NASA's Aviation Safety and Modeling Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chidester, Thomas R.; Statler, Irving C.

2006-01-01

The Aviation Safety Monitoring and Modeling (ASMM) Project of NASA's Aviation Safety program is cultivating sources of data and developing automated computer hardware and software to facilitate efficient, comprehensive, and accurate analyses of the data collected from large, heterogeneous databases throughout the national aviation system. The ASMM addresses the need to provide means for increasing safety by enabling the identification and correcting of predisposing conditions that could lead to accidents or to incidents that pose aviation risks. A major component of the ASMM Project is the Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS), which is developing the next generation of software tools for analyzing and interpreting flight data.

Proceedings of the Nuclear Criticality Technology Safety Workshop

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

Rene G. Sanchez

1998-04-01

This document contains summaries of most of the papers presented at the 1995 Nuclear Criticality Technology Safety Project (NCTSP) meeting, which was held May 16 and 17 at San Diego, Ca. The meeting was broken up into seven sessions, which covered the following topics: (1) Criticality Safety of Project Sapphire; (2) Relevant Experiments For Criticality Safety; (3) Interactions with the Former Soviet Union; (4) Misapplications and Limitations of Monte Carlo Methods Directed Toward Criticality Safety Analyses; (5) Monte Carlo Vulnerabilities of Execution and Interpretation; (6) Monte Carlo Vulnerabilities of Representation; and (7) Benchmark Comparisons.

Service user involvement enhanced the research quality in a study using interpretative phenomenological analysis - the power of multiple perspectives.

PubMed

Mjøsund, Nina Helen; Eriksson, Monica; Espnes, Geir Arild; Haaland-Øverby, Mette; Jensen, Sven Liang; Norheim, Irene; Kjus, Solveig Helene Høymork; Portaasen, Inger-Lill; Vinje, Hege Forbech

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine how service user involvement can contribute to the development of interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology and enhance research quality. Interpretative phenomenological analysis is a qualitative methodology used in nursing research internationally to understand human experiences that are essential to the participants. Service user involvement is requested in nursing research. We share experiences from 4 years of collaboration (2012-2015) on a mental health promotion project, which involved an advisory team. Five research advisors either with a diagnosis or related to a person with severe mental illness constituted the team. They collaborated with the research fellow throughout the entire research process and have co-authored this article. We examined the joint process of analysing the empirical data from interviews. Our analytical discussions were audiotaped, transcribed and subsequently interpreted following the guidelines for good qualitative analysis in interpretative phenomenological analysis studies. The advisory team became 'the researcher's helping hand'. Multiple perspectives influenced the qualitative analysis, which gave more insightful interpretations of nuances, complexity, richness or ambiguity in the interviewed participants' accounts. The outcome of the service user involvement was increased breadth and depth in findings. Service user involvement improved the research quality in a nursing research project on mental health promotion. The interpretative element of interpretative phenomenological analysis was enhanced by the emergence of multiple perspectives in the qualitative analysis of the empirical data. We argue that service user involvement and interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology can mutually reinforce each other and strengthen qualitative methodology. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Analyses of water, core material, and elutriate samples collected near Buras, Louisiana (New Orleans to Venice, Louisiana, Hurricane Protection Project)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leone, Harold A.

1977-01-01

Eight core-material-sampling sites were chosen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as possible borrow areas for fill material to be used in levee contruction near Buras, La. Eleven receiving-water sites also were selected to represent the water that will contact the porposed levees. Analyses of selected nutrients, metals, pesticides, and other organic constitutents were performed upon these bed-material and native-water samples as well as upon elutriate samples of specific core material-receiving water systems. The results of these analyses are presented without interpretation. (Woodard-USGS)

Human Proteome Project Mass Spectrometry Data Interpretation Guidelines 2.1.

PubMed

Deutsch, Eric W; Overall, Christopher M; Van Eyk, Jennifer E; Baker, Mark S; Paik, Young-Ki; Weintraub, Susan T; Lane, Lydie; Martens, Lennart; Vandenbrouck, Yves; Kusebauch, Ulrike; Hancock, William S; Hermjakob, Henning; Aebersold, Ruedi; Moritz, Robert L; Omenn, Gilbert S

2016-11-04

Every data-rich community research effort requires a clear plan for ensuring the quality of the data interpretation and comparability of analyses. To address this need within the Human Proteome Project (HPP) of the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO), we have developed through broad consultation a set of mass spectrometry data interpretation guidelines that should be applied to all HPP data contributions. For submission of manuscripts reporting HPP protein identification results, the guidelines are presented as a one-page checklist containing 15 essential points followed by two pages of expanded description of each. Here we present an overview of the guidelines and provide an in-depth description of each of the 15 elements to facilitate understanding of the intentions and rationale behind the guidelines, for both authors and reviewers. Broadly, these guidelines provide specific directions regarding how HPP data are to be submitted to mass spectrometry data repositories, how error analysis should be presented, and how detection of novel proteins should be supported with additional confirmatory evidence. These guidelines, developed by the HPP community, are presented to the broader scientific community for further discussion.

Sudbury project (University of Muenster-Ontario Geological Survey): Isotope systematics support the impact origin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deutsch, A.; Buhl, D.; Brockmeyer, P.; Lakomy, R.; Flucks, M.

1992-01-01

Within the framework of the Sudbury project a considerable number of Sr-Nd isotope analyses were carried out on petrographically well-defined samples of different breccia units. Together with isotope data from the literature these data are reviewed under the aspect of a self-consistent impact model. The crucial point of this model is that the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) is interpreted as a differentiated impact melt sheet without any need for an endogenic 'magmatic' component such as 'impact-triggered' magmatism or 'partial' impact melting of the crust and mixing with a mantle-derived magma.

Analyses of historical and projected climates to support climate adaptation in the northern Rocky Mountains: Chapter 4

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gross, John E.; Tercek, Michael; Guay, Kevin; Chang, Tony; Talbert, Marian; Rodman, Ann; Thoma, David; Jantz, Patrick; Morisette, Jeffrey T.

2016-01-01

Most of the western United States is experiencing the effects of rapid and directional climate change (Garfin et al. 2013). These effects, along with forecasts of profound changes in the future, provide strong motivation for resource managers to learn about and prepare for future changes. Climate adaptation plans are based on an understanding of historic climate variation and their effects on ecosystems and on forecasts of future climate trends. Frameworks for climate adaptation thus universally identify the importance of a summary of historical, current, and projected climates (Glick, Stein, and Edelson 2011; Cross et al. 2013; Stein et al. 2014). Trends in physical climate variables are usually the basis for evaluating the exposure component in vulnerability assessments. Thus, this chapter focuses on step 2 of the Climate-Smart Conservation framework (chap. 2): vulnerability assessment. We present analyses of historical and current observations of temperature, precipitation, and other key climate measurements to provide context and a baseline for interpreting the ecological impacts of projected climate changes.

Using and interpreting mental health measures in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.

PubMed

Payne, Carolyn; Hedberg, E C; Kozloski, Michael; Dale, William; McClintock, Martha K

2014-11-01

National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) included five unique mental health measures in Waves 1 and 2 that researchers can use to measure the overall emotional health of participants: depressive symptoms, happiness-unhappiness, anxiety symptoms, perceived stress, and felt loneliness. For each, we detail the rationale for its development and explain how to score, analyze, and interpret results. NSHAP developed its measures by modifying traditional short-form scales to improve response efficiency and reduce respondent burden. Scoring protocols and interpretations were developed for each measure. U.S. population estimates for older adults born between 1920 and 1947 were generated using age-eligible samples from Waves 1 and 2. NSHAP's protocols yielded U.S. prevalence rates similar to other nationally representative studies of older adults and comparable between waves. Higher estimates of anxiety symptoms and perceived stress in Wave 2 compared with Wave 1 were explained by age, administration mode, and time period. Analytic strategies for longitudinal analyses are provided. In Wave 2, mental health generally was worse at older ages, with women having more symptoms at younger ages than men. Women had fewer anxiety symptoms at the oldest ages. NSHAP's mental health measures were successfully integrated into the project's survey and showed acceptable external reliability as well as moderately stable individual characteristics across the 5 years between Waves 1 and 2. Depressive symptoms and unhappiness may form a mental health cluster in the elderly, distinct from anxiety symptoms, perceived stress, and felt loneliness. Gender differences in age-specific patterns of mental health were evident using the exact age of participants rather than the traditional decade groupings. Administration mode and time period (between 2005-2006 and 2010-2011) were determined to be potential confounds that need to be accommodated in longitudinal analyses of aging, whereas sample composition was not an issue for interpreting mental health measures. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

California GAMA Special Study: Analysis of Carbamazepine, Oxcarbazepine and Metabolites as Wastewater Tracers in Water Resource Studies

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

Owens, J. E.; Vu, A. K.; Esser, B. K.

2010-08-20

The Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program is a comprehensive groundwater quality monitoring program managed by the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The GAMA Special Studies project provides analyses and interpretation of constituents of concern that allow assessment of current groundwater conditions. In addition, the Special Studies project develops analyses that will enhance the monitoring and assessment effort by focusing on specific constituents of concern and water quality parameters, such as disinfection byproducts (DBP), wastewater indicators, and redox conditions, as it relates to irrigation and groundwater management. This study developed a robust analytical method for the quantitationmore » of CBZ, OXC, CBZ-E, CBZ-DiOH, and CBZ-10-OH in wastewater treatement plant (WWTP) effluent and in groundwater in the parts per trillion range.« less

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Oral Health Impact Profile.

PubMed

John, M T; Feuerstahler, L; Waller, N; Baba, K; Larsson, P; Celebić, A; Kende, D; Rener-Sitar, K; Reissmann, D R

2014-09-01

Previous exploratory analyses suggest that the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) consists of four correlated dimensions and that individual differences in OHIP total scores reflect an underlying higher-order factor. The aim of this report is to corroborate these findings in the Dimensions of Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (DOQ) Project, an international study of general population subjects and prosthodontic patients. Using the project's Validation Sample (n = 5022), we conducted confirmatory factor analyses in a sample of 4993 subjects with sufficiently complete data. In particular, we compared the psychometric performance of three models: a unidimensional model, a four-factor model and a bifactor model that included one general factor and four group factors. Using model-fit criteria and factor interpretability as guides, the four-factor model was deemed best in terms of strong item loadings, model fit (RMSEA = 0·05, CFI = 0·99) and interpretability. These results corroborate our previous findings that four highly correlated factors - which we have named Oral Function, Oro-facial Pain, Oro-facial Appearance and Psychosocial Impact - can be reliably extracted from the OHIP item pool. However, the good fit of the unidimensional model and the high interfactor correlations in the four-factor solution suggest that OHRQoL can also be sufficiently described with one score. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sudbury project (University of Muenster-Ontario Geological Survey): Summary of results - an updated impact model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Avermann, M.; Bischoff, L.; Brockmeyer, P.; Buhl, D.; Deutsch, A.; Dressler, B. O.; Lakomy, R.; Mueller-Mohr, V.; Stoeffler, D.

1992-01-01

In 1984 the Ontario Geological Survey initiated a research project on the Sudbury structure (SS) in cooperation with the University of Muenster. The project included field mapping (1984-1989) and petrographic, chemical, and isotope analyses of the major stratigraphic units of the SS. Four diploma theses and four doctoral theses were performed during the project (1984-1992). Specific results of the various investigations are reported. Selected areas of the SS were mapped and sampled: Footwall rocks; Footwall breccia and parts of the sublayer and lower section of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC); Onaping Formation and the upper section of the SIC; and Sudbury breccia and adjacent Footwall rocks along extended profiles up to 55 km from the SIC. All these stratigraphic units of the SS were studied in substantial detail by previous workers. The most important characteristic of the previous research is that it was based either on a volcanic model or on a mixed volcanic-impact model for the origin of the SS. The present project was clearly directed toward a test of the impact origin of the SS without invoking an endogenic component. In general, our results confirm the most widely accepted stratigraphic division of the SS. However, our interpretation of some of the major stratigraphic units is different from most views expressed. The stratigraphy of the SS and its new interpretation is given as a basis for discussion.

Using and Interpreting Mental Health Measures in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project

PubMed Central

Payne, Carolyn; Hedberg, E. C.; Kozloski, Michael; Dale, William

2014-01-01

Introduction. National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) included five unique mental health measures in Waves 1 and 2 that researchers can use to measure the overall emotional health of participants: depressive symptoms, happiness–unhappiness, anxiety symptoms, perceived stress, and felt loneliness. For each, we detail the rationale for its development and explain how to score, analyze, and interpret results. Method. NSHAP developed its measures by modifying traditional short-form scales to improve response efficiency and reduce respondent burden. Scoring protocols and interpretations were developed for each measure. U.S. population estimates for older adults born between 1920 and 1947 were generated using age-eligible samples from Waves 1 and 2. Results. NSHAP’s protocols yielded U.S. prevalence rates similar to other nationally representative studies of older adults and comparable between waves. Higher estimates of anxiety symptoms and perceived stress in Wave 2 compared with Wave 1 were explained by age, administration mode, and time period. Analytic strategies for longitudinal analyses are provided. In Wave 2, mental health generally was worse at older ages, with women having more symptoms at younger ages than men. Women had fewer anxiety symptoms at the oldest ages. Discussion. NSHAP’s mental health measures were successfully integrated into the project’s survey and showed acceptable external reliability as well as moderately stable individual characteristics across the 5 years between Waves 1 and 2. Depressive symptoms and unhappiness may form a mental health cluster in the elderly, distinct from anxiety symptoms, perceived stress, and felt loneliness. Gender differences in age-specific patterns of mental health were evident using the exact age of participants rather than the traditional decade groupings. Administration mode and time period (between 2005–2006 and 2010–2011) were determined to be potential confounds that need to be accommodated in longitudinal analyses of aging, whereas sample composition was not an issue for interpreting mental health measures. PMID:25360028

Interpreting biomarker data from the COPHES/DEMOCOPHES twin projects: Using external exposure data to understand biomarker differences among countries

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

Smolders, R., E-mail: roel.smolders@vito.be; Den Hond, E.; Koppen, G.

In 2011 and 2012, the COPHES/DEMOCOPHES twin projects performed the first ever harmonized human biomonitoring survey in 17 European countries. In more than 1800 mother–child pairs, individual lifestyle data were collected and cadmium, cotinine and certain phthalate metabolites were measured in urine. Total mercury was determined in hair samples. While the main goal of the COPHES/DEMOCOPHES twin projects was to develop and test harmonized protocols and procedures, the goal of the current paper is to investigate whether the observed differences in biomarker values among the countries implementing DEMOCOPHES can be interpreted using information from external databases on environmental quality andmore » lifestyle. In general, 13 countries having implemented DEMOCOPHES provided high-quality data from external sources that were relevant for interpretation purposes. However, some data were not available for reporting or were not in line with predefined specifications. Therefore, only part of the external information could be included in the statistical analyses. Nonetheless, there was a highly significant correlation between national levels of fish consumption and mercury in hair, the strength of antismoking legislation was significantly related to urinary cotinine levels, and we were able to show indications that also urinary cadmium levels were associated with environmental quality and food quality. These results again show the potential of biomonitoring data to provide added value for (the evaluation of) evidence-informed policy making. - Highlights: • External data was collected to interpret HBM data from DEMOCOPHES. • Hg in hair could be related to fish consumption across different countries. • Urinary cotinine was related to strictness of anti-smoking legislation. • Urinary Cd was borderline significantly related to air and food quality. • Lack of comparable data among countries hampered the analysis.« less

Systematic review finds that study data not published in full text articles have unclear impact on meta-analyses results in medical research.

PubMed

Schmucker, Christine M; Blümle, Anette; Schell, Lisa K; Schwarzer, Guido; Oeller, Patrick; Cabrera, Laura; von Elm, Erik; Briel, Matthias; Meerpohl, Joerg J

2017-01-01

A meta-analysis as part of a systematic review aims to provide a thorough, comprehensive and unbiased statistical summary of data from the literature. However, relevant study results could be missing from a meta-analysis because of selective publication and inadequate dissemination. If missing outcome data differ systematically from published ones, a meta-analysis will be biased with an inaccurate assessment of the intervention effect. As part of the EU-funded OPEN project (www.open-project.eu) we conducted a systematic review that assessed whether the inclusion of data that were not published at all and/or published only in the grey literature influences pooled effect estimates in meta-analyses and leads to different interpretation. Systematic review of published literature (methodological research projects). Four bibliographic databases were searched up to February 2016 without restriction of publication year or language. Methodological research projects were considered eligible for inclusion if they reviewed a cohort of meta-analyses which (i) compared pooled effect estimates of meta-analyses of health care interventions according to publication status of data or (ii) examined whether the inclusion of unpublished or grey literature data impacts the result of a meta-analysis. Seven methodological research projects including 187 meta-analyses comparing pooled treatment effect estimates according to different publication status were identified. Two research projects showed that published data showed larger pooled treatment effects in favour of the intervention than unpublished or grey literature data (Ratio of ORs 1.15, 95% CI 1.04-1.28 and 1.34, 95% CI 1.09-1.66). In the remaining research projects pooled effect estimates and/or overall findings were not significantly changed by the inclusion of unpublished and/or grey literature data. The precision of the pooled estimate was increased with narrower 95% confidence interval. Although we may anticipate that systematic reviews and meta-analyses not including unpublished or grey literature study results are likely to overestimate the treatment effects, current empirical research shows that this is only the case in a minority of reviews. Therefore, currently, a meta-analyst should particularly consider time, effort and costs when adding such data to their analysis. Future research is needed to identify which reviews may benefit most from including unpublished or grey data.

Systematic review finds that study data not published in full text articles have unclear impact on meta-analyses results in medical research

PubMed Central

Blümle, Anette; Schell, Lisa K.; Schwarzer, Guido; Oeller, Patrick; Cabrera, Laura; von Elm, Erik; Briel, Matthias; Meerpohl, Joerg J.

2017-01-01

Background A meta-analysis as part of a systematic review aims to provide a thorough, comprehensive and unbiased statistical summary of data from the literature. However, relevant study results could be missing from a meta-analysis because of selective publication and inadequate dissemination. If missing outcome data differ systematically from published ones, a meta-analysis will be biased with an inaccurate assessment of the intervention effect. As part of the EU-funded OPEN project (www.open-project.eu) we conducted a systematic review that assessed whether the inclusion of data that were not published at all and/or published only in the grey literature influences pooled effect estimates in meta-analyses and leads to different interpretation. Methods and findings Systematic review of published literature (methodological research projects). Four bibliographic databases were searched up to February 2016 without restriction of publication year or language. Methodological research projects were considered eligible for inclusion if they reviewed a cohort of meta-analyses which (i) compared pooled effect estimates of meta-analyses of health care interventions according to publication status of data or (ii) examined whether the inclusion of unpublished or grey literature data impacts the result of a meta-analysis. Seven methodological research projects including 187 meta-analyses comparing pooled treatment effect estimates according to different publication status were identified. Two research projects showed that published data showed larger pooled treatment effects in favour of the intervention than unpublished or grey literature data (Ratio of ORs 1.15, 95% CI 1.04–1.28 and 1.34, 95% CI 1.09–1.66). In the remaining research projects pooled effect estimates and/or overall findings were not significantly changed by the inclusion of unpublished and/or grey literature data. The precision of the pooled estimate was increased with narrower 95% confidence interval. Conclusions Although we may anticipate that systematic reviews and meta-analyses not including unpublished or grey literature study results are likely to overestimate the treatment effects, current empirical research shows that this is only the case in a minority of reviews. Therefore, currently, a meta-analyst should particularly consider time, effort and costs when adding such data to their analysis. Future research is needed to identify which reviews may benefit most from including unpublished or grey data. PMID:28441452

Uncertainty Analyses for Back Projection Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, H.; Wei, S.; Wu, W.

2017-12-01

So far few comprehensive error analyses for back projection methods have been conducted, although it is evident that high frequency seismic waves can be easily affected by earthquake depth, focal mechanisms and the Earth's 3D structures. Here we perform 1D and 3D synthetic tests for two back projection methods, MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) (Meng et al., 2011) and Compressive Sensing (CS) (Yao et al., 2011). We generate synthetics for both point sources and finite rupture sources with different depths, focal mechanisms, as well as 1D and 3D structures in the source region. The 3D synthetics are generated through a hybrid scheme of Direct Solution Method and Spectral Element Method. Then we back project the synthetic data using MUSIC and CS. The synthetic tests show that the depth phases can be back projected as artificial sources both in space and time. For instance, for a source depth of 10km, back projection gives a strong signal 8km away from the true source. Such bias increases with depth, e.g., the error of horizontal location could be larger than 20km for a depth of 40km. If the array is located around the nodal direction of direct P-waves the teleseismic P-waves are dominated by the depth phases. Therefore, back projections are actually imaging the reflection points of depth phases more than the rupture front. Besides depth phases, the strong and long lasted coda waves due to 3D effects near trench can lead to additional complexities tested here. The strength contrast of different frequency contents in the rupture models also produces some variations to the back projection results. In the synthetic tests, MUSIC and CS derive consistent results. While MUSIC is more computationally efficient, CS works better for sparse arrays. In summary, our analyses indicate that the impact of various factors mentioned above should be taken into consideration when interpreting back projection images, before we can use them to infer the earthquake rupture physics.

Accelerometer Data Analysis and Presentation Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Melissa J. B.; Hrovat, Kenneth; McPherson, Kevin; Moskowitz, Milton E.; Reckart, Timothy

1997-01-01

The NASA Lewis Research Center's Principal Investigator Microgravity Services project analyzes Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment and Space Acceleration Measurement System data for principal investigators of microgravity experiments. Principal investigators need a thorough understanding of data analysis techniques so that they can request appropriate analyses to best interpret accelerometer data. Accelerometer data sampling and filtering is introduced along with the related topics of resolution and aliasing. Specific information about the Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment and Space Acceleration Measurement System data sampling and filtering is given. Time domain data analysis techniques are discussed and example environment interpretations are made using plots of acceleration versus time, interval average acceleration versus time, interval root-mean-square acceleration versus time, trimmean acceleration versus time, quasi-steady three dimensional histograms, and prediction of quasi-steady levels at different locations. An introduction to Fourier transform theory and windowing is provided along with specific analysis techniques and data interpretations. The frequency domain analyses discussed are power spectral density versus frequency, cumulative root-mean-square acceleration versus frequency, root-mean-square acceleration versus frequency, one-third octave band root-mean-square acceleration versus frequency, and power spectral density versus frequency versus time (spectrogram). Instructions for accessing NASA Lewis Research Center accelerometer data and related information using the internet are provided.

Ambiguous meanings of projects as facilitators of sensegiving.

PubMed

Lunkka, Nina; Suhonen, Marjo

2015-10-01

To describe mid-level nurse managers' experiences of sensegiving in the context of hospital projects. Sensegiving is about shaping and affecting how employees see themselves, their work and issues related to their work. It has been little studied in the context of hospital projects from mid-level nurse managers' point of view. Mid-level nurse managers (n = 10) were interviewed about their experiences of projects from the viewpoint of sensegiving during change processes. Data was analysed using discourse analysis. Three repertoires were constructed from the data: the repertoires of regeneration, control and humane. Projects were considered as appropriate ways for sensegiving in hospitals from the viewpoint of mid-level nurse managers. In order to use projects effectively in hospitals as means for change management mid-level nurse managers ought to enhance their role as interpreters during the change process (i.e. strengthen their visioning, talk and dialogue skills). Training on the nature of change as a social and interactive process could deepen mid-level nurse managers' understanding of the change process in the context of hospital projects. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Building and Retaining the Career Force: New Procedures for Accessing and Assigning Army Enlisted Personnel Annual Report, 1991 Fiscal Year

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-01

criterion-related validity studies conducted between 1960 and 1984. Results showed that temperament constructs predict multiple components of job...interpretable factors that accounted for 65 percent of the variance. The first seven rotated factors from the item-level analyses roughly corresponded to...developed for use as a training aid. Using a demilitarized M16 rifle, the The text of this section is adapted from the Project A Final Report (ARI

The 4DILAN Project (4TH Dimension in Landscape and Artifacts Analyses)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiabrando, F.; Naretto, M.; Sammartano, G.; Sambuelli, L.; Spanò, A.; Teppati Losè, L.

2017-05-01

The project is part of the wider application and subsequent spread of innovative digital technologies involving robotic systems. Modern society needs knowledge and investigation of the environment and of the related built landscape; therefore it increasingly requires new types of information. The goal can be achieved through the innovative integration of methods to set new analysis strategies for the knowledge of the built heritage and cultural landscape. The experimental cooperation between different disciplines and the related tools and techniques, which this work suggests for the analysis of the architectural heritage and the historical territory, are the following: - 3D metric survey techniques with active and passive sensors - the latter operating in both terrestrial mode and by aerial pointof view. In some circumstances, beyond the use of terrestrial LiDAR, even the newest mobile mapping system using SLAMtechnology (simultaneous localization and mapping) has been tested. - Techniques of non-destructive investigation, such as geophysical analysis of the subsoil and built structures, in particularGPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) techniques. - Historic and stratigraphic surveys carried out primarily through the study and interpretation of documentary sources,cartography and historical iconography, closely related to the existing data or latent material. The experience through the application of these techniques of investigation connected to the built spaces and to the manmade environments has been achieved with the aim of improving the ability to analyse the occurred transformations/layers over time and no longer directly readable or interpretable on manufactured evidence.

Analyser-based mammography using single-image reconstruction.

PubMed

Briedis, Dahliyani; Siu, Karen K W; Paganin, David M; Pavlov, Konstantin M; Lewis, Rob A

2005-08-07

We implement an algorithm that is able to decode a single analyser-based x-ray phase-contrast image of a sample, converting it into an equivalent conventional absorption-contrast radiograph. The algorithm assumes the projection approximation for x-ray propagation in a single-material object embedded in a substrate of approximately uniform thickness. Unlike the phase-contrast images, which have both directional bias and a bias towards edges present in the sample, the reconstructed images are directly interpretable in terms of the projected absorption coefficient of the sample. The technique was applied to a Leeds TOR[MAM] phantom, which is designed to test mammogram quality by the inclusion of simulated microcalcifications, filaments and circular discs. This phantom was imaged at varying doses using three modalities: analyser-based synchrotron phase-contrast images converted to equivalent absorption radiographs using our algorithm, slot-scanned synchrotron imaging and imaging using a conventional mammography unit. Features in the resulting images were then assigned a quality score by volunteers. The single-image reconstruction method achieved higher scores at equivalent and lower doses than the conventional mammography images, but no improvement of visualization of the simulated microcalcifications, and some degradation in image quality at reduced doses for filament features.

Development of adaptive IWRM options for climate change mitigation and adaptation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flügel, W.-A.

2011-04-01

Adaptive Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) options related to the impacts of climate change in the twinning basins of the Upper Danube River Basin (UDRB) and the Upper Brahmaputra River Basin (UBRB) are developed based on the results obtained in the different work packages of the BRAHMATWINN project. They have been described and discussed in Chapter 2 till Chapter 9 and the paper is referring to and is integrating these findings with respect to their application and interpretation for the development of adaptive IWRM options addressing impacts of climate change in river basins. The data and information related to the results discussed in Chapter 2 till 8 have been input to the RBIS as a central component of the IWRMS (Chapter 9). Meanwhile the UDRB has been analysed with respect to IWRM and climate change impacts by various projects, i.e. the GLOWA-Danube BMBF funded project (GLOWA Danube, 2009; Mauser and Ludwig, 2002) the UBRB has not been studied so far in a similar way as it was done in the BRAHMATWINN project. Therefore the IWRM option development is focussing on the UBRB but the methodology presented can be applied for the UDRB and other river basins as well. Data presented and analysed in this chapter have been elaborated by the BRAHMATWINN project partners and are published in the project deliverable reports available from the project homepage http://www.brahmatwinn.uni-jena.de/index.php?id=5311&L=2.

Methodologies for Reservoir Characterization Using Fluid Inclusion Gas Chemistry

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

Dilley, Lorie M.

2015-04-13

The purpose of this project was to: 1) evaluate the relationship between geothermal fluid processes and the compositions of the fluid inclusion gases trapped in the reservoir rocks; and 2) develop methodologies for interpreting fluid inclusion gas data in terms of the chemical, thermal and hydrological properties of geothermal reservoirs. Phase 1 of this project was designed to conduct the following: 1) model the effects of boiling, condensation, conductive cooling and mixing on selected gaseous species; using fluid compositions obtained from geothermal wells, 2) evaluate, using quantitative analyses provided by New Mexico Tech (NMT), how these processes are recorded bymore » fluid inclusions trapped in individual crystals; and 3) determine if the results obtained on individual crystals can be applied to the bulk fluid inclusion analyses determined by Fluid Inclusion Technology (FIT). Our initial studies however, suggested that numerical modeling of the data would be premature. We observed that the gas compositions, determined on bulk and individual samples were not the same as those discharged by the geothermal wells. Gases discharged from geothermal wells are CO 2-rich and contain low concentrations of light gases (i.e. H 2, He, N, Ar, CH4). In contrast many of our samples displayed enrichments in these light gases. Efforts were initiated to evaluate the reasons for the observed gas distributions. As a first step, we examined the potential importance of different reservoir processes using a variety of commonly employed gas ratios (e.g. Giggenbach plots). The second technical target was the development of interpretational methodologies. We have develop methodologies for the interpretation of fluid inclusion gas data, based on the results of Phase 1, geologic interpretation of fluid inclusion data, and integration of the data. These methodologies can be used in conjunction with the relevant geological and hydrological information on the system to create fluid models for the system. The hope is that the methodologies developed will allow bulk fluid inclusion gas analysis to be a useful tool for estimating relative temperatures, identifying the sources and origins of the geothermal fluids, and developing conceptual models that can be used to help target areas of enhanced permeability.« less

Evaluation of the predictive capability of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical models for a heated bentonite/clay system (HE-E) in the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory

DOE PAGES

Garitte, B.; Shao, H.; Wang, X. R.; ...

2017-01-09

Process understanding and parameter identification using numerical methods based on experimental findings are a key aspect of the international cooperative project DECOVALEX. Comparing the predictions from numerical models against experimental results increases confidence in the site selection and site evaluation process for a radioactive waste repository in deep geological formations. In the present phase of the project, DECOVALEX-2015, eight research teams have developed and applied models for simulating an in-situ heater experiment HE-E in the Opalinus Clay in the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory in Switzerland. The modelling task was divided into two study stages, related to prediction and interpretation ofmore » the experiment. A blind prediction of the HE-E experiment was performed based on calibrated parameter values for both the Opalinus Clay, that were based on the modelling of another in-situ experiment (HE-D), and modelling of laboratory column experiments on MX80 granular bentonite and a sand/bentonite mixture .. After publication of the experimental data, additional coupling functions were analysed and considered in the different models. Moreover, parameter values were varied to interpret the measured temperature, relative humidity and pore pressure evolution. The analysis of the predictive and interpretative results reveals the current state of understanding and predictability of coupled THM behaviours associated with geologic nuclear waste disposal in clay formations.« less

Evaluation of the predictive capability of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical models for a heated bentonite/clay system (HE-E) in the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory

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

Garitte, B.; Shao, H.; Wang, X. R.

Process understanding and parameter identification using numerical methods based on experimental findings are a key aspect of the international cooperative project DECOVALEX. Comparing the predictions from numerical models against experimental results increases confidence in the site selection and site evaluation process for a radioactive waste repository in deep geological formations. In the present phase of the project, DECOVALEX-2015, eight research teams have developed and applied models for simulating an in-situ heater experiment HE-E in the Opalinus Clay in the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory in Switzerland. The modelling task was divided into two study stages, related to prediction and interpretation ofmore » the experiment. A blind prediction of the HE-E experiment was performed based on calibrated parameter values for both the Opalinus Clay, that were based on the modelling of another in-situ experiment (HE-D), and modelling of laboratory column experiments on MX80 granular bentonite and a sand/bentonite mixture .. After publication of the experimental data, additional coupling functions were analysed and considered in the different models. Moreover, parameter values were varied to interpret the measured temperature, relative humidity and pore pressure evolution. The analysis of the predictive and interpretative results reveals the current state of understanding and predictability of coupled THM behaviours associated with geologic nuclear waste disposal in clay formations.« less

An evaluation of the Goddard Space Flight Center Library

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herner, S.; Lancaster, F. W.; Wright, N.; Ockerman, L.; Shearer, B.; Greenspan, S.; Mccartney, J.; Vellucci, M.

1979-01-01

The character and degree of coincidence between the current and future missions, programs, and projects of the Goddard Space Flight Center and the current and future collection, services, and facilities of its library were determined from structured interviews and discussions with various classes of facility personnel. In addition to the tabulation and interpretation of the data from the structured interview survey, five types of statistical analyses were performed to corroborate (or contradict) the survey results and to produce useful information not readily attainable through survey material. Conclusions reached regarding compatability between needs and holdings, services and buildings, library hours of operation, methods of early detection and anticipation of changing holdings requirements, and the impact of near future programs are presented along with a list of statistics needing collection, organization, and interpretation on a continuing or longitudinal basis.

A developmental evaluation to enhance stakeholder engagement in a wide-scale interactive project disseminating quality improvement data: study protocol for a mixed-methods study

PubMed Central

Laycock, Alison; Bailie, Jodie; Matthews, Veronica; Cunningham, Frances; Harvey, Gillian; Percival, Nikki; Bailie, Ross

2017-01-01

Introduction Bringing together continuous quality improvement (CQI) data from multiple health services offers opportunities to identify common improvement priorities and to develop interventions at various system levels to achieve large-scale improvement in care. An important principle of CQI is practitioner participation in interpreting data and planning evidence-based change. This study will contribute knowledge about engaging diverse stakeholders in collaborative and theoretically informed processes to identify and address priority evidence-practice gaps in care delivery. This paper describes a developmental evaluation to support and refine a novel interactive dissemination project using aggregated CQI data from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare centres in Australia. The project aims to effect multilevel system improvement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare. Methods and analysis Data will be gathered using document analysis, online surveys, interviews with participants and iterative analytical processes with the research team. These methods will enable real-time feedback to guide refinements to the design, reports, tools and processes as the interactive dissemination project is implemented. Qualitative data from interviews and surveys will be analysed and interpreted to provide in-depth understanding of factors that influence engagement and stakeholder perspectives about use of the aggregated data and generated improvement strategies. Sources of data will be triangulated to build up a comprehensive, contextualised perspective and integrated understanding of the project's development, implementation and findings. Ethics and dissemination The Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the Northern Territory Department of Health and Menzies School of Health Research (Project 2015-2329), the Central Australian HREC (Project 15-288) and the Charles Darwin University HREC (Project H15030) approved the study. Dissemination will include articles in peer-reviewed journals, policy and research briefs. Results will be presented at conferences and quality improvement network meetings. Researchers, clinicians, policymakers and managers developing evidence-based system and policy interventions should benefit from this research. PMID:28710222

"Global warming, continental drying? Interpreting projected aridity changes over land under climate change"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berg, Alexis

2017-04-01

In recent years, a number of studies have suggested that, as climate warms, the land surface will globally become more arid. Such results usually rely on drought or aridity diagnostics, such as the Palmer Drought Severity Index or the Aridity Index (ratio of precipitation over potential evapotranspiration, PET), applied to climate model projections of surface climate. From a global perspective, the projected widespread drying of the land surface is generally interpreted as the result of the dominant, ubiquitous warming-induced PET increase, which overwhelms the slight overall precipitation increase projected over land. However, several lines of evidence, based on (paleo)observations and climate model projections, raise questions regarding this interpretation of terrestrial climate change. In this talk, I will review elements of the literature supporting these different perspectives, and will present recent results based on CMIP5 climate model projections regarding changes in aridity over land that shed some light on this discussion. Central to the interpretation of projected land aridity changes is the understanding of projected PET trends over land and their link with changes in other variables of the terrestrial water cycle (ET, soil moisture) and surface climate in the context of the coupled land-atmosphere system.

Knowledge and Valorization of Historical Sites Through 3d Documentation and Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farella, E.; Menna, F.; Nocerino, E.; Morabito, D.; Remondino, F.; Campi, M.

2016-06-01

The paper presents the first results of an interdisciplinary project related to the 3D documentation, dissemination, valorization and digital access of archeological sites. Beside the mere 3D documentation aim, the project has two goals: (i) to easily explore and share via web references and results of the interdisciplinary work, including the interpretative process and the final reconstruction of the remains; (ii) to promote and valorize archaeological areas using reality-based 3D data and Virtual Reality devices. This method has been verified on the ruins of the archeological site of Pausilypon, a maritime villa of Roman period (Naples, Italy). Using Unity3D, the virtual tour of the heritage site was integrated and enriched with the surveyed 3D data, text documents, CAAD reconstruction hypotheses, drawings, photos, etc. In this way, starting from the actual appearance of the ruins (panoramic images), passing through the 3D digital surveying models and several other historical information, the user is able to access virtual contents and reconstructed scenarios, all in a single virtual, interactive and immersive environment. These contents and scenarios allow to derive documentation and geometrical information, understand the site, perform analyses, see interpretative processes, communicate historical information and valorize the heritage location.

Continued Development of Curriculum for Interpreter Training Programs in Vocational Education. Final Report, July 1, 1980 - June 30, 1981.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas State Technical Inst., Waco.

A project was undertaken to continue development of a curriculum for training interpreters for deaf persons enrolled in vocational education programs in Texas. Utilizing field consultants for specialized course development, project staff completed 11 interpreting modules and accompanying audiovisual prototypes. In addition, on-site visits were…

Palaeo sea-level and ice-sheet databases: problems, strategies and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rovere, Alessio; Düsterhus, André; Carlson, Anders; Barlow, Natasha; Bradwell, Tom; Dutton, Andrea; Gehrels, Roland; Hibbert, Fiona; Hijma, Marc; Horton, Benjamin; Klemann, Volker; Kopp, Robert; Sivan, Dorit; Tarasov, Lev; Törnqvist, Torbjorn

2016-04-01

Databases of palaeoclimate data have driven many major developments in understanding the Earth system. The measurement and interpretation of palaeo sea-level and ice-sheet data that form such databases pose considerable challenges to the scientific communities that use them for further analyses. In this paper, we build on the experience of the PALSEA (PALeo constraints on SEA level rise) community, which is a working group inside the PAGES (Past Global Changes) project, to describe the challenges and best strategies that can be adopted to build a self-consistent and standardised database of geological and geochemical data related to palaeo sea levels and ice sheets. Our aim in this paper is to identify key points that need attention and subsequent funding when undertaking the task of database creation. We conclude that any sea-level or ice-sheet database must be divided into three instances: i) measurement; ii) interpretation; iii) database creation. Measurement should include postion, age, description of geological features, and quantification of uncertainties. All must be described as objectively as possible. Interpretation can be subjective, but it should always include uncertainties and include all the possible interpretations, without unjustified a priori exclusions. We propose that, in the creation of a database, an approach based on Accessibility, Transparency, Trust, Availability, Continued updating, Completeness and Communication of content (ATTAC3) must be adopted. Also, it is essential to consider the community structure that creates and benefits of a database. We conclude that funding sources should consider to address not only the creation of original data in specific research-question oriented projects, but also include the possibility to use part of the funding for IT-related and database creation tasks, which are essential to guarantee accessibility and maintenance of the collected data.

Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging: The Next Generation

PubMed Central

Bhargava, Rohit

2013-01-01

Infrared (IR) spectroscopic imaging seemingly matured as a technology in the mid-2000s, with commercially successful instrumentation and reports in numerous applications. Recent developments, however, have transformed our understanding of the recorded data, provided capability for new instrumentation, and greatly enhanced the ability to extract more useful information in less time. These developments are summarized here in three broad areas— data recording, interpretation of recorded data, and information extraction—and their critical review is employed to project emerging trends. Overall, the convergence of selected components from hardware, theory, algorithms, and applications is one trend. Instead of similar, general-purpose instrumentation, another trend is likely to be diverse and application-targeted designs of instrumentation driven by emerging component technologies. The recent renaissance in both fundamental science and instrumentation will likely spur investigations at the confluence of conventional spectroscopic analyses and optical physics for improved data interpretation. While chemometrics has dominated data processing, a trend will likely lie in the development of signal processing algorithms to optimally extract spectral and spatial information prior to conventional chemometric analyses. Finally, the sum of these recent advances is likely to provide unprecedented capability in measurement and scientific insight, which will present new opportunities for the applied spectroscopist. PMID:23031693

Land-cover change in the Lower Mississippi Valley, 1973-2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Karstensen, Krista A.; Sayler, Kristi L.

2009-01-01

The Land Cover Trends is a research project focused on understanding the rates, trends, causes, and consequences of contemporary United States land-use and land-cover change. The project is coordinated by the Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Using the EPA Level III ecoregions as the geographic framework, scientists process geospatial data collected between 1973 and 2000 were processed to characterize ecosystem responses to land-use changes. The 27-year study period was divided into four temporal periods: 1973 to1980, 1980 to 1986, 1986 to 1992, 1992 to 2000 and overall from 1973 to 2000. General land-cover classes for these periods were interpreted from Landsat Multispectral Scanner, Thematic Mapper, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus imagery to categorize and evaluate land-cover change using a modified Anderson Land Use Land Cover Classification System (Anderson and others, 1976) for image interpretation.The rates of land-cover change were estimated using a stratified, random sampling of 10-kilometer (km) by 10-km blocks allocated within each ecoregion. For each sample block, satellite images were used to interpret land-cover change. The sample block data then were incorporated into statistical analyses to generate an overall change matrix for the ecoregion. These change statistics are applicable for different levels of scale, including total change for the individual sample blocks and change estimates for the entire ecoregion.

A Comparative Study on Emerging Electric Vehicle Technology Assessments

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

Ford, Jonathan; Khowailed, Gannate; Blackburn, Julia

2011-03-01

Numerous organizations have published reports in recent years that investigate the ever changing world of electric vehicle (EV) technologies and their potential effects on society. Specifically, projections have been made on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with these vehicles and how they compare to conventional vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Similar projections have been made on the volumes of oil that these vehicles can displace by consuming large amounts of grid electricity instead of petroleum-based fuels. Finally, the projected rate that these new vehicle fleets will enter the market varies significantly among organizations. New ideas, technologies, and possibilities aremore » introduced often, and projected values are likely to be refined as industry announcements continue to be made. As a result, over time, a multitude of projections for GHG emissions, oil displacement, and market penetration associated with various EV technologies has resulted in a wide range of possible future outcomes. This leaves the reader with two key questions: (1) Why does such a collective range in projected values exist in these reports? (2) What assumptions have the greatest impact on the outcomes presented in these reports? Since it is impractical for an average reader to review and interpret all the various vehicle technology reports published to date, Sentech Inc. and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have conducted a comparative study to make these interpretations. The primary objective of this comparative study is to present a snapshot of all major projections made on GHG emissions, oil displacement, or market penetration rates of EV technologies. From the extensive data found in relevant publications, the key assumptions that drive each report's analysis are identified and 'apples-to-apples' comparisons between all major report conclusions are attempted. The general approach that was taken in this comparative study is comprised of six primary steps: (1) Search Relevant Literature - An extensive search of recent analyses that address the environmental impacts, market penetration rates, and oil displacement potential of various EV technologies was conducted; (2) Consolidate Studies - Upon completion of the literature search, a list of analyses that have sufficient data for comparison and that should be included in the study was compiled; (3) Identify Key Assumptions - Disparity in conclusions very likely originates from disparity in simple assumptions. In order to compare 'apples-to-apples,' key assumptions were identified in each study to provide the basis for comparing analyses; (4) Extract Information - Each selected report was reviewed, and information on key assumptions and data points was extracted; (5) Overlay Data Points - Visual representations of the comprehensive conclusions were prepared to identify general trends and outliers; and (6) Draw Final Conclusions - Once all comparisons are made to the greatest possible extent, the final conclusions were draw on what major factors lead to the variation in results among studies.« less

Influence of three common calibration metrics on the diagnosis of climate change impacts on water resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seiller, G.; Roy, R.; Anctil, F.

2017-04-01

Uncertainties associated to the evaluation of the impacts of climate change on water resources are broad, from multiple sources, and lead to diagnoses sometimes difficult to interpret. Quantification of these uncertainties is a key element to yield confidence in the analyses and to provide water managers with valuable information. This work specifically evaluates the influence of hydrological modeling calibration metrics on future water resources projections, on thirty-seven watersheds in the Province of Québec, Canada. Twelve lumped hydrologic models, representing a wide range of operational options, are calibrated with three common objective functions derived from the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency. The hydrologic models are forced with climate simulations corresponding to two RCP, twenty-nine GCM from CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5) and two post-treatment techniques, leading to future projections in the 2041-2070 period. Results show that the diagnosis of the impacts of climate change on water resources are quite affected by the hydrologic models selection and calibration metrics. Indeed, for the four selected hydrological indicators, dedicated to water management, parameters from the three objective functions can provide different interpretations in terms of absolute and relative changes, as well as projected changes direction and climatic ensemble consensus. The GR4J model and a multimodel approach offer the best modeling options, based on calibration performance and robustness. Overall, these results illustrate the need to provide water managers with detailed information on relative changes analysis, but also absolute change values, especially for hydrological indicators acting as security policy thresholds.

"Othering" agricultural biotechnology: Slovenian media representation of agricultural biotechnology.

PubMed

Zajc, Jožica; Erjavec, Karmen

2014-08-01

While studies on media representations of agricultural biotechnology mostly analyse media texts, this work is intended to fill a research gap with an analysis of journalistic interpretations of media representations. The purpose of this project was to determine how news media represent agricultural biotechnology and how journalists interpret their own representations. A content and critical discourse analysis of news texts published in the Slovenian media over two years and in-depth interviews with their authors were conducted. News texts results suggest that most of the news posts were "othering" biotechnology and biotechnologists: biotechnology as a science and individual scientists are represented as "they," who are socially irresponsible, ignorant, arrogant, and "our" enemies who produce unnatural processes and work for biotechnology companies, whose greed is destroying people, animals, and the environment. Most journalists consider these representations to be objective because they have published the biotechnologists' opinions, despite their own negative attitudes towards biotechnology.

Quantum mechanics without the projection postulate and its realistic interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dieks, D.

1989-11-01

It is widely held that quantum mechanics is the first scientific theory to present scientifically internal, fundamental difficulties for a realistic interpretation (in the philosophical sense). The standard (Copenhagen) interpretation of the quantum theory is often described as the inevitable instrumentalistic response. It is the purpose of the present article to argue that quantum theory does not present fundamental new problems to a realistic interpretation. The formalism of quantum theory has the same states—it will be argued—as the formalisms of older physical theories and is capable of the same kinds of philosophical interpretation. This result is reached via an analysis of what it means to give a realistic interpretation to a theory. The main point of difference between quantum mechanics and other theories—as far as the possibilities of interpretation are concerned—is the special treatment given to measurement by the “projection postulate.” But it is possible to do without this postulate. Moreover, rejection of the projection postulate does not, in spite of what is often maintained in the literature, automatically lead to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. A realistic interpretation is possible in which only the reality of one (our) world is recognized. It is argued that the Copenhagen interpretation as expounded by Bohr is not in conflict with the here proposed realistic interpretation of quantum theory.

Developing Curriculum for Interpreter Training Programs in Vocational Education. Final Report, July 1, 1979-June 30, 1980.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Cynthia B.; And Others

A project was conducted to develop a curriculum for training interpreters to use American Sign Language (ASL) to serve the deaf. The three-phase project involved (1) a task analysis to catalog the skills needed by interpreters and location of existing materials to determine areas where material needed to be developed; (2) development of a model…

Energy Exchange by Thermal Radiation: Hints and Suggestions for an Inquiry Based Lab Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battaglia, Onofrio Rosario; Fazio, Claudio; Pizzolato, Nicola; Mineo, Rosa Maria Sperandeo

In this paper we present some laboratory activities developed in the framework of an inquiry-based approach to the study of energy exchange by thermal radiation. These activities were developed in the context of "Establish", a FP7 European Project aimed at promoting and developing Inquiry Based Science Education in European Secondary Schools. By starting from real life students are engaged in designing and carrying out laboratory activities by collecting, processing and analysing data. Particular attention is paid in building data interpretation by taking into account the effects of parameters like the environmental temperature.

Interpretive geologic bedrock map of the Tanana B-1 Quadrangle, Central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reifenstuh, Rocky R.; Dover, James H.; Newberry, Rainer J.; Calutice, Karen H.; Liss, Shirley A.; Blodgett, Robert B.; Budtzen, Thomas K.; Weber, Florence R.

1997-01-01

This report provides detailed (1:63,360-scale) mapping of the Tanana B-1 Quadrangle (250 square miles; equivalent to four 7.5 minute quadrangles). The area is part of the Manley Hot Springs-Tofty mining districts and adjacent to the Rampart mining district to the north of the Tanana A-1 and A-2 Quadrangles. This report includes detailed bedrock, structural, stratigraphic, and geochronologic data. Based on the resulting geologic maps, field investigations, and laboratory materials analyses, the project has also generated derivative maps of geologic construction materials and geologic hazards.

Applications of AVHRR-Derived Ice Motions for the Arctic and Antarctic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maslanik, James; Emery, William

1998-01-01

Characterization and diagnosis of sea ice/atmosphere/ocean interactions require a synthesis of observations and modeling to identify the key mechanisms controlling the ice/climate system. In this project, we combined product generation, observational analyses, and modeling to define and interpret variability in ice motion in conjunction with thermodynamic factors such as surface temperature and albedo. The goals of this work were twofold: (1) to develop and test procedures to produce an integrated set of polar products from remotely-sensed and supporting data; and (2) to apply these data to understand processes at work in controlling sea ice distribution.

The Independent Technical Analysis Process Final Report 2006-2007.

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

Duberstein, Corey; Ham, Kenneth; Dauble, Dennis

2007-03-01

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contracted with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to provide technical analytical support for system-wide fish passage information (BPA Project No. 2006-010-00). The goal of this project was to produce rigorous technical analysis products using independent analysts and anonymous peer reviewers. This project provided an independent technical source for non-routine fish passage analyses while allowing routine support functions to be performed by other well-qualified entities. The Independent Technical Analysis Process (ITAP) was created to provide non-routine analysis for fish and wildlife agencies and tribes in particular and the public in general on matters related tomore » juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead passage through the mainstem hydrosystem. The process was designed to maintain the independence of analysts and reviewers from parties requesting analyses, to avoid potential bias in technical products. The objectives identified for this project were to administer a rigorous, transparent process to deliver unbiased technical assistance necessary to coordinate recommendations for storage reservoir and river operations that avoid potential conflicts between anadromous and resident fish. Seven work elements, designated by numbered categories in the Pisces project tracking system, were created to define and accomplish project goals as follows: (1) 118 Coordination - Coordinate technical analysis and review process: (a) Retain expertise for analyst/reviewer roles. (b) Draft research directives. (c) Send directive to the analyst. (d) Coordinate two independent reviews of the draft report. (e) Ensure reviewer comments are addressed within the final report. (2) 162 Analyze/Interpret Data - Implement the independent aspects of the project. (3) 122 Provide Technical Review - Implement the review process for the analysts. (4) 132 Produce Annual Report - FY06 annual progress report with Pisces Disseminate (5) 161 Disseminate Raw/Summary Data and Results - Post technical products on the ITAP web site. (6) 185-Produce Pisces Status Report - Provide periodic status reports to BPA. (7) 119 Manage and Administer Projects - project/contract administration.« less

Sulfur in Cometary Dust

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fomenkova, M. N.

1997-01-01

The computer-intensive project consisted of the analysis and synthesis of existing data on composition of comet Halley dust particles. The main objective was to obtain a complete inventory of sulfur containing compounds in the comet Halley dust by building upon the existing classification of organic and inorganic compounds and applying a variety of statistical techniques for cluster and cross-correlational analyses. A student hired for this project wrote and tested the software to perform cluster analysis. The following tasks were carried out: (1) selecting the data from existing database for the proposed project; (2) finding access to a standard library of statistical routines for cluster analysis; (3) reformatting the data as necessary for input into the library routines; (4) performing cluster analysis and constructing hierarchical cluster trees using three methods to define the proximity of clusters; (5) presenting the output results in different formats to facilitate the interpretation of the obtained cluster trees; (6) selecting groups of data points common for all three trees as stable clusters. We have also considered the chemistry of sulfur in inorganic compounds.

Determination of geochemical and natural radioactivity characteristics in Bilecik Marble, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yerel Kandemir, Suheyla; Ozbay, Nurgul

2014-05-01

Natural stones are one of the oldest known building materials. There are more than 400 natural stone in Turkey. Recently, the demand for the natural stone types in markets has been increasing rapidly. For this reason, the geochemical and natural radioactivity characteristics of natural stone are very important. Bilecik province is located at the northwest part of Turkey and it is surrounded by Sakarya, Bursa, Eskisehir and Kutahya city. Bilecik is one of the important marble industry regions of Turkey. Thus, the geochemical and natural radioactivity characteristics of Bilecik marble are very important. In this study, Bilecik marble was collected to determine the geochemistry and natural radioactivity. Then, analyses of geochemical and natural radioactivity in the marble samples are interpreted. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This study is supported by Bilecik Seyh Edebali University scientific project (Project Number =2011-02-BIL.03-04).

Graphing the Past

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clary, Renee; Wandersee, James

2014-01-01

Renee Clary and James Wandersee implemented the Stratigraphy and Data Interpretation Project described in this article when they recognized that some students were having difficulties constructing appropriate graphics and interpreting their constructed graphics for an earlier mathematics-science project in their classrooms. They also previously…

Distribution automation and control support; Analysis and interpretation of DAC working group results for use in project planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klock, P.; Evans, D.

1979-01-01

The Executive Summary and Proceedings of the Working Group Meeting was analyzed to identify specific projects appropriate for Distribution Automation and Control DAC RD&D. Specific projects that should be undertaken in the DAC RD&D program were recommended. The projects are presented under broad categories of work selected based on ESC's interpretation of the results of the Working Group Meeting. Some of the projects are noted as utility industry projects. The ESC recommendations regarding program management are presented. Utility versus Government management responsibilities are noted.

Workplace restructurings in intervention studies – a challenge for design, analysis and interpretation

PubMed Central

Olsen, Ole; Albertsen, Karen; Nielsen, Martin Lindhardt; Poulsen, Kjeld Børge; Gron, Sisse Malene Frydendal; Brunnberg, Hans Lennart

2008-01-01

Background Interventions in occupational health often target worksites rather than individuals. The objective of this paper is to describe the (lack of) stability in units of analysis in occupational health and safety intervention projects directed toward worksites. Methods A case study approach is used to describe naturally occurring organizational changes in four, large, Nordic intervention projects that ran 3–5 years, covered 3–52 worksites, cost 0.25 mill–2.2 mill €, and involved 3–7 researchers. Results In all four cases, high rates of closing, merging, moving, downsizing or restructuring was observed, and in all four cases at least one company/worksite experienced two or more re-organizations during the project period. If individual worksites remained, ownership or (for publicly owned) administrative or legal base often shifted. Forthcoming closure led employees and managers to seek employment at other worksites participating in the studies. Key employees involved in the intervention process often changed. Conclusion Major changes were the rule rather than the exception. Frequent fundamental changes at worksites need to be taken into account when planning intervention studies and raises serious questions concerning design, analyses and interpretation of results. The frequent changes may also have deleterious implications for the potential effectiveness of many real life interventions directed toward worksites. We urge researchers and editors to prioritize this subject in order to improve the quality of future intervention research and preventive action. PMID:18554380

A Classroom Demonstration of Potential Biases in the Subjective Interpretation of Projective Tests.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiederman, Michael W.

1999-01-01

Suggests that instructors teaching psychological assessment can use a demonstration to illustrate potential biases when subjectively interpreting response to projective stimuli. Outlines the classroom procedure, notes styles of learning involved, and presents a summary of student evaluations. (DSK)

The "MelArete" Project: Educating Children to the Ethics of Virtue and of Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mortari, Luigina; Ubbiali, Marco

2017-01-01

The educative project MelArete proposes an interpretation of ethical education: a form of Education to Virtue Ethics in the light of the philosophy of care. Starting from the ontological assumption that care is prime in life and without it the human being cannot flourish in his/her humanity, the project is based on an interpretation of the…

The Personal Genome Project Canada: findings from whole genome sequences of the inaugural 56 participants

PubMed Central

Reuter, Miriam S.; Walker, Susan; Thiruvahindrapuram, Bhooma; Whitney, Joe; Cohn, Iris; Sondheimer, Neal; Yuen, Ryan K.C.; Trost, Brett; Paton, Tara A.; Pereira, Sergio L.; Herbrick, Jo-Anne; Wintle, Richard F.; Merico, Daniele; Howe, Jennifer; MacDonald, Jeffrey R.; Lu, Chao; Nalpathamkalam, Thomas; Sung, Wilson W.L.; Wang, Zhuozhi; Patel, Rohan V.; Pellecchia, Giovanna; Wei, John; Strug, Lisa J.; Bell, Sherilyn; Kellam, Barbara; Mahtani, Melanie M.; Bassett, Anne S.; Bombard, Yvonne; Weksberg, Rosanna; Shuman, Cheryl; Cohn, Ronald D.; Stavropoulos, Dimitri J.; Bowdin, Sarah; Hildebrandt, Matthew R.; Wei, Wei; Romm, Asli; Pasceri, Peter; Ellis, James; Ray, Peter; Meyn, M. Stephen; Monfared, Nasim; Hosseini, S. Mohsen; Joseph-George, Ann M.; Keeley, Fred W.; Cook, Ryan A.; Fiume, Marc; Lee, Hin C.; Marshall, Christian R.; Davies, Jill; Hazell, Allison; Buchanan, Janet A.; Szego, Michael J.; Scherer, Stephen W.

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND: The Personal Genome Project Canada is a comprehensive public data resource that integrates whole genome sequencing data and health information. We describe genomic variation identified in the initial recruitment cohort of 56 volunteers. METHODS: Volunteers were screened for eligibility and provided informed consent for open data sharing. Using blood DNA, we performed whole genome sequencing and identified all possible classes of DNA variants. A genetic counsellor explained the implication of the results to each participant. RESULTS: Whole genome sequencing of the first 56 participants identified 207 662 805 sequence variants and 27 494 copy number variations. We analyzed a prioritized disease-associated data set (n = 1606 variants) according to standardized guidelines, and interpreted 19 variants in 14 participants (25%) as having obvious health implications. Six of these variants (e.g., in BRCA1 or mosaic loss of an X chromosome) were pathogenic or likely pathogenic. Seven were risk factors for cancer, cardiovascular or neurobehavioural conditions. Four other variants — associated with cancer, cardiac or neurodegenerative phenotypes — remained of uncertain significance because of discrepancies among databases. We also identified a large structural chromosome aberration and a likely pathogenic mitochondrial variant. There were 172 recessive disease alleles (e.g., 5 individuals carried mutations for cystic fibrosis). Pharmacogenomics analyses revealed another 3.9 potentially relevant genotypes per individual. INTERPRETATION: Our analyses identified a spectrum of genetic variants with potential health impact in 25% of participants. When also considering recessive alleles and variants with potential pharmacologic relevance, all 56 participants had medically relevant findings. Although access is mostly limited to research, whole genome sequencing can provide specific and novel information with the potential of major impact for health care. PMID:29431110

A developmental evaluation to enhance stakeholder engagement in a wide-scale interactive project disseminating quality improvement data: study protocol for a mixed-methods study.

PubMed

Laycock, Alison; Bailie, Jodie; Matthews, Veronica; Cunningham, Frances; Harvey, Gillian; Percival, Nikki; Bailie, Ross

2017-07-13

Bringing together continuous quality improvement (CQI) data from multiple health services offers opportunities to identify common improvement priorities and to develop interventions at various system levels to achieve large-scale improvement in care. An important principle of CQI is practitioner participation in interpreting data and planning evidence-based change. This study will contribute knowledge about engaging diverse stakeholders in collaborative and theoretically informed processes to identify and address priority evidence-practice gaps in care delivery. This paper describes a developmental evaluation to support and refine a novel interactive dissemination project using aggregated CQI data from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare centres in Australia. The project aims to effect multilevel system improvement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare. Data will be gathered using document analysis, online surveys, interviews with participants and iterative analytical processes with the research team. These methods will enable real-time feedback to guide refinements to the design, reports, tools and processes as the interactive dissemination project is implemented. Qualitative data from interviews and surveys will be analysed and interpreted to provide in-depth understanding of factors that influence engagement and stakeholder perspectives about use of the aggregated data and generated improvement strategies. Sources of data will be triangulated to build up a comprehensive, contextualised perspective and integrated understanding of the project's development, implementation and findings. The Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the Northern Territory Department of Health and Menzies School of Health Research (Project 2015-2329), the Central Australian HREC (Project 15-288) and the Charles Darwin University HREC (Project H15030) approved the study. Dissemination will include articles in peer-reviewed journals, policy and research briefs. Results will be presented at conferences and quality improvement network meetings. Researchers, clinicians, policymakers and managers developing evidence-based system and policy interventions should benefit from this research. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Omics Metadata Management Software (OMMS).

PubMed

Perez-Arriaga, Martha O; Wilson, Susan; Williams, Kelly P; Schoeniger, Joseph; Waymire, Russel L; Powell, Amy Jo

2015-01-01

Next-generation sequencing projects have underappreciated information management tasks requiring detailed attention to specimen curation, nucleic acid sample preparation and sequence production methods required for downstream data processing, comparison, interpretation, sharing and reuse. The few existing metadata management tools for genome-based studies provide weak curatorial frameworks for experimentalists to store and manage idiosyncratic, project-specific information, typically offering no automation supporting unified naming and numbering conventions for sequencing production environments that routinely deal with hundreds, if not thousands of samples at a time. Moreover, existing tools are not readily interfaced with bioinformatics executables, (e.g., BLAST, Bowtie2, custom pipelines). Our application, the Omics Metadata Management Software (OMMS), answers both needs, empowering experimentalists to generate intuitive, consistent metadata, and perform analyses and information management tasks via an intuitive web-based interface. Several use cases with short-read sequence datasets are provided to validate installation and integrated function, and suggest possible methodological road maps for prospective users. Provided examples highlight possible OMMS workflows for metadata curation, multistep analyses, and results management and downloading. The OMMS can be implemented as a stand alone-package for individual laboratories, or can be configured for webbased deployment supporting geographically-dispersed projects. The OMMS was developed using an open-source software base, is flexible, extensible and easily installed and executed. The OMMS can be obtained at http://omms.sandia.gov. The OMMS can be obtained at http://omms.sandia.gov.

Omics Metadata Management Software (OMMS)

PubMed Central

Perez-Arriaga, Martha O; Wilson, Susan; Williams, Kelly P; Schoeniger, Joseph; Waymire, Russel L; Powell, Amy Jo

2015-01-01

Next-generation sequencing projects have underappreciated information management tasks requiring detailed attention to specimen curation, nucleic acid sample preparation and sequence production methods required for downstream data processing, comparison, interpretation, sharing and reuse. The few existing metadata management tools for genome-based studies provide weak curatorial frameworks for experimentalists to store and manage idiosyncratic, project-specific information, typically offering no automation supporting unified naming and numbering conventions for sequencing production environments that routinely deal with hundreds, if not thousands of samples at a time. Moreover, existing tools are not readily interfaced with bioinformatics executables, (e.g., BLAST, Bowtie2, custom pipelines). Our application, the Omics Metadata Management Software (OMMS), answers both needs, empowering experimentalists to generate intuitive, consistent metadata, and perform analyses and information management tasks via an intuitive web-based interface. Several use cases with short-read sequence datasets are provided to validate installation and integrated function, and suggest possible methodological road maps for prospective users. Provided examples highlight possible OMMS workflows for metadata curation, multistep analyses, and results management and downloading. The OMMS can be implemented as a stand alone-package for individual laboratories, or can be configured for webbased deployment supporting geographically-dispersed projects. The OMMS was developed using an open-source software base, is flexible, extensible and easily installed and executed. The OMMS can be obtained at http://omms.sandia.gov. Availability The OMMS can be obtained at http://omms.sandia.gov PMID:26124554

The development of participatory health research among incarcerated women in a Canadian prison

PubMed Central

Murphy, K.; Hanson, D.; Hemingway, C.; Ramsden, V.; Buxton, J.; Granger-Brown, A.; Condello, L-L.; Buchanan, M.; Espinoza-Magana, N.; Edworthy, G.; Hislop, T. G.

2009-01-01

This paper describes the development of a unique prison participatory research project, in which incarcerated women formed a research team, the research activities and the lessons learned. The participatory action research project was conducted in the main short sentence minimum/medium security women's prison located in a Western Canadian province. An ethnographic multi-method approach was used for data collection and analysis. Quantitative data was collected by surveys and analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data was collected from orientation package entries, audio recordings, and written archives of research team discussions, forums and debriefings, and presentations. These data and ethnographic observations were transcribed and analysed using iterative and interpretative qualitative methods and NVivo 7 software. Up to 15 women worked each day as prison research team members; a total of 190 women participated at some time in the project between November 2005 and August 2007. Incarcerated women peer researchers developed the research processes including opportunities for them to develop leadership and technical skills. Through these processes, including data collection and analysis, nine health goals emerged. Lessons learned from the research processes were confirmed by the common themes that emerged from thematic analysis of the research activity data. Incarceration provides a unique opportunity for engagement of women as expert partners alongside academic researchers and primary care workers in participatory research processes to improve their health. PMID:25759141

Deep Lake Explorer: Bringing citizen scientists to the underwater world of the Great Lakes

EPA Science Inventory

Deep Lake Explorer is a web application hosted on the Zooniverse platform that allows the public to interpret underwater video collected in the Great Lakes. Crowdsourcing image interpretation using the Zooniverse platform has proven successful for many projects, but few projects ...

Preliminary publications book 2 from project on mineral resources, metallogenesis, and tectonics of northeast Asia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nokleberg, Warren J.; Miller, Robert J.; Naumova, Vera V.; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Parfenov, Leonid M.; Kuzmin, Mikhail I.; Bounaeva, Tatiana M.; Obolenskiy, Alexander A.; Rodionov, Sergey M.; Seminskiy, Zhan V.; Diggles, Michael F.

2003-01-01

This is the Web version of a CD-ROM publication. This report consists of summary major compilations and syntheses accomplished in the six-year project through April 2003 for the study on the Mineral Resources, Metallogenesis, and Tectonics of Northeast Asia (Eastern and Southern Siberia, Mongolia, Northeastern China, South Korea, and Japan). The major scientific goals and benefits of the project are to: (1) provide a comprehensive international data base on the mineral resources of the region that is the first, extensive knowledge available in English; (2) provide major new interpretations of the origin and crustal evolution of mineralizing systems and their host rocks, thereby enabling enhanced, broad-scale tectonic reconstructions and interpretations; and (3) promote trade and scientific and technical exchanges between the North America and Northeast Asia. Data from the project are providing sound scientific data and interpretations for commercial firms, governmental agencies, universities, and individuals that are developing new ventures and studies in the project area, and for land-use planning studies that deal with both mineral potential issues. Northeast Asia has vast potential for known and undiscovered mineral deposits; however, little information existed in English in the West until publication of products from this project. Consequently, data and interpretations from the project are providing basic knowledge for major scientific, commercial, national, and international endeavors by other interested individuals and groups.

Where "Sign Language Studies" Has Led Us in Forty Years: Opening High School and University Education for Deaf People in Viet Nam through Sign Language Analysis, Teaching, and Interpretation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodward, James; Hoa, Nguyen Thi

2012-01-01

This paper discusses how the Nippon Foundation-funded project "Opening University Education to Deaf People in Viet Nam through Sign Language Analysis, Teaching, and Interpretation," also known as the Dong Nai Deaf Education Project, has been implemented through sign language studies from 2000 through 2012. This project has provided deaf…

Hydroclimatological data and analyses from a headwaters region of Mongolia as boundary objects in interdisciplinary climate change research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venable, N. B. H.

2017-09-01

Collaborative work on increasingly complex hydroclimatic investigations often crosses disciplinary boundaries. Elements of scientific inquiry, such as data or the results of analyses can become objectified, or capable of being adopted and/or adapted by users from multiple disciplinary realms. These objects often provide a bridge for collaborative endeavors, or are used as tools by individuals pursuing multi-disciplinary work. Boundary object terminology was first formalized and applied by social scientists. However, few examples of the application of this useful framework are found in the hydrologic literature. The construct is applied here to identify and discuss how common research products and processes are used both internally and externally through providing examples from a project examining the historical and paleo proxy-based hydroclimatology of a headwaters region of Mongolia. The boundary object concept is valuable to consider when conducting and critiquing basic research, collaborating across multiple disciplinary teams as when studying climate change issues, as an individual researcher working in a cross boundary sense using methods from differing disciplines to answer questions, and/or when one group adapts the work of another to their own research problems or interpretive needs, as occurred with selected products of this project.

Seismic site survey investigations in urban environments: The case of the underground metro project in Copenhagen, Denmark.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez, K.; Mendoza, J. A.; Colberg-Larsen, J.; Ploug, C.

2009-05-01

Near surface geophysics applications are gaining more widespread use in geotechnical and engineering projects. The development of data acquisition, processing tools and interpretation methods have optimized survey time, reduced logistics costs and increase results reliability of seismic surveys during the last decades. However, the use of wide-scale geophysical methods under urban environments continues to face great challenges due to multiple noise sources and obstacles inherent to cities. A seismic pre-investigation was conducted to investigate the feasibility of using seismic methods to obtain information about the subsurface layer locations and media properties in Copenhagen. Such information is needed for hydrological, geotechnical and groundwater modeling related to the Cityringen underground metro project. The pre-investigation objectives were to validate methods in an urban environment and optimize field survey procedures, processing and interpretation methods in urban settings in the event of further seismic investigations. The geological setting at the survey site is characterized by several interlaced layers of clay, till and sand. These layers are found unevenly distributed throughout the city and present varying thickness, overlaying several different unit types of limestone at shallow depths. Specific results objectives were to map the bedrock surface, ascertain a structural geological framework and investigate bedrock media properties relevant to the construction design. The seismic test consisted of a combined seismic reflection and refraction analyses of a profile line conducted along an approximately 1400 m section in the northern part of Copenhagen, along the projected metro city line. The data acquisition was carried out using a 192 channels array, receiver groups with 5 m spacing and a Vibroseis as a source at 10 m spacing. Complementarily, six vertical seismic profiles (VSP) were performed at boreholes located along the line. The reflection data underwent standard interpretation and the refraction included wavepath Eikonal traveltime tomography. The reflection results indicate the presence of horizontal reflectors with discontinuities likely related to deep lying structural features in deeper lying chalk layers. The refraction interpretation allowed the identification of the upper limestone surface, relevant to map for tunneling design. The VSP provided additional information regarding limestone quality and provided correlation data for improved refraction interpretation. In general, the pre-investigation results demonstrated that it is possible to image the limestone surface using the seismic method. The satisfactory results lead to the implementation of a 15 km survey planned during the spring 2009. The survey will combine reflection, refraction, walkaway-VSP and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). The authors wish to acknowledge Metroselskabet I/S for permission in presenting the preliminary results and the Cityringen Joint Venture partners Arup and Systra.

Considerations on the ASTM standards 1789-04 and 1422-05 on the forensic examination of ink.

PubMed

Neumann, Cedric; Margot, Pierre

2010-09-01

The ASTM standards on Writing Ink Identification (ASTM 1789-04) and on Writing Ink Comparison (ASTM 1422-05) are the most up-to-date guidelines that have been published on the forensic analysis of ink. The aim of these documents is to cover most aspects of the forensic analysis of ink evidence, from the analysis of ink samples, the comparison of the analytical profile of these samples (with the aim to differentiate them or not), through to the interpretation of the result of the examination of these samples in a forensic context. Significant evolutions in the technology available to forensic scientists, in the quality assurance requirements brought onto them, and in the understanding of frameworks to interpret forensic evidence have been made in recent years. This article reviews the two standards in the light of these evolutions and proposes some practical improvements in terms of the standardization of the analyses, the comparison of ink samples, and the interpretation of ink examination. Some of these suggestions have already been included in a DHS funded project aimed at creating a digital ink library for the United States Secret Service. © 2010 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Piecewise polynomial representations of genomic tracks.

PubMed

Tarabichi, Maxime; Detours, Vincent; Konopka, Tomasz

2012-01-01

Genomic data from micro-array and sequencing projects consist of associations of measured values to chromosomal coordinates. These associations can be thought of as functions in one dimension and can thus be stored, analyzed, and interpreted as piecewise-polynomial curves. We present a general framework for building piecewise polynomial representations of genome-scale signals and illustrate some of its applications via examples. We show that piecewise constant segmentation, a typical step in copy-number analyses, can be carried out within this framework for both array and (DNA) sequencing data offering advantages over existing methods in each case. Higher-order polynomial curves can be used, for example, to detect trends and/or discontinuities in transcription levels from RNA-seq data. We give a concrete application of piecewise linear functions to diagnose and quantify alignment quality at exon borders (splice sites). Our software (source and object code) for building piecewise polynomial models is available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/locsmoc/.

USGS science for the Nation's changing coasts: shoreline change research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hapke, Cheryl J.; Thieler, E. Robert

2011-01-01

The demands of increasing human population in the coastal zone create competition with coastal habitat preservation and with recreational and commercial uses of the coast and nearshore waters. As climate changes over the coming century, these problems facing coastal communities will likely worsen. Good management and policy decision-making require baseline information on the rates, trends, and scientific understanding of the processes of coastal change on a regional to national scale. To address this need, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is engaged in a research project of national scope to measure, report, and interpret historical shoreline change along open-ocean coasts of the United States. One of the primary goals of this project is to understand shoreline change hazards using methods that are comparable from one area of the country to another and that will allow for future, repeatable analyses of shoreline movement, coastal erosion, and land loss.

Notes on advanced engineering education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klimenko, A. Y.

2017-11-01

This article reviews history, analyses principles and presents a modern interpretation of advanced engineering education (AEE). AEE originated in France, was adapted in Germany and reached its zenith in the second half of the twentieth century as part of technological efforts induced by the space race. AEE is an enhanced form of education aimed at producing inventors, thinkers and leaders capable of bringing new technological changes and scientific revolutions. AEE introduces a challenging educational environment that is generally addressed to the most enthusiastic and capable students; it is not necessarily suitable for the mainstream education. The role of AEE is projected to increase as the world becomes a global knowledge society.

Hablamos Juntos (Together We Speak): Interpreters, Provider Communication, and Satisfaction with Care

PubMed Central

Morales, Leo S.

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND The Hablamos Juntos—Together We Speak (HJ)—national demonstration project targeted the improvement of language access for Spanish-speaking Latinos in areas with rapidly growing Latino populations. The objective of HJ was to improve doctor-patient communication by increasing access to and quality of interpreter services for Spanish-speaking patients. OBJECTIVE To investigate how access to interpreters for adult Spanish-speaking Latinos is associated with ratings of doctor/office staff communication and satisfaction with care. DESIGN Cross-sectional cohort study. PATIENTS A total of 1,590 Spanish-speaking Latino adults from eight sites across the United States who participated in the outpatient HJ evaluation. MEASUREMENTS We analyzed two multi-item measures of doctor communication (4 items) and office staff helpfulness (2 items), and one global item of satisfaction with care by interpreter use. We performed regression analyses to control for patient sociodemographic characteristics, survey year, and clustering at the site of care. RESULTS Ninety-five percent of participants were born outside the US, 81% were females, and survey response rates ranged from 45% to 85% across sites. In this cohort of Spanish-speaking patients, those who needed and always used interpreters reported better experiences with care than their counterparts who needed but had interpreters unavailable. Patients who always used an interpreter had better adjusted ratings of doctor communication [effect size (ES = 0.51)], office staff helpfulness (ES = 0.37), and satisfaction with care (ES = 0.37) than patients who needed but did not always use an interpreter. Patients who needed and always used interpreters also reported better experiences with care in all three domains measured [doctor communication (ES = 0.30), office staff helpfulness (ES = 0.21), and satisfaction with care (ES = 0.23)] than patients who did not need interpreters. CONCLUSIONS Among adult Spanish-speaking Latinos, interpreter use is independently associated with higher satisfaction with doctor communication, office staff helpfulness, and ambulatory care. Increased attention to the need for effective interpreter services is warranted in areas with rapidly growing Spanish-speaking populations. PMID:20703951

Field and laboratory analyses of water from the Columbia aquifer in Eastern Maryland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bachman, L.J.

1984-01-01

Field and laboratory analyses of pH, alkalinity, and specific conductance from water samples collected from the Columbia aquifer on the Delmarva Peninsula in eastern Maryland were compared to determine if laboratory analyses could be used for making regional water-quality interpretations. Kruskal-Wallis tests of field and laboratory data indicate that the difference between field and laboratory values is usually not enough to affect the outcome of the statistical tests. Thus, laboratory measurements of these constituents may be adequate for making certain regional water-quality interpretations, although they may result in errors if used for geochemical interpretations.

Shale gas impacts on groundwater resources: insights from monitoring a fracking site in Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montcoudiol, Nelly; Isherwood, Catherine; Gunning, Andrew; Kelly, Thomas; Younger, Paul

2017-04-01

Exploitation of shale gas by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is highly controversial and concerns have been raised regarding induced risks from this technique. The SHEER project, an EU Horizon 2020-funded project, is looking into developing best practice to understand, prevent and mitigate the potential short- and long-term environmental impacts and risks from shale gas exploration and exploitation. Three major potential impacts were identified: groundwater contamination, air pollution and induced seismicity. This presentation will deal with the hydrogeological aspect. As part of the SHEER project, four monitoring wells were installed at a shale gas exploration site in Northern Poland. They intercept the main drinking water aquifer located in Quaternary sediments. Baseline monitoring was carried out from mid-December 2015 to beginning of June 2016. Fracking operations occurred in two horizontal wells, in two stages, in June and July 2016. The monitoring has continued after fracking was completed, with site visits every 4-6 weeks. Collected data include measurements of groundwater level, conductivity and temperature at 15-minute intervals, frequent sampling for laboratory analyses and field measurements of groundwater physico-chemical parameters. Groundwater samples are analysed for a range of constituents including dissolved gases and isotopes. The presentation will focus on the interpretation of baseline monitoring data. The insights gained into the behaviour of the Quaternary aquifer will allow a greater perspective to be place on the initial project understanding draw from previous studies. Short-term impacts will also be discussed in comparison with the baseline monitoring results. The presentation will conclude with discussion of challenges regarding monitoring of shale gas fracking sites.

Geological Interpretation of Bathymetric and Backscatter Imagery of the Sea Floor off Eastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poppe, Larry J.; Paskevich, Valerie F.; Butman, Bradford; Ackerman, Seth D.; Danforth, William W.; Foster, Dave S.; Blackwood, Dann S.

2006-01-01

The imagery, interpretive data layers, and data presented herein were derived from multibeam echo-sounder data collected off Eastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and from the stations occupied to verify these acoustic data. The basic data layers show sea-floor topography, sun-illuminated shaded relief, and backscatter intensity; interpretive layers show the distributions of surficial sediment and sedimentary environments. Presented verification data include new and historical sediment grain-size analyses and a gallery of still photographs of the seabed. The multibeam data, which cover a narrow band of the sea floor extending from Provincetown around the northern tip of Cape Cod and south southeastward to off Monomoy Island, were collected during transits between concurrent mapping projects in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Valentine and others, 2001; Butman and others, 2004; and Valentine, 2005) and Great South Channel (Valentine and others, 2003a, b, c, d). Although originally collected to maximize the use of time aboard ship, these data provide a fundamental framework for research and management activities in this part of the Gulf of Maine (Noji and others, 2004), show the composition and terrain of the seabed, and provide information on sediment transport and benthic habitat. These data and interpretations also support ongoing modeling studies of the lower Cape's aquifer system (Masterson, 2004) and of erosional hotspots along the Cape Cod National Seashore (List and others, 2006).

The PAGES 2k Network, Phase 3: Themes and Call for Participation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Gunten, L.; Mcgregor, H. V.; Martrat, B.; St George, S.; Neukom, R.; Bothe, O.; Linderholm, H. W.; Phipps, S. J.; Abram, N.

2017-12-01

The past 2000 years (the "2k" interval) provides critical context for understanding recent anthropogenic forcing of the climate and provides baseline information about the characteristics of natural climate variability. It also presents opportunities to improve the interpretation of proxy observations and to evaluate the climate models used to make future projections. Phases 1 and 2 of the PAGES 2k Network focussed on building regional and global surface temperature reconstructions for terrestrial regions and the oceans, and comparing these with model simulations to identify mechanisms of climate variation on interannual to bicentennial time scales. Phase 3 was launched in May 2017 and aims to address major questions around past hydroclimate, climate processes and proxy uncertainties. Its scientific themes are: Theme 1: "Climate Variability, Modes and Mechanisms"Further understand the mechanisms driving regional climate variability and change on interannual to centennial time scales; Theme 2: "Methods and Uncertainties"Reduce uncertainties in the interpretation of observations imprinted in paleoclimatic archives by environmental sensors; Theme 3: "Proxy and Model Understanding"Identify and analyse the extent of agreement between reconstructions and climate model simulations. Research is organized as a linked network of well-defined projects, identified and led by 2k community members. The 2k projects focus on specific scientific questions aligned with Phase 3 themes, rather than being defined along regional boundaries. New 2k projects can be proposed at any time at http://www.pastglobalchanges.org/ini/wg/2k-network/projects An enduring element of PAGES 2k is a culture of collegiality, transparency, and reciprocity. Phase 3 seeks to stimulate community based projects and facilitate collaboration between researchers from different regions and career stages, drawing on the breadth and depth of the global PAGES 2k community. All PAGES 2k projects also promote best practises in data stewardship for the research community. The network is open to anyone who is interested. If you would like to participate in PAGES 2k or receive updates, please join our mailing list or speak to a coordinating committee member.

The center for expanded data annotation and retrieval

PubMed Central

Bean, Carol A; Cheung, Kei-Hoi; Dumontier, Michel; Durante, Kim A; Gevaert, Olivier; Gonzalez-Beltran, Alejandra; Khatri, Purvesh; Kleinstein, Steven H; O’Connor, Martin J; Pouliot, Yannick; Rocca-Serra, Philippe; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Wiser, Jeffrey A

2015-01-01

The Center for Expanded Data Annotation and Retrieval is studying the creation of comprehensive and expressive metadata for biomedical datasets to facilitate data discovery, data interpretation, and data reuse. We take advantage of emerging community-based standard templates for describing different kinds of biomedical datasets, and we investigate the use of computational techniques to help investigators to assemble templates and to fill in their values. We are creating a repository of metadata from which we plan to identify metadata patterns that will drive predictive data entry when filling in metadata templates. The metadata repository not only will capture annotations specified when experimental datasets are initially created, but also will incorporate links to the published literature, including secondary analyses and possible refinements or retractions of experimental interpretations. By working initially with the Human Immunology Project Consortium and the developers of the ImmPort data repository, we are developing and evaluating an end-to-end solution to the problems of metadata authoring and management that will generalize to other data-management environments. PMID:26112029

Toward the Replacement of Animal Experiments through the Bioinformatics-driven Analysis of 'Omics' Data from Human Cell Cultures.

PubMed

Grafström, Roland C; Nymark, Penny; Hongisto, Vesa; Spjuth, Ola; Ceder, Rebecca; Willighagen, Egon; Hardy, Barry; Kaski, Samuel; Kohonen, Pekka

2015-11-01

This paper outlines the work for which Roland Grafström and Pekka Kohonen were awarded the 2014 Lush Science Prize. The research activities of the Grafström laboratory have, for many years, covered cancer biology studies, as well as the development and application of toxicity-predictive in vitro models to determine chemical safety. Through the integration of in silico analyses of diverse types of genomics data (transcriptomic and proteomic), their efforts have proved to fit well into the recently-developed Adverse Outcome Pathway paradigm. Genomics analysis within state-of-the-art cancer biology research and Toxicology in the 21st Century concepts share many technological tools. A key category within the Three Rs paradigm is the Replacement of animals in toxicity testing with alternative methods, such as bioinformatics-driven analyses of data obtained from human cell cultures exposed to diverse toxicants. This work was recently expanded within the pan-European SEURAT-1 project (Safety Evaluation Ultimately Replacing Animal Testing), to replace repeat-dose toxicity testing with data-rich analyses of sophisticated cell culture models. The aims and objectives of the SEURAT project have been to guide the application, analysis, interpretation and storage of 'omics' technology-derived data within the service-oriented sub-project, ToxBank. Particularly addressing the Lush Science Prize focus on the relevance of toxicity pathways, a 'data warehouse' that is under continuous expansion, coupled with the development of novel data storage and management methods for toxicology, serve to address data integration across multiple 'omics' technologies. The prize winners' guiding principles and concepts for modern knowledge management of toxicological data are summarised. The translation of basic discovery results ranged from chemical-testing and material-testing data, to information relevant to human health and environmental safety. 2015 FRAME.

The Zooniverse: Cutting Edge Scientific Research in the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borden, K. A.; Whyte, L. F.; Smith, A.; Tarnoff, A.; Schmitt, H.

2012-12-01

Increasingly scientists and researchers from a multitude of disciplines are finding themselves inundated with more data than they could possibly interpret in a lifetime. Computers can be used entirely or partially for some data analysis; but there are some tasks that are currently best suited to human eyes, ears and brains. Zooniverse (www.zooniverse.org) invites members of the public to help researchers analyze and interpret data. To date, hundreds of thousands of volunteers have been involved in classifying images, interpreting sounds and transcribing texts. Zooniverse citizen scientists are providing valuable analyses across a variety of fields, from the hunt for exoplanets in Planet Hunters (planethunters.org) to the transcription of Greek papyri in Ancient Lives (ancientlives.org). Multiple academic publications have resulted from the combined efforts of the Zooniverse community and science teams demonstrating that citizen science is more than ever becoming a well-established method of doing research. Unlike most research projects the data, analysis and interactions with the science teams have an established and visible online presence through the project website and related discussion sites and blogs. These in themselves provide a valuable classroom resource, an opportunity for free and easy access to cutting edge scientific research. Anecdotal evidence exists that teacher can and already do use Zooniverse projects. By providing a rich and varied scaffolding to accompany the Zooniverse projects the opportunity exists for bringing citizen scientists to a wider classroom audience. An audience that may include non-specialist teachers, who require additional support to deliver challenging content, or time strapped educators who haven't the time to develop their own accompanying resources to weave Zooniverse projects into their lessons. During the session we will discuss the recent Zooniverse projects specifically designed to support and promote classroom adoption locally, within the Chicago Public School (CPS) system and nationally within the United States. Introducing ZooTeach, a website where educators may share and search for lesson plans, activities, and resources. Beyond a simple lesson plan repository, ZooTeach is a community where educators are encouraged to modify, comment on, and otherwise actively participate in the educational efforts of Zooniverse. Teacher workshops run at Adler have and will continue to have the dual effect of promoting the Zooniverse and it's educational effort while increasing the pool of resources available nationally via ZooTeach. In house developed teacher guides and interactive tools allowing for the collection and manipulation of data will further enhance the classroom education experience and further lower the bar for entry into the world of citizen science.

QuickRNASeq lifts large-scale RNA-seq data analyses to the next level of automation and interactive visualization.

PubMed

Zhao, Shanrong; Xi, Li; Quan, Jie; Xi, Hualin; Zhang, Ying; von Schack, David; Vincent, Michael; Zhang, Baohong

2016-01-08

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), a next-generation sequencing technique for transcriptome profiling, is being increasingly used, in part driven by the decreasing cost of sequencing. Nevertheless, the analysis of the massive amounts of data generated by large-scale RNA-seq remains a challenge. Multiple algorithms pertinent to basic analyses have been developed, and there is an increasing need to automate the use of these tools so as to obtain results in an efficient and user friendly manner. Increased automation and improved visualization of the results will help make the results and findings of the analyses readily available to experimental scientists. By combing the best open source tools developed for RNA-seq data analyses and the most advanced web 2.0 technologies, we have implemented QuickRNASeq, a pipeline for large-scale RNA-seq data analyses and visualization. The QuickRNASeq workflow consists of three main steps. In Step #1, each individual sample is processed, including mapping RNA-seq reads to a reference genome, counting the numbers of mapped reads, quality control of the aligned reads, and SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) calling. Step #1 is computationally intensive, and can be processed in parallel. In Step #2, the results from individual samples are merged, and an integrated and interactive project report is generated. All analyses results in the report are accessible via a single HTML entry webpage. Step #3 is the data interpretation and presentation step. The rich visualization features implemented here allow end users to interactively explore the results of RNA-seq data analyses, and to gain more insights into RNA-seq datasets. In addition, we used a real world dataset to demonstrate the simplicity and efficiency of QuickRNASeq in RNA-seq data analyses and interactive visualizations. The seamless integration of automated capabilites with interactive visualizations in QuickRNASeq is not available in other published RNA-seq pipelines. The high degree of automation and interactivity in QuickRNASeq leads to a substantial reduction in the time and effort required prior to further downstream analyses and interpretation of the analyses findings. QuickRNASeq advances primary RNA-seq data analyses to the next level of automation, and is mature for public release and adoption.

The cost and utilisation patterns of a pilot sign language interpreter service for primary health care services in South Africa.

PubMed

Zulu, Tryphine; Heap, Marion; Sinanovic, Edina

2017-01-01

The World Health Organisation estimates disabling hearing loss to be around 5.3%, while a study of hearing impairment and auditory pathology in Limpopo, South Africa found a prevalence of nearly 9%. Although Sign Language Interpreters (SLIs) improve the communication challenges in health care, they are unaffordable for many signing Deaf people and people with disabling hearing loss. On the other hand, there are no legal provisions in place to ensure the provision of SLIs in the health sector in most countries including South Africa. To advocate for funding of such initiatives, reliable cost estimates are essential and such data is scarce. To bridge this gap, this study estimated the costs of providing such a service within a South African District health service based on estimates obtained from a pilot-project that initiated the first South African Sign Language Interpreter (SASLI) service in health-care. The ingredients method was used to calculate the unit cost per SASLI-assisted visit from a provider perspective. The unit costs per SASLI-assisted visit were then used in estimating the costs of scaling up this service to the District Health Services. The average annual SASLI utilisation rate per person was calculated on Stata v.12 using the projects' registry from 2008-2013. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to determine the effect of changing the discount rate and personnel costs. Average Sign Language Interpreter services' utilisation rates increased from 1.66 to 3.58 per person per year, with a median of 2 visits, from 2008-2013. The cost per visit was US$189.38 in 2013 whilst the estimated costs of scaling up this service ranged from US$14.2million to US$76.5million in the Cape Metropole District. These cost estimates represented 2.3%-12.2% of the budget for the Western Cape District Health Services for 2013. In the presence of Sign Language Interpreters, Deaf Sign language users utilise health care service to a similar extent as the hearing population. However, this service requires significant capital investment by government to enable access to healthcare for the Deaf.

The Picture Talk Project: Starting a Conversation with Community Leaders on Research with Remote Aboriginal Communities of Australia.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, E F M; Macdonald, G; Martiniuk, A L C; D'Antoine, H; Oscar, J; Carter, M; Lawford, T; Elliott, E J

2017-05-11

Researchers are required to seek consent from Indigenous communities prior to conducting research but there is inadequate information about how Indigenous people understand and become fully engaged with this consent process. Few studies evaluate the preference or understanding of the consent process for research with Indigenous populations. Lack of informed consent can impact on research findings. The Picture Talk Project was initiated with senior Aboriginal leaders of the Fitzroy Valley community situated in the far north of Western Australia. Aboriginal people were interviewed about their understanding and experiences of research and consent processes. Transcripts were analysed using NVivo10 software with an integrated method of inductive and deductive coding and based in grounded theory. Local Aboriginal interpreters validated coding. Major themes were defined and supporting quotes sourced. Interviews with Aboriginal leaders (n = 20) were facilitated by a local Aboriginal Community Navigator who could interpret if necessary and provide cultural guidance. Participants were from all four major local language groups of the Fitzroy Valley; aged 31 years and above; and half were male. Themes emerging from these discussions included Research-finding knowledge; Being respectful of Aboriginal people, Working on country, and Being flexible with time; Working together with good communication; Reciprocity-two-way learning; and Reaching consent. The project revealed how much more there is to be learned about how research with remote Aboriginal communities should be conducted such that it is both culturally respectful and, importantly, meaningful for participants. We identify important elements in community consultation about research and seeking consent.

Criteria to Evaluate Interpretive Guides for Criterion-Referenced Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trapp, William J.

2007-01-01

This project provides a list of criteria for which the contents of interpretive guides written for customized, criterion-referenced tests can be evaluated. The criteria are based on the "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" (1999) and examine the content breadth of interpretive guides. Interpretive guides written for…

Water-resources activities in New England, fiscal year 1993

USGS Publications Warehouse

Orlando, M.F.

1994-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey has 82 active or complete-except-report projects of hydrologic investigations ongoing within the New England Program Area. Of this total, 23 are data projects. Data projects contain statistics and data on the conditions of surface water, ground water, water quality and (or) water use for the study area. There currently are six data projects in Connecticut, five in Maine, four in Massachusetts, four in Rhode Island, and four in New Hampshire and Vermont. The remaining 59 of these projects are interpretive projects. Interpretive projects include research, aerial appraisal, and other hydrologic studies and include projects as diverse as (1) determining the direction of ground-water flow at a toxic site, (2) predicting the effect of acid rain on water quality of a reservoir, and (3) estimating yields of aquifers on Cape Cod. Of the interpretive projects, 26 are in Massachusetts, 17 in Connecticut, 17 are in New Hampshire and Vermont, 6 are in Maine, and 3 in Rhode Island. The report is compiled from project descriptions for fiscal year 1993. It briefly describes the water-resources activities and projects that were active in each District of the USGS, Water Resources Division, New England Program Area of September 30, 1993. Cooperator or funding source, problem statements, objectives, approaches, progress, and plans for next year are described for each project. The project area is located on a map of the appropriate State(s). The report contains a bibliography, by District and by author, of reports completed since 1977.

Secondary School Senior Capstone Projects: A Descriptive and Interpretive Case Study on Post-Secondary Students' Perspectives of Learning Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yasuda, Vanessa Applbaum

2017-01-01

This descriptive and interpretive case study investigates how 12 undergraduate college students perceived participation in their high school Senior Capstone Project (SCP) impacted their college academic experience. Learning transfer was explored from the learner's perspective. Data was collected using qualitative methods in three sequential phases…

Critical Skills for Supervisors of Information Technology Project Managers in Government: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Jacqueline

2016-01-01

A company or government is only as good as its most qualified employees. This qualitative interpretative phenomenological study sought to understand what skills are needed to supervise government information technology (IT) project managers through their lived experience. Fifteen participants in the field of government IT were interviewed. They…

A comparison of three types of stimulus material in undergraduate mental health nursing education.

PubMed

Stone, Teresa E; Levett-Jones, Tracy

2014-04-01

The paper discusses an innovative educational approach that compared the use of different textual forms as stimulus materials in the teaching of an introductory mental health course. Practitioners in many disciplines, including nursing, appreciate the value of narratives in making sense of experiences, challenging assumptions and enhancing learning: they enable exploration of reality from different perspectives and create an emotional resonance. Narratives help nursing students to uncover embedded meanings, values and beliefs; they can include written texts, illustrated texts or picture books. 180 students enrolled in an elective undergraduate nursing course. This project afforded students the choice of critically analysing (a) a chapter from one of two autobiographies, (b) an illustrated text, or (c) an illustration from a picture book. Each text was a narrative account from a personal or carer's perspective of the experience of mental illness. Their written submissions were then analysed by means of a qualitative descriptive approach. In analysis of the autobiographies students tended to paraphrase the authors' words and summarise their experiences. Those choosing the illustrated text were able to link the images and text, and provide a deeper and more insightful level of interpretation, albeit influenced by the author's personal account and expressed emotions; however, those analysing a picture book illustration demonstrated a surprising level of critical and creative thinking, and their interpretations were empathetic, insightful and thoughtful. The use of picture books, although not a common approach in nursing education, appears to engage students, challenge them to think more deeply, and stimulate their imagination. © 2013.

Climate Change in Colorado: Findings and Scientific Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barsugli, J.; Ray, A.; Averyt, K.; Wolter, K.; Hoerling, M. P.

2008-12-01

In response to the risks associated with anthropogenic climate change, Governor Ritter issued the Colorado Climate Action Plan (CCAP) in 2007. In support of the adaptation component of the CCAP, the Colorado Water Conservation Board commissioned the Western Water Assessment at the University of Colorado to prepare the report "Climate Change in Colorado: A Synthesis to Support Water Resources Management and Adaptation." The objective of "Climate Change in Colorado" is to communicate the state of the science regarding the physical aspects of climate change that are important for evaluating impacts on Colorado's water resources. Accordingly, the document focuses on observed trends, modeling, attribution, and projections of hydroclimatic variables that are important for Colorado's water supply. Although many published datasets include information about Colorado, there are few climate studies that focus on the state. Consequently, many important analyses for Colorado are lacking. The report summarizes Colorado-specific findings from peer-reviewed regional studies, and presents new analyses derived from existing datasets. Here we will summarize the findings of the report, discuss the extent to which conclusions from West-wide studies hold in Colorado, and highlight the many scientific challenges that were faced in the preparation of the report. These challenges include interpreting observed and projected precipitation and temperature variability and trends, dealing with attribution and uncertainty at the state level, and justifying the relevance of climate model projections in a topographically complex state. A second presentation (Ray et al.) discusses the process of developing the report.

Power, effects, confidence, and significance: an investigation of statistical practices in nursing research.

PubMed

Gaskin, Cadeyrn J; Happell, Brenda

2014-05-01

To (a) assess the statistical power of nursing research to detect small, medium, and large effect sizes; (b) estimate the experiment-wise Type I error rate in these studies; and (c) assess the extent to which (i) a priori power analyses, (ii) effect sizes (and interpretations thereof), and (iii) confidence intervals were reported. Statistical review. Papers published in the 2011 volumes of the 10 highest ranked nursing journals, based on their 5-year impact factors. Papers were assessed for statistical power, control of experiment-wise Type I error, reporting of a priori power analyses, reporting and interpretation of effect sizes, and reporting of confidence intervals. The analyses were based on 333 papers, from which 10,337 inferential statistics were identified. The median power to detect small, medium, and large effect sizes was .40 (interquartile range [IQR]=.24-.71), .98 (IQR=.85-1.00), and 1.00 (IQR=1.00-1.00), respectively. The median experiment-wise Type I error rate was .54 (IQR=.26-.80). A priori power analyses were reported in 28% of papers. Effect sizes were routinely reported for Spearman's rank correlations (100% of papers in which this test was used), Poisson regressions (100%), odds ratios (100%), Kendall's tau correlations (100%), Pearson's correlations (99%), logistic regressions (98%), structural equation modelling/confirmatory factor analyses/path analyses (97%), and linear regressions (83%), but were reported less often for two-proportion z tests (50%), analyses of variance/analyses of covariance/multivariate analyses of variance (18%), t tests (8%), Wilcoxon's tests (8%), Chi-squared tests (8%), and Fisher's exact tests (7%), and not reported for sign tests, Friedman's tests, McNemar's tests, multi-level models, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Effect sizes were infrequently interpreted. Confidence intervals were reported in 28% of papers. The use, reporting, and interpretation of inferential statistics in nursing research need substantial improvement. Most importantly, researchers should abandon the misleading practice of interpreting the results from inferential tests based solely on whether they are statistically significant (or not) and, instead, focus on reporting and interpreting effect sizes, confidence intervals, and significance levels. Nursing researchers also need to conduct and report a priori power analyses, and to address the issue of Type I experiment-wise error inflation in their studies. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A project-based geoscience curriculum: select examples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, L. M.; Kelso, P. R.; White, R. J.; Rexroad, C. B.

2007-12-01

Principles of constructivist educational philosophy serve as a foundation for the recently completed National Science Foundation sponsored undergraduate curricular revision undertaken by the Geology Department of Lake Superior State University. We integrate lecture and laboratory sessions utilizing active learning strategies that focus on real-world geoscience experiences and problems. In this presentation, we discuss details of three research-like projects that require students to access original data, process and model the data using appropriate geological software, interpret and defend results, and disseminate results in reports, posters, and class presentations. The projects are from three upper division courses, Carbonate Systems, Sequence Stratigraphy, and Geophysical Systems, where teams of two to four students are presented with defined problems of durations ranging from a few weeks to an entire semester. Project goals and location, some background information, and specified dates and expectations for interim and final written and oral reports are provided to students. Some projects require the entire class to work on one data set, some require each team to be initially responsible for a portion of the project with teams ultimately merging data for interpretation and to arrive at final conclusions. Some projects require students to utilize data from appropriate geological web sites such as state geological surveys. Others require students to design surveys and utilize appropriate instruments of their choice for field data collection. Students learn usage and applications of appropriate geological software in compiling, processing, modeling, and interpreting data and preparing formal reports and presentations. Students uniformly report heightened interest and motivation when engaged in these projects. Our new curriculum has resulted in an increase in students" quantitative and interpretive skills along with dramatic improvement in communication and interpersonal skills related to group dynamics.

Sharing clinical trial data on patient level: Opportunities and challenges

PubMed Central

Koenig, Franz; Slattery, Jim; Groves, Trish; Lang, Thomas; Benjamini, Yoav; Day, Simon; Bauer, Peter; Posch, Martin

2015-01-01

In recent months one of the most controversially discussed topics among regulatory agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, journal editors, and academia has been the sharing of patient-level clinical trial data. Several projects have been started such as the European Medicines Agency´s (EMA) “proactive publication of clinical trial data”, the BMJ open data campaign, or the AllTrials initiative. The executive director of the EMA, Dr. Guido Rasi, has recently announced that clinical trial data on patient level will be published from 2014 onwards (although it has since been delayed). The EMA draft policy on proactive access to clinical trial data was published at the end of June 2013 and open for public consultation until the end of September 2013. These initiatives will change the landscape of drug development and publication of medical research. They provide unprecedented opportunities for research and research synthesis, but pose new challenges for regulatory authorities, sponsors, scientific journals, and the public. Besides these general aspects, data sharing also entails intricate biostatistical questions such as problems of multiplicity. An important issue in this respect is the interpretation of multiple statistical analyses, both prospective and retrospective. Expertise in biostatistics is needed to assess the interpretation of such multiple analyses, for example, in the context of regulatory decision-making by optimizing procedural guidance and sophisticated analysis methods. PMID:24942505

Using the Computer to Teach Methods and Interpretative Skills in the Humanities: Implementing a Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Bruce William

The results of implementing computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in two religion courses and a logic course at California State College, Bakersfield, are examined along with student responses. The main purpose of the CAI project was to teach interpretive skills. The most positive results came in the logic course. The programs in the New Testament…

A clinical tool for evaluating emotional well-being: self-drawings of hospitalized children.

PubMed

Dolidze, Khatuna; Smith, Emma L; Tchanturia, Kate

2013-01-01

This study investigated how the emotional wellbeing of children with congenital heart defect (CHD) hospitalized for heart surgery was expressed in self-drawings before and after their surgical treatment. A sample of 293 children produced self-drawings (hospitalized n=168, non-hospitalized n=125). The results indicate significant differences between drawings by hospitalized compared to non-hospitalized children, including size, color and omission of body parts. These differences were interpreted in line with previous analyses of projective drawing. We conclude that self-drawing evaluation is a useful tool to reveal insights into emotional wellbeing, promoting safe and easy communication. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ethical and research dilemmas arising from a questionnaire study of psychological morbidity among general practice managers.

PubMed

Sheikh, A; Hurwitz, B; Parker, M

2001-01-01

A questionnaire-based research project enquiring into the psychological health of general practice managers found that 5% of managers admitted to suicidal ideas. This paper explores the moral issues raised when research conducted at a distance uncovers information about participants which indicates that they may be at increased risk of harm. It examines whether the authors of such studies have responsibilities towards their research participants beyond those of analysing and properly interpreting the data supplied to them. The paper is an exercise in self-reflection and self-criticism; not all the questions posed and explored by it can be answered definitively. Implications for planning studies of this kind are discussed.

Remote Sensing Applications with High Reliability in Changjiang Water Resource Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, L.; Gao, S.; Yang, A.

2018-04-01

Remote sensing technology has been widely used in many fields. But most of the applications cannot get the information with high reliability and high accuracy in large scale, especially for the applications using automatic interpretation methods. We have designed an application-oriented technology system (PIR) composed of a series of accurate interpretation techniques,which can get over 85 % correctness in Water Resource Management from the view of photogrammetry and expert knowledge. The techniques compose of the spatial positioning techniques from the view of photogrammetry, the feature interpretation techniques from the view of expert knowledge, and the rationality analysis techniques from the view of data mining. Each interpreted polygon is accurate enough to be applied to the accuracy sensitive projects, such as the Three Gorge Project and the South - to - North Water Diversion Project. In this paper, we present several remote sensing applications with high reliability in Changjiang Water Resource Management,including water pollution investigation, illegal construction inspection, and water conservation monitoring, etc.

Exploring the Legacies of Filmed Patient Narratives: The Interpretation and Appropriation of Patient Films by Health Care Staff.

PubMed

Adams, Mary; Robert, Glenn; Maben, Jill

2015-09-01

We trace the legacies of filmed patient narratives that were edited and screened to encourage engagement with a participatory quality improvement project in an acute hospital setting in England. Using Gabriel's theory of "narrative contract," we examine the initial success of the films in establishing common grounds for participatory project and later, and more varied, interpretations of the films. Over time, the films were interpreted by staff as either useful sources of learning by critical reflection, dubious (invalid or unreliable) representations of patient experience, or as "closed" items available as auditable evidence of completed quality improvement work. We find these interpretations of the films to be shaped by the effect of social distance, the differential outcomes of project work, and changing organizational agendas. We consider the wider conditions of patient narrative as a form of quality improvement knowledge with immediate potency and fragile or fluid legitimacy over time. © The Author(s) 2015.

The role of assessment infrastructures in crafting project-based science classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Laura Marie

In project-based science teaching, teachers engage students in the practice of conducting meaningful investigations and explanations of natural phenomena, often in collaboration with fellow students or adults. Reformers suggest that this approach can provide students with more profitable learning experiences; but for many teachers, a shift to such instruction can be difficult to manage. As some reform-minded teachers have discovered, classroom assessment can serve as a vital tool for meeting the challenges associated with project science activity. In this research, classroom assessment was viewed as an infrastructure that both students and teachers rely upon as a mediational tool for classroom activity and communications. The study explored the classroom assessment infrastructures created by three teachers involved in the Learning through Collaborative Visualization (CoVis) Project from 1993--94 to 1995--96. Each of the three teachers under study either created a new course or radically reformulated an old one in an effort to incorporate project-based science pedagogy and supporting technologies. Data in the form of interviews, classroom observations, surveys, student work, and teacher records was collected. From these data, an interpretive case study was developed for each course and its accompanying assessment infrastructure. A set of cross-case analyses was also constructed, based upon common themes that emerged from all three cases. These themes included: the assessment challenges based on the nature of project activity, the role of technology in the teachers' assessment infrastructure designs, and the influence of the wider assessment infrastructure on their course and assessment designs. In combination, the case studies and cross-case analyses describe the synergistic relationship between the design of pedagogical reforms and classroom assessment infrastructures, as well as the effectiveness of all three assessment designs. This work contributes to research and practice associated with assessment and pedagogical reform in three ways. First, it provides a theoretical frame for the relationship between assessment and pedagogical reform. Second, it provides a set of taxonomies which outline both the challenges of project-based science activity and typical assessment strategies to meet them. Finally, it provides a set of cautions and recommendations for designing classroom assessment infrastructures in support of project-based science.

Geoarchaeological approaches to Palaeolithic surface artefact distributions and hominin landscape use in SW Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inglis, Robyn; Sinclair, Anthony; Fanning, Patricia; Alsharekh, Abdullah; Bailey, Geoff

2017-04-01

The vast majority of Palaeolithic archaeological material in arid and semi-arid regions exists in the form of scatters of stone tools across the surface of present-day landscapes. This is particularly the case in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt, a region vital to understanding the global dispersal of hominins from Africa. These surface artefacts possess little stratigraphic context, but comprise the only record we possess to examine spatial behavioural patterning and landscape use by hominin populations. Interpretation of the observed spatial distribution of artefacts is far from straightforward. Surface artefact distributions result from a complex interplay of varying human behaviours over time. Also, geomorphological processes affect the preservation, exposure and visibility of the artefacts, as well as alter the presence and location of attractive resources. The SURFACE project employs an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the distribution of Palaeolithic artefacts in SW Saudi Arabia. By combining remote sensing, geomorphological fieldwork, archaeological survey and GIS analyses, the project is developing a geomorphological context for the artefacts that guides survey to areas of high archaeological potential, as well as allowing the robust interpretation of the observed artefact distribution in a dynamic landscape in terms of past landscape use. This paper will present the ongoing multi-scalar approaches employed by the project to Palaeolithic landscapes, particularly focussing on the site of Wadi Dabsa, Asir Province, where Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts have been found in association with extensive tufa deposits. Investigation in early 2017 at the site will apply SURFACE's methods to understand the present-day artefact distributions at the exposure, and their relationship to the tufa deposition, as well as their potential to inform on Palaeolithic activity and landscape use at the site.

PICASSO Phase I: MT Investigation of Spain from Madrid to the Betics - preliminary results and models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmoldt, J.-P.; G.. Jones, A.; Hogg, C.; Rosell, O.

2009-04-01

The first phase of the DIAS magnetotelluric (MT) component of the PICASSO (Project to Investigate Convective Alboran Sea System Overturn) project was carried out in Southern Spain from Sept.-Nov., 2007. PICASSO is an international, multi-disciplinary project that aims to improve knowledge of the internal structure and plate-tectonic processes in the highly complex three-dimensional region formed by the collision of the African and European plate under the effect of the Mediterranean plate motion. Two different types of magnetotelluric (MT) equipment - broadband (BBMT) and long period (LMT) MT - were used along a profile from the outskirts of Madrid to the Mediterranean Sea through the Betic Mountain Chain. In spite of low solar activity during acquisition, the time series data are of good quality at most sites due to the excellent instrumentation and careful site location. The modified acquisition design of one of the equipment types (the LEMI long period system) with separate recording of each telluric channel allowed for advanced investigation of the dataset. The data were processed using four different robust algorithms, and the different responses have been compared. Pseudosections of responses from this first phase show a remarkably complex subsurface structure dominated by a slightly southwards dipping, conductive slab underneath the region of the External Betic Chain. Strike direction varies along the profile and with depth due to the intricate morphology, and its choice has an enormous impact on the responses to be modelled and thereby provides a challenging framework for MT data interpretation. This paper will describe the experiment and show representative responses and strike analyses. Preliminary models derived from different assumptions about strike coordinates will be compared and contrasted, and common features interpreted.

God image and happiness in chronic pain patients: the mediating role of disease interpretation.

PubMed

Dezutter, Jessie; Luyckx, Koen; Schaap-Jonker, Hanneke; Büssing, Arndt; Corveleyn, Jozef; Hutsebaut, Dirk

2010-05-01

The present study explored the role of the emotional experience of God (i.e., positive and negative God images) in the happiness of chronic pain (CP) patients. Framed in the transactional model of stress, we tested a model in which God images would influence happiness partially through its influence on disease interpretation as a mediating mechanism. We expected God images to have both a direct and an indirect (through the interpretation of disease) effect on happiness. A cross-sectional questionnaire design was adopted in order to measure demographics, pain condition, God images, disease interpretation, and happiness. One hundred thirty-six CP patients, all members of a national patients' association, completed the questionnaires. Correlational analyses showed meaningful associations among God images, disease interpretation, and happiness. Path analyses from a structural equation modeling approach indicated that positive God images seemed to influence happiness, both directly and indirectly through the pathway of positive interpretation of the disease. Ancillary analyses showed that the negative influence of angry God images on happiness disappeared after controlling for pain severity. The results indicated that one's emotional experience of God has an influence on happiness in CP patients, both directly and indirectly through the pathway of positive disease interpretation. These findings can be framed within the transactional theory of stress and can stimulate further pain research investigating the possible effects of religion in the adaptation to CP.

IPRT polarized radiative transfer model intercomparison project - Phase A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emde, Claudia; Barlakas, Vasileios; Cornet, Céline; Evans, Frank; Korkin, Sergey; Ota, Yoshifumi; Labonnote, Laurent C.; Lyapustin, Alexei; Macke, Andreas; Mayer, Bernhard; Wendisch, Manfred

2015-10-01

The polarization state of electromagnetic radiation scattered by atmospheric particles such as aerosols, cloud droplets, or ice crystals contains much more information about the optical and microphysical properties than the total intensity alone. For this reason an increasing number of polarimetric observations are performed from space, from the ground and from aircraft. Polarized radiative transfer models are required to interpret and analyse these measurements and to develop retrieval algorithms exploiting polarimetric observations. In the last years a large number of new codes have been developed, mostly for specific applications. Benchmark results are available for specific cases, but not for more sophisticated scenarios including polarized surface reflection and multi-layer atmospheres. The International Polarized Radiative Transfer (IPRT) working group of the International Radiation Commission (IRC) has initiated a model intercomparison project in order to fill this gap. This paper presents the results of the first phase A of the IPRT project which includes ten test cases, from simple setups with only one layer and Rayleigh scattering to rather sophisticated setups with a cloud embedded in a standard atmosphere above an ocean surface. All scenarios in the first phase A of the intercomparison project are for a one-dimensional plane-parallel model geometry. The commonly established benchmark results are available at the IPRT website.

Variation in the Interpretation of Scientific Integrity in Community-based Participatory Health Research

PubMed Central

Kraemer Diaz, Anne E.; Spears Johnson, Chaya R.; Arcury, Thomas A.

2013-01-01

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has become essential in health disparities and environmental justice research; however, the scientific integrity of CBPR projects has become a concern. Some concerns, such as appropriate research training, lack of access to resources and finances, have been discussed as possibly limiting the scientific integrity of a project. Prior to understanding what threatens scientific integrity in CBPR, it is vital to understand what scientific integrity means for the professional and community investigators who are involved in CBPR. This analysis explores the interpretation of scientific integrity in CBPR among 74 professional and community research team members from of 25 CBPR projects in nine states in the southeastern United States in 2012. It describes the basic definition for scientific integrity and then explores variations in the interpretation of scientific integrity in CBPR. Variations in the interpretations were associated with team member identity as professional or community investigators. Professional investigators understood scientific integrity in CBPR as either conceptually or logistically flexible, as challenging to balance with community needs, or no different than traditional scientific integrity. Community investigators interpret other factors as important in scientific integrity, such as trust, accountability, and overall benefit to the community. This research demonstrates that the variations in the interpretation of scientific integrity in CBPR call for a new definition of scientific integrity in CBPR that takes into account the understanding and needs of all investigators. PMID:24161098

TumorMap: Exploring the Molecular Similarities of Cancer Samples in an Interactive Portal.

PubMed

Newton, Yulia; Novak, Adam M; Swatloski, Teresa; McColl, Duncan C; Chopra, Sahil; Graim, Kiley; Weinstein, Alana S; Baertsch, Robert; Salama, Sofie R; Ellrott, Kyle; Chopra, Manu; Goldstein, Theodore C; Haussler, David; Morozova, Olena; Stuart, Joshua M

2017-11-01

Vast amounts of molecular data are being collected on tumor samples, which provide unique opportunities for discovering trends within and between cancer subtypes. Such cross-cancer analyses require computational methods that enable intuitive and interactive browsing of thousands of samples based on their molecular similarity. We created a portal called TumorMap to assist in exploration and statistical interrogation of high-dimensional complex "omics" data in an interactive and easily interpretable way. In the TumorMap, samples are arranged on a hexagonal grid based on their similarity to one another in the original genomic space and are rendered with Google's Map technology. While the important feature of this public portal is the ability for the users to build maps from their own data, we pre-built genomic maps from several previously published projects. We demonstrate the utility of this portal by presenting results obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas project data. Cancer Res; 77(21); e111-4. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

TumorMap: Exploring the Molecular Similarities of Cancer Samples in an Interactive Portal

PubMed Central

Newton, Yulia; Novak, Adam M.; Swatloski, Teresa; McColl, Duncan C.; Chopra, Sahil; Graim, Kiley; Weinstein, Alana S.; Baertsch, Robert; Salama, Sofie R.; Ellrott, Kyle; Chopra, Manu; Goldstein, Theodore C.; Haussler, David; Morozova, Olena; Stuart, Joshua M.

2017-01-01

Vast amounts of molecular data are being collected on tumor samples, which provide unique opportunities for discovering trends within and between cancer subtypes. Such cross-cancer analyses require computational methods that enable intuitive and interactive browsing of thousands of samples based on their molecular similarity. We created a portal called TumorMap to assist in exploration and statistical interrogation of high-dimensional complex “omics” data in an interactive and easily interpretable way. In the TumorMap, samples are arranged on a hexagonal grid based on their similarity to one another in the original genomic space and are rendered with Google’s Map technology. While the important feature of this public portal is the ability for the users to build maps from their own data, we pre-built genomic maps from several previously published projects. We demonstrate the utility of this portal by presenting results obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas project data. PMID:29092953

Assessing risk from a stakeholder perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, L. P.

2003-01-01

Planetary exploration missions are subject to a vast array of interpretations of 'success' based on the concerns of multiple stakeholder groups. While project risk management generally focuses on issues of cost/schedule constraints or reliability issues, a broader interpretation of 'risk' as it applies to stakeholders such as sponsors (e.g., NASA), the public at large, the scientific community, the home organization, and the project team itself can provide important insights into the full spectrum of risk that needs to be managed. This paper presents a stakeholder view of risk which is divided into failure, not-a-failure, success, and stunning-success zones. Using the Mars Pathfinder mission as an example, an alternative interpretation of the risks to that mission is presented from the view of key stakeholders. The implications of the stakeholder perspective to project risk management are addressed.

Moving Field Guides

Treesearch

Cassie Meador; Mark Twery; Meagan Leatherbury

2011-01-01

The Moving Field Guides (MFG) project is a creative take on site interpretation. Moving Field Guides provide an example of how scientific and artistic endeavors work in parallel. Both begin with keen observations that produce information that must be analyzed, understood, and interpreted. That interpretation then needs to be communicated to others to complete the...

Relation of the activities of the IPDF/INPE project (reforestation subproject) during the year 1979. [Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dejesusparada, N. (Principal Investigator); Filho, P. H.; Shimabukuro, Y. E.; Demedeiros, J. S.; Desantana, C. C.; Alves, E. C. M.

1981-01-01

The state of Mato Grosso do Sul was selected as the study area to define the recognizable classes of Eucalyptus spp. and Pinus spp. by visual and automatic analyses. For visual analysis, a preliminary interpretation key and a legend of 6 groups were derived. Based on these six groups, three final classes were defined for analysis: (1) area prepared for reforestation; (2) area reforested with Eucalyptus spp.; and (3) area reforested with Pinus spp. For automatic interpretation the area along the highway from Ribas do Rio Pardo to Agua Clara was classified into the following classes: eucalytus, bare soil, plowed soil, pine and "cerrado". The results of visual analysis show that 67% of the reforested farms have relative differences in area estimate below 5%, 22%, between 5% and 10%; and 11% between 10% and 20%. The reforested eucalyptus area is 17 times greater than the area of reforested pine. Automatic classification of eucalyptus ranged from 73.03% to 92.30% in the training areas.

The experiences of medical students with dyslexia: An interpretive phenomenological study.

PubMed

Shaw, Sebastian C K; Anderson, John L

2018-05-10

This article explores the experiences of U.K. medical students with dyslexia, using an interpretive phenomenological approach. This project began with a review of the literature, highlighting a void of qualitative research. We then conducted a collaborative autoethnography. This paper forms the next stage in this series of research. We aimed to elicit meaning and understanding from the lived experiences of our participants. Eight U.K. junior doctors with dyslexia were interviewed over the telephone in an in-depth, unstructured manner. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed with the aid of a template analysis. Experiences of helplessness and hopelessness were common. These may be a result of a fear of stigmatization and personal feelings of inadequacy. They may also be fuelled by the incidents of bullying and belittling from other medical students that were reported. An important meta-theme was of fear and lack of understanding. A lack of pastoral support was also reported. Their experiences of medical school assessments are also reported. More may need to be done to educate teachers and clinical supervisors on dyslexia. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Retroreflective Background Oriented Schlieren Imaging Results from the NASA Plume/Shock Interaction Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Nathanial T.; Durston, Donald A.; Heineck, James T.

2017-01-01

In support of NASA's Commercial Supersonics Technology (CST) project, a test was conducted in the 9-by-7 ft. supersonic section of the NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT). The tests were designed to study the interaction of shocks with a supersonic jet characteristic of those that may occur on a commercial supersonic aircraft. Multiple shock generating geometries were tested to examine the interaction dynamics as they pertain to sonic boom mitigation. An integral part of the analyses of these interactions are the interpretation of the data generated from the retroreflective Background Oriented Schlieren (RBOS) imaging technique employed for this test. The regularization- based optical flow methodology used to generate these data is described. Sample results are compared to those using normalized cross-correlation. The reduced noise, additional feature detail, and fewer false artifacts provided by the optical flow technique produced clearer time-averaged images, allowing for better interpretation of the underlying flow phenomena. These images, coupled with pressure signatures in the near field, are used to provide an overview of the detailed interaction flowfields.

Accuracy and consistency of radiographic interpretation among clinical instructors using two viewing systems.

PubMed

Lanning, Sharon K; Best, Al M; Temple, Henry J; Richards, Philip S; Carey, Allison; McCauley, Laurie K

2006-02-01

Accurate and consistent radiographic interpretation among clinical instructors is needed for assessment of teaching, student performance, and patient care. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the method of radiographic viewing affects accuracy and consistency of instructors' determinations of bone loss. Forty-one clinicians who provide instruction in a dental school clinical teaching program (including periodontists, general dentists, periodontal graduate students, and dental hygienists) quantified bone loss for up to twenty-five teeth into four descriptive categories using a view box for plain film viewing or a projection system for digitized image viewing. Ratings were compared to the correct category as determined by direct measurement using the Schei ruler. Agreement with the correct choice for the view box and projection system was 70.2 percent and 64.5 percent, respectively. The mean difference was better for a projection system due to small rater error by graduate students. Projection system ratings were slightly less consistent than view box ratings. Dental hygiene faculty ratings were the most consistent but least accurate. Although the projection system resulted in slightly reduced accuracy and consistency among instructors, training sessions utilizing a single method for projecting digitized radiographic images have their advantages and may positively influence dental education and patient care by enhancing accuracy and consistency of radiographic interpretation among instructors.

The Development of Students' Mental Models of Chemical Substances and Processes at the Molecular Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalton, Rebecca Marie

The development of student's mental models of chemical substances and processes at the molecular level was studied in a three-phase project. Animations produced in the VisChem project were used as an integral part of the chemistry instruction to help students develop their mental models. Phase one of the project involved examining the effectiveness of using animations to help first-year university chemistry students develop useful mental models of chemical phenomena. Phase two explored factors affecting the development of student's mental models, analysing results in terms of a proposed model of the perceptual processes involved in interpreting an animation. Phase three involved four case studies that served to confirm and elaborate on the effects of prior knowledge and disembedding ability on student's mental model development, and support the influence of study style on learning outcomes. Recommendations for use of the VisChem animations, based on the above findings, include: considering the prior knowledge of students; focusing attention on relevant features; encouraging a deep approach to learning; using animation to teach visual concepts; presenting ideas visually, verbally and conceptually; establishing 'animation literacy'; minimising cognitive load; using animation as feedback; using student drawings; repeating animations; and discussing 'scientific modelling'.

[Family members' experiences of caring for persons with dementia and outreach counseling--an interpretative phenomenological study].

PubMed

Vögeli, Samuel; Frei, Irena Anna; Spichiger, Elisabeth

2016-01-01

Almost two-thirds of the 110,000 people living with dementia in Switzerland receive home care from family members. Outreach counselling can reduce the burden for family caregivers and delay nursing home placement. However, little is known of how this works and how caregivers experience the counselling. The Canton of Aargau Alzheimer's Association has been conducting a pilot project to demonstrate the necessity, effectiveness and practicability of outreach counselling in (their canton). As a part of the evaluation of the project this study explored how family members experience the process of caring for a relative with dementia and outreach counselling. Interpretive phenomenology–a qualitative approach–was used to analyse data from interviews with twelve family caregivers. Most family members felt supported in caregiving by outreach counselling. Three aspects of the counselling were especially important to the participants: being understood and taken seriously by the counsellor; receiving answers to their most pressing questions concerning the illness and being supported when difficult decision had to be taken; regaining personal time and learning how to better interact with the person with dementia. Two participants would have wished for more help by the counsellor. To meet the needs of the family members, consultants should have sufficient experience in dementia patient care and should be strongly networked across the local health and welfare system. This study shows that family members can experience outreach counselling as a great support in their caregiving roles.

Radio observations of the Milky Way from the classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chyży, Krzysztof T.

2014-12-01

We present the project to introduce the first European network of radio telescopes for education. It enables pupils to detect spectral line emission of neutral hydrogen in the Milky Way at a wavelength of 21 cm. Any classroom connected to Internet via any web-browser can remotely control one of the radio-telescopes, observe and analyse obtained spectra: derive the Milky-Way rotation curve and recognise spiral arms in hydrogen distribution. Doing exercises pupils, guided by their teachers, learn the basics of radio astronomy research, use scientific method to explore and interpret the attained spectral data. A range of attractive educational materials are prepared to help in disseminating the scientific knowledge in the classroom and demonstrate the modern information technology.

Photographs of the Sea Floor of Western Massachusetts Bay, Offshore of Boston, Massachusett, July 1999

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gutierrez, Benjamin T.; Butman, Bradford; Blackwood, Dann S.

2001-01-01

This CD-ROM contains photographs and sediment sample analyses of the sea floor obtained at 142 sites in western Massachusetts Bay (Figure 1) during a research cruise (USGS cruise ISBL99024) aboard the Fishing Vessel (FV) Isabel S. (Figure 2) conducted July 18-21, 1999. These photographs and samples provide critical ground truth information for the interpretation of shaded relief and backscatter intensity maps created using data collected with a multibeam echo sounder system (Butman and others, in press, a, b, c; Valentine and others, in press, a, b, c). Collection of these photographs and samples was undertaken in support of a large project whose overall objective is to map and describe the sea floor of Massachusetts Bay.

Exploring the Legacies of Filmed Patient Narratives

PubMed Central

Robert, Glenn; Maben, Jill

2015-01-01

We trace the legacies of filmed patient narratives that were edited and screened to encourage engagement with a participatory quality improvement project in an acute hospital setting in England. Using Gabriel’s theory of “narrative contract,” we examine the initial success of the films in establishing common grounds for participatory project and later, and more varied, interpretations of the films. Over time, the films were interpreted by staff as either useful sources of learning by critical reflection, dubious (invalid or unreliable) representations of patient experience, or as “closed” items available as auditable evidence of completed quality improvement work. We find these interpretations of the films to be shaped by the effect of social distance, the differential outcomes of project work, and changing organizational agendas. We consider the wider conditions of patient narrative as a form of quality improvement knowledge with immediate potency and fragile or fluid legitimacy over time. PMID:25576480

Exploring the Earth's crust: history and results of controlled-source seismology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prodehl, Claus; Mooney, Walter D.

2012-01-01

This volume contains a comprehensive, worldwide history of seismological studies of the Earth’s crust using controlled sources from 1850 to 2005. Essentially all major seismic projects on land and the most important oceanic projects are covered. The time period 1850 to 1939 is presented as a general synthesis, and from 1940 onward the history and results are presented in separate chapters for each decade, with the material organized by geographical region. Each chapter highlights the major advances achieved during that decade in terms of data acquisition, processing technology, and interpretation methods. For all major seismic projects, the authors provide specific details on field observations, interpreted crustal cross sections, and key references. They conclude with global and continental-scale maps of all field measurements and interpreted Moho contours. An accompanying DVD contains important out-of-print publications and an extensive collection of controlled-source data, location maps, and crustal cross sections.

Acceptance of Personality Interpretations as a Function of Assessment Procedures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, C. R.

1974-01-01

The purpose of the two present studies is to ascertain whether differential acceptance of the same general personality interpretation resulted as a function of telling seperate groups of individuals that their interpretation was based on a projective test, an interview, an objective test, or was "generally true of people." (Author)

Interpretive focus groups: a participatory method for interpreting and extending secondary analysis of qualitative data.

PubMed

Redman-MacLaren, Michelle; Mills, Jane; Tommbe, Rachael

2014-01-01

Participatory approaches to qualitative research practice constantly change in response to evolving research environments. Researchers are increasingly encouraged to undertake secondary analysis of qualitative data, despite epistemological and ethical challenges. Interpretive focus groups can be described as a more participative method for groups to analyse qualitative data. To facilitate interpretive focus groups with women in Papua New Guinea to extend analysis of existing qualitative data and co-create new primary data. The purpose of this was to inform a transformational grounded theory and subsequent health promoting action. A two-step approach was used in a grounded theory study about how women experience male circumcision in Papua New Guinea. Participants analysed portions or 'chunks' of existing qualitative data in story circles and built upon this analysis by using the visual research method of storyboarding. New understandings of the data were evoked when women in interpretive focus groups analysed the data 'chunks'. Interpretive focus groups encouraged women to share their personal experiences about male circumcision. The visual method of storyboarding enabled women to draw pictures to represent their experiences. This provided an additional focus for whole-of-group discussions about the research topic. Interpretive focus groups offer opportunity to enhance trustworthiness of findings when researchers undertake secondary analysis of qualitative data. The co-analysis of existing data and co-generation of new data between research participants and researchers informed an emergent transformational grounded theory and subsequent health promoting action.

Interpretive focus groups: a participatory method for interpreting and extending secondary analysis of qualitative data

PubMed Central

Redman-MacLaren, Michelle; Mills, Jane; Tommbe, Rachael

2014-01-01

Background Participatory approaches to qualitative research practice constantly change in response to evolving research environments. Researchers are increasingly encouraged to undertake secondary analysis of qualitative data, despite epistemological and ethical challenges. Interpretive focus groups can be described as a more participative method for groups to analyse qualitative data. Objective To facilitate interpretive focus groups with women in Papua New Guinea to extend analysis of existing qualitative data and co-create new primary data. The purpose of this was to inform a transformational grounded theory and subsequent health promoting action. Design A two-step approach was used in a grounded theory study about how women experience male circumcision in Papua New Guinea. Participants analysed portions or ‘chunks’ of existing qualitative data in story circles and built upon this analysis by using the visual research method of storyboarding. Results New understandings of the data were evoked when women in interpretive focus groups analysed the data ‘chunks’. Interpretive focus groups encouraged women to share their personal experiences about male circumcision. The visual method of storyboarding enabled women to draw pictures to represent their experiences. This provided an additional focus for whole-of-group discussions about the research topic. Conclusions Interpretive focus groups offer opportunity to enhance trustworthiness of findings when researchers undertake secondary analysis of qualitative data. The co-analysis of existing data and co-generation of new data between research participants and researchers informed an emergent transformational grounded theory and subsequent health promoting action. PMID:25138532

Regional-scale input of dispersed and discrete volcanic ash to the Izu-Bonin and Mariana subduction zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scudder, Rachel P.; Murray, Richard W.; Schindlbeck, Julie C.; Kutterolf, Steffen; Hauff, Folkmar; McKinley, Claire C.

2014-11-01

We have geochemically and statistically characterized bulk marine sediment and ash layers at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1149 (Izu-Bonin Arc) and Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 52 (Mariana Arc), and have quantified that multiple dispersed ash sources collectively comprise ˜30-35% of the hemipelagic sediment mass entering the Izu-Bonin-Mariana subduction system. Multivariate statistical analyses indicate that the bulk sediment at Site 1149 is a mixture of Chinese Loess, a second compositionally distinct eolian source, a dispersed mafic ash, and a dispersed felsic ash. We interpret the source of these ashes as, respectively, being basalt from the Izu-Bonin Front Arc (IBFA) and rhyolite from the Honshu Arc. Sr-, Nd-, and Pb isotopic analyses of the bulk sediment are consistent with the chemical/statistical-based interpretations. Comparison of the mass accumulation rate of the dispersed ash component to discrete ash layer parameters (thickness, sedimentation rate, and number of layers) suggests that eruption frequency, rather than eruption size, drives the dispersed ash record. At Site 52, the geochemistry and statistical modeling indicates that Chinese Loess, IBFA, dispersed BNN (boninite from Izu-Bonin), and a dispersed felsic ash of unknown origin are the sources. At Site 1149, the ash layers and the dispersed ash are compositionally coupled, whereas at Site 52 they are decoupled in that there are no boninite layers, yet boninite is dispersed within the sediment. Changes in the volcanic and eolian inputs through time indicate strong arc-related and climate-related controls.

16(th) IHIW: analysis of HLA population data, with updated results for 1996 to 2012 workshop data (AHPD project report).

PubMed

Riccio, M E; Buhler, S; Nunes, J M; Vangenot, C; Cuénod, M; Currat, M; Di, D; Andreani, M; Boldyreva, M; Chambers, G; Chernova, M; Chiaroni, J; Darke, C; Di Cristofaro, J; Dubois, V; Dunn, P; Edinur, H A; Elamin, N; Eliaou, J-F; Grubic, Z; Jaatinen, T; Kanga, U; Kervaire, B; Kolesar, L; Kunachiwa, W; Lokki, M L; Mehra, N; Nicoloso, G; Paakkanen, R; Voniatis, D Papaioannou; Papasteriades, C; Poli, F; Richard, L; Romón Alonso, I; Slavčev, A; Sulcebe, G; Suslova, T; Testi, M; Tiercy, J-M; Varnavidou, A; Vidan-Jeras, B; Wennerström, A; Sanchez-Mazas, A

2013-02-01

We present here the results of the Analysis of HLA Population Data (AHPD) project of the 16th International HLA and Immunogenetics Workshop (16IHIW) held in Liverpool in May-June 2012. Thanks to the collaboration of 25 laboratories from 18 different countries, HLA genotypic data for 59 new population samples (either well-defined populations or donor registry samples) were gathered and 55 were analysed statistically following HLA-NET recommendations. The new data included, among others, large sets of well-defined populations from north-east Europe and West Asia, as well as many donor registry data from European countries. The Gene[rate] computer tools were combined to create a Gene[rate] computer pipeline to automatically (i) estimate allele frequencies by an expectation-maximization algorithm accommodating ambiguities, (ii) estimate heterozygosity, (iii) test for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE), (iv) test for selective neutrality, (v) generate frequency graphs and summary statistics for each sample at each locus and (vi) plot multidimensional scaling (MDS) analyses comparing the new samples with previous IHIW data. Intrapopulation analyses show that HWE is rarely rejected, while neutrality tests often indicate a significant excess of heterozygotes compared with neutral expectations. The comparison of the 16IHIW AHPD data with data collected during previous workshops (12th-15th) shows that geography is an excellent predictor of HLA genetic differentiations for HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 loci but not for HLA-DQ, whose patterns are probably more influenced by natural selection. In Europe, HLA genetic variation clearly follows a north to south-east axis despite a low level of differentiation between European, North African and West Asian populations. Pacific populations are genetically close to Austronesian-speaking South-East Asian and Taiwanese populations, in agreement with current theories on the peopling of Oceania. Thanks to this project, HLA genetic variation is more clearly defined worldwide and better interpreted in relation to human peopling history and HLA molecular evolution. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Hydrogeological interpretation of natural radionuclide contents in Austrian groundwaters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schubert, Gerhard; Berka, Rudolf; Hörhan, Thomas; Katzlberger, Christian; Landstetter, Claudia; Philippitsch, Rudolf

2010-05-01

The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) stores comprehensive data sets of radionuclide contents in Austrian groundwater. There are several analyses concerning Rn-222, Ra-226, gross alpha and gross beta as well as selected analyses of Ra-228, Pb-210, Po-210, Uranium and U-234/U-238. In a current project financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, AGES and the Geological Survey of Austria (GBA) are evaluating these data sets with regard to the geological backgrounds. Several similar studies based on groundwater monitoring have been made in the USA (for instance by Focazio, M.J., Szabo, Z., Kraemer, T.F., Mullin, A.H., Barringer, T.H., De Paul, V.T. (2001): Occurrence of selected radionuclides in groundwater used for drinking water in the United States: a reconnaissance survey, 1998. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 00-4273). The geological background for the radionuclide contents of groundwater will be derived from geological maps in combination with existing Thorium and Uranium analyses of the country rocks and stream-sediments and from airborne radiometric maps. Airborne radiometric data could contribute to identify potential radionuclide hot spot areas as only airborne radiometric mapping could provide countrywide Thorium and Uranium data coverage in high resolution. The project will also focus on the habit of the sampled wells and springs and the hydrological situation during the sampling as these factors can have an important influence on the Radon content of the sampled groundwater (Schubert, G., Alletsgruber, I., Finger, F., Gasser, V., Hobiger, G. and Lettner, H. (2010): Radon im Grundwasser des Mühlviertels (Oberösterreich) Grundwasser. - Springer (in print). Based on the project results an overview map (1:500,000) concerning the radionuclide potential should be produced. The first version should be available in February 2011.

Assessment of self-organizing maps to analyze sole-carbon source utilization profiles.

PubMed

Leflaive, Joséphine; Céréghino, Régis; Danger, Michaël; Lacroix, Gérard; Ten-Hage, Loïc

2005-07-01

The use of community-level physiological profiles obtained with Biolog microplates is widely employed to consider the functional diversity of bacterial communities. Biolog produces a great amount of data which analysis has been the subject of many studies. In most cases, after some transformations, these data were investigated with classical multivariate analyses. Here we provided an alternative to this method, that is the use of an artificial intelligence technique, the Self-Organizing Maps (SOM, unsupervised neural network). We used data from a microcosm study of algae-associated bacterial communities placed in various nutritive conditions. Analyses were carried out on the net absorbances at two incubation times for each substrates and on the chemical guild categorization of the total bacterial activity. Compared to Principal Components Analysis and cluster analysis, SOM appeared as a valuable tool for community classification, and to establish clear relationships between clusters of bacterial communities and sole-carbon sources utilization. Specifically, SOM offered a clear bidimensional projection of a relatively large volume of data and were easier to interpret than plots commonly obtained with multivariate analyses. They would be recommended to pattern the temporal evolution of communities' functional diversity.

Seismic investigations in downtown Copenhagen, Denmark

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, K.; Mendoza, J. A.; Olsen, H.

2009-12-01

Near surface geophysics are gaining widespread use in major infrastructure projects with respect to geotechnical and engineering applications. The development of data acquisition, processing tools and interpretation methods have optimized survey production, reduced logistics costs and increase results reliability of seismic surveys during the last decades. However, the use of geophysical methods under urban environments continues to face challenges due to multiple noise sources and obstacles inherent to cities. A seismic investigation was conducted in Copenhagen aiming to produce information needed for hydrological, geotechnical and groundwater modeling assessments related to the planned Cityringen underground metro project. The particular objectives were a) map variations in subsurface Quaternary and limestone properties b) to map for near surface structural features. The geological setting in the Copenhagen region is characterized by several interlaced layers of glacial till and meltwater sand deposits. These layers, which are found unevenly distributed throughout the city and present in varying thicknesses, overlie limestone of different generations. There are common occurrences of incised valley structures containing localized instances of weathered or fractured limestone. The surveys consisted of combined seismic reflection and refraction profiles accounting for approximately 13 km along sections of the projected metro line. The data acquisition was carried out using standard 192 channels arrays, receiver groups with 5 m spacing and a Vibroseis as a source at 5 m spacing. In order to improve the resolution of the data, 29 Walkaway-Vertical Seismic Profiles were performed at selected wells along the surface seismic lines. The refraction data was processed with travel-time tomography and the reflection data underwent standard interpretation. The refraction data inversion was performed twofold; a surface refraction alone and combined with the VSP data. Three general velocity layers were observed; 800-1250 m/s, 1250-1700 m/s and a high velocity layer 1700-2500 m/s with localized zones of greater velocities. The variations in the higher velocity layer provide information on limestone properties relevant for tunneling design. The Walkaway-VSP proved to be a useful tool for identifying the velocity fields corresponding to the shallow sediments and the deep sequences of limestone, thus aiding the interpretation of the surface refraction imaging. Data acquisition was planned overnight to reduce external noise impact and optimise production, and urban challenges (e.g. traffic, pipelines) were overcome. Further integrated geophysical interpretation will be done together with hydrogeological analyses, geotechnical evaluations and geological modelling. The authors acknowledge Metroselskabet I/S for permission to present these results, and the Cityringen Joint Venture partners COWI, Arup and Systra.

Understanding global climate change scenarios through bioclimate stratification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soteriades, A. D.; Murray-Rust, D.; Trabucco, A.; Metzger, M. J.

2017-08-01

Despite progress in impact modelling, communicating and understanding the implications of climatic change projections is challenging due to inherent complexity and a cascade of uncertainty. In this letter, we present an alternative representation of global climate change projections based on shifts in 125 multivariate strata characterized by relatively homogeneous climate. These strata form climate analogues that help in the interpretation of climate change impacts. A Random Forests classifier was calculated and applied to 63 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 climate scenarios at 5 arcmin resolution. Results demonstrate how shifting bioclimate strata can summarize future environmental changes and form a middle ground, conveniently integrating current knowledge of climate change impact with the interpretation advantages of categorical data but with a level of detail that resembles a continuous surface at global and regional scales. Both the agreement in major change and differences between climate change projections are visually combined, facilitating the interpretation of complex uncertainty. By making the data and the classifier available we provide a climate service that helps facilitate communication and provide new insight into the consequences of climate change.

The Best Question: Explaining the Projection Behavior of Factives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simons, Mandy; Beaver, David; Roberts, Craige; Tonhauser, Judith

2017-01-01

This article deals with projection in factive sentences. The article first challenges standard assumptions by presenting a series of detailed observations about the interpretations of factive sentences in context, showing that what implication projects, if any, is quite variable and that projection is tightly constrained by prosodic and contextual…

The Microbe Directory: An annotated, searchable inventory of microbes' characteristics.

PubMed

Shaaban, Heba; Westfall, David A; Mohammad, Rawhi; Danko, David; Bezdan, Daniela; Afshinnekoo, Ebrahim; Segata, Nicola; Mason, Christopher E

2018-01-05

The Microbe Directory is a collective research effort to profile and annotate more than 7,500 unique microbial species from the MetaPhlAn2 database that includes bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. By collecting and summarizing data on various microbes' characteristics, the project comprises a database that can be used downstream of large-scale metagenomic taxonomic analyses, allowing one to interpret and explore their taxonomic classifications to have a deeper understanding of the microbial ecosystem they are studying. Such characteristics include, but are not limited to: optimal pH, optimal temperature, Gram stain, biofilm-formation, spore-formation, antimicrobial resistance, and COGEM class risk rating. The database has been manually curated by trained student-researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and CUNY-Hunter College, and its analysis remains an ongoing effort with open-source capabilities so others can contribute. Available in SQL, JSON, and CSV (i.e. Excel) formats, the Microbe Directory can be queried for the aforementioned parameters by a microorganism's taxonomy. In addition to the raw database, The Microbe Directory has an online counterpart ( https://microbe.directory/) that provides a user-friendly interface for storage, retrieval, and analysis into which other microbial database projects could be incorporated. The Microbe Directory was primarily designed to serve as a resource for researchers conducting metagenomic analyses, but its online web interface should also prove useful to any individual who wishes to learn more about any particular microbe.

Geography Teachers' Interpretation of a Curriculum Reform Initiative: The Case of the Lesotho Environmental Education Support Project (LEESP)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raselimo, Mohaeka; Wilmot, Di

2013-01-01

This article addresses how teachers in a specific developing world context interpreted a curriculum reform initiative. It is located within a broader interpretive study that investigated the integration of Environmental Education into the formal education system of Lesotho with particular reference to secondary school geography. More specifically…

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of National Park Service Interpretive Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wells, Marcella

2008-01-01

In 2005-2006, the National Park Service Office of Interpretive Planning at Harpers Ferry Center, in collaboration with the author, conducted an evaluation project to (a) assess the appropriateness and quality of specific elements of National Park Service (NPS) interpretive plans, (b) determine where improvements in planning might be made, and (c)…

Treasure Transformers: Novel Interpretative Installations for the National Palace Museum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsieh, Chun-Ko; Liu, I.-Ling; Lin, Quo-Ping; Chan, Li-Wen; Hsiao, Chuan-Heng; Hung, Yi-Ping

Museums have missions to increase accessibility and share cultural assets to the public. The National Palace Museum intends to be a pioneer of utilizing novel interpretative installations to reach more diverse and potential audiences, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) technology has been selected as the new interpretative approach. The pilot project in partnership with the National Taiwan University has successfully completed four interactive installations. To consider the different nature of collections, the four systems designed against different interpretation strategies are uPoster, i-m-Top, Magic Crystal Ball and Virtual Panel. To assess the feasibility of the project, the interactive installations were exhibited at the Taipei World Trade Center in 2008. The purpose of this paper is to present the development of the "Treasure Transformers" exhibition, design principles, and effectiveness of installations from the evaluation. It is our ambition that the contributions will propose innovative media approaches in museum settings.

Real-time monitoring of CO2 storage sites: Application to Illinois Basin-Decatur Project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Picard, G.; Berard, T.; Chabora, E.; Marsteller, S.; Greenberg, S.; Finley, R.J.; Rinck, U.; Greenaway, R.; Champagnon, C.; Davard, J.

2011-01-01

Optimization of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage operations for efficiency and safety requires use of monitoring techniques and implementation of control protocols. The monitoring techniques consist of permanent sensors and tools deployed for measurement campaigns. Large amounts of data are thus generated. These data must be managed and integrated for interpretation at different time scales. A fast interpretation loop involves combining continuous measurements from permanent sensors as they are collected to enable a rapid response to detected events; a slower loop requires combining large datasets gathered over longer operational periods from all techniques. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it presents an analysis of the monitoring objectives to be performed in the slow and fast interpretation loops. Second, it describes the implementation of the fast interpretation loop with a real-time monitoring system at the Illinois Basin-Decatur Project (IBDP) in Illinois, USA. ?? 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Discovering: Students' meanings for research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rymer, John Ewan

The call for science education reforms in the mid-1980s resulted in the implementation of a new Alberta senior high school science curriculum in 1992. The reformed curriculum reflected the call for increased authentic practice in the sciences. Part of my interpretation of this curriculum included a month long field biology research project. The students' scientific understandings while involved in this project have been a source of wonder and curiosity for me. As teacher researcher, I sought to interpret the meanings students held for scientific research as they progressed through their self-directed investigations. In an urban high school two of my Biology 20 classes comprised of a total of fifty-four students were involved in this study. Using data collected from student questionnaire responses, student field notebooks and recorded conversations my interpretations were developed. Based on these interpretations it appeared that students' understandings of research altered slightly through the course of the field project. Initially, I interpreted students' meanings for scientific research to include the notion that an independent external world exists which may be methodologically studied. Research was both purposeful and personal, seeking to discover new knowledge through the use of advanced technologies. Over the course of the biology project the students' meanings came to include the sense that research involved dealing with the uncertainty of novelty. Research became dynamic in nature and was seen to be never ending. It became apparent from students' conversations with me that students were aware school social structures and responded to the research project through their understanding of these structures. The potential benefits desired in the reformers' call for authentic scientific practice may have been subverted to a degree by the students' acceptance of school social structures and their underlying discourse. As a result, the implementation of authentic science within the parameters of contemporary school discourse is questioned. I also realized my personal connection to the discourse and structures of schooling. As a result, my initial assumptions and practices in the biology project's implementation had to be reconsidered. This is one of the benefits of teacher research considered in my reflections.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: A Qualitative Synthesis Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beck, Cheryl Tatano

2003-01-01

Describes a project that required graduate nursing students to conduct qualitative meta-synthesis of ethnographic research, using Noblit and Hare's approach. Discusses the process of meta-synthesis, interpretation of outcomes, and students' reactions to the project. (Contains 16 references.) (SK)

Differences in flood hazard projections in Europe – their causes and consequences for decision making

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kundzewicz, Z. W.; Krysanova, V.; Dankers, R.; Hirabayashi, Y.; Kanae, S.; Hattermann, F. F.; Huang, S.; Milly, Paul C.D.; Stoffel, M.; Driessen, P.P.J.; Matczak, P.; Quevauviller, P.; Schellnhuber, H.-J.

2017-01-01

This paper interprets differences in flood hazard projections over Europe and identifies likely sources of discrepancy. Further, it discusses potential implications of these differences for flood risk reduction and adaptation to climate change. The discrepancy in flood hazard projections raises caution, especially among decision makers in charge of water resources management, flood risk reduction, and climate change adaptation at regional to local scales. Because it is naïve to expect availability of trustworthy quantitative projections of future flood hazard, in order to reduce flood risk one should focus attention on mapping of current and future risks and vulnerability hotspots and improve the situation there. Although an intercomparison of flood hazard projections is done in this paper and differences are identified and interpreted, it does not seems possible to recommend which large-scale studies may be considered most credible in particular areas of Europe.

Deaf Students, Teachers, and Interpreters in the Chemistry Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seal, Brenda C.; Wynne, Dorothy H.; MacDonald, Gina

2002-02-01

This report describes an undergraduate research program at James Madison University that includes deaf and hard-of-hearing students from Gallaudet University, deaf teachers from schools for the Deaf, and both professional interpreters and students engaged in sign language interpreter training. Methods used over a three-year period to maximize participation and expand research opportunities for the students, teachers, and interpreters are shared with the hope that similar projects might be encouraged and replicated in other programs.

Tradeoffs in the design of a system for high level language interpretation

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

Osorio, F.C.C.; Patt, Y.N.

The problem of designing a system for high-level language interpretation (HLLI) is considered. First, a model of the design process is presented where several styles of design, e.g. turing machine interpretation, CISC architecture interpretation and RISC architecture interpretation are treated uniformly. Second, the most significant characteristics of HLLI are analysed in the context of different design styles, and some guidelines are presented on how to identify the most suitable design style for a given high-level language problem. 12 references.

Measuring Primary Students' Graph Interpretation Skills Via a Performance Assessment: A case study in instrument development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterman, Karen; Cranston, Kayla A.; Pryor, Marie; Kermish-Allen, Ruth

2015-11-01

This case study was conducted within the context of a place-based education project that was implemented with primary school students in the USA. The authors and participating teachers created a performance assessment of standards-aligned tasks to examine 6-10-year-old students' graph interpretation skills as part of an exploratory research project. Fifty-five students participated in a performance assessment interview at the beginning and end of a place-based investigation. Two forms of the assessment were created and counterbalanced within class at pre and post. In situ scoring was conducted such that responses were scored as correct versus incorrect during the assessment's administration. Criterion validity analysis demonstrated an age-level progression in student scores. Tests of discriminant validity showed that the instrument detected variability in interpretation skills across each of three graph types (line, bar, dot plot). Convergent validity was established by correlating in situ scores with those from the Graph Interpretation Scoring Rubric. Students' proficiency with interpreting different types of graphs matched expectations based on age and the standards-based progression of graphs across primary school grades. The assessment tasks were also effective at detecting pre-post gains in students' interpretation of line graphs and dot plots after the place-based project. The results of the case study are discussed in relation to the common challenges associated with performance assessment. Implications are presented in relation to the need for authentic and performance-based instructional and assessment tasks to respond to the Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards.

Building an Online Library for Interpretation Training: Explorations into an Effective Blended-Learning Mode

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Clara Ho-yan

2014-01-01

This paper reports on a blended-learning project that aims to develop a web-based library of interpreting practice resources built on the course management system Blackboard for Hong Kong interpretation students to practise outside the classroom. It also evaluates the library's effectiveness for learning, based on a case study that uses it to…

Interpreter Roles and Transition for Public School Students Who Are Deaf: A Multiple Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinz, John T.

2012-01-01

This qualitative multiple case study research project examines interpreter use for students who are Deaf in the public school system and juxtaposes it with interpreter use found in the work sector after the school-to-work (STW) transition. Semi-structured interviews with 16 Deafness professionals and 6 study participants who are Deaf, as well as…

Launching International Collaboration for Interpretation Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Sherry

2006-01-01

The expansion of interpretation research projects across national boundaries contributes to improved personal, professional, and intellectual outcomes for researchers and practitioners. Establishing and maintaining these collaborative teams may be especially beneficial to strengthening the research agenda of new researchers. Conducting…

Projective interpretation of some doubly special relativity theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jafari, N.; Shariati, A.

2011-09-01

A class of projective actions of the orthogonal group on the projective space is being studied. It is shown that the Fock-Lorentz and Magueijo-Smolin transformations known as doubly special relativity are such transformations. The formalism easily leads to new types of transformations.

78 FR 43183 - Notice of Availability for Sharpe Permit Relinquishment Project Environmental Assessment Finding...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-19

... for Sharpe Permit Relinquishment Project Environmental Assessment Finding of No Significant Impact... Relinquishment Project Environmental Assessment (EA) Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). SUMMARY: On April... environment. Human environment was interpreted comprehensively to include the natural and physical environment...

Valorization of unauthorized sea disposal dredged sediments as a road foundation material.

PubMed

Achour, Raouf; Abriak, Nor-Edine; Zentar, Rachid; Rivard, Patrice; Gregoire, Pascal

2014-08-01

The main objective of this study is to show the ability of fine dredged material (mainly silty material) to be used in road construction project. This paper is divided into three parts. In the first part, the physical, the mineralogical and the mechanical characteristics of the used fine dredged sediments, as well as their chemical composition and environmental impacts are presented. In the second part, the methodology developed to design the road made from dredged fine sediment is developed. The third part of the paper focuses on the presentation of the road construction and the interpretation of analyses made on cores drilled samples from the road and measurements of the deflection of the road. The environmental assessment, based on leaching tests, is also performed at different issues.

Magnetic anomalies in East Antarctica: a window on major tectonic provinces and their boundaries

USGS Publications Warehouse

Golynsky, A.V.

2007-01-01

An analysis of aeromagnetic data compiled within the Antarctic Digital Magnetic Anomaly Project (ADMAP) yields significant new insight into major tectonic provinces of East Antarctica. Several previously unknown crustal blocks are imaged in the deep interior of the continent, which are interpreted as cratonic nuclei. These cratons are fringed by a large and continuous orogenic belt between Coats Land and Princess Elizabeth Land, with possible branches in the deeper interior of East Antarctica. Most of the crustal provinces and boundaries identified in this study are only in part exposed. More detailed analyses of these crustal provinces and their tectonic boundaries would require systematic acquisition of additional high-resolution magnetic data, because at present the ADMAP database is largely inadequate to address many remaining questions regarding Antarctica’s tectonic evolution.

Preliminary testing of flow-ecology hypotheses developed for the GCP LCC region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brewer, Shannon K.; Davis, Mary

2014-01-01

The Ecological Limits of Hydrological Alteration (ELOHA) framework calls for the development of flow-ecology hypotheses to support protection of the flow regime from ecologically harmful alteration due to human activities. As part of a larger instream flow project for the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP LCC), regional flow-ecology hypotheses were developed for fish, mussels, birds, and riparian vegetation (Davis and Brewer 20141). The objective of this study was to assess the usefulness of existing ecological and hydrological data to test these hypotheses or others that may be developed in the future. Several databases related to biological collections and hydrologic data from Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana were compiled. State fish-community data from Oklahoma and Louisiana were summarized and paired with existing USGS gage data having at least a 40-year period of record that could be separated into reference and current conditions for comparison. The objective of this study was not to conduct exhaustive analyses of these data, the hypotheses, or analyses interpretation, but rather to use these data to determine if existing data were adequate to statistically test the regional flow-ecology hypotheses. The regional flow-ecology hypotheses were developed for the GCP LCC by a committee chaired by Shannon Brewer and Mary Davis (Davis and Brewer 2014). Existing data were useful for informing the hypotheses and suggest support for some hypotheses, but also highlight the need for additional testing and development as some results contradicted hypotheses. Results presented here suggest existing data are adequate to support some flow-ecology hypotheses; however, lack of sampling effort reported with the fish collections and the need for ecoregion-specific analyses suggest more data would be beneficial to analyses in some ecoregions. Additional fish sampling data from Texas and Louisiana will be available for future analyses and may ameliorate some of the data concerns and improve hypothesis interpretation. If the regional hydrologic model currently under development by the U.S. Geological Survey for the South-Central Climate Science Center is improved to produce daily hydrographs, it will enable use of fish data at ungaged locations. In future efforts, exhaustive analyses using these data, in addition to the development of more complex multivariate hypotheses, would be beneficial to understanding data gaps, particularly as relevant to species of conservation concern.

[Quality analyses of the development of preterm infants: results of the Lower-Saxonian preterm infant follow-up project and a comparison group of term infants].

PubMed

Damm, Gabriele; Macha, Thorsten; Petermann, Franz; Voss, Wolfgang; Sens, Brigitte

2015-01-01

Based on perinatal and neonatal quality assurance programmes, a follow-up project for the high-risk group of extremely preterm infants, unparalleled in Germany, was initiated in the federal state of Lower Saxony in 2004. Here we describe the new approach of examining a comparison group of term infants, which, for the first time, allows a valid interpretation of the collection of area-wide long-term outcome data on preterm children. The prospective long-term outcome project investigates the medical care situation for children born at less than 28 weeks of gestation up to school age. Based on the information obtained about the children's development the quality of health care will be optimised. A standardised examining concept with established development tests at defined follow-up intervals (at the age of 6 months, 2, 5 and 10 years) is used. At the age of five years 75 % of the examined premature children exhibited impairments. In order to better assess remarkable results, a comparison group of term infants (n=305) selected by a matched-pairs method was examined at the age of five using an analogous concept in kindergartens in Lower Saxony. The results were compared with the first two age cohorts of the follow-up-project (n=226) and quality analyses performed. As expected, significant differences have been found in the children's motor, cognitive and linguistic development between the preterm and term infants examined. This fact draws attention to the importance of early support for the majority of extremely premature infants. Feedback on the results given to the medical staff involved allows for the implementation of best practices and quality improvements. Identifying potential for improvement in everyday health care will help to develop specific optimisation measures. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Thorough analysis of unorthodox ABO deletions called by the 1000 Genomes project.

PubMed

Möller, M; Hellberg, Å; Olsson, M L

2018-02-01

ABO remains the clinically most important blood group system, but despite earlier extensive research, significant findings are still being made. The vast majority of catalogued ABO null alleles are based on the c.261delG polymorphism. Apart from c.802G>A, other mechanisms for O alleles are rare. While analysing the data set from the 1000 Genomes (1000G) project, we encountered two previously uncharacterized deletions, which needed further exploration. The Erythrogene database, complemented with bioinformatics software, was used to analyse ABO in 2504 individuals from 1000G. DNA samples from selected 1000G donors and African blood donors were examined by allele-specific PCR and Sanger sequencing to characterize predicted deletions. A 5821-bp deletion encompassing exons 5-7 was called in twenty 1000G individuals, predominantly Africans. This allele was confirmed and its exact deletion point defined by bioinformatic analyses and in vitro experiments. A PCR assay was developed, and screening of African samples revealed three donors heterozygous for this deletion, which was thereby phenotypically established as an O allele. Analysis of upstream genetic markers indicated an ancestral origin from ABO*O.01.02. We estimate this deletion as the 3rd most common mechanism behind O alleles. A 24-bp deletion was called in nine individuals and showed greater diversity regarding ethnic distribution and allelic background. It could neither be confirmed by in silico nor in vitro experiments. A previously uncharacterized ABO deletion among Africans was comprehensively mapped and a genotyping strategy devised. The false prediction of another deletion emphasizes the need for cautious interpretation of NGS data and calls for strict validation routines. © 2017 International Society of Blood Transfusion.

A python tool for the implementation of domain-specific languages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dejanović, Igor; Vaderna, Renata; Milosavljević, Gordana; Simić, Miloš; Vuković, Željko

2017-07-01

In this paper we describe textX, a meta-language and a tool for building Domain-Specific Languages. It is implemented in Python using Arpeggio PEG (Parsing Expression Grammar) parser library. From a single language description (grammar) textX will build a parser and a meta-model (a.k.a. abstract syntax) of the language. The parser is used to parse textual representations of models conforming to the meta-model. As a result of parsing, a Python object graph will be automatically created. The structure of the object graph will conform to the meta-model defined by the grammar. This approach frees a developer from the need to manually analyse a parse tree and transform it to other suitable representation. The textX library is independent of any integrated development environment and can be easily integrated in any Python project. The textX tool works as a grammar interpreter. The parser is configured at run-time using the grammar. The textX tool is a free and open-source project available at GitHub.

Exploring Vaccine Hesitancy Through an Artist-Scientist Collaboration : Visualizing Vaccine-Critical Parents' Health Beliefs.

PubMed

Koski, Kaisu; Holst, Johan

2017-09-01

This project explores vaccine hesitancy through an artist-scientist collaboration. It aims to create better understanding of vaccine hesitant parents' health beliefs and how these influence their vaccine-critical decisions. The project interviews vaccine-hesitant parents in the Netherlands and Finland and develops experimental visual-narrative means to analyse the interview data. Vaccine-hesitant parents' health beliefs are, in this study, expressed through stories, and they are paralleled with so-called illness narratives. The study explores the following four main health beliefs originating from the parents' interviews: (1) perceived benefits of illness, (2) belief in the body's intelligence and self-healing capacity, (3) beliefs about the "inside-outside" flow of substances in the body, and (4) view of death as a natural part of life. These beliefs are interpreted through arts-based diagrammatic representations. These diagrams, merging multiple aspects of the parents' narratives, are subsequently used in a collaborative meaning-making dialogue between the artist and the scientist. The resulting dialogue contrasts the health beliefs behind vaccine hesitancy with scientific knowledge, as well as the authors' personal, and differing, attitudes toward these.

VHBuild.com: A Web-Based System for Managing Knowledge in Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Heng; Tang, Sandy; Man, K. F.; Love, Peter E. D.

2002-01-01

Describes an intelligent Web-based construction project management system called VHBuild.com which integrates project management, knowledge management, and artificial intelligence technologies. Highlights include an information flow model; time-cost optimization based on genetic algorithms; rule-based drawing interpretation; and a case-based…

77 FR 31302 - Review of Federal Permit Conditions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-25

...'' because the agency believes this should be interpreted based on the circumstances of the project at the... OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL COORDINATOR FOR ALASKA NATURAL GAS TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS Review of Federal... Projects. ACTION: Notice of Adoption of Final Policy. SUMMARY: The Office of the Federal Coordinator for...

ACHP | News

Science.gov Websites

Foundation Honored For Creation and Implementation of New Preserve America Historic-Educational Grants grant program to create and improve interpretive, educational, and visitor experiences on the nation's fund National Wildlife Refuge System interpretive and educational projects focusing on history and

A transformative perspective on learning and professional development of Afghan physiotherapists.

PubMed

Wickford, Jenny; Edwards, Ian; Rosberg, Susanne

2012-05-01

The aim of this article is to explore factors that impacted learning of Afghan physiotherapists in a development project to improve the physiotherapy services in a disability programme implemented by a Swedish nongovernmental organisation in Afghanistan. Participant observation, recorded as field notes, was used to document the process, to gain a better understanding of professional development of physiotherapists in Afghanistan. Field notes were analysed and factors affecting learning were interpreted from a perspective inspired by transformative learning. Various factors were identified: a pattern approach to treatment, linear thinking, and socially oriented decision making affected how new things learned were put into practice; concrete representations and an instrumental view of knowledge characterised learning approaches; language barriers, different interpretations of meaning, and cultural codes challenged communication; and a prescriptive, encouraging approach of the expatriate physiotherapy development worker affected teaching and learning. Working with professional development across cultural borders is challenging, and the identified factors impacting learning can help expatriate physiotherapists in adapting training to the Afghan context. Exploring meaning perspectives and communicative learning could enhance understanding of these factors for both expatriate and Afghan physiotherapists and should be a focus in future development activities.

Decision making and senior management: the implementation of change projects covering clinical management in SUS hospitals.

PubMed

Pacheco, José Márcio da Cunha; Gomes, Romeu

2016-08-01

This paper analyses the decision making process for senior management in public hospitals that are a part of the National Health Service in Brazil (hereafter SUS) in relation to projects aimed at changing clinical management. The methodological design of this study is qualitative in nature taking a hermeneutics-dialectics perspective in terms of results. Hospital directors noted that clinical management projects changed the state of hospitals through: improving their organizations, mobilizing their staff in order to increase a sense of order and systemizing actions and available resources. Technical rationality was the principal basis used in the decision making process for managers. Due to the reality of many hospitals having fragmented organizations, this fact impeded the use of aspects related to rationality, such as economic and financial factors in the decision making process. The incremental model and general politics also play a role in this area. We concluded that the decision making process embraces a large array of factors including rational aspects such as the use of management techniques and the ability to analyze, interpret and summarize. It also incorporates subjective elements such as how to select values and dealing with people's working experiences. We recognized that management problems are wide in scope, ambiguous, complex and do not come with a lot of structure in practice.

Experience with Using the Sensewear BMS Sensor System in the Context of a Health and Wellbeing Application

PubMed Central

Jones, Val; Bults, Richard; de Wijk, Rene; Widya, Ing; Batista, Ricardo; Hermens, Hermie

2011-01-01

An assessment of a sensor designed for monitoring energy expenditure, activity, and sleep was conducted in the context of a research project which develops a weight management application. The overall goal of this project is to affect sustainable behavioural change with respect to diet and exercise in order to improve health and wellbeing. This paper reports results of a pretrial in which three volunteers wore the sensor for a total of 11 days. The aim was to gain experience with the sensor and determine if it would be suitable for incorporation into the ICT system developed by the project to be trialled later on a larger population. In this paper we focus mainly on activity monitoring and user experience. Data and results including visualizations and reports are presented and discussed. User experience proved positive in most respects. Exercise levels and sleep patterns correspond to user logs relating to exercise sessions and sleep patterns. Issues raised relate to accuracy, one source of possible interference, the desirability of enhancing the system with real-time data transmission, and analysis to enable real-time feedback. It is argued that automatic activity classification is needed to properly analyse and interpret physical activity data captured by accelerometry. PMID:21772840

Map Interpretation and Terrain Analysis Course (MITAC) for Infantrymen: Illustrated Lectures

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-01-01

Factors Influencing Map Design . . . . . ..... ............ 4 Interpretation of Terrain Relief and Other Topographic Features...Institute (ARI) sponsored a project to design and develop a map interpretation and terrain analysis course (MITAC) to improve the ability of Army...helicopter pilots to navigate accurately when flying at nap-of-the-earth (NOE) altitudes (McGrath, 1975; McGrath & Foster, 1975). MITAC was designed to

Teaching Real Data Interpretation with Models (TRIM): Analysis of Student Dialogue in a Large-Enrollment Cell and Developmental Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zagallo, Patricia; Meddleton, Shanice; Bolger, Molly S.

2016-01-01

We present our design for a cell biology course to integrate content with scientific practices, specifically data interpretation and model-based reasoning. A 2-year research project within this course allowed us to understand how students interpret authentic biological data in this setting. Through analysis of written work, we measured the extent…

Techniques for Teaching Projective Assessment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stagner, Brian H.

1984-01-01

Describes innovative methods for teaching projective assessment in a one semester graduate level clinical psychology course. The course fosters competence in the basics of administration, scoring, and in-depth interpretation of at least one test. (RM)

Case Study Analyses of the Success DC-8 Scanning Lidar Database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uthe, Edward E.

2000-01-01

Under project SUCCESS (Subsonic Aircraft Contrail and Cloud Effects Special Study) funded by the Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Program, SRI International (SRI) developed an angular scanning back'scatter lidar for operation on the NASA DC-8 research aircraft and deployed the scanning lidar during the SUCCESS field campaign. The primary purpose of the lidar was to generate real-time video displays of clouds and contrails above, ahead of, and below the DC-8 as a means to help position the aircraft for optimum cloud and contrail sampling by onboard in situ sensors, and to help extend the geometrical domain of the in situ sampling records. A large, relatively complex lidar database was collected and several data examples were processed to illustrate the value of the lidar data for interpreting the other data records collected during SUCCESS. These data examples were used to develop a journal publication for the special SUCCESS Geophysical Research Letters issue (reprint presented as Appendix A). The data examples justified data analyses of a larger part of the DC-8 lidar database and is the objective of the current study.

Rhythmic entrainment source separation: Optimizing analyses of neural responses to rhythmic sensory stimulation.

PubMed

Cohen, Michael X; Gulbinaite, Rasa

2017-02-15

Steady-state evoked potentials (SSEPs) are rhythmic brain responses to rhythmic sensory stimulation, and are often used to study perceptual and attentional processes. We present a data analysis method for maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio of the narrow-band steady-state response in the frequency and time-frequency domains. The method, termed rhythmic entrainment source separation (RESS), is based on denoising source separation approaches that take advantage of the simultaneous but differential projection of neural activity to multiple electrodes or sensors. Our approach is a combination and extension of existing multivariate source separation methods. We demonstrate that RESS performs well on both simulated and empirical data, and outperforms conventional SSEP analysis methods based on selecting electrodes with the strongest SSEP response, as well as several other linear spatial filters. We also discuss the potential confound of overfitting, whereby the filter captures noise in absence of a signal. Matlab scripts are available to replicate and extend our simulations and methods. We conclude with some practical advice for optimizing SSEP data analyses and interpreting the results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysing data from patient-reported outcome and quality of life endpoints for cancer clinical trials: a start in setting international standards.

PubMed

Bottomley, Andrew; Pe, Madeline; Sloan, Jeff; Basch, Ethan; Bonnetain, Franck; Calvert, Melanie; Campbell, Alicyn; Cleeland, Charles; Cocks, Kim; Collette, Laurence; Dueck, Amylou C; Devlin, Nancy; Flechtner, Hans-Henning; Gotay, Carolyn; Greimel, Eva; Griebsch, Ingolf; Groenvold, Mogens; Hamel, Jean-Francois; King, Madeleine; Kluetz, Paul G; Koller, Michael; Malone, Daniel C; Martinelli, Francesca; Mitchell, Sandra A; Moinpour, Carol M; Musoro, Jammbe; O'Connor, Daniel; Oliver, Kathy; Piault-Louis, Elisabeth; Piccart, Martine; Pimentel, Francisco L; Quinten, Chantal; Reijneveld, Jaap C; Schürmann, Christoph; Smith, Ashley Wilder; Soltys, Katherine M; Taphoorn, Martin J B; Velikova, Galina; Coens, Corneel

2016-11-01

Measures of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and other patient-reported outcomes generate important data in cancer randomised trials to assist in assessing the risks and benefits of cancer therapies and fostering patient-centred cancer care. However, the various ways these measures are analysed and interpreted make it difficult to compare results across trials, and hinders the application of research findings to inform publications, product labelling, clinical guidelines, and health policy. To address these problems, the Setting International Standards in Analyzing Patient-Reported Outcomes and Quality of Life Endpoints Data (SISAQOL) initiative has been established. This consortium, directed by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), was convened to provide recommendations on how to standardise the analysis of HRQOL and other patient-reported outcomes data in cancer randomised trials. This Personal View discusses the reasons why this project was initiated, the rationale for the planned work, and the expected benefits to cancer research, patient and provider decision making, care delivery, and policy making. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Training and Practice in Geographic Skills: An Aerial Photo Interpretation Course Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rumney, Thomas

1982-01-01

Describes a college level geography project which focused on land use identification from aerial photographs, land use mapping, and the identification and analysis of land use changes in the field. The project was intended to help students apply geographic skills to real world problems. (AM)

Annual Program: Library Services and Construction Act, 1987-1988.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Carolina State Library, Columbia.

This report presents the 1978-1988 annual Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) program for the South Carolina State Library. This program includes fiscal information and project descriptions for the following LCSA projects under Title I-Library Services: (1) Projects IA-General Administration; (2) IB-Library Interpretation; (3) IIA-General…

Interpreting short and medium exposure etched-track radon measurements to determine whether an action level could be exceeded.

PubMed

Denman, A R; Crockett, R G M; Groves-Kirkby, C J; Phillips, P S

2016-10-01

Radon gas is naturally occurring, and can concentrate in the built environment. It is radioactive and high concentration levels within buildings, including homes, have been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer in the occupants. As a result, several methods have been developed to measure radon. The long-term average radon level determines the risk to occupants, but there is always pressure to complete measurements more quickly, particularly when buying and selling the home. For many years, the three-month exposure using etched-track detectors has been the de facto standard, but a decade ago, Phillips et al. (2003), in a DEFRA funded project, evaluated the use of 1-week and 1-month measurements. They found that the measurement methods were accurate, but the challenge lay in the wide variation in radon levels - with diurnal, seasonal, and other patterns due to climatic factors and room use. In the report on this work, and in subsequent papers, the group proposed methodologies for 1-week, 1-month and 3-month measurements and their interpretation. Other work, however, has suggested that 2-week exposures were preferable to 1-week ones. In practice, the radon remediation industry uses a range of exposure times, and further guidance is required to help interpret these results. This paper reviews the data from this study and a subsequent 4-year study of 4 houses, re-analysing the results and extending them to other exposures, particularly for 2-week and 2-month exposures, and provides comprehensive guidance for the use of etched-track detectors, the value and use of Seasonal Correction Factors (SCFs), the uncertainties in short and medium term exposures and the interpretation of results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Options for Interpreting Environmental ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Report Secondary data from the BioResponse Operational Testing and Evaluation project were used to study six options for interpreting culture-based/microbial count data sets that include left censored data, or measurements that are less than established quantification limits and/or detection limits.

Team Learning in Technology-Mediated Distributed Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andres, Hayward P.; Shipps, Belinda P.

2010-01-01

This study examines technological, educational/learning, and social affordances associated with the facilitation of project-based learning and problem solving in technology-mediated distributed teams. An empirical interpretive research approach using direct observation is used to interpret, evaluate and rate observable manifested behaviors and…

EDUSEIS Project : an On-Going Education and Adwardness Experiment in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virieux, J.; Zollo, A.; Bérenguer, J.; Picq, T.; Bobbio, A.

2002-12-01

Education and awardness on sciences and on natural phenomena is a concern of both researchers teachers with many social issues. A well-defined frame is critical for interaction and collaboration and should be illustrated on key examples. Observing and analysing seismic data is one of these examples because earthquakes with strong implications in our industrial society attract young people and because different area around the world may share observations, informations and activities concerning earthquakes both local if there is any and global if they are strong enough. In order to focus on doing science and on analysing data, one has to reduce efforts for collecting data (if not hiding it) while having them measuring the same physical quantities and in a format readable by different available softwares. We shall illustrate solutions we have developped in an interaction between colleges and laboratories with different specific cultural approaches of European countries. Activities ranging from metrology to interpretation and presentation should improve scientific behaviour of students as well as increase their understanding of the Earth. We shall illustrate through the diversity of European initiatives that we share common objectives. Systematic use of new technologies for collecting numbers (measurements) and for crunching them (interpretation) will retain the attention of the students and will hopefully attrack them to Sciences related to the Earth. In the present on-going process, we shall show the necessity for an European organisation and support inside the more global international interaction. Such initiatives focus on scientific training of people for making more award citizens of our society.

The geothermal energy potential in Denmark - updating the database and new structural and thermal models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielsen, Lars Henrik; Sparre Andersen, Morten; Balling, Niels; Boldreel, Lars Ole; Fuchs, Sven; Leth Hjuler, Morten; Kristensen, Lars; Mathiesen, Anders; Olivarius, Mette; Weibel, Rikke

2017-04-01

Knowledge of structural, hydraulic and thermal conditions of the subsurface is fundamental for the planning and use of hydrothermal energy. In the framework of a project under the Danish Research program 'Sustainable Energy and Environment' funded by the 'Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation', fundamental geological and geophysical information of importance for the utilization of geothermal energy in Denmark was compiled, analyzed and re-interpreted. A 3D geological model was constructed and used as structural basis for the development of a national subsurface temperature model. In that frame, all available reflection seismic data were interpreted, quality controlled and integrated to improve the regional structural understanding. The analyses and interpretation of available relevant data (i.e. old and new seismic profiles, core and well-log data, literature data) and a new time-depth conversion allowed a consistent correlation of seismic surfaces for whole Denmark and across tectonic features. On this basis, new topologically consistent depth and thickness maps for 16 geological units from the top pre-Zechstein to the surface were drawn. A new 3D structural geological model was developed with special emphasis on potential geothermal reservoirs. The interpretation of petrophysical data (core data and well-logs) allows to evaluate the hydraulic and thermal properties of potential geothermal reservoirs and to develop a parameterized numerical 3D conductive subsurface temperature model. Reservoir properties and quality were estimated by integrating petrography and diagenesis studies with porosity-permeability data. Detailed interpretation of the reservoir quality of the geological formations was made by estimating net reservoir sandstone thickness based on well-log analysis, determination of mineralogy including sediment provenance analysis, and burial history data. New local surface heat-flow values (range: 64-84 mW/m2) were determined for the Danish Basin and predicted temperatures were calibrated and validated by borehole temperature observations. Finally, new temperature maps for major geological reservoir formations (Frederikshavn, Haldager Sand, Gassum and Bunter Sandstone/Skagerrak formations) and selected constant depth intervals (1 km, 2 km, etc.) were compiled. In the future, geothermal energy is likely to be a key component in Denmark's supply of energy and integrated into the district heating infrastructures. A new 3-year project (GEOTHERM) under the Innovation Fund Denmark will focus on addressing and removing remaining geological, technical and commercial obstacles. The presented 3D geothermal model will be an important component in more precise assessments of the geothermal resource, production capacity and thermal lifecycle.

Smart Interpretation - Application of Machine Learning in Geological Interpretation of AEM Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bach, T.; Gulbrandsen, M. L.; Jacobsen, R.; Pallesen, T. M.; Jørgensen, F.; Høyer, A. S.; Hansen, T. M.

2015-12-01

When using airborne geophysical measurements in e.g. groundwater mapping, an overwhelming amount of data is collected. Increasingly larger survey areas, denser data collection and limited resources, combines to an increasing problem of building geological models that use all the available data in a manner that is consistent with the geologists knowledge about the geology of the survey area. In the ERGO project, funded by The Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation, we address this problem, by developing new, usable tools, enabling the geologist utilize her geological knowledge directly in the interpretation of the AEM data, and thereby handle the large amount of data, In the project we have developed the mathematical basis for capturing geological expertise in a statistical model. Based on this, we have implemented new algorithms that have been operationalized and embedded in user friendly software. In this software, the machine learning algorithm, Smart Interpretation, enables the geologist to use the system as an assistant in the geological modelling process. As the software 'learns' the geology from the geologist, the system suggest new modelling features in the data. In this presentation we demonstrate the application of the results from the ERGO project, including the proposed modelling workflow utilized on a variety of data examples.

Communicating projected survival with treatments for chronic kidney disease: patient comprehension and perspectives on visual aids.

PubMed

Dowen, Frances; Sidhu, Karishma; Broadbent, Elizabeth; Pilmore, Helen

2017-09-21

Mortality in end stage renal disease (ESRD) is higher than many malignancies. There is no data about the optimal way to present information about projected survival to patients with ESRD. In other areas, graphs have been shown to be more easily understood than narrative. We examined patient comprehension and perspectives on graphs in communicating projected survival in chronic kidney disease (CKD). One hundred seventy-seven patients with CKD were shown 4 different graphs presenting post transplantation survival data. Patients were asked to interpret a Kaplan Meier curve, pie chart, histogram and pictograph and answer a multi-choice question to determine understanding. We measured interpretation, usefulness and preference for the graphs. Most patients correctly interpreted the graphs. There was asignificant difference in the percentage of correct answers when comparing different graph types (p = 0.0439). The pictograph was correctly interpreted by 81% of participants, the histogram by 79%, pie chart by 77% and Kaplan Meier by 69%. Correct interpretation of the histogram was associated with educational level (p = 0.008) and inversely associated with age > 65 (p = 0.008). Of those who interpreted all four graphs correctly, there was an association with employment (p = 0.001) and New Zealand European ethnicity (p = 0.002). 87% of patients found the graphs useful. The pie chart was the most preferred graph (p 0.002). The readability of the graphs may have been improved with an alternative colour choice, especially in the setting of visual impairment. Visual aids, can be beneficial adjuncts to discussing survival in CKD.

Resolution Dependence of Future Tropical Cyclone Projections of CAM5.1 in the U.S. CLIVAR Hurricane Working Group Idealized Configurations

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

Wehner, Michael; ., Prabhat; Reed, Kevin A.

The four idealized configurations of the U.S. CLIVAR Hurricane Working Group are integrated using the global Community Atmospheric Model version 5.1 at two different horizontal resolutions, approximately 100 and 25 km. The publicly released 0.9° × 1.3° configuration is a poor predictor of the sign of the 0.23° × 0.31° model configuration’s change in the total number of tropical storms in a warmer climate. However, it does predict the sign of the higher-resolution configuration’s change in the number of intense tropical cyclones in a warmer climate. In the 0.23° × 0.31° model configuration, both increased CO 2 concentrations and elevatedmore » sea surface temperature (SST) independently lower the number of weak tropical storms and shorten their average duration. Conversely, increased SST causes more intense tropical cyclones and lengthens their average duration, resulting in a greater number of intense tropical cyclone days globally. Increased SST also increased maximum tropical storm instantaneous precipitation rates across all storm intensities. It was found that while a measure of maximum potential intensity based on climatological mean quantities adequately predicts the 0.23° × 0.31° model’s forced response in its most intense simulated tropical cyclones, a related measure of cyclogenesis potential fails to predict the model’s actual cyclogenesis response to warmer SSTs. These analyses lead to two broader conclusions: 1) Projections of future tropical storm activity obtained by a direct tracking of tropical storms simulated by coarse-resolution climate models must be interpreted with caution. 2) Projections of future tropical cyclogenesis obtained from metrics of model behavior that are based solely on changes in long-term climatological fields and tuned to historical records must also be interpreted with caution.« less

The Combined Use of Correlative and Mechanistic Species Distribution Models Benefits Low Conservation Status Species.

PubMed

Rougier, Thibaud; Lassalle, Géraldine; Drouineau, Hilaire; Dumoulin, Nicolas; Faure, Thierry; Deffuant, Guillaume; Rochard, Eric; Lambert, Patrick

2015-01-01

Species can respond to climate change by tracking appropriate environmental conditions in space, resulting in a range shift. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) can help forecast such range shift responses. For few species, both correlative and mechanistic SDMs were built, but allis shad (Alosa alosa), an endangered anadromous fish species, is one of them. The main purpose of this study was to provide a framework for joint analyses of correlative and mechanistic SDMs projections in order to strengthen conservation measures for species of conservation concern. Guidelines for joint representation and subsequent interpretation of models outputs were defined and applied. The present joint analysis was based on the novel mechanistic model GR3D (Global Repositioning Dynamics of Diadromous fish Distribution) which was parameterized on allis shad and then used to predict its future distribution along the European Atlantic coast under different climate change scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). We then used a correlative SDM for this species to forecast its distribution across the same geographic area and under the same climate change scenarios. First, projections from correlative and mechanistic models provided congruent trends in probability of habitat suitability and population dynamics. This agreement was preferentially interpreted as referring to the species vulnerability to climate change. Climate change could not be accordingly listed as a major threat for allis shad. The congruence in predicted range limits between SDMs projections was the next point of interest. The difference, when noticed, required to deepen our understanding of the niche modelled by each approach. In this respect, the relative position of the northern range limit between the two methods strongly suggested here that a key biological process related to intraspecific variability was potentially lacking in the mechanistic SDM. Based on our knowledge, we hypothesized that local adaptations to cold temperatures deserved more attention in terms of modelling, but further in conservation planning as well.

Citizen-Scientist Led Quartz Vein Investigation in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Scottsdale, Arizona, Resulting in Significant Geologic Discoveries and a Peer-Reviewed Report Coauthored and with Maps by Citizen-Scientists.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gruber, D.; Gootee, B.

2016-12-01

Citizen-scientists of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy Field Institute originated and led this project to study milky quartz deposits. Milky quartz veins of all sizes are visible throughout the McDowell Sonoran Preserve (Scottsdale, Arizona) and are commonly found in Arizona Proterozoic rocks. No research on milky quartz has been done locally and little is known about its formation and emplacement history. Working with Brian Gootee, research geologist with the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS), a citizen science team identified candidate study sites with large quartz veins and then conducted aerial balloon photography followed by geologic mapping, basic data collection, photo-documentation, and sampling from two sites. Samples were analyzed with a UV lamp, Geiger counter, and x-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Petroscopic analysis and interpretation of the samples were done by Gootee. Daniel Gruber, the citizen-science project leader, and Gootee summarized methodology, sample analyses, and interpretation in a report including detailed geologic maps. Analysis of samples from one site provided evidence of several events of Proterozoic quartz formation. The other site hosted pegmatite, cumulates, graphic granite and orbicular granite in association with milky quartz, all discovered by citizen scientists. The milky quartz and surrounding pegmatites in granite at this site trace the progression of late-stage crystallization at the margin of a fractionated granite batholith, providing an exemplary opportunity for further research into batholith geochemistry and evolution. The project required 1000 hours of citizen-science time for training, field work, data organization and entry, mapping, and writing. The report by Gootee and Gruber was reviewed and published by AZGS as an Open File Report in its online document repository. The citizen scientist team leveraged the time of professional geologists to expand knowledge of an important geologic feature of the McDowell Mountains.

The Combined Use of Correlative and Mechanistic Species Distribution Models Benefits Low Conservation Status Species

PubMed Central

Rougier, Thibaud; Lassalle, Géraldine; Drouineau, Hilaire; Dumoulin, Nicolas; Faure, Thierry; Deffuant, Guillaume; Rochard, Eric; Lambert, Patrick

2015-01-01

Species can respond to climate change by tracking appropriate environmental conditions in space, resulting in a range shift. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) can help forecast such range shift responses. For few species, both correlative and mechanistic SDMs were built, but allis shad (Alosa alosa), an endangered anadromous fish species, is one of them. The main purpose of this study was to provide a framework for joint analyses of correlative and mechanistic SDMs projections in order to strengthen conservation measures for species of conservation concern. Guidelines for joint representation and subsequent interpretation of models outputs were defined and applied. The present joint analysis was based on the novel mechanistic model GR3D (Global Repositioning Dynamics of Diadromous fish Distribution) which was parameterized on allis shad and then used to predict its future distribution along the European Atlantic coast under different climate change scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). We then used a correlative SDM for this species to forecast its distribution across the same geographic area and under the same climate change scenarios. First, projections from correlative and mechanistic models provided congruent trends in probability of habitat suitability and population dynamics. This agreement was preferentially interpreted as referring to the species vulnerability to climate change. Climate change could not be accordingly listed as a major threat for allis shad. The congruence in predicted range limits between SDMs projections was the next point of interest. The difference, when noticed, required to deepen our understanding of the niche modelled by each approach. In this respect, the relative position of the northern range limit between the two methods strongly suggested here that a key biological process related to intraspecific variability was potentially lacking in the mechanistic SDM. Based on our knowledge, we hypothesized that local adaptations to cold temperatures deserved more attention in terms of modelling, but further in conservation planning as well. PMID:26426280

Resolution Dependence of Future Tropical Cyclone Projections of CAM5.1 in the U.S. CLIVAR Hurricane Working Group Idealized Configurations

DOE PAGES

Wehner, Michael; ., Prabhat; Reed, Kevin A.; ...

2015-05-12

The four idealized configurations of the U.S. CLIVAR Hurricane Working Group are integrated using the global Community Atmospheric Model version 5.1 at two different horizontal resolutions, approximately 100 and 25 km. The publicly released 0.9° × 1.3° configuration is a poor predictor of the sign of the 0.23° × 0.31° model configuration’s change in the total number of tropical storms in a warmer climate. However, it does predict the sign of the higher-resolution configuration’s change in the number of intense tropical cyclones in a warmer climate. In the 0.23° × 0.31° model configuration, both increased CO 2 concentrations and elevatedmore » sea surface temperature (SST) independently lower the number of weak tropical storms and shorten their average duration. Conversely, increased SST causes more intense tropical cyclones and lengthens their average duration, resulting in a greater number of intense tropical cyclone days globally. Increased SST also increased maximum tropical storm instantaneous precipitation rates across all storm intensities. It was found that while a measure of maximum potential intensity based on climatological mean quantities adequately predicts the 0.23° × 0.31° model’s forced response in its most intense simulated tropical cyclones, a related measure of cyclogenesis potential fails to predict the model’s actual cyclogenesis response to warmer SSTs. These analyses lead to two broader conclusions: 1) Projections of future tropical storm activity obtained by a direct tracking of tropical storms simulated by coarse-resolution climate models must be interpreted with caution. 2) Projections of future tropical cyclogenesis obtained from metrics of model behavior that are based solely on changes in long-term climatological fields and tuned to historical records must also be interpreted with caution.« less

The PAGES 2k Network, Phase 3: Introduction, Goals and Call for Participation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGregor, Helen; Phipps, Steven; von Gunten, Lucien; Martrat, Belen; Linderholm, Lars; Abram, Nerilie; Bothe, Oliver; Neukom, Raphael; St. George, Scott; Evans, Michael; Kaufman, Darrell; Goosse, Hugues; Turney, Chris

2017-04-01

The past 2000 years (the "2k" interval) provides critical context for recent anthropogenic forcing of the climate, baseline information about Earth's natural climate variability, opportunities to improve the interpretation of proxy observations, and evaluation of climate models. The PAGES 2k Network (2008-2013 Phase 1; 2014-2016 Phase 2) built regional and global surface temperature reconstructions for terrestrial regions and the oceans, and used comparison with realistically forced simulations to identify mechanisms of climate variation on interannual to bicentennial time scales. The goals of Phase 3 (2017-2019), which launches in May 2017 at the PAGES Open Science Meeting, are to: 1) Further understand the mechanisms driving regional climate variability and change on interannual to centennial time scales (Theme: "Climate Variability, Modes and Mechanisms"); 2) Reduce uncertainties in the interpretation of observations imprinted in paleoclimatic archives by environmental sensors (Theme: "Methods and Uncertainties"); and 3) Identify and analyse the extent of agreement between reconstructions and climate model simulations (Theme: "Proxy and Model Understanding") Research will be organized as a linked network of well-defined projects and targeted manuscripts, identified and led by 2k members. The 2k projects will focus on specific scientific questions aligned with Phase 3 goals, rather than being defined along regional boundaries. An enduring element from earlier phases of PAGES 2k will be a culture of collegiality, transparency, and reciprocity. Phase 3 seeks to stimulate community based projects and facilitate collaboration of researchers from different regions and career stages, drawing on breadth and depth of the global PAGES 2k community; support end-to-end workflow transparency and open data and knowledge access; and develop collaborations with other research communities and engage with stakeholders. If you would like to participate in PAGES 2k Phase 3 or receive updates, please join our mailing list, or speak to a coordinating committee member.

Irrigated rice area estimation using remote sensing techniques: Project's proposal and preliminary results. [Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parada, N. D. J. (Principal Investigator); Deassuncao, G. V.; Moreira, M. A.; Novaes, R. A.

1984-01-01

The development of a methodology for annual estimates of irrigated rice crop in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, using remote sensing techniques is proposed. The project involves interpretation, digital analysis, and sampling techniques of LANDSAT imagery. Results are discussed from a preliminary phase for identifying and evaluating irrigated rice crop areas in four counties of the State, for the crop year 1982/1983. This first phase involved just visual interpretation techniques of MSS/LANDSAT images.

Theoretical analysis to interpret projected image data from in-situ 3-dimensional equiaxed nucleation and growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mooney, Robin P.; McFadden, Shaun

2017-12-01

In-situ observation of crystal growth in transparent media allows us to observe solidification phase change in real-time. These systems are analogous to opaque systems such as metals. The interpretation of transient 2-dimensional area projections from 3-dimensional phase change phenomena occurring in a bulky sample is problematic due to uncertainty of impingement and hidden nucleation events; in stereology this problem is known as over-projection. This manuscript describes and demonstrates a continuous model for nucleation and growth using the well-established Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov model, and provides a method to relate 3-dimensional volumetric data (nucleation events, volume fraction) to observed data in a 2-dimensional projection (nucleation count, area fraction). A parametric analysis is performed; the projection phenomenon is shown to be significant in cases where nucleation is occurring continuously with a relatively large variance. In general, area fraction on a projection plane will overestimate the volume fraction within the sample and the nuclei count recorded on the projection plane will underestimate the number of real nucleation events. The statistical framework given in this manuscript provides a methodology to deal with the differences between the observed (projected) data and the real (volumetric) measures.

45 CFR 13.7 - Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports... Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects. The reasonable cost (or the reasonable portion of the cost) for any study, exhibit, analysis, engineering report, test, project or...

45 CFR 13.7 - Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports... Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects. The reasonable cost (or the reasonable portion of the cost) for any study, exhibit, analysis, engineering report, test, project or...

45 CFR 13.7 - Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports... Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects. The reasonable cost (or the reasonable portion of the cost) for any study, exhibit, analysis, engineering report, test, project or...

45 CFR 13.7 - Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports... Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects. The reasonable cost (or the reasonable portion of the cost) for any study, exhibit, analysis, engineering report, test, project or...

45 CFR 13.7 - Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports... Studies, exhibits, analyses, engineering reports, tests and projects. The reasonable cost (or the reasonable portion of the cost) for any study, exhibit, analysis, engineering report, test, project or...

Ecobat: An online resource to facilitate transparent, evidence-based interpretation of bat activity data.

PubMed

Lintott, Paul R; Davison, Sophie; van Breda, John; Kubasiewicz, Laura; Dowse, David; Daisley, Jonathan; Haddy, Emily; Mathews, Fiona

2018-01-01

Acoustic surveys of bats are one of the techniques most commonly used by ecological practitioners. The results are used in Ecological Impact Assessments to assess the likely impacts of future developments on species that are widely protected in law, and to monitor developments' postconstruction. However, there is no standardized methodology for analyzing or interpreting these data, which can make the assessment of the ecological value of a site very subjective. Comparisons of sites and projects are therefore difficult for ecologists and decision-makers, for example, when trying to identify the best location for a new road based on relative bat activity levels along alternative routes. Here, we present a new web-based, data-driven tool, Ecobat, which addresses the need for a more robust way of interpreting ecological data. Ecobat offers users an easy, standardized, and objective method for analyzing bat activity data. It allows ecological practitioners to compare bat activity data at regional and national scales and to generate a numerical indicator of the relative importance of a night's worth of bat activity. The tool is free and open-source; because the underlying algorithms are already developed, it could easily be expanded to new geographical regions and species. Data donation is required to ensure the robustness of the analyses; we use a positive feedback mechanism to encourage ecological practitioners to share data by providing in return high quality, contextualized data analysis, and graphical visualizations for direct use in ecological reports.

Advanced Monitoring to Improve Combustion Turbine/Combined Cycle Reliability, Availability & Maintainability

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

Leonard Angello

2005-09-30

Power generators are concerned with the maintenance costs associated with the advanced turbines that they are purchasing. Since these machines do not have fully established Operation and Maintenance (O&M) track records, power generators face financial risk due to uncertain future maintenance costs. This risk is of particular concern, as the electricity industry transitions to a competitive business environment in which unexpected O&M costs cannot be passed through to consumers. These concerns have accelerated the need for intelligent software-based diagnostic systems that can monitor the health of a combustion turbine in real time and provide valuable information on the machine's performancemore » to its owner/operators. EPRI, Impact Technologies, Boyce Engineering, and Progress Energy have teamed to develop a suite of intelligent software tools integrated with a diagnostic monitoring platform that, in real time, interpret data to assess the 'total health' of combustion turbines. The 'Combustion Turbine Health Management System' (CTHMS) will consist of a series of 'Dynamic Link Library' (DLL) programs residing on a diagnostic monitoring platform that accepts turbine health data from existing monitoring instrumentation. CTHMS interprets sensor and instrument outputs, correlates them to a machine's condition, provide interpretative analyses, project servicing intervals, and estimate remaining component life. In addition, the CTHMS enables real-time anomaly detection and diagnostics of performance and mechanical faults, enabling power producers to more accurately predict critical component remaining useful life and turbine degradation.« less

Why did Wundt abandon his early theory of the unconscious? Towards a new interpretation of Wundt's psychological project.

PubMed

Araujo, Saulo de Freitas

2012-02-01

Despite the numerous and important contributions brought by Wundt scholarship in recent decades, some aspects of his work remain unclear and poorly understood. The aim of this paper is to explore one of these aspects, namely, the relationship between philosophy and psychology in Wundt's thought. To this end, we shall discuss an important yet neglected moment in Wundtian psychology, which remains unexplained to date: Why did Wundt abandon his early theory of the unconscious? According to the interpretation offered here, this can only be adequately explained by his intense philosophical studies in the period preceding the publication of the Grundzüge in 1874. Finally, we will point out some implications of this analysis to the general interpretation of Wundt's psychological project.

EUPAN enables pan-genome studies of a large number of eukaryotic genomes.

PubMed

Hu, Zhiqiang; Sun, Chen; Lu, Kuang-Chen; Chu, Xixia; Zhao, Yue; Lu, Jinyuan; Shi, Jianxin; Wei, Chaochun

2017-08-01

Pan-genome analyses are routinely carried out for bacteria to interpret the within-species gene presence/absence variations (PAVs). However, pan-genome analyses are rare for eukaryotes due to the large sizes and higher complexities of their genomes. Here we proposed EUPAN, a eukaryotic pan-genome analysis toolkit, enabling automatic large-scale eukaryotic pan-genome analyses and detection of gene PAVs at a relatively low sequencing depth. In the previous studies, we demonstrated the effectiveness and high accuracy of EUPAN in the pan-genome analysis of 453 rice genomes, in which we also revealed widespread gene PAVs among individual rice genomes. Moreover, EUPAN can be directly applied to the current re-sequencing projects primarily focusing on single nucleotide polymorphisms. EUPAN is implemented in Perl, R and C ++. It is supported under Linux and preferred for a computer cluster with LSF and SLURM job scheduling system. EUPAN together with its standard operating procedure (SOP) is freely available for non-commercial use (CC BY-NC 4.0) at http://cgm.sjtu.edu.cn/eupan/index.html . ccwei@sjtu.edu.cn or jianxin.shi@sjtu.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

The Microbe Directory: An annotated, searchable inventory of microbes’ characteristics

PubMed Central

Mohammad, Rawhi; Danko, David; Bezdan, Daniela; Afshinnekoo, Ebrahim; Segata, Nicola; Mason, Christopher E.

2018-01-01

The Microbe Directory is a collective research effort to profile and annotate more than 7,500 unique microbial species from the MetaPhlAn2 database that includes bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. By collecting and summarizing data on various microbes’ characteristics, the project comprises a database that can be used downstream of large-scale metagenomic taxonomic analyses, allowing one to interpret and explore their taxonomic classifications to have a deeper understanding of the microbial ecosystem they are studying. Such characteristics include, but are not limited to: optimal pH, optimal temperature, Gram stain, biofilm-formation, spore-formation, antimicrobial resistance, and COGEM class risk rating. The database has been manually curated by trained student-researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and CUNY—Hunter College, and its analysis remains an ongoing effort with open-source capabilities so others can contribute. Available in SQL, JSON, and CSV (i.e. Excel) formats, the Microbe Directory can be queried for the aforementioned parameters by a microorganism’s taxonomy. In addition to the raw database, The Microbe Directory has an online counterpart ( https://microbe.directory/) that provides a user-friendly interface for storage, retrieval, and analysis into which other microbial database projects could be incorporated. The Microbe Directory was primarily designed to serve as a resource for researchers conducting metagenomic analyses, but its online web interface should also prove useful to any individual who wishes to learn more about any particular microbe. PMID:29630066

Enhancing causal interpretations of quality improvement interventions

PubMed Central

Cable, G

2001-01-01

In an era of chronic resource scarcity it is critical that quality improvement professionals have confidence that their project activities cause measured change. A commonly used research design, the single group pre-test/post-test design, provides little insight into whether quality improvement interventions cause measured outcomes. A re-evaluation of a quality improvement programme designed to reduce the percentage of bilateral cardiac catheterisations for the period from January 1991 to October 1996 in three catheterisation laboratories in a north eastern state in the USA was performed using an interrupted time series design with switching replications. The accuracy and causal interpretability of the findings were considerably improved compared with the original evaluation design. Moreover, the re-evaluation provided tangible evidence in support of the suggestion that more rigorous designs can and should be more widely employed to improve the causal interpretability of quality improvement efforts. Evaluation designs for quality improvement projects should be constructed to provide a reasonable opportunity, given available time and resources, for causal interpretation of the results. Evaluators of quality improvement initiatives may infrequently have access to randomised designs. Nonetheless, as shown here, other very rigorous research designs are available for improving causal interpretability. Unilateral methodological surrender need not be the only alternative to randomised experiments. Key Words: causal interpretations; quality improvement; interrupted time series design; implementation fidelity PMID:11533426

Too close to home? Experiences of Kurdish refugee interpreters working in UK mental health services.

PubMed

Green, Hannah; Sperlinger, David; Carswell, Kenneth

2012-06-01

Despite their essential role in the National Health Service, there is limited research on the experiences of refugee interpreters. To explore Kurdish refugee interpreters' experiences of working in UK mental health services. Six participants were interviewed and data collected were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The results showed that interpreters often felt overwhelmed by the emotional impact of interpreting in mental health services, particularly at the beginning of their careers. Interpreters struggled to negotiate complex and unclear roles and responsibilities. Interpreting for refugees with shared histories was particularly challenging. The study recommends that interpreters working in mental health services receive training on mental health issues and self-care and are assisted by frameworks to help make sense of the impact of the work, such as supervision.

Subsurface temperatures and geothermal gradients on the North Slope, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Collett, Timothy S.; Bird, Kenneth J.; Magoon, Leslie B.

1989-01-01

Geothermal gradients as interpreted from a series of high-resolution stabilized well-bore-temperature surveys from 46 North Slope, Alaska, wells vary laterally and vertically throughout the near-surface sediment (0-2,000 m). The data from these surveys have been used in conjunction with depths of ice-bearing permafrost, as interpreted from 102 well logs, to project geothermal gradients within and below the ice-bearing permafrost sequence. The geothermal gradients calculated from the projected temperature profiles are similar to the geothermal gradients measured in the temperature surveys. Measured and projected geothermal gradients in the ice-bearing permafrost sequence range from 1.5??C/100m in the Prudhoe Bay area to 5.1??C/100m in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA).

30 CFR 252.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... include, but is not limited to, identification of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory... geophysical information. Interpreted geological information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic... geological information. Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic...

30 CFR 552.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... include, but is not limited to, identification of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory... geophysical information. Interpreted geological information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic... geological information. Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic...

30 CFR 552.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... include, but is not limited to, identification of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory... geophysical information. Interpreted geological information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic... geological information. Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic...

30 CFR 552.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... include, but is not limited to, identification of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory... geophysical information. Interpreted geological information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic... geological information. Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic...

30 CFR 252.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... include, but is not limited to, identification of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory... geophysical information. Interpreted geological information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic... geological information. Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic...

30 CFR 252.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... include, but is not limited to, identification of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory... geophysical information. Interpreted geological information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic... geological information. Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic...

Projective formulation of Maggi's method for nonholonomic systems analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blajer, Wojciech

1992-04-01

A projective interpretation of Maggi'a approach to dynamic analysis of nonholonomic systems is presented. Both linear and nonlinear constraint cases are treatment in unified fashion, using the language of vector spaces and tensor algebra analysis.

A Genealogical Interpretation of Principal Components Analysis

PubMed Central

McVean, Gil

2009-01-01

Principal components analysis, PCA, is a statistical method commonly used in population genetics to identify structure in the distribution of genetic variation across geographical location and ethnic background. However, while the method is often used to inform about historical demographic processes, little is known about the relationship between fundamental demographic parameters and the projection of samples onto the primary axes. Here I show that for SNP data the projection of samples onto the principal components can be obtained directly from considering the average coalescent times between pairs of haploid genomes. The result provides a framework for interpreting PCA projections in terms of underlying processes, including migration, geographical isolation, and admixture. I also demonstrate a link between PCA and Wright's fst and show that SNP ascertainment has a largely simple and predictable effect on the projection of samples. Using examples from human genetics, I discuss the application of these results to empirical data and the implications for inference. PMID:19834557

Orthogonal Projection in Teaching Regression and Financial Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kachapova, Farida; Kachapov, Ilias

2010-01-01

Two improvements in teaching linear regression are suggested. The first is to include the population regression model at the beginning of the topic. The second is to use a geometric approach: to interpret the regression estimate as an orthogonal projection and the estimation error as the distance (which is minimized by the projection). Linear…

31 CFR 537.413 - Sale of interest in economic development projects in Burma.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 31 Money and Finance:Treasury 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Sale of interest in economic development projects in Burma. 537.413 Section 537.413 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to... SANCTIONS REGULATIONS Interpretations § 537.413 Sale of interest in economic development projects in Burma...

12 CFR 225.127 - Investment in corporations or projects designed primarily to promote community welfare.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Investment in corporations or projects designed... CONTROL (REGULATION Y) Regulations Financial Holding Companies Interpretations § 225.127 Investment in corporations or projects designed primarily to promote community welfare. (a) Under § 225.25(b)(6) of...

Making Pedagogical Decisions to Address Challenges of Joint Jewish-Bedouin Environmental Projects in Israel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alkaher, Iris; Tal, Tali

2016-01-01

This interpretive study identifies challenges of working with Bedouin and Jewish Israeli youth in two multicultural projects: education for sustainability and place-conscious education. It also describes the ways the adult project leaders addressed these challenges and their views on the effectiveness of their decisions. Participants comprised 16…

31 CFR 537.413 - Sale of interest in economic development projects in Burma.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... SANCTIONS REGULATIONS Interpretations § 537.413 Sale of interest in economic development projects in Burma... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Sale of interest in economic development projects in Burma. 537.413 Section 537.413 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to...

Integrated Primary Care Teams (IPCT) pilot project in Quebec: a protocol paper

PubMed Central

Contandriopoulos, Damien; Duhoux, Arnaud; Roy, Bernard; Amar, Maxime; Bonin, Jean-Pierre; Borges Da Silva, Roxane; Brault, Isabelle; Dallaire, Clémence; Dubois, Carl-Ardy; Girard, Francine; Jean, Emmanuelle; Larue, Caroline; Lessard, Lily; Mathieu, Luc; Pépin, Jacinthe; Cockenpot, Aurore

2015-01-01

Introduction The overall aim of this project is to help develop knowledge about primary care delivery models likely to improve the accessibility, quality and efficiency of care. Operationally, this objective will be achieved through supporting and evaluating 8 primary care team pilot sites that rely on an expanded nursing role within a more intensive team-based, interdisciplinary setting. Methods and analysis The first research component is aimed at supporting the development and implementation of the pilot projects, and is divided into 2 parts. The first part is a logical analysis based on interpreting available scientific data to understand the causal processes by which the objectives of the intervention being studied may be achieved. The second part is a developmental evaluation to support teams in the field in a participatory manner and thereby learn from experience. Operationally, the developmental evaluation phase mainly involves semistructured interviews. The second component of the project design focuses on evaluating pilot project results and assessing their costs. This component is in turn made up of 2 parts. Part 1 is a pre-and-post survey of patients receiving the intervention care to analyse their care experience. In part 2, each patient enrolled in part 1 (around 4000 patients) will be matched with 2 patients followed within a traditional primary care model, so that a comparative analysis of the accessibility, quality and efficiency of the intervention can be performed. The cohorts formed in this way will be followed longitudinally for 4 years. Ethics and dissemination The project, as well as all consent forms and research tools, have been accepted by 2 health sciences research ethics committees. The procedures used will conform to best practices regarding the anonymity of patients. PMID:26700294

76 FR 6796 - Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-08

... perform the ``Quantitative Survey of Physician Practices in Laboratory Test Ordering and Interpretation... technology. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice. Proposed Project Quantitative Survey of Physician Practices in Laboratory Test Ordering and Interpretation-NEW-the Office of...

Long-Term Changes In The Behaviour Of Jakobshavns Isbrae, West Greenland During The Late Quaternary-Holocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Cofaigh, C.; Jennings, A.; Moros, M.; Andrews, J. T.; Kilfeather, A.; Dowdeswell, J. A.; Richter, T.

2008-12-01

This poster shows the initial results of a joint scientific project to reconstruct the Late Quaternary-Holocene behavior of Jakobshavns Isbrae in central west Greenland, one of the largest ice streams draining the modern Greenland Ice Sheet. The underlying rationale for this research is to determine if recent observed changes to the mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet are part of the natural variability in ice-sheet dynamics, or if they relate to anthropogenically-induced climate warming. Key to resolving this question is an understanding of long-term changes in ice sheet behavior during the Late Quaternary and the Holocene. This research will allow assessment of the links between deglaciation and internal and external environmental controls, such as the influence of inflowing Atlantic Water, and will facilitate modelling of the likely future behavior of the GIS. Currently, four marine sediment cores arrayed along a transect from the Disko Bugt Fan to Disko Bay are providing information on changes in sediment flux and sedimentation style, such as abrupt intervals of iceberg-rafting vs. "normal" hemipelagic sedimentation, as well as the paleoceanographic setting and ice sheet-ocean interactions. The cores are being analysed using a variety of proxies including IRD, mineralogy, oxygen isotopes, foraminiferal assemblages, lithofacies analysis and AMS radiocarbon dating. Data are presented from two piston cores from the continental slope at the trough-mouth fan collected during the HE0006 'shakedown' cruise to Baffin Bay and from two gravity cores recovered in 2007 during MS Merian cruise MSM 05/03 to West Greenland. Slope cores contain sequences of laminated facies interpreted as fine-grained turbidites and intervals of massive, bioturbated, hemipelagic mud. The two Merian cores, contributed to this project by the Baltic Sea Research Institute, were collected from the southern entrance to Disko Bugt and the Vaigat channel north of Disko. Radiocarbon dates from the Disko Bugt core show that it contains a full Holocene record of glacial activity and paleoceanography. The poster will present the initial analyses, including radiocarbon dating, XRF compositional data, magnetic susceptibility, lithofacies and IRD analyses determined from x-radiography, foraminiferal analyses and sediment mineralogy. Additional cores and seismic data for this project will be obtained from a cruise on the Canadian research vessel, CSS Hudson in September 2008, and on the British ship, the RRS James Clark Ross in 2009.

The potential of transnational language policy to promote social inclusion of immigrants: An analysis and evaluation of the European Union's INCLUDE project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bian, Cui

2017-08-01

Language issues and social inclusion consistently remain two major concerns for member countries of the European Union (EU). Despite an increasing awareness of the importance of language learning in migrants' social inclusion, and the promotion of language policies at European and national levels, there is still a lack of common actions at the European level. Challenged by questions as to whether language learning should be prioritised as a human right or as human capital building, how host/mainstream language learning can be reinforced while respecting language diversity, and other problems, member countries still need to find solutions. Confronting these dilemmas, this study analyses the relationship and interactions between language learning and immigrants' social inclusion in different contexts. It explores the potential of enhancing the effectiveness of language policies via a dialogue between policies and practices in different national contexts and research studies in the field of language and social inclusion. The research data are derived from two databases created by a European policy for active social inclusion project called INCLUDE. This project ran from 2013 to 2016 under the EU's lifelong learning programme, with funding support from the European Commission. Through an analysis of these two project databases, the paper reviews recent national language policies and their effect on the social inclusion of migrants. In the second part of her article, the author interprets the process of language learning and social inclusion using poststructuralist theories of language and identity.

Neural network analysis for geological interpretation of tomographic images beneath the Japan Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuwatani, T.; Toriumi, M.

2009-12-01

Recent advances in methodologies of geophysical observations, such as seismic tomography, seismic reflection method and geomagnetic method, provide us a large amount and a wide variety of data for physical properties of a crust and upper mantle (e.g. Matsubara et al. (2008)). However, it has still been difficult to specify a rock type and its physical conditions, mainly because (1) available data usually have a lot of error and uncertainty, and (2) physical properties of rocks are greatly affected by fluid and microstructures. The objective interpretation and quantitative evaluation for lithology and fluid-related structure require the statistical analyses of integrated geophysical and geological data. Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs) are unsupervised artificial neural networks that map the input space into clusters in a topological form whose organization is related to trends in the input data (Kohonen 2001). SOMs are powerful neural network techniques to classify and interpret multiattribute data sets. Results of SOM classifications can be represented as 2D images, called feature maps which illustrate the complexity and interrelationships among input data sets. Recently, some works have used SOM in order to interpret multidimensional, non-linear, and highly noised geophysical data for purposes of geological prediction (e.g. Klose 2006; Tselentis et al. 2007; Bauer et al. 2008). This paper describes the application of SOM to the 3D velocity structure beneath the whole Japan islands (e.g. Matsubara et al. 2008). From the obtained feature maps, we can specify the lithology and qualitatively evaluate the effect of fluid-related structures. Moreover, re-projection of feature maps onto the 3D velocity structures resulted in detailed images of the structures within the plates. The Pacific plate and the Philippine Sea plate subducting beneath the Eurasian plate can be imaged more clearly than the original P- and S-wave velocity structures. In order to understand more precise prediction of lithology and its structure, we will use the additional input data sets, such as tomographic images of random velocity fluctuation (Takahashi et al. 2009) and b-value mapping data. Additionally, different kinds of data sets, including the experimental and petrological results (e.g. Christensen 1991; Hacker et al. 2003) can be applied to our analyses.

30 CFR 252.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... include, but is not limited to, identification of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory... interpreted geophysical information. (l) Interpreted geological information means knowledge, often in the form... the form of schematic cross sections and maps, developed by determining the geological significance of...

Introduction to uses and interpretation of principal component analyses in forest biology.

Treesearch

J. G. Isebrands; Thomas R. Crow

1975-01-01

The application of principal component analysis for interpretation of multivariate data sets is reviewed with emphasis on (1) reduction of the number of variables, (2) ordination of variables, and (3) applications in conjunction with multiple regression.

From a Content Delivery Portal to a Knowledge Management System for Standardized Cancer Documentation.

PubMed

Schlue, Danijela; Mate, Sebastian; Haier, Jörg; Kadioglu, Dennis; Prokosch, Hans-Ulrich; Breil, Bernhard

2017-01-01

Heterogeneous tumor documentation and its challenges of interpretation of medical terms lead to problems in analyses of data from clinical and epidemiological cancer registries. The objective of this project was to design, implement and improve a national content delivery portal for oncological terms. Data elements of existing handbooks and documentation sources were analyzed, combined and summarized by medical experts of different comprehensive cancer centers. Informatics experts created a generic data model based on an existing metadata repository. In order to establish a national knowledge management system for standardized cancer documentation, a prototypical tumor wiki was designed and implemented. Requirements engineering techniques were applied to optimize this platform. It is targeted to user groups such as documentation officers, physicians and patients. The linkage to other information sources like PubMed and MeSH was realized.

Emerging interpretations of quantum mechanics and recent progress in quantum measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clarke, M. L.

2014-01-01

The focus of this paper is to provide a brief discussion on the quantum measurement process, by reviewing select examples highlighting recent progress towards its understanding. The areas explored include an outline of the measurement problem, the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, quantum to classical transition, types of measurement (including weak and projective measurements) and newly emerging interpretations of quantum mechanics (decoherence theory, objective reality, quantum Darwinism and quantum Bayesianism).

From "Double Vision" to Panorama: Using History of Memory to Bridge "Event Space" When Exploring Interpretations of Nazi Popularity with Year 13

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carroll, James Edward

2017-01-01

Jim Carroll relished the opportunity, in the new A-level specification he was teaching, to find an effective way of teaching his students to analyse interpretations in their coursework essays. Reflecting on the difficulties he had faced as a trainee teacher teaching younger pupils about interpretations, and dissatisfied with examination board…

Measuring and Interpreting the Urban Heat Island: A Student Field Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicholas, Frank

1976-01-01

Climatology field experiences are described showing that midlatitude cities show manifestations of the modified thermal environment known as the heat island. Suggestions for project planning and precautions regarding weather, timing, and safety are included. (AV)

Ruminations on Teaching Projective Assessment: An Ideology, Specific Usages, Teaching Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dana, Richard H.

1975-01-01

In the use of projective tests, there is a certain role of responsibility that should be maintained in the administration of these tests and their interpretations. Thoughts regarding these factors are expressed in this article. (DEP)

Efficient Geological Modelling of Large AEM Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bach, Torben; Martlev Pallesen, Tom; Jørgensen, Flemming; Lundh Gulbrandsen, Mats; Mejer Hansen, Thomas

2014-05-01

Combining geological expert knowledge with geophysical observations into a final 3D geological model is, in most cases, not a straight forward process. It typically involves many types of data and requires both an understanding of the data and the geological target. When dealing with very large areas, such as modelling of large AEM surveys, the manual task for the geologist to correctly evaluate and properly utilise all the data available in the survey area, becomes overwhelming. In the ERGO project (Efficient High-Resolution Geological Modelling) we address these issues and propose a new modelling methodology enabling fast and consistent modelling of very large areas. The vision of the project is to build a user friendly expert system that enables the combination of very large amounts of geological and geophysical data with geological expert knowledge. This is done in an "auto-pilot" type functionality, named Smart Interpretation, designed to aid the geologist in the interpretation process. The core of the expert system is a statistical model that describes the relation between data and geological interpretation made by a geological expert. This facilitates fast and consistent modelling of very large areas. It will enable the construction of models with high resolution as the system will "learn" the geology of an area directly from interpretations made by a geological expert, and instantly apply it to all hard data in the survey area, ensuring the utilisation of all the data available in the geological model. Another feature is that the statistical model the system creates for one area can be used in another area with similar data and geology. This feature can be useful as an aid to an untrained geologist to build a geological model, guided by the experienced geologist way of interpretation, as quantified by the expert system in the core statistical model. In this project presentation we provide some examples of the problems we are aiming to address in the project, and show some preliminary results.

Life Interpretation and Religion among Icelandic Teenagers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunnarsson, Gunnar J.

2009-01-01

Does religion play any specific part in Icelandic teenagers' life interpretation? This paper examines Icelandic teenagers' talk about religion and presents some of the findings in interviews with teenagers in a qualitative research project. The focus is especially on how three individuals express themselves about the influence of religion on their…

Sensitizing Undergraduates to Potential Inaccuracies in Projective Test Interpretation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barret, Robert L.; Wachowiak, Dale G.

This paper describes a methodology developed to provide undergraduate students with direct experience in the process of impressionistic test interpretation. In the experiential exercise, students were shown Thematic Apperception Test cards and then read the responses given by an anonymous client. A discussion of the process by which the students…

ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY DIVISION ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT FOR PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1961

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

None

1962-02-01

Research and development progress is reported on analytlcal instrumentation, dlssolver-solution analyses, special research problems, reactor projects analyses, x-ray and spectrochemical analyses, mass spectrometry, optical and electron microscopy, radiochemical analyses, nuclear analyses, inorganic preparations, organic preparations, ionic analyses, infrared spectral studies, anodization of sector coils for the Analog II Cyclotron, quality control, process analyses, and the Thermal Breeder Reactor Projects Analytical Chemistry Laboratory. (M.C.G.)

Projection-viewer for microscale aerial photography

Treesearch

Robert C. Aldrich; James von Mosch; Wallace Greentree

1972-01-01

A low-cost projection-viewer has been developed to enlarge portions of microscale aerial photographs. These pictures can be used for interpretation or mapping, or for comparison with existing photographs, maps, and overlays to monitor environmental changes. The projection-viewer can enlarge from 2.5 to 20 times, and can be calibrated so that maps may be drawn with a...

Studying the Strawberry Farm: Investigation and Representation in a Standards-Based Kindergarten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wheeler, Charlene; Blank, Jolyn

2011-01-01

This article documents a first project undertaken by kindergarten children and their teacher in a public school in the southeastern United States. Images, work samples, records of children's comments, and the teacher's description tell the story of the project as it unfolds. The authors provide interpretation of the project events documented in…

Creative art and medical student development: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Jones, Elizabeth K; Kittendorf, Anne L; Kumagai, Arno K

2017-02-01

Although many medical schools include arts-based activities in their curricula, empirical evidence is lacking regarding how the creation of art might impact medical students and their professional development. We used a qualitative research design in order to understand this process. We conducted and analysed interviews with 16 medical students who had created and presented original artwork in the context of a required narrative-based undergraduate medical education programme. Teams of students collaborated to create interpretive projects based on common themes arising from conversations with individuals with chronic illness and their families. Open-ended questions were utilised to explore the conceptualisation and presentation of the projects, the dynamics of teamwork and the meaning(s) they might have for the students' professional development. We identified themes using repeated contextual reading of the transcripts, which also enhanced accuracy of the interpretations and ensured saturation of themes. Several major themes and sub-themes were identified. The creation of art led to a sense of personal growth and development, including reflection on past life experiences, self-discovery and an awareness of art as a creative outlet. Students also reported an enhanced sense of community and the development of skills in collaboration. Lastly, students reflected on the human dimensions of illness and medical care and identified an enhanced awareness of the experience of those with illness. A programme involving the creation of art based on stories of illness encouraged students' explorations of conceptions of the self, family and society, as well as illness and medical care, while enhancing the development of a collaborative and patient-centred worldview. Creative art can be a novel educational tool to promote a reflective, humanistic medical practice. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

Australian Curriculum Linked Lessons: Statistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Lorraine

2014-01-01

Students recognise and analyse data and draw inferences. They represent, summarise and interpret data and undertake purposeful investigations involving the collection and interpretation of data… They develop an increasingly sophisticated ability to critically evaluate chance and data concepts and make reasoned judgments and decisions, as well as…

Deep Lake Explorer: Using citizen science to analyze underwater video from the Great Lakes

EPA Science Inventory

While underwater video collection technology continues to improve, advancements in underwater video analysis techniques have lagged. Crowdsourcing image interpretation using the Zooniverse platform has proven successful for many projects, but few projects to date have included vi...

The Essence of Using Collaborative Technology for Virtual Team Members: A Study Using Interpretative Phenomenology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houck, Christiana L.

2013-01-01

This interpretative phenomenological study used semi-structured interviews of 10 participants to gain a deeper understanding of the experience for virtual team members using collaborative technology. The participants were knowledge workers from global software companies working on cross-functional project teams at a distance. There were no…

Principles of Designing Interpretable Optogenetic Behavior Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Brian D.; Singer, Annabelle C.; Boyden, Edward S.

2015-01-01

Over the last decade, there has been much excitement about the use of optogenetic tools to test whether specific cells, regions, and projection pathways are necessary or sufficient for initiating, sustaining, or altering behavior. However, the use of such tools can result in side effects that can complicate experimental design or interpretation.…

A Hands-On Experience of English Language Teachers as Researchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yayli, Demet

2012-01-01

This study presents the results of a teacher research project. The analysis aimed to explore both the four teacher researchers' interpretations of conducting research in English language teaching and the nature of their collaboration with their supervisor in the procedure. The results showed that qualitative data analysis and interpreting the…

Multimedia Presentations in Educational Measurement and Statistics: Design Considerations and Instructional Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sklar, Jeffrey C.; Zwick, Rebecca

2009-01-01

Proper interpretation of standardized test scores is a crucial skill for K-12 teachers and school personnel; however, many do not have sufficient knowledge of measurement concepts to appropriately interpret and communicate test results. In a recent four-year project funded by the National Science Foundation, three web-based instructional…

Friendship and Gender Differences in Task and Social Interpretations of Peer Collaborative Problem Solving.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strough, JoNell; Berg, Cynthia A.; Meegan, Sean P.

2001-01-01

Examined how social aspects of a peer collaborative context related to differences in adolescents' interpretations of task and social problems while collaborating with peers in a naturalistic classroom setting. Found that salience of social problems, gender, and friendship were important for understanding project performance. Explored the value of…

Wrangling Software: Computing Professionals and the Interpretation of Software Ownership in the University Computing Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cleveland, Lara L.

2011-01-01

This project explores the way information about law is transformed into organizational policies and practices. Existing literature emphasizes the state and organized professional groups as primary interpreters of the law and as creators of legal implementation strategies in the organizational setting. This case study of university responses to…

Natural resources interpretation: the role of researchers a new-old approach

Treesearch

Mark Gleason

2002-01-01

For the past several years interpretive programs for visitors at Isle Royale National Park have included presentations by natural resources researchers. These researchers are presenting the findings of their Lake Superior and Isle Royale National Park research directly to the public. This cooperative and developing project involves many individuals representing many...

Landmarks in the Judicial Interpretation of Civil Rights in America.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abraham, Henry J.

1990-01-01

Discusses a faculty seminar on landmark cases in the judicial interpretation of civil rights in the United States. States that the seminar is designed as a faculty development project to enhance the teaching of the Bill of Rights. Identifies the nature of the judicial process. Includes seminar syllabus and suggested readings. (RW)

Project VALOR: design and methods of a longitudinal registry of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat-exposed veterans in the Afghanistan and Iraqi military theaters of operations.

PubMed

Rosen, Raymond C; Marx, Brian P; Maserejian, Nancy N; Holowka, Darren W; Gates, Margaret A; Sleeper, Lynn A; Vasterling, Jennifer J; Kang, Han K; Keane, Terence M

2012-03-01

Few studies have investigated the natural history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Project VALOR (Veterans' After-discharge Longitudinal Registry) was designed as a longitudinal patient registry assessing the course of combat-related PTSD among 1600 male and female Veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Aims of the study include investigating patterns and predictors of progression or remission of PTSD and treatment utilization. The study design was based on recommendations from the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research for longitudinal disease registries and used a pre-specified theoretical model to select the measurement domains for data collection and interpretation of forthcoming results. The registry will include 1200 male and female Veterans with a recent diagnosis of PTSD in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) electronic medical record and a comparison group of 400 Veterans without a medical record-based PTSD diagnosis, to also allow for case-control analyses. Data are collected from administrative databases, electronic medical records, a self-administered questionnaire, and a semi-structured diagnostic telephone interview. Project VALOR is a unique and timely registry study that will evaluate the clinical course of PTSD, psychosocial correlates, and health outcomes in a carefully selected cohort of returning OEF/OIF Veterans. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Kinematic evolution of the Maacama Fault Zone, Northern California Coast Ranges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroeder, Rick D.

The Maacama Fault Zone (MFZ) is a major component of the Pacific-North American transform boundary in northern California, and its distribution of deformation and kinematic evolution defines that of a young continental transform boundary. The USGS Quaternary database (2010) currently defines the MFZ as a relatively narrow fault zone; however, a cluster analysis of microearthquakes beneath the MFZ defines a wider fault zone, composed of multiple seismogenically active faults. The surface projection of best-fit tabular zones through foci clusters correlates with previously interpreted faults that were assumed inactive. New investigations further delineate faults within the MFZ based on geomorphic features and shallow resistivity surveys, and these faults are interpreted to be part of several active pull-apart fault systems. The location of faults and changes in their geometry in relation to geomorphic features, indicate >8 km of cumulative dextral displacement across the eastern portion of the MFZ at Little Lake Valley, which includes other smaller offsets on fault strands in the valley. Some faults within the MFZ have geometries consistent with reactivated subduction-related reverse faults, and project near outcrops of pre-existing faults, filled with mechanically weak minerals. The mechanical behavior of fault zones is influenced by the spatial distribution and abundance of mechanically weak lithologies and mineralogies within the heterogeneous Franciscan melange that the MFZ displaces. This heterogeneity is characterized near Little Lake Valley (LLV) using remotely sensed data, field mapping, and wellbore data, and is composed of 2--5 km diameter disk-shaped coherent blocks that can be competent and resist deformation. Coherent blocks and the melange that surrounds them are the source for altered minerals that fill portions of fault zones. Mechanically weak minerals in pre-existing fault zones, identified by X-ray diffraction and electron microprobe analyses, are interpreted as a major reason for complex configurations of clusters of microearthquakes and zones of aseismic creep along the MFZ. Analysis of the kinematics of the MFZ and the distribution of its deformation is important because it improves the understanding of young stages of transform system evolution, which has implications that affect issues ranging from seismic hazard to petroleum and minerals exploration around the world.

The Northwest Geysers EGS Demonstration Project, California – Part 2: Modeling and interpretation

DOE PAGES

Rutqvist, Jonny; Jeanne, Pierre; Dobson, Patrick F.; ...

2015-09-02

In this paper, we summarize the results of coupled thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical (THM) modeling in support of the Northwest Geysers EGS Demonstration Project, which aims at enhancing production from a known High Temperature Reservoir (HTR) (280–400 °C) located under the conventional (240 °C) geothermal steam reservoir. The THM modeling was conducted to investigate geomechanical effects of cold-water injection during the stimulation of the EGS, first to predict the extent of the stimulation zone for a given injection schedule, and then to conduct interpretive analyses of the actual stimulation. By using a calibrated THM model based on historic injection and microseismic datamore » at a nearby well, we could reasonably predict the extent of the stimulation zone around the injection well, at least for the first few months of injection. However, observed microseismic evolution and pressure responses over the one-year stimulation-injection revealed more heterogeneous behavior as a result of more complex geology, including a network of shear zones. Therefore, for an interpretive analysis of the one-year stimulation campaign, we included two sets of vertical shear zones within the model; a set of more permeable NW-striking shear zones and a set of less permeable NE-striking shear zones. Our modeling indicates that the microseismic events in this system are related to shear reactivation of pre-existing fractures, triggered by the combined effects of injection-induced cooling around the injection well and rapid (but small) changes in steam pressure as far as a kilometer from the injection well. Overall, the integrated monitoring and modeling of microseismicity, ground surface deformations, reservoir pressure, fluid chemical composition, and seismic tomography depict an EGS system hydraulically bounded by some of the NE-striking low permeability shear zones, with the more permeable NW-striking shear zone providing liquid flow paths for stimulation deep (several kilometers) down into the HTR. The mo deling indicates that a significant mechanical degradation (damage) inferred from seismic tomography, and potential changes in fracture porosity inferred from cross-well pressure responses, are related to shear rupture in the stimulation zone driven by both pressure and cooling effects.« less

The Northwest Geysers EGS Demonstration Project, California – Part 2: Modeling and interpretation

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

Rutqvist, Jonny; Jeanne, Pierre; Dobson, Patrick F.

In this paper, we summarize the results of coupled thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical (THM) modeling in support of the Northwest Geysers EGS Demonstration Project, which aims at enhancing production from a known High Temperature Reservoir (HTR) (280–400 °C) located under the conventional (240 °C) geothermal steam reservoir. The THM modeling was conducted to investigate geomechanical effects of cold-water injection during the stimulation of the EGS, first to predict the extent of the stimulation zone for a given injection schedule, and then to conduct interpretive analyses of the actual stimulation. By using a calibrated THM model based on historic injection and microseismic datamore » at a nearby well, we could reasonably predict the extent of the stimulation zone around the injection well, at least for the first few months of injection. However, observed microseismic evolution and pressure responses over the one-year stimulation-injection revealed more heterogeneous behavior as a result of more complex geology, including a network of shear zones. Therefore, for an interpretive analysis of the one-year stimulation campaign, we included two sets of vertical shear zones within the model; a set of more permeable NW-striking shear zones and a set of less permeable NE-striking shear zones. Our modeling indicates that the microseismic events in this system are related to shear reactivation of pre-existing fractures, triggered by the combined effects of injection-induced cooling around the injection well and rapid (but small) changes in steam pressure as far as a kilometer from the injection well. Overall, the integrated monitoring and modeling of microseismicity, ground surface deformations, reservoir pressure, fluid chemical composition, and seismic tomography depict an EGS system hydraulically bounded by some of the NE-striking low permeability shear zones, with the more permeable NW-striking shear zone providing liquid flow paths for stimulation deep (several kilometers) down into the HTR. The mo deling indicates that a significant mechanical degradation (damage) inferred from seismic tomography, and potential changes in fracture porosity inferred from cross-well pressure responses, are related to shear rupture in the stimulation zone driven by both pressure and cooling effects.« less

Paleomagnetism of the Oman Ophiolite: New Results from Oman Drilling Project Cores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horst, A. J.; Till, J. L.; Koornneef, L.; Usui, Y.; Kim, H.; Morris, A.

2017-12-01

The Oman Drilling Project drilled holes at four sites in a transect through the southern massifs of the Samail ophiolite, and recovered 1500 m of igneous and metamorphic rocks. We focus on three sites from the oceanic crustal section including lower layered gabbros (GT1A), the mid-crustal layered to foliated gabbro transition (GT2A), and the shallower transition from sheeted dikes to varitextured gabbros (GT3A). Detailed core descriptions, analyses, and paleomagnetic measurements, were made on D/V Chikyu from July to September 2017 to utilize the core laboratory facilities similar to IODP expeditions. Shipboard measurements included anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and alternating field and thermal demagnetization of 597 discrete samples. Sample demagnetization behavior is varied from each of the cores, with some revealing multiple components of magnetization, and others yielding nearly univectorial data. The interpretation of results from the lower crustal cores is complicated by the pervasive presence of secondary magnetite. In almost all samples, a stable component was resolved (interpreted as a characteristic remanent magnetization) after removal of a lower-coercivity or lower unblocking-temperature component. The inclinations of the stable components in the core reference frame are very consistent in Hole GT1A. However, a transition from negative to positive inclinations in GT2A suggests some structural complexity, possibly as a result of intense late faulting activity. Both abrupt and gradual transitions between multiple zones of negative and positive inclinations occur in Hole GT3A. Interpretation and direct comparison of remanence between drill sites is difficult as recovered core pieces currently remain azimuthally unoriented, and GT2A was drilled at a plunge of 60°, whereas GT1A and GT3A were both drilled vertically. Work is ongoing to use borehole imagery to reorient the core pieces and paleomagnetic data into a geographic in situ reference frame. We will present an overview of preliminary AMS and remanence data that will be used in the future to 1) document deformational histories, 2) characterize magmatic flow directions at different structural levels, and 3) identify the magnetic mineralogy of remanence carriers throughout the oceanic crustal section.

Crump Geyser Exploration and Drilling Project. High Precision Geophysics and Detailed Structural Exploration and Slim Well Drilling

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

Fairbank, Brian D.; Smith, Nicole

The Crump Geyser Exploration and Drilling Project – High Precision Geophysics and Detailed Structural Exploration and Slim Well Drilling ran from January 29, 2010 to September 30, 2013. During Phase 1 of the project, collection of all geophysical surveys was completed as outlined in the Statement of Project Objectives. In addition, a 5000-foot full sized exploration well was drilled by Ormat, and preexisting drilling data was discovered for multiple temperature gradient wells within the project area. Three dimensional modeling and interpretation of results from the geophysical surveys and drilling data gave confidence to move to the project into Phase 2more » drilling. Geological and geophysical survey interpretations combined with existing downhole temperature data provided an ideal target for the first slim-hole drilled as the first task in Phase 2. Slim-hole 35-34 was drilled in September 2011 and tested temperature, lithology, and permeability along the primary range-bounding fault zone near its intersection with buried northwest-trending faults that have been identified using geophysical methods. Following analysis of the results of the first slim-hole 35-34, the second slim hole was not drilled and subsequent project tasks, including flowing differential self-potential (FDSP) surveys that were designed to detail the affect of production and injection on water flow in the shallow aquifer, were not completed. NGP sold the Crump project to Ormat in August 2014, afterwards, there was insufficient time and interest from Ormat available to complete the project objectives. NGP was unable to continue managing the award for a project they did not own due to liability issues and Novation of the award was not a viable option due to federal award timelines. NGP submitted a request to mutually terminate the award on February 18, 2015. The results of all of the technical surveys and drilling are included in this report. Fault interpretations from surface geology, aeromag, seismic, and gravity data sets are in good agreement, illustrating two or more major range-bounding faults and buried northwest trending faults. The intersections of these fault systems provide the primary targets for drilling.« less

Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA). South Carolina State-Administration Annual Program, 1992-1993.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Carolina State Library, Columbia.

Supporting documentation for the grant and use of Federal Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) funds in South Carolina is presented in this annual program. Under Title I, Library Services, the bulk of the grant money is planned for the following projects: (1) general administration (Project I-A); (2) library interpretation (Project I-B);…

Interpretive Study of Research and Development in Elementary School Mathematics. Volume 3: Developmental Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suydam, Marilyn N.; Riedesel, C. Alan

To gather the information for this section, visits were made to each of ten major curriculum development projects. These were selected because of the impact which each has had on curriculum reform--past, present, and future. It was not possible to visit every project, and several of the more significant ones, such as the Greater Cleveland…

Measurement and Interpretation of Crustal Deformation Rates Associated with Postglacial Rebound

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, James L.

1998-01-01

This project involves obtaining GPS measurements in Scandinavia, and using the measurements to estimate the viscosity profile of the Earth's mantle and to correct tide-gauge measurements for the rebound effect. Many aspects of this project have been reported in the literature (see Section III). In Section II, we report on the primary geodetic results from this project.

A simple conceptual model to interpret the 100 000 years dynamics of paleo-climate records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quiroga Lombard, C. S.; Balenzuela, P.; Braun, H.; Chialvo, D. R.

2010-10-01

Spectral analyses performed on records of cosmogenic nuclides reveal a group of dominant spectral components during the Holocene period. Only a few of them are related to known solar cycles, i.e., the De Vries/Suess, Gleissberg and Hallstatt cycles. The origin of the others remains uncertain. On the other hand, time series of North Atlantic atmospheric/sea surface temperatures during the last ice age display the existence of repeated large-scale warming events, called Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events, spaced around multiples of 1470 years. The De Vries/Suess and Gleissberg cycles with periods close to 1470/7 (~210) and 1470/17 (~86.5) years have been proposed to explain these observations. In this work we found that a conceptual bistable model forced with the De Vries/Suess and Gleissberg cycles plus noise displays a group of dominant frequencies similar to those obtained in the Fourier spectra from paleo-climate during the Holocene. Moreover, we show that simply changing the noise amplitude in the model we obtain similar power spectra to those corresponding to GISP2 δ18O (Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2) during the last ice age. These results give a general dynamical framework which allows us to interpret the main characteristic of paleoclimate records from the last 100 000 years.

An ecologic study of prostate-specific antigen screening and prostate cancer mortality in nine geographic areas of the United States.

PubMed

Shaw, Pamela A; Etzioni, Ruth; Zeliadt, Steven B; Mariotto, Angela; Karnofski, Kent; Penson, David F; Weiss, Noel S; Feuer, Eric J

2004-12-01

Ecologic studies of cancer screening examine cancer mortality rates in relation to use of population screening. These studies can be confounded by treatment patterns or influenced by choice of outcome and time horizon. Interpretation can be complicated by uncertainty about when mortality differences might be expected. The authors examined these issues in an ecologic analysis of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening and prostate cancer mortality across nine cancer registries in the United States. Results suggested a weak trend for areas with greater PSA screening rates to have greater declines in prostate cancer mortality; however, the magnitude of this trend varied considerably with the time horizon and outcome measure. A computer model was used to determine whether divergence of mortality declines would be expected under an assumption of a clinically significant survival benefit due to screening. Given a mean lead time of 5 years, the model projected that differences in mortality between high- and low-use areas should be apparent by 1999 in the absence of other factors affecting mortality. The authors concluded that modest differences in PSA screening rates across areas, together with additional sources of variation, could have produced a negative ecologic result. Ecologic analyses of the effectiveness of PSA testing should be interpreted with caution.

Subsea ice-bearing permafrost on the U.S. Beaufort Margin: 1. Minimum seaward extent defined from multichannel seismic reflection data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brothers, Laura; Herman, Bruce M.; Hart, Patrick E.; Ruppel, Carolyn D.

2016-01-01

Subsea ice-bearing permafrost (IBPF) and associated gas hydrate in the Arctic have been subject to a warming climate and saline intrusion since the last transgression at the end of the Pleistocene. The consequent degradation of IBPF is potentially associated with significant degassing of dissociating gas hydrate deposits. Previous studies interpreted the distribution of subsea permafrost on the U.S. Beaufort continental shelf based on geographically sparse data sets and modeling of expected thermal history. The most cited work projects subsea permafrost to the shelf edge (∼100 m isobath). This study uses a compilation of stacking velocity analyses from ∼100,000 line-km of industry-collected multichannel seismic reflection data acquired over 57,000 km2 of the U.S. Beaufort shelf to delineate continuous subsea IBPF. Gridded average velocities of the uppermost 750 ms two-way travel time range from 1475 to 3110 m s−1. The monotonic, cross-shore pattern in velocity distribution suggests that the seaward extent of continuous IBPF is within 37 km of the modern shoreline at water depths < 25 m. These interpretations corroborate recent Beaufort seismic refraction studies and provide the best, margin-scale evidence that continuous subsea IBPF does not currently extend to the northern limits of the continental shelf.

Understanding Human-Animal Relations in the Context of Primate Conservation: A Multispecies Ethnographic Approach in North Morocco.

PubMed

Waters, Siân; Bell, Sandra; Setchell, Joanna M

2018-01-01

Strategies for conserving species threatened with extinction are often driven by ecological data. However, in anthropogenic landscapes, understanding and incorporating local people's perceptions may enhance species conservation. We examine the relationships shepherds, living on the periphery of the mixed oak forest of Bouhachem in northern Morocco, have with animals in the context of a conservation project for Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). We analyse ethnographic data to provide insights into shepherds' conceptions of Barbary macaques and the species which bring the shepherds into the forest - goats (Capra hircus), domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), and the African wolf (Canis lupus lupaster). We interpret these data within the framework of boundary theory. Our multispecies ethnographic approach illuminates the different and, in the case of the domestic dog and the Barbary macaque, complex ways shepherds perceive each species. Some shepherds show intrinsic interest in the macaques, revealing potential recruits to conservation activities. As with any ethnographic study, our interpretations of human-animal relations in Bouhachem may not extrapolate to other areas of the Barbary macaque's distribution because of the unique nature of both people and the place. We recommend that conservationists examine complex place-based relations between humans and animals to improve wildlife conservation efforts. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Residual glasses and melt inclusions in basalts from DSDP Legs 45 and 46 - Evidence for magma mixing. [Deep Sea Drilling Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dungan, M. A.; Rhodes, J. M.

1978-01-01

Microprobe analyses of natural glasses in basalts recovered by Legs 45 and 46 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project are reported and interpreted in the context of other geochemical, petrographic and experimental data on the same rocks (Rhodes et al., 1978). Residual glass compositions in the moderately evolved aphyritic and abundantly phyric basalts within each site indicate that none of the units is related to any other or to a common parent by simple fractional crystallization. The compositional trends, extensive disequilibrium textures in the plagioclase phenocrysts and the presence in evolved lavas of refractory plagioclase and olivine phenocrysts bearing primitive melt inclusions provide evidence that magma mixing had a major role in the genesis of the Leg 45 and 46 basalts. The magma parental to these basalts was most likely characterized by high Mg/(Mg + Fe/+2/), CaO/Al2O3, CaO/Na2O and low lithophile concentrations. A mixing model involving incremental enrichment of magmaphile elements by repeated episodes of mixing of relatively primitive and moderately evolved magmas, followed by a small amount of fractionation is consistent with the characteristics of the basalts studied.

Toward a multidimensional understanding of culture for health interventions.

PubMed

Asad, Asad L; Kay, Tamara

2015-11-01

Although a substantial literature examines the relationship between culture and health in myriad individual contexts, a lack of comparative data across settings has resulted in disparate and imprecise conceptualizations of the concept for scholars and practitioners alike. This article examines scholars and practitioners' understandings of culture in relation to health interventions. Drawing on 169 interviews with officials from three different nongovernmental organizations working on health issues in multiple countries-Partners in Health, Oxfam America, and Sesame Workshop-we examine how these respondents' interpretations of culture converge or diverge with recent developments in the study of the concept, as well as how these understandings influence health interventions at three different stages-design, implementation, and evaluation-of a project. Based on these analyses, a tripartite definition of culture is built-as knowledge, practice, and change-and these distinct conceptualizations are linked to the success or failure of a project at each stage of an intervention. In so doing, the study provides a descriptive and analytical starting point for scholars interested in understanding the theoretical and empirical relevance of culture for health interventions, and sets forth concrete recommendations for practitioners working to achieve robust improvements in health outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation in Counseling Psychology: Strategies for Best Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeh, Christine J.; Inman, Arpana G.

2007-01-01

This article presents an overview of various strategies and methods of engaging in qualitative data interpretations and analyses in counseling psychology. The authors explore the themes of self, culture, collaboration, circularity, trustworthiness, and evidence deconstruction from multiple qualitative methodologies. Commonalities and differences…

Abstract Interpreters for Free

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Might, Matthew

In small-step abstract interpretations, the concrete and abstract semantics bear an uncanny resemblance. In this work, we present an analysis-design methodology that both explains and exploits that resemblance. Specifically, we present a two-step method to convert a small-step concrete semantics into a family of sound, computable abstract interpretations. The first step re-factors the concrete state-space to eliminate recursive structure; this refactoring of the state-space simultaneously determines a store-passing-style transformation on the underlying concrete semantics. The second step uses inference rules to generate an abstract state-space and a Galois connection simultaneously. The Galois connection allows the calculation of the "optimal" abstract interpretation. The two-step process is unambiguous, but nondeterministic: at each step, analysis designers face choices. Some of these choices ultimately influence properties such as flow-, field- and context-sensitivity. Thus, under the method, we can give the emergence of these properties a graph-theoretic characterization. To illustrate the method, we systematically abstract the continuation-passing style lambda calculus to arrive at two distinct families of analyses. The first is the well-known k-CFA family of analyses. The second consists of novel "environment-centric" abstract interpretations, none of which appear in the literature on static analysis of higher-order programs.

Challenges in contrast-enhanced spectral mammography interpretation: artefacts lexicon.

PubMed

Yagil, Y; Shalmon, A; Rundstein, A; Servadio, Y; Halshtok, O; Gotlieb, M; Sklair-Levy, M

2016-05-01

To review and describe commonly encountered artefacts in contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM). This retrospective study included 200 women who underwent CESM examinations for screening and diagnostic purposes. Analysis was performed on the image data sets of these women, comprising of a total of 774 subtracted images. Images were reviewed with focus on the presence of four artefacts: rim ("breast within breast"), ripple (black and white lines), axillary line, and skin-line enhancement (skin-line highlighting). Statistical cross-correlation and association with acquisition parameters (tube current, tube voltage, compression force, breast thickness, paddle size) was compared using Fisher's exact test and t-test. The rim artefact was highly common (97-99%) in every projection. The ripple artefact was increasingly more common on the oblique projections (80-82%) and found to be associated with higher breast thickness values. The axillary line artefact was detected only on oblique projections (63%) and associated with the use of a small compression paddle. The skin-line enhancement artefact was seen in 19-46% of projections. None of the artefacts interfered with image interpretation. Two main artefacts commonly seen on CESM are rim and ripple artefacts. They do not hamper with image interpretation. It is important to be aware of them and prevent misinterpretation of these artefacts as real breast pathology. Copyright © 2016 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The ADAMS interactive interpreter

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

Rietscha, E.R.

1990-12-17

The ADAMS (Advanced DAta Management System) project is exploring next generation database technology. Database management does not follow the usual programming paradigm. Instead, the database dictionary provides an additional name space environment that should be interactively created and tested before writing application code. This document describes the implementation and operation of the ADAMS Interpreter, an interactive interface to the ADAMS data dictionary and runtime system. The Interpreter executes individual statements of the ADAMS Interface Language, providing a fast, interactive mechanism to define and access persistent databases. 5 refs.

Spatial Offsets in Flare-CME Current Sheets

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

Raymond, John C.; Giordano, Silvio; Ciaravella, Angela, E-mail: jraymond@cfa.harvard.edu

Magnetic reconnection plays an integral part in nearly all models of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The reconnection heats and accelerates the plasma, produces energetic electrons and ions, and changes the magnetic topology to form magnetic flux ropes and to allow CMEs to escape. Structures that appear between flare loops and CME cores in optical, UV, EUV, and X-ray observations have been identified as current sheets and have been interpreted in terms of the nature of the reconnection process and the energetics of the events. Many of these studies have used UV spectral observations of high temperature emissionmore » features in the [Fe xviii] and Si xii lines. In this paper, we discuss several surprising cases in which the [Fe xviii] and Si xii emission peaks are spatially offset from each other. We discuss interpretations based on asymmetric reconnection, on a thin reconnection region within a broader streamer-like structure, and on projection effects. Some events seem to be easily interpreted as the projection of a sheet that is extended along the line of sight that is viewed an angle, but a physical interpretation in terms of asymmetric reconnection is also plausible. Other events favor an interpretation as a thin current sheet embedded in a streamer-like structure.« less

Enhancing causal interpretations of quality improvement interventions.

PubMed

Cable, G

2001-09-01

In an era of chronic resource scarcity it is critical that quality improvement professionals have confidence that their project activities cause measured change. A commonly used research design, the single group pre-test/post-test design, provides little insight into whether quality improvement interventions cause measured outcomes. A re-evaluation of a quality improvement programme designed to reduce the percentage of bilateral cardiac catheterisations for the period from January 1991 to October 1996 in three catheterisation laboratories in a north eastern state in the USA was performed using an interrupted time series design with switching replications. The accuracy and causal interpretability of the findings were considerably improved compared with the original evaluation design. Moreover, the re-evaluation provided tangible evidence in support of the suggestion that more rigorous designs can and should be more widely employed to improve the causal interpretability of quality improvement efforts. Evaluation designs for quality improvement projects should be constructed to provide a reasonable opportunity, given available time and resources, for causal interpretation of the results. Evaluators of quality improvement initiatives may infrequently have access to randomised designs. Nonetheless, as shown here, other very rigorous research designs are available for improving causal interpretability. Unilateral methodological surrender need not be the only alternative to randomised experiments.

Clinical Utility of Blood Cell Histogram Interpretation

PubMed Central

Bhagya, S.; Majeed, Abdul

2017-01-01

An automated haematology analyser provides blood cell histograms by plotting the sizes of different blood cells on X-axis and their relative number on Y-axis. Histogram interpretation needs careful analysis of Red Blood Cell (RBC), White Blood Cell (WBC) and platelet distribution curves. Histogram analysis is often a neglected part of the automated haemogram which if interpreted well, has significant potential to provide diagnostically relevant information even before higher level investigations are ordered. PMID:29207767

Clinical Utility of Blood Cell Histogram Interpretation.

PubMed

Thomas, E T Arun; Bhagya, S; Majeed, Abdul

2017-09-01

An automated haematology analyser provides blood cell histograms by plotting the sizes of different blood cells on X-axis and their relative number on Y-axis. Histogram interpretation needs careful analysis of Red Blood Cell (RBC), White Blood Cell (WBC) and platelet distribution curves. Histogram analysis is often a neglected part of the automated haemogram which if interpreted well, has significant potential to provide diagnostically relevant information even before higher level investigations are ordered.

Installing a Practical Research Project and Interpreting Research Results

Treesearch

Kasten R. Dumroese; David L. Wenny

2003-01-01

The basic concepts of the scientific method and research process are reviewed. An example from a bareroot nursery demonstrates how a practical research project can be done at any type of nursery, meshing sound statistical principles with the limitations of busy nursery managers.

An Appraisal of a New Undergraduate Biochemistry Research Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adamson, Ishola

1980-01-01

Described is the first part of a two-term project involving final-year students in biochemistry. Listed are the required experiments compiled to test students' abilities to search biochemical literature, extract experiments from journals and carry them out, generate data, and interpret results. (CS)

29 CFR 1926.13 - Interpretation of statutory terms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the employer for the specific project on a customized basis. Thus, a supplier of materials which will... the goods or materials in question specifically for the construction project and the work involved may... of prestressed concrete beams and prestressed structural steel would be considered manufacturing...

Measurement and interpretation of crustal deformation rates associated with postglacial rebound

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, James L.

1993-01-01

This project involves obtaining Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements in Scandinavia, and using the measurements to estimate the viscosity profile of the Earth's mantle and to correct tide-gage measurements for the rebound effect. Several aspects of this project are reported.

Hair analyses: worthless for vitamins, limited for minerals.

PubMed

Hambidge, K M

1982-11-01

Despite many major and minor problems with interpretation of analytical data, chemical analyses of human hair have some potential value. Extensive research will be necessary to define this value, including correlation of hair concentrations of specific elements with those in other tissues and metabolic pools and definition of normal physiological concentration ranges. Many factors that may compromise the correct interpretation of analytical data require detailed evaluation for each specific element. Meanwhile, hair analyses are of some value in the comparison of different populations and, for example, in public health community surveys of environmental exposure to heavy metals. On an individual basis, their established usefulness is much more restricted and the limitations are especially notable for evaluation of mineral nutritional status. There is a wide gulf between the limited and mainly tentative scientific justification for their use on an individual basis and the current exploitation of multielement chemical analyses of human hair.

Individuality in harpsichord performance: disentangling performer- and piece-specific influences on interpretive choices

PubMed Central

Gingras, Bruno; Asselin, Pierre-Yves; McAdams, Stephen

2013-01-01

Although a growing body of research has examined issues related to individuality in music performance, few studies have attempted to quantify markers of individuality that transcend pieces and musical styles. This study aims to identify such meta-markers by discriminating between influences linked to specific pieces or interpretive goals and performer-specific playing styles, using two complementary statistical approaches: linear mixed models (LMMs) to estimate fixed (piece and interpretation) and random (performer) effects, and similarity analyses to compare expressive profiles on a note-by-note basis across pieces and expressive parameters. Twelve professional harpsichordists recorded three pieces representative of the Baroque harpsichord repertoire, including three interpretations of one of these pieces, each emphasizing a different melodic line, on an instrument equipped with a MIDI console. Four expressive parameters were analyzed: articulation, note onset asynchrony, timing, and velocity. LMMs showed that piece-specific influences were much larger for articulation than for other parameters, for which performer-specific effects were predominant, and that piece-specific influences were generally larger than effects associated with interpretive goals. Some performers consistently deviated from the mean values for articulation and velocity across pieces and interpretations, suggesting that global measures of expressivity may in some cases constitute valid markers of artistic individuality. Similarity analyses detected significant associations among the magnitudes of the correlations between the expressive profiles of different performers. These associations were found both when comparing across parameters and within the same piece or interpretation, or on the same parameter and across pieces or interpretations. These findings suggest the existence of expressive meta-strategies that can manifest themselves across pieces, interpretive goals, or expressive devices. PMID:24348446

Evaluation of areas prepared for planting using LANDSAT data. M.S. Thesis; [Ribeirao Preto, Brazil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parada, N. D. J. (Principal Investigator); Deassuncao, G. V.; Duarte, V.

1983-01-01

Three different algorithms (SINGLE-CELL, MAXVER and MEDIA K) were used to automatically interpret data from LANDSAT observations of an area of Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. Photographic transparencies were obtained, projected and visually interpreted. The results show that: (1) the MAXVER algorithm presented a better classification performance; (2) verification of the changes in cultivated areas using data from the three different acquisition dates was possible; (3) the water bodies, degraded lands, urban areas, and fallow fields were frequently mistaken by cultivated soils; and (4) the use of projected photographic transparencies furnished satisfactory results, besides reducing the time spent on the image-100 system.

Air quality as respiratory health indicator: a critical review.

PubMed

Moshammer, Hanns; Wallner, Peter

2011-09-01

As part of the European Public Health project IMCA II validity and practicability of "air pollution" as a respiratory health indicator were analyzed. The definitions of air quality as an indicator proposed by the WHO project ECOEHIS and by IMCA I were compared. The public availability of the necessary data was checked through access to web-based data-bases. Practicability and interpretation of the indicator were discussed with project partners and external experts. Air quality serves as a kind of benchmark for the good health-related environmental policy. In this sense, it is a relevant health indicator. Although air quality is not directly in the responsibility of health policy, its vital importance for the population's health should not be neglected. In principle, data is available to calculate this IMCA indicator for any chosen area in Europe. The indicator is relevant and informative, but calculation and interpretation need input from local expert knowledge. The European health policy is well advised to take air quality into account. To that end, an interdisciplinary approach is warranted. The proposed definition of air quality as a (respiratory) health indicator is workable, but correct interpretation depends on expert and local knowledge.

A novel knowledge-based system for interpreting complex engineering drawings: theory, representation, and implementation.

PubMed

Lu, Tong; Tai, Chiew-Lan; Yang, Huafei; Cai, Shijie

2009-08-01

We present a novel knowledge-based system to automatically convert real-life engineering drawings to content-oriented high-level descriptions. The proposed method essentially turns the complex interpretation process into two parts: knowledge representation and knowledge-based interpretation. We propose a new hierarchical descriptor-based knowledge representation method to organize the various types of engineering objects and their complex high-level relations. The descriptors are defined using an Extended Backus Naur Form (EBNF), facilitating modification and maintenance. When interpreting a set of related engineering drawings, the knowledge-based interpretation system first constructs an EBNF-tree from the knowledge representation file, then searches for potential engineering objects guided by a depth-first order of the nodes in the EBNF-tree. Experimental results and comparisons with other interpretation systems demonstrate that our knowledge-based system is accurate and robust for high-level interpretation of complex real-life engineering projects.

Utility of Classical α-Taxonomy for Biodiversity of Aquatic Nematodes

PubMed Central

Decraemer, Wilfrida; Backeljau, Thierry

2015-01-01

“Classical α-taxonomy” has different interpretations. Therefore, within the framework of an integrated taxonomic approach it is not relevant to divide taxonomy in different components, each being allocated a different weight of importance. Preferably, taxonomy should be seen in a holistic way, including the act of delimiting and describing taxa, based on different features and available methods, and taxonomy can not be interpreted without looking at evolutionary relationships. The concept of diversity itself is quite diverse as is the measure of diversity. Taxonomic descriptions of free-living aquatic nematodes are very valuable as they provide basic phenotypic information that is necessary for the functional ecological, behavioral, and evolutionary interpretation of data gathered from molecular analyses and of the organism as a whole. In general, molecular taxonomic analyses have the advantage of being much faster and of being able to deal with a larger number of specimens but also possess the important advantage of dealing with a huge amount of features compared to the morphology-based approach. However, just as morphological studies, molecular analyses deal only with partial of an organism. PMID:25861112

Basic data from five core holes in the Raft River geothermal area, Cassia County, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crosthwaite, E. G.

1976-01-01

meters) were completed in the area (Crosthwaite, 1974), and the Aerojet Nuclear Company, under the auspices of the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration, was planning some deep drilling 4,000 to 6,000 feet (1,200 to 1,800 meters) (fig. 1). The purpose of the core drilling was to provide information to test geophysical interpretations of the subsurface structure and lithology and to provide hydrologic and geologic data on the shallow part of the geothermal system. Samples of the core were made available to several divisions and branches of the Geological Survey and to people and agencies outside the Survey. This report presents the basic data from the core holes that had been collected to September 1, 1975, and includes lithologic and geophysical well logs, chemical analyses of water (table 1), and laboratory analyses of cores (table 2) that were completed as of the above date. The data were collected by the Idaho District office, Hydrologic Laboratory, Borehole Geophysics Research Project, and Drilling, Sampling, and Testing Section, all of the Water Resources Division, and the Branch of Central Environmental Geology of the Geologic Divison.

From reads to regions: a Bioconductor workflow to detect differential binding in ChIP-seq data

PubMed Central

Lun, Aaron T. L.; Smyth, Gordon K.

2016-01-01

Chromatin immunoprecipitation with massively parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq) is widely used to identify the genomic binding sites for protein of interest. Most conventional approaches to ChIP-seq data analysis involve the detection of the absolute presence (or absence) of a binding site. However, an alternative strategy is to identify changes in the binding intensity between two biological conditions, i.e., differential binding (DB). This may yield more relevant results than conventional analyses, as changes in binding can be associated with the biological difference being investigated. The aim of this article is to facilitate the implementation of DB analyses, by comprehensively describing a computational workflow for the detection of DB regions from ChIP-seq data. The workflow is based primarily on R software packages from the open-source Bioconductor project and covers all steps of the analysis pipeline, from alignment of read sequences to interpretation and visualization of putative DB regions. In particular, detection of DB regions will be conducted using the counts for sliding windows from the csaw package, with statistical modelling performed using methods in the edgeR package. Analyses will be demonstrated on real histone mark and transcription factor data sets. This will provide readers with practical usage examples that can be applied in their own studies. PMID:26834993

The PLOT (Paleolimnological Transect) Project in the Russian Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gromig, R.; Andreev, A.; Baumer, M.; Bolshiyanov, D.; Fedorov, G.; Frolova, L.; Krastel, S.; Lebas, E.; Ludikova, A.; Melles, M.; Meyer, H.; Nazarova, L.; Pestryakova, L.; Savelieva, L.; Shumilovskikh, L.; Subetto, D.; Wagner, B.; Wennrich, V.

2017-12-01

The joint Russian- German project 'PLOT - Paleolimnological Transec' aims to recover lake sediment sequences along a >6000 km long longitudinal transect across the Eurasian Arctic in order to investigate the Late Quaternary climatic and environmental history. The climate history of the Arctic is of particular interest since it is the region, which is experiencing major impact of the current climate change. The project is funded for three years (2015-2018) by the Russian and German Ministries of Research. Since 2013 extensive fieldwork, including seismic surveys, coring, and hydrological investigations, was carried out at lakes Ladoga (NW Russia, pilot study), Bolshoye Shuchye (Polar Urals), Emanda (Verkhoyansk Range, field campaign planned for August 2017), Levinson-Lessing and Taymyr (Taymyr Peninsula). Fieldwork at lakes Bolshoye Shuchye, Levinson-Lessing and Taymyr was conducted in collaboration with the Russian-Norwegian CHASE (Climate History along the Arctic Seaboard of Eurasia) project. A major objective of the PLOT project was to recover preglacial sediments. A multiproxy approach was applied to the analytical work of all cores, including (bio-)geochemical, sedimentological, geophysical, and biological analyses. First data implies the presence of preglacial sediments in the cores from all lakes so far visited. Age-depth models, based on radiocarbon dating, OSL dating, paleomagnetic measurements, identification of cryptotephra, and varve counting (where applicable), are in progress. Climate variability in the records shall be compared to that recorded at Lake Eĺgygytgyn (NE Russia), which represents the master record for the Siberian Arctic. The outcome of the PLOT project will be a better understanding of the temporal and spatial variability and development of the Arctic climate. Here, we present the major results and first key interpretations of the PLOT project, along with an outlook on the future strategy and foci. First results from lakes Ladoga, Bolshoye Shuchye, Levinson-Lessing and Taymyr will be published in a special journal issue (Boreas) in spring 2018.

The exploitation of data from remote and human sensors for environment monitoring in the SMAT project.

PubMed

Meo, Rosa; Roglia, Elena; Bottino, Andrea

2012-12-17

In this paper, we outline the functionalities of a system that integrates and controls a fleet of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs). UAVs have a set of payload sensors employed for territorial surveillance, whose outputs are stored in the system and analysed by the data exploitation functions at different levels. In particular, we detail the second level data exploitation function whose aim is to improve the sensors data interpretation in the post-mission activities. It is concerned with the mosaicking of the aerial images and the cartography enrichment by human sensors--the social media users. We also describe the software architecture for the development of a mash-up (the integration of information and functionalities coming from the Web) and the possibility of using human sensors in the monitoring of the territory, a field in which, traditionally, the involved sensors were only the hardware ones.

Long Term Cloud Property Datasets From MODIS and AVHRR Using the CERES Cloud Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minnis, Patrick; Bedka, Kristopher M.; Doelling, David R.; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Yost, Christopher R.; Trepte, Qing Z.; Bedka, Sarah T.; Palikonda, Rabindra; Scarino, Benjamin R.; Chen, Yan;

A qualitative analysis of the neutron population in fresh and spent fuel assemblies during simulated interrogation using the differential die-away technique

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

Tobin, Stephen J.; Lundkvist, Niklas; Goodsell, Alison V.

In this study, Monte Carlo simulations were performed for the differential die-away (DDA) technique to analyse the time-dependent behaviour of the neutron population in fresh and spent nuclear fuel assemblies as part of the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative Spent Fuel (NGSI-SF) Project. Simulations were performed to investigate both a possibly portable as well as a permanent DDA instrument. Taking advantage of a custom made modification to the MCNPX code, the variation in the neutron population, simultaneously in time and space, was examined. The motivation for this research was to improve the design of the DDA instrument, as it is bemore » ing considered for possible deployment at the Central Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Encapsulation Plant in Sweden (Clab), as well as to assist in the interpretation of the both simulated and measured signals.« less

A qualitative analysis of the neutron population in fresh and spent fuel assemblies during simulated interrogation using the differential die-away technique

DOE PAGES

Tobin, Stephen J.; Lundkvist, Niklas; Goodsell, Alison V.; ...

2015-12-01

In this study, Monte Carlo simulations were performed for the differential die-away (DDA) technique to analyse the time-dependent behaviour of the neutron population in fresh and spent nuclear fuel assemblies as part of the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative Spent Fuel (NGSI-SF) Project. Simulations were performed to investigate both a possibly portable as well as a permanent DDA instrument. Taking advantage of a custom made modification to the MCNPX code, the variation in the neutron population, simultaneously in time and space, was examined. The motivation for this research was to improve the design of the DDA instrument, as it is bemore » ing considered for possible deployment at the Central Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Encapsulation Plant in Sweden (Clab), as well as to assist in the interpretation of the both simulated and measured signals.« less

The Exploitation of Data from Remote and Human Sensors for Environment Monitoring in the SMAT Project

PubMed Central

Meo, Rosa; Roglia, Elena; Bottino, Andrea

2012-01-01

In this paper, we outline the functionalities of a system that integrates and controls a fleet of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs). UAVs have a set of payload sensors employed for territorial surveillance, whose outputs are stored in the system and analysed by the data exploitation functions at different levels. In particular, we detail the second level data exploitation function whose aim is to improve the sensors data interpretation in the post-mission activities. It is concerned with the mosaicking of the aerial images and the cartography enrichment by human sensors—the social media users. We also describe the software architecture for the development of a mash-up (the integration of information and functionalities coming from the Web) and the possibility of using human sensors in the monitoring of the territory, a field in which, traditionally, the involved sensors were only the hardware ones. PMID:23247415

Analyses of native water, core material, and elutriate samples collected from the Atchafalaya River and Atchafalaya Bay

USGS Publications Warehouse

Demas, Charles R.

1977-01-01

During October and November 1976 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collected native water and core material from 14 sites along the Atchafalya River in Louisiana (from the head of Whiskey Bay Pilot Channel to American Pass) and 5 sites in Atchafalya Bay for evaluation of possible environmental effects of a proposed channel-enlargement project. Core material from all river sites and one bay site was collected to a depth of 50 feet (15 meters). At the remaining bay sites, samples were collected to a depth of less than 6 inches (15 centimeters) using a pipe dredge. Core material and native water were analyzed (separately and as elutriate samples prepared from mixtures) for selected metals, nutrients, organic compounds, and physical characteristics. No interpretation of the data is given. (Woodard-USGS)

Threat to Knowledge: Research and the Future of Archeology in the National Parks. An Interview with Scholar Archeologist Bill Lipe.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lipe, Bill

2001-01-01

Interview examines the competing interests of U.S. national parks, which preserve Native American archaeological sites as the basis of cultural and historical interpretation to the public, and archaeologists, whose research excavations may destroy sites. National Park Service projects that encompass both stewardship and interpretation are…

Constructions of Dynamic Geometry: A Study of the Interpretative Flexibility of Educational Software in Classroom Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruthven, Kenneth; Hennessy, Sara; Deaney, Rosemary

2008-01-01

The idea of "interpretative flexibility" underpins new approaches to studying technological artefacts and curricular resources in use. This paper opens by reviewing, in this light, the evolving design of dynamic geometry, its pioneering use within classroom projects, and early sketches of its mainstream use in ordinary classrooms. After…

"He Said It All in the Painting": Using Visual Art to Interpret and Create Biography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lea, Susan G.; Sipe, Lawrence R.; O'Loughlin, Tricia

2011-01-01

This article is centrally focused on teaching biography to second grade children in new and intriguing ways. In this article, the authors discuss the use of a multimodal integrated visual art and literacy curriculum in student investigations, interpretations, and writing of biography. Section one describes the wider project of conceptualizing an…

23 CFR 940.5 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... ARCHITECTURE AND STANDARDS § 940.5 Policy. ITS projects shall conform to the National ITS Architecture and... Architecture is interpreted to mean the use of the National ITS Architecture to develop a regional ITS architecture, and the subsequent adherence of all ITS projects to that regional ITS architecture. Development...

23 CFR 940.5 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... ARCHITECTURE AND STANDARDS § 940.5 Policy. ITS projects shall conform to the National ITS Architecture and... Architecture is interpreted to mean the use of the National ITS Architecture to develop a regional ITS architecture, and the subsequent adherence of all ITS projects to that regional ITS architecture. Development...

23 CFR 940.5 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... ARCHITECTURE AND STANDARDS § 940.5 Policy. ITS projects shall conform to the National ITS Architecture and... Architecture is interpreted to mean the use of the National ITS Architecture to develop a regional ITS architecture, and the subsequent adherence of all ITS projects to that regional ITS architecture. Development...

The M in STEM: What Is It Really?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coad, Lance

2016-01-01

At a recent workshop in the ACARA [Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority] offices in Sydney, teachers of STEM gathered to reflect on implementations of integrated STEM projects within their schools. The projects discussed illustrated a range of interpretive stances and practical considerations--presented variously as…

23 CFR 940.5 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... ARCHITECTURE AND STANDARDS § 940.5 Policy. ITS projects shall conform to the National ITS Architecture and... Architecture is interpreted to mean the use of the National ITS Architecture to develop a regional ITS architecture, and the subsequent adherence of all ITS projects to that regional ITS architecture. Development...

Metric Education. Interpretive Report No. 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George Washington Univ., Washington, DC. Inst. for Educational Leadership.

This report reviews the findings of two projects funded by the National Institute of Education (NIE) ano conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The project reports, "Going Metric" and "Metric Inservice Teacher Training," document the impact of metric conversion on the educational systems of Great Britain, New…

Installing a practical research project and interpreting research results

Treesearch

R. Kasten Dumroese; David L. Weny

2002-01-01

We review the basic concepts of science and research and the scientific process. Using an example from a bareroot nursery, we show how a practical research project can be done at any type of nursery, meshing sound statistical principles with limitations of busy nursery managers.

18 CFR 2.24 - Project decommissioning at relicensing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Project decommissioning at relicensing. 2.24 Section 2.24 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL RULES GENERAL POLICY AND INTERPRETATIONS Statements of General...

18 CFR 2.24 - Project decommissioning at relicensing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Project decommissioning at relicensing. 2.24 Section 2.24 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL RULES GENERAL POLICY AND INTERPRETATIONS Statements of General...

18 CFR 2.24 - Project decommissioning at relicensing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Project decommissioning at relicensing. 2.24 Section 2.24 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL RULES GENERAL POLICY AND INTERPRETATIONS Statements of General...

18 CFR 2.24 - Project decommissioning at relicensing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Project decommissioning at relicensing. 2.24 Section 2.24 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL RULES GENERAL POLICY AND INTERPRETATIONS Statements of General...

An improved Greengenes taxonomy with explicit ranks for ecological and evolutionary analyses of bacteria and archaea.

PubMed

McDonald, Daniel; Price, Morgan N; Goodrich, Julia; Nawrocki, Eric P; DeSantis, Todd Z; Probst, Alexander; Andersen, Gary L; Knight, Rob; Hugenholtz, Philip

2012-03-01

Reference phylogenies are crucial for providing a taxonomic framework for interpretation of marker gene and metagenomic surveys, which continue to reveal novel species at a remarkable rate. Greengenes is a dedicated full-length 16S rRNA gene database that provides users with a curated taxonomy based on de novo tree inference. We developed a 'taxonomy to tree' approach for transferring group names from an existing taxonomy to a tree topology, and used it to apply the Greengenes, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and cyanoDB (Cyanobacteria only) taxonomies to a de novo tree comprising 408,315 sequences. We also incorporated explicit rank information provided by the NCBI taxonomy to group names (by prefixing rank designations) for better user orientation and classification consistency. The resulting merged taxonomy improved the classification of 75% of the sequences by one or more ranks relative to the original NCBI taxonomy with the most pronounced improvements occurring in under-classified environmental sequences. We also assessed candidate phyla (divisions) currently defined by NCBI and present recommendations for consolidation of 34 redundantly named groups. All intermediate results from the pipeline, which includes tree inference, jackknifing and transfer of a donor taxonomy to a recipient tree (tax2tree) are available for download. The improved Greengenes taxonomy should provide important infrastructure for a wide range of megasequencing projects studying ecosystems on scales ranging from our own bodies (the Human Microbiome Project) to the entire planet (the Earth Microbiome Project). The implementation of the software can be obtained from http://sourceforge.net/projects/tax2tree/.

An improved Greengenes taxonomy with explicit ranks for ecological and evolutionary analyses of bacteria and archaea

PubMed Central

McDonald, Daniel; Price, Morgan N; Goodrich, Julia; Nawrocki, Eric P; DeSantis, Todd Z; Probst, Alexander; Andersen, Gary L; Knight, Rob; Hugenholtz, Philip

2012-01-01

Reference phylogenies are crucial for providing a taxonomic framework for interpretation of marker gene and metagenomic surveys, which continue to reveal novel species at a remarkable rate. Greengenes is a dedicated full-length 16S rRNA gene database that provides users with a curated taxonomy based on de novo tree inference. We developed a ‘taxonomy to tree' approach for transferring group names from an existing taxonomy to a tree topology, and used it to apply the Greengenes, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and cyanoDB (Cyanobacteria only) taxonomies to a de novo tree comprising 408 315 sequences. We also incorporated explicit rank information provided by the NCBI taxonomy to group names (by prefixing rank designations) for better user orientation and classification consistency. The resulting merged taxonomy improved the classification of 75% of the sequences by one or more ranks relative to the original NCBI taxonomy with the most pronounced improvements occurring in under-classified environmental sequences. We also assessed candidate phyla (divisions) currently defined by NCBI and present recommendations for consolidation of 34 redundantly named groups. All intermediate results from the pipeline, which includes tree inference, jackknifing and transfer of a donor taxonomy to a recipient tree (tax2tree) are available for download. The improved Greengenes taxonomy should provide important infrastructure for a wide range of megasequencing projects studying ecosystems on scales ranging from our own bodies (the Human Microbiome Project) to the entire planet (the Earth Microbiome Project). The implementation of the software can be obtained from http://sourceforge.net/projects/tax2tree/. PMID:22134646

A pilot project to detect and forecast harmful algal blooms in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

PubMed

Fisher, William S; Malone, Thomas C; Giattina, James D

2003-01-01

More timely access to data and information on the initiation, evolution and effects of harmful algal blooms can reduce adverse impacts on valued natural resources and human health. To achieve this in the northern Gulf of Mexico, a pilot project was initiated to develop a user-driven, end-to-end (measurements to applications) observing system. A key strategy of the project is to coordinate existing state, federal and academic programs at an unprecedented level of collaboration and partnership. Resource managers charged with protection of public health and aquatic resources require immediate notice of algal events and a forecast of when, where and what adverse effects will likely occur. Further, managers require integrated analyses and interpretations, rather than raw data, to make effective decisions. Consequently, a functional observing system must collect and transform diverse measurements into usable forecasts. Data needed to support development of forecasts will include such properties as sea surface temperature, winds, currents and waves; precipitation and freshwater flows with related discharges of sediment and nutrients; salinity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll concentrations (in vivo fluorescence); and remotely-sensed spatial images of sea surface chlorophyll concentrations. These data will be provided via a mixture of discrete and autonomous in situ sensing with near real-time data telemetry, and remote sensing from space (SeaWiFS), aircraft (hyperspectral imagery) or land (high-frequency radar). With calibration across these platforms, the project will ultimately provide a 4-dimensional visualization of harmful algae events in a time frame suitable to resource managers.

Semantic Space as a Metapopulation System: Modelling the Wikipedia Information Flow Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masucci, A. Paolo; Kalampokis, Alkiviadis; Eguíluz, Víctor M.; Hernández-García, Emilio

The meaning of a word can be defined as an indefinite set of interpretants, which are other words that circumscribe the semantic content of the word they represent (Derrida 1982). In the same way each interpretant has a set of interpretants representing it and so on. Hence the indefinite chain of meaning assumes a rhizomatic shape that can be represented and analysed via the modern techniques of network theory (Dorogovtsev and Mendes 2013).

Conditions for Productive Learning in Networked Learning Environments: A Case Study from the VO@NET Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryberg, Thomas; Koottatep, Suporn; Pengchai, Petch; Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Lone

2006-01-01

In this article we bring together experiences from two international research projects: the Kaleidoscope ERT research collaboration and the VO@NET project. We do this by using a shared framework identified for cross-case analyses within the Kaleidoscope ERT to analyse a particular case in the VO@NET project, a training course called "Green…

Working in partnership with interpreters: studies on individuals affected by HIV/AIDS in Vietnam.

PubMed

Maradik Harris, Lesley; Boggiano, Victoria; Nguyen, Duy Thang; Pham, Le Hoang Linh

2013-10-01

This article brings together two American qualitative researchers and two Vietnamese interpreters who investigated the social impacts of HIV/AIDS in Vietnam from the standpoint of the local community. As cultural outsiders with limited Vietnamese language skills, the researchers relied on the insights and expertise of the interpreters to the extent that interpreter roles expanded to become co-researchers. We explain the guidelines we used to work in partnership in the field. We then describe how the relationship between researcher and interpreter developed into co-researching, and how we utilized this relationship to respond to challenges in the work. Despite an increasing number of international qualitative studies, little research has focused on the nuances of a working partnership between researcher and interpreter, and few studies include interpreters as co-researchers. This article contributes to an understanding of how the researcher-interpreter relationship impacts the voice of the participant and, ultimately, the final outcomes of the project.

Development of new geoinformation methods for modelling and prediction of sea level change over different timescales - overview of the project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niedzielski, T.; Włosińska, M.; Miziński, B.; Hewelt, M.; Migoń, P.; Kosek, W.; Priede, I. G.

2012-04-01

The poster aims to provide a broad scientific audience with a general overview of a project on sea level change modelling and prediction that has just commenced at the University of Wrocław, Poland. The initiative that the project fits, called the Homing Plus programme, is organised by the Foundation for Polish Science and financially supported by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund and the Innovative Economy Programme. There are two key research objectives of the project that complement each other. First, emphasis is put on modern satellite altimetric gridded time series from the Archiving, Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic data (AVISO) repository. Daily sea level anomaly maps, access to which in near-real time is courtesy of AVISO, are being steadily downloaded every day to our local server in Wroclaw, Poland. These data will be processed within a general framework of modelling and prediction of sea level change in short, medium and long term. Secondly, sea level change over geological time is scrutinised in order to cover very long time scales that go far beyond a history of altimetric and tide-gauge measurements. The aforementioned approaches comprise a few tasks that aim to solve the following detailed problems. Within the first one, our objective is to seek spatio-temporal dependencies in the gridded sea level anomaly time series. Subsequently, predictions that make use of such cross-correlations shall be derived, and near-real time service for automatic update with validation will be implemented. Concurrently, (i.e. apart from spatio-temporal dependencies and their use in the process of forecasting variable sea level topography), threshold models shall be utilised for predicting the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signal that is normally present in sea level anomaly time series of the equatorial Pacific. Within the second approach, however, the entirely different methods are proposed. Links between sea floor topography and sea level change will be quantified, with a particular emphasis placed on the hypsometric curve and its semi-empirical modelling. Very long-term projections of sea level change will be based on testing statistical hypotheses and trend analyses, but input data will be calculated from theoretical models. Slightly apart from this topic is a notion of nonlinearity that was earlier shown to be present in gridded sea level anomaly time series. Thus, the list of intermediate tasks concludes with a need for a comprehensive interpretation of such irregularities.

Gestion de stockage d'energie thermique d'un parc de chauffe-eaux par une commande a champ moyen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bourdel, Benoit

In today's energy transition, smart grids and electrical load control are very active research fields. This master's thesis is an offshoot of the SmartDesc project which aims at using energy storage capability of electric household appliances, such as water heaters and electric heaters to mitigate the fluctuations of system loads and renewable generation. The smartDESC project aims at demonstrating that the mean field game theory (MFG), as new mathematical theory, can be used to convert and control water heaters (and possibly space heater) into smart thermal capacities. Thus, a set of "modules" has been developed. These modules are used to generate the optimal control and locally interpret it, to simulate the water-heater thermophysics or water draw event, or to virtualize a telecommunication mesh network. The different aspects of the project have been first studied and developed separately. During the course of this master's research, the modules have been integrated, tested, interfaced and tuned in a common simulator. This simulator is designed to make complete electrical network simulations with a multi-scale approach (from individual water heater to global electric load and production). Firstly, the modules are precisely described theoretically and practically. Then, different types of control are applied to an uniform population of houses fitted with water heaters and controllers. The results of these controls are analysed and compared in order to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, a study was conducted to analyse the resilience of a mean field control. This report demonstrates that mean field game theory in coordination with a system level aggregate model based optimization program, is able to effectively control a large population of water heaters to smooth the overall electrical load. This control offers good resilience to unforeseen circumstances that can disrupt the network. It is also demonstrated that a mean field control is able to absorb fluctuations due to wind power production. Thus, by reducing the variability of the residential sector's electrical charge, the mean field control plays a role in increasing power system stability in the face of high levels of renewable energy penetration. The next stage of smartDESC project is now to set up an intelligent electric water heater prototype. This prototype, in progress since January 2016 at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, is aimed at proving concretely the theories developed in the project.

Publications - GPR 2014-4 | Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical

Science.gov Websites

Geologic Mapping Advisory Board STATEMAP Publications Geophysics Program Information Geophysical Survey content DGGS GPR 2014-4 Publication Details Title: Farewell and Middle Styx survey areas: Project report , Inc., 2015, Farewell and Middle Styx survey areas: Project report, interpretation maps, EM anomalies

Cultural Projects. Indian Education Program. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore Public Schools, OK.

The eight projects in this guide, developed for grades K-6, present various aspects of American Indian culture. The activities include discovering the importance of bear claw necklaces, making Kachina doll sack puppets, understanding the lifestyle of Plains Indians, interpreting the stories of Indian shields, making Indian games and toys, doing…

Effects of Sex, Social Desirability, and Birth Order on the Defense Mechanisms Inventory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dudley, Gary E.

1978-01-01

Investigated effects of sex difference, social desirability instructions, and birth order of respondents on defense mechanisms inventory (DMI). Sex difference was found in projection only. Social desirability effects were found in turning-against-others, projection, principalization, and reversal. Thus, an interpretive caution is in order…

Adult Learning Projects Related to Spiritual Growth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wickett, R.E.Y.

A study examined significant deliberate learning activities (as demonstrated in learning projects) which were related to spiritual growth. (Spiritual growth was defined in broad terms within which each interviewee interpreted his or her own concept.) Fifty persons between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-five and representing five groups (three…

Early Writing in the Research Mode via Digital Modeling of Rivers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow, Robin Scott

1991-01-01

Author describes an individual research project involving digital modeling of graded river profiles as part of a sophomore-level geomorphology class. The three-week project gives students the opportunity to choose research topics, design experiments to test ideas, interpret results, and write a research report. (PR)

Demonstration of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) internet interface and services

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model is a process-based FORTRAN computer simulation program for prediction of runoff and soil erosion by water at hillslope profile, field, and small watershed scales. To effectively run the WEPP model and interpret results additional software has been de...

Ear Pieces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DiJulio, Betsy

2011-01-01

In this article, the author describes an art project wherein students make fanciful connections between art and medicine. This project challenges students to interpret "ear idioms" (e.g. "blow it out your ear," "in one ear and out the other") by relying almost entirely on realistic ear drawings, the placement of them, marks, and values. In that…

31 CFR 537.412 - Investments in entities involved in economic development projects in Burma.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... economic development projects in Burma. 537.412 Section 537.412 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations... BURMESE SANCTIONS REGULATIONS Interpretations § 537.412 Investments in entities involved in economic... economic development of resources located in Burma is prohibited by § 537.204 where the company's profits...

Preliminary publications Book 1 from Project on Mineral Resources, Metallogenesis and Tectonics of Northeast Asia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ariunbileg, Sodov; Badarch, Gombosuren; Berzin, Nikolai A.; Bulgatov, Alexander N.; Chimed, Noosoi; Deikunenko, Aleksey V.; Dejidmaa, Gunchin; Diggles, Michael F.; Distanov, Elimir G.; Dorjgotov, Dangindorjiin; Gerel, Ochir; Gordienko, Ivan V.; Gotovsuren, Ayurzana; Hwang, Duk-Hwan; Khanchuk, Alexander I.; Koch, Richard D.; Miller, Robert J.; Nokleberg, Warren J.; Obolenskiy, Alexander A.; Ogasawara, Masatsugu; Orolmaa, Demberel; Oxman, Vladimir S.; Parfenov, Leonid M.; Popeko, Ludmila I.; Prokopiev, Andrey V.; Smelov, Alexander P.; Sotnikov, Vitaliy I.; Sudo, Sadahisa; Timofeev, Vladimir F.; Tret'yakov, Felix F.; Vernikovsky, Valery A.; Ye, Mao; Zadgenizov, Alexander P.

1999-01-01

This report consists of preliminary data tables, maps, and interpretative articles compiled in late 1997 and early 1998 for a new project on the Mineral Resources, Metallogenesis, and Tectonics of Northeast Asia (Eastern and Southern Siberia, Mongolia, North-eastern China, South Korea, and Japan).

From Ethnography to Social Action through Oral History in Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlin, Phyllis Scott

The staged performance of oral history narratives scripted by interpreters/ethnographers has significant potential for instigating social change. Recent articles by Dwight Conquergood and Kristin Langellier provide the basis for merging ethnography, oral history and social action projects. Narratives from a 1984 farm crisis project illustrate this…

Dreaming of Holistic Adult Education in 2020

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giraldo, Monica Arboleda

2007-01-01

Would projections about adult education look different if they were made by people from multiple countries, backgrounds, and perspectives? The author believes that no matter how much global knowledge one has, interpretations and projections would be different and would be influenced by those aspects already mentioned. Trying to think globally as…

Interrogating Paradigmatic and Narrative Analyses against a Backdrop of Teacher Professionalism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacMath, Sheryl

2009-01-01

In response to Denzin and Lincoln's claim that using a variety of interpretive analyses enables a better understanding of the world, I examine two different analyses of the same data set. Using a survey of preservice elementary education students (n = 208) asked to describe their perceptions of teacher professionalism, I contrast the application…

30 CFR 251.1 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., identification of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory analyses of physical and chemical..., often in the form of schematic cross sections, 3-dimensional representations, and maps, developed by.... Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of seismic cross sections, 3...

Does Training in Table Creation Enhance Table Interpretation? A Quasi-Experimental Study with Follow-Up

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karazsia, Bryan T.; Wong, Kendal

2016-01-01

Quantitative and statistical literacy are core domains in the undergraduate psychology curriculum. An important component of such literacy includes interpretation of visual aids, such as tables containing results from statistical analyses. This article presents results of a quasi-experimental study with longitudinal follow-up that tested the…

Exploring the Complex Interplay of National Learning and Teaching Policy and Academic Development Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Karen

2016-01-01

Academic developers are important interpreters of policy, yet little research has focussed on the interplay of policy and academic development practice. Using methods from critical discourse analysis, this article analyses a national learning and teaching policy, charts its development, and explores its interpretation by the academic development…

Exploring Prospective Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Interpretation of Student Thinking through Analysing Students' Work in Modelling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Didis, Makbule Gozde; Erbas, Ayhan Kursat; Cetinkaya, Bulent; Cakiroglu, Erdinc; Alacaci, Cengiz

2016-01-01

Researchers point out the importance of teachers' knowledge of student thinking and the role of examining student work in various contexts to develop a knowledge base regarding students' ways of thinking. This study investigated prospective secondary mathematics teachers' interpretations of students' thinking as manifested in students' work that…

University Reform and Institutional Autonomy: A Framework for Analysing the Living Autonomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maassen, Peter; Gornitzka, Åse; Fumasoli, Tatiana

2017-01-01

In this article we discuss recent university reforms aimed at enhancing university autonomy, highlighting various tensions in the underlying reform ideologies. We examine how the traditional interpretation of university autonomy has been expanded in the reform rationales. An analytical framework for studying how autonomy is interpreted and used…

Counterbalancing and Other Uses of Repeated-Measures Latin-Square Designs: Analyses and Interpretations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reese, Hayne W.

1997-01-01

Recommends that when repeated-measures Latin-square designs are used to counterbalance treatments across a procedural variable or to reduce the number of treatment combinations given to each participant, effects be analyzed statistically, and that in all uses, researchers consider alternative interpretations of the variance associated with the…

The cost and utilisation patterns of a pilot sign language interpreter service for primary health care services in South Africa

PubMed Central

Heap, Marion; Sinanovic, Edina

2017-01-01

Background The World Health Organisation estimates disabling hearing loss to be around 5.3%, while a study of hearing impairment and auditory pathology in Limpopo, South Africa found a prevalence of nearly 9%. Although Sign Language Interpreters (SLIs) improve the communication challenges in health care, they are unaffordable for many signing Deaf people and people with disabling hearing loss. On the other hand, there are no legal provisions in place to ensure the provision of SLIs in the health sector in most countries including South Africa. To advocate for funding of such initiatives, reliable cost estimates are essential and such data is scarce. To bridge this gap, this study estimated the costs of providing such a service within a South African District health service based on estimates obtained from a pilot-project that initiated the first South African Sign Language Interpreter (SASLI) service in health-care. Methods The ingredients method was used to calculate the unit cost per SASLI-assisted visit from a provider perspective. The unit costs per SASLI-assisted visit were then used in estimating the costs of scaling up this service to the District Health Services. The average annual SASLI utilisation rate per person was calculated on Stata v.12 using the projects’ registry from 2008–2013. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to determine the effect of changing the discount rate and personnel costs. Results Average Sign Language Interpreter services’ utilisation rates increased from 1.66 to 3.58 per person per year, with a median of 2 visits, from 2008–2013. The cost per visit was US$189.38 in 2013 whilst the estimated costs of scaling up this service ranged from US$14.2million to US$76.5million in the Cape Metropole District. These cost estimates represented 2.3%-12.2% of the budget for the Western Cape District Health Services for 2013. Conclusions In the presence of Sign Language Interpreters, Deaf Sign language users utilise health care service to a similar extent as the hearing population. However, this service requires significant capital investment by government to enable access to healthcare for the Deaf. PMID:29272272

Using the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory LT-MDL to Evaluate and Analyze Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bonn, Bernadine A.

2008-01-01

A long-term method detection level (LT-MDL) and laboratory reporting level (LRL) are used by the U.S. Geological Survey?s National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) when reporting results from most chemical analyses of water samples. Changing to this method provided data users with additional information about their data and often resulted in more reported values in the low concentration range. Before this method was implemented, many of these values would have been censored. The use of the LT-MDL and LRL presents some challenges for the data user. Interpreting data in the low concentration range increases the need for adequate quality assurance because even small contamination or recovery problems can be relatively large compared to concentrations near the LT-MDL and LRL. In addition, the definition of the LT-MDL, as well as the inclusion of low values, can result in complex data sets with multiple censoring levels and reported values that are less than a censoring level. Improper interpretation or statistical manipulation of low-range results in these data sets can result in bias and incorrect conclusions. This document is designed to help data users use and interpret data reported with the LTMDL/ LRL method. The calculation and application of the LT-MDL and LRL are described. This document shows how to extract statistical information from the LT-MDL and LRL and how to use that information in USGS investigations, such as assessing the quality of field data, interpreting field data, and planning data collection for new projects. A set of 19 detailed examples are included in this document to help data users think about their data and properly interpret lowrange data without introducing bias. Although this document is not meant to be a comprehensive resource of statistical methods, several useful methods of analyzing censored data are demonstrated, including Regression on Order Statistics and Kaplan-Meier Estimation. These two statistical methods handle complex censored data sets without resorting to substitution, thereby avoiding a common source of bias and inaccuracy.

Time to Go Beyond Triple-Gauge-Boson-Coupling Interpretation of W Pair Production.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhengkang

2017-01-06

W boson pair production processes at e^{+}e^{-} and pp colliders have been conventionally interpreted as measurements of WWZ and WWγ triple gauge couplings (TGCs). Such an interpretation is based on the assumption that new physics effects other than anomalous TGCs are negligible. While this "TGC dominance assumption" was well motivated and useful at LEP2 thanks to precision electroweak constraints, it is already challenged by recent LHC data. In fact, contributions from anomalous Z boson couplings that are allowed by electroweak precision data but neglected in LHC analyses, which are enhanced at high energy, can even dominate over those from the anomalous TGCs considered. This limits the generality of the anomalous TGC constraints derived in current analyses and necessitates extension of the analysis framework and a change of physics interpretation. The issue will persist as we continue to explore the high-energy frontier. We clarify and analyze the situation in the effective field theory framework, which provides a useful organizing principle for understanding standard model deviations in the high-energy regime.

Methodology in the Assessment of Construction and Development Investment Projects, Including the Graphic Multi-Criteria Analysis - a Systemic Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szafranko, Elżbieta

2017-10-01

Assessment of variant solutions developed for a building investment project needs to be made at the stage of planning. While considering alternative solutions, the investor defines various criteria, but a direct evaluation of the degree of their fulfilment by developed variant solutions can be very difficult. In practice, there are different methods which enable the user to include a large number of parameters into an analysis, but their implementation can be challenging. Some methods require advanced mathematical computations, preceded by complicating input data processing, and the generated results may not lend themselves easily to interpretation. Hence, during her research, the author has developed a systemic approach, which involves several methods and whose goal is to compare their outcome. The final stage of the proposed method consists of graphic interpretation of results. The method has been tested on a variety of building and development projects.

Multicomponent Seismic Analysis and Calibration to Improve Recovery from Algal Mounds: Application to the Roadrunner/Towaoc area of the Paradox Basin, UTE Mountain UTE Reservation, Colorado

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

Joe Hachey

2007-09-30

The goals of this project were: (1) To enhance recovery of oil contained within algal mounds on the Ute Mountain Ute tribal lands. (2) To promote the use of advanced technology and expand the technical capability of the Native American Oil production corporations by direct assistance in the current project and dissemination of technology to other Tribes. (3) To develop an understanding of multicomponent seismic data as it relates to the variations in permeability and porosity of algal mounds, as well as lateral facies variations, for use in both reservoir development and exploration. (4) To identify any undiscovered algal moundsmore » for field-extension within the area of seismic coverage. (5) To evaluate the potential for applying CO{sub 2} floods, steam floods, water floods or other secondary or tertiary recovery processes to increase production. The technical work scope was carried out by: (1) Acquiring multicomponent seismic data over the project area; (2) Processing and reprocessing the multicomponent data to extract as much geological and engineering data as possible within the budget and time-frame of the project; (3) Preparing maps and data volumes of geological and engineering data based on the multicomponent seismic and well data; (4) Selecting drilling targets if warranted by the seismic interpretation; (5) Constructing a static reservoir model of the project area; and (6) Constructing a dynamic history-matched simulation model from the static model. The original project scope covered a 6 mi{sup 2} (15.6 km{sup 2}) area encompassing two algal mound fields (Towaoc and Roadrunner). 3D3C seismic data was to acquired over this area to delineate mound complexes and image internal reservoir properties such as porosity and fluid saturations. After the project began, the Red Willow Production Company, a project partner and fully-owned company of the Southern Ute Tribe, contributed additional money to upgrade the survey to a nine-component (3D9C) survey. The purpose of this upgrade to nine components was to provide additional shear wave component data that might prove useful in delineating internal mound reservoir attributes. Also, Red Willow extended the P-wave portion of the survey to the northwest of the original 6 mi{sup 2} (15.6 km{sup 2}) 3D9C area in order to extend coverage further to the northwest to the Marble Wash area. In order to accomplish this scope of work, 3D9C seismic data set covering two known reservoirs was acquired and processed. Three-dimensional, zero-offset vertical seismic profile (VSP) data was acquired to determine the shear wave velocities for processing the sh3Dseismic data. Anisotropic velocity, and azimuthal AVO processing was carried out in addition to the conventional 3D P-wave data processing. All P-, PS- and S-wave volumes of the seismic data were interpreted to map the seismic response. The interpretation consisted of conventional cross-plots of seismic attributes vs. geological and reservoir engineering data, as well as multivariate and neural net analyses to assess whether additional resolution on exploration and engineering parameters could be achieved through the combined use of several seismic variables. Engineering data in the two reservoirs was used to develop a combined lithology, structure and permeability map. On the basis of the seismic data, a well was drilled into the northern mound trend in the project area. This well, Roadrunner No.9-2, was brought into production in late April 2006 and continues to produce modest amounts of oil and gas. As of the end of August 2007, the well has produced approximately 12,000 barrels of oil and 32,000 mcf of gas. A static reservoir model was created from the seismic data interpretations and well data. The seismic data was tied to various markers identified in the well logs, which in turn were related to lithostratigraphy. The tops and thicknesses of the various units were extrapolated from well control based upon the seismic data that was calibrated to the well picks. The reservoir engineering properties were available from a number of wells in the project area. Multivariate regressions of seismic attributes versus engineering parameters, such as porosity, were then used to guide interpolation away from well control. These formed the basis for dynamic reservoir simulations. The simulations were used to assess the potential for additional reservoir development, and to provide insight as to how well the multivariate approach worked for assigning more realistic values of internal mound reservoir properties.« less

40 CFR 93.127 - Projects exempt from regional emissions analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Projects exempt from regional... exempt from regional emissions analyses. Notwithstanding the other requirements of this subpart, highway and transit projects of the types listed in Table 3 of this section are exempt from regional emissions...

Uncertainty Quantification in Climate Modeling and Projection

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

Qian, Yun; Jackson, Charles; Giorgi, Filippo

The projection of future climate is one of the most complex problems undertaken by the scientific community. Although scientists have been striving to better understand the physical basis of the climate system and to improve climate models, the overall uncertainty in projections of future climate has not been significantly reduced (e.g., from the IPCC AR4 to AR5). With the rapid increase of complexity in Earth system models, reducing uncertainties in climate projections becomes extremely challenging. Since uncertainties always exist in climate models, interpreting the strengths and limitations of future climate projections is key to evaluating risks, and climate change informationmore » for use in Vulnerability, Impact, and Adaptation (VIA) studies should be provided with both well-characterized and well-quantified uncertainty. The workshop aimed at providing participants, many of them from developing countries, information on strategies to quantify the uncertainty in climate model projections and assess the reliability of climate change information for decision-making. The program included a mixture of lectures on fundamental concepts in Bayesian inference and sampling, applications, and hands-on computer laboratory exercises employing software packages for Bayesian inference, Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods, and global sensitivity analyses. The lectures covered a range of scientific issues underlying the evaluation of uncertainties in climate projections, such as the effects of uncertain initial and boundary conditions, uncertain physics, and limitations of observational records. Progress in quantitatively estimating uncertainties in hydrologic, land surface, and atmospheric models at both regional and global scales was also reviewed. The application of Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) concepts to coupled climate system models is still in its infancy. The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) multi-model ensemble currently represents the primary data for assessing reliability and uncertainties of climate change information. An alternative approach is to generate similar ensembles by perturbing parameters within a single-model framework. One of workshop’s objectives was to give participants a deeper understanding of these approaches within a Bayesian statistical framework. However, there remain significant challenges still to be resolved before UQ can be applied in a convincing way to climate models and their projections.« less

Materials Processes (MP) Engineering Internship Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tomsik, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

This poster illustrates my major and minor projects worked on during my entire time interning at KSC in the Materials Science Branch. My major projects consist of three Failure Analyses, a research project on Magnesium Alloys, and the manufacturing and mechanical testing of the Advanced Plant Habitat. My three Failure Analyses are Umbilical Testing Ground Plates, Lithium Ion Battery Locking Spring Blade, and a Liquid Oxygen Poppet.

Measuring Primary Students' Graph Interpretation Skills via a Performance Assessment: A Case Study in Instrument Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterman, Karen; Cranston, Kayla A.; Pryor, Marie; Kermish-Allen, Ruth

2015-01-01

This case study was conducted within the context of a place-based education project that was implemented with primary school students in the USA. The authors and participating teachers created a performance assessment of standards-aligned tasks to examine 6-10-year-old students' graph interpretation skills as part of an exploratory research…

Preliminary evaluation of the airborne imaging spectrometer for vegetation analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strahler, A. H.; Woodcock, C. E.

1984-01-01

The primary goal of the project was to provide ground truth and manual interpretation of data from an experimental flight of the Airborne Infrared Spectrometer (AIS) for a naturally vegetated test site. Two field visits were made; one trip to note snow conditions and temporally related vegetation states at the time of the sensor overpass, and a second trip following acquisition of prints of the AIS images for field interpretation. Unfortunately, the ability to interpret the imagery was limited by the quality of the imagery due to the experimental nature of the sensor.

Multiple interpretations of a pair of images of a surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Longuet-Higgins, H. C.

1988-07-01

It is known that, if two optical images of a visually textured surface, projected from finitely separated viewpoints, allow more than one three-dimensional interpretation, then the surface must be part of a quadric passing through the two viewpoints. It is here shown that this quadric is either a plane or a ruled surface of a type first considered by Maybank (1985) in a study of ambiguous optic flow fields. In the latter case, three is the maximum number of distinct interpretations that the two images can sustain.

A Semester-Long Project for Teaching Basic Techniques in Molecular Biology Such as Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis to Undergraduate and Graduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DiBartolomeis, Susan M.

2011-01-01

Several reports on science education suggest that students at all levels learn better if they are immersed in a project that is long term, yielding results that require analysis and interpretation. I describe a 12-wk laboratory project suitable for upper-level undergraduates and first-year graduate students, in which the students molecularly…

Defining a Progress Metric for CERT RMM Improvement

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-14

Table 1) should be used along with clear guidance on what is to be measured, to avoid subjective interpretations by different project managers . In some...products for each CERT-RMM practice. Project managers should be trained to help the organization improve the accuracy and consistency of its reporting...and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave Blank) 2

"I Want to Be a Furious Leopard with Magical Wings and Super Power": Developing an Ethico-Interpretive Framework for Detecting Chinese Students' Funds of Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poole, Adam

2017-01-01

The Avatar Project was a two-week English project in which Chinese high school students in an internationalised school in Shanghai China explored the topic of cultural and individual identity. The project synthesised prospective education with the Funds of Identity approach, both of which have particular relevance within an internationalised…

Experiences with collaborative climate impacts assessments for regional governments in southwestern British Columbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobie, S. R.; Murdock, T. Q.

2016-12-01

Infrastructure vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning have created demand for detailed information about climate change and extreme events from local and regional governments. Individual communities often have distinct priorities regarding climate change impacts. While projections from climate models are available to investigate these impacts, they are not always applicable or easily interpreted by local agencies. We discuss a series of climate impacts assessments for several regional and local governments in southwestern British Columbia. Each of the assessments was conducted with input from the users on project definition from the start of the process and on interpretation of results throughout each project. To produce sufficient detail for the assessment regions, we produce high-resolution (800m) simulations of precipitation and temperature using downscaled climate model projections. Sets of derived climate parameters tailored to each region are calculated from both standard indices such as CLIMDEX and from an energy-balance snowpack model. Involving user groups from the beginning of the analysis helps to convey the meaning and confidence of each set of climate change parameters to users and also clarifies what projections are feasible or not for impact assessments. We discuss the different levels of involvement and collaboration with each organization, and the resulting decisions implemented following each of the projects.

Beyond HRV: attractor reconstruction using the entire cardiovascular waveform data for novel feature extraction.

PubMed

Aston, Philip J; Christie, Mark I; Huang, Ying H; Nandi, Manasi

2018-03-01

Advances in monitoring technology allow blood pressure waveforms to be collected at sampling frequencies of 250-1000 Hz for long time periods. However, much of the raw data are under-analysed. Heart rate variability (HRV) methods, in which beat-to-beat interval lengths are extracted and analysed, have been extensively studied. However, this approach discards the majority of the raw data. Our aim is to detect changes in the shape of the waveform in long streams of blood pressure data. Our approach involves extracting key features from large complex data sets by generating a reconstructed attractor in a three-dimensional phase space using delay coordinates from a window of the entire raw waveform data. The naturally occurring baseline variation is removed by projecting the attractor onto a plane from which new quantitative measures are obtained. The time window is moved through the data to give a collection of signals which relate to various aspects of the waveform shape. This approach enables visualisation and quantification of changes in the waveform shape and has been applied to blood pressure data collected from conscious unrestrained mice and to human blood pressure data. The interpretation of the attractor measures is aided by the analysis of simple artificial waveforms. We have developed and analysed a new method for analysing blood pressure data that uses all of the waveform data and hence can detect changes in the waveform shape that HRV methods cannot, which is confirmed with an example, and hence our method goes 'beyond HRV'.

Beyond HRV: attractor reconstruction using the entire cardiovascular waveform data for novel feature extraction

PubMed Central

Aston, Philip J; Christie, Mark I; Huang, Ying H; Nandi, Manasi

2018-01-01

Abstract Advances in monitoring technology allow blood pressure waveforms to be collected at sampling frequencies of 250–1000 Hz for long time periods. However, much of the raw data are under-analysed. Heart rate variability (HRV) methods, in which beat-to-beat interval lengths are extracted and analysed, have been extensively studied. However, this approach discards the majority of the raw data. Objective: Our aim is to detect changes in the shape of the waveform in long streams of blood pressure data. Approach: Our approach involves extracting key features from large complex data sets by generating a reconstructed attractor in a three-dimensional phase space using delay coordinates from a window of the entire raw waveform data. The naturally occurring baseline variation is removed by projecting the attractor onto a plane from which new quantitative measures are obtained. The time window is moved through the data to give a collection of signals which relate to various aspects of the waveform shape. Main results: This approach enables visualisation and quantification of changes in the waveform shape and has been applied to blood pressure data collected from conscious unrestrained mice and to human blood pressure data. The interpretation of the attractor measures is aided by the analysis of simple artificial waveforms. Significance: We have developed and analysed a new method for analysing blood pressure data that uses all of the waveform data and hence can detect changes in the waveform shape that HRV methods cannot, which is confirmed with an example, and hence our method goes ‘beyond HRV’. PMID:29350622

A naturalistic study of the directional interpretation process of discrete emotions during high-stakes table tennis matches.

PubMed

Martinent, Guillaume; Ferrand, Claude

2009-06-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the directional interpretation process of discrete emotions experienced by table tennis players during competitive matches by adopting a naturalistic qualitative video-assisted approach. Thirty self-confrontation interviews were conducted with 11 national table tennis players (2 or 3 matches per participants). Nine discrete emotions were identified through the inductive analyses of the participants' transcriptions: anger, anxiety, discouragement, disappointment, disgust, joy, serenity, relief, and hope. Inductive analyses revealed the emergence of 4 categories and 13 themes among the 9 discrete emotions: positive direction (increased concentration, increased motivation, increased confidence, positive sensations, and adaptive behaviors), negative direction (decreased concentration, decreased motivation, too confident, decreased confidence, negative sensations, and maladaptive behaviors), neutral direction (take more risk and take less risk), and no perceived influence on own performance. Results are discussed in terms of current research on directional interpretation and emotions in sport.

GeomarCD project; an educational CD-Rom about marine geophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz, J.; Rubio, E.; Gómez, M.; Gallart, J.

2009-04-01

This project aims to introduce the main aspects of marine geophysics experiments to the high school students. We have chosen to present the information in the form an interactive game in which, taking care of the scientific objectives and the technological and logistic resources, the player must found the best strategy to make one of the 3 research projects proposed. Along the game, the player is introduced to the main aspects of the plate tectonics theory and the crustal structure as well as to the main methodologies available (seismics, potencial fields, cores). Rather than being based in theoretical aspects, largely covered by other outreach projects, this work focuses in how a realistic problem can be solved through a field experiment. The game takes place in the researcher's desk and in an oceanographic vessel as the BIO Hesperides and includes the choice of the research project, the design and development of the field work and the interpretation of the results. At the end, the player must complete a questionnaire to elaborate the final report. The correct choice of the appropriate methodologies and its interpretation is necessary to succeed. CD copies in Spanish are freely available upon request.

30 CFR 580.1 - What definitions apply to this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory analyses of physical and chemical... the form of schematic cross sections, 3-dimensional representations, and maps, developed by.... Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of seismic cross sections, 3...

30 CFR 580.1 - What definitions apply to this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory analyses of physical and chemical... the form of schematic cross sections, 3-dimensional representations, and maps, developed by.... Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of seismic cross sections, 3...

30 CFR 580.1 - What definitions apply to this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory analyses of physical and chemical... the form of schematic cross sections, 3-dimensional representations, and maps, developed by.... Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of seismic cross sections, 3...

Obstacles to European research projects with data and tissue: solutions and further challenges.

PubMed

van Veen, Evert-Ben

2008-07-01

Most European biomedical research projects are about data. Research with tissue is about data as well; data will accompany the tissue, and data will be derived from analysing the tissue. Data can be merged with data from various sources, copied and re-analysed in the context of European projects. Privacy enhancing technologies (PET) should be used for transferring data from participating centres to the level where data are being merged. PET provide coding techniques which allow donors to be anonymous and still uniquely discernable. It is defended that under certain conditions two-way coded data can be considered as anonymous data in the sense of the European Data Protection Directive. Divergent interpretations of this Directive and most of all about the concept of coded-anonymous data is one of the main obstacles to observational research in Europe. The Data Protection Authorities will have to relax the extremely high threshold before data cannot be considered personal data anymore. Arguments are given for such relaxation. Besides the logic and logistics of data transfer in European projects, it is also about trust and a realistic risk assessment. In spite of the massive dataflow in European research projects no breach of confidentiality has ever been reported. The ethical rationale of such projects can be based on the principles of citizenship and solidarity provided that certain safeguards are met by which that research will remain observational. However, if the project does not preclude individual feed-back on the outcomes of research, as in theory would be possible with two-way coded tissue, that tissue cannot be considered anonymous. It is argued that in most tissuebanking projects individual feed-back should be excluded. Tissuebanking for research should not turn into medical screening without applying the established criteria for screening to it. If individual feed-back is not foreseen, two-way tissue should be considered anonymous, under the same conditions as two-way coded data. Good research governance is proposed as the way forward in the longer run. Good research governance is about a fair balance between the interests of all stakeholders. It should make the basic principles transparent on which observational research projects are based in line with European solidarity-based healthcare systems. It should encompass principles on how the general results of research will be disseminated, 'conflict of interests' policies, how the issues of intellectual property rights are dealt with, how the confidentiality of personal data of donors is maintained, etc. This should not become an extra bureaucratic layer. A good research governance framework should not establish rules but principles which provide enough flexibility for the specifics of a project, according to the 'comply or explain' principle. Such research governance should be developed bottom-up, by researchers together with the most interested stakeholders, patient organisations. Patients as 'biosocial citizens' are the natural allies of researchers against the 'paternalistic attitudes' of some ethicists and regulators.

Analysis of the patient-therapist relationship in dynamic psychotherapy: an experimental study of transference interpretations.

PubMed

Høglend, Per; Amlo, Svein; Marble, Alice; Bøgwald, Kjell-Petter; Sørbye, Oystein; Sjaastad, Mary Cosgrove; Heyerdahl, Oscar

2006-10-01

The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of transference interpretations (the assumed core active ingredient) in dynamic psychotherapy, using an experimental design. One hundred patients were randomly assigned to two groups. One group received dynamic psychotherapy over 1 year, with a moderate level of transference interpretations, while the other group received dynamic psychotherapy with no transference interpretations. The most common axis I disorders were depression and anxiety disorders. Forty-six patients fulfilled the general criteria for personality disorder. Seven experienced psychotherapists treated patients in both groups. Five full sessions from each treatment were rated by two evaluators with process measures in order to document treatment integrity. Outcome variables were the Psychodynamic Functioning Scales, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Scale-Circumplex version, Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, and Symptom Checklist-90-R. Quality of Object Relations Scale (lifelong pattern) and personality disorders were preselected as possible moderators of treatment effects. Change was assessed using linear-mixed models. Clinically significant change was also calculated. The authors could not demonstrate differential treatment effects between the groups. However, the moderator analyses showed that transference interpretations were more helpful for patients with a lifelong history of less mature object relations. Small negative effects were observed for patients with mature object relations. The authors could not show differences in average effectiveness between treatments. However, the moderator analyses indicated that treatment worked through different active ingredients for different patients. Contrary to common expectation, patients with poor object relations profited more from therapy with transference interpretations than from therapy with no transference interpretations.

Evaluating a CCD film digitizer: comparing interpretation accuracy with original film readings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gitlin, Joseph N.; Scott, William W., Jr.; Bell, Kathryn; Narayan, Anand

2002-04-01

The purpose of the study was to determine if there were differences between the interpretations of radiographic images resulting from digitizing films using a recently developed CCD unit, and the readings of the original films. The general hypothesis to be tested was that there were no significant differences in the measures of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and ROC analyses when the interpretations related to the two modes were compared. The authors selected 120 radiographic examinations for the study from departmental teaching files, which included chest, abdomen, extremity and other cases that were considered difficult to interpret. The authors also selected six specific abnormalities visualized on 60 of the cases as true positives to classify the reports. After anonymizing the patient identification, the films were digitized and independently interpreted by four board-certified radiologists. Each reader read all of the examinations, half on film alternators and the other half on a high-resolution soft-copy workstation. No reader interpreted the same examination more than once. As of this date, the preliminary results indicate that the hypothesis will be accepted, but more analyses of the data must be performed to confirm the early findings. The additional work will include complete verification of data entry and classification of interpretations, a detailed review of perceived image quality and completion of the ROC analysis by pairs of readers. If the results are confirmed, radiologists, other physicians and administrators will have another reliable option to conventional film practice through increased access to remote primary diagnosis and consultation using high-speed telecommunication media.

Dixie Valley Engineered Geothermal System Exploration Methodology Project, Baseline Conceptual Model Report

DOE Data Explorer

Iovenitti, Joe

2014-01-02

The Engineered Geothermal System (EGS) Exploration Methodology Project is developing an exploration approach for EGS through the integration of geoscientific data. The overall project area is 2500km2 with the Calibration Area (Dixie Valley Geothermal Wellfield) being about 170km2. The Final Scientific Report (FSR) is submitted in two parts (I and II). FSR part I presents (1) an assessment of the readily available public domain data and some proprietary data provided by terra-gen power, llc, (2) a re-interpretation of these data as required, (3) an exploratory geostatistical data analysis, (4) the baseline geothermal conceptual model, and (5) the EGS favorability/trust mapping. The conceptual model presented applies to both the hydrothermal system and EGS in the Dixie Valley region. FSR Part II presents (1) 278 new gravity stations; (2) enhanced gravity-magnetic modeling; (3) 42 new ambient seismic noise survey stations; (4) an integration of the new seismic noise data with a regional seismic network; (5) a new methodology and approach to interpret this data; (5) a novel method to predict rock type and temperature based on the newly interpreted data; (6) 70 new magnetotelluric (MT) stations; (7) an integrated interpretation of the enhanced MT data set; (8) the results of a 308 station soil CO2 gas survey; (9) new conductive thermal modeling in the project area; (10) new convective modeling in the Calibration Area; (11) pseudo-convective modeling in the Calibration Area; (12) enhanced data implications and qualitative geoscience correlations at three scales (a) Regional, (b) Project, and (c) Calibration Area; (13) quantitative geostatistical exploratory data analysis; and (14) responses to nine questions posed in the proposal for this investigation. Enhanced favorability/trust maps were not generated because there was not a sufficient amount of new, fully-vetted (see below) rock type, temperature, and stress data. The enhanced seismic data did generate a new method to infer rock type and temperature (However, in the opinion of the Principal Investigator for this project, this new methodology needs to be tested and evaluated at other sites in the Basin and Range before it is used to generate the referenced maps. As in the baseline conceptual model, the enhanced findings can be applied to both the hydrothermal system and EGS in the Dixie Valley region).

Using R-Project for Free Statistical Analysis in Extension Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mangiafico, Salvatore S.

2013-01-01

One option for Extension professionals wishing to use free statistical software is to use online calculators, which are useful for common, simple analyses. A second option is to use a free computing environment capable of performing statistical analyses, like R-project. R-project is free, cross-platform, powerful, and respected, but may be…

Instanton tunneling for de Sitter space with real projective spatial sections

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

Ong, Yen Chin; Yeom, Dong-han, E-mail: ongyenchin@sjtu.edu.cn, E-mail: innocent.yeom@gmail.com

The physics of tunneling from one spacetime to another is often understood in terms of instantons. For some instantons, it was recently shown in the literature that there are two complementary ''interpretations'' for their analytic continuations. Dubbed ''something-to-something'' and ''nothing-to-something'' interpretations, respectively, the former involves situation in which the initial and final hypersurfaces are connected by a Euclidean manifold, whereas the initial and final hypersurfaces in the latter case are not connected in such a way. We consider a de Sitter space with real projective space RP{sup 3} spatial sections, as was originally understood by de Sitter himself. This originalmore » version of de Sitter space has several advantages over the usual de Sitter space with S{sup 3} spatial sections. In particular, the interpretation of the de Sitter entropy as entanglement entropy is much more natural. We discuss the subtleties involved in the tunneling of such a de Sitter space.« less

"What If" Analyses: Ways to Interpret Statistical Significance Test Results Using EXCEL or "R"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozturk, Elif

2012-01-01

The present paper aims to review two motivations to conduct "what if" analyses using Excel and "R" to understand the statistical significance tests through the sample size context. "What if" analyses can be used to teach students what statistical significance tests really do and in applied research either prospectively to estimate what sample size…

Multimodal communication in animals, humans and robots: an introduction to perspectives in brain-inspired informatics.

PubMed

Wermter, S; Page, M; Knowles, M; Gallese, V; Pulvermüller, F; Taylor, J

2009-03-01

Recent years have seen convergence in research on brain mechanisms and neurocomputational approaches, culminating in the creation of a new generation of robots whose artificial "brains" respect neuroscience principles and whose "cognitive" systems venture into higher cognitive domains such as planning and action sequencing, complex object and concept processing, and language. The present article gives an overview of selected projects in this general multidisciplinary field. The work reviewed centres on research funded by the EU in the context of the New and Emergent Science and Technology, NEST, funding scheme highlighting the topic "What it means to be human". Examples of such projects include learning by imitation (Edici project), examining the origin of human rule-based reasoning (Far), studying the neural origins of language (Neurocom), exploring the evolutionary origins of the human mind (Pkb140404), researching into verbal and non-verbal communication (Refcom), using and interpreting signs (Sedsu), characterising human language by structural complexity (Chlasc), and representing abstract concepts (Abstract). Each of the communication-centred research projects revealed individual insights; however, there had been little overall analysis of results and hypotheses. In the Specific Support Action Nestcom, we proposed to analyse some NEST projects focusing on the central question "What it means to communicate" and to review, understand and integrate the results of previous communication-related research, in order to develop and communicate multimodal experimental hypotheses for investigation by future projects. The present special issue includes a range of papers on the interplay between neuroinformatics, brain science and robotics in the general area of higher cognitive functions and multimodal communication. These papers extend talks given at the NESTCOM workshops, at ICANN (http://www.his.sunderland.ac.uk/nestcom/workshop/icann.html) in Porto and at the first meeting of the Federation of the European Societies of Neuropsychology in Edinburgh in 2008 (http://www.his.sunderland.ac.uk/nestcom/workshop/esn.html). We hope that the collection will give a vivid insight into current trends in the field.

ERTS data user investigation to develop a multistage forest sampling inventory system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langley, P. G.; Vanroessel, J. W. (Principal Investigator); Wert, S. L.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. A system to provide precision annotation of predetermined forest inventory sampling units on the ERTS-1 MSS images was developed. In addition, an annotation system for high altitude U2 photographs was completed. MSS bulk image accuracy is good enough to allow the use of one square mile sampling units. IMANCO image analyzer interpretation work for small scale images demonstrated the need for much additional analyses. Continuing image interpretation work for the next reporting period is concentrated on manual image interpretation work as well as digital interpretation system development using the computer compatible tapes.

Yielding physically-interpretable emulators - A Sparse PCA approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galelli, S.; Alsahaf, A.; Giuliani, M.; Castelletti, A.

2015-12-01

Projection-based techniques, such as Principal Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), are a common approach to surrogate high-fidelity process-based models by lower order dynamic emulators. With POD, the dimensionality reduction is achieved by using observations, or 'snapshots' - generated with the high-fidelity model -, to project the entire set of input and state variables of this model onto a smaller set of basis functions that account for most of the variability in the data. While reduction efficiency and variance control of POD techniques are usually very high, the resulting emulators are structurally highly complex and can hardly be given a physically meaningful interpretation as each basis is a projection of the entire set of inputs and states. In this work, we propose a novel approach based on Sparse Principal Component Analysis (SPCA) that combines the several assets of POD methods with the potential for ex-post interpretation of the emulator structure. SPCA reduces the number of non-zero coefficients in the basis functions by identifying a sparse matrix of coefficients. While the resulting set of basis functions may retain less variance of the snapshots, the presence of a few non-zero coefficients assists in the interpretation of the underlying physical processes. The SPCA approach is tested on the reduction of a 1D hydro-ecological model (DYRESM-CAEDYM) used to describe the main ecological and hydrodynamic processes in Tono Dam, Japan. An experimental comparison against a standard POD approach shows that SPCA achieves the same accuracy in emulating a given output variable - for the same level of dimensionality reduction - while yielding better insights of the main process dynamics.

Computational biology for ageing

PubMed Central

Wieser, Daniela; Papatheodorou, Irene; Ziehm, Matthias; Thornton, Janet M.

2011-01-01

High-throughput genomic and proteomic technologies have generated a wealth of publicly available data on ageing. Easy access to these data, and their computational analysis, is of great importance in order to pinpoint the causes and effects of ageing. Here, we provide a description of the existing databases and computational tools on ageing that are available for researchers. We also describe the computational approaches to data interpretation in the field of ageing including gene expression, comparative and pathway analyses, and highlight the challenges for future developments. We review recent biological insights gained from applying bioinformatics methods to analyse and interpret ageing data in different organisms, tissues and conditions. PMID:21115530

Power in the Classroom VI: Verbal Control Strategies, Nonverbal Immediacy and Affective Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plax, Timothy G.; And Others

Recognizing that nonverbal behaviors typically provide the framework for interpreting verbal messages, this project (the sixth in a series of projects designed to examine teacher power in the classroom) proposed and sequentially tested a heuristic model of student affective learning as a function of behavior alteration techniques and teacher…

Office of Education, Region 7, Guidance and Counseling Project for Adult Basic Education. Phase 2 Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Univ., Austin. Extension Teaching and Field Service Bureau.

This report interprets information from the first phase of a Federally funded adult basic educational guidance and counseling project in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Findings and conclusions are presented as to the cultural, psychological, and other characteristics of students; problems encountered in designing guidance…

Primarily Plants, A Plant Study for K-3. Project AIMS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoover, Evalyn; Mercier, Sheryl

Project AIMS (Activities to Integrate Mathematics and Science) has as its purpose the integration of subject matter in grades K-9. Field testing of the curriculum materials produced by AIMS indicates that this interpretation produces the following beneficial results: (1) mathematics becomes more meaningful, hence more useful; (2) science is…

31 CFR 537.411 - Purchase of shares in economic development projects in Burma.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 31 Money and Finance:Treasury 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Purchase of shares in economic... SANCTIONS REGULATIONS Interpretations § 537.411 Purchase of shares in economic development projects in Burma... Burma of shares of ownership, including an equity interest, in the economic development of resources...

Accessibility benchmarks: interpretive programs and services in north central California

Treesearch

Laura J. McLachlin; Emilyn A. Sheffield; Donald A. Penland; Charles W. Nelson

1995-01-01

The Heritage Corridors Project was a unique partnership between the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the California State University, and the Across California Conservancy. The purpose of the project was to develop a map of selected northern California outdoor recreation and heritage sites. Data about facility accessibility improvements (restrooms, clear...

Project Based Learning in Multi-Grade Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciftci, Sabahattin; Baykan, Ayse Aysun

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate project based learning in multi-grade classes. This study, based on a student-centered learning approach, aims to analyze students' and parents' interpretations. The study was done in a primary village school belonging to the Centre of Batman, already adapting multi-grade classes in their education system,…

Annual Program. Library Services and Construction Act, 1988-1989.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Carolina State Library, Columbia.

This report presents the 1988-1989 annual Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) program for the South Carolina State Library. This program includes fiscal information and project descriptions for the following LSCA projects under Title I Library Services: (1) I-A, General Administration; (2) I-B, Library Interpretation; (3) II-A, General…

31 CFR 537.411 - Purchase of shares in economic development projects in Burma.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... SANCTIONS REGULATIONS Interpretations § 537.411 Purchase of shares in economic development projects in Burma... Burma of shares of ownership, including an equity interest, in the economic development of resources... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Purchase of shares in economic...

30 CFR 280.1 - What definitions apply to this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory analyses of physical and chemical..., or sulphur. Interpreted geological information means the knowledge, often in the form of schematic... information means knowledge, often in the form of seismic cross sections, 3-dimensional representations, and...

Statistical analysis and interpretation of prenatal diagnostic imaging studies, Part 2: descriptive and inferential statistical methods.

PubMed

Tuuli, Methodius G; Odibo, Anthony O

2011-08-01

The objective of this article is to discuss the rationale for common statistical tests used for the analysis and interpretation of prenatal diagnostic imaging studies. Examples from the literature are used to illustrate descriptive and inferential statistics. The uses and limitations of linear and logistic regression analyses are discussed in detail.

Application of photometric analyses for interpretation of Mars-Mariner VI and VII imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kinzly, R. E.

1977-01-01

The application of radiometric analysis in the interpretation of Mariner 6 and 7 imagery is investigated and illustrated. The following types of problems were felt could be addressed using this imagery: (1) evaluation of local reflectivity changes; (2) augmentation of geological mapping; (3) discrimination of atmospheric phenomena; and (4) investigation of polar cap structure.

Observations from Secondary School Classrooms in Trinidad and Tobago: Science Teachers' Use of Analogies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maharaj-Sharma, R.; Sharma, A.

2015-01-01

This study was undertaken to examine and interpret how science teachers in Trinidad and Tobago used analogies in their science teaching. A total of 30 lessons taught by five different teachers were observed and analysed using an interpretative research methodology to develop generalized observations. The findings revealed that in general science…

Introductory Geophysics at Colorado College: A Research-Driven Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bank, C.

2003-12-01

Doing research during an undergraduate course provides stimulus for students and instructor. Students learn to appreciate the scientific method and get hands-on experience, while the instructor remains thrilled about teaching her/his discipline. The introductory geophysics course taught at Colorado College is made up of four units (gravity, seismic, resistivity, and magnetic) using available geophysical equipment. Within each unit students learn the physical background of the method, and then tackle a small research project selected by the instructor. Students pose a research question (or formulate a hypothesis), collect near-surface data in the field, process it using personal computers, and analyse it by creating computer models and running simple inversions. Computer work is done using the programming language Matlab, with several pre-coded scripts to make the programming experience more comfortable. Students then interpret the data and answer the question posed at the beginning. The unit ends with students writing a summary report, creating a poster, or presenting their findings orally. First evaluations of the course show that students appreciate the emphasis on field work and applications to real problems, as well as developing and testing their own hypotheses. The main challenge for the instructor is to find feasible projects, given the time constraints of a course and availability of field sites with new questions to answer. My presentation will feature a few projects done by students during the course and will discuss the experience students and I have had with this approach.

Using a detailed uncertainty analysis to adjust mapped rates of forest disturbance derived from Landsat time series data (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, W. B.; Yang, Z.; Stehman, S.; Huang, C.; Healey, S. P.

2013-12-01

Forest ecosystem process models require spatially and temporally detailed disturbance data to accurately predict fluxes of carbon or changes in biodiversity over time. A variety of new mapping algorithms using dense Landsat time series show great promise for providing disturbance characterizations at an annual time step. These algorithms provide unprecedented detail with respect to timing, magnitude, and duration of individual disturbance events, and causal agent. But all maps have error and disturbance maps in particular can have significant omission error because many disturbances are relatively subtle. Because disturbance, although ubiquitous, can be a relatively rare event spatially in any given year, omission errors can have a great impact on mapped rates. Using a high quality reference disturbance dataset, it is possible to not only characterize map errors but also to adjust mapped disturbance rates to provide unbiased rate estimates with confidence intervals. We present results from a national-level disturbance mapping project (the North American Forest Dynamics project) based on the Vegetation Change Tracker (VCT) with annual Landsat time series and uncertainty analyses that consist of three basic components: response design, statistical design, and analyses. The response design describes the reference data collection, in terms of the tool used (TimeSync), a formal description of interpretations, and the approach for data collection. The statistical design defines the selection of plot samples to be interpreted, whether stratification is used, and the sample size. Analyses involve derivation of standard agreement matrices between the map and the reference data, and use of inclusion probabilities and post-stratification to adjust mapped disturbance rates. Because for NAFD we use annual time series, both mapped and adjusted rates are provided at an annual time step from ~1985-present. Preliminary evaluations indicate that VCT captures most of the higher intensity disturbances, but that many of the lower intensity disturbances (thinnings, stress related to insects and disease, etc.) are missed. Because lower intensity disturbances are a large proportion of the total set of disturbances, adjusting mapped disturbance rates to include these can be important for inclusion in ecosystem process models. The described statistical disturbance rate adjustments are aspatial in nature, such that the basic underlying map is unchanged. For spatially explicit ecosystem modeling, such adjustments, although important, can be difficult to directly incorporate. One approach for improving the basic underlying map is an ensemble modeling approach that uses several different complementary maps, each derived from a different algorithm and having their own strengths and weaknesses relative to disturbance magnitude and causal agent of disturbance. We will present results from a pilot study associated with the Landscape Change Monitoring System (LCMS), an emerging national-level program that builds upon NAFD and the well-established Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) program.

Crater-based dating of geological units on Mars: methods and application for the new global geological map

USGS Publications Warehouse

Platz, Thomas; Michael, Gregory; Tanaka, Kenneth L.; Skinner, James A.; Fortezzo, Corey M.

2013-01-01

The new, post-Viking generation of Mars orbital imaging and topographical data provide significant higher-resolution details of surface morphologies, which induced a new effort to photo-geologically map the surface of Mars at 1:20,000,000 scale. Although from unit superposition relations a relative stratigraphical framework can be compiled, it was the ambition of this mapping project to provide absolute unit age constraints through crater statistics. In this study, the crater counting method is described in detail, starting with the selection of image data, type locations (both from the mapper’s and crater counter’s perspectives) and the identification of impact craters. We describe the criteria used to validate and analyse measured crater populations, and to derive and interpret crater model ages. We provide examples of how geological information about the unit’s resurfacing history can be retrieved from crater size–frequency distributions. Three cases illustrate short-, intermediate, and long-term resurfacing histories. In addition, we introduce an interpretation-independent visualisation of the crater resurfacing history that uses the reduction of the crater population in a given size range relative to the expected population given the observed crater density at larger sizes. From a set of potential type locations, 48 areas from 22 globally mapped units were deemed suitable for crater counting. Because resurfacing ages were derived from crater statistics, these secondary ages were used to define the unit age rather than the base age. Using the methods described herein, we modelled ages that are consistent with the interpreted stratigraphy. Our derived model ages allow age assignments to be included in unit names. We discuss the limitations of using the crater dating technique for global-scale geological mapping. Finally, we present recommendations for the documentation and presentation of crater statistics in publications.

Land-Cover Change in the Central Irregular Plains, 1973-2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Karstensen, Krista A.

2009-01-01

Spearheaded by the Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Land Cover Trends is a research project focused on understanding the rates, trends, causes, and consequences of contemporary United States land-use and land-cover change. Using the EPA Level III ecoregions as the geographic framework, scientists process geospatial data collected between 1973 and 2000 to characterize ecosystem responses to land-use changes. The 27-year study period was divided into five temporal periods: 1973-1980, 1980-1986, 1986-1992, 1992-2000 and 1973-2000. General land-cover classes for these periods were interpreted from Landsat Multispectral Scanner, Thematic Mapper, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus imagery to categorize land-cover change and evaluate using a modified Anderson Land Use Land Cover Classification System for image interpretation. The rates of land-cover change are estimated using a stratified, random sampling of 10-kilometer (km) by 10-km blocks allocated within each ecoregion. For each sample block, satellite images are used to interpret land-cover change. Additionally, historical aerial photographs from similar timeframes and other ancillary data such as census statistics and published literature are used. The sample block data are then incorporated into statistical analyses to generate an overall change matrix for the ecoregion. These change statistics are applicable for different levels of scale, including total change for the individual sample blocks and change estimates for the entire ecoregion. The results illustrate that there is no single profile of land-cover change but instead point to geographic variability that results from land uses within ecoregions continuously adapting to various factors including environmental, technological, and socioeconomic.

A matter of interpretation: developing primary pupils' enquiry skills using position-linked datalogging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Daniel John; Collier, Christopher; Howe, Alan

2012-11-01

Background: This article reports on an evaluation study of a project seeking to develop the use of position-linked datalogging with primary pupils in environmental science contexts. Purpose: The study sought to find out the extent to which the project had developed: (1) participant teachers' confidence in using datalogging as an everyday part of their science teaching; (2) pupils' abilities to collect and interpret relevant environmental monitoring data; and (3) the use of scientific data within environmental education in the project schools. Programme description: The project used software which integrates data from Global Positioning System (GPS) with sensor data collected outdoors to produce Google Earth visualisations of environmental quality in each school's locality. Sample: Phase 1 involved 10 primary schools in the South West of England (2008-9), and phase 2 was implemented in six primary schools in Greater London during 2010. All pupils in the 9-10-year-old age range participated to some extent (N ≈ 450) and each school identified a focus group of between two and four pupils (n = 38) together with two members of staff (n = 32) to be more closely involved in the project. Design and methods: The evaluation adopted a multi-method approach, drawing upon documentary sources (n = 40); observations of continuing professional development (CPD) cluster days (n = 8) and dissemination events (June 2009 and January 2011): baseline pupil assessment tasks (n = 291) and teachers' baseline questionnaire (n = 25) in September 2008 and March 2010; classroom observations; samples of pupil work (n = 31); end-of-project pupil assessment (n = 38) and teachers' and pupils' responses to the project (n ≈ 180) in June 2009 and December 2010; and a longitudinal evaluation in February 2012. Results: Datalogging had become a regular feature of practical science in nearly all project schools up to 30 months after the end of the project, but the use of position-linked logging had not been sustained. While there is evidence of pupils developing a range of scientific enquiry skills through the project, the extent to which their interpretation of data improved is unclear. All participating schools made greater use of scientific data than before the project to develop their environmental education. Conclusions: The project has demonstrated the potential of combining datalogging with GPS technology to support challenging, motivating and relevant scientific enquiry. Primary teachers require targeted technical and pedagogical support to maximise learning benefits for pupils.

Systems engineering real estate development projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gusakova, Elena; Titarenko, Boris; Stepanov, Vitaliy

2017-10-01

In recent years, real estate development has accumulated a wealth of experience in implementing major projects, which requires comprehension and systematization. The scientific instrument of system engineering is studied in the article and is substantively interpreted with reference to real estate development projects. The most perspective approaches and models are substantiated, allowing strategically to plan the life cycle of the project as a whole, and also to solve the engineering butt problems of the project. The relevance of further scientific studies of regularities and specifics of the life cycle of real estate development projects conducted at the Moscow State University of Economics and Management at the ISTA department is shown.

Project on Teaching Charts and Graphs to ABE Students. Part I: Teacher's Guide [and] Part II: Transparency Assembly Package.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renton Vocational Inst., WA.

The teacher's guide and collection of transparency masters are designed for use in teaching adult basic education (ABE) students how to read and interpret graphs and charts. Covered in the individual lessons of the instructional unit are the reading and interpretation of charts as well as picture, line, bar, and circle graphs. Each unit contains a…

The Mathematics of the Brain

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-27

should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Defence Advanced Research Project Agency or the... neurobiological interpretation of E-states? 36 8.5 The statistical molecular dynamics of E-states 37 8.6 The C++ program EPMM 40 9 Promising...have an intuitive link between E-machines and neural networks. Such a link provides a source of neurobiological heuristic considerations for the design

Repeatability in photo-interpretation of tree canopy cover and its effect on predictive mapping

Treesearch

Thomas A. Jackson; Gretchen G. Moisen; Paul L. Patterson; John Tipton

2012-01-01

In this study, we explore repeatability in photo-interpreted imagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program that was sampled as part of the National Land Cover Database 2011 Tree Canopy Cover pilot project. Data were collected in 5 diverse pilot areas in the US, including one each in Oregon, Utah, Kansas, Michigan and Georgia. Repeatability metrics. The intra-...

Kootenai River Floodplain Ecosystem Operational Loss Assessment, Protection, Mitigation and Rehabilitation, 2007-2008 Annual Report.

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

Merz, Norm

2009-02-18

The overarching goals of the 'Kootenai River Floodplain Ecosystem Operational Loss Assessment, Protection, Mitigation and Rehabilitation' Project (BPA Project No.2002-011-00) are to: (1) assess abiotic and biotic factors (i.e., geomorphologic, hydrological, aquatic and riparian/floodplain communities) in determining a definitive composition of ecological integrity, (2) develop strategies to assess and mitigate losses of ecosystem functions, and (3) produce a regional operational loss assessment framework. To produce a scientifically defensible, repeatable, and complete assessment tool, KTOI assembled a team of top scientists in the fields of hydrology, hydraulics, ornithology, entomology, statistics, and river ecology, among other expertise. This advisory team is knownmore » as the Research Design and Review Team (RDRT). The RDRT scientists drive the review, selection, and adaptive management of the research designs to evaluate the ecologic functions lost due to the operation of federal hydropower facilities. The unique nature of this project (scientific team, newest/best science, adaptive management, assessment of ecological functions, etc.) has been to work in a dynamic RDRT process. In addition to being multidisciplinary, this model KTOI project provides a stark contrast to the sometimes inflexible process (review, re-review, budgets, etc.) of the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The project RDRT is assembled annually, with subgroups meeting as needed throughout the year to address project issues, analyses, review, and interpretation. Activities of RDRT coordinated and directed the selection of research and assessment methodologies appropriate for the Kootenai River Watershed and potential for regional application in the Columbia River Basin. The entire RDRT continues to meet annually to update and discuss project progress. RDRT Subcontractors work in smaller groups throughout the year to meet project objectives. Determining the extent to which ecological systems are experiencing anthropogenic disturbance and change in structure and function is critical for long term conservation of biotic diversity in the face of changing landscapes and land use. KTOI and the RDRT propose a concept based on incorporating hydrologic, aquatic, and terrestrial components into an operations-based assessment framework to assess ecological losses as shown in Figure E-1.« less

Hamster Math: Authentic Experiences in Data Collection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Beth

1996-01-01

Describes the data collection and interpretation project of primary grade students involving predicting, graphing, estimating, measuring, number problem construction, problem solving, and probability. (MKR)

Integrated Synthesis of the Permian Basin: Data and Models for Recovering Existing and Undiscovered Oil Resources from the Largest Oil-Bearing Basin in the U.S.

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

John Jackson; Katherine Jackson

2008-09-30

Large volumes of oil and gas remain in the mature basins of North America. This is nowhere more true than in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. A critical barrier to recovery of this vast remaining resource, however, is information. Access to accurate geological data and analyses of the controls of hydrocarbon distribution is the key to the knowledge base as well as the incentives needed by oil and gas companies. The goals of this project were to collect, analyze, synthesize, and deliver to industry and the public fundamental information and data on the geology of oil andmore » gas systems in the Permian Basin. This was accomplished in two ways. First we gathered all available data, organized it, and placed it on the web for ready access. Data include core analysis data, lists of pertinent published reports, lists of available cores, type logs, and selected PowerPoint presentations. We also created interpretive data such as type logs, geological cross sections, and geological maps and placed them in a geospatially-registered framework in ARC/GIS. Second, we created new written syntheses of selected reservoir plays in the Permian basin. Although only 8 plays were targeted for detailed analysis in the project proposal to DOE, 14 were completed. These include Ellenburger, Simpson, Montoya, Fusselman, Wristen, Thirtyone, Mississippian, Morrow, Atoka, Strawn, Canyon/Cisco, Wolfcamp, Artesia Group, and Delaware Mountain Group. These fully illustrated reports include critical summaries of published literature integrated with new unpublished research conducted during the project. As such these reports provide the most up-to-date analysis of the geological controls on reservoir development available. All reports are available for download on the project website and are also included in this final report. As stated in our proposal, technology transfer is perhaps the most important component of the project. In addition to providing direct access to data and reports through the web, we published 29 papers dealing with aspects of Permian Basin and Fort Worth Basin Paleozoic geology, and gave 35 oral and poster presentations at professional society meetings, and 116 oral and poster presentations at 10 project workshops, field trips, and short courses. These events were attended by hundreds of scientists and engineers representing dozens of oil and gas companies. This project and the data and interpretations that have resulted from it will serve industry, academic, and public needs for decades to come. It will be especially valuable to oil and gas companies in helping to better identify opportunities for development and exploration and reducing risk. The website will be continually added to and updated as additional data and information become available making it a long term source of key information for all interested in better understanding the Permian Basin.« less

Twenty-five years of change in southern African passerine diversity: nonclimatic factors of change.

PubMed

Péron, Guillaume; Altwegg, Res

2015-09-01

We analysed more than 25 years of change in passerine bird distribution in South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho, to show that species distributions can be influenced by processes that are at least in part independent of the local strength and direction of climate change: land use and ecological succession. We used occupancy models that separate species' detection from species' occupancy probability, fitted to citizen science data from both phases of the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (1987-1996 and 2007-2013). Temporal trends in species' occupancy probability were interpreted in terms of local extinction/colonization, and temporal trends in detection probability were interpreted in terms of change in abundance. We found for the first time at this scale that, as predicted in the context of bush encroachment, closed-savannah specialists increased where open-savannah specialists decreased. In addition, the trend in the abundance of species a priori thought to be favoured by agricultural conversion was negatively correlated with human population density, which is in line with hypotheses explaining the decline in farmland birds in the Northern Hemisphere. In addition to climate, vegetation cover and the intensity and time since agricultural conversion constitute important predictors of biodiversity changes in the region. Their inclusion will improve the reliability of predictive models of species distribution. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Treating the emotional and motivational inhibition of highly gifted underachievers with music psychotherapy: Meta-analysis of an evaluation study based on a sequential design.

PubMed

Schiltz, L

The psychological and neuropsychological characteristics of gifted children and adolescents are analysed, as well as the emotional and behavioural risks linked to this condition. A prospective follow-up study of N=93 highly gifted students suffering from school failure at the beginning of adolescence was implemented. They were treated with an integrated form of music psychotherapy and verbal psychotherapy in 5 separate groups. The methodology of treatment combined active musical improvisation with the writing of stories or the production of drawings under musical induction, followed by verbal elaboration in the cognitive-psychodynamic psychotherapeutic tradition. The evaluation was based on a mixed-methods design, combining psychometric scales, projective tests and expressive tests. Comparative pretest-posttest, correlational and multidimensional analyses were computed, using non-parametric statistical procedures adapted to small samples and data belonging to a mixed level of measurement. We present a meta-analysis of the confirmatory results in 5 subgroups. There was a significant increase in the capacity of concentration, the capacity of imaginary and symbolic elaboration, the pictorial and literary creativity, self-esteem, the quality of coping strategies, as well as in school marks. There was a significant decrease in defensive functioning and in embitterment and resignation. The latent dimensions extracted with Optimal Scaling procedures from the correlational matrixes of the Delta values of TAT and TSD-Z were meaningful at the light of the state-of-the-arts. The results of the study confirm a prior theoretical modelization coming out of the preparatory stage of the research project. They are interpreted at the light of recent findings in developmental and clinical psychology of adolescence and they open many tracks for future research.

Breast MRI radiomics: comparison of computer- and human-extracted imaging phenotypes.

PubMed

Sutton, Elizabeth J; Huang, Erich P; Drukker, Karen; Burnside, Elizabeth S; Li, Hui; Net, Jose M; Rao, Arvind; Whitman, Gary J; Zuley, Margarita; Ganott, Marie; Bonaccio, Ermelinda; Giger, Maryellen L; Morris, Elizabeth A

2017-01-01

In this study, we sought to investigate if computer-extracted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) phenotypes of breast cancer could replicate human-extracted size and Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) imaging phenotypes using MRI data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project of the National Cancer Institute. Our retrospective interpretation study involved analysis of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant breast MRI data from The Cancer Imaging Archive, an open-source database from the TCGA project. This study was exempt from institutional review board approval at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the need for informed consent was waived. Ninety-one pre-operative breast MRIs with verified invasive breast cancers were analysed. Three fellowship-trained breast radiologists evaluated the index cancer in each case according to size and the BI-RADS lexicon for shape, margin, and enhancement (human-extracted image phenotypes [HEIP]). Human inter-observer agreement was analysed by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for size and Krippendorff's α for other measurements. Quantitative MRI radiomics of computerised three-dimensional segmentations of each cancer generated computer-extracted image phenotypes (CEIP). Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were used to compare HEIP and CEIP. Inter-observer agreement for HEIP varied, with the highest agreement seen for size (ICC 0.679) and shape (ICC 0.527). The computer-extracted maximum linear size replicated the human measurement with p  < 10 -12 . CEIP of shape, specifically sphericity and irregularity, replicated HEIP with both p values < 0.001. CEIP did not demonstrate agreement with HEIP of tumour margin or internal enhancement. Quantitative radiomics of breast cancer may replicate human-extracted tumour size and BI-RADS imaging phenotypes, thus enabling precision medicine.

The Personal Genome Project Canada: findings from whole genome sequences of the inaugural 56 participants.

PubMed

Reuter, Miriam S; Walker, Susan; Thiruvahindrapuram, Bhooma; Whitney, Joe; Cohn, Iris; Sondheimer, Neal; Yuen, Ryan K C; Trost, Brett; Paton, Tara A; Pereira, Sergio L; Herbrick, Jo-Anne; Wintle, Richard F; Merico, Daniele; Howe, Jennifer; MacDonald, Jeffrey R; Lu, Chao; Nalpathamkalam, Thomas; Sung, Wilson W L; Wang, Zhuozhi; Patel, Rohan V; Pellecchia, Giovanna; Wei, John; Strug, Lisa J; Bell, Sherilyn; Kellam, Barbara; Mahtani, Melanie M; Bassett, Anne S; Bombard, Yvonne; Weksberg, Rosanna; Shuman, Cheryl; Cohn, Ronald D; Stavropoulos, Dimitri J; Bowdin, Sarah; Hildebrandt, Matthew R; Wei, Wei; Romm, Asli; Pasceri, Peter; Ellis, James; Ray, Peter; Meyn, M Stephen; Monfared, Nasim; Hosseini, S Mohsen; Joseph-George, Ann M; Keeley, Fred W; Cook, Ryan A; Fiume, Marc; Lee, Hin C; Marshall, Christian R; Davies, Jill; Hazell, Allison; Buchanan, Janet A; Szego, Michael J; Scherer, Stephen W

2018-02-05

The Personal Genome Project Canada is a comprehensive public data resource that integrates whole genome sequencing data and health information. We describe genomic variation identified in the initial recruitment cohort of 56 volunteers. Volunteers were screened for eligibility and provided informed consent for open data sharing. Using blood DNA, we performed whole genome sequencing and identified all possible classes of DNA variants. A genetic counsellor explained the implication of the results to each participant. Whole genome sequencing of the first 56 participants identified 207 662 805 sequence variants and 27 494 copy number variations. We analyzed a prioritized disease-associated data set ( n = 1606 variants) according to standardized guidelines, and interpreted 19 variants in 14 participants (25%) as having obvious health implications. Six of these variants (e.g., in BRCA1 or mosaic loss of an X chromosome) were pathogenic or likely pathogenic. Seven were risk factors for cancer, cardiovascular or neurobehavioural conditions. Four other variants - associated with cancer, cardiac or neurodegenerative phenotypes - remained of uncertain significance because of discrepancies among databases. We also identified a large structural chromosome aberration and a likely pathogenic mitochondrial variant. There were 172 recessive disease alleles (e.g., 5 individuals carried mutations for cystic fibrosis). Pharmacogenomics analyses revealed another 3.9 potentially relevant genotypes per individual. Our analyses identified a spectrum of genetic variants with potential health impact in 25% of participants. When also considering recessive alleles and variants with potential pharmacologic relevance, all 56 participants had medically relevant findings. Although access is mostly limited to research, whole genome sequencing can provide specific and novel information with the potential of major impact for health care. © 2018 Joule Inc. or its licensors.

The Beringian coevolution project: Holistic collections of mammals and associated parasites reveal novel perspectives on evolutionary and environmental change in the North

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cook, Joseph A.; Galbreath, Kurt E.; Campbell, Mariel; Carrière, Susanne; Colella, Jocelyn P.; Dawson, Natalie G.; Dunnum, Jonathan L.; Eckerlin, Ralph P.; Greiman, Stephen E.; Fedorov, Vadim B.; Haas, Genevieve M. S.; Haukisalmi, Voitto; Henttonen, Heikki; Hope, Andrew G.; Jackson, Donavan; Jung, Tom; Koehler, Anson V.; Kinsella, John M.; Krejsa, Dianna; Kutz, Susan J.; Liphardt, Schuyler; MacDonald, Stephen O.; Malaney, Jason L.; Makarikov, Arseny; Martin, Jon; McLean, Bryan S.; Mulders, Robert; Nyamsuren, Batsaikhan; Talbot, Sandra L.; Tkach, Vasyl V.; Tsvetkova, Albina; Toman, Heather M.; Waltari, Eric C.; Whitman, Jackson S.; Hoberg, Eric P.

2017-01-01

The Beringian Coevolution Project (BCP), a field program underway in the high northern latitudes since 1999, has focused on building key scientific infrastructure for integrated specimen-based studies on mammals and their associated parasites. BCP has contributed new insights across temporal and spatial scales into how ancient climate and environmental change have shaped faunas, emphasizing processes of assembly, persistence, and diversification across the vast Beringian region. BCP collections also represent baseline records of biotic diversity from across the northern high latitudes at a time of accelerated environmental change. These specimens and associated data form an unmatched resource for identifying hidden diversity, interpreting past responses to climate oscillations, documenting contemporary conditions, and anticipating outcomes for complex biological systems in a regime of ecological perturbation. Because of its dual focus on hosts and parasites, the BCP record also provides a foundation for comparative analyses that can document the effects of dynamic change on the geographic distribution, transmission dynamics, and emergence of pathogens. By using specific examples from carnivores, shrews, lagomorphs, rodents and their associated parasites, we demonstrate how broad, integrated field collections provide permanent infrastructure that informs policy decisions regarding human impact and the effect of climate change on natural populations.

Chirp subbottom profile data collected in 2015 from the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Forde, Arnell S.; DeWitt, Nancy T.; Fredericks, Jake J.; Miselis, Jennifer L.

2018-01-30

As part of the Barrier Island Evolution Research project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a nearshore geophysical survey around the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in September 2015. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island geomorphic evolution, particularly storm-related depositional and erosional processes that shape the islands over annual to interannual time scales (1–5 years). Collecting geophysical data can help researchers identify relations between the geologic history of the islands and their present day morphology and sediment distribution. High-resolution geophysical data collected along this rapidly changing barrier island system can provide a unique time-series dataset to further the analyses and geomorphological interpretations of this and other coastal systems, improving our understanding of coastal response and evolution over medium-term time scales (months to years). Subbottom profile data were collected in September 2015 offshore of the northern Chandeleur Islands, during USGS Field Activity Number 2015-331-FA. Data products, including raw digital chirp subbottom data, processed subbottom profile images, survey trackline map, navigation files, geographic information system data files and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata, and Field Activity Collection System and operation logs are available for download.

Social amplification of risk in the Internet environment.

PubMed

Chung, Ik Jae

2011-12-01

This article analyzes the dynamic process of risk amplification in the Internet environment with special emphasis on public concern for environmental risks from a high-speed railway tunnel construction project in South Korea. Environmental organizations and activists serving as social stations collected information about the project and its ecological impact, and communicated this with the general public, social groups, and institutions. The Internet provides social stations and the public with an efficient means for interactive communication and an open space for active information sharing and public participation. For example, while the website of an organization such as an environmental activist group can initially trigger local interest, the Internet allows this information to be disseminated to a much wider audience in a manner unavailable to the traditional media. Interaction among social stations demonstrates an amplifying process of public attention to the risk. Analyses of the volume of readers' comments to online newspaper articles and public opinions posted on message board of public and nonprofit organizations show the ripple effects of the amplification process as measured along temporal, geographical, and sectoral dimensions. Public attention is also influenced by the symbolic connotations of risk information. Interpretations of risk in religious, political, or legal terms intensify public concern for the environmental risk. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

Assessing Climate Vulnerability and Resilience of a Major Water Resource System - Inverting the Paradigm for Specific Risk Quantification at Decision Making Points of Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, K. W.; Ellis, A. W.; Skindlov, J. A.

2015-12-01

Water resource systems have provided vital support to transformative growth in the Southwest United States and the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area where the Salt River Project (SRP) currently satisfies 40% of the area's water demand from reservoir storage and groundwater. Large natural variability and expectations of climate changes have sensitized water management to risks posed by future periods of excess and drought. The conventional approach to impacts assessment has been downscaled climate model simulations translated through hydrologic models; but, scenario ranges enlarge as uncertainties propagate through sequential levels of modeling complexity. The research often does not reach the stage of specific impact assessments, rendering future projections frustratingly uncertain and unsuitable for complex decision-making. Alternatively, this study inverts the common approach by beginning with the threatened water system and proceeding backwards to the uncertain climate future. The methodology is built upon reservoir system response modeling to exhaustive time series of climate-driven net basin supply. A reservoir operations model, developed with SRP guidance, assesses cumulative response to inflow variability and change. Complete statistical analyses of long-term historical watershed climate and runoff data are employed for 10,000-year stochastic simulations, rendering the entire range of multi-year extremes with full probabilistic characterization. Sets of climate change projections are then translated by temperature sensitivity and precipitation elasticity into future inflow distributions that are comparatively assessed with the reservoir operations model. This approach provides specific risk assessments in pragmatic terms familiar to decision makers, interpretable within the context of long-range planning and revealing a clearer meaning of climate change projections for the region. As a transferable example achieving actionable findings, the approach can guide other communities confronting water resource planning challenges.

Design of an UML conceptual model and implementation of a GIS with metadata information for a seismic hazard assessment cooperative project.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres, Y.; Escalante, M. P.

2009-04-01

This work illustrates the advantages of using a Geographic Information System in a cooperative project with researchers of different countries, such as the RESIS II project (financed by the Norwegian Government and managed by CEPREDENAC) for seismic hazard assessment of Central America. As input data present different formats, cover distinct geographical areas and are subjected to different interpretations, data inconsistencies may appear and their management get complicated. To achieve data homogenization and to integrate them in a GIS, it is required previously to develop a conceptual model. This is accomplished in two phases: requirements analysis and conceptualization. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is used to compose the conceptual model of the GIS. UML complies with ISO 19100 norms and allows the designer defining model architecture and interoperability. The GIS provides a frame for the combination of large geographic-based data volumes, with an uniform geographic reference and avoiding duplications. All this information contains its own metadata following ISO 19115 normative. In this work, the integration in the same environment of active faults and subduction slabs geometries, combined with the epicentres location, has facilitated the definition of seismogenetic regions. This is a great support for national specialists of different countries to make easier their teamwork. The GIS capacity for making queries (by location and by attributes) and geostatistical analyses is used to interpolate discrete data resulting from seismic hazard calculations and to create continuous maps as well as to check and validate partial results of the study. GIS-based products, such as complete, homogenised databases and thematic cartography of the region, are distributed to all researchers, facilitating cross-national communication, the project execution and results dissemination.

Vertical or horizontal orientation of foot radiographs does not affect image interpretation

PubMed Central

Ferran, Nicholas Antonio; Ball, Luke; Maffulli, Nicola

2012-01-01

Summary This study determined whether the orientation of dorsoplantar and oblique foot radiographs has an effect on radiograph interpretation. A test set of 50 consecutive foot radiographs were selected (25 with fractures, and 25 normal), and duplicated in the horizontal orientation. The images were randomly arranged, numbered 1 through 100, and analysed by six image interpreters. Vertical and horizontal area under the ROC curve, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each image interpreter. There was no significant difference in the area under the ROC curve, accuracy, sensitivity or specificity of image interpretation between images viewed in the vertical or horizontal orientation. While conventions for display of radiographs may help to improve the development of an efficient visual search strategy in trainees, and allow for standardisation of publication of radiographic images, variation from the convention in clinical practice does not appear to affect the sensitivity or specificity of image interpretation. PMID:23738310

Don't panic: interpretation bias is predictive of new onsets of panic disorder.

PubMed

Woud, Marcella L; Zhang, Xiao Chi; Becker, Eni S; McNally, Richard J; Margraf, Jürgen

2014-01-01

Psychological models of panic disorder postulate that interpretation of ambiguous material as threatening is an important maintaining factor for the disorder. However, demonstrations of whether such a bias predicts onset of panic disorder are missing. In the present study, we used data from the Dresden Prediction Study, in which a epidemiologic sample of young German women was tested at two time points approximately 17 months apart, allowing the study of biased interpretation as a potential risk factor. At time point one, participants completed an Interpretation Questionnaire including two types of ambiguous scenarios: panic-related and general threat-related. Analyses revealed that a panic-related interpretation bias predicted onset of panic disorder, even after controlling for two established risk factors: anxiety sensitivity and fear of bodily sensations. This is the first prospective study demonstrating the incremental validity of interpretation bias as a predictor of panic disorder onset. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A study on integrating surveys of terrestrial natural resources: The Oregon Demonstration Project

Treesearch

J. Jeffery Goebel; Hans T. Schreuder; Carol C. House; Paul H. Geissler; Anthony R. Olsen; William Williams

1998-01-01

An interagency project demonstrated the feasibility of integrating Federal surveys of terrestrial natural resources and offers a vision for that integration. At locations selected from forest inventory and analysis, National forest system Region 6, and national resources inventory surveys in a six-county area in Northern Oregon, experienced teams interpreted and made...

ARC-2010-ACD10-0243-001

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-12-22

Wireless crop water monitoring project: Dr. Chris Lund, a scientist at the California State University Monterey Bay who is working on the NASA project at NASA Ames installs soil mositure probes in an agricultural field. The soil mositure measurements will be used to assist in interpretation of the satelite estimates of crop water deamand. Image of courtesy of Forrest S. Melton

Social Networking in an Intensive English Program Classroom: A Language Socialization Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinhardt, Jonathon; Zander, Victoria

2011-01-01

This ongoing project seeks to investigate the impact, inside and outside of class, of instruction focused on developing learner awareness of social-networking site (SNS) use in an American Intensive English Program (IEP). With language socialization as an interpretative framework (Duff, in press; Ochs, 1988; Watson-Gegeo, 2004), the project uses a…

Do Students Really Notice? A Study of the Impact of a Local Systemic Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shymansky, James A.; Yore, Larry D.; Dunkhase, John A.; Hand, Brian M.

This paper describes a major reform effort of an elementary science curriculum called the Science: Parents, Activities, and Literature (Science PALs) Project. The goal of the project was to move teachers towards an interactive-constructivist model of teaching and learning that assumes a middle-of-the-road interpretation of constructivism where…

A Matter of Interpretation: Developing Primary Pupils' Enquiry Skills Using Position-Linked Datalogging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Daniel John; Collier, Christopher; Howe, Alan

2012-01-01

Background: This article reports on an evaluation study of a project seeking to develop the use of position-linked datalogging with primary pupils in environmental science contexts. Purpose: The study sought to find out the extent to which the project had developed: (1) participant teachers' confidence in using datalogging as an everyday part of…

Documentary Photography: Cognitive Dimensionality of Selected Photographs and Community Perceptions in a Coorientation Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, James W.; Foushee, Richard E.

This paper discusses a proposed term project for a course in documentary photography that centered on photographically documenting a rural community and measuring its symbolic sociodramas. The paper describes the focus of the project, which was to determine how various community groups interpreted a given set of photographs designed to express a…

The development of selected data base applications for the crustal dynamics data information system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noll, C. E.

1981-01-01

The development of a data base and its accompanying software for the data information system of crustal dynamics project is described. Background information concerning this project, and a definition of the techniques used in the implementation of an operational data base, are presented. Examples of key applications are included and interpreted.

Distributed Leadership through the Lens of Activity Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuen, Jeanne Ho Pau; Victor Chen, Der-Thanq; Ng, David

2016-01-01

Purpose: Using Activity Theory as an interpretive lens to examine the distribution of leadership, this paper shares a case study on how leadership for an ICT project was distributed in a Singapore school. Method: The case study involved observations of 49 meetings and 34 interviews of leaders and the teachers who were involved in the ICT project.…

Frames for Learning Science: Analyzing Learner Positioning in a Technology-Enhanced Science Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silseth, K.; Arnseth, H. C.

2016-01-01

In this article, we examine the relationship between how students are positioned in social encounters and how this influences learning in a technology-supported science project. We pursue this topic by focusing on the participation trajectory of one particular learner. The analysis shows that the student cannot be interpreted as one type of…

Inland Waters Night Lighting Configurations: A Navigation Rules Course for Coast Guard Auxiliarists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffiths, Gregory Peter

A project developed a training program to teach boaters to recognize and interpret properly the lights of other vessels in nighttime or other reduced visibility conditions in the inland waters of the United States. The project followed the Instructional Systems Design model in the development of the course. The target population were members of…

Permission to Be Confused: Toward a Second Wave of Critical Whiteness Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanner, Samuel Jaye

2017-01-01

This article considers second wave critical Whiteness pedagogy by examining the author's teacher-researcher implementation of teaching project about Whiteness in a large, suburban high school near a major city in the Midwest. The author relies on narrative scholarship in order to both tell and interpret stories about a yearlong project that used…

The Role of Acquisition and Learning in Young Children's Bilingual Development: A Sociocultural Interpretation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haworth, Penny; Cullen, Joy; Simmons, Heather; Schimanski, Liz; McGarva, Pam; Woodhead, Eileen

2006-01-01

This paper takes a sociocultural approach to exploring the factors that enhance young children's bilingual development. The language excerpts presented were gathered as part of a three-year Early Childhood Centre of Innovation project funded by the New Zealand government. Data gathered in this project challenge Krashen's (1981) position that young…

Implementation of a Project-Based Molecular Biology Laboratory Emphasizing Protein Structure-Function Relationships in a Large Introductory Biology Laboratory Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treacy, Daniel J.; Sankaran, Saumya M.; Gordon-Messer, Susannah; Saly, Danielle; Miller, Rebecca; Isaac, R. Stefan; Kosinski-Collins, Melissa S.

2011-01-01

In introductory laboratory courses, many universities are turning from traditional laboratories with predictable outcomes to inquiry-inspired, project-based laboratory curricula. In these labs, students are allowed to design at least some portion of their own experiment and interpret new, undiscovered data. We have redesigned the introductory…

US forests are showing increased rates of decline in response to a changing climate

Treesearch

Warren B. Cohen; Zhiqiang Yang; David M. Bell; Stephen V. Stehman

2015-01-01

How vulnerable are US forest to a changing climate? We answer this question using Landsat time series data and a unique interpretation approach, TimeSync, a plot-based Landsat visualization and data collection tool. Original analyses were based on a stratified two-stage cluster sample design that included interpretation of 3858 forested plots. From these data, we...

Examining the Impact of Unscorable Item Responses on the Validity and Interpretability of MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF Restructured Clinical (RC) Scale Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dragon, Wendy R.; Ben-Porath, Yossef S.; Handel, Richard W.

2012-01-01

This article examined the impact of unscorable item responses on the psychometric validity and practical interpretability of scores on the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2/Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF). In analyses conducted with five…

Why Education Practitioners and Stakeholders Should Care about Person Fit in Educational Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, A. Adrienne

2017-01-01

In this article, A. Adrienne Walker introduces the concept of person fit to education stakeholders as a source of evidence to inform the trustworthiness of a test score for interpretation and use (validity). Person fit analyses are used in educational measurement research to explore the degree to which a person's test score can be interpreted as a…

Interpreting Experiences of Students Using Online Technologies to Interact with Content in Blended Tertiary Environments: A Phenomenological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuapawa, Kimberley

2017-01-01

Through a phenomenological approach, this research aimed to make an interpretation of key stakeholders' [educational online technology] EOT experiences, to establish their current EOT needs and challenges, and provide a basis from which to recommend methods for effective EOT support. It analysed a range of students' and teachers' EOT experiences,…

Interpreting Experiences of Teachers Using Online Technologies to Interact with Teachers in Blended Tertiary Environments: A Phenomenological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuapawa, Kimberley

2017-01-01

This research made a phenomenological interpretation of key stakeholders' experiences with educational online technologies (EOT), to determine their present EOT needs and challenges and provide a basis from which to propose methods for effective EOT support. It analysed the EOT experiences of 10 students and 10 teachers from New Zealand and…

Toward Establishing the Validity of the Resource Interpreter's Self-Efficacy Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Grant D.

Interpretive rangers serve as one of the major educational resources that visitors may encounter during their visit to a park or other natural area, yet our understanding of their professional growth remains limited. This study helps address this issue by developing an instrument that evaluates the beliefs of resource interpreters regarding their capabilities of communicating with the public. The resulting 11-item instrument was built around the construct of Albert Bandura's self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997), used guidelines and principles developed over the course of 30 years of teacher efficacy studies (Bandura, 2006; Gibson & Dembo, 1984; Riggs & Enochs, 1990; Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001; Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, & Hoy, 1998), and probed areas of challenge that are unique to the demands of resource interpretation (Brochu & Merriman, 2002; Ham, 1992; Knudson, Cable, & Beck, 2003; Larsen, 2003; Tilden, 1977). A voluntary convenience sample of 364 National Park Service rangers was collected in order to conduct the statistical analyses needed to winnow the draft instrument down from 47 items in its original form to 11 items in its final state. Statistical analyses used in this process included item-total correlation, index of discrimination, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis.

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of individual participant data: the PRISMA-IPD Statement.

PubMed

Stewart, Lesley A; Clarke, Mike; Rovers, Maroeska; Riley, Richard D; Simmonds, Mark; Stewart, Gavin; Tierney, Jayne F

2015-04-28

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of individual participant data (IPD) aim to collect, check, and reanalyze individual-level data from all studies addressing a particular research question and are therefore considered a gold standard approach to evidence synthesis. They are likely to be used with increasing frequency as current initiatives to share clinical trial data gain momentum and may be particularly important in reviewing controversial therapeutic areas. To develop PRISMA-IPD as a stand-alone extension to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) Statement, tailored to the specific requirements of reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of IPD. Although developed primarily for reviews of randomized trials, many items will apply in other contexts, including reviews of diagnosis and prognosis. Development of PRISMA-IPD followed the EQUATOR Network framework guidance and used the existing standard PRISMA Statement as a starting point to draft additional relevant material. A web-based survey informed discussion at an international workshop that included researchers, clinicians, methodologists experienced in conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of IPD, and journal editors. The statement was drafted and iterative refinements were made by the project, advisory, and development groups. The PRISMA-IPD Development Group reached agreement on the PRISMA-IPD checklist and flow diagram by consensus. Compared with standard PRISMA, the PRISMA-IPD checklist includes 3 new items that address (1) methods of checking the integrity of the IPD (such as pattern of randomization, data consistency, baseline imbalance, and missing data), (2) reporting any important issues that emerge, and (3) exploring variation (such as whether certain types of individual benefit more from the intervention than others). A further additional item was created by reorganization of standard PRISMA items relating to interpreting results. Wording was modified in 23 items to reflect the IPD approach. PRISMA-IPD provides guidelines for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of IPD.

Exploration of Heterogeneity in Distributed Research Network Drug Safety Analyses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Richard A.; Zeng, Peng; Ryan, Patrick; Gao, Juan; Sonawane, Kalyani; Teeter, Benjamin; Westrich, Kimberly; Dubois, Robert W.

2014-01-01

Distributed data networks representing large diverse populations are an expanding focus of drug safety research. However, interpreting results is difficult when treatment effect estimates vary across datasets (i.e., heterogeneity). In a previous study, risk estimates were generated for selected drugs and potential adverse outcomes. Analyses were…

The Design and Implementation of an Object-Oriented, Production-Rule Interpreter.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

S. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER(s) .Heinz M. McArthur 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT. TASK AREA & WORK UNIT...implementation of two prototype interpreters for Omega, an object-oriented, production- rule programming language. The first implementation is a throw- away...production-rule programming language. The first implementa- tion is a throw-away prototype written in LISP; the second implementation is a more complete

Enhancing the Interpretive Reading and Analytical Writing of Mainstreamed English Learners in Secondary School: Results from a Randomized Field Trial Using a Cognitive Strategies Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Carol Booth; Kim, James S.; Scarcella, Robin; Kramer, Jason; Pearson, Matthew; van Dyk, David A.; Collins, Penny; Land, Robert E.

2012-01-01

In this study, 72 secondary English teachers from the Santa Ana Unified School District were randomly assigned to participate in the Pathway Project, a cognitive strategies approach to teaching interpretive reading and analytical writing, or to a control condition involving typical district training focusing on teaching content from the textbook.…

Reflective topical autobiography: an under utilised interpretive research method in nursing.

PubMed

Johnstone, M J

1999-01-01

Reflective topical autobiography (an autobiographical method) belongs to the genre of testimonial research and is located within the postpositivist interpretive research paradigm. Despite the (reflective) topical autobiographical method enjoying a 'rebirth' in recent years and being utilised by a range of researchers in the human and literary disciplines, it remains largely unknown and under utilised in nursing research domains. In this article it is proposed that reflective topical autobiography is an important research method in its own right, and one which promises to make a substantive contribution to the overall project of advancing nursing inquiry and knowledge. This is particularly so where nursing research shares in the affirming projects of interpretive research generally and the relatively new sociology of the emotions in particular apropos: (i) increasing understanding of subjectivity and making subjective experiences more visible and intelligible, (ii) the search for meaning and increasing understanding of the commonality of existential human experience, and (iii) decentring the detached observer and his/her privileging the objectivist illusion in the hierarchy of research discourses, paving the way for the admission of multiple realities and interpretations of lived experience. In this article, a coherent reflective topical autobiographical research method is advanced for use in nursing education and research contexts.

Using cultural-historical activity theory to analyze social service practices evolving from the Norwegian HUSK projects.

PubMed

Foot, Kirsten

2015-01-01

The HUSK projects catalyzed innovation in the practices of providing social services that could yield useful insights both within and outside of Norway if analyzed in these two ways: (a) retrospective analysis of the development of individual HUSK projects in light of their cultural-historical contexts, and (b) comparative analysis of the efforts to advance multi-sector collaboration in some of the HUSK projects. Such analyses require a practice-based research approach that takes into account culture and history. In this article the author explains how cultural-historical activity theory provides such an approach, illustrated via several HUSK cases. The author suggests five questions for future analyses of the HUSK projects and argues that insights gleaned from such analyses could contribute significantly to research on-and the provision of-social services.

Development of a model of the tobacco industry's interference with tobacco control programmes

PubMed Central

Trochim, W; Stillman, F; Clark, P; Schmitt, C

2003-01-01

Objective: To construct a conceptual model of tobacco industry tactics to undermine tobacco control programmes for the purposes of: (1) developing measures to evaluate industry tactics, (2) improving tobacco control planning, and (3) supplementing current or future frameworks used to classify and analyse tobacco industry documents. Design: Web based concept mapping was conducted, including expert brainstorming, sorting, and rating of statements describing industry tactics. Statistical analyses used multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Interpretation of the resulting maps was accomplished by an expert panel during a face-to-face meeting. Subjects: 34 experts, selected because of their previous encounters with industry resistance or because of their research into industry tactics, took part in some or all phases of the project. Results: Maps with eight non-overlapping clusters in two dimensional space were developed, with importance ratings of the statements and clusters. Cluster and quadrant labels were agreed upon by the experts. Conclusions: The conceptual maps summarise the tactics used by the industry and their relationships to each other, and suggest a possible hierarchy for measures that can be used in statistical modelling of industry tactics and for review of industry documents. Finally, the maps enable hypothesis of a likely progression of industry reactions as public health programmes become more successful, and therefore more threatening to industry profits. PMID:12773723

Abundances of uranium, thorium, and potassium for some Australian crystalline rocks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bunker, Carl Maurice; Bush, C.A.; Munroe, Robert J.; Sass, J.H.

1975-01-01

This report contains a tabulation of the basic radioelement and radiogenic heat data obtained during an Australian National University (ANU) - United States Geological Survey (USGS) heat-flow project, directed jointly by J. C. Jaeger (ANU) and J. H. Sass (USGS). Most samples were collected during the periods June through September, 1971 and 1972. The measurements were made subsequently by two of us (C. M. Bunker and C. A. Bush) using the gamma-ray spec trometric techniques described by Bunker and Bush (1966, 1967). Interpreting the spectra for quantitative analyses of the radioelements was accomplished with an iterative leastsquares computer program modified from one by Schonfeld (1966). Uranium content determined by gamma-ray spectrometry is based on a measurement of the daughter products of 226Ra. Equilibrium in the uranium-decay series was assumed for these analyses . Throughout the report, when U content is stated, radium-equivalent uranium is implied. The coefficient of variation for the accuracy of the radioelement data, when compared to ana lyses by isotope dilution and flame photometry is about 3 percent for radium-equivalent uranium and thorium and about 1 percent for potassium. These percentages are in addition to minimum standard deviations of about 0.05 ppm for U and Th, and about 0.03 percent for K.

Participatory GIS in design of the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology campus web map and spatial analysis of campus area quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blachowski, Jan; Łuczak, Jakub; Zagrodnik, Paulina

2018-01-01

Public participation geographic information system (GIS) and participatory mapping data collection methods are means that enhance capacity in generating, managing, and communicating spatial information in various fields ranging from local planning to environmental management. In this study these methods have been used in two ways. The first one, to gather information on the additional functionality of campus web map expected by its potential users, i.e. students, staff and visitors, through web based survey. The second, to collect geographically referenced information on campus areas that are liked and disliked in a geo-survey carried out with ArcGIS Online GeoForm Application. The results of the first survey were used to map facilities such as: bicycle infrastructure, building entrances, wheelchair accessible infrastructure and benches. The results of the second one, to analyse the most and the least attractive parts of the campus with heat and hot spot analyses in GIS. In addition, the answers have been studied with regard to the visual and functional aspects of campus area raised in the survey. The thematic layers developed in the results of field mapping and geoprocessing of geosurvey data were included in the campus web map project. The paper describes the applied methodology of data collection, processing, analysis, interpretation and geovisualisation.

How individual participant data meta-analyses have influenced trial design, conduct, and analysis.

PubMed

Tierney, Jayne F; Pignon, Jean-Pierre; Gueffyier, Francois; Clarke, Mike; Askie, Lisa; Vale, Claire L; Burdett, Sarah

2015-11-01

To demonstrate how individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses have impacted directly on the design and conduct of trials and highlight other advantages IPD might offer. Potential examples of the impact of IPD meta-analyses on trials were identified at an international workshop, attended by individuals with experience in the conduct of IPD meta-analyses and knowledge of trials in their respective clinical areas. Experts in the field who did not attend were asked to provide any further examples. We then examined relevant trial protocols, publications, and Web sites to verify the impacts of the IPD meta-analyses. A subgroup of workshop attendees sought further examples and identified other aspects of trial design and conduct that may inform IPD meta-analyses. We identified 52 examples of IPD meta-analyses thought to have had a direct impact on the design or conduct of trials. After screening relevant trial protocols and publications, we identified 28 instances where IPD meta-analyses had clearly impacted on trials. They have influenced the selection of comparators and participants, sample size calculations, analysis and interpretation of subsequent trials, and the conduct and analysis of ongoing trials, sometimes in ways that would not possible with systematic reviews of aggregate data. We identified additional potential ways that IPD meta-analyses could be used to influence trials. IPD meta-analysis could be better used to inform the design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of trials. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How individual participant data meta-analyses have influenced trial design, conduct, and analysis

PubMed Central

Tierney, Jayne F.; Pignon, Jean-Pierre; Gueffyier, Francois; Clarke, Mike; Askie, Lisa; Vale, Claire L.; Burdett, Sarah; Alderson, P.; Askie, L.; Bennett, D.; Burdett, S.; Clarke, M.; Dias, S.; Emberson, J.; Gueyffier, F.; Iorio, A.; Macleod, M.; Mol, B.W.; Moons, C.; Parmar, M.; Perera, R.; Phillips, R.; Pignon, J.P.; Rees, J.; Reitsma, H.; Riley, R.; Rovers, M.; Rydzewska, L.; Schmid, C.; Shepperd, S.; Stenning, S.; Stewart, L.; Tierney, J.; Tudur Smith, C.; Vale, C.; Welge, J.; White, I.; Whiteley, W.

2015-01-01

Objectives To demonstrate how individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses have impacted directly on the design and conduct of trials and highlight other advantages IPD might offer. Study Design and Setting Potential examples of the impact of IPD meta-analyses on trials were identified at an international workshop, attended by individuals with experience in the conduct of IPD meta-analyses and knowledge of trials in their respective clinical areas. Experts in the field who did not attend were asked to provide any further examples. We then examined relevant trial protocols, publications, and Web sites to verify the impacts of the IPD meta-analyses. A subgroup of workshop attendees sought further examples and identified other aspects of trial design and conduct that may inform IPD meta-analyses. Results We identified 52 examples of IPD meta-analyses thought to have had a direct impact on the design or conduct of trials. After screening relevant trial protocols and publications, we identified 28 instances where IPD meta-analyses had clearly impacted on trials. They have influenced the selection of comparators and participants, sample size calculations, analysis and interpretation of subsequent trials, and the conduct and analysis of ongoing trials, sometimes in ways that would not possible with systematic reviews of aggregate data. We identified additional potential ways that IPD meta-analyses could be used to influence trials. Conclusions IPD meta-analysis could be better used to inform the design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of trials. PMID:26186982

Man versus machine: comparison of radiologists' interpretations and NeuroQuant® volumetric analyses of brain MRIs in patients with traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Ross, David E; Ochs, Alfred L; Seabaugh, Jan M; Shrader, Carole R

2013-01-01

NeuroQuant® is a recently developed, FDA-approved software program for measuring brain MRI volume in clinical settings. The purpose of this study was to compare NeuroQuant with the radiologist's traditional approach, based on visual inspection, in 20 outpatients with mild or moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Each MRI was analyzed with NeuroQuant, and the resulting volumetric analyses were compared with the attending radiologist's interpretation. The radiologist's traditional approach found atrophy in 10.0% of patients; NeuroQuant found atrophy in 50.0% of patients. NeuroQuant was more sensitive for detecting brain atrophy than the traditional radiologist's approach.

Sedimentary Environment and Climate Evolution at the Northern Continental Margin of the South China Sea During the Last Glacial Cycle and Holocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomczak, M.; Kaiser, J.; Borowka, R. K.; Chen, H.; Zhang, J.; Harff, J.; Qiu, Y.; Witkowski, A.

2014-12-01

Climate, oceanographic and sea level history during last glacial cycle (LGC) and Holocene at the NW continental margin of the South China Sea (SCS) are investigated within the SECEB project. For that purpose two sediment cores (HDQ2 & 83PC) and single-channel seismic sections were selected to serve as a proxy data source for paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic reconstructions. The sedimentary facies is interpreted by multi-proxy approaches considering micropaleontological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses. According to 14C and OSL datings, sediments of shallow water drill core HDQ2 (88.3 m) cover a time span of ca. 115 kyr BP. Seismic images of the sampling site show a series of reflectors which can be correlated with coarse layers of core HDQ2. These layers are interpreted as transgression / regression horizons. Due to the age model it is possible to correlate these horizons with the general sea level dynamics within the SCS as it is displayed in relative sea level excursions for the MIS 5 to 2 from the Sunda Shelf (Hanebuth et al. 2011). Core 83PC (8.6 m) retrieved from the continental slope provide constant record and calm environment. Therefore, this core is used as a source for data proxy for environmental reconstructions. According to δ18O and paleomagnetic analysis, a good age model which indicate age of this core to ca. 110 kyr BP was elaborated and help correlate the paleoenvironmental data with core HDQ2. Alkenones, δ18O, the Mg/Ca ratio, and microfossil proxies serve for paleo-SST curves and monsoon variability reconstructions. δ15N and δ13C indicate nutrient supply to the marine environment. Diatomological analysis outlines the environmental evolution and interrelations between their parameters during the LGC. Interpretation of seismic profiling allowed identification of submarine paleo-delta. It's anticipated that deposited sediments descent from the Hainan Island and allow correlation of the source and sink area.Hanebuth, T.J.J, Voris, H.K., Yokoyama, Y., Saito, Y., Okuno, J., 2011. Formation and fate of sedimentary depocentres on Southeast Asia's Sunda Shelf over the past sea-level cycle and biogeographic implications. Earth-Science Reviews 104, p. 92-110The project was funded by the Polish National Science Centre allocated on the basis of the decision no. DEC-2011/01/N/ST10/07708

Multiple site receptor modeling with a minimal spanning tree combined with a Kohonen neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopke, Philip K.

1999-12-01

A combination of two pattern recognition methods has been developed that allows the generation of geographical emission maps form multivariate environmental data. In such a projection into a visually interpretable subspace by a Kohonen Self-Organizing Feature Map, the topology of the higher dimensional variables space can be preserved, but parts of the information about the correct neighborhood among the sample vectors will be lost. This can partly be compensated for by an additional projection of Prim's Minimal Spanning Tree into the trained neural network. This new environmental receptor modeling technique has been adapted for multiple sampling sites. The behavior of the method has been studied using simulated data. Subsequently, the method has been applied to mapping data sets from the Southern California Air Quality Study. The projection of a 17 chemical variables measured at up to 8 sampling sites provided a 2D, visually interpretable, geometrically reasonable arrangement of air pollution source sin the South Coast Air Basin.

Laboratory longitudinal diffusion tests: 1. Dimensionless formulations and validity of simplified solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeda, M.; Nakajima, H.; Zhang, M.; Hiratsuka, T.

2008-04-01

To obtain reliable diffusion parameters for diffusion testing, multiple experiments should not only be cross-checked but the internal consistency of each experiment should also be verified. In the through- and in-diffusion tests with solution reservoirs, test interpretation of different phases often makes use of simplified analytical solutions. This study explores the feasibility of steady, quasi-steady, equilibrium and transient-state analyses using simplified analytical solutions with respect to (i) valid conditions for each analytical solution, (ii) potential error, and (iii) experimental time. For increased generality, a series of numerical analyses are performed using unified dimensionless parameters and the results are all related to dimensionless reservoir volume (DRV) which includes only the sorptive parameter as an unknown. This means the above factors can be investigated on the basis of the sorption properties of the testing material and/or tracer. The main findings are that steady, quasi-steady and equilibrium-state analyses are applicable when the tracer is not highly sorptive. However, quasi-steady and equilibrium-state analyses become inefficient or impractical compared to steady state analysis when the tracer is non-sorbing and material porosity is significantly low. Systematic and comprehensive reformulation of analytical models enables the comparison of experimental times between different test methods. The applicability and potential error of each test interpretation can also be studied. These can be applied in designing, performing, and interpreting diffusion experiments by deducing DRV from the available information for the target material and tracer, combined with the results of this study.

How the bioanalytical scientist plays a key role in interdisciplinary project teams in the development of biotherapeutics - a reflection of the European Bioanalysis Forum.

PubMed

Dudal, Sherri; Staack, Roland F; Stoellner, Daniela; Fjording, Marianne Scheel; Vieser, Eva; Pascual, Marie-Hélène; Brudny-Kloeppel, Margarete; Golob, Michaela

2014-05-01

The bioanalytical scientist plays a key role in the project team for the drug development of biotherapeutics from the discovery to the marketing phase. Information from the project team members is required for assay development and sample analysis during the discovery, preclinical and clinical phases of the project and input is needed from the bioanalytical scientist to help data interpretation. The European Bioanalysis Forum target team 20 discussed many of the gaps in information and communication between the bioanalytical scientist and project team members as a base for providing a perspective on the bioanalytical scientist's role and interactions within the project team.

43 CFR 8224.0-2 - Objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS PROCEDURES Fossil Forest Research Natural Area § 8224.0-2... Fossil Forest, including paleontological study, excavation and interpretation projects within the Fossil...

43 CFR 8224.0-2 - Objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS PROCEDURES Fossil Forest Research Natural Area § 8224.0-2... Fossil Forest, including paleontological study, excavation and interpretation projects within the Fossil...

43 CFR 8224.0-2 - Objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS PROCEDURES Fossil Forest Research Natural Area § 8224.0-2... Fossil Forest, including paleontological study, excavation and interpretation projects within the Fossil...

43 CFR 8224.0-2 - Objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS PROCEDURES Fossil Forest Research Natural Area § 8224.0-2... Fossil Forest, including paleontological study, excavation and interpretation projects within the Fossil...

Design and Implementation of an Environmental Mercury Database for Northeastern North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clair, T. A.; Evers, D.; Smith, T.; Goodale, W.; Bernier, M.

2002-12-01

An important issue faced when attempting to interpret geochemical variability studies across large regions, is the accumulation, access and consistent display of data from a large number of sources. We were given the opportunity to provide a regional assessment of mercury distribution in surface waters, sediments, invertebrates, fish, and birds in a region extending from New York State to the Island of Newfoundland. We received over 20 individual databases from State, Provincial, and Federal governments, as well as university researchers from both Canada and the United States. These databases came in a variety of formats and sizes. Our challenge was to find a way of accumulating and presenting the large amounts of acquired data, in a consistent, easily accessible fashion, which could then be more easily interpreted. Moreover, the database had to be portable and easily distributable to the large number of study participants. We developed a static database structure using a web-based approach which we were then able to mount on a server which was accessible to all project participants. The site also contained all the necessary documentation related to the data, its acquisition, as well as the methods used in its analysis and interpretation. We then copied the complete web site on CDROM's which we then distributed to all project participants, funding agencies, and other interested parties. The CDROM formed a permanent record of the project and was issued ISSN and ISBN numbers so that the information remained accessible to researchers in perpetuity. Here we present an overview of the CDROM and data structures, of the information accumulated over the first year of the study, and initial interpretation of the results.

The Systematic Interpretation of Cosmic Ray Data (The Transport Project)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guzik, T. Gregory

1997-01-01

The Transport project's primary goals were to: (1) Provide measurements of critical fragmentation cross sections; (2) Study the cross section systematics; (3) Improve the galactic cosmic ray propagation methodology; and (4) Use the new cross section measurements to improve the interpretation of cosmic ray data. To accomplish these goals a collaboration was formed consisting of researchers in the US at Louisiana State University (LSU), Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the University of Minnesota (UM), New Mexico State University (NMSU), in France at the Centre d'Etudes de Saclay and in Italy at the Universita di Catania. The US institutions, lead by LSU, were responsible for measuring new cross sections using the LBL HISS facility, analysis of these measurements and their application to interpreting cosmic ray data. France developed a liquid hydrogen target that was used in the HISS experiment and participated in the data interpretation. Italy developed a Multifunctional Neutron Spectrometer (MUFFINS) for the HISS runs to measure the energy spectra, angular distributions and multiplicities of neutrons emitted during the high energy interactions. The Transport Project was originally proposed to NASA during Summer, 1988 and funding began January, 1989. Transport was renewed twice (1991, 1994) and finally concluded at LSU on September, 30, 1997. During the more than 8 years of effort we had two major experiment runs at LBL, obtained data on the interaction of twenty different beams with a liquid hydrogen target, completed the analysis of fifteen of these datasets obtaining 590 new cross section measurements, published nine journal articles as well as eighteen conference proceedings papers, and presented more than thirty conference talks.

Dredging and projecting the depths of personality: the thematic apperception test and the narratives of the unconscious.

PubMed

Miller, Jason

2015-03-01

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was a projective psychological test created by Harvard psychologist Henry A. Murray and his lover Christina Morgan in the 1930s. The test entered the nascent intelligence service of the United States (the OSS) during the Second World War due to its celebrated reputation for revealing the deepest aspects of an individual's unconscious. It subsequently spread as a scientifically objective research tool capable not only of dredging the unconscious depths, but also of determining the best candidate for a management position, the psychological complexes of human nature, and the unique characteristics of a culture. Two suppositions underlie the utility of the test. One is the power of narrative. The test entails a calculated abuse of the subjects tested, based on their inability to interpret their own narrative. The form of the test requires that a subject fail to decipher the coded, unconscious meaning their narrative reveals. Murray believed the interpretation of a subject's narrative and the projection contained therein depended exclusively on the psychologist. This view of interpretation stems from the seemingly more reasonable belief of nineteenth-century Romantic thinkers that a literary text serves as a proxy for an author's deepest self. The TAT also supposes that there is something beyond consciousness closely resembling a psychoanalytic unconscious, which also has clear precedents in nineteenth-century German thought. Murray's views on literary interpretation, his view of psychology as well as the continuing prevalence of the TAT, signals a nineteenth-century concept of self that insists "on relations of depth and surface, inner and outer life" (Galison 2007, 277). It is clear the hermeneutic practice of Freud's psychoanalysis, amplified in Jung, drew on literary conceptions of the unconscious wider than those of nineteenth-century psychology.

Groundwater Data Package for Hanford Assessments

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

Thorne, Paul D.; Bergeron, Marcel P.; Williams, Mark D.

2006-01-31

This report presents data and interpreted information that supports the groundwater module of the System Assessment Capability (SAC) used in Hanford Assessments. The objective of the groundwater module is to predict movement of radioactive and chemical contaminants through the aquifer to the Columbia River or other potential discharge locations. This data package is being revised as part of the deliverables under the Characterization of Systems Project (#49139) aimed at providing documentation for assessments being conducted under the Hanford Assessments Project (#47042). Both of these projects are components of the Groundwater Remediation and Closure Assessments Projects, managed by the Management andmore » Integration Project (#47043).« less

How to interpret a healthcare economic analysis.

PubMed

Brown, Melissa M; Brown, Gary C

2005-06-01

The purpose of the review is to present guidelines to help the clinician to interpret healthcare economic analyses and review pertinent recent analysis in the ophthalmic literature. There are four variants of healthcare economic analyses: (1) cost-minimization analysis; (2) cost-benefit analysis; (3) cost-effectiveness analysis and (4) cost-utility analysis. Cost-utility utility analysis has assumed an increasingly important role in healthcare, with increasing number of analyses occurring in the peer-reviewed ophthalmic literature. These include cost-utility analyses of cataract surgery in the first and second eyes, amblyopia treatment, and cost-utility analyses encompassing the vitreoretinal interventions of the following: (1) laser photocoagulation for exudative macular degeneration; (2) laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy; (3) laser photocoagulation for branch retinal vein obstruction; (4) diabetic vitrectomy; (5) treatment of proliferative retinopathy of prematurity and (6) treatment of retinal detachment associated with proliferative vitreoretinopathy. As an increasing number of cost-utility analyses become available they will provide the information system for the practice of value-based medicine, or medicine based upon the patient-perceived value conferred by interventions. Increasing numbers of cost-utility analysis in the ophthalmic literature suggest that ophthalmic interventions, including vitreoretinal interventions, are cost effective. Cost-utility analysis is a major tool in value-based medicine, the practice of medicine based upon the patient-perceived value conferred by healthcare interventions.

Estimation and interpretation of genetic effects with epistasis using the NOIA model.

PubMed

Alvarez-Castro, José M; Carlborg, Orjan; Rönnegård, Lars

2012-01-01

We introduce this communication with a brief outline of the historical landmarks in genetic modeling, especially concerning epistasis. Then, we present methods for the use of genetic modeling in QTL analyses. In particular, we summarize the essential expressions of the natural and orthogonal interactions (NOIA) model of genetic effects. Our motivation for reviewing that theory here is twofold. First, this review presents a digest of the expressions for the application of the NOIA model, which are often mixed with intermediate and additional formulae in the original articles. Second, we make the required theory handy for the reader to relate the genetic concepts to the particular mathematical expressions underlying them. We illustrate those relations by providing graphical interpretations and a diagram summarizing the key features for applying genetic modeling with epistasis in comprehensive QTL analyses. Finally, we briefly review some examples of the application of NOIA to real data and the way it improves the interpretability of the results.

Interpersonal Privacy Management in Distributed Collaboration: Situational Characteristics and Interpretive Influences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patil, Sameer; Kobsa, Alfred; John, Ajita; Brotman, Lynne S.; Seligmann, Doree

To understand how collaborators reconcile the often conflicting needs of awareness and privacy, we studied a large software development project in a multinational corporation involving individuals at sites in the U.S. and India. We present a theoretical framework describing privacy management practices and their determinants that emerged from field visits, interviews, and questionnaire responses. The framework identifies five relevant situational characteristics: issue(s) under consideration, physical place(s) involved in interaction(s), temporal aspects, affordances and limitations presented by technology, and nature of relationships among parties. Each actor, in turn, interprets the situation based on several simultaneous influences: self, team, work site, organization, and cultural environment. This interpretation guides privacy management action(s). Past actions form a feedback loop refining and/or reinforcing the interpretive influences. The framework suggests that effective support for privacy management will require that designers follow a socio-technical approach incorporating a wider scope of situational and interpretive differences.

COMADRE: a global data base of animal demography.

PubMed

Salguero-Gómez, Roberto; Jones, Owen R; Archer, C Ruth; Bein, Christoph; de Buhr, Hendrik; Farack, Claudia; Gottschalk, Fränce; Hartmann, Alexander; Henning, Anne; Hoppe, Gabriel; Römer, Gesa; Ruoff, Tara; Sommer, Veronika; Wille, Julia; Voigt, Jakob; Zeh, Stefan; Vieregg, Dirk; Buckley, Yvonne M; Che-Castaldo, Judy; Hodgson, David; Scheuerlein, Alexander; Caswell, Hal; Vaupel, James W

2016-03-01

The open-data scientific philosophy is being widely adopted and proving to promote considerable progress in ecology and evolution. Open-data global data bases now exist on animal migration, species distribution, conservation status, etc. However, a gap exists for data on population dynamics spanning the rich diversity of the animal kingdom world-wide. This information is fundamental to our understanding of the conditions that have shaped variation in animal life histories and their relationships with the environment, as well as the determinants of invasion and extinction. Matrix population models (MPMs) are among the most widely used demographic tools by animal ecologists. MPMs project population dynamics based on the reproduction, survival and development of individuals in a population over their life cycle. The outputs from MPMs have direct biological interpretations, facilitating comparisons among animal species as different as Caenorhabditis elegans, Loxodonta africana and Homo sapiens. Thousands of animal demographic records exist in the form of MPMs, but they are dispersed throughout the literature, rendering comparative analyses difficult. Here, we introduce the COMADRE Animal Matrix Database, an open-data online repository, which in its version 1.0.0 contains data on 345 species world-wide, from 402 studies with a total of 1625 population projection matrices. COMADRE also contains ancillary information (e.g. ecoregion, taxonomy, biogeography, etc.) that facilitates interpretation of the numerous demographic metrics that can be derived from its MPMs. We provide R code to some of these examples. We introduce the COMADRE Animal Matrix Database, a resource for animal demography. Its open-data nature, together with its ancillary information, will facilitate comparative analysis, as will the growing availability of databases focusing on other aspects of the rich animal diversity, and tools to query and combine them. Through future frequent updates of COMADRE, and its integration with other online resources, we encourage animal ecologists to tackle global ecological and evolutionary questions with unprecedented sample size. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

Changing currents: a strategy for understanding and predicting the changing ocean circulation.

PubMed

Bryden, Harry L; Robinson, Carol; Griffiths, Gwyn

2012-12-13

Within the context of UK marine science, we project a strategy for ocean circulation research over the next 20 years. We recommend a focus on three types of research: (i) sustained observations of the varying and evolving ocean circulation, (ii) careful analysis and interpretation of the observed climate changes for comparison with climate model projections, and (iii) the design and execution of focused field experiments to understand ocean processes that are not resolved in coupled climate models so as to be able to embed these processes realistically in the models. Within UK-sustained observations, we emphasize smart, cost-effective design of the observational network to extract maximum information from limited field resources. We encourage the incorporation of new sensors and new energy sources within the operational environment of UK-sustained observational programmes to bridge the gap that normally separates laboratory prototype from operational instrument. For interpreting the climate-change records obtained through a variety of national and international sustained observational programmes, creative and dedicated UK scientists should lead efforts to extract the meaningful signals and patterns of climate change and to interpret them so as to project future changes. For the process studies, individual scientists will need to work together in team environments to combine observational and process modelling results into effective improvements in the coupled climate models that will lead to more accurate climate predictions.

Disasters as a necessary part of benefit-cost analyses.

PubMed

Mark, R K; Stuart-Alexander, D E

1977-09-16

Benefit-cost analyses for water projects generally have not included the expected costs (residual risk) of low-probability disasters such as dam failures, impoundment-induced earthquakes, and landslides. Analysis of the history of these types of events demonstrates that dam failures are not uncommon and that the probability of a reservoir-triggered earth-quake increases with increasing reservoir depth. Because the expected costs from such events can be significant and risk is project-specific, estimates should be made for each project. The cost of expected damage from a "high-risk" project in an urban area could be comparable to project benefits.

Doubly blind: a systematic review of gender in randomised controlled trials.

PubMed

Phillips, Susan P; Hamberg, Katarina

2016-01-01

Although observational data show social characteristics such as gender or socio-economic status to be strong predictors of health, their impact is seldom investigated in randomised controlled studies (RCTs). Using a random sample of recent RCTs from high-impact journals, we examined how the most often recorded social characteristic, sex/gender, is considered in design, analysis, and interpretation. Of 712 RCTs published from September 2008 to 31 December 2013 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, British Medical Journal, Lancet, Canadian Medical Association Journal, or New England Journal of Medicine, we randomly selected 57 to analyse funding, methods, number of centres, documentation of social circumstances, inclusion/exclusion criteria, proportions of women/men, and reporting about sex/gender in analyses and discussion. Participants' sex was recorded in most studies (52/57). Thirty-nine percent included men and women approximately equally. Overrepresentation of men in 43% of studies without explicit exclusions for women suggested interference in selection processes. The minority of studies that did analyse sex/gender differences (22%) did not discuss or reflect upon these, or dismissed significant findings. Two studies reinforced traditional beliefs about women's roles, finding no impact of breastfeeding on infant health but nevertheless reporting possible benefits. Questionable methods such as changing protocols mid-study, having undefined exclusion criteria, allowing local researchers to remove participants from studies, and suggesting possible benefit where none was found were evident, particularly in industry-funded research. Social characteristics like sex/gender remain hidden from analyses and interpretation in RCTs, with loss of information and embedding of error all along the path from design to interpretation, and therefore, to uptake in clinical practice. Our results suggest that to broaden external validity, in particular, more refined trial designs and analyses that account for sex/gender and other social characteristics are needed.

Interpretation of VLF-EM & VLF-R data using tipper and impedance analyses: A case study from Candi Umbul-Telomoyo, Magelang, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prastyani, Erina; Niasari, Sintia Windhi

2017-07-01

The goal of all geophysical survey techniques is to image the properties of the Earth's subsurface. Very Low Frequency (VLF) is one of the geophysical survey technique that has been commonly used for ore exploration and mapping faults or fracture zones. Faults or fracture zones are necessary components in providing the fluid pathway in geothermal systems. The Candi Umbul-Telomoyo is one of the geothermal prospect sites in Indonesia, which is located in Magelang, Central Java. Recent studies hypothesized that this site was an outflow area of Telomoyo volcano geothermal complex. We used the VLF-EM and VLF-R techniques to infer faults or fracture zones that might be a path for geothermal fluids in the Candi Umbul-Telomoyo. From the measurements, we got tilt angle, ellipticity, primary and secondary magnetic fieldfor VLF-EM data; and apparent resistivity, phase angle, electric and magnetic field for VLF-R data. To interpret the data, we used tipper and impedance analyses. The result of both analyses show similarities in the directions and positions of anomalous current concentrations. We conclude these anomalous current concentrations as faults. Our interpretation is agreeing with the Geologic Map of the Semarang and Magelang Quadrangles that shows the expected fault beneath the Mt. Telomoyo.

Interpretation biases in paranoia.

PubMed

Savulich, George; Freeman, Daniel; Shergill, Sukhi; Yiend, Jenny

2015-01-01

Information in the environment is frequently ambiguous in meaning. Emotional ambiguity, such as the stare of a stranger, or the scream of a child, encompasses possible good or bad emotional consequences. Those with elevated vulnerability to affective disorders tend to interpret such material more negatively than those without, a phenomenon known as "negative interpretation bias." In this study we examined the relationship between vulnerability to psychosis, measured by trait paranoia, and interpretation bias. One set of material permitted broadly positive/negative (valenced) interpretations, while another allowed more or less paranoid interpretations, allowing us to also investigate the content specificity of interpretation biases associated with paranoia. Regression analyses (n=70) revealed that trait paranoia, trait anxiety, and cognitive inflexibility predicted paranoid interpretation bias, whereas trait anxiety and cognitive inflexibility predicted negative interpretation bias. In a group comparison those with high levels of trait paranoia were negatively biased in their interpretations of ambiguous information relative to those with low trait paranoia, and this effect was most pronounced for material directly related to paranoid concerns. Together these data suggest that a negative interpretation bias occurs in those with elevated vulnerability to paranoia, and that this bias may be strongest for material matching paranoid beliefs. We conclude that content-specific biases may be important in the cause and maintenance of paranoid symptoms. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

NASA Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) Payload Safety Review Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starbus, Calvert S.; Donovan, Shawn; Dook, Mike; Palo, Tom

2007-01-01

Issues addressed by this program: (1) Complicated roles and responsibilities associated with multi-partner projects (2) Working relationships and communications between all organizations involved in the payload safety process (3) Consistent interpretation and implementation of safety requirements from one project to the rest (4) Consistent implementation of the Tailoring Process (5) Clearly defined NASA decision-making-authority (6) Bring Agency-wide perspective to each ElV payload project. Current process requires a Payload Safety Working Group (PSWG) for eac payload with representatives from all involved organizations.

When Is the Story in the Subgroups? Strategies for Interpreting and Reporting Intervention Effects on Subgroups. MDRC Working Papers on Research Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloom, Howard S.; Michalopoulos, Charles

2010-01-01

This paper examines strategies for interpreting and reporting estimates of intervention effects for subgroups of a study sample. Specifically, the paper considers: why and how subgroup findings are important for applied research, the importance of pre-specifying sub- groups before analyses are conducted, the importance of using existing theory and…

Using Participatory Learning & Action (PLA) research techniques for inter-stakeholder dialogue in primary healthcare: an analysis of stakeholders' experiences.

PubMed

de Brún, T; O'Reilly-de Brún, M; Van Weel-Baumgarten, E; Burns, N; Dowrick, C; Lionis, C; O'Donnell, C; Mair, F S; Papadakaki, M; Saridaki, A; Spiegel, W; Van Weel, C; Van den Muijsenbergh, M; MacFarlane, A

2017-01-01

It is important for health care workers to know the needs and expectations of their patients. Therefore, service users have to be involved in research. To achieve a meaningful dialogue between service users, healthcare workers and researchers, participatory methods are needed. This paper describes how the application of a specific participatory methodology, Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) can lead to such a meaningful dialogue. In PLA all stakeholders are regarded as equal partners and collaborators in research.During 2011-2015, a European project called RESTORE used PLA in Austria, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands and the UK to investigate how communication between primary health care workers and their migrant patients could be improved.Seventy eight migrants, interpreters, doctors, nurses and other key stakeholders (see Table 2) participated in 62 PLA sessions. These dialogues (involving discussions, activities, PLA techniques and evaluations) were generally 2-3 h long and were recorded and analysed by the researchers.Participants reported many positive experiences about their dialogues with other stakeholders. There was a positive, trusting atmosphere in which all stakeholders could express their views despite differences in social power. This made for better understanding within and across stakeholder groups. For instance a doctor changed her view on the use of interpreters after a migrant explained why this was important. Negative experiences were rare: some doctors and healthcare workers thought the PLA sessions took a lot of time; and despite the good dialogue, there was disappointment that very few migrants used the new interpreting service. Background In order to be effective, primary healthcare must understand the health needs, values and expectations of the population it serves. Recent research has shown that the involvement of service users and other stakeholders and gathering information on their perspectives can contribute positively to many aspects of primary healthcare. Participatory methodologies have the potential to support engagement and dialogue between stakeholders from academic, migrant community and health service settings. This paper focuses on a specific participatory research methodology, Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) in which all stakeholders are regarded as equal partners and collaborators in research.Our research question for this paper was: "Does the application of PLA lead to meaningful engagement of all stakeholders, and if so, what elements contribute to a positive and productive inter-stakeholder dialogue?". Methods We explored the use of PLA in RESTORE, a European FP7-funded project, during 2011-2015 in 5 countries: Austria, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK. The objective of RESTORE was to investigate and support the implementation of guidelines and training initiatives (G/TIs) to enhance communication in cross-cultural primary care consultations with migrants.Seventy eight stakeholders (migrants, interpreters, doctors, nurses and others - see Table 2) participated in a total of 62 PLA sessions (discussions, activities, evaluations) of approximately 2-3 h' duration across the five sites. During the fieldwork, qualitative data were generated about stakeholders' experiences of engagement in this dialogue, by means of various methods including participatory evaluations, researchers' fieldwork reports and researcher interviews. These were analysed following the principles of thematic analysis. Results Stakeholders involved in PLA inter-stakeholder dialogues reported a wide range of positive experiences of engagement, and very few negative experiences. A positive atmosphere during early research sessions helped to create a sense of safety and trust. This enabled stakeholders from very different backgrounds, with different social status and power, to offer their perspectives in a way that led to enhanced learning in the group - they learned with and from each other. This fostered shifts in understanding - for example, a doctor changed her view on interpreted consultations because of the input of the migrant service-users. Conclusion PLA successfully promoted stakeholder involvement in meaningful and productive inter-stakeholder dialogues. This makes it an attractive approach to enhance the further development of health research partnerships to advance primary healthcare.

Medical Signbank as a Model for Sign Language Planning? A Review of Community Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Napier, Jemina; Major, George; Ferrara, Lindsay; Johnston, Trevor

2015-01-01

This paper reviews a sign language planning project conducted in Australia with deaf Auslan users. The Medical Signbank project utilised a cooperative language planning process to engage with the Deaf community and sign language interpreters to develop an online interactive resource of health-related signs, in order to address a gap in the health…

How the Financing of the Public Schools Affects Their Ability to Educate. Final Report of Research Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murnane, Richard J.; Pauly, Edward W.

This research report is comprised of a series of 14 papers, each accompanied by a bibliography. Murnane's nine self-contained articles are grouped into four projects. The first consists of three papers that interpret the results of quantitative research on school effectiveness in a manner that highlights the active behaviors of participants and…

Documentary Photography: Cognitive Dimensionality of Selected Photographs and Community Perceptions in a Coorientation Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, James W.; Foushee, Richard E.

A term project for a journalism course in documentary photography (the proposal for which is cited in ED 177 560) centered on photographically documenting a rural community and measuring its symbolic sociodramas. The focus of the project was to determine how various community groups interpreted a given set of photographs selected to represent a…

Project Echo: System Calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruthroff, Clyde L.; Jakes, William C., Jr.

1961-01-01

The primary experimental objective of Project Echo was the transmission of radio communications between points on the earth by reflection from the balloon satellite. This paper describes system calculations made in preparation for the experiment and their adaptation to the problem of interpreting the results. The calculations include path loss computations, expected audio signal-to-noise ratios, and received signal strength based on orbital parameters.

A Descriptive Review of Mainline E-Learning Projects in the European Union: E-Learning Action Plan and E-Learning Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uzunboylu, Huseyin

2006-01-01

This study's purpose was to survey the literature on European Union (EU) e-learning strategies specifically related to two mainline e-learning projects: the learning Action Plan and the E-Learning Program. Results of the evaluation and interpretation of the literature show that the European Commission has positively impacted European Union…

"Drinking Deeply with Delight": An Investigation of Transformative Images in Isaiah 1 and 65-66

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radford, Peter

2016-01-01

This project examines the images used in the beginning and ending chapters of Isaiah. The purpose of this project is to trace the transformation of specific images from their introduction in Isaiah 1 to their re-interpretation in Isaiah 65-66. While this analysis uses the verbal parallels (shared vocabulary) as a starting point, the present…

Public and Private Language Games as Mental States: Wittgenstein's Contribution to the Qualitative Research Tradition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington, Ernest D.

An interpretation is provided of the philosopher L. Wittgenstein's analyses of mental states. The theoretical implications of these analyses for cognitive development and qualitatively oriented researchers are discussed. The mental states examined are: (1) pain; (2) remembering; (3) calculating/adding; (4) following a rule; and (5) reading.…

Applying Beliefs and Resources Frameworks to the Psychometric Analyses of an Epistemology Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yerdelen-Damar, Sevda; Elby, Andrew; Eryilmaz, Ali

2012-01-01

This study explored how researchers' views about the form of students' epistemologies influence how the researchers develop and refine surveys and how they interpret survey results. After running standard statistical analyses on 505 physics students' responses to the Turkish version of the Maryland Physics Expectations-II survey, probing students'…

Topographic ERP analyses: a step-by-step tutorial review.

PubMed

Murray, Micah M; Brunet, Denis; Michel, Christoph M

2008-06-01

In this tutorial review, we detail both the rationale for as well as the implementation of a set of analyses of surface-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) that uses the reference-free spatial (i.e. topographic) information available from high-density electrode montages to render statistical information concerning modulations in response strength, latency, and topography both between and within experimental conditions. In these and other ways these topographic analysis methods allow the experimenter to glean additional information and neurophysiologic interpretability beyond what is available from canonical waveform analyses. In this tutorial we present the example of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) in response to stimulation of each hand to illustrate these points. For each step of these analyses, we provide the reader with both a conceptual and mathematical description of how the analysis is carried out, what it yields, and how to interpret its statistical outcome. We show that these topographic analysis methods are intuitive and easy-to-use approaches that can remove much of the guesswork often confronting ERP researchers and also assist in identifying the information contained within high-density ERP datasets.

Implementation of Nationwide Real-time Whole-genome Sequencing to Enhance Listeriosis Outbreak Detection and Investigation

PubMed Central

Jackson, Brendan R.; Tarr, Cheryl; Strain, Errol; Jackson, Kelly A.; Conrad, Amanda; Carleton, Heather; Katz, Lee S.; Stroika, Steven; Gould, L. Hannah; Mody, Rajal K.; Silk, Benjamin J.; Beal, Jennifer; Chen, Yi; Timme, Ruth; Doyle, Matthew; Fields, Angela; Wise, Matthew; Tillman, Glenn; Defibaugh-Chavez, Stephanie; Kucerova, Zuzana; Sabol, Ashley; Roache, Katie; Trees, Eija; Simmons, Mustafa; Wasilenko, Jamie; Kubota, Kristy; Pouseele, Hannes; Klimke, William; Besser, John; Brown, Eric; Allard, Marc; Gerner-Smidt, Peter

2016-01-01

Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) causes severe foodborne illness (listeriosis). Previous molecular subtyping methods, such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), were critical in detecting outbreaks that led to food safety improvements and declining incidence, but PFGE provides limited genetic resolution. A multiagency collaboration began performing real-time, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on all US Lm isolates from patients, food, and the environment in September 2013, posting sequencing data into a public repository. Compared with the year before the project began, WGS, combined with epidemiologic and product trace-back data, detected more listeriosis clusters and solved more outbreaks (2 outbreaks in pre-WGS year, 5 in WGS year 1, and 9 in year 2). Whole-genome multilocus sequence typing and single nucleotide polymorphism analyses provided equivalent phylogenetic relationships relevant to investigations; results were most useful when interpreted in context of epidemiological data. WGS has transformed listeriosis outbreak surveillance and is being implemented for other foodborne pathogens. PMID:27090985

Missed Programs (You Can't TiVo This One): Why Psychologists Should Study Media.

PubMed

Okdie, Bradley M; Ewoldsen, David R; Muscanell, Nicole L; Guadagno, Rosanna E; Eno, Cassie A; Velez, John A; Dunn, Robert A; O'Mally, Jamie; Smith, Lauren Reichart

2014-03-01

Media psychology involves the scientific examination of the cognitive processes and behavior involved in the selection, use, interpretation, and effects of communication across a variety of media (e.g., via the Internet, television, telephone, film). Media are central to people's lives, with projections indicating that an average person spent over 3,515 hours using media in 2012. New technologies are increasing the importance of media. Data from two content analyses demonstrate the underrepresentation of media psychology in mainstream psychological literature and in undergraduate and graduate psychology course offerings. We argue for the importance of a psychological approach to the study of media because of its presence in people's lives and because psychologists use it in their research and their choices may affect the external validity of their findings. We provide a useful framework from which psychologists can approach the study of media, and we conclude with recommendations for further areas of scientific inquiry relevant to psychological science. © The Author(s) 2014.

Validation and Interpretation of a New Sea Ice Globice Dataset Using Buoys and the Cice Sea Ice Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flocco, D.; Laxon, S. W.; Feltham, D. L.; Haas, C.

2011-12-01

The GlobIce project has provided high resolution sea ice product datasets over the Arctic derived from SAR data in the ESA archive. The products are validated sea ice motion, deformation and fluxes through straits. GlobIce sea ice velocities, deformation data and sea ice concentration have been validated using buoy data provided by the International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP). Over 95% of the GlobIce and buoy data analysed fell within 5 km of each other. The GlobIce Eulerian image pair product showed a high correlation with buoy data. The sea ice concentration product was compared to SSM/I data. An evaluation of the validity of the GlobICE data will be presented in this work. GlobICE sea ice velocity and deformation were compared with runs of the CICE sea ice model: in particular the mass fluxes through the straits were used to investigate the correlation between the winter behaviour of sea ice and the sea ice state in the following summer.

The prevalence of nervios and associated symptomatology among inhabitants of Mexican rural communities.

PubMed

Salgado de Snyder, V N; Diaz-Perez, M J; Ojeda, V D

2000-12-01

The purpose of the present contribution is to describe the prevalence of nervios through self-report, to identify psychological and somatic symptoms associated with nervios, and to report the comorbidity of nervios with mood and anxiety disorders among Mexican rural-origin adults. The data reported here were collected as part of a larger project, whose aims were to determine the prevalence of selected mental health problems, their sociocultural manifestation and interpretation, and the utilization of mental health services among the inhabitants of rural communities in Mexico. A multi-stage, stratified, random sample of two regions in Mexico was obtained. The total number of participants used in the analyses was 942 adults: 441 men and 501 women. We found a prevalence of nervios of 15.5% in the general population. When analyzed by sex, women had a significantly higher prevalence (20.8%) of this condition than men (9.5%). Also, all the somatic and psychological symptoms associated with nervios had a higher prevalence among women than men.

A system architecture for sharing de-identified, research-ready brain scans and health information across clinical imaging centers.

PubMed

Chervenak, Ann L; van Erp, Theo G M; Kesselman, Carl; D'Arcy, Mike; Sobell, Janet; Keator, David; Dahm, Lisa; Murry, Jim; Law, Meng; Hasso, Anton; Ames, Joseph; Macciardi, Fabio; Potkin, Steven G

2012-01-01

Progress in our understanding of brain disorders increasingly relies on the costly collection of large standardized brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data sets. Moreover, the clinical interpretation of brain scans benefits from compare and contrast analyses of scans from patients with similar, and sometimes rare, demographic, diagnostic, and treatment status. A solution to both needs is to acquire standardized, research-ready clinical brain scans and to build the information technology infrastructure to share such scans, along with other pertinent information, across hospitals. This paper describes the design, deployment, and operation of a federated imaging system that captures and shares standardized, de-identified clinical brain images in a federation across multiple institutions. In addition to describing innovative aspects of the system architecture and our initial testing of the deployed infrastructure, we also describe the Standardized Imaging Protocol (SIP) developed for the project and our interactions with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) regarding handling patient data in the federated environment.

The expectancy-value muddle in the theory of planned behaviour - and some proposed solutions.

PubMed

French, David P; Hankins, Matthew

2003-02-01

The authors of the Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behaviour recommended a method for statistically analysing the relationships between beliefs and the Attitude, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Behavioural Control constructs. This method has been used in the overwhelming majority of studies using these theories. However, there is a growing awareness that this method yields statistically uninterpretable results (Evans, 1991). Despite this, the use of this method is continuing, as is uninformed interpretation of this problematic research literature. This is probably due to the lack of a simple account of where the problem lies, and the large number of alternatives available. This paper therefore summarizes the problem as simply as possible, gives consideration to the conclusions that can be validly drawn from studies that contain this problem, and critically reviews the many alternatives that have been proposed to address this problem. Different techniques are identified as being suitable, according to the purpose of the specific research project.

Thoughts on Rigoletto.

PubMed

Grier, Francis

2011-12-01

The author discusses the traditional interpretations of the principal dramatis personae in Verdi's Rigoletto, suggesting that the opera expresses the composer's unconscious but highly perceptive and intuitive exploration of: (i) paranoid and perverse father-daughter oedipal dynamics as enacted between Rigoletto and Gilda; (ii) a folie-à-deux sado-masochistic relationship between Rigoletto and the Duke; (iii) the avoidance of conscious guilt and responsibility for Rigoletto's part in the tragedy through the rejection of insight achieved via massive projection, an addiction to mania, and perversion. In this respect Rigoletto is compared with King Lear. Some technical aspects of Verdi's compositional style employed to portray the contrasting characters of the protagonists are analysed. The paper also touches on Verdi's own possible unconscious (as well as conscious) investment in this particular opera, noting similarities between Verdi's portrait of the tragic, hunchback jester and his own self-depiction. The author notes similarities and contrasts between his analysis of the opera and recent papers by Hudson (1992),Tarnopolsky (1995)and Bergstein (2003)on the same subject. Copyright © 2010 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens?

PubMed Central

Marck, Adrien; Antero, Juliana; Berthelot, Geoffroy; Saulière, Guillaume; Jancovici, Jean-Marc; Masson-Delmotte, Valérie; Boeuf, Gilles; Spedding, Michael; Le Bourg, Éric; Toussaint, Jean-François

2017-01-01

Echoing scientific and industrial progress, the Twentieth century was an unprecedented period of improvement for human capabilities and performances, with a significant increase in lifespan, adult height, and maximal physiological performance. Analyses of historical data show a major slow down occurring in the most recent years. This triggered large and passionate debates in the academic scene within multiple disciplines; as such an observation could be interpreted as our upper biological limits. Such a new phase of human history may be related to structural and functional limits determined by long term evolutionary constraints, and the interaction between complex systems and their environment. In this interdisciplinary approach, we call into question the validity of subsequent forecasts and projections through innovative and related biomarkers such as sport, lifespan, and height indicators. We set a theoretical framework based on biological and environmental relevance rather than using a typical single-variable forecasting approach. As demonstrated within the article, these new views will have major social, economical, and political implications. PMID:29123486

Applications systems verification and transfer project. Volume 5: Operational applications of satellite snow-cover observations, northwest United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dillard, J. P.

1981-01-01

The study objective was to develop or modify methods in an operational framework that would allow incorporation of satellite derived snow cover observations for prediction of snowmelt derived runoff. Data were reviewed and verified for five basins in the Pacific Northwest. The data were analyzed for up to a 6-year period ending July 1978, and in all cases cover a low, average, and high snow cover/runoff year. Cloud cover is a major problem in these springtime runoff analyses and have hampered data collection for periods of up to 52 days. Tree cover and terrain are sufficiently dense and rugged to have caused problems. The interpretation of snowlines from satellite data was compared with conventional ground truth data and tested in operational streamflow forecasting models. When the satellite snow-covered area (SCA) data are incorporated in the SSARR (Streamflow Synthesis and Reservoir Regulation) model, there is a definite but minor improvement.

A System Architecture for Sharing De-Identified, Research-Ready Brain Scans and Health Information Across Clinical Imaging Centers

PubMed Central

Chervenak, Ann L.; van Erp, Theo G.M.; Kesselman, Carl; D’Arcy, Mike; Sobell, Janet; Keator, David; Dahm, Lisa; Murry, Jim; Law, Meng; Hasso, Anton; Ames, Joseph; Macciardi, Fabio; Potkin, Steven G.

2015-01-01

Progress in our understanding of brain disorders increasingly relies on the costly collection of large standardized brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data sets. Moreover, the clinical interpretation of brain scans benefits from compare and contrast analyses of scans from patients with similar, and sometimes rare, demographic, diagnostic, and treatment status. A solution to both needs is to acquire standardized, research-ready clinical brain scans and to build the information technology infrastructure to share such scans, along with other pertinent information, across hospitals. This paper describes the design, deployment, and operation of a federated imaging system that captures and shares standardized, de-identified clinical brain images in a federation across multiple institutions. In addition to describing innovative aspects of the system architecture and our initial testing of the deployed infrastructure, we also describe the Standardized Imaging Protocol (SIP) developed for the project and our interactions with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) regarding handling patient data in the federated environment. PMID:22941984

Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens?

PubMed

Marck, Adrien; Antero, Juliana; Berthelot, Geoffroy; Saulière, Guillaume; Jancovici, Jean-Marc; Masson-Delmotte, Valérie; Boeuf, Gilles; Spedding, Michael; Le Bourg, Éric; Toussaint, Jean-François

2017-01-01

Echoing scientific and industrial progress, the Twentieth century was an unprecedented period of improvement for human capabilities and performances, with a significant increase in lifespan, adult height, and maximal physiological performance. Analyses of historical data show a major slow down occurring in the most recent years. This triggered large and passionate debates in the academic scene within multiple disciplines; as such an observation could be interpreted as our upper biological limits. Such a new phase of human history may be related to structural and functional limits determined by long term evolutionary constraints, and the interaction between complex systems and their environment. In this interdisciplinary approach, we call into question the validity of subsequent forecasts and projections through innovative and related biomarkers such as sport, lifespan, and height indicators. We set a theoretical framework based on biological and environmental relevance rather than using a typical single-variable forecasting approach. As demonstrated within the article, these new views will have major social, economical, and political implications.

From playfulness and self-centredness via grand expectations to normalisation: a psychoanalytical rereading of the history of molecular genetics.

PubMed

Zwart, H A E

2013-11-01

In this paper, I will reread the history of molecular genetics from a psychoanalytical angle, analysing it as a case history. Building on the developmental theories of Freud and his followers, I will distinguish four stages, namely: (1) oedipal childhood, notably the epoch of model building (1943-1953); (2) the latency period, with a focus on the development of basic skills (1953-1989); (3) adolescence, exemplified by the Human Genome Project, with its fierce conflicts, great expectations and grandiose claims (1989-2003) and (4) adulthood (2003-present) during which revolutionary research areas such as molecular biology and genomics have achieved a certain level of normalcy--have evolved into a normal science. I will indicate how a psychoanalytical assessment conducted in this manner may help us to interpret and address some of the key normative issues that have been raised with regard to molecular genetics over the years, such as 'relevance', 'responsible innovation' and 'promise management'.

Analysis of brain activity and response to colour stimuli during learning tasks: an EEG study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Folgieri, Raffaella; Lucchiari, Claudio; Marini, Daniele

2013-02-01

The research project intends to demonstrate how EEG detection through BCI device can improve the analysis and the interpretation of colours-driven cognitive processes through the combined approach of cognitive science and information technology methods. To this end, firstly it was decided to design an experiment based on comparing the results of the traditional (qualitative and quantitative) cognitive analysis approach with the EEG signal analysis of the evoked potentials. In our case, the sensorial stimulus is represented by the colours, while the cognitive task consists in remembering the words appearing on the screen, with different combination of foreground (words) and background colours. In this work we analysed data collected from a sample of students involved in a learning process during which they received visual stimuli based on colour variation. The stimuli concerned both the background of the text to learn and the colour of the characters. The experiment indicated some interesting results concerning the use of primary (RGB) and complementary (CMY) colours.

Metatranscriptomic analysis of diverse microbial communities reveals core metabolic pathways and microbiome-specific functionality.

PubMed

Jiang, Yue; Xiong, Xuejian; Danska, Jayne; Parkinson, John

2016-01-12

Metatranscriptomics is emerging as a powerful technology for the functional characterization of complex microbial communities (microbiomes). Use of unbiased RNA-sequencing can reveal both the taxonomic composition and active biochemical functions of a complex microbial community. However, the lack of established reference genomes, computational tools and pipelines make analysis and interpretation of these datasets challenging. Systematic studies that compare data across microbiomes are needed to demonstrate the ability of such pipelines to deliver biologically meaningful insights on microbiome function. Here, we apply a standardized analytical pipeline to perform a comparative analysis of metatranscriptomic data from diverse microbial communities derived from mouse large intestine, cow rumen, kimchi culture, deep-sea thermal vent and permafrost. Sequence similarity searches allowed annotation of 19 to 76% of putative messenger RNA (mRNA) reads, with the highest frequency in the kimchi dataset due to its relatively low complexity and availability of closely related reference genomes. Metatranscriptomic datasets exhibited distinct taxonomic and functional signatures. From a metabolic perspective, we identified a common core of enzymes involved in amino acid, energy and nucleotide metabolism and also identified microbiome-specific pathways such as phosphonate metabolism (deep sea) and glycan degradation pathways (cow rumen). Integrating taxonomic and functional annotations within a novel visualization framework revealed the contribution of different taxa to metabolic pathways, allowing the identification of taxa that contribute unique functions. The application of a single, standard pipeline confirms that the rich taxonomic and functional diversity observed across microbiomes is not simply an artefact of different analysis pipelines but instead reflects distinct environmental influences. At the same time, our findings show how microbiome complexity and availability of reference genomes can impact comprehensive annotation of metatranscriptomes. Consequently, beyond the application of standardized pipelines, additional caution must be taken when interpreting their output and performing downstream, microbiome-specific, analyses. The pipeline used in these analyses along with a tutorial has been made freely available for download from our project website: http://www.compsysbio.org/microbiome .

Exploring structures of the Rochefort Cave (Belgium) with 3D models from LIDAR scans and UAV photoscans.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watlet, A.; Triantafyllou, A.; Kaufmann, O.; Le Mouelic, S.

2016-12-01

Amongst today's techniques that are able to produce 3D point clouds, LIDAR and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) photogrammetry are probably the most commonly used. Both methods have their own advantages and limitations. LIDAR scans create high resolution and high precision 3D point clouds, but such methods are generally costly, especially for sporadic surveys. Compared to LIDAR, UAV (e.g. drones) are cheap and flexible to use in different types of environments. Moreover, the photogrammetric processing workflow of digital images taken with UAV becomes easier with the rise of many affordable software packages (e.g., Agisoft PhotoScan, MicMac, VisualSFM). In this canvas, we present a challenging study made at the Rochefort Cave Laboratory (South Belgium) comprising surface and underground surveys. The main chamber of the cave ( 10000 m³) was the principal target of the study. A LIDAR scan and an UAV photoscan were acquired underground, producing respective 3D models. An additional 3D photoscan was performed at the surface, in the sinkhole in direct connection with the main chamber. The main goal of the project is to combine this different datasets for quantifying the orientation of inaccessible geological structures (e.g. faults, tectonic and gravitational joints, and sediments bedding), and for comparing them to structural data surveyed on the field. To go through structural interpretations, we used a subsampling method merging neighboured model polygons that have similar orientations, allowing statistical analyses of polygons spatial distribution. The benefit of this method is to verify the spatial continuity of in-situ structural measurements to larger scale. Roughness and colorimetric/spectral analyses may also be of great interest for several geosciences purposes by discriminating different facies among the geological beddings. Amongst others, this study was helpful to precise the local petrophysical properties associated with particular geological layers, what improved interpreting results from an ERT monitoring of the karst hydrological processes in terms of groundwater content.

EVALUATING SHORT-TERM CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN THE LATE HOLOCENE OF THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS

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

Joseph H. Hartman

1999-09-01

This literature study investigated methods and areas to deduce climate change and climate patterns, looking for short-term cycle phenomena and the means to interpret them. Many groups are actively engaged in intensive climate-related research. Ongoing research might be (overly) simplified into three categories: (1) historic data on weather that can be used for trend analysis and modeling; (2) detailed geological, biological (subfossil), and analytical (geochemical, radiocarbon, etc.) studies covering the last 10,000 years (about since last glaciation); and (3) geological, paleontological, and analytical (geochemical, radiometric, etc.) studies over millions of years. Of importance is our ultimate ability to join thesemore » various lines of inquiry into an effective means of interpretation. At this point, the process of integration is fraught with methodological troubles and misconceptions about what each group can contribute. This project has met its goals to the extent that it provided an opportunity to study resource materials and consider options for future effort toward the goal of understanding the natural climate variation that has shaped our current civilization. A further outcome of this project is a proposed methodology based on ''climate sections'' that provides spatial and temporal correlation within a region. The method would integrate cultural and climate data to establish the climate history of a region with increasing accuracy with progressive study and scientific advancement (e. g., better integration of regional and global models). The goal of this project is to better understand natural climatic variations in the recent past (last 5000 years). The information generated by this work is intended to provide better context within which to examine global climate change. The ongoing project will help to establish a basis upon which to interpret late Holocene short-term climate variability as evidenced in various studies in the northern Great Plains, northern hemisphere, and elsewhere. Finally these data can be integrated into a history of climate change and predictive climate models. This is not a small undertaking. The goals of researchers and the methods used vary considerably. The primary task of this project was literature research to (1) evaluate existing methodologies used in geologic climate change studies and evidence for short-term cycles produced by these methodologies and (2) evaluate late Holocene climate patterns and their interpretations.« less

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

Vinick, Charles; Riccobono, Antonino, MS; Messing, Charles G., Ph.D.

Dehlsen Associates, LLC was awarded a grant by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Golden Field Office for a project titled 'Siting Study Framework and Survey Methodology for Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Project in Offshore Southeast Florida,' corresponding to DOE Grant Award Number DE-EE0002655 resulting from DOE funding Opportunity Announcement Number DE-FOA-0000069 for Topic Area 2, and it is referred to herein as 'the project.' The purpose of the project was to enhance the certainty of the survey requirements and regulatory review processes for the purpose of reducing the time, efforts, and costs associated with initial siting efforts ofmore » marine and hydrokinetic energy conversion facilities that may be proposed in the Atlantic Ocean offshore Southeast Florida. To secure early input from agencies, protocols were developed for collecting baseline geophysical information and benthic habitat data that can be used by project developers and regulators to make decisions early in the process of determining project location (i.e., the siting process) that avoid or minimize adverse impacts to sensitive marine benthic habitat. It is presumed that such an approach will help facilitate the licensing process for hydrokinetic and other ocean renewable energy projects within the study area and will assist in clarifying the baseline environmental data requirements described in the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (formerly Minerals Management Service) final regulations on offshore renewable energy (30 Code of Federal Regulations 285, published April 29, 2009). Because projects generally seek to avoid or minimize impacts to sensitive marine habitats, it was not the intent of this project to investigate areas that did not appear suitable for the siting of ocean renewable energy projects. Rather, a two-tiered approach was designed with the first step consisting of gaining overall insight about seabed conditions offshore southeastern Florida by conducting a geophysical survey of pre-selected areas with subsequent post-processing and expert data interpretation by geophysicists and experienced marine biologists knowledgeable about the general project area. The second step sought to validate the benthic habitat types interpreted from the geophysical data by conducting benthic video and photographic field surveys of selected habitat types. The goal of this step was to determine the degree of correlation between the habitat types interpreted from the geophysical data and what actually exists on the seafloor based on the benthic video survey logs. This step included spot-checking selected habitat types rather than comprehensive evaluation of the entire area covered by the geophysical survey. It is important to note that non-invasive survey methods were used as part of this study and no devices of any kind were either temporarily or permanently attached to the seabed as part of the work conducted under this project.« less

Use of aerial photograph, channel-type interpretations to predict habitat availability in small streams. Restoration project 95505b. Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration project final report

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

Olson, R.A.

1995-05-01

In-stream habitats were quantified and qualified for nine stream channel-types. The channel types were identified using interpretations from stereo pairs of color and infrared aerial photographs. A total of 70 sites were sampled for streams located on the northwest portion of the Kenai Peninsula, in south-central Alaska. Channel-types were a significant predictor (P < 0.05) of the area (sq m) for 9 of 13 habitat types. Channel-types that had similar habitat composition, differed in size and depth of those habitats. Spawning habitat also appeared to be correlated to channel-type, however the within channel-type variability caused the differences to test non-significantmore » P < 0.05.« less

SN1987A: The Birth of a Supernova Remnant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCray, Richard

2003-01-01

This grant was intended to support the development of theoretical models needed to interpret and understand the observations by the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray telescope of the rapidly developing remnant of Supernova 1987A. In addition, we carried out a few investigations of related topics. The project was spectacularly successful. The models that we developed provide the definitive framework for predicting and interpreting this phenomenon. Following is a list of publications based on our work. Some of these papers include results of both theoretical modeling supported by this project and also analysis of data supported by the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We first list papers published in refereed journals, then conference proceedings and book chapters, and also an educational web site.

Understanding Proximal-Distal Economic Projections of the Benefits of Childhood Preventive Interventions

PubMed Central

Slade, Eric P.; Becker, Kimberly D.

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the steps and decisions involved in proximal-distal economic modeling, in which social, behavioral, and academic outcomes data for children may be used to inform projections of the economic consequences of interventions. Economic projections based on proximal-distal modeling techniques may be used in cost-benefit analyses when information is unavailable for certain long term outcomes data in adulthood or to build entire cost-benefit analyses. Although examples of proximal-distal economic analyses of preventive interventions exist in policy reports prepared for governmental agencies, such analyses have rarely been completed in conjunction with research trials. The modeling decisions on which these prediction models are based are often opaque to policymakers and other end-users. This paper aims to illuminate some of the key steps and considerations involved in constructing proximal-distal prediction models and to provide examples and suggestions that may help guide future proximal-distal analyses. PMID:24337979

The interpretation of crustal dynamics data in terms of plate interactions and active tectonics of the Anatolian Plate and surrounding regions in the Middle East

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toksoz, M. Nafi

1987-01-01

The long term objective of this project is to interpret NASA's Crustal Dynamics measurements (SLR) in the Eastern Mediterranean region in terms of relative plate motions and intraplate deformation. The approach is to combine realistic modeling studies with an analysis of available geophysical and geological observations to provide a framework for interpreting NASA's measurements. This semi-annual report concentrates on recent results regarding the tectonics of Anatolia and surrounding regions from ground based observations. Also briefly reported on is progress made in using GPS measurements to densify SLR observations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Environmental change at the southern Cape coast of South Africa as inferred from a high-resolution Holocene sediment record from Eilandvlei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wündsch, Michael; Haberzettl, Torsten; Meadows, Michael E.; Kirsten, Kelly L.; Meschner, Stephanie; Frenzel, Peter; Baade, Jussi; Daut, Gerhard; Mäusbacher, Roland; Kasper, Thomas; Quick, Lynne J.; Cawthra, Hayley C.; Zabel, Matthias

2016-04-01

The RAIN project (Regional Archives for Integrated iNvestigations), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), focuses on closely integrated investigations of terrestrial and marine geoarchives from southern Africa in order to assess environmental changes during the late Quaternary. For this purpose, various marine and terrestrial sediment records from the three major rainfall zones of South Africa (winter-, summer- and year-round rainfall zone) were recovered and analysed applying a wide range of methods (e.g., sedimentology, seismic stratigraphy, geochronology, organic and inorganic geochemistry, mineralogy, stable isotopes, micropalaeontology, palynology). In this contribution, we present results and interpretations obtained from a 30.5 m sediment core retrieved from the coastal lake Eilandvlei located within the year-round rainfall zone. Geochemical investigations (Ca, Sr, total inorganic carbon) indicate major changes in the sediment carbonate contents which were linked to variations in the marine influence received at the site throughout the covered period. The interpretation of carbonates reflecting a varying marine influence is corroborated by micropalaeontological analyses (viz. ostracod and diatom assemblages) which reveal strong similarities with the geochemical data. In order to establish a reliable radiocarbon (14C) chronology for this record, it is of particular importance to consider the impact of 14C-depleted ("old") marine carbon contained in the measured samples causing reservoir effects. Therefore, two marine molluscan shells collected alive before AD 1950 ("pre-bomb") were analysed to determine the regional marine reservoir offset (ΔR). The obtained ΔR values of 134 ± 38 and 161 ± 38 14C yrs represent the first data available for the south coast of South Africa. However, the application of the resulting average ΔR = 148 ± 54 14C yrs for the calibration of the entire Eilandvlei record underestimates the reservoir effects for the older deposits. This indicates a temporal variability on the degree of old marine carbon affecting Eilandvlei during the Holocene, which was possibly caused by changes in the connectivity between the lake system and the ocean as well as changes in the extent of upwelling along the coast. To solve this problem, variable past reservoir effects were determined based on the dating of sample pairs which were assumingly deposited contemporaneously and are composed of different source material (marine/terrestrial). This approach provides the most reliable chronology revealing a median basal age of 8880 +145/220 cal BP. Thus, the Eilandvlei core represents an ultra-high-resolution record of environmental change during the Holocene, which is a unique discovery for entire southern Africa. Palaeoenvironmental interpretations of the this record strongly suggest that sedimentation conditions at Eilandvlei were closely coupled to global sea level changes. Moreover, the multi-proxy approach provides great potential for palaeoclimatic interpretations of this record. For example, geochemical proxies reflecting the varying input of terrestrial material suggest changes in the discharge of inflowing rivers which, in turn, may be linked to variations in rainfall and hence climate within the year-round rainfall zone of South Africa.

Understanding genetic variation - the value of systems biology.

PubMed

Hütt, Marc-Thorsten

2014-04-01

Pharmacology is currently transformed by the vast amounts of genome-associated information available for system-level interpretation. Here I review the potential of systems biology to facilitate this interpretation, thus paving the way for the emerging field of systems pharmacology. In particular, I will show how gene regulatory and metabolic networks can serve as a framework for interpreting high throughput data and as an interface to detailed dynamical models. In addition to the established connectivity analyses of effective networks, I suggest here to also analyze higher order architectural properties of effective networks. © 2013 The British Pharmacological Society.

Geologic and mineral and water resources investigations in western Colorado using ERTS-1 data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knepper, D. H., Jr. (Compiler)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Geologic interpretation of ERTS-1 imagery is dependent on recognition of the distribution, continuity, trend, and geometry of key surface features. In the examination of ERTS-1 imagery, lithology must be interpreted largely from the geomorphic expression of the terrain. ERTS-1 imagery is extremely useful in detecting local structures. Most mapped structures are topographically-expressed. Consequently, ERTS-1 imagery acquired during mid-winter, when the solar illumination angle is low, provides the largest amount of structural information. Stereoscopic analyses of ERTS-1 images significantly aid geologic interpretation. Positive transparencies of ERTS-1 images (1:1,000,000) commonly contain more geologic information than can be adequately annotated during geologic interpretation.

Teaching Real Data Interpretation with Models (TRIM): Analysis of Student Dialogue in a Large-Enrollment Cell and Developmental Biology Course

PubMed Central

Zagallo, Patricia; Meddleton, Shanice; Bolger, Molly S.

2016-01-01

We present our design for a cell biology course to integrate content with scientific practices, specifically data interpretation and model-based reasoning. A 2-yr research project within this course allowed us to understand how students interpret authentic biological data in this setting. Through analysis of written work, we measured the extent to which students’ data interpretations were valid and/or generative. By analyzing small-group audio recordings during in-class activities, we demonstrated how students used instructor-provided models to build and refine data interpretations. Often, students used models to broaden the scope of data interpretations, tying conclusions to a biological significance. Coding analysis revealed several strategies and challenges that were common among students in this collaborative setting. Spontaneous argumentation was present in 82% of transcripts, suggesting that data interpretation using models may be a way to elicit this important disciplinary practice. Argumentation dialogue included frequent co-construction of claims backed by evidence from data. Other common strategies included collaborative decoding of data representations and noticing data patterns before making interpretive claims. Focusing on irrelevant data patterns was the most common challenge. Our findings provide evidence to support the feasibility of supporting students’ data-interpretation skills within a large lecture course. PMID:27193288

Is there enough research output of EU projects available to assess and improve health system performance? An attempt to understand and categorise the output of EU projects conducted between 2002 and 2012.

PubMed

Zander, Britta; Busse, Reinhard

2017-02-22

Adequate performance assessment benefits from the use of disaggregated data to allow a proper evaluation of health systems. Since routinely collected data are usually not disaggregated enough to allow stratified analyses of healthcare needs, utilisation, cost and quality across different sectors, international research projects could fill this gap by exploring means to data collection or even providing individual-level data. The aim of this paper is therefore to (1) study the availability and accessibility of relevant European-funded health projects, and (2) to analyse their contents and methodologies. The European Commission Public Health Projects Database and CORDIS were searched for eligible projects, which were then analysed by information openly available online. Overall, only a few of the 39 identified projects produced data useful for proper performance assessment, due to, for example, lacking available or accessible data, or poor linkage of health status to costs and patient experiences. Other problems were insufficient databases to identify projects and poor communication of project contents and results. A new approach is necessary to improve accessibility to and coverage of data on outcomes, quality and costs of health systems enabling decision-makers and health professionals to properly assess performance.

DNA methylation and exposure to ambient air pollution in two prospective cohorts.

PubMed

Plusquin, Michelle; Guida, Florence; Polidoro, Silvia; Vermeulen, Roel; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Campanella, Gianluca; Hoek, Gerard; Kyrtopoulos, Soterios A; Georgiadis, Panagiotis; Naccarati, Alessio; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Krogh, Vittorio; Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita, H; Monique Verschuren, W M; Sayols-Baixeras, Sergi; Panni, Tommaso; Peters, Annette; Hebels, Dennie G A J; Kleinjans, Jos; Vineis, Paolo; Chadeau-Hyam, Marc

2017-11-01

Long-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with several adverse health effects including cardiovascular, respiratory diseases and cancers. However, underlying molecular alterations remain to be further investigated. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of long-term exposure to air pollutants on (a) average DNA methylation at functional regions and, (b) individual differentially methylated CpG sites. An assumption is that omic measurements, including the methylome, are more sensitive to low doses than hard health outcomes. This study included blood-derived DNA methylation (Illumina-HM450 methylation) for 454 Italian and 159 Dutch participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Long-term air pollution exposure levels, including NO 2 , NO x , PM 2.5 , PM coarse , PM 10 , PM 2.5 absorbance (soot) were estimated using models developed within the ESCAPE project, and back-extrapolated to the time of sampling when possible. We meta-analysed the associations between the air pollutants and global DNA methylation, methylation in functional regions and epigenome-wide methylation. CpG sites found differentially methylated with air pollution were further investigated for functional interpretation in an independent population (EnviroGenoMarkers project), where (N=613) participants had both methylation and gene expression data available. Exposure to NO 2 was associated with a significant global somatic hypomethylation (p-value=0.014). Hypomethylation of CpG island's shores and shelves and gene bodies was significantly associated with higher exposures to NO 2 and NO x . Meta-analysing the epigenome-wide findings of the 2 cohorts did not show genome-wide significant associations at single CpG site level. However, several significant CpG were found if the analyses were separated by countries. By regressing gene expression levels against methylation levels of the exposure-related CpG sites, we identified several significant CpG-transcript pairs and highlighted 5 enriched pathways for NO 2 and 9 for NO x mainly related to the immune system and its regulation. Our findings support results on global hypomethylation associated with air pollution, and suggest that the shores and shelves of CpG islands and gene bodies are mostly affected by higher exposure to NO 2 and NO x . Functional differences in the immune system were suggested by transcriptome analyses. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program Summary Report: Data and Analyses 2006 through 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kindinger, Jack G.; Buster, Noreen A.; Flocks, James G.; Bernier, Julie C.; Kulp, Mark A.

2013-01-01

The Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program was implemented under the Louisiana Coastal Area Science and Technology (LCA S&T) office as a component of the System Wide Assessment and Monitoring (SWAMP) program. The BICM project was developed by the State of Louisiana (Coastal Protection Restoration Authority [CPRA], formerly Department of Natural Resources [DNR]) to complement other Louisiana coastal monitoring programs such as the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System-Wetlands (CRMS-Wetlands) and was a collaborative research effort by CPRA, University of New Orleans (UNO), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The goal of the BICM program was to provide long-term data on the barrier islands of Louisiana that could be used to plan, design, evaluate, and maintain current and future barrier-island restoration projects. The BICM program used both historical and newly acquired (2006 to 2010) data to assess and monitor changes in the aerial and subaqueous extent of islands, habitat types, sediment texture and geotechnical properties, environmental processes, and vegetation composition. BICM datasets included aerial still and video photography (multiple time series) for shoreline positions, habitat mapping, and land loss; light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys for topographic elevations; single-beam and swath bathymetry; and sediment grab samples. Products produced using BICM data and analyses included (but were not limited to) storm-impact assessments, rate of shoreline and bathymetric change, shoreline-erosion and accretion maps, high-resolution elevation maps, coastal-shoreline and barrier-island habitat-classification maps, and coastal surficial-sediment characterization maps. Discussions in this report summarize the extensive data-collection efforts and present brief interpretive analyses for four coastal Louisiana geographic regions. In addition, several coastal-wide and topical themes were selected that integrate the data and analyses within a broader coastal context: (1) barrier-shoreline evolution driven by rapid relative sea-level rise (RSLR), (2) hurricane impacts to the Chandeleur Islands and likelihood of island recovery, (3) impact of tropical storms on barrier shorelines, (4) Barataria Bay tidal-inlet management, and (5) habitat changes related to RSLR. The final theme addresses potential future goals of the BICM program, including rotational annual to semi-decadal monitoring, proposed new-data collection, how to incorporate technological advances with previous data-collection and monitoring protocols, and standardizing methods and quality-control assessments for continued coastal monitoring and restoration.

Occupational therapists' job satisfaction in a changing hospital organisation--a time-geography-based study.

PubMed

Bendixen, Hans Jørgen; Ellegård, Kajsa

2014-01-01

To investigate occupational therapists' job satisfaction under a changing regime by using a time-geographic approach focusing on the therapists' everyday working lives. Nine occupational therapists at the Copenhagen University Hospital, Gentofte, Denmark. A mixed-method design was employed. Occupational therapists kept time-geographic diaries, and the results from them were grounded for individual, semi-structured in-depth interviews. Individual reflections on everyday working life were recorded. Transcribed statements from the interviews were analysed to determine factors influencing job satisfaction. The nine therapists kept diaries for one day a month for a total of 70 preselected days over a period of nine months; six participated in individual interviews. Four factors constraining OT job satisfaction were revealed. Economic concerns, new professional paradigms and methods in combination with a new organisational structure for the occupational therapy service caused uncertainty. In addition, decreasing possibilities for supervision by colleagues influenced job satisfaction. Opportunities for experiencing autonomy in everyday working life were described as facilitators for job satisfaction. The time-geographic and interview methods were useful in focusing on the job satisfaction of occupational therapists, who provided individual interpretations of the balance between autonomy and three types of constraints in everyday working life. The constraints related to organisation, power relations and - not least - how the organisational project of the department fitted in with OTs' individual projects. Matching of organisational and individual projects is of crucial importance, not only for OTs but for most workplaces where individuals are employed to serve patients in the healthcare sector.

Salutogenic service user involvement in nursing research: a case study.

PubMed

Mjøsund, Nina Helen; Vinje, Hege Forbech; Eriksson, Monica; Haaland-Øverby, Mette; Jensen, Sven Liang; Kjus, Solveig; Norheim, Irene; Portaasen, Inger-Lill; Espnes, Geir Arild

2018-05-12

The aim was to explore the process of involving mental healthcare service users in a mental health promotion research project as research advisors and to articulate features of the collaboration which encouraged and empowered the advisors to make significant contributions to the research process and outcome. There is an increasing interest in evaluating aspects of service user involvement in nursing research. Few descriptions exist of features that enable meaningful service user involvement. We draw on experiences from conducting research which used the methodology interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore how persons with mental disorders perceived mental health. Aside from the participants in the project, five research advisors with service user experience were involved in the entire research process. We applied a case study design to explore the ongoing processes of service user involvement. Documents and texts produced while conducting the project (2012-2016), as well as transcripts from multistage focus group discussions with the research advisors, were analysed. The level of involvement was dynamic and varied throughout the different stages of the research process. Six features: leadership, meeting structure, role clarification, being members of a team, a focus on possibilities and being seen and treated as holistic individuals, were guiding principles for a salutogenic service user involvement. These features strengthened the advisors' perception of themselves as valuable and competent contributors. Significant contributions from research advisors were promoted by facilitating the process of involvement. A supporting structure and atmosphere were consistent with a salutogenic service user involvement. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

A two-dimensional Riemann solver with self-similar sub-structure - Alternative formulation based on least squares projection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balsara, Dinshaw S.; Vides, Jeaniffer; Gurski, Katharine; Nkonga, Boniface; Dumbser, Michael; Garain, Sudip; Audit, Edouard

2016-01-01

Just as the quality of a one-dimensional approximate Riemann solver is improved by the inclusion of internal sub-structure, the quality of a multidimensional Riemann solver is also similarly improved. Such multidimensional Riemann problems arise when multiple states come together at the vertex of a mesh. The interaction of the resulting one-dimensional Riemann problems gives rise to a strongly-interacting state. We wish to endow this strongly-interacting state with physically-motivated sub-structure. The self-similar formulation of Balsara [16] proves especially useful for this purpose. While that work is based on a Galerkin projection, in this paper we present an analogous self-similar formulation that is based on a different interpretation. In the present formulation, we interpret the shock jumps at the boundary of the strongly-interacting state quite literally. The enforcement of the shock jump conditions is done with a least squares projection (Vides, Nkonga and Audit [67]). With that interpretation, we again show that the multidimensional Riemann solver can be endowed with sub-structure. However, we find that the most efficient implementation arises when we use a flux vector splitting and a least squares projection. An alternative formulation that is based on the full characteristic matrices is also presented. The multidimensional Riemann solvers that are demonstrated here use one-dimensional HLLC Riemann solvers as building blocks. Several stringent test problems drawn from hydrodynamics and MHD are presented to show that the method works. Results from structured and unstructured meshes demonstrate the versatility of our method. The reader is also invited to watch a video introduction to multidimensional Riemann solvers on http://www.nd.edu/ dbalsara/Numerical-PDE-Course.

Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development—Iodine Review1234

PubMed Central

Rohner, Fabian; Zimmermann, Michael; Jooste, Pieter; Pandav, Chandrakant; Caldwell, Kathleen; Raghavan, Ramkripa; Raiten, Daniel J.

2014-01-01

The objective of the Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development (BOND) project is to provide state-of-the-art information and service with regard to selection, use, and interpretation of biomarkers of nutrient exposure, status, function, and effect. Specifically, the BOND project seeks to develop consensus on accurate assessment methodologies that are applicable to researchers (laboratory/clinical/surveillance), clinicians, programmers, and policy makers (data consumers). The BOND project is also intended to develop targeted research agendas to support the discovery and development of biomarkers through improved understanding of nutrient biology within relevant biologic systems. In phase I of the BOND project, 6 nutrients (iodine, vitamin A, iron, zinc, folate, and vitamin B-12) were selected for their high public health importance because they typify the challenges faced by users in the selection, use, and interpretation of biomarkers. For each nutrient, an expert panel was constituted and charged with the development of a comprehensive review covering the respective nutrient’s biology, existing biomarkers, and specific issues of use with particular reference to the needs of the individual user groups. In addition to the publication of these reviews, materials from each will be extracted to support the BOND interactive Web site (http://www.nichd.nih.gov/global_nutrition/programs/bond/pages/index.aspx). This review represents the first in the series of reviews and covers all relevant aspects of iodine biology and biomarkers. The article is organized to provide the reader with a full appreciation of iodine’s background history as a public health issue, its biology, and an overview of available biomarkers and specific considerations for the use and interpretation of iodine biomarkers across a range of clinical and population-based uses. The review also includes a detailed research agenda to address priority gaps in our understanding of iodine biology and assessment. PMID:24966410

Introduction to bifactor polytomous item response theory analysis.

PubMed

Toland, Michael D; Sulis, Isabella; Giambona, Francesca; Porcu, Mariano; Campbell, Jonathan M

2017-02-01

A bifactor item response theory model can be used to aid in the interpretation of the dimensionality of a multifaceted questionnaire that assumes continuous latent variables underlying the propensity to respond to items. This model can be used to describe the locations of people on a general continuous latent variable as well as on continuous orthogonal specific traits that characterize responses to groups of items. The bifactor graded response (bifac-GR) model is presented in contrast to a correlated traits (or multidimensional GR model) and unidimensional GR model. Bifac-GR model specification, assumptions, estimation, and interpretation are demonstrated with a reanalysis of data (Campbell, 2008) on the Shared Activities Questionnaire. We also show the importance of marginalizing the slopes for interpretation purposes and we extend the concept to the interpretation of the information function. To go along with the illustrative example analyses, we have made available supplementary files that include command file (syntax) examples and outputs from flexMIRT, IRTPRO, R, Mplus, and STATA. Supplementary data to this article can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2016.11.001. Data needed to reproduce analyses in this article are available as supplemental materials (online only) in the Appendix of this article. Copyright © 2016 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sprays and Cartan projective connections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saunders, D. J.

2004-10-01

Around 80 years ago, several authors (for instance H. Weyl, T.Y. Thomas, J. Douglas and J.H.C. Whitehead) studied the projective geometry of paths, using the methods of tensor calculus. The principal object of study was a spray, namely a homogeneous second-order differential equation, or more generally a projective equivalence class of sprays. At around the same time, E. Cartan studied the same topic from a different point of view, by imagining a projective space attached to a manifold, or, more generally, attached to a `manifold of elements'; the infinitesimal `glue' may be interpreted in modern language as a Cartan projective connection on a principal bundle. This paper describes the geometrical relationship between these two points of view.

An Exploratory Study of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies in a Design Project by Students in Grades 9-12

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawanto, Oenardi; Butler, Deborah; Cartier, Sylvie; Santoso, Harry; Lawanto, Kevin; Clark, David

2013-01-01

This exploratory study evaluated self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies of 27 students in grades 9-12 during an engineering design project. The specific focus of the study was on student task interpretation and its relation to planning and cognitive strategies in design activities. Two research questions guided the study: (1) To what degree was…

geneLAB: Expanding the Impact of NASA's Biological Research in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rayl, Nicole; Smith, Jeffrey D.

2014-01-01

The geneLAB project is designed to leverage the value of large 'omics' datasets from molecular biology projects conducted on the ISS by making these datasets available, citable, discoverable, interpretable, reusable, and reproducible. geneLAB will create a collaboration space with an integrated set of tools for depositing, accessing, analyzing, and modeling these diverse datasets from spaceflight and related terrestrial studies.

Understanding the Educational Lives of Community College Students: A Photovoice Project, a Bourdieusian Interpretation, and Habitus Dissonance Spark Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latz, Amanda O.

2012-01-01

Too little research exists that provides windows into the day-to-day lives of community college students. The purpose of this paper is to explicate one finding and concomitant grounded theory derived from a photovoice project aimed at understanding the educational lives of community college students. Participants saw the community college as a…

The Maryland Large-Scale Integrated Neurocognitive Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

Visual input enters the network through the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and is passed forward through visual brain regions (V1, V2, and V4...University of Maryland Sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA Order No. V029 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE...interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or the U.S

Creating a Meeting Point of Understanding: Interpreters' Experiences in Swedish Childhood Cancer Care.

PubMed

Granhagen Jungner, Johanna; Tiselius, Elisabet; Lützén, Kim; Blomgren, Klas; Pergert, Pernilla

2016-01-01

Children and families with a foreign background and limited Swedish proficiency have to communicate through interpreters in childhood cancer care centers in Sweden. Interpreter-mediated events deal with many difficulties that potentially hinder the transfer of information. The purpose of our study was to explore interpreters' experiences of interpreting between health care staff and limited Swedish proficiency patients/families in childhood cancer care. Using purposive samples, we interviewed 11 interpreters individually. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Analyses of the data resulted in the main theme of creating a meeting point of understanding, constructed from 3 subthemes: balancing between cultures, bridging the gaps of knowledge, and balancing between compassion and professionalism. Our result shows that in order to create a sustainable meeting point of understanding, it is necessary to explain both the context and cultural differences. These results suggest that the responsibility for information transfer lies with both the health care profession and the interpreters. Tools have to be developed for both parties to contribute to creating the meeting point of understanding. © 2015 by Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses.

Spiritual Well-Being Scale Ethnic Differences between Caucasians and African-Americans: Follow Up Analyses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Geri; Gridley, Betty; Fleming, Willie

This follow up study is in response to Miller, Fleming, and Brown-Andersons (1998) study of ethnic differences between Caucasians and African-Americans where the authors suggested that the Spiritual Well-Being (SWB) Scale may need to be interpreted differently depending on ethnicity. In this study, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted for…

Are Different Students Expected to Learn Norms Differently in the Mathematics Classroom?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Planas, Nuria; Gorgorio, Nuria

2004-01-01

We analyse social interactions during the first days of class in a secondary mathematics classroom (15 and 16-year-olds) with a high percentage of immigrant students. Our analyses show the co-existence of different models for both the interpretation and the use of classroom social norms and socio-mathematical norms. Valorising some behaviours over…