Gazing toward humans: a study on water rescue dogs using the impossible task paradigm.

PubMed

D'Aniello, Biagio; Scandurra, Anna; Prato-Previde, Emanuela; Valsecchi, Paola

2015-01-01

Various studies have assessed the role of life experiences, including learning opportunities, living conditions and the quality of dog-human relationships, in the use of human cues and problem-solving ability. The current study investigates how and to what extent training affects the behaviour of dogs and the communication of dogs with humans by comparing dogs trained for a water rescue service and untrained pet dogs in the impossible task paradigm. Twenty-three certified water rescue dogs (the water rescue group) and 17 dogs with no training experience (the untrained group) were tested using a modified version of the impossible task described by Marshall-Pescini et al. in 2009. The results demonstrated that the water rescue dogs directed their first gaze significantly more often towards the owner and spent more time gazing toward two people compared to the untrained pet dogs. There was no difference between the dogs of the two groups as far as in the amount of time spent gazing at the owner or the stranger; neither in the interaction with the apparatus attempting to obtain food. The specific training regime, aimed at promoting cooperation during the performance of water rescue, could account for the longer gazing behaviour shown toward people by the water rescue dogs and the priority of gazing toward the owner. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On medicine and politics.

PubMed Central

Krakauer, E.

1992-01-01

This paper explores the relationship between medicine and politics, between medical management of the human body and governmental management of the body politic. It argues that the increasing complexity both of society and of governmental administration of society in the modern age has made it impossible completely to separate medicine from politics. It demonstrates that, along with great potential for social benefit, "medico-politics" brought with it great danger; much harm has been done purportedly to heal the body politic. The paper concludes by suggesting a way for physicians to minimize this danger. Images FIG. 1 PMID:1285451

Brief Report: New Evidence for a Social-Specific Imagination Deficit in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ten Eycke, Kayla D.; Müller, Ulrich

2015-01-01

Previous research suggests that children with autism have deficits in drawing imaginative content. However, these conclusions are largely based on tasks that require children to draw impossible persons, and performance on this task may be limited by social deficits. To determine the generality of the deficit in imagination in children with autism,…

Pro Libra Makes the Impossible Happen.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherry, Susan Spaeth

1981-01-01

Pro Libra Associates, Inc. in South Orange, New Jersey, is a cadre of some 200 carefully screened professionals and clerical workers who perform a variety of library tasks on a contract basis. (Author/LLS)

Guiding People to Interpret Their Experienced Difficulty as Importance Highlights Their Academic Possibilities and Improves Their Academic Performance

PubMed Central

Oyserman, Daphna; Elmore, Kristen; Novin, Sheida; Fisher, Oliver; Smith, George C.

2018-01-01

Does experiencing difficulty bolster or undermine future self-images, strategies to get there and actual performance? We build on four insights from prior research to predict that accessible interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindset shapes identity and performance. First, people have two different interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindsets available in memory; their difficulty-as-impossibility mindset focuses attention on difficulty as implying low odds and their difficulty-as-importance mindset focuses attention on difficulty as implying high value. Second, people are sensitive to contextual cues as to which mindset to apply to understand their experienced difficulty. Third, people apply the mindset that comes to mind unless they have reason to question why it is “on-the-mind.” Fourth, social class can be thought of as a chronic context influencing how much people endorse each interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindset. We used subtle primes to guide participants’ attention toward either a difficulty-as-importance or a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset (N = 591). Participants guided toward a difficulty-as-importance mindset performed better on difficult academic tasks (Studies 1, 2) than participants guided toward a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset; whether they had more school-focused possible identities and linked strategies depended on sample (Studies 3, 4). For college students, the effect of guided interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindset was not moderated by how much participants agreed with that mindset (Studies 1, 3, 4). College students mostly disagreed with a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset, but making that mindset accessible undermined their performance and sometimes their possible identities anyway. In contrast, middle school students (a younger and lower social class sample) were more likely to agree with a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset. In this sample (Study 2), we found an effect of mindset endorsement: agreeing that difficulty implies importance and disagreeing that difficulty implies impossibility improved performance. This study had a control group. Control group participants not guided to use a particular interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindset performed no differently than participants guided toward a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset. Results suggest that people may chronically act as if they are using a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset and may benefit from being guided to consider that experienced difficulty might imply task importance. Effect of accessible mindset on salience of academic possible selves was not stable, accessible mindset mattered in one university sample but not the other. PMID:29887819

75 FR 6680 - Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee; Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-10

.... (b) Briefings concerning on-going projects of interest to MERPAC. (c) Other items brought up for... makes recommendations to the Assistant Commandant for Operations on issues concerning merchant marine... following task statements may meet to deliberate-- (a) Task Statement 30, concerning Utilizing Military Sea...

An archaeology of caring knowledge.

PubMed

Paley, J

2001-10-01

There have been repeated attempts, especially during the last 20 years, to say precisely what caring in nursing is. Authors who undertake this task usually begin with the observation that the concept of caring is complex and elusive, and suggest that their contribution will help to clarify this most confused of notions. However, they are always followed by other authors, who do exactly the same thing. We seem to be no closer, now, to a clarification of caring than we have ever been. The paper offers a diagnosis of this situation, and explains why the project of retrieving caring from its elusiveness is an impossible one. I will suggest that this has nothing to do with the concept of caring, as such. Rather, the impossibility of the task follows from what these authors take to be knowledge of caring. I present an analysis of some presuppositions about what knowledge is. These presuppositions pervade the literature on caring, and can be summarized as follows: knowledge of caring is an aggregate of things said about it, derived from a potentially endless series of associations, grouped into attributes on the basis of resemblances, and conceived as a holistic description of the phenomenon. Further, I suggest that this analysis is akin to the one which Foucault offers of sixteenth century knowledge. The analysis suggests that this way of knowing is approximately 350 years out of date, and explains why the task of arriving at knowledge (in this sense) is impossible. Moreover, Foucault's claim that sixteenth century knowledge is "plethoric yet absolutely poverty-stricken" applies, with equal force, to nursing's knowledge of caring.

Conditioning Military Women for Optimal Performance: Effects of Contraceptive Use

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-10-01

illnesses (i.e. the common cold, sore throat, influenza, mononucleosis ) that afflict soldiers and athletes during physical training (52). The...goal: bring the number to 15 in each treatment group). Task 26: Submit final report when required. Task 27: Prepare abstracts for submission to...absence of any DEPO subjects, trends (and treatment effects) are impossible to discern. INF-g See Figure 8 (all experimental groups combined). This figure

Maintaining a Distinction Between Possible and Impossible Topics of Conversation in the Outpatient Respiratory Medical Clinic

PubMed Central

Jensen, Lone Birgitte Skov; Larsen, Kristian; Konradsen, Hanne

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to generate a grounded theory explaining patterns of behavior among health care professionals (HCPs) during interactions with patients in outpatient respiratory medical clinics. The findings suggest that the HCPs managed contradictory expectations to the interaction by maintaining a distinction between possible and impossible topics to counseling. Three subcategories explaining the effort that maintain the impossible and possible topics separated were identified: (a) an effort to maintain the diseased lungs as the main task in counseling, (b) navigating interactions to avoid strong emotions of suffering in patients to reveal, (c) avoiding the appearance of the non-alterable life circumstances of the patients. The HCPs’ attitudes toward what patients could be offered generated a distance and a difficulty during counseling and created further suffering in the patients but likewise a discomfort and frustration among the HCPs. PMID:28462333

Maintaining a Distinction Between Possible and Impossible Topics of Conversation in the Outpatient Respiratory Medical Clinic.

PubMed

Jensen, Lone Birgitte Skov; Larsen, Kristian; Konradsen, Hanne

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to generate a grounded theory explaining patterns of behavior among health care professionals (HCPs) during interactions with patients in outpatient respiratory medical clinics. The findings suggest that the HCPs managed contradictory expectations to the interaction by maintaining a distinction between possible and impossible topics to counseling. Three subcategories explaining the effort that maintain the impossible and possible topics separated were identified: (a) an effort to maintain the diseased lungs as the main task in counseling, (b) navigating interactions to avoid strong emotions of suffering in patients to reveal, (c) avoiding the appearance of the non-alterable life circumstances of the patients. The HCPs' attitudes toward what patients could be offered generated a distance and a difficulty during counseling and created further suffering in the patients but likewise a discomfort and frustration among the HCPs.

When affordances climb into your mind: advantages of motor simulation in a memory task performed by novice and expert rock climbers.

PubMed

Pezzulo, Giovanni; Barca, Laura; Bocconi, Alessandro Lamberti; Borghi, Anna M

2010-06-01

Does the sight of multiple climbing holds laid along a path activate a motor simulation of climbing that path? One way of testing whether multiple affordances and their displacement influence the formation of a motor simulation is to study acquired motor skills. We used a behavioral task in which expert and novice rock climbers were shown three routes: an easy route, a route impossible to climb but perceptually salient, and a difficult route. After a distraction task, they were then given a recall test in which they had to write down the sequence of holds composing each route. We found no difference between experts and novices on the easy and impossible routes, whereas on the difficult route, the performance of experts was better than that of novices. This suggests that seeing a climbing wall activates a motor, embodied simulation, which relies not on perceptual salience, but on motor competence. More importantly, our results show that the capability to form this simulation is modulated by individuals' motor repertoire and expertise, and that this strongly impacts recall. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Implementation of Task-Tracking Software for Clinical IT Management.

PubMed

Purohit, Anne-Maria; Brutscheck, Clemens; Prokosch, Hans-Ulrich; Ganslandt, Thomas; Schneider, Martin

2017-01-01

Often in clinical IT departments, many different methods and IT systems are used for task-tracking and project organization. Based on managers' personal preferences and knowledge about project management methods, tools differ from team to team and even from employee to employee. This causes communication problems, especially when tasks need to be done in cooperation with different teams. Monitoring tasks and resources becomes impossible: there are no defined deliverables, which prevents reliable deadlines. Because of these problems, we implemented task-tracking software which is now in use across all seven teams at the University Hospital Erlangen. Over a period of seven months, a working group defined types of tasks (project, routine task, etc.), workflows, and views to monitor the tasks of the 7 divisions, 20 teams and 340 different IT services. The software has been in use since December 2016.

Tuning Out the World with Noise-Canceling Headphones

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCulloch, Allison W.; Whitehead, Ashley; Lovett, Jennifer N.; Whitley, Blake

2017-01-01

Context is what makes mathematical modeling tasks different from more traditional textbook word problems. Math problems are sometimes stripped of context as they are worked on. For modeling problems, however, context is important for making sense of the mathematics. The task should be brought back to its real-world context as often as possible. In…

Accounting for Independent Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sonenstein, Burton

The diversity of independent schools in size, function, and mode of operation has resulted in a considerable variety of accounting principles and practices. This lack of uniformity has tended to make understanding, evaluation, and comparison of independent schools' financial statements a difficult and sometimes impossible task. This manual has…

Issues in Psychological Research and Application in Transfer of Training

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

anywhere on my form to check that the subject cried. In spite of the most detailed planning, It Is Impossible to anticipate everythingi My example of the...transfer task Involves "roal-world" Job performance. I would now like to briefly characterize our major transfer of training experiments. The most ...such attempts suggests that In this complex area, task experts are not that reliable In their judgment*. The danger In trying to use the expert to

Acquiring Information from Wider Scope to Improve Event Extraction

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-01

solve all the problems might be hard or even impossible: Word sense disambiguation is already a hard NLP task, and normalizing different expressions...blindfolded woman seen being shot in the head by a hooded militant on a video obtained but not aired by the Arab television station Al-Jazeera. She...imbalance Why are we interested in unsupervised topic features? There is a problem that arises in the evaluation of almost all the tasks in NLP , concerning

The Social Embedding of Intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edmonds, Bruce

I claim that to pass the Turing Test over any period of extended time, it will be necessary to embed the entity into society. This chapter discusses why this is, and how it might be brought about. I start by arguing that intelligence is better characterized by tests of social interaction, especially in open-ended and extended situations. I then argue that learning is an essential component of intelligence and hence that a universal intelligence is impossible. These two arguments support the relevance of the Turing Test as a particular, but appropriate test of interactive intelligence. I look to the human case to argue that individual intelligence uses society to a considerable extent for its development. Taking a lead from the human case, I outline how a socially embedded Artificial Intelligence might be brought about in terms of four aspects: free will, emotion, empathy, and self-modeling. In each case, I try to specify what social 'hooks' might be required for the full ability to develop during a considerable period of in situ acculturation. The chapter ends by speculating what it might be like to live with the result.

Empirical Validation of Reading Proficiency Guidelines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clifford, Ray; Cox, Troy L.

2013-01-01

The validation of ability scales describing multidimensional skills is always challenging, but not impossible. This study applies a multistage, criterion-referenced approach that uses a framework of aligned texts and reading tasks to explore the validity of the ACTFL and related reading proficiency guidelines. Rasch measurement and statistical…

Task and vehicle dynamics based assessment of motion cueing requirements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-08-16

One significant difference between real and simulated flight on the ground are the stimuli or cues provided to the pilot. Due to physical and/or cost constraints, it is nearly impossible to match all the cues experienced in the air in ground-based si...

Teaching Fairness in Journalism: A Challenging Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Joseph

2016-01-01

Objectivity has long been contentious in American journalism. Many practitioners call it essential to a news organization's credibility. Critics, however, hold objectivity is impossible and urge reporters simply to reveal their biases. For educators, teaching objectivity is challenging. Some, seeking a middle ground, instead urge fairness and…

Video control system for a drilling in furniture workpiece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khmelev, V. L.; Satarov, R. N.; Zavyalova, K. V.

2018-05-01

During last 5 years, Russian industry has being starting to be a robotic, therefore scientific groups got new tasks. One of new tasks is machine vision systems, which should solve problem of automatic quality control. This type of systems has a cost of several thousand dollars each. The price is impossible for regional small business. In this article, we describe principle and algorithm of cheap video control system, which one uses web-cameras and notebook or desktop computer as a computing unit.

Tool Use in a Psychomotor Task: The Role of Tool and Learner Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Juarez-Collazo, Norma A.; Lust, Griet; Elen, Jan; Clarebout, Geraldine

2011-01-01

Research on the use of learning tools has brought to light variables that influence the learner on using or not using the tools. A deeper analysis on the current findings is attempted in this study. It adds a psychomotor task; it assesses the actual functionality of the employed tools, and it further explores learner-related variables that…

IGT-Open: An open-source, computerized version of the Iowa Gambling Task.

PubMed

Dancy, Christopher L; Ritter, Frank E

2017-06-01

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is commonly used to understand the processes involved in decision-making. Though the task was originally run without a computer, using a computerized version of the task has become typical. These computerized versions of the IGT are useful, because they can make the task more standardized across studies and allow for the task to be used in environments where a physical version of the task may be difficult or impossible to use (e.g., while collecting brain imaging data). Though these computerized versions of the IGT have been useful for experimentation, having multiple software implementations of the task could present reliability issues. We present an open-source software version of the Iowa Gambling Task (called IGT-Open) that allows for millisecond visual presentation accuracy and is freely available to be used and modified. This software has been used to collect data from human subjects and also has been used to run model-based simulations with computational process models developed to run in the ACT-R architecture.

Comparing Dual-Language Versions of an International Computerized-Adaptive Certification Exam.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sireci, Stephen G.; Foster, David F.; Robin, Frederic; Olsen, James

Evaluating the comparability of a test administered in different languages is a difficult, if not impossible, task. Comparisons are problematic because observed differences in test performance between groups who take different language versions of a test could be due to a difference in difficulty between the tests, to cultural differences in test…

Anticipating future landscape conditions: A case study

Treesearch

Bill McDonald

2000-01-01

Anticipating landscape conditions in the 21st century is a difficult, if not impossible task. Different people have different perceptions of what future landscapes should look like. One group of people, a group of ranchers in the Malpai Borderland Region of the southwestern United States, have come together to work with government agencies, universities, and...

Allocating Tactical High-Performance Computer (HPC) Resources to Offloaded Computation in Battlefield Scenarios

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

authors present a Computing on Dissemination with predictable contacts ( pCoD ) algorithm, since it is impossible to reserve task execution time in advance...Computing While Charging DAG Directed Acyclic Graph 18 TTL Time-to-live pCoD Predictable contacts CoD Computing on Dissemination upCoD Unpredictable

To Read You Must Write: Children in Language Acquisition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, Curtis W.; And Others

Approaches that were used to teach English to fifth grade children of Mexican-American migrant farm laborers are described. The students were categorized as limited in English language proficiency. The children's academic self-concept was so low that they perceived learning as involving impossible tasks, and they believed that they were the source…

A Look Back at ASE Annual Meetings/Conferences, 1963-2012

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramsden, Phil; Ling, Jonathan; Broadbridge, Norma

2013-01-01

Viewed by someone with no involvement, the Association for Science Education (ASE) Annual Conference will seem like an impossibly ambitious task, relying significantly on volunteers (though increasingly supported by a small permanent staff) to organise and run it. Developed from events already established in the former associations, it offers a…

Planning the World History Course: A Reasoned Approach to Omission

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weinland, Thomas P.

2012-01-01

Planning a world history course presents a nearly impossible task. One cannot complete a world history course, or even a European history course, without casting a huge amount of historical information onto the curriculum planning scrapheap. An emphasis on the twentieth century means leaving out significant information from earlier times. "But how…

Sakharov Prize Talk: Creativity of Physicists in the Struggle for Human Rights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altshuler, Boris

2014-03-01

USSR was a totalitarian State with an almighty secret service - KGB. To save the repressed victim of regime, let it be dissident or scientists - Jewish refuzenik, was seemingly an absolutely impossible task. ``For success of our hopeless adventure!'', - as Andrei Sakharov used to say. There were no natural checks and balances in the Former USSR and there none in modern Russia - that is why the task to save the child in Russia is not less `hopeless' today. But the key word in Sakharov's motto is `success' - and we managed to reach it earlier in cooperation with the world scientific community, and we manage to reach it now in our work of protecting of rights of children. The Know How is creativity. To achieve something absolutely impossible needs unexpected `crazy' ideas (`it's not crazy enough to be true', - Niels Bohr). The same in science, in physics in particular, the Step to Unknown always demands `crazy' creative ideas. The Talk traces the parallels between creativity in physics and in human rights struggle. I acknowledge the support from the Committee of Concerned Scientists.

People and watersheds: The case of the totem fish of the North Pacific

Treesearch

Gus diZerega

2007-01-01

Emergent processes dominate modern social orders as well as natural ones. Research in the 1920s concluded that complexity and importance of local knowledge made it impossible to centrally plan complex economies. Subsequent experience in the Soviet Union and elsewhere confirmed these arguments. Further, organizations charged with performing tasks they could not...

Why Does Well

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sartorius, Tara Cady

2010-01-01

There is something disappointing about life. It is messy and out of control. It seems the more one tries to put life in order, the more ordering there is to do. The more one seeks explanations, the more confusing things become. Life's an impossible task. Maybe one should just give up. Or, then again, one might as well keep trying. It's this…

Using a Data Mining Approach to Develop a Student Engagement-Based Institutional Typology. IR Applications, Volume 18, February 8, 2009

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luan, Jing; Zhao, Chun-Mei; Hayek, John C.

2009-01-01

Data mining provides both systematic and systemic ways to detect patterns of student engagement among students at hundreds of institutions. Using traditional statistical techniques alone, the task would be significantly difficult--if not impossible--considering the size and complexity in both data and analytical approaches necessary for this…

The development of children’s concepts of invisibility

PubMed Central

Woolley, Jacqueline D.; McInnis, Melissa A.

2015-01-01

One of the most striking examples of appearance-reality discrepancy is invisibility – when something has no appearance yet still exists. The issue of invisibility sits at the juncture of two foundational ontological distinctions, that between appearance and reality and that between reality and non-reality. We probed the invisibility concepts of 47 3-7-year-olds using two sets of tasks: (1) an entity task, in which children were queried about the visibility and reality status of a variety of both visible and invisible entities, and (2) two standard appearance-reality tasks. Results showed that children’s concepts of visibility and reality status are intertwined, and that an understanding that some entities are impossible to see develops between the ages of 3 and 7. PMID:25937704

Update on the Global Campaign Against Terrorist Financing: Second Report of an Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-06-15

therefore should be the subject of additional due diligence . Independent Task Force on Terrorist Financing 47 • Cooperate fully with any multilateral...unusually talented group who brought enthusiasm, diligence , and strong analytical skills to this project. We are especially appreciative of the hard...State Department’s latest Patterns of Global Terrorism report, continue to give praise where praise is due but too often go to lengths to avoid

The development of CPR.

PubMed

McLennan, Stuart

2008-10-17

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is now the standard treatment for someone having a cardiac arrest. It is, however, a procedure that has emerged only relatively recently. For a number of scientific and religious reasons, it was long considered impossible, even blasphemous, to attempt to reverse 'death'. Because of these factors, the area of resuscitation failed to progress until the Enlightenment in the 18th Century. The main elements of resuscitation were then developed over the next 200 years, and eventually brought together to create CPR in the early 1960s. The increased demands that morality was seen to place on the medical profession to combat sudden cardiac death subsequent to this development may have been an important factor in why CPR has come to be used in the widespread manner it currently is.

Direct-to-consumer advertising under the radar: the need for realistic drugs policy in Australia.

PubMed

Mackenzie, F J; Jordens, C F C; Ankeny, R A; McPhee, J; Kerridge, I H

2007-04-01

Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines (DTCA-PM) is currently banned in Australia. DTCA-PM is thought to increase health-care costs by increasing demand for drugs that are both expensive and potentially harmful. However, DTCA-PM is occurring in Australia despite the current prohibition. We argue that successful regulation of the practice has been undermined as a result of changes brought about by the ongoing communications revolution, the increasing centrality of patient choice in medical decision-making and the impossibility of drawing and maintaining a sharp distinction between information and advertising. The prohibition is further threatened by recent international trade agreements. These factors make DTCA-PM inevitable and legislative and professional bodies need to acknowledge this to create a more effective health-care policy.

The Role of Task-Related Learned Representations in Explaining Asymmetries in Task Switching

PubMed Central

Barutchu, Ayla; Becker, Stefanie I.; Carter, Olivia; Hester, Robert; Levy, Neil L.

2013-01-01

Task switch costs often show an asymmetry, with switch costs being larger when switching from a difficult task to an easier task. This asymmetry has been explained by difficult tasks being represented more strongly and consequently requiring more inhibition prior to switching to the easier task. The present study shows that switch cost asymmetries observed in arithmetic tasks (addition vs. subtraction) do not depend on task difficulty: Switch costs of similar magnitudes were obtained when participants were presented with unsolvable pseudo-equations that did not differ in task difficulty. Further experiments showed that neither task switch costs nor switch cost asymmetries were due to perceptual factors (e.g., perceptual priming effects). These findings suggest that asymmetrical switch costs can be brought about by the association of some tasks with greater difficulty than others. Moreover, the finding that asymmetrical switch costs were observed (1) in the absence of a task switch proper and (2) without differences in task difficulty, suggests that present theories of task switch costs and switch cost asymmetries are in important ways incomplete and need to be modified. PMID:23613919

The mouse that roared.

PubMed

Appleby, C

1996-02-20

They don't call the onslaught of managed care a revolution for nothing: everything is different now. Especially communications technology. The key tasks of managed care, from identifying best practices to coordinating physicians, are impossible when relying on paper records alone. That's why more health systems are depending on automated medical records. Though it's still not too late to catch up to stay competitive, now could be your last chance.

Wood Specific Gravity Variation with Height and Its Implications for Biomass Estimation

Treesearch

Michael C. Wiemann; G. Bruce Williamson

2014-01-01

Wood specific gravity (SG) is widely employed by ecologists as a key variable in estimates of biomass. When it is important to have nondestructive methods for sampling wood for SG measurements, cores are extracted with an increment borer. While boring is a relatively difficult task even at breast height sampling, it is impossible at ground level and arduous at heights...

Medical Situational Awareness in Theater Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration Project Proposal

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-06-01

making it an impossible task to sort, understand , and generate actionable knowledge within operational timeframes. Medical Situational Awareness in...need for greater medical situation awareness in theater and for greater integration of theater medical information into the net-centric rapid...There is a need for greater Medical Situation Awareness in theater and for greater integration of theater medical information into the ForceNet

Probabilistic motor sequence learning in a virtual reality serial reaction time task.

PubMed

Sense, Florian; van Rijn, Hedderik

2018-01-01

The serial reaction time task is widely used to study learning and memory. The task is traditionally administered by showing target positions on a computer screen and collecting responses using a button box or keyboard. By comparing response times to random or sequenced items or by using different transition probabilities, various forms of learning can be studied. However, this traditional laboratory setting limits the number of possible experimental manipulations. Here, we present a virtual reality version of the serial reaction time task and show that learning effects emerge as expected despite the novel way in which responses are collected. We also show that response times are distributed as expected. The current experiment was conducted in a blank virtual reality room to verify these basic principles. For future applications, the technology can be used to modify the virtual reality environment in any conceivable way, permitting a wide range of previously impossible experimental manipulations.

Deciding what is possible and impossible following hippocampal damage in humans.

PubMed

McCormick, Cornelia; Rosenthal, Clive R; Miller, Thomas D; Maguire, Eleanor A

2017-03-01

There is currently much debate about whether the precise role of the hippocampus in scene processing is predominantly constructive, perceptual, or mnemonic. Here, we developed a novel experimental paradigm designed to control for general perceptual and mnemonic demands, thus enabling us to specifically vary the requirement for constructive processing. We tested the ability of patients with selective bilateral hippocampal damage and matched control participants to detect either semantic (e.g., an elephant with butterflies for ears) or constructive (e.g., an endless staircase) violations in realistic images of scenes. Thus, scenes could be semantically or constructively 'possible' or 'impossible'. Importantly, general perceptual and memory requirements were similar for both types of scene. We found that the patients performed comparably to control participants when deciding whether scenes were semantically possible or impossible, but were selectively impaired at judging if scenes were constructively possible or impossible. Post-task debriefing indicated that control participants constructed flexible mental representations of the scenes in order to make constructive judgements, whereas the patients were more constrained and typically focused on specific fragments of the scenes, with little indication of having constructed internal scene models. These results suggest that one contribution the hippocampus makes to scene processing is to construct internal representations of spatially coherent scenes, which may be vital for modelling the world during both perception and memory recall. © 2016 The Authors. Hippocampus Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 The Authors. Hippocampus Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Use of the MASCOT Philosophy for the Construction of Ada Programs,

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-01

dependent units must be recompiled. Because of Ada’s commitment to abstract data types tasks are treated as data types with certain restrictions. A task...3.3.3.1.4 End of Slice Action The scheduling algorithm determines, for each type of Slice termination, how the Scheduler treats Activities whose Slice has...Pools. The MASCOT Machine treats them as constructionally equivalent (refer 3.3.1.1.1). Because of the constraints brought in by the formulation of

Implementation of generalized quantum measurements for unambiguous discrimination of multiple non-orthogonal coherent states.

PubMed

Becerra, F E; Fan, J; Migdall, A

2013-01-01

Generalized quantum measurements implemented to allow for measurement outcomes termed inconclusive can perform perfect discrimination of non-orthogonal states, a task which is impossible using only measurements with definitive outcomes. Here we demonstrate such generalized quantum measurements for unambiguous discrimination of four non-orthogonal coherent states and obtain their quantum mechanical description, the positive-operator valued measure. For practical realizations of this positive-operator valued measure, where noise and realistic imperfections prevent perfect unambiguous discrimination, we show that our experimental implementation outperforms any ideal standard-quantum-limited measurement performing the same non-ideal unambiguous state discrimination task for coherent states with low mean photon numbers.

[Psychosomatic treatment of otorhinolaryngological diseases].

PubMed

Marek, A

2009-11-01

The spectrum of psychosomatic diseases in the field of otorhinolaryngology covers reactive disorders brought on by excessive psychosocial demands, post-traumatic disorders following mental traumatization, purely psychological disorders brought on by personality development deficits or learnt false behavior, and multifactorial diseases with somatic correlatives and mental triggers. Psychosomatic medicine describes the interaction of physical and psychological processes. The central treatment method is psychotherapy. In Germany, the costs of psychodynamic psychotherapies and behavioral therapy are covered by the health insurance companies. The tasks of psychosomatic treatment in the field of otorhinolaryngology comprise differential diagnostics, basic psychosomatic treatment and the determination of differential indications for the respective forms of psychotherapy.

Decreased attention to object size information in scale errors performers.

PubMed

Grzyb, Beata J; Cangelosi, Angelo; Cattani, Allegra; Floccia, Caroline

2017-05-01

Young children sometimes make serious attempts to perform impossible actions on miniature objects as if they were full-size objects. The existing explanations of these curious action errors assume (but never explicitly tested) children's decreased attention to object size information. This study investigated the attention to object size information in scale errors performers. Two groups of children aged 18-25 months (N=52) and 48-60 months (N=23) were tested in two consecutive tasks: an action task that replicated the original scale errors elicitation situation, and a looking task that involved watching on a computer screen actions performed with adequate to inadequate size object. Our key finding - that children performing scale errors in the action task subsequently pay less attention to size changes than non-scale errors performers in the looking task - suggests that the origins of scale errors in childhood operate already at the perceptual level, and not at the action level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Department of Defense Press Pool: Did in Work in Panama?

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-01

who would physically attack a paper and its printer that did not reflect their opinion (Tebbel, 5). Politicians rarely brought the papers to task...Rico single-handedly and James Creelman , a reporter for Hearst, leading a bayonet charge outside Santiago. Military and press relations were good. The

Anti-Bias Education: Reflections

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Derman-Sparks, Louise

2011-01-01

It is 30 years since NAEYC published "Anti-Bias Curriculum Tools for Empowering Young Children" (Derman-Sparks & ABC Task Force, 1989). Since then, anti-bias education concepts have become part of the early childhood education (ECE) narrative in the United States and many other countries. It has brought a fresh way of thinking about…

The Emotional Background to Learning: A University Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosslyn, Felicity

2004-01-01

This article makes observations on the emotional and behavioural difficulties of university students. The rapid expansion of the higher education sector since the 1980s has brought an increased need for liaison between academics and university counsellors and other health professionals. Key tasks confronting students are separation from the…

Thermoregulation in Women

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

regulation when gauging systemic responses to a stressor, such as exercise , heat exposure, or cold exposure. The usual experimen- tal approach when studying...nearly an impossible task, due to the enormous resources needed to accomplish such research. In effect, studies of whole-body responses to exercise of...Because research is conducted in this genre, we will review the responses of women to exercise and thermal stresses with the focus being on each regi

The Relationship between Stated Beliefs, Classroom Practices, and Reading Research Studies of Oral Corrective Feedback in Four ESL Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamiya, Nobuhiro

2012-01-01

A call for a bridge between research and practice is nothing new, yet it seems to be an impossible task to accomplish. Despite the dedicated efforts made by numerous researchers in the past, the world is still largely separate between researchers and teachers. One piece of evidence is that research studies seem to have only a little impact on…

[Hallucinogenic fungi (psilocybe). Part II. Identification of Psilocybe semilanceata by PCR].

PubMed

Adamczyk, Aldona; Sadakierska-Chudy, Anna; Janoszka, Jerzy; Rymkiewicz, Apoloniusz; Dobosz, Tadeusz

2007-01-01

Psilocybe semilanceata belongs to the genus of Psilocybe; it is a hallucinogenic fungus, frequently found in regions with high rainfall, in the grass and moss. There are estimated to be as many as eight Psilocybe hallucinogenic species containing psychoactive alkaloids, such as psilocybin and psilocin, which may cause visual, auditory and other hallucinations, as well as profound changes in the perception of time and space. Since identification of P semilanceata in a form different than a fresh mushroom is almost impossible, the authors made an attempt at developing a method of fungi identification based on the PCR technique, which could be helpful in a fight against dangerous consumption of these hallucinogens by the youth. Detection of the specific DNA sequence for P semilanceata brought good results; the test may be commonly employed in forensic practice in the future.

Cancer Moonshot: What It Means for Patients.

PubMed

Mayer, Deborah K; Fuld Nasso, Shelley

2017-04-01

You may have heard of the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative led by former Vice President Joe Biden. It has brought together many people through a task force, blue ribbon panel, and many public forums to discuss how best "to dramatically accelerate efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer - to achieve a decade's worth of progress in 5 years." This initiative was launched after the 2016 State of the Union address, and the task force delivered recommendations to President Barack Obama on October 17, 2016, providing an opportunity to accelerate progress against cancer. 
.

ESHRE Task Force on Ethics and Law 21: genetic screening of gamete donors: ethical issues.

PubMed

Dondorp, W; De Wert, G; Pennings, G; Shenfield, F; Devroey, P; Tarlatzis, B; Barri, P; Diedrich, K; Eichenlaub-Ritter, U; Tüttelmann, F; Provoost, V

2014-07-01

This Task Force document explores the ethical issues involved in the debate about the scope of genetic screening of gamete donors. Calls for expanded donor screening arise against the background of both occasional findings of serious but rare genetic conditions in donors or donor offspring that were not detected through present screening procedures and the advent of new genomic technologies promising affordable testing of donors for a wide range of conditions. Ethical principles require that all stakeholders' interests are taken into account, including those of candidate donors. The message of the profession should be that avoiding all risks is impossible and that testing should remain proportional.

Airpower Leadership on the Front Line: Lt Gen George H. Brett and Combat Command

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-09-01

front.indd 5 11/7/06 10:29:42 AM insight into the makings of effective leadership and successful command. THOMAS HUGHES Associate Professor School...transformed impossibilities into tasks completed. My thesis reader, Dr. Thomas Hughes, lent his unerring sense of style and his gifted historical...project. The commandant, Col Thomas E. Griffith, provided papers pertaining to General Brett from his collection of historical documents. Dr. Harold R

Increasing complexity with quantum physics.

PubMed

Anders, Janet; Wiesner, Karoline

2011-09-01

We argue that complex systems science and the rules of quantum physics are intricately related. We discuss a range of quantum phenomena, such as cryptography, computation and quantum phases, and the rules responsible for their complexity. We identify correlations as a central concept connecting quantum information and complex systems science. We present two examples for the power of correlations: using quantum resources to simulate the correlations of a stochastic process and to implement a classically impossible computational task.

Development of Interactive and Reflective Learning among Malaysian Online Distant Learners: An ESL Instructor's Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murugaiah, Puvaneswary; Thang, Siew Ming

2010-01-01

Technology has brought tremendous advancements in online education, spurring transformations in online pedagogical practices. Online learning in the past was passive, using the traditional teacher-centred approach. However, with the tools available today, it can be active, collaborative, and meaningful. A well-developed task can impel learners to…

Considering Community Literacies in the Secondary Classroom: A Collaborative Teacher and Researcher Study Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carbone, Paula M.; Reynolds, Rema E.

2013-01-01

A year long study group brought teachers and researchers working in urban contexts in US public schools together to examine literacy practices incorporating students' community literacies into schooled tasks. The goal was to provide teacher development in making connections across their students' community literacies and the academic literacy they…

Too Much Information--Too Much Apprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hijazi, Sam

2004-01-01

The information age along with the exponential increase in information technology has brought an unexpected amount of information. The endeavor to sort and extract a meaning from the massive amount of data has become a challenging task to many educators and managers. This research is an attempt to collect the most common suggestions to reduce the…

The explanatory structure of unexplainable events: Causal constraints on magical reasoning.

PubMed

Shtulman, Andrew; Morgan, Caitlin

2017-10-01

A common intuition, often captured in fiction, is that some impossible events (e.g., levitating a stone) are "more impossible" than others (e.g., levitating a feather). We investigated the source of this intuition, hypothesizing that graded notions of impossibility arise from explanatory considerations logically precluded by the violation at hand but still taken into account. Studies 1-4 involved college undergraduates (n = 357), and Study 5 involved preschool-aged children (n = 32). In Studies 1 and 2, participants saw pairs of magical spells that violated one of 18 causal principles-six physical, six biological, and six psychological-and were asked to indicate which spell would be more difficult to learn. Both spells violated the same causal principle but differed in their relation to a subsidiary principle. Participants' judgments of spell difficulty honored the subsidiary principle, even when participants were given the option of judging the two spells equally difficult. Study 3 replicated those effects with Likert-type ratings; Study 4 replicated them in an open-ended version of the task in which participants generated their own causal violations; and Study 5 replicated them with children. Taken together, these findings suggest that events that defy causal explanation are interpreted in terms of explanatory considerations that hold in the absence of such violations.

Evaluation in the 19th century - how astronomers were chosen for Gotha observatory. (German Title: Evaluation im 19. Jahrhundert - wie Astronomen für die Sternwarte Gotha ausgesucht wurden)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strumpf, Manfred

In his testament, Duke Ernst II of Saxe Gotha and Altenburg instituted a foundation for the maintenance of an astronomical observatory. The interest from which the income of the only astronomer should be paid became insufficient in the course of time, especially after the death of Hansen. The government was not willing to increase the financial means but was nevertheless searching for the impossible, i.e. a reputable scientist who would accept a low salary. Scheibner in Leipzig was charged with the search. He missed two contrasting opportunities: on the one side a classical young astronomer in the tradition lines of Gotha (Leo de Ball) and on the other side a wealthy Hungarian amateur who would have brought the new astrophysics to Gotha (Nikolaus von Konkoly).

Auricular Acupuncture with Laser

PubMed Central

Bahr, Frank

2013-01-01

Auricular acupuncture is a method which has been successfully used in various fields of medicine especially in the treatment of pain relief. The introduction of lasers especially low-level lasers into medicine brought besides the already existing stimulation with needles and electricity an additional technique to auricular acupuncture. This literature research looks at the historical background, the development and the anatomical and neurological aspects of auricular acupuncture in general and auricular laser acupuncture in detail. Preliminary scientific findings on auricular acupuncture with laser have been described in detail and discussed critically in this review article. The results of the studies have shown evidence of the effect of auricular laser acupuncture. However, a comparison of these studies was impossible due to their different study designs. The most important technical as well as study parameters were described in detail in order to give more sufficient evidence and to improve the quality of future studies. PMID:23935695

Handmade Task Tracking Applied to Cognitive Rehabilitation

PubMed Central

Cogollor, José M.; Hughes, Charmayne; Ferre, Manuel; Rojo, Javier; Hermsdörfer, Joachim; Wing, Alan; Campo, Sandra

2012-01-01

This article presents research focused on tracking manual tasks that are applied in cognitive rehabilitation so as to analyze the movements of patients who suffer from Apraxia and Action Disorganization Syndrome (AADS). This kind of patients find executing Activities of Daily Living (ADL) too difficult due to the loss of memory and capacity to carry out sequential tasks or the impossibility of associating different objects with their functions. This contribution is developed from the work of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Technical University of Munich in collaboration with The University of Birmingham. The Kinect™ for Windows© device is used for this purpose. The data collected is compared to an ultrasonic motion capture system. The results indicate a moderate to strong correlation between signals. They also verify that Kinect™ is very suitable and inexpensive. Moreover, it turns out to be a motion-capture system quite easy to implement for kinematics analysis in ADL. PMID:23202045

Brain Activation for Language Dual-Tasking: Listening to Two People Speak at the Same Time and a Change in Network Timing

PubMed Central

Buchweitz, Augusto; Keller, Timothy A.; Meyler, Ann; Just, Marcel Adam

2011-01-01

The study used fMRI to investigate brain activation in participants who were able to listen to and successfully comprehend two people speaking at the same time (dual-tasking). The study identified brain mechanisms associated with high-level, concurrent dual-tasking, as compared to comprehending a single message. Results showed an increase in the functional connectivity among areas of the language network in the dual task. The increase in synchronization of brain activation for dual-tasking was brought about primarily by a change in the timing of left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) activation relative to posterior temporal activation, bringing the LIFG activation into closer correspondence with temporal activation. The results show that the change in LIFG timing was greater in participants with lower working memory capacity, and that recruitment of additional activation in the dual-task occurred only in the areas adjacent to the language network that was activated in the single task. The shift in LIFG activation may be a brain marker of how the brain adapts to high-level dual-tasking. PMID:21618666

Experimental adoption of RCM in EDF substations

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

Heroin, G.; Aupied, J.; Sanchis, G.

1996-08-01

EDF, after testing Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) on systems used in nuclear power plants, has now successfully extended RCM to all of its nuclear power plants. In the light of this experience, EDF has committed itself to a pilot study on a line bay of a 400 kV substation in 1992. The RCM method as applied benefited from EDF`s policy of maintenance, introduced five years ago on all substations, which has enhanced prospects of reliability. The original feature in the selection of maintenance tasks was that it brought into play two criteria for failure assessment - frequency and seriousness -more » and two criteria for maintenance task selection - efficiency and facility. The final outcome of RCM as applied to substation maintenance is to categorize maintenance tasks into: (1) essential maintenance tasks, (2) optional tasks, depending on the type and location of the substation, as well as on factors relating to local management of maintenance policy, and (3) unnecessary tasks.« less

Toledo Area Private Industry Council SDA #9. Welfare Coordination Project. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toledo Area Private Industry Council, OH.

The Toledo Area Welfare Coordination Task Force, coordinated by the Private Industry Council and funded by the Job Training Partnership Act, brought together more than 20 community leaders representing private and public organizations that have a role to play in implementing the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program in Lucas and Wood…

Easy Way Out: "Restructured" Usually Means Little Has Changed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mead, Sara

2007-01-01

The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001 brought new urgency to the task of turning around low-performing schools. While many schools have been identified as needing improvement under NCLB, only a small percentage have failed to make progress for long enough--six years--to be subject to restructuring, the most serious consequence…

New Schools for Older Neighborhoods: Strategies for Building Our Communities' Most Important Assets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kauth, Ann

The case studies in this booklet highlight how five communities, in big cities and small towns, overcame the obstacles inherent in creating good new schools in existing neighborhoods. These studies illustrate the creativity that people across the United States have brought to the task of creating new schools in older neighborhoods. There is…

Segregation in Residential Areas: Papers on Racial and Socioeconomic Factors in Choice of Housing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawley, Amos H., Ed.; Rock, Vincent P., Ed.

The papers included in this volume were originally prepared for the Social Science Panel brought together by the Division of Behavioral Sciences of the National Research Council at the request of the National Academy of Sciences--National Academy of Engineering's Advisory Committee to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The task of…

Business Spanish in the Real World: A Task-Based Needs Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Alexandra; Adrada-Rafael, Sergio

2017-01-01

The growing demand for Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) courses at universities in the United States in the last two decades (Klee, 2015) has brought to light the need for more theoretically driven research in this field, which can inform pedagogical decisions and materials design. The present study conceptually replicates Serafini and Torres…

A Show of Hands: Relations between Young Children's Gesturing and Executive Function

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, Gina; Miller, Patricia H.

2013-01-01

This study brought together 2 literatures--gesturing and executive function--in order to examine the possible role of gesture in children's executive function. Children (N = 41) aged 2½-6 years performed a sorting-shift executive function task (Dimensional Change Card Sort). Responses of interest included correct sorting, response latency,…

"Contra La Corriente" (Against the Current): The Role of Latino Fathers in Family-School Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quiñones, Sandra; Kiyama, Judy Marquez

2014-01-01

A community-based, multisite study using mixed methods examined the experiences and perspectives of Latino students and families in a low performing urban school district in New York State. This research project was spearheaded by a Latino Education Task Force which brought together multiple stakeholders in a collaborative effort to counteract…

Time Sharing Between Robotics and Process Control: Validating a Model of Attention Switching.

PubMed

Wickens, Christopher Dow; Gutzwiller, Robert S; Vieane, Alex; Clegg, Benjamin A; Sebok, Angelia; Janes, Jess

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to validate the strategic task overload management (STOM) model that predicts task switching when concurrence is impossible. The STOM model predicts that in overload, tasks will be switched to, to the extent that they are attractive on task attributes of high priority, interest, and salience and low difficulty. But more-difficult tasks are less likely to be switched away from once they are being performed. In Experiment 1, participants performed four tasks of the Multi-Attribute Task Battery and provided task-switching data to inform the role of difficulty and priority. In Experiment 2, participants concurrently performed an environmental control task and a robotic arm simulation. Workload was varied by automation of arm movement and both the phases of environmental control and existence of decision support for fault management. Attention to the two tasks was measured using a head tracker. Experiment 1 revealed the lack of influence of task priority and confirmed the differing roles of task difficulty. In Experiment 2, the percentage attention allocation across the eight conditions was predicted by the STOM model when participants rated the four attributes. Model predictions were compared against empirical data and accounted for over 95% of variance in task allocation. More-difficult tasks were performed longer than easier tasks. Task priority does not influence allocation. The multiattribute decision model provided a good fit to the data. The STOM model is useful for predicting cognitive tunneling given that human-in-the-loop simulation is time-consuming and expensive. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Figure/ground segregation from temporal delay is best at high spatial frequencies.

PubMed

Kojima, H

1998-12-01

Two experiments investigated the role of spatial frequency in performance of a figure/ground segregation task based on temporal cues. Figure orientation was much easier to judge when figure and ground portions of the target were defined exclusively by random texture composed entirely of high spatial frequencies. When target components were defined by low spatial frequencies only, the task was nearly impossible except with long temporal delay between figure and ground. These results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that M-cell activity is primarily responsible for figure/ground segregation from temporal delay. Instead, these results point to a distinction between temporal integration and temporal differentiation. Additionally, the present results can be related to recent work on the binding of spatial features over time.

Procedural memory in dissociative identity disorder: when can inter-identity amnesia be truly established?

PubMed

Huntjens, Rafaële J C; Postma, Albert; Woertman, Liesbeth; van der Hart, Onno; Peters, Madelon L

2005-06-01

In a serial reaction time task, procedural memory was examined in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Thirty-one DID patients were tested for inter-identity transfer of procedural learning and their memory performance was compared with 25 normal controls and 25 controls instructed to simulate DID. Results of patients seemed to indicate a pattern of inter-identity amnesia. Simulators, however, were able to mimic a pattern of inter-identity amnesia, rendering the results of patients impossible to interpret as either a pattern of amnesia or a pattern of simulation. It is argued that studies not including DID-simulators or simulation-free memory tasks, should not be taken as evidence for (or against) amnesia in DID.

Gender differences in performance of script analysis by older adults.

PubMed

Helmes, E; Bush, J D; Pike, D L; Drake, D G

2006-12-01

Script analysis as a test of executive functions is presumed sensitive to cognitive changes seen with increasing age. Two studies evaluated if gender differences exist in performance on scripts for familiar and unfamiliar tasks in groups of cognitively intact older adults. In Study 1, 26 older adults completed male and female stereotypical scripts. Results were not significant but a tendency was present, with genders making fewer impossible errors on the gender-typical script. Such an interaction was also noted in Study 2, which contrasted 50 older with 50 younger adults on three scripts, including a script with neutral familiarity. The pattern of significant interactions for errors suggested the need to use scripts that are based upon tasks that are equally familiar to both genders.

Task directed sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Firby, R. James

1990-01-01

High-level robot control research must confront the limitations imposed by real sensors if robots are to be controlled effectively in the real world. In particular, sensor limitations make it impossible to maintain a complete, detailed world model of the situation surrounding the robot. To address the problems involved in planning with the resulting incomplete and uncertain world models, traditional robot control architectures must be altered significantly. Task-directed sensing and control is suggested as a way of coping with world model limitations by focusing sensing and analysis resources on only those parts of the world relevant to the robot's active goals. The RAP adaptive execution system is used as an example of a control architecture designed to deploy sensing resources in this way to accomplish both action and knowledge goals.

Mining Temporal Patterns to Improve Agents Behavior: Two Case Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fournier-Viger, Philippe; Nkambou, Roger; Faghihi, Usef; Nguifo, Engelbert Mephu

We propose two mechanisms for agent learning based on the idea of mining temporal patterns from agent behavior. The first one consists of extracting temporal patterns from the perceived behavior of other agents accomplishing a task, to learn the task. The second learning mechanism consists in extracting temporal patterns from an agent's own behavior. In this case, the agent then reuses patterns that brought self-satisfaction. In both cases, no assumption is made on how the observed agents' behavior is internally generated. A case study with a real application is presented to illustrate each learning mechanism.

Space Shuttle Projects

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-08-06

A student tries to insert plastic blocks into the correct holes in a baby's toy. The seemingly trivial task becomes nearly impossible when the prism glasses he is wearing reverse left and right. This is similar to tests used to measure how astronauts adapt to space and then readapt to Earth. The activity was part of the Space Research and You education event held by NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research on June 25, 2002, in Arlington, VA, to highlight the research that will be conducted on STS-107.

Basic approaches to and tasks of space technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Okhotin, A. S.

1978-01-01

The high vacuum and weightlessness of outer space offer great possibilities for the new field of space technology. To take advantage of this, it is necessary to study such physical and chemical phenomena as diffusion, surface tension, heat exchange, and crystallization. The research shows the possibility of obtaining materials with a more perfect structure. Methods of treating materials can be used in space which are impossible on earth. Achievements in material science in outer space will have a large impact on the national economy.

The Role of Reminding in the Effects of Spaced Repetitions on Cued Recall: Sufficient but Not Necessary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wahlheim, Christopher N.; Maddox, Geoffrey B.; Jacoby, Larry L.

2014-01-01

Three experiments examined the role of study-phase retrieval (reminding) in the effects of spaced repetitions on cued recall. Remindings were brought under task control to evaluate their effects. Participants studied 2 lists of word pairs containing 3 item types: single items that appeared once in List 2, within-list repetitions that appeared…

Bridging the Gap between Curriculum Planning Policies and Pre-Service Teachers' Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castro-Garces, Angela Yicely; Arboleda, Argemiro Arboleda

2017-01-01

The challenge and satisfaction of being a teacher is doubled when one has the precious task of being a teacher trainer, as our practices replicate exponentially, touching the lives of people we do not even get to meet. Accordingly, this article presents the analysis of a process that brought tensions to a teacher training program because of the…

Young Children's Imitative and Innovative Behaviour on the Floating Object Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Mark

2013-01-01

Past research has shown that children will copy the actions of adults with high fidelity, even actions that are obviously causally irrelevant to the modelled outcome. However, this phenomenon has always been documented in cases where a clear functional outcome has been brought about (e.g. getting a box open to retrieve a toy). Here, we demonstrate…

The Oedipus Complex as Observed in Work with Couples and Their Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Lisa

2004-01-01

In work with couples where there is a child referred to a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, there are opportunities to observe and to work with unresolved Oedipal issues brought by the parents to the task of creating a family. These conflicts can be seen enacted by the child or children, either internally or externally. Examples are…

Partnering with K-12 Education in Building Healthy, Sustainable, and Competitive Regions: A California Policy Symposium. Proceedings Summary & Next Steps

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vincent, Jeff; McKoy, Deborah; Alex, Ken; Mitchell, Connie; Moore, Kathleen

2013-01-01

On December 6, 2012, UC Berkeley's Center for Cities & Schools, in collaboration with the California Department of Education, California Department of Public Health, Governor's Office of Planning and Research, Strategic Growth Council, and Health in All Policies Task Force, brought together leaders from across California to discuss the…

Today's Program Is Brought to You by the Letters--Debit and Credit and by the Number Income

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bush, H. Francis; Walsh, Vonda K.

2011-01-01

As each generation comes of age they receive a label. Currently, we are teaching the new millennials. Their learning style and time management preferences may respond better to a constant task and feedback cycle similar to the popular Public Television Series, Sesame Street. This paper examines the effects of requiring students to take an…

Investigating the Curriculum through Assessment Practice in Higher Education: The Value of a "Learning Cultures" Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, David

2014-01-01

It is widely acknowledged that the curriculum and knowledge in higher education (HE) are especially visible through (and often constructed by) assessment practices. If this is the case, it matters greatly what perspectives and theoretical tools are brought to bear on the task of understanding these practices. Having briefly set out three…

[The activity of the State Sanitary Inspectorate after implementation of the act of January, 23 2009 "Amending certain acts regarding reorganization and redistribution of competences of the public administration at the provincial level"].

PubMed

Rudaś, Dariusz; Skórczewski, Krzysztof

2011-01-01

The restructuring of the State Sanitary Inspectorate was determined by the need to adjust the existing system to the new structure- and task-oriented standards introduced by the administrative reforms at the provincial level. This brought about a lot of changes in the way State County Sanitary Inspectors operate. For first few months after the enforcement of the Act of January 23.2009 amending certain acts regarding reorganization and redistribution of competences of the public administration at the provincial level (Journal of Laws, No. 92, item. 753, 2009) brought about a lot of ambiguities and expectations. Such unresolved issues are typical for the initial or transition period after implementation of a new law. The approach to the operation of the State Sanitary Inspectorate at the county level depicted in the article lays the emphasis on the challenges in the legal and task-oriented domain that arose after coming into force of the aforementioned amendment. By way of conclusion, the authors of the article briefly summaries the practical outcomes of the transformations undergone by the State Sanitary Inspectorate at the county level.

A "spoon full of sugar" helps the medicine go down: How a participant friendly version of a psychophysics task significantly improves task engagement, performance and data quality in a typical adult sample.

PubMed

Smith, Marie L; Cesana, M Letizia; Farran, Emily K; Karmiloff-Smith, Annette; Ewing, Louise

2018-06-01

Few would argue that the unique insights brought by studying the typical and atypical development of psychological processes are essential to building a comprehensive understanding of the brain. Often, however, the associated challenges of working with non-standard adult populations results in the more complex psychophysical paradigms being rejected as too complex. Recently we created a child- (and clinical group) friendly implementation of one such technique - the reverse-correlation Bubbles approach - and noted an associated performance boost in adult participants. Here, we compare the administration of three different versions of this participant-friendly task in the same adult participants to empirically confirm that introducing elements in the experiment with the sole purpose of improving the participant experience, not only boosts the participant's engagement and motivation for the task but results in a significantly improved objective task performance and stronger statistical results.

ASTROS: A multidisciplinary automated structural design tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neill, D. J.

1989-01-01

ASTROS (Automated Structural Optimization System) is a finite-element-based multidisciplinary structural optimization procedure developed under Air Force sponsorship to perform automated preliminary structural design. The design task is the determination of the structural sizes that provide an optimal structure while satisfying numerous constraints from many disciplines. In addition to its automated design features, ASTROS provides a general transient and frequency response capability, as well as a special feature to perform a transient analysis of a vehicle subjected to a nuclear blast. The motivation for the development of a single multidisciplinary design tool is that such a tool can provide improved structural designs in less time than is currently needed. The role of such a tool is even more apparent as modern materials come into widespread use. Balancing conflicting requirements for the structure's strength and stiffness while exploiting the benefits of material anisotropy is perhaps an impossible task without assistance from an automated design tool. Finally, the use of a single tool can bring the design task into better focus among design team members, thereby improving their insight into the overall task.

Detecting spatial memory deficits beyond blindness in tg2576 Alzheimer mice.

PubMed

Yassine, Nour; Lazaris, Anelise; Dorner-Ciossek, Cornelia; Després, Olivier; Meyer, Laurence; Maitre, Michel; Mensah-Nyagan, Ayikoe Guy; Cassel, Jean-Christophe; Mathis, Chantal

2013-03-01

The retinal degeneration Pde6b(rd1) (rd) mutation can be a major pitfall in behavioral studies using tg2576 mice bred on a B6:SJL genetic background, 1 of the most widely used models of Alzheimer's disease. After a pilot study in wild type mice, performance of 8- and 16-month-old tg2576 mice were assessed in several behavioral tasks with the challenge of selecting 1 or more task(s) showing robust memory deficits on this genetic background. Water maze acquisition was impossible in rd homozygotes, whereas Y-maze alternation, object recognition, and olfactory discrimination were unaffected by both the transgene and the rd mutation. Spatial memory retention of 8- and 16-month-old tg2576 mice, however, was dramatically affected independently of the rd mutation when mice had to recognize a spatial configuration of objects or to perform the Barnes maze. Thus, the latter tasks appear extremely useful to evaluate spatial memory deficits and to test cognitive therapies in tg2576 mice and other mouse models bred on a background susceptible to visual impairment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Training of Visual-Spatial Working Memory in Preschool Children

PubMed Central

Gade, Miriam; Zoelch, Christof; Seitz-Stein, Katja

2017-01-01

Working memory, the ability to store and manipulate information is of great importance for scholastic achievement in children. In this study, we report four studies in which preschoolers were trained on a visual-spatial working memory span task, namely the Corsi Block Task. Across all four studies, we found significant training effects for the intervention groups compared to active control groups. Confirming recent research, no transfer effects to other working memory tasks were found. Most importantly, our training effects were mainly brought about by children performing below the median in the pretest and those showing median performance, thereby closing the gap to children performing above the median (compensation effect). We consider this finding of great interest to ensure comparable starting conditions when entering school with a relatively short intervention. PMID:28713452

Brain activation for language dual-tasking: listening to two people speak at the same time and a change in network timing.

PubMed

Buchweitz, Augusto; Keller, Timothy A; Meyler, Ann; Just, Marcel Adam

2012-08-01

The study used fMRI to investigate brain activation in participants who were able to listen to and successfully comprehend two people speaking at the same time (dual-tasking). The study identified brain mechanisms associated with high-level, concurrent dual-tasking, as compared with comprehending a single message. Results showed an increase in the functional connectivity among areas of the language network in the dual task. The increase in synchronization of brain activation for dual-tasking was brought about primarily by a change in the timing of left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) activation relative to posterior temporal activation, bringing the LIFG activation into closer correspondence with temporal activation. The results show that the change in LIFG timing was greater in participants with lower working memory capacity, and that recruitment of additional activation in the dual-task occurred only in the areas adjacent to the language network that was activated in the single task. The shift in LIFG activation may be a brain marker of how the brain adapts to high-level dual-tasking. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

FRaC: a feature-modeling approach for semi-supervised and unsupervised anomaly detection.

PubMed

Noto, Keith; Brodley, Carla; Slonim, Donna

2012-01-01

Anomaly detection involves identifying rare data instances (anomalies) that come from a different class or distribution than the majority (which are simply called "normal" instances). Given a training set of only normal data, the semi-supervised anomaly detection task is to identify anomalies in the future. Good solutions to this task have applications in fraud and intrusion detection. The unsupervised anomaly detection task is different: Given unlabeled, mostly-normal data, identify the anomalies among them. Many real-world machine learning tasks, including many fraud and intrusion detection tasks, are unsupervised because it is impractical (or impossible) to verify all of the training data. We recently presented FRaC, a new approach for semi-supervised anomaly detection. FRaC is based on using normal instances to build an ensemble of feature models, and then identifying instances that disagree with those models as anomalous. In this paper, we investigate the behavior of FRaC experimentally and explain why FRaC is so successful. We also show that FRaC is a superior approach for the unsupervised as well as the semi-supervised anomaly detection task, compared to well-known state-of-the-art anomaly detection methods, LOF and one-class support vector machines, and to an existing feature-modeling approach.

FRaC: a feature-modeling approach for semi-supervised and unsupervised anomaly detection

PubMed Central

Brodley, Carla; Slonim, Donna

2011-01-01

Anomaly detection involves identifying rare data instances (anomalies) that come from a different class or distribution than the majority (which are simply called “normal” instances). Given a training set of only normal data, the semi-supervised anomaly detection task is to identify anomalies in the future. Good solutions to this task have applications in fraud and intrusion detection. The unsupervised anomaly detection task is different: Given unlabeled, mostly-normal data, identify the anomalies among them. Many real-world machine learning tasks, including many fraud and intrusion detection tasks, are unsupervised because it is impractical (or impossible) to verify all of the training data. We recently presented FRaC, a new approach for semi-supervised anomaly detection. FRaC is based on using normal instances to build an ensemble of feature models, and then identifying instances that disagree with those models as anomalous. In this paper, we investigate the behavior of FRaC experimentally and explain why FRaC is so successful. We also show that FRaC is a superior approach for the unsupervised as well as the semi-supervised anomaly detection task, compared to well-known state-of-the-art anomaly detection methods, LOF and one-class support vector machines, and to an existing feature-modeling approach. PMID:22639542

Brief report: new evidence for a social-specific imagination deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Ten Eycke, Kayla D; Müller, Ulrich

2015-01-01

Previous research suggests that children with autism have deficits in drawing imaginative content. However, these conclusions are largely based on tasks that require children to draw impossible persons, and performance on this task may be limited by social deficits. To determine the generality of the deficit in imagination in children with autism, we asked 25 children with autism (mean age 9;7) and 29 neurotypically developing children (mean age 8;7) to draw an imaginative person and house. Drawings of imaginary houses by children with autism did not differ from those by neurotypically developing controls, but drawings of persons were significantly less imaginative. These findings suggest that the impairment in imagination among children with autism may be specific to social stimuli.

Genomecmp: computer software to detect genomic rearrangements using markers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulawik, Maciej; Nowak, Robert M.

2017-08-01

Detection of genomics rearrangements is a tough task, because of the size of data to be processed. As genome sequences may consist of hundreds of millions symbols, it is not only practically impossible to compare them by hand, but it is also complex problem for computer software. The way to significantly accelerate the process is to use rearrangement detection algorithm based on unique short sequences called markers. The algorithm described in this paper develops markers using base genome and find the markers positions on other genome. The algorithm has been extended by support for ambiguity symbols. Web application with graphical user interface has been created using three-layer architecture, where users could run the task simultaneously. The accuracy and efficiency of proposed solution has been studied using generated and real data.

Do Humans Have Two Systems to Track Beliefs and Belief-Like States?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apperly, Ian A.; Butterfill, Stephen A.

2009-01-01

The lack of consensus on how to characterize humans' capacity for belief reasoning has been brought into sharp focus by recent research. Children fail critical tests of belief reasoning before 3 to 4 years of age (H. Wellman, D. Cross, & J. Watson, 2001; H. Wimmer & J. Perner, 1983), yet infants apparently pass false-belief tasks at 13 or 15…

Posture and cognition in the elderly: interaction and contribution to the rehabilitation strategies.

PubMed

Borel, L; Alescio-Lautier, B

2014-01-01

In this paper we review the effects of aging on sensory systems and their impact on posture, balance and gait. We also address cognitive aging and attempt to specify which altered cognitive functions negatively impact balance and walking. The role of cognition in postural control is tested with dual-task experiments. This situation results in deleterious effects due to an attentional overload. Given the human cognitive system has limited capacities, we propose that simultaneously performing two tasks depends on the capacity of each individual to perform these tasks on a continuum between automatic execution to highly controlled performance. A level of maximum control exceeds the subject's attentional capacity, which makes it impossible to perform both tasks simultaneously. The subject therefore prioritizes one of the tasks. We use representative dual-task studies from the literature to illustrate the relationship between the different cognitive components and their impact on the control of posture and gait in elderly subjects with altered cognitive capacities and with elderly subjects who are fallers or who have altered sensory-motor capacities. Recently this postural-cognitive relationship was addressed with a new approach. We report how cognitive training can improve dual-task management and we attempt to define the cognitive mechanisms that may be responsible for better postural balance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Deficits in inhibitory force control in young adults with ADHD.

PubMed

Neely, Kristina A; Wang, Peiyuan; Chennavasin, Amanda P; Samimy, Shaadee; Tucker, Jacqueline; Merida, Andrea; Perez-Edgar, Koraly; Huang-Pollock, Cynthia

2017-05-01

Poor inhibitory control is a well-established cognitive correlate of adults with ADHD. However, the simple reaction time (RT) task used in a majority of studies records performance errors only via the presence or absence of a single key press. This all-or-nothing response makes it impossible to capture subtle differences in underlying processes that shape performance. Subsequently, all-or-nothing tasks may underestimate the prevalence of executive function deficits in ADHD. The current study measured inhibitory control using a standard Go/No-Go RT task and a more sensitive continuous grip force task among adults with (N=51, 22 female) and without (N=51, 29 female) ADHD. Compared to adults without ADHD, adults with ADHD made more failed inhibits in the classic Go/No-Go paradigm and produced greater and more variable force during motor inhibition. The amount of force produced on failed inhibits was a stronger predictor of ADHD-related symptoms than the number of commissions in the standard RT task. Adults with ADHD did not differ from those without ADHD on the mean force and variability of force produced in Go trials. These findings suggest that the use of a precise and continuous motor task, such as the force task used here, provides additional information about the nature of inhibitory motor control in adults with ADHD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A computer simulation experiment of supervisory control of remote manipulation. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccandlish, S. G.

1966-01-01

A computer simulation of a remote manipulation task and a rate-controlled manipulator is described. Some low-level automatic decision making ability which could be used at the operator's discretion to augment his direct continuous control was built into the manipulator. Experiments were made on the effect of transmission delay, dynamic lag, and intermittent vision on human manipulative ability. Delay does not make remote manipulation impossible. Intermittent visual feedback, and the absence of rate information in the display presented to the operator do not seem to impair the operator's performance. A small-capacity visual feedback channel may be sufficient for remote manipulation tasks, or one channel might be time-shared between several operators. In other experiments the operator called in sequence various on-site automatic control programs of the machine, and thereby acted as a supervisor. The supervisory mode of operation has some advantages when the task to be performed is difficult for a human controlling directly.

The L'Aquila process and the perils of bad communication of science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alberti, Antonio

2013-04-01

Responsibilities and observance of ethical behaviour by scientists have increased more than ever with the advancement of science and of the social and economic development of a country. Nowadays, geoscientists are often charged by local and/or national and international authorities with the task of providing ways to foster economic development while protecting human life and safeguarding the environment. But besides technical and scientific expertise, in a democratic country all this requires efficient ways and various channels of scientific divulgation. Geoscientists themselves should be involved in these procedures, or at least they should be called to verify that correct communication is actually released. Unfortunately, it seems that awareness of such new and ever-increasing responsibilities is not yet being always realized at a needed level. The question is especially sensible in Italy, a country in which the hydro-geological, seismological, volcanological and coastal set-up requires careful technical and scientific treatment. Given the fragility of the natural system, the role of geoscientists should not be restricted to the delivery of scientific expertise: in fact, and perhaps more than elsewhere, problems are compounded by the need of communication based on sound science not only to governing authorities, but also to the public at large, possibly including also an array of mass media. Many international organizations have been wrongly interpreting the accusation and especially the sentence at the first stage of the L'Aquila process as a problem of impossibility to predict earthquakes. But the recently published motivation of the sentence seems to have brought to light the lack of a scrupulous overview of the situation prior to the disastrous seismic event, practically leaving the task of public information to the judgment or perception of the national agency in charge of natural hazards. It turned out that a major outcome of the process, apart from the identification of guilt, was precisely the exposure of what should be called - fittingly enough -"bad communication of science". Possible conclusions to this unfortunate case will be examined and identified from various geoethical and ethical points of view. The final goal should be to suggest appropriate measures for informing correctly about potential risks and also to improve ethical and geoethical ways of thinking and acting in any scientific community.

On The Computational Capabilities of Physical Systems. Part 2; Relationship With Conventional Computer Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolpert, David H.; Koga, Dennis (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

In the first of this pair of papers, it was proven that there cannot be a physical computer to which one can properly pose any and all computational tasks concerning the physical universe. It was then further proven that no physical computer C can correctly carry out all computational tasks that can be posed to C. As a particular example, this result means that no physical computer that can, for any physical system external to that computer, take the specification of that external system's state as input and then correctly predict its future state before that future state actually occurs; one cannot build a physical computer that can be assured of correctly "processing information faster than the universe does". These results do not rely on systems that are infinite, and/or non-classical, and/or obey chaotic dynamics. They also hold even if one uses an infinitely fast, infinitely dense computer, with computational powers greater than that of a Turing Machine. This generality is a direct consequence of the fact that a novel definition of computation - "physical computation" - is needed to address the issues considered in these papers, which concern real physical computers. While this novel definition does not fit into the traditional Chomsky hierarchy, the mathematical structure and impossibility results associated with it have parallels in the mathematics of the Chomsky hierarchy. This second paper of the pair presents a preliminary exploration of some of this mathematical structure. Analogues of Chomskian results concerning universal Turing Machines and the Halting theorem are derived, as are results concerning the (im)possibility of certain kinds of error-correcting codes. In addition, an analogue of algorithmic information complexity, "prediction complexity", is elaborated. A task-independent bound is derived on how much the prediction complexity of a computational task can differ for two different reference universal physical computers used to solve that task, a bound similar to the "encoding" bound governing how much the algorithm information complexity of a Turing machine calculation can differ for two reference universal Turing machines. Finally, it is proven that either the Hamiltonian of our universe proscribes a certain type of computation, or prediction complexity is unique (unlike algorithmic information complexity), in that there is one and only version of it that can be applicable throughout our universe.

Neurophysiological signature of effective anticipatory task-set control: a task-switching investigation.

PubMed

Lavric, Aureliu; Mizon, Guy A; Monsell, Stephen

2008-09-01

Changing between cognitive tasks requires a reorganization of cognitive processes. Behavioural evidence suggests this can occur in advance of the stimulus. However, the existence or detectability of an anticipatory task-set reconfiguration process remains controversial, in part because several neuroimaging studies have not detected extra brain activity during preparation for a task switch relative to a task repeat. In contrast, electrophysiological studies have identified potential correlates of preparation for a task switch, but their interpretation is hindered by the scarcity of evidence on their relationship to performance. We aimed to: (i) identify the brain potential(s) reflecting effective preparation for a task-switch in a task-cuing paradigm that shows clear behavioural evidence for advance preparation, and (ii) characterize this activity by means of temporal segmentation and source analysis. Our results show that when advance preparation was effective (as indicated by fast responses), a protracted switch-related component, manifesting itself as widespread posterior positivity and concurrent right anterior negativity, preceded stimulus onset for approximately 300 ms, with sources primarily in the left lateral frontal, right inferior frontal and temporal cortices. When advance preparation was ineffective (as implied by slow responses), or made impossible by a short cue-stimulus interval (CSI), a similar component, with lateral prefrontal generators, peaked approximately 300 ms poststimulus. The protracted prestimulus component (which we show to be distinct from P3 or contingent negative variation, CNV) also correlated over subjects with a behavioural measure of preparation. Furthermore, its differential lateralization for word and picture cues was consistent with a role for verbal self-instruction in preparatory task-set reconfiguration.

Multiconductor Short/Open Cable Tester

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichenberg, Dennis

1994-01-01

Frequent or regular testing of multiconductor cables terminated in multipin conductors tedious, if not impossible, task. This inexpensive circuit simplifies open/short testing and is amenable to automation. In operation, pair of connectors selected to match pair of connectors installed on each of cables to be tested. As many connectors accommodated as required, and each can have as many conductors as required. Testing technique implemented with this circuit automated easily with electronic controls and computer interface. Printout provides status of each conductor in cable, indicating which, if any, of conductors has open or short circuit.

An open-source job management framework for parameter-space exploration: OACIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murase, Y.; Uchitane, T.; Ito, N.

2017-11-01

We present an open-source software framework for parameter-space exporation, named OACIS, which is useful to manage vast amount of simulation jobs and results in a systematic way. Recent development of high-performance computers enabled us to explore parameter spaces comprehensively, however, in such cases, manual management of the workflow is practically impossible. OACIS is developed aiming at reducing the cost of these repetitive tasks when conducting simulations by automating job submissions and data management. In this article, an overview of OACIS as well as a getting started guide are presented.

Student interacts with a visual distorter demonstrator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

A student tries to insert plastic blocks into the correct holes in a baby's toy. The seemingly trivial task becomes nearly impossible when the prism glasses he is wearing reverse left and right. This is similar to tests used to measure how astronauts adapt to space and then readapt to Earth. The activity was part of the Space Research and You education event held by NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research on June 25, 2002, in Arlington, VA, to highlight the research that will be conducted on STS-107.

PyParse: a semiautomated system for scoring spoken recall data.

PubMed

Solway, Alec; Geller, Aaron S; Sederberg, Per B; Kahana, Michael J

2010-02-01

Studies of human memory often generate data on the sequence and timing of recalled items, but scoring such data using conventional methods is difficult or impossible. We describe a Python-based semiautomated system that greatly simplifies this task. This software, called PyParse, can easily be used in conjunction with many common experiment authoring systems. Scored data is output in a simple ASCII format and can be accessed with the programming language of choice, allowing for the identification of features such as correct responses, prior-list intrusions, extra-list intrusions, and repetitions.

Exploiting the Temperature Dependence of Magnetic Susceptibility to Control Convective in Fundamental Studies of Solidification Phenomena

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seybert, C.; Evans, J. W.; Leslie, F.; Jones, W. K., Jr.

2001-01-01

It is well known that convection is a dominant mass transport mechanism when materials are solidified on Earth's surface. This convection is caused by gradients in density (and therefore gravitational force) that are brought about by gradients in temperature, composition or both. Diffusion of solute is therefore dwarfed by convection and the study of fundamental parameters, such as dendrite tip shape and growth velocity in the absence of convection is nearly impossible. Significant experimental work has therefore been carried out in orbiting laboratories with the intent of minimizing convection by minimizing gravity. One of the best known experiments of this kind is the Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE), supported by NASA. Naturally such experiments are costly and one objective of the present investigation is to develop an experimental method whereby convection can be halted, in solidification and other experiments, on the Earth's surface. A second objective is to use the method to minimize convection resulting from the residual accelerations suffered by experiments in microgravity.

The influence of action possibility and end-state comfort on motor imagery of manual action sequences.

PubMed

Seegelke, Christian; Hughes, Charmayne M L

2015-12-01

It has been proposed that the preparation of goal-direct actions involves internal movement simulation, or motor imagery. Evidence suggests that motor imagery is critically involved in the prediction of action consequences and contributes heavily to movement planning processes. The present study examined whether the sensitivity towards end-state comfort and the possibility/impossibility to perform an action sequence are considered during motor imagery. Participants performed a mental rotation task in which two images were simultaneously presented. The image on the left depicted the start posture of a right hand when grasping a bar, while the right image depicted the hand posture at the end of the action sequence. The right image displayed the bar in a vertical orientation with the hand in a comfortable (thumb-up) or in an uncomfortable (thumb-down) posture, while the bar in the left image was rotated in picture plane in steps of 45°. Crucially, the two images formed either a physically possible or physically impossible to perform action sequence. Results revealed strikingly different response time patterns for the two action sequence conditions. In general, response times increased almost monotonically with increasing angular disparity for the possible to perform action sequences. However, slight deviations from this monotonicity were apparent when the sequences contained an uncomfortable as opposed to a comfortable final posture. In contrast, for the impossible sequences, response times did not follow a typical mental rotation function, but instead were uniformly very slow. These findings suggest that both biomechanical constraints (i.e., end-state comfort) and the awareness of the possibility/impossibility to perform an action sequence are considered during motor imagery. We conclude that motor representations contain information about the spatiotemporal movement organization and the possibility of performing an action, which are crucially involved in anticipation and planning of action sequences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attention toward contexts modulates context-specificity of behavior in human predictive learning: Evidence from the n-back task.

PubMed

Uengoer, Metin; Lucke, Sara; Lachnit, Harald

2018-02-20

According to the attentional theory of context processing (ATCP), learning becomes context specific when acquired under conditions that promote attention toward contextual stimuli regardless of whether attention deployment is guided by learning experience or by other factors unrelated to learning. In one experiment with humans, we investigated whether performance in a predictive learning task can be brought under contextual control by means of a secondary task that was unrelated to predictive learning, but supposed to modulate participants' attention toward contexts. Initially, participants acquired cue-outcome relationships presented in contexts that were each composed of two elements from two dimensions. Acquisition training in the predictive learning task was combined with a one-back task that required participants to match across consecutive trials context elements belonging to one of the two dimensions. During a subsequent test, we observed that acquisition behavior in the predictive learning task was disrupted by changing the acquisition context along the dimension that was relevant for the one-back task, while there was no evidence for context specificity of predictive learning when the acquisition context was changed along the dimension that was irrelevant for the one-back task. Our results support the generality of the principles advocated by ATCP.

How robust are distributed systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birman, Kenneth P.

1989-01-01

A distributed system is made up of large numbers of components operating asynchronously from one another and hence with imcomplete and inaccurate views of one another's state. Load fluctuations are common as new tasks arrive and active tasks terminate. Jointly, these aspects make it nearly impossible to arrive at detailed predictions for a system's behavior. It is important to the successful use of distributed systems in situations in which humans cannot provide the sorts of predictable realtime responsiveness of a computer, that the system be robust. The technology of today can too easily be affected by worn programs or by seemingly trivial mechanisms that, for example, can trigger stock market disasters. Inventors of a technology have an obligation to overcome flaws that can exact a human cost. A set of principles for guiding solutions to distributed computing problems is presented.

Diversification of visual media retrieval results using saliency detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muratov, Oleg; Boato, Giulia; De Natale, Franesco G. B.

2013-03-01

Diversification of retrieval results allows for better and faster search. Recently there has been proposed different methods for diversification of image retrieval results mainly utilizing text information and techniques imported from natural language processing domain. However, images contain visual information that is impossible to describe in text and the use of visual features is inevitable. Visual saliency is information about the main object of an image implicitly included by humans while creating visual content. For this reason it is naturally to exploit this information for the task of diversification of the content. In this work we study whether visual saliency can be used for the task of diversification and propose a method for re-ranking image retrieval results using saliency. The evaluation has shown that the use of saliency information results in higher diversity of retrieval results.

Activities of UAH

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Ning

2000-01-01

From its start in December 1996, the Cooperative Agreement allowed that some tasks could be performed primarily by UAH, some primarily by MSFC and some in a joint manner. The detailed distribution of effort has evolved in a pragmatic fashion, with each organization focusing on those tasks that seemed most urgent and for which appropriate capabilities existed. The final, all-up experiments were envisioned as a very careful measurement process carried out jointly using components developed at both UAH and MSFC. The total project began with an air of optimism that the necessary apparatus for the adopted objectives could be quickly and easily assembled. Not surprisingly, technological difficulties were encountered by all parties and it has proven impossible to complete the challenging experiments in the term of this cooperative agreement. The UAH accomplishments toward the ultimate experiments are reported here in a taskwise manner.

General Approach to Quantum Channel Impossibility by Local Operations and Classical Communication.

PubMed

Cohen, Scott M

2017-01-13

We describe a general approach to proving the impossibility of implementing a quantum channel by local operations and classical communication (LOCC), even with an infinite number of rounds, and find that this can often be demonstrated by solving a set of linear equations. The method also allows one to design a LOCC protocol to implement the channel whenever such a protocol exists in any finite number of rounds. Perhaps surprisingly, the computational expense for analyzing LOCC channels is not much greater than that for LOCC measurements. We apply the method to several examples, two of which provide numerical evidence that the set of quantum channels that are not LOCC is not closed and that there exist channels that can be implemented by LOCC either in one round or in three rounds that are on the boundary of the set of all LOCC channels. Although every LOCC protocol must implement a separable quantum channel, it is a very difficult task to determine whether or not a given channel is separable. Fortunately, prior knowledge that the channel is separable is not required for application of our method.

Ontogenetic effects on gazing behaviour: a case study of kennel dogs (Labrador Retrievers) in the impossible task paradigm.

PubMed

D'Aniello, Biagio; Scandurra, Anna

2016-05-01

Life experiences and living conditions can influence the problem-solving strategies and the communicative abilities of dogs with humans. The goals of this study were to determine any behavioural differences between Labrador Retrievers living in a kennel and those living in a house as pets and to assess whether kennel dogs show preferences in social behaviours for their caretaker relative to a stranger when they are faced with an unsolvable task. Nine Labrador Retrievers living in a kennel from birth and ten Labrador Retrievers living in a family as pets were tested. The experimental procedure consisted of three "solvable" tasks in which the dogs could easily retrieve food from a container followed by an "unsolvable" task in which the container was hermetically locked. Dogs of both groups spent the same amount of time interacting with the experimental apparatus. Kennel dogs gazed towards people for less time and with higher latency than pet dogs; however, there were no significant preferences in gazing towards the stranger versus the caretaker in both groups. These findings demonstrated that kennel dogs are less prone to use human-directed gazing behaviour when they are faced with an unsolvable problem, taking the humans into account to solve a task less than do the pet dogs.

Physical Strain and Work Ergonomics in Farmers with Disabilities.

PubMed

Nevala-Puranen, Nina; Sörensen, Lars

1997-01-01

In agriculture, occupational injuries are common, and several of them lead to permanent physical disability. The objective of this case study was to assess the strain and the ergonomic needs of four farmers (aged 34-49 years) with physical disabilities. A maximal bicycle ergometer test or an arm-crank test was done to assess their maximal heart rate (HR max ) and maximal oxygen consumption (V0 2max ). The strain at work was analyzed by measuring heart rate (HR), muscle activity (EMG), and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE). The farmers were interviewed as to possible and impossible work tasks and the ergonomic redesign measures taken to improve the work environment. The work tasks performed were mainly light or moderate work for the cardiorespiratory system according to mean HR (88-102 beats/min), the percentage of HR range (17-31% HRR), and the relative V0 2 (22-46% V0 2max ). The mean activity of the trapezius muscles was 0.4-9% of the maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC). All the participants had work tasks they were unable to perform. They had made ergonomie redesign changes mainly to the tractor. This case study showed that some agricultural work tasks were possible for farmers with physical disabilities and that the physical strain associated with these tasks was mainly light or moderate.

Effects and side-effects of integrating care: the case of mental health care in the Netherlands

PubMed Central

Hutschemaekers, Giel J.M.; Tiemens, Bea G.; de Winter, Micha

2007-01-01

Purpose Description and analysis of the effects and side-effects of integrated mental health care in the Netherlands. Context of case Due to a number of large-scale mergers, Dutch mental health care has become an illustration of integration and coherence of care services. This process of integration, however, has not only brought a better organisation of care but apparently has also resulted in a number of serious side-effects. This has raised the question whether integration is still the best way of reorganising mental health care. Data sources Literature, data books, patients and professionals, the advice of the Dutch Commission for Mental Health Care, and policy papers. Case description Despite its organisational and patient-centred integration, the problems in the Dutch mental health care system have not diminished: long waiting lists, insufficient fine tuning of care, public order problems with chronic psychiatric patients, etc. These problems are related to a sharp rise in the number of mental health care registrations in contrast with a decrease of registered patients in first-level services. This indicates that care for people with mental health problems has become solely a task for the mental health care services (monopolisation). At the same time, integrated institutions have developed in the direction of specialised medical care (homogenisation). Monopolisation and homogenisation together have put the integrated institutions into an impossible divided position. Conclusions and discussion Integration of care within the institutions in the Netherlands has resulted in withdrawal of other care providers. These side-effects lead to a new discussion on the real nature and benefits of an integrated mental health care system. Integration requires also a broadly shared vision on good care for the various target groups. This would require a radicalisation of the distinction between care providers as well as a recognition of the different goals of mental health care. PMID:17786180

webpic: A flexible web application for collecting distance and count measurements from images

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Despite increasing ability to store and analyze large amounts of data for organismal and ecological studies, the process of collecting distance and count measurements from images has largely remained time consuming and error-prone, particularly for tasks for which automation is difficult or impossible. Improving the efficiency of these tasks, which allows for more high quality data to be collected in a shorter amount of time, is therefore a high priority. The open-source web application, webpic, implements common web languages and widely available libraries and productivity apps to streamline the process of collecting distance and count measurements from images. In this paper, I introduce the framework of webpic and demonstrate one readily available feature of this application, linear measurements, using fossil leaf specimens. This application fills the gap between workflows accomplishable by individuals through existing software and those accomplishable by large, unmoderated crowds. It demonstrates that flexible web languages can be used to streamline time-intensive research tasks without the use of specialized equipment or proprietary software and highlights the potential for web resources to facilitate data collection in research tasks and outreach activities with improved efficiency. PMID:29608592

Production and stability of mechanochemically exfoliated graphene in water and culture media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

León, V.; González-Domínguez, J. M.; Fierro, J. L. G.; Prato, M.; Vázquez, E.

2016-07-01

The preparation of graphene suspensions in water, without detergents or any other additives is achieved using freeze-dried graphene powders, produced by mechanochemical exfoliation of graphite. These powders of graphene can be safely stored or shipped, and promptly dissolved in aqueous media. The suspensions are relatively stable in terms of time, with a maximum loss of ~25% of the initial concentration at 2 h. This work provides an easy and general access to aqueous graphene suspensions of chemically non-modified graphene samples, an otherwise (almost) impossible task to achieve by other means. A detailed study of the stability of the relative dispersions is also reported.The preparation of graphene suspensions in water, without detergents or any other additives is achieved using freeze-dried graphene powders, produced by mechanochemical exfoliation of graphite. These powders of graphene can be safely stored or shipped, and promptly dissolved in aqueous media. The suspensions are relatively stable in terms of time, with a maximum loss of ~25% of the initial concentration at 2 h. This work provides an easy and general access to aqueous graphene suspensions of chemically non-modified graphene samples, an otherwise (almost) impossible task to achieve by other means. A detailed study of the stability of the relative dispersions is also reported. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: A video showing the dispersion process, the N 1s XPS spectrum of BMG, image of the graphite test in CCM, and the characterization of the GO employed. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr03246j

Quid pro quo: a mechanism for fair collaboration in networked systems.

PubMed

Santos, Agustín; Fernández Anta, Antonio; López Fernández, Luis

2013-01-01

Collaboration may be understood as the execution of coordinated tasks (in the most general sense) by groups of users, who cooperate for achieving a common goal. Collaboration is a fundamental assumption and requirement for the correct operation of many communication systems. The main challenge when creating collaborative systems in a decentralized manner is dealing with the fact that users may behave in selfish ways, trying to obtain the benefits of the tasks but without participating in their execution. In this context, Game Theory has been instrumental to model collaborative systems and the task allocation problem, and to design mechanisms for optimal allocation of tasks. In this paper, we revise the classical assumptions of these models and propose a new approach to this problem. First, we establish a system model based on heterogenous nodes (users, players), and propose a basic distributed mechanism so that, when a new task appears, it is assigned to the most suitable node. The classical technique for compensating a node that executes a task is the use of payments (which in most networks are hard or impossible to implement). Instead, we propose a distributed mechanism for the optimal allocation of tasks without payments. We prove this mechanism to be robust evenevent in the presence of independent selfish or rationally limited players. Additionally, our model is based on very weak assumptions, which makes the proposed mechanisms susceptible to be implemented in networked systems (e.g., the Internet).

An analysis of observer-rated functional vision in patients implanted with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System at three years.

PubMed

Geruschat, Duane R; Richards, Thomas P; Arditi, Aries; da Cruz, Lyndon; Dagnelie, Gislin; Dorn, Jessy D; Duncan, Jacque L; Ho, Allen C; Olmos de Koo, Lisa C; Sahel, José-Alain; Stanga, Paulo E; Thumann, Gabriele; Wang, Vizhong; Greenberg, Robert J

2016-05-01

The purpose of this analysis was to compare observer-rated tasks in patients implanted with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, when the device is ON versus OFF. The Functional Low-Vision Observer Rated Assessment (FLORA) instrument was administered to 26 blind patients implanted with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System at a mean follow-up of 36 months. FLORA is a multi-component instrument that consists in part of observer-rated assessment of 35 tasks completed with the device ON versus OFF. The ease with which a patient completes a task is scored using a four-point scale, ranging from easy (score of 1) to impossible (score of 4). The tasks are evaluated individually and organised into four discrete domains, including 'Visual orientation', 'Visual mobility', 'Daily life and 'Interaction with others'. Twenty-six patients completed each of the 35 tasks. Overall, 24 out of 35 tasks (69 per cent) were statistically significantly easier to achieve with the device ON versus OFF. In each of the four domains, patients' performances were significantly better (p < 0.05) with the device ON versus OFF, ranging from 19 to 38 per cent improvement. Patients with an Argus II Retinal Prosthesis implanted for 18 to 44 months (mean 36 months), demonstrated significantly improved completion of vision-related tasks with the device ON versus OFF. © 2016 The Authors Clinical and Experimental Optometry published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Optometry Australia.

An analysis of observer‐rated functional vision in patients implanted with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System at three years

PubMed Central

Richards, Thomas P; Arditi, Aries; da Cruz, Lyndon; Dagnelie, Gislin; Dorn, Jessy D; Duncan, Jacque L; Ho, Allen C; Olmos de Koo, Lisa C; Sahel, José‐Alain; Stanga, Paulo E; Thumann, Gabriele; Wang, Vizhong; Greenberg, Robert J

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective The purpose of this analysis was to compare observer‐rated tasks in patients implanted with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, when the device is ON versus OFF. Methods The Functional Low‐Vision Observer Rated Assessment (FLORA) instrument was administered to 26 blind patients implanted with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System at a mean follow‐up of 36 months. FLORA is a multi‐component instrument that consists in part of observer‐rated assessment of 35 tasks completed with the device ON versus OFF. The ease with which a patient completes a task is scored using a four‐point scale, ranging from easy (score of 1) to impossible (score of 4). The tasks are evaluated individually and organised into four discrete domains, including ‘Visual orientation’, ‘Visual mobility’, ‘Daily life and ‘Interaction with others’. Results Twenty‐six patients completed each of the 35 tasks. Overall, 24 out of 35 tasks (69 per cent) were statistically significantly easier to achieve with the device ON versus OFF. In each of the four domains, patients’ performances were significantly better (p < 0.05) with the device ON versus OFF, ranging from 19 to 38 per cent improvement. Conclusion Patients with an Argus II Retinal Prosthesis implanted for 18 to 44 months (mean 36 months), demonstrated significantly improved completion of vision‐related tasks with the device ON versus OFF. PMID:26804484

While Curiosity Killed the Cat...Wasn't It Satisfaction That Brought It Back?--EAPQuest as a Modified Version of WebQuest in the Context of University Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burzynska, Kamila

2012-01-01

The Internet provides a powerful digital learning environment for language acquisition and noticing. Thus implementation of challenging tasks to be solved by exploring the Web may sound appealing. The primary idea of the WebQuest project emphasizes data collection. The idea of the TalenQuest, however, goes beyond this traditional concept so as to…

National Defense Center of Excellence for Industrial Metrology and 3D Imaging

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-18

validation rather than mundane data-reduction/analysis tasks. Indeed, the new financial and technical resources being brought to bear by integrating CT...of extremely fast axial scanners. By replacing the single-spot detector by a detector array, a three-dimensional image is acquired by one depth scan...the number of acquired voxels per complete two-dimensional or three-dimensional image, the axial and lateral resolution, the depth range, the

Electromyography (EMG) analysis on impact of classroom chair and table usage among primary school students in Perlis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jing, Ewe Hui; Shan, Lim Shaiu; Effendi, M. S. M.; Rosli, Muhamad Farizuan

2017-09-01

The existing design of primary school classroom chair and table had brought low back pain, neck pain and shoulder pain problems respectively among students in primary school. The purpose of this study is to relate the electromyography (EMG) analysis with the most critical area of the body during sitting and writing. Six male and six female primary school students from SK Seri Perlis with no back pain, neck pain and shoulder pain problems involved were invited as respondents in this study. EMG experiment was carried out by first determined the critical point at T9 and L3 from thoracic and lumbar segment respectively for ECG electrode placement and performed with a series of sitting trials for analysis. The sitting trials performed were slouch to lumbopelvic sitting and slouch to thoracic sitting follow by instruction. Next, the electrode placement was identified at C2-C3 on cervical spine for neck and at midpoint between C7 to the lateral edge of acromion spanning for shoulder respectively. These points were identified for a series of writing task performing for the EMG analysis. There were two type of writing task which included writing by looking at the whiteboard and paper placed on the table. The subjects were instructed to rest during the experiment when necessary. During lumbopelvic sitting posture, the average muscle activation on lumbar area was at the highest peak. The peak indicated that there was critical effect from the experimental finding. The performance of writing task from whiteboard gave rise a higher impact on neck muscle while writing task from paper had a greater impact on shoulder muscle. The critical affected muscle on these areas was proven on these written tasks. The EMG experiment showed that the existing design of primary school classroom chair and table had brought impact on lumbar, neck and shoulder towards the students who were using. A future recommendation suggests that to redesign primary school classroom chair and table which develop with prototype for improvement of EMG result testing.

Blunted cardiac reactivity to psychological stress associated with higher trait anxiety: a study in peacekeepers.

PubMed

Souza, Gabriela Guerra Leal; Mendonça-de-Souza, Ana Carolina Ferraz; Duarte, Antônio Fernando Araújo; Fischer, Nastassja Lopes; Souza, Wanderson Fernandes; Coutinho, Evandro Silva Freire; Figueira, Ivan; Volchan, Eliane

2015-11-23

Both exaggerated and diminished reactivity to stress can be maladaptive. Previous studies have shown that performing increasingly difficult tasks leads first to increased reactivity and then to a blunted response when success is impossible. Our aim was to investigate the influence of trait anxiety on cardiac and cortisol response to and recovery from a standardized psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Task) in a homogeneous sample of healthy peacekeepers. We hypothesized that participants with higher trait anxiety would show blunted reactivity during the performance of an overwhelmingly difficult and stressful task. Participants (N = 50) delivered a speech and performed an arithmetic task in the presence of critical evaluators. Cortisol samples and electrocardiogram data were collected. Participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait version, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) and the Military Peace Force Stressor Inventory. For heart rate, the findings showed that peacekeepers with higher trait anxiety reacted less to the speech task (p = 0.03) and to the arithmetic task (p = 0.008) than those with lower trait anxiety. Trait anxiety did not modulate cortisol responses to the task. Despite the high trait anxiety group having higher PCL-C scores than the low trait anxiety group (p < 0.0001), this did not influence the cardiac results. We concluded that individuals with higher trait anxiety had less tachycardia in response to acute psychological stress than those with lower trait anxiety. The present results point to a higher risk for more anxious individuals of a maladaptive reaction to stressful events.

Decomposition of CO2 Emission Factors in Baoding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Wei; Wang, xuyang; Zhang, Hongzhi

2018-01-01

Baoding, as one of the first “five provinces and eight cities” low carbon pilot cities, undertakes an important task and mission. The urgent task is to explore a peak route and emission reduction path suitable for Baoding’s own development, so as to provide reference for the construction of low-carbon pilot cities. At present, the carbon emissions of Baoding city and its subordinate districts and counties are not clear, and the carbon emissions, change trends and emission characteristics of various industries have not been systematically studied. This lead researcherscan not carry out further attribution analysis, the prediction of future emissions trends and put forward specific measures to reduce emissions are impossible.If the government can not accurately and comprehensively understand the problems faced in the construction and development of low-carbon cities, it is difficult to fundamentally put forward effective emission reduction policies and measures.

Evaluations of Three Methods for Remote Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woolford, B.; Chmielewski, C.; Pandya, A.; Adolf, J.; Whitmore, M.; Berman, A.; Maida, J.

1999-01-01

Long duration space missions require a change in training methods and technologies. For Shuttle missions, crew members could train for all the planned procedures, and carry documentation of planned procedures for a variety of contingencies. As International Space Station (ISS) missions of three months or longer are carried out, many more tasks will need to be performed for which little or no training was received prior to launch. Eventually, exploration missions will last several years, and communications with Earth will have long time delays or be impossible at times. This series of three studies was performed to identify the advantages and disadvantages of three types of training for self-instruction: video-conferencing; multimedia; and virtual reality. These studies each compared two types of training methods, on two different types of tasks. In two of the studies, the subject's were in an isolated, confined environment analogous to space flight; the third study was performed in a laboratory.

A practical guide and perspectives on the use of experimental pain modalities with children and adolescents

PubMed Central

Birnie, Kathryn A; Caes, Line; Wilson, Anna C; Williams, Sara E; Chambers, Christine T

2014-01-01

SUMMARY Use of experimental pain is vital for addressing research questions that would otherwise be impossible to examine in the real world. Experimental induction of pain in children is highly scrutinized given the potential for harm and lack of direct benefit to a vulnerable population. However, its use has critically advanced our understanding of the mechanisms, assessment and treatment of pain in both healthy and chronically ill children. This article introduces various experimental pain modalities, including the cold pressor task, the water load symptom provocation test, thermal pain, pressure pain and conditioned pain modulation, and discusses their application for use with children and adolescents. It addresses practical implementation and ethical issues, as well as the advantages and disadvantages offered by each task. The incredible potential for future research is discussed given the array of experimental pain modalities now available to pediatric researchers. PMID:24641434

An invertebrate embryologist's guide to routine processing of confocal images.

PubMed

von Dassow, George

2014-01-01

It is almost impossible to use a confocal microscope without encountering the need to transform the raw data through image processing. Adherence to a set of straightforward guidelines will help ensure that image manipulations are both credible and repeatable. Meanwhile, attention to optimal data collection parameters will greatly simplify image processing, not only for convenience but for quality and credibility as well. Here I describe how to conduct routine confocal image processing tasks, including creating 3D animations or stereo images, false coloring or merging channels, background suppression, and compressing movie files for display.

Dissociable Brain States Linked to Common and Creative Object Use

PubMed Central

Chrysikou, Evangelia G.; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L.

2013-01-01

Studies of conceptual processing have revealed that the prefrontal cortex is implicated in close-ended, deliberate memory retrieval, especially the left ventrolateral prefrontal regions. However, much of human thought—particularly that which is characterized as creative—requires more open-ended, spontaneous memory retrieval. To explore the neural systems that support conceptual processing under these two distinct circumstances, we obtained functional magnetic resonance images from 24 participants either while retrieving the common use of an everyday object (e.g., “blowing your nose,” in response to a picture of a tissue) or while generating a creative (i.e., uncommon but plausible) use for it (e.g., “protective padding in a package”). The patterns of activation during open- and closed-ended tasks were reliably different, with regard to the magnitude of anterior versus posterior activation. Specifically, the close-ended task (i.e., Common Use task) reliably activated regions of lateral prefrontal cortex, whereas the open-ended task (i.e., Uncommon Use task) reliably activated regions of occipito-temporal cortex. Furthermore, there was variability across subjects in the types of responses produced on the open-ended task that was associated with the magnitude of activation in the middle occipital gyrus on this task. The present experiment is the first to demonstrate a dynamic tradeoff between anterior frontal and posterior occipitotemporal regions brought about by the close- or open-ended task demands. PMID:20533561

Base Realignments and Closures: Report of the Defense Secretary’s Commission

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-29

recommended to the Secretary of Defense several actions that should be taken to aid When it was determined that an local communities in their redevelopment...approved plans. Unlike some previous In many cases, they brought to the task a reviews, the Commission’s approach , first-hand knowledge of military...the by a professional staff (see Appendix D). individual Services. For example, the Air Force, driven by severe current and In organizing to accomplish

Julie Payette and Tamara Jernigan in FGB/Zarya module

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-04-20

S96-E-5161 (2 June 1999) --- Astronauts Jule Payette (left) and Tamara E. Jernigan, mission specialists, participate in the final hours of tasks designed to prepare the International Space Station (ISS) for business. Here, on the Russian-built Zarya module, the two are seen with a small part of the supplies brought up by the Space Shuttle Discovery. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 05:58:37 GMT, June 2, 1999.

English Discussion Groups: A Means for the Military to Understand Culture

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-25

Lieutenant Commander Dane E. Berensen, USN N/A 5e. TASK NUMBER N/A 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER N/A 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ESI...8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION USMC Command and Staff College REPORT NUMBER Marine Corps University N/A 2076 South Street Quantico, Va. 22134-5068 9...irrational. Since Bob is a softball coach, it would be 10 rational that he brings bats, softballs and gloves to practice. If Bob brought

A New Model of Tracheostomy Care: Closing the Research-Practice Gap

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-01-01

521 A New Model of Tracheostomy Care: Closing the Research –Practice Gap Joel St. Clair Abstract Performance improvements have brought about...and it continues to close the research - practice gap . The WRAMC Department of Nursing is presently developing similar evidence-based procedures for... Research -Practice Gap 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK

Definition and Measures of Individual and Unit Readiness and Family Phenomena Affecting It

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-02-01

deployability (Army task/mission) is a new dimension that emerged from the content analysis of the critical incidents. It assesses whether deployment would be...or were brought up by only one or two workshop participants, we decided to include them anyway in the new , expanded list of dimensions. In that way...incidents. Although the 41 participants in the workshops wrote 172 individual readiness critical incidents, no new dimensions were apparent in the content

A High-Value Best-Value Approach to Public Shipyard Human Capital Management to Improve Ship Availability

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

nonproduction shop 11 6. Contractors, who are brought into the shipyard in any capacity beyond the ones previously described, and whose labor is...example, in a shipyard, welders, electricians, pipe fitters, and riggers all perform different tasks and are assigned to different shops in the shipyard...such as “Personnel Management Specialist” and “Human Resource Management Specialist,” are now antiquated and replaced with “Human Capital Practitioner

Over the hill at 24: persistent age-related cognitive-motor decline in reaction times in an ecologically valid video game task begins in early adulthood.

PubMed

Thompson, Joseph J; Blair, Mark R; Henrey, Andrew J

2014-01-01

Typically studies of the effects of aging on cognitive-motor performance emphasize changes in elderly populations. Although some research is directly concerned with when age-related decline actually begins, studies are often based on relatively simple reaction time tasks, making it impossible to gauge the impact of experience in compensating for this decline in a real world task. The present study investigates age-related changes in cognitive motor performance through adolescence and adulthood in a complex real world task, the real-time strategy video game StarCraft 2. In this paper we analyze the influence of age on performance using a dataset of 3,305 players, aged 16-44, collected by Thompson, Blair, Chen & Henrey [1]. Using a piecewise regression analysis, we find that age-related slowing of within-game, self-initiated response times begins at 24 years of age. We find no evidence for the common belief expertise should attenuate domain-specific cognitive decline. Domain-specific response time declines appear to persist regardless of skill level. A second analysis of dual-task performance finds no evidence of a corresponding age-related decline. Finally, an exploratory analyses of other age-related differences suggests that older participants may have been compensating for a loss in response speed through the use of game mechanics that reduce cognitive load.

Over the Hill at 24: Persistent Age-Related Cognitive-Motor Decline in Reaction Times in an Ecologically Valid Video Game Task Begins in Early Adulthood

PubMed Central

Thompson, Joseph J.; Blair, Mark R.; Henrey, Andrew J.

2014-01-01

Typically studies of the effects of aging on cognitive-motor performance emphasize changes in elderly populations. Although some research is directly concerned with when age-related decline actually begins, studies are often based on relatively simple reaction time tasks, making it impossible to gauge the impact of experience in compensating for this decline in a real world task. The present study investigates age-related changes in cognitive motor performance through adolescence and adulthood in a complex real world task, the real-time strategy video game StarCraft 2. In this paper we analyze the influence of age on performance using a dataset of 3,305 players, aged 16-44, collected by Thompson, Blair, Chen & Henrey [1]. Using a piecewise regression analysis, we find that age-related slowing of within-game, self-initiated response times begins at 24 years of age. We find no evidence for the common belief expertise should attenuate domain-specific cognitive decline. Domain-specific response time declines appear to persist regardless of skill level. A second analysis of dual-task performance finds no evidence of a corresponding age-related decline. Finally, an exploratory analyses of other age-related differences suggests that older participants may have been compensating for a loss in response speed through the use of game mechanics that reduce cognitive load. PMID:24718593

Visual performance on detection tasks with double-targets of the same and different difficulty.

PubMed

Chan, Alan H S; Courtney, Alan J; Ma, C W

2002-10-20

This paper reports a study of measurement of horizontal visual sensitivity limits for 16 subjects in single-target and double-targets detection tasks. Two phases of tests were conducted in the double-targets task; targets of the same difficulty were tested in phase one while targets of different difficulty were tested in phase two. The range of sensitivity for the double-targets test was found to be smaller than that for single-target in both the same and different target difficulty cases. The presence of another target was found to affect performance to a marked degree. Interference effect of the difficult target on detection of the easy one was greater than that of the easy one on the detection of the difficult one. Performance decrement was noted when correct percentage detection was plotted against eccentricity of target in both the single-target and double-targets tests. Nevertheless, the non-significant correlation found between the performance for the two tasks demonstrated that it was impossible to predict quantitatively ability for detection of double targets from the data for single targets. This indicated probable problems in generalizing data for single target visual lobes to those for multiple targets. Also lobe area values obtained from measurements using a single-target task cannot be applied in a mathematical model for situations with multiple occurrences of targets.

Complexity quantification of dense array EEG using sample entropy analysis.

PubMed

Ramanand, Pravitha; Nampoori, V P N; Sreenivasan, R

2004-09-01

In this paper, a time series complexity analysis of dense array electroencephalogram signals is carried out using the recently introduced Sample Entropy (SampEn) measure. This statistic quantifies the regularity in signals recorded from systems that can vary from the purely deterministic to purely stochastic realm. The present analysis is conducted with an objective of gaining insight into complexity variations related to changing brain dynamics for EEG recorded from the three cases of passive, eyes closed condition, a mental arithmetic task and the same mental task carried out after a physical exertion task. It is observed that the statistic is a robust quantifier of complexity suited for short physiological signals such as the EEG and it points to the specific brain regions that exhibit lowered complexity during the mental task state as compared to a passive, relaxed state. In the case of mental tasks carried out before and after the performance of a physical exercise, the statistic can detect the variations brought in by the intermediate fatigue inducing exercise period. This enhances its utility in detecting subtle changes in the brain state that can find wider scope for applications in EEG based brain studies.

On the Computational Capabilities of Physical Systems. Part 1; The Impossibility of Infallible Computation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolpert, David H.; Koga, Dennis (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

In this first of two papers, strong limits on the accuracy of physical computation are established. First it is proven that there cannot be a physical computer C to which one can pose any and all computational tasks concerning the physical universe. Next it is proven that no physical computer C can correctly carry out any computational task in the subset of such tasks that can be posed to C. This result holds whether the computational tasks concern a system that is physically isolated from C, or instead concern a system that is coupled to C. As a particular example, this result means that there cannot be a physical computer that can, for any physical system external to that computer, take the specification of that external system's state as input and then correctly predict its future state before that future state actually occurs; one cannot build a physical computer that can be assured of correctly 'processing information faster than the universe does'. The results also mean that there cannot exist an infallible, general-purpose observation apparatus, and that there cannot be an infallible, general-purpose control apparatus. These results do not rely on systems that are infinite, and/or non-classical, and/or obey chaotic dynamics. They also hold even if one uses an infinitely fast, infinitely dense computer, with computational powers greater than that of a Turing Machine. This generality is a direct consequence of the fact that a novel definition of computation - a definition of 'physical computation' - is needed to address the issues considered in these papers. While this definition does not fit into the traditional Chomsky hierarchy, the mathematical structure and impossibility results associated with it have parallels in the mathematics of the Chomsky hierarchy. The second in this pair of papers presents a preliminary exploration of some of this mathematical structure, including in particular that of prediction complexity, which is a 'physical computation analogue' of algorithmic information complexity. It is proven in that second paper that either the Hamiltonian of our universe proscribes a certain type of computation, or prediction complexity is unique (unlike algorithmic information complexity), in that there is one and only version of it that can be applicable throughout our universe.

Verbal fluency in research conducted with PET technique under conditions of extended cognitive activation with the use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracer.

PubMed

Zając-Lamparska, Ludmiła; Wiłkość, Monika; Markowska, Anita; Laskowska-Levy, Ilona Paulina; Wróbel, Marek; Małkowski, Bogdan

2017-08-29

Functional neuroimaging of the brain is a widely used method to study cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to compare the activity of the brain during performance of the tasks of phonemic and semantic fluency with the paced-overt technique in terms of prolonged activation of the brain. The study included 17 patients aged 20-40 years who were treated in the past for Hodgkin'slymphoma, now in remission. Due to the type of task, the subjectswere divided into two groups. Nine people performed the phonemic fluency task, and eight semantic. Due to the disease, all subjects were subject to neuropsychological diagnosis. The diagnosis of any cognitive impairment was an exclusion criterion. Neuroimaging was performed using PET technique with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracer. Performance of a verbal fluency test, regardless of the version of the task, was associated with greater activity of the left hemisphere of the brain. The most involved areas compared with other areas of key importance for the performance of verbal fluency tasks were frontal lobes. An increased activity of parietal structures was also shown. The study did not reveal differences in brain activity depending on the type of task. Performing the test in both phonemic and semantic form for a long time, in terms of increased cognitive control resulting from the test procedure, could result in significant advantage of prefrontal lobe activityin both types of tasks and made it impossible to observe the processes specific to each of them.

Insightful problem solving and emulation in brown capuchin monkeys.

PubMed

Renner, Elizabeth; Abramo, Allison M; Karen Hambright, M; Phillips, Kimberley A

2017-05-01

We investigated problem solving abilities of capuchin monkeys via the "floating object problem," a task in which the subject must use creative problem solving to retrieve a favored food item from the bottom of a clear tube. Some great apes have solved this problem by adding water to raise the object to a level at which it can be easily grabbed. We presented seven capuchins with the task over eight trials (four "dry" and four "wet"). None of the subjects solved the task, indicating that no capuchin demonstrated insightful problem solving under these experimental conditions. We then investigated whether capuchins would emulate a solution to the task. Seven subjects observed a human model solve the problem by pouring water from a cup into the tube, which brought the object to the top of the tube, allowing the subject to retrieve it. Subjects were then allowed to interact freely with an unfilled tube containing the object in the presence of water and objects that could be used to solve the task. While most subjects were unable to solve the task after viewing a demonstrator solve it, one subject did so, but in a unique way. Our results are consistent with some previous results in great ape species and indicate that capuchins do not spontaneously solve the floating object problem via insight.

Continuous Timescale Long-Short Term Memory Neural Network for Human Intent Understanding

PubMed Central

Yu, Zhibin; Moirangthem, Dennis S.; Lee, Minho

2017-01-01

Understanding of human intention by observing a series of human actions has been a challenging task. In order to do so, we need to analyze longer sequences of human actions related with intentions and extract the context from the dynamic features. The multiple timescales recurrent neural network (MTRNN) model, which is believed to be a kind of solution, is a useful tool for recording and regenerating a continuous signal for dynamic tasks. However, the conventional MTRNN suffers from the vanishing gradient problem which renders it impossible to be used for longer sequence understanding. To address this problem, we propose a new model named Continuous Timescale Long-Short Term Memory (CTLSTM) in which we inherit the multiple timescales concept into the Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network (RNN) that addresses the vanishing gradient problem. We design an additional recurrent connection in the LSTM cell outputs to produce a time-delay in order to capture the slow context. Our experiments show that the proposed model exhibits better context modeling ability and captures the dynamic features on multiple large dataset classification tasks. The results illustrate that the multiple timescales concept enhances the ability of our model to handle longer sequences related with human intentions and hence proving to be more suitable for complex tasks, such as intention recognition. PMID:28878646

Lessons From Army System Developments. Volume 2: Case Studies

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-06-01

Air Force MH-53J Pave Low Helicopters. Dubbed "Task Force Normandy", their mission, to open the door into Iraq, will signal the beginning of the Gulf...flight of a "heavier than air " craft took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Wright brothers succeeded where many had failed and thus brought...In the fall of 1908, the Wright brothers build a heavier than air flying machine in response to Signal Corps request for proposals. During initial

The DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management. Volume 3, Number 4

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

enough to help create jobs and build up the UAE industry . Still, for the near term, the United States stands to benefi t from several major projects ... PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Defense Institute of Security Assistance...it was amazing to see what industry brought to the table as far as platforms and capabilities. Industry has made it clear that they can build the

Presentation of the Letter of Offer and Acceptance to Iran for the F-16: A Case Study.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-06-01

terms of man- power and/or dollars? a. Man-years $ (Contract). b. Man-years $ (In-house). 4. Often it is not possible to attach equivalent dollar...the program, as well as its recent expasion into some sensitive centers of power - iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt-have brought arms transfers...tasks are to be performed, and how much money is involved, the LOA is a uniquely powerful document. Yet surprisingly, the first-and only--analysis and

Hybrid supply chain model for material requirement planning under financial constraints: A case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curci, Vita; Dassisti, Michele; Josefa, Mula Bru; Manuel, Díaz Madroñero

2014-10-01

Supply chain model (SCM) are potentially capable to integrate different aspects in supporting decision making for enterprise management tasks. The aim of the paper is to propose an hybrid mathematical programming model for optimization of production requirements resources planning. The preliminary model was conceived bottom-up from a real industrial case analysed oriented to maximize cash flow. Despite the intense computational effort required to converge to a solution, optimisation done brought good result in solving the objective function.

Motivating Reluctant Learners with a Big Bang

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lochner, James C.; Cvetic, Geraldine A.; Hall, Jonathan B.

2007-01-01

We present results of a collaboration between a media specialist, a science teacher, and an astronomer to bring a modern astronomy topic to at-risk, emotionally disabled students who have experienced little success. These normally unengaged students became highly motivated because they were given an authentic task of presenting research on an intriguing science topic, and because they witnessed a collaboration brought together on their behalf This experience demonstrates that sophisticated astronomy topics can be used to motivate at-risk students.

Mental health recovery: lived experience of consumers, carers and nurses.

PubMed

Jacob, Sini; Munro, Ian; Taylor, Beverley Joan

2015-01-01

Background Mental health recovery is a prominent topic of discussion in the global mental health settings. The concept of mental health recovery brought about a major shift in the traditional philosophical views of many mental health systems. Aim The purpose of this article is to outline the results of a qualitative study on mental health recovery, which involved mental health consumers, carers and mental health nurses from an Area Mental Health Service in Victoria, Australia. This paper is Part One of the results that explored the meaning of recovery. Methods The study used van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology to analyse the data. Findings Themes suggested that the cohort had varying views on recovery that were similar and dissimilar. The similar views were categorised under two processes involving the self, an internal process and an external process. These two processes involved reclaiming various aspects of oneself, living life, cure or absence of symptoms and contribution to community. The dissimilar views involved returning to pre-illness state and recovery was impossible. Conclusion This study highlights the need for placing importance on the person's sense of self in the recovery process.

Mental health recovery: Lived experience of consumers, carers and nurses.

PubMed

Jacob, Sini; Munro, Ian; Taylor, Beverley Joan

2014-09-06

Abstract Background Mental health recovery is a prominent topic of discussion in the global mental health settings. The concept of mental health recovery brought about a major shift in the traditional philosophical views of many mental health systems. Aim The purpose of this article is to outline the results of a qualitative study on mental health recovery, which involved mental health consumers, carers and mental health nurses from an Area Mental Health Service in Victoria, Australia. This paper is part one of the results that explored the meaning of recovery. Methods The study used van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology to analyse the data. Findings Themes suggested that the cohort had varying views on recovery that were similar and dissimilar. The similar views were categorised under two processes involving the self, an internal process and an external process. These two processes involved reclaiming various aspects of oneself, living life, cure or absence of symptoms and contribution to community. The dissimilar views involved returning to pre-illness state and recovery was impossible. Conclusion This study highlights the need for placing importance to the person's sense of self in the recovery process.

Reading Balint group work through Lacan's theory of the four discourses.

PubMed

Van Roy, Kaatje; Marché-Paillé, Anne; Geerardyn, Filip; Vanheule, Stijn

2016-02-05

In Balint groups, (para)medical professionals explore difficult interactions with patients by means of case presentations and discussions. As the process of Balint group work is not well understood, this article investigates Balint group meetings by making use of Lacan's theory of the four discourses. Five Balint group case presentations and their subsequent group discussion were studied, resulting in the observation of five crucial aspects of Balint group work. First, Balint group participants brought puzzlement to the group, which is indicative of the structural impossibility Lacan situates at the basis of all discourse (1). As for the group discussion, we emphasize 'hysterization' as a crucial process in Balint group work (2), the supporting role of the discourse of the analyst (3) and the centrality of discourse interactions (4). Finally, the potential transformation of the initial puzzlement is discussed (5). We conclude by putting forth the uniqueness of Balint group work as well as the potential usefulness of our analysis as a framework for Balint group leaders and professionals in charge of continuing medical education. © The Author(s) 2016.

Stress-induced cortisol facilitates threat-related decision making among police officers.

PubMed

Akinola, Modupe; Mendes, Wendy Berry

2012-02-01

Previous research suggests that cortisol can affect cognitive functions such as memory, decision making, and attentiveness to threat-related cues. Here, we examine whether increases in cortisol, brought on by an acute social stressor, influence threat-related decision making. Eighty-one police officers completed a standardized laboratory stressor and then immediately completed a computer simulated decision-making task designed to examine decisions to accurately shoot or not shoot armed and unarmed Black and White targets. Results indicated that police officers who had larger cortisol increases to the social-stress task subsequently made fewer errors when deciding to shoot armed Black targets relative to armed White targets, suggesting that hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) activation may exacerbate vigilance for threat cues. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of threat-initiated decision making.

ACR white paper on teleradiology practice: a report from the Task Force on Teleradiology Practice.

PubMed

Silva, Ezequiel; Breslau, Jonathan; Barr, Robert M; Liebscher, Lawrence A; Bohl, Michael; Hoffman, Thomas; Boland, Giles W L; Sherry, Cynthia; Kim, Woojin; Shah, Samir S; Tilkin, Mike

2013-08-01

Teleradiology services are now embedded into the workflow of many radiology practices in the United States, driven largely by an expanding corporate model of services. This has brought opportunities and challenges to both providers and recipients of teleradiology services and has heightened the need to create best-practice guidelines for teleradiology to ensure patient primacy. To this end, the ACR Task Force on Teleradiology Practice has created this white paper to update the prior ACR communication on teleradiology and discuss the current and possible future state of teleradiology in the United States. This white paper proposes comprehensive best-practice guidelines for the practice of teleradiology, with recommendations offered regarding future actions. Copyright © 2013 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rotating swings—a theme with variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pendrill, Ann-Marie

2016-01-01

Rotating swing rides can be found in many amusement parks, in many different versions. The ‘wave swinger’ ride, which introduces a wave motion by tilting the roof, is among the classical amusement rides that are found in many different parks, in different sizes, from a number of different makes and names, and varying thematization. The ‘StarFlyer’ is a more recent version, adding the thrill of lifting the riders 60 m or more over the ground. These rotating swing rides involve beautiful physics, often surprising, but easily observed, when brought to attention. The rides can be used for student worksheet tasks and assignments of different degrees of difficulty, across many math and physics topics. This paper presents a number of variations of student tasks relating to the theme of rotating swing rides.

Sensitivity of the lane change test as a measure of in-vehicle system demand.

PubMed

Young, Kristie L; Lenné, Michael G; Williamson, Amy R

2011-05-01

The Lane Change Test (LCT) is one of the growing number of methods developed to quantify driving performance degradation brought about by the use of in-vehicle devices. Beyond its validity and reliability, for such a test to be of practical use, it must also be sensitive to the varied demands of individual tasks. The current study evaluated the ability of several recent LCT lateral control and event detection parameters to discriminate between visual-manual and cognitive surrogate In-Vehicle Information System tasks with different levels of demand. Twenty-seven participants (mean age 24.4 years) completed a PC version of the LCT while performing visual search and math problem solving tasks. A number of the lateral control metrics were found to be sensitive to task differences, but the event detection metrics were less able to discriminate between tasks. The mean deviation and lane excursion measures were able to distinguish between the visual and cognitive tasks, but were less sensitive to the different levels of task demand. The other LCT metrics examined were less sensitive to task differences. A major factor influencing the sensitivity of at least some of the LCT metrics could be the type of lane change instructions given to participants. The provision of clear and explicit lane change instructions and further refinement of its metrics will be essential for increasing the utility of the LCT as an evaluation tool. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

TASK-2 K₂p K⁺ channel: thoughts about gating and its fitness to physiological function.

PubMed

López-Cayuqueo, Karen I; Peña-Münzenmayer, Gaspar; Niemeyer, María Isabel; Sepúlveda, Francisco V; Cid, L Pablo

2015-05-01

TASK-2 (K2P5) was one of the earliest members of the K2P two-pore, four transmembrane domain K(+) channels to be identified. TASK-2 gating is controlled by changes in both extra- and intracellular pH through separate sensors: arginine 224 and lysine 245, located at the extra- and intracellular ends of transmembrane domain 4. TASK-2 is inhibited by a direct effect of CO2 and is regulated by and interacts with G protein subunits. TASK-2 takes part in regulatory adjustments and is a mediator in the chemoreception process in neurons of the retrotrapezoid nucleus where its pHi sensitivity could be important in regulating excitability and therefore signalling of the O2/CO2 status. Extracellular pH increases brought about by HCO3 (-) efflux from proximal tubule epithelial cells have been proposed to couple to TASK-2 activation to maintain electrochemical gradients favourable to HCO3 (-) reabsorption. We demonstrate that, as suspected previously, TASK-2 is expressed at the basolateral membrane of the same proximal tubule cells that express apical membrane Na(+)-H(+)-exchanger NHE-3 and basolateral membrane Na(+)-HCO3 (-) cotransporter NBCe1-A, the main components of the HCO3 (-) transport machinery. We also discuss critically the mechanism by which TASK-2 is modulated and impacts the process of HCO3 (-) reclaim by the proximal tubule epithelium, concluding that more than a mere shift in extracellular pH is probably involved.

Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albee, Arden L.

This outstanding volume has managed the nearly impossible task of combining the expertise of all six authors in a lucid and homogeneous style of writing. Subtitled ‘A Text for Biologists, Material Scientists and Geologists,’ the book has evolved from a short course taught each summer at Lehigh University.The book provides a basic knowledge of (1) the electron optics for these instruments a nd their controls, (2) the characteristics of the electron beam-sample interactions, (3) image formation and interpretation, (4) X ray spectrometry and quantitative X ray microanalysis with separate detailed sections on wavelength dispersive and energy dispersive techniques, and (5) specimen preparation, especially for biological materials.

Automatic protein structure solution from weak X-ray data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skubák, Pavol; Pannu, Navraj S.

2013-11-01

Determining new protein structures from X-ray diffraction data at low resolution or with a weak anomalous signal is a difficult and often an impossible task. Here we propose a multivariate algorithm that simultaneously combines the structure determination steps. In tests on over 140 real data sets from the protein data bank, we show that this combined approach can automatically build models where current algorithms fail, including an anisotropically diffracting 3.88 Å RNA polymerase II data set. The method seamlessly automates the process, is ideal for non-specialists and provides a mathematical framework for successfully combining various sources of information in image processing.

Automated plant, production management system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aksenova, V. I.; Belov, V. I.

1984-12-01

The development of a complex of tasks for the operational management of production (OUP) within the framework of an automated system for production management (ASUP) shows that it is impossible to have effective computations without reliable initial information. The influence of many factors involving the production and economic activity of the entire enterprise upon the plan and course of production are considered. It is suggested that an adequate model should be available which covers all levels of the hierarchical system: workplace, section (bridgade), shop, enterprise, and the model should be incorporated into the technological sequence of performance and there should be provisions for an adequate man machine system.

Arrows of time in early childhood.

PubMed

Friedman, William J

2003-01-01

Three studies with 149 children were conducted to provide information about development of the perception of temporally unidirectional transformations, such as dropping blocks or breaking a cookie. Children 3.5 through 6.5 years of age compared forward and backward videotapes of events or made individual judgments of what would happen if the actions were attempted. Even children 3.5 to 4.5 years of age recognized the anomaly of backward versions of gravity and separation events. In addition, relatively few children predicted impossible transformations in the prediction task. The results show that young children, like adults, are sensitive to the unidirectional nature of varied transformations.

Lifelong Learning for the Hand Surgeon.

PubMed

Adkinson, Joshua M; Chung, Kevin C

2015-09-01

Hand surgeons are faced with the impossible task of mastering a rapidly expanding pool of knowledge and surgical techniques. Dedication to lifelong learning is, therefore, an essential component of delivering the best, most up-to-date care for patients. Board certification, participation in continuing medical education and maintenance of certification activities, and attendance at national meetings are essential mechanisms by which hand surgeons may foster the acquisition of essential knowledge and clinical skills, This article highlights the history, current status, and emerging needs in continuing medical education for the hand surgeon. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An incremental block-line-Gauss-Seidel method for the Navier-Stokes equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Napolitano, M.; Walters, R. W.

1985-01-01

A block-line-Gauss-Seidel (LGS) method is developed for solving the incompressible and compressible Navier-Stokes equations in two dimensions. The method requires only one block-tridiagonal solution process per iteration and is consequently faster per step than the linearized block-ADI methods. Results are presented for both incompressible and compressible separated flows: in all cases the proposed block-LGS method is more efficient than the block-ADI methods. Furthermore, for high Reynolds number weakly separated incompressible flow in a channel, which proved to be an impossible task for a block-ADI method, solutions have been obtained very efficiently by the new scheme.

Psychophysiological investigation of vigilance decrement: boredom or cognitive fatigue?

PubMed

Pattyn, Nathalie; Neyt, Xavier; Henderickx, David; Soetens, Eric

2008-01-28

The vigilance decrement has been described as a slowing in reaction times or an increase in error rates as an effect of time-on-task during tedious monitoring tasks. This decrement has been alternatively ascribed to either withdrawal of the supervisory attentional system, due to underarousal caused by the insufficient workload, or to a decreased attentional capacity and thus the impossibility to sustain mental effort. Furthermore, it has previously been reported that controlled processing is the locus of the vigilance decrement. This study aimed at answering three questions, to better define sustained attention. First, is endogenous attention more vulnerable to time-on-task than exogenous attention? Second, do measures of autonomic arousal provide evidence to support the underload vs overload hypothesis? And third, do these measures show a different effect for endogenous and exogenous attention? We applied a cued (valid vs invalid) conjunction search task, and ECG and respiration recordings were used to compute sympathetic (normalized low frequency power) and parasympathetic tone (respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA). Behavioural results showed a dual effect of time-on-task: the usually described vigilance decrement, expressed as increased reaction times (RTs) after 30 min for both conditions; and a higher cost in RTs after invalid cues for the endogenous condition only, appearing after 60 min. Physiological results clearly support the underload hypothesis to subtend the vigilance decrement, since heart period and RSA increased over time-on-task. There was no physiological difference between the endogenous and exogenous conditions. Subjective experience of participants was more compatible with boredom than with high mental effort.

Microgravity Manufacturing Via Fused Deposition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, K. G.; Griffin, M. R.

2003-01-01

Manufacturing polymer hardware during space flight is currently outside the state of the art. A process called fused deposition modeling (FDM) can make this approach a reality by producing net-shaped components of polymer materials directly from a CAE model. FDM is a rapid prototyping process developed by Stratasys, Inc.. which deposits a fine line of semi-molten polymer onto a substrate while moving via computer control to form the cross-sectional shape of the part it is building. The build platen is then lowered and the process is repeated, building a component directly layer by layer. This method enables direct net-shaped production of polymer components directly from a computer file. The layered manufacturing process allows for the manufacture of complex shapes and internal cavities otherwise impossible to machine. This task demonstrated the benefits of the FDM technique to quickly and inexpensively produce replacement components or repair broken hardware in a Space Shuttle or Space Station environment. The intent of the task was to develop and fabricate an FDM system that was lightweight, compact, and required minimum power consumption to fabricate ABS plastic hardware in microgravity. The final product of the shortened task turned out to be a ground-based breadboard device, demonstrating miniaturization capability of the system.

Measurement of food-related approach-avoidance biases: Larger biases when food stimuli are task relevant.

PubMed

Lender, Anja; Meule, Adrian; Rinck, Mike; Brockmeyer, Timo; Blechert, Jens

2018-06-01

Strong implicit responses to food have evolved to avoid energy depletion but contribute to overeating in today's affluent environments. The Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) supposedly assesses implicit biases in response to food stimuli: Participants push pictures on a monitor "away" or pull them "near" with a joystick that controls a corresponding image zoom. One version of the task couples movement direction with image content-independent features, for example, pulling blue-framed images and pushing green-framed images regardless of content ('irrelevant feature version'). However, participants might selectively attend to this feature and ignore image content and, thus, such a task setup might underestimate existing biases. The present study tested this attention account by comparing two irrelevant feature versions of the task with either a more peripheral (image frame color: green vs. blue) or central (small circle vs. cross overlaid over the image content) image feature as response instruction to a 'relevant feature version', in which participants responded to the image content, thus making it impossible to ignore that content. Images of chocolate-containing foods and of objects were used, and several trait and state measures were acquired to validate the obtained biases. Results revealed a robust approach bias towards food only in the relevant feature condition. Interestingly, a positive correlation with state chocolate craving during the task was found when all three conditions were combined, indicative of criterion validity of all three versions. However, no correlations were found with trait chocolate craving. Results provide a strong case for the relevant feature version of the AAT for bias measurement. They also point to several methodological avenues for future research around selective attention in the irrelevant versions and task validity regarding trait vs. state variables. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What Do Eye Gaze Metrics Tell Us about Motor Imagery?

PubMed

Poiroux, Elodie; Cavaro-Ménard, Christine; Leruez, Stéphanie; Lemée, Jean Michel; Richard, Isabelle; Dinomais, Mickael

2015-01-01

Many of the brain structures involved in performing real movements also have increased activity during imagined movements or during motor observation, and this could be the neural substrate underlying the effects of motor imagery in motor learning or motor rehabilitation. In the absence of any objective physiological method of measurement, it is currently impossible to be sure that the patient is indeed performing the task as instructed. Eye gaze recording during a motor imagery task could be a possible way to "spy" on the activity an individual is really engaged in. The aim of the present study was to compare the pattern of eye movement metrics during motor observation, visual and kinesthetic motor imagery (VI, KI), target fixation, and mental calculation. Twenty-two healthy subjects (16 females and 6 males), were required to perform tests in five conditions using imagery in the Box and Block Test tasks following the procedure described by Liepert et al. Eye movements were analysed by a non-invasive oculometric measure (SMI RED250 system). Two parameters describing gaze pattern were calculated: the index of ocular mobility (saccade duration over saccade + fixation duration) and the number of midline crossings (i.e. the number of times the subjects gaze crossed the midline of the screen when performing the different tasks). Both parameters were significantly different between visual imagery and kinesthesic imagery, visual imagery and mental calculation, and visual imagery and target fixation. For the first time we were able to show that eye movement patterns are different during VI and KI tasks. Our results suggest gaze metric parameters could be used as an objective unobtrusive approach to assess engagement in a motor imagery task. Further studies should define how oculomotor parameters could be used as an indicator of the rehabilitation task a patient is engaged in.

Leadership lessons from the Chilean mine rescue.

PubMed

Rashid, Faaiza; Edmondson, Amy C; Leonard, Herman B

2013-01-01

Three years ago, when a cave-in at the San José mine in Chile trapped 33 men under 700,000 metric tons of rock, experts estimated the probability of getting them out alive at less than 1%. Yet, after spending a record 69 days underground, all 33 were hoisted up to safety. The inspiring story of their rescue is a case study in how to lead in situations where the stakes, risk, and uncertainty are incredibly high and time pressure is intense. Today executives often find themselves in similar straits. When they do, many feel torn. Should they be directive, taking charge and commanding action? Or should they be empowering, enabling innovation and experimentation? As the successful example of André Sougarret, the chief of the mine rescue operation, shows, the answer is yes--to both. The choice is a false dichotomy. Implementing this dual approach involves three key tasks. Each has directive and enabling components. The first task is envisioning, which requires instilling both realism and hope. The second task is enrolling, which means setting clear boundaries for who is on and off the team, but inviting in helpful collaborators. The third task is engaging--leading disciplined execution while encouraging innovation and experimentation. The authors of this article describe how Sougarret ably juggled all of these tasks, orchestrating the efforts of hundreds of people from different organizations, areas of expertise, and countries in an extraordinary mission that overcame impossible odds.

Behavioral Counseling Interventions Expert Forum: Overview and Primer on U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Methods.

PubMed

Curry, Susan J; Whitlock, Evelyn P

2015-09-01

The importance of behavioral counseling as a clinical preventive service derives from the social and economic burden of preventable disease in the U.S., the central role behavioral risk factors play as leading causes of premature morbidity and mortality, and the promise of the healthcare visit as a teachable moment for behavioral counseling support. In November 2013, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force convened an expert forum on behavioral counseling interventions. The forum brought together NIH, CDC, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality leaders, leading behavioral counseling researchers, and members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to discuss issues related to optimizing evidence-based behavioral counseling recommendations. This paper provides an overview of the methods used by the Task Force to develop counseling recommendations. Special focus is on the development and evaluation of evidence from systematic reviews. Assessment of the net benefit of a behavioral counseling intervention, based on the evidence review, determines the recommendation statement and accompanying letter grade. A recent Task Force recommendation on screening and behavioral counseling interventions in primary care to reduce alcohol misuse provides a brief example. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

"Fragment errors" in deep dysgraphia: further support for a lexical hypothesis.

PubMed

Bormann, Tobias; Wallesch, Claus-W; Blanken, Gerhard

2008-07-01

In addition to various lexical errors, the writing of patients with deep dysgraphia may include a large number of segmental spelling errors, which increase towards the end of the word. Frequently, these errors involve deletion of two or more letters resulting in so-called "fragment errors". Different positions have been brought forward regarding their origin, including rapid decay of activation in the graphemic buffer and an impairment of more central (i.e., lexical or semantic) processing. We present data from a patient (M.D.) with deep dysgraphia who showed an increase of segmental spelling errors towards the end of the word. Several tasks were carried out to explore M.D.'s underlying functional impairment. Errors affected word-final positions in tasks like backward spelling and fragment completion. In a delayed copying task, length of the delay had no influence. In addition, when asked to recall three serially presented letters, a task which had not been carried out before, M.D. exhibited a preference for the first and the third letter and poor performance for the second letter. M.D.'s performance on these tasks contradicts the rapid decay account and instead supports a lexical-semantic account of segmental errors in deep dysgraphia. In addition, the results fit well with an implemented computational model of deep dysgraphia and segmental spelling errors.

Similarities and differences between parietal and frontal patients in autobiographical and constructed experience tasks

PubMed Central

Berryhill, Marian E.; Picasso, Lauren; Arnold, Robert; Drowos, David; Olson, Ingrid R.

2010-01-01

Recent findings suggest that constructed experience, the ability to envision future events, activates the same cortical network as recollection of past events. For example, damage to one key area, the hippocampus, impairs patients' ability to remember the past and to imagine novel experiences (Hassabis, Kumaran, Vann & Maguire, 2007). Here, we investigated whether damage to two other areas, posterior parietal cortex and prefrontal cortex, also impairs this ability. Patients with bilateral posterior parietal lesions or unilateral prefrontal lesions were tested in their ability to describe imaginary future events. Only parietal patients were impaired at freely describing autobiographical memories, but both patient groups were impaired when elaborating constructed experiences. This dissociation suggests that parietal and prefrontal structures are differentially involved in constructed experience. Current tasks may impose overly broad cognitive demands making it impossible to specify the deficient cognitive component in any patient group. These findings provide additional constraints regarding the mechanistic role of the parietal cortex in memory. PMID:20096710

An independent shopping experience for wheelchair users through augmented reality and RFID.

PubMed

Rashid, Zulqarnain; Pous, Rafael; Norrie, Christopher S

2017-06-23

People with physical and mobility impairments continue to struggle to attain independence in the performance of routine activities and tasks. For example, browsing in a store and interacting with products located beyond an arm's length may be impossible without the enabling intervention of a human assistant. This research article describes a study undertaken to design, develop, and evaluate potential interaction methods for motor-impaired individuals, specifically those who use wheelchairs. Our study includes a user-centered approach, and a categorization of wheelchair users based upon the severity of their disability and their individual needs. We designed and developed access solutions that utilize radio frequency identification (RFID), augmented reality (AR), and touchscreen technologies in order to help people who use wheelchairs to carry out certain tasks autonomously. In this way, they have been empowered to go shopping independently, free from reliance upon the assistance of others. A total of 18 wheelchair users participated in the completed study.

Vigilance impossible: Diligence, distraction, and daydreaming all lead to failures in a practical monitoring task.

PubMed

Casner, Stephen M; Schooler, Jonathan W

2015-09-01

In laboratory studies of vigilance, participants watch for unusual events in a "sit and stare" fashion as their performance typically declines over time. But watch keepers in practical settings seldom approach monitoring in such simplistic ways and controlled environments. We observed airline pilots performing routine monitoring duties in the cockpit. Unlike laboratory studies, pilots' monitoring did not deteriorate amidst prolonged vigils. Monitoring was frequently interrupted by other pop-up tasks and misses followed. However, when free from these distractions, pilots reported copious mind wandering. Pilots often confined their mind wandering to times in which their monitoring performance would not conspicuously suffer. But when no convenient times were available, pilots mind wandered anyway and misses ensued. Real-world monitors may be caught between a continuous vigilance approach that is doomed to fail, a dynamic environment that cannot be fully controlled, and what may be an irresistible urge to let one's thoughts drift. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Prediction and outcomes of impossible mask ventilation: a review of 50,000 anesthetics.

PubMed

Kheterpal, Sachin; Martin, Lizabeth; Shanks, Amy M; Tremper, Kevin K

2009-04-01

There are no existing data regarding risk factors for impossible mask ventilation and limited data regarding its incidence. The authors sought to determine the incidence, predictors, and outcomes associated with impossible mask ventilation. The authors performed an observational study over a 4-yr period. For each adult patient undergoing a general anesthetic, preoperative patient characteristics, detailed airway physical exam, and airway outcome data were collected. The primary outcome was impossible mask ventilation defined as the inability to exchange air during bag-mask ventilation attempts, despite multiple providers, airway adjuvants, or neuromuscular blockade. Secondary outcomes included the final, definitive airway management technique and direct laryngoscopy view. The incidence of impossible mask ventilation was calculated. Independent (P < 0.05) predictors of impossible mask ventilation were identified by performing a logistic regression full model fit. Over a 4-yr period from 2004 to 2008, 53,041 attempts at mask ventilation were recorded. A total of 77 cases of impossible mask ventilation (0.15%) were observed. Neck radiation changes, male sex, sleep apnea, Mallampati III or IV, and presence of beard were identified as independent predictors. The receiver-operating-characteristic area under the curve for this model was 0.80 +/- 0.03. Nineteen impossible mask ventilation patients (25%) also demonstrated difficult intubation, with 15 being intubated successfully. Twelve patients required an alternative intubation technique, including two surgical airways and two patients who were awakened and underwent successful fiberoptic intubation. Impossible mask ventilation is an infrequent airway event that is associated with difficult intubation. Neck radiation changes represent the most significant clinical predictor of impossible mask ventilation in the patient dataset.

Power law signature of media exposure in human response waiting time distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crane, Riley; Schweitzer, Frank; Sornette, Didier

2010-05-01

We study the humanitarian response to the destruction brought by the tsunami generated by the Sumatra earthquake of December 26, 2004, as measured by donations, and find that it decays in time as a power law ˜1/tα with α=2.5±0.1 . This behavior is suggested to be the rare outcome of a priority queuing process in which individuals execute tasks at a rate slightly faster than the rate at which new tasks arise. We believe this to be an empirical evidence documenting the recently predicted [G. Grinstein and R. Linsker, Phys. Rev. E 77, 012101 (2008)] regime, and provide additional independent evidence that suggests that this “highly attentive regime” arises as a result of the intense focus placed on this donation “task” by the media.

Using qualitative maps to direct reactive robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bertin, Randolph; Pendleton, Tom

1992-01-01

The principal advantage of mobile robots is that they are able to go to specific locations to perform useful tasks rather than have the tasks brought to them. It is important therefore that the robot be used to reach desired locations efficiently and reliably. A mobile robot whose environment extends significantly beyond its sensory horizon must maintain a representation of the environment, a map, in order to attain these efficiency and reliability requirements. We believe that qualitative mapping methods provide useful and robust representation schemes and that such maps may be used to direct the actions of a reactively controlled robot. In this paper we describe our experience in employing qualitative maps to direct, through the selection of desired control strategies, a reactive-behavior based robot. This mapping capability represents the development of one aspect of a successful deliberative/reactive hybrid control architecture.

Advanced Turboprop Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hager, Roy D.; Vrabel, Deborah

1988-01-01

At the direction of Congress, a task force headed by NASA was organized in 1975 to identify potential fuel saving concepts for aviation. The result was the Aircraft Energy Efficiency (ACEE) Program implemented in 1976. An important part of the program was the development of advanced turboprop technology for Mach 0.65 to 0.85 applications having the potential fuel saving of 30 to 50 percent relative to existing turbofan engines. A historical perspective is presented of the development and the accomplishments that brought the turboprop to successful flight tests in 1986 and 1987.

Advanced turboprop project

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

Hager, R.D.; Vrabel, D.

1988-01-01

At the direction of Congress, a task force headed by NASA was organized in 1975 to identify potential fuel saving concepts for aviation. The result was the Aircraft Energy Efficiency (ACEE) Program implemented in 1976. An important part of the program was the development of advanced turboprop technology for Mach 0.65 to 0.85 applications having the potential fuel saving of 30 to 50 percent relative to existing turbofan engines. A historical perspective is presented of the development and the accomplishments that brought the turboprop to successful flight tests in 1986 and 1987.

Potential uses of a wireless network in physical security systems.

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

Witzke, Edward L.

2010-07-01

Many possible applications requiring or benefiting from a wireless network are available for bolstering physical security and awareness at high security installations or facilities. These enhancements are not always straightforward and may require careful analysis, selection, tuning, and implementation of wireless technologies. In this paper, an introduction to wireless networks and the task of enhancing physical security is first given. Next, numerous applications of a wireless network are brought forth. The technical issues that arise when using a wireless network to support these applications are then discussed. Finally, a summary is presented.

Evidence for similar early but not late representation of possible and impossible objects

PubMed Central

Freud, Erez; Hadad, Bat-Sheva; Avidan, Galia; Ganel, Tzvi

2015-01-01

The perceptual processes that mediate the ability to efficiently represent object 3D structure are still not fully understood. The current study was aimed to shed light on these processes by utilizing spatially possible and impossible objects that could not be created in real 3D space. Despite being perceived as exceptionally unusual, impossible objects still possess fundamental Gestalt attributes and valid local depth cues that may support their initial successful representation. Based on this notion and on recent findings from our lab, we hypothesized that the initial representation of impossible objects would involve common mechanisms to those mediating typical object perception while the perceived differences between possible and impossible objects would emerge later along the processing hierarchy. In Experiment 1, participants preformed same/different classifications of two markers superimposed on a display containing two objects (possible or impossible). Faster reaction times were observed for displays in which the markers were superimposed on the same object (“object-based benefit”). Importantly, this benefit was similar for possible and impossible objects, suggesting that the representations of the two object categories rely on similar perceptual organization processes. Yet, responses for impossible objects were slower compared to possible objects. Experiment 2 was designed to examine the origin of this effect. Participants classified the location of two markers while exposure duration was manipulated. A similar pattern of performance was found for possible and impossible objects for the short exposure duration, with differences in accuracy between these two types of objects emerging only for longer exposure durations. Overall, these findings provide evidence that the representation of object structure relies on a multi-level process and that object impossibility selectively impairs the rendering of fine-detailed description of object structure. PMID:25762949

Evidence of Reduced Global Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Booth, Rhonda D L; Happé, Francesca G E

2018-04-01

Frith's original notion of 'weak central coherence' suggested that increased local processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) resulted from reduced global processing. More recent accounts have emphasised superior local perception and suggested intact global integration. However, tasks often place local and global processing in direct trade-off, making it difficult to determine whether group differences reflect reduced global processing, increased local processing, or both. We present two measures of global integration in which poor performance could not reflect increased local processing. ASD participants were slower to identify fragmented figures and less sensitive to global geometric impossibility than IQ-matched controls. These findings suggest that reduced global integration comprises one important facet of weak central coherence in ASD.

No-reference image quality assessment for horizontal-path imaging scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rios, Carlos; Gladysz, Szymon

2013-05-01

There exist several image-enhancement algorithms and tasks associated with imaging through turbulence that depend on defining the quality of an image. Examples include: "lucky imaging", choosing the width of the inverse filter for image reconstruction, or stopping iterative deconvolution. We collected a number of image quality metrics found in the literature. Particularly interesting are the blind, "no-reference" metrics. We discuss ways of evaluating the usefulness of these metrics, even when a fully objective comparison is impossible because of the lack of a reference image. Metrics are tested on simulated and real data. Field data comes from experiments performed by the NATO SET 165 research group over a 7 km distance in Dayton, Ohio.

New Prostheses and Orthoses Step Up their Game: Motorized Knees, Robotic Hands, and Exosuits Mark Advances in Rehabilitation Technology.

PubMed

Allen, Summer

2016-01-01

Forty years ago, Les Baugh lost both of his arms in an electrical accident. With bilateral shoulder-level amputations, his options for prosthetic arms were limited. That changed two years ago, when Baugh underwent a surgical procedure at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore that allowed him to control state-of-the-art robotic arms using nerves that had been rerouted to his chest. Within ten days of training, he was able to control both arms simultaneously and move a cup from a lower shelf to a higher shelf-a task that previously had been impossible-just by thinking about how he wanted to move his arm.

Emergency thoracotomy. Care of the patient in the OR: a case study.

PubMed

Singer, N

1987-12-01

As an OR staff nurse at Cook County Hospital, some of my most challenging and rewarding nursing experiences have come from caring for emergency open-chest trauma patients. From the moment we receive a call that an open-chest patient is on the way, everyone assigned is in a high state of tension. Every decision takes on exaggerated importance. The circulating nurse, by virtue of his or her position during an emergency, is the "hub of the wheel" of activity. He or she is privy to all facets of care that are being administered to the patient. The nursing challenge of the emergency open-chest trauma is great, but it is not an impossible task.

Adaptable mission planning for kino-dynamic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bush, Lawrence A. M.; Jimenez, Tony R.; Williams, Brian C.

Autonomous systems can perform tasks that are dangerous, monotonous, or even impossible for humans. To approach the problem of planning for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) we present a hierarchical method that combines a high-level planner with a low-level planner. We pose the problem of high-level planning as a Selective Traveling Salesman Problem (STSP) and select the order in which to visit our science sites. We then use a kino-dynamic path planner to create a large number of intermediate waypoints. This is a complete system that combines high and low level planning to achieve a goal. This paper demonstrates the benefits gained by adaptable high-level plans versus static and greedy plans.

Bringing together integration technologies in GaAs, InP and Si to deliver low-cost high performance DWDM optoelectronic components and solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Andrew C.; Wale, Michael J.; Simmons, T.; Whitbread, Neil; Asghari, M.

2003-06-01

A key attribute emerging in the optoelectronic component supply industry is the ability to deliver 'solution level' products rather than discrete optical components to equipment manufacturers. This approach is primarily aimed at reducing cost for the equipment manufacturer both in engineering and assembly. Such 'solutions' must be designed to be cost effective - offering costs substantially below discrete components - and must be compatible with subcontract board manufacture without the traditional and expensive skills of fibre handling, splicing and management. Examples of 'solutions' in this context may be the core of a multifunctional OADM or a DWDM laser transmitter subsystem, with modulation, wavelength and power management all included in a simple to use module. Essential to the cost effective production of such solutions is a high degree of optical/optoelectronic integration. Co-packaging of discrete components and electronics into modules will not deliver the cost reduction demanded. At Bookham Technology we have brought together what we believe to be the three key integration technologies - InP for monolithic tunable sources, GaAs for high performance integrated modulation and ASOC for smart passives and hybrid platforms - which can deliver this cost reduction, together with performance enhancement, over a wide range of applications. In the paper we will demonstrate and compare our above integration approaches with the competing alternatives and seek to show how the power of integration is finally being harnessed in optoelectronics, delivering radical cost reduction as well as enabling system concepts virtually impossible to achieve with discrete components. In the paper we will demonstrate and compare our above integration approaches with the competing alternatives and seek to show how the power of integration is finally being harnessed in optoelectronics, delivering radical cost reduction as well as enabling system concepts virtually impossible to achieve with discrete components.

IT-adoption and the interaction of task, technology and individuals: a fit framework and a case study

PubMed Central

Ammenwerth, Elske; Iller, Carola; Mahler, Cornelia

2006-01-01

Background Factors of IT adoption have largely been discussed in the literature. However, existing frameworks (such as TAM or TTF) are failing to include one important aspect, the interaction between user and task. Method Based on a literature study and a case study, we developed the FITT framework to help analyse the socio-organisational-technical factors that influence IT adoption in a health care setting. Results Our FITT framework ("Fit between Individuals, Task and Technology") is based on the idea that IT adoption in a clinical environment depends on the fit between the attributes of the individual users (e.g. computer anxiety, motivation), attributes of the technology (e.g. usability, functionality, performance), and attributes of the clinical tasks and processes (e.g. organisation, task complexity). We used this framework in the retrospective analysis of a three-year case study, describing the adoption of a nursing documentation system in various departments in a German University Hospital. We will show how the FITT framework helped analyzing the process of IT adoption during an IT implementation: we were able to describe every found IT adoption problem with regard to the three fit dimensions, and any intervention on the fit can be described with regard to the three objects of the FITT framework (individual, task, technology). We also derive facilitators and barriers to IT adoption of clinical information systems. Conclusion This work should support a better understanding of the reasons for IT adoption failures and therefore enable better prepared and more successful IT introduction projects. We will discuss, however, that from a more epistemological point of view, it may be difficult or even impossible to analyse the complex and interacting factors that predict success or failure of IT projects in a socio-technical environment. PMID:16401336

Feedback Valence Affects Auditory Perceptual Learning Independently of Feedback Probability

PubMed Central

Amitay, Sygal; Moore, David R.; Molloy, Katharine; Halliday, Lorna F.

2015-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that negative feedback is more effective in driving learning than positive feedback. We investigated the effect on learning of providing varying amounts of negative and positive feedback while listeners attempted to discriminate between three identical tones; an impossible task that nevertheless produces robust learning. Four feedback conditions were compared during training: 90% positive feedback or 10% negative feedback informed the participants that they were doing equally well, while 10% positive or 90% negative feedback informed them they were doing equally badly. In all conditions the feedback was random in relation to the listeners’ responses (because the task was to discriminate three identical tones), yet both the valence (negative vs. positive) and the probability of feedback (10% vs. 90%) affected learning. Feedback that informed listeners they were doing badly resulted in better post-training performance than feedback that informed them they were doing well, independent of valence. In addition, positive feedback during training resulted in better post-training performance than negative feedback, but only positive feedback indicating listeners were doing badly on the task resulted in learning. As we have previously speculated, feedback that better reflected the difficulty of the task was more effective in driving learning than feedback that suggested performance was better than it should have been given perceived task difficulty. But contrary to expectations, positive feedback was more effective than negative feedback in driving learning. Feedback thus had two separable effects on learning: feedback valence affected motivation on a subjectively difficult task, and learning occurred only when feedback probability reflected the subjective difficulty. To optimize learning, training programs need to take into consideration both feedback valence and probability. PMID:25946173

A report on older-age bipolar disorder from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Task Force

PubMed Central

Sajatovic, Martha; Strejilevich, Sergio A; Gildengers, Ariel G; Dols, Annemiek; Al Jurdi, Rayan K; Forester, Brent P; Kessing, Lars Vedel; Beyer, John; Manes, Facundo; Rej, Soham; Rosa, Adriane R; Schouws, Sigfried NTM; Tsai, Shang-Ying; Young, Robert C; Shulman, Kenneth I

2015-01-01

Objectives In the coming generation, older adults with bipolar disorder (BD) will increase in absolute numbers as well as proportion of the general population. This is the first report of the International Society for Bipolar Disorder (ISBD) Task Force on Older-Age Bipolar Disorder (OABD). Methods This task force report addresses the unique aspects of OABD including epidemiology and clinical features, neuropathology and biomarkers, physical health, cognition, and care approaches. Results The report describes an expert consensus summary on OABD that is intended to advance the care of patients, and shed light on issues of relevance to BD research across the lifespan. Although there is still a dearth of research and health efforts focused on older adults with BD, emerging data has brought some answers, innovative questions, and novel perspectives related to the notion of late onset, medical comorbidity, and the vexing issue of cognitive impairment and decline. Conclusions Improving our understanding of the biological, clinical, and social underpinnings relevant to OABD is an indispensable step in building a complete map of BD across the lifespan. PMID:26384588

Development of a matrix to evaluate the threat of biological agents used for bioterrorism.

PubMed

Tegnell, A; Van Loock, F; Baka, A; Wallyn, S; Hendriks, J; Werner, A; Gouvras, G

2006-10-01

Adequate public health preparedness for bioterrorism includes the elaboration of an agreed list of biological and chemical agents that might be used in an attack or as threats of deliberate release. In the absence of counterterrorism intelligence information, public health authorities can also base their preparedness on the agents for which the national health structures would be most vulnerable. This article aims to describe a logical method and the characteristics of the variables to be brought in a weighing process to reach a priority list for preparedness. The European Union, in the aftermath of the anthrax events of October 2001 in the United States, set up a task force of experts from multiple member states to elaborate and implement a health security programme. One of the first tasks of this task force was to come up with a list of priority threats. The model, presented here, allows Web-based updates for newly identified agents and for the changes occurring in preventive measures for agents already listed. The same model also allows the identification of priority protection action areas.

Poka-yoke process controller: designed for individuals with cognitive impairments.

PubMed

Erlandson, R F; Sant, D

1998-01-01

Poka-yoke is a Japanese term meaning "error proofing." Poka-yoke techniques were developed to achieve zero defects in manufacturing and assembly processes. The application of these techniques tends to reduce both the physical and cognitive demands of tasks and thereby make them more accessible. Poka-yoke interventions create a dialogue between the worker and the process, and this dialogue provides the feedback necessary for workers to prevent errors. For individuals with cognitive impairments, weighing and counting tasks can be difficult or impossible. Interventions that provide sufficient feedback to workers without disabilities tend to be too subtle for workers with cognitive impairments; hence, the feedback must be enhanced. The Poka-Yoke Controller (PYC) was designed to assist individuals with counting and weighing tasks. The PYC interfaces to an Ohaus CT6000 digital scale for weighing parts and for counting parts by weight. It also interfaces to sensors and switches for object counting tasks. The PYC interfaces to a variety of programmable voice output devices so that voice feedback or prompting can be provided at specific points in the weighing or counting process. The PYC can also be interfaced to conveyor systems, indexed turntables, and other material handling systems for coordinated counting and material handling operations. In all of our applications to date, we have observed improved worker performance, improved process quality, and greater worker independence. These observed benefits have also significantly reduced the need for staff intervention. The process controller is described and three applications are presented: a weighing task and two counting applications.

Use of Human Modeling Simulation Software in the Task Analysis of the Environmental Control and Life Support System Component Installation Procedures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, Samantha; Parker, Nelson C. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Virtual reality and simulation applications are becoming widespread in human task analysis. These programs have many benefits for the Human Factors Engineering field. Not only do creating and using virtual environments for human engineering analyses save money and time, this approach also promotes user experimentation and provides increased quality of analyses. This paper explains the human engineering task analysis performed on the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) space station rack and its Distillation Assembly (DA) subsystem using EAI's human modeling simulation software, Jack. When installed on the International Space Station (ISS), ECLSS will provide the life and environment support needed to adequately sustain crew life. The DA is an Orbital Replaceable Unit (ORU) that provides means of wastewater (primarily urine from flight crew and experimental animals) reclamation. Jack was used to create a model of the weightless environment of the ISS Node 3, where the ECLSS is housed. Computer aided drawings of the ECLSS rack and DA system were also brought into the environment. Anthropometric models of a 95th percentile male and 5th percentile female were used to examine the human interfaces encountered during various ECLSS and DA tasks. The results of the task analyses were used in suggesting modifications to hardware and crew task procedures to improve accessibility, conserve crew time, and add convenience for the crew. This paper will address some of those suggested modifications and the method of presenting final analyses for requirements verification.

Lessons from X-Ray Astronomy Applied to HST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreier, Ethan J.; Doxsey, Rodger

2000-09-01

Riccardo Giacconi, probably more than any other single individual, established x-ray astronomy as an essential sub-discipline of astronomy. Its incorporation into the mainstream of astronomy was substantially completed with the Einstein Observatory which, with its imaging capabilities and its Guest Observer program, invited non-x-ray astronomers to use the facility. It was therefore perhaps fitting that when optical astronomy moved into space, with the Hubble Space Telescope, it called on Riccardo to oversee the transition. He brought with him lessons about building and operating space observatories, experience working with NASA on large science projects, a business-like approach to attacking tasks, and his unique vision and abilities. Among the guiding principles he brought to HST were: involvement of a strong scientific research staff in all aspects of the program; establishment of a vital, active research environment; attention to "science system engineering" and applying a rational scientific approach to problems; creation of an atmosphere of "ruthless intellectual honesty" and maintenance of the highest regard for process. These formed the basis both for attacking the problems of HST, and for building an Institute to do so.

The Sexual Discounting Task: HIV Risk Behavior and the Discounting of Delayed Sexual Rewards in Cocaine Dependence

PubMed Central

Johnson, Matthew W.; Bruner, Natalie R.

2011-01-01

Background Cocaine dependence is associated with high rates of sexual risk behavior and HIV infection. However, little is known about the responsible mechanism(s). Methods Cocaine-dependent individuals (N=62) completed a novel Sexual Discounting Task assessing decisions between immediate unprotected sex and delayed sex with a condom across four hypothetical partners: most (and least) likely to have a sexually transmitted infection (STI), and most (and least) sexually desirable; a real rewards money delay-discounting task, and self-reported sexual risk behavior using the HIV Risk-Taking Behavior Scale (HRBS). Results Sexual Discounting Task results were largely systematic and showed a strong effect of delay in decreasing condom use. Sexual discounting (preference for immediate unprotected sex) was significantly greater when making responses for partners judged least (compared to most) likely to have an STI, and for partners judged most (compared to least) desirable. Differences in sexual discounting were significant after controlling for differences in condom use (with no delay) between conditions. Greater discounting in 3 or the 4 Sexual Discounting Task conditions, but not in the money discounting task, was associated with greater self-reported sexual risk behavior as measured by the HRBS Conclusions Results suggest that delay is a critical variable strongly affecting HIV sexual risk behavior, and that the Sexual Discounting Task provides a clinically sensitive measure of this phenomenon that may address a variety of questions about HIV risk in future research. The wealth of behavioral and neurobiological data on delay discounting should be brought to bear on HIV education and prevention. PMID:22055012

A Multi-Agent Approach to the Simulation of Robotized Manufacturing Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foit, K.; Gwiazda, A.; Banaś, W.

2016-08-01

The recent years of eventful industry development, brought many competing products, addressed to the same market segment. The shortening of a development cycle became a necessity if the company would like to be competitive. Because of switching to the Intelligent Manufacturing model the industry search for new scheduling algorithms, while the traditional ones do not meet the current requirements. The agent-based approach has been considered by many researchers as an important way of evolution of modern manufacturing systems. Due to the properties of the multi-agent systems, this methodology is very helpful during creation of the model of production system, allowing depicting both processing and informational part. The complexity of such approach makes the analysis impossible without the computer assistance. Computer simulation still uses a mathematical model to recreate a real situation, but nowadays the 2D or 3D virtual environments or even virtual reality have been used for realistic illustration of the considered systems. This paper will focus on robotized manufacturing system and will present the one of possible approaches to the simulation of such systems. The selection of multi-agent approach is motivated by the flexibility of this solution that offers the modularity, robustness and autonomy.

[Exploring the dark continent: medical image and brain].

PubMed

Garcia-Molina, A; Ensenat, A

2017-04-01

Until the late 19th century, direct observation of the central nervous system was practically impossible. The discovery of X-rays in 1895 and their subsequent application in the field of medicine brought about a shift of paradigm that completely revolutionised the way in which neurology was practised. The possibility of viewing the inside of the brain had a pronounced impact on clinical practice, and enriched the diagnosis and treatment of brain pathologies in a manner that was unimaginable up until then. The aim of this study is to describe the birth and development of medical imaging of the brain, from the discovery of X-rays and the early days of radiography to the appearance of computerised tomography and magnetic resonance in the 60s, both of which are techniques that were to change the world of diagnostic imaging forever. This brief overview of the history of radiology also includes the origins of angiography and other techniques that are no longer in use, but which were ground-breaking innovations in their time, such as ventriculography or pneumoencephalography. The procedures and techniques described in this article made it possible to view the inside of the brain, thereby facilitating the diagnosis and treatment of a number of neurological processes.

Medicare changes create accounting, reporting, and auditing problems. Task Force on Federal Health Care Legislation, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

PubMed

1984-11-01

Hospital auditors and financial officers must adjust and react to the changing financial healthcare environment brought about by PPS. A close review of accounting systems, reporting methods, auditing procedures, and internal control systems should be made to determine that assets are safe-guarded and financial information is presented in conformity with GAAP. This article identified new problems and suggested solutions. Old tasks may no longer be necessary. For example, retroactive adjustments are not as important as they used to be. Estimates for capital and outpatient costs may continue to be required, but elaborate cost-finding techniques may no longer be necessary to estimate retroactive adjustments for reimbursable items. We recommend that prior to beginning an audit of a hospital's financial statements, each hospital's financial officers and its auditors discuss the possible accounting, reporting, and auditing implications as a result of PPS.

Interfacing modules for integrating discipline specific structural mechanics codes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Endres, Ned M.

1989-01-01

An outline of the organization and capabilities of the Engine Structures Computational Simulator (Simulator) at NASA Lewis Research Center is given. One of the goals of the research at Lewis is to integrate various discipline specific structural mechanics codes into a software system which can be brought to bear effectively on a wide range of engineering problems. This system must possess the qualities of being effective and efficient while still remaining user friendly. The simulator was initially designed for the finite element simulation of gas jet engine components. Currently, the simulator has been restricted to only the analysis of high pressure turbine blades and the accompanying rotor assembly, although the current installation can be expanded for other applications. The simulator presently assists the user throughout its procedures by performing information management tasks, executing external support tasks, organizing analysis modules and executing these modules in the user defined order while maintaining processing continuity.

Voice measures of workload in the advanced flight deck: Additional studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, Sid J.; Alpert, Murray

1989-01-01

These studies investigated acoustical analysis of the voice as a measure of workload in individual operators. In the first study, voice samples were recorded from a single operator during high, medium, and low workload conditions. Mean amplitude, frequency, syllable duration, and emphasis all tended to increase as workload increased. In the second study, NASA test pilots performed a laboratory task, and used a flight simulator under differing work conditions. For two of the pilots, high workload in the simulator brought about greater amplitude, peak duration, and stress. In both the laboratory and simulator tasks, high workload tended to be associated with more statistically significant drop-offs in the acoustical measures than were lower workload levels. There was a great deal of intra-subject variability in the acoustical measures. The results suggested that in individual operators, increased workload might be revealed by high initial amplitude and frequency, followed by rapid drop-offs over time.

Mobile-Cloud Assisted Video Summarization Framework for Efficient Management of Remote Sensing Data Generated by Wireless Capsule Sensors

PubMed Central

Mehmood, Irfan; Sajjad, Muhammad; Baik, Sung Wook

2014-01-01

Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) has great advantages over traditional endoscopy because it is portable and easy to use, especially in remote monitoring health-services. However, during the WCE process, the large amount of captured video data demands a significant deal of computation to analyze and retrieve informative video frames. In order to facilitate efficient WCE data collection and browsing task, we present a resource- and bandwidth-aware WCE video summarization framework that extracts the representative keyframes of the WCE video contents by removing redundant and non-informative frames. For redundancy elimination, we use Jeffrey-divergence between color histograms and inter-frame Boolean series-based correlation of color channels. To remove non-informative frames, multi-fractal texture features are extracted to assist the classification using an ensemble-based classifier. Owing to the limited WCE resources, it is impossible for the WCE system to perform computationally intensive video summarization tasks. To resolve computational challenges, mobile-cloud architecture is incorporated, which provides resizable computing capacities by adaptively offloading video summarization tasks between the client and the cloud server. The qualitative and quantitative results are encouraging and show that the proposed framework saves information transmission cost and bandwidth, as well as the valuable time of data analysts in browsing remote sensing data. PMID:25225874

Mobile-cloud assisted video summarization framework for efficient management of remote sensing data generated by wireless capsule sensors.

PubMed

Mehmood, Irfan; Sajjad, Muhammad; Baik, Sung Wook

2014-09-15

Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) has great advantages over traditional endoscopy because it is portable and easy to use, especially in remote monitoring health-services. However, during the WCE process, the large amount of captured video data demands a significant deal of computation to analyze and retrieve informative video frames. In order to facilitate efficient WCE data collection and browsing task, we present a resource- and bandwidth-aware WCE video summarization framework that extracts the representative keyframes of the WCE video contents by removing redundant and non-informative frames. For redundancy elimination, we use Jeffrey-divergence between color histograms and inter-frame Boolean series-based correlation of color channels. To remove non-informative frames, multi-fractal texture features are extracted to assist the classification using an ensemble-based classifier. Owing to the limited WCE resources, it is impossible for the WCE system to perform computationally intensive video summarization tasks. To resolve computational challenges, mobile-cloud architecture is incorporated, which provides resizable computing capacities by adaptively offloading video summarization tasks between the client and the cloud server. The qualitative and quantitative results are encouraging and show that the proposed framework saves information transmission cost and bandwidth, as well as the valuable time of data analysts in browsing remote sensing data.

Costs of task allocation with local feedback: Effects of colony size and extra workers in social insects and other multi-agent systems.

PubMed

Radeva, Tsvetomira; Dornhaus, Anna; Lynch, Nancy; Nagpal, Radhika; Su, Hsin-Hao

2017-12-01

Adaptive collective systems are common in biology and beyond. Typically, such systems require a task allocation algorithm: a mechanism or rule-set by which individuals select particular roles. Here we study the performance of such task allocation mechanisms measured in terms of the time for individuals to allocate to tasks. We ask: (1) Is task allocation fundamentally difficult, and thus costly? (2) Does the performance of task allocation mechanisms depend on the number of individuals? And (3) what other parameters may affect their efficiency? We use techniques from distributed computing theory to develop a model of a social insect colony, where workers have to be allocated to a set of tasks; however, our model is generalizable to other systems. We show, first, that the ability of workers to quickly assess demand for work in tasks they are not currently engaged in crucially affects whether task allocation is quickly achieved or not. This indicates that in social insect tasks such as thermoregulation, where temperature may provide a global and near instantaneous stimulus to measure the need for cooling, for example, it should be easy to match the number of workers to the need for work. In other tasks, such as nest repair, it may be impossible for workers not directly at the work site to know that this task needs more workers. We argue that this affects whether task allocation mechanisms are under strong selection. Second, we show that colony size does not affect task allocation performance under our assumptions. This implies that when effects of colony size are found, they are not inherent in the process of task allocation itself, but due to processes not modeled here, such as higher variation in task demand for smaller colonies, benefits of specialized workers, or constant overhead costs. Third, we show that the ratio of the number of available workers to the workload crucially affects performance. Thus, workers in excess of those needed to complete all tasks improve task allocation performance. This provides a potential explanation for the phenomenon that social insect colonies commonly contain inactive workers: these may be a 'surplus' set of workers that improves colony function by speeding up optimal allocation of workers to tasks. Overall our study shows how limitations at the individual level can affect group level outcomes, and suggests new hypotheses that can be explored empirically.

Costs of task allocation with local feedback: Effects of colony size and extra workers in social insects and other multi-agent systems

PubMed Central

Dornhaus, Anna; Su, Hsin-Hao

2017-01-01

Adaptive collective systems are common in biology and beyond. Typically, such systems require a task allocation algorithm: a mechanism or rule-set by which individuals select particular roles. Here we study the performance of such task allocation mechanisms measured in terms of the time for individuals to allocate to tasks. We ask: (1) Is task allocation fundamentally difficult, and thus costly? (2) Does the performance of task allocation mechanisms depend on the number of individuals? And (3) what other parameters may affect their efficiency? We use techniques from distributed computing theory to develop a model of a social insect colony, where workers have to be allocated to a set of tasks; however, our model is generalizable to other systems. We show, first, that the ability of workers to quickly assess demand for work in tasks they are not currently engaged in crucially affects whether task allocation is quickly achieved or not. This indicates that in social insect tasks such as thermoregulation, where temperature may provide a global and near instantaneous stimulus to measure the need for cooling, for example, it should be easy to match the number of workers to the need for work. In other tasks, such as nest repair, it may be impossible for workers not directly at the work site to know that this task needs more workers. We argue that this affects whether task allocation mechanisms are under strong selection. Second, we show that colony size does not affect task allocation performance under our assumptions. This implies that when effects of colony size are found, they are not inherent in the process of task allocation itself, but due to processes not modeled here, such as higher variation in task demand for smaller colonies, benefits of specialized workers, or constant overhead costs. Third, we show that the ratio of the number of available workers to the workload crucially affects performance. Thus, workers in excess of those needed to complete all tasks improve task allocation performance. This provides a potential explanation for the phenomenon that social insect colonies commonly contain inactive workers: these may be a ‘surplus’ set of workers that improves colony function by speeding up optimal allocation of workers to tasks. Overall our study shows how limitations at the individual level can affect group level outcomes, and suggests new hypotheses that can be explored empirically. PMID:29240763

Six Impossible Things: Fractional Charge From Laughlin's Wave Function

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

Shrivastava, Keshav N.

2010-12-23

The Laughlin's wave function is found to be the zero-energy ground state of a {delta}-function Hamiltonian. The finite negative value of the ground state energy which is 91 per cent of Wigner value, can be obtained only when Coulomb correlations are introduced. The Laughlin's wave function is of short range and it overlaps with that of the exact wave functions of small (number of electrons 2 or 5) systems. (i) It is impossible to obtain fractional charge from Laughlin's wave function. (ii) It is impossible to prove that the Laughlin's wave function gives the ground state of the Coulomb Hamiltonian.more » (iii) It is impossible to have particle-hole symmetry in the Laughlin's wave function. (iv) It is impossible to derive the value of m in the Laughlin's wave function. The value of m in {psi}{sub m} can not be proved to be 3 or 5. (v) It is impossible to prove that the Laughlin's state is incompressible because the compressible states are also likely. (vi) It is impossible for the Laughlin's wave function to have spin. This effort is directed to explain the experimental data of quantum Hall effect in GaAs/AlGaAs.« less

Improved signal processing approaches in an offline simulation of a hybrid brain–computer interface

PubMed Central

Brunner, Clemens; Allison, Brendan Z.; Krusienski, Dean J.; Kaiser, Vera; Müller-Putz, Gernot R.; Pfurtscheller, Gert; Neuper, Christa

2012-01-01

In a conventional brain–computer interface (BCI) system, users perform mental tasks that yield specific patterns of brain activity. A pattern recognition system determines which brain activity pattern a user is producing and thereby infers the user’s mental task, allowing users to send messages or commands through brain activity alone. Unfortunately, despite extensive research to improve classification accuracy, BCIs almost always exhibit errors, which are sometimes so severe that effective communication is impossible. We recently introduced a new idea to improve accuracy, especially for users with poor performance. In an offline simulation of a “hybrid” BCI, subjects performed two mental tasks independently and then simultaneously. This hybrid BCI could use two different types of brain signals common in BCIs – event-related desynchronization (ERD) and steady-state evoked potentials (SSEPs). This study suggested that such a hybrid BCI is feasible. Here, we re-analyzed the data from our initial study. We explored eight different signal processing methods that aimed to improve classification and further assess both the causes and the extent of the benefits of the hybrid condition. Most analyses showed that the improved methods described here yielded a statistically significant improvement over our initial study. Some of these improvements could be relevant to conventional BCIs as well. Moreover, the number of illiterates could be reduced with the hybrid condition. Results are also discussed in terms of dual task interference and relevance to protocol design in hybrid BCIs. PMID:20153371

The Impossible in Mathematics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adler, Irving

The material in this reprint, with minor editorial changes, is from the chapter "Doing the Impossible" in MONKEY BUSINESS by Irving Adler. This 25-page booklet contains brief accounts of historical attempts to prove impossible problems in mathematics. The mathematical recreations in this booklet of geometric constructions include the trisection…

Monkeys fail to reciprocate in an exchange task.

PubMed

Pelé, Marie; Thierry, Bernard; Call, Josep; Dufour, Valérie

2010-09-01

Exchanges form the basis of human economies. Animals too can engage in reciprocal interactions but they do not barter goods like humans, which raises the question of the abilities necessary for trading to occur. Previous studies have shown that non-human primates can exchange food with human partners. Here, we tested the ability of brown capuchin monkeys and Tonkean macaques to reciprocate in a task requiring two conspecifics to exchange tokens in order to obtain rewards from an experimenter. We recorded 56 transfers between subjects in capuchin monkeys and 10 in Tonkean macaques. All transfers were passive in both species. Capuchins preferentially picked up tokens valuable for them in the partner's compartment. They tended to manipulate the partner-valued tokens more often than the no-value ones, leading to more opportunities for these tokens to end up within reach of the partner. Despite optimal conditions where values of goods were defined and known by partners, however, none of the pairs tested engaged in short-term reciprocal interactions. These results indicate that calculated reciprocity was difficult if not impossible in the animals tested.

From photons to big-data applications: terminating terabits

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Computer architectures have entered a watershed as the quantity of network data generated by user applications exceeds the data-processing capacity of any individual computer end-system. It will become impossible to scale existing computer systems while a gap grows between the quantity of networked data and the capacity for per system data processing. Despite this, the growth in demand in both task variety and task complexity continues unabated. Networked computer systems provide a fertile environment in which new applications develop. As networked computer systems become akin to infrastructure, any limitation upon the growth in capacity and capabilities becomes an important constraint of concern to all computer users. Considering a networked computer system capable of processing terabits per second, as a benchmark for scalability, we critique the state of the art in commodity computing, and propose a wholesale reconsideration in the design of computer architectures and their attendant ecosystem. Our proposal seeks to reduce costs, save power and increase performance in a multi-scale approach that has potential application from nanoscale to data-centre-scale computers. PMID:26809573

Research of GIS-services applicability for solution of spatial analysis tasks.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terekhin, D. A.; Botygin, I. A.; Sherstneva, A. I.; Sherstnev, V. S.

2017-01-01

Experiments for working out the areas of applying various gis-services in the tasks of spatial analysis are discussed in this paper. Google Maps, Yandex Maps, Microsoft SQL Server are used as services of spatial analysis. All services have shown a comparable speed of analyzing the spatial data when carrying out elemental spatial requests (building up the buffer zone of a point object) as well as the preferences of Microsoft SQL Server in operating with more complicated spatial requests. When building up elemental spatial requests, internet-services show higher efficiency due to cliental data handling with JavaScript-subprograms. A weak point of public internet-services is an impossibility to handle data on a server side and a barren variety of spatial analysis functions. Microsoft SQL Server offers a large variety of functions needed for spatial analysis on the server side. The authors conclude that when solving practical problems, the capabilities of internet-services used in building up routes and completing other functions with spatial analysis with Microsoft SQL Server should be involved.

Application of Hybrid Real-Time Power System Simulator for Designing and Researching of Relay Protection and Automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borovikov, Yu S.; Sulaymanov, A. O.; Andreev, M. V.

2015-10-01

Development, research and operation of smart grids (SG) with active-adaptive networks (AAS) are actual tasks for today. Planned integration of high-speed FACTS devices greatly complicates complex dynamic properties of power systems. As a result the operating conditions of equipment of power systems are significantly changing. Such situation creates the new actual problem of development and research of relay protection and automation (RPA) which will be able to adequately operate in the SGs and adapt to its regimes. Effectiveness of solution of the problem depends on using tools - different simulators of electric power systems. Analysis of the most famous and widely exploited simulators led to the conclusion about the impossibility of using them for solution of the mentioned problem. In Tomsk Polytechnic University developed the prototype of hybrid multiprocessor software and hardware system - Hybrid Real-Time Power System Simulator (HRTSim). Because of its unique features this simulator can be used for solution of mentioned tasks. This article introduces the concept of development and research of relay protection and automation with usage of HRTSim.

As-built data capture of complex piping using photogrammetry technology

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

Morray, J.P.; Ziu, C.G.

1995-11-01

Plant owners face an increasingly difficult and expensive task of updating drawings, both regarding the plant logic and physical layout. Through the use of photogrammetry technology, H-H spectrum has created a complete operating plant data capture service, with the result that the task of recording accurate plant configurations has become assured and economical. The technology has proven to be extremely valuable for the capture of complex piping configurations, as well as entire plant facilities, and yields accuracy within 1/4 inch. The method uses photographs and workstation technology to quickly document and compute the plant layout, with all components, regardless ofmore » size, included in the resulting model. The system has the capability to compute actual 3-D coordinates of any point based on previous triangulations, allowing for an immediate assessment of accuracy. This ensures a consistent level of accuracy, which is impossible to achieve in a manual approach. Due to the speed of the process, the approach is very important in hazardous/difficult environments such as nuclear power facilities or offshore platforms.« less

From photons to big-data applications: terminating terabits.

PubMed

Zilberman, Noa; Moore, Andrew W; Crowcroft, Jon A

2016-03-06

Computer architectures have entered a watershed as the quantity of network data generated by user applications exceeds the data-processing capacity of any individual computer end-system. It will become impossible to scale existing computer systems while a gap grows between the quantity of networked data and the capacity for per system data processing. Despite this, the growth in demand in both task variety and task complexity continues unabated. Networked computer systems provide a fertile environment in which new applications develop. As networked computer systems become akin to infrastructure, any limitation upon the growth in capacity and capabilities becomes an important constraint of concern to all computer users. Considering a networked computer system capable of processing terabits per second, as a benchmark for scalability, we critique the state of the art in commodity computing, and propose a wholesale reconsideration in the design of computer architectures and their attendant ecosystem. Our proposal seeks to reduce costs, save power and increase performance in a multi-scale approach that has potential application from nanoscale to data-centre-scale computers. © 2016 The Authors.

Managing mapping data using commercial data base management software.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Elassal, A.A.

1985-01-01

Electronic computers are involved in almost every aspect of the map making process. This involvement has become so thorough that it is practically impossible to find a recently developed process or device in the mapping field which does not employ digital processing in some form or another. This trend, which has been evolving over two decades, is accelerated by the significant improvements in capility, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of electronic devices. Computerized mapping processes and devices share a common need for machine readable data. Integrating groups of these components into automated mapping systems requires careful planning for data flow amongst them. Exploring the utility of commercial data base management software to assist in this task is the subject of this paper. -Author

Image processing in biodosimetry: A proposal of a generic free software platform.

PubMed

Dumpelmann, Matthias; Cadena da Matta, Mariel; Pereira de Lemos Pinto, Marcela Maria; de Salazar E Fernandes, Thiago; Borges da Silva, Edvane; Amaral, Ademir

2015-08-01

The scoring of chromosome aberrations is the most reliable biological method for evaluating individual exposure to ionizing radiation. However, microscopic analyses of chromosome human metaphases, generally employed to identify aberrations mainly dicentrics (chromosome with two centromeres), is a laborious task. This method is time consuming and its application in biological dosimetry would be almost impossible in case of a large scale radiation incidents. In this project, a generic software was enhanced for automatic chromosome image processing from a framework originally developed for the Framework V project Simbio, of the European Union for applications in the area of source localization from electroencephalographic signals. The platforms capability is demonstrated by a study comparing automatic segmentation strategies of chromosomes from microscopic images.

Translational research-the need of a new bioethics approach.

PubMed

Hostiuc, Sorin; Moldoveanu, Alin; Dascălu, Maria-Iuliana; Unnthorsson, Runar; Jóhannesson, Ómar I; Marcus, Ioan

2016-01-15

Translational research tries to apply findings from basic science to enhance human health and well-being. Many phases of the translational research may include non-medical tasks (information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, biochemistry, animal research, economy, sociology, psychology, politics, and so on). Using common bioethics principles to these areas might sometimes be not feasible, or even impossible. However, the whole process must respect some fundamental, moral principles. The purpose of this paper is to argument the need for a different approach to the morality in translational bioethics, and to suggest some directions that might be followed when constructing such a bioethics. We will show that a new approach is needed and present a few ethical issues that are specific to the translational research.

From the connectome to the synaptome: an epic love story.

PubMed

DeFelipe, Javier

2010-11-26

A major challenge in neuroscience is to decipher the structural layout of the brain. The term "connectome" has recently been proposed to refer to the highly organized connection matrix of the human brain. However, defining how information flows through such a complex system represents so difficult a task that it seems unlikely it could be achieved in the near future or, for the most pessimistic, perhaps ever. Circuit diagrams of the nervous system can be considered at different levels, although they are surely impossible to complete at the synaptic level. Nevertheless, advances in our capacity to marry macro- and microscopic data may help establish a realistic statistical model that could describe connectivity at the ultrastructural level, the "synaptome," giving us cause for optimism.

Zusammenfassung

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fullerton, A. W.

2012-12-01

The “Tony Fest” was a fabulous meeting! Lac Taureau provided a beautiful setting resplendent with summer sunshine and fresh air; scenic vistas and a warm lake; delicious food and abundant refreshments to stimulate astrophysical advancement. With copious collegiality and a fine balance between the pursuit of scientific rigor and physical recreation, the meeting was both an adventure and an education: a fest worthy of its namesake! All of which makes the task of summarizing the meeting next to impossible! Instead, I can only attempt a “drawing together” — a Zusammenfassung, as Herr Professor Doktor Doktor Moffat might say — of the things that make this meeting especially memorable for me. I know that each of the participants will carry their own personal highlights with them for a long time to come.

Cross-Talk in Superconducting Transmon Quantum Computing Architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abraham, David; Chow, Jerry; Corcoles, Antonio; Rothwell, Mary; Keefe, George; Gambetta, Jay; Steffen, Matthias; IBM Quantum Computing Team

2013-03-01

Superconducting transmon quantum computing test structures often exhibit significant undesired cross-talk. For experiments with only a handful of qubits this cross-talk can be quantified and understood, and therefore corrected. As quantum computing circuits become more complex, and thereby contain increasing numbers of qubits and resonators, it becomes more vital that the inadvertent coupling between these elements is minimized. The task of accurately controlling each single qubit to the level of precision required throughout the realization of a quantum algorithm is difficult by itself, but coupled with the need of nulling out leakage signals from neighboring qubits or resonators would quickly become impossible. We discuss an approach to solve this critical problem. We acknowledge support from IARPA under contract W911NF-10-1-0324.

Status, methods and aims of the knee investigations at CR spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaulov, S. B.; Bezshapov, S. P.

2013-02-01

Usually it is supposed that the definition of the CR mass composition in knee region is the key to problem of CR spectrum modification in this range. However tens of experiments done for the last half a century, have not decided this problem. The possible causes of fiasco and arguments in favour of necessity to reformulate a method of attack are discussed. It is formulated that the first experimental task now is to solve a more simple problem: is there abnormal CR component in knee field or not. It seams that impossible to formulate correctly more common problem of mass composition without solving of this one. The observational basis is discussed. The hypothesis of strange quark matter is suggested for the abnormal component.

Patch-based Convolutional Neural Network for Whole Slide Tissue Image Classification

PubMed Central

Hou, Le; Samaras, Dimitris; Kurc, Tahsin M.; Gao, Yi; Davis, James E.; Saltz, Joel H.

2016-01-01

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) are state-of-the-art models for many image classification tasks. However, to recognize cancer subtypes automatically, training a CNN on gigapixel resolution Whole Slide Tissue Images (WSI) is currently computationally impossible. The differentiation of cancer subtypes is based on cellular-level visual features observed on image patch scale. Therefore, we argue that in this situation, training a patch-level classifier on image patches will perform better than or similar to an image-level classifier. The challenge becomes how to intelligently combine patch-level classification results and model the fact that not all patches will be discriminative. We propose to train a decision fusion model to aggregate patch-level predictions given by patch-level CNNs, which to the best of our knowledge has not been shown before. Furthermore, we formulate a novel Expectation-Maximization (EM) based method that automatically locates discriminative patches robustly by utilizing the spatial relationships of patches. We apply our method to the classification of glioma and non-small-cell lung carcinoma cases into subtypes. The classification accuracy of our method is similar to the inter-observer agreement between pathologists. Although it is impossible to train CNNs on WSIs, we experimentally demonstrate using a comparable non-cancer dataset of smaller images that a patch-based CNN can outperform an image-based CNN. PMID:27795661

78 FR 46410 - Requested Administrative Waiver of the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel IMPOSSIBLE DREAM; Invitation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-31

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Maritime Administration [Docket No. MARAD-2013 0084] Requested Administrative Waiver of the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel IMPOSSIBLE DREAM; Invitation for Public Comments AGENCY... of the vessel IMPOSSIBLE DREAM is: Intended Commercial Use of Vessel: ``Day, Multiple Day, Week...

Brain Activation in Motor Sequence Learning Is Related to the Level of Native Cortical Excitability

PubMed Central

Lissek, Silke; Vallana, Guido S.; Güntürkün, Onur; Dinse, Hubert; Tegenthoff, Martin

2013-01-01

Cortical excitability may be subject to changes through training and learning. Motor training can increase cortical excitability in motor cortex, and facilitation of motor cortical excitability has been shown to be positively correlated with improvements in performance in simple motor tasks. Thus cortical excitability may tentatively be considered as a marker of learning and use-dependent plasticity. Previous studies focused on changes in cortical excitability brought about by learning processes, however, the relation between native levels of cortical excitability on the one hand and brain activation and behavioral parameters on the other is as yet unknown. In the present study we investigated the role of differential native motor cortical excitability for learning a motor sequencing task with regard to post-training changes in excitability, behavioral performance and involvement of brain regions. Our motor task required our participants to reproduce and improvise over a pre-learned motor sequence. Over both task conditions, participants with low cortical excitability (CElo) showed significantly higher BOLD activation in task-relevant brain regions than participants with high cortical excitability (CEhi). In contrast, CElo and CEhi groups did not exhibit differences in percentage of correct responses and improvisation level. Moreover, cortical excitability did not change significantly after learning and training in either group, with the exception of a significant decrease in facilitatory excitability in the CEhi group. The present data suggest that the native, unmanipulated level of cortical excitability is related to brain activation intensity, but not to performance quality. The higher BOLD mean signal intensity during the motor task might reflect a compensatory mechanism in CElo participants. PMID:23613956

Cannabidiol attenuates deficits of visuospatial associative memory induced by Δ(9) tetrahydrocannabinol.

PubMed

Wright, M Jerry; Vandewater, Sophia A; Taffe, Michael A

2013-12-01

Recent human studies suggest that recreational cannabis strains that are relatively high in cannabidiol (CBD) content produce less cognitive impairment than do strains with negligible CBD and similar Δ(9) tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. Self-selection in such studies means it is impossible to rule out additional variables which may determine both cannabis strain selection and basal cognitive performance level. Controlled laboratory studies can better determine a direct relationship. In this study, adult male rhesus monkeys were assessed on visuospatial Paired Associates Learning and Self-Ordered Spatial Search memory tasks, as well as additional tests of motivation and manual dexterity. Subjects were challenged with THC (0.2, 0.5 mg·kg(-1) , i.m.) in randomized order and evaluated in the presence or absence of 0.5 mg·kg(-1) CBD. CBD attenuated the effects of THC on paired associates learning and a bimanual motor task without affecting the detrimental effects of THC on a Self-Ordered Spatial Search task of working memory. CBD did not significantly reverse THC-induced impairment of a progressive ratio or a rotating turntable task. This study provides direct evidence that CBD can oppose the cognitive-impairing effects of THC and that it does so in a task-selective manner when administered simultaneously in a 1:1 ratio with THC. The addition of CBD to THC-containing therapeutic products may therefore help to ameliorate unwanted cognitive side-effects. This article is commented on by Mechoulam and Parker, pp 1363-1364 of this issue. To view this commentary visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.12400. © 2013 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology © 2013 The British Pharmacological Society.

Mapping of cortical language function by functional magnetic resonance imaging and repetitive navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation in 40 healthy subjects.

PubMed

Sollmann, Nico; Ille, Sebastian; Boeckh-Behrens, Tobias; Ringel, Florian; Meyer, Bernhard; Krieg, Sandro M

2016-07-01

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is considered to be the standard method regarding non-invasive language mapping. However, repetitive navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) gains increasing importance with respect to that purpose. However, comparisons between both methods are sparse. We performed fMRI and rTMS language mapping of the left hemisphere in 40 healthy, right-handed subjects in combination with the tasks that are most commonly used in the neurosurgical context (fMRI: word-generation = WGEN task; rTMS: object-naming = ON task). Different rTMS error rate thresholds (ERTs) were calculated, and Cohen's kappa coefficient and the cortical parcellation system (CPS) were used for systematic comparison of the two techniques. Overall, mean kappa coefficients were low, revealing no distinct agreement. We found the highest agreement for both techniques when using the 2-out-of-3 rule (CPS region defined as language positive in terms of rTMS if at least 2 out of 3 stimulations led to a naming error). However, kappa for this threshold was only 0.24 (kappa of <0, 0.01-0.20, 0.21-0.40, 0.41-0.60, 0.61-0.80 and 0.81-0.99 indicate less than chance, slight, fair, moderate, substantial and almost perfect agreement, respectively). Because of the inherent differences in the underlying physiology of fMRI and rTMS, the different tasks used and the impossibility of verifying the results via direct cortical stimulation (DCS) in the population of healthy volunteers, one must exercise caution in drawing conclusions about the relative usefulness of each technique for language mapping. Nevertheless, this study yields valuable insights into these two mapping techniques for the most common language tasks currently used in neurosurgical practice.

Cannabidiol attenuates deficits of visuospatial associative memory induced by Δ9tetrahydrocannabinol

PubMed Central

Wright, M Jerry; Vandewater, Sophia A; Taffe, Michael A

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Recent human studies suggest that recreational cannabis strains that are relatively high in cannabidiol (CBD) content produce less cognitive impairment than do strains with negligible CBD and similar Δ9tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. Self-selection in such studies means it is impossible to rule out additional variables which may determine both cannabis strain selection and basal cognitive performance level. Controlled laboratory studies can better determine a direct relationship. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH In this study, adult male rhesus monkeys were assessed on visuospatial Paired Associates Learning and Self-Ordered Spatial Search memory tasks, as well as additional tests of motivation and manual dexterity. Subjects were challenged with THC (0.2, 0.5 mg·kg−1, i.m.) in randomized order and evaluated in the presence or absence of 0.5 mg·kg−1 CBD. KEY RESULTS CBD attenuated the effects of THC on paired associates learning and a bimanual motor task without affecting the detrimental effects of THC on a Self-Ordered Spatial Search task of working memory. CBD did not significantly reverse THC-induced impairment of a progressive ratio or a rotating turntable task. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS This study provides direct evidence that CBD can oppose the cognitive-impairing effects of THC and that it does so in a task-selective manner when administered simultaneously in a 1:1 ratio with THC. The addition of CBD to THC-containing therapeutic products may therefore help to ameliorate unwanted cognitive side-effects. LINKED ARTICLE This article is commented on by Mechoulam and Parker, pp 1363–1364 of this issue. To view this commentary visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.12400 PMID:23550724

Computerized spatial delayed recognition span task: a specific tool to assess visuospatial working memory

PubMed Central

Satler, Corina; Belham, Flávia Schechtman; Garcia, Ana; Tomaz, Carlos; Tavares, Maria Clotilde H.

2015-01-01

A new tablet device version (IOS platform) of the Spatial Delayed Recognition Span Task (SDRST) was developed with the aim of investigating visuospatial Working Memory (WM) abilities based on touchscreen technology. This new WM testing application will be available to download for free in Apple Store app (“SDRST app”). In order to verify the feasibility of this computer-based task, we conducted three experiments with different manipulations and groups of participants. We were interested in investigating if (1) the SDRST is sensitive enough to tap into cognitive differences brought by aging and dementia; (2) different experimental manipulations work successfully; (3) cortical brain activations seen in other WM tasks are also demonstrated here; and (4) non-human primates are able to answer the task. Performance (scores and response time) was better for young than older adults and higher for the latter when compared to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. All groups performed better with facial stimuli than with images of scenes and with emotional than with neutral stimuli. Electrophysiology data showed activation on prefrontal and frontal areas of scalp, theta band activity on the midline area, and gamma activity in left temporal area. There are all scalp regions known to be related to attention and WM. Besides those data, our sample of adult captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) answered the task above chance level. Taken together, these results corroborate the reliability of this new computer-based SDRST as a measure of visuospatial WM in clinical and non-clinical populations as well as in non-human primates. Its tablet app allows the task to be administered in a wide range of settings, including hospitals, homes, schools, laboratories, universities, and research institutions. PMID:25964758

Computerized spatial delayed recognition span task: a specific tool to assess visuospatial working memory.

PubMed

Satler, Corina; Belham, Flávia Schechtman; Garcia, Ana; Tomaz, Carlos; Tavares, Maria Clotilde H

2015-01-01

A new tablet device version (IOS platform) of the Spatial Delayed Recognition Span Task (SDRST) was developed with the aim of investigating visuospatial Working Memory (WM) abilities based on touchscreen technology. This new WM testing application will be available to download for free in Apple Store app ("SDRST app"). In order to verify the feasibility of this computer-based task, we conducted three experiments with different manipulations and groups of participants. We were interested in investigating if (1) the SDRST is sensitive enough to tap into cognitive differences brought by aging and dementia; (2) different experimental manipulations work successfully; (3) cortical brain activations seen in other WM tasks are also demonstrated here; and (4) non-human primates are able to answer the task. Performance (scores and response time) was better for young than older adults and higher for the latter when compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. All groups performed better with facial stimuli than with images of scenes and with emotional than with neutral stimuli. Electrophysiology data showed activation on prefrontal and frontal areas of scalp, theta band activity on the midline area, and gamma activity in left temporal area. There are all scalp regions known to be related to attention and WM. Besides those data, our sample of adult captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) answered the task above chance level. Taken together, these results corroborate the reliability of this new computer-based SDRST as a measure of visuospatial WM in clinical and non-clinical populations as well as in non-human primates. Its tablet app allows the task to be administered in a wide range of settings, including hospitals, homes, schools, laboratories, universities, and research institutions.

Mapping out past and future minds: The perceived trajectory of rationality versus emotionality over time.

PubMed

O'Brien, Ed

2015-06-01

Who do we see when envisioning our "past self" and "future self"? Extant research finds a motivation to perceive improvement over time, such that past selves are seen as worse versions, and future selves as better versions, of current selves. However, the broader components comprising "worse" or "better" beyond domain-specific achievement (e.g., "Last year I failed at dieting, but next year I'll succeed") are less well understood. Are there more general qualities ascribed to the person we recall versus imagine being? Six studies suggest so, extending the 2-dimensional mind perception framework to the self: Past selves seem to possess highly emotional but not very rational minds, whereas future selves seem to possess highly rational but not very emotional minds (Studies 1a, 1b, 1c). Consistent with motivated improvement, this asymmetry does not emerge in evaluating others and applies uniquely to self-judgment (Study 2). Thus, our pervasive belief in changing for the "better" specifically means becoming more rational types of people. This observation has asymmetric consequences. Participants who brought to mind future selves sought intellectual enrichment (Study 3) and performed better on a self-control task (Study 4); however, participants who brought to mind past selves sought emotional enrichment and performed better on the same task when allegedly measuring enjoyment. These findings build a bridge between mind perception and intertemporal dynamics, raising novel implications for the present. Thinking about the future may not uniformly "improve" decisions and behaviors; rather, it mostly facilitates rational-related pursuits, whereas thinking about the past may enhance feeling-related experiences. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The (Im)possibility of the Project: Radford Address

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Bill

2010-01-01

In this address, the author engages both with the possibility "and" the impossibility of the educational project--and suggests something of what it means to say this. His presentation is specifically addressed to the theme of the (im)possibility of the educational project. He draws from philosophy, literature, psychoanalysis and history,…

Young Children Discriminate Improbable from Impossible Events in Fiction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weisberg, Deena Skolnick; Sobel, David M.

2012-01-01

Can young children discriminate impossible events, which cannot happen in reality, from improbable events, which are unfamiliar but could possibly happen in reality? When asked explicitly to categorize these types of events, 4-year-olds (N = 54) tended to report that improbable events were impossible, consistent with prior results (Shtulman &…

Development of a Work Control System for Propulsion Testing at NASA Stennis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Messer, Elizabeth A.

2005-01-01

In 1996 Stennis Space Center was given management authority for all Propulsion Testing for NASA. Over the next few years several research and development (R&D) test facilities were completed and brought up to full operation in what is known as the E-Complex Test Facility at Stennis Space Center. To construct, activate and operate these test facilities, a manual paper-based work control system was created. After utilizing this paper-based work control system for approximately three years, it became apparent that the research and development test area needed a better method to execute, monitor, and report on tasks required to further propulsion testing. The paper based system did not provide the engineers adequate visibility into work tasks or the tracking of testing or hardware discrepancies. This system also restricted the engineer s ability to utilize and access past knowledge and experiences given the severe schedule limitations for most R&D propulsion testing projects. Therefore a system was developed to meet the growing need of Test Operations called the Propulsion Test Directorate (PTD) Work Control System. This system is used to plan, perform, and track tasks that support testing and also to capture lessons learned while doing so.

A report on older-age bipolar disorder from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Task Force.

PubMed

Sajatovic, Martha; Strejilevich, Sergio A; Gildengers, Ariel G; Dols, Annemiek; Al Jurdi, Rayan K; Forester, Brent P; Kessing, Lars Vedel; Beyer, John; Manes, Facundo; Rej, Soham; Rosa, Adriane R; Schouws, Sigfried Ntm; Tsai, Shang-Ying; Young, Robert C; Shulman, Kenneth I

2015-11-01

In the coming generation, older adults with bipolar disorder (BD) will increase in absolute numbers as well as proportion of the general population. This is the first report of the International Society for Bipolar Disorder (ISBD) Task Force on Older-Age Bipolar Disorder (OABD). This task force report addresses the unique aspects of OABD including epidemiology and clinical features, neuropathology and biomarkers, physical health, cognition, and care approaches. The report describes an expert consensus summary on OABD that is intended to advance the care of patients, and shed light on issues of relevance to BD research across the lifespan. Although there is still a dearth of research and health efforts focused on older adults with BD, emerging data have brought some answers, innovative questions, and novel perspectives related to the notion of late onset, medical comorbidity, and the vexing issue of cognitive impairment and decline. Improving our understanding of the biological, clinical, and social underpinnings relevant to OABD is an indispensable step in building a complete map of BD across the lifespan. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pair programming and secondary school girls' enjoyment of programming and the subject Information Technology (IT)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liebenberg, Janet; Mentz, Elsa; Breed, Betty

2012-09-01

This paper reports on a qualitative study that examined how pair programming shapes the experience of secondary school girls taking IT as a subject, with respect to their enjoyment of programming and the subject itself. The study involved six Grade 11 girls who were doing solo programming in Grade 10 and pair programming in their following Grade. The results showed that the girls enjoyed the subject more when programming in pairs due to improved comprehension of the task. They especially enjoyed the socialization and communication brought about by pair programming. The assistance, support, motivation, focus and encouragement they received from partners when stuck or while fixing errors made the programming experience more enjoyable for them. The increased enjoyment brought about by pair programming resulted in the perception of greater learning in the subject IT and also to greater interest in it. It also led to greater persistence in dealing with problems. Pair programming should be implemented right from the start of Grade 10 since it may lead to greater enjoyment of programming and the subject IT in general. The approach may also lead to more girls being attracted to the subject.

Effort and Displeasure in People Who Are Hard of Hearing.

PubMed

Matthen, Mohan

2016-01-01

Listening effort helps explain why people who are hard of hearing are prone to fatigue and social withdrawal. However, a one-factor model that cites only effort due to hardness of hearing is insufficient as there are many who lead happy lives despite their disability. This article explores other contributory factors, in particular motivational arousal and pleasure. The theory of rational motivational arousal predicts that some people forego listening comprehension because they believe it to be impossible and hence worth no effort at all. This is problematic. Why should the listening task be rated this way, given the availability of aids that reduce its difficulty? Two additional factors narrow the explanatory gap. First, we separate the listening task from the benefit derived as a consequence. The latter is temporally more distant, and is discounted as a result. The second factor is displeasure attributed to the listening task, which increases listening cost. Many who are hard of hearing enjoy social interaction. In such cases, the actual activity of listening is a benefit, not a cost. These people also reap the benefits of listening, but do not have to balance these against the displeasure of the task. It is suggested that if motivational harmony can be induced by training in somebody who is hard of hearing, then the obstacle to motivational arousal would be removed. This suggests a modified goal for health care professionals. Do not just teach those who are hard of hearing how to use hearing assistance devices. Teach them how to do so with pleasure and enjoyment.

Multi-team dynamics and distributed expertise in imission operations.

PubMed

Caldwell, Barrett S

2005-06-01

The evolution of space exploration has brought an increased awareness of the social and socio-technical issues associated with team performance and task coordination, both for the onboard astronauts and in mission control. Spaceflight operations create a unique environment in which to address classic group dynamics topics including communication, group process, knowledge development and sharing, and time-critical task performance. Mission operations in the early years of the 21st century have developed into a set of complex, multi-team task settings incorporating multiple mission control teams and flight crews interacting in novel ways. These more complex operational settings help highlight the emergence of a new paradigm of distributed supervisory coordination, and the need to consider multiple dimensions of expertise being supported and exchanged among team members. The creation of new mission profiles with very long-duration time scales (months, rather than days) for the International Space Station, as well as planned exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, emphasize fundamental distinctions from the 40 yr from Mercury to the Space Shuttle. Issues in distributed expertise and information flow in mission control settings from two related perspectives are described. A general conceptual view of knowledge sharing and task synchronization is presented within the context of the mission control environment. This conceptual presentation is supplemented by analysis of quasi-experimental data collected from actual flight controllers at NASA-Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.

Biomechanical differences between expert and novice workers in a manual material handling task.

PubMed

Plamondon, Andre; Denis, Denys; Delisle, Alain; Lariviere, Christian; Salazar, Erik

2010-10-01

The objective was to verify whether the methods were safer and more efficient when used by expert handlers than by novice handlers. Altogether, 15 expert and 15 novice handlers were recruited. Their task was to transfer four boxes from a conveyor to a hand trolley. Different characteristics of the load and lifting heights were modified to achieve a larger variety of methods by the participants. The results show that the net moments at the L5/S1 joint were not significantly different (p > 0.05) for the two groups. However, compared with the novices, the experts bent their lumbar region less (experts 54° (SD 11°); novices 66° (SD 15°)) but bent their knees more (experts approx. 72° (SD approx. 30°); novices approx. 53° (SD approx. 33°), which brought them closer to the box. The handler's posture therefore seems to be a major aspect that should be paid specific attention, mainly when there is maximum back loading. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The findings of this research will be useful for improving manual material handling training programmes. Most biomechanical research is based on novice workers and adding information about the approach used by expert handlers in performing their tasks will help provide new avenues for reducing the risk of injury caused by this demanding physical task.

Robust UHTC for Sharp Leading Edge Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, Stanley R.; Singh, Mrityunjay; Opila, Elizabeth J.

2003-01-01

Ultrahigh temperature ceramics have performed unreliably due to material flaws and attachment design. These deficiencies are brought to the fore by the low fracture toughness and thermal shock resistance of UHTCs. If these deficiencies are overcome, we are still faced with poor oxidation resistance as a limitation on UHTC applicability to reusable launch vehicles. We have been addressing the deficiencies of UHTCs for the past year via a small task at GRC that is part of the 3rd Gen TPS effort. Our focus is on composite constructions and functional grading to address the mechanical issues and on composition modification to address the oxidation issue. The approaches and progress will be reported.

Decision-making Strategies and Performance among Seniors1

PubMed Central

Besedeš, Tibor; Deck, Cary; Sarangi, Sudipta; Shor, Mikhael

2011-01-01

Using paper and pencil experiments administered in senior centers, we examine decision-making performance in multi-attribute decision problems. We differentiate the effects of declining cognitive performance and changing cognitive process on decision-making performance of seniors as they age. We find a significant decline in performance with age due to reduced reliance on common heuristics and increased decision-making randomness among our oldest subjects. However, we find that increasing the number of options in a decision problem increases the number of heuristics brought to the task. This challenges the choice overload view that people give up when confronted with too much choice. PMID:22408282

28 CFR 79.5 - Requirements for medical documentation, contemporaneous records, and other records or documents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... copies of the originals, unless it is impossible to obtain an original or certified copy of the original. If it is impossible for a claimant to provide an original or certified copy of an original, the... setting forth the reason why it is impossible to provide an original or a certified copy of an original...

She Bought the Unicorn from the Pet Store: Six- to Seven-Year-Olds Are Strongly Inclined to Generate Natural Explanations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nancekivell, Shaylene E.; Friedman, Ori

2017-01-01

In two experiments (N = 64), we told 6- to 7-year-olds about improbable or impossible outcomes (Experiment 1) and about impossible outcomes concerning ordinary or magical agents (Experiment 2). In both experiments, children claimed that the outcomes were impossible and could not happen, but nonetheless generated realistic and natural explanations…

Ego-rotation and object-rotation in major depressive disorder.

PubMed

Chen, Jiu; Yang, Laiqi; Ma, Wentao; Wu, Xingqu; Zhang, Yan; Wei, Dunhong; Liu, Guangxiong; Deng, Zihe; Hua, Zhen; Jia, Ting

2013-08-30

Mental rotation (MR) performance provides a direct insight into a prototypical higher-level visuo-spatial cognitive operation. Previous studies suggest that progressive slowing with an increasing angle of orientation indicates a specific wing of object-based mental transformations in the psychomotor retardation that occurs in major depressive disorder (MDD). It is still not known, however, whether the ability of object-rotation is associated with the ability of ego-rotation in MDD. The present study was designed to investigate the level of impairment of mental transformation abilities in MDD. For this purpose we tested 33 MDD (aged 18-52 years, 16 women) and 30 healthy control subjects (15 women, age and education matched) by evaluating the performance of MDD subjects with regard to ego-rotation and object-rotation tasks. First, MDD subjects were significantly slower and made more errors than controls in mentally rotating hands and letters. Second, MDD and control subjects displayed the same pattern of response times to stimuli at various orientations in the letter task but not the hand task. Third, in particular, MDD subjects were significantly slower and made more errors during the mental transformation of hands than letters relative to control subjects and were significantly slower and made more errors in physiologically impossible angles than physiologically possible angles in the mental rotation hand task. In conclusion, MDD subjects present with more serious mental rotation deficits specific to the hand than the letter task. Importantly, deficits were more present during the mental transformation in outward rotation angles, thus suggesting that the mental imagery for hands and letters relies on different processing mechanisms which suggest a module that is more complex for the processing of human hands than for letters during mental rotation tasks. Our study emphasises the necessity of distinguishing different levels of impairment of action in MDD subjects. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relations between task delegation and job satisfaction in general practice: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Riisgaard, Helle; Nexøe, Jørgen; Le, Jette V; Søndergaard, Jens; Ledderer, Loni

2016-11-30

It has for years been discussed whether practice staff should be involved in patient care in general practice to a higher extent. The research concerning task delegation within general practice is generally increasing, but the literature focusing on its influence on general practitioners' and their staff's job satisfaction appears to be sparse even though job satisfaction is acknowledged as an important factor associated with both patient satisfaction and medical quality of care. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was 1) to review the current research on the relation between task delegation and general practitioners' and their staff's job satisfaction and, additionally, 2) to review the evidence of possible explanations for this relation. A systematic literature review. We searched the four databases PubMed, Cinahl, Embase, and Scopus systematically. The immediate relevance of the retrieved articles was evaluated by title and abstract by the first author, and papers that seemed to meet the aim of the review were then fully read by first author and last author independently judging the eligibility of content. We included four studies in the review. They explored views and attitudes of the staff, encompassing nurses as well as practice managers. Only one of the included studies also explored general practitioners' views and attitudes, hence making it impossible to establish any syntheses on this relation. According to the studies, the staff's overall attitude towards task delegation was positive and led to increased job satisfaction, probably because task delegation comprised a high degree of work autonomy. The few studies included in our review suggest that task delegation within general practice may be seen by the staff as an overall positive issue contributing to their job satisfaction, primarily due to perceived autonomy in the work. However, because of the small sample size comprising only qualitative studies, and due to the heterogeneity of these studies, we cannot draw unambiguous conclusions although we point towards tendencies.

Moonshot Science-Risks and Benefits.

PubMed

Casadevall, Arturo; Fang, Ferric C

2016-08-30

Ever since the successful Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969, a "moonshot" has come to signify a bold effort to achieve a seemingly impossible task. The Obama administration recently called for a moonshot to cure cancer, an initiative that has elicited mixed responses from researchers who welcome additional funding but worry about raising expectations. We suggest that a successful moonshot requires a sufficient understanding of the basic science underlying a problem in question so that efforts can be focused on engineering a solution. Current gaps in our basic knowledge of cancer biology make the cancer moonshot a uniquely challenging endeavor. Nevertheless, history has shown that intensive research efforts have frequently yielded conceptual and technological breakthroughs with unanticipated benefits for society. We expect that this effort will be no different. Copyright © 2016 Casadevall and Fang.

Toward the development of portable miniature intelligent electronic color identification devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicolau, Dan V., Jr.; Livingston, Peter; Jahshan, David; Evans, Rob

2004-03-01

The identification and differentiation of colours is a relatively problematic task for colour-impaired and partially vision-impaired persons and an impossible one for completely blind. In various contexts, this leads to a loss of independence or an increased risk of harm. The identification of colour using optoelectronic devices, on the other hand, can be done precisely and inexpensively. Additionally, breakthroughs in miniaturising and integrating colour sensors into biological systems may lead to significant advances in electronic implants for alleviating blindness. Here we present a functional handheld device developed for the identification of colour, intended for use by the vision-impaired. We discuss the features and limitations of the device and describe in detail one target application - the identification of different banknote denominations by the blind.

Autonomic Cluster Management System (ACMS): A Demonstration of Autonomic Principles at Work

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baldassari, James D.; Kopec, Christopher L.; Leshay, Eric S.; Truszkowski, Walt; Finkel, David

2005-01-01

Cluster computing, whereby a large number of simple processors or nodes are combined together to apparently function as a single powerful computer, has emerged as a research area in its own right. The approach offers a relatively inexpensive means of achieving significant computational capabilities for high-performance computing applications, while simultaneously affording the ability to. increase that capability simply by adding more (inexpensive) processors. However, the task of manually managing and con.guring a cluster quickly becomes impossible as the cluster grows in size. Autonomic computing is a relatively new approach to managing complex systems that can potentially solve many of the problems inherent in cluster management. We describe the development of a prototype Automatic Cluster Management System (ACMS) that exploits autonomic properties in automating cluster management.

THE LOSS OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT MH17: A FORENSIC AND HUMANITARIAN TASK.

PubMed

Ranson, David

2015-06-01

While forensic medical tasks are usually associated with supporting the criminal justice system, there are a range of forensic medical skills that can be brought to bear on addressing humanitarian activities. Disaster victim identification is a procedure that has achieved international standardisation through the work of a multinational Interpol Standing Committee. While part of a police organisation, it includes forensic pathologists, anthropologists, odontologists and molecular biologists who provide most of the specialist scientific input regarding identification that is integrated with police processes such as document examination and fingerprinting. The loss of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 represented a major activation of these procedures in an environment that had both humanitarian and forensic criminal investigation components. The information that is derived from the processes involved in disaster victim identification has a value that goes far beyond the determination of identity. It has an important humanitarian role in supporting the family and friends of the victims in their bereavement journey.

Beta band oscillations in motor cortex reflect neural population signals that delay movement onset

PubMed Central

Khanna, Preeya; Carmena, Jose M

2017-01-01

Motor cortical beta oscillations have been reported for decades, yet their behavioral correlates remain unresolved. Some studies link beta oscillations to changes in underlying neural activity, but the specific behavioral manifestations of these reported changes remain elusive. To investigate how changes in population neural activity, beta oscillations, and behavior are linked, we recorded multi-scale neural activity from motor cortex while three macaques performed a novel neurofeedback task. Subjects volitionally brought their beta oscillatory power to an instructed state and subsequently executed an arm reach. Reaches preceded by a reduction in beta power exhibited significantly faster movement onset times than reaches preceded by an increase in beta power. Further, population neural activity was found to shift farther from a movement onset state during beta oscillations that were neurofeedback-induced or naturally occurring during reaching tasks. This finding establishes a population neural basis for slowed movement onset following periods of beta oscillatory activity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.24573.001 PMID:28467303

Basic models modeling resistance training: an update for basic scientists interested in study skeletal muscle hypertrophy.

PubMed

Cholewa, Jason; Guimarães-Ferreira, Lucas; da Silva Teixeira, Tamiris; Naimo, Marshall Alan; Zhi, Xia; de Sá, Rafaele Bis Dal Ponte; Lodetti, Alice; Cardozo, Mayara Quadros; Zanchi, Nelo Eidy

2014-09-01

Human muscle hypertrophy brought about by voluntary exercise in laboratorial conditions is the most common way to study resistance exercise training, especially because of its reliability, stimulus control and easy application to resistance training exercise sessions at fitness centers. However, because of the complexity of blood factors and organs involved, invasive data is difficult to obtain in human exercise training studies due to the integration of several organs, including adipose tissue, liver, brain and skeletal muscle. In contrast, studying skeletal muscle remodeling in animal models are easier to perform as the organs can be easily obtained after euthanasia; however, not all models of resistance training in animals displays a robust capacity to hypertrophy the desired muscle. Moreover, some models of resistance training rely on voluntary effort, which complicates the results observed when animal models are employed since voluntary capacity is something theoretically impossible to measure in rodents. With this information in mind, we will review the modalities used to simulate resistance training in animals in order to present to investigators the benefits and risks of different animal models capable to provoke skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Our second objective is to help investigators analyze and select the experimental resistance training model that best promotes the research question and desired endpoints. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

How electroshock weapons kill!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundquist, Marjorie

2010-03-01

Growing numbers of law enforcement officers now carry an electroshock weapon (ESW). Over 500 U.S. deaths have followed ESW use in the past 26 years; over 450 of these deaths followed use of an electromuscular disruptor in the past 9 years. Most training courses teach that ESWs are safe; that they can kill only by the direct effect of electric current on the heart; and that a death following use of an ESW always has some other cause. All these teachings are false! The last was disproved by Lundquist.^1 Williams^2 ruled out direct electrical effects as a cause of almost all the 213 deaths he studied, leaving disruption of normal physiological processes as the only alternative explanation. Careful study of all such deaths identifies 4 different ways that death has or could have been brought about by the ESW: kidney failure following rhabdomyolysis [rare]; cardiac arrest from hyperkalemia following rhabdomyolysis [undocumented]; lactic acid-induced ventricular fibrillation [conclusive proof impossible]; and [most common] anoxia from so much lactic acid in the circulating blood that it acts as an oxygen scavenger, continuously depleting the blood of oxygen until most of the lactate has been metabolized. ^1M. Lundquist, BAPS 54(1) K1.270(2009). ^2Howard E. Williams, Taser Electronic Control Devices and Sudden In-Custody Death, 2008.

Nonlinear Optics and Solitons in Photonic Crystal Fibres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skryabin, Dmitry V.; Wadsworth, William J.

The fibre optics revolution in communication technologies followed the 1950's demonstration of the glass fibres with dielectric cladding [1]. Transmission applications of fibre optics have become a dominant modern day technology not least because nonlinearities present in - or introduced into - glass and enhanced by the tight focusing of the fibre modes allow for numerous light processing techniques, such as amplification, frequency conversion, pulse shaping, and many others. For these reasons, and because of the rich fundamental physics behind it, nonlinear fibre optics has become a blossoming discipline in its own right [1]. The 1990's witnessed another important development in fibre optics. Once again it came from a new approach to the fibre cladding, comprising a periodic pattern of air holes separated by glass membranes forming a photonic crystal structure [2, 3]. This prompted the name Photonic Crystal Fibres (PCFs). The fascinating story behind the invention of PCF and research into various fibre designs can be found, e.g., in [4]. Our aim here is to review the role played by PCFs in nonlinear and quantum optics, which is becoming the mainstream of the PCF related research and applications. Our focus will be on the areas where PCFs have brought to life effects and applications which were previously difficult, impossible to observe or simply not thought about.

Drawing skill is related to the efficiency of encoding object structure.

PubMed

Perdreau, Florian; Cavanagh, Patrick

2014-01-01

Accurate drawing calls on many skills beyond simple motor coordination. A good internal representation of the target object's structure is necessary to capture its proportion and shape in the drawing. Here, we assess two aspects of the perception of object structure and relate them to participants' drawing accuracy. First, we assessed drawing accuracy by computing the geometrical dissimilarity of their drawing to the target object. We then used two tasks to evaluate the efficiency of encoding object structure. First, to examine the rate of temporal encoding, we varied presentation duration of a possible versus impossible test object in the fovea using two different test sizes (8° and 28°). More skilled participants were faster at encoding an object's structure, but this difference was not affected by image size. A control experiment showed that participants skilled in drawing did not have a general advantage that might have explained their faster processing for object structure. Second, to measure the critical image size for accurate classification in the periphery, we varied image size with possible versus impossible object tests centered at two different eccentricities (3° and 8°). More skilled participants were able to categorise object structure at smaller sizes, and this advantage did not change with eccentricity. A control experiment showed that the result could not be attributed to differences in visual acuity, leaving attentional resolution as a possible explanation. Overall, we conclude that drawing accuracy is related to faster encoding of object structure and better access to crowded details.

Drawing skill is related to the efficiency of encoding object structure

PubMed Central

Perdreau, Florian; Cavanagh, Patrick

2014-01-01

Accurate drawing calls on many skills beyond simple motor coordination. A good internal representation of the target object's structure is necessary to capture its proportion and shape in the drawing. Here, we assess two aspects of the perception of object structure and relate them to participants' drawing accuracy. First, we assessed drawing accuracy by computing the geometrical dissimilarity of their drawing to the target object. We then used two tasks to evaluate the efficiency of encoding object structure. First, to examine the rate of temporal encoding, we varied presentation duration of a possible versus impossible test object in the fovea using two different test sizes (8° and 28°). More skilled participants were faster at encoding an object's structure, but this difference was not affected by image size. A control experiment showed that participants skilled in drawing did not have a general advantage that might have explained their faster processing for object structure. Second, to measure the critical image size for accurate classification in the periphery, we varied image size with possible versus impossible object tests centered at two different eccentricities (3° and 8°). More skilled participants were able to categorise object structure at smaller sizes, and this advantage did not change with eccentricity. A control experiment showed that the result could not be attributed to differences in visual acuity, leaving attentional resolution as a possible explanation. Overall, we conclude that drawing accuracy is related to faster encoding of object structure and better access to crowded details. PMID:25469216

On being a certifying abortion consultant: an ethical dilemma.

PubMed

Clarkson, S E

1980-05-14

The medical profession was relieved when the Contraceptive, Sterilization and Abortion Act was passed in New Zealand in 1977, but it now appears that there are continuing problems with the implementation of the law. Most of the law's clauses are concerned with the practical aspects of the performance of abortions in New Zealand. Outlined in the law are requirements for licenses of hospitals, certifying consultants and operating surgeons, and the tasks of the supervising committee are specified. Thus, the medical profession accepted the impossible job of becoming the arbiter of morals of New Zealand society. There have been problems, since passage of the law, with inadequate numbers of certifying consultants being recruited, the resignation of the chair of the Abortion Supervisory Committee, a lack of resources to provide the required counseling services, and local variation in interpretations resulting in inconsistent treatment of abortion requests in different parts of the country. The basis of the problem is the fact that this law requires a moral rather than a medical decision to be made. Although at 1st glance the phrase serious risk to mental health would appear to be easily interpreted, this is not so. The morality of an act of abortion depends on the right afforded the fetus, and no society has as yet achieved a consensus on this. Thus, this must remain the conviction of each separate individual. Some guidance may come from medidal and legal advisers in this moral decision, but it is impossible to delegate personal moral decisions.

Effects of Context on Eye Movements When Reading About Possible and Impossible Events

PubMed Central

Warren, Tessa; McConnell, Kerry; Rayner, Keith

2009-01-01

Plausibility violations resulting in impossible scenarios lead to earlier and longer lasting eye movement disruption than violations resulting in highly unlikely scenarios (K. Rayner, T. Warren, B. J. Juhasz, & S. P. Liversedge, 2004; T. Warren & K. McConnell, 2007). This could reflect either differences in the timing of availability of different kinds of information (e.g., selectional restrictions, world knowledge, and context) or differences in their relative power to guide semantic interpretation. The authors investigated eye movements to possible and impossible events in real-world and fantasy contexts to determine when contextual information influences detection of impossibility cued by a semantic mismatch between a verb and an argument. Gaze durations on a target word were longer to impossible events independent of context. However, a measure of the time elapsed from first fixating the target word to moving past it showed disruption only in the real-world context. These results suggest that contextual information did not eliminate initial disruption but moderated it quickly thereafter. PMID:18605885

Feasibility and Scaling of Composite Based Additive Manufacturing

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

Nuttall, David; Chen, Xun; Kunc, Vlastimil

2016-04-27

Engineers and Researchers at Oak Ridge National Lab s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (ORNL MDF) collaborated with Impossible Objects (IO) in the characterization of PEEK infused carbon fiber mat manufactured by means of CBAM composite-based additive manufacturing, a first generation assembly methodology developed by Robert Swartz, Chairman, Founder, and CTO of Impossible Objects.[1] The first phase of this project focused on demonstration of CBAM for composite tooling. The outlined steps focused on selecting an appropriate shape that fit the current machine s build envelope, characterized the resulting form, and presented next steps for transitioning to a Phase II CRADA agreement. Phasemore » I of collaborative research and development agreement NFE-15-05698 was initiated in April of 2015 with an introduction to Impossible Objects, and concluded in March of 2016 with a visitation to Impossible Objects headquarters in Chicago, IL. Phase II as discussed herein is under consideration by Impossible Objects as of this writing.« less

Living systematic reviews: 2. Combining human and machine effort.

PubMed

Thomas, James; Noel-Storr, Anna; Marshall, Iain; Wallace, Byron; McDonald, Steven; Mavergames, Chris; Glasziou, Paul; Shemilt, Ian; Synnot, Anneliese; Turner, Tari; Elliott, Julian

2017-11-01

New approaches to evidence synthesis, which use human effort and machine automation in mutually reinforcing ways, can enhance the feasibility and sustainability of living systematic reviews. Human effort is a scarce and valuable resource, required when automation is impossible or undesirable, and includes contributions from online communities ("crowds") as well as more conventional contributions from review authors and information specialists. Automation can assist with some systematic review tasks, including searching, eligibility assessment, identification and retrieval of full-text reports, extraction of data, and risk of bias assessment. Workflows can be developed in which human effort and machine automation can each enable the other to operate in more effective and efficient ways, offering substantial enhancement to the productivity of systematic reviews. This paper describes and discusses the potential-and limitations-of new ways of undertaking specific tasks in living systematic reviews, identifying areas where these human/machine "technologies" are already in use, and where further research and development is needed. While the context is living systematic reviews, many of these enabling technologies apply equally to standard approaches to systematic reviewing. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design and optimal control of on-orbit servicing trajectory for target vehicle in non-coplanar elliptical orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Wenyong; Yuan, Jianping; Luo, Jianjun

2005-11-01

Autonomous on-orbit servicing provides flexibility to space systems and has great value both in civil and in military. When a satellite performs on-orbit servicing tasks, flying around is the basic type of motion. This paper is concerned with the design and control problems of a chaser satellite flying around a target spacecraft in non-coplanar elliptical orbit for a long time. At first, a mathematical model used to design a long-term flying around trajectory is presented, which is applicable to the situation that the target spacecraft flies in an elliptical orbit. The conditions of the target at the centre of the flying around path are deduced. Considering the safety and task requirements, a long-term flying around trajectory is designed. Taking into account perturbations and navigation errors which can cause the trajectory unstable and mission impossible, a two-impulse control method is put forward. Genetic algorithm is used to minimize the cost function which considers fuel consumption and bias simultaneously. Some simulation works are carried out and the results indicate the flying around mathematical model and the trajectory control method can be used in the design and control of a long-term flying around trajectory.

Cassini Tour Atlas Automated Generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grazier, Kevin R.; Roumeliotis, Chris; Lange, Robert D.

2011-01-01

During the Cassini spacecraft s cruise phase and nominal mission, the Cassini Science Planning Team developed and maintained an online database of geometric and timing information called the Cassini Tour Atlas. The Tour Atlas consisted of several hundreds of megabytes of EVENTS mission planning software outputs, tables, plots, and images used by mission scientists for observation planning. Each time the nominal mission trajectory was altered or tweaked, a new Tour Atlas had to be regenerated manually. In the early phases of Cassini s Equinox Mission planning, an a priori estimate suggested that mission tour designers would develop approximately 30 candidate tours within a short period of time. So that Cassini scientists could properly analyze the science opportunities in each candidate tour quickly and thoroughly so that the optimal series of orbits for science return could be selected, a separate Tour Atlas was required for each trajectory. The task of manually generating the number of trajectory analyses in the allotted time would have been impossible, so the entire task was automated using code written in five different programming languages. This software automates the generation of the Cassini Tour Atlas database. It performs with one UNIX command what previously took a day or two of human labor.

UROLOGIC ROBOTS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

PubMed Central

Mozer, Pierre; Troccaz, Jocelyne; Stoianovici, Dan

2009-01-01

Purpose of review Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in urology has gained immense popularity with the Da Vinci system but a lot of research teams are working on new robots. The purpose of this paper is to review current urologic robots and present future developments directions. Recent findings Future systems are expected to advance in two directions: improvements of remote manipulation robots and developments of image-guided robots. Summary The final goal of robots is to allow safer and more homogeneous outcomes with less variability of surgeon performance, as well as new tools to perform tasks based on medical transcutaneous imaging, in a less invasive way, at lower costs. It is expected that improvements for remote system could be augmented reality, haptic feed back, size reduction and development of new tools for NOTES surgery. The paradigm of image-guided robots is close to a clinical availability and the most advanced robots are presented with end-user technical assessments. It is also notable that the potential of robots lies much further ahead than the accomplishments of the daVinci system. The integration of imaging with robotics holds a substantial promise, because this can accomplish tasks otherwise impossible. Image guided robots have the potential to offer a paradigm shift. PMID:19057227

Urologic robots and future directions.

PubMed

Mozer, Pierre; Troccaz, Jocelyne; Stoianovici, Dan

2009-01-01

Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in urology has gained immense popularity with the daVinci system, but a lot of research teams are working on new robots. The purpose of this study is to review current urologic robots and present future development directions. Future systems are expected to advance in two directions: improvements of remote manipulation robots and developments of image-guided robots. The final goal of robots is to allow safer and more homogeneous outcomes with less variability of surgeon performance, as well as new tools to perform tasks on the basis of medical transcutaneous imaging, in a less invasive way, at lower costs. It is expected that improvements for a remote system could be augmented in reality, with haptic feedback, size reduction, and development of new tools for natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery. The paradigm of image-guided robots is close to clinical availability and the most advanced robots are presented with end-user technical assessments. It is also notable that the potential of robots lies much further ahead than the accomplishments of the daVinci system. The integration of imaging with robotics holds a substantial promise, because this can accomplish tasks otherwise impossible. Image-guided robots have the potential to offer a paradigm shift.

Selective automation and skill transfer in medical robotics: a demonstration on surgical knot-tying.

PubMed

Knoll, Alois; Mayer, Hermann; Staub, Christoph; Bauernschmitt, Robert

2012-12-01

Transferring non-trivial human manipulation skills to robot systems is a challenging task. There have been a number of attempts to design research systems for skill transfer, but the level of the complexity of the actual skills transferable to the robot was rather limited, and delicate operations requiring a high dexterity and long action sequences with many sub-operations were impossible to transfer. A novel approach to human-machine skill transfer for multi-arm robot systems is presented. The methodology capitalizes on the metaphor of 'scaffolded learning', which has gained widespread acceptance in psychology. The main idea is to formalize the superior knowledge of a teacher in a certain way to generate support for a trainee. In our case, the scaffolding is constituted by abstract patterns, which facilitate the structuring and segmentation of information during 'learning by demonstration'. The actual skill generalization is then based on simulating fluid dynamics. The approach has been successfully evaluated in the medical domain for the delicate task of automated knot-tying for suturing with standard surgical instruments and a realistic minimally invasive robotic surgery system. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of feedback contingency in perceptual category learning.

PubMed

Ashby, F Gregory; Vucovich, Lauren E

2016-11-01

Feedback is highly contingent on behavior if it eventually becomes easy to predict, and weakly contingent on behavior if it remains difficult or impossible to predict even after learning is complete. Many studies have demonstrated that humans and nonhuman animals are highly sensitive to feedback contingency, but no known studies have examined how feedback contingency affects category learning, and current theories assign little or no importance to this variable. Two experiments examined the effects of contingency degradation on rule-based and information-integration category learning. In rule-based tasks, optimal accuracy is possible with a simple explicit rule, whereas optimal accuracy in information-integration tasks requires integrating information from 2 or more incommensurable perceptual dimensions. In both experiments, participants each learned rule-based or information-integration categories under either high or low levels of feedback contingency. The exact same stimuli were used in all 4 conditions, and optimal accuracy was identical in every condition. Learning was good in both high-contingency conditions, but most participants showed little or no evidence of learning in either low-contingency condition. Possible causes of these effects, as well as their theoretical implications, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Feedback Contingency in Perceptual Category Learning

PubMed Central

Ashby, F. Gregory; Vucovich, Lauren E.

2016-01-01

Feedback is highly contingent on behavior if it eventually becomes easy to predict, and weakly contingent on behavior if it remains difficult or impossible to predict even after learning is complete. Many studies have demonstrated that humans and nonhuman animals are highly sensitive to feedback contingency, but no known studies have examined how feedback contingency affects category learning, and current theories assign little or no importance to this variable. Two experiments examined the effects of contingency degradation on rule-based and information-integration category learning. In rule-based tasks, optimal accuracy is possible with a simple explicit rule, whereas optimal accuracy in information-integration tasks requires integrating information from two or more incommensurable perceptual dimensions. In both experiments, participants each learned rule-based or information-integration categories under either high or low levels of feedback contingency. The exact same stimuli were used in all four conditions and optimal accuracy was identical in every condition. Learning was good in both high-contingency conditions, but most participants showed little or no evidence of learning in either low-contingency condition. Possible causes of these effects are discussed, as well as their theoretical implications. PMID:27149393

Intelligent Pilot Aids for Flight Re-Planning in Emergencies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pritchett, Amy R.

2002-01-01

Experimental studies were conducted with pilots to investigate the attributes of automation that would be appropriate for aiding pilots in emergencies. The specific focus of this year was on methods of mitigating automation brittleness. Brittleness occurs when the automatic system is used in circumstances it was not designed for, causing it to choose an incorrect action or make an inaccurate decision for the situation. Brittleness is impossible to avoid since it is impossible to predict every potential situation the automatic system will be exposed to over its life. However, operators are always ultimately responsible for the actions and decisions of the automation they are monitoring or using, which means they must evaluate the automation's decisions and actions for accuracy. As has been pointed out, this is a difficult thing for human operators to do. There have been various suggestions as to how to aid operators with this evaluation. In the study described in this report we studied how presentation of contextual information about an automatic system's decision might impact the ability of the human operators to evaluate that decision. This study focused on the planning of emergency descents. Fortunately, emergencies (e.g., mechanical or electrical malfunction, on-board fire, and medical emergency) happen quite rarely. However, they can be catastrophic when they do. For all predictable or conceivable emergencies, pilots have emergency procedures that they are trained on, but those procedures often end with 'determine suitable airport and land as quickly as possible.' Planning an emergency descent to an unplanned airport is a difficult task, particularly under the time pressures of an emergency. Automatic decision aids could be very efficient at the task of determining an appropriate airport and calculating an optimal trajectory to that airport. This information could be conveyed to the pilot through an emergency descent procedure listing all of the actions necessary to safely land the plane. However, there is still the potential problem of brittleness. This study examined the impact of contextual information in presentations of emergency descent procedures to see if they might impact the pilot's evaluation of the feasibility of the presented procedure. The study and its results are described in detail.

Electromyography and the study of sports movements: a review.

PubMed

Clarys, J P; Cabri, J

1993-10-01

Within electromyography (EMG), a particular specialty has been developed wherein the aim is to use EMG for the study of muscular function and co-ordination. This area of research is usually called kinesiological EMG. The general aims of kinesiological EMG are to analyse the function and co-ordination of muscles in different movements and postures, in healthy subjects as well as in the disabled, in skilled actions as well as during training, in humans as well as in animals, under laboratory conditions as well as during daily or vocational activities. This is often done by a combination of electromyographical and kinesiological or biomechanical measurement techniques. Because there are over 400 skeletal muscles in the human body and both irregular and complex involvement of the muscles may occur in neuromuscular diseases and in voluntary occupational or sports movements, it is impossible to sample all of the muscles of the entire body during the performance of complex motor skills. In addition, the measurement of kinesiological EMG in sport and specific field circumstances, such as the track and/or soccer field, the alpine ski slope, the swimming pool and the ice rink, demands a specific technological and methodological approach, adaptable to both the field and the sport circumstances. Sport movement techniques and skills, training approaches and methods, ergonomic verification of the human-machine interaction have, amongst others, a highly specialized muscular activity in common. The knowledge of such muscular action in all its aspects, its evaluation and its feedback should allow for the optimization of movement, of sports materials, of training possibilities and, in the end, of sports performance. Drawing conclusions from a review of the EMG research of 32 sports, covering over 100 different complex skills, including methodological approaches, is an impossible task. We have attempted to set standards concerning the EMG methodology at the beginning of this review. Electromyography and sports is a vast area and a complete review is impossible, as information will be found scattered in many different journals, including those on the sports sciences, ergonomics, biomechanics, applied physiology, in different congress proceedings, and so on. Consequently, many important aspects and possibly important publications may have been omitted from this review.

Human Research Program Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Standing Review Panel (SRP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wichansky, Anna; Badler, Norman; Butler, Keith; Cummings, Mary; DeLucia, Patricia; Endsley, Mica; Scholtz, Jean

2009-01-01

The Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Standing Review Panel (SRP) evaluated 22 gaps and 39 tasks in the three risk areas assigned to the SHFE Project. The area where tasks were best designed to close the gaps and the fewest gaps were left out was the Risk of Reduced Safety and Efficiency dire to Inadequate Design of Vehicle, Environment, Tools or Equipment. The areas where there were more issues with gaps and tasks, including poor or inadequate fit of tasks to gaps and missing gaps, were Risk of Errors due to Poor Task Design and Risk of Error due to Inadequate Information. One risk, the Risk of Errors due to Inappropriate Levels of Trust in Automation, should be added. If astronauts trust automation too much in areas where it should not be trusted, but rather tempered with human judgment and decision making, they will incur errors. Conversely, if they do not trust automation when it should be trusted, as in cases where it can sense aspects of the environment such as radiation levels or distances in space, they will also incur errors. This will be a larger risk when astronauts are less able to rely on human mission control experts and are out of touch, far away, and on their own. The SRP also identified 11 new gaps and five new tasks. Although the SRP had an extremely large quantity of reading material prior to and during the meeting, we still did not feel we had an overview of the activities and tasks the astronauts would be performing in exploration missions. Without a detailed task analysis and taxonomy of activities the humans would be engaged in, we felt it was impossible to know whether the gaps and tasks were really sufficient to insure human safety, performance, and comfort in the exploration missions. The SRP had difficulty evaluating many of the gaps and tasks that were not as quantitative as those related to concrete physical danger such as excessive noise and vibration. Often the research tasks for cognitive risks that accompany poor task or information design addressed only part, but not all, of the gaps they were programmed to fill. In fact the tasks outlined will not close the gap but only scratch the surface in many cases. In other cases, the gap was written too broadly, and really should be restated in a more constrained way that can be addressed by a well-organized and complementary set of tasks. In many cases, the research results should be turned into guidelines for design. However, it was not clear whether the researchers or another group would construct and deliver these guidelines.

Higher Media Multi-Tasking Activity Is Associated with Smaller Gray-Matter Density in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex

PubMed Central

Loh, Kep Kee; Kanai, Ryota

2014-01-01

Media multitasking, or the concurrent consumption of multiple media forms, is increasingly prevalent in today’s society and has been associated with negative psychosocial and cognitive impacts. Individuals who engage in heavier media-multitasking are found to perform worse on cognitive control tasks and exhibit more socio-emotional difficulties. However, the neural processes associated with media multi-tasking remain unexplored. The present study investigated relationships between media multitasking activity and brain structure. Research has demonstrated that brain structure can be altered upon prolonged exposure to novel environments and experience. Thus, we expected differential engagements in media multitasking to correlate with brain structure variability. This was confirmed via Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM) analyses: Individuals with higher Media Multitasking Index (MMI) scores had smaller gray matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Functional connectivity between this ACC region and the precuneus was negatively associated with MMI. Our findings suggest a possible structural correlate for the observed decreased cognitive control performance and socio-emotional regulation in heavy media-multitaskers. While the cross-sectional nature of our study does not allow us to specify the direction of causality, our results brought to light novel associations between individual media multitasking behaviors and ACC structure differences. PMID:25250778

Quantum And Relativistic Protocols For Secure Multi-Party Computation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colbeck, Roger

2009-11-01

After a general introduction, the thesis is divided into four parts. In the first, we discuss the task of coin tossing, principally in order to highlight the effect different physical theories have on security in a straightforward manner, but, also, to introduce a new protocol for non-relativistic strong coin tossing. This protocol matches the security of the best protocol known to date while using a conceptually different approach to achieve the task. In the second part variable bias coin tossing is introduced. This is a variant of coin tossing in which one party secretly chooses one of two biased coins to toss. It is shown that this can be achieved with unconditional security for a specified range of biases, and with cheat-evident security for any bias. We also discuss two further protocols which are conjectured to be unconditionally secure for any bias. The third section looks at other two-party secure computations for which, prior to our work, protocols and no-go theorems were unknown. We introduce a general model for such computations, and show that, within this model, a wide range of functions are impossible to compute securely. We give explicit cheating attacks for such functions. In the final chapter we discuss the task of expanding a private random string, while dropping the usual assumption that the protocol's user trusts her devices. Instead we assume that all quantum devices are supplied by an arbitrarily malicious adversary. We give two protocols that we conjecture securely perform this task. The first allows a private random string to be expanded by a finite amount, while the second generates an arbitrarily large expansion of such a string.

Buddha as an Eye Opener: A Link between Prosocial Attitude and Attentional Control.

PubMed

Colzato, Lorenza S; Hommel, Bernhard; van den Wildenberg, Wery P M; Hsieh, Shulan

2010-01-01

Increasing evidence suggests that religious practice induces systematic biases in attentional control. We used Navon's global-local task to compare attentional bias in Taiwanese Zen Buddhists and Taiwanese atheists; two groups brought up in the same country and culture and matched with respect to race, intelligence, sex, and age. Given the Buddhist emphasis on compassion for the physical and social environment, we expected a more global bias in Buddhist than in Atheist participants. In line with these expectations, Buddhists showed a larger global-precedence effect and increased interference from global distracters when processing local information. This pattern reinforces the idea that people's attentional processing style reflects biases rewarded by their religious practices.

Impossible spaces: maximizing natural walking in virtual environments with self-overlapping architecture.

PubMed

Suma, Evan A; Lipps, Zachary; Finkelstein, Samantha; Krum, David M; Bolas, Mark

2012-04-01

Walking is only possible within immersive virtual environments that fit inside the boundaries of the user's physical workspace. To reduce the severity of the restrictions imposed by limited physical area, we introduce "impossible spaces," a new design mechanic for virtual environments that wish to maximize the size of the virtual environment that can be explored with natural locomotion. Such environments make use of self-overlapping architectural layouts, effectively compressing comparatively large interior environments into smaller physical areas. We conducted two formal user studies to explore the perception and experience of impossible spaces. In the first experiment, we showed that reasonably small virtual rooms may overlap by as much as 56% before users begin to detect that they are in an impossible space, and that the larger virtual rooms that expanded to maximally fill our available 9.14 m x 9.14 m workspace may overlap by up to 31%. Our results also demonstrate that users perceive distances to objects in adjacent overlapping rooms as if the overall space was uncompressed, even at overlap levels that were overtly noticeable. In our second experiment, we combined several well-known redirection techniques to string together a chain of impossible spaces in an expansive outdoor scene. We then conducted an exploratory analysis of users' verbal feedback during exploration, which indicated that impossible spaces provide an even more powerful illusion when users are naive to the manipulation.

China's water scarcity.

PubMed

Jiang, Yong

2009-08-01

China has been facing increasingly severe water scarcity, especially in the northern part of the country. China's water scarcity is characterized by insufficient local water resources as well as reduced water quality due to increasing pollution, both of which have caused serious impacts on society and the environment. Three factors contribute to China's water scarcity: uneven spatial distribution of water resources; rapid economic development and urbanization with a large and growing population; and poor water resource management. While it is nearly impossible to adjust the first two factors, improving water resource management represents a cost-effective option that can alleviate China's vulnerability to the issue. Improving water resource management is a long-term task requiring a holistic approach with constant effort. Water right institutions, market-based approaches, and capacity building should be the government's top priority to address the water scarcity issue.

Prospects for Breakthrough Propulsion From Physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Millis, Marc G.

2004-01-01

"Space drives", "Warp drives", and "Wormholes:" these concepts may sound like science fiction, but they are being written about in reputable journals. To assess the implications of these emerging prospects for future spaceflight, NASA supported the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project from 1996 through 2002. This Project has three grand challenges: (1) Discover propulsion that eliminates the need for propellant; (2) Discover methods to achieve hyper-fast travel; and (3) Discover breakthrough methods to power spacecraft. Because these challenges are presumably far from fruition, and perhaps even impossible, a special emphasis is placed on selecting incremental and affordable research that addresses the critical issues behind these challenges. Of 16 incremental research tasks completed by the project and from other sponsors, about a third were found not to be viable, a quarter have clear opportunities for sequels, and the rest remain unresolved.

Head-mounted spatial instruments II: Synthetic reality or impossible dream

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellis, Stephen R.; Grunwald, Arthur

1989-01-01

A spatial instrument is defined as a spatial display which has been either geometrically or symbolically enhanced to enable a user to accomplish a particular task. Research conducted over the past several years on 3-D spatial instruments has shown that perspective displays, even when viewed from the correct viewpoint, are subject to systematic viewer biases. These biases interfere with correct spatial judgements of the presented pictorial information. The design of spatial instruments may not only require the introduction of compensatory distortions to remove the naturally occurring biases but also may significantly benefit from the introduction of artificial distortions which enhance performance. However, these image manipulations can cause a loss of visual-vestibular coordination and induce motion sickness. Consequently, the design of head-mounted spatial instruments will require an understanding of the tolerable limits of visual-vestibular discord.

Let's Orbit Mars: A Proposal to Explore Mars Now

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, Geoffrey A.

2004-01-01

Mars is an exciting target for the human exploration; the next destination toward the ultimate human colonization of the solar system. But the price of proposed missions to Mars is a daunting barrier. Expensive missions make it a slow and difficult process to achieve the political consensus to make a commitment to exploration. In today's deficit-conscious era (and what era is not?), it is as difficult-- perhaps impossible-- task to justify to a skeptical and cost-conscious public the need to invest in exploration. It seems far too easy to postpone exploration into a future that never seems to arrive. It would be terrific to explore Mars in small steps, where each step makes progress toward human exploration and settlement, and each step also is not only exciting to the public, but also justifiable on its own scientific merits.

Communicating Geographical Risks in Crisis Management: The Need for Research.

PubMed

French, Simon; Argyris, Nikolaos; Haywood, Stephanie M; Hort, Matthew C; Smith, Jim Q

2017-10-23

In any crisis, there is a great deal of uncertainty, often geographical uncertainty or, more precisely, spatiotemporal uncertainty. Examples include the spread of contamination from an industrial accident, drifting volcanic ash, and the path of a hurricane. Estimating spatiotemporal probabilities is usually a difficult task, but that is not our primary concern. Rather, we ask how analysts can communicate spatiotemporal uncertainty to those handling the crisis. We comment on the somewhat limited literature on the representation of spatial uncertainty on maps. We note that many cognitive issues arise and that the potential for confusion is high. We note that in the early stages of handling a crisis, the uncertainties involved may be deep, i.e., difficult or impossible to quantify in the time available. In such circumstance, we suggest the idea of presenting multiple scenarios. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Detecting the Neutrino

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arns, Robert G.

In 1930 Wolfgang Pauli suggested that a new particle might be required to make sense of the radioactive-disintegration mode known as beta decay. This conjecture initially seemed impossible to verify since the new particle, which became known as the neutrino, was uncharged, had zero or small mass, and interacted only insignificantly with other matter. In 1951 Frederick Reines and Clyde L. Cowan, Jr., of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory undertook the difficult task of detecting the free neutrino by observing its inverse beta-decay interaction with matter. They succeeded in 1956. The neutrino was accepted rapidly as a fundamental particle despite discrepancies in reported details of the experiments and despite the absence of independent verification of the result. This paper describes the experiments, examines the nature of the discrepancies, and discusses the circumstances of the acceptance of the neutrino's detection by the physics community.

Comparing Eyewitness-Derived Trajectories of Bright Meteors to Ground Truth Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moser, D. E.

2016-01-01

The NASA Meteoroid Environment Office is a US government agency tasked with analyzing meteors of public interest. When queried about a meteor observed over the United States, the MEO must respond with a characterization of the trajectory, orbit, and size within a few hours. If the event is outside meteor network coverage and there is no imagery recorded by the public, a timely assessment can be difficult if not impossible. In this situation, visual reports made by eyewitnesses may be the only resource available. This has led to the development of a tool to quickly calculate crude meteor trajectories from eyewitness reports made to the American Meteor Society. A description of the tool, example case studies, and a comparison to ground truth data observed by the NASA All Sky Fireball Network are presented.

Biologically-Inspired Control for a Planetary Exploration Tensegrity Robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leroy, Marc

2017-01-01

Tensegrity structures are becoming increasingly popular as mechanical structures for robots. Their inherent compliance makes them extremely robust to environmental disturbances, and their design allows them to have a high strength-to-weight ratio whilst being lightweight compared to traditional robots. For these reasons they would be of interest to the aerospace industry, particularly for planetary exploration. However, being such compliant structures thanks to their network of elastic elements also means that their control is not an easy task. Relying solely on traditional control strategies to generate efficient locomotion would surely be near impossible due to the complex oscillatory motions and nonlinear interactions of its members. The goal of this project was to use bio-inspired control techniques to generate locomotion for a tensegrity icosahedron, namely the SUPERball project of the Intelligent Robotics Group of NASA Ames Research Center.

Multi-Robot, Multi-Target Particle Swarm Optimization Search in Noisy Wireless Environments

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

Kurt Derr; Milos Manic

Multiple small robots (swarms) can work together using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to perform tasks that are difficult or impossible for a single robot to accomplish. The problem considered in this paper is exploration of an unknown environment with the goal of finding a target(s) at an unknown location(s) using multiple small mobile robots. This work demonstrates the use of a distributed PSO algorithm with a novel adaptive RSS weighting factor to guide robots for locating target(s) in high risk environments. The approach was developed and analyzed on multiple robot single and multiple target search. The approach was further enhancedmore » by the multi-robot-multi-target search in noisy environments. The experimental results demonstrated how the availability of radio frequency signal can significantly affect robot search time to reach a target.« less

Miniature Blimps for Surveillance and Collection of Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Jack

2004-01-01

Miniature blimps are under development as robots for use in exploring the thick, cold, nitrogen atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan. Similar blimps can also be used for surveillance and collection of biochemical samples in buildings, caves, subways, and other, similar structures on Earth. The widely perceived need for means to thwart attacks on buildings and to mitigate the effects of such attacks has prompted consideration of the use of robots. Relative to rover-type (wheeled) robots that have been considered for such uses, miniature blimps offer the advantage of ability to move through the air in any direction and, hence, to perform tasks that are difficult or impossible for wheeled robots, including climbing stairs and looking through windows. In addition, miniature blimps are expected to have greater range and to cost less, relative to wheeled robots.

Walking and non-walking space in an equivalent virtual reality task: Sexual dimorphism and aging decline of spatial abilities.

PubMed

Tascón, Laura; Castillo, Joaquín; León, Irene; Cimadevilla, José Manuel

2018-07-16

Spatial memory enables us to locate places and objects in space, to determine our position and manage spatial relationships in our environment. Our operations are displayed in a space that sometimes is inaccessible. In this case, the impossibility of movement within the context forces individuals to rely on the information gathered from limited viewpoints. This study investigates the use of walking and non-walking spaces using two equivalent virtual reality tasks in which displacement is only permitted in one of them. One hundred and fifty participants were divided into three age groups: 50-59, 60-69 and 70-79 year-old subjects. The starting position changed pseudo-randomly and two difficulty levels were set, with one and three positions to be found. Results provided evidence for 70-79 year-old people impairment of their spatial abilities compared with 50-59 and 60-69 year-old groups. In both difficulty conditions, participants made more errors in the non-walking space than in the walking space. All participants showed an improvement in the last trials of the task. Moreover, sexual dimorphism was registered in the high level of difficulty, in which men outperformed women. This study supports the idea that aging impairs the organization of spatial representations of the environment, and that this aspect is more noticeable in conditions where displacement is limited. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Autobiographically significant concepts: more episodic than semantic in nature? An electrophysiological investigation of overlapping types of memory.

PubMed

Renoult, Louis; Davidson, Patrick S R; Schmitz, Erika; Park, Lillian; Campbell, Kenneth; Moscovitch, Morris; Levine, Brian

2015-01-01

A common assertion is that semantic memory emerges from episodic memory, shedding the distinctive contexts associated with episodes over time and/or repeated instances. Some semantic concepts, however, may retain their episodic origins or acquire episodic information during life experiences. The current study examined this hypothesis by investigating the ERP correlates of autobiographically significant (AS) concepts, that is, semantic concepts that are associated with vivid episodic memories. We inferred the contribution of semantic and episodic memory to AS concepts using the amplitudes of the N400 and late positive component, respectively. We compared famous names that easily brought to mind episodic memories (high AS names) against equally famous names that did not bring such recollections to mind (low AS names) on a semantic task (fame judgment) and an episodic task (recognition memory). Compared with low AS names, high AS names were associated with increased amplitude of the late positive component in both tasks. Moreover, in the recognition task, this effect of AS was highly correlated with recognition confidence. In contrast, the N400 component did not differentiate the high versus low AS names but, instead, was related to the amount of general knowledge participants had regarding each name. These results suggest that semantic concepts high in AS, such as famous names, have an episodic component and are associated with similar brain processes to those that are engaged by episodic memory. Studying AS concepts may provide unique insights into how episodic and semantic memory interact.

The effects of sleep restriction and sleep deprivation in producing false memories.

PubMed

Chatburn, Alex; Kohler, Mark J; Payne, Jessica D; Drummond, Sean P A

2017-01-01

False memory has been claimed to be the result of an associative process of generalisation, as well as to be representative of memory errors. These can occur at any stage of memory encoding, consolidation, or retrieval, albeit through varied mechanisms. The aim of this paper is to experimentally determine: (i) if cognitive dysfunction brought about by sleep loss at the time of stimulus encoding can influence false memory production; and (ii) whether this relationship holds across sensory modalities. Subjects undertook both the Deese-Roedigger-McDermott (DRM) false memory task and a visual task designed to produce false memories. Performance was measured while subjects were well-rested (9h Time in Bed or TIB), and then again when subjects were either sleep restricted (4h TIB for 4 nights) or sleep deprived (30h total SD). Results indicate (1) that partial and total sleep loss produced equivalent effects in terms of false and veridical verbal memory, (2) that subjects performed worse after sleep loss (regardless of whether this was partial or total sleep loss) on cued recognition-based false and veridical verbal memory tasks, and that sleep loss interfered with subjects' ability to recall veridical, but not false memories under free recall conditions, and (3) that there were no effects of sleep loss on a visual false memory task. This is argued to represent the dysfunction and slow repair of an online verbal associative process in the brain following inadequate sleep. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Methods study for the relocation of visual information in central scotoma cases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scherlen, Anne-Catherine; Gautier, Vincent

2005-03-01

In this study we test the benefit on the reading performance of different ways to relocating the visual information present under the scotoma. The relocation (or unmasking) allows to compensate the loss of information and avoid the patient developing driving strategies not adapted for the reading. Eight healthy subjects were tested on a reading task, on each a central scotoma of various sizes was simulated. We then evaluate the reading speed (words/min) during three visual information relocation methods: all masked information is relocated - on both side of scotoma, - on the right of scotoma, - and only essentials letters for the word recognition too on the right of scotoma. We compare these reading speeds versus the pathological condition, ie without relocating visual information. Our results show that unmasking strategy improve the reading speed when all the visual information is unmask to the right of scotoma, this only for large scotoma. Taking account the word morphology, the perception of only certain letters outside the scotoma can be sufficient to improve the reading speed. A deepening of reading processes in the presence of a scotoma will then allows a new perspective for visual information unmasking. Multidisciplinary competences brought by engineers, ophtalmologists, linguists, clinicians would allow to optimize the reading benefit brought by the unmasking.

The problem of motivating teaching staff in a complex amalgamation.

PubMed

Kenrick, M A

1993-09-01

This paper addresses some of the problems brought about by the merger of a number of schools of nursing into a new complex amalgamation. A very real concern in the new colleges of nursing and midwifery in the United Kingdom is the effect of amalgamation on management systems and staff morale. The main focus of this paper is the motivation of staff during this time of change. There is currently a lack of security amongst staff and in many instances the personal job satisfaction of nurse teachers and managers of nurse education has been reduced, which has made the task of motivating staff difficult. Hence, two major theories of motivation and the implications of these theories for managers of nurse education are discussed. The criteria used for the selection of managers within the new colleges, leadership styles and organizational structures are reviewed. The amalgamations have brought about affiliation with higher-education institutions. Some problems associated with these mergers and the effects on the motivation of staff both within the higher-education institutions and the nursing colleges are outlined. Strategies for overcoming some of the problems are proposed including job enlargement, job enrichment, potential achievement rewards and the use of individual performance reviews which may be useful for assessing the ability of all staff, including managers, in the new amalgamations.

Word Naming in the L1 and L2: A Dynamic Perspective on Automatization and the Degree of Semantic Involvement in Naming.

PubMed

Plat, Rika; Lowie, Wander; de Bot, Kees

2017-01-01

Reaction time data have long been collected in order to gain insight into the underlying mechanisms involved in language processing. Means analyses often attempt to break down what factors relate to what portion of the total reaction time. From a dynamic systems theory perspective or an interaction dominant view of language processing, it is impossible to isolate discrete factors contributing to language processing, since these continually and interactively play a role. Non-linear analyses offer the tools to investigate the underlying process of language use in time, without having to isolate discrete factors. Patterns of variability in reaction time data may disclose the relative contribution of automatic (grapheme-to-phoneme conversion) processing and attention-demanding (semantic) processing. The presence of a fractal structure in the variability of a reaction time series indicates automaticity in the mental structures contributing to a task. A decorrelated pattern of variability will indicate a higher degree of attention-demanding processing. A focus on variability patterns allows us to examine the relative contribution of automatic and attention-demanding processing when a speaker is using the mother tongue (L1) or a second language (L2). A word naming task conducted in the L1 (Dutch) and L2 (English) shows L1 word processing to rely more on automatic spelling-to-sound conversion than L2 word processing. A word naming task with a semantic categorization subtask showed more reliance on attention-demanding semantic processing when using the L2. A comparison to L1 English data shows this was not only due to the amount of language use or language dominance, but also to the difference in orthographic depth between Dutch and English. An important implication of this finding is that when the same task is used to test and compare different languages, one cannot straightforwardly assume the same cognitive sub processes are involved to an equal degree using the same task in different languages.

Perception of Graphical Virtual Environments by Blind Users via Sensory Substitution.

PubMed

Maidenbaum, Shachar; Buchs, Galit; Abboud, Sami; Lavi-Rotbain, Ori; Amedi, Amir

2016-01-01

Graphical virtual environments are currently far from accessible to blind users as their content is mostly visual. This is especially unfortunate as these environments hold great potential for this population for purposes such as safe orientation, education, and entertainment. Previous tools have increased accessibility but there is still a long way to go. Visual-to-audio Sensory-Substitution-Devices (SSDs) can increase accessibility generically by sonifying on-screen content regardless of the specific environment and offer increased accessibility without the use of expensive dedicated peripherals like electrode/vibrator arrays. Using SSDs virtually utilizes similar skills as when using them in the real world, enabling both training on the device and training on environments virtually before real-world visits. This could enable more complex, standardized and autonomous SSD training and new insights into multisensory interaction and the visually-deprived brain. However, whether congenitally blind users, who have never experienced virtual environments, will be able to use this information for successful perception and interaction within them is currently unclear.We tested this using the EyeMusic SSD, which conveys whole-scene visual information, to perform virtual tasks otherwise impossible without vision. Congenitally blind users had to navigate virtual environments and find doors, differentiate between them based on their features (Experiment1:task1) and surroundings (Experiment1:task2) and walk through them; these tasks were accomplished with a 95% and 97% success rate, respectively. We further explored the reactions of congenitally blind users during their first interaction with a more complex virtual environment than in the previous tasks-walking down a virtual street, recognizing different features of houses and trees, navigating to cross-walks, etc. Users reacted enthusiastically and reported feeling immersed within the environment. They highlighted the potential usefulness of such environments for understanding what visual scenes are supposed to look like and their potential for complex training and suggested many future environments they wished to experience.

The Intermediate Impossible: A Prewriting Activity for Creative Problem Solving.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karloff, Kenneth

1985-01-01

Adapts Edward de Bono's "Intermediate Impossible" strategy--for considering ideas that normally would be discarded as stepping-stones to new ideas--for use as a prewriting activity to enhance creative problem solving. (HTH)

Big-Bang-Gate Cosmic Titanic: Why Aren't Physics Journal's Editors Bringing It To The Center of Scientific Attention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gentry, Robert

2010-02-01

Until now science's greatest debacle occurred when Copernicus exposed Ptolemaic cosmologists' 1300 hundred year-long fraud that it must be true because observations fit theory so well, while they ignored the untested state of its central assumption of Earth centered planetary motion. With much hubris modern physicists are confident this could never happen again, that the integrity of physics journals editors suffices to guarantee that a challenge to the reigning cosmological theory -- big bang cosmology -- would immediately be brought to the center of scientific attention for analysis and discussion. In fact a decade ago it was reported [MPLA 2619 (1997); arXiv:gr-gc/9806061] that, like Ptolemaic cosmology before it, big bang's central assumption that GR expansion effects cause in-flight expansion had never been tested and, further, that experimental testing of it using GR operation of the GPS showed it to be false. This result proves it is impossible for the 2.73 K CBR to be fireball relic radiation. These results were expanded in CERN reports EXT-2003-021;022, but have been uniformly rejected by physics journals, one of which accepted a paper similar to CERN EXT-2003-022, only to reject it a few days later with the admission not to publish it because of fearing reaction of the worldwide physics community. For update on my PRL submission see http://www.alphacosmos.net. )

Self-Reconfiguration Planning of Robot Embodiment for Inherent Safe Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchida, Masafumi; Nozawa, Akio; Asano, Hirotoshi; Onogaki, Hitoshi; Mizuno, Tota; Park, Young-Il; Ide, Hideto; Yokoyama, Shuichi

In the situation in which a robot and a human work together by collaborating with each other, a robot and a human share one working environment, and each interferes in each other. In other ward, it is impossible to avoid the physical contact and the interaction of force between a robot and a human. The boundary of each complex dynamic occupation area changes in the connection movement which is the component of collaborative works at this time. The main restraint condition which relates to the robustness of that connection movement is each physical charactristics, that is, the embodiment. A robot body is variability though the embodiment of a human is almost fixed. Therefore, the safe and the robust connection movement is brought when a robot has the robot body which is well suitable for the embodiment of a human. A purpose for this research is that the colaboration works between the self-reconfiguration robot and a human is realized. To achieve this purpose, a self-reconfiguration algorithm based on some indexes to evaluate a robot body in the macroscopic point of view was examined on a modular robot system of the 2-D lattice structure. In this paper, it investigated effect specially that the object of learning of each individual was limited to the cooperative behavior between the adjoining modules toward the macroscopic evaluation index.

Bayesian estimation of source parameters and associated Coulomb failure stress changes for the 2005 Fukuoka (Japan) Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, Rishabh; Jónsson, Sigurjón; Wang, Teng; Vasyura-Bathke, Hannes

2018-04-01

Several researchers have studied the source parameters of the 2005 Fukuoka (northwestern Kyushu Island, Japan) earthquake (Mw 6.6) using teleseismic, strong motion and geodetic data. However, in all previous studies, errors of the estimated fault solutions have been neglected, making it impossible to assess the reliability of the reported solutions. We use Bayesian inference to estimate the location, geometry and slip parameters of the fault and their uncertainties using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and Global Positioning System data. The offshore location of the earthquake makes the fault parameter estimation challenging, with geodetic data coverage mostly to the southeast of the earthquake. To constrain the fault parameters, we use a priori constraints on the magnitude of the earthquake and the location of the fault with respect to the aftershock distribution and find that the estimated fault slip ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 m with decreasing probability. The marginal distributions of the source parameters show that the location of the western end of the fault is poorly constrained by the data whereas that of the eastern end, located closer to the shore, is better resolved. We propagate the uncertainties of the fault model and calculate the variability of Coulomb failure stress changes for the nearby Kego fault, located directly below Fukuoka city, showing that the main shock increased stress on the fault and brought it closer to failure.

Plant food allergies: a suggested approach to allergen-resolved diagnosis in the clinical practice by identifying easily available sensitization markers.

PubMed

Asero, Riccardo

2005-09-01

Molecular biology techniques have led to the identification of a number of allergens in vegetable foods, but due to the lack of purified food proteins for routine diagnostic use, the detection of sensitizing allergens remains a nearly impossible task in most clinical settings. The allergen-resolved diagnosis of food allergy is essential because each plant-derived food may contain a number of different allergens showing different physical/chemical characteristics that strongly influence the clinical expression of allergy; moreover, many allergens may cross-react with homologue proteins present in botanically unrelated vegetable foods. Through a review of the available literature, this study aimed to detect "markers" of sensitization to specific plant food allergens that are easily accessible in the clinical practice. There are several "markers" of sensitization to different allergenic proteins in vegetable foods that can be helpful in the clinical practice. Specific algorithms for patients allergic to Rosaceae and to tree nuts were built. Clinical allergologists lacking the assistance of an advanced molecular biology lab may take advantage of some specific clinical data as well as of some "markers" in the difficult task of correctly diagnosing patients with plant food allergy and to provide them the best preventive advice. Copyright (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Neural Networks for Computer Vision: A Framework for Specifications of a General Purpose Vision System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skrzypek, Josef; Mesrobian, Edmond; Gungner, David J.

1989-03-01

The development of autonomous land vehicles (ALV) capable of operating in an unconstrained environment has proven to be a formidable research effort. The unpredictability of events in such an environment calls for the design of a robust perceptual system, an impossible task requiring the programming of a system bases on the expectation of future, unconstrained events. Hence, the need for a "general purpose" machine vision system that is capable of perceiving and understanding images in an unconstrained environment in real-time. The research undertaken at the UCLA Machine Perception Laboratory addresses this need by focusing on two specific issues: 1) the long term goals for machine vision research as a joint effort between the neurosciences and computer science; and 2) a framework for evaluating progress in machine vision. In the past, vision research has been carried out independently within different fields including neurosciences, psychology, computer science, and electrical engineering. Our interdisciplinary approach to vision research is based on the rigorous combination of computational neuroscience, as derived from neurophysiology and neuropsychology, with computer science and electrical engineering. The primary motivation behind our approach is that the human visual system is the only existing example of a "general purpose" vision system and using a neurally based computing substrate, it can complete all necessary visual tasks in real-time.

Implicit integration in a case of integrative visual agnosia.

PubMed

Aviezer, Hillel; Landau, Ayelet N; Robertson, Lynn C; Peterson, Mary A; Soroker, Nachum; Sacher, Yaron; Bonneh, Yoram; Bentin, Shlomo

2007-05-15

We present a case (SE) with integrative visual agnosia following ischemic stroke affecting the right dorsal and the left ventral pathways of the visual system. Despite his inability to identify global hierarchical letters [Navon, D. (1977). Forest before trees: The precedence of global features in visual perception. Cognitive Psychology, 9, 353-383], and his dense object agnosia, SE showed normal global-to-local interference when responding to local letters in Navon hierarchical stimuli and significant picture-word identity priming in a semantic decision task for words. Since priming was absent if these features were scrambled, it stands to reason that these effects were not due to priming by distinctive features. The contrast between priming effects induced by coherent and scrambled stimuli is consistent with implicit but not explicit integration of features into a unified whole. We went on to show that possible/impossible object decisions were facilitated by words in a word-picture priming task, suggesting that prompts could activate perceptually integrated images in a backward fashion. We conclude that the absence of SE's ability to identify visual objects except through tedious serial construction reflects a deficit in accessing an integrated visual representation through bottom-up visual processing alone. However, top-down generated images can help activate these visual representations through semantic links.

Better sorry than safe: Making a Plan B reduces effectiveness of implementation intentions in healthy eating goals.

PubMed

Vinkers, Charlotte D W; Adriaanse, Marieke A; Kroese, Floor M; de Ridder, Denise T D

2015-01-01

Implementation intentions (if-then plans) are helpful to health behaviour change. As these plans specify only one goal-directed behaviour for one specific situation, however, their effectiveness may be limited when a planned behaviour is impossible to execute in situ. The present research examines whether and how planning more than one goal-directed response for the same situation ('making a Plan B') affects successful self-regulation of eating behaviour. In Study 1, participants formulated either one or two plans, after which a lexical decision task was administered to assess association strength between the if-part and the then-part(s). In Study 2, the effect of making one, two or no plan(s) was assessed on actual eating behaviour, after which a Stroop task measured cognitive load as an additional explanatory mechanism. Study 1 revealed that making a Plan B disrupts the creation of strong if-then associations during plan formation. Study 2 showed that making a Plan B yields increased unhealthy food intake compared to making one or no plan, and induces greater cognitive load during plan enactment. Making a Plan B interferes with essential cognitive processes during different stages of planning, leading to an increased likelihood of self-regulatory failure.

Automated Item Generation with Recurrent Neural Networks.

PubMed

von Davier, Matthias

2018-03-12

Utilizing technology for automated item generation is not a new idea. However, test items used in commercial testing programs or in research are still predominantly written by humans, in most cases by content experts or professional item writers. Human experts are a limited resource and testing agencies incur high costs in the process of continuous renewal of item banks to sustain testing programs. Using algorithms instead holds the promise of providing unlimited resources for this crucial part of assessment development. The approach presented here deviates in several ways from previous attempts to solve this problem. In the past, automatic item generation relied either on generating clones of narrowly defined item types such as those found in language free intelligence tests (e.g., Raven's progressive matrices) or on an extensive analysis of task components and derivation of schemata to produce items with pre-specified variability that are hoped to have predictable levels of difficulty. It is somewhat unlikely that researchers utilizing these previous approaches would look at the proposed approach with favor; however, recent applications of machine learning show success in solving tasks that seemed impossible for machines not too long ago. The proposed approach uses deep learning to implement probabilistic language models, not unlike what Google brain and Amazon Alexa use for language processing and generation.

Machine Learning in Medicine

PubMed Central

Deo, Rahul C.

2015-01-01

Spurred by advances in processing power, memory, storage, and an unprecedented wealth of data, computers are being asked to tackle increasingly complex learning tasks, often with astonishing success. Computers have now mastered a popular variant of poker, learned the laws of physics from experimental data, and become experts in video games – tasks which would have been deemed impossible not too long ago. In parallel, the number of companies centered on applying complex data analysis to varying industries has exploded, and it is thus unsurprising that some analytic companies are turning attention to problems in healthcare. The purpose of this review is to explore what problems in medicine might benefit from such learning approaches and use examples from the literature to introduce basic concepts in machine learning. It is important to note that seemingly large enough medical data sets and adequate learning algorithms have been available for many decades – and yet, although there are thousands of papers applying machine learning algorithms to medical data, very few have contributed meaningfully to clinical care. This lack of impact stands in stark contrast to the enormous relevance of machine learning to many other industries. Thus part of my effort will be to identify what obstacles there may be to changing the practice of medicine through statistical learning approaches, and discuss how these might be overcome. PMID:26572668

Can Monkeys Make Investments Based on Maximized Pay-off?

PubMed Central

Steelandt, Sophie; Dufour, Valérie; Broihanne, Marie-Hélène; Thierry, Bernard

2011-01-01

Animals can maximize benefits but it is not known if they adjust their investment according to expected pay-offs. We investigated whether monkeys can use different investment strategies in an exchange task. We tested eight capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and thirteen macaques (Macaca fascicularis, Macaca tonkeana) in an experiment where they could adapt their investment to the food amounts proposed by two different experimenters. One, the doubling partner, returned a reward that was twice the amount given by the subject, whereas the other, the fixed partner, always returned a constant amount regardless of the amount given. To maximize pay-offs, subjects should invest a maximal amount with the first partner and a minimal amount with the second. When tested with the fixed partner only, one third of monkeys learned to remove a maximal amount of food for immediate consumption before investing a minimal one. With both partners, most subjects failed to maximize pay-offs by using different decision rules with each partner' quality. A single Tonkean macaque succeeded in investing a maximal amount to one experimenter and a minimal amount to the other. The fact that only one of over 21 subjects learned to maximize benefits in adapting investment according to experimenters' quality indicates that such a task is difficult for monkeys, albeit not impossible. PMID:21423777

New records of Bodotriidae (Crustacea: Cumacea) from Puerto Rico with descriptions of three new species.

PubMed

Petrescu, Iorgu; Chatterjee, Tapas; Schizas, Nikolaos V

2014-10-20

In a continuing effort to describe the cumacean fauna of Puerto Rico we describe three new species of Bodotriidae, a family that has never been reported from Puerto Rico before.  While finding and describing new microcrustacean species may not be an impossible task, if there is available taxonomic expertise, the currently described species were found in large numbers within a short distance from the Marine Laboratories of the University of Puerto Rico where the local reefs have been studied for over half a century, highlighting the large gaps that exist in our estimates of Caribbean marine diversity.  The three new species, Cyclaspis gurui sp. nov., Cyclaspis mariae sp. nov. and Vaunthompsonia budaii sp. nov. are reported from a fringing reef off La Parguera, southwest coast of Puerto Rico and Vaunthompsonia cristata Bate, 1858 represents a new record for Puerto Rico from the mesophotic reefs.

Digital Core Modelling for Clastic Oil and Gas Reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belozerov, I.; Berezovsky, V.; Gubaydullin, M.; Yur’ev, A.

2018-05-01

"Digital core" is a multi-purpose tool for solving a variety of tasks in the field of geological exploration and production of hydrocarbons at various stages, designed to improve the accuracy of geological study of subsurface resources, the efficiency of reproduction and use of mineral resources, as well as applying the results obtained in production practice. The actuality of the development of the "Digital core" software is that even a partial replacement of natural laboratory experiments with mathematical modelling can be used in the operative calculation of reserves in exploratory drilling, as well as in the absence of core material from wells. Or impossibility of its research by existing laboratory methods (weakly cemented, loose, etc. rocks). 3D-reconstruction of the core microstructure can be considered as a cheap and least time-consuming method for obtaining petrophysical information about the main filtration-capacitive properties and fluid motion in reservoir rocks.

Towards multi-platform software architecture for Collaborative Teleoperation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domingues, Christophe; Otmane, Samir; Davesne, Frederic; Mallem, Malik

2009-03-01

Augmented Reality (AR) can provide to a Human Operator (HO) a real help in achieving complex tasks, such as remote control of robots and cooperative teleassistance. Using appropriate augmentations, the HO can interact faster, safer and easier with the remote real world. In this paper, we present an extension of an existing distributed software and network architecture for collaborative teleoperation based on networked human-scaled mixed reality and mobile platform. The first teleoperation system was composed by a VR application and a Web application. However the 2 systems cannot be used together and it is impossible to control a distant robot simultaneously. Our goal is to update the teleoperation system to permit a heterogeneous collaborative teleoperation between the 2 platforms. An important feature of this interface is based on the use of different Virtual Reality platforms and different Mobile platforms to control one or many robots.

Improvement of Productivity in TIG Welding Plant by Equipment Design in Orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gnanavel, C.; Saravanan, R.; Chandrasekaran, M.; Jayakanth, J. J.

2017-03-01

Measurements and improvements are very indispensable task at all levels of management. Here some samples are, at operator level: Measuring operating parameters to ensure OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and measuring Q components performance to ensure quality, at supervisory level: measuring operator’s performance to ensure labour utility at managerial level: production and productivity measurements and at top level capital and capacity utilization. An often accepted statement is “Improvement is impossible without measurement”. Measurements often referred as observation. The case study was conducted at Government Boiler factory in India. The scientific approach followed for indentifying non value added activities. Personalised new equipment designed and installed to achieve productivity improvement of 85% for a day. The new equipment can serve 360o around its axis hence it simplified loading and unloading procedures as well as reduce their times and ensured effective space and time.

No extension of quantum theory can have improved predictive power.

PubMed

Colbeck, Roger; Renner, Renato

2011-08-02

According to quantum theory, measurements generate random outcomes, in stark contrast with classical mechanics. This raises the question of whether there could exist an extension of the theory that removes this indeterminism, as suspected by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen. Although this has been shown to be impossible, existing results do not imply that the current theory is maximally informative. Here we ask the more general question of whether any improved predictions can be achieved by any extension of quantum theory. Under the assumption that measurements can be chosen freely, we answer this question in the negative: no extension of quantum theory can give more information about the outcomes of future measurements than quantum theory itself. Our result has significance for the foundations of quantum mechanics, as well as applications to tasks that exploit the inherent randomness in quantum theory, such as quantum cryptography.

Medical aspects of power generation, present and future.

PubMed

Linnemann, R E

1979-01-01

It can be seen that the radiation emissions of nuclear power plants are small indeed, compared to natural background radiation and other man-made sources of radiation. For example, the poulation is exposed to 100 times more radiation from television sets than from nuclear power reactors. The assumed risks to the people in this country from nuclear power reactors are also small compared to the normal risks which are tolerated in this society. The complete elimination of all hazards is a most difficult if not impossible task. If we need and desire a certain level of electrical energy, if we must choose between alternative sourves of the energy, then it is apparent that the total impact on our health from nuclear power generation of electricity, under normal operations and in consideration of catastrophic accident probabilities, is significantly less than that of continuing or increasing use of fossil fuels to generate electricity.

The artist's advantage: Better integration of object information across eye movements

PubMed Central

Perdreau, Florian; Cavanagh, Patrick

2013-01-01

Over their careers, figurative artists spend thousands of hours analyzing objects and scene layout. We examined what impact this extensive training has on the ability to encode complex scenes, comparing participants with a wide range of training and drawing skills on a possible versus impossible objects task. We used a gaze-contingent display to control the amount of information the participants could sample on each fixation either from central or peripheral visual field. Test objects were displayed and participants reported, as quickly as possible, whether the object was structurally possible or not. Our results show that when viewing the image through a small central window, performance improved with the years of training, and to a lesser extent with the level of skill. This suggests that the extensive training itself confers an advantage for integrating object structure into more robust object descriptions. PMID:24349697

Cheminformatics in Drug Discovery, an Industrial Perspective.

PubMed

Chen, Hongming; Kogej, Thierry; Engkvist, Ola

2018-05-18

Cheminformatics has established itself as a core discipline within large scale drug discovery operations. It would be impossible to handle the amount of data generated today in a small molecule drug discovery project without persons skilled in cheminformatics. In addition, due to increased emphasis on "Big Data", machine learning and artificial intelligence, not only in the society in general, but also in drug discovery, it is expected that the cheminformatics field will be even more important in the future. Traditional areas like virtual screening, library design and high-throughput screening analysis are highlighted in this review. Applying machine learning in drug discovery is an area that has become very important. Applications of machine learning in early drug discovery has been extended from predicting ADME properties and target activity to tasks like de novo molecular design and prediction of chemical reactions. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Unpacking cosmopolitanism for the social sciences: a research agenda. 2006.

PubMed

Beck, Ulrich; Sznaider, Natan

2010-01-01

This article calls for a re-conceptualization of the social sciences by asking for a cosmopolitan turn. The intellectual undertaking of redefining cosmopolitanism is a trans-disciplinary one, which includes geography, anthropology, ethnology, international relations, international law, political philosophy and political theory, and now sociology and social theory. Methodological nationalism, which subsumes society under the nation-state, has until now made this task almost impossible. The alternative, a 'cosmopolitan outlook', is a contested term and project. Cosmopolitanism must not be equalized with the global (or globalization), with 'world system theory' (Wallerstein), with 'world polity' (Meyer and others), or with 'world-society' (Luhmann). All of those concepts presuppose basic dualisms, such as domestic/foreign or national/international, which in reality have become ambiguous. Methodological cosmopolitanism opens up new horizons by demonstrating how we can make the empirical investigation of border crossings and other transnational phenomena possible.

Cheap or Robust? The practical realization of self-driving wheelchair technology.

PubMed

Burhanpurkar, Maya; Labbe, Mathieu; Guan, Charlie; Michaud, Francois; Kelly, Jonathan

2017-07-01

To date, self-driving experimental wheelchair technologies have been either inexpensive or robust, but not both. Yet, in order to achieve real-world acceptance, both qualities are fundamentally essential. We present a unique approach to achieve inexpensive and robust autonomous and semi-autonomous assistive navigation for existing fielded wheelchairs, of which there are approximately 5 million units in Canada and United States alone. Our prototype wheelchair platform is capable of localization and mapping, as well as robust obstacle avoidance, using only a commodity RGB-D sensor and wheel odometry. As a specific example of the navigation capabilities, we focus on the single most common navigation problem: the traversal of narrow doorways in arbitrary environments. The software we have developed is generalizable to corridor following, desk docking, and other navigation tasks that are either extremely difficult or impossible for people with upper-body mobility impairments.

Contagion and differentiation in unethical behavior: the effect of one bad apple on the barrel.

PubMed

Gino, Francesca; Ayal, Shahar; Ariely, Dan

2009-03-01

In a world where encounters with dishonesty are frequent, it is important to know if exposure to other people's unethical behavior can increase or decrease an individual's dishonesty. In Experiment 1, our confederate cheated ostentatiously by finishing a task impossibly quickly and leaving the room with the maximum reward. In line with social-norms theory, participants' level of unethical behavior increased when the confederate was an in-group member, but decreased when the confederate was an out-group member. In Experiment 2, our confederate instead asked a question about cheating, which merely strengthened the saliency of this possibility. This manipulation decreased the level of unethical behavior among the other group members. These results suggest that individuals' unethicality does not depend on the simple calculations of cost-benefit analysis, but rather depends on the social norms implied by the dishonesty of others and also on the saliency of dishonesty.

Accurate ω-ψ Spectral Solution of the Singular Driven Cavity Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auteri, F.; Quartapelle, L.; Vigevano, L.

2002-08-01

This article provides accurate spectral solutions of the driven cavity problem, calculated in the vorticity-stream function representation without smoothing the corner singularities—a prima facie impossible task. As in a recent benchmark spectral calculation by primitive variables of Botella and Peyret, closed-form contributions of the singular solution for both zero and finite Reynolds numbers are subtracted from the unknown of the problem tackled here numerically in biharmonic form. The method employed is based on a split approach to the vorticity and stream function equations, a Galerkin-Legendre approximation of the problem for the perturbation, and an evaluation of the nonlinear terms by Gauss-Legendre numerical integration. Results computed for Re=0, 100, and 1000 compare well with the benchmark steady solutions provided by the aforementioned collocation-Chebyshev projection method. The validity of the proposed singularity subtraction scheme for computing time-dependent solutions is also established.

Correlative Tomography

PubMed Central

Burnett, T. L.; McDonald, S. A.; Gholinia, A.; Geurts, R.; Janus, M.; Slater, T.; Haigh, S. J.; Ornek, C.; Almuaili, F.; Engelberg, D. L.; Thompson, G. E.; Withers, P. J.

2014-01-01

Increasingly researchers are looking to bring together perspectives across multiple scales, or to combine insights from different techniques, for the same region of interest. To this end, correlative microscopy has already yielded substantial new insights in two dimensions (2D). Here we develop correlative tomography where the correlative task is somewhat more challenging because the volume of interest is typically hidden beneath the sample surface. We have threaded together x-ray computed tomography, serial section FIB-SEM tomography, electron backscatter diffraction and finally TEM elemental analysis all for the same 3D region. This has allowed observation of the competition between pitting corrosion and intergranular corrosion at multiple scales revealing the structural hierarchy, crystallography and chemistry of veiled corrosion pits in stainless steel. With automated correlative workflows and co-visualization of the multi-scale or multi-modal datasets the technique promises to provide insights across biological, geological and materials science that are impossible using either individual or multiple uncorrelated techniques. PMID:24736640

Random synaptic feedback weights support error backpropagation for deep learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lillicrap, Timothy P.; Cownden, Daniel; Tweed, Douglas B.; Akerman, Colin J.

2016-11-01

The brain processes information through multiple layers of neurons. This deep architecture is representationally powerful, but complicates learning because it is difficult to identify the responsible neurons when a mistake is made. In machine learning, the backpropagation algorithm assigns blame by multiplying error signals with all the synaptic weights on each neuron's axon and further downstream. However, this involves a precise, symmetric backward connectivity pattern, which is thought to be impossible in the brain. Here we demonstrate that this strong architectural constraint is not required for effective error propagation. We present a surprisingly simple mechanism that assigns blame by multiplying errors by even random synaptic weights. This mechanism can transmit teaching signals across multiple layers of neurons and performs as effectively as backpropagation on a variety of tasks. Our results help reopen questions about how the brain could use error signals and dispel long-held assumptions about algorithmic constraints on learning.

In silico Evolutionary Developmental Neurobiology and the Origin of Natural Language

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szathmáry, Eörs; Szathmáry, Zoltán; Ittzés, Péter; Orbaán, Geroő; Zachár, István; Huszár, Ferenc; Fedor, Anna; Varga, Máté; Számadó, Szabolcs

It is justified to assume that part of our genetic endowment contributes to our language skills, yet it is impossible to tell at this moment exactly how genes affect the language faculty. We complement experimental biological studies by an in silico approach in that we simulate the evolution of neuronal networks under selection for language-related skills. At the heart of this project is the Evolutionary Neurogenetic Algorithm (ENGA) that is deliberately biomimetic. The design of the system was inspired by important biological phenomena such as brain ontogenesis, neuron morphologies, and indirect genetic encoding. Neuronal networks were selected and were allowed to reproduce as a function of their performance in the given task. The selected neuronal networks in all scenarios were able to solve the communication problem they had to face. The most striking feature of the model is that it works with highly indirect genetic encoding--just as brains do.

Classification-free threat detection based on material-science-informed clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Siyang; Wolter, Scott D.; Greenberg, Joel A.

2017-05-01

X-ray diffraction (XRD) is well-known for yielding composition and structural information about a material. However, in some applications (such as threat detection in aviation security), the properties of a material are more relevant to the task than is a detailed material characterization. Furthermore, the requirement that one first identify a material before determining its class may be difficult or even impossible for a sufficiently large pool of potentially present materials. We therefore seek to learn relevant composition-structure-property relationships between materials to enable material-identification-free classification. We use an expert-informed, data-driven approach operating on a library of XRD spectra from a broad array of stream of commerce materials. We investigate unsupervised learning techniques in order to learn about naturally emergent groupings, and apply supervised learning techniques to determine how well XRD features can be used to separate user-specified classes in the presence of different types and degrees of signal degradation.

No extension of quantum theory can have improved predictive power

PubMed Central

Colbeck, Roger; Renner, Renato

2011-01-01

According to quantum theory, measurements generate random outcomes, in stark contrast with classical mechanics. This raises the question of whether there could exist an extension of the theory that removes this indeterminism, as suspected by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen. Although this has been shown to be impossible, existing results do not imply that the current theory is maximally informative. Here we ask the more general question of whether any improved predictions can be achieved by any extension of quantum theory. Under the assumption that measurements can be chosen freely, we answer this question in the negative: no extension of quantum theory can give more information about the outcomes of future measurements than quantum theory itself. Our result has significance for the foundations of quantum mechanics, as well as applications to tasks that exploit the inherent randomness in quantum theory, such as quantum cryptography. PMID:21811240

Random synaptic feedback weights support error backpropagation for deep learning

PubMed Central

Lillicrap, Timothy P.; Cownden, Daniel; Tweed, Douglas B.; Akerman, Colin J.

2016-01-01

The brain processes information through multiple layers of neurons. This deep architecture is representationally powerful, but complicates learning because it is difficult to identify the responsible neurons when a mistake is made. In machine learning, the backpropagation algorithm assigns blame by multiplying error signals with all the synaptic weights on each neuron's axon and further downstream. However, this involves a precise, symmetric backward connectivity pattern, which is thought to be impossible in the brain. Here we demonstrate that this strong architectural constraint is not required for effective error propagation. We present a surprisingly simple mechanism that assigns blame by multiplying errors by even random synaptic weights. This mechanism can transmit teaching signals across multiple layers of neurons and performs as effectively as backpropagation on a variety of tasks. Our results help reopen questions about how the brain could use error signals and dispel long-held assumptions about algorithmic constraints on learning. PMID:27824044

Investigating Intrinsic and Extrinsic Variables During Simulated Internet Search

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liechty, Molly M.; Madhavan, Poornima

2011-01-01

Using an eye tracker we examined decision-making processes during an internet search task. Twenty experienced homebuyers and twenty-five undergraduates from Old Dominion University viewed homes on a simulated real estate website. Several of the homes included physical properties that had the potential to negatively impact individual perceptions. These negative externalities were either easy to change (Level 1) or impossible to change (Level 2). Eye movements were analyzed to examine the relationship between participants' "stated preferences"[verbalized preferences], "revealed preferences" [actual decisions[, and experience. Dwell times, fixation durations/counts, and saccade counts/amplitudes were analyzed. Results revealed that experienced homebuyers demonstrated a more refined search pattern than novice searchers. Experienced homebuyers were also less impacted by negative externalities. Furthermore, stated preferences were discrepant from revealed preferences; although participants initially stated they liked/disliked a graphic, their eye movement patterns did not reflect this trend. These results have important implications for design of user-friendly web interfaces.

Experimental loss-tolerant quantum coin flipping

PubMed Central

Berlín, Guido; Brassard, Gilles; Bussières, Félix; Godbout, Nicolas; Slater, Joshua A.; Tittel, Wolfgang

2011-01-01

Coin flipping is a cryptographic primitive in which two distrustful parties wish to generate a random bit to choose between two alternatives. This task is impossible to realize when it relies solely on the asynchronous exchange of classical bits: one dishonest player has complete control over the final outcome. It is only when coin flipping is supplemented with quantum communication that this problem can be alleviated, although partial bias remains. Unfortunately, practical systems are subject to loss of quantum data, which allows a cheater to force a bias that is complete or arbitrarily close to complete in all previous protocols and implementations. Here we report on the first experimental demonstration of a quantum coin-flipping protocol for which loss cannot be exploited to cheat better. By eliminating the problem of loss, which is unavoidable in any realistic setting, quantum coin flipping takes a significant step towards real-world applications of quantum communication. PMID:22127057

Towards multi-platform software architecture for Collaborative Teleoperation

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

Domingues, Christophe; Otmane, Samir; Davesne, Frederic

2009-03-05

Augmented Reality (AR) can provide to a Human Operator (HO) a real help in achieving complex tasks, such as remote control of robots and cooperative teleassistance. Using appropriate augmentations, the HO can interact faster, safer and easier with the remote real world. In this paper, we present an extension of an existing distributed software and network architecture for collaborative teleoperation based on networked human-scaled mixed reality and mobile platform. The first teleoperation system was composed by a VR application and a Web application. However the 2 systems cannot be used together and it is impossible to control a distant robotmore » simultaneously. Our goal is to update the teleoperation system to permit a heterogeneous collaborative teleoperation between the 2 platforms. An important feature of this interface is based on the use of different Virtual Reality platforms and different Mobile platforms to control one or many robots.« less

Tractable policy management framework for IoT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goynugur, Emre; de Mel, Geeth; Sensoy, Murat; Calo, Seraphin

2017-05-01

Due to the advancement in the technology, hype of connected devices (hence forth referred to as IoT) in support of automating the functionality of many domains, be it intelligent manufacturing or smart homes, have become a reality. However, with the proliferation of such connected and interconnected devices, efficiently and effectively managing networks manually becomes an impractical, if not an impossible task. This is because devices have their own obligations and prohibitions in context, and humans are not equip to maintain a bird's-eye-view of the state. Traditionally, policies are used to address the issue, but in the IoT arena, one requires a policy framework in which the language can provide sufficient amount of expressiveness along with efficient reasoning procedures to automate the management. In this work we present our initial work into creating a scalable knowledge-based policy framework for IoT and demonstrate its applicability through a smart home application.

New Media Vision for IYA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, P. L.; Koppelman, M.

2008-11-01

The International Year of Astronomy New Media Committee seeks to provide and promote online astronomy experiences in the places that people work, play and learn; create content that will expose people to astronomy, provide them regular content, and create special opportunities for learning; distribute content for active (pull) and passive (push) channels and through guerilla marketing technique; use a diverse suite of technologies to reach people on multiple platforms and in diverse online settings. To make these goals a reality we have brought together a diverse group of astronomy new media practitioners to both mentor grass roots efforts and spearhead national initiatives. You are invited to partner you programs with the New Media Task Group. In this paper we lay out are goals and define our vision.

Operations management system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brandli, A. E.; Eckelkamp, R. E.; Kelly, C. M.; Mccandless, W.; Rue, D. L.

1990-01-01

The objective of an operations management system is to provide an orderly and efficient method to operate and maintain aerospace vehicles. Concepts are described for an operations management system and the key technologies are highlighted which will be required if this capability is brought to fruition. Without this automation and decision aiding capability, the growing complexity of avionics will result in an unmanageable workload for the operator, ultimately threatening mission success or survivability of the aircraft or space system. The key technologies include expert system application to operational tasks such as replanning, equipment diagnostics and checkout, global system management, and advanced man machine interfaces. The economical development of operations management systems, which are largely software, will require advancements in other technological areas such as software engineering and computer hardware.

Working memory and intraindividual variability in processing speed: A lifespan developmental and individual-differences study.

PubMed

Mella, Nathalie; Fagot, Delphine; Lecerf, Thierry; de Ribaupierre, Anik

2015-04-01

Working memory (WM) and intraindividual variability (IIV) in processing speed are both hypothesized to reflect general attentional processes. In the present study, we aimed at exploring the relationship between WM capacity and IIV in reaction times (RTs) and its possible variation with development across the lifespan. Two WM tasks and six RT tasks of varying complexity were analyzed in a sample of 539 participants, consisting of five age groups: two groups of children (9-10 and 11-12 years of age), one group of young adults, and two groups of older adults (59-69 and 70-89 years of age). Two approaches were adopted. First, low-span and high-span individuals were identified, and analyses of variance were conducted comparing these two groups within each age group and for each RT task. The results consistently showed a span effect in the youngest children and oldest adults: High-span individuals were significantly faster and less variable than low-span individuals. In contrast, in young adults no difference was observed between high- and low-span individuals, whether in terms of their means or IIV. Second, multivariate analyses were conducted on the entire set of tasks, to determine whether IIV in RTs brought different information than the mean RT. The results showed that, although very strongly correlated, the mean and IIV in speed should be kept separate in terms of how they account for individual differences in WM. Overall, our results support the assumption of a link between WM capacity and IIV in RT, more strongly so in childhood and older adulthood.

Age-related influence of contingencies on a saccade task

PubMed Central

Jazbec, Sandra; Hardin, Michael G.; Schroth, Elizabeth; McClure, Erin; Pine, Daniel S.; Ernst, Monique

2009-01-01

Adolescence is characterized by increased risk-taking and sensation-seeking, presumably brought about by developmental changes within reward-mediating brain circuits. A better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying reward-seeking during adolescence can have critical implications for the development of strategies to enhance adolescent performance in potentially dangerous situations. Yet little research has investigated the influence of age on the modulation of behavior by incentives with neuroscience-based methods. A monetary reward antisaccade task (the RST) was used with 23 healthy adolescents and 30 healthy adults. Performance accuracy, latency and peak velocity of saccade responses (prosaccades and antisaccades) were analyzed. Performance accuracy across all groups was improved by incentives (obtain reward, avoid punishment) for both, prosaccades and antisaccades. However, modulation of antisaccade errors (direction errors) by incentives differed between groups: adolescents modulated saccade latency and peak velocity depending on contingencies, with incentives aligning their performance to that of adults; adults did not show a modulation by incentives. These findings suggest that incentives modulate a global measure of performance (percent direction errors) in adults and adolescents, and exert a more powerful influence on the control of incorrect motor responses in adolescents than in adults. These findings suggest that this task can be used in neuroimaging studies as a probe of the influence of incentives on cognitive control from a developmental perspective as well as in health and disease. PMID:16733706

Age-related influence of contingencies on a saccade task.

PubMed

Jazbec, Sandra; Hardin, Michael G; Schroth, Elizabeth; McClure, Erin; Pine, Daniel S; Ernst, Monique

2006-10-01

Adolescence is characterized by increased risk-taking and sensation-seeking, presumably brought about by developmental changes within reward-mediating brain circuits. A better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying reward-seeking during adolescence can have critical implications for the development of strategies to enhance adolescent performance in potentially dangerous situations. Yet little research has investigated the influence of age on the modulation of behavior by incentives with neuroscience-based methods. A monetary reward antisaccade task (the RST) was used with 23 healthy adolescents and 30 healthy adults. Performance accuracy, latency and peak velocity of saccade responses (prosaccades and antisaccades) were analyzed. Performance accuracy across all groups was improved by incentives (obtain reward, avoid punishment) for both, prosaccades and antisaccades. However, modulation of antisaccade errors (direction errors) by incentives differed between groups: adolescents modulated saccade latency and peak velocity depending on contingencies, with incentives aligning their performance to that of adults; adults did not show a modulation by incentives. These findings suggest that incentives modulate a global measure of performance (percent direction errors) in adults and adolescents, and exert a more powerful influence on the control of incorrect motor responses in adolescents than in adults. These findings suggest that this task can be used in neuroimaging studies as a probe of the influence of incentives on cognitive control from a developmental perspective as well as in health and disease.

Genome-based Modeling and Design of Metabolic Interactions in Microbial Communities

PubMed Central

Mahadevan, Radhakrishnan; Henson, Michael A.

2012-01-01

Biotechnology research is traditionally focused on individual microbial strains that are perceived to have the necessary metabolic functions, or the capability to have these functions introduced, to achieve a particular task. For many important applications, the development of such omnipotent microbes is an extremely challenging if not impossible task. By contrast, nature employs a radically different strategy based on synergistic combinations of different microbial species that collectively achieve the desired task. These natural communities have evolved to exploit the native metabolic capabilities of each species and are highly adaptive to changes in their environments. However, microbial communities have proven difficult to study due to a lack of suitable experimental and computational tools. With the advent of genome sequencing, omics technologies, bioinformatics and genome-scale modeling, researchers now have unprecedented capabilities to analyze and engineer the metabolism of microbial communities. The goal of this review is to summarize recent applications of genome-scale metabolic modeling to microbial communities. A brief introduction to lumped community models is used to motivate the need for genome-level descriptions of individual species and their metabolic interactions. The review of genome-scale models begins with static modeling approaches, which are appropriate for communities where the extracellular environment can be assumed to be time invariant or slowly varying. Dynamic extensions of the static modeling approach are described, and then applications of genome-scale models for design of synthetic microbial communities are reviewed. The review concludes with a summary of metagenomic tools for analyzing community metabolism and an outlook for future research. PMID:24688668

Genome-based Modeling and Design of Metabolic Interactions in Microbial Communities.

PubMed

Mahadevan, Radhakrishnan; Henson, Michael A

2012-01-01

Biotechnology research is traditionally focused on individual microbial strains that are perceived to have the necessary metabolic functions, or the capability to have these functions introduced, to achieve a particular task. For many important applications, the development of such omnipotent microbes is an extremely challenging if not impossible task. By contrast, nature employs a radically different strategy based on synergistic combinations of different microbial species that collectively achieve the desired task. These natural communities have evolved to exploit the native metabolic capabilities of each species and are highly adaptive to changes in their environments. However, microbial communities have proven difficult to study due to a lack of suitable experimental and computational tools. With the advent of genome sequencing, omics technologies, bioinformatics and genome-scale modeling, researchers now have unprecedented capabilities to analyze and engineer the metabolism of microbial communities. The goal of this review is to summarize recent applications of genome-scale metabolic modeling to microbial communities. A brief introduction to lumped community models is used to motivate the need for genome-level descriptions of individual species and their metabolic interactions. The review of genome-scale models begins with static modeling approaches, which are appropriate for communities where the extracellular environment can be assumed to be time invariant or slowly varying. Dynamic extensions of the static modeling approach are described, and then applications of genome-scale models for design of synthetic microbial communities are reviewed. The review concludes with a summary of metagenomic tools for analyzing community metabolism and an outlook for future research.

What do you mean by "satisfactory"?

PubMed

Crebbin, W

2005-09-01

One of the difficulties in designing assessment for medical trainees has been defining what is meant by "satisfactory". Whilst a list of "unsatisfactory" and "outstanding" characteristics can be identified with very little difficulty, it is the middle ground that holds the challenge. This is especially true in the non-technical areas of medical practice, which have been brought into greater prominence since the development and publication of CanMEDS 2000. As part of that process, questions about what is meant by "satisfactory", "standards" and/or benchmarks, have been brought into sharper focus. Additional questions are being asked as to whether competencies must necessarily be equated with minimum expectations or if they can be set, in conjunction with standards, to situate required "satisfactory" performance at a level significantly above a minimal level. A search of current literature on competencies and assessment was carried out. From that analysis, it became evident that a definition of "satisfactory" in assessing competence is dependent upon the identification of underlying factors, including the kind of competence, the kind of knowledge, and the level of expertise required to match the standard of assessment. The varying definitions, expectations, and levels of "satisfactory" were mapped to illustrate a way to plot the level of "satisfactory" according to the task, the experience of the trainee, and the stage of training. This map also provides a method for developing shared understandings of the targeted level within the "satisfactory zone".

7 CFR 3431.22 - Waiver.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE VETERINARY... incurred by a program participant whenever compliance by the program participant is impossible or would... service or repayment obligation will be considered impossible if the Secretary determines, on the basis of...

7 CFR 3431.22 - Waiver.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE VETERINARY... incurred by a program participant whenever compliance by the program participant is impossible or would... service or repayment obligation will be considered impossible if the Secretary determines, on the basis of...

7 CFR 3431.22 - Waiver.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE VETERINARY... incurred by a program participant whenever compliance by the program participant is impossible or would... service or repayment obligation will be considered impossible if the Secretary determines, on the basis of...

Relationship of Event-Related Potentials to the Vigilance Decrement

PubMed Central

Haubert, Ashley; Walsh, Matt; Boyd, Rachel; Morris, Megan; Wiedbusch, Megan; Krusmark, Mike; Gunzelmann, Glenn

2018-01-01

Cognitive fatigue emerges in wide-ranging tasks and domains, but traditional vigilance tasks provide a well-studied context in which to explore the mechanisms underlying it. Though a variety of experimental methodologies have been used to investigate cognitive fatigue in vigilance, relatively little research has utilized electroencephalography (EEG), specifically event-related potentials (ERPs), to explore the nature of cognitive fatigue, also known as the vigilance decrement. Moreover, much of the research that has been done on vigilance and ERPs uses non-traditional vigilance paradigms, limiting generalizability to the established body of behavioral results and corresponding theories. In this study, we address concerns with prior research by (1) investigating the vigilance decrement using a well-established visual vigilance task, (2) utilizing a task designed to attenuate possible confounding ERP components present within a vigilance paradigm, and (3) informing our interpretations with recent findings from ERP research. We averaged data across electrodes located over the frontal, central, and parietal scalp. Then, we generated waveforms locked to the onset of critical low-frequency or non-critical high-frequency events during a 40 min task that was segregated into time blocks for data analysis. There were three primary findings from the analyses of these data. First, mean amplitude of N1 was greater during later blocks for both low-frequency and high-frequency events, a contradictory finding compared to past visual vigilance studies that is further discussed with respect to current interpretations of the N1 in visual attention tasks. Second, P3b mean amplitude following low-frequency events was reduced during later blocks, with a later onset latency. Third and finally, the decrease in P3b amplitude correlated with individual differences in the magnitude of the vigilance decrement, assessed using d′. The results provide evidence for degradations of cognitive processing efficiency brought on by extended time on task, leading to delayed processing and decreased discriminability of critical stimuli from non-critical stimuli. These conclusions are discussed in the context of the vigilance decrement and corresponding theoretical accounts. PMID:29559936

Quantum Stabilizer Codes Can Realize Access Structures Impossible by Classical Secret Sharing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, Ryutaroh

We show a simple example of a secret sharing scheme encoding classical secret to quantum shares that can realize an access structure impossible by classical information processing with limitation on the size of each share. The example is based on quantum stabilizer codes.

Aporias, Responsibility, and the Im/possibility of Teaching Multicultural Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Hongyu

2005-01-01

Drawing upon Jacques Derrida's notions of aporia and responsibility, this essay discusses the dilemmas of multicultural education and the pedagogical responsibility of multicultural educators. Derrida emphasizes that there is no responsibility without experiencing aporia as the possibility of the impossible. To promote personal transformation and…

Curiosity and exploratory behaviour towards possible and impossible events in children and adults.

PubMed

Subbotsky, Eugene

2010-08-01

In four experiments with 4-, 6-, and 9-year-old children and adults, the hypothesis was tested that, all other conditions being equal, a novel and unusual event elicits stronger curiosity and exploratory behaviour if its suggested explanation involves an element of the supernatural than if it does not (the impossible over possible effect - the I/P effect). Participants were shown an unusual phenomenon (a spontaneous disintegration of a physical object in an apparently empty box) framed in the context of either a magical (the impossible event) or scientific (the possible event) explanation. In the verbal trial, participants showed a clear understanding of the difference between the effect of genuine magic and the effect of a trick. In the behavioural trial, both children and adults showed the I/P effect. They were more likely to run the risk of losing their valuable objects in order to explore the impossible event than the possible event. Follow-up experiments showed that the I/P effect couldn't be explained as an artifact of the different degrees of cost of exploratory behaviour in the possible and impossible conditions or as a result of misinterpreting magic as tricks. The I/P effect emerged when the cost of exploratory behaviour was moderate and disappeared when the cost was perceived as too high or too low.

The Construction of Impossibility: A Logic-Based Analysis of Conjuring Tricks

PubMed Central

Smith, Wally; Dignum, Frank; Sonenberg, Liz

2016-01-01

Psychologists and cognitive scientists have long drawn insights and evidence from stage magic about human perceptual and attentional errors. We present a complementary analysis of conjuring tricks that seeks to understand the experience of impossibility that they produce. Our account is first motivated by insights about the constructional aspects of conjuring drawn from magicians' instructional texts. A view is then presented of the logical nature of impossibility as an unresolvable contradiction between a perception-supported belief about a situation and a memory-supported expectation. We argue that this condition of impossibility is constructed not simply through misperceptions and misattentions, but rather it is an outcome of a trick's whole structure of events. This structure is conceptualized as two parallel event sequences: an effect sequence that the spectator is intended to believe; and a method sequence that the magician understands as happening. We illustrate the value of this approach through an analysis of a simple close-up trick, Martin Gardner's Turnabout. A formalism called propositional dynamic logic is used to describe some of its logical aspects. This elucidates the nature and importance of the relationship between a trick's effect sequence and its method sequence, characterized by the careful arrangement of four evidence relationships: similarity, perceptual equivalence, structural equivalence, and congruence. The analysis further identifies two characteristics of magical apparatus that enable the construction of apparent impossibility: substitutable elements and stable occlusion. PMID:27378959

Mathematical modeling of the temperature distribution under the cathode spot of the vacuum arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, V. G.; Babushkina, E. S.

2016-07-01

We present a solution to the problem of the temperature distribution under the cathode spot of taking into account melting and spare deposits of metal, brought to boiling temperature on the surface of the cathode spot. The process of heat transfer in the metal is described by the unsteady three dimensional heat conduction equation in Cartesian coordinate system. Similarly, we present a solution to the problem of the temperature distribution in the presence of the pores in the surface layer of the metal. To solve this task we used a numerical method to finite differences and variable directions. We present the calculated data on the distribution of temperature under the cathode spot for different values of spot diameters and speeds its movement.

Lower Klickitat Riparian and In-channel Habitat Restoration Project; Klickitat Watershed Enhancement, Annual Report 2002-2003.

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

Conley, Will

2004-01-01

The overall goal of the Klickitat Watershed Enhancement Project (KWEP) is to restore watershed health to aid recovery of salmonid stocks in the Klickitat subbasin. An emphasis is placed on restoration and protection of stream reaches and watersheds supporting native anadromous fish production, particularly steelhead (Oncorhyncus mykiss; ESA- listed as 'Threatened' within the Mid-Columbia ESU) and spring Chinook (O. tshawytscha). Habitat restoration activities in the Klickitat subbasin augment goals and objectives of the Yakima Klickitat Fisheries Project (YKFP), NPPC Fish and Wildlife Program, Klickitat Subbasin Summary and the NMFS Biological Opinion (All-H paper). Work is conducted to enhance instream andmore » contributing upland habitat to facilitate increased natural production potential for native salmonid stocks. Efforts in the Klickitat Subbasin fall into two main categories: (1) identification and prioritization of sites for protection and restoration activities, (2) implementation of protection and restoration measures. KWEP personnel also assist monitoring efforts of the YKFP Monitoring & Evaluation Project. During the September 2002-August 2003 reporting period, KWEP personnel continued efforts to address feedback from the August 2000 Provincial Review that indicated a need for better information management and development of geographic priorities by: (1) Assisting development of the Strategic Habitat Plan for the Klickitat Lead Entity (Task A3.1) and Klickitat steelhead EDT model (Task A4.1); (2) Improving the functionality of reference point, habitat unit, and large woody debris modules of the habitat database as well as addition of a temperature module (Tasks A1.1-1.2); (3) Continuing development and acquisition of GIS data (Task A1.3); (4) Ongoing data collection efforts to fill information gaps including streamflow, habitat, and temperature (Objectives C1 and C2); and (5) Completion of planning, field work, and hydrologic modeling associated with roads assessment in the White Creek watershed (Task A4.2). Significant milestones associated with restoration projects during the reporting period included: (1) Completion of the Surveyors Fish Creek Passage Enhancement project (Task B2.3); (2) Completion of interagency agreements for the Klickitat Meadows (Task B2.4) and Klickitat Mill (Task B2.10) projects; (3) Completion of topographic surveys for the Klickitat Meadows (Task B2.4), Klickitat River Meadows (Task B2.5), Trout Creek and Bear Creek culvert replacements (Task B2.7), and Snyder Swale II (Task B2.13) projects; (4) Completion of the Snyder Swale II - Phase 1 project (Task B2.13); (5) Completion of design, planning, and permitting for the Klickitat Mill project (Task B2.10) and initiation of construction; (6) Design for the Trout and Bear Creek culverts (B2.7) were brought to the 60% level; and (7) Completion of design work for the for the Klickitat Meadows (Task B2.4) and Klickitat River Meadows (Task B2.5) projects.« less

FLORA™: Phase I development of a functional vision assessment for prosthetic vision users.

PubMed

Geruschat, Duane R; Flax, Marshall; Tanna, Nilima; Bianchi, Michelle; Fisher, Andy; Goldschmidt, Mira; Fisher, Lynne; Dagnelie, Gislin; Deremeik, Jim; Smith, Audrey; Anaflous, Fatima; Dorn, Jessy

2015-07-01

Research groups and funding agencies need a functional assessment suitable for an ultra-low vision population to evaluate the impact of new vision-restoration treatments. The purpose of this study was to develop a pilot assessment to capture the functional visual ability and well-being of subjects whose vision has been partially restored with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System. The Functional Low-Vision Observer Rated Assessment (FLORA) pilot assessment involved a self-report section, a list of functional visual tasks for observation of performance and a case narrative summary. Results were analysed to determine whether the interview questions and functional visual tasks were appropriate for this ultra-low vision population and whether the ratings suffered from floor or ceiling effects. Thirty subjects with severe to profound retinitis pigmentosa (bare light perception or worse in both eyes) were enrolled in a clinical trial and implanted with the Argus II System. From this population, 26 subjects were assessed with the FLORA. Seven different evaluators administered the assessment. All 14 interview questions were asked. All 35 tasks for functional vision were selected for evaluation at least once, with an average of 20 subjects being evaluated for each test item. All four rating options—impossible (33 per cent), difficult (23 per cent), moderate (24 per cent) and easy (19 per cent)—were used by the evaluators. Evaluators also judged the amount of vision they observed the subjects using to complete the various tasks, with 'vision only' occurring 75 per cent on average with the System ON, and 29 per cent with the System OFF. The first version of the FLORA was found to contain useful elements for evaluation and to avoid floor and ceiling effects. The next phase of development will be to refine the assessment and to establish reliability and validity to increase its value as an assessment tool for functional vision and well-being. © 2015 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Optometry © 2015 Optometry Australia.

FLORA™: Phase I development of a functional vision assessment for prosthetic vision users

PubMed Central

Geruschat, Duane R; Flax, Marshall; Tanna, Nilima; Bianchi, Michelle; Fisher, Andy; Goldschmidt, Mira; Fisher, Lynne; Dagnelie, Gislin; Deremeik, Jim; Smith, Audrey; Anaflous, Fatima; Dorn, Jessy

2014-01-01

Background Research groups and funding agencies need a functional assessment suitable for an ultra-low vision population in order to evaluate the impact of new vision restoration treatments. The purpose of this study was to develop a pilot assessment to capture the functional vision ability and well-being of subjects whose vision has been partially restored with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System. Methods The Functional Low-Vision Observer Rated Assessment (FLORA) pilot assessment involved a self-report section, a list of functional vision tasks for observation of performance, and a case narrative summary. Results were analyzed to determine whether the interview questions and functional vision tasks were appropriate for this ultra-low vision population and whether the ratings suffered from floor or ceiling effects. Thirty subjects with severe to profound retinitis pigmentosa (bare light perception or worse in both eyes) were enrolled in a clinical trial and implanted with the Argus II System. From this population, twenty-six subjects were assessed with the FLORA. Seven different evaluators administered the assessment. Results All 14 interview questions were asked. All 35 functional vision tasks were selected for evaluation at least once, with an average of 20 subjects being evaluated for each test item. All four rating options -- impossible (33%), difficult (23%), moderate (24%) and easy (19%) -- were used by the evaluators. Evaluators also judged the amount of vision they observed the subjects using to complete the various tasks, with vision only occurring 75% on average with the System ON, and 29% with the System OFF. Conclusion The first version of the FLORA was found to contain useful elements for evaluation and to avoid floor and ceiling effects. The next phase of development will be to refine the assessment and to establish reliability and validity to increase its value as a functional vision and well-being assessment tool. PMID:25675964

Perception of Graphical Virtual Environments by Blind Users via Sensory Substitution

PubMed Central

Maidenbaum, Shachar; Buchs, Galit; Abboud, Sami; Lavi-Rotbain, Ori; Amedi, Amir

2016-01-01

Graphical virtual environments are currently far from accessible to blind users as their content is mostly visual. This is especially unfortunate as these environments hold great potential for this population for purposes such as safe orientation, education, and entertainment. Previous tools have increased accessibility but there is still a long way to go. Visual-to-audio Sensory-Substitution-Devices (SSDs) can increase accessibility generically by sonifying on-screen content regardless of the specific environment and offer increased accessibility without the use of expensive dedicated peripherals like electrode/vibrator arrays. Using SSDs virtually utilizes similar skills as when using them in the real world, enabling both training on the device and training on environments virtually before real-world visits. This could enable more complex, standardized and autonomous SSD training and new insights into multisensory interaction and the visually-deprived brain. However, whether congenitally blind users, who have never experienced virtual environments, will be able to use this information for successful perception and interaction within them is currently unclear.We tested this using the EyeMusic SSD, which conveys whole-scene visual information, to perform virtual tasks otherwise impossible without vision. Congenitally blind users had to navigate virtual environments and find doors, differentiate between them based on their features (Experiment1:task1) and surroundings (Experiment1:task2) and walk through them; these tasks were accomplished with a 95% and 97% success rate, respectively. We further explored the reactions of congenitally blind users during their first interaction with a more complex virtual environment than in the previous tasks–walking down a virtual street, recognizing different features of houses and trees, navigating to cross-walks, etc. Users reacted enthusiastically and reported feeling immersed within the environment. They highlighted the potential usefulness of such environments for understanding what visual scenes are supposed to look like and their potential for complex training and suggested many future environments they wished to experience. PMID:26882473

The Development of Possibility Judgment within and across Domains

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shtulman, Andrew

2009-01-01

The ability to differentiate possible events from impossible ones is an invaluable skill when reasoning about claims that transcend the perceptual evidence at hand, yet preschool-aged children do not readily make this differentiation when reasoning about physically extraordinary events [Shtulman, A., & Carey, S. (2007). "Improbable or impossible?…

Fractals and the irreducibility of consciousness in plants and animals

PubMed Central

Gardiner, John

2013-01-01

In both plants and animals consciousness is fractal. Since fractals can only pass information in one direction it is impossible to extrapolate backward to find the rule that governs the fractal. Thus, similarly, it will be impossible to completely determine the rule or rules that govern consciousness. PMID:23759545

Fractals and the irreducibility of consciousness in plants and animals.

PubMed

Gardiner, John

2013-08-01

In both plants and animals consciousness is fractal. Since fractals can only pass information in one direction it is impossible to extrapolate backward to find the rule that governs the fractal. Thus, similarly, it will be impossible to completely determine the rule or rules that govern consciousness.

Oculomotor Exploration of Impossible Figures in Early Infancy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shuwairi, Sarah M.; Johnson, Scott P.

2013-01-01

Previous studies have revealed that young infants can distinguish between displays of possible or impossible figures, which may require detection of inconsistent depth relations among local line junctions that disrupt global object configurations. Here, we used an eye-tracking paradigm to record eye movements in young infants during an object…

Word Naming in the L1 and L2: A Dynamic Perspective on Automatization and the Degree of Semantic Involvement in Naming

PubMed Central

Plat, Rika; Lowie, Wander; de Bot, Kees

2018-01-01

Reaction time data have long been collected in order to gain insight into the underlying mechanisms involved in language processing. Means analyses often attempt to break down what factors relate to what portion of the total reaction time. From a dynamic systems theory perspective or an interaction dominant view of language processing, it is impossible to isolate discrete factors contributing to language processing, since these continually and interactively play a role. Non-linear analyses offer the tools to investigate the underlying process of language use in time, without having to isolate discrete factors. Patterns of variability in reaction time data may disclose the relative contribution of automatic (grapheme-to-phoneme conversion) processing and attention-demanding (semantic) processing. The presence of a fractal structure in the variability of a reaction time series indicates automaticity in the mental structures contributing to a task. A decorrelated pattern of variability will indicate a higher degree of attention-demanding processing. A focus on variability patterns allows us to examine the relative contribution of automatic and attention-demanding processing when a speaker is using the mother tongue (L1) or a second language (L2). A word naming task conducted in the L1 (Dutch) and L2 (English) shows L1 word processing to rely more on automatic spelling-to-sound conversion than L2 word processing. A word naming task with a semantic categorization subtask showed more reliance on attention-demanding semantic processing when using the L2. A comparison to L1 English data shows this was not only due to the amount of language use or language dominance, but also to the difference in orthographic depth between Dutch and English. An important implication of this finding is that when the same task is used to test and compare different languages, one cannot straightforwardly assume the same cognitive sub processes are involved to an equal degree using the same task in different languages. PMID:29403404

Albertian errors in head-mounted displays: I. Choice of eye-point location for a near- or far-field task visualization.

PubMed

Rolland, Jannick; Ha, Yonggang; Fidopiastis, Cali

2004-06-01

A theoretical investigation of rendered depth and angular errors, or Albertian errors, linked to natural eye movements in binocular head-mounted displays (HMDs) is presented for three possible eye-point locations: the center of the entrance pupil, the nodal point, and the center of rotation of the eye. A numerical quantification was conducted for both the pupil and the center of rotation of the eye under the assumption that the user will operate solely in either the near field under an associated instrumentation setting or the far field under a different setting. Under these conditions, the eyes are taken to gaze in the plane of the stereoscopic images. Across conditions, results show that the center of the entrance pupil minimizes rendered angular errors, while the center of rotation minimizes rendered position errors. Significantly, this investigation quantifies that under proper setting of the HMD and correct choice of the eye points, rendered depth and angular errors can be brought to be either negligible or within specification of even the most stringent applications in performance of tasks in either the near field or the far field.

[Global and historical development of the IMETAF (International Molecular Epidemiology Task Force) in Mexico].

PubMed

Gorodezky, C

1997-01-01

IMETAF or International Molecular Epidemiology Task Force was created upon the enthusiasm of Janice Dorman, molecular epidemiologist at Pittsburgh University. Also, she was in charge of the WHO type I Diabetes world project called DIAMOND. As a result of this project done with Mexican scientists. The Scientific Committee of IMETAF was formed on July 28, 1993. The activities began. A national infrastructure survey was done to analyze the epidemiology and molecular biology capabilities; a directory of scientist in epidemiology and molecular biology was elaborated; a theoric and practical course on molecular epidemiology was organized during 1996 and a second one will be held in 1997; and a series of Workshops were done: cancer and leukemias; bacterial diseases; trypanosomiosis and leishmaniosis and viral diseases. The results of these academic activities were brought to the National Academy of Medicine to a 2 days workshop and to an International Symposium called Projection of molecular epidemiology in medicine, held on April 17, 1996. The papers are published in this number. The goal of IMETAF will continue promoting transfer of technology, stimulating formal training in molecular epidemiology and helping getting funds for collaborative projects.

Changing needs and new perspectives for psychiatry and mental health services in Korea.

PubMed

Park, Jong-Ik; Kim, Yong Sik

2006-01-01

Although western psychiatry was introduced more than one hundred years ago, the history of Korean psychiatry actually began with the foundation of the Cho-sun Neuropsychiatric Association (formerly Korean Neuropsychiatric Association) in 1945. Since the initiation of Korean national economic development plan in 1960s, the number of mental institutions grew gradually but a large portion of patients suffering from psychosis and alcohol dependence still remained in the asylum. Rapid industrialization in the 80's brought about family disintegration and breakdown of the social support system, resulting in displacement of mentally ill persons outside of the family. In 1995, the Mental Health Law was enacted and with the introduction of the concept of community mental health, construction of many mental health centers commenced. Korea faces important tasks of further developing local community mental health and predicting and resolving the mental health problems related to the issues of rapid aging society, transformation in family structure, foreign laborers, and North Korean refugees. Such tasks must be met through refined mental health policy plans, effective allocation of mental health-related human resources and funding, and fostering of social concern and consensus about the issues of mental health.

Example of a Human Factors Engineering approach to a medication administration work system: potential impact on patient safety.

PubMed

Beuscart-Zéphir, Marie-Catherine; Pelayo, Sylvia; Bernonville, Stéphanie

2010-04-01

The objectives of this paper are: In this approach, the implementation of such a complex IT solution is considered a major redesign of the work system. The paper describes the Human Factor (HF) tasks embedded in the project lifecycle: (1) analysis and modelling of the current work system and usability assessment of the medication CPOE solution; (2) HF recommendations for work re-design and usability recommendations for IT system re-engineering both aiming at a safer and more efficient work situation. Standard ethnographic methods were used to support the analysis of the current work system and work situations, coupled with cognitive task analysis methods and documents review. Usability inspection (heuristic evaluation) and both in-lab (simulated tasks) and on-site (real tasks) usability tests were performed for the evaluation of the CPOE candidate. Adapted software engineering models were used in combination with usual textual descriptions, tasks models and mock-ups to support the recommendations for work and product re-design. The analysis of the work situations identified different work organisations and procedures across the hospital's departments. The most important differences concerned the doctor-nurse communications and cooperation modes and the procedures for preparing and administering the medications. The assessment of the medication CPOE functions uncovered a number of usability problems including severe ones leading to impossible to detect or to catch errors. Models of the actual and possible distribution of tasks and roles were used to support decision making in the work design process. The results of the usability assessment were translated into requirements to support the necessary re-engineering of the IT application. The HFE approach to medication CPOE efficiently identifies and distinguishes currently unsafe or uncomfortable work situations that could obviously benefit from an IT solution from other work situations incorporating efficient work procedures that might be impaired by the implementation of the CPOE. In this context, a careful redesign of the work situation and of the entire work system is necessary to actually benefit from the installation of the product in terms of patient safety and human performances. In parallel, a usability assessment of the product to be implemented is mandatory to identify potentially dangerous usability flaws and to fix them before the installation. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sleep-dependent modulation of affectively guided decision-making.

PubMed

Pace-Schott, Edward F; Nave, Genevieve; Morgan, Alexandra; Spencer, Rebecca M C

2012-02-01

A question of great interest in current sleep research is whether and how sleep might facilitate complex cognitive skills such as decision-making. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was used to investigate effects of sleep on affect-guided decision-making. After a brief standardized preview of the IGT that was insufficient to learn its underlying rule, participants underwent a 12-h delay containing either a normal night's sleep (Sleep group; N = 28) or continuous daytime wake (Wake group; N = 26). Following the delay, both groups performed the full IGT. To control for circadian effects, two additional groups performed both the preview and the full task either in the morning (N = 17) or the evening (N = 21). In the IGT, four decks of cards were presented. Draws from two 'advantageous decks' yielded low play-money rewards, occasional low losses and, over multiple draws, a net gain. Draws from 'disadvantageous' decks yielded high rewards, occasional high losses and, over multiple draws, a net loss. Participants were instructed to win and avoid losing as much as possible, and better performance was defined as more advantageous draws. Relative to the wake group, the sleep group showed both superior behavioral outcome (more advantageous draws) and superior rule understanding (blindly judged from statements written at task completion). Neither measure differentiated the two control groups. These results illustrate a role of sleep in optimizing decision-making, a benefit that may be brought about by changes in underlying emotional or cognitive processes. © 2011 European Sleep Research Society.

Moral license in video games: when being right can mean doing wrong.

PubMed

Ellithorpe, Morgan E; Cruz, Carlos; Velez, John A; Ewoldsen, David R; Bogert, Adam K

2015-04-01

Research on video game violence has found largely consistent evidence that violence in video games tends to be associated with an increase in antisocial behavior. However, this body of work has mostly ignored one prominent feature of many violent games: moral decision making. It is possible that the influence of video game violence could change when moral decisions are brought into the context. One way video games change behavior is through changes in players' self-perceptions, a process called identity simulation. In addition, a perspective called moral license predicts that these effects should not necessarily be consistent across behaviors, in that people should try to balance selfishness with keeping the moral high ground across many behaviors. Therefore, moral choices (or immoral choices) in a video game may predict less moral (or more moral) behaviors right after the game. However, later behavior may revert yet again, creating a cycle of pro- and antisocial behaviors. The present experiment asks participants to make moral choices in a video game, and then measures their behavior on two subsequent tasks. Results indicate that taking what participants perceive to be the more moral mind-set in the video game predicts more antisocial behavior on the first task, but more pro-social behavior on the next task. These results support identity simulation and moral license processes in a video game and moral behavior context, and indicate that there may be greater complexity in video game violence effects than previously understood.

Preliminary Evolutionary Explanations: A Basic Framework for Conceptual Change and Explanatory Coherence in Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kampourakis, Kostas; Zogza, Vasso

2009-10-01

This study aimed to explore secondary students’ explanations of evolutionary processes, and to determine how consistent these were, after a specific evolution instruction. In a previous study it was found that before instruction students provided different explanations for similar processes to tasks with different content. Hence, it seemed that the structure and the content of the task may have had an effect on students’ explanations. The tasks given to students demanded evolutionary explanations, in particular explanations for the origin of homologies and adaptations. Based on the conclusions from the previous study, we developed a teaching sequence in order to overcome students’ preconceptions, as well as to achieve conceptual change and explanatory coherence. Students were taught about fundamental biological concepts and the several levels of biological organization, as well as about the mechanisms of heredity and of the origin of genetic variation. Then, all these concepts were used to teach about evolution, by relating micro-concepts (e.g. genotypes) to macro-concepts (e.g. phenotypes). Moreover, during instruction students were brought to a conceptual conflict situation, where their intuitive explanations were challenged as emphasis was put on two concepts entirely opposed to their preconceptions: chance and unpredictability. From the explanations that students provided in the post-test it is concluded that conceptual change and explanatory coherence in evolution can be achieved to a certain degree by lower secondary school students through the suggested teaching sequence and the explanatory framework, which may form a basis for teaching further about evolution.

Causal knowledge and imitation/emulation switching in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens).

PubMed

Horner, Victoria; Whiten, Andrew

2005-07-01

This study explored whether the tendency of chimpanzees and children to use emulation or imitation to solve a tool-using task was a response to the availability of causal information. Young wild-born chimpanzees from an African sanctuary and 3- to 4-year-old children observed a human demonstrator use a tool to retrieve a reward from a puzzle-box. The demonstration involved both causally relevant and irrelevant actions, and the box was presented in each of two conditions: opaque and clear. In the opaque condition, causal information about the effect of the tool inside the box was not available, and hence it was impossible to differentiate between the relevant and irrelevant parts of the demonstration. However, in the clear condition causal information was available, and subjects could potentially determine which actions were necessary. When chimpanzees were presented with the opaque box, they reproduced both the relevant and irrelevant actions, thus imitating the overall structure of the task. When the box was presented in the clear condition they instead ignored the irrelevant actions in favour of a more efficient, emulative technique. These results suggest that emulation is the favoured strategy of chimpanzees when sufficient causal information is available. However, if such information is not available, chimpanzees are prone to employ a more comprehensive copy of an observed action. In contrast to the chimpanzees, children employed imitation to solve the task in both conditions, at the expense of efficiency. We suggest that the difference in performance of chimpanzees and children may be due to a greater susceptibility of children to cultural conventions, perhaps combined with a differential focus on the results, actions and goals of the demonstrator.

I want what you've got: Cross platform portabiity and human-robot interaction assessment.

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

Julie L. Marble, Ph.D.*.; Douglas A. Few; David J. Bruemmer

2005-08-01

Human-robot interaction is a subtle, yet critical aspect of design that must be assessed during the development of both the human-robot interface and robot behaviors if the human-robot team is to effectively meet the complexities of the task environment. Testing not only ensures that the system can successfully achieve the tasks for which it was designed, but more importantly, usability testing allows the designers to understand how humans and robots can, will, and should work together to optimize workload distribution. A lack of human-centered robot interface design, the rigidity of sensor configuration, and the platform-specific nature of research robot developmentmore » environments are a few factors preventing robotic solutions from reaching functional utility in real word environments. Often the difficult engineering challenge of implementing adroit reactive behavior, reliable communication, trustworthy autonomy that combines with system transparency and usable interfaces is overlooked in favor of other research aims. The result is that many robotic systems never reach a level of functional utility necessary even to evaluate the efficacy of the basic system, much less result in a system that can be used in a critical, real-world environment. Further, because control architectures and interfaces are often platform specific, it is difficult or even impossible to make usability comparisons between them. This paper discusses the challenges inherent to the conduct of human factors testing of variable autonomy control architectures and across platforms within a complex, real-world environment. It discusses the need to compare behaviors, architectures, and interfaces within a structured environment that contains challenging real-world tasks, and the implications for system acceptance and trust of autonomous robotic systems for how humans and robots interact in true interactive teams.« less

Orbitofrontal cortical activity during repeated free choice.

PubMed

Campos, Michael; Koppitch, Kari; Andersen, Richard A; Shimojo, Shinsuke

2012-06-01

Neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) have been shown to encode subjective values, suggesting a role in preference-based decision-making, although the precise relation to choice behavior is unclear. In a repeated two-choice task, subjective values of each choice can account for aggregate choice behavior, which is the overall likelihood of choosing one option over the other. Individual choices, however, are impossible to predict with knowledge of relative subjective values alone. In this study we investigated the role of internal factors in choice behavior with a simple but novel free-choice task and simultaneous recording from individual neurons in nonhuman primate OFC. We found that, first, the observed sequences of choice behavior included periods of exceptionally long runs of each of two available options and periods of frequent switching. Neither a satiety-based mechanism nor a random selection process could explain the observed choice behavior. Second, OFC neurons encode important features of the choice behavior. These features include activity selective for exceptionally long runs of a given choice (stay selectivity) as well as activity selective for switches between choices (switch selectivity). These results suggest that OFC neural activity, in addition to encoding subjective values on a long timescale that is sensitive to satiety, also encodes a signal that fluctuates on a shorter timescale and thereby reflects some of the statistically improbable aspects of free-choice behavior.

Orbitofrontal cortical activity during repeated free choice

PubMed Central

Koppitch, Kari; Andersen, Richard A.; Shimojo, Shinsuke

2012-01-01

Neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) have been shown to encode subjective values, suggesting a role in preference-based decision-making, although the precise relation to choice behavior is unclear. In a repeated two-choice task, subjective values of each choice can account for aggregate choice behavior, which is the overall likelihood of choosing one option over the other. Individual choices, however, are impossible to predict with knowledge of relative subjective values alone. In this study we investigated the role of internal factors in choice behavior with a simple but novel free-choice task and simultaneous recording from individual neurons in nonhuman primate OFC. We found that, first, the observed sequences of choice behavior included periods of exceptionally long runs of each of two available options and periods of frequent switching. Neither a satiety-based mechanism nor a random selection process could explain the observed choice behavior. Second, OFC neurons encode important features of the choice behavior. These features include activity selective for exceptionally long runs of a given choice (stay selectivity) as well as activity selective for switches between choices (switch selectivity). These results suggest that OFC neural activity, in addition to encoding subjective values on a long timescale that is sensitive to satiety, also encodes a signal that fluctuates on a shorter timescale and thereby reflects some of the statistically improbable aspects of free-choice behavior. PMID:22423007

Mapping gray-scale image to 3D surface scanning data by ray tracing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Peng; Jones, Peter R. M.

1997-03-01

The extraction and location of feature points from range imaging is an important but difficult task in machine vision based measurement systems. There exist some feature points which are not able to be detected from pure geometric characteristics, particularly in those measurement tasks related to the human body. The Loughborough Anthropometric Shadow Scanner (LASS) is a whole body surface scanner based on structured light technique. Certain applications of LASS require accurate location of anthropometric landmarks from the scanned data. This is sometimes impossible from existing raw data because some landmarks do not appear in the scanned data. Identification of these landmarks has to resort to surface texture of the scanned object. Modifications to LASS were made to allow gray-scale images to be captured before or after the object was scanned. Two-dimensional gray-scale image must be mapped to the scanned data to acquire the 3D coordinates of a landmark. The method to map 2D images to the scanned data is based on the colinearity conditions and ray-tracing method. If the camera center and image coordinates are known, the corresponding object point must lie on a ray starting from the camera center and connecting to the image coordinate. By intersecting the ray with the scanned surface of the object, the 3D coordinates of a point can be solved. Experimentation has demonstrated the feasibility of the method.

Baseline assessment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Project Management Office

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

Not Available

The Oak Ridge Operations Office (ORO) was assigned overall responsibility for implementation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Project (SPR) by the Secretary of Energy on June 15, 1983. One of the actions immediately initiated by the Manager of ORO was the establishment of a Task Force under a charter which included directions to conduct a review of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Project Management Office (SPRPMO) in New Orleans, Louisiana, and to compile a report which would establish a baseline of the PMO status at the time of this major management transition. The purpose of this report is to document thosemore » findings and recommendations for use by the Manager of ORO. The Task Force was also chartered to conduct a full and complete review of all allegations of mismanagement and misconduct since inception of the program in 1977. The review of each allegation of misconduct and mismanagement will be documented in a second report which will be issued at a later date. By necessity, this report covers a broad range of project activities; therefore, within the allotted schedule, it was impossible to conduct an in-depth review and analysis of all of these areas. It is believed, however, that the materials contained within this report are representative of many of the conditions which prevail at the SPRPMO and should serve as a useful basis for management decisions.« less

Limits on reliable information flows through stochastic populations.

PubMed

Boczkowski, Lucas; Natale, Emanuele; Feinerman, Ofer; Korman, Amos

2018-06-06

Biological systems can share and collectively process information to yield emergent effects, despite inherent noise in communication. While man-made systems often employ intricate structural solutions to overcome noise, the structure of many biological systems is more amorphous. It is not well understood how communication noise may affect the computational repertoire of such groups. To approach this question we consider the basic collective task of rumor spreading, in which information from few knowledgeable sources must reliably flow into the rest of the population. We study the effect of communication noise on the ability of groups that lack stable structures to efficiently solve this task. We present an impossibility result which strongly restricts reliable rumor spreading in such groups. Namely, we prove that, in the presence of even moderate levels of noise that affect all facets of the communication, no scheme can significantly outperform the trivial one in which agents have to wait until directly interacting with the sources-a process which requires linear time in the population size. Our results imply that in order to achieve efficient rumor spread a system must exhibit either some degree of structural stability or, alternatively, some facet of the communication which is immune to noise. We then corroborate this claim by providing new analyses of experimental data regarding recruitment in Cataglyphis niger desert ants. Finally, in light of our theoretical results, we discuss strategies to overcome noise in other biological systems.

Machine Learning in Medicine.

PubMed

Deo, Rahul C

2015-11-17

Spurred by advances in processing power, memory, storage, and an unprecedented wealth of data, computers are being asked to tackle increasingly complex learning tasks, often with astonishing success. Computers have now mastered a popular variant of poker, learned the laws of physics from experimental data, and become experts in video games - tasks that would have been deemed impossible not too long ago. In parallel, the number of companies centered on applying complex data analysis to varying industries has exploded, and it is thus unsurprising that some analytic companies are turning attention to problems in health care. The purpose of this review is to explore what problems in medicine might benefit from such learning approaches and use examples from the literature to introduce basic concepts in machine learning. It is important to note that seemingly large enough medical data sets and adequate learning algorithms have been available for many decades, and yet, although there are thousands of papers applying machine learning algorithms to medical data, very few have contributed meaningfully to clinical care. This lack of impact stands in stark contrast to the enormous relevance of machine learning to many other industries. Thus, part of my effort will be to identify what obstacles there may be to changing the practice of medicine through statistical learning approaches, and discuss how these might be overcome. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

Are Elevations in ADHD Symptoms Associated with Physiological Reactivity and Emotion Dysregulation in Children?

PubMed

McQuade, Julia D; Breaux, Rosanna P

2017-08-01

The present study examined whether children with elevated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms display a unique pattern of emotion dysregulation as indexed by both parent report and physiological reactivity during experiences of failure. A sample of 61 children (9 to 13 years; M = 11.62, SD = 1.29; 48 % male) with and without clinical elevations in ADHD symptoms participated. Parent and teacher report of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms and parent report of internalizing problems were collected. Parents also provided ratings of children's emotional negativity/lability and emotion regulation. Children's physiological reactivity, based on changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and skin conductance level (SCL), were assessed while they completed a manipulated social rejection task and impossible puzzle task. Regression analyses indicated that ADHD symptoms were associated with higher parent-rated emotional negativity/lability and with blunted RSA withdrawal in response to social rejection; these effects were not accounted for by co-occurring ODD symptoms or internalizing problems. ODD symptoms also were uniquely associated with parent ratings of poor emotion regulation. Internalizing problems were uniquely associated with emotional negativity/lability, poor emotion regulation, and increased SCL activity in response to social rejection. Results suggest that there may be a pattern of emotion dysregulation that is specific to ADHD symptomatology. The importance of contextual factors when examining physiological reactivity to stress in youth with ADHD is discussed.

Multi-level meta-workflows: new concept for regularly occurring tasks in quantum chemistry.

PubMed

Arshad, Junaid; Hoffmann, Alexander; Gesing, Sandra; Grunzke, Richard; Krüger, Jens; Kiss, Tamas; Herres-Pawlis, Sonja; Terstyanszky, Gabor

2016-01-01

In Quantum Chemistry, many tasks are reoccurring frequently, e.g. geometry optimizations, benchmarking series etc. Here, workflows can help to reduce the time of manual job definition and output extraction. These workflows are executed on computing infrastructures and may require large computing and data resources. Scientific workflows hide these infrastructures and the resources needed to run them. It requires significant efforts and specific expertise to design, implement and test these workflows. Many of these workflows are complex and monolithic entities that can be used for particular scientific experiments. Hence, their modification is not straightforward and it makes almost impossible to share them. To address these issues we propose developing atomic workflows and embedding them in meta-workflows. Atomic workflows deliver a well-defined research domain specific function. Publishing workflows in repositories enables workflow sharing inside and/or among scientific communities. We formally specify atomic and meta-workflows in order to define data structures to be used in repositories for uploading and sharing them. Additionally, we present a formal description focused at orchestration of atomic workflows into meta-workflows. We investigated the operations that represent basic functionalities in Quantum Chemistry, developed the relevant atomic workflows and combined them into meta-workflows. Having these workflows we defined the structure of the Quantum Chemistry workflow library and uploaded these workflows in the SHIWA Workflow Repository.Graphical AbstractMeta-workflows and embedded workflows in the template representation.

Design guidelines for remotely maintainable equipment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clarke, Margaret M.; Manouchehri, Davoud

1988-01-01

The quantity and complexity of on-orbit assets will increase significantly over the next decade. Maintaining and servicing these costly assets represent a difficult challenge. Three general methods are proposed to maintain equipment while it is still in orbit: an extravehicular activity (EVA) crew can perform the task in an unpressurized maintenance area outside any space vehicle; an intravehicular activity (IVA) crew can perform the maintenance in a shirt sleeve environment, perhaps at a special maintenance work station in a space vehicle; or a telerobotic manipulator can perform the maintenance in an unpressurized maintenance area at a distance from the crew (who may be EVA, IVA, or on the ground). However, crew EVA may not always be possible; the crew may have other demands on their time that take precedence. In addition, the orbit of the tasks themselves may be impossible for crew entry. Also crew IVA may not always be possible as option for equipment maintenance. For example, the equipment may be too large to fit through the vehicle airlock. Therefore, in some circumstances, the third option, telerobotic manipulation, may be the only feasible option. Telerobotic manipulation has, therefore, an important role for on-orbit maintenance. It is not only used for the reasons outlined above, but also used in some cases as backup to the EVA crew in an orbit that they can reach.

"How nationality influences Opinion": Darwinism and palaeontology in France (1859-1914).

PubMed

Cohen, Claudine

2017-12-01

This paper discusses the "non-reception" of Darwin's works and concepts in French palaeontology and palaeoanthropology between 1859 and 1914. Indeed, this integration was difficult, biased and belated, for ideological, intellectual and epistemological reasons: Clémence Royer's biased 1862 translation of Darwin's Origin of Species pulled its ideas toward "social darwinism", making them less attractive to the natural sciences. - French nationalism and the authority of religion, which imposed Cuvier's thinking until late into the century - the dominance of Lamarckian and neo-Lamarckian transformism in France, both in biology and in paleontology, which proposed the notion of orthogenetic laws and environmental determinations, and refused darwinian evolutionary mechanisms - obstacles inherent to the application of Darwin's concepts to palaeontology, namely the impossibility to identify evolutionary mechanisms through the fossil record, which was stressed by Darwin himself and underlined in turn by 19th century French palaeontologists. However, as I argue, in the course of the examined period, French palaeontology grew from refusal to a better understanding and evaluation of Darwin's thinking. The quest for intermediary forms, the construction of branching evolutionary trees and the attempts to reconstruct human biological and cultural evolution were important efforts toward an integration of some aspects of Darwinian views and practices into French palaeontology and plaeoanthropology. The 1947 Paris conference which brought together American Neo-darwinists and French paleontologists made Darwinian concepts better understood and triggered a revival of French palaeontology from the 1960s. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The aetiology of dento-alveolar injuries and factors influencing attendance for emergency care of adolescents in the north west of England.

PubMed

Blinkhorn, F A

2000-08-01

The aims of the study were to determine the main aetiological factors involved in injuries to anterior teeth and to identify factors influencing the attendance for emergency care. This information is essential, first, for planning dental health education programmes aimed at reducing the incidence of dental trauma and, second, to devise strategies for its effective treatment. Of 2022 schoolchildren examined for evidence of dental trauma, 696 (34%) had experienced injury and were interviewed regarding this injury. Of these, 403 knew about their damaged front tooth, but only 330 recollected the incident causing the injury. Over one third of accidents occurred at home and a further 25% at school. The most common cause of injury was falling onto a hard surface or object (34%) with accidents involving bicycles or other sporting activities accounting for a further 30%. Factors found to be significantly related to attendance for emergency care were experience of pain, unattractive appearance of the injured tooth and social classification, with children from higher income, more affluent areas being more likely to seek treatment. The majority of dental injuries were the result of genuine accidents which were almost impossible to prevent. This study highlighted the need for attention to be brought to parents, children, lay people and health care professionals that all dental injuries should be examined by a dentist, not just those injuries resulting in pain or poor aesthetics.

All above Average: Secondary School Improvement as an Impossible Endeavour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Phil

2015-01-01

This article argues that secondary school improvement in England, when viewed as a system, has become an impossible endeavour. This arises from the conflation of improvement with effectiveness, judged by a narrow range of outcome measures and driven by demands that all schools should somehow be above average. The expectation of comparable…

28 CFR 16.81 - Exemption of United States Attorneys Systems-limited access.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

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28 CFR 16.81 - Exemption of United States Attorneys Systems-limited access.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

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Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

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Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

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Calibration of misalignment errors in the non-null interferometry based on reverse iteration optimization algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xinmu; Hao, Qun; Hu, Yao; Wang, Shaopu; Ning, Yan; Li, Tengfei; Chen, Shufen

2017-10-01

With no necessity of compensating the whole aberration introduced by the aspheric surfaces, non-null test has the advantage over null test in applicability. However, retrace error, which is brought by the path difference between the rays reflected from the surface under test (SUT) and the incident rays, is introduced into the measurement and makes up of the residual wavefront aberrations (RWAs) along with surface figure error (SFE), misalignment error and other influences. Being difficult to separate from RWAs, the misalignment error may remain after measurement and it is hard to identify whether it is removed or not. It is a primary task to study the removal of misalignment error. A brief demonstration of digital Moiré interferometric technique is presented and a calibration method for misalignment error on the basis of reverse iteration optimization (RIO) algorithm in non-null test method is addressed. The proposed method operates mostly in the virtual system, and requires no accurate adjustment in the real interferometer, which is of significant advantage in reducing the errors brought by repeating complicated manual adjustment, furthermore improving the accuracy of the aspheric surface test. Simulation verification is done in this paper. The calibration accuracy of the position and attitude can achieve at least a magnitude of 10-5 mm and 0.0056×10-6rad, respectively. The simulation demonstrates that the influence of misalignment error can be precisely calculated and removed after calibration.

High Altitude Supersonic Decelerator Test Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, Brant T.; Blando, Guillermo; Kennett, Andrew; Von Der Heydt, Max; Wolff, John Luke; Yerdon, Mark

2013-01-01

The Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project is tasked by NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) to advance the state of the art in Mars entry and descent technology in order to allow for larger payloads to be delivered to Mars at higher altitudes with better accuracy. The project will develop a 33.5 m Do Supersonic Ringsail (SSRS) parachute, 6m attached torus, robotic class Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD-R), and an 8 m attached isotensoid, exploration class Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD-E). The SSRS and SIAD-R should be brought to TRL-6, while the SIAD-E should be brought to TRL-5. As part of the qualification and development program, LDSD must perform a Mach-scaled Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test (SFDT) in order to demonstrate successful free flight dynamic deployments at Mars equivalent altitude, of all three technologies. In order to perform these tests, LDSD must design and build a test vehicle to deliver all technologies to approximately 180,000 ft and Mach 4, deploy a SIAD, free fly to approximately Mach 2, deploy the SSRS, record high-speed and high-resolution imagery of both deployments, as well as record data from an instrumentation suite capable of characterizing the technology induced vehicle dynamics. The vehicle must also be recoverable after splashdown into the ocean under a nominal flight, while guaranteeing forensic data protection in an off nominal catastrophic failure of a test article that could result in a terminal velocity, tumbling water impact.

Who Are the Participants? Rethinking Representational Practices and Writing with Heterotopic Possibility in Qualitative Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonick, Marnina; Hladki, Janice

2005-01-01

This paper draws on Foucault's notion of heterotopia to ask a series of questions about the important link between the crisis of representation in qualitative research and new theorizations of the 'subject' within poststructural feminist research. Reiterating Foucault's question, 'what is it impossible to think and what kind of impossibility are…

The Assessment of Student PowerPoint Presentations--Attempting the Impossible?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dobson, Stephen

2006-01-01

Assessing students through their Microsoft PowerPoint presentations might be thought to be impossible, a waste of time or a fascination with new technology which will pass sooner or later. However, to make a judgement on such assertions requires examining the strengths and weaknesses of such a form of assessment. Examples within an academic…

28 CFR 16.106 - Exemption of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)-Limited Access.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

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28 CFR 16.106 - Exemption of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)-Limited Access.

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2012-07-01

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28 CFR 16.106 - Exemption of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)-Limited Access.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

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28 CFR 16.106 - Exemption of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)-Limited Access.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

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Impossible Dreams, Impossible Choices, and Thoughts about Depolarizing the Debate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrow, Susan L.; Beckstead, A. Lee; Hayes, Jeffrey A.; Haldeman, Douglas C.

2004-01-01

The titles of the reactions to this major contribution alone set the stage for further exploration of the issues regarding the hopes and dreams of same-sex attracted (SSA) clients in religious conflict and their therapists, issues of choice, and whether or not it is possible - or even appropriate - to depolarize the current debate (Gonsiorek,…

Technology as Integral to a New Paradigm of Adult Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Judith

2010-01-01

Technology and adult education are often discussed as two separate subjects, yet just as it is impossible to live one day without the impact of technology, it is impossible to discuss adult education without considering technology. The growth of the field of adult education and the evolution of modern technology as well as the theorists and…

Playing with the Tensions of Theory to Practice: Teacher, Professor, and Students Co-Constructing Identity through Curriculum Transformation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfeiler-Wunder, Amy; Tomel, Rhonda

2014-01-01

Pfeiler-Wunder and Tomel are exploring the spaces that exist within and between their art educational practices in this article, questioning: "Who this is about?" Mira Kallio-Tavin presents a similar questioning in her "Studies" commentary, "Impossible Practice and Theories of the Impossible: A Response to Helene…

Impossible Practice and Theories of the Impossible: A Response to Helene Illeris's "Potentials of Togetherness"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kallio-Tavin, Mira

2014-01-01

In a recent commentary in "Studies in Art Education," Helene Illeris (2013) discussed the idea of "performative experimental communities" via a critique of visual culture pedagogy and the romanticism of community-oriented art education in Nordic countries. Illeris underpinned her arguments with Jean-Luc Nancy's (1997)…

Generalist Pre-Service Teacher Education, Self-Efficacy and Arts Education: An Impossible Expectation?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Anita

2016-01-01

Generalist teacher educators in Australia are struggling with an impossible expectation in the area of arts education. This is due to a cascading trio of systemic issues. Firstly generalist teachers are entering their teacher education courses with variable and often minimal personal arts training. Secondly they are ill supported to improve their…

Enhanced Communication with the Assistance of Indefinite Causal Order

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebler, Daniel; Salek, Sina; Chiribella, Giulio

2018-03-01

In quantum Shannon theory, the way information is encoded and decoded takes advantage of the laws of quantum mechanics, while the way communication channels are interlinked is assumed to be classical. In this Letter, we relax the assumption that quantum channels are combined classically, showing that a quantum communication network where quantum channels are combined in a superposition of different orders can achieve tasks that are impossible in conventional quantum Shannon theory. In particular, we show that two identical copies of a completely depolarizing channel become able to transmit information when they are combined in a quantum superposition of two alternative orders. This finding runs counter to the intuition that if two communication channels are identical, using them in different orders should not make any difference. The failure of such intuition stems from the fact that a single noisy channel can be a random mixture of elementary, noncommuting processes, whose order (or lack thereof) can affect the ability to transmit information.

A study of perceptual analysis in a high-level autistic subject with exceptional graphic abilities.

PubMed

Mottron, L; Belleville, S

1993-11-01

We report here the case study of a patient (E.C.) with an Asperger syndrome, or autism with quasinormal intelligence, who shows an outstanding ability for three-dimensional drawing of inanimate objects (savant syndrome). An assessment of the subsystems proposed in recent models of object recognition evidenced intact perceptual analysis and identification. The initial (or primal sketch), viewer-centered (or 2-1/2-D), or object-centered (3-D) representations and the recognition and name levels were functional. In contrast, E.C.'s pattern of performance in three different types of tasks converge to suggest an anomaly in the hierarchical organization of the local and global parts of a figure: a local interference effect in incongruent hierarchical visual stimuli, a deficit in relating local parts to global form information in impossible figures, and an absence of feature-grouping in graphic recall. The results are discussed in relation to normal visual perception and to current accounts of the savant syndrome in autism.

Maintaining a stationary laser footprint during angular scan in internal-reflection experiments.

PubMed

Fontana, Eduardo; Cavalcanti, Gustavo Oliveira

2013-11-10

In internal-reflection metrology using prisms, the prism is usually mounted on a rotation/translation stage to enable adjusting angle and location of the laser footprint on the surface. If a visual inspection method is used to find the laser footprint, the task becomes impossible if invisible radiation in the near infrared is employed. In addition, it may be desirable to perform angular scan experiments with a stationary footprint on the surface during scans, or even to automatically probe specific points on an extended prism face for predetermined incidence angles. In this paper, a formulation is developed to determine the required translation along the prism face to allow maintaining the laser footprint stationary under a given rotation. A web-based app developed under the scope of this work demonstrates the applicability of the approach for silica, BK7 and SF2 glasses, in the wavelength range from 500 to 1500 nm and for an arbitrary geometry of the glass prism.

Odors are expressible in language, as long as you speak the right language.

PubMed

Majid, Asifa; Burenhult, Niclas

2014-02-01

From Plato to Pinker there has been the common belief that the experience of a smell is impossible to put into words. Decades of studies have confirmed this observation. But the studies to date have focused on participants from urbanized Western societies. Cross-cultural research suggests that there may be other cultures where odors play a larger role. The Jahai of the Malay Peninsula are one such group. We tested whether Jahai speakers could name smells as easily as colors in comparison to a matched English group. Using a free naming task we show on three different measures that Jahai speakers find it as easy to name odors as colors, whereas English speakers struggle with odor naming. Our findings show that the long-held assumption that people are bad at naming smells is not universally true. Odors are expressible in language, as long as you speak the right language. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Algorithms for extraction of structural attitudes from 3D outcrop models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duelis Viana, Camila; Endlein, Arthur; Ademar da Cruz Campanha, Ginaldo; Henrique Grohmann, Carlos

2016-05-01

The acquisition of geological attitudes on rock cuts using traditional field compass survey can be a time consuming, dangerous, or even impossible task depending on the conditions and location of outcrops. The importance of this type of data in rock-mass classifications and structural geology has led to the development of new techniques, in which the application of photogrammetric 3D digital models has had an increasing use. In this paper we present two algorithms for extraction of attitudes of geological discontinuities from virtual outcrop models: ply2atti and scanline, implemented with the Python programming language. The ply2atti algorithm allows for the virtual sampling of planar discontinuities appearing on the 3D model as individual exposed surfaces, while the scanline algorithm allows the sampling of discontinuities (surfaces and traces) along a virtual scanline. Application to digital models of a simplified test setup and a rock cut demonstrated a good correlation between the surveys undertaken using traditional field compass reading and virtual sampling on 3D digital models.

Effects of Social Capital on General Health Status

PubMed Central

Yamaguchi, Ayano

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the concept of social capital as a potential factor in understanding the controversial relationship between income inequality and individual health status, arguing a positive, important role for social capital. Most of the health research literature focuses on individual health status and reveals that social capital increases individual health. However, the difficulty in measuring social capital, together with what may be the nearly impossible task of attributing causality, should relegate the concept to a more theoretical role in health research. Nonetheless, social capital receives academic attention as a potentially important factor in health research. This paper finds that the mixed results of empirical research on income inequality and health status remain a problem in the context of defining a stable relationship between socioeconomic status and health status. Clearly, further research is needed to elaborate on the income inequality and health relationship. In addition, focused, rigorous examination of social capital in a health context is needed before health researchers can comfortably introduce it as a concept of influence or significance. PMID:24762345

Distance Psychology Help: Fantastic, Reality or Unavoidable addition to Healthcare

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jordanova, M.; Dachev, T.; Vasileva, L.; Rasheva, M.

The convergence of electronic equipment and therapeutic communication is termed tele-psychology Its applications have the potential to advance the fields of psychology in a multitude of ways as they are used when face-to-face contact with licensed psychologist is impossible Securing psychological consultations and help during long lasting flights such as human missions to Mars is unavoidable task The aim of our paper is to reveal the pros cons and overall effectiveness of tele-psychology as well as the potential expectations of those who are looking for and receive psychological help in virtual space The stress is on off-line psychological help that will be the only solution during long lasting flights The paper is based on ongoing project OHN 1514 2005 funded by National Science Fund Bulgaria The project has to illuminate the potential for virtual psychological work and to share our evolving understanding of what is truly possible despite the prevalent myths which shape our thinking

If ‘we’ can succeed, ‘I’ can too: Identity-based motivation and gender in the classroom

PubMed Central

Elmore, Kristen C.; Oyserman, Daphna

2011-01-01

Gender matters in the classroom, but not in the way people may assume; girls are outperforming boys. Identity-Based Motivation (IBM) theory explains why: People prefer to act in ways that feel in-line with important social identities such as gender. If a behavior feels identity-congruent, difficulty is interpreted as meaning that the behavior is important, not impossible, but what feels identity-congruent is context-dependent. IBM implies that boys (and girls) scan the classroom for clues about how to be male (or female); school effort will feel worthwhile if successful engagement with school feels gender-congruent, not otherwise. A between-subjects experimental design tested this prediction, manipulating whether gender and success felt congruent, incongruent, or not linked (control). Students in the success is gender-congruent condition described more school-focused possible identities, rated their likely future academic and occupational success higher, and tried harder on an academic task (this latter effect was significant only for boys). PMID:22711971

Environmental flows for rivers and economic compensation for irrigators.

PubMed

Sisto, Nicholas P

2009-02-01

Securing flows for environmental purposes from an already fully utilized river is an impossible task--unless users are either coerced into freeing up water, or offered incentives to do so. One sensible strategy for motivating users to liberate volumes is to offer them economic compensation. The right amount for that compensation then becomes a key environmental management issue. This paper analyses a proposal to restore and maintain ecosystems on a stretch of the Río Conchos in northern Mexico, downstream from a large irrigation district that consumes nearly all local flows. We present here estimates of environmental flow requirements for these ecosystems and compute compensation figures for irrigators. These figures are derived from crop-specific irrigation water productivities we statistically estimate from a large set of historical production and irrigation data obtained from the district. This work has general implications for river ecosystem management in water-stressed basins, particularly in terms of the design of fair and effective water sharing mechanisms.

Enhanced Communication with the Assistance of Indefinite Causal Order.

PubMed

Ebler, Daniel; Salek, Sina; Chiribella, Giulio

2018-03-23

In quantum Shannon theory, the way information is encoded and decoded takes advantage of the laws of quantum mechanics, while the way communication channels are interlinked is assumed to be classical. In this Letter, we relax the assumption that quantum channels are combined classically, showing that a quantum communication network where quantum channels are combined in a superposition of different orders can achieve tasks that are impossible in conventional quantum Shannon theory. In particular, we show that two identical copies of a completely depolarizing channel become able to transmit information when they are combined in a quantum superposition of two alternative orders. This finding runs counter to the intuition that if two communication channels are identical, using them in different orders should not make any difference. The failure of such intuition stems from the fact that a single noisy channel can be a random mixture of elementary, noncommuting processes, whose order (or lack thereof) can affect the ability to transmit information.

Modelling Glacial Lake Outburst Floods: Key Considerations and Challenges Posed By Climatic Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westoby, M.

2014-12-01

The number and size of moraine-dammed supraglacial and proglacial lakes is increasing as a result of contemporary climatic change. Moraine-dammed lakes are capable of impounding volumes of water in excess of 107 m3, and often represent a very real threat to downstream communities and infrastructure, should the bounding moraine fail and produce a catastrophic Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). Modelling the individual components of a GLOF, including a triggering event, the complex dam-breaching process and downstream propagation of the flood is incredibly challenging, not least because direct observation and instrumentation of such high-magnitude flows is virtually impossible. We briefly review the current state-of-the-art in numerical GLOF modelling, with a focus on the theoretical and computational challenges associated with reconstructing or predicting GLOF dynamics in the face of rates of cryospheric change that have no historical precedent, as well as various implications for researchers and professionals tasked with the production of hazard maps and disaster mitigation strategies.

A template model of embodiment while dreaming: Proposal of a mini-me.

PubMed

Koppehele-Gossel, Judith; Klimke, Ansgar; Schermelleh-Engel, Karin; Voss, Ursula

2016-11-01

Dreams are usually centered around a dream self capable of tasks generally impossible in waking, e.g. flying or walking through walls. Moreover, the bodily dream self appears relatively stable and insensitive to changes of the embodied wake self, raising the question of whether and to what extent the dream self is embodied. To further explore its determinants, we tested whether the dream self would be affected by either pre-sleep focused attention to a body part or by its experimental alteration during the day. Choosing a repeated-measures design, we analyzed how often key words reflecting the experimental manipulations appeared in the dream reports. Results suggest that the dream self is not affected by these manipulations, strengthening the hypothesis that, in the majority of dreams, the dream self is only weakly embodied, utilizing a standard template of embodiment akin to a prototype of self operating independently from the physical waking self. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Breakdown of the brain’s functional network modularity with awareness

PubMed Central

Godwin, Douglass; Barry, Robert L.; Marois, René

2015-01-01

Neurobiological theories of awareness propose divergent accounts of the spatial extent of brain changes that support conscious perception. Whereas focal theories posit mostly local regional changes, global theories propose that awareness emerges from the propagation of neural signals across a broad extent of sensory and association cortex. Here we tested the scalar extent of brain changes associated with awareness using graph theoretical analysis applied to functional connectivity data acquired at ultra-high field while subjects performed a simple masked target detection task. We found that awareness of a visual target is associated with a degradation of the modularity of the brain’s functional networks brought about by an increase in intermodular functional connectivity. These results provide compelling evidence that awareness is associated with truly global changes in the brain’s functional connectivity. PMID:25759440

Brought in Dead: An Avoidable Delay in Maternal Deaths.

PubMed

Kumar, Aruna; Agrawal, Neha

2016-10-01

Maternal brought in dead are the patient who dies in the need of adequate medical care. These deaths are often not analyzed sincerely as they are not institutional deaths. Our aim is to find out actual life threatening cause of delay leading to death. Patients brought dead to casualty were seen by the doctors on duty in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal round the clock. Cause of death was analyzed by verbal autopsy of attendants and referral letter from the institute. In this analytical study a complete evaluation of brought deaths from January 2011 to Decmeber 2014 was done. A total of 64 brought in deaths were reported in this 4 year duration. Most common cause of death was postpartum hemorrhage (54.68 %) followed by hypertension (15.62 %) and the most common cause of delay was delay in getting adequate treatment (56.25 %). The brought in dead are the indicator of the three delays in getting health care. Challenges appear to be enormous to be tackled. Timely management proves to be critical in preventing maternal death. Thus it appears that community education about pregnancy and its complications, EmOC training at FRU and strict adherence to referral protocol may help us to reduce the brought dead burden.

Infants as Others: Uncertainties, Difficulties and (Im)possibilities in Researching Infants' Lives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elwick, Sheena; Bradley, Ben; Sumsion, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Increasingly, researchers are trying to understand what daily life is like for infants in non-parental care from the perspectives of the infants themselves. In this article, we argue that it is profoundly difficult, if not impossible, to know how infants experience their worlds with any certainty and, indeed, whether they do or do not possess…

The Inspiration Given by the Successful Practice of Development of Higher Vocational Education in the Developed Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Gaoling

2010-01-01

Higher vocational education is the product of economic development, scientific and technological progress. If the country does not have a well-developed vocational education, it is impossible to make a good advanced science and technology into productive forces, it is also impossible to achieve economy development in a high speed. In turn, powers…

78 FR 21189 - Petition for Exemption From the Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard; BMW of North America, LLC

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-09

... must be recognized by the EWS/CAS control unit in order for the vehicle to start. The transponder... in the mechanical keys make the locks almost impossible to pick and the keys impossible to duplicate... description of the antitheft device is necessary in order to notify law enforcement agencies of new vehicle...

Rational Rationing: Impossible or Inevitable?

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-01

AD-A276 769 1993 Executive Research Project S45 Rational Rationing : Impossible or Inevitable? Commander Albert Benjamin Long, III Medical Service...used until exhausted. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE All other editions are obsolete. UNCLASSIFIED Rational Rationing : Inevitable or Inpossible...dilemma requires that we--as individuals and as a Nation--consciously and rationally decide what we expect from our future health care delivery system and

Evaluation of Compliance to National Nutrition Policies in Summer Day Camps

PubMed Central

Tilley, Falon; W.Beets, Michael; Jones, Sonya; Turner-McGrievy, Gabrielle

2015-01-01

Objective The National Afterschool Association (NAA) standards specify the role of summer day camps (SDCs) in promoting healthy nutrition habits of children attending, identifying foods and beverages to be provided to children, and staff roles in promoting good nutrition habits; however, many SDCs to not provide meals. Currently, national guidelines specifying what children are allowed to bring to such settings does not exist, nor is there a solid understanding of the current landscape surrounding healthy eating within SDCs. Design A cross-sectional study design using validated measures with multiple observations was used to determine the types of foods and beverage brought to SDC programs. Setting Four large-scale, community-based SDCs participated in the study during summer 2011. Subjects The types of foods and beverages brought by children (N=766) and staff (N=87) as well as any instances of staff promoting healthy eating behaviors were examined via direct observation over 27 days. Additionally, the extent to which current foods and beverages at SDCs complied with NAA standards was evaluated. Results Less than half of the children brought water, 47% brought non-100% juices, 4% brought soda, 4% brought a vegetable, and 20% brought fruit. Staff foods/beverages modeled similar patterns. Promotion of healthy eating by staff was observed <1% of the time. Conclusions Findings suggest that foods and beverages brought to SDC by children and staff do support nutrition standards and staff do not regularly promote healthy eating habits. To assist, professional development, parent education, and organizational policies are needed. PMID:24909716

11 CFR 7.3 - Notification to employees and special Commission employees.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... this part shall be brought to the attention of, and made available to, each employee and special... further be brought to the attention of such employees at least annually thereafter. (b) The provisions of this part shall be brought to the attention of each new employee and new special Commission employee by...

Detecting impossible changes in infancy: a three-system account

PubMed Central

Wang, Su-hua; Baillargeon, Renée

2012-01-01

Can infants detect that an object has magically disappeared, broken apart or changed color while briefly hidden? Recent research suggests that infants detect some but not other ‘impossible’ changes; and that various contextual manipulations can induce infants to detect changes they would not otherwise detect. We present an account that includes three systems: a physical-reasoning, an object-tracking, and an object-representation system. What impossible changes infants detect depends on what object information is included in the physical-reasoning system; this information becomes subject to a principle of persistence, which states that objects can undergo no spontaneous or uncaused change. What contextual manipulations induce infants to detect impossible changes depends on complex interplays between the physical-reasoning system and the object-tracking and object-representation systems. PMID:18078778

She bought the unicorn from the pet store: Six- to seven-year-olds are strongly inclined to generate natural explanations.

PubMed

Nancekivell, Shaylene E; Friedman, Ori

2017-06-01

In two experiments (N = 64), we told 6- to 7-year-olds about improbable or impossible outcomes (Experiment 1) and about impossible outcomes concerning ordinary or magical agents (Experiment 2). In both experiments, children claimed that the outcomes were impossible and could not happen, but nonetheless generated realistic and natural explanations for the outcomes. These findings show that 6- to 7-year-olds are strongly inclined to provide natural explanations. The findings are also informative about children's judgments about whether outcomes are possible, and further suggest that asymmetries between children's predictions and explanations may stem from differences in how these 2 forms of reasoning are constrained by possibility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

19 CFR 10.36a - Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in for repair or alteration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in... RATE, ETC. General Provisions Temporary Importations Under Bond § 10.36a Vehicles, pleasure boats and..., tractor, trailer), pleasure boat, or aircraft brought into the United States by an operator of such...

19 CFR 10.36a - Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in for repair or alteration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in... RATE, ETC. General Provisions Temporary Importations Under Bond § 10.36a Vehicles, pleasure boats and..., tractor, trailer), pleasure boat, or aircraft brought into the United States by an operator of such...

19 CFR 10.36a - Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in for repair or alteration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in... RATE, ETC. General Provisions Temporary Importations Under Bond § 10.36a Vehicles, pleasure boats and..., tractor, trailer), pleasure boat, or aircraft brought into the United States by an operator of such...

19 CFR 10.36a - Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in for repair or alteration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in... RATE, ETC. General Provisions Temporary Importations Under Bond § 10.36a Vehicles, pleasure boats and..., tractor, trailer), pleasure boat, or aircraft brought into the United States by an operator of such...

19 CFR 10.36a - Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in for repair or alteration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Vehicles, pleasure boats and aircraft brought in... RATE, ETC. General Provisions Temporary Importations Under Bond § 10.36a Vehicles, pleasure boats and..., tractor, trailer), pleasure boat, or aircraft brought into the United States by an operator of such...

Infant and Adult Perceptions of Possible and Impossible Body Movements: An Eye-Tracking Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morita, Tomoyo; Slaughter, Virginia; Katayama, Nobuko; Kitazaki, Michiteru; Kakigi, Ryusuke; Itakura, Shoji

2012-01-01

This study investigated how infants perceive and interpret human body movement. We recorded the eye movements and pupil sizes of 9- and 12-month-old infants and of adults (N = 14 per group) as they observed animation clips of biomechanically possible and impossible arm movements performed by a human and by a humanoid robot. Both 12-month-old…

Object Permanence in 3 1/2- and 4 1/2-Month-Old Infants.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baillargeon, Renee

1987-01-01

Three experiments test object permanenece in 3 1/2- and 4 1/2-month-old infants, and use an impossible-possible-habituation event format. The 4 1/2-month-olds, and the 3 1/2-month-olds who were fast habituators, look reliably longer at the impossible than at the possible event. Results seriously question Piaget's (1954) claims regarding the age at…

Do humans have two systems to track beliefs and belief-like states?

PubMed

Apperly, Ian A; Butterfill, Stephen A

2009-10-01

The lack of consensus on how to characterize humans' capacity for belief reasoning has been brought into sharp focus by recent research. Children fail critical tests of belief reasoning before 3 to 4 years of age (H. Wellman, D. Cross, & J. Watson, 2001; H. Wimmer & J. Perner, 1983), yet infants apparently pass false-belief tasks at 13 or 15 months (K. H. Onishi & R. Baillargeon, 2005; L. Surian, S. Caldi, & D. Sperber, 2007). Nonhuman animals also fail critical tests of belief reasoning but can show very complex social behavior (e.g., J. Call & M. Tomasello, 2005). Fluent social interaction in adult humans implies efficient processing of beliefs, yet direct tests suggest that belief reasoning is cognitively demanding, even for adults (e.g., I. A. Apperly, D. Samson, & G. W. Humphreys, 2009). The authors interpret these findings by drawing an analogy with the domain of number cognition, where similarly contrasting results have been observed. They propose that the success of infants and nonhuman animals on some belief reasoning tasks may be best explained by a cognitively efficient but inflexible capacity for tracking belief-like states. In humans, this capacity persists in parallel with a later-developing, more flexible but more cognitively demanding theory-of-mind abilities.

Real-time implementations of acoustic signal enhancement techniques for aerial based surveillance and rescue applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, Antonio L. L.; Shao, Zhili; Holthe, Aleksander; Sandli, Mathias F.

2017-05-01

The introduction of the System-on-Chip (SoC) technology has brought exciting new opportunities for the development of smart low cost embedded systems spanning a wide range of applications. Currently available SoC devices are capable of performing high speed digital signal processing tasks in software while featuring relatively low development costs and reduced time-to-market. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are an application example that has shown tremendous potential in an increasing number of scenarios, ranging from leisure to surveillance as well as in search and rescue missions. Video capturing from UAV platforms is a relatively straightforward task that requires almost no preprocessing. However, that does not apply to audio signals, especially in cases where the data is to be used to support real-time decision making. In fact, the enormous amount of acoustic interference from the surroundings, including the noise from the UAVs propellers, becomes a huge problem. This paper discusses a real-time implementation of the NLMS adaptive filtering algorithm applied to enhancing acoustic signals captured from UAV platforms. The model relies on a combination of acoustic sensors and a computational inexpensive algorithm running on a digital signal processor. Given its simplicity, this solution can be incorporated into the main processing system of an UAV using the SoC technology, and run concurrently with other required tasks, such as flight control and communications. Simulations and real-time DSP-based implementations have shown significant signal enhancement results by efficiently mitigating the interference from the noise generated by the UAVs propellers as well as from other external noise sources.

Information on the possibilities of Cracow community in the field of the elimination of low emission under the community fund for environmental protection and water management

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

Roznowski, W.

1995-12-31

The Act dated May 17, 1990 regarding the division of tasks and competencies, as described in the detailed regulations, among the community organs and civil service units has actually awarded no competence to the commune organs as far as the air protection against pollution is concerned (except the matters regarding town and county planning and the location of certain investments). It arises out of the Act on Environmental Protection that no right to limit or stop any activity causing air pollution by the so-called low emission is granted to the community organs. The investments given supplementary financing consisted in eliminatingmore » the solid-fuel-fired boiler houses being noxious to the environment through a total eradication of local boiler houses via either connecting to the municipal heat distribution network or modernization of the local heating system by applying modern gas - or oil-fired boilers. An important criterion for selecting the tasks to be given supplementary financing from the Community Fund was the location of the structure - because the highest concentration of air pollution brought about by low emission sources takes place in the central regions of the town, the structures situated at the center were preferred. All scheduled tasks given supplementary financing from the Community Fund in 1994 and related with the elimination of low emission sources were completed in time and have already generated an ecological effect in the heating season 1994/95.« less

A new method of automatic landmark tagging for shape model construction via local curvature scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rueda, Sylvia; Udupa, Jayaram K.; Bai, Li

2008-03-01

Segmentation of organs in medical images is a difficult task requiring very often the use of model-based approaches. To build the model, we need an annotated training set of shape examples with correspondences indicated among shapes. Manual positioning of landmarks is a tedious, time-consuming, and error prone task, and almost impossible in the 3D space. To overcome some of these drawbacks, we devised an automatic method based on the notion of c-scale, a new local scale concept. For each boundary element b, the arc length of the largest homogeneous curvature region connected to b is estimated as well as the orientation of the tangent at b. With this shape description method, we can automatically locate mathematical landmarks selected at different levels of detail. The method avoids the use of landmarks for the generation of the mean shape. The selection of landmarks on the mean shape is done automatically using the c-scale method. Then, these landmarks are propagated to each shape in the training set, defining this way the correspondences among the shapes. Altogether 12 strategies are described along these lines. The methods are evaluated on 40 MRI foot data sets, the object of interest being the talus bone. The results show that, for the same number of landmarks, the proposed methods are more compact than manual and equally spaced annotations. The approach is applicable to spaces of any dimensionality, although we have focused in this paper on 2D shapes.

Categorisation of Colour Terms Using New Validation Tools: A Case Study and Implications

PubMed Central

Arbab, Shabnam; Brindle, Jonathan A.; Matusiak, Barbara S.; Klöckner, Christian A.

2018-01-01

This article elaborates on the results of a field experiment conducted among speakers of the Chakali language, spoken in northern Ghana. In the original study, the Color-aid Corporation Chart was used to perform the focal task in which consultants were asked to point at a single colour tile on the chart. However, data from the focal task could not be analysed since the Color-aid tiles had not yet been converted into numerical values set forth by the Commission internationale de l’éclairage (CIE). In this study, the full set of 314 Color-aid tiles were measured for chromaticity and converted into the CIE values at the Daylight Laboratory of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. This article presents the conversion methodology and makes the results of the measurements, which are available in the Online Appendix. We argue that some visual-perception terms cannot be reliably ascribed to colour categories established by the Color-aid Corporation. This suggests that the ideophonic expressions in the dataset do not denote ‘colours’, as categorised in the Color-aid system, as it was impossible to average the consultants’ data into a CIE chromaticity diagram, illustrate the phenomena on the Natural Colour System (NCS) Circle and Triangle diagrams, and conduct a statistical analysis. One of the implications of this study is that a line between a visual-perception term and a colour term could be systematically established using a method with predefined categorical thresholds. PMID:29755718

Categorisation of Colour Terms Using New Validation Tools: A Case Study and Implications.

PubMed

Arbab, Shabnam; Brindle, Jonathan A; Matusiak, Barbara S; Klöckner, Christian A

2018-01-01

This article elaborates on the results of a field experiment conducted among speakers of the Chakali language, spoken in northern Ghana. In the original study, the Color-aid Corporation Chart was used to perform the focal task in which consultants were asked to point at a single colour tile on the chart. However, data from the focal task could not be analysed since the Color-aid tiles had not yet been converted into numerical values set forth by the Commission internationale de l'éclairage (CIE). In this study, the full set of 314 Color-aid tiles were measured for chromaticity and converted into the CIE values at the Daylight Laboratory of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. This article presents the conversion methodology and makes the results of the measurements, which are available in the Online Appendix. We argue that some visual-perception terms cannot be reliably ascribed to colour categories established by the Color-aid Corporation. This suggests that the ideophonic expressions in the dataset do not denote 'colours', as categorised in the Color-aid system, as it was impossible to average the consultants' data into a CIE chromaticity diagram, illustrate the phenomena on the Natural Colour System (NCS) Circle and Triangle diagrams, and conduct a statistical analysis. One of the implications of this study is that a line between a visual-perception term and a colour term could be systematically established using a method with predefined categorical thresholds.

Affordance Boundaries Are Defined by Dynamic Capabilities of Parkour Athletes in Dropping from Various Heights

PubMed Central

Croft, James L.; Bertram, John E. A.

2017-01-01

Available behaviors are determined by the fit between features of the individual and reciprocal features of the environment. Beyond some critical boundary certain behaviors become impossible causing sudden transitions from one movement pattern to another. Parkour athletes have developed multiple movement patterns to deal with their momentum during landing. We were interested in whether drop distance would cause a sudden transition between a two-footed (precision) landing and a load-distributing roll and whether the transition height could be predicted by dynamic and geometric characteristics of individual subjects. Kinematics and ground reaction forces were measured as Parkour athletes stepped off a box from heights that were incrementally increased or decreased from 0.6 to 2.3 m. Individuals were more likely to roll from higher drops; those with greater body mass and less explosive leg power, were more likely to transition to a roll landing at a lower height. At some height a two-footed landing is no longer feasible but for some athletes this height was well within the maximum drop height used in this study. During low drops the primary task constraint of managing momentum could be achieved with either a precision landing or a roll. This meant that participants were free to select their preferred landing strategy, which was only partially influenced by the physical demands of the task. However, athletes with greater leg power appeared capable of managing impulse absorption through a leg mediated strategy up to a greater drop height. PMID:28979219

The symbol-grounding problem in numerical cognition: A review of theory, evidence, and outstanding questions.

PubMed

Leibovich, Tali; Ansari, Daniel

2016-03-01

How do numerical symbols, such as number words, acquire semantic meaning? This question, also referred to as the "symbol-grounding problem," is a central problem in the field of numerical cognition. Present theories suggest that symbols acquire their meaning by being mapped onto an approximate system for the nonsymbolic representation of number (Approximate Number System or ANS). In the present literature review, we first asked to which extent current behavioural and neuroimaging data support this theory, and second, to which extent the ANS, upon which symbolic numbers are assumed to be grounded, is numerical in nature. We conclude that (a) current evidence that has examined the association between the ANS and number symbols does not support the notion that number symbols are grounded in the ANS and (b) given the strong correlation between numerosity and continuous variables in nonsymbolic number processing tasks, it is next to impossible to measure the pure association between symbolic and nonsymbolic numerosity. Instead, it is clear that significant cognitive control resources are required to disambiguate numerical from continuous variables during nonsymbolic number processing. Thus, if there exists any mapping between the ANS and symbolic number, then this process of association must be mediated by cognitive control. Taken together, we suggest that studying the role of both cognitive control and continuous variables in numerosity comparison tasks will provide a more complete picture of the symbol-grounding problem. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

45 CFR 2554.20 - How are issues brought to the attention of the ALJ?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false How are issues brought to the attention of the ALJ? 2554.20 Section 2554.20 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) CORPORATION... § 2554.20 How are issues brought to the attention of the ALJ? (a) All applications to the ALJ for an...

Has evidence-based medicine ever been modern? A Latour-inspired understanding of a changing EBM.

PubMed

Wieringa, Sietse; Engebretsen, Eivind; Heggen, Kristin; Greenhalgh, Trish

2017-10-01

Evidence-based health care (EBHC), previously evidence-based medicine (EBM), is considered by many to have modernized health care and brought it from an authority-based past to a more rationalist, scientific grounding. But recent concerns and criticisms pose serious challenges and urge us to look at the fundamentals of a changing EBHC. In this paper, we present French philosopher Bruno Latour's vision on modernity as a framework to discuss current changes in the discourse on EBHC/EBM. Drawing on Latour's work, we argue that the early EBM movement had a strong modernist agenda with an aim to "purify" clinical reality into a dichotomy of objective "evidence" from nature and subjective "preferences" from human society and culture. However, we argue that this shift has proved impossible to achieve in reality. Several recent developments appear to point to a demise of purified evidence in the EBHC discourse and a growing recognition-albeit implicit and undertheorized-that evidence in clinical decision making is relentlessly situated and contextual. The unique, individual patient, not abstracted truths from distant research studies, must be the starting point for clinical practice. It follows that the EBHC community needs to reconsider the assumption that science should be abstracted from culture and acknowledge that knowledge from human culture and nature both need translation and interpretation. The implications for clinical reasoning are far reaching. We offer some preliminary principles for conceptualizing EBHC as a "situated practice" rather than as a sequence of research-driven abstract decisions. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Trans-Atlantic slavery: isotopic evidence for forced migration to Barbados.

PubMed

Schroeder, Hannes; O'Connell, Tamsin C; Evans, Jane A; Shuler, Kristrina A; Hedges, Robert E M

2009-08-01

The question of the ultimate origin of African slaves is one of the most perplexing in the history of trans-Atlantic slavery. Here we present the results of a small, preliminary isotopic study that was conducted in order to determine the geographical origin of 25 enslaved Africans who were buried at the Newton plantation, Barbados, sometime between the late 17th and early 19th century. In order to gain a more nuanced understanding of the slaves' origin, we used a combination of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotope analyses. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were determined in bone and dentinal collagen; oxygen and strontium isotopes were measured in tooth enamel. Results suggest that the majority of individuals were born on the island, if not the estate itself. Seven individuals, however, yielded enamel oxygen and strontium ratios that are inconsistent with a Barbadian origin, which strongly suggests that we are dealing with first-generation captives who were brought to the island with the slave trade. This idea is also supported by the fact that their carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values differ markedly between their teeth and bones. These intra-skeletal shifts reflect major dietary changes that probably coincided with their enslavement and forced migration to Barbados. While it is impossible to determine their exact origins, the results clearly demonstrate that the slaves did not all grow up in the same part of Africa. Instead, the data seem to suggest that they originated from at least three different areas, possibly including the Gold Coast and the Senegambia.

The path to a paradigm shift in hemodialysis.

PubMed

Hodge, Melville H

2010-01-01

About 1 out of 4 American conventional dialysis patients die in the first year and 3 out of 5 die within 5 years with no favorable trend in sight. Largely ignored in practice is the evidence accumulated over decades that longer, more frequent dialysis can immediately slash this grim result in half or more. Pierratos has called for a paradigm shift--a disruptive change--in dialysis practice from conventional treatment to daily nocturnal dialysis, performed at home, to realize this dramatic improvement. We examine here how such a paradigm shift might be brought about and suggest that changes in 3 perspectives must occur. First, new dialysis guidelines must be recast from the old goal of minimally adequate to a new goal of best possible. Second, the body of dialysis research must be interpreted through the lens of best possible patient survival and well being, and the near-impossibility of demonstrating dialysis survival advantage through randomized clinical trials must be acknowledged. Finally, dialysis modality must be seen as, most importantly, a survival and well-being choice, not merely a "Lifestyle" choice; hence, it must be the nondelegatable responsibility of the physician, not dialysis center personnel, to advise and prescribe. Many old perspectives, which might stand in the way of this sorely needed paradigm shift are also examined. These old perspectives make up a fabric of excuses that has delayed--and, if not discarded, will continue to delay--progress toward a survival and well-being outlook for dialysis patients just as favorable as might be achieved through kidney transplant.

Physical modeling of long-wave run-up mitigation using submerged breakwaters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yu-Ting; Wu, Yun-Ta; Hwung, Hwung-Hweng; Yang, Ray-Yeng

2016-04-01

Natural hazard due to tsunami inundation inland has been viewed as a crucial issue for coastal engineering community. The 2004 India Ocean tsunami and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake tsunami were caused by mega scale earthquakes that brought tremendous catastrophe in the disaster regions. It is thus of great importance to develop innovative approach to achieve the reduction and mitigation of tsunami hazards. In this study, new experiments have been carried out in a laboratory-scale to investigate the physical process of long-wave through submerged breakwaters built upon a mild slope. Solitary-wave is employed to represent the characteristic of long-wave with infinite wavelength and wave period. Our goal is twofold. First of all, through changing the positions of single breakwater and multiple breakwaters upon a mild slope, the optimal locations of breakwaters can be pointed out by means of maximum run-up reduction. Secondly, through using a state-of-the-art measuring technique Bubble Image Velocimetry, which features non-intrusive and image-based measurement, the wave kinematics in the highly aerated region due to solitary-wave shoaling, breaking and uprush can be quantitated. Therefore, the mitigation of long-wave due to the construction of submerged breakwaters built upon a mild slope can be evaluated not only for imaging run-up and run-down characteristics but also for measuring turbulent velocity fields due to breaking wave. Although we understand the most devastating tsunami hazards cannot be fully mitigated with impossibility, this study is to provide quantitated information on what kind of artificial coastal structure that can withstand which level of wave loads.

Building a new regulatory paradigm for coastal and estuarine acidification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brodeur, J.; Cai, W. J.

2016-02-01

Ocean acidification regulation generally falls under the authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA, P.L. 92-500). The CWA has been a powerful tool to improve the country's water quality, but it is most adept at addressing point-source pollutants and contaminants. It requires policymakers to determine "natural levels" of the target pollutant and to attribute changes in water quality to a specific source, both of which are tough or impossible tests for the diffuse carbon imbalance that is associated with ocean acidification, even if we could easily identify the threshold level for harm to organisms (Boehm, 2015). Even where regulators have tried to apply CWA to address acidification, they have been confronted by a lack of baseline data, an inability to specifically identify sources within their jurisdiction, and the fact that existing water quality standards do not capture the impairments that are associated with ocean acidification (Cooley, 2015). In fact, there was a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging the agency had failure to regulate this issue. In the end, the courts sided with the EPA, and it continues to struggle with how to use pH and/or saturation state to define a point at which a water body becomes impaired and a threat to sea-life and natural resources. We present an analysis of the complexities related to regulating ocean acidification, the history of work in this area, and suggest a solution that can be tailored to fit unique coastal and estuarine characteristics.

Building a new regulatory paradigm for coastal and estuarine acidification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brodeur, J.; Cai, W. J.

2016-12-01

Ocean acidification regulation generally falls under the authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA, P.L. 92-500). The CWA has been a powerful tool to improve the country's water quality, but it is most adept at addressing point-source pollutants and contaminants. It requires policymakers to determine "natural levels" of the target pollutant and to attribute changes in water quality to a specific source, both of which are tough or impossible tests for the diffuse carbon imbalance that is associated with ocean acidification, even if we could easily identify the threshold level for harm to organisms (Boehm, 2015). Even where regulators have tried to apply CWA to address acidification, they have been confronted by a lack of baseline data, an inability to specifically identify sources within their jurisdiction, and the fact that existing water quality standards do not capture the impairments that are associated with ocean acidification (Cooley, 2015). In fact, there was a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging the agency had failure to regulate this issue. In the end, the courts sided with the EPA, and it continues to struggle with how to use pH and/or saturation state to define a point at which a water body becomes impaired and a threat to sea-life and natural resources. We present an analysis of the complexities related to regulating ocean acidification, the history of work in this area, and suggest a solution that can be tailored to fit unique coastal and estuarine characteristics.

Health research and systems' governance are at risk: should the right to data protection override health?

PubMed

Di Iorio, C T; Carinci, F; Oderkirk, J

2014-07-01

The European Union (EU) Data Protection Regulation will have profound implications for public health, health services research and statistics in Europe. The EU Commission's Proposal was a breakthrough in balancing privacy rights and rights to health and healthcare. The European Parliament, however, has proposed extensive amendments. This paper reviews the amendments proposed by the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and their implications for health research and statistics. The amendments eliminate most innovations brought by the Proposal. Notably, derogation to the general prohibition of processing sensitive data shall be allowed for public interests such as the management of healthcare services,but not health research, monitoring, surveillance and governance. The processing of personal health data for historical, statistical or scientific purposes shall be allowed only with the consent of the data subject or if the processing serves an exceptionally high public interest, cannot be performed otherwise and is legally authorised. Research, be it academic, government,corporate or market research, falls under the same rule.The proposed amendments will make difficult or render impossible research and statistics involving the linkage and analysis of the wealth of data from clinical,administrative, insurance and survey sources, which have contributed to improving health outcomes and health systems performance and governance; and may illegitimise efforts that have been made in some European countries to enable privacy-respectful data use for research and statistical purposes. If the amendments stand as written, the right to privacy is likely to override the right to health and healthcare in Europe.

Has evidence‐based medicine ever been modern? A Latour‐inspired understanding of a changing EBM

PubMed Central

Engebretsen, Eivind; Heggen, Kristin; Greenhalgh, Trish

2017-01-01

Abstract Evidence‐based health care (EBHC), previously evidence‐based medicine (EBM), is considered by many to have modernized health care and brought it from an authority‐based past to a more rationalist, scientific grounding. But recent concerns and criticisms pose serious challenges and urge us to look at the fundamentals of a changing EBHC. In this paper, we present French philosopher Bruno Latour's vision on modernity as a framework to discuss current changes in the discourse on EBHC/EBM. Drawing on Latour's work, we argue that the early EBM movement had a strong modernist agenda with an aim to “purify” clinical reality into a dichotomy of objective “evidence” from nature and subjective “preferences” from human society and culture. However, we argue that this shift has proved impossible to achieve in reality. Several recent developments appear to point to a demise of purified evidence in the EBHC discourse and a growing recognition—albeit implicit and undertheorized—that evidence in clinical decision making is relentlessly situated and contextual. The unique, individual patient, not abstracted truths from distant research studies, must be the starting point for clinical practice. It follows that the EBHC community needs to reconsider the assumption that science should be abstracted from culture and acknowledge that knowledge from human culture and nature both need translation and interpretation. The implications for clinical reasoning are far reaching. We offer some preliminary principles for conceptualizing EBHC as a “situated practice” rather than as a sequence of research‐driven abstract decisions. PMID:28508440

Emigration from Within.

PubMed

Szekacs-Weisz, Judit

2016-12-01

Listening to the stories of people belonging to different generations in motion-both in our consulting rooms and our personal lives-served as introductory lectures into the fundamental aspects of changing context. Through these rich and diverse stories, one enters a territory which is not only multilingual but multidimensional: defined and shaped by historical, political, economic and socio-cultural transformations. Giving voice to these silent stories proved helpful for us when going behind walls that traditional analysis could not always penetrate, partly because, in many cases, analysts and analysands have been struggling with the same untouchable issues. It is our professional task to find creative ways to make sense of past and recent experiences of emigration, new prejudices, discriminative forms and attitudes-in order to achieve a better psychoanalytical understanding of the external and internal confusion that has been brought about by the immense changes during the past centuries and the present one.

Proposal for the completion of outstanding work on the installation scheduling and alignment of the SDC central calorimeter

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

Guarino, V.; Hill, N.; Nasiatka, J.

The High Energy Physic Division at Argonne National Laboratory was given the task of developing the procedures, fixtures, and schedules for the final assembly of the barrel and endcap calorimeters for the SDC. The work completed led to some major decision about how and where this assembly work would be done. The primary assembly decision was the feasibility of assembling the major detector components (barrel and endcap sub-assemblies) above ground and lowering them into position in the experimental hall, as opposed to assembling the calorimeter directly in the experimental hall. Due to cost of above ground assembly and schedule changes,more » the in-hall option was adopted. Although no actual hardware was constructed, many conceptual ideas were formalized and brought to workable solutions as a result of the effort put forth at ANL.« less

Learning atoms for materials discovery.

PubMed

Zhou, Quan; Tang, Peizhe; Liu, Shenxiu; Pan, Jinbo; Yan, Qimin; Zhang, Shou-Cheng

2018-06-26

Exciting advances have been made in artificial intelligence (AI) during recent decades. Among them, applications of machine learning (ML) and deep learning techniques brought human-competitive performances in various tasks of fields, including image recognition, speech recognition, and natural language understanding. Even in Go, the ancient game of profound complexity, the AI player has already beat human world champions convincingly with and without learning from the human. In this work, we show that our unsupervised machines (Atom2Vec) can learn the basic properties of atoms by themselves from the extensive database of known compounds and materials. These learned properties are represented in terms of high-dimensional vectors, and clustering of atoms in vector space classifies them into meaningful groups consistent with human knowledge. We use the atom vectors as basic input units for neural networks and other ML models designed and trained to predict materials properties, which demonstrate significant accuracy. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

On the convergence of nanotechnology and Big Data analysis for computer-aided diagnosis.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Jose F; Paulovich, Fernando V; de Oliveira, Maria Cf; de Oliveira, Osvaldo N

2016-04-01

An overview is provided of the challenges involved in building computer-aided diagnosis systems capable of precise medical diagnostics based on integration and interpretation of data from different sources and formats. The availability of massive amounts of data and computational methods associated with the Big Data paradigm has brought hope that such systems may soon be available in routine clinical practices, which is not the case today. We focus on visual and machine learning analysis of medical data acquired with varied nanotech-based techniques and on methods for Big Data infrastructure. Because diagnosis is essentially a classification task, we address the machine learning techniques with supervised and unsupervised classification, making a critical assessment of the progress already made in the medical field and the prospects for the near future. We also advocate that successful computer-aided diagnosis requires a merge of methods and concepts from nanotechnology and Big Data analysis.

Bridging the gap between implicit and explicit understanding: how language development promotes the processing and representation of false belief.

PubMed

San Juan, Valerie; Astington, Janet Wilde

2012-03-01

Recent advancements in the field of infant false-belief reasoning have brought into question whether performance on implicit and explicit measures of false belief is driven by the same level of representational understanding. The success of infants on implicit measures has also raised doubt over the role that language development plays in the development of false-belief reasoning. In the current paper, we argue that children's performance on disparate measures cannot be used to infer similarities in understanding across different age groups. Instead, we argue that development must continue to occur between the periods when children can reason implicitly and then explicitly about false belief. We then propose mechanisms by which language associated with false-belief tasks facilitates this transition by assisting with both the processes of elicited response selection and the formation of metarepresentational understanding. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

CAPRI (Computational Analysis PRogramming Interface): A Solid Modeling Based Infra-Structure for Engineering Analysis and Design Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haimes, Robert; Follen, Gregory J.

1998-01-01

CAPRI is a CAD-vendor neutral application programming interface designed for the construction of analysis and design systems. By allowing access to the geometry from within all modules (grid generators, solvers and post-processors) such tasks as meshing on the actual surfaces, node enrichment by solvers and defining which mesh faces are boundaries (for the solver and visualization system) become simpler. The overall reliance on file 'standards' is minimized. This 'Geometry Centric' approach makes multi-physics (multi-disciplinary) analysis codes much easier to build. By using the shared (coupled) surface as the foundation, CAPRI provides a single call to interpolate grid-node based data from the surface discretization in one volume to another. Finally, design systems are possible where the results can be brought back into the CAD system (and therefore manufactured) because all geometry construction and modification are performed using the CAD system's geometry kernel.

Aspects of manual wheelchair configuration affecting mobility: a review.

PubMed

Medola, Fausto Orsi; Elui, Valeria Meirelles Carril; Santana, Carla da Silva; Fortulan, Carlos Alberto

2014-02-01

Many aspects relating to equipment configuration affect users' actions in a manual wheelchair, determining the overall mobility performance. Since the equipment components and configuration determine both stability and mobility efficiency, configuring the wheelchair with the most appropriate set-up for individual users' needs is a difficult task. Several studies have shown the importance of seat/backrest assembly and the relative position of the rear wheels to the user in terms of the kinetics and kinematics of manual propulsion. More recently, new studies have brought to light evidence on the inertial properties of different wheelchair configurations. Further new studies have highlighted the handrim as a key component of wheelchair assembly, since it is the interface through which the user drives the chair. In light of the new evidence on wheelchair mechanics and propulsion kinetics and kinematics, this article presents a review of the most important aspects of wheelchair configuration that affect the users' actions and mobility.

Human error mitigation initiative (HEMI) : summary report.

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

Stevens, Susan M.; Ramos, M. Victoria; Wenner, Caren A.

2004-11-01

Despite continuing efforts to apply existing hazard analysis methods and comply with requirements, human errors persist across the nuclear weapons complex. Due to a number of factors, current retroactive and proactive methods to understand and minimize human error are highly subjective, inconsistent in numerous dimensions, and are cumbersome to characterize as thorough. An alternative and proposed method begins with leveraging historical data to understand what the systemic issues are and where resources need to be brought to bear proactively to minimize the risk of future occurrences. An illustrative analysis was performed using existing incident databases specific to Pantex weapons operationsmore » indicating systemic issues associated with operating procedures that undergo notably less development rigor relative to other task elements such as tooling and process flow. Future recommended steps to improve the objectivity, consistency, and thoroughness of hazard analysis and mitigation were delineated.« less

MPLM Donatello is offloaded at the SLF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

At the Shuttle Landing Facility, workers in cherry pickers (right) help guide offloading of the Italian Space Agency's Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello from the Airbus '''Beluga''' air cargo plane that brought it from the factory of Alenia Aerospazio in Turin, Italy. The third of three for the International Space Station, the module will be transported to the Space Station Processing Facility for processing. Among the activities for the payload test team are integrated electrical tests with other Station elements in the SSPF, leak tests, electrical and software compatibility tests with the Space Shuttle (using the Cargo Integrated Test equipment) and an Interface Verification Test once the module is installed in the Space Shuttle's payload bay at the launch pad. The most significant mechanical task to be performed on Donatello in the SSPF is the installation and outfitting of the racks for carrying the various experiments and cargo.

Fast hydrological model calibration based on the heterogeneous parallel computing accelerated shuffled complex evolution method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kan, Guangyuan; He, Xiaoyan; Ding, Liuqian; Li, Jiren; Hong, Yang; Zuo, Depeng; Ren, Minglei; Lei, Tianjie; Liang, Ke

2018-01-01

Hydrological model calibration has been a hot issue for decades. The shuffled complex evolution method developed at the University of Arizona (SCE-UA) has been proved to be an effective and robust optimization approach. However, its computational efficiency deteriorates significantly when the amount of hydrometeorological data increases. In recent years, the rise of heterogeneous parallel computing has brought hope for the acceleration of hydrological model calibration. This study proposed a parallel SCE-UA method and applied it to the calibration of a watershed rainfall-runoff model, the Xinanjiang model. The parallel method was implemented on heterogeneous computing systems using OpenMP and CUDA. Performance testing and sensitivity analysis were carried out to verify its correctness and efficiency. Comparison results indicated that heterogeneous parallel computing-accelerated SCE-UA converged much more quickly than the original serial version and possessed satisfactory accuracy and stability for the task of fast hydrological model calibration.

Probability matching and strategy availability.

PubMed

Koehler, Derek J; James, Greta

2010-09-01

Findings from two experiments indicate that probability matching in sequential choice arises from an asymmetry in strategy availability: The matching strategy comes readily to mind, whereas a superior alternative strategy, maximizing, does not. First, compared with the minority who spontaneously engage in maximizing, the majority of participants endorse maximizing as superior to matching in a direct comparison when both strategies are described. Second, when the maximizing strategy is brought to their attention, more participants subsequently engage in maximizing. Third, matchers are more likely than maximizers to base decisions in other tasks on their initial intuitions, suggesting that they are more inclined to use a choice strategy that comes to mind quickly. These results indicate that a substantial subset of probability matchers are victims of "underthinking" rather than "overthinking": They fail to engage in sufficient deliberation to generate a superior alternative to the matching strategy that comes so readily to mind.

Space physiology II: adaptation of the central nervous system to space flight--past, current, and future studies.

PubMed

Clément, Gilles; Ngo-Anh, Jennifer Thu

2013-07-01

Experiments performed in orbit on the central nervous system have focused on the control of posture, eye movements, spatial orientation, as well as cognitive processes, such as three-dimensional visual perception and mental representation of space. Brain activity has also been recorded during and immediately after space flight for evaluating the changes in brain structure activation during tasks involving perception, attention, memory, decision, and action. Recent ground-based studies brought evidence that the inputs from the neurovestibular system also participate in orthostatic intolerance. It is, therefore, important to revisit the flight data of neuroscience studies in the light of new models of integrative physiology. The outcomes of this exercise will increase our knowledge on the adaptation of body functions to changing gravitational environment, vestibular disorders, aging, and our approach towards more effective countermeasures during human space flight and planetary exploration.

Three dimensions of learning: experiential activity for engineering innovation education and research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Killen, Catherine P.

2015-09-01

This paper outlines a novel approach to engineering education research that provides three dimensions of learning through an experiential class activity. A simulated decision activity brought current research into the classroom, explored the effect of experiential activity on learning outcomes and contributed to the research on innovation decision making. The 'decision task' was undertaken by more than 480 engineering students. It increased their reported measures of learning and retention by an average of 0.66 on a five-point Likert scale, and revealed positive correlations between attention, enjoyment, ongoing interest and learning and retention. The study also contributed to innovation management research by revealing the influence of different data visualisation methods on decision quality, providing an example of research-integrated education that forms part of the research process. Such a dovetailing of different research studies demonstrates how engineering educators can enhance educational impact while multiplying the outcomes from their research efforts.

N multipartite GHZ states in quantum networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caprara Vivoli, Valentina; Wehner, Stephanie

Nowadays progress in experimental quantum physics has brought to a significant control on systems like nitrogen-vacancy centres, ion traps, and superconducting qubit clusters. These systems can constitute the key cells of future quantum networks, where tasks like quantum communication at large scale and quantum cryptography can be achieved. It is, though, still not clear which approaches can be used to generate such entanglement at large distances using only local operations on or between at most two adjacent nodes. Here, we analyse three protocols that are able to generate genuine multipartite entanglement between an arbitrary large number of parties. In particular, we focus on the generation of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state. Moreover, the performances of the three methods are numerically compared in the scenario of a decoherence model both in terms of fidelity and entanglement generation rate. V.C.V. is founded by a NWO Vidi Grant, and S.W. is founded by STW Netherlands.

Restoring the order: gender segregation as an obstacle to organisational development.

PubMed

Abrahamsson, Lena

2002-11-01

This paper raises questions about the links between gender and organisational changes. The empirical base for the discussion is a qualitative study of the effects of organisational changes in the pulp and paper industry, the electronics industry, the food industry and the laundry industry in Sweden during the mid-1990s. At the studied companies, restoration responses in the work organisations brought the organisation back into its original form and function. The study shows that gender exerts an influence both on the existing work organisation and in the organisational change. The modern organisation, with its focus on integration and decentralisation, challenges the gender order, which is a strong system, built on segregation and hierarchy. The conclusion from the study is that gender segregating and stereotypic gender-coding of workplaces and work tasks were strong restoring mechanisms and obstacles to strategic organisational changes.

Aspects of Manual Wheelchair Configuration Affecting Mobility: A Review

PubMed Central

Medola, Fausto Orsi; Elui, Valeria Meirelles Carril; Santana, Carla da Silva; Fortulan, Carlos Alberto

2014-01-01

Many aspects relating to equipment configuration affect users’ actions in a manual wheelchair, determining the overall mobility performance. Since the equipment components and configuration determine both stability and mobility efficiency, configuring the wheelchair with the most appropriate set-up for individual users’ needs is a difficult task. Several studies have shown the importance of seat/backrest assembly and the relative position of the rear wheels to the user in terms of the kinetics and kinematics of manual propulsion. More recently, new studies have brought to light evidence on the inertial properties of different wheelchair configurations. Further new studies have highlighted the handrim as a key component of wheelchair assembly, since it is the interface through which the user drives the chair. In light of the new evidence on wheelchair mechanics and propulsion kinetics and kinematics, this article presents a review of the most important aspects of wheelchair configuration that affect the users’ actions and mobility. PMID:24648656

Creating structure for continuation of initiatives.

PubMed

McClave, Stephen A; Mechanick, Jeffrey I; Kushner, Robert F; DeLegge, Mark H

2010-01-01

The Summit for Increasing Physician Nutrition Experts brought nutrition leaders from North America together to forge new strategies for promoting greater physician involvement in clinical nutrition. The initiatives derived from the Summit address issues related to education, board certification, research, and clinical practice. To seek consensus from participating societies and to establish a format for the implementation of these initiatives, a council of representatives needs to be formed. The council must be noncompetitive, promote collaboration and facilitation of nutrition activities for participating societies, and ultimately provide service to the healthcare system and individual practitioners. The structure of this council may evolve from a temporary task force to an enduring committee. Participating societies will be asked to fund expenses for their representative and host council meetings on a rotating basis. The council will assume responsibility for pursuing Summit initiatives and providing ongoing communication and collaboration between participant groups.

Using flashcards to support your learning.

PubMed

Bryson, David

2012-03-01

The idea that if you listen to a lecture and make notes you will, by some mysterious process, have learnt all that the lecturer has covered, is a myth. Unfortunately, the lecture is just the start. The best way to learn is by doing. This can be achieved by completing set practical tasks by reading and creating your own notes, listening again to parts or the whole of a lecture via a screencast or using diagrams and illustrations that you annotate. Similarly creating your own learning materials can be useful as actually putting questions and answers together helps you to learn. One of the many ways to support your learning, especially in difficult topics like anatomy and physiology, learning about bones, medical terminology or indeed any subject where there are a lot of new words and terms to learn, is making use of an old technique brought up to date with new technologies called "flashcards".

The Astrocentric Hypothesis: proposed role of astrocytes in consciousness and memory formation.

PubMed

Robertson, James M

2002-01-01

Consciousness is self-awareness. This process is closely associated with attention and working memory, a special form of short-term memory, which is vital when solving explicit task. Edelman has equated consciousness as the "remembered present" to highlight the importance of this form of memory (G.M. Edelman, Bright Air, Brilliant Fire, Basic Books, New York, 1992). The majority of other memories are recollections of past events that are encoded, stored, and brought back into consciousness if appropriate for solving new problems. Encoding prior experiences into memories is based on the salience of each event (A.R. Damasio, Descartes' Error, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1994; G.M. Edelman, Bright Air, Brilliant Fire, Basic Books, New York, 1992). It is proposed that protoplasmic astrocytes bind attended sensory information into consciousness and store encoded memories. This conclusion is supported by research conducted by gliobiologist over the past 15 years. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Panoramic view of the Fifth International Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy and Applied Cardiovascular Biotechnology, April 2008, Madrid (Spain).

PubMed

Villa, Adolfo; Sanz, Ricardo; Fernandez, M Eugenia; Elizaga, Jaime; Ludwig, Indrig; Sanchez, Pedro L; Fernandez-Aviles, Francisco

2009-03-01

The Fifth International Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy and Applied Cardiovascular Biotechnology was held on April 24th-25th, 2008, at the Auditorium of the High Council of Scientific Research of Spain (CSIC) in Madrid, as a continuation of a series of yearly meetings, organized in an attempt to encourage translational research in this field and facilitate a positive interaction among experts from several countries, along with industry representatives and journalists. In addition, members of the Task Force of the European Society concerning the clinical investigation of the use of autologous adult stem cells for repair of the heart gathered and discussed an update of the previous consensus, still pending of publication. In this article, we summarize some of the main topics of discussion, the state-of-the-art and latest advances in this field, and new challenges brought up for the near future.

Return to Flight Task Group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

It has been 29 months since Columbia was lost over East Texas in February 2003. Seven months after the accident, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) released the first volume of its final report, citing a variety of technical, managerial, and cultural issues within NASA and the Space Shuttle Program. To their credit, NASA offered few excuses, embraced the report, and set about correcting the deficiencies noted by the accident board. Of the 29 recommendations issued by the CAIB, 15 were deemed critical enough that the accident board believed they should be implemented prior to returning the Space Shuttle to flight. Some of these recommendations were relatively easy, most were straightforward, a few bordered on the impossible, and others were largely overcome by events, particularly the decision by the President to retire the Space Shuttle by 2010. The Return to Flight Task Group (RTF TG, or simply, the Task Group) was chartered by the NASA Administrator in July 2003 to provide an independent assessment of the implementation of the 15 CAIB return-to-flight recommendations. An important observation must be stated up-front: neither the CAIB nor the RTF TG believes that all risk can be eliminated from Space Shuttle operations; nor do we believe that the Space Shuttle is inherently unsafe. What the CAIB and RTF TG do believe, however, is that NASA and the American public need to understand the risks associated with space travel, and that NASA must make every reasonable effort to minimize such risk. Since the release of the CAIB report, NASA and the Space Shuttle Program expended enormous effort and resources toward correcting the causes of the accident and preparing to fly again. Relative to the 15 specific recommendations that the CAIB indicated should be implemented prior to returning to flight, NASA has met or exceeded most of them the Task Group believes that NASA met the intent of the CAIB for 12 of these recommendations. The remaining three recommendations were so challenging that NASA could not comply completely with the intent of the CAIB.

OxyContin in Ontario: the multiple materialities of prescription painkillers.

PubMed

King, Samantha

2014-05-01

In the past decade, OxyContin diversion and misusehave been firmly established in Ontarian public discourse as serious problems requiring major intervention.This article contextualizes and theorizesthe processes through which the marketing of the prescription opioid and its subsequent problematization occurred. Theanalysis refuses the impossible choice between the 'deserving pain patient' and the 'undeserving addict,' between the war on pain and the war on drugs, and between a notion of OxyContin as either miracle panacea or destructive poison. Rather than falling in step with these binaries, OxyContinis theorized across them, or multiply, with the aim of moving beyond established moral and theoretical registers for exploring embodied consumption. This discursive study is based on a broad range of texts collected between 2009-2013: Hansard reports from the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; newspaper, magazine, and internet coverage of OxyContin; and policy documents, research reports, and position papers and news releases produced by government agencies, advocacy organizations, professional bodies, think tanks, tribal councils, and law enforcement agencies. Pharmaceutical industry and state actors have attempted to dualistically parse disparate materializations of OxyContin, a tactic that intensified as media pressure helped produce the notion of a public health crisis and, implicitly, a crisis of welfare dependence. By focusing on the (impossible) task of stratifying proper from improper use, the drug's advocatessought to secure the integrity of opioid painkillers and to protect their materialization as vehicles for maintaining a body that is normal, stable, and in control, as opposed to a body of excess that threatens to expose the consumerist logic of contemporary medicine. Attempts to contain the multiplicity of OxyContin result in the further entrenchment of privatized and individualized approaches to pain and painkilling and serve to undermine rather than secure public health and safety. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Role of Frontal Cortical and Medial-Temporal Lobe Brain Areas in Learning a Bayesian Prior Belief on Reversals

PubMed Central

Jang, Anthony I.; Costa, Vincent D.; Rudebeck, Peter H.; Chudasama, Yogita; Murray, Elisabeth A.

2015-01-01

Reversal learning has been extensively studied across species as a task that indexes the ability to flexibly make and reverse deterministic stimulus–reward associations. Although various brain lesions have been found to affect performance on this task, the behavioral processes affected by these lesions have not yet been determined. This task includes at least two kinds of learning. First, subjects have to learn and reverse stimulus–reward associations in each block of trials. Second, subjects become more proficient at reversing choice preferences as they experience more reversals. We have developed a Bayesian approach to separately characterize these two learning processes. Reversal of choice behavior within each block is driven by a combination of evidence that a reversal has occurred, and a prior belief in reversals that evolves with experience across blocks. We applied the approach to behavior obtained from 89 macaques, comprising 12 lesion groups and a control group. We found that animals from all of the groups reversed more quickly as they experienced more reversals, and correspondingly they updated their prior beliefs about reversals at the same rate. However, the initial values of the priors that the various groups of animals brought to the task differed significantly, and it was these initial priors that led to the differences in behavior. Thus, by taking a Bayesian approach we find that variability in reversal-learning performance attributable to different neural systems is primarily driven by different prior beliefs about reversals that each group brings to the task. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ability to use prior knowledge to adapt choice behavior is critical for flexible decision making. Reversal learning is often studied as a form of flexible decision making. However, prior studies have not identified which brain regions are important for the formation and use of prior beliefs to guide choice behavior. Here we develop a Bayesian approach that formally characterizes learning set as a concept, and we show that, in macaque monkeys, the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex have a role in establishing an initial belief about the stability of the reward environment. PMID:26290251

Capacity and principles of participation of the provincial fund of environmental protection and water management in Cracow in Cracow program of elimination of low emission sources

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

Bolek, K.; Sarzynski, H.

1995-12-31

In general, the principles of environmental protection was determined by Law issued January 31, 1980. Certain detailed solutions have been included in several amendments in subsequent years and the uniformed text of the Law on Environmental Protection and Creation was published in 1994. The Provincial Fund of Environmental Protection and Water Management was established in 1989 but until 1993 the Fund has no legal status. The main purpose of the creation of such fund was to assign certain financial means to the defined tasks related to environmental protection. This way the fund accumulates financial means from the fees paid formore » the usage of the natural environmental for business purposes and from penalties becoming due in the case of non-observance of the environmental protection standards. On the other hand, the Fund spends money for tasks in the field of environmental protection requiring urgent implementation. It should be added that - after few amendments brought into force - the Provincial Funds are able to assign a greater amount of money to the implementation of these tasks. The basic purposes of Provincial Fund activity, defined by Law, determine the policy and criteria of the selection of undertaking. This is also a base for making programs of activity and for creation of the list of priorities. The environmental protection problems in the individual provinces are different. Therefore, the scope of works partly financed by the Fund is very differentiated both in essence and in the method of financing. The former system of subsidies is now being replaced with a wide range of partial financing of undertakings in the field of environmental protection. The system of selection of these undertakings has been changed essentially. The selection of tasks and methods of their financing is based on economic criteria.« less

The Generation of Novel MR Imaging Techniques to Visualize Inflammatory/Degenerative Mechanisms and the Correlation of MR Data with 3D Microscopic Changes

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

existing MR scanning systems providing the ability to visualize structures that are impossible with current methods . Using techniques to concurrently...and unique system for analysis of affected brain regions and coupled with other imaging techniques and molecular measurements holds significant...scanning systems providing the ability to visualize structures that are impossible with current methods . Using techniques to concurrently stain

Evaluation of nucleus segmentation in digital pathology images through large scale image synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Naiyun; Yu, Xiaxia; Zhao, Tianhao; Wen, Si; Wang, Fusheng; Zhu, Wei; Kurc, Tahsin; Tannenbaum, Allen; Saltz, Joel; Gao, Yi

2017-03-01

Digital histopathology images with more than 1 Gigapixel are drawing more and more attention in clinical, biomedical research, and computer vision fields. Among the multiple observable features spanning multiple scales in the pathology images, the nuclear morphology is one of the central criteria for diagnosis and grading. As a result it is also the mostly studied target in image computing. Large amount of research papers have devoted to the problem of extracting nuclei from digital pathology images, which is the foundation of any further correlation study. However, the validation and evaluation of nucleus extraction have yet been formulated rigorously and systematically. Some researches report a human verified segmentation with thousands of nuclei, whereas a single whole slide image may contain up to million. The main obstacle lies in the difficulty of obtaining such a large number of validated nuclei, which is essentially an impossible task for pathologist. We propose a systematic validation and evaluation approach based on large scale image synthesis. This could facilitate a more quantitatively validated study for current and future histopathology image analysis field.

Multiclass cancer diagnosis using tumor gene expression signatures

DOE PAGES

Ramaswamy, S.; Tamayo, P.; Rifkin, R.; ...

2001-12-11

The optimal treatment of patients with cancer depends on establishing accurate diagnoses by using a complex combination of clinical and histopathological data. In some instances, this task is difficult or impossible because of atypical clinical presentation or histopathology. To determine whether the diagnosis of multiple common adult malignancies could be achieved purely by molecular classification, we subjected 218 tumor samples, spanning 14 common tumor types, and 90 normal tissue samples to oligonucleotide microarray gene expression analysis. The expression levels of 16,063 genes and expressed sequence tags were used to evaluate the accuracy of a multiclass classifier based on a supportmore » vector machine algorithm. Overall classification accuracy was 78%, far exceeding the accuracy of random classification (9%). Poorly differentiated cancers resulted in low-confidence predictions and could not be accurately classified according to their tissue of origin, indicating that they are molecularly distinct entities with dramatically different gene expression patterns compared with their well differentiated counterparts. Taken together, these results demonstrate the feasibility of accurate, multiclass molecular cancer classification and suggest a strategy for future clinical implementation of molecular cancer diagnostics.« less

Head-mounted spatial instruments: Synthetic reality or impossible dream

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellis, Stephen R.; Grunwald, Arthur; Velger, Mordekhai

1988-01-01

A spatial instrument is defined as a display device which has been either geometrically or symbolically enhanced to better enable a user to accomplish a particular task. Research conducted over the past several years on 3-D spatial instruments has shown that perspective displays, even when viewed from the correct viewpoint, are subject to systematic viewer biases. These biases interfere with correct spatial judgements of the presented pictorial information. It is also found that deliberate, appropriate geometric distortion of the perspective projection of an image can improve user performance. These two findings raise intriguing questions concerning the design of head-mounted spatial instruments. The design of such instruments may not only require the introduction of compensatory distortions to remove the neutrally occurring biases but also may significantly benefit from the introduction of artificial distortions which enhance performance. These image manipulations, however, can cause a loss of visual-vestibular coordination and induce motion sickness. Additionally, adaptation to these manipulations is apt to be impaired by computational delays in the image display. Consequently, the design of head-mounted spatial instruments will require an understanding of the tolerable limits of visual-vestibular discord.

A Pd/C-CeO2 Anode Catalyst for High-Performance Platinum-Free Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.

PubMed

Miller, Hamish A; Lavacchi, Alessandro; Vizza, Francesco; Marelli, Marcello; Di Benedetto, Francesco; D'Acapito, Francesco; Paska, Yair; Page, Miles; Dekel, Dario R

2016-05-10

One of the biggest obstacles to the dissemination of fuel cells is their cost, a large part of which is due to platinum (Pt) electrocatalysts. Complete removal of Pt is a difficult if not impossible task for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEM-FCs). The anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEM-FC) has long been proposed as a solution as non-Pt metals may be employed. Despite this, few examples of Pt-free AEM-FCs have been demonstrated with modest power output. The main obstacle preventing the realization of a high power density Pt-free AEM-FC is sluggish hydrogen oxidation (HOR) kinetics of the anode catalyst. Here we describe a Pt-free AEM-FC that employs a mixed carbon-CeO2 supported palladium (Pd) anode catalyst that exhibits enhanced kinetics for the HOR. AEM-FC tests run on dry H2 and pure air show peak power densities of more than 500 mW cm(-2) . © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Direct electron injection into an oxide insulator using a cathode buffer layer

PubMed Central

Lee, Eungkyu; Lee, Jinwon; Kim, Ji-Hoon; Lim, Keon-Hee; Seok Byun, Jun; Ko, Jieun; Dong Kim, Young; Park, Yongsup; Kim, Youn Sang

2015-01-01

Injecting charge carriers into the mobile bands of an inorganic oxide insulator (for example, SiO2, HfO2) is a highly complicated task, or even impossible without external energy sources such as photons. This is because oxide insulators exhibit very low electron affinity and high ionization energy levels. Here we show that a ZnO layer acting as a cathode buffer layer permits direct electron injection into the conduction bands of various oxide insulators (for example, SiO2, Ta2O5, HfO2, Al2O3) from a metal cathode. Studies of current–voltage characteristics reveal that the current ohmically passes through the ZnO/oxide-insulator interface. Our findings suggests that the oxide insulators could be used for simply fabricated, transparent and highly stable electronic valves. With this strategy, we demonstrate an electrostatic discharging diode that uses 100-nm SiO2 as an active layer exhibiting an on/off ratio of ∼107, and protects the ZnO thin-film transistors from high electrical stresses. PMID:25864642

Control of movement distance in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Pfann, K D; Buchman, A S; Comella, C L; Corcos, D M

2001-11-01

Studies of electromyographic (EMG) patterns during movements in Parkinson's disease (PD) have often yielded contradictory results, making it impossible to derive a set of rules to explain how muscles are activated to perform different movement tasks. We sought to clarify the changes in modulation of EMG parameters associated with control of movement distance during fast movements in patients with PD. Specifically, we studied surface EMG activity during rapid elbow flexion movements over a wide range of distances (5-72 degrees) in 14 patients with relatively mild symptoms of PD and 14 control subjects of similar age, sex, height, and weight. The PD group exhibited several changes in EMG modulation including impaired modulation of agonist burst duration; increased number of agonist bursts; reduced scaling of agonist EMG magnitude in the more severely impaired subjects; and increased temporal overlap of the antagonist and agonist signals in the most severely impaired subjects. These findings suggest that progressive motor dysfunction in PD is accompanied by increasing deficits in modulating muscle activation. These results help clarify previous disparate and sometimes contradictory results of EMG patterns in subjects with PD. Copyright 2001 Movement Disorder Society.

[The effects of the interference of the Civil Veterinary service (CVS) of Java after the outbreak of rinderpest in 1878].

PubMed

Barwegen, Martine

2008-01-01

The Civil Veterinary Service on Java, Netherlands East-Indies, was established in 1853, more than 20 years after the introduction of the Cultivation System. During the 19th century its tasks were directed at the survey of livestock, esp. its health. Despite the fact that the number of veterinarians was far from enough, the communications problematic, and the optimal functioning of the Service assailed by infrastructional shortcomings, the CVS managed to carry out--in a relatively short period--a great deal of significant work. The CVS sometimes misjudged the situation completely, e.g. after the outbreak of rinderpest in 1878, that was a major catastrophe. The Dutch laws pertaining to the fight against this diseases were enforced in the Netherlands East-Indies. Agriculture suffered from the ban on moving cattle, cattle suffered from a feed shortage and cattle owners suffered from financial and emotional damage. Although it is impossible to determine exactly the influence of the adopted measures on the course of the epizootic, there are indications that the damages were aggravated through governmental interference.

A community approach to health.

PubMed

Hagland, M

1997-01-01

Improving the health and well-being of a community may seem like a daunting task-particularly when you consider the vast number of factors that can influence the quality of life of a neighborhood or a region. It's not impossible, however, as six widely different communities across the U.S. are discovering. The Accelerating Community Transformation (ACT) project--now underway by The Healthcare Forum through a five-year, $5 million grant from pharmaceutical joint venture Astra Merck Inc.--is an innovative attempt to create real-life learning laboratories in communities as diverse as an inner-city neighborhood on the west side of Chicago; the small southern town of Aiken, S.C.: the semi-desert city of San Bernardino, Calif.; a corner of America's heartland where Missouri, Kansas. Nebraska and Iowa meet; the new town of Celebration, Fla.; and St. Louis, Mo. The goals: to evaluate and accelerate community-wide efforts that result in healthier, more desirable places for people to live, work and play; to build community capacity; and to achieve measurable improved health and quality of life outcomes.

Applicability domain: towards a more formal definition.

PubMed

Hanser, T; Barber, C; Marchaland, J F; Werner, S

2016-11-01

In recent years the applicability domain (AD) of a prediction system has become an important concern in (Q)SAR modelling, especially in the context of human safety assessment. Today AD is an active research topic, and many methods have been designed to estimate the adequacy of a model and the confidence in its outcome for a given prediction task. Unfortunately, the wide spectrum of techniques developed for this purpose is based on various definitions of the concept of AD, often taking into account different types of information. This variety of methodologies confuses the end users and makes the comparison of the AD for different models almost impossible. In this article, we demonstrate that AD is not a monolithic concept and can be broken down into three well-defined sub-domains assessing confidence at the model, prediction and decision levels, respectively. By leveraging this separation of concerns we have an opportunity to clarify, formalize and extend the definition of AD. We propose a framework that captures this new vision with the aim to initiate a global effort to converge towards a common AD definition within the (Q)SAR community.

An Efficient Wireless Recharging Mechanism for Achieving Perpetual Lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Yu, Hongli; Chen, Guilin; Zhao, Shenghui; Chang, Chih-Yung; Chin, Yu-Ting

2016-01-01

Energy recharging has received much attention in recent years. Several recharging mechanisms were proposed for achieving perpetual lifetime of a given Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). However, most of them require a mobile recharger to visit each sensor and then perform the recharging task, which increases the length of the recharging path. Another common weakness of these works is the requirement for the mobile recharger to stop at the location of each sensor. As a result, it is impossible for recharger to move with a constant speed, leading to inefficient movement. To improve the recharging efficiency, this paper takes “recharging while moving” into consideration when constructing the recharging path. We propose a Recharging Path Construction (RPC) mechanism, which enables the mobile recharger to recharge all sensors using a constant speed, aiming to minimize the length of recharging path and improve the recharging efficiency while achieving the requirement of perpetual network lifetime of a given WSN. Performance studies reveal that the proposed RPC outperforms existing proposals in terms of path length and energy utilization index, as well as visiting cycle. PMID:28025567

Comparing the performance of biomedical clustering methods.

PubMed

Wiwie, Christian; Baumbach, Jan; Röttger, Richard

2015-11-01

Identifying groups of similar objects is a popular first step in biomedical data analysis, but it is error-prone and impossible to perform manually. Many computational methods have been developed to tackle this problem. Here we assessed 13 well-known methods using 24 data sets ranging from gene expression to protein domains. Performance was judged on the basis of 13 common cluster validity indices. We developed a clustering analysis platform, ClustEval (http://clusteval.mpi-inf.mpg.de), to promote streamlined evaluation, comparison and reproducibility of clustering results in the future. This allowed us to objectively evaluate the performance of all tools on all data sets with up to 1,000 different parameter sets each, resulting in a total of more than 4 million calculated cluster validity indices. We observed that there was no universal best performer, but on the basis of this wide-ranging comparison we were able to develop a short guideline for biomedical clustering tasks. ClustEval allows biomedical researchers to pick the appropriate tool for their data type and allows method developers to compare their tool to the state of the art.

Symmetry Breaking in Space-Time Hierarchies Shapes Brain Dynamics and Behavior.

PubMed

Pillai, Ajay S; Jirsa, Viktor K

2017-06-07

In order to maintain brain function, neural activity needs to be tightly coordinated within the brain network. How this coordination is achieved and related to behavior is largely unknown. It has been previously argued that the study of the link between brain and behavior is impossible without a guiding vision. Here we propose behavioral-level concepts and mechanisms embodied as structured flows on manifold (SFM) that provide a formal description of behavior as a low-dimensional process emerging from a network's dynamics dependent on the symmetry and invariance properties of the network connectivity. Specifically, we demonstrate that the symmetry breaking of network connectivity constitutes a timescale hierarchy resulting in the emergence of an attractive functional subspace. We show that behavior emerges when appropriate conditions imposed upon the couplings are satisfied, justifying the conductance-based nature of synaptic couplings. Our concepts propose design principles for networks predicting how behavior and task rules are represented in real neural circuits and open new avenues for the analyses of neural data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The New Era of Counterforce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lieber, Keir

Nuclear deterrence rests on the survivability of nuclear arsenals. For much of the nuclear age, counterforce disarming attacks those aimed at eliminating nuclear forces were nearly impossible because of the ability of potential victims to hide and protect their weapons. However, technological developments are eroding this foundation of nuclear deterrence. Advances rooted in the computer revolution have made nuclear forces around the world far more vulnerable than before. Specifically, two key approaches that countries have relied on to ensure arsenal survivability since the dawn of the nuclear age hardening and concealment have been undercut by leaps in weapons accuracy and a revolution in remote sensing. Various models, methods, and evidence demonstrate the emergence of new possibilities for counterforce disarming strikes. In short, the task of securing nuclear arsenals against attack is a far greater challenge than it was in the past. The new era of counterforce challenges the basis for confidence in contemporary deterrence stability, raises critical issues for national and international security policy, and sheds light on one of the enduring theoretical puzzles of the nuclear era: why international security competition has endured in the shadow of the nuclear revolution.

Application of 3D Laser Scanner to Forensic Engineering.

PubMed

Park, Chan-Seong; Jeon, Hong-Pil; Choi, Kwang-Soo; Kim, Jin-Pyo; Park, Nam-Kyu

2018-05-01

In the case of building collapses and overturned structures, a three-dimensional (3D) collapse or overturn model is required to reconstruct the accident. As construction sites become increasingly complex and large, 3D laser scanning is sometimes the best tool to accurately document and store the site conditions. This case report presents one case of a structure collapse and one case of an overturned crane reconstructed by a 3D laser scanner. In the case of structural collapse of a prefabricated shoring system, a 3D model reconstructed all the members successfully, a task that is nearly impossible using a scale such as a tape measure. The reconstructed prefabricated shoring system was verified through a structural analysis through comparison with the construction drawings to investigate faults in construction. In the case of the overturned crane, the jib angle and other major dimensions were successfully acquired through 3D laser scanning and used to estimate the working radius. As a result, the propriety of the working radius with the given lifting load was successfully determined. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

[Reconstructive surgery of penile deformities and tissue deficiencies].

PubMed

Kelemen, Zsolt

2009-05-31

Penile deformities and tissue deficiencies can disturb sexual intercourse or make it impossible. The aim of the study is to summarize the different diseases according to their clinical appearance and pathological processes and to review operative methods and personal experiences. Surgical treatment of hypo- and epispadias is usually performed in childhood, but curvatures after unsuccessful operation can demand the reconstruction of urethra, skin and corpora cavernosa eventually. Peyronie's disease and curvature after penile fracture desire the reconstruction of tunica albuginea. Plaque surgery used to be performed with dermal, tunica vaginalis or venous grafts, but best results are obtained by shortening procedure on the contralateral side according to the Heinecke-Mikulitz principle. Tissue deficiencies and curvatures were observed after necrotic inflammatory processes, like Fournier's gangrene or chronic dermatitis. Skin defects were cured by flaps and grafts. Abscesses of penis, severe tissue defects and also curvatures were observed after intracavernous injection in cases of erectile dysfunction. Possibilities of reconstruction seem to be very poor. Oil granuloma of penis presents a new task for penile reconstruction. The best results of skin replacement were achieved by temporary embedding of the penis in scrotum.

Impossible is nothing: 5:3 and 4:3 multi-frequency bimanual coordination.

PubMed

Kovacs, Attila J; Buchanan, John J; Shea, Charles H

2010-03-01

The present findings demonstrate that when participants are provided a Lissajous display with cursor indicating the position of the limbs and a template illustrating the desired movement pattern they can rapidly (10 min) and effectively (continuous relative phase errors and variability ~10 degrees ) tune in a difficult 5:3 bimanual coordination pattern and without additional practice re-tune their responding to an equally difficult 4:3 coordination pattern. The findings indicate the extreme difficulty associated with producing complex polyrhythms in previous experiments has been due to split attention when Lissajous feedback has been provided and inability of the participant to detect and correct coordination errors when only provided vision of the limbs. Effective transfer to the 4:3 polyrhythm without previous practice suggests that the perception-action system's capabilities are extensive. The present findings when viewed in the context of recent experiments using similar protocols suggest that much, but not all, of the difficulty associated with producing a variety of bimanual coordination tasks should be viewed in terms of perceptual constraints imposed by the testing environment.

Imparting magnetic dipole heterogeneity to internalized iron oxide nanoparticles for microorganism swarm control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Paul Seung Soo; Becker, Aaron; Ou, Yan; Julius, Anak Agung; Kim, Min Jun

2015-03-01

Tetrahymena pyriformis is a single cell eukaryote that can be modified to respond to magnetic fields, a response called magnetotaxis. Naturally, this microorganism cannot respond to magnetic fields, but after modification using iron oxide nanoparticles, cells are magnetized and exhibit a constant magnetic dipole strength. In experiments, a rotating field is applied to cells using a two-dimensional approximate Helmholtz coil system. Using rotating magnetic fields, we characterize discrete cells' swarm swimming which is affected by several factors. The behavior of the cells under these fields is explained in detail. After the field is removed, relatively straight swimming is observed. We also generate increased heterogeneity within a population of cells to improve controllability of a swarm, which is explored in a cell model. By exploiting this straight swimming behavior, we propose a method to control discrete cells utilizing a single global magnetic input. Successful implementation of this swarm control method would enable teams of microrobots to perform a variety of in vitro microscale tasks impossible for single microrobots, such as pushing objects or simultaneous micromanipulation of discrete entities.

Knowledge-based expert systems and a proof-of-concept case study for multiple sequence alignment construction and analysis.

PubMed

Aniba, Mohamed Radhouene; Siguenza, Sophie; Friedrich, Anne; Plewniak, Frédéric; Poch, Olivier; Marchler-Bauer, Aron; Thompson, Julie Dawn

2009-01-01

The traditional approach to bioinformatics analyses relies on independent task-specific services and applications, using different input and output formats, often idiosyncratic, and frequently not designed to inter-operate. In general, such analyses were performed by experts who manually verified the results obtained at each step in the process. Today, the amount of bioinformatics information continuously being produced means that handling the various applications used to study this information presents a major data management and analysis challenge to researchers. It is now impossible to manually analyse all this information and new approaches are needed that are capable of processing the large-scale heterogeneous data in order to extract the pertinent information. We review the recent use of integrated expert systems aimed at providing more efficient knowledge extraction for bioinformatics research. A general methodology for building knowledge-based expert systems is described, focusing on the unstructured information management architecture, UIMA, which provides facilities for both data and process management. A case study involving a multiple alignment expert system prototype called AlexSys is also presented.

Knowledge-based expert systems and a proof-of-concept case study for multiple sequence alignment construction and analysis

PubMed Central

Aniba, Mohamed Radhouene; Siguenza, Sophie; Friedrich, Anne; Plewniak, Frédéric; Poch, Olivier; Marchler-Bauer, Aron

2009-01-01

The traditional approach to bioinformatics analyses relies on independent task-specific services and applications, using different input and output formats, often idiosyncratic, and frequently not designed to inter-operate. In general, such analyses were performed by experts who manually verified the results obtained at each step in the process. Today, the amount of bioinformatics information continuously being produced means that handling the various applications used to study this information presents a major data management and analysis challenge to researchers. It is now impossible to manually analyse all this information and new approaches are needed that are capable of processing the large-scale heterogeneous data in order to extract the pertinent information. We review the recent use of integrated expert systems aimed at providing more efficient knowledge extraction for bioinformatics research. A general methodology for building knowledge-based expert systems is described, focusing on the unstructured information management architecture, UIMA, which provides facilities for both data and process management. A case study involving a multiple alignment expert system prototype called AlexSys is also presented. PMID:18971242

Can a GIS toolbox assess the environmental risk of oil spills? Implementation for oil facilities in harbors.

PubMed

Valdor, Paloma F; Gómez, Aina G; Velarde, Víctor; Puente, Araceli

2016-04-01

Oil spills are one of the most widespread problems in port areas (loading/unloading of bulk liquid, fuel supply). Specific environmental risk analysis procedures for diffuse oil sources that are based on the evolution of oil in the marine environment are needed. Diffuse sources such as oil spills usually present a lack of information, which makes the use of numerical models an arduous and occasionally impossible task. For that reason, a tool that can assess the risk of oil spills in near-shore areas by using Geographical Information System (GIS) is presented. The SPILL Tool provides immediate results by automating the process without miscalculation errors. The tool was developed using the Python and ArcGIS scripting library to build a non-ambiguous geoprocessing workflow. The SPILL Tool was implemented for oil facilities at Tarragona Harbor (NE Spain) and validated showing a satisfactory correspondence (around 0.60 RSR error index) with the results obtained using a 2D calibrated oil transport numerical model. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Common data elements for preclinical epilepsy research: Standards for data collection and reporting. A TASK3 report of the AES/ILAE Translational Task Force of the ILAE.

PubMed

Harte-Hargrove, Lauren C; French, Jacqueline A; Pitkänen, Asla; Galanopoulou, Aristea S; Whittemore, Vicky; Scharfman, Helen E

2017-11-01

The major objective of preclinical translational epilepsy research is to advance laboratory findings toward clinical application by testing potential treatments in animal models of seizures and epilepsy. Recently there has been a focus on the failure of preclinical discoveries to translate reliably, or even to be reproduced in different laboratories. One potential cause is a lack of standardization in preclinical data collection. The resulting difficulties in comparing data across studies have led to high cost and missed opportunity, which in turn impede clinical trials and advances in medical care. Preclinical epilepsy research has successfully brought numerous antiseizure treatments into the clinical practice, yet the unmet clinical needs have prompted the reconsideration of research strategies to optimize epilepsy therapy development. In the field of clinical epilepsy there have been successful steps to improve such problems, such as generation of common data elements (CDEs) and case report forms (CRFs and standards of data collection and reporting) by a team of leaders in the field. Therefore, the Translational Task Force was appointed by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the American Epilepsy Society (AES), in partnership with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to define CDEs for animal epilepsy research studies and prepare guidelines for data collection and experimental procedures. If adopted, the preclinical CDEs could facilitate collaborative epilepsy research, comparisons of data across different laboratories, and promote rigor, transparency, and impact, particularly in therapy development. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 International League Against Epilepsy.

Update on Outcome Measure Development for Large Vessel Vasculitis: Report from OMERACT 12

PubMed Central

Aydin, Sibel Zehra; Direskeneli, Haner; Sreih, Antoine; Alibaz-Oner, Fatma; Gul, Ahmet; Kamali, Sevil; Hatemi, Gulen; Kermani, Tanaz; Mackie, Sarah L.; Mahr, Alfred; Meara, Alexa; Milman, Nataliya; Nugent, Heidi; Robson, Joanna; Tomasson, Gunnar; Merkel, Peter A.

2015-01-01

Objective The rarity of large vessel vasculitis (LVV) is a major factor limiting randomized controlled trials in LVV, resulting in treatment choices in these diseases that are guided mainly by observational studies and expert opinion. Further complicating trials in LVV is the absence of validated and meaningful outcome measures. The Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) vasculitis working group initiated the Large Vessel Vasculitis task force in 2009 to develop data-driven, validated outcome tools for clinical investigation in LVV. This report summarizes the progress that has been made on a disease activity assessment tool and patient-reported outcomes in LVV as well as the group’s research agenda. Methods The OMERACT LVV task force brought an international group of investigators and patient research partners together to work collaboratively on developing outcome tools. The group initially focused on disease activity assessment tools in LVV. Following a systematic literature review, an international Delphi exercise was conducted to obtain expert opinion on principles and domains for disease assessment. The OMERACT vasculitis working group’s LVV task force is also conducting qualitative research with patients, including interviews, focus groups, and engaging patients as research partners, all to ensure that the approach to disease assessment includes measures of patients’ perspectives and that patients have input into the research agenda and process. Results The preliminary results of both the Delphi exercise and the qualitative interviews were discussed at the OMERACT 12 (2014) meeting and the completion of the analyses will produce an initial set of domains and instruments to form the basis of next steps in the research agenda. Conclusion The research agenda continues to evolve, with the ultimate goal of developing an OMERACT-endorsed core set of outcome measures for use in clinical trials of LVV. PMID:26077399