Source chemical characterization of swine odor

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Odors from swine production have been linked to a host of issues affecting quality of life, property values and potentially human health. Typical compounds and classes of compounds include: sulfides, thiols, acids, phenols, indoles, ammonia and amines. The wide range of compounds assoicated with swi...

The Work Ethic Game.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Kate

1992-01-01

Describes the development of "The Work Ethic Game" that focuses on integrity in the workplace. Explains that the game is divided into three categories: legal, judgment, and policy issues. Discusses different personality types in the typical employee population. Includes possibilities for use at different education levels. (DK)

Managing the Difficult Child.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Linda; Della Corte, Suzanne

1990-01-01

This newsletter issue focuses on ways parents can manage the difficult child with special needs. Characteristics of the difficult child are listed including poor listening skills, irritableness, impulsivity, and tendency to have tantrums. Typical reactions to the difficult child by parents, siblings, other relatives, neighbors, the school, and…

Finite difference methods for the solution of unsteady potential flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caradonna, F. X.

1982-01-01

Various problems which are confronted in the development of an unsteady finite difference potential code are reviewed mainly in the context of what is done for a typical small disturbance and full potential method. The issues discussed include choice of equations, linearization and conservation, differencing schemes, and algorithm development. A number of applications, including unsteady three dimensional rotor calculations, are demonstrated.

Universal Design in Postsecondary Education: Process, Principles, and Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgstahler, Sheryl

2009-01-01

Designing any product or environment involves the consideration of many factors, including aesthetics, engineering options, environmental issues, safety concerns, industry standards, and cost. Typically, designers focus their attention on the average user. In contrast, universal design (UD), according to the Center for Universal Design, "is…

TEANGA: Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics, 1979-1993.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Baoill, Donall P., Ed.

1993-01-01

This document consists of a complete run of the thirteen issues of "TEANGA" published since its inception in 1979 through 1993. Typical article topics include: linguistic research approaches and methodology; interlanguage, language transfer, and interference; second language instruction; language testing; language variation; discussion…

Ethical and Legal Issues in Biobanking for Genomic Research in Nigeria

PubMed Central

Akintola, Simisola. O.

2013-01-01

The pursuit of genomic research and biobanking has raised concerns and discussions about the ethical and legal implications. Given the specific challenges that surround such enterprise in low and middle income countries, it is pertinent to examine them in the light of the advent of Biobanking and Genomic research in Nigeria. In this paper I discuss the issues and suggest model solutions derived from advanced jurisdictions. These ethical and legal issues are discussed within the context of the legal system of a typical African country whose jurisprudence derives from that of its erstwhile colonial master, the United Kingdom. This includes issues relating to law and human rights, informed consent, native and customary law. PMID:24353984

A Comparative Assessment of Greek Universities' Efficiency Using Quantitative Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katharaki, Maria; Katharakis, George

2010-01-01

In part due to the increased demand for higher education, typical evaluation frameworks for universities often address the key issue of available resource utilisation. This study seeks to estimate the efficiency of 20 public universities in Greece through quantitative analysis (including performance indicators, data envelopment analysis (DEA) and…

"ELI"--The Educational Futures Game.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahoney, V. L. Mike; Grantham, Lex

This report describes ELI, a computer-based educational game that gives participants, as citizens of fictitious cities, the opportunity to examine a variety of typical community issues relating to education within the context of broader city and regional problems. After a brief introduction, the game structure is described, including the setting…

Millennials Need Training Too: Using Communication Technology to Facilitate Teamwork

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charsky, Dennis; Kish, Mary L.; Briskin, Jessica; Hathaway, Sarah; Walsh, Kira; Barajas, Nicolas

2009-01-01

Human Communication in Organizations (HCO) is an introductory college course at Ithaca College, typically taken in the freshman year, in which students from a wide variety of majors examine the basic concepts, issues, and uses of organizational communication including communication theory, superior-subordinate and peer relationships, leadership,…

Preparing Contracts and Negotiating with Library Automation Vendors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walton, Robert A.

This continuing education curriculum and related materials are designed to provide library professionals with a general orientation to the issues and process of negotiating and successfully securing an automation contract. The course syllabus includes the following topics: (1) definition and objectives of a contract; (2) why vendors typically have…

The Teacher Trainer, 1994.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodward, Tessa, Ed.

1994-01-01

This document consists of the three issues of the journal "The Teacher Trainer" published in 1994. This journal is designed for those interested in modern language teacher training. It makes use of a variety of formats: article, letter, comment, quotation, cartoon, interview, spoof, Haiku ideas. Typical article topics during 1994 included:…

COMBINING EVIDENCE ON AIR POLLUTION AND DAILY MORTALITY FROM 20 LARGEST U.S. CITIES: A HIERARCHICAL MODELING STRATEGY

EPA Science Inventory

Environmental science and management are fed by individual studies of pollution effects, often focused on single locations. Data are encountered data, typically from multiple sources and on different time and spatial scales. Statistical issues including publication bias and m...

Trends in Current Issues, Y2K-2005

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maltz, Leslie; DeBlois, Peter B.

2005-01-01

EDUCAUSE inaugurated its annual Current Issues Survey in 2000 by asking the primary representatives, typically CIOs, of its member institutions to identify up to three critical IT issues (five starting in 2004) from among 30 to 40 in response to each of four questions. The survey response rate has typically been 35 to 40 percent, with a…

Finite difference methods for the solution of unsteady potential flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caradonna, F. X.

1985-01-01

A brief review is presented of various problems which are confronted in the development of an unsteady finite difference potential code. This review is conducted mainly in the context of what is done for a typical small disturbance and full potential methods. The issues discussed include choice of equation, linearization and conservation, differencing schemes, and algorithm development. A number of applications including unsteady three-dimensional rotor calculation, are demonstrated.

TMF design considerations in turbine airfoils of advanced turbine engines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Date, C. G.; Zamrik, S. Y.; Adams, J. H.; Frani, N. E.

A review of thermal-mechanicalfatigue (TMF) in advanced turbine engines is presented. The review includes examples of typical thermal-mechnical loadings encountered in the design of hot section blades and vanes. Specific issues related to TMF behavior are presented and the associated impact on component life analysis and design is discussed.

Lessons learned on 50,000 acres of plantation in northern California

Treesearch

Jeff Webster; Ed Fredrickson

2005-01-01

Many lessons have been learned during reforestation of large wildfires and clearcuts in interior Northern California, a region of low rainfall and summer drought typical of a Mediterranean climate. Challenges appeared from time of establishment right up to commercial thinning. Establishment issues included procurement of improved seed, site preparation, soil mitigation...

The Basics of Long-Term Debt Issuance and Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Meter, Christine M.

2011-01-01

Issuing long-term debt can be a complex, multifaceted process. Although the process varies by stare, typically the school business official and the district solicitor work with the financing ream, which includes a financial adviser, bond counsel, underwriter, raring agency, and possibly a bond insurance agent, paying agent, and architect.…

Integrating Resources in the Education Library: Trends, Issues, and Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osa, Justina O.

2005-01-01

Resources found in the typical education library that supports teacher education programs often include print and non-print library items, and other items that are unique to education library collections. This article attempts to share what the education library is doing to integrate all of its resources irrespective of their formats. The main…

Bilingual Children with Primary Language Impairment: Issues, Evidence and Implications for Clinical Actions

PubMed Central

Kohnert, Kathryn

2010-01-01

A clear understanding of how to best provide clinical serves to bilingual children with suspected or confirmed primary language impairment (PLI) is predicated on understanding typical development in dual-language learners as well as the PLI profile. This article reviews general characteristics of children learning two languages, including three that challenge the diagnosis and treatment of PLI; uneven distribution of abilities in the child's two languages, cross-linguistic associations within bilingual learners, and individual variation in response to similar social circumstances. The diagnostic category of PLI (also referred to in the literature as specific language impairment or SLI) is described with attention to how language impairment, in the face of otherwise typical development, manifests in children learning two languages. Empirical evidence related to differential diagnosis of PLI in bilingual children is then reviewed and issues related to the generalization of treatment gains in dual-language learners with PLI are introduced. PMID:20371080

CTC Sentinel. Volume 1, Issue 6, May 2008. Abu Yahya al-Libi’s Human Shields in Modern Jihad

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

own include The Healing of the Believers’ Chests and The Exoneration. 7 Although the essay is dated January 6, 2006, it was not published and widely...Yahya’s small essay on al-Tatarrus is nothing short of a religious revolution. Early Islamic thinkers typically used three general forms of shielding...traditional Islamic discussions in that it simplifies mat- ters considerably. MAY 2008 . VoL 1 . IssUE 6 “Abu Yahya’s small essay on al-Tatarrus is nothing

Micro sensor node for air pollutant monitoring: hardware and software issues.

PubMed

Choi, Sukwon; Kim, Nakyoung; Cha, Hojung; Ha, Rhan

2009-01-01

Wireless sensor networks equipped with various gas sensors have been actively used for air quality monitoring. Previous studies have typically explored system issues that include middleware or networking performance, but most research has barely considered the details of the hardware and software of the sensor node itself. In this paper, we focus on the design and implementation of a sensor board for air pollutant monitoring applications. Several hardware and software issues are discussed to explore the possibilities of a practical WSN-based air pollution monitoring system. Through extensive experiments and evaluation, we have determined the various characteristics of the gas sensors and their practical implications for air pollutant monitoring systems.

Aesthetic Issues in Spatial Composition: Effects of Vertical Position and Perspective on Framing Single Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sammartino, Jonathan; Palmer, Stephen E.

2012-01-01

Aesthetic preference for the vertical composition of single-object pictures was studied through a series of two-alternative forced-choice experiments. The results reveal the influence of several factors, including spatial asymmetries in the functional properties of the object and the typical position of the object relative to the observer. With…

An acceptable role for computers in the aircraft design process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregory, T. J.; Roberts, L.

1980-01-01

Some of the reasons why the computerization trend is not wholly accepted are explored for two typical cases: computer use in the technical specialties and computer use in aircraft synthesis. The factors that limit acceptance are traced in part, to the large resources needed to understand the details of computer programs, the inability to include measured data as input to many of the theoretical programs, and the presentation of final results without supporting intermediate answers. Other factors are due solely to technical issues such as limited detail in aircraft synthesis and major simplifying assumptions in the technical specialties. These factors and others can be influenced by the technical specialist and aircraft designer. Some of these factors may become less significant as the computerization process evolves, but some issues, such as understanding large integrated systems, may remain issues in the future. Suggestions for improved acceptance include publishing computer programs so that they may be reviewed, edited, and read. Other mechanisms include extensive modularization of programs and ways to include measured information as part of the input to theoretical approaches.

Quality assurance and quality control for autonomously collected geoscience data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Versteeg, R. J.; Richardson, A.; Labrecque, D.

2006-12-01

The growing interest in processes, coupled with the reduction in cost and complexity of sensors which allow for continuous data collection and transmission is giving rise to vast amounts of semi autonomously collected data. Such data is typically collected from a range of physical and chemical sensors and transmitted - either at the time of collection, or periodically as a collection of measurements - to a central server. Such setups can collect vast amounts of data. In cases where power is not an issue one datapoint can be collected every minute, resulting in tens of thousands of data points per month per sensor. Especially in cases in which multiple sensors are deployed it is infeasible to examine each individual datapoint for each individual sensor, and users typically will look at aggregates of such data on a periodic (once a week to once every few months) basis. Such aggregates (and the timelag between data collection and data evaluation) will impact the ability to rapidly identify and resolve data issues. Thus, there is a need to integrate data qa/qc rules and procedures in the data collection process. These should be implemented such that data is analyzed for compliance the moment it arrives at the server, and that any issues with this data result in notification of cognizant personnel. Typical issues (encountered in the field) include complete system failure (resulting in no data arriving at all), to complete sensor failure (data is collected, but is meaningless), to partial sensor failure (sensor gives erratic readings, or starts to exhibit a bias) to partial powerloss (system collects and transmits data only intermittently). We have implemented a suite of such rules and tests as part of the INL developed performance monitoring system. These rules are invoked as part of a data qa/qc workflow, and result in quality indicators for each datapoint as well as user alerts in case of issues. Tests which are applied to the data include tests on individual datapoints, tests on suites of datapoints, and tests applied over the whole dataset. Example of tests include: Did data arrive on time, is received data in a valid format, are all measurements present, is data within valid range, is data collected at appropriate time intervals, are the statistics of the data changing over time and is the data collected within an appropriate instrument calibration window? This approach, which is executed automatically on all data provides data end users with confidence and auditability regarding the quality and useability of autonomously collected data.

Avian movements and wetland connectivity in landscape conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haig, Susan M.; Mehlman, D.W.; Oring, L.W.

1998-01-01

The current conservation crisis calls for research and management to be carried out on a long-term, multi-species basis at large spatial scales. Unfortunately, scientists, managers, and agencies often are stymied in their effort to conduct these large-scale studies because of a lack of appropriate technology, methodology, and funding. This issue is of particular concern in wetland conservation, for which the standard landscape approach may include consideration of a large tract of land but fail to incorporate the suite of wetland sites frequently used by highly mobile organisms such as waterbirds (e.g., shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl). Typically, these species have population dynamics that require use of multiple wetlands, but this aspect of their life history has often been ignored in planning for their conservation. We outline theoretical, empirical, modeling, and planning problems associated with this issue and suggest solutions to some current obstacles. These solutions represent a tradeoff between typical in-depth single-species studies and more generic multi-species studies. They include studying within- and among-season movements of waterbirds on a spatial scale appropriate to both widely dispersing and more stationary species; multi-species censuses at multiple sites; further development and use of technology such as satellite transmitters and population-specific molecular markers; development of spatially explicit population models that consider within-season movements of waterbirds; and recognition from funding agencies that landscape-level issues cannot adequately be addressed without support for these types of studies.

International adoption: a health and developmental prospective.

PubMed

Mason, Patrick; Narad, Christine

2005-02-01

Adoptions from international countries have become an option for many US families, with over 150,000 children adopted in the past 14 years. Typically, internationally adopted children present with a host of medical and developmental concerns. Issues such as growth stunting, abnormal behaviors, and significant delays in motor, speech, and language development are likely directly related to the prenatal and early postnatal environment experienced prior to adoption. The new family and its health-care team must quickly work to identify and address these issues to aid the child's integration into his or her new family. This article will examine potential issues seen in children who are being adopted, including the impact of early environment on subsequent development. We will summarize early and long-term medical issues and review the extent of developmental delays seen in children adopted internationally. Finally, we will discuss possible mechanisms leading to the observed delays, including the impact of stress on subsequent development. By understanding the extent of expected delays and the mechanisms likely causing the issues, the health-care team will be in a good position to quickly identify and develop intervention protocols that will foster the child's assimilation into his or her new family.

Important Clinical Rehabilitation Principles Unique to People with Non-traumatic Spinal Cord Dysfunction.

PubMed

New, Peter Wayne; Eriks-Hoogland, Inge; Scivoletto, Giorgio; Reeves, Ronald K; Townson, Andrea; Marshall, Ruth; Rathore, Farooq A

2017-01-01

Background: Non-traumatic spinal cord dysfunction (SCDys) is caused by a large range of heterogeneous etiologies. Although most aspects of rehabilitation for traumatic spinal cord injury and SCDys are the same, people with SCDys have some unique rehabilitation issues. Purpose: This article presents an overview of important clinical rehabilitation principles unique to SCDys. Methods: Electronic literature search conducted (January 2017) using MEDLINE and Embase (1990-2016) databases for publications regarding SCDys. The focus of the literature search was on identifying publications that present suggestions regarding the clinical rehabilitation of SCDys. Results: The electronic search of MEDLINE and Embase identified no relevant publications, and the publications included were from the authors' libraries. A number of important clinical rehabilitation principles unique to people with SCDys were identified, including classification issues, general rehabilitation issues, etiology-specific issues, and a role for the rehabilitation physician as a diagnostic clinician. The classification issues were regarding the etiology of SCDys and the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury. The general rehabilitation issues were predicting survival, improvement, and rehabilitation outcomes; admission to spinal rehabilitation units, including selection decision issues; participation in rehabilitation; and secondary health conditions. The etiology-specific issues were for SCDys due to spinal cord degeneration, tumors, and infections. Conclusions: Although there are special considerations regarding the rehabilitation of people with SCDys, such as the potential for progression of the underlying condition, functional improvement is typically significant with adequate planning of rehabilitation programs and special attention regarding the clinical condition of patients with SCDys.

Custody and access issues with children whose parents are separated or divorced.

PubMed

Palmer, Sally E

2002-01-01

This article discusses the effects of family breakdown--and the resulting issues of custody and access--on children. It explores trends in child custody and access and issues surrounding those trends, particularly in terms of the benefits and limitations of joint custody. It then identifies the contextual problems of family breakups (including the relative poverty experienced by mother-led families, the unreliability of financial support from fathers, the complications for children which result from step-parent figures, including serial partners of their parents, the implications of interparental conflict, the need to fully address suspicions and/or allegations of abuse by one parent against another, and the problem of Parental Alienation Syndrome). Typical responses of children to family breakup are then considered, including feelings of loss, guilt, and responsibility, and a sense of divided loyalties--particularly in light of intense or violent parental conflict. And finally, recommendations are made to minimize the detrimental effects of family breakup on children: (a) allowing children choice and flexibility, (b) exploring the benefits of mediation for families, (c) promoting parental co-operation, and (d) encouraging an ongoing relationship with the nonresidential parent.

An exploratory qualitative study on perceptions about mosquito bed nets in the Niger Delta: what are the barriers to sustained use?

PubMed Central

Galvin, Kathleen T; Petford, Nick; Ajose, Frances; Davies, Dai

2011-01-01

Background: The effectiveness of malaria control programs is determined by an array of complex factors, including the acceptability and sustained use of preventative measures such as the bed net. A small-scale exploratory study was conducted in several locations in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria, to discover barriers against the use of bed nets, in the context of a current drive to scale up net use in Nigeria. Methods: A qualitative approach with a convenience sample was used. One to one interviews with mostly male adult volunteers were undertaken which explored typical living and sleeping arrangements, and perceptions about and barriers against the use of the mosquito prevention bed net. Results: Several key issues emerged from the qualitative data. Bed nets were not reported as widely used in this small sample. The reasons reported for lack of use included issues of convenience, especially net set up and dismantling; potential hazard and safety concerns; issues related to typical family composition and nature of accommodation; humid weather conditions; and perceptions of cost and effectiveness. Most barriers to net use concerned issues about everyday practical living and sleeping arrangements and perceptions about comfort. Interviewees identified were aware of malaria infection risks, but several also indicated certain beliefs that were barriers to net use. Conclusions: Successful control of malaria and scale up of insecticide-treated net coverage relies on community perceptions and practice. This small study has illuminated a number of important everyday life issues, which remain barriers to sustained net use, and has clarified further questions to be considered in net design and in future research studies. The study highlights the need for further research on the human concerns that contribute to sustained use of nets or, conversely, present significant barriers to their use. PMID:21544249

Photovoltaic utility/customer interface study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichler, C. H.; Hayes, T. P.; Matthews, M. M.; Wilraker, V. F.

1980-12-01

The technical, economic, and legal and regulatory issues of interconnecting small, privately-owned, on-site photovoltaic generating systems to an electric utility are addressed. Baseline residential, commercial and industrial class photovoltaic systems were developed. Technical issues of concern affecting this interconnection were identified and included fault protection, undervoltage protection, lamp flicker, revenue metering, loss of synchromism, electrical safety, prevention of backfeeding a de-energized utility feeder, effects of on-site generation on utility relaying schemes, effects of power conditioner harmonic distortion on the electric utility, system isolation, electromagnetic interference and site power factor as seen by the utility. Typical interconnection wiring diagrams were developed for interconnecting each class of baseline photovoltaic generating system.

New Frontiers in Analyzing Dynamic Group Interactions: Bridging Social and Computer Science

PubMed Central

Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Hung, Hayley; Keyton, Joann

2017-01-01

This special issue on advancing interdisciplinary collaboration between computer scientists and social scientists documents the joint results of the international Lorentz workshop, “Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics,” which took place in Leiden, The Netherlands, July 2016. An equal number of scholars from social and computer science participated in the workshop and contributed to the papers included in this special issue. In this introduction, we first identify interaction dynamics as the core of group and team models and review how scholars in social and computer science have typically approached behavioral interactions in groups and teams. Next, we identify key challenges for interdisciplinary collaboration between social and computer scientists, and we provide an overview of the different articles in this special issue aimed at addressing these challenges. PMID:29249891

New Frontiers in Analyzing Dynamic Group Interactions: Bridging Social and Computer Science.

PubMed

Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Hung, Hayley; Keyton, Joann

2017-10-01

This special issue on advancing interdisciplinary collaboration between computer scientists and social scientists documents the joint results of the international Lorentz workshop, "Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics," which took place in Leiden, The Netherlands, July 2016. An equal number of scholars from social and computer science participated in the workshop and contributed to the papers included in this special issue. In this introduction, we first identify interaction dynamics as the core of group and team models and review how scholars in social and computer science have typically approached behavioral interactions in groups and teams. Next, we identify key challenges for interdisciplinary collaboration between social and computer scientists, and we provide an overview of the different articles in this special issue aimed at addressing these challenges.

Mitigation of stress: new treatment alternatives.

PubMed

Subhani, Ahmad Rauf; Kamel, Nidal; Mohamad Saad, Mohamad Naufal; Nandagopal, Nanda; Kang, Kenneth; Malik, Aamir Saeed

2018-02-01

Complaints of stress are common in modern life. Psychological stress is a major cause of lifestyle-related issues, contributing to poor quality of life. Chronic stress impedes brain function, causing impairment of many executive functions, including working memory, decision making and attentional control. The current study sought to describe newly developed stress mitigation techniques, and their influence on autonomic and endocrine functions. The literature search revealed that the most frequently studied technique for stress mitigation was biofeedback (BFB). However, evidence suggests that neurofeedback (NFB) and noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) could potentially provide appropriate approaches. We found that recent studies of BFB methods have typically used measures of heart rate variability, respiration and skin conductance. In contrast, studies of NFB methods have typically utilized neurocomputation techniques employing electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging and near infrared spectroscopy. NIBS studies have typically utilized transcranial direct current stimulation methods. Mitigation of stress is a challenging but important research target for improving quality of life.

The Scientific Study of Parents and Caregivers of Children with ASD: A Flourishing Field but Still Work to Be Done

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordahl-Hansen, Anders; Hart, Logan; Øien, Roald A.

2018-01-01

There is a long history of research on parents and caregivers of individuals within autism. Parents and other primary caregivers typically play the most important part in the lives of persons with ASD although the need for support as the child becomes of age varies widely. This special issue includes 30 articles on central areas related to…

Human-Robot Interface: Issues in Operator Performance, Interface Design, and Technologies

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-07-01

and the use of lightweight portable robotic sensor platforms. 5 robotics has reached a point where some generalities of HRI transcend specific...displays with control devices such as joysticks, wheels, and pedals (Kamsickas, 2003). Typical control stations include panels displaying (a) sensor ...tasks that do not involve mobility and usually involve camera control or data fusion from sensors Active search: Search tasks that involve mobility

Phase space effects on fast ion distribution function modeling in tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podestà, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.; Gorelenkov, N. N.; White, R. B.

2016-05-01

Integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities, ad-hoc models can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions. The kick model implemented in the tokamak transport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.

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

Podesta, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.

Here, integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities,ad-hocmodels can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions. Themore » kick model implemented in the tokamaktransport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.« less

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

Podestà, M., E-mail: mpodesta@pppl.gov; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.

Integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities, ad-hoc models can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions.more » The kick model implemented in the tokamak transport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.« less

Phase space effects on fast ion distribution function modeling in tokamaks

DOE Data Explorer

White, R. B. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Podesta, M. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Gorelenkova, M. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Fredrickson, E. D. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Gorelenkov, N. N. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

2016-06-01

Integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities, ad-hoc models can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions. The kick model implemented in the tokamak transport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.

Issue-Oriented Science: Using Socioscientific Issues to Engage Biology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenz, Laura; Willcox, Maia K.

2012-01-01

In today's global society, with science and technology advancing at a rapid pace, issues about biological topics are common. A typical standards-based high school or general college-level biology classroom naturally lends itself to teaching issue-oriented science. In an issue-oriented classroom, students analyze and discuss personal, societal, and…

Developing a Scientific Virtue-Based Approach to Science Ethics Training.

PubMed

Pennock, Robert T; O'Rourke, Michael

2017-02-01

Responsible conduct of research training typically includes only a subset of the issues that ought to be included in science ethics and sometimes makes ethics appear to be a set of externally imposed rules rather than something intrinsic to scientific practice. A new approach to science ethics training based upon Pennock's notion of the scientific virtues may help avoid such problems. This paper motivates and describes three implementations-theory-centered, exemplar-centered, and concept-centered-that we have developed in courses and workshops to introduce students to this scientific virtue-based approach.

Time-related degradation, a key issue in nuclear plant safety evaluations

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

Bonzon, L.L.; Bustard, L.D.; Clough, R.L.

1982-01-01

Sandia National Laboratories is conducting a number of programs under NRC sponsorship which deal with safety-related equipment qualification issues, including the important aspect of aging. Among these is the Qualification Testing Evaluation (QTE) program which was probably the first to devote significant effort towards aging research and was one of the primary motivators leading to the Workshop. The thrust of the QTE aging efforts has been on elastomeric materials, typically used in electrical cables, seals, gaskets, and the like; currently, efforts are being pursued on plant ambient environments measurements, aging of electronics, and aging of motors. A brief status reportmore » is presented in this paper.« less

Communication and control in an integrated manufacturing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shin, Kang G.; Throne, Robert D.; Muthuswamy, Yogesh K.

1987-01-01

Typically, components in a manufacturing system are all centrally controlled. Due to possible communication bottlenecking, unreliability, and inflexibility caused by using a centralized controller, a new concept of system integration called an Integrated Multi-Robot System (IMRS) was developed. The IMRS can be viewed as a distributed real time system. Some of the current research issues being examined to extend the framework of the IMRS to meet its performance goals are presented. These issues include the use of communication coprocessors to enhance performance, the distribution of tasks and the methods of providing fault tolerance in the IMRS. An application example of real time collision detection, as it relates to the IMRS concept, is also presented and discussed.

Patient's autonomy of will in Polish law.

PubMed

Swiderska, Małgorzata

2012-09-01

A principle of Polish legislation is that the evidence of legality for any medical intervention is the patient's consent. The issue is directly referred to by both the Patient's Rights Act from 2008 and the Medical Profession Act from 1996. The patient's consent may be given after obtaining reliable, accessible and thorough information about all stages of medical intervention: diagnosis, therapy prospects or rehabilitation. The extent of information about the potential risk of medical treatment should include the typically foreseeable results, which usually brings the matter down to typical risk. However, there are interventions, which bear greater risk, and even though it can't be considered typical, it should also be mentioned, despite the fact that the postulate of tactfulness should be respected here. The burden of proof that appropriate information has been given lies upon the doctor. Thus default consent, especially one given on being admitted to hospital, to all medical actions isn't valid in legal terms. The role of forms including standard information for giving consent is limited. Polish law doesn't regulate this issue, and other forms of indirect communication are used as auxiliary and cannot replace direct contact between a patient and a doctor. According to the Patient's Rights Act, in case of deliberate breach of those rights, the court can grant the aggrieved party with an appropriate sum as financial compensation for the harm sustained or an appropriate sum of money for the charity chosen by the aggrieved party. It is a legal basis for claiming compensation for non-material harm in case of a breach of the patient's right to give consent. It is possible both in case of liability in tort, as well as contractual claims.

The EDUTECH Report, 1995-96.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

EDUTECH Report, 1996

1996-01-01

This document consists of 12 issues, an entire volume year, of the EDUTECH Report published between April 1995 and March 1996. The newsletter's purpose is to alert faculty and administrators to issues in educational technology. Each issue typically contains two feature articles, a page of news briefs, a preview of the upcoming issue, and a…

The EDUTECH Report, 1996-97.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

EDUTECH Report, 1996

1996-01-01

This document consists of 12 issues, an entire volume year, of the EDUTECH Report published between April 1996 and March 1997. The newsletter's purpose is to alert faculty and administrators to issues in educational technology. Each issue typically contains two feature articles, a page of news briefs, a preview of the upcoming issue, and a…

Cooling for newborns with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy.

PubMed

Jacobs, Susan E; Berg, Marie; Hunt, Rod; Tarnow-Mordi, William O; Inder, Terrie E; Davis, Peter G

2013-01-31

Newborn animal studies and pilot studies in humans suggest that mild hypothermia following peripartum hypoxia-ischaemia in newborn infants may reduce neurological sequelae without adverse effects. To determine the effect of therapeutic hypothermia in encephalopathic asphyxiated newborn infants on mortality, long-term neurodevelopmental disability and clinically important side effects. We used the standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group as outlined in The Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2007). Randomised controlled trials evaluating therapeutic hypothermia in term and late preterm newborns with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy were identified by searching the Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, 2007, Issue 2), MEDLINE (1966 to June 2007), previous reviews including cross-references, abstracts, conferences, symposia proceedings, expert informants and journal handsearching. We updated this search in May 2012. We included randomised controlled trials comparing the use of therapeutic hypothermia with standard care in encephalopathic term or late preterm infants with evidence of peripartum asphyxia and without recognisable major congenital anomalies. The primary outcome measure was death or long-term major neurodevelopmental disability. Other outcomes included adverse effects of cooling and 'early' indicators of neurodevelopmental outcome. Four review authors independently selected, assessed the quality of and extracted data from the included studies. Study authors were contacted for further information. Meta-analyses were performed using risk ratios (RR) and risk differences (RD) for dichotomous data, and weighted mean difference for continuous data with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We included 11 randomised controlled trials in this updated review, comprising 1505 term and late preterm infants with moderate/severe encephalopathy and evidence of intrapartum asphyxia. Therapeutic hypothermia resulted in a statistically significant and clinically important reduction in the combined outcome of mortality or major neurodevelopmental disability to 18 months of age (typical RR 0.75 (95% CI 0.68 to 0.83); typical RD -0.15, 95% CI -0.20 to -0.10); number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome (NNTB) 7 (95% CI 5 to 10) (8 studies, 1344 infants). Cooling also resulted in statistically significant reductions in mortality (typical RR 0.75 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.88), typical RD -0.09 (95% CI -0.13 to -0.04); NNTB 11 (95% CI 8 to 25) (11 studies, 1468 infants) and in neurodevelopmental disability in survivors (typical RR 0.77 (95% CI 0.63 to 0.94), typical RD -0.13 (95% CI -0.19 to -0.07); NNTB 8 (95% CI 5 to 14) (8 studies, 917 infants). Some adverse effects of hypothermia included an increase sinus bradycardia and a significant increase in thrombocytopenia. There is evidence from the 11 randomised controlled trials included in this systematic review (N = 1505 infants) that therapeutic hypothermia is beneficial in term and late preterm newborns with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy. Cooling reduces mortality without increasing major disability in survivors. The benefits of cooling on survival and neurodevelopment outweigh the short-term adverse effects. Hypothermia should be instituted in term and late preterm infants with moderate-to-severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy if identified before six hours of age. Further trials to determine the appropriate techniques of cooling, including refinement of patient selection, duration of cooling and method of providing therapeutic hypothermia, will refine our understanding of this intervention.

Data Quality Assurance and Control for AmeriFlux Network at CDIAC, ORNL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shem, W.; Boden, T.; Krassovski, M.; Yang, B.

2014-12-01

The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) serves as the long-term data repository for the AmeriFlux network. Datasets currently available include hourly or half-hourly meteorological and flux observations, biological measurement records, and synthesis data products. Currently there is a lack of standardized nomenclature and specifically designed procedures for data quality assurance/control in processing and handling micrometeorological and ecological data at individual flux sites. CDIAC's has bridged this gap by providing efficient and accurate procedures for data quality control and standardization of the results for easier assimilation by the models used in climate science. In this presentation we highlight the procedures we have put in place to scrutinize continuous flux and meteorological data within Ameriflux network. We itemize some basic data quality issues that we have observed over the past years and include some examples of typical data quality issues. Such issues, e.g., incorrect time-stamping, poor calibration or maintenance of instruments, missing or incomplete metadata and others that are commonly over-looked by PI's, invariably impact the time-series observations.

Hybrid Mobile Communication Networks for Planetary Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alena, Richard; Lee, Charles; Walker, Edward; Osenfort, John; Stone, Thom

2007-01-01

A paper discusses the continuing work of the Mobile Exploration System Project, which has been performing studies toward the design of hybrid communication networks for future exploratory missions to remote planets. A typical network could include stationary radio transceivers on a remote planet, mobile radio transceivers carried by humans and robots on the planet, terrestrial units connected via the Internet to an interplanetary communication system, and radio relay transceivers aboard spacecraft in orbit about the planet. Prior studies have included tests on prototypes of these networks deployed in Arctic and desert regions chosen to approximate environmental conditions on Mars. Starting from the findings of the prior studies, the paper discusses methods of analysis, design, and testing of the hybrid communication networks. It identifies key radio-frequency (RF) and network engineering issues. Notable among these issues is the study of wireless LAN throughput loss due to repeater use, RF signal strength, and network latency variations. Another major issue is that of using RF-link analysis to ensure adequate link margin in the face of statistical variations in signal strengths.

Concrete Masonry Designs: Educational Issue.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertzberg, Randi, Ed.

2001-01-01

This special journal issue addresses concrete masonry in educational facilities construction. The issue's feature articles are: (1) "It Takes a Village To Construct a Massachusetts Middle School," describing a middle school constructed almost entirely of concrete masonry and modeled after a typical small New England village; (2)…

Measurement error and outcome distributions: Methodological issues in regression analyses of behavioral coding data.

PubMed

Holsclaw, Tracy; Hallgren, Kevin A; Steyvers, Mark; Smyth, Padhraic; Atkins, David C

2015-12-01

Behavioral coding is increasingly used for studying mechanisms of change in psychosocial treatments for substance use disorders (SUDs). However, behavioral coding data typically include features that can be problematic in regression analyses, including measurement error in independent variables, non normal distributions of count outcome variables, and conflation of predictor and outcome variables with third variables, such as session length. Methodological research in econometrics has shown that these issues can lead to biased parameter estimates, inaccurate standard errors, and increased Type I and Type II error rates, yet these statistical issues are not widely known within SUD treatment research, or more generally, within psychotherapy coding research. Using minimally technical language intended for a broad audience of SUD treatment researchers, the present paper illustrates the nature in which these data issues are problematic. We draw on real-world data and simulation-based examples to illustrate how these data features can bias estimation of parameters and interpretation of models. A weighted negative binomial regression is introduced as an alternative to ordinary linear regression that appropriately addresses the data characteristics common to SUD treatment behavioral coding data. We conclude by demonstrating how to use and interpret these models with data from a study of motivational interviewing. SPSS and R syntax for weighted negative binomial regression models is included in online supplemental materials. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Measurement error and outcome distributions: Methodological issues in regression analyses of behavioral coding data

PubMed Central

Holsclaw, Tracy; Hallgren, Kevin A.; Steyvers, Mark; Smyth, Padhraic; Atkins, David C.

2015-01-01

Behavioral coding is increasingly used for studying mechanisms of change in psychosocial treatments for substance use disorders (SUDs). However, behavioral coding data typically include features that can be problematic in regression analyses, including measurement error in independent variables, non-normal distributions of count outcome variables, and conflation of predictor and outcome variables with third variables, such as session length. Methodological research in econometrics has shown that these issues can lead to biased parameter estimates, inaccurate standard errors, and increased type-I and type-II error rates, yet these statistical issues are not widely known within SUD treatment research, or more generally, within psychotherapy coding research. Using minimally-technical language intended for a broad audience of SUD treatment researchers, the present paper illustrates the nature in which these data issues are problematic. We draw on real-world data and simulation-based examples to illustrate how these data features can bias estimation of parameters and interpretation of models. A weighted negative binomial regression is introduced as an alternative to ordinary linear regression that appropriately addresses the data characteristics common to SUD treatment behavioral coding data. We conclude by demonstrating how to use and interpret these models with data from a study of motivational interviewing. SPSS and R syntax for weighted negative binomial regression models is included in supplementary materials. PMID:26098126

Unique Construction and Social Experiences in Residential Remediation Sites - 13423

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

Jung, Paul; Scarborough, Rebecca

2013-07-01

Sevenson Environmental Services, Inc., (Sevenson) has performed several radiological remediation projects located in residential urban areas. Over the course of these projects, there has been a wide variety of experiences encountered from construction related issues to unique social situations. Some of the construction related issues included the remediation of interior basements where contaminated material was located under the footers of the structure or was used in the mortar between cinder block or field stone foundations. Other issues included site security, maintaining furnaces or other utilities, underpinning, backfilling and restoration. In addition to the radiological hazards associated with this work theremore » were occupational safety and industrial hygiene issues that had to be addressed to ensure the safety and health of neighboring properties and residents. The unique social situations at these job sites have included arson, theft/stolen property, assault/battery, prostitution, execution of arrest warrants for residents, discovery of drugs and paraphernalia, blood borne pathogens, and unexploded ordnance. Some of these situations have become a sort of comical urban legend throughout the organization. One situation had historical significance, involving the demolition of a house to save a tree older than the Declaration of Independence. All of these projects typically involve the excavation of early 20. century items such as advertisement signs, various old bottles (milk, Listerine, perfume, whisky) and other miscellaneous common trash items. (authors)« less

Continuous Codes and Standards Improvement (CCSI)

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

Rivkin, Carl H; Burgess, Robert M; Buttner, William J

2015-10-21

As of 2014, the majority of the codes and standards required to initially deploy hydrogen technologies infrastructure in the United States have been promulgated. These codes and standards will be field tested through their application to actual hydrogen technologies projects. Continuous codes and standards improvement (CCSI) is a process of identifying code issues that arise during project deployment and then developing codes solutions to these issues. These solutions would typically be proposed amendments to codes and standards. The process is continuous because as technology and the state of safety knowledge develops there will be a need to monitor the applicationmore » of codes and standards and improve them based on information gathered during their application. This paper will discuss code issues that have surfaced through hydrogen technologies infrastructure project deployment and potential code changes that would address these issues. The issues that this paper will address include (1) setback distances for bulk hydrogen storage, (2) code mandated hazard analyses, (3) sensor placement and communication, (4) the use of approved equipment, and (5) system monitoring and maintenance requirements.« less

Selection of Data to Address Planning Issues. Postsecondary-Education Information Planning at the State Level: Volume 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cloud, Sherrill

An issues-oriented framework for selecting data to support typical state-level planning analyses is presented. Attention is focused on questions concerning the planning issues, and the general data requirements required to support a given state's analytical questions and decision requirements. State-level planning issues in postsecondary education…

Phase space effects on fast ion distribution function modeling in tokamaks

DOE PAGES

Podesta, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.; ...

2016-04-14

Here, integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities,ad-hocmodels can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions. Themore » kick model implemented in the tokamaktransport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.« less

Informatics in radiology: evaluation of an e-learning platform for teaching medical students competency in ordering radiologic examinations.

PubMed

Marshall, Nina L; Spooner, Muirne; Galvin, P Leo; Ti, Joanna P; McElvaney, N Gerald; Lee, Michael J

2011-01-01

A preliminary audit of orders for computed tomography was performed to evaluate the typical performance of interns ordering radiologic examinations. According to the audit, the interns showed only minimal improvement after 8 months of work experience. The online radiology ordering module (ROM) program included baseline assessment of student performance (part I), online learning with the ROM (part II), and follow-up assessment of performance with simulated ordering with the ROM (part III). A curriculum blueprint determined the content of the ROM program, with an emphasis on practical issues, including provision of logistic information, clinical details, and safety-related information. Appropriate standards were developed by a committee of experts, and detailed scoring systems were devised for assessment. The ROM program was successful in addressing practical issues in a simulated setting. In the part I assessment, the mean score for noting contraindications for contrast media was 24%; this score increased to 59% in the part III assessment (P = .004). Similarly, notification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus status and pregnancy status and provision of referring physician contact information improved significantly. The quality of the clinical notes was stable, with good initial scores. Part III testing showed overall improvement, with the mean score increasing from 61% to 76% (P < .0001). In general, medical students lack the core knowledge that is needed for good-quality ordering of radiology services, and the experience typically afforded to interns does not address this lack of knowledge. The ROM program was a successful intervention that resulted in statistically significant improvements in the quality of radiologic examination orders, particularly with regard to logistic and radiation safety issues.

Traceability of 'Limone di Siracusa PGI' by a multidisciplinary analytical and chemometric approach.

PubMed

Amenta, M; Fabroni, S; Costa, C; Rapisarda, P

2016-11-15

Food traceability is increasingly relevant with respect to safety, quality and typicality issues. Lemon fruits grown in a typical lemon-growing area of southern Italy (Siracusa), have been awarded the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) recognition as 'Limone di Siracusa'. Due to its peculiarity, consumers have an increasing interest about this product. The detection of potential fraud could be improved by using the tools linking the composition of this production to its typical features. This study used a wide range of analytical techniques, including conventional techniques and analytical approaches, such as spectral (NIR spectra), multi-elemental (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Li, Sr) and isotopic ((13)C/(12)C, (18)O/(16)O) marker investigations, joined with multivariate statistical analysis, such as PLS-DA (Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis) and LDA (Linear Discriminant Analysis), to implement a traceability system to verify the authenticity of 'Limone di Siracusa' production. The results demonstrated a very good geographical discrimination rate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children's need for favorable acoustics in schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Peggy B.

2003-10-01

Children continue to improve their understanding of speech in noise and reverberation throughout childhood and adolescence. They do not typically achieve adult performance levels until their late teenage years. As a result, schools that are designed to be acoustically adequate for adult understanding may be insufficient for full understanding by young children. In addition, children with hearing loss, those with attention problems, and those learning in a non-native language require even more favorable signal-to-noise ratios. This tutorial will review the literature gathered by the ANSl/ASA working group on classroom acoustics that shaped the recommendations of the working group. Special topics will include speech perception data from typically developing infants and children, from children with hearing loss, and from adults and children listening in a non-native language. In addition, the tutorial will overview recommendations contained within ANSI standard 12.60-2002: Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools. The discussion will also include issues related to designing quiet classrooms and working with local schools and professionals.

The experiences of participating in winter among youths with a physical disability compared with their typically developing peers.

PubMed

Lindsay, S; Morales, E; Yantzi, N; Vincent, C; Howell, L; Edwards, G

2015-11-01

Having a physical disability and using a wheelchair can create difficulties in navigating the physical and built environment, especially during winter when snow and ice become problematic. Little is known about the experiences of winter among youth who use an assistive mobility device. This study aimed to understand how youth with a physical disability experience winter, compared with typically developing peers. A purposive sample of 25 youths (13 with a physical disability; 12 typically developing) completed a 2-week weather journal and photographs in two Canadian cities during winter. These data were used to guide semi-structured interviews with participants. Youths with disabilities experienced many similar challenges in winter, such as health and safety concerns and accessibility issues, compared with typically developing youth - but to a greater extent. Youths with disabilities reported more challenges going outdoors during winter and negative psychosocial impacts, including loneliness and increased dependence, compared with peers without a disability. They also, however, described developing several adaptive strategies to cope with these challenges. There is a strong need to remove physical and environmental barriers to facilitate the participation and inclusion of youth with disabilities in winter. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Role of Socioscientific Issues in Biology Teaching: From the Perspective of Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tidemand, Sofie; Nielsen, Jan Alexis

2017-01-01

Previous research has documented that students who engage with socioscientific issues can acquire some of the complex competences and skills typically related to scientific literacy. But an emerging field of research on science teachers' understanding and use of socioscientific issues, has documented that a range of challenges hinders the uptake…

The meaning of workplace discrimination for women with disabilities.

PubMed

Smith Randolph, Diane

2005-01-01

Studies have found that persons with disabilities who are also members of other minority groups or women encounter dual discrimination. This paper describes how women with disabilities who are in the workplace experience discrimination. In order to determine whether discrimination was a viable issue, theoretical contexts of feminist theory, disability theory, and attribution theory were examined as well as literature examining employment of women with disabilities. For this study, three women with various disabilities were interviewed regarding the effect of their disability on their typical workday, their employment and job seeking history, and employment opportunities. Qualitative data were also provided through mapping by the participants and pictorial data of worksites. Data were grouped into themes of pre-conceived notions of others, attitudes of others, accommodation issues, inclusion issues and exploitation issues. From these themes definitions of discrimination, nondiscrimination in the workplace were developed. Conclusions include the need for more research on workplace experiences of other or more specific populations that experience discrimination as well as the need for ethical reflection on the part of the researcher regarding vulnerable populations.

Democracy's Denominator: Reassessing Responsiveness with Public Opinion on the National Policy Agenda.

PubMed

Barabas, Jason

2016-01-01

Democratic responsiveness concerns the degree to which government policies match public preferences. Responsiveness studies typically use national surveys to characterize public opinion, but whether poll questions overlap with the policy agenda is unknown. The first of two empirical analyses presented here, with hundreds of issues on the national agenda in the United States from 1947 to 2000, reveals that public opinion is mostly unrelated to policy outcomes. The picture appears to be even more ominous-that is, opinion and policy are negatively related-on highly salient issues that attract media attention. A second study revisiting published work confirms that responsiveness patterns look different depending upon whether studies of opinion-policy connections (a) begin with survey data and then examine policy developments, or (b) begin with national legislative agenda issues and then examine survey data. Thus, conclusions about democratic responsiveness depend upon the issues that are examined, and often opinion surveys do not include questions about tangible public policy options. In that sense, future changes in democratic responsiveness might go undetected because scholars often lack data on what goes into the denominator of democracy.

Analytical Review of Contemporary Fatwas in Resolving Biomedical Issues Over Gender Ambiguity.

PubMed

Zabidi, Taqwa

2018-04-21

Issues of gender ambiguity have been discussed over time from both Islamic and medical perspectives. In Islam, these issues are typically considered in the context of khunūthah (literally translated as hermaphroditism). While biomedical studies have appeared to provide a large amount of information on abnormal human biological development, i.e. Disorders of Sex Development (DSDs). However, the connection between these two fields has been given little attention. This research aims to determine the Islamic underpinnings through the fatwa around the globe. Thus, institutional fatwa organisations among Sunni schools of thought at the international, regional and national levels are observed. The fatwas regarding the management of individuals with gender ambiguity, not specifically on DSDs, are chosen and presented accordingly. Based on the findings, the sporadic fatwas from different parts of the world delineate the issue of sex ambiguity and seem to be able to provide general guidelines for management of Muslim patients with DSDs. Three common aspects have been discussed including the methodology of gender assignment, the decision-making process and the surgical and hormonal treatments.

Democracy’s Denominator

PubMed Central

Barabas, Jason

2016-01-01

Democratic responsiveness concerns the degree to which government policies match public preferences. Responsiveness studies typically use national surveys to characterize public opinion, but whether poll questions overlap with the policy agenda is unknown. The first of two empirical analyses presented here, with hundreds of issues on the national agenda in the United States from 1947 to 2000, reveals that public opinion is mostly unrelated to policy outcomes. The picture appears to be even more ominous—that is, opinion and policy are negatively related—on highly salient issues that attract media attention. A second study revisiting published work confirms that responsiveness patterns look different depending upon whether studies of opinion-policy connections (a) begin with survey data and then examine policy developments, or (b) begin with national legislative agenda issues and then examine survey data. Thus, conclusions about democratic responsiveness depend upon the issues that are examined, and often opinion surveys do not include questions about tangible public policy options. In that sense, future changes in democratic responsiveness might go undetected because scholars often lack data on what goes into the denominator of democracy. PMID:27274572

Safety of High Speed Magnetic Levitation Transportation Systems : Thermal Effects and Related Safety Issues of Typical Maglev Steel Guideways

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-09-01

This report presents a theoretical analysis predicting the temperature distribution, thermal deflections, and thermal stresses that may occur in typical steel Maglev guideways under the proposed Orlando FL thermal environment. Transient, finite eleme...

Enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis.

PubMed

Patton, M Q

1999-12-01

Varying philosophical and theoretical orientations to qualitative inquiry remind us that issues of quality and credibility intersect with audience and intended research purposes. This overview examines ways of enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis by dealing with three distinct but related inquiry concerns: rigorous techniques and methods for gathering and analyzing qualitative data, including attention to validity, reliability, and triangulation; the credibility, competence, and perceived trustworthiness of the qualitative researcher; and the philosophical beliefs of evaluation users about such paradigm-based preferences as objectivity versus subjectivity, truth versus perspective, and generalizations versus extrapolations. Although this overview examines some general approaches to issues of credibility and data quality in qualitative analysis, it is important to acknowledge that particular philosophical underpinnings, specific paradigms, and special purposes for qualitative inquiry will typically include additional or substitute criteria for assuring and judging quality, validity, and credibility. Moreover, the context for these considerations has evolved. In early literature on evaluation methods the debate between qualitative and quantitative methodologists was often strident. In recent years the debate has softened. A consensus has gradually emerged that the important challenge is to match appropriately the methods to empirical questions and issues, and not to universally advocate any single methodological approach for all problems.

Project financing of district heating/cooling systems

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

Feldman, R.D.

1986-03-01

Two issues are discussed in detail: the project finance joint venture and technology transfers. An increase if the frequency of these issues has been served in project financings. An understanding of these issues is necessary to structure project financings of alternate energy projects in the future. Capitalization needs are outlined, and typical provisions of a joint finance structure are outlined. The issue of exclusivity as it applies to technology transfers is discussed.

"That's Not Fair!"--Using RET to Address the Issue of Fairness in Classroom Guidance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Forrest R., Jr.

1996-01-01

If school counselors give a typical Rational Emotive Therapy disputative response to the issue of fairness, students are not helped to develop a more reasonable and rational view on this issue. Describes discussion led by counselor emphasizing choice, acceptance, and the irrationality of the belief that the world is unfair. (LSR)

Microgravity science experiment integration - When the PI and the PED differ

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baer-Peckham, M. S.; Mccarley, K. S.

1991-01-01

This paper addresses issues related to the integration of principal investigators (PIs) and payload-element developers (PEDs) for conducting effective microgravity experiments. The Crystal Growth Furnace (CGF) is used as an example to demonstrate the key issues related to the integration of a PI's sample into a facility run by a different organization. Attention is given to the typical preflight timeline, documentation required for experimental implementation, and hardware deliverables. A flow chart delineates the payload-integration process flow, and PI inputs required for an experiment include equipment and procedure definitions, detailed design and fabrication of the experiment-specific equipment, and specifications of the contract-end item. The present analysis is of interest to the coordination of effective microgravity experiments on the Space Station Freedom that incorporate PIs and PEDs from different organizations.

Ethical considerations in malaria research proposal review: empirical evidence from 114 proposals submitted to an Ethics Committee in Thailand.

PubMed

Adams, Pornpimon; Prakobtham, Sukanya; Limphattharacharoen, Chanthima; Vutikes, Pitchapa; Khusmith, Srisin; Pengsaa, Krisana; Wilairatana, Polrat; Kaewkungwal, Jaranit

2015-09-14

Malaria research is typically conducted in developing countries in areas of endemic disease. This raises specific ethical issues, including those related to local cultural concepts of health and disease, the educational background of study subjects, and principles of justice at the community and country level. Research Ethics Committees (RECs) are responsible for regulating the ethical conduct of research, but questions have been raised whether RECs facilitate or impede research, and about the quality of REC review itself. This study examines the review process for malaria research proposals submitted to the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Tropical Medicine at Mahidol University, Thailand. Proposals for all studies submitted for review from January 2010 to December 2014 were included. Individual REC members' reviewing forms were evaluated. Ethical issues (e.g., scientific merit, risk-benefit, sample size, or informed-consent) raised in the forms were counted and analysed according to characteristics, including study classification/design, use of specimens, study site, and study population. All 114 proposals submitted during the study period were analysed, comprising biomedical studies (17 %), drug trials (13 %), laboratory studies (24 %) and epidemiological studies (46 %). They included multi-site (13 %) and international studies (4 %), and those involving minority populations (28 %), children (17 %) and pregnant women (7 %). Drug trials had the highest proportion of questions raised for most ethical issues, while issues concerning privacy and confidentiality tended to be highest for laboratory and epidemiology studies. Clarifications on ethical issues were requested by the ethics committee more for proposals involving new specimen collection. Studies involving stored data and specimens tended to attract more issues around privacy and confidentiality. Proposals involving minority populations were more likely to raise issues than those that did not. Those involving vulnerable populations were more likely to attract concerns related to study rationale and design. This study stratified ethical issues raised in a broad spectrum of research proposals. The Faculty of Tropical Medicine at Mahidol University is a significant contributor to global malaria research output. The findings shed light on the ethical review process that may be useful for stakeholders, including researchers, RECs and sponsors, conducting malaria research in other endemic settings.

Recommendations for teaching upon sensitive topics in forensic and legal medicine in the context of medical education pedagogy.

PubMed

Kennedy, Kieran M; Scriver, Stacey

2016-11-01

Undergraduate medical curricula typically include forensic and legal medicine topics that are of a highly sensitive nature. Examples include suicide, child abuse, domestic and sexual violence. It is likely that some students will have direct or indirect experience of these issues which are prevalent in society. Those students are vulnerable to vicarious harm from partaking in their medical education. Even students with no direct or indirect experience of these issues may be vulnerable to vicarious trauma, particularly students who are especially empathetic to cases presented. Despite these risks, instruction relating to these topics is necessary to ensure the competencies of graduating doctors to respond appropriately to cases they encounter during their professional careers. However, risk can be minimised by a well-designed and thoughtfully delivered educational programme. We provide recommendations for the successful inclusion of sensitive forensic and legal medicine topics in undergraduate medical curricula. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Ethics and Regulatory Challenges and Opportunities in Patient-Centered Comparative Effectiveness Research.

PubMed

Sugarman, Jeremy

2016-04-01

The Affordable Care Act includes provisions for the conduct of large-scale, patient-centered comparative effectiveness research. Such efforts aim toward the laudable moral goal of having evidence to improve health care decision making. Nevertheless, these pragmatic clinical research efforts that typically pose minimal incremental risk and are enmeshed in routine care settings perhaps surprisingly encounter an array of ethics and regulatory challenges and opportunities for academic health centers. An emphasis on patient-centeredness forces an examination of the appropriateness of traditional methods used to protect the rights, interests, and welfare of participants. At the same time, meaningful collaboration with patients throughout the research process also necessitates ensuring that novel approaches to research (including recruitment and consent) entail necessary protections regarding such issues as privacy. As the scientific and logistical aspects of this research are being developed, substantial attention is being focused on the accompanying ethics and regulatory issues that have emerged, which should help to facilitate ethically appropriate research in a variety of contexts.

Child Support Report, 1997.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharman, Phil, Ed.

1997-01-01

This document consists of the twelve issues of "Child Support Report" newsletter published during 1997. Monthly issues typically explore problems related to child support enforcement, report on federal and state government child support enforcement initiatives, and summarize research related to child support. Editorials and information…

TASH Newsletter, 1997.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

TASH Newsletter, 1997

1997-01-01

Ten issues of the 1997 newsletter of TASH comprise this document. An issue typically contains news items, a column by the organization's executive director, reports from special interest groups, legislative testimony, conference information, and several major articles, such as the following: "Multicultural Perspectives: Excerpts from Opening…

Occupational ergonomics in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stramler, J.

1992-01-01

Ergonomics is often defined simply as the study of work. Related or synonymous terms include human factors, human engineering, engineering psychology, and others. Occupational ergonomics is a term that has been proposed to describe the study of the working environment, including the physical consequences resulting from having an improperly designed workplace. The routine space working environment presents some problems not found in the typical Earthbound workplace. These include radiation, intravehicular contamination/pollution, temperature extremes, impact with other objects, limited psychosocial relationships, sensory deprivation, and reduced gravity. These are important workplace considerations, and may affect astronauts either directly at work or at some point during their life as a result of their work under these conditions. Some of the major issues associated with each of these hazards are presented.

Algebraic Concepts: What's Really New in New Curricula?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Star, Jon R.; Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth A.; Smith, John P., III

2000-01-01

Examines 8th grade units from the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP). Identifies differences in older and newer conceptions, fundamental objects of study, typical problems, and typical solution methods in algebra. Also discusses where the issue of what is new in algebra is relevant to many other innovative middle school curricula. (KHR)

TASH Connections, 2001.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newton, Priscilla, Ed.

2001-01-01

Seven 2001 issues of the newsletter of TASH, formerly The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, comprise this document. Each issue typically contains news items, a column by the organization's executive director, reports from special interest groups, legislative testimony, conference information, and several major articles relating to…

Integrated Care for Pediatric Substance Abuse.

PubMed

Barclay, Rebecca P; Hilt, Robert J

2016-10-01

Integrated care is a way to improve the prevention, identification, and treatment of mental health difficulties, including substance abuse, in pediatric care. The pediatrician's access, expertise in typical development, focus on prevention, and alignment with patients and families can allow successful screening, early intervention, and referral to treatment. Successful integrated substance abuse care for youth is challenged by current reimbursement systems, information exchange, and provider role adjustment issues, but these are being addressed as comfort with this care form and resources to support its development grow. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of Early Phonological Awareness Interventions for Students with Speech or Language Impairments

PubMed Central

Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Puranik, Cynthia; Zilkowski, Robin; Curran, Tricia

2009-01-01

This article reviews research examining the efficacy of early phonological interventions for young students identified with Speech or Language impairments. Eighteen studies are included, providing results for nearly 500 students in preschool through third grade. Although findings were generally positive, there were large individual differences in response to intervention. Further, there was little evidence that interventions enabled students to catch up in phonological or reading skills to typically developing peers. Methodological issues are described and implications for practice and future research are discussed. PMID:20161557

Maltreatment of children with disabilities: the breaking point.

PubMed

Murphy, Nancy

2011-08-01

The maltreatment of children with disabilities is a serious public health issue. Children with disabilities are 3 to 4 times more likely to be abused or neglected than are their typically developing peers. When maltreated, they are more likely to be seriously injured or harmed. As alarming as these numbers are, they likely underestimate the problem. Children with disabilities encounter all 4 types of abuse: physical, sexual, neglect, and emotional. Here, the author discusses risk factors associated with the maltreatment of children with disabilities, which, as expected, include both child and family factors.

Waste streams in a crewed space habitat. II

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golub, Morton A.; Wydeven, Theodore

1992-01-01

An update is presented of a compilation of generation rates and chemical compositions of potential waste streams in a typical crewed space habitat which was reported in the NASA Technical Memorandum. New topics under consideration include data obtained from Soviet literature on life support issues and data on various minor human body wastes not presented previously (saliva, Flatus, hair, finger- and toenails, dried skin and skin secretions, tears and semen). Attention is also given to the latest information on the environmental control and life support system design parameters for SSF.

Early childhood traumatic development and its impact on gender identity.

PubMed

Cohen, Y

2001-03-01

The author clarifies issues of gender identity typical to contemporary Western societies. Nowadays, we tend to emphasize self-autonomy as the main target of the individual's development. In adolescence this may cause many questions as to the adolescent's conception of his or her gender and sexual identity. These questions are the outcome of early development, and thus early traumas may impact the entire gender development. In this context, trauma includes not only major violations such as sexual abuse, terror attacks, and so forth, but also comprises events heretofore considered minor.

DOE/NNSA perspective safeguard by design: GEN III/III+ light water reactors and beyond

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

Pan, Paul Y

2010-12-10

An overview of key issues relevant to safeguards by design (SBD) for GEN III/IV nuclear reactors is provided. Lessons learned from construction of typical GEN III+ water reactors with respect to SBD are highlighted. Details of SBD for safeguards guidance development for GEN III/III+ light water reactors are developed and reported. This paper also identifies technical challenges to extend SBD including proliferation resistance methodologies to other GEN III/III+ reactors (except HWRs) and GEN IV reactors because of their immaturity in designs.

Design and performance of subgrade biogeochemical reactors.

PubMed

Gamlin, Jeff; Downey, Doug; Shearer, Brad; Favara, Paul

2017-12-15

Subgrade biogeochemical reactors (SBGRs), also commonly referred to as in situ bioreactors, are a unique technology for treatment of contaminant source areas and groundwater plume hot spots. SBGRs have most commonly been configured for enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD) applications for chlorinated solvent treatment. However, they have also been designed for other contaminant classes using alternative treatment media. The SBGR technology typically consists of removal of contaminated soil via excavation or large-diameter augers, and backfill of the soil void with gravel and treatment amendments tailored to the target contaminant(s). In most cases SBGRs include installation of infiltration piping and a low-flow pumping system (typically solar-powered) to recirculate contaminated groundwater through the SBGR for treatment. SBGRs have been constructed in multiple configurations, including designs capable of meeting limited access restrictions at heavily industrialized sites, and at sites with restrictions on surface disturbance due to sensitive species or habitat issues. Typical performance results for ERD applications include 85 to 90 percent total molar reduction of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) near the SBGR and rapid clean-up of adjacent dissolved contaminant source areas. Based on a review of the literature and CH2M's field-scale results from over a dozen SBGRs with a least one year of performance data, important site-specific design considerations include: 1) hydraulic residence time should be long enough for sufficient treatment but not too long to create depressed pH and stagnant conditions (e.g., typically between 10 and 60 days), 2) reactor material should balance appropriate organic mulch as optimal bacterial growth media along with other organic additives that provide bioavailable organic carbon, 3) a variety of native bacteria are important to the treatment process, and 4) biologically mediated generation of iron sulfides along with addition of iron pyrite sands as an abiotic polishing step within the reactor has been observed to be an efficient treatment train for chlorinated solvent sites. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TASH Newsletter, 2000-2001.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newton, Priscilla, Ed.

2000-01-01

Nine year 2000 issues of the newsletter of TASH, formerly The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, comprise this document. Each issue typically contains news items, a column by the organization's executive director, reports from special interest groups, legislative testimony, conference information, and several major articles relating to…

Survey of college students' MP3 listening: Habits, safety issues, attitudes, and education.

PubMed

Hoover, Alicia; Krishnamurti, Sridhar

2010-06-01

To survey listening habits and attitudes of typical college students who use MP3 players and to investigate possible safety issues related to MP3 player listening. College students who were frequent MP3 player users (N = 428) filled out a 30-item online survey. Specific areas probed by the present survey included frequency and duration of MP3 player use, MP3 player volume levels used, types of earphones used, typical environments in which MP3 player was worn, specific activities related to safety while listening to MP3 players, and attitudes toward MP3 player use. The majority of listeners wore MP3 players for less than 2 hr daily at safe volume levels. About one third of respondents reported being distracted while wearing an MP3 player, and more than one third of listeners experienced soreness in their ears after a listening session. About one third of respondents reported occasionally using their MP3 players at maximum volume levels. Listeners indicated willingness to (a) reduce volume levels, (b) decrease listening duration, and (c) buy specialized earphones to conserve their hearing. The study found concerns regarding the occasional use of MP3 players at full volume and reduced environmental awareness among some college student users.

Sensor deployment on unmanned ground vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerhart, Grant R.; Witus, Gary

2007-10-01

TARDEC has been developing payloads for small robots as part of its unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) development programs. These platforms typically weigh less than 100 lbs and are used for various physical security and force protection applications. This paper will address a number of technical issues including platform mobility, payload positioning, sensor configuration and operational tradeoffs. TARDEC has developed a number of robots with different mobility mechanisms including track, wheel and hybrid track/wheel running gear configurations. An extensive discussion will focus upon omni-directional vehicle (ODV) platforms with enhanced intrinsic mobility for positioning sensor payloads. This paper also discusses tradeoffs between intrinsic platform mobility and articulated arm complexity for end point positioning of modular sensor packages.

Waste streams in a typical crewed space habitat: An update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golub, M. A.; Wydeven, T.

1992-01-01

A compilation of generation rates and chemical compositions of potential waste streams in a typical crewed space habitat, reported in a prior NASA Technical Memorandum and a related journal article, was updated. This report augments that compilation by the inclusion of the following new data: those data uncovered since completion of the prior report; those obtained from Soviet literature relevant to life support issues; and those for various minor human body wastes not presented previously (saliva, flatus, hair, finger- and toenails, dried skin and skin secretions, tears, and semen), but included here for purposes of completeness. These waste streams complement those discussed previously: toilet waste (urine, feces, etc.), hygiene water (laundry, shower/handwash, dishwasher water and cleansing agents), trash, humidity condensate, perspiration and respiration water, trace contaminants, and dust generation. This report also reproduces the latest information on the environmental control and life support system design parameters for Space Station Freedom.

Sleep, circadian rhythms, and athletic performance.

PubMed

Thun, Eirunn; Bjorvatn, Bjørn; Flo, Elisabeth; Harris, Anette; Pallesen, Ståle

2015-10-01

Sleep deprivation and time of day are both known to influence performance. A growing body of research has focused on how sleep and circadian rhythms impact athletic performance. This review provides a systematic overview of this research. We searched three different databases for articles on these issues and inspected relevant reference lists. In all, 113 articles met our inclusion criteria. The most robust result is that athletic performance seems to be best in the evening around the time when the core body temperature typically is at its peak. Sleep deprivation was negatively associated with performance whereas sleep extension seems to improve performance. The effects of desynchronization of circadian rhythms depend on the local time at which performance occurs. The review includes a discussion of differences regarding types of skills involved as well as methodological issues. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Formalization of Fairness: Issues in Testing for Measurement Invariance Using Subtest Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molenaar, Dylan; Borsboom, Denny

2013-01-01

Measurement invariance is an important prerequisite for the adequate comparison of group differences in test scores. In psychology, measurement invariance is typically investigated by means of linear factor analyses of subtest scores. These subtest scores typically result from summing the item scores. In this paper, we discuss 4 possible problems…

Bridging the Gaps in the Study of Typical and Atypical Cognitive Development: A Commentary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, Susan A.; Madigan, Sheri

2016-01-01

The articles in this special issue of the "Journal of Cognition and Development" examine the cognitive development of children who are following typical and atypical developmental pathways. The articles offer a mixture of theory-based considerations, reviews of the literature, and new empirical data addressing fundamental aspects of…

Bridge Building and Other Possible Metaphors for Patching over Discrepancies between Typical and Atypical Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chandler, Michael

2016-01-01

The next several pages are intended as a "Commentary" on the six target articles bundled together as a Special Issue of the "Journal of Cognition and Development"--literature reviews and research reports all intended to "build bridges" between the study of cognitive development in typical and atypical populations.

TASH Newsletter, 1998.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

TASH Newsletter, 1998

1998-01-01

The ten 1998 issues of the newsletter of TASH comprise this document. An issue typically contains news items, a column by the organization's executive director, reports from special interest groups, legislative testimony, conference information, and several major articles, such as the following: "A Q&A on IDEA 97 with Tom Gilhool"; "Positive…

Making Critical Friends

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raven, Sara; Klein, Vanessa; Namdar, Bahadir

2016-01-01

Argumentation has long been promoted as a core scientific practice in which students should engage, yet science classrooms still often omit it. One remedy is to incorporate socioscientific issues (SSIs) in the curricula. SSIs are open-ended and complex, typically subject to multiple perspectives and solutions. These issues, influenced by science…

Using pupil size and heart rate to infer affective states during behavioral neurophysiology and neuropsychology experiments

PubMed Central

Mitz, Andrew R.; Chacko, Ravi V.; Putnam, Philip T.; Rudebeck, Peter H.; Murray, Elisabeth A.

2017-01-01

Background Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are a valuable research model because of their behavioral, physiological and neuroanatomical similarities to humans. In the absence of language, autonomic activity can provide crucial information about cognitive and affective states during single-unit recording, inactivation and lesion studies. Methods standardized for use in humans are not easily adapted to NHPs and detailed guidance has been lacking. New Method We provide guidance for monitoring heart rate and pupil size in the behavioral neurophysiology setting by addressing the methodological issues, pitfalls and solutions for NHP studies. The methods are based on comparative physiology to establish a rationale for each solution. We include examples from both electrophysiological and lesion studies. Results Single-unit recording, pupil responses and heart rate changes represent a range of decreasing temporal resolution, a characteristic that impacts experimental design and analysis. We demonstrate the unexpected result that autonomic measures acquired before and after amygdala lesions are comparable despite disruption of normal autonomic function. Comparison with Existing Methods Species and study design differences can render standard techniques used in human studies inappropriate for NHP studies. We show how to manage data from small groups typical of NHP studies, data from the short behavioral trials typical of neurophysiological studies, issues associated with longitudinal studies, and differences in anatomy and physiology. Conclusions Autonomic measurement to infer cognitive and affective states in NHP is neither off-the-shelf nor onerous. Familiarity with the issues and solutions will broaden the use of autonomic signals in NHP single unit and lesion studies. PMID:28089759

Psychosocial assistance after environmental accidents: a policy perspective.

PubMed Central

Becker, S M

1997-01-01

There is a substantial body of literature on psychosocial impacts of chemical and nuclear accidents. Less attention, however, has been focused on the program and policy issues that are connected with efforts to provide psychosocial assistance to the victims of such accidents. Because psychosocial assistance efforts are certain to be an essential part of the response to future environmental emergencies, it is vital that relevant program and policy issues by more fully considered. This article discusses the highly complex nature of contamination situations and highlights some of the key policy issues that are associated with the provision of psychosocial services after environmental accidents. One issue concerns the potential for assistance efforts to become objects of conflict. In the context of the intense controversy typically associated with chemical or nuclear accidents, and with debates over the causation of illness usually at the center of environmental accidents, psychosocial assistance services may themselves become contested terrain. Other significant program and policy issues include determining how to interface with citizen self-help and other voluntary groups, addressing the problem of stigma, and deciding how to facilitate stakeholder participation in the shaping of service provision. This article offers a series of policy proposals that may help smooth the way for psychosocial assistance programs in future environmental emergencies. PMID:9467082

High-resolution monitoring of nutrients in groundwater and surface waters: process understanding, quantification of loads and concentrations, and management applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Geer, Frans C.; Kronvang, Brian; Broers, Hans Peter

2016-09-01

Four sessions on "Monitoring Strategies: temporal trends in groundwater and surface water quality and quantity" at the EGU conferences in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 and a special issue of HESS form the background for this overview of the current state of high-resolution monitoring of nutrients. The overview includes a summary of technologies applied in high-frequency monitoring of nutrients in the special issue. Moreover, we present a new assessment of the objectives behind high-frequency monitoring as classified into three main groups: (i) improved understanding of the underlying hydrological, chemical, and biological processes (PU); (ii) quantification of true nutrient concentrations and loads (Q); and (iii) operational management, including evaluation of the effects of mitigation measures (M). The contributions in the special issue focus on the implementation of high-frequency monitoring within the broader context of policy making and management of water in Europe for support of EU directives such as the Water Framework Directive, the Groundwater Directive, and the Nitrates Directive. The overview presented enabled us to highlight the typical objectives encountered in the application of high-frequency monitoring and to reflect on future developments and research needs in this growing field of expertise.

Community-university partnerships in occupational therapy education: a preliminary exploration of practice in a European context.

PubMed

McGrath, Margaret; Moldes, Ines Viana; Fransen, Hetty; Hofstede-Wessels, Saskia; Lilienberg, Karin

2014-01-01

To explore community-university partnerships in occupational therapy education in Europe. Educators from Europe were invited to participate in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire designed for the study. Eleven completed questionnaires were included. Descriptive statistics were generated from quantitative data while qualitative data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. The majority of participants reported that community-university partnerships were part of the third year of undergraduate occupational therapy studies. Partners were from a broad range of sectors. The activities undertaken were typically focused on specific target groups within the community. Three main themes emerged from the qualitative analysis (i) instigating community-university partnerships, (ii) processes of creating and sustaining partnerships and (iii) perceived outcomes of community-university partnerships. This is the first study of community-university partnerships in Europe generating some useful findings. Clarification is needed regarding the use of the term community-university partnership. Educators are called upon to consider how partnerships are embedded into curricula and to address issues of sustainability. Healthcare education should prepare rehabilitation professionals to collaborate with diverse communities. Community--university collaborations appear to offer opportunities to support students to develop competences for future community orientated practice. Key issues to be considered include choice of pedagogical approach, issues of reciprocity and sustainability.

Enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis.

PubMed Central

Patton, M Q

1999-01-01

Varying philosophical and theoretical orientations to qualitative inquiry remind us that issues of quality and credibility intersect with audience and intended research purposes. This overview examines ways of enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis by dealing with three distinct but related inquiry concerns: rigorous techniques and methods for gathering and analyzing qualitative data, including attention to validity, reliability, and triangulation; the credibility, competence, and perceived trustworthiness of the qualitative researcher; and the philosophical beliefs of evaluation users about such paradigm-based preferences as objectivity versus subjectivity, truth versus perspective, and generalizations versus extrapolations. Although this overview examines some general approaches to issues of credibility and data quality in qualitative analysis, it is important to acknowledge that particular philosophical underpinnings, specific paradigms, and special purposes for qualitative inquiry will typically include additional or substitute criteria for assuring and judging quality, validity, and credibility. Moreover, the context for these considerations has evolved. In early literature on evaluation methods the debate between qualitative and quantitative methodologists was often strident. In recent years the debate has softened. A consensus has gradually emerged that the important challenge is to match appropriately the methods to empirical questions and issues, and not to universally advocate any single methodological approach for all problems. PMID:10591279

Researching Women's Groups Findings, Limitations, and Recommendations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leech, Nancy L.; Kees, Nathalie L.

2005-01-01

There is not a "typical" women's group, nor are there "typical" women's issues. Every women's group is diverse, with as many viewpoints and perspectives as there are members in the group. Using the group format for women is common practice with many counselors. It is interesting that there has been little empirical research reported on women's…

Corrosion Considerations for Thermochemical Biomass Liquefaction Process Systems in Biofuel Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brady, M. P.; Keiser, J. R.; Leonard, D. N.; Whitmer, L.; Thomson, J. K.

2014-12-01

Thermochemical liquefaction processing of biomass to produce bio-derived fuels (e.g., gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, home heating oil, etc.) is of great recent interest as a renewable energy source. Approaches under investigation include direct liquefaction, hydrothermal liquefaction, hydropyrolysis, fast pyrolysis, etc., to produce energy dense liquids that can be utilized as produced or further processed to provide products of higher value. An issue with bio-oils is that they tend to contain significant concentrations of organic oxygenates, including acids, which make the bio-oil a potential source of corrosion issues in transport, storage, and use. Efforts devoted to modified/further processing of bio-oils to make them less corrosive are currently being widely pursued. Another issue that must also be addressed in bio-oil liquefaction is potential corrosion issues in the process equipment. Depending on the specific process, bio-oil liquefaction production temperatures are typically in the 300-600°C range, and the process environment can contain aggressive sulfur and halide species from both the biomass used and/or process additives. Detailed knowledge of the corrosion resistance of candidate process equipment alloys in these bio-oil production environments is currently lacking. This paper summarizes recent, ongoing efforts to assess the extent of corrosion of bio-oil process equipment, with the ultimate goal of providing a basis for the selection of the lowest cost alloy grades capable of providing the long-term corrosion resistance needed for future bio-oil production plants.

Autonomous long-range open area fire detection and reporting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engelhaupt, Darell E.; Reardon, Patrick J.; Blackwell, Lisa; Warden, Lance; Ramsey, Brian D.

2005-03-01

Approximately 5 billion dollars in US revenue was lost in 2003 due to open area fires. In addition many lives are lost annually. Early detection of open area fires is typically performed by manned observatories, random reporting and aerial surveillance. Optical IR flame detectors have been developed previously. They typically have experienced high false alarms and low flame detection sensitivity due to interference from solar and other causes. Recently a combination of IR detectors has been used in a two or three color mode to reduce false alarms from solar, or background sources. A combination of ultra-violet C (UVC) and near infra-red (NIR) detectors has also been developed recently for flame discrimination. Relatively solar-blind basic detectors are now available but typically detect at only a few tens of meters at ~ 1 square meter fuel flame. We quantify the range and solar issues for IR and visible detectors and qualitatively define UV sensor requirements in terms of the mode of operation, collection area issues and flame signal output by combustion photochemistry. We describe innovative flame signal collection optics for multiple wavelengths using UV and IR as low false alarm detection of open area fires at long range (8-10 km/m2) in daylight (or darkness). A circular array detector and UV-IR reflective and refractive devices including cylindrical or toroidal lens elements for the IR are described. The dispersion in a refractive cylindrical IR lens characterizes the fire and allows a stationary line or circle generator to locate the direction and different flame IR "colors" from a wide FOV. The line generator will produce spots along the line corresponding to the fire which can be discriminated with a linear detector. We demonstrate prototype autonomous sensors with RF digital reporting from various sites.

Core Community Specifications for Electron Microprobe Operating Systems: Software, Quality Control, and Data Management Issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fournelle, John; Carpenter, Paul

2006-01-01

Modem electron microprobe systems have become increasingly sophisticated. These systems utilize either UNIX or PC computer systems for measurement, automation, and data reduction. These systems have undergone major improvements in processing, storage, display, and communications, due to increased capabilities of hardware and software. Instrument specifications are typically utilized at the time of purchase and concentrate on hardware performance. The microanalysis community includes analysts, researchers, software developers, and manufacturers, who could benefit from exchange of ideas and the ultimate development of core community specifications (CCS) for hardware and software components of microprobe instrumentation and operating systems.

Modelling Parameters Characterizing Selected Water Supply Systems in Lower Silesia Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowogoński, Ireneusz; Ogiołda, Ewa

2017-12-01

The work presents issues of modelling water supply systems in the context of basic parameters characterizing their operation. In addition to typical parameters, such as water pressure and flow rate, assessing the age of the water is important, as a parameter of assessing the quality of the distributed medium. The analysis was based on two facilities, including one with a diverse spectrum of consumers, including residential housing and industry. The carried out simulations indicate the possibility of the occurrence of water quality degradation as a result of excessively long periods of storage in the water supply network. Also important is the influence of the irregularity of water use, especially in the case of supplying various kinds of consumers (in the analysed case - mining companies).

Toolsets for Airborne Data (TAD): Enhanced Airborne Data Merging Functionality through Spatial and Temporal Subsetting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Early, A. B.; Chen, G.; Beach, A. L., III; Northup, E. A.

2016-12-01

NASA has conducted airborne tropospheric chemistry studies for over three decades. These field campaigns have generated a great wealth of observations, including a wide range of the trace gases and aerosol properties. The Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton Virginia originally developed the Toolsets for Airborne Data (TAD) web application in September 2013 to meet the user community needs for manipulating aircraft data for scientific research on climate change and air quality relevant issues. The analysis of airborne data typically requires data subsetting, which can be challenging and resource intensive for end users. In an effort to streamline this process, the TAD toolset enhancements will include new data subsetting features and updates to the current database model. These will include two subsetters: temporal and spatial, and vertical profile. The temporal and spatial subsetter will allow users to both focus on data from a specific location and/or time period. The vertical profile subsetter will retrieve data collected during an individual aircraft ascent or descent spiral. This effort will allow for the automation of the typically labor-intensive manual data subsetting process, which will provide users with data tailored to their specific research interests. The development of these enhancements will be discussed in this presentation.

Teaching for Diversity: Addressing Diversity Issues in Responsive ESL Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fu, Jing

2013-01-01

Student diversity has become a typical phenomenon in American public schools. The impact of increasing diversity on literacy instruction is unchallenged. Teachers reinforce this message by often citing ESL student diversity as a barrier for literacy teaching. In order to better understand the complexity of diversity issues, I explored two ESL…

Communication Skills to Develop Trusting Relationships on Global Virtual Engineering Capstone Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zaugg, Holt; Davies, Randall S.

2013-01-01

As universities seek to provide cost-effective, cross-cultural experiences using global virtual (GV) teams, the "soft" communication skills typical of all teams, increases in importance for GV teams. Students need to be taught how to navigate through cultural issues and virtual tool issues to build strong trusting relationships with…

Associations between Attitudes towards Science and Children's Evaluation of Information about Socioscientific Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xiao, Sihan; Sandoval, William A.

2017-01-01

Science educators are typically dismayed by the failure of students to use relevant scientific knowledge when reasoning about socioscientific issues. Except for the well-documented association between having more knowledge about a topic and a tendency to use that knowledge, the influences on students' evaluation of information in socioscientific…

Examining the Conflict and Interconnectedness of Young People's Ideas about Environmental Issues, Responsibility and Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilks, Leigh; Harris, Neil

2016-01-01

Objective: Young people's environmental views are typically conflicted, with little recognition of the links between environmental issues or between environmental responsibility and action. The purpose of this study was to clarify whether young people's understanding of the environment is in conflict or whether they are forming interconnections…

Writing the Annual Financial Report at a Canadian Community Foundation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mittoo, Rakesh C.

2007-01-01

The corporate annual report is the chief document that is used to disseminate information about the financial performance and other issues pertaining to an organization. The report is typically divided into two sections: the front half with long narratives and photographs describing achievements, issues, and future goals; the second half…

Teaching Speech Communication in a Black College: Does Technology Make a Difference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nwadike, Fellina O.; Ekeanyanwu, Nnamdi T.

2011-01-01

Teaching a speech communication course in typical HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) comes with many issues, because the application of technology in some minority institutions differs. The levels of acceptability as well as affordability are also core issues that affect application. Using technology in the classroom means many…

Neuromotor Issues in the Learning and Control of Golf Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knight, Christopher A.

2004-01-01

Theoretical and practical issues related to the neuromotor control of a golf swing are presented in this paper. The typical strategy for golf training consists of high volume repetition with an emphasis on a large variety of isolated swing characteristics. The student is frequently instructed to maintain consistent performance in each swing with…

Crossing the Line: When Pedagogical Relationships Go Awry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Tara Star

2010-01-01

Background/Context: Very little empirical research has been conducted on the issue of educator sexual misconduct (ESM) in secondary settings. The few reports available typically treat a larger social issue, such as sexual harassment or child abuse; therefore, data on ESM specifically must be extrapolated. When such data are obtained, the focus has…

Simulating reduced gravity: a review of biomechanical issues pertaining to human locomotion.

PubMed

Davis, B L; Cavanagh, P R

1993-06-01

In the decade preceding Apollo missions to the Moon, extensive studies were conducted on human locomotion in reduced gravity. These investigations focused primarily on issues of maneuverability and energy expenditure and not on musculoskeletal loading, which is of more interest to planners of long-duration space missions. The techniques have included water immersion, parabolic aircraft flights, supine and erect cable suspension and centrifugal methods. The practical implications of the findings from these studies are: 1) the present shuttle treadmill running surface would not suffice if one wanted to run with a natural style at levels greater than 0.6 G; 2) in terms of attempting to replicate typical ground reaction force profiles during locomotor exercise at reduced gravity levels, it appears as though it is easier to match the peak rates of change of force (maxDFDT) than it is to match values for the peak force magnitudes (maxGRF).

Expressing Intervals in Automated Service Negotiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Kassidy P.; Warnier, Martijn; van Splunter, Sander; Brazier, Frances M. T.

During automated negotiation of services between autonomous agents, utility functions are used to evaluate the terms of negotiation. These terms often include intervals of values which are prone to misinterpretation. It is often unclear if an interval embodies a continuum of real numbers or a subset of natural numbers. Furthermore, it is often unclear if an agent is expected to choose only one value, multiple values, a sub-interval or even multiple sub-intervals. Additional semantics are needed to clarify these issues. Normally, these semantics are stored in a domain ontology. However, ontologies are typically domain specific and static in nature. For dynamic environments, in which autonomous agents negotiate resources whose attributes and relationships change rapidly, semantics should be made explicit in the service negotiation. This paper identifies issues that are prone to misinterpretation and proposes a notation for expressing intervals. This notation is illustrated using an example in WS-Agreement.

Pathways to potentially preventable hospitalizations for diabetes and heart failure: a qualitative analysis of patient perspectives.

PubMed

Sentell, Tetine L; Seto, Todd B; Young, Malia M; Vawer, May; Quensell, Michelle L; Braun, Kathryn L; Taira, Deborah A

2016-07-26

Potentially preventable hospitalizations (PPH) for heart failure (HF) and diabetes mellitus (DM) cost the United States over $14 billion annually. Studies about PPH typically lack patient perspectives, especially across diverse racial/ethnic groups with known PPH health disparities. English-speaking individuals with a HF or DM-related PPH (n = 90) at the largest hospital in Hawai'i completed an in-person interview, including open-ended questions on precipitating factors to their PPH. Using the framework approach, two independent coders identified patient-reported factors and pathways to their PPH. Seventy-two percent of respondents were under 65 years, 30 % were female, 90 % had health insurance, and 66 % had previously been hospitalized for the same problem. Patients' stories identified immediate, precipitating, and underlying reasons for the admission. Underlying background factors were critical to understanding why patients had the acute problems necessitating their hospitalizations. Six, non-exclusive, underlying factors included: extreme social vulnerability (e.g., homeless, poverty, no social support, reported by 54 % of respondents); health system interaction issues (e.g., poor communication with providers, 44 %); limited health-related knowledge (42 %); behavioral health issues (e.g., substance abuse, mental illness, 36 %); denial of illness (27 %); and practical problems (e.g., too busy, 6 %). From these findings, we developed a model to understand an individual's pathways to a PPH through immediate, precipitating, and underlying factors, which could help identify potential intervention foci. We demonstrate the model's utility using five examples. In a young, predominately insured population, factors well outside the traditional purview of the hospital, or even clinical medicine, critically influenced many PPH. Patient perspectives were vital to understanding this issue. Innovative partnerships and policies should address these issues, including linkages to social services and behavioral health.

Comparative analysis of LWR and FBR spent fuels for nuclear forensics evaluation

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

Permana, Sidik; Suzuki, Mitsutoshi; Su'ud, Zaki

2012-06-06

Some interesting issues are attributed to nuclide compositions of spent fuels from thermal reactors as well as fast reactors such as a potential to reuse as recycled fuel, and a possible capability to be manage as a fuel for destructive devices. In addition, analysis on nuclear forensics which is related to spent fuel compositions becomes one of the interesting topics to evaluate the origin and the composition of spent fuels from the spent fuel foot-prints. Spent fuel compositions of different fuel types give some typical spent fuel foot prints and can be estimated the origin of source of those spentmore » fuel compositions. Some technics or methods have been developing based on some science and technological capability including experimental and modeling or theoretical aspects of analyses. Some foot-print of nuclear forensics will identify the typical information of spent fuel compositions such as enrichment information, burnup or irradiation time, reactor types as well as the cooling time which is related to the age of spent fuels. This paper intends to evaluate the typical spent fuel compositions of light water (LWR) and fast breeder reactors (FBR) from the view point of some foot prints of nuclear forensics. An established depletion code of ORIGEN is adopted to analyze LWR spent fuel (SF) for several burnup constants and decay times. For analyzing some spent fuel compositions of FBR, some coupling codes such as SLAROM code, JOINT and CITATION codes including JFS-3-J-3.2R as nuclear data library have been adopted. Enriched U-235 fuel composition of oxide type is used for fresh fuel of LWR and a mixed oxide fuel (MOX) for FBR fresh fuel. Those MOX fuels of FBR come from the spent fuels of LWR. Some typical spent fuels from both LWR and FBR will be compared to distinguish some typical foot-prints of SF based on nuclear forensic analysis.« less

Transferring data objects: A focused Ada investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Legrand, Sue

1988-01-01

The use of the Ada language does not guarantee that data objects will be in the same form or have the same value after they have been stored or transferred to another system. There are too many possible variables in such things as the formats used and other protocol conditions. Differences may occur at many different levels of support. These include program level, object level, application level, and system level. A standard language is only one aspect of making a complex system completely homogeneous. Many components must be standardized and the various standards must be integrated. The principal issues in providing for interaction between systems are of exchanging files and data objects between systems which may not be compatible in terms of their host computer, operating system or other factors. A typical resolution of the problem of invalidating data involves at least a common external form, for data objects and for representing the relationships and attributes of data collections. Some of the issues dealing with the transfer of data are listed and consideration is given on how these issues may be handled in the Ada language.

Socioemotional Features and Resilience in Italian University Students with and without Dyslexia

PubMed Central

Ghisi, Marta; Bottesi, Gioia; Re, Anna M.; Cerea, Silvia; Mammarella, Irene C.

2016-01-01

Dyslexia is a permanent condition characterized by reading difficulties that include inaccurate or slow and effortful word reading, poor decoding, and poor spelling abilities. People with dyslexia may have psychological and psychopathological issues such as low self-esteem, poor resilience, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. They may also develop social problems and emotional issues, as well as low academic and social self-efficacy. The present study aimed to assess the psychological features of a sample of 28 Italian university students with dyslexia, comparing them with a control group of typically developing students matched for gender, education, and academic discipline, to enhance our knowledge of dyslexia outcomes in an Italian setting. The results show that university students with dyslexia experience higher levels of somatic complaints, social and attentional problems, lower self-esteem, and higher depression scores than controls, while no difference emerged between the two groups’ resilience scores. In conclusion, the present findings suggest that university students with dyslexia report more psychological issues than students without dyslexia and could benefit from intervention to improve their psychological and physical well-being. PMID:27065220

Divergence of Age-Related Differences in Social-Communication: Improvements for Typically Developing Youth but Declines for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Gregory L.; Dudley, Katerina; Anthony, Laura; Pugliese, Cara E.; Orionzi, Bako; Clasen, Liv; Lee, Nancy Raitano; Giedd, Jay N.; Martin, Alex; Raznahan, Armin; Kenworthy, Lauren

2017-01-01

Although social-communication difficulties and repetitive behaviors are hallmark features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and persist across the lifespan, very few studies have compared age-related differences in these behaviors between youth with ASD and same-age typically developing (TD) peers. We examined this issue using SRS-2 (Social…

Using Propensity Score Matching Methods to Improve Generalization from Randomized Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tipton, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

The main result of an experiment is typically an estimate of the average treatment effect (ATE) and its standard error. In most experiments, the number of covariates that may be moderators is large. One way this issue is typically skirted is by interpreting the ATE as the average effect for "some" population. Cornfield and Tukey (1956)…

Implicit level set algorithms for modelling hydraulic fracture propagation.

PubMed

Peirce, A

2016-10-13

Hydraulic fractures are tensile cracks that propagate in pre-stressed solid media due to the injection of a viscous fluid. Developing numerical schemes to model the propagation of these fractures is particularly challenging due to the degenerate, hypersingular nature of the coupled integro-partial differential equations. These equations typically involve a singular free boundary whose velocity can only be determined by evaluating a distinguished limit. This review paper describes a class of numerical schemes that have been developed to use the multiscale asymptotic behaviour typically encountered near the fracture boundary as multiple physical processes compete to determine the evolution of the fracture. The fundamental concepts of locating the free boundary using the tip asymptotics and imposing the tip asymptotic behaviour in a weak form are illustrated in two quite different formulations of the governing equations. These formulations are the displacement discontinuity boundary integral method and the extended finite-element method. Practical issues are also discussed, including new models for proppant transport able to capture 'tip screen-out'; efficient numerical schemes to solve the coupled nonlinear equations; and fast methods to solve resulting linear systems. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the performance of the numerical schemes. We conclude the paper with open questions for further research. This article is part of the themed issue 'Energy and the subsurface'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Implicit level set algorithms for modelling hydraulic fracture propagation

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Hydraulic fractures are tensile cracks that propagate in pre-stressed solid media due to the injection of a viscous fluid. Developing numerical schemes to model the propagation of these fractures is particularly challenging due to the degenerate, hypersingular nature of the coupled integro-partial differential equations. These equations typically involve a singular free boundary whose velocity can only be determined by evaluating a distinguished limit. This review paper describes a class of numerical schemes that have been developed to use the multiscale asymptotic behaviour typically encountered near the fracture boundary as multiple physical processes compete to determine the evolution of the fracture. The fundamental concepts of locating the free boundary using the tip asymptotics and imposing the tip asymptotic behaviour in a weak form are illustrated in two quite different formulations of the governing equations. These formulations are the displacement discontinuity boundary integral method and the extended finite-element method. Practical issues are also discussed, including new models for proppant transport able to capture ‘tip screen-out’; efficient numerical schemes to solve the coupled nonlinear equations; and fast methods to solve resulting linear systems. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the performance of the numerical schemes. We conclude the paper with open questions for further research.  This article is part of the themed issue ‘Energy and the subsurface’. PMID:27597787

Using a 3D profiler and infrared camera to monitor oven loading in fully cooked meat operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, John; Giorges, Aklilu

2009-05-01

Ensuring meat is fully cooked is an important food safety issue for operations that produce "ready to eat" products. In order to kill harmful pathogens like Salmonella, all of the product must reach a minimum threshold temperature. Producers typically overcook the majority of the product to ensure meat in the most difficult scenario reaches the desired temperature. A difficult scenario can be caused by an especially thick piece of meat or by a surge of product into the process. Overcooking wastes energy, degrades product quality, lowers the maximum throughput rate of the production line and decreases product yield. At typical production rates of 6000lbs/hour, these losses from overcooking can have a significant cost impact on producers. A wide area 3D camera coupled with a thermal camera was used to measure the thermal mass variability of chicken breasts in a cooking process. Several types of variability are considered including time varying thermal mass (mass x temperature / time), variation in individual product geometry and variation in product temperature. The automatic identification of product arrangement issues that affect cooking such as overlapping product and folded products is also addressed. A thermal model is used along with individual product geometry and oven cook profiles to predict the percentage of product that will be overcooked and to identify products that may not fully cook in a given process.

Overview of entry risk predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mrozinski, R.; Mendeck, G.; Cutri-Kohart, R.

Risk to people on the ground from uncontrolled entries of spacecraft is a primary concern when analyzing end-of-life disposal options for satellites. Countries must balance this risk with the need to mitigate an exponentially growing space debris population. Currently the United States does this via guidelines that call for a satellite to be disposed of in a controlled manner if an uncontrolled entry would be too risky to people on the ground. This risk is measured by a quantity called "casualty expectation", or E , where casualty expectation is defined as the expectedc number of people suffering death or injury due to a spacecraft entry event. If Ec exceeds 1 in 10,000, U. S. guidelines state that the entry should be controlled rather than uncontrolled. Since this guideline can have serious impacts on the cost, lifetime, and even the mission and functionality of a satellite, it is critical that this quantity be estimated well, and decision makers understand all assumptions and limitations inherent in the resulting value. This paper discusses several issues regarding estimates of casualty expectation, beginning with an overview of relevant United States policies and guidelines. The equation the space industry typically uses to estimate casualty expectation is presented, along with a look at the sensitivity of the results to the typical assumptions, models, and initial condition uncertainties. Differences in these modeling issues with respect to launch failure Ec estimates are included in the discussion. An alternate quantity to assess risks due to spacecraft entries is introduced. "Probability of casualty", or Pc , is defined as the probability of one or more instances of people suffering death or injury due to a spacecraft entry event. The equation to estimate Pc is derived, where the same assumptions, modeling, and initial condition issues for Ec apply. Several examples are then given of both Ec and Pc estimate calculations. Due to the difficult issues in estimating both Ec and Pc, it is argued that "true" absolute quantities can never be computed. However, E and Pc are ideal for relativec analyses against a standard tool that eliminates these issues. Such a tool is recommended for assessing compliance with requirements of regulating institutions.

Experimental issues related to frequency response function measurements for frequency-based substructuring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicgorski, Dana; Avitabile, Peter

2010-07-01

Frequency-based substructuring is a very popular approach for the generation of system models from component measured data. Analytically the approach has been shown to produce accurate results. However, implementation with actual test data can cause difficulties and cause problems with the system response prediction. In order to produce good results, extreme care is needed in the measurement of the drive point and transfer impedances of the structure as well as observe all the conditions for a linear time invariant system. Several studies have been conducted to show the sensitivity of the technique to small variations that often occur during typical testing of structures. These variations have been observed in actual tested configurations and have been substantiated with analytical models to replicate the problems typically encountered. The use of analytically simulated issues helps to clearly see the effects of typical measurement difficulties often observed in test data. This paper presents some of these common problems observed and provides guidance and recommendations for data to be used for this modeling approach.

Materials Chemistry Issues in the Development of a Single-Crystal Solar/Thermal Refractive Secondary Concentrator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobson, Nathan S.; Biering, Robert C.

2005-01-01

A translucent crystal concentrates and transmits energy to a heat exchanger, which in turn heats a propellant gas, working gas of a dynamic power system, or a thermopile. Materials are the limiting issue in such a system. Central is the durability of the crystal, which must maintain the required chemical, physical/optical, and mechanical properties as it is heated and cooled. This report summarizes available data to date on the materials issues with this system. We focus on the current leading candidate materials, which are sapphire (Al2O3) for higher temperatures and silica (SiO2) for lower temperatures. We use data from thermochemical calculations; laboratory coupon tests with silica and sapphire; and system tests with sapphire. The required chemical properties include low-vapor pressure and interfacial stability with supporting structural materials. Optical properties such as transmittance and index of refraction must be maintained. Thermomechanical stability is a major challenge for a large, single-crystal ceramic and has been discussed in another report. In addition to the crystal, other materials in the proposed system include refractory metals (Nb, Ta, Mo, W, and Re), carbon (C), and high-temperature ceramic insulation. The major issue here is low levels of oxygen, which lead to volatile refractory metal oxides and rapid consumption of the refractory metal. Interfacial reactions between the ceramic crystal and refractory metal are also discussed. Finally, high-temperature ceramic insulating materials are also likely to be used in this system. Outgassing is a major issue for these materials. The products of outgassing are typically reactive with the refractory metals and must be minimized.

Characterizing Sleep Issues Using Twitter.

PubMed

McIver, David J; Hawkins, Jared B; Chunara, Rumi; Chatterjee, Arnaub K; Bhandari, Aman; Fitzgerald, Timothy P; Jain, Sachin H; Brownstein, John S

2015-06-08

Sleep issues such as insomnia affect over 50 million Americans and can lead to serious health problems, including depression and obesity, and can increase risk of injury. Social media platforms such as Twitter offer exciting potential for their use in studying and identifying both diseases and social phenomenon. Our aim was to determine whether social media can be used as a method to conduct research focusing on sleep issues. Twitter posts were collected and curated to determine whether a user exhibited signs of sleep issues based on the presence of several keywords in tweets such as insomnia, "can't sleep", Ambien, and others. Users whose tweets contain any of the keywords were designated as having self-identified sleep issues (sleep group). Users who did not have self-identified sleep issues (non-sleep group) were selected from tweets that did not contain pre-defined words or phrases used as a proxy for sleep issues. User data such as number of tweets, friends, followers, and location were collected, as well as the time and date of tweets. Additionally, the sentiment of each tweet and average sentiment of each user were determined to investigate differences between non-sleep and sleep groups. It was found that sleep group users were significantly less active on Twitter (P=.04), had fewer friends (P<.001), and fewer followers (P<.001) compared to others, after adjusting for the length of time each user's account has been active. Sleep group users were more active during typical sleeping hours than others, which may suggest they were having difficulty sleeping. Sleep group users also had significantly lower sentiment in their tweets (P<.001), indicating a possible relationship between sleep and pyschosocial issues. We have demonstrated a novel method for studying sleep issues that allows for fast, cost-effective, and customizable data to be gathered.

Review: Water-rock interactions and related eco-environmental effects in typical land subsidence zones of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Teng; Du, Yao; Ma, Rui; Xiao, Cong; Liu, Yanjun

2018-01-01

Land subsidence is common in some regions of China. Various eco-environmental problems have arisen due to changes in water-rock interactions in these subsided areas, for which a comprehensive understanding of the hydrogeological setting is needed. This paper presents the general status of land subsidence in three typical subsided areas of China through the compilation of relevant data, and reviews some typical changes in the water-rock interactions in subsided areas along with related eco-environmental issues. It is found that the subsidence development and distribution are controlled by the groundwater-withdrawal intensity externally, and by the thickness and compressibility of unconsolidated sediments internally. The physical changes and related effects of water-rock interactions in subsided areas include: (1) the decreased ground elevation that caused floods, waterlogged farmland, etc.; (2) the differential subsidence that caused ground fissures; and (3) the change of seepage field that caused substantial reduction of the water resource. Chemically, the changes and related effects of water-rock interactions include: (1) the change to the chemical environment or processes due to the hydrogeologic structure alteration, which caused groundwater pollution; and (2) hydrologic mixing (seawater intrusion, artificial recharge; exchange with adjacent aquifers or aquitards), which degraded the groundwater quality. Further research on the subsided areas in China is suggested to reveal the mechanisms regarding biological and gaseous (meteorological) changes from the perspective of interacting systems among water, rocks, biological agents and gases.

Characterization of five typical agave plants used to produce mezcal through their simple lipid composition analysis by gas chromatography.

PubMed

Martínez-Aguilar, Juan Fco; Peña-Alvarez, Araceli

2009-03-11

Five agave plants typically used in Mexico for making mezcal in places included in the Denomination of Origin (Mexican federal law that establishes the territory within which mezcal can be produced) of this spirit were analyzed: Agave salmiana ssp. crassispina, A. salmiana var. salmiana, Agave angustifolia, Agave cupreata, and Agave karwinskii. Fatty acid and total simple lipid profiles of the mature heads of each plant were determined by means of a modified Bligh-Dyer extraction and gas chromatography. Sixteen fatty acids were identified, from capric to lignoceric, ranging from 0.40 to 459 microg/g of agave. Identified lipids include free fatty acids, beta-sitosterol, and groups of mono-, di-, and triacylglycerols, their total concentration ranging from 459 to 992 microg/g of agave. Multivariate analyses performed on the fatty acid profiles showed a close similarity between A. cupreata and A. angustifolia. This fact can be ascribed to the taxa themselves or differences in growing conditions, an issue that is still to be explored. These results help to characterize the agaves chemically and can serve to relate the composition of mezcals from various states of Mexico with the corresponding raw material.

Dynamic Radioisotope Power System Development for Space Explorations

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

Qualls, A L

Dynamic power conversion offers the potential to produce radioisotope power systems (RPS) that generate higher power outputs and utilize the Pu-238 radioisotope more efficiently than Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTG). Additionally, dynamic systems also offer the potential of producing generators with significantly reduced power degradation over the course of deep space missions so that more power will be available at the end of the mission when it is needed for both powering the science and transmitting the results. The development of dynamic generators involves addressing technical issues not typically associated with traditional thermoelectric generators. Developing long-life, robust and reliable dynamic conversionmore » technology is challenging yet essential to building a suitable generator. Considerations include working within existing handling infrastructure where possible so that development costs can be kept low and integrating dynamic generators into spacecraft, which may be more complex than integration of static systems. Methods of interfacing to and controlling a dynamic generator must be considered and new potential failure modes must be taken into account. This paper will address some of the key issues of dynamic RPS design, development and adaption.Dynamic power conversion offers the potential to produce Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) that generate higher power outputs and utilize the available heat source plutonium fuel more efficiently than Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators. Additionally, dynamic systems offer the potential of producing generators with significantly reduced power degradation over the course of deep space missions so that more power would be available at the end of the mission, when it is needed most for both powering science instruments and transmitting the resulting data. The development of dynamic generators involves addressing technical issues not typically associated with traditional thermoelectric generators. Developing long-life, robust, and reliable dynamic conversion technology is challenging yet essential to building a suitable flight-ready generator. Considerations include working within existing hardware-handling infrastructure, where possible, so that development costs can be kept low, and integrating dynamic generators into spacecraft, which may be more complex than integration of static thermoelectric systems. Methods of interfacing to and controlling a dynamic generator must also be considered, and new potential failure modes must be taken into account. This paper will address some of the key issues of dynamic RPS design, development, and adaption.« less

The Off-Campus Center: Extending the Reach of Higher Education. Organizational Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gabor, Stanley C.; Heggan, Jon P.

Based on a study of basic organizational issues typically encountered in opening, managing, and closing an off-campus center (OCC), this monograph is designed for colleges and universities wishing to explore the possibility of creating or expanding an OCC for adult students. The definition of an OCC is provided. After a brief statistical overview…

Post-Cold War American Foreign Policy: What, When, and Why

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

issues than international concerns. Something Condoleezza Rice firmly advocated for in a Foreign Affairs opinion piece written for the 2000 Republican... issues . Rice also called for establishing acceptable international 16 Max Boot, ―The...the future. Legitimate policies typically are ones not challenged either legally or morally by significant numbers of actors throughout the

The antecedents of identification: a rhetorical analysis of British Muslim activists' constructions of community and identity.

PubMed

Hopkins, Nick; Kahani-Hopkins, Vered

2004-03-01

This paper takes as its focus the perception of community. This is analysed through reference to the literature concerning the adoption of more inclusive, superordinate social categories. Whilst most research tends to focus on the consequences of these social categories for self and other perception, we focus on their antecedents. These are typically hypothesized to include such issues as the perception of the subordinate groups' common fate and factors affecting their perceptual differentiation (e.g. their similarity and entitativity). However, rather than conceiving of such issues as pre-given antecedent variables, we explore how these issues (and others) are actively constructed in and through discourse. More specifically, we explore how such issues are sites of contestation as activists with different political projects seek to construct quite different versions of the relevant superordinate community identity. Our data are qualitative and are drawn from contemporary debates amongst British Muslims concerning their relations with non-Muslim Britons and non-British Muslims across the globe. A key issue in these deliberations concerns the nature of British Muslims' identity and the superordinate identifications that best facilitate its expression and realization. We suggest that constructions of common fate, similarity, entitativity etc., far from being 'givens', are the means through which different definitions of Muslim identity are constructed and different forms of collective action mobilized.

Coalbed methane produced water in China: status and environmental issues.

PubMed

Meng, Yanjun; Tang, Dazhen; Xu, Hao; Li, Yong; Gao, Lijun

2014-01-01

As one of the unconventional natural gas family members, coalbed methane (CBM) receives great attention throughout the world. The major associated problem of CBM production is the management of produced water. In the USA, Canada, and Australia, much research has been done on the effects and management of coalbed methane produced water (CMPW). However, in China, the environmental effects of CMPW were overlooked. The quantity and the quality of CMPW both vary enormously between coal basins or stratigraphic units in China. The unit produced water volume of CBM wells in China ranges from 10 to 271,280 L/well/day, and the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) ranges from 691 to 93,898 mg/L. Most pH values of CMPW are more than 7.0, showing the alkaline feature, and the Na-HCO3 and Na-HCO3-Cl are typical types of CMPW in China. Treatment and utilization of CMPW in China lag far behind the USA and Australia, and CMPW is mainly managed by surface impoundments and evaporation. Currently, the core environmental issues associated with CMPW in China are that the potential environmental problems of CMPW have not been given enough attention, and relevant regulations as well as environmental impact assessment (EIA) guidelines for CMPW are still lacking. Other potential issues in China includes (1) water quality monitoring issues for CMPW with special components in special areas, (2) groundwater level decline issues associated with the dewatering process, and (3) potential environmental issues of groundwater pollution associated with hydraulic fracturing.

Analysis of the ITER low field side reflectometer transmission line system.

PubMed

Hanson, G R; Wilgen, J B; Bigelow, T S; Diem, S J; Biewer, T M

2010-10-01

A critical issue in the design of the ITER low field side reflectometer is the transmission line (TL) system. A TL connects each launcher to a diagnostic instrument. Each TL will typically consist of ∼42 m of corrugated waveguide and up to ten miter bends. Important issues for the performance of the TL system are mode conversion and reflections. Minimizing these issues are critical to minimizing standing waves and phase errors. The performance of TL system is analyzed and recommendations are given.

Commentary on the special issue on the adolescent brain: Adolescence, trajectories, and the importance of prevention.

PubMed

Andersen, Susan L

2016-11-01

Adolescence as highlighted in this special issue is a period of tremendous growth, synaptic exuberance, and plasticity, but also a period for the emergence of mental illness and addiction. This commentary aims to stimulate research on prevention science to reduce the impact of early life events that often manifest during adolescence. By promoting a better understanding of what creates a normal and abnormal trajectory, the reviews by van Duijvenvoorde et al., Kilford et al., Lichenstein et al., and Tottenham and Galvan in this special issue comprehensively describe how the adolescent brain develops under typical conditions and how this process can go awry in humans. Preclinical reviews also within this issue describe how adolescents have prolonged extinction periods to maximize learning about their environment (Baker et al.), whereas Schulz and Sisk focus on the importance of puberty and how it interacts with stress (Romeo). Caballero and Tseng then set the stage of describing the neural circuitry that is often central to these changes and psychopathology. Factors that affect the mis-wiring of the brain for illness, including prenatal exposure to anti-mitotic agents (Gomes et al.) and early life stress and inflammation (Schwarz and Brenhouse), are included as examples of how exposure to early adversity manifests. These reviews are synthesized and show how information from the maturational stages that precede or occur during adolescence is likely to hold the key towards optimizing development to produce an adolescent and adult that is resilient and well adapted to their environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Obesity Prevention for Children with Developmental Disabilities

PubMed Central

Curtin, Carol; Hubbard, Kristie; Sikich, Linmarie; Bedford, James; Bandini, Linda

2014-01-01

The prevention of obesity in children with DD is a pressing public health issue, with implications for health status, independent living, and quality of life. Substantial evidence suggests that children with developmental disabilities (DD), including those with intellectual disabilities (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), have a prevalence of obesity at least as high if not higher than their typically developing peers. The paper reviews what is known about the classic and unique risk factors for childhood obesity in these groups of children, including dietary, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and family factors, as well as medication use. We use evidence from the literature to make the case that primary prevention at the individual/family, school and community levels will require tailoring of strategies and adapting existing intervention approaches. PMID:25530916

Non-Custodial Gay Fathers: Considering the Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strader, Scott C.

This paper applies what is currently known about gay fathers to the more specific issues of the non-custodial gay father. Good parenting is not easy for any father, but being a successful gay father is even more difficult. Since the gay father is typically a non-custodial parent, he must deal with his grief about the loss of contact and quality…

Thermal Destruction Of CB Contaminants Bound On Building ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Symposium Paper An experimental and theoretical program has been initiated by the U.S. EPA to investigate issues of chemical/biological agent destruction in incineration systems when the agent in question is bound on common porous building interior materials. This program includes 3-dimensional computational fluid dynamics modeling with matrix-bound agent destruction kinetics, bench-scale experiments to determine agent destruction kinetics while bound on various matrices, and pilot-scale experiments to scale-up the bench-scale experiments to a more practical scale. Finally, model predictions are made to predict agent destruction and combustion conditions in two full-scale incineration systems that are typical of modern combustor design.

Institutional and financial guide to geothermal district heating, serial no. 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1982-03-01

General planning considerations which affect nearly every community are reviewed, and alternative operating structures which are available to communities are reviewed, including local governments, nonprofit cooperatives, private enterprises, and joint ventures. The financing options available to publicly-owned and privately-owned district heating systems are then summarized. The geothermal production and distribution activities most appropriate to each type of operating structure are reviewed, along with typical equity and debt funding sources. The tax advantages for private developers are described, as are the issues of customer contracts and service prices, and customer retrofit financing. The treatment is limited to an introductory overview.

EAP Service Use in a Managed Behavioral Health Care Organization: From the Employee Perspective.

PubMed

Merrick, Elizabeth L; Hodgkin, Dominic; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M; McCann, Bernard

2011-01-01

Contemporary employee assistance program (EAP) services are typically provided in broad-brush programs delivered by large external vendors in a network model. Yet research has not kept pace with EAP evolution, including in terms of how EAP clients themselves view services. We surveyed a random sample of EAP service users from a national provider (361 respondents). About one-third of respondents reported getting help for workplace issues. Most learned about the EAP through employer communications such as the company website. The large majority reported that the EAP helped them "a lot" or "some," suggesting they valued this benefit.

EAP Service Use in a Managed Behavioral Health Care Organization: From the Employee Perspective

PubMed Central

Hodgkin, Dominic; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M.; McCann, Bernard

2011-01-01

SUMMARY Contemporary employee assistance program (EAP) services are typically provided in broad-brush programs delivered by large external vendors in a network model. Yet research has not kept pace with EAP evolution, including in terms of how EAP clients themselves view services. We surveyed a random sample of EAP service users from a national provider (361 respondents). About one-third of respondents reported getting help for workplace issues. Most learned about the EAP through employer communications such as the company website. The large majority reported that the EAP helped them “a lot” or “some,” suggesting they valued this benefit. PMID:21966281

CFCS and electric chillers: Selection of large-capacity water chillers in the 1990s. Final report

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

Niess, R.C.

1992-03-01

This handbook offers a single source of useful information for understanding CFC and HCFC phaseout issues and selecting large-capacity water chillers for cooling commercial buildings. It evaluates the performance of electric, absorption, and natural-gas-engine driven water chillers. An economic evaluation checklist and example are included, using the EPRI COMTECH screening tool. Peak shaving with gas chillers and load shifting with chilled water storage are examined. The handbook, written for a diverse audience, covers chiller hardware, function, performance, and typical installed costs. It provides guidelines and checklists for chiller selection, economic comparison, and operation and maintenance.

CFCS and electric chillers: Selection of large-capacity water chillers in the 1990s

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

Niess, R.C.

1992-03-01

This handbook offers a single source of useful information for understanding CFC and HCFC phaseout issues and selecting large-capacity water chillers for cooling commercial buildings. It evaluates the performance of electric, absorption, and natural-gas-engine driven water chillers. An economic evaluation checklist and example are included, using the EPRI COMTECH screening tool. Peak shaving with gas chillers and load shifting with chilled water storage are examined. The handbook, written for a diverse audience, covers chiller hardware, function, performance, and typical installed costs. It provides guidelines and checklists for chiller selection, economic comparison, and operation and maintenance.

Hydraulic and geochemical framework of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory vadose zone

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nimmo, John R.; Rousseau, Joseph P.; Perkins, Kim S.; Stollenwerk, Kenneth G.; Glynn, Pierre D.; Bartholomay, Roy C.; Knobel, LeRoy L.

2004-01-01

Questions of major importance for subsurface contaminant transport at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) include (i) travel times to the aquifer, both average or typical values and the range of values to be expected, and (ii) modes of contaminant transport, especially sorption processes. The hydraulic and geochemical framework within which these questions are addressed is dominated by extreme heterogeneity in a vadose zone and aquifer consisting of interbedded basalts and sediments. Hydraulically, major issues include diverse possible types of flow pathways, extreme anisotropy, preferential flow, combined vertical and horizontal flow, and temporary saturation or perching. Geochemically, major issues include contaminant mobility as influenced by redox conditions, the concentration of organic and inorganic complexing solutes and other local variables, the interaction with infiltrating waters and with the contaminant source environment, and the aqueous speciation of contaminants such as actinides. Another major issue is the possibility of colloid transport, which inverts some of the traditional concepts of mobility, as sorbed contaminants on mobile colloids may be transported with ease compared with contaminants that are not sorbed. With respect to the goal of minimizing aquifer concentrations of contaminants, some characteristics of the vadose zone are essentially completely favorable. Examples include the great thickness (200 m) of the vadose zone, and the presence of substantial quantities of fine sediments that can retard contaminant transport both hydraulically and chemically. Most characteristics, however, have both favorable and unfavorable aspects. For example, preferential flow, as promoted by several notable features of the vadose zone at the INEEL, can provide fast, minimally sorbing pathways for contaminants to reach the aquifer easily, but it also leads to a wide dispersal of contaminants in a large volume of subsurface material, thus increasing the opportunity for dilution and sorption.

Managing Heteronormativity and Homonegativity in Athletic Training: In and Beyond the Classroom

PubMed Central

Maurer-Starks, Suanne S; Clemons, Heather L; Whalen, Shannon L

2008-01-01

Context: As an allied health professional working in various settings, an athletic trainer (AT) is responsible for the health care of a highly diverse population. More often than not, this diversity is defined by the visible, such as race or sex. However, diversity encompasses many more variables than these observable factors and includes sexual orientation. Efforts have been made to educate ATs about issues related to sex and race; however, sexual orientation typically has not been addressed, although ATs have treated and will continue to treat lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) patients. Objective: To introduce ATs (educators and practicing clinicians) to the concept of heteronormativity, its effect on society, and its influences on the manner in which they teach athletic training students and deliver health care to their patients. Data Collection and Analysis: We searched various databases, including MEDLINE, ERIC, SportDiscus, and CINAHL Information Systems using the terms bisexual, diversity, gay, heteronormativity, homophobia in sport, and lesbian. Pertinent articles were cross-referenced to gain additional information. The literature revealed the historic implications of homonegativity for sport and its effects on those involved in sport culture, including ATs. Conclusions: Future dialogues should focus on innovative strategies for including LGB issues into athletic training curricula and for meeting the needs of students and professionals in addition to patients who identify as LGB. PMID:18523570

Uncertainty characterization approaches for risk assessment of DBPs in drinking water: a review.

PubMed

Chowdhury, Shakhawat; Champagne, Pascale; McLellan, P James

2009-04-01

The management of risk from disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water has become a critical issue over the last three decades. The areas of concern for risk management studies include (i) human health risk from DBPs, (ii) disinfection performance, (iii) technical feasibility (maintenance, management and operation) of treatment and disinfection approaches, and (iv) cost. Human health risk assessment is typically considered to be the most important phase of the risk-based decision-making or risk management studies. The factors associated with health risk assessment and other attributes are generally prone to considerable uncertainty. Probabilistic and non-probabilistic approaches have both been employed to characterize uncertainties associated with risk assessment. The probabilistic approaches include sampling-based methods (typically Monte Carlo simulation and stratified sampling) and asymptotic (approximate) reliability analysis (first- and second-order reliability methods). Non-probabilistic approaches include interval analysis, fuzzy set theory and possibility theory. However, it is generally accepted that no single method is suitable for the entire spectrum of problems encountered in uncertainty analyses for risk assessment. Each method has its own set of advantages and limitations. In this paper, the feasibility and limitations of different uncertainty analysis approaches are outlined for risk management studies of drinking water supply systems. The findings assist in the selection of suitable approaches for uncertainty analysis in risk management studies associated with DBPs and human health risk.

A Synopsis of Technical Issues of Concern for Monitoring Trace Elements in Highway and Urban Runoff

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breault, Robert F.; Granato, Gregory E.

2000-01-01

Trace elements, which are regulated for aquatic life protection, are a primary concern in highway- and urban-runoff studies because stormwater runoff may transport these constituents from the land surface to receiving waters. Many of these trace elements are essential for biological activity and become detrimental only when geologic or anthropogenic sources exceed concentrations beyond ranges typical of the natural environment. The Federal Highway Administration and State Transportation Agencies are concerned about the potential effects of highway runoff on the watershed scale and for the management and protection of watersheds. Transportation agencies need information that is documented as valid, current, and scientifically defensible to support planning and management decisions. There are many technical issues of concern for monitoring trace elements; therefore, trace-element data commonly are considered suspect, and the responsibility to provide data-quality information to support the validity of reported results rests with the data-collection agency. Paved surfaces are fundamentally different physically, hydraulically, and chemically from the natural surfaces typical of most freshwater systems that have been the focus of many traceelement- monitoring studies. Existing scientific conceptions of the behavior of trace elements in the environment are based largely upon research on natural systems, rather than on systems typical of pavement runoff. Additionally, the logistics of stormwater sampling are difficult because of the great uncertainty in the occurrence and magnitude of storm events. Therefore, trace-element monitoring programs may be enhanced if monitoring and sampling programs are automated. Automation would standardize the process and provide a continuous record of the variations in flow and water-quality characteristics. Great care is required to collect and process samples in a manner that will minimize potential contamination or attenuation of trace elements and other sources of bias and variability in the sampling process. Trace elements have both natural and anthropogenic sources that may affect the sampling process, including the sample-collection and handling materials used in many trace-element monitoring studies. Trace elements also react with these materials within the timescales typical for collection, processing and analysis of runoff samples. To study the characteristics and potential effects of trace elements in highway and urban runoff, investigators typically sample one or more operationally defined matrixes including: whole water, dissolved (filtered water), suspended sediment, bottom sediment, biological tissue, and contaminant sources. The sampling and analysis of each of these sample matrixes can provide specific information about the occurrence and distribution of trace elements in runoff and receiving waters. There are, however, technical concerns specific to each matrix that must be understood and addressed through use of proper collection and processing protocols. Valid protocols are designed to minimize inherent problems and to maximize the accuracy, precision, comparability, and representativeness of data collected. Documentation, including information about monitoring protocols, quality assurance and quality control efforts, and ancillary data also is necessary to establish data quality. This documentation is especially important for evaluation of historical traceelement monitoring data, because trace-element monitoring protocols and analysis methods have been constantly changing over the past 30 years.

Detecting and overcoming systematic bias in high-throughput screening technologies: a comprehensive review of practical issues and methodological solutions.

PubMed

Caraus, Iurie; Alsuwailem, Abdulaziz A; Nadon, Robert; Makarenkov, Vladimir

2015-11-01

Significant efforts have been made recently to improve data throughput and data quality in screening technologies related to drug design. The modern pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on high-throughput screening (HTS) and high-content screening (HCS) technologies, which include small molecule, complementary DNA (cDNA) and RNA interference (RNAi) types of screening. Data generated by these screening technologies are subject to several environmental and procedural systematic biases, which introduce errors into the hit identification process. We first review systematic biases typical of HTS and HCS screens. We highlight that study design issues and the way in which data are generated are crucial for providing unbiased screening results. Considering various data sets, including the publicly available ChemBank data, we assess the rates of systematic bias in experimental HTS by using plate-specific and assay-specific error detection tests. We describe main data normalization and correction techniques and introduce a general data preprocessing protocol. This protocol can be recommended for academic and industrial researchers involved in the analysis of current or next-generation HTS data. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Robust Joining and Integration Technologies for Advanced Metallic, Ceramic, and Composite Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, M.; Shpargel, Tarah; Morscher, Gregory N.; Halbig, Michael H.; Asthana, Rajiv

2006-01-01

Robust integration and assembly technologies are critical for the successful implementation of advanced metallic, ceramic, carbon-carbon, and ceramic matrix composite components in a wide variety of aerospace, space exploration, and ground based systems. Typically, the operating temperature of these components varies from few hundred to few thousand Kelvin with different working times (few minutes to years). The wide ranging system performance requirements necessitate the use of different integration technologies which includes adhesive bonding, low temperature soldering, active metal brazing, diffusion bonding, ARCJoinT, and ultra high temperature joining technologies. In this presentation, a number of joining examples and test results will be provided related to the adhesive bonding and active metal brazing of titanium to C/C composites, diffusion bonding of silicon carbide to silicon carbide using titanium interlayer, titanium and hastelloy brazing to silicon carbide matrix composites, and ARCJoinT joining of SiC ceramics and SiC matrix composites. Various issues in the joining of metal-ceramic systems including thermal expansion mismatch and resulting residual stresses generated during joining will be discussed. In addition, joint design and testing issues for a wide variety of joints will be presented.

Conceptual model of a coastal hydrosystem in a semi-arid environment subjected to the climate change: the case of Lavrion, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pouliaris, Christos; Schumann, Philipp; Danneberg, Nils-Christian; Foglia, Laura; Kallioras, Andreas; Schüth, Christoph

2015-04-01

Groundwater management in arid areas has become a major issue worldwide, and it is expected to be exacerbated due to climate change. Low annual precipitation and high evaporation potential are the key features of these areas, with additional pressure added to the system due to abstractions for irrigation and water supply purposes. Typical example of such scenarios exist in the Mediterranean area, where drought and water scarcity, especially in the warm period of the hydrological year, give rise to major management issues in coastal areas. Among the different solutions, the implementation of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) schemes have been suggested in the EU FP7 project MARSOL (Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution to Water Scarcity and Drought). In the project, different sites across the Mediterranean are tested for investigating the viability of various MAR techniques in different hydrological systems facing qualitative and quantitative deterioration of their groundwater resources. The coastal hydrosystem of Lavrion was selected due to its typical Mediterranean characteristics (climatic, hydrologic, hydrogeological, geological etc.); all within a rather small area of extent ( < 50km2), that render it as a reference site for hydrologic modeling applications. It consists of a set of aquifer layers (karstified limestone and alluvial) which are hydraulically connected to the sea and an ephemeral torrent (wadi) that flows through a typical small Mediterranean alluvial valley. The major water resources problems of the area are mainly qualitative issues of the groundwaters; in specific: (i) seawater intrusion, (ii) nitrate contamination and (iii) heavy metal pollution due to past and recent mining and metallurgical activities The modelling approach will include the development of three distinct models that will be integrated. The aim is to depict how systems with characteristics like the ones mentioned above perform and, which different scenarios can be applied, aiming at identifying the most viable (with respect to water budget) MAR strategy for the specific area. Meteorological data, field data and site investigations provide the input data for all the different models. The field activities already conducted included: an inventory of all existing pumping wells; the development of a monitoring network for qualitative and quantitative environmental data acquisition at different scales and hydrologic zones; installation of multi-level piezometers for tailored monitoring of the seawater wedge; and geophysical surveys of subsurface characterization. The combination of literature review and field investigations led to the development of the conceptual model of the area along with the realization of the spatial distribution of each model. The hydraulic connections of the two aquifers, the surface water system and the sea have been identified and the upcoming activities aim in quantifying them and include them in the models being under development. The groundwater chemical characteristics have been examined, with results showing the major influence from seawater intrusion. All the data mentioned above are used for the development of the integrated hydrological model of the Lavrion area.

NEET In-Pile Ultrasonic Sensor Enablement-Final Report

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

J. Daw; J. Rempe; J. Palmer

2014-09-01

Ultrasonic technologies offer the potential to measure a range of parameters during irradiation of fuels and materials, including geometry changes, temperature, crack initiation and growth, gas pressure and composition, and microstructural changes under harsh irradiation test conditions. There are two primary issues that currently limit in-pile deployment of ultrasonic sensors. The first is transducer survivability. The ability of ultrasonic transducer materials to maintain their useful properties during an irradiation must be demonstrated. The second issue is signal processing. Ultrasonic testing is typically performed in a lab or field environment, where the sensor and sample are accessible. The harsh nature ofmore » in-pile testing and the variety of desired measurements demand that an enhanced signal processing capability be developed to make in-pile ultrasonic sensors viable. To address these issues, the NEET ASI program funded a three year Ultrasonic Transducer Irradiation and Signal Processing Enhancements project, which is a collaborative effort between the Idaho National Laboratory, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Argonne National Laboratory, and the Pennsylvania State University. The objective of this report is to document the objectives and accomplishments from this three year project. As summarized within this document, significant work has been accomplished during this three year project.« less

Editorial: Functional nanomaterials for energy applications

DOE PAGES

Devan, Rupesh S.; Ma, Yuan -Ron; Kim, Jin -Hyeok; ...

2015-02-16

In order to leap forward from the energy crisis issues and improve lifestyle, we all are looking positively toward nanomaterials or nanostructures. Thus, the exploration of new features of both typical and novel materials at the nanoscale level is playing important role in the development of innovative and improved energy technologies that have the capability of conserve/convert energy at large extend. By tailoring the surface morphology of materials in its nanoforms, the functional properties can be significantly adapted and specifically combined to produce highly potent multifunctional materials for conversion, storage, and consumption of energy in various forms. The papers selectedmore » for this special issue represent a good panel for addressing various energy applications including solar cell, fuel cells, nanofluid twisters, and gas sensors. Of course, the selected topic and the papers are not an exhaustive representation of the utilization of functional nanomaterials for energy applications. Nevertheless, they represent the rich and many-facet knowledge, which we have the pleasure of sharing with the readers.« less

pyblocxs: Bayesian Low-Counts X-ray Spectral Analysis in Sherpa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siemiginowska, A.; Kashyap, V.; Refsdal, B.; van Dyk, D.; Connors, A.; Park, T.

2011-07-01

Typical X-ray spectra have low counts and should be modeled using the Poisson distribution. However, χ2 statistic is often applied as an alternative and the data are assumed to follow the Gaussian distribution. A variety of weights to the statistic or a binning of the data is performed to overcome the low counts issues. However, such modifications introduce biases or/and a loss of information. Standard modeling packages such as XSPEC and Sherpa provide the Poisson likelihood and allow computation of rudimentary MCMC chains, but so far do not allow for setting a full Bayesian model. We have implemented a sophisticated Bayesian MCMC-based algorithm to carry out spectral fitting of low counts sources in the Sherpa environment. The code is a Python extension to Sherpa and allows to fit a predefined Sherpa model to high-energy X-ray spectral data and other generic data. We present the algorithm and discuss several issues related to the implementation, including flexible definition of priors and allowing for variations in the calibration information.

The Broken Mirror: A Self Psychological Treatment Perspective for Relationship Violence

PubMed Central

Wexler, David B.

1999-01-01

Clinicians face formidable challenges in working with male perpetrators of domestic violence. Many treatment programs use a confrontational approach that emphasizes male entitlement and patriarchal societal attitudes, without honoring the genuine psychological pain of the abusive male. Although some men with strong psychopathic tendencies are almost impossible to treat, the majority of spouse-abusing males respond best to an empathic, client-centered, self psychological approach that also includes education about sociocultural issues and specific skill building. Understanding the deprivations in mirroring selfobject functions from which these men typically suffer facilitates clinical treatment response. While insisting that men take full responsibility for their abusive behavior, treatment approaches can still be most effective by addressing inherent psychological issues. Group leaders who can offer respect for perpetrators' history, their experience of powerlessness, and their emotional injuries in primary relationships are more likely to make an impact.(The Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research 1999; 8:129–141) PMID:10079460

Audits Made Simple

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

Belangia, David Warren

A company just got notified there is a big external audit coming in 3 months. Getting ready for an audit can be challenging, scary, and full of surprises. This Gold Paper describes a typical audit from notification of the intent to audit through disposition of the final report including Best Practices, Opportunities for Improvement (OFI), and issues that must be fixed. Good preparation can improve the chances of success. Ensuring the auditors understand the environment and requirements is paramount to success. It helps the auditors understand that the enterprise really does think that security is important. Understanding and following amore » structured process ensures a smooth audit process. Ensuring follow-up on OFIs and issues in a structured fashion will also make the next audit easier. It is important to keep in mind that the auditors will use the previous report as a starting point. Now the only worry is the actual audit and subsequent report and how well the company has done.« less

[Italian Society of Hygiene (SItI) recommendations for a healthy, safe and sustainable housing].

PubMed

Signorelli, Carlo; Capolongo, Stefano; Buffoli, Maddalena; Capasso, Lorenzo; Faggioli, Antonio; Moscato, Umberto; Oberti, Ilaria; Petronio, Maria Grazia; D'Alessandro, Daniela

2016-01-01

As part of the strategies to promote health in urban areas, the Italian Society of Hygiene (SItI) has updated its recommendations for healthy, safe and sustainable housing. They were issued by an ad hoc SitI working group on the basis of the best available evidence retrieved from a review of the scientific and legal literature on the topic and in line with World Health Organisation, European Union, and other international bodies statements. SItI document includes recommendations for environmental comfort, mental and social wellbeing, environmental protection as well as the safety of people who dwell houses. In addition to typical issues (such as relative humidity parameters, ventilation, and safety rules), SItI recommendations address innovative aspects such as building compatibility between different functions, building safety management and green area design. In this context, SItI recommendations emphasise the need of a strengthened interaction between architects and public health experts to ensure the complete wellbeing in houses where people spend more than 50% of their lives.

Verification of space weather forecasts at the UK Met Office

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bingham, S.; Sharpe, M.; Jackson, D.; Murray, S.

2017-12-01

The UK Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC) has produced space weather guidance twice a day since its official opening in 2014. Guidance includes 4-day probabilistic forecasts of X-ray flares, geomagnetic storms, high-energy electron events and high-energy proton events. Evaluation of such forecasts is important to forecasters, stakeholders, model developers and users to understand the performance of these forecasts and also strengths and weaknesses to enable further development. Met Office terrestrial near real-time verification systems have been adapted to provide verification of X-ray flare and geomagnetic storm forecasts. Verification is updated daily to produce Relative Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and Reliability diagrams, and rolling Ranked Probability Skill Scores (RPSSs) thus providing understanding of forecast performance and skill. Results suggest that the MOSWOC issued X-ray flare forecasts are usually not statistically significantly better than a benchmark climatological forecast (where the climatology is based on observations from the previous few months). By contrast, the issued geomagnetic storm activity forecast typically performs better against this climatological benchmark.

Global Mental Health: A Call for Increased Awareness and Action for Family Therapists.

PubMed

Patterson, Jo Ellen; Edwards, Todd M; Vakili, Susanna

2018-03-01

Global mental health (GMH) is an emerging field that focuses on the need for culturally sensitive mental health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While many new initiatives have been established worldwide to understand GMH needs and to provide care in LMICs, family therapists have primarily worked with families in high-income countries. The few existing family-based initiatives in GMH focus on psychoeducation and are typically not based on general systems theory. However, emerging trends in family therapy may enable family therapists to impact mental health issues in LMICs. These trends, which are shared interests of both family therapy and GMH, include collaborative care, a growing emphasis on the importance of culture in understanding and treating mental health issues, recognition of the ability of families to support or impede recovery from mental illness, and the use of strength-based and evidence-based treatments. This paper describes ways for family therapists to become active in the GMH community. © 2017 Family Process Institute.

Incontinence and the duty to provide care.

PubMed

Dimond, Bridgit

Bridgit Dimond considers the legal implications of failing to adequately assess the continence needs of vulnerable people. A typical situation is used to illustrate the legal issues that arise (Box 1).

Challenges in recovering resources from acid mine drainage

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nordstrom, D. Kirk; Bowell, Robert J.; Campbell, Kate M.; Alpers, Charles N.

2017-01-01

Metal recovery from mine waters and effluents is not a new approach but one that has occurred largely opportunistically over the last four millennia. Due to the need for low-cost resources and increasingly stringent environmental conditions, mine waters are being considered in a fresh light with a designed, deliberate approach to resource recovery often as part of a larger water treatment evaluation. Mine water chemistry is highly dependent on many factors including geology, ore deposit composition and mineralogy, mining methods, climate, site hydrology, and others. Mine waters are typically Ca-Mg-SO4±Al±Fe with a broad range in pH and metal content. The main issue in recovering components of these waters having potential economic value, such as base metals or rare earth elements, is the separation of these from more reactive metals such as Fe and Al. Broad categories of methods for separating and extracting substances from acidic mine drainage are chemical and biological. Chemical methods include solution, physicochemical, and electrochemical technologies. Advances in membrane techniques such as reverse osmosis have been substantial and the technique is both physical and chemical. Biological methods may be further divided into microbiological and macrobiological, but only the former is considered here as a recovery method, as the latter is typically used as a passive form of water treatment.

How do we make health impact assessment fit for purpose?

PubMed

Joffe, M

2003-09-01

Progress has been made in recent years in the process of health impact assessment (HIA), including community involvement. The technical side is less well developed. A minimum requirement is that there should be some consistency or robustness, so that the outcome of an HIA does not depend just on who happens to carry it out, that it is not easily swayed by the vested interests that typically surround any project, and that it can withstand legal challenge. Validity is an important criterion, as well as repeatability, as the latter can be achieved merely by propagating errors. All types of evidence should be considered legitimate, including qualitative and quantitative methods. The quality of evidence, and its generalisability, need to be carefully assessed; we should leave behind the divisive discourse around "positivism". Typically there is less information on the links from interventions (policies or projects) to changes in determinants of health than there is on the immediate precursors of health and ill-health. A practical question is, how the best existing knowledge can be made available to HIA practitioners. Other issues are more tractable than is often thought, e.g. that an HIA has to be able to trade off positive and negative impacts to different groups of people, and that the complexity of social causation prevents clear analysis of cause and effect.

Heart transplantation in cardiac amyloidosis.

PubMed

Sousa, Matthew; Monohan, Gregory; Rajagopalan, Navin; Grigorian, Alla; Guglin, Maya

2017-05-01

"Cardiac amyloidosis" is the term commonly used to reflect the deposition of abnormal protein amyloid in the heart. This process can result from several different forms, most commonly from light-chain (AL) amyloidosis and transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis, which in turn can represent wild-type (ATTRwt) or genetic form. Regardless of the origin, cardiac involvement is usually associated with poor prognosis, especially in AL amyloidosis. Although several treatment options, including chemotherapy, exist for different forms of the disease, cardiac transplantation is increasingly considered. However, high mortality on the transplantation list, typical for patients with amyloidosis, and suboptimal post-transplant outcomes are major issues. We are reviewing the literature and summarizing pros and cons of listing patients with amyloidosis for cardiac or combine organ transplant, appropriate work-up, and intermediate and long-term outcomes. Both AL and ATTR amyloidosis are included in this review.

Hypnotically facilitated exposure response prevention therapy for an OIF veteran with OCD.

PubMed

Proescher, Eric J

2010-07-01

The highly stressful conditions of a war zone may exacerbate or trigger a wide variety of symptoms including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) once a service member returns home. Service members and new veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars present to treatment with multiple psychosocial concerns and co-morbid psychiatric conditions. Evidence-based treatments including exposure based therapies are commonly recommended for use with returning veterans. Although studies support the efficacy of Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) therapy for treating OCD, eligibility for these studies limits participation to subjects who self-report a well-defined, circumscribed complaint. This approach is not typical of clinic clients who, more often than not, report multiple psychological issues. The following individual case study demonstrates how integrating hypnosis facilitated the cognitive-behavioral ERP therapy and treatment for a patient suffering from OCD.

The Employability of Older Workers as Teleworkers: An Appraisal of Issues and an Empirical Study

PubMed Central

Sharit, Joseph; Czaja, Sara J.; Hernandez, Mario A.; Nair, Sankaran N.

2009-01-01

The aging of the population and, concomitantly, of the workforce has a number of important implications for governments, businesses, and workers. In this article, we examine the prospects for the employability of older workers as home-based teleworkers. This alternative work could accommodate many of the needs and preferences of older workers and at the same time benefit organizations. However, before telework can be considered a viable work option for many older workers there are a number of issues to consider, including the ability of older workers to adapt to the technological demands that are typically associated with telework jobs and managerial attitudes about older workers and about telework. Through an integrated examination of these and other issues, our goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges associated with employing older workers as teleworkers. We also present findings from a questionnaire study that assessed managers’ perceptions of worker attributes desirable for telework and how older workers compare to younger workers on these attributes. The sample included 314 managers with varying degrees of managerial experience from a large variety of companies in the United States. The results presented a mixed picture with respect to the employability of older workers as teleworkers, and strongly suggested that less experienced managers would be more resistant to hiring older people as teleworkers. We conclude with a number of recommendations for improving the prospects for employment of older workers for this type of work arrangement. PMID:20090856

The Employability of Older Workers as Teleworkers: An Appraisal of Issues and an Empirical Study.

PubMed

Sharit, Joseph; Czaja, Sara J; Hernandez, Mario A; Nair, Sankaran N

2009-01-01

The aging of the population and, concomitantly, of the workforce has a number of important implications for governments, businesses, and workers. In this article, we examine the prospects for the employability of older workers as home-based teleworkers. This alternative work could accommodate many of the needs and preferences of older workers and at the same time benefit organizations. However, before telework can be considered a viable work option for many older workers there are a number of issues to consider, including the ability of older workers to adapt to the technological demands that are typically associated with telework jobs and managerial attitudes about older workers and about telework. Through an integrated examination of these and other issues, our goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges associated with employing older workers as teleworkers. We also present findings from a questionnaire study that assessed managers' perceptions of worker attributes desirable for telework and how older workers compare to younger workers on these attributes. The sample included 314 managers with varying degrees of managerial experience from a large variety of companies in the United States. The results presented a mixed picture with respect to the employability of older workers as teleworkers, and strongly suggested that less experienced managers would be more resistant to hiring older people as teleworkers. We conclude with a number of recommendations for improving the prospects for employment of older workers for this type of work arrangement.

ProteinInferencer: Confident protein identification and multiple experiment comparison for large scale proteomics projects.

PubMed

Zhang, Yaoyang; Xu, Tao; Shan, Bing; Hart, Jonathan; Aslanian, Aaron; Han, Xuemei; Zong, Nobel; Li, Haomin; Choi, Howard; Wang, Dong; Acharya, Lipi; Du, Lisa; Vogt, Peter K; Ping, Peipei; Yates, John R

2015-11-03

Shotgun proteomics generates valuable information from large-scale and target protein characterizations, including protein expression, protein quantification, protein post-translational modifications (PTMs), protein localization, and protein-protein interactions. Typically, peptides derived from proteolytic digestion, rather than intact proteins, are analyzed by mass spectrometers because peptides are more readily separated, ionized and fragmented. The amino acid sequences of peptides can be interpreted by matching the observed tandem mass spectra to theoretical spectra derived from a protein sequence database. Identified peptides serve as surrogates for their proteins and are often used to establish what proteins were present in the original mixture and to quantify protein abundance. Two major issues exist for assigning peptides to their originating protein. The first issue is maintaining a desired false discovery rate (FDR) when comparing or combining multiple large datasets generated by shotgun analysis and the second issue is properly assigning peptides to proteins when homologous proteins are present in the database. Herein we demonstrate a new computational tool, ProteinInferencer, which can be used for protein inference with both small- or large-scale data sets to produce a well-controlled protein FDR. In addition, ProteinInferencer introduces confidence scoring for individual proteins, which makes protein identifications evaluable. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Computational Proteomics. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Beginning with the End in Mind: The School District Office Leadership Role in Closing the Graduation Gap for At-Risk Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mac Iver, Martha Abele

2010-01-01

Increasing high school graduation rates is a systemic issue, not just a school level issue. The district office therefore has a key role to play in narrowing the graduation gap and ensuring that more students earn their high school diplomas well-equipped for college or career. This article focuses first on what school districts have typically done…

SCIENCE, SCIENTISTS, AND POLICY ADVOCACY

EPA Science Inventory

Effectively resolving the typical ecological policy issue requires providing an array of scientific information to decision-makers. In my experience, the ability of scientists (and scientific information) to inform constructively ecological policy deliberations has been diminishe...

Issues Related to Obtaining Intelligence Quotient-Matched Controls in Autism Research

PubMed Central

Rao, Vanitha S.; Raman, Vijaya; Mysore, Ashok V.

2015-01-01

Background: Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is considered to be an index of global cognitive functioning and has traditionally been used as a fulcral measure in case-control studies in neuro-developmental disorders such as autism. Aim: The aim is to highlight the issues of “matching for IQ” with controls in autism research. Materials and Methods: Percentile scores on the Coloured Progressive Matrices of 20 children with autism in the age range of 5 to 12 years have been graphically compared with 21 age matched typically developing children. Results and Conclusions: The percentile scores of the so-called high functioning children with autism from special schools were well below that of typically developing children. There are many challenges when using IQ in case-control studies of autism. Alternative approaches need to be considered. PMID:25969598

Kinds of access: different methods for report reveal different kinds of metacognitive access

PubMed Central

Overgaard, Morten; Sandberg, Kristian

2012-01-01

In experimental investigations of consciousness, participants are asked to reflect upon their own experiences by issuing reports about them in different ways. For this reason, a participant needs some access to the content of her own conscious experience in order to report. In such experiments, the reports typically consist of some variety of ratings of confidence or direct descriptions of one's own experiences. Whereas different methods of reporting are typically used interchangeably, recent experiments indicate that different results are obtained with different kinds of reporting. We argue that there is not only a theoretical, but also an empirical difference between different methods of reporting. We hypothesize that differences in the sensitivity of different scales may reveal that different types of access are used to issue direct reports about experiences and metacognitive reports about the classification process. PMID:22492747

Formulary decisions and health economics.

PubMed

Glazer, W M

1998-01-01

Because of increasing concerns about health care costs, physicians must consider the cost-effectiveness of a treatment strategy, as well as its efficacy and safety. The question of whether the greater expense of a newer drug is justified over the cost of a generic drug deserves a comprehensive evaluation. The determination of effectiveness and tolerability of the newer antipsychotics should be expanded to include quality-of-life issues, reintegration of the patient into the community, resource utilization, and medical costs. There are clear indications that patients who take atypical antipsychotics utilize fewer medical resources than patients who take typical antipsychotics; however, the positive outcomes of the newer drugs must be translated into cost benefits if formularies are to be intelligently controlled.

Stroke Telemedicine

PubMed Central

Demaerschalk, Bart M.; Miley, Madeline L.; Kiernan, Terri-Ellen J.; Bobrow, Bentley J.; Corday, Doren A.; Wellik, Kay E.; Aguilar, Maria I.; Ingall, Timothy J.; Dodick, David W.; Brazdys, Karina; Koch, Tiffany C.; Ward, Michael P.; Richemont, Phillip C.

2009-01-01

Stroke telemedicine is a consultative modality that facilitates care of patients with acute stroke at underserviced hospitals by specialists at stroke centers. The design and implementation of a hub-and-spoke telestroke network are complex. This review describes the technology that makes stroke telemedicine possible, the members that should be included in a telestroke team, the hub-and-spoke characteristics of a telestroke network, and the format of a typical consultation. Common obstacles to the practice of telestroke medicine are explored, such as medicolegal, economic, and market issues. An example of a state-based telestroke network is thoroughly described, and established international telestroke networks are presented and compared. The opportunities for future advances in telestroke practice, research, and education are considered. PMID:19121244

Is Mitochondrial Donation Germ-Line Gene Therapy? Classifications and Ethical Implications.

PubMed

Newson, Ainsley J; Wrigley, Anthony

2017-01-01

The classification of techniques used in mitochondrial donation, including their role as purported germ-line gene therapies, is far from clear. These techniques exhibit characteristics typical of a variety of classifications that have been used in both scientific and bioethics scholarship. This raises two connected questions, which we address in this paper: (i) how should we classify mitochondrial donation techniques?; and (ii) what ethical implications surround such a classification? First, we outline how methods of genetic intervention, such as germ-line gene therapy, are typically defined or classified. We then consider whether techniques of mitochondrial donation fit into these, whether they might do so with some refinement of these categories, or whether they require some other approach to classification. To answer the second question, we discuss the relationship between classification and several key ethical issues arising from mitochondrial donation. We conclude that the properties characteristic of mitochondrial inheritance mean that most mitochondrial donation techniques belong to a new sub-class of genetic modification, which we call 'conditionally inheritable genomic modification' (CIGM). © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Target discrimination strategies in optics detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sjöqvist, Lars; Allard, Lars; Henriksson, Markus; Jonsson, Per; Pettersson, Magnus

2013-10-01

Detection and localisation of optical assemblies used for weapon guidance or sniper rifle scopes has attracted interest for security and military applications. Typically a laser system is used to interrogate a scene of interest and the retro-reflected radiation is detected. Different system approaches for area coverage can be realised ranging from flood illumination to step-and-stare or continuous scanning schemes. Independently of the chosen approach target discrimination is a crucial issue, particularly if a complex scene such as in an urban environment and autonomous operation is considered. In this work target discrimination strategies in optics detection are discussed. Typical parameters affecting the reflected laser radiation from the target are the wavelength, polarisation properties, temporal effects and the range resolution. Knowledge about the target characteristics is important to predict the target discrimination capability. Two different systems were used to investigate polarisation properties and range resolution information from targets including e.g. road signs, optical reflexes, rifle sights and optical references. The experimental results and implications on target discrimination will be discussed. If autonomous operation is required target discrimination becomes critical in order to reduce the number of false alarms.

Weak lensing calibration of mass bias in the REFLEX+BCS X-ray galaxy cluster catalogue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simet, Melanie; Battaglia, Nicholas; Mandelbaum, Rachel; Seljak, Uroš

2017-04-01

The use of large, X-ray-selected Galaxy cluster catalogues for cosmological analyses requires a thorough understanding of the X-ray mass estimates. Weak gravitational lensing is an ideal method to shed light on such issues, due to its insensitivity to the cluster dynamical state. We perform a weak lensing calibration of 166 galaxy clusters from the REFLEX and BCS cluster catalogue and compare our results to the X-ray masses based on scaled luminosities from that catalogue. To interpret the weak lensing signal in terms of cluster masses, we compare the lensing signal to simple theoretical Navarro-Frenk-White models and to simulated cluster lensing profiles, including complications such as cluster substructure, projected large-scale structure and Eddington bias. We find evidence of underestimation in the X-ray masses, as expected, with = 0.75 ± 0.07 stat. ±0.05 sys. for our best-fitting model. The biases in cosmological parameters in a typical cluster abundance measurement that ignores this mass bias will typically exceed the statistical errors.

Hyperbolic metamaterials: Novel physics and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolyaninov, Igor I.; Smolyaninova, Vera N.

2017-10-01

Hyperbolic metamaterials were originally introduced to overcome the diffraction limit of optical imaging. Soon thereafter it was realized that hyperbolic metamaterials demonstrate a number of novel phenomena resulting from the broadband singular behavior of their density of photonic states. These novel phenomena and applications include super resolution imaging, new stealth technologies, enhanced quantum-electrodynamic effects, thermal hyperconductivity, superconductivity, and interesting gravitation theory analogues. Here we briefly review typical material systems, which exhibit hyperbolic behavior and outline important novel applications of hyperbolic metamaterials. In particular, we will describe recent imaging experiments with plasmonic metamaterials and novel VCSEL geometries, in which the Bragg mirrors may be engineered in such a way that they exhibit hyperbolic metamaterial properties in the long wavelength infrared range, so that they may be used to efficiently remove excess heat from the laser cavity. We will also discuss potential applications of three-dimensional self-assembled photonic hypercrystals, which are based on cobalt ferrofluids in external magnetic field. This system bypasses 3D nanofabrication issues, which typically limit metamaterial applications. Photonic hypercrystals combine the most interesting features of hyperbolic metamaterials and photonic crystals.

Remote systems development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olsen, R.; Schaefer, O.; Hussey, J.

1992-01-01

Potential space missions of the nineties and the next century require that we look at the broad category of remote systems as an important means to achieve cost-effective operations, exploration and colonization objectives. This paper addresses such missions, which can use remote systems technology as the basis for identifying required capabilities which must be provided. The relationship of the space-based tasks to similar tasks required for terrestrial applications is discussed. The development status of the required technology is assessed and major issues which must be addressed to meet future requirements are identified. This includes the proper mix of humans and machines, from pure teleoperation to full autonomy; the degree of worksite compatibility for a robotic system; and the required design parameters, such as degrees-of-freedom. Methods for resolution are discussed including analysis, graphical simulation and the use of laboratory test beds. Grumman experience in the application of these techniques to a variety of design issues are presented utilizing the Telerobotics Development Laboratory which includes a 17-DOF robot system, a variety of sensing elements, Deneb/IRIS graphics workstations and control stations. The use of task/worksite mockups, remote system development test beds and graphical analysis are discussed with examples of typical results such as estimates of task times, task feasibility and resulting recommendations for design changes. The relationship of this experience and lessons-learned to future development of remote systems is also discussed.

Semiconductor quantum dots as Förster resonance energy transfer donors for intracellularly-based biosensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Field, Lauren D.; Walper, Scott A.; Susumu, Kimihiro; Oh, Eunkeu; Medintz, Igor L.; Delehanty, James B.

2017-02-01

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based assemblies currently comprise a significant portion of intracellularly based sensors. Although extremely useful, the fluorescent protein pairs typically utilized in such sensors are still plagued by many photophysical issues including significant direct acceptor excitation, small changes in FRET efficiency, and limited photostability. Luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) are characterized by many unique optical properties including size-tunable photoluminescence, broad excitation profiles coupled to narrow emission profiles, and resistance to photobleaching, which can cumulatively overcome many of the issues associated with use of fluorescent protein FRET donors. Utilizing QDs for intracellular FRET-based sensing still requires significant development in many areas including materials optimization, bioconjugation, cellular delivery and assay design and implementation. We are currently developing several QD-based FRET sensors for various intracellular applications. These include sensors targeting intracellular proteolytic activity along with those based on theranostic nanodevices for monitoring drug release. The protease sensor is based on a unique design where an intracellularly expressed fluorescent acceptor protein substrate assembles onto a QD donor following microinjection, forming an active complex that can be monitored in live cells over time. In the theranostic configuration, the QD is conjugated to a carrier protein-drug analogue complex to visualize real-time intracellular release of the drug from its carrier in response to an external stimulus. The focus of this talk will be on the design, properties, photophysical characterization and cellular application of these sensor constructs.

Propulsion issues, options and trades

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forsythe, Doug J.

1986-01-01

Several different types of propulsion concepts are discussed: pulsed fission; continuous nuclear fission; chemical; and chemical boost with advanced nuclear fission. Some of the key characteristics of each type are provided, and typical concepts of each are shown.

Women in Medicine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mandelbaum, Dorothy Rosenthal

1978-01-01

Literature written since 1973 about the individual woman physician and the situation of United States women in medicine is examined and reviewed. Discrimination problems, identity conflicts, and a "typical" personality profile are some of the issues addressed. (Author/ KR)

Is Science Biased Toward Natural?

EPA Science Inventory

Having widely available, accurate, understandable, and unbiased scientific information is central to the successful resolution of the typically contentious, divisive, and litigious natural resource policy issue. Three examples are offered to illustrate how science is often misus...

Evaluation of Vehicle Detection Systems for Traffic Signal Operations

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-10-16

Typical vehicle detection systems used in traffic signal operations are comprised of inductive loop detectors. Because of costs, installation challenges, and operation and maintenance issues, many alternative non-intrusive systems have been dev...

Campaign 2008: Innovative Ideas for Securing America. A Guide for Candidates

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-03

leadership to the Intelligence Community on “ cloak and dagger ” intelligence operations issues but is less involved in addressing key challenges in the day...that allow people in our intelligence agencies to do their jobs. “ Cloak and dagger ” issues typically garner public and media attention, but without...can we prevent future attacks by strengthening U.S. intelligence op- erations, tracking terrorist financing and preventing weapons of mass destruction

2014 Australian Association for Research in Education Presidential Address: Educational Research and the Tree of Knowledge in a Post Human Digital Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Julianne

2016-01-01

The 2014, 41st Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) presidential address is both inspired and guided by the discursive genres of presidential addresses and the role of the president in a member association such as AARE. In the address, typically the president speaks to the members on an issue or issues that are to shape or…

Trafficking of children in Albania: patterns of recruitment and reintegration.

PubMed

Gjermeni, Eglantina; Van Hook, Mary P; Gjipali, Saemira; Xhillari, Lindita; Lungu, Fatjon; Hazizi, Anila

2008-10-01

Many children in Albania and other countries of Eastern Europe are being trafficked as part of the global business of human trafficking. The study sought to identify the patterns of child trafficking involving Albanian children, and especially children's views of the role of family issues and the nature of the trafficking experience. The study included verbally administered questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and use of already existing reports. Study participants included 61 children who had escaped from trafficking, 22 children from similar at-risk groups who had not been trafficked, 15 parents of currently or previously trafficked children, 10 parents from similar groups whose children had not been trafficked, and 8 key informants. Children at greatest risk of trafficking had very limited education and frequently were working on the streets. Their families were poor with many interpersonal problems, including violence. They typically belonged to the Gypsy community. Trusted community members usually recruited the children by promising that the children would work to help the family financially. Once abroad, the children were harshly treated, forced to work long hours, physically abused, and isolated from family members. Families did not receive the promised payment. Once returned, children had a difficult time reentering due to family, educational, and economic issues. Contextual issues supporting child trafficking in Albania include poverty, major internal and external migrations, discrimination, and problems in the legal system. Poverty combined with family problems and membership in the marginalized Gypsy group places children at increased risk of trafficking into harsh labor conditions. The study of Albanian children who were trafficked suggests that dealing with trafficking of children requires addressing family problems and complex social issues that perpetuate poverty as well as the legal and social structures that place children at risk and continue to marginalize certain communities. As a result, changes in social policies that protect victims and punish traffickers and the development of programs that facilitate integration and promote the economic and interpersonal welfare of families whose children are at-risk have been established in Albania.

Acquisition and Post-Processing of Immunohistochemical Images.

PubMed

Sedgewick, Jerry

2017-01-01

Augmentation of digital images is almost always a necessity in order to obtain a reproduction that matches the appearance of the original. However, that augmentation can mislead if it is done incorrectly and not within reasonable limits. When procedures are in place for insuring that originals are archived, and image manipulation steps reported, scientists not only follow good laboratory practices, but avoid ethical issues associated with post processing, and protect their labs from any future allegations of scientific misconduct. Also, when procedures are in place for correct acquisition of images, the extent of post processing is minimized or eliminated. These procedures include white balancing (for brightfield images), keeping tonal values within the dynamic range of the detector, frame averaging to eliminate noise (typically in fluorescence imaging), use of the highest bit depth when a choice is available, flatfield correction, and archiving of the image in a non-lossy format (not JPEG).When post-processing is necessary, the commonly used applications for correction include Photoshop, and ImageJ, but a free program (GIMP) can also be used. Corrections to images include scaling the bit depth to higher and lower ranges, removing color casts from brightfield images, setting brightness and contrast, reducing color noise, reducing "grainy" noise, conversion of pure colors to grayscale, conversion of grayscale to colors typically used in fluorescence imaging, correction of uneven illumination (flatfield correction), merging color images (fluorescence), and extending the depth of focus. These corrections are explained in step-by-step procedures in the chapter that follows.

Signature analysis of ballistic missile warhead with micro-nutation in terahertz band

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ming; Jiang, Yue-song

2013-08-01

In recent years, the micro-Doppler effect has been proposed as a new technique for signature analysis and extraction of radar targets. The ballistic missile is known as a typical radar target and has been paid many attentions for the complexities of its motions in current researches. The trajectory of a ballistic missile can be generally divided into three stages: boost phase, midcourse phase and terminal phase. The midcourse phase is the most important phase for radar target recognition and interception. In this stage, the warhead forms a typical micro-motion called micro-nutation which consists of three basic micro-motions: spinning, coning and wiggle. This paper addresses the issue of signature analysis of ballistic missile warhead in terahertz band via discussing the micro-Doppler effect. We establish a simplified model (cone-shaped) for the missile warhead followed by the micro-motion models including of spinning, coning and wiggle. Based on the basic formulas of these typical micro-motions, we first derive the theoretical formula of micro-nutation which is the main micro-motion of the missile warhead. Then, we calculate the micro-Doppler frequency in both X band and terahertz band via these micro-Doppler formulas. The simulations are given to show the superiority of our proposed method for the recognition and detection of radar micro targets in terahertz band.

Glutamine supplementation to prevent morbidity and mortality in preterm infants.

PubMed

Moe-Byrne, Thirimon; Brown, Jennifer V E; McGuire, William

2016-01-12

Glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid. Endogenous biosynthesis may be insufficient for tissue needs in states of metabolic stress. Evidence exists that glutamine supplementation improves clinical outcomes in critically ill adults. It has been suggested that glutamine supplementation may also benefit preterm infants. To determine the effects of glutamine supplementation on mortality and morbidity in preterm infants. We used the standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group. This included searches of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 2015, Issue 12), MEDLINE, EMBASE and Maternity and Infant Care (to December 2015), conference proceedings and previous reviews. Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials that compared glutamine supplementation versus no glutamine supplementation in preterm infants at any time from birth to discharge from hospital. We extracted data using the standard methods of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group, with separate evaluation of trial quality and data extraction by two review authors. We synthesised data using a fixed-effect model and reported typical relative risk, typical risk difference and weighted mean difference. We identified 12 randomised controlled trials in which a total of 2877 preterm infants participated. Six trials assessed enteral glutamine supplementation and six trials assessed parenteral glutamine supplementation. The trials were generally of good methodological quality. Meta-analysis did not find an effect of glutamine supplementation on mortality (typical relative risk 0.97, 95% confidence interval 0.80 to 1.17; risk difference 0.00, 95% confidence interval -0.03 to 0.02) or major neonatal morbidities including the incidence of invasive infection or necrotising enterocolitis. Three trials that assessed neurodevelopmental outcomes in children aged 18 to 24 months and beyond did not find any effects. The available trial data do not provide evidence that glutamine supplementation confers important benefits for preterm infants.

Glutamine supplementation to prevent morbidity and mortality in preterm infants.

PubMed

Moe-Byrne, Thirimon; Brown, Jennifer V E; McGuire, William

2016-04-18

Glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid. Endogenous biosynthesis may be insufficient for tissue needs in states of metabolic stress. Evidence exists that glutamine supplementation improves clinical outcomes in critically ill adults. It has been suggested that glutamine supplementation may also benefit preterm infants. To determine the effects of glutamine supplementation on mortality and morbidity in preterm infants. We used the standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group. This included searches of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 2015, Issue 12), MEDLINE, EMBASE and Maternity and Infant Care (to December 2015), conference proceedings and previous reviews. Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials that compared glutamine supplementation versus no glutamine supplementation in preterm infants at any time from birth to discharge from hospital. We extracted data using the standard methods of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group, with separate evaluation of trial quality and data extraction by two review authors. We synthesised data using a fixed-effect model and reported typical relative risk, typical risk difference and weighted mean difference. We identified 12 randomised controlled trials in which a total of 2877 preterm infants participated. Six trials assessed enteral glutamine supplementation and six trials assessed parenteral glutamine supplementation. The trials were generally of good methodological quality. Meta-analysis did not find an effect of glutamine supplementation on mortality (typical relative risk 0.97, 95% confidence interval 0.80 to 1.17; risk difference 0.00, 95% confidence interval -0.03 to 0.02) or major neonatal morbidities including the incidence of invasive infection or necrotising enterocolitis. Three trials that assessed neurodevelopmental outcomes in children aged 18 to 24 months and beyond did not find any effects. The available trial data do not provide evidence that glutamine supplementation confers important benefits for preterm infants.

Keeping Up in School? Identifying Learning Problems

MedlinePlus

... español Send us your comments Reading, writing, and math are the building blocks of learning. Mastering these ... and can create issues with reading, writing, and math. “Typically, in the first few years of elementary ...

Gaining Access.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wand, Sean; Thermos, Adam C.

1998-01-01

Explains the issues to consider before a college decides to purchase a card-access system. The benefits of automation, questions involving implementation, the criteria for technology selection, what typical card technology involves, privacy concerns, and the placement of card readers are discussed. (GR)

Anatomical Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Typically Developing Children and Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giedd, Jay N.; Lalonde, Francois M.; Celano, Mark J.; White, Samantha L.; Wallace, Gregory L.; Lee, Nancy R.; Lenroot, Rhoshel K.

2009-01-01

Methodological issues relevant to magnetic resonance imaging studies of brain anatomy are discussed along with the findings on the neuroanatomic changes during childhood and adolescence. The development of the brain is also discussed.

Predicting automated guideway transit system station security requirements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-03-01

This study addresses the issues of personal security on Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) Systems, as they might be deployed in typical urban residential and non-residential settings. Based upon a literature review, it outlines basic characteristics o...

IVHS Institutional Issues And Case Studies: Westchester Commuter Central Case Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

Shared resource projects are public-private arrangements that involve sharing public property such as rights-of-way and private resources such as telecommunications capacity and expertise. Typically, private telecommunications providers are granted a...

Supported employment specialist strategies to assist clients with severe mental illness and criminal justice issues.

PubMed

Whitley, Rob; Kostick, Kristin M; Bush, Philip W

2009-12-01

The aim of this study was to document and analyze common strategies used by supported employment specialists to overcome criminal justice issues among clients with severe mental illness. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with a group of 22 supported employment specialists and their supervisors. Interviews were open ended and supplemented by ethnographic observation. Data were examined thematically by content analysis. Assisting clients with past and present criminal histories to find employment was confirmed as one of the hardest self-identified challenges for employment specialists. Three specific strategies commonly used by specialists for this subpopulation are documented and analyzed. These include taking an incremental approach with clients vis-à-vis obtaining work and career advancement, using a strengths-based model that emphasizes the client's strong points, and focusing the job search on "mom and pop" businesses that typically do not conduct background checks or do not have rigid recruitment policies. Enacting these strategies led to some deviation from the individualized placement and support model of supported employment. Participants noted that they felt most challenged when attempting to serve and assist clients with sex offenses. The findings imply that specialists are challenged when dealing with clients with criminal justice issues and use several approaches to overcome these challenges. Current specialist training may be deficient in preparing staff to effectively serve people with criminal justice issues. Further research should assess the efficacy of the approaches outlined in this article to give more guidance to specialists working with clients with criminal justice issues.

Visualization of multi-INT fusion data using Java Viewer (JVIEW)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blasch, Erik; Aved, Alex; Nagy, James; Scott, Stephen

2014-05-01

Visualization is important for multi-intelligence fusion and we demonstrate issues for presenting physics-derived (i.e., hard) and human-derived (i.e., soft) fusion results. Physics-derived solutions (e.g., imagery) typically involve sensor measurements that are objective, while human-derived (e.g., text) typically involve language processing. Both results can be geographically displayed for user-machine fusion. Attributes of an effective and efficient display are not well understood, so we demonstrate issues and results for filtering, correlation, and association of data for users - be they operators or analysts. Operators require near-real time solutions while analysts have the opportunities of non-real time solutions for forensic analysis. In a use case, we demonstrate examples using the JVIEW concept that has been applied to piloting, space situation awareness, and cyber analysis. Using the open-source JVIEW software, we showcase a big data solution for multi-intelligence fusion application for context-enhanced information fusion.

Text-based plagiarism in scientific writing: what Chinese supervisors think about copying and how to reduce it in students' writing.

PubMed

Li, Yongyan

2013-06-01

Text-based plagiarism, or textual copying, typically in the form of replicating or patchwriting sentences in a row from sources, seems to be an issue of growing concern among scientific journal editors. Editors have emphasized that senior authors (typically supervisors of science students) should take the responsibility for educating novices against text-based plagiarism. To address a research gap in the literature as to how scientist supervisors perceive the issue of textual copying and what they do in educating their students, this paper reports an interview study with 14 supervisors at a research-oriented Chinese university. The study throws light on the potentiality of senior authors mentoring novices in English as an Additional Language (EAL) contexts and has implications for the efforts that can be made in the wider scientific community to support scientists in writing against text-based plagiarism.

A balanced hazard ratio for risk group evaluation from survival data.

PubMed

Branders, Samuel; Dupont, Pierre

2015-07-30

Common clinical studies assess the quality of prognostic factors, such as gene expression signatures, clinical variables or environmental factors, and cluster patients into various risk groups. Typical examples include cancer clinical trials where patients are clustered into high or low risk groups. Whenever applied to survival data analysis, such groups are intended to represent patients with similar survival odds and to select the most appropriate therapy accordingly. The relevance of such risk groups, and of the related prognostic factors, is typically assessed through the computation of a hazard ratio. We first stress three limitations of assessing risk groups through the hazard ratio: (1) it may promote the definition of arbitrarily unbalanced risk groups; (2) an apparently optimal group hazard ratio can be largely inconsistent with the p-value commonly associated to it; and (3) some marginal changes between risk group proportions may lead to highly different hazard ratio values. Those issues could lead to inappropriate comparisons between various prognostic factors. Next, we propose the balanced hazard ratio to solve those issues. This new performance metric keeps an intuitive interpretation and is as simple to compute. We also show how the balanced hazard ratio leads to a natural cut-off choice to define risk groups from continuous risk scores. The proposed methodology is validated through controlled experiments for which a prescribed cut-off value is defined by design. Further results are also reported on several cancer prognosis studies, and the proposed methodology could be applied more generally to assess the quality of any prognostic markers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modelling Per Capita Water Demand Change to Support System Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, M. E.; Islam, S.

2016-12-01

Water utilities have a number of levers to influence customer water usage. These include levers to proactively slow demand growth over time such as building and landscape codes as well as levers to decrease demands quickly in response to water stress including price increases, education campaigns, water restrictions, and incentive programs. Even actions aimed at short term reductions can result in long term water usage declines when substantial changes are made in water efficiency, as in incentives for fixture replacement or turf removal, or usage patterns such as permanent lawn watering restrictions. Demand change is therefore linked to hydrological conditions and to the effects of past management decisions - both typically included in water supply planning models. Yet, demand is typically incorporated exogenously using scenarios or endogenously using only price, though utilities also use rules and incentives issued in response to water stress and codes specifying standards for new construction to influence water usage. Explicitly including these policy levers in planning models enables concurrent testing of infrastructure and policy strategies and illuminates interactions between the two. The City of Las Vegas is used as a case study to develop and demonstrate this modeling approach. First, a statistical analysis of system data was employed to rule out alternate hypotheses of per capita demand decrease such as changes in population density and economic structure. Next, four demand sub-models were developed including one baseline model in which demand is a function of only price. The sub-models were then calibrated and tested using monthly data from 1997 to 2012. Finally, the best performing sub-model was integrated with a full supply and demand model. The results highlight the importance of both modeling water demand dynamics endogenously and taking a broader view of the variables influencing demand change.

Technological innovations and the rise of social inequalities in health.

PubMed

Weiss, Daniel; Eikemo, Terje Andreas

2017-11-01

Social inequalities in health have been categorised as a human-rights issue that requires action. Unfortunately, these inequalities are on the rise in many countries, including welfare states. Various theories have been offered to explain the persistence (and rise) of these inequalities over time, including the social determinants of health and fundamental cause theory. Interestingly, the rise of modern social inequalities in health has come at a time of great technological innovation. This article addresses whether these technological innovations are significantly influencing the persistence of modern social inequalities in health. A theoretical argument is offered for this potential connection and is discussed alongside the typical social determinants of health perspective and the increasingly popular fundamental cause perspective. This is followed by a proposed research agenda for further investigation of the potential role that technological innovations may play in influencing social inequalities in health.

Consent Decrees

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPAs Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) cases and settlements webpage contains links to selected settlements resolving civil enforcement cases and, in some cases, complaints filed initiating civil judicial and administrative enforcement actions. Typically, the links are to settlements about which we have issued a press release. This is not a complete repository of all enforcement actions taken by or on behalf of EPA. Rather, it represents a subset of enforcement cases, taken civil judicially or administratively, which may be of national interest. Most of the settlements are civil judicial consent decrees resolving alleged violations of environmental laws (e.g., the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act). In some instances, the website includes significant enforcement actions resolved by the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). In addition, please note that the cases and settlements webpage does not include:Most administrative enforcement actions; Most civil judicial cases resolving liability under CERCLA; Criminal enforcement matters.

Alternative to Nitric Acid Passivation Project Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Pattie L.

2013-01-01

The standard practice for protection of stainless steel is a process called passivation. This procedure results in the formation of a metal oxide layer to prevent corrosion. Typical passivation procedures call for the use of nitric acid which exhibits excellent corrosion performance; however, there are a number of environmental, worker safety, and operational issues associated with its use. The longtime military specification for the passivation of stainless steel was cancelled in favor of newer specifications which allow for the use of citric acid in place of nitric acid. Citric acid offers a variety of benefits that include increased safety for personnel, reduced environmental impact, and reduced operational costs. There have been few studies, however, to determine whether citric acid is an acceptable alternative for NASA and DoD. This paper details activities to date including development of the joint test plan, on-going and planned testing, and preliminary results.

Deconstructing executive deficits among persons with autism: implications for cognitive neuroscience.

PubMed

Russo, Natalie; Flanagan, Tara; Iarocci, Grace; Berringer, Darlene; Zelazo, Philip David; Burack, Jacob A

2007-10-01

Individuals with autism demonstrate impairments on measures of executive function (EF) relative to typically developing comparison participants. EF is comprised of several processes including inhibition, working memory and set shifting that develop throughout the lifespan. Impairments in EF may appear early in development and persist, or may represent a more transient delay which resolves with time. Given the unevenness of the cognitive profile of persons with autism, understanding the development of EF poses methodological challenges. These issues include those related to matching measures and the choice of comparison participants to which the performance of persons with autism will be compared. In the current review, we attempt to break down the processes of inhibition, working memory and set shifting among persons with autism. We propose to do this within a developmental perspective that highlights how matching measures and comparison participants can affect the interpretation of research findings.

Machine Learning and Decision Support in Critical Care

PubMed Central

Johnson, Alistair E. W.; Ghassemi, Mohammad M.; Nemati, Shamim; Niehaus, Katherine E.; Clifton, David A.; Clifford, Gari D.

2016-01-01

Clinical data management systems typically provide caregiver teams with useful information, derived from large, sometimes highly heterogeneous, data sources that are often changing dynamically. Over the last decade there has been a significant surge in interest in using these data sources, from simply re-using the standard clinical databases for event prediction or decision support, to including dynamic and patient-specific information into clinical monitoring and prediction problems. However, in most cases, commercial clinical databases have been designed to document clinical activity for reporting, liability and billing reasons, rather than for developing new algorithms. With increasing excitement surrounding “secondary use of medical records” and “Big Data” analytics, it is important to understand the limitations of current databases and what needs to change in order to enter an era of “precision medicine.” This review article covers many of the issues involved in the collection and preprocessing of critical care data. The three challenges in critical care are considered: compartmentalization, corruption, and complexity. A range of applications addressing these issues are covered, including the modernization of static acuity scoring; on-line patient tracking; personalized prediction and risk assessment; artifact detection; state estimation; and incorporation of multimodal data sources such as genomic and free text data. PMID:27765959

The use of debt.

PubMed

Hood, W L; Loughery, C V

1990-05-01

Stewards of Catholic healthcare organizations must proceed cautiously before embarking on new construction or renovation projects. Many important issues are involved in financing such projects, including business risk, financial philosophy, financial structure, and forms of debt. The proper foundation for any financing structure must begin with financial philosophy. Some healthcare facilities have traditionally used no external financing; others have employed significant levels of debt. To determine a proper level of debt for the project(s) being financed, it is important to look at business risk. If a modest decline in revenues (or a similar increase in costs) would threaten the project's viability, the business risk would be high; therefore prudence would dictate that the level of debt undertaken be relatively small. A separate analysis is required to determine the appropriate mix of floating-rate and fixed-rate long-term debt. As a rule of thumb, fixed-rate debt would typically form two thirds of the debt structure; floating-rate debt, no more than one third. For healthcare, debt can take two forms: tax exempt and taxable. Tax-exempt financing has many constraints, including use of proceeds by a tax-exempt entity, arbitrage rules, tax legislation, and financial disclosure laws. Taxable debt can be issued by private placement or on a publicly traded basis.

Pilot fatigue survey: exploring fatigue factors in air medical operations.

PubMed

Gregory, Kevin B; Winn, William; Johnson, Kent; Rosekind, Mark R

2010-01-01

Humans confront significant physiological challenges with sleep and alertness when working in 24/7 operations. A web-based national survey of air medical pilots examined issues relevant to fatigue and sleep management. Six hundred ninety-seven responses were received, with a majority of rotor wing pilots working 3/3/7 and 7/7 duty schedules. Over 84% of the pilots reported that fatigue had affected their flight performance; less than 28% reported "nodding off" during flight. More than 90% reported a separate work site "rest" room with a bed available. Over 90% reported no company policies restricting on-duty sleep. Approximately half of the pilots reported getting 4 hours or more sleep during a typical night shift. Approximately half reported that sleep inertia had never compromised flight safety. Over 90% reported that it was better to sleep during the night and overcome sleep inertia if necessary. Survey results reflected practices that can mitigate the degrading effects of fatigue, including the availability of designated work-site sleep rooms. As demands continue to evolve, the need remains for sustained efforts to address fatigue-related risks in the air medical transport industry. This includes further study of sleep inertia issues and the need for alertness management programs. Copyright © 2010 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Barriers to Employment for Transition-age Youth with Developmental and Psychiatric Disabilities.

PubMed

Noel, Valerie A; Oulvey, Eugene; Drake, Robert E; Bond, Gary R

2017-05-01

Youth with developmental and psychiatric disabilities encounter significant vocational challenges, even when they receive supported employment services. We examined the barriers to employment for 280 transition-age youth with disabilities enrolled in supported employment in eight community rehabilitation centers. Employment team members identified each youth's top three barriers to employment using a 21-item checklist. Lack of work experience, transportation problems, and program engagement issues represented common barriers for both youth with developmental disabilities (53, 36, and 25%) and youth with psychiatric disabilities (20, 33, and 26%). Additional common barriers among youth with developmental disabilities included cognitive problems (32%) and lack of social skills (23%) and among youth with psychiatric disabilities included poor control of psychiatric symptoms (23%). Despite receiving evidence-based employment services, youth with disabilities encounter many barriers to employment. Awareness of typical barriers for transition-age youth, including those specific to different disability groups, may help employment programs anticipate challenges and develop strategies that avoid these barriers and their effects on employment opportunities.

Poverty assessment using DMSP/OLS night-time light satellite imagery at a provincial scale in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wen; Cheng, Hui; Zhang, Li

2012-04-01

All countries around the world and many international bodies, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), have to eliminate rural poverty. Estimation of regional poverty level is a key issue for making strategies to eradicate poverty. Most of previous studies on regional poverty evaluations are based on statistics collected typically in administrative units. This paper has discussed the deficiencies of traditional studies, and attempted to research regional poverty evaluation issues using 3-year DMSP/OLS night-time light satellite imagery. In this study, we adopted 17 socio-economic indexes to establish an integrated poverty index (IPI) using principal component analysis (PCA), which was proven to provide a good descriptor of poverty levels in 31 regions at a provincial scale in China. We also explored the relationship between DMSP/OLS night-time average light index and the poverty index using regression analysis in SPSS and a good positive linear correlation was modelled, with R2 equal to 0.854. We then looked at provincial poverty problems in China based on this correlation. The research results indicated that the DMSP/OLS night-time light data can assist analysing provincial poverty evaluation issues.

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP OF PHARMACEUTICALS - THE GREEN PHARMACY

EPA Science Inventory

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPS) as environmental pollutants is a multifaceted issue whose scope continues to become better delineated since the escalation of conceited attention beginning in the 1980s. PPCPs typically occur as trace environme...

ECOLOGICAL POLICY: DEFINING APPROPRIATE ROLES FOR SCIENCE AND SCIENTISTS

EPA Science Inventory

Effectively resolving the typical ecological, natural resource, or environmental policy issue requires an array of scientific information as part of the input provided to decision-makers. In my experience, the ability of scientists (and scientific information) to constructively ...

NORMATIVE SCIENCE: A CORRUPTING INFLUENCE IN ECOLOGICAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE POLICY

EPA Science Inventory

Effectively resolving the typical ecological or natural resource policy issue requires providing an array of scientific information to decision-makers. The ability of scientists (and scientific information) to constructively inform ecological policy deliberations has been dimi...

Legal Challenges and Pitfalls for Start-up Companies - 48 Common Questions and Answers.

PubMed

Staehelin, Matthias

2014-12-01

Transforming a business idea into reality requires a legal implementation plan. The following 48 questions and answers address key issues that typically arise in start-up situations. Early planning can help avoid costly mistakes.

NORMATIVE SCIENCE: SUBVERTING DEVELOPMENT OF SOUND FISHERIES POLICY

EPA Science Inventory

Effectively resolving the typical fisheries policy issue requires an array of scientific information as part of the input provided to decision-makers. In my experience, the ability of scientists (and scientific information) to constructively inform fisheries policy deliberations...

PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS (PPCPS) AS ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS

EPA Science Inventory

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) as trace environmental pollutants is a multifaceted issue whose scope of concerns continues to expand. PPCPs comprise thousands of distinct chemicals from numerous therapeutic and consumer classes. They typical...

Traffic incident management in hazardous materials spills in incident clearance.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

Hazardous materials spills provide unique challenges to traffic incident clearance. When hazardous materials are present, not only do response personnel have to deal with typical traffic incident issues, they also must deal with potential chemical ha...

Multi-megawatt, gigajoule plasma operation in Tore Supra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumont, R. J.; Goniche, M.; Ekedahl, A.; Saoutic, B.; Artaud, J.-F.; Basiuk, V.; Bourdelle, C.; Corre, Y.; Decker, J.; Elbèze, D.; Giruzzi, G.; Hoang, G.-T.; Imbeaux, F.; Joffrin, E.; Litaudon, X.; Lotte, Ph; Maget, P.; Mazon, D.; Nilsson, E.; The Tore Supra Team

2014-07-01

Integrating several important technological elements required for long pulse operation in magnetic fusion devices, the Tore Supra tokamak routinely addresses the physics and technology issues related to this endeavor and, as a result, contributes essential information on critical issues for ITER. During the last experimental campaign, components of the radiofrequency system including an ITER relevant launcher (passive active multijunction (PAM)) and continuous wave/3.7 GHz klystrons, have been extensively qualified, and then used to develop steady state scenarios in which the lower hybrid (LH), ion cyclotron (IC) and electron cyclotron (EC) systems have been combined in fully stationary shots (duration ˜150 s, injected power up to ˜8 MW, injected/extracted energy up to ˜1 GJ). Injection of LH power in the 5.0-6.0 MW range has extended the domain of accessible plasma parameters to higher densities and non-inductive currents. These discharges exhibit steady electron internal transport barriers (ITBs). We report here on various issues relevant to the steady state operation of future devices, ranging from operational aspects and limitations related to the achievement of long pulses in a fully actively cooled fusion device (e.g. overheating due to fast particle losses), to more fundamental plasma physics topics. The latter include a beneficial influence of IC resonance heating on the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability in these discharges, which has been studied in detail. Another interesting observation is the appearance of oscillations of the central temperature with typical periods of the order of one to several seconds, caused by a nonlinear interplay between LH deposition, MHD activity and bootstrap current in the presence of an ITB.

Respiratory and sleep disorders in mucopolysaccharidosis.

PubMed

Berger, Kenneth I; Fagondes, Simone C; Giugliani, Roberto; Hardy, Karen A; Lee, Kuo Sheng; McArdle, Ciarán; Scarpa, Maurizio; Tobin, Martin J; Ward, Susan A; Rapoport, David M

2013-03-01

MPS encompasses a group of rare lysosomal storage disorders that are associated with the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) in organs and tissues. This accumulation can lead to the progressive development of a variety of clinical manifestations. Ear, nose, throat (ENT) and respiratory problems are very common in patients with MPS and are often among the first symptoms to appear. Typical features of MPS include upper and lower airway obstruction and restrictive pulmonary disease, which can lead to chronic rhinosinusitis or chronic ear infections, recurrent upper and lower respiratory tract infections, obstructive sleep apnoea, impaired exercise tolerance, and respiratory failure. This review provides a detailed overview of the ENT and respiratory manifestations that can occur in patients with MPS and discusses the issues related to their evaluation and management.

Seismic instrumentation of buildings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Çelebi, Mehmet

2000-01-01

The purpose of this report is to provide information on how and why we deploy seismic instruments in and around building structures. The recorded response data from buildings and other instrumented structures can be and are being primarily used to facilitate necessary studies to improve building codes and therefore reduce losses of life and property during damaging earthquakes. Other uses of such data can be in emergency response situations in large urban environments. The report discusses typical instrumentation schemes, existing instrumentation programs, the steps generally followed in instrumenting a structure, selection and type of instruments, installation and maintenance requirements and data retrieval and processing issues. In addition, a summary section on how recorded response data have been utilized is included. The benefits from instrumentation of structural systems are discussed.

Using Facebook for Health-related Research Study Recruitment and Program Delivery

PubMed Central

Pedersen, Eric R.; Kurz, Jeremy

2015-01-01

Facebook has become an important tool for recruiting research participants and for program delivery. Given the wide use of Facebook, there is much potential for the site to help with recruitment efforts in both physical and behavioral health care arenas; reaching groups typically difficult to recruit and providing outreach to individuals that may not have received services elsewhere. Health studies using Facebook have generally reported success, including cost-effectiveness, recruitment of samples in brief periods of time, and ability to locate participants for follow-up research. Still, the use of Facebook for research and program delivery is a relatively new area that warrants more research attention and guidance around issues like validity of data, representativeness of samples, and protections of human subjects. PMID:26726313

Using Facebook for Health-related Research Study Recruitment and Program Delivery.

PubMed

Pedersen, Eric R; Kurz, Jeremy

2016-05-01

Facebook has become an important tool for recruiting research participants and for program delivery. Given the wide use of Facebook, there is much potential for the site to help with recruitment efforts in both physical and behavioral health care arenas; reaching groups typically difficult to recruit and providing outreach to individuals that may not have received services elsewhere. Health studies using Facebook have generally reported success, including cost-effectiveness, recruitment of samples in brief periods of time, and ability to locate participants for follow-up research. Still, the use of Facebook for research and program delivery is a relatively new area that warrants more research attention and guidance around issues like validity of data, representativeness of samples, and protections of human subjects.

Disk flexibility effects on the rotordynamics of the SSME high pressure turbopumps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flowers, George T.

1990-01-01

Rotordynamical analyses are typically performed using rigid disk models. Studies of rotor models in which the effects of disk flexibility were included indicate that it may be an important effect for many systems. This issue is addressed with respect to the Space Shuttle Main Engine high pressure turbopumps. Finite element analyses were performed for a simplified free-free flexible disk rotor models and the modes and frequencies compared to those of a rigid disk model. Equations were developed to account for disk flexibility in rotordynamical analysis. Simulation studies were conducted to assess the influence of disk flexibility on the HPOTP. Some recommendations are given as to the importance of disk flexibility and for how this project should proceed.

The 200-kilowatt wind turbine project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The three 200 kilowatt wind turbines described, compose the first of three separate systems. Proposed wind turbines of the two other systems, although similar in design, are larger in both physical size and rated power generation. The overall objective of the project is to obtain early operation and performance data while gaining initial experience in the operation of large, horizontal-axis wind turbines in typical utility environments. Several of the key issues addressed include the following: (1) impact of the variable power output (due to varying wind speeds) on the utility grid (2) compatibility with utility requirements (voltage and frequency control of generated power) (3) demonstration of unattended, fail-safe operation (4) reliability of the wind turbine system (5) required maintenance and (6) initial public reaction and acceptance.

A framework for designing and implementing community benefit standards.

PubMed

Longo, D R; Kruse, R L; Kiely, R G

1997-01-01

Increasingly, health care professionals and the public are asking questions about the role of the hospital in meeting community need including its not-for-profit tax status. This article reviews the community benefit literature, provides a framework for understanding how a hospital community benefit program was developed, and delineates through a structured case study the lessons learned from this experience. It provides the practitioner with a context in which other hospitals may replicate the program and gives researchers a substantive case study that may be used as the basis for the empirical testing of community benefit models. The authors also outline the many difficult issues faced by a typical community hospital as it attempted to examine and develop additional responses to community need.

X-Ray Microdiffraction as a Probe to Reveal Flux Divergences in Interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spolenak, R.; Tamura, N.; Patel, J. R.

2006-02-01

Most reliability issues in interconnect systems occur at a local scale and many of them include the local build-up of stresses. Typical failure mechanisms are electromigration and stress voiding in interconnect lines and fatigue in surface acoustic wave devices. Thus a local probe is required for the investigation of these phenomena. In this paper the application of the Laue microdiffraction technique to investigate flux divergences in interconnect systems will be described. The deviatoric strain tensor of single grains can be correlated with the local microstructure, orientation and defect density. Especially the latter led to recent results about the correlation of stress build-up and orientation in Cu lines and electromigration-induced grain rotation in Cu and Al lines.

Surrogate-based Analysis and Optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Queipo, Nestor V.; Haftka, Raphael T.; Shyy, Wei; Goel, Tushar; Vaidyanathan, Raj; Tucker, P. Kevin

2005-01-01

A major challenge to the successful full-scale development of modem aerospace systems is to address competing objectives such as improved performance, reduced costs, and enhanced safety. Accurate, high-fidelity models are typically time consuming and computationally expensive. Furthermore, informed decisions should be made with an understanding of the impact (global sensitivity) of the design variables on the different objectives. In this context, the so-called surrogate-based approach for analysis and optimization can play a very valuable role. The surrogates are constructed using data drawn from high-fidelity models, and provide fast approximations of the objectives and constraints at new design points, thereby making sensitivity and optimization studies feasible. This paper provides a comprehensive discussion of the fundamental issues that arise in surrogate-based analysis and optimization (SBAO), highlighting concepts, methods, techniques, as well as practical implications. The issues addressed include the selection of the loss function and regularization criteria for constructing the surrogates, design of experiments, surrogate selection and construction, sensitivity analysis, convergence, and optimization. The multi-objective optimal design of a liquid rocket injector is presented to highlight the state of the art and to help guide future efforts.

Ambiguous genitalia in the newborn: an overview and teaching tool.

PubMed

Murphy, Carla; Allen, L; Jamieson, Mary Anne

2011-10-01

Ambiguous genitalia is a significant example of a disorder of sexual development, in which the external genitalia do not have the typical appearance of either sex. Although the birth of a child with ambiguous genitalia is rare, the emergent nature of the issue demands that healthcare providers have at least a familiarity with the underlying etiologies, the issues, and the initial approach to diagnosis and management. With numerous etiologies, potential difficulties with reaching a diagnosis, and many challenges with immediate and long-term care, the topic of ambiguous genitalia can be daunting. We provide a review of basic embryology, as well as a classification system for understanding the various etiological causes of ambiguous genitalia. The important clinical aspects of diagnosis and management are also highlighted, and a teaching tool has been included to help the reader (or their learners) to solidify information presented. Our overall goal is to provide practical information on ambiguous genitalia and allow the clinician to apply this information to clinically relevant scenarios. Copyright © 2011 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Long-term outcomes of adults with features of VACTERL association

PubMed Central

Raam, Manu S.; Pineda-Alvarez, Daniel E.; Hadley, Donald W.; Solomon, Benjamin D.

2010-01-01

VACTERL association involves the presence of specific congenital, multi-organ malformations that tend to co-occur. Clinical and research efforts typically center on pediatric patients, and there is a scarcity of information in the literature regarding VACTERL-related issues and outcomes in adulthood. We describe here 11 adults with features of VACTERL association ascertained through our research study on the condition. In our cohort of adult patients, approximately 25% of medically significant malformations that are component features of VACTERL association, including 40% of vertebral, 50% of cardiac, and 50% of renal anomalies, were not identified during childhood. Additionally, medical sequelae of many of the primary malformations identified in infancy or early childhood persist or are first reported in adulthood. These sequelae can involve challenging medical and surgical management in adulthood. As most adults with VACTERL association are not specifically followed for VACTERL-related issues, a more uniform diagnostic work-up and a low threshold for investigation of medical sequelae of the primary disorder may enhance the quality of clinical management in these patients. PMID:20888933

Genotype harmonizer: automatic strand alignment and format conversion for genotype data integration.

PubMed

Deelen, Patrick; Bonder, Marc Jan; van der Velde, K Joeri; Westra, Harm-Jan; Winder, Erwin; Hendriksen, Dennis; Franke, Lude; Swertz, Morris A

2014-12-11

To gain statistical power or to allow fine mapping, researchers typically want to pool data before meta-analyses or genotype imputation. However, the necessary harmonization of genetic datasets is currently error-prone because of many different file formats and lack of clarity about which genomic strand is used as reference. Genotype Harmonizer (GH) is a command-line tool to harmonize genetic datasets by automatically solving issues concerning genomic strand and file format. GH solves the unknown strand issue by aligning ambiguous A/T and G/C SNPs to a specified reference, using linkage disequilibrium patterns without prior knowledge of the used strands. GH supports many common GWAS/NGS genotype formats including PLINK, binary PLINK, VCF, SHAPEIT2 & Oxford GEN. GH is implemented in Java and a large part of the functionality can also be used as Java 'Genotype-IO' API. All software is open source under license LGPLv3 and available from http://www.molgenis.org/systemsgenetics. GH can be used to harmonize genetic datasets across different file formats and can be easily integrated as a step in routine meta-analysis and imputation pipelines.

Attitudes of Australian and Turkish veterinary faculty toward animal welfare.

PubMed

Izmirli, Serdar; Phillips, Clive J C

2012-01-01

The attitudes of veterinary faculty toward animal welfare were surveyed in four Australian and three Turkish veterinary schools. The former were considered to be typical of modern Western schools, with a faculty of more than 40% women and a primary focus on companion animals, whereas the latter were considered to represent more traditional veterinary teaching establishments, with a faculty of 88% men and a primary focus on livestock. A total of 116 faculty responded to the survey (42 Australian and 74 Turkish faculty members), for response rates of 30% and 33%, respectively. This survey included demographic questions as well as questions about attitudes toward animal-welfare issues. Women were more concerned than men about animal-welfare issues, especially the use of animals in experiments, zoos, entertainment, and sports and for food and clothing. Total scores demonstrated different concerns among Turkish and Australian faculty. The study demonstrates that the veterinary faculty of these two countries have different concerns for animal welfare, concerns that should be acknowledged in considering the welfare attitudes that students may adopt.

PERSONAL-PRACTICES POLLUTANTS: UBIETY, UBIQUITY, SIGNIFICANCE, SOLUTIONS, STEWARDSHIP

EPA Science Inventory

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPS) as environmental pollutants is a multifaceted issue whose scope continues to become better delineated with the escalation of attention that began in the 1980s. PPCPs typically occur as trace environmental pollut...

Wireless Shared Resources: Sharing Right-Of-Way For Wireless Telecommunications, Guidance On Legal And Institutional Issues

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-06-06

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS SHARED RESOURCE PROJECTS ARE PUBLIC-PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS THAT INVOLVE SHARING PUBLIC PROPERTY SUCH AS RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND PRIVATE RESOURCES SUCH AS TELECOMMUNICATIONS CAPACITY AND EXPERTISE. TYPICALLY, PRIVATE TELECOMMUNI...

ECOLOGICAL POLICY: DEFINING APPROPRIATE ROLES FOR SCIENCE AND SCIENTISTS - 2007

EPA Science Inventory

Resolving typical ecological policy issues requires an array of scientific information as part of the input provided to decision-makers. The ability of scientists (and scientific information) to constructively inform policy deliberations diminishes when what is offered as "scienc...

Background, Epidemiology, and Impact of HIV Infection in Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubinstein, Arye

1989-01-01

The article reviews issues of diagnosis and treatment of children with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection. A spectrum of clinical signs is correlated with serological results. The intense central nervous system involvement typically present in childhood cases is examined. (DB)

PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS: DIVERSE GALAXY OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS

EPA Science Inventory

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) as trace environmental pollutants is a multifaceted issue whose scope of concerns continues to expand. PPCPs comprise thousands of distinct chemicals from numerous therapeutic and consumer classes. They typical...

Using Case Studies to Teach About Global Issues, Bali: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oswald, James M.

1974-01-01

The South Pacific island of Bali is used as a case study of overpopulation and food shortage. A brief description of the resources, the typical lifestyle of the Balinese farmer, and possible teaching techniques are given. (DE)

Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and mortality in low birthweight infants.

PubMed

Conde-Agudelo, Agustin; Belizán, José M; Diaz-Rossello, Jose

2011-03-16

Kangaroo mother care (KMC), originally defined as skin-to-skin contact between a mother and her newborn, frequent and exclusive or nearly exclusive breastfeeding, and early discharge from hospital, has been proposed as an alternative to conventional neonatal care for low birthweight (LBW) infants. To determine whether there is evidence to support the use of KMC in LBW infants as an alternative to conventional neonatal care. The standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Group was used. This included searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, POPLINE, CINAHL databases (from inception to January 31, 2011), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2011). In addition, we searched the web page of the Kangaroo Foundation, conference and symposia proceedings on KMC, and Google scholar. Randomized controlled trials comparing KMC versus conventional neonatal care, or early onset KMC (starting within 24 hours after birth) versus late onset KMC (starting after 24 hours after birth) in LBW infants. Data collection and analysis were performed according to the methods of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group. Sixteen studies, including 2518 infants, fulfilled inclusion criteria. Fourteen studies evaluated KMC in LBW infants after stabilization, one evaluated KMC in LBW infants before stabilization, and one compared early onset KMC with late onset KMC in relatively stable LBW infants. Eleven studies evaluated intermittent KMC and five evaluated continuous KMC. At discharge or 40 - 41 weeks' postmenstrual age, KMC was associated with a reduction in the risk of mortality (typical risk ratio (RR) 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39 to 0.93; seven trials, 1614 infants), nosocomial infection/sepsis (typical RR 0.42, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.73), hypothermia (typical RR 0.23, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.55), and length of hospital stay (typical mean difference 2.4 days, 95% CI 0.7 to 4.1). At latest follow up, KMC was associated with a decreased risk of mortality (typical RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.96; nine trials, 1952 infants) and severe infection/sepsis (typical RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.80). Moreover, KMC was found to increase some measures of infant growth, breastfeeding, and mother-infant attachment. The evidence from this updated review supports the use of KMC in LBW infants as an alternative to conventional neonatal care mainly in resource-limited settings. Further information is required concerning effectiveness and safety of early onset continuous KMC in unstabilized LBW infants, long term neurodevelopmental outcomes, and costs of care.

SimZones: An Organizational Innovation for Simulation Programs and Centers.

PubMed

Roussin, Christopher J; Weinstock, Peter

2017-08-01

The complexity and volume of simulation-based learning programs have increased dramatically over the last decade, presenting several major challenges for those who lead and manage simulation programs and centers. The authors present five major issues affecting the organization of simulation programs: (1) supporting both single- and double-loop learning experiences; (2) managing the training of simulation teaching faculty; (3) optimizing the participant mix, including individuals, professional groups, teams, and other role-players, to ensure learning; (4) balancing in situ, node-based, and center-based simulation delivery; and (5) organizing simulation research and measuring value. They then introduce the SimZones innovation, a system of organization for simulation-based learning, and explain how it can alleviate the problems associated with these five issues.Simulations are divided into four zones (Zones 0-3). Zone 0 simulations include autofeedback exercises typically practiced by solitary learners, often using virtual simulation technology. Zone 1 simulations include hands-on instruction of foundational clinical skills. Zone 2 simulations include acute situational instruction, such as clinical mock codes. Zone 3 simulations involve authentic, native teams of participants and facilitate team and system development.The authors also discuss the translation of debriefing methods from Zone 3 simulations to real patient care settings (Zone 4), and they illustrate how the SimZones approach can enable the development of longitudinal learning systems in both teaching and nonteaching hospitals. The SimZones approach was initially developed in the context of the Boston Children's Hospital Simulator Program, which the authors use to illustrate this innovation in action.

Data model for the collaboration between land administration systems and agricultural land parcel identification systems.

PubMed

Inan, Halil Ibrahim; Sagris, Valentina; Devos, Wim; Milenov, Pavel; van Oosterom, Peter; Zevenbergen, Jaap

2010-12-01

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU) has dramatically changed after 1992, and from then on the CAP focused on the management of direct income subsidies instead of production-based subsidies. For this focus, Member States (MS) are expected to establish Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), including a Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) as the spatial part of IACS. Different MS have chosen different solutions for their LPIS. Currently, some MS based their IACS/LPIS on data from their Land Administration Systems (LAS), and many others use purpose built special systems for their IACS/LPIS. The issue with these different IACS/LPIS is that they do not have standardized structures; rather, each represents a unique design in each MS, both in the case of LAS based or special systems. In this study, we aim at designing a core data model for those IACS/LPIS based on LAS. For this purpose, we make use of the ongoing standardization initiatives for LAS (Land Administration Domain Model: LADM) and IACS/LPIS (LPIS Core Model: LCM). The data model we propose in this study implies the collaboration between LADM and LCM and includes some extensions. Some basic issues with the collaboration model are discussed within this study: registration of farmers, land use rights and farming limitations, geometry/topology, temporal data management etc. For further explanation of the model structure, sample instance level diagrams illustrating some typical situations are also included. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resonant Spin-Transfer-Torque Nano-Oscillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Abhishek; Tulapurkar, Ashwin A.; Muralidharan, Bhaskaran

2017-12-01

Spin-transfer-torque nano-oscillators are potential candidates for replacing the traditional inductor-based voltage-controlled oscillators in modern communication devices. Typical oscillator designs are based on trilayer magnetic tunnel junctions, which have the disadvantages of low power outputs and poor conversion efficiencies. We theoretically propose using resonant spin filtering in pentalayer magnetic tunnel junctions as a possible route to alleviate these issues and present viable device designs geared toward a high microwave output power and an efficient conversion of the dc input power. We attribute these robust qualities to the resulting nontrivial spin-current profiles and the ultrahigh tunnel magnetoresistance, both of which arise from resonant spin filtering. The device designs are based on the nonequilibrium Green's-function spin-transport formalism self-consistently coupled with the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert-Slonczewski equation and Poisson's equation. We demonstrate that the proposed structures facilitate oscillator designs featuring a large enhancement in microwave power of around 1150% and an efficiency enhancement of over 1100% compared to typical trilayer designs. We rationalize the optimum operating regions via an analysis of the dynamic and static device resistances. We also demonstrate the robustness of our structures against device design fluctuations and elastic dephasing. This work sets the stage for pentalyer spin-transfer-torque nano-oscillator device designs that ameliorate major issues associated with typical trilayer designs.

The auditors are coming: a practical guide for engineering projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webster, J.

2003-01-01

This paper presents a description of the typical audit process, a list of do's and don'ts for projects undergoing an audit, how to design basic audit preparations into the project's design, and resources for further information on auditing issues.

UBIQUITOUS POLLUTANTS FROM CUMULATIVE PERSONAL PRACTICES - STEWARDSHIP OF THE WATER CYCLE

EPA Science Inventory

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPS) as environmental pollutants is a multifaceted issue whose scope continues to become better delineated since the escalation of concerted attention beginning in the 1980s. PPCPs typically occur as trace environmen...

Examining the "Whole Child" to Generate Usable Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rappolt-Schlichtmann, Gabrielle; Ayoub, Catherine C.; Gravel, Jenna W.

2009-01-01

Despite the promise of scientific knowledge contributing to issues facing vulnerable children, families, and communities, typical approaches to research have made applications challenging. While contemporary theories of human development offer appropriate complexity, research has mostly failed to address dynamic developmental processes. Research…

Commentary: Rural Histories, Rural Boundaries, Rural Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tieken, Mara Casey

2017-01-01

Cross-sector collaborations can generate the resources and political will necessary to tackle urgent, complex issues. Because these partnerships involve local leaders, they are typically responsive to their surrounding communities, addressing local concerns, and capitalizing upon local assets. These strengths-oriented, locally driven…

50 CFR 530.3 - Typical classes of action.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Federal agency; and (b) Research contracts relating to policy issues, biological-ecological data needed to make sound management decisions, and better methods for collecting and analyzing data. These activities are not, by themselves, major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human...

PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS (PPCP'S) AS ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS: POLLUTION FROM PERSONAL ACTIONS

EPA Science Inventory

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) as trace environmental pollutants is a multifaceted issue whose scope of concerns continues to expand. PPCPs comprise thousands of distinct chemicals from numerous therapeutic and consumer classes. They typical...

POLLUTION FROM PERSONAL ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES - PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS (PPCPS)

EPA Science Inventory

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) as trace environmental pollutants is a multifaceted issue whose scope of concerns continues to expand. PPCPs comprise thousands of distinct chemicals from numerous therapeutic and consumer classes. They typical...

Counseling Taiwan Chinese in America: Training Issues for Counselors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Geri; Yang, Julia; Chen, M.

1997-01-01

Examines cultural influences (such as Confucianism, family, and immigration) on Taiwan Chinese in America who seek counseling. Addresses typical counseling struggles, effective counseling strategies and theoretical approaches, and training implications. Uses a case study to elaborate on the above themes. (RJM)

Postnatal phenobarbital for the prevention of intraventricular haemorrhage in preterm infants.

PubMed

Smit, Elisa; Odd, David; Whitelaw, Andrew

2013-08-13

Intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) is a major complication of preterm birth. Large haemorrhages are associated with a high risk of disability and hydrocephalus. Instability of blood pressure and cerebral blood flow are postulated as causative factors. Another mechanism may involve reperfusion damage from oxygen free radicals. Phenobarbital has been suggested as a safe treatment that stabilises blood pressure and may protect against free radicals. To determine the effect of postnatal administration of phenobarbital on the risk of IVH, neurodevelopmental impairment or death in preterm infants. We used the search strategy of the Neonatal Collaborative Review Group. The original review author (A Whitelaw) was an active trialist in this area and had personal contact with many groups in this field. He handsearched journals from 1976 (when cranial computed tomography (CT) scanning started) to October 2000; these included: Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatrics, Archives of Disease in Childhood, Pediatric Research, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, Acta Paediatrica, European Journal of Pediatrics, Neuropediatrics, New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and British Medical Journal. We searched the National Library of Medicine (USA) database (via PubMed) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 2012, Issue 10) through to 31 October 2012. We did not limit the searches to the English language, as long as the article included an English abstract. We read identified articles in the original language or translated. We included randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials in which phenobarbital was given to preterm infants identified as being at risk of IVH because of gestational age below 34 weeks, birthweight below 1500 g or respiratory failure. Adequate determination of IVH by ultrasound or CT was also required. In addition to details of patient selection and control of bias, we extracted the details of the administration of phenobarbital. We searched for the following endpoints: IVH (with grading), posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilation or hydrocephalus, neurodevelopmental impairment and death. In addition, we searched for possible adverse effects of phenobarbitone, for example hypotension, mechanical ventilation, pneumothorax, hypercapnia and acidosis. We included 12 controlled trials that recruited 982 infants. There was heterogeneity between trials for the outcome IVH, with three trials finding a significant decrease in IVH and one trial finding an increase in IVH in the group receiving phenobarbital. Meta-analysis showed no difference between the phenobarbital-treated group and the control group in either all IVH (typical risk ratio (RR) 0.91; 95% CI 0.77 to 1.08), severe IVH (typical RR 0.77; 95% CI 0.58 to 1.04), posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilation (typical RR 0.89; 95% CI 0.38 to 2.08), severe neurodevelopmental impairment (typical RR 1.44; 95% CI 0.41 to 5.04) or death before hospital discharge (typical RR 0.88; 95% CI 0.64 to 1.21). There was a consistent trend in the trials towards increased use of mechanical ventilation in the phenobarbital-treated group, which was supported by the meta-analysis (typical RR 1.18; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.32; typical risk difference 0.129; 95% CI 0.04 to 0.21), but there was no significant difference in pneumothorax, acidosis or hypercapnia. Postnatal administration of phenobarbital cannot be recommended as prophylaxis to prevent IVH in preterm infants and is associated with an increased need for mechanical ventilation.

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

Behroozi, Peter S.; Wechsler, Risa H.; Lu, Yu

We find that infalling dark matter halos (i.e., the progenitors of satellite halos) begin losing mass well outside the virial radius of their eventual host halos. The peak mass occurs at a range of clustercentric distances, with median and 68th percentile range ofmore » $$1.8^{+2.3}_{-1.0} \\,R_\\mathrm{vir,host}$$ for progenitors of z = 0 satellites. The peak circular velocity for infalling halos occurs at significantly larger distances ($$3.7^{+3.3}_{-2.2} \\,R_\\mathrm{vir,host}$$ at z = 0). This difference arises because different physical processes set peak circular velocity (typically, ~1:5 and larger mergers which cause transient circular velocity spikes) and peak mass (typically, smooth accretion) for infalling halos. We find that infalling halos also stop having significant mergers well before they enter the virial radius of their eventual hosts. Mergers larger than a 1:40 ratio in halo mass end for infalling halos at similar clustercentric distances (~1.9 R vir, host) as the end of overall mass accretion. However, mergers larger than 1:3 typically end for infalling halos at more than four virial radial away from their eventual hosts. This limits the ability of mergers to affect quenching and morphology changes in clusters. We also note that the transient spikes which set peak circular velocity may lead to issues with abundance matching on that parameter, including unphysical galaxy stellar mass growth profiles near clusters; we propose a simple observational test to check if a better halo proxy for galaxy stellar mass exists.« less

Affordability of Meteorology Graduate Programs in the United States and Canada.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilmore, Matthew S.; Toracinta, E. Richard

1998-06-01

The authors surveyed 55 university departments in the United States and Canada that grant doctor of philosophy and/or master of science degrees in meteorology or the atmospheric sciences. Two-thirds of university departments responded. Survey topics included graduate student income (stipends and health insurance benefits) and mandatory costs (tuition, fees, and health insurance costs) incurred for fall 1996.Results show that most graduate students do have funding but only one-quarter of departments indicate that health insurance benefits are provided to graduate assistants. The largest mandatory cost is typically housing, which was estimated (except for Canadian schools) with 1996 Fair Market Rent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For schools not providing it, the second largest cost is typically health insurance. The smallest costs are typically tuition (waived for graduate assistants in most cases) and fees.The difference between income and mandatory costs over a nine-month period gives an "effective income." Evidence was found associating greater effective income with larger departments and with locations where housing costs are larger. No significant evidence was found to associate differences in effective income with city size or geographic region. The broad range in effective income between the departments suggests that some graduate programs may be much more affordable than others.This information can aid university departments in planning budgets that keep them competitive with one another. This paper will also help prospective graduate students by raising awareness about important issues of graduate program affordability.

Social Media and the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) patient with Cancer

PubMed Central

Perales, Miguel-Angel; Drake, Emily K; Pemmaraju, Naveen; Wood, William A

2016-01-01

Over 70,000 adolescent and young adults aged 15 to 39 years (AYA) are diagnosed with cancer each year in the US. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has identified AYA cancer patients as a unique population. The most common cancers in this age group include tumors typically seen in pediatric patients such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and brain tumors, as well as cancers more typically seen in adult patients such as breast cancer and melanoma. In addition, some cancers have their highest incidence in AYA patients, such as Hodgkin Lymphoma, testicular cancer and bone tumors. AYA patients face additional unique issues due to their age, not just questions about treatment choices due to lack of data, but also questions about fertility, relationships, loss of autonomy, and interruptions in school/work with potentially significant financial complications. This age group also has very high rates of social media usage with up to 90% of adults aged 18 to 29 using social networking sites. In this review, we will describe the use of social media in AYAs with cancer and highlight some of the online resources for AYAs. PMID:26893061

Social Media and the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Patient with Cancer.

PubMed

Perales, Miguel-Angel; Drake, Emily K; Pemmaraju, Naveen; Wood, William A

2016-12-01

Over 70,000 adolescent and young adults (AYA) aged 15 to 39 years are diagnosed with cancer each year in the US. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has identified AYA cancer patients as a unique population. The most common cancers in this age group include tumors typically seen in pediatric patients such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and brain tumors, as well as cancers more typically seen in adult patients such as breast cancer and melanoma. In addition, some cancers have their highest incidence in AYA patients, such as Hodgkin Lymphoma, testicular cancer, and bone tumors. AYA patients face additional unique issues due to their age, not just questions about treatment choices due to lack of data but also questions about fertility, relationships, loss of autonomy, and interruptions in school/work with potentially significant financial complications. This age group also has very high rates of social media usage with up to 90 % of adults aged 18 to 29 using social networking sites. In this review, we will describe the use of social media in AYAs with cancer and highlight some of the online resources for AYAs.

Body Fat Percentage Prediction Using Intelligent Hybrid Approaches

PubMed Central

Shao, Yuehjen E.

2014-01-01

Excess of body fat often leads to obesity. Obesity is typically associated with serious medical diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Accordingly, knowing the body fat is an extremely important issue since it affects everyone's health. Although there are several ways to measure the body fat percentage (BFP), the accurate methods are often associated with hassle and/or high costs. Traditional single-stage approaches may use certain body measurements or explanatory variables to predict the BFP. Diverging from existing approaches, this study proposes new intelligent hybrid approaches to obtain fewer explanatory variables, and the proposed forecasting models are able to effectively predict the BFP. The proposed hybrid models consist of multiple regression (MR), artificial neural network (ANN), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), and support vector regression (SVR) techniques. The first stage of the modeling includes the use of MR and MARS to obtain fewer but more important sets of explanatory variables. In the second stage, the remaining important variables are served as inputs for the other forecasting methods. A real dataset was used to demonstrate the development of the proposed hybrid models. The prediction results revealed that the proposed hybrid schemes outperformed the typical, single-stage forecasting models. PMID:24723804

Communicating the Urgency and Challenge of Global Climate Change: Lessons Learned and New Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dilling, L.; Moser, S. C.

2004-12-01

Climate change can sometimes be characterized as a "creeping environmental problem"--it is complex and long-term, involves long system lags, lacks the immediacy of everyday experience and thus is hard to perceive, and feels overwhelming to most individuals. Climate change thus does not typically attain the status of an urgent concern, taking priority over other matters for individuals, organizations or in the policy arena. We review the major reasons behind this lack of urgency, and document the observed consequences of previous communication strategies, including lack of public understanding, indifference, confusion, fear and uncertainty. We find that certain emotional motivators such as fear and guilt, while oft-employed, do not actually result in improved recognition of the urgency of the issue, nor do they typically result in action. Rather, positive and engaging approaches may be more likely to achieve this goal. We propose seven strategies to improve the communication of climate change and its urgency: 1) Abide by basic communication rules and heed the warnings of communication experts; 2) Address the emotional and the temporal components of "urgency"; 3) Increase the persuasiveness of the message; 4) Use trusted messengers-broaden the circle; 5) Use opportunities well; 6) Tap into individual and cultural strengths and values; and 7) Unite and Conquer. The multi-faceted nature of the proposed strategies reflects the unique challenges of the climate change issue as well as the need to engage all levels and sectors of societies in the solution, from individuals, to businesses, to governments. These strategies and results emerged from a multi-disciplinary, academic/practitioner workshop on the topic held at NCAR in summer 2004.

Structure and Characteristics of the Stepfamily: Implications for Counseling.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cobia, Debra C.

1996-01-01

Describes the development, structure, and characteristics of the stepfamily and distinguishes these features from those of traditional, intact families. Identifies stepfamily concerns, addressing these as typical transitional issues rather than as insurmountable problems, and presents four stages of developmental and structural changes for…

Personnel Issues and the Catholic School Administrator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, J. Stephen, Ed.; McBrien, Margaret, Ed.

This handbook provides personnel policy guidance in several areas for administrators of Catholic schools. Chapter 1, "Policies and Practices of Governance and Accountability," by M. Lourdes Sheehan, considers governance under the four typical organizational structures of Catholic schools--parish, interparish, diocesan, and private--and notes that…

Conducting Ethical Evaluations with Disadvantaged and Minority Target Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

English, Brian

1997-01-01

This paper examines issues involved in conducting evaluations when participation by the target groups, typically minorities and disadvantaged groups, may put them in jeopardy. Argues that participation by target groups as cooperative partners throughout the evaluation is a way of addressing this dilemma. (SLD)

Comparison of Bacteria and Color Removal in Two Surface Waters using Nanofiltration

EPA Science Inventory

Small communities typically have small budgets, but big issues to deal with in providing safe drinking water and protecting public health. Communities in remote locations are frequently faced with elevated levels of naturally-occurring organic matter (NOM) that combine with chlo...

Comparison of Bacteria and Color Removal in Two Surface Waters using Nanofiltration

EPA Science Inventory

Small communities typically have small budgets, but big issues to deal with in providing safe drinking water and protecting public health. Communities in remote locations are frequently faced with elevated levels of naturally-occurring organic matter (NOM) that combine with chlor...

Mold-Resistant Construction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huckabee, Christopher

2003-01-01

Asserts that one of the surest ways to prevent indoor air quality and mold issues is to use preventive construction materials, discussing typical resistance to dealing with mold problems (usually budget-related) and describing mold-resistant construction, which uses concrete masonry, brick, and stone and is intended to withstand inevitable…

Formative and Summative Evaluation: Related Issues in Performance Measurement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wholey, Joseph S.

1996-01-01

Performance measurement can serve both formative and summative evaluation functions. Formative evaluation is typically more useful for government purposes whereas performance measurement is more useful than one-shot evaluations of either formative or summative nature. Evaluators should study performance measurement through case studies and…

Empowering Reflective Ethical Engagement in Field Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Perrin

2010-01-01

Intrinsic to experiential learning is the challenge of empowering students to both reflectively engage with and inquire into ethical issues, while facing time, task, social, and other daily pressures. As designated "learners" in a professional setting, experiential education students typically see themselves as having little authority…

Who Is Audience?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beeching, Angela M.

2016-01-01

Music conservatoires have generally neglected focusing on a key issue: that of audiences--their needs and wants, why they value particular music, and how music actually functions in any particular community. Yet audience is typically a musician's first contact with the "real world"; understanding audience (one's market or customers) is…

50 CFR 530.3 - Typical classes of action.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... respect to the preparation of EIS's or environmental assessments. As a general matter, the Commission's... Federal agency; and (b) Research contracts relating to policy issues, biological-ecological data needed to make sound management decisions, and better methods for collecting and analyzing data. These activities...

IN SITU AND EX SITU BIODEGRADATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED SITES [ENGINEERING ISSUE)

EPA Science Inventory

Bioremediation is a grouping of technologies that use microbiota (typically, heterotrophic bacteria and fungi) to degrade or transform hazardous contaminants to materials such as carbon dioxide, water, inorganic salts, microbial biomass, and other byproducts that may be less haza...

Coastal strategies to predict Escherichia coli concentrations for beaches along a 35 km stretch of southern Lake Michigan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nevers, M.B.; Whitman, R.L.

2008-01-01

To understand the fate and movement of Escherichia coli in beach water, numerous modeling studies have been undertaken including mechanistic predictions of currents and plumes and empirical modeling based on hydrometeorological variables. Most approaches are limited in scope by nearshore currents or physical obstacles and data limitations; few examine the issue from a larger spatial scale. Given the similarities between variables typically included in these models, we attempted to take a broader view of E. coli fluctuations by simultaneously examining twelve beaches along 35 km of Indiana's Lake Michigan coastline that includes five point-source outfalls. The beaches had similar E. coli fluctuations, and a best-fit empirical model included two variables: wave height and an interactive term comprised of wind direction and creek turbidity. Individual beach R2 was 0.32-0.50. Data training-set results were comparable to validation results (R2 = 0.48). Amount of variation explained by the model was similar to previous reports for individual beaches. By extending the modeling approach to include more coastline distance, broader-scale spatial and temporal changes in bacteria concentrations and the influencing factors can be characterized. ?? 2008 American Chemical Society.

The role of socioscientific issues in biology teaching: from the perspective of teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tidemand, Sofie; Nielsen, Jan Alexis

2017-01-01

Previous research has documented that students who engage with socioscientific issues can acquire some of the complex competences and skills typically related to scientific literacy. But an emerging field of research on science teachers' understanding and use of socioscientific issues, has documented that a range of challenges hinders the uptake of socioscientific issues. In this study, we investigated the interpretation and implementation of socioscientific issues among Danish biology teachers. We conducted five in-depth group interviews and validated the emergent themes from the teachers' talk-in-interaction by distributing a questionnaire. Our findings suggest that the participating teachers generally harbour a content-centred interpretation of socioscientific issues which manifests itself in at least three separate ways. First, the teachers generally use socioscientific issues as a vehicle to teach factual biological content. Second, the teachers emphasised mastery of factual content in their assessment. Third, the teachers tended to reduce socioscientific issues to specific biological contents in a way may preclude students from engaging with the real socioscientific issue. Our findings are particularly significant for science educators, policy-makers and curriculum designers, as we argue that key aspects of this content-centred interpretation may be a coping strategy used to navigate a divided curriculum.

From 2D to 3D modelling in long term tectonics: Modelling challenges and HPC solutions (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Pourhiet, L.; May, D.

2013-12-01

Over the last decades, 3D thermo-mechanical codes have been made available to the long term tectonics community either as open source (Underworld, Gale) or more limited access (Fantom, Elvis3D, Douar, LaMem etc ...). However, to date, few published results using these methods have included the coupling between crustal and lithospheric dynamics at large strain. The fact that these computations are computational expensive is not the primary reason for the relatively slow development of 3D modeling in the long term tectonics community, as compare to the rapid development observed within the mantle dynamic community, or in the short-term tectonics field. Long term tectonics problems have specific issues not found in either of these two field, including; large strain (not an issue for short-term), the inclusion of free surface and the occurence of large viscosity contrasts. The first issue is typically eliminated using a combined marker-ALE method instead of fully lagrangian method, however, the marker-ALE approach can pose some algorithmic challenges in a massively parallel environment. The two last issues are more problematic because they affect the convergence of the linear/non-linear solver and the memory cost. Two options have been tested so far, using low order element and solving with a sparse direct solver, or using higher order stable elements together with a multi-grid solver. The first options, is simpler to code and to use but reaches its limit at around 80^3 low order elements. The second option requires more operations but allows using iterative solver on extremely large computers. In this presentation, I will describe the design philosophy and highlight results obtained using a code from the second-class method. The presentation will be oriented from an end-user point of view, using an application from 3D continental break up to illustrate key concepts. The description will proceed point by point from implementing physics into the code, to dealing with specific issues related to solving the discrete system of non linear equations.

Ethical aspects of human biobanks: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Budimir, Danijela; Polašek, Ozren; Marušić, Ana; Kolčić, Ivana; Zemunik, Tatijana; Boraska, Vesna; Jerončić, Ana; Boban, Mladen; Campbell, Harry; Rudan, Igor

2011-01-01

Aim To systematically assess the existing literature on ethical aspects of human biobanks. Method We searched the Web of Science and PubMed databases to find studies addressing ethical problems in biobanks with no limits set (study design, study population, time period, or language of publication). All identified articles published until November 2010 were included. We analyzed the type of published articles, journals publishing them, involvement of countries/institutions, year of publication, and citations received, and qualitatively assessed every article in order to identify ethical issues addressed by the majority of published research on human biobanking. Results Hundred and fifty four studies satisfied our review criteria. The studies mainly came from highly developed countries and were all published in the last two decades, with over half of them published in 2009 or 2010. They most commonly discussed the informed consent, privacy and identifiability, return of results to participants, importance of public trust, involvement of children, commercialization, the role of ethics boards, international data exchange, ownership of samples, and benefit sharing. Conclusions The focus on ethical aspects is strongly present through the whole biobanking research field. Although there is a consensus on the old and most typical ethical issues, with further development of the field and increasingly complex structure of human biobanks, these issues will likely continue to arise and accumulate, hence requiring constant re-appraisal and continuing discussion. PMID:21674823

Spacecraft Charging Issues for Launch Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buhler, Janessa L.; Minow, Joseph I.; Trout, Dawn H.

2014-01-01

Spacecraft charging is well known threat to successful long term spacecraft operations and instrument reliability in orbits that spend significant time in hot electron environments. In recent years, spacecraft charging has increasingly been recognized as a potentially significant engineering issue for launch vehicles used to deploy spacecraft using (a) low Earth orbit (LEO), high inclination flight trajectories that pass through the auroral zone, (b) geostationary transfer orbits that require exposures to the hot electron environments in the Earths outer radiation belts, and (c) LEO escape trajectories using multiple phasing orbits through the Earths radiation belts while raising apogee towards a final Earth escape geometry. Charging becomes an issue when significant areas of exposed insulating materials or ungrounded conductors are used in the launch vehicle design or the payload is designed for use in a benign charging region beyond the Earths magnetosphere but must survive passage through the strong charging regimes of the Earths radiation belts. This presentation will first outline the charging risks encountered on typical launch trajectories used to deploy spacecraft into Earth orbit and Earth escape trajectories. We then describe the process used by NASAs Launch Services Program to evaluate when surface and internal charging is a potential risk to a NASA mission. Finally, we describe the options for mitigating charging risks including modification of the launch vehicle andor payload design and controlling the risk through operational launch constraints to avoid significant charging environments.

Stakeholder identification of advanced technology opportunities at international ports of entry

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

Parker, S.K.; Icerman, L.

As part of the Advanced Technologies for International and Intermodal Ports of Entry (ATIPE) Project, a diverse group of stakeholders was engaged to help identify problems experienced at inland international border crossings, particularly those at the US-Mexican border. The fundamental issue at international ports of entry is reducing transit time through the required documentation and inspection processes. Examples of other issues or problems, typically manifested as time delays at border crossings, repeatedly mentioned by stakeholders include: (1) lack of document standardization; (2) failure to standardize inspection processes; (3) inadequate information and communications systems; (4) manual fee and tariff collection; (5)more » inconsistency of processes and procedures; and (6) suboptimal cooperation among governmental agencies. Most of these issues can be addressed to some extent by the development of advanced technologies with the objective of allowing ports of entry to become more efficient while being more effective. Three categories of technologies were unambiguously of high priority to port of entry stakeholders: (1) automated documentation; (2) systems integration; and (3) vehicle and cargo tracking. Together, these technologies represent many of the technical components necessary for pre-clearance of freight approaching international ports of entry. Integration of vehicle and cargo tracking systems with port of entry information and communications systems, as well as existing industry legacy systems, should further enable border crossings to be accomplished consistently with optimal processing times.« less

Algorithm design for automated transportation photo enforcement camera image and video quality diagnostic check modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raghavan, Ajay; Saha, Bhaskar

2013-03-01

Photo enforcement devices for traffic rules such as red lights, toll, stops, and speed limits are increasingly being deployed in cities and counties around the world to ensure smooth traffic flow and public safety. These are typically unattended fielded systems, and so it is important to periodically check them for potential image/video quality problems that might interfere with their intended functionality. There is interest in automating such checks to reduce the operational overhead and human error involved in manually checking large camera device fleets. Examples of problems affecting such camera devices include exposure issues, focus drifts, obstructions, misalignment, download errors, and motion blur. Furthermore, in some cases, in addition to the sub-algorithms for individual problems, one also has to carefully design the overall algorithm and logic to check for and accurately classifying these individual problems. Some of these issues can occur in tandem or have the potential to be confused for each other by automated algorithms. Examples include camera misalignment that can cause some scene elements to go out of focus for wide-area scenes or download errors that can be misinterpreted as an obstruction. Therefore, the sequence in which the sub-algorithms are utilized is also important. This paper presents an overview of these problems along with no-reference and reduced reference image and video quality solutions to detect and classify such faults.

Users' experiences of wearable activity trackers: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Maher, Carol; Ryan, Jillian; Ambrosi, Christina; Edney, Sarah

2017-11-15

Wearable activity trackers offer considerable promise for helping users to adopt healthier lifestyles. This study aimed to explore users' experience of activity trackers, including usage patterns, sharing of data to social media, perceived behaviour change (physical activity, diet and sleep), and technical issues/barriers to use. A cross-sectional online survey was developed and administered to Australian adults who were current or former activity tracker users. Results were analysed descriptively, with differences between current and former users and wearable brands explored using independent samples t-tests, Mann-Whitney, and chi square tests. Participants included 200 current and 37 former activity tracker users (total N = 237) with a mean age of 33.1 years (SD 12.4, range 18-74 years). Fitbit (67.5%) and Garmin devices (16.5%) were most commonly reported. Participants typically used their trackers for sustained periods (5-7 months) and most intended to continue usage. Participants reported they had improved their physical activity (51-81%) more commonly than they had their diet (14-40%) or sleep (11-24%), and slightly more participants reported to value the real time feedback (89%) compared to the long-term monitoring (78%). Most users (70%) reported they had experienced functionality issues with their devices, most commonly related to battery life and technical difficulties. Results suggest users find activity trackers appealing and useful tools for increasing perceived physical activity levels over a sustained period.

Chaos and confusion in DSM-5 diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder: Issues, concerns, and recommendations for clarity in the field

PubMed Central

Kuss, Daria J.; Griffiths, Mark D.; Pontes, Halley M.

2017-01-01

Background The umbrella term “Internet addiction” has been criticized for its lack of specificity given the heterogeneity of potentially problematic behaviors that can be engaged in online as well as different underlying etiological mechanisms. This has led to the naming of specific online addictions, the most notable being Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Methods Using the contemporary literature concerning IGD and cognate topics, issues and concerns relating to the concept of IGD are examined. Results Internet addiction and IGD are not the same, and distinguishing between the two is conceptually meaningful. Similarly, the diagnosis of IGD as proposed in the appendix of the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) remains vague regarding whether or not games need to be engaged in online, stating that IGD typically involves specific Internet games, but can also include offline games, adding to the lack of clarity. A number of authors have voiced concerns regarding the viability of including the word “Internet” in IGD, and instead proposed to use the term “video gaming disorder” or simply “gaming disorder,” suggesting addiction to video gaming can also occur offline. Conclusion The DSM-5 has caused more confusion than clarity regarding the disorder, reflected by researchers in the field contesting a supposedly reached consensus for IGD diagnosis. PMID:27599673

Readership survey. A big welcome for Diagnostics in Africa.

PubMed

Chinnock, P

1994-09-01

Targeted to physicians, Africa Health is circulated free to 5600 readers in 23 African countries. Diagnostics in Africa (DIA) is a young publication included as a supplement of Africa Health aimed at laboratory personnel. Readers of DIA were surveyed in the first two issues to find out what they thought of the supplement, how it could be improved, and which problems they currently faced in their work. 98 questionnaires were returned from twelve African countries. 46% of respondents were qualified in laboratory science and 41% were physicians; the others were unqualified laboratory staff and other medical personnel. 73% responded that DIA was very useful and 27% useful, with 80% finding the articles of appropriate depth and complexity. Respondents would like to read about clinical chemistry, histopathology/histology, immunology, management issues, serology, and education/professional development, and would particularly enjoy material in the form of readers' letters and quizzes. Readers responded variously that they were regularly exposed to either Medicine Digest, Dialogue on Diarrhea, Postgraduate Doctor, Labmedica, Lancet, International Diabetes Digest, New England Journal of Medicine, British Medical Journal, or ARI News. Problems typically faced in their work include lack of resources, problems related to HIV testing/screening, poor access to literature, problems with professional development, and difficulty understanding the theory and practice of Western blot tests. These findings confirm assessments of the situation in Africa's medical labs which led to the launching of DIA.

Chaos and confusion in DSM-5 diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder: Issues, concerns, and recommendations for clarity in the field.

PubMed

Kuss, Daria J; Griffiths, Mark D; Pontes, Halley M

2017-06-01

Background The umbrella term "Internet addiction" has been criticized for its lack of specificity given the heterogeneity of potentially problematic behaviors that can be engaged in online as well as different underlying etiological mechanisms. This has led to the naming of specific online addictions, the most notable being Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Methods Using the contemporary literature concerning IGD and cognate topics, issues and concerns relating to the concept of IGD are examined. Results Internet addiction and IGD are not the same, and distinguishing between the two is conceptually meaningful. Similarly, the diagnosis of IGD as proposed in the appendix of the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) remains vague regarding whether or not games need to be engaged in online, stating that IGD typically involves specific Internet games, but can also include offline games, adding to the lack of clarity. A number of authors have voiced concerns regarding the viability of including the word "Internet" in IGD, and instead proposed to use the term "video gaming disorder" or simply "gaming disorder," suggesting addiction to video gaming can also occur offline. Conclusion The DSM-5 has caused more confusion than clarity regarding the disorder, reflected by researchers in the field contesting a supposedly reached consensus for IGD diagnosis.

The NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program - NASA Items of Interest

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.; Sampson, Michael J.

2017-01-01

This presentation provides a background summary of the NEPP Program, its origins and operating principles followed by examples of issues and opportunities that NEPP is currently pursuing. These examples include Electrostatic Discharge protection procedures that are not being properly applied, one reason for which is the confusion caused by the numerous, different standards covering this topic. Updates are provided for key activities in radiation hardness assurance, and the evaluation of automotive grade electronic parts for use in space applications. Some recent examples of part problems experienced by NASA are briefly described and the latest trending of incidences of counterfeit electronic parts is shown graphically. Finally some forward actions are identified and the time, place and typical topics is provided for the next NEPP Electronic Technology Workshop (ETW).

Nexus: A modular workflow management system for quantum simulation codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krogel, Jaron T.

2016-01-01

The management of simulation workflows represents a significant task for the individual computational researcher. Automation of the required tasks involved in simulation work can decrease the overall time to solution and reduce sources of human error. A new simulation workflow management system, Nexus, is presented to address these issues. Nexus is capable of automated job management on workstations and resources at several major supercomputing centers. Its modular design allows many quantum simulation codes to be supported within the same framework. Current support includes quantum Monte Carlo calculations with QMCPACK, density functional theory calculations with Quantum Espresso or VASP, and quantum chemical calculations with GAMESS. Users can compose workflows through a transparent, text-based interface, resembling the input file of a typical simulation code. A usage example is provided to illustrate the process.

Condensed matter physics of planets - Puzzles, progress and predictions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevenson, D. J.

1984-01-01

Attention is given to some of the major unresolved issues concerned with the physics of planetary interiors. The important advances in observations, and experimental and theoretical investigations are briefly reviewed, and some areas for further study are identified, including: the characteristics of atomic and electronic degrees of freedom at the high pressures and temperatures typical of a condensed planetary core; the behavior of water at megabar pressures; and the nature of the core-alloy in the earth and in the core mantle phase boundary. Consideration is also given to the behavior of carbon at high pressures and temperatures in the presence of oxygen and hydrogen; the behavior of the volatile ice assemblage in Titan at pressures of 2-40 kbar; and the electrical conductivities of matter under planetary core conditions.

Oxygen Sensing Based on the Yellowing of Newspaper.

PubMed

Yu, Jingjing; Qin, Xingcai; Xian, Xiaojun; Tao, Nongjian

2018-01-26

Newspaper is known to turn yellow over time. We show here that this yellowing process is sensitive to oxygen when exposed to UV light, leading to oxygen sensing. Oxygen sensing is critical to many applications, including industrial process control and breath analysis, but the existing oxygen sensors have limitations, especially for breath analysis that operates at 100% humidity. The UV irradiation also triggers fluorescence emission from newspaper, and the fluorescence intensity depends on oxygen concentration, providing an additional oxygen sensing method. Newspaper is stable in ambient air, and reactive to oxygen only with UV activation, which overcomes the instability issue of a typical colorimetric sensor in ambient air. The newspaper oxygen sensor works in 100% relative humidity air, containing various interferents. These unique properties of newspaper promise low cost and reliable oxygen sensing applications.

A review of cost measures for the economic impact of domestic violence.

PubMed

Chan, Ko Ling; Cho, Esther Yin-Nei

2010-07-01

Although economic analyses of domestic violence typically guide decisions concerning resource allocation, allowing policy makers to make better informed decisions on how to prioritize and allocate scarce resources, the methods adopted to calculate domestic violence costs have varied widely from study to study. In particular, only a few studies have reviewed the cost measures of the economic impact of domestic violence. This article reviews and compares these measures by covering approaches to categorizing costs, the cost components, and ways to estimate them and recommends an integrated framework that brings the various approaches together. Some issues still need to be addressed when further developing measures such as including omitted but significant measures and expanding the time horizons of others. The implications for future study of domestic violence costs are discussed.

Random copolymers that protect proteins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander-Katz, Alfredo; Van Lehn, Reid C.

2018-03-01

Scientists have tried and in some limited cases succeeded to harness proteins to do chemistry (1) or use them in functional materials. However, most proteins only function correctly if they fold into specific conformations, which typically occurs with the assistance of other proteins (such as chaperones, translocons, or transporters) that mediate structure formation, membrane insertion, and intracellular trafficking (2, 3). Several methods have been used to improve protein stability in nonbiological environments—including micelle encapsulation, polymer conjugation, and sol-gel trapping (4)—but for most intended applications, they suffer from low levels of functionality, difficult chemical postfunctionalization, or the requirement of very specific solvent environments. On page 1239 of this issue, Panganiban et al. (5) introduce an approach for stabilizing proteins in disparate solvent environments that does not suffer from these drawbacks.

Pathogenesis of group A streptococcal infections.

PubMed

Henningham, Anna; Barnett, Timothy C; Maamary, Peter G; Walker, Mark J

2012-05-01

Group A Streptococcus (GAS; Streptococcus pyogenes) is a human pathogen which causes significant morbidity and mortality globally. GAS typically infects the throat and skin of the host, causing mild infections such as pharyngitis and impetigo, in addition to life threatening conditions including necrotizing fasciitis, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), and bacteremia. Repeated infection with GAS may result in the non-suppurative sequelae, acute rheumatic fever, and acute glomerulonephritis. GAS remains sensitive to the antibiotic penicillin which can be administered as a means to treat infection or as prophylaxis. However, issues with patient compliance and a growing concern over the possible emergence of resistant GAS strains may limit the usefulness of antibiotics in the future. A vaccine capable of preventing GAS infection may be the only effective way to control and eliminate GAS infection and disease.

Genetic heterogeneity of RPMI-8402, a T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line

PubMed Central

STOCZYNSKA-FIDELUS, EWELINA; PIASKOWSKI, SYLWESTER; PAWLOWSKA, ROZA; SZYBKA, MALGORZATA; PECIAK, JOANNA; HULAS-BIGOSZEWSKA, KRYSTYNA; WINIECKA-KLIMEK, MARTA; RIESKE, PIOTR

2016-01-01

Thorough examination of genetic heterogeneity of cell lines is uncommon. In order to address this issue, the present study analyzed the genetic heterogeneity of RPMI-8402, a T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cell line. For this purpose, traditional techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry were used, in addition to more advanced techniques, including cell sorting, Sanger sequencing and massive parallel sequencing. The results indicated that the RPMI-8402 cell line consists of several genetically different cell subpopulations. Furthermore, massive parallel sequencing of RPMI-8402 provided insight into the evolution of T-ALL carcinogenesis, since this cell line exhibited the genetic heterogeneity typical of T-ALL. Therefore, the use of cell lines for drug testing in future studies may aid the progress of anticancer drug research. PMID:26870252

Effective Connectivity Modeling for fMRI: Six Issues and Possible Solutions Using Linear Dynamic Systems

PubMed Central

Smith, Jason F.; Pillai, Ajay; Chen, Kewei; Horwitz, Barry

2012-01-01

Analysis of directionally specific or causal interactions between regions in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has proliferated. Here we identify six issues with existing effective connectivity methods that need to be addressed. The issues are discussed within the framework of linear dynamic systems for fMRI (LDSf). The first concerns the use of deterministic models to identify inter-regional effective connectivity. We show that deterministic dynamics are incapable of identifying the trial-to-trial variability typically investigated as the marker of connectivity while stochastic models can capture this variability. The second concerns the simplistic (constant) connectivity modeled by most methods. Connectivity parameters of the LDSf model can vary at the same timescale as the input data. Further, extending LDSf to mixtures of multiple models provides more robust connectivity variation. The third concerns the correct identification of the network itself including the number and anatomical origin of the network nodes. Augmentation of the LDSf state space can identify additional nodes of a network. The fourth concerns the locus of the signal used as a “node” in a network. A novel extension LDSf incorporating sparse canonical correlations can select most relevant voxels from an anatomically defined region based on connectivity. The fifth concerns connection interpretation. Individual parameter differences have received most attention. We present alternative network descriptors of connectivity changes which consider the whole network. The sixth concerns the temporal resolution of fMRI data relative to the timescale of the inter-regional interactions in the brain. LDSf includes an “instantaneous” connection term to capture connectivity occurring at timescales faster than the data resolution. The LDS framework can also be extended to statistically combine fMRI and EEG data. The LDSf framework is a promising foundation for effective connectivity analysis. PMID:22279430

A four-country comparison of healthcare systems, implementation of diagnostic criteria, and treatment availability for functional gastrointestinal disorders: a report of the Rome Foundation Working Team on cross-cultural, multinational research.

PubMed

Schmulson, M; Corazziari, E; Ghoshal, U C; Myung, S-J; Gerson, C D; Quigley, E M M; Gwee, K-A; Sperber, A D

2014-10-01

Variations in healthcare provision around the world may impact how patients with functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGIDs) are investigated, diagnosed, and treated. However, these differences have not been reviewed. The Multinational Working Team of the Rome Foundation, established to make recommendations on the conduct of multinational, cross-cultural research in FGIDs, identified seven key issues that are analyzed herein: (i) coverage afforded by different healthcare systems/providers; (ii) level of the healthcare system where patients with FGIDs are treated; (iii) extent/types of diagnostic procedures typically undertaken to diagnose FGIDs; (iv) physicians' familiarity with and implementation of the Rome diagnostic criteria in clinical practice; (v) range of medications approved for FGIDs and approval process for new agents; (vi) costs involved in treating FGIDs; and (vii) prevalence and role of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) for FGIDs. Because it was not feasible to survey all countries around the world, we compared a selected number of countries based on their geographical and ethno-cultural diversity. Thus, we included Italy and South Korea as representative of nations with broad-based coverage of healthcare in the population and India and Mexico as newly industrialized countries where there may be limited provision of healthcare for substantial segments of the population. In light of the paucity of formal publications on these issues, we included additional sources from the medical literature as well as perspectives provided by local experts and the media. Finally, we provide future directions on healthcare issues that should be taken into account and implemented when conducting cross-cultural and multinational research in FGIDs. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

WAMA: a method of optimizing reticle/die placement to increase litho cell productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dor, Amos; Schwarz, Yoram

2005-05-01

This paper focuses on reticle/field placement methodology issues, the disadvantages of typical methods used in the industry, and the innovative way that the WAMA software solution achieves optimized placement. Typical wafer placement methodologies used in the semiconductor industry considers a very limited number of parameters, like placing the maximum amount of die on the wafer circle and manually modifying die placement to minimize edge yield degradation. This paper describes how WAMA software takes into account process characteristics, manufacturing constraints and business objectives to optimize placement for maximum stepper productivity and maximum good die (yield) on the wafer.

Gendered Manifestations of Depression and Help Seeking Among Men.

PubMed

Call, Jarrod B; Shafer, Kevin

2018-01-01

Men who do not seek help for mental health problems may experience unnecessary suffering which ultimately affects the well-being of themselves and others. Gendered manifestations of depressive symptoms may play an important role in why some men do not seek help for mental health issues. Using data from 2,382 male respondents in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, the authors examined the relationship that both traditional and male-typical symptoms of depression had on the help-seeking behaviors of men. Traditional symptoms increased the odds of seeking help for depression for all men. Male-typical symptoms, however, did not increase the odds of seeking help for depression or another mental health concern. Both traditional and male-typical symptoms increased the odds of initially seeking help from a medical provider, and men with male-typical symptoms had an overall higher likelihood of seeking help from a medical provider. Consequently, it is important that medical professionals assess for depression even when it is not a presenting concern.

Gendered Manifestations of Depression and Help Seeking Among Men

PubMed Central

Call, Jarrod B.; Shafer, Kevin

2015-01-01

Men who do not seek help for mental health problems may experience unnecessary suffering which ultimately affects the well-being of themselves and others. Gendered manifestations of depressive symptoms may play an important role in why some men do not seek help for mental health issues. Using data from 2,382 male respondents in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, the authors examined the relationship that both traditional and male-typical symptoms of depression had on the help-seeking behaviors of men. Traditional symptoms increased the odds of seeking help for depression for all men. Male-typical symptoms, however, did not increase the odds of seeking help for depression or another mental health concern. Both traditional and male-typical symptoms increased the odds of initially seeking help from a medical provider, and men with male-typical symptoms had an overall higher likelihood of seeking help from a medical provider. Consequently, it is important that medical professionals assess for depression even when it is not a presenting concern. PMID:26721265

Typical and atypical metastatic sites of recurrent endometrial carcinoma

PubMed Central

Krajewski, Katherine M.; Jagannathan, Jyothi; Giardino, Angela; Berlin, Suzanne; Ramaiya, Nikhil

2013-01-01

Abstract The purpose of this article is to illustrate the imaging findings of typical and atypical metastatic sites of recurrent endometrial carcinoma. Typical sites include local pelvic recurrence, pelvic and para-aortic nodes, peritoneum, and lungs. Atypical sites include extra-abdominal lymph nodes, liver, adrenals, brain, bones and soft tissue. It is important for radiologists to recognize the typical and atypical sites of metastases in patients with recurrent endometrial carcinoma to facilitate earlier diagnosis and treatment. PMID:23545091

Some Ethical Legal Issues in Heart Disease Surgery

PubMed Central

Lin, Pyng Jing

2014-01-01

Ethical concerns, cultural norms, and legal issues must be carefully considered when treating a patient with heart disease. Although physicians or surgeons must play a role in course of treatment decision making, they should be guided by evidence-based data and the preferences of patients and/or the patient’s parents. However, there is no obligation to provide this type of informed consultation and approval unless these ethical issues become law - which typically occurs through litigation. In this review, we examined common ethical principles that are integral to the regular decisions made by clinicians every day. Some special ethical issues and associated litigation, if any, which might occur perioperatively will also be reviewed. Finally, the final judgments of civil and criminal courts of Taiwan, particularly lawsuits involving physicians associated with coronary artery disease care or aortic aneurysm, will also be introduced. PMID:27122831

Speed limit-related issues on gravel roads.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-03-01

In the United States, there are nearly 1.6 million miles of unpaved roads. Total length of unpaved roads in Kansas is : about 98,000 miles, of which about 78,000 miles are gravel roads. Most of the gravel roads are not typically posted : with speed l...

Group Learning Assessment: Developing a Theory-Informed Analytics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xing, Wanli; Wadholm, Robert; Petakovic, Eva; Goggins, Sean

2015-01-01

Assessment in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is an implicit issue, and most assessments are summative in nature. Process-oriented methods of assessment can vary significantly in their indicators and typically only partially address the complexity of group learning. Moreover, the majority of these assessment methods require…

When Disaster Strikes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Douglas M.

2005-01-01

In a typical Continuity of Operation Plan (COOP) for a school or university, the primary objectives are the maintenance of life support and environmental health services. Often, schools and universities focus on responding to emergency events and place less emphasis on continuity planning. As a result, continuity-planning issues sometimes are not…

Motor Coordination and Executive Functions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michel, Eva

2012-01-01

Since Piaget, the view that motor and cognitive development are interrelated has gained wide acceptance. However, empirical research on this issue is still rare. Few studies show a correlation of performance in cognitive and motor tasks in typically developing children. More specifically, Diamond A. (2000) hypothesizes an involvement of executive…

Violence in Sports.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Donald L.

Increasing violence in sports is deplored, and a warning is issued on an apparent trend toward antisocial behavior. Contact sports such as hockey and football are cited as typically engendering aggression among athletes, but spectator sports (boxing, car racing, basketball, and baseball) are also singled out as eliciting increasing violence on the…

Options for pest and disease control in organic pecan

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although organic pecans typically command a higher wholesale and retail price, their production presents a unique set of challenges. Among these are issues of pest and disease management - it is not simply a modification of the conventional, pest and disease management paradigm. Despite these pest ...

Assimilating Foreign-Born Employees into Organizations through Effective Orientation Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stull, James B.; And Others

Since research suggests that a direct relationship exists between effective orientation and employee productivity, careful consideration must be given to content, design, and delivery issues when developing orientation training programs for foreign-born employees. The United States typically does not provide adequate employee orientation.…

DETERMINING SPECIATION OF PB IN PHOSPHATE AMENDED SOILS: METHOD LIMITATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Determining the effectiveness of in-situ immobilization for P-amended, Pb-contaminated soils has typically relied on non-spectroscopic methods that in recent years have come under scrutiny due to technical and unforeseen error issues. In this study, we analyzed 18 soil samples vi...

Obesity, Nutrition, and Physical Activity for People with Significant Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grumstrup, Brianna; Demchak, MaryAnn

2017-01-01

This review of literature focuses on health issues for individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ID), Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), and Multiple Impairments (MI). This population has two to three times higher overweight and obesity prevalence than typically developing individuals. Furthermore, they have higher risk for…

Temperament, Speech and Language: An Overview

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conture, Edward G.; Kelly, Ellen M.; Walden, Tedra A.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this article is to discuss definitional and measurement issues as well as empirical evidence regarding temperament, especially with regard to children's (a)typical speech and language development. Although all ages are considered, there is a predominant focus on children. Evidence from considerable empirical research lends support…

"Successful" Principals: A Contested Notion for Superintendents and Principals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scribner, Samantha M. Paredes; Crow, Gary M.; Lopez, Gerardo R.; Murtadha, Khaula

2011-01-01

The notion of "success" is narrowly defined and appropriated within an educational context. Typically limited to objective measures of organizational productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency, "successful" principal practices, we argue, engender action and attention to a broader array of issues and interrelationships. In this study, we conducted…

Applications of advanced intervention technologies to enhance microbial food safety

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Food safety issues may arise due to chemical and/or microbial contaminations. Foodborne pathogens typically are the major reasons in food related outbreaks that result in human sickness/death, product disposal/waste and other economic losses. The food industry is continuously seeking better interv...

When Does Fading Enhance Perceptual Category Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pashler, Harold; Mozer, Michael C.

2013-01-01

Training that uses exaggerated versions of a stimulus discrimination (fading) has sometimes been found to enhance category learning, mostly in studies involving animals and impaired populations. However, little is known about whether and when fading facilitates learning for typical individuals. This issue was explored in 7 experiments. In…

Considering Development in Developmental Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paterson, Sarah J.; Parish-Morris, Julia; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathryn; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick

2016-01-01

Various theorists have argued for the importance of a developmental approach to studying typical development (Karmiloff-Smith, 1998; Lerner, 1996; Lerner & Hood, 1986; Masten & Cicchetti, 2010; Overton, 2014; Overton & Lerner, 2012, 2014), and there are reasons to believe that this issue is even more critical to the study of…

Family First Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaFee, Scott

2012-01-01

The typical superintendent these days is male (though the percentage of female superintendents is steadily rising, now accounting for one in four, according to AASA's 2010 decennial study of the superintendency), in his 40s and almost always married with children. When educators become superintendents, the issues of family dynamics and related…

Materials, Chemistry, and Simulation for Future Energy Technology.

PubMed

Aguey-Zinsou, Kondo-Francois; Wang, Da-Wei; Su, Dang-Sheng

2015-09-07

Special Issue: The Future of Energy. The science and engineering of clean energy now is becoming a multidisciplinary area, typically when new materials, chemistry, or mechanisms are met. "Trial and error" is the past. Exploration of new concepts for future clean energy can be accomplished through computer-aided materials design and reaction simulation, thanks to innovations in information technologies. This special issue, a fruit of the Energy Future Conference organized by UNSW Australia, has compiled some excellent examples of such approaches. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Silica Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers as Pump Sources for Frequency Conversion

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

compared to non-pedestal LMA designs • NAs of 0.1 have been achieved • Disadvantages: • Additional glass material in the fiber • Fusion splicing issues...Disadvantages: • Additional glass material in the fiber • Fusion splicing issues (4 glasses in a PM fiber ) • NA cannot be reduced indefinitely • Limits...converted in a nonlinear crystal • Typically ZGP, PPLN, OPGaAs • How can we use fiber with Mid-IR light • We can use it to transport Mid-IR light over

Administering Cognitive Tests Through Touch Screen Tablet Devices: Potential Issues.

PubMed

Jenkins, Amy; Lindsay, Stephen; Eslambolchilar, Parisa; Thornton, Ian M; Tales, Andrea

2016-10-04

Mobile technologies, such as tablet devices, open up new possibilities for health-related diagnosis, monitoring, and intervention for older adults and healthcare practitioners. Current evaluations of cognitive integrity typically occur within clinical settings, such as memory clinics, using pen and paper or computer-based tests. In the present study, we investigate the challenges associated with transferring such tests to touch-based, mobile technology platforms from an older adult perspective. Problems may include individual variability in technical familiarity and acceptance; various factors influencing usability; acceptability; response characteristics and thus validity per se of a given test. For the results of mobile technology-based tests of reaction time to be valid and related to disease status rather than extraneous variables, it is imperative the whole test process is investigated in order to determine potential effects before the test is fully developed. Researchers have emphasized the importance of including the 'user' in the evaluation of such devices; thus we performed a focus group-based qualitative assessment of the processes involved in the administration and performance of a tablet-based version of a typical test of attention and information processing speed (a multi-item localization task), to younger and older adults. We report that although the test was regarded positively, indicating that using a tablet for the delivery of such tests is feasible, it is important for developers to consider factors surrounding user expectations, performance feedback, and physical response requirements and to use this information to inform further research into such applications.

A Comparison of Secondary Chemistry Courses and Chemistry Teacher Preparation Programs in Iowa and Saint Petersburg, Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanger, Michael J.; Brincks, Erik L.; Phelps, Amy J.; Pak, Maria S.; Lyovkin, Antony N.

2001-09-01

This paper, which is a result of the collaboration between the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia in Saint Petersburg, compares the 7-12 chemistry courses in Iowa and Saint Petersburg and the chemistry teacher preparation programs at UNI and Herzen. Differences in the 7-12 chemistry courses include curriculum design (spiral versus layer cake), students' extracurricular activities, and access to technology in the classroom. Differences in the chemistry teacher preparation programs include the number of methods and chemistry content courses required, the number of chemistry teaching majors, the proportion of teaching majors enrolled in the different natural science programs, and the typical minors and endorsements received by these majors. Although we noted many differences in chemistry instruction between Iowa and Saint Petersburg, the secondary and college instructors still face many similar issues, which include overcoming student chemophobia, improving students' algorithmic and problem-solving skills, improving students' conceptual understanding at the particulate level, and dealing with shortages in qualified secondary science teachers.

The Impact of Personal Gender-Typicality and Partner Gender-Traditionality on Taking Sexual Initiative: Investigating a Social Tuning Hypothesis.

PubMed

Emmerink, Peggy M J; Van Den Eijnden, Regina J J M; Ter Bogt, Tom F M; Vanwesenbeeck, Ine

2017-01-01

Sexual assertiveness is an issue of interest in the context of gender equality and sexual health. This study investigated the social tuning hypothesis that encountering a gender-traditional partner would lead to stronger gender-typical behavior, i.e., respectively, higher and lower levels of taking sexual initiative among men and women. Participants ( N = 271) read a vignette describing a romantic partner, who was either presented as gender-traditional or not, followed by a sexual scenario. Subsequently, participants were asked about their expectations toward their own sexual initiative taking. Results showed a significant 'target gender-traditionality × participant gender × participant gender-typicality (masculinity/femininity)' interaction meaning that less gender-typical men were more likely to initiate sexual contact in the experimental, compared to the control condition. Men low in masculine characteristics showed higher initiative taking in response to a gender-traditional target female. We conclude that less gender-typical men seem to employ more social tuning toward their sexual partner, whereas more gender-typical men seem to adhere to their gender-typical behavior regardless of perceived partner characteristics. These results were not seen among the women in the sample. These findings are a starting point for the further development of experimental investigations regarding the gendered nature of both sexual initiative taking and sexual assertiveness in general.

The Impact of Personal Gender-Typicality and Partner Gender-Traditionality on Taking Sexual Initiative: Investigating a Social Tuning Hypothesis

PubMed Central

Emmerink, Peggy M. J.; Van Den Eijnden, Regina J. J. M.; Ter Bogt, Tom F. M.; Vanwesenbeeck, Ine

2017-01-01

Sexual assertiveness is an issue of interest in the context of gender equality and sexual health. This study investigated the social tuning hypothesis that encountering a gender-traditional partner would lead to stronger gender-typical behavior, i.e., respectively, higher and lower levels of taking sexual initiative among men and women. Participants (N = 271) read a vignette describing a romantic partner, who was either presented as gender-traditional or not, followed by a sexual scenario. Subsequently, participants were asked about their expectations toward their own sexual initiative taking. Results showed a significant ‘target gender-traditionality × participant gender × participant gender-typicality (masculinity/femininity)’ interaction meaning that less gender-typical men were more likely to initiate sexual contact in the experimental, compared to the control condition. Men low in masculine characteristics showed higher initiative taking in response to a gender-traditional target female. We conclude that less gender-typical men seem to employ more social tuning toward their sexual partner, whereas more gender-typical men seem to adhere to their gender-typical behavior regardless of perceived partner characteristics. These results were not seen among the women in the sample. These findings are a starting point for the further development of experimental investigations regarding the gendered nature of both sexual initiative taking and sexual assertiveness in general. PMID:28203216

Dental anxiety: An understudied problem in youth.

PubMed

Seligman, Laura D; Hovey, Joseph D; Chacon, Karina; Ollendick, Thomas H

2017-07-01

Dental anxiety and dental phobia typically emerge during childhood; the associated avoidance of dental care can result in oral health problems and is associated with lower quality of life. In this review, we discuss the definition of dental phobia and dental anxiety and issues related to their differentiation. We then review the literature on dental anxiety and dental phobia, including its prevalence, assessment, and sequalae. Moreover, we provide a synthesis of findings on the etiology and maintenance of dental phobia and propose a comprehensive cognitive behavioral model to guide further study. We also present a systematic qualitative and a quantitative review of the treatment literature, concluding that although we have made strides in learning how to prevent dental anxiety in youth, the methods effective in preventing anxiety may not be equally effective in treating youth with dental phobia. We propose a multidisciplinary approach, including those with expertise in pediatric anxiety as well as pediatric dentistry, is likely required to move forward. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-Throughput Nanoindentation for Statistical and Spatial Property Determination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hintsala, Eric D.; Hangen, Ude; Stauffer, Douglas D.

2018-04-01

Standard nanoindentation tests are "high throughput" compared to nearly all other mechanical tests, such as tension or compression. However, the typical rates of tens of tests per hour can be significantly improved. These higher testing rates enable otherwise impractical studies requiring several thousands of indents, such as high-resolution property mapping and detailed statistical studies. However, care must be taken to avoid systematic errors in the measurement, including choosing of the indentation depth/spacing to avoid overlap of plastic zones, pileup, and influence of neighboring microstructural features in the material being tested. Furthermore, since fast loading rates are required, the strain rate sensitivity must also be considered. A review of these effects is given, with the emphasis placed on making complimentary standard nanoindentation measurements to address these issues. Experimental applications of the technique, including mapping of welds, microstructures, and composites with varying length scales, along with studying the effect of surface roughness on nominally homogeneous specimens, will be presented.

Top-pair production at the LHC through NNLO QCD and NLO EW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czakon, Michał; Heymes, David; Mitov, Alexander; Pagani, Davide; Tsinikos, Ioannis; Zaro, Marco

2017-10-01

In this work we present for the first time predictions for top-quark pair differential distributions at the LHC at NNLO QCD accuracy and including EW corrections. For the latter we include not only contributions of O({α}_s^2α ) , but also those of order O({α}_s{α}^2) and O({α}^3) . Besides providing phenomenological predictions for all main differential distributions with stable top quarks, we also study the following issues. 1) The effect of the photon PDF on top-pair spectra: we find it to be strongly dependent on the PDF set used — especially for the top p T distribution. 2) The difference between the additive and multiplicative approaches for combining QCD and EW corrections: with our scale choice, we find relatively small differences between the central predictions, but reduced scale dependence within the multiplicative approach. 3) The potential effect from the radiation of heavy bosons on inclusive top-pair spectra: we find it to be, typically, negligible.

Narrative Co-Construction in the Medical Consultation: How Agency and Control Affect the Diagnosis

PubMed Central

Vickers, Caroline H.; Goble, Ryan; Lindfelt, Christopher

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine patient-provider narrative co-construction of symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment in the medical consultation. Narrative scholarship has demonstrated that conversational narratives, including those that take place in medical consultations, are typically co-constructed by all participants within the conversation. In the context of the medical consultation, this means that patient narratives are co-constructed with providers, and that at times, provider contributions to the patient narrative can hide patient contributions. The inherent power asymmetry that exists between patient and provider facilitates the possibility for provider contributions to obscure those of the patient. Based on audio-recorded data from medical consultations between two different nurse practitioners and one patient, findings from this study demonstrate that such narrative co-construction leads to differential information regarding the patient's symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Implications include the need for providers to relinquish control over to the patient to allow the patient to fully articulate narrative accounts of their medical issues. PMID:24498700

Sports-Related Concussion.

PubMed

Laker, Scott R

2015-08-01

Sports-related concussions (SRC) are common in all ages and occur in all sports. The diagnosis based on clinical suspicion after more serious injury is ruled out. Symptoms of concussion are due to a temporary and reversible neurometabolic cascade resulting in blood flow changes, neuronal excitotoxicity, ionic shifts, and mitochondrial changes. Symptoms are nonspecific, and commonly include headache, cognitive complaints, photophobia, and phonophobia. Loss of consciousness is rare in SRC and has limited influence on recovery and prognosis. Imaging has a limited role in the management of concussion and should be used to evaluate for more serious intracranial pathology. Treatment is based on symptoms and an understanding of the typical, rapid (7-10 days) recovery. No athlete should return to play until their symptoms have resolved and they have completed a supervised, step-wise return to play protocol. The article covers the most recent literature on the diagnosis and management of SRC, including evidence-based recommendations and expert-based consensus opinion. The article will also discuss issues regarding medical retirement, legislation, and future concepts in concussion diagnosis and management.

A few ideas for teaching environmental physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forinash, Kyle

2016-11-01

Unlike a typical university physics course there is no standardised syllabus for environmental physics. The topics covered also range beyond what is normally part of the physics curriculum, requiring the instructor to become knowledgeable about fields outside of physics. Some of these issues are complex and, unlike the laws of physics, change rapidly over time. This paper, based on 15 years experience teaching undergraduate environmental physics courses, both for non-science students and for students with strong backgrounds in the sciences, attempts to present a reasonable range of concepts and educational resources which could be included in an environmental physics course or added to an existing physics course as motivation for learning traditional physics concepts. An additional goal is to warn the reader of pitfalls they may encounter in trying to include material with which they may not be familiar. The approach is different from environmental courses taught in the social sciences in that the focus of an environmental physics course is on physical constraints to environmental solutions rather than limitations imposed by culture or politics.

Intrinsic ethics regarding integrated assessment models for climate management.

PubMed

Schienke, Erich W; Baum, Seth D; Tuana, Nancy; Davis, Kenneth J; Keller, Klaus

2011-09-01

In this essay we develop and argue for the adoption of a more comprehensive model of research ethics than is included within current conceptions of responsible conduct of research (RCR). We argue that our model, which we label the ethical dimensions of scientific research (EDSR), is a more comprehensive approach to encouraging ethically responsible scientific research compared to the currently typically adopted approach in RCR training. This essay focuses on developing a pedagogical approach that enables scientists to better understand and appreciate one important component of this model, what we call intrinsic ethics. Intrinsic ethical issues arise when values and ethical assumptions are embedded within scientific findings and analytical methods. Through a close examination of a case study and its application in teaching, namely, evaluation of climate change integrated assessment models, this paper develops a method and case for including intrinsic ethics within research ethics training to provide scientists with a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the critical role of values and ethical choices in the production of research outcomes.

On Robust Methodologies for Managing Public Health Care Systems

PubMed Central

Nimmagadda, Shastri L.; Dreher, Heinz V.

2014-01-01

Authors focus on ontology-based multidimensional data warehousing and mining methodologies, addressing various issues on organizing, reporting and documenting diabetic cases and their associated ailments, including causalities. Map and other diagnostic data views, depicting similarity and comparison of attributes, extracted from warehouses, are used for understanding the ailments, based on gender, age, geography, food-habits and other hereditary event attributes. In addition to rigor on data mining and visualization, an added focus is on values of interpretation of data views, from processed full-bodied diagnosis, subsequent prescription and appropriate medications. The proposed methodology, is a robust back-end application, for web-based patient-doctor consultations and e-Health care management systems through which, billions of dollars spent on medical services, can be saved, in addition to improving quality of life and average life span of a person. Government health departments and agencies, private and government medical practitioners including social welfare organizations are typical users of these systems. PMID:24445953

The Relations among Mathematics Anxiety, Gender, and Standardized Test Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anis, Yasmeen; Krause, Jeremy A.; Blum, Emily N.

2016-01-01

Mathematics anxiety typically involves apprehension toward activities that require computation, which can lead to complications in every-day-life activities (Ashcraft, 2002). Mathematics anxiety also has become accepted as an issue associated with academic success for both children and adults (Ashcraft, 2002; Ashcraft & Moore, 2009; Beilock,…

Learning Progressions & Climate Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Joyce M.; de los Santos, Elizabeth X.; Anderson, Charles W.

2015-01-01

Our society is currently having serious debates about sources of energy and global climate change. But do students (and the public) have the requisite knowledge to engage these issues as informed citizenry? The learning-progression research summarized here indicates that only 10% of high school students typically have a level of understanding…

A White Teacher Talks about Race.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landsman, Julie

In this book, a veteran teacher examines a typical day of teaching and reflects on her work with high school students from a variety of cultures, speaking honestly about issues of race, poverty, institutional responsibility, and white privilege by describing her experiences in the classroom. Throughout the day, she encounters bigotry, deals with…

Issues Involved in Developing Ada Real-Time Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-02-15

expensive modifications to the compiler or Ada runtime system to fit a particular application. Whether we can solve the problems of programming real - time systems in...lock in solutions to problems that are not yet well understood in standards as rigorous as the Ada language. Moreover, real - time systems typically have

Highways and Population Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Voss, Paul R.; Chi, Guangqing

2006-01-01

In this paper we return to an issue often discussed in the literature regarding the relationship between highway expansion and population change. Typically it simply is assumed that this relationship is well established and understood. We argue, following a thorough review of the relevant literature, that the notion that highway expansion leads to…

Educational and Institutional Flexibility of Australian Educational Software

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shurville, Simon; O'Grady, Thomas; Mayall, Peter

2008-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to provide context for papers in this special issue on Australasian e-learning. The paper aims to examine the background to Australian flexible and transnational education and to evaluate the educational and intuitional flexibility of three typical products of the Australian educational software industry.…

Confessions of a Mad Professor: An Autoethnographic Consideration of Neuroatypicality, Extranormativity, and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smagorinsky, Peter

2011-01-01

Background/Context: This article considers issues related to the intersection of mental health and education. Typically, in both educational and noneducational settings, atypical mental health conditions are described and treated as "disorders." The author challenges conventional understandings of mental health and how to address it, particularly…

Marriage and Family Counseling: Ethics in Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southern, Stephen; Smith, Robert L.; Oliver, Marvarene

2005-01-01

Codes of ethics typically provide rules and guidelines for best practices in marriage and family counseling. An emerging model for ethical decision making emphasizes the ethics of virtues and aspirations. Exploring fundamental models of helping, as well as contemporary issues in community systems, affords context for examining the professional…

Task Force on Faculty Productivity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hozeski, Bruce W.; And Others

A survey was conducted of 532 faculty members and 11 administrators at Ball State University (Indiana) concerning the number of hours that faculty typically work; extent of their time devoted to teaching, research, and service/administration; how faculty workload differs by rank and status; and how faculty feel about productivity issues. Findings…

Making WAVES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hindes, Victoria A.; Hom, Keri; Brookshaw, Keith

About 46% of high school graduates enrolled in California State Universities need remedial courses in both math and English to prepare them for college level. These students typically earned B averages in their high school math and English classes. In order to address this issue, Shasta College launched Operation WAVES (Win by Achieving Valuable…

New Directions in Social Psychological Interventions to Improve Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Timothy D.; Buttrick, Nicholas R.

2016-01-01

Attempts to improve student achievement typically focus on changing the educational environment (e.g., better schools, better teachers) or on personal characteristics of students (e.g., intelligence, self-control). The 6 articles in this special issue showcase an additional approach, emanating from social psychology, which focuses on students'…

Comprehending Misunderstanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newton, Jonathan

2017-01-01

Michael Swan and Catherine Walter (see EJ1142765) take issue with the current emphasis in the teaching of listening and reading on higher-order skills-and-strategies training. They argue that L2 learners typically already possess the relevant skills and strategies necessary for listening and reading in L2, and, by implication, can and do deploy…

Using Stream Discharge as a Predictor of Biotic Health in the Upper Oconee Watershed

EPA Science Inventory

Drought is viewed typically as an issue of water quantity, but drought also likely has strong effects on water quality in streams. These effects may occur via increased pollutant and nutrient concentrations and stream water temperature, as well as reductions in instream habitat. ...

European Experience in Teacher Education and Pedagogical Mastery Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romaniuk, Oksana

2015-01-01

In the article the author considers recent trends in teacher education and pedagogical mastery, issues of carrying out improvements to the teacher training system in European countries, analyzes programmes of cooperation in education that facilitate forming of teachers' professional competency, studies typical problems in teacher education in…

Charter Schools. Trends and Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadderman, Margaret

This document looks at the increasing popularity of charter schools for intradistrict school choice. During 2000, about 1,700 charter schools were serving some 250,000 students in the United States. Charter schools typically begin as preexisting schools or as "startups" born with charters. States seem to have ambivalent attitudes toward charter…

Imagine...Opportunities and Resources for Academically Talented Youth, 1997-1998.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman, Melissa E., Ed.

1997-01-01

This document consists of the five consecutive issues of the journal "Imagine..." published during volume year 5. Typical journal articles cover teaching academically talented secondary students in the following focus areas: (1) biological science and medicine; (2) literature, language, and linguistics; (3) public service and politics; (4)…

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; social issues fact sheet 10: Stages of collaboration

Treesearch

Christine Esposito

2006-01-01

Collaboration is a powerful tool for improving both the management of wildland fire and the overall health of forests and other elements of fire-dependent ecosystems. This fact sheet discusses seven stages that are typical of most collaborations.Other publications in this...

Imagine...Opportunities and Resources for Academically Talented Youth, 1995-1996.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hellerman, Susan B., Ed.

1995-01-01

This document consists of the five consecutive issues of the journal "Imagine..." published during volume year 3. Typical journal articles cover teaching academically talented secondary students in the following focus areas: (1) learning anywhere and everywhere; (2) accessing distance learning; (3) developing talent in the arts; (4) considering…

DEFINING APPROPRIATE ROLES FOR SCIENCE AND SCIENTISTS IN DEVELOPING, ANALYZING, AND IMPLEMENTING PUBLIC POLICY - OCTOBER 2006

EPA Science Inventory

Resolving typical ecological policy issues requires an array of scientific information as part of the input provided to decision-makers. The ability of scientists (and scientific information) to constructively inform policy deliberations diminishes when what is offered as ¿scienc...

Student Mobility, Segregation, and Achievement Gaps: Evidence from Clark County, Nevada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welsh, Richard O.

2018-01-01

Student mobility and school segregation are two important issues with significant equity implications for urban school districts that are often addressed separately. This article examines the relationship between student mobility and school segregation. The findings indicate that more segregated schools typically have smaller within-school…

Imagine...Opportunities and Resources for Academically Talented Youth, 1994-1995.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hellerman, Susan B., Ed.

1994-01-01

This document consists of the five consecutive issues of the journal "Imagine..." published during volume year 2. Typical journal articles cover teaching academically talented secondary students in the following focus areas: (1) mathematical problem solving; (2) the humanities; (3) academic summer programs; (4) science and technology; and (5)…

Team Teaching School Law

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanko, John G.; Rogina, Raymond P.

2005-01-01

Graduate students preparing themselves for a career in school administration are typically apprehensive about the legal issues they will face in their first administrative position. After teaching school law for the first time, the author believed that there had to be a more effective way to reach these students rather than the traditional methods…

Netmeld v. 1.0

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

BERG, MICHAEL; RILEY, MARSHALL

System assessments typically yield large quantities of data from disparate sources for an analyst to scrutinize for issues. Netmeld is used to parse input from different file formats, store the data in a common format, allow users to easily query it, and enable analysts to tie different analysis tools together using a common back-end.

Negotiating Femininities Online

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Julia

2004-01-01

Much has been written about the potential for online learning (Fryer, 1997; www. ngfl.gov.uk/ngfl/index.html). However this literature typically emphasizes not online learning but online education. In this paper I focus on the potential for online learning, specifically learning about issues surrounding femininity in the presence of online peers,…

Estimating Statistical Power When Making Adjustments for Multiple Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porter, Kristin E.

2016-01-01

In recent years, there has been increasing focus on the issue of multiple hypotheses testing in education evaluation studies. In these studies, researchers are typically interested in testing the effectiveness of an intervention on multiple outcomes, for multiple subgroups, at multiple points in time or across multiple treatment groups. When…

Students with Sensory Integration Dysfunctions: Issues for School Counselors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katz, Idit

2006-01-01

A substantial number of school age children suffer from difficulties in integrating sensory input in an adaptive manner (termed sensory integration dysfunction--SID). These students are at high risk for emotional, social, and educational problems. This article defines SID, describes typical behaviors of children with SID, and presents guidelines…

Get a Lawyer Before It's Too Late.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Variety Club School, Honolulu, HI.

Lawyers are needed by schools for many more purposes than merely to execute legal documents. This set of notes for a conference presentation considers lawyers' roles in advising on the legal issues involved in the following: (1) business transactions typically encountered by schools (state contract review, state lease, pool lease, nonprofit…

How Binary Skills Obscure the Transition from Non-Mastery to Mastery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karelitz, Tzur M.

2008-01-01

What is the nature of latent predictors that facilitate diagnostic classification? Rupp and Templin (this issue) suggest that these predictors should be multidimensional, categorical variables that can be combined in various ways. Diagnostic Classification Models (DCM) typically use multiple categorical predictors to classify respondents into…

Preferential Seating is NOT Enough: Issues in Classroom Management of Hearing-Impaired Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flexer, Carol; And Others

1989-01-01

This article provides information from three areas critical to classroom success for mainstreamed hearing-impaired children: understanding hearing and the impact of hearing loss on classroom learning; promoting the use of signal-to-noise ratio enhancing equipment (typically Frequency Modulation units); and using educational management strategies…

Interactive Groups: Examining and Interrogating Issues of Heterogeneity and Accountability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frost, Gail; Connolly, Maureen

2009-01-01

Teachers and learners alike bring past experiences into present teaching and learning contexts. Group work is an experience that carries equal measures of joyful anticipation and mournful trepidation. Learners typically experience group work as an uneven distribution of time, competence, and accountability, and seem to have lingering memories of…

Managing Bullying in Politically Charged Climates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trump, Kenneth S.

2011-01-01

Educators, school safety experts, and anti-bullying advocates typically agree that bullying is a serious issue. They also agree that anti-bullying strategies should be an integral component of a school's safety plan. However, differences remain in how bullying should be addressed. Those differences have become magnified as bullying has become an…

Consumer Education for High School Students. Trends and Issues Alerts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerka, Sandra

Surveys have established that high school students are highly deficient in knowledge regarding basic topics typically covered in consumer education classes, such as economics, personal finance, and consumer rights and responsibilities. The following are among the current trends that have underscored the need for secondary consumer education: the…

GEOGRAPHIC-SPECIFIC WATER QUALITY CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT WITH MONITORING DATA USING CONDITIONAL PROBABILITIES - A PROPOSED APPROACH

EPA Science Inventory

A conditional probability approach using monitoring data to develop geographic-specific water quality criteria for protection of aquatic life is presented. Typical methods to develop criteria using existing monitoring data are limited by two issues: (1) how to extrapolate to an...

Careers in Student Affairs: A Holistic Guide to Professional Development in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holzweiss, Peggy C., Ed.; Parrott, Kelli Peck, Ed.

2017-01-01

"Careers in Student Affairs" provides a comprehensive look at being a higher education administrator. Integrating perspectives from both research and practical application, this reader-friendly book addresses contemporary issues in the higher education environment that are not typically covered in the graduate curriculum but that…

Bioenergy Research and Strategic Planning: The Need for both Proactive and Reactive research

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Public policy typically refers to governmental actions such as laws, regulatory measures, and funding decisions for a specified issue. As scientists, we should strive to provide unbiased, research information on which strategic planning and long-term goals can be based. However, research can contrib...

Public and Private Adoption: A Comparison of Service and Accessibility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daly, Kerry J.; Sobol, Michael P.

1994-01-01

Used data from national survey of public and private adoption service providers in Canada to examine similarities and differences with respect to clients served, issues associated with adoption accessibility, and nature of postadoption services. Found high degree of homogeneity that cut across public and private division, with typical adoptive…

Evaluation as a Collaborative Activity to Learn Content Knowledge in a Graduate Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Bob; Arbogast, Janet; Kafer, Lindsey; Chen, Julianna

2014-01-01

Teaching graduate students to conduct evaluations is typically relegated to evaluation methods courses. This approach misses an opportunity for students to collaboratively use evaluation skills to explore content. This article examines a graduate course, Issues in Adult Basic Education, in which students learned evaluation methods concurrently…

Weight loss and fillet quality characteristics of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) after purging for 5, 10, 15 or 20 days

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, are typically cultured in marine net pens. However, technological advancements in recirculating aquaculture systems have increased the feasibility of culturing Atlantic salmon in land-based systems to alleviate environmental and disease issues limiting sustainability. ...

Parallel Simulation of Three-Dimensional Free Surface Fluid Flow Problems

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

BAER,THOMAS A.; SACKINGER,PHILIP A.; SUBIA,SAMUEL R.

1999-10-14

Simulation of viscous three-dimensional fluid flow typically involves a large number of unknowns. When free surfaces are included, the number of unknowns increases dramatically. Consequently, this class of problem is an obvious application of parallel high performance computing. We describe parallel computation of viscous, incompressible, free surface, Newtonian fluid flow problems that include dynamic contact fines. The Galerkin finite element method was used to discretize the fully-coupled governing conservation equations and a ''pseudo-solid'' mesh mapping approach was used to determine the shape of the free surface. In this approach, the finite element mesh is allowed to deform to satisfy quasi-staticmore » solid mechanics equations subject to geometric or kinematic constraints on the boundaries. As a result, nodal displacements must be included in the set of unknowns. Other issues discussed are the proper constraints appearing along the dynamic contact line in three dimensions. Issues affecting efficient parallel simulations include problem decomposition to equally distribute computational work among a SPMD computer and determination of robust, scalable preconditioners for the distributed matrix systems that must be solved. Solution continuation strategies important for serial simulations have an enhanced relevance in a parallel coquting environment due to the difficulty of solving large scale systems. Parallel computations will be demonstrated on an example taken from the coating flow industry: flow in the vicinity of a slot coater edge. This is a three dimensional free surface problem possessing a contact line that advances at the web speed in one region but transitions to static behavior in another region. As such, a significant fraction of the computational time is devoted to processing boundary data. Discussion focuses on parallel speed ups for fixed problem size, a class of problems of immediate practical importance.« less

EOS Terra Validation Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starr, David

2000-01-01

The EOS Terra mission will be launched in July 1999. This mission has great relevance to the atmospheric radiation community and global change issues. Terra instruments include Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), Multi-Angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT). In addition to the fundamental radiance data sets, numerous global science data products will be generated, including various Earth radiation budget, cloud and aerosol parameters, as well as land surface, terrestrial ecology, ocean color, and atmospheric chemistry parameters. Significant investments have been made in on-board calibration to ensure the quality of the radiance observations. A key component of the Terra mission is the validation of the science data products. This is essential for a mission focused on global change issues and the underlying processes. The Terra algorithms have been subject to extensive pre-launch testing with field data whenever possible. Intensive efforts will be made to validate the Terra data products after launch. These include validation of instrument calibration (vicarious calibration) experiments, instrument and cross-platform comparisons, routine collection of high quality correlative data from ground-based networks, such as AERONET, and intensive sites, such as the SGP ARM site, as well as a variety field experiments, cruises, etc. Airborne simulator instruments have been developed for the field experiment and underflight activities including the MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) AirMISR, MASTER (MODIS-ASTER), and MOPITT-A. All are integrated on the NASA ER-2 though low altitude platforms are more typically used for MASTER. MATR is an additional sensor used for MOPITT algorithm development and validation. The intensive validation activities planned for the first year of the Terra mission will be described with emphasis on derived geophysical parameters of most relevance to the atmospheric radiation community.

EOS Terra Validation Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starr, David

1999-01-01

The EOS Terra mission will be launched in July 1999. This mission has great relevance to the atmospheric radiation community and global change issues. Terra instruments include ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT. In addition to the fundamental radiance data sets, numerous global science data products will be generated, including various Earth radiation budget, cloud and aerosol parameters, as well as land surface, terrestrial ecology, ocean color, and atmospheric chemistry parameters. Significant investments have been made in on-board calibration to ensure the quality of the radiance observations. A key component of the Terra mission is the validation of the science data products. This is essential for a mission focused on global change issues and the underlying processes. The Terra algorithms have been subject to extensive pre-launch testing with field data whenever possible. Intensive efforts will be made to validate the Terra data products after launch. These include validation of instrument calibration (vicarious calibration) experiments, instrument and cross-platform comparisons, routine collection of high quality correlative data from ground-based networks, such as AERONET, and intensive sites, such as the SGP ARM site, as well as a variety field experiments, cruises, etc. Airborne simulator instruments have been developed for the field experiment and underflight activities including the MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS), AirMISR, MASTER (MODIS-ASTER), and MOPITT-A. All are integrated on the NASA ER-2, though low altitude platforms are more typically used for MASTER. MATR is an additional sensor used for MOPITT algorithm development and validation. The intensive validation activities planned for the first year of the Terra mission will be described with emphasis on derived geophysical parameters of most relevance to the atmospheric radiation community. Detailed information about the EOS Terra validation Program can be found on the EOS Validation program homepage i/e.: http://ospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/validation/valpage.html).

Analysis of key safety metrics of thorium utilization in LWRs

DOE PAGES

Ade, Brian J.; Bowman, Stephen M.; Worrall, Andrew; ...

2016-04-08

Here, thorium has great potential to stretch nuclear fuel reserves because of its natural abundance and because it is possible to breed the 232Th isotope into a fissile fuel ( 233U). Various scenarios exist for utilization of thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle, including use in different nuclear reactor types (e.g., light water, high-temperature gas-cooled, fast spectrum sodium, and molten salt reactors), along with use in advanced accelerator-driven systems and even in fission-fusion hybrid systems. The most likely near-term application of thorium in the United States is in currently operating light water reactors (LWRs). This use is primarily based onmore » concepts that mix thorium with uranium (UO 2 + ThO 2) or that add fertile thorium (ThO 2) fuel pins to typical LWR fuel assemblies. Utilization of mixed fuel assemblies (PuO 2 + ThO 2) is also possible. The addition of thorium to currently operating LWRs would result in a number of different phenomenological impacts to the nuclear fuel. Thorium and its irradiation products have different nuclear characteristics from those of uranium and its irradiation products. ThO 2, alone or mixed with UO 2 fuel, leads to different chemical and physical properties of the fuel. These key reactor safety–related issues have been studied at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and documented in “Safety and Regulatory Issues of the Thorium Fuel Cycle” (NUREG/CR-7176, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2014). Various reactor analyses were performed using the SCALE code system for comparison of key performance parameters of both ThO 2 + UO 2 and ThO 2 + PuO 2 against those of UO 2 and typical UO 2 + PuO 2 mixed oxide fuels, including reactivity coefficients and power sharing between surrounding UO 2 assemblies and the assembly of interest. The decay heat and radiological source terms for spent fuel after its discharge from the reactor are also presented. Based on this evaluation, potential impacts on safety requirements and identification of knowledge gaps that require additional analysis or research to develop a technical basis for the licensing of thorium fuel are identified.« less

Cultural issues in menopause: an exploratory qualitative study of Macedonian women in Australia.

PubMed

Strezova, Anita; O'Neill, Sheila; O'Callaghan, Cathy; Perry, Astrid; Liu, Jinzhu; Eden, John

2017-03-01

This study explored the attitudes to, and experience of, menopause among Macedonian women living in Australia, including attitudes and responses to hormone therapy (HT) and complementary therapies, as well as related psycho-sexual, relationship and other midlife issues. Using qualitative methodology, the study was based on seven unstructured, nondirective group discussions. Natural social groups were recruited, meeting wherever each group felt most at home. A total of 81 participants ranged in age from 45 to 75 years. The women included both first-generation immigrants and women born in Australia to Macedonian parents. A bilingual Macedonian researcher conducted the fieldwork. Participants typically claimed they lacked information about menopause in their native language, and their knowledge of HT was highly variable. Some women only felt comfortable approaching Macedonian doctors. Others reported an easing of symptoms when they revisited their homeland. Deeply religious participants claimed their faith helped them through this phase of life, and that they were as likely to consult a priest as a doctor. A recurring theme was that Macedonian men tended to regard their wives differently after menopause, sometimes treating them as "non-sexual." Women regarded this shift in male attitudes as a precipitating factor in domestic violence, extramarital affairs and divorce. Symptoms such as hot flashes and mood swings were associated with negative attitudes toward menopause. Culturally determined attitudes appear to affect the perception and experience of menopause. Other influencing factors include migration, women's roles, marital status, religion, use of herbal and traditional remedies, social situation, access to information, knowledge and experience of menopausal symptoms.

ESD protection design for advanced CMOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jin B.; Wang, Gewen

2001-10-01

ESD effects in integrated circuits have become a major concern as today's technologies shrink to sub-micron/deep- sub-micron dimensions. The thinner gate oxide and shallower junction depth used in the advanced technologies make them very vulnerable to ESD damages. The advanced techniques like silicidation and STI (shallow trench insulation) used for improving other device performances make ESD design even more challenging. For non-silicided technologies, a certain DCGS (drain contact to gate edge spacing) is needed to achieve ESD hardness for nMOS output drivers and nMOS protection transistors. The typical DCGS values are 4-5um and 2-3um for 0.5um and 0.25um CMOS, respectively. The silicidation reduces the ballast resistance provided by DCGS with at least a factor of 10. As a result, scaling of the ESD performance with device width is lost and even zero ESD performance is reported for standard silicided devices. The device level ESD design is focused in this paper, which includes GGNMOS (gate grounded NMOS) and GCNMOS (gate coupled NMOS). The device level ESD testing including TLP (transmission line pulse) is given. Several ESD issues caused by advanced technologies have been pointed out. The possible solutions have been developed and summarized including silicide blocking, process optimization, back-end ballasting, and new protection scheme, dummy gate/n-well resistor ballsting, etc. Some of them require process cost increase, and others provide novel, compact, and simple design but involving royalty/IP (intellectual property) issue. Circuit level ESD design and layout design considerations are covered. The top-level ESD protection strategies are also given.

Psychiatrists' relationships with industry: the principal-agent problem.

PubMed

Appelbaum, Paul S; Gold, Azgad

2010-01-01

Psychiatrists' relationships with the pharmaceutical and device industries have been a growing focus of attention, with questions raised about the impact of those relationships on prescribing practices, diagnostic criteria, practice guidelines, continuing education, conduct and reporting of research, and patients' and public trust. Indeed, these concerns exist for the medical profession as a whole, with various remedial measures proposed. We suggest that such relationships can be understood as giving rise to a "principal-agent problem," which occurs when an agent (here, a physician) is engaged to advance the interests of another party, the principal (typically a patient), but also faces incentives to promote other interests. Studies suggest that at least some relationships--which include attending industry-sponsored presentations, meeting with marketing representatives, and accepting samples--can alter psychiatrists' and other physicians' behavior in ways that can compromise patients' interests, and that industry-funded research may create bias in the medical literature. These effects are difficult to detect in specific cases, however, because of asymmetries of information and may not be apparent even to physicians themselves. Principal-agent analysis suggests that the possible responses to such problems, including appeals to ethical principles, monitoring behavior, and managing risk-inducing situations, should include consideration of aligning agents' incentives with principals' interests. This type of analysis underscores the similarity of the issues raised by physicians' relationships with industry to problems that arise more generally in society, thus reducing physicians' potential affective responses to these issues and efforts to address them. Finally, such analysis directs attention to the benefits and costs of each alternative, thereby encouraging reliance on evidence as a basis for policy.

Behavioural and cognitive sex/gender differences in autism spectrum condition and typically developing males and females.

PubMed

Hull, Laura; Mandy, William; Petrides, K V

2017-08-01

Studies assessing sex/gender differences in autism spectrum conditions often fail to include typically developing control groups. It is, therefore, unclear whether observed sex/gender differences reflect those found in the general population or are particular to autism spectrum conditions. A systematic search identified articles comparing behavioural and cognitive characteristics in males and females with and without an autism spectrum condition diagnosis. A total of 13 studies were included in meta-analyses of sex/gender differences in core autism spectrum condition symptoms (social/communication impairments and restricted/repetitive behaviours and interests) and intelligence quotient. A total of 20 studies were included in a qualitative review of sex/gender differences in additional autism spectrum condition symptoms. For core traits and intelligence quotient, sex/gender differences were comparable in autism spectrum conditions and typical samples. Some additional autism spectrum condition symptoms displayed different patterns of sex/gender differences in autism spectrum conditions and typically developing groups, including measures of executive function, empathising and systemising traits, internalising and externalising problems and play behaviours. Individuals with autism spectrum conditions display typical sex/gender differences in core autism spectrum condition traits, suggesting that diagnostic criteria based on these symptoms should take into account typical sex/gender differences. However, awareness of associated autism spectrum condition symptoms should include the possibility of different male and female phenotypes, to ensure those who do not fit the 'typical' autism spectrum condition presentation are not missed.

Questions and challenges associated with studying the microbiome of the urinary tract.

PubMed

Bao, Yige; Al, Kait F; Chanyi, Ryan M; Whiteside, Samantha; Dewar, Malcom; Razvi, Hassan; Reid, Gregor; Burton, Jeremy P

2017-01-01

Urologists are typically faced with clinical situations for which the microbiome may have been a contributing factor. Clinicians have a good understanding regarding the role of bacteria related to issues such as antibiotic resistance; however, they generally have a limited grasp of how the microbiome may relate to urological issues. The largest part of the human microbiome is situated in the gastrointestinal tract, and though this is mostly separated from the urinary system, bacterial dissemination and metabolic output by this community is thought to have a significant influence on urological conditions. Sites within the urogenital system that were once considered "sterile" may regularly have bacterial populations present. The health implications potentially extend all the way to the kidneys. This could affect urinary tract infections, bladder cancer, urinary incontinence and related conditions including the formation of kidney stones. Given the sensitivity of the methodologies employed, and the large potential for contamination when working with low abundance microbiomes, meticulous care in the analyses of urological samples at various sites is required. This review highlights the opportunities for urinary microbiome investigations and our experience in working with these low abundance samples in the urinary tract.

Questions and challenges associated with studying the microbiome of the urinary tract

PubMed Central

Bao, Yige; Al, Kait F.; Chanyi, Ryan M.; Whiteside, Samantha; Dewar, Malcom; Razvi, Hassan; Reid, Gregor

2017-01-01

Urologists are typically faced with clinical situations for which the microbiome may have been a contributing factor. Clinicians have a good understanding regarding the role of bacteria related to issues such as antibiotic resistance; however, they generally have a limited grasp of how the microbiome may relate to urological issues. The largest part of the human microbiome is situated in the gastrointestinal tract, and though this is mostly separated from the urinary system, bacterial dissemination and metabolic output by this community is thought to have a significant influence on urological conditions. Sites within the urogenital system that were once considered “sterile” may regularly have bacterial populations present. The health implications potentially extend all the way to the kidneys. This could affect urinary tract infections, bladder cancer, urinary incontinence and related conditions including the formation of kidney stones. Given the sensitivity of the methodologies employed, and the large potential for contamination when working with low abundance microbiomes, meticulous care in the analyses of urological samples at various sites is required. This review highlights the opportunities for urinary microbiome investigations and our experience in working with these low abundance samples in the urinary tract. PMID:28217698

Corrosion detection in reinforced concrete roadways and bridges via embedded fiber optic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuhr, Peter L.; Huston, Dryver R.

1998-04-01

The problems associated with the application of chloride-based deicing agents to roadways and specifically bridges include chemical pollution and accelerated corrosion of strength members (especially the rebar) within the structure. In many instances, local ordnances are attempting to force state agencies to reduce, if not eliminate, the use of these chlorides (typically at the cost of increased driving hazards). With respect to the corrosion aspects of chloride application, cracks that occur in the roadway/bridge pavement allow water to seep into the pavement carrying the chloride to the rebar with the resultant increase in corrosion. In tandem with these efforts has been the continuing use of embedded fiber optic sensors for identification of faults or cracks within a highway structure - i.e., structural health monitoring. In this paper, we present multiple-parameter sensing fiber optic sensors which may be embedded into roadway and bridge structures to provide an internal measurement and assessment of its health. Such issues are paramount in determining if remedial or preventative maintenance should be performed on such structures. Laboratory results, comparisons with conventional sensing methods as well as a review of real-world issues in highway sensing are presented.

Review and future prospects for DNA barcoding methods in forensic palynology.

PubMed

Bell, Karen L; Burgess, Kevin S; Okamoto, Kazufusa C; Aranda, Roman; Brosi, Berry J

2016-03-01

Pollen can be a critical forensic marker in cases where determining geographic origin is important, including investigative leads, missing persons cases, and intelligence applications. However, its use has previously been limited by the need for a high level of specialization by expert palynologists, slow speeds of identification, and relatively poor taxonomic resolution (typically to the plant family or genus level). By contrast, identification of pollen through DNA barcoding has the potential to overcome all three of these limitations, and it may seem surprising that the method has not been widely implemented. Despite what might seem a straightforward application of DNA barcoding to pollen, there are technical issues that have delayed progress. However, recent developments of standard methods for DNA barcoding of pollen, along with improvements in high-throughput sequencing technology, have overcome most of these technical issues. Based on these recent methodological developments in pollen DNA barcoding, we believe that now is the time to start applying these techniques in forensic palynology. In this article, we discuss the potential for these methods, and outline directions for future research to further improve on the technology and increase its applicability to a broader range of situations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced Technology Composite Fuselage-Structural Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, T. H.; Minguet, P. J.; Flynn, B. W.; Carbery, D. J.; Swanson, G. D.; Ilcewicz, L. B.

1997-01-01

Boeing is studying the technologies associated with the application of composite materials to commercial transport fuselage structure under the NASA-sponsored contracts for Advanced Technology Composite Aircraft Structures (ATCAS) and Materials Development Omnibus Contract (MDOC). This report addresses the program activities related to structural performance of the selected concepts, including both the design development and subsequent detailed evaluation. Design criteria were developed to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and typical company objectives. Accurate analysis methods were selected and/or developed where practical, and conservative approaches were used where significant approximations were necessary. Design sizing activities supported subsequent development by providing representative design configurations for structural evaluation and by identifying the critical performance issues. Significant program efforts were directed towards assessing structural performance predictive capability. The structural database collected to perform this assessment was intimately linked to the manufacturing scale-up activities to ensure inclusion of manufacturing-induced performance traits. Mechanical tests were conducted to support the development and critical evaluation of analysis methods addressing internal loads, stability, ultimate strength, attachment and splice strength, and damage tolerance. Unresolved aspects of these performance issues were identified as part of the assessments, providing direction for future development.

The future of oil supply

PubMed Central

Miller, Richard G.; Sorrell, Steven R.

2014-01-01

Abundant supplies of oil form the foundation of modern industrial economies, but the capacity to maintain and grow global supply is attracting increasing concern. Some commentators forecast a peak in the near future and a subsequent terminal decline in global oil production, while others highlight the recent growth in ‘tight oil’ production and the scope for developing unconventional resources. There are disagreements over the size, cost and recoverability of different resources, the technical and economic potential of different technologies, the contribution of different factors to market trends and the economic implications of reduced supply. Few debates are more important, more contentious, more wide-ranging or more confused. This paper summarizes the main concepts, terms, issues and evidence that are necessary to understand the ‘peak oil’ debate. These include: the origin, nature and classification of oil resources; the trends in oil production and discoveries; the typical production profiles of oil fields, basins and producing regions; the mechanisms underlying those profiles; the extent of depletion of conventional oil; the risk of an approaching peak in global production; and the potential of various mitigation options. The aim is to introduce the subject to non-specialist readers and provide a basis for the subsequent papers in this Theme Issue. PMID:24298085

Discrete Space-Time: History and Recent Developments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crouse, David

2017-01-01

Discussed in this work is the long history and debate of whether space and time are discrete or continuous. Starting from Zeno of Elea and progressing to Heisenberg and others, the issues with discrete space are discussed, including: Lorentz contraction (time dilation) of the ostensibly smallest spatial (temporal) interval, maintaining isotropy, violations of causality, and conservation of energy and momentum. It is shown that there are solutions to all these issues, such that discrete space is a viable model, yet the solution require strict non-absolute space (i.e., Mach's principle) and a re-analysis of the concept of measurement and the foundations of special relativity. In developing these solutions, the long forgotten but important debate between Albert Einstein and Henri Bergson concerning time will be discussed. Also discussed is the resolution to the Weyl tile argument against discrete space; however, the solution involves a modified version of the typical distance formula. One example effect of discrete space is then discussed, namely how it necessarily imposes order upon Wheeler's quantum foam, changing the foam into a gravity crystal and yielding crystalline properties of bandgaps, Brilluoin zones and negative inertial mass for astronomical bodies.

Bronchoscopic cryotherapy treatment of isolated endoluminal typical carcinoid tumor.

PubMed

Bertoletti, Laurent; Elleuch, Rami; Kaczmarek, David; Jean-François, Rita; Vergnon, Jean Michel

2006-11-01

Bronchial typical carcinoid tumors are rare. The "gold standard" treatment is surgery, but there is literature to support bronchoscopic therapy with curative intent. Based on the efficacy of cryotherapy for in situ lung cancer, we studied the safety and efficacy of rigid bronchoscopic treatment with cryotherapy on isolated endoluminal typical carcinoid tumors. All the patients from the Department of Pulmonary Diseases and Thoracic Oncology of St. Etienne University Hospital (France), and of Hôpital Notre Dame, University Hospital of Montreal referred with typical carcinoid were screened. Inclusion criteria included the following: proven typical carcinoid, strictly endoluminal disease amenable to bronchoscopic therapy, and no evidence of lymph node invasion. All patients had a complete removal of the tumor, and all patients received cryotherapy to the implantation base. Twenty-nine patients were screened, and 18 were included. Mean age was 47 years, and study population included 11 women. Median follow-up was 55 months. There was a single recurrence 7 years after the initial bronchoscopic treatment. Cryotherapy is a safe and effective adjunct to endobronchial mechanical resection of typical carcinoids. Unlike other adjuncts that have been proposed, cryotherapy is not associated with long-term complications including bronchial stenosis.

Beyond STS: A research-based framework for socioscientific issues education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeidler, Dana L.; Sadler, Troy D.; Simmons, Michael L.; Howes, Elaine V.

2005-05-01

An important distinction can be made between the science, technology, and society (STS) movement of past years and the domain of socioscientific issues (SSI). STS education as typically practiced does not seem embedded in a coherent developmental or sociological framework that explicitly considers the psychological and epistemological growth of the child, nor the development of character or virtue. In contrast, the SSI movement focuses on empowering students to consider how science-based issues reflect, in part, moral principles and elements of virtue that encompass their own lives, as well as the physical and social world around them. The focus of this paper is to describe a research-based framework of current research and practice that identifies factors associated with reasoning about socioscientific issues and provide a working model that illustrates theoretical and conceptual links among key psychological, sociological, and developmental factors central to SSI and science education.

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

Behroozi, Peter S.; Wechsler, Risa H.; Lu, Yu

We find that infalling dark matter halos (i.e., the progenitors of satellite halos) begin losing mass well outside the virial radius of their eventual host halos. The peak mass occurs at a range of clustercentric distances, with median and 68th percentile range of 1.8{sub −1.0}{sup +2.3} R{sub vir,host} for progenitors of z = 0 satellites. The peak circular velocity for infalling halos occurs at significantly larger distances (3.7{sub −2.2}{sup +3.3} R{sub vir,host} at z = 0). This difference arises because different physical processes set peak circular velocity (typically, ∼1:5 and larger mergers which cause transient circular velocity spikes) and peakmore » mass (typically, smooth accretion) for infalling halos. We find that infalling halos also stop having significant mergers well before they enter the virial radius of their eventual hosts. Mergers larger than a 1:40 ratio in halo mass end for infalling halos at similar clustercentric distances (∼1.9 R {sub vir,} {sub host}) as the end of overall mass accretion. However, mergers larger than 1:3 typically end for infalling halos at more than four virial radial away from their eventual hosts. This limits the ability of mergers to affect quenching and morphology changes in clusters. We also note that the transient spikes which set peak circular velocity may lead to issues with abundance matching on that parameter, including unphysical galaxy stellar mass growth profiles near clusters; we propose a simple observational test to check if a better halo proxy for galaxy stellar mass exists.« less

Mergers and Mass Accretion for Infalling Halos Both End Well Outside Cluster Virial Radii

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behroozi, Peter S.; Wechsler, Risa H.; Lu, Yu; Hahn, Oliver; Busha, Michael T.; Klypin, Anatoly; Primack, Joel R.

2014-06-01

We find that infalling dark matter halos (i.e., the progenitors of satellite halos) begin losing mass well outside the virial radius of their eventual host halos. The peak mass occurs at a range of clustercentric distances, with median and 68th percentile range of 1.8^{+2.3}_{-1.0} \\,R_{vir,host} for progenitors of z = 0 satellites. The peak circular velocity for infalling halos occurs at significantly larger distances (3.7^{+3.3}_{-2.2} \\,R_{vir,host} at z = 0). This difference arises because different physical processes set peak circular velocity (typically, ~1:5 and larger mergers which cause transient circular velocity spikes) and peak mass (typically, smooth accretion) for infalling halos. We find that infalling halos also stop having significant mergers well before they enter the virial radius of their eventual hosts. Mergers larger than a 1:40 ratio in halo mass end for infalling halos at similar clustercentric distances (~1.9 R vir, host) as the end of overall mass accretion. However, mergers larger than 1:3 typically end for infalling halos at more than four virial radial away from their eventual hosts. This limits the ability of mergers to affect quenching and morphology changes in clusters. We also note that the transient spikes which set peak circular velocity may lead to issues with abundance matching on that parameter, including unphysical galaxy stellar mass growth profiles near clusters; we propose a simple observational test to check if a better halo proxy for galaxy stellar mass exists.

Associations Between Attitudes Towards Science and Children's Evaluation of Information About Socioscientific Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Sihan; Sandoval, William A.

2017-05-01

Science educators are typically dismayed by the failure of students to use relevant scientific knowledge when reasoning about socioscientific issues. Except for the well-documented association between having more knowledge about a topic and a tendency to use that knowledge, the influences on students' evaluation of information in socioscientific issues are not well understood. This study presents an initial investigation into the associations between upper elementary students' attitudes towards science and their evaluation of information about a socioscientific issue. We surveyed the science attitudes of 49 sixth grade students and then asked them to evaluate information about a socioscientific issue (alternative energy use). Positive attitudes were associated with a more scientific approach to evaluating information in the task. When trying to make judgments, students with generally positive attitudes towards science were more likely to attend to scientific information than other sources. Scientific information, nonetheless, served a variety of socially oriented goals in students' evaluations. These findings warrant further research on the relationship between science attitudes and reasoning about socioscientific issues and support the argument for connecting school science more clearly with everyday concerns.

Detecting distant homologies on protozoans metabolic pathways using scientific workflows.

PubMed

da Cruz, Sérgio Manuel Serra; Batista, Vanessa; Silva, Edno; Tosta, Frederico; Vilela, Clarissa; Cuadrat, Rafael; Tschoeke, Diogo; Dávila, Alberto M R; Campos, Maria Luiza Machado; Mattoso, Marta

2010-01-01

Bioinformatics experiments are typically composed of programs in pipelines manipulating an enormous quantity of data. An interesting approach for managing those experiments is through workflow management systems (WfMS). In this work we discuss WfMS features to support genome homology workflows and present some relevant issues for typical genomic experiments. Our evaluation used Kepler WfMS to manage a real genomic pipeline, named OrthoSearch, originally defined as a Perl script. We show a case study detecting distant homologies on trypanomatids metabolic pathways. Our results reinforce the benefits of WfMS over script languages and point out challenges to WfMS in distributed environments.

A security mediator for health care information.

PubMed Central

Wiederhold, G.; Bilello, M.; Sarathy, V.; Qian, X.

1996-01-01

The TIHI (Trusted Interoperation of Healthcare Information) project addresses a security issue that arises when some information is being shared among collaborating enterprises, although not all enterprise information is sharable. It assumes that protection exists to prevent intrusion by adversaries through secure transmission and firewalls. The TIHI system design provides a gateway, owned by the enterprise security officer, to mediate queries and responses. The latter are typically transmitted via the Internet. The enterprise policy is determined by rules provided to the mediator. We show examples of typical rules. The problem and our solution, although developed in a healthcare context, is equally valid among collaborating enterprises. PMID:8947640

Upstream/downstream: Issues in environmental ethics

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

Scherer, D.

1991-01-01

Upstream/Downstream reminds us that there are four issues that are more or less distinctive to environmental ethics. First, and most distinctively, environmental issues involve the standing of nonhuman living things and systems. Thus, environmental politics is only partly a clash among the interest of the parties involved; it often involves actions on behalf of the existence rights of nonhuman life forms. Second, environmental ethics concern the intergenerational distribution of benefits more explicitly than do most other ethical issues, which brings out serious weaknesses in legal frameworks that rely on claims for damages. Third, the complexity and indirectness of many environmentalmore » impacts introduces a high degree of uncertainty and thus technical as well as ethical issues of prudent behavior. Specifically, where science may not fully reveal environmental risks, should development proceed; should analysis proceed if it is known to have a Pollyanna bias Fourth, insofar as environmental damage is typically done to common property, and thus its regulation is generally a matter for governmental regulation, the obligations of private actors to make sacrifices beyond what government requires is at issue - an issue that one would expect to be taken up at length in the other volumes.« less

Brain responses to sexual images in 46,XY women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome are female-typical.

PubMed

Hamann, Stephan; Stevens, Jennifer; Vick, Janice Hassett; Bryk, Kristina; Quigley, Charmian A; Berenbaum, Sheri A; Wallen, Kim

2014-11-01

Androgens, estrogens, and sex chromosomes are the major influences guiding sex differences in brain development, yet their relative roles and importance remain unclear. Individuals with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) offer a unique opportunity to address these issues. Although women with CAIS have a Y chromosome, testes, and produce male-typical levels of androgens, they lack functional androgen receptors preventing responding to their androgens. Thus, they develop a female physical phenotype, are reared as girls, and develop into women. Because sexually differentiated brain development in primates is determined primarily by androgens, but may be affected by sex chromosome complement, it is currently unknown whether brain structure and function in women with CAIS is more like that of women or men. In the first functional neuroimaging study of (46,XY) women with CAIS, typical (46,XX) women, and typical (46, XY) men, we found that men showed greater amygdala activation to sexual images than did either typical women or women with CAIS. Typical women and women with CAIS had highly similar patterns of brain activation, indicating that a Y chromosome is insufficient for male-typical human brain responses. Because women with CAIS produce male-typical or elevated levels of testosterone which is aromatized to estradiol these results rule out aromatization of testosterone to estradiol as a determinate of sex differences in patterns of brain activation to sexual images. We cannot, however, rule out an effect of social experience on the brain responses of women with CAIS as all were raised as girls. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Management of bone disease in women after breast cancer.

PubMed

Milat, F; Vincent, A J

2015-01-01

Breast cancer and osteoporosis are common conditions affecting women, particularly following menopause. With increasing breast cancer incidence, effects of therapies and decreasing mortality, issues relating to the preservation of bone health with breast cancer therapy have become a priority. Contributing factors to bone loss and fractures in women with breast cancer include tumor effects, estrogen deprivation secondary to breast cancer therapies (chemotherapy, ovarian ablation or aromatase inhibitors), natural menopause and secondary causes of bone loss, typically from concurrently prescribed medications. Management of osteoporosis and other survivorship care is complex, and a multi-disciplinary approach is recommended with assessment of risk factors for bone loss, optimization of bone health through lifestyle approaches and pharmacological interventions based on evidence-based algorithms. This review examines the pathophysiology of bone loss and gives guidelines for the management of bone disease in women with breast cancer.

Crew Procedures for Continuous Descent Arrivals Using Conventional Guidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oseguera-Lohr, Rosa M.; Williams, David H.; Lewis, Elliot T,

2007-01-01

This paper presents results from a simulation study which investigated the use of Continuous Descent Arrival (CDA) procedures for conducting a descent through a busy terminal area, using conventional transport-category automation. This research was part of the Low Noise Flight Procedures (LNFP) element within the Quiet Aircraft Technology (QAT) Project, that addressed development of flight guidance, and supporting pilot and Air Traffic Control (ATC) procedures for low noise operations. The procedures and chart were designed to be easy to understand, and to make it easy for the crew to make changes via the Flight Management Computer Control-Display Unit (FMC-CDU) to accommodate changes from ATC. The test runs were intended to represent situations typical of what exists in many of today's terminal areas, including interruptions to the descent in the form of clearances issued by ATC.

A Comprehensive Study of Mass Murder Precipitants and Motivations of Offenders.

PubMed

Taylor, Melanie A

2018-02-01

Much speculation has been made in the media as to the causes of mass murder in the United States, yet little empirical research exists to verify factors leading to violence. Prior research primarily relies on case study methodologies or small data sets, but none have focused on the underlying issues observed in a comprehensive national sample. Data for the current study include 152 mass murders reported through the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports and USA Today from 2007 to 2011, which were then matched with media reports for each event. The current study shows that mass murders typically occur following a triggering event, are committed by non-strangers, and are rarely committed by persons with mental illnesses. A more realistic image of these incidents is critical, as misperceptions of offenders and case characteristics can improperly shape public policies.

(Mis)perceptions of inequality.

PubMed

Hauser, Oliver P; Norton, Michael I

2017-12-01

Laypeople's beliefs about the current distribution of outcomes such as income and wealth in their country influence their attitudes toward issues ranging from taxation to healthcare - but how accurate are these beliefs? We review the burgeoning literature on (mis)perceptions of inequality. First, we show that people on average misperceive current levels of inequality, typically underestimating the extent of inequality in their country. Second, we delineate potential causes of these misperceptions, including people's overreliance on cues from their local environment, leading to their erroneous beliefs about both the overall distributions of wealth and income and their place in those distributions. Third, we document that these (mis)perceptions of inequality - but not actual levels of inequality - drive behavior and preferences for redistribution. More promisingly, we review research suggesting that correcting misperceptions influences preferences and policy outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phase-space methods for the spin dynamics in condensed matter systems

PubMed Central

Hurst, Jérôme; Manfredi, Giovanni

2017-01-01

Using the phase-space formulation of quantum mechanics, we derive a four-component Wigner equation for a system composed of spin- fermions (typically, electrons) including the Zeeman effect and the spin–orbit coupling. This Wigner equation is coupled to the appropriate Maxwell equations to form a self-consistent mean-field model. A set of semiclassical Vlasov equations with spin effects is obtained by expanding the full quantum model to first order in the Planck constant. The corresponding hydrodynamic equations are derived by taking velocity moments of the phase-space distribution function. A simple closure relation is proposed to obtain a closed set of hydrodynamic equations. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Theoretical and computational studies of non-equilibrium and non-statistical dynamics in the gas phase, in the condensed phase and at interfaces’. PMID:28320903

Nexus: a modular workflow management system for quantum simulation codes

DOE PAGES

Krogel, Jaron T.

2015-08-24

The management of simulation workflows is a significant task for the individual computational researcher. Automation of the required tasks involved in simulation work can decrease the overall time to solution and reduce sources of human error. A new simulation workflow management system, Nexus, is presented to address these issues. Nexus is capable of automated job management on workstations and resources at several major supercomputing centers. Its modular design allows many quantum simulation codes to be supported within the same framework. Current support includes quantum Monte Carlo calculations with QMCPACK, density functional theory calculations with Quantum Espresso or VASP, and quantummore » chemical calculations with GAMESS. Users can compose workflows through a transparent, text-based interface, resembling the input file of a typical simulation code. A usage example is provided to illustrate the process.« less

Modes of occurrence of mercury and other trace elements in coals from the warrior field, Black Warrior Basin, Northwestern Alabama

USGS Publications Warehouse

Diehl, S.F.; Goldhaber, M.B.; Hatch, J.R.

2004-01-01

The mineralogic residence and abundance of trace metals is an important environmental issue. Data from the USGS coal quality database show that potentially toxic elements, including Hg, As, Mo, Se, Cu, and Tl are enriched in a subset of coal samples in the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama, USA. Although the coal as-mined typically is low in these elements, localized enrichments occur in high-pyrite coals and near faults. Microscopic analyses demonstrate that the residence of these elements is dominantly in a late-stage pyrite associated with structurally disrupted coal. Further, our data suggest addition of Hg to the coal matrix as well. The source of these trace elements was hydrothermal fluids driven into the Black Warrior Basin by Alleghanian age tectonism. ?? 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Gigaflop (billion floating point operations per second) performance for computational electromagnetics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shankar, V.; Rowell, C.; Hall, W. F.; Mohammadian, A. H.; Schuh, M.; Taylor, K.

1992-01-01

Accurate and rapid evaluation of radar signature for alternative aircraft/store configurations would be of substantial benefit in the evolution of integrated designs that meet radar cross-section (RCS) requirements across the threat spectrum. Finite-volume time domain methods offer the possibility of modeling the whole aircraft, including penetrable regions and stores, at longer wavelengths on today's gigaflop supercomputers and at typical airborne radar wavelengths on the teraflop computers of tomorrow. A structured-grid finite-volume time domain computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based RCS code has been developed at the Rockwell Science Center, and this code incorporates modeling techniques for general radar absorbing materials and structures. Using this work as a base, the goal of the CFD-based CEM effort is to define, implement and evaluate various code development issues suitable for rapid prototype signature prediction.

Long-lived efficient delayed fluorescence organic light-emitting diodes using n-type hosts.

PubMed

Cui, Lin-Song; Ruan, Shi-Bin; Bencheikh, Fatima; Nagata, Ryo; Zhang, Lei; Inada, Ko; Nakanotani, Hajime; Liao, Liang-Sheng; Adachi, Chihaya

2017-12-21

Organic light-emitting diodes have become a mainstream display technology because of their desirable features. Third-generation electroluminescent devices that emit light through a mechanism called thermally activated delayed fluorescence are currently garnering much attention. However, unsatisfactory device stability is still an unresolved issue in this field. Here we demonstrate that electron-transporting n-type hosts, which typically include an acceptor moiety in their chemical structure, have the intrinsic ability to balance the charge fluxes and broaden the recombination zone in delayed fluorescence organic electroluminescent devices, while at the same time preventing the formation of high-energy excitons. The n-type hosts lengthen the lifetimes of green and blue delayed fluorescence devices by > 30 and 1000 times, respectively. Our results indicate that n-type hosts are suitable to realize stable delayed fluorescence organic electroluminescent devices.

Two-dimensional inorganic analogues of graphene: transition metal dichalcogenides.

PubMed

Jana, Manoj K; Rao, C N R

2016-09-13

The discovery of graphene marks a major event in the physics and chemistry of materials. The amazing properties of this two-dimensional (2D) material have prompted research on other 2D layered materials, of which layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are important members. Single-layer and few-layer TMDCs have been synthesized and characterized. They possess a wide range of properties many of which have not been known hitherto. A typical example of such materials is MoS2 In this article, we briefly present various aspects of layered analogues of graphene as exemplified by TMDCs. The discussion includes not only synthesis and characterization, but also various properties and phenomena exhibited by the TMDCs.This article is part of the themed issue 'Fullerenes: past, present and future, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Buckminster Fullerene'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Two-dimensional inorganic analogues of graphene: transition metal dichalcogenides

PubMed Central

Jana, Manoj K.; Rao, C. N. R.

2016-01-01

The discovery of graphene marks a major event in the physics and chemistry of materials. The amazing properties of this two-dimensional (2D) material have prompted research on other 2D layered materials, of which layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are important members. Single-layer and few-layer TMDCs have been synthesized and characterized. They possess a wide range of properties many of which have not been known hitherto. A typical example of such materials is MoS2. In this article, we briefly present various aspects of layered analogues of graphene as exemplified by TMDCs. The discussion includes not only synthesis and characterization, but also various properties and phenomena exhibited by the TMDCs. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Fullerenes: past, present and future, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Buckminster Fullerene’. PMID:27501969

Labels Matter: Changing the Conversation From “-isms” to Privilege

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dancy, Melissa H.

2006-12-01

Whites typically view racism as discrimination and unfair judgment based on skin color. This view inhibits an end to race-based oppression because it names the issue in terms of the oppressed. A more accurate label is White Privilege. The concept of White privilege is very different from the concept of racism because it includes all Whites, not just those who hold explicit racist views. Acknowledging privilege can be threatening for those who hold a privileged status. However, it is necessary for those who are advantaged to have clarity about their status if the “isms” are to be overcome. In this talk I will discuss my personal struggle to acknowledge my own privileged status (White, American, straight, etc.) and will offer suggestions based on my own experiences for working with advantaged populations committed to overcoming all forms of oppression.

Microfluidic microbial fuel cells: from membrane to membrane free

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yang; Ye, Dingding; Li, Jun; Zhu, Xun; Liao, Qiang; Zhang, Biao

2016-08-01

Microfluidic microbial fuel cells (MMFCs) are small carbon-neutral devices that use self-organized bacteria to degrade organic substrates and harness energy from the waste water. Conventional MMFCs have made great strides in the past decade and have overcome some limitations, such as high capital costs and low energy output. A co-laminar flow MFC has been first proposed in 2011 with the potential to be an attractively power source to niche applications. Co-laminar MFCs typically operate without any physical membranes separating the reactants, and bacterial ecosystems can be easily manipulated by regulating the inlet conditions. This paper highlights recent accomplishments in the development of co-laminar MFCs, emphasizing basic principles, mass transport and fluid dynamics including boundary layer theory, entrance conditions and mixing zone issues. Furthermore, the development of current techniques, major challenges and the potential research directions are discussed.

Conceptual Design of the ITER ECE Diagnostic - An Update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, M. E.; Pandya, H. K. B.; Beno, J.; Bryant, A. D.; Danani, S.; Ellis, R. F.; Feder, R.; Hubbard, A. E.; Kumar, S.; Ouroua, A.; Phillips, P. E.; Rowan, W. L.

2012-09-01

The ITER ECE diagnostic has recently been through a conceptual design review for the entire system including front end optics, transmission line, and back-end instruments. The basic design of two viewing lines, each with a single ellipsoidal mirror focussing into the plasma near the midplane of the typical operating scenarios is agreed upon. The location and design of the hot calibration source and the design of the shutter that directs its radiation to the transmission line are issues that need further investigation. In light of recent measurements and discussion, the design of the broadband transmission line is being revisited and new options contemplated. For the instruments, current systems for millimeter wave radiometers and broad-band spectrometers will be adequate for ITER, but the option for employing new state-of-the-art techniques will be left open.

Integrating issues of substance abuse and addiction into the predoctoral dental curriculum.

PubMed

Brondani, Mario A; Pattanaporn, Komkham

2013-09-01

Methodological discussions about the teaching of substance abuse and addiction in predoctoral dental curricula typically fall short. This article explores the pedagogy employed to present and discuss the relevance of addiction (mostly to illicit drugs) to the dental profession in the first-year predoctoral dental curriculum at the University of British Columbia. These pedagogical approaches are multifaceted and include a role-play scenario with a standardized patient; an interactive guest lecture-based seminar and a community panel of personal testimonials; students' written reflections; and the provision of clinical care to patients with a past or current history of addiction. Students' reflections illustrate the impact of these approaches upon their views of addiction and the dental profession. This pedagogy exposes students to alternative views on substance abuse and addiction, challenges their values and beliefs, and fosters dialogue.

Digital government and public health.

PubMed

Fountain, Jane E

2004-10-01

Digital government is typically defined as the production and delivery of information and services inside government and between government and the public using a range of information and communication technologies. Two types of government relationships with other entities are government-to-citizen and government-to-government relationships. Both offer opportunities and challenges. Assessment of a public health agency's readiness for digital government includes examination of technical, managerial, and political capabilities. Public health agencies are especially challenged by a lack of funding for technical infrastructure and expertise, by privacy and security issues, and by lack of Internet access for low-income and marginalized populations. Public health agencies understand the difficulties of working across agencies and levels of government, but the development of new, integrated e-programs will require more than technical change - it will require a profound change in paradigm.

Moving beyond regression techniques in cardiovascular risk prediction: applying machine learning to address analytic challenges

PubMed Central

Goldstein, Benjamin A.; Navar, Ann Marie; Carter, Rickey E.

2017-01-01

Abstract Risk prediction plays an important role in clinical cardiology research. Traditionally, most risk models have been based on regression models. While useful and robust, these statistical methods are limited to using a small number of predictors which operate in the same way on everyone, and uniformly throughout their range. The purpose of this review is to illustrate the use of machine-learning methods for development of risk prediction models. Typically presented as black box approaches, most machine-learning methods are aimed at solving particular challenges that arise in data analysis that are not well addressed by typical regression approaches. To illustrate these challenges, as well as how different methods can address them, we consider trying to predicting mortality after diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. We use data derived from our institution's electronic health record and abstract data on 13 regularly measured laboratory markers. We walk through different challenges that arise in modelling these data and then introduce different machine-learning approaches. Finally, we discuss general issues in the application of machine-learning methods including tuning parameters, loss functions, variable importance, and missing data. Overall, this review serves as an introduction for those working on risk modelling to approach the diffuse field of machine learning. PMID:27436868

Test-retest reliability of fMRI during nonverbal semantic decisions in moderate-severe nonfluent aphasia patients

PubMed Central

Kurland, Jacquie; Naeser, Margaret A.; Baker, Errol H.; Doron, Karl; Martin, Paula I.; Seekins, Heidi E.; Bogdan, Andrew; Renshaw, Perry; Yurgelun-Todd, Deborah

2005-01-01

Cortical reorganization in poststroke aphasia is not well understood. Few studies have investigated neural mechanisms underlying language recovery in severe aphasia patients, who are typically viewed as having a poor prognosis for language recovery. Although test-retest reliability is routinely demonstrated during collection of language data in single-subject aphasia research, this is rarely examined in fMRI studies investigating the underlying neural mechanisms in aphasia recovery. The purpose of this study was to acquire fMRI test-retest data examining semantic decisions both within and between two aphasia patients. Functional MRI was utilized to image individuals with chronic, moderate-severe nonfluent aphasia during nonverbal, yes/no button-box semantic judgments of iconic sentences presented in the Computer-assisted Visual Communication (C-ViC) program. We investigated the critical issue of intra-subject reliability by exploring similarities and differences in regions of activation during participants’ performance of identical tasks twice on the same day. Each participant demonstrated high intra-subject reliability, with response decrements typical of task familiarity. Differences between participants included greater left hemisphere perilesional activation in the individual with better response to C-ViC training. This study provides fMRI reliability in chronic nonfluent aphasia, and adds to evidence supporting differences in individual cortical reorganization in aphasia recovery. PMID:15706052

Coordinating UAV information for executing national security-oriented collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isenor, Anthony W.; Allard, Yannick; Lapinski, Anna-Liesa S.; Demers, Hugues; Radulescu, Dan

2014-10-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are being used by numerous nations for defence-related missions. In some cases, the UAV is considered a cost-effective means to acquire data such as imagery over a location or object. Considering Canada's geographic expanse, UAVs are also being suggested as a potential platform for use in surveillance of remote areas, such as northern Canada. However, such activities are typically associated with security as opposed to defence. The use of a defence platform for security activities introduces the issue of information exchange between the defence and security communities and their software applications. This paper explores the flow of information from the system used by the UAVs employed by the Royal Canadian Navy. Multiple computers are setup, each with the information system used by the UAVs, including appropriate communication between the systems. Simulated data that may be expected from a typical maritime UAV mission is then fed into the information system. The information structures common to the Canadian security community are then used to store and transfer the simulated data. The resulting data flow from the defence-oriented UAV system to the security-oriented information structure is then displayed using an open source geospatial application. Use of the information structures and applications relevant to the security community avoids the distribution restrictions often associated with defence-specific applications.

Effects of eye-glasses, hair, headgear, and clothing on measured head-related transfer functions Part Ib

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riederer, Klaus A. J.

2003-10-01

Extensive head-related transfer function (HRTF) measurements show high HRTF repeatability, consequences of different measurement methods, and conditions covering the whole three-dimensional space [Riederer, J. Audio Eng. Soc. (Abstracts) 46, 1036 (1998), preprint 4846]. This study concentrates on specific effects on HRTFs carefully re-measured on the same Cortex dummy head applying Sennheiser KE4-211-2 microphones at its silicone putty blocked ear-canal entrances, employing 252 sound incidents including seven elevations. The effects of five different wigs (synthetic, natural, thick, thin, long and short hair) with varied hairstyles, four hats (cap, bicycle helmet, mens and womens trilby), clothes (alpaca pullover, bicycling drymax-jacket) and spectacles were investigated under 28 combinations. The influences are highly dependent on direction, frequency, and case. Clothes and eye-glasses affect minimally HRTF; hair has a stronger effect, depending on the actual hairdo (typically above 7 kHz). Hats alter intensively HRTFs (typically above 5 kHz), depending on the model. The measurements give deeper insight to the development of idiosyncratic features in binaural localization cues. The second part of the study addresses their perceptual effects [Riederer, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., this issue]. [Work supported by Graduate School of Electronics, Telecommunication and Automation; thanks to Finnish Broadcasting Company, Mr. Hellstrom; Mrs. Chen.

Evidence-based and value-based formulary guidelines.

PubMed

Neumann, Peter J

2004-01-01

Health plans and hospitals have long used drug formularies, but the processes by which formulary committees made decisions have typically lacked transparency and scientific rigor. A growing number of organizations have begun implementing formulary guidelines issued by the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP). These guidelines call for health plans to request formally that drug companies present a standardized "dossier" that contains detailed information not only on the drug's effectiveness and safety but also on its economic value relative to alternative therapies. This paper describes the guidelines, reviews progress to date, and analyzes several critical issues for the future.

Sex differences in principal farm operators' tractor driving safety beliefs and behaviors.

PubMed

Cole, H P; Westneat, S C; Browning, S R; Piercy, L R; Struttmann, T

2000-01-01

To examine the widely accepted hypothesis that farm women are more concerned with safety issues and behaviors than their male counterparts are. A telephone survey was administered to a random sample of Kentucky principal farm operators, 90 of whom were women. Participants were questioned about their tractor safety beliefs and practices. No significant sex differences in tractor safety perceptions and behavior were observed. Socialization of women to the role of principal farm operator may override their typically greater sensitivity to safety issues, an important consideration when designing safety campaigns for this population.

The Case for Sustainable Laboratories: First Steps at Harvard University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolliams, Jessica; Lloyd, Matthew; Spengler, John D.

2005-01-01

Purpose: Laboratories typically consume 4-5 times more energy than similarly-sized commercial space. This paper adds to a growing dialogue about how to "green" a laboratory's design and operations. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is divided into three sections. The first section reviews the background and theoretical issues. A…

Latina Sororities and Higher Education: The Ties That Bind.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olivas, Margarita Refugia

Research on U.S. "Greek" sororities has typically addressed issues dealing with White women in higher education. In contrast, this case study sought to identify the cultural behaviors and group norms that serve to enhance academic achievement and reinforce personal growth among members of a Latina sorority. In fall 1993, interviews were…

The Kain-Fritsch Scheme: Science Updates & Revisiting Gray-Scale Issues from the NWP & Regional Climatae Perspectives

EPA Science Inventory

It’s just a matter of time before we see global climate models increasing their spatial resolution to that now typical of regional models. This encroachment brings in an urgent need for making regional NWP and climate models applicable at certain finer resolutions. One of the hin...

Multiple view image analysis of freefalling U.S. wheat grains for damage assessment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Currently, inspection of wheat in the United States for grade and class is performed by human visual analysis. This is a time consuming operation typically taking several minutes for each sample. Digital imaging research has addressed this issue over the past two decades, with success in recognition...

An Investigation of "Honesty Check" Items in Higher Education Course Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, Kelly D.; Royal, Kenneth D.; Bradley, James W.

2008-01-01

The reliability and validity of course evaluations in higher education is often assumed. The typical Likert-type surveys utilized when students' evaluate the course and instructor often overlook measurement issues, or deal with them in an ineffective manner. Given the importance that is placed on higher education course evaluations, with results…

Game-Day Survey Results: Looking at Football Fan Alcohol-Related Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haun, Jolie; Glassman, Tavis; Dodd, Virginia J.; Young, Gail C. Dale

2007-01-01

On college campuses, alcohol abuse is a challenge particularly on football game days. From previous research, it is known that fans drink more and are more affected by excessive alcohol consumption than non-fans. This study explored age and gender issues regarding behaviors and consequences of typical game-day alcohol consumption. A…

Scale issues in soil hydrology related to measurement and simulation: A case study in Colorado

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

State variables, such as soil water content (SWC), are typically measured or inferred at very small scales while being simulated at larger scales relevant to spatial management or hillslope areas. Thus there is an implicit spatial disparity that is often ignored. Surface runoff, on the other hand, ...

Integrating Online Multimedia into College Course and Classroom: With Application to the Social Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Michael V.

2009-01-01

Description centers on an approach for efficiently incorporating online media resources into course and classroom. Consideration is given to pedagogical rationale, types of media, locating programs and clips, content retrieval and delivery, copyright issues, and typical problems experienced by instructors and students using online resources. In…

Trustees: Allies in Academic Integrity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Jerry L.

2003-01-01

According to this author, it may not be the first instinct of the typical professor to ask trustees to become involved in issues of academic quality. Most professors' instincts were formed in a different time and they may have forgotten how much the academic world has changed. Professors used to defend high academic standards, the liberal arts,…

Sperm production and testicular development of broiler breeder males reared on shortened growth cycles

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Feed restriction is an important tool used in the rearing of broiler breeders to control growth and maintain body weight. Feed restriction during the growing phase typically provides 60-80% less than what birds would consume if provided feed ad libitum, resulting in a perceived animal welfare issu...

Saint Anne: A Multicultural Education Dilemma.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruce, Bill; And Others

This 5-hour simulation is designed to give secondary- and college-level students and community persons the opportunity to deal with multicultural issues in a typical organizational and community setting. St. Anne is a fictitious town of 75,000 residents with two major ethnic neighborhoods--one German and the other Swedish. The local paper industry…

Learning and Understanding System Stability Using Illustrative Dynamic Texture Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Huaping; Xiao, Wei; Zhao, Hongyan; Sun, Fuchun

2014-01-01

System stability is a basic concept in courses on dynamic system analysis and control for undergraduate students with computer science backgrounds. Typically, this was taught using a simple simulation example of an inverted pendulum. Unfortunately, many difficult issues arise in the learning and understanding of the concepts of stability,…

Relationships among Repetitive Behaviors, Sensory Features, and Executive Functions in High Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyd, Brian A.; McBee, Matthew; Holtzclaw, Tia; Baranek, Grace T.; Bodfish, James W.

2009-01-01

This study examined the relationship between repetitive behaviors and sensory processing issues in school-aged children with high functioning autism (HFA). Children with HFA (N = 61) were compared to healthy, typical controls (N = 64) to determine the relationship between these behavioral classes and to examine whether executive dysfunction…

Structural equation modeling of users' response to wilderness recreation fees

Treesearch

Daniel R. Williams; Christine A. Vogt; Joar Vitterso

1999-01-01

This paper examines wilderness users' response to recently established overnight camping fees at the Desolation Wilderness in California. Fee program evaluations have typically focused on economic or revenue issues, distributional or equity impacts of various pricing strategies, and questions of price fairness. In the case of wilderness recreation fees, it is also...

Microwave moisture sensing of wet bales

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Sensing of moisture in very wet lint bales is unique due to the fact that moisture distribution is typically non-uniform and can in some instances be highly localized. This issue is even further complicated by the use of a sensor that reads only a portion of the bale and/or with a sensor that provid...

CPFP Summer Curriculum: Principles and Practices of Cancer Prevention and Control Course | Division of Cancer Prevention

Cancer.gov

This Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program four-week summer course provides specialized instruction in the principles and practice of cancer prevention and control. Participants will gain a broad-based perspective on concepts, issues, and applications related to this field. The course typically covers the following topics: |

Earth Juts into World: An Earth Ethics for Ecologizing Philosophy of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joldersma, Clarence W.

2017-01-01

Philosophers of education often focus their critique on issues such as neoliberalism, consumerism, pluralism, and so on, and they typically turn for solutions to what we might call the political: democracy, the public, cosmopolitanism, dissent. These critiques and solutions remain firmly connected to what Heidegger calls "the world," and…

The Political and Cultural Complications of Bullying

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaFee, Scott

2012-01-01

Student bullying is one of the most frequently reported discipline issues in schools. Members of minority groups are the typical targets. These days, that most often means students whose sexual orientation or gender identity attracts the ire of others. In a school climate survey of 7,261 middle and high school students conducted by the advocacy…

Bullying Children with Disabilities: A Global Epic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ervin, Dana

2011-01-01

Bullying is an issue in all schools, colleges and work places throughout the world. It is in the national news constantly. The media typically reports on bullying and harassment when it involves non-disabled children, mostly high school and college aged students. Very little attention is given to bullying and harassment of children with…

Touring the Campus Library from the World Wide Web.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mosley, Pixey Anne; Xiao, Daniel

1996-01-01

The philosophy, design, implementation and evaluation of a World Wide Web-accessible Virtual Library Tour of Texas A & M University's Evans Library is presented. Its design combined technical computer issues and library instruction expertise. The tour can be used to simulate a typical walking tour through the library or heading directly to a…

Perspectives for a Diverse America

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koenig, Darlene

2013-01-01

Lauren Gallant is committed to making social justice issues part of her U.S. history teaching. An avid user of Teaching Tolerance materials, she's always in search of tools "that help illuminate the subject matter and the human condition." But the Simi Valley High School, Calif., teacher has a typical challenge: There is little time for…

Imagine...Opportunities and Resources for Academically Talented Youth, 1996-1997.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hellerman, Susan B., Ed.

1996-01-01

This document consists of the five consecutive issues of the journal "Imagine..." published during volume year 4. Typical journal articles cover teaching academically talented secondary students in the following focus areas: (1) planning ahead for college; (2) history and archaeology; (3) physics and astronomy; (4) the global society; and (5)…

"LJ" Report "Anaheim, ALA 2008": Amid the Fantasy, Doses of Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blumenstein, Lynn; Berry, John; Fialkoff, Francine; Fox, Bette-Lee; Hadro, Josh; Horrocks, Norman; Oder, Norman; Roncevic, Mirela

2008-01-01

If the resort city of Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland and its "imagineers," marked a departure from the urban reality of the typical American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, it was impossible, at this 2008 meeting, to avoid urgent library issues. How do libraries maintain their value and cultural presence as users…

War on Hunger: A Report from the Agency for International Development, December 1975.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhoad, David L., Ed.

Produced by the Agency for International Development, this magazine presents articles and speeches on international development. Published monthly, the articles focus on developing nations and problems and areas of development. Typical issues offer articles on food and nutrition, education, disaster and humanitarian relief, U.S. government policy,…

Problem-Solving Processes of Expert and Typical School Principals: A Quantitative Look

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brenninkmeyer, Lawrence D.; Spillane, James P.

2008-01-01

Principals are increasingly expected to be the instructional as well as administrative leaders of their schools. However, little is known about how principals reason through the instructional issues that they face. An analysis of principal reasoning in instructional contexts is critical. The study presented in this article draws on interviews with…

The Transmission Line as a Simple Example for Introducing Integral Equations to Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothwell, E. J.

2009-01-01

Integral equations are becoming a common means for describing problems in electromagnetics, and so it is important to expose students to methods for their solution. Typically this is done using examples in antennas, scattering, or electrostatics. Unfortunately, many difficult issues arise in the formulation and solution of the associated…

Dissociating Perception from Action during Conscious and Unconscious Conflict Adaptation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atas, Anne; Desender, Kobe; Gevers, Wim; Cleeremans, Axel

2016-01-01

The detection of a conflict between relevant and irrelevant information on a given trial typically results in a smaller conflict effect on the next trial. This sequential effect has been interpreted as an expression of cognitive control implemented to resolve conflict. In this context, 2 different but related issues have received increasing…

What Does Research on Computer-Based Instruction Have to Say to the Reading Teacher?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balajthy, Ernest

1987-01-01

Examines questions typically asked about the effectiveness of computer-based reading instruction, suggesting that these questions must be refined to provide meaningful insight into the issues involved. Describes several critical problems with existing research and presents overviews of research on the effects of computer-based instruction on…

Magnetic Viscous Drag for Friction Labs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaffney, Chris; Catching, Adam

2016-01-01

The typical friction lab performed in introductory mechanics courses is usually not the favorite of either the student or the instructor. The measurements are not all that easy to make, and reproducibility is usually a troublesome issue. This paper describes the augmentation of such a friction lab with a study of the viscous drag on a magnet…

78 FR 10222 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Order Granting Approval of Proposed Rule Change...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-13

... purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed-delivery, or forward-commitment basis and may engage... (typically purchase price plus accrued interest). \\13\\ Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of... and have the characteristics of borrowing. The securities purchased with the funds obtained from the...

Medieval Day at Reynolds: An Interdisciplinary Learning Event

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, Nancy S.

2012-01-01

Medieval Day at Reynolds turned a typical Friday class day into an interdisciplinary learning event, which joined faculty and students into a community of learners. From classrooms issued tales of Viking and Mongol conquests, religious crusaders, deadly plague, and majestic cathedrals and art, all told by costumed faculty members with expertise in…

But I Don't Understand You: One Faculty's Observations of the Challenges Facing International Healthcare Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DuBose, Cheryl O.

2017-01-01

International students face many challenges when pursuing a degree in higher education. Communication and cultural differences are typically cited as the most challenging aspects of any study abroad program. Students attempting to complete a healthcare program face sometimes insurmountable issues, as communication, cultural differences, and…

Special Issues on Learning Strategies: Parallels and Contrasts between Australian and Chinese Tertiary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yao, Yuzuo

2017-01-01

Learning strategies are crucial to student learning in higher education. In this paper, there are comparisons of student engagement, feedback mechanism and workload arrangements at some typical universities in Australia and China, which are followed by practical suggestions for active learning. First, an inclusive class would allow learners from…

A Lifetime of Beating the Odds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Harold H.

2007-01-01

Byron Seibold recently celebrated his 70th birthday, which is not a remarkable milestone in today's era of extended longevity. Mr. Seibold has the typical maladies of aging--some vision and hearing issues, a bad hip, some memory lapses but no signs of Alzheimer's. His primary care physician, Dr. Chris Prater, attributes Mr. Seibold's good health…

Developmental Changes in Dopamine Neurotransmission in Adolescence: Behavioral Implications and Issues in Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wahlstrom, Dustin; Collins, Paul; White, Tonya; Luciana, Monica

2010-01-01

Adolescence is characterized by increased risk-taking, novelty-seeking, and locomotor activity, all of which suggest a heightened appetitive drive. The neurotransmitter dopamine is typically associated with behavioral activation and heightened forms of appetitive behavior in mammalian species, and this pattern of activation has been described in…

The Intersections of Work, Health, Diversity, and Social Justice: Helping People Living with HIV Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werth, James L., Jr.; Borges, Nicole J.; McNally, Christopher J.; Maguire, Colleen P.; Britton, Paula J.

2008-01-01

Although counseling psychology has discussed vocational issues, health concerns, diversity, and social justice, discussion of these topics has typically been narrowly focused. This article uses the example of persons with HIV (PWHIV) to demonstrate how these areas can be intertwined. The counseling psychology literature is also examined to…

Listening for Identity beyond the Speech Event

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wortham, Stanton

2010-01-01

Background: A typical account of listening focuses on cognition, describing how a listener understands and reacts to the cognitive contents of a speaker's utterance. The articles in this issue move beyond a cognitive view, arguing that listening also involves moral, aesthetic, and political aspects. Focus of Study: This article attends to all four…

The Different Benefits from Different Gestures in Understanding a Concept

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kang, Seokmin; Hallman, Gregory L.; Son, Lisa K.; Black, John B.

2013-01-01

Explanations are typically accompanied by hand gestures. While research has shown that gestures can help learners understand a particular concept, different learning effects in different types of gesture have been less understood. To address the issues above, the current study focused on whether different types of gestures lead to different levels…

Citizenship Education Curricula: The Changes and Challenges Presented by Global and European Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keating, Avril; Ortloff, Debora Hinderliter; Philippou, Stavroula

2009-01-01

Citizenship education has been the subject of growing attention in policy and academic circles over the past 20 years. Citizenship education curricula have typically focused on national institutions, issues, and ties. Citizenship education has been closely bound up with the legitimacy of the nation-state, and alternative institutions and…

Brains and Brawn: Complex Motor Activities to Maximize Cognitive Enhancement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moreau, David

2015-01-01

The target articles in this special issue address the timely question of embodied cognition in the classroom, and in particular the potential of this approach to facilitate learning in children. The interest for motor activities within settings that typically give little space to nontraditional content is proof of a shift from a Cartesian…

Response to Sakurai: The Influence of Translation on Reading Amount, Proficiency and Speed in Extensive Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Meredith

2016-01-01

In this response to Sakurai, Meredith Stephens agrees that Sakurai (2015) raises an important issue of which native English speaking teachers may be unaware; Japanese learners of English typically translate into Japanese while reading English. Sakurai explained, "It is speculated that Japanese students naturally translate English into…

Contextualizing the Intermediate Financial Accounting Courses in the Global Financial Crisis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloom, Robert; Webinger, Mariah

2011-01-01

This paper represents an attempt to incorporate concepts and issues stemming from the global financial crisis (GFC) into the typical Intermediate Accounting, two-course sequence as taught in North American colleges and universities. The teaching approach which the authors advocate embeds the GFC throughout these courses. The main expected outcome…

Issues in the Design and Interpretation of Chronic Toxicity and Carcinogenicity Studies in Rodents: Approaches to Dose Selection

EPA Science Inventory

For more than three decades chronic studies in rodents have been the benchmark for assessing the potential long-term toxicity, and particularly the carcinogenicity, of chemicals. With doses typically administered for about 2 years (18 months to lifetime), the rodent bioassay has ...

Sensitive Situations. The DLM Early Childhood Program Professional Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schiller, Pam

Teachers know how to educate young children, but many feel ill-prepared when faced with students' emotional issues in the classroom. This book is intended as a resource for early childhood teachers who find themselves in the middle of such "sensitive situations." The information is presented by using a fictional, but typical, scenario…

Exploring the Weight and Health Status of Adults with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Havercamp, Susan M.; Tassé, Marc J.; Navas, Patricia; Benson, Betsey A.; Allain, Dawn; Manickam, Kandamurugu

2017-01-01

Background: People with developmental disabilities experience worse health than typically developing peers. This health differential is often described in terms of health disparities, which refers to differences caused or exacerbated by social or access issues. Objective: the goal of this study was to compare the weight status and health…

Divorce After 50--Challenges and Choices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, DC.

This booklet is designed to help mid-life and older women examine the issues particularly related to late-life divorce; undertake the necessary financial and legal tasks associated with divorce; and accept and work through the range of powerful emotions that typically occur as a result of divorce. It is not intended to provide advice or counseling…

The Risks and Rewards of College/University Prepayment and Savings Plans. Policy Bulletin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothschild, Mark

This bulletin describes types of prepayment and savings plans for financing college education, outlines advantages and disadvantages of these programs, and highlights issues that state and institutional planners and policymakers should consider. A description of existing tuition prepayment plans looks at state plans that typically permit investors…

Revisiting the Role of Rewards in Motivation and Learning: Implications of Neuroscientific Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hidi, Suzanne

2016-01-01

Rewards have been examined extensively by both psychologists and neuorscientists and have become one of the most contentious issues in social and educational psychology. In psychological research, reward processing has typically been studied in relation to behavioral outcomes. In contrast, neuroscientists have been examining how rewards are…

Value Production in a Collaborative Environment. Sociophysical Studies of Wikipedia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasseri, Taha; Kertész, János

2013-05-01

We review some recent endeavors and add some new results to characterize and understand underlying mechanisms in Wikipedia (WP), the paradigmatic example of collaborative value production. We analyzed the statistics of editorial activity in different languages and observed typical circadian and weekly patterns, which enabled us to estimate the geographical origins of contributions to WPs in languages spoken in several time zones. Using a recently introduced measure we showed that the editorial activities have intrinsic dependencies in the burstiness of events. A comparison of the English and Simple English WPs revealed important aspects of language complexity and showed how peer cooperation solved the task of enhancing readability. One of our focus issues was characterizing the conflicts or edit wars in WPs, which helped us to automatically filter out controversial pages. When studying the temporal evolution of the controversiality of such pages we identified typical patterns and classified conflicts accordingly. Our quantitative analysis provides the basis of modeling conflicts and their resolution in collaborative environments and contribute to the understanding of this issue, which becomes increasingly important with the development of information communication technology.

Environmental issues and process risks for operation of carbon capture plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lajnert, Radosław; Nowak, Martyna; Telenga-Kopyczyńska, Jolanta

2018-01-01

The scope of this publication is a presentation of environmental issues and process risks connected with operation an installation for carbon capture from waste gas. General technological assumptions, typical for demonstration plant for carbon capture from waste gas (DCCP) with application of two different solutions - 30% water solution of monoethanoloamine (MEA) and water solution with 30% AMP (2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) and 10% piperazine have been described. The concept of DCCP installation was made for Łaziska Power Plant in Łaziska Górne owned by TAURON Wytwarzanie S.A. Main hazardous substances, typical for such installation, which can be dangerous for human life and health or for the environment have been presented. Pollution emission to the air, noise emission, waste water and solid waste management have been described. The environmental impact of the released substances has been stated. Reference to emission standards specified in regulations for considered substances has been done. Principles of risk analysis have been presented and main hazards in carbon dioxide absorption node and regeneration node have been evaluated.

A complex adaptive systems perspective of health information technology implementation.

PubMed

Keshavjee, Karim; Kuziemsky, Craig; Vassanji, Karim; Ghany, Ahmad

2013-01-01

Implementing health information technology (HIT) is a challenge because of the complexity and multiple interactions that define HIT implementation. Much of the research on HIT implementation is descriptive in nature and has focused on distinct processes such as order entry or decision support. These studies fail to take into account the underlying complexity of the processes, people and settings that are typical of HIT implementations. Complex adaptive systems (CAS) is a promising field that could elucidate the complexity and non-linear interacting issues that are typical in HIT implementation. Initially we sought new models that would enable us to better understand the complex nature of HIT implementation, to proactively identify problem issues that could be a precursor to unintended consequences and to develop new models and new approaches to successful HIT implementations. Our investigation demonstrates that CAS does not provide prediction, but forces us to rethink our HIT implementation paradigms and question what we think we know. CAS provides new ways to conceptualize HIT implementation and suggests new approaches to increasing HIT implementation successes.

Negative emotion does not enhance recall skills in adults with autistic spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Deruelle, C; Hubert, B; Santos, A; Wicker, B

2008-04-01

Recent empirical findings suggest a significant influence of emotion on memory processes. Surprisingly, although emotion-processing difficulties appear to be a hallmark feature in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), their impact on higher-level cognitive functions, such as memory, has not been directly studied in this population. The aim of this study was to address this issue by assessing whether the emotional valence of visual scenes affects recall skills in high-functioning individuals with ASD. To this purpose, their recall performance of neutral and emotional pictures was compared with that of typically developing adults (control group). Results revealed that while typically developing individuals showed enhanced recall skills for negative relative to positive and neutral pictures, individuals with ASD recalled the neutral pictures as well as the emotional ones. Findings of this study thus point to reduced influence of emotion on memory processes in ASD than in typically developing individuals, possibly owing to amygdala dysfunctions.

Energy Performance and Optimal Control of Air-conditioned Buildings Integrated with Phase Change Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Na

This thesis presents an overview of the previous research work on dynamic characteristics and energy performance of buildings due to the integration of PCMs. The research work on dynamic characteristics and energy performance of buildings using PCMs both with and without air-conditioning is reviewed. Since the particular interest in using PCMs for free cooling and peak load shifting, specific research efforts on both subjects are reviewed separately. A simplified physical dynamic model of building structures integrated with SSPCM (shaped-stabilized phase change material) is developed and validated in this study. The simplified physical model represents the wall by 3 resistances and 2 capacitances and the PCM layer by 4 resistances and 2 capacitances respectively while the key issue is the parameter identification of the model. This thesis also presents the studies on the thermodynamic characteristics of buildings enhanced by PCM and on the investigation of the impacts of PCM on the building cooling load and peak cooling demand at different climates and seasons as well as the optimal operation and control strategies to reduce the energy consumption and energy cost by reducing the air-conditioning energy consumption and peak load. An office building floor with typical variable air volume (VAV) air-conditioning system is used and simulated as the reference building in the comparison study. The envelopes of the studied building are further enhanced by integrating the PCM layers. The building system is tested in two selected cities of typical climates in China including Hong Kong and Beijing. The cold charge and discharge processes, the operation and control strategies of night ventilation and the air temperature set-point reset strategy for minimizing the energy consumption and electricity cost are studied. This thesis presents the simulation test platform, the test results on the cold storage and discharge processes, the air-conditioning energy consumption and demand reduction potentials in typical air-conditioning seasons in typical China cites as well as the impacts of operation and control strategies.

Seating in aged care: Physical fit, independence and comfort

PubMed Central

Brophy, Claire; O’Reilly, Maria

2018-01-01

Objectives: This research was intended to provide a greater understanding of the context and needs of aged care seating, specifically: To conduct an audit of typical chairs used in aged care facilities; To collect data about resident and staff experiences and behaviour around chairs in order to gain a deeper understanding of the exact issues that residents and staff have with the chairs they use at aged care facilities; To identify positive and negative issues influencing use of chairs in aged care facilities; To deliver evidence-based recommendations for the design of chairs for aged care facilities. Methods: Methods included a chair dimension audit, interviews with residents, experts and carers and observations of aged care residents getting into chairs, sitting in them and getting out. Results: Results showed that residents, experts and carers all prefer chairs which are above the recommended height for older people so that they will be able to get out of them more easily. Armrests were essential for ease of entry and egress. However, many residents struggled with chairs which were also too deep in the seat pan so that they could not easily touch the floor or sit comfortably and were forced to slump. Most residents used cushions and pillows to relieve discomfort where possible. Conclusion: The implications of these issues for chair design and selection are discussed. Variable height chairs, a range of chairs of different heights in each space and footrests could all address the height problem. Chair designers need to address the seat depth problem by reducing depth in most aged care specific chairs, even when they are higher. Armrests must be provided but could be made easier to grip. Addressing these issues would increase access to comfortable yet easy-to-use chairs for a wider range of the aged care population. PMID:29326817

Development and use of active clinical decision support for preemptive pharmacogenomics

PubMed Central

Bell, Gillian C; Crews, Kristine R; Wilkinson, Mark R; Haidar, Cyrine E; Hicks, J Kevin; Baker, Donald K; Kornegay, Nancy M; Yang, Wenjian; Cross, Shane J; Howard, Scott C; Freimuth, Robert R; Evans, William E; Broeckel, Ulrich; Relling, Mary V; Hoffman, James M

2014-01-01

Background Active clinical decision support (CDS) delivered through an electronic health record (EHR) facilitates gene-based drug prescribing and other applications of genomics to patient care. Objective We describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of active CDS for multiple pharmacogenetic test results reported preemptively. Materials and methods Clinical pharmacogenetic test results accompanied by clinical interpretations are placed into the patient's EHR, typically before a relevant drug is prescribed. Problem list entries created for high-risk phenotypes provide an unambiguous trigger for delivery of post-test alerts to clinicians when high-risk drugs are prescribed. In addition, pre-test alerts are issued if a very-high risk medication is prescribed (eg, a thiopurine), prior to the appropriate pharmacogenetic test result being entered into the EHR. Our CDS can be readily modified to incorporate new genes or high-risk drugs as they emerge. Results Through November 2012, 35 customized pharmacogenetic rules have been implemented, including rules for TPMT with azathioprine, thioguanine, and mercaptopurine, and for CYP2D6 with codeine, tramadol, amitriptyline, fluoxetine, and paroxetine. Between May 2011 and November 2012, the pre-test alerts were electronically issued 1106 times (76 for thiopurines and 1030 for drugs metabolized by CYP2D6), and the post-test alerts were issued 1552 times (1521 for TPMT and 31 for CYP2D6). Analysis of alert outcomes revealed that the interruptive CDS appropriately guided prescribing in 95% of patients for whom they were issued. Conclusions Our experience illustrates the feasibility of developing computational systems that provide clinicians with actionable alerts for gene-based drug prescribing at the point of care. PMID:23978487

NEET In-Pile Ultrasonic Sensor Enablement-FY 2012 Status Report

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

JE Daw; JL Rempe; BR Tittmann

2012-09-01

Several Department Of Energy-Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) programs, such as the Fuel Cycle Research and Development, Advanced Reactor Concepts, Light Water Reactor Sustainability, and Next Generation Nuclear Plant programs, are investigating new fuels and materials for advanced and existing reactors. A key objective of such programs is to understand the performance of these fuels and materials when irradiated. The Nuclear Energy Enabling Technology (NEET) Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI) in-pile instrumentation development activities are focused upon addressing cross-cutting needs for DOE-NE irradiation testing by providing higher fidelity, real-time data, with increased accuracy and resolution from smaller, compact sensors that are lessmore » intrusive. Ultrasonic technologies offer the potential to measure a range of parameters, including geometry changes, temperature, crack initiation and growth, gas pressure and composition, and microstructural changes, under harsh irradiation test conditions. There are two primary issues associated with in-pile deployment of ultrasonic sensors. The first is transducer survivability. The ability of ultrasonic transducer materials to maintain their useful properties during an irradiation must be demonstrated. The second issue is signal processing. Ultrasonic testing is typically performed in a lab or field environment, where the sensor and sample are accessible. Due to the harsh nature of in-pile testing, and the range of measurements that are desired, an enhanced signal processing capability is needed to make in-pile ultrasonic sensors viable. This project addresses these technology deployment issues.« less

Visual perspective taking impairment in children with autistic spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Hamilton, Antonia F de C; Brindley, Rachel; Frith, Uta

2009-10-01

Evidence from typical development and neuroimaging studies suggests that level 2 visual perspective taking - the knowledge that different people may see the same thing differently at the same time - is a mentalising task. Thus, we would expect children with autism, who fail typical mentalising tasks like false belief, to perform poorly on level 2 visual perspective taking as well. However, prior data on this issue are inconclusive. We re-examined this question, testing a group of 23 young autistic children, aged around 8years with a verbal mental age of around 4years and three groups of typical children (n=60) ranging in age from 4 to 8years on a level 2 visual perspective task and a closely matched mental rotation task. The results demonstrate that autistic children have difficulty with visual perspective taking compared to a task requiring mental rotation, relative to typical children. Furthermore, performance on the level 2 visual perspective taking task correlated with theory of mind performance. These findings resolve discrepancies in previous studies of visual perspective taking in autism, and demonstrate that level 2 visual perspective taking is a mentalising task.

The use of simulation in healthcare: from systems issues, to team building, to task training, to education and high stakes examinations.

PubMed

Orledge, Jeffrey; Phillips, William J; Murray, W Bosseau; Lerant, Anna

2012-08-01

Simulation in healthcare is becoming increasingly used. This review will spotlight some of the uses of simulation in healthcare training. Previously, evaluation of simulation training was typically from evaluations from trainees. Recent articles, however, have linked simulation training to actual patient outcomes and demonstrated skill retention up to 1 year. Objective measurements have demonstrated positive effects on healthcare education, have been successfully used in high stakes examinations, and have uncovered systems and patient safety issues. This article will review some recent studies showing how simulation can have a positive effect on patient outcomes and skill retention, uncover systems issues related to patient safety, and how simulation can be used in credentialing, and other high stakes examinations.

A broader view of marketing: implications for surgeons.

PubMed

Kelley, Scott W; Schwartz, Richard W

2004-12-01

The health care sector of the economy is changing. There is unprecedented growth in the health care sector, and competitive forces have a more prominent role. In addition, consumers have become more informed and as a result, more empowered. Patients in the health care sector are no exception to this trend. As patients become more informed, it is imperative that health care providers become more effective at marketing their services. In general, physicians typically have received little training in the field of marketing, which results in potentially limited understanding of the key marketing issues being faced in today's health care environment. We identify and examine several key marketing issues critical to the success of health care providers in today's environment. Further, we offer some managerial recommendations designed to address each of these issues.

Challenges in Intervention Research for Lesbian and Bisexual Women.

PubMed

Rizer, Allison M; Mauery, D Richard; Haynes, Suzanne G; Couser, Babette; Gruman, Cindy

2015-06-01

More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese, the highest prevalence occurring among women age 60 and older (42.3%), and women ages 40 to 59 (36.0%). This issue is even more pronounced among lesbian and bisexual (LB) women. Studies suggest this population may be twice as likely to be overweight or obese as heterosexual women. Despite this public health issue, little has been done to reduce overweight and obesity in LB women. During the design of healthy-weight interventions aimed at reducing overweight and obesity in older LB women through increased physical activity and improved nutrition, we conducted a systematic review of health interventions targeting older LB women to identify and describe core characteristics present in such interventions. We identified 878 articles and studies as potentially relevant to our review and evaluated them for inclusion in our analysis. We analyzed five interventions, including two on smoking cessation and one each on physical activity, breast cancer screening, and alcohol abuse. Results indicate that, regardless of desired health outcome, typical intervention characteristics included: social support, education, goal setting, peer-based facilitation, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)-friendly intervention environments. The lack of health interventions in this population is disconcerting. Coupled with the high and disparate prevalence of overweight and obesity in LB women, the lack of published evidence of efforts targeting this population presents a critical opportunity for policymakers and researchers to respond to this public health concern.

Issues in drug pricing, reimbursement, and access in China with references to other Asia-Pacific region.

PubMed

Chen, Yingyao; Schweitzer, Stuart O

2008-03-01

Pharmaceutical policies have become paramount in China and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region because of rapidly rising expenditures on drugs. The problems are especially acute in China because expenditures on drugs are typically so large. This article intends to review effects of the policy of drug expenditure containment with primary reference to China, and it proposes some measures to deal with rising pharmaceutical expenditures. This article overviews the issues of pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement, and access in China, and there are a number of policies or measures to control pharmaceutical expenditures. Nevertheless, the effect of those policies of containing drug expenditure is ambiguous so far, and some policies have negative impacts to the manufacturers, providers, and patients. Some underlying reasons are identified. First, the policy's focus on health-care costs is, to some extent, neglected. Second, the governance of the health sector, including pharmaceutical sector, needs to be improved by both the government and the market. This article proposes some suggestions to change policies in drug pricing, reimbursement, and access, and make policies more responsive to the main problem of rising health-care expenditures rather than that of pharmaceutical expenditures alone. The policy suggestions include those of setting the reasonable price for pharmaceuticals, instituting reasonable incentives for all health decision-makers to encourage efficient use of pharmaceuticals and other health resources, and making pharmaceutical markets more efficient, either in the demand or the supply side.

Communication in acute ambulatory care.

PubMed

Dean, Marleah; Oetzel, John; Sklar, David P

2014-12-01

Effective communication has been linked to better health outcomes, higher patient satisfaction, and treatment adherence. Communication in ambulatory care contexts is even more crucial, as providers typically do not know patients' medical histories or have established relationships, conversations are time constrained, interruptions are frequent, and the seriousness of patients' medical conditions may create additional tension during interactions. Yet, health communication often unduly emphasizes information exchange-the transmission and receipt of messages leading to a mutual understanding of a patient's condition, needs, and treatments. This approach does not take into account the importance of rapport building and contextual issues, and may ultimately limit the amount of information exchanged.The authors share the perspective of communication scientists to enrich the current approach to medical communication in ambulatory health care contexts, broadening the under standing of medical communication beyond information exchange to a more holistic, multilayered viewpoint, which includes rapport and contextual issues. The authors propose a socio-ecological model for understanding communication in acute ambulatory care. This model recognizes the relationship of individuals to their environment and emphasizes the importance of individual and contextual factors that influence patient-provider interactions. Its key elements include message exchange and individual, organizational, societal, and cultural factors. Using this model, and following the authors' recommendations, providers and medical educators can treat communication as a holistic process shaped by multiple layers. This is a step toward being able to negotiate conflicting demands, resolve tensions, and create encounters that lead to positive health outcomes.

Exploring the cognitive features in children with autism spectrum disorder, their co-twins, and typically developing children within a population-based sample.

PubMed

Brunsdon, Victoria E A; Colvert, Emma; Ames, Catherine; Garnett, Tracy; Gillan, Nicola; Hallett, Victoria; Lietz, Stephanie; Woodhouse, Emma; Bolton, Patrick; Happé, Francesca

2015-08-01

The behavioural symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are thought to reflect underlying cognitive deficits/differences. The findings in the literature are somewhat mixed regarding the cognitive features of ASD. This study attempted to address this issue by investigating a range of cognitive deficits and the prevalence of multiple cognitive atypicalities in a large population-based sample comprising children with ASD, their unaffected co-twins, and typically developing comparison children. Participants included families from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) where one or both children met diagnostic criteria for ASD. Overall, 181 adolescents with a diagnosis of ASD and 73 unaffected co-twins were included, plus an additional 160 comparison control participants. An extensive cognitive battery was administered to measure IQ, central coherence, executive function, and theory of mind ability. Differences between groups (ASD, co-twin, control) are reported on tasks assessing theory of mind, executive function, and central coherence. The ASD group performed atypically in significantly more cognitive tasks than the unaffected co-twin and control groups. Nearly a third of the ASD group presented with multiple cognitive atypicalities. Multiple cognitive atypicalities appear to be a characteristic, but not universal feature, of ASD. Further work is needed to investigate whether specific cognitive atypicalities, either alone or together, are related to specific behaviours characteristic of ASD. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

The Food and Drug Administration advisory committees and panels: how they are applied to the drug regulatory process.

PubMed

Ciociola, Arthur A; Karlstadt, Robyn G; Pambianco, Daniel J; Woods, Karen L; Ehrenpreis, Eli D

2014-10-01

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panels and committees play a critical role in advising the FDA on the safety and efficacy of medical devices and drugs marketed in the US. Advisory panel recommendations are used by the FDA to make decisions regarding medical products. Currently, the FDA utilizes over 50 advisory panels that serve the three major FDA centers, including the Centers for Biologics, Drugs and Device Products. Members of an advisory panel typically include academicians, clinicians, consumers, patients, and industry representatives. The FDA establishes the schedules for advisory panel meetings on an annual basis and a panel usually meets several times a year for two consecutive days in Washington, DC. Typically, the advisory panel discusses issues highlighted by the FDA and is then asked to vote a response to the questions posed in advance by the FDA. Advisory panel recommendations have a strong influence on FDA's decision to approve a product, as evidenced by the 214 Advisory Panels FDA convened between January 2008 to November 2012, during which advisory panel members voted to approve the product (or use of the product) ∼74% of the time, with FDA ultimately approving the medical product (or use of the product) ∼79% of the time. The ACG membership are encouraged to consider serving the public's interest by participating in an FDA advisory panel utilizing their expertise for the evaluation of a new drug or medical device, and providing advice about whether the product should be sold in the US.

Gesture Production in School vs. Clinical Samples of Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and Typically Developing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinani, Charikleia; Sugden, David A.; Hill, Elisabeth L.

2011-01-01

Dyspraxia, a difficulty in executing an operationalised act, has been associated with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). However, issues relating to the area such as comparisons across modalities, comparisons of school vs. clinical populations, and developmental delay vs. pathology have not been addressed in the same, comprehensive study.…

Values and Imagination in Teaching: With a Special Focus on Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egan, Kieran; Judson, Gillian

2009-01-01

Both local and global issues are typically dealt with in the Social Studies curriculum, or in curriculum areas with other names but similar intents. In the literature about Social Studies the imagination has played little role, and consequently it hardly appears in texts designed to help teachers plan and implement Social Studies lessons. What is…

Typically Developing Children's Understanding of and Attitudes towards Diversity and Peers with Learning Difficulties in the Greek Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ralli, A. M.; Margeti, M.; Doudoni, E.; Pantelemidou, V.; Rozou, T.; Evaggelopoulou, E.

2011-01-01

During the last few years, across Europe, special education has been orientated towards an inclusive model. Accordingly, in Greece, special education functions as an integral part of general education. However, few studies have investigated how children in the mainstream school understand diversity issues and specifically learning difficulties.…

Fulfilling an Institutional and Public Good Mission: A Case Study of Access

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batman, Renee F.

2013-01-01

Access to higher education has been and remains a critical issue, yet research typically focuses on students and programs which may overlook the role of the faculty. Through an in-depth case study, the perspectives of tenured and tenure-track faculty at a predominately White, Midwestern land-grant, research institution are described as they relate…

Taking Evidence-Based Practices to School: Using Expert Opinion to Develop a Brief, Evidence-Informed School-Based Mental Health Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyon, Aaron R.; Bruns, Eric J.; Weathers, Ericka S.; Canavas, Nick; Ludwig, Kristy; Vander Stoep, Ann; Cheney, Douglas; McCauley, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

School-based mental health services offer unparalleled opportunities for providing accessible care to children and adolescents. Research indicates that services available in schools are rarely based on evidence of effectiveness and are typically disconnected from the larger school context. To address these issues, the current paper presents…

The Sensitivity of the ACT to Instruction. Issues in College Readiness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ACT, Inc., 2005

2005-01-01

The ACT is an educational achievement test that measures the typical content and skills learned from college preparatory curricula. Consequently, the ACT can be used not only to predict college success, but also to provide direct feedback to high school teachers about the effectiveness of their teaching. ACT results also assist teachers in…

Online High School Student Achievement on State-Issued Standardized Tests: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gifford, William M., III

2017-01-01

Online education has increased greatly in recent years among K-12 learners and post-secondary learners. Online learning provides opportunities such as course remediation or access to courses not typically offered, which have benefited many learners. The growth of online learning has also presented educators with challenges as well. Students in…

75 FR 34689 - Pure Magnesium From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of the 2008-2009...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-18

..., the Department issued its antidumping duty questionnaire to TMI, TXR, and Pan Asia by FedEx. TXR.... Absence of De Facto Control Typically, the Department considers four factors in evaluating whether each... profits or financing of losses.\\32\\ The Department has determined that an analysis of de facto control is...