ExoMars Raman Laser Spectrometer scientific required performances check with a Breadboard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moral, A.; Díaz, E.; Ramos, G.; Rodríguez Prieto, J. A.; Pérez Canora, C.; Díaz, C.; Canchal, R.; Gallego, P.; Santamaría, P.; Colombo, M.

2013-09-01

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is one of the Pasteur Payload instruments, within the ESA's Aurora Exploration Program, ExoMars mission. For being able to verify the achievement of the scientific objectives of the instrument, a Breadboard campaign was developed, for achieving instrument TRL5. Within the Instrument TRL5 Plan, it was required to every unit to develop its own Unit Breadboard, to check their own TRL5 and then to deliver it to System Team to be integrated and tested for finally checks Instrument performances.

Cryo-Vacuum Testing of the JWST Integrated Science Instrument Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kimble, Randy A.; Vila, M. Begona; Van Campen, Julie M.; Birkmann, Stephen M.; Comber, Brian J.; Fatig, Curtis C.; Glasse, Alistair C. H.; Glazer, Stuart D.; Kelly, Douglas M.; Mann, Steven D.;

Cryo-vacuum testing of the JWST Integrated Science Instrument Module (SPIE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kimble, Randy A.; Vila, M. Begona; Van Campen, Julie; Birkmann, Stephan M.; Comber, Brian J.; Fatig, Curtis C.; Glasse, Alistair C. H.; Glazer, Stuart D.; Kelly, Douglas M.; Mann, Steven D.;

Measuring conflict management, emotional self-efficacy, and problem solving confidence in an evaluation of outdoor programs for inner-city youth in Baltimore, Maryland.

PubMed

Caldas, Stephanie V; Broaddus, Elena T; Winch, Peter J

2016-08-01

Substantial evidence supports the value of outdoor education programs for promoting healthy adolescent development, yet measurement of program outcomes often lacks rigor. Accurately assessing the impacts of programs that seek to promote positive youth development is critical for determining whether youth are benefitting as intended, identifying best practices and areas for improvement, and informing decisions about which programs to invest in. We generated brief, customized instruments for measuring three outcomes among youth participants in Baltimore City Outward Bound programs: conflict management, emotional self-efficacy, and problem solving confidence. Measures were validated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of pilot-testing data from two groups of program participants. We describe our process of identifying outcomes for measurement, developing and adapting measurement instruments, and validating these instruments. The finalized measures support evaluations of outdoor education programs serving urban adolescent youth. Such evaluations enhance accountability by determining if youth are benefiting from programs as intended, and strengthen the case for investment in programs with demonstrated success. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

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

The Systems Approach to Assessment and Evaluation of Post-Secondary Vocational Education Programs. Final Report. October 1, 1976-June 30, 1978.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartz, John D.

A project was conducted to improve the employability and employment prospects for students by (1) identifying non-job task skills and characteristics important to job acquisition and retention, (2) constructing an instrument to assess the identified skills and characteristics, (3) pilot testing the instrument with graduates from two postsecondary…

Context Effects in Norwegian 10th-Grade Students' Reports on Learning Strategies Using the Cross-Curricular Competencies Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samuelstuen, Marit S.; Braten, Ivar; Valas, Harald

2007-01-01

This study examined contextual effects in Norwegian 10th-grade students' reports on cognitive and metacognitive strategies when using the Cross-Curricular Competencies (CCC) instrument. The CCC was first administered as the final task in a long (three-hour) testing session in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Program for…

Performances and first science results with the VEGA/CHARA visible instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mourard, D.; Tallon, M.; Bério, Ph.; Bonneau, D.; Chesneau, O.; Clausse, J. M.; Delaa, O.; Nardetto, N.; Perraut, K.; Spang, A.; Stee, Ph.; Tallon-Bosc, I.; McAlister, H.; ten Brummelaar, T.; Sturmann, J.; Sturmann, L.; Turner, N.; Farrington, C.; Goldfinger, P. J.

2010-07-01

This paper presents the current status of the VEGA (Visible spEctroGraph and polArimeter) instrument installed at the coherent focus of the CHARA Array, Mount Wilson CA. Installed in september 2007, the first science programs have started during summer 2008 and first science results are now published. Dedicated to high angular (0.3mas) and high spectral (R=30000) astrophysical studies, VEGA main objectives are the study of circumstellar environments of hot active stars or interactive binary systems and a large palette of new programs dedicated to fundamental stellar parameters. We will present successively the main characteristics of the instrument and its current performances in the CHARA environment, a short summary of two science programs and finally we will develop some studies showing the potential and difficulties of the 3 telescopes mode of VEGA/CHARA.

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

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

Final Report on the Airborne Field Mill Project (ABFM) 2000-2001 Field Campaign

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dye, James E.; Lewis, Sharon; Bateman, Monte, G.; Mach, Douglas M.; Merceret, Francis J.; Ward, Jennifer G.; Grainger, Cedric A.

2004-01-01

The Airborne Field Mill (ABFM) research program conducted under the direction of the John F. Kennedy Space Center during 2000 and 2001 is described. The purpose, methodology and initial results from the program are presented. Extensive appendices detailing the instrumentation used to collect the data are provided.

Demonstration and Research Program for Teaching Young String Players. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yarborough, William

This report explains a system for rapidly training beginning students in the technical aspects of playing a stringed instrument. The program also affords them a well-rounded, basic knowledge of music. A "numerical" method of notation and concentrated muscular exercises greatly speeded the technical learning process. The daily coordination of ear…

Investigation and Development of Competency Standards and Certification Requirements for Secondary-Level Vocational Foodservice Programs. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Usiewicz, Ronald A.

An investigation ascertained, analyzed, and documented competency standards and certification requirements for secondary-level vocational food service programs. A literature review produced no instruments used in past studies to measure the attitudes of food service professionals toward task competencies. Six occupations were selected for the…

Integration of Computer Related Instruction in Texas Vocational Agriculture Programs. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cepica, M. J.; And Others

A study examined current usage of microcomputers, projected software needs, and teacher inservice training needs in Texas vocational agriculture programs. Questionnaires were mailed to each of the 922 vocational agriculture departments in Texas. Data from the 446 usable instruments returned were tabulated by geographical area and school size.…

IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF CHARACTERISTICS OF KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN THAT FORETELL EARLY LEARNING PROBLEMS. FINAL REPORT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

REECE, WILLIAM K.

TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM OF SPECIFIC TRAINING RELATED TO MOTOR, SENSORY, AND PERCEPTUAL (M-S-P) PERFORMANCE, AN INSTRUMENT WAS DEVISED TO MEASURE THE M-S-P NEEDS AND STRENGTHS OF INDIVIDUAL PUPILS. RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED TO TEST THE DIAGNOSTIC AND PREDICTIVE POTENTIALS OF THE M-S-P INSTRUMENT AND TO ASCERTAIN THE…

Detailed technical plan for Test Program Element-III (TPE-III) of the first wall/blanket shield engineering test program

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

Turner, L.R.; Praeg, W.F.

1982-03-01

The experimental requirements, test-bed design, and computational requirements are reviewed and updated. Next, in Sections 3, 4 and 5, the experimental plan, instrumentation, and computer plan, respectively, are described. Finally, Section 6 treats other considerations, such as personnel, outside participation, and distribution of results.

A Validated Methodology for Determination of Laboratory Instrument Computer Interface Efficacy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-10

Final report for period 12/15/83-12/05/84 Prepared for DTIC TRIMIS PROGRAM OFFICE ELECT I" 5401 Westbard Avenue JN 18 Bethesda, Maryland 20816 JN0 2...NAME AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT DATE *TRIMIS PROGRAM OFFICE December 10, 1984 6 5401 Westbard Avenue 13. NUMBEROF PAGES Bethesda. Maryland 20816 30 14

78 FR 75362 - Notice of Issuance of Final Determination Concerning Docave Computer Software

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-11

... in whole or in part of materials from another country or instrumentality, it has been substantially... programming of a foreign PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory chip) in the United States substantially...

A Model Program for Sex Equity in Vocational Education. Final Report from July 1, 1982 to June 30, 1983.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bromley, Ann; Lanza-Kaduce, Linda

The sex equity program at Santa Fe Community College in Florida has become instrumental in an ongoing reeducation process in making people aware of the numerous career opportunities available to them and in dispelling myths about sex role stereotyping in the world of work. Included among the goals and objectives of the program are the following:…

The History of Radio Astronomy and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory: Evolution Toward Big Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malphrus, Benjamin Kevin

1990-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the sequence of events that led to the establishment of the NRAO, the construction and development of instrumentation and the contributions and discovery events and to relate the significance of these events to the evolution of the sciences of radio astronomy and cosmology. After an overview of the resources, a brief discussion of the early days of the science is given to set the stage for an examination of events that led to the establishment of the NRAO. The developmental and construction phases of the major instruments including the 85-foot Tatel telescope, the 300-foot telescope, the 140-foot telescope, and the Green Bank lnterferometer are examined. The technical evolution of these instruments is traced and their relevance to scientific programs and discovery events is discussed. The history is told in narrative format that is interspersed with technical and scientific explanations. Through the use of original data technical and scientific information of historical concern is provided to elucidate major developments and events. An interpretive discussion of selected programs, events and technological developments that epitomize the contributions of the NRAO to the science of radio astronomy is provided. Scientific programs conducted with the NRAO instruments that were significant to galactic and extragalactic astronomy are presented. NRAO research programs presented include continuum and source surveys, mapping, a high precision verification of general relativity, and SETI programs. Cosmic phenomena investigated in these programs include galactic and extragalactic HI and HII, emission nebula, supernova remnants, cosmic masers, giant molecular clouds, radio stars, normal and radio galaxies, and quasars. Modern NRAO instruments including the VLA and VLBA and their scientific programs are presented in the final chapter as well as plans for future NRAO instruments such as the GBT.

The Geostationary Operational Satellite R Series SpaceWire Based Data System Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krimchansky, Alexander; Anderson, William H.; Bearer, Craig

2010-01-01

The GOES-R program selected SpaceWire as the best solution to satisfy the desire for simple and flexible instrument to spacecraft command and telemetry communications. Data generated by GOES-R instruments is critical for meteorological forecasting, public safety, space weather, and other key applications. In addition, GOES-R instrument data is provided to ground stations on a 24/7 basis. GOES-R requires data errors be detected and corrected from origin to final destination. This paper describes GOES-R developed strategy to satisfy this requirement

Characterization and measurement of natural gas trace constituents. Volume 1. Arsenic. Final report, June 1989-October 1993

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

Chao, S.S.; Attari, A.

1995-01-01

The discovery of arsenic compounds, as alkylarsines, in natural gas prompted this research program to develop reliable measurement techniques needed to assess the efficiency of removal processes for these environmentally sensitive substances. These techniques include sampling, speciation, quantitation and on-line instrumental methods for monitoring the total arsenic concentration. The current program has yielded many products, including calibration standards, arsenic-specific sorbents, sensitive analytical methods and instrumentation. Four laboratory analytical methods have been developed and successfully employed for arsenic determination in natural gas. These methods use GC-AED and GC-MS instruments to speciate alkylarsines, and peroxydisulfate extraction with FIAS, special carbon sorbent withmore » XRF and an IGT developed sorbent with GFAA for total arsenic measurement.« less

High mass resolution, high angular acceptance time-of-flight mass spectroscopy for planetary missions under the Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, David T.

1991-01-01

This final report covers three years and several phases of work in which instrumentation for the Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP) were successfully developed. There were two main thrusts to this research: (1) to develop and test methods for electrostatically scanning detector field-of-views, and (2) to improve the mass resolution of plasma mass spectrometers to M/delta M approximately 25, their field-of-view (FOV) to 360 degrees, and their E-range to cover approximately 1 eV to 50 keV. Prototypes of two different approaches to electrostatic scanning were built and tested. The Isochronous time-of-flight (TOF) and the linear electric field 3D TOF devices were examined.

MSFC Skylab ground-based astronomy program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duncan, B. J.

1974-01-01

The Skylab Ground-Based Astronomy Program (SGAP) was conducted to enhance the data base of solar physics obtained during the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) mission flown in conjunction with the Skylab orbital station. Leading solar physicists from various observatories obtained data from the ground at the same time that orbital data were being acquired by ATM. The acquisition of corollary solar data from the ground simultaneously with the ATM orbital observations helped to provide a broader basis for understanding solar physics by increasing spectral coverage and by the use of additional sophisticated instruments of various types. This report briefly describes the individual tasks and the associated instrumentation selected for this ground-based program and contains as appendices, the final reports from the Principal Investigators.

Navy Calibration/Validation Protocols and Procedures for Visible and Thermal Satellites: Preparing for NPOESS

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-01

difficult but it determines the long-term stability of the sensor. This step includes sensor drift ( spectral response) and spectral (channel...and Navy products using high spectral resolution satellites. This program (Hyperspectral 34 Characterization of the Coastal Zone) is a core NRLSSC...absorption and total attenuation) the standard accepted instrument is the WetLab’s Inc., ac-9, with a higher resolution spectral instrument in final

A PC program for estimating measurement uncertainty for aeronautics test instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blumenthal, Philip Z.

1995-01-01

A personal computer program was developed which provides aeronautics and operations engineers at Lewis Research Center with a uniform method to quickly provide values for the uncertainty in test measurements and research results. The software package used for performing the calculations is Mathcad 4.0, a Windows version of a program which provides an interactive user interface for entering values directly into equations with immediate display of results. The error contribution from each component of the system is identified individually in terms of the parameter measured. The final result is given in common units, SI units, and percent of full scale range. The program also lists the specifications for all instrumentation and calibration equipment used for the analysis. It provides a presentation-quality printed output which can be used directly for reports and documents.

In Situ Measurements of N2O and CH4 During SOLVE on the ER-2 Using a New Tunable Diode Laser Instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jost, Hansjurg

2002-01-01

This report is the final report for Cooperative Agreement NCC2-1105: 'In Situ Measurements of N2O and CH4 during SOLVE on the ER-2 using a new tunable diode laser instrument.' The tasks outlined in the proposal are listed below with a brief comment. The publications and the conference presentations are listed. Finally the important publications are attached. The Cooperative Agreement made possible a research effort to produce high precision and high accuracy in situ measurements of methane and nitrous oxide on the ER-2 during the SOLVE field campaign and to analyze these measurements. These measurements of CH4 and N2O were of utmost importance to studies of the ozone losses in the Arctic winter and spring. The concentrations measured over a large spatial and temporal range allowed the separation of the dynamical and chemical ozone loss. The most important results of the SOLVE program were contained in two scientific papers. This Cooperative Agreement allowed the participation of the Argus instrument in the program and the analysis of the data.

Development and preliminary testing of a self-rating instrument to measure self-directed learning ability of nursing students.

PubMed

Cheng, Su-Fen; Kuo, Chien-Lin; Lin, Kuan-Chia; Lee-Hsieh, Jane

2010-09-01

With the growing trend of preparing students for lifelong learning, the theory of self-directed learning (SDL) has been increasingly applied in the context of higher education. In order to foster lifelong learning, abilities among nursing students, faculties need to have an appropriate instrument to measure the SDL abilities of nursing students. The objectives of this study were to develop an instrument to measure the SDL abilities of nursing students and to test the validity and reliability of this instrument. This study was conducted in 4 phases. In Phase 1, based on a review of the literature, the researchers developed an instrument to measure SDL. In Phase 2, two rounds of the Delphi study were conducted, to determine the content validity of the instrument. In Phase 3, a convenience sample of 1072 nursing students from two representative schools across three different types of nursing programs were recruited to test the construct validity of the Self-Directed Learning Instrument (SDLI). Finally, in Phase 4, the internal consistency and reliability of the instrument were tested. The resulting SDLI consists of 20 items across the following four domains: learning motivation, planning and implementing, self-monitoring, and interpersonal, communication. The final model in confirmatory factor analysis revealed that this 20-item SDLI indicated a good fit of the model. The value of Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was .916 and for the four domains were .801, .861, .785, and .765, respectively. The SDLI is a valid and reliable instrument for identifying student SDL abilities. It is available to students in nursing and similar medical programs to evaluate their own SDL. This scale may also enable nursing faculty to assess students' SDL status, design better lesson plans and curricula, and, implement appropriate teaching strategies for nursing students in order to foster the growth of lifelong learning abilities. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

OPERATION CASTLE. Radiological Safety. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

OPERATION CASTLE Radiological Safety Final Report Volume I Headquarters Joint Task Force Seven Technical Branch, J-3 Division Washington, DC...Spring 1954 EXTRACTED VERSION DTIC -uECTE MAR031986 NOTICE: This is an extract of Operation CASTLE, Radiological Safety, Final Report, Volume I ...SYMBOL (If jpQiictbl») ■ i PROCUREMENT INSTRUMENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER 8c AOORESS (G(y, SU(t tncl ZIRCod») 10 SOURCE OF FUNDING NUMBERS PROGRAM

Post-Master's Education for Middle and Upper-Level Personnel in Libraries and Information Centers. Final Report, Phase I.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kortendick, James J.; Stone, Elizabeth W.

A major way of upgrading the profession of librarianship is through a post-master's education program. This data base for the curriculum development of such a program utilized two data-gathering instruments: (1) a questionnaire and (2) interviews. The data are presented under three-headings: (1) questionnaire results, Chapters III, IV, V and VI;…

Use of Educational Technology in Agricultural Education: A National Study. Project Final Report Submitted to the National FFA Board of Directors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birkenholz, Robert J.; And Others

A study was conducted to assess the extent to which instructional technology has been adopted in secondary programs of agricultural education in the United States. Teachers from 479 secondary agriculture programs were randomly selected to provide responses to a mailed survey instrument requesting information about types and quantity of equipment,…

Advanced very high resolution radiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The program covered the design, construction, and test of a Breadboard Model, Engineering Model, Protoflight Model, Mechanical/Structural Model, and a Life Test Model. Special bench test and calibration equipment was also developed for use on the program. Initially, the instrument was to operate from a 906 n.mi. orbit and be thermally isolated from the spacecraft. The Breadboard Model and the Mechanical/Structural Model were designed and built to these requirements. The spacecraft altitude was changed to 450 n.mi., IFOVs and spectral characteristics were modified, and spacecraft interfaces were changed. The final spacecraft design provided a temperature-controlled Instrument Mounting Platform (IMP) to carry the AVHRR and other instruments. The design of the AVHRR was modified to these new requirements and the modifications were incorporated in the Engineering Model. The Protoflight Model and the Flight Models conform to this design.

Data Reduction and Analysis from the SOHO Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ipavich, F. M.

1999-01-01

This paper presents a final report on Data Reduction and Analysis from The SOHO Spacecraft from November 1, 1996-October 31, 1999. The topics include: 1) Instrumentation; 2) Health of Instrument; 3) Solar Wind Web Page; 3) Data Analysis; and 4) Science. This paper also includes appendices describing routine SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) tasks, SOHO Science Procedures in the UMTOF (University Mass Determining Time-of-Flight) System, SOHO Programs on UMTOF and a list of publications.

Wireless Sensor Needs in the Space Shuttle and CEV Structures Communities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, George H., III

2007-01-01

This presentation will clarify some of the structural measurement needs of NASA's Space Shuttle and Crew Exploration Vehicles. Emerging technologies in wireless sensor systems can be of some advantage in both Programs. The presentation will address how wireless instrumentation has helped in the past and what has gone unmeasured on Shuttle due to various limitations. Finally, it will address the needs of the CEV program that can be met with reliable wireless systems, if modular avionics interfaces are provided to accommodate the usual evolving needs of an ambitious space vehicle development program. Examples of the advantages of flight data to support flight certification engineering analyses and of areas where add-on wireless instrumentation can be used will be shown. Without flight instrumentation, it is necessary to retain the conservative assumptions used in the design process. It will be shown how the lessons learned on Space Shuttle for wired and wireless structural measurements apply to the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), which is currently being designed.

Artificial plasma experiments. Chemical release observations associated with the CRRES program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mende, Stephen B.

1994-01-01

This report submitted is the final report and covers work performed under the contract for the period Apr. 12, 1985 - Dec. 23, 1993. The CRRES program investigated earth plasma environment by active experiments in which metal vapors were injected into the upper atmosphere and magnetosphere. The vapor clouds perturb the ambient ionospheric / magnetospheric environment and the effects could be monitored by passive observing instruments. Our part of the CRRES program, the Artificial Plasma Experiment program, was a ground based and aircraft based investigation to observe artificial chemical releases by optical techniques.

Development and Psychometric Validation of HIPER-Q to Assess Knowledge of Hypertensive Patients in Cardiac Rehabilitation.

PubMed

Santos, Rafaella Zulianello Dos; Bonin, Christiani Decker Batista; Martins, Eliara Ten Caten; Pereira Junior, Moacir; Ghisi, Gabriela Lima de Melo; Macedo, Kassia Rosangela Paz de; Benetti, Magnus

2018-01-01

The absence of instruments capable of measuring the level of knowledge of hypertensive patients in cardiac rehabilitation programs about their disease reflects the lack of specific recommendations for these patients. To develop and validate a questionnaire to evaluate the knowledge of hypertensive patients in cardiac rehabilitation programs about their disease. A total of 184 hypertensive patients (mean age 60.5 ± 10 years, 66.8% men) were evaluated. Reproducibility was assessed by calculation of the intraclass correlation coefficient using the test-retest method. Internal consistency was assessed by the Cronbach's alpha and the construct validity by the exploratory factorial analysis. The final version of the instrument had 17 questions organized in areas considered important for patient education. The instrument proposed showed a clarity index of 8.7 (0.25). The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.804 and the Cronbach's correlation coefficient was 0.648. Factor analysis revealed five factors associated with knowledge areas. Regarding the criterion validity, patients with higher education level and higher family income showed greater knowledge about hypertension. The instrument has a satisfactory clarity index and adequate validity, and can be used to evaluate the knowledge of hypertensive participants in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Final Report of the Vocational Assessment Project, 1979-80.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutgers, The State Univ., New Brunswick, NJ. School of Medicine.

To improve vocational rehabilitation programs for schizophrenic persons, a project sought to design an effective assessment strategy. Inactive records of schizophrenic clients at New Jersey sheltered workshops were examined to determine validity and reliability of assessment instruments being used. General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) profiles of…

Mod-5A wind turbine generator program design report. Volume 3: Final design and system description, book 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

The design, development and analysis of the 7.3MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator is documented. The report is divided into four volumes: Volume 1 summarizes the entire MOD-5A program, Volume 2 discusses the conceptual and preliminary design phases, Volume 3 describes the final design of the MOD-5A, and Volume 4 contains the drawings and specifications developed for the final design. Volume 3, book 2 describes the performance and characteristics of the MOD-5A wind turbine generator in its final configuration. The subsystem for power generation, control, and instrumentation subsystems is described in detail. The manufacturing and construction plans, and the preparation of a potential site on Oahu, Hawaii, are documented. The quality assurance and safety plan, and analyses of failure modes and effects, and reliability, availability and maintainability are presented.

77 FR 34964 - Notice of Issuance of Final Determination Concerning Toshiba E-Studio Multi-Function Peripherals

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-12

... in part of materials from another country or instrumentality, it has been substantially transformed... the combining of parts or materials constitutes a substantial transformation, the determinative issue... States), the programming of a foreign PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory chip) in the United States...

Load response instrumentation of SHRP pavements, the University of Cincinnati : final report, May 2001.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-05-01

In 1995 and 1996 the Ohio Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), built a nearly 3.5 mile long Experimental Test Road in the median of the existing U.S. 2...

Ultrasonic Instrumentation Instruction in Dental Hygiene Programs in the United States.

PubMed

Hinchman, Sharon Stemple; Funk, Amy; DeBiase, Christina; Frere, Cathryn

2016-04-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of ultrasonic scaling instrumentation instruction in dental hygiene programs in the U.S. Currently, there is no publication available defining a consensus of instruction for ultrasonic instrumentation. Exempt status was received from the West Virginia University Institutional Review Board. A survey was developed with dental hygiene administrators and faculty, based on assumptions and a list of questions to be answered. The survey was tested for validity and revised after feedback from additional faculty. The instrument was 64 questions divided into demographics, curriculum and equipment. Most questions included a text box for additional comments. An email survey was sent to all directors of accredited dental hygiene programs in the U.S. (n=323). The final possible number of respondents was n=301. Results were collected in aggregate through the Secure Online Environment (SOLE). Results were transferred to an Excel spreadsheet for statistical analysis. After 3 emails, the response rate was 45% (n=136). No significant differences in methods of instruction were found between associate and baccalaureate degree granting programs. Eighty-nine percent of programs introduce hand scaling prior to ultrasonic scaling instruction. Students in 96% of the programs were required to administer pre-procedural mouth rinse intended to reduce the amount of bacteria. The magnetostrictive ultrasonic scaler is widely used in dental hygiene instruction. A variety of inserts/ tips were available although a universal or straight insert/tip was most common. Calculus, not inflammation, was the primary criterion for ultrasonic scaler use. The results of this study demonstrate that ultrasonic instrumentation is an integral component of the clinical curriculum and the majority of the dental hygiene programs prescribe to similar teaching methods. Programs could benefit from incorporating current scientific research findings of using site specific inserts to perform periodontal debridement based on thorough biofilm removal measured by resolution of inflammation. Copyright © 2016 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Treatment Readiness as a Determinant of Treatment Participation in a Prison-Based Rehabilitation Program: An Exploratory Study.

PubMed

Bosma, Anouk Q; Kunst, Maarten J J; Dirkzwager, Anja J E; Nieuwbeerta, Paul

2017-06-01

The current study had three aims. First, it measured treatment readiness among offenders who entered the Prevention of Recidivism program. This is a prison-based rehabilitation program in the Netherlands that aims to lower re-offending rates among offenders with a prison sentence of at least for months and that is carried out during the final months of incarceration. Second, the study evaluated whether treatment readiness was associated with treatment participation. Third, the study examined whether treatment readiness measured with a validated instrument predicted treatment participation above and beyond a clinical assessment of treatment readiness, currently used as a criterion to include offenders in rehabilitation programs. To address these aims, data were used from the fourth wave of a research project studying the effects of imprisonment on the life of detainees in the Netherlands. Results indicated that treatment readiness as measured with a validated instrument was a significant predictor of treatment participation. Also, the current study showed that treatment readiness measured with a validated instrument improved the prediction of treatment participation above and beyond a clinical assessment of treatment readiness. Outcomes were discussed in light of study limitations and implications.

Considerations for the establishment of a machinery monitoring analysis program for surface ships of the US Navy

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

Strunk, W.D.

1987-01-01

Personnel at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory were tasked by the US Navy to assist in establishing a maintenance monitoring program for machinery aboard surface ships. Given the number of surface ships, the variety of locations in which they operate, the different types of equipment (rotating and reciprocating, as well as instrumentation), and the different procedures which control the operation and maintenance of a ship, it can be seen, apart from the logistics of organizing such a monitoring program, that the technical issues are as varied and numerous as the ships themselves. Unique methods and procedures have been developed tomore » perform the tasks required on a large scale. Among the specific tasks and technical issues addressed were the development and installation of a data collection and communication instrumentation system for each port, the qualification of measurement methodologies and techniques, the establishment of computer data bases, the evaluation of the instrumentation used, training of civilian and military personnel, development of machinery condition assessment aids using machine design and modal analysis information, and development of computer displays. After these tasks were completed and the appropriate resolution integrated into the program, the final task was the development of a method to continually evaluate the effectiveness of the program, using actual maintenance records.« less

Medicare program; inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system for federal fiscal year 2014. Final rule.

PubMed

2013-08-06

This final rule updates the prospective payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for federal fiscal year (FY) 2014 (for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2013 and on or before September 30, 2014) as required by the statute. This final rule also revised the list of diagnosis codes that may be counted toward an IRF's "60 percent rule'' compliance calculation to determine "presumptive compliance,'' update the IRF facility-level adjustment factors using an enhanced estimation methodology, revise sections of the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility-Patient Assessment Instrument, revise requirements for acute care hospitals that have IRF units, clarify the IRF regulation text regarding limitation of review, update references to previously changed sections in the regulations text, and revise and update quality measures and reporting requirements under the IRF quality reporting program.

78 FR 21617 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; Final Endorsement of Credit Instrument

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-11

... Information Collection: Comment Request; Final Endorsement of Credit Instrument AGENCY: Office of the... Proposal: Final Endorsement of Credit Instrument. OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2502-0016. Description... Endorsement of Credit Instrument'' form is used to request to request final endorsement by HUD of the credit...

Large Volume, Optical and Opto-Mechanical Metrology Techniques for ISIM on JWST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hadjimichael, Theo

2015-01-01

The final, flight build of the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) element of the James Webb Space Telescope is the culmination of years of work across many disciplines and partners. This paper covers the large volume, ambient, optical and opto-mechanical metrology techniques used to verify the mechanical integration of the flight instruments in ISIM, including optical pupil alignment. We present an overview of ISIM's integration and test program, which is in progress, with an emphasis on alignment and optical performance verification. This work is performed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, in close collaboration with the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Mid-Infrared Instrument European Consortium.

Follow Through Classroom Process Measurement and Pupil Growth (1970-71). Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soar, Robert S.

This study presents results from the last year of a three-year adjunctive evaluation of classroom process measurement and pupil growth. A total of 289 classrooms involving eight experimental programs, ranging from open classrooms to contingency management classes, along with a comparison sample, were observed. Four observation instruments were…

Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program: Atmospheric Remote Sensing and Assessment Program -- Final Report. Part 1: The lower atmosphere

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

Tooman, T.P.

1997-01-01

This report documents work done between FY91 and FY95 for the lower atmospheric portion of the joint Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Remote Sensing and Assessment Program (ARSAP) within the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). The work focused on (1) developing new measurement capabilities and (2) measuring atmospheric heating in a well-defined layer and then relating it to cloud properties an water vapor content. Seven new instruments were develop3ed for use with Unmanned Aerospace Vehicles (UAVs) as the host platform for flux, radiance, cloud, and water vapor measurements. Four major field campaigns weremore » undertaken to use these new as well as existing instruments to make critically needed atmospheric measurements. Scientific results include the profiling of clear sky fluxes from near surface to 14 km and the strong indication of cloudy atmosphere absorption of solar radiation considerably greater than predicted by extant models.« less

Resident Wellness and Social Support: Development and Cognitive Validation of a Resident Social Capital Assessment Tool.

PubMed

Kaplan, Stephen J; Seabott, Heather M; Cunningham, Erika B; Helman, James D; Calderon, Alvin; Thirlby, Richard C; Schenarts, Kimberly D

The purpose of this study is to develop and generate validity evidence for an instrument to measure social capital in residents. Mixed-methods, phased approach utilizing a modified Delphi technique, focus groups, and cognitive interviews. Four residency training institutions in Washington state between February 2016 and March 2017. General surgery, anesthesia, and internal medicine residents ranging from PGY-1 to PGY-6. The initial resident-focused instrument underwent revision via Delphi process with 6 experts; 100% expert consensus was achieved after 4 cycles. Three focus groups were conducted with 19 total residents. Focus groups identified 6 of 11 instrument items with mean quality ratings ≤4.0 on a 1-5 scale. The composite instrument rating of the draft version was 4.1 ± 0.5. After refining the instrument, cognitive interviews with the final version were completed with 22 residents. All items in the final version had quality ratings >4.0; the composite instrument rating was 4.8 ± 0.1. Social capital may be an important factor in resident wellness as residents rely upon each other and external social support to withstand fatigue, burnout, and other negative sequelae of rigorous training. This instrument for assessment of social capital in residents may provide an avenue for data collection and potentially, identification of residents at-risk for wellness degradation. Copyright © 2018 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Final Technical Report for SISGR: Ultrafast Molecular Scale Chemical Imaging

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

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

2017-04-10

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

Institutional Conservation Program Evaluation Project: Results of hospital survey pretest

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

Collins, N.E.; Hatfield, B.K.; Kier, P.H.

As part of a study of energy conservation efforts in schools and hospitals and an evaluation of the Institutional Conservation Program sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE), teams from Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and DOE visited 15 hospitals to pretest a survey instrument (in the form of a 10-page questionnaire and a list of definitions) that will be sent to 1800 hospitals to solicit information on their energy consumption, energy conservation activities, and decision-making processes. The pretest had several purposes, including identification of problems in the survey instrument's format and in the wording of instructions andmore » questions. This report covers all aspects of the pretest. Characteristics of the hospitals and of the interviewees are discussed. Pretest procedures are described and responses to some of the survey questions are provided. Narrative summaries of selected interviews, containing informative anecdotes, are included in an appendix, as are technology transfer ideas and the final version of the survey instrument.« less

Medicine organizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martins, Ricardo; Belchior, Ismael

2015-04-01

In the last year of secondary school, students studying physics and chemistry are incentivized to do a project where they must put in practice their improvement of scientific knowledge and skills, like observation of phenomena and analysis of data with scientific knowledge. In this project a group of students, tutored by the teacher, wanted to build an instrument that helps people to take their medical drugs at the right time. This instrument must have some compartments with an alarm and an LED light where the people can put their medical drugs. The instrument must be easily programed using an android program that also registers if the medicine has been taken. The students needed to simulate the hardware and software, draw the electronic system and build the final product. At the end of the school year, a public oral presentation was prepared by each group of students and presented to the school community. They are also encouraged to participate in national and international scientific shows and competitions.

NASA's Student Airborne Research Program (2009-2013)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaller, E. L.; Shetter, R. E.

2013-12-01

The NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) is a unique summer internship program for rising senior undergraduates majoring in any of the STEM disciplines. SARP participants acquire hands-on research experience in all aspects of an airborne research campaign, including flying onboard an major NASA resource used for studying Earth system processes. In summer 2013, thirty-two participants worked in four interdisciplinary teams to study surface, atmospheric, and oceanographic processes. Participants assisted in the operation of instruments onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft where they sampled and measured atmospheric gases and imaged land and water surfaces in multiple spectral bands. Along with airborne data collection, students participated in taking measurements at field sites. Mission faculty and research mentors helped to guide participants through instrument operation, sample analysis, and data reduction. Over the eight-week program, each student developed an individual research project from the data collected and delivered a conference-style final presentation on his/her results. Several students will present the results of their research in science sessions at this meeting. We will discuss the results and effectiveness of the program over the past five summers and plans for the future.

Improved capabilities of the Multispectral Atmospheric Mapping Sensor (MAMS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jedlovec, Gary J.; Batson, K. Bryan; Atkinson, Robert J.; Moeller, Chris C.; Menzel, W. Paul; James, Mark W.

1989-01-01

The Multispectral Atmospheric Mapping Sensor (MAMS) is an airborne instrument being investigated as part of NASA's high altitude research program. Findings from work on this and other instruments have been important as the scientific justification of new instrumentation for the Earth Observing System (EOS). This report discusses changes to the instrument which have led to new capabilities, improved data quality, and more accurate calibration methods. In order to provide a summary of the data collected with MAMS, a complete list of flight dates and locations is provided. For many applications, registration of MAMS imagery with landmarks is required. The navigation of this data on the Man-computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS) is discussed. Finally, research applications of the data are discussed and specific examples are presented to show the applicability of these measurements to NASA's Earth System Science (ESS) objectives.

Introduction of Digital Computer Technology Into the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory. Final Technical Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perone, Sam P.

The objective of this project has been the development of a successful approach for the incorporation of on-line computer technology into the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. This approach assumes no prior programing, electronics or instrumental analysis experience on the part of the student; it does not displace the chemistry content with…

Validation of NOCTI Instruments Using Vocational Education Completers of Florida Comprehensive High Schools. Final Report (April 9, 1979-June 30, 1980).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Raymond; Klein, Raymond S.

A study examined the feasibility of adopting National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) examinations for use by completers of vocational programs in Florida comprehensive high schools. A total of 34 candidates in five occupational areas (architectural drafting, carpentry, plumbing, small engine repair, and welding) at four…

Final Checks of Aquarius Instrument

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-29

Less than two months before launch, team members conduct their final checks of NASA Aquarius instrument at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Subsequent final instrument tests will be conducted on the launch pad.

Advanced LabVIEW Labs

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

Jones, Eric D.

1999-06-17

In the world of computer-based data acquisition and control, the graphical interface program LabVIEW from National Instruments is so ubiquitous that in many ways it has almost become the laboratory standard. To date, there have been approximately fifteen books concerning LabVIEW, but Professor Essick's treatise takes on a completely different tack than all of the previous discussions. In the more standard treatments of the ways and wherefores of LabVIEW such as LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control by Gary W. Johnson (McGraw Hill, NY 1997), the emphasis has been instructing the reader how to program LabVIEW tomore » create a Virtual Instrument (VI) on the computer for interfacing to a particular instruments. LabVIEW is written in G a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. In the past the emphasis has been on training the experimenter to learn G . Without going into details here, G incorporates the usual loops, arithmetic expressions, etc., found in many programming languages, but in an icon (graphical) environment. The net result being that LabVIEW contains all of the standard methods needed for interfacing to instruments, data acquisition, data analysis, graphics, and also methodology to incorporate programs written in other languages into LabVIEW. Historically, according to Professor Essick, he developed a series of experiments for an upper division laboratory course for computer-based instrumentation. His observation was that while many students had the necessary background in computer programming languages, there were students who had virtually no concept about writing a computer program let alone a computer- based interfacing program. Thus the beginnings of a concept for not only teaching computer- based instrumentation techniques, but aiso a method for the beginner to experience writing a com- puter program. Professor Essick saw LabVIEW as the perfect environment in which to teach computer-based research skills. With this goal in mind, he has succeeded admirably. Advanced LabVIEW Labs presents a series of chapters devoted to not only introducing the reader to LabVIEW, but also to the concepts necessary for writing a successful computer pro- gram. Each chapter is an assignment for the student and is suitable for a ten week course. The first topic introduces the while loop and waveform chart VI'S. After learning how to launch LabVIEW, the student then leans how to use LabVIEW functions such as sine and cosine. The beauty of thk and subsequent chapters, the student is introduced immediately to computer-based instruction by learning how to display the results in graph form on the screen. At each point along the way, the student is not only introduced to another LabVIEW operation, but also to such subjects as spread sheets for data storage, numerical integration, Fourier transformations', curve fitting algorithms, etc. The last few chapters conclude with the purpose of the learning module, and that is, com- puter-based instrumentation. Computer-based laboratory projects such as analog-to-digital con- version, digitizing oscilloscopes treated. Advanced Lab VIEW Labs finishes with a treatment on GPIB interfacing and finally, the student is asked to create an operating VI for temperature con- trol. This is an excellent text, not only as an treatise on LabVIEW but also as an introduction to computer programming logic. All programmers, who are struggling to not only learning how interface computers to instruments, but also trying understand top down programming and other programming language techniques, should add Advanced Lab-VIEW Labs to their computer library.« less

Advanced LabVIEW Labs

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

Jones, Eric D.

1999-06-17

In the world of computer-based data acquisition and control, the graphical interface program LabVIEW from National Instruments is so ubiquitous that in many ways it has almost become the laboratory standard. To date, there have been approximately fifteen books concerning LabVIEW, but Professor Essick's treatise takes on a completely different tack than all of the previous discussions. In the more standard treatments of the ways and wherefores of LabVIEW such as LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control by Gary W. Johnson (McGraw Hill, NY 1997), the emphasis has been instructing the reader how to program LabVIEW tomore » create a Virtual Instrument (VI) on the computer for interfacing to a particular instruments. LabVIEW is written in "G" a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. In the past the emphasis has been on training the experimenter to learn "G". Without going into details here, "G" incorporates the usual loops, arithmetic expressions, etc., found in many programming languages, but in an icon (graphical) environment. The net result being that LabVIEW contains all of the standard methods needed for interfacing to instruments, data acquisition, data analysis, graphics, and also methodology to incorporate programs written in other languages into LabVIEW. Historically, according to Professor Essick, he developed a series of experiments for an upper division laboratory course for computer-based instrumentation. His observation was that while many students had the necessary background in computer programming languages, there were students who had virtually no concept about writing a computer program let alone a computer- based interfacing program. Thus the beginnings of a concept for not only teaching computer- based instrumentation techniques, but aiso a method for the beginner to experience writing a com- puter program. Professor Essick saw LabVIEW as the "perfect environment in which to teach computer-based research skills." With this goal in mind, he has succeeded admirably. Advanced LabVIEW Labs presents a series of chapters devoted to not only introducing the reader to LabVIEW, but also to the concepts necessary for writing a successful computer pro- gram. Each chapter is an assignment for the student and is suitable for a ten week course. The first topic introduces the while loop and waveform chart VI'S. After learning how to launch LabVIEW, the student then leans how to use LabVIEW functions such as sine and cosine. The beauty of thk and subsequent chapters, the student is introduced immediately to computer-based instruction by learning how to display the results in graph form on the screen. At each point along the way, the student is not only introduced to another LabVIEW operation, but also to such subjects as spread sheets for data storage, numerical integration, Fourier transformations', curve fitting algorithms, etc. The last few chapters conclude with the purpose of the learning module, and that is, com- puter-based instrumentation. Computer-based laboratory projects such as analog-to-digital con- version, digitizing oscilloscopes treated. Advanced Lab VIEW Labs finishes with a treatment on GPIB interfacing and finally, the student is asked to create an operating VI for temperature con- trol. This is an excellent text, not only as an treatise on LabVIEW but also as an introduction to computer programming logic. All programmers, who are struggling to not only learning how interface computers to instruments, but also trying understand top down programming and other programming language techniques, should add Advanced Lab-VIEW Labs to their computer library.« less

A Survey to Evaluate Facilitators and Barriers to Quality Measurement and Improvement: Adapting Tools for Implementation Research in Palliative Care Programs.

PubMed

Dy, Sydney M; Al Hamayel, Nebras Abu; Hannum, Susan M; Sharma, Ritu; Isenberg, Sarina R; Kuchinad, Kamini; Zhu, Junya; Smith, Katherine; Lorenz, Karl A; Kamal, Arif H; Walling, Anne M; Weaver, Sallie J

2017-12-01

Although critical for improving patient outcomes, palliative care quality indicators are not yet widely used. Better understanding of facilitators and barriers to palliative care quality measurement and improvement might improve their use and program quality. Development of a survey tool to assess palliative care team perspectives on facilitators and barriers to quality measurement and improvement in palliative care programs. We used the adapted Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to define domains and constructs to select instruments. We assembled a draft survey and assessed content validity through pilot testing and cognitive interviews with experts and frontline practitioners for key items. We analyzed responses using a constant comparative process to assess survey item issues and potential solutions. We developed a final survey using these results. The survey includes five published instruments and two additional item sets. Domains include organizational characteristics, individual and team characteristics, intervention characteristics, and process of implementation. Survey modules include Quality Improvement in Palliative Care, Implementing Quality Improvement in the Palliative Care Program, Teamwork and Communication, Measuring the Quality of Palliative Care, and Palliative Care Quality in Your Program. Key refinements from cognitive interviews included item wording on palliative care team members, programs, and quality issues. This novel, adaptable instrument assesses palliative care team perspectives on barriers and facilitators for quality measurement and improvement in palliative care programs. Next steps include evaluation of the survey's construct validity and how survey results correlate with findings from program quality initiatives. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. All rights reserved.

75 FR 6682 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; Final Endorsement of Credit Instrument

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-10

... Information Collection: Comment Request; Final Endorsement of Credit Instrument AGENCY: Office of the.... This Notice also lists the following information: Title of Proposal: Final Endorsement of Credit... proposed use: The information collected on the ``Final Endorsement of Credit Instrument'' form is used to...

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Payload Development and Performance in Flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ennico, Kimberly; Shirley, Mark; Colaprete, Anthony; Osetinsky, Leonid

2012-05-01

The primary objective of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed region (PSR) at a lunar pole. LCROSS was classified as a NASA Class D mission. Its payload, the subject of this article, was designed, built, tested and operated to support a condensed schedule, risk tolerant mission approach, a new paradigm for NASA science missions. All nine science instruments, most of them ruggedized commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS), successfully collected data during all in-flight calibration campaigns, and most importantly, during the final descent to the lunar surface on October 9, 2009, after 112 days in space. LCROSS demonstrated that COTS instruments and designs with simple interfaces, can provide high-quality science at low-cost and in short development time frames. Building upfront into the payload design, flexibility, redundancy where possible even with the science measurement approach, and large margins, played important roles for this new type of payload. The environmental and calibration approach adopted by the LCROSS team, compared to existing standard programs, is discussed. The description, capabilities, calibration and in-flight performance of each instrument are summarized. Finally, this paper goes into depth about specific areas where the instruments worked differently than expected and how the flexibility of the payload team, the knowledge of instrument priority and science trades, and proactive margin maintenance, led to a successful science measurement by the LCROSS payload's instrument complement.

MOD-5A wind turbine generator program design report: Volume 1: Executive Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

The design, development and analysis of the 7.3 MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator covering work performed between July 1980 and June 1984 is discussed. The report is divided into four volumes: Volume 1 summarizes the entire MOD-5A program, Volume 2 discusses the conceptual and preliminary design phases, Volume 3 describes the final design of the MOD-5A, and Volume 4 contains the drawings and specifications developed for the final design. Volume 1, the Executive Summary, summarizes all phases of the MOD-5A program. The performance and cost of energy generated by the MOD-5A are presented. Each subsystem - the rotor, drivetrain, nacelle, tower and foundation, power generation, and control and instrumentation subsystems - is described briefly. The early phases of the MOD-5A program, during which the design was analyzed and optimized, and new technologies and materials were developed, are discussed. Manufacturing, quality assurance, and safety plans are presented. The volume concludes with an index of volumes 2 and 3.

The Airborne Ocean Color Imager - System description and image processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wrigley, Robert C.; Slye, Robert E.; Klooster, Steven A.; Freedman, Richard S.; Carle, Mark; Mcgregor, Lloyd F.

1992-01-01

The Airborne Ocean Color Imager was developed as an aircraft instrument to simulate the spectral and radiometric characteristics of the next generation of satellite ocean color instrumentation. Data processing programs have been developed as extensions of the Coastal Zone Color Scanner algorithms for atmospheric correction and bio-optical output products. The latter include several bio-optical algorithms for estimating phytoplankton pigment concentration, as well as one for the diffuse attenuation coefficient of the water. Additional programs have been developed to geolocate these products and remap them into a georeferenced data base, using data from the aircraft's inertial navigation system. Examples illustrate the sequential data products generated by the processing system, using data from flightlines near the mouth of the Mississippi River: from raw data to atmospherically corrected data, to bio-optical data, to geolocated data, and, finally, to georeferenced data.

Developing Competency-Based Activities and Evaluation Instruments for the Advertising Service Area of Distribution. Final Report. Leadership Development Series: Advertising Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pittsburgh Univ., PA. Div. of Teacher Development.

To provide materials for a national exchange program and a Pennsylvania activities bank, a project was designed to produce materials for teacher-coordinators of high school distributive education. The project objectives were to (1) review and evaluate competencies necessary for advertising service careers, (2) develop activities and evaluative…

Blade Surface Pressure Distributions in a Rocket Engine Turbine: Experimental Work With On-Blade Pressure Transducers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hudson, Susan T.; Zoladz, Thomas F.; Griffin, Lisa W.; Turner, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Understanding the unsteady aspects of turbine rotor flowfields is critical to successful future turbine designs. A technology program was conducted at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to increase the understanding of unsteady environments for rocket engine turbines. The experimental program involved instrumenting turbine rotor blades with surface-mounted high frequency response pressure transducers. The turbine model was then tested to measure the unsteady pressures on the rotor blades. The data obtained from the experimental program is unique in three respects. First, much more unsteady data was obtained (several minutes per set point) than has been possible in the past. Also, two independent unsteady data acquisition systems and fundamental signal processing approaches were used. Finally, an extensive steady performance database existed for the turbine model. This allowed an evaluation of the effect of the on-blade instrumentation on the turbine's performance. This unique data set, the lessons learned for acquiring this type of data, and the improvements made to the data analysis and prediction tools will contribute to future turbine programs such as those for reusable launch vehicles.

Exoplanetary Science: Instrumentation, Observations, and Expectations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McElwain, Michael

2011-01-01

More than 700 exoplanets have been discovered and studied using indirect techniques, leading our field into the exciting new era of comparative exoplanetology. However, the direct detection of exoplanetary systems still remains at the sensitivity limits of both ground- and space-based observatories. The development of new technologies for adaptive optics systems and high contrast instruments continues to increase the ability to directly study exoplanets. The scientific impact of these developments has promising prospects for both short and long timescales. In my talk, I will discuss recent highlights from the SEEDS survey and the current instrumentation in use at the Subaru telescope. SEEDS is a high contrast imaging strategic observing program with 120 nights of time allocated at the NAOJ's flagship optical and infrared telescope. I will also describe new instrumentation I designed to improve the SEEDS capabilities and efficiency. Finally, I will briefly discuss the conceptual design of a transiting planet camera to fly as a potential second generation instrument on-board NASA's SOFIA observatory.

Optical synthesizer for a large quadrant-array CCD camera: Center director's discretionary fund

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hagyard, Mona J.

1992-01-01

The objective of this program was to design and develop an optical device, an optical synthesizer, that focuses four contiguous quadrants of a solar image on four spatially separated CCD arrays that are part of a unique CCD camera system. This camera and the optical synthesizer will be part of the new NASA-Marshall Experimental Vector Magnetograph, and instrument developed to measure the Sun's magnetic field as accurately as present technology allows. The tasks undertaken in the program are outlined and the final detailed optical design is presented.

High performance low cost interconnections for flip chip attachment with electrically conductive adhesive. Final report

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

NONE

1998-05-01

This final report is a compilation of final reports from each of the groups participating in the program. The main three groups involved in this effort are the Thomas J. Watson Research Center of IBM Corporation in Yorktown Heights, New York, Assembly Process Design of IBM Corporation in Endicott, New York, and SMT Laboratory of Universal Instruments Corporation in Binghamton, New York. The group at the research center focused on the conductive adhesive materials development and characterization. The group in process development focused on processing of the Polymer-Metal-Solvent Paste (PMSP) to form conductive adhesive bumps, formation of the Polymer-Metal Compositemore » (PMC) on semiconductor devices and study of the bonding process to circuitized organic carriers, and the long term durability and reliability of joints formed using the process. The group at Universal Instruments focused on development of an equipment set and bonding parameters for the equipment to produce bond assembly tooling. Reports of each of these individual groups are presented here reviewing their technical efforts and achievements.« less

Instrument developments and recent scientific highlights at the J-NSE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanova, Oxana; Pasini, Stefano; Monkenbusch, Michael; Holderer, Olaf

2017-06-01

The J-NSE neutron spin echo spectrometer faces now 10 years of successful user operation at the FRM II research reactor at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ). We present scientific highlights and instrumental developments of the last decade, for example the development of grazing incidence neutron spin echo spectroscopy (GINSES) at the J-NSE and investigations of the dynamics at solid-liquid interfaces with this new option. Polymers in confinement have been a prominent topic, as well as the internal dynamics of proteins. The scientific questions also triggered instrumental developments such as a new polarizer and a new neutron guide concept. Finally, the future of the J-NSE will be addressed with a short presentation of the current upgrade program with superconducting main coils with reduced intrinsic field integral inhomogeneity.

Instrumentation progress at the Giant Magellan Telescope project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacoby, George H.; Bernstein, R.; Bouchez, A.; Colless, M.; Crane, Jeff; DePoy, D.; Espeland, B.; Hare, Tyson; Jaffe, D.; Lawrence, J.; Marshall, J.; McGregor, P.; Shectman, Stephen; Sharp, R.; Szentgyorgyi, A.; Uomoto, Alan; Walls, B.

2016-08-01

Instrument development for the 24m Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is described: current activities, progress, status, and schedule. One instrument team has completed its preliminary design and is currently beginning its final design (GCLEF, an optical 350-950 nm, high-resolution and precision radial velocity echelle spectrograph). A second instrument team is in its conceptual design phase (GMACS, an optical 350-950 nm, medium resolution, 6-10 arcmin field, multi-object spectrograph). A third instrument team is midway through its preliminary design phase (GMTIFS, a near-IR YJHK diffraction-limited imager/integral-field-spectrograph), focused on risk reduction prototyping and design optimization. A fourth instrument team is currently fabricating the 5 silicon immersion gratings needed to begin its preliminary design phase (GMTNIRS, a simultaneous JHKLM high-resolution, AO-fed, echelle spectrograph). And, another instrument team is focusing on technical development and prototyping (MANIFEST, a facility robotic, multifiber feed, with a 20 arcmin field of view). In addition, a medium-field (6 arcmin, 0.06 arcsec/pix) optical imager will support telescope and AO commissioning activities, and will excel at narrow-band imaging. In the spirit of advancing synergies with other groups, the challenges of running an ELT instrument program and opportunities for cross-ELT collaborations are discussed.

NASA's Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) 2009-2017

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaller, E. L.

2017-12-01

The NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) is a unique summer internship program for rising senior undergraduates majoring in any of the STEM disciplines. SARP participants acquire hands-on research experience in all aspects of a NASA airborne campaign, including flying onboard NASA research aircraft while studying Earth system processes. Approximately thirty-two students are competitively selected each summer from colleges and universities across the United States. Students work in four interdisciplinary teams to study surface, atmospheric, and oceanographic processes. Participants assist in the operation of instruments onboard NASA aircraft where they sample and measure atmospheric gases and image land and water surfaces in multiple spectral bands. Along with airborne data collection, students participate in taking measurements at field sites. Mission faculty and research mentors help to guide participants through instrument operation, sample analysis, and data reduction. Over the eight-week program, each student develops an individual research project from the data collected and delivers a conference-style final presentation on their results. Each year, several students present the results of their SARP research projects in scientific sessions at this meeting. We discuss the results and effectiveness of the program over the past nine summers and plans for the future.

Nuclear Physics Science Network Requirements Workshop, May 2008 - Final Report

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

Tierney, Ed., Brian L; Dart, Ed., Eli; Carlson, Rich

2008-11-10

The Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) is the primary provider of network connectivity for the US Department of Energy Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States of America. In support of the Office of Science programs, ESnet regularly updates and refreshes its understanding of the networking requirements of the instruments, facilities, scientists, and science programs that it serves. This focus has helped ESnet to be a highly successful enabler of scientific discovery for over 20 years. In May 2008, ESnet and the Nuclear Physics (NP) Program Office of the DOEmore » Office of Science organized a workshop to characterize the networking requirements of the science programs funded by the NP Program Office. Most of the key DOE sites for NP related work will require significant increases in network bandwidth in the 5 year time frame. This includes roughly 40 Gbps for BNL, and 20 Gbps for NERSC. Total transatlantic requirements are on the order of 40 Gbps, and transpacific requirements are on the order of 30 Gbps. Other key sites are Vanderbilt University and MIT, which will need on the order of 20 Gbps bandwidth to support data transfers for the CMS Heavy Ion program. In addition to bandwidth requirements, the workshop emphasized several points in regard to science process and collaboration. One key point is the heavy reliance on Grid tools and infrastructure (both PKI and tools such as GridFTP) by the NP community. The reliance on Grid software is expected to increase in the future. Therefore, continued development and support of Grid software is very important to the NP science community. Another key finding is that scientific productivity is greatly enhanced by easy researcher-local access to instrument data. This is driving the creation of distributed repositories for instrument data at collaborating institutions, along with a corresponding increase in demand for network-based data transfers and the tools to manage those transfers effectively. Network reliability is also becoming more important as there is often a narrow window between data collection and data archiving when transfer and analysis can be done. The instruments do not stop producing data, so extended network outages can result in data loss due to analysis pipeline stalls. Finally, as the scope of collaboration continues to increase, collaboration tools such as audio and video conferencing are becoming ever more critical to the productivity of scientific collaborations.« less

Shuttle optical environment; Proceedings of the Meeting, Washington, DC, April 23, 24, 1981

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, E. R. (Editor); Fazio, G. G.

1982-01-01

The numerical modeling, instrumentation, identification, and procedures to characterize and/or control contamination hazards to equipment used on the Shuttle are discussed. On-orbit pollutants include molecular offgassing and outgassing, particulate material, and substances from thrusters, vents, and leaks. Clean-rooms are being implemented in ground assembly and integration facilities. Attention is given to an upgraded SPACE program for numerically modeling contamination pathways and appropriate procedures to protect instrumentation from film and particulate deposition. Finally, attention is given to military cryogenic IR detectors being employed to quantify the Shuttle thermal and solid pollutant environment on-orbit as a prelude to future operational IR sensors.

Medicare program; standards for quality of water used in dialysis and revised guidelines on reuse of hemodialysis filters for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients--HCFA. Final rule.

PubMed

1995-09-18

This final rule revises the Medicare conditions for coverage of suppliers of end-stage renal disease services. The revisions remove general language in the regulations regarding water quality; incorporate by reference standards for monitoring the quality of water used in dialysis as published by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) in its document, "Hemodialysis Systems" (second edition); and update existing regulations to incorporate by reference the second edition of AAMI's voluntary guidelines on "Reuse of Hemodialyzers."

Defense Acquisition Research Journal. Volume 23, Number 4, Issue 79, October 2016

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

the final word on ship design decisions, including critical operational requirements and costs. Kuehn provides a captivating description of how the...requires using material from primary sources, including program documents, policy papers, memoranda, surveys , interviews, etc. Articles are...instrument, • describe the limitations of the research, • ensure results are quantitative and qualitative, • determine if the study can be replicated, and

Teaching Standard English as a Second Dialect to Primary School Children in Hilo, Hawaii. Volume I of II Volumes. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Robert O. H.

This document describes a four-year program designed to develop and test a method for teaching standard English to nonstandard dialect speakers in the first four grades of elementary school in Hilo, Hawaii. Chapters in this first volume are (1) Introduction, (2) Project Site and Evaluation Strategy, (3) Instrumentation, (4) Development of Lesson…

Satellite-Based Stratospheric and Tropospheric Measurements: Determination of Global Ozone and other Trace Species

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chance, K. V.

2001-01-01

This report summarizes research done under NASA Grant NAG5-3461 from November 1, 1996 through December 31, 2000. The research performed during this reporting period includes development and maintenance of scientific software for the GOME retrieval algorithms, consultation on operational software development for GOME, sensitivity and instrument studies to help finalize the definition of the SCIAMACHY instrument, leading the development of the SCIAMACHY Scientific Requirements Document for Data and Algorithm Development, consultation and development for SCIAMACHY near-real-time (NRT) and off-line (OL) data products, radiative transfer model development for utilization in GOME, SCIAMACHY and other programs, development of infrared line-by-line atmospheric modeling and retrieval capability for SCIAMACHY, and participation in GOME and SCIAMACHY validation studies. The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment was successfully launched on the ERS-2 satellite on April 20, 1995, and remains working in normal fashion. SCIAMACHY is currently planned for launch in late 2001 on the ESA Envisat satellite. Three GOME-2 instruments are now scheduled to fly on the Metop series of operational meteorological satellites (Eumetsat). K. Chance is a member of the reconstituted GOME Scientific Advisory Group, which will guide the GOME-2 program as well as the continuing ERS-2 GOME program.

[Development of a measurement of intellectual capital for hospital nursing organizations].

PubMed

Kim, Eun A; Jang, Keum Seong

2011-02-01

This study was done to develop an instrument for measuring intellectual capital and assess its validity and reliability in identifying the components, human capital, structure capital and customer capital of intellectual capital in hospital nursing organizations. The participants were 950 regular clinical nurses who had worked for over 13 months in 7 medical hospitals including 4 national university hospitals and 3 private university hospitals. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey done from July 2 to August 25, 2009. Data from 906 nurses were used for the final analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha coefficients, item analysis, factor analysis (principal component analysis, Varimax rotation) with the SPSS PC+ 17.0 for Windows program. Developing the instrument for measuring intellectual capital in hospital nursing organizations involved a literature review, development of preliminary items, and verification of validity and reliability. The final instrument was in a self-report form on a 5-point Likert scale. There were 29 items on human capital (5 domains), 21 items on customer capital (4 domains), 26 items on structure capital (4 domains). The results of this study may be useful to assess the levels of intellectual capital of hospital nursing organizations.

Programmed cell death acts at different stages of Drosophila neurodevelopment to shape the central nervous system

PubMed Central

Desplan, Claude

2016-01-01

Nervous system development is a process that integrates cell proliferation, differentiation and programmed cell death (PCD). PCD is an evolutionary conserved mechanism and a fundamental developmental process by which the final cell number in a nervous system is established. In vertebrates and invertebrates, PCD can be determined intrinsically by cell lineage and age, as well as extrinsically by nutritional, metabolic and hormonal states. Drosophila has been an instrumental model for understanding how this mechanism is regulated. We review the role of PCD in Drosophila central nervous system development from neural progenitors to neurons, its molecular mechanism and function, how it is regulated and implemented, and how it ultimately shapes the fly central nervous system from the embryo to the adult. Finally, we discuss ideas that emerge while integrating this information. PMID:27404003

Measurements of Trace Gases Using a Tunable Diode Laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jost, Hans-Juerg

2005-01-01

This report is the final report for "Measurements of Trace Gases Using a Tunable Diode Laser." The tasks outlined in the proposal are listed below with a brief comment. The publications and the conference presentations are listed. Finally, the important publications are attached. The Cooperative Agreement made possible a research effort to produce high- precision and high-accuracy in-situ measurements of carbon monoxide, methane and nitrous oxide on the WB-57 during the CRYSTAL-FACE and pre-AVE field campaigns and to analyze these measurements. These measurements of CO and CH4 were of utmost importance to studies of the radiative effects of clouds. Some important results of the CRYSTAL-FACE program were contained in two scientific papers (attached). This Cooperative Agreement allowed the participation of the Argus instrument in the program and the analysis of the data.

78 FR 47859 - Medicare Program; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System for Federal Fiscal...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-06

...This final rule updates the prospective payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for federal fiscal year (FY) 2014 (for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2013 and on or before September 30, 2014) as required by the statute. This final rule also revised the list of diagnosis codes that may be counted toward an IRF's ``60 percent rule'' compliance calculation to determine ``presumptive compliance,'' update the IRF facility-level adjustment factors using an enhanced estimation methodology, revise sections of the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility-Patient Assessment Instrument, revise requirements for acute care hospitals that have IRF units, clarify the IRF regulation text regarding limitation of review, update references to previously changed sections in the regulations text, and revise and update quality measures and reporting requirements under the IRF quality reporting program.

PRISM Polarimetry of Massive Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerkstra, Brennan; Lomax, Jamie R.; Bjorkman, Karen S.; Bjorkman, Jon Eric; Skiff, Brian; Covey, Kevin R.; Wisniewski, John P.

2016-01-01

We present the early results from our long-term, multi-epoch filter polarization survey of massive stars in and around young Galactic clusters. These BVRI polarization data were obtained using the PRISM instrument mounted on the 1.8m Perkins Telescope at Lowell Observatory. We first detail the creation of our new semi-automated polarization data reduction pipeline that we developed to process these data. Next, we present our analysis of the instrumental polarization properties of the PRISM instrument, via observations of polarized and unpolarized standard stars. Finally, we present early results on the total and intrinsic polarization behavior of several isolated, previously suggested classical Be stars, and discuss these results in the context of the larger project.BK acknowledges support from a NSF/REU at the University of Oklahoma. This program was also supported by NSF-AST 11411563, 1412110, and 1412135.

Noncognitive constructs in graduate admissions: an integrative review of available instruments.

PubMed

Megginson, Lucy

2009-01-01

In the graduate admission process, both cognitive and noncognitive instruments evaluate a candidate's potential success in a program of study. Traditional cognitive measures include the Graduate Record Examination or graduate grade point average, while noncognitive constructs such as personality, attitude, and motivation are generally measured through letters of recommendation, interviews, or personality inventories. Little consensus exists as to what criteria constitute valid and effective measurements of graduate student potential. This integrative review of available tools to measure noncognitive constructs will assist graduate faculty in identifying valid and reliable instruments that will enhance a more holistic assessment of nursing graduate candidates. Finally, as evidence-based practice begins to penetrate academic processes and as graduate faculty realize the predictive significance of noncognitive attributes, faculty can use the information in this integrative review to guide future research.

National Skills Standards Development Program: Organization and Operation of Technical Committees To Develop National Skill Standards for Competency in the Electronics Industry. The Third Party Summative Evaluation of the Electronic Industries Foundation Project. Phase I & II. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Losh, Charles

The Electronics Industries Foundation was awarded a project to develop national entry-level standards and a certification system. Ten specialties were included: automotive electronics, avionics, biomedical electronics, business machines, consumer products electronics, general electronics, industrial electronics, instrumentation, microcomputer, and…

Community Geothermal Technology Program: Fruit drying with geothermal energy. Final report

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

Not Available

1988-03-14

Largest problem was lack of proper recording and controlling instrumentation. Agricultural products tested were green papaya powder, banana slices, and pineapple slices. Results show that a temperature of 120 F is a good drying temperature. Papaya should be mature green and not overly ripe; banana ripeness is also important; and pineapple slice thickness should be very uniform for even drying. Geothermal drying is feasible. Figs, tabs.

A historical overview of flight flutter testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kehoe, Michael W.

1995-01-01

This paper reviews the test techniques developed over the last several decades for flight flutter testing of aircraft. Structural excitation systems, instrumentation systems, digital data preprocessing, and parameter identification algorithms (for frequency and damping estimates from the response data) are described. Practical experiences and example test programs illustrate the combined, integrated effectiveness of the various approaches used. Finally, comments regarding the direction of future developments and needs are presented.

PREFACE: 4th International Symposium on Instrumentation Science and Technology (ISIST'2006)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiubin, Tan

2006-10-01

On behalf of the International Program Committee of ISIST'2006 and the symposium coordinators, I would like to thank all the participants for their presence at the 4th International Symposium on Instrumentation Science and Technology (ISIST'2006), a platform for scientists, researchers and experts from different parts of the world to present their achievements and to exchange their views on ways and means to further develop modern instrumentation science and technology. In the present information age, instrumentation science and technology is playing a more and more important role, not only in the acquisition and conversion of information at the very beginning of the information transformation chain, but also in the transfer, manipulation and utilization of information. It provides an analysis and test means for bioengineering, medical engineering, life science, environmental engineering and micro/nanometer technology, and integrates these disciplines to form new subdivisions of their own. The major subject of the symposium is crossover and fusion between instrumentation science and technology and other sciences and technologies. ISIST'2006 received more than 800 full papers from 12 countries and regions, from which 300 papers were finally selected by the international program committee for inclusion in the proceedings of ISIST'2006, published in 2 volumes. The major topics include instrumentation basic theory and methodology, sensors and conversion technology, signal and image processing, instruments and systems, laser and optical fiber instrumentation, advanced optical instrumentation, optoelectronics instrumentation, MEMS, nanotechnology and instrumentation, biomedical and environmental instrumentation, automatic test and control. The International Symposium on Instrumentation Science and Technology (ISIST) is sponsored by ICMI, NSFC, CSM, and CIS, and organized by ICMI, HIT and IC-CSM, and held every two years. The 1st symposium was held in LuoYang, China in 1999. The 2nd symposium was held in JiNan, China in 2002. The 3rd symposium was held in Xi'an, China in 2004. The 4th symposium is held in Harbin, China in 2006. The 5th symposium will be held in Hangzhou in 2008. We hope this symposium will further promote the development of instrumentation science and technology and get us all together to create a bright future. Professor Dr Tan Jiubin

Software Analytical Instrument for Assessment of the Process of Casting Slabs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franěk, Zdeněk; Kavička, František; Štětina, Josef; Masarik, Miloš

2010-06-01

The paper describes the original proposal of ways of solution and function of the program equipment for assessment of the process of casting slabs. The program system LITIOS was developed and implemented in EVRAZ Vitkovice Steel Ostrava on the equipment of continuous casting of steel (further only ECC). This program system works on the data warehouse of technological parameters of casting and quality parameters of slabs. It enables an ECC technologist to analyze the course of casting melt and with using statistics methods to set the influence of single technological parameters on the duality of final slabs. The system also enables long term monitoring and optimization of the production.

NASA Planetary Science Division's Instrument Development Programs, PICASSO and MatISSE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaier, James R.

2016-01-01

The Planetary Science Division (PSD) has combined several legacy instrument development programs into just two. The Planetary Instrument Concepts Advancing Solar System Observations (PICASSO) program funds the development of low TRL instruments and components. The Maturation of Instruments for Solar System Observations (MatISSE) program funds the development of instruments in the mid-TRL range. The strategy of PSD instrument development is to develop instruments from PICASSO to MatISSE to proposing for mission development.

Comparison of effects of training programs for final year nursing students in Turkey: differences in self-efficacy with regard to information literacy.

PubMed

Özbıçakçı, Şeyda; Gezer, Nurdan; Bilik, Özlem

2015-02-01

Information literate person are aware of where and how they can obtain the information they need. Little is known about student nurses information literacy skills in different education programs. To find out how final year nursing students rated their own abilities to acquire new information. This study used comparative and descriptive cross-sectional surveys. Participants were final year students in two different programs, in two different universities in Turkey. The study sample consisted of final year nursing students who received training in Classic Learning (N: 61) and Problem-Based Learning (N: 96). As an evaluation instrument for the perceptions of the students their own information literacy, a scale consisting of 28 questions with 7 Likert ratings for each was used (min: 28, max: 196). The return rates of the surveys were 96.7% in the school with classic training and 81.2% in the school with PBL. It was found that the average scores of the students were high, with a mean of 137±29 in the school where the classic training program was carried out, and 163±21 in the school where the training was PBL. A statistically significant difference was found by comparing the average scores of the two independent groups (t : -6.0; p<0.05). Students in both of the training programs rated themselves as high. However, PBL training had a stronger influence on the development of their self-perceptions regarding information literacy. We conclude that training programs should be reviewed, and new methods should be developed based on these concepts. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A program of high resolution X-ray astronomy using sounding rockets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

Two Aerobee 170 sounding rocket payloads were flown at the White Sands Missile Range: (1) a focusing X-ray collector on 31 March 1972; and (2) a high resolution telescope on 4 August 1972. Data has been reduced from each of these flights. In the first flight both the rocket and the experiment instrumentation performed adequately, and it is clear that at least the minimum scientific objectives were attained. In the second flight the attitude control system failed to point the telescope at the target for a sufficient length of time. However examination of final preflight checkout data and some flight data indicate that the instrumentation for this rocket payload was functioning according to expectations.

Neutral Buoyancy Test - Hubble Space Telescope Scientific Instruments (SI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the first and flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. Pictured is MSFC's Neutral Buoyancy Simulator that served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is an astronaut training on a mock-up of a modular section of the HST in the removal and replacement of scientific instruments.

Lunar Prospector: First Results and Lessons Learned

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott Hubbard, G.; Feldman, William; Cox, Sylvia A.; Smith, Marcie A.; Chu-Thielbar, Lisa

2002-01-01

Lunar Prospector, the first competitively selected mission in NASA's Discovery Program, is conducting a one-year orbital survey of the Moon's composition and structure. Launched on January 6 1998, the suite of five instruments is measuring water/ice to a sensitivity of 50 ppm (hydrogen), detecting key elemental constituents, gas release events and mapping the Moon's gravitational and magnetic fields. The mission is described with emphasis on the first scientific results and lessons learned from managing a very low cost project. A mission overview and systems description is given along with final mission trajectories. Lessons learned from government-industry teaming, new modes of project management, and novel contractual arrangements are discussed. The suite of five instruments (neutron spectrometer, alpha particle spectrometer, gamma-ray spectrometer, electron reflectometer and magnetometer) is outlined with attention to final technical performance as well as development on a constrained budget and schedule. A review of our novel approaches to education and public outreach is discussed and a summary with suggestions and implications for future missions is provided.

Monitoring of Air Pollution by Satellites (MAPS), phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ludwig, C. B.; Malkmus, W.; Griggs, M.; Bartle, E. R.

1972-01-01

Results are reported upon which the design of a satellite remote gas filter correlation (RGFC) instrument can be based. Although a final decision about the feasibility of measuring some of the pollutants with the required accuracy is still outstanding and subject to further theoretical and experimental verifications, viable concepts are presented which permit the initiation of the design phase. The pollutants which are of concern in the troposphere and stratosphere were selected. The infrared bands of these pollutants were identified, together with the bands of interfering gases, and the line parameters of the pollutants as well as interfering gases were generated through a computer program. Radiative transfer calculations (line-by-line) were made to establish the radiation levels at the top of the atmosphere and the signal levels at the detector of the RGFC instrument. Based upon these results the channels for the RGFC were selected. Finally, the problem areas, which need further investigations, were delineated and the supporting data requirements were established.

A framework and a measurement instrument for sustainability of work practices in long-term care

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background In health care, many organizations are working on quality improvement and/or innovation of their care practices. Although the effectiveness of improvement processes has been studied extensively, little attention has been given to sustainability of the changed work practices after implementation. The objective of this study is to develop a theoretical framework and measurement instrument for sustainability. To this end sustainability is conceptualized with two dimensions: routinization and institutionalization. Methods The exploratory methodological design consisted of three phases: a) framework development; b) instrument development; and c) field testing in former improvement teams in a quality improvement program for health care (N teams = 63, N individual = 112). Data were collected not until at least one year had passed after implementation. Underlying constructs and their interrelations were explored using Structural Equation Modeling and Principal Component Analyses. Internal consistency was computed with Cronbach's alpha coefficient. A long and a short version of the instrument are proposed. Results The χ2- difference test of the -2 Log Likelihood estimates demonstrated that the hierarchical two factor model with routinization and institutionalization as separate constructs showed a better fit than the one factor model (p < .01). Secondly, construct validity of the instrument was strong as indicated by the high factor loadings of the items. Finally, the internal consistency of the subscales was good. Conclusions The theoretical framework offers a valuable starting point for the analysis of sustainability on the level of actual changed work practices. Even though the two dimensions routinization and institutionalization are related, they are clearly distinguishable and each has distinct value in the discussion of sustainability. Finally, the subscales conformed to psychometric properties defined in literature. The instrument can be used in the evaluation of improvement projects. PMID:22087884

Translation and validation of the Malay version of the Stroke Knowledge Test.

PubMed

Sowtali, Siti Noorkhairina; Yusoff, Dariah Mohd; Harith, Sakinah; Mohamed, Monniaty

2016-04-01

To date, there is a lack of published studies on assessment tools to evaluate the effectiveness of stroke education programs. This study developed and validated the Malay language version of the Stroke Knowledge Test research instrument. This study involved translation, validity, and reliability phases. The instrument underwent backward and forward translation of the English version into the Malay language. Nine experts reviewed the content for consistency, clarity, difficulty, and suitability for inclusion. Perceived usefulness and utilization were obtained from experts' opinions. Later, face validity assessment was conducted with 10 stroke patients to determine appropriateness of sentences and grammar used. A pilot study was conducted with 41 stroke patients to determine the item analysis and reliability of the translated instrument using the Kuder Richardson 20 or Cronbach's alpha. The final Malay version Stroke Knowledge Test included 20 items with good content coverage, acceptable item properties, and positive expert review ratings. Psychometric investigations suggest that Malay version Stroke Knowledge Test had moderate reliability with Kuder Richardson 20 or Cronbach's alpha of 0.58. Improvement is required for Stroke Knowledge Test items with unacceptable difficulty indices. Overall, the average rating of perceived usefulness and perceived utility of the instruments were both 72.7%, suggesting that reviewers were likely to use the instruments in their facilities. Malay version Stroke Knowledge Test was a valid and reliable tool to assess educational needs and to evaluate stroke knowledge among participants of group-based stroke education programs in Malaysia.

Key issues in the thermal design of spaceborne cryogenic infrared instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schember, Helene R.; Rapp, Donald

1992-12-01

Thermal design and analysis play an integral role in the development of spaceborne cryogenic infrared (IR) instruments. From conceptual sketches to final testing, both direct and derived thermal requirements place significant constraints on the instrument design. Although in practice these thermal requirements are interdependent, the sources of most thermal constraints may be grouped into six distinct categories. These are: (1) Detector temperatures, (2) Optics temperatures, (3) Pointing or alignment stability, (4) Mission lifetime, (5) Orbit, and (6) Test and Integration. In this paper, we discuss these six sources of thermal requirements with particular regard to development of instrument packages for low background infrared astronomical observatories. In the end, the thermal performance of these instruments must meet a set of thermal requirements. The development of these requirements is typically an ongoing and interactive process, however, and the thermal design must maintain flexibility and robustness throughout the process. The thermal (or cryogenic) engineer must understand the constraints imposed by the science requirements, the specific hardware, the observing environment, the mission design, and the testing program. By balancing these often competing factors, the system-oriented thermal engineer can work together with the experiment team to produce an effective overall design of the instrument.

Assessing the Quality of Mobile Exercise Apps Based on the American College of Sports Medicine Guidelines: A Reliable and Valid Scoring Instrument.

PubMed

Guo, Yi; Bian, Jiang; Leavitt, Trevor; Vincent, Heather K; Vander Zalm, Lindsey; Teurlings, Tyler L; Smith, Megan D; Modave, François

2017-03-07

Regular physical activity can not only help with weight management, but also lower cardiovascular risks, cancer rates, and chronic disease burden. Yet, only approximately 20% of Americans currently meet the physical activity guidelines recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services. With the rapid development of mobile technologies, mobile apps have the potential to improve participation rates in exercise programs, particularly if they are evidence-based and are of sufficient content quality. The goal of this study was to develop and test an instrument, which was designed to score the content quality of exercise program apps with respect to the exercise guidelines set forth by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). We conducted two focus groups (N=14) to elicit input for developing a preliminary 27-item scoring instruments based on the ACSM exercise prescription guidelines. Three reviewers who were no sports medicine experts independently scored 28 exercise program apps using the instrument. Inter- and intra-rater reliability was assessed among the 3 reviewers. An expert reviewer, a Fellow of the ACSM, also scored the 28 apps to create criterion scores. Criterion validity was assessed by comparing nonexpert reviewers' scores to the criterion scores. Overall, inter- and intra-rater reliability was high with most coefficients being greater than .7. Inter-rater reliability coefficients ranged from .59 to .99, and intra-rater reliability coefficients ranged from .47 to 1.00. All reliability coefficients were statistically significant. Criterion validity was found to be excellent, with the weighted kappa statistics ranging from .67 to .99, indicating a substantial agreement between the scores of expert and nonexpert reviewers. Finally, all apps scored poorly against the ACSM exercise prescription guidelines. None of the apps received a score greater than 35, out of a possible maximal score of 70. We have developed and presented valid and reliable scoring instruments for exercise program apps. Our instrument may be useful for consumers and health care providers who are looking for apps that provide safe, progressive general exercise programs for health and fitness. ©Yi Guo, Jiang Bian, Trevor Leavitt, Heather K Vincent, Lindsey Vander Zalm, Tyler L Teurlings, Megan D Smith, François Modave. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 07.03.2017.

Essential SpaceWire Hardware Capabilities for a Robust Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birmingham, Michael; Krimchansky, Alexander; Anderson, William; Lombardi, Matthew

2016-01-01

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series Program (GOES-R) mission is a joint program between National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). GOES-R project selected SpaceWire as the best solution to satisfy the desire for simple and flexible instrument to spacecraft command and telemetry communications. GOES-R development and integration is complete and the observatory is scheduled for launch October 2016. The spacecraft design was required to support redundant SpaceWire links for each instrument side, as well as to route the fewest number of connections through a Slip Ring Assembly necessary to support Solar pointing instruments. The final design utilized two different router designs. The SpaceWire standard alone does not ensure the most practical or reliable network. On GOES-R a few key hardware capabilities were identified that merit serious consideration for future designs. Primarily these capabilities address persistent port stalls and the prevention of receive buffer overflows. Workarounds were necessary to overcome shortcomings that could be avoided in future designs if they utilize the capabilities, discussed in this paper, above and beyond the requirements of the SpaceWire standard.

Earth Viewing Applications Laboratory (EVAL). Instrument catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

There were 87 instruments described that are used in earth observation, with an additional 51 instruments containing references to programs and their major functions. These instruments were selected from such sources as: (1) earth observation flight program, (2) operational satellite improvement programs, (3) advanced application flight experiment program, (4) shuttle experiment definition program, and (5) earth observation aircraft program.

A comprehensive program to develop correlations for physical properties of kraft black liquor. Final report

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

Fricke, A.L.; Zaman, A.A.; Stoy, M.O.

A wide variety of experimental techniques have been used in this work, and many of these have been developed completely or improved significantly in the course of the research done during this program. Therefore, it is appropriate to describe these techniques in detail as a reference for future workers so that the techniques can be used in future work with little additional effort or so that the results reported from this program can be compared better with future results from other work. In many cases, the techniques described are for specific analytical instruments. It is recognized that these may bemore » superseded by future developments and improvements in instrumentation if a complete description of techniques used successfully in the past on other instrumentation is available. The total pulping and liquor preparation research work performed included chip and white liquor preparation, digestion, pulp washing, liquor and wash recovery, liquor sampling, weak liquor concentration in two steps to about 45--50% solids with an intermediate soap skimming at about 140F and 27--30% solids, determination of pulp yield and Kappa number, determination of total liquor solids, and a check on the total material balance for pulping. All other research was performed either on a sample of the weak black liquor (the combined black liquor and washes from the digester) or on the skimmed liquor that had been concentrated.« less

Space and Earth Sciences, Computer Systems, and Scientific Data Analysis Support, Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, Ronald H. (Editor)

1993-01-01

This Final Progress Report covers the specific technical activities of Hughes STX Corporation for the last contract triannual period of 1 June through 30 Sep. 1993, in support of assigned task activities at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It also provides a brief summary of work throughout the contract period of performance on each active task. Technical activity is presented in Volume 1, while financial and level-of-effort data is presented in Volume 2. Technical support was provided to all Division and Laboratories of Goddard's Space Sciences and Earth Sciences Directorates. Types of support include: scientific programming, systems programming, computer management, mission planning, scientific investigation, data analysis, data processing, data base creation and maintenance, instrumentation development, and management services. Mission and instruments supported include: ROSAT, Astro-D, BBXRT, XTE, AXAF, GRO, COBE, WIND, UIT, SMM, STIS, HEIDI, DE, URAP, CRRES, Voyagers, ISEE, San Marco, LAGEOS, TOPEX/Poseidon, Pioneer-Venus, Galileo, Cassini, Nimbus-7/TOMS, Meteor-3/TOMS, FIFE, BOREAS, TRMM, AVHRR, and Landsat. Accomplishments include: development of computing programs for mission science and data analysis, supercomputer applications support, computer network support, computational upgrades for data archival and analysis centers, end-to-end management for mission data flow, scientific modeling and results in the fields of space and Earth physics, planning and design of GSFC VO DAAC and VO IMS, fabrication, assembly, and testing of mission instrumentation, and design of mission operations center.

Software Testing for Evolutionary Iterative Rapid Prototyping

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

kept later hours than I did. Amidst the hustle and bustle, their prayers and help around the house were a great ast.. Finally, if anything shows the...possible meanings. A basic dictionary definition describes prototyping as "an original type , form, or instance that serves as a modfe] on which later...on program size. Asset instruments 49 the subject procedure and produces a graph of the structure for the type of data flow testing conducted. It

Airborne Submillimeter Spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zmuidzinas, J.

1998-01-01

This is the final technical report for NASA-Ames grant NAG2-1068 to Caltech, entitled "Airborne Submillimeter Spectroscopy", which extended over the period May 1, 1996 through January 31, 1998. The grant was funded by the NASA airborne astronomy program, during a period of time after the Kuiper Airborne Observatory was no longer operational. Instead. this funding program was intended to help develop instrument concepts and technology for the upcoming SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) project. SOFIA, which is funded by NASA and is now being carried out by a consortium lead by USRA (Universities Space Research Association), will be a 747 aircraft carrying a 2.5 meter diameter telescope. The purpose of our grant was to fund the ongoing development of sensitive heterodyne receivers for the submillimeter band (500-1200 GHz), using sensitive superconducting (SIS) detectors. In 1997 July we submitted a proposal to USRA to construct a heterodyne instrument for SOFIA. Our proposal was successful [1], and we are now continuing our airborne astronomy effort with funding from USRA. A secondary purpose of the NAG2-1068 grant was to continue the anaIN'sis of astronomical data collected with an earlier instrument which was flown on the NASA Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO). The KAO instrument and the astronomical studies which were carried out with it were supported primarily under another grant, NAG2-744, which extended over October 1, 1991 through Januarv 31, 1997. For a complete description of the astronomical data and its anailysis, we refer the reader to the final technical report for NAG2-744, which was submitted to NASA on December 1. 1997. Here we report on the SIS detector development effort for SOFIA carried out under NAG2-1068. The main result of this effort has been the demonstration of SIS mixers using a new superconducting material niobium titanium nitride (NbTiN), which promises to deliver dramatic improvements in sensitivity in the 700-1200 GHz frequency range.

A New SBUV Ozone Profile Time Series

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McPeters, Richard

2011-01-01

Under NASA's MEaSUREs program for creating long term multi-instrument data sets, our group at Goddard has re-processed ozone profile data from a series of SBUV instruments. We have processed data from the Nimbus 7 SBUV instrument (1979-1990) and data from SBUV/2 instruments on NOAA-9 (1985-1998), NOAA-11 (1989-1995), NOAA-16 (2001-2010), NOAA-17 (2002-2010), and NOAA-18 (2005-2010). This reprocessing uses the version 8 ozone profile algorithm but now uses the Brion, Daumont, and Malicet (BMD) ozone cross sections instead of the Bass and Paur cross sections. The new cross sections have much better resolution, and extended wavelength range, and a more consistent temperature dependence. The re-processing also uses an improved cloud height climatology based on the Raman cloud retrievals of OMI. Finally, the instrument-to-instrument calibration is set using matched scenes so that ozone diurnal variation in the upper stratosphere does not alias into the ozone trands. Where there is no instrument overlap, SAGE and MLS are used to estimate calibration offsets. Preliminary analysis shows a more coherent time series as a function of altitude. The net effect on profile total column ozone is on average an absolute reduction of about one percent. Comparisons with ground-based systems are significantly better at high latitudes.

Development of a special-purpose test surface guided by uncertainty analysis - Introduction of a new uncertainty analysis step

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, T.; Simon, T. W.

1988-01-01

Development of a recent experimental program to investigate the effects of streamwise curvature on boundary layer transition required making a bendable, heated and instrumented test wall, a rather nonconventional surface. The present paper describes this surface, the design choices made in its development and how uncertainty analysis was used, beginning early in the test program, to make such design choices. Published uncertainty analysis techniques were found to be of great value; but, it became clear that another step, one herein called the pre-test analysis, would aid the program development. Finally, it is shown how the uncertainty analysis was used to determine whether the test surface was qualified for service.

PSAW/MicroSWIS [Microminiature Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) based Wirelesss Instrumentation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heermann, Doug; Krug, Eric

2004-01-01

This Final Report for the PSAW/MicroSWIS Program is provided in compliance with contract number NAS3-01118. This report documents the overall progress of the program and presents project objectives, work carried out, and results obtained. Program Conceptual Design Package stated the following objectives: To develop a sensor/transceiver network that can support networking operations within spacecraft with sufficient bandwidth so that (1) flight control data, (2) avionics data, (3) payload/experiment data, and (4) prognostic health monitoring sensory information can flow to appropriate locations at frequencies that contain the maximum amount of information content but require minimum interconnect and power: a very high speed, low power, programmable modulation, spread-spectrum radio sensor/transceiver.

Contamination control approach for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer satellite instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mrowka, Stan; Jelinsky, Sharon; Jelinsky, Patrick; Malina, Roger F.

1987-01-01

The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer will perform an all-sky survey and spectroscopic observations over the wavelength range 80-900A. Hydrocarbon and particulate contamination will potentially affect the throughput and signal to noise ratio of the signal detected by the instruments. A witness sample program is here used to investigate and monitor the effects of specific contaminants on EUV reflectivity. Witness samples were intentionally contaminated with thin layers of pump oil. An oil layer 150 A thick was applied and found to evaporate over 8 hours. The EUV reflectivity and imaging properties were then measured and found to be acceptable for grazing angles between 5 and 30 deg. In a second test, layers 500 A thick were deposited and then allowed to evaporate in vacuum; once the oil had evaporated to at least 350 A, the final sample reflectivity was degraded less than 10 percent, but the image was degraded severely by scattering. An outline of the contamination control program is also presented.

NASA Programs in Advanced Sensors and Measurement Technology for Aeronautical Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conway, Bruce A.

2004-01-01

There are many challenges facing designers and operators of our next-generation aircraft in meeting the demands for efficiency, safety, and reliability which are will be imposed. This paper discusses aeronautical sensor requirements for a number of research and applications areas pertinent to the demands listed above. A brief overview will be given of aeronautical research measurements, along with a discussion of requirements for advanced technology. Also included will be descriptions of emerging sensors and instrumentation technology which may be exploited for enhanced research and operational capabilities. Finally, renewed emphasis of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in advanced sensor and instrumentation technology development will be discussed, including project of technology advances over the next 5 years. Emphasis on NASA efforts to more actively advance the state-of-the-art in sensors and measurement techniques is timely in light of exciting new opportunities in airspace development and operation. An up-to-date summary of the measurement technology programs being established to respond to these opportunities is provided.

Wind energy education projects. Final report

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

Ziegler, P.; Conlon, T.R.; Arcadi, T.

Two projects under DOE's Small-Scale Appropriate Energy Technology Grants Program have educated the public in a hands on way about wind energy systems. The first was awarded to Peter Ziegler of Berkeley, California, to design and build a walk-through exhibition structure powered by an adjoining wind-generator. This Wind Energy Pavilion was erected at Fort Funston in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It currently serves both as an enclosure for batteries and a variety of monitoring instruments, and as a graphic environment where the public can learn about wind energy. The second project, entitled Wind and Kid Power, involved anmore » educational program for a classroom of first through third grades in the Vallejo, Unified School District. The students studied weather, measured wind speeds and built small models of wind machines. They also built a weather station, and learned to use weather instruments. The grant funds enabled them to actually build and erect a Savonius wind machine at the Loma Vista Farm School.« less

NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program, 1990, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bannerot, Richard B. (Editor); Goldstein, Stanley H. (Editor)

1990-01-01

The 1990 Johnson Space Center (JSC) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program was conducted by the University of Houston-University Park and Johnson Space Centers (JSC). A compilation of the final reports on the research projects is presented. The following topics are covered: the Space Shuttle; the Space Station; lunar exploration; mars exploration; spacecraft power supplies; mars rover vehicle; mission planning for the Space Exploration Initiative; instrument calibration standards; a lunar oxygen production plant; optical filters for a hybrid vision system; dynamic structural analysis; lunar bases; pharmacodynamics of scopolamine; planetary spacecraft cost modeling; and others.

Medicare program; inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system for federal fiscal year 2015.

PubMed

2014-08-06

This final rule updates the prospective payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for federal fiscal year (FY) 2015 as required by the statute. This final rule finalizes a policy to collect data on the amount and mode (that is, Individual, Concurrent, Group, and Co-Treatment) of therapy provided in the IRF setting according to therapy discipline, revises the list of diagnosis and impairment group codes that presumptively meet the "60 percent rule'' compliance criteria, provides a way for IRFs to indicate on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility-Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) form whether the prior treatment and severity requirements have been met for arthritis cases to presumptively meet the "60 percent rule'' compliance criteria, and revises and updates quality measures and reporting requirements under the IRF quality reporting program (QRP). This rule also delays the effective date for the revisions to the list of diagnosis codes that are used to determine presumptive compliance under the "60 percent rule'' that were finalized in FY 2014 IRF PPS final rule and adopts the revisions to the list of diagnosis codes that are used to determine presumptive compliance under the "60 percent rule'' that are finalized in this rule. This final rule also addresses the implementation of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM), for the IRF prospective payment system (PPS), which will be effective when ICD-10-CM becomes the required medical data code set for use on Medicare claims and IRF-PAI submissions.

NURE aerial gamma-ray and magnetic reconnaissance survey of portions of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. Volume II. New Mexico-Roswell NI 13-8 quadrangle. Final report

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

Not Available

The results of a high-sensitivity, aerial gamma-ray spectrometer and magnetometer survey of the Roswell two degree quadrangle, New Mexico are presented. Instrumentation and methods are described in Volume I of this final report. The work was done by Carson Helicopters, Inc., and Carson Helicopters was assisted in the interpretation by International Exploration, Inc. The work was performed for the US Department of Energy - National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program. Analysis of this radiometric data yielded 238 statistically significant eU anomalies. Of this number, seventy-four were considered to be sufficient strength to warrant further investigation.

A professional development study of technology education in secondary science teaching in Benin: Issues of teacher change and self-efficacy beliefs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelani, Razacki Raphael E. D.

This study has two purposes. The practical purpose of the study was to provide Benin middle school science teachers with an effective technology education professional development (TEPD) program which granted teachers with content knowledge in technology education (TE), PCK in TE, design hands-on models in TE, and design rubrics assessing students' works. The research purpose of the study was to explore teachers' TE content knowledge and PCK, changes in teachers' self-efficacy beliefs in teaching the TE portion of the curriculum, and teachers' perceptions of their TEPD experience after participating in the program. Four sessions of the TEPD program were carried out with two groups of teachers (N = 23 & 28). A mixed methods research design was utilized to collect data. Pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest research design was used to collect quantitative data. Two instruments, the technology education teacher self-efficacy beliefs instrument (TETEBI) and the TE Awareness instrument, were designed. The qualitative research design employed a case study with participating teachers' after-session journals and after-session evaluation, classroom observations, teachers' and students' interviews. Overall results of the study revealed that the TEPD program impacted positively participating teachers. Salient results indicated that (1) the TEPD program was effective; (2) although quantitative analysis was inconclusive, through documents analysis, teachers' self-efficacy beliefs were enhanced after participating in the program; (3) teachers did acquire TE content knowledge and PCK; (4) teachers were effectively teaching the TE lessons integrated in the science curriculum; and (5) teachers expressed positive perceptions about the program and acknowledged its soundness, relevancy and effectiveness. Other characteristics of effective PD have been founded such as trainers' expertise and consideration of cultural and contextual issues of the trainees. Interpretations of the results led to ten educational implications that could improve TE teaching in secondary school settings in Benin, as well as in other developing countries with similar features. Finally, five recommendations were made for further investigations.

Peer Learning in Instrumental Practicing

PubMed Central

Nielsen, Siw G.; Johansen, Guro G.; Jørgensen, Harald

2018-01-01

In higher music education (HME), the notion of “private teaching, private learning” has a long tradition, where the learning part rests on the student's individual practicing between instrumental lessons. However, recent research suggests that collaborative learning among peers is beneficial in several aspects, such as sense of belonging, motivation and self-efficacy. This is consistent with the concept of vicarious learning. In this study, we conducted a survey among bachelor music students in church music, performance or music education programs enrolled in a music academy (N = 96), where parts of the questionnaire addressed peer learning and peer's influence on the students's instrumental practicing, and the degree of satisfaction with their practicing. These issues were seen in relation to gender, musical genre and study program. Overall, the students reported engaging in peer learning related to their instrumental practicing, to various degrees. This involved discussing practicing matters with peers, and practicing together with peers. However, student's reports of their views on peer learning, show that they perceive it more beneficial than the amount of time reported doing it would indicate. No significant gender differences were found, but students within improvised music/jazz engaged the most in peer learning, and church music students the least. Neither the degree of engaging in peer learning nor reported influence from peers correlated significantly with the degree of satisfaction. We discuss whether a general dissatisfaction is caused by being in a competitive learning environment combined with a privatized culture for learning. Finally, we suggest that collaborative forums for instrumental practicing within HME institutions can function as constructive and supportive arenas to enhance students learning and inner motivation. PMID:29599738

Final Report: Wireless Instrument for Automated Measurement of Clean Cookstove Usage and Black Carbon Emissions

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

Lukac, Martin; Ramanathan, Nithya; Graham, Eric

2013-09-10

Black carbon (BC) emissions from traditional cooking fires and other sources are significant anthropogenic drivers of radiative forcing. Clean cookstoves present a more energy-efficient and cleaner-burning vehicle for cooking than traditional wood-burning stoves, yet many existing cookstoves reduce emissions by only modest amounts. Further research into cookstove use, fuel types, and verification of emissions is needed as adoption rates for such stoves remain low. Accelerated innovation requires techniques for measuring and verifying such cookstove performance. The overarching goal of the proposed program was to develop a low-cost, wireless instrument to provide a high-resolution profile of the cookstove BC emissions andmore » usage in the field. We proposed transferring the complexity of analysis away from the sampling hardware at the measurement site and to software at a centrally located server to easily analyze data from thousands of sampling instruments. We were able to build a low-cost field-based instrument that produces repeatable, low-cost estimates of cookstove usage, fuel estimates, and emission values with low variability. Emission values from our instrument were consistent with published ranges of emissions for similar stove and fuel types.« less

SBIR Phase II Final Report: Low cost Autonomous NMR and Multi-sensor Soil Monitoring Instrument

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

Walsh, David O.

In this 32-month SBIR Phase 2 program, Vista Clara designed, assembled and successfully tested four new NMR instruments for soil moisture measurement and monitoring: An enhanced performance man-portable Dart NMR logging probe and control unit for rapid, mobile measurement in core holes and 2” PVC access wells; A prototype 4-level Dart NMR monitoring probe and prototype multi-sensor soil monitoring control unit for long-term unattended monitoring of soil moisture and other measurements in-situ; A non-invasive 1m x 1m Discus NMR soil moisture sensor with surface based magnet/coil array for rapid measurement of soil moisture in the top 50 cm of themore » subsurface; A non-invasive, ultra-lightweight Earth’s field surface NMR instrument for non-invasive measurement and mapping of soil moisture in the top 3 meters of the subsurface. The Phase 2 research and development achieved most, but not all of our technical objectives. The single-coil Dart in-situ sensor and control unit were fully developed, demonstrated and successfully commercialized within the Phase 2 period of performance. The multi-level version of the Dart probe was designed, assembled and demonstrated in Phase 2, but its final assembly and testing were delayed until close to the end of the Phase 2 performance period, which limited our opportunities for demonstration in field settings. Likewise, the multi-sensor version of the Dart control unit was designed and assembled, but not in time for it to be deployed for any long-term monitoring demonstrations. The prototype ultra-lightweight surface NMR instrument was developed and demonstrated, and this result will be carried forward into the development of a new flexible surface NMR instrument and commercial product in 2018.« less

A Diagnostic System for Studying Energy Partitioning and Assessing the Response of the Ionosphere during HAARP Modification Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Djuth, Frank T.; Elder, John H.; Williams, Kenneth L.

1996-01-01

This research program focused on the construction of several key radio wave diagnostics in support of the HF Active Auroral Ionospheric Research Program (HAARP). Project activities led to the design, development, and fabrication of a variety of hardware units and to the development of several menu-driven software packages for data acquisition and analysis. The principal instrumentation includes an HF (28 MHz) radar system, a VHF (50 MHz) radar system, and a high-speed radar processor consisting of three separable processing units. The processor system supports the HF and VHF radars and is capable of acquiring very detailed data with large incoherent scatter radars. In addition, a tunable HF receiver system having high dynamic range was developed primarily for measurements of stimulated electromagnetic emissions (SEE). A separate processor unit was constructed for the SEE receiver. Finally, a large amount of support instrumentation was developed to accommodate complex field experiments. Overall, the HAARP diagnostics are powerful tools for studying diverse ionospheric modification phenomena. They are also flexible enough to support a host of other missions beyond the scope of HAARP. Many new research programs have been initiated by applying the HAARP diagnostics to studies of natural atmospheric processes.

WE-G-BRB-00: NIH-Funded Research: Instrumental in the Pursuit of Clinical Trials and Technological Innovations

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

NONE

Over the past 20 years the NIH has funded individual grants, program projects grants, and clinical trials which have been instrumental in advancing patient care. The ways that each grant mechanism lends itself to the different phases of translating research into clinical practice will be described. Major technological innovations, such as IMRT and proton therapy, have been advanced with R01-type and P01-type funding and will be discussed. Similarly, the role of program project grants in identifying and addressing key hypotheses on the potential of 3D conformal therapy, normal tissue-guided dose escalation and motion management will be described. An overview willmore » be provided regarding how these technological innovations have been applied to multi-institutional NIH-sponsored trials. Finally, the panel will discuss regarding which research questions should be funded by the NIH to inspire the next advances in radiation therapy. Learning Objectives: Understand the different funding mechanisms of the NIH Learn about research advances that have led to innovation in delivery Review achievements due to NIH-funded program project grants in radiotherapy over the past 20 years Understand example advances achieved with multi-institutional clinical trials NIH.« less

Final Report: High Spectral Resolution Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Studies with the ARM UAV

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

Revercomb, Henry E.

1999-12-31

The active participation in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Unmanned Airborne Vehicle (UAV) science team that was anticipated in the grant proposal was indefinitely delayed after the first year due to a programmatic decision to exclude the high spectral resolution observations from the existing ARM UAV program. However, this report shows that substantial progress toward the science objectives of this grant have made with the help of separate funding from NASA and other agencies. In the four year grant period (including time extensions), a new high spectral resolution instrument has been flown and has successfully demonstrated the ability to obtainmore » measurements of the type needed in the conduct of this grant. In the near term, the third water vapor intensive observing period (WVIOP-3) in October 2000 will provide an opportunity to bring the high spectral resolution observations of upwelling radiance into the ARM program to complement the downwelling radiance observations from the existing ARM AERI instruments. We look forward to a time when the ARM-UAV program is able to extend its scope to include the capability for making these high spectral resolution measurements from a UAV platform.« less

Simulation, guidance and navigation of the B-737 for rollout and turnoff using MLS measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pines, S.; Schmidt, S. F.; Mann, F.

1975-01-01

A simulation program is described for the B-737 aircraft in landing approach, a touchdown, rollout and turnoff for normal and CAT III weather conditions. Preliminary results indicate that microwave landing systems can be used in place of instrument landing systems landing aids and that a single magnetic cable can be used for automated rollout and turnoff. Recommendations are made for further refinement of the model and additional testing to finalize a set of guidance laws for rollout and turnoff.

Aircraft data summaries for the SURE intensives. Final report. [Sampling done August 1977 near Rockport, Indiana and Duncan Falls, Ohio

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

Blumenthal, D.L.; Tommerdahl, J.B.; McDonald, J.A.

1981-09-01

As part of the EPRI sulfate regional experiment (SURE), Meteorology Research, Inc., (MRI) and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) conducted six air quality sampling programs in the eastern United States using instrumented aircraft. This volume includes the air quality and meteorological data obtained during the August 1977 Intensive when MRI sampled near the Rockport, Indiana, SURE Station and RTI sampled near the Duncan Falls, Ohio, SURE Station. Sampling data are presented for all measured parameters.

Predesign study for a modern 4-bladed rotor for the NASA rotor systems research aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bishop, H. E.; Burkam, J. E.; Heminway, R. C.; Keys, C. N.; Smith, K. E.; Smith, J. H.; Staley, J. A.

1981-01-01

Trade-off study results and the rationale for the final selection of an existing modern four-bladed rotor system that can be adapted for installation on the Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) are reported. The results of the detailed integration studies, parameter change studies, and instrumentation studies and the recommended plan for development and qualification of the rotor system is also given. Its parameter variants, integration on the RSRA, and support of ground and flight test programs are also discussed.

Development and test of advanced composite components. Center Directors discretionary fund program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faile, G.; Hollis, R.; Ledbetter, F.; Maldonado, J.; Sledd, J.; Stuckey, J.; Waggoner, G.; Engler, E.

1985-01-01

This report describes the design, analysis, fabrication, and test of a complex bathtub fitting. Graphite fibers in an epoxy matrix were utilized in manufacturing of 11 components representing four different design and layup concepts. Design allowables were developed for use in the final stress analysis. Strain gage measurements were taken throughout the static load test and correlation of test and analysis data were performed, yielding good understanding of the material behavior and instrumentation requirements for future applications.

Predicting introductory programming performance: A multi-institutional multivariate study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergin, Susan; Reilly, Ronan

2006-12-01

A model for predicting student performance on introductory programming modules is presented. The model uses attributes identified in a study carried out at four third-level institutions in the Republic of Ireland. Four instruments were used to collect the data and over 25 attributes were examined. A data reduction technique was applied and a logistic regression model using 10-fold stratified cross validation was developed. The model used three attributes: Leaving Certificate Mathematics result (final mathematics examination at second level), number of hours playing computer games while taking the module and programming self-esteem. Prediction success was significant with 80% of students correctly classified. The model also works well on a per-institution level. A discussion on the implications of the model is provided and future work is outlined.

Evaluation of the Florida coordinated school health program pilot schools project.

PubMed

Weiler, Robert M; Pigg, R Morgan; McDermott, Robert J

2003-01-01

The Florida Department of Education, with CDC funding, designed the Florida Coordinated School Health Program Pilot Schools Project (PSP) to encourage innovative approaches to promote coordinated school health programs (CSHP) in Florida schools. Each of eight pilot schools received $15,000 in project funding, three years of technical assistance including on-site and off-site assistance, a project office resource center, mailings of resource materials, needs assessment and evaluation assistance, and three PSP Summer Institutes. Project evaluators created a context evaluation, approaching each school independently as a "case study" to measure the school's progress in meeting goals established at baseline. Data were collected using the How Healthy is Your School? needs assessment instrument, a School Health Portfolio constructed by each school team, a Pilot Schools Project Team Member Survey instrument, midcourse team interviews, final team interviews, and performance indicator data obtained from pilot and control schools. The PSP posed two fundamental questions: "Can financial resources, professional training, and technical assistance enable individual schools to create and sustain a coordinated school health program?" and "What outcomes reasonably can one expect from a coordinated school health program, assuming programs receive adequate support over time?" First, activities at the eight schools confirmed that a coordinated school health programs can be established and sustained. Program strength and sustainability depend on long-term resources, qualified personnel, and administrative support. Second, though coordinated school health programs may improve school performance indicators, the PSP yielded insufficient evidence to support that belief. Future projects should include robust measurement and evaluation designs, thereby producing conclusive evidence about the influence of a coordinated school health program on such outcomes.

Ambulatory Feedback System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Finger, Herbert; Weeks, Bill

1985-01-01

This presentation discusses instrumentation that will be used for a specific event, which we hope will carry on to future events within the Space Shuttle program. The experiment is the Autogenic Feedback Training Experiment (AFTE) scheduled for Spacelab 3, currently scheduled to be launched in November, 1984. The objectives of the AFTE are to determine the effectiveness of autogenic feedback in preventing or reducing space adaptation syndrome (SAS), to monitor and record in-flight data from the crew, to determine if prediction criteria for SAS can be established, and, finally, to develop an ambulatory instrument package to mount the crew throughout the mission. The purpose of the Ambulatory Feedback System (AFS) is to record the responses of the subject during a provocative event in space and provide a real-time feedback display to reinforce the training.

Mars Miniature Science Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Soon Sam; Hayati, Samad; Lavery, David; McBrid, Karen

2006-01-01

For robotic Mars missions, all the science information is gathered through on-board miniature instruments that have been developed through many years of R&D. Compared to laboratory counterparts, the rover instruments require miniaturization, such as low mass (1-2 kg), low power (> 10 W) and compact (1-2 liter), yet with comparable sensitivity. Since early 1990's, NASA recognized the need for the miniature instruments and launched several instrument R&D programs, e.g., PIDDP (Planetary Instrument Definition and Development). However, until 1998, most of the instrument R&D programs supported only up to a breadboard level (TRL 3, 4) and there is a need to carry such instruments to flight qualifiable status (TU 5, 6) to respond to flight AOs (Announcement of Opportunity). Most of flight AOs have only limited time and financial resources, and can not afford such instrument development processes. To bridge the gap between instrument R&D programs and the flight instrument needs, NASA's Mars Technology Program (MTP) created advanced instrumentation program, Mars Instrument Development Project (MIDP). MIDP candidate instruments are selected through NASA Research Announcement (NRA) process [l]. For example, MIDP 161998-2000) selected and developed 10 instruments, MIDP II (2003-2005) 16 instruments, and MIDP III (2004-2006) II instruments.Working with PIs, JPL has been managing the MIDP tasks since September 1998. All the instruments being developed under MIDP have been selected through a highly competitive NRA process, and employ state-of-the-art technology. So far, four MIDP funded instruments have been selected by two Mars missions (these instruments have further been discussed in this paper).

ASQ Program Observation Instrument: A Tool for Assessing School-Age Child Care Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Susan; And Others

ASQ (Assessing School-Aged Child Care Quality) is a system for determining the quality of school-age child care programs. The ASQ Program Observation Instrument is a ten-step, self assessment process to guide program improvement. This instrument does not work well in full-day programs that have a single focus, but works well in programs that offer…

The development of a Chinese-language instrument to measure social smoking motives among male Taiwanese smokers.

PubMed

Huang, Chih-Ling; Cheng, Chung-Ping; Huang, Hui-Wen

2013-10-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure the social smoking motives of adult male smokers using a Chinese social context. Three phases were conducted between February 2006 and May 2009. First, the initial instrument development was guided by a literature review, interviews with smokers, and item analysis. Second, the validity and reliability of the refined scale were tested. The factor structures of the Social Smoking Measures (SSM-12) scale were validated. The final scale consists of 12 items. Two factors that account for 49.2% of the variance emerged from the exploratory factor analysis. Cronbach's alpha was .88, and test-retest reliability was .82. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the SSM model was a two-correlated factor. Field testing revealed the SSM-12 to be a reliable and valid Chinese-language instrument to measure social smoking motives, which can be used to guide nursing interventions that support culturally and socially appropriate smoking cessation programs.

A platform for European CMOS image sensors for space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minoglou, K.; San Segundo Bello, D.; Sabuncuoglu Tezcan, D.; Haspeslagh, L.; Van Olmen, J.; Merry, B.; Cavaco, C.; Mazzamuto, F.; Toqué-Trésonne, I.; Moirin, R.; Brouwer, M.; Toccafondi, M.; Preti, G.; Rosmeulen, M.; De Moor, P.

2017-11-01

Both ESA and the EC have identified the need for a supply chain of CMOS imagers for space applications which uses solely European sources. An essential requirement on this supply chain is the platformization of the process modules, in particular when it comes to very specific processing steps, such as those required for the manufacturing of backside illuminated image sensors. This is the goal of the European (EC/FP7/SPACE) funded project EUROCIS. All EUROCIS partners have excellent know-how and track record in the expertise fields required. Imec has been leading the imager chip design and the front side and backside processing. LASSE, as a major player in the laser annealing supplier sector, has been focusing on the optimization of the process related to the backside passivation of the image sensors. TNO, known worldwide as a top developer of instruments for scientific research, including space research and sensors for satellites, has contributed in the domain of optical layers for space instruments and optimized antireflective coatings. Finally, Selex ES, as a world-wide leader for manufacturing instruments with expertise in various space missions and programs, has defined the image sensor specifications and is taking care of the final device characterization. In this paper, an overview of the process flow, the results on test structures and imagers processed using this platform will be presented.

NASA Sea Ice and Snow Validation Program for the DMSP SSM/I: NASA DC-8 flight report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cavalieri, D. J.

1988-01-01

In June 1987 a new microwave sensor called the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) was launched as part of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). In recognition of the importance of this sensor to the polar research community, NASA developed a program to acquire the data, to convert the data into sea ice parameters, and finally to validate and archive both the SSM/I radiances and the derived sea ice parameters. Central to NASA's sea ice validation program was a series of SSM/I aircraft underflights with the NASA DC-8 airborne Laboratory. The mission (the Arctic '88 Sea Ice Mission) was completed in March 1988. This report summarizes the mission and includes a summary of aircraft instrumentation, coordination with participating Navy aircraft, flight objectives, flight plans, data collected, SSM/I orbits for each day during the mission, and lists several piggyback experiments supported during this mission.

Advanced Scientific Computing Research Network Requirements: ASCR Network Requirements Review Final Report

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

Bacon, Charles; Bell, Greg; Canon, Shane

The Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) is the primary provider of network connectivity for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC), the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. In support of SC programs, ESnet regularly updates and refreshes its understanding of the networking requirements of the instruments, facilities, scientists, and science programs that it serves. This focus has helped ESnet to be a highly successful enabler of scientific discovery for over 25 years. In October 2012, ESnet and the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) of the DOE SCmore » organized a review to characterize the networking requirements of the programs funded by the ASCR program office. The requirements identified at the review are summarized in the Findings section, and are described in more detail in the body of the report.« less

Gastroenterology-Urology Devices; Manual Gastroenterology-Urology Surgical Instruments and Accessories. Final rule; technical amendment.

PubMed

2017-03-01

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the identification of manual gastroenterology-urology surgical instruments and accessories to reflect that the device does not include specialized surgical instrumentation for use with urogyencologic surgical mesh specifically intended for use as an aid in the insertion, placement, fixation, or anchoring of surgical mesh during urogynecologic procedures ("specialized surgical instrumentation for use with urogynecologic surgical mesh"). These amendments are being made to reflect changes made in the recently issued final reclassification order for specialized surgical instrumentation for use with urogynecologic surgical mesh.

Design and Development of the Aircraft Instrument Comprehension Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgins, Norman C.

The Aircraft Instrument Comprehension (AIC) Program is a self-instructional program designed to teach undergraduate student pilots to read instruments that indicate the position of the aircraft in flight, based on sequential instructional stages of information, prompted practice, and unprompted practice. The program includes a 36-item multiple…

Aircraft data summaries for the SURE intensives. Final report. [Sampling done July 1978 near Duncan Falls, Ohio and Scranton, Pennsylvania

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

Keifer, W.S.; Blumenthal, D.L.; Tommerdahl, J.B.

1981-09-01

As part of the EPRI sulfate regional experiment (SURE), Meteorology Research, Inc., (MRI) and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) conducted six air quality sampling programs in the eastern United States using instrumented aircraft. This volume includes the air quality and meteorological data obtained during the July 1978 Intensive when MRI sampled near the Duncan Falls, Ohio, SURE Station and RTI sampled near the Scranton, Pennsylvania, SURE Station. During the last part of the July 1978 sampling period, both MRI and RTI aircraft participated in a large regional-scale sampling program with Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). Only themore » data obtained by the MRI and RTI aircraft during this regional-scale sapling program are included in this volume.« less

[Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in dentistry professionals. 2. Prevention, ergonomic strategies and therapeutic programs].

PubMed

Sartorio, F; Franchignoni, F; Ferriero, G; Vercelli, S; Odescalchi, L; Augusti, D; Migliario, M

2005-01-01

In dental professionals the risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) can be minimized through a combination of prevention, ergonomic strategies, and specific therapeutic programs. Prevention includes early identification of symptoms, analysis of working posture and activity, and the evaluation of equipment (such as dental instruments, position of the dental unit, patient and operator chairs, and lighting). The ergonomic strategies are based on identifying the best daily timetable (including periodic pauses) and most efficient team organization, as well as establishing the correct position that should be held at the patient chair. Finally specific therapeutic programs are very important in preventing or treating WMSD. In fact, fitness exercises such as mobilization, stretching or muscular and cardiovascular training are recognized as fundamental for dental professionals, and when WMSD occurs physiatric care and physical therapy are recommended.

Comparison of preparation of curved root canals with Hyflex CM and Revo-S rotary nickel-titanium instruments.

PubMed

Bürklein, S; Börjes, L; Schäfer, E

2014-05-01

To compare the shaping ability of three different nickel-titanium rotary instruments during the preparation of curved root canals in extracted teeth. A total of 60 root canals with curvatures ranging between 25° and 35° were divided into three groups of 20 canals. Based on radiographs taken prior to instrumentation, the groups were balanced with respect to the angle and the radius of canal curvature. Canals were prepared to a final apical size of 35 using Mtwo, Hyflex CM, and Revo-S. Using pre- and post-instrumentation radiographs, straightening of the canal curvatures was determined with a computer image analysis program. Preparation time, changes of working length and instrument failures were also recorded. These data were analysed statistically using anova and Student-Newman-Keuls test. During preparation, no file fractured. Mtwo and Hyflex CM maintained the original canal curvature significantly better than Revo-S (P < 0.05). Instrumentation with Mtwo and Hyflex CM was significantly faster than with Revo-S and resulted in less loss of working length (P < 0.05), whilst no significant differences were obtained between Mtwo and Hyflex CM (P > 0.05). Under the conditions of this study, Mtwo and Hyflex CM respected the original canal curvature well and were safe to use. The use of Revo-S instruments required more time to prepare the curved canals and resulted in more pronounced canal straightening compared with Mtwo and Hyflex CM. © 2013 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

NASA's Space Environments and Effects (SEE) Program: Contamination Engineering Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearson, Steven D.; Clifton, K. Stuart

1999-01-01

ABSTRACT The return of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) in 1990 brought a wealth of space exposure data on materials, paints, solar cells, etc. and data on the many space environments. The effects of the harsh space environments can provide damaging or even disabling effects on spacecraft, its materials, and its instruments. In partnership with industry, academia, and other government agencies, National Aeronautics & Space Administration's (NASA's) Space Environments & Effects (SEE) Program defines the space environments and provides technology development to accommodate or mitigate these harmful environments on the spacecraft. This program provides a very comprehensive and focused approach to understanding the space environment, to define the best techniques for both flight and ground-based experimentation, to update the models which predict both the environments and the environmental effects on spacecraft, and finally to ensure that this information is properly maintained and inserted into spacecraft design programs. This paper will describe the current SEE Program and will present SEE contamination engineering technology development and risk mitigation for future spacecraft design.

NASA's Space Environments and Effects (SEE) program: contamination engineering technology development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, Steven D.; Clifton, K. Stuart

1999-10-01

The return of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) in 1990 brought a wealth of space exposure data on materials, paints, solar cells, etc. and data on the many space environments. The effects of the harsh space environments can provide damaging or even disabling effects on spacecraft, its materials, and its instruments. In partnership with industry, academia, and other government agencies, National Aeronautics & Space Administration's (NASA's) Space Environments & Effects (SEE) Program defines the space environments and provides technology development to accommodate or mitigate these harmful environments on the spacecraft. This program provides a very comprehensive and focused approach to understanding the space environment, to define the best techniques for both flight and ground-based experimentation, to update the models which predict both the environments and the environmental effects on spacecraft, and finally to ensure that this information is properly maintained and inserted into spacecraft design programs. This paper will describe the current SEE Program and will present SEE contamination engineering technology development and risk mitigation for future spacecraft design.

The Inelastic Instrument suite at the SNS

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

Granroth, Garrett E; Abernathy, Douglas L; Ehlers, Georg

2008-01-01

Abstract The instruments in the extensive suite of spectrometers at the SNS are in various stages of installation and commissioning. The Back Scattering Spectrometer (BASIS) is installed and is in commissioning. It's near backscattering analyzer crystals provide the 3 eV resolution as expected. BASIS will enter the user program in the fall of 2007. The ARCS wide angular-range thermal to epithermal neutron spectrometer will come on line in the fall of 2007 followed shortly by the Cold Neutron Chopper Spectrometer. These two direct geometry instruments provide moderate resolution and the ability to trade resolution for flux. In addition both instrumentsmore » have detector coverage out to 140o to provide a large Q range. The SEQUOIA spectrometer, complete in 2008, is the direct geometry instrument that will provide fine resolution in the thermal to epithermal range. The Spin-Echo spectrometer, to be completed on a similar time scale, will provide the finest energy resolution worldwide. The HYSPEC spectrometer, available no later than 2011, will provide polarized capabilities and optimized flux in the thermal energy range. Finally, the Vision chemical spectrometer will use crystal analyzers to study energy transfers into the epithermal range« less

High-precision cryogenic wheel mechanisms of the JWST/MIRI instrument: performance of the flight models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krause, O.; Müller, F.; Birkmann, S.; Böhm, A.; Ebert, M.; Grözinger, U.; Henning, Th.; Hofferbert, R.; Huber, A.; Lemke, D.; Rohloff, R.-R.; Scheithauer, S.; Gross, T.; Fischer, T.; Luichtel, G.; Merkle, H.; Übele, M.; Wieland, H.-U.; Amiaux, J.; Jager, R.; Glauser, A.; Parr-Burman, P.; Sykes, J.

2010-07-01

The Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) aboard JWST is equipped with one filter wheel and two dichroic-grating wheel mechanisms to reconfigure the instrument between observing modes such as broad/narrow-band imaging, coronagraphy and low/medium resolution spectroscopy. Key requirements for the three mechanisms with up to 18 optical elements on the wheel include: (1) reliable operation at T = 7 K, (2) high positional accuracy of 4 arcsec, (3) low power dissipation, (4) high vibration capability, (5) functionality at 7 K < T < 300 K and (6) long lifetime (5-10 years). To meet these requirements a space-proven wheel concept consisting of a central MoS2-lubricated integrated ball bearing, a central torque motor for actuation, a ratchet system with monolithic CuBe flexural pivots for precise and powerless positioning and a magnetoresistive position sensor has been implemented. We report here the final performance and lessons-learnt from the successful acceptance test program of the MIRI wheel mechanism flight models. The mechanisms have been meanwhile integrated into the flight model of the MIRI instrument, ready for launch in 2014 by an Ariane 5 rocket.

Impact of a Dual PharmD/MBA Degree on Graduates' Academic Performance, Career Opportunities, and Earning Potential

PubMed Central

Chumney, Elinor C.G.; Jones, Kathy J.

2008-01-01

Objective To evaluate the academic experience and satisfaction of students who completed a dual PharmD/MBA degree program and the program's long-term impact on the students' career choice and earning potential. Methods GPAs, job placement, and starting job salaries were compared between graduates who completed the dual PharmD/MBA program and those who completed only the PharmD program. A satisfaction survey instrument was administered to 17 students who completed the dual PharmD/MBA degree program in May 2007. Data from a standardized job placement and starting salary survey instrument completed by all PharmD graduates were also obtained, as well as all students' final grade point averages (GPAs). GPAs, job placement, and starting job salaries were compared between graduates who had completed the dual PharmD/MBA program and those who had completed only the PharmD program. Results The graduating GPAs of dual-degree students were higher than those of both pharmacy (3.52 vs 3.41, p > 0.10) and business (3.82 vs. 3.68, p = 0.018) students not enrolled in the dual-degree program. Dual-degree students were slightly less likely to enter a residency (17% vs. 27%, p = 0.44) than other pharmacy graduates. Among those who elected not to pursue a residency, both mean starting salaries ($111,090 vs. $101,965) and mean total first-year compensation ($127,290 vs. $110,388) were significantly higher for dual-degree graduates compared to the PharmD graduates. Conclusions Students enrolled in the dual-degree program did slightly better academically than students who completed only the MBA or PharmD programs and indicated a high level of satisfaction with the program. Dual-degree graduates reported increased career opportunities and were slated to earn significantly more during their first year in the workforce. These results affirm continuation of our program and make the case for support of similar programs across the nation. PMID:18483594

Multiple detector focal plane array ultraviolet spectrometer for the AMPS laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feldman, P. D.

1975-01-01

The possibility of meeting the requirements of the amps spectroscopic instrumentation by using a multi-element focal plane detector array in a conventional spectrograph mount was examined. The requirements of the detector array were determined from the optical design of the spectrometer which in turn depends on the desired level of resolution and sensitivity required. The choice of available detectors and their associated electronics and controls was surveyed, bearing in mind that the data collection rate from this system is so great that on-board processing and reduction of data are absolutely essential. Finally, parallel developments in instrumentation for imaging in astronomy were examined, both in the ultraviolet (for the Large Space Telescope as well as other rocket and satellite programs) and in the visible, to determine what progress in that area can have direct bearing on atmospheric spectroscopy.

A program of correlated observations using the EGRET instrument on GRO and the IMB neutrino detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Svoboda, Robert C.

1992-01-01

A reliable, real-time supernova monitoring system was devised using the IMB neutrino detector to serve as an 'early-warning' system for EGRET and other instruments on GRO. New methods and software were developed to allow the IMB monitoring computer in Cleveland to: recognize that a trigger burst had occurred; make a judgement on whether the burst was spurrious or an actual supernova; prepare brief summary files and 'quick-look' data so that a final disposition could be made by a trained scientist; and contact the 'watch' scientist via personal beeper in Baton Rouge. This system ran from Dec. 1990 to Apr. 1991, when the neutrino detector failed for unrelated reasons. In addition to the supernova system, high-energy neutrino data was prepared and formatted for comparison with EGRET gamma-ray data.

Research on slow electron collision processes in gases. Final report, September 15, 1970--December 31, 1972

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

Baldwin, G C

1974-04-30

Research on low energy electron collisions in gases by the time-of- flight velocity selection technique included, as a preliminary to total cross section measurements, investigations of the statistical and systematic errors inherent in the technique. In particular, thermal transpiration and instrumental fluctuation errors in manometry were investigated, and the results embodied in computer programs for data reduction. The instrumental system was improved to permit extended periods of data accumulation without manual attention. Total cross section measurements in helium, made prior to, and in molecular nitrogen, made after the supporting work was completed, are reported. The total cross sec tion ofmore » helium is found to be higher than reported in previous beam determinations. That of nitrogen is found to be structureless at low energies. (auth)« less

Training evaluation final report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sepulveda, Jose A.

1992-01-01

In the area of management training, 'evaluation' refers both to the specific evaluation instrument used to determine whether a training effort was considered effective, and to the procedures followed to evaluate specific training requests. This report recommends to evaluate new training requests in the same way new procurement or new projects are evaluated. This includes examining training requests from the perspective of KSC goals and objectives, and determining expected ROI of proposed training program (does training result in improved productivity, through savings of time, improved outputs, and/or personnel reduction?). To determine whether a specific training course is effective, a statement of what constitutes 'good performance' is required. The user (NOT the Training Branch) must define what is 'required level of performance'. This 'model' will be the basis for the design and development of an objective, performance-based, training evaluation instrument.

Development of a monitoring instrument to assess the performance of the Swiss primary care system.

PubMed

Ebert, Sonja T; Pittet, Valérie; Cornuz, Jacques; Senn, Nicolas

2017-11-29

The Swiss health system is customer-driven with fee-for-service paiement scheme and universal coverage. It is highly performing but expensive and health information systems are scarcely implemented. The Swiss Primary Care Active Monitoring (SPAM) program aims to develop an instrument able to describe the performance and effectiveness of the Swiss PC system. Based on a Literature review we developed a conceptual framework and selected indicators according to their ability to reflect the Swiss PC system. A two round modified RAND method with 24 inter-/national experts took place to select primary/secondary indicators (validity, clarity, agreement). A limited set of priority indicators was selected (importance, priority) in a third round. A conceptual framework covering three domains (structure, process, outcome) subdivided into twelve sections (funding, access, organisation/ workflow of resources, (Para-)Medical training, management of knowledge, clinical-/interpersonal care, health status, satisfaction of PC providers/ consumers, equity) was generated. 365 indicators were pre-selected and 335 were finally retained. 56 were kept as priority indicators.- Among the remaining, 199 were identified as primary and 80 as secondary indicators. All domains and sections are represented. The development of the SPAM program allowed the construction of a consensual instrument in a traditionally unregulated health system through a modified RAND method. The selected 56 priority indicators render the SPAM instrument a comprehensive tool supporting a better understanding of the Swiss PC system's performance and effectiveness as well as in identifying potential ways to improve quality of care. Further challenges will be to update indicators regularly and to assess validity and sensitivity-to-change over time.

Aircraft data summaries for the SURE intensives. Final report. [Data obtained during January/February 1978 near Duncan Falls, Ohio and Lewisburg, Virginia

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

Keifer, W.S.; Blumenthal, D.L.; Tommerdahl, J.B.

1981-09-01

As part of the EPRI sulfate regional experiment (SURE), Meteorology Research, Inc., (MRI) and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) conducted six air quality sampling programs in the eastern United States using instrumented aircraft. This volume includes the air quality and meteorological data obtained during the January/February 1978 Intensive when MRI sampled near the Duncan Falls, Ohio, SURE Station and RTI sampled near the Lewisburg, Virginia, SURE Station. Sampling data are presented for all measured parameters.

Aircraft data summaries for the SURE intensives. Final report. [Sampling done October, 1978 near Duncan Falls, Ohio and Giles County, Tennessee

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

Keifer, W.S.; Blumenthal, D.L.; Tommerdahl, J.B.

1981-09-01

As part of the EPRI sulfate regional experiment (SURE), Meteorology Research, Inc., (MRI) and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) conducted six air quality sampling programs in the eastern United States using instrumented aircraft. This volume includes the air quality and meteorological data obtained during the October 1978 intensive when MRI sampled near the Giles County, Tennessee, SURE Station and RTI sampled near the Duncan Falls, Ohio, SURE Station. Sampling data are presented for all measured parameters.

Artificial intelligence programming with LabVIEW: genetic algorithms for instrumentation control and optimization.

PubMed

Moore, J H

1995-06-01

A genetic algorithm for instrumentation control and optimization was developed using the LabVIEW graphical programming environment. The usefulness of this methodology for the optimization of a closed loop control instrument is demonstrated with minimal complexity and the programming is presented in detail to facilitate its adaptation to other LabVIEW applications. Closed loop control instruments have variety of applications in the biomedical sciences including the regulation of physiological processes such as blood pressure. The program presented here should provide a useful starting point for those wishing to incorporate genetic algorithm approaches to LabVIEW mediated optimization of closed loop control instruments.

NURE aerial gamma-ray and magnetic reconnaissance survey of portions of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. Volume II. Arizona-Holbrook NI 12-5 Quadrangle. Final report

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

Not Available

1981-09-01

The results of a high-sensitivity, aerial gamma-ray spectrometer and magnetometer survey of the Holbrook two degree quadrangle, Arizona are presented. Instrumentation and methods are described in Volume 1 of this final report. The work was done by Carson Helicopters, Inc., and Carson Helicopters was assisted in the interpretation by International Exploration, Inc. The work was performed for the US Department of Energy - National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program. Analysis of this radiometric data yielded 260 statistically significant eU anomalies. Of this number, forty-four were considered to be of sufficient strength to warrant further investigation. These preferred anomalies are separatedmore » into groups having some geologic aspect in common.« less

Aerial radiometric and magnetic reconnaissance survey of portions of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia: Jenkins Quadrangle. Final report

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

Not Available

The results of a high-sensitivity, aerial, gamma-ray spectrometer and magnetometer survey of the Jenkins Quadrangle, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, are presented. Instrumentation and methods are described in Volume 1 of this final report. This work was done as part of the US Department of Energy National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Program. Statistical and geological analysis of the radiometric data revealed 52 anomalies worthy of field checking as possible prospects. Twelve anomalies coincide with cultural features that may be major contributors to their anomalous values. Eight anomalies may be due to late dissipation of low-level inversion conditions and low topographic location.more » Pennsylvanian and Mississippian sandstone and shales have the greatest concentration of anomalies.« less

Comparison of international guideline programs to evaluate and update the Dutch program for clinical guideline development in physical therapy

PubMed Central

Van der Wees, Philip J; Hendriks, Erik JM; Custers, Jan WH; Burgers, Jako S; Dekker, Joost; de Bie, Rob A

2007-01-01

Background Clinical guidelines are considered important instruments to improve quality in health care. Since 1998 the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy (KNGF) produced evidence-based clinical guidelines, based on a standardized program. New developments in the field of guideline research raised the need to evaluate and update the KNGF guideline program. Purpose of this study is to compare different guideline development programs and review the KNGF guideline program for physical therapy in the Netherlands, in order to update the program. Method Six international guideline development programs were selected, and the 23 criteria of the AGREE Instrument were used to evaluate the guideline programs. Information about the programs was retrieved from published handbooks of the organizations. Also, the Dutch program for guideline development in physical therapy was evaluated using the AGREE criteria. Further comparison the six guideline programs was carried out using the following elements of the guideline development processes: Structure and organization; Preparation and initiation; Development; Validation; Dissemination and implementation; Evaluation and update. Results Compliance with the AGREE criteria of the guideline programs was high. Four programs addressed 22 AGREE criteria, and two programs addressed 20 AGREE criteria. The previous Dutch program for guideline development in physical therapy lacked in compliance with the AGREE criteria, meeting only 13 criteria. Further comparison showed that all guideline programs perform systematic literature searches to identify the available evidence. Recommendations are formulated and graded, based on evidence and other relevant factors. It is not clear how decisions in the development process are made. In particular, the process of translating evidence into practice recommendations can be improved. Conclusion As a result of international developments and consensus, the described processes for developing clinical practice guidelines have much in common. The AGREE criteria are common basis for the development of guidelines, although it is not clear how final decisions are made. Detailed comparison of the different guideline programs was used for updating the Dutch program. As a result the updated KNGF program complied with 22 AGREE criteria. International discussion is continuing and will be used for further improvement of the program. PMID:18036215

Comparison of international guideline programs to evaluate and update the Dutch program for clinical guideline development in physical therapy.

PubMed

Van der Wees, Philip J; Hendriks, Erik J M; Custers, Jan W H; Burgers, Jako S; Dekker, Joost; de Bie, Rob A

2007-11-23

Clinical guidelines are considered important instruments to improve quality in health care. Since 1998 the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy (KNGF) produced evidence-based clinical guidelines, based on a standardized program. New developments in the field of guideline research raised the need to evaluate and update the KNGF guideline program. Purpose of this study is to compare different guideline development programs and review the KNGF guideline program for physical therapy in the Netherlands, in order to update the program. Six international guideline development programs were selected, and the 23 criteria of the AGREE Instrument were used to evaluate the guideline programs. Information about the programs was retrieved from published handbooks of the organizations. Also, the Dutch program for guideline development in physical therapy was evaluated using the AGREE criteria. Further comparison the six guideline programs was carried out using the following elements of the guideline development processes: Structure and organization; Preparation and initiation; Development; Validation; Dissemination and implementation; Evaluation and update. Compliance with the AGREE criteria of the guideline programs was high. Four programs addressed 22 AGREE criteria, and two programs addressed 20 AGREE criteria. The previous Dutch program for guideline development in physical therapy lacked in compliance with the AGREE criteria, meeting only 13 criteria. Further comparison showed that all guideline programs perform systematic literature searches to identify the available evidence. Recommendations are formulated and graded, based on evidence and other relevant factors. It is not clear how decisions in the development process are made. In particular, the process of translating evidence into practice recommendations can be improved. As a result of international developments and consensus, the described processes for developing clinical practice guidelines have much in common. The AGREE criteria are common basis for the development of guidelines, although it is not clear how final decisions are made. Detailed comparison of the different guideline programs was used for updating the Dutch program. As a result the updated KNGF program complied with 22 AGREE criteria. International discussion is continuing and will be used for further improvement of the program.

Applications of ISES for the atmospheric sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoell, James M., Jr.

1990-01-01

The proposed Information Sciences Experiment System (ISES) will offer the opportunity for real-time access to measurements acquired aboard the Earth Observation System (Eos) satellite. These measurements can then be transmitted to remotely located ground based stations. The application of such measurements to issues related to atmospheric science which was presented to a workshop convened to review possible application of the ISES in earth sciences is summarized. The proposed protocol for Eos instruments requires that measurement results be available in a central data archive within 72 hours of acquiring data. Such a turnaround of raw satellite data to the final product will clearly enhance the timeliness of the results. Compared to the time that results from many current satellite programs, the 72 hour turnaround may be considered real time. Examples are discussed showing how real-time measurements from one or more of the proposed Eos instruments could have been applied to the study of certain issues important to global atmospheric chemistry. Each of the examples discussed is based upon a field mission conducted during the past five years. Each of these examples will emphasize how real-time data could have been used to alter the course of a field experiment, thereby enhancing the scientific output. For the examples, brief overviews of the scientific rationale and objectives, the region of operation, the measurements aboard the aircraft, and finally how one or more of the proposed Eos instruments could have provided data to enhance the productivity of the mission are discussed.

15 CFR 301.7 - Final disposition of an application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... (Continued) INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.7 Final disposition of an application... not been advised of the port of entry of the instrument, or if entry has not been made when the...

15 CFR 301.7 - Final disposition of an application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... (Continued) INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.7 Final disposition of an application... not been advised of the port of entry of the instrument, or if entry has not been made when the...

15 CFR 301.7 - Final disposition of an application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... (Continued) INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.7 Final disposition of an application... not been advised of the port of entry of the instrument, or if entry has not been made when the...

15 CFR 301.7 - Final disposition of an application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... (Continued) INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.7 Final disposition of an application... not been advised of the port of entry of the instrument, or if entry has not been made when the...

15 CFR 301.7 - Final disposition of an application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... (Continued) INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.7 Final disposition of an application... not been advised of the port of entry of the instrument, or if entry has not been made when the...

Counselor Competence, Performance Assessment, and Program Evaluation: Using Psychometric Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tate, Kevin A.; Bloom, Margaret L.; Tassara, Marcel H.; Caperton, William

2014-01-01

Psychometric instruments have been underutilized by counselor educators in performance assessment and program evaluation efforts. As such, we conducted a review of the literature that revealed 41 instruments fit for such efforts. We described and critiqued these instruments along four dimensions--"Target Domain," "Format,"…

The development of an instrument to assess chemistry perceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wells, Raymond R.

The instrument, developed in this study, attempted to correct the deficiencies of previous instruments. Statements of belief and opinion can be validly included under the construct of chemistry perceptions. Further, statements that might be better characterized as science attitudes, math attitudes, or attitudes toward a specific course or program were not included. Eliminating statements of math anxiety and test anxiety insured that responses to statements of anxiety were perceptions of anxiety solely related to chemistry. The results of the expert judges' responses to the Validation of Proposed Perception Statements forms were detailed to establish construct and content validity. The nature of Likert scale construction and calculation of internal consistency also supported the validity of the instrument. A pilot Chemistry Perception Questionnaire (CPQ) was then constructed based on agreement of the appropriate subscale and mean importance of the perception statements. The pilot CPQ results were subjected to an item analysis based on three sets of statistics: the frequency of each response and the percentage of respondents making each response for each perception statement, the mean and standard deviations for each item, and the item discrimination index which correlated the item scores with the subscale scores. With no zero or negative correlations to the subscale scores, it was not necessary to replace any of the perception statements contained in the pilot instrument. Therefore, the piloted Chemistry Perception Questionnaire became the final instrument. Factor analysis confirmed the multidimensionality of the instrument. The instrument was administered twice with a separation interval of approximately one month in order to perform a test-retest reliability analysis. One hundred and forty-one pairs were matched and results detailed. The correlation between forms, for the total instrument, was 0.9342. The mean coefficient alpha, for the total instrument, was 0.9495. With test-retest correlations and alphas exceeding 0.70 for all seven subscales and the total instrument, it was determined that the Chemistry Perception Questionnaire instrument achieved reasonably high reliability estimations.

Development and validation of the Hospitality Axiological Scale for Humanization of Nursing Care

PubMed Central

Galán González-Serna, José María; Ferreras-Mencia, Soledad; Arribas-Marín, Juan Manuel

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: to develop and validate a scale to evaluate nursing attitudes in relation to hospitality for the humanization of nursing care. Participants: the sample consisted of 499 nursing professionals and undergraduate students of the final two years of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Method: the instrument has been developed and validated to evaluate the ethical values related to hospitality using a methodological approach. Subsequently, a model was developed to measure the dimensions forming the construct hospitality. Results: the Axiological Hospitality Scale showed a high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s Alpha=0.901. The validation of the measuring instrument was performed using factorial, exploratory and confirmatory analysis techniques with high goodness of fit measures. Conclusions: the developed instrument showed an adequate validity and a high internal consistency. Based on the consistency of its psychometric properties, it is possible to affirm that the scale provides a reliable measurement of the hospitality. It was also possible to determine the dimensions or sources that embrace it: respect, responsibility, quality and transpersonal care. PMID:28793127

Extrinsic Motivators Affecting Fourth-Grade Students' Interest and Enrollment in an Instrumental Music Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasil, Martina

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate fourth-grade students' extrinsic motivators for joining and continuing in a school instrumental music program. Three research questions were investigated: (a) What extrinsic motivators have influenced fourth-grade students' initial interest and continuing participation in an instrumental music program?…

Medicare Program; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System for Federal Fiscal Year 2018. Final rule.

PubMed

2017-08-03

This final rule updates the prospective payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for federal fiscal year (FY) 2018 as required by the statute. As required by section 1886(j)(5) of the Social Security Act (the Act), this rule includes the classification and weighting factors for the IRF prospective payment system's (IRF PPS) case-mix groups and a description of the methodologies and data used in computing the prospective payment rates for FY 2018. This final rule also revises the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) diagnosis codes that are used to determine presumptive compliance under the "60 percent rule," removes the 25 percent payment penalty for inpatient rehabilitation facility patient assessment instrument (IRF-PAI) late transmissions, removes the voluntary swallowing status item (Item 27) from the IRF-PAI, summarizes comments regarding the criteria used to classify facilities for payment under the IRF PPS, provides for a subregulatory process for certain annual updates to the presumptive methodology diagnosis code lists, adopts the use of height/weight items on the IRF-PAI to determine patient body mass index (BMI) greater than 50 for cases of single-joint replacement under the presumptive methodology, and revises and updates measures and reporting requirements under the IRF quality reporting program (QRP).

Design and Assessment of an Associate Degree-Level Plant Operations Technical Education Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selwitz, Jason Lawrence

Research was undertaken to develop and evaluate an associate degree-level technical education program in Plant Operations oriented towards training students in applied science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills and knowledge relevant to a spectrum of processing industries. This work focuses on four aspects of the curriculum and course development and evaluation research. First, the context of, and impetus for, what was formerly called vocational education, now referred to as technical or workforce education, is provided. Second, the research that was undertaken to design and evaluate an associate degree-level STEM workforce education program is described. Third, the adaptation of a student self-assessment of learning gains instrument is reviewed, and an analysis of the resulting data using an adapted logic model is provided, to evaluate the extent to which instructional approaches, in two process control/improvement-focused courses, were effective in meeting course-level intended learning outcomes. Finally, eight integrative multiscale exercises were designed from two example process systems, wastewater treatment and fast pyrolysis. The integrative exercises are intended for use as tools to accelerate the formation of an operator-technician's multiscale vision of systems, unit operations, underlying processes, and fundamental reactions relevant to multiple industries. Community and technical colleges serve a vital function in STEM education by training workers for medium- and high-skilled technical careers and providing employers the labor necessary to operate and maintain thriving business ventures. Through development of the curricular, course, and assessment-related instruments and tools, this research helps ensure associate degree-level technical education programs can engage in a continual process of program evaluation and improvement.

Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL Mate

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-02-28

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a technician checks the final step in mating of the first and second stages of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. The rocket is the launch vehicle for NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, spacecraft. AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global climate change. AIM is scheduled to be mated to the Pegasus XL during the second week of April, after which final inspections will be conducted. Launch is scheduled for April 25.

Impact of online lecture-capture on student outcomes in a therapeutics course.

PubMed

Bollmeier, Suzanne G; Wenger, Philip J; Forinash, Alicia B

2010-09-10

To examine the correlation between students accessing recorded lecture files (audio and slides) online and course grades and class attendance. Second professional year (of 6-year program) students in a therapeutics course had access to recorded online lectures for 72 hours following live lectures. The number and duration of lecture accessions were compared to final course grades and class attendance. Course grades were compared to those of a historical control group. At the end of the semester, students completed a brief survey instrument regarding their use and perceptions of online lectures. No correlation was found between final course grades and the number of lecture accessions (r = 0.0014) or total number of minutes lectures were viewed (r = 0.033), nor between class attendance and minutes viewed (r = 0.2158). Students with access to recorded lectures outperformed the historical control group on the final examination (p < 0.002). Seventy-two percent of students reported no influence of online files on class attendance. Posting lectures online did not affect student outcomes, but students did score higher on the final examination.

NIRSpec optics development: final report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geyl, R.; Ruch, E.; Vayssade, H.; Leplan, H.; Rodolfo, J.

2017-11-01

As shown and discussed on a Sagem poster presented at the ICSO 2010 conference [1], scientific or commercial earth observation space instruments are more and more taking advantage of the remarkable properties of Silicon Carbide in term of hardness, stiffness and thermal stability combined with a reasonable density which are indeed of primary importance for all space applications. Sagem-REOSC High Performance Optics Unit works on the polishing, coating and integration technologies of SiC mirrors since more than ten year through various successful space programs for various customers: INSAT 3D scan mirror, ROCSAT II and SPIRALE main telescopes, GAIA large primary mirrors and Auto-collimation flats, …). This paper aims to provide to the international space community an exhaustive vision of the work performed by Sagem-REOSC on the polishing, coating and integration of the three Three Mirror Anastigmats of the NIRSpec spectrographic instrument which is the main ESA contribution to the JWST.

Tiros IV Radiation Data Catalog and Users' Manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kunde, V. G.

1963-01-01

The TIROS IV Meteorological Satellite contains a medium resolution scanning radiometer. Two of the channels of this instrument are sensitive to reflected solar radiation and the remaining two respond to emitted thermal radiation from the earth and its atmosphere. The two thermal channels are calibrated in terms of equivalent blackbody temperatures, and the reflected solar radiation channels in terms of effective radiant emittances. The calibration data, along with orbital and attitude data and the radiation data from the satellite, were incorporated in a computer program for an IBM 7090 which was used to produce, in binary form, the "Final Meteorological Radiation Tape" which is the basic repository of all radiation data. After launch, the radiometer displaye d the same degradation of response characteristics as did its predecessors in TIROS II and TIROS III. The onset of degradation results in a departure of the data from the prelaunch laboratory calibration. The cause of degradation has not been determined, and the matter is still being studied at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Before work with the TIROS IV radiation data is attempted, an understanding of the radiometer, its calibration, and the problems encountered in the experiment, especially from response degradation, is essential. The instrumentation design, development work, and the calibrations herein described were performed by the Goddard Space Flight Center Staff, whereas the computer and programming efforts were carried out jointly by the staffs of the National Weather Satellite Center, U. S. Weather Bureau, and the Goddard Space Flight Center. In this Catalog-Manual, the radiometer an d its calibration, data processing, the "Final Meteorological Radiation Tape", the observed degradation patterns, and possible corrections for degradation are discussed. The Catalog-Manual also includes, in two forms, documentation of each orbit of successfully reduced radiation data acquired by TIROS IV. One method of presentation is the Index of Final Meteorological Radiation Tapes and the other is a Subpoint Track, Summary of Available Radiation Data in diagrammatic form.

Measuring Program Quality, Part 2: Addressing Potential Cultural Bias in a Rater Reliability Exam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richer, Amanda; Charmaraman, Linda; Ceder, Ineke

2018-01-01

Like instruments used in afterschool programs to assess children's social and emotional growth or to evaluate staff members' performance, instruments used to evaluate program quality should be free from bias. Practitioners and researchers alike want to know that assessment instruments, whatever their type or intent, treat all people fairly and do…

The Effects of Participation in School Instrumental Music Programs on Student Academic Achievement and School Attendance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davenport, Kevin O.

2010-01-01

This study examined whether or not students that participated in a school sponsored instrumental music program had higher academic achievement and attendance than students that did not participate in a school sponsor instrumental music program. Units of measurement included standardized test scores and attendance, without taking into consideration…

Technology Use in Science Instruction (TUSI): Aligning the Integration of Technology in Science Instruction in Ways Supportive of Science Education Reform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Todd; Abd-Hamid, Nor Hashidah

2013-08-01

This study describes the development of an instrument to investigate the extent to which technology is integrated in science instruction in ways aligned to science reform outlined in standards documents. The instrument was developed by: (a) creating items consistent with the five dimensions identified in science education literature, (b) establishing content validity with both national and international content experts, (c) refining the item pool based on content expert feedback, (d) piloting testing of the instrument, (e) checking statistical reliability and item analysis, and (f) subsequently refining and finalization of the instrument. The TUSI was administered in a field test across eleven classrooms by three observers, with a total of 33 TUSI ratings completed. The finalized instrument was found to have acceptable inter-rater intraclass correlation reliability estimates. After the final stage of development, the TUSI instrument consisted of 26-items separated into the original five categories, which aligned with the exploratory factor analysis clustering of the items. Additionally, concurrent validity of the TUSI was established with the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol. Finally, a subsequent set of 17 different classrooms were observed during the spring of 2011, and for the 9 classrooms where technology integration was observed, an overall Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.913 was found. Based on the analyses completed, the TUSI appears to be a useful instrument for measuring how technology is integrated into science classrooms and is seen as one mechanism for measuring the intersection of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge in science classrooms.

Focal plane subsystem design and performance for atmospheric chemistry from geostationary orbit tropospheric emissions monitoring of pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilmore, A. S.; Philbrick, R. H.; Funderburg, J.

2017-09-01

Remote sensing of pollutants are enabled from a satellite in a geostationary orbit containing an imaging spectrometer encompassing the wavelength ranges of 290 - 490 nm and 540 - 740 nm. As the first of NASA's Earth Venture Instrument Program, the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) program will utilize this instrument to measure hourly air quality over a large portion of North America. The focal plane subsystem (FPS) contains two custom designed and critically aligned full frame transfer charge coupled devices (active area: 1028 x 2048, 18 μm) within a focal plane array package designed for radiation tolerance and space charging rejection. In addition, the FPS contains custom distributed focal plane electronics that provide all necessary clocks and biases to the sensors, receives all analog data from the sensors and performs 14 bit analog to digital conversion for upstream processing. Finally, the FPS encompasses custom low noise cables connecting the focal plane array and associated electronics. This paper discusses the design and performance of this novel focal plane subsystem with particular emphasis on the optical performance achieved including alignment, quantum efficiency, and modulation transfer function.

"Beyond the walls": A research study of eighth-grade students mentored in a hospital setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grattan, Aileen

This research study was designed to evaluate twelve eighth-grade students participating in the fourth year of a mentoring program to determine what effect the mentoring experience would have on the students' sense of a scientific community, their understanding of scientific knowledge and process skills and attitudes toward science. The mentoring program was developed through a partnership established between the researcher, an eighth-grade science teacher at a junior high school, and an administrator of a local hospital, to provide educational opportunities for students mentored by medical professionals. The research design included qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. The qualitative instruments were student journals and interviews. The quantitative instruments included the science subtest of the Stanford Nine Achievement Test, a Student Attitude Toward Science Survey (STATS), and a Hospital Questionnaire. The findings indicate that mentoring developed the students' understanding of a scientific community, revealed a wide range of attitudes and had a positive effect on the students' scientific knowledge and process skills. Finally, this research study has shown the benefits of mentoring as a model for teaching science in a community setting beyond the walls of the school.

The Student Actions Coding Sheet (SACS): An instrument for illuminating the shifts toward student-centered science classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erdogan, Ibrahim; Campbell, Todd; Hashidah Abd-Hamid, Nor

2011-07-01

This study describes the development of an instrument to investigate the extent to which student-centered actions are occurring in science classrooms. The instrument was developed through the following five stages: (1) student action identification, (2) use of both national and international content experts to establish content validity, (3) refinement of the item pool based on reviewer comments, (4) pilot testing of the instrument, and (5) statistical reliability and item analysis leading to additional refinement and finalization of the instrument. In the field test, the instrument consisted of 26 items separated into four categories originally derived from student-centered instruction literature and used by the authors to sort student actions in previous research. The SACS was administered across 22 Grade 6-8 classrooms by 22 groups of observers, with a total of 67 SACS ratings completed. The finalized instrument was found to be internally consistent, with acceptable estimates from inter-rater intraclass correlation reliability coefficients at the p < 0.01 level. After the final stage of development, the SACS instrument consisted of 24 items separated into three categories, which aligned with the factor analysis clustering of the items. Additionally, concurrent validity of the SACS was established with the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol. Based on the analyses completed, the SACS appears to be a useful instrument for inclusion in comprehensive assessment packages for illuminating the extent to which student-centered actions are occurring in science classrooms.

Hubble Space Telescope: Faint object spectrograph instrument handbook. Version 1.1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ford, Holland C. (Editor)

1990-01-01

The Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) has undergone substantial rework since the 1985 FOS Instrument Handbook was published, and we are now more knowledgeable regarding the spacecraft and instrument operations requirements and constraints. The formal system for observation specification has also evolved considerably, as the GTO programs were defined in detail. This supplement to the FOS Instrument Handbook addresses the important aspects of these changes, to facilitate proper selection and specification of FOS observing programs. Since the Handbook was published, the FOS red detector has been replaced twice, first with the best available spare in 1985 (which proved to have a poor, and steadily degrading red response), and later with a newly developed Digicon, which exhibits a high, stable efficiency and a dark-count rate less than half that of its predecessors. Also, the FOS optical train was realigned in 1987-88 to eliminate considerable beam-vignetting losses, and the collimators were both removed and recoated for greater reflectivity. Following the optics and detector rework, the FOS was carefully recalibrated (although only ambient measurements were possible, so the far-UV characteristics could not be re-evaluated directly). The resulting efficiency curves, including improved estimates of the telescope throughput, are shown. A number of changes in the observing-mode specifications and addition of several optional parameters resulted as the Proposal Instructions were honed during the last year. Target-brightness limitations, which have only recently been formulated carefully, are described. Although these restrictions are very conservative, it is imperative that the detector safety be guarded closely, especially during the initial stages of flight operations. Restrictions on the use of the internal calibration lamps and aperture-illumination sources (TA LEDs), also resulting from detector safety considerations, are outlined. Finally, many changes have been made to the instructions for target acquisition specification.

An instrument based on protection motivation theory to predict Chinese adolescents' intention to engage in protective behaviors against schistosomiasis.

PubMed

Xiao, Han; Peng, Minjin; Yan, Hong; Gao, Mengting; Li, Jingjing; Yu, Bin; Wu, Hanbo; Li, Shiyue

2016-01-01

Further advancement in schistosomiasis prevention requires new tools to assess protective motivation, and promote innovative intervention program. This study aimed to develop and evaluate an instrument developed based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to predict protective behavior intention against schistosomiasis among adolescents in China. We developed the Schistosomiasis PMT Scale based on two appraisal pathways of protective motivation- threat appraisal pathway and coping appraisal pathway. Data from a large sample of middle school students ( n  = 2238, 51 % male, mean age 13.13 ± 1.10) recruited in Hubei, China was used to evaluated the validity and reliability of the scale. The final scale contains 18 items with seven sub-constructs. Cronbach's Alpha coefficients for the entire instrument was 0.76, and for the seven sub-constructs of severity, vulnerability, intrinsic reward, extrinsic reward, response efficacy, self-efficacy and response cost was 0.56, 0.82, 0.75, 0.80, 0.90, 0.72 and 0.70, respectively. The construct validity analysis revealed that the one level 7 sub-constructs model fitted data well (GFI = 0.98, CFI = 0.98, RMSEA = 0.03, Chi-sq/df = 3.90, p  < 0.001). Predictive validity showed that both the PMT instrument score and the 7 sub-construct scores were significantly correlated with the intention engaged in protective behavior against schistosomiasis ( p  < 0.05). This study provides a reliable and valid tool to measure protective motivation in schistosomiasis prevention control. Further studies are needed to develop more effective intervention programs for schistosomiasis prevention.

Real-time synchronous measurement of curing characteristics and polymerization stress in bone cements with a cantilever-beam based instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palagummi, Sri Vikram; Landis, Forrest A.; Chiang, Martin Y. M.

2018-03-01

An instrumentation capable of simultaneously determining degree of conversion (DC), polymerization stress (PS), and polymerization exotherm (PE) in real time was introduced to self-curing bone cements. This comprises the combination of an in situ high-speed near-infrared spectrometer, a cantilever-beam instrument with compliance-variable feature, and a microprobe thermocouple. Two polymethylmethacrylate-based commercial bone cements, containing essentially the same raw materials but differ in their viscosity for orthopedic applications, were used to demonstrate the applicability of the instrumentation. The results show that for both the cements studied the final DC was marginally different, the final PS was different at the low compliance, the peak of the PE was similar, and their polymerization rates were significantly different. Systematic variation of instrumental compliance for testing reveals differences in the characteristics of PS profiles of both the cements. This emphasizes the importance of instrumental compliance in obtaining an accurate understanding of PS evaluation. Finally, the key advantage for the simultaneous measurements is that these polymerization properties can be correlated directly, thus providing higher measurement confidence and enables a more in-depth understanding of the network formation process.

Basic psychometric properties of the transfer assessment instrument (version 3.0).

PubMed

Tsai, Chung-Ying; Rice, Laura A; Hoelmer, Claire; Boninger, Michael L; Koontz, Alicia M

2013-12-01

To refine the Transfer Assessment Instrument (TAI 2.0), develop a training program for the TAI, and analyze the basic psychometric properties of the TAI 3.0, including reliability, standard error of measurement (SEM), minimal detectable change (MDC), and construct validity. Repeated measures. A winter sports clinic for disabled veterans. Wheelchair users (N=41) who perform sitting-pivot or standing-pivot transfers. Not applicable. TAI version 3.0, intraclass correlation coefficients, SEMs, and MDCs for reliable measurement of raters' responses. Spearman correlation coefficient, 1-way analysis of variance, and independent t tests to evaluate construct validity. TAI 3.0 had acceptable to high levels of reliability (range, .74-.88). The SEMs for part 1, part 2, and final scores ranged from .45 to .75. The MDC was 1.5 points on the 10-point scale for the final score. There were weak correlations (ρ range, -.13 to .25; P>.11) between TAI final scores and subjects' characteristics (eg, sex, body mass index, age, type of disability, length of wheelchair use, grip and elbow strength, sitting balance). With comprehensive training, the refined TAI 3.0 yields high reliability among raters of different clinical backgrounds and experience. TAI 3.0 was unbiased toward certain physical characteristics that may influence transfer. TAI fills a void in the field by providing a quantitative measurement of transfers and a tool that can be used to detect problems and guide transfer training. Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Development and validity of workplace bullying in nursing-type inventory (WPBN-TI)].

PubMed

Lee, Younju; Lee, Mihyoung

2014-04-01

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assess bullying of nurses, and test the validity and reliability of the instrument. The initial thirty items of WPBN-TI were identified through a review of the literature on types bullying related to nursing and in-depth interviews with 14 nurses who experienced bullying at work. Sixteen items were developed through 2 content validity tests by 9 experts and 10 nurses. The final WPBN-TI instrument was evaluated by 458 nurses from five general hospitals in the Incheon metropolitan area. SPSS 18.0 program was used to assess the instrument based on internal consistency reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity. WPBN-TI consisted of 16 items with three distinct factors (verbal and nonverbal bullying, work-related bullying, and external threats), which explained 60.3% of the total variance. The convergent validity and determinant validity for WPBN-TI were 100.0%, 89.7%, respectively. Known-groups validity of WPBN-TI was proven through the mean difference between subjective perception of bullying. The satisfied criterion validity for WPBN-TI was more than .70. The reliability of WPBN-TI was Cronbach's α of .91. WPBN-TI with high validity and reliability is suitable to determine types of bullying in nursing workplace.

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instruments Module (ISIM) Cryo-Vacuum (CV) Test Campaign Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yew, Calinda; Whitehouse, Paul; Lui, Yan; Banks, Kimberly

2016-01-01

JWST Integrated Science Instruments Module (ISIM) has completed its system-level testing program at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In March 2016, ISIM was successfully delivered for integration with the Optical Telescope Element (OTE) after the successful verification of the system through a series of three cryo-vacuum (CV) tests. The first test served as a risk reduction test; the second test provided the initial verification of the fully-integrated flight instruments; and the third test verified the system in its final flight configuration. The complexity of the mission has generated challenging requirements that demand highly reliable system performance and capabilities from the Space Environment Simulator (SES) vacuum chamber. As JWST progressed through its CV testing campaign, deficiencies in the test configuration and support equipment were uncovered from one test to the next. Subsequent upgrades and modifications were implemented to improve the facility support capabilities required to achieve test requirements. This paper: (1) provides an overview of the integrated mechanical and thermal facility systems required to achieve the objectives of JWST ISIM testing, (2) compares the overall facility performance and instrumentation results from the three ISIM CV tests, and (3) summarizes lessons learned from the ISIM testing campaign.

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instruments Module (ISIM) Cryo-Vacuum (CV) Test Campaign Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yew, Calinda; Lui, Yan; Whitehouse, Paul; Banks, Kimberly

2016-01-01

JWST Integrated Science Instruments Module (ISIM) completed its system-level space simulation testing program at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In March 2016, ISIM was successfully delivered to the next level of integration with the Optical Telescope Element (OTE), to form OTIS (OTE + ISIM), after concluding a series of three cryo-vacuum (CV) tests. During these tests, the complexity of the mission has generated challenging requirements that demand highly reliable system performance and capabilities from the Space Environment Simulator (SES) vacuum chamber. The first test served as a risk reduction test; the second test provided the initial verification of the fully-integrated flight instruments; and the third test verified the system in its final flight configuration following mechanical environmental tests (vibration and acoustics). From one test to the next, shortcomings of the facility were uncovered and associated improvements in operational capabilities and reliability of the facility were required to enable the project to verify system-level requirements. This paper: (1) provides an overview of the integrated mechanical and thermal facility systems required to achieve the objectives of JWST ISIM testing, (2) compares the overall facility performance and instrumentation results from the three ISIM CV tests, and (3) summarizes lessons learned from the ISIM testing campaign.

How to start a minimal access mitral valve program.

PubMed

Hunter, Steven

2013-11-01

The seven pillars of governance established by the National Health Service in the United Kingdom provide a useful framework for the process of introducing new procedures to a hospital. Drawing from local experience, the author present guidance for institutions considering establishing a minimal access mitral valve program. The seven pillars of governance apply to the practice of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery, based on the principle of patient-centred practice. The author delineate the benefits of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery in terms of: "clinical effectiveness", including reduced length of hospital stay, "risk management effectiveness", including conversion to sternotomy and aortic dissection, "patient experience" including improved cosmesis and quicker recovery, and the effectiveness of communication, resources and strategies in the implementation of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery. Finally, the author have identified seven learning curves experienced by surgeons involved in introducing a minimal access mitral valve program. The learning curves are defined as: techniques of mitral valve repair, Transoesophageal Echocardiography-guided cannulation, incisions, instruments, visualization, aortic occlusion and cardiopulmonary bypass strategies. From local experience, the author provide advice on how to reduce the learning curves, such as practising with the specialised instruments and visualization techniques during sternotomy cases. Underpinning the NHS pillars are the principles of systems awareness, teamwork, communication, ownership and leadership, all of which are paramount to performing any surgery but more so with minimal access surgery, as will be highlighted throughout this paper.

The SE role in establishing, verifying and controlling top-level program requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mathews, Charles W.

1993-01-01

The program objectives and requirements described in the preceding paragraphs emphasize mission demonstrations. Obtaining desired science or applications information is another type of program objective. The program requirements then state the need for specific data, usually specifying a particular instrument or instrument set; the operating conditions under which the data is to be obtained (e.g., orbit altitude, field of view, and pointing accuracy); and the data handling and use. Conversely, a new instrument may be conceived or created with the program objective to establish its use potential. The Multispectral Scanner employed in the Landsat program is an example.

Biomechanical study of anterior spinal instrumentation configurations

PubMed Central

Cloutier, Luc P.; Grimard, Guy

2007-01-01

The biomechanical impact of the surgical instrumentation configuration for spine surgery is hard to evaluate by the surgeons in pre-operative situation. This study was performed to evaluate different configurations of the anterior instrumentation of the spine, with simulated post-operative conditions, to recommend configurations to the surgeons. Four biomechanical parameters of the anterior instrumentation with simulated post-operative conditions have been studied. They were the screw diameter (5.5–7.5 mm) and its angle (0°–22.5°), the bone grip of the screw (mono–bi cortical) and the amount of instrumented levels (5–8). Eight configurations were tested using an experimental plan with instrumented synthetic spinal models. A follower load was applied and the models were loaded in flexion, torsion and lateral bending. At 5 Nm, average final stiffness was greater in flexion (0.92 Nm/°) than in lateral bending (0.56 Nm/°) and than in torsion (0.26 Nm/°). The screw angle was the parameter influencing the most the final stiffness and the coupling behaviors. It has a significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on increasing the final stiffness for a 22.5° screw angle in flexion and for a coronal screw angle (0°) in lateral bending. The bi-cortical bone grip of the screw significantly increased the initial stiffness in flexion and lateral bending. Mathematical models representing the behavior of an instrumented spinal model have been used to identify optimal instrumentation configurations. A variation of the angle of the screw from 22.5° to 0° gave a global final stiffness diminution of 13% and a global coupling diminution of 40%. The screw angle was the most important parameter affecting the stiffness and the coupling of the instrumented spine with simulated post-operative conditions. Information about the effect of four different biomechanical parameters will be helpful in preoperative situations to guide surgeons in their clinical choices. PMID:17205240

Performing at the Top of One's Musical Game

PubMed Central

Hatfield, Johannes L.

2016-01-01

The purpose of the present mixed method study was to investigate personal benefits, perceptions, and the effect of a 15-week sport psychological skills training program adapted for musicians. The program was individually tailored for six music performance students with the objective of facilitating the participants' instrumental practice and performance. The participants learnt techniques such as goal setting, attentional focus, arousal regulation, imagery, and acceptance training/self-talk. Zimmerman's (1989) cyclical model of self-regulated learning was applied as a theoretical frame for the intervention. The present study's mixed-method approach (i.e., quan+ QUAL) included effect size, semi-structured interviews, a research log, and practice diaries of the participants (Creswell, 2009). Thematic analysis revealed that participants had little or no experience concerning planning and goal setting in regard to instrumental practice. Concentration, volition, and physical pain were additional issues that the participants struggled with at the time of pre-intervention. The study found that psychological skills training (with special emphasis on planning and goal setting) facilitated cyclical self-regulated learning patterns in the participants. In essence, the intervention was found to facilitate the participants' concentration, self-observation, self-efficacy, and coping in the face of failure. The appliance of practice journals facilitated the participants‘ self-observation, self-evaluation, and awareness of instrumental practice. Finally, the psychological skills intervention reduced participants' worry and anxiety in performance situations. An 8-month follow up interview revealed that the participants were still actively applying psychological skills. PMID:27679586

The Bgo-Od Experiment at Elsa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bantes, B.; Bayadilov, D.; Beck, R.; Becker, M.; Bella, A.; Bieling, J.; Böse, S.; Braglieri, A.; Brinkmann, K.; Burdeynyi, D.; Curciarello, F.; de Leo, V.; di Salvo, R.; Dutz, H.; Elsner, D.; Fantini, A.; Frese, T.; Friedrick, S.; Frommberger, F.; Ganenko, V.; Gervino, G.; Ghio, F.; Giardina, G.; Girolami, B.; Glazier, D.; Goertz, S.; Gridnev, A.; Gutz, E.; Hammann, D.; Hannappel, J.; Hillert, W.; Ignatov, A.; Jahn, O.; Jahn, R.; Joosten, R.; Jude, T. C.; Klein, F.; Koop, K.; Krusche, B.; Lapik, A.; Levi Sandri, P.; Lopatin, I.; Mandaglio, G.; Messi, F.; Messi, R.; Metag, V.; Moricciani, D.; Nanova, M.; Nedorezov, V.; Noviskiy, D.; Pedroni, P.; Romaniuk, M.; Rostomyan, T.; Schaerf, C.; Schmieden, H.; Sumachev, V.; Tarakonov, V.; Vegna, V.; Vlasov, P.; Walther, D.; Watts, D.; Zaunick, H.-G.; Zimmermann, T.

2014-01-01

Meson photoproduction is a key tool for the experimental investigation of the nucleon excitation spectrum. To disentangle the specific couplings of resonances, in addition to the rather well measured pion and eta photoproduction channels it is mandatory to obtain information on channels involving strange and vector mesons and higher mass pseudoscalar mesons, and the associated multi-particle final states with both charged and neutral particles. In this respect, the new BGO-OD experiment at the ELSA accelerator of the University of Bonn's Physikalisches Institut provides unique instrumentation. We describe the experiment, present its status and the initial program of measurements.

Saturn Apollo Program

NASA Image and Video Library

1968-01-01

This is a cutaway illustration of the Saturn V command module (CM) configuration. The CM was crammed with some of the most complex equipment ever sent into space at the time. The three astronaut couches were surrounded by instrument panels, navigation gear, radios, life-support systems, and small engines to keep it stable during reentry. The entire cone, 11 feet long and 13 feet in diameter, was protected by a charring heat shield. The 6.5 ton CM was all that was finally left of the 3,000-ton Saturn V vehicle that lifted off on the journey to the Moon.

SRB Environment Evaluation and Analysis. Volume 3: ASRB Plume Induced Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bender, R. L.; Brown, J. R.; Reardon, J. E.; Everson, J.; Coons, L. W.; Stuckey, C. I.; Fulton, M. S.

1991-01-01

Contract NAS8-37891 was expanded in late 1989 to initiate analysis of Shuttle plume induced environments as a result of the substitution of the Advanced Solid Rocket Booster (ASRB) for the Redesigned Solid Rocket Booster (RSRB). To support this analysis, REMTECH became involved in subscale and full-scale solid rocket motor test programs which further expanded the scope of work. Later contract modifications included additional tasks to produce initial design cycle environments and to specify development flight instrumentation. Volume 3 of the final report describes these analyses and contains a summary of reports resulting from various studies.

Master's level education in biomedical optics: four-year experience at the University of Latvia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spigulis, Janis

2000-06-01

Pilot program for Master's studies on Biomedical Optics has been developed and launched at University of Latvia in 1995. The Curriculum contains several basic subjects like Fundamentals of Biomedical Optics, Medical Lightguides, Anatomy and Physiology, Lasers and Non-coherent Light Sources, Optical Instrumentation for Healthcare, Optical Methods for Patient Treatment, Basic Physics, etc. Special English Terminology and Laboratory-Clinical Praxis are also involved, and the Master Theses is the final step for the degree award. Following one four-year teaching experience, some observations, conclusions and eventual future activities are discussed.

Liver function testing on the Abaxis Piccolo Xpress: Use in Ebola virus disease protocols.

PubMed

Owen, William E; Caron, Justin E; Genzen, Jonathan R

2015-06-15

Laboratories that choose a point-of-care approach for liver function testing in patients undergoing evaluation for Ebola virus disease (EVD) have few options to choose from. The primary objective of this study was to conduct a performance characterization of a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-waived liver function panel on the Abaxis Piccolo® Xpress chemistry analyzer. The secondary objectives were to evaluate multiple specimen types, characterize whole blood specimen stability, and validate disposable exact transfer pipettes. Our final objective was to assess instrument airflow from a biosafety perspective. An instrument performance characterization, including precision, linearity, accuracy, reference interval verification, and specimen type evaluation was conducted using Liver Panel Plus reagent discs on the Piccolo® Xpress. All assays demonstrated acceptable linearity (slopes, 0.938-1.061; observed error, 0.8-6.3%). Assay precision was 0.0-3.6% (%CV; within-day studies) and 0.9-5.6% (between-day studies). Method comparison experiments (versus Roche cobas c502/c702 chemistry analyzers) showed excellent correlation for most assays, although a few notable differences were observed (Piccolo versus Roche): alkaline phosphatase, -18.6%; amylase, -29.0%; total bilirubin, +0.3mg/dl. Pre-programmed reference intervals were verified except for the alkaline phosphatase (male and female) and alanine aminotransferase (female), which had greater than 10% of results fall below the programmed ranges. Piccolo instrument results were largely consistent across specimen types tested (lithium-heparin whole blood, lithium-heparin plasma, and serum), although some statistical differences were observed for aspartate aminotransferase, gamma glutamyltransferase, and total protein. Whole blood time course studies demonstrated that some analytes (albumin, amylase, and total protein) showed remarkable stability, while others (such as aspartate aminotransferase) showed a slight trend toward decreased activity over time. Exact volume transfer pipettes provided an effective disposable option for disc loading. Finally, airflow studies suggested that, in the context of EVD protocols, instrument placement in a biosafety level (BSL) 2 cabinet or greater is justified. Given its analytical performance and ease of operation, the Piccolo Xpress was transferred to a BSL-2 cabinet in our BSL-3 suite for use in our hospital's diagnostic protocol for providing liver function testing in patients undergoing evaluation for EVD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High resolution microwave spectrometer sounder (HIMSS), volume 1, book 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The following topics are presented with respect to the high resolution microwave spectrometer sounder (HIMSS) that is to be used as an instrument for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS): (1) an instrument overview; (2) an instrument description; (3) the instrument's conceptual design; (4) technical risks and offsets; (5) instrument reliability; (6) commands and telemetry; (7) mass and power budgets; (8) integration and test program; (9) program implementation; and (10) phase CD schedule.

Research and realization of signal simulation on virtual instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qi; He, Wenting; Guan, Xiumei

2010-02-01

In the engineering project, arbitrary waveform generator controlled by software interface is needed by simulation and test. This article discussed the program using the SCPI (Standard Commands For Programmable Instruments) protocol and the VISA (Virtual Instrument System Architecture) library to control the Agilent signal generator (Agilent N5182A) by instrument communication over the LAN interface. The program can conduct several signal generations such as CW (continuous wave), AM (amplitude modulation), FM (frequency modulation), ΦM (phase modulation), Sweep. As the result, the program system has good operability and portability.

A Program to Improve Social Studies Instruction in the Ottumwa Community Schools. Surveys, Grades 3-12, Measurement Instruments, Project #1009.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahrens, Willis

As part of a social studies instruction improvement program, measurement instruments were developed to measure attitudes of and evaluate courses for teachers and students in grades 3-12. The measurement instruments presented are surveys used in the social studies program. The purposes of the improvement project are to use the multimedia approach…

Using a graphical programming language to write CAMAC/GPIB instrument drivers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zambrana, Horacio; Johanson, William

1991-01-01

To reduce the complexities of conventional programming, graphical software was used in the development of instrumentation drivers. The graphical software provides a standard set of tools (graphical subroutines) which are sufficient to program the most sophisticated CAMAC/GPIB drivers. These tools were used and instrumentation drivers were successfully developed for operating CAMAC/GPIB hardware from two different manufacturers: LeCroy and DSP. The use of these tools is presented for programming a LeCroy A/D Waveform Analyzer.

Music Program of Study: Educational Program Definition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West Virginia State Dept. of Education, Charleston.

The West Virginia music study program is a public school K-12 curriculum sequence. This program is divided into the four principal areas of: (1) general classroom music; (2) string instrumental music; (3) wind and percussion instrumental music; and (4) choral music. The general classroom music program is an early and middle childhood sequence of…

Effectiveness of various irrigation activation protocols and the self-adjusting file system on smear layer and debris removal.

PubMed

Çapar, İsmail Davut; Aydinbelge, Hale Ari

2014-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate smear layer generation and residual debris after using self-adjusting file (SAF) or rotary instrumentation and to compare the debris and smear layer removal efficacy of the SAF cleaning/shaping irrigation system against final agitation techniques. One hundred and eight maxillary lateral incisor teeth were randomly divided into nine experimental groups (n = 12), and root canals were prepared using ProTaper Universal rotary files, with the exception of the SAF instrumentation group. During instrumentation, root canals were irrigated with a total of 16 mL of 5% NaOCl. For final irrigation, rotary-instrumented groups were irrigated with 10 mL of 17% EDTA and 10 mL of 5% NaOCl using different irrigation agitation regimens (syringe irrigation with needles, NaviTip FX, manual dynamic irrigation, CanalBrush, EndoActivator, EndoVac, passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI), and SAF irrigation). In the SAF instrumentation group, root canals were instrumented for 4 min at a rate of 4 mL/min with 5% NaOCl and received a final flush with same as syringe irrigation with needles. The surface of the root dentin was observed using a scanning electron microscope. The SAF instrumentation group generated less smear layer and yielded cleaner canals compared to rotary instrumentation. The EndoActivator, EndoVac, PUI, and SAF irrigation groups increased the efficacy of irrigating solutions on the smear layer and debris removal. The SAF instrumentation yielded cleaner canal walls when compared to rotary instrumentation. None of the techniques completely removed the smear layer from the root canal walls. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cone-beam computed tomography analysis of curved root canals after mechanical preparation with three nickel-titanium rotary instruments

PubMed Central

Elsherief, Samia M.; Zayet, Mohamed K.; Hamouda, Ibrahim M.

2013-01-01

Cone beam computed tomography is a 3-dimensional high resolution imaging method. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 3 different NiTi rotary instruments used to prepare curved root canals on the final shape of the curved canals and total amount of root canal transportation by using cone-beam computed tomography. A total of 81 mesial root canals from 42 extracted human mandibular molars, with a curvature ranging from 15 to 45 degrees, were selected. Canals were randomly divided into 3 groups of 27 each. After preparation with Protaper, Revo-S and Hero Shaper, the amount of transportation and centering ability that occurred were assessed by using cone beam computed tomography. Utilizing pre- and post-instrumentation radiographs, straightening of the canal curvatures was determined with a computer image analysis program. Canals were metrically assessed for changes (surface area, changes in curvature and transportation) during canal preparation by using software SimPlant; instrument failures were also recorded. Mean total widths and outer and inner width measurements were determined on each central canal path and differences were statistically analyzed. The results showed that all instruments maintained the original canal curvature well with no significant differences between the different files (P = 0.226). During preparation there was failure of only one file (the protaper group). In conclusion, under the conditions of this study, all instruments maintained the original canal curvature well and were safe to use. Areas of uninstrumented root canal wall were left in all regions using the various systems. PMID:23885273

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the attitudes towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation (ACPRD-C) among female hospital nurses in Taiwan.

PubMed

Lin, Hsing-Long; Lin, Mei-Hsiang; Ho, Chao-Chung; Fu, Chin-Hua; Koo, Malcolm

2017-07-01

Nurses are often the first responders to in-hospital cardiac emergencies. A positive attitude towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation may contribute to early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and rapid defibrillation, which are associated with enhanced long-term survival. The aim of this study was to translate and adapt the 31-item attitudes towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation and the national resuscitation guidelines (ACPRD) instrument into Chinese and to evaluate its psychometric properties in a sample of Taiwanese hospital nurses. The ACPRD instrument was translated into Chinese using professional translation services. Content validity index based on five experts to refine the translated instrument. The final instrument was applied to a sample of 290 female nurses, recruited from a regional hospital in southern Taiwan, to assess its internal consistency, factor structure, and discriminative validity. The Chinese ACPRD instrument showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.87). Seven factors emerged from the factor analysis. The instrument showed good discriminative validity and were able to differentiate the attitudes of nurses with more experience of defibrillation or cardiopulmonary resuscitation from those with less experience. Nurses working in emergency ward or intensive care unit also showed significantly higher overall scores compared to those working in other units. The Chinese ACPRD demonstrated adequate content validity, internal consistency, sensible factor structure, and good discriminative validity. Among Chinese-speaking nurses, it may be used as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of educational programs that aim to improve their confidence in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lessons Learned from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Patricia A.; Townsend, Jacqueline A.; Hedgeland, Randy J.

2004-01-01

Over the past two decades, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program has evolved from a ground-based integration program to a space-based science-sustaining program. The contamination controls from the new-generation Scientific Instruments and Orbital Replacement Units were incorporated into the HST Contamination Control Program to maintain scientific capability over the life of the telescope. Long-term on-orbit scientific data has shown that these contamination controls implemented for the instruments, Servicing Mission activities (Orbiter, Astronauts, and mission), and on-orbit operations successfully protected the HST &om contamination and the instruments from self-contamination.

Lessons Learned from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Patricia A.; Townsend, Jacqueline A.; Hedgeland, Randy J.

2004-01-01

Over the past two decades, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program has evolved from a ground-based integration program to a space-based science-sustaining program. The contamination controls from the new-generation Scientific Instruments and Orbital Replacement Units were incorporated into the HST Contamination Control Program to maintain scientific capability over the life of the telescope. Long-term on-orbit scientific data has shown that these contamination controls implemented for the instruments, Servicing Mission activities (Orbiter, Astronauts, and mission), and on-orbit operations successfully protected the HST from contamination and the instruments from self-contamination.

Calibration of solar radiation measuring instruments. Final report

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

Bahm, R J; Nakos, J C

A review of solar radiation measurement of instruments and some types of errors is given; and procedures for calibrating solar radiation measuring instruments are detailed. An appendix contains a description of various agencies who perform calibration of solar instruments and a description of the methods they used at the time this report was prepared. (WHK)

NASA Astrophysics Cosmic Origins (COR) and Physics of the Cosmos (PCOS) Strategic Technology Development Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pham, Thai; Seery, Bernard D.

2015-01-01

The COR and PCOS Program Offices (PO) reside at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), serving as the NASA Astrophysics Division's implementation arm for matters relating to the two programs. One aspect of the PO's activities is managing the COR and PCOS Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) program, helping mature technologies to enable and enhance future astrophysics missions.The PO is guided by the National Research Council's 'New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics' Decadal Survey report, and NASA's Astrophysics Implementation Plan. Strategic goals include dark energy; gravitational waves; X-ray observatories, e.g., US participation in ATHENA; Inflation probe; and a large UV/Visible telescope.To date, 51 COR and 65 PCOS SAT proposals have been received, of which 11 COR and 18 PCOS projects were funded. Notable successes include maturation of a new far-IR detector, later adopted by the SOFIA HAWC instrument; maturation of the H4RG near-IR detector, adopted by WFIRST; development of an antenna-coupled transition-edge superconducting bolometer, a technology deployed by BICEP2 that allowed measurement of B-mode polarization in the CMB signal, a possible signature of Inflation; and finally, the REXIS instrument on OSIRIS-REx is incorporating CCDs with directly deposited optical blocking filters developed by another SAT-funded project.We discuss our technology development process, with community input and strategic prioritization informing calls for SAT proposals and guiding investment decisions. We also present results of this year's technology gap prioritization and showcase our current portfolio of technology development projects. These include five newly selected projects, kicking off in FY 2015.For more information, visit the COR Program website at cor.gsfc.nasa.gov and the PCOS website at pcos.gsfc.nasa.gov.

Factors dominating choice of surgical specialty.

PubMed

Reed, Carolyn E; Vaporciyan, Ara A; Erikson, Clease; Dill, Michael J; Carpenter, Andrea J; Guleserian, Kristine J; Merrill, Walter H

2010-03-01

There has been much focus on factors influencing medical students' career choice, prompted by such concerns as a sufficient future surgical workforce, declining applicant pool, changing gender composition, and a cultural shift in values and priorities. Once in a surgical residency, there are little data on factors influencing general surgery (GS) residents' final specialty choice. A survey instrument was developed and content validated in conjunction with the Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Workforce Studies. The final instrument was distributed electronically between March 24 and May 2, 2008, through 251 GS program directors to all ACGME-accredited GS residents (n = 7,508). Response rate was 29% (2,153 residents; 89% programs). Half of GS residents remained undecided about specialty choice through the 2(nd) year, declining to 2% by year 5. Of the two-thirds who decided on a specialty, 16.5% chose to remain in GS, 14.6% chose plastics, 9.3% cardiothoracic, and 8.5% vascular. The specialty choice factors most likely to be very important were type of procedures and techniques, exposure to positive role model, and ability to balance work and personal life. Relative importance of factors in specialty choice varied by gender and chosen specialty. Mentors play a key role in specialty choice (66% decided had mentors versus 47% undecided). Work schedule was the most frequently selected shortcoming in every specialty except plastics. Cardiothoracic surgery followed by GS had the highest shortcomings. The majority of GS residents plan to subspecialize. Three factors dominate specialty choice. Faculty need to understand their impact potential to modify or change perceptions of their specialty. Copyright 2010 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration's research program in earth remote sensing instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plotkin, Henry H.; Sokoloski, Martin M.; Rubin, Bernard

1991-01-01

Terrestrial and atmospheric missions of NASA's program to develop remote sensing instrumentation are described along with several of the instruments and related mission. Systems such as lidar and radar, passive coherent sensors, passive noncoherent sensors, as well as cryogenic cooler technology are discussed.

[Evaluation of a teaching program of nutrition in agronomy].

PubMed

Olivares, S; Andrade, M; Harper, L; Kain, J; Eskenazi, M E; Sánchez, F; Domínguez, J I; Valiente, S

1985-06-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a set of teaching materials on food, nutrition and agriculture, adapted at the Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA), University of Chile, within the scope of a project with AID and the School of Agronomy of the Chilean Catholic University (U. C.) aimed at incorporating the teaching of human nutrition into the curriculum of Latin American agronomists. A one semester course (54 hours) was given to 22 students of the 7th semester of Agronomy and two Ecuatorian agronomists (with AID scholarships). A set of knowledge evaluation instruments was applied at the beginning and at the end of the course. A total of 83.3% of the students passed the final examination (with more than 75% of correct answers). The difference between the initial and final performance was highly significant (p less than 0.001). According to the students' and teachers' opinions, the general textbook and the teachers book contributed effectively to meet the learning objectives whereas the students handbook needed some modifications. In conclusion, the program is an important contribution to the education of agronomists in a new conception of their role in regard to improvement of the nutritional status and quality of life of the rural population. With a few minor modifications, a final version to be used in the countries of the Region, shall soon become available.

The space telescope: A study of NASA, science, technology, and politics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Robert William

1989-01-01

Scientific, technological, economic, and political aspects of NASA efforts to orbit a large astronomical telescope are examined in a critical historical review based on extensive interviews with participants and analysis of published and unpublished sources. The scientific advantages of large space telescopes are explained; early plans for space observatories are summarized; the history of NASA and its major programs is surveyed; the redesign of the original Large Space Telescope for Shuttle deployability is discussed; the impact of the yearly funding negotiations with Congress on the development of the final Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is described; and the implications of the HST story for the future of large space science projects are explored. Drawings, photographs, a description of the HST instruments and systems, and lists of the major contractors and institutions participating in the HST program are provided.

Chandra Observations of M31 and their Implications for its ISM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Primini, F.; Garcia, M.; Murray, S.; Forman, W.; Jones, C.; McClintock, J.

2000-01-01

As part of the Chandra X-ray Observatory's Survey/Monitoring Program of M31, we have been regularly observing the bulge amd inner disk of M31 for nearly 1 year, using both the HRC and ACIS Instruments. We present results from our program th it are of interest to the study of the ISM in M31. In particular, spectral analysis of bright, unresolved x-ray sources in the bulge reveals the presence of significant local x-ray extinction (N(sub H) is about 2 x 10(exp 21)/square cm), and we will attempt to map out this extinction, Further, we find that diffuse emission accounts for a significant fraction of the overall x-ray flux from the bulge. Finally, our search for x-ray counterparts to supernova remnants in M31 yields surprisingly few candidates.

Advances in Large Grain Resonators for the European XFEL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singer, W.; Aderhold, S.; Iversen, J.; Kreps, G.; Matheisen, A.; Singer, X.; Twarowski, K.; Weise, H.; Pekeler, M.; Scholz, F.; Spaniol, B.; Stiedl, E.

2011-03-01

An overview of the activities within the DESY test program of 1.3 GHz TESLA shape 9-cell Large Grain (LG) resonators for the European XFEL, which have taken place in last 4 years, is presented. Attention is devoted to development of LG disc production and cavity fabrication from this material, focusing in particular on aspects of production at reasonable accuracy and costs. More than 200 LG discs were manufactured, eleven 9-cell resonators produced, partially treated at the company Research Instruments (RI) (former ACCEL) and finally treated and RF tested at DESY. Two of the LG cavities are currently used in the FLASH accelerator operation, which is the best demonstration of the feasibility of the LG application. The program compares large grain material with standard sheet niobium. Some data and perspectives of the LG application are discussed.

Pre-Launch Radiometric Performance Characterization of the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder on the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Craig K.; Kim, Edward; Leslie, R. Vincent; Lyu, Joseph; McCormick, Lisa M.; Anderson, Kent

2017-01-01

The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) is a space-based, cross-track radiometer for operational atmospheric temperature and humidity sounding, utilizing 22 channels over a frequency range from 23 to 183 gigahertz. The ATMS for the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 has undergone two rounds of re-work in 2014-2015 and 2016, following performance issues discovered during and following thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) testing at the instrument and observatory level. Final shelf-level testing, including measurement of pass band characteristics and spectral response functions, was completed in December 2016. Final instrument-level TVAC testing and calibration occurred during February 2017. Here we will describe the instrument-level TVAC calibration process, and illustrate with results from the final TVAC calibration effort.

Flow in porous media, phase behavior and ultralow interfacial tensions: mechanisms of enhanced petroleum recovery. Final technical report

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

Davis, H.T.; Scriven, L.E.

1982-01-01

A major program of university research, longer-ranged and more fundamental in approach than industrial research, into basic mechanisms of enhancing petroleum recovery and into underlying physics, chemistry, geology, applied mathematics, computation, and engineering science has been built at Minnesota. The 1982 outputs of the interdisciplinary team of investigators were again ideas, instruments, techniques, data, understanding and skilled people: forty-one scientific and engineering papers in leading journals; four pioneering Ph.D. theses; numerous presentations to scientific and technical meetings, and to industrial, governmental and university laboratories; vigorous program of research visits to and from Minnesota; and two outstanding Ph.D.'s to research positionsmore » in the petroleum industry, one to a university faculty position, one to research leadership in a governmental institute. This report summarizes the 1982 papers and theses and features sixteen major accomplishments of the program during that year. Abstracts of all forty-five publications in the permanent literature are appended. Further details of information transfer and personnel exchange with industrial, governmental and university laboratories appear in 1982 Quarterly Reports available from the Department of Energy and are not reproduced here. The Minnesota program continues in 1983, notwithstanding earlier uncertainty about the DOE funding which finally materialized and is the bulk of support. Supplemental grants-in-aid from nine companies in the petroleum industry are important, as are the limited University and departmental contributions. 839 references, 172 figures, 29 tables.« less

A View of Current Evaluative Practices in Instrumental Music Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Amber Dahlén

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine how instrumental music educator skills are being evaluated in current undergraduate programs. While accrediting organizations mandate certain elements of these programs, they provide limited guidance on what evaluative approaches should be used. Instrumental music teacher educators in the College Music…

Career Assessment: Recently Developed Instruments Useful for School-to-Work Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapes, Jerome T.; Martinez, Linda

This document describes 32 recently developed career assessment instruments that have been deemed useful for school-to-work programs. The following instruments are among those profiled: Ability Explorer; Adult Measure of Essential Skills; Aptitude Interest Inventory; Ashland Interest Assessment; Barriers to Employment Success Inventory; Basic…

Efficient Swath Mapping Laser Altimetry Demonstration Instrument Incubator Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Anthony W.; Krainak, Michael A,; Harding, David J.; Abshire, James B.; Sun, Xiaoli; Cavanaugh, John; Valett, Susan

2010-01-01

In this paper we will discuss our eighteen-month progress of a three-year Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) funded by NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) on swath mapping laser altimetry system. This paper will discuss the system approach, enabling technologies and instrument concept for the swath mapping laser altimetry.

Measurement of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils with thermocouple psychometers

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

Daniel, D.E.

1982-11-01

A method of measuring the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil using the instantaneous profile method with psychometric probes to measure water potential is developed and described. Soil is compacted into cylindrical tubes, and the tubes are sealed and instrumented with thermocouple psychrometers. The soil is moistened or dried from one end of the tube. Psychrometers are read periodically. Hydraulic conductivity is computed from the psychrometer readings and the appropriate moisture characteristic curve for the soil and then plotted as a function of water potential, water content, or degree of saturation. Hydraulic conductivities of six soils were measured at water potentialsmore » as low as -80 bar. The measured hydraulic conductivities and moisture characteristic curves were used along with the known boundary flux in a computer program to calculate the final water content profiles. Computed and measured final water content profiles agreed tolerably well.« less

Improving the limits of detection of low background alpha emission measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNally, Brendan D.; Coleman, Stuart; Harris, Jack T.; Warburton, William K.

2018-01-01

Alpha particle emission - even at extremely low levels - is a significant issue in the search for rare events (e.g., double beta decay, dark matter detection). Traditional measurement techniques require long counting times to measure low sample rates in the presence of much larger instrumental backgrounds. To address this, a commercially available instrument developed by XIA uses pulse shape analysis to discriminate alpha emissions produced by the sample from those produced by other surfaces of the instrument itself. Experience with this system has uncovered two residual sources of background: cosmogenics and radon emanation from internal components. An R&D program is underway to enhance the system and extend the pulse shape analysis technique further, so that these residual sources can be identified and rejected as well. In this paper, we review the theory of operation and pulse shape analysis techniques used in XIA's alpha counter, and briefly explore data suggesting the origin of the residual background terms. We will then present our approach to enhance the system's ability to identify and reject these terms. Finally, we will describe a prototype system that incorporates our concepts and demonstrates their feasibility.

Focal plane mechanical design of the NISP/Euclid instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonnefoi, Anne; Bon, William; Niclas, Mathieu; Solheim, Bjarte G. B.; Torvanger, Oyvind; Schistad, Robert; Foulon, Benjamin; Garcia, José; Vives, Sébastien

2016-07-01

Currently in phase C, the Euclid mission selected by ESA in the Cosmic Vision program is dedicated to understand dark energy and dark matter. NISP (standing for Near Infrared Spectro-Photometer) is one of the two instruments of the mission. NISP will combine a photometer and a spectrometer working in the near-IR (0.9-2 microns). Its detection subsystem (called NI-DS) is based on a mosaic of 16 IR detectors cooled down to 90K which are supported by a molybdenum plate. The front-end readout electronics (working at 130K) are supported by another structure in Aluminum. The NI-DS is mounted on the rest of the instrument thanks to a panel in Silicon Carbide (SiC). Finally an optical baffle in Titanium will prevent the rogue light to reach the detectors. On top of the complexity due to the wide range of temperatures and the various materials imposed at the interfaces; the NI-DS has also to incorporate an internal adjustment capability of the position of the focal plane in tip/tilt and focus. This article will present current status of the development of the detection system of NISP.

Hand-Held Ultrasonic Instrument for Reading Matrix Symbols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schramm, Harry F.; Kula, John P.; Gurney, John W.; Lior, Ephraim D.

2008-01-01

A hand-held instrument that would include an ultrasonic camera has been proposed as an efficient means of reading matrix symbols. The proposed instrument could be operated without mechanical raster scanning. All electronic functions from excitation of ultrasonic pulses through final digital processing for decoding matrix symbols would be performed by dedicated circuitry within the single, compact instrument housing.

Development and exploratory analysis of the Neurorehabilitation Program Styles Survey.

PubMed

McCorkel, Beth A; Glueckauf, Robert L; Ecklund-Johnson, Eric P; Tomusk, Allison B; Trexler, Lance E; Diller, Leonard

2003-01-01

To develop a survey instrument that assesses implementation of key components of outpatient neurorehabilitation programs and test the capacity of this instrument to differentiate between rehabilitation approaches. The Neurorehabilitation Program Styles Survey (NPSS) was administered to 18 outpatient facilities: 10 specialized and 8 discipline-specific outpatient neurorehabilitation programs. Scores were compared between types of programs using independent samples t tests. The NPSS showed good reliability and contrasted groups validity, significantly differentiating between types of programs. The NPSS holds considerable promise as a tool for distinguishing among different types of brain injury programs, and for assessing the differential effectiveness of specialized versus discipline-specific outpatient brain rehabilitation programs. Future research on the NPSS will assess the stability of the instrument over time, its content validity, and capacity to differentiate the full continuum of neurorehabilitation programs.

Validation of instruments to measure students' mathematical knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khatimin, Nuraini; Zaharim, Azami; Aziz, Azrilah Abd

2015-02-01

This paper describes instruments' validation process to identify the suitability and accuracy of the final examination questions for engineering mathematics. As a compulsory subject for second year students from 4 departments in Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the Differential Equations 1 course (KKKQ2124) was considered in this study. The data used in this study consists of the raw marks for final examination of semester 2, 2012/2013 session. The data then will be run and analyzed using the Rasch measurement model. Rasch model can also examine the ability of students and redundancy of instrument constructs.

New imaging systems in nuclear medicine. Final report, January 1, 1993--December 31, 1995

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

NONE

1995-12-31

The aim of this program has been to improve the performance of positron emission tomography (PET) to achieve high resolution with high sensitivity. Towards this aim, the authors have carried out the following studies: (1) explored new techniques for detection of annihilation radiation including new detector materials and system geometries, specific areas that they have studied include--exploration of factors related to resolution and sensitivity of PET instrumentation including geometry, detection materials and coding, and the exploration of technique to improve the image quality by use of depth of interaction and increased sampling; (2) complete much of the final testing ofmore » PCR-II, an analog-coded cylindrical positron tomograph, developed and constructed during the current funding period; (3) developed the design of a positron microtomograph with mm resolution for quantitative studies in small animals, a single slice version of this device has been designed and studied by use of computer simulation; (4) continued and expanded the program of biological studies in animal models. Current studies have included imaging of animal models of Parkinson`s and Huntington`s disease and cancer. These studies have included new radiopharmaceuticals and techniques involving molecular biology.« less

Spacecraft applications of advanced global positioning system technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

This is the final report on the Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) simulations study of Spacecraft Application of Advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) Technology. This work was conducted for the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) under contract NAS9-17781. GPS, in addition to its baselined capability as a highly accurate spacecraft navigation system, can provide traffic control, attitude control, structural control, and uniform time base. In Phase 1 of this program, another contractor investigated the potential of GPS in these four areas and compared GPS to other techniques. This contract was for the Phase 2 effort, to study the performance of GPS for these spacecraft applications through computer simulations. TI had previously developed simulation programs for GPS differential navigation and attitude measurement. These programs were adapted for these specific spacecraft applications. In addition, TI has extensive expertise in the design and production of advanced GPS receivers, including space-qualified GPS receivers. We have drawn on this background to augment the simulation results in the system level overview, which is Section 2 of this report.

Results of Small-scale Solid Rocket Combustion Simulator testing at Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldberg, Benjamin E.; Cook, Jerry

1993-01-01

The Small-scale Solid Rocket Combustion Simulator (SSRCS) program was established at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and used a government/industry team consisting of Hercules Aerospace Corporation, Aerotherm Corporation, United Technology Chemical Systems Division, Thiokol Corporation and MSFC personnel to study the feasibility of simulating the combustion species, temperatures and flow fields of a conventional solid rocket motor (SRM) with a versatile simulator system. The SSRCS design is based on hybrid rocket motor principles. The simulator uses a solid fuel and a gaseous oxidizer. Verification of the feasibility of a SSRCS system as a test bed was completed using flow field and system analyses, as well as empirical test data. A total of 27 hot firings of a subscale SSRCS motor were conducted at MSFC. Testing of the Small-scale SSRCS program was completed in October 1992. This paper, a compilation of reports from the above team members and additional analysis of the instrumentation results, will discuss the final results of the analyses and test programs.

Ongoing Recovery Basic Information Tool (ORBIT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oberg, Donald

1993-01-01

The Federal Drug Free Work Place Program (DFWP) has now matured to the point of being able to return employees to sensitive testing designated positions (TDP) after completion of treatment of their addiction. The known tendency of addicted individuals to suffer multiple relapses prior to their final recovery has resulted in several positive urine tests (relapses) occurring among those Federal employees who have already completed treatment and who have been returned to TDP's. The very real potential for further relapses occurring after additional employees return to TDP's will be a critical factor in the ultimate success of the DFWP and in the public's impression of the program's effectiveness. In response to this concern, NASA has begun development of its Ongoing Recovery Basic Information Tool (ORBIT) instrument. The aim of the NASA ORBIT is to provide Employee Assistance Program (EAP) professionals with an advanced clinical tool which will be helpful in supporting recovery from substance abuse and which will allow more accurate determinations of when clients may be successfully returned to sensitive positions.

Application of parameter estimation to aircraft stability and control: The output-error approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maine, Richard E.; Iliff, Kenneth W.

1986-01-01

The practical application of parameter estimation methodology to the problem of estimating aircraft stability and control derivatives from flight test data is examined. The primary purpose of the document is to present a comprehensive and unified picture of the entire parameter estimation process and its integration into a flight test program. The document concentrates on the output-error method to provide a focus for detailed examination and to allow us to give specific examples of situations that have arisen. The document first derives the aircraft equations of motion in a form suitable for application to estimation of stability and control derivatives. It then discusses the issues that arise in adapting the equations to the limitations of analysis programs, using a specific program for an example. The roles and issues relating to mass distribution data, preflight predictions, maneuver design, flight scheduling, instrumentation sensors, data acquisition systems, and data processing are then addressed. Finally, the document discusses evaluation and the use of the analysis results.

Effect of finishing instrumentation using NiTi hand files on volume, surface area and uninstrumented surfaces in C-shaped root canal systems.

PubMed

Amoroso-Silva, P; Alcalde, M P; Hungaro Duarte, M A; De-Deus, G; Ordinola-Zapata, R; Freire, L G; Cavenago, B C; De Moraes, I G

2017-06-01

To assess the effect of 90°-oscillatory instrumentation with hand files on several morphological parameters (volume, surface area and uninstrumented surface) in C-shaped root canals after instrumentation using a single-file reciprocation system (Reciproc; VDW, Munich, Germany) and a Self-Adjusting File System (SAF; ReDent Nova, Ra'anana, Israel). Twenty mandibular second molars with C-shaped canals and C1 canal configurations were divided into two groups (n = 10) and instrumented with Reciproc and SAF instruments. A size 30 NiTi hand K-file attached to a 90°-oscillatory motion handpiece was used as final instrumentation in both groups. The specimens were scanned using micro-computed tomography after all procedures. Volume, surface area increase and uninstrumented root canal surface were analysed using CTAn software (Bruker-microCT, Kontich, Belgium). Also, the uninstrumented root canal surface was calculated for each canal third. All values were compared between groups using the Mann-Whitney test and within groups using the Wilcoxon's signed-rank test. Instrumentation with Reciproc significantly increased canal volume compared with instrumentation with SAF. Additionally, the canal volumes were significantly increased after 90°-oscillatory instrumentation (between and within group comparison; (P < 0.05)). Regarding the increase in surface area after all instrumentation protocols, statistical analysis only revealed significant differences in the within groups comparison (P < 0.05). Reciproc and SAF instrumentation yielded an uninstrumented root canal surface of 28% and 34%, respectively, which was not significantly different (P > 0.05). Final oscillatory instrumentation significantly reduced the uninstrumented root canal surface from 28% to 9% (Reciproc) and from 34% to 15% (SAF; P < 0.05). The apical and middle thirds exhibited larger uninstrumented root canal surfaces after the first instrumentation that was significantly reduced after oscillatory instrumentation (P < 0.05). The Reciproc and SAF system were associated with similar morphological parameters after instrumentation of mandibular second molars with C-shaped canals except for a higher canal volume increase in the Reciproc group compared to the SAF. Furthermore, the final use of 90°-oscillatory instrumentation using NiTi hand files significantly decreased the uninstrumented canal walls that remained after Reciproc and SAF instrumentation. © 2016 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

15 CFR 301.6 - Appeals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... States an instrument of equivalent scientific value for the purposes for which the instrument to which... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.6 Appeals. (a) An appeal from a final decision made by the Director under § 301...

15 CFR 301.6 - Appeals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... States an instrument of equivalent scientific value for the purposes for which the instrument to which... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.6 Appeals. (a) An appeal from a final decision made by the Director under § 301...

15 CFR 301.6 - Appeals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... States an instrument of equivalent scientific value for the purposes for which the instrument to which... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.6 Appeals. (a) An appeal from a final decision made by the Director under § 301...

15 CFR 301.6 - Appeals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... States an instrument of equivalent scientific value for the purposes for which the instrument to which... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.6 Appeals. (a) An appeal from a final decision made by the Director under § 301...

15 CFR 301.6 - Appeals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... States an instrument of equivalent scientific value for the purposes for which the instrument to which... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS INSTRUMENTS AND APPARATUS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS § 301.6 Appeals. (a) An appeal from a final decision made by the Director under § 301...

The impact of a faculty training program on inclusive education and disability.

PubMed

Moriña, Anabel; Carballo, Rafael

2017-12-01

This paper describes the knowledge gained by 20 faculty members following their participation in a training program on inclusive education and disability. The study, which was conducted at an university in Spain, aimed to design, implement and evaluate a program for training faculty members to respond in an inclusive manner to the needs of students with disabilities. An initial, formative and summative qualitative evaluation was carried out and four instruments were used for collecting the data: group and individual interviews, written open-ended questionnaires and observations. The data were analyzed inductively, using a category and code system. The results reveal that, after the training program, faculty considered what they had learned to be useful for their professional practice and highlighted that they felt better-informed and better-trained in relation to disability and were more aware of the needs of students with disabilities. Finally, in the conclusions section, the paper discusses the results in relation to those reported by other studies, and offers some recommendations for universities planning to implement training policies designed to build more inclusive learning environments. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Nimbus-F to carry advanced weather instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Meteorological research instruments launched aboard NASA's Nimbus-F spacecraft are briefly described along with the Nimbus satellite program initiated to develop an observatory system capable of meeting the research and development needs of the nation's atmospheric and earth sciences program. The following aspects of the mission are described: spacecraft design, launch operations, sequence of orbital events, and operations control and tracking. The Global Atmospheric Research program is discussed in terms of the Nimbus-F experiments and atmospheric sounding instruments.

The instrumentation program for the Thirty Meter Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simard, Luc; Crampton, David; Ellerbroek, Brent; Boyer, Corinne

2012-09-01

An overview of the current status of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) instrumentation program is presented. Science cases and operational concepts as well as their links to the instruments are continually revisited and updated through a series of workshops and conferences. Work on the three first-light instruments (WFOS IRIS, and IRMS) has made significant progress, and many groups in TMT partner communities are developing future instrument concepts. Other instrument-related subsystems are also receiving considerable attention given their importance to the scientific end-to-end performance of the Observatory. As an example, we describe aspects of the facility instrument cooling system that are crucially important to successful diffraction-limited observations on an extremely large telescope.

A high-precision instrument for analyzing nonlinear dynamic behavior of bearing cage.

PubMed

Yang, Z; Chen, H; Yu, T; Li, B

2016-08-01

The high-precision ball bearing is fundamental to the performance of complex mechanical systems. As the speed increases, the cage behavior becomes a key factor in influencing the bearing performance, especially life and reliability. This paper develops a high-precision instrument for analyzing nonlinear dynamic behavior of the bearing cage. The trajectory of the rotational center and non-repetitive run-out (NRRO) of the cage are used to evaluate the instability of cage motion. This instrument applied an aerostatic spindle to support and spin test the bearing to decrease the influence of system error. Then, a high-speed camera is used to capture images when the bearing works at high speeds. A 3D trajectory tracking software tema Motion is used to track the spot which marked the cage surface. Finally, by developing the matlab program, a Lissajous' figure was used to evaluate the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the cage with different speeds. The trajectory of rotational center and NRRO of the cage with various speeds are analyzed. The results can be used to predict the initial failure and optimize cage structural parameters. In addition, the repeatability precision of instrument is also validated. In the future, the motorized spindle will be applied to increase testing speed and image processing algorithms will be developed to analyze the trajectory of the cage.

Real time blood testing using quantitative phase imaging.

PubMed

Pham, Hoa V; Bhaduri, Basanta; Tangella, Krishnarao; Best-Popescu, Catherine; Popescu, Gabriel

2013-01-01

We demonstrate a real-time blood testing system that can provide remote diagnosis with minimal human intervention in economically challenged areas. Our instrument combines novel advances in label-free optical imaging with parallel computing. Specifically, we use quantitative phase imaging for extracting red blood cell morphology with nanoscale sensitivity and NVIDIA's CUDA programming language to perform real time cellular-level analysis. While the blood smear is translated through focus, our system is able to segment and analyze all the cells in the one megapixel field of view, at a rate of 40 frames/s. The variety of diagnostic parameters measured from each cell (e.g., surface area, sphericity, and minimum cylindrical diameter) are currently not available with current state of the art clinical instruments. In addition, we show that our instrument correctly recovers the red blood cell volume distribution, as evidenced by the excellent agreement with the cell counter results obtained on normal patients and those with microcytic and macrocytic anemia. The final data outputted by our instrument represent arrays of numbers associated with these morphological parameters and not images. Thus, the memory necessary to store these data is of the order of kilobytes, which allows for their remote transmission via, for example, the cellular network. We envision that such a system will dramatically increase access for blood testing and furthermore, may pave the way to digital hematology.

A high-precision instrument for analyzing nonlinear dynamic behavior of bearing cage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Z.; Chen, H.; Yu, T.; Li, B.

2016-08-01

The high-precision ball bearing is fundamental to the performance of complex mechanical systems. As the speed increases, the cage behavior becomes a key factor in influencing the bearing performance, especially life and reliability. This paper develops a high-precision instrument for analyzing nonlinear dynamic behavior of the bearing cage. The trajectory of the rotational center and non-repetitive run-out (NRRO) of the cage are used to evaluate the instability of cage motion. This instrument applied an aerostatic spindle to support and spin test the bearing to decrease the influence of system error. Then, a high-speed camera is used to capture images when the bearing works at high speeds. A 3D trajectory tracking software tema Motion is used to track the spot which marked the cage surface. Finally, by developing the matlab program, a Lissajous' figure was used to evaluate the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the cage with different speeds. The trajectory of rotational center and NRRO of the cage with various speeds are analyzed. The results can be used to predict the initial failure and optimize cage structural parameters. In addition, the repeatability precision of instrument is also validated. In the future, the motorized spindle will be applied to increase testing speed and image processing algorithms will be developed to analyze the trajectory of the cage.

A high-precision instrument for analyzing nonlinear dynamic behavior of bearing cage

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

Yang, Z., E-mail: zhaohui@nwpu.edu.cn; Yu, T.; Chen, H.

2016-08-15

The high-precision ball bearing is fundamental to the performance of complex mechanical systems. As the speed increases, the cage behavior becomes a key factor in influencing the bearing performance, especially life and reliability. This paper develops a high-precision instrument for analyzing nonlinear dynamic behavior of the bearing cage. The trajectory of the rotational center and non-repetitive run-out (NRRO) of the cage are used to evaluate the instability of cage motion. This instrument applied an aerostatic spindle to support and spin test the bearing to decrease the influence of system error. Then, a high-speed camera is used to capture images whenmore » the bearing works at high speeds. A 3D trajectory tracking software TEMA Motion is used to track the spot which marked the cage surface. Finally, by developing the MATLAB program, a Lissajous’ figure was used to evaluate the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the cage with different speeds. The trajectory of rotational center and NRRO of the cage with various speeds are analyzed. The results can be used to predict the initial failure and optimize cage structural parameters. In addition, the repeatability precision of instrument is also validated. In the future, the motorized spindle will be applied to increase testing speed and image processing algorithms will be developed to analyze the trajectory of the cage.« less

Fundamentals for Team Based Rehearsals and the Differences Between Low Earth and Deep Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gomez-Rosa, Carlos; Alfonzo, Agustin; Cifuentes, Juan; Wasiak, Francis

2015-01-01

Presentation to be presented at the 2015 IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, Montana, March 7-14-2015.Rehearsals are mission level readiness tests that exercise personnel, operational process, and flight products, in a near flight like environment. The program is started 6-9 months prior to launch and is used to ensure the final as built system will meet mission goals (i.e. validation). On Deep Space missions you rehearse cruise activities post launch!Focus on critical activities to the mission, (i.e. propulsive maneuvers, instrument commissioning and any first time events or coordinating activities that involve major stakeholders).

Space Research, Education, and Related Activities In the Space Sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Black, David

2002-01-01

The mission of this activity, known as the Cooperative Program in Space Sciences (CPSS), is to conduct space science research and leading-edge instrumentation and technology development, enable research by the space sciences communities, and to expedite the effective dissemination of space science research, technology, data, and information to the educational community and the general public. To fulfill this mission, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) recruits and maintains a staff of scientific researchers, operates a series of guest investigator facilities, organizes scientific meetings and workshops, and encourages various interactions with students and university faculty members. This paper is the final report from this now completed Cooperative Agreement.

Teaching of laser medical topics: Latvian experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spigulis, Janis

2002-10-01

Pilot program for Master's studies on Biomedical Optics has been developed and launched at University of Latvia in 1995. The Curriculum contains several basic subjects like Fundamentals of Biomedical Optics, Medical Lightguides, Anatomy and Physiology, Lasers and Non-coherent Light Sources, Optical Instrumentation for Healthcare, Optical Methods for Patient Treatment, Basic Physics, etc. Special English Terminology and Laboratory-Clinical Praxis are also involved, and the Master Theses is the final step for the degree award. Recently a new extensive short course for medical laser users "Lasers and Bio-optics in Medicine" has been prepared in the PowerPoint format and successfully presented in Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden.

How to start a minimal access mitral valve program

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The seven pillars of governance established by the National Health Service in the United Kingdom provide a useful framework for the process of introducing new procedures to a hospital. Drawing from local experience, the author present guidance for institutions considering establishing a minimal access mitral valve program. The seven pillars of governance apply to the practice of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery, based on the principle of patient-centred practice. The author delineate the benefits of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery in terms of: “clinical effectiveness”, including reduced length of hospital stay, “risk management effectiveness”, including conversion to sternotomy and aortic dissection, “patient experience” including improved cosmesis and quicker recovery, and the effectiveness of communication, resources and strategies in the implementation of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery. Finally, the author have identified seven learning curves experienced by surgeons involved in introducing a minimal access mitral valve program. The learning curves are defined as: techniques of mitral valve repair, Transoesophageal Echocardiography-guided cannulation, incisions, instruments, visualization, aortic occlusion and cardiopulmonary bypass strategies. From local experience, the author provide advice on how to reduce the learning curves, such as practising with the specialised instruments and visualization techniques during sternotomy cases. Underpinning the NHS pillars are the principles of systems awareness, teamwork, communication, ownership and leadership, all of which are paramount to performing any surgery but more so with minimal access surgery, as will be highlighted throughout this paper. PMID:24349981

Optical Fiber High Temperature Sensor Instrumentation for Energy Intensive Industries

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

Cooper, Kristie L.; Wang, Anbo; Pickrell, Gary R.

2006-11-14

This report summarizes technical progress during the program “Optical Fiber High Temperature Sensor Instrumentation for Energy Intensive Industries”, performed by the Center for Photonics Technology of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. The objective of this program was to use technology recently invented at Virginia Tech to develop and demonstrate the application of self-calibrating optical fiber temperature and pressure sensors to several key energy-intensive industries where conventional, commercially available sensors exhibit greatly abbreviated lifetimes due primarily to environmental degradation. A number of significant technologies were developed under this program, including • a laser bonded silicamore » high temperature fiber sensor with a high temperature capability up to 700°C and a frequency response up to 150 kHz, • the world’s smallest fiber Fabry-Perot high temperature pressure sensor (125 x 20 μm) with 700°C capability, • UV-induced intrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric sensors for distributed measurement, • a single crystal sapphire fiber-based sensor with a temperature capability up to 1600°C. These technologies have been well demonstrated and laboratory tested. Our work plan included conducting major field tests of these technologies at EPRI, Corning, Pratt & Whitney, and Global Energy; field validation of the technology is critical to ensuring its usefulness to U.S. industries. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, DOE was unable to follow through with its funding commitment to support Energy Efficiency Science Initiative projects and this final phase was eliminated.« less

Research instrumentation for hot section components of turbine engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Englund, D. R.

1986-01-01

Programs to develop research instrumentation for use on hot section components of turbine engines are discussed. These programs can be separated into two categories: one category includes instruments which can measure the environment within the combustor and turbine components, the other includes instruments which measure the response of engine components to the imposed environment. Included in the first category are instruments to measure total heat flux and fluctuating gas temperature. High temperature strain measuring systems, thin film sensors (e.g., turbine blade thermocouples) and a system to view the interior of a combustor during engine operation are programs which comprise the second category. The paper will describe the state of development of these sensors and measuring systems and, in some cases, show examples of measurements made with this instrumentation. The discussion will cover work done at NASA Lewis and at various contractor facilities.

Equipment upgrades for the Pu-238 program

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

Congdon, J.W.; Stephens, W.D.; Marra, J.E.

1990-02-14

Much of the equipment and instrumentation in the Pu-238 production facilities is more than 15 years old. Significant improvements have been made in the available instrumentation, in particular, due to the application of microprocessors and lasers. The Actinide Technology Section of SRL has selected and is in the process of evaluating several state-of-the-art instruments which have potential applications in the Pu-238 program. The ease of operation and the accuracy of the instruments have been improved and, in most cases, the cost of the instruments have decreased. 5 refs.

Construction and Validation of a Questionnaire about Heart Failure Patients' Knowledge of Their Disease

PubMed Central

Bonin, Christiani Decker Batista; dos Santos, Rafaella Zulianello; Ghisi, Gabriela Lima de Melo; Vieira, Ariany Marques; Amboni, Ricardo; Benetti, Magnus

2014-01-01

Background The lack of tools to measure heart failure patients' knowledge about their syndrome when participating in rehabilitation programs demonstrates the need for specific recommendations regarding the amount or content of information required. Objectives To develop and validate a questionnaire to assess heart failure patients' knowledge about their syndrome when participating in cardiac rehabilitation programs. Methods The tool was developed based on the Coronary Artery Disease Education Questionnaire and applied to 96 patients with heart failure, with a mean age of 60.22 ± 11.6 years, 64% being men. Reproducibility was obtained via the intraclass correlation coefficient, using the test-retest method. Internal consistency was assessed by use of Cronbach's alpha, and construct validity, by use of exploratory factor analysis. Results The final version of the tool had 19 questions arranged in ten areas of importance for patient education. The proposed questionnaire had a clarity index of 8.94 ± 0.83. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.856, and Cronbach's alpha, 0.749. Factor analysis revealed five factors associated with the knowledge areas. Comparing the final scores with the characteristics of the population evidenced that low educational level and low income are significantly associated with low levels of knowledge. Conclusion The instrument has satisfactory clarity and validity indices, and can be used to assess the heart failure patients' knowledge about their syndrome when participating in cardiac rehabilitation programs. PMID:24652054

An Investigation of Factors Related to Self-Efficacy for Java Programming among Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Askar, Petek; Davenport, David

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors related to self-efficacy for Java programming among first year engineering students. An instrument assessing Java programming self-efficacy was developed from the computer programming self-efficacy scale of Ramalingam & Wiedenbeck. The instrument was administered at the beginning of the…

The development and validation of The Inquiry Science Observation Coding Sheet.

PubMed

Brandon, P R; Taum, A K H; Young, D B; Pottenger, F M

2008-08-01

Evaluation reports increasingly document the degree of program implementation, particularly the extent to which programs adhere to prescribed steps and procedures. Many reports are cursory, however, and few, if any, fully portray the long and winding path taken when developing evaluation instruments, particularly observation instruments. In this article, we describe the development of an observational method for evaluating the degree to which K-12 inquiry science programs are implemented, including the many steps and decisions that occurred during the development, and present evidence for the reliability and validity of the data that we collected with the instrument. The article introduces a method for measuring the adherence of inquiry science implementation and gives evaluators a full picture of what they might expect when developing observation instruments for assessing the degree of program implementation.

The NASA modern technology rotors program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watts, M. E.; Cross, J. L.

1986-01-01

Existing data bases regarding helicopters are based on work conducted on 'old-technology' rotor systems. The Modern Technology Rotors (MTR) Program is to provide extensive data bases on rotor systems using present and emerging technology. The MTR is concerned with modern, four-bladed, rotor systems presently being manufactured or under development. Aspects of MTR philosophy are considered along with instrumentation, the MTR test program, the BV 360 Rotor, and the UH-60 Black Hawk. The program phases include computer modelling, shake test, model-scale test, minimally instrumented flight test, extensively pressure-instrumented-blade flight test, and full-scale wind tunnel test.

Void Fraction Instrument operation and maintenance manual

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

Borgonovi, G.; Stokes, T.I.; Pearce, K.L.

This Operations and Maintenance Manual (O&MM) addresses riser installation, equipment and personnel hazards, operating instructions, calibration, maintenance, removal, and other pertinent information necessary to safely operate and store the Void Fraction Instrument. Final decontamination and decommissioning of the Void Fraction Instrument are not covered in this document.

Optimizing Orbit-Instrument Configuration for Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Satellite Fleet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Eric A.; Adams, James; Baptista, Pedro; Haddad, Ziad; Iguchi, Toshio; Im, Eastwood; Kummerow, Christian; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Following the scientific success of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spearheaded by a group of NASA and NASDA scientists, their external scientific collaborators, and additional investigators within the European Union's TRMM Research Program (EUROTRMM), there has been substantial progress towards the development of a new internationally organized, global scale, and satellite-based precipitation measuring mission. The highlights of this newly developing mission are a greatly expanded scope of measuring capability and a more diversified set of science objectives. The mission is called the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM). Notionally, GPM will be a constellation-type mission involving a fleet of nine satellites. In this fleet, one member is referred to as the "core" spacecraft flown in an approximately 70 degree inclined non-sun-synchronous orbit, somewhat similar to TRMM in that it carries both a multi-channel polarized passive microwave radiometer (PMW) and a radar system, but in this case it will be a dual frequency Ku-Ka band radar system enabling explicit measurements of microphysical DSD properties. The remainder of fleet members are eight orbit-synchronized, sun-synchronous "constellation" spacecraft each carrying some type of multi-channel PMW radiometer, enabling no worse than 3-hour diurnal sampling over the entire globe. In this configuration the "core" spacecraft serves as a high quality reference platform for training and calibrating the PMW rain retrieval algorithms used with the "constellation" radiometers. Within NASA, GPM has advanced to the pre-formulation phase which has enabled the initiation of a set of science and technology studies which will help lead to the final mission design some time in the 2003 period. This presentation first provides an overview of the notional GPM program and mission design, including its organizational and programmatic concepts, scientific agenda, expected instrument package, and basic flight architecture. Following this introduction, we focus specifically on the last topic, that being an analysis which leads to an optimal flight architecture dictated in part by science requirements but constrained by allowable orbital mechanics, instrument scan patterns, and antenna aperture properties. Because the optimal architecture involves an interplay between orbit mechanics and instrument specifications, it is important to recognize that in attempting to serve various scientific themes, the final optimal architecture will represent a compromise concerning dynamic range, spatial resolution, sampling interval, pointing, beam coincidence, and measurement uncertainty. Moreover, cost becomes a major factor in seeking the optimal architecture through the pathways of antenna and instrument scan designs, as well as propulsion requirements associated with the orbit heights of various "constellation" members. Although the results presented at the IGARSS-2001 meeting will likely not be the fully refined flight architecture specifications, they are expected to be nearly complete.

A new, low-cost sun photometer for student use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espinoza, A.; Pérez-Álvarez, H.; Parra-Vilchis, J. I.; Fauchey-López, E.; Fernando-González, L.; Faus-Landeros, G. E.; Celarier, E. A.; Robinson, D. Q.; Zepeda-Galbez, R.

2011-12-01

We have designed a sun photometer for the measurement of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 505 nm and 620 nm, using custom-made glass filters (9.5 nm bandpass, FWHM) and photodiodes. The recommended price-point (US150 - US200) allowed us to incorporate technologies such as microcontrollers, a sun target, a USB port for data uploading, nonvolatile memory to contain tables of up to 127 geolocation profiles, extensive calibration data, and a log of up to 2,000 measurements. The instrument is designed to be easy to use, and to provide instant display of AOT estimates. A diffuser in the fore-optics limits the sensitivity to pointing error. We have developed postprocessing software to refine the AOT estimates, format a spreadsheet file, and upload the data to the GLOBE website. We are currently finalizing hardware and firmware, and conducting extensive calibration/validation experiments. These instruments will soon be in production and available to the K-12 education community, including and especially the GLOBE program.

A new processing scheme for ultra-high resolution direct infusion mass spectrometry data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zielinski, Arthur T.; Kourtchev, Ivan; Bortolini, Claudio; Fuller, Stephen J.; Giorio, Chiara; Popoola, Olalekan A. M.; Bogialli, Sara; Tapparo, Andrea; Jones, Roderic L.; Kalberer, Markus

2018-04-01

High resolution, high accuracy mass spectrometry is widely used to characterise environmental or biological samples with highly complex composition enabling the identification of chemical composition of often unknown compounds. Despite instrumental advancements, the accurate molecular assignment of compounds acquired in high resolution mass spectra remains time consuming and requires automated algorithms, especially for samples covering a wide mass range and large numbers of compounds. A new processing scheme is introduced implementing filtering methods based on element assignment, instrumental error, and blank subtraction. Optional post-processing incorporates common ion selection across replicate measurements and shoulder ion removal. The scheme allows both positive and negative direct infusion electrospray ionisation (ESI) and atmospheric pressure photoionisation (APPI) acquisition with the same programs. An example application to atmospheric organic aerosol samples using an Orbitrap mass spectrometer is reported for both ionisation techniques resulting in final spectra with 0.8% and 8.4% of the peaks retained from the raw spectra for APPI positive and ESI negative acquisition, respectively.

Assessing Student Outcomes of Undergraduate Research with URSSA, the Undergraduate Student Self-Assessment Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laursen, S. L.; Weston, T. J.; Thiry, H.

2012-12-01

URSSA is the Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment, an online survey instrument for programs and departments to use in assessing the student outcomes of undergraduate research (UR). URSSA focuses on what students learn from their UR experience, rather than whether they liked it. The online questionnaire includes both multiple-choice and open-ended items that focus on students' gains from undergraduate research. These gains include skills, knowledge, deeper understanding of the intellectual and practical work of science, growth in confidence, changes in identity, and career preparation. Other items probe students' participation in important research-related activities that lead to these gains (e.g. giving presentations, having responsibility for a project). These activities, and the gains themselves, are based in research and thus constitute a core set of items. Using these items as a group helps to align a particular program assessment with research-demonstrated outcomes. Optional items may be used to probe particular features that are augment the research experience (e.g. field trips, career seminars, housing arrangements). The URSSA items are based on extensive, interview-based research and evaluation work on undergraduate research by our group and others. This grounding in research means that URSSA measures what we know to be important about the UR experience The items were tested with students, revised and re-tested. Data from a large pilot sample of over 500 students enabled statistical testing of the items' validity and reliability. Optional items about UR program elements were developed in consultation with UR program developers and leaders. The resulting instrument is flexible. Users begin with a set of core items, then customize their survey with optional items to probe students' experiences of specific program elements. The online instrument is free and easy to use, with numeric results available as raw data, summary statistics, cross-tabs, and graphs, and as raw, downloadable data. Finally, URSSA has high content validity based on its research grounding and rigorous development. We will present examples of how URSSA has been used in evaluations of UR programs. A multi-year evaluation of a university-based UR program shows that URSSA items are sensitive to differences in students' prior level of experience with research. For example, experienced student researchers reported greater gains than did their peers new to UR in understanding the process of research and in coming to see themselves as scientists. These differences are consistent with interview data that suggest a developmental progression of gains as students pursue research and gain confidence in their ability to contribute meaningfully. A second example comes from a multi-site evaluation of sites funded by the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in Biology. This study acquired data from nearly 800 students at some 60 Bio REU sites in 2010 and 2011. Results reveal differences in gains among demographic groups, and the general strength of these well-planned programs relative to a comparison sample of UR programs that are not part of REU. Our presentation will demonstrate the evaluative use of URSSA and its potential applications to undergraduate research in the geosciences.

Cutting efficiency of Reciproc and waveOne reciprocating instruments.

PubMed

Plotino, Gianluca; Giansiracusa Rubini, Alessio; Grande, Nicola M; Testarelli, Luca; Gambarini, Gianluca

2014-08-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cutting efficiency of 2 new reciprocating instruments, Reciproc and WaveOne. Twenty-four new Reciproc R25 and 24 new WaveOne Primary files were activated by using a torque-controlled motor (Silver Reciproc) and divided into 4 groups (n = 12): group 1, Reciproc activated by Reciproc ALL program; group 2, Reciproc activated by WaveOne ALL program; group 3, WaveOne activated by Reciproc ALL program; and group 4, WaveOne activated by WaveOne ALL program. The device used for the cutting test consisted of a main frame to which a mobile plastic support for the handpiece is connected and a stainless steel block containing a Plexiglas block (inPlexiglass, Rome, Italy) against which the cutting efficiency of the instruments was tested. The length of the block cut in 1 minute was measured in a computerized program with a precision of 0.1 mm. Means and standard deviations of each group were calculated, and data were statistically analyzed with 1-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni test (P < .05). Reciproc R25 displayed greater cutting efficiency than WaveOne Primary for both the movements used (P < .05); in particular, Reciproc instruments used with their proper reciprocating motion presented a statistically significant higher cutting efficiency than WaveOne instruments used with their proper reciprocating motion (P < .05). There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 movements for both instruments (P > .05). Reciproc instruments demonstrated statistically higher cutting efficiency than WaveOne instruments. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Innovative Instrument Flight Training Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caro, Paul W.

An innovative flight training program, its development, and initial administration are described. The program involves use of a commercially available training device in a twin-engine transition and instrument training course. Principal features of the training include redefinition of the flight instructor's role, and incentive award system,…

Methods of dental instrument processing, sterilization, and storage--a review.

PubMed

Thomas, Lisa P; Bebermeyer, Richard D; Dickinson, Sharon K

2005-10-01

A comprehensive instrument processing and sterilization program in the dental office is essential to ensure that the DHCP and the public are protected from disease transmission due to contaminated instruments/ devices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other organizations have made recommendations to help dental personnel with this aspect of patient care. By following the CDC's latest guidelines, the DHCP can develop an optimal program of dental instrument processing, sterilization and storage.

A Comparison Study of the California Test of Basic Skills between Fourth and Fifth Grade Instrumental Music Pullout Students and Students Not Involved in the Instrumental Music Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corral, S. Joseph

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an instrumental music pullout program on student achievement. Two hundred and twenty-three students were divided into 2 groups. The first group consisted of 46 instrumental music students in grades 4 and 5. The second group consisted of 177 students who did not participate in the instrumental…

78 FR 72393 - Net Investment Income Tax

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-02

...) a trade or business of trading in financial instruments or commodities (as defined in section 475(e... trading in financial instruments or commodities. Multiple commentators suggested that the final...

SAO Participation in the GOME and SCIAMACHY Satellite Instrument Programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hilsenrath, Ernest (Technical Monitor); Chance, Kelly; Kurosu, Thomas

2004-01-01

This report summarizes the progress on our three-year program of research to refine the measurement capability for satellite-based instruments that monitor ozone and other trace species in the Earth's stratosphere and troposphere, to retrieve global distributions of these and other constituents h m the GOME and SCIAMACHY satellite instruments, and to conduct scientific studies for the ILAS instruments. This continues our involvements as a U.S. participant in GOME and SCIAMACHY since their inception, and as a member of the ILAS-II Science Team. These programs have led to the launch of the first satellite instrument specifically designed to measure height-resolved ozone, including the tropospheric component (GOME), and the development of the first satellite instrument that will measure tropospheric ozone simultaneously with NO2, CO, HCHO, N2O, H2O, and CH4 (SCIAMACHY). The GOME program now includes the GOME-2 instruments, to be launched on the Eumetsat Metop satellites, providing long-term continuity in European measurements of global ozone that complement the measurements of the TOMS, SBUV, OMI, OMPS instruments. The research primarily focuses on two areas: Data analysis, including algorithm development and validation studies that will improve the quality of retrieved data products, in support for future field campaigns (to complement in situ and airborne campaigns with satellite measurements), and scientific analyses to be interfaced to atmospheric modeling studies.

SAO Participation in the GOME and SCIAMACHY Satellite Instrument Programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chance, Kelly; Kurosu, Thomas

2003-01-01

This report summarizes the progress on our three-year program of research to refine the measurement capability for satellite-based instruments that monitor ozone and other trace species in the Earth's stratosphere and troposphere, to retrieve global distributions of these and other constituents from the GOME and SCIAMACHY satellite instruments, and to conduct scientific studies for the ILAS instruments. This continues our involvements as a U.S. participant in GOME and SCIAMACHY since their inception, and as a member of the ILAS-II Science Team. These programs have led to the launch of the first satellite instrument specifically designed to measure height-resolved ozone, including the tropospheric component (GOME), and the development of the first satellite instrument that will measure tropospheric ozone simultaneously with NO2, CO, HCHO, N2O, H2O, and CH4 (SCIAMACHY). The GOME program now includes the GOME-2 instruments, to be launched on the Eumetsat Metop satellites, providing long-term continuity in European measurements of global ozone that complement the measurements of the TOMS, SBW, OMI, OMPS instruments. The research primarily focuses on two areas: Data analysis, including algorithm development and validation studies that will improve the quality of retrieved data products, in support for future field campaigns (to complement in situ and airborne campaigns with satellite measurements), and scientific analyses to be interfaced to atmospheric modeling studies.

INSTRUMENTATION AND AUTOMATIC CONTROL, SUGGESTED TECHNIQUES FOR DETERMINING COURSES OF STUDY IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

WEINSTEIN, EMANUEL

THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE IS TO HELP THE STATES ORGANIZE AND OPERATE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR OCCUPATIONS IN THE FIELD OF INSTRUMENTATION. CHAPTER TITLES ARE--(1) INSTRUMENTATIONS--PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, (2) THE OCCUPATIONAL FIELD, (3) WORK ACTIVITIES (DESIGN, FABRICATION, MAINTENANCE, REPAIR, AND SERVICE), (4) TRAINING REQUIREMENTS, AND (5)…

The Assessment, Development, Assurance Pharmacist's Tool (ADAPT) for ensuring quality implementation of health promotion programs.

PubMed

Truong, Hoai-An; Taylor, Catherine R; DiPietro, Natalie A

2012-02-10

To develop and validate the Assessment, Development, Assurance Pharmacist's Tool (ADAPT), an instrument for pharmacists and student pharmacists to use in developing and implementing health promotion programs. The 36-item ADAPT instrument was developed using the framework of public health's 3 core functions (assessment, policy development, and assurance) and 10 essential services. The tool's content and usage was assessed and conducted through peer-review and initial validity testing processes. Over 20 faculty members, preceptors, and student pharmacists at 5 institutions involved in planning and implementing health promotion initiatives reviewed the instrument and conducted validity testing. The instrument took approximately 15 minutes to complete and the findings resulted in changes and improvements to elements of the programs evaluated. The ADAPT instrument fills a need to more effectively plan, develop, implement, and evaluate pharmacist-directed public health programs that are evidence-based, high-quality, and compliant with laws and regulations and facilitates documentation of pharmacists' contributions to public health.

A comparative study of self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and retention of beginning urban science teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Nina

The purpose of the multi-tiered study presented is to compare the effect of credentialing route on the self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and retention of beginning urban science teachers serving students in a large urban school district in Southern California. Candidates from one traditional, university-based teacher education program and from two alternative programs, the Teach for America and District Intern Programs, were surveyed and interviewed during the second semester of their first year of teaching. To determine the potential of a difference in self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, the study gave teachers a modified version of the Science Teachers' Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI), developed and validated by Riggs and Enochs (1989). Two representative candidates from each program were then interviewed in order to probe for deeper understanding of possible sources of their efficacy and outcome expectancy. The final part of the study is an evaluation of retention data from the three programs, each to triangulate this information with data collected from the surveys, and comparing these retention rates with published data. The study provides data on unresearched questions about traditionally and alternatively credentialed science teachers in urban settings in California.

Hardware test program for evaluation of baseline range/range rate sensor concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pernic, E.

1985-01-01

The test program Phase II effort provides additional design information in terms of range and range rate (R/R) sensor performance when observing and tracking a typical spacecraft target. The target used in the test program was a one-third scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) available at the MSFC test site where the tests were performed. A modified Bendix millimeter wave radar served as the R/R sensor test bed for evaluation of range and range rate tracking performance, and generation of radar signature characteristics of the spacecraft target. A summary of program test results and conclusions are presented along with detailed description of the Bendix test bed radar with accompaning instrumentation. The MSFC test site and facilities are described. The test procedures used to establish background levels, and the calibration procedures used in the range accuracy tests and RCS (radar cross section) signature measurements, are presented and a condensed version of the daily log kept during the 5 September through 17 September test period is also presented. The test program results are given starting with the RCS signature measurements, then continuing with range measurement accuracy test results and finally the range and range rate tracking accuracy test results.

Cleared for Launch - Lessons Learned from the OSIRIS-REx System Requirements Verification Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevens, Craig; Adams, Angela; Williams, Bradley; Goodloe, Colby

2017-01-01

Requirements verification of a large flight system is a challenge. It is especially challenging for engineers taking on their first role in space systems engineering. This paper describes our approach to verification of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) system requirements. It also captures lessons learned along the way from developing systems engineers embroiled in this process. We begin with an overview of the mission and science objectives as well as the project requirements verification program strategy. A description of the requirements flow down is presented including our implementation for managing the thousands of program and element level requirements and associated verification data. We discuss both successes and methods to improve the managing of this data across multiple organizational interfaces. Our approach to verifying system requirements at multiple levels of assembly is presented using examples from our work at instrument, spacecraft, and ground segment levels. We include a discussion of system end-to-end testing limitations and their impacts to the verification program. Finally, we describe lessons learned that are applicable to all emerging space systems engineers using our unique perspectives across multiple organizations of a large NASA program.

75 FR 4255 - Reporting of Fraudulent Financial Instruments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-27

... other words, if a decision to purchase or sell would have been different had the regulated entity... FHFA upon discovery that it has purchased or sold a fraudulent loan or financial instrument, or suspects a possible fraud relating to the purchase or sale of any loan or financial instrument. The final...

Food Sanitation and Safety Self-Assessment Instrument for School Nutrition Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California State Dept. of Education, Sacramento.

Like food-service establishments, child nutrition programs are responsible for preserving the quality and wholesomeness of food. Proper food-handling practices prevent contamination and job-related accidents. Application of the evaluation instrument presented in this document to individual programs helps to define proper practices, assess the…

Evaluation Strategies in Financial Education: Evaluation with Imperfect Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Lauren; Dudensing, Rebekka; Granovsky, Nancy L.

2016-01-01

Program evaluation often suffers due to time constraints, imperfect instruments, incomplete data, and the need to report standardized metrics. This article about the evaluation process for the Wi$eUp financial education program showcases the difficulties inherent in evaluation and suggests best practices for assessing program effectiveness. We…

Student Services Program Planning and Evaluation: Responsibility, Procedures, Instrument, and Guidelines.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Repp, Charles A.; Brach, Ronald C.

The manual provides a rationale, procedural guidelines, time-schedules, instruments, and supporting documentation for student services program evaluation at SUNY Agricultural and Technical College, Delhi. Six procedural guidelines include: (1) all programs and services should be evaluated at least once every four years, with provision for annual…

Music 4C, a multi-voiced synthesis program with instruments defined in C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beauchamp, James W.

2003-04-01

Music 4C is a program which runs under Unix (including Linux) and provides a means for the synthesis of arbitrary signals as defined by the C code. The program is actually a loose translation of an earlier program, Music 4BF [H. S. Howe, Jr., Electronic Music Synthesis (Norton, 1975)]. A set of instrument definitions are driven by a numerical score which consists of a series of ``events.'' Each event gives an instrument name, start time and duration, and a number of parameters (e.g., pitch) which describe the event. Each instrument definition consists of event parameters, performance variables, initializations, and a synthesis algorithmic code. Thus, the synthetic signal, no matter how complex, is precisely defined. Moreover, the resulting sounds can be overlaid in any arbitrary pattern. The program serves as a mixer of algorithmically produced sounds or recorded sounds taken from sample files or synthesized from spectrum files. A score file can be entered by hand, generated from a program, translated from a MIDI file, or generated from an alpha-numeric score using an auxiliary program, Notepro. Output sample files are in wav, snd, or aiff format. The program is provided in the C source code for download.

Development of an instrument for the evaluation of advanced life support performance.

PubMed

Peltonen, L-M; Peltonen, V; Salanterä, S; Tommila, M

2017-10-01

Assessing advanced life support (ALS) competence requires validated instruments. Existing instruments include aspects of technical skills (TS), non-technical skills (NTS) or both, but one instrument for detailed assessment that suits all resuscitation situations is lacking. This study aimed to develop an instrument for the evaluation of the overall ALS performance of the whole team. This instrument development study had four phases. First, we reviewed literature and resuscitation guidelines to explore items to include in the instrument. Thereafter, we interviewed resuscitation team professionals (n = 66), using the critical incident technique, to determine possible additional aspects associated with the performance of ALS. Second, we developed an instrument based on the findings. Third, we used an expert panel (n = 20) to assess the validity of the developed instrument. Finally, we revised the instrument based on the experts' comments and tested it with six experts who evaluated 22 video recorded resuscitations. The final version of the developed instrument had 69 items divided into adherence to guidelines (28 items), clinical decision-making (5 items), workload management (12 items), team behaviour (8 items), information management (6 items), patient integrity and consideration of laymen (4 items) and work routines (6 items). The Cronbach's α values were good, and strong correlations between the overall performance and the instrument were observed. The instrument may be useful for detailed assessment of the team's overall performance, but the numerous items make the use demanding. The instrument is still under development, and more research is needed to determine its psychometric properties. © 2017 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Tennis Training Sessions as a Rehabilitation Instrument for Patients after Acute Myocardial Infarction

PubMed Central

García, Juan P. F.; Giraldo, Víctor M. A.; Barrado, José J. G.; Casasola, César D.

2013-01-01

The aims of this study were to measure the effects of a cardiac rehabilitation program based on a modification of a sport (tennis) on quality of life, on various laboratory test parameters and on an exercise stress test, and to determine if the results of this novel activity are equivalent to those of traditional programs (i.e., the use of the bicycle ergometer). The sample consisted of 79 patients with a low-risk acute coronary syndrome. They were divided into three groups: two experimental groups and one control group. One of the experimental groups used the bicycle ergometer as its main physical activity, whereas the other received training in a modified form of tennis lesson. By the end of the 3-month program, triglycerides, cholesterol LDL, cholesterol HDL, (-25 mg·dl-1 and 32.3 mg·dl-1 final, and 15.7 mg·dl-1 and 23.3 mg·dl-1 LDL final, respectively) and exercise capacity improved significantly (by 1.1 metabolic equivalents (METs) and 1.2 METs, respectively), in both experimental groups. We conclude that the application of a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program in patients with low-risk acute coronary syndrome based on a program of modified tennis improves exercise tolerance and metabolic parameters, as well as certain physical characteristics that reduce cardiovascular risk. Key Points Cardiac rehabilitation of low risk patients with acute coronary syndrome based on a program of modified tennis produces an improvement in quality of life, lipid profiles and in exercise tolerance A cardiac rehabilitation program based on a modification of tennis produces favourable changes in various anthropometric parameters related to the reduction of cardiovascular risk The development of programs of cardiac rehabilitation based on modified versions of various sports would advantage the adherence to physical exercise. PMID:24149811

MODIS. Volume 2: MODIS level 1 geolocation, characterization and calibration algorithm theoretical basis document, version 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barker, John L.; Harnden, Joann M. K.; Montgomery, Harry; Anuta, Paul; Kvaran, Geir; Knight, ED; Bryant, Tom; Mckay, AL; Smid, Jon; Knowles, Dan, Jr.

1994-01-01

The EOS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) is being developed by NASA for flight on the Earth Observing System (EOS) series of satellites, the first of which (EOS-AM-1) is scheduled for launch in 1998. This document describes the algorithms and their theoretical basis for the MODIS Level 1B characterization, calibration, and geolocation algorithms which must produce radiometrically, spectrally, and spatially calibrated data with sufficient accuracy so that Global change research programs can detect minute changes in biogeophysical parameters. The document first describes the geolocation algorithm which determines geodetic latitude, longitude, and elevation of each MODIS pixel and the determination of geometric parameters for each observation (satellite zenith angle, satellite azimuth, range to the satellite, solar zenith angle, and solar azimuth). Next, the utilization of the MODIS onboard calibration sources, which consist of the Spectroradiometric Calibration Assembly (SRCA), Solar Diffuser (SD), Solar Diffuser Stability Monitor (SDSM), and the Blackbody (BB), is treated. Characterization of these sources and integration of measurements into the calibration process is described. Finally, the use of external sources, including the Moon, instrumented sites on the Earth (called vicarious calibration), and unsupervised normalization sites having invariant reflectance and emissive properties is treated. Finally, algorithms for generating utility masks needed for scene-based calibration are discussed. Eight appendices are provided, covering instrument design and additional algorithm details.

Factors affecting the retention of first-year female science and engineering students at the University of Michigan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballard, Juliet Webb

Alarming to many academics is that while the numbers of female students (at the University of Michigan in particular) in SEM (Science, Engineering, and Mathematics) departments have shown increases in enrollment over the past decades, the number of female professionals in the field has decreased. The purpose of the study was to determine the environmental perceptions of female SEM students in the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program at the University of Michigan. The WISE-RP (Residence Program) is an existing living and learning education program at the university that was designed to facilitate the successful retention and graduation of undergraduate female SEM students in the capacity that the admissions statistics should logically imply. The objectives of the study included identification of the perceptions of female students that contribute to, and foster retention of students participating in the WISE-RP program. The knowledge obtained from this evaluation will guide the University of Michigan in formulating specific interventions and retention approaches, both in and out of the classroom. This was achieved by identifying (among other things) commonality of experiences, and female student's perceptions of acceptance, integration and interactivity. The data used in this secondary analysis was collected over a 2 year period (1999--2001). The primary instrument used for data collection was a structured interview protocol utilizing focus groups. The population and samples studied were comprised of: a research project consisting of 36 focus groups from WISE-RP, University Research Opportunity Program, and the University Research Opportunity in Residence Programs; the sample size of the initial project was 180 first year SEM male and female students. The research project consisted of working with a senior research team at the University of Michigan to develop a structured interview instrument, pilot the instrument, and select focus groups. Content analysis was conducted on the open-ended focus group questions. Three themes emerged from the data set: (a) general contributing factors to retention, (b) support networks and programmatic features that contributed to retention, (c) individual/gender specific challenges that students faced. It found that the initial mission of the program has been accomplished, as evidenced by the findings of this study. The University is graduating and retaining female SEM students at a higher rate than at the program's inception. The challenges for the University at this point include: increasing numbers of female SEM faculty, enhancing and focusing the living learning community mission of the program, integrating student affairs components to the program features on an administrative level, committing to longitudinal analysis and assessment of individual incoming students toward identifying strengths and weaknesses, and finally---committing increased resources to these objectives.

The cyclotron energization through auroral wave experiments (CENTAUR 2B)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winningham, J. D.

1992-01-01

The CENTAUR 2B mission, a dual payload program, is in many aspects the same as the previous missions from Cape Perry and Norway in 1985. It was planned that these payloads would be launched from Andoya, Norway, Nov. 1989 from the Universal II launcher. The payloads are identical, but would have been launched at different azimuths as far north and as far west as possible. Particle experiments include the angular resolving energy analyzer (AREA), the fast ion mass spectrometer (FIMS), the spectrographic particle images (SPI), and finally, the differential ion flux probe (DIFP). SwRI was responsible for the scientific payload, which includes the power supplies, the power supply interfacing, the manipulating of the data from the instruments to format it for the telemetry system, all mechanical structure and restraint mechanisms, and the payload subskin. The status of the various components of this program is given.

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

Monteleone, S.

This three-volume report contains 90 papers out of the 102 that were presented at the Twenty-First Water Reactor Safety Information Meeting held at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel, Bethesda, Maryland, during the week of October 25--27, 1993. The papers are printed in the order of their presentation in each session and describe progress and results of programs in nuclear safety research conducted in this country and abroad. Foreign participation in the meeting included papers presented by researchers from France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, Taiwan, and United Kingdom. The titles of the papers and the names of the authors have been updatedmore » and may differ from those that appeared in the final program of the meeting. Individual papers have been cataloged separately. This document, Volume 1 covers the following topics: Advanced Reactor Research; Advanced Instrumentation and Control Hardware; Advanced Control System Technology; Human Factors Research; Probabilistic Risk Assessment Topics; Thermal Hydraulics; and Thermal Hydraulic Research for Advanced Passive Light Water Reactors.« less

The on-site quality-assurance system for Hyper Suprime-Cam: OSQAH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furusawa, Hisanori; Koike, Michitaro; Takata, Tadafumi; Okura, Yuki; Miyatake, Hironao; Lupton, Robert H.; Bickerton, Steven; Price, Paul A.; Bosch, James; Yasuda, Naoki; Mineo, Sogo; Yamada, Yoshihiko; Miyazaki, Satoshi; Nakata, Fumiaki; Koshida, Shintaro; Komiyama, Yutaka; Utsumi, Yousuke; Kawanomoto, Satoshi; Jeschke, Eric; Noumaru, Junichi; Schubert, Kiaina; Iwata, Ikuru; Finet, Francois; Fujiyoshi, Takuya; Tajitsu, Akito; Terai, Tsuyoshi; Lee, Chien-Hsiu

2018-01-01

We have developed an automated quick data analysis system for data quality assurance (QA) for Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC). The system was commissioned in 2012-2014, and has been offered for general observations, including the HSC Subaru Strategic Program, since 2014 March. The system provides observers with data quality information, such as seeing, sky background level, and sky transparency, based on quick analysis as data are acquired. Quick-look images and validation of image focus are also provided through an interactive web application. The system is responsible for the automatic extraction of QA information from acquired raw data into a database, to assist with observation planning, assess progress of all observing programs, and monitor long-term efficiency variations of the instrument and telescope. Enhancements of the system are being planned to facilitate final data analysis, to improve the HSC archive, and to provide legacy products for astronomical communities.

An Analysis of the High Frequency Vibrations in Early Thematic Mapper Scenes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kogut, J.; Larduinat, E.

1985-01-01

The motion of the mirrors in the thematic mapper (TM) and multispectral scanner (MSS) instruments, and the motion of other devices, such as the TDRSS antenna drive, and solar array drives onboard LANDSAT-4 cause vibrations to propagate through the spacecraft. These vibrations as well as nonlinearities in the scanning motion of the TM mirror can cause the TM detectors to point away from their nominal positions. Two computer programs, JITTER and SCDFT, were developed as part of the LANDSAT-D Assessment System (LAS), Products and Procedures Analysis (PAPA) program to evaluate the potential effect of high frequency vibrations on the final TM image. The maximum overlap and underlap which were observed for early TM scenes are well within specifications for the ground processing system. The cross scan and scan high frequency vibrations are also within the specifications cited for the flight system.

Acoustic emission non-destructive testing of structures using source location techniques.

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

Beattie, Alan G.

2013-09-01

The technology of acoustic emission (AE) testing has been advanced and used at Sandia for the past 40 years. AE has been used on structures including pressure vessels, fire bottles, wind turbines, gas wells, nuclear weapons, and solar collectors. This monograph begins with background topics in acoustics and instrumentation and then focuses on current acoustic emission technology. It covers the overall design and system setups for a test, with a wind turbine blade as the object. Test analysis is discussed with an emphasis on source location. Three test examples are presented, two on experimental wind turbine blades and one onmore » aircraft fire extinguisher bottles. Finally, the code for a FORTRAN source location program is given as an example of a working analysis program. Throughout the document, the stress is on actual testing of real structures, not on laboratory experiments.« less

International Ultraviolet Explorer Observatory operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

This volume contains the final report for the International Ultraviolet Explorer IUE Observatory Operations contract. The fundamental operational objective of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) program is to translate competitively selected observing programs into IUE observations, to reduce these observations into meaningful scientific data, and then to present these data to the Guest Observer in a form amenable to the pursuit of scientific research. The IUE Observatory is the key to this objective since it is the central control and support facility for all science operations functions within the IUE Project. In carrying out the operation of this facility, a number of complex functions were provided beginning with telescope scheduling and operation, proceeding to data processing, and ending with data distribution and scientific data analysis. In support of these critical-path functions, a number of other significant activities were also provided, including scientific instrument calibration, systems analysis, and software support. Routine activities have been summarized briefly whenever possible.

Techniques for carrying out radiative transfer calculations for the Martian atmospheric dust

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aronson, J. R.; Emslie, A. G.; Strong, P. F.

1974-01-01

A description is given of the modification of a theory on the reflectance of particulate media so as to apply it to analysis of the infrared spectra obtained by the IRIS instrument on Mariner 9. With the aid of this theory and the optical constants of muscovite mica, quartz, andesite, anorthosite, diopside pyroxenite, and dunite, modeling calculations were made to refine previous estimates of the mineralogical composition of the Martian dust particles. These calculations suggest that a feldspar rich mixture is a very likely composition for the dust particles. The optical constants used for anorthosite and diopside pyroxenite were derived during this program from reflectance measurements. Those for the mica were derived from literature reflectance data. Finally, a computer program was written to invert the measured radiance data so as to obtain the absorption coefficient spectrum which should then be independent of the temperature profile and gaseous component effects.

Proceedings of the XIIIth IAGA Workshop on Geomagnetic Observatory Instruments, Data Acquisition, and Processing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Love, Jeffrey J.

2009-01-01

The thirteenth biennial International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) Workshop on Geomagnetic Observatory Instruments, Data Acquisition and Processing was held in the United States for the first time on June 9-18, 2008. Hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Geomagnetism Program, the workshop's measurement session was held at the Boulder Observatory and the scientific session was held on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. More than 100 participants came from 36 countries and 6 continents. Preparation for the workshop began when the USGS Geomagnetism Program agreed, at the close of the twelfth workshop in Belsk Poland in 2006, to host the next workshop. Working under the leadership of Alan Berarducci, who served as the chairman of the local organizing committee, and Tim White, who served as co-chairman, preparations began in 2007. The Boulder Observatory was extensively renovated and additional observation piers were installed. Meeting space on the Colorado School of Mines campus was arranged, and considerable planning was devoted to managing the many large and small issues that accompany an international meeting. Without the devoted efforts of both Alan and Tim, other Geomagnetism Program staff, and our partners at the Colorado School of Mines, the workshop simply would not have occurred. We express our thanks to Jill McCarthy, the USGS Central Region Geologic Hazards Team Chief Scientist; Carol A. Finn, the Group Leader of the USGS Geomagnetism Program; the USGS International Office; and Melody Francisco of the Office of Special Programs and Continuing Education of the Colorado School of Mines. We also thank the student employees that the Geomagnetism Program has had over the years and leading up to the time of the workshop. For preparation of the proceedings, thanks go to Eddie and Tim. And, finally, we thank our sponsors, the USGS, IAGA, and the Colorado School of Mines.

Description of a Computer Program Written for Approach and Landing Test Post Flight Data Extraction of Proximity Separation Aerodynamic Coefficients and Aerodynamic Data Base Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homan, D. J.

1977-01-01

A computer program written to calculate the proximity aerodynamic force and moment coefficients of the Orbiter/Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) vehicles based on flight instrumentation is described. The ground reduced aerodynamic coefficients and instrumentation errors (GRACIE) program was developed as a tool to aid in flight test verification of the Orbiter/SCA separation aerodynamic data base. The program calculates the force and moment coefficients of each vehicle in proximity to the other, using the load measurement system data, flight instrumentation data and the vehicle mass properties. The uncertainty in each coefficient is determined, based on the quoted instrumentation accuracies. A subroutine manipulates the Orbiter/747 Carrier Separation Aerodynamic Data Book to calculate a comparable set of predicted coefficients for comparison to the calculated flight test data.

Purging sensitive science instruments with nitrogen in the STS environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lumsden, J. M.; Noel, M. B.

1983-01-01

Potential contamination of extremely sensitive science instruments during prelaunch, launch, and earth orbit operations are a major concern to the Galileo and International Solar Polar Mission (ISPM) Programs. The Galileo Program is developing a system to purify Shuttle supplied nitrogen gas for in-flight purging of seven imaging and non-imaging science instruments. Monolayers of contamination deposited on critical surfaces can degrade some instrument sensitivities as much as fifty percent. The purging system provides a reliable supply of filtered and fried nitrogen gas during these critical phases of the mission when the contamination potential is highest. The Galileo and ISPM Programs are including the system as Airborne Support Equipment (ASE).

Workshop on Advanced Technologies for Planetary Instruments, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Appleby, John F. (Editor)

1993-01-01

This meeting was conceived in response to new challenges facing NASA's robotic solar system exploration program. This volume contains papers presented at the Workshop on Advanced Technologies for Planetary Instruments on 28-30 Apr. 1993. This meeting was conceived in response to new challenges facing NASA's robotic solar system exploration program. Over the past several years, SDIO has sponsored a significant technology development program aimed, in part, at the production of instruments with these characteristics. This workshop provided an opportunity for specialists from the planetary science and DoD communities to establish contacts, to explore common technical ground in an open forum, and more specifically, to discuss the applicability of SDIO's technology base to planetary science instruments.

PC based PLCs and ethernet based fieldbus: the new standard platform for future VLT instrument control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiekebusch, Mario J.; Lucuix, Christian; Erm, Toomas M.; Chiozzi, Gianluca; Zamparelli, Michele; Kern, Lothar; Brast, Roland; Pirani, Werther; Reiss, Roland; Popovic, Dan; Knudstrup, Jens; Duchateau, Michel; Sandrock, Stefan; Di Lieto, Nicola

2014-07-01

ESO is currently in the final phase of the standardization process for PC-based Programmable Logical Controllers (PLCs) as the new platform for the development of control systems for future VLT/VLTI instruments. The standard solution used until now consists of a Local Control Unit (LCU), a VME-based system having a CPU and commercial and proprietary boards. This system includes several layers of software and many thousands of lines of code developed and maintained in house. LCUs have been used for several years as the interface to control instrument functions but now are being replaced by commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems based on BECKHOFF Embedded PCs and the EtherCAT fieldbus. ESO is working on the completion of the software framework that enables a seamless integration into the VLT control system in order to be ready to support upcoming instruments like ESPRESSO and ERIS, that will be the first fully VLT compliant instruments using the new standard. The technology evaluation and standardization process has been a long and combined effort of various engineering disciplines like electronics, control and software, working together to define a solution that meets the requirements and minimizes the impact on the observatory operations and maintenance. This paper presents the challenges of the standardization process and the steps involved in such a change. It provides a technical overview of how industrial standards like EtherCAT, OPC-UA, PLCOpen MC and TwinCAT can be used to replace LCU features in various areas like software engineering and programming languages, motion control, time synchronization and astronomical tracking.

Factors related to self-directed learning readiness of students in health professional programs: A scoping review.

PubMed

Slater, Craig E; Cusick, Anne

2017-05-01

Academic and professional drivers have stimulated interest in self-directed learning of students in pre-certification health professional programs. Particular attention has focussed on factors which may influence a students' readiness for self-directed learning. A five stage structured scoping review of published literature was conducted to identify measures of self-directed learning readiness used with students in pre-certification health professional programs and those factors that have been investigated as potential determinants. Relevant articles were identified in six databases using key search terms and a search strategy. Two independent reviewers used criteria to cull irrelevant sources. Articles which met eligibility criteria were charted. The final analysis included 49 articles conducted in nursing, medicine, physiotherapy, pharmacy, occupational therapy and dentistry cohorts. Twenty-one potential determinants had been investigated with gender, year level, age program delivery and previous education level the most common. Self-directed learning readiness has been of interest globally, mostly in medicine and nursing, and studies have nearly exclusively used one of two instruments. There is nascent evidence that age, year level and previous education level may have positive influence. These factors have in common the passing of time and may in fact be proxy for more encompassing developmental or social constructs. Further research is needed particularly in the allied health professions where there is limited research in very few disciplines. Studies in interprofessional contexts may be an efficient approach to increasing the knowledge base. Further work is also warranted to determine appropriate use of the two instruments across the range of health disciplines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the Implementation of an Olympic Education Program in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grammatikopoulos, Vasilios; Tsigilis, Nikolaos; Koustelios, Athanasios; Theodorakis, Yannis

2005-11-01

The aim of this study was to develop an instrument for evaluating how an education program has been implemented. Such evaluation can provide insight into the effectiveness of a program. Examined here was the Olympic Education Program used in Greek schools since 2000. In it, students learn the history of the Olympic games and the importance of exercise for health along with the principles and values of sports and volunteerism. The evaluation instrument underlying this study addressed the following six factors: `facilities', `administration', `educational material', `student-teacher relationships', `educational procedures', and `training'. Results indicate that the instrument, while adequate for assessing effectiveness, should be combined with advanced statistical methods.

[Application of virtual instrumentation technique in toxicological studies].

PubMed

Moczko, Jerzy A

2005-01-01

Research investigations require frequently direct connection of measuring equipment to the computer. Virtual instrumentation technique considerably facilitates programming of sophisticated acquisition-and-analysis procedures. In standard approach these two steps are performed subsequently with separate software tools. The acquired data are transfered with export / import procedures of particular program to the another one which executes next step of analysis. The described procedure is cumbersome, time consuming and may be potential source of the errors. In 1987 National Instruments Corporation introduced LabVIEW language based on the concept of graphical programming. Contrary to conventional textual languages it allows the researcher to concentrate on the resolved problem and omit all syntactical rules. Programs developed in LabVIEW are called as virtual instruments (VI) and are portable among different computer platforms as PCs, Macintoshes, Sun SPARCstations, Concurrent PowerMAX stations, HP PA/RISK workstations. This flexibility warrants that the programs prepared for one particular platform would be also appropriate to another one. In presented paper basic principles of connection of research equipment to computer systems were described.

A Qualitative Analysis of Participant Learning and Growth Using a New Outward Bound Outcomes Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bobilya, Andrew J.; Lindley, Betsy R.; Faircloth, W. Brad; Holman, Tom

2017-01-01

Evidence-based programming and the importance of research has gained attention among outdoor and adventure-based programs in recent years (Sibthorp, 2009) regardless of the challenges that often accompany this type of investigation (Bialeschki, Henderson, Hickerson, & Browne, 2012). Programs must often develop their own evaluation instruments,…

Including Exceptional Students in Your Instrumental Music Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mixon, Kevin

2005-01-01

This article describes the method and adaptations used by the author in including students with special needs in an instrumental music program. To ensure success in the program, the author shares the method he uses to include exceptional students and enumerates some possible adaptations. There are certainly other methods and modifications that…

A call for change: clinical evaluation of student registered nurse anesthetists.

PubMed

Collins, Shawn; Callahan, Margaret Faut

2014-02-01

The ability to integrate theory with practice is integral to a student's success. A common reason for attrition from a nurse anesthesia program is clinical issues. To document clinical competence, students are evaluated using various tools. For use of a clinical evaluation tool as possible evidence for a student's dismissal, an important psychometric property to ensure is instrument validity. Clinical evaluation instruments of nurse anesthesia programs are not standardized among programs, which suggests a lack of instrument validity. The lack of established validity of the instruments used to evaluate students' clinical progress brings into question their ability to detect a student who is truly in jeopardy of attrition. Given this possibility, clinical instrument validity warrants research to be fair to students and improve attrition rates based on valid data. This ex post facto study evaluated a 17-item clinical instrument tool to demonstrate the need for validity of clinical evaluation tools. It also compared clinical scores with scores on the National Certification Examination.

Utilizing global data to estimate analytical performance on the Sigma scale: A global comparative analysis of methods, instruments, and manufacturers through external quality assurance and proficiency testing programs.

PubMed

Westgard, Sten A

2016-06-01

To assess the analytical performance of instruments and methods through external quality assessment and proficiency testing data on the Sigma scale. A representative report from five different EQA/PT programs around the world (2 US, 1 Canadian, 1 UK, and 1 Australasian) was accessed. The instrument group standard deviations were used as surrogate estimates of instrument imprecision. Performance specifications from the US CLIA proficiency testing criteria were used to establish a common quality goal. Then Sigma-metrics were calculated to grade the analytical performance. Different methods have different Sigma-metrics for each analyte reviewed. Summary Sigma-metrics estimate the percentage of the chemistry analytes that are expected to perform above Five Sigma, which is where optimized QC design can be implemented. The range of performance varies from 37% to 88%, exhibiting significant differentiation between instruments and manufacturers. Median Sigmas for the different manufacturers in three analytes (albumin, glucose, sodium) showed significant differentiation. Chemistry tests are not commodities. Quality varies significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer, instrument to instrument, and method to method. The Sigma-assessments from multiple EQA/PT programs provide more insight into the performance of methods and instruments than any single program by itself. It is possible to produce a ranking of performance by manufacturer, instrument and individual method. Laboratories seeking optimal instrumentation would do well to consult this data as part of their decision-making process. To confirm that these assessments are stable and reliable, a longer term study should be conducted that examines more results over a longer time period. Copyright © 2016 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Continuous chelation irrigation improves the adhesion of epoxy resin-based root canal sealer to root dentine.

PubMed

Neelakantan, P; Varughese, A A; Sharma, S; Subbarao, C V; Zehnder, M; De-Deus, G

2012-12-01

To test the impact of continuous chelation by NaOCl+ etidronic acid (HEBP) during instrumentation, and a final rinse of EDTA or NaOCl + HEBP on the dentine bond strength of an epoxy resin sealer (AH Plus). Single-rooted teeth (n = 100) were divided into five groups (n = 20) based on the irrigation protocol and their root canals instrumented using a rotary Ni-Ti system: 2.5% NaOCl during instrumentation followed by bi-distilled water (G1) or 17% EDTA (G2) as final rinse; 1 : 1 mixture of 5% NaOCl and 18% HEBP during instrumentation, and the same mixture (G3), 17% EDTA (G4) or bi-distilled water (G5) as final rinse. Canals were filled with AH Plus. Roots were sectioned, and push-out tests were performed in coronal, middle and apical root thirds. Results were analysed using analysis of variance (anova) and Bonferroni test for multiple comparisons. The alpha-type error was set at 0.05 for all the analyses. Push-out bond strength was highest in coronal and lowest in apical root thirds (P < 0.05). Groups that used NaOCl + HEBP irrigation during instrumentation had significantly higher bond strengths than groups following the NaOCl-EDTA irrigation in all root thirds (P < 0.05). The use of a strong chelator as final flush further increased bond strengths (G4, P < 0.05). The continuous chelation irrigation protocol optimizes the bond strength of an epoxy resin sealer to dentine. © 2012 International Endodontic Journal.

77 FR 43405 - Final Standard Review Plan, Branch Technical Position 7-19 on Guidance for Evaluation of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-24

... Digital Computer-Based Instrumentation and Control Systems.'' This BTP is to be cited as the acceptance criteria for Diversity and Defense-in-Depth in Digital Computer-Based Instrumentation and Control Systems... Evaluation of Diversity and Defense-in-Depth in Digital Computer-Based Instrumentation and Control Systems...

Development of a quality instrument for assessing the spontaneous reports of ADR/ADE using Delphi method in China.

PubMed

Chen, Lixun; Jiang, Ling; Shen, Aizong; Wei, Wei

2016-09-01

The frequently low quality of submitted spontaneous reports is of an increasing concern; to our knowledge, no validated instrument exists for assessing case reports' quality comprehensively enough. This work was conducted to develop such a quality instrument for assessing the spontaneous reports of adverse drug reaction (ADR)/adverse drug event (ADE) in China. Initial evaluation indicators were generated using systematic and literature data analysis. Final indicators and their weights were identified using Delphi method. The final quality instrument was developed by adopting the synthetic scoring method. A consensus was reached after four rounds of Delphi survey. The developed quality instrument consisted of 6 first-rank indicators, 18 second-rank indicators, and 115 third-rank indicators, and each rank indicator has been weighted. It evaluates the quality of spontaneous reports of ADR/ADE comprehensively and quantitatively on six parameters: authenticity, duplication, regulatory, completeness, vigilance level, and reporting time frame. The developed instrument was tested with good reliability and validity, which can be used to comprehensively and quantitatively assess the submitted spontaneous reports of ADR/ADE in China.

Flight instrumentation specification for parameter identification: Program user's guide. [instrument errors/error analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mohr, R. L.

1975-01-01

A set of four digital computer programs is presented which can be used to investigate the effects of instrumentation errors on the accuracy of aircraft and helicopter stability-and-control derivatives identified from flight test data. The programs assume that the differential equations of motion are linear and consist of small perturbations about a quasi-steady flight condition. It is also assumed that a Newton-Raphson optimization technique is used for identifying the estimates of the parameters. Flow charts and printouts are included.

[School-Based UV-B Monitoring Project in Support of EOS-CHEM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooks, David R.

2005-01-01

This grant is an extension of Grant NAG5-8929 (Drexel Project Number 230026), resulting from extensions necessary to meet changing science objectives as described in the final report for NAG5-8929, a copy of which is attached. The instrument configuration resulting from NAG54929 has remained basically intact. Cosine response measurements conducted by James Slusser s group at Fort Collins, Colorado, in support of the proposal for Aura ground validation mentioned in the final report for NAG5-8929, indicated that there was significant light leakage to the detector through the sides of the nylon housing. This was easily remedied by machining a removable opaque collar (made from the dark same grey rigid plastic plumbing tubing as the collimating tube) that fits around the detector collar. Also during this grant period, data logging procedures were established for the UV-A instrument, to record irradiance before, during, and after an Aura overflight. This is required in order to compare spatial and temporal variability as required for ground validation of data products derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Standalone 12-bit loggers from Onset Computer Corporation (the U12 series), which were not available at the start of these projects, makes possible relatively inexpensive logging for these instruments at a usable resolution. configuration and disposition of these instruments, including the final version of a GLOBE protocol for using the instruments, currently depend on action taken on the Aura ground validation proposal submitted in 2004. A copy of that proposal is attached.

The image of psychology programs: the value of the instrumental-symbolic framework.

PubMed

Van Hoye, Greet; Lievens, Filip; De Soete, Britt; Libbrecht, Nele; Schollaert, Eveline; Baligant, Dimphna

2014-01-01

As competition for funding and students intensifies, it becomes increasingly important for psychology programs to have an image that is attractive and makes them stand out from other programs. The current study uses the instrumental-symbolic framework from the marketing domain to determine the image of different master's programs in psychology and examines how these image dimensions relate to student attraction and competitor differentiation. The samples consist of both potential students (N = 114) and current students (N = 68) of three psychology programs at a Belgian university: industrial and organizational psychology, clinical psychology, and experimental psychology. The results demonstrate that both instrumental attributes (e.g., interpersonal activities) and symbolic trait inferences (e.g., sincerity) are key components of the image of psychology programs and predict attractiveness as well as differentiation. In addition, symbolic image dimensions seem more important for current students of psychology programs than for potential students.

Undergraduate students introduction to manual and rotary root canal instrumentation.

PubMed

Leonardi, Denise Piotto; Haragushiku, Gisele Aihara; Tomazinho, Flavia Sens Fagundes; Furuse, Adilson Yoshio; Volpato, Lusiane; Baratto-Filho, Flares

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of undergraduates in their first contact with manual and rotary root canal instrumentation. Forty-two students who had never worked on a root canal before instrumented 42 extracted lower-incisors. Participants were assigned to one of two groups: Rotary instrumentation or manual instrumentation. Pre- and post-operative computed tomography scans were obtained with a 3-dimensional dental imaging system. Starting and finishing times of preparation were recorded. The cross-sectional area of the root canal was analyzed with 2-mm-below-the-apex initial and final transverse images recorded through a digital imaging system and analyzed with software to measure the initial and final area of the root canal in mm(2). Data from the cross-sectional area of the root canal and time spent were subjected to the Mann-Whitney's U-test (p<0.05). The rotary instrumentation group showed smaller time for preparation (p=0.0204). No differences between rotary and manual instrumentation regarding the cross-sectional area of the root canal were observed (p=0.25). No accidents occurred. Undergraduate students showed good performance in their first contact with the manual and rotary instrumentation with regard to time spent and cross-sectional area of the root canal, with no operative accidents.

Interactive computer simulations of knee-replacement surgery.

PubMed

Gunther, Stephen B; Soto, Gabriel E; Colman, William W

2002-07-01

Current surgical training programs in the United States are based on an apprenticeship model. This model is outdated because it does not provide conceptual scaffolding, promote collaborative learning, or offer constructive reinforcement. Our objective was to create a more useful approach by preparing students and residents for operative cases using interactive computer simulations of surgery. Total-knee-replacement surgery (TKR) is an ideal procedure to model on the computer because there is a systematic protocol for the procedure. Also, this protocol is difficult to learn by the apprenticeship model because of the multiple instruments that must be used in a specific order. We designed an interactive computer tutorial to teach medical students and residents how to perform knee-replacement surgery. We also aimed to reinforce the specific protocol of the operative procedure. Our final goal was to provide immediate, constructive feedback. We created a computer tutorial by generating three-dimensional wire-frame models of the surgical instruments. Next, we applied a surface to the wire-frame models using three-dimensional modeling. Finally, the three-dimensional models were animated to simulate the motions of an actual TKR. The tutorial is a step-by-step tutorial that teaches and tests the correct sequence of steps in a TKR. The student or resident must select the correct instruments in the correct order. The learner is encouraged to learn the stepwise surgical protocol through repetitive use of the computer simulation. Constructive feedback is acquired through a grading system, which rates the student's or resident's ability to perform the task in the correct order. The grading system also accounts for the time required to perform the simulated procedure. We evaluated the efficacy of this teaching technique by testing medical students who learned by the computer simulation and those who learned by reading the surgical protocol manual. Both groups then performed TKR on manufactured bone models using real instruments. Their technique was graded with the standard protocol. The students who learned on the computer simulation performed the task in a shorter time and with fewer errors than the control group. They were also more engaged in the learning process. Surgical training programs generally lack a consistent approach to preoperative education related to surgical procedures. This interactive computer tutorial has allowed us to make a quantum leap in medical student and resident teaching in our orthopedic department because the students actually participate in the entire process. Our technique provides a linear, sequential method of skill acquisition and direct feedback, which is ideally suited for learning stepwise surgical protocols. Since our initial evaluation has shown the efficacy of this program, we have implemented this teaching tool into our orthopedic curriculum. Our plans for future work with this simulator include modeling procedures involving other anatomic areas of interest, such as the hip and shoulder.

Implementation program on high performance concrete: guidelines for instrumentation on bridges

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-08-01

This report provides an outline for the instrumentation of bridges being constructed under the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) implementation effort in High Performance Concrete (HPC). The report de...

The Impact of a School Loaner-Instrument Program on the Attitudes and Achievement of Low-Income Music Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ester, Don; Turner, Kristin

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a public school loaner-instrument program on the attitudes and achievement of low-income students in an urban environment. Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Instrument Status served as independent variables. Participants (N = 245) completed surveys at the beginning and end of the school year,…

Successful Completion of the JWST OGSE2 Cryogenic Test at JSC Chamber-A While Managing Numerous Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Sang C.; Brinckerhoff, Pamela; Franck, Randy; Schweickart, Rusty; Thomson, Shaun; Burt, Bill; Ousley, Wes

2016-01-01

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Optical Telescope Element (OTE) assembly is the largest optically stable infrared-optimized telescope currently being manufactured and assembled, and scheduled for launch in 2018. The JWST OTE, including the primary mirrors, secondary mirror, and the Aft Optics Subsystems (AOS) are designed to be passively cooled and operate at near 45 degrees Kelvin. Due to the size of its large sunshield in relation to existing test facilities, JWST cannot be optically or thermally tested as a complete observatory-level system at flight temperatures. As a result, the telescope portion along with its instrument complement will be tested as a single unit very late in the program, and on the program schedule critical path. To mitigate schedule risks, a set of 'pathfinder' cryogenic tests will be performed to reduce program risks by demonstrating the optical testing capabilities of the facility, characterizing telescope thermal performance, and allowing project personnel to learn valuable testing lessons off-line. This paper describes the 'pathfinder' cryogenic test program, focusing on the recently completed second test in the series called the Optical Ground Support Equipment 2 (OGSE2) test. The JWST OGSE2 was successfully completed within the allocated project schedule while faced with numerous conflicting thermal requirements during cool-down to the final cryogenic operational temperatures, and during warm-up after the cryo-stable optical tests. The challenges include developing a pre-test cool-down and warm-up profiles without a reliable method to predict the thermal behaviors in a rarified helium environment, and managing the test article hardware safety driven by the project Limits and Constraints (L&C's). Furthermore, OGSE2 test included the time critical Aft Optics Subsystem (AOS), a part of the flight Optical Telescope Element that would need to be placed back in the overall telescope assembly integrations. The OGSE2 test requirements included the strict adherence of the project contamination controls due to the presence of the contamination sensitive flight optical elements. The test operations required close coordination of numerous personnel while they being exposed and trained for the 'final' combined OTE and instrument cryo-test in 2017. This paper will also encompass the OGSE2 thermal data look-back review.

A framework for assessing Health Economic Evaluation (HEE) quality appraisal instruments.

PubMed

Langer, Astrid

2012-08-16

Health economic evaluations support the health care decision-making process by providing information on costs and consequences of health interventions. The quality of such studies is assessed by health economic evaluation (HEE) quality appraisal instruments. At present, there is no instrument for measuring and improving the quality of such HEE quality appraisal instruments. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to establish a framework for assessing the quality of HEE quality appraisal instruments to support and improve their quality, and to apply this framework to those HEE quality appraisal instruments which have been subject to more scrutiny than others, in order to test the framework and to demonstrate the shortcomings of existing HEE quality appraisal instruments. To develop the quality assessment framework for HEE quality appraisal instruments, the experiences of using appraisal tools for clinical guidelines are used. Based on a deductive iterative process, clinical guideline appraisal instruments identified through literature search are reviewed, consolidated, and adapted to produce the final quality assessment framework for HEE quality appraisal instruments. The final quality assessment framework for HEE quality appraisal instruments consists of 36 items organized within 7 dimensions, each of which captures a specific domain of quality. Applying the quality assessment framework to four existing HEE quality appraisal instruments, it is found that these four quality appraisal instruments are of variable quality. The framework described in this study should be regarded as a starting point for appraising the quality of HEE quality appraisal instruments. This framework can be used by HEE quality appraisal instrument producers to support and improve the quality and acceptance of existing and future HEE quality appraisal instruments. By applying this framework, users of HEE quality appraisal instruments can become aware of methodological deficiencies inherent in existing HEE quality appraisal instruments. These shortcomings of existing HEE quality appraisal instruments are illustrated by the pilot test.

A framework for assessing Health Economic Evaluation (HEE) quality appraisal instruments

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Health economic evaluations support the health care decision-making process by providing information on costs and consequences of health interventions. The quality of such studies is assessed by health economic evaluation (HEE) quality appraisal instruments. At present, there is no instrument for measuring and improving the quality of such HEE quality appraisal instruments. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to establish a framework for assessing the quality of HEE quality appraisal instruments to support and improve their quality, and to apply this framework to those HEE quality appraisal instruments which have been subject to more scrutiny than others, in order to test the framework and to demonstrate the shortcomings of existing HEE quality appraisal instruments. Methods To develop the quality assessment framework for HEE quality appraisal instruments, the experiences of using appraisal tools for clinical guidelines are used. Based on a deductive iterative process, clinical guideline appraisal instruments identified through literature search are reviewed, consolidated, and adapted to produce the final quality assessment framework for HEE quality appraisal instruments. Results The final quality assessment framework for HEE quality appraisal instruments consists of 36 items organized within 7 dimensions, each of which captures a specific domain of quality. Applying the quality assessment framework to four existing HEE quality appraisal instruments, it is found that these four quality appraisal instruments are of variable quality. Conclusions The framework described in this study should be regarded as a starting point for appraising the quality of HEE quality appraisal instruments. This framework can be used by HEE quality appraisal instrument producers to support and improve the quality and acceptance of existing and future HEE quality appraisal instruments. By applying this framework, users of HEE quality appraisal instruments can become aware of methodological deficiencies inherent in existing HEE quality appraisal instruments. These shortcomings of existing HEE quality appraisal instruments are illustrated by the pilot test. PMID:22894708

Validation of Radiometric Standards for the Laboratory Calibration of Reflected-Solar Earth Observing Satellite Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, James J.; Johnson, B. Carol; Rice, Joseph P.; Brown, Steven W.; Barnes, Robert A.

2007-01-01

Historically, the traceability of the laboratory calibration of Earth-observing satellite instruments to a primary radiometric reference scale (SI units) is the responsibility of each instrument builder. For the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS), a program has been developed using laboratory transfer radiometers, each with its own traceability to the primary radiance scale of a national metrology laboratory, to independently validate the radiances assigned to the laboratory sources of the instrument builders. The EOS Project Science Office also developed a validation program for the measurement of onboard diffuse reflecting plaques, which are also used as radiometric standards for Earth-observing satellite instruments. Summarized results of these validation campaigns, with an emphasis on the current state-of-the-art uncertainties in laboratory radiometric standards, will be presented. Future mission uncertainty requirements, and possible enhancements to the EOS validation program to ensure that those uncertainties can be met, will be presented.

The Monterey Ocean Observing System Development Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaffey, M.; Graybeal, J. B.; O'Reilly, T.; Ryan, J.

2004-12-01

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has a major development program underway to design, build, test and apply technology suitable to deep ocean observatories. The Monterey Ocean Observing System (MOOS) program is designed to form a large-scale instrument network that provides generic interfaces, intelligent instrument support, data archiving and near-real-time interaction for observatory experiments. The MOOS mooring system is designed as a portable surface mooring based seafloor observatory that provides data and power connections to both seafloor and ocean surface instruments through a specialty anchor cable. The surface mooring collects solar and wind energy for powering instruments and transmits data to shore-side researchers using a satellite communications modem. The use of a high modulus anchor cable to reach seafloor instrument networks is a high-risk development effort that is critical for the overall success of the portable observatory concept. An aggressive field test program off the California coast is underway to improve anchor cable constructions as well as end-to-end test overall system design. The overall MOOS observatory systems view is presented and the results of our field tests completed to date are summarized.

Clinical assessment of motor function: a processes oriented instrument based on a speed-accuracy trade-off paradigm.

PubMed

Christe, Blaise; Burkhard, Pierre R; Pegna, Alan J; Mayer, Eugene; Hauert, Claude-Alain

2007-01-01

In this study, we developed a digitizing tablet-based instrument for the clinical assessment of human voluntary movements targeting motor processes of planning, programming and execution. The tool was used to investigate an adaptation of Fitts' reciprocal tapping task [10], comprising four conditions, each of them modulated by three indices of difficulty related to the amplitude of movement required. Temporal, spatial and sequential constraints underlying the various conditions allowed the intricate motor processes to be dissociated. Data obtained from a group of elderly healthy subjects (N=50) were in agreement with the literature on motor control, in the temporal and spatial domains. Speed constraints generated gains in the temporal domain and costs in the spatial one, while spatial constraints generated gain in the spatial domain and costs in the temporal one; finally, sequential constraints revealed the integrative nature of the cognitive operations involved in motor production. This versatile instrument proved capable of providing quantitative, accurate and sensitive measures of the various processes sustaining voluntary movement in healthy subjects. Altogether, analyses performed in this study generated a theoretical framework and reference data which could be used in the future for the clinical assessment of patients with various movement disorders, in particular Parkinson's disease.

Development and Validation of a Questionnaire on Breastfeeding Intentions, Attitudes and Knowledge of a Sample of Croatian Secondary-School Students.

PubMed

Čatipović, Marija; Marković, Martina; Grgurić, Josip

2018-04-27

Validating a questionnaire/instrument before proceeding to the field for data collection is important. An 18-item breastfeeding intention, 39-item attitude and 44-item knowledge questionnaire was validated in a Croatian sample of secondary-school students ( N = 277). For the intentions, principal component analysis (PCA) yielded a four-factor solution with 8 items explaining 68.3% of the total variance. Cronbach’s alpha (0.71) indicated satisfactory internal consistency. For the attitudes, PCA showed a seven-factor structure with 33 items explaining 58.41% of total variance. Cronbach’s alpha (0.87) indicated good internal consistency. There were 13 knowledge questions that were retained after item analysis, showing good internal consistency (KR20 = 0.83). In terms of criterion validity, the questionnaire differentiated between students who received breastfeeding education compared to students who were not educated in breastfeeding. Correlations between intentions and attitudes (r = 0.49), intentions and knowledge (r = 0.29), and attitudes and knowledge (r = 0.38) confirmed concurrent validity. The final instrument is reliable and valid for data collection on breastfeeding. Therefore, the instrument is recommended for evaluation of breastfeeding education programs aimed at upper-grade elementary and secondary school students.

Development and Validation of a Questionnaire on Breastfeeding Intentions, Attitudes and Knowledge of a Sample of Croatian Secondary-School Students

PubMed Central

Marković, Martina; Grgurić, Josip

2018-01-01

Background: Validating a questionnaire/instrument before proceeding to the field for data collection is important. Methods: An 18-item breastfeeding intention, 39-item attitude and 44-item knowledge questionnaire was validated in a Croatian sample of secondary-school students (N = 277). Results: For the intentions, principal component analysis (PCA) yielded a four-factor solution with 8 items explaining 68.3% of the total variance. Cronbach’s alpha (0.71) indicated satisfactory internal consistency. For the attitudes, PCA showed a seven-factor structure with 33 items explaining 58.41% of total variance. Cronbach’s alpha (0.87) indicated good internal consistency. There were 13 knowledge questions that were retained after item analysis, showing good internal consistency (KR20 = 0.83). In terms of criterion validity, the questionnaire differentiated between students who received breastfeeding education compared to students who were not educated in breastfeeding. Correlations between intentions and attitudes (r = 0.49), intentions and knowledge (r = 0.29), and attitudes and knowledge (r = 0.38) confirmed concurrent validity. Conclusions: The final instrument is reliable and valid for data collection on breastfeeding. Therefore, the instrument is recommended for evaluation of breastfeeding education programs aimed at upper-grade elementary and secondary school students. PMID:29702616

Creation of an instrument maintenance program at W. M. Keck Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, G. M.; Kwok, S. H.; Mader, J. A.; Wirth, G. D.; Dahm, S. E.; Goodrich, R. W.

2014-08-01

Until a few years ago, the W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) did not have a systematic program of instrument maintenance at a level appropriate for a world-leading observatory. We describe the creation of such a program within the context of WMKO's lean operations model which posed challenges but also guided the design of the system and resulted in some unique and notable capabilities. These capabilities and the flexibility of the system have led to its adoption across the Observatory for virtually all PM's. The success of the Observatory in implementing the program and its impact on instrument reliability are presented. Lessons learned are reviewed and strategic implications discussed.

Institutional Conservation Program evaluation project: Results of higher education survey pretest

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

Bernard, M.J. III; Collins, N.E.; Ettinger, G.

Teams from Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and the US Department of Energy visited 14 colleges and universities to pretest a survey instrument that will be mailed to all US colleges and universities to solicit information about energy conservation activities and decision-making processes. The results of the pretest, the final higher education questionnaire, and implications for an elementary and secondary education questionnaire are the primary subjects of this report. Because interviewees offered anecdotes and advice about equipment, management, finances, and maintenance that may be useful to others, narrative summaries of each visit are included. The report also contains themore » interviewees' responses to the pretest questions.« less

Early Years of Neutron Scattering and Its Manpower Development in Indonesia

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

Marsongkohadi

In this paper I shall give a short history of the development of neutron scattering at the Research Centre for Nuclear Techniques (PPTN), in Bandung, and the early development of a more advanced facilities at the Neutron Scattering Laboratory (NSL BATAN), Centre of Technology for Nuclear Industrial Materials, in Serpong. The first research reactor in Indonesia was the TRIGA MARK II in Bandung, which became operational in 1965, with a power of 250 KW, upgraded to 1 MW in 1971, and to 2 MW in 2000. The neutron scattering activities was started in 1967, with the design and construction ofmore » the first powder diffractometer, and put in operation in 1970. It was followed by the second instrument, the filter detector spectrometer built in 1975 in collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India. A powder diffractometer for magnetic studies was built in 1980, and finally, a modification of the filter detector spectrometer to measure textures was made in 1986. A brief description of the design and construction of the instruments, and a highlight of some research topics will be presented. Early developments of neutron scattering activities at the 30 MW, RSG-GAS reactor in Serpong in choosing suitable research program, which will be mainly centred around materials testing/characterization, and materials/condensed matter researches has been agreed. Instrument planning and layout which were appropriate to carry out the program had been decided. Manpower development for the neutron scattering laboratory is a severe problem. The efforts to overcome this problem has been solved. International Cooperation through workshops and on the job trainings also support the supply of qualified manpower.« less

Validation of a quality-of-life measure for deaf or hard of hearing youth.

PubMed

Patrick, Donald L; Edwards, Todd C; Skalicky, Anne M; Schick, Brenda; Topolski, Tari D; Kushalnagar, Poorna; Leng, Mei; O'Neill-Kemp, Aprille M; Sie, Kathleen Sie

2011-07-01

Quality-of-life (QOL) measures targeting youth with hearing loss are useful in population needs assessment, educational placement, and program design and evaluation. This study assesses the cross-sectional validity of the Youth Quality of Life Instrument-Deaf and Hard of Hearing Module (YQOL-DHH). STUDY DESIGN. Instrument development and cross-sectional survey. Recruitment through schools, professional organizations, clinics, and programs for youth who are deaf or hard of hearing. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Thirty-five candidate items were administered to 230 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years: 49% female, 61% white, 11% mild hearing loss, 20% moderate/moderate-severe, 41% severe/profound, and 28% with cochlear implants. Participants completed individual or group-administered questionnaires by paper and pencil (58%), Web-based English (29%), American Sign Language (ASL) or Pidgin Signed English (PSE) (9%) on DVD, or interviewer-supervised ASL or PSE DVD (4%). The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI-S) was also completed. Factor structure, reliability, construct validity, and respondent burden were assessed. Thirty-two items were retained in the final instrument covering 3 domains: self-acceptance/advocacy (14 items, Cronbach α = 0.84), perceived stigma (8 items, Cronbach α = 0.85), and participation (10 items, Cronbach α = 0.86). QOL was not significantly associated with hearing level. One-week test-retest coefficients were acceptable: self-acceptance/ advocacy (0.70), perceived stigma (0.78), and participation 0.92). As predicted, the total CDI-S score was associated in the appropriate direction (P < .0001) with all YQOL-DHH domains. Time to complete the paper-and-pencil version was 12 minutes. The YQOL-DHH shows good reliability and validity for assessing hearing-specific QOL in adolescents.

Development and Validation of a Cross-Cultural Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Survey Instrument for Chronic Kidney Disease in a Swahili-Speaking Population

PubMed Central

Stanifer, John W.; Karia, Francis; Voils, Corrine I.; Turner, Elizabeth L.; Maro, Venance; Shimbi, Dionis; Kilawe, Humphrey; Lazaro, Matayo; Patel, Uptal D.

2015-01-01

Introduction Non-communicable diseases are a growing global burden, and structured surveys can identify critical gaps to address this epidemic. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are very few well-tested survey instruments measuring population attributes related to non-communicable diseases. To meet this need, we have developed and validated the first instrument evaluating knowledge, attitudes and practices pertaining to chronic kidney disease in a Swahili-speaking population. Methods and Results Between December 2013 and June 2014, we conducted a four-stage, mixed-methods study among adults from the general population of northern Tanzania. In stage 1, the survey instrument was constructed in English by a group of cross-cultural experts from multiple disciplines and through content analysis of focus group discussions to ensure local significance. Following translation, in stage 2, we piloted the survey through cognitive and structured interviews, and in stage 3, in order to obtain initial evidence of reliability and construct validity, we recruited and then administered the instrument to a random sample of 606 adults. In stage 4, we conducted analyses to establish test-retest reliability and known-groups validity which was informed by thematic analysis of the qualitative data in stages 1 and 2. The final version consisted of 25 items divided into three conceptual domains: knowledge, attitudes and practices. Each item demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability with established content and construct validity. Conclusions We have developed a reliable and valid cross-cultural survey instrument designed to measure knowledge, attitudes and practices of chronic kidney disease in a Swahili-speaking population of Northern Tanzania. This instrument may be valuable for addressing gaps in non-communicable diseases care by understanding preferences regarding healthcare, formulating educational initiatives, and directing development of chronic disease management programs that incorporate chronic kidney disease across sub-Saharan Africa. PMID:25811781

MicroMAPS CO Measurements over North America and Europe during Summer-Fall 2004

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Connors, V. S.; Hopkins, P. E.; Reichle, H. G.; Morrow, W. H.; McMillan, W. W.; Sandy, M.

2006-12-01

The MicroMAPS instrument is a nadir-viewing, gas filter-correlated radiometer which operating in the 4.67 micrometer fundamental band of carbon monoxide. Originally designed and built for a space mission, this CO remote sensor is being flown in support of satellite validation and science instrument demonstrations for potential UAV applications. The MicroMAPS instrument system, as flown on Proteus, was designed by a senior student design project in the Aerospace Engineering Department, Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, VA. and then revised by Systems Engineers at NASA Langley. The final instrument system was integrated and tested at NASA LaRC, in partnership with Scaled Composites and Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC). VSGC supervised the fabrication of the nacelle that houses the instrument system on the right rear tail boom of Proteus. Full system integration and flight testing was performed at Scaled Composites, in Mojave, in June 2004. Its successful performance enabled participation in four international science missions on Proteus: in 2004, INTEX -NA over eastern North America in July, ADRIEX over the Mediterranean region and EAQUATE over the United Kingdom region in September,and TWP-ICE over Darwin, Australia and the surrounding oceans in Jan-Feb 2006. These flights resulted in nearly 300 hours of data. In parallel with the engineering developments, theoretical radiative transfer models were developed specifically for the MicroMAPS instrument system at the University of Virginia, Mechanical Engineering Department by a combined undergraduate and graduate student team. With technical support from Resonance Ltd. in June 2005, the MicroMAPS instrument was calibrated for the conditions under which the Summer-Fall 2004 flights occurred. The analyses of the calibration data, combined with the theoretical radiative transfer models, provide the first data reduction for the science flights reported here. These early results and comparisons with profile data from the NASA DC-8, the coincident AIRS CO retrievals, and selected CO measurements from the MOZAIC program will be presented.

MicroMAPS CO Measurements over North America and Europe during Summer-Fall 2004

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Connors, Vickie S.; Hopkins, Patrick E.; Reichle, Henry G., Jr.; Morrow, William H.; McMillan, Wallace; Sandy, Mary L.

2006-01-01

The MicroMAPS instrument is a nadir-viewing, gas filter-correlated radiometer which operating in the 4.67 micrometer fundamental band of carbon monoxide. Originally designed and built for a space mission, this CO remote sensor is being flown in support of satellite validation and science instrument demonstrations for potential UAV applications. The MicroMAPS instrument system, as flown on Proteus, was designed by a senior student design project in the Aerospace Engineering Department, Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, VA. and then revised by Systems Engineers at NASA Langley. The final instrument system was integrated and tested at NASA LaRC, in partnership with Scaled Composites and Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC). VSGC supervised the fabrication of the nacelle that houses the instrument system on the right rear tail boom of Proteus. Full system integration and flight testing was performed at Scaled Composites, in Mojave, in June 2004. Its successful performance enabled participation in four international science missions on Proteus: in 2004, INTEX -NA over eastern North America in July, ADRIEX over the Mediterranean region and EAQUATE over the United Kingdom region in September,and TWP-ICE over Darwin, Australia and the surrounding oceans in Jan-Feb 2006. These flights resulted in nearly 300 hours of data. In parallel with the engineering developments, theoretical radiative transfer models were developed specifically for the MicroMAPS instrument system at the University of Virginia, Mechanical Engineering Department by a combined undergraduate and graduate student team. With technical support from Resonance Ltd. in June 2005, the MicroMAPS instrument was calibrated for the conditions under which the Summer-Fall 2004 flights occurred. The analyses of the calibration data, combined with the theoretical radiative transfer models, provide the first data reduction for the science flights reported here. These early results and comparisons with profile data from the NASA DC-8, the coincident AIRS CO retrievals, and selected CO measurements from the MOZAIC program will be presented.

Observing control and data reduction at the UKIRT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bridger, Alan; Economou, Frossie; Wright, Gillian S.; Currie, Malcolm J.

1998-07-01

For the past seven years observing with the major instruments at the United Kingdom IR Telescope (UKIRT) has been semi-automated, using ASCII files top configure the instruments and then sequence a series of exposures and telescope movements to acquire the data. For one instrument automatic data reduction completes the cycle. The emergence of recent software technologies has suggested an evolution of this successful system to provide a friendlier and more powerful interface to observing at UKIRT. The Observatory Reduction and Acquisition Control (ORAC) project is now underway to construct this system. A key aim of ORAC is to allow a more complete description of the observing program, including the target sources and the recipe that will be used to provide on-line data reduction. Remote observation preparation and submission will also be supported. In parallel the observatory control system will be upgraded to use these descriptions for more automatic observing, while retaining the 'classical' interactive observing mode. The final component of the project is an improved automatic data reduction system, allowing on-line reduction of data at the telescope while retaining the flexibility to cope with changing observing techniques and instruments. The user will also automatically be provided with the scripts used for the real-time reduction to help provide post-observing data reduction support. The overall project goal is to improve the scientific productivity of the telescope, but it should also reduce the overall ongoing support requirements, and has the eventual goal of supporting the use of queue- scheduled observing.

Instrumentation for Monitoring around Marine Renewable Energy Converters: Workshop Final Report

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

Polagye, B. L.; Copping, A. E.; Brown-Saracino, J.

2014-01-14

To better understand the state of instrumentation and capabilities for monitoring around marine energy converters, the U.S. Department of Energy directed Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at the University of Washington to convene an invitation-only workshop of experts from around the world to address instrumentation needs.

Measuring the Teaching Self-Efficacy of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Graduate Teaching Assistants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeChenne, Sue Ellen; Enochs, Larry

2010-01-01

An instrument to measure the teaching self-efficacy of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) GTAs is adapted from a general college teaching instrument (Prieto Navarro, 2005) for the specific teaching environment of the STEM GTAs. The construct and content validity and reliability of the final instrument are indicated. The final…

Debris remaining in the apical third of root canals after chemomechanical preparation by using sodium hypochlorite and glyde: an in vivo study.

PubMed

Cruz, Alvaro; Vera, Jorge; Gascón, Gerardo; Palafox-Sánchez, Claudia A; Amezcua, Octavio; Mercado, Gabriela

2014-09-01

During chemomechanical instrumentation, several liquid or paste substances are used to ease the action of the files and to eliminate debris and the smear layer. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the use of a paste containing EDTA during cleaning and shaping of the root canal helps to eliminate debris. Twenty root canals in dog teeth were instrumented by a crown-down technique by using nickel-titanium rotary files. In 10 root canals (group A), sodium hypochlorite was used during instrumentation, followed by a final irrigation with 17% liquid EDTA. In another 10 canals (group B), sodium hypochlorite was again used as the irrigating solution, but Glyde File Prep paste was used with every instrument, and a final irrigation with EDTA was also carried out. Two additional teeth were used as positive and 2 as negative controls. The jaws were prepared for histologic evaluation. In group A where Glyde was not used during cleaning and shaping, little or no debris was found in the apical third of the instrumented root canals; however; in group B in which Glyde File Prep paste was used during chemomechanical instrumentation, moderate to high accumulation of debris was observed in the apical third. The use of Glyde File Prep paste during rotary mechanical instrumentation favors the accumulation of debris in the apical third of the root canals. Irrigation with NaOCl and a final flush with EDTA by means of a small-gauge needle with simultaneous aspiration led to less accumulation of debris than in the Glyde File Prep group (P < .05). Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting interest in cardiothoracic surgery: Survey of North American general surgery residents.

PubMed

Vaporciyan, Ara A; Reed, Carolyn E; Erikson, Clese; Dill, Michael J; Carpenter, Andrea J; Guleserian, Kristine J; Merrill, Walter

2009-05-01

Applications to cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) training programs have declined precipitously. The viewpoints of potential applicants, general surgery residents, have not yet been assessed. Their perceptions are crucial to understanding the cause and formulating appropriate changes in our educational system. An initial survey instrument was content-validated, and the final instrument was distributed electronically between March 24 and May 2, 2008 through 251 general surgery program directors to all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited general surgery residents (7508). The response rate was 29% (2153 residents; 89% programs). Respondent's demographics matched existing data; 6% were committed to CTS, and 26% reported prior or current interest in CTS. Interest waned after postgraduate year 3. Interest correlated with CTS rotation duration. Of the respondents committed to CTS, 76% had mentors (71% were cardiothoracic surgeons). CTS had the most shortcomings among 9 subspecialties. Job security and availability accounted for 46% of reported shortcomings (3 to 14 times higher than other subspecialties). Work schedule accounted for 25%. Length of training was not a very important factor, although it was identified as an option to increase interest in CTS. Residents who were undecided or uninterested in CTS were twice as likely to cite the ability to balance work and personal life as important than residents who chose CTS. The dominant concern documented in the survey is job security and availability. The importance of mentorship and exposure to CTS faculty in promoting interest was also evident. Decision makers should consider these findings when planning changes in education and the specialty.

Factors affecting interest in cardiothoracic surgery: survey of North American general surgery residents.

PubMed

Vaporciyan, Ara A; Reed, Carolyn E; Erikson, Clese; Dill, Michael J; Carpenter, Andrea J; Guleserian, Kristine J; Merrill, Walter

2009-05-01

Applications to cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) training programs have declined precipitously. The viewpoints of potential applicants, general surgery residents, have not yet been assessed. Their perceptions are crucial to understanding the cause and formulating appropriate changes in our educational system. An initial survey instrument was content-validated, and the final instrument was distributed electronically between March 24 and May 2, 2008 through 251 general surgery program directors to all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited general surgery residents (7,508). The response rate was 29% (2153 residents; 89% programs). Respondent's demographics matched existing data; 6% were committed to CTS, and 26% reported prior or current interest in CTS. Interest waned after postgraduate year 3. Interest correlated with CTS rotation duration. Of the respondents committed to CTS, 76% had mentors (71% were cardiothoracic surgeons). CTS had the most shortcomings among 9 subspecialties. Job security and availability accounted for 46% of reported shortcomings (3 to 14 times higher than other subspecialties). Work schedule accounted for 25%. Length of training was not a very important factor, although it was identified as an option to increase interest in CTS. Residents who were undecided or uninterested in CTS were twice as likely to cite the ability to balance work and personal life as important than residents who chose CTS. The dominant concern documented in the survey is job security and availability. The importance of mentorship and exposure to CTS faculty in promoting interest was also evident. Decision makers should consider these findings when planning changes in education and the specialty.

Neuropsychiatry and neuroscience education of psychiatry trainees: attitudes and barriers.

PubMed

Benjamin, Sheldon; Travis, Michael J; Cooper, Joseph J; Dickey, Chandlee C; Reardon, Claudia L

2014-04-01

The American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT) Task Force on Neuropsychiatry and Neuroscience Education of Psychiatry Residents was established in 2011 with the charge to seek information about what the field of psychiatry considers the core topics in neuropsychiatry and neuroscience to which psychiatry residents should be exposed; whether there are any "competencies" in this area on which the field agrees; whether psychiatry departments have the internal capacity to teach these topics if they are desirable; and what the reception would be for "portable curricula" in neuroscience. The task force reviewed the literature and developed a survey instrument to be administered nationwide to all psychiatry residency program directors. The AADPRT Executive Committee assisted with the survey review, and their feedback was incorporated into the final instrument. In 2011-2012, 226 adult and child and adolescent psychiatry residency program directors responded to the survey, representing over half of all US adult and child psychiatry training directors. About three quarters indicated that faculty resources were available in their departments but 39% felt the lack of neuropsychiatry faculty and 36% felt the absence of neuroscience faculty to be significant barriers. Respectively, 64 and 60% felt that neuropsychiatry and psychiatric neuroscience knowledge were very important or critically important to the provision of excellent care. Ninety-two percent were interested in access to portable neuroscience curricula. There is widespread agreement among training directors on the importance of neuropsychiatry and neuroscience knowledge to general psychiatrists but barriers to training exist, including some programs that lack faculty resources and a dearth of portable curricula in these areas.

The TMT instrumentation program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simard, Luc; Crampton, David; Ellerbroek, Brent; Boyer, Corinne

2010-07-01

An overview of the current status of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) instrumentation program is presented. Conceptual designs for the three first light instruments (IRIS, WFOS and IRMS) are in progress, as well as feasibility studies of MIRES. Considerable effort is underway to understand the end-to-end performance of the complete telescopeadaptive optics-instrument system under realistic conditions on Mauna Kea. Highly efficient operation is being designed into the TMT system, based on a detailed investigation of the observation workflow to ensure very fast target acquisition and set up of all subsystems. Future TMT instruments will almost certainly involve contributions from institutions in many different locations in North America and partner nations. Coordinating and optimizing the design and construction of the instruments to ensure delivery of the best possible scientific capabilities is an interesting challenge. TMT welcomes involvement from all interested instrument teams.

Strong motion instrumentation of an RC building structure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Li, H.-J.; Celebi, M.

2001-01-01

The strong-motion instrumentation scheme of a reinforced concrete building observed by California Strong-Motion Instrumentation Program (CSMIP) is introduced in this paper. The instrumented building is also described and the recorded responses during 1994 Northridge earthquake are provided.

Woodwind Instrument Maintenance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sperl, Gary

1980-01-01

The author presents a simple maintenance program for woodwind instruments which includes the care of tendon corks, the need for oiling keys, and methods of preventing cracks in woodwind instruments. (KC)

Development and analysis of an instrument to assess student understanding of GOB chemistry knowledge relevant to clinical nursing practice.

PubMed

Brown, Corina E; Hyslop, Richard M; Barbera, Jack

2015-01-01

The General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry Knowledge Assessment (GOB-CKA) is a multiple-choice instrument designed to assess students' understanding of the chemistry topics deemed important to clinical nursing practice. This manuscript describes the development process of the individual items along with a psychometric evaluation of the final version of the items and instrument. In developing items for the GOB-CKA, essential topics were identified through a series of expert interviews (with practicing nurses, nurse educators, and GOB chemistry instructors) and confirmed through a national survey. Individual items were tested in qualitative studies with students from the target population for clarity and wording. Data from pilot and beta studies were used to evaluate each item and narrow the total item count to 45. A psychometric analysis performed on data from the 45-item final version was used to provide evidence of validity and reliability. The final version of the instrument has a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.76. Feedback from an expert panel provided evidence of face and content validity. Convergent validity was estimated by comparing the results from the GOB-CKA with the General-Organic-Biochemistry Exam (Form 2007) of the American Chemical Society. Instructors who wish to use the GOB-CKA for teaching and research may contact the corresponding author for a copy of the instrument. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cognitive Education with Deaf Adolescents: Effects of Instrumental Enrichment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haywood, H. Carl; And Others

1988-01-01

Twenty-six deaf adolescents received instruction in a structured program of cognitive education called "Instrumental Enrichment." The program addresses, among other processes, comparison, classification, logical progression, spatial orientation, analysis and synthesis, and syllogistic thinking. Following training, the subjects showed…

The EOS Aqua/Aura Experience: Lessons Learned on Design, Integration, and Test of Earth-Observing Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nosek, Thomas P.

2004-01-01

NASA and NOAA earth observing satellite programs are flying a number of sophisticated scientific instruments which collect data on many phenomena and parameters of the earth's environment. The NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Program originated the EOS Common Bus approach, which featured two spacecraft (Aqua and Aura) of virtually identical design but with completely different instruments. Significant savings were obtained by the Common Bus approach and these lessons learned are presented as information for future program requiring multiple busses for new diversified instruments with increased capabilities for acquiring earth environmental data volume, accuracy, and type.

NASA/ARMY/BELL XV-15 Tiltrotor Low-Noise Terminal Area Operations Flight Research Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, Bryan D.; Conner, David A.; Decker, William A.; Marcolini, Michael A.; Klein, Peter D.

2001-01-01

To evaluate the noise reduction potential for tiltrotor aircraft, a series of three XV- 15 acoustic flight tests were conducted over a five-year period by a NASA/Army/Bell Helicopter team. Lower hemispherical noise characteristics for a wide range of steady-state terminal area type operating conditions were measured during the Phase I test and indicated that the takeoff and level flight conditions were not significant contributors to the total noise of tiltrotor operations. Phase I results were also used to design low-noise approach profiles that were tested later during the Phase 2 and Phase 3 tests. These latter phases used large area microphone arrays to directly measure ground noise footprints. Approach profiles emphasized noise reduction while maintaining handling qualities sufficient for tiltrotor commercial passenger ride comfort and flight safety under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) conditions. This paper will discuss the weather, aircraft, tracking, guidance, and acoustic instrumentation systems, as well as the approach profile design philosophy, and the overall test program philosophy. Acoustic results are presented to document the variation in tiltrotor noise due to changes in operating condition, indicating the potential for significant noise reduction using the unique tiltrotor capability of nacelle tilt. Recommendations are made for a final XV-15 test to define the acoustic benefits of the automated approach capability which has recently been added to this testbed aircraft.

Jovian System as a Demonstration of JWST’s Capabilities for Solar System Science: Status Update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conrad, Al; Fouchet, Thierry

2018-06-01

Characterize Jupiter’s cloud layers, winds, composition, auroral activity, and temperature structureProduce maps of the atmosphere and surface of volcanically-active Io and icy satellite Ganymede to constrain their thermal and atmospheric structure, and search for plumesCharacterize the ring structure, and its sources, sinks and evolution.We will present our progress to date in planning these observations and provide an update on our expectations.Our program will utilize all JWST instruments in different observing modes to demonstrate the capabilities of JWST’s instruments on one of the largest and brightest sources in the Solar System and on very faint targets next to it. We will also observe weak emission/absorption bands on strong continua, and with NIRIS/AMI we will maximize the Strehl ratio on unresolved features, such as Io’s volcanoes.We will deliver a number of science enabling products that will facilitate community science, including, e.g.: i) characterizing Jupiter’s scattered light in the context of scientific observations, ii) resolve point sources with AMI in a crowded field (Io’s volcanoes), and compare this to classical observations, iii) develop tools to mosaic/visualize spectral datacubes using MIRI and NIRSpec on Jupiter. Finally, our program will also set a first temporal benchmark to study time variations in the jovian system and any interconnectivity (e.g., through its magnetic field) during JWST’s lifetime.

Assessing Chronic Illness Care Education (ACIC-E): a tool for tracking educational re-design for improving chronic care education.

PubMed

Bowen, Judith L; Provost, Lloyd; Stevens, David P; Johnson, Julie K; Woods, Donna M; Sixta, Connie S; Wagner, Edward H

2010-09-01

Recent Breakthrough Series Collaboratives have focused on improving chronic illness care, but few have included academic practices, and none have specifically targeted residency education in parallel with improving clinical care. Tools are available for assessing progress with clinical improvements, but no similar instruments have been developed for monitoring educational improvements for chronic care education. To design a survey to assist teaching practices with identifying curricular gaps in chronic care education and monitor efforts to address those gaps. During a national academic chronic care collaborative, we used an iterative method to develop and pilot test a survey instrument modeled after the Assessing Chronic Illness Care (ACIC). We implemented this instrument, the ACIC-Education, in a second collaborative and assessed the relationship of survey results with reported educational measures. A combined 57 self-selected teams from 37 teaching hospitals enrolled in one of two collaboratives. We used descriptive statistics to report mean ACIC-E scores and educational measurement results, and Pearson's test for correlation between the final ACIC-E score and reported educational measures. A total of 29 teams from the national collaborative and 15 teams from the second collaborative in California completed the final ACIC-E. The instrument measured progress on all sub-scales of the Chronic Care Model. Fourteen California teams (70%) reported using two to six education measures (mean 4.3). The relationship between the final survey results and the number of educational measures reported was weak (R(2) = 0.06, p = 0.376), but improved when a single outlier was removed (R(2) = 0.37, p = 0.022). The ACIC-E instrument proved feasible to complete. Participating teams, on average, recorded modest improvement in all areas measured by the instrument over the duration of the collaboratives. The relationship between the final ACIC-E score and the number of educational measures was weak. Further research on its utility and validity is required.

Thirty Meter Telescope science instruments: a status report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simard, Luc; Ellerbroek, Brent; Bhatia, Ravinder; Radovan, Matthew; Chisholm, Eric

2016-08-01

An overview of the current status of the science instruments for the Thirty Meter Telescope is presented. Three first-light instruments as well as a science calibration unit for AO-assisted instruments are under development. Developing instrument collaborations that can design and build these challenging instruments remains an area of intense activity. In addition to the instruments themselves, a preliminary design for a facility cryogenic cooling system based on gaseous helium turbine expanders has been completed. This system can deliver a total of 2.4 kilowatts of cooling power at 65K to the instruments with essentially no vibrations. Finally, the process for developing future instruments beyond first light has been extensively discussed and will get under way in early 2017.

NURE aerial gamma-ray and magnetic reconnaissance survey of portions of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. Volume II. New Mexico-Fort Sumner NI 13-5 quadrangle. Final report

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

Not Available

1981-09-01

The results of a high-sensitivity, aerial gamma-ray spectrometer and magnetometer survey of the Fort Sumner, two degree quadrangle, New Mexico, are presented. Instrumentation and methods are described in Volume I of this final report. The work was done by Carson Helicopters Inc., and Carson Helicopters was assisted in the interpretation by International Exploration, Inc. The work was performed for the US Department of Energy - National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Program. A total of 139 statistically significant eU anomalies were identified in this quadrangle. Of this number 31 were considered to be of sufficient intensity to warrant field investigations. Manymore » of these anomalies appear to be wholly, or in part, associated with various Quarternary surficial deposits, Permian sediments (specifically the Fourmile Draw Member of the San Andreas Formation), and the area around Rough Mountain.« less

NURE aerial gamma-ray and magnetic reconnaissance survey of portions of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. Volume II. Texas-New Mexico-El Paso NH 13-1 Quadrangle. Final report

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

Not Available

1981-09-01

The results of a high-sensitivity, aerial gamma-ray spectrometer and magnetometer survey of the El Paso, two degree quadrangle, New Mexico, are presented. Instrumentation and methods are described in Volume I of this final report. The work was done by Carson Helicopters Inc., and Carson Helicopters was assisted in the interpretation by International Exploration, Inc. The work was performed for the US Department of Energy - National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program. A total of 72 statistically significant eU anomalies were identified in this quadrangle. Of this number 20 were considered to be of sufficient intensity to warrant field investigations, however,more » many of these anomalies appear to be wholly, or in part, associated with various unconsolidated Quaternary deposits. Only three of the 20 can, with certainty be identified with bedrock; one with a Quaternary flow, one with Cambrian sandstone and one with a Precambrian granite.« less

Dual-Shaft Electric Propulsion (DSEP) Technology Development Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1992-08-01

The background, progress, and current state of the DOE-sponsored Advanced Dual-Shaft Electric Propulsion Technology Development are presented. Three electric-drive vehicles were build as conversions of a commercial gasoline-powered van, using program-designed components and systems as required. The vehicles were tested primarily on dynamometer or test tract. Component and system testing represented a major portion of the development effort. Test data are summarized in this report, and an Appendix contains the final component design specifications. This major programmatic concerns were the traction battery, the battery management system, the dc-to-ac inverter, the drive motor, the transaxle and its ancillary equipment, and the vehicle controller. Additional effort was devoted to vehicle-related equipment: gear selector, power steering, power brakes, accelerator, dashboard instrumentation, and heater. Design, development, and test activities are reported for each of these items, together with an appraisal (lessons learned) and recommendations for possible further work. Other programmatic results include a Cost and Commercialization Analysis, a Reliability and Hazards Analysis Study, Technical Recommendations for Next-Generation Development, and an assessment of overall program efforts.

Astronaut Anna Fisher Suiting Up For NBS Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is astronaut Anna Fisher suiting up for training on a mockup of a modular section of the HST for an axial scientific instrument change out.

Astronaut Anna Fisher Suited Up For NBS Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is astronaut Anna Fisher suited up for training on a mockup of a modular section of the HST for an axial scientific instrument change out.

Astronaut Anna Fisher Suited Up For NBS Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. Marshall SPace Flight Center's (MSFC's) Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is astronaut Anna Fisher suited up for training on a mockup of a modular section of the HST for an axial scientific instrument change out.

Astronaut Anna Fisher Suits Up for NBS Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is astronaut Anna Fisher suiting up for training on a mockup of a modular section of the HST for an axial scientific instrument change out.

Astronaut Anna Fisher Suiting Up For NBS Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. MSFC's Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is astronaut Anna Fisher suiting up for training on a mockup of a modular section of the HST for an axial scientific instrument change out.

Astronaut Anna Fisher in NBS Training For Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is astronaut Anna Fisher training on a mock-up of a modular section of the HST for an axial scientific instrument change out.

Astronaut Anna Fisher Suits Up For NBS Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is astronaut Anna Fisher suiting up for training on a mockup of a modular section of the HST for an axial scientific instrument change out.

The unique challenge of managing an undergraduate Get-Away-Special experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roming, Peter W. A.; Spute, Mark K.; Williams, Memorie K.

1992-01-01

A group of Bringham Young University (BYU) undergraduate students has undertaken an experiment to design and build a normal incidence soft x ray robotics telescope for solar observations. The design phase of this, GOLDHELOX project, has now been completed and final construction and modifications are in progress. The design and manufacture of the payload is under the direction of team leaders and a system's integrator. A goal of this project is educating and furnishing experiences in space engineering and physics for undergraduate students. Our main source of funding is NASA and the BYU Colleges of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering and Technology. This project is possible because of the NASA Get-Away Special (GAS) program. The only feasible alternative is using an expensive sounding rocket. We estimate the sun tracking and guidance package alone would cost upwards of a million dollars -- at least ten times our entire budget. Because of the GAS program, we simplified the construction, operation, and programming of the instruments with resulting savings in weight, cost, and time spent.

Glass sample preparation and performance investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, R. Barry

1992-04-01

This final report details the work performed under this delivery order from April 1991 through April 1992. The currently available capabilities for integrated optical performance modeling at MSFC for large and complex systems such as AXAF were investigated. The Integrated Structural Modeling (ISM) program developed by Boeing for the U.S. Air Force was obtained and installed on two DECstations 5000 at MSFC. The structural, thermal and optical analysis programs available in ISM were evaluated. As part of the optomechanical engineering activities, technical support was provided in the design of support structure, mirror assembly, filter wheel assembly and material selection for the Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) program. As part of the fabrication activities, a large number of zerodur glass samples were prepared in different sizes and shapes for acid etching, coating and polishing experiments to characterize the subsurface damage and stresses produced by the grinding and polishing operations. Various optical components for AXAF video microscope and the x-ray test facility were also fabricated. A number of glass fabrication and test instruments such as a scatter plate interferometer, a gravity feed saw and some phenolic cutting blades were fabricated, integrated and tested.

Development of the SIT, an Instrument to Evaluate the Transfer Effects of Adult Education Programs for Social Inclusion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Greef, Maurice; Segers, Mien; Verte, Dominique

2010-01-01

To date, hardly any evidence is available on the quality of adult education programs for vulnerable adults. Evaluation instruments or models mostly focussed on regular education and less on programs of adult education aiming to enhance social inclusion. This study presents a first exploration of the construct validity of a newly developed…

Overview of Japanese Earth observation programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimoda, Haruhisa; Honda, Yoshiaki

2017-09-01

Five programs, i.e. ASTER, GOSAT, GCOM-W1, GPM and ALOS-2 are going on in Japanese Earth Observation programs. ASTER has lost its short wave infrared channels. AMSR-E stopped its operation, but it started its operation from Sep. 2012 with slow rotation speed. It finally stopped on December 2015. GCOM-W1 was launched on 18, May, 2012 and is operating well as well as GOSAT. ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) was successfully launched on 24th Jan. 2006. ALOS carries three instruments, i.e., PRISM (Panchromatic Remote Sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping), AVNIR-2 (Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer), and PALSAR (Phased Array L band Synthetic Aperture Radar). Unfortunately, ALOS has stopped its operation on 22nd, April, 2011 by power loss. GOSAT (Greenhouse Gas Observation Satellite) was successfully launched on 29, January, 2009. GOSAT carries 2 instruments, i.e. a green house gas sensor (TANSO-FTS) and a cloud/aerosol imager (TANSO-CAI). The main sensor is a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) and covers 0.76 to 15 μm region with 0.2 to 0.5 cm-1 resolution. SMILES (Superconducting Millimeter wave Emission Spectrometer) was launched on September 2009 to ISS and started the observation, but stopped its operation on April 2010. GPM (Global Precipitation Mission) core satellite was launched on Feb. 2014. GPM is a joint project with NASA and carries two instruments. JAXA has developed DPR (Dual frequency Precipitation Radar) which is a follow on of PR on TRMM. ALOS F/O satellites are divided into two satellites, i.e. SAR and optical satellites. The first one of ALOS F/O is called ALOS 2 and carries L-band SAR. It was launched on May 2014. JAXA is planning to launch follow on of optical sensors. It is now called Advanced Optical Satellite and the planned launch date is fiscal 2019. Other future satellites are GCOM-C1 (ADEOS-2 follow on), GOSAT-2 and EarthCare. GCOM-C1 will be launched on 2017 and GOSAT-2 will be launched on fiscal 2018. Another project is EarthCare. It is a joint project with ESA and JAXA is going to provide CPR (Cloud Profiling Radar). EarthCare will be launched on 2019.

Telescience Testbed Program: A study of software for SIRTF instrument control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, Erick T.

1992-01-01

As a continued element in the Telescience Testbed Program (TTP), the University of Arizona Steward Observatory and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE) jointly developed a testbed to evaluate the Operations and Science Instrument System (OASIS) software package for remote control of an instrument for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). SIRTF is a cryogenically-cooled telescope with three focal plane instruments that will be the infrared element of NASA's Great Observatory series. The anticipated launch date for SIRTF is currently 2001. Because of the complexity of the SIRTF mission, it was not expected that the OASIS package would be suitable for instrument control in the flight situation, however, its possible use as a common interface during the early development and ground test phases of the project was considered. The OASIS package, developed at the University of Colorado for control of the Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME) satellite, serves as an interface between the operator and the remote instrument which is connected via a network. OASIS provides a rudimentary windowing system as well as support for standard spacecraft communications protocols. The experiment performed all of the functions required of the MIPS simulation program. Remote control of the instrument was demonstrated but found to be inappropriate for SIRTF at this time for the following reasons: (1) programming interface is too difficult; (2) significant computer resources were required to run OASIS; (3) the communications interface is too complicated; (4) response time was slow; and (5) quicklook of image data was not possible.

The NASA Thunderstorm Overflight Program (TOP): Research in atmospheric electricity from an instrumented U-2 aircraft platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaughan, O. H., Jr.

1983-01-01

An overview of the NASA Thunderstorm Overflight Program (TOP) is presented. The various instruments flown on the NASA U-2 aircraft, as well as the ground instrumentation used to collect optical and electronic signature from the lightning events, are discussed. Samples of some of the photographic and electronic signatures are presented. Approximately 6400 electronic data samples of optical pulses were collected and are being analyzed.

LBL's Pollution Instrumentation Comparability Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLaughlin, R. D.; And Others

1979-01-01

Contained are condensed excerpts from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Survey of Instrumentation for Environmental Monitoring. The survey describes instrumentation used to analyze air and water quality, radiation emissions, and biomedical impacts. (BB)

Hybrid Physical Vapor Deposition Instrument for Advanced Functional Multilayers and Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-27

Hybrid Physical Vapor Deposition Instrument for Advanced Functional Multilayers and Materials PI Maria received support to construct a physical... vapor deposition (PVD) system that combines electron beam (e- beam) evaporation, magnetron sputtering, pulsed laser ablation, and ion-assisted deposition ...peer-reviewed journals: Number of Papers published in non peer-reviewed journals: Final Report: Hybrid Physical Vapor Deposition Instrument for Advanced

Long open-path TDL based system for monitoring background concentration for deployment at Jungfraujoch High Altitude Research Station- Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simeonov, Valentin; van den Bergh, Hubert; Parlange, Marc

2010-05-01

A new, long open-path instrument for monitoring of path-averaged methane and water vapor concentrations will be presented. The instrument is built on the monostatic scheme (transceiver - distant retroreflector). A VCSEL tunable diode laser (TDL) with a central wavelength of 1654 nm is used as a light source. A specially designed, single-cell, hollow-cube retroreflector with 150 mm aperture will be installed at 1200 m from the transceiver in the final deployment at Jungfraujjoch and 100 mm retroreflectors will be used in the other applications. The receiver is built around a 20 cm Newtonian telescope. To avoid distortions in the shape of a methane line, caused by atmospheric turbulences, the line is scanned within 1 µs. Fast InGaAs photodiodes and 200 MHz are used to achieve this scanning rate. The expected concentration resolution for the above mentioned path lengths is of the order of 2 ppb. The instrument is developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - Lausanne (EPFL) Switzerland and will be used within the GAW+ CH program for long-term monitoring of background methane concentration in the Swiss Alps. After completing the initial tests at EPFL the instrument will be installed in 2012 at the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch (HARSJ) located at 3580 m ASL. The HARSJ is one of the 24 global GAW stations and carries on continuous observations of a number of trace gasses, including methane. One of the goals of the project is to compare path-averaged to ongoing point measurements of methane in order to identify possible influence of the station. Future deployments of a copy of the instrument include the Colombian part of Amazonia and Siberian wetlands.

Astronomical Instrumentation Systems Quality Management Planning: AISQMP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldbaum, Jesse

2017-06-01

The capability of small aperture astronomical instrumentation systems (AIS) to make meaningful scientific contributions has never been better. The purpose of AIS quality management planning (AISQMP) is to ensure the quality of these contributions such that they are both valid and reliable. The first step involved with AISQMP is to specify objective quality measures not just for the AIS final product, but also for the instrumentation used in its production. The next step is to set up a process to track these measures and control for any unwanted variation. The final step is continual effort applied to reducing variation and obtaining measured values near optimal theoretical performance. This paper provides an overview of AISQMP while focusing on objective quality measures applied to astronomical imaging systems.

Astronomical Instrumentation Systems Quality Management Planning: AISQMP (Abstract)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldbaum, J.

2017-12-01

(Abstract only) The capability of small aperture astronomical instrumentation systems (AIS) to make meaningful scientific contributions has never been better. The purpose of AIS quality management planning (AISQMP) is to ensure the quality of these contributions such that they are both valid and reliable. The first step involved with AISQMP is to specify objective quality measures not just for the AIS final product, but also for the instrumentation used in its production. The next step is to set up a process to track these measures and control for any unwanted variation. The final step is continual effort applied to reducing variation and obtaining measured values near optimal theoretical performance. This paper provides an overview of AISQMP while focusing on objective quality measures applied to astronomical imaging systems.

Benefits of an automated GLP final report preparation software solution.

PubMed

Elvebak, Larry E

2011-07-01

The final product of analytical laboratories performing US FDA-regulated (or GLP) method validation and bioanalysis studies is the final report. Although there are commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software/instrument systems available to laboratory managers to automate and manage almost every aspect of the instrumental and sample-handling processes of GLP studies, there are few software systems available to fully manage the GLP final report preparation process. This lack of appropriate COTS tools results in the implementation of rather Byzantine and manual processes to cobble together all the information needed to generate a GLP final report. The manual nature of these processes results in the need for several iterative quality control and quality assurance events to ensure data accuracy and report formatting. The industry is in need of a COTS solution that gives laboratory managers and study directors the ability to manage as many portions as possible of the GLP final report writing process and the ability to generate a GLP final report with the click of a button. This article describes the COTS software features needed to give laboratory managers and study directors such a solution.

Utilization of the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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

Selby, Douglas L; Bilheux, Hassina Z; Meilleur, Flora

2015-01-01

This paper addresses several aspects of the scientific utilization of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). Topics to be covered will include: 1) HFIR neutron scattering instruments and the formal instrument user program; 2) Recent upgrades to the neutron scattering instrument stations at the reactor, and 3) eMod a new tool for addressing instrument modifications and providing configuration control and design process for scientific instruments at HFIR and the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). There are 15 operating neutron instrument stations at HFIR with 12 of them organized into a formal user program. Since the last presentationmore » on HFIR instruments at IGORR we have installed a Single Crystal Quasi-Laue Diffractometer instrument called IMAGINE; and we have made significant upgrades to HFIR neutron scattering instruments including the Cold Triple Axis Instrument, the Wide Angle Neutron Diffractometer, the Powder Diffractometer, and the Neutron Imaging station. In addition, we have initiated upgrades to the Thermal Triple Axis Instrument and the Bio-SANS cold neutron instrument detector system. All of these upgrades are tied to a continuous effort to maintain a high level neutron scattering user program at the HFIR. For the purpose of tracking modifications such as those mentioned and configuration control we have been developing an electronic system for entering instrument modification requests that follows a modification or instrument project through concept development, design, fabrication, installation, and commissioning. This system, which we call eMod, electronically leads the task leader through a series of questions and checklists that then identifies such things as ES&H and radiological issues and then automatically designates specific individuals for the activity review process. The system has been in use for less than a year and we are still working out some of the inefficiencies, but we believe that this will become a very effective tool for achieving the configuration and process control believed to be necessary for scientific instrument systems.« less

Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: creation of an electronic version of a patient-reported outcome instrument by conversion from a pen-and-paper version and evaluation of their equivalence.

PubMed

Delgado-Herrera, Leticia; Banderas, Benjamin; Ojo, Oluwafunke; Kothari, Ritesh; Zeiher, Bernhardt

2017-01-01

Subjects with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) experience abdominal cramping, bloating, pressure, and pain. Due to an absence of clinical biomarkers for IBS-D severity, evaluation of clinical therapy benefits depends on valid and reliable symptom assessments. A patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument has been developed, comprising of two questionnaires - the IBS-D Daily Symptom Diary and IBS-D Symptom Event Log - suitable for clinical trials and real-world settings. This program aimed to support instrument conversion from pen-and-paper to electronic format. Digital technology (Android/iOS) and a traditional mode of administration study in the target population were used to migrate or convert the validated PRO IBS-D pen-and-paper measure to an electronic format. Equivalence interviews, conducted in three waves, each had three parts: 1) conceptual equivalence testing between formats, 2) electronic-version report-history cognitive debriefing, and 3) electronic version usability evaluation. After each inter-view wave, preliminary analyses were conducted and modifications made to the electronic version, before the next wave. Final revisions were based on a full analysis of equivalence interviews. The final analysis evaluated subjects' ability to read, understand, and provide meaningful responses to the instruments across both formats. Responses were classified according to conceptual equivalence between formats and mobile-format usability assessed with a questionnaire and open-ended probes. Equivalence interviews (n=25) demonstrated conceptual equivalence between formats. Mobile-application cognitive debriefing showed some subjects experienced difficulty with font/screen visibility and understanding or reading some report-history charts and summary screens. To address difficulties, minor revisions/modifications were made and landscape orientation and zoom-in/zoom-out features incorporated. This study indicates that the two administration modes are conceptually equivalent. Since both formats are conceptually equivalent, both are psychometrically reliable, as established in the pen-and-paper version. Subjects found both mobile applications (Android/iOS) offered many advantages over the paper version, such as real-time assessment of their experience.

Television camera as a scientific instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smokler, M. I.

1970-01-01

Rigorous calibration program, coupled with a sophisticated data-processing program that introduced compensation for system response to correct photometry, geometric linearity, and resolution, converted a television camera to a quantitative measuring instrument. The output data are in the forms of both numeric printout records and photographs.

AstroBioLab: A Mobile Biotic and Soil Analysis Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bada, J. L.; Zent, A. P.; Grunthaner, F. J.; Quinn, R. C.; Navarro-Gonzalex, R.; Gonez-Silva, B.; McKay, C. P.

2003-01-01

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and NASA Ames Research Center are currently developing a mobile Astrobiology Laboratory (AstroBioLab) for a series of field campaigns using the Chilean Atacama Desert as a Martian surface analog site. The Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) program funded AstroBioLab is designed around the Mars Organic Detector (MOD) instrument and the Mars Oxidant Instrument (MOI) which provide complementary data sets. Using this suite of Mars Instrument Development Program (MIDP) and Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP) derived in situ instruments, which provide state-of-the-art organic compound detection (attomolar sensitivity) and depth profiling of oxidation chemistry, we measure and correlate the interplay of organic compounds, inorganic oxidants, UV irradiation and water abundance. This mobile laboratory studies the proposition that intense UV irradiation coupled with low levels of liquid water generates metastable oxidizing species that can consume moderate amounts of seeded organic compounds. Results from the initial spring 2003 field campaign will be presented.

Design and performance test of NIRS-based spinal cord lesion detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Nanxi; Li, Ting

2018-02-01

Spinal cord lesions can cause a series of severe complications, which can even lead to paralysis with high mortality. However, the traditional diagnosis of spinal cord lesion relies on complicated imaging modalities and other invasive and dangerous methods. Here, we have designed a small monitor based on NIRS technology for noninvasive monitoring for spinal cord lesions. The development of the instrument system includes the design of hardware circuits and the program of software. In terms of hardware, OPT1011 is selected as the light detector, and the appropriate probe distribution structure is selected according to the simulation result of Monte Carlo Simulation. At the same time, the powerful controller is selected as our system's central processing chip for the circuit design, and the data is transmitted by serial port to the host computer for post processing. Finally, we verify the stability and feasibility of the instrument system. It is found that the spinal signal could be obviously detected in the system, which indicates that our monitor based on NIRS technology has the potential to monitor the spinal lesion.

Using the brief observation of social communication change (BOSCC) to measure autism-specific development.

PubMed

Kitzerow, Janina; Teufel, Karoline; Wilker, Christian; Freitag, Christine M

2016-09-01

To date no reliable and objective, change sensitive instrument for autistic symptoms is available. The brief observation of social communication change (BOSCC) was specifically developed to measure change of core autistic symptoms, for example, for use as outcome measure in early intervention trials. This study investigated quality criteria of a preliminary research version of the BOSCC in N = 21 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who had participated for 1 year in the Frankfurt early intervention program (FFIP). BOSCC rating was done on play based ADOS video scenes. Inter-rater agreement on the BOSCC average total was very high. The BOSCC showed a significant decrease of autistic symptoms after 1 year with a medium effect size. Symptom specific improvements were captured by the social communication subscale and most single items. The BOSCC showed comparable change sensitivity to other autism specific instruments. Future studies should focus on the finalized BOSCC version, and replicate findings in a larger sample. Autism Res 2016, 9: 940-950. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Case Study of an Instrumental Music Program and Its Influence on the Culture of a School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Womack, Anthony Terence

2017-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to examine how participation in a school-based instrumental music program contributed to the culture of a suburban high school. The questions guiding the research were: (1) How and why are multiple music programs supported by staff, students, parents and the community at this school? (2) What are the benefits of…

Evaluacion de que consister y por que se lleva acabo? (Evaluation: What Does it Consist of, and for What Purpose?).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

A guide is presented for the evaluation of the bilingual programs in the Austin, Texas, Independent School District. The reasons for an evaluation and a definition of program objectives and evaluation instruments are given. The program components, objectives and evaluation instruments for each grade level (K-4) are listed. The components involved…

12 CFR 1805.400 - Investment instruments-general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Investment instruments-general. 1805.400... TREASURY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM Investment Instruments § 1805.400 Investment... investment instruments described in § 1805.401, and under such terms and conditions as described in this...

Progress along the E-ELT instrumentation roadmap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramsay, Suzanne; Casali, Mark; Cirasuolo, Michele; Egner, Sebastian; Gray, Peter; Gonzáles Herrera, Juan Carlos; Hammersley, Peter; Haupt, Christoph; Ives, Derek; Jochum, Lieselotte; Kasper, Markus; Kerber, Florian; Lewis, Steffan; Mainieri, Vincenzo; Manescau, Antonio; Marchetti, Enrico; Oberti, Sylvain; Padovani, Paolo; Schmid, Christian; Schimpelsberger, Johannes; Siebenmorgen, Ralf; Szecsenyi, Orsolya; Tamai, Roberto; Vernet, Joël.

2016-08-01

A suite of seven instruments and associated AO systems have been planned as the "E-ELT Instrumentation Roadmap". Following the E-ELT project approval in December 2014, rapid progress has been made in organising and signing the agreements for construction with European universities and institutes. Three instruments (HARMONI, MICADO and METIS) and one MCAO module (MAORY) have now been approved for construction. In addition, Phase-A studies have begun for the next two instruments - a multi-object spectrograph and high-resolution spectrograph. Technology development is also ongoing in preparation for the final instrument in the roadmap, the planetary camera and spectrograph. We present a summary of the status and capabilities of this first set of instruments for the E-ELT.

Planning Instruments for School Library/Media Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liesener, James W.

Four instruments to be used in developing school library and media programs are included in this package. Two questionnaires, addressed to students, teachers, administrators, and library staff, inventory current services and determine service priorities. Seventeen charts for data collection and a 20-page costing matrix are provided. Instructions…

Instrument Development for Examining Student Attrition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McRoberts, Timothy J.; Miller, Tess

2015-01-01

Instruments designed to track student changes in higher education are essential for monitoring program development in competitive higher education markets. As part of a developmental evaluation, a student questionnaire was developed and piloted to examine attrition rates in college programs. The purpose of the questionnaire was to explore factors…

Policy Instruments Used by States Seeking to Improve School Food Environments

PubMed Central

Shroff, Monal R.; Frongillo, Edward A.; Howlett, Michael

2012-01-01

US legislatures and program administrators have sought to control the sale of foods offered outside of federally funded meal programs in schools, but little is known about which policies, if any, will prevent obesity in children. We used a theoretical policy science typology to understand the types of policy instruments used by US state governments from 2001 to 2006. We coded 126 enacted bills and observed several types of instruments prescribed by state legislatures to influence the foods sold in schools and improve the school food environment. Our study helps to better understand the various instruments used by policymakers and sets the stage to examine the effectiveness of the policy instruments used to prevent obesity. PMID:22390436

A program and data base for evaluating SMMR algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

A program (PARAM) is described which enables a user to compare the values of meteorological parameters derived from data obtained by the scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) instrument on NIMBUS 7 with surface observations made over the ocean. The input to this program is a data base, also described, which contains the surface observations and coincident SMMR data. The evaluation of meteorological parameters using SMMR data is done by a user supplied subroutine. Instruments are given for executing the program and writing the subroutine.

12 CFR 1805.401 - Forms of investment instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Forms of investment instruments. 1805.401... TREASURY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM Investment Instruments § 1805.401 Forms of investment instruments. (a) Equity. The Fund may make nonvoting equity investments in an Awardee, including...

The Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Projects at the University of Houston

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bering, E. A., III; Talbot, R. W.; Glennie, C. L.; Rodrigues, D.; Jinghong, C.; Alozie, M.; Behrend, C. C.; Bias, C.; Ehteshami, A.; Fenton, A.; Greer, M.; Gunawan, B.; Harrison, W.; Jordan, J.; Lalata, M. C.; Lehnen, J. N.; Martinez, A.; Mathur, S.; Medillin, M.; Nguyen, T.; Nguyen, T. V.; Nowling, M.; Perez, D.; Pham, M.; Pina, M.; Porat, I.; Prince, J.; Thomas, G. C.; Velasquez, B.; Victor, L.

2016-12-01

The Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project (USIP) is a NASA program to engage undergraduate students in rigorous scientific research, for the purposes of innovation and developing the next generation of professionals for an array of fields. The program is student led and executed from initial ideation to research to the design and deployment of scientific payloads. The University of Houston has been selected twice to participate in the USIP programs. The first program (USIP_UH I) ran from 2013 to 2016. USIP_UH II started in January of this year, with funding starting at the end of May. USIP_UH I (USIP_UH II) at the University of Houston was (is) composed of eight (seven) research teams developing six (seven), distinct, balloon-based scientific instruments. These instruments will contribute to a broad range of geophysical sciences from Very Low Frequency recording and Total Electron Content to exobiology and ozone profiling. USIP_UH I had 12 successful launches with 9 recoveries from Fairbanks, AK in March 2015 and 4 piggyback flights with BARREL 3 from Esrange, Kiruna, Sweden in August, 2015. Additional flights with BARREL 4 will take place in August 2016. The great opportunity of this program is capitalizing on the proliferation of electronics miniaturization to create new generations of scientific instruments that are smaller and lighter than ever before. This situation allows experiments to be done more cheaply which ultimately allows many more experiments to be done.

78 FR 29117 - After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-17

...] After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce... Final Consideration Pilot Program (AFCP) to create the After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (AFCP... without modifications) depending on feedback from the participants and the effectiveness of the pilot...

Development and Validation of a Two-Tier Instrument to Examine Understanding of Internal Transport in Plants and the Human Circulatory System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Jing-Ru

2004-01-01

This study is intended to develop an assessment instrument to investigate students' understandings about internal transport in plants and human circulatory system. A refined process of a two-tier diagnostic test was used to develop the instrument. Finally, three versions of the Internal Transport in Plants and the Human Circulatory System test…

Developing a Validated Instrument to Measure Preservice Teachers' ICT Competencies: Meeting the Demands of the 21st Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tondeur, Jo; Aesaert, Koen; Pynoo, Bram; van Braak, Johan; Fraeyman, Norbert; Erstad, Ola

2017-01-01

The main objective of this study is to develop a self-report instrument to measure preservice teachers' ICT competencies in education. The questionnaire items of this instrument are based on an existing comprehensive framework and were created with input from experts in the field. The data were collected from a sample of 931 final-year preservice…

Identifying the Barriers to Using Games and Simulations in Education: Creating a Valid and Reliable Survey Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Justice, Lenora Jean

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to create a valid and reliable instrument to measure teacher perceived barriers to the adoption of games and simulations in instruction. Previous research, interviews with educators, a focus group, an expert review, and a think aloud protocol were used to design a survey instrument. After finalization, the survey was…

The development of a survey instrument for community health improvement.

PubMed Central

Bazos, D A; Weeks, W B; Fisher, E S; DeBlois, H A; Hamilton, E; Young, M J

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To develop a survey instrument that could be used both to guide and evaluate community health improvement efforts. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: A randomized telephone survey was administered to a sample of about 250 residents in two communities in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania in the fall of 1997. METHODS: The survey instrument was developed by health professionals representing diverse health care organizations. This group worked collaboratively over a period of two years to (1) select a conceptual model of health as a foundation for the survey; (2) review relevant literature to identify indicators that adequately measured the health constructs within the chosen model; (3) develop new indicators where important constructs lacked specific measures; and (4) pilot test the final survey to assess the reliability and validity of the instrument. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The Evans and Stoddart Field Model of the Determinants of Health and Well-Being was chosen as the conceptual model within which to develop the survey. The Field Model depicts nine domains important to the origins and production of health and provides a comprehensive framework from which to launch community health improvement efforts. From more than 500 potential indicators we identified 118 survey questions that reflected the multiple determinants of health as conceptualized by this model. Sources from which indicators were selected include the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, the National Health Interview Survey, the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey, and the SF-12 Summary Scales. The work group developed 27 new survey questions for constructs for which we could not locate adequate indicators. Twenty-five questions in the final instrument can be compared to nationally published norms or benchmarks. The final instrument was pilot tested in 1997 in two communities. Administration time averaged 22 minutes with a response rate of 66 percent. Reliability of new survey questions was adequate. Face validity was supported by previous findings from qualitative and quantitative studies. CONCLUSIONS: We developed, pilot tested, and validated a survey instrument designed to provide more comprehensive and timely data to communities for community health assessments. This instrument allows communities to identify and measure critical domains of health that have previously not been captured in a single instrument. PMID:11508639

The standard calibration instrument automation system for the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Part 3: Program documentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, D. P.; Roth, G. S.

1982-04-01

Complete documentation of the 15 programs and 11 data files of the EPA Atomic Absorption Instrument Automation System is presented. The system incorporates the following major features: (1) multipoint calibration using first, second, or third degree regression or linear interpolation, (2) timely quality control assessments for spiked samples, duplicates, laboratory control standards, reagent blanks, and instrument check standards, (3) reagent blank subtraction, and (4) plotting of calibration curves and raw data peaks. The programs of this system are written in Data General Extended BASIC, Revision 4.3, as enhanced for multi-user, real-time data acquisition. They run in a Data General Nova 840 minicomputer under the operating system RDOS, Revision 6.2. There is a functional description, a symbol definitions table, a functional flowchart, a program listing, and a symbol cross reference table for each program. The structure of every data file is also detailed.

Evaluation of Q-band instrumentation requirements for Strategic Satellite System (SSS) program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raponi, D. J.

1981-12-01

Q-band instrumentation appropriate for testing the Strategic Satellite System (SSS) satellite terminal is evaluated in terms of current and projected availability; desired and practical measurement capabilities; required development; and schedule/cost impacts to the program. The Air Force is considering several approaches to increasing the strategic communications capability now provided by the recently deployed ultra high frequency (UHF) Air Force Satellite Communications (AFSATCOM) system. The Strategic Satellite System (SSS) was proposed to improve antijam (AJ) characteristics through the use of advanced modulation techniques and higher frequencies (8 and 44 GHz) on links between ground and airborne terminals and the satellites. This report is an assessment of Q-band (44 GHz) test instrumentation requirements, availability, and accuracy as these factors affect cost and schedule for the SSS satellite terminal development program. Though the SSS program has been cancelled, information presented in the report has applicability to the EHF MILSTAR program.

Evaluation of the impact of a diabetes education curriculum for school personnel on disease knowledge and confidence in caring for students.

PubMed

Smith, Cory T; Chen, Aleda M H; Plake, Kimberly S; Nash, Christiane L

2012-10-01

School personnel may lack knowledge of diabetes and be unprepared to address the needs of students with type 1 diabetes. This project evaluated the effectiveness of a type 1 diabetes education program for school personnel on increasing knowledge of diabetes and confidence in caring for students with diabetes. Two types of diabetes education programs were created for school personnel. The basic program provided a 60-minute overview of diabetes. The expanded program, intended for volunteer health aides, provided participants with a more in-depth overview of diabetes during a 180-minute session, including demonstrations of how to assist students with insulin injections. Instruments were created to assess changes in diabetes-related knowledge and confidence in caring for students. Separate knowledge instruments were created for the basic and expanded programs. Knowledge instruments were administered before and after delivery of the education programs to both groups. Confidence instruments were administered before and after for persons completing the expanded program. A total of 81 school personnel participated in the basic (N = 44) or expanded programs (N = 37). Overall knowledge regarding diabetes significantly increased in both the basic and expanded programs from baseline (p < .001). Confidence in caring for students with diabetes also increased from pretest to posttest, both for overall confidence and each individual item (p < .001). Educational programs offered for school personnel can lead to increased knowledge and increased confidence in caring for students with diabetes, which may assist school personnel in addressing the needs of students with diabetes. © 2012, American School Health Association.

Multi-Vendor Loyalty Programs: Influencing Customer Behavioral Loyalty?

PubMed

Villacé-Molinero, Teresa; Reinares-Lara, Pedro; Reinares-Lara, Eva

2016-01-01

Loyalty programs are a consolidated marketing instrument whose adoption in many sectors has not been associated with appropriate comprehension of either their management elements or their effects. The purpose of this research is to contribute to knowledge about the effect of loyalty programs on repeat purchase behavior. More specifically, it seeks to discover whether joining a program changes the buying behavior of its members, and, if so, to study the profile of those whose behavior changes most. The intention was also to provide new study variables pertaining to multi-vendor loyalty programs, such as where they are joined or purchases in associated outlets as a result of behavioral loyalty. Research was carried out using a sample of 1200 individuals (31,746 purchases) belonging to a multi-vendor loyalty program. The study period was 13 years, 4 months, and split into two phases: before and after the joining the program. Different methodological approaches, such as the use of transactional databases that included pre-program-enrollment data and of the same sampling units throughout the study, were incorporated into the research with the aim of advancing academic knowledge regarding multi-vendor loyalty programs. Moreover, a type of program and market hardly dealt with in the relevant literature was analyzed. The results showed while the loyalty program had managed to reduce the time between purchases, it had not affected purchase volume or average expenditure. They also demonstrated the existence of a differential profile of customers who had changed their buying behavior to a greater extent. Finally, recency was identified as being the decisive variable in behavioral change.

Multi-Vendor Loyalty Programs: Influencing Customer Behavioral Loyalty?

PubMed Central

Villacé-Molinero, Teresa; Reinares-Lara, Pedro; Reinares-Lara, Eva

2016-01-01

Loyalty programs are a consolidated marketing instrument whose adoption in many sectors has not been associated with appropriate comprehension of either their management elements or their effects. The purpose of this research is to contribute to knowledge about the effect of loyalty programs on repeat purchase behavior. More specifically, it seeks to discover whether joining a program changes the buying behavior of its members, and, if so, to study the profile of those whose behavior changes most. The intention was also to provide new study variables pertaining to multi-vendor loyalty programs, such as where they are joined or purchases in associated outlets as a result of behavioral loyalty. Research was carried out using a sample of 1200 individuals (31,746 purchases) belonging to a multi-vendor loyalty program. The study period was 13 years, 4 months, and split into two phases: before and after the joining the program. Different methodological approaches, such as the use of transactional databases that included pre-program-enrollment data and of the same sampling units throughout the study, were incorporated into the research with the aim of advancing academic knowledge regarding multi-vendor loyalty programs. Moreover, a type of program and market hardly dealt with in the relevant literature was analyzed. The results showed while the loyalty program had managed to reduce the time between purchases, it had not affected purchase volume or average expenditure. They also demonstrated the existence of a differential profile of customers who had changed their buying behavior to a greater extent. Finally, recency was identified as being the decisive variable in behavioral change. PMID:26941677

NASA's Space Environments and Effects (SEE) Program: The Pursuit of Tomorrow's Space Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearson, Steven D.; Hardage, Donna M.

1998-01-01

A hazard to all spacecraft orbiting the earth and exploring the unknown in deep space is the existence of a harsh and ever changing environment with its subsequent effects. Some of these environmental hazards, such as plasma, extreme thermal excursions, meteoroids, and ionizing radiation result from natural sources, whereas others, such as orbital debris and neutral contamination are induced by the presence of spacecraft themselves. The subsequent effects can provide damaging or even disabling effects on spacecraft, its materials, and its instruments. In partnership with industry, academia, and other government agencies, National Aeronautics & Space Administration's (NASA's) Space Environments & Effects (SEE) Program defines the space environments and advocates technology development to accommodate or mitigate these harmful environments on the spacecraft. This program provides a very comprehensive and focused approach to understanding the space environment, to define the best techniques for both flight and ground-based experimentation, to update the models which predict both the environments and the environmental effects on spacecraft, and finally to ensure that this information is properly maintained and inserted into spacecraft design programs. This paper will provide an overview of the Program's purpose, goals, database management and technical activities. In particular, the SEE Program has been very active in developing improved ionizing radiation models and developing related flight experiments which should aid in determining the effect of the radiation environment on modern electronics.

Seasonal instrumentation of SHRP pavements, the Ohio State University : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-09-01

Environmental instruments to measure temperature, soil moisture and frost depth were installed at five test sections of the SHRP pavement project on U.S. 23 north of Delaware, Ohio. At three of these locations tensiometers, which a designed to measur...

A Survey of Florida High School Instrumental Music Programs: Rationale for the Inclusion of Jazz Ensemble Experience in Music Teacher Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinkle, Jonathan R.

2011-01-01

During the past 60 years, jazz music has slowly become recognized as a genre worthy of study in high school music programs throughout the United States. Only a few researchers have analyzed large samples of jazz-related instruction in instrumental music programs, and of these studies no data were collected to investigate the inclusion of jazz in…

MISOE [Management Information System for Occupational Education] Impact Battery.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conroy, William G., Jr.

The impact battery consists of two instruments used to obtain impact data (descriptions of the experiences of program completors during post-program life) for the Sample Data Systems of the Management Information System for Occupational Education (MISOE). The first, Massachusetts Educational Impact Instrument (MEII), is an 11-page extensive…

DEPENDENCE OF NITRIC OXIDE EMISSIONS ON VEHICLE LOAD: RESULTS FROM THE GTRP INSTRUMENTED VEHICLE PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

The presentation discussed the dependence of nitric oxide (NO) emissions on vehicle load, bases on results from an instrumented-vehicle program. The accuracy and feasibility of modal emissions models depend on algorithms to allocate vehicle emissions based on a vehicle operation...

Development of an instrumentation plan for the Ohio SPS test pavement (DEL-23-17.48) : executive summary, July 1994.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-07-01

A Specific Pavement Studies (SPS) program, formulated under the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), consists of nine experiments, four of which will be included in this DEL-23 project. Since the basic instrumentation plan proposed by SHRP was ...

The Development of Two Self-Assessment Work Value Instruments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyle, John R.

In response to input from the employment and training community, the Department of Labor's Assessment and Research Development Program (ARDP) and its state partners have developed two self-assessment work value instruments to be incorporated into career exploration and counseling programs. Computerized multiple rank-order and paper-and-pencil…

Teacher Evaluations in Leisure Studies Programs: An Old Issue with a New Slant.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butts, Frank B.; Swearingen, Tommy

1994-01-01

This paper examines teacher evaluation practices in leisure studies programs, noting the perceived effectiveness of rating instruments. Surveys of leisure studies professors nationwide indicated many institutions used evaluation instruments and processes that were not statistically validated; key decisions were often made on the basis of these…

The Development and Validation of the Inquiry Science Observation Coding Sheet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brandon, P. R.; Taum, A. K. H.; Young, D. B.; Pottenger, F. M., III

2008-01-01

Evaluation reports increasingly document the degree of program implementation, particularly the extent to which programs adhere to prescribed steps and procedures. Many reports are cursory, however, and few, if any, fully portray the long and winding path taken when developing evaluation instruments, particularly observation instruments. In this…

Instrumentation, performance visualization, and debugging tools for multiprocessors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yan, Jerry C.; Fineman, Charles E.; Hontalas, Philip J.

1991-01-01

The need for computing power has forced a migration from serial computation on a single processor to parallel processing on multiprocessor architectures. However, without effective means to monitor (and visualize) program execution, debugging, and tuning parallel programs becomes intractably difficult as program complexity increases with the number of processors. Research on performance evaluation tools for multiprocessors is being carried out at ARC. Besides investigating new techniques for instrumenting, monitoring, and presenting the state of parallel program execution in a coherent and user-friendly manner, prototypes of software tools are being incorporated into the run-time environments of various hardware testbeds to evaluate their impact on user productivity. Our current tool set, the Ames Instrumentation Systems (AIMS), incorporates features from various software systems developed in academia and industry. The execution of FORTRAN programs on the Intel iPSC/860 can be automatically instrumented and monitored. Performance data collected in this manner can be displayed graphically on workstations supporting X-Windows. We have successfully compared various parallel algorithms for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applications in collaboration with scientists from the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Systems Division. By performing these comparisons, we show that performance monitors and debuggers such as AIMS are practical and can illuminate the complex dynamics that occur within parallel programs.

Gender and Instrument Associations, Stereotypes, and Stratification: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wych, Gina M. F.

2012-01-01

This literature review examines and synthesizes 30 years of research into the relationship between gender and musical instruments. Specifically, the review focuses on how this relationship affects instrument selection by grade school students entering a school music program. Topics include the gender typing of musical instruments, instrument…

Optimization of Equation of State and Burn Model Parameters for Explosives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergh, Magnus; Wedberg, Rasmus; Lundgren, Jonas

2017-06-01

A reactive burn model implemented in a multi-dimensional hydrocode can be a powerful tool for predicting non-ideal effects as well as initiation phenomena in explosives. Calibration against experiment is, however, critical and non-trivial. Here, a procedure is presented for calibrating the Ignition and Growth Model utilizing hydrocode simulation in conjunction with the optimization program LS-OPT. The model is applied to the explosive PBXN-109. First, a cylinder expansion test is presented together with a new automatic routine for product equation of state calibration. Secondly, rate stick tests and instrumented gap tests are presented. Data from these experiments are used to calibrate burn model parameters. Finally, we discuss the applicability and development of this optimization routine.

High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) imager. Final report, 29 August 1991-29 August 1993

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

Lance, C.; Eather, R.

1993-09-30

A low-light-level monochromatic imaging system was designed and fabricated which was optimized to detect and record optical emissions associated with high-power rf heating of the ionosphere. The instrument is capable of detecting very low intensities, of the order of 1 Rayleigh, from typical ionospheric atomic and molecular emissions. This is achieved through co-adding of ON images during heater pulses and subtraction of OFF (background) images between pulses. Images can be displayed and analyzed in real time and stored in optical disc for later analysis. Full image processing software is provided which was customized for this application and uses menu ormore » mouse user interaction.« less

Subaru SEEDS Survey of Exoplanets and Disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McElwain, Michael W.; SEEDS Collaboration

2012-01-01

The Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks at Subaru (SEEDS) is the first strategic observing program (SSOPs) awarded by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). SEEDS targets a broad sample of stars that span a wide range of masses and ages to explore the formation and evolution of planetary systems. This survey has been awarded 120 nights over five years time to observe nearly 500 stars. Currently in the second year, SEEDS has already uncovered exciting new results for the protoplanetary disk AB Aur, transitional disk LkCa15, and nearby companion to GJ 758. We present the survey architecture, performance, recent results, and the projected sample. Finally, we will discuss planned upgrades to the high contrast instrumentation at the Subaru Telescope.

Signposts of Planets Observed by SEEDS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McElwain, Michael

2011-01-01

The Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks at Subaru (SEEDS) is the first strategic observing program (SSOPs) awarded by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). SEEDS targets a broad sample of stars that span a wide range of masses and ages to explore the formation and evolution of planetary systems. This survey has been awarded 120 nights over five years time to observe nearly 500 stars. Currently in the second year, SEEDS has already produced exciting new results for the protoplanetary disk AB AUf, transitional disk LkCa15, and nearby companion to GJ 758. We present the survey architecture, performance, recent results, and the projected sample. Finally, we will discuss planned upgrades to the high contrast instrumentation at the Subaru

Subaru SEEDS Survey of Exoplanets and Disks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McElwain, Michael W.

2012-01-01

The Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks at Subaru (SEEDS) is the first strategic observing program (SSOPs) awarded by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). SEEDS targets a broad sample of stars that span a wide range of masses and ages to explore the formation and evolution of planetary systems. This survey has been awarded 120 nights over five years time to observe nearly 500 stars. Currently in the second year, SEEDS has already produced exciting new results for the protoplanetary disk AB Aur, transitional disk LkCa15, and nearby companion to GJ 758. We present the survey architecture, performance, recent results, and the projected sample. Finally, we will discuss planned upgrades to the high contrast instrumentation at the Subaru Telescope

Full-scale Transport Controlled Impact Demonstration Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA conducted a full-scale air-to-surface impact-survivable impact demonstration with a remotely piloted transport aircraft on 1 December 1984, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The test article consisted of experiments, special equipment, and supporting systems, such as antimisting kerosene (AMK), crashworthiness structural/restraint, analytical modeling, cabin fire safety, flight data recorders, post-impact investigation, instrumentation/data acquisition systems, remotely piloted vehicle/flight control systems, range and flight safety provisions, etc. This report describes the aircraft, experiments, systems, activities, and events which lead up to the Controlled Impact Demonstration (CID). An overview of the final unmanned remote control flight and sequence of impact events are delineated. Preliminary post CID observations are presented.

Monitoring of electric-cardio signals based on DSP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Yi-xin; Sun, Hui-nan; Lv, Shuang

2008-10-01

Monitoring of electric-cardio signals is the most direct method of discovering heart diseases. This article presents an electric-cardio signal acquisition and processing system based on DSP. According to the features of electric-cardio signals, the proposed system uses the AgCl electrode as electric-cardio signals sensor, and acquires analog signals with AD620 as the prepositional amplifier, and the digital system equipped is with TMS320LF2407A DSP. The design of digital filter and the analysis of heart rate variation are realized by programming in the DSP. Finally the ECG is obtained with P and T waves along with obvious QRS multi-wave characteristics. The system has low power dissipation, low cost and high precision, which meets the requirements for medical instruments.

KSC-04pd1617

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-31

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Spectrum Astro workers remove the final pieces of protective cover on the Swift spacecraft. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray and optical wavebands. Swift is part of NASA’s medium explorer (MIDEX) program being developed by an international collaboration. During its nominal 2-year mission, Swift is expected to observe more than 200 bursts, which will represent the most comprehensive study of GRB afterglow to date. It is scheduled for launch into a low-Earth orbit on a Delta 7320 rocket on Oct. 7.

KSC-04pd1618

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-07-31

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - - In Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Swift spacecraft waits for final removal of the protective cover (at top). Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray and optical wavebands. Swift is part of NASA’s medium explorer (MIDEX) program being developed by an international collaboration. During its nominal 2-year mission, Swift is expected to observe more than 200 bursts, which will represent the most comprehensive study of GRB afterglow to date. It is scheduled for launch into a low-Earth orbit on a Delta 7320 rocket on Oct. 7.

Earth Remote Sensing: What is it Really? What to do with it?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meeson, Blanche W.

1998-01-01

NASA!s Earth Sciences Program supports a wide range of endeavors in basic Earth system scientific research, technology development to support that research, development of materials and training for educators and students based on that research and information, and increasingly practical applications. A brief overview of the scope of this scientific research and the key features of the necessary remote sensing instrumentation will be given. I will also describe available educational materials and training courses for a wide range of grade levels. Information will be provided on how to obtain educational materials or to participate in a training course. Finally, a few examples will be given to illustrate how Earth remote sensing effects our daily life.

Design definition of the Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder (LAWS), phase 2. Volume 2: Final report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, D. J.

1992-01-01

Lockheed personnel, along with team member subcontractors and consultants, have performed a preliminary design for the LAWS Instrument. Breadboarding and testing of a LAWS class laser have also been performed. These efforts have demonstrated that LAWS is a feasible Instrument and can be developed with existing state-of-the-art technology. Only a commitment to fund the instrument development and deployment is required to place LAWS in orbit and obtain the anticipated science and operational forecasting benefits. The LAWS Science Team was selected in 1988-89 as were the competing LAWS phase 1/2 contractor teams. The LAWS Science Team developed requirements for the LAWS Instrument, and the NASA/LAWS project office defined launch vehicle and platform design constraints. From these requirements and constraints, the lockheed team developed LAWS Instrument concepts and configurations. A system designed to meet these requirements and constraints is outlined. The LAWS primary subsystem and interfaces - laser, optical, and receiver/processor - required to assemble a lidar are identified. Also identified are the support subsystems required for the lidar to function from space: structures and mechanical, thermal, electrical, and command and data management. The Lockheed team has developed a preliminary design of a LAWS Instrument System consisting of these subsystems and interfaces which will meet the requirements and objectives of the Science Team. This final report provides a summary of the systems engineering analyses and trades of the LAWS. Summaries of the configuration, preliminary designs of the subsystems, testing recommendations, and performance analysis are presented. Environmental considerations associated with deployment of LAWS are discussed. Finally, the successful LAWS laser breadboard effort is discussed along with the requirements and test results.

Iranian Effective Clinical Nurse Instructor evaluation tool: Development and psychometric testing

PubMed Central

Shahsavari, Hooman; Yekta, Zohreh Parsa; Zare, Zahra; Sigaroodi, Abdolhossain Emami

2014-01-01

Background: Clinical education is the heart of the nursing education program. Effective nursing clinical instructors are needed for graduating the future qualified nurses. There is a well-developed body of knowledge about the effectiveness of clinical teaching and the instructors. However, translating this knowledge into a context-based evaluation tool for measuring the effectiveness of Iranian clinical nursing instructors remains a deficiency. The purpose of this study is to describe the development and psychometric testing process of an instrument to evaluate the characteristics of Iranian effective clinical nurse instructor. Materials and Methods: Following a precise review of Iranian literatures and expert consultation, 83 statements about the characteristics that make clinical nurse instructors effective were extracted. In the next phase, the psychometric properties of the instrument were established by looking at the content validity, face validity, and internal consistency. Content validity of the instrument was assessed based on the comments of an expert panel including 10 nursing faculty members. During this phase, 30 items of the instrument were omitted or merged. Face validity of the instrument was assured based on the advices of 10 nursing students and 10 nursing faculty members. Finally, in the pilot test, the data of 168 filled questionnaires were gathered and analyzed by an exploratory factor analysis to reduce the items and identify the factor structure of the instrument. Results: Through subsequent analyses, of the 83 items, 31 items were merged or omitted. At last, 52 retained items were divided into four subscales including student-centric behaviors, clinical performances, planning ability, and personality traits. The Cronbach's alpha level of the inventory was 0.96, with the value for each domain ranging from 0.87 to 0.94. Conclusions: Iranian Effective Clinical Nurse Instructor evaluation tool has acceptable psychometric properties and can be used in evaluating the effectiveness of clinical nursing instructors. PMID:24834081

Studies of the mass spectrometer of the PALOMA instrument dedicated to Mars atmosphere analysis from a landed platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goulpeau, G.; Berthelier, J.-J.; Covinhes, J.; Chassefière, E.; Jambon, A.; Agrinier, P.; Sarda, Ph.

2003-04-01

An instrument to analyze the molecular, elemental and isotopic composition of Mars atmosphere from a landed platform is being developed under CNES funding. This instrument, called PALOMA (PAyload for Local Observation of Mars Atmosphere), will be proposed in response to the AO for the instrumentation of the NASA Mars Smart Lander mission, planned to be launched in 2009. It might be part as well of the EXOMARS mission presently studied at ESA in the frame of the Aurora program. Noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Xr, Xe), stable isotopes (C, H, O, N) and trace constituents of astrobiological interest, like CH4, H2CO, N2O, H2S, will be analyzed by using a system of gas purification and separation, coupled with a mass spectrometer. Isotopic ratios have to be measured with an accuracy of about 1‰, or better, in order to provide a clear diagnostic of possible life signatures, to allow a detailed comparison of Earth and Mars atmospheric fractionation patterns, finally to accurately disentangle escape, climatic, geochemical and hypothesized biological effects. In order to reach these high sensitivity levels, two spectrometers of complitely different conceptions have been developed. The first one is constituted of conscutive electrostatic and magnetic sectors. It’s an application of E. G. Johnson and A. O. Nier’s previous work in that domain. Theirs parameters have been calculated in a way both angular and energetic optical aberrations from the two fields compensate each other to the second order. Simulated flights of ions in the resulting electromagnetic optic forshadow the effectiveness of the instrument. The second spectrometer is of the time of flight type. Its developpement, as a possible alternative to the magnetic system, shows the TOF spectrometer as an instrument allying great sensitivity and reduiced weight and dimensions.

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Technical Program Plan for FY 2016

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

Hallbert, Bruce Perry; Thomas, Kenneth David

2015-10-01

Reliable instrumentation, information, and control (II&C) systems technologies are essential to ensuring safe and efficient operation of the U.S. light water reactor (LWR) fleet. These technologies affect every aspect of nuclear power plant (NPP) and balance-of-plant operations. In 1997, the National Research Council conducted a study concerning the challenges involved in modernization of digital instrumentation and control systems in NPPs. Their findings identified the need for new II&C technology integration.

Upper Atmospheric Effects of the HF Active Auroral Research Program Ionospheric Research Instrument (HAARP IRI)

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-05-01

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT ( HAARP IRI) V. Eccles R. Armstrong Mission Research Corporation One Tara Blvd Nashua, NH 03062-2801 May 1993 Scientific Report No...INSTRUMENT ( HAARP IRI) PR 2310 STA G3 WU BM6. AUTHOR(S) V. Eccles and R. Armstrong 7. PERFOR•IlNG ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND AOORESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING...Because the HAARP (HF Active Auroral Research Program) facility is designed to mimic and investigate certain natural processes, a study of possible

Science teachers and docents as mentors to science and mathematics undergraduates in formal and information settings. Final report

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

Koran, J.J. Jr.

Twenty-four undergraduate science and mathematics majors who were juniors and seniors in the colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Engineering were recruited, and paid, to participate in an orientation seminar and act as teacher aides in regional schools and the Florida Museum of Natural History. Aides worked with teachers in the schools one semester and as docents in the natural history museum a second semester. Mentoring took place by the principal investigator and participating teachers and docents throughout the program. Success of the program was measured by a specially prepared attitude instrument which was administered to participants before themore » mentoring started and when it ended each semester. Written logs (field notes) were also prepared and submitted by participants at the end of each semester. Further, a tally was kept of the number of participants who decided to go into science or mathematics teaching as a result of the experience.« less

Physics through the 1990s: Elementary-particle physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The volume begins with a non-mathematical discussion of the motivation behind, and basic ideas of, elementary-particle physics theory and experiment. The progress over the past two decades with the quark model and unification of the electromagnetic and weak interactions is reviewed. Existing theoretical problems in the field, such as the origin of mass and the unification of the fundamental forces, are detailed, along with experimental programs to test the new theories. Accelerators, instrumentation, and detectors are described for both current and future facilities. Interactions with other areas of both theoretical and applied physics are presented. The sociology of the field is examined regarding the education of graduate students, the organization necessary in large-scale experiments, and the decision-making process involved in high-cost experiments. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for maintaining US excellence in theory and experiment are given. Appendices list both current and planned accelerators, and present statistical data on the US elementary-particle physics program. A glossary is included.

Physics through the 1990s: elementary-particle physics

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

Not Available

1986-01-01

The volume begins with a non-mathematical discussion of the motivation behind, and basic ideas of, elementary-particle physics theory and experiment. The progress over the past two decades with the quark model and unification of the electromagnetic and weak interactions is reviewed. Existing theoretical problems in the field, such as the origin of mass and the unification of the fundamental forces, are detailed, along with experimental programs to test the new theories. Accelerators, instrumentation, and detectors are described for both current and future facilities. Interactions with other areas of both theoretical and applied physics are presented. The sociology of the fieldmore » is examined regarding the education of graduate students, the organization necessary in large-scale experiments, and the decision-making process involved in high-cost experiments. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for maintaining US excellence in theory and experiment are given. Appendices list both current and planned accelerators, and present statistical data on the US elementary-particle physics program. A glossary is included.« less

Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL Mate

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-02-28

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the three stages of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL are being mated for the launch of NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, spacecraft. AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global climate change. AIM is scheduled to be mated to the Pegasus XL during the second week of April, after which final inspections will be conducted. Launch is scheduled for April 25.

Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL AIM Processing

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-03-10

Inside a clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, spacecraft is weighed. AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global climate change. AIM is scheduled to be mated to the Pegasus XL during the second week of April, after which final inspections will be conducted. Launch is scheduled for April 25.

Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL AIM Arrival

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-03-10

NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, spacecraft arrives in a clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global climate change. AIM is scheduled to be mated to the Pegasus XL during the second week of April, after which final inspections will be conducted. Launch is scheduled for April 25.

SOFIA pointing history

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kärcher, Hans J.; Kunz, Nans; Temi, Pasquale; Krabbe, Alfred; Wagner, Jörg; Süß, Martin

2014-07-01

The original pointing accuracy requirement of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy SOFIA was defined at the beginning of the program in the late 1980s as very challenging 0.2 arcsec rms. The early science flights of the observatory started in December 2010 and the observatory has reached in the mean time nearly 0.7 arcsec rms, which is sufficient for most of the SOFIA science instruments. NASA and DLR, the owners of SOFIA, are planning now a future 4 year program to bring the pointing down to the ultimate 0.2 arcsec rms. This may be the right time to recall the history of the pointing requirement and its verification and the possibility of its achievement via early computer models and wind tunnel tests, later computer aided end-to-end simulations up to the first commissioning flights some years ago. The paper recollects the tools used in the different project phases for the verification of the pointing performance, explains the achievements and may give hints for the planning of the upcoming final pointing improvement phase.

Physics through the 1990s: Elementary-particle physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

The volume begins with a non-mathematical discussion of the motivation behind, and basic ideas of, elementary-particle physics theory and experiment. The progress over the past two decades with the quark model and unification of the electromagnetic and weak interactions is reviewed. Existing theoretical problems in the field, such as the origin of mass and the unification of the fundamental forces, are detailed, along with experimental programs to test the new theories. Accelerators, instrumentation, and detectors are described for both current and future facilities. Interactions with other areas of both theoretical and applied physics are presented. The sociology of the field is examined regarding the education of graduate students, the organization necessary in large-scale experiments, and the decision-making process involved in high-cost experiments. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for maintaining US excellence in theory and experiment are given. Appendices list both current and planned accelerators, and present statistical data on the US elementary-particle physics program. A glossary is included.

Earth Observing System: Science Objectives and Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

King, Michael D.

1999-01-01

The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a space-based observing system comprised of a series of satellite sensors by which scientists can monitor the Earth, a Data and Information System (EOSDIS) enabling researchers worldwide to access the satellite data, and an interdisciplinary science research program to interpret the satellite data. In this presentation we review the key areas of scientific uncertainty in understanding climate and global change, and follow that with a description of the EOS goals, objectives, and scientific research elements that comprise the program (instrument science teams and interdisciplinary investigations). Finally, I will describe how scientists and policy makers intend to use EOS data improve our understanding of key global change uncertainties, such as: (i) clouds and radiation, including fossil fuel and natural emissions of sulfate aerosol and its potential impact on cloud feedback, (ii) man's impact on ozone depletion, with examples of ClO and O3 obtained from the UARS satellite during the Austral Spring, and (iii) volcanic eruptions and their impact on climate, with examples from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.

The Corralitos Observatory program for the detection of lunar transient phenomena

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hynek, J. A.; Dunlap, J. R.; Hendry, E. M.

1976-01-01

This is a final report on the establishment, observing procedures, and observational results of a survey program for the detection of lunar transient phenomena (LTP's) by electro-optical image conversion means. For survey, a unique detection system with an image orthicon was used as the primary element in conjunction with a 24-in. f/20 Cassegrainian telescope. Observations in three spectral ranges, with 6,466 man-hours of observing, were actually performed during the period from October 27, 1965, to April 26, 1972. Within this entire period, no color or feature change within the detection capabilities of the instrumentation was observed, either independently or in follow up of amateur LTP reports, with the exception of one general bluing and several localized bluings (probably ascribable to the effects of the terrestrial atmosphere) that were observed solely by the Corralitos system. A table is presented indicating amateur and professional reports of LTP's and the results of efforts to confirm these reports through the Corralitos system.

The Queued Service Observing Project at CFHT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Pierre; Savalle, Renaud; Vermeulen, Tom; Shapiro, Joshua N.

2002-12-01

In order to maximize the scientific productivity of the CFH12K mosaic wide-field imager (and soon MegaCam), the Queued Service Observing (QSO) mode was implemented at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope at the beginning of 2001. The QSO system consists of an ensemble of software components allowing for the submission of programs, the preparation of queues, and finally the execution and evaluation of observations. The QSO project is part of a broader system known as the New Observing Process (NOP). This system includes data acquisition, data reduction and analysis through a pipeline named Elixir, and a data archiving and distribution component (DADS). In this paper, we review several technical and operational aspects of the QSO project. In particular, we present our strategy, technical architecture, program submission system, and the tools developed for the preparation and execution of the queues. Our successful experience of over 150 nights of QSO operations is also discussed along with the future plans for queue observing with MegaCam and other instruments at CFHT.

Factors predicting health practitioners' awareness of UNHS program in Malaysian non-public hospitals.

PubMed

Ismail, Abdussalaam Iyanda; Abdul Majid, Abdul Halim; Zakaria, Mohd Normani; Abdullah, Nor Azimah Chew; Hamzah, Sulaiman; Mukari, Siti Zamratol-Mai Sarah

2018-06-01

The current study aims to examine the effects of human resource (measured with the perception of health workers' perception towards UNHS), screening equipment, program layout and screening techniques on healthcare practitioners' awareness (measured with knowledge) of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) in Malaysian non-public hospitals. Via cross sectional approach, the current study collected data using a validated questionnaire to obtain information on the awareness of UNHS program among the health practitioners and to test the formulated hypotheses. 51, representing 81% response rate, out of 63 questionnaires distributed to the health professionals were returned and usable for statistical analysis. The survey instruments involving healthcare practitioners' awareness, human resource, program layout, screening instrument, and screening techniques instruments were adapted and scaled with 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (little) to 7 (many). Partial Least Squares (PLS) algorithm and bootstrapping techniques were employed to test the hypotheses of the study. With the result involving beta values, t-values and p-values (i.e. β=0.478, t=1.904, p<0.10; β=0.809, t=3.921, p<0.01; β= -0.436, t=1.870, p<0.10), human resource, measured with training, functional equipment and program layout, are held to be significant predictors of enhanced knowledge of health practitioners. Likewise, program layout, human resource, screening technique and screening instrument explain 71% variance in health practitioners' awareness. Health practitioners' awareness is explained by program layout, human resource, and screening instrument with effect size (f2) of 0.065, 0.621, and 0.211 respectively, indicating that program layout, human resource, and screening instrument have small, large and medium effect size on health practitioners' awareness respectively. However, screening technique has zero effect on health practitioners' awareness, indicating the reason why T-statistics is not significant. Having started the UNHS program in 2003, non-public hospitals have more experienced and well-trained employees dealing with the screening tools and instrument, and the program layout is well structured in the hospitals. Yet, the issue of homogeneity exists. Non-public hospitals charge for the service they render, and, in turn, they would ensure quality service, given that they are profit-driven and/or profit-making establishments, and that they would have no option other than provision of value-added and innovative services. The employees in the non-public hospitals have less screening to carry out, given the low number of babies delivered in the private hospitals. In addition, non-significant relationship between screening techniques and healthcare practitioners' awareness of UNHS program is connected with the fact that the techniques that are practiced among public and non-public hospital are similar and standardized. Limitations and suggestions were discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Percentage exposure of root dentin collagen after application of two irrigation protocols with manual or rotary instrumentation and two methacrylate resin-based sealers.

PubMed

González-López, Santiago; Martín-Altuve, Ernesto; Bolaños-Carmona, Victoria; Sánchez-Sánchez, Purificación; Rodríguez-Navarro, Alejandro

2013-10-01

To compare the percentage of collagen exposed in dentin root thirds after two irrigation protocols with manual or rotary instrumentation using two methacrylate resin-based sealers. Forty-eight single-root human teeth were prepared with manual (n = 24) or nickeltitanium ProFile rotary (n = 24) instrumentation, using 5% NaOCl between instruments and 5 ml 17% EDTA as final irrigant or 20% citric acid + 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) between instruments and as the final irrigant. RealSeal or EndoREZ were used as filling materials. One 1-mm slice per third was abraded and stained with Masson's trichrome method. Mean exposed collagen values were obtained in four areas from each section (at 60X magnification) and a complete factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the influence of the study variables. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney's test was used to compare groups. Differences with p < 0.05 were considered significant. A significantly higher percentage of collagen was exposed in all thirds with the use of the 20% citric acid + 2% CHX protocol with rotary vs manual instrumentation, but percent collagen exposed did not differ as a function of the filling material. After the 5% NaOCl + 17% EDTA protocol, the percentage of collagen exposed did not differ between rotary and manual instrumentation but was higher with the use of RealSeal. The highest percentage exposure of collagen was with 20% citric acid + 2% CHX using rotary instrumentation, regardless of the filling material.

ProFile Vortex and Vortex Blue Nickel-Titanium Rotary Instruments after Clinical Use.

PubMed

Shen, Ya; Zhou, Huimin; Coil, Jeffrey M; Aljazaeri, Bassim; Buttar, Rene; Wang, Zhejun; Zheng, Yu-feng; Haapasalo, Markus

2015-06-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence and mode of ProFile Vortex and Vortex Blue instrument defects after clinical use in a graduate endodontic program and to examine the impact of clinical use on the instruments' metallurgical properties. A total of 330 ProFile Vortex and 1136 Vortex Blue instruments from the graduate program were collected after each had been used in 3 teeth. The incidence and type of instrument defects were analyzed. The lateral surfaces and fracture surfaces of the fractured files were examined by using scanning electron microscopy. Unused and used instruments were examined by full and partial differential scanning calorimetry. No fractures were observed in the 330 ProFile Vortex instruments, whereas 20 (6.1%) revealed bent or blunt defects. Only 2 of the 1136 Vortex Blue files fractured during clinical use. The cause of fracture was shear stress. The fractures occurred at the tip end of the spirals. Only 1.8% (21 of 1136) of the Vortex Blue files had blunt tips. Austenite-finish temperatures were very similar for unused and used ProFile Vortex files and were all greater than 50°C. The austenite-finish temperatures of used and unused Vortex Blue files (38.5°C) were lower than those in ProFile Vortex instruments (P < .001). However, the transformation behavior of Vortex Blue files had an obvious 2-stage transformation, martensite-to-R phase and R-to-austenite phase. The trends of differential scanning calorimetry plots of unused Vortex Blue instruments and clinically used instruments were very similar. The risk of ProFile Vortex and Vortex Blue instrument fracture is very low when instruments are discarded after clinical use in the graduate endodontic program. The Vortex Blue files have metallurgical behavior different from ProFile Vortex instruments. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of a Theory-based, Sociocultural Instrument to Assess Black Maternal Intentions to Vaccinate Their Daughters Aged 9 to 12 Against HPV.

PubMed

Cunningham-Erves, Jennifer; Talbott, Laura L; O'Neal, Marcia R; Ivankova, Nataliya V; Wallston, Kenneth A

2016-09-01

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine could assist in reducing the cervical cancer disparity existing between Black and White women. Understanding factors influencing Black maternal intentions to vaccinate their daughter is essential in improving vaccination uptake. However, existing instruments do not comprehensively assess factors (e.g., culture) influencing maternal intentions. This paper describes the development of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Survey for Black Mothers with Girls Aged 9 to 12 (HPVS-BM), the first instrument to measure knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, and cultural beliefs relating to Black maternal intentions to vaccinate their daughters aged 9 to 12 years against HPV. The items and scales were refined using content review by experts, as well as cognitive interviews and pilot testing with target audience participants. The final version of the HPVS-BM was administered to 242 Black mothers with adolescent daughters. Internal reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha. An a priori hypothetical model was developed to determine convergent and discriminant validity. All scales of the HPVS-BM had an acceptable internal reliability of 0.70 or higher. The intention scale of HPVS-BM was significantly correlated (p < .05) with perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and subjective norms, supporting strong convergent validity. Moderate discriminant construct validity was also demonstrated. Exhibiting good psychometrics, this instrument could be used by healthcare researchers and professionals to develop programs to increase HPV vaccination among Black adolescent females aimed at reducing the racial disparities in cervical cancer. Further psychometric testing of this survey tool for understanding factors influencing maternal intentions is warranted.

Magnetometer instrument team studies for the definition phase of the outer planets grand tour

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coleman, P. J., Jr.

1972-01-01

The objectives of magnetic field investigations on missions to the outer planets were defined as well as an instrumentation system, a program of studies and instrument development tasks was proposed for the mission definition phase of the Outer Planets Grand Tour project. A report on the status of this program is given. Requirements were also established for the spacecraft and the mission which would insure their compatibility with the magnetic field investigation proposed for the outer planets missions and developed figures of merit for encounter trajectories. The spacecraft-instrumentation interface and the on-board data handling system were defined in various reports by the Project Team and in the reports by the Science Steering Group. The defining program for exploring the outer planets within the more restrictive constraints of the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn project included defining a limited magnetic field investigation.

Advanced CO2 removal process control and monitor instrumentation development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heppner, D. B.; Dalhausen, M. J.; Klimes, R.

1982-01-01

A progam to evaluate, design and demonstrate major advances in control and monitor instrumentation was undertaken. A carbon dioxide removal process, one whose maturity level makes it a prime candidate for early flight demonstration was investigated. The instrumentation design incorporates features which are compatible with anticipated flight requirements. Current electronics technology and projected advances are included. In addition, the program established commonality of components for all advanced life support subsystems. It was concluded from the studies and design activities conducted under this program that the next generation of instrumentation will be greatly smaller than the prior one. Not only physical size but weight, power and heat rejection requirements were reduced in the range of 80 to 85% from the former level of research and development instrumentation. Using a microprocessor based computer, a standard computer bus structure and nonvolatile memory, improved fabrication techniques and aerospace packaging this instrumentation will greatly enhance overall reliability and total system availability.

78 FR 31343 - Final Priorities, Requirement, Definitions, and Selection Criteria-Enhanced Assessment Instruments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-23

... Assessment Instruments [CFDA Number: 84.368.] AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education...: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education announces priorities, a requirement... Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). DATES: These priorities, requirement...

Field instrumentation of dowels : final report, May 1997.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-04-01

Four different types of dowels, 11/2 inch diameter epoxy-coated steel bars, 11/2 inch diameter fiberglass, 1 1/2 deep steel and fiberglass I-beams, were instrumented with strain gages and installed. Forces that developed in these dowel bars due to cu...

Coordinated study of Solar-Terrestrial Observatory (STO) payloads on space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, S. T.

1988-01-01

Since the publication of the final report of the science study group in October 1984 on the Solar Terrestrial Observatory (STO), its science goals and objectives have been clearly defined and a conceptual design and analysis was carried out by MSFC/NASA. Plans for the possible placing of the STO aboard the Space Station were made. A series of meetings for the STO science study group were held to review the instruments to be placed on the initial STO at Space Station IOC, and the placement of these instruments on the manned space station, polar platform, and the co-orbiting platform. A summary of these initial STO instruments is presented in Section 2. A brief description of the initial plan for the placement of STO instruments is included in Section 3. Finally, in Section 4, the scenario for the operation of the STO is discussed. These results were obtained from the report of the Solar Terrestrial Observatory mini-workshop held at MSFC on 6 June 1985.

SPRT Calibration Uncertainties and Internal Quality Control at a Commercial SPRT Calibration Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiandt, T. J.

2008-06-01

The Hart Scientific Division of the Fluke Corporation operates two accredited standard platinum resistance thermometer (SPRT) calibration facilities, one at the Hart Scientific factory in Utah, USA, and the other at a service facility in Norwich, UK. The US facility is accredited through National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), and the UK facility is accredited through UKAS. Both provide SPRT calibrations using similar equipment and procedures, and at similar levels of uncertainty. These uncertainties are among the lowest available commercially. To achieve and maintain low uncertainties, it is required that the calibration procedures be thorough and optimized. However, to minimize customer downtime, it is also important that the instruments be calibrated in a timely manner and returned to the customer. Consequently, subjecting the instrument to repeated calibrations or extensive repeated measurements is not a viable approach. Additionally, these laboratories provide SPRT calibration services involving a wide variety of SPRT designs. These designs behave differently, yet predictably, when subjected to calibration measurements. To this end, an evaluation strategy involving both statistical process control and internal consistency measures is utilized to provide confidence in both the instrument calibration and the calibration process. This article describes the calibration facilities, procedure, uncertainty analysis, and internal quality assurance measures employed in the calibration of SPRTs. Data will be reviewed and generalities will be presented. Finally, challenges and considerations for future improvements will be discussed.

Halogen occultation experiment intergrated test plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mauldin, L. E., III; Butterfield, A. J.

1986-01-01

The test program plan is presented for the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) instrument, which is being developed in-house at the Langley Research Center for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). This comprehensive test program was developed to demonstrate that the HALOE instrument meets its performance requirements and maintains integrity through UARS flight environments. Each component, subsystem, and system level test is described in sufficient detail to allow development of the necessary test setups and test procedures. Additionally, the management system for implementing this test program is given. The HALOE instrument is a gas correlation radiometer that measures vertical distribution of eight upper atmospheric constituents: O3, HC1, HF, NO, CH4, H2O, NO2, and CO2.

Measuring the diffusion of innovative health promotion programs.

PubMed

Steckler, A; Goodman, R M; McLeroy, K R; Davis, S; Koch, G

1992-01-01

Once a health promotion program has proven to be effective in one or two initial settings, attempts may be made to transfer the program to new settings. One way to conceptualize the transference of health promotion programs from one locale to another is by considering the programs to be innovations that are being diffused. In this way, diffusion of innovation theory can be applied to guide the process of program transference. This article reports on the development of six questionnaires to measure the extent to which health promotion programs are successfully disseminated: Organizational Climate, Awareness-Concern, Rogers's Adoption Variables, Level of Use, Level of Success, and Level of Institutionalization. The instruments are being successfully used in a study of the diffusion of health promotion/tobacco prevention curricula to junior high schools in North Carolina. The instruments, which measure the four steps of the diffusion process, have construct validity since they were developed within existing theories and are derived from the work of previous researchers. No previous research has attempted to use instruments like these to measure sequentially the stages of the diffusion process.

Aeronautic instruments. Section I : general classification of instruments and problems including bibliography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hersey, Mayo D

1923-01-01

This report is intended as a technical introduction to the series of reports on aeronautic instruments. It presents a discussion of those subjects which are common to all instruments. First, a general classification is given, embracing all types of instruments used in aeronautics. Finally, a classification is given of the various problems confronted by the instrument expert and investigator. In this way the following groups of problems are brought up for consideration: problems of mechanical design, human factor, manufacturing problems, supply and selection of instruments, problems concerning the technique of testing, problems of installation, problems concerning the use of instruments, problems of maintenance, and physical research problems. This enumeration of problems which are common to instruments in general serves to indicate the different points of view which should be kept in mind in approaching the study of any particular instrument.

Concept of Science Data Management for the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Joo Hyeon

2016-10-01

South Korea has a plan to explore the Moon in 2018 or 2019. For the plan, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute which is a government funded research institute kicked off the Korea Lunar Exploration Development Program in January, 2016 in support of Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, South Korea.As the 1st stage mission of the program, named as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter(KPLO), will perform acquisition of high resolution images and science data for investigation of lunar environment as well as the core technology demonstration and validation for space explorations. The scientific instruments consists of three Korean domestic developed science instruments except an imaging instrument and several foreign provided instruments. We are developing a science data management plan to encourage scientific activities using science data acquired by the science instruments.I introduce the Korean domestic developed science instruments and present concept of the science data management plan for data delivery, processing, and distribution for the science instruments.

ISC-GEM: Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900-2009), II. Location and seismicity patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bondár, I.; Engdahl, E. Robert; Villaseñor, A.; Harris, James; Storchak, D.

2015-02-01

We present the final results of a two-year project sponsored by the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation. The ISC-GEM global catalogue consists of some 19 thousand instrumentally recorded, moderate to large earthquakes, spanning 110 years of seismicity. We relocated all events in the catalogue using a two-tier approach. The EHB location methodology (Engdahl et al., 1998) was applied first to obtain improved hypocentres with special focus on the depth determination. The locations were further refined in the next step by fixing the depths to those from the EHB analysis and applying the new International Seismological Centre (ISC) location algorithm (Bondár and Storchak, 2011) that reduces location bias by accounting for correlated travel-time prediction error structure. To facilitate the relocation effort, some one million seismic P and S wave arrival-time data were added to the ISC database for the period between 1904 and 1970, either from original station bulletins in the ISC archive or by digitizing the scanned images of the International Seismological Summary (ISS) bulletin (Villaseñor and Engdahl, 2005, 2007). Although no substantial amount of new phase data were acquired for the modern period (1964-2009), the number of phases used in the location has still increased by three millions, owing to fact that both the EHB and ISC locators use most well-recorded ak135 (Kennett et al., 1995) phases in the location. We show that the relocation effort yielded substantially improved locations, especially in the first half of the 20th century; we demonstrate significant improvements in focal depth estimates in subduction zones and other seismically active regions; and we show that the ISC-GEM catalogue provides an improved view of 110 years of global seismicity of the Earth. The ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue represents the final product of one of the ten global components in the GEM program, and is available to researchers at the ISC (http://www.isc.ac.uk).

Intrajudge and Interjudge Reliability of the Stuttering Severity Instrument-Fourth Edition.

PubMed

Davidow, Jason H; Scott, Kathleen A

2017-11-08

The Stuttering Severity Instrument (SSI) is a tool used to measure the severity of stuttering. Previous versions of the instrument have known limitations (e.g., Lewis, 1995). The present study examined the intra- and interjudge reliability of the newest version, the Stuttering Severity Instrument-Fourth Edition (SSI-4) (Riley, 2009). Twelve judges who were trained on the SSI-4 protocol participated. Judges collected SSI-4 data while viewing 4 videos of adults who stutter at Time 1 and 4 weeks later at Time 2. Data were analyzed for intra- and interjudge reliability of the SSI-4 subscores (for Frequency, Duration, and Physical Concomitants), total score, and final severity rating. Intra- and interjudge reliability across the subscores and total score concurred with the manual's reported reliability when reliability was calculated using the methods described in the manual. New calculations of judge agreement produced different values from those in the manual-for the 3 subscores, total score, and final severity rating-and provided data absent from the manual. Clinicians and researchers who use the SSI-4 should carefully consider the limitations of the instrument. Investigation into the multitasking demands of the instrument may provide information on whether separating the collection of data for specific variables will improve intra- and interjudge reliability of those variables.

Foramen Changes following Over Instrumentation of Curved Canals with Three Engine-Driven Instruments: An In Vitro Study

PubMed Central

Yammine, Salwa; Jabbour, Edgard; Nahas, Paul; Majzoub, Zeina

2017-01-01

Introduction: The present in vitro study aimed to evaluate and compare the changes in shape and surface area of the major foramen following shaping of curved canals with three new generation NiTi engine-driven instruments naming ProTaper Next, BT RaCe and WaveOne Gold- with 3 different levels of protrusion beyond the major apical foramen. Methods and Materials: A total of 45 extracted human molars with at least one curved canal were distributed in 3 comparable groups of 15 that were instrumented using either ProTaper Next (PTN), BT RaCe (BTR) or WaveOne Gold (WOG). The canals were instrumented to the major foramen and then over instrumented with the final file 0.5 mm, 1 mm and 1.5 mm beyond the foramen. Standardized pre- and post-instrumentation photographs of the foramen were obtained for all groups using a stereomicroscope. Foramen shape and surface area were evaluated using the AmScope software for measurements and compared between groups and levels of instrumentation applying binary conditional logistic regression and repeated measures ANOVA. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Foramen shape tended to gradually change from circular to oval as the level of instrumentation increased in all groups. The original foramen shape in WOG group remained better than other groups. Foramen surface areas increased in all groups with Group BTR demonstrating significantly greater values than the other 2 groups. Conclusion: Over instrumentation resulted in apical enlargement and ovalization in all 3 groups but with different patterns. These differences can be attributed to the final file size, design characteristics and kinematics of the 3 systems. PMID:29225641

Foramen Changes following Over Instrumentation of Curved Canals with Three Engine-Driven Instruments: An In Vitro Study.

PubMed

Yammine, Salwa; Jabbour, Edgard; Nahas, Paul; Majzoub, Zeina

2017-01-01

The present in vitro study aimed to evaluate and compare the changes in shape and surface area of the major foramen following shaping of curved canals with three new generation NiTi engine-driven instruments naming ProTaper Next, BT RaCe and WaveOne Gold- with 3 different levels of protrusion beyond the major apical foramen. A total of 45 extracted human molars with at least one curved canal were distributed in 3 comparable groups of 15 that were instrumented using either ProTaper Next (PTN), BT RaCe (BTR) or WaveOne Gold (WOG). The canals were instrumented to the major foramen and then over instrumented with the final file 0.5 mm, 1 mm and 1.5 mm beyond the foramen. Standardized pre- and post-instrumentation photographs of the foramen were obtained for all groups using a stereomicroscope. Foramen shape and surface area were evaluated using the AmScope software for measurements and compared between groups and levels of instrumentation applying binary conditional logistic regression and repeated measures ANOVA. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Foramen shape tended to gradually change from circular to oval as the level of instrumentation increased in all groups. The original foramen shape in WOG group remained better than other groups. Foramen surface areas increased in all groups with Group BTR demonstrating significantly greater values than the other 2 groups. Over instrumentation resulted in apical enlargement and ovalization in all 3 groups but with different patterns. These differences can be attributed to the final file size, design characteristics and kinematics of the 3 systems.

On-orbit degradation of recent space-based solar instruments and understanding of the degradation processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meftah, M.; Dominique, M.; BenMoussa, A.; Dammasch, I. E.; Bolsée, D.; Pereira, N.; Damé, L.; Bekki, S.; Hauchecorne, A.

2017-05-01

The space environment is considered hazardous to spacecraft, resulting in materials degradation. Understanding the degradation of space-based instruments is crucial in order to achieve the scientific objectives, which are derived from these instruments. This paper discusses the on-orbit performance degradation of recent spacebased solar instruments. We will focus on the instruments of three space-based missions such as the Project for On-Board Autonomy 2 (PROBA2) spacecraft, the Solar Monitoring Observatory (SOLAR) payload onboard the Columbus science Laboratory of the International Space Station (ISS) and the PICARD spacecraft. Finally, this paper intends to understand the degradation processes of these space-based solar instruments.

PANIC: A General-purpose Panoramic Near-infrared Camera for the Calar Alto Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cárdenas Vázquez, M.-C.; Dorner, B.; Huber, A.; Sánchez-Blanco, E.; Alter, M.; Rodríguez Gómez, J. F.; Bizenberger, P.; Naranjo, V.; Ibáñez Mengual, J.-M.; Panduro, J.; García Segura, A. J.; Mall, U.; Fernández, M.; Laun, W.; Ferro Rodríguez, I. M.; Helmling, J.; Terrón, V.; Meisenheimer, K.; Fried, J. W.; Mathar, R. J.; Baumeister, H.; Rohloff, R.-R.; Storz, C.; Verdes-Montenegro, L.; Bouy, H.; Ubierna, M.; Fopp, P.; Funke, B.

2018-02-01

PANIC7 is the new PAnoramic Near-Infrared Camera for Calar Alto and is a project jointly developed by the MPIA in Heidelberg, Germany, and the IAA in Granada, Spain, for the German-Spanish Astronomical Center at Calar Alto Observatory (CAHA; Almería, Spain). This new instrument works with the 2.2 m and 3.5 m CAHA telescopes covering a field of view of 30 × 30 arcmin and 15 × 15 arcmin, respectively, with a sampling of 4096 × 4096 pixels. It is designed for the spectral bands from Z to K S , and can also be equipped with narrowband filters. The instrument was delivered to the observatory in 2014 October and was commissioned at both telescopes between 2014 November and 2015 June. Science verification at the 2.2 m telescope was carried out during the second semester of 2015 and the instrument is now at full operation. We describe the design, assembly, integration, and verification process, the final laboratory tests and the PANIC instrument performance. We also present first-light data obtained during the commissioning and preliminary results of the scientific verification. The final optical model and the theoretical performance of the camera were updated according to the as-built data. The laboratory tests were made with a star simulator. Finally, the commissioning phase was done at both telescopes to validate the camera real performance on sky. The final laboratory test confirmed the expected camera performances, complying with the scientific requirements. The commissioning phase on sky has been accomplished.

International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davila, Joseph M.; Gopalswamy, Nat; Thompson, Barbara

2009-01-01

The International Heliophysical Year (IHY), an international program of scientific collaboration to understand the external drivers of planetary environments, has come to an end. The IHY was a major international event of great interest to the member States, which involved the deployment of new instrumentation, new observations from the ground and in space, and an education component. We propose to continue the highly successful collaboration between the heliophysics science community and the United Nations Basic Space Science (UNBSS) program. One of the major thrust of the IHY was to deploy arrays of small instruments such as magnetometers, radio antennas, GPS receivers, all-sky cameras, particle detectors, etc. around the world to provide global measurements of heliospheric phenomena. The United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative (UNBSSI) played a major role in this effort. Scientific teams were organized through UNBSS, which consisted of a lead scientist who provided the instruments or fabrication plans for instruments in the array. As a result of the this program, scientists from UNBSS member states now participate in the instrument operation, data collection, analysis, and publication of scientific results, working at the forefront of science research. As part of this project, support for local scientists, facilities and data acquisition is provided by the host nation. In addition, support at the Government level is provided for local scientists to participate. Building on momentum of the IHY, we propose to continue the highly successful collaboration with the UNBSS program to continue the study of universal processes in the solar system that affect the interplanetary and terrestrial environments, and to continue to coordinate the deployment and operation of new and existing instrument arrays aimed at understanding the impacts of Space Weather on Earth and the near-Earth environment. Toward this end, we propose a new program, the International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI).

International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davila, Joseph; Gopalswamy, Nathanial; Thompson, Barbara

2010-01-01

The International Heliophysical Year (IHY), an international program of scientific collaboration to understand the external drivers of planetary environments, has come to an end. The IHY was a major international event of great interest to the member States, which involved the deployment of new instrumentation, new observations from the ground and in space, and an education component. We propose to continue the highly successful collaboration between the heliophysics science community and the United Nations Basic Space Science (UNBSS) program. One of the major thrust of the IHY was to deploy arrays of small instruments such as magnetometers, radio antennas, GPS receivers, all-sky cameras, particle detectors, etc. around the world to provide global measurements of heliospheric phenomena. The United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative (UNBSSI) played a major role in this effort. Scientific teams were organized through UNBSS, which consisted of a lead scientist who provided the instruments or fabrication plans for instruments in the array. As a result of the this program, scientists from UNBSS member states now participate in the instrument operation, data collection, analysis, and publication of scientific results, working at the forefront of science research. As part of this project, support for local scientists, facilities and data acquisition is provided by the host nation. In addition, support at the Government level is provided for local scientists to participate. Building on momentum of the IHY, we propose to continue the highly successful collaboration with the UNBSS program to continue the study of universal processes in the solar system that affect the interplanetary and terrestrial environments, and to continue to coordinate the deployment and operation of new and existing instrument arrays aimed at understanding the impacts of Space Weather on Earth and the near-Earth environment. Toward this end, we propose a new program, the International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI).

77 FR 46094 - Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-02

... that occurs before a program is designed and implemented, or while a program is being conducted and is... behavioral but most often they are cycles of interviews and focus groups designed to inform the development... instruments, (3) methodological research, (4) usability testing of technology-based instruments and materials...

Instrument and Survey Analysis Technical Report: Program Implementation Survey. Technical Report #1112

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

2011-01-01

This technical document provides guidance to educators on the creation and interpretation of survey instruments, particularly as they relate to an analysis of program implementation. Illustrative examples are drawn from a survey of educators related to the use of the easyCBM learning system. This document includes specific sections on…

The Los Alamos National Laboratory precision double crystal spectrometer

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

Morgan, D.V.; Stevens, C.J.; Liefield, R.J.

1994-03-01

This report discusses the following topics on the LANL precision double crystal X-ray spectrometer: Motivation for construction of the instrument; a brief history of the instrument; mechanical systems; motion control systems; computer control system; vacuum system; alignment program; scan programs; observations of the copper K{alpha} lines; and characteristics and specifications.

Cognitive Modifiability of Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Multicentre Study Using Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment-Basic Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kozulin, A.; Lebeer, J.; Madella-Noja, A.; Gonzalez, F.; Jeffrey, I.; Rosenthal, N.; Koslowsky, M.

2010-01-01

The study aimed at exploring the effectiveness of cognitive intervention with the new "Instrumental Enrichment Basic" program (IE-basic), based on Feuerstein's theory of structural cognitive modifiability that contends that a child's cognitive functioning can be significantly modified through mediated learning intervention. The IE-basic…

An Instrumental Case Study of Administrative Smart Practices for Fully Online Programs and Degrees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gregory, Charles V.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore administrators' responses to significant administrative challenges of fully online programs and degrees. The case was a single public community college located in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Plains Region. In this study Bardach's (1994) method to identify and…

AN EIGHT WEEK SUMMER INSTITUTE TRAINING PROGRAM TO TRAIN INSTRUCTORS OF INSTRUMENTATION TECHNOLOGY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MCKEE, DELBERT A.

A SUMMER INSTITUTE IN INSTRUMENTATION TECHNOLOGY WAS HELD TO PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON AUTOMATIC, PROCESS-CONTROL INSTRUMENTATION. A PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED GUIDE FOR A 2-YEAR, POST-HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM PROVIDED THE BASIS FOR INSTRUCTION AND DISCUSSION DURING THE INSTITUTE. THREE COURSES IN MEASUREMENT AND INSTRUMENT SHOP…

Research of advanced techniques for X-ray detectors and telescopes with applications to rockets and the LAMAR facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gorenstein, P.

1985-01-01

A program for the development of high throughput instrumentation for X-ray astronomy based upon focusing optics is being carried out by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The instrumentation is applicable to investigations requiring large area focusing optics for direct imaging or dispersive spectroscopy. The long range goals of this program are the development of telescopes and gratings for future major X-ray astronomy facilities, including additions to the LAMAR OSS-2/SHEAL experiment after the initial flights. Tests of the devices and their more immediate utilization in scientific investigations can be carried out with SPARTAN payloads deployed and retrieved by the Space Shuttle. However, the present backlog of approved SPARTAN missions is longer than the three-year duration of the program described in this program. Laboratory studies and breadboarding of instrumentation are discussed.

Evaluation of apically extruded debris during root canal retreatment with several NiTi systems.

PubMed

Dincer, A N; Er, O; Canakci, B C

2015-12-01

To compare the amount of debris extruded apically during root canal retreatment using ProTaper, Mtwo and Reciproc instruments with hand H-files. In total, 60 freshly extracted human mandibular incisor teeth were used. All root canals were prepared with a Reciproc R25 file than filled with Gutta-percha and AH Plus sealer using cold lateral condensation before being assigned randomly to four groups (n = 15 each). In group 1, root fillings were removed with the Protaper Universal retreatment system; ProTaper Universal F3 and F4 instruments were used for the final preparation. In group 2, root fillings were removed with the Mtwo retreatment system; Mtwo size 30, .06 taper, size 35, .06 taper and size 40, .06 taper files were used for the final preparation. In group 3, root fillings were removed with Reciproc R25 instruments; Reciproc R40 instruments were used for the final preparation. In group 4, the root fillings were removed with Gates Glidden burs and sizes 35, 30 and 25 H-files; for final preparation, a size 40 H-file was used. Glass vials were used for debris collection. The vials were weighed before and after Gutta-percha removal. Additionally, the times required for the retreatment procedures were recorded. Data were analysed statistically using one-way analysis of variance. The Reciproc system produced significantly smaller amounts of apical extruded debris than the other groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the Mtwo, H-file and ProTaper groups. The ProTaper and Reciproc groups required significantly less time than the Mtwo and H-file groups (P < 0.001). Use of the reciprocating single file system resulted in the extrusion of significantly less debris compared with the full-sequence rotary NiTi instruments and hand filing. Use of the ProTaper and Reciproc instruments required less time for retreatment procedures than use of the Mtwo or H-file. © 2014 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Influence and Correction from the Human Body on the Measurement of a Power-Frequency Electric Field Sensor

PubMed Central

Xiao, Dongping; Liu, Huaitong; Zhou, Qiang; Xie, Yutong; Ma, Qichao

2016-01-01

According to the operating specifications of existing electric field measuring instruments, measuring technicians must be located far from the instruments to eliminate the influence of the human body occupancy on a spatial electric field. Nevertheless, in order to develop a portable safety protection instrument with an effective electric field warning function for working staff in a high-voltage environment, it is necessary to study the influence of an approaching human body on the measurement of an electric field and to correct the measurement results. A single-shaft electric field measuring instrument called the Type LP-2000, which was developed by our research team, is used as the research object in this study. First, we explain the principle of electric field measurement and describe the capacitance effect produced by the human body. Through a theoretical analysis, we show that the measured electric field value decreases as a human body approaches. Their relationship is linearly proportional. Then, the ratio is identified as a correction coefficient to correct for the influence of human body proximity. The conclusion drawn from the theoretical analysis is proved via simulation. The correction coefficient kb = 1.8010 is obtained on the basis of the linear fitting of simulated data. Finally, a physical experiment is performed. When no human is present, we compare the results from the Type LP-2000 measured with Narda EFA-300 and the simulated value to verify the accuracy of the Type LP-2000. For the case of an approaching human body, the correction coefficient kb* = 1.9094 is obtained by comparing the data measured with the Type LP-2000 to the simulated value. The correction coefficient obtained from the experiment (i.e., kb*) is highly consistent with that obtained from the simulation (i.e., kb). Two experimental programs are set; under these programs, the excitation voltages and distance measuring points are regulated to produce different electric field intensities. Using kb = 1.9094, the corrected measurement of electric field intensity can accurately reflect the original environmental electric field intensity, and the maximal error is less than 6% in all the data comparisons. These results verify the effectiveness of our proposed method. PMID:27294936

Influence and Correction from the Human Body on the Measurement of a Power-Frequency Electric Field Sensor.

PubMed

Xiao, Dongping; Liu, Huaitong; Zhou, Qiang; Xie, Yutong; Ma, Qichao

2016-06-10

According to the operating specifications of existing electric field measuring instruments, measuring technicians must be located far from the instruments to eliminate the influence of the human body occupancy on a spatial electric field. Nevertheless, in order to develop a portable safety protection instrument with an effective electric field warning function for working staff in a high-voltage environment, it is necessary to study the influence of an approaching human body on the measurement of an electric field and to correct the measurement results. A single-shaft electric field measuring instrument called the Type LP-2000, which was developed by our research team, is used as the research object in this study. First, we explain the principle of electric field measurement and describe the capacitance effect produced by the human body. Through a theoretical analysis, we show that the measured electric field value decreases as a human body approaches. Their relationship is linearly proportional. Then, the ratio is identified as a correction coefficient to correct for the influence of human body proximity. The conclusion drawn from the theoretical analysis is proved via simulation. The correction coefficient kb = 1.8010 is obtained on the basis of the linear fitting of simulated data. Finally, a physical experiment is performed. When no human is present, we compare the results from the Type LP-2000 measured with Narda EFA-300 and the simulated value to verify the accuracy of the Type LP-2000. For the case of an approaching human body, the correction coefficient kb* = 1.9094 is obtained by comparing the data measured with the Type LP-2000 to the simulated value. The correction coefficient obtained from the experiment (i.e., kb*) is highly consistent with that obtained from the simulation (i.e., kb). Two experimental programs are set; under these programs, the excitation voltages and distance measuring points are regulated to produce different electric field intensities. Using kb = 1.9094, the corrected measurement of electric field intensity can accurately reflect the original environmental electric field intensity, and the maximal error is less than 6% in all the data comparisons. These results verify the effectiveness of our proposed method.

Scientific Instrument Package for the large space telescope (SIP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The feasibility of a scientific instrument package (SIP) that will satisfy the requirements of the large space telescope was established. A reference configuration serving as a study model and data which will aid in the trade-off studies leading to the final design configuration are reported.

78 FR 687 - Bond Premium Carryforward

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-04

... regulations provide guidance on the tax treatment of a taxable debt instrument with a bond premium... issue of the Federal Register, the IRS is issuing temporary regulations that provide guidance on the tax treatment of a debt instrument with a bond premium carryforward in the holder's final accrual period...

Instrumentation for Aerosol and Gas Speciation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coggiola, Michael J.

1998-01-01

Using support from NASA Grant No. NAG 2-963, SRI International successfully completed the project, entitled, 'Instrumentation for Aerosol and Gas Speciation.' This effort (SRI Project 7383) covered the design, fabrication, testing, and deployment of a real-time aerosol speciation instrument in NASA's DC-8 aircraft during the Spring 1996 SUbsonic aircraft: Contrail and Cloud Effects Special Study (SUCCESS) mission. This final technical report describes the pertinent details of the instrument design, its abilities, its deployment during SUCCESS and the data acquired from the mission, and the post-mission calibration, data reduction, and analysis.

Commissioning Instrument for the GTC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuevas, S.; Sánchez, B.; Bringas, V.; Espejo, C.; Flores, R.; Chapa, O.; Lara, G.; Chavolla, A.; Anguiano, G.; Arciniega, S.; Dorantes, A.; González, J. L.; Montoya, J. M.; Toral, R.; Hernández, H.; Nava, R.; Devaney, N.; Castro, J.; Cavaller-Marqués, L.

2005-12-01

During the GTC integration phase, the Commissioning Instrument (CI) will be a diagnostic tool for performance verification. The CI features four operation modes: imaging, pupil imaging, Curvature WFS, and high resolution Shack-Hartmann WFS. This instrument was built by the Instituto de Astronomía UNAM and the Centro de Ingeniería y Desarrollo Industrial (CIDESI) under GRANTECAN contract after a public bid. In this paper we made a general instrument overview and we show some of the performance final results obtained when the Factory Acceptance tests previous to its transport to La Palma.

Critical Thinking Disposition and Skills in Dental Students: Development and Relationship to Academic Outcomes.

PubMed

Whitney, Eli M; Aleksejuniene, Jolanta; Walton, Joanne N

2016-08-01

Critical thinking is a key element of complex problem-solving and professional behavior. An ideal critical thinking measurement instrument would be able to accurately predict which dental students are predisposed to and capable of thinking critically and applying such thinking skills to clinical situations. The aims of this study were to describe critical thinking disposition and skills in dental students at the beginning and end of their first year, examine cohort and gender effects, and compare their critical thinking test scores to their first-year grades. Volunteers from three student cohorts at the University of British Columbia were tested using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and California Critical Thinking Skills instruments at the beginning and end of their first year. Based on the preliminary findings, one cohort was retested at graduation when their final-year grades and clinical advisor rankings were compared to their critical thinking test scores. The results showed that students who entered dental school with higher critical thinking scores tended to complete their first year with higher critical thinking scores, achieve higher grades, and show greater disposition to think critically at the start of the program. Students who demonstrated an ability to think critically and had a disposition to do so at the start of the program were also likely to demonstrate those same attributes at the completion of their training. High critical thinking scores were associated with success in both didactic and clinical settings in dental school.

Impact of an educational program on nursing students' caring and self-perception in intensive clinical training in Jordan.

PubMed

Khouri, Rawda

2011-01-01

Framing and development of clinical skills in nursing students during their clinical practice is critical because this can shape their future caring skills. Professional caring empowers patients and contributes to their well-being and health. Education may enhance the capacity of nurses to be effective caring practitioners. Their study program encourages caring behavior in nursing students, consequently affecting their professional self-perception. The present study investigated the effect of an educational program on caring behavior and professional self-perception in nursing students using a controlled pre/post test study design. The study sample consisted of 50 nursing students undertaking their final year in 2010-2011. Subjects were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The study was conducted in two critical care units affiliated to the Ma'an and Queen Rania hospitals in the south of Jordan. The instruments utilized were the Caring Dimensions Inventory, Nursing Students Attitude Observational Checklist, and Professional Self-Concept of Nurses Instrument. The study findings favor the effect of the educational program because there was increased knowledge and understanding of caring theory and related concepts, a more holistic approach to care, enhanced caring practices, and improved self-perception in the study group compared with the control group during different periods of assessment. The study group showed significantly better caring perception in psychological, technical, and professional terms than the control group during different periods of assessment. There was a significant positive trend of overall professional self-perception for the study group compared with the control group. Nursing curricula should incorporate concepts and principles that guide students in developing caring, safe, competent, and professional behavior. Nursing students must seek educational opportunities to acquire knowledge for role preparation, to participate in knowledge generation, and for personal and professional development.

Impact of an educational program on nursing students’ caring and self-perception in intensive clinical training in Jordan

PubMed Central

Khouri, Rawda

2011-01-01

Background Framing and development of clinical skills in nursing students during their clinical practice is critical because this can shape their future caring skills. Professional caring empowers patients and contributes to their well-being and health. Education may enhance the capacity of nurses to be effective caring practitioners. Their study program encourages caring behavior in nursing students, consequently affecting their professional self-perception. Methods The present study investigated the effect of an educational program on caring behavior and professional self-perception in nursing students using a controlled pre/post test study design. The study sample consisted of 50 nursing students undertaking their final year in 2010–2011. Subjects were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The study was conducted in two critical care units affiliated to the Ma’an and Queen Rania hospitals in the south of Jordan. The instruments utilized were the Caring Dimensions Inventory, Nursing Students Attitude Observational Checklist, and Professional Self-Concept of Nurses Instrument. Results The study findings favor the effect of the educational program because there was increased knowledge and understanding of caring theory and related concepts, a more holistic approach to care, enhanced caring practices, and improved self-perception in the study group compared with the control group during different periods of assessment. The study group showed significantly better caring perception in psychological, technical, and professional terms than the control group during different periods of assessment. There was a significant positive trend of overall professional self-perception for the study group compared with the control group. Conclusion Nursing curricula should incorporate concepts and principles that guide students in developing caring, safe, competent, and professional behavior. Nursing students must seek educational opportunities to acquire knowledge for role preparation, to participate in knowledge generation, and for personal and professional development. PMID:23745088

NASA Astrophysics Funds Strategic Technology Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seery, Bernard D.; Ganel, Opher; Pham, Bruce

2016-01-01

The COR and PCOS Program Offices (POs) reside at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), serving as the NASA Astrophysics Division's implementation arm for matters relating to the two programs. One aspect of the PO's activities is managing the COR and PCOS Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) program, helping mature technologies to enable and enhance future astrophysics missions. For example, the SAT program is expected to fund key technology developments needed to close gaps identified by Science and Technology Definition Teams (STDTs) planned to study several large mission concept studies in preparation for the 2020 Decadal Survey.The POs are guided by the National Research Council's "New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics" Decadal Survey report, NASA's Astrophysics Implementation Plan, and the visionary Astrophysics Roadmap, "Enduring Quests, Daring Visions." Strategic goals include dark energy, gravitational waves, and X-ray observatories. Future missions pursuing these goals include, e.g., US participation in ESA's Euclid, Athena, and L3 missions; Inflation probe; and a large UV/Optical/IR (LUVOIR) telescope.To date, 65 COR and 71 PCOS SAT proposals have been received, of which 15 COR and 22 PCOS projects were funded. Notable successes include maturation of a new far-IR detector, later adopted by the SOFIA HAWC instrument; maturation of the H4RG near-IR detector, adopted by WFIRST; development of an antenna-coupled transition-edge superconducting bolometer, a technology deployed by BICEP2/BICEP3/Keck to measure polarization in the CMB signal; advanced UV reflective coatings implemented on the optics of GOLD and ICON, two heliophysics Explorers; and finally, the REXIS instrument on OSIRIS-REx is incorporating CCDs with directly deposited optical blocking filters developed by another SAT-funded project.We discuss our technology development process, with community input and strategic prioritization informing calls for SAT proposals and guiding investment decisions. We also present results of this year's technology gap prioritization and showcase our current portfolio of technology development projects.

Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation at the National Science Foundation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurczynski, Peter; Neff, James E.

2018-01-01

Over its more than thirty-year history, the Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation (ATI) program within the Division of Astronomical Sciences has provided grants to support the development and deployment of detectors and instrumentation for ground-based astronomy. This program has enabled scientific advances in diverse fields from solar physics to exoplanets to cosmology. ATI has provided instrumentation for both small and large observatories from radio through visible wavebands. It has played a role in the early development of major initiatives such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. Technology development for astronomy unfolds over a longer period than the lifetime of a single grant. This review will consider ATI from an historical perspective to assess its impact on astronomy.

Solar and airglow measurements aboard the two suborbital flights NASA 36.098 and 36.107

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woods, Thomas N.

1994-01-01

This suborbital program, involving the University of Colorado (CU), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), University of California at Berkeley (UCB), and Boston University (BU), has resulted in two rocket flights from the White Sands Missile Range, one in 1992 and one in 1993 as NASA 36.098 and 36.107 respectively. The rocket payload includes five solar instruments and one airglow instrument from CU/NCAR and one solar instrument and two airglow instruments from UCB/BU. This report discusses results on solar radiation measurements and the study of thermospheric airglow, namely the photoelectron excited emissions from N2 and O, for the CU/NCAR program.

Earth remote sensing with NPOESS: instruments and environmental data products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glackin, David L.; Cunningham, John D.; Nelson, Craig S.

2004-02-01

The NPOESS (National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System) program represents the merger of the NOAA POES (Polar-orbiting Environmental Satellite) program and the DoD DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) satellites. Established by presidential directive in 1994, a tri-agency Integrated Program Office (IPO) in Silver Spring, Maryland, has been managing NPOESS development, and is staffed by representatives of NOAA, DoD, and NASA. NPOESS is being designed to provide 55 atmospheric, oceanographic, terrestrial, and solar-geophysical data products, and will disseminate them to civilian and military users worldwide. The first NPOESS satellite is scheduled to be launched late in this decade, with the other two satellites of the three-satellite constellation due to be launched over the ensuing four years. NPOESS will remain operational for at least ten years. The 55 Environmental Data Records (EDRs) will be provided by a number of instruments, many of which will be briefly described in this paper. The instruments will be hosted in various combinations on three NPOESS platforms in three distinct polar sun-synchronous orbits. The instrument complement represents the combined requirements of the weather, climate, and environmental remote sensing communities. The three critical instruments are VIIRS (Visible/Infrared Imager-Radiometer Suite), CMIS (Conical Microwave Imager/Sounder), and CrIS (Cross-track Infrared Sounder). The other IPO-developed instruments are OMPS (Ozone Mapper/Profiler Suite), GPSOS (Global Positioning System Occultation Sensor), the APS (Aerosol Polarimeter Sensor), and the SESS (Space Environment Sensor Suite). NPOESS will also carry various "leveraged" instruments, i.e., ones that do not require development by the IPO. These include the ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder), the TSIS (Total Solar Irradiance Sensor), the ERBS (Earth Radiation Budget Sensor), and the ALT (Radar Altimeter).

Flight set 360L003 instrumentation final test report, volume 9

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Post-flight instrumentation hardware and data evaluation for 360L003 is summarized. The 360L003 motors were equipped with Developmental Flight Instrumentation (DFI), Operational Flight Instrumentation (OFI), and Ground Environmental Instrumentation (GEI). The DFI was designed to measure strain, temperature, pressure, and vibration at various locations on the motor during flight. The DFI is used to validate engineering models in a flight environment. The OFI consists of six Operational Pressure Tranducers which monitor chamber pressure during flight. These pressure transducers are used in the SRB separation cue. GEI measures the motor case, igniter flange, and nozzle temperature prior to launch.

[work motivation -- assessment instruments and their relevance for medical care].

PubMed

Fiedler, Rolf G; Ranft, Andreas; Greitemann, Bernhard; Heuft, Gereon

2005-11-01

The relevance of work motivation for medical research and healthcare, in particular rehabilitation, is described. Four diagnostic instruments in the German language are introduced which can assess work motivation using a scale system: AVEM, JDS, LMI and FBTM. Their possible application and potential usage for the clinical area are discussed. Apart from the FBTM, none of these instruments can be directly used as a general instrument in a normal medical clinical setting. Finally, a current model for work motivation (compensatory model of work motivation and volition) is presented that contains basis concepts, which are judged as important for future research questions concerning the development of motivation diagnostic instruments.

WE-G-BRB-02: The Role of Program Project Grants in Study of 3D Conformal Therapy, Dose Escalation and Motion Management

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

Fraass, B.

2015-06-15

Over the past 20 years the NIH has funded individual grants, program projects grants, and clinical trials which have been instrumental in advancing patient care. The ways that each grant mechanism lends itself to the different phases of translating research into clinical practice will be described. Major technological innovations, such as IMRT and proton therapy, have been advanced with R01-type and P01-type funding and will be discussed. Similarly, the role of program project grants in identifying and addressing key hypotheses on the potential of 3D conformal therapy, normal tissue-guided dose escalation and motion management will be described. An overview willmore » be provided regarding how these technological innovations have been applied to multi-institutional NIH-sponsored trials. Finally, the panel will discuss regarding which research questions should be funded by the NIH to inspire the next advances in radiation therapy. Learning Objectives: Understand the different funding mechanisms of the NIH Learn about research advances that have led to innovation in delivery Review achievements due to NIH-funded program project grants in radiotherapy over the past 20 years Understand example advances achieved with multi-institutional clinical trials NIH.« less

Study of lubricant circulation in HVAC systems. Volume 1: Description of technical effort and results; Final technical report, March 1995--April 1996

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

Biancardi, F.R.; Michels, H.H.; Sienel, T.H.

1996-10-01

The purpose of this program was to conduct experimental and analytical efforts to determine lubricant circulation characteristics of new HFC/POE pairs and HFC/mineral oil pairs in a representative central residential HVAC system and to compare their behavior with the traditional HCFC-22/mineral oil (refrigerant/lubricant) pair. A dynamic test facility was designed and built to conduct the experimental efforts. This facility provided a unique capability to visually and physically measure oil circulation rates, on-line, in operating systems. A unique on-line ultraviolet-based measurement device was used to obtain detailed data on the rate and level of lubricant oil circulated within the operating heatmore » pump system. The experimental and analytical data developed during the program are presented as a function of vapor velocity, refrigerant/lubricant viscosity, system features and equipment. Both visual observations and instrumentation were used to understand ``worst case`` oil circulation situations. This report is presented in two volumes. Volume 1 contains a complete description of the program scope, objective, test results summary, conclusions, description of test facility and recommendations for future effort. Volume 2 contains all of the program test data essentially as taken from the laboratory dynamic test facility during the sequence of runs.« less

Technician Program Uses Advanced Instruments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stinson, Stephen

1981-01-01

Describes various aspects of a newly-developed computer-assisted drafting/computer-assisted manufacture (CAD/CAM) facility in the chemical engineering technology department at Broome Community College, Binghamton, New York. Stresses the use of new instruments such as microcomputers and microprocessor-equipped instruments. (CS)

Developing an instrument to measure heart failure disease management program intensity and complexity.

PubMed

Riegel, Barbara; Lee, Christopher S; Sochalski, Julie

2010-05-01

Comparing disease management programs and their effects is difficult because of wide variability in program intensity and complexity. The purpose of this effort was to develop an instrument that can be used to describe the intensity and complexity of heart failure (HF) disease management programs. Specific composition criteria were taken from the American Heart Association (AHA) taxonomy of disease management and hierarchically scored to allow users to describe the intensity and complexity of the domains and subdomains of HF disease management programs. The HF Disease Management Scoring Instrument (HF-DMSI) incorporates 6 of the 8 domains from the taxonomy: recipient, intervention content, delivery personnel, method of communication, intensity/complexity, and environment. The 3 intervention content subdomains (education/counseling, medication management, and peer support) are described separately. In this first test of the HF-DMSI, overall intensity (measured as duration) and complexity were rated using an ordinal scoring system. Possible scores reflect a clinical rationale and differ by category, with zero given only if the element could potentially be missing (eg, surveillance by remote monitoring). Content validity was evident as the instrument matches the existing AHA taxonomy. After revision and refinement, 2 authors obtained an inter-rater reliability intraclass correlation coefficient score of 0.918 (confidence interval, 0.880 to 0.944, P<0.001) in their rating of 12 studies. The areas with most variability among programs were delivery personnel and method of communication. The HF-DMSI is useful for describing the intensity and complexity of HF disease management programs.

Assessing performance outcomes of new graduates utilizing simulation in a military transition program.

PubMed

Hughes, Robie V; Smith, Sherrill J; Sheffield, Clair M; Wier, Grady

2013-01-01

This multi-site, quasi-experimental study examined the performance outcomes of nurses (n = 152) in a military nurse transition program. A modified-performance instrument was used to assess participants in two high-fidelity simulation scenarios. Although results indicated a significant increase in scores posttraining, only moderate interrater reliability results were found for the new instrument. These findings have implications for nurse educators assessing performance-based outcomes of new nurses completing transition programs.

Earth radiation budget experiment software development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edmonds, W. L.

1985-01-01

Computer programming and analysis efforts were carried out in support of the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) at NASA/Langley. The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment is described as well as data acquisition, analysis and modeling support for the testing of ERBE instruments. Also included are descriptions of the programs developed to analyze, format and display data collected during testing of the various ERBE instruments. Listings of the major programs developed under this contract are located in an appendix.

Analysis of spacecraft data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

A software program for the production and analysis of data from the Dynamics Explorer-A (DE-A) satellite was maintained and modified and new software initiated. A capability was developed to process DE-A plasma-wave instrument mission analysis files on the Tektronic 4027 color CRT, for which two programs were written. The algorithm for the calibration lookup table for the plasma-wave instrument data was modified and verified, and a production program to generate color FR-80 spectrograms was written.

ITEM SELECTION TECHNIQUES AND EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

COX, RICHARD C.

THE VALIDITY OF AN EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST DEPENDS UPON THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SPECIFIED EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH THESE OBJECTIVES ARE MEASURED BY THE EVALUATION INSTRUMENT. THIS STUDY IS DESIGNED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF STATISTICAL ITEM SELECTION ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE FINAL EVALUATION INSTRUMENT AS COMPARED WITH…

Report on the Audit of Howell Instruments, Incorporated

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-06-07

This is our final report on the audit of Howell Instruments, Inc., for your information and use. We made the audit from February through September...reports. The objective of the audit was to determine whether Howell submitted accurate, complete and current cost or pricing data in connection with DoD

77 FR 25470 - Final Revision to Selection Criteria-Enhanced Assessment Instruments; CFDA Number: 84.368

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-30

...--Enhanced Assessment Instruments; CFDA Number: 84.368 AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary... used by States for measuring the academic achievement of elementary and secondary school students...

Criterion Referenced Measures of Technical Proficiency in Maintenance Activities. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foley, John P., Jr.

The paper concerns instruments used in the determination of task performance efficiency of mechanical and electronic maintenance men. Composite results of unvalidated knowledge tests, theory tests, school marks, and supervisors' ratings are presented which indicate that these measurement instruments have low empirical validity. The limitations of…

The Automated Instrumentation and Monitoring System (AIMS): Design and Architecture. 3.2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yan, Jerry C.; Schmidt, Melisa; Schulbach, Cathy; Bailey, David (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

Whether a researcher is designing the 'next parallel programming paradigm', another 'scalable multiprocessor' or investigating resource allocation algorithms for multiprocessors, a facility that enables parallel program execution to be captured and displayed is invaluable. Careful analysis of such information can help computer and software architects to capture, and therefore, exploit behavioral variations among/within various parallel programs to take advantage of specific hardware characteristics. A software tool-set that facilitates performance evaluation of parallel applications on multiprocessors has been put together at NASA Ames Research Center under the sponsorship of NASA's High Performance Computing and Communications Program over the past five years. The Automated Instrumentation and Monitoring Systematic has three major software components: a source code instrumentor which automatically inserts active event recorders into program source code before compilation; a run-time performance monitoring library which collects performance data; and a visualization tool-set which reconstructs program execution based on the data collected. Besides being used as a prototype for developing new techniques for instrumenting, monitoring and presenting parallel program execution, AIMS is also being incorporated into the run-time environments of various hardware testbeds to evaluate their impact on user productivity. Currently, the execution of FORTRAN and C programs on the Intel Paragon and PALM workstations can be automatically instrumented and monitored. Performance data thus collected can be displayed graphically on various workstations. The process of performance tuning with AIMS will be illustrated using various NAB Parallel Benchmarks. This report includes a description of the internal architecture of AIMS and a listing of the source code.