12 parameters and identified those that exert statistically positive influence on coal biogasification. Based on these evaluations, a recipe for a nutrient solution was developed. With the addition of this nutrient solution, methane yield from Illinois coal was enhanced dramatically. In addition, we have demonstrated that coal bioconversion can be sustained over a long period of time as long as suitable conditions were maintained. Furthermore,more » biogasification of coal was tested under pressure simulating in situ conditions. Surprisingly, pressure was found to have no negative effects on microbial activities. Thus, the same recipe developed for ex situ may be used in situ as well.« less

  17. Coaching Non-technical Skills Improves Surgical Residents' Performance in a Simulated Operating Room.

    PubMed

    Yule, Steven; Parker, Sarah Henrickson; Wilkinson, Jill; McKinley, Aileen; MacDonald, Jamie; Neill, Adrian; McAdam, Tim

    2015-01-01

    To investigate the effect of coaching on non-technical skills and performance during laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a simulated operating room (OR). Non-technical skills (situation awareness, decision making, teamwork, and leadership) underpin technical ability and are critical to the success of operations and the safety of patients in the OR. The rate of developing assessment tools in this area has outpaced development of workable interventions to improve non-technical skills in surgical training and beyond. A randomized trial was conducted with senior surgical residents (n = 16). Participants were randomized to receive either non-technical skills coaching (intervention) or to self-reflect (control) after each of 5 simulated operations. Coaching was based on the Non-Technical Skills For Surgeons (NOTSS) behavior observation system. Surgeon-coaches trained in this method coached participants in the intervention group for 10 minutes after each simulation. Primary outcome measure was non-technical skills, assessed from video by a surgeon using the NOTSS system. Secondary outcomes were time to call for help during bleeding, operative time, and path length of laparoscopic instruments. Non-technical skills improved in the intervention group from scenario 1 to scenario 5 compared with those in the control group (p = 0.04). The intervention group was faster to call for help when faced with unstoppable bleeding in the final scenario (no. 5; p = 0.03). Coaching improved residents' non-technical skills in the simulated OR compared with those in the control group. Important next steps are to implement non-technical skills coaching in the real OR and assess effect on clinically important process measures and patient outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Hemorrhage control for laparoscopic hepatectomy: technical details and predictive factors for intraoperative blood loss.

    PubMed

    Kawaguchi, Yoshikuni; Nomi, Takeo; Fuks, David; Mal, Frederic; Kokudo, Norihiro; Gayet, Brice

    2016-06-01

    Controlling bleeding during laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) is technically demanding, but reportedly associated with less estimated blood loss (EBL) than open surgery. The present study aimed to describe and evaluate hemorrhage control techniques during LH and identify predictors of high intraoperative EBL. The data of 438 consecutive patients undergoing LH between 1995 and 2012 were reviewed. Bleeding control was facilitated by the proper use of hemostatic devices and surgical maneuvers unique to LH and by preserving intra-abdominal pressure. EBL was evaluated among three groups of 146 patients in each group: 1995-2006 (group A), 2006-2009 (group B), and 2009-2012 (group C). We also sought factors that predicted EBL ≥800 mL. Mean EBL decreased overtime from groups A to C: group A, 378 ± 619 mL; group B, 293 ± 391 mL; groups C, 257 ± 366 mL; P = 0.127. Transfusion rate was 6.7 % in group A, 5.5 % in group B, and 4.8 % in group C (P = 0.743). Hypertension (odds ratio (OR) 2.82, 95 % confidence interval CI 1.37-5.78; P = 0.006), preoperative chemotherapy (OR 2.55, 95 % CI 1.26-5.31; P = 0.009), resection of posterosuperior segments (OR 3.73, 95 % CI 1.33-12.17; P = 0.012), and major hepatectomy (OR 4.21, 95 % CI 1.64-13.02; P < 0.001) independently predicted high EBL. Improvements in bleeding control techniques over time have reduced EBL during LH. The use of these techniques and an understanding of the predictive factors for high EBL will help surgeons improve outcomes after LH.

  19. TECHNICAL REPORTS DATABASE

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC?) is the central facility for the collection and dissemination of scientific and technical information for the Department of Defense (DoD). Much of this information is made available by DTIC in the form of technical reports about com...

  20. The socio-technical organisation of community pharmacies as a factor in the Electronic Prescription Service Release Two implementation: a qualitative study

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background The introduction of a new method of transmitting prescriptions from general practices to community pharmacies in England (Electronic Prescription Service Release 2 (EPS2)) has generated debate on how it will change work practice. As EPS2 will be a key technical element in dispensing, we reviewed the literature to find that there were no studies on how social and technical elements come together to form work practice in community pharmacies. This means the debate has little point of reference. Our aim therefore was to study the ways social and technical elements of a community pharmacy are used to achieve dispensing through the development of a conceptual model on pharmacy work practice, and to consider how a core technical element such the EPS2 could change work practice. Method We used ethnographic methods inclusive of case-study observations and interviews to collect qualitative data from 15 community pharmacies that were in the process of adopting or were soon to adopt EPS2. We analysed the case studies thematically and used rigorous multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary interpretive validation techniques to cross analyse findings. Results In practice, dispensing procedures were not designed to take into account variations in human and technical integration, and assumed that repetitive and collective use of socio-technical elements were at a constant. Variables such as availability of social and technical resources, and technical know-how of staff were not taken into account in formalised procedures. Yet community pharmacies were found to adapt their dispensing in relation to the balance of social and technical elements available, and how much of the social and technical elements they were willing to integrate into dispensing. While some integrated as few technical elements as possible, some depended entirely on technical artefacts. This pattern also applied to the social elements of dispensing. Through the conceptual model development process, we

  1. The Interactive Electronic Technical Manual: Requirements, Current Status, and Implementation. Strategy Considerations.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-07-01

    authoring systems. Concurrently, great strides in computer-aided design and computer-aided maintenance have contributed to this capability. 12 Junod ...J.; William A. Nugent; and L. John Junod . Plan for the Navy/Air Force Test of the Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM) at Cecil Field...AFHRL Logistics and Human Factors Division, WPAFB. Aug 1990. 12. Junod , John L. PY90 Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM) Portable Delivery

  2. The 1990 Johnson Space Center bibliography of scientific and technical papers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1991-01-01

    Abstracts are presented of scientific and technical papers written and/or presented by L. B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) authors, including civil servants, contractors, and grantees, during the calendar year of 1990. Citations include conference and symposium presentations, papers published in proceedings or other collective works, seminars, and workshop results, NASA formal report series (including contractually required final reports), and articles published in professional journals.

  3. Final Scientific/Technical Report Carbon Capture and Storage Training Northwest - CCSTNW

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

    Workman, James

    This report details the activities of the Carbon Capture and Storage Training Northwest (CCSTNW) program 2009 to 2013. The CCSTNW created, implemented, and provided Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) training over the period of the program. With the assistance of an expert advisory board, CCSTNW created curriculum and conducted three short courses, more than three lectures, two symposiums, and a final conference. The program was conducted in five phases; 1) organization, gap analysis, and form advisory board; 2) develop list serves, website, and tech alerts; 3) training needs survey; 4) conduct lectures, courses, symposiums, and a conference; 5) evaluation surveysmore » and course evaluations. This program was conducted jointly by Environmental Outreach and Stewardship Alliance (dba. Northwest Environmental Training Center – NWETC) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL).« less

  4. Revisiting the utility of technical performance scores following tetralogy of Fallot repair.

    PubMed

    Lodin, Daud; Mavrothalassitis, Orestes; Haberer, Kim; Sunderji, Sherzana; Quek, Ruben G W; Peyvandi, Shabnam; Moon-Grady, Anita; Karamlou, Tara

    2017-08-01

    Although an important quality metric, current technical performance scores may not be generalizable and may omit operative factors that influence outcomes. We examined factors not included in current technical performance scores that may contribute to increased postoperative length of stay, major complications, and cost after primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot. This is a retrospective single site study of patients younger than age 2 years with tetralogy of Fallot undergoing complete repair between 2007 and 2015. Medical record data and discharge echocardiograms were reviewed to ascertain component and composite technical performance scores. Primary outcomes included postoperative length of stay, major complications, and total hospital costs. Multivariable logistic and linear regression identified determinants of each outcome. Patient population (n = 115) had a median postoperative length of stay of 8 days (interquartile range, 6-10 days), and a median total cost of $71,147. Major complications occurred in 33 patients (29%) with 1 death. Technical performance scores assigned were optimum in 28 patients (25%), adequate in 59 patients (52%), and inadequate in 26 patients (23%). Neither technical performance score components nor composite scores were associated with increased postoperative length of stay. Optimum or adequate repairs versus inadequate had equal risk of a complication (P = .79), and equivalent mean total cost ($100,000 vs $187,000; P = .25). Longer cardiopulmonary bypass time per 1-minute increase (P < .01) was associated with longer postoperative length of stay and reintervention (P = .02). The need to return to bypass also increased total cost (P < .01). Current tetralogy of Fallot technical performance scores were not associated with selected outcomes in our postoperative population. Although returning to bypass and bypass length are not included as components in the current score, these are important factors influencing

  5. Final Technical Report, City of Brockton Solar Brightfield: Deploying a Solar Array on a Brockton Brownfield

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

    Ribeiro, Lori

    The City of Brockton, Massachusetts sought to install New England’s largest solar array at a remediated brownfield site on Grove Street. The 425-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array – or “Brightfield” – was installed in an urban park setting along with interpretive displays to maximize the educational opportunities. The “Brightfield” project included 1,395 310-Watt solar panels connected in “strings” that span the otherwise unusable 3.7-acre site. The project demonstrated that it is both technically and economically feasible to install utility scale solar photovoltaics on a capped landfill site. The US Department of Energy conceived the Brightfields program in 2000, and Brockton’s Brightfieldmore » is the largest such installation nationwide. Brockton’s project demonstrated that while it was both technically and economically feasible to perform such a project, the implementation was extremely challenging due to the state policy barriers, difficulty obtaining grant funding, and level of sophistication required to perform the financing and secure required state approvals. This demonstration project can be used as a model for other communities that wish to implement “Brownfields to Brightfields” projects; 2) implementing utility scale solar creates economies of scale that can help to decrease costs of photovoltaics; 3) the project is an aesthetic, environmental, educational and economic asset for the City of Brockton.« less

  6. NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 32: A new era in international technical communication: American-Russian collaboration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Flammia, Madelyn; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Keene, Michael L.; Burger, Robert H.; Kennedy, John M.

    1993-01-01

    Until the recent dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party exerted a strict control of access to and dissemination of scientific and technical information (STI). This article presents models of the Soviet-style information society and the Western-style information society and discusses the effects of centralized governmental control of information on Russian technical communication practices. The effects of political control on technical communication are then used to interpret the results of a survey of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the time devoted to technical communication, their collaborative writing practices and their attitudes toward collaboration, the kinds of technical documents they produce and use, their views regarding the appropriate content for an undergraduate technical communication course, and their use of computer technology. Finally, the implications of these findings for future collaboration between Russian and U.S. engineers and scientists are examined.

  7. NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. XXXII - A new era in international technical communication: American-Russian collaboration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Flammia, Madelyn; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Keene, Michael L.; Burger, Robert H.; Kennedy, John M.

    1993-01-01

    Until the recent dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party exerted a strict control of access to and dissemination of scientific and technical information. This article presents models of the Soviet-style information society and the Western-style information society and discusses the effects of centralized governmental control of information on Russian technical communication practices. The effects of political control on technical communication are then used to interpret the results of a survey of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the time devoted to technical communication, their collaborative writing practices and their attitudes toward collaboration, the kinds of technical documents they produce and use, their views regarding the appropriate content for an undergraduate technical communication course, and their use of computer technology. Finally, the implications of these findings for future collaboration between Russian and U.S. engineers and scientists are examined.

  8. Final Technical Report for Award SC0008613

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

    Knopf, Daniel A.

    Discovering how aerosol particles, present in the atmosphere in sizes of a few nanometers to hundred micrometers, initiate ice crystal formation represents a great challenge. Atmospheric ice nucleation is important because ice crystals alter the radiative properties of clouds and thus climate, and impact precipitation and thus the hydrological cycle. The difficulty in predicting atmospheric ice formation is attributable at least in part, to the diversity of ice nucleation pathways, the physical and chemical complexity of the ice nucleating particles (INPs), and the relatively small numbers of INPs (compared with all other aerosol particles), sometimes less than one in 100000.more » These factors in turn makes constraining ice nucleation parameterizations for modeling applications challenging. The majority of airborne particles are known to be organic in nature or contain organic biogenic material. The presence of organic material adds to the complexity of the particles and therefore the predictability of ice nucleation events since the organic species can display different phase states, e.g. liquid or solid, in response to temperature and humidity. The award DE-SC0008613 to PI Prof. Daniel Knopf at Stony Brook University, “Relating the Chemical and Physical Properties of Aerosols to the Water Uptake and Ice Nucleation Potential of Particles Collected During the Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES)”, allowed examination of laboratory generated aerosol particles and field-collected particles for their propensity to nucleate ice under typical tropospheric conditions and relate ice nucleation to the physicochemical properties of the particles including their morphology and chemical composition. This in turn allowed for development of ice nucleation parameterizations for implementation in cloud models. The award resulted in 10 peer-reviewed publications and more than 20 seminar and conference presentations. We demonstrated that the rate of

  9. Technical Issues in Evolving to Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-06-01

    channel through some Page 13 Technical Issues in Evolving to ISDN Final Report separate interface (such as the AT command set of the Hayes modems or the...errors experienced over standard modem provided connectivity. But, in this project connectivity has been established only over a single CO. Those...examined to some extent and are discussed below. Existing equipment was of two types: that which treats ISDN as just another leased line providing 56k or

  10. An SNMP-based solution to enable remote ISO/IEEE 11073 technical management.

    PubMed

    Lasierra, Nelia; Alesanco, Alvaro; García, José

    2012-07-01

    This paper presents the design and implementation of an architecture based on the integration of simple network management protocol version 3 (SNMPv3) and the standard ISO/IEEE 11073 (X73) to manage technical information in home-based telemonitoring scenarios. This architecture includes the development of an SNMPv3-proxyX73 agent which comprises a management information base (MIB) module adapted to X73. In the proposed scenario, medical devices (MDs) send information to a concentrator device [designated as compute engine (CE)] using the X73 standard. This information together with extra information collected in the CE is stored in the developed MIB. Finally, the information collected is available for remote access via SNMP connection. Moreover, alarms and events can be configured by an external manager in order to provide warnings of irregularities in the MDs' technical performance evaluation. This proposed SNMPv3 agent provides a solution to integrate and unify technical device management in home-based telemonitoring scenarios fully adapted to X73.

  11. Evaluation of Factors that Contribute to Improving Academic Achievement of Career and Technical Education Students in Rhode Island

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marsella, Anthony J.

    2010-01-01

    The primary purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of career and technical education in Rhode Island utilizing Program Approval Process: Standards, Instruments, and Protocols. The process establishes standards for quality career and technical education. The population surveyed provided data on Standard Two: Curriculum and…

  12. Myocardial contrast echocardiography in mice: technical and physiological aspects.

    PubMed

    Verkaik, Melissa; van Poelgeest, Erik M; Kwekkeboom, Rick F J; Ter Wee, Piet M; van den Brom, Charissa E; Vervloet, Marc G; Eringa, Etto C

    2018-03-01

    Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) offers the opportunity to study myocardial perfusion defects in mice in detail. The value of MCE compared with single-photon emission computed tomography, positron emission tomography, and computed tomography consists of high spatial resolution, the possibility of quantification of blood volume, and relatively low costs. Nevertheless, a number of technical and physiological aspects should be considered to ensure reproducibility among research groups. The aim of this overview is to describe technical aspects of MCE and the physiological parameters that influence myocardial perfusion data obtained with this technique. First, technical aspects of MCE discussed in this technical review are logarithmic compression of ultrasound data by ultrasound systems, saturation of the contrast signal, and acquisition of images during different phases of the cardiac cycle. Second, physiological aspects of myocardial perfusion that are affected by the experimental design are discussed, including the anesthesia regimen, systemic cardiovascular effects of vasoactive agents used, and fluctuations in body temperature that alter myocardial perfusion. When these technical and physiological aspects of MCE are taken into account and adequately standardized, MCE is an easily accessible technique for mice that can be used to study the control of myocardial perfusion by a wide range of factors.

  13. California Deaf-Blind Services Final Report, October 1, 1995-September 30, 1999 [and] October 1, 1999-June 30, 2000 (No Cost Extension).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goertz, Lori; Franklin, Barbara

    This final report describes the activities and outcomes of the California Deaf-Blind Services (CDBS) program, a regionally based, family focused technical assistance and training project designed to improve services to children with deaf-blindness. The project conducted the following activities: (1) provided technical assistance to families and…

  14. An Integrated Parent-Teacher-Related Service Team Approach to Communication Intervention. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stremel, Kathleen; Wilson, Rebecca

    This final report describes a federally funded 3-year project for integrating related services within educational objectives for children (ages 3-10) with dual vision and hearing impairments. A Training-Utilization model of inservice training and technical assistance was developed, implemented, and evaluated to address the communication needs of…

  15. Final Technical Report for GO17004 Regulatory Logic: Codes and Standards for the Hydrogen Economy

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

    Nakarado, Gary L.

    The objectives of this project are to: develop a robust supporting research and development program to provide critical hydrogen behavior data and a detailed understanding of hydrogen combustion and safety across a range of scenarios, needed to establish setback distances in building codes and minimize the overall data gaps in code development; support and facilitate the completion of technical specifications by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for gaseous hydrogen refueling (TS 20012) and standards for on-board liquid (ISO 13985) and gaseous or gaseous blend (ISO 15869) hydrogen storage by 2007; support and facilitate the effort, led by the NFPA,more » to complete the draft Hydrogen Technologies Code (NFPA 2) by 2008; with experimental data and input from Technology Validation Program element activities, support and facilitate the completion of standards for bulk hydrogen storage (e.g., NFPA 55) by 2008; facilitate the adoption of the most recently available model codes (e.g., from the International Code Council [ICC]) in key regions; complete preliminary research and development on hydrogen release scenarios to support the establishment of setback distances in building codes and provide a sound basis for model code development and adoption; support and facilitate the development of Global Technical Regulations (GTRs) by 2010 for hydrogen vehicle systems under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations and Working Party on Pollution and Energy Program (ECE-WP29/GRPE); and to Support and facilitate the completion by 2012 of necessary codes and standards needed for the early commercialization and market entry of hydrogen energy technologies.« less

  16. The Environment and Directed Technical Change.

    PubMed

    Acemoglu, Daron; Aghion, Philippe; Bursztyn, Leonardo; Hemous, David

    2012-02-01

    This paper introduces endogenous and directed technical change in a growth model with environmental constraints. The final good is produced from "dirty" and "clean" inputs. We show that: (i) when inputs are sufficiently substitutable, sustainable growth can be achieved with temporary taxes/subsidies that redirect innovation toward clean inputs; (ii) optimal policy involves both "carbon taxes" and research subsidies, avoiding excessive use of carbon taxes; (iii) delay in intervention is costly, as it later necessitates a longer transition phase with slow growth; and (iv) use of an exhaustible resource in dirty input production helps the switch to clean innovation under laissez-faire. (JEL O33, O44, Q30, Q54, Q56, Q58).

  17. 77 FR 45282 - NRC Position on the Relationship Between General Design Criteria and Technical Specification...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-31

    ..., are described in the final safety analysis report (FSAR). The staff safety evaluation documents the acceptability of these analyses, and it is the combination of the FSAR analyses and the staff safety evaluation... analysis, maintain their capability to perform their safety functions. Technical Specification Operability...

  18. 75 FR 28499 - Medical Certification Requirements as Part of the Commercial Driver's License (CDL); Technical...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-21

    ... Driver's License (CDL); Technical, Organizational, and Conforming Amendments AGENCY: Federal Motor... ``medical examiner's license or certificate number'' to refer to the number on a medical examiner's license... examiner qualifies him or her to drive. This inconsistency has been clarified in today's final rule so that...

  19. Nighttime kidney transplantation is associated with less pure technical graft failure.

    PubMed

    Brunschot, Denise M D Özdemir-van; Hoitsma, Andries J; van der Jagt, Michel F P; d'Ancona, Frank C; Donders, Rogier A R T; van Laarhoven, Cees J H M; Hilbrands, Luuk B; Warlé, Michiel C

    2016-07-01

    To minimize cold ischemia time, transplantations with kidneys from deceased donors are frequently performed during the night. However, sleep deprivation of those who perform the transplantation may have adverse effects on cognitive and psychomotor performance and may cause reduced cognitive flexibility. We hypothesize that renal transplantations performed during the night are associated with an increased incidence of pure technical graft failure. A retrospective analysis of data of the Dutch Organ Transplant Registry concerning all transplants from deceased donors between 2000 and 2013 was performed. Nighttime surgery was defined as the start of the procedure between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. The primary outcome measure was technical graft failure, defined as graft loss within 10 days after surgery without signs of (hyper)acute rejection. Of 4.519 renal transplantations in adult recipients, 1.480 were performed during the night. The incidence of pure technical graft failure was 1.0 % for procedures started during the night versus 2.6 % for daytime surgery (p = .001). In a multivariable model, correcting for relevant donor, recipient and graft factors, daytime surgery was an independent predictor of pure technical graft failure (p < .001). Limitation of this study is mainly to its retrospective design, and the influence of some relevant variables, such as the experience level of the surgeon, could not be assessed. We conclude that nighttime surgery is associated with less pure technical graft failures. Further research is required to explore factors that may positively influence the performance of the surgical team during the night.

  20. Legitimizing Technical Communication in English Departments: Carolyn Miller's "Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Patrick

    2006-01-01

    Carolyn Miller's oft-cited "Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing," published in 1979, tries to give technical communication faculty more cultural capital in English departments controlled by literature professors. Miller replaces a positivistic emphasis in technical communication pedagogy with rhetoric. She shows how technical knowledge is…

  1. Environmental information acquisition and maintenance techniques: reference guide. Final report

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

    Riggins, R.E.; Young, V.T.; Goran, W.D.

    1980-08-01

    This report provides a guide to techniques for collecting, using and maintaining data about each of the 13 environmental technical specialties in the Environmental Impact Computer System (EICS). The technical specialties are: (1) ecology, (2) environmental health, (3) air, (4) surface water, (5) ground water, (6) sociology, (7) economics, (8) earth science, (9) land use, (10) noise, (11) transportation, (12) aesthetics, and (13) energy and resource conservation. Acquisition techniques are classified by the following general categories: (1) secondary data, (2) remote sensing, (3) mathematical modeling, (4) field work, (5) mapping/maps and (6) expert opinion. A matrix identifies the most appropriatemore » techniques for collecting information on the EICS technical specialties. After selecting a method, the user may read an abstract of the report explaining that technique, and may also wish to obtain the original document for detailed information about applying the technique. Finally, this report offers guidelines on storing environmental information for future use, and on presenting that information effectively in environmental documents.« less

  2. Urology technical and non-technical skills development: the emerging role of simulation.

    PubMed

    Rashid, Prem; Gianduzzo, Troy R J

    2016-04-01

    To review the emerging role of technical and non-technical simulation in urological education and training. A review was conducted to examine the current role of simulation in urology training. A PUBMED search of the terms 'urology training', 'urology simulation' and 'urology education' revealed 11,504 titles. Three hundred and fifty-seven abstracts were identified as English language, peer reviewed papers pertaining to the role of simulation in urology and related topics. Key papers were used to explore themes. Some cross-referenced papers were also included. There is an ongoing need to ensure that training time is efficiently utilised while ensuring that optimal technical and non-technical skills are achieved. Changing working conditions and the need to minimise patient harm by inadvertent errors must be taken into account. Simulation models for specific technical aspects have been the mainstay of graduated step-wise low and high fidelity training. Whole scenario environments as well as non-technical aspects can be slowly incorporated into the curriculum. Doing so should also help define what have been challenging competencies to teach and evaluate. Dedicated time, resources and trainer up-skilling are important. Concurrent studies are needed to help evaluate the effectiveness of introducing step-wise simulation for technical and non-technical competencies. Simulation based learning remains the best avenue of progressing surgical education. Technical and non-technical simulation could be used in the selection process. There are good economic, logistic and safety reasons to pursue the process of ongoing development of simulation co-curricula. While the role of simulation is assured, its progress will depend on a structured program that takes advantage of what can be delivered via this medium. Overall, simulation can be developed further for urological training programs to encompass technical and non-technical skill development at all stages, including

  3. Lessons for surgeons in the final moments of Air France Flight 447.

    PubMed

    Bhangu, Aneel; Bhangu, Sonia; Stevenson, James; Bowley, Douglas M

    2013-06-01

    All surgeons make mistakes, and learning from critical incidents may help improve performance. The present study aimed to highlight lessons for surgeons from analysis of the final moments of Air France Flight 447. All of the authors work in teams and situations where safety, technical performance, and non-technical skills are critical. This review was born out of discussions regarding the events of Flight 447; specifically, whether the airline disaster was relevant to their work, and whether they could learn anything from it. The study is based on review of the crash reports of Flight 447, which lost flight speed indication after formation of ice prevented air from entering flight speed indicators during a storm. Following a subsequent stall, the aircraft fell at a rate of >10,000 feet/min until it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing 228 passengers and crew. There were errors in decision making, reasoning, communication, and teamwork. Such non-technical skills failures have been recognized previously and can be addressed by existing non-technical skills training. A reliance on autopilot meant that the pilots were unfamiliar with high-altitude flying when the autopilot is disengaged. They were unprepared for and affected by such a sudden and serious problem; an event called "surprise and startle" by the accident investigation. The absence of the senior pilot (who was on a scheduled break) in the critical final minutes slowed error recognition and recovery. Unintended consequences of modern safety strategies may be under-recognized and can lead to adverse events. Both simulation-based and non-simulation-based training should include "surprise and startle" events beyond the scenarios trainees might expect. Likewise, in the face of increasing reliance on modern technology, surgeons should ensure that they would be able to perform procedures in the absence of such technologies. Specific training may improve surgeons' non-technical skills, and recognition of such

  4. Medicare and Medicaid programs: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs; electronic reporting pilot; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities Quality Reporting Program; revision to Quality Improvement Organization regulations. Final rule with comment period.

    PubMed

    2012-11-15

    This final rule with comment period revises the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) and the Medicare ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment system for CY 2013 to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from our continuing experience with these systems. In this final rule with comment period, we describe the changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the payment rates for Medicare services paid under the OPPS and those paid under the ASC payment system. In addition, this final rule with comment period updates and refines the requirements for the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) Program, the ASC Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program, and the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Quality Reporting Program. We are continuing the electronic reporting pilot for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program, and revising the various regulations governing Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), including the secure transmittal of electronic medical information, beneficiary complaint resolution and notification processes, and technical changes. The technical changes to the QIO regulations reflect CMS' commitment to the general principles of the President's Executive Order on Regulatory Reform, Executive Order 13563 (January 18, 2011).

  5. Additional Final Area Designations and Technical Amendment for the 2012 Annual Fine Particle Standard Established in 2012 - Mar 2015

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA is establishing or revising initial area designations and a technical amendment to correct an inadvertent error in the initial designation for one area for the 2012 annual national ambient air quality standards for fine particle pollution.

  6. 77 FR 1889 - Drivers of CMVs: Restricting the Use of Cellular Phones; Technical Amendment

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 49 CFR Part 391 [Docket No. FMCSA-2010-0096] RIN 2126-AB29 Drivers of CMVs: Restricting the Use of Cellular Phones; Technical... Cellular Phones final rule (76 FR 75470) had a clerical error in Sec. 391.15(f)(1) that stated ``paragraph...

  7. Technical assistance and the transfer of remote sensing technology. [for economic development

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chipman, R.

    1977-01-01

    The transfer of technology from industrialized countries to the third world is a very complicated process and one that requires a great deal of research and development. The political and social obstacles to this transfer are generally greater than the technical obstacles, but technical assistance programs have neither the competence nor the inclination to deal with these factors adequately. Funding for technical assistance in remote sensing is now expanding rapidly, and there is a growing need for institutions to study and promote the effective use of this technology for economic development. The United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development and the Canadian technical assistance agencies take different approaches to the problem and deal with the political pressures in different ways.

  8. Tribal child welfare. Interim final rule.

    PubMed

    2012-01-06

    The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is issuing this interim final rule to implement statutory provisions related to the Tribal title IV-E program. Effective October 1, 2009, section 479B(b) of the Social Security Act (the Act) authorizes direct Federal funding of Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Tribal consortia that choose to operate a foster care, adoption assistance and, at Tribal option, a kinship guardianship assistance program under title IV-E of the Act. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 requires that ACF issue interim final regulations which address procedures to ensure that a transfer of responsibility for the placement and care of a child under a State title IV-E plan to a Tribal title IV-E plan occurs in a manner that does not affect the child's eligibility for title IV-E benefits or medical assistance under title XIX of the Act (Medicaid) and such services or payments; in-kind expenditures from third-party sources for the Tribal share of administration and training expenditures under title IV-E; and other provisions to carry out the Tribal-related amendments to title IV-E. This interim final rule includes these provisions and technical amendments necessary to implement a Tribal title IV-E program.

  9. 78 FR 12955 - Final Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Criteria-Native American Career and Technical...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-26

    ... has established under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 6301..., cooperative education, school-based enterprises, entrepreneurship, community service learning, and job... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 34 CFR Chapter IV [Docket ID ED-2012-OVAE-0053] Final Requirements...

  10. Final Report, “Exploiting Global View for Resilience”

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

    Chien, Andrew

    2017-03-29

    Final technical report for the "Exploiting Global View for Resilience" project. The GVR project aims to create a new approach to portable, resilient applications. The GVR approach builds on a global view data model,, adding versioning (multi-version), user control of timing and rate (multi-stream), and flexible cross layer error signalling and recovery. With a versioned array as a portable abstraction, GVR enables application programmers to exploit deep scientific and application code insights to manage resilience (and its overhead) in a flexible, portable fashion.

  11. Illinois State Project: Services for Children with Deaf-Blindness Program. Final Performance Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dorsey, Christine

    This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Illinois state project on services for children with deaf-blindness, a 3-year federally supported project to address the needs of children (ages birth to 21) who are deaf-blind. Project activities included inservice training and technical assistance, development of a comprehensive…

  12. Technical Assessment of Maglev System Concepts

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1998-10-01

    pressurizes the loop but retains sufficient heat capacity for the day’s cooling needs. Magneplane uses a cryorefrigerator to keep its supercritical helium in...comparative baselines. the technical and economic viability of maglev in * Apply this process to alternative U.S. maglev the U.S. and to recommend...output/joules- heat the same data as in Figure 119 with the aforemen- input). In effect, applying this factor implies that tioned efficiencies applied

  13. Air Emissions Factors and Quantification

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Emissions factors are used in developing air emissions inventories for air quality management decisions and in developing emissions control strategies. This area provides technical information on and support for the use of emissions factors.

  14. The impact of nontechnical skills on technical performance in surgery: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Hull, Louise; Arora, Sonal; Aggarwal, Rajesh; Darzi, Ara; Vincent, Charles; Sevdalis, Nick

    2012-02-01

    Failures in nontechnical and teamwork skills frequently lie at the heart of harm and near-misses in the operating room (OR). The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the impact of nontechnical skills on technical performance in surgery. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO databases were searched, and 2,041 articles were identified. After limits were applied, 341 articles were retrieved for evaluation. Of these, 28 articles were accepted for this review. Data were extracted from the articles regarding sample population, study design and setting, measures of nontechnical skills and technical performance, study findings, and limitations. Of the 28 articles that met inclusion criteria, 21 articles assessed the impact of surgeons' nontechnical skills on their technical performance. The evidence suggests that receiving feedback and effectively coping with stressful events in the OR has a beneficial impact on certain aspects of technical performance. Conversely, increased levels of fatigue are associated with detriments to surgical skill. One article assessed the impact of anesthesiologists' nontechnical skills on anesthetic technical performance, finding a strong positive correlation between the 2 skill sets. Finally, 6 articles assessed the impact of multiple nontechnical skills of the entire OR team on surgical performance. A strong relationship between teamwork failure and technical error was empirically demonstrated in these studies. Evidence suggests that certain nontechnical aspects of performance can enhance or, if lacking, contribute to deterioration of surgeons' technical performance. The precise extent of this effect remains to be elucidated. Copyright © 2012 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Influence of Gender and Other Factors to Final Grade

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Domeova, Ludmila; Jindrova, Andrea; Fejfar, Jiri

    2015-01-01

    The study focused on the relations between the partial evaluation and the final grade. The investigation has been done on a group of 269 students of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, in the course of Mathematical Methods, who have to go through a strictly defined evaluation scheme. The results of statistical analysis confirmed that…

  16. Electronic inventory systems and barcode technology: impact on pharmacy technical accuracy and error liability.

    PubMed

    Oldland, Alan R; Golightly, Larry K; May, Sondra K; Barber, Gerard R; Stolpman, Nancy M

    2015-01-01

    To measure the effects associated with sequential implementation of electronic medication storage and inventory systems and product verification devices on pharmacy technical accuracy and rates of potential medication dispensing errors in an academic medical center. During four 28-day periods of observation, pharmacists recorded all technical errors identified at the final visual check of pharmaceuticals prior to dispensing. Technical filling errors involving deviations from order-specific selection of product, dosage form, strength, or quantity were documented when dispensing medications using (a) a conventional unit dose (UD) drug distribution system, (b) an electronic storage and inventory system utilizing automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) within the pharmacy, (c) ADCs combined with barcode (BC) verification, and (d) ADCs and BC verification utilized with changes in product labeling and individualized personnel training in systems application. Using a conventional UD system, the overall incidence of technical error was 0.157% (24/15,271). Following implementation of ADCs, the comparative overall incidence of technical error was 0.135% (10/7,379; P = .841). Following implementation of BC scanning, the comparative overall incidence of technical error was 0.137% (27/19,708; P = .729). Subsequent changes in product labeling and intensified staff training in the use of BC systems was associated with a decrease in the rate of technical error to 0.050% (13/26,200; P = .002). Pharmacy ADCs and BC systems provide complementary effects that improve technical accuracy and reduce the incidence of potential medication dispensing errors if this technology is used with comprehensive personnel training.

  17. Electronic Inventory Systems and Barcode Technology: Impact on Pharmacy Technical Accuracy and Error Liability

    PubMed Central

    Oldland, Alan R.; May, Sondra K.; Barber, Gerard R.; Stolpman, Nancy M.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To measure the effects associated with sequential implementation of electronic medication storage and inventory systems and product verification devices on pharmacy technical accuracy and rates of potential medication dispensing errors in an academic medical center. Methods: During four 28-day periods of observation, pharmacists recorded all technical errors identified at the final visual check of pharmaceuticals prior to dispensing. Technical filling errors involving deviations from order-specific selection of product, dosage form, strength, or quantity were documented when dispensing medications using (a) a conventional unit dose (UD) drug distribution system, (b) an electronic storage and inventory system utilizing automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) within the pharmacy, (c) ADCs combined with barcode (BC) verification, and (d) ADCs and BC verification utilized with changes in product labeling and individualized personnel training in systems application. Results: Using a conventional UD system, the overall incidence of technical error was 0.157% (24/15,271). Following implementation of ADCs, the comparative overall incidence of technical error was 0.135% (10/7,379; P = .841). Following implementation of BC scanning, the comparative overall incidence of technical error was 0.137% (27/19,708; P = .729). Subsequent changes in product labeling and intensified staff training in the use of BC systems was associated with a decrease in the rate of technical error to 0.050% (13/26,200; P = .002). Conclusions: Pharmacy ADCs and BC systems provide complementary effects that improve technical accuracy and reduce the incidence of potential medication dispensing errors if this technology is used with comprehensive personnel training. PMID:25684799

  18. NESC Independent Review of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Contamination Thermal/Vacuum (T/V) Anomaly Technical Consultation Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sutter, James K.; Leidecker, Henning W.; Panda, Binayak; Piascik, Robert S.; Muirhead, Brian K.; Peeler, Debra

    2009-01-01

    The NESC eras requested by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to conduct an independent review of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Thermal/Vacuum (T/V) Anomaly Assessment. Because the anomaly resulted in the surface contamination of the MRO, selected members of the Materials Super Problem Resolution Team (SPRT) and the NASA technical community having technical expertise relative to contamination issues were chosen for the independent review. The consultation consisted of a review of the MRO Project's reported response to the assessment findings, a detailed review of JPL technical assessment final report, and detailed discussions with the JPL assessment team relative to their findings.

  19. [Home hemodialysis: the technical overview. A 2010 survey].

    PubMed

    Ponson, Laurent; Arkouche, Walid; Laville, Maurice

    2012-04-01

    Compared to the daily work in dialysis units, home haemodialysis represents a particular task for the technical services of healthcare facilities. This survey concerns this modality of treatment of end-stage chronic renal failure, and was led to three objectives: to make a snapshot of the practices done by the technical staff, to point out significant differences, and to identify common issues. This is also an opportunity to discuss about the future of this treatment. Numbers of registries show a continuous decline of home haemodialysis during past decades. This could be explained by many factors, but on the other hand several points tend to forecast a renewed interest for this method of treatment. A questionnaire was sent to every technical service of health organizations dispensing dialysis in France. Seventeen health facilities providing home haemodialysis have sent back their information, representing 238 patients, that to say almost the totality of the patients of the country. These data were analysed, relevant indicators were sorted out, so that initial objectives could be completed. The results are explained as follows: site activities, procedures before and during patient installation, equipment, preventive visits, and corrective maintenance. In lack of a precise regulation on the technical support of these patients, significant differences of operations were noted and are detailed, as well as several common difficulties. All these elements can be used as a basis for the development of a practical guide intended to technical services. This work is voluntarily centered on the technical aspects, but other levers exist to revitalize this method. Copyright © 2012 Association Société de néphrologie. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

  20. 10 CFR 52.79 - Contents of applications; technical information in final safety analysis report.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... assurance program will be implemented; (26) The applicant's organizational structure, allocations or... presents a safety analysis of the structures, systems, and components of the facility as a whole. The final... contain an analysis and evaluation of the major structures, systems, and components of the facility that...