Family psychology: Past and future reflections on the field.

PubMed

Parke, Ross D

2017-04-01

Prominent issues in the field of family psychology during my term as editor (1998-2003) of this journal were briefly noted, including a focus on marital issues, divorce, remarriage and family conflict. Parenting, attachment and parent-child relationships were also significant topics in this period. Special sections of the journal focused on cultural variations, families and the law, families and religion, and family routines and rituals. Several neglected issues that need more attention in the future were noted. These include the need to recognize the embeddedness of families in socioecological contexts, the importance of monitoring the impact of secular changes on families, and the value and limitations of viewing family psychology as a separate field. Other topics for a future agenda include the challenge of defining "family" in the midst of changing family forms, the effects of technological change on families, and the challenges of integrating biological research into the family psychology agenda. A multilevel bio-social approach to family research was recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Developing Modern Information Systems and Services: Africa's Challenges for the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chowdhury, G. G.

1996-01-01

Discusses the current state of information systems and services in Africa, examines future possibilities, and suggests areas for improvement. Topics include the lack of automation; CD-ROM databases for accessibility to information sources; developing low-cost electronic communication facilities; Internet connectivity; dependence on imported…

Why nonprofits? Hospitals and the future of American health care.

PubMed

Gray, B H

1992-01-01

The future of the nonprofit hospital depends on its relationship to the for-profit and governmental sectors of our economy. A decade ago, the primary challenge came from the growing investor-owned hospital companies. Nonprofit hospitals' responses--both competitive and imitative--led to new challenges from government regarding tax-exempt status. The reasons underlying this challenge include the growing commercialism of health care, the nation's failure to deal directly with the problem of the uninsured, and the lack of a coherent theory of tax exemption. Although hospitals are likely to retain exemptions from federal taxation, challenges to local tax exemptions are likely to continue. Strategies that hospitals pursue for competitive purposes may undercut their legitimacy as tax-exempt institutions, but several groups are working to address the issue.

Flexible Pedagogies: New Pedagogical Ideas. Flexible Pedagogies: Preparing for the Future Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Alex; Tilbury, Daniella

2014-01-01

This publication is part of our five-strand research project "Flexible Pedagogies: preparing for the future". It identifies six "new pedagogical ideas" offering new pathways for learning. These include: (1) actively involving students in learning development and processes of "co-creation" thereby challenging existing…

Evolution of a Federal Policy on Educational Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blaschke, Charles L.

1998-01-01

Discusses the educational technology policy and funding of the United States Department of Education from the 1960s to the present, including two current programs: the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund and telecommunications educational rate (E-rate) discounts. Future technology initiatives and critical factors impacting the future and are…

'Big data' in pharmaceutical science: challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Dossetter, Al G; Ecker, Gerhard; Laverty, Hugh; Overington, John

2014-05-01

Future Medicinal Chemistry invited a selection of experts to express their views on the current impact of big data in drug discovery and design, as well as speculate on future developments in the field. The topics discussed include the challenges of implementing big data technologies, maintaining the quality and privacy of data sets, and how the industry will need to adapt to welcome the big data era. Their enlightening responses provide a snapshot of the many and varied contributions being made by big data to the advancement of pharmaceutical science.

Current and Future Parts Management at NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sampson, Michael J.

2011-01-01

This presentation provides a high level view of current and future electronic parts management at NASA. It describes a current perspective of the new human space flight direction that NASA is beginning to take and how that could influence parts management in the future. It provides an overview of current NASA electronic parts policy and how that is implemented at the NASA flight Centers. It also describes some of the technical challenges that lie ahead and suggests approaches for their mitigation. These challenges include: advanced packaging, obsolescence and counterfeits, the global supply chain and Commercial Crew, a new direction by which NASA will utilize commercial launch vehicles to get astronauts to the International Space Station.

Life Support Systems Microbial Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roman, Monserrate C.

2009-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the current microbial challenges of environmental control and life support systems. The contents include: 1) Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) What is it?; 2) A Look Inside the International Space Station (ISS); 3) The Complexity of a Water Recycling System; 4) ISS Microbiology Acceptability Limits; 5) Overview of Current Microbial Challenges; 6) In a Perfect World What we Would like to Have; and 7) The Future.

Planning and Conducting Research Activities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christiansen, Richard L.

1983-01-01

Some directions and influences on dental research activities in the near future are discussed. Current challenges include international competition, fellowships, and equipment. Potential research activity includes preventive medicine, epidemiology, chronic illness, the elderly, bioengineering, materials research, nutrition, soft tissue research,…

The Development of the Bilingual Special Education Field: Major Issues, Accomplishments, Future Directions, and Recommendations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Chun; Choh, Su-Je

2010-01-01

In this paper, we review various challenges in regard to educating children with and without disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. The challenges discussed include (1) biased assessment that results in mis- or overrepresenting CLD students in special education, (2) difficulty distinguishing between disability…

Counselling in Primary Care: Past, Present, and Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eatock, John

2000-01-01

Presents a brief history of the growth of counseling in primary care. Discusses the challenges for primary care counselors and counseling, as well as the need for coordination, regulation and management. Also discusses the imperative for research support and the unique nature of counseling in primary care including challenges to its survival. (MKA)

Learning about the Human Genome. Part 1: Challenge to Science Educators. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haury, David L.

This digest explains how to inform high school students and their parents about the human genome project (HGP) and how the information from this milestone finding will affect future biological and medical research and challenge science educators. The sections include: (1) "The Emerging Legacy of the HGP"; (2) "Transforming How…

Education and Training--Research and Development: Report of Futuring Group 1

Treesearch

1987-01-01

Public agencies involved in natural resource management and fire protection will face many challenges over the next few decades, including decreasing real budgets, lower staffing levels, increasing responsibilities, expanding technologies and a more sophisticated and demanding public. In addressing these challenges, resource managers must be prepared to enter a new...

The Challenges and Future of Public Higher Education Leadership in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odhiambo, George

2014-01-01

This article discusses some of the key challenges and points of tension pertaining to leadership in higher education in Kenya. Effective leadership approaches are discussed including an exploration of why effective leadership is more important in Kenyan public higher education now than ever. Given the complex context within which public higher…

Better Futures for Young Children, Better Preparation for Their Teachers: Challenges Emerging from Recent National Reports. Professional Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyson, Marilou

2001-01-01

Maintains that the United States tolerates an ineffective system of early education and professional preparation. Notes challenges to the field, including insufficient teacher preparation, outdated teacher professional development approaches, ineffective use of research findings to improve early childhood programs, and failure to understand,…

Computer-Assisted Diagnostic Decision Support: History, Challenges, and Possible Paths Forward

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Randolph A.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a brief history of computer-assisted diagnosis, including challenges and future directions. Some ideas presented in this article on computer-assisted diagnostic decision support systems (CDDSS) derive from prior work by the author and his colleagues (see list in Acknowledgments) on the INTERNIST-1 and QMR projects. References…

Developing Leadership Competencies.

PubMed

Croft, Lucy; Seemiller, Corey

2017-12-01

This chapter provides an overview of leadership competencies including the history of emergence, contemporary uses, common frameworks, challenges, benefits, and future implications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Exploration of Potential Future Fleet Architectures

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-07-01

alternative architectures are those espoused by the OFT sponsoring office: flexibility, adaptability, agility, speed, and information dominance through...including naval forces, which we used. The OFT advocates flexibility, adaptability, agility, speed, and information dominance through networking...challenges and transnational threats. In future conflicts, the Navy has plans to expand strike power, realize information dominance , and transform methods

Professional Counseling in Nigeria: Past, Present, and Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okocha, Aneneosa A. G.; Alika, Ijeoma H.

2012-01-01

The events that circumscribed the parameters of today's counseling in Nigeria are many and varied regarding their influence in shaping the development of the profession in the country. The authors review these events and the current status of counseling in Nigeria, including the challenges faced in the profession. Future trends and suggestions for…

JPL Advanced Thermal Control Technology Roadmap - 2008

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birur, Gaj

2008-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the status of thermal control technology at JPL and NASA.It shows the active spacecraft that are in vairous positions in the solar syatem, and beyond the solar system and the future missions that are under development. It then describes the challenges that the past missions posed with the thermal control systems. The various solutions that were implemented duirng the decades prior to 1990 are outlined. A review of hte thermal challenges of the future misions is also included. The exploration plan for Mars is then reviewed. The thermal challenges of the Mars Rovers are then outlined. Also the challenges of systems that would be able to be used in to explore Venus, and Titan are described. The future space telescope missions will also need thermal control technological advances. Included is a review of the thermal requirements for manned missions to the Moon. Both Active and passive technologies that have been used and will be used are reviewed. Those that are described are Mechanically Pumped Fluid Loops (MPFL), Loop Heat Pipes, an M3 Passive Cooler, Heat Siwtch for Space and Mars surface applications, phase change material (PCM) technology, a Gas Gap Actuateor using ZrNiH(x), the Planck Sorption Cooler (PCS), vapor compression -- Hybrid two phase loops, advanced pumps for two phase cooling loops, and heat pumps that are lightweight and energy efficient.

The future of clinical cancer genomics.

PubMed

Offit, Kenneth

2016-10-01

The current and future applications of genomics to the practice of preventive oncology are being impacted by a number of challenges. These include rapid advances in genomic science and technology that allow massively parallel sequencing of both tumors and the germline, a diminishing of intellectual property restrictions on diagnostic genetic applications, rapid expansion of access to the internet which includes mobile access to both genomic data and tools to communicate and interpret genetic data in a medical context, the expansion of for-profit diagnostic companies seeking to monetize genetic information, and a simultaneous effort to depict medical professionals as barriers to rather than facilitators of understanding one's genome. Addressing each of these issues will be required to bring "personalized" germline genomics to cancer prevention and care. A profound future challenge will be whether clinical cancer genomics will be "de-medicalized" by commercial interests and their advocates, or whether the future course of this field can be modulated in a responsible way that protects the public health while implementing powerful new medical tools for cancer prevention and early detection. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The Future of Water Security in Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo Through Different Climate Scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gesualdo, G. C.; Oliveira, P. T. S.; Rodrigues, D. B. B.

2017-12-01

Achieving a balance between water availability and demand is one of the most pressing environmental challenges in the twenty-first century. This challenge is exacerbated by, climate change, which has already affected the water balance of landscapes globally by intensifying runoff, reducing snowpacks, and shifting precipitation regimes. Understanding these changes is crucial to identifying future water availability and developing sustainable management plans, especially in developing countries. Here, we address the developing country water balance challenge by assessing the influence of climate change on the water availability in the Jaguari basin, Southeastern Brazil. The Jaguari basin is one of the main sources of freshwater for 9 million people in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. This region represents about 7% of the Brazil's Gross Domestic Product. The critical importance of the water balance challenge in this area has been highlighted recently when a major drought in southeastern Brazil revealed the vulnerability of current water management systems. Still today, the per capita water availability in the region remains severely limited. To help address this water balance challenge, we use a modeling approach to predict future water vulnerabilities of this region under different climate scenarios. Here, we calibrated and validated a lumped conceptual model using HYMOD to evaluate future scenarios using downscaled climate models resulting from HadGEM2-ES and MIROC5 GCMs forced by RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. We also present future directions which include bias correction from long-term weather station data and an empirical uncertainty assessment. Our results provide an important overview of climate change impacts on streamflow and future water availability in the Jaguari basin, which can be used to guide the basin`s water security plans and strategies.

The importance of living botanical collections for plant biology and the “next generation” of evo-devo research

PubMed Central

Dosmann, Michael; Groover, Andrew

2012-01-01

Living botanical collections include germplasm repositories, long-term experimental plantings, and botanical gardens. We present here a series of vignettes to illustrate the central role that living collections have played in plant biology research, including evo-devo research. Looking toward the future, living collections will become increasingly important in support of future evo-devo research. The driving force behind this trend is nucleic acid sequencing technologies, which are rapidly becoming more powerful and cost-effective, and which can be applied to virtually any species. This allows for more extensive sampling, including non-model organisms with unique biological features and plants from diverse phylogenetic positions. Importantly, a major challenge for sequencing-based evo-devo research is to identify, access, and propagate appropriate plant materials. We use a vignette of the ongoing 1,000 Transcriptomes project as an example of the challenges faced by such projects. We conclude by identifying some of the pinch points likely to be encountered by future evo-devo researchers, and how living collections can help address them. PMID:22737158

Future evolution of distributed systems for smart grid - The challenges and opportunities to using decentralized energy system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konopko, Joanna

2015-12-01

A decentralized energy system is a relatively new approach in the power industry. Decentralized energy systems provide promising opportunities for deploying renewable energy sources locally available as well as for expanding access to clean energy services to remote communities. The electricity system of the future must produce and distribute electricity that is reliable and affordable. To accomplish these goals, both the electricity grid and the existing regulatory system must be smarter. In this paper, the major issues and challenges in distributed systems for smart grid are discussed and future trends are presented. The smart grid technologies and distributed generation systems are explored. A general overview of the comparison of the traditional grid and smart grid is also included.

Aerodynamics for Revolutionary Air Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sellers, William L., III; Singer, Bart A.; Leavitt, Laurence D.

2003-01-01

Aeronautics research has seriously declined partly because of the perception that it is a mature science and only incremental improvements are possible. Recent aeronautics roadmapping activities at NASA Langley paint a different picture of the future. Breakthroughs are still felt to be possible if we expand the current design space of today's vehicles and optimize the airspace and vehicles as a system. The paper describes some of the challenges that the aircraft and airline industry face. These challenges include political, technical and environmental issues. Examples of the opportunities and technologies that could provide a different vision for the future are discussed.

Tailored program evaluation: Past, present, future.

PubMed

Suggs, L Suzanne; Cowdery, Joan E; Carroll, Jennifer B

2006-11-01

This paper discusses measurement issues related to the evaluation of computer-tailored health behavior change programs. As the first generation of commercially available tailored products is utilized in health promotion programming, programmers and researchers are becoming aware of the unique challenges that the evaluation of these programs presents. A project is presented that used an online tailored health behavior assessment (HBA) in a worksite setting. Process and outcome evaluation methods are described and include the challenges faced, and strategies proposed and implemented, for meeting them. Implications for future research in tailored program development, implementation, and evaluation are also discussed.

Life course approach in social epidemiology: an overview, application and future implications.

PubMed

Cable, Noriko

2014-01-01

The application of the life course approach to social epidemiology has helped epidemiologists theoretically examine social gradients in population health. Longitudinal data with rich contextual information collected repeatedly and advanced statistical approaches have made this challenging task easier. This review paper provides an overview of the life course approach in epidemiology, its research application, and future challenges. In summary, a systematic approach to methods, including theoretically guided measurement of socioeconomic position, would assist researchers in gathering evidence for reducing social gradients in health, and collaboration across individual disciplines will make this task achievable.

The Ninth National Space Symposium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipskin, Beth Ann; Patterson, Sara; Brescia, David A.; Burk, Donna; Flannery, Jack; St. John, Pat; Zimkas, Chuck

Proceedings of the Ninth National Space Symposium held 13-16 April 1993 by the United States Space Foundation are presented. Presentations made at the symposium are included. Topics discussed include: Change, Challenge and Opportunity; Washington Insiders: National Space Policy and Budget Issues; Civil Space: a Vision for the Future; Space Power for an Expanded Vision; Unparalled Launch Vehicle Propulsion Capabilities; National Security Space Issues; Perspectives on the Air Force in Space; Future Technology: Space Propulsion, Earth Observation and International Cooperation; Achieving Efficient Space Transportation; the Future in Space Exploration; Kids, Parents and Teachers are into Space; and Public Congressional Forum on Space - International Space Issues.

The Continuing Challenge: The Past and Future of Brown v. Board of Education. A Symposium.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Notre Dame Univ., IN. Center for Civil Rights.

These conference proceedings are separated into three areas: (1) presentations by individuals who have played important roles in desegregation; (2) presentations on contemporary issues; and (3) the continuing challenge of providing equal educational opportunity to all. Among the topics included in the first section are the social and legal history…

Removing Barriers, Building Futures: Educating Homeless Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Endres, Christina

2012-01-01

A lack of stable housing creates challenges for students who want to participate in daily school activities, including: (1) getting to school; (2) accessing laundry or shower facilities; (3) finding a place to study or do homework; and (4) staying awake in class because of inadequate sleep the night before. Despite these and the other challenges,…

Campus Computing Looks Ahead: Tracking the Digital Puck.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Kenneth C.

2002-01-01

Examines data from the 2002 Campus Computing Survey to determine trends in information technology in higher education and future possibilities. Discusses Web portals; electronic commerce capabilities, including use of credit cards; budget challenges, including budget cuts; and mobile technology and wireless networks. (LRW)

The journal of undergraduate neuroscience education: history, challenges, and future developments.

PubMed

Dunbar, Gary L; Lom, Barbara; Grisham, William; Ramirez, Julio J

2009-01-01

The 'JUNE and You' sessions presented at the July 2008 Undergraduate Neuroscience Education workshop, sponsored jointly by Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) and Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL), featured background information about the history and mission of the Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education (JUNE), followed by an informative discussion about the challenges facing JUNE, including new ideas for future developments. This article will highlight some of the information and ideas generated and shared at this conference. Critical discussion points included the need to keep members of FUN actively engaged in submitting and reviewing articles for JUNE. Ways in which authors, reviewers, and interested faculty members could best help in promoting the mission and vision of JUNE were discussed. Concerns about recent hackings into the JUNE website were also raised, and possible solutions and measures that can be taken to minimize this in the future were discussed. In addition, ideas for expanding the role of JUNE to provide a forum to evaluate new and emerging website information that is pertinent to undergraduate neuroscience education was discussed. Ideas for future developments of JUNE included revolving postings of articles as they are accepted, providing links to several related websites, and allowing updates for articles that have been previously published in JUNE. Finally, ideas for maintaining and expanding JUNE's stature as the resource for undergraduate neuroscience education included ensuring that JUNE is listed on important search vehicles, such as PubMed.

Thermal and Power Challenges in High Performance Computing Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natarajan, Venkat; Deshpande, Anand; Solanki, Sudarshan; Chandrasekhar, Arun

2009-05-01

This paper provides an overview of the thermal and power challenges in emerging high performance computing platforms. The advent of new sophisticated applications in highly diverse areas such as health, education, finance, entertainment, etc. is driving the platform and device requirements for future systems. The key ingredients of future platforms are vertically integrated (3D) die-stacked devices which provide the required performance characteristics with the associated form factor advantages. Two of the major challenges to the design of through silicon via (TSV) based 3D stacked technologies are (i) effective thermal management and (ii) efficient power delivery mechanisms. Some of the key challenges that are articulated in this paper include hot-spot superposition and intensification in a 3D stack, design/optimization of thermal through silicon vias (TTSVs), non-uniform power loading of multi-die stacks, efficient on-chip power delivery, minimization of electrical hotspots etc.

Teaching Climate Change to Future Teachers Using 'Real' Data: Challenges and Opportunities (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petcovic, H. L.; Barone, S.; Fulford, J.

2013-12-01

A climate-literate public is essential to resolving pressing problems related to global change. Future elementary teachers are a critical audience in climate and climate change education, as they will introduce children in early grades (USA grades K-8, children ages 5-14) to fundamentals of the climate system, natural and anthropogenic drivers of climate change, and impacts of global change on human and natural systems. Here we describe challenges we have encountered in teaching topics of the carbon cycle, greenhouse gases, past climate, recent anthropogenic change, and carbon footprints to future elementary teachers. We also describe how we have met (to varying degrees of success) these challenges in an introductory earth science course that is specifically designed for this audience. Two prominent challenges we have encountered are: the complex nature of the scientific content of climate change, and robust misconceptions held by our students about these topics. To address the first challenge, we attempt to adjust the scientific content to a level appropriate for future K-8 teachers, without sacrificing too much accuracy or critical detail. To address the second challenge, we explicitly discuss alternate conceptions of each topic. The use of authentic data sets can also address both of these challenges. Yet incorporating 'real' climate and paleoclimate data into the classroom poses still an additional challenge of instructional design. We use a variety of teaching approaches in our laboratory-based course including student-designed experiments, computer simulations, physical models, and authentic data sets. We have found that students strongly prefer the physical models and experiments, because these are 'hands-on' and perceived as easily adaptable to the K-8 classroom. Students often express dislike for activities that use authentic data sets (for example, an activity using graphs of CO2 and methane concentrations in Vostok ice cores), in particular because they have difficulty interpreting graphs. To respond to this concern, we couple physical models/experiments with data sets in a guided inquiry teaching format in order to satisfy those students who prefer 'hands-on' learning yet tie the models to the real world. Pre/post testing of students shows that this method is effective in most topics, yet future teachers still struggle with identifying natural versus anthropogenic drivers of climate change. We continue to address these challenges in future course modifications.

Shaping the Future of Foreign Language Education: FLES, Articulation, and Proficiency. Report of Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lalande, John F. II, Ed.

Selected papers from the 1988 conference on foreign language issues for the future include: "Articulation for Elementary School Foreign Language Programs: Challenges and Opportunities" (Carol Ann Pesola); "Articulation: A Resolvable Problem?" (Dale L. Lange); "Profiles of Frustration: Second Language Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities"…

Vehicle Technologies Program Educational Activities

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

None

2011-12-13

Description of educational activities including: EcoCAR2: Plugging In to the Future, EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge, Green Racing, Automotive X Prize, Graduate Technology Automotive Education (GATE), and Hydrogen Education.

Gaudi Evolution for Future Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clemencic, M.; Hegner, B.; Leggett, C.

2017-10-01

The LHCb Software Framework Gaudi was initially designed and developed almost twenty years ago, when computing was very different from today. It has also been used by a variety of other experiments, including ATLAS, Daya Bay, GLAST, HARP, LZ, and MINERVA. Although it has been always actively developed all these years, stability and backward compatibility have been favoured, reducing the possibilities of adopting new techniques, like multithreaded processing. R&D efforts like GaudiHive have however shown its potential to cope with the new challenges. In view of the LHC second Long Shutdown approaching and to prepare for the computing challenges for the Upgrade of the collider and the detectors, now is a perfect moment to review the design of Gaudi and plan future developments of the project. To do this LHCb, ATLAS and the Future Circular Collider community joined efforts to bring Gaudi forward and prepare it for the upcoming needs of the experiments. We present here how Gaudi will evolve in the next years and the long term development plans.

Patient engagement in patient-centered outcomes research: challenges, facilitators and actions to strengthen the field.

PubMed

Ellis, Lauren E; Kass, Nancy E

2017-06-01

To describe challenges to and facilitators of patient engagement to inform future strategies and suggested actions to strengthen engagement. Interviews with 19 principal investigators of projects funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and with 33 patients from 18 of the 19 projects. Facilitators included using existing resources, having clear goals, educating patients and treating patients respectfully. Logistical challenges included extra time and work, institutional barriers and difficulty having meetings. Substantive challenges to selecting, educating and engaging patients, and incorporating feedback were also reported. To bolster the infrastructure for engagement, we suggest funders, institutions and researchers focus on resources and training for researchers and patients, networks and programs to connect stakeholders and model policies.

Future Earth, Global Science and Regional Programs: Building regional integrated science capacities in a global science organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tewksbury, J.

2016-12-01

Future Earth has emerged from the more than 30-year history of Global Change Research Programs, including IGBP, DIVERSITAS and IHDP. These programs supported interdisciplinary science in service of societies around the world. Now, their focus on building a greater understanding of changing Earth systems and their couplings with society has passed to Future Earth - with an important addition: Future Earth was also established to focus global change efforts around key societal challenges. The implications for the structure of Future Earth are large. Many challenges within topics, such as the water, energy, food nexus or the future of cities, are manifested within local, national, and regional contexts. How should we organize globally to most effectively confront these multi-scale challenges? The solution proposed in the framing of Future Earth was the formation of regional as well as national committees, as well as the formation of regional centers and offices. Regional Committees serve to both advocate for Future Earth in their regions and to advocate for regional interests in the global Future Earth platform, while regional Centers and offices are built into the Future Earth secretariat to perform a parallel regional implementation function. Implementation has not been easy, and the process has placed regionally-focused projects in an awkward place. Programs such as the Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS), the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI), and the South/Southeast Asia Research Initiative (SARI) represent some of the best global change communities in the world, but by design, their focus is regional. The effective integration of these communities into the Future Earth architecture will be critical, and this integration will require the formation of strong regional committees and regional centers.

Constructing New Finance Models That Balance Equity, Adequacy and Efficiency with Responsiveness. Education Finance in the States: Its Past, Present and Future. ECS Issue Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guthrie, James W.

Policymakers continue to face major challenges in education finance, despite a history of reforms. Today's challenges include ensuring financial adequacy, maintaining gains in distributional equality, coping with the increasing need for teachers, satisfying public preference for diversity in schools and programs, and devising performance…

Computer-assisted diagnostic decision support: history, challenges, and possible paths forward.

PubMed

Miller, Randolph A

2009-09-01

This paper presents a brief history of computer-assisted diagnosis, including challenges and future directions. Some ideas presented in this article on computer-assisted diagnostic decision support systems (CDDSS) derive from prior work by the author and his colleagues (see list in Acknowledgments) on the INTERNIST-1 and QMR projects. References indicate the original sources of many of these ideas.

Psychiatric epidemiology: selected recent advances and future directions.

PubMed Central

Kessler, R. C.

2000-01-01

Reviewed in this article are selected recent advances and future challenges for psychiatric epidemiology. Major advances in descriptive psychiatric epidemiology in recent years include the development of reliable and valid fully structured diagnostic interviews, the implementation of parallel cross-national surveys of the prevalences and correlates of mental disorders, and the initiation of research in clinical epidemiology. Remaining challenges include the refinement of diagnostic categories and criteria, recognition and evaluation of systematic underreporting bias in surveys of mental disorders, creation and use of accurate assessment tools for studying disorders of children, adolescents, the elderly, and people in less developed countries, and setting up systems to carry out small area estimations for needs assessment and programme planning. Advances in analytical and experimental epidemiology have been more modest. A major challenge is for psychiatric epidemiologists to increase the relevance of their analytical research to their colleagues in preventative psychiatry as well as to social policy analysts. Another challenge is to develop interventions aimed at increasing the proportion of people with mental disorders who receive treatment. Despite encouraging advances, much work still needs to be conducted before psychiatric epidemiology can realize its potential to improve the mental health of populations. PMID:10885165

Presidential address, 1995. Surgery 2000: a look back to the future

PubMed Central

Heughan, Christopher

1996-01-01

The present demoralized state of Canadian surgery is due to a number of short-term influences. They include financial restraints, the desire of government agencies to off-load blame for unpopular decisions onto doctors and altered public expectations. The major long-term challenge will be a shortage of physicians and a severe shortage of general surgeons because of the superimposition of longer-term trends in medical demographics on short-term political reactions to a perceived oversupply of doctors. General surgeons need to identify the significant, long-term threats and challenges. If they can do this and plan their responses knowledgably, with some measure of altruism, the future in general surgery will be a bright one for present and future residents and medical students. PMID:8640616

Membranes for bioelectrochemical systems: challenges and research advances.

PubMed

Dhar, Bipro Ranjan; Lee, Hyung-Sool

2013-01-01

Increasing energy demand has been a big challenge for current society, as the fossil fuel sources are gradually decreasing. Hence, development of renewable and sustainable energy sources for the future is considered one of the top priorities in national strategic plans. Bioenergy can meet future energy requirements - renewability, sustainability, and even carbon-neutrality. Bioenergy production from wastes and wastewaters is especially attractive because of dual benefits of energy generation and contaminant stabilization. There are several bioenergy technologies using wastes and wastewaters as electron donor, which include anaerobic digestion, dark biohydrogen fermentation, biohydrogen production using photosynthetic microorganisms, and bioelectrochemical systems (BESs). Among them BES seems to be very promising as we can produce a variety of value-added products from wastes and wastewaters, such as electric power, hydrogen gas, hydrogen peroxide, acetate, ethanol etc. Most ofthe traditional BES uses a membrane to separate the anode and cathode chamber, which is essential for improving microbial metabolism on the anode and the recovery of value-added products on the cathode. Performance of BES lacking a membrane can be seriously deteriorated, due to oxygen diffusion or substantial loss of synthesized products. For this reason, usage of a membrane seems essential to facilitate BES performance. However, a membrane can bring several technical challenges to BES application compared to membrane-less BES. These challenges include poor proton permeability, substrate loss, oxygen back diffusion, pH gradient, internal resistance, biofouling, etc. This paper aims to review the major technical barriers associated with membranes and future research directions for their application in BESs.

Next generation system modeling of NTR systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buksa, John J.; Rider, William J.

1993-01-01

The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) modeling challenges; current approaches; shortcomings of current analysis method; future needs; and present steps to these goals.

Data needs for X-ray astronomy satellites

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

Kallman, T.

I review the current status of atomic data for X-ray astronomy satellites. This includes some of the astrophysical issues which can be addressed, current modeling and analysis techniques, computational tools, the limitations imposed by currently available atomic data, and the validity of standard assumptions. I also discuss the future: challenges associated with future missions and goals for atomic data collection.

On the Future of American Higher Education: A Bibliography of Clark Kerr. Public Administration Series: Bibliography P-1033.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quay, Richard H.

A bibliography of publications authored, coauthored, or edited by Clark Kerr on the future of American higher education is presented. The specific topics of the publications, which cover 1939-1981, include the following: the failure of academic reform in the United States and Western Europe, changes and challenges ahead for community colleges,…

Future heliospheric missions from Russian perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrukovich, Anatoli; Izmodenov, Vladislav; Zelenyi, Lev; Kuzin, Sergey; Kuznetsov, Vladimir; Eismont, Natan

Structure and plasma processes of the heliosphere will be in the focus of attention for the next decade with the launch of Solar Orbiter, Solar Probe Plus, Interhelioprobe and SPORT, as well as the continuing flight of Voyagers and New Horizons. We review possible scientific goals and technical challenges for even more distant projects which are under discussion now. The projects include high-ecliptic observations with the help of solar sail, remote observations of heliospheric outer boundaries with interstellar medium as well as local high resolution turbulence studies. A major future challenge for the space weather research is the support for manned spaceflight beyond low Earth orbit.

An overview of current approaches and future challenges in physiological monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horst, Richard L.

1988-01-01

Sufficient evidence exists from laboratory studies to suggest that physiological measures can be useful as an adjunct to behavioral and subjective measures of human performance and capabilities. Thus it is reasonable to address the conceptual and engineering challenges that arise in applying this technology in operational settings. Issues reviewed include the advantages and disadvantages of constructs such as mental states, the need for physiological measures of performance, areas of application for physiological measures in operational settings, which measures appear to be most useful, problem areas that arise in the use of these measures in operational settings, and directions for future development.

The ACHE Code of Ethics: Its Role for the Profession.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawler, Patricia A.

2000-01-01

Revisits the Association for Continuing Higher Education's Code of Ethics adopted in 1997. Suggests future challenges to be considered in revision, including technology, distance learning, intellectual property, and accountability. (SK)

Report on the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katz, Daniel S.; Choi, Sou-Cheng T.; Niemeyer, Kyle E.; Hetherington, James; Löffler, Frank; Gunter, Dan; Idaszak, Ray; Brandt, Steven R.; Miller, Mark A.; Gesing, Sandra; Jones, Nick D.; Weber, Nic; Marru, Suresh; Allen, Gabrielle; Penzenstadler, Birgit; Venters, Colin C.; Davis, Ethan; Hwang, Lorraine; Todorov, Ilian; Patra, Abani; de Val-Borro, Miguel

2016-02-01

This report records and discusses the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3). The report includes a description of the keynote presentation of the workshop, which served as an overview of sustainable scientific software. It also summarizes a set of lightning talks in which speakers highlighted to-the-point lessons and challenges pertaining to sustaining scientific software. The final and main contribution of the report is a summary of the discussions, future steps, and future organization for a set of self-organized working groups on topics including developing pathways to funding scientific software; constructing useful common metrics for crediting software stakeholders; identifying principles for sustainable software engineering design; reaching out to research software organizations around the world; and building communities for software sustainability. For each group, we include a point of contact and a landing page that can be used by those who want to join that group's future activities. The main challenge left by the workshop is to see if the groups will execute these activities that they have scheduled, and how the WSSSPE community can encourage this to happen.

Professional Self-Esteem or the Evolution of a Profession.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowenfled, B.

1989-01-01

The article reviews historical challenges met by the blindness field including the epidemics of retrolental fibroplasia and Rubella. It discusses internal developments in the field including the trend from braille class to resource room, changed standards of teacher preparation, future functions of residential schools, and disability-specific…

Current Status and Future Challenges in Risk-Based Radiation Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pellish, Jonathan A.

2017-01-01

This presentation covers the basis and challenges for radiation effects in electronic systems. The three main types of radiation effects in electronics are: 1) total ionizing dose (TID), 2) total non-ionizing dose (TNID) / displacement damage dose (DDD), and 3) single-event effect (SEE). Some content on relevant examples of effects, current concerns, and possible environmental model-driven solutions are also included.

Software Past, Present, and Future: Views from Government, Industry and Academia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holcomb, Lee; Page, Jerry; Evangelist, Michael

2000-01-01

Views from the NASA CIO NASA Software Engineering Workshop on software development from the past, present, and future are presented. The topics include: 1) Software Past; 2) Software Present; 3) NASA's Largest Software Challenges; 4) 8330 Software Projects in Industry Standish Groups 1994 Report; 5) Software Future; 6) Capability Maturity Model (CMM): Software Engineering Institute (SEI) levels; 7) System Engineering Quality Also Part of the Problem; 8) University Environment Trends Will Increase the Problem in Software Engineering; and 9) NASA Software Engineering Goals.

The Orbital Debris Problem and the Challenges for Environment Remediation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liou, J.-C.

2013-01-01

Orbital debris scientists from major international space agencies, including JAXA and NASA, have worked together to predict the trend of the future environment. A summary presentation was given to the United Nations in February 2013. The orbital debris population in LEO will continue to increase. Catastrophic collisions will continue to occur every 5 to 9 years center dot To limit the growth of the future debris population and to better protect future spacecraft, active debris removal, should be considered.

Autoethnography: Inquiry into Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoppes, Steve

2014-01-01

This chapter provides guidelines and suggestions for assessing student development using autoethnography, a qualitative research method. Autoethnography guides students in examining the nexus between personal and professional identities, including skills, challenges, values, histories, and hopes for the future.

Risk Management in the Human Spaceflight Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, William

2009-01-01

The contents include:1) NASA Mission and Organization; 2) Major Mission Failures and Causes; 3) Cultural Changes Resulting from Failures; 3) Safety at NASA Today; 4) Best Safety Practices; 5) Safety Challenges; and 6) Future Commitment.

A commitment to coal

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

Shea, Q.

2006-07-15

Quin Shea explores the need for power generated with coal and the advanced technologies that will generate that power more efficiently and cleanly in the future. The article considers the air and waste challenges of using coal, including progress toward reducing emissions of SO{sub 2}, NOx, and mercury; efforts to address CO{sub 2}, including voluntary programs like the Climate Challenge, Power Partners, and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate; and the regulation and beneficial use of coal-combustion byproducts (e.g., fly ash, bottom ash, flue gas desulfurization materials, boiler slag). 17 refs.

FutureTox: building the road for 21st century toxicology and risk assessment practices.

PubMed

Rowlands, J Craig; Sander, Miriam; Bus, James S

2014-02-01

This article reports on the outcome of FutureTox, a Society of Toxicology (SOT) Contemporary Concepts in Toxicology (CCT) workshop, whose goal was to address the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing 21st century technologies for toxicity testing, hazard identification, and risk assessment. One goal of the workshop was to facilitate an interactive multisector and discipline dialog. To this end, workshop invitees and participants included stakeholders from governmental and regulatory agencies, research institutes, academia, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in Europe and the United States. The workshop agenda was constructed to collectively review and discuss the state-of-the-science in these fields, better define the problems and challenges, outline their collective goals for the future, and identify areas of common agreement key to advancing these technologies into practice.

FutureTox: Building the Road for 21st Century Toxicology and Risk Assessment Practices

PubMed Central

Rowlands, J. Craig; Bus, James S.

2014-01-01

This article reports on the outcome of FutureTox, a Society of Toxicology (SOT) Contemporary Concepts in Toxicology (CCT) workshop, whose goal was to address the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing 21st century technologies for toxicity testing, hazard identification, and risk assessment. One goal of the workshop was to facilitate an interactive multisector and discipline dialog. To this end, workshop invitees and participants included stakeholders from governmental and regulatory agencies, research institutes, academia, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in Europe and the United States. The workshop agenda was constructed to collectively review and discuss the state-of-the-science in these fields, better define the problems and challenges, outline their collective goals for the future, and identify areas of common agreement key to advancing these technologies into practice. PMID:24204016

Killer Apps: Developing Novel Applications That Enhance Team Coordination, Communication, and Effectiveness

PubMed Central

Buengeler, Claudia; Klonek, Florian; Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Morency, Louis-Philippe; Poppe, Ronald

2017-01-01

As part of the Lorentz workshop, “Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics,” held in Leiden, Netherlands, this article describes how Geeks and Groupies (computer and social scientists) may benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration toward the development of killer apps in team contexts that are meaningful and challenging for both. First, we discuss interaction processes during team meetings as a research topic for both Groupies and Geeks. Second, we highlight teamwork in health care settings as an interdisciplinary research challenge. Third, we discuss how an automated solution for optimal team design could benefit team effectiveness and feed into team-based interventions. Fourth, we discuss team collaboration in massive open online courses as a challenge for both Geeks and Groupies. We argue for the necessary integration of social and computational research insights and approaches. In the hope of inspiring future interdisciplinary collaborations, we develop criteria for evaluating killer apps—including the four proposed here—and discuss future research challenges and opportunities that potentially derive from these developments. PMID:28989264

Killer Apps: Developing Novel Applications That Enhance Team Coordination, Communication, and Effectiveness.

PubMed

Buengeler, Claudia; Klonek, Florian; Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Morency, Louis-Philippe; Poppe, Ronald

2017-10-01

As part of the Lorentz workshop, "Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics," held in Leiden, Netherlands, this article describes how Geeks and Groupies (computer and social scientists) may benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration toward the development of killer apps in team contexts that are meaningful and challenging for both. First, we discuss interaction processes during team meetings as a research topic for both Groupies and Geeks. Second, we highlight teamwork in health care settings as an interdisciplinary research challenge. Third, we discuss how an automated solution for optimal team design could benefit team effectiveness and feed into team-based interventions. Fourth, we discuss team collaboration in massive open online courses as a challenge for both Geeks and Groupies. We argue for the necessary integration of social and computational research insights and approaches. In the hope of inspiring future interdisciplinary collaborations, we develop criteria for evaluating killer apps-including the four proposed here-and discuss future research challenges and opportunities that potentially derive from these developments.

Advanced model-based FDIR techniques for aerospace systems: Today challenges and opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zolghadri, Ali

2012-08-01

This paper discusses some trends and recent advances in model-based Fault Detection, Isolation and Recovery (FDIR) for aerospace systems. The FDIR challenges range from pre-design and design stages for upcoming and new programs, to improvement of the performance of in-service flying systems. For space missions, optimization of flight conditions and safe operation is intrinsically related to GNC (Guidance, Navigation & Control) system of the spacecraft and includes sensors and actuators monitoring. Many future space missions will require autonomous proximity operations including fault diagnosis and the subsequent control and guidance recovery actions. For upcoming and future aircraft, one of the main issues is how early and robust diagnosis of some small and subtle faults could contribute to the overall optimization of aircraft design. This issue would be an important factor for anticipating the more and more stringent requirements which would come in force for future environmentally-friendlier programs. The paper underlines the reasons for a widening gap between the advanced scientific FDIR methods being developed by the academic community and technological solutions demanded by the aerospace industry.

The Future of the Small Rural Grocery Store: A Qualitative Exploration.

PubMed

Pinard, Courtney A; Fricke, Hollyanne E; Smith, Teresa M; Carpenter, Leah R; Yaroch, Amy L

2016-11-01

Rural communities face unique challenges to and opportunities for offering more healthful foods and are often understudied in comparison to their urban counterparts. The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative assessment of rural storeowners' perceptions of their communities, their business practices, and factors that influences their viability, sustainability, and ability to support healthy food choices. We conducted interviews with storeowners (N = 15) in small stores in rural Nebraska and explored perceptions of business practices, role in the community, and consumer demand for more healthful foods. The storeowners reported strategies they employ to remain competitive, such as selling alcohol and tobacco, focusing on customer service, and ensuring quality of products. Manufacturer and distributor agreements often put constraints on their business models. Key challenges reported included a dwindling population and competition with larger chains in neighboring towns set in a sparsely populated landscape. Goals for the future included expanding equipment, largely to offer more prepared foods. This study adds to the literature around food access in rural communities, and can inform future implementation strategies to work with storeowners to improve healthy food access.

Lessons learned from a practice-based, multi-site intervention study with nurse participants

PubMed Central

Friese, Christopher R.; Mendelsohn-Victor, Kari; Ginex, Pamela; McMahon, Carol M.; Fauer, Alex J.; McCullagh, Marjorie C.

2016-01-01

Purpose To identify challenges and solutions to the efficient conduct of a multi-site, practice-based randomized controlled trial to improve nurses’ adherence to personal protective equipment use in ambulatory oncology settings. Design The Drug Exposure Feedback and Education for Nurses’ Safety (DEFENS) study is a clustered, randomized, controlled trial. Participating sites are randomized to web-based feedback on hazardous drug exposures in the sites plus tailored messages to address barriers versus a control intervention of a web-based continuing education video. Approach The study principal investigator, the study coordinator, and two site leaders identified challenges to study implementation and potential solutions, plus potential methods to prevent logistical challenges in future studies. Findings Noteworthy challenges included variation in human subjects protection policies, grants and contracts budgeting, infrastructure for nursing-led research, and information technology variation. Successful strategies included scheduled web conferences, site-based study champions, site visits by the principal investigator, and centrally-based document preparation. Strategies to improve efficiency in future studies include early and continued engagement with contract personnel in sites, and proposed changes to the common rule concerning human subjects. The DEFENS study successfully recruited 393 nurses across 12 sites. To date, 369 have completed surveys and 174 nurses have viewed educational materials. Conclusions Multi-site studies of nursing personnel are rare and challenging to existing infrastructure. These barriers can be overcome with strong engagement and planning. Clinical Relevance Leadership engagement, onsite staff support, and continuous communication can facilitate successful recruitment to a workplace-based randomized, controlled behavioral trial. PMID:28098951

Pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia: A vision of the future.

PubMed

Aljadhey, Hisham; Asiri, Yousef; Albogami, Yaser; Spratto, George; Alshehri, Mohammed

2017-01-01

Background: Pharmacy education in developing countries faces many challenges. An assessment of the challenges and opportunities for the future of pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia has not been conducted. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to ascertain the views and opinions of pharmacy education stakeholders regarding the current issues challenging pharmacy education, and to discuss the future of pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A total of 48 participants attended a one-day meeting in October 2011, designed especially for the purpose of this study. The participants were divided into six round-table discussion sessions with eight persons in each group. Six major themes were explored in these sessions, including the need to improve pharmacy education, program educational outcomes, adoption of an integrated curriculum, the use of advanced teaching methodologies, the need to review assessment methods, and challenges and opportunities to improve pharmacy experiential training. The round-table discussion sessions were videotaped and transcribed verbatim and analyzed by two independent researchers. Results: Participants agreed that pharmacy education in the country needs improvement. Participants agreed on the need for clear, measureable, and national educational outcomes for pharmacy programs in the Kingdom. Participants raised the importance of collaboration between faculty members and departments to design and implement an integrated curriculum. They also emphasized the use of new teaching methodologies focusing on student self-learning and active learning. Assessments were discussed with a focus on the use of new tools, confidentiality of examinations, and providing feedback to students. Several points were raised regarding the opportunities to improve pharmacy experiential training, including the need for more experiential sites and qualified preceptors, addressing variations in training quality between experiential sites, the need for accreditation of experiential sites, and the use of technology to track experiential activities and assessments. Conclusion: Several challenges for improving pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia were discussed by stakeholders. To tackle these challenges facing most pharmacy schools in the Kingdom, national efforts need to be considered by involving all stakeholders.

Hospital administrator's perspectives regarding the health care industry.

PubMed

McDermott, D R; Little, M W

1988-01-01

Based on responses from 52 hospital administrators, four areas of managerial concern have been addressed, including: (1) decision-making factors; (2) hospital service offerings: current and future; (3) marketing strategy and service priorities; and (4) health care industry challenges. Of the total respondents, 35 percent indicate a Director of Marketing has primary responsibility for making marketing-related decisions in their hospital, and 19 percent, a Vice-President of Marketing, thus demonstrating the increased priority of the marketing function. The continued importance of the physician being the primary market target is highlighted by 70 percent of the administrators feeling physician referrals will be more important regarding future admissions than in the past, compared to only two percent feeling the physicians' role will be less important. Of primary importance to patients selecting a hospital, as perceived by the administrators, are the physician's referral, the patient's previous experience, the hospital's reputation, and the courtesy of the staff. The clear majority of the conventional-care hospitals surveyed offer out-patient surgery, a hospital pharmacy, obstetrics/maternity care, and diabetic services. The future emphasis on expanding services is evidenced by some 50 percent of the hospital administrators indicating they either possibly or definitely plan to offer long-term nursing care, out-patient substance abuse programs, and cancer clinics by 1990. In addition, some one-third of the respondents are likely to expand their offerings to include wellness/fitness centers, in-patient substance abuse programs, remote or satellite primary care clinics, and diabetic services. Other areas having priority for future offerings include services geared specifically toward women and the elderly. Perceived as highest in priority by the administrators regarding how their hospital can achieve its goals in the next three years are market development strategies, followed by product/service development and finally, market penetration strategies. Clearly, the role of marketing will increase as new targets and new offerings dominate future, strategic decision-making. Specific hospital services having the highest future priority include out-patient services, in-patient care, cardiology, cancer/oncology, obstetrics, and services geared specifically to women and the elderly. Finally, when asked to identify the three most significant challenges facing the health care/hospital industry over the next five years, 12 challenges emerged, with five being mentioned by the majority of the administrators and seven by the minority.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Durability Challenges for Next Generation of Gas Turbine Engine Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Misra, Ajay K.

2012-01-01

Aggressive fuel burn and carbon dioxide emission reduction goals for future gas turbine engines will require higher overall pressure ratio, and a significant increase in turbine inlet temperature. These goals can be achieved by increasing temperature capability of turbine engine hot section materials and decreasing weight of fan section of the engine. NASA is currently developing several advanced hot section materials for increasing temperature capability of future gas turbine engines. The materials of interest include ceramic matrix composites with 1482 - 1648 C temperature capability, advanced disk alloys with 815 C capability, and low conductivity thermal barrier coatings with erosion resistance. The presentation will provide an overview of durability challenges with emphasis on the environmental factors affecting durability for the next generation of gas turbine engine materials. The environmental factors include gaseous atmosphere in gas turbine engines, molten salt and glass deposits from airborne contaminants, impact from foreign object damage, and erosion from ingestion of small particles.

Terra Mission Operations: Launch to the Present (and Beyond)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, Angelita; Moyer, Eric; Mantziaras, Dimitrios; Case, Warren

2014-01-01

The Terra satellite, flagship of NASA's long-term Earth Observing System (EOS) Program, continues to provide useful earth science observations well past its 5-year design lifetime. This paper describes the evolution of Terra operations, including challenges and successes and the steps taken to preserve science requirements and prolong spacecraft life. Working cooperatively with the Terra science and instrument teams, including NASA's international partners, the mission operations team has successfully kept the Terra operating continuously, resolving challenges and adjusting operations as needed. Terra retains all of its observing capabilities (except Short Wave Infrared) despite its age. The paper also describes concepts for future operations. This paper will review the Terra spacecraft mission successes and unique spacecraft component designs that provided significant benefits extending mission life and science. In addition, it discusses special activities as well as anomalies and corresponding recovery efforts. Lastly, it discusses future plans for continued operations.

Economic evaluations and their use in infection prevention and control: a narrative review.

PubMed

Rennert-May, Elissa; Conly, John; Leal, Jenine; Smith, Stephanie; Manns, Braden

2018-01-01

The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the different types of economic evaluations that can be utilized by Infection Prevention and Control practitioners with a particular focus on the use of the quality adjusted life year, and its associated challenges. We also highlight existing economic evaluations published within Infection Prevention and Control, research gaps and future directions. Narrative Review. To date the majority of economic evaluations within Infection Prevention and Control are considered partial economic evaluations. Acknowledging the challenges, which include variable utilities within infection prevention and control, a lack of randomized controlled trials, and difficulty in modelling infectious diseases in general, future economic evaluation studies should strive to be consistent with published guidelines for economic evaluations. This includes the use of quality adjusted life years. Further research is required to estimate utility scores of relevance within Infection Prevention and Control.

Gazing into the crystal ball: future considerations for ensuring sustained growth of the functional food and nutraceutical marketplace.

PubMed

Marinangeli, Christopher P F; Jones, Peter J H

2013-06-01

Over the last decade the concept of functional foods and nutraceuticals (FFN) has gained support from various stakeholders including the food industry, scientific and academic community, government institutions or regulators, producers and consumers. However, as one begins to evaluate the global FFN industry, several issues emerge including (i) a lack of consensus across jurisdictions for acknowledging safe and efficacious FFN, (ii) challenges regarding the classification of novel food-derived bioactives as FFN or drugs, and (iii) a disconnect between nutrient requirements and dosages of FFN required to facilitate health benefits. The objectives of the present review are to discuss the role of existing stakeholders within the FFN marketplace and identify performance indicators for growth within the FFN sector. In addition, the following report provides feasible resolutions to present and future challenges facing the global FFN industry to ensure sustained long-term growth.

Contingency Contracting and the IT Manager: Today’s Challenges and Future Implications

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

is included for your edification , and I gave that to you previously. 50 Pringle: Yes you did. Randall: Excellent. Alright, please state your name...respond. An outline of the questions which will be asked is included for your edification . Please state your name and rank: What is your designator

IFE Chamber Technology - Status and Future Challenges

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

Meier, W.R.; Raffray, A.R.; Abdel-Khalik, S.I.

2003-07-15

Significant progress has been made on addressing critical issues for inertial fusion energy (IFE) chambers for heavy-ion, laser and Z-pinch drivers. A variety of chamber concepts are being investigated including drywall (currently favored for laser IFE), wetted-wall (applicable to both laser and ion drivers), and thick-liquid-wall (favored by heavy ion and z-pinch drivers). Recent progress and remaining challenges in developing IFE chambers are reviewed.

Long-Term Preservation of NASA Heliophysics Data and Access: Where We Were and Where We're Going

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGuire, Robert E.

2011-01-01

The importance of ensuring preservation and useful access to the unique science potential of past, present and future NASA solar and space physics (i.e. heliophysics) data has been recognized since the inception of NASA but remains challenging. In this talk, I will briefly review the history of this topic and and then discuss the present NASA model for heliophysics science data management, including key current resources for finding and using data projects like the Space Physics Data Facility. I will highlight expected future directions, building on working elements of the present program and exploiting new technology, to further improve the data environment, address existing issues and anticipate emerging challenges.

Retail food environments research: Promising future with more work to be done.

PubMed

Fuller, Daniel; Engler-Stringer, Rachel; Muhajarine, Nazeem

2016-06-09

As members of the scientific committee for the Food Environments in Canada conference, we reflect on the current state of food environments research in Canada. We are very encouraged that the field is growing and there have been many collaborative efforts to link researchers in Canada, including the 2015 Food Environments in Canada Symposium and Workshop. We believe there are 5 key challenges the field will need to collectively address: theory and causality; replication and extension; consideration of rural, northern and vulnerable populations; policy analysis; and intervention research. In addressing the challenges, we look forward to working together to conduct more sophisticated, complex and community-driven food environments research in the future.

Hydrogen storage and fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Di-Jia

2018-01-01

Global warming and future energy supply are two major challenges facing American public today. To overcome such challenges, it is imperative to maximize the existing fuel utilization with new conversion technologies while exploring alternative energy sources with minimal environmental impact. Hydrogen fuel cell represents a next-generation energy-efficient technology in transportation and stationary power productions. In this presentation, a brief overview of the current technology status of on-board hydrogen storage and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell in transportation will be provided. The directions of the future researches in these technological fields, including a recent "big idea" of "H2@Scale" currently developed at the U. S. Department of Energy, will also be discussed.

Management of Dynamic Biomedical Terminologies: Current Status and Future Challenges

PubMed Central

Dos Reis, J. C.; Pruski, C.

2015-01-01

Summary Objectives Controlled terminologies and their dependent artefacts provide a consensual understanding of a domain while reducing ambiguities and enabling reasoning. However, the evolution of a domain’s knowledge directly impacts these terminologies and generates inconsistencies in the underlying biomedical information systems. In this article, we review existing work addressing the dynamic aspect of terminologies as well as their effects on mappings and semantic annotations. Methods We investigate approaches related to the identification, characterization and propagation of changes in terminologies, mappings and semantic annotations including techniques to update their content. Results and conclusion Based on the explored issues and existing methods, we outline open research challenges requiring investigation in the near future. PMID:26293859

Comments for A Conference on Verification in the 21st Century

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

Doyle, James E.

2012-06-12

The author offers 5 points for the discussion of Verification and Technology: (1) Experience with the implementation of arms limitation and arms reduction agreements confirms that technology alone has never been relied upon to provide effective verification. (2) The historical practice of verification of arms control treaties between Cold War rivals may constrain the cooperative and innovative use of technology for transparency, veification and confidence building in the future. (3) An area that has been identified by many, including the US State Department and NNSA as being rich for exploration for potential uses of technology for transparency and verification ismore » information and communications technology (ICT). This includes social media, crowd-sourcing, the internet of things, and the concept of societal verification, but there are issues. (4) On the issue of the extent to which verification technologies are keeping pace with the demands of future protocols and agrements I think the more direct question is ''are they effective in supporting the objectives of the treaty or agreement?'' In this regard it is important to acknowledge that there is a verification grand challenge at our doorstep. That is ''how does one verify limitations on nuclear warheads in national stockpiles?'' (5) Finally, while recognizing the daunting political and security challenges of such an approach, multilateral engagement and cooperation at the conceptual and technical levels provides benefits for addressing future verification challenges.« less

Meeting report: Ocean 'omics science, technology and cyberinfrastructure: current challenges and future requirements (August 20-23, 2013).

PubMed

Gilbert, Jack A; Dick, Gregory J; Jenkins, Bethany; Heidelberg, John; Allen, Eric; Mackey, Katherine R M; DeLong, Edward F

2014-06-15

The National Science Foundation's EarthCube End User Workshop was held at USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, California in August 2013. The workshop was designed to explore and characterize the needs and tools available to the community that is focusing on microbial and physical oceanography research with a particular emphasis on 'omic research. The assembled researchers outlined the existing concerns regarding the vast data resources that are being generated, and how we will deal with these resources as their volume and diversity increases. Particular attention was focused on the tools for handling and analyzing the existing data, on the need for the construction and curation of diverse federated databases, as well as development of shared, interoperable, "big-data capable" analytical tools. The key outputs from this workshop include (i) critical scientific challenges and cyber infrastructure constraints, (ii) the current and future ocean 'omics science grand challenges and questions, and (iii) data management, analytical and associated and cyber-infrastructure capabilities required to meet critical current and future scientific challenges. The main thrust of the meeting and the outcome of this report is a definition of the 'omics tools, technologies and infrastructures that facilitate continued advance in ocean science biology, marine biogeochemistry, and biological oceanography.

Enhancing international collaboration among early career researchers.

PubMed

Carroll, Jennifer K; Albada, Akke; Farahani, Mansoureh; Lithner, Maria; Neumann, Melanie; Sandhu, Harbinder; Shepherd, Heather L

2010-09-01

The European Association of Communication in Healthcare (EACH) Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) aims are to (1) promote international collaboration among young investigators and (2) provide a support network for future innovative communication research projects. In October 2009, Miami, USA at a workshop facilitated by the ECRN at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) hosted by the American Academy of Communication in Healthcare we explored common facilitators and challenges faced by early career researchers in health communication research. Attendees introduced themselves, their research area(s) of interest, and listed one facilitator and one barrier for their career development. EACH ECRN members then led a discussion of facilitators and challenges encountered in communication research projects and career development. We discussed potential collaboration opportunities, future goals, and activities. Having supportive collegial relationships, institutional support, job security, and funding are critical facilitators for early career investigators. Key challenges include difficulty with time management and prioritizing, limited resources, and contacts. International collaboration among early career researchers is a feasible and effective means to address important challenges, by increasing opportunities for professional support and networking, problem-solving, discussion of data, and ultimately publishing. Future AACH-EACH Early Career Researcher Networks should continue to build collaborations by developing shared research projects, papers, and other scholarly products. Copyright (c) 2010. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Meeting report: Ocean ‘omics science, technology and cyberinfrastructure: current challenges and future requirements (August 20-23, 2013)

PubMed Central

Gilbert, Jack A; Dick, Gregory J.; Jenkins, Bethany; Heidelberg, John; Allen, Eric; Mackey, Katherine R. M.

2014-01-01

The National Science Foundation’s EarthCube End User Workshop was held at USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, California in August 2013. The workshop was designed to explore and characterize the needs and tools available to the community that is focusing on microbial and physical oceanography research with a particular emphasis on ‘omic research. The assembled researchers outlined the existing concerns regarding the vast data resources that are being generated, and how we will deal with these resources as their volume and diversity increases. Particular attention was focused on the tools for handling and analyzing the existing data, on the need for the construction and curation of diverse federated databases, as well as development of shared, interoperable, “big-data capable” analytical tools. The key outputs from this workshop include (i) critical scientific challenges and cyber infrastructure constraints, (ii) the current and future ocean ‘omics science grand challenges and questions, and (iii) data management, analytical and associated and cyber-infrastructure capabilities required to meet critical current and future scientific challenges. The main thrust of the meeting and the outcome of this report is a definition of the ‘omics tools, technologies and infrastructures that facilitate continued advance in ocean science biology, marine biogeochemistry, and biological oceanography. PMID:25197495

Enhancing international collaboration among early-career researchers

PubMed Central

Carroll, Jennifer K; Albada, Akke; Farahani, Mansoureh; Lithner, Maria; Neumann, Melanie; Sandhu, Harbinder; Shepherd, Heather L

2010-01-01

Objective The European Association of Communication in Healthcare (EACH) Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) aims are to (1) promote international collaboration among young investigators and (2) provide a support network for future innovative communication research projects. In October 2009, Miami, USA at a workshop facilitated by the ECRN at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) hosted by the American Academy of Communication in Healthcare we explored common facilitators and challenges faced by early career researchers in health communication research. Methods Attendees introduced themselves, their research area(s) of interest, and listed one facilitator and one barrier for their career development. EACH ECRN members then led a discussion of facilitators and challenges encountered in communication research projects and career development. We discussed potential collaboration opportunities, future goals, and activities. Results Having supportive collegial relationships, institutional support, job security, and funding are critical facilitators for early career investigators. Key challenges include difficulty with time management and prioritizing, limited resources, and contacts. Conclusion International collaboration among early career researchers is a feasible and effective means to address important challenges, by increasing opportunities for professional support and networking, problem-solving, discussion of data, and ultimately publishing. Practice Implications Future AACH-EACH Early Career Researcher Networks should continue to build collaborations by developing shared research projects, papers, and other scholarly products. PMID:20663630

Engineering brain-computer interfaces: past, present and future.

PubMed

Hughes, M A

2014-06-01

Electricity governs the function of both nervous systems and computers. Whilst ions move in polar fluids to depolarize neuronal membranes, electrons move in the solid-state lattices of microelectronic semiconductors. Joining these two systems together, to create an iono-electric brain-computer interface, is an immense challenge. However, such interfaces offer (and in select clinical contexts have already delivered) a method of overcoming disability caused by neurological or musculoskeletal pathology. To fulfill their theoretical promise, several specific challenges demand consideration. Rate-limiting steps cover a diverse range of disciplines including microelectronics, neuro-informatics, engineering, and materials science. As those who work at the tangible interface between brain and outside world, neurosurgeons are well placed to contribute to, and inform, this cutting edge area of translational research. This article explores the historical background, status quo, and future of brain-computer interfaces; and outlines the challenges to progress and opportunities available to the clinical neurosciences community.

Implementation of a teaching assistant program in graduate nursing education.

PubMed

Goode, Victoria M; Horvath, Catherine; Jasinski, Donna

2013-01-01

Identifying and educating students who have an interest and talent to be future educators is a challenge throughout academia, including nursing. The ideal scenario is to identify students early in their education and construct or scaffold a unique relationship between professor and student. The authors discuss a teaching assistant model, implemented in a nursing graduate program, which augments the education process while developing potential future nursing educators.

Climate change and forests of the future: Managing in the face of uncertainty

USGS Publications Warehouse

Millar, C.I.; Stephenson, N.L.; Stephens, S.L.

2007-01-01

We offer a conceptual framework for managing forested ecosystems under an assumption that future environments will be different from present but that we cannot be certain about the specifics of change. We encourage flexible approaches that promote reversible and incremental steps, and that favor ongoing learning and capacity to modify direction as situations change. We suggest that no single solution fits all future challenges, especially in the context of changing climates, and that the best strategy is to mix different approaches for different situations. Resources managers will be challenged to integrate adaptation strategies (actions that help ecosystems accommodate changes adaptively) and mitigation strategies (actions that enable ecosystems to reduce anthropogenic influences on global climate) into overall plans. Adaptive strategies include resistance options (forestall impacts and protect highly valued resources), resilience options (improve the capacity of ecosystems to return to desired conditions after disturbance), and response options (facilitate transition of ecosystems from current to new conditions). Mitigation strategies include options to sequester carbon and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. Priority-setting approaches (e.g., triage), appropriate for rapidly changing conditions and for situations where needs are greater than available capacity to respond, will become increasingly important in the future. ?? 2007 by the Ecological Society of America.

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

J. Carmack; L. Braase; F. Goldner

The mission of the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) is to perform Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) activities for advanced fuel forms (including cladding) to enhance the performance and safety of the nation’s current and future reactors, enhance proliferation resistance of nuclear fuel, effectively utilize nuclear energy resources, and address the longer-term waste management challenges. This includes development of a state of the art Research and Development (R&D) infrastructure to support the use of a “goal oriented science based approach.” AFC uses a “goal oriented, science based approach” aimed at a fundamental understanding of fuel and cladding fabrication methods and performancemore » under irradiation, enabling the pursuit of multiple fuel forms for future fuel cycle options. This approach includes fundamental experiments, theory, and advanced modeling and simulation. One of the most challenging aspects of AFC is the management, integration, and coordination of major R&D activities across multiple organizations. AFC interfaces and collaborates with Fuel Cycle Technologies (FCT) campaigns, universities, industry, various DOE programs and laboratories, federal agencies (e.g., Nuclear Regulatory Commission [NRC]), and international organizations. Key challenges are the development of fuel technologies to enable major increases in fuel performance (safety, reliability, power and burnup) beyond current technologies, and development of characterization methods and predictive fuel performance models to enable more efficient development and licensing of advanced fuels. Challenged with the research and development of fuels for two different reactor technology platforms, AFC targeted transmutation fuel development and focused ceramic fuel development for Advanced LWR Fuels.« less

The Family in Search of a Future: Alternate Models for Moderns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamil, Ralph

1971-01-01

The increase of divorce and sexuality outside marriage has challenged the traditional institution of marriage. Fifteen experts offer provocative suggestions of what might replace it, including, possibly, polyandry, student marriages, polygamy, and group sex. (Author/CJ)

Mapping remote and multidisciplinary learning barriers: lessons from challenge-based innovation at CERN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jensen, Matilde Bisballe; Utriainen, Tuuli Maria; Steinert, Martin

2018-01-01

This paper presents the experienced difficulties of students participating in the multidisciplinary, remote collaborating engineering design course challenge-based innovation at CERN. This is with the aim to identify learning barriers and improve future learning experiences. We statistically analyse the rated differences between distinct design activities, educational background and remote vs. co-located collaboration. The analysis is based on a quantitative and qualitative questionnaire (N = 37). Our analysis found significant ranking differences between remote and co-located activities. This questions whether the remote factor might be a barrier for the originally intended learning goals. Further a correlation between analytical and converging design phases was identified. Hence, future facilitators are suggested to help students in the transition from one design phase to the next rather than only teaching methods in the individual design phases. Finally, we discuss how educators address the identified learning barriers when designing future courses including multidisciplinary or remote collaboration.

Recent improvements in oily wastewater treatment: Progress, challenges, and future opportunities.

PubMed

Jamaly, Sanaa; Giwa, Adewale; Hasan, Shadi Wajih

2015-11-01

Oily wastewater poses significant threats to the soil, water, air and human beings because of the hazardous nature of its oil contents. The objective of this review paper is to highlight the current and recently developed methods for oily wastewater treatment through which contaminants such as oil, fats, grease, and inorganics can be removed for safe applications. These include electrochemical treatment, membrane filtration, biological treatment, hybrid technologies, use of biosurfactants, treatment via vacuum ultraviolet radiation, and destabilization of emulsions through the use of zeolites and other natural minerals. This review encompasses innovative and novel approaches to oily wastewater treatment and provides scientific background for future work that will be aimed at reducing the adverse impact of the discharge of oily wastewater into the environment. The current challenges affecting the optimal performance of oily wastewater treatment methods and opportunities for future research development in this field are also discussed. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Future Directions in Tactical Vertical Lift

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-29

The Aviation Science and Technology Challenge • OSD Future Vertical Lift • Transition to the Future AGENDA UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED 4 Yourfilename.ppt...distributed, non-contiguous operations Joint Future Operational Environment The S&T Challenge Increased reliance on force projection by Aviation...UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED 7 Yourfilename.ppt The S&T Challenge • “Army Aviation is the service’s most requested asset around the globe, ….. some units

Material Challenges and Opportunities for Commercial Electric Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Misra, Ajay

2014-01-01

Significant reduction in carbon dioxide emission for future air transportation system will require adoption of electric propulsion system and more electric architectures. Various options for aircraft electric propulsion include hybrid electric, turboelectric, and full electric system. Realization of electric propulsion system for commercial aircraft applications will require significant increases in power density of electric motors and energy density of energy storage system, such as the batteries and fuel cells. In addition, transmission of MW of power in the aircraft will require high voltage power transmission system to reduce the weight of the power transmission system. Finally, there will be significant thermal management challenges. Significant advances in material technologies will be required to meet these challenges. Technologies of interest include materials with higher electrical conductivity than Cu, high thermal conductivity materials, and lightweight electrically insulating materials with high breakdown voltage, high temperature magnets, advanced battery and fuel cell materials, and multifunctional materials. The presentation will include various challenges for commercial electric aircraft and provide an overview of material improvements that will be required to meet these challenges.

Using Climate Science to Inform Local Planning: Challenges and Successes from the Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayhoe, K.

2014-12-01

Much of our society, including our agriculture, our dependence on natural resources, and our infrastructure, is built on the assumption that individual weather events and average conditions may vary from year to year, but over the long term the climate of a given region can be predicted based on past climate "normals". This assumption is no longer valid; today, human-induced climate change is altering average conditions as well as the risk of many types of weather extremes. Observed trends and projected future changes in mean climate and in the frequency and severity of temperature extremes, heat waves, heavy precipitation events, coastal flooding, and storms are clearly documented in the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment, as well as by a host of other regional impact assessments. While future projections are inherently uncertain, these assessments make one fact clear: future planning for any sector or region affected by climate change that fails to take into account long-term trends will end up with the wrong answer. This concept of non-stationarity, that future climate will differ from that experienced in the past, challenges regional planners, water managers, city managers and engineers to incorporate future climate change into present-day planning. From the perspective of scientists, translating climate projections into information that can be used by stakeholders and decision-makers presents a challenge of equal magnitude. Here, I draw on my experience working with the agriculture, ecosystem, energy, health, infrastructure, insurance, and water sectors to propose a framework for, and highlight some of the main challenges inherent to, incorporating climate information into practical, on-the-ground planning at the local to regional scale. This approach, which we have developed through working with a range of cities, states, and regions including Austin, Cambridge, California, Chicago, Delaware, the Northeast, and most recently Washington DC, is based on identifying known vulnerabilities within the systems of interest, and developing appropriate information compatible with existing planning mechanisms to ensure the relevance and utility of the climate information for increasing resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate risks.

How can a modular Master Program in Hydrology provide a framework for future education challenges?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiler, Markus; Lange, Jens

2010-05-01

A new Master program in Hydrology started at the University of Freiburg in 2008 as a continuation of the Diploma program in Hydrology due to the proposed changes according to the Bologna ac-cord. This imposed formation provided a perfect opportunity to develop a new program that is able to meet the challenges of future hydrology students to work in a nonstationary world due to climate and land use change. A modular program with individual three week hydrological courses was es-tablished, which builds on a general bachelor knowledge in natural sciences. Besides broad theory, students are taught in all relevant methods of hydrological field data collection and laboratory analy-sis. Recurrently, practical data analysis is carried out using freeware software tools. Examples in-clude time series analysis, (geo-)statistics and independently programmed water balance models including uncertainty assessments. Students work on data sets of different climatic zones and are made aware of hydrological problem areas around the globe. Hence, graduates know how to collect, analyse and evaluate hydrological information and may prepare their own, independent tools to pre-dict future changes. In addition, the new modular program includes instructors from the industry and public authorities to provide the students a broad perspective of their future profession. Finally, the new program allows directly to teach university students and practicing hydrologists together to provide evolving methods in hydrology to the practitioners and to allow contacts to professional for the university students.

Electric Propulsion Technology Development for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

During 2004, the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter project, a part of NASA's Project Prometheus, continued efforts to develop electric propulsion technologies. These technologies addressed the challenges of propelling a spacecraft to several moons of Jupiter. Specific challenges include high power, high specific impulse, long lived ion thrusters, high power/high voltage power processors, accurate feed systems, and large propellant storage systems. Critical component work included high voltage insulators and isolators as well as ensuring that the thruster materials and components could operate in the substantial Jupiter radiation environment. A review of these developments along with future plans is discussed.

Becoming Earth Independent: Human-Automation-Robotics Integration Challenges for Future Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marquez, Jessica J.

2016-01-01

Future exploration missions will require NASA to integrate more automation and robotics in order to accomplish mission objectives. This presentation will describe on the future challenges facing the human operator (astronaut, ground controllers) as we increase the amount of automation and robotics in spaceflight operations. It will describe how future exploration missions will have to adapt and evolve in order to deal with more complex missions and communication latencies. This presentation will outline future human-automation-robotic integration challenges.

Future surface transportation financing option : challenges and opportunities for rural states.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-05-01

The funding of Americas transportation system is a complex process that includes a number : of stakeholders, both private and public. The federal gas tax has been a major contributor to : the funding of transportation projects even those planne...

Does Educational Development Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knapper, Christopher

2016-01-01

This essay provides reflections on the growth and influence of educational development, and the changes in approaches to teaching in universities. It also identifies some areas in which educational development and developers face challenges for the future, including educational technology, leadership and resistance to change.

Robotics: A New Challenge For Industrial Arts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovedahl, Gerald G.

1983-01-01

The author argues that jobs in the future will depend less on manual skill and more on perceptual aptitude, formal knowledge, and precision. Industrial arts classes must include robotics in their curriculum if they intend to reflect accurately American industry. (Author/SSH)

CORE IT Services: The NDC and NSSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dischinger, Portia

2005-01-01

Contents include the folowing: Virtual NASA Data Center (NDC) overview. NDC challenges. NDC present and future. NDC environment.NDC decomposition NDC opportunities. NDC solution: Horizontally and vertically scalable. Adaptable to new business/mission areas. Competitive-cost and quality. Superior service delivery.

Ask the experts: automation: part I.

PubMed

Allinson, John L; Blick, Kenneth E; Cohen, Lucinda; Higton, David; Li, Ming

2013-08-01

Bioanalysis invited a selection of leading researchers to express their views on automation in the bioanalytical laboratory. The topics discussed include the challenges that the modern bioanalyst faces when integrating automation into existing drug-development processes, the impact of automation and how they envision the modern bioanalytical laboratory changing in the near future. Their enlightening responses provide a valuable insight into the impact of automation and the future of the constantly evolving bioanalytical laboratory.

Current and Future Opportunities and Challenges in Continuing Pharmacy Education

PubMed Central

Wadelin, Jeffrey W.; Janke, Kristin K.; Zellmer, William A.; Vlasses, Peter H.

2017-01-01

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) convened a consensus-seeking invitational conference on October 29-30, 2015, in Chicago, Ill. ACPE’s desire to have stakeholder guidance on its role in the future of continuing pharmacy education and continuing professional development led to the convening of the conference. The purpose of this article is to summarize the proceedings of the conference, including the recommendations from the stakeholders. PMID:28496264

Communicating the Value of Science--Issues, Imperatives and Insights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gan, J.; Topousis, D.

2013-12-01

Over the last six decades, federal investments in scientific research have led to unquestionable economic and societal advances, while expanding human knowledge. Yet, in the current federal fiscal climate, funding for fundamental research is being challenged in some quarters. This situation has created the need for stakeholders in science to step forward and defend the role that basic research plays in creating the knowledge and workforce necessary to address current and future challenges. Communicating to fellow scientists in this environment is necessary but not sufficient to sustaining, or even expanding, support for fundamental research. A multi-faceted approach will be described for enhancing communication to broader audiences, including policy makers and the general public, increasingly responsible for ensuring the future of scientific progress.

Challenges in network science: Applications to infrastructures, climate, social systems and economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Havlin, S.; Kenett, D. Y.; Ben-Jacob, E.; Bunde, A.; Cohen, R.; Hermann, H.; Kantelhardt, J. W.; Kertész, J.; Kirkpatrick, S.; Kurths, J.; Portugali, J.; Solomon, S.

2012-11-01

Network theory has become one of the most visible theoretical frameworks that can be applied to the description, analysis, understanding, design and repair of multi-level complex systems. Complex networks occur everywhere, in man-made and human social systems, in organic and inorganic matter, from nano to macro scales, and in natural and anthropogenic structures. New applications are developed at an ever-increasing rate and the promise for future growth is high, since increasingly we interact with one another within these vital and complex environments. Despite all the great successes of this field, crucial aspects of multi-level complex systems have been largely ignored. Important challenges of network science are to take into account many of these missing realistic features such as strong coupling between networks (networks are not isolated), the dynamics of networks (networks are not static), interrelationships between structure, dynamics and function of networks, interdependencies in given networks (and other classes of links, including different signs of interactions), and spatial properties (including geographical aspects) of networks. This aim of this paper is to introduce and discuss the challenges that future network science needs to address, and how different disciplines will be accordingly affected.

Advanced protein formulations

PubMed Central

Wang, Wei

2015-01-01

It is well recognized that protein product development is far more challenging than that for small-molecule drugs. The major challenges include inherent sensitivity to different types of stresses during the drug product manufacturing process, high rate of physical and chemical degradation during long-term storage, and enhanced aggregation and/or viscosity at high protein concentrations. In the past decade, many novel formulation concepts and technologies have been or are being developed to address these product development challenges for proteins. These concepts and technologies include use of uncommon/combination of formulation stabilizers, conjugation or fusion with potential stabilizers, site-specific mutagenesis, and preparation of nontraditional types of dosage forms—semiaqueous solutions, nonfreeze-dried solid formulations, suspensions, and other emerging concepts. No one technology appears to be mature, ideal, and/or adequate to address all the challenges. These gaps will likely remain in the foreseeable future and need significant efforts for ultimate resolution. PMID:25858529

A shifting mosaic of scholarly publishing, scientific delivery, and future impact changing the face of learned societies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leslie, David M.

2007-01-01

Nonprofit scientific societies hope that their activities advance their particular mission and impact their profession and, in the broadest sense, humanity in positive ways. The digital age has provided unprecedented mechanisms to enhance the delivery of science to the world. The marketplace of scientific publishing is a rapidly shifting mosaic of challenges and opportunities, and the responses of nonprofit and commercial publishers vary widely, but their outcomes are still uncertain. The response of the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) provides an example of how a relatively small society has altered its scientific delivery to enhance member benefits while attempting to sustain its economic viability. Since 2000, ASM has moved from a self-publishing, break-even, print-only model to a copublishing agreement with a commercial publisher (Alliance Communications Group, a division of Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas), which now offers members various print and electronic options and generates a shared royalty. Although it is too early to gauge the economic impact of these changes, the ASM leadership clearly attempted to signal its desire for members to view their society as a package of opportunities for edification and involvement rather than just a provider of serial subscriptions. Future challenges facing nonprofit scientific societies include open access, fiscal realities, archiving of publications, and scientific and societal impact; future opportunities include a strengthening of member responsibilities and professionalism, development of data registries to enhance scientific progress, and bundling of like societies. The manner in which nonprofit scientific societies respond to these challenges and opportunities will no doubt affect their sustainability and future impact. ?? 2007 American Society of Mammalogists.

Recruiting and retaining future generations of physician scientists in mental health.

PubMed

Kupfer, David J; Hyman, Steven E; Schatzberg, Alan F; Pincus, Harold A; Reynolds, Charles F

2002-07-01

The authors discuss 6 challenges facing the recruitment and retention of physician scientists as career mental health researchers. These challenges include (1) early identification and recruitment at the undergraduate and medical student level; (2) recruitment of a more diverse group of trainees; (3) safety nets for reducing attrition; (4) strategies to promote successful competition for K awards; (5) definition of appropriate roles and career development opportunities in multisite clinical trials; and (6) strategies for the mentoring "cost." A coalition of stakeholders--federal, academic, foundational, and in the pharmaceutical industry--is needed to meet these challenges.

Architecture for Cognitive Networking within NASA's Future Space Communications Infrastructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, Gilbert; Eddy, Wesley M.; Johnson, Sandra K.; Barnes, James; Brooks, David

2016-01-01

Future space mission concepts and designs pose many networking challenges for command, telemetry, and science data applications with diverse end-to-end data delivery needs. For future end-to-end architecture designs, a key challenge is meeting expected application quality of service requirements for multiple simultaneous mission data flows with options to use diverse onboard local data buses, commercial ground networks, and multiple satellite relay constellations in LEO, GEO, MEO, or even deep space relay links. Effectively utilizing a complex network topology requires orchestration and direction that spans the many discrete, individually addressable computer systems, which cause them to act in concert to achieve the overall network goals. The system must be intelligent enough to not only function under nominal conditions, but also adapt to unexpected situations, and reorganize or adapt to perform roles not originally intended for the system or explicitly programmed. This paper describes an architecture enabling the development and deployment of cognitive networking capabilities into the envisioned future NASA space communications infrastructure. We begin by discussing the need for increased automation, including inter-system discovery and collaboration. This discussion frames the requirements for an architecture supporting cognitive networking for future missions and relays, including both existing endpoint-based networking models and emerging information-centric models. From this basis, we discuss progress on a proof-of-concept implementation of this architecture, and results of implementation and initial testing of a cognitive networking on-orbit application on the SCaN Testbed attached to the International Space Station.

Architecture for Cognitive Networking within NASAs Future Space Communications Infrastructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, Gilbert J., III; Eddy, Wesley M.; Johnson, Sandra K.; Barnes, James; Brooks, David

2016-01-01

Future space mission concepts and designs pose many networking challenges for command, telemetry, and science data applications with diverse end-to-end data delivery needs. For future end-to-end architecture designs, a key challenge is meeting expected application quality of service requirements for multiple simultaneous mission data flows with options to use diverse onboard local data buses, commercial ground networks, and multiple satellite relay constellations in LEO, MEO, GEO, or even deep space relay links. Effectively utilizing a complex network topology requires orchestration and direction that spans the many discrete, individually addressable computer systems, which cause them to act in concert to achieve the overall network goals. The system must be intelligent enough to not only function under nominal conditions, but also adapt to unexpected situations, and reorganize or adapt to perform roles not originally intended for the system or explicitly programmed. This paper describes architecture features of cognitive networking within the future NASA space communications infrastructure, and interacting with the legacy systems and infrastructure in the meantime. The paper begins by discussing the need for increased automation, including inter-system collaboration. This discussion motivates the features of an architecture including cognitive networking for future missions and relays, interoperating with both existing endpoint-based networking models and emerging information-centric models. From this basis, we discuss progress on a proof-of-concept implementation of this architecture as a cognitive networking on-orbit application on the SCaN Testbed attached to the International Space Station.

Soil agroecosystem health: current challenges and future opportunities

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil health is a broad concept that emphasizes the ecological importance of soils, including sustained plant and animal productivity, human health, and environmental quality. In the United States, soil degradation and associated water quality problems have been widely documented. Improvement and mai...

Future Surface Transportation Financing Options: Challenges and Opportunities for Rural States

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-05-01

The funding of America's transportation system is a complex process that includes a number of stakeholders, both private and public. The federal gas tax has been a major contributor to the funding of transportation projects- even those planned, desig...

Integrated Modeling for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Project: Structural Analysis Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, John; Mosier, Mark; Howard, Joe; Hyde, Tupper; Parrish, Keith; Ha, Kong; Liu, Frank; McGinnis, Mark

2004-01-01

This paper presents viewgraphs about structural analysis activities and integrated modeling for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The topics include: 1) JWST Overview; 2) Observatory Structural Models; 3) Integrated Performance Analysis; and 4) Future Work and Challenges.

Future Orientation in Times of Threat and Challenge: How Resilient Adolescents Construct Their Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seginer, Rachel

2008-01-01

Drawing on the importance of future orientation for adolescent development this analysis presents a model describing how future orientation is affected by high challenge (or resilience) in the face of political violence. The analysis consists of three parts. The first two present future orientation conceptualization and the psychological processes…

The challenge of health & environment: profiling risks & strategic priorities for now & the future.

PubMed

Narain, Jai P

2012-08-01

A substantial burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases in the developing countries is attributable to environmental risk factors. WHO estimates that the environmental factors are responsible for an estimated 24 per cent of the global burden of disease in terms of healthy life years lost and 23 per cent of all deaths; children being the worst sufferers. Given that the environment is linked with most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), without proper attention to the environmental risk factors and their management, it will be difficult to achieve many MDGs by 2015. The impact of environmental degradation on health may continue well into the future and the situation in fact, is likely to get worse. In order to address this challenge, two facts are worth noting. First, that much of the environmental disease burden is attributable to a few critical risk factors which include unsafe water and sanitation, exposure to indoor smoke from cooking fuel, outdoor air pollution, exposure to chemicals such as arsenic, and climate change. Second, that environment and health aspects must become, as a matter of urgency, a national priority, both in terms of policy and resources allocation. To meet the challenge of health and environment now and in the future, the following strategic approaches must be considered which include conducting environmental and health impact assessments; strengthening national environmental health policy and infrastructure; fostering inter-sectoral co-ordination and partnerships; mobilizing public participation; and enhancing the leadership role of health in advocacy, stewardship and capacity building.

Context-specific and/or context-free challenges and opportunities in writing scholarly reviews in health care management: a conceptual note.

PubMed

Blair, John D

2011-01-01

Challenges and opportunities arise from the significantly different perspectives of context-specific versus context-free researchers and the literatures they contribute to. Reviews of one type or the other or both types of literatures may provide different understandings of the state of the art in a particular area of health care management. Suggestions for writing quality reviews are also included along with suggested topics for future reviews.

A History of Neonatal Medicine—Past Accomplishments, Lessons Learned, and Future Challenges: Part II—The 1990s, the New Millennium, Future Challenges

PubMed Central

Lussky, Richard C.; Cifuentes, Raul F.; Siddappa, Ashajyothi M.

2005-01-01

This is the second of two articles reviewing the history of newborn medicine. This article will discuss recent accomplishments in the field of newborn medicine, current health outcome data, and future challenges facing the fields of neonatal and perinatal medicine. PMID:23118634

Aerospace Measurements: Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conway, Bruce A.

1992-01-01

New aerospace research initiatives offer both challenges and opportunities to rapidly-emerging electronics and electro-optics technology. Defining and implementing appropriate measurement technology development programs in response to the aeronautical ground facility research and testing needs of the new initiatives poses some particularly important problems. This paper discusses today's measurement challenges along with some of the technological opportunities which offer some hope for meeting the challenges, and describes measurement technology activities currently underway in the Langley Research Center's Instrument Research Division to address modern aerospace research and design engineering requirements. Projected and realized benefits and payoffs from the ongoing measurement and instrumentation efforts will be emphasized. A discussion of future trends in the aerospace measurement technology field will be included.

Preparing future fisheries professionals to make good decisions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colvin, Michael E.; Peterson, James T.

2017-01-01

Future fisheries professionals will face decision-making challenges in an increasingly complex field of fisheries management. Though fisheries students are well trained in the use of the scientific method to understand the natural world, they are rarely exposed to structured decision making (SDM) as part of an undergraduate or graduate education. Specifically, SDM encourages users (e.g., students, managers) to think critically and communicate the problem and then identify specific, measurable objectives as they relate to the problem. Next, users must think critically and creatively about management alternatives that can be used to meet the objectives—there must be more than one alternative or there is no decision to be made. Lastly, the management alternatives are evaluated with regard to how likely they are to succeed in terms of multiple, possibly completing, objectives, such as how stakeholder groups value outcomes of management actions versus monetary cost. We believe that exposure to SDM and its elements is an important part of preparing future fisheries professional to meet the challenges they may face. These challenges include reduced budgets, the growth of potentially competing natural resource interest groups, and stakeholder desire to be involved in management decisions affecting public trust resources, just to name a few.

Parental perceptions in egg allergy: does egg challenge make a difference?

PubMed

Kemp, Andrew Stewart; Allen, Clare Wendy; Campbell, Dianne Elisabeth

2009-11-01

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of an oral egg challenge in egg sensitized children on parental perceptions relating to their child's allergy. A questionnaire was completed by parents for 167 children attending a tertiary paediatric clinic with egg sensitization. The questionnaires included 10 questions concerning parental perceptions of their child's egg allergy. Parental perceptions of those children who had not had an egg challenge (n = 83) were compared with those whose children had a positive (n = 27) and those with a negative (n = 57) egg challenge. A significant difference (p = < or =0.02) was observed between challenge positive(CP) and challenge negative (CN) subjects in reported changes to lifestyle and the fact that more parents in the CN group expected little or no future inconvenience for the child. The responses of parents whose child had undergone an egg challenge differed significantly (p = < or =0.005) from those not challenged with a significant reduction in the following parameters; the effect on out-of-home care arrangements, the perception of being more severe as compared to other common childhood illnesses, whether they found egg allergy to be moderately or very stressful, whether their lifestyle was changed, the expectation of little or no future discomfort for the child and whether others treated the child differently. The performance of an egg challenge was associated with reduced adverse parental concerns. For 6/10 parameters, expectations concerning egg allergy in children who had been challenged were significantly better than those who had never been challenged irrespective of the challenge outcome. The greater certainty provided by the performance of a food challenge may be a positive outcome in both CP and CN children.

Symposium: Animal welfare challenges for today and tomorrow.

PubMed

Vizzier Thaxton, Yvonne; Christensen, Karen D; Mench, Joy A; Rumley, Elizabeth R; Daugherty, Christine; Feinberg, Bruce; Parker, Molly; Siegel, Paul; Scanes, Colin G

2016-09-01

The increasing separation of the public from production agriculture means there is often a lack of knowledge among consumers about current production practices and a perception that increased productivity and economic efficiency are necessarily associated with a decline in animal welfare. A symposium was organized to present information about animal welfare issues and the challenges they pose for both scientists and the poultry and allied industries. Companion papers provide information about understanding public attitudes and physiological/immunological approaches to welfare assessment, while this paper outlines current and future challenges to egg and meat production and industry responses to those challenges. For broiler chickens, increases in growth rate result in corollary increases in metabolic heat generation and water consumption, leading to the need for continuing improvements in housing, ventilation, and litter management. Stocking densities, lighting programs, muscle myopathies, and use of antibiotics are also areas that require research attention. In the layer industry, the key challenge is housing, with the industry undergoing a shift from conventional cage housing to alternatives like enriched colonies or cage-free. While these alternative systems have hen welfare advantages, there are also welfare disadvantages that require the development of mitigation strategies, and it is also essential to address associated issues including economic, environmental, egg safety, and worker health impacts. Concerns on the horizon include euthanasia of surplus male chicks and spent hens as well as beak-trimming. The humaneness of slaughter methods is an important welfare and consumer confidence issue, and the current regulations for poultry slaughter in the USA are discussed and compared to those for livestock. The poultry and allied industries, including retailers, are responding to these concerns by consulting with experts, developing science-based animal care standards and auditing programs, strengthening training and oversight programs, promoting research, and improving communication channels. In future, intensifying multi-disciplinary research efforts and developing mechanisms to improve communication between scientists and stakeholders, including the public, will be critical to addressing these issues. © 2016 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Future Earth -- New Approaches to address Climate Change and Sustainability in the MENA Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lange, Manfred; Abu Alhaija, Rana

2016-04-01

Interactions and feedbacks between rapidly increasing multiple pressures on water, energy and food security drive social-ecological systems at multiple scales towards critical thresholds in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA Region). These pressures, including climate change, the growing demand on resources and resource degradation, urbanization and globalization, cause unprecedented challenges for countries and communities in the region. Responding to these challenges requires integrated science and a closer relationship with policy makers and stakeholders. Future Earth has been designed to respond to these urgent needs. In order to pursue such objectives, Future Earth is becoming the host organization for some 23 programs that were previously run under four global environmental change programmes, DIVERSITAS, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). Some further projects arose out of the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP). It thus brings together a wide spectrum of expertise and knowledge that will be instrumental in tackling urgent problems in the MENA region and the wider Mediterranean Basin. Future Earth is being administered by a globally distributed secretariat that also includes a series of Regional Centers, which will be the nuclei for the development of new regional networks. The Cyprus Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus (CyI; www.cyi.ac.cy) is hosting the Regional Center for the MENA Region. The CyI is a non-profit research and post-graduate education institution with a strong scientific and technological orientation and a distinctive regional, Eastern Mediterranean scope. Cyprus at the crossroads of three continents and open to all nations in the region provides excellent conditions for advancing the research agenda of Future Earth in the MENA Region. Given the recent and ongoing major political and societal transformation in the region, research and development that help prepare the MENA countries for anticipated global changes and advance the development of sustainable structures are not only meaningful, but also a quite challenging undertakings.

The climate-wildfire-air quality system: interactions and feedbacks across spatial and temporal scales

Treesearch

E. Natasha Stavros; Donald McKenzie; Narasimhan Larkin

2014-01-01

Future climate change and its effects on social and ecological systems present challenges for preserving valued ecosystem services, including local and regional air quality. Wildfire is a major source of air-quality impact in some locations, and a substantial contributor to pollutants of concern, including nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, which are regulated to...

Software Assurance Challenges for the Commercial Crew Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cuyno, Patrick; Malnick, Kathy D.; Schaeffer, Chad E.

2015-01-01

This paper will provide a description of some of the challenges NASA is facing in providing software assurance within the new commercial space services paradigm, namely with the Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The CCP will establish safe, reliable, and affordable access to the International Space Station (ISS) by purchasing a ride from commercial companies. The CCP providers have varying experience with software development in safety-critical space systems. NASA's role in providing effective software assurance support to the CCP providers is critical to the success of CCP. These challenges include funding multiple vehicles that execute in parallel and have different rules of engagement, multiple providers with unique proprietary concerns, providing equivalent guidance to all providers, permitting alternates to NASA standards, and a large number of diverse stakeholders. It is expected that these challenges will exist in future programs, especially if the CCP paradigm proves successful. The proposed CCP approach to address these challenges includes a risk-based assessment with varying degrees of engagement and a distributed assurance model. This presentation will describe NASA IV&V Program's software assurance support and responses to these challenges.

Mapping Geology and Vegetation using Hyperspectral Data in Antarctica: Current Challenges, New Solutions and Looking to the Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Black, M.; Riley, T. R.; Fleming, A. H.; Ferrier, G.; Fretwell, P.; Casanovas, P.

2015-12-01

Antarctica is a unique and geographically remote environment. Traditional field campaigns investigating geology and vegetation in the region encounter numerous challenges including the harsh polar climate, the invasive nature of the work, steep topography and high infrastructure costs. Additionally, such field campaigns are often limited in terms of spatial and temporal resolution, and particularly, the topographical challenges presented in the Antarctic mean that many areas remain inaccessible. Remote Sensing, particularly hyperspectral imaging, may provide a solution to overcome the difficulties associated with field based mapping in the Antarctic. Planned satellite launches, such as EnMAP and HyspIRI, if successful, will yield large-scale, repeated hyperspectral imagery of Antarctica. Hyperspectral imagery has proven mapping capabilities and can yield greater information than can be attained using multispectral data. As a precursor to future satellite imagery, we utilise hyperspectral imagery from the first known airborne hyperspectral survey carried out in the Antarctic by the British Antarctic Survey and partners in 2011. Multiple imaging spectrometers were simultaneously deployed covering the visible, shortwave and thermal infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Additional data was generated during a field campaign deploying multiple ground spectrometers covering the same wavelengths as the airborne imagers. We utilise this imagery to assess the current challenges and propose some new solutions for mapping vegetation and geology, which may be directly applicable to future satellite hyperspectral imagery in the Antarctic.

Environmental chemical exposures and human epigenetics

PubMed Central

Hou, Lifang; Zhang, Xiao; Wang, Dong; Baccarelli, Andrea

2012-01-01

Every year more than 13 million deaths worldwide are due to environmental pollutants, and approximately 24% of diseases are caused by environmental exposures that might be averted through preventive measures. Rapidly growing evidence has linked environmental pollutants with epigenetic variations, including changes in DNA methylation, histone modifications and microRNAs. Environ mental chemicals and epigenetic changes All of these mechanisms are likely to play important roles in disease aetiology, and their modifications due to environmental pollutants might provide further understanding of disease aetiology, as well as biomarkers reflecting exposures to environmental pollutants and/or predicting the risk of future disease. We summarize the findings on epigenetic alterations related to environmental chemical exposures, and propose mechanisms of action by means of which the exposures may cause such epigenetic changes. We discuss opportunities, challenges and future directions for future epidemiology research in environmental epigenomics. Future investigations are needed to solve methodological and practical challenges, including uncertainties about stability over time of epigenomic changes induced by the environment, tissue specificity of epigenetic alterations, validation of laboratory methods, and adaptation of bioinformatic and biostatistical methods to high-throughput epigenomics. In addition, there are numerous reports of epigenetic modifications arising following exposure to environmental toxicants, but most have not been directly linked to disease endpoints. To complete our discussion, we also briefly summarize the diseases that have been linked to environmental chemicals-related epigenetic changes. PMID:22253299

Current and Future Flight Operating Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cudmore, Alan

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the current real time operating system (RTOS) type in use with current flight systems. A new RTOS model is described, i.e. the process model. Included is a review of the challenges of migrating from the classic RTOS to the Process Model type.

Exploring Planet PDA: The Librarian as Astronaut, Innovator, and Expert.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galganski, Carol; Peters, Tom; Bell, Lori

2002-01-01

Describes the integration of personal digital assistants into a medical center library's services in Illinois. Discusses training for users; hardware selection; software selection and content; technical support; the role of libraries, including the creation of policies and procedures; and future challenges. (LRW)

Community College Environmental Scanning Initiative, 2004

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association of Community College Trustees, 2004

2004-01-01

The Association of Community College Trustees' (ACCT's) Member Communications Committee commissioned SunGard Collegis to conduct an environmental scanning initiative to identify the top social, political and other environmental challenges which are, or will be affecting colleges and communities in the near future. The initiative included a…

Enhancing metaproteomics-The value of models and defined environmental microbial systems

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

Herbst, Florian-Alexander; Lünsmann, Vanessa; Kjeldal, Henrik

Metaproteomicsthe large-scale characterization of the entire protein complement of environmental microbiota at a given point in timehas provided new features to study complex microbial communities in order to unravel these black boxes. Some new technical challenges arose that were not an issue for classical proteome analytics before that could be tackled by the application of different model systems. Here, we review different current and future model systems for metaproteome analysis. We introduce model systems for clinical and biotechnological research questions including acid mine drainage, anaerobic digesters, and activated sludge, following a short introduction to microbial communities and metaproteomics. Model systemsmore » are useful to evaluate the challenges encountered within (but not limited to) metaproteomics, including species complexity and coverage, biomass availability, or reliable protein extraction. Moreover, the implementation of model systems can be considered as a step forward to better understand microbial community responses and ecological functions of single member organisms. In the future, improvements are necessary to fully explore complex environmental systems by metaproteomics.« less

Enhancing metaproteomics-The value of models and defined environmental microbial systems

DOE PAGES

Herbst, Florian-Alexander; Lünsmann, Vanessa; Kjeldal, Henrik; ...

2016-01-21

Metaproteomicsthe large-scale characterization of the entire protein complement of environmental microbiota at a given point in timehas provided new features to study complex microbial communities in order to unravel these black boxes. Some new technical challenges arose that were not an issue for classical proteome analytics before that could be tackled by the application of different model systems. Here, we review different current and future model systems for metaproteome analysis. We introduce model systems for clinical and biotechnological research questions including acid mine drainage, anaerobic digesters, and activated sludge, following a short introduction to microbial communities and metaproteomics. Model systemsmore » are useful to evaluate the challenges encountered within (but not limited to) metaproteomics, including species complexity and coverage, biomass availability, or reliable protein extraction. Moreover, the implementation of model systems can be considered as a step forward to better understand microbial community responses and ecological functions of single member organisms. In the future, improvements are necessary to fully explore complex environmental systems by metaproteomics.« less

Thriving in chaos: Educating the nurse leaders of the future.

PubMed

Garrison, Deborah R; Morgan, Debra A; Johnson, Jewett G

2004-01-01

Nurse educators are challenged to prepare students to become effective leaders in a time of chaos. The last two decades have heralded many changes that have an impact on health care delivery, including changes in health care financing, the information explosion, the recognition of quality chasms, and the composition of the workforce. Nurses continue to be at the forefront of health care delivery and they must orchestrate care for their patients in an increasingly complex health care system. Our goal is to provide nurse educators with strategies to help students blend leadership and management techniques to lead the new generation of knowledge workers. Educators have the opportunity and the challenge to empower their students to master an eclectic set of management and leadership tools, including the best from historical management strategies and embracing the latest theories of leadership. This article presents thoughts and ideas to ponder as well as strategies to consider and implement as we create the curriculum and the learning environment for our students and the future leaders of our profession.

The Enduring Challenge of Determining Pneumonia Etiology in Children: Considerations for Future Research Priorities

PubMed Central

Hammitt, Laura L.; Murdoch, David R.; O’Brien, Katherine L.; Scott, J. Anthony G.

2017-01-01

Abstract Pneumonia kills more children each year worldwide than any other disease. Nonetheless, accurately determining the causes of childhood pneumonia has remained elusive. Over the past century, the focus of pneumonia etiology research has shifted from studies of lung aspirates and postmortem specimens intent on identifying pneumococcal disease to studies of multiple specimen types distant from the lung that are tested for multiple pathogens. Some major challenges facing modern pneumonia etiology studies include the use of nonspecific and variable case definitions, poor access to pathologic lung tissue and to specimens from fatal cases, poor diagnostic accuracy of assays (especially when testing nonpulmonary specimens), and the interpretation of results when multiple pathogens are detected in a given individual. The future of childhood pneumonia etiology research will likely require integrating data from complementary approaches, including applications of advanced molecular diagnostics and vaccine probe studies, as well as a renewed emphasis on lung aspirates from radiologically confirmed pneumonia and postmortem examinations. PMID:28575369

Hydrological Modeling in Alaska with WRF-Hydro

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmer, N. J.; Zavodsky, B.; Molthan, A.

2017-12-01

The operational National Water Model (NWM), implemented in August 2016, is an instantiation of the Weather Research and Forecasting hydrological extension package (WRF-Hydro). Currently, the NWM only covers the contiguous United States, but will be expanded to include an Alaska domain in the future. It is well known that Alaska presents several hydrological modeling challenges, including unique arctic/sub-arctic hydrological processes not observed elsewhere in the United States and a severe lack of in-situ observations for model initialization. This project sets up an experimental version of WRF-Hydro in Alaska mimicking the NWM to gauge the ability of WRF-Hydro to represent hydrological processes in Alaska and identify model calibration challenges. Recent and upcoming launches of hydrology-focused NASA satellite missions such as the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) expand the spatial and temporal coverage of observations in Alaska, so this study also lays the groundwork for assimilating these NASA datasets into WRF-Hydro in the future.

Seasonal Drought Prediction: Advances, Challenges, and Future Prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Zengchao; Singh, Vijay P.; Xia, Youlong

2018-03-01

Drought prediction is of critical importance to early warning for drought managements. This review provides a synthesis of drought prediction based on statistical, dynamical, and hybrid methods. Statistical drought prediction is achieved by modeling the relationship between drought indices of interest and a suite of potential predictors, including large-scale climate indices, local climate variables, and land initial conditions. Dynamical meteorological drought prediction relies on seasonal climate forecast from general circulation models (GCMs), which can be employed to drive hydrological models for agricultural and hydrological drought prediction with the predictability determined by both climate forcings and initial conditions. Challenges still exist in drought prediction at long lead time and under a changing environment resulting from natural and anthropogenic factors. Future research prospects to improve drought prediction include, but are not limited to, high-quality data assimilation, improved model development with key processes related to drought occurrence, optimal ensemble forecast to select or weight ensembles, and hybrid drought prediction to merge statistical and dynamical forecasts.

Challenges faced by multidisplinary new investigators on addressing grand challenges in global health.

PubMed

Logie, Carmen; Dimaras, Helen; Fortin, Anny; Ramón-García, Santiago

2014-04-15

The grand challenges approach aims to spark innovative and transformative strategies to overcome barriers to significant global health issues. Grand Challenges Canada endorses an 'Integrated Innovation™' approach that focuses on the intersection of scientific/technological, social and business innovation. In this article we explore themes emerging from a dialogue between the authors, who are multidisciplinary recipients of the 'Rising Stars in Global Health' award from Grand Challenges Canada, regarding benefits of engaging in integrated innovation research, and recommendations for how this approach may develop in the future. Our dialogue followed a semi-structured interview format that addressed three topics: 1) reflections on applying an Integrated Innovation™ approach for global health; 2) thoughts on participation in the Grand Challenges 2012 meeting; and 3) authors' visions of Grand Challenges Canada and the Grand Challenge movement towards 2020. The dialogue was transcribed verbatim and we used thematic analysis techniques to identify, analyze and report themes in the data. Benefits of working using the Grand Challenges approach centered on two themes: a) the potential for scientific breakthrough and b) building interdisciplinary collaborations and a community of scholars. Challenges and opportunities for Grand Challenges in moving forward included: a) capacity building, particularly regarding Integrated Innovation™ and scale-up planning; b) interdisciplinary and international mentorship for new investigators; and c) potential for future commercialization. Our discussion highlighted that Integrated Innovation™ offers the opportunity to develop new theories, methods and approaches to global health while simultaneously fostering a collaborative spirit grounded in international, interdisciplinary collaborations. However, the arguable over-emphasis on corporatization poses a major challenge for new investigators. We propose a more balanced way forward that can harness technology to foster mentorship across time and space to support the development of such skills and ideas among new investigators.

Terra Mission Operations: Launch to the Present (and Beyond)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thome, Kurt; Kelly, Angelita; Moyer, Eric; Mantziaras, Dimitrios; Case, Warren

2014-01-01

The Terra satellite, flagship of NASAs long-term Earth Observing System (EOS) Program, continues to provide useful earth science observations well past its 5-year design lifetime. This paper describes the evolution of Terra operations, including challenges and successes and the steps taken to preserve science requirements and prolong spacecraft life. Working cooperatively with the Terra science and instrument teams, including NASAs international partners, the mission operations team has successfully kept the Terra operating continuously, resolving challenges and adjusting operations as needed. Terra retains all of its observing capabilities (except Short Wave Infrared) despite its age. The paper also describes concepts for future operations.

Status, Vision, and Challenges of an Intelligent Distributed Engine Control Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Behbahani, Alireza; Culley, Dennis; Garg, Sanjay; Millar, Richard; Smith, Bert; Wood, Jim; Mahoney, Tim; Quinn, Ronald; Carpenter, Sheldon; Mailander, Bill;

Gloom and doom? The future of marine capture fisheries

PubMed Central

Garcia, Serge M.; Grainger, Richard J. R.

2005-01-01

Predicting global fisheries is a high-order challenge but predictions have been made and updates are needed. Past forecasts, present trends and perspectives of key parameters of the fisheries—including potential harvest, state of stocks, supply and demand, trade, fishing technology and governance—are reviewed in detail, as the basis for new forecasts and forecasting performance assessment. The future of marine capture fisheries will be conditioned by the political, social and economic evolution of the world within which they operate. Consequently, recent global scenarios for the future world are reviewed, with the emphasis on fisheries. The main driving forces (e.g. global economic development, demography, environment, public awareness, information technology, energy, ethics) including aquaculture are described. Outlooks are provided for each aspect of the fishery sector. The conclusion puts these elements in perspective and offers the authors’ personal interpretation of the possible future pathway of fisheries, the uncertainty about it and the still unanswered questions of direct relevance in shaping that future. PMID:15713587

Planning strategies for the avoidance of pitfalls in intervention research.

PubMed

Pruitt, R H; Privette, A B

2001-08-01

With the exception of large clinical trials, few studies in nursing and other social sciences test interventions. The discipline of nursing needs to maintain a full range of research designs for continued knowledge development. Intervention research presents unique opportunities and challenges for the novice as well as the seasoned researcher. Some of these methodological challenges include the complex nature of human subjects and interventions, including many factors that interfere with the study variables. Preliminary studies often reveal challenges that may not always be predicted or reflected in research texts. These challenges may be as important as the study results for success in future research efforts. Difficulties encountered in intervention research and suggested strategies for maintaining the integrity of the study are addressed. These challenges include maintaining an adequate sample size, intervention demands, measuring variables, timing issues, and experiencing unexpected events. Strategies presented include the importance of extensive planning, minimizing subject expectations and rewarding efforts, attention to control group members, incorporating retention strategies, expanding knowledge of variables and the study population, preliminary studies as well as anticipating unexpected events. The need for enhanced communication among nurse researchers, educators and clinicians is addressed. In the current health care arena, nurse researchers must understand organizational dynamics and marketing strategies. Collaborative research efforts can increase the visibility of nursing research as well as funding opportunities.

Identifying the Correlates and Barriers of Future Planning Among Parents of Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

PubMed

Burke, Meghan; Arnold, Catherine; Owen, Aleksa

2018-04-01

Although individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are living longer lives, fewer than half of parents of individuals with IDD conduct future planning. The correlates and barriers to future planning must be identified to develop targeted interventions to facilitate future planning. In this study, 388 parents of individuals with IDD responded to a national, web-based survey. Participants who were older, more educated, attended more parent training and support activities, and had children with fewer functional abilities, were more likely to engage in future planning. Reported barriers to future planning included: (a) lack of available services, (b) financial challenges, (c) reluctance of family members, (d) lack of time, (e) the emotional nature of future planning, (f) inertia, and (g) a lack of family members to be caregivers. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.

2014 Runtime Systems Summit. Runtime Systems Report

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

Sarkar, Vivek; Budimlic, Zoran; Kulkani, Milind

2016-09-19

This report summarizes runtime system challenges for exascale computing, that follow from the fundamental challenges for exascale systems that have been well studied in past reports, e.g., [6, 33, 34, 32, 24]. Some of the key exascale challenges that pertain to runtime systems include parallelism, energy efficiency, memory hierarchies, data movement, heterogeneous processors and memories, resilience, performance variability, dynamic resource allocation, performance portability, and interoperability with legacy code. In addition to summarizing these challenges, the report also outlines different approaches to addressing these significant challenges that have been pursued by research projects in the DOE-sponsored X-Stack and OS/R programs. Sincemore » there is often confusion as to what exactly the term “runtime system” refers to in the software stack, we include a section on taxonomy to clarify the terminology used by participants in these research projects. In addition, we include a section on deployment opportunities for vendors and government labs to build on the research results from these projects. Finally, this report is also intended to provide a framework for discussing future research and development investments for exascale runtime systems, and for clarifying the role of runtime systems in exascale software.« less

Sensor Web Technology Challenges and Advancements for the Earth Science Decadal Survey Era

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norton, Charles D.; Moe, Karen

2011-01-01

This paper examines the Earth science decadal survey era and the role ESTO developed sensor web technologies can contribute to the scientific observations. This includes hardware and software technology advances for in-situ and in-space measurements. Also discussed are emerging areas of importance such as the potential of small satellites for sensor web based observations as well as advances in data fusion critical to the science and societal benefits of future missions, and the challenges ahead.

Priorities for children and young people - opportunities and challenges for children and young people's nurses.

PubMed

Smith, Fiona

2016-05-09

Across Europe children's nurses today face many challenges, including rising childhood obesity, the soaring incidence of issues with the mental health of children and young people, the effects of social media, child maltreatment and the impact of poverty, war and conflict on children and families. There are opportunities for children's nurses to undertake new roles and to influence both policy and practice to improve the health outcomes of children and young people, and thereby the future health of the population.

Global surgery for pediatric hydrocephalus in the developing world: a review of the history, challenges, and future directions.

PubMed

Muir, Ryan T; Wang, Shelly; Warf, Benjamin C

2016-11-01

OBJECTIVE Pediatric hydrocephalus is one of the most common neurosurgical conditions and is a major contributor to the global burden of surgically treatable diseases. Significant health disparities exist for the treatment of hydrocephalus in developing nations due to a combination of medical, environmental, and socioeconomic factors. This review aims to provide the international neurosurgery community with an overview of the current challenges and future directions of neurosurgical care for children with hydrocephalus in low-income countries. METHODS The authors conducted a literature review around the topic of pediatric hydrocephalus in the context of global surgery, the unique challenges to creating access to care in low-income countries, and current international efforts to address the problem. RESULTS Developing countries face the greatest burden of pediatric hydrocephalus due to high birth rates and greater risk of neonatal infections. This burden is related to more general global health challenges, including malnutrition, infectious diseases, maternal and perinatal risk factors, and education gaps. Unique challenges pertaining to the treatment of hydrocephalus in the developing world include a preponderance of postinfectious hydrocephalus, limited resources, and restricted access to neurosurgical care. In the 21st century, several organizations have established programs that provide hydrocephalus treatment and neurosurgical training in Africa, Central and South America, Haiti, and Southeast Asia. These international efforts have employed various models to achieve the goals of providing safe, sustainable, and cost-effective treatment. CONCLUSIONS Broader commitment from the pediatric neurosurgery community, increased funding, public education, surgeon training, and ongoing surgical innovation will be needed to meaningfully address the global burden of untreated hydrocephalus.

Non-governmental organizations in international health: past successes, future challenges.

PubMed

Gellert, G A

1996-01-01

Non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, are increasingly instrumental to the implementation of international health programs. Following an overview of current conditions in global health and the problems that could be targeted by NGOs, this article describes the activities and philosophies of several representative approaches in this sector. The attributes of NGOs that increase their potential effectiveness are discussed, including ability to reach areas of severe need, promotion of local involvement, low cost of operations, adaptiveness and innovation, independence, and sustainability. A summary is provided of major future challenges in international health that may be addressed by NGOs, with particular emphasis on tobacco-related disease, communicable diseases and the AIDS epidemic, maternal mortality and women's health, injury prevention and control, and the need to secure durable financial support.

Mars Greenhouses: Concepts and Challenges. Proceedings from a 1999 Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Ray M. (Editor); Martin-Brennan, Cindy (Editor)

2000-01-01

Topic covered include :Plants on Mars: On the Next Mission and in the Long Term Future; Bubbles in the Rocks: Natural and Artificial Caves and Cavities as Like Support Structures; Challenges for Bioregenerative Life Support on Mars; Cost Effectiveness Issues; Low Pressure Systems for Plant Growth; Plant Responses to Rarified Atmospheres; Can CO2 be Used as a Pressurizing Gas for Mars Greenhouses?; Inflatable Habitats Technology Development; Development of an Inflatable Greenhouse for a Modular Crop Production System; Mars Inflatable Greenhouse Workshop; Design Needs for Mars Deployable Greenhouse; Preliminary Estimates of the Possibilities for Developing a Deployable Greenhouse for a Planetary Surface Mars; Low Pressure Greenhouse Concepts for Mars; Mars Greenhouse Study: Natural vs. Artificial Lighting; and Wire Culture for an Inflatable Mars Greenhouse and Other Future Inflatable Space Growth Chambers.

Addressing diversity and moving toward equity in hospital care.

PubMed

Cordova, Richard D; Beaudin, Christy L; Iwanabe, Kelly E

2010-01-01

Healthcare disparities are a major challenge for hospital and healthcare system leadership. Leaders must possess vision, visibility, and ability to drive organizational change toward an environment that fosters diversity and cultural competence. As challenging economic conditions force management to make difficult budgetary decisions, the integration of equity into the organization's core mission and strategic process is essential for sustainability. Building organizational capacity requires systematic actions including workforce composition, training and development, and policy advocacy. This article offers perspectives on the current state of diversity in hospitals, exemplars from pediatric hospitals, and considerations for the future. Healthcare leaders are influential in shaping the future of the organization through strategic planning and resource allocation to those efforts that enhance services, programs, and processes that support a culture of diversity and equity.

Introduction to the special section on "Hormones and cognition: perspectives, controversies, and challenges for future research".

PubMed

Frick, Karyn M

2012-02-01

The research of the past two decades has firmly established that hormones modulate numerous aspects of cognitive function, including memory, attention, decision-making, and sensory processing. That such a wide variety of hormones influence cognition mediated by multiple nonhypothalamic brain regions illustrates the critical importance of hormones to neural and cognitive function. The diversity of hormonal effects on cognition is evident in the collection of reviews and original research articles assembled for this special section. Together, these articles provide an overview of recent research on varied topics in hormones and cognition, address controversial issues in the field, and discuss challenges that must be overcome in future research to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms through which hormones modulate cognitive function.

Learning the Rhythm of the Seasons in the Face of Global Change: Phenological Research in the 21st Century

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morisette, Jeffrey T.; Richardson, Andrew D.; Knapp, Alan K.; Fisher, Jeremy I.; Graham, Eric A.; Abatzoglou, John; Wilson, Bruce E.; Breshears, David D.; Hanebry, Geoffrey M.; Hanes, Jonathan M.;

Fun Teaching: The Key to the Future Climatology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulvey, G.

2016-12-01

In general meteorology is a science of immediate impact. What will the weather be tomorrow or next week? Climatology and climate change is the science of our long range past and future. Decisions made in the past, now, and in the future on climate change issues did and will continue to impact the global climate. It is essential that current and future generations understand the causes of climate change to make informed decisions regarding individual and government actions needed to mitigate human impacts on the future climate. The university challenge is make climatology an exciting and dynamic adventure into the past, present and future. Instructor and supporting organizations have stepped outside the "old yellow notes" approach to enable students to progress beyond remember, understand, and apply; to analyze, evaluate and create. Responding to this instructional challenge by shifting instructional techniques and tools to a new paradigm does not happen overnight. The instructional strategies to make this jump are known in general, but not in specific. This paper deals with examples of how to translate the instructional strategies into practice in ways that are fun for students and instructors. Techniques to be described include interactive discussions, debates and team challenges, such as: - Describing continental climates during past geological periods - In-class teams debates on legislature to control/modify human CO2 releases Low or no cost teaching aids such as video clips, demonstrations, specimens, and experiments will be described with outcomes and resources interest. Some examples to be discussed are - Tree cookies, cross sections - Ocean core smear slide samples of diatoms, foraminifera, etc. - Ice pack/glacial melt experiments - Glacial flow and interpreting glacial ice cores experiment - Field trips to observe geological strata and geological samples - Storytelling - the shared experiences of each instructor

The Blue Dot Workshop: Spectroscopic Search for Life on Extrasolar Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Des Marais, David J. (Editor)

1997-01-01

This workshop explored the key questions and challenges associated with detecting life on an extrasolar planet. The final product will be a NASA Conference Publication which includes the abstracts from 21 talks, summaries of key findings, and recommendations for future research. The workshop included sessions on three related topics: the biogeochemistry of biogenic gases in the atmosphere, the chemistry and spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres, and the remote sensing of planetary atmospheres and surfaces. With the observation that planetary formation is probably a common phenomenon, together with the advent of the technical capability to locate and describe extrasolar planets, this research area indeed has an exciting future.

Energy Options: Challenge for the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammond, Allen L.

1972-01-01

Summarizes alternative technological possibilities for ensuring a supply of energy for the United States, including nuclear technology, solar energy, shale oil and coal gassification, low pollutant techniques for burning coal, and a fuel cell suitable for commercial use. Reports the extent of existing research and development efforts. (AL)

A Perspective of Inclusion: Challenges for the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braunsteiner, Maria-Luise; Mariano-Lapidus, Susan

2014-01-01

The term, "inclusion," particularly in the educational setting, is still based on a deficit view. Perceptions of "dis"-ability create barriers to true inclusion and are often reinforced through higher education training programs. To promote inclusive values, acceptance of individual and cultural differences must be included in…

Distance Learning and the Future of Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Henry E.

1995-01-01

This article details some of the ways that the Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (Hawaii) is dealing with the challenge of education in the computer age, including distance learning, Internet linkups, the Hawaii Educational Wide Area Network, and campus closed-circuit and cable television. (SM)

The Virtual University: Organizing To Survive in the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stallings, Dees

2001-01-01

Discusses the growth of electronic education and the need to educate in a new environment. Topics include ways to learn; knowledge workers; distance education and globalization; the online education market; government's role; foundations; accreditation commissions; future challenges; content provider versus context provider; profit versus…

The Future of Gero-Oncology Nursing.

PubMed

Kagan, Sarah H

2016-02-01

To project the future of gero-oncology nursing as a distinct specialty, framed between analysis of current challenges and explication of prospective solutions. Peer-reviewed literature, policy directives, web-based resources, and author expertise. Oncology nursing faces several challenges in meeting the needs of older people living with cancer. Realigning cancer nursing education, practice, and research to match demographic and epidemiological realities mandates redesign. Viewing geriatric oncology as an optional sub-specialty limits oncology nursing, where older people represent the majority of oncology patients and cancer survivors. The future of gero-oncology nursing lies in transforming oncology nursing itself. Specific goals to achieve transformation of oncology nursing into gero-oncology nursing include assuring integrated foundational aging and cancer content across entry-level nursing curricula; assuring a gero-competent oncology nursing workforce with integrated continuing education; developing gero-oncology nurse specialists in advanced practice roles; and cultivating nurse leadership in geriatric oncology program development and administration along with expanding the scope and sophistication of gero-oncology nursing science. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Future of Low-Carbon Transportation Fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Christopher; Yeh, Sonia

2011-11-01

Petroleum fuel uses make up essentially all of transportation fuel usage today and will continue to dominate transportation fuel usage well into future without any major policy changes. This chapter focuses on low-carbon transportation fuels, specifically, biofuels, electricity and hydrogen, that are emerging options to displace petroleum based fuels. The transition to cleaner, lower carbon fuel sources will need significant technology advancement, and sustained coordination efforts among the vehicle and fuel industry and policymakers/regulators over long period of time in order to overcome market barriers, consumer acceptance, and externalities of imported oil. We discuss the unique infrastructure challenges, and compare resource, technology, economics and transitional issues for each of these fuels. While each fuel type has important technical and implementation challenges to overcome (including vehicle technologies) in order to contribute a large fraction of our total fuel demand, it is important to note that a portfolio approach will give us the best chance of meeting stringent environmental and energy security goals for a sustainable transportation future.

Understanding Suicide Risk within the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Framework: Insights, Challenges, and Future Research Considerations

PubMed Central

Glenn, Catherine R.; Cha, Christine B.; Kleiman, Evan M.; Nock, Matthew K.

2016-01-01

Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide. Prior research has focused primarily on sociodemographic and psychiatric risk factors with little improvement in the prediction or prevention of suicidal behavior over time. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) may be an especially useful framework for advancing research in this area. This paper provides a brief and broad overview of research on suicidal behavior relating to each of the RDoC domains—highlighting the RDoC construct(s) where research has focused, construct(s) where research is lacking, and suggestions for future research directions. We also discuss major challenges for suicide research within the RDoC framework, including the intersection of RDoC domains, interaction of domains with the environment, incorporation of developmental stage, integration of distal and proximal processes, and inclusion of suicide-specific constructs. We conclude by underscoring important considerations for future research aimed at using the RDoC framework to study suicidal behavior and other forms of psychopathology. PMID:28670505

Challenges in Shifting Management Responsibility From Parents to Adolescents With Sickle Cell Disease.

PubMed

Kayle, Mariam; Tanabe, Paula; Shah, Nirmish R; Baker-Ward, Lynne; Docherty, Sharron L

This study explored the challenges faced by adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD) and their parents and the work they engage in to progressively shift from parent management to independent adolescent self-management. A qualitative descriptive focus-group design with semi-structured interviews was used with adolescents (11-18 years) with SCD (HbSS genotype) and their parents/primary caregivers. Interviews were analyzed using content analysis. Two adolescent focus groups, with a total of 14 adolescents, and two parent focus groups, with a total of 15 parents, described adaptive challenges. Adolescents' adaptive challenges included mastering complex symptom management, communicating about SCD and symptoms, and maintaining control. Parents' adaptive challenges included giving over the complex management, communicating the management with the adolescent, balancing protection against risk with fostering independence, changing a comfortable rhythm, and releasing the adolescent into an "SCD-naive" world. Adolescents' adaptive work included pushing back at parents, defaulting back to parental care, stepping up with time, learning how SCD affects them, and educating friends about SCD. Parents' adaptive work included engaging the adolescent in open dialogue and co-managing with the adolescent. Shifting management responsibility from parents to adolescents imposes adaptive challenges for both. Future research is needed to develop and test interventions that improve adaptive capacity in adolescents and parents. Health care providers need to assess the parent-child relationship and their progress in shifting the management responsibility, facilitate discussions to arrive at a shared understanding of the challenges, and collaborate on adaptive work to address these challenges. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wilderness science in a time of change conference-Volume 1: Changing perspectives and future directions; 1999 May 23-27; Missoula, MT

Treesearch

David N. Cole; Stephen F. McCool; Wayne A. Freimund; Jennifer O' Loughlin

2000-01-01

Ten papers presented as plenary talks at the conference, "Wilderness Science in a Time of Change," are included. Topics include: the influence of global change on wilderness and its management; contemporary criticisms and celebrations of the wilderness idea; the capacity of science to meet the challenges and opportunities wilderness presents; wilderness in...

Bring It On, Complexity! Present and Future of Self-Organising Middle-Out Abstraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mammen, Sebastian Von; Steghöfer, Jan-Philipp

The following sections are included: * The Great Complexity Challenge * Self-Organising Middle-Out Abstraction * Optimising Graphics, Physics and Artificial Intelligence * Emergence and Hierarchies in a Natural System * The Technical Concept of SOMO * Observation of interactions * Interaction pattern recognition and behavioural abstraction * Creating and adjusting hierarchies * Confidence measures * Execution model * Learning SOMO: parameters, knowledge propagation, and procreation * Current Implementations * Awareness Beyond Virtuality * Integration and emergence * Model inference * SOMO net * SOMO after me * The Future of SOMO

Current state of the art, multimodality research and future visions for the treatment of patients with prostate cancer: consensus results from "Challenges and Chances in Prostate Cancer Research Meeting 2013".

PubMed

Combs, Stephanie E; Debus, Jürgen; Feick, Günter; Hadaschik, Boris; Hohenfellner, Markus; Schüle, Roland; Zacharias, Jens-Peter; Schwardt, Malte

2014-11-04

A brainstorming and consensus meeting organized by the German Cancer Aid focused on modern treatment of prostate cancer and promising innovative techniques and research areas. Besides optimization of screening algorithms, molecular-based stratification and individually tailored treatment regimens will be the future of multimodal prostate cancer management. Effective interdisciplinary structures, including biobanking and data collection mechanisms are the basis for such developments.

Modeling of Photoionized Plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kallman, Timothy R.

2010-01-01

In this paper I review the motivation and current status of modeling of plasmas exposed to strong radiation fields, as it applies to the study of cosmic X-ray sources. This includes some of the astrophysical issues which can be addressed, the ingredients for the models, the current computational tools, the limitations imposed by currently available atomic data, and the validity of some of the standard assumptions. I will also discuss ideas for the future: challenges associated with future missions, opportunities presented by improved computers, and goals for atomic data collection.

Adolescents in Wartime U.S. Military Families: A Developmental Perspective on Challenges and Resources

PubMed Central

Milburn, Norweeta G.; Lightfoot, Marguerita

2013-01-01

Adolescents in wartime U.S. military families are a unique group of young people who are experiencing the usual milestones of adolescent development, including establishing their identities and becoming autonomous, while they face the challenges of military life such as multiple frequent moves, relocation and parent deployment to combat settings. This paper reviews research on adolescents in wartime U.S. military families, within the context of adolescent development, to identify their behavioral, emotional and academic risk status, and challenges and resources. Recommendations for future research and interventions to foster the healthy development of these adolescents are also provided. PMID:23780722

Developing Interdisciplinary Workforce to Meet Future Aerospace Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Misra, Ajay

2017-01-01

The presentation will focus on the importance of interdisciplinary research for addressing future aerospace challenges. Examples of current research activities at NASA's Glenn Research Center will be provided to illustrate the importance of interdisciplinary research. Challenges with conducting interdisciplinary research will be discussed.

Where Is Current Research on Blockchain Technology?—A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Yli-Huumo, Jesse; Ko, Deokyoon; Park, Sooyong; Smolander, Kari

2016-01-01

Blockchain is a decentralized transaction and data management technology developed first for Bitcoin cryptocurrency. The interest in Blockchain technology has been increasing since the idea was coined in 2008. The reason for the interest in Blockchain is its central attributes that provide security, anonymity and data integrity without any third party organization in control of the transactions, and therefore it creates interesting research areas, especially from the perspective of technical challenges and limitations. In this research, we have conducted a systematic mapping study with the goal of collecting all relevant research on Blockchain technology. Our objective is to understand the current research topics, challenges and future directions regarding Blockchain technology from the technical perspective. We have extracted 41 primary papers from scientific databases. The results show that focus in over 80% of the papers is on Bitcoin system and less than 20% deals with other Blockchain applications including e.g. smart contracts and licensing. The majority of research is focusing on revealing and improving limitations of Blockchain from privacy and security perspectives, but many of the proposed solutions lack concrete evaluation on their effectiveness. Many other Blockchain scalability related challenges including throughput and latency have been left unstudied. On the basis of this study, recommendations on future research directions are provided for researchers. PMID:27695049

Where Is Current Research on Blockchain Technology?-A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Yli-Huumo, Jesse; Ko, Deokyoon; Choi, Sujin; Park, Sooyong; Smolander, Kari

2016-01-01

Blockchain is a decentralized transaction and data management technology developed first for Bitcoin cryptocurrency. The interest in Blockchain technology has been increasing since the idea was coined in 2008. The reason for the interest in Blockchain is its central attributes that provide security, anonymity and data integrity without any third party organization in control of the transactions, and therefore it creates interesting research areas, especially from the perspective of technical challenges and limitations. In this research, we have conducted a systematic mapping study with the goal of collecting all relevant research on Blockchain technology. Our objective is to understand the current research topics, challenges and future directions regarding Blockchain technology from the technical perspective. We have extracted 41 primary papers from scientific databases. The results show that focus in over 80% of the papers is on Bitcoin system and less than 20% deals with other Blockchain applications including e.g. smart contracts and licensing. The majority of research is focusing on revealing and improving limitations of Blockchain from privacy and security perspectives, but many of the proposed solutions lack concrete evaluation on their effectiveness. Many other Blockchain scalability related challenges including throughput and latency have been left unstudied. On the basis of this study, recommendations on future research directions are provided for researchers.

It’s about time: How do sky surveys manage uncertainty about scientific needs many years into the future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darch, Peter T.; Sands, Ashley E.

2016-06-01

Sky surveys, such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), generate data on an unprecedented scale. While many scientific projects span a few years from conception to completion, sky surveys are typically on the scale of decades. This paper focuses on critical challenges arising from long timescales, and how sky surveys address these challenges.We present findings from a study of LSST, comprising interviews (n=58) and observation. Conceived in the 1990s, the LSST Corporation was formed in 2003, and construction began in 2014. LSST will commence data collection operations in 2022 for ten years.One challenge arising from this long timescale is uncertainty about future needs of the astronomers who will use these data many years hence. Sources of uncertainty include scientific questions to be posed, astronomical phenomena to be studied, and tools and practices these astronomers will have at their disposal. These uncertainties are magnified by the rapid technological and scientific developments anticipated between now and the start of LSST operations.LSST is implementing a range of strategies to address these challenges. Some strategies involve delaying resolution of uncertainty, placing this resolution in the hands of future data users. Other strategies aim to reduce uncertainty by shaping astronomers’ data analysis practices so that these practices will integrate well with LSST once operations begin.One approach that exemplifies both types of strategy is the decision to make LSST data management software open source, even now as it is being developed. This policy will enable future data users to adapt this software to evolving needs. In addition, LSST intends for astronomers to start using this software well in advance of 2022, thereby embedding LSST software and data analysis approaches in the practices of astronomers.These findings strengthen arguments for making the software supporting sky surveys available as open source. Such arguments usually focus on reuse potential of software, and enhancing replicability of analyses. In this case, however, open source software also promises to mitigate the critical challenge of anticipating the needs of future data users.

What are the new challenges, goals, and tasks of occupational health in China's Thirteenth Five-Year Plan (13th FYP) period?

PubMed Central

Wang, Bing; Wu, Chao; Kang, Liangguo; Huang, Lang; Pan, Wei

2018-01-01

Objective: In recent years, the Chinese government has attached great importance to occupational health under the guidance of people-oriented concept. This paper introduces the current status and future development of occupational health in China's Thirteenth Five-Year Plan (13th FYP) period (2016-2020) to promote the cooperation and exchange on occupational health between China and other countries. Methods: We collected statistical data about occupational diseases and information addressing occupational diseases. We included all types of official reports, guidelines, policies, and relevant laws published by the Chinese government. Results: China has carried out a series of strategies and measures to reduce the incidence of occupational diseases, and has made progress in occupational health protection. However, occupational health in China still faces severe conditions and challenges for occupational diseases that have not been prevented and controlled effectively. To actively promote the future development of occupational health during the 13th FYP period, China has issued a series of important policy documents (such as the Plan for a Healthy China 2030, the 13th FYP for Occupational Disease Prevention and Control, and the 13th FYP for Occupational Health Hazard Prevention and Control) in the last two years. Conclusion: The overall situation condition of occupational health in China is still serious. Occupational health in China's 13th FYP period faces a series of challenges, future tasks include plans to add the employer and regulatory levels of occupational health management, and occupational health education and publicity to the current technology-dominated approaches. PMID:29563366

Internet/Web-based administration of benefits.

PubMed

Vitiello, J

2001-09-01

Most funds will face the challenge of deploying at least some Web-based functionality in the near future, if they have not already done so. Clear objectives and careful planning will help ensure success. Issues that must be considered include support requirements, security concerns, functional business objectives, and employer and member Web access.

Reforesting the Earth. Worldwatch Paper 83.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Postel, Sandra; Heise, Lori

This document deals with efforts aimed at reforesting large areas of degraded lands. It includes sections on: (1) tree cover trends; (2) fuelwood challenges of the future; (3) the need to supply industrial wood; (4) stabilizing soil and water resources; (5) forests and climate change; and (6) mobilization for reforestation. (TW)

Dialogue on Dialog: Interview with Roger Summit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Donald

1986-01-01

Presents interview with Roger Summit, the president of Dialog Information Services, Inc. Highlights include Summit's role as chief architect of the system, the inception of Dialog and its beginnings at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, services provided by Dialog, a challenge for libraries, and future developments and services. (EJS)

Building a Sustainable Future: Ecological Design in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trudeau, Miho

2011-01-01

It is no surprise that many environmental education programs include outdoor experiences as a foundational part of their curriculum; after all, who better to teach ecological lessons than nature itself? In contrast, there are inherent challenges to teaching environmental education while restricted inside a classroom. The average student currently…

Using the Internet for B2B Activities: A Review and Future Directions for Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gattiker, Urs E.; Perlusz, Stefano; Bohmann, Kristoffer

2000-01-01

Illustrates some of the challenges that electronic commerce practitioners and researchers face, focusing on business to business (B2B) transactions. Highlights include a conceptual framework of Web user behavior; purchasing context; socio-demographic characteristics; cultural factors; economic factors; attitudes toward information technology;…

School Transportation Issues, Laws and Concerns: Implications for Future Administrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durick, Jody M.

2010-01-01

Nearly all building administrators are confronted with a variety of transportation issues. Challenges, concerns and questions can arise from various aspects, including student misbehaviors, transportation laws and its implications at the school level, to importance and implementation of a school bus safety program. As new and upcoming future…

Seeking Excellence in Counselor Education: One School's Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheehan, Timothy J.

2003-01-01

Assuring learning outcomes that result in expert alcohol and drug dependency counseling is a continuous challenge for educators. Working systemically to craft a solid vision for the future, the Hazelden Foundation developed a graduate school for the sole purpose of educating highly skilled clinicians. Key ingredients included building a…

Photovoltaics: A Solar Technology for Powering Tomorrow.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flavin, Christopher

1983-01-01

Photovoltaics, the technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity, may soon be a reliable power source for the world's poor. The one major challenge is cost reduction. Many topics are discussed, including solar powering the Third World, designing the solar building, investing in the sun, and the future of photovoltaics. (NW)

ESAs in the Shadows: Meeting Rural Challenges in an Urban State.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouchard, Rene L.

2003-01-01

Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) provide cost-effective shared services to New York's rural districts. Services in career and technical education and staff development offered by the Steuben-Allegany BOCES are described. Future plans include increased cooperation with colleges in providing adult education, evolution of the…

Transnational Education in Morocco: Current and Future Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benahnia, Abdellah

2015-01-01

Transnational education (TNE) is becoming a phenomenon in the world of education in many countries. Morocco is included. The flourishing and spreading of many foreign educational institutions, products, and activities is becoming noticeable. As an Islamic nation, Morocco has long maintained its business and educational ties with different foreign…

Leadership Values, Trust and Negative Capability: Managing the Uncertainties of Future English Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jameson, Jill

2012-01-01

The complex leadership attribute of "negative capability" in managing uncertainty and engendering trust may be amongst the qualities enabling institutions to cope with multiple recent government policy challenges affecting English higher education, including significant increases in student fees. Research findings are reported on changes…

Can This Marriage Be Saved? The Future of "Neuro-Education"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schrag, Francis

2013-01-01

Neuro-education, a new frontier for educational researchers, has its passionate advocates and equally passionate detractors. Some philosophers, including Noel Purdy and Hugh Morrison, Andrew Davis, and Ralph Schumacher, have argued that the entire enterprise is misguided. I evaluate and challenge their arguments. This permits me to articulate my…

Face to Face with Distance Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dhanarajan, Gajaraj

1997-01-01

Begins with a tribute to Professor G. Ram Reddy (founder of Indira Gandhi National Open University), then focuses on the challenges for India of education in the coming decades. Highlights include global problems that future generations will inherit; educational investment needs; a new group of educational clients; skills needed in the 21st…

E-hancing the Master of Business Administration (MBA) Managerial Accounting Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zabriskie, Fern H.; McNabb, David E.

2007-01-01

Professional education, including managerial accounting education, at independent colleges and universities faces two challenges: (a) meeting shifting demand with static or declining resources and (b) ensuring that graduates gain the technological knowledge and skills that they need to succeed in their future careers. For many schools, the…

Day-by-Day: Higher Education in Afghanistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roof, David J.

2015-01-01

This paper examines higher education in Afghanistan. Based on qualitative research, including interviews with key policymakers and stakeholders, the paper examines the primary issues, challenges, progress, and future vision for higher education in the country. The research reveals that one of the most significant issues in the country in the…

The Edges of the Ocean: An Introduction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Kevin

1979-01-01

Introduces a series of related articles on the study of ocean/continent boundaries (margins) within the framework of plate tectonics. Topics discussed include: early attempts to interpret ocean/continent boundaries, Atlantic-type margins, Pacific-type margins, the edges of ancient oceans, and future challenges in the study of continental margins.…

The Instrument of the Future: Computers in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leonard, Rex; LeCroy, Barbara

Before computers will be able to fulfill their potential in education, two major challenges must be overcome--the lack of well-trained teachers and a lack of general knowledge about software and its capabilities. Teachers must acquire some computer literacy skills, including programming, word processing, materials generation and record keeping. In…

Challenges Facing a Deaf Family Member Concerning a Loved One’s Dying

PubMed Central

Kehl, Karen A.; Gartner, Constance M.

2010-01-01

Individuals who are Deaf face challenges both similar and unique from those faced by hearing individuals when a family member is dying. This study was guided by the question “What are the challenges faced by a Deaf family member when a loved one is dying?” Methods - This qualitative study is guided by critical theory and an interpretive perspective. Robert, a college-educated older adult who has been Deaf from birth was interviewed in American Sign Language using a death history format. Results – There are challenges for Deaf family members that affect communication with both the dying person and health care professionals. Patient-family communication issues included physical challenges and financial challenges. Lack of cultural competence concerning the Deaf community created challenges communicating with professionals. Decision-making was also a challenge. Conclusions These findings provide a framework for future research concerning the needs of Deaf individuals facing the end of life and provide guidance for clinicians. PMID:19910395

Future clinical challenges in multiple sclerosis: Relevance to sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator therapy.

PubMed

Hohlfeld, Reinhard; Barkhof, Frederik; Polman, Chris

2011-02-22

The limitations of established therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) are well-known and include the need for injections, treatment adherence and convenience issues, partial efficacy, and, in some cases, a risk of potentially life-threatening adverse events, such as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Recently, attention has focused on developing more effective therapies that are administered orally and target neurodegeneration as well as inflammation. In this review, we provide an outlook on the future clinical challenges for MS treatment and management, and focus specifically on the emerging sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor (S1PR) modulators. We highlight the importance of improving our understanding of the neurobiological basis of MS to develop well-tolerated targeted therapies and the need to include advanced MRI assessments that quantify neurodegeneration in interventional studies in MS. As more treatments become available, often with complex pharmacodynamic actions, objective assessment of benefit-to-risk profiles becomes increasingly important to ensure that patients receive appropriate care. Pharmacovigilance and immune monitoring will become important aspects of patient treatment and management in the future. With respect to S1PR modulation, we review the experimental agents that are in clinical development for MS and summarize the steps taken in postmarketing surveillance to ensure that fingolimod (FTY720) has a well-characterized safety profile.

Legal perspectives on cross-border reproductive care.

PubMed

Crockin, Susan L

2011-12-01

Global cross-border reproductive care (CBRC), and the challenges accompanying it, are here to stay. A recent issue of this journal devoted to CBRC provides an extraordinary array of insights into multiple facets, with a focus on the legal dimensions of practices by restrictive countries such as Turkey and Italy. The articles identify restrictive laws that challenge and create vulnerabilities for both citizens and providers involved in CBRC, and call instead for more modest and nuanced legislation and the closing paper presents a thoughtful and ambitious outline for a future research agenda. This commentary reflects on the implications of these legal dimensions, including their applicability to countries with more permissive CBRC policies, discusses three specific examples of legal concerns that have arisen in the USA and identifies numerous legal issues meriting future study. Together with the nuanced, more modest legislation recommended for restrictive countries, consistent legal and judicial principles for CBRC in permissive countries would respect varying perspectives on family building while attempting to address a central legal concern of CBRC, the protection of families, third-parties and providers. Any future agenda should include research and recommendations on the legal dimensions of CBRC in both restrictive and permissive countries. Copyright © 2011 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ocean OSSEs: recent developments and future challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kourafalou, V. H.

2012-12-01

Atmospheric OSSEs have had a much longer history of applications than OSSEs (and OSEs) in oceanography. Long standing challenges include the presence of coastlines and steep bathymetric changes, which require the superposition of a wide variety of space and time scales, leading to difficulties on ocean observation and prediction. For instance, remote sensing is critical for providing a quasi-synoptic oceanographic view, but the coverage is limited at the ocean surface. Conversely, in situ measurements are capable to monitor the entire water column, but at a single location and usually for a specific, short time. Despite these challenges, substantial progress has been made in recent years and international initiatives have provided successful OSSE/OSE examples and formed appropriate forums that helped define the future roadmap. These will be discussed, together with various challenges that require a community effort. Examples include: integrated (remote and in situ) observing system requirements for monitoring large scale and climatic changes, vs. short term variability that is particularly important on the regional and coastal spatial scales; satisfying the needs of both global and regional/coastal nature runs, from development to rigorous evaluation and under a clear definition of metrics; data assimilation in the presence of tides; estimation of real-time river discharges for Earth system modeling. An overview of oceanographic efforts that complement the standard OSSE methodology will also be given. These include ocean array design methods, such as representer-based analysis and adaptive sampling. Exciting new opportunities for both global and regional ocean OSSE/OSE studies have recently become possible with targeted periods of comprehensive data sets, such as the existing Gulf of Mexico observations from multiple sources in the aftermath of the DeepWater Horizon incident and the upcoming airborne AirSWOT, in preparation for the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission.

Supporting Active Patient and Health Care Collaboration: A Prototype for Future Health Care Information Systems.

PubMed

Åhlfeldt, Rose-Mharie; Persson, Anne; Rexhepi, Hanife; Wåhlander, Kalle

2016-12-01

This article presents and illustrates the main features of a proposed process-oriented approach for patient information distribution in future health care information systems, by using a prototype of a process support system. The development of the prototype was based on the Visuera method, which includes five defined steps. The results indicate that a visualized prototype is a suitable tool for illustrating both the opportunities and constraints of future ideas and solutions in e-Health. The main challenges for developing and implementing a fully functional process support system concern both technical and organizational/management aspects. © The Author(s) 2015.

Pointing and control system enabling technology for future automated space missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dahlgren, J. B.

1978-01-01

Future automated space missions present challenging opportunities in the pointing-and-control technology disciplines. The enabling pointing-and-control system technologies for missions from 1985 to the year 2000 were identified and assessed. A generic mission set including Earth orbiter, planetary, and other missions which predominantly drive the pointing-and-control requirements was selected for detailed evaluation. Technology candidates identified were prioritized as planning options for future NASA-OAST advanced development programs. The primary technology thrusts in each candidate program were cited, and advanced development programs in pointing-and-control were recommended for the FY 80 to FY 87 period, based on these technology thrusts.

Roadmap on quantum optical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumke, Rainer; Lu, Zehuang; Close, John; Robins, Nick; Weis, Antoine; Mukherjee, Manas; Birkl, Gerhard; Hufnagel, Christoph; Amico, Luigi; Boshier, Malcolm G.; Dieckmann, Kai; Li, Wenhui; Killian, Thomas C.

2016-09-01

This roadmap bundles fast developing topics in experimental optical quantum sciences, addressing current challenges as well as potential advances in future research. We have focused on three main areas: quantum assisted high precision measurements, quantum information/simulation, and quantum gases. Quantum assisted high precision measurements are discussed in the first three sections, which review optical clocks, atom interferometry, and optical magnetometry. These fields are already successfully utilized in various applied areas. We will discuss approaches to extend this impact even further. In the quantum information/simulation section, we start with the traditionally successful employed systems based on neutral atoms and ions. In addition the marvelous demonstrations of systems suitable for quantum information is not progressing, unsolved challenges remain and will be discussed. We will also review, as an alternative approach, the utilization of hybrid quantum systems based on superconducting quantum devices and ultracold atoms. Novel developments in atomtronics promise unique access in exploring solid-state systems with ultracold gases and are investigated in depth. The sections discussing the continuously fast-developing quantum gases include a review on dipolar heteronuclear diatomic gases, Rydberg gases, and ultracold plasma. Overall, we have accomplished a roadmap of selected areas undergoing rapid progress in quantum optics, highlighting current advances and future challenges. These exciting developments and vast advances will shape the field of quantum optics in the future.

Obesity Prevalence in Nepal: Public Health Challenges in a Low-Income Nation during an Alarming Worldwide Trend

PubMed Central

Vaidya, Abhinav; Shakya, Suraj; Krettek, Alexandra

2010-01-01

The future toll of the obesity epidemic will likely hit hardest in low- and middle-income countries. Ongoing urbanization promotes risk factors including sedentary lifestyle and fat- and sugar-laden diets. Low-income countries like Nepal experience a double disease burden: infectious diseases as well as rising incidence of noncommunicable diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus) frequently characterized by obesity. Nepal currently directs efforts towards curing disease but pays little attention to preventive actions. This article highlights obesity prevalence in Nepal, delineates the challenges identified by our pilot study (including low health literacy rates), and suggests strategies to overcome this trend. PMID:20644698

Silicon photonics and challenges for fabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feilchenfeld, N. B.; Nummy, K.; Barwicz, T.; Gill, D.; Kiewra, E.; Leidy, R.; Orcutt, J. S.; Rosenberg, J.; Stricker, A. D.; Whiting, C.; Ayala, J.; Cucci, B.; Dang, D.; Doan, T.; Ghosal, M.; Khater, M.; McLean, K.; Porth, B.; Sowinski, Z.; Willets, C.; Xiong, C.; Yu, C.; Yum, S.; Giewont, K.; Green, W. M. J.

2017-03-01

Silicon photonics is rapidly becoming the key enabler for meeting the future data speed and volume required by the Internet of Things. A stable manufacturing process is needed to deliver cost and yield expectations to the technology marketplace. We present the key challenges and technical results from both 200mm and 300mm facilities for a silicon photonics fabrication process which includes monolithic integration with CMOS. This includes waveguide patterning, optical proximity correction for photonic devices, silicon thickness uniformity and thick material patterning for passive fiber to waveguide alignment. The device and process metrics show that the transfer of the silicon photonics process from 200mm to 300mm will provide a stable high volume manufacturing platform for silicon photonics designs.

Obesity prevalence in Nepal: public health challenges in a low-income nation during an alarming worldwide trend.

PubMed

Vaidya, Abhinav; Shakya, Suraj; Krettek, Alexandra

2010-06-01

The future toll of the obesity epidemic will likely hit hardest in low- and middle-income countries. Ongoing urbanization promotes risk factors including sedentary lifestyle and fat- and sugar-laden diets. Low-income countries like Nepal experience a double disease burden: infectious diseases as well as rising incidence of noncommunicable diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus) frequently characterized by obesity. Nepal currently directs efforts towards curing disease but pays little attention to preventive actions. This article highlights obesity prevalence in Nepal, delineates the challenges identified by our pilot study (including low health literacy rates), and suggests strategies to overcome this trend.

Group visits for chronic illness management: implementation challenges and recommendations.

PubMed

Jones, Katherine R; Kaewluang, Napatsawan; Lekhak, Nirmala

2014-01-01

The group visit approach to improve chronic illness self-management appears promising in terms of selected outcomes, but little information is available about best ways to organize and implement group visits. This literature review of 84 articles identified group visit implementation challenges, including lack of a group visit billing code, inadequate administrative support and resources, difficult participant recruitment and retention, and logistical issues such as space and scheduling. Recommendations for future implementation initiatives were also abstracted from the literature. Patients and providers can benefit from well-planned and well-conducted group visits. These benefits include greater patient and provider satisfaction, reduced overall utilization, improved clinical outcomes, and greater provider efficiency and productivity.

Clinical providers' experiences with returning results from genomic sequencing: an interview study.

PubMed

Wynn, Julia; Lewis, Katie; Amendola, Laura M; Bernhardt, Barbara A; Biswas, Sawona; Joshi, Manasi; McMullen, Carmit; Scollon, Sarah

2018-05-08

Current medical practice includes the application of genomic sequencing (GS) in clinical and research settings. Despite expanded use of this technology, the process of disclosure of genomic results to patients and research participants has not been thoroughly examined and there are no established best practices. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 genetic and non-genetic clinicians returning results of GS as part of the NIH funded Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) Consortium projects. Interviews focused on the logistics of sessions, participant/patient reactions and factors influencing them, how the sessions changed with experience, and resources and training recommended to return genomic results. The length of preparation and disclosure sessions varied depending on the type and number of results and their implications. Internal and external databases, online resources and result review meetings were used to prepare. Respondents reported that participants' reactions were variable and ranged from enthusiasm and relief to confusion and disappointment. Factors influencing reactions were types of results, expectations and health status. A recurrent challenge was managing inflated expectations about GS. Other challenges included returning multiple, unanticipated and/or uncertain results and navigating a rare diagnosis. Methods to address these challenges included traditional genetic counseling techniques and modifying practice over time in order to provide anticipatory guidance and modulate expectations. Respondents made recommendations to improve access to genomic resources and genetic referrals to prepare future providers as the uptake of GS increases in both genetic and non-genetic settings. These findings indicate that returning genomic results is similar to return of results in traditional genetic testing but is magnified by the additional complexity and potential uncertainty of the results. Managing patient expectations, initially identified in studies of informed consent, remains an ongoing challenge and highlights the need to address this issue throughout the testing process. The results of this study will help to guide future providers in the disclosure of genomic results and highlight educational needs and resources necessary to prepare providers. Future research on the patient experience, understanding and follow-up of recommendations is needed to more fully understand the disclosure process.

A systematic and critical review of the evolving methods and applications of value of information in academia and practice.

PubMed

Steuten, Lotte; van de Wetering, Gijs; Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Karin; Retèl, Valesca

2013-01-01

This article provides a systematic and critical review of the evolving methods and applications of value of information (VOI) in academia and practice and discusses where future research needs to be directed. Published VOI studies were identified by conducting a computerized search on Scopus and ISI Web of Science from 1980 until December 2011 using pre-specified search terms. Only full-text papers that outlined and discussed VOI methods for medical decision making, and studies that applied VOI and explicitly discussed the results with a view to informing healthcare decision makers, were included. The included papers were divided into methodological and applied papers, based on the aim of the study. A total of 118 papers were included of which 50 % (n = 59) are methodological. A rapidly accumulating literature base on VOI from 1999 onwards for methodological papers and from 2005 onwards for applied papers is observed. Expected value of sample information (EVSI) is the preferred method of VOI to inform decision making regarding specific future studies, but real-life applications of EVSI remain scarce. Methodological challenges to VOI are numerous and include the high computational demands, dealing with non-linear models and interdependency between parameters, estimations of effective time horizons and patient populations, and structural uncertainties. VOI analysis receives increasing attention in both the methodological and the applied literature bases, but challenges to applying VOI in real-life decision making remain. For many technical and methodological challenges to VOI analytic solutions have been proposed in the literature, including leaner methods for VOI. Further research should also focus on the needs of decision makers regarding VOI.

Midwifery: "at the edge of history".

PubMed

Dahlen, H

2006-03-01

The paper focuses on possible future pathways in maternity care for midwives and nations to consider. The paper blends personal and professional experiences to outline priority areas facing midwives in the future. It begins by examining maternal mortality and morbidity in the developing world and considering the potential of the ten high priority action messages (1997) in helping to improve the plight of women and children in the future. The paper then examines major issues facing midwives in the developed world including: the way birth is viewed; the medical-midwifery divide; marketing midwifery; and finally the challenge of dealing with fear around birth. The third part of the paper examines a part of society where the two worlds meet and there are issues from both the developed and developing world to consider. The paper focuses on women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and women birthing in remote and rural areas. By looking at these three worlds separately the paper examines different concerns facing midwives in the future but also draws on common issues that face us all as citizens of this planet and particularly as predominantly women. The paper challenges midwives to be politically active and dare to change the world.

Developing technology-enhanced active learning for medical education: challenges, solutions, and future directions.

PubMed

McCoy, Lise; Pettit, Robin K; Lewis, Joy H; Bennett, Thomas; Carrasco, Noel; Brysacz, Stanley; Makin, Inder Raj S; Hutman, Ryan; Schwartz, Frederic N

2015-04-01

Growing up in an era of video games and Web-based applications has primed current medical students to expect rapid, interactive feedback. To address this need, the A.T. Still University-School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (Mesa) has developed and integrated a variety of approaches using technology-enhanced active learning for medical education (TEAL-MEd) into its curriculum. Over the course of 3 years (2010-2013), the authors facilitated more than 80 implementations of games and virtual patient simulations into the education of 550 osteopathic medical students. The authors report on 4 key aspects of the TEAL-MEd initiative, including purpose, portfolio of tools, progress to date regarding challenges and solutions, and future directions. Lessons learned may be of benefit to medical educators at academic and clinical training sites who wish to implement TEAL-MEd activities.

Issues and challenges of information fusion in contested environments: panel results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blasch, Erik; Kadar, Ivan; Chong, Chee; Jones, Eric K.; Tierno, Jorge E.; Fenstermacher, Laurie; Gorman, John D.; Levchuk, Georgiy

2015-05-01

With the plethora of information, there are many aspects to contested environments such as the protection of information, network privacy, and restricted observational and entry access. In this paper, we review and contrast the perspectives of challenges and opportunities for future developments in contested environments. The ability to operate in a contested environment would aid societal operations for highly congested areas with limited bandwidth such as transportation, the lack of communication and observations after a natural disaster, or planning for situations in which freedom of movement is restricted. Different perspectives were presented, but common themes included (1) Domain: targets and sensors, (2) network: communications, control, and social networks, and (3) user: human interaction and analytics. The paper serves as a summary and organization of the panel discussion as towards future concerns for research needs in contested environments.

Challenge, Change and Opportunity: Overview, Texts and Agenda.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Runnymede Trust, London (England).

"The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain: Challenges, Changes, and Opportunities" was a conference organized by the Runnymede Trust in partnership with other organizations to consider changes in multiethnic Britain in recent years, principal challenges and opportunities for the future, and what to do about them. These issues were discussed in…

Meeting the challenge of interacting threats in freshwater ecosystems: A call to scientists and managers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Craig, Laura S.; Olden, Julian D.; Arthington, Angela; Entrekin, Sally; Hawkins, Charles P.; Kelly, John J.; Kennedy, Theodore A.; Maitland, Bryan M.; Rosi, Emma J.; Roy, Allison; Strayer, David L.; Tank, Jennifer L.; West, Amie O.; Wooten, Matthew S.

2017-01-01

Human activities create threats that have consequences for freshwater ecosystems and, in most watersheds, observed ecological responses are the result of complex interactions among multiple threats and their associated ecological alterations. Here we discuss the value of considering multiple threats in research and management, offer suggestions for filling knowledge gaps, and provide guidance for addressing the urgent management challenges posed by multiple threats in freshwater ecosystems. There is a growing literature assessing responses to multiple alterations, and we build off this background to identify three areas that require greater attention: linking observed alterations to threats, understanding when and where threats overlap, and choosing metrics that best quantify the effects of multiple threats. Advancing science in these areas will help us understand existing ecosystem conditions and predict future risk from multiple threats. Because addressing the complex issues and novel ecosystems that arise from the interaction of multiple threats in freshwater ecosystems represents a significant management challenge, and the risks of management failure include loss of biodiversity, ecological goods, and ecosystem services, we also identify actions that could improve decision-making and management outcomes. These actions include drawing insights from management of individual threats, using threat attributes (e.g., causes and spatio-temporal dynamics) to identify suitable management approaches, testing management strategies that are likely to be successful despite uncertainties about the nature of interactions among threats, avoiding unintended consequences, and maximizing conservation benefits. We also acknowledge the broadly applicable challenges of decision-making within a socio-political and economic framework, and suggest that multidisciplinary teams will be needed to innovate solutions to meet the current and future challenge of interacting threats in freshwater ecosystems. 

Deep Space Control Challenges of the New Millennium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bayard, David S.; Burdick, Garry M.

1999-01-01

The exploration of deep space presents a variety of significant control challenges. Long communication delays coupled with challenging new science objectives require high levels of system autonomy and increasingly demanding pointing and control capabilities. Historically, missions based on the use of a large single spacecraft have been successful and popular since the early days of NASA. However, these large spacecraft missions are currently being displaced by more frequent and more focused missions based on the use of smaller and less expensive spacecraft designs. This trend drives the need to design smart software and good algorithms which together with the miniaturization of control components will improve performance while replacing the heavier and more expensive hardware used in the past. NASA's future space exploration will also include mission types that have never been attempted before, posing significant challenges to the underlying control system. This includes controlled landing on small bodies (e.g., asteroids and comets), sample return missions (where samples are brought back from other planets), robotic exploration of planetary surfaces (e.g., intelligent rovers), high precision formation flying, and deep space optical interferometry, While the control of planetary spacecraft for traditional flyby and orbiter missions are based on well-understood methodologies, control approaches for many future missions will be fundamentally different. This paradigm shift will require completely new control system development approaches, system architectures, and much greater levels of system autonomy to meet expected performance in the presence of significant environmental disturbances, and plant uncertainties. This paper will trace the motivation for these changes and will layout the approach taken to meet the new challenges. Emerging missions will be used to explain and illustrate the need for these changes.

A Future Large-Aperture UVOIR Space Observatory: Key Technologies and Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bolcar, Matthew Ryan; Stahle, Carl M.; Balasubramaniam, Kunjithapatham; Clampin, Mark; Feinberg, Lee D.; Mosier, Gary E.; Quijada, Manuel A.; Rauscher, Bernard J.; Redding, David C.; Rioux, Norman M.;

The challenges of studying visual expertise in medical image diagnosis.

PubMed

Gegenfurtner, Andreas; Kok, Ellen; van Geel, Koos; de Bruin, Anique; Jarodzka, Halszka; Szulewski, Adam; van Merriënboer, Jeroen Jg

2017-01-01

Visual expertise is the superior visual skill shown when executing domain-specific visual tasks. Understanding visual expertise is important in order to understand how the interpretation of medical images may be best learned and taught. In the context of this article, we focus on the visual skill of medical image diagnosis and, more specifically, on the methodological set-ups routinely used in visual expertise research. We offer a critique of commonly used methods and propose three challenges for future research to open up new avenues for studying characteristics of visual expertise in medical image diagnosis. The first challenge addresses theory development. Novel prospects in modelling visual expertise can emerge when we reflect on cognitive and socio-cultural epistemologies in visual expertise research, when we engage in statistical validations of existing theoretical assumptions and when we include social and socio-cultural processes in expertise development. The second challenge addresses the recording and analysis of longitudinal data. If we assume that the development of expertise is a long-term phenomenon, then it follows that future research can engage in advanced statistical modelling of longitudinal expertise data that extends the routine use of cross-sectional material through, for example, animations and dynamic visualisations of developmental data. The third challenge addresses the combination of methods. Alternatives to current practices can integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches in mixed-method designs, embrace relevant yet underused data sources and understand the need for multidisciplinary research teams. Embracing alternative epistemological and methodological approaches for studying visual expertise can lead to a more balanced and robust future for understanding superior visual skills in medical image diagnosis as well as other medical fields. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

Healthcare provider education to support integration of pharmacogenomics in practice: the eMERGE Network experience

PubMed Central

Rohrer Vitek, Carolyn R; Abul-Husn, Noura S; Connolly, John J; Hartzler, Andrea L; Kitchner, Terrie; Peterson, Josh F; Rasmussen, Luke V; Smith, Maureen E; Stallings, Sarah; Williams, Marc S; Wolf, Wendy A; Prows, Cynthia A

2017-01-01

Ten organizations within the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network developed programs to implement pharmacogenomic sequencing and clinical decision support into clinical settings. Recognizing the importance of informed prescribers, a variety of strategies were used to incorporate provider education to support implementation. Education experiences with pharmacogenomics are described within the context of each organization's prior involvement, including the scope and scale of implementation specific to their Electronic Medical Records and Genomics projects. We describe common and distinct education strategies, provide exemplars and share challenges. Lessons learned inform future perspectives. Future pharmacogenomics clinical implementation initiatives need to include funding toward implementing provider education and evaluating outcomes. PMID:28639489

Future challenges for occupational health services can be prevented by proactive collaboration with the companies using the services: a participatory and reflection project

PubMed Central

Lydell, Marie; Hildingh, Cathrine; Söderbom, Arne; Ziegert, Kristina

2017-01-01

Background There is clearly a need for research in the field of occupational health service (OHS) for applying new perspectives. Proactive collaboration is needed between the OHSs and the companies. The customers of the companies using the services should be able to safeguard themselves from the health problems caused by the work environment through proactive collaboration with the OHSs. Objective The main purpose of this interdisciplinary study was to explore how the stakeholders reflected to create and agree on core values for future challenges in OHS, as seen from the perspectives of OHS professionals and customer companies. Methodology An action research process was conducted. This study was divided into three phases. In phase I, the data were collected from interviews and diaries of interdisciplinary occupational health professionals (n=12). A focus group that sampled the eight managers of the customer companies was also included. In phase II, a questionnaire was developed with 24 questions focusing on examining the future challenges for OHS. The questionnaire was sent to customer companies (n=116). In phase III, a scoping review was undertaken. Results Three categories emerged from the analysis: “Balancing complex situations” clarified the complexity regarding senior employees; “Working with a proactive approach” indicated the need for working with a new proactive approach supporting sustainable health; and “Collaborate internally and externally” showed good relationships between the customer and the OHS, which is a mutual responsibility to both the partners. Conclusion The results outlined that it is necessary to take action to apply new proactive health promotions, with a focus on workplace health promotion. The results also indicated that interventions for senior employees are of importance. This study was done in collaboration with the stakeholders from the occupational health care service center and the managers from the customer companies. The use of a participatory research design, including close collaboration with the participants, allows the researchers to see the challenges. PMID:28579793

Future challenges for occupational health services can be prevented by proactive collaboration with the companies using the services: a participatory and reflection project.

PubMed

Lydell, Marie; Hildingh, Cathrine; Söderbom, Arne; Ziegert, Kristina

2017-01-01

There is clearly a need for research in the field of occupational health service (OHS) for applying new perspectives. Proactive collaboration is needed between the OHSs and the companies. The customers of the companies using the services should be able to safeguard themselves from the health problems caused by the work environment through proactive collaboration with the OHSs. The main purpose of this interdisciplinary study was to explore how the stakeholders reflected to create and agree on core values for future challenges in OHS, as seen from the perspectives of OHS professionals and customer companies. An action research process was conducted. This study was divided into three phases. In phase I, the data were collected from interviews and diaries of interdisciplinary occupational health professionals (n=12). A focus group that sampled the eight managers of the customer companies was also included. In phase II, a questionnaire was developed with 24 questions focusing on examining the future challenges for OHS. The questionnaire was sent to customer companies (n=116). In phase III, a scoping review was undertaken. Three categories emerged from the analysis: "Balancing complex situations" clarified the complexity regarding senior employees; "Working with a proactive approach" indicated the need for working with a new proactive approach supporting sustainable health; and "Collaborate internally and externally" showed good relationships between the customer and the OHS, which is a mutual responsibility to both the partners. The results outlined that it is necessary to take action to apply new proactive health promotions, with a focus on workplace health promotion. The results also indicated that interventions for senior employees are of importance. This study was done in collaboration with the stakeholders from the occupational health care service center and the managers from the customer companies. The use of a participatory research design, including close collaboration with the participants, allows the researchers to see the challenges.

Active optics as enabling technology for future large missions: current developments for astronomy and Earth observation at ESA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallibert, Pascal

2017-09-01

In recent years, a trend for higher resolution has increased the entrance apertures of future optical payloads for both Astronomy and Earth Observation most demanding applications, resulting in new opto-mechanical challenges for future systems based on either monolithic or segmented large primary mirrors. Whether easing feasibility and schedule impact of tight manufacturing and integration constraints or correcting mission-critical in-orbit and commissioning effects, Active Optics constitutes an enabling technology for future large optical space instruments at ESA and needs to reach the necessary maturity in time for future mission selection and implementation. We present here a complete updated overview of our current R and D activities in this field, ranging from deformable space-compatible components to full correction chains including wavefront sensing as well as control and correction algorithms. We share as well our perspectives on the way-forward to technological maturity and implementation within future missions.

Partnerships and the Future of NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blome, Elizabeth; Gowan, John W.; Sampson, Margarita

2015-01-01

Partnerships have become a more integral part of the journey to Mars as NASA continues to lead human space exploration. The current budgetary and political reality requires that partnerships be a key component of moving beyond Low Earth Orbit. This paper will discuss the challenge of finding innovative partnerships that take advantage of the capabilities of the growing commercial space market. Challenges include identifying specific technological needs, recognizing the growing expertise and desires of commercial space to move beyond Low Earth Orbit, incorporating commercial partners into the Mars Roadmap, and working with international partners.

Market-stage analysis enhances strategic planning.

PubMed

McDonald, R B

1998-07-01

Changing market conditions are challenging healthcare organizations to determine how to allocate resources and make operational planning decisions to prepare for future changes. A vital part of meeting these challenges is understanding the impact of market stages, and using that knowledge to build effective business strategies. Financial modeling that includes market-stage information provides insight into market opportunities and presents a clearer picture of the organizational changes that will need to be implemented at each stage. Effective strategic action should take into account critical success factors in market responsiveness, organizational responsiveness, operational effectiveness, and financial strength.

Crowdsourcing in biomedicine: challenges and opportunities

PubMed Central

Khare, Ritu; Good, Benjamin M.; Leaman, Robert; Su, Andrew I.

2016-01-01

The use of crowdsourcing to solve important but complex problems in biomedical and clinical sciences is growing and encompasses a wide variety of approaches. The crowd is diverse and includes online marketplace workers, health information seekers, science enthusiasts and domain experts. In this article, we review and highlight recent studies that use crowdsourcing to advance biomedicine. We classify these studies into two broad categories: (i) mining big data generated from a crowd (e.g. search logs) and (ii) active crowdsourcing via specific technical platforms, e.g. labor markets, wikis, scientific games and community challenges. Through describing each study in detail, we demonstrate the applicability of different methods in a variety of domains in biomedical research, including genomics, biocuration and clinical research. Furthermore, we discuss and highlight the strengths and limitations of different crowdsourcing platforms. Finally, we identify important emerging trends, opportunities and remaining challenges for future crowdsourcing research in biomedicine. PMID:25888696

Implementation Considerations for Multisite Clinical Trials with Cognitive Neuroscience Tasks

PubMed Central

Keefe, Richard S. E.; Harvey, Philip D.

2008-01-01

Multisite clinical trials aimed at cognitive enhancement across various neuropsychiatric conditions have employed standard neuropsychological tests as outcome measures. While these tests have enjoyed wide clinical use and have proven reliable and predictive of functional disability, a number of implementation challenges have arisen when these tests are used in clinical trials. These issues are likely to be magnified in future studies when cognitive neuroscience (CN) procedures are explored in these trials, because in their current forms CN procedures are less standardized and more difficult to teach and monitor. For multisite trials, we anticipate that the most challenging issues will include assuring tester competence, monitoring tester performance, specific challenges with complex assessment methods, and having resources available for adequate monitoring of data quality. Suggestions for overcoming these implementation challenges are offered. PMID:18495645

Progress in utilisation of graphene for electrochemical biosensors.

PubMed

Lawal, Abdulazeez T

2018-05-30

This review discusses recent graphene (GR) electrochemical biosensor for accurate detection of biomolecules, including glucose, hydrogen peroxide, dopamine, ascorbic acid, uric acid, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, DNA, metals and immunosensor through effective immobilization of enzymes, including glucose oxidase, horseradish peroxidase, and haemoglobin. GR-based biosensors exhibited remarkable performance with high sensitivities, wide linear detection ranges, low detection limits, and long-term stabilities. Future challenges for the field include miniaturising biosensors and simplifying mass production are discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Computer-Controlled Cylindrical Polishing Process for Development of Grazing Incidence Optics for Hard X-Ray Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khan, Gufran Sayeed; Gubarev, Mikhail; Speegle, Chet; Ramsey, Brian

2010-01-01

The presentation includes grazing incidence X-ray optics, motivation and challenges, mid spatial frequency generation in cylindrical polishing, design considerations for polishing lap, simulation studies and experimental results, future scope, and summary. Topics include current status of replication optics technology, cylindrical polishing process using large size polishing lap, non-conformance of polishin lap to the optics, development of software and polishing machine, deterministic prediction of polishing, polishing experiment under optimum conditions, and polishing experiment based on known error profile. Future plans include determination of non-uniformity in the polishing lap compliance, development of a polishing sequence based on a known error profile of the specimen, software for generating a mandrel polishing sequence, design an development of a flexible polishing lap, and computer controlled localized polishing process.

Changing Our Future: Issues in Leadership and Management Skills and the Information Profession.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercer, Prue

This paper explores the issues and opportunities for information providers in a digital environment where the skills of management of change and leadership are necessary to create vital and healthy organizations. The first section discusses challenges of the digital environment and skills for the information profession, including the impact of…

UNSCOM faces entirely new verification challenges in Iraq

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

Trevan, T.

1993-04-01

Starting with the very first declarations and inspections, it became evident that Iraq was not acting in good faith, would use every possible pretext to reinterpret UNSCOM's inspection rights, and occasionally would use harassment tactics to make inspections as difficult as possible. Topics considered in detail include; initial assumptions, outstanding issues, and UNSCOM's future attitude.

Early Returns on District of Columbia Charter Schools. Capital Campaign

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mead, Sara

2005-01-01

In this report for the Progressive Policy Institute's 21st Century Schools Project, the author examines charter schooling in Washington, D.C., including the region's unique history of charter schooling and the challenges these schools face. She is optimistic about the future of the District's charter school movement, but argues that District and…

To Plan or Not to Plan, That Is the Question

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolph, David A.

2016-01-01

Strategic planning is a process utilized by numerous organizations, including K-12 school boards, intent on improvement and reform. A thoughtful strategic planning process can help develop a board's desired future driven by goals and strategies aimed at progress. However, improvement processes such as strategic planning are challenging. In fact,…

One Fish, Two Fish: Balancing Economy with Ecology as a Fishery Manager

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunn, Paul H.; Davidson, Timothy M.

2010-01-01

The ocean provides humanity with many services and goods, including clean air, minerals, and food. Sustainable use and management of our marine resources are important to ensure that these resources are available for future generations. The turn-based activity presented in this article teaches students the challenges of managing a sustainable…

Preparing Marketing for the Future: Strategic Marketing Challenges for Continuing Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fong, James

2013-01-01

Today's programs and delivery methods in continuing education for the adult student are evolving due to changing needs, competition, and new markets and technologies. The marketing infrastructure, including staffing, budgeting, and processes such as customer relationship marketing and market research, must be in alignment with changing needs.

Blended Learning in Higher Education: Current and Future Challenges in Surveying Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El-Mowafy, Ahmed; Kuhn, Michael; Snow, Tony

2013-01-01

The development of a blended learning approach to enhance surveying education is discussed. The need for this learning strategy is first investigated based on a major review of the surveying course, including analysis of its content, benchmarking with key national and international universities, and surveys of key stakeholders. Appropriate blended…

The Community College of the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terrey, John N.

An overview is provided of the challenges facing community colleges due to the shift from a global society shaped by political philosophies to a society shaped by economic powers. Introductory comments are followed by a description of recent changes in the world community, including the rise of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and…

Facing Future Users--The Challenge of Transforming a Traditional Online Database into a Web Service.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolonen, Eva

The Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE) agreement included 19 member countries spanning four continents: Japan and the Republic of Korea; Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; Canada, Mexico, and the United States; and Brazil. The participating…

Books, Bytes, Buildings, and Bodies: Public Libraries in the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hage, Christine Lind

1999-01-01

Considers the changing roles of public libraries and challenges facing them in the future. Topics include core skills needed by library professionals, print and nonprint materials, the inclusion of new formats, blending traditional and electronic library resources, the expanded roles and responsibilities of librarians, meeting user needs, and…

New Horizons the Future of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egol, Morton

2006-01-01

Given the extraordinary success that higher education has enjoyed over a very long period, it is vulnerable to becoming the "victim of its own success." The challenge for higher education is multifaceted and includes: (1) Overcoming the tendency toward hallowed tradition and the status quo; (2) Formulating a vision for achieving the purpose of…

Building the Sustainable Library at Macquarie University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brodie, Maxine

2012-01-01

This article explores a number of current issues and challenges in sustainability, both of and in academic libraries of the future, using as a case study the new library opened at Macquarie University, Sydney in 2011. Issues covered include sustainable design and operation of library buildings, sustainability in relation to library collections,…

LDRD FY 2014 Program Plan

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

Anita Gianotto; Dena Tomchak

As required by DOE Order 413.2B the FY 2014 Program Plan is written to communicate ares of investment and approximate amounts being requested for the upcoming fiscal year. The program plan also includes brief highlights of current or previous LDRD projects that have an opportunity to impact our Nation's current and future energy challenges.

Succession Planning for Nursing Leaders in a College of Nursing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Cheryl A.

2017-01-01

The Institute of Medicine (2011) challenged nursing to ensure the nursing workforce includes a sufficient number of academic nurse leaders, nurse educators, and doctorally prepared nurses for the future healthcare needs of the people of the United States. National data reveals a fragile supply of academic nurse educators and leaders. This tenuous…

Our Visible Work: Community & Collaboration in an Educator Inquiry Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Margaret R.

2016-01-01

Early childhood education has recently been heralded as the cornerstone of a brighter future for the United States, playing an important role in the healthy development of our youngest children (Perry, 2015; Bornfreund, 2015). However, the teachers of these children face multiple challenges in the profession, including unlivable wages, low morale…

A Compelling Interest: Activating the Benefits of Classroom-Level Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haslerig, Siduri; Bernhard, Laura M.; Fuentes, Marcia V.; Panter, A. T.; Daye, Charles E.; Allen, Walter R.

2013-01-01

The use of affirmative action admissions practices in U.S. colleges and universities has been a source of contentious public debate and legal battles since the policy's inception in the 1960s. The legal challenges to race-conscious admissions will continue for the foreseeable future, including renewed court scrutiny on specific universities'…

Investing in the Future: Addressing Work/Life Issues of Employees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kutilek, Linda M.; Conklin, Nikki L.; Gunderson, Gail

2002-01-01

A national survey of Extension employees identified the most critical work/life challenges as a heavy workload, evening and weekend commitments, and lack of control or job autonomy. Only 40% were aware of benefits and programs offered concerning work/life balance. Recommendations included reducing the workload and time requirements of county-based…

Mental health literacy as theory: current challenges and future directions.

PubMed

Spiker, Douglas A; Hammer, Joseph H

2018-02-13

Mental health literacy (MHL) is one increasingly researched factor thought to influence mental health behaviors. Researchers have argued for expanding the definition of MHL to include additional constructs, but no consensus has yet been reached on what constructs should be included as part of MHL. The purpose of this paper is to (i) elucidate how the expansion of the MHL construct has impeded the growth of MHL research and (ii) through the lens of construct and theory development, highlight how these challenges might be remedied. An inclusive search of the literature was undertaken to identify MHL studies. The principles of construct and theory development guided a critical analysis of MHL. The review of the literature found that MHL violates many principles of what constitutes an acceptable construct definition. To address these concerns, we proposed conceptualizing MHL as a theory and recommended principles of theory development that should be taken into consideration. A theory of MHL can guide future researchers to clearly delineate important constructs and their interrelationships. For practitioners, a theory of MHL can help inform how to improve MHL at both the individual and community level.

The Enduring Challenge of Determining Pneumonia Etiology in Children: Considerations for Future Research Priorities.

PubMed

Feikin, Daniel R; Hammitt, Laura L; Murdoch, David R; O'Brien, Katherine L; Scott, J Anthony G

2017-06-15

Pneumonia kills more children each year worldwide than any other disease. Nonetheless, accurately determining the causes of childhood pneumonia has remained elusive. Over the past century, the focus of pneumonia etiology research has shifted from studies of lung aspirates and postmortem specimens intent on identifying pneumococcal disease to studies of multiple specimen types distant from the lung that are tested for multiple pathogens. Some major challenges facing modern pneumonia etiology studies include the use of nonspecific and variable case definitions, poor access to pathologic lung tissue and to specimens from fatal cases, poor diagnostic accuracy of assays (especially when testing nonpulmonary specimens), and the interpretation of results when multiple pathogens are detected in a given individual. The future of childhood pneumonia etiology research will likely require integrating data from complementary approaches, including applications of advanced molecular diagnostics and vaccine probe studies, as well as a renewed emphasis on lung aspirates from radiologically confirmed pneumonia and postmortem examinations. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Veterinary professional associates: does the profession's foresight include a mid-tier professional similar to physician assistants?

PubMed

Kogan, Lori R; Stewart, Sherry M

2009-01-01

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

Advancements in the oral delivery of Docetaxel: challenges, current state-of-the-art and future trends

PubMed Central

Sohail, Muhammad Farhan; Rehman, Mubashar; Sarwar, Hafiz Shoaib; Naveed, Sara; Salman, Omer; Bukhari, Nadeem Irfan; Hussain, Irshad; Webster, Thomas J; Shahnaz, Gul

2018-01-01

The oral delivery of cancer chemotherapeutic drugs is challenging due to low bioavailability, gastrointestinal side effects, first-pass metabolism and P-glycoprotein efflux pumps. Thus, chemotherapeutic drugs, including Docetaxel, are administered via an intravenous route, which poses many disadvantages of its own. Recent advances in pharmaceutical research have focused on designing new and efficient drug delivery systems for site-specific targeting, thus leading to improved bioavailability and pharmacokinetics. A decent number of studies have been reported for the safe and effective oral delivery of Docetaxel. These nanocarriers, including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles, hybrid nanoparticles, dendrimers and so on, have shown promising results in research papers and clinical trials. The present article comprehensively reviews the research efforts made so far in designing various advancements in the oral delivery of Docetaxel. Different strategies to improve oral bioavailability, prevent first-pass metabolism and inhibition of efflux pumping leading to improved pharmacokinetics and anticancer activity are discussed. The final portion of this review article presents key issues such as safety of nanomaterials, regulatory approval and future trends in nanomedicine research. PMID:29922053

Advancements in the oral delivery of Docetaxel: challenges, current state-of-the-art and future trends.

PubMed

Sohail, Muhammad Farhan; Rehman, Mubashar; Sarwar, Hafiz Shoaib; Naveed, Sara; Salman, Omer; Bukhari, Nadeem Irfan; Hussain, Irshad; Webster, Thomas J; Shahnaz, Gul

2018-01-01

The oral delivery of cancer chemotherapeutic drugs is challenging due to low bioavailability, gastrointestinal side effects, first-pass metabolism and P-glycoprotein efflux pumps. Thus, chemotherapeutic drugs, including Docetaxel, are administered via an intravenous route, which poses many disadvantages of its own. Recent advances in pharmaceutical research have focused on designing new and efficient drug delivery systems for site-specific targeting, thus leading to improved bioavailability and pharmacokinetics. A decent number of studies have been reported for the safe and effective oral delivery of Docetaxel. These nanocarriers, including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles, hybrid nanoparticles, dendrimers and so on, have shown promising results in research papers and clinical trials. The present article comprehensively reviews the research efforts made so far in designing various advancements in the oral delivery of Docetaxel. Different strategies to improve oral bioavailability, prevent first-pass metabolism and inhibition of efflux pumping leading to improved pharmacokinetics and anticancer activity are discussed. The final portion of this review article presents key issues such as safety of nanomaterials, regulatory approval and future trends in nanomedicine research.

Teaching Physics to Future Presidents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsen, Bob

2015-03-01

We present Berkeley's ``Physics for Future Presidents'' course. Created by Prof. Richard Muller, this is an introductory course aimed at preparing our students to make decisions in a physical, technological world. Organized around large topical areas like ``Energy,'' ``Gravity and Force,'' ``Nuclei and Radioactivity,'' and ``Invisible Light,'' we can cover in some depth the scientific issues involved in large-scale energy production via renewable and non-renewable resources, satellites including capabilities and limitations, nuclear power production including risk and waste, UV exposure including discussion of the ozone layer and cancer risk, etc. Although only a small bit of algebra is used, it's a deeply quantitative course. The class is structured around (1) traditional text readings and homework for basic material (2) demo- and discussion-based lectures and (3) readings and essays based on current articles and events. This third component raises student engagement and improves their reasoning & skeptical skills. It also makes the course challenging for both STEM and non-STEM students, and for future teachers.

Planning hospital boards for the future. Interview by Donald E. L. Johnson.

PubMed

Wedel, P G

1990-08-01

Lancaster General Hospital, a 553-bed institution in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1893. Hospital services include trauma, cancer, and neo-natal centers and open-heart and neurosurgery specialties. In the following interview with Health Care Strategic Management's publisher, Donald E.L. Johnson, Paul G. Wedel, President and Chief Executive Officer discusses the future challenges confronting hospital foundation boards. Lancaster General's 18-member planning board which charts the course for the 28,000 employee and 550 medical staff institution serves as a familiar point of reference.

Cross support overview and operations concept for future space missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stallings, William; Kaufeler, Jean-Francois

1994-01-01

Ground networks must respond to the requirements of future missions, which include smaller sizes, tighter budgets, increased numbers, and shorter development schedules. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) is meeting these challenges by developing a general cross support concept, reference model, and service specifications for Space Link Extension services for space missions involving cross support among Space Agencies. This paper identifies and bounds the problem, describes the need to extend Space Link services, gives an overview of the operations concept, and introduces complimentary CCSDS work on standardizing Space Link Extension services.

BSN completion barriers, challenges, incentives, and strategies.

PubMed

Duffy, Marie T; Friesen, Mary Ann; Speroni, Karen Gabel; Swengros, Diane; Shanks, Laura A; Waiter, Pamela A; Sheridan, Michael J

2014-04-01

The objectives of this study were to explore RN perceptions regarding barriers/challenges and incentives/supports for BSN completion and identify recommendations to increase RN BSN completion. The Institute of Medicine's 2011 The Future of Nursing report recommended the proportion of RNs with a BSN increase to 80% by 2020. This qualitative study included 41 RNs who participated in 1 of 6 focus groups based on their BSN completion status. Primary themes were sacrifices, barriers/challenges, incentives/supports, value, how to begin, and pressure. Primary BSN completion barriers/challenges were work-life balance and economic issues. Incentives/supports identified were financial compensation, assistance from employer and academic institution, and encouragement from family. Institutional strategies recommended for increasing BSN completion rates were improved access to education and financial support facilitated by collaboration between hospitals and academic institutions. Exploring RN barriers/challenges and incentives/supports for BSN completion can lead to implementation of institutional strategies, such as tuition reimbursement and academic collaboration.

Nonclinical safety testing of biopharmaceuticals--Addressing current challenges of these novel and emerging therapies.

PubMed

Brennan, Frank R; Baumann, Andreas; Blaich, Guenter; de Haan, Lolke; Fagg, Rajni; Kiessling, Andrea; Kronenberg, Sven; Locher, Mathias; Milton, Mark; Tibbitts, Jay; Ulrich, Peter; Weir, Lucinda

2015-10-01

Non-clinical safety testing of biopharmaceuticals can present significant challenges to human risk assessment with these often innovative and complex drugs. Hot Topics in this field were discussed recently at the 4th Annual European Biosafe General Membership meeting. In this feature article, the presentations and subsequent discussions from the main sessions are summarized. The topics covered include: (i) wanted versus unwanted immune activation, (ii) bi-specific protein scaffolds, (iii) use of Pharmacokinetic (PK)/Pharmacodynamic (PD) data to impact/optimize toxicology study design, (iv) cytokine release and challenges to human translation (v) safety testing of cell and gene therapies including chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells and retroviral vectors and (vi) biopharmaceutical development strategies encompassing a range of diverse topics including optimizing entry of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) into the brain, safety testing of therapeutic vaccines, non-clinical testing of biosimilars, infection in toxicology studies with immunomodulators and challenges to human risk assessment, maternal and infant anti-drug antibody (ADA) development and impact in non-human primate (NHP) developmental toxicity studies, and a summary of an NC3Rs workshop on the future vision for non-clinical safety assessment of biopharmaceuticals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Next-generation sequencing for endocrine cancers: Recent advances and challenges.

PubMed

Suresh, Padmanaban S; Venkatesh, Thejaswini; Tsutsumi, Rie; Shetty, Abhishek

2017-05-01

Contemporary molecular biology research tools have enriched numerous areas of biomedical research that address challenging diseases, including endocrine cancers (pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, testicular, ovarian, and neuroendocrine cancers). These tools have placed several intriguing clues before the scientific community. Endocrine cancers pose a major challenge in health care and research despite considerable attempts by researchers to understand their etiology. Microarray analyses have provided gene signatures from many cells, tissues, and organs that can differentiate healthy states from diseased ones, and even show patterns that correlate with stages of a disease. Microarray data can also elucidate the responses of endocrine tumors to therapeutic treatments. The rapid progress in next-generation sequencing methods has overcome many of the initial challenges of these technologies, and their advantages over microarray techniques have enabled them to emerge as valuable aids for clinical research applications (prognosis, identification of drug targets, etc.). A comprehensive review describing the recent advances in next-generation sequencing methods and their application in the evaluation of endocrine and endocrine-related cancers is lacking. The main purpose of this review is to illustrate the concepts that collectively constitute our current view of the possibilities offered by next-generation sequencing technological platforms, challenges to relevant applications, and perspectives on the future of clinical genetic testing of patients with endocrine tumors. We focus on recent discoveries in the use of next-generation sequencing methods for clinical diagnosis of endocrine tumors in patients and conclude with a discussion on persisting challenges and future objectives.

New challenges in propagation research in the US

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davarian, Faramaz

1993-01-01

Earth/space propagation research in the U.S. is tied to new developments in satellite communications. In spite of the fiber optics competition for trunked point-to-point communications, a host of emerging services are discovering the great potential of satellites for wireless communications. The application of satellites for radio communications appears to grow with a rapid pace in the areas of thin-route and mobile/personal communications. An important factor influencing the future of satellite communications is the congestion of the spectral slots at Ku- and lower bands. This heavy usage of the spectrum gives rise to conflicts among the users and consequently forces regulatory organizations to relocate frequency assignments, a decision that, for obvious reasons, is unpopular with the relocated service. Because of this frequency shortage, frequencies in Ka- and higher spectral bands are currently viewed as good candidates for Earth/space communications in the future. Therefore, new challenges in propagation research in the U.S. include the characterization of mobile/personal links and the investigation of higher bands for satellite communications. The plans and the challenges of the propagation research in the U.S. are briefly reviewed.

SAMPL4 & DOCK3.7: lessons for automated docking procedures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coleman, Ryan G.; Sterling, Teague; Weiss, Dahlia R.

2014-03-01

The SAMPL4 challenges were used to test current automated methods for solvation energy, virtual screening, pose and affinity prediction of the molecular docking pipeline DOCK 3.7. Additionally, first-order models of binding affinity were proposed as milestones for any method predicting binding affinity. Several important discoveries about the molecular docking software were made during the challenge: (1) Solvation energies of ligands were five-fold worse than any other method used in SAMPL4, including methods that were similarly fast, (2) HIV Integrase is a challenging target, but automated docking on the correct allosteric site performed well in terms of virtual screening and pose prediction (compared to other methods) but affinity prediction, as expected, was very poor, (3) Molecular docking grid sizes can be very important, serious errors were discovered with default settings that have been adjusted for all future work. Overall, lessons from SAMPL4 suggest many changes to molecular docking tools, not just DOCK 3.7, that could improve the state of the art. Future difficulties and projects will be discussed.

The Cauvery river basin in southern India: major challenges and possible solutions in the 21st century.

PubMed

Vanham, D; Weingartner, R; Rauch, W

2011-01-01

India is facing major challenges in its water resources management (WRM) sector. Water shortages are attributed to issues such as an explosion in population, rapid urbanization and industrialization, environmental degradation and inefficient water use, all aggravated by changing climate and its impacts on demand, supply and water quality. This paper focuses on the contemporary and future situation in the Cauvery river basin in Southern India, shared by different states, predominantly Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. As water issues largely fall under the authority of the states, inter-state water disputes have a long tradition in the Cauvery river basin. Future changes in precipitation during the two monsoon seasons will only increase these tensions. Both states depend on the arrival of these monsoon rains to water their crops and to replenish the groundwater. The paper identifies the major challenges and general possible solutions for sustainable WRM within the river basin. It synthesises the relevant literature, describes practices that should be addressed in the scope of integrated WRM--including water availability increase and demand management--and stresses the need for further quantitative analyses.

Integrated mixed methods policy analysis for sustainable food systems: trends, challenges and future research.

PubMed

Cuevas, Soledad

Agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, an important part of which is associated to deforestation and indirect land use change. Appropriate and coherent food policies can play an important role in aligning health, economic and environmental goals. From the point of view of policy analysis, however, this requires multi-sectoral, interdisciplinary approaches which can be highly complex. Important methodological advances in the area are not exempted from limitations and criticism. We argue that there is scope for further developments in integrated quantitative and qualitative policy analysis combining existing methods, including mathematical modelling and stakeholder analysis. We outline methodological trends in the field, briefly characterise integrated mixed methods policy analysis and identify contributions, challenges and opportunities for future research. In particular, this type of approach can help address issues of uncertainty and context-specific validity, incorporate multiple perspectives and help advance meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration in the field. Substantial challenges remain, however, such as the integration of key issues related to non-communicable disease, or the incorporation of a broader range of qualitative approaches that can address important cultural and ethical dimensions of food.

Fishes in a changing world: learning from the past to promote sustainability of fish populations.

PubMed

Gordon, T A C; Harding, H R; Clever, F K; Davidson, I K; Davison, W; Montgomery, D W; Weatherhead, R C; Windsor, F M; Armstrong, J D; Bardonnet, A; Bergman, E; Britton, J R; Côté, I M; D'agostino, D; Greenberg, L A; Harborne, A R; Kahilainen, K K; Metcalfe, N B; Mills, S C; Milner, N J; Mittermayer, F H; Montorio, L; Nedelec, S L; Prokkola, J M; Rutterford, L A; Salvanes, A G V; Simpson, S D; Vainikka, A; Pinnegar, J K; Santos, E M

2018-03-01

Populations of fishes provide valuable services for billions of people, but face diverse and interacting threats that jeopardize their sustainability. Human population growth and intensifying resource use for food, water, energy and goods are compromising fish populations through a variety of mechanisms, including overfishing, habitat degradation and declines in water quality. The important challenges raised by these issues have been recognized and have led to considerable advances over past decades in managing and mitigating threats to fishes worldwide. In this review, we identify the major threats faced by fish populations alongside recent advances that are helping to address these issues. There are very significant efforts worldwide directed towards ensuring a sustainable future for the world's fishes and fisheries and those who rely on them. Although considerable challenges remain, by drawing attention to successful mitigation of threats to fish and fisheries we hope to provide the encouragement and direction that will allow these challenges to be overcome in the future. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Fish Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Aviation Trends Related to Atmospheric Environment Safety Technologies Project Technical Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reveley, Mary S.; Withrow, Colleen A.; Barr, Lawrence C.; Evans, Joni K.; Leone, Karen M.; Jones, Sharon M.

2014-01-01

Current and future aviation safety trends related to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Atmospheric Environment Safety Technologies Project's three technical challenges (engine icing characterization and simulation capability; airframe icing simulation and engineering tool capability; and atmospheric hazard sensing and mitigation technology capability) were assessed by examining the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident database (1989 to 2008), incidents from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accident/incident database (1989 to 2006), and literature from various industry and government sources. The accident and incident data were examined for events involving fixed-wing airplanes operating under Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Parts 121, 135, and 91 for atmospheric conditions related to airframe icing, ice-crystal engine icing, turbulence, clear air turbulence, wake vortex, lightning, and low visibility (fog, low ceiling, clouds, precipitation, and low lighting). Five future aviation safety risk areas associated with the three AEST technical challenges were identified after an exhaustive survey of a variety of sources and include: approach and landing accident reduction, icing/ice detection, loss of control in flight, super density operations, and runway safety.

Challenges faced by multidisplinary new investigators on addressing grand challenges in global health

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The grand challenges approach aims to spark innovative and transformative strategies to overcome barriers to significant global health issues. Grand Challenges Canada endorses an ‘Integrated Innovation™’ approach that focuses on the intersection of scientific/technological, social and business innovation. In this article we explore themes emerging from a dialogue between the authors, who are multidisciplinary recipients of the ‘Rising Stars in Global Health’ award from Grand Challenges Canada, regarding benefits of engaging in integrated innovation research, and recommendations for how this approach may develop in the future. Discussion Our dialogue followed a semi-structured interview format that addressed three topics: 1) reflections on applying an Integrated Innovation™ approach for global health; 2) thoughts on participation in the Grand Challenges 2012 meeting; and 3) authors’ visions of Grand Challenges Canada and the Grand Challenge movement towards 2020. The dialogue was transcribed verbatim and we used thematic analysis techniques to identify, analyze and report themes in the data. Benefits of working using the Grand Challenges approach centered on two themes: a) the potential for scientific breakthrough and b) building interdisciplinary collaborations and a community of scholars. Challenges and opportunities for Grand Challenges in moving forward included: a) capacity building, particularly regarding Integrated Innovation™ and scale-up planning; b) interdisciplinary and international mentorship for new investigators; and c) potential for future commercialization. Conclusions Our discussion highlighted that Integrated Innovation™ offers the opportunity to develop new theories, methods and approaches to global health while simultaneously fostering a collaborative spirit grounded in international, interdisciplinary collaborations. However, the arguable over-emphasis on corporatization poses a major challenge for new investigators. We propose a more balanced way forward that can harness technology to foster mentorship across time and space to support the development of such skills and ideas among new investigators. PMID:24735677

A benchmark for comparison of dental radiography analysis algorithms.

PubMed

Wang, Ching-Wei; Huang, Cheng-Ta; Lee, Jia-Hong; Li, Chung-Hsing; Chang, Sheng-Wei; Siao, Ming-Jhih; Lai, Tat-Ming; Ibragimov, Bulat; Vrtovec, Tomaž; Ronneberger, Olaf; Fischer, Philipp; Cootes, Tim F; Lindner, Claudia

2016-07-01

Dental radiography plays an important role in clinical diagnosis, treatment and surgery. In recent years, efforts have been made on developing computerized dental X-ray image analysis systems for clinical usages. A novel framework for objective evaluation of automatic dental radiography analysis algorithms has been established under the auspices of the IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging 2015 Bitewing Radiography Caries Detection Challenge and Cephalometric X-ray Image Analysis Challenge. In this article, we present the datasets, methods and results of the challenge and lay down the principles for future uses of this benchmark. The main contributions of the challenge include the creation of the dental anatomy data repository of bitewing radiographs, the creation of the anatomical abnormality classification data repository of cephalometric radiographs, and the definition of objective quantitative evaluation for comparison and ranking of the algorithms. With this benchmark, seven automatic methods for analysing cephalometric X-ray image and two automatic methods for detecting bitewing radiography caries have been compared, and detailed quantitative evaluation results are presented in this paper. Based on the quantitative evaluation results, we believe automatic dental radiography analysis is still a challenging and unsolved problem. The datasets and the evaluation software will be made available to the research community, further encouraging future developments in this field. (http://www-o.ntust.edu.tw/~cweiwang/ISBI2015/). Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Capacity Building for School Development: Current Problems and Future Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ho, Dora; Lee, Moosung

2016-01-01

This article offers a theoretical discussion on the current problems and future challenges of school capacity building in early childhood education (ECE), aiming to highlight some key areas for future research. In recent years, there has been a notable policy shift from monitoring quality through inspection to improving quality through school…

The past, current and future of diagnosis and management of pleural disease

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Pleural disease is frequently encountered by the chest physician. Pleural effusions arise as the sequelae of underlying disease processes including pressure/volume imbalances, infection and malignancy. In addition to pleural effusions, persistent air leaks after surgery and bronchopleural fistulae remain a challenge. Our understanding of pleural disease including its diagnosis and management, have made tremendous strides. The introduction of the molecular detection of organism specific infection, risk stratification and improvements in the non-surgical treatment of patients with pleural infection are all within reach and may be the standard of care in the very near future. Malignant pleural effusion management continues to evolve with the introduction of tunneled pleural catheters and procedures combining that and chemical pleurodesis. These advances in the diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation of pleural disease as well as what seems to be an increasing multidisciplinary interest in the space foretell a bright future. PMID:26807281

Advances in Monitoring Cell-Based Therapies with Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Future Perspectives

PubMed Central

Ngen, Ethel J.; Artemov, Dmitri

2017-01-01

Cell-based therapies are currently being developed for applications in both regenerative medicine and in oncology. Preclinical, translational, and clinical research on cell-based therapies will benefit tremendously from novel imaging approaches that enable the effective monitoring of the delivery, survival, migration, biodistribution, and integration of transplanted cells. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers several advantages over other imaging modalities for elucidating the fate of transplanted cells both preclinically and clinically. These advantages include the ability to image transplanted cells longitudinally at high spatial resolution without exposure to ionizing radiation, and the possibility to co-register anatomical structures with molecular processes and functional changes. However, since cellular MRI is still in its infancy, it currently faces a number of challenges, which provide avenues for future research and development. In this review, we describe the basic principle of cell-tracking with MRI; explain the different approaches currently used to monitor cell-based therapies; describe currently available MRI contrast generation mechanisms and strategies for monitoring transplanted cells; discuss some of the challenges in tracking transplanted cells; and suggest future research directions. PMID:28106829

Future Challenges in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Understanding Catalysts under Dynamic Reaction Conditions

PubMed Central

Kalz, Kai F.; Kraehnert, Ralph; Dvoyashkin, Muslim; Dittmeyer, Roland; Gläser, Roger; Krewer, Ulrike; Reuter, Karsten

2016-01-01

Abstract In the future, (electro‐)chemical catalysts will have to be more tolerant towards a varying supply of energy and raw materials. This is mainly due to the fluctuating nature of renewable energies. For example, power‐to‐chemical processes require a shift from steady‐state operation towards operation under dynamic reaction conditions. This brings along a number of demands for the design of both catalysts and reactors, because it is well‐known that the structure of catalysts is very dynamic. However, in‐depth studies of catalysts and catalytic reactors under such transient conditions have only started recently. This requires studies and advances in the fields of 1) operando spectroscopy including time‐resolved methods, 2) theory with predictive quality, 3) kinetic modelling, 4) design of catalysts by appropriate preparation concepts, and 5) novel/modular reactor designs. An intensive exchange between these scientific disciplines will enable a substantial gain of fundamental knowledge which is urgently required. This concept article highlights recent developments, challenges, and future directions for understanding catalysts under dynamic reaction conditions. PMID:28239429

Recent advances and future challenges in cancer immunotherapy.

PubMed

Okuyama, Namiko; Tamada, Koji; Tamura, Hideto

2016-01-01

Remarkable advances have been made in cancer immunotherapy. Recent treatment strategies, especially chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors, reportedly achieve higher objective responses and better survival rates than previous immunotherapies for patients with treatment-resistant malignancies, creating a paradigm shift in cancer treatment. Several clinical trials of cancer immunotherapy for patients with various malignancies are ongoing. However, those with certain malignancies, such as low-immunogenic cancers, cannot be successfully treated with T-cell immunotherapy, and subsets of immunotherapy-treated patients relapse, meaning that more effective immunotherapeutic strategies are needed for such patients. Furthermore, the safety, convenience, and cost of cancer immunotherapy need to be improved in the near future. Herein, we discuss recent advances and future challenges in cancer immunotherapy, i.e., the identification of neoantigens for the development of individualized immunotherapies, the development of new CAR-T cell therapies, including so-called armored CAR-T cells that can induce greater clinical effects and thereby achieve longer survival, the development of off-the-shelf treatment regimens using non-self cells or cell lines, and effective cancer immunotherapy combinations.

Perspectives on the Future of CFD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kwak, Dochan

2000-01-01

This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of the future of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which in the past has pioneered the field of flow simulation. Over time CFD has progressed as computing power. Numerical methods have been advanced as CPU and memory capacity increases. Complex configurations are routinely computed now and direct numerical simulations (DNS) and large eddy simulations (LES) are used to study turbulence. As the computing resources changed to parallel and distributed platforms, computer science aspects such as scalability (algorithmic and implementation) and portability and transparent codings have advanced. Examples of potential future (or current) challenges include risk assessment, limitations of the heuristic model, and the development of CFD and information technology (IT) tools.

International Nursing: Constructing an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Practice Model in the UAE: Using Innovation to Address Cultural Implications and Challenges in an International Enterprise.

PubMed

Behrens, Sue A

Despite utilization of the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) in the United States health care system, there is little information about the introduction, utilization, and challenges of the APRN role globally, especially in the Middle East. This article will look at how one hospital in the United Arab Emirates introduced the APRN role to a health care environment of a country where it has not been recognized historically. Cultural challenges and barriers for the implementation of the role include regulatory, societal, and institutional. Innovation and collaboration are necessary to address these challenges and barriers and to pave the way for a successful advanced practice model pilot, as well as for the future use of the role. Innovation is also one of the key performance indicators for the country's health care. However, the idea of advanced practice is a new concept that has been outside the mainstream health care practice for the United Arab Emirates. To help with the implementation, a road map was developed to outline the steps necessary to provide a safe practice environment. The plan included aligning with the ministry of health nursing and midwifery council, as well as the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi, to help them learn more about the US model of advanced practice, along with benefits, and outcomes of the role. Developing the role of the APRN will benefit the future state of the health care infrastructure for not only the United Arab Emirates but throughout the Middle East.

Surrogate Joint Aerial Layer Network (JALN) Experiment: Applications of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Technologies for Researching Future JALN Challenges

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

CHALLENGES DECEMBER 2014 TECHNICAL REPORT APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED STINFO COPY AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY INFORMATION...JOINT AERIAL LAYER NETWORK (JALN) EXPERIMENT: APPLICATION OF COMMERCIAL-OFF-THE-SHELF TECHNOLOGIES FOR RESEARCHING FUTURE JALN CHALLENGES 5a... challenge JALN developers. The use of low-cost COTS wireless technology is found to be a suitable surrogate for military hardware for investigating

Metal–Air Batteries: Will They Be the Future Electrochemical Energy Storage Device of Choice? [Metal-Air Batteries: Future Electrochemical Energy Storage of Choice?

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

Li, Yanguang; Lu, Jun

Metal-air batteries have much higher theoretical energy density than lithium-ion batteries, and are frequently advocated as the solution toward next-generation electrochemical energy storage for applications including electric vehicles or grid energy storage. Yet they have not fulfilled their full potentials as limited by challenges associated with the metal anode, air cathode and electrolyte. These challenges would have to be properly resolved before metal-air batteries can become a practical reality and be deployed on a large scale. Here we survey the current status and latest advances in metal-air battery research for both aqueous (e.g. Zn-air) and non-aqueous (e.g. Li-air) systems. Themore » general technical issues confronting their developments are overviewed, and our perspective on possible solutions is offered.« less

Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program: Shaping a Healthy Future for Older Americans.

PubMed

Pincus, Harold Alan; Pike, Kathleen M; Spaeth-Rublee, Brigitta; Elinson, Lynn

2017-09-01

As the size of the elderly population increases, so do the challenges of and barriers to high-quality, affordable health care. The Health and Aging Policy Fellows (HAPF) Program is designed to provide health and aging professionals with the skills and experience to help lead the effort in reducing these barriers and shaping a healthy and productive future for older Americans. Since its inception in 2008, the program has affected not only the fellows who participate, but also the field of health and aging policy. Work needs to be done to sustain this program so that more fellows can participate and sound policies for the elderly population can continue to be shaped and improved. This report describes the HAPF Program, including its background (rationale, description, partners, progress, effect), lessons learned, challenges and solutions, and policy implications. © 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics Society.

Seal Technology for Hypersonic Vehicle and Propulsion: An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steinetz, Bruce M.

2008-01-01

Hypersonic vehicles and propulsion systems pose an extraordinary challenge for structures and materials. Airframes and engines require lightweight, high-temperature materials and structural configurations that can withstand the extreme environment of hypersonic flight. Some of the challenges posed include very high temperatures, heating of the whole vehicle, steady-state and transient localized heating from shock waves, high aerodynamic loads, high fluctuating pressure loads, potential for severe flutter, vibration, and acoustic loads and erosion. Correspondingly high temperature seals are required to meet these aggressive requirements. This presentation reviews relevant seal technology for both heritage (e.g. Space Shuttle, X-15, and X-38) vehicles and presents several seal case studies aimed at providing lessons learned for future hypersonic vehicle seal development. This presentation also reviews seal technology developed for the National Aerospace Plane propulsion systems and presents several seal case studies aimed at providing lessons learned for future hypersonic propulsion seal development.

Metal–Air Batteries: Will They Be the Future Electrochemical Energy Storage Device of Choice? [Metal-Air Batteries: Future Electrochemical Energy Storage of Choice?

DOE PAGES

Li, Yanguang; Lu, Jun

2017-05-05

Metal-air batteries have much higher theoretical energy density than lithium-ion batteries, and are frequently advocated as the solution toward next-generation electrochemical energy storage for applications including electric vehicles or grid energy storage. Yet they have not fulfilled their full potentials as limited by challenges associated with the metal anode, air cathode and electrolyte. These challenges would have to be properly resolved before metal-air batteries can become a practical reality and be deployed on a large scale. Here we survey the current status and latest advances in metal-air battery research for both aqueous (e.g. Zn-air) and non-aqueous (e.g. Li-air) systems. Themore » general technical issues confronting their developments are overviewed, and our perspective on possible solutions is offered.« less

Biodiesels from microbial oils: Opportunity and challenges.

PubMed

Ma, Yingqun; Gao, Zhen; Wang, Qunhui; Liu, Yu

2018-05-08

Although biodiesel has been extensively explored as an important renewable energy source, the raw materials-associated cost poses a serious challenge on its large-scale commercial production. The first and second generations of biodiesel are mainly produced from usable raw materials, e.g. edible oils, crops etc. Such a situation inevitably imposes higher demands on land and water usage, which in turn compromise future food and water supply. Obviously, there is an urgent need to explore alternative feedstock, e.g. microbial oils which can be produced by many types of microorganisms including microalgae, fungi and bacteria with the advantages of small footprint, high lipid content and efficient uptake of carbon dioxide. Therefore, this review offers a comprehensive picture of microbial oil-based technology for biodiesel production. The perspectives and directions forward are also outlined for future biodiesel production and commercialization. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engineered materials for all-optical helicity-dependent magnetic switching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mangin, S.; Gottwald, M.; Lambert, C.-H.; Steil, D.; Uhlíř, V.; Pang, L.; Hehn, M.; Alebrand, S.; Cinchetti, M.; Malinowski, G.; Fainman, Y.; Aeschlimann, M.; Fullerton, E. E.

2014-03-01

The possibility of manipulating magnetic systems without applied magnetic fields have attracted growing attention over the past fifteen years. The low-power manipulation of the magnetization, preferably at ultrashort timescales, has become a fundamental challenge with implications for future magnetic information memory and storage technologies. Here we explore the optical manipulation of the magnetization in engineered magnetic materials. We demonstrate that all-optical helicity-dependent switching (AO-HDS) can be observed not only in selected rare earth-transition metal (RE-TM) alloy films but also in a much broader variety of materials, including RE-TM alloys, multilayers and heterostructures. We further show that RE-free Co-Ir-based synthetic ferrimagnetic heterostructures designed to mimic the magnetic properties of RE-TM alloys also exhibit AO-HDS. These results challenge present theories of AO-HDS and provide a pathway to engineering materials for future applications based on all-optical control of magnetic order.

Damage prognosis: the future of structural health monitoring.

PubMed

Farrar, Charles R; Lieven, Nick A J

2007-02-15

This paper concludes the theme issue on structural health monitoring (SHM) by discussing the concept of damage prognosis (DP). DP attempts to forecast system performance by assessing the current damage state of the system (i.e. SHM), estimating the future loading environments for that system, and predicting through simulation and past experience the remaining useful life of the system. The successful development of a DP capability will require the further development and integration of many technology areas including both measurement/processing/telemetry hardware and a variety of deterministic and probabilistic predictive modelling capabilities, as well as the ability to quantify the uncertainty in these predictions. The multidisciplinary and challenging nature of the DP problem, its current embryonic state of development, and its tremendous potential for life-safety and economic benefits qualify DP as a 'grand challenge' problem for engineers in the twenty-first century.

Dissemination, analysis, and implementation of the World Report on Disability: the roadmap of the International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.

PubMed

Gutenbrunner, Christoph; Bethge, Matthias; Stucki, Gerold; Li, Jianan; Lains, Jorge; Olver, John; Frontera, Walter; von Groote, Per; Giustini, Alessandro; Imamura, Marta

2014-01-01

The International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine has recognized the World Report on Disability as a guide for its future activities and endorsed its responsibility to disseminate, to analyze, and to implement the report's recommendations. The activities of the International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine on the global stage are embedded in a strategy that includes national and regional associations. This article reports on recent and forthcoming activities of the International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine regarding the World Report on Disability and identifies five major challenges that will impact future International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine activities. These challenges relate to (1) education and training, (2) the support of strong role models, (3) disaster management, (4) the development of innovative rehabilitation services, and (5) rehabilitation research.

Psychosocial issues in space: future challenges.

PubMed

Sandal, G M

2001-06-01

As the duration of space flights increases and crews become more heterogeneous, psychosocial factors are likely to play an increasingly important role in determining mission success. The operations of the International Space Station and planning of interplanetary missions represent important future challenges for how to select, train and monitor crews. So far, empirical evidence about psychological factors in space is based on simulations and personnel in analog environments (i.e. polar expeditions, submarines). It is apparent that attempts to transfer from these environments to space requires a thorough analysis of the human behavior specific to the fields. Recommendations for research include the effects of multi-nationality on crew interaction, development of tension within crews and between Mission Control, and prediction of critical phases in adaptation over time. Selection of interpersonally compatible crews, pre-mission team training and implementation of tools for self-monitoring of psychological parameters ensure that changes in mission requirements maximize crew performance.

Supersonic Retropropulsion Technology Development in NASA's Entry, Descent, and Landing Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edquist, Karl T.; Berry, Scott A.; Rhode, Matthew N.; Kelb, Bil; Korzun, Ashley; Dyakonov, Artem A.; Zarchi, Kerry A.; Schauerhamer, Daniel G.; Post, Ethan A.

2012-01-01

NASA's Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) space technology roadmap calls for new technologies to achieve human exploration of Mars in the coming decades [1]. One of those technologies, termed Supersonic Retropropulsion (SRP), involves initiation of propulsive deceleration at supersonic Mach numbers. The potential benefits afforded by SRP to improve payload mass and landing precision make the technology attractive for future EDL missions. NASA's EDL project spent two years advancing the technological maturity of SRP for Mars exploration [2-15]. This paper summarizes the technical accomplishments from the project and highlights challenges and recommendations for future SRP technology development programs. These challenges include: developing sufficiently large SRP engines for use on human-scale entry systems; testing and computationally modelling complex and unsteady SRP fluid dynamics; understanding the effects of SRP on entry vehicle stability and controllability; and demonstrating sub-scale SRP entry systems in Earth's atmosphere.

Food security and marine capture fisheries: characteristics, trends, drivers and future perspectives

PubMed Central

Garcia, Serge M.; Rosenberg, Andrew A.

2010-01-01

World population is expected to grow from the present 6.8 billion people to about 9 billion by 2050. The growing need for nutritious and healthy food will increase the demand for fisheries products from marine sources, whose productivity is already highly stressed by excessive fishing pressure, growing organic pollution, toxic contamination, coastal degradation and climate change. Looking towards 2050, the question is how fisheries governance, and the national and international policy and legal frameworks within which it is nested, will ensure a sustainable harvest, maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functions, and adapt to climate change. This paper looks at global fisheries production, the state of resources, contribution to food security and governance. It describes the main changes affecting the sector, including geographical expansion, fishing capacity-building, natural variability, environmental degradation and climate change. It identifies drivers and future challenges, while suggesting how new science, policies and interventions could best address those challenges. PMID:20713390

The biology of cultural conflict

PubMed Central

Berns, Gregory S.; Atran, Scott

2012-01-01

Although culture is usually thought of as the collection of knowledge and traditions that are transmitted outside of biology, evidence continues to accumulate showing how biology and culture are inseparably intertwined. Cultural conflict will occur only when the beliefs and traditions of one cultural group represent a challenge to individuals of another. Such a challenge will elicit brain processes involved in cognitive decision-making, emotional activation and physiological arousal associated with the outbreak, conduct and resolution of conflict. Key targets to understand bio-cultural differences include primitive drives—how the brain responds to likes and dislikes, how it discounts the future, and how this relates to reproductive behaviour—but also higher level functions, such as how the mind represents and values the surrounding physical and social environment. Future cultural wars, while they may bear familiar labels of religion and politics, will ultimately be fought over control of our biology and our environment. PMID:22271779

The future of remote ECG monitoring systems.

PubMed

Guo, Shu-Li; Han, Li-Na; Liu, Hong-Wei; Si, Quan-Jin; Kong, De-Feng; Guo, Fu-Su

2016-09-01

Remote ECG monitoring systems are becoming commonplace medical devices for remote heart monitoring. In recent years, remote ECG monitoring systems have been applied in the monitoring of various kinds of heart diseases, and the quality of the transmission and reception of the ECG signals during remote process kept advancing. However, there remains accompanying challenges. This report focuses on the three components of the remote ECG monitoring system: patient (the end user), the doctor workstation, and the remote server, reviewing and evaluating the imminent challenges on the wearable systems, packet loss in remote transmission, portable ECG monitoring system, patient ECG data collection system, and ECG signals transmission including real-time processing ST segment, R wave, RR interval and QRS wave, etc. This paper tries to clarify the future developmental strategies of the ECG remote monitoring, which can be helpful in guiding the research and development of remote ECG monitoring.

The biology of cultural conflict.

PubMed

Berns, Gregory S; Atran, Scott

2012-03-05

Although culture is usually thought of as the collection of knowledge and traditions that are transmitted outside of biology, evidence continues to accumulate showing how biology and culture are inseparably intertwined. Cultural conflict will occur only when the beliefs and traditions of one cultural group represent a challenge to individuals of another. Such a challenge will elicit brain processes involved in cognitive decision-making, emotional activation and physiological arousal associated with the outbreak, conduct and resolution of conflict. Key targets to understand bio-cultural differences include primitive drives-how the brain responds to likes and dislikes, how it discounts the future, and how this relates to reproductive behaviour-but also higher level functions, such as how the mind represents and values the surrounding physical and social environment. Future cultural wars, while they may bear familiar labels of religion and politics, will ultimately be fought over control of our biology and our environment.

Smart wearable systems: current status and future challenges.

PubMed

Chan, Marie; Estève, Daniel; Fourniols, Jean-Yves; Escriba, Christophe; Campo, Eric

2012-11-01

Extensive efforts have been made in both academia and industry in the research and development of smart wearable systems (SWS) for health monitoring (HM). Primarily influenced by skyrocketing healthcare costs and supported by recent technological advances in micro- and nanotechnologies, miniaturisation of sensors, and smart fabrics, the continuous advances in SWS will progressively change the landscape of healthcare by allowing individual management and continuous monitoring of a patient's health status. Consisting of various components and devices, ranging from sensors and actuators to multimedia devices, these systems support complex healthcare applications and enable low-cost wearable, non-invasive alternatives for continuous 24-h monitoring of health, activity, mobility, and mental status, both indoors and outdoors. Our objective has been to examine the current research in wearable to serve as references for researchers and provide perspectives for future research. Herein, we review the current research and development of and the challenges facing SWS for HM, focusing on multi-parameter physiological sensor systems and activity and mobility measurement system designs that reliably measure mobility or vital signs and integrate real-time decision support processing for disease prevention, symptom detection, and diagnosis. For this literature review, we have chosen specific selection criteria to include papers in which wearable systems or devices are covered. We describe the state of the art in SWS and provide a survey of recent implementations of wearable health-care systems. We describe current issues, challenges, and prospects of SWS. We conclude by identifying the future challenges facing SWS for HM. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Bunch, Kyle J.; Williams, Laura S.; Jones, Anthony M.

The 2010 ratification of the New START Treaty has been widely regarded as a noteworthy national security achievement for both the Obama administration and the Medvedev-Putin regime, but deeper cuts are envisioned under future arms control regimes. Future verification needs will include monitoring the storage of warhead components and fissile materials and verifying dismantlement of warheads, pits, secondaries, and other materials. From both the diplomatic and technical perspectives, verification under future arms control regimes will pose new challenges. Since acceptable verification technology must protect sensitive design information and attributes, non-nuclear non-sensitive signatures may provide a significant verification tool without themore » use of additional information barriers. The use of electromagnetic signatures to monitor nuclear material storage containers is a promising technology with the potential to fulfill these challenging requirements. Research performed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has demonstrated that low frequency electromagnetic signatures of sealed metallic containers can be used to confirm the presence of specific components on a “yes/no” basis without revealing classified information. Arms control inspectors might use this technique to verify the presence or absence of monitored items, including both nuclear and non-nuclear materials. Although additional research is needed to study signature aspects such as uniqueness and investigate container-specific scenarios, the technique potentially offers a rapid and cost-effective tool to verify reduction and dismantlement of U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons.« less

State of science: human factors and ergonomics in healthcare.

PubMed

Hignett, Sue; Carayon, Pascale; Buckle, Peter; Catchpole, Ken

2013-01-01

The past decade has seen an increase in the application of human factors and ergonomics (HFE) techniques to healthcare delivery in a broad range of contexts (domains, locations and environments). This paper provides a state of science commentary using four examples of HFE in healthcare to review and discuss analytical and implementation challenges and to identify future issues for HFE. The examples include two domain areas (occupational ergonomics and surgical safety) to illustrate a traditional application of HFE and the area that has probably received the most research attention. The other two examples show how systems and design have been addressed in healthcare with theoretical approaches for organisational and socio-technical systems and design for patient safety. Future opportunities are identified to develop and embed HFE systems thinking in healthcare including new theoretical models and long-term collaborative partnerships. HFE can contribute to systems and design initiatives for both patients and clinicians to improve everyday performance and safety, and help to reduce and control spiralling healthcare costs. There has been an increase in the application of HFE techniques to healthcare delivery in the past 10 years. This paper provides a state of science commentary using four illustrative examples (occupational ergonomics, design for patient safety, surgical safety and organisational and socio-technical systems) to review and discuss analytical and implementation challenges and identify future issues for HFE.

Reference Structures: Stagnation, Progress, and Future Challenges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberg, Jane

1997-01-01

Assesses the current state of reference structures in online public access catalogs (OPACs) in a framework defined by stagnation, progress, and future challenges. Outlines six areas for reference structure development. Twenty figures provide illustrations. (AEF)

Remote sensing of ecosystem health: opportunities, challenges, and future perspectives.

PubMed

Li, Zhaoqin; Xu, Dandan; Guo, Xulin

2014-11-07

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1) scale issue; (2) transportability issue; (3) data availability; and (4) uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges.

State of Science: ergonomics and global issues.

PubMed

Thatcher, Andrew; Waterson, Patrick; Todd, Andrew; Moray, Neville

2018-02-01

In his 1993 IEA keynote address, Neville Moray urged the ergonomics discipline to face up to the global problems facing humanity and consider how ergonomics might help find some of the solutions. In this State of Science article we critically evaluate what the ergonomics discipline has achieved in the last two and a half decades to help create a secure future for humanity. Moray's challenges for ergonomics included deriving a value structure that moves us beyond a Westernised view of worker-organisation-technology fit, taking a multidisciplinary approach which engages with other social and biological sciences, considering the gross cross-cultural factors that determine how different societies function, paying more attention to mindful consumption, and embracing the complexity of our interconnected world. This article takes a socio-historical approach by considering the factors that influence what has been achieved since Moray's keynote address. We conclude with our own set of predictions for the future and priorities for addressing the challenges that we are likely to face. Practitioner Summary: We critically reflect on what has been achieved by the ergonomics profession in addressing the global challenges raised by Moray's 1993 keynote address to the International Ergonomics Association. Apart from healthcare, the response has largely been weak and disorganised. We make suggestions for priority research and practice that is required to facilitate a sustainable future for humanity.

Planetary Protection Technologies: Technical Challenges for Mars Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buxbaum, Karen L.

2005-01-01

The search for life in the solar system, using either in situ analysis or sample return, brings with it special technical challenges in the area of planetary protection. Planetary protection (PP) requires planetary explorers to preserve biological and organic conditions for future exploration and to protect the Earth from potential extraterrestrial contamination that could occur as a result of sample return to the Earth-Moon system. In view of the exploration plans before us, the NASA Solar System Exploration Program Roadmap published in May 2003 identified planetary protection as one of 13 technologies for "high priority technology investments." Recent discoveries at Mars and Jupiter, coupled with new policies, have made this planning for planetary protection technology particularly challenging and relevant.New missions to Mars have been formulated, which present significantly greater forward contamination potential. New policies, including the introduction by COSPAR of a Category IVc for planetary protection, have been adopted by COSPAR in response. Some missions may not be feasible without the introduction of new planetary protection technologies. Other missions may be technically possible but planetary protection requirements may be so costly to implement with current technology that they are not affordable. A strategic investment strategy will be needed to focus on technology investments designed to enable future missions and reduce the costs of future missions. This presentation will describe some of the potential technological pathways that may be most protective.

Futures research: A neglected dimension in environmental policy and planning

Treesearch

David N. Bengston

2012-01-01

The need for strategic foresight in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world poses a formidable challenge to environmental planners and policy makers. Th is paper introduces futures research as an under used but fruitful set of approaches to addressing this challenge. Futures research is a transdisciplinary social science that uses a wide range of methods to...

Rotorcraft Health Management Issues and Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zakrajsek, James J.; Dempsey, Paula J.; Huff, Edward M.; Augustin, Michael; Safa-Bakhsh, Robab; Ephraim, Piet; Grabil, Paul; Decker, Harry J.

2006-01-01

This paper presents an overview of health management issues and challenges that are specific to rotorcraft. Rotorcraft form a unique subset of air vehicles in that their propulsion system is used not only for propulsion, but also serves as the primary source of lift and maneuvering of the vehicle. No other air vehicle relies on the propulsion system to provide these functions through a transmission system with single critical load paths without duplication or redundancy. As such, health management of the power train is a critical and unique part of any rotorcraft health management system. This paper focuses specifically on the issues and challenges related to the dynamic mechanical components in the main power train. This includes the transmission and main rotor mechanisms. This paper will review standard practices used for rotorcraft health management, lessons learned from fielded trials, and future challenges.

Predicting the Future Contribution of Himalayan Debris-covered Glaciers to River Discharge: Advances and Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quincey, D. J.; Hubbard, B. P.; Klaar, M. J.; Miles, E.; Miles, K.; Rowan, A. V.; King, O.; Watson, C. S.

2017-12-01

The glaciers and snowfields of the Himalaya are the ultimate source for the many rivers that flow across the Asian subcontinent, but they are diminishing rapidly in the face of sustained climatic change. Predictions of how future river discharge may vary through space and time are hampered by two major knowledge gaps. First, simulations of glacier mass loss in high Asia are severely limited by data availability and assumptions made in the parameterisation of glacier models. Consequently, projections of glacier change vary widely; in Nepal for example, recent estimates of volumetric ice loss by AD2100 have ranged between 8% and 99%. A second major gap in knowledge lies in the coupling between glaciers and downstream areas, and specifically in quantifying the relative contributions of different sources to river flow. Although it is clear that ice and snow melt dominates flow for considerable distances downstream, how this contribution interacts with groundwater supplies with increasing distance from its source remains poorly understood. This presentation will review recent work that closes some of the knowledge gaps in understanding debris-covered glacier behaviour including new results from drilling work on the Khumbu Glacier in Nepal. Additionally, it will report on the outputs from an interdisciplinary study in the Annapurna region of Nepal, which is focussing specifically on disaggregating the relative contributions to flow using isotope-based hydrograph separations. It will finish by exploring the most likely drivers of future changes to water supply, including an evaluation of the impact of glacial lake development, and by identifying the main challenges for future related research.

Next Generation Air Transportation System : progress and challenges in planning and implementing the transformation of the National Airspace System : testimony before the Subcommittee on Aviation, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. Senat

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-04-21

To prepare for future air traffic growth, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including its Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) and Air Traffic Organization, is planning and implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (...

The Combined Arms Maneuver-Force and the Stability and Support-Force: A Dual Force Concept to Meet the Challenges of Future Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-13

allowing rapid response to unforeseen crises. This includes sending forces to assist in the disaster relief operations after the October 2005 earthquake...a need for other capabilities. PACOM was able to provide disaster relief support to Japan immediately after their epic triple disaster in eastern...

Management of fruit bats on Yap, Caroline Islands: past and future challenges

Treesearch

Marjorie C. Falanruw

1988-01-01

Increased hunting pressure for export, commencing about 1975, resulted in a serious decline in the populations of the Yap fruit bat (pieropus mariannus yapensis). Factors causing this pressure included an export market in the U.S. Territory of Guam and in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and increased use of firearms. Research...

Colorado School Finance Partnership: Report and Recommendations. Financing Colorado's Future: Assessing Our School Finance System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colorado Children's Campaign, 2012

2012-01-01

Over the last decade, Colorado has emerged as a national leader in crafting innovative solutions for challenges facing its public school system. From implementing the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reforms to more recent legislation including standards and assessments for a preschool-through-college…

Gender-Inclusive Practices in Campus Women's and Gender Centers: Benefits, Challenges, and Future Prospects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marine, Susan B.; Helfrich, Gina; Randhawa, Liam

2017-01-01

Women's and gender centers have provided a home for feminist activism, education, and empowerment on the college campus since the 1970s. Recently, some women's and gender centers have undertaken practices of gender inclusion--expanding their missions and programming to include cisgender men and trans* people of all genders. This exploratory study…

Creating a Learner-Centered Environment in Nursing Education: An Immersion Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steiner, Susan H.; Floyd, Evelyn; Hewett, Beverly J.; Lewis, Nicole C.; Walker, Eldon H.

2010-01-01

A call for change in nursing education has been issued in order to prepare the nurse of the future in a changing health care delivery system with increasing complexity. The learning environment is changing, including the faculty role. Innovative research-based pedagogies are suggested as a way to challenge traditional nursing education. The…

The Educational Predicament Confronting Taiwan's Gifted Programs: An Evaluation of Current Practices and Future Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kao, Chen-yao

2012-01-01

This study examines the current problems affecting Taiwan's gifted education through a large-scale gifted program evaluation. Fifty-one gifted classes at 15 elementary schools and 62 gifted classes at 18 junior high schools were evaluated. The primary activities included in this biennial evaluation were document review, observation of…

Strategies for reducing the impacts of surface transportation on global climate change : a synthesis of policy research and state and local mitigation strategies

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-03-01

Climate change is likely to have more impact on the future of surface transportation than any other issue. The challenges and implications for surface transportation and for state DOTs include: the need to support major GHG reductions, the need to me...

Policy Development of Quality Assurance: A Critical Perspective on Past and Future Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Westhuizen, L. J.

2000-01-01

Provides an overview of the initiatives and development of policies to establish a workable quality assurance system for institutions of higher education in South Africa in the last decade. Notes challenges such as the government's emphasis on programs of study and its requirement that quality assurance systems include institutional auditing,…

Preparing America's Future. The High School Symposium (Washington, DC, April 4, 2002). Excerpted.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2003

This document presents nine papers from a symposium on challenges currently facing U.S. high schools and their role in preparing students for high achievement in postsecondary education. The following papers are included: "What Ails High Schools? How Should They Be Reformed? Is There a Federal Role?" (Chester E. Finn); "Achievement:…

MOOCs for Language Learning-Opportunities and Challenges: The Case of the Open University Italian Beginners' MOOCs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Motzo, Anna; Proudfoot, Anna

2017-01-01

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a fairly recent development in online education. Language MOOCs (LMOOCs) have recently been added to the ever-growing list of open courses offered by various providers, including FutureLearn. For learners, MOOCs offer an innovative and inexpensive alternative to formal and traditional learning. For course…

75 FR 80853 - Designing a Digital Future: Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-23

... general public. Such information includes, but is not limited to: A person's Social Security number; date... innovation is key to strengthening our economy and forming policy that works for the American people. PCAST... challenges are common across all of these sectors? c. What emerging innovations in these or other sectors...

Visual Scaling to Improve Organizational Decisions in Educator Preparation: Effectively Comparing Apples and Oranges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Francis, Raymond W.; Deschaine, Mark E.

2018-01-01

One of the largest challenges in educator preparation in higher education is the effective use of data for actionable and meaningful decision making about programs for current and future educators, administrators, and educational leaders. Within programs there are many types of students. These may include elementary, secondary, special education,…

Land-Grant Universities and their Continuing Challenge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, G. Lester, Ed.

A series of essays address the question: What can and might we expect of the land-grant system and values today and in the future? The essays include: what's ahead for the land-grant colleges (Ralph K. Huitt); the land-grant university, myth and reality (David Madsen); colleges of agriculture revisited (Henry R. Fortmann, Jerome K. Pasto, Thomas…

The Affordances of Using a Flipped Classroom Approach in the Teaching of Mathematics: A Case Study of a Grade 10 Mathematics Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muir, Tracey; Geiger, Vince

2016-01-01

Teaching secondary mathematics has a number of challenges, including the expectations that teachers cover the prescribed curriculum, help students learn difficult concepts, prepare students for future studies, and, increasingly, that they do so incorporating digital technologies. This study investigates a teacher's, and his students', perceptions…

NASA-OAST program in photovoltaic energy conversion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mullin, J. P.; Flood, D. J.

1982-01-01

The NASA program in photovoltaic energy conversion includes research and technology development efforts on solar cells, blankets, and arrays. The overall objectives are to increase conversion efficiency, reduce mass, reduce cost, and increase operating life. The potential growth of space power requirements in the future presents a major challenge to the current state of technology in space photovoltaic systems.

Low-cost training technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, A. T.

1984-01-01

The differences between flight training technology and flight simulation technology are highlighted. Examples of training technologies are provided, including the Navy's training system and the interactive cockpit training device. Training problems that might arise in the near future are discussed. These challenges follow from the increased amount and variety of information that a pilot must have access to in the cockpit.

Future Directions for the Learning of Languages in Universities: Challenges and Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pauwels, Anne

2011-01-01

The place of foreign language learning in education has a rich and diverse history since the introduction of compulsory schooling, with some countries including the learning of a foreign language as a compulsory part of the curriculum, whilst in others foreign language learning is seen as an optional subject suited for more academically minded…

Makerspaces across Settings: Didactic Design for Programming in Formal and Informal Teacher Education in the Nordic Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kjällander, Susanne; Åkerfeldt, Anna; Mannila, Linda; Parnes, Peter

2018-01-01

For education to provide knowledge reflecting our current and future society, many countries are revising their curricula, including a vivid discussion on digital competence, programming and computational thinking. This article builds an understanding of the maker movement in relation to education in programming, by demonstrating challenges and…

Challenges to United States Tactical Air Force Aircraft Maintenance Personnel: Past, Present and Future

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

to Britain by Germany, the British ship Lusitania was sunk, 7 May 1915, by a German submarine. Included in the 1,198 passengers killed were 128...against neutral shipping. Seven months to the day the Lusitania was sunk, President Wilson asked Congress for an increase in military furds. On February 3

Challenge and Change. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Commission of Professors of Adult Education (Nashville, Tennessee, November 4-5, 1994).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polson, Cheryl J., Ed.; Schied, Fred M., Ed.

This conference proceedings includes the following papers: "Professors of Adult Education, Colleges of Education, and the Transformation of the Research University" (Common); "The Future of Adult Education" (Wisniewski); "Adult Education's Prospects in a Post-University World" (Smith); "Whither the University--Whither Academic Adult Education?"…

Language and the Department of Defense: Challenges for the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

NFLC Policy Issues, 1999

1999-01-01

This interview with Glenn H. Nordin, Assistant Director of Intelligence Policy (Language and Training), Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, explores in depth the officially perceived language needs of the U.S. military in the foreseeable future. Questions and answers include the following: How has the end of the Cold War affected…

English for Scientific Purposes (EScP): Technology, Trends, and Future Challenges for Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Gi-Zen; Chiu, Wan-Yu; Lin, Chih-Chung; Barrett, Neil E.

2014-01-01

To date, the concept of English for Specific Purposes has brought about a great impact on English language learning across various disciplines, including those in science education. Hence, this review paper aimed to address current English language learning in the science disciplines through the practice of computer-assisted language learning to…

Method for Assessing Impacts of Global Sea Level Rise on Navigation Gate Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obrien, P. S.; White, K. D.; Friedman, D.

2015-12-01

Coastal navigation infrastructure may be highly vulnerable to changing climate, including increasing sea levels and altered frequency and intensity of coastal storms. Future gate operations impacted by global sea level rise will pose unique challenges, especially for structures 50 years and older. Our approach is to estimate future changes in gate operational frequency based on a bootstrapping method to forecast future water levels. A case study will be presented to determine future changes in frequency of operations over the next 100 years. A statistical model in the R programming language was developed to apply future sea level rise projections using the three sea level rise scenarios prescribed by USACE Engineer Regulation ER 1100-2-8162. Information derived from the case study will help forecast changes in operational costs caused by increased gate operations and inform timing of decisions on adaptation measures.

Autonomous RPOD Technology Challenges for the Coming Decade

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naasz, Bo J.; Moreau, Michael C.

2012-01-01

Rendezvous Proximity Operations and Docking (RPOD) technologies are important to a wide range of future space endeavors. This paper will review some of the recent and ongoing activities related to autonomous RPOD capabilities and summarize the current state of the art. Gaps are identified where future investments are necessary to successfully execute some of the missions likely to be conducted within the next ten years. A proposed RPOD technology roadmap that meets the broad needs of NASA's future missions will be outlined, and ongoing activities at OSFC in support of a future satellite servicing mission are presented. The case presented shows that an evolutionary, stair-step technology development program. including a robust campaign of coordinated ground tests and space-based system-level technology demonstration missions, will ultimately yield a multi-use main-stream autonomous RPOD capability suite with cross-cutting benefits across a wide range of future applications.

Engineered skeletal muscle tissue for soft robotics: fabrication strategies, current applications, and future challenges.

PubMed

Duffy, Rebecca M; Feinberg, Adam W

2014-01-01

Skeletal muscle is a scalable actuator system used throughout nature from the millimeter to meter length scales and over a wide range of frequencies and force regimes. This adaptability has spurred interest in using engineered skeletal muscle to power soft robotics devices and in biotechnology and medical applications. However, the challenges to doing this are similar to those facing the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine fields; specifically, how do we translate our understanding of myogenesis in vivo to the engineering of muscle constructs in vitro to achieve functional integration with devices. To do this researchers are developing a number of ways to engineer the cellular microenvironment to guide skeletal muscle tissue formation. This includes understanding the role of substrate stiffness and the mechanical environment, engineering the spatial organization of biochemical and physical cues to guide muscle alignment, and developing bioreactors for mechanical and electrical conditioning. Examples of engineered skeletal muscle that can potentially be used in soft robotics include 2D cantilever-based skeletal muscle actuators and 3D skeletal muscle tissues engineered using scaffolds or directed self-organization. Integration into devices has led to basic muscle-powered devices such as grippers and pumps as well as more sophisticated muscle-powered soft robots that walk and swim. Looking forward, current, and future challenges include identifying the best source of muscle precursor cells to expand and differentiate into myotubes, replacing cardiomyocytes with skeletal muscle tissue as the bio-actuator of choice for soft robots, and vascularization and innervation to enable control and nourishment of larger muscle tissue constructs. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Health Care in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities

PubMed Central

Khoja, Tawfiq; Rawaf, Salman; Rawaf, David; Nanji, Kashmira; Hamad, Aisha

2017-01-01

This study was undertaken to review the health care status in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, and explore current challenges and future opportunities. Available data was acquired using databases including PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. The data gathered was then combined and the expert authors in the field discussed and propose strategies to overcome the challenges. There is an increase in both population and health care needs of GCC States citizens and migrant workers. The huge emigrant population challenges the capability of the already limited available health care resources. The region is faced with a quadruple disease burden that includes communicable and non-communicable diseases, mental health issues and accidental injuries. Recent advances in technology have made breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment modalities but with an increase in overall health care cost. Innovative and cost-effective strategies are required to cater the health care needs of people living in the GCC states. Policy makers should emphasize the need to prioritize and strengthen primary care as a matter of urgency. PMID:29062618

Health Care in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities.

PubMed

Khoja, Tawfiq; Rawaf, Salman; Qidwai, Waris; Rawaf, David; Nanji, Kashmira; Hamad, Aisha

2017-08-21

This study was undertaken to review the health care status in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, and explore current challenges and future opportunities. Available data was acquired using databases including PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. The data gathered was then combined and the expert authors in the field discussed and propose strategies to overcome the challenges. There is an increase in both population and health care needs of GCC States citizens and migrant workers. The huge emigrant population challenges the capability of the already limited available health care resources. The region is faced with a quadruple disease burden that includes communicable and non-communicable diseases, mental health issues and accidental injuries. Recent advances in technology have made breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment modalities but with an increase in overall health care cost. Innovative and cost-effective strategies are required to cater the health care needs of people living in the GCC states. Policy makers should emphasize the need to prioritize and strengthen primary care as a matter of urgency.

Rib fracture repair: indications, technical issues, and future directions.

PubMed

Nirula, Raminder; Diaz, Jose J; Trunkey, Donald D; Mayberry, John C

2009-01-01

Rib fracture repair has been performed at selected centers around the world for more than 50 years; however, the operative indications have not been established and are considered controversial. The outcome of a strictly nonoperative approach may not be optimal. Potential indications for rib fracture repair include flail chest, painful, movable rib fractures refractory to conventional pain management, chest wall deformity/defect, rib fracture nonunion, and during thoracotomy for other traumatic indication. Rib fracture repair is technically challenging secondary to the human rib's relatively thin cortex and its tendency to fracture obliquely. Nonetheless, several effective repair systems have been developed. Future directions for progress on this important surgical problem include the development of minimally invasive techniques and the conduct of multicenter, randomized trials.

The future water environment--using scenarios to explore the significant water management challenges in England and Wales to 2050.

PubMed

Henriques, C; Garnett, K; Weatherhead, E K; Lickorish, F A; Forrow, D; Delgado, J

2015-04-15

Society gets numerous benefits from the water environment. It is crucial to ensure that water management practices deliver these benefits over the long-term in a sustainable and cost-effective way. Currently, hydromorphological alterations and nutrient enrichment pose the greatest challenges in European water bodies. The rapidly changing climatic and socio-economic boundary conditions pose further challenges to water management decisions and the achievement of policy goals. Scenarios are a strategic tool useful in conducting systematic investigations of future uncertainties pertaining to water management. In this study, the use of scenarios revealed water management challenges for England and Wales to 2050. A set of existing scenarios relevant to river basin management were elaborated through stakeholder workshops and interviews, relying on expert knowledge to identify drivers of change, their interdependencies, and influence on system dynamics. In a set of four plausible alternative futures, the causal chain from driving forces through pressures to states, impacts and responses (DPSIR framework) was explored. The findings suggest that scenarios driven by short-term economic growth and competitiveness undermine current environmental legislative requirements and exacerbate the negative impacts of climate change, producing a general deterioration of water quality and physical habitats, as well as reduced water availability with adverse implications for the environment, society and economy. Conversely, there are substantial environmental improvements under the scenarios characterised by long-term sustainability, though achieving currently desired environmental outcomes still poses challenges. The impacts vary across contrasting generic catchment types that exhibit distinct future water management challenges. The findings suggest the need to address hydromorphological alterations, nutrient enrichment and nitrates in drinking water, which are all likely to be exacerbated in the future. Future-proofing river basin management measures that deal with these challenges is crucial moving forward. The use of scenarios to future-proof strategy, policy and delivery mechanisms is discussed to inform next steps. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diabetic foot infections: microbiological aspects, current and future antibiotic therapy focusing on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Ambrosch, Andreas; Haefner, Simone; Jude, Edward; Lobmann, Ralf

2011-12-01

Diabetic patients are at increased risk of complicated skin, skin structure and bone infections including infections of diabetic foot ulcerations (DFU). Analyses of epidemiology and microbial pathogenicity show that staphylococci seem to be predestined to induce such infections. In addition, multidrug resistance particularly due to an increasing prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) seems to be the challenge for effective antibiotic therapy. With regard to infections with MRSA, classical agents like vancomycin, linezolid, fosfomycin or trimethroprim-sulphametoxazol might be agents of choice in DFU. New-generation drugs including broad-spectrum tetracyclines like tigecycline, first and second generation of cyclic lipopeptides, anti-MRSA β-lactams including ceftobiprole and anti-MRSA antibodies are developed or in progress and the hope for the future. © 2011 The Authors. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and Medicalhelplines.com Inc.

Synopsis of Past Stimulation Methods in Enhanced (Engineered) Geothermal Systems, Boreholes, and Existing Hydrothermal Systems with Success Analysis and Recommendations for Future Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broadhurst, T.; Mattson, E.

2017-12-01

Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) are gaining in popularity as a technology that can be used to increase areas for geothermal resource procurement. One of the most important factors in the success of an EGS system is the success of the subsurface reservoir that is used for fluid flow and heat mining through advection. There are numerous challenges in stimulating a successful reservoir, including maintaining flow rates, minimizing leak off, preventing short-circuiting, and reducing the risk of microseismicity associated with subsurface activity. Understanding past examples of stimulation can be invaluable in addressing these challenges. This study provides an overview of stimulation methods that have been employed in EGS systems from 1974-2017. We include all geothermal reservoirs and demonstration projects that have experienced hydrofracturing, chemical stimulation, and induced thermal stress for a comprehensive list. We also examine different metrics and measures of success in geothermal reservoir stimulation to draw conclusions and provide recommendations for future projects. Multiple project characteristics are reported including geologic setting, stress conditions, reservoir temperature, injection specifics, resulting microseismicity, and overall project goals. Insight into optimal and unproductive stimulation methods is crucial to conserving mental capital, utilizing project funding, and ensuring EGS technology advances as efficiently as possible.

Global issues and challenges beyond Ottawa: the way forward.

PubMed

Scriven, Angela; Speller, Viv

2007-01-01

This article links 10 regional field reports to the statement Shaping the future of health promotion: Priorities for action, which are both outcomes of the global IUHPE and CCHPR project, Renewing our Commitment to the Ottawa Charter: The Way Forward. The Shaping the future statement has emerged from the regional field reports and will act as the driving force behind the future articulation of health promotion policy at an international level. Connections are made between the key areas of the regional field reports, which include health promotion policy, health-promoting services, health promotion funding and availability of resources, community participation in health, research and information, and the recommendations made in the Shaping the future of health promotion: Priorities for action statement. The coverage includes putting healthy policies in to practice; strengthening structures and processes for health promotion; moving towards knowledge based practice; building a competent health promotion workforce and empowering communities. There are a number of significant issues arising across all the regional field reports that have been drawn on to make the recommendations in the statement. For example, the political environment has strongly influenced the evolution of health promotion. There is a clear message from the reports that political will is essential and that political advocacy needs to continue to ensure that policy goals represent the principles of Ottawa in an appropriate manner. Examples drawn from the reports demonstrate the many and varied challenges for health promotion in addressing 21st century global health determinants. There is also a clear indication that the principles established in Ottawa, and developed in subsequent WHO declarations and charters, have been embedded in the framework of health promotion practice. Shaping the future articulates the key message from the regional field reports, and therefore ensures that the lessons learnt from implementing Ottawa over the past two decades are harnessed and will shape health promotion in the future.

Thermoelectric Energy Conversion: Future Directions and Technology Development Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleurial, Jean-Pierre

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the process of thermoelectric energy conversion along with key technology needs and challenges. The topics include: 1) The Case for Thermoelectrics; 2) Advances in Thermoelectrics: Investment Needed; 3) Current U.S. Investment (FY07); 4) Increasing Thermoelectric Materials Conversion Efficiency Key Science Needs and Challenges; 5) Developing Advanced TE Components & Systems Key Technology Needs and Challenges; 6) Thermoelectrics; 7) 200W Class Lightweight Portable Thermoelectric Generator; 8) Hybrid Absorption Cooling/TE Power Cogeneration System; 9) Major Opportunities in Energy Industry; 10) Automobile Waste Heat Recovery; 11) Thermoelectrics at JPL; 12) Recent Advances at JPL in Thermoelectric Converter Component Technologies; 13) Thermoelectrics Background on Power Generation and Cooling Operational Modes; 14) Thermoelectric Power Generation; and 15) Thermoelectric Cooling.

Challenges in Rotorcraft Acoustic Flight Prediction and Validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boyd, D. Douglas, Jr.

2003-01-01

Challenges associated with rotorcraft acoustic flight prediction and validation are examined. First, an outline of a state-of-the-art rotorcraft aeroacoustic prediction methodology is presented. Components including rotorcraft aeromechanics, high resolution reconstruction, and rotorcraft acoustic prediction arc discussed. Next, to illustrate challenges and issues involved, a case study is presented in which an analysis of flight data from a specific XV-15 tiltrotor acoustic flight test is discussed in detail. Issues related to validation of methodologies using flight test data are discussed. Primary flight parameters such as velocity, altitude, and attitude are discussed and compared for repeated flight conditions. Other measured steady state flight conditions are examined for consistency and steadiness. A representative example prediction is presented and suggestions are made for future research.

Potential and prospective implementation of carbon nanotubes on next generation aircraft and space vehicles: A review of current and expected applications in aerospace sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gohardani, Omid; Elola, Maialen Chapartegui; Elizetxea, Cristina

2014-10-01

Carbon nanotubes have instigated the interest of many different scientific fields since their authenticated introduction, more than two decades ago. Particularly in aerospace applications, the potential implementations of these advanced materials have been predicted to have a large impact on future aircraft and space vehicles, mainly due to their distinct features, which include superior mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. This article provides the very first consolidated review of the imminent prospects of utilizing carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles in aerospace sciences, based on their recent implementations and predicted future applications. Explicitly, expected carbon nanotube employment in aeronautics and astronautics are identified for commercial aircraft, military aircraft, rotorcraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, satellites, and space launch vehicles. Attention is devoted to future utilization of carbon nanotubes, which may comprise hydrogen storage encapsulation, composite material implementation, lightning protection for aircraft, aircraft icing mitigation, reduced weight of airframes/satellites, and alleviation of challenges related to future space launch. This study further sheds light onto recent actualized implementations of carbon nanotubes in aerospace applications, as well as current and prospective challenges related to their usage in aerospace sciences, encompassing health and safety hazards, large scale manufacturing, achievement of optimum properties, recycling, and environmental impacts.

Harmonisation of Global Land-Use Scenarios for the Period 1500-2100 for IPCC-AR5

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

Hurtt, George; Chini, Louise Parsons; Frolking, Steve

2009-06-01

In preparation for the fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate change assessment (IPCC-AR5), the international community is developing new advanced computer models (CMs) to address the combined effects of human activities (e.g. land-use and fossil fuel emissions) on the carbon-climate system. In addition, four Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios of the future (2005-2100) are being developed by four Integrated Assessment Modeling teams (IAMs) to be used as input to the CMs for future climate projections. The diversity of requirements and approaches among CMs and IAMs for tracking land-use changes (past, present, and future), presents major challenges for treating land-usemore » comprehensively and consistently between these communities. As part of an international working group, we have been working to meet these challenges by developing a "harmonized" set of land-use change scenarios that smoothly connects gridded historical reconstructions of land-use with future projections, in a format required by CMs. This approach to harmonizing the treatment of land-use between two key modeling communities, CMs and IAMs, represents a major advance that will facilitate more consistent and fuller treatments of land-use/land-use change effects including both CO2 emissions and corresponding land-surface changes.« less

The Importance of Studying Past Extreme Floods to Prepare for Uncertain Future Extremes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burges, S. J.

2016-12-01

Hoyt and Langbein, 1955 in their book `Floods' wrote: " ..meteorologic and hydrologic conditions will combine to produce superfloods of unprecedented magnitude. We have every reason to believe that in most rivers past floods may not be an accurate measure of ultimate flood potentialities. It is this superflood with which we are always most concerned". I provide several examples to offer some historical perspective on assessing extreme floods. In one example, flooding in the Miami Valley, OH in 1913 claimed 350 lives. The engineering and socio-economic challenges facing the Morgan Engineering Co in how to mitigate against future flood damage and loss of life when limited information was available provide guidance about ways to face an uncertain hydroclimate future, particularly one of a changed climate. A second example forces us to examine mixed flood populations and illustrates the huge uncertainty in assigning flood magnitude and exceedance probability to extreme floods in such cases. There is large uncertainty in flood frequency estimates; knowledge of the total flood hydrograph, not the peak flood flow rate alone, is what is needed for hazard mitigation assessment or design. Some challenges in estimating the complete flood hydrograph in an uncertain future climate, including demands on hydrologic models and their inputs, are addressed.

Competencies for government veterinary services of the future: Summary of ISVEE 14 Yucatan 2015 roundtable discussion.

PubMed

Stärk, Katharina D C; Goncalves, Vitor S P; McCluskey, Brian J; Pinto, Julio; Tsutsui, Toshiyuki; Gibbens, Jane

2017-02-01

This short communication summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of current organisational structures in government veterinary services, as well as future technical, financial and societal challenges and related necessary competencies for government veterinary services of the future as discussed by an expert panel at ISVEE2015. First, participating representatives of veterinary services of diverse geographical backgrounds and statements from the audience confirmed that non-technical skills such as ability to work in teams, adaptability to new environments and situations, social and communication skills are increasingly seen as important. The second challenge faced by veterinary services is related to capacity issues, i.e. to have enough manpower to plan and deliver according to legislation in a period of shrinking budgets. New and emerging diseases can result in sudden, massive increases in the workload of veterinary services. Technical complexity has also increased for some hazards. Staff skills in veterinary services therefore need to be continuously updated, and it is essential to establish cross technical collaboration with other sectors including food safety, public health and environment. ISVEE conferences were seen as an opportunity to provide a global platform to develop skills needed by veterinary services, now and in the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ebola Virus Epidemic in West Africa: Global Health Economic Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Policy Recommendations.

PubMed

Elmahdawy, Mahmoud; Elsisi, Gihan H; Carapinha, Joao; Lamorde, Mohamed; Habib, Abdulrazaq; Agyie-Baffour, Peter; Soualmi, Redouane; Ragab, Samah; Udezi, Anthony W; Usifoh, Cyril; Usifoh, Stella

2017-09-01

The Ebola virus has spread across several Western Africa countries, adding a significant financial burden to their health systems and economies. In this article the experience with Ebola is reviewed, and economic challenges and policy recommendations are discussed to help curb the impact of other diseases in the future. The West African Ebola virus disease epidemic started in resource-constrained settings and caused thousands of fatalities during the last epidemic. Nevertheless, given population mobility, international travel, and an increasingly globalized economy, it has the potential to re-occur and evolve into a global pandemic. Struggling health systems in West African countries hinder the ability to reduce the causes and effects of the Ebola epidemic. The lessons learned include the need for strengthening health systems, mainly primary care systems, expedited access to treatments and vaccines to treat the Ebola virus disease, guidance on safety, efficacy, and regulatory standards for such treatments, and ensuring that research and development efforts are directed toward existing needs. Other lessons include adopting policies that allow for better flow of relief, averting the adverse impact of strong quarantine policy that includes exaggerating the aversion behavior by alarming trade and business partners providing financial support to strengthen growth in the affected fragile economies by the Ebola outbreak. Curbing the impact of future Ebola epidemics, or comparable diseases, requires increased long-term investments in health system strengthening, better collaboration between different international organizations, more funding for research and development efforts aimed at developing vaccines and treatments, and tools to detect, treat, and prevent future epidemics. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Precision gas therapy using intelligent nanomedicine.

PubMed

He, Qianjun

2017-10-24

Gas therapy is an emerging and promising field, utilizing the unique therapeutic effects of several kinds of gases (NO, CO, H 2 S and H 2 ) towards many major diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and it is also facing challenges relating to enhancing gas therapy efficacy and avoiding gas poisoning risks. Here, we have proposed a new concept for precision gas therapy using a nanomedicine strategy to overcome the challenges. In this perspective, we have addressed a series of existing and potential solutions from the point of view of nanomedicine, and conveyed a collection of opinions about future expandable research into precision gas therapy.

A Review of Carbon Nanomaterials' Synthesis via the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Method.

PubMed

Manawi, Yehia M; Samara, Ayman; Al-Ansari, Tareq; Atieh, Muataz A

2018-05-17

Carbon nanomaterials have been extensively used in many applications owing to their unique thermal, electrical and mechanical properties. One of the prime challenges is the production of these nanomaterials on a large scale. This review paper summarizes the synthesis of various carbon nanomaterials via the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. These carbon nanomaterials include fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), graphene, carbide-derived carbon (CDC), carbon nano-onion (CNO) and MXenes. Furthermore, current challenges in the synthesis and application of these nanomaterials are highlighted with suggested areas for future research.

LHC Status and Upgrade Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Jeffrey

2009-11-01

The Large Hadron Collider has had a trying start-up and a challenging operational future lays ahead. Critical to the machine's performance is controlling a beam of particles whose stored energy is equivalent to 80 kg of TNT. Unavoidable beam losses result in energy deposition throughout the machine and without adequate protection this power would result in quenching of the superconducting magnets. A brief overview of the machine layout and principles of operation will be reviewed including a summary of the September 2008 accident. The current status of the LHC, startup schedule and upgrade options to achieve the target luminosity will be presented.

A Review of Carbon Nanomaterials’ Synthesis via the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Method

PubMed Central

Manawi, Yehia M.; Samara, Ayman; Al-Ansari, Tareq; Atieh, Muataz A.

2018-01-01

Carbon nanomaterials have been extensively used in many applications owing to their unique thermal, electrical and mechanical properties. One of the prime challenges is the production of these nanomaterials on a large scale. This review paper summarizes the synthesis of various carbon nanomaterials via the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. These carbon nanomaterials include fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), graphene, carbide-derived carbon (CDC), carbon nano-onion (CNO) and MXenes. Furthermore, current challenges in the synthesis and application of these nanomaterials are highlighted with suggested areas for future research. PMID:29772760

Head-Disk Interface Technology: Challenges and Approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Bo

Magnetic hard disk drive (HDD) technology is believed to be one of the most successful examples of modern mechatronics systems. The mechanical beauty of magnetic HDD includes simple but super high accuracy positioning head, positioning technology, high speed and stability spindle motor technology, and head-disk interface technology which keeps the millimeter sized slider flying over a disk surface at nanometer level slider-disk spacing. This paper addresses the challenges and possible approaches on how to further reduce the slider disk spacing whilst retaining the stability and robustness level of head-disk systems for future advanced magnetic disk drives.

Role of future scenarios in understanding deep uncertainty in long-term air quality management.

PubMed

Gamas, Julia; Dodder, Rebecca; Loughlin, Dan; Gage, Cynthia

2015-11-01

The environment and its interactions with human systems, whether economic, social, or political, are complex. Relevant drivers may disrupt system dynamics in unforeseen ways, making it difficult to predict future conditions. This kind of "deep uncertainty" presents a challenge to organizations faced with making decisions about the future, including those involved in air quality management. Scenario Planning is a structured process that involves the development of narratives describing alternative future states of the world, designed to differ with respect to the most critical and uncertain drivers. The resulting scenarios are then used to understand the consequences of those futures and to prepare for them with robust management strategies. We demonstrate a novel air quality management application of Scenario Planning. Through a series of workshops, important air quality drivers were identified. The most critical and uncertain drivers were found to be "technological development" and "change in societal paradigms." These drivers were used as a basis to develop four distinct scenario storylines. The energy and emissions implications of each storyline were then modeled using the MARKAL energy system model. NOx emissions were found to decrease for all scenarios, largely a response to existing air quality regulations, whereas SO2 emissions ranged from 12% greater to 7% lower than 2015 emissions levels. Future-year emissions differed considerably from one scenario to another, however, with key differentiating factors being transition to cleaner fuels and energy demand reductions. Application of scenarios in air quality management provides a structured means of sifting through and understanding the dynamics of the many complex driving forces affecting future air quality. Further, scenarios provide a means to identify opportunities and challenges for future air quality management, as well as a platform for testing the efficacy and robustness of particular management options across wide-ranging conditions.

Sociopolitical Participation of Kuwaiti Women in the Development Process: Current State and Challenges Ahead

PubMed Central

Alzuabi, Ali Z.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT This study explores the sociocultural status of Kuwaiti women and examines the obstacles that may hinder them from participating in socioeconomic development of Kuwait. The study analyzes the nature of legislative, political, sociocultural, and economic challenges faced by Kuwaiti women and suggests measures to overcome these obstacles to help women in attaining a prime role in the development process. The survey sample included 300 Kuwaiti citizens of both genders selected randomly from different social and professional backgrounds. Statistical analyses including mean values and covariance analysis revealed the awareness of gender-based differences in attitudes on the nature of constraints faced in moving toward the progress of Kuwaiti women. Discussed are social, economic, and knowledge-based constraints that restrain women from playing an active role in the socioeconomic development of Kuwait. Future directions include the acknowledgement of increased levels of education among Kuwaiti women and the available talent pool that will remain underutilized if women are not raised to leadership levels. Further research is needed on the scope and challenges in implementing strategies for the empowerment of women as a part of legislation. PMID:27812232

Predators and the public trust.

PubMed

Treves, Adrian; Chapron, Guillaume; López-Bao, Jose V; Shoemaker, Chase; Goeckner, Apollonia R; Bruskotter, Jeremy T

2017-02-01

Many democratic governments recognize a duty to conserve environmental resources, including wild animals, as a public trust for current and future citizens. These public trust principles have informed two centuries of U.S.A. Supreme Court decisions and environmental laws worldwide. Nevertheless numerous populations of large-bodied, mammalian carnivores (predators) were eradicated in the 20th century. Environmental movements and strict legal protections have fostered predator recoveries across the U.S.A. and Europe since the 1970s. Now subnational jurisdictions are regaining management authority from central governments for their predator subpopulations. Will the history of local eradication repeat or will these jurisdictions adopt public trust thinking and their obligation to broad public interests over narrower ones? We review the role of public trust principles in the restoration and preservation of controversial species. In so doing we argue for the essential roles of scientists from many disciplines concerned with biological diversity and its conservation. We look beyond species endangerment to future generations' interests in sustainability, particularly non-consumptive uses. Although our conclusions apply to all wild organisms, we focus on predators because of the particular challenges they pose for government trustees, trust managers, and society. Gray wolves Canis lupus L. deserve particular attention, because detailed information and abundant policy debates across regions have exposed four important challenges for preserving predators in the face of interest group hostility. One challenge is uncertainty and varied interpretations about public trustees' responsibilities for wildlife, which have created a mosaic of policies across jurisdictions. We explore how such mosaics have merits and drawbacks for biodiversity. The other three challenges to conserving wildlife as public trust assets are illuminated by the biology of predators and the interacting behavioural ecologies of humans and predators. The scientific community has not reached consensus on sustainable levels of human-caused mortality for many predator populations. This challenge includes both genuine conceptual uncertainty and exploitation of scientific debate for political gain. Second, human intolerance for predators exposes value conflicts about preferences for some wildlife over others and balancing majority rule with the protection of minorities in a democracy. We examine how differences between traditional assumptions and scientific studies of interactions between people and predators impede evidence-based policy. Even if the prior challenges can be overcome, well-reasoned policy on wild animals faces a greater challenge than other environmental assets because animals and humans change behaviour in response to each other in the short term. These coupled, dynamic responses exacerbate clashes between uses that deplete wildlife and uses that enhance or preserve wildlife. Viewed in this way, environmental assets demand sophisticated, careful accounting by disinterested trustees who can both understand the multidisciplinary scientific measurements of relative costs and benefits among competing uses, and justly balance the needs of all beneficiaries including future generations. Without public trust principles, future trustees will seldom prevail against narrow, powerful, and undemocratic interests. Without conservation informed by public trust thinking predator populations will face repeated cycles of eradication and recovery. Our conclusions have implications for the many subfields of the biological sciences that address environmental trust assets from the atmosphere to aquifers. © 2015 The Authors. Biological Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Moving NASA Beyond Low Earth Orbit: Future Human-Automation-Robotic Integration Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marquez, Jessica

2016-01-01

This presentation will provide an overview of current human spaceflight operations. It will also describe how future exploration missions will have to adapt and evolve in order to deal with more complex missions and communication latencies. Additionally, there are many implications regarding advanced automation and robotics, and this presentation will outline future human-automation-robotic integration challenges.

Another 25 Years of AIED? Challenges and Opportunities for Intelligent Educational Technologies of the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinkwart, Niels

2016-01-01

This paper attempts an analysis of some current trends and future developments in computer science, education, and educational technology. Based on these trends, two possible future predictions of AIED are presented in the form of a utopian vision and a dystopian vision. A comparison of these two visions leads to seven challenges that AIED might…

EPA Leadership on Science, Innovation, and Decision Support Tools for Addressing Current and Future Challenges.

PubMed

Hecht, Alan D; Ferster, Aaron; Summers, Kevin

2017-10-16

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established nearly 50 years ago, the nation faced serious threats to its air, land, and water, which in turn impacted human health. These threats were effectively addressed by the creation of EPA (in 1970) and many subsequent landmark environmental legislations which in turn significantly reduced threats to the Nation's environment and public health. A key element of historic legislation is research aimed at dealing with current and future problems. Today we face national and global challenges that go beyond classic media-specific (air, land, water) environmental legislation and require an integrated paradigm of action and engagement based on (1) innovation based on science and technology, (2) stakeholder engagement and collaboration, and (3) public education and support. This three-pronged approach recognizes that current environmental problems, include social as well as physical and environmental factors, are best addressed through collaborative problem solving, the application of innovation in science and technology, and multiple stakeholder engagement. To achieve that goal, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) is working directly with states and local communities to develop and apply a suite of accessible decision support tools (DST) that aim to improve environmental conditions, protect human health, enhance economic opportunity, and advance a resilient and sustainability society. This paper showcases joint EPA and state actions to develop tools and approaches that not only meet current environmental and public health challenges, but do so in a way that advances sustainable, healthy, and resilient communities well into the future. EPA's future plans should build on current work but aim to effectively respond to growing external pressures. Growing pressures from megatrends are a major challenge for the new Administration and for cities and states across the country. The recent hurricanes hitting Texas and the Gulf Coast, part of the increase in extreme weather events, make it clear that building resilient infrastructure is a crucial step to sustainability.

eHealth in cardiovascular medicine: A clinical update.

PubMed

Saner, Hugo; van der Velde, Enno

2016-10-01

Demographic changes, progress in medicine technology and regional problems in providing healthcare to low density populations are posing great challenges to our healthcare systems. Rapid progress in computer sciences and information technologies have a great impact on the way healthcare will be delivered in the near future. This article describes opportunities and challenges of eHealth and telemedicine in the framework of our health systems and, in particular, in the context of today's cardiology services. The most promising applications of eHealth and telemedicine include: (a) prevention and lifestyle interventions; (b) chronic disease management including hypertension, diabetes and heart failure; (c) arrhythmia detection including early detection of atrial fibrillation and telemonitoring of devices such as pacemaker, internal cardioverter defibrillators and implantable rhythm monitoring devices; (d) telerehabilitation. Major obstacles to the integration of eHealth and telemedicine into daily clinical practice include limited large-scale evidence, in particular, for cost-effectiveness, as well as lack of interoperability, inadequate or fragmented legal frameworks and lack of reimbursement. An important challenge for those involved in these new technologies will be to keep the main focus on patient's individual needs and to carefully evaluate the evidence behind the practice. © The European Society of Cardiology 2016.

Shared Electronic Health Record Systems: Key Legal and Security Challenges.

PubMed

Christiansen, Ellen K; Skipenes, Eva; Hausken, Marie F; Skeie, Svein; Østbye, Truls; Iversen, Marjolein M

2017-11-01

Use of shared electronic health records opens a whole range of new possibilities for flexible and fruitful cooperation among health personnel in different health institutions, to the benefit of the patients. There are, however, unsolved legal and security challenges. The overall aim of this article is to highlight legal and security challenges that should be considered before using shared electronic cooperation platforms and health record systems to avoid legal and security "surprises" subsequent to the implementation. Practical lessons learned from the use of a web-based ulcer record system involving patients, community nurses, GPs, and hospital nurses and doctors in specialist health care are used to illustrate challenges we faced. Discussion of possible legal and security challenges is critical for successful implementation of shared electronic collaboration systems. Key challenges include (1) allocation of responsibility, (2) documentation routines, (3) and integrated or federated access control. We discuss and suggest how challenges of legal and security aspects can be handled. This discussion may be useful for both current and future users, as well as policy makers.

Stakeholders' perspective on issues and challenges associated with care and treatment of aging-related cognitive impairment disorders in Singapore.

PubMed

Setia, Monika; Islam, Amina M; Thompson, James P; Matchar, David B

2011-11-01

An expanding elderly population poses challenges for the provision of care and treatment for age-related physical and mental disorders. Cognitive impairment (CI)/dementia is one such mental disorder that is on the rise in Singapore and has concomitant implications for social and health systems. The objective of this study is to understand the perspectives of prominent stakeholders about current and future issues and challenges associated with CI/dementia among the elderly in Singapore. Using indepth interviews, this qualitative study obtained the views of multiple stakeholders on issues and challenges associated with CI/dementia in Singapore. The 30 individuals interviewed as part of the study included clinicians, policy-makers, researchers, community workers, administrators, and caregivers. Using a framework approach, interview texts were indexed into domains and issues by utilizing NVivo 9.0 software. The stakeholders expressed concerns related to multiple domains of the CI/dementia care system: attitude and awareness, economics, education, family caregiving, inputs to care system, living arrangements, prevention, screening and diagnosis, and treatment and management of care. Within each domain, multiple issues and challenges were identified by respondents. The study identifies a complex set of inter-related issues and challenges that are associated with the care and treatment of people with CI/dementia. The results suggest that CI and dementia profoundly affect patients, families, and communities and that the issues related to the two disorders are truly system-wide. These findings lay the foundation for utilization of a systems approach to studying CI/dementia and provide an analytic framework for future research on complex health care issues.

A Survey on Next-generation Power Grid Data Architecture

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

You, Shutang; Zhu, Dr. Lin; Liu, Yong

2015-01-01

The operation and control of power grids will increasingly rely on data. A high-speed, reliable, flexible and secure data architecture is the prerequisite of the next-generation power grid. This paper summarizes the challenges in collecting and utilizing power grid data, and then provides reference data architecture for future power grids. Based on the data architecture deployment, related research on data architecture is reviewed and summarized in several categories including data measurement/actuation, data transmission, data service layer, data utilization, as well as two cross-cutting issues, interoperability and cyber security. Research gaps and future work are also presented.

Nuclear physics from Lattice QCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shanahan, Phiala

2017-09-01

I will discuss the current state and future scope of numerical Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (LQCD) calculations of nuclear matrix elements. The goal of the program is to provide direct QCD calculations of nuclear observables relevant to experimental programs, including double-beta decay matrix elements, nuclear corrections to axial matrix elements relevant to long-baseline neutrino experiments and nuclear sigma terms needed for theory predictions of dark matter cross-sections at underground detectors. I will discuss the progress and challenges on these fronts, and also address recent work constraining a gluonic analogue of the EMC effect, which will be measurable at a future electron-ion collider.

Automotive sensors: past, present and future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prosser, S. J.

2007-07-01

This paper will provide a review of past, present and future automotive sensors. Today's vehicles have become highly complex sophisticated electronic control systems and the majority of innovations have been solely achieved through electronics and the use of advanced sensors. A range of technologies have been used over the past twenty years including silicon microengineering, thick film, capacitive, variable reluctance, optical and radar. The automotive sensor market continues to grow with respect to vehicle production level in recognition of the transition to electronically controlled electrically actuated systems. The environment for these sensors continues to be increasingly challenging with respect to robustness, reliability, quality and cost.

Epilepsy Genetics—Past, Present, and Future

PubMed Central

Poduri, Annapurna; Lowenstein, Daniel

2014-01-01

Human epilepsy is a common and heterogeneous condition in which genetics play an important etiological role. We begin by reviewing the past history of epilepsy genetics, a field that has traditionally included studies of pedigrees with epilepsy caused by defects in ion channels and neurotransmitters. We highlight important recent discoveries that have expanded the field beyond the realm of channels and neurotransmitters and that have challenged the notion that single genes produce single disorders. Finally, we project toward an exciting future for epilepsy genetics as large-scale collaborative phenotyping studies come face to face with new technologies in genomic medicine. PMID:21277190

The Indiana Public Health Emergency Surveillance System: Ongoing Progress, Early Findings, and Future Directions

PubMed Central

Grannis, Shaun; Wade, Michael; Gibson, Joseph; Overhage, J. Marc

2006-01-01

Beginning in 2004, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) partnered with the Regenstrief Institute on a 4-year project to implement a statewide biosurveillance system incorporating more than 110 hospitals. This paper describes our evolving experience with the system including ongoing implementation challenges, how the system has helped to uncover events of public health significance, and future directions. The system currently receives emergency department visit data from 50 hospitals totaling nearly 5,000 visits per day, and is projected to have 65 hospitals connected by August 2006. PMID:17238352

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Turkey: Current status and future challenges.

PubMed

Leblebicioglu, Hakan; Ozaras, Resat; Irmak, Hasan; Sencan, Irfan

2016-02-01

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne viral disease of humans that affects a wide geographic area of Africa and Eurasia, including Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia. Since the first detection of CCHF cases in Turkey in 2002, more than 9700 patients have been reported, with an overall mortality rate just under 5%. This article assesses the present epidemiological situation of CCHF in Turkey, with an updated literature review, describes national practices and summarizes lessons learned in preparation for future outbreaks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Overview of Sparse Graph for Multiple Access in Future Mobile Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Jing; Li, Baoguo; Li, Erbao; Gong, Zhenghui

2017-10-01

Multiple access via sparse graph, such as low density signature (LDS) and sparse code multiple access (SCMA), is a promising technique for future wireless communications. This survey presents an overview of the developments in this burgeoning field, including transmitter structures, extrinsic information transform (EXIT) chart analysis and comparisons with existing multiple access techniques. Such technique enables multiple access under overloaded conditions to achieve a satisfactory performance. Message passing algorithm is utilized for multi-user detection in the receiver, and structures of the sparse graph are illustrated in detail. Outlooks and challenges of this technique are also presented.

Lubrication of space systems: Challenges and potential solutions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fusaro, Robert L.

1992-01-01

Future space missions will all require advanced mechanical moving components which will require wear protection and lubrication. The tribology practices used today are primarily based upon a technology base that is more than 20 years old. This paper will discuss NASA's future space missions and some of the mechanism tribology challenges that will be encountered. Potential solutions to these challenges using coatings technology will be assessed.

The architecture challenge: Future artificial-intelligence systems will require sophisticated architectures, and knowledge of the brain might guide their construction.

PubMed

Baldassarre, Gianluca; Santucci, Vieri Giuliano; Cartoni, Emilio; Caligiore, Daniele

2017-01-01

In this commentary, we highlight a crucial challenge posed by the proposal of Lake et al. to introduce key elements of human cognition into deep neural networks and future artificial-intelligence systems: the need to design effective sophisticated architectures. We propose that looking at the brain is an important means of facing this great challenge.

Biomedical wellness challenges and opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tangney, John F.

2012-06-01

The mission of ONR's Human and Bioengineered Systems Division is to direct, plan, foster, and encourage Science and Technology in cognitive science, computational neuroscience, bioscience and bio-mimetic technology, social/organizational science, training, human factors, and decision making as related to future Naval needs. This paper highlights current programs that contribute to future biomedical wellness needs in context of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. ONR supports fundamental research and related technology demonstrations in several related areas, including biometrics and human activity recognition; cognitive sciences; computational neurosciences and bio-robotics; human factors, organizational design and decision research; social, cultural and behavioral modeling; and training, education and human performance. In context of a possible future with automated casualty evacuation, elements of current science and technology programs are illustrated.

FutureCoast: "Listen to your futures"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfirman, S. L.; Eklund, K.; Thacher, S.; Orlove, B. S.; Diane Stovall-Soto, G.; Brunacini, J.; Hernandez, T.

2014-12-01

Two science-arts approaches are emerging as effective means to convey "futurethinking" to learners: systems gaming and experiential futures. FutureCoast exemplifies the latter: by engaging participants with voicemails supposedly leaking from the cloud of possible futures, the storymaking game frames the complexities of climate science in relatable contexts. Because participants make the voicemails themselves, FutureCoast opens up creative ways for people to think about possibly climate-changed futures and personal ways to talk about them. FutureCoast is a project of the PoLAR Partnership with a target audience of informal adult learners primarily reached via mobile devices and online platforms. Scientists increasingly use scenarios and storylines as ways to explore the implications of environmental change and societal choices. Stories help people make connections across experiences and disciplines and link large-scale events to personal consequences. By making the future seem real today, FutureCoast's framework helps people visualize and plan for future climate changes. The voicemails contributed to FutureCoast are spread through the game's intended timeframe (2020 through 2065). Based on initial content analysis of voicemail text, common themes include ecosystems and landscapes, weather, technology, societal issues, governance and policy. Other issues somewhat less frequently discussed include security, food, industry and business, health, energy, infrastructure, water, economy, and migration. Further voicemail analysis is examining: temporal dimensions (salient time frames, short vs. long term issues, intergenerational, etc.), content (adaptation vs. mitigation, challenges vs. opportunities, etc.), and emotion (hopeful, resigned, etc. and overall emotional context). FutureCoast also engaged audiences through facilitated in-person experiences, geocaching events, and social media (Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube). Analysis of the project suggests story-based games such as FutureCoast can serve as effective, accessible tools for engaging diverse audiences in thinking and talking about future "what if?" scenarios related to climate change and its impacts.

Multiphysics Simulations: Challenges and Opportunities

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

Keyes, David; McInnes, Lois C.; Woodward, Carol

2013-02-12

We consider multiphysics applications from algorithmic and architectural perspectives, where ‘‘algorithmic’’ includes both mathematical analysis and computational complexity, and ‘‘architectural’’ includes both software and hardware environments. Many diverse multiphysics applications can be reduced, en route to their computational simulation, to a common algebraic coupling paradigm. Mathematical analysis of multiphysics coupling in this form is not always practical for realistic applications, but model problems representative of applications discussed herein can provide insight. A variety of software frameworks for multiphysics applications have been constructed and refined within disciplinary communities and executed on leading-edge computer systems. We examine several of these, expose somemore » commonalities among them, and attempt to extrapolate best practices to future systems. From our study, we summarize challenges and forecast opportunities.« less

Single-Cell Microgels: Technology, Challenges, and Applications.

PubMed

Kamperman, Tom; Karperien, Marcel; Le Gac, Séverine; Leijten, Jeroen

2018-04-12

Single-cell-laden microgels effectively act as the engineered counterpart of the smallest living building block of life: a cell within its pericellular matrix. Recent breakthroughs have enabled the encapsulation of single cells in sub-100-μm microgels to provide physiologically relevant microniches with minimal mass transport limitations and favorable pharmacokinetic properties. Single-cell-laden microgels offer additional unprecedented advantages, including facile manipulation, culture, and analysis of individual cell within 3D microenvironments. Therefore, single-cell microgel technology is expected to be instrumental in many life science applications, including pharmacological screenings, regenerative medicine, and fundamental biological research. In this review, we discuss the latest trends, technical challenges, and breakthroughs, and present our vision of the future of single-cell microgel technology and its applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Comprehensive Health Challenge: Promoting Health through Education. Volume One; Volume Two.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortese, Peter, Ed.; Middleton, Kathleen, Ed.

The 32 chapters in this book (presented in two volumes) cover a continuum of issues in comprehensive school health education, including a review of the past and a vision of the future. Volume 1 opens with a foreword by Dr. M. Jocelyn Elders (Surgeon General of the United States) and provides the following chapters: (1) "School Health…

Whose Job Is It? Key Challenges and Future Directions for Online Accessibility in US Institutions of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linder, Kathryn E.; Fontaine-Rainen, Danielle L.; Behling, Kirsten

2015-01-01

This article reports on a national study conducted in the United States on the current institutional practices, structures, resources and policies that are needed to ensure online accessibility for all students at colleges and universities. Key findings include the need to better articulate who is responsible for online accessibility initiatives…

Finding Common Ground: Creating the Library of the Future without Diminishing the Library of the Past. The New Library Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaGuardia, Cheryl, Ed.; Mitchell, Barbara A., Ed.

Adapting today's libraries to better serve tomorrow's needs challenges even the most forward-thinking library staff. This book offers practical, workable solutions from several authorities in the industry. Fifty-five conference papers are included and divided into the following subject areas: "Technology and the Network: Daimons or Demons?";…

Directionally Solidified Eutectic Ceramics for Multifunctional Aerospace Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

Solidified Alumina - Titania Composites", Key Engineering Materials, 290 (2005) pp 199 - 202. PEER REVIEWED CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 22. A. Sayir, S...RESPONSIBLE PERSON 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) 1 Progress Report for 2006 For the Grant Directionally Solidified Eutectic Ceramics ...incorporating structural ceramics in future aerospace applications: (1) the challenges associated with ceramics are improving strength, toughness and

Challenging Gifted Learners: General Principles for Science Educators; and Exemplification in the Context of Teaching Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taber, Keith S.

2010-01-01

There is concern in some counties about the number of able young people entering degree level study and careers in physical science, including chemistry. Too few of the most talented young people are selecting "STEM" subjects to ensure the future supply of scientists, engineers and related professionals. The present paper sets out general…

Clinical ethics revisited

PubMed Central

Singer, Peter A; Pellegrino, Edmund D; Siegler, Mark

2001-01-01

A decade ago, we reviewed the field of clinical ethics; assessed its progress in research, education, and ethics committees and consultation; and made predictions about the future of the field. In this article, we revisit clinical ethics to examine our earlier observations, highlight key developments, and discuss remaining challenges for clinical ethics, including the need to develop a global perspective on clinical ethics problems. PMID:11346456

Effects of Immediate Feedback Delivered via Webcam and Bug-in-Ear Technology on Preservice Teacher Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheeler, Mary Catherine; McKinnon, Kathleen; Stout, Jonathan

2012-01-01

University faculty and supervisors dedicated to the preparation of future teachers are facing more challenges than ever before in doing more with less. This includes supervising more preservice teachers in more schools, spread out over a wide geographic area. Feedback is essential to learning, and recent research suggests that the most effective…

Exploring the Role of Future Perspective in Predicting Turkish University Students' Beliefs about Global Climate Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ates, Deniz; Teksöz, Gaye; Ertepinar, Hamide

2017-01-01

Recent studies indicate that limited understanding about causes and its potential impacts of climate change and fault beliefs by people across different countries of the world including Turkey is a real challenge. Acceptance of climate change as a real threat, believing its existence, and knowing causes and consequences are very significant for…

Challenges in Leadership in Vocational Education. National EPD Leadership Development Seminar Proceedings (Atlantic City, New Jersey, December 2, 1977). Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bottoms, Gene; And Others

Current delivery systems for vocational education and their implications for the future is the topic of presentations included in this report of an EPDA (Educational Professions Development Act) leadership development seminar. Major contents are an evaluation summary, texts of the three major speeches, and outlines of afternoon interaction…

The Future Role of the United States in Global Health: Emphasis on Cardiovascular Disease.

PubMed

Fuster, Valentin; Frazer, Jendayi; Snair, Megan; Vedanthan, Rajesh; Dzau, Victor

2017-12-26

U.S. global health investment has focused on detection, treatment, and eradication of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, with significant results. Although efforts should be maintained and expanded to provide ongoing therapy for chronic infectious disease, there is a pressing need to meet the challenge of noncommunicable diseases, which constitute the highest burden of diseases globally. A Committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has made 14 recommendations that require ongoing commitments to eradication of infectious disease and increase the emphasis on chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. These include improving early detection and treatment, mitigating disease risk factors, shifting global health infrastructure to include management of cardiovascular disease, developing global partners and private-public ventures to meet infrastructure and funding challenges, streamlining medical product development and supply, increasing research and development capacity, and addressing gaps in global political and institutional leadership to meet the shifting challenge. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Crowdsourcing in biomedicine: challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Khare, Ritu; Good, Benjamin M; Leaman, Robert; Su, Andrew I; Lu, Zhiyong

2016-01-01

The use of crowdsourcing to solve important but complex problems in biomedical and clinical sciences is growing and encompasses a wide variety of approaches. The crowd is diverse and includes online marketplace workers, health information seekers, science enthusiasts and domain experts. In this article, we review and highlight recent studies that use crowdsourcing to advance biomedicine. We classify these studies into two broad categories: (i) mining big data generated from a crowd (e.g. search logs) and (ii) active crowdsourcing via specific technical platforms, e.g. labor markets, wikis, scientific games and community challenges. Through describing each study in detail, we demonstrate the applicability of different methods in a variety of domains in biomedical research, including genomics, biocuration and clinical research. Furthermore, we discuss and highlight the strengths and limitations of different crowdsourcing platforms. Finally, we identify important emerging trends, opportunities and remaining challenges for future crowdsourcing research in biomedicine. Published by Oxford University Press 2015. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Current realities and future vision: Developing an interprofessional, integrated health care workforce.

PubMed

Dubus, Nicole; Howard, Heather

2016-10-01

This article shares findings from an interprofessional symposium that took place in Boston in the spring of 2015. Educators and practitioners from various disciplines shared challenges, successes, and ideas on best interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and curricula development. The findings include the importance of patient-and-family-centered care, which includes the patient and his/her family in the decision-making process; increased education regarding IPC in universities and major hospitals; and educational opportunities within health care systems.

Redefining Quality Measurement in Cancer Care.

PubMed

Nardi, Elizabeth A; McCanney, James; Winckworth-Prejsnar, Katy; Schatz, Alyssa A; Adelson, Kerin; Neubauer, Marcus; Smith, Mary Lou; Walters, Ronald; Carlson, Robert W

2018-05-01

Quality measurement in oncology is increasing in significance as payment schemes shift from volume to value. As demand for quality measures increases, challenges in the development of quality measures, standardization across measures, and the limitations of health information technology have become apparent. Moreover, the time and financial burden associated with developing, tracking, and reporting quality measures are substantial. Despite these challenges, best practices and leaders in the field of quality measurement in oncology have emerged. To understand the current challenges and promising practices in quality measurement and to explore future considerations for measure development and measure reporting in oncology, NCCN convened the NCCN Policy Summit: Redefining Quality Measurement in Oncology. The summit included discussion of the current quality landscape and efforts to develop quality measures, use of quality measures in various programs, patient perspective of quality, and challenges and best practices for quality reporting. Copyright © 2018 by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Review of methodological challenges in comparing the effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy versus primary debulking surgery for advanced ovarian cancer in the United States.

PubMed

Cole, Ashley L; Austin, Anna E; Hickson, Ryan P; Dixon, Matthew S; Barber, Emma L

2018-05-11

Randomized trials outside the U.S. have found non-inferior survival for neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) versus primary debulking surgery (PDS) for advanced ovarian cancer (AOC). However, these trials reported lower overall survival and lower rates of optimal debulking than U.S. studies, leading to questions about generalizability to U.S. practice, where aggressive debulking is more common. Consequently, comparative effectiveness in the U.S. remains controversial. We reviewed U.S. comparative effectiveness studies of NACT versus PDS for AOC. Here we describe methodological challenges, compare results to trials outside the U.S., and make suggestions for future research. We identified U.S. studies published in 2010 or later that evaluated the comparative effectiveness of NACT versus PDS on survival in AOC through a PubMed search. Two independent reviewers abstracted data from eligible articles. Nine of 230 articles were eligible for review. Methodological challenges included unmeasured confounders, heterogeneous treatment effects, treatment variations over time, and inconsistent measurement of treatment and survival. Whereas some limitations were unavoidable, several limitations noted across studies were avoidable, including conditioning on mediating factors and immortal time introduced by measuring survival beginning from diagnosis. Without trials in the U.S., non-randomized studies are an important source of evidence for the ideal treatment for AOC. However, several methodological challenges exist when assessing the comparative effectiveness of NACT versus PDS in a non-randomized setting. Future observational studies must ensure that treatment is consistent throughout the study period and that treatment groups are comparable. Rapidly-evolving oncology data networks may allow for identification of treatment intent and other important confounders. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Future perspectives on nonmedical prescribing

PubMed Central

Stewart, Derek; Jebara, Tesnime; Cunningham, Scott; Awaisu, Ahmed; Pallivalapila, Abdulrouf; MacLure, Katie

2017-01-01

Many countries have implemented nonmedical prescribing (NMP) and many others are scoping prescribing practices with a view to developing NMP. This paper provides a future perspective on NMP in light of findings of an umbrella review of aspects of NMP. This is followed by coverage of the Scottish Government strategy of pharmacist prescribing and finally, consideration of two key challenges. The review identified seven systematic reviews of influences on prescribing decision-making, processes of prescribing, and barriers and facilitators to implementation. Decision making was reported as complex with many, and often conflicting, influences. Facilitators of NMP included perceived improved patient care and professional autonomy, while barriers included lack of defined roles and resource pressures. Three systematic reviews explored patient outcomes that were noted to be equivalent or better to physician prescribing. In particular, a Cochrane review of 46 studies of clinical, patient-reported, and resource-use outcomes of NMP compared with medical prescribing showed positive intervention-group effects. Despite positive findings, authors highlighted high bias, poor definition and description of ‘prescribing’ and the ‘prescribing process’ and difficulty in separating NMP effects from the contributions of other healthcare team members. While evidence of benefit and safety is essential to inform practice, for NMP to be implemented and sustained on a large scale, there needs to be clear commitment at the highest level. The approach being taken by the Scottish Government to pharmacist prescribing implementation may inform developments in other professions and countries. The vision is that by 2023, all pharmacists providing pharmaceutical care will be pharmacist-independent prescribers. There are, however, challenges to implementing NMP into working practice; two key challenges are the need for sustainable models of care and evaluation research. These challenges could be met by considering the theoretical basis for implementation, and robust and rigorous evaluation. PMID:28607668

Healthcare staff attitudes towards the use of electronic cigarettes ('e-cigarettes') compared with a local trust policy.

PubMed

Pippard, Benjamin J; Shipley, Mark D

2017-07-01

E-cigarette use has risen dramatically in recent years, despite uncertainty over long-term health effects and concerns regarding efficacy as a smoking cessation device. Currently, there is no legislation prohibiting use in public, though many trusts have extended the NHS Smokefree policy to include e-cigarettes. The successful implementation of such policy is, however, unclear. This study examined staff attitudes towards the use of e-cigarettes in a hospital environment with respect to enforcement of a local trust smoking policy. A total of 79 healthcare professionals working at South Tyneside District Hospital, South Shields, completed a written questionnaire regarding use of e-cigarettes, particularly views on use in public and on hospital premises. Factors influencing the likelihood of individuals to challenge the use of e-cigarettes were assessed. In all, 45% of respondents thought that e-cigarettes should be allowed in public places, though a majority (62%) favoured use on hospital grounds compared to within hospital buildings (18%). Over 50% of respondents were unaware of trust policy relating to e-cigarettes and only 25% had ever challenged someone using a device. Roughly, one-third reported that they would still not challenge someone in future, despite being informed of trust policy. Fear of abuse was the most cited reason for not challenging. Expressed concerns of e-cigarette use related to fire risk, 'normalising' smoking behaviour and uncertainty of long-term effects. Most staff do not enforce trust policy regarding e-cigarette use. This reflects variation in opinion over use, poor awareness of the policy itself and perceived barriers to implementation, including fear of abuse. Addressing these issues through staff education sessions may help successful future implementation.

The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms.

PubMed

Barrett, Frederick S; Bradstreet, Matthew P; Leoutsakos, Jeannie-Marie S; Johnson, Matthew W; Griffiths, Roland R

2016-12-01

Acute adverse psychological reactions to classic hallucinogens ("bad trips" or "challenging experiences"), while usually benign with proper screening, preparation, and support in controlled settings, remain a safety concern in uncontrolled settings (such as illicit use contexts). Anecdotal and case reports suggest potential adverse acute symptoms including affective (panic, depressed mood), cognitive (confusion, feelings of losing sanity), and somatic (nausea, heart palpitation) symptoms. Responses to items from several hallucinogen-sensitive questionnaires (Hallucinogen Rating Scale, the States of Consciousness Questionnaire, and the Five-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness questionnaire) in an Internet survey of challenging experiences with the classic hallucinogen psilocybin were used to construct and validate a Challenging Experience Questionnaire. The stand-alone Challenging Experience Questionnaire was then validated in a separate sample. Seven Challenging Experience Questionnaire factors (grief, fear, death, insanity, isolation, physical distress, and paranoia) provide a phenomenological profile of challenging aspects of experiences with psilocybin. Factor scores were associated with difficulty, meaningfulness, spiritual significance, and change in well-being attributed to the challenging experiences. The factor structure did not differ based on gender or prior struggle with anxiety or depression. The Challenging Experience Questionnaire provides a basis for future investigation of predictors and outcomes of challenging experiences with classic hallucinogens. © The Author(s) 2016.

EVA-SCRAM operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flanigan, Lee A.; Tamir, David; Weeks, Jack L.; Mcclure, Sidney R.; Kimbrough, Andrew G.

1994-01-01

This paper wrestles with the on-orbit operational challenges introduced by the proposed Space Construction, Repair, and Maintenance (SCRAM) tool kit for Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA). SCRAM undertakes a new challenging series of on-orbit tasks in support of the near-term Hubble Space Telescope, Extended Duration Orbiter, Long Duration Orbiter, Space Station Freedom, other orbital platforms, and even the future manned Lunar/Mars missions. These new EVA tasks involve welding, brazing, cutting, coating, heat-treating, and cleaning operations. Anticipated near-term EVA-SCRAM applications include construction of fluid lines and structural members, repair of punctures by orbital debris, refurbishment of surfaces eroded by atomic oxygen, and cleaning of optical, solar panel, and high emissivity radiator surfaces which have been degraded by contaminants. Future EVA-SCRAM applications are also examined, involving mass production tasks automated with robotics and artificial intelligence, for construction of large truss, aerobrake, and reactor shadow shield structures. Realistically achieving EVA-SCRAM is examined by addressing manual, teleoperated, semi-automated, and fully-automated operation modes. The operational challenges posed by EVA-SCRAM tasks are reviewed with respect to capabilities of existing and upcoming EVA systems, such as the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, the Shuttle Remote Manipulating System, the Dexterous End Effector, and the Servicing Aid Tool.

Evolving Applications, Technological Challenges and Future Opportunities in Neuromodulation: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank

PubMed Central

Ramirez-Zamora, Adolfo; Giordano, James J.; Gunduz, Aysegul; Brown, Peter; Sanchez, Justin C.; Foote, Kelly D.; Almeida, Leonardo; Starr, Philip A.; Bronte-Stewart, Helen M.; Hu, Wei; McIntyre, Cameron; Goodman, Wayne; Kumsa, Doe; Grill, Warren M.; Walker, Harrison C.; Johnson, Matthew D.; Vitek, Jerrold L.; Greene, David; Rizzuto, Daniel S.; Song, Dong; Berger, Theodore W.; Hampson, Robert E.; Deadwyler, Sam A.; Hochberg, Leigh R.; Schiff, Nicholas D.; Stypulkowski, Paul; Worrell, Greg; Tiruvadi, Vineet; Mayberg, Helen S.; Jimenez-Shahed, Joohi; Nanda, Pranav; Sheth, Sameer A.; Gross, Robert E.; Lempka, Scott F.; Li, Luming; Deeb, Wissam; Okun, Michael S.

2018-01-01

The annual Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Think Tank provides a focal opportunity for a multidisciplinary ensemble of experts in the field of neuromodulation to discuss advancements and forthcoming opportunities and challenges in the field. The proceedings of the fifth Think Tank summarize progress in neuromodulation neurotechnology and techniques for the treatment of a range of neuropsychiatric conditions including Parkinson's disease, dystonia, essential tremor, Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, epilepsy and cognitive, and motor disorders. Each section of this overview of the meeting provides insight to the critical elements of discussion, current challenges, and identified future directions of scientific and technological development and application. The report addresses key issues in developing, and emphasizes major innovations that have occurred during the past year. Specifically, this year's meeting focused on technical developments in DBS, design considerations for DBS electrodes, improved sensors, neuronal signal processing, advancements in development and uses of responsive DBS (closed-loop systems), updates on National Institutes of Health and DARPA DBS programs of the BRAIN initiative, and neuroethical and policy issues arising in and from DBS research and applications in practice. PMID:29416498

Earth BioGenome Project: Sequencing life for the future of life.

PubMed

Lewin, Harris A; Robinson, Gene E; Kress, W John; Baker, William J; Coddington, Jonathan; Crandall, Keith A; Durbin, Richard; Edwards, Scott V; Forest, Félix; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Goldstein, Melissa M; Grigoriev, Igor V; Hackett, Kevin J; Haussler, David; Jarvis, Erich D; Johnson, Warren E; Patrinos, Aristides; Richards, Stephen; Castilla-Rubio, Juan Carlos; van Sluys, Marie-Anne; Soltis, Pamela S; Xu, Xun; Yang, Huanming; Zhang, Guojie

2018-04-24

Increasing our understanding of Earth's biodiversity and responsibly stewarding its resources are among the most crucial scientific and social challenges of the new millennium. These challenges require fundamental new knowledge of the organization, evolution, functions, and interactions among millions of the planet's organisms. Herein, we present a perspective on the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), a moonshot for biology that aims to sequence, catalog, and characterize the genomes of all of Earth's eukaryotic biodiversity over a period of 10 years. The outcomes of the EBP will inform a broad range of major issues facing humanity, such as the impact of climate change on biodiversity, the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems, and the preservation and enhancement of ecosystem services. We describe hurdles that the project faces, including data-sharing policies that ensure a permanent, freely available resource for future scientific discovery while respecting access and benefit sharing guidelines of the Nagoya Protocol. We also describe scientific and organizational challenges in executing such an ambitious project, and the structure proposed to achieve the project's goals. The far-reaching potential benefits of creating an open digital repository of genomic information for life on Earth can be realized only by a coordinated international effort.

The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network

PubMed Central

Mackenzie, John S.; Drury, Patrick; Arthur, Ray R.; Ryan, Michael J.; Grein, Thomas; Slattery, Raphael; Suri, Sameera; Domingo, Christine Tiffany; Bejtullahu, Armand

2014-01-01

The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) was established in 2000 as a network of technical institutions, research institutes, universities, international health organisations and technical networks willing to contribute and participate in internationally coordinated responses to infectious disease outbreaks. It reflected a recognition of the need to strengthen and coordinate rapid mobilisation of experts in responding to international outbreaks and to overcome the sometimes chaotic and fragmented operations characterising previous responses. The network partners agreed that the World Health Organization would coordinate the network and provide a secretariat, which would also function as the operational support team. The network has evolved to comprise 153 institutions/technical partners and 37 additional networks, the latter encompassing a further 355 members and has been directly involved in 137 missions to 79 countries, territories or areas. Future challenges will include supporting countries to achieve the capacity to detect and respond to outbreaks of international concern, as required by the International Health Regulations (2005). GOARN's increasing regional focus and expanding geographic composition will be central to meeting these challenges. The paper summarises some of network's achievements over the past 13 years and presents some of the future challenges. PMID:25186571

The global outbreak alert and response network.

PubMed

Mackenzie, John S; Drury, Patrick; Arthur, Ray R; Ryan, Michael J; Grein, Thomas; Slattery, Raphael; Suri, Sameera; Domingo, Christine Tiffany; Bejtullahu, Armand

2014-01-01

The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) was established in 2000 as a network of technical institutions, research institutes, universities, international health organisations and technical networks willing to contribute and participate in internationally coordinated responses to infectious disease outbreaks. It reflected a recognition of the need to strengthen and coordinate rapid mobilisation of experts in responding to international outbreaks and to overcome the sometimes chaotic and fragmented operations characterising previous responses. The network partners agreed that the World Health Organization would coordinate the network and provide a secretariat, which would also function as the operational support team. The network has evolved to comprise 153 institutions/technical partners and 37 additional networks, the latter encompassing a further 355 members and has been directly involved in 137 missions to 79 countries, territories or areas. Future challenges will include supporting countries to achieve the capacity to detect and respond to outbreaks of international concern, as required by the International Health Regulations (2005). GOARN's increasing regional focus and expanding geographic composition will be central to meeting these challenges. The paper summarises some of network's achievements over the past 13 years and presents some of the future challenges.

Evolving Applications, Technological Challenges and Future Opportunities in Neuromodulation: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank.

PubMed

Ramirez-Zamora, Adolfo; Giordano, James J; Gunduz, Aysegul; Brown, Peter; Sanchez, Justin C; Foote, Kelly D; Almeida, Leonardo; Starr, Philip A; Bronte-Stewart, Helen M; Hu, Wei; McIntyre, Cameron; Goodman, Wayne; Kumsa, Doe; Grill, Warren M; Walker, Harrison C; Johnson, Matthew D; Vitek, Jerrold L; Greene, David; Rizzuto, Daniel S; Song, Dong; Berger, Theodore W; Hampson, Robert E; Deadwyler, Sam A; Hochberg, Leigh R; Schiff, Nicholas D; Stypulkowski, Paul; Worrell, Greg; Tiruvadi, Vineet; Mayberg, Helen S; Jimenez-Shahed, Joohi; Nanda, Pranav; Sheth, Sameer A; Gross, Robert E; Lempka, Scott F; Li, Luming; Deeb, Wissam; Okun, Michael S

2017-01-01

The annual Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Think Tank provides a focal opportunity for a multidisciplinary ensemble of experts in the field of neuromodulation to discuss advancements and forthcoming opportunities and challenges in the field. The proceedings of the fifth Think Tank summarize progress in neuromodulation neurotechnology and techniques for the treatment of a range of neuropsychiatric conditions including Parkinson's disease, dystonia, essential tremor, Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, epilepsy and cognitive, and motor disorders. Each section of this overview of the meeting provides insight to the critical elements of discussion, current challenges, and identified future directions of scientific and technological development and application. The report addresses key issues in developing, and emphasizes major innovations that have occurred during the past year. Specifically, this year's meeting focused on technical developments in DBS, design considerations for DBS electrodes, improved sensors, neuronal signal processing, advancements in development and uses of responsive DBS (closed-loop systems), updates on National Institutes of Health and DARPA DBS programs of the BRAIN initiative, and neuroethical and policy issues arising in and from DBS research and applications in practice.

Pharmacy executive leadership issues and associated skills, knowledge, and abilities.

PubMed

Meadows, Andrew B; Maine, Lucinda L; Keyes, Elizabeth K; Pearson, Kathy; Finstuen, Kenn

2005-01-01

To identify challenges that current and future pharmacy executives are facing or will face in the future and to define what skills, knowledge, and abilities (SKAs) are required to successfully negotiate these challenges. Delphi method for executive decision making. Civilian pharmacy profession. 110 pharmacists who graduated from the GlaxoSmithKline Executive Management Program for Pharmacy Leaders. Two iterations of the Delphi method for executive decision making separated by an expert panel content analysis. Round 1--participants were asked to identify five major issues they believed to be of greatest importance to pharmacy leaders in the next 5-10 years and name specific SKAs that might be needed by future leaders to successfully deal with those issues. An expert panel reviewed the issues, classified issues into specific domains, and titled each domain. Round 2-participants rated the SKAs on a 7-point scale according to their individual assessment of importance in each domain. For Delphi rounds 1 and 2, response rates were 21.8% and 18.2%, respectively. More than 100 total issue statements were identified. The expert panel sorted the issues into five domains: management and development of the pharmacy workforce, pharmacy finance, total quality management of work-flow systems, influences on the practice of pharmacy, and professional pharmacy leadership. Five of the top 15 SKAs-and all four highest ranked items--came from the professional pharmacy leadership domain, including ability to see the big picture, ability to demonstrate the value of pharmacy services, ability to lead and manage in an ethical manner, and skills for influencing an organization's senior leadership. Through successful integration of communication skills, critical thinking, and problem solving techniques, future public-sector pharmacy executives will be better equipped to effectively position their organizations and the profession for the challenges that lie ahead.

Anaerobic biorefinery: Current status, challenges, and opportunities.

PubMed

Sawatdeenarunat, Chayanon; Nguyen, Duc; Surendra, K C; Shrestha, Shilva; Rajendran, Karthik; Oechsner, Hans; Xie, Li; Khanal, Samir Kumar

2016-09-01

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been in use for many decades. To date, it has been primarily aimed at treating organic wastes, mainly manures and wastewater sludge, and industrial wastewaters. However, with the current advancements, a more open mind is required to look beyond these somewhat restricted original applications of AD. Biorefineries are such concepts, where multiple products including chemicals, fuels, polymers etc. are produced from organic feedstocks. The anaerobic biorefinery concept is now gaining increased attention, utilizing AD as the final disposal step. This review aims at evaluating the potential significance of anaerobic biorefineries, including types of feedstocks, uses for the produced energy, as well as sustainable applications of the generated residual digestate. A comprehensive analysis of various types of anaerobic biorefineries has been developed, including both large-scale and household level applications. Finally, future directives are highlighted showing how anaerobic biorefinery concept could impact the bioeconomy in the near future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Informatics in clinical research in oncology: current state, challenges, and a future perspective.

PubMed

Chahal, Amar P S

2011-01-01

The informatics landscape of clinical trials in oncology has changed significantly in the last 10 years. The current state of the infrastructure for clinical trial management, execution, and data management is reviewed. The systems, their functionality, the users, and the standards available to researchers are discussed from the perspective of the oncologist-researcher. Challenges in complexity and in the processing of information are outlined. These challenges include the lack of communication and information-interchange between systems, the lack of simplified standards, and the lack of implementation and adherence to the standards that are available. The clinical toxicology criteria from the National Cancer Institute (CTCAE) are cited as a successful standard in oncology, and HTTP on the Internet is referenced for its simplicity. Differences in the management of information standards between industries are discussed. Possible future advances in oncology clinical research informatics are addressed. These advances include strategic policy review of standards and the implementation of actions to make standards free, ubiquitous, simple, and easily interpretable; the need to change from a local data-capture- or transaction-driven model to a large-scale data-interpretation model that provides higher value to the oncologist and the patient; and the need for information technology investment in a readily available digital educational model for clinical research in oncology that is customizable for individual studies. These new approaches, with changes in information delivery to mobile platforms, will set the stage for the next decade in clinical research informatics.

iPSCs-based anti-aging therapies: Recent discoveries and future challenges.

PubMed

Pareja-Galeano, Helios; Sanchis-Gomar, Fabián; Pérez, Laura M; Emanuele, Enzo; Lucia, Alejandro; Gálvez, Beatriz G; Gallardo, María Esther

2016-05-01

The main biological hallmarks of the aging process include stem cell exhaustion and cellular senescence. Consequently, research efforts to treat age-related diseases as well as anti-aging therapies in general have recently focused on potential 'reprogramming' regenerative therapies. These new approaches are based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), including potential in vivo reprogramming for tissue repair. Another possibility is targeting pathways of cellular senescence, e.g., through modulation of p16INK4a signaling and especially inhibition of the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB). Here, we reviewed and discussed these recent developments together with their possible usefulness for future treatments against sarcopenia, a major age-related condition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of IR sensor technology on the military and civil defense

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Latika

2006-02-01

Advances in basic infrared science and developments in pertinent technology applications have led to mature designs being incorporated in civil as well as military area defense systems. Military systems include both tactical and strategic, and civil area defense includes homeland security. Technical challenges arise in applying infrared sensor technology to detect and track targets for space and missile defense. Infrared sensors are valuable due to their passive capability, lower mass and power consumption, and their usefulness in all phases of missile defense engagements. Nanotechnology holds significant promise in the near future by offering unique material and physical properties to infrared components. This technology is rapidly developing. This presentation will review the current IR sensor technology, its applications, and future developments that will have an influence in military and civil defense applications.

Routing Protocols for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks: Taxonomy, Research Challenges, Routing Strategies and Future Directions.

PubMed

Khan, Anwar; Ali, Ihsan; Ghani, Abdullah; Khan, Nawsher; Alsaqer, Mohammed; Rahman, Atiq Ur; Mahmood, Hasan

2018-05-18

Recent research in underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) has gained the attention of researchers in academia and industry for a number of applications. They include disaster and earthquake prediction, water quality and environment monitoring, leakage and mine detection, military surveillance and underwater navigation. However, the aquatic medium is associated with a number of limitations and challenges: long multipath delay, high interference and noise, harsh environment, low bandwidth and limited battery life of the sensor nodes. These challenges demand research techniques and strategies to be overcome in an efficient and effective fashion. The design of routing protocols for UWSNs is one of the promising solutions to cope with these challenges. This paper presents a survey of the routing protocols for UWSNs. For the ease of description, the addressed routing protocols are classified into two groups: localization-based and localization-free protocols. These groups are further subdivided according to the problems they address or the major parameters they consider during routing. Unlike the existing surveys, this survey considers only the latest and state-of-the-art routing protocols. In addition, every protocol is described in terms of its routing strategy and the problem it addresses and solves. The merit(s) of each protocol is (are) highlighted along with the cost. A description of the protocols in this fashion has a number of advantages for researchers, as compared to the existing surveys. Firstly, the description of the routing strategy of each protocol makes its routing operation easily understandable. Secondly, the demerit(s) of a protocol provides (provide) insight into overcoming its flaw(s) in future investigation. This, in turn, leads to the foundation of new protocols that are more intelligent, robust and efficient with respect to the desired parameters. Thirdly, a protocol can be selected for the appropriate application based on its described merit(s). Finally, open challenges and research directions are presented for future investigation.

Routing Protocols for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks: Taxonomy, Research Challenges, Routing Strategies and Future Directions

PubMed Central

Ghani, Abdullah; Alsaqer, Mohammed; Rahman, Atiq Ur; Mahmood, Hasan

2018-01-01

Recent research in underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) has gained the attention of researchers in academia and industry for a number of applications. They include disaster and earthquake prediction, water quality and environment monitoring, leakage and mine detection, military surveillance and underwater navigation. However, the aquatic medium is associated with a number of limitations and challenges: long multipath delay, high interference and noise, harsh environment, low bandwidth and limited battery life of the sensor nodes. These challenges demand research techniques and strategies to be overcome in an efficient and effective fashion. The design of routing protocols for UWSNs is one of the promising solutions to cope with these challenges. This paper presents a survey of the routing protocols for UWSNs. For the ease of description, the addressed routing protocols are classified into two groups: localization-based and localization-free protocols. These groups are further subdivided according to the problems they address or the major parameters they consider during routing. Unlike the existing surveys, this survey considers only the latest and state-of-the-art routing protocols. In addition, every protocol is described in terms of its routing strategy and the problem it addresses and solves. The merit(s) of each protocol is (are) highlighted along with the cost. A description of the protocols in this fashion has a number of advantages for researchers, as compared to the existing surveys. Firstly, the description of the routing strategy of each protocol makes its routing operation easily understandable. Secondly, the demerit(s) of a protocol provides (provide) insight into overcoming its flaw(s) in future investigation. This, in turn, leads to the foundation of new protocols that are more intelligent, robust and efficient with respect to the desired parameters. Thirdly, a protocol can be selected for the appropriate application based on its described merit(s). Finally, open challenges and research directions are presented for future investigation. PMID:29783686

Spatiotemporal Assessment of Groundwater Resources in the South Platte Basin, Colorado

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruybal, C. J.; McCray, J. E.; Hogue, T. S.

2015-12-01

The South Platte Basin is one of the most economically diverse and fastest growing basins in Colorado. Strong competition for water resources in an over-appropriated system brings challenges to meeting future water demands. Balancing the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater from the South Platte alluvial aquifer and the Denver Basin aquifer system is critical for meeting future demands. Over the past decade, energy development in the basin has added to the competition for water resources, highlighting the need to advance our understanding of the availability and sustainability of groundwater resources. Current work includes evaluating groundwater storage changes and recharge regimes throughout the South Platte Basin under competing uses, e.g. agriculture, oil and gas, urban, recreational, and environmental. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites in conjunction with existing groundwater data is used to evaluate spatiotemporal variability in groundwater storage and identify areas of high water stress. Spatiotemporal data will also be utilized to develop a high resolution groundwater model of the region. Results will ultimately help stakeholders in the South Platte Basin better understand groundwater resource challenges and contribute to Colorado's strategic future water planning.

Safety of disease-modifying drugs for multiple sclerosis in pregnancy: current challenges and future considerations for effective pharmacovigilance.

PubMed

Lu, Ellen; Wang, Bing Wei; Guimond, Colleen; Synnes, Anne; Sadovnick, A Dessa; Dahlgren, Leanne; Traboulsee, Anthony; Tremlett, Helen

2013-03-01

When contemplating a pregnancy, women treated for multiple sclerosis (MS) with a disease-modifying drug must decide to discontinue their medication before conception or risk exposing their unborn child to potential drug toxicity. Few studies exist as reference for patients and physicians, and of those available, the majority are less than ideal due to real-world constraints, ethical issues and methodological shortcomings. The authors provide a brief summary of existing animal and human data with current recommendations regarding the safety of IFN-β, glatiramer acetate, natalizumab, mitoxantrone, fingolimod and teriflunomide during pregnancy and lactation in women with MS. We also assess the quality, strengths and limitations of the existing studies including challenges with study design. The investigation of outcomes such as spontaneous abortion and congenital anomalies are highlighted with potential methodological improvements for future studies on drug safety in pregnancy suggested. The authors explore the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the MS disease-modifying drugs for their possible mechanistic role in fetal harm and discuss the potential role of clinical trials. Future pharmacovigilance studies should continue to pursue multicenter collaboration with an emphasis on appropriate study design.

Medically assisted reproduction and ethical challenges

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

Kaeaeriaeinen, Helena; Evers-Kiebooms, Gerry; Coviello, Domenico

2005-09-01

Many of the ethical challenges associated with medically assisted reproduction are societal. Should the technique be restricted to only ordinary couples or could it be used also to single females or couples of same sex? Should the future child be entitled to know the identity of the gamete donor? Should there be age limits? Can embryos or gametes be used after the death of the donor? Can surrogate mothers be part of the process? Can preimplantation diagnostics be used to select the future baby's sex? In addition, there are several clearly medical questions that lead to difficult ethical problems. Ismore » it safe to use very premature eggs or sperms? Is the risk for some rare syndromes caused by imprinting errors really increased when using these techniques? Do we transfer genetic infertility to the offspring? Is the risk for multiple pregnancies too high when several embryos are implanted? Does preimplantation diagnosis cause some extra risks for the future child? Should the counselling of these couples include information of all these potential but unlikely risks? The legislation and practices differ in different countries and ethical discussion and professional guidelines are still needed.« less

An expanded conceptual framework for solution-focused management of chemical pollution in European waters.

PubMed

Munthe, John; Brorström-Lundén, Eva; Rahmberg, Magnus; Posthuma, Leo; Altenburger, Rolf; Brack, Werner; Bunke, Dirk; Engelen, Guy; Gawlik, Bernd Manfred; van Gils, Jos; Herráez, David López; Rydberg, Tomas; Slobodnik, Jaroslav; van Wezel, Annemarie

2017-01-01

This paper describes a conceptual framework for solutions-focused management of chemical contaminants built on novel and systematic approaches for identifying, quantifying and reducing risks of these substances. The conceptual framework was developed in interaction with stakeholders representing relevant authorities and organisations responsible for managing environmental quality of water bodies. Stakeholder needs were compiled via a survey and dialogue. The content of the conceptual framework was thereafter developed with inputs from relevant scientific disciplines. The conceptual framework consists of four access points: Chemicals, Environment, Abatement and Society, representing different aspects and approaches to engaging in the issue of chemical contamination of surface waters. It widens the scope for assessment and management of chemicals in comparison to a traditional (mostly) perchemical risk assessment approaches by including abatement- and societal approaches as optional solutions. The solution-focused approach implies an identification of abatement- and policy options upfront in the risk assessment process. The conceptual framework was designed for use in current and future chemical pollution assessments for the aquatic environment, including the specific challenges encountered in prioritising individual chemicals and mixtures, and is applicable for the development of approaches for safe chemical management in a broader sense. The four access points of the conceptual framework are interlinked by four key topics representing the main scientific challenges that need to be addressed, i.e.: identifying and prioritising hazardous chemicals at different scales; selecting relevant and efficient abatement options; providing regulatory support for chemicals management; predicting and prioritising future chemical risks. The conceptual framework aligns current challenges in the safe production and use of chemicals. The current state of knowledge and implementation of these challenges is described. The use of the conceptual framework, and addressing the challenges, is intended to support: (1) forwarding sustainable use of chemicals, (2) identification of pollutants of priority concern for cost-effective management, (3) the selection of optimal abatement options and (4) the development and use of optimised legal and policy instruments.

CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE IN ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENESIS

EPA Science Inventory

CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE IN ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENESIS
Michael D. Waters
US Environmental Protection Agency, MD-51A, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 USA

Our rapidly growing understanding of the structure of the human genome is forming the basis for numerous new...

World pharmaceuticals--Financial Times tenth annual conference. 22-23 April 1999, London, UK.

PubMed

Muhsin, M

1999-07-01

This two-day conference was organized by The Financial Times, in association with PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP. The general theme of the event was the state of the healthcare industry, past, present and future. The main areas covered included addressing the challenges of the 1990s, anticipating the challenges of the next decade, the changing shape of global marketing, IT in healthcare, consolidation challenges, shareholder expectations, and new strategies and technologies for growth sustenance within the industry. Key speakers within the industry addressed these issues to an audience of approximately 200 healthcare business executives. The first day was chaired by Mr Robert Cawthorn (Chairman Emeritus, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc) and the second by Professor Trevor Jones (Director General, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry).

Progress in nanoscale dry processes for fabrication of high-aspect-ratio features: How can we control critical dimension uniformity at the bottom?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishikawa, Kenji; Karahashi, Kazuhiro; Ishijima, Tatsuo; Cho, Sung Il; Elliott, Simon; Hausmann, Dennis; Mocuta, Dan; Wilson, Aaron; Kinoshita, Keizo

2018-06-01

In this review, we discuss the progress of emerging dry processes for nanoscale fabrication of high-aspect-ratio features, including emerging design technology for manufacturability. Experts in the fields of plasma processing have contributed to addressing the increasingly challenging demands of nanoscale deposition and etching technologies for high-aspect-ratio features. The discussion of our atomic-scale understanding of physicochemical reactions involving ion bombardment and neutral transport presents the major challenges shared across the plasma science and technology community. Focus is placed on advances in fabrication technology that control surface reactions on three-dimensional features, as well as state-of-the-art techniques used in semiconductor manufacturing with a brief summary of future challenges.

Re-thinking Innovation in Organizations in the Industry 4.0 Scenario: New Challenges in a Primary Prevention Perspective.

PubMed

Palazzeschi, Letizia; Bucci, Ornella; Di Fabio, Annamaria

2018-01-01

In organizations, innovation is considered a relevant aspect of success and long-term survival. Organizations recognize that innovation contributes to creating competitive advantages in a more competitive, challenging and changing labor market. The present contribution addresses innovation in organizations in the scenario of Industry 4.0, including technological innovation and psychological innovation. Innovation is a core concept in this framework to face the challenge of globalized and fluid labor market in the 21st century. Reviewing the definition of innovation, the article focuses on innovative work behaviors and the relative measures. This perspective article also suggests new directions in a primary prevention perspective for future research and intervention relative to innovation and innovative work behaviors in the organizational context.

Re-thinking Innovation in Organizations in the Industry 4.0 Scenario: New Challenges in a Primary Prevention Perspective

PubMed Central

Palazzeschi, Letizia; Bucci, Ornella; Di Fabio, Annamaria

2018-01-01

In organizations, innovation is considered a relevant aspect of success and long-term survival. Organizations recognize that innovation contributes to creating competitive advantages in a more competitive, challenging and changing labor market. The present contribution addresses innovation in organizations in the scenario of Industry 4.0, including technological innovation and psychological innovation. Innovation is a core concept in this framework to face the challenge of globalized and fluid labor market in the 21st century. Reviewing the definition of innovation, the article focuses on innovative work behaviors and the relative measures. This perspective article also suggests new directions in a primary prevention perspective for future research and intervention relative to innovation and innovative work behaviors in the organizational context. PMID:29445349

Core Competencies for Doctoral Education in Public Health

PubMed Central

Calhoun, Judith G.; Weist, Elizabeth M.; Raczynski, James M.

2012-01-01

The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) released the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Core Competency Model in 2009. Between 2007 and 2009, a national expert panel with members of the academic and practice communities guided by the ASPH Education Committee developed its 7 performance domains, including 54 competencies. We provide an overview and analysis of the challenges and issues associated with the variability in DrPH degree offerings, reflect on the model development process and related outcomes, and discuss the significance of the model, future applications, and challenges for integration across educational settings. With the model, ASPH aims to stimulate national discussion on the competencies needed by DrPH graduates with the new challenges of 21st-century public health practice and to better define the DrPH degree. PMID:22095342

Orbiter entry aerothermodynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ried, R. C.

1985-01-01

The challenge in the definition of the entry aerothermodynamic environment arising from the challenge of a reliable and reusable Orbiter is reviewed in light of the existing technology. Select problems pertinent to the orbiter development are discussed with reference to comprehensive treatments. These problems include boundary layer transition, leeward-side heating, shock/shock interaction scaling, tile gap heating, and nonequilibrium effects such as surface catalysis. Sample measurements obtained from test flights of the Orbiter are presented with comparison to preflight expectations. Numerical and wind tunnel simulations gave efficient information for defining the entry environment and an adequate level of preflight confidence. The high quality flight data provide an opportunity to refine the operational capability of the orbiter and serve as a benchmark both for the development of aerothermodynamic technology and for use in meeting future entry heating challenges.

Remote-sensing based approach to forecast habitat quality under climate change scenarios.

PubMed

Requena-Mullor, Juan M; López, Enrique; Castro, Antonio J; Alcaraz-Segura, Domingo; Castro, Hermelindo; Reyes, Andrés; Cabello, Javier

2017-01-01

As climate change is expected to have a significant impact on species distributions, there is an urgent challenge to provide reliable information to guide conservation biodiversity policies. In addressing this challenge, we propose a remote sensing-based approach to forecast the future habitat quality for European badger, a species not abundant and at risk of local extinction in the arid environments of southeastern Spain, by incorporating environmental variables related with the ecosystem functioning and correlated with climate and land use. Using ensemble prediction methods, we designed global spatial distribution models for the distribution range of badger using presence-only data and climate variables. Then, we constructed regional models for an arid region in the southeast Spain using EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) derived variables and weighting the pseudo-absences with the global model projections applied to this region. Finally, we forecast the badger potential spatial distribution in the time period 2071-2099 based on IPCC scenarios incorporating the uncertainty derived from the predicted values of EVI-derived variables. By including remotely sensed descriptors of the temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of ecosystem functioning into spatial distribution models, results suggest that future forecast is less favorable for European badgers than not including them. In addition, change in spatial pattern of habitat suitability may become higher than when forecasts are based just on climate variables. Since the validity of future forecast only based on climate variables is currently questioned, conservation policies supported by such information could have a biased vision and overestimate or underestimate the potential changes in species distribution derived from climate change. The incorporation of ecosystem functional attributes derived from remote sensing in the modeling of future forecast may contribute to the improvement of the detection of ecological responses under climate change scenarios.

What influences patient decision-making in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis multidisciplinary care? A study of patient perspectives.

PubMed

Hogden, Anne; Greenfield, David; Nugus, Peter; Kiernan, Matthew C

2012-01-01

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are required to make decisions concerning quality of life and symptom management over the course of their disease. Clinicians perceive that patients' ability to engage in timely decision-making is extremely challenging. However, we lack patient perspectives on this issue. This study aimed to explore patient experiences of ALS, and to identify factors influencing their decision-making in the specialized multidisciplinary care of ALS. An exploratory study was conducted. Fourteen patients from two specialized ALS multidisciplinary clinics participated in semistructured interviews that were audio recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed for emergent themes. Decision-making was influenced by three levels of factors, ie, structural, interactional, and personal. The structural factor was the decision-making environment of specialized multidisciplinary ALS clinics, which supported decision-making by providing patients with disease-specific information and specialized care planning. Interactional factors were the patient experiences of ALS, including patients' reaction to the diagnosis, response to deterioration, and engagement with the multidisciplinary ALS team. Personal factors were patients' personal philosophies, including their outlook on life, perceptions of control, and planning for the future. Patient approaches to decision-making reflected a focus on the present, rather than anticipating future progression of the disease and potential care needs. Decision-making for symptom management and quality of life in ALS care is enhanced when the patient's personal philosophy is supported by collaborative relationships between the patient and the multidisciplinary ALS team. Patients valued the support provided by the multidisciplinary team; however, their focus on living in the present diverged from the efforts of health professionals to prepare patients and their carers for the future. The challenge facing health professionals is how best to engage each patient in decision-making for their future needs, to bridge this gap.

Remote-sensing based approach to forecast habitat quality under climate change scenarios

PubMed Central

Requena-Mullor, Juan M.; López, Enrique; Castro, Antonio J.; Alcaraz-Segura, Domingo; Castro, Hermelindo; Reyes, Andrés; Cabello, Javier

2017-01-01

As climate change is expected to have a significant impact on species distributions, there is an urgent challenge to provide reliable information to guide conservation biodiversity policies. In addressing this challenge, we propose a remote sensing-based approach to forecast the future habitat quality for European badger, a species not abundant and at risk of local extinction in the arid environments of southeastern Spain, by incorporating environmental variables related with the ecosystem functioning and correlated with climate and land use. Using ensemble prediction methods, we designed global spatial distribution models for the distribution range of badger using presence-only data and climate variables. Then, we constructed regional models for an arid region in the southeast Spain using EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) derived variables and weighting the pseudo-absences with the global model projections applied to this region. Finally, we forecast the badger potential spatial distribution in the time period 2071–2099 based on IPCC scenarios incorporating the uncertainty derived from the predicted values of EVI-derived variables. By including remotely sensed descriptors of the temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of ecosystem functioning into spatial distribution models, results suggest that future forecast is less favorable for European badgers than not including them. In addition, change in spatial pattern of habitat suitability may become higher than when forecasts are based just on climate variables. Since the validity of future forecast only based on climate variables is currently questioned, conservation policies supported by such information could have a biased vision and overestimate or underestimate the potential changes in species distribution derived from climate change. The incorporation of ecosystem functional attributes derived from remote sensing in the modeling of future forecast may contribute to the improvement of the detection of ecological responses under climate change scenarios. PMID:28257501

Large datasets, logistics, sharing and workflow in screening.

PubMed

Cook, Tessa S

2018-03-29

Cancer screening initiatives exist around the world for different malignancies, most frequently breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer. A number of cancer registries exist to collect relevant data, but while these data may include imaging findings, they rarely, if ever, include actual images. Additionally, the data submitted to the registry are usually correlated with eventual cancer diagnoses and patient outcomes, rather than used with the individual's future screenings. Developing screening programs that allow for images to be submitted to a central location in addition to patient meta data and used for comparison to future screening exams would be very valuable in increasing access to care and ensuring that individuals are effectively screened at appropriate intervals. It would also change the way imaging results and additional patient data are correlated to eventual outcomes. However, it introduces logistical challenges surrounding secure storage and transmission of data to subsequent screening sites. In addition, in the absence of standardized protocols for screening, comparing current and prior imaging, especially from different equipment, can be challenging. Implementing a large-scale screening program with an image-enriched screening registry-effectively, an image-enriched electronic screening record-also requires that incentives exist for screening sites, physicians, and patients to participate; to maximize coverage, participation may have to be supported by government agencies. Workflows will also have to be adjusted to support registry participation for all screening patients in an effort to create a large, robust data set that can be used for future screening efforts as well as research initiatives.center.

Review of Potential Characterization Techniques in Approaching Energy and Sustainability

DOE PAGES

LePoire, David

2014-03-20

Societal prosperity is linked to sustainable energy and a healthy environment. But, tough global challenges include increased demand for fossil fuels, while approaching peak oil production and uncertainty in the environmental impacts of energy generation. Recently, energy use was identified as a major component of economic productivity, along with capital and labor. Furthermore, other environmental resources and impacts may be nearing environmental thresholds as indicated by nine planetary environmental boundaries, many of which are linked to energy production and use. Foresight techniques could be applied to guide future actions which include emphasis on (1) energy efficiency to bridge the transitionmore » to a renewable energy economy, (2) continued research, development, and assessment of new technologies, (3) improved understanding of environment impacts including natural capital use and degradation, (4) exploration of GDP alternative measures that include both economic production and environmental impacts, and (5) international cooperation and awareness of longer-term opportunities and their associated potential scenarios. Examples from the U.S. and the international community illustrate challenges and potential.« less

Empowering patients through social media: the benefits and challenges.

PubMed

Househ, Mowafa; Borycki, Elizabeth; Kushniruk, Andre

2014-03-01

This article explores the range of social media platforms used by patients and examines the benefits and challenges of using these tools from a patient perspective. A literature review was performed to investigate the use of social media technology by patients. The MEDLINE database was searched using the terms "social media" and "patient." The search was conducted in September 2012 and yielded 765 abstracts. Initially, 63 abstracts were selected. All articles dating from 2004 through 2012 were included. Only 12 articles were found to be relevant for the purposes of the review. The results of this research found that there appears to be an increase in the use of social media by patients across the healthcare spectrum. The research indicates a promising future for the use of social media by patients; however, evidence related to the efficacy and effectiveness of social media is currently limited. Various challenges have also been identified relating to privacy and security concerns, usability, the manipulation of identity, and misinformation. The use of social media technology is an emerging trend for patients who are seeking health information. Conclusions are that such technology holds promise for improving patient engagement and empowerment and community building. Social media has a future in healthcare, especially with regard to patient engagement and empowerment; however, there are several challenges to overcome before the technology can achieve its potential.

Remote Sensing of Ecosystem Health: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

PubMed Central

Li, Zhaoqin; Xu, Dandan; Guo, Xulin

2014-01-01

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1) scale issue; (2) transportability issue; (3) data availability; and (4) uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges. PMID:25386759

Defining teaching hospitals' GME strategy in response to new financial and market challenges.

PubMed

Wray, J L; Sadowski, S M

1998-04-01

The authors present an overview of current graduate medical education (GME) issues, particularly the financial challenges to teaching hospitals resulting from the Balanced Budget and Tax Payer Relief Acts of 1997 and other recent market-driven factors. They describe in detail the nature of Medicare GME payments before and after the 1997 legislation, with specific examples, and explain the negative financial impact of the legislation and aspects of the legislation that are designed to alleviate that impact. Other factors influencing GME program size and composition are also discussed, including oversupplies or shortages of physicians, the concern that teaching hospitals are using public funds to train international medical graduates, changing training requirements, etc. The authors also describe a recent consulting assignment during which they assisted a major teaching hospital to develop a GME strategy that was responsive to the organization's mission and patients and that took into account future GME financing challenges. Detailed explanations are given of how the consultants analyzed the hospital's GME programs and finances, developed and ranked key institution-specific program criteria (strategic, organizational and operational, and financial), and, in consultation with all key stakeholders, formulated a GME strategy specific to the institution's needs. The authors conclude by cautioning that each institution's GME strategy will be different, but that it is important for institutions to develop such strategies to better face future challenges.

What did the Romans ever do for us? Putting humans in global land models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bierkens, M. F.; Wada, Y.; Dermody, B.; Van Beek, L. P.

2016-12-01

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, awareness of the shortage of global water resources lead to the first detailed global water resources assessments using regional statistics of water use and observations of meteorological and hydrological variables. Shortly thereafter, the first macroscale hydrological models (MHM) appeared. In these models, blue water (i.e., surface water and renewable groundwater) availability was calculated by accumulating runoff over a stream network and comparing it with population densities or with estimated water demand for agriculture, industry and households. In this talk we review the evolution of human impact modelling in global land models with a focus on global water resources, touching upon developments of the last 15 years: i.e. calculating human water scarcity; estimating groundwater depletion; adding dams and reservoirs; fully integrating water use (abstraction, application, consumption, return flow) in the hydrology; simulating the effects of land use change. We identify four major challenges that hamper the further development of integrated water resources modelling and thus prohibit realistic projections of the future terrestrial water cycle in the Anthropocene. These are: 1) including the ability to model infrastructural changes and measures; 2) projecting future water demand and water use and associated measures; 3) including virtual water trade; 4) including land use change and landscape change. While all these challenges will likely benefit from hydro-economics and the newly developing field of socio-hydrology, we also show that especially for challenges 3 and 4 lessons can be drawn from the (pre)historic past. To make this point we provide two case studies: one modelling the virtual water trade in the Roman Empire and one modelling human-landscape interaction in prehistoric Calabria (Italy).

Challenges of future aircraft propulsion: A review of distributed propulsion technology and its potential application for the all electric commercial aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gohardani, Amir S.; Doulgeris, Georgios; Singh, Riti

2011-07-01

This paper highlights the role of distributed propulsion technology for future commercial aircraft. After an initial historical perspective on the conceptual aspects of distributed propulsion technology and a glimpse at numerous aircraft that have taken distributed propulsion technology to flight, the focal point of the review is shifted towards a potential role this technology may entail for future commercial aircraft. Technological limitations and challenges of this specific technology are also considered in combination with an all electric aircraft concept, as means of predicting the challenges associated with the design process of a next generation commercial aircraft.

How Effective Leaders Harness the Future.

PubMed

Souba, Wiley; Souba, Matthew

2018-02-01

Human beings are fundamentally future oriented. Most of our decisions and undertakings are for the sake of a future to which we are committed or obligated. This future orientation is essential to effective leadership in health care, especially during this time of significant reform, when people are at risk of becoming cynical and disengaged. Conventional thinking holds that our effectiveness as leaders is primarily a function of what we have learned in the past-our knowledge, expertise, and experience. In contrast, the emerging model contends that our effectiveness is also a function of how the future (outcome) of our leadership challenges "shows up" for us. If, despite daunting circumstances, we can "see" an aspired future ahead, we are more likely to commit and engage. Our story of the future becomes the "narrative frame" through which we see and tackle leadership challenges today. Because organizations are fundamentally networks of conversations, an organization's ability to create new language practices is tantamount to its ability to evolve. What makes the future compelling is the embodiment of our deepest convictions and ideals in our image of the future. Because health care reform has challenged the medical profession along the entire spectrum of its traditional values and roles, working toward a unifying vision of the future has been difficult. To enroll others in creating a better future, effective leaders must underscore the purpose and importance of their work and motivate them with inspiring stories.

The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship: Possibilities for School Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hess, Frederick M., Ed.

2008-01-01

"The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship" examines the challenge of creating innovative and productive entrepreneurial activity in American education. In the course of exploring these challenges, the book considers a number of crucial issues and circumstances: existing "barriers to entry" that prohibit or obstruct entrepreneurial efforts; the…

Renewable Electricity Futures (Presentation)

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

DeMeo, E.

2012-08-01

This presentation library summarizes findings of NREL's Renewable Electricity Futures study, published in June 2012. RE Futures investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. It was presented at Wind Powering America States Summit. The Summit, which follows the American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA's) annual WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition, provides state Wind Working Groups, state energy officials, U.S. Energy Department and national laboratory representatives, and professional and institutional partners an opportunity to review successes, opportunities, and challenges for wind energy and plan future collaboration.

Long-range strategic planning: a case study.

PubMed

Moller-Tiger, D

1999-05-01

In highly competitive healthcare markets, integrated delivery systems (IDSs) that have exhausted traditional means of maintaining market competitiveness are challenged to identify effective new strategies that will ensure market success in an uncertain future. Finding itself facing this challenge, Legacy Health System, a Portland, Oregon-based IDS, undertook an innovative, long-range, strategic-planning initiative based on an evaluation of key market trends. Legacy discovered that it might benefit from making some changes in the way it approached its mission. These changes included focusing on specific customer segments, developing products and services aimed at those customers, and broadening physician and insurer relationships to enhance service and improve customers' access to health care.

The role of manufacturing in affecting the social dimension of sustainability

DOE PAGES

Sutherland, John W.; Richter, Justin S.; Hutchins, Margot J.; ...

2016-08-03

Manufacturing affects all three dimensions of sustainability: economy, environment, and society. This paper addresses the last of these dimensions. It explores social impacts identified by national level social indicators, frameworks, and principles. The effects of manufacturing on social performance are framed for different stakeholder groups with associated social needs. Methodology development as well as various challenges for social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) are further examined. Efforts to integrate social and another dimension of sustainability are considered, with attention to globalization challenges, including offshoring and reshoring. The study concludes with a summary of key takeaways and promising directions for future work.

Religion and HIV/AIDS stigma in Puerto Rico: a cultural challenge for training future physicians.

PubMed

Varas-Díaz, Nelson; Neilands, Torsten B; Cintrón-Bou, Francheska; Santos-Figueroa, Axel; Marzán-Rodríguez, Melissa; Marques, Domingo

2014-01-01

HIV/AIDS stigma continues to be a challenge for HIV prevention and treatment. When health professionals manifest stigma it can limit access to quality treatment. With an ever-growing epidemic among Latinos, including Puerto Ricans living on the Caribbean Island, the social and structural factors that foster HIV/AIDS stigma need to be understood. In this study, we documented the association of religion with HIV/AIDS stigma in a sample of medical students in Puerto Rico. Findings suggest that importance placed on religion, and participation in religious activities, is associated with HIV/AIDS stigma for this population.

The role of manufacturing in affecting the social dimension of sustainability

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

Sutherland, John W.; Richter, Justin S.; Hutchins, Margot J.

Manufacturing affects all three dimensions of sustainability: economy, environment, and society. This paper addresses the last of these dimensions. It explores social impacts identified by national level social indicators, frameworks, and principles. The effects of manufacturing on social performance are framed for different stakeholder groups with associated social needs. Methodology development as well as various challenges for social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) are further examined. Efforts to integrate social and another dimension of sustainability are considered, with attention to globalization challenges, including offshoring and reshoring. The study concludes with a summary of key takeaways and promising directions for future work.

Mission to Mars: Connecting Diverse Student Groups with NASA Experts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Polsgrove, Tara; Jones, David; Sadowski-Fugitt, Leslie; Kowrach, Nicole

2012-01-01

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has formulated an innovative approach to inspiring the next generation to pursue STEM education. Middle school students in Chicago and at nearby Challenger Learning Centers work in teams to design a mission to Mars. Each mission includes real time access to NASA experts through partnerships with Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Interactive videoconferencing connects students at the museum with students at a Challenger Learning Center and with NASA experts. This paper describes the approach, the results from the program s first year, and future opportunities for nationwide expansion.

Religion and HIV/AIDS Stigma in Puerto Rico: A Cultural Challenge for Training Future Physicians

PubMed Central

Varas-Díaz, Nelson; Neilands, Torsten B.; Cintrón-Bou, Francheska; Santos-Figueroa, Axel; Marzán-Rodríguez, Melissa; Marques, Domingo

2014-01-01

HIV/AIDS stigma continues to be a challenge for HIV prevention and treatment. When health professionals manifest stigma it can limit access to quality treatment. With an ever-growing epidemic among Latinos, including Puerto Ricans living on the Caribbean Island, the social and structural factors that foster HIV/AIDS stigma need to be understood. In this study, we documented the association of religion with HIV/AIDS stigma in a sample of medical students in Puerto Rico. Findings suggest that importance placed on religion, and participation in religious activities, is associated with HIV/AIDS stigma for this population. PMID:23442492

Tree physiology research in a changing world.

PubMed

Kaufmann, Merrill R.; Linder, Sune

1996-01-01

Changes in issues and advances in methodology have contributed to substantial progress in tree physiology research during the last several decades. Current research focuses on process interactions in complex systems and the integration of processes across multiple spatial and temporal scales. An increasingly important challenge for future research is assuring sustainability of production systems and forested ecosystems in the face of increased demands for natural resources and human disturbance of forests. Meeting this challenge requires significant shifts in research approach, including the study of limitations of productivity that may accompany achievement of system sustainability, and a focus on the biological capabilities of complex land bases altered by human activity.

Growing Nurse Leaders: Their Perspectives on Nursing Leadership and Today’s Practice Environment

PubMed

Dyess, Susan M; Sherman, Rose O; Pratt, Beth A; Chiang-Hanisko, Lenny

2016-01-14

With the growing complexity of healthcare practice environments and pending nurse leader retirements, the development of future nurse leaders is increasingly important. This article reports on focus group research conducted with Generation Y nurses prior to their initiating coursework in a Master’s Degree program designed to support development of future nurse leaders. Forty-four emerging nurse leaders across three program cohorts participated in this qualitative study conducted to capture perspectives about nursing leaders and leadership. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze and code the data into categories. We discuss the three major categories identified, including: idealistic expectations of leaders, leading in a challenging practice environment, and cautious but optimistic outlook about their own leadership and future, and study limitations. The conclusion offers implications for future nurse leader development. The findings provide important insight into the viewpoints of nurses today about leaders and leadership.

The Future of Cardiac Imaging: Report of a Think Tank Convened by the American College of Cardiology.

PubMed

Douglas, Pamela S; Cerqueira, Manuel D; Berman, Daniel S; Chinnaiyan, Kavitha; Cohen, Meryl S; Lundbye, Justin B; Patel, Rajan A G; Sengupta, Partho P; Soman, Prem; Weissman, Neil J; Wong, Timothy C

2016-10-01

The American College of Cardiology's Executive Committee and Cardiovascular Imaging Section Leadership Council convened a discussion regarding the future of cardiac imaging among thought leaders in the field during a 2 day Think Tank. Participants were charged with thinking broadly about the future of imaging and developing a roadmap to address critical challenges. Key areas of discussion included: 1) how can cardiac imaging services thrive in our new world of value-based health care? 2) Who is the cardiac imager of the future and what is the role of the multimodality imager? 3) How can we nurture innovation and research in imaging? And 4) how can we maximize imaging information and optimize outcomes? This document describes the proceedings of this Think Tank. Copyright © 2016 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Asteroid Crewed Segment Mission Lean Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gard, Joe; McDonald, Mark; Jermstad, Wayne

2014-01-01

The next generation of human spaceflight missions presents numerous challenges to designers that must be addressed to produce a feasible concept. The specific challenges of designing an exploration mission utilizing the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft to carry astronauts beyond earth orbit to explore an asteroid stored in a distant retrograde orbit around the moon will be addressed. Mission designers must carefully balance competing constraints including cost, schedule, risk, and numerous spacecraft performance metrics including launch mass, nominal landed mass, abort landed mass, mission duration, consumable limits and many others. The Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission will be described along with results from the concurrent mission design trades that led to its formulation. While the trades presented are specific to this mission, the integrated process is applicable to any potential future mission. The following trades were critical in the mission formulation and will be described in detail: 1) crew size, 2) mission duration, 3) trajectory design, 4) docking vs grapple, 5) extravehicular activity tasks, 6) launch mass and integrated vehicle performance, 7) contingency performance, 8) crew consumables including food, clothing, oxygen, nitrogen and water, and 9) mission risk. The additional Orion functionality required to perform the Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission and how it is incorporated while minimizing cost, schedule and mass impacts will be identified. Existing investments in the NASA technology portfolio were leveraged to provide the added functionality that will be beneficial to future exploration missions. Mission kits are utilized to augment Orion with the necessary functionality without introducing costly new requirements to the mature Orion spacecraft design effort. The Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission provides an exciting early mission for the Orion and SLS while providing a stepping stone to even more ambitious missions in the future.

Low-income working immigrant families in Quebec: Exploring their challenges to well-being.

PubMed

Pitt, Rebecca S; Sherman, Jessica; Macdonald, Mary Ellen

2016-03-16

To identify low-income working families' health challenges and understand their barriers and facilitators to navigating those challenges. We conducted a focused ethnographic study in a food bank in Montreal, Quebec. Using purposeful sampling, we recruited participants who had at least one employed family member and one live-in child. Sensitizing concepts included social determinants of health (SDH) and family strengths. Participant observation, focus groups and in-depth interviews constituted the primary means of data collection. Thematic and contextual analyses were conducted iteratively. We recruited 25 participants, 22 clients (15 women and 7 men with up to 5 children per family) and 3 members of staff. All clients were immigrants, having been in Canada for a range of 2 months to 23 years, thus reflecting the ethnic demography of the site. Families described health as physical, mental and socio-cultural well-being. Challenges to well-being included insufficient finances, non-standard work, hurdles in professional equivalency, isolation, children's acculturation, inadequate access to health care and the Canadian winter. Personal and structural barriers and facilitators to navigating challenges centred on parents' sense of the challenges being finite, control over discrete dimensions of life and hope of children's future success. Families who incorporated these perceptions into their narratives seemed to describe the challenges as navigable. Importantly, the SDH model did not anticipate the degree to which challenges would be defined by immigration factors. In order to help low-income working immigrant families face diverse challenges to well-being, community workers and policy-makers must consider the specific challenges of immigration and the importance of individual families' outlooks as they navigate them.

How to deal with climate change uncertainty in the planning of engineering systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spackova, Olga; Dittes, Beatrice; Straub, Daniel

2016-04-01

The effect of extreme events such as floods on the infrastructure and built environment is associated with significant uncertainties: These include the uncertain effect of climate change, uncertainty on extreme event frequency estimation due to limited historic data and imperfect models, and, not least, uncertainty on future socio-economic developments, which determine the damage potential. One option for dealing with these uncertainties is the use of adaptable (flexible) infrastructure that can easily be adjusted in the future without excessive costs. The challenge is in quantifying the value of adaptability and in finding the optimal sequence of decision. Is it worth to build a (potentially more expensive) adaptable system that can be adjusted in the future depending on the future conditions? Or is it more cost-effective to make a conservative design without counting with the possible future changes to the system? What is the optimal timing of the decision to build/adjust the system? We develop a quantitative decision-support framework for evaluation of alternative infrastructure designs under uncertainties, which: • probabilistically models the uncertain future (trough a Bayesian approach) • includes the adaptability of the systems (the costs of future changes) • takes into account the fact that future decisions will be made under uncertainty as well (using pre-posterior decision analysis) • allows to identify the optimal capacity and optimal timing to build/adjust the infrastructure. Application of the decision framework will be demonstrated on an example of flood mitigation planning in Bavaria.

Physical Activity Parenting Measurement and Research: Challenges, Explanations, and Solutions

PubMed Central

Mâsse, Louise C.; Timperio, Anna; Frenn, Marilyn D.; Saunders, Julie; Mendoza, Jason A.; Gobbi, Erica; Hanson, Phillip; Trost, Stewart G.

2013-01-01

Abstract Physical activity (PA) parenting research has proliferated over the past decade, with findings verifying the influential role that parents play in children's emerging PA behaviors. This knowledge, however, has not translated into effective family-based PA interventions. During a preconference workshop to the 2012 International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity annual meeting, a PA parenting workgroup met to: (1) Discuss challenges in PA parenting research that may limit its translation, (2) identify explanations or reasons for such challenges, and (3) recommend strategies for future research. Challenges discussed by the workgroup included a proliferation of disconnected and inconsistently measured constructs, a limited understanding of the dimensions of PA parenting, and a narrow conceptualization of hypothesized moderators of the relationship between PA parenting and child PA. Potential reasons for such challenges emphasized by the group included a disinclination to employ theory when developing measures and examining predictors and outcomes of PA parenting as well as a lack of agreed-upon measurement standards. Suggested solutions focused on the need to link PA parenting research with general parenting research, define and adopt rigorous standards of measurement, and identify new methods to assess PA parenting. As an initial step toward implementing these recommendations, the workgroup developed a conceptual model that: (1) Integrates parenting dimensions from the general parenting literature into the conceptualization of PA parenting, (2) draws on behavioral and developmental theory, and (3) emphasizes areas which have been neglected to date including precursors to PA parenting and effect modifiers. PMID:23944918

Plasma physics and related challenges of millimeter-wave-to-terahertz and high power microwave generationa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Booske, John H.

2008-05-01

Homeland security and military defense technology considerations have stimulated intense interest in mobile, high power sources of millimeter-wave (mmw) to terahertz (THz) regime electromagnetic radiation, from 0.1 to 10THz. While vacuum electronic sources are a natural choice for high power, the challenges have yet to be completely met for applications including noninvasive sensing of concealed weapons and dangerous agents, high-data-rate communications, high resolution radar, next generation acceleration drivers, and analysis of fluids and condensed matter. The compact size requirements for many of these high frequency sources require miniscule, microfabricated slow wave circuits. This necessitates electron beams with tiny transverse dimensions and potentially very high current densities for adequate gain. Thus, an emerging family of microfabricated, vacuum electronic devices share many of the same plasma physics challenges that are currently confronting "classic" high power microwave (HPM) generators including long-life bright electron beam sources, intense beam transport, parasitic mode excitation, energetic electron interaction with surfaces, and rf air breakdown at output windows. The contemporary plasma physics and other related issues of compact, high power mmw-to-THz sources are compared and contrasted to those of HPM generation, and future research challenges and opportunities are discussed.

Think first job! Preferences and expectations of engineering students in a French `Grande Ecole'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerwel Proches, Cecile N.; Chelin, Nathalie; Rouvrais, Siegfried

2018-03-01

A career in engineering may be appealing owing to the prospect of a good salary and a dynamic work environment. There may, however, be challenges for students wishing to enter their first job. In engineering education, career preparation courses may be included so as to prepare students adequately for their first job, future careers, and to reinforce career decision-making skills. This study explored the first-job preferences and expectations of engineering students at a generalist French 'Grande Ecole' before their compulsory internship. The study ultimately provided insight into ways in which future engineers may best be equipped for their first jobs. A qualitative research study was employed, using four focus groups to collect data, which was analysed thematically. Key findings indicate the resolute importance that engineering students place on having a challenging job, teamwork, independence, opportunities for development, and a participative style of being managed. The research findings may be of value in order to renew an engineering curriculum with better alignment between students' expectations and industry needs.

Novel Flexible Wearable Sensor Materials and Signal Processing for Vital Sign and Human Activity Monitoring.

PubMed

Servati, Amir; Zou, Liang; Wang, Z Jane; Ko, Frank; Servati, Peyman

2017-07-13

Advances in flexible electronic materials and smart textile, along with broad availability of smart phones, cloud and wireless systems have empowered the wearable technologies for significant impact on future of digital and personalized healthcare as well as consumer electronics. However, challenges related to lack of accuracy, reliability, high power consumption, rigid or bulky form factor and difficulty in interpretation of data have limited their wide-scale application in these potential areas. As an important solution to these challenges, we present latest advances in novel flexible electronic materials and sensors that enable comfortable and conformable body interaction and potential for invisible integration within daily apparel. Advances in novel flexible materials and sensors are described for wearable monitoring of human vital signs including, body temperature, respiratory rate and heart rate, muscle movements and activity. We then present advances in signal processing focusing on motion and noise artifact removal, data mining and aspects of sensor fusion relevant to future clinical applications of wearable technology.

Accessible maps for the color vision deficient observers: past and present knowledge and future possibilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvitle, Anne Kristin

2018-05-01

Color is part of the visual variables in map, serving an aesthetic part and as a guide of attention. Impaired color vision affects the ability to distinguish colors, which makes the task of decoding the map colors difficult. Map reading is reported as a challenging task for these observers, especially when the size of stimuli is small. The aim of this study is to review existing methods for map design for color vision deficient users. A systematic review of research literature and case studies of map design for CVD observers has been conducted in order to give an overview of current knowledge and future research challenges. In addition, relevant research on simulations of CVD and color image enhancement for these observers from other fields of industry is included. The study identified two main approaches: pre-processing by using accessible colors and post-processing by using enhancement methods. Some of the methods may be applied for maps, but requires tailoring of test images according to map types.

Path forward: emerging issues and challenges.

PubMed

Gillen, Matt; Gittleman, Janie L

2010-06-01

The NIOSH Construction Program worked with industry stakeholders to develop a National Occupational Safety and Health Construction Agenda to target future research and activities. The Program and its partners are also cognizant that new developments can emerge over time and that research can play an important role in helping to understand and address these emerging issues. Examples of emerging issues relevant to construction safety and health are described. These include: (a) climate change and energy considerations; (b) green construction developments and opportunities; (c) new materials; (d) changes in industry structure and practice; (e) workforce developments and disparities; (f) injury underreporting and cost and risk shifting; and (g) increased interest in addressing root causes. Responding to emerging issues while maintaining a focus on fundamental longstanding issues represents an ongoing challenge for researchers and industry organizations. Additional research to understand the diffusion and adoption of research by the industry is also needed. Research accomplished to date provides a strong foundation for addressing future industry needs and trends. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From Cleanroom to Desktop: Emerging Micro-Nanofabrication Technology for Biomedical Applications

PubMed Central

Wang, Wei

2010-01-01

This review is motivated by the growing demand for low-cost, easy-to-use, compact-size yet powerful micro-nanofabrication technology to address emerging challenges of fundamental biology and translational medicine in regular laboratory settings. Recent advancements in the field benefit considerably from rapidly expanding material selections, ranging from inorganics to organics and from nanoparticles to self-assembled molecules. Meanwhile a great number of novel methodologies, employing off-the-shelf consumer electronics, intriguing interfacial phenomena, bottom-up self-assembly principles, etc., have been implemented to transit micro-nanofabrication from a cleanroom environment to a desktop setup. Furthermore, the latest application of micro-nanofabrication to emerging biomedical research will be presented in detail, which includes point-of-care diagnostics, on-chip cell culture as well as bio-manipulation. While significant progresses have been made in the rapidly growing field, both apparent and unrevealed roadblocks will need to be addressed in the future. We conclude this review by offering our perspectives on the current technical challenges and future research opportunities. PMID:21161384

Novel Flexible Wearable Sensor Materials and Signal Processing for Vital Sign and Human Activity Monitoring

PubMed Central

Servati, Amir; Wang, Z. Jane; Ko, Frank; Servati, Peyman

2017-01-01

Advances in flexible electronic materials and smart textile, along with broad availability of smart phones, cloud and wireless systems have empowered the wearable technologies for significant impact on future of digital and personalized healthcare as well as consumer electronics. However, challenges related to lack of accuracy, reliability, high power consumption, rigid or bulky form factor and difficulty in interpretation of data have limited their wide-scale application in these potential areas. As an important solution to these challenges, we present latest advances in novel flexible electronic materials and sensors that enable comfortable and conformable body interaction and potential for invisible integration within daily apparel. Advances in novel flexible materials and sensors are described for wearable monitoring of human vital signs including, body temperature, respiratory rate and heart rate, muscle movements and activity. We then present advances in signal processing focusing on motion and noise artifact removal, data mining and aspects of sensor fusion relevant to future clinical applications of wearable technology. PMID:28703744

Challenges of Future High-End Computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, David; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

The next major milestone in high performance computing is a sustained rate of one Pflop/s (also written one petaflops, or 10(circumflex)15 floating-point operations per second). In addition to prodigiously high computational performance, such systems must of necessity feature very large main memories, as well as comparably high I/O bandwidth and huge mass storage facilities. The current consensus of scientists who have studied these issues is that "affordable" petaflops systems may be feasible by the year 2010, assuming that certain key technologies continue to progress at current rates. One important question is whether applications can be structured to perform efficiently on such systems, which are expected to incorporate many thousands of processors and deeply hierarchical memory systems. To answer these questions, advanced performance modeling techniques, including simulation of future architectures and applications, may be required. It may also be necessary to formulate "latency tolerant algorithms" and other completely new algorithmic approaches for certain applications. This talk will give an overview of these challenges.

From cleanroom to desktop: emerging micro-nanofabrication technology for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Pan, Tingrui; Wang, Wei

2011-02-01

This review is motivated by the growing demand for low-cost, easy-to-use, compact-size yet powerful micro-nanofabrication technology to address emerging challenges of fundamental biology and translational medicine in regular laboratory settings. Recent advancements in the field benefit considerably from rapidly expanding material selections, ranging from inorganics to organics and from nanoparticles to self-assembled molecules. Meanwhile a great number of novel methodologies, employing off-the-shelf consumer electronics, intriguing interfacial phenomena, bottom-up self-assembly principles, etc., have been implemented to transit micro-nanofabrication from a cleanroom environment to a desktop setup. Furthermore, the latest application of micro-nanofabrication to emerging biomedical research will be presented in detail, which includes point-of-care diagnostics, on-chip cell culture as well as bio-manipulation. While significant progresses have been made in the rapidly growing field, both apparent and unrevealed roadblocks will need to be addressed in the future. We conclude this review by offering our perspectives on the current technical challenges and future research opportunities.

Trends in meat science and technology: the future looks bright, but the journey will be long.

PubMed

Kristensen, L; Støier, S; Würtz, J; Hinrichsen, L

2014-11-01

With an increasing world population, an increase in affluence and a substantial growth in the demand for high quality protein, the meat sector faces a fantastic but challenging century. New scientific knowledge, technology and creative minds are the main ingredients in order to reach out for this great opportunity. Efficiency all the way from breeding and farming to processing and dispatch is crucial for success. Technology has brought us far, and there is still a huge potential for increased efficiency by implementing best practices on a global scale. New challenges include: hyper flexible automation, more accurate and faster measurement systems and meeting special consumer demands already at the production line. Systems for optimal animal welfare will be even more important and sustainability is no longer a consumer trend but a license to operate. The scientific meat society must provide knowledge and technology so we together can reach out for a seemingly bright future. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Artificial Intelligence approaches in hematopoietic cell transplant: A review of the current status and future directions.

PubMed

Muhsen, Ibrahim N; ElHassan, Tusneem; Hashmi, Shahrukh K

2018-06-08

Currently, the evidence-based literature on healthcare is expanding exponentially. The opportunities provided by the advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) tools i.e. machine learning are appealing in tackling many of the current healthcare challenges. Thus, AI integration is expanding in most fields of healthcare, including the field of hematology. This study aims to review the current applications of AI in the field hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). Literature search was done involving the following databases: Ovid-Medline including in-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations and google scholar. The abstracts of the following professional societies: American Society of Haematology (ASH), American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) and European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) were also screened. Literature review showed that the integration of AI in the field of HCT has grown remarkably in the last decade and confers promising avenues in diagnosis and prognosis within HCT populations targeting both pre and post-transplant challenges. Studies on AI integration in HCT have many limitations that include poorly tested algorithms, lack of generalizability and limited use of different AI tools. Machine learning techniques in HCT is an intense area of research that needs a lot of development and needs extensive support from hematology and HCT societies / organizations globally since we believe that this would be the future practice paradigm. Key words: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, hematopoietic cell transplant.

State experiences implementing youth sports concussion laws: challenges, successes, and lessons for evaluating impact.

PubMed

Lowrey, Kerri McGowan; Morain, Stephanie R

2014-01-01

While provisions of youth sports concussion laws are very similar, little is known as to how they are being implemented, factors that promote or impede implementation, or the level of compliance in each jurisdiction. We aimed to describe state experiences with implementation in order to inform ongoing efforts to reduce the harm of sports-related traumatic brain injury and to guide future evaluations of the laws' impacts and the development of future public health laws. We conducted key-informant interviews in 35 states with recently enacted concussion legislation. States varied considerably in their readiness and capacity for implementation. Factors facilitating implementation included existing partnerships, procedures, and resources; centralized implementation authority; prior related efforts; and involvement in the policymaking process by those now charged with implementation. Inhibitors included ambiguous statutory language, unclear delegation of authority, and compliance difficulties. Ongoing challenges persist, including primary prevention; determining which providers are qualified to make return-to-play assessments and contents of those assessments; compliance difficulties in rural and under-served areas; and unclear responsibility for enforcement. Despite the similarity of youth sports concussion laws, early evidence suggests there is considerable variation in their implementation. These findings are critical for ongoing empirical investigations to accurately evaluate the laws' provisions and to identify successful legal approaches to protecting young athletes. © 2014 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Issues in solid-organ transplantation in children: translational research from bench to bedside

PubMed Central

Lipshultz, Steven E.; Chandar, Jayanthi J.; Rusconi, Paolo G.; Fornoni, Alessia; Abitbol, Carolyn L.; Burke III, George W.; Zilleruelo, Gaston E.; Pham, Si M.; Perez, Elena E.; Karnik, Ruchika; Hunter, Juanita A.; Dauphin, Danielle D.; Wilkinson, James D.

2014-01-01

In this review, we identify important challenges facing physicians responsible for renal and cardiac transplantation in children based on a review of the contemporary medical literature. Regarding pediatric renal transplantation, we discuss the challenge of antibody-mediated rejection, focusing on both acute and chronic antibody-mediated rejection. We review new diagnostic approaches to antibody-mediated rejection, such as panel-reactive antibodies, donor-specific cross-matching, antibody assays, risk assessment and diagnosis of antibody-mediated rejection, the pathology of antibody-mediated rejection, the issue of ABO incompatibility in renal transplantation, new therapies for antibody-mediated rejection, inhibiting of residual antibodies, the suppression or depletion of B-cells, genetic approaches to treating acute antibody-mediated rejection, and identifying future translational research directions in kidney transplantation in children. Regarding pediatric cardiac transplantation, we discuss the mechanisms of cardiac transplant rejection, including the role of endomyocardial biopsy in detecting graft rejection and the role of biomarkers in detecting cardiac graft rejection, including biomarkers of inflammation, cardiomyocyte injury, or stress. We review cardiac allograft vasculopathy. We also address the role of genetic analyses, including genome-wide association studies, gene expression profiling using entities such as AlloMap®, and adenosine triphosphate release as a measure of immune function using the Cylex® ImmuKnow™ cell function assay. Finally, we identify future translational research directions in heart transplantation in children. PMID:24860861

English for Scientific Purposes (EScP): Technology, Trends, and Future Challenges for Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Gi-Zen; Chiu, Wan-Yu; Lin, Chih-Chung; Barrett, Neil E.

2014-12-01

To date, the concept of English for Specific Purposes has brought about a great impact on English language learning across various disciplines, including those in science education. Hence, this review paper aimed to address current English language learning in the science disciplines through the practice of computer-assisted language learning to identify the use of learning technologies in science-based literacy. In the literature review, the researchers found that science-based literacy instruction shares many pedagogical aims with English language teaching in terms of reading, writing, listening and speaking, allowing it to be classified as English for Scientific Purposes (EScP). To answer the research questions, the researchers conducted the survey by extracting related articles and teaching examples from the Web of Science. In the search procedure, the researchers used the keywords science OR scientific AND technolog* OR comput* in ten selected journals of social science citation index. Only articles which are specified as journal articles rather than other document types were included. After compiling the corpora, the researchers compared the trends, methodologies and results of EScP instruction in science education. The implications of this study include the opportunities, advantages and challenges for EScP instruction in science education to further develop better educational approaches, adopt new technologies, as well as offer some directions for researchers to conduct future studies.

Mobile health requires mobile security: challenges, solutions, and standardization.

PubMed

Pharow, Peter; Blobel, Bernd

2008-01-01

Extended communication and advanced cooperation in a permanently growing healthcare and welfare domain require a well-defined set of security services provided by an interoperable security infrastructure based on international and European standards. Any communication and collaboration procedure requires a purpose. But such legal purpose-binding is definitely not the only aspect to carefully be observed and investigated. More and more, aspects of security, safety, privacy, ethics, and quality reach importance while discussing about future-proof health information systems and health networks - regardless whether local, regional or even pan-European networks. During the course of the current paradigm change from an organization-centered to a process-related and to a person-centered health system, different new technologies including mobile solutions need to be applied in order to meet challenges arising from both legal and technical circumstances. Beside the typical Information and Communication Technology systems and applications, the extended use of modern technologies includes large medical devices like, e.g., MRI and CT but also small devices like sensors worn by a person or included in clothing. Security and safety are on top of the priority list. The paper addresses the identification of some specific aspects like mobile technology and safety when moving both IT and people towards mobile health aiming at increasing citizens and patients awareness, confidence, and acceptance in future mobile care - a world often still beyond the horizon.

Think First Job! Preferences and Expectations of Engineering Students in a French 'Grande Ecole'

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerwel Proches, Cecile N.; Chelin, Nathalie; Rouvrais, Siegfried

2018-01-01

A career in engineering may be appealing owing to the prospect of a good salary and a dynamic work environment. There may, however, be challenges for students wishing to enter their first job. In engineering education, career preparation courses may be included so as to prepare students adequately for their first job, future careers, and to…

Reading the World: Redefining Literature and History Curriculum. A Report from the Multicultural Education Summit Convened by the San Francisco Unified School District. Proceedings (San Francisco, California, March 1998).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandler, Susan; Maxton, Ashindi

This report documents a 1998 summit that brought together academics and practitioners to discuss the challenges of multicultural education. Part 1, "Summit Proceedings," examines definitions, major topics, voices of the summit, recommendations, and the future. Part 2, "Selected Articles," includes three sections that offer…

Challenges of Enterprise Wide AM for Air Force Sustainment

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

December 2016 Naguy is chief of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Product Support Engineering Division at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in...today and into the future. To truly capitalize on the full potential of AM, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) in close collabora...approach for material standards and quality include un- derstanding powder characteristics, developing an enterprise material characterization

A review of operations research models in invasive species management: state of the art, challenges, and future directions

Treesearch

İ. Esra Büyüktahtakın; Robert G. Haight

2017-01-01

Invasive species are a major threat to the economy, the environment, health, and thus human well-being. The international community, including the United Nations' Global Invasive Species Program (GISP), National Invasive Species Council (NISC), and Center for Invasive Species Management (CISM), has called for a rapid control of invaders in order to minimize their...

The Dynamic Risk Assessment and Management System: An Assessment of Immediate Risk of Violence for Individuals with Offending and Challenging Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindsay, William R.; Murphy, Lesley; Smith, Gordon; Murphy, Daniel; Edwards, Zoe; Chittock, Chris; Grieve, Alan; Young, Steven J.

2004-01-01

Purpose: Research on dynamic risk assessment has developed over the last 10 years and a number of variables have emerged as being possible predictors of future sexual and violent offences. These variables include hostile attitude/anger and compliance with routine. In 2002, Thornton ("Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research & Treatment" 14, 139)…

Engineering DNA scaffolds for delivery of anticancer therapeutics.

PubMed

Sun, Wujin; Gu, Zhen

2015-07-01

Engineering DNA nanostructures with programmability in size, shape and surface chemistry holds tremendous promise in biomedical applications. As an emerging platform for drug delivery, DNA nanostructures have been extensively studied for delivering anticancer therapeutics, including small-molecule drug, nucleic acids and proteins. In this mini-review, current advances in utilizing DNA scaffolds as drug carriers for cancer treatment were summarized and future challenges were also discussed.

MOMA: The Challenge to Search for Organics and Biosignatures on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goetz, Walter; Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Arevalo, R., Jr.; Freissinet, C.; Getty, S.; Glavin, D. P.; Siljestroem, S.; Buch, A.; Stalport, F.; Grubisic, A.;

Future hadron colliders: From physics perspectives to technology R&D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barletta, William; Battaglia, Marco; Klute, Markus; Mangano, Michelangelo; Prestemon, Soren; Rossi, Lucio; Skands, Peter

2014-11-01

High energy hadron colliders have been instrumental to discoveries in particle physics at the energy frontier and their role as discovery machines will remain unchallenged for the foreseeable future. The full exploitation of the LHC is now the highest priority of the energy frontier collider program. This includes the high luminosity LHC project which is made possible by a successful technology-readiness program for Nb3Sn superconductor and magnet engineering based on long-term high-field magnet R&D programs. These programs open the path towards collisions with luminosity of 5×1034 cm-2 s-1 and represents the foundation to consider future proton colliders of higher energies. This paper discusses physics requirements, experimental conditions, technological aspects and design challenges for the development towards proton colliders of increasing energy and luminosity.

Veterinary teaching hospitals: current challenges and pathways for the future.

PubMed

Hubbell, John A E

2008-01-01

University-based veterinary teaching hospitals must change to maintain their viability. A number of factors both internal and external to universities and the veterinary profession have contributed to the need for change. A task force formed by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges and the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians was convened to identify the issues and propose individual and collective strategies for the future. Primary issues include a shortage of faculty and staff, the nature of the case load, the need for fiscal management strategies, and the need to manage stakeholder expectations. The majority of the proposed strategies for the future will be managed individually by the colleges. Proposed collective strategies center on increasing the number of specialists and improving recruitment and retention of faculty and staff.

Real-Time Interactive Facilities Associated With A 3-D Medical Workstation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldwasser, S. M.; Reynolds, R. A.; Talton, D.; Walsh, E.

1986-06-01

Biomedical workstations of the future will incorporate three-dimensional interactive capabilities which provide real-time response to most common operator requests. Such systems will find application in many areas of medicine including clinical diagnosis, surgical and radiation therapy planning, biomedical research based on functional imaging, and medical education. This paper considers the requirements of these future systems in terms of image quality, performance, and the interactive environment, and examines the relationship of workstation capabilities to specific medical applications. We describe a prototype physician's workstation that we have designed and built to meet many of these requirements (using conventional graphics technology in conjunction with a custom real-time 3-D processor), and give an account of the remaining issues and challenges that future designers of such systems will have to address.

A Grounded Theory of School of Education Futures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doiron, Joseph A.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore the futures that school of education leaders envision for their institutions. American higher education institutions broadly, and schools of education specifically, face a complex of challenges to their traditional structures, processes, practices, value, and values. These challenges create…

Soil and water conservation: Our history and future challenges

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remembering our past is an essential first step into the future. Building upon that philosophy, our objective is to summarize two presentations from a 2012 Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) symposium focused on soil management challenges in response to climate change in order to examine: (1) ho...

Key Challenges and Future Directions for Educational Research on Scientific Argumentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, J. Bryan; McNeill, Katherine L.; González-Howard, María; Close, Kevin; Evans, Mat

2018-01-01

At the 2015 "NARST: A Worldwide Organization for Improving Science Teaching and Learning Through Research" Annual International Conference, a group of scholars held an extended pre-conference workshop to discuss key challenges and future directions faced by argumentation researchers around the world. This wide-ranging group of…

Future Agendas in the Sociology of Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furlong, Andy

2011-01-01

The various contributions to this edition of "Youth Studies Australia" reflect further on future priorities in youth studies. It is argued that contemporary world trends and events are transforming young people's lives and raising a series of important and exciting challenges for the discipline. To address these new challenges, youth…

Lessons learned for composite structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitehead, R. S.

1991-01-01

Lessons learned for composite structures are presented in three technology areas: materials, manufacturing, and design. In addition, future challenges for composite structures are presented. Composite materials have long gestation periods from the developmental stage to fully matured production status. Many examples exist of unsuccessful attempts to accelerate this gestation period. Experience has shown that technology transition of a new material system to fully matured production status is time consuming, involves risk, is expensive and should not be undertaken lightly. The future challenges for composite materials require an intensification of the science based approach to material development, extension of the vendor/customer interaction process to include all engineering disciplines of the end user, reduced material costs because they are a significant factor in overall part cost, and improved batch-to-batch pre-preg physical property control. Historical manufacturing lessons learned are presented using current in-service production structure as examples. Most producibility problems for these structures can be traced to their sequential engineering design. This caused an excessive emphasis on design-to-weight and schedule at the expense of design-to-cost. This resulted in expensive performance originated designs, which required costly tooling and led to non-producible parts. Historically these problems have been allowed to persist throughout the production run. The current/future approach for the production of affordable composite structures mandates concurrent engineering design where equal emphasis is placed on product and process design. Design for simplified assembly is also emphasized, since assembly costs account for a major portion of total airframe costs. The future challenge for composite manufacturing is, therefore, to utilize concurrent engineering in conjunction with automated manufacturing techniques to build affordable composite structures. Composite design experience has shown that significant weight savings have been achieved, outstanding fatigue and corrosion resistance have been demonstrated, and in-service performance has been very successful. Currently no structural design show stoppers exist for composite structures. A major lesson learned is that the full scale static test is the key test for composites, since it is the primary structural 'hot spot' indicator. The major durability issue is supportability of thin skinned structure. Impact damage has been identified as the most significant issue for the damage tolerance control of composite structures. However, delaminations induced during assembly operations have demonstrated a significant nuisance value. The future challenges for composite structures are threefold. Firstly, composite airframe weight fraction should increase to 60 percent. At the same time, the cost of composite structures must be reduced by 50 percent to attain the goal of affordability. To support these challenges it is essential to develop lower cost materials and processes.

New diagnostic methods for pneumonia in the ICU.

PubMed

Douglas, Ivor S

2016-04-01

Pneumonia leading to severe sepsis and critical illness including respiratory failure remains a common and therapeutically challenging diagnosis. Current clinical approaches to surveillance, early detection, and conventional culture-based microbiology are inadequate for optimal targeted antibiotic treatment and stewardship. Efforts to enhance diagnosis of community-acquired and health care-acquired pneumonia, including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), are the focus of recent studies reviewed here. Newer surveillance definitions are sensitive for pneumonia in the ICU including VAP but consistently underdetect patients that are clinically shown to have bacterial VAP based on clinical diagnostic criteria and response to antibiotic treatment. Routinely measured plasma biomarkers, including procalcitonin and C-reactive protein, lack sufficient precision and predictive accuracy to inform diagnosis. Novel rapid microbiological diagnostics, including nucleic-acid amplification, mass spectrometry, and fluorescence microscopy-based technologies are promising approaches for the future. Exhaled breath biomarkers, including measurement of volatile organic compounds, represent a future approach. The integration of novel diagnostics for rapid microbial identification, resistance phenotyping, and antibiotic sensitivity testing into usual care practice could significantly transform the care of patients and potentially inform significantly improved targeted antimicrobial selection, de-escalation, and stewardship.

Future prospects for measurements of mass hierarchy and CP violation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, Karol

2015-03-01

We present a brief overview of current plans to pursue two challenging goals, resolution of the neutrino mass hierarchy and determination of the CP phase of the PMNS neutrino mixing matrix. Future prospects include large atmospheric experiments, PINGU, ORCA, and INO-ICAL, medium baseline reactor experiments, JUNO and RENO- 50, and long baseline accelerator experiments, LBNE, LBNO, and Hyper-Kamiokande. There are also new initiatives emerging, ESSνSB at the European Spallation Source, and CHIPS in the NuMI neutrino beam. This is a multifaceted, vigorous, and technically difficult world-wide program. It will likely take more than a decade to start reaping its benefits.

Carbon-nanotube-based liquids: a new class of nanomaterials and their applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phan, Ngoc Minh; Thang Bui, Hung; Nguyen, Manh Hong; Khoi Phan, Hong

2014-03-01

Carbon-nanotube-based liquids—a new class of nanomaterials—have shown many interesting properties and distinctive features offering unprecedented potential for many applications. This paper summarizes the recent progress on the study of the preparation, characterization and properties of carbon-nanotube-based liquids including so-called nanofluids, nanolubricants and different kinds of nanosolutions containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes/single-walled carbon nanotubes/graphene. A broad range of current and future applications of these nanomaterials in the fields of energy saving, power electronic and optoelectronic devices, biotechnology and agriculture are presented. The paper also identifies challenges and opportunities for future research.

Home geriatric physiological measurements.

PubMed

Tamura, Toshiyo

2012-10-01

In an ageing society, the elderly can be monitored with numerous physiological, physical and passive devices. Sensors can be installed in the home for continuous mobility assistance and unobtrusive disease prevention. This review presents several modern sensors, which improve the quality of life and assist the elderly, disabled people and their caregivers. The main concept of geriatric sensors is that they are capable of providing assistance without limiting or disturbing the subject's daily routine, giving him or her greater comfort, pleasure and well-being. Furthermore, this review includes associated technologies of wearable/implantable monitoring systems and the 'smart-house' project. This review concludes by discussing future challenges of the future aged society.

Optical Measurements for Intelligent Aerospace Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mercer, Carolyn R.

2003-01-01

There is growing interest in applying intelligent technologies to aerospace propulsion systems to reap expected benefits in cost, performance, and environmental compliance. Cost benefits span the engine life cycle from development, operations, and maintenance. Performance gains are anticipated in reduced fuel consumption, increased thrust-toweight ratios, and operability. Environmental benefits include generating fewer pollutants and less noise. Critical enabling technologies to realize these potential benefits include sensors, actuators, logic, electronics, materials, and structures. For propulsion applications, the challenge is to increase the robustness of these technologies so that they can withstand harsh temperatures, vibrations, and grime while providing extremely reliable performance. This paper addresses the role that optical metrology is playing in providing solutions to these challenges. Optics for ground-based testing (development cycle), flight sensing (operations), and inspection (maintenance) are described. Opportunities for future work are presented.

The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms

PubMed Central

Barrett, Frederick S.; Bradstreet, Matthew P.; Leoutsakos, Jeannie-Marie S.; Johnson, Matthew W.; Griffiths, Roland R.

2017-01-01

Acute adverse psychological reactions to classic hallucinogens (“bad trips”, or “challenging experiences”), while usually benign with proper screening, preparation, and support in controlled settings, remain a safety concern in uncontrolled settings (such as illicit use contexts). Anecdotal and case reports suggest potential adverse acute symptoms including affective (panic, depressed mood), cognitive (confusion, feelings of losing sanity), and somatic (nausea, heart palpitation) symptoms. Responses to items from several hallucinogen-sensitive questionnaires (Hallucinogen Rating Scale, the States of Consciousness Questionnaire, and the 5-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness questionnaire) in an internet survey of challenging experiences with the classic hallucinogen psilocybin were used to construct and validate a Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). The stand-alone CEQ was then validated in a separate sample. Seven CEQ factors (grief, fear, death, insanity, isolation, physical distress, and paranoia) provide a phenomenological profile of challenging aspects of experiences with psilocybin. Factor scores were associated with the difficulty, meaningfulness, spiritual significance, and change in well-being attributed to the challenging experiences. The factor structure did not differ based on gender or prior struggle with anxiety or depression. The CEQ provides a basis for future investigation of predictors and outcomes of challenging experiences with psilocybin, and should be explored as a measure of challenging experiences with the broad class of classic hallucinogens. PMID:27856683

WE-EF-BRD-01: Past, Present and Future: MRI-Guided Radiotherapy From 2005 to 2025

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

Lagendijk, J.

MRI-guided treatment is a growing area of medicine, particularly in radiotherapy and surgery. The exquisite soft tissue anatomic contrast offered by MRI, along with functional imaging, makes the use of MRI during therapeutic procedures very attractive. Challenging the utility of MRI in the therapy room are many issues including the physics of MRI and the impact on the environment and therapeutic instruments, the impact of the room and instruments on the MRI; safety, space, design and cost. In this session, the applications and challenges of MRI-guided treatment will be described. The session format is: Past, present and future: MRI-guided radiotherapymore » from 2005 to 2025: Jan Lagendijk Battling Maxwell’s equations: Physics challenges and solutions for hybrid MRI systems: Paul Keall I want it now!: Advances in MRI acquisition, reconstruction and the use of priors to enable fast anatomic and physiologic imaging to inform guidance and adaptation decisions: Yanle Hu MR in the OR: The growth and applications of MRI for interventional radiology and surgery: Rebecca Fahrig Learning Objectives: To understand the history and trajectory of MRI-guided radiotherapy To understand the challenges of integrating MR imaging systems with linear accelerators To understand the latest in fast MRI methods to enable the visualisation of anatomy and physiology on radiotherapy treatment timescales To understand the growing role and challenges of MRI for image-guided surgical procedures My disclosures are publicly available and updated at: http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/radiation-physics/about-us/disclosures.php.« less

Neuroscience in the residency curriculum: the psychoanalytic psychotherapy perspective.

PubMed

Watson, Brendon O; Michels, Robert

2014-04-01

Educators of future psychiatrists tend to teach an array of approaches to the mind and brain, including among them the neurobiologic perspective and the psychoanalytic perspective. These may be considered at opposite ends of many spectra, including the fact that psychoanalysis takes a large-scale and treatment-oriented perspective and has helped countless patients over the years, while neuroscience has tended to be reductionistic, focused on understanding, and has helped very few people. A tension, therefore, exists for the educator in teaching neuroscience: is it wise to spend valuable time and energy teaching this interesting but, thus far, impractical field to future practitioners? Here, we argue that neuroscience is re-orienting itself towards more psychoanalytically relevant questions and is likely, in future years, to give new insights into the nature of basic drives and social relations. We additionally argue for balance on the part of providers in both acknowledging biologic underpinnings for clinical phenomena and yet continuing to take a stance oriented towards appropriate change. Given the burgeoning new focus within neuroscience on topics directly relating to the human internal experience and the novel challenges in both understanding those advances and appropriately using them, we encourage educators to continue to give future psychiatrists the educational foundation they need to follow neuroscientific discoveries into the future.

NSF-Sponsored Summit on the Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education: outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosher, S.

2014-12-01

The NSF-sponsored Summit on the Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education made major progress toward developing a collective community vision for the geosciences. A broad spectrum of the geoscience education community, ~200 educators from research universities/four and two year colleges, focused on preparation of undergraduates for graduate school and future geoscience careers, pedagogy, use of technology, broadening participation/retention of underrepresented groups, and preparation of K-12 science teachers. Participants agreed that key concepts, competencies and skills learned throughout the curriculum were more important than specific courses. Concepts included understanding Earth as complex, dynamic system, deep time, evolution of life, natural resources, energy, hazards, hydrogeology, surface processes, Earth materials and structure, and climate change. Skills/competencies included ability to think spatially and temporally, reason inductively and deductively, make and use indirect observations, engage in complex open, coupled systems thinking, and work with uncertainty, non-uniqueness, and incompleteness, as well as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and ability to think like a scientist and continue to learn. Successful ways of developing these include collaborative, integrative projects involving teams, interdisciplinary projects, fieldwork and research experiences, as well as flipped classrooms and integration and interactive use of technology, including visualization, simulation, modeling and analysis of real data. Wider adoption of proven, effective best practices is our communities' main pedagogical challenge, and we focused on identifying implementation barriers. Preparation of future teachers in introductory and general geoscience courses by incorporating Next Generation Science Standards and using other sciences/math to solve real world geoscience problems should help increase diversity and number of future geoscientists and geoscience literacy. We also identified key elements of successful programs that attract and retain underrepresented groups, including providing financial support, reaching out to students in their communities, involving community members, incorporating role models, and mentoring.

The Y.E.S. Network: An IYPE legacy for engaging future generations of early-career geoscientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzales, L. M.; Govoni, D.; Micucci, L.; Gaines, S. M.; Venus, J.; Meng, W.

2009-12-01

The Y.E.S. Network, an association of early-career geoscientists who represent professional societies, geoscience companies, and geoscience departments from across the world, was formed as a direct result of the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE). Currently the Y.E.S. Network has representatives in thirty-five countries from six continents. The goal of the network is to engage early-career representatives from geological associations and institutions, policy-makers, and delegates from administrative bodies to establish a worldwide network of future leaders, policy-makers and geoscientists who will work collaboratively to address the scientific challenges future generations will face. To this end, the Y.E.S. Network, in collaboration with IYPE and with the patronage of UNESCO, organized the first international Y.E.S. Congress which was hosted by the China University of Geosciences in Beijing. The conference focused on scientific and career challenges faced by early-career geoscientists, with a particular emphasis on how the Y.E.S. Network can work collaborative and internationally towards solving these challenges and furthering the IYPE motto of “Earth Sciences for Society”. The conference focused on the ten major themes of the IYPE (e.g. health, climate, groundwater, ocean, soils, deep earth, megacities, hazards, resources, and life) at its poster and oral sessions. Roundtable symposia engaged senior and early-career geoscientists via presentations, panel discussions, and working group sessions where strategies related to scientific challenges (i.e. climate change in the polar regions, natural hazards, natural resource sustainability) and academic and career pathway challenges (i.e. academic-industry linkages, gender parity in the geosciences, geoscience education sustainability, and international licensure issues) were developed. These strategies were then tasked to the Y.E.S. Network for further development and implementation. Future Y.E.S. Network activities include the development of an interactive Y.E.S. Network website that will enable Y.E.S. country representative to post relevant events and activities, and will facilitate continued collaboration between Y.E.S. Network members on the strategies developed at the Y.E.S. Congress roundtable symposia. The next international Y.E.S. Congress will be held in conjunction with the 34th IGC in Brisbane, Australia in August 2012.

Planning for the Future of Geo-Cybereducation: Outcomes of the Workshop, Challenges, and Future Directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, J. G.; Eriksson, S. C.

2010-12-01

Inspired by the recommendations of the NSF report “Fostering Learning in the Networked World: The Cyberlearning Opportunity and Challenge” (NSF08204), the NSF National STEM Digital Learning program funded “Planning for the Future of Geocybereducation” Workshop sought to bring together leaders from the geoscience education community, from major geoscience research initiatives, and from the growing public- and private-sector geoscience information community. The objectives of the workshop were to begin conversations aimed at identifying best practices and tools for geoscience cyber-education, in the context of both the changing nature of learners and of rapidly evolving geo-information platforms, and to provide guidance to the NSF as to necessary future directions and needs for funding. 65 participants met and interacted live for the two-day workshop, with ongoing post-meeting virtual interactions via a collaborative workspace (www.geocybered.ning.com). Topics addressed included the rapidly changing character of learners, the growing capabilities of geoscience information systems and their affiliated tools, and effective models for collaboration among educators, researchers and geoinformation specialists. Discussions at the meeting focused on the implications of changing learners on the educational process, the challenges for teachers and administrators in keeping pace, and on the challenges of communication among these divergent professional communities. Ongoing virtual discussions and collaborations have produced a draft workshop document, and the workshop conveners are maintaining the workshop site as a venue for ongoing discussion and interaction. Several key challenges were evident from the workshop discussions and subsequent interactions: a) the development of most of the large geoinformatics and geoscience research efforts were not pursued with education as a significant objective, resulting in limited financial support for such activities after the fact; b) the “playing field” of cybertechnologies relevant to geoscience education, research and informatics changes so rapidly that even committed “players” find that staying current is challenging; c) the scholarly languages of geoscience education, geoscience research, and geoinformatics are different, making easy communication about respective needs and constraints surprisingly difficult; and d) the impact of “everyday” cybertechnologies on learner audiences is profound and (so far) not well addressed by educators. Discussions on these issues are ongoing in a number of other venues.

Quantifying the health impacts of air pollution under a changing climate-a review of approaches and methodology.

PubMed

Sujaritpong, Sarunya; Dear, Keith; Cope, Martin; Walsh, Sean; Kjellstrom, Tord

2014-03-01

Climate change has been predicted to affect future air quality, with inevitable consequences for health. Quantifying the health effects of air pollution under a changing climate is crucial to provide evidence for actions to safeguard future populations. In this paper, we review published methods for quantifying health impacts to identify optimal approaches and ways in which existing challenges facing this line of research can be addressed. Most studies have employed a simplified methodology, while only a few have reported sensitivity analyses to assess sources of uncertainty. The limited investigations that do exist suggest that examining the health risk estimates should particularly take into account the uncertainty associated with future air pollution emissions scenarios, concentration-response functions, and future population growth and age structures. Knowledge gaps identified for future research include future health impacts from extreme air pollution events, interactions between temperature and air pollution effects on public health under a changing climate, and how population adaptation and behavioural changes in a warmer climate may modify exposure to air pollution and health consequences.

Combining a Spatial Model and Demand Forecasts to Map Future Surface Coal Mining in Appalachia

PubMed Central

Strager, Michael P.; Strager, Jacquelyn M.; Evans, Jeffrey S.; Dunscomb, Judy K.; Kreps, Brad J.; Maxwell, Aaron E.

2015-01-01

Predicting the locations of future surface coal mining in Appalachia is challenging for a number of reasons. Economic and regulatory factors impact the coal mining industry and forecasts of future coal production do not specifically predict changes in location of future coal production. With the potential environmental impacts from surface coal mining, prediction of the location of future activity would be valuable to decision makers. The goal of this study was to provide a method for predicting future surface coal mining extents under changing economic and regulatory forecasts through the year 2035. This was accomplished by integrating a spatial model with production demand forecasts to predict (1 km2) gridded cell size land cover change. Combining these two inputs was possible with a ratio which linked coal extraction quantities to a unit area extent. The result was a spatial distribution of probabilities allocated over forecasted demand for the Appalachian region including northern, central, southern, and eastern Illinois coal regions. The results can be used to better plan for land use alterations and potential cumulative impacts. PMID:26090883

Dendrimer advances for the central nervous system delivery of therapeutics.

PubMed

Xu, Leyuan; Zhang, Hao; Wu, Yue

2014-01-15

The effectiveness of noninvasive treatment for central nervous system (CNS) diseases is generally limited by the poor access of therapeutic agents into the CNS. Most CNS drugs cannot permeate into the brain parenchyma because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and overcoming this has become one of the most significant challenges in the development of CNS therapeutics. Rapid advances in nanotechnology have provided promising solutions to this challenge. This review discusses the latest applications of dendrimers in the treatment of CNS diseases with an emphasis on brain tumors. Dendrimer-mediated drug delivery, imaging, and diagnosis are also reviewed. The toxicity, biodistribution, and transport mechanisms in dendrimer-mediated delivery of CNS therapeutic agents bypassing or crossing the BBB are also discussed. Future directions and major challenges of dendrimer-mediated delivery of CNS therapeutic agents are included.

Global Antimicrobial Stewardship: A Closer Look at the Formidable Implementation Challenges

PubMed Central

Tiong, John J. L.; Loo, Jason S. E.; Mai, Chun-Wai

2016-01-01

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) has been touted as one of the key strategies required in tackling worldwide escalation of antibiotic resistance. Although AMS has optimized antibiotic usage and reduced the incidence of resistance development in some regions, its full global potential has been curtailed by various AMS-impeding factors. This article seeks to highlight in a detailed perspective, the key challenges that hamper global AMS endeavors, some of which include the paucity of effective implementation strategies that cater for the challenging settings of developing nations, the slow response of governments, uncoordinated AMS activities as well as implementation fragmentation across different sectors and countries. The authors of this article call upon all stakeholders to pay attention to these seemingly obvious but often under-addressed problems. If left unresolved, this may render all current and future AMS initiatives pointless. PMID:27899924

Dendrimer Advances for the Central Nervous System Delivery of Therapeutics

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The effectiveness of noninvasive treatment for central nervous system (CNS) diseases is generally limited by the poor access of therapeutic agents into the CNS. Most CNS drugs cannot permeate into the brain parenchyma because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and overcoming this has become one of the most significant challenges in the development of CNS therapeutics. Rapid advances in nanotechnology have provided promising solutions to this challenge. This review discusses the latest applications of dendrimers in the treatment of CNS diseases with an emphasis on brain tumors. Dendrimer-mediated drug delivery, imaging, and diagnosis are also reviewed. The toxicity, biodistribution, and transport mechanisms in dendrimer-mediated delivery of CNS therapeutic agents bypassing or crossing the BBB are also discussed. Future directions and major challenges of dendrimer-mediated delivery of CNS therapeutic agents are included. PMID:24274162

Reflections on Developing Collaborative Research in Pediatric Psychology: Implications and Future Directions

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Objectives Collaborative research with pediatric colleagues has become increasingly important in the professional agenda of pediatric psychology, and there is a continuing need to articulate the challenges of such research. To address this need, this article describes types of collaborative research, reasons for collaboration, collaborative process, challenges, and strategies to facilitate collaborative research. Methods Experiences and lessons learned over the course of a career in collaborative research are described. Results Challenges in collaborative research can be overcome by effective strategies of engagement and communication. Useful methods of training researchers in collaborative research include modeling and supervised mentored experiences in research initiated by trainees. Conclusion Data are needed to identify the characteristics of successful collaborative research, strategies to promote effective research, and methods of training and career development. PMID:23671060

Computerized Working-Memory Training as a Candidate Adjunctive Treatment for Addiction

PubMed Central

Bickel, Warren K.; Moody, Lara; Quisenberry, Amanda

2014-01-01

Alcohol and other drug dependencies are, in part, characterized by deficits in executive functioning, including working memory. Working-memory training is a candidate computerized adjunctive intervention for the treatment of alcoholism and other drug dependencies. This article reviews emerging evidence for computerized working memory training as an efficacious adjunctive treatment for drug dependence and highlights future challenges and opportunities in the field of working-memory training, including duration of training needed, persistence of improvements and utility of booster sessions, and selection of patients based on degree of deficits. PMID:26259006

Gene delivery for cancer therapy.

PubMed

Zhang, Teng

2014-01-01

Gene therapy has potential in the treatment of human cancers. However, its clinical implication has only achieved little success due to the lack of an efficient gene delivery system. A major hurdle in the current available approaches is in the ability to transduce target tissues at very high efficiencies that ultimately lead to therapeutic levels of transgene expression. This review outlines the characteristics and utilities of several available gene delivery systems, including their advantages and drawbacks in the context of cancer treatment. A perspective of existing challenges and future directions is also included.

Nonvolatile Memory Technology for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oldham, Timothy R.; Irom, Farokh; Friendlich, Mark; Nguyen, Duc; Kim, Hak; Berg, Melanie; LaBel, Kenneth A.

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews several forms of nonvolatile memory for use in space applications. The intent is to: (1) Determine inherent radiation tolerance and sensitivities, (2) Identify challenges for future radiation hardening efforts, (3) Investigate new failure modes and effects, and technology modeling programs. Testing includes total dose, single event (proton, laser, heavy ion), and proton damage (where appropriate). Test vehicles are expected to be a variety of non-volatile memory devices as available including Flash (NAND and NOR), Charge Trap, Nanocrystal Flash, Magnetic Memory (MRAM), Phase Change--Chalcogenide, (CRAM), Ferroelectric (FRAM), CNT, and Resistive RAM.

Cable compliance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerley, J.; Eklund, W.; Burkhardt, R.; Rossoni, P.

1992-01-01

The object of the investigation was to solve mechanical problems using cable-in-bending and cable-in-torsion. These problems included robotic contacts, targets, and controls using cable compliance. Studies continued in the use of cable compliance for the handicapped and the elderly. These included work stations, walkers, prosthetic knee joints, elbow joints, and wrist joints. More than half of these objects were met, and models were made and studies completed on most of the others. It was concluded that the many different and versatile solutions obtained only opened the door to many future challenges.

Livestock waste treatment systems of the future: A challenge to environmental quality, food safety, and sustainability. OECD Workshop

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This Special Issue of Bioresource Technology is dedicated to selected contributions presented at the international Workshop: “Livestock waste treatment systems of the future: A challenge to environmental quality, food safety, and sustainability,” held 2-4 April, 2008, in Florence, South Carolina (US...

The Historical Context, Current Development, and Future Challenges of Distance Education in Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuhairi, Aminudin; Wahyono, Effendi; Suratinah, Sharon

2006-01-01

This article addresses the historical context, current development, and future challenges of distance education in Indonesia. Conditions related to the geography, demography, socio-economic and cultural situations, as well as the availability of technology have encouraged the use of distance education as a valid choice in providing access to…

Scott Shuler's "Music and Education in the Twenty-First Century: A Retrospective"--Review and Response

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLain, Barbara Payne

2014-01-01

Predicting the future is a challenging task for music education, requiring both retrospection, analysis of current events, and foresight. This article examines several predictions from 2001 and challenges music educators to consider factors that may influence the future of teaching music in society.

Future Challenges in Higher Education--Bologna Experts' Community Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yemini, Miri

2012-01-01

This work presents results from systematic analysis of the challenges for the future of higher education in European and neighboring countries as it was extracted from the Bologna experts and Higher Education Reform experts' opinions. Opinions of more than 100 experts from 35 countries were documented and analyzed. Significant differences in the…

SOA: A Quality Attribute Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-23

in software engineering from CMU. 6June 2011 Twitter #seiwebinar © 2011 Carnegie Mellon University Agenda Service -Oriented Architecture and... Software Architecture: Review Service -Orientation and Quality Attributes Summary and Future Challenges 7June 2011 Twitter #seiwebinar © 2011...Architecture and Software Architecture: Review Service -Orientation and Quality Attributes Summary and Future Challenges Review 10June 2011 Twitter

Toward a More Equitable Future: The Trends and Challenges Facing America's Latino Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foxen, Patricia; Mather, Mark

2016-01-01

Rapid demographic change is transforming the landscape of America in exciting and challenging ways. This report, an update of the 2010 publication "America's Future: Latino Child Well-Being in Numbers and Trends," provides a comprehensive overview of national and state-level trends in the characteristics and well-being of Hispanic…

A critical reflection of a decade of urbanization and global environmental change research and science coordination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffith, C.

2015-12-01

The Urbanization and Global Environmental Change (UGEC) Project was established in 2005 when attention to the bidirectional interactions of urbanization and GEC issues and the associated system responses was very new and the community of UGEC researchers very small. Much of the urban scholarship used specific disciplinary lenses through which to understand the city, e.g., in terms of demographics and population growth, ecology of cities or economics of cities. Over the last decade new analytical lenses have revealed much more about how cities function, the underlying socio-economic and ecological processes that drive urbanization, their dynamic and teleconnected nature, and other bio-physical interactions within the Earth system. Furthermore, it is within the cities that the impacts of current and projected urbanization and environmental changes are felt, but also where action is taken and where great potential for intervention of urbanization trajectories exists towards creating more livable urban futures. A former IHDP core project, now Future Earth project, UGEC is in its sunset/synthesis phase and exploring future directions. This presentation will: Give an brief overview of UGEC evolution over the course of the last decade not only in terms of the science, but also the institution Present preliminary results from a critical analysis of UGEC's ten year role as a GEC research coordination project including its impact, strengths and weaknesses Make the case for greater interdisciplinarity (particularly across the physical sciences and humanities) and involvement of other stakeholders (private sector and decisionmakers) in future urbanization and environmental research, as 'urban' is a crosscutting issue that has both global to local scale implications Present work that UGEC is leading, which is to advance an urban agenda within the new Future Earth initiative as part of the recently awarded Cluster Activity 'Livable Urban Futures', as an example of research coordination in a new era of GEC governance, the associated challenges and also successes Provide insight into the practical aspects of research coordination from an IPO management perspective including the day to day management, what's required, challenging and what can be improved upon for the betterment of coordinated and networked science.

The next generation of command post computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, Ross D.; Lieb, Aaron J.; Samuel, Jason M.; Burger, Mitchell A.

2015-05-01

The future of command post computing demands an innovative new solution to address a variety of challenging operational needs. The Command Post of the Future is the Army's primary command and control decision support system, providing situational awareness and collaborative tools for tactical decision making, planning, and execution management from Corps to Company level. However, as the U.S. Army moves towards a lightweight, fully networked battalion, disconnected operations, thin client architecture and mobile computing become increasingly essential. The Command Post of the Future is not designed to support these challenges in the coming decade. Therefore, research into a hybrid blend of technologies is in progress to address these issues. This research focuses on a new command and control system utilizing the rich collaboration framework afforded by Command Post of the Future coupled with a new user interface consisting of a variety of innovative workspace designs. This new system is called Tactical Applications. This paper details a brief history of command post computing, presents the challenges facing the modern Army, and explores the concepts under consideration for Tactical Applications that meet these challenges in a variety of innovative ways.

A systematic review of dynamics in climate risk and vulnerability assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jurgilevich, Alexandra; Räsänen, Aleksi; Groundstroem, Fanny; Juhola, Sirkku

2017-01-01

Understanding climate risk is crucial for effective adaptation action, and a number of assessment methodologies have emerged. We argue that the dynamics of the individual components in climate risk and vulnerability assessments has received little attention. In order to highlight this, we systematically reviewed 42 sub-national climate risk and vulnerability assessments. We analysed the assessments using an analytical framework with which we evaluated (1) the conceptual approaches to vulnerability and exposure used, (2) if current or future risks were assessed, and (3) if and how changes over time (i.e. dynamics) were considered. Of the reviewed assessments, over half addressed future risks or vulnerability; and of these future-oriented studies, less than 1/3 considered both vulnerability and exposure dynamics. While the number of studies that include dynamics is growing, and while all studies included socio-economic aspects, often only biophysical dynamics was taken into account. We discuss the challenges of assessing socio-economic and spatial dynamics, particularly the poor availability of data and methods. We suggest that future-oriented studies assessing risk dynamics would benefit from larger stakeholder involvement, discussion of the assessment purpose, the use of multiple methods, inclusion of uncertainty/sensitivity analyses and pathway approaches.

Preservation of future fertility in pediatric patients with cancer.

PubMed

de Lambert, G; Poirot, C; Guérin, F; Brugières, L; Martelli, H

2018-06-01

The cure rate for childhood and adolescent patients with cancer has currently reached almost 80% and protecting future fertility and thereby promoting quality of life have become a major challenge in the care of these patients (Bioethics Law, 2004). Age, sex and associated treatments influence the risk of future subfertility. Certain chemotherapies (particularly alkylating agents) and radiotherapy fields that include the gonads or hypothalamopituitary axis may negatively impact the future fertility of patients. Evaluation of the gonadotoxic potential of therapeutic measures and the utilization of appropriate methods to preserve fertility require the combined efforts of a multidisciplinary team that includes pediatric oncologists, radiotherapists, surgeons, reproductive physicians and biologists and psychologists. Techniques for fertility preservation vary depending on the age of the child and range from surgical transposition of the gonads for pelvic radiotherapy to cryopreservation of the ovary or testicle in case of sterilizing chemotherapy. While scientists still do not yet fully understand the maturation of immature germ cells, these children will be seeking the assistance of Medically Assisted Procreation (MAP) in 20-30 years. In the meanwhile, it is to be hoped that many more advances will be achieved in the utilization of harvested germinal tissue. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Lubrication of space systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fusaro, Robert L.

1994-01-01

NASA has many high-technology programs plannned for the future, such as the space station, Mission to Planet Earth (a series of Earth-observing satellites), space telescopes, and planetary orbiters. These missions will involve advanced mechanical moving components, space mechanisms that will need wear protection and lubrication. The tribology practices used in space today are primarily based on a technology that is more than 20 years old. The question is the following: Is this technology base good enough to meet the needs of these future long-duration NASA missions? This paper examines NASA's future space missions, how mechanisms are currently lubricated, some of the mechanism and tribology challenges that may be encountered in future missions, and some potential solutions to these future challenges.