Modelling Creativity: Identifying Key Components through a Corpus-Based Approach

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Creativity is a complex, multi-faceted concept encompassing a variety of related aspects, abilities, properties and behaviours. If we wish to study creativity scientifically, then a tractable and well-articulated model of creativity is required. Such a model would be of great value to researchers investigating the nature of creativity and in particular, those concerned with the evaluation of creative practice. This paper describes a unique approach to developing a suitable model of how creative behaviour emerges that is based on the words people use to describe the concept. Using techniques from the field of statistical natural language processing, we identify a collection of fourteen key components of creativity through an analysis of a corpus of academic papers on the topic. Words are identified which appear significantly often in connection with discussions of the concept. Using a measure of lexical similarity to help cluster these words, a number of distinct themes emerge, which collectively contribute to a comprehensive and multi-perspective model of creativity. The components provide an ontology of creativity: a set of building blocks which can be used to model creative practice in a variety of domains. The components have been employed in two case studies to evaluate the creativity of computational systems and have proven useful in articulating achievements of this work and directions for further research. PMID:27706185

Modelling Creativity: Identifying Key Components through a Corpus-Based Approach.

PubMed

Jordanous, Anna; Keller, Bill

2016-01-01

Creativity is a complex, multi-faceted concept encompassing a variety of related aspects, abilities, properties and behaviours. If we wish to study creativity scientifically, then a tractable and well-articulated model of creativity is required. Such a model would be of great value to researchers investigating the nature of creativity and in particular, those concerned with the evaluation of creative practice. This paper describes a unique approach to developing a suitable model of how creative behaviour emerges that is based on the words people use to describe the concept. Using techniques from the field of statistical natural language processing, we identify a collection of fourteen key components of creativity through an analysis of a corpus of academic papers on the topic. Words are identified which appear significantly often in connection with discussions of the concept. Using a measure of lexical similarity to help cluster these words, a number of distinct themes emerge, which collectively contribute to a comprehensive and multi-perspective model of creativity. The components provide an ontology of creativity: a set of building blocks which can be used to model creative practice in a variety of domains. The components have been employed in two case studies to evaluate the creativity of computational systems and have proven useful in articulating achievements of this work and directions for further research.

Rivers and Floodplains as Key Components of Global Terrestrial Water Storage Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Getirana, Augusto; Kumar, Sujay; Girotto, Manuela; Rodell, Matthew

2017-10-01

This study quantifies the contribution of rivers and floodplains to terrestrial water storage (TWS) variability. We use state-of-the-art models to simulate land surface processes and river dynamics and to separate TWS into its main components. Based on a proposed impact index, we show that surface water storage (SWS) contributes 8% of TWS variability globally, but that contribution differs widely among climate zones. Changes in SWS are a principal component of TWS variability in the tropics, where major rivers flow over arid regions and at high latitudes. SWS accounts for 22-27% of TWS variability in both the Amazon and Nile Basins. Changes in SWS are negligible in the Western U.S., Northern Africa, Middle East, and central Asia. Based on comparisons with Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-based TWS, we conclude that accounting for SWS improves simulated TWS in most of South America, Africa, and Southern Asia, confirming that SWS is a key component of TWS variability.

Thermoelectric Energy Conversion: Future Directions and Technology Development Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleurial, Jean-Pierre

2007-01-01

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

Training: Who Needs It? Research Report 1995. Key Issues for Providers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hotel and Catering Training Co., London (England).

Aimed at all those involved in the supply of training and vocational education for the hospitality industry, this report summarizes findings of the research report, "Training Who Needs It?" It draws out and explores in more detail key issues relating to the provision of training, support, and related initiatives for the industry. Section…

Innovation in mental health services: what are the key components of success?

PubMed

Brooks, Helen; Pilgrim, David; Rogers, Anne

2011-10-26

Service development innovation in health technology and practice is viewed as a pressing need within the field of mental health yet is relatively poorly understood. Macro-level theories have been criticised for their limited explanatory power and they may not be appropriate for understanding local and fine-grained uncertainties of services and barriers to the sustainability of change. This study aimed to identify contextual influences inhibiting or promoting the acceptance and integration of innovations in mental health services in both National Health Service (NHS) and community settings. A comparative study using qualitative and case study data collection methods, including semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and follow-up telephone interviews over a one-year period. The analysis was informed by learning organisation theory. Drawn from 11 mental health innovation projects within community, voluntary and NHS settings, 65 participants were recruited including service users, commissioners, health and non-health professionals, managers, and caregivers. The methods deployed in this evaluation focused on process-outcome links within and between the 11 projects. Key barriers to innovation included resistance from corporate departments and middle management, complexity of the innovation, and the availability and access to resources on a prospective basis within the host organisation. The results informed the construction of a proposed model of innovation implementation within mental health services. The main components of which are context, process, and outcomes. The study produced a model of conducive and impeding factors drawn from the composite picture of 11 innovative mental health projects, and this is discussed in light of relevant literature. The model provides a rich agenda to consider for services wanting to innovate or adopt innovations from elsewhere. The evaluation suggested the importance of studying innovation with a focus on context, process

Innovation in mental health services: what are the key components of success?

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Service development innovation in health technology and practice is viewed as a pressing need within the field of mental health yet is relatively poorly understood. Macro-level theories have been criticised for their limited explanatory power and they may not be appropriate for understanding local and fine-grained uncertainties of services and barriers to the sustainability of change. This study aimed to identify contextual influences inhibiting or promoting the acceptance and integration of innovations in mental health services in both National Health Service (NHS) and community settings. Methods A comparative study using qualitative and case study data collection methods, including semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and follow-up telephone interviews over a one-year period. The analysis was informed by learning organisation theory. Drawn from 11 mental health innovation projects within community, voluntary and NHS settings, 65 participants were recruited including service users, commissioners, health and non-health professionals, managers, and caregivers. The methods deployed in this evaluation focused on process-outcome links within and between the 11 projects. Results Key barriers to innovation included resistance from corporate departments and middle management, complexity of the innovation, and the availability and access to resources on a prospective basis within the host organisation. The results informed the construction of a proposed model of innovation implementation within mental health services. The main components of which are context, process, and outcomes. Conclusions The study produced a model of conducive and impeding factors drawn from the composite picture of 11 innovative mental health projects, and this is discussed in light of relevant literature. The model provides a rich agenda to consider for services wanting to innovate or adopt innovations from elsewhere. The evaluation suggested the importance of studying

Identifying Key Components for an Effective Case Report Poster: An Observational Study

PubMed Central

Paranjape, Anuradha; Estrada, Carlos

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND Residents demonstrate scholarly activity by presenting posters at academic meetings. Although recommendations from national organizations are available, evidence identifying which components are most important is not. OBJECTIVE To develop and test an evaluation tool to measure the quality of case report posters and identify the specific components most in need of improvement. DESIGN Faculty evaluators reviewed case report posters and provided on-site feedback to presenters at poster sessions of four annual academic general internal medicine meetings. A newly developed ten-item evaluation form measured poster quality for specific components of content, discussion, and format (5-point Likert scale, 1 = lowest, 5 = highest). Main outcome measure(s): Evaluation tool performance, including Cronbach alpha and inter-rater reliability, overall poster scores, differences across meetings and evaluators and specific components of the posters most in need of improvement. RESULTS Forty-five evaluators from 20 medical institutions reviewed 347 posters. Cronbach’s alpha of the evaluation form was 0.84 and inter-rater reliability, Spearman’s rho 0.49 ( < 0.001). The median score was 4.1 (Q1 -Q3, 3.7-4.6)(Q1 = 25th, Q3 = 75th percentile). The national meeting median score was higher than the regional meetings (4.4 vs, 4.0,  < 0.001). We found no difference in faculty scores. The following areas were identified as most needing improvement: clearly state learning objectives, tie conclusions to learning objectives, and use appropriate amount of words. CONCLUSIONS Our evaluation tool provides empirical data to guide trainees as they prepare posters for presentation which may improve poster quality and enhance their scholarly productivity. PMID:19089510

Public Key-Based Need-to-Know Authorization Engine Final Report CRADA No. TSB-1553-98

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

Mark, R.; Williams, R.

The goals of this project were to develop a public key-based authentication service plug-in based on LLNL's requirements, integrate the public key-based authentication with the Intra Verse authorization service adn the LLNL NTK server by developing a full-featured version of the prototyped Intra Verse need-to-know plug in; and to test the authorization and need-to-know plug-in in a secured extranet prototype among selected national Labs.

Ballistic Testing and Product Quality Surveillance for the Interceptor Body Armor - Vest Components Need Improvement

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-03

six contracts. Interceptor Body Armor – Vest Components IBA is a modular body armor system that consists of an OTV, ceramic plates , and components...Armor - Vest Components Need Improvement Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the...Ballistic Testing and Product Quality Surveillance for the Interceptor Body Armor - Vest Components Need Improvement 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT

Growing-up just like everyone else: key components of a successful pediatric HIV disclosure intervention in Namibia

PubMed Central

Brandt, Laura; Beima-Sofie, Kristin; Hamunime, Ndapewa; Shepard, Mark; Ferris, Larissa; Ingo, Paulina; John-Stewart, Grace; O’Malley, Gabrielle

2018-01-01

Objectives To facilitate replication and adaptation of pediatric HIV disclosure interventions, we identified key components of a child-friendly cartoon book used to guide Namibian caregivers and healthcare workers (HCWs) through a gradual, structured disclosure process. Design Qualitative interviews were conducted with caregivers and HCWs from four high-volume pediatric HIV clinics in Namibia. Methods Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 35 HCWs and 64 caregivers of HIV+ children aged 7–15 were analyzed using constant comparative and modified grounded theory analysis. Major barriers to disclosure were compared to accounts of intervention success, and themes related to key components were identified. Results The disclosure book overcomes barriers to disclosure by reducing caregiver resistance, increasing HIV and disclosure knowledge, and providing a gradual, structured framework for disclosure. The delayed mention of HIV-specific terminology overcomes caregiver fears associated with HIV stigma, thus encouraging earlier uptake of disclosure initiation. Caregivers value the book’s focus on staying healthy, keeping the body strong, and having a future ‘like other kids’, thus capitalizing on evidence of the positive benefits of resilience and hopefulness rather than the negative consequences of HIV. The book’s concepts and images resonate with children who readily adopt the language of ‘body soldiers’ and ‘bad guys’ in describing how important it is for them to take their medicine. Discussion cues ease communication between HCWs, caregivers, and pediatric patients. Conclusion Given the urgent need for available pediatric HIV disclosure interventions, easily implementable tools like the Namibian disclosure book should be evaluated for utility in similar settings. PMID:26049542

Growing-up just like everyone else: key components of a successful pediatric HIV disclosure intervention in Namibia.

PubMed

Brandt, Laura; Beima-Sofie, Kristin; Hamunime, Ndapewa; Shepard, Mark; Ferris, Larissa; Ingo, Paulina; John-Stewart, Grace; O'Malley, Gabrielle

2015-06-01

To facilitate replication and adaptation of pediatric HIV disclosure interventions, we identified key components of a child-friendly cartoon book used to guide Namibian caregivers and healthcare workers (HCWs) through a gradual, structured disclosure process. Qualitative interviews were conducted with caregivers and HCWs from four high-volume pediatric HIV clinics in Namibia. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 35 HCWs and 64 caregivers of HIV+ children aged 7-15 were analyzed using constant comparative and modified grounded theory analysis. Major barriers to disclosure were compared to accounts of intervention success, and themes related to key components were identified. The disclosure book overcomes barriers to disclosure by reducing caregiver resistance, increasing HIV and disclosure knowledge, and providing a gradual, structured framework for disclosure. The delayed mention of HIV-specific terminology overcomes caregiver fears associated with HIV stigma, thus encouraging earlier uptake of disclosure initiation. Caregivers value the book's focus on staying healthy, keeping the body strong, and having a future 'like other kids', thus capitalizing on evidence of the positive benefits of resilience and hopefulness rather than the negative consequences of HIV. The book's concepts and images resonate with children who readily adopt the language of 'body soldiers' and 'bad guys' in describing how important it is for them to take their medicine. Discussion cues ease communication between HCWs, caregivers, and pediatric patients. Given the urgent need for available pediatric HIV disclosure interventions, easily implementable tools like the Namibian disclosure book should be evaluated for utility in similar settings.

Evolving Systems: Adaptive Key Component Control and Inheritance of Passivity and Dissipativity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, S. A.; Balas, M. J.

2010-01-01

We propose a new framework called Evolving Systems to describe the self-assembly, or autonomous assembly, of actively controlled dynamical subsystems into an Evolved System with a higher purpose. Autonomous assembly of large, complex flexible structures in space is a target application for Evolving Systems. A critical requirement for autonomous assembling structures is that they remain stable during and after assembly. The fundamental topic of inheritance of stability, dissipativity, and passivity in Evolving Systems is the primary focus of this research. In this paper, we develop an adaptive key component controller to restore stability in Nonlinear Evolving Systems that would otherwise fail to inherit the stability traits of their components. We provide sufficient conditions for the use of this novel control method and demonstrate its use on an illustrative example.

Prescribed burning consumes key forest structural components: implications for landscape heterogeneity.

PubMed

Holland, Greg J; Clarke, Michael F; Bennett, Andrew F

2017-04-01

Prescribed burning to achieve management objectives is a common practice in fire-prone regions worldwide. Structural components of habitat that are combustible and slow to develop are particularly susceptible to change associated with prescribed burning. We used an experimental, "whole-landscape" approach to investigate the effect of differing patterns of prescribed burning on key habitat components (logs, stumps, dead trees, litter cover, litter depth, and understorey vegetation). Twenty-two landscapes (each ~100 ha) were selected in a dry forest ecosystem in southeast Australia. Experimental burns were conducted in 16 landscapes (stratified by burn extent) while six served as untreated controls. We measured habitat components prior to and after burning. Landscape burn extent ranged from 22% to 89% across the 16 burn treatments. With the exception of dead standing trees (no change), all measures of habitat components declined as a consequence of burning. The degree of loss increased as the extent to which a landscape was burned also increased. Prescribed burning had complex effects on the spatial heterogeneity (beta diversity) of structural components within landscapes. Landscapes that were more heterogeneous pre-fire were homogenized by burning, while those that were more homogenous pre-fire tended to display greater differentiation post-burning. Thus, the notion that patch mosaic burning enhances heterogeneity at the landscape-scale depends on prior conditions. These findings have important management implications. Where prescribed burns must be undertaken, effects on important resources can be moderated via control of burn characteristics (e.g., burn extent). Longer-term impacts of prescribed burning will be strongly influenced by the return interval, given the slow rate at which some structural components accumulate (decades to centuries). Management of habitat structural components is important given the critical role they play in (1) provision of habitat

Key ingredients needed when building large data processing systems for scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, K. C.

2002-01-01

Why is building a large science software system so painful? Weren't teams of software engineers supposed to make life easier for scientists? Does it sometimes feel as if it would be easier to write the million lines of code in Fortran 77 yourself? The cause of this dissatisfaction is that many of the needs of the science customer remain hidden in discussions with software engineers until after a system has already been built. In fact, many of the hidden needs of the science customer conflict with stated needs and are therefore very difficult to meet unless they are addressed from the outset in a system's architectural requirements. What's missing is the consideration of a small set of key software properties in initial agreements about the requirements, the design and the cost of the system.

PGY-1 surgery preparatory course design: identification of key curricular components.

PubMed

Antonoff, Mara B; D'Cunha, Jonathan

2011-01-01

The importance of preparing senior medical students (SMS) for surgical internship is clear, and initiatives to standardize such curricula are of national interest. Less clear, however, are the specific subject areas most important for inclusion in such courses. In this study, we aimed to identify key curricular components in the development of a PGY-1 Surgery Preparatory Course. A month-long PGY-1 preparatory course was offered to SMS entering surgical residencies, consisting of 55 sessions providing instruction in 3 main areas: 19 Ward Management Tasks (WMT), 12 Operative and Technical Skills (OTS), and 4 Professionalism Skillsets (PS). To determine curricular topics most valued and needed by students, data were reviewed from precourse and postcourse surveys, knowledge tests, and performance examinations. Pretest/posttest scores were compared using t-tests, α = 0.05. In all, 22 SMS enrolled in the course. Prior to course participation, students placed greatest importance on WMT (4.35 ± 0.05) over OTS (4.09 ± 0.06) and PS (3.90 ± 0.15), p < 0.05. Precourse confidence levels were lowest in WMT (2.28 ± 0.12), versus OTS (2.41 ± 0.20) and PS (3.50 ± 0.30). Mean pretest scores were 54.8 ± 2.1% in WMT and 82.7 ± 2.5% in OTS, with significant improvement to 82.2 ± 1.9% and 93.2 ± 1.3%, respectively (p < 0.05 for both), further showing greater need for instruction in WMT. SMS participating in a PGY-1 Surgery Preparatory Course identified WMT as more important than OTS and PS. Further, they demonstrated the lowest precourse confidence in this area and found that course participation most dramatically improved their perceived ability to execute these types of tasks. As efforts continue to formalize the transition from medical school to surgical residency, these findings will be instrumental in developing standardized curricula. Copyright © 2011 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Establishing key components of yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions: a Delphi survey

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Evidence suggests yoga is a safe and effective intervention for the management of physical and psychosocial symptoms associated with musculoskeletal conditions. However, heterogeneity in the components and reporting of clinical yoga trials impedes both the generalization of study results and the replication of study protocols. The aim of this Delphi survey was to address these issues of heterogeneity, by developing a list of recommendations of key components for the design and reporting of yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. Methods Recognised experts involved in the design, conduct, and teaching of yoga for musculoskeletal conditions were identified from a systematic review, and invited to contribute to the Delphi survey. Forty-one of the 58 experts contacted, representing six countries, agreed to participate. A three-round Delphi was conducted via electronic surveys. Round 1 presented an open-ended question, allowing panellists to individually identify components they considered key to the design and reporting of yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. Thematic analysis of Round 1 identified items for quantitative rating in Round 2; items not reaching consensus were forwarded to Round 3 for re-rating. Results Thirty-six panellists (36/41; 88%) completed the three rounds of the Delphi survey. Panellists provided 348 comments to the Round 1 question. These comments were reduced to 49 items, grouped under five themes, for rating in subsequent rounds. A priori group consensus of ≥80% was reached on 28 items related to five themes concerning defining the yoga intervention, types of yoga practices to include in an intervention, delivery of the yoga protocol, domains of outcome measures, and reporting of yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions. Additionally, a priori consensus of ≥50% was reached on five items relating to minimum values for intervention parameters. Conclusions Expert consensus has provided a non

Providing comprehensive health services for young key populations: needs, barriers and gaps

PubMed Central

Delany-Moretlwe, Sinead; Cowan, Frances M; Busza, Joanna; Bolton-Moore, Carolyn; Kelley, Karen; Fairlie, Lee

2015-01-01

Introduction Adolescence is a time of physical, emotional and social transitions that have implications for health. In addition to being at high risk for HIV, young key populations (YKP) may experience other health problems attributable to high-risk behaviour or their developmental stage, or a combination of both. Discussion We reviewed the needs, barriers and gaps for other non-HIV health services for YKP. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for articles that provided specific age-related data on sexual and reproductive health; mental health; violence; and substance use problems for adolescent, youth or young sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, and people who inject drugs. Results YKP experience more unprotected sex, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, unintended pregnancy, violence, mental health disorders and substance use compared to older members of key populations and youth among the general population. YKP experience significant barriers to accessing care; coverage of services is low, largely because of stigma and discrimination experienced at both the health system and policy levels. Discussion YKP require comprehensive, integrated services that respond to their specific developmental needs, including health, educational and social services within the context of a human rights-based approach. The recent WHO Consolidated Guidelines on HIV Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment and Care for Key Populations are an important first step for a more comprehensive approach to HIV programming for YKP, but there are limited data on the effective delivery of combined interventions for YKP. Significant investments in research and implementation will be required to ensure adequate provision and coverage of services for YKP. In addition, greater commitments to harm reduction and rights-based approaches are needed to address structural barriers to access to care. PMID:25724511

Coordination between veterinary services and other relevant authorities: a key component of good public governance.

PubMed

Bellemain, V

2012-08-01

Coordination between Veterinary Services and other relevant authorities is a key component of good public governance, especially for effective action and optimal management of available resources. The importance of good coordination is reflected in the World Organisation for Animal Health'Tool forthe Evaluation of Performance of Veterinary Services', which includes a critical competency on coordination. Many partners from technical, administrative and legal fields are involved. The degree of formalisation of coordination tends to depend on a country's level of organisation and development. Contingency plans against avian influenza led to breakthroughs in many countries in the mid-2000s. While interpersonal relationships remain vital, not everything should hinge on them. Organisation and management are critical to operational efficiency. The distribution of responsibilities needs to be defined clearly, avoiding duplication and areas of conflict. Lead authorities should be designated according to subject (Veterinary Services in animal health areas) and endowed with the necessary legitimacy. Lead authorities will be responsible for coordinating the drafting and updating of the relevant documents: agreements between authorities, contingency plans, standard operating procedures, etc.

Global sustainability and key needs in future automotive design.

PubMed

McAuley, John W

2003-12-01

The number of light vehicle registrations is forecast to increase worldwide by a factor of 3-5 over the next 50 years. This will dramatically increase environmental impacts worldwide of automobiles and light trucks. If light vehicles are to be environmentally sustainable globally, the automotive industry must implement fundamental changes in future automotive design. Important factors in assessing automobile design needs include fuel economy and reduced emissions. Many design parameters can impact vehicle air emissions and energy consumption including alternative fuel or engine technologies, rolling resistance, aerodynamics, drive train design, friction, and vehicle weight. Of these, vehicle weight is key and will translate into reduced energy demand across all energy distribution elements. A new class of vehicles is needed that combines ultra-light design with a likely hybrid or fuel cell engine technology. This could increase efficiency by a factor of 3-5 and reduce air emissions as well. Advanced lightweight materials, such as plastics or composites, will need to overtake the present metal-based infrastructure. Incorporating design features to facilitate end-of-life recycling and recovery is also important. The trend will be towards fewer materials and parts in vehicle design, combined with ease of disassembly. Mono-material construction can create vehicle design with improved recyclability as well as reduced numbers of parts and weight.

Key Components in eHealth Interventions Combining Self-Tracking and Persuasive eCoaching to Promote a Healthier Lifestyle: A Scoping Review

PubMed Central

Oldenhuis, Hilbrand KE; de Groot, Martijn; Polstra, Louis; Velthuijsen, Hugo; van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia EWC

2017-01-01

Background The combination of self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching in automated interventions is a new and promising approach for healthy lifestyle management. Objective The aim of this study was to identify key components of self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching in automated healthy lifestyle interventions that contribute to their effectiveness on health outcomes, usability, and adherence. A secondary aim was to identify the way in which these key components should be designed to contribute to improved health outcomes, usability, and adherence. Methods The scoping review methodology proposed by Arskey and O’Malley was applied. Scopus, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and PubMed were searched for publications dated from January 1, 2013 to January 31, 2016 that included (1) self-tracking, (2) persuasive eCoaching, and (3) healthy lifestyle intervention. Results The search resulted in 32 publications, 17 of which provided results regarding the effect on health outcomes, 27 of which provided results regarding usability, and 13 of which provided results regarding adherence. Among the 32 publications, 27 described an intervention. The most commonly applied persuasive eCoaching components in the described interventions were personalization (n=24), suggestion (n=19), goal-setting (n=17), simulation (n=17), and reminders (n=15). As for self-tracking components, most interventions utilized an accelerometer to measure steps (n=11). Furthermore, the medium through which the user could access the intervention was usually a mobile phone (n=10). The following key components and their specific design seem to influence both health outcomes and usability in a positive way: reduction by setting short-term goals to eventually reach long-term goals, personalization of goals, praise messages, reminders to input self-tracking data into the technology, use of validity-tested devices, integration of self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching, and provision of face-to-face instructions during

Reduction of PM emissions from specific sources reflected on key components concentrations of ambient PM10

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minguillon, M. C.; Querol, X.; Monfort, E.; Alastuey, A.; Escrig, A.; Celades, I.; Miro, J. V.

2009-04-01

The relationship between specific particulate emission control and ambient levels of some PM10 components (Zn, As, Pb, Cs, Tl) was evaluated. To this end, the industrial area of Castellón (Eastern Spain) was selected, where around 40% of the EU glazed ceramic tiles and a high proportion of EU ceramic frits (middle product for the manufacture of ceramic glaze) are produced. The PM10 emissions from the ceramic processes were calculated over the period 2000 to 2007 taking into account the degree of implementation of corrective measures throughout the study period. Abatement systems (mainly bag filters) were implemented in the majority of the fusion kilns for frit manufacture in the area as a result of the application of the Directive 1996/61/CE, leading to a marked decrease in PM10 emissions. On the other hand, ambient PM10 sampling was carried out from April 2002 to July 2008 at three urban sites and one suburban site of the area and a complete chemical analysis was made for about 35 % of the collected samples, by means of different techniques (ICP-AES, ICP-MS, Ion Chromatography, selective electrode and elemental analyser). The series of chemical composition of PM10 allowed us to apply a source contribution model (Principal Component Analysis), followed by a multilinear regression analysis, so that PM10 sources were identified and their contribution to bulk ambient PM10 was quantified on a daily basis, as well as the contribution to bulk ambient concentrations of the identified key components (Zn, As, Pb, Cs, Tl). The contribution of the sources identified as the manufacture and use of ceramic glaze components, including the manufacture of ceramic frits, accounted for more than 65, 75, 58, 53, and 53% of ambient Zn, As, Pb, Cs and Tl levels, respectively (with the exception of Tl contribution at one of the sites). The important emission reductions of these sources during the study period had an impact on ambient key components levels, such that there was a high

CAREGIVERS’ DIFFERING NEEDS ACROSS KEY EXPERIENCES OF THE ADVANCED CANCER DISEASE TRAJECTORY

PubMed Central

Bernard-DuBenske, Lori L.; Wen, Kuang-Yi; Gustafson, David H.; Guarnaccia, Charles A.; Cleary, James F.; Dinauer, Susan K.; McTavish, Fiona M.

2013-01-01

Familial caregivers are providing increasing amounts of care to advanced cancer patients. Increased understanding of caregivers’ needs is vital in providing necessary support to lessen caregiver burden and morbidity. Current literature has identified caregiver and patient needs at broad stages of the cancer trajectory; however, such broad stages may be too general to inform a practice of targeting specific interventions when they have the greatest utility. This study examines a variety of particular needs across a number of more discrete illness-related transition experiences specifically in the advanced cancer disease trajectory. One hundred fifty-nine female informal caregivers of people with advanced cancer completed a needs assessment survey. Analyses of these cross-sectional retrospective-report data reveal that cancer caregiver needs vary across specific key experiences occurring within the broader stages of illness identified by current literature. Furthermore, caregivers have unique needs during bereavement. While the sample characteristics are demographically limited, this study provides preliminary evidence that the broad stages are not specific enough increments for effectively examining caregiver needs, and supports the need for more precise distribution of cancer-related information at more discrete times in the illness course. PMID:18662420

Key Components in eHealth Interventions Combining Self-Tracking and Persuasive eCoaching to Promote a Healthier Lifestyle: A Scoping Review.

PubMed

Lentferink, Aniek J; Oldenhuis, Hilbrand Ke; de Groot, Martijn; Polstra, Louis; Velthuijsen, Hugo; van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia Ewc

2017-08-01

The combination of self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching in automated interventions is a new and promising approach for healthy lifestyle management. The aim of this study was to identify key components of self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching in automated healthy lifestyle interventions that contribute to their effectiveness on health outcomes, usability, and adherence. A secondary aim was to identify the way in which these key components should be designed to contribute to improved health outcomes, usability, and adherence. The scoping review methodology proposed by Arskey and O'Malley was applied. Scopus, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and PubMed were searched for publications dated from January 1, 2013 to January 31, 2016 that included (1) self-tracking, (2) persuasive eCoaching, and (3) healthy lifestyle intervention. The search resulted in 32 publications, 17 of which provided results regarding the effect on health outcomes, 27 of which provided results regarding usability, and 13 of which provided results regarding adherence. Among the 32 publications, 27 described an intervention. The most commonly applied persuasive eCoaching components in the described interventions were personalization (n=24), suggestion (n=19), goal-setting (n=17), simulation (n=17), and reminders (n=15). As for self-tracking components, most interventions utilized an accelerometer to measure steps (n=11). Furthermore, the medium through which the user could access the intervention was usually a mobile phone (n=10). The following key components and their specific design seem to influence both health outcomes and usability in a positive way: reduction by setting short-term goals to eventually reach long-term goals, personalization of goals, praise messages, reminders to input self-tracking data into the technology, use of validity-tested devices, integration of self-tracking and persuasive eCoaching, and provision of face-to-face instructions during implementation. In addition, health outcomes or

An Integrated Methodology to Assess Compliance with Delphi Survey Key Components of Yoga Interventions for Musculoskeletal Conditions as Applied in a Systematic Review of Fibromyalgia Studies.

PubMed

Fischer-White, Tamara G; Anderson, Joel G; Taylor, Ann Gill

2016-01-01

The objective of this article was to present a methodology incorporating existing guidelines and tools for systematic reviews and to evaluate the Delphi survey 33 key component recommendations of yoga interventions for musculoskeletal conditions as a tool for a systematic review in fibromyalgia studies. Databases searched included PubMed, Ovid Medline, PsychINFO, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, ALT HealthWatch, PEDro, and Web of Science. Selected were articles published between November 14, 2004 and November 13, 2014, written in English, reporting original research of yoga interventions for adults with fibromyalgia. Six articles met the inclusion criteria, revealing that three yoga styles ("Relaxing" yoga, Yoga of Awareness, and Hatha yoga) have been assessed in persons with fibromyalgia. Overall, reporting compliance with the 33 key components ranged from 39.4% to 84.8%, with a mean adherence rate of 62.63% ± 17.74. None of the authors used an accepted reporting guideline; specific components of asana, pranayama, relaxation, and mindfulness practices that would have been incorporated into the interventions tested were identified in only 33.33% of the articles reviewed; and none of the articles included detailed, replicable descriptions of the interventions. This systematic review supports the need for comprehensive yoga research guidelines. Findings reveal a lack of reporting of intervention details, the need to report a disease-specific rationale for selection of the particular yoga style used for the intervention, and that a limited number of yoga styles have been investigated in persons with fibromyalgia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modelling efforts needed to advance herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine development: Key findings from the World Health Organization Consultation on HSV Vaccine Impact Modelling.

PubMed

Gottlieb, Sami L; Giersing, Birgitte; Boily, Marie-Claude; Chesson, Harrell; Looker, Katharine J; Schiffer, Joshua; Spicknall, Ian; Hutubessy, Raymond; Broutet, Nathalie

2017-06-21

Development of a vaccine against herpes simplex virus (HSV) is an important goal for global sexual and reproductive health. In order to more precisely define the health and economic burden of HSV infection and the theoretical impact and cost-effectiveness of an HSV vaccine, in 2015 the World Health Organization convened an expert consultation meeting on HSV vaccine impact modelling. The experts reviewed existing model-based estimates and dynamic models of HSV infection to outline critical future modelling needs to inform development of a comprehensive business case and preferred product characteristics for an HSV vaccine. This article summarizes key findings and discussions from the meeting on modelling needs related to HSV burden, costs, and vaccine impact, essential data needs to carry out those models, and important model components and parameters. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Pricing in health care organizations. A key component of the marketing mix.

PubMed

Marlowe, D

1989-01-01

Pricing is one of the key components of a successful marketing mix. Pricing objectives, strategies, and tactics cannot stand alone, however. To be effective, price must work in harmony with other marketing and management activities. Despite its importance, use of pricing as a management tool is limited in health care compared to other industries. Many factors contribute to this situation, including the structure of the health-care exchange process, limited consumer knowledge, and a limited ability to measure costs. I will provide an overview of pricing information, both within and outside health care. Specifically, we will explore the definition of pricing, nonmonetary pricing, price elasticity, classical pricing theory, and the role of pricing in a health-care setting.

Pricing and components analysis of some key essential pediatric medicine in Odisha state

PubMed Central

Samal, Satyajit; Swain, Trupti Rekha

2017-01-01

Objective: Study highlighting prices, i.e., the patients actually pay at ground level is important for interventions such as alternate procurement schemes or to expedite regulatory assessment of essential medicines for children. The present study was undertaken to study pricing and component analysis of few key essential medicines in Odisha state. Methodology: Six child-specific medicines of different formulations were selected based on use in different disease condition and having widest pricing variation. Data were collected, entered, and analyzed in the price components data collection form of the World Health Organization-Health Action International (WHO-HAI) 2007 Workbook version 5 – Part II provided as part of the WHO/HAI methodology. The analysis includes the cumulative percent markup, total cumulative percent markup, and percent contribution of individual components to the final medicine price in both public and private sector of Odisha state. Results: Add-on costs such as taxes, wholesale, and retail markups contribute substantially to the final price of medicines in private sector, particularly for branded-generic products. The largest contributor to add-on costs is at the level of retailer shop. Conclusion: Policy should be framed to achieve a greater transparency and uniformity of the pricing of medicines at different health sectors of Odisha. PMID:28458429

Pricing and components analysis of some key essential pediatric medicine in Odisha state.

PubMed

Samal, Satyajit; Swain, Trupti Rekha

2017-01-01

Study highlighting prices, i.e., the patients actually pay at ground level is important for interventions such as alternate procurement schemes or to expedite regulatory assessment of essential medicines for children. The present study was undertaken to study pricing and component analysis of few key essential medicines in Odisha state. Six child-specific medicines of different formulations were selected based on use in different disease condition and having widest pricing variation. Data were collected, entered, and analyzed in the price components data collection form of the World Health Organization-Health Action International (WHO-HAI) 2007 Workbook version 5 - Part II provided as part of the WHO/HAI methodology. The analysis includes the cumulative percent markup, total cumulative percent markup, and percent contribution of individual components to the final medicine price in both public and private sector of Odisha state. Add-on costs such as taxes, wholesale, and retail markups contribute substantially to the final price of medicines in private sector, particularly for branded-generic products. The largest contributor to add-on costs is at the level of retailer shop. Policy should be framed to achieve a greater transparency and uniformity of the pricing of medicines at different health sectors of Odisha.

Evaluation of beryllium for space shuttle components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trapp, A. E.

1972-01-01

Application of beryllium to specific full-scale space shuttle structural components and assemblies was studied. Material evaluations were conducted to check the mechanical properties of as-received material to gain design information on characteristics needed for the material in the space shuttle environment, and to obtain data needed for evaluating component and panel tests. Four beryllium structural assemblies were analyzed and designed. Selected components of these assemblies, representing areas of critical loading or design/process uncertainty, were designed and tested, and two panel assemblies were fabricated. Trends in cost and weight factors were determined by progressive estimation at key points of preliminary design, final design, and fabrication to aid in a cost/weight evaluation of the use of beryllium.

Research Needs for Rural Public Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stocker, Frederick D.

The report proposes a conceptual framework for researching key issues relating to rural public facility policy affecting such services as fire protection, water systems, roads, wastewater treatment, hospitals, and others, and identifies important research needs in this area. Major components of the framework are sources of financing (private and…

Overall Key Performance Indicator to Optimizing Operation of High-Pressure Homogenizers for a Reliable Quantification of Intracellular Components in Pichia pastoris.

PubMed

Garcia-Ortega, Xavier; Reyes, Cecilia; Montesinos, José Luis; Valero, Francisco

2015-01-01

The most commonly used cell disruption procedures may present lack of reproducibility, which introduces significant errors in the quantification of intracellular components. In this work, an approach consisting in the definition of an overall key performance indicator (KPI) was implemented for a lab scale high-pressure homogenizer (HPH) in order to determine the disruption settings that allow the reliable quantification of a wide sort of intracellular components. This innovative KPI was based on the combination of three independent reporting indicators: decrease of absorbance, release of total protein, and release of alkaline phosphatase activity. The yeast Pichia pastoris growing on methanol was selected as model microorganism due to it presents an important widening of the cell wall needing more severe methods and operating conditions than Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. From the outcome of the reporting indicators, the cell disruption efficiency achieved using HPH was about fourfold higher than other lab standard cell disruption methodologies, such bead milling cell permeabilization. This approach was also applied to a pilot plant scale HPH validating the methodology in a scale-up of the disruption process. This innovative non-complex approach developed to evaluate the efficacy of a disruption procedure or equipment can be easily applied to optimize the most common disruption processes, in order to reach not only reliable quantification but also recovery of intracellular components from cell factories of interest.

Overall Key Performance Indicator to Optimizing Operation of High-Pressure Homogenizers for a Reliable Quantification of Intracellular Components in Pichia pastoris

PubMed Central

Garcia-Ortega, Xavier; Reyes, Cecilia; Montesinos, José Luis; Valero, Francisco

2015-01-01

The most commonly used cell disruption procedures may present lack of reproducibility, which introduces significant errors in the quantification of intracellular components. In this work, an approach consisting in the definition of an overall key performance indicator (KPI) was implemented for a lab scale high-pressure homogenizer (HPH) in order to determine the disruption settings that allow the reliable quantification of a wide sort of intracellular components. This innovative KPI was based on the combination of three independent reporting indicators: decrease of absorbance, release of total protein, and release of alkaline phosphatase activity. The yeast Pichia pastoris growing on methanol was selected as model microorganism due to it presents an important widening of the cell wall needing more severe methods and operating conditions than Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. From the outcome of the reporting indicators, the cell disruption efficiency achieved using HPH was about fourfold higher than other lab standard cell disruption methodologies, such bead milling cell permeabilization. This approach was also applied to a pilot plant scale HPH validating the methodology in a scale-up of the disruption process. This innovative non-complex approach developed to evaluate the efficacy of a disruption procedure or equipment can be easily applied to optimize the most common disruption processes, in order to reach not only reliable quantification but also recovery of intracellular components from cell factories of interest. PMID:26284241

Review of 11 national policies for rare diseases in the context of key patient needs.

PubMed

Dharssi, Safiyya; Wong-Rieger, Durhane; Harold, Matthew; Terry, Sharon

2017-03-31

Rare diseases collectively exert a global public health burden in the severity of their manifestations and the total number of people they afflict. For many patients, considerable barriers exist in terms of access to appropriate care, delayed diagnosis and limited or non-existing treatment options. Motivated by these challenges, the rare disease patient community has played a critical role, elevating the patient voice and mobilizing legislation to support the development of programs that address the needs of patients with rare diseases.The US Orphan Drug Act of 1983 served as a key milestone in this journey, providing a roadmap for other countries to introduce and implement similar orphan drug legislation; more recently, the European Union (EU) has gone further to encourage the widespread adoption and implementation of rare disease plans or strategies designed to more adequately address the comprehensive needs of patients with rare diseases. Despite these legislative efforts and the growing contributions of patient advocacy groups in moving forward implementation and adoption of rare disease programs, gaps still exist across the policy landscape for several countries. To gain deeper insights into the challenges and opportunities to address key needs of rare disease patients, it is critical to define the current status of rare disease legislation and policy across a geographically and economically diverse selection of countries. We analyzed the rare disease policy landscape across 11 countries: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Bulgaria, Turkey, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, China, and Taiwan. The status and implementation of policy was evaluated for each country in the context of key patient needs across 5 dimensions: improving coordination of care, diagnostic resources, access to treatments, patient awareness and support, and promoting innovative research. Our findings highlight the continuing role of the patient community in driving the establishment and

Vocational bias: a potential pitfall in the use of key informant interviews in pediatric community needs assessments.

PubMed

Northrip, Kimberly; Chen, Candice; Marsh, Jennifer

2008-04-29

Key informants are individuals with insight into a community or a problem of interest. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of the employment type of key informants on the outcome of a pediatric needs assessment for an urban community. Twenty-one interviews were conducted during the course of a pediatric community needs assessment. As part of the interview, informants were asked to list the top three problems facing children in their community. We analyzed their answers to determine if informant responses differed by employment type. Key informants were divided into four employment types: health care setting, social service, business, and infrastructure. Responses were coded as being primarily one of three types: medical, social, or resource. Our results showed that those informants who worked in a health care setting listed medical problems more often than those who did not (p < 0.04). Those who worked in social services listed resource problems more often than those who did not (p < 0.05). Those in business and infrastructure positions listed more social problems (p < 0.37). No difference was observed in response type between those who had lived in the community at some point and those who had not. This study lends support to the hypothesis that informants' reporting of community problems is biased by their vocation. Clinicians often focus their needs assessments on health care workers. This study suggests, however, that we need to take into consideration the bias this presents and to seek to interview people with diverse work experiences. By limiting the process to health care workers, clinicians are likely to get a skewed perspective of a community's needs and wants.

Do Intelligent Robots Need Emotion?

PubMed

Pessoa, Luiz

2017-11-01

What is the place of emotion in intelligent robots? Researchers have advocated the inclusion of some emotion-related components in the information-processing architecture of autonomous agents. It is argued here that emotion needs to be merged with all aspects of the architecture: cognitive-emotional integration should be a key design principle. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Evaluation of Key Working for Families of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mengoni, Silvana; Bardsley, Janet; Oates, John

2015-01-01

Key working is a way of supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families, and is highly regarded by families and practitioners. However, there is a lack of up-to-date research exploring key working in the current context of policy reforms in England. This article reports an evaluation…

Local Responses to Global Problems: A Key to Meeting Basic Human Needs. Worldwatch Paper 17.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stokes, Bruce

The booklet maintains that the key to meeting basic human needs is the participation of individuals and communities in local problem solving. Some of the most important achievements in providing food, upgrading housing, improving human health, and tapping new energy sources, comes through local self-help projects. Proponents of local efforts at…

The Prediction of Key Cytoskeleton Components Involved in Glomerular Diseases Based on a Protein-Protein Interaction Network.

PubMed

Ding, Fangrui; Tan, Aidi; Ju, Wenjun; Li, Xuejuan; Li, Shao; Ding, Jie

2016-01-01

Maintenance of the physiological morphologies of different types of cells and tissues is essential for the normal functioning of each system in the human body. Dynamic variations in cell and tissue morphologies depend on accurate adjustments of the cytoskeletal system. The cytoskeletal system in the glomerulus plays a key role in the normal process of kidney filtration. To enhance the understanding of the possible roles of the cytoskeleton in glomerular diseases, we constructed the Glomerular Cytoskeleton Network (GCNet), which shows the protein-protein interaction network in the glomerulus, and identified several possible key cytoskeletal components involved in glomerular diseases. In this study, genes/proteins annotated to the cytoskeleton were detected by Gene Ontology analysis, and glomerulus-enriched genes were selected from nine available glomerular expression datasets. Then, the GCNet was generated by combining these two sets of information. To predict the possible key cytoskeleton components in glomerular diseases, we then examined the common regulation of the genes in GCNet in the context of five glomerular diseases based on their transcriptomic data. As a result, twenty-one cytoskeleton components as potential candidate were highlighted for consistently down- or up-regulating in all five glomerular diseases. And then, these candidates were examined in relation to existing known glomerular diseases and genes to determine their possible functions and interactions. In addition, the mRNA levels of these candidates were also validated in a puromycin aminonucleoside(PAN) induced rat nephropathy model and were also matched with existing Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) transcriptomic data. As a result, there are 15 of 21 candidates in PAN induced nephropathy model were consistent with our predication and also 12 of 21 candidates were matched with differentially expressed genes in the DN transcriptomic data. By providing a novel interaction network and prediction, GCNet

The Prediction of Key Cytoskeleton Components Involved in Glomerular Diseases Based on a Protein-Protein Interaction Network

PubMed Central

Ju, Wenjun; Li, Xuejuan; Li, Shao; Ding, Jie

2016-01-01

Maintenance of the physiological morphologies of different types of cells and tissues is essential for the normal functioning of each system in the human body. Dynamic variations in cell and tissue morphologies depend on accurate adjustments of the cytoskeletal system. The cytoskeletal system in the glomerulus plays a key role in the normal process of kidney filtration. To enhance the understanding of the possible roles of the cytoskeleton in glomerular diseases, we constructed the Glomerular Cytoskeleton Network (GCNet), which shows the protein-protein interaction network in the glomerulus, and identified several possible key cytoskeletal components involved in glomerular diseases. In this study, genes/proteins annotated to the cytoskeleton were detected by Gene Ontology analysis, and glomerulus-enriched genes were selected from nine available glomerular expression datasets. Then, the GCNet was generated by combining these two sets of information. To predict the possible key cytoskeleton components in glomerular diseases, we then examined the common regulation of the genes in GCNet in the context of five glomerular diseases based on their transcriptomic data. As a result, twenty-one cytoskeleton components as potential candidate were highlighted for consistently down- or up-regulating in all five glomerular diseases. And then, these candidates were examined in relation to existing known glomerular diseases and genes to determine their possible functions and interactions. In addition, the mRNA levels of these candidates were also validated in a puromycin aminonucleoside(PAN) induced rat nephropathy model and were also matched with existing Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) transcriptomic data. As a result, there are 15 of 21 candidates in PAN induced nephropathy model were consistent with our predication and also 12 of 21 candidates were matched with differentially expressed genes in the DN transcriptomic data. By providing a novel interaction network and prediction, GCNet

Technical Needs for Prototypic Prognostic Technique Demonstration for Advanced Small Modular Reactor Passive Components

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

Meyer, Ryan M.; Coble, Jamie B.; Hirt, Evelyn H.

2013-05-17

This report identifies a number of requirements for prognostics health management of passive systems in AdvSMRs, documents technical gaps in establishing a prototypical prognostic methodology for this purpose, and describes a preliminary research plan for addressing these technical gaps. AdvSMRs span multiple concepts; therefore a technology- and design-neutral approach is taken, with the focus being on characteristics that are likely to be common to all or several AdvSMR concepts. An evaluation of available literature is used to identify proposed concepts for AdvSMRs along with likely operational characteristics. Available operating experience of advanced reactors is used in identifying passive components thatmore » may be subject to degradation, materials likely to be used for these components, and potential modes of degradation of these components. This information helps in assessing measurement needs for PHM systems, as well as defining functional requirements of PHM systems. An assessment of current state-of-the-art approaches to measurements, sensors and instrumentation, diagnostics and prognostics is also documented. This state-of-the-art evaluation, combined with the requirements, may be used to identify technical gaps and research needs in the development, evaluation, and deployment of PHM systems for AdvSMRs. A preliminary research plan to address high-priority research needs for the deployment of PHM systems to AdvSMRs is described, with the objective being the demonstration of prototypic prognostics technology for passive components in AdvSMRs. Greater efficiency in achieving this objective can be gained through judicious selection of materials and degradation modes that are relevant to proposed AdvSMR concepts, and for which significant knowledge already exists. These selections were made based on multiple constraints including the analysis performed in this document, ready access to laboratory-scale facilities for materials testing and measurement

Five Key Leadership Actions Needed to Redesign Family Medicine Residencies.

PubMed

Kozakowski, Stanley M; Eiff, M Patrice; Green, Larry A; Pugno, Perry A; Waller, Elaine; Jones, Samuel M; Fetter, Gerald; Carney, Patricia A

2015-06-01

New skills are needed to properly prepare the next generation of physicians and health professionals to practice in medical homes. Transforming residency training to address these new skills requires strong leadership. We sought to increase the understanding of leadership skills useful in residency programs that plan to undertake meaningful change. The Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice (P4) project (2007-2014) was a comparative case study of 14 family medicine residencies that engaged in innovative training redesign, including altering the scope, content, sequence, length, and location of training to align resident education with requirements of the patient-centered medical home. In 2012, each P4 residency team submitted a final summary report of innovations implemented, overall insights, and dissemination activities during the study. Six investigators conducted independent narrative analyses of these reports. A consensus meeting held in September 2012 was used to identify key leadership actions associated with successful educational redesign. Five leadership actions were associated with successful implementation of innovations and residency transformation: (1) manage change; (2) develop financial acumen; (3) adapt best evidence educational strategies to the local environment; (4) create and sustain a vision that engages stakeholders; and (5) demonstrate courage and resilience. Residency programs are expected to change to better prepare their graduates for a changing delivery system. Insights about effective leadership skills can provide guidance for faculty to develop the skills needed to face practical realities while guiding transformation.

Needs for Robotic Assessments of Nuclear Disasters

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

Victor Walker; Derek Wadsworth

Following the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima nuclear reactor plant in Japan, the need for systems which can assist in dynamic high-radiation environments such as nuclear incidents has become more apparent. The INL participated in delivering robotic technologies to Japan and has identified key components which are needed for success and obstacles to their deployment. In addition, we are proposing new work and methods to improve assessments and reactions to such events in the future. Robotics needs in disaster situations include phases such as: Assessment, Remediation, and Recovery Our particular interest is in the initial assessment activities. In assessment wemore » need collection of environmental parameters, determination of conditions, and physical sample collection. Each phase would require key tools and efforts to develop. This includes study of necessary sensors and their deployment methods, the effects of radiation on sensors and deployment, and the development of training and execution systems.« less

Capturing how age-friendly communities foster positive health, social participation and health equity: a study protocol of key components and processes that promote population health in aging Canadians.

PubMed

Levasseur, Mélanie; Dubois, Marie-France; Généreux, Mélissa; Menec, Verena; Raina, Parminder; Roy, Mathieu; Gabaude, Catherine; Couturier, Yves; St-Pierre, Catherine

2017-05-25

To address the challenges of the global aging population, the World Health Organization promoted age-friendly communities as a way to foster the development of active aging community initiatives. Accordingly, key components (i.e., policies, services and structures related to the communities' physical and social environments) should be designed to be age-friendly and help all aging adults to live safely, enjoy good health and stay involved in their communities. Although age-friendly communities are believed to be a promising way to help aging Canadians lead healthy and active lives, little is known about which key components best foster positive health, social participation and health equity, and their underlying mechanisms. This study aims to better understand which and how key components of age-friendly communities best foster positive health, social participation and health equity in aging Canadians. Specifically, the research objectives are to: 1) Describe and compare age-friendly key components of communities across Canada 2) Identify key components best associated with positive health, social participation and health equity of aging adults 3) Explore how these key components foster positive health, social participation and health equity METHODS: A mixed-method sequential explanatory design will be used. The quantitative part will involve a survey of Canadian communities and secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). The survey will include an age-friendly questionnaire targeting key components in seven domains: physical environment, housing options, social environment, opportunities for participation, community supports and healthcare services, transportation options, communication and information. The CLSA is a large, national prospective study representative of the Canadian aging population designed to examine health transitions and trajectories of adults as they age. In the qualitative part, a multiple

Which Components of Medical Homes Reduce the Time Burden on Families of Children with Special Health Care Needs?

PubMed Central

Miller, Jane E; Nugent, Colleen N; Russell, Louise B

2015-01-01

Objectives To examine which components of medical homes affect time families spend arranging/coordinating health care for their children with special health care needs (CSHCNs) and providing health care at home. Data Sources 2009–2010 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN), a population-based survey of 40,242 CSHCNs. Study Design NS-CSHCN is a cross-sectional, observational study. We used generalized ordered logistic regression, testing for nonproportional odds in the associations between each of five medical home components and time burden, controlling for insurance, child health, and sociodemographics. Data Collection/Extraction Methods Medical home components were collected using Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative definitions. Principal Findings Family-centered care, care coordination, and obtaining needed referrals were associated with 15–32 percent lower odds of time burdens arranging/coordinating and 16–19 percent lower odds providing health care. All five components together were associated with lower odds of time burdens, with greater reductions for higher burdens providing care. Conclusions Three of the five medical home components were associated with lower family time burdens arranging/coordinating and providing health care for children with chronic conditions. If the 55 percent of CSHCNs lacking medical homes had one, the share of families with time burdens arranging care could be reduced by 13 percent. PMID:25100200

Second-order schedules: discrimination of components1

PubMed Central

Squires, Nancy; Norborg, James; Fantino, Edmund

1975-01-01

Pigeons were exposed to a series of second-order schedules in which the completion of a fixed number of fixed-interval components produced food. In Experiment 1, brief (2 sec) stimulus presentations occurred as each fixed-interval component was completed. During the brief-stimulus presentation terminating the last fixed-interval component, a response was required on a second key, the brief-stimulus key, to produce food. Responses on the brief-stimulus key before the last brief-stimulus presentation had no scheduled consequences, but served as a measure of the extent to which the final component was discriminated from preceding components. Whether there were one, two, four, or eight fixed-interval components, responses on the brief-stimulus key occurred during virtually every brief-stimulus presentation. In Experiment 2, an attempt was made to punish unnecessary responses on the brief-stimulus key, i.e., responses on the brief-stimulus key that occurred before the last component. None of the pigeons learned to withhold these responses, even though they produced a 15-sec timeout and loss of primary reinforcement. In Experiment 3, different key colors were associated with each component of a second-order schedule (a chain schedule). In contrast to Experiment 1, brief-stimulus key responses were confined to the last component. It was concluded that pigeons do not discriminate well between components of second-order schedules unless a unique exteroceptive cue is provided for each component. The relative discriminability of the components may account for the observed differences in initial-component response rates between comparable brief-stimulus, tandem, and chain schedules. PMID:16811868

Components of breeding productivity in a marine bird community: key factors and concordance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hatch, Scott A.; Hatch, Martha A.

1990-01-01

We estimated components of annual breeding productivity for eight species of marine birds on the Semidi Islands in the western Gulf of Alaska. Mortality of eggs and young, caused primarily by avian predators, accounted for most of the annual variation in productivity. Failure to produce eggs, clutch size variation, and the hatchability of eggs were generally less important. The stage of breeding at which annual productivity was most strongly regulated differed among species. In murres, chick-rearing success accounted for the largest share of annual variation in overall productivity, whereas incubation success was the key factor in fulmars, kittiwakes, and puffins. Although avian predators were the dominant proximate cause of egg and chick losses in some species, food supply seemed ultimately responsible for variation in all the major components of productivity. Concordance of productivity among species was low for the marine bird community as a whole, but selected pairs of species exhibited a greater tendency for high and low productivities to occur in the same years. Compared with the same or similar species outside Alaska, Semidi Islands birds were in one of three categories: (i) species whose productivity was about the same as reported from other areas (fulmars and gulls), (ii) species with comparatively low productivity (murres, puffins, kittiwakes), and (iii) species with similar mean productivity but greater annual variation (cormorants). These patterns suggest that specialized consumers of forage fish experienced food shortages at the Semidi Islands and that surface feeders were more severely affected than divers.

Small Group Discussion as a Key Component in Online Assessment Training for Enhanced Student Learning in Web-Based Peer Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Xiongyi; Li, Lan; Zhang, Zhihong

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of online assessment training, with synchronous group discussion as a key component, on subsequent web-based peer assessment results. Participants included 81 college students, mostly women, taking a business writing class. After initial submission of a draft counter-offer letter, they completed…

Supporting Students with Health Needs in Schools: An Overview of Selected Health Conditions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DePaepe, Paris; Garrison-Kane, Linda; Doelling, Jane

2002-01-01

This article discusses key components relevant to providing appropriate services for students with health care needs, reviews common health conditions in school-aged children and youth and recommended medical management, and describes school health care needs and related accommodations that may be made for students with each condition. (Contains…

Perceived needs for different components in a rehabilitation program among cancer survivors with chronic fatigue compared to survivors without chronic fatigue.

PubMed

Gjerset, Gunhild M; Loge, Jon H; Kiserud, Cecilie E; Fosså, Sophie D; Gudbergsson, Sævar B; Oldervoll, Line M; Wisløff, Torbjørn; Thorsen, Lene

2017-02-01

Knowledge about the user' needs is important to develop targeted rehabilitation for cancer patients with chronic fatigue (CF). The aims of the study were to examine prevalence of CF in cancer survivors attending an one-week inpatient educational program (IEP) and to identify characteristics of those with CF. Further to examine the perceived needs for different components in a rehabilitation program, need of complex rehabilitation (at least two components) and aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among survivors with CF versus those without CF. Cancer survivors ≥18 years, diagnosed with different types of cancer within the last 10 years and attending a one-week IEP were invited to this cross-sectional study. CF was assessed by the Fatigue Questionnaire, perceived needs by asking a question about needs for different components in a rehabilitation program and HRQoL was assessed by The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36. Of 564 participants, 45% reported CF. Breast cancer, mixed cancer types (including small groups with different cancer types) and comorbidities increased the risk for having CF. Compared to participants without CF, the participants with CF reported more frequently need for physical training (86% vs. 65%, p < 0.001), physiotherapy (71% vs. 55%, p < 0.001) and nutrition counseling (68% vs. 53%, p = 0.001). Among participants with CF, 75% reported need for three or more components whereas 54% reported need for the same number of components among those without CF (p < 0.001). Almost half of the cancer survivors attending the IEP had CF. Physical training, physiotherapy and nutrition counseling were the most frequently reported needs and significantly more often observed in participants with CF than without CF. A higher percentage of those with CF reported need for a complex rehabilitation compared to those without CF. More research is necessary to obtain more knowledge to further make targeted programs to better match cancer

Screening Active Components from Yu-Ping-Feng-San for Regulating Initiative Key Factors in Allergic Sensitization

PubMed Central

Zhu, Zhijie; Yu, Xi; Liu, Hailiang; Wang, Huizhu; Fan, Hongwei; Wang, Dawei; Jiang, Guorong; Hong, Min

2014-01-01

Yu-ping-feng-san (YPFS) is a Chinese medical formula that is used clinically for allergic diseases and characterized by reducing allergy relapse. Our previous studies demonstrated that YPFS efficiently inhibited T helper 2 cytokines in allergic inflammation. The underlying mechanisms of action of YPFS and its effective components remain unclear. In this study, it was shown that YPFS significantly inhibited production of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), an epithelial cell-derived initiative factor in allergic inflammation, in vitro and in vivo. A method of human bronchial epithelial cell (16HBE) binding combined with HPLC-MS (named 16HBE-HPLC-MS) was established to explore potential active components of YPFS. The following five components bound to 16HBE cells: calycosin-7-glucoside, ononin, claycosin, sec-o-glucosylhamaudol and formononetin. Serum from YPFS-treated mice was analyzed and three major components were detected claycosin, formononetin and cimifugin. Among these, claycosin and formononetin were detected by 16HBE-HPLC-MS and in the serum of YPFS-treated mice. Claycosin and formononetin decreased the level of TSLP markedly at the initial stage of allergic inflammation in vivo. Nuclear factor (NF)-κB, a key transcription factor in TSLP production, was also inhibited by claycosin and formononetin, either in terms of transcriptional activation or its nuclear translocation in vitro. Allergic inflammation was reduced by claycosin and formononetin when they are administered only at the initial stage in a murine model of atopic contact dermatitis. Thus, epithelial cell binding combined with HPLC-MS is a valid method for screening active components from complex mixtures of Chinese medicine. It was demonstrated that the compounds screened from YPFS significantly attenuated allergic inflammation probably by reducing TSLP production via regulating NF-κB activation. PMID:25198676

Screening of the key volatile organic compounds of Tuber melanosporum fermentation by aroma sensory evaluation combination with principle component analysis

PubMed Central

Liu, Rui-Sang; Jin, Guang-Huai; Xiao, Deng-Rong; Li, Hong-Mei; Bai, Feng-Wu; Tang, Ya-Jie

2015-01-01

Aroma results from the interplay of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the attributes of microbial-producing aromas are significantly affected by fermentation conditions. Among the VOCs, only a few of them contribute to aroma. Thus, screening and identification of the key VOCs is critical for microbial-producing aroma. The traditional method is based on gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), which is time-consuming and laborious. Considering the Tuber melanosporum fermentation system as an example, a new method to screen and identify the key VOCs by combining the aroma evaluation method with principle component analysis (PCA) was developed in this work. First, an aroma sensory evaluation method was developed to screen 34 potential favorite aroma samples from 504 fermentation samples. Second, PCA was employed to screen nine common key VOCs from these 34 samples. Third, seven key VOCs were identified by the traditional method. Finally, all of the seven key VOCs identified by the traditional method were also identified, along with four others, by the new strategy. These results indicate the reliability of the new method and demonstrate it to be a viable alternative to the traditional method. PMID:26655663

Interventions and assessment tools addressing key concepts people need to know to appraise claims about treatment effects: a systematic mapping review.

PubMed

Austvoll-Dahlgren, Astrid; Nsangi, Allen; Semakula, Daniel

2016-12-29

People's ability to appraise claims about treatment effects is crucial for informed decision-making. Our objective was to systematically map this area of research in order to (a) provide an overview of interventions targeting key concepts that people need to understand to assess treatment claims and (b) to identify assessment tools used to evaluate people's understanding of these concepts. The findings of this review provide a starting point for decisions about which key concepts to address when developing new interventions, and which assessment tools should be considered. We conducted a systematic mapping review of interventions and assessment tools addressing key concepts important for people to be able to assess treatment claims. A systematic literature search was done by a reserach librarian in relevant databases. Judgement about inclusion of studies and data collection was done by at least two researchers. We included all quantitative study designs targeting one or more of the key concepts, and targeting patients, healthy members of the public, and health professionals. The studies were divided into four categories: risk communication and decision aids, evidence-based medicine and critical appraisal, understanding of controlled trials, and science education. Findings were summarised descriptively. We included 415 studies, of which the interventions and assessment tools we identified included only a handful of the key concepts. The most common key concepts in interventions were "Treatments usually have beneficial and harmful effects," "Treatment comparisons should be fair," "Compare like with like," and "Single studies can be misleading." A variety of assessment tools were identified, but only four assessment tools included 10 or more key concepts. There is great potential for developing learning and assessment tools targeting key concepts that people need to understand to assess claims about treatment effects. There is currently no instrument covering

Action Research to Improve Phonological Recognition at Key Stage 1 with Reference to Pupils with Special Educational Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Charlotte

2017-01-01

Given the focus on phonological attainment in the National Phonics Screening Check, small-scale school-based action research was undertaken to improve phonological recognition and assess the impact on progress and attainment in a sample drawn from Key Stage 1 which included pupils on the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Register. The research…

Research gaps and technology needs in development of PHM for passive AdvSMR components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Ryan M.; Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Coble, Jamie B.; Hirt, Evelyn H.; Mitchell, Mark R.; Wootan, David W.; Berglin, Eric J.; Bond, Leonard J.; Henagar, Chuck H., Jr.

2014-02-01

Advanced small modular reactors (AdvSMRs), which are based on modularization of advanced reactor concepts, may provide a longer-term alternative to traditional light-water reactors and near-term small modular reactors (SMRs), which are based on integral pressurized water reactor (iPWR) concepts. SMRs are challenged economically because of losses in economy of scale; thus, there is increased motivation to reduce the controllable operations and maintenance costs through automation technologies including prognostics health management (PHM) systems. In this regard, PHM systems have the potential to play a vital role in supporting the deployment of AdvSMRs and face several unique challenges with respect to implementation for passive AdvSMR components. This paper presents a summary of a research gaps and technical needs assessment performed for implementation of PHM for passive AdvSMR components.

Depletion of key protein components of the RISC pathway impairs pre-ribosomal RNA processing.

PubMed

Liang, Xue-Hai; Crooke, Stanley T

2011-06-01

Little is known about whether components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) mediate the biogenesis of RNAs other than miRNA. Here, we show that depletion of key proteins of the RISC pathway by antisense oligonucleotides significantly impairs pre-rRNA processing in human cells. In cells depleted of Drosha or Dicer, different precursors to 5.8S rRNA strongly accumulated, without affecting normal endonucleolytic cleavages. Moderate yet distinct processing defects were also observed in Ago2-depleted cells. Physical links between pre-rRNA and these proteins were identified by co-immunoprecipitation analyses. Interestingly, simultaneous depletion of Dicer and Drosha led to a different processing defect, causing slower production of 28S rRNA and its precursor. Both Dicer and Ago2 were detected in the nuclear fraction, and reduction of Dicer altered the structure of the nucleolus, where pre-rRNA processing occurs. Together, these results suggest that Drosha and Dicer are implicated in rRNA biogenesis.

Enhanced Recovery after Urological Surgery: A Contemporary Systematic Review of Outcomes, Key Elements, and Research Needs.

PubMed

Azhar, Raed A; Bochner, Bernard; Catto, James; Goh, Alvin C; Kelly, John; Patel, Hiten D; Pruthi, Raj S; Thalmann, George N; Desai, Mihir

2016-07-01

Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) programs are multimodal care pathways that aim to decrease intra-operative blood loss, decrease postoperative complications, and reduce recovery times. To overview the use and key elements of ERAS pathways, and define needs for future clinical trials. A comprehensive systematic MEDLINE search was performed for English language reports published before May 2015 using the terms "postoperative period," "postoperative care," "enhanced recovery after surgery," "enhanced recovery," "accelerated recovery," "fast track recovery," "recovery program," "recovery pathway", "ERAS," and "urology" or "cystectomy" or "urologic surgery." We identified 18 eligible articles. Patient counseling, physical conditioning, avoiding excessive alcohol and smoking, and good nutrition appeared to protect against postoperative complications. Fasting from solid food for only 6h and perioperative liquid-carbohydrate loading up to 2h prior to surgery appeared to be safe and reduced recovery times. Restricted, balanced, and goal-directed fluid replacement is effective when individualized, depending on patient morbidity and surgical procedure. Decreased intraoperative blood loss may be achieved by several measures. Deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, antibiotic prophylaxis, and thermoregulation were found to help reduce postsurgical complications, as was a multimodal approach to postoperative nausea, vomiting, and analgesia. Chewing gum, prokinetic agents, oral laxatives, and an early resumption to normal diet appear to aid faster return to normal bowel function. Further studies should compare anesthetic protocols, refine analgesia, and evaluate the importance of robot-assisted surgery and the need/timing for drains and catheters. ERAS regimens are multidisciplinary, multimodal pathways that optimize postoperative recovery. This review provides an overview of the use and key elements of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery programs, which are multimodal

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K(p110alpha)) directly regulates key components of the Z-disc and cardiac structure.

PubMed

Waardenberg, Ashley J; Bernardo, Bianca C; Ng, Dominic C H; Shepherd, Peter R; Cemerlang, Nelly; Sbroggiò, Mauro; Wells, Christine A; Dalrymple, Brian P; Brancaccio, Mara; Lin, Ruby C Y; McMullen, Julie R

2011-09-02

Maintenance of cardiac structure and Z-disc signaling are key factors responsible for protecting the heart in a setting of stress, but how these processes are regulated is not well defined. We recently demonstrated that PI3K(p110α) protects the heart against myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to determine whether PI3K(p110α) directly regulates components of the Z-disc and cardiac structure. To address this question, a unique three-dimensional virtual muscle model was applied to gene expression data from transgenic mice with increased or decreased PI3K(p110α) activity under basal conditions (sham) and in a setting of myocardial infarction to display the location of structural proteins. Key findings from this analysis were then validated experimentally. The three-dimensional virtual muscle model visually highlighted reciprocally regulated transcripts associated with PI3K activation that encoded key components of the Z-disc and costamere, including melusin. Studies were performed to assess whether PI3K and melusin interact in the heart. Here, we identify a novel melusin-PI3K interaction that generates lipid kinase activity. The direct impact of PI3K(p110α) on myocyte structure was assessed by treating neonatal rat ventricular myocytes with PI3K(p110α) inhibitors and examining the myofiber morphology of hearts from PI3K transgenic mice. Results demonstrate that PI3K is critical for myofiber maturation and Z-disc alignment. In summary, PI3K regulates the expression of genes essential for cardiac structure and Z-disc signaling, interacts with melusin, and is critical for Z-disc alignment.

Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase (PI3K(p110α)) Directly Regulates Key Components of the Z-disc and Cardiac Structure*

PubMed Central

Waardenberg, Ashley J.; Bernardo, Bianca C.; Ng, Dominic C. H.; Shepherd, Peter R.; Cemerlang, Nelly; Sbroggiò, Mauro; Wells, Christine A.; Dalrymple, Brian P.; Brancaccio, Mara; Lin, Ruby C. Y.; McMullen, Julie R.

2011-01-01

Maintenance of cardiac structure and Z-disc signaling are key factors responsible for protecting the heart in a setting of stress, but how these processes are regulated is not well defined. We recently demonstrated that PI3K(p110α) protects the heart against myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to determine whether PI3K(p110α) directly regulates components of the Z-disc and cardiac structure. To address this question, a unique three-dimensional virtual muscle model was applied to gene expression data from transgenic mice with increased or decreased PI3K(p110α) activity under basal conditions (sham) and in a setting of myocardial infarction to display the location of structural proteins. Key findings from this analysis were then validated experimentally. The three-dimensional virtual muscle model visually highlighted reciprocally regulated transcripts associated with PI3K activation that encoded key components of the Z-disc and costamere, including melusin. Studies were performed to assess whether PI3K and melusin interact in the heart. Here, we identify a novel melusin-PI3K interaction that generates lipid kinase activity. The direct impact of PI3K(p110α) on myocyte structure was assessed by treating neonatal rat ventricular myocytes with PI3K(p110α) inhibitors and examining the myofiber morphology of hearts from PI3K transgenic mice. Results demonstrate that PI3K is critical for myofiber maturation and Z-disc alignment. In summary, PI3K regulates the expression of genes essential for cardiac structure and Z-disc signaling, interacts with melusin, and is critical for Z-disc alignment. PMID:21757757

MOEMs, key optical components for future astronomical instrumentation in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zamkotsian, Frédéric; Dohlen, Kjetil; Burgarella, Denis; Ferrari, Marc; Buat, Veronique

2017-11-01

Based on the micro-electronics fabrication process, MicroOpto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) are under study, in order to be integrated in next-generation astronomical instruments and telescopes, especially for space missions. The main advantages of micro-optical components are their compactness, scalability, specific task customization using elementary building blocks, and they allows remote control. As these systems are easily replicable, the price of the components is decreasing dramatically when their number is increasing. The two major applications of MOEMS are Multi-Object Spectroscopy masks and Deformable Mirror systems.

Knowing healthcare customer needs key to profitable niche marketing.

PubMed

Weller, S C

1992-06-01

A potential $177 million-a-year market has been opened to textile rental operators, thanks to OSHA's recent ruling on bloodborne pathogens. Healthcare providers nationwide are now searching for solutions to their protective apparel needs. Such customer needs are what drive niche markets. Whether you've been serving the healthcare market for years or are just now targeting it, here are the marketing strategies you need.

Overview of Materials Qualification Needs for Metal Additive Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifi, Mohsen; Salem, Ayman; Beuth, Jack; Harrysson, Ola; Lewandowski, John J.

2016-03-01

This overview highlights some of the key aspects regarding materials qualification needs across the additive manufacturing (AM) spectrum. AM technology has experienced considerable publicity and growth in the past few years with many successful insertions for non-mission-critical applications. However, to meet the full potential that AM has to offer, especially for flight-critical components (e.g., rotating parts, fracture-critical parts, etc.), qualification and certification efforts are necessary. While development of qualification standards will address some of these needs, this overview outlines some of the other key areas that will need to be considered in the qualification path, including various process-, microstructure-, and fracture-modeling activities in addition to integrating these with lifing activities targeting specific components. Ongoing work in the Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Reliability Center at Case Western Reserve University is focusing on fracture and fatigue testing to rapidly assess critical mechanical properties of some titanium alloys before and after post-processing, in addition to conducting nondestructive testing/evaluation using micro-computerized tomography at General Electric. Process mapping studies are being conducted at Carnegie Mellon University while large area microstructure characterization and informatics (EBSD and BSE) analyses are being conducted at Materials Resources LLC to enable future integration of these efforts via an Integrated Computational Materials Engineering approach to AM. Possible future pathways for materials qualification are provided.

Coordination Is Key: Transporting Special-Needs Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence, Peter

2013-01-01

Transporting students with special needs can be a costly proposition. However, school business officials can help mitigate those costs by focusing on four specific areas: relationships, information sharing, safety, and time lines. Although these areas may seem a bit far removed from the numbers we love to crunch, they do affect your…

Argo workstation: a key component of operational oceanography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Mingmei; Xu, Shanshan; Miao, Qingsheng; Yue, Xinyang; Lu, Jiawei; Yang, Yang

2018-02-01

Operational oceanography requires the quantity, quality, and availability of data set and the timeliness and effectiveness of data products. Without steady and strong operational system supporting, operational oceanography will never be proceeded far. In this paper we describe an integrated platform named Argo Workstation. It operates as a data processing and management system, capable of data collection, automatic data quality control, visualized data check, statistical data search and data service. After it is set up, Argo workstation provides global high quality Argo data to users every day timely and effectively. It has not only played a key role in operational oceanography but also set up an example for operational system.

Key-peck durations under behavioral contrast and differential reinforcement

PubMed Central

Whipple, William R.; Fantino, Edmund

1980-01-01

Pigeons were maintained on a multiple schedule in which both components were variable-interval one-minute schedules. When they were switched to a condition in which one component was extinction, behavioral contrast was observed. The median durations of the key pecks in the unchanged component did not decrease in size. The results are incompatible with a theory of behavioral contrast which considers the added pecks to be short-duration responses. In a second experiment, pigeons were required to emit short-duration key pecks in one component of a multiple schedule, and long-duration pecks in the other. Two of three pigeons learned to emit responses appropriate to the requirements of the component in effect, suggesting that the duration of the key-peck response is sensitive to differential reinforcement. PMID:16812185

Tailored combination prevention packages and PrEP for young key populations

PubMed Central

Pettifor, Audrey; Nguyen, Nadia L; Celum, Connie; Cowan, Frances M; Go, Vivian; Hightow-Weidman, Lisa

2015-01-01

Introduction Young key populations, defined in this article as men who have sex with men, transgender persons, people who sell sex and people who inject drugs, are at particularly high risk for HIV. Due to the often marginalized and sometimes criminalized status of young people who identify as members of key populations, there is a need for HIV prevention packages that account for the unique and challenging circumstances they face. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is likely to become an important element of combination prevention for many young key populations. Objective In this paper, we discuss important challenges to HIV prevention among young key populations, identify key components of a tailored combination prevention package for this population and examine the role of PrEP in these prevention packages. Methods We conducted a comprehensive review of the evidence to date on prevention strategies, challenges to prevention and combination prevention packages for young key populations. We focused specifically on the role of PrEP in these prevention packages and on young people under the age of 24, and 18 in particular. Results and discussion Combination prevention packages that include effective, acceptable and scalable behavioural, structural and biologic interventions are needed for all key populations to prevent new HIV infections. Interventions in these packages should meaningfully involve beneficiaries in the design and implementation of the intervention, and take into account the context in which the intervention is being delivered to thoughtfully address issues of stigma and discrimination. These interventions will likely be most effective if implemented in conjunction with strategies to facilitate an enabling environment, including increasing access to HIV testing and health services for PrEP and other prevention strategies, decriminalizing key populations’ practices, increasing access to prevention and care, reducing stigma and discrimination, and

The humoral pattern recognition molecule PTX3 is a key component of innate immunity against urinary tract infection.

PubMed

Jaillon, Sébastien; Moalli, Federica; Ragnarsdottir, Bryndis; Bonavita, Eduardo; Puthia, Manoj; Riva, Federica; Barbati, Elisa; Nebuloni, Manuela; Cvetko Krajinovic, Lidija; Markotic, Alemka; Valentino, Sonia; Doni, Andrea; Tartari, Silvia; Graziani, Giorgio; Montanelli, Alessandro; Delneste, Yves; Svanborg, Catharina; Garlanda, Cecilia; Mantovani, Alberto

2014-04-17

Immunity in the urinary tract has distinct and poorly understood pathophysiological characteristics and urinary tract infections (UTIs) are important causes of morbidity and mortality. We investigated the role of the soluble pattern recognition molecule pentraxin 3 (PTX3), a key component of the humoral arm of innate immunity, in UTIs. PTX3-deficient mice showed defective control of UTIs and exacerbated inflammation. Expression of PTX3 was induced in uroepithelial cells by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) in a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)- and MyD88-dependent manner. PTX3 enhanced UPEC phagocytosis and phagosome maturation by neutrophils. PTX3 was detected in urine of UTI patients and amounts correlated with disease severity. In cohorts of UTI-prone patients, PTX3 gene polymorphisms correlated with susceptibility to acute pyelonephritis and cystitis. These results suggest that PTX3 is an essential component of innate resistance against UTIs. Thus, the cellular and humoral arms of innate immunity exert complementary functions in mediating resistance against UTIs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structuring Serendipity: Mentoring as a Component of Leadership Development Programs in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonebright, Denise A.

2014-01-01

The need to develop a pool of well-qualified future leaders is a key concern for human resource development scholars and practitioners in higher education. Research indicates that formal leadership development programs are most effective when they are based on experiential models. Mentoring is one experiential component that can enhance such…

Critical Components of a Summer Enrichment Program for Urban Low-Income Gifted Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaul, Corina R.; Johnsen, Susan K.; Witte, Mary M.; Saxon, Terrill F.

2015-01-01

Effective program models are needed for low-income youth. This article describes one successful summer enrichment program, University for Young People's Project Promise, and outlines three key components of a Partnership for Promoting Potential in Low-Income Gifted Students (Partnership Model), which is based on Lee, Olszewski-Kubilius, and…

High Cost/High Risk Components to Chalcogenide Molded Lens Model: Molding Preforms and Mold Technology

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

Bernacki, Bruce E.

2012-10-05

This brief report contains a critique of two key components of FiveFocal's cost model for glass compression molding of chalcogenide lenses for infrared applications. Molding preforms and mold technology have the greatest influence on the ultimate cost of the product and help determine the volumes needed to select glass molding over conventional single-point diamond turning or grinding and polishing. This brief report highlights key areas of both technologies with recommendations for further study.

Electrical Components for Marine Renewable Energy Arrays: A Techno-Economic Review

DOE PAGES

Collin, Adam J.; Nambiar, Anup J.; Bould, David; ...

2017-11-27

This paper presents a review of the main electrical components that are expected to be present in marine renewable energy arrays. The review is put in context by appraising the current needs of the industry and identifying the key components required in both device and array-scale developments. For each component, electrical, mechanical and cost considerations are discussed; with quantitative data collected during the review made freely available for use by the community via an open access online repository. Here, this data collection updates previous research and addresses gaps specific to emerging offshore technologies, such as marine and floating wind, andmore » provides a comprehensive resource for the techno-economic assessment of offshore energy arrays.« less

Electrical Components for Marine Renewable Energy Arrays: A Techno-Economic Review

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

Collin, Adam J.; Nambiar, Anup J.; Bould, David

This paper presents a review of the main electrical components that are expected to be present in marine renewable energy arrays. The review is put in context by appraising the current needs of the industry and identifying the key components required in both device and array-scale developments. For each component, electrical, mechanical and cost considerations are discussed; with quantitative data collected during the review made freely available for use by the community via an open access online repository. Here, this data collection updates previous research and addresses gaps specific to emerging offshore technologies, such as marine and floating wind, andmore » provides a comprehensive resource for the techno-economic assessment of offshore energy arrays.« less

Component of Caramel Food Coloring, THI, Causes Lymphopenia Indirectly via a Key Metabolic Intermediate.

PubMed

Ohtoyo, Mamoru; Machinaga, Nobuo; Inoue, Ryotaku; Hagihara, Katsunobu; Yuita, Hiroshi; Tamura, Masakazu; Hashimoto, Ryuji; Chiba, Jun; Muro, Fumihito; Watanabe, Jun; Kobayashi, Yoshimasa; Abe, Koji; Kita, Yasuo; Nagasaki, Miyuki; Shimozato, Takaichi

2016-05-19

Caramel color is widely used in the food industry, and its many variations are generally considered to be safe. It has been known for a long time that THI (2-acetyl-4-(tetrahydroxybutyl)imidazole), a component of caramel color III, causes lymphopenia in animals through sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) lyase (S1PL) inhibition. However, this mechanism of action has not been fully validated because THI does not inhibit S1PL in vitro. To reconcile this situation, we examined molecular details of THI mechanism of action using "smaller" THI derivatives. We identified a bioactive derivative, A6770, which has the same lymphopenic effect as THI via S1PL inhibition. In the case of A6770 we observe this effect both in vitro and in vivo, and demonstrate that A6770 is phosphorylated and inhibits S1PL in the same way as 4-deoxypyridoxine. In addition, A6770 was detected in rat plasma following oral administration of THI, suggesting that A6770 is a key metabolic intermediate of THI. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is There a Need For a Joint Reserve Components Command?

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

Bravo Zulu ”. If these words were heard by a Soldier, it might be interpreted as poor performance. By having one organization as a single source for...Commander, Joint Reserve Components Command. Creation of the JRCC would, in time, strengthen partnerships between the reserve components of each

Multicomponent reactions provide key molecules for secret communication.

PubMed

Boukis, Andreas C; Reiter, Kevin; Frölich, Maximiliane; Hofheinz, Dennis; Meier, Michael A R

2018-04-12

A convenient and inherently more secure communication channel for encoding messages via specifically designed molecular keys is introduced by combining advanced encryption standard cryptography with molecular steganography. The necessary molecular keys require large structural diversity, thus suggesting the application of multicomponent reactions. Herein, the Ugi four-component reaction of perfluorinated acids is utilized to establish an exemplary database consisting of 130 commercially available components. Considering all permutations, this combinatorial approach can unambiguously provide 500,000 molecular keys in only one synthetic procedure per key. The molecular keys are transferred nondigitally and concealed by either adsorption onto paper, coffee, tea or sugar as well as by dissolution in a perfume or in blood. Re-isolation and purification from these disguises is simplified by the perfluorinated sidechains of the molecular keys. High resolution tandem mass spectrometry can unequivocally determine the molecular structure and thus the identity of the key for a subsequent decryption of an encoded message.

Components of a comprehensive capital equipment planning program.

PubMed

Gresch, Alan

2010-01-01

As you may have already figured out, there is crossover and gaps between all of these capital equipment components. CE often will, and proactively should, make recommendations based on the CE, clinical, and financial components but rarely has direct knowledge of the strategic element. The clinical, finance, and administrative folks likely have visibility to most of these, but may lack full awareness of at least one component. The key is to engage key stakeholders from all these critical areas and develop a process to pull all this information together in one nice, neat package. Defining the person or persons responsible for taking the lead on this in your organization will depend greatly on the organization's type and size. For a single, standalone community hospital, it will likely be the facility administrator. For an integrated delivery network (IDN), a corporate entity, led by supply chain, finance, or both, may take the lead. Your organization may also employ consultative services or software to help facilitate this function. Regardless of who takes the lead, a weighting or scoring system that assigns certain values in all the outlined component categories, is clearly defined, and is easy to understand for all the contributors will need to be developed. If you are unaware or unclear of what the process is, find out and figure out how you can be a vital contributor to the process. This is one more way you can demonstrate the value you and your department bring to your organization.

Direct transcriptional activation of BT genes by NLP transcription factors is a key component of the nitrate response in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Sato, Takeo; Maekawa, Shugo; Konishi, Mineko; Yoshioka, Nozomi; Sasaki, Yuki; Maeda, Haruna; Ishida, Tetsuya; Kato, Yuki; Yamaguchi, Junji; Yanagisawa, Shuichi

2017-01-29

Nitrate modulates growth and development, functioning as a nutrient signal in plants. Although many changes in physiological processes in response to nitrate have been well characterized as nitrate responses, the molecular mechanisms underlying the nitrate response are not yet fully understood. Here, we show that NLP transcription factors, which are key regulators of the nitrate response, directly activate the nitrate-inducible expression of BT1 and BT2 encoding putative scaffold proteins with a plant-specific domain structure in Arabidopsis. Interestingly, the 35S promoter-driven expression of BT2 partially rescued growth inhibition caused by reductions in NLP activity in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, simultaneous disruption of BT1 and BT2 affected nitrate-dependent lateral root development. These results suggest that direct activation of BT1 and BT2 by NLP transcriptional activators is a key component of the molecular mechanism underlying the nitrate response in Arabidopsis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Equity in health care in Namibia: developing a needs-based resource allocation formula using principal components analysis

PubMed Central

Zere, Eyob; Mandlhate, Custodia; Mbeeli, Thomas; Shangula, Kalumbi; Mutirua, Kauto; Kapenambili, William

2007-01-01

Background The pace of redressing inequities in the distribution of scarce health care resources in Namibia has been slow. This is due primarily to adherence to the historical incrementalist type of budgeting that has been used to allocate resources. Those regions with high levels of deprivation and relatively greater need for health care resources have been getting less than their fair share. To rectify this situation, which was inherited from the apartheid system, there is a need to develop a needs-based resource allocation mechanism. Methods Principal components analysis was employed to compute asset indices from asset based and health-related variables, using data from the Namibia demographic and health survey of 2000. The asset indices then formed the basis of proposals for regional weights for establishing a needs-based resource allocation formula. Results Comparing the current allocations of public sector health car resources with estimates using a needs based formula showed that regions with higher levels of need currently receive fewer resources than do regions with lower need. Conclusion To address the prevailing inequities in resource allocation, the Ministry of Health and Social Services should abandon the historical incrementalist method of budgeting/resource allocation and adopt a more appropriate allocation mechanism that incorporates measures of need for health care. PMID:17391533

Equity in health care in Namibia: developing a needs-based resource allocation formula using principal components analysis.

PubMed

Zere, Eyob; Mandlhate, Custodia; Mbeeli, Thomas; Shangula, Kalumbi; Mutirua, Kauto; Kapenambili, William

2007-03-29

The pace of redressing inequities in the distribution of scarce health care resources in Namibia has been slow. This is due primarily to adherence to the historical incrementalist type of budgeting that has been used to allocate resources. Those regions with high levels of deprivation and relatively greater need for health care resources have been getting less than their fair share. To rectify this situation, which was inherited from the apartheid system, there is a need to develop a needs-based resource allocation mechanism. Principal components analysis was employed to compute asset indices from asset based and health-related variables, using data from the Namibia demographic and health survey of 2000. The asset indices then formed the basis of proposals for regional weights for establishing a needs-based resource allocation formula. Comparing the current allocations of public sector health car resources with estimates using a needs based formula showed that regions with higher levels of need currently receive fewer resources than do regions with lower need. To address the prevailing inequities in resource allocation, the Ministry of Health and Social Services should abandon the historical incrementalist method of budgeting/resource allocation and adopt a more appropriate allocation mechanism that incorporates measures of need for health care.

Role of facial attractiveness in patients with slight-to-borderline treatment need according to the Aesthetic Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need as judged by eye tracking.

PubMed

Johnson, Elizabeth K; Fields, Henry W; Beck, F Michael; Firestone, Allen R; Rosenstiel, Stephen F

2017-02-01

Previous eye-tracking research has demonstrated that laypersons view the range of dental attractiveness levels differently depending on facial attractiveness levels. How the borderline levels of dental attractiveness are viewed has not been evaluated in the context of facial attractiveness and compared with those with near-ideal esthetics or those in definite need of orthodontic treatment according to the Aesthetic Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need scale. Our objective was to determine the level of viewers' visual attention in its treatment need categories levels 3 to 7 for persons considered "attractive," "average," or "unattractive." Facial images of persons at 3 facial attractiveness levels were combined with 5 levels of dental attractiveness (dentitions representing Aesthetic Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need levels 3-7) using imaging software to form 15 composite images. Each image was viewed twice by 66 lay participants using eye tracking. Both the fixation density (number of fixations per facial area) and the fixation duration (length of time for each facial area) were quantified for each image viewed. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to determine how fixation density and duration varied among the 6 facial interest areas (chin, ear, eye, mouth, nose, and other). Viewers demonstrated excellent to good reliability among the 6 interest areas (intraviewer reliability, 0.70-0.96; interviewer reliability, 0.56-0.93). Between Aesthetic Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need levels 3 and 7, viewers of all facial attractiveness levels showed an increase in attention to the mouth. However, only with the attractive models were significant differences in fixation density and duration found between borderline levels with female viewers. Female viewers paid attention to different areas of the face than did male viewers. The importance of dental attractiveness is amplified in facially attractive female

Florida Nurse Leader Survey Findings: Key Leadership Competencies, Barriers to Leadership, and Succession Planning Needs.

PubMed

Denker, Ann-Lynn; Sherman, Rose O; Hutton-Woodland, Michael; Brunell, Mary Lou; Medina, Pamela

2015-01-01

This study examined barriers to nursing leadership and succession planning needs for nurse leaders in Florida. The Florida Action Coalition responded to the call to prepare and enable nurses to lead change to advance health, through a grant supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Florida Blue Foundation. This is a nurse leader subset of a 56-item statewide survey of actively licensed RNs and advanced RN practitioners in Florida conducted via a cross-sectional, exploratory descriptive research design. Key findings included a description of leadership competencies, barriers, and succession planning practices. Florida nurse leaders are aging and less diverse than the general population and report limited utilization of succession planning by their organizations. In Florida, attention must be directed to resources and strategies to develop skilled nurse leaders and plan succession.

A Key to Sharing Science: Listening to Community Needs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varga, M.; Phartiyal, P.; Johnson, C.

2015-12-01

To achieve greater effectiveness in science communication and outreach, we need to shift the paradigm from one-way communication from scientists to the (bystander) public to a two-way, listen-learn-respond exchange with concerned and knowledgeable public. Scientists need to not only know their audiences but also the needs of their audiences. Society can benefit tremendously when personal and public decisions are informed by independent and best available science. But on a variety of issues from climate to chemicals, local decision makers and public groups often struggle to know what questions to ask and to find independent information, data and analysis. Scientists also face barriers in sharing knowledge with community members. Fortunately, scientists all across the country are making such connections and forging trusted relationships with the public. The speaker will present examples of scientist-community engagement where researchers have taken the path of communicating and partnering with their local communities to address everyday issues of concern to them, from food to fracking. While such engagement efforts gain from effective communication and strategic outreach with public groups, they also has the attendant benefits of challenging scientists to consider the broader, societal implications of their work; consider how their research can serve the needs of the public; and how they can aspire to become, more than educators, learners and allies in effecting change in their communities.

The Future Fiscal Needs of Ontario's College System: Total Resource Development and Strategic Philanthropy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gouveia, Cindy

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the idea that for Ontario's colleges to meet the intentions and legal requirements of their original mandates, they will need to consider extending the scope of their advancement departments to implement key components of both the Total Resource Development Model (Worth, 2002, ascited by Barrette, 2013) and the Strategic…

Autonomous Component Health Management with Failed Component Detection, Identification, and Avoidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Robert N.; Polites, Michael E.; Trevino, Luis C.

2004-01-01

This paper details a novel scheme for autonomous component health management (ACHM) with failed actuator detection and failed sensor detection, identification, and avoidance. This new scheme has features that far exceed the performance of systems with triple-redundant sensing and voting, yet requires fewer sensors and could be applied to any system with redundant sensing. Relevant background to the ACHM scheme is provided, and the simulation results for the application of that scheme to a single-axis spacecraft attitude control system with a 3rd order plant and dual-redundant measurement of system states are presented. ACHM fulfills key functions needed by an integrated vehicle health monitoring (IVHM) system. It is: autonomous; adaptive; works in realtime; provides optimal state estimation; identifies failed components; avoids failed components; reconfigures for multiple failures; reconfigures for intermittent failures; works for hard-over, soft, and zero-output failures; and works for both open- and closed-loop systems. The ACHM scheme combines a prefilter that generates preliminary state estimates, detects and identifies failed sensors and actuators, and avoids the use of failed sensors in state estimation with a fixed-gain Kalman filter that generates optimal state estimates and provides model-based state estimates that comprise an integral part of the failure detection logic. The results show that ACHM successfully isolates multiple persistent and intermittent hard-over, soft, and zero-output failures. It is now ready to be tested on a computer model of an actual system.

Nonribosomal peptides, key biocontrol components for Pseudomonas fluorescens In5, isolated from a Greenlandic suppressive soil.

PubMed

Michelsen, Charlotte F; Watrous, Jeramie; Glaring, Mikkel A; Kersten, Roland; Koyama, Nobuhiro; Dorrestein, Pieter C; Stougaard, Peter

2015-03-17

Potatoes are cultivated in southwest Greenland without the use of pesticides and with limited crop rotation. Despite the fact that plant-pathogenic fungi are present, no severe-disease outbreaks have yet been observed. In this report, we document that a potato soil at Inneruulalik in southern Greenland is suppressive against Rhizoctonia solani Ag3 and uncover the suppressive antifungal mechanism of a highly potent biocontrol bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens In5, isolated from the suppressive potato soil. A combination of molecular genetics, genomics, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) revealed an antifungal genomic island in P. fluorescens In5 encoding two nonribosomal peptides, nunamycin and nunapeptin, which are key components for the biocontrol activity by strain In5 in vitro and in soil microcosm experiments. Furthermore, complex microbial behaviors were highlighted. Whereas nunamycin was demonstrated to inhibit the mycelial growth of R. solani Ag3, but not that of Pythium aphanidermatum, nunapeptin instead inhibited P. aphanidermatum but not R. solani Ag3. Moreover, the synthesis of nunamycin by P. fluorescens In5 was inhibited in the presence of P. aphanidermatum. Further characterization of the two peptides revealed nunamycin to be a monochlorinated 9-amino-acid cyclic lipopeptide with similarity to members of the syringomycin group, whereas nunapeptin was a 22-amino-acid cyclic lipopeptide with similarity to corpeptin and syringopeptin. Crop rotation and systematic pest management are used to only a limited extent in Greenlandic potato farming. Nonetheless, although plant-pathogenic fungi are present in the soil, the farmers do not experience major plant disease outbreaks. Here, we show that a Greenlandic potato soil is suppressive against Rhizoctonia solani, and we unravel the key biocontrol components for Pseudomonas fluorescens In5, one of the potent biocontrol bacteria

WRKY transcription factors: key components in abscisic acid signalling.

PubMed

Rushton, Deena L; Tripathi, Prateek; Rabara, Roel C; Lin, Jun; Ringler, Patricia; Boken, Ashley K; Langum, Tanner J; Smidt, Lucas; Boomsma, Darius D; Emme, Nicholas J; Chen, Xianfeng; Finer, John J; Shen, Qingxi J; Rushton, Paul J

2012-01-01

WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of many plant processes, including the responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, senescence, seed dormancy and seed germination. For over 15 years, limited evidence has been available suggesting that WRKY TFs may play roles in regulating plant responses to the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA), notably some WRKY TFs are ABA-inducible repressors of seed germination. However, the roles of WRKY TFs in other aspects of ABA signalling, and the mechanisms involved, have remained unclear. Recent significant progress in ABA research has now placed specific WRKY TFs firmly in ABA-responsive signalling pathways, where they act at multiple levels. In Arabidopsis, WRKY TFs appear to act downstream of at least two ABA receptors: the cytoplasmic PYR/PYL/RCAR-protein phosphatase 2C-ABA complex and the chloroplast envelope-located ABAR-ABA complex. In vivo and in vitro promoter-binding studies show that the target genes for WRKY TFs that are involved in ABA signalling include well-known ABA-responsive genes such as ABF2, ABF4, ABI4, ABI5, MYB2, DREB1a, DREB2a and RAB18. Additional well-characterized stress-inducible genes such as RD29A and COR47 are also found in signalling pathways downstream of WRKY TFs. These new insights also reveal that some WRKY TFs are positive regulators of ABA-mediated stomatal closure and hence drought responses. Conversely, many WRKY TFs are negative regulators of seed germination, and controlling seed germination appears a common function of a subset of WRKY TFs in flowering plants. Taken together, these new data demonstrate that WRKY TFs are key nodes in ABA-responsive signalling networks. © 2011 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal © 2011 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Evidence for the Induction of Key Components of the NOTCH Signaling Pathway via Deltamethrin and Azamethiphos Treatment in the Sea Louse Caligus rogercresseyi

PubMed Central

Boltaña, Sebastian; Chávez-Mardones, Jaqueline; Valenzuela-Muñoz, Valentina; Gallardo-Escárate, Cristian

2016-01-01

The extensive use of organophosphates and pyrethroids in the aquaculture industry has negatively impacted parasite sensitivity to the delousing effects of these antiparasitics, especially among sea lice species. The NOTCH signaling pathway is a positive regulator of ABC transporter subfamily C expression and plays a key role in the generation and modulation of pesticide resistance. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms behind pesticide resistance, partly due to the lack of genomic and molecular information on the processes involved in the resistance mechanism of sea lice. Next-generation sequencing technologies provide an opportunity for rapid and cost-effective generation of genome-scale data. The present study, through RNA-seq analysis, determined that the sea louse Caligus rogercresseyi (C. rogercresseyi) specifically responds to the delousing drugs azamethiphos and deltamethrin at the transcriptomic level by differentially activating mRNA of the NOTCH signaling pathway and of ABC genes. These results suggest that frequent antiparasitic application may increase the activity of inhibitory mRNA components, thereby promoting inhibitory NOTCH output and conditions for increased resistance to delousing drugs. Moreover, data analysis underscored that key functions of NOTCH/ABC components were regulated during distinct phases of the drug response, thus indicating resistance modifications in C. rogercresseyi resulting from the frequent use of organophosphates and pyrethroids. PMID:27187362

Evidence for the Induction of Key Components of the NOTCH Signaling Pathway via Deltamethrin and Azamethiphos Treatment in the Sea Louse Caligus rogercresseyi.

PubMed

Boltaña, Sebastian; Chávez-Mardones, Jaqueline; Valenzuela-Muñoz, Valentina; Gallardo-Escárate, Cristian

2016-05-12

The extensive use of organophosphates and pyrethroids in the aquaculture industry has negatively impacted parasite sensitivity to the delousing effects of these antiparasitics, especially among sea lice species. The NOTCH signaling pathway is a positive regulator of ABC transporter subfamily C expression and plays a key role in the generation and modulation of pesticide resistance. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms behind pesticide resistance, partly due to the lack of genomic and molecular information on the processes involved in the resistance mechanism of sea lice. Next-generation sequencing technologies provide an opportunity for rapid and cost-effective generation of genome-scale data. The present study, through RNA-seq analysis, determined that the sea louse Caligus rogercresseyi (C. rogercresseyi) specifically responds to the delousing drugs azamethiphos and deltamethrin at the transcriptomic level by differentially activating mRNA of the NOTCH signaling pathway and of ABC genes. These results suggest that frequent antiparasitic application may increase the activity of inhibitory mRNA components, thereby promoting inhibitory NOTCH output and conditions for increased resistance to delousing drugs. Moreover, data analysis underscored that key functions of NOTCH/ABC components were regulated during distinct phases of the drug response, thus indicating resistance modifications in C. rogercresseyi resulting from the frequent use of organophosphates and pyrethroids.

Biochemical identification and biological origin of key odor components in livestock waste.

PubMed

Mackie, R I; Stroot, P G; Varel, V H

1998-05-01

Animal production results in conversion of feeds into valuable products such as meat, milk, eggs, and wool as well as into unavoidable and less desirable waste products. Intensification of animal numbers and increasing urbanization has resulted in considerable attention to odorous gases produced from animal wastes. It is clear that animal manure was, and still is, a valuable resource. However, it may be a major obstacle to future development of the animal industry if its impact on the environment is not properly controlled. Poor odor prevention and control from animal wastes is related to a lack of knowledge of the fundamental nature of odor and its production by farm animals. Odor, like noise, is a nuisance or disturbance and there is no universally accepted definition of an objectionable odor. Thus, regulation and control of odors in the environment is difficult because of the technical difficulties of defining odor limits and their measurement and evaluation. A variety of direct (sensory) and indirect (analytical instruments) methods for measuring odor intensity and determination of individual or key odor components are discussed. The biological origins of the four principal classes of odor compounds, namely branched- and straight-chain VFA, ammonia and volatile amines, indoles and phenols, and the volatile sulfur-containing compounds, are reviewed. Because more than 50% of N from animals is excreted as urea, one strategy to conserve N in waste is to inhibit the urease enzyme that converts urea to ammonia. Laboratory studies to evaluate di- and triamide compounds to control urea hydrolysis in slurries of cattle and swine wastes are presented. Finally, a brief overview of various intervention strategies is provided. Multiple combinations of nutritional management, housing systems, treatment options as well as storage and disposal of animal wastes will be required to reduce environmental pollution and provide for long-term sustainable growth.

Chip-based quantum key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sibson, P.; Erven, C.; Godfrey, M.; Miki, S.; Yamashita, T.; Fujiwara, M.; Sasaki, M.; Terai, H.; Tanner, M. G.; Natarajan, C. M.; Hadfield, R. H.; O'Brien, J. L.; Thompson, M. G.

2017-02-01

Improvement in secure transmission of information is an urgent need for governments, corporations and individuals. Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises security based on the laws of physics and has rapidly grown from proof-of-concept to robust demonstrations and deployment of commercial systems. Despite these advances, QKD has not been widely adopted, and large-scale deployment will likely require chip-based devices for improved performance, miniaturization and enhanced functionality. Here we report low error rate, GHz clocked QKD operation of an indium phosphide transmitter chip and a silicon oxynitride receiver chip--monolithically integrated devices using components and manufacturing processes from the telecommunications industry. We use the reconfigurability of these devices to demonstrate three prominent QKD protocols--BB84, Coherent One Way and Differential Phase Shift--with performance comparable to state-of-the-art. These devices, when combined with integrated single photon detectors, pave the way for successfully integrating QKD into future telecommunications networks.

Chip-based quantum key distribution

PubMed Central

Sibson, P.; Erven, C.; Godfrey, M.; Miki, S.; Yamashita, T.; Fujiwara, M.; Sasaki, M.; Terai, H.; Tanner, M. G.; Natarajan, C. M.; Hadfield, R. H.; O'Brien, J. L.; Thompson, M. G.

2017-01-01

Improvement in secure transmission of information is an urgent need for governments, corporations and individuals. Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises security based on the laws of physics and has rapidly grown from proof-of-concept to robust demonstrations and deployment of commercial systems. Despite these advances, QKD has not been widely adopted, and large-scale deployment will likely require chip-based devices for improved performance, miniaturization and enhanced functionality. Here we report low error rate, GHz clocked QKD operation of an indium phosphide transmitter chip and a silicon oxynitride receiver chip—monolithically integrated devices using components and manufacturing processes from the telecommunications industry. We use the reconfigurability of these devices to demonstrate three prominent QKD protocols—BB84, Coherent One Way and Differential Phase Shift—with performance comparable to state-of-the-art. These devices, when combined with integrated single photon detectors, pave the way for successfully integrating QKD into future telecommunications networks. PMID:28181489

Enhancement of inorganic Martian dust simulant with carbon component and its effects on key characteristics of glutamatergic neurotransmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borisova, Tatiana; Krisanova, Natalia; Nazarova, Anastasiya; Borysov, Arseniy; Pastukhov, Artem; Pozdnyakova, Natalia; Dudarenko, Marina

2016-07-01

Evidence on the past existence of subsurface organic-bearing fluids on Mars was recently achieved basing on the investigation of organic carbon from the Tissint Martian meteorite (Lin et al., 2014). Tremendous amount of meteorites containing abundant carbon and carbon-enriched dust particles have reached the Earth daily (Pizzarello and Shock 2010). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/National Institute of Health panel of research scientists revealed recently that accumulating evidences suggest that nano-sized air pollution may have a significant impact on central nervous system in health and disease (Block et al., Neurotoxicology, 2012). During inhalation, nano-/microsized particles are efficiently deposited in nasal, tracheobronchial, and alveolar regions and can be transported to the central nervous system (Oberdorster et al., 2004). Based on above facts, the aims of this study were: 1) to upgrade inorganic Martian dust stimulant derived from volcanic ash (JSC-1a/JSC, ORBITEC Orbital Technologies Corporation, Madison, Wisconsin) by the addition of carbon components, that is, nanodiamonds; 2) to analyse acute effects of upgraded stimulant on the key characteristic of synaptic neurotransmission and to compare its effects with those of inorganic dust and carbon components per se. Acute administration of carbon-containing Martian dust analogue resulted in a significant decrease in Na+-dependent uptake of L-[14C]glutamate that is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). The ambient level of the neurotransmitter in the preparation of isolated rat brain nerve terminals increased in the presence of carbon-contained Martian dust analogue. This fact indicated that carbon component of native Martian dust can have deleterious effects on extracellular glutamate homeostasis in the CNS, and so glutamatergic neurtransmission.

Eight Key Facets of Small Business Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, James Calvert

1980-01-01

Identifies eight key facets of small business management and suggests activities that may be used to assist in their development. The key facets are (1) product or service, (2) competition, (3) marketing strategies, (4) personnel needs, (5) equipment and facility needs, (6) finances, (7) planning, and (8) entrepreneurship. (JOW)

Structured Approaches to Participatory Design for Children: Can Targeting the Needs of Children with Autism Provide Benefits for a Broader Child Population?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benton, Laura; Johnson, Hilary

2014-01-01

In the past technology products created to overcome accessibility and usability issues experienced by individuals with special needs have also resulted in greater usability for the wider population. Technology is increasingly being seen as a key component within the education of children with special needs and recently researchers have developed…

A mental health needs assessment of children and adolescents in post-conflict Liberia: results from a quantitative key-informant survey

PubMed Central

Borba, Christina P.C.; Ng, Lauren C.; Stevenson, Anne; Vesga-Lopez, Oriana; Harris, Benjamin L.; Parnarouskis, Lindsey; Gray, Deborah A.; Carney, Julia R.; Domínguez, Silvia; Wang, Edward K.S.; Boxill, Ryan; Song, Suzan J.; Henderson, David C.

2016-01-01

Between 1989 and 2004, Liberia experienced a devastating civil war that resulted in widespread trauma with almost no mental health infrastructure to help citizens cope. In 2009, the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare collaborated with researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital to conduct a rapid needs assessment survey in Liberia with local key informants (n = 171) to examine the impact of war and post-war events on emotional and behavioral problems of, functional limitations of, and appropriate treatment settings for Liberian youth aged 5–22. War exposure and post-conflict sexual violence, poverty, infectious disease and parental death negatively impacted youth mental health. Key informants perceived that youth displayed internalizing and externalizing symptoms and mental health-related functional impairment at home, school, work and in relationships. Medical clinics were identified as the most appropriate setting for mental health services. Youth in Liberia continue to endure the harsh social, economic and material conditions of everyday life in a protracted post-conflict state, and have significant mental health needs. Their observed functional impairment due to mental health issues further limited their access to protective factors such as education, employment and positive social relationships. Results from this study informed Liberia's first post-conflict mental health policy. PMID:26807147

A mental health needs assessment of children and adolescents in post-conflict Liberia: results from a quantitative key-informant survey.

PubMed

Borba, Christina P C; Ng, Lauren C; Stevenson, Anne; Vesga-Lopez, Oriana; Harris, Benjamin L; Parnarouskis, Lindsey; Gray, Deborah A; Carney, Julia R; Domínguez, Silvia; Wang, Edward K S; Boxill, Ryan; Song, Suzan J; Henderson, David C

2016-01-02

Between 1989 and 2004, Liberia experienced a devastating civil war that resulted in widespread trauma with almost no mental health infrastructure to help citizens cope. In 2009, the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare collaborated with researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital to conduct a rapid needs assessment survey in Liberia with local key informants ( n = 171) to examine the impact of war and post-war events on emotional and behavioral problems of, functional limitations of, and appropriate treatment settings for Liberian youth aged 5-22. War exposure and post-conflict sexual violence, poverty, infectious disease and parental death negatively impacted youth mental health. Key informants perceived that youth displayed internalizing and externalizing symptoms and mental health-related functional impairment at home, school, work and in relationships. Medical clinics were identified as the most appropriate setting for mental health services. Youth in Liberia continue to endure the harsh social, economic and material conditions of everyday life in a protracted post-conflict state, and have significant mental health needs. Their observed functional impairment due to mental health issues further limited their access to protective factors such as education, employment and positive social relationships. Results from this study informed Liberia's first post-conflict mental health policy.

Oleic acid is a key cytotoxic component of HAMLET-like complexes.

PubMed

Permyakov, Sergei E; Knyazeva, Ekaterina L; Khasanova, Leysan M; Fadeev, Roman S; Zhadan, Andrei P; Roche-Hakansson, Hazeline; Håkansson, Anders P; Akatov, Vladimir S; Permyakov, Eugene A

2012-01-01

HAMLET is a complex of α-lactalbumin (α-LA) with oleic acid (OA) that selectively kills tumor cells and Streptococcus pneumoniae. To assess the contribution of the proteinaceous component to cytotoxicity of HAMLET, OA complexes with proteins structurally and functionally distinct from α-LA were prepared. Similar to HAMLET, the OA complexes with bovine β-lactoglobulin (bLG) and pike parvalbumin (pPA) (bLG-OA-45 and pPA-OA-45, respectively) induced S. pneumoniae D39 cell death. The activation mechanisms of S. pneumoniae death for these complexes were analogous to those for HAMLET, and the cytotoxicity of the complexes increased with OA content in the preparations. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration for HEp-2 cells linearly decreased with rise in OA content in the preparations, and OA concentration in the preparations causing HEp-2 cell death was close to the cytotoxicity of OA alone. Hence, the cytotoxic action of these complexes against HEp-2 cells is induced mostly by OA. Thermal stabilization of bLG upon association with OA implies that cytotoxicity of bLG-OA-45 complex cannot be ascribed to molten globule-like conformation of the protein component. Overall, the proteinaceous component of HAMLET-like complexes studied is not a prerequisite for their activity; the cytotoxicity of these complexes is mostly due to the action of OA.

A Public-Key Based Authentication and Key Establishment Protocol Coupled with a Client Puzzle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, M. C.; Fung, Chun-Kan

2003-01-01

Discusses network denial-of-service attacks which have become a security threat to the Internet community and suggests the need for reliable authentication protocols in client-server applications. Presents a public-key based authentication and key establishment protocol coupled with a client puzzle protocol and validates it through formal logic…

From Domain Specific Languages to DEVS Components: Application to Cognitive M&S

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

AND SUBTITLE From Domain Specific Languages to DEVS Components: Application to Cognitive M&S 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ...that is devoid of any DEVS and programming language constructs (Figure 4). The key idea being domain specialists need not delve in the DEVS world to...DSL. DSLs can be created using many available tools and technologies such as: Generic Modeling Environment (GME) [23], Xtext, Ruby, Scala and many

Do Knowledge-Component Models Need to Incorporate Representational Competencies?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rau, Martina Angela

2017-01-01

Traditional knowledge-component models describe students' content knowledge (e.g., their ability to carry out problem-solving procedures or their ability to reason about a concept). In many STEM domains, instruction uses multiple visual representations such as graphs, figures, and diagrams. The use of visual representations implies a…

Characterization of the key antigenic components of pertussis vaccine based on outer membrane vesicles.

PubMed

Ormazábal, Maximiliano; Bartel, Erika; Gaillard, María Emilia; Bottero, Daniela; Errea, Agustina; Zurita, M Eugenia; Moreno, Griselda; Rumbo, Martin; Castuma, Celina; Flores, Dario; Martín, María Julia; Hozbor, Daniela

2014-10-21

Pertussis has resurged during the last two decades in different countries. In particular in the 2010-2013 period large outbreaks were detected in US, Australia, UK and The Netherlands with significant mortality in infants. The epidemiological situation of pertussis points out the need to develop new vaccines and in this regard we previously developed a new vaccine based on outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) which have been shown to be safe and to induce protection in mice. Here we have further investigated the properties of OMVs vaccines; in particular we studied the contribution of pertussis toxin (PTx) and pertactin (Prn) in OMVs-mediated protection against pertussis. PTx-deficient OMVs and Prn-deficient OMVs were obtained from defective Bordetella pertussis mutants. The absence of PTx or Prn did compromise the protective capacity of the OMVs formulated as Tdap vaccine. Whereas the protective efficacy of the PTx-deficient OMVs in mice was comparable to Prn-deficient OMVs, the protective capacity of both of them was significantly impaired when it was compared with the wild type OMVs. Interestingly, using OMVs obtained from a B. pertussis strain which does not express any of the virulence factors but expresses the avirulent phenotype; we observed that the protective ability of such OMVs was lower than that of OMVs obtained from virulent B. pertussis phase. However, it was surprising that although the protective capacity of avirulent OMVs was lower, they were still protective in the used mice model. These results allow us to hypothesize that OMVs from avirulent phase shares protective components with all OMVs assayed. Using an immune proteomic strategy we identified some common components that could play an important role in protection against pertussis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Processing-Related Issues for the Design and Lifing of SiC/SiC Hot-Section Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DiCarlo, J.; Bhatt, R.; Morscher, G.; Yun, H. M.

2006-01-01

For successful SiC/SiC engine components, numerous process steps related to the fiber, fiber architecture, interphase coating, and matrix need to be optimized. Under recent NASA-sponsored programs, it was determined that many of these steps in their initial approach were inadequate, resulting in less than optimum thermostructural and life properties for the as-fabricated components. This presentation will briefly review many of these process issues, the key composite properties they degrade, their underlying mechanisms, and current process remedies developed by NASA and others.

Capacity building in water demand management as a key component for attaining millennium development goals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gumbo, Bekithemba; Forster, Laura; Arntzen, Jaap

Successful water demand management (WDM) implementation as a component of integrated water resource management (IWRM) can play a significant role in the alleviation of poverty through more efficient use of available water resources. The urban population in Southern African cities is characterised by so-called ‘water poor’ communities who typically expend a high percentage of their household income on poor quality water. Usually they have no access to an affordable alternative source. Although WDM as a component of IWRM is not a panacea for poverty, it can help alleviate poverty by facilitating water services management by municipal water supply agencies (MWSAs) in the region. WDM is a key strategy for achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs) and, as such, should be given due attention in the preparation of national IWRM and water efficiency plans. Various studies in the Southern African region have indicated that capacity building is necessary for nations to develop IWRM and water-use efficiency plans to meet the targets set out in the MDGs. WDM education and training of water professionals and end-users is particularly important in developing countries, which are resource and information-access poor. In response to these findings, The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and its consulting partners, the Training and Instructional Design Academy of South Africa (TIDASA), and Centre for Applied Research (CAR) designed, developed and presented a pilot WDM Guideline Training Module for MWSAs as part of Phase II of IUCN’s Southern Africa regional WDM project. Pilot training was conducted in July 2004 in Lusaka, Zambia for a group of 36 participants involved in municipal water supply from nine Southern African countries. This paper looks at the links between building the capacity of professionals, operational staff and other role-players in the municipal water supply chain to implement WDM as part of broader IWRM strategies, and the subsequent potential for

Key rate for calibration robust entanglement based BB84 quantum key distribution protocol

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

Gittsovich, O.; Moroder, T.

2014-12-04

We apply the approach of verifying entanglement, which is based on the sole knowledge of the dimension of the underlying physical system to the entanglement based version of the BB84 quantum key distribution protocol. We show that the familiar one-way key rate formula holds already if one assumes the assumption that one of the parties is measuring a qubit and no further assumptions about the measurement are needed.

Motivation, Needs Support, and Language Arts Classroom Practices: Creation and Validation of a Measure of Young Adolescents' Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennington, Sarah E.

2017-01-01

Early adolescence is a critical time for examining academic motivation, specifically motivation to read. To support self-determined motivation to read, students' needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness must be met within the classroom context. Because classroom instructional practices are a key component of adolescents' daily experiences…

A host basal transcription factor is a key component for infection of rice by TALE-carrying bacteria.

PubMed

Yuan, Meng; Ke, Yinggen; Huang, Renyan; Ma, Ling; Yang, Zeyu; Chu, Zhaohui; Xiao, Jinghua; Li, Xianghua; Wang, Shiping

2016-07-29

Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) are sequence-specific DNA binding proteins found in a range of plant pathogenic bacteria, where they play important roles in host-pathogen interactions. However, it has been unclear how TALEs, after they have been injected into the host cells, activate transcription of host genes required for infection success. Here, we show that the basal transcription factor IIA gamma subunit TFIIAγ5 from rice is a key component for infection by the TALE-carrying bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, the causal agent for bacterial blight. Direct interaction of several TALEs with TFIIAγ5 is required for activation of disease susceptibility genes. Conversely, reduced expression of the TFIIAγ5 host gene limits the induction of susceptibility genes and thus decreases bacterial blight symptoms. Suppression or mutation of TFIIAγ5 can also reduce bacterial streak, another devastating disease of rice caused by TALE-carrying X. oryzae pv. oryzicola. These results have important implications for formulating a widely applicable strategy with which to improve resistance of plants to TALE-carrying pathogens.

Concentrating Solar Power Central Receiver Panel Component Fabrication and Testing FINAL REPORT

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

McDowell, Michael W; Miner, Kris

The objective of this project is to complete a design of an advanced concentrated solar panel and demonstrate the manufacturability of key components. Then confirm the operation of the key components under prototypic solar flux conditions. This work is an important step in reducing the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from a central receiver solar power plant. The key technical risk to building larger power towers is building the larger receiver systems. Therefore, this proposed technology project includes the design of an advanced molten salt prototypic sub-scale receiver panel that can be utilized into a large receiver system. Then completemore » the fabrication and testing of key components of the receive design that will be used to validate the design. This project shall have a significant impact on solar thermal power plant design. Receiver panels of suitable size for utility scale plants are a key element to a solar power tower plant. Many subtle and complex manufacturing processes are involved in producing a reliable, robust receiver panel. Given the substantial size difference between receiver panels manufactured in the past and those needed for large plant designs, the manufacture and demonstration on prototype receiver panel components with representative features of a full-sized panel will be important to improving the build process for commercial success. Given the thermal flux limitations of the test facility, the panel components cannot be rendered full size. Significance changes occurred in the projects technical strategies from project initiation to the accomplishments described herein. The initial strategy was to define cost improvements for the receiver, design and build a scale prototype receiver and test, on sun, with a molten salt heat transport system. DOE had committed to constructing a molten salt heat transport loop to support receiver testing at the top of the NSTTF tower. Because of funding constraints this did not happen. A subsequent

Component Models for Semantic Web Languages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henriksson, Jakob; Aßmann, Uwe

Intelligent applications and agents on the Semantic Web typically need to be specified with, or interact with specifications written in, many different kinds of formal languages. Such languages include ontology languages, data and metadata query languages, as well as transformation languages. As learnt from years of experience in development of complex software systems, languages need to support some form of component-based development. Components enable higher software quality, better understanding and reusability of already developed artifacts. Any component approach contains an underlying component model, a description detailing what valid components are and how components can interact. With the multitude of languages developed for the Semantic Web, what are their underlying component models? Do we need to develop one for each language, or is a more general and reusable approach achievable? We present a language-driven component model specification approach. This means that a component model can be (automatically) generated from a given base language (actually, its specification, e.g. its grammar). As a consequence, we can provide components for different languages and simplify the development of software artifacts used on the Semantic Web.

Information adaptive system of NEEDS. [of NASA End to End Data System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howle, W. M., Jr.; Kelly, W. L.

1979-01-01

The NASA End-to-End Data System (NEEDS) program was initiated by NASA to improve significantly the state of the art in acquisition, processing, and distribution of space-acquired data for the mid-1980s and beyond. The information adaptive system (IAS) is a program element under NEEDS Phase II which addresses sensor specific processing on board the spacecraft. The IAS program is a logical first step toward smart sensors, and IAS developments - particularly the system components and key technology improvements - are applicable to future smart efforts. The paper describes the design goals and functional elements of the IAS. In addition, the schedule for IAS development and demonstration is discussed.

A Novel Multiple-Access Correlation-Delay-Shift-Keying

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, J. Y.; Jiang, G. P.; Yang, H.

In Correlation-Delay-Shift-Keying (CDSK), the reference signal and the information-bearing signal are added together during a certain time delay. Because the reference signal is not strictly orthogonal to the information-bearing signal, the cross-correlation between the adjacent chaotic signal (Intra-signal Interference, ISI) will be introduced into the demodulation at the receiver. Therefore, the Bit-Error Ratio (BER) of CDSK is higher than that of Differential-Chaos-Shift-Keying (DCSK). To avoid the ISI component and enhance the BER performance of CDSK in multiuser scenario, Multiple-Access CDSK with No Intra-signal Interference (MA-CDSK-NII) is proposed. By constructing the repeated chaotic generator and applying the Walsh code sequence to modulate the reference signal, in MA-CDSK-NII, the ISI component will be eliminated during the demodulation. Gaussian approximation method is adopted here to obtain the exact performance analysis of MA-CDSK-NII over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel and Rayleigh multipath fading channels. Results show that, due to no ISI component and lower transmitting power, the BER performance of MA-CDSK-NII can be better than that of multiple-access CDSK and Code-Shifted Differential-Chaos-Shift-Keying (CS-DCSK).

Connecting the Dots: Keys to a Successful Special-Needs Transportation Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bluth, Linda F.; Martin, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Since transportation expenses constitute 7% to 10% of a typical school budget, it is not surprising that transportation departments have been under a microscope lately. Everyone on the district's decision-making team, from the school board and school superintendent to the managers who oversee each component of the transportation department, is…

Turbulence study in the vicinity of piano key weir: relevance, instrumentation, parameters and methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, Harinarayan; Sharma, Nayan

2017-05-01

This research paper focuses on the need of turbulence, instruments reliable to capture turbulence, different turbulence parameters and some advance methodology which can decompose various turbulence structures at different levels near hydraulic structures. Small-scale turbulence research has valid prospects in open channel flow. The relevance of the study is amplified as we introduce any hydraulic structure in the channel which disturbs the natural flow and creates discontinuity. To recover this discontinuity, the piano key weir (PKW) might be used with sloped keys. Constraints of empirical results in the vicinity of PKW necessitate extensive laboratory experiments with fair and reliable instrumentation techniques. Acoustic Doppler velocimeter was established to be best suited within range of some limitations using principal component analysis. Wavelet analysis is proposed to decompose the underlying turbulence structure in a better way.

Work Keys: Developing the Assessments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLarty, Joyce R.

The American College Testing Program is developing a new program, Work Keys, a system to develop and assess employability skills. It consists of four components: (1) a systematic process for profiling job skill requirements; (2) assessments that measure learners' job skill levels; (3) procedures and formats for conveying assessment results so they…

CO2 Degassing Estimates from Rift Length Analysis since Pangea Fragmentation: A Key Component of the Deep Carbon Cycle?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brune, S.; Williams, S.; Müller, D.

2017-12-01

The deep carbon cycle links the carbon content of crust and mantle to Earth's surface: extensional plate boundaries and arc volcanoes release CO2 to the ocean and atmosphere while subducted lithosphere carries carbon back into the mantle. The length of extensional and convergent plate boundaries therefore exerts first-order control on solid Earth CO2 degassing rates. Here we provide a global census of plate boundary length for the last 200 million years. Focusing on rift systems, we find that the most extensive rift phase during the fragmentation of Pangea occurred in the Jurassic/Early Cretaceous with more than 50.000 km of simultaneously active continental rifts. During the Late Cretaceous, in the aftermath of this pervasive rift episode, the global rift length dropped by 60% to 20,000 km. We further find that a second pronounced rift episode with global rift lengths of up to 30,000 km started in Eocene times. A close geological link between CO2 degassing and faulting has been documented in currently active rift systems worldwide. Regional-scale CO2 flux densities at rift segments in Africa, Europe, and New Zealand feature an annual average value of 200 t of CO2 per km2. Assuming that the release of CO2 scales with rift length, we show that rift-related CO2 degassing rates during the two major Mesozoic and Cenozoic rift episodes reached more than 300% of present-day values. Most importantly, the timing of enhanced CO2 degassing from continental rifts correlates with two well-known periods of elevated atmospheric CO2 in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic as evidenced by multiple independent proxy indicators. Compiling the length of other plate boundaries (mid-ocean ridges, subduction zones, continental arcs) through time, we do not reproduce such a correlation. Finally, we conduct numerical carbon cycle models that account for key feedback-mechanisms of the long-term carbon cycle. We find that only those models that feature a strong rift degassing component reproduce the

KEY COMPARISON: Final report on international key comparison CCQM-K53: Oxygen in nitrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jeongsoon; Bok Lee, Jin; Moon, Dong Min; Seog Kim, Jin; van der Veen, Adriaan M. H.; Besley, Laurie; Heine, Hans-Joachim; Martin, Belén; Konopelko, L. A.; Kato, Kenji; Shimosaka, Takuya; Perez Castorena, Alejandro; Macé, Tatiana; Milton, Martin J. T.; Kelley, Mike; Guenther, Franklin; Botha, Angelique

2010-01-01

Gravimetry is used as the primary method for the preparation of primary standard gas mixtures in most national metrology institutes, and it requires the combined abilities of purity assessment, weighing technique and analytical skills. At the CCQM GAWG meeting in October 2005, it was agreed that KRISS should coordinate a key comparison, CCQM-K53, on the gravimetric preparation of gas, at a level of 100 µmol/mol of oxygen in nitrogen. KRISS compared the gravimetric value of each cylinder with an analytical instrument. A preparation for oxygen gas standard mixture requires particular care to be accurate, because oxygen is a major component of the atmosphere. Key issues for this comparison are related to (1) the gravimetric technique which needs at least two steps for dilution, (2) oxygen impurity in nitrogen, and (3) argon impurity in nitrogen. The key comparison reference value is obtained from the linear regression line (with origin) of a selected set of participants. The KCRV subset, except one, agree with each other. The standard deviation of the x-residuals of this group (which consists of NMIJ, VSL, NIST, NPL, BAM, KRISS and CENAM) is 0.056 µmol/mol and consistent with the uncertainties given to their standard mixtures. The standard deviation of the residuals of all participating laboratory is 0.182 µmol/mol. With respect to impurity analysis, overall argon amounts of the cylinders are in the region of about 3 µmol/mol however; four cylinders showed an argon amount fraction over 10 µmol/mol. Two of these are inconsistent with the KCRV subset. The explicit separation between two peaks of oxygen and argon in the GC chromatogram is essential to maintain analytical capability. Additionally oxygen impurity analysis in nitrogen is indispensable to ensure the preparative capability. Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The

Research and development of improved geothermal well logging techniques, tools and components (current projects, goals and status). Final report

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

Lamers, M.D.

One of the key needs in the advancement of geothermal energy is availability of adequate subsurface measurements to aid the reservoir engineer in the development and operation of geothermal wells. Some current projects being sponsored by the U. S. Department of Energy's Division of Geothermal Energy pertaining to the development of improved well logging techniques, tools and components are described. An attempt is made to show how these projects contribute to improvement of geothermal logging technology in forming key elements of the overall program goals.

What Are the Key Elements of Educational Interventions for Lay Carers of Patients With Advanced Disease? A Systematic Literature Search and Narrative Review of Structural Components, Processes and Modes of Delivery.

PubMed

Farquhar, Morag; Penfold, Clarissa; Walter, Fiona M; Kuhn, Isla; Benson, John

2016-07-01

Educating carers about symptom management may help meet patient and carer needs in relation to distressing symptoms in advanced disease. Reviews of the effectiveness of carer interventions exist, but few have focused on educational interventions and none on the key elements that comprise them but which could inform evidence-based design. To identify the key elements (structural components, processes, and delivery modes) of educational interventions for carers of patients with advanced disease. We systematically searched seven databases, applied inclusion and exclusion criteria, conducted quality appraisal, extracted data, and performed a narrative analysis. We included 62 articles related to 49 interventions. Two main delivery modes were identified: personnel-delivered interventions and stand-alone resources. Personnel-delivered interventions targeted individuals or groups, the former conducted at single or multiple time points, and the latter delivered as series. Just more than half targeted carers rather than patient-carer dyads. Most were developed for cancer; few focused purely on symptom management. Stand-alone resources were rare. Methods to evaluate interventions ranged from postintervention evaluations to fully powered randomized controlled trials but of variable quality. Published evaluations of educational interventions for carers in advanced disease are limited, particularly for non-cancer conditions. Key elements for consideration in developing such interventions were identified; however, lack of reporting of reasons for nonparticipation or dropout from interventions limits understanding of the contribution of these elements to interventions' effectiveness. When developing personnel-delivered interventions for carers in advanced disease, consideration of the disease (and, therefore, caring) trajectory, intervention accessibility (timing, location, and transport), and respite provision may be helpful. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc

The distinction between key ideas in teaching school physics and key ideas in the discipline of physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Zongyi

2001-05-01

The distinction between key ideas in teaching a high school science and key ideas in the corresponding discipline of science has been largely ignored in scholarly discourse about what science teachers should teach and about what they should know. This article clarifies this distinction through exploring how and why key ideas in teaching high school physics differ from key ideas in the discipline of physics. Its theoretical underpinnings include Dewey's (1902/1990) distinction between the psychological and the logical and Harré's (1986) epistemology of science. It analyzes how and why the key ideas in teaching color, the speed of light, and light interference at the high school level differ from the key ideas at the disciplinary level. The thesis is that key ideas in teaching high school physics can differ from key ideas in the discipline in some significant ways, and that the differences manifest Dewey's distinction. As a result, the article challenges the assumption of equating key ideas in teaching a high school science with key ideas in the corresponding discipline of science, and the assumption that having a college degree in science is sufficient to teach high school science. Furthermore, the article expands the concept of pedagogical content knowledge by arguing that key ideas in teaching high school physics constitute an essential component.

A host basal transcription factor is a key component for infection of rice by TALE-carrying bacteria

PubMed Central

Yuan, Meng; Ke, Yinggen; Huang, Renyan; Ma, Ling; Yang, Zeyu; Chu, Zhaohui; Xiao, Jinghua; Li, Xianghua; Wang, Shiping

2016-01-01

Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) are sequence-specific DNA binding proteins found in a range of plant pathogenic bacteria, where they play important roles in host-pathogen interactions. However, it has been unclear how TALEs, after they have been injected into the host cells, activate transcription of host genes required for infection success. Here, we show that the basal transcription factor IIA gamma subunit TFIIAγ5 from rice is a key component for infection by the TALE-carrying bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, the causal agent for bacterial blight. Direct interaction of several TALEs with TFIIAγ5 is required for activation of disease susceptibility genes. Conversely, reduced expression of the TFIIAγ5 host gene limits the induction of susceptibility genes and thus decreases bacterial blight symptoms. Suppression or mutation of TFIIAγ5 can also reduce bacterial streak, another devastating disease of rice caused by TALE-carrying X. oryzae pv. oryzicola. These results have important implications for formulating a widely applicable strategy with which to improve resistance of plants to TALE-carrying pathogens. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19605.001 PMID:27472897

Effects of "D"-Amphetamine and Ethanol on Variable and Repetitive Key-Peck Sequences in Pigeons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Ryan D.; Bailey, Ericka M.; Odum, Amy L.

2006-01-01

This experiment assessed the effects of "d"-Amphetamine and ethanol on reinforced variable and repetitive key-peck sequences in pigeons. Pigeons responded on two keys under a multiple schedule of Repeat and Vary components. In the Repeat component, completion of a target sequence of right, right, left, left resulted in food. In the Vary component,…

Identification and Characterization of Key Human Performance Issues and Research in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Paul U.; Sheridan, Tom; Poage, james L.; Martin, Lynne Hazel; Jobe, Kimberly K.

2010-01-01

This report identifies key human-performance-related issues associated with Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) research in the NASA NextGen-Airspace Project. Four Research Focus Areas (RFAs) in the NextGen-Airspace Project - namely Separation Assurance (SA), Airspace Super Density Operations (ASDO), Traffic Flow Management (TFM), and Dynamic Airspace Configuration (DAC) - were examined closely. In the course of the research, it was determined that the identified human performance issues needed to be analyzed in the context of NextGen operations rather than through basic human factors research. The main gaps in human factors research in NextGen were found in the need for accurate identification of key human-systems related issues within the context of specific NextGen concepts and better design of the operational requirements for those concepts. By focusing on human-system related issues for individual concepts, key human performance issues for the four RFAs were identified and described in this report. In addition, mixed equipage airspace with components of two RFAs were characterized to illustrate potential human performance issues that arise from the integration of multiple concepts.

Structure-activity modelling of essential oils, their components, and key molecular parameters and descriptors.

PubMed

Owen, Lucy; Laird, Katie; Wilson, Philippe B

2018-04-01

Many essential oil components are known to possess broad spectrum antimicrobial activity, including against antibiotic resistant bacteria. These compounds may be a useful source of new and novel antimicrobials. However, there is limited research on the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of essential oil compounds, which is important for target identification and lead optimization. This study aimed to elucidate SARs of essential oil components from experimental and literature sources. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) of essential oil components were determined against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using a microdilution method and then compared to those in published in literature. Of 12 essential oil components tested, carvacrol and cuminaldehyde were most potent with MICs of 1.98 and 2.10 mM, respectively. The activity of 21 compounds obtained from the literature, MICs ranged from 0.004 mM for limonene to 36.18 mM for α-terpineol. A 3D qualitative SAR model was generated from MICs using FORGE software by consideration of electrostatic and steric parameters. An r 2 value of 0.807 for training and cross-validation sets was achieved with the model developed. Ligand efficiency was found to correlate well to the observed activity (r 2  = 0.792), while strongly negative electrostatic regions were present in potent molecules. These descriptors may be useful for target identification of essential oils or their major components in antimicrobial/drug development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Low-cost manufacturing of the point focus concentrating module and its key component, the Fresnel lens. Final subcontract report, 31 January 1991--6 May 1991

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

Saifee, T.; Konnerth, A. III

1991-11-01

Solar Kinetics, Inc. (SKI) has been developing point-focus concentrating PV modules since 1986. SKI is currently in position to manufacture between 200 to 600 kilowatts annually of the current design by a combination of manual and semi-automated methods. This report reviews the current status of module manufacture and specifies the required approach to achieve a high-volume manufacturing capability and low cost. The approach taken will include process development concurrent with module design for automated manufacturing. The current effort reviews the major manufacturing costs and identifies components and processes whose improvements would produce the greatest effect on manufacturability and cost reduction.more » The Fresnel lens is one such key component. Investigating specific alternative manufacturing methods and sources has substantially reduced the lens costs and has exceeded the DOE cost-reduction goals. 15 refs.« less

Water Infrastructure Needs and Investment: Review and Analysis of Key Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-11-24

the Rural Development Act of 1972, as amended (7 U.S.C. § 1926). The purpose of these USDA programs is to provide basic amenities, alleviate health...nonregulatory costs (e.g., routine replacement of basic infrastructure).12 Wastewater Needs. The most recent wastewater survey, conducted in 2004 and issued...1.6 billion just to implement the most basic steps needed to improve security (such as better controlling access to facilities with fences, locks

Key Management Infrastructure Increment 2 (KMI Inc 2)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

2016 Major Automated Information System Annual Report Key Management Infrastructure Increment 2 (KMI Inc 2) Defense Acquisition Management...PB - President’s Budget RDT&E - Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation SAE - Service Acquisition Executive TBD - To Be Determined TY - Then...Assigned: April 6, 2015 Program Information Program Name Key Management Infrastructure Increment 2 (KMI Inc 2) DoD Component DoD The acquiring DoD

Cbp80 is needed for the expression of piRNA components and piRNAs

PubMed Central

Colombo, Martino; Hernandez, Greco; Beuchle, Dirk; Berger, Fabienne; Peischl, Stephan; Bruggmann, Rémy

2017-01-01

Cap binding protein 80 (Cbp80) is the larger subunit of the nuclear cap-binding complex (nCBC), which is known to play important roles in nuclear mRNA processing, export, stability and quality control events. Reducing Cbp80 mRNA levels in the female germline revealed that Cbp80 is also involved in defending the germline against transposable elements. Combining such knockdown experiments with large scale sequencing of small RNAs further showed that Cbp80 is involved in the initial biogenesis of piRNAs as well as in the secondary biogenesis pathway, the ping-pong amplification cycle. We further found that Cbp80 knockdown not only led to the upregulation of transposons, but also to delocalization of Piwi, Aub and Ago3, key factors in the piRNA biosynthesis pathway. Furthermore, compared to controls, levels of Piwi and Aub were also reduced upon knock down of Cbp80. On the other hand, with the same treatment we could not detect significant changes in levels or subcellular distribution (nuage localization) of piRNA precursor transcripts. This shows that Cbp80 plays an important role in the production and localization of the protein components of the piRNA pathway and it seems to be less important for the production and export of the piRNA precursor transcripts. PMID:28746365

Becoming a health promoting school: key components of planning.

PubMed

Senior, Elizabeth

2012-03-01

This article looks at the practicalities of implementing the health promoting school (HPS) framework, including conducting a whole school audit, to enable a primary school to successfully adopt the HPS principles. A partnership agreement was signed, between EACH Social and Community Health which is a local Community Health Centre and a primary school in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, in Australia. An audit was conducted of the school community with four follow up focus groups of students from grades 3 to 6. Qualitative data was gathered from 20 teachers at the school at a professional development day facilitated by the health promotion staff of the Community Health Centre. The results of the school audit identified that students in grades 3 to 6 and parents valued the outside environment of the school most highly. The staff valued staff attributes most highly. Suggestions from students to improve the school included improving the canteen and outside environment. Staff were most concerned about fitness of both the staff and the students. Parents also identified lack of healthy eating as a concern. The school community sees the value of adopting the HPS framework, however on-going structured support is required if the school is to successfully adopt the HPS approach. The school community needs to understand that the move toward cultural and environmental change is slow. Successful adoption of the HPS model requires time and collaboration. The emphasis needs to be on supporting teachers to change their school from within. Relationships are important.

Optical components damage parameters database system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Yizheng; Li, Xinglan; Jin, Yuquan; Xie, Dongmei; Tang, Dingyong

2012-10-01

Optical component is the key to large-scale laser device developed by one of its load capacity is directly related to the device output capacity indicators, load capacity depends on many factors. Through the optical components will damage parameters database load capacity factors of various digital, information technology, for the load capacity of optical components to provide a scientific basis for data support; use of business processes and model-driven approach, the establishment of component damage parameter information model and database systems, system application results that meet the injury test optical components business processes and data management requirements of damage parameters, component parameters of flexible, configurable system is simple, easy to use, improve the efficiency of the optical component damage test.

An SSH key management system: easing the pain of managing key/user/account associations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arkhipkin, D.; Betts, W.; Lauret, J.; Shiryaev, A.

2008-07-01

Cyber security requirements for secure access to computing facilities often call for access controls via gatekeepers and the use of two-factor authentication. Using SSH keys to satisfy the two factor authentication requirement has introduced a potentially challenging task of managing the keys and their associations with individual users and user accounts. Approaches for a facility with the simple model of one remote user corresponding to one local user would not work at facilities that require a many-to-many mapping between users and accounts on multiple systems. We will present an SSH key management system we developed, tested and deployed to address the many-to-many dilemma in the environment of the STAR experiment. We will explain its use in an online computing context and explain how it makes possible the management and tracing of group account access spread over many sub-system components (data acquisition, slow controls, trigger, detector instrumentation, etc.) without the use of shared passwords for remote logins.

Review: An urgent need for research on factors impacting adherence to and retention in care among HIV-positive youth and adolescents from key populations

PubMed Central

Lall, Priya; Lim, Sin How; Khairuddin, Norliana; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba

2015-01-01

Introduction The 50% increase in HIV-related deaths in youth and adolescents (aged 10–24) from 2005 to 2012 highlights the need to improve HIV treatment and care in this population, including treatment adherence and retention. Youth and adolescents from key populations or young key populations (YKP) in particular are highly stigmatized and may face additional barrier(s) in adhering to HIV treatment and services. We reviewed the current knowledge on treatment adherence and retention in HIV care among YKP to identify gaps in the literature and suggest future directions to improve HIV care for YKP. Methods We conducted a comprehensive literature search for YKP and their adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and retention in HIV care on PsycInfo (Ovid), PubMed and Google Scholar using combinations of the keywords HIV/AIDS, ART, adolescents, young adults, adherence (or compliance), retention, men who have sex with men, transgender, injection drug users, people who inject drugs and prisoners. We included empirical studies on key populations defined by WHO; included the terms youth and adolescents and/or aged between 10 and 24; examined adherence to or retention in HIV care; and published in English-language journals. All articles were coded using NVivo. Results and discussion The systematic search yielded 10 articles on YKP and 16 articles on behaviourally infected youth and adolescents from 1999 to 2014. We found no studies reporting on youth and adolescents identified as sex workers, transgender people and prisoners. From existing literature, adherence to ART was reported to be influenced by age, access to healthcare, the burden of multiple vulnerabilities, policy involving risk behaviours and mental health. A combination of two or more of these factors negatively impacted adherence to ART among YKP. Collectively, these studies demonstrated that future programmes need to be tailored specifically to YKP to ensure adherence. Conclusions There is an urgent need for

Social Cognition and Executive Functions As Key Factors for Effective Pedagogy in Higher Education.

PubMed

Correia, Rut; Navarrete, Gorka

2017-01-01

Higher education (HE) faces the challenge of responding to an increasing diversity. In this context, more attention is being paid to teachers and teaching skills positively related to students learning. Beyond the knowledges identified as key components of an effective teacher, teachers also need to be capable of unraveling what their students think and believe, and how they accommodate the new information. More importantly, teachers need to be able to adapt their own teaching to their audience's needs. In learners, social cognition (SC) has been related to a better receptivity to the different teacher-student interactions. Since these interactions are bidirectional, SC could also help to explain teachers' receptiveness to the information available in feedback situations. However, little is known about how SC is related to teacher development, and therefore teaching effectiveness, in HE. In addition, executive functions (EFs), closely related to SC, could play a key role in the ability to self-regulate their own teaching to better answering their students emerging needs. Although there is wide evidence regarding the association of EFs to performance in high demanding settings, as far as we know, there are no studies exploring the relationship between teachers' EFs and teaching effectiveness in HE. Establishing a positive association between teaching effectiveness and these socio-cognitive functions could be a promising first step in designing professional development programs that promote HE academics' ability to understand and care about students thoughts and emotions, to eventually adapt their teaching to their students needs for a better learning.

EHR in emergency rooms: exploring the effect of key information components on main complaints.

PubMed

Ben-Assuli, Ofir; Shabtai, Itamar; Leshno, Moshe; Hill, Shawndra

2014-04-01

This study characterizes the information components associated with improved medical decision-making in the emergency room (ER). We looked at doctors' decisions to use or not to use information available to them on an electronic health record (EHR) and a Health Information Exchange (HIE) network, and tested for associations between their decision and parameters related to healthcare outcomes and processes. Using information components from the EHR and HIE was significantly related to improved quality of healthcare processes. Specifically, it was associated with both a reduction in potentially avoidable admissions as well as a reduction in rapid readmissions. Overall, the three information components; namely, previous encounters, imaging, and lab results emerged as having the strongest relationship with physicians' decisions to admit or discharge. Certain information components, however, presented an association between the diagnosis and the admission decisions (blood pressure was the most strongly associated parameter in cases of chest pain complaints and a previous surgical record for abdominal pain). These findings show that the ability to access patients' medical history and their long term health conditions (via the EHR), including information about medications, diagnoses, recent procedures and laboratory tests is critical to forming an appropriate plan of care and eventually making more accurate admission decisions.

Investigation of soft component in cosmic ray detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oláh, László; Varga, Dezső

2017-07-01

Cosmic ray detection is a research area which finds various applications in tomographic imaging of large size objects. In such applications, the background sources which contaminate cosmic muon signal require a good understanding of the creation processes, as well as reliable simulation frameworks with high predictive power are needed. One of the main background source is the ;soft component;, that is electrons and positrons. In this paper a simulation framework based on GEANT4 has been established to pin down the key features of the soft component. We have found that the electron and positron flux shows a remarkable invariance against various model parameters including the muon emission altitude or primary particle energy distribution. The correlation between simultaneously arriving particles have been quantitatively investigated, demonstrating that electrons and positrons tend to arrive within a close distance and with low relative angle. This feature, which is highly relevant for counting detectors, has been experimentally verified under open sky and at shallow depth underground. The simulation results have been compared to existing other measurements as well as other simulation programs.

Advanced Key Technologies for Hot Control Surfaces in Space Re- Entry Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dogigli, Michael; Pradier, Alain; Tumino, Giorgio

2002-01-01

(1)MAN Technologie AG, D- 86153 Augsburg, Germany (2,3) ESA, 2200 Noordwijk ZH, The Netherlands Current space re-entry vehicles (e.g. X-38 vehicle 201, the prototype of the International Space Station's Crew Return Vehicle (CRV)) require advanced control surfaces (so called body flaps). Such control surfaces allow the design of smaller and lighter vehicles as well as faster re-entries (compared to the US Shuttle). They are designed as light-weight structures that need no metallic parts, need no mass or volume consuming heat sinks to protect critical components (e.g. bearings) and that can be operated at temperatures of more than 1600 "C in air transferring high mechanical loads (dynamic 40 kN, static 70 kN) at the same time. Because there is a need for CRV and also for Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) in future, the European Space Agency (ESA) felt compelled to establish a "Future European Space Transportation and Investigation Program,, (FESTIP) and a "General Support for Technology Program,, (GSTP). One of the main goals of these programs was to develop and qualify key-technologies that are able to master the above mentioned challenging requirements for advanced hot control surfaces and that can be applied for different vehicles. In 1996 MAN Technologie has started the development of hot control surfaces for small lifting bodies in the national program "Heiü Strukturen,,. One of the main results of this program was that especially the following CMC (Ceramic Matrix Composite) key technologies need to be brought up to space flight standard: Complex CMC Structures, CMC Bearings, Metal-to-CMC Joining Technologies, CMC Fasteners, Oxidation Protection Systems and Static and Dynamic Seals. MAN Technologie was contracted by ESA to continue the development and qualification of these key technologies in the frame of the FESTIP and the GSTP program. Development and qualification have successfully been carried out. The key technologies have been applied for the X-38 vehicle

OCSEGen: Open Components and Systems Environment Generator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tkachuk, Oksana

2014-01-01

To analyze a large system, one often needs to break it into smaller components.To analyze a component or unit under analysis, one needs to model its context of execution, called environment, which represents the components with which the unit interacts. Environment generation is a challenging problem, because the environment needs to be general enough to uncover unit errors, yet precise enough to make the analysis tractable. In this paper, we present a tool for automated environment generation for open components and systems. The tool, called OCSEGen, is implemented on top of the Soot framework. We present the tool's current support and discuss its possible future extensions.

Neutron Characterization of Additively Manufactured Components. Workshop Report

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

Watkins, Thomas R.; Payzant, E. Andrew; Babu, Sudarsanam Suresh

2015-09-01

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a collection of promising manufacturing methods that industry is beginning to explore and adopt. Macroscopically complicated and near net shape components are being built using AM, but how the material behaves in service is a big question for industry. Consequently, AM components/materials need further research into exactly what is made and how it will behave in service. This one and a half day workshop included a series of invited presentations from academia, industry and national laboratories (see Appendix A for the workshop agenda and list of talks). The workshop was welcomed by Alan Tennant, Chief Scientist,more » Neutron Sciences Directorate, ORNL, and opened remotely by Rob Ivestor, Deputy Director, Advanced Manufacturing Office-DOE, who declared AM adoptees as titans who will be able to create customized 3-D structures with 1 million to 1 billion micro welds with locally tailored microstructures. Further he stated that characterization with neutrons is key to be able to bring critical insight/information into the AM process/property/behavior relationship. Subsequently, the presentations spanned a slice of the current state of the art AM techniques and many of the most relevant characterization techniques using neutrons. After the talks, a panel discussion was held; workshop participants (see Appendix B for a list of attendees) providing questions and the panel answers. The main purpose of the panel discussion was to build consensus regarding the critical research needs in AM that can be addressed with neutrons. These needs were placed into three categories: modes of access for neutrons, new capabilities needed, new AM material issues and neutrons. Recommendations from the workshop were determined based on the panel discussion.« less

Tempest: Tools for Addressing the Needs of Next-Generation Climate Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ullrich, P. A.; Guerra, J. E.; Pinheiro, M. C.; Fong, J.

2015-12-01

Tempest is a comprehensive simulation-to-science infrastructure that tackles the needs of next-generation, high-resolution, data intensive climate modeling activities. This project incorporates three key components: TempestDynamics, a global modeling framework for experimental numerical methods and high-performance computing; TempestRemap, a toolset for arbitrary-order conservative and consistent remapping between unstructured grids; and TempestExtremes, a suite of detection and characterization tools for identifying weather extremes in large climate datasets. In this presentation, the latest advances with the implementation of this framework will be discussed, and a number of projects now utilizing these tools will be featured.

Interprofessional collaboration within Canadian integrative healthcare clinics: Key components.

PubMed

Gaboury, Isabelle; Bujold, Mathieu; Boon, Heather; Moher, David

2009-09-01

Research shows that interprofessional collaboration has become an important factor in the implementation of effective healthcare models. To date, the literature has not focused on the collaboration between medical doctors and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) healthcare practitioners, an example of interdisciplinary collaboration called integrative healthcare (IHC). Drawing on in-depth, semi-standardized interviews conducted with 21 practitioners working in Canadian IHC clinics, this paper explored and interpreted how IHC is experienced by those working in Canadian IHC clinics. The interview questions and analysis were guided by the Input, Process, Output conceptual framework drawn from the organizational management theory (McGrath, J. E. (1964). Social psychology: A brief introduction. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.) to study collaboration within teams. We found that constructs contributing to collaboration included practitioners' attitudes and educational background, as well as external factors such as the healthcare system and financial pressures. Major processes affecting collaboration included communication, patient referral and power relationships. These determinants of collaboration were found to result in learning opportunities for practitioners, modified burden of work and ultimately, higher affective commitment toward the clinic. These constructs serve as a guide for further investigation of interprofessional collaboration within an IHC clinic. This exploration of interprofessional collaboration in IHC identified a broad array of key factors associated with interprofessional collaboration. These factors are critical to better understand the functioning of IHC clinics, and provide guidance for creation or maintenance of successful clinics.

Mediation analysis of severity of needs, service performance and outcomes for patients with mental disorders.

PubMed

Roux, Paul; Passerieux, Christine; Fleury, Marie-Josée

2016-12-01

Needs and service performance assessment are key components in improving recovery among individuals with mental disorders. To test the role of service performance as a mediating factor between severity of patients' needs and outcomes. A total of 339 adults with mental disorders were interviewed. A mediation analysis between severity of needs, service performance (adequacy of help, continuity of care and recovery orientation of services) and outcomes (personal recovery and quality of life) was carried out using structural equation modelling. The structural equation model provided a good fit with the data. An increase in needs was associated with lower service performance and worse outcomes, whereas higher service performance was associated with better outcomes. Service performance partially mediated the effect of patient needs on outcomes. Poorer service performance has a negative impact on outcomes for patients with the highest needs. Ensuring more efficient services for patients with high needs may help improve their recovery and quality of life. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016.

A Recommended Set of Key Arctic Indicators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanitski, D.; Druckenmiller, M.; Fetterer, F. M.; Gerst, M.; Intrieri, J. M.; Kenney, M. A.; Meier, W.; Overland, J. E.; Stroeve, J.; Trainor, S.

2017-12-01

The Arctic is an interconnected and environmentally sensitive system of ice, ocean, land, atmosphere, ecosystems, and people. From local to pan-Arctic scales, the area has already undergone major changes in physical and societal systems and will continue at a pace that is greater than twice the global average. Key Arctic indicators can quantify these changes. Indicators serve as the bridge between complex information and policy makers, stakeholders, and the general public, revealing trends and information people need to make important socioeconomic decisions. This presentation evaluates and compiles more than 70 physical, biological, societal and economic indicators into an approachable summary that defines the changing Arctic. We divided indicators into "existing," "in development," "possible," and "aspirational". In preparing a paper on Arctic Indicators for a special issue of the journal Climatic Change, our group established a set of selection criteria to identify indicators to specifically guide decision-makers in their responses to climate change. A goal of the analysis is to select a manageable composite list of recommended indicators based on sustained, reliable data sources with known user communities. The selected list is also based on the development of a conceptual model that identifies components and processes critical to our understanding of the Arctic region. This list of key indicators is designed to inform the plans and priorities of multiple groups such as the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC), and the Arctic Council.

Key features of an EU health information system: a concept mapping study.

PubMed

Rosenkötter, Nicole; Achterberg, Peter W; van Bon-Martens, Marja J H; Michelsen, Kai; van Oers, Hans A M; Brand, Helmut

2016-02-01

Despite the acknowledged value of an EU health information system (EU-HISys) and the many achievements in this field, the landscape is still heavily fragmented and incomplete. Through a systematic analysis of the opinions and valuations of public health stakeholders, this study aims to conceptualize key features of an EU-HISys. Public health professionals and policymakers were invited to participate in a concept mapping procedure. First, participants (N = 34) formulated statements that reflected their vision of an EU-HISys. Second, participants (N = 28) rated the relative importance of each statement and grouped conceptually similar ones. Principal Component and cluster analyses were used to condense these results to EU-HISys key features in a concept map. The number of key features and the labelling of the concept map were determined by expert consensus. The concept map contains 10 key features that summarize 93 statements. The map consists of a horizontal axis that represents the relevance of an 'organizational strategy', which deals with the 'efforts' to design and develop an EU-HISys and the 'achievements' gained by a functioning EU-HISys. The vertical axis represents the 'professional orientation' of the EU-HISys, ranging from the 'scientific' through to the 'policy' perspective. The top ranking statement expressed the need to establish a system that is permanent and sustainable. The top ranking key feature focuses on data and information quality. This study provides insights into key features of an EU-HISys. The results can be used to guide future planning and to support the development of a health information system for Europe. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Life prediction systems for critical rotating components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cunningham, Susan E.

1993-01-01

With the advent of advanced materials in rotating gas turbine engine components, the methodologies for life prediction of these parts must also increase in sophistication and capability. Pratt & Whitney's view of generic requirements for composite component life prediction systems are presented, efforts underway to develop these systems are discussed, and industry participation in key areas requiring development is solicited.

Determination of Key Flavor Components in Methylene Chloride Extracts from Processed Grapefruit Juice.

PubMed

Jella; Rouseff; Goodner; Widmer

1998-01-19

The relative correlation of 52 aroma and 5 taste components in commercial not-from-concentrate grapefruit juices with flavor panel preference was determined. Methylene chloride extracts of juice were analyzed using GC/MS with a DB-5 column. Nonvolatiles determined included limonin and naringin by HPLC, degrees Brix, total acids, and degrees Brix/acid ratio. Juice samples were classified into low, medium, or high categories, based on average taste panel preference scores (nine-point hedonic scale). Principal component analysis demonstrated that highest quality juices were tightly clustered. Discriminant analysis indicated that 82% of the samples could be identified in the correct preference category using only myrcene, beta-caryophyllene, linalool, nootkatone, and degrees Brix. Nootkatone alone was not strongly associated with preference scores. The most preferred juices were strongly associated with low myrcene, low linalool, and intermediate levels of beta-caryophyllene.

Public perceptions of key performance indicators of healthcare in Alberta, Canada.

PubMed

Northcott, Herbert C; Harvey, Michael D

2012-06-01

To examine the relationship between public perceptions of key performance indicators assessing various aspects of the health-care system. Cross-sequential survey research. Annual telephone surveys of random samples of adult Albertans selected by random digit dialing and stratified according to age, sex and region (n = 4000 for each survey year). The survey questionnaires included single-item measures of key performance indicators to assess public perceptions of availability, accessibility, quality, outcome and satisfaction with healthcare. Cronbach's α and factor analysis were used to assess the relationship between key performance indicators focusing on the health-care system overall and on a recent interaction with the health-care system. The province of Alberta, Canada during the years 1996-2004. Four thousand adults randomly selected each survey year. Survey questions measuring public perceptions of healthcare availability, accessibility, quality, outcome and satisfaction with healthcare. Factor analysis identified two principal components with key performance indicators focusing on the health system overall loading most strongly on the first component and key performance indicators focusing on the most recent health-care encounter loading most strongly on the second component. Assessments of the quality of care most recently received, accessibility of that care and perceived outcome of care tended to be higher than the more general assessments of overall health system quality and accessibility. Assessments of specific health-care encounters and more general assessments of the overall health-care system, while related, nevertheless comprise separate dimensions for health-care evaluation.

Stakeholders perspectives on the key components of community-based interventions coordinating care in dementia: a qualitative systematic review.

PubMed

Backhouse, Amy; Richards, David A; McCabe, Rose; Watkins, Ross; Dickens, Chris

2017-11-22

Interventions aiming to coordinate services for the community-based dementia population vary in components, organisation and implementation. In this review we aimed to investigate the views of stakeholders on the key components of community-based interventions coordinating care in dementia. We searched four databases from inception to June 2015; Medline, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE and PsycINFO, this was aided by a search of four grey literature databases, and backward and forward citation tracking of included papers. Title and abstract screening was followed by a full text screen by two independent reviewers, and quality was assessed using the CASP appraisal tool. We then conducted thematic synthesis on extracted data. A total of seven papers from five independent studies were included in the review, and encompassed the views of over 100 participants from three countries. Through thematic synthesis we identified 32 initial codes that were grouped into 5 second-order themes: (1) case manager had four associated codes and described preferences for the case manager personal and professional attributes, including a sound knowledge in dementia and availability of local services; (2) communication had five associated codes and emphasized the importance stakeholders placed on multichannel communication with service users, as well as between multidisciplinary teams and across organisations; (3) intervention had 11 associated codes which focused primarily on the practicalities of implementation such as the contact type and frequency between case managers and service users, and the importance of case manager training and service evaluation; (4) resources had five associated codes which outlined stakeholder views on the required resources for coordinating interventions and potential overlap with existing resources, as well as arising issues when available resources do not meet those required for successful implementation; and (5) support had seven associated codes that

Economic Need among Older Latinos: Applying The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index

PubMed Central

Wallace, Steven P.; Padilla-Frausto, D. Imelda; Smith, Susan

2013-01-01

The first official U.S. federal poverty line was developed in the 1960s; since the mid-1990s the scientific consensus has been that it has become outdated and inaccurate. This article explains the key elements of the current federal measure that are inaccurate for older adults in general and older Latinos specifically. An alternative is described that addresses the key failings of the current measure. The alternative, the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index), adapts a national methodology to the basic costs of living in California for 2007 using data from the American Community Survey, and other public data sources. The results show that the amount needed for basic economic security in California is higher than the federal poverty level in all counties, and averages about twice the federal level. Housing costs are the largest component of costs in most counties, although health care is the largest component for couples in lower housing cost counties. Among singles and couples age 65 and over in California, almost 60% of Latinos have incomes below the Elder Index compared to one-quarter of non-Latino whites. The rates are higher among renters, and older Latinos are more likely than non-Latino whites to rent. Applying the Elder Index in California documents the disproportionate rates of economic insecurity among older Latinos. The findings indicate that changes to public programs such as Social Security and Medicare that decrease benefits or increase costs will have disproportionately negative impact on the ability of most older Latinos to pay for basic needs. PMID:23857068

Tag Content Access Control with Identity-based Key Exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Liang; Rong, Chunming

2010-09-01

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology that used to identify objects and users has been applied to many applications such retail and supply chain recently. How to prevent tag content from unauthorized readout is a core problem of RFID privacy issues. Hash-lock access control protocol can make tag to release its content only to reader who knows the secret key shared between them. However, in order to get this shared secret key required by this protocol, reader needs to communicate with a back end database. In this paper, we propose to use identity-based secret key exchange approach to generate the secret key required for hash-lock access control protocol. With this approach, not only back end database connection is not needed anymore, but also tag cloning problem can be eliminated at the same time.

Parental Antecedents of Need for Approval: A Longitudinal Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lobel, Thalma E.

1982-01-01

Examined antecedents of two components of need for approval (the approach component and the avoidance component) on a longitudinal basis. For females, need for approval was positively related to mothers' withdrawal of love and the avoidance component was negatively related to mothers' encouragement of their daughters to fight back. (Author)

Good Jobs And Careers: What Communities Need to do to Train and Move Low-Income, Low-Skilled People into Good Jobs and Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2005

2005-01-01

In the early 1990s, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) recognized the importance of addressing economic opportunity as a key component of a larger set of strategies needed to create family economic success for low-income families. Joblessness and lack of family sustaining income have devastating consequences, not only for families, but also for…

Quantum key distribution without detector vulnerabilities using optically seeded lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comandar, L. C.; Lucamarini, M.; Fröhlich, B.; Dynes, J. F.; Sharpe, A. W.; Tam, S. W.-B.; Yuan, Z. L.; Penty, R. V.; Shields, A. J.

2016-05-01

Security in quantum cryptography is continuously challenged by inventive attacks targeting the real components of a cryptographic set-up, and duly restored by new countermeasures to foil them. Owing to their high sensitivity and complex design, detectors are the most frequently attacked components. It was recently shown that two-photon interference from independent light sources can be used to remove any vulnerability from detectors. This new form of detection-safe quantum key distribution (QKD), termed measurement-device-independent (MDI), has been experimentally demonstrated but with modest key rates. Here, we introduce a new pulsed laser seeding technique to obtain high-visibility interference from gain-switched lasers and thereby perform MDI-QKD with unprecedented key rates in excess of 1 megabit per second in the finite-size regime. This represents a two to six orders of magnitude improvement over existing implementations and supports the new scheme as a practical resource for secure quantum communications.

Meeting the needs of parents around the time of diagnosis of disability among their children: evaluation of a novel program for information, support, and liaison by key workers.

PubMed

Rahi, Jugnoo S; Manaras, Irene; Tuomainen, Helena; Hundt, Gillian Lewando

2004-10-01

Key worker programs for families of children with disabilities, to promote information provision, emotional support, and liaisons among different agencies, have long been advocated but not extensively implemented. We report the impact on the experiences of parents and the practices of health care professionals of a novel, hospital-based, key worker service (Community Link Team [CLT]), implemented in the pediatric ophthalmology department of Great Ormond Street Hospital (London, United Kingdom). The CLT included 2 members, 1 of whom was present during the first outpatient assessment by the consultant ophthalmologist of any child newly diagnosed as visually impaired (corrected acuity of 6/18 or worse in the better eye) and accompanied the family during other assessments performed during that visit. A dedicated room was used by the CLT members to spend time with each family after completion of the clinical assessments. The CLT members reiterated and/or clarified clinical information already provided, specifically advised the families about visual stimulation programs and the benefits and purpose of visual impairment certification, and provided information about educational and social services. The same CLT member met the family at subsequent visits to the department and acted as the first point of contact for parents. Parents of children newly diagnosed with visual impairment and/or ophthalmic disorders at Great Ormond Street Hospital participated in a 2-stage study to assess their needs, their views about the processes of care, and their overall satisfaction. The study included a questionnaire survey with 2 standard instruments, ie, the Measure of Processes of Care, specifically developed and used to assess parents' views of the degree to which health services for a range of childhood disorders are family-centered, and the short form of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, used to assess overall parental satisfaction or dissatisfaction with services in the

Evaluation of the Introduction of an e-Health Skills Component for Dietetics Students.

PubMed

Rollo, Megan E; Collins, Clare E; MacDonald-Wicks, Lesley

2017-11-01

Appropriate and effective use of technology within practice is a key competency outlined in Australian dietetics training standards. An e-health skills component (lecture and workshop) was introduced to undergraduate students enrolled in an Australian nutrition and dietetics program. The lecture orientated students to key e-health terms and concepts relating to telehealth and m-health technologies, while the workshop provided an opportunity to apply knowledge. The workshop consisted of four stations with activities relating to (1) orientation to telehealth equipment; (2) comparison of dietetic consultation components completed in person versus remotely via video call; (3) quality assessment of mobile apps; and (4) exploration of advantages and disadvantages, and the ethical, security, and privacy issues relating to use of e-health technologies in dietetic practice. Student experience of the training was evaluated via questionnaire. Forty-five students (62.2% aged ≤19-24 years, 86.7% female) completed the survey. Following the workshop, the level of understanding relating to each key e-health concept improved significantly (p < 0.001). The aspects relating to the impact and need for initial training and ongoing professional education to support the use of e-health technologies within dietetic practice were rated a high level of importance by most students (78-80%). The majority of students (93.3% to 97.8%) reported a positive experience at each of the four workshop stations, with "informative" the most common word selected to rate each station (37.8% to 44.4% of students across the four stations). The introduction of an e-health skills component resulted in an improved understanding of concepts for using these technologies. These findings provide preliminary support for integration of further e-health training within the dietetics program.

Advanced solar dynamic space power systems perspectives, requirements and technology needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dustin, M. O.; Savino, J. M.; Lacy, D. E.; Migra, R. P.; Juhasz, A. J.; Coles, C. E.

1986-01-01

Projected NASA, Civil, Commercial, and Military missions will require space power systems of increased versatility and power levels. The Advanced Solar Dynamic (ASD) Power systems offer the potential for efficient, lightweight, survivable, relatively compact, long-lived space power systems applicable to a wide range of power levels (3 to 300 kWe), and a wide variety of orbits. The successful development of these systems could satisfy the power needs for a wide variety of these projected missions. Thus, the NASA Lewis Research Center has embarked upon an aggressive ASD reserach project under the direction of NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (DAST). The project is being implemented through a combination of in-house and contracted efforts. Key elements of this project are missions analysis to determine the power systems requirements, systems analysis to identify the most attractive ASD power systems to meet these requirements, and to guide the technology development efforts, and technology development of key components.

One-Time Password Registration Key Code Request | High-Performance

Science.gov Websites

Computing | NREL One-Time Password Registration Key Code Request One-Time Password Registration Key Code Request Use this form to request a one-time password (OTP) registration key code for using . Alternate Email In case there is a second email where we might contact you Phone In case we need to contact

Tailoring hospital marketing efforts to physicians' needs.

PubMed

Mackay, J M; Lamb, C W

1988-12-01

Marketing has become widely recognized as an important component of hospital management (Kotler and Clarke 1987; Ludke, Curry, and Saywell 1983). Physicians are becoming recognized as an important target market that warrants more marketing attention than it has received in the past (Super 1987; Wotruba, Haas, and Hartman 1982). Some experts predict that hospitals will begin focusing more marketing attention on physicians and less on consumers (Super 1986). Much of this attention is likely to take the form of practice management assistance, such as computer-based information system support or consulting services. The survey results reported here are illustrative only of how one hospital addressed the problem of physician need assessment. Other potential target markets include physicians who admit patients only to competitor hospitals and physicians who admit to multiple hospitals. The market might be segmented by individual versus group practice, area of specialization, or possibly even physician practice life cycle stage (Wotruba, Haas, and Hartman 1982). The questions included on the survey and the survey format are likely to be situation-specific. The key is the process, not the procedure. It is important for hospital marketers to recognize that practice management assistance needs will vary among markets (Jensen 1987). Therefore, hospitals must carefully identify their target physician market(s) and survey them about their specific needs before developing and implementing new physician marketing programs. Only then can they be reasonably confident that their marketing programs match their customers' needs.

Transition Care for Children With Special Health Care Needs

PubMed Central

Davis, Alaina M.; Brown, Rebekah F.; Taylor, Julie Lounds; Epstein, Richard A.

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Approximately 750 000 children in the United States with special health care needs will transition from pediatric to adult care annually. Fewer than half receive adequate transition care. METHODS: We had conversations with key informants representing clinicians who provide transition care, pediatric and adult providers of services for individuals with special health care needs, policy experts, and researchers; searched online sources for information about currently available programs and resources; and conducted a literature search to identify research on the effectiveness of transition programs. RESULTS: We identified 25 studies evaluating transition care programs. Most (n = 8) were conducted in populations with diabetes, with a smaller literature (n = 5) on transplant patients. We identified an additional 12 studies on a range of conditions, with no more than 2 studies on the same condition. Common components of care included use of a transition coordinator, a special clinic for young adults in transition, and provision of educational materials. CONCLUSIONS: The issue of how to provide transition care for children with special health care needs warrants further attention. Research needs are wide ranging, including both substantive and methodologic concerns. Although there is widespread agreement on the need for adequate transition programs, there is no accepted way to measure transition success. It will be essential to establish consistent goals to build an adequate body of literature to affect practice. PMID:25287460

Using a computer-based simulation with an artificial intelligence component and discovery learning to formulate training needs for a new technology

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

Hillis, D.R.

A computer-based simulation with an artificial intelligence component and discovery learning was investigated as a method to formulate training needs for new or unfamiliar technologies. Specifically, the study examined if this simulation method would provide for the recognition of applications and knowledge/skills which would be the basis for establishing training needs. The study also examined the effect of field-dependence/independence on recognition of applications and knowledge/skills. A pretest-posttest control group experimental design involving fifty-eight college students from an industrial technology program was used. The study concluded that the simulation was effective in developing recognition of applications and the knowledge/skills for amore » new or unfamiliar technology. And, the simulation's effectiveness for providing this recognition was not limited by an individual's field-dependence/independence.« less

Toxicology in Australia: a key component of environmental health.

PubMed

Priestly, Brian G; Di Marco, Peter; Sim, Malcolm; Moore, Michael R; Langley, Andrew

2007-10-01

Managing public concerns relating to chemical exposures can consume substantial public health resources, particularly as the scientific basis around these issues is often contentious. Toxicology remains underrecognized as a public health discipline in Australia, although Australian toxicologists are making significant contributions from academia, government, and the commercial sector toward assessing the level of risk and protecting the community from environmental hazards. Internationally, the growth of environmental toxicology and the promotion of sound science in risk assessment as a basis for making regulatory decisions have been, to some extent, driven by the outcomes of the 1992 UNCED Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio Summit) and its Chapter 19 Agenda 21 activities. The promotion of safe chemical management practices and the need for global strengthening of capabilities in toxicology are among the initiatives of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS), which was formed after the Rio Summit to manage these programs. This article describes some of the initiatives in capacity building that marked the development of environmental toxicology in Australia since 1992 in response to these international environmental health initiatives.

Stakeholder engagement: a key component of integrating genomic information into electronic health records

PubMed Central

Hartzler, Andrea; McCarty, Catherine A.; Rasmussen, Luke V.; Williams, Marc S.; Brilliant, Murray; Bowton, Erica A.; Clayton, Ellen Wright; Faucett, William A.; Ferryman, Kadija; Field, Julie R.; Fullerton, Stephanie M.; Horowitz, Carol R.; Koenig, Barbara A.; McCormick, Jennifer B.; Ralston, James D.; Sanderson, Saskia C.; Smith, Maureen E.; Trinidad, Susan Brown

2014-01-01

Integrating genomic information into clinical care and the electronic health record can facilitate personalized medicine through genetically guided clinical decision support. Stakeholder involvement is critical to the success of these implementation efforts. Prior work on implementation of clinical information systems provides broad guidance to inform effective engagement strategies. We add to this evidence-based recommendations that are specific to issues at the intersection of genomics and the electronic health record. We describe stakeholder engagement strategies employed by the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network, a national consortium of US research institutions funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute to develop, disseminate, and apply approaches that combine genomic and electronic health record data. Through select examples drawn from sites of the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network, we illustrate a continuum of engagement strategies to inform genomic integration into commercial and homegrown electronic health records across a range of health-care settings. We frame engagement as activities to consult, involve, and partner with key stakeholder groups throughout specific phases of health information technology implementation. Our aim is to provide insights into engagement strategies to guide genomic integration based on our unique network experiences and lessons learned within the broader context of implementation research in biomedical informatics. On the basis of our collective experience, we describe key stakeholder practices, challenges, and considerations for successful genomic integration to support personalized medicine. PMID:24030437

Practical issues in quantum-key-distribution postprocessing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fung, Chi-Hang Fred; Ma, Xiongfeng; Chau, H. F.

2010-01-01

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a secure key generation method between two distant parties by wisely exploiting properties of quantum mechanics. In QKD, experimental measurement outcomes on quantum states are transformed by the two parties to a secret key. This transformation is composed of many logical steps (as guided by security proofs), which together will ultimately determine the length of the final secret key and its security. We detail the procedure for performing such classical postprocessing taking into account practical concerns (including the finite-size effect and authentication and encryption for classical communications). This procedure is directly applicable to realistic QKD experiments and thus serves as a recipe that specifies what postprocessing operations are needed and what the security level is for certain lengths of the keys. Our result is applicable to the BB84 protocol with a single or entangled photon source.

Babies Need Tummy Time

MedlinePlus

... Environment? Babies Need Tummy Time! FAQs Myths and Facts Campaign Materials Explore the Campaign Key Moments in Campaign History Outreach Activities The Science of SIDS and Safe Infant Sleep Collaborators and ...

Space division multiplexing chip-to-chip quantum key distribution.

PubMed

Bacco, Davide; Ding, Yunhong; Dalgaard, Kjeld; Rottwitt, Karsten; Oxenløwe, Leif Katsuo

2017-09-29

Quantum cryptography is set to become a key technology for future secure communications. However, to get maximum benefit in communication networks, transmission links will need to be shared among several quantum keys for several independent users. Such links will enable switching in quantum network nodes of the quantum keys to their respective destinations. In this paper we present an experimental demonstration of a photonic integrated silicon chip quantum key distribution protocols based on space division multiplexing (SDM), through multicore fiber technology. Parallel and independent quantum keys are obtained, which are useful in crypto-systems and future quantum network.

Do we need to challenge thoughts in cognitive behavior therapy?

PubMed

Longmore, Richard J; Worrell, Michael

2007-03-01

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) emphasizes the primacy of cognition in mediating psychological disorder. It aims to alleviate distress by modifying cognitive content and process, realigning thinking with reality. Recently, various authors have questioned the need for CBT therapists to use logico-rational strategies to directly challenge maladaptive thoughts. Hayes [Hayes, S.C. (2004). Acceptance and commitment therapy and the new behavior therapies. In S.C. Hayes, V.M. Follette, & M.M. Linehan (Eds.), Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive behavioral tradition. (pp. 1-29). New York: Guilford] has identified three empirical anomalies in the research literature. Firstly, treatment component analyzes have failed to show that cognitive interventions provide significant added value to the therapy. Secondly, CBT treatments have been associated with a rapid symptomatic improvement prior to the introduction of specific cognitive interventions. Thirdly, there is a paucity of data that changes in cognitive mediators instigate symptomatic change. This paper critically reviews the empirical literature that addresses these significant challenges to CBT. A comprehensive review of component studies finds little evidence that specific cognitive interventions significantly increase the effectiveness of the therapy. Although evidence for the early rapid response phenomenon is lacking, there is little empirical support for the role of cognitive change as causal in the symptomatic improvements achieved in CBT. These findings are discussed with reference to the key question: Do we need to challenge thoughts in CBT?

An Exploratory Qualitative Inquiry of Key Indicators on IT Disaster Recovery Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, Brian

2016-01-01

Disaster recovery planning is a crucial component to maintaining a business's economic stability. However, it is unclear how key performance indicators (KPIs) are perceived in the emergency medical service (EMS) industry during the disaster recover planning process. The problem addressed in this study was to understand KPIs and their components.…

Single molecule force measurements of perlecan/HSPG2: A key component of the osteocyte pericellular matrix.

PubMed

Wijeratne, Sithara S; Martinez, Jerahme R; Grindel, Brian J; Frey, Eric W; Li, Jingqiang; Wang, Liyun; Farach-Carson, Mary C; Kiang, Ching-Hwa

2016-03-01

Perlecan/HSPG2, a large, monomeric heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), is a key component of the lacunar canalicular system (LCS) of cortical bone, where it is part of the mechanosensing pericellular matrix (PCM) surrounding the osteocytic processes and serves as a tethering element that connects the osteocyte cell body to the bone matrix. Within the pericellular space surrounding the osteocyte cell body, perlecan can experience physiological fluid flow drag force and in that capacity function as a sensor to relay external stimuli to the osteocyte cell membrane. We previously showed that a reduction in perlecan secretion alters the PCM fiber composition and interferes with bone's response to a mechanical loading in vivo. To test our hypothesis that perlecan core protein can sustain tensile forces without unfolding under physiological loading conditions, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to capture images of perlecan monomers at nanoscale resolution and to perform single molecule force measurement (SMFMs). We found that the core protein of purified full-length human perlecan is of suitable size to span the pericellular space of the LCS, with a measured end-to-end length of 170±20 nm and a diameter of 2-4 nm. Force pulling revealed a strong protein core that can withstand over 100 pN of tension well over the drag forces that are estimated to be exerted on the individual osteocyte tethers. Data fitting with an extensible worm-like chain model showed that the perlecan protein core has a mean elastic constant of 890 pN and a corresponding Young's modulus of 71 MPa. We conclude that perlecan has physical properties that would allow it to act as a strong but elastic tether in the LCS. Copyright © 2015 International Society of Matrix Biology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Constructing a Cross-Domain Resource Inventory: Key Components and Results of the EarthCube CINERGI Project.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaslavsky, I.; Richard, S. M.; Malik, T.; Hsu, L.; Gupta, A.; Grethe, J. S.; Valentine, D. W., Jr.; Lehnert, K. A.; Bermudez, L. E.; Ozyurt, I. B.; Whitenack, T.; Schachne, A.; Giliarini, A.

2015-12-01

While many geoscience-related repositories and data discovery portals exist, finding information about available resources remains a pervasive problem, especially when searching across multiple domains and catalogs. Inconsistent and incomplete metadata descriptions, disparate access protocols and semantic differences across domains, and troves of unstructured or poorly structured information which is hard to discover and use are major hindrances toward discovery, while metadata compilation and curation remain manual and time-consuming. We report on methodology, main results and lessons learned from an ongoing effort to develop a geoscience-wide catalog of information resources, with consistent metadata descriptions, traceable provenance, and automated metadata enhancement. Developing such a catalog is the central goal of CINERGI (Community Inventory of EarthCube Resources for Geoscience Interoperability), an EarthCube building block project (earthcube.org/group/cinergi). The key novel technical contributions of the projects include: a) development of a metadata enhancement pipeline and a set of document enhancers to automatically improve various aspects of metadata descriptions, including keyword assignment and definition of spatial extents; b) Community Resource Viewers: online applications for crowdsourcing community resource registry development, curation and search, and channeling metadata to the unified CINERGI inventory, c) metadata provenance, validation and annotation services, d) user interfaces for advanced resource discovery; and e) geoscience-wide ontology and machine learning to support automated semantic tagging and faceted search across domains. We demonstrate these CINERGI components in three types of user scenarios: (1) improving existing metadata descriptions maintained by government and academic data facilities, (2) supporting work of several EarthCube Research Coordination Network projects in assembling information resources for their domains

Entropy Driven Self-Assembly in Charged Lock-Key Particles.

PubMed

Odriozola, Gerardo; Lozada-Cassou, Marcelo

2016-07-07

In this work we study the lock-key model successfully used in supramolecular chemistry and particles self-assembly and gain further insight into the infinite diluted limit of the lock and key, depletant mediated, effective attraction. We discuss the depletant forces and entropy approaches to self-assembly and give details on the different contributions to the net force for a charged lock and key pair immersed in a solvent plus a primitive model electrolyte. We show a strong correlation of the force components behavior and the underlying processes of co-ion and solvent release from the cavity. In addition, we put into context the universal behavior observed for the energy-distance curves when changing the lock and key to solvent size ratio. Basically, we now show that this behavior is not always achieved and depends on the particular system geometry. Finally, we present a qualitative good agreement with experiments when changing the electrolyte concentration, valence, and cavity-key size ratio.

NDE: A key to engine rotor life prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doherty, J. E.

1977-01-01

A key ingredient in the establishment of safe life times for critical components is the means of reliably detecting flaws which may potentially exist. Currently used nondestructive evaluation procedures are successful in detecting life limiting defects; however, the development of automated and computer aided NDE technology permits even greater assurance of flight safety.

Integrating care for older people with complex needs: key insights and lessons from a seven-country cross-case analysis.

PubMed

Wodchis, Walter P; Dixon, Anna; Anderson, Geoff M; Goodwin, Nick

2015-01-01

To address the challenges of caring for a growing number of older people with a mix of both health problems and functional impairment, programmes in different countries have different approaches to integrating health and social service supports. The goal of this analysis is to identify important lessons for policy makers and service providers to enable better design, implementation and spread of successful integrated care models. This paper provides a structured cross-case synthesis of seven integrated care programmes in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the UK and the USA. All seven programmes involved bottom-up innovation driven by local needs and included: (1) a single point of entry, (2) holistic care assessments, (3) comprehensive care planning, (4) care co-ordination and (5) a well-connected provider network. The process of achieving successful integration involves collaboration and, although the specific types of collaboration varied considerably across the seven case studies, all involved a care coordinator or case manager. Most programmes were not systematically evaluated but the two with formal external evaluations showed benefit and have been expanded. Case managers or care coordinators who support patient-centred collaborative care are key to successful integration in all our cases as are policies that provide funds and support for local initiatives that allow for bottom-up innovation. However, more robust and systematic evaluation of these initiatives is needed to clarify the 'business case' for integrated health and social care and to ensure successful generalization of local successes.

Empirical Analysis of Optical Attenuator Performance in Quantum Key Distribution Systems Using a Particle Model

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF OPTICAL ATTENUATOR PERFORMANCE IN QUANTUM KEY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS USING A...DISTRIBUTION IS UNLIMITED AFIT/GCS/ENG/12-01 EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF OPTICAL ATTENUATOR PERFORMANCE IN QUANTUM KEY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS USING ...challenging as the complexity of actual implementation specifics are considered. Two components common to most quantum key distribution

[Key content and formulation of national Chinese materia medica resources survey at county level].

PubMed

Lu, Jian-Wei; Zhang, Xiao-Bo; Li, Hai-Tao; Guo, Lan-Ping; Zhao, Run-Huai; Zhang, Ben-Gang; Sun, Li-Ying; Huang, Lu-Qi

2013-08-01

According to National Census for Water, National Population Census, National Land and Resources Survey, and work experience of experimental measures for national Chinese materia medica resources(CMMR) survey,the national CMMR survey at the county level is the key point of whole survey, that includes organization and management, field survey, sorting data three key links. Organization and management works of national CMMR survey needs to finish four key contents, there are definite goals and tasks, practicable crew, preparation directory, and security assurance. Field survey works of the national CMMR survey needs to finish five key contents, there are preparation works for field survey, the choice of the key survey area (samples), fill in the questionnaire, video data collection, specimen and other physical collection. Sorting data works of the national CMMR survey needs to finish tree key contents, there are data, specimen and census results.

Budgeting Based on Student Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willis, Jason; Hill, Matt

2011-01-01

School finance reform has become a key component for transforming public schools in the United States. Over the last decade, a growing number of districts have turned to an approach known by different names--student-based budgeting, weighted student funding and fair student funding, among others--in which budgets are allocated to schools in…

Exploring safety systems for dispensing in community pharmacies: focusing on how staff relate to organizational components.

PubMed

Harvey, Jasmine; Avery, Anthony J; Ashcroft, Darren; Boyd, Matthew; Phipps, Denham L; Barber, Nicholas

2015-01-01

Identifying risk is an important facet of a safety practice in an organization. To identify risk, all components within a system of operation should be considered. In clinical safety practice, a team of people, technologies, procedures and protocols, management structure and environment have been identified as key components in a system of operation. To explore risks in relation to prescription dispensing in community pharmacies by taking into account relationships between key components that relate to the dispensing process. Fifteen community pharmacies in England with varied characteristics were identified, and data were collected using non-participant observations, shadowing and interviews. Approximately 360 hours of observations and 38 interviews were conducted by the team. Observation field notes from each pharmacy were written into case studies. Overall, 52,500 words from 15 case studies and interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic and line-by-line analyses. Validation techniques included multiple data collectors co-authoring each case study for consensus, review of case studies by members of the wider team including academic and practicing community pharmacists, and patient safety experts and two presentations (internally and externally) to review and discuss findings. Risks identified were related to relationships between people and other key components in dispensing. This included how different levels of staff communicated internally and externally, followed procedures, interacted with technical systems, worked with management, and engaged with the environment. In a dispensing journey, the following categories were identified which show how risks are inextricably linked through relationships between human components and other key components: 1) dispensing with divided attention; 2) dispensing under pressure; 3) dispensing in a restricted space or environment; and, 4) managing external influences. To identify and evaluate risks effectively, an

Current Challenges for HTCMC Aero-Propulsion Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DiCarlo, James A.; Bansal, Narottam P.

2007-01-01

In comparison to the best metallic materials, HTCMC aero-propulsion engine components offer the opportunity of reduced weight and higher temperature operation, with corresponding improvements in engine cooling requirements, emissions, thrust, and specific fuel consumption. Although much progress has been made in the development of advanced HTCMC constituent materials and processes, major challenges still remain for their implementation into these components. The objectives of this presentation are to briefly review (1) potential HTCMC aero-propulsion components and their generic material performance requirements, (2) recent progress at NASA and elsewhere concerning advanced constituents and processes for meeting these requirements, (3) key HTCMC component implementation challenges that are currently being encountered, and (4) on-going activities within the new NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program that are addressing these challenges.

Toward Reusable Graphics Components in Ada

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-03-01

Then alternatives for obtaining well- engineered reusable software components were examined. Finally, the alternatives were analyzed, and the most...reusable software components. Chapter 4 describes detailed design and implementation strategies in building a well- engineered reusable set of components in...study. 2.2 The Object-Oriented Paradigm 2.2.1 The Need for Object-Oriented Techniques. Among software engineers the software crisis is a well known

Introducing an algal carbon-concentrating mechanism into higher plants: location and incorporation of key components.

PubMed

Atkinson, Nicky; Feike, Doreen; Mackinder, Luke C M; Meyer, Moritz T; Griffiths, Howard; Jonikas, Martin C; Smith, Alison M; McCormick, Alistair J

2016-05-01

Many eukaryotic green algae possess biophysical carbon-concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) that enhance photosynthetic efficiency and thus permit high growth rates at low CO2 concentrations. They are thus an attractive option for improving productivity in higher plants. In this study, the intracellular locations of ten CCM components in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were confirmed. When expressed in tobacco, all of these components except chloroplastic carbonic anhydrases CAH3 and CAH6 had the same intracellular locations as in Chlamydomonas. CAH6 could be directed to the chloroplast by fusion to an Arabidopsis chloroplast transit peptide. Similarly, the putative inorganic carbon (Ci) transporter LCI1 was directed to the chloroplast from its native location on the plasma membrane. CCP1 and CCP2 proteins, putative Ci transporters previously reported to be in the chloroplast envelope, localized to mitochondria in both Chlamydomonas and tobacco, suggesting that the algal CCM model requires expansion to include a role for mitochondria. For the Ci transporters LCIA and HLA3, membrane location and Ci transport capacity were confirmed by heterologous expression and H(14) CO3 (-) uptake assays in Xenopus oocytes. Both were expressed in Arabidopsis resulting in growth comparable with that of wild-type plants. We conclude that CCM components from Chlamydomonas can be expressed both transiently (in tobacco) and stably (in Arabidopsis) and retargeted to appropriate locations in higher plant cells. As expression of individual Ci transporters did not enhance Arabidopsis growth, stacking of further CCM components will probably be required to achieve a significant increase in photosynthetic efficiency in this species. © 2015 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Component-based target recognition inspired by human vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Yufeng; Agyepong, Kwabena

2009-05-01

In contrast with machine vision, human can recognize an object from complex background with great flexibility. For example, given the task of finding and circling all cars (no further information) in a picture, you may build a virtual image in mind from the task (or target) description before looking at the picture. Specifically, the virtual car image may be composed of the key components such as driver cabin and wheels. In this paper, we propose a component-based target recognition method by simulating the human recognition process. The component templates (equivalent to the virtual image in mind) of the target (car) are manually decomposed from the target feature image. Meanwhile, the edges of the testing image can be extracted by using a difference of Gaussian (DOG) model that simulates the spatiotemporal response in visual process. A phase correlation matching algorithm is then applied to match the templates with the testing edge image. If all key component templates are matched with the examining object, then this object is recognized as the target. Besides the recognition accuracy, we will also investigate if this method works with part targets (half cars). In our experiments, several natural pictures taken on streets were used to test the proposed method. The preliminary results show that the component-based recognition method is very promising.

Keys and seats: Spatial response coding underlying the joint spatial compatibility effect.

PubMed

Dittrich, Kerstin; Dolk, Thomas; Rothe-Wulf, Annelie; Klauer, Karl Christoph; Prinz, Wolfgang

2013-11-01

Spatial compatibility effects (SCEs) are typically observed when participants have to execute spatially defined responses to nonspatial stimulus features (e.g., the color red or green) that randomly appear to the left and the right. Whereas a spatial correspondence of stimulus and response features facilitates response execution, a noncorrespondence impairs task performance. Interestingly, the SCE is drastically reduced when a single participant responds to one stimulus feature (e.g., green) by operating only one response key (individual go/no-go task), whereas a full-blown SCE is observed when the task is distributed between two participants (joint go/no-go task). This joint SCE (a.k.a. the social Simon effect) has previously been explained by action/task co-representation, whereas alternative accounts ascribe joint SCEs to spatial components inherent in joint go/no-go tasks that allow participants to code their responses spatially. Although increasing evidence supports the idea that spatial rather than social aspects are responsible for joint SCEs emerging, it is still unclear to which component(s) the spatial coding refers to: the spatial orientation of response keys, the spatial orientation of responding agents, or both. By varying the spatial orientation of the responding agents (Exp. 1) and of the response keys (Exp. 2), independent of the spatial orientation of the stimuli, in the present study we found joint SCEs only when both the seating and the response key alignment matched the stimulus alignment. These results provide evidence that spatial response coding refers not only to the response key arrangement, but also to the-often neglected-spatial orientation of the responding agents.

Weighted Components of i-Government Enterprise Architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budiardjo, E. K.; Firmansyah, G.; Hasibuan, Z. A.

2017-01-01

Lack of government performance, among others due to the lack of coordination and communication among government agencies. Whilst, Enterprise Architecture (EA) in the government can be use as a strategic planning tool to improve productivity, efficiency, and effectivity. However, the existence components of Government Enterprise Architecture (GEA) do not show level of importance, that cause difficulty in implementing good e-government for good governance. This study is to explore the weight of GEA components using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in order to discovered an inherent structure of e-government. The results show that IT governance component of GEA play a major role in the GEA. The rest of components that consist of e-government system, e-government regulation, e-government management, and application key operational, contributed more or less the same. Beside that GEA from other countries analyzes using comparative base on comon enterprise architecture component. These weighted components use to construct i-Government enterprise architecture. and show the relative importance of component in order to established priorities in developing e-government.

Satellite lidar and radar: Key components of the future climate observing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winker, D. M.

2017-12-01

Cloud feedbacks represent the dominant source of uncertainties in estimates of climate sensitivity and aerosols represent the largest source of uncertainty in climate forcing. Both observation of long-term changes and observational constraints on the processes responsible for those changes are necessary. The existing 30-year record of passive satellite observations has not yet provided constraints to significantly reduce these uncertainties, though. We now have more than a decade of experience with active sensors flying in the A-Train. These new observations have demonstrated the strengths of active sensors and the benefits of continued and more advanced active sensors. This talk will discuss the multiple roles for active sensors as an essential component of a global climate observing system.

Components for IFOG based inertial measurement units using active and passive polymer materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashley, Paul R.; Temmen, Mark G.; Diffey, William M.; Sanghadasa, Mohan; Bramson, Michael D.; Lindsay, Geoffrey A.; Guenthner, Andrew J.

2006-08-01

Highly accurate, compact, and low cost inertial measurement units (IMUs) are needed for precision guidance in navigation systems. Active and passive polymer materials have been successfully used in fabricating two of the key guided-wave components, the phase modulator and the optical transceiver, for IMUs based on the interferometric fiber optic gyroscope (IFOG) technology. Advanced hybrid waveguide fabrication processes and novel optical integration techniques have been introduced. Backscatter compensated low loss phase modulators with low half-wave drive voltage (V π) have been fabricated with CLD- and FTC- type high performance electro-optic chromophores. A silicon-bench architecture has been used in fabricating high gain low noise transceivers with high optical power while maintaining the spectral quality and long lifetime. Gyro bias stability of less than 0.02 deg/hr has been demonstrated with these components. A review of the novel concepts introduced, fabrication and integration techniques developed and performance achieved are presented.

How Many Environmental Impact Indicators Are Needed in the Evaluation of Product Life Cycles?

PubMed

Steinmann, Zoran J N; Schipper, Aafke M; Hauck, Mara; Huijbregts, Mark A J

2016-04-05

Numerous indicators are currently available for environmental impact assessments, especially in the field of Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). Because decision-making on the basis of hundreds of indicators simultaneously is unfeasible, a nonredundant key set of indicators representative of the overall environmental impact is needed. We aimed to find such a nonredundant set of indicators based on their mutual correlations. We have used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in combination with an optimization algorithm to find an optimal set of indicators out of 135 impact indicators calculated for 976 products from the ecoinvent database. The first four principal components covered 92% of the variance in product rankings, showing the potential for indicator reduction. The same amount of variance (92%) could be covered by a minimal set of six indicators, related to climate change, ozone depletion, the combined effects of acidification and eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity, and land use. In comparison, four commonly used resource footprints (energy, water, land, materials) together accounted for 84% of the variance in product rankings. We conclude that the plethora of environmental indicators can be reduced to a small key set, representing the major part of the variation in environmental impacts between product life cycles.

Experimental realization of equiangular three-state quantum key distribution

PubMed Central

Schiavon, Matteo; Vallone, Giuseppe; Villoresi, Paolo

2016-01-01

Quantum key distribution using three states in equiangular configuration combines a security threshold comparable with the one of the Bennett-Brassard 1984 protocol and a quantum bit error rate (QBER) estimation that does not need to reveal part of the key. We implement an entanglement-based version of the Renes 2004 protocol, using only passive optic elements in a linear scheme for the positive-operator valued measure (POVM), generating an asymptotic secure key rate of more than 10 kbit/s, with a mean QBER of 1.6%. We then demonstrate its security in the case of finite key and evaluate the key rate for both collective and general attacks. PMID:27465643

Discrete Event Simulation Modeling and Analysis of Key Leader Engagements

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

to offer. GreenPlayer agents require four parameters, pC, pKLK, pTK, and pRK , which give probabilities for being corrupt, having key leader...HandleMessageRequest component. The same parameter constraints apply to these four parameters. The parameter pRK is the same parameter from the CreatePlayers component...whether the local Green player has resource critical knowledge by using the parameter pRK . It schedules an EndResourceKnowledgeRequest event, passing

Coordinating Council. Sixth Meeting: Who Are Our Key Users?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This NASA Scientific and Technical Information Program Coordinating Council meeting deals with the topic 'Who are our key users?' Presentations were made on the following subtopics: Key users: Who uses the system the most, Who orders the most documents, Users: What do we know about them?, NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion research project on 'Potential key users', How we meet the user's needs, and STI Council user requirements update. Summaries of discussions after the presentations are included along with visuals for the presentations.

Teaching Science to Learners with Special Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGinnis, J. Randy

2013-01-01

A fundamental social justice issue worldwide is how to meet the needs of all learners, especially those with special needs who historically have faced discrimination, exclusion, and oppression due to special needs (physical, cognitive, or behavioral dimensions). This article focuses on the key questions that researchers interested in improving…

Acadia National Park ITS field operational test : key informant interviews

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-03-01

This document reflects the ideas and opinions of a group of key informants and stakeholders involved in the Field Operational Test of ITS components in and around Acadia National Park from 1999 through 2002. The stakeholders were involved in the plan...

Automation of cutting and drilling of composite components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warren, Charles W.

1991-01-01

The task was to develop a preliminary plan for an automated system for the cutting and drilling of advanced aerospace composite components. The goal was to automate the production of these components, but the technology developed can be readily extended to other systems. There is an excellent opportunity for developing a state of the art automated system for the cutting and drilling of large composite components at NASA-Marshall. Most of the major system components are in place: the robot, the water jet pump, and the off-line programming system. The drilling system and the part location system are the only major components that need to be developed. Also, another water jet nozzle and a small amount of high pressure plumbing need to be purchased from, and installed.

The iron-sulfur cluster assembly network component NARFL is a key element in the cellular defense against oxidative stress.

PubMed

Corbin, Monique V; Rockx, Davy A P; Oostra, Anneke B; Joenje, Hans; Dorsman, Josephine C

2015-12-01

Aim of this study was to explore cellular changes associated with increased resistance to atmospheric oxygen using high-resolution DNA and RNA profiling combined with functional studies. Two independently selected oxygen-resistant substrains of HeLa cells (capable of proliferating at >80% O2, i.e. hyperoxia) were compared with their parental cells (adapted to growth at 20% O2, but unable to grow at >80% O2). A striking consistent alteration found to be associated with the oxygen-resistant state appeared to be an amplified and overexpressed region on chromosome 16p13.3 harboring 21 genes. The driver gene of this amplification was identified by functional studies as NARFL, which encodes a component of the cytosolic iron-sulfur cluster assembly system. In line with this result we found the cytosolic c-aconitase activity as well as the nuclear protein RTEL1, both Fe-S dependent proteins, to be protected by NARFL overexpression under hyperoxia. In addition, we observed a protective effect of NARFL against hyperoxia-induced loss of sister-chromatid cohesion. NARFL thus appeared to be a key factor in the cellular defense against hyperoxia-induced oxidative stress in human cells. Our findings suggest that new insight into age-related degenerative processes may come from studies that specifically address the involvement of iron-sulfur proteins. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From big data to rich data: The key features of athlete wheelchair mobility performance.

PubMed

van der Slikke, R M A; Berger, M A M; Bregman, D J J; Veeger, H E J

2016-10-03

Quantitative assessment of an athlete׳s individual wheelchair mobility performance is one prerequisite needed to evaluate game performance, improve wheelchair settings and optimize training routines. Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) based methods can be used to perform such quantitative assessment, providing a large number of kinematic data. The goal of this research was to reduce that large amount of data to a set of key features best describing wheelchair mobility performance in match play and present them in meaningful way for both scientists and athletes. To test the discriminative power, wheelchair mobility characteristics of athletes with different performance levels were compared. The wheelchair kinematics of 29 (inter-)national level athletes were measured during a match using three inertial sensors mounted on the wheelchair. Principal component analysis was used to reduce 22 kinematic outcomes to a set of six outcomes regarding linear and rotational movement; speed and acceleration; average and best performance. In addition, it was explored whether groups of athletes with known performance differences based on their impairment classification also differed with respect to these key outcomes using univariate general linear models. For all six key outcomes classification showed to be a significant factor (p<0.05). We composed a set of six key kinematic outcomes that accurately describe wheelchair mobility performance in match play. The key kinematic outcomes were displayed in an easy to interpret way, usable for athletes, coaches and scientists. This standardized representation enables comparison of different wheelchair sports regarding wheelchair mobility, but also evaluation at the level of an individual athlete. By this means, the tool could enhance further development of wheelchair sports in general. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Periostin Is a Key Niche Component for Wound Metastasis of Melanoma

PubMed Central

Fukuda, Keitaro; Sugihara, Eiji; Ohta, Shoichiro; Izuhara, Kenji; Funakoshi, Takeru; Amagai, Masayuki; Saya, Hideyuki

2015-01-01

Tissue injury promotes metastasis of several human cancers, although factors associated with wound healing that attract circulating tumor cells have remained unknown. Here, we examined the primary and metastatic lesions that appeared 1 month after trauma in a patient with acral lentiginous melanoma. The levels of mRNA for periostin (POSTN), type 1 collagen, and fibronectin were significantly increased in the metastatic lesion relative to the primary lesion. The increase of these extracellular matrix proteins at the wound site was reproduced in a mouse model of wound healing, with the upregulation of Postn mRNA persisting the longest. POSTN was expressed in the region surrounding melanoma cell nests in metastatic lesions of both wounded mice and the patient. POSTN attenuated the cell adhesion and promoted the migration of melanoma cells without affecting their proliferation in vitro. In the mouse model, the wound site as well as subcutaneously injected osteoblasts that secrete large amounts of POSTN invited the metastasis of remotely-transplanted melanoma cells on the sites. Osteoblasts with suppression of POSTN by shRNA showed a greatly reduced ability to promote such metastasis. Our results suggest that POSTN is a key factor in promoting melanoma cell metastasis to wound sites by providing a premetastatic niche. PMID:26083413

Periostin Is a Key Niche Component for Wound Metastasis of Melanoma.

PubMed

Fukuda, Keitaro; Sugihara, Eiji; Ohta, Shoichiro; Izuhara, Kenji; Funakoshi, Takeru; Amagai, Masayuki; Saya, Hideyuki

2015-01-01

Tissue injury promotes metastasis of several human cancers, although factors associated with wound healing that attract circulating tumor cells have remained unknown. Here, we examined the primary and metastatic lesions that appeared 1 month after trauma in a patient with acral lentiginous melanoma. The levels of mRNA for periostin (POSTN), type 1 collagen, and fibronectin were significantly increased in the metastatic lesion relative to the primary lesion. The increase of these extracellular matrix proteins at the wound site was reproduced in a mouse model of wound healing, with the upregulation of Postn mRNA persisting the longest. POSTN was expressed in the region surrounding melanoma cell nests in metastatic lesions of both wounded mice and the patient. POSTN attenuated the cell adhesion and promoted the migration of melanoma cells without affecting their proliferation in vitro. In the mouse model, the wound site as well as subcutaneously injected osteoblasts that secrete large amounts of POSTN invited the metastasis of remotely-transplanted melanoma cells on the sites. Osteoblasts with suppression of POSTN by shRNA showed a greatly reduced ability to promote such metastasis. Our results suggest that POSTN is a key factor in promoting melanoma cell metastasis to wound sites by providing a premetastatic niche.

An Education Freedom Index: Why, Key Determinants, Component Weights, and Trade-Offs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merrifield, John

2011-01-01

Freedom of any kind has intrinsic value, and education freedom is controversial, in need of empirical assessment of possible and likely trade-offs between freedom from state control and social goals such as equity and cohesion. Without a reasonable empirical measure of education freedom we can only cite the controversies and choose sides. The…

A network analysis of the Chinese medicine Lianhua-Qingwen formula to identify its main effective components.

PubMed

Wang, Chun-Hua; Zhong, Yi; Zhang, Yan; Liu, Jin-Ping; Wang, Yue-Fei; Jia, Wei-Na; Wang, Guo-Cai; Li, Zheng; Zhu, Yan; Gao, Xiu-Mei

2016-02-01

Chinese medicine is known to treat complex diseases with multiple components and multiple targets. However, the main effective components and their related key targets and functions remain to be identified. Herein, a network analysis method was developed to identify the main effective components and key targets of a Chinese medicine, Lianhua-Qingwen Formula (LQF). The LQF is commonly used for the prevention and treatment of viral influenza in China. It is composed of 11 herbs, gypsum and menthol with 61 compounds being identified in our previous work. In this paper, these 61 candidate compounds were used to find their related targets and construct the predicted-target (PT) network. An influenza-related protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed and integrated with the PT network. Then the compound-effective target (CET) network and compound-ineffective target network (CIT) were extracted, respectively. A novel approach was developed to identify effective components by comparing CET and CIT networks. As a result, 15 main effective components were identified along with 61 corresponding targets. 7 of these main effective components were further experimentally validated to have antivirus efficacy in vitro. The main effective component-target (MECT) network was further constructed with main effective components and their key targets. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of the MECT network predicted key functions such as NO production being modulated by the LQF. Interestingly, five effective components were experimentally tested and exhibited inhibitory effects on NO production in the LPS induced RAW 264.7 cell. In summary, we have developed a novel approach to identify the main effective components in a Chinese medicine LQF and experimentally validated some of the predictions.

Five Keys for Teaching Mental Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, James R.

2015-01-01

After studying the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) and brain-based learning research, James Olsen believes mental math instruction in secondary school mathematics (grades 7-12) and in teacher education programs needs increased attention. The purpose of this article is to share some keys for teaching mental math. Olsen also…

Environmental Forces - Some Esthetic Components.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Severino, D. Alexander

Although our system of mass culture has raised our civilization to an extremely high level of material success and affluence, the fact remains that this system has the inherent flaw of not fully recognizing the esthetic needs of man. To overcome this weakness we need to re-introduce into the system a sizable component of first-hand experience…

Insights into the role of components of the tumor microenvironment in oral carcinoma call for new therapeutic approaches

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

Salo, Tuula, E-mail: Tuula.salo@oulu.fi; Oulu University Central Hospital, Oulu; Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki

The research on oral cancer has focused mainly on the cancer cells, their genetic changes and consequent phenotypic modifications. However, it is increasingly clear that the tumor microenvironment (TME) has been shown to be in a dynamic state of inter-relations with the cancer cells. The TME contains a variety of components including the non-cancerous cells (i.e., immune cells, resident fibroblasts and angiogenic vascular cells) and the ECM milieu [including fibers (mainly collagen and fibronectin) and soluble factors (i.e., enzymes, growth factors, cytokines and chemokines)]. Thus, it is currently assumed that TME is considered a part of the cancerous tissue andmore » the functionality of its key components constitutes the setting on which the hallmarks of the cancer cells can evolve. Therefore, in terms of controlling a malignancy, one should control the growth, invasion and spread of the cancer cells through modifications in the TME components. This mini review focuses on the TME as a diagnostic approach and reports the recent insights into the role of different TME key components [such as carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and inflammation (CAI) cells, angiogenesis, stromal matrix molecules and proteases] in the molecular biology of oral carcinoma. Furthermore, the impact of TME components on clinical outcomes and the concomitant need for development of new therapeutic approaches will be discussed. - Highlights: • Tumor depth and budding, hypoxia and TME cells associate with worse prognosis. • Pro-tumoral CAFs and CAI cells aid proliferation, invasion and spread hypoxia. • Some ECM-bound factors exert pro-angiogenic or pro-tumor activities. • Tumor spread is greatly dependent on ECM proteolysis, mediated by TME cells. • Direct targeting of TME components for treatment is still experimental.« less

Forensic steganalysis: determining the stego key in spatial domain steganography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fridrich, Jessica; Goljan, Miroslav; Soukal, David; Holotyak, Taras

2005-03-01

This paper is an extension of our work on stego key search for JPEG images published at EI SPIE in 2004. We provide a more general theoretical description of the methodology, apply our approach to the spatial domain, and add a method that determines the stego key from multiple images. We show that in the spatial domain the stego key search can be made significantly more efficient by working with the noise component of the image obtained using a denoising filter. The technique is tested on the LSB embedding paradigm and on a special case of embedding by noise adding (the +/-1 embedding). The stego key search can be performed for a wide class of steganographic techniques even for sizes of secret message well below those detectable using known methods. The proposed strategy may prove useful to forensic analysts and law enforcement.

One Step Quantum Key Distribution Based on EPR Entanglement.

PubMed

Li, Jian; Li, Na; Li, Lei-Lei; Wang, Tao

2016-06-30

A novel quantum key distribution protocol is presented, based on entanglement and dense coding and allowing asymptotically secure key distribution. Considering the storage time limit of quantum bits, a grouping quantum key distribution protocol is proposed, which overcomes the vulnerability of first protocol and improves the maneuverability. Moreover, a security analysis is given and a simple type of eavesdropper's attack would introduce at least an error rate of 46.875%. Compared with the "Ping-pong" protocol involving two steps, the proposed protocol does not need to store the qubit and only involves one step.

Completely device-independent quantum key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilar, Edgar A.; Ramanathan, Ravishankar; Kofler, Johannes; Pawłowski, Marcin

2016-08-01

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a provably secure way for two distant parties to establish a common secret key, which then can be used in a classical cryptographic scheme. Using quantum entanglement, one can reduce the necessary assumptions that the parties have to make about their devices, giving rise to device-independent QKD (DIQKD). However, in all existing protocols to date the parties need to have an initial (at least partially) random seed as a resource. In this work, we show that this requirement can be dropped. Using recent advances in the fields of randomness amplification and randomness expansion, we demonstrate that it is sufficient for the message the parties want to communicate to be (partially) unknown to the adversaries—an assumption without which any type of cryptography would be pointless to begin with. One party can use her secret message to locally generate a secret sequence of bits, which can then be openly used by herself and the other party in a DIQKD protocol. Hence our work reduces the requirements needed to perform secure DIQKD and establish safe communication.

Semiquantum key distribution with secure delegated quantum computation

PubMed Central

Li, Qin; Chan, Wai Hong; Zhang, Shengyu

2016-01-01

Semiquantum key distribution allows a quantum party to share a random key with a “classical” party who only can prepare and measure qubits in the computational basis or reorder some qubits when he has access to a quantum channel. In this work, we present a protocol where a secret key can be established between a quantum user and an almost classical user who only needs the quantum ability to access quantum channels, by securely delegating quantum computation to a quantum server. We show the proposed protocol is robust even when the delegated quantum server is a powerful adversary, and is experimentally feasible with current technology. As one party of our protocol is the most quantum-resource efficient, it can be more practical and significantly widen the applicability scope of quantum key distribution. PMID:26813384

Symmetric Blind Information Reconciliation for Quantum Key Distribution

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

Kiktenko, Evgeniy O.; Trushechkin, Anton S.; Lim, Charles Ci Wen

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a quantum-proof key-exchange scheme which is fast approaching the communication industry. An essential component in QKD is the information reconciliation step, which is used for correcting the quantum-channel noise errors. The recently suggested blind-reconciliation technique, based on low-density parity-check codes, offers remarkable prospectives for efficient information reconciliation without an a priori quantum bit error rate estimation. We suggest an improvement of the blind-information-reconciliation protocol promoting a significant increase in the efficiency of the procedure and reducing its interactivity. Finally, the proposed technique is based on introducing symmetry in operations of parties, and the consideration ofmore » results of unsuccessful belief-propagation decodings.« less

Symmetric Blind Information Reconciliation for Quantum Key Distribution

DOE PAGES

Kiktenko, Evgeniy O.; Trushechkin, Anton S.; Lim, Charles Ci Wen; ...

2017-10-27

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a quantum-proof key-exchange scheme which is fast approaching the communication industry. An essential component in QKD is the information reconciliation step, which is used for correcting the quantum-channel noise errors. The recently suggested blind-reconciliation technique, based on low-density parity-check codes, offers remarkable prospectives for efficient information reconciliation without an a priori quantum bit error rate estimation. We suggest an improvement of the blind-information-reconciliation protocol promoting a significant increase in the efficiency of the procedure and reducing its interactivity. Finally, the proposed technique is based on introducing symmetry in operations of parties, and the consideration ofmore » results of unsuccessful belief-propagation decodings.« less

Symmetric Blind Information Reconciliation for Quantum Key Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiktenko, E. O.; Trushechkin, A. S.; Lim, C. C. W.; Kurochkin, Y. V.; Fedorov, A. K.

2017-10-01

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a quantum-proof key-exchange scheme which is fast approaching the communication industry. An essential component in QKD is the information reconciliation step, which is used for correcting the quantum-channel noise errors. The recently suggested blind-reconciliation technique, based on low-density parity-check codes, offers remarkable prospectives for efficient information reconciliation without an a priori quantum bit error rate estimation. We suggest an improvement of the blind-information-reconciliation protocol promoting a significant increase in the efficiency of the procedure and reducing its interactivity. The proposed technique is based on introducing symmetry in operations of parties, and the consideration of results of unsuccessful belief-propagation decodings.

Childhood disability in Malawi: a population based assessment using the key informant method.

PubMed

Tataryn, Myroslava; Polack, Sarah; Chokotho, Linda; Mulwafu, Wakisa; Kayange, Petros; Banks, Lena Morgon; Noe, Christiane; Lavy, Chris; Kuper, Hannah

2017-11-28

Epidemiological data on childhood disability are lacking in Low and Middle Income countries (LMICs) such as Malawi, hampering effective service planning and advocacy. The Key Informant Method (KIM) is an innovative, cost-effective method for generating population data on the prevalence and causes of impairment in children. The aim of this study was to use the Key Informant Method to estimate the prevalence of moderate/severe, hearing, vision and physical impairments, intellectual impairments and epilepsy in children in two districts in Malawi and to estimate the associated need for rehabilitation and other services. Five hundred key informants (KIs) were trained to identify children in their communities who may have the impairment types included in this study. Identified children were invited to attend a screening camp where they underwent assessment by medical professionals for moderate/severe hearing, vision and physical impairments, intellectual impairments and epilepsy. Approximately 15,000 children were identified by KIs as potentially having an impairment of whom 7220 (48%) attended a screening camp. The estimated prevalence of impairments/epilepsy was 17.3/1000 children (95% CI: 16.9-17.7). Physical impairment (39%) was the commonest impairment type followed by hearing impairment (27%), intellectual impairment (26%), epilepsy (22%) and vision impairment (4%). Approximately 2100 children per million population could benefit from physiotherapy and occupational therapy and 300 per million are in need of a wheelchair. An estimated 1800 children per million population have hearing impairment caused by conditions that could be prevented or treated through basic primary ear care. Corneal opacity was the leading cause of vision impairment. Only 50% of children with suspected epilepsy were receiving medication. The majority (73%) of children were attending school, but attendance varied by impairment type and was lowest among children with multiple impairments (38

User needs for climate change scenarios in Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, Andreas; Liniger, Mark; Flückiger Knutti, Jacqueline

2017-04-01

In the framework of the recently founded National Center for Climate Services (NCCS) new climate change scenarios for Switzerland are currently under development that will be released in 2018 ("CH2018 scenarios"). An important component herein is the consideration of user needs in order to ensure that the new scenarios are user tailored and hence find a wide applicability in different sectors in Switzerland. A comprehensive market research was conducted to get a better overview of who the users of climate scenarios are and what they need. The survey targeted the most climate relevant sectors, and involved representatives from administration, research and private companies across Switzerland. The survey comprised several qualitative group interviews with key stakeholders, a written questionaire, answered by more than one hundred users and two specific workshops gathering the needs in dissemination. Additionally, the survey results were consolidated at a national symposium with around 150 participants from research, administration and practice. The results of the survey show the necessity to classify the users of climate scenarios according to their level of usage and according to the different sectors. It turns out that the less intensive the usage of the climate scenarios is, the more important becomes the need of comprehensibility, clarity and support when disseminating new climate scenarios. According to the survey it is especially the non-experts that should be better addressed in the new cycle of national climate scenarios. In terms of content, the survey reveals strongest needs for quantitative information on changes in extremes, an aspect that was handled in a qualitative way only in the predecessor climate scenario suite CH2011. Another cross-sectoral need are physically consistent data in time, space and between several variables. For instance, in agriculture the combination of heat and dryness is an important aspect, while the same is true in the energy

Transforming Medical Education is the Key to Meeting North Carolina's Physician Workforce Needs.

PubMed

Cunningham, Paul R G; Baxley, Elizabeth G; Garrison, Herbert G

2016-01-01

To meet the needs of the population of North Carolina, an epic transformation is under way in health care. This transformation requires that we find new ways to educate and train physicians and other health care professionals. In this commentary, we propose that the success of the Brody School of Medicine in preparing a primary care physician workforce can serve as a model for meeting the state's future physician workforce needs. Other considerations include increasing graduate medical education positions through state funding and providing incentives for medical students who stay in North Carolina. ©2016 by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and The Duke Endowment. All rights reserved.

ROLE OF DOM PHOTOREACTIONS IN CONTROLLING UV EXPOSURE OF CORAL ASSEMBLAGES IN THE FLORIDA KEYS

EPA Science Inventory

Recent studies have indicated that solar LTV radiation is a significant stressor of coral assemblages in tropical and subtropical marine environments. Here evidence is presented that UV exposure of coral reefs in the Florida Keys near Key West is controlled by the colored compone...

Interpreting beta-diversity components over time to conserve metacommunities in highly dynamic ecosystems.

PubMed

Ruhí, Albert; Datry, Thibault; Sabo, John L

2017-12-01

The concept of metacommunity (i.e., a set of local communities linked by dispersal) has gained great popularity among community ecologists. However, metacommunity research mostly addresses questions on spatial patterns of biodiversity at the regional scale, whereas conservation planning requires quantifying temporal variation in those metacommunities and the contributions that individual (local) sites make to regional dynamics. We propose that recent advances in diversity-partitioning methods may allow for a better understanding of metacommunity dynamics and the identification of keystone sites. We used time series of the 2 components of beta diversity (richness and replacement) and the contributions of local sites to these components to examine which sites controlled source-sink dynamics in a highly dynamic model system (an intermittent river). The relative importance of the richness and replacement components of beta diversity fluctuated over time, and sample aggregation led to underestimation of beta diversity by up to 35%. Our literature review revealed that research on intermittent rivers would benefit greatly from examination of beta-diversity components over time. Adequately appraising spatiotemporal variability in community composition and identifying sites that are pivotal for maintaining biodiversity at the landscape scale are key needs for conservation prioritization and planning. Thus, our framework may be used to guide conservation actions in highly dynamic ecosystems when time-series data describing biodiversity across sites connected by dispersal are available. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Improved E-ELT subsystem and component specifications, thanks to M1 test facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimmler, M.; Marrero, J.; Leveque, S.; Barriga, Pablo; Sedghi, B.; Kornweibel, N.

2014-07-01

During the last 2 years ESO has operated the "M1 Test Facility", a test stand consisting of a representative section of the E-ELT primary mirror equipped with 4 complete prototype segment subunits including sensors, actuators and control system. The purpose of the test facility is twofold: it serves to study and get familiar with component and system aspects like calibration, alignment and handling procedures and suitable control strategies on real hardware long before the primary mirror (hereafter M1) components are commissioned. Secondly, and of major benefit to the project, it offered the possibility to evaluate component and subsystem performance and interface issues in a system context in such detail, that issues could be identified early enough to feed back into the subsystem and component specifications. This considerably reduces risk and cost of the production units and allows refocusing the project team on important issues for the follow-up of the production contracts. Experiences are presented in which areas the results of the M1 Test Facility particularly helped to improve subsystem specifications and areas, where additional tests were adopted independent of the main test facility. Presented are the key experiences of the M1 Test Facility which lead to improved specifications or identified the need for additional testing outside of the M1 Test Facility.

Dinitrogen emissions as an overlooked key component of the N balance of montane grasslands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zistl-Schlingmann, Marcus; Feng, Jinchao; Kiese, Ralf; Stephan, Ruth; Dannenmann, Michael

2017-04-01

. Ammonia losses amounted to only 13-18%, N2O losses to 1-3 % and NO losses to 1% of applied manure-N. In the context of the ecosystem total N budget, our results show that N2 losses are a so far overlooked key component of the N balance in montane grasslands. Understanding controls of N2 loss is therefore an indispensable prerequisite for the development of grassland management strategies targeted to improve N use efficiency.

Key Elements of a Successful Drive toward Marketing Strategy Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cann, Cynthia W.; George, Marie A.

2003-01-01

A conceptual model is presented that depicts the relationship between an internal marketing function and an organization's readiness to learn. Learning and marketing orientations are identified as components to marketing strategy making. Key organizational functions, including communication and decision-making, are utilized in a framework for…

Calculation of key reduction for B92 QKD protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehic, Miralem; Partila, Pavol; Tovarek, Jaromir; Voznak, Miroslav

2015-05-01

It is well known that Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) can be used with the highest level of security for distribution of the secret key, which is further used for symmetrical encryption. B92 is one of the oldest QKD protocols. It uses only two non-orthogonal states, each one coding for one bit-value. It is much faster and simpler when compared to its predecessors, but with the idealized maximum efficiencies of 25% over the quantum channel. B92 consists of several phases in which initial key is significantly reduced: secret key exchange, extraction of the raw key (sifting), error rate estimation, key reconciliation and privacy amplification. QKD communication is performed over two channels: the quantum channel and the classical public channel. In order to prevent a man-in-the-middle attack and modification of messages on the public channel, authentication of exchanged values must be performed. We used Wegman-Carter authentication because it describes an upper bound for needed symmetric authentication key. We explained the reduction of the initial key in each of QKD phases.

Synchronous orbit power technology needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slifer, L. W., Jr.; Billerbeck, W. J.

1979-01-01

The needs are defined for future geosynchronous orbit spacecraft power subsystem components, including power generation, energy storage, and power processing. A review of the rapid expansion of the satellite communications field provides a basis for projection into the future. Three projected models, a mission model, an orbit transfer vehicle model, and a mass model for power subsystem components are used to define power requirements and mass limitations for future spacecraft. Based upon these three models, the power subsystems for a 10 kw, 10 year life, dedicated spacecraft and for a 20 kw, 20 year life, multi-mission platform are analyzed in further detail to establish power density requirements for the generation, storage and processing components of power subsystems as related to orbit transfer vehicle capabilities. Comparison of these requirements to state of the art design values shows that major improvements, by a factor of 2 or more, are needed to accomplish the near term missions. However, with the advent of large transfer vehicles, these requirements are significantly reduced, leaving the long lifetime requirement, associated with reliability and/or refurbishment, as the primary development need. A few technology advances, currently under development, are noted with regard to their impacts on future capability.

Key-value store with internal key-value storage interface

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

Bent, John M.; Faibish, Sorin; Ting, Dennis P. J.

A key-value store is provided having one or more key-value storage interfaces. A key-value store on at least one compute node comprises a memory for storing a plurality of key-value pairs; and an abstract storage interface comprising a software interface module that communicates with at least one persistent storage device providing a key-value interface for persistent storage of one or more of the plurality of key-value pairs, wherein the software interface module provides the one or more key-value pairs to the at least one persistent storage device in a key-value format. The abstract storage interface optionally processes one or moremore » batch operations on the plurality of key-value pairs. A distributed embodiment for a partitioned key-value store is also provided.« less

Arthropod deterrents from Artemisia pallens (Davana oil) components

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Davanone, a key sesquiterpene component of davana oil, has been synthesized in five convenient steps. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes have been linked to insect deterrent properties. Based on initial screening of davana oil, davanone and its hydroxy precursors have been generated and are being evaluated...

Key components of effective collaborative goal setting in the chronic care encounter.

PubMed

Bigi, Sarah

2014-01-01

Collaborative goal setting in patient-provider communication with chronic patients is the phase in which--after collecting the data regarding the patient's health--it is necessary to make a decision regarding the best therapy and behaviors the patient should adopt until the next encounter. Although it is considered a pivotal phase of shared decision making, there remain a few open questions regarding its components and its efficacy: What are the factors that improve or impede agreement on treatment goals and strategies?; What are the 'success conditions' of collaborative goal setting?; How can physicians effectively help patients make their preferences explicit and then co-construct with them informed preferences to help them reach their therapeutic goals? Using the theoretical framework of dialogue types, an approach developed in the field of Argumentation Theory, it will be possible to formulate hypotheses on the success conditions' and effects on patient commitment of collaborative goal setting.

Untangling Galaxy Components - The Angular Momentum Parameter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabor, Martha; Merrifield, Michael; Aragon-Salamanca, Alfonso

2017-06-01

We have developed a new technique to decompose Integral Field spectral data cubes into separate bulge and disk components, allowing us to study the kinematic and stellar population properties of the individual components and how they vary with position. We present here the application of this method to a sample of fast rotator early type galaxies from the MaNGA integral field survey, and demonstrate how it can be used to explore key properties of the individual components. By extracting ages, metallicities and the angular momentum parameter lambda of the bulges and disks, we show how this method can give us new insights into the underlying structure of the galaxies and discuss what this can tell us about their evolution history.

Research on criticality analysis method of CNC machine tools components under fault rate correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gui-xiang, Shen; Xian-zhuo, Zhao; Zhang, Ying-zhi; Chen-yu, Han

2018-02-01

In order to determine the key components of CNC machine tools under fault rate correlation, a system component criticality analysis method is proposed. Based on the fault mechanism analysis, the component fault relation is determined, and the adjacency matrix is introduced to describe it. Then, the fault structure relation is hierarchical by using the interpretive structure model (ISM). Assuming that the impact of the fault obeys the Markov process, the fault association matrix is described and transformed, and the Pagerank algorithm is used to determine the relative influence values, combined component fault rate under time correlation can obtain comprehensive fault rate. Based on the fault mode frequency and fault influence, the criticality of the components under the fault rate correlation is determined, and the key components are determined to provide the correct basis for equationting the reliability assurance measures. Finally, taking machining centers as an example, the effectiveness of the method is verified.

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution.

PubMed

Lo, Hoi-Kwong; Curty, Marcos; Qi, Bing

2012-03-30

How to remove detector side channel attacks has been a notoriously hard problem in quantum cryptography. Here, we propose a simple solution to this problem--measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (QKD). It not only removes all detector side channels, but also doubles the secure distance with conventional lasers. Our proposal can be implemented with standard optical components with low detection efficiency and highly lossy channels. In contrast to the previous solution of full device independent QKD, the realization of our idea does not require detectors of near unity detection efficiency in combination with a qubit amplifier (based on teleportation) or a quantum nondemolition measurement of the number of photons in a pulse. Furthermore, its key generation rate is many orders of magnitude higher than that based on full device independent QKD. The results show that long-distance quantum cryptography over say 200 km will remain secure even with seriously flawed detectors.

Adolescent Sleep Needs and School Starting Times.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wahlstrom, Kyla L., Ed.

A key task for schools is to ensure that the conditions in which learning is to take place address the biological needs of the learners. This book examines sleep needs of adolescents and discusses the implications of these needs for school starting times. This book is a collection of five articles that appeared in a special section of the Phi…

Differential Fault Analysis on CLEFIA with 128, 192, and 256-Bit Keys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Junko; Fukunaga, Toshinori

This paper describes a differential fault analysis (DFA) attack against CLEFIA. The proposed attack can be applied to CLEFIA with all supported keys: 128, 192, and 256-bit keys. DFA is a type of side-channel attack. This attack enables the recovery of secret keys by injecting faults into a secure device during its computation of the cryptographic algorithm and comparing the correct ciphertext with the faulty one. CLEFIA is a 128-bit blockcipher with 128, 192, and 256-bit keys developed by the Sony Corporation in 2007. CLEFIA employs a generalized Feistel structure with four data lines. We developed a new attack method that uses this characteristic structure of the CLEFIA algorithm. On the basis of the proposed attack, only 2 pairs of correct and faulty ciphertexts are needed to retrieve the 128-bit key, and 10.78 pairs on average are needed to retrieve the 192 and 256-bit keys. The proposed attack is more efficient than any previously reported. In order to verify the proposed attack and estimate the calculation time to recover the secret key, we conducted an attack simulation using a PC. The simulation results show that we can obtain each secret key within three minutes on average. This result shows that we can obtain the entire key within a feasible computational time.

One Step Quantum Key Distribution Based on EPR Entanglement

PubMed Central

Li, Jian; Li, Na; Li, Lei-Lei; Wang, Tao

2016-01-01

A novel quantum key distribution protocol is presented, based on entanglement and dense coding and allowing asymptotically secure key distribution. Considering the storage time limit of quantum bits, a grouping quantum key distribution protocol is proposed, which overcomes the vulnerability of first protocol and improves the maneuverability. Moreover, a security analysis is given and a simple type of eavesdropper’s attack would introduce at least an error rate of 46.875%. Compared with the “Ping-pong” protocol involving two steps, the proposed protocol does not need to store the qubit and only involves one step. PMID:27357865

Key exchange using biometric identity based encryption for sharing encrypted data in cloud environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassan, Waleed K.; Al-Assam, Hisham

2017-05-01

The main problem associated with using symmetric/ asymmetric keys is how to securely store and exchange the keys between the parties over open networks particularly in the open environment such as cloud computing. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) have been providing a practical solution for session key exchange for loads of web services. The key limitation of PKI solution is not only the need for a trusted third partly (e.g. certificate authority) but also the absent link between data owner and the encryption keys. The latter is arguably more important where accessing data needs to be linked with identify of the owner. Currently available key exchange protocols depend on using trusted couriers or secure channels, which can be subject to man-in-the-middle attack and various other attacks. This paper proposes a new protocol for Key Exchange using Biometric Identity Based Encryption (KE-BIBE) that enables parties to securely exchange cryptographic keys even an adversary is monitoring the communication channel between the parties. The proposed protocol combines biometrics with IBE in order to provide a secure way to access symmetric keys based on the identity of the users in unsecure environment. In the KE-BIOBE protocol, the message is first encrypted by the data owner using a traditional symmetric key before migrating it to a cloud storage. The symmetric key is then encrypted using public biometrics of the users selected by data owner to decrypt the message based on Fuzzy Identity-Based Encryption. Only the selected users will be able to decrypt the message by providing a fresh sample of their biometric data. The paper argues that the proposed solution eliminates the needs for a key distribution centre in traditional cryptography. It will also give data owner the power of finegrained sharing of encrypted data by control who can access their data.

Key issues in space nuclear power

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brandhorst, Henry W.

1991-01-01

The future appears rich in missions that will extend the frontiers of knowledge, human presence in space, and opportunities for profitable commerce. Key to the success of these ventures is the availability of plentiful, cost effective electric power and assured, low cost access to space. While forecasts of space power needs are problematic, an assessment of future needs based on terrestrial experience has been made. These needs fall into three broad categories: survival, self sufficiency, and industrialization. The cost of delivering payloads to orbital locations from LEO to Mars has been determined and future launch cost reductions projected. From these factors, then, projections of the performance necessary for future solar and nuclear space power options has been made. These goals are largely dependent upon orbital location and energy storage needs. Finally the cost of present space power systems has been determined and projections made for future systems.

Key Players in Inclusion: Are We Meeting the Professional Needs of Learning Support Assistants for Pupils with Complex Needs?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abbott, Lesley; McConkey, Roy; Dobbins, Michael

2011-01-01

Under the aegis of inclusion, greater numbers of learning support assistants (LSAs) in mainstream and special schools are increasingly required to assist teachers with pupils who have complex needs across the full age range. Because of the numerous and wide-ranging learning difficulties and learning disabilities in addition to sensory impairment,…

Regulatory components of carbon concentrating mechanisms in aquatic unicellular photosynthetic organisms.

PubMed

Tomar, Vandana; Sidhu, Gurpreet Kaur; Nogia, Panchsheela; Mehrotra, Rajesh; Mehrotra, Sandhya

2017-11-01

This review provides an insight into the regulation of the carbon concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) in lower organisms like cyanobacteria, proteobacteria, and algae. CCMs evolved as a mechanism to concentrate CO 2 at the site of primary carboxylating enzyme Ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (Rubisco), so that the enzyme could overcome its affinity towards O 2 which leads to wasteful processes like photorespiration. A diverse set of CCMs exist in nature, i.e., carboxysomes in cyanobacteria and proteobacteria; pyrenoids in algae and diatoms, the C 4 system, and Crassulacean acid metabolism in higher plants. Prime regulators of CCM in most of the photosynthetic autotrophs belong to the LysR family of transcriptional regulators, which regulate the activity of the components of CCM depending upon the ambient CO 2 concentrations. Major targets of these regulators are carbonic anhydrase and inorganic carbon uptake systems (CO 2 and HCO 3 - transporters) whose activities are modulated either at transcriptional level or by changes in the levels of their co-regulatory metabolites. The article provides information on the localization of the CCM components as well as their function and participation in the development of an efficient CCM. Signal transduction cascades leading to activation/inactivation of inducible CCM components on perception of low/high CO 2 stimuli have also been brought into picture. A detailed study of the regulatory components can aid in identifying the unraveled aspects of these mechanisms and hence provide information on key molecules that need to be explored to further provide a clear understanding of the mechanism under study.

[Testing method research for key performance indicator of imaging acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF)].

PubMed

Hu, Shan-Zhou; Chen, Fen-Fei; Zeng, Li-Bo; Wu, Qiong-Shui

2013-01-01

Imaging AOTF is an important optical filter component for new spectral imaging instruments developed in recent years. The principle of imaging AOTF component was demonstrated, and a set of testing methods for some key performances were studied, such as diffraction efficiency, wavelength shift with temperature, homogeneity in space for diffraction efficiency, imaging shift, etc.

Hippo Signaling: Key Emerging Pathway in Cellular and Whole-Body Metabolism.

PubMed

Ardestani, Amin; Lupse, Blaz; Maedler, Kathrin

2018-05-05

The evolutionarily conserved Hippo pathway is a key regulator of organ size and tissue homeostasis. Its dysregulation is linked to multiple pathological disorders. In addition to regulating development and growth, recent studies show that Hippo pathway components such as MST1/2 and LATS1/2 kinases, as well as YAP/TAZ transcriptional coactivators, are regulated by metabolic pathways and that the Hippo pathway controls metabolic processes at the cellular and organismal levels in physiological and metabolic disease states such as obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), cardiovascular disorders, and cancer. In this review we summarize the connection between key Hippo components and metabolism, and how this interplay regulates cellular metabolism and metabolic pathways. The emerging function of Hippo in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis under physiological and pathological conditions is highlighted. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maximizing the benefits of antiretroviral therapy for key affected populations.

PubMed

Grubb, Ian R; Beckham, Sarah W; Kazatchkine, Michel; Thomas, Ruth M; Albers, Eliot R; Cabral, Mauro; Lange, Joep; Vella, Stefano; Kurian, Manoj; Beyrer, Chris

2014-01-01

Scientific research has demonstrated the clinical benefits of earlier initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART), and that ART can markedly reduce HIV transmission to sexual partners. Ensuring universal access to ART for those who need it has long been a core principle of the HIV response, and extending the benefits of ART to key populations is critical to increasing the impact of ART and the overall effectiveness of the HIV response. However, this can only be achieved through coordinated efforts to address political, social, legal and economic barriers that key populations face in accessing HIV services. Recent analyses show that HIV prevalence levels among key populations are far higher than among the general population, and they experience a range of biological and behavioural factors, and social, legal and economic barriers that increase their vulnerability to HIV and have resulted in alarmingly low ART coverage. World Health Organization 2014 consolidated guidance on HIV among key populations offers the potential for increased access to ART by key populations, following the same principles as for the general adult population. However, it should not be assumed that key populations will achieve greater access to ART unless stigma, discrimination and punitive laws, policies and practices that limit access to ART and other HIV interventions in many countries are addressed. Rights-based approaches and investments in critical enablers, such as supportive legal and policy environments, are essential to enable wider access to ART and other HIV interventions for key populations. The primary objective of ART should always be to treat the person living with HIV; prevention is an important, additional benefit. ART should be provided only with informed consent. The preventive benefits of treatment must not be used as a pretext for failure to provide other necessary HIV programming for key populations, including comprehensive harm reduction and other prevention

Administering a two-stage spiritual assessment in healthcare settings: a necessary component of ethical and effective care.

PubMed

Hodge, David R

2015-01-01

This article delineates rationales for administering a spiritual assessment as a universal component of care. The notion that nurses should identify and address patients' spiritual needs remains controversial, particularly in the UK where criticisms derived from secularization theory have appeared in the literature. To respond to these criticisms and to develop rationales supportive of spiritual assessment, I draw upon scholarship from a variety of disciplines including social work, sociology, and medicine. Five rationales are posited to support the concept of universal spiritual assessments: professional ethics, patient autonomy, knowledge of patients' worldviews, the identification of spiritual assets, and accrediting and governmental requirements. Criticisms based on secularization theory are discussed and analysed. A two-stage spiritual assessment - consisting of a brief preliminary assessment followed, if necessary, by a comprehensive assessment - provides a mechanism to efficiently identify patients' spiritual needs. As key members of the healthcare team, nurse managers are ideally situated to ensure that all patients receive a spiritual assessment as a routine component of care. In so doing, they help ensure the provision of ethical and effective care to the diverse spiritual groups that will continue to populate the UK for the foreseeable future. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Florida Keys

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-12-13

The Florida Keys are a chain of islands, islets and reefs extending from Virginia Key to the Dry Tortugas for about 309 kilometers (192 miles). The keys are chiefly limestone and coral formations. The larger islands of the group are Key West (with its airport), Key Largo, Sugarloaf Key, and Boca Chica Key. A causeway extends from the mainland to Key West. This image was acquired on October 28, 2001, by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03890

A Statewide Key Informant Survey and Social Indicators Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleischer, Mitchell

This needs assessment study of mental health needs of the elderly in Pennsylvania used a three-part approach. These parts were a review of existing data sources, an extensive key informant study, and a review of service delivery models. A recent study found a prevalence rate for mental illness in the elderly of 12.8%, more than 5% lower than the…

Low cost, small form factor, and integration as the key features for the optical component industry takeoff

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schiattone, Francesco; Bonino, Stefano; Gobbi, Luigi; Groppi, Angelamaria; Marazzi, Marco; Musio, Maurizio

2003-04-01

In the past the optical component market has been mainly driven by performances. Today, as the number of competitors has drastically increased, the system integrators have a wide range of possible suppliers and solutions giving them the possibility to be more focused on cost and also on footprint reduction. So, if performances are still essential, low cost and Small Form Factor issues are becoming more and more crucial in selecting components. Another evolution in the market is the current request of the optical system companies to simplify the supply chain in order to reduce the assembling and testing steps at system level. This corresponds to a growing demand in providing subassemblies, modules or hybrid integrated components: that means also Integration will be an issue in which all the optical component companies will compete to gain market shares. As we can see looking several examples offered by electronic market, to combine low cost and SFF is a very challenging task but Integration can help in achieving both features. In this work we present how these issues could be approached giving examples of some advanced solutions applied to LiNbO3 modulators. In particular we describe the progress made on automation, new materials and low cost fabrication methods for the parts. We also introduce an approach in integrating optical and electrical functionality on LiNbO3 modulators including RF driver, bias control loop, attenuator and photodiode integrated in a single device.

Washington state short line rail inventory and needs assessment.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-06-01

The recently completed State Rail Plan for the state of Washington identified several key issues facing the states : rail system. Among these key issues are abandonment, port access and competitive needs of the ports and local : production regions...

Giardia secretome highlights secreted tenascins as a key component of pathogenesis

PubMed Central

Dubourg, Audrey; Xia, Dong; Winpenny, John P; Al Naimi, Suha; Bouzid, Maha; Sexton, Darren W; Wastling, Jonathan M; Hunter, Paul R; Tyler, Kevin M

2018-01-01

Abstract Background Giardia is a protozoan parasite of public health relevance that causes gastroenteritis in a wide range of hosts. Two genetically distinct lineages (assemblages A and B) are responsible for the human disease. Although it is clear that differences in virulence occur, the pathogenesis and virulence of Giardia remain poorly understood. Results The genome of Giardia is believed to contain open reading frames that could encode as many as 6000 proteins. By successfully applying quantitative proteomic analyses to the whole parasite and to the supernatants derived from parasite culture of assemblages A and B, we confirm expression of ∼1600 proteins from each assemblage, the vast majority of which are common to both lineages. To look for signature enrichment of secreted proteins, we considered the ratio of proteins in the supernatant compared with the pellet, which defined a small group of enriched proteins, putatively secreted at a steady state by cultured growing trophozoites of both assemblages. This secretome is enriched with proteins annotated to have N-terminal signal peptide. The most abundant secreted proteins include known virulence factors such as cathepsin B cysteine proteases and members of a Giardia superfamily of cysteine-rich proteins that comprise variant surface proteins, high-cysteine membrane proteins, and a new class of virulence factors, the Giardia tenascins. We demonstrate that physiological function of human enteric epithelial cells is disrupted by such soluble factors even in the absence of the trophozoites. Conclusions We are able to propose a straightforward model of Giardia pathogenesis incorporating key roles for the major Giardia-derived soluble mediators. PMID:29385462

Giardia secretome highlights secreted tenascins as a key component of pathogenesis.

PubMed

Dubourg, Audrey; Xia, Dong; Winpenny, John P; Al Naimi, Suha; Bouzid, Maha; Sexton, Darren W; Wastling, Jonathan M; Hunter, Paul R; Tyler, Kevin M

2018-03-01

Giardia is a protozoan parasite of public health relevance that causes gastroenteritis in a wide range of hosts. Two genetically distinct lineages (assemblages A and B) are responsible for the human disease. Although it is clear that differences in virulence occur, the pathogenesis and virulence of Giardia remain poorly understood. The genome of Giardia is believed to contain open reading frames that could encode as many as 6000 proteins. By successfully applying quantitative proteomic analyses to the whole parasite and to the supernatants derived from parasite culture of assemblages A and B, we confirm expression of ∼1600 proteins from each assemblage, the vast majority of which are common to both lineages. To look for signature enrichment of secreted proteins, we considered the ratio of proteins in the supernatant compared with the pellet, which defined a small group of enriched proteins, putatively secreted at a steady state by cultured growing trophozoites of both assemblages. This secretome is enriched with proteins annotated to have N-terminal signal peptide. The most abundant secreted proteins include known virulence factors such as cathepsin B cysteine proteases and members of a Giardia superfamily of cysteine-rich proteins that comprise variant surface proteins, high-cysteine membrane proteins, and a new class of virulence factors, the Giardia tenascins. We demonstrate that physiological function of human enteric epithelial cells is disrupted by such soluble factors even in the absence of the trophozoites. We are able to propose a straightforward model of Giardia pathogenesis incorporating key roles for the major Giardia-derived soluble mediators.

Application of the Intervention Mapping protocol to develop Keys, a family child care home intervention to prevent early childhood obesity.

PubMed

Mann, Courtney M; Ward, Dianne S; Vaughn, Amber; Benjamin Neelon, Sara E; Long Vidal, Lenita J; Omar, Sakinah; Namenek Brouwer, Rebecca J; Østbye, Truls

2015-12-10

Many families rely on child care outside the home, making these settings important influences on child development. Nearly 1.5 million children in the U.S. spend time in family child care homes (FCCHs), where providers care for children in their own residences. There is some evidence that children in FCCHs are heavier than those cared for in centers. However, few interventions have targeted FCCHs for obesity prevention. This paper will describe the application of the Intervention Mapping (IM) framework to the development of a childhood obesity prevention intervention for FCCHs Following the IM protocol, six steps were completed in the planning and development of an intervention targeting FCCHs: needs assessment, formulation of change objectives matrices, selection of theory-based methods and strategies, creation of intervention components and materials, adoption and implementation planning, and evaluation planning Application of the IM process resulted in the creation of the Keys to Healthy Family Child Care Homes program (Keys), which includes three modules: Healthy You, Healthy Home, and Healthy Business. Delivery of each module includes a workshop, educational binder and tool-kit resources, and four coaching contacts. Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Determination Theory helped guide development of change objective matrices, selection of behavior change strategies, and identification of outcome measures. The Keys program is currently being evaluated through a cluster-randomized controlled trial The IM process, while time-consuming, enabled rigorous and systematic development of intervention components that are directly tied to behavior change theory and may increase the potential for behavior change within the FCCHs.

Components Needed for the Design of a Sustainable Career and Technical Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lassiter, Vann Mizzelle

2012-01-01

As education has changed to meet the needs of society and has been shaped by the enactment of new laws, various aspects included under the massive umbrella of education have also changed to maintain momentum One such educational program is career and technical education (CTE). Changes to CTE have been made to continually meet the needs of all…

Electronic warfare microwave components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cosby, L. A.

1984-09-01

The current and projected state-of-the-art for electronic warfare (EW) microwave components is reviewed, with attention given to microwave components used extensively in EW systems for reconnaissance, threat warning, direction finding, and repeater jamming. It is emphasized that distributed EW systems must be able to operate from manned tactical and strategic platforms, with requirements including remote aerospace and space elements, as well as the need for expandable devices for detection, location, and denial/deception functions. EW coordination, or battle management, across a distributed system is a rapidly emerging requirement that must be integrated into current and projected command-and-control programs.

Developing Cognitive Control: Three Key Transitions

PubMed Central

Munakata, Yuko; Snyder, Hannah R.; Chatham, Christopher H.

2012-01-01

The ability to flexibly break out of routine behaviors develops gradually and is essential for success in life. We discuss three key developmental transitions toward more flexible behavior. First, children develop an increasing ability to overcome habits by engaging cognitive control in response to environmental signals. Second, children shift from recruiting cognitive control reactively, as needed in the moment, to recruiting cognitive control proactively, in preparation for needing it. Third, children shift from relying on environmental signals for engaging cognitive control to becoming more self-directed. All three transitions can be understood in terms of the development of increasingly active and abstract goal representations in prefrontal cortex. PMID:22711982

Modeling, Simulation and Analysis of Public Key Infrastructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Yuan-Kwei; Tuey, Richard; Ma, Paul (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

Security is an essential part of network communication. The advances in cryptography have provided solutions to many of the network security requirements. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is the foundation of the cryptography applications. The main objective of this research is to design a model to simulate a reliable, scalable, manageable, and high-performance public key infrastructure. We build a model to simulate the NASA public key infrastructure by using SimProcess and MatLab Software. The simulation is from top level all the way down to the computation needed for encryption, decryption, digital signature, and secure web server. The application of secure web server could be utilized in wireless communications. The results of the simulation are analyzed and confirmed by using queueing theory.

A Critical Realist Orientation to Learner Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayers, David F.

2011-01-01

The objective of this essay is to propose critical realism as a philosophical middle way between two sets of ontological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions regarding learner needs. Key concepts of critical realism, a tradition in the philosophy of science, are introduced and applied toward an analysis of learner needs, resulting in…

Efficient multiparty quantum key agreement with collective detection.

PubMed

Huang, Wei; Su, Qi; Liu, Bin; He, Yuan-Hang; Fan, Fan; Xu, Bing-Jie

2017-11-10

As a burgeoning branch of quantum cryptography, quantum key agreement is a kind of key establishing processes where the security and fairness of the established common key should be guaranteed simultaneously. However, the difficulty on designing a qualified quantum key agreement protocol increases significantly with the increase of the number of the involved participants. Thus far, only few of the existing multiparty quantum key agreement (MQKA) protocols can really achieve security and fairness. Nevertheless, these qualified MQKA protocols are either too inefficient or too impractical. In this paper, an MQKA protocol is proposed with single photons in travelling mode. Since only one eavesdropping detection is needed in the proposed protocol, the qubit efficiency and measurement efficiency of it are higher than those of the existing ones in theory. Compared with the protocols which make use of the entangled states or multi-particle measurements, the proposed protocol is more feasible with the current technologies. Security and fairness analysis shows that the proposed protocol is not only immune to the attacks from external eavesdroppers, but also free from the attacks from internal betrayers.

Behavioral science in video games for children's diet and physical activity change: Key research needs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Innovative intervention programs are needed to overcome the limitations in previous programs that promoted change in diabetes risk behaviors in children. Serious video games show promise of changing dietary and physical activity behaviors, but research is needed on the optimal design of behavior-cha...

Authentication and Key Establishment in Dynamic Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Qiu, Ying; Zhou, Jianying; Baek, Joonsang; Lopez, Javier

2010-01-01

When a sensor node roams within a very large and distributed wireless sensor network, which consists of numerous sensor nodes, its routing path and neighborhood keep changing. In order to provide a high level of security in this environment, the moving sensor node needs to be authenticated to new neighboring nodes and a key established for secure communication. The paper proposes an efficient and scalable protocol to establish and update the authentication key in a dynamic wireless sensor network environment. The protocol guarantees that two sensor nodes share at least one key with probability 1 (100%) with less memory and energy cost, while not causing considerable communication overhead. PMID:22319321

Identification of the key bitter compounds in our daily diet is a prerequisite for the understanding of the hTAS2R gene polymorphisms affecting food choice.

PubMed

Hofmann, Thomas

2009-07-01

In order to decode genetic variations affecting food choice and to determine whether to accept or to reject certain food products, it is a necessary prerequisite to deorphanize the hTAS2R/ligand pairs using the key bitter compounds in foods as stimuli rather than doing this either by using artificial molcules, to which the normal consumer had never been exposed, or by using food-born molecules which do not at all contribute to the overall bitterness. Therefore, the chemical structure of the most active bitter molecules in foods needs to be unequivocally determined in order to be sure that hTAS2R polymorphisms are related to the key molecules which really contribute to the overall bitterness perception of food products. As most studies focused primarily on quantitatively predominating compounds, rather than selecting the target compounds to be identified with regard to taste-activity, it seems that yet unknown components play a key role in evoking the bitter taste of food products. Driven by the need to discover the key players inducing the food taste, the research area "sensomics" made tremendous efforts in recent years to map the sensometabolome and to identify the most intense taste-active metabolites in fresh and processed foods. The present article summarizes recent studies on the identification of orphan key bitter stimuli in fresh, fermented, and thermally processed foods using carrots, cheese, and roasted coffee as examples.

Function key and shortcut key use in airway facilities.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-02-01

This document provides information on the function keys and shortcut keys used by systems in the Federal Aviation Administration : Airway Facilities (AF) work environment. It includes a catalog of the function keys and shortcut keys used by each syst...

Development of structural ceramic components for automobile applications

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

Kawamoto, H.

1995-12-01

Development efforts have been made in automobile technologies on heat engines to improve the power performance, the fuel economy, and so on. It is well recognized that ceramic applications are keys to succeed in such advanced heat engines, because of their good mechanical and thermal properties. This paper discusses present automobile applications of structural ceramic components and the expectations in automobile uses. The strength and reliability of mass-produced components for the engines are described with the manufacturing processes. The future R&D directions are recommended for structural ceramics.

Research Needs: Career and Technical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kosloski, Michael F., Jr.; Ritz, John M.

2016-01-01

Research is an important component of each professional field. This study sought to determine topics that needed further research in the school subjects known as career and technical education. It determined topics that needed to be researched related to high school career and technical education (CTE) and the preparation for teaching CTE in…

Organizational Self-Awareness in the Key to Knowledge Superiority

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

needs is physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem , and self -actualization (Maslow 1943; Simons, Irwin and Drinnien 1987). The major...43 initiative itself is minimal once the decision is made by them to proceed. The stronger impacts are in their esteem and self -actualization needs... SELF -AWARENESS IS THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE SUPERIORITY by Ricardo Rivera December 2015 Thesis Advisor: Mark E. Nissen Second Reader: Walter

Making Ceramic Components For Advanced Aircraft Engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Franklin, J. E.; Ezis, A.

1994-01-01

Lightweight, oxidation-resistant silicon nitride components containing intricate internal cooling and hydraulic passages and capable of withstanding high operating temperatures made by ceramic-platelet technology. Used to fabricate silicon nitride test articles of two types: components of methane-cooled regenerator for air turbo ramjet engine and components of bipropellant injector for rocket engine. Procedures for development of more complex and intricate components established. Technology has commercial utility in automotive, aircraft, and environmental industries for manufacture of high-temperature components for use in regeneration of fuels, treatment of emissions, high-temperature combustion devices, and application in which other high-temperature and/or lightweight components needed. Potential use in fabrication of combustors and high-temperature acoustic panels for suppression of noise in future high-speed aircraft.

Cryptographic Key Management and Critical Risk Assessment

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

Abercrombie, Robert K

The Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (DOE-OE) CyberSecurity for Energy Delivery Systems (CSEDS) industry led program (DE-FOA-0000359) entitled "Innovation for Increasing CyberSecurity for Energy Delivery Systems (12CSEDS)," awarded a contract to Sypris Electronics LLC to develop a Cryptographic Key Management System for the smart grid (Scalable Key Management Solutions for Critical Infrastructure Protection). Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Sypris Electronics, LLC as a result of that award entered into a CRADA (NFE-11-03562) between ORNL and Sypris Electronics, LLC. ORNL provided its Cyber Security Econometrics System (CSES) as a tool to be modified and usedmore » as a metric to address risks and vulnerabilities in the management of cryptographic keys within the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) domain of the electric sector. ORNL concentrated our analysis on the AMI domain of which the National Electric Sector Cyber security Organization Resource (NESCOR) Working Group 1 (WG1) has documented 29 failure scenarios. The computational infrastructure of this metric involves system stakeholders, security requirements, system components and security threats. To compute this metric, we estimated the stakes that each stakeholder associates with each security requirement, as well as stochastic matrices that represent the probability of a threat to cause a component failure and the probability of a component failure to cause a security requirement violation. We applied this model to estimate the security of the AMI, by leveraging the recently established National Institute of Standards and Technology Interagency Report (NISTIR) 7628 guidelines for smart grid security and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 63351, Part 9 to identify the life cycle for cryptographic key management, resulting in a vector that assigned to each stakeholder an estimate of their average loss in terms of dollars per day of

Key Stage 3 Pupils' Views about Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkinson, Cathy

2006-01-01

Recent developments in literacy teaching have tended to target the needs of primary, rather than high school pupils and focus on technical, rather than affective aspects of reading. This paper describes a questionnaire-based study undertaken to identify perceptions and views held by Key Stage 3 readers of different ages, genders and abilities.…

LEGOS: Object-based software components for mission-critical systems. Final report, June 1, 1995--December 31, 1997

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

NONE

1998-08-01

-time distributed object operating system, lack of a standard Computer-Aided Software Environment (CASE) tool notation and lack of a standard CASE tool repository has limited the realization of component software. The approach to fulfilling this need is the software component factory innovation. The factory approach takes advantage of emerging standards such as UML, CORBA, Java and the Internet. The key technical innovation of the software component factory is the ability to assemble and test new system configurations as well as assemble new tools on demand from existing tools and architecture design repositories.« less

Dissecting key components of the Ca2+ homeostasis game by multifunctional fluorescence imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bastianello, Stefano; Ciubotaru, Catalin D.; Beltramello, Martina; Mammano, Fabio

2004-07-01

Different sub-cellular compartments and organelles, such as cytosol, endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, are known to be differentially involved in Ca2+ homeostasis. It is thus of primary concern to develop imaging paradigms that permit to make out these diverse components. To this end, we have constructed a complete system that performs multi-functional imaging under software control. The main hardware components of this system are a piezoelectric actuator, used to set objective lens position, a fast-switching monochromator, used to select excitation wavelength, a beam splitter, used to separate emission wavelengths, and a I/O interface to control the hardware. For these demonstrative experiments, cultured HeLa cells were transfected with a Ca2+ sensitive fluorescent biosensor (cameleon) targeted to the mitochondria (mtCam), and also loaded with cytosolic Fura2. The main system clock was provided by the frame-valid signal (FVAL) of a cooled CCD camera that captured wide-field fluorescence images of the two probes. Excitation wavelength and objective lens position were rapidly set during silent periods between successive exposures, with a minimum inter-frame interval of 2 ms. Triplets of images were acquired at 340, 380 and 430 nm excitation wavelengths at each one of three adjacent focal planes, separated by 250 nm. Optical sectioning was enhanced off-line by applying a nearest-neighbor deconvolution algorithm based on a directly estimated point-spread function (PSF). To measure the PSF, image stacks of sub-resolution fluorescent beads, incorporated in the cell cytoplasm by electroporation, were acquired under identical imaging conditions. The different dynamics of cytosolic and mitochondrial Ca2+ signals evoked by histamine could be distinguished clearly, with sub-micron resolution. Other FRET-based probes capable of sensing different chemical modifications of the cellular environment can be integrated in this approach, which is intrinsically suitable for the

Multi-function optical characterization and inspection of MEMS components using stroboscopic coherence scanning interferometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tapilouw, Abraham Mario; Chen, Liang-Chia; Xuan-Loc, Nguyen; Chen, Jin-Liang

2014-08-01

A Micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) is a widely used component in many industries, including energy, biotechnology, medical, communications, and automotive industries. However, effective inspection systems are also needed to ensure the functional reliability of MEMS. This study developed a stroboscopic coherence scanning Interferometry (SCSI) technique for measuring key characteristics typically used as criteria in MEMS inspections. Surface profiles of MEMS both static and dynamic conditions were measured by means of coherence scanning Interferometry (CSI). Resonant frequencies of vibrating MEMS were measured by deformation of interferogram fringes for out-of-plane vibration and by image correlation for in-plane vibration. The measurement bandwidth of the developed system can be tuned up to three megahertz or higher for both in-plane and out-of-plane measurement of MEMS.

Plasma facing components: a conceptual design strategy for the first wall in FAST tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Labate, C.; Di Gironimo, G.; Renno, F.

2015-09-01

Satellite tokamaks are conceived with the main purpose of developing new or alternative ITER- and DEMO-relevant technologies, able to contribute in resolving the pending issues about plasma operation. In particular, a high criticality needs to be associated to the design of plasma facing components, i.e. first wall (FW) and divertor, due to physical, topological and thermo-structural reasons. In such a context, the design of the FW in FAST fusion plant, whose operational range is close to ITER’s one, takes place. According to the mission of experimental satellites, the FW design strategy, which is presented in this paper relies on a series of innovative design choices and proposals with a particular attention to the typical key points of plasma facing components design. Such an approach, taking into account a series of involved physical constraints and functional requirements to be fulfilled, marks a clear borderline with the FW solution adopted in ITER, in terms of basic ideas, manufacturing aspects, remote maintenance procedure, manifolds management, cooling cycle and support system configuration.

Pedagogical Support Components of Students' Social Adaptation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vlasova, Vera K.; Simonova, Galina I.; Soleymani, Nassim

2016-01-01

The urgency of the problem stated in the article is caused by the need of pedagogical support of students' social adaptation on the basis of systematicity, which is achieved if we correctly define the components of the process. The aim of the article is to determine the pedagogical support components of students' social adaptation. The leading…

Ceramic components for the AGT 100 engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helms, H. E.; Heitman, P. W.

1983-01-01

Historically, automotive gas turbines have not been able to meet requirements of the marketplace with respect to cost, performance, and reliability. However, the development of appropriate ceramic materials has overcome problems related to a need for expensive superalloy components and to limitations regarding the operating temperature. An automotive gas turbine utilizing ceramic components has been developed by a U.S. automobile manufacturer. A 100-horsepower, two-shaft, regenerative engine geometry was selected because it is compatible with manual, automatic, and continuously variable transmissions. Attention is given to the ceramic components, the ceramic gasifier turbine rotor development, the ceramic gasifier scroll, ceramic component testing, and the use of advanced nondestructive techniques for the evaluation of the engine components.

Hologram interferometry in automotive component vibration testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Gordon M.; Forbes, Jamie W.; Marchi, Mitchell M.; Wales, Raymond R.

1993-02-01

An ever increasing variety of automotive component vibration testing is being pursued at Ford Motor Company, U.S.A. The driving force for use of hologram interferometry in these tests is the continuing need to design component structures to meet more stringent functional performance criteria. Parameters such as noise and vibration, sound quality, and reliability must be optimized for the lightest weight component possible. Continually increasing customer expectations and regulatory pressures on fuel economy and safety mandate that vehicles be built from highly optimized components. This paper includes applications of holographic interferometry for powertrain support structure tuning, body panel noise reduction, wiper system noise and vibration path analysis, and other vehicle component studies.

Context sensitivity and ambiguity in component-based systems design

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

Bespalko, S.J.; Sindt, A.

1997-10-01

Designers of components-based, real-time systems need to guarantee to correctness of soft-ware and its output. Complexity of a system, and thus the propensity for error, is best characterized by the number of states a component can encounter. In many cases, large numbers of states arise where the processing is highly dependent on context. In these cases, states are often missed, leading to errors. The following are proposals for compactly specifying system states which allow the factoring of complex components into a control module and a semantic processing module. Further, the need for methods that allow for the explicit representation ofmore » ambiguity and uncertainty in the design of components is discussed. Presented herein are examples of real-world problems which are highly context-sensitive or are inherently ambiguous.« less

Cell culture medium improvement by rigorous shuffling of components using media blending.

PubMed

Jordan, Martin; Voisard, Damien; Berthoud, Antoine; Tercier, Laetitia; Kleuser, Beate; Baer, Gianni; Broly, Hervé

2013-01-01

A novel high-throughput methodology for the simultaneous optimization of many cell culture media components is presented. The method is based on the media blending approach which has several advantages as it works with ready-to-use media. In particular it allows precise pH and osmolarity adjustments and eliminates the need of concentrated stock solutions, a frequent source of serious solubility issues. In addition, media blending easily generates a large number of new compositions providing a remarkable screening tool. However, media blending designs usually do not provide information on distinct factors or components that are causing the desired improvements. This paper addresses this last point by considering the concentration of individual medium components to fix the experimental design and for the interpretation of the results. The extended blending strategy was used to reshuffle the 20 amino acids in one round of experiments. A small set of 10 media was specifically designed to generate a large number of mixtures. 192 mixtures were then prepared by media blending and tested on a recombinant CHO cell line expressing a monoclonal antibody. A wide range of performances (titers and viable cell density) was achieved from the different mixtures with top titers significantly above our previous results seen with this cell line. In addition, information about major effects of key amino acids on cell densities and titers could be extracted from the experimental results. This demonstrates that the extended blending approach is a powerful experimental tool which allows systematic and simultaneous reshuffling of multiple medium components.

Continuous high speed coherent one-way quantum key distribution.

PubMed

Stucki, Damien; Barreiro, Claudio; Fasel, Sylvain; Gautier, Jean-Daniel; Gay, Olivier; Gisin, Nicolas; Thew, Rob; Thoma, Yann; Trinkler, Patrick; Vannel, Fabien; Zbinden, Hugo

2009-08-03

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is the first commercial quantum technology operating at the level of single quanta and is a leading light for quantum-enabled photonic technologies. However, controlling these quantum optical systems in real world environments presents significant challenges. For the first time, we have brought together three key concepts for future QKD systems: a simple high-speed protocol; high performance detection; and integration both, at the component level and for standard fibre network connectivity. The QKD system is capable of continuous and autonomous operation, generating secret keys in real time. Laboratory and field tests were performed and comparisons made with robust InGaAs avalanche photodiodes and superconducting detectors. We report the first real world implementation of a fully functional QKD system over a 43 dB-loss (150 km) transmission line in the Swisscom fibre optic network where we obtained average real-time distribution rates over 3 hours of 2.5 bps.

Compressed Secret Key Agreement:Maximizing Multivariate Mutual Information per Bit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Chung

2017-10-01

The multiterminal secret key agreement problem by public discussion is formulated with an additional source compression step where, prior to the public discussion phase, users independently compress their private sources to filter out strongly correlated components for generating a common secret key. The objective is to maximize the achievable key rate as a function of the joint entropy of the compressed sources. Since the maximum achievable key rate captures the total amount of information mutual to the compressed sources, an optimal compression scheme essentially maximizes the multivariate mutual information per bit of randomness of the private sources, and can therefore be viewed more generally as a dimension reduction technique. Single-letter lower and upper bounds on the maximum achievable key rate are derived for the general source model, and an explicit polynomial-time computable formula is obtained for the pairwise independent network model. In particular, the converse results and the upper bounds are obtained from those of the related secret key agreement problem with rate-limited discussion. A precise duality is shown for the two-user case with one-way discussion, and such duality is extended to obtain the desired converse results in the multi-user case. In addition to posing new challenges in information processing and dimension reduction, the compressed secret key agreement problem helps shed new light on resolving the difficult problem of secret key agreement with rate-limited discussion, by offering a more structured achieving scheme and some simpler conjectures to prove.

Gaussian-modulated coherent-state measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xiang-Chun; Sun, Shi-Hai; Jiang, Mu-Sheng; Gui, Ming; Liang, Lin-Mei

2014-04-01

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD), leaving the detection procedure to the third partner and thus being immune to all detector side-channel attacks, is very promising for the construction of high-security quantum information networks. We propose a scheme to implement MDI-QKD, but with continuous variables instead of discrete ones, i.e., with the source of Gaussian-modulated coherent states, based on the principle of continuous-variable entanglement swapping. This protocol not only can be implemented with current telecom components but also has high key rates compared to its discrete counterpart; thus it will be highly compatible with quantum networks.

Detector-device-independent quantum key distribution

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

Lim, Charles Ci Wen; Korzh, Boris; Martin, Anthony

2014-12-01

Recently, a quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme based on entanglement swapping, called measurement-device-independent QKD (mdiQKD), was proposed to bypass all measurement side-channel attacks. While mdiQKD is conceptually elegant and offers a supreme level of security, the experimental complexity is challenging for practical systems. For instance, it requires interference between two widely separated independent single-photon sources, and the secret key rates are dependent on detecting two photons—one from each source. Here, we demonstrate a proof-of-principle experiment of a QKD scheme that removes the need for a two-photon system and instead uses the idea of a two-qubit single-photon to significantly simplify themore » implementation and improve the efficiency of mdiQKD in several aspects.« less

Maximizing the benefits of antiretroviral therapy for key affected populations

PubMed Central

Grubb, Ian R; Beckham, Sarah W; Kazatchkine, Michel; Thomas, Ruth M; Albers, Eliot R; Cabral, Mauro; Lange, Joep; Vella, Stefano; Kurian, Manoj; Beyrer, Chris

2014-01-01

Introduction Scientific research has demonstrated the clinical benefits of earlier initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART), and that ART can markedly reduce HIV transmission to sexual partners. Ensuring universal access to ART for those who need it has long been a core principle of the HIV response, and extending the benefits of ART to key populations is critical to increasing the impact of ART and the overall effectiveness of the HIV response. However, this can only be achieved through coordinated efforts to address political, social, legal and economic barriers that key populations face in accessing HIV services. Discussion Recent analyses show that HIV prevalence levels among key populations are far higher than among the general population, and they experience a range of biological and behavioural factors, and social, legal and economic barriers that increase their vulnerability to HIV and have resulted in alarmingly low ART coverage. World Health Organization 2014 consolidated guidance on HIV among key populations offers the potential for increased access to ART by key populations, following the same principles as for the general adult population. However, it should not be assumed that key populations will achieve greater access to ART unless stigma, discrimination and punitive laws, policies and practices that limit access to ART and other HIV interventions in many countries are addressed. Conclusions Rights-based approaches and investments in critical enablers, such as supportive legal and policy environments, are essential to enable wider access to ART and other HIV interventions for key populations. The primary objective of ART should always be to treat the person living with HIV; prevention is an important, additional benefit. ART should be provided only with informed consent. The preventive benefits of treatment must not be used as a pretext for failure to provide other necessary HIV programming for key populations, including comprehensive harm

Simple Web-based interactive key development software (WEBiKEY) and an example key for Kuruna (Poaceae: Bambusoideae).

PubMed

Attigala, Lakshmi; De Silva, Nuwan I; Clark, Lynn G

2016-04-01

Programs that are user-friendly and freely available for developing Web-based interactive keys are scarce and most of the well-structured applications are relatively expensive. WEBiKEY was developed to enable researchers to easily develop their own Web-based interactive keys with fewer resources. A Web-based multiaccess identification tool (WEBiKEY) was developed that uses freely available Microsoft ASP.NET technologies and an SQL Server database for Windows-based hosting environments. WEBiKEY was tested for its usability with a sample data set, the temperate woody bamboo genus Kuruna (Poaceae). WEBiKEY is freely available to the public and can be used to develop Web-based interactive keys for any group of species. The interactive key we developed for Kuruna using WEBiKEY enables users to visually inspect characteristics of Kuruna and identify an unknown specimen as one of seven possible species in the genus.

Security of quantum key distribution with iterative sifting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamaki, Kiyoshi; Lo, Hoi-Kwong; Mizutani, Akihiro; Kato, Go; Lim, Charles Ci Wen; Azuma, Koji; Curty, Marcos

2018-01-01

Several quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols employ iterative sifting. After each quantum transmission round, Alice and Bob disclose part of their setting information (including their basis choices) for the detected signals. This quantum phase then ends when the basis dependent termination conditions are met, i.e., the numbers of detected signals per basis exceed certain pre-agreed threshold values. Recently, however, Pfister et al (2016 New J. Phys. 18 053001) showed that the basis dependent termination condition makes QKD insecure, especially in the finite key regime, and they suggested to disclose all the setting information after finishing the quantum phase. However, this protocol has two main drawbacks: it requires that Alice possesses a large memory, and she also needs to have some a priori knowledge about the transmission rate of the quantum channel. Here we solve these two problems by introducing a basis-independent termination condition to the iterative sifting in the finite key regime. The use of this condition, in combination with Azuma’s inequality, provides a precise estimation on the amount of privacy amplification that needs to be applied, thus leading to the security of QKD protocols, including the loss-tolerant protocol (Tamaki et al 2014 Phys. Rev. A 90 052314), with iterative sifting. Our analysis indicates that to announce the basis information after each quantum transmission round does not compromise the key generation rate of the loss-tolerant protocol. Our result allows the implementation of wider classes of classical post-processing techniques in QKD with quantified security.

Nursing textbooks need to inform about spirituality.

PubMed

2016-09-21

Considering the spiritual needs of patients is an important aspect of holistic patient care. However, many nurses lack knowledge and awareness of the subject, and spirituality is not strongly featured as a key part of holistic care in core nursing textbooks. The author argues that guidance given by nursing textbooks needs to be more applicable to practice.

Core Intervention Components: Identifying and Operationalizing What Makes Programs Work. ASPE Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blase, Karen; Fixsen, Dean

2013-01-01

This brief is part of a series that explores key implementation considerations. It focuses on the importance of identifying, operationalizing, and implementing the "core components" of evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions that likely are critical to producing positive outcomes. The brief offers a definition of "core components",…

The Water Risks of Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking): Key Issues from the New California Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gleick, P. H.

2015-12-01

A key component of the Water-Energy Nexus is the effort over the past decade or so to quantify the volumes and form of water required for the energy fuel cycle from extraction to generation to waste disposal. The vast majority of the effort in this area has focused on the water needs of electricity generation, but other fuel-cycle components also entail significant water demands and threats to water quality. Recent work for the State of California (managed by the California Council on Science and Technology - CCST) has produced a new state-of-the-art assessment of a range of potential water risks associated with hydraulic fracturing and related oil and gas extraction, including volumetric water demands, methods of disposal of produced water, and aquifer contamination. For example, this assessment produced new information on the disposal of produced water in surface percolation pits and the potential for contamination of local groundwater (see Figure). Understanding these risks raises questions about current production and future plans to expand production, as well as tools used by state and federal agencies to manage these risks. This talk will summarize the science behind the CCST assessment and related policy recommendations for both water and energy managers.

Key Problems in Science and Technology in Thailand.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuthavong, Yongyuth; And Others

1985-01-01

Cites the need for promoting science/technology management and policy formation in Thailand, viewing contributions of science/technology to the socioeconomic development of the country as high priorities. Criteria for selecting priority areas and key problems are noted; they include relevance to development, availability of human resources, and…

Decoy-state quantum key distribution with biased basis choice

PubMed Central

Wei, Zhengchao; Wang, Weilong; Zhang, Zhen; Gao, Ming; Ma, Zhi; Ma, Xiongfeng

2013-01-01

We propose a quantum key distribution scheme that combines a biased basis choice with the decoy-state method. In this scheme, Alice sends all signal states in the Z basis and decoy states in the X and Z basis with certain probabilities, and Bob measures received pulses with optimal basis choice. This scheme simplifies the system and reduces the random number consumption. From the simulation result taking into account of statistical fluctuations, we find that in a typical experimental setup, the proposed scheme can increase the key rate by at least 45% comparing to the standard decoy-state scheme. In the postprocessing, we also apply a rigorous method to upper bound the phase error rate of the single-photon components of signal states. PMID:23948999

Decoy-state quantum key distribution with biased basis choice.

PubMed

Wei, Zhengchao; Wang, Weilong; Zhang, Zhen; Gao, Ming; Ma, Zhi; Ma, Xiongfeng

2013-01-01

We propose a quantum key distribution scheme that combines a biased basis choice with the decoy-state method. In this scheme, Alice sends all signal states in the Z basis and decoy states in the X and Z basis with certain probabilities, and Bob measures received pulses with optimal basis choice. This scheme simplifies the system and reduces the random number consumption. From the simulation result taking into account of statistical fluctuations, we find that in a typical experimental setup, the proposed scheme can increase the key rate by at least 45% comparing to the standard decoy-state scheme. In the postprocessing, we also apply a rigorous method to upper bound the phase error rate of the single-photon components of signal states.

Secure detection in quantum key distribution by real-time calibration of receiver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marøy, Øystein; Makarov, Vadim; Skaar, Johannes

2017-12-01

The single-photon detectionefficiency of the detector unit is crucial for the security of common quantum key distribution protocols like Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84). A low value for the efficiency indicates a possible eavesdropping attack that exploits the photon receiver’s imperfections. We present a method for estimating the detection efficiency, and calculate the corresponding secure key generation rate. The estimation is done by testing gated detectors using a randomly activated photon source inside the receiver unit. This estimate gives a secure rate for any detector with non-unity single-photon detection efficiency, both inherit or due to blinding. By adding extra optical components to the receiver, we make sure that the key is extracted from photon states for which our estimate is valid. The result is a quantum key distribution scheme that is secure against any attack that exploits detector imperfections.

Structure-based feeding strategies: A key component of child nutrition.

PubMed

Taylor, Maija B; Emley, Elizabeth; Pratt, Mercedes; Musher-Eizenman, Dara R

2017-07-01

This study examined the relationship between structure, autonomy promotion, and control feeding strategies and parent-reported child diet. Participants (N = 497) were parents of children ages 2.5 to 7.5 recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. This sample was a Caucasian (79%), educated sample (61% college graduates) with most reports from mothers (76%). Online survey including measures of parent feeding strategies and child dietary intake. Use of structure-based feeding strategies explained 21% of the variance in child consumption of added sugar, 12% of the variance in child intake of added sugar from sugar-sweetened beverages, and 16% of the variance in child consumption of fruits and vegetables. Higher unhealthy food availability and permissive feeding uniquely predicted higher child added sugar intake and child consumption of added sugar from sugar-sweetened beverages. Greater healthy food availability uniquely predicted higher child fruit and vegetable intake. and Future Directions: In Caucasian educated families, structure-based feeding strategies appear to be a relatively stronger correlate of parent-reported child intake of added sugar and fruits and vegetables as compared to autonomy promotion and control feeding strategies. Longitudinal research may be needed in order to reveal the relationships between autonomy promotion and control feeding strategies with child diet. If future studies have similar findings to this study's results, researchers may want to focus more heavily on investigating the impact of teaching parents stimulus-control techniques and feeding-related assertiveness skills on child dietary intake. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Known plaintext attack on double random phase encoding using fingerprint as key and a method for avoiding the attack.

PubMed

Tashima, Hideaki; Takeda, Masafumi; Suzuki, Hiroyuki; Obi, Takashi; Yamaguchi, Masahiro; Ohyama, Nagaaki

2010-06-21

We have shown that the application of double random phase encoding (DRPE) to biometrics enables the use of biometrics as cipher keys for binary data encryption. However, DRPE is reported to be vulnerable to known-plaintext attacks (KPAs) using a phase recovery algorithm. In this study, we investigated the vulnerability of DRPE using fingerprints as cipher keys to the KPAs. By means of computational experiments, we estimated the encryption key and restored the fingerprint image using the estimated key. Further, we propose a method for avoiding the KPA on the DRPE that employs the phase retrieval algorithm. The proposed method makes the amplitude component of the encrypted image constant in order to prevent the amplitude component of the encrypted image from being used as a clue for phase retrieval. Computational experiments showed that the proposed method not only avoids revealing the cipher key and the fingerprint but also serves as a sufficiently accurate verification system.

An examination of the needs of older patients with chronic mental illness in public mental health services.

PubMed

Futeran, Shuli; Draper, Brian M

2012-01-01

To describe the needs of patients aged 50 years and over with chronic mental illness being case managed within a public mental health service, and to determine factors that influence these needs. Patients were recruited from community-based Adult Mental Health (AMH) teams and Specialist Mental Health Services for Older People (SMHSOP) teams. Eligibility criteria included a diagnosis of schizophrenia or mood disorder. Patient, carer and key worker interviews were carried out using the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE). Of 183 eligible patients, 97 (mean age of 66.4 years) participated, of whom 63 were managed by AMH teams and 34 by SMHSOP teams. The majority (52%) had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, particularly those managed by AMH (71%). Patients self-rated fewer needs overall on the CANE than their key workers or the researcher, and also rated a higher proportion of their needs being met (83%) than the key worker (77%) or researcher (76%). From each perspective, over 80% of psychiatric and around 95% of identified medical needs were being met. The majority of social needs were unmet, with patients reporting only 42%, and key workers only 33%, met needs. The key unmet social needs were company, daily activities and having a close confidant. Key workers, patients and researchers rated SMHSOP service delivery to have significantly less unmet needs. The social needs of older patients with chronic mental illness require greater attention by public mental health services.

Physical and Chemical Analytical Analysis: A key component of Bioforensics

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

Velsko, S P

The anthrax letters event of 2001 has raised our awareness of the potential importance of non-biological measurements on samples of biological agents used in a terrorism incident. Such measurements include a variety of mass spectral, spectroscopic, and other instrumental techniques that are part of the current armamentarium of the modern materials analysis or analytical chemistry laboratory. They can provide morphological, trace element, isotopic, and other molecular ''fingerprints'' of the agent that may be key pieces of evidence, supplementing that obtained from genetic analysis or other biological properties. The generation and interpretation of such data represents a new domain of forensicmore » science, closely aligned with other areas of ''microbial forensics''. This paper describes some major elements of the R&D agenda that will define this sub-field in the immediate future and provide the foundations for a coherent national capability. Data from chemical and physical analysis of BW materials can be useful to an investigation of a bio-terror event in two ways. First, it can be used to compare evidence samples collected at different locations where such incidents have occurred (e.g. between the powders in the New York and Washington letters in the Amerithrax investigation) or between the attack samples and those seized during the investigation of sites where it is suspected the material was manufactured (if such samples exist). Matching of sample properties can help establish the relatedness of disparate incidents, and mis-matches might exclude certain scenarios, or signify a more complex etiology of the events under investigation. Chemical and morphological analysis for sample matching has a long history in forensics, and is likely to be acceptable in principle in court, assuming that match criteria are well defined and derived from known limits of precision of the measurement techniques in question. Thus, apart from certain operational issues (such as how

Key issues in decomposing fMRI during naturalistic and continuous music experience with independent component analysis.

PubMed

Cong, Fengyu; Puoliväli, Tuomas; Alluri, Vinoo; Sipola, Tuomo; Burunat, Iballa; Toiviainen, Petri; Nandi, Asoke K; Brattico, Elvira; Ristaniemi, Tapani

2014-02-15

Independent component analysis (ICA) has been often used to decompose fMRI data mostly for the resting-state, block and event-related designs due to its outstanding advantage. For fMRI data during free-listening experiences, only a few exploratory studies applied ICA. For processing the fMRI data elicited by 512-s modern tango, a FFT based band-pass filter was used to further pre-process the fMRI data to remove sources of no interest and noise. Then, a fast model order selection method was applied to estimate the number of sources. Next, both individual ICA and group ICA were performed. Subsequently, ICA components whose temporal courses were significantly correlated with musical features were selected. Finally, for individual ICA, common components across majority of participants were found by diffusion map and spectral clustering. The extracted spatial maps (by the new ICA approach) common across most participants evidenced slightly right-lateralized activity within and surrounding the auditory cortices. Meanwhile, they were found associated with the musical features. Compared with the conventional ICA approach, more participants were found to have the common spatial maps extracted by the new ICA approach. Conventional model order selection methods underestimated the true number of sources in the conventionally pre-processed fMRI data for the individual ICA. Pre-processing the fMRI data by using a reasonable band-pass digital filter can greatly benefit the following model order selection and ICA with fMRI data by naturalistic paradigms. Diffusion map and spectral clustering are straightforward tools to find common ICA spatial maps. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dengue outbreak in Key West, Florida, USA, 2009.

PubMed

Radke, Elizabeth G; Gregory, Christopher J; Kintziger, Kristina W; Sauber-Schatz, Erin K; Hunsperger, Elizabeth A; Gallagher, Glen R; Barber, Jean M; Biggerstaff, Brad J; Stanek, Danielle R; Tomashek, Kay M; Blackmore, Carina G M

2012-01-01

After 3 dengue cases were acquired in Key West, Florida, we conducted a serosurvey to determine the scope of the outbreak. Thirteen residents showed recent infection (infection rate 5%; 90% CI 2%-8%), demonstrating the reemergence of dengue in Florida. Increased awareness of dengue among health care providers is needed.

Key characteristics of specular stereo

PubMed Central

Muryy, Alexander A.; Fleming, Roland W.; Welchman, Andrew E.

2014-01-01

Because specular reflection is view-dependent, shiny surfaces behave radically differently from matte, textured surfaces when viewed with two eyes. As a result, specular reflections pose substantial problems for binocular stereopsis. Here we use a combination of computer graphics and geometrical analysis to characterize the key respects in which specular stereo differs from standard stereo, to identify how and why the human visual system fails to reconstruct depths correctly from specular reflections. We describe rendering of stereoscopic images of specular surfaces in which the disparity information can be varied parametrically and independently of monocular appearance. Using the generated surfaces and images, we explain how stereo correspondence can be established with known and unknown surface geometry. We show that even with known geometry, stereo matching for specular surfaces is nontrivial because points in one eye may have zero, one, or multiple matches in the other eye. Matching features typically yield skew (nonintersecting) rays, leading to substantial ortho-epipolar components to the disparities, which makes deriving depth values from matches nontrivial. We suggest that the human visual system may base its depth estimates solely on the epipolar components of disparities while treating the ortho-epipolar components as a measure of the underlying reliability of the disparity signals. Reconstructing virtual surfaces according to these principles reveals that they are piece-wise smooth with very large discontinuities close to inflection points on the physical surface. Together, these distinctive characteristics lead to cues that the visual system could use to diagnose specular reflections from binocular information. PMID:25540263

Development of an optimised key worker framework for people with dementia, their family and caring unit living in the community.

PubMed

Renehan, Emma; Goeman, Dianne; Koch, Susan

2017-07-20

In Australia, dementia is a national health priority. With the rising number of people living with dementia and shortage of formal and informal carers predicted in the near future, developing approaches to coordinating services in quality-focused ways is considered an urgent priority. Key worker support models are one approach that have been used to assist people living with dementia and their caring unit coordinate services and navigate service systems; however, there is limited literature outlining comprehensive frameworks for the implementation of community dementia key worker roles in practice. In this paper an optimised key worker framework for people with dementia, their family and caring unit living in the community is developed and presented. A number of processes were undertaken to inform the development of a co-designed optimised key worker framework: an expert working and reference group; a systematic review of the literature; and a qualitative evaluation of 14 dementia key worker models operating in Australia involving 14 interviews with organisation managers, 19 with key workers and 15 with people living with dementia and/or their caring unit. Data from the systematic review and evaluation of dementia key worker models were analysed by the researchers and the expert working and reference group using a constant comparative approach to define the essential components of the optimised framework. The developed framework consisted of four main components: overarching philosophies; organisational context; role definition; and key worker competencies. A number of more clearly defined sub-themes sat under each component. Reflected in the framework is the complexity of the dementia journey and the difficulty in trying to develop a 'one size fits all' approach. This co-designed study led to the development of an evidence based framework which outlines a comprehensive synthesis of components viewed as being essential to the implementation of a dementia key

Anorexia of ageing: a key component in the pathogenesis of both sarcopenia and cachexia

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Abstract The anorexia of aging was first recognized as a physiological syndrome 30 years ago. Its major causes are an alteration in fundal compliance with an increase in antral stretch and enhanced cholecystokinin activity leading to increased satiation.This anorexia leads to weight loss in aging persons and is one of the component causes of the aging related sarcopenia. This physiological anorexia also increases the risk of more severe anorexia when an older person has an increase in inflammatory cytokines such as occurs when they have an illness. This results in an increase in the anorexia due to cachexia in older persons. PMID:28452130

Stationary turbine component with laminated skin

DOEpatents

James, Allister W [Orlando, FL

2012-08-14

A stationary turbine engine component, such as a turbine vane, includes a internal spar and an external skin. The internal spar is made of a plurality of spar laminates, and the external skin is made of a plurality of skin laminates. The plurality of skin laminates interlockingly engage the plurality of spar laminates such that the external skin is located and held in place. This arrangement allows alternative high temperature materials to be used on turbine engine components in areas where their properties are needed without having to make the entire component out of such material. Thus, the manufacturing difficulties associated with making an entire component of such a material and the attendant high costs are avoided. The skin laminates can be made of advanced generation single crystal superalloys, intermetallics and refractory alloys.

KEY COMPARISON Final report on international comparison CCQM-K71: Measurement of stack gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nieuwenkamp, G.; van der Veen, A. M. H.; Wessel, R. M.; Qiao, Han; Oh, Sang-Hyub; Kim, Byung-Moon; Kim, Kwang-Sub; Pérez Castorena, Alejandro; Ramírez Nambo, Carlos; Koelliker Delgado, Jorge; Serrano Caballero, Victor M.; Rangel Murillo, Francisco; Avila Salas, Manuel de Jesus; Dias, Florbela; Baptista, Gonçalo; Konopelko, L. A.; Kustikov, Y. A.; Pankratov, V. V.; Selyukov, D. N.; Balandovich, V. S.; Vishnyakov, I. M.; Pavlov, M. V.; Maltsev, M. A.; Botha, Angelique; Valkova, Miroslava; Stovcik, Viliam; Musil, Stanislav; Milton, M. J. T.; Uprichard, I. J.; Vargha, G. M.; Guenther, F.; Gameson, L.; da Cunha, V.

2010-01-01

Industrial stack gas emission measurements are important for process control, control of air pollution, and for implementing legislation regarding carbon dioxide emission rights. Measurements are typically performed using a range of process analysers for carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and miscellaneous hydrocarbons. The calibration of these analysers is often performed using a series of binary mixtures of each component in nitrogen. For reasons of efficiency as well as a better match with true stack gas, the use of multi-component mixtures for this purpose would be preferred. The aim of this key comparison is to evaluate the measurement capabilities of national metrology institutes for carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen monoxide, sulphur dioxide and propane in nitrogen. Ten laboratories participated in the key comparison and one in the associated study. The key comparison reference value is based on the gravimetric preparation data. Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA).

Sizing Power Components of an Electrically Driven Tail Cone Thruster and a Range Extender

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jansen, Ralph H.; Bowman, Cheryl; Jankovsky, Amy

2016-01-01

The aeronautics industry has been challenged on many fronts to increase efficiency, reduce emissions, and decrease dependency on carbon-based fuels. This paper provides an overview of the turboelectric and hybrid electric technologies being developed under NASA's Advanced Air Transportation Technology (AATT) Project and discusses how these technologies can impact vehicle design. The discussion includes an overview of key hybrid electric studies and technology investments, the approach to making informed investment decisions based on key performance parameters and mission studies, and the power system architectures for two candidate aircraft. Finally, the power components for a single-aisle turboelectric aircraft with an electrically driven tail cone thruster and for a hybrid-electric nine-passenger aircraft with a range extender are parametrically sized, and the sensitivity of these components to key parameters is presented.

Perception of dental appearance using Index of Treatment Need (Aesthetic Component) assessments.

PubMed

Abdullah, M S B; Rock, W P

2002-09-01

To compare assessments of malocclusion made by an orthodontist with the perceptions of children and their parents. A sample of 5,112 Malaysian schoolchildren was selected by a system of stratified random sampling based on state, ethnicity and gender. Each child was first allocated an IOTN (AC) grade by an orthodontist, after which the child and then the parents also recorded a grade. A smaller sub-sample of 720 children was also asked to identify the three worst AC pictures and to give reasons for their choice. The orthodontist scored 22.8% of the subjects in AC grades 8-10, 'Definite Need for Treatment' whilst only 5.8% of children and 4.8% of parents recorded these grades. If AC grade 6 is taken as the cut off point the proportions needing treatment would be 41.8%, 9.7% and 9.9% respectively. Similar proportions of boys and girls scored their own teeth in the 8-10 range but more girls than boys scored themselves in grades 1-3, 'No Need for Treatment'. Ethnic origin had no effect upon the perception of malocclusion by the children. Crowding, deep bite and tooth size were the three occlusal features that children liked least. The IOTN (AC) index appears robust in its reflection of the perception of malocclusion by children and parents respectively. Assessments were little affected by gender or ethnicity. However the scores of children and parents were much lower than those of an orthodontist trained in the use of IOTN.

A Component-Centered Meta-Analysis of Family-Based Prevention Programs for Adolescent Substance Use

PubMed Central

Roseth, Cary J.; Fosco, Gregory M.; Lee, You-kyung; Chen, I-Chien

2016-01-01

Although research has documented the positive effects of family-based prevention programs, the field lacks specific information regarding why these programs are effective. The current study summarized the effects of family-based programs on adolescent substance use using a component-based approach to meta-analysis in which we decomposed programs into a set of key topics or components that were specifically addressed by program curricula (e.g., parental monitoring/behavior management, problem solving, positive family relations, etc.). Components were coded according to the amount of time spent on program services that targeted youth, parents, and the whole family; we also coded effect sizes across studies for each substance-related outcome. Given the nested nature of the data, we used hierarchical linear modeling to link program components (Level 2) with effect sizes (Level 1). The overall effect size across programs was .31, which did not differ by type of substance. Youth-focused components designed to encourage more positive family relationships and a positive orientation toward the future emerged as key factors predicting larger than average effect sizes. Our results suggest that, within the universe of family-based prevention, where components such as parental monitoring/behavior management are almost universal, adding or expanding certain youth-focused components may be able to enhance program efficacy. PMID:27064553

A New Three Dimensional Based Key Generation Technique in AVK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, Subhasish; Dutta, Manash Pratim; Bhunia, Chandan Tilak

2017-08-01

In modern era, ensuring high order security becomes one and only objective of computer networks. From the last few decades, many researchers have given their contributions to achieve the secrecy over the communication channel. In achieving perfect security, Shannon had done the pioneer work on perfect secret theorem and illustrated that secrecy of the shared information can be maintained if the key becomes variable in nature instead of static one. In this regard, a key generation technique has been proposed where the key can be changed every time whenever a new block of data needs to be exchanged. In our scheme, the keys not only vary in bit sequences but also in size. The experimental study is also included in this article to prove the correctness and effectiveness of our proposed technique.

Components of Culture in Health for Medical Students' Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tervalon, Melanie

2003-01-01

Describes key themes and components of culture in health care for incorporation into undergraduate medical education. These include teaching the rationale for learning about culture in health care; "culture basics"; data on and concepts of health status; tools and skills for productive cross-cultural clinical encounters; characteristics and…

Identifying and Assessing Creativity as a Component of Giftedness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, James C.; Plucker, Jonathan A.; Russell, Christina M.

2012-01-01

Most theories of giftedness include creativity as a central component. Creativity assessment has a key role, therefore, in measuring giftedness. This article reviews the state of the creativity assessment, from divergent thinking tests (including the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) to the consensual assessment technique to rating scales and…

Towards Prognostics for Electronics Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saha, Bhaskar; Celaya, Jose R.; Wysocki, Philip F.; Goebel, Kai F.

2013-01-01

Electronics components have an increasingly critical role in avionics systems and in the development of future aircraft systems. Prognostics of such components is becoming a very important research field as a result of the need to provide aircraft systems with system level health management information. This paper focuses on a prognostics application for electronics components within avionics systems, and in particular its application to an Isolated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT). This application utilizes the remaining useful life prediction, accomplished by employing the particle filter framework, leveraging data from accelerated aging tests on IGBTs. These tests induced thermal-electrical overstresses by applying thermal cycling to the IGBT devices. In-situ state monitoring, including measurements of steady-state voltages and currents, electrical transients, and thermal transients are recorded and used as potential precursors of failure.

Tracking the Key Constituents of Concern of the WTP LAW Stream

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

Mabrouki, Ridha B.; Matlack, Keith S.; Abramowitz, Howard

The testing results presented in the present report were also obtained on a DM10 melter system operated with the primary WTP LAW offgas system components with recycle, as specified in the statement of work (SOW) [6] and detailed in the Test Plan for this work [7]. The primary offgas system components include the SBS, the WESP, and a recycle system that allows recycle of liquid effluents back to the melter, as in the present baseline for the WTP LAW vitrification. The partitioning of technetium and other key constituents between the glass waste form, the offgas system liquid effluents, the offgasmore » stream that exits the WESP, and the liquid condensate from the vacuum evaporator were quantified in this work. The tests employed three different LAW streams spanning a range of waste compositions anticipated for WTP. Modifications to the offgas system and operational strategy were made to expedite the approach to steady state concentrations of key constituents in the glass and offgas effluent solutions during each test.« less

Key Working for Families with Young Disabled Children

PubMed Central

Carter, Bernie; Thomas, Megan

2011-01-01

For families with a disabled child, the usual challenges of family life can be further complicated by the need to access a wide range of services provided by a plethora of professionals and agencies. Key working aims to support children and their families in navigating these complexities ensuring easy access to relevant, high quality, and coordinated care. The aim of this paper is to explore the key worker role in relation to “being a key worker” and “having a key worker”. The data within this paper draw on a larger evaluation study of the Blackpool Early Support Pilot Programme. The qualitative study used an appreciative and narrative approach and utilised mixed methods (interviews, surveys and a nominal group workshop). Data were collected from 43 participants (parents, key workers, and other stakeholders). All stakeholders who had been involved with the service were invited to participate. In the paper we present and discuss the ways in which key working made a difference to the lives of children and their families. We also consider how key working transformed the perspectives of the key workers creating a deeper and richer understanding of family lives and the ways in which other disciplines and agencies worked. Key working contributed to the shift to a much more family-centred approach, and enhanced communication and information sharing between professionals and agencies improved. This resulted in families feeling more informed. Key workers acted in an entrepreneurial fashion, forging new relationships with families and between families and other stakeholders. Parents of young disabled children and their service providers benefited from key working. Much of the benefit accrued came from strong, relational, and social-professional networking which facilitated the embedding of new ways of working into everyday practice. Using an appreciative inquiry approach provided an effective and relevant way of engaging with parents, professionals, and other

Dengue Outbreak in Key West, Florida, USA, 2009

PubMed Central

Radke, Elizabeth G.; Gregory, Christopher J.; Kintziger, Kristina W.; Sauber-Schatz, Erin K.; Hunsperger, Elizabeth A.; Gallagher, Glen R.; Barber, Jean M.; Biggerstaff, Brad J.; Stanek, Danielle R.; Tomashek, Kay M.

2012-01-01

After 3 dengue cases were acquired in Key West, Florida, we conducted a serosurvey to determine the scope of the outbreak. Thirteen residents showed recent infection (infection rate 5%; 90% CI 2%–8%), demonstrating the reemergence of dengue in Florida. Increased awareness of dengue among health care providers is needed. PMID:22257471

Computing the scatter component of mammographic images.

PubMed

Highnam, R P; Brady, J M; Shepstone, B J

1994-01-01

The authors build upon a technical report (Tech. Report OUEL 2009/93, Engng. Sci., Oxford Uni., Oxford, UK, 1993) in which they proposed a model of the mammographic imaging process for which scattered radiation is a key degrading factor. Here, the authors propose a way of estimating the scatter component of the signal at any pixel within a mammographic image, and they use this estimate for model-based image enhancement. The first step is to extend the authors' previous model to divide breast tissue into "interesting" (fibrous/glandular/cancerous) tissue and fat. The scatter model is then based on the idea that the amount of scattered radiation reaching a point is related to the energy imparted to the surrounding neighbourhood. This complex relationship is approximated using published empirical data, and it varies with the size of the breast being imaged. The approximation is further complicated by needing to take account of extra-focal radiation and breast edge effects. The approximation takes the form of a weighting mask which is convolved with the total signal (primary and scatter) to give a value which is input to a "scatter function", approximated using three reference cases, and which returns a scatter estimate. Given a scatter estimate, the more important primary component can be calculated and used to create an image recognizable by a radiologist. The images resulting from this process are clearly enhanced, and model verification tests based on an estimate of the thickness of interesting tissue present proved to be very successful. A good scatter model opens the was for further processing to remove the effects of other degrading factors, such as beam hardening.

Tobacco Withdrawal Components and Their Relations with Cessation Success

PubMed Central

Piper, Megan E.; Schlam, Tanya R.; Cook, Jessica W.; Sheffer, Megan A.; Smith, Stevens S.; Loh, Wei-Yin; Bolt, Daniel M.; Kim, Su-Young; Kaye, Jesse T.; Hefner, Kathryn R.; Baker, Timothy B.

2011-01-01

Rationale Tobacco withdrawal is a key factor in smoking relapse, but important questions about the withdrawal phenomenon remain. Objectives This research was intended to provide information about two core components of withdrawal (negative affect and craving): 1) how various withdrawal symptom profile dimensions (e.g., mean level, volatility, extreme values) differ between negative affect and craving; and 2) how these dimensions relate to cessation outcome. Methods Adult smokers (N=1504) in a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled smoking cessation trial provided real-time withdrawal symptom data four times per day for 4 weeks (2 weeks pre-quit and 2 weeks post-quit) via palmtop computers. Cessation outcome was biochemically confirmed 8-week point-prevalence abstinence. Results Examination of craving and negative affect dimensions following a cessation attempt revealed that craving symptoms differed from negative affect symptoms, with higher means, greater variability, and a greater incidence of extreme peaks. Regression analyses revealed that abstinence was associated with lower mean levels of both craving and negative affect and fewer incidences of extreme craving peaks. In a multivariate model, the increase in mean craving and negative affect scores each uniquely predicted relapse. Conclusions Real-time reports revealed different patterns of abstinence-related negative affect and craving and that dimensions of both predict cessation outcome, suggesting that negative affect and craving dimensions each has motivational significance. This underscores the complexity of withdrawal as a determinant of relapse and the need to measure its distinct components and dimensions. PMID:21416234

Public key infrastructure for DOE security research

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

Aiken, R.; Foster, I.; Johnston, W.E.

This document summarizes the Department of Energy`s Second Joint Energy Research/Defence Programs Security Research Workshop. The workshop, built on the results of the first Joint Workshop which reviewed security requirements represented in a range of mission-critical ER and DP applications, discussed commonalties and differences in ER/DP requirements and approaches, and identified an integrated common set of security research priorities. One significant conclusion of the first workshop was that progress in a broad spectrum of DOE-relevant security problems and applications could best be addressed through public-key cryptography based systems, and therefore depended upon the existence of a robust, broadly deployed public-keymore » infrastructure. Hence, public-key infrastructure ({open_quotes}PKI{close_quotes}) was adopted as a primary focus for the second workshop. The Second Joint Workshop covered a range of DOE security research and deployment efforts, as well as summaries of the state of the art in various areas relating to public-key technologies. Key findings were that a broad range of DOE applications can benefit from security architectures and technologies built on a robust, flexible, widely deployed public-key infrastructure; that there exists a collection of specific requirements for missing or undeveloped PKI functionality, together with a preliminary assessment of how these requirements can be met; that, while commercial developments can be expected to provide many relevant security technologies, there are important capabilities that commercial developments will not address, due to the unique scale, performance, diversity, distributed nature, and sensitivity of DOE applications; that DOE should encourage and support research activities intended to increase understanding of security technology requirements, and to develop critical components not forthcoming from other sources in a timely manner.« less

Simple Web-based interactive key development software (WEBiKEY) and an example key for Kuruna (Poaceae: Bambusoideae)1

PubMed Central

Attigala, Lakshmi; De Silva, Nuwan I.; Clark, Lynn G.

2016-01-01

Premise of the study: Programs that are user-friendly and freely available for developing Web-based interactive keys are scarce and most of the well-structured applications are relatively expensive. WEBiKEY was developed to enable researchers to easily develop their own Web-based interactive keys with fewer resources. Methods and Results: A Web-based multiaccess identification tool (WEBiKEY) was developed that uses freely available Microsoft ASP.NET technologies and an SQL Server database for Windows-based hosting environments. WEBiKEY was tested for its usability with a sample data set, the temperate woody bamboo genus Kuruna (Poaceae). Conclusions: WEBiKEY is freely available to the public and can be used to develop Web-based interactive keys for any group of species. The interactive key we developed for Kuruna using WEBiKEY enables users to visually inspect characteristics of Kuruna and identify an unknown specimen as one of seven possible species in the genus. PMID:27144109

The French human biomonitoring program: First lessons from the perinatal component and future needs.

PubMed

Dereumeaux, Clémentine; Fillol, Clémence; Charles, Marie-Aline; Denys, Sébastien

2017-03-01

This paper presents a progress report of the French human biomonitoring (HBM) program established in 2010. This program has been designed to provide a national representative estimation of the French population's exposure to various environmental chemicals and to study the determinants of exposure. This program currently consists in two surveys: a perinatal component related to a selection of 4145 pregnant women who have been enrolled in the Elfe cohort (the French Longitudinal Study since Childhood) in 2011, and a general population survey related to adults aged 18-74 years and children as from 6 years (Esteban). The aim of this manuscript is to present highlights of the French human biomonitoring program with particular focus on the prioritization of biomarkers to be analyzed in the program and the selection of biomarkers applied to both program components. The Delphi method was used to establish a consensual list of prioritized biomarkers in 2011. First results of the perinatal component of the French HBM program have shown that the biomarkers prioritized were relevant, as almost all pregnant women were exposed to them. However, for some biomarkers, levels' decreases have been observed which may partly be explained by measures taken to prohibit some of these chemicals (e.g. atrazine) and by industrial processes evolutions leading to the substitution of others (e.g. bisphenol A, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate/DEHP, dialkyl phosphates). Therefore, the list of biomarkers to be monitored in the French HBM program has been implemented to include some substitutes of biomarkers prioritized in the first instance (e.g. bisphenol S, F). Finally, this method combines rigor and flexibility and helped us to build a prioritized list that will be shared and supported by many if not all actors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Community Care for People with Complex Care Needs: Bridging the Gap between Health and Social Care

PubMed Central

Ho, Julia W.; Hans, Parminder Kaur; Nelson, Michelle LA

2017-01-01

Introduction: A growing number of people are living with complex care needs characterized by multimorbidity, mental health challenges and social deprivation. Required is the integration of health and social care, beyond traditional health care services to address social determinants. This study investigates key care components to support complex patients and their families in the community. Methods: Expert panel focus groups with 24 care providers, working in health and social care sectors across Toronto, Ontario, Canada were conducted. Patient vignettes illustrating significant health and social care needs were presented to participants. The vignettes prompted discussions on i) how best to meet complex care needs in the community and ii) the barriers to delivering care to this population. Results: Categories to support care needs of complex patients and their families included i) relationships as the foundation for care, ii) desired processes and structures of care, and iii) barriers and workarounds for desired care. Discussion and Conclusions: Meeting the needs of the population who require health and social care requires time to develop authentic relationships, broadening the membership of the care team, communicating across sectors, co-locating health and social care, and addressing the barriers that prevent providers from engaging in these required practices. PMID:28970760

Efficient abstract data type components for distributed and parallel systems

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

Bastani, F.; Hilal, W.; Iyengar, S.S.

1987-10-01

One way of improving software system's comprehensibility and maintainability is to decompose it into several components, each of which encapsulates some information concerning the system. These components can be classified into four categories, namely, abstract data type, functional, interface, and control components. Such a classfication underscores the need for different specification, implementation, and performance-improvement methods for different types of components. This article focuses on the development of high-performance abstract data type components for distributed and parallel environments.

A Dichotomous Key for the Identification of Common British Wild Flower Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Piers

2004-01-01

This article argues the need for, and provides, a dichotomous single access key for the identification of common British wild flower families. A minimum of technical vocabulary is used while at the same time retaining most of the recent botanical names of families. The key provides a user-friendly opportunity for school pupils to become familiar…

Active Rehabilitation-a community peer-based approach for persons with spinal cord injury: international utilisation of key elements.

PubMed

Divanoglou, A; Tasiemski, T; Augutis, M; Trok, K

2017-06-01

Active Rehabilitation (AR) is a community peer-based approach that started in Sweden in 1976. As a key component of the approach, AR training camps provide intensive, goal-oriented, intentional, group-based, customised training and peer-support opportunities in a community environment for individuals with spinal cord injury. Prospective cross-sectional study. To describe the profile of the organisations that use components of the AR approach, and to explore the characteristics and the international variations of the approach. Twenty-two organisations from 21 countries from Europe, Asia and Africa reported using components of the AR approach during the past 10 years. An electronic survey was developed and distributed through a personalised email. Sampling involved a prospective identification of organisations that met the inclusion criteria and snowball strategies. While there were many collaborating links between the organisations, RG Active Rehabilitation from Sweden and Motivation Charitable Trust from the United Kingdom were identified as key supporting organisations. The 10 key elements of the AR approach were found to be used uniformly across the participating organisations. Small variations were associated with variations in country income and key supporting organisation. This is the first study to describe the key elements and international variations of the AR approach. This will provide the basis for further studies exploring the effectiveness of the approach, it will likely facilitate international collaboration on research and operational aspects and it could potentially support higher integration in the health-care system and long-term funding of these programmes.

Medicines counterfeiting is a complex problem: a review of key challenges across the supply chain.

PubMed

Tremblay, Michael

2013-02-01

The paper begins by asking why there is a market for counterfeit medicines, which in effect creates the problem of counterfeiting itself. Contributing factors include supply chain complexity and the lack of whole-systems thinking. These two underpin the author's view that counterfeiting is a complex (i.e. wicked) problem, and that corporate, public policy and regulatory actions need to be mindful of how their actions may be causal. The paper offers a problem-based review of key components of this complexity, viz., the knowledge end-users/consumers have of medicines; whether restrictive information policies may hamper information provision to patients; the internet's direct access to consumers; internet-enabled distribution of unsafe and counterfeit medicines; whether the internet is a parallel and competitive supply chain to legitimate routes; organised crime as an emerging medicines manufacturer and supplier and whether substandard medicines is really the bigger problem. Solutions respect the perceived complexity of the supply chain challenges. The paper identifies the need to avoid technologically-driven solutions, calling for 'technological agnosticism'. Both regulation and public policy need to reflect the dynamic nature of the problem and avoid creating perverse incentives; it may be, for instance, that medicines pricing and reimbursement policies, which affect consumer/patient access may act as market signals to counterfeiters, since this creates a cash market in cheaper drugs.

Knowing (and understanding) the key numbers for your practice.

PubMed

Schumann, Ted

2013-12-01

Most dentists see accounting and bookkeeping as a necessary evil instead of a helpful tool. Yet the most financially successful and happy dentists understand the need for good financial management. Here's an overview that will help you better-understand the key numbers in your practice.

Component Repair Experiment-1: An Experiment Evaluating Electronic Component-Level Repair During Spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Easton, John W.; Struk, Peter M.

2012-01-01

The Component Repair Experiment-1 (CRE-1) examines the capability for astronauts to perform electronics repair tasks in space. The goal is to determine the current capabilities and limits for the crew, and to make recommendations to improve and expand the range of work that astronauts may perform. CRE-1 provided two-layer, functional circuit boards and replacement components, a small tool kit, written and video training materials, and 1 hr of hands on training for the crew slated to perform the experiment approximately 7 months prior to the mission. Astronauts Michael Fincke and Sandra Magnus performed the work aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in February and March 2009. The astronauts were able to remove and replace components successfully, demonstrating the feasibility of performing component-level electronics repairs within a spacecraft. Several unsuccessful tasks demonstrated areas in need of improvement. These include improved and longer training prior to a mission, an improved soldering iron with a higher operating temperature and steady power source, video training and practice boards for refresher work or practice before a repair, and improved and varied hand tools and containment system.

Quantum key management

DOEpatents

Hughes, Richard John; Thrasher, James Thomas; Nordholt, Jane Elizabeth

2016-11-29

Innovations for quantum key management harness quantum communications to form a cryptography system within a public key infrastructure framework. In example implementations, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a Merkle signature scheme (using Winternitz one-time digital signatures or other one-time digital signatures, and Merkle hash trees) to constitute a cryptography system. More generally, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a hash-based signature scheme. This provides a secure way to identify, authenticate, verify, and exchange secret cryptographic keys. Features of the quantum key management innovations further include secure enrollment of users with a registration authority, as well as credential checking and revocation with a certificate authority, where the registration authority and/or certificate authority can be part of the same system as a trusted authority for quantum key distribution.

Advanced Electrical Materials and Components Being Developed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwarze, Gene E.

2004-01-01

All aerospace systems require power management and distribution (PMAD) between the energy and power source and the loads. The PMAD subsystem can be broadly described as the conditioning and control of unregulated power from the energy source and its transmission to a power bus for distribution to the intended loads. All power and control circuits for PMAD require electrical components for switching, energy storage, voltage-to-current transformation, filtering, regulation, protection, and isolation. Advanced electrical materials and component development technology is a key technology to increasing the power density, efficiency, reliability, and operating temperature of the PMAD. The primary means to develop advanced electrical components is to develop new and/or significantly improved electronic materials for capacitors, magnetic components, and semiconductor switches and diodes. The next important step is to develop the processing techniques to fabricate electrical and electronic components that exceed the specifications of presently available state-of-the-art components. The NASA Glenn Research Center's advanced electrical materials and component development technology task is focused on the following three areas: 1) New and/or improved dielectric materials for the development of power capacitors with increased capacitance volumetric efficiency, energy density, and operating temperature; 2) New and/or improved high-frequency, high-temperature soft magnetic materials for the development of transformers and inductors with increased power density, energy density, electrical efficiency, and operating temperature; 3) Packaged high-temperature, high-power density, high-voltage, and low-loss SiC diodes and switches.

Optimal attacks on qubit-based Quantum Key Recycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leermakers, Daan; Škorić, Boris

2018-03-01

Quantum Key Recycling (QKR) is a quantum cryptographic primitive that allows one to reuse keys in an unconditionally secure way. By removing the need to repeatedly generate new keys, it improves communication efficiency. Škorić and de Vries recently proposed a QKR scheme based on 8-state encoding (four bases). It does not require quantum computers for encryption/decryption but only single-qubit operations. We provide a missing ingredient in the security analysis of this scheme in the case of noisy channels: accurate upper bounds on the required amount of privacy amplification. We determine optimal attacks against the message and against the key, for 8-state encoding as well as 4-state and 6-state conjugate coding. We provide results in terms of min-entropy loss as well as accessible (Shannon) information. We show that the Shannon entropy analysis for 8-state encoding reduces to the analysis of quantum key distribution, whereas 4-state and 6-state suffer from additional leaks that make them less effective. From the optimal attacks we compute the required amount of privacy amplification and hence the achievable communication rate (useful information per qubit) of qubit-based QKR. Overall, 8-state encoding yields the highest communication rates.

Key design features of a new smokefree law to help achieve the Smokefree Aotearoa.

PubMed

Delany, Louise; Thomson, George; Wilson, Nick; Edwards, Richard

2016-08-05

To design new tobacco control legislation to achieve the New Zealand Government's 2025 smokefree goal. An original analysis of the legislative options for New Zealand tobacco control. 'Business as usual' is most unlikely to achieve smoking prevalence that is less than 5% by 2025. Key components of a new Act would ideally include plans and targets with teeth, a focus on the industry, a focus on the product, reduction of supply, and a whole-of-society approach to promote consistency in policy implementation through: i) a public duty on government agencies to act consistently with smokefree law; ii) a general duty on those associated with the tobacco/nicotine industry in relation to tobacco control objectives; and iii) a principle requiring international treaties to be interpreted consistently with tobacco control objectives. Strategies such as those identified in this Viewpoint should be explored further as part of urgently needed planning to achieve the New Zealand Government's goal for Smokefree Aotearoa by 2025.

Fundamental rate-loss tradeoff for optical quantum key distribution.

PubMed

Takeoka, Masahiro; Guha, Saikat; Wilde, Mark M

2014-10-24

Since 1984, various optical quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols have been proposed and examined. In all of them, the rate of secret key generation decays exponentially with distance. A natural and fundamental question is then whether there are yet-to-be discovered optical QKD protocols (without quantum repeaters) that could circumvent this rate-distance tradeoff. This paper provides a major step towards answering this question. Here we show that the secret key agreement capacity of a lossy and noisy optical channel assisted by unlimited two-way public classical communication is limited by an upper bound that is solely a function of the channel loss, regardless of how much optical power the protocol may use. Our result has major implications for understanding the secret key agreement capacity of optical channels-a long-standing open problem in optical quantum information theory-and strongly suggests a real need for quantum repeaters to perform QKD at high rates over long distances.

Threats to Validity in the edTPA Video Component

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choppin, Jeffrey; Meuwissen, Kevin

2017-01-01

The edTPA, a performance assessment designed to generate reliable and valid measures of teaching practice, increasingly is used as a gatekeeping mechanism for beginning teacher licensure in various states, including New York, Washington State, Wisconsin, and Georgia. One of the edTPA's key components is the demonstration of instructional practice…

Standard plane localization in ultrasound by radial component model and selective search.

PubMed

Ni, Dong; Yang, Xin; Chen, Xin; Chin, Chien-Ting; Chen, Siping; Heng, Pheng Ann; Li, Shengli; Qin, Jing; Wang, Tianfu

2014-11-01

Acquisition of the standard plane is crucial for medical ultrasound diagnosis. However, this process requires substantial experience and a thorough knowledge of human anatomy. Therefore it is very challenging for novices and even time consuming for experienced examiners. We proposed a hierarchical, supervised learning framework for automatically detecting the standard plane from consecutive 2-D ultrasound images. We tested this technique by developing a system that localizes the fetal abdominal standard plane from ultrasound video by detecting three key anatomical structures: the stomach bubble, umbilical vein and spine. We first proposed a novel radial component-based model to describe the geometric constraints of these key anatomical structures. We then introduced a novel selective search method which exploits the vessel probability algorithm to produce probable locations for the spine and umbilical vein. Next, using component classifiers trained by random forests, we detected the key anatomical structures at their probable locations within the regions constrained by the radial component-based model. Finally, a second-level classifier combined the results from the component detection to identify an ultrasound image as either a "fetal abdominal standard plane" or a "non- fetal abdominal standard plane." Experimental results on 223 fetal abdomen videos showed that the detection accuracy of our method was as high as 85.6% and significantly outperformed both the full abdomen and the separate anatomy detection methods without geometric constraints. The experimental results demonstrated that our system shows great promise for application to clinical practice. Copyright © 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Image edge detection based tool condition monitoring with morphological component analysis.

PubMed

Yu, Xiaolong; Lin, Xin; Dai, Yiquan; Zhu, Kunpeng

2017-07-01

The measurement and monitoring of tool condition are keys to the product precision in the automated manufacturing. To meet the need, this study proposes a novel tool wear monitoring approach based on the monitored image edge detection. Image edge detection has been a fundamental tool to obtain features of images. This approach extracts the tool edge with morphological component analysis. Through the decomposition of original tool wear image, the approach reduces the influence of texture and noise for edge measurement. Based on the target image sparse representation and edge detection, the approach could accurately extract the tool wear edge with continuous and complete contour, and is convenient in charactering tool conditions. Compared to the celebrated algorithms developed in the literature, this approach improves the integrity and connectivity of edges, and the results have shown that it achieves better geometry accuracy and lower error rate in the estimation of tool conditions. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Components of Effective Diversity Training Programmes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wentling, Rose Mary; Palma-Rivas, Nilda

1999-01-01

Interviews with 12 diversity experts uncovered components of effective diversity training programs: management commitment and support, inclusion in strategic planning, attention to specific organizational needs, qualified trainers, mandatory attendance, inclusiveness, trust and confidentiality, accountability, and clearly focused evaluation. (SK)

Unmet Needs of Children with Special Health Care Needs in a Specialized Day School Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aruda, Mary M.; Kelly, Mary; Newinsky, Karina

2011-01-01

Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) represent a significant component of the pediatric population. They often present to schools with multiple and increasingly complex health issues, including medical technology dependency. Their daily variation in health status requires close monitoring and communication among caregivers. Limited…

Robust multiparty quantum secret key sharing over two collective-noise channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhan-jun

2006-02-01

Based on a polarization-based quantum key distribution protocol over a collective-noise channel [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92 (2004) 017901], a robust (n,n)-threshold scheme of multiparty quantum secret sharing of key over two collective-noise channels (i.e., the collective dephasing channel and the collective rotating channel) is proposed. In this scheme the sharer entirety can establish a joint key with the message sender only if all the sharers collaborate together. Since Bell singlets are enough for use and only single-photon polarization needs to be identified, this scheme is feasible according to the present-day technique.

Orthodontic treatment need in Asian adult males.

PubMed

Soh, Jen; Sandham, Andrew

2004-12-01

Orthodontic treatment in adults has gained social and professional acceptance in recent years. An assessment of orthodontic treatment need helps to identify individuals who will benefit from treatment and safeguard their interest. The purpose of this study was to assess the objective and subjective levels of orthodontic treatment need in a sample of orthodontically untreated adult Asian males. A sample of male army recruits (n = 339, age 17-22 years, Chinese = 258, Malay = 60, Indian = 21) with no history of orthodontic treatment or craniofacial anomalies participated in the study on a voluntary basis with informed consent. Impressions for study models were taken. Objective treatment need was assessed based on study model analysis using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). Questionnaires were used to assess subjective treatment need based on subjective esthetic component (EC) ratings. Fifty percentage of the sample had a definite need for orthodontic treatment (dental health component [DHC] grades 4 and 5), whereas 29.2% had a moderate need for treatment (DHC grades 3). The occlusal trait most commonly identified was dental crossbite. Malay males had the highest percentage with a definite need for treatment for both dental health and esthetic reasons in comparison with Chinese and Indian males. However, there was no difference in the level of treatment need among the ethnic groups (P > .05). No correlation between objective and subjective EC scores was found (P > .05). A high level of investigator-identified treatment need was not supported by a similar level of subject awareness among the adult sample.

Spiritual Needs and Quality of Life of Patients with Cancer

PubMed Central

Forouzi, Mansooreh Azizzadeh; Tirgari, Batool; Safarizadeh, Mohammad Hossein; Jahani, Yunes

2017-01-01

Background and Aim: Information about spiritual needs and quality of life (QoL) is limited in Iranian cancer patients. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between spiritual needs and QoL among cancer patients in Iran. Methods: This correlational study included a convenience sample of 150 eligible cancer patients who were hospitalized in the oncology wards and outpatient clinics. Using two questionnaires; the spiritual needs survey and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL Questionnaire-C30 data were collected. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 19. Results: Our findings showed that the total mean score of spiritual needs was (64.32 ± 22.22). Among the categories, the lowest score belonged to “morality and ethics” component (2.18 ± 1.64), and the highest score belonged to “positivity/gratitude/hope/peace” component (15.95 ± 5.47). The mean score of QoL was (79.28 ± 19.20). Among the categories, the lowest score belonged to “global health status” component (8.44 ± 3.64), and the highest score belonged to “functional” component (36.57 ± 10.28). Pearson correlation coefficient showed that spiritual needs score positively correlated with QoL (r = 0.22; P = 0.006). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that information about the relationship between spiritual needs and QoL in patients with cancer. It should be improve QoL to meet spiritual need of these patients. In addition, the continuous and in-service education of cancer patients and nurses who work with them can be helpful in this area. PMID:29123352

A distributed data component for the open modeling interface

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As the volume of collected data continues to increase in the environmental sciences, so does the need for effective means for accessing those data. We have developed an Open Modeling Interface (OpenMI) data component that retrieves input data for model components from environmental information syste...

HIV epidemic among key populations in west Africa.

PubMed

Djomand, Gaston; Quaye, Silas; Sullivan, Patrick S

2014-09-01

Globally, HIV infection remains a significant issue for key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers. A review of recent articles was conducted for west African countries to assess the burden of disease among female sex workers and MSM, access to services and identify barriers to implementation of services for key populations. In west Africa, key populations engage in high-risk practices for the acquisition of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Available HIV prevalence data fluctuate across and within countries for both MSM and female sex workers and may be five to ten times as high as that of the general population. HIV prevalence varied from 15.9% in The Gambia to 68% in Benin among female sex workers, whereas it ranged from 9.8% in The Gambia to 34.9% in Nigeria for MSM. Yet, important data gaps exist, including key populations size estimations in several countries as well as HIV prevalence, incidence and other biomarkers of HIV risk. Because of sociocultural, legal, political and economic challenges, exacerbated by a poor health system infrastructure, the HIV response is not strategically directed toward programs for key populations in countries with concentrated epidemics. Noteworthy is the low coverage of prevention care and treatment interventions offered to key populations. Sufficient planning and political will with legal and structural frameworks that reconcile public health and human rights are needed to prioritize HIV prevention, care and treatment programming for key populations programs in west Africa.

Depot effect of bioactive components in experimental membrane filtrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitev, D.; Peshev, D.; Peev, G.; Peeva, L.

2017-01-01

Depot effects were found to be accompanying phenomena of membrane separation processes. Accumulation of target species in the membrane matrix during feasibility tests can hamper proper conclusions or compromise the filtration results. Therefore, we investigated the effects of delayed membrane release of chlorogenic acid and caffeine, considered as key compounds of interest in spent coffee products’ recovery treatment. Permeate fluxes and key components release were studied in course of 24 hours via nanofiltration of pure solvent, both immediately after the mock solution filtration and after idle stay. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations advised for proper analysis of experimental data on membrane screening.

Data key to quest for quality.

PubMed

Chang, Florence S; Nielsen, Jon; Macias, Charles

2013-11-01

Late-binding data warehousing reduces the time it takes to obtain data needed to make crucial decisions. Late binding refers to when and how tightly data from the source applications are bound to the rules and vocabularies that make it useful. In some cases, data can be seen in real time. In historically paper-driven environments where data-driven decisions may be a new concept, buy-in from clinicians, physicians, and hospital leaders is key to success in using data to improve outcomes.

Cavitation Erosion in Hydraulic Turbine Components and Mitigation by Coatings: Current Status and Future Needs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Raghuvir; Tiwari, S. K.; Mishra, Suman K.

2012-07-01

Cavitation erosion is a frequently observed phenomenon in underwater engineering materials and is the primary reason for component failure. The damage due to cavitation erosion is not yet fully understood, as it is influenced by several parameters, such as hydrodynamics, component design, environment, and material chemistry. This article gives an overview of the current state of understanding of cavitation erosion of materials used in hydroturbines, coatings and coating methodologies for combating cavitation erosion, and methods to characterize cavitation erosion. No single material property fully characterizes the resistance to cavitation erosion. The combination of ultimate resilience, hardness, and toughness rather may be useful to estimate the cavitation erosion resistance of material. Improved hydrodynamic design and appropriate surface engineering practices reduce damage due to cavitation erosion. The coatings suggested for combating the cavitation erosion encompasses carbides (WC Cr2C3, Cr3C2, 20CrC-80WC), cermets of different compositions (e.g., 56W2C/Ni/Cr, 41WC/Ni/Cr/Co), intermetallic composites, intermetallic matrix composites with TiC reinforcement, composite nitrides such as TiAlN and elastomers. A few of them have also been used commercially. Thermal spraying, arc plasma spraying, and high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) processes have been used commercially to apply the coatings. Boronizing, laser surface hardening and cladding, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, and plasma nitriding have been tried for surface treatments at laboratory levels and have shown promise to be used on actual components.

An Efficient Authenticated Key Transfer Scheme in Client-Server Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Runhua; Zhang, Shun

2017-10-01

In this paper, we presented a novel authenticated key transfer scheme in client-server networks, which can achieve two secure goals of remote user authentication and the session key establishment between the remote user and the server. Especially, the proposed scheme can subtly provide two fully different authentications: identity-base authentication and anonymous authentication, while the remote user only holds a private key. Furthermore, our scheme only needs to transmit 1-round messages from the remote user to the server, thus it is very efficient in communication complexity. In addition, the most time-consuming computation in our scheme is elliptic curve scalar point multiplication, so it is also feasible even for mobile devices.

Expressed information needs of patients with osteoporosis and/or fragility fractures: a systematic review.

PubMed

Raybould, Grace; Babatunde, Opeyemi; Evans, Amy L; Jordan, Joanne L; Paskins, Zoe

2018-05-08

This systematic review identified patients have unmet information needs about the nature of osteoporosis, medication, self-management and follow-up. Clinician knowledge and attitudes appear to be of key importance in determining whether these needs are met. Unmet information needs appear to have psychosocial consequences and result in poor treatment adherence. Patient education is an integral component of the management of osteoporosis, yet patients are dissatisfied with the information they receive and see this as an area of research priority. This study aimed to describe and summarise the specific expressed information needs of patients in previously published qualitative research. Using terms relating to osteoporosis, fragility fracture and information needs, seven databases were searched. Articles were screened using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Full-text articles selected for inclusion underwent data extraction and quality appraisal. Findings were drawn together using narrative synthesis. The search identified 11,024 articles. Sixteen empirical studies were included in the review. Thematic analysis revealed three overarching themes relating to specific information needs, factors influencing whether information needs are met and the impact of unmet information needs. Specific information needs identified included the following: the nature of osteoporosis/fracture risk; medication; self-management and understanding the role of dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and follow-up. Perceived physician knowledge and attitudes, and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of patients were important factors in influencing whether information needs were met, in addition to contextual factors and the format of educational resources. Failure to elicit and address information needs appears to be associated with poor treatment adherence, deterioration of the doctor-patient relationship and important psychosocial consequences. This is the first study to describe the

The Mismatch between Children's Health Needs and School Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knauer, Heather; Baker, Dian L.; Hebbeler, Kathleen; Davis-Alldritt, Linda

2015-01-01

There are increasing numbers of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) who require various levels of care each school day. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of public schools in supporting CSHCN through in-depth key informant interviews. For this qualitative study, the authors interviewed 17 key informants to identify key…

40 CFR 1033.645 - Non-OEM component certification program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... needs of your component. (iv) An engineering analysis (including test data in some cases) demonstrating to us that your component will not cause emissions to increase. The analysis must address both low-hour and end-of-useful life emissions. The amount of information required for this analysis is less...

40 CFR 1033.645 - Non-OEM component certification program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... needs of your component. (iv) An engineering analysis (including test data in some cases) demonstrating to us that your component will not cause emissions to increase. The analysis must address both low-hour and end-of-useful life emissions. The amount of information required for this analysis is less...

Systematic mapping of bedrock and habitats along the Florida reef tract: central Key Largo to Halfmoon Shoal (Gulf of Mexico)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lidz, Barbara H.; Reich, Christopher D.; Shinn, Eugene A.

2007-01-01

The fragile coral reefs of the Florida Keys form the largest living coral reef ecosystem in the continental United States. Lining the shallow outer shelf approximately 5 to 7 km seaward of the keys, the reefs have national aesthetic and resource value. As recently as the 1970s, the coral reefs were the heart of a vibrant ecosystem. Since then, the health of all ecosystem components has declined markedly due to a variety of environmental stressors . Corals are succumbing to bleaching and diseases. Species that are the building blocks of solid reef framework are increasingly being replaced by species that do not construct reef framework. Algal proliferation is increasing competition for space and hard surfaces needed by coral larvae for settlement. Decline of the coral reef ecosystem has significant negative implications for economic vitality of the region, ranging from viability of the tourism industry attracted by the aesthetics to commercial fisheries drawn by the resources. At risk of loss are biologic habitats and reef resources, including interconnected habitats for endangered species in shoreline mangroves, productive nearshore marine and wetland nurseries, and economic offshore fisheries. In 1997, the U.S. Geological Survey's Coastal and Marine Geology Program undertook a comprehensive 7-year-long mission to consolidate, synthesize, and map new (1997) and existing geologic and biologic information into a digitized regional database and one-volume reference source on the geologic history of the Florida Keys reef tract (this report). The project was conducted in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Sanctuary Program. The purpose was to examine the natural evolution and demise of several coral reef ecosystems over the past 325,000 years, with an eye toward gaining a better understanding of the cause of the reef decline observed today. Scientific data and datasets presented in this report are intended for use by

A component-centered meta-analysis of family-based prevention programs for adolescent substance use.

PubMed

Van Ryzin, Mark J; Roseth, Cary J; Fosco, Gregory M; Lee, You-Kyung; Chen, I-Chien

2016-04-01

Although research has documented the positive effects of family-based prevention programs, the field lacks specific information regarding why these programs are effective. The current study summarized the effects of family-based programs on adolescent substance use using a component-based approach to meta-analysis in which we decomposed programs into a set of key topics or components that were specifically addressed by program curricula (e.g., parental monitoring/behavior management,problem solving, positive family relations, etc.). Components were coded according to the amount of time spent on program services that targeted youth, parents, and the whole family; we also coded effect sizes across studies for each substance-related outcome. Given the nested nature of the data, we used hierarchical linear modeling to link program components (Level 2) with effect sizes (Level 1). The overall effect size across programs was .31, which did not differ by type of substance. Youth-focused components designed to encourage more positive family relationships and a positive orientation toward the future emerged as key factors predicting larger than average effect sizes. Our results suggest that, within the universe of family-based prevention, where components such as parental monitoring/behavior management are almost universal, adding or expanding certain youth-focused components may be able to enhance program efficacy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Secure communications using nonlinear silicon photonic keys.

PubMed

Grubel, Brian C; Bosworth, Bryan T; Kossey, Michael R; Cooper, A Brinton; Foster, Mark A; Foster, Amy C

2018-02-19

We present a secure communication system constructed using pairs of nonlinear photonic physical unclonable functions (PUFs) that harness physical chaos in integrated silicon micro-cavities. Compared to a large, electronically stored one-time pad, our method provisions large amounts of information within the intrinsically complex nanostructure of the micro-cavities. By probing a micro-cavity with a rapid sequence of spectrally-encoded ultrafast optical pulses and measuring the lightwave responses, we experimentally demonstrate the ability to extract 2.4 Gb of key material from a single micro-cavity device. Subsequently, in a secure communication experiment with pairs of devices, we achieve bit error rates below 10 -5 at code rates of up to 0.1. The PUFs' responses are never transmitted over the channel or stored in digital memory, thus enhancing the security of the system. Additionally, the micro-cavity PUFs are extremely small, inexpensive, robust, and fully compatible with telecommunications infrastructure, components, and electronic fabrication. This approach can serve one-time pad or public key exchange applications where high security is required.

Fewer not more leaves - Key to obtaining the needed jump in crop yield potential and water use efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srinivasan, V.; Kumar, P.; Long, S.

2013-12-01

Word food and feed supply needs to increase by 75% by 2050 to meet the increasing demands of our growing population. Soybean which is the world`s fourth most important crop in terms of total production at 250 million Mt/yr is a key protein source, and together with rice and wheat, are experiencing declining global yield increases year on year. At present rates of improvement, 2050 targets cannot be reached without new innovations. In this study we demonstrate an innovative approach that could provide a yield jump. While, natural selection favors individual plants to maximize leaf production to maximize light interception and shade competitors, the presence of this trait in domestic crops could be disadvantageous. In addition, rising CO2 causes increased leaf production further exacerbating the problem. Here, we show by mathematical model and field experiment that, a modern cultivar growing at the center of US soy cultivation produces too many leaves and reduction to an optimal level would increase yield. Our model results indicate that an LAI of 3.5 and 3.8 produces maximal rates of net canopy assimilation under ambient and elevated CO2 conditions respectively. However, observed peak LAI values are 6.9 and 7.5 under ambient and elevated CO2 conditions respectively. This results in a NPP loss of 30% and 20% under ambient and elevated CO2 conditions respectively. Furthermore, the optimal LAI results in a decreased transpiration of up to 30% thus increasing water use efficiency. We show that as LAI increases, the tradeoffs between diminishing day time gains in NPP, and increasing losses in respiration is responsible for this effect. By designing a more optimum canopy, we can increase NPP and this potentially translates to increased seed yield. To test this model result, we perform canopy manipulation experiments on soybean plants, where we artificially decrease LAI by periodically removing young and emerging leaves throughout the growing season (after pod onset), and

Introduction strategies raise key questions.

PubMed

Finger, W R; Keller, S

1995-09-01

Key issues that must be considered before a new contraceptive is introduced center on the need for a trained provider to begin or terminate the method, its side effects, duration of use, method's ability to meet users' needs and preferences, and extra training or staff requirements. Logistics and economic issues to consider are identifying a dependable way of effectively supplying commodities, planning extra services needed for the method, and cost of providing the method. Each contraceptive method presents a different side effect pattern and burdens the service delivery setting differently. The strategy developed to introduce or expand the 3-month injectable Depo-Provera (DMPA) can be used for any method. It includes a needs assessment and addresses regulatory issues, service delivery policies and procedures, information and training, evaluation, and other concerns. Viet Nam's needs assessment showed that Norplant should not be introduced until the service delivery system becomes stronger. Any needs assessment for expansion of contraceptive services should cover sexually transmitted disease/HIV issues. A World Health Organization strategy helps officials identify the best method mix for local situations. Introductory strategies must aim to improve the quality of family planning programs and expand choices. Many begin by examining existing data and conducting interviews with policymakers, users, providers, and women's health advocates. Introductory programs for Norplant focus on provider training, adequate counseling and informed consent for users, and ready access to removal. They need a well-prepared service delivery infrastructure. The first phase of the DMPA introductory strategy for the Philippines comprised a social marketing campaign and DMPA introduction at public clinics in 10 pilot areas with strong service delivery. Successful AIDS prevention programs show that people tend to use barrier methods when they are available. USAID is currently studying

The need to disentangle key concepts from ecosystem-approach jargon.

PubMed

Waylen, K A; Hastings, E J; Banks, E A; Holstead, K L; Irvine, R J; Blackstock, K L

2014-10-01

The ecosystem approach--as endorsed by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB) in 2000-is a strategy for holistic, sustainable, and equitable natural resource management, to be implemented via the 12 Malawi Principles. These principles describe the need to manage nature in terms of dynamic ecosystems, while fully engaging with local peoples. It is an ambitious concept. Today, the term is common throughout the research and policy literature on environmental management. However, multiple meanings have been attached to the term, resulting in confusion. We reviewed references to the ecosystem approach from 1957 to 2012 and identified 3 primary uses: as an alternative to ecosystem management or ecosystem-based management; in reference to an integrated and equitable approach to resource management as per the CBD; and as a term signifying a focus on understanding and valuing ecosystem services. Although uses of this term and its variants may overlap in meaning, typically, they do not entirely reflect the ethos of the ecosystem approach as defined by the CBD. For example, there is presently an increasing emphasis on ecosystem services, but focusing on these alone does not promote decentralization of management or use of all forms of knowledge, both of which are integral to the CBD's concept. We highlight that the Malawi Principles are at risk of being forgotten. To better understand these principles, more effort to implement them is required. Such efforts should be evaluated, ideally with comparative approaches, before allowing the CBD's concept of holistic and socially engaged management to be abandoned or superseded. It is possible that attempts to implement all 12 principles together will face many challenges, but they may also offer a unique way to promote holistic and equitable governance of natural resources. Therefore, we believe that the CBD's concept of the ecosystem approach demands more attention. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Component separation of a isotropic Gravitational Wave Background

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

Parida, Abhishek; Jhingan, Sanjay; Mitra, Sanjit, E-mail: abhishek@jmi.ac.in, E-mail: sanjit@iucaa.in, E-mail: sjhingan@jmi.ac.in

2016-04-01

A Gravitational Wave Background (GWB) is expected in the universe from the superposition of a large number of unresolved astrophysical sources and phenomena in the early universe. Each component of the background (e.g., from primordial metric perturbations, binary neutron stars, milli-second pulsars etc.) has its own spectral shape. Many ongoing experiments aim to probe GWB at a variety of frequency bands. In the last two decades, using data from ground-based laser interferometric gravitational wave (GW) observatories, upper limits on GWB were placed in the frequency range of 0∼ 50−100 Hz, considering one spectral shape at a time. However, one strong componentmore » can significantly enhance the estimated strength of another component. Hence, estimation of the amplitudes of the components with different spectral shapes should be done jointly. Here we propose a method for 'component separation' of a statistically isotropic background, that can, for the first time, jointly estimate the amplitudes of many components and place upper limits. The method is rather straightforward and needs negligible amount of computation. It utilises the linear relationship between the measurements and the amplitudes of the actual components, alleviating the need for a sampling based method, e.g., Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) or matched filtering, which are computationally intensive and cumbersome in a multi-dimensional parameter space. Using this formalism we could also study how many independent components can be separated using a given dataset from a network of current and upcoming ground based interferometric detectors.« less

Nurses' Educational Needs Assessment for Financial Management Education Using the Nominal Group Technique.

PubMed

Noh, Wonjung; Lim, Ji Young

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the financial management educational needs of nurses in order to development an educational program to strengthen their financial management competencies. Data were collected from two focus groups using the nominal group technique. The study consisted of three steps: a literature review, focus group discussion using the nominal group technique, and data synthesis. After analyzing the results, nine key components were selected: corporate management and accounting, introduction to financial management in hospitals, basic structure of accounting, basics of hospital accounting, basics of financial statements, understanding the accounts of financial statements, advanced analysis of financial statements, application of financial management, and capital financing of hospitals. The present findings can be used to develop a financial management education program to strengthen the financial management competencies of nurses. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Institutional Data Management in Higher Education. ECAR Key Findings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yanosky, Ronald

2009-01-01

This document presents the key findings from the 2009 ECAR (EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research) study of institutional data management, which examines the policies and practices by which higher education institutions effectively collect, protect, and use digital information assets to meet academic and business needs. Importantly, it also…

Rehabilitation needs approached by health professionals at a rheumatism hospital.

PubMed

Mengshoel, Anne Marit; Skarbø, Åse

2017-09-01

The aim of the present study was to examine the characteristics of patients referred to occupational therapists (OTs), physiotherapists (PTs) and social workers (SWs) at a rehabilitation unit in a hospital specializing in rheumatology, and the rehabilitation needs that clinicians and patients agreed should be addressed in the encounters with the particular health professional groups. Consecutive hospitalized patients at a rheumatism hospital were recruited by the health professionals. Questions about patient characteristics and rehabilitation needs were posed. Free-text responses to questions about rehabilitation needs were coded by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). The patients varied considerably in age distribution, disease duration, disability level and diagnoses, and several patients had comorbidities. The rehabilitation needs classified under the component Body Function fell into the chapters: Sensory Functions and Pain (PTs), Functions of Cardiovascular System (PTs), Neuromusculoskeletal and Movement-Related Functions (OTs, PTs); under the Activity and Participation component, these were: General Tasks and Demands (OTs), Mobility (OTs), Self-Care (PTs), Interpersonal Interactions and Relationships (SWs) and Major Life Stress (SWs); and under the Environmental Factors component these were: Products and Technology (OTs) and Services, Systems and Politics (SWs). The patients were fairly heterogeneous. The needs identified in the encounters with the different professional groups fell into all three components of the ICF, and there was only a minor overlap between the health professionals at the chapter level of the ICF. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Public-Private Partnerships for Providing Behavioral Health Care to Veterans and Their Families: What Do We Know, What Do We Need to Learn, and What Do We Need to Do?

PubMed

Pedersen, Eric R; Eberhart, Nicole K; Williams, Kayla M; Tanielian, Terri; Batka, Caroline; Scharf, Deborah M

2015-11-30

American veterans and their family members struggle with behavioral health problems, yet few engage in treatment to address these problems. Barriers to care include trouble accessing treatment and limited communication between civilian and military health care systems, which treat veterans and their family members separately. Even though the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is making efforts to address barriers to care, more work is needed to effectively serve veterans and their families. Public-private partnerships have been discussed as a potential solution and could include collaborations between a public agency, such as the VA, and a private organization, such as a veteran service organization, private industry, or private hospital. Despite the call for such partnerships, not much is known about what a public-private partnership would entail for addressing behavioral health concerns for veterans and their families. The health care literature is sparse in this area, and published examples and recommendations are limited. Thus, the authors wrote this article to inform the creation of public-private partnerships to better serve veterans and their families. The article outlines nine key components for public-private partnerships addressing veteran behavioral health care. These components are supported by qualitative interview data from five successful public-private partnerships that serve veterans and their families. This study will assist policymakers in the VA and other federal agencies in developing and fostering public-private partnerships to address the behavioral health care needs of veterans and their families. The article also discusses next steps for research and policymaking efforts with regard to these partnerships.

The PrOSTE: identifying key components of effective procedural teaching.

PubMed

McSparron, Jakob I; Ricotta, Daniel N; Moskowitz, Ari; Volpicelli, Frank M; Roberts, David H; Schwartzstein, Richard M; Huang, Grace C

2015-02-01

Novel approaches for faculty development and assessment of procedural teaching skills are needed to improve the procedural education of trainees. The Objective Structured Teaching Exercise (OSTE) entails a simulated encounter in which faculty are observed teaching a standardized student and has been used to evaluate teaching skills. Use of an OSTE to assess the teaching of central venous catheterization has not been reported. The purpose of this study was to develop a procedural OSTE for subclavian central venous catheter (CVC) insertion and to determine specific aspects of procedural teaching associated with improved skills in novices. Critical care faculty/fellows taught a standardized student to insert a CVC in a simulator. We assessed the instructor's teaching skills using rating scales to generate a procedural teaching score. After this encounter, the instructor taught novice medical students to place CVCs in simulators. Novices then independently placed catheters in simulators and were evaluated by trained observers using a checklist. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the correlation between specific teaching behaviors and the novices' skills in CVC placement. We recruited 10 participants to serve as teachers and 30 preclinical medical students to serve as novice learners. The overall mean procedural teaching score was 85.5 (±15.4). Improved student performance was directly related to the degree to which the teacher "provided positive feedback" (β = 1.53, SE = 0.44, P = 0.001), "offered learner suggestions for improvement" (β = 1.40, SE = 0.35, P < 0.001), and "demonstrated the procedure in a step-by-step manner" (β = 2.50, SE = 0.45, P < 0.001). There was no significant correlation between total scores and student skills (β = 0.06, SE = 0.46, P = 0.18). The OSTE is a standardized method to assess procedural teaching skills. Our findings suggest that specific aspects of procedural

NASA Astrophysics Technology Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahl, H. Philip

2012-01-01

July 2010, NASA Office of Chief Technologist (OCT) initiated an activity to create and maintain a NASA integrated roadmap for 15 key technology areas which recommend an overall technology investment strategy and prioritize NASA?s technology programs to meet NASA?s strategic goals. Science Instruments, Observatories and Sensor Systems(SIOSS) roadmap addresses technology needs to achieve NASA?s highest priority objectives -- not only for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), but for all of NASA.

Towards communication-efficient quantum oblivious key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panduranga Rao, M. V.; Jakobi, M.

2013-01-01

Symmetrically private information retrieval, a fundamental problem in the field of secure multiparty computation, is defined as follows: A database D of N bits held by Bob is queried by a user Alice who is interested in the bit Db in such a way that (1) Alice learns Db and only Db and (2) Bob does not learn anything about Alice's choice b. While solutions to this problem in the classical domain rely largely on unproven computational complexity theoretic assumptions, it is also known that perfect solutions that guarantee both database and user privacy are impossible in the quantum domain. Jakobi [Phys. Rev. APLRAAN1050-294710.1103/PhysRevA.83.022301 83, 022301 (2011)] proposed a protocol for oblivious transfer using well-known quantum key device (QKD) techniques to establish an oblivious key to solve this problem. Their solution provided a good degree of database and user privacy (using physical principles like the impossibility of perfectly distinguishing nonorthogonal quantum states and the impossibility of superluminal communication) while being loss-resistant and implementable with commercial QKD devices (due to the use of the Scarani-Acin-Ribordy-Gisin 2004 protocol). However, their quantum oblivious key distribution (QOKD) protocol requires a communication complexity of O(NlogN). Since modern databases can be extremely large, it is important to reduce this communication as much as possible. In this paper, we first suggest a modification of their protocol wherein the number of qubits that need to be exchanged is reduced to O(N). A subsequent generalization reduces the quantum communication complexity even further in such a way that only a few hundred qubits are needed to be transferred even for very large databases.

Exploring the Role of In-Person Components for Online Health Behavior Change Interventions: Can a Digital Person-to-Person Component Suffice?

PubMed Central

Kane, Deborah; Senn, Charlene Y; Woodruff, Sarah J

2018-01-01

The growth of the digital environment provides tremendous opportunities to revolutionize health behavior change efforts. This paper explores the use of Web-based, mobile, and social media health behavior change interventions and determines whether there is a need for a face-to-face or an in-person component. It is further argued that that although in-person components can be beneficial for online interventions, a digital person-to-person component can foster similar results while dealing with challenges faced by traditional intervention approaches. Using a digital person-to-person component is rooted in social and behavioral theories such as the theory of reasoned action, and the social cognitive theory, and further justified by the human support constructs of the model of supportive accountability. Overall, face-to-face and online behavior change interventions have their respective advantages and disadvantages and functions, yet both serve important roles. It appears that it is in fact human support that is the most important component in the effectiveness and adherence of both face-to-face and online behavior change interventions, and thoughtfully introducing a digital person-to-person component, to replace face-to-face interactions, can provide the needed human support while diminishing the barriers of in-person meetings. The digital person-to-person component must create accountability, generate opportunities for tailored feedback, and create social support to successfully create health behavior change. As the popularity of the online world grows, and the interest in using the digital environment for health behavior change interventions continues to be embraced, further research into not only the use of online interventions, but the use of a digital person-to-person component, must be explored. PMID:29643048

Failure Predictions for VHTR Core Components using a Probabilistic Contiuum Damage Mechanics Model

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

Fok, Alex

2013-10-30

The proposed work addresses the key research need for the development of constitutive models and overall failure models for graphite and high temperature structural materials, with the long-term goal being to maximize the design life of the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). To this end, the capability of a Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) model, which has been used successfully for modeling fracture of virgin graphite, will be extended as a predictive and design tool for the core components of the very high- temperature reactor (VHTR). Specifically, irradiation and environmental effects pertinent to the VHTR will be incorporated into the modelmore » to allow fracture of graphite and ceramic components under in-reactor conditions to be modeled explicitly using the finite element method. The model uses a combined stress-based and fracture mechanics-based failure criterion, so it can simulate both the initiation and propagation of cracks. Modern imaging techniques, such as x-ray computed tomography and digital image correlation, will be used during material testing to help define the baseline material damage parameters. Monte Carlo analysis will be performed to address inherent variations in material properties, the aim being to reduce the arbitrariness and uncertainties associated with the current statistical approach. The results can potentially contribute to the current development of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) codes for the design and construction of VHTR core components.« less

Research needs for developing a commodity-driven freight modeling approach.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

It is well known that better freight forecasting models and data are needed, but the literature does not clearly indicate which components of the modeling methodology are most in need of improvement, which is a critical need in an era of limited rese...

Parents of Children with Severe Special Needs Survey. Survey Summary Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Education, 2008

2008-01-01

The 2007/2008 Parents of Children with Severe Special Needs Survey is conducted to obtain opinions from parents of children with severe special needs to assess their satisfaction with key areas of the education system. A random sample of 816 parents of children with severe special needs completed the survey. Severe special needs descriptions…

Anorexia of ageing: a key component in the pathogenesis of both sarcopenia and cachexia.

PubMed

Morley, John E

2017-08-01

The anorexia of aging was first recognized as a physiological syndrome 30 years ago. Its major causes are an alteration in fundal compliance with an increase in antral stretch and enhanced cholecystokinin activity leading to increased satiation.This anorexia leads to weight loss in aging persons and is one of the component causes of the aging related sarcopenia. This physiological anorexia also increases the risk of more severe anorexia when an older person has an increase in inflammatory cytokines such as occurs when they have an illness. This results in an increase in the anorexia due to cachexia in older persons. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders.

Resilience and unmet supportive care needs in patients with cancer during early treatment: A descriptive study.

PubMed

Dubey, C; De Maria, J; Hoeppli, C; Betticher, D C; Eicher, M

2015-10-01

The concept of resilience is gaining increasing importance as a key component of supportive care but to date has rarely been addressed in studies with adult cancer patients. The purpose of our study was to describe resilience and its potential predictors and supportive care needs in cancer patients during early treatment and to explore associations between both concepts. This descriptive study included adult cancer patients under treatment in ambulatory cancer services of a Swiss hospital. Subjects completed the 25-item Connor-Davidson-Resilience Scale and the 34-item Supportive Care Needs Survey. Descriptive, correlational and regression analysis were performed. 68 patients with cancer were included in the study. Compared to general population, resilience scores were significantly lower (74.4 ± 12.6 vs. 80.4 ± 12.8, p = .0002). Multiple regression analysis showed predictors ("age", "metastasis", "recurrence" and "living alone") of resilience (adjusted R2 = .19, p < .001). Highest unmet needs were observed in the domain of psychological needs. Lower resilience scores were significantly and strongly associated with higher levels of unmet psychological needs (Rho = -.68, p < .001), supportive care needs (Rho = -.49, p < .001) and information needs (Rho = -.42, p = .001). Ambulatory patients with higher levels of resilience express fewer unmet needs. Further work is needed to elucidate the mechanism of the observed relationships and if interventions facilitating resilience have a positive effect on unmet needs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pilot study of a mindfulness-based, multi-component, in-school group sleep intervention in adolescent girls.

PubMed

Bei, Bei; Byrne, Michelle L; Ivens, Clare; Waloszek, Joanna; Woods, Michael J; Dudgeon, Paul; Murray, Greg; Nicholas, Christian L; Trinder, John; Allen, Nicholas B

2013-05-01

Existing literature links poor sleep and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. This pilot study aimed to develop a practical method through which a program to improve sleep could reach adolescents in need and to examine the feasibility of a mindfulness-based, multi-component group sleep intervention using sleep and anxiety as outcome measures. Sixty-two grade 9 students (aged 13-15) at a girls' school were screened with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS). Ten participants with self-reported poor sleep were enrolled into a six-session program based on Bootzin & Stevens, with added stress/anxiety-specific components. Sessions covered key aspects of basic mindfulness concepts and practice, sleep hygiene, sleep scheduling, evening/daytime habits, stimulus control, skills for bedtime worries and healthy attitudes to sleep. Treatment changes were measured by pre-post scores on the PSQI, SCAS and 7-day actigraphy-measured sleep. The program demonstrated high acceptability, with a completion rate of 90%. Based on effect-size analysis, participants showed significant improvement on objective sleep onset latency (SOL), sleep efficiency and total sleep time; actigraphy data also showed significantly earlier bedtime, rise time and smaller day-to-day bedtime variation. Post-intervention global PSQI scores were significantly lower than that of pre-intervention, with significant improvement in subjective SOL, sleep quality and sleep-related daytime dysfunction. There were small improvements on some subscales of the SCAS, but change on its total score was minimal. A mindfulness-based, multi-component, in-school group sleep intervention following brief screening is feasible, and has the potential to improve sleep. Its impact on anxiety needs further investigation. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Economic Facts of Life Needed by Entrepreneurs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clow, John E.

1984-01-01

Discusses the need for entrepreneurs to understand basic economics principles. Indicates that business education has a role in preparing entrepreneurs in marketing, management, and accounting. Lists key economic generalizations that individuals should understand before assuming the role of entrepreneur. (JOW)

Setting objectives for managing Key deer

USGS Publications Warehouse

Diefenbach, Duane R.; Wagner, Tyler; Stauffer, Glenn E.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is responsible for the protection and management of Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) because the species is listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. There are a host of actions that could possibly be undertaken to recover the Key deer population, but without a clearly defined problem and stated objectives it can be difficult to compare and evaluate alternative actions. In addition, management goals and the acceptability of alternative management actions are inherently linked to stakeholders, who should be engaged throughout the process of developing a decision framework. The purpose of this project was to engage a representative group of stakeholders to develop a problem statement that captured the management problem the FWS must address with Key deer and identify objectives that, if met, would help solve the problem. In addition, the objectives were organized in a hierarchical manner (i.e., an objectives network) to show how they are linked, and measurable attributes were identified for each objective. We organized a group of people who represented stakeholders interested in and potentially affected by the management of Key deer. These stakeholders included individuals who represented local, state, and federal governments, non-governmental organizations, the general public, and local businesses. This stakeholder group met five full days over the course of an eight-week period to identify objectives that would address the following problem:“As recovery and removal from the Endangered Species list is the purpose of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs a management approach that will ensure a sustainable, viable, and healthy Key deer population. Urbanization has affected the behavior and population dynamics of the Key deer and the amount and characteristics

Normative and self-perceived orthodontic treatment need in Nigerian school children.

PubMed

Ajayi, Emmanuel Olubusayo

2015-07-01

The aim of this study was to assess the normative and self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment in Nigerian children, and to evaluate distribution of orthodontic treatment need according to gender and age. The sample consisted of 441 randomly selected school children, aged 11-18 years in Benin City, Nigeria. The subjects were further sub-grouped according to gender (229 males and 212 females) and age (246 11-13 years old and 195 14-18 years old). The Dental health Component (DHC) and Aesthetic Component (AC) of Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) were used to assess orthodontic treatment need normatively. Self-perceived need was evaluated by asking the subjects to rate their dental aesthetics on the Aesthetic Component scale of IOTN. Chi-square tests were used to evaluate gender and age differences in distribution of treatment need. A definite need for orthodontic treatment was found among 21.5% (grades 4-5 of DHC) and 6.3% (grades 8-10 of AC) of the subjects; 3.9% of the subjects perceived a definite need for orthodontic treatment (grades 8-10 of AC). There were no statistically significant gender and age differences in distribution of orthodontic treatment need among the subjects (p > 0.05). The study revealed a need for orthodontic treatment in slightly more than one fifth (21.5%) of this sample of Nigerian children. The sample population has a lower need on aesthetic grounds and their normative and self-perceived orthodontic treatment needs were not influenced by gender and age.

Assessing the Analytical Performance of Systems for Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose: Concepts of Performance Evaluation and Definition of Metrological Key Terms

PubMed Central

Schnell, Oliver; Hinzmann, Rolf; Kulzer, Bernd; Freckmann, Guido; Erbach, Michael; Lodwig, Volker; Heinemann, Lutz

2013-01-01

Reliability of blood glucose (BG) measurements is a prerequisite for successful diabetes management. Publications on the evaluation of self-monitored glucose values, however, are frequently characterized by a confusion in terminology. We provide an inventory of key terms such as accuracy, trueness, precision, traceability, calibration, and matrix effect to avoid future misunderstanding. Definitions are taken from the metrological literature and international norms and explained in a language intended for nonspecialists in metrology. The terms are presented in light of the need to apply generally accepted definitions. In addition, a description of requirements and components for a sound evaluation of BG measurement systems is presented. These factors will also enable improvement in future comparisons of study results. PMID:24351185

Efficient key pathway mining: combining networks and OMICS data.

PubMed

Alcaraz, Nicolas; Friedrich, Tobias; Kötzing, Timo; Krohmer, Anton; Müller, Joachim; Pauling, Josch; Baumbach, Jan

2012-07-01

Systems biology has emerged over the last decade. Driven by the advances in sophisticated measurement technology the research community generated huge molecular biology data sets. These comprise rather static data on the interplay of biological entities, for instance protein-protein interaction network data, as well as quite dynamic data collected for studying the behavior of individual cells or tissues in accordance with changing environmental conditions, such as DNA microarrays or RNA sequencing. Here we bring the two different data types together in order to gain higher level knowledge. We introduce a significantly improved version of the KeyPathwayMiner software framework. Given a biological network modelled as a graph and a set of expression studies, KeyPathwayMiner efficiently finds and visualizes connected sub-networks where most components are expressed in most cases. It finds all maximal connected sub-networks where all nodes but k exceptions are expressed in all experimental studies but at most l exceptions. We demonstrate the power of the new approach by comparing it to similar approaches with gene expression data previously used to study Huntington's disease. In addition, we demonstrate KeyPathwayMiner's flexibility and applicability to non-array data by analyzing genome-scale DNA methylation profiles from colorectal tumor cancer patients. KeyPathwayMiner release 2 is available as a Cytoscape plugin and online at http://keypathwayminer.mpi-inf.mpg.de.

The Introduction of Key Skills in Schools: Core or Casualty?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glover, Derek; Gleeson, Denis; Johnson, Mike; Spencer, Pat; Watson, Ray

2000-01-01

Study of the introduction of generic Key Skills in two local education authorities in Britain found limited implementation. Results suggested the need for strategic district- and school-level management, clear aims and objectives, ownership by school staff, and cross-curricular application. (SK)

Development of a 5-Component Balance for Water Tunnel Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suarez, Carlos J.; Kramer, Brian R.; Smith, Brooke C.

1999-01-01

The principal objective of this research/development effort was to develop a multi-component strain gage balance to measure both static and dynamic forces and moments on models tested in flow visualization water tunnels. A balance was designed that allows measuring normal and side forces, and pitching, yawing and rolling moments (no axial force). The balance mounts internally in the model and is used in a manner typical of wind tunnel balances. The key differences between a water tunnel balance and a wind tunnel balance are the requirement for very high sensitivity since the loads are very low (typical normal force is 90 grams or 0.2 lbs), the need for water proofing the gage elements, and the small size required to fit into typical water tunnel models. The five-component balance was calibrated and demonstrated linearity in the responses of the primary components to applied loads, very low interactions between the sections and no hysteresis. Static experiments were conducted in the Eidetics water tunnel with delta wings and F/A-18 models. The data were compared to forces and moments from wind tunnel tests of the same or similar configurations. The comparison showed very good agreement, providing confidence that loads can be measured accurately in the water tunnel with a relatively simple multi-component internal balance. The success of the static experiments encouraged the use of the balance for dynamic experiments. Among the advantages of conducting dynamic tests in a water tunnel are less demanding motion and data acquisition rates than in a wind tunnel test (because of the low-speed flow) and the capability of performing flow visualization and force/moment (F/M) measurements simultaneously with relative simplicity. This capability of simultaneous flow visualization and for F/M measurements proved extremely useful to explain the results obtained during these dynamic tests. In general, the development of this balance should encourage the use of water tunnels for a

Human milk proteins: key components for the biological activity of human milk.

PubMed

Lönnerdal, Bo

2004-01-01

Human milk contains a wide array of proteins that provide biologic activities ranging from antimicrobial effects to immunostimulatory functions. Proteins like lactoferrin, secretory IgA, kappa-casein, lactoperoxidase, haptocorrin, lactadherin and peptides formed from human milk proteins during digestion can inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria and viruses and therefore protect against infection. At the same time, proteins like lactoferrin, bile-salt stimulated lipase, haptocorrin, kappa-casein, and folate-binding protein can facilitate the absorption of nutrients in the neonatal gut. However, the proteins in human milk themselves also provide adequate amounts of essential amino acids to the growing infant. This suggests a highly adapted digestive system, which allows the survival of some proteins and peptides in the upper gastrointestinal tract, while still allowing amino acid utilization from these proteins further down in the gut. It is now possible to produce recombinant human milk proteins in transgenic plants and animals, which makes it possible to further study the bioactivity of these proteins. Provided these proteins can be produced in large scale at low cost, that they show biologic activity and pose no safety concerns, it may be possible to add some human milk proteins to infant diets, such as formula and complementary foods. Human milk proteins produced in rice or potatoes, for example, could be added without much purification, because these staples commonly are used in weaning foods. Thus, some qualities provided by human milk may be included into other diets, although it is highly unlikely that all unique components of human milk can be copied this way.

Expanding syphilis testing: a scoping review of syphilis testing interventions among key populations.

PubMed

Ong, Jason J; Fu, Hongyun; Smith, M Kumi; Tucker, Joseph D

2018-05-01

Syphilis is an important sexually transmitted infection (STI). Despite inexpensive and effective treatment, few key populations receive syphilis testing. Innovative strategies are needed to increase syphilis testing among key populations. Areas covered: This scoping review focused on strategies to increase syphilis testing in key populations (men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers, people who use drugs, transgender people, and incarcerated individuals). Expert commentary: We identified many promising syphilis testing strategies, particularly among MSM. These innovations are separated into diagnostic, clinic-based, and non-clinic based strategies. In terms of diagnostics, self-testing, dried blood spots, and point-of-care testing can decentralize syphilis testing. Effective syphilis self-testing pilots suggest the need for further attention and research. In terms of clinic-based strategies, modifying default clinical procedures can nudge physicians to more frequently recommend syphilis testing. In terms of non-clinic based strategies, venue-based screening (e.g. in correctional facilities, drug rehabilitation centres) and mobile testing units have been successfully implemented in a variety of settings. Integration of syphilis with HIV testing may facilitate implementation in settings where individuals have increased sexual risk. There is a strong need for further syphilis testing research and programs.

Nephrology key information for internists

PubMed Central

Salim, Sohail Abdul; Medaura, Juan A.; Malhotra, Bharat; Garla, Vishnu; Ahuja, Shradha; Lawson, Nicki; Pamarthy, Amaleswari; Sonani, Hardik; Kovvuru, Karthik; Palabindala, Venkataraman

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Hospitalists and primary care physicians encounter renal disease daily. Although most cases of acute kidney injury (AKI) are secondary to dehydration and resolve by giving fluids, many cases of AKI are due to not uncommon but unfamiliar causes needing nephrology evaluation. Common indications to consult a nephrologist on an emergency basis include hyperkalemia or volume overload in end stage renal disease patients (ESRD). Other causes of immediate consultation are cresenteric glomerulonephritis / rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis in which renal prognosis of the patient depends on timely intervention. The following evidence-based key information could improve patient care and outcomes. Abbreviations: AKI: Acute kidney injury ESRD: End stage renal disease patients PMID:28638567

The Power of Proofs-of-Possession: Securing Multiparty Signatures against Rogue-Key Attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ristenpart, Thomas; Yilek, Scott

Multiparty signature protocols need protection against rogue-key attacks, made possible whenever an adversary can choose its public key(s) arbitrarily. For many schemes, provable security has only been established under the knowledge of secret key (KOSK) assumption where the adversary is required to reveal the secret keys it utilizes. In practice, certifying authorities rarely require the strong proofs of knowledge of secret keys required to substantiate the KOSK assumption. Instead, proofs of possession (POPs) are required and can be as simple as just a signature over the certificate request message. We propose a general registered key model, within which we can model both the KOSK assumption and in-use POP protocols. We show that simple POP protocols yield provable security of Boldyreva's multisignature scheme [11], the LOSSW multisignature scheme [28], and a 2-user ring signature scheme due to Bender, Katz, and Morselli [10]. Our results are the first to provide formal evidence that POPs can stop rogue-key attacks.

Watching what widlife want and need

Treesearch

Natasha Vizcarra; Mary Rowland; Christina Vojta

2016-01-01

National forests and grasslands are home to a diverse array of wildlife. To keep tabs on the general viability and wellbeing of these inhabitants, land managers need practical, defensible monitoring protocols. Population monitoring is one method. Another is habitat monitoring, which provides critical information about the quantity and quality of key habitat attributes...

Financial hardship, unmet medical need, and health self-efficacy among African American men.

PubMed

Tucker-Seeley, Reginald D; Mitchell, Jamie A; Shires, Deirdre A; Modlin, Charles S

2015-06-01

Health self-efficacy (the confidence to take care of one's health) is a key component in ensuring that individuals are active partners in their health and health care. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between financial hardship and health self-efficacy among African American men and to determine if unmet medical need due to cost potentially mediates this association. Cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from a convenience sample of African American men who attended a 1-day annual community health fair in Northeast Ohio (N = 279). Modified Poisson regression models were estimated to obtain the relative risk of reporting low health self-efficacy. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, those reporting financial hardship were 2.91 times, RR = 2.91 (confidence interval [1.24, 6.83]; p < .05), more likely to report low health self-efficacy. When unmet medical need due to cost was added to the model, the association between financial hardship and low health self-efficacy was no longer statistically significant. Our results suggest that the association between financial hardship and health self-efficacy can be explained by unmet medical need due to cost. Possible intervention efforts among African American men with low financial resources should consider expanding clinical and community-based health assessments to capture financial hardship and unmet medical need due to cost as potential contributors to low health self-efficacy. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

Design of virtual simulation experiment based on key events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Zheng; Zhou, Dongbo; Song, Lingxiu

2018-06-01

Considering complex content and lacking of guidance in virtual simulation experiments, the key event technology in VR narrative theory was introduced for virtual simulation experiment to enhance fidelity and vividness process. Based on the VR narrative technology, an event transition structure was designed to meet the need of experimental operation process, and an interactive event processing model was used to generate key events in interactive scene. The experiment of" margin value of bees foraging" based on Biologic morphology was taken as an example, many objects, behaviors and other contents were reorganized. The result shows that this method can enhance the user's experience and ensure experimental process complete and effectively.

Exploring the Role of In-Person Components for Online Health Behavior Change Interventions: Can a Digital Person-to-Person Component Suffice?

PubMed

Santarossa, Sara; Kane, Deborah; Senn, Charlene Y; Woodruff, Sarah J

2018-04-11

The growth of the digital environment provides tremendous opportunities to revolutionize health behavior change efforts. This paper explores the use of Web-based, mobile, and social media health behavior change interventions and determines whether there is a need for a face-to-face or an in-person component. It is further argued that that although in-person components can be beneficial for online interventions, a digital person-to-person component can foster similar results while dealing with challenges faced by traditional intervention approaches. Using a digital person-to-person component is rooted in social and behavioral theories such as the theory of reasoned action, and the social cognitive theory, and further justified by the human support constructs of the model of supportive accountability. Overall, face-to-face and online behavior change interventions have their respective advantages and disadvantages and functions, yet both serve important roles. It appears that it is in fact human support that is the most important component in the effectiveness and adherence of both face-to-face and online behavior change interventions, and thoughtfully introducing a digital person-to-person component, to replace face-to-face interactions, can provide the needed human support while diminishing the barriers of in-person meetings. The digital person-to-person component must create accountability, generate opportunities for tailored feedback, and create social support to successfully create health behavior change. As the popularity of the online world grows, and the interest in using the digital environment for health behavior change interventions continues to be embraced, further research into not only the use of online interventions, but the use of a digital person-to-person component, must be explored. ©Sara Santarossa, Deborah Kane, Charlene Y Senn, Sarah J Woodruff. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 11.04.2018.

Association between normative and self-perceived orthodontic treatment need in a Lebanese population.

PubMed

Omer, Yassir Talal; Bouserhal, Joseph; Hawas, Nuha; Abdel Moneim El Sayed, Ahmed

2016-09-01

The aims of this study were to investigate the association between normative and perceived orthodontic treatment need in a Lebanese population and the effect of sociodemographic status on orthodontic treatment need. A prospective cross-sectional clinical study was designed using a sample of 150 subjects (81 males and 69 females) aged 11-18years seeking dental treatment at Beirut Arab University. Normative orthodontic treatment need was scored using the two components of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN), the Dental Health Component (DHC) and the Aesthetic Component (AC). Perceived need for orthodontic treatment was evaluated by scoring the AC of the IOTN. A total of 31.3% of the sample were in great need of orthodontic treatment according to the DHC of the IOTN. On the other hand, only 9% of the sample perceived their need to be definite. A significant positive but weak correlation was found between the normative and perceived need for orthodontic treatment. There was also a significant association between age and normative treatment need. Copyright © 2016 CEO. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Components and Enterprise Component Information System (eCIS)

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

John Minihan; Ed Schmidt; Greg Enserro

The purpose of the project was to develop the processes for using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts for WR production and to put in place a system for implementing the data management tools required to disseminate, store, track procurement, and qualify vendors. Much of the effort was devoted to determining if the use of COTS parts was possible. A basic question: How does the Nuclear Weapons Complex (NWC) begin to use COTS in the weapon Stockpile Life Extension Programs with high reliability, affordability, while managing risk at acceptable levels? In FY00, it was determined that a certain weapon refurbishment program couldmore » not be accomplished without the use of COTS components. The elements driving the use of COTS components included decreased cost, greater availability, and shorter delivery time. Key factors that required implementation included identifying the best suppliers and components, defining life cycles and predictions of obsolescence, testing the feasibility of using COTS components with a test contractor to ensure capability, as well as quality and reliability, and implementing the data management tools required to disseminate, store, track procurement, and qualify vendors. The primary effort of this project then was to concentrate on the risks involved in the use of COTS and address the issues of part and vendor selection, procurement and acceptance processes, and qualification of the parts via part and sample testing. The Enterprise Component Information System (eCIS) was used to manage the information generated by the COTS process. eCIS is a common interface for both the design and production of NWC components and systems integrating information between SNL National Laboratory (SNL) and the Kansas City Plant (KCP). The implementation of COTS components utilizes eCIS from part selection through qualification release. All part related data is linked across an unclassified network for access by both SNL and KCP personnel. The system includes

Measuring Sexual Behavior Stigma to Inform Effective HIV Prevention and Treatment Programs for Key Populations

PubMed Central

Hargreaves, James R; Sprague, Laurel; Stangl, Anne L; Baral, Stefan D

2017-01-01

Background The levels of coverage of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment and prevention services needed to change the trajectory of the HIV epidemic among key populations, including gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and sex workers, have consistently been shown to be limited by stigma. Objective The aim of this study was to propose an agenda for the goals and approaches of a sexual behavior stigma surveillance effort for key populations, with a focus on collecting surveillance data from 4 groups: (1) members of key population groups themselves (regardless of HIV status), (2) people living with HIV (PLHIV) who are also members of key populations, (3) members of nonkey populations, and (4) health workers. Methods We discuss strengths and weaknesses of measuring multiple different types of stigma including perceived, anticipated, experienced, perpetrated, internalized, and intersecting stigma as measured among key populations themselves, as well as attitudes or beliefs about key populations as measured among other groups. Results With the increasing recognition of the importance of stigma, consistent and validated stigma metrics for key populations are needed to monitor trends and guide immediate action. Evidence-based stigma interventions may ultimately be the key to overcoming the barriers to coverage and retention in life-saving antiretroviral-based HIV prevention and treatment programs for key populations. Conclusions Moving forward necessitates the integration of validated stigma scales in routine HIV surveillance efforts, as well as HIV epidemiologic and intervention studies focused on key populations, as a means of tracking progress toward a more efficient and impactful HIV response. PMID:28446420

Generalized Kirchhoff-Law-Johnson-Noise (KLJN) secure key exchange system using arbitrary resistors.

PubMed

Vadai, Gergely; Mingesz, Robert; Gingl, Zoltan

2015-09-03

The Kirchhoff-Law-Johnson-Noise (KLJN) secure key exchange system has been introduced as a simple, very low cost and efficient classical physical alternative to quantum key distribution systems. The ideal system uses only a few electronic components-identical resistor pairs, switches and interconnecting wires-in order to guarantee perfectly protected data transmission. We show that a generalized KLJN system can provide unconditional security even if it is used with significantly less limitations. The more universal conditions ease practical realizations considerably and support more robust protection against attacks. Our theoretical results are confirmed by numerical simulations.

Reflecting on Reflection as a Critical Component in Service Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloomquist, Catherine

2015-01-01

Despite the popularity of service learning, it is sometimes criticized for its lack of academic rigor. This piece provides a counterpoint to that argument by describing a LIS service-learning course from the student's perspective. I focus particularly on the role of reflection, a key component in service-learning courses that helps to…

Staff satisfaction and its components in residential aged care.

PubMed

Chou, Shu-Chiung; Boldy, Duncan P; Lee, Andy H

2002-06-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the direction and magnitude of the effects among the components of staff satisfaction in residential aged care and to examine whether the relationships among satisfaction components vary according to facility type (i.e. nursing homes and hostels). A hostel is a low care facility in which residents are more independent, have a lower level of care needs, and receive personal but not nursing care. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted to collect the required information, and a stratified random sampling approach was utilized to select facilities. Structural equation modeling was used to examine relationships among satisfaction components. Seventy residential aged care facilities in Western Australia. The sample includes 610 nursing home and 373 hostel care staff. The relationships among satisfaction components are different for nursing home and hostel staff. Professional support is found to have a strong and positive effect on all other aspects of staff satisfaction. The findings lead to an improved understanding of the interrelationship among staff satisfaction components, which has important implications through enhancing professional support. This needs to be recognized and emphasized by managers, care providers, and policy makers so as to maintain stable personnel and continuity of care.

Fast WEP-Key Recovery Attack Using Only Encrypted IP Packets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teramura, Ryoichi; Asakura, Yasuo; Ohigashi, Toshihiro; Kuwakado, Hidenori; Morii, Masakatu

Conventional efficient key recovery attacks against Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) require specific initialization vectors or specific packets. Since it takes much time to collect the packets sufficiently, any active attack should be performed. An Intrusion Detection System (IDS), however, will be able to prevent the attack. Since the attack logs are stored at the servers, it is possible to prevent such an attack. This paper proposes an algorithm for recovering a 104-bit WEP key from any IP packets in a realistic environment. This attack needs about 36, 500 packets with a success probability 0.5, and the complexity of our attack is equivalent to about 220 computations of the RC4 key setups. Since our attack is passive, it is difficult for both WEP users and administrators to detect our attack.

Key influences in the design and implementation of mental health information systems in Ghana and South Africa.

PubMed

Ahuja, S; Mirzoev, T; Lund, C; Ofori-Atta, A; Skeen, S; Kufuor, A

2016-01-01

Strengthening of mental health information systems (MHIS) is essential to monitor and evaluate mental health services in low and middle-income countries. While research exists assessing wider health management information systems, there is limited published evidence exploring the design and implementation of MHIS in these settings. This paper aims to identify and assess the key factors affecting the design and implementation of MHIS, as perceived by the key stakeholders in Ghana and South Africa. We report findings from the Mental Health and Poverty Project, a 5-year research programme implemented within four African countries. The MHIS strengthening in South Africa and Ghana included two related components: intervention and research. The intervention component aimed to strengthen MHIS in the two countries, and the research component aimed to document interventions in each country, including the key influences. Data were collected using semi structured interviews with key stakeholders and reviews of key documents and secondary data from the improved MHIS. We analyzed the qualitative data using a framework approach. Key components of the MHIS intervention involved the introduction of a redesigned patient registration form, entry into computers for analysis every 2 months by clinical managerial staff, and utilization of data in hospital management meetings in three psychiatric hospitals in Ghana; and the introduction of a new set of mental health indicators and related forms and tally sheets at primary care clinics and district hospitals in five districts in the KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape provinces in South Africa. Overall, the key stakeholders perceived the MHIS strengthening as an effective intervention in both countries with an enhanced set of indicators in South Africa and introduction of a computerized system in Ghana. Influences on the design and implementation of MHIS interventions in Ghana and South Africa relate to resources, working approaches

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for Children With Special Educational Needs.

PubMed

Lipkin, Paul H; Okamoto, Jeffrey

2015-12-01

The pediatric health care provider has a critical role in supporting the health and well-being of children and adolescents in all settings, including early intervention (EI), preschool, and school environments. It is estimated that 15% of children in the United States have a disability. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act entitles every affected child in the United States from infancy to young adulthood to a free appropriate public education through EI and special education services. These services bolster development and learning of children with various disabilities. This clinical report provides the pediatric health care provider with a summary of key components of the most recent version of this law. Guidance is also provided to ensure that every child in need receives the EI and special education services to which he or she is entitled. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Decisional needs assessment of patients with complex care needs in primary care: a participatory systematic mixed studies review protocol

PubMed Central

Pluye, Pierre; Légaré, France; Haggerty, Jeannie; Gore, Genevieve C; Sherif, Reem El; Poitras, Marie-Ève; Beaulieu, Marie-Claude; Beaulieu, Marie-Dominique; Bush, Paula L; Couturier, Yves; Débarges, Béatrice; Gagnon, Justin; Giguère, Anik; Grad, Roland; Granikov, Vera; Goulet, Serge; Hudon, Catherine; Kremer, Bernardo; Kröger, Edeltraut; Kudrina, Irina; Lebouché, Bertrand; Loignon, Christine; Lussier, Marie-Thérèse; Martello, Cristiano; Nguyen, Quynh; Pratt, Rebekah; Rihoux, Benoit; Rosenberg, Ellen; Samson, Isabelle; Senn, Nicolas; Li Tang, David; Tsujimoto, Masashi; Vedel, Isabelle; Ventelou, Bruno; Wensing, Michel; Bigras, Magali

2017-01-01

Introduction Patients with complex care needs (PCCNs) often suffer from combinations of multiple chronic conditions, mental health problems, drug interactions and social vulnerability, which can lead to healthcare services overuse, underuse or misuse. Typically, PCCNs face interactional issues and unmet decisional needs regarding possible options in a cascade of interrelated decisions involving different stakeholders (themselves, their families, their caregivers, their healthcare practitioners). Gaps in knowledge, values clarification and social support in situations where options need to be deliberated hamper effective decision support interventions. This review aims to (1) assess decisional needs of PCCNs from the perspective of stakeholders, (2) build a taxonomy of these decisional needs and (3) prioritise decisional needs with knowledge users (clinicians, patients and managers). Methods and analysis This review will be based on the interprofessional shared decision making (IP-SDM) model and the Ottawa Decision Support Framework. Applying a participatory research approach, we will identify potentially relevant studies through a comprehensive literature search; select relevant ones using eligibility criteria inspired from our previous scoping review on PCCNs; appraise quality using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool; conduct a three-step synthesis (sequential exploratory mixed methods design) to build taxonomy of key decisional needs; and integrate these results with those of a parallel PCCNs’ qualitative decisional need assessment (semistructured interviews and focus group with stakeholders). Ethics and dissemination This systematic review, together with the qualitative study (approved by the Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et Service Sociaux du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean ethical committee), will produce a working taxonomy of key decisional needs (ontological contribution), to inform the subsequent user-centred design of a support tool for addressing

Decisional needs assessment of patients with complex care needs in primary care: a participatory systematic mixed studies review protocol.

PubMed

Bujold, Mathieu; Pluye, Pierre; Légaré, France; Haggerty, Jeannie; Gore, Genevieve C; Sherif, Reem El; Poitras, Marie-Eve; Beaulieu, Marie-Claude; Beaulieu, Marie-Dominique; Bush, Paula L; Couturier, Yves; Débarges, Beatrice; Gagnon, Justin; Giguère, Anik; Grad, Roland; Granikov, Vera; Goulet, Serge; Hudon, Catherine; Kremer, Bernardo; Kröger, Edeltraut; Kudrina, Irina; Lebouché, Bertrand; Loignon, Christine; Lussier, Marie-Therese; Martello, Cristiano; Nguyen, Quynh; Pratt, Rebekah; Rihoux, Benoit; Rosenberg, Ellen; Samson, Isabelle; Senn, Nicolas; Li Tang, David; Tsujimoto, Masashi; Vedel, Isabelle; Ventelou, Bruno; Wensing, Michel

2017-11-12

Patients with complex care needs (PCCNs) often suffer from combinations of multiple chronic conditions, mental health problems, drug interactions and social vulnerability, which can lead to healthcare services overuse, underuse or misuse. Typically, PCCNs face interactional issues and unmet decisional needs regarding possible options in a cascade of interrelated decisions involving different stakeholders (themselves, their families, their caregivers, their healthcare practitioners). Gaps in knowledge, values clarification and social support in situations where options need to be deliberated hamper effective decision support interventions. This review aims to (1) assess decisional needs of PCCNs from the perspective of stakeholders, (2) build a taxonomy of these decisional needs and (3) prioritise decisional needs with knowledge users (clinicians, patients and managers). This review will be based on the interprofessional shared decision making (IP-SDM) model and the Ottawa Decision Support Framework. Applying a participatory research approach, we will identify potentially relevant studies through a comprehensive literature search; select relevant ones using eligibility criteria inspired from our previous scoping review on PCCNs; appraise quality using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool; conduct a three-step synthesis (sequential exploratory mixed methods design) to build taxonomy of key decisional needs; and integrate these results with those of a parallel PCCNs' qualitative decisional need assessment (semistructured interviews and focus group with stakeholders). This systematic review, together with the qualitative study (approved by the Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et Service Sociaux du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean ethical committee), will produce a working taxonomy of key decisional needs (ontological contribution), to inform the subsequent user-centred design of a support tool for addressing PCCNs' decisional needs (practical contribution). We will adapt

[PRODUCT OF THE BMI1--A KEY COMPONENT OF POLYCOMB--POSITIVELY REGULATES ADIPOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION OF MOUSE MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS].

PubMed

Petrov, N S; Vereschagina, N A; Sushilova, E N; Kropotov, A V; Miheeva, N F; Popov, B V

2016-01-01

Bmil is a key component of Polycomb (PcG), which in mammals controls the basic functions of mammalian somatic stem cells (SSC) such as self-renewal and differentiation. Bmi1 supports SSC via transcriptional suppression of genes associated with cell cycle and differentiation. The most studied target genes of Bmi1 are the genes of Ink4 locus, CdkI p16(Ink4a) and p1(Arf), suppression of which due to activating mutations of the BMI1 results in formation of cancer stem cells (CSC) and carcinomas in various tissues. In contrast, inactivation of BMI1 results in cell cycle arrest and cell senescence. Although clinical phenomena of hypo- and hyperactivation of BMI1 are well known, its targets and mechanisms of regulation of tissue specific SSC are still obscure. The goal of this study was to evaluate the regulatory role of BMI1 in adipocyte differentiation (AD) of mouse mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Induction of AD in mouse MSC of the C3H10T1/2 cell line was associated with an increase in the expression levels of BMI1, the genes of pRb family (RB, p130) and demethylase UTX, but not methyltransferase EZH2, whose products regulate the methylation levels of H3K27. It was observed earlier that H3K27me3 may play the role of the epigenetic switch by promoting AD of human MSC via activating expression of the PPARγ2, the master gene of AD (Hemming et al., 2014). Here we show that inactivation of BMI1 using specific siRNA slows and decreases the levels of AD, but does not abolish it. This is associated with a complete inhibition of the expression of adipogenic marker genes--PPARγ2, ADIPOQ and a decrease in the expression of RB, p130, but not UTX. The results obtained give evidence that the epigenetic mechanism regulating AD differentiation in mouse and human MSC is different.

A Bayesian Approach to Estimating Coupling Between Neural Components: Evaluation of the Multiple Component, Event-Related Potential (mcERP) Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shah, Ankoor S.; Knuth, Kevin H.; Truccolo, Wilson A.; Ding, Ming-Zhou; Bressler, Steven L.; Schroeder, Charles E.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Accurate measurement of single-trial responses is key to a definitive use of complex electromagnetic and hemodynamic measurements in the investigation of brain dynamics. We developed the multiple component, Event-Related Potential (mcERP) approach to single-trial response estimation. To improve our resolution of dynamic interactions between neuronal ensembles located in different layers within a cortical region and/or in different cortical regions. The mcERP model assets that multiple components defined as stereotypic waveforms comprise the stimulus-evoked response and that these components may vary in amplitude and latency from trial to trial. Maximum a posteriori (MAP) solutions for the model are obtained by iterating a set of equations derived from the posterior probability. Our first goal was to use the ANTWERP algorithm to analyze interactions (specifically latency and amplitude correlation) between responses in different layers within a cortical region. Thus, we evaluated the model by applying the algorithm to synthetic data containing two correlated local components and one independent far-field component. Three cases were considered: the local components were correlated by an interaction in their single-trial amplitudes, by an interaction in their single-trial latencies, or by an interaction in both amplitude and latency. We then analyzed the accuracy with which the algorithm estimated the component waveshapes and the single-trial parameters as a function of the linearity of each of these relationships. Extensions of these analyses to real data are discussed as well as ongoing work to incorporate more detailed prior information.

How Are You Doing? Key Performance Indicators and Benchmarking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fahey, John P.

2011-01-01

School business officials need to "know and show" that their operations are well managed. To do so, they ask themselves questions, such as "How are they doing? How do they compare with others? Are they making progress fast enough? Are they using the best practices?" Using key performance indicators (KPIs) and benchmarking as regular parts of their…

Northern goshawk ecology: An assessment of current knowledge and information needs for conservation and management

Treesearch

John R. Squires; Patricia L. Kennedy

2006-01-01

The contentious and litigious history associated with managing Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) has focused much research attention toward understanding this species’ life history. Results from these studies address many key information needs that are useful to managers and decision makers, but many pressing information needs exist to address key...

Partners in Flight research needs assessment summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ruth, Janet M.; Rosenberg, Kenneth V.

2009-01-01

An important component of the PIF International Conference in McAllen, TX in February 2008 was the incorporation of a Needs Assessment Process in all of the conference sessions. Throughout the McAllen sessions, a number of critical information gaps were identified, pointing to future research that will be needed to establish bird conservation objectives and accomplish bird conservation goals. This document is a summary of the research needs topics identified in the McAllen sessions, placed in the larger context of PIF research needs information. This summary is not intended to be a comprehensive evaluation of landbird research needs, nor a literature review or synthesis of such research needs and research topics. This report was developed by compiling and organizing the research needs identified in McAllen (Rich et al. 2008) and then placing the needs within the context of other PIF-related documents that have identified research needs.

Key strategies to improve systems for managing patient complaints within health facilities - what can we learn from the existing literature?

PubMed

Mirzoev, Tolib; Kane, Sumit

2018-01-01

Information from patient complaints - a widely accepted measure of patient satisfaction with services - can inform improvements in service quality, and contribute towards overall health systems performance. While analyses of data from patient complaints received much emphasis, there is limited published literature on key interventions to improve complaint management systems. The objectives are two-fold: first, to synthesise existing evidence and provide practical options to inform future policy and practice and, second, to identify key outstanding gaps in the existing literature to inform agenda for future research. We report results of review of the existing literature. Peer-reviewed published literature was searched in OVID Medline, OVID Global Health and PubMed. In addition, relevant citations from the reviewed articles were followed up, and we also report grey literature from the UK and the Netherlands. Effective interventions can improve collection of complaints (e.g. establishing easy-to-use channels and raising patients' awareness of these), analysis of complaint data (e.g. creating structures and spaces for analysis and learning from complaints data), and subsequent action (e.g. timely feedback to complainants and integrating learning from complaints into service quality improvement). No one single measure can be sufficient, and any intervention to improve patient complaint management system must include different components, which need to be feasible, effective, scalable, and sustainable within local context. Effective interventions to strengthen patient complaints systems need to be: comprehensive, integrated within existing systems, context-specific and cognizant of the information asymmetry and the unequal power relations between the key actors. Four gaps in the published literature represent an agenda for future research: limited understanding of contexts of effective interventions, absence of system-wide approaches, lack of evidence from low- and

Continuing Medical Education, Needs Assessment, and Program Development: Theoretical Constructs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aherne, Michael; Lamble, Wayne; Davis, Paul

2001-01-01

Continuing medical education needs assessment should be reconceived for a changing health-care environment. The physician-patient relationship is being changed by empowerment of health consumers and public policy concerns regarding the health care system. Needs assessment should focus on environmental scanning, identification of key forces, use of…

High school teachers' perspectives on effective approaches for teaching biology to students with special needs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kos, Agnieszka

The demands of national educational reforms require high school biology teachers to provide high quality instruction to students with and without special needs. The reforms, however, do not provide teachers with adequate teaching strategies to meet the needs of all students in the same context. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand high school biology teachers' perspectives, practices, and challenges in relation to teaching students with special needs. This approach was used to develop a substantive model for high school biology teachers who are challenged with teaching students with and without special needs. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with 15 high school teachers in a Midwestern school district. The data were analyzed using open coding, axial coding, and selective coding procedures in accordance with the grounded theory approach. Essential model components included skills and training for teachers, classroom management strategies, teaching strategies, and student skills. The emergent substantive theory indicated that that teacher preparation and acquired skills greatly influence the effectiveness of inclusion implementation. Key findings also indicated the importance of using of a variety of instructional strategies and classroom management strategies that address students' special needs and their learning styles. This study contributes to social change by providing a model for teaching students and effectively implementing inclusion in regular science classrooms. Following further study, this model may be used to support teacher professional development and improve teaching practices that in turn may improve science literacy supported by the national educational reforms.

Space technology to meet future needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

Key technologies were identified where contemporary investments might have large payoffs in technological options for the future. The future needs were considered for space transportation, space science, national security, and manned missions. Eight areas were selected as being vital for the national future in space. Findings regarding representative mission and the recommendations concerning high priority technologies are summarized.

Key management of the double random-phase-encoding method using public-key encryption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saini, Nirmala; Sinha, Aloka

2010-03-01

Public-key encryption has been used to encode the key of the encryption process. In the proposed technique, an input image has been encrypted by using the double random-phase-encoding method using extended fractional Fourier transform. The key of the encryption process have been encoded by using the Rivest-Shamir-Adelman (RSA) public-key encryption algorithm. The encoded key has then been transmitted to the receiver side along with the encrypted image. In the decryption process, first the encoded key has been decrypted using the secret key and then the encrypted image has been decrypted by using the retrieved key parameters. The proposed technique has advantage over double random-phase-encoding method because the problem associated with the transmission of the key has been eliminated by using public-key encryption. Computer simulation has been carried out to validate the proposed technique.

Optical key system

DOEpatents

Hagans, Karla G.; Clough, Robert E.

2000-01-01

An optical key system comprises a battery-operated optical key and an isolated lock that derives both its operating power and unlock signals from the correct optical key. A light emitting diode or laser diode is included within the optical key and is connected to transmit a bit-serial password. The key user physically enters either the code-to-transmit directly, or an index to a pseudorandom number code, in the key. Such person identification numbers can be retained permanently, or ephemeral. When a send button is pressed, the key transmits a beam of light modulated with the password information. The modulated beam of light is received by a corresponding optical lock with a photovoltaic cell that produces enough power from the beam of light to operate a password-screen digital logic. In one application, an acceptable password allows a two watt power laser diode to pump ignition and timing information over a fiberoptic cable into a sealed engine compartment. The receipt of a good password allows the fuel pump, spark, and starter systems to each operate. Therefore, bypassing the lock mechanism as is now routine with automobile thieves is pointless because the engine is so thoroughly disabled.

Macroencapsulation Equivalency Guidance for Classified Weapon Components and NNSSWAC Compliance

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

Poling, J.

2012-05-15

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex has a surplus of classified legacy weapon components generated over the years with no direct path for disposal. The majority of the components have been held for uncertainty of future use or no identified method of sanitization or disposal. As more weapons are retired, there is an increasing need to reduce the amount of components currently in storage or on hold. A process is currently underway to disposition and dispose of the legacy/retired weapons components across the DOE complex.

Factors influencing caries status and treatment needs among pregnant women attending a maternity hospital in Udaipur city, India.

PubMed

Kumar, Santhosh; Tadakamadla, Jyothi; Tibdewal, Harish; Duraiswamy, Prabu; Kulkarni, Suhas

2013-04-01

To estimate the prevalence and severity of dental caries along with the treatment needs; to determine the factors that influence dental caries status among pregnant women attending a district maternity hospital in Udaipur, India. Study sample comprised of 206 pregnant women attending a district maternity hospital in Udaipur, India. Clinical data were collected on dental caries by DMFT and treatment needs as described in World Health Organization Dentition status and Treatment needs. The overall caries prevalence was 87%. Mean caries experience differed significantly among women in various trimesters, it was found to be 3.59 and 3.00 in 1st and 2nd trimester subjects respectively while it was greatest (4.13) among those in 3rd trimester. One surface filling was the most predominant treatment need. Age and occupation of husband explained a variance of 6.8% and 4.2% for decayed and filled components respectively while the only predictor for missing teeth and DMFT that explained a variance of 9.6% and 5.7% respectively was trimester of pregnancy. Dental caries experience and the need for one surface restoration increased with age. Trimester of pregnancy was a significant predictor for missing teeth and DMFT, while decayed teeth and filled teeth were influenced by age and socio-economic level respectively. Key words:Dental caries, treatment needs, pregnant, age, trimester.

Factors influencing caries status and treatment needs among pregnant women attending a maternity hospital in Udaipur city, India

PubMed Central

Tadakamadla, Jyothi; Tibdewal, Harish; Duraiswamy, Prabu; Kulkarni, Suhas

2013-01-01

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and severity of dental caries along with the treatment needs; to determine the factors that influence dental caries status among pregnant women attending a district maternity hospital in Udaipur, India. Study design: Study sample comprised of 206 pregnant women attending a district maternity hospital in Udaipur, India. Clinical data were collected on dental caries by DMFT and treatment needs as described in World Health Organization Dentition status and Treatment needs. Results: The overall caries prevalence was 87%. Mean caries experience differed significantly among women in various trimesters, it was found to be 3.59 and 3.00 in 1st and 2nd trimester subjects respectively while it was greatest (4.13) among those in 3rd trimester. One surface filling was the most predominant treatment need. Age and occupation of husband explained a variance of 6.8% and 4.2% for decayed and filled components respectively while the only predictor for missing teeth and DMFT that explained a variance of 9.6% and 5.7% respectively was trimester of pregnancy. Conclusions: Dental caries experience and the need for one surface restoration increased with age. Trimester of pregnancy was a significant predictor for missing teeth and DMFT, while decayed teeth and filled teeth were influenced by age and socio-economic level respectively. Key words:Dental caries, treatment needs, pregnant, age, trimester. PMID:24455060

Public-key quantum digital signature scheme with one-time pad private-key

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Feng-Lin; Liu, Wan-Fang; Chen, Su-Gen; Wang, Zhi-Hua

2018-01-01

A quantum digital signature scheme is firstly proposed based on public-key quantum cryptosystem. In the scheme, the verification public-key is derived from the signer's identity information (such as e-mail) on the foundation of identity-based encryption, and the signature private-key is generated by one-time pad (OTP) protocol. The public-key and private-key pair belongs to classical bits, but the signature cipher belongs to quantum qubits. After the signer announces the public-key and generates the final quantum signature, each verifier can verify publicly whether the signature is valid or not with the public-key and quantum digital digest. Analysis results show that the proposed scheme satisfies non-repudiation and unforgeability. Information-theoretic security of the scheme is ensured by quantum indistinguishability mechanics and OTP protocol. Based on the public-key cryptosystem, the proposed scheme is easier to be realized compared with other quantum signature schemes under current technical conditions.

Key Nutritional Strategies to Optimize Performance in Para Athletes.

PubMed

Scaramella, Jacque; Kirihennedige, Nuwanee; Broad, Elizabeth

2018-05-01

Para athletes are a high-risk population for inadequate dietary intake leading to insufficiencies in nutrients important to athletic performance. This is partly due to minimal support and resources, especially in sport nutrition education, combined with limited prior nutrition knowledge and risks associated with different impairment types. Inadequate energy, carbohydrate, protein, iron, and vitamin D status are of particular concern in Para athletes. Assessment of these key nutrients, along with sport nutrition education, is needed to empower Para athletes with the knowledge to understand their individual nutrition needs and maximize athletic performance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous multi-component seismic denoising and reconstruction via K-SVD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Sian; Zhang, Feng; Li, Xiangyang; Zhao, Qiang; Dai, Hengchang

2018-06-01

Data denoising and reconstruction play an increasingly significant role in seismic prospecting for their value in enhancing effective signals, dealing with surface obstacles and reducing acquisition costs. In this paper, we propose a novel method to denoise and reconstruct multicomponent seismic data simultaneously. This method lies within the framework of machine learning and the key points are defining a suitable weight function and a modified inner product operator. The purpose of these two processes are to perform missing data machine learning when the random noise deviation is unknown, and building a mathematical relationship for each component to incorporate all the information of multi-component data. Two examples, using synthetic and real multicomponent data, demonstrate that the new method is a feasible alternative for multi-component seismic data processing.

Finite-key analysis for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution.

PubMed

Curty, Marcos; Xu, Feihu; Cui, Wei; Lim, Charles Ci Wen; Tamaki, Kiyoshi; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2014-04-29

Quantum key distribution promises unconditionally secure communications. However, as practical devices tend to deviate from their specifications, the security of some practical systems is no longer valid. In particular, an adversary can exploit imperfect detectors to learn a large part of the secret key, even though the security proof claims otherwise. Recently, a practical approach--measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution--has been proposed to solve this problem. However, so far its security has only been fully proven under the assumption that the legitimate users of the system have unlimited resources. Here we fill this gap and provide a rigorous security proof against general attacks in the finite-key regime. This is obtained by applying large deviation theory, specifically the Chernoff bound, to perform parameter estimation. For the first time we demonstrate the feasibility of long-distance implementations of measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution within a reasonable time frame of signal transmission.

Climate Information Responding to User Needs (CIRUN)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Busalacchi, A. J.

2009-05-01

For the past several decades many different US agencies have been involved in collecting Earth observations, e.g., NASA, NOAA, DoD, USGS, USDA. More recently, the US has led the international effort to design a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Yet, there has been little substantive progress at the synthesis and integration of the various research and operational, space-based and in situ, observations. Similarly, access to such a range of observations across the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface remains fragmented. With respect to prediction of the Earth System, the US has not developed a comprehensive strategy. For climate, the US (e.g., NOAA, NASA, DoE) has taken a two-track strategy. At the more immediate time scale, coupled ocean-atmosphere models of the physical climate system have built upon the tradition of daily numerical weather prediction in order to extend the forecast window to seasonal to interannual times scales. At the century time scale, the nascent development of Earth System models, combining components of the physical climate system with biogeochemical cycles, are being used to provide future climate change projections in response to anticipated greenhouse gas forcings. Between these to two approaches to prediction lies a key deficiency of interest to decision makers, especially as it pertains to adaptation, i.e., deterministic prediction of the Earth System at time scales from days to decades with spatial scales from global to regional. One of many obstacles to be overcome is the design of present day observation and prediction products based on user needs. To date, most of such products have evolved from the technology and research "push" rather than the user or stakeholder "pull". In the future as planning proceeds for a national climate service, emphasis must be given to a more coordinated approach in which stakeholders' needs help design future Earth System observational and prediction products, and similarly, such

Key participants in codeveloped technology pose for group picture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Following the presentation of the Universal Signal Conditioning Amplifier (USCA), a new piece of technology developed through a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) partnership with industry, to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Director Roy Bridges, Jr., key participants in the partnership pose for a group portrait. They are (from left) Bill Larson, NASA; Dr. Pedro Medelius, INET; Roy Bridges, Jr., KSC Director; Ed Gladney and William Saputo, L-3 Communications; Pam Gillespi, representing Congressman Dave Weldon; and Frank Kinney, Technological Research and Development Authority. The USCA is a key component of the codeveloped Automated Data Acquisition System (ADAS) that measures temperature, pressure and vibration at KSC's launch pads. The breakthrough technology is expected to reduce sensor setup and configuration times from hours to seconds. KSC teamed up with Florida's Technological Research and Development Authority and manufacturer L-3 Communications to produce a system that would benefit the aerospace industry and other commercial markets.

A Needs Assessment of International Students' Wives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martens, Vonda Plett; Grant, Peter R.

2008-01-01

Despite the unique adjustment challenges facing international students' spouses, little research has focused on their adjustment experiences or their programming needs. Understanding the adjustment of these individuals is important both in itself and because spouses play a key role in the adjustment and academic success of international students.…

Genetic parameters and expected responses to selection for components of feed efficiency in a Duroc pig line.

PubMed

Sánchez, Juan P; Ragab, Mohamed; Quintanilla, Raquel; Rothschild, Max F; Piles, Miriam

2017-12-01

Improving feed efficiency ([Formula: see text]) is a key factor for any pig breeding company. Although this can be achieved by selection on an index of multi-trait best linear unbiased prediction of breeding values with optimal economic weights, considering deviations of feed intake from actual needs ([Formula: see text]) should be of value for further research on biological aspects of [Formula: see text]. Here, we present a random regression model that extends the classical definition of [Formula: see text] by including animal-specific needs in the model. Using this model, we explore the genetic determinism of several [Formula: see text] components: use of feed for growth ([Formula: see text]), use of feed for backfat deposition ([Formula: see text]), use of feed for maintenance ([Formula: see text]), and unspecific efficiency in the use of feed ([Formula: see text]). Expected response to alternative selection indexes involving different components is also studied. Based on goodness-of-fit to the available feed intake ([Formula: see text]) data, the model that assumes individual (genetic and permanent) variation in the use of feed for maintenance, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] showed the best performance. Joint individual variation in feed allocation to maintenance, growth and backfat deposition comprised 37% of the individual variation of [Formula: see text]. The estimated heritabilities of [Formula: see text] using the model that accounts for animal-specific needs and the traditional [Formula: see text] model were 0.12 and 0.18, respectively. The estimated heritabilities for the regression coefficients were 0.44, 0.39 and 0.55 for [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively. Estimates of genetic correlations of [Formula: see text] were positive with amount of feed used for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] but negative for [Formula: see text]. Expected response in overall efficiency, reducing [Formula

Optical key system

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

Hagans, K.G.; Clough, R.E.

2000-04-25

An optical key system comprises a battery-operated optical key and an isolated lock that derives both its operating power and unlock signals from the correct optical key. A light emitting diode or laser diode is included within the optical key and is connected to transmit a bit-serial password. The key user physically enters either the code-to-transmit directly, or an index to a pseudorandom number code, in the key. Such person identification numbers can be retained permanently, or ephemeral. When a send button is pressed, the key transmits a beam of light modulated with the password information. The modulated beam ofmore » light is received by a corresponding optical lock with a photovoltaic cell that produces enough power from the beam of light to operate a password-screen digital logic. In one application, an acceptable password allows a two watt power laser diode to pump ignition and timing information over a fiberoptic cable into a sealed engine compartment. The receipt of a good password allows the fuel pump, spark, and starter systems to each operate. Therefore, bypassing the lock mechanism as is now routine with automobile thieves is pointless because the engine is so thoroughly disabled.« less

Component Design Report: International Transportation Energy Demand Determinants Model

EIA Publications

2017-01-01

This Component Design Report discusses working design elements for a new model to replace the International Transportation Model (ITran) in the World Energy Projection System Plus (WEPS ) that is maintained by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The key objective of the new International Transportation Energy Demand Determinants (ITEDD) model is to enable more rigorous, quantitative research related to energy consumption in the international transportation sectors.

Recent developments in photonic networking components for space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parkerson, James P.; Gorman, Lanitia; Thamer, Robert; Chalfant, Charles H.; Hull, Anthony; Orlando, Fred J., Jr.

2003-07-01

Industrial, NASA, and DoD spacecraft designers have recognized the advantages of using fiber optic components and networks for their internal satellite data handling needs. Among the benefits are the total elimination of cable-to-cable and box-to-box EMI; significant size, weight and power reduction; greater on-orbit and integration and test flexibility and significantly lower integration and test costs. Additionally, intra-satellite data rates of 1 to 10 Gbps appear to be an absolute requirement for a number of advanced systems planned for development in the next few years. The only practical way to support these data rates is with fiber optics. Space Photonics and the University of Arkansas have developed fiber optic components (FireFiberTM) and networks that are designed specifically to meet these on-board, high data rate needs using NASA approved materials, packaging processes, and approved radiation tolerant devices. This paper will discuss recent developments in photonic components for spaceborne networks.

Missile Defense: Actions Needed to Improve Transparency and Accountability

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-13

suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway...Established resource, schedule, test, operational capacity, technical, and contract baselines for several missile defense systems. It reported...Europe as well as the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system. View GAO-11-555T or key components. For more information, contact Cristina T

Experimental Demonstration of Polarization Encoding Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Zhiyuan; Liao, Zhongfa; Xu, Feihu; Qi, Bing; Qian, Li; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2014-05-01

We demonstrate the first implementation of polarization encoding measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD), which is immune to all detector side-channel attacks. Active phase randomization of each individual pulse is implemented to protect against attacks on imperfect sources. By optimizing the parameters in the decoy state protocol, we show that it is feasible to implement polarization encoding MDI-QKD with commercial off-the-shelf devices. A rigorous finite key analysis is applied to estimate the secure key rate. Our work paves the way for the realization of a MDI-QKD network, in which the users only need compact and low-cost state-preparation devices and can share complicated and expensive detectors provided by an untrusted network server.

Experimental demonstration of polarization encoding measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution.

PubMed

Tang, Zhiyuan; Liao, Zhongfa; Xu, Feihu; Qi, Bing; Qian, Li; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2014-05-16

We demonstrate the first implementation of polarization encoding measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD), which is immune to all detector side-channel attacks. Active phase randomization of each individual pulse is implemented to protect against attacks on imperfect sources. By optimizing the parameters in the decoy state protocol, we show that it is feasible to implement polarization encoding MDI-QKD with commercial off-the-shelf devices. A rigorous finite key analysis is applied to estimate the secure key rate. Our work paves the way for the realization of a MDI-QKD network, in which the users only need compact and low-cost state-preparation devices and can share complicated and expensive detectors provided by an untrusted network server.

Secret Key Generation via a Modified Quantum Secret Sharing Protocol

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

Smith IV, Amos M; Evans, Philip G; Lawrie, Benjamin J

We present and experimentally show a novel protocol for distributing secret information between two and only two parties in a N-party single-qubit Quantum Secret Sharing (QSS) system. We demonstrate this new algorithm with N = 3 active parties over 6km of telecom. ber. Our experimental device is based on the Clavis2 Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system built by ID Quantique but is generalizable to any implementation. We show that any two out of the N parties can build secret keys based on partial information from each other and with collaboration from the remaining N > 2 parties. This algorithm allowsmore » for the creation of two-party secret keys were standard QSS does not and signicantly reduces the number of resources needed to implement QKD on a highly connected network such as the electrical grid.« less

Key challenges in the development and implementation of telehealth projects.

PubMed

Joseph, Victor; West, Robert M; Shickle, Darren; Keen, Justin; Clamp, Susan

2011-01-01

A literature review was carried out to identify the key challenges in the implementation of telehealth. This was followed by a survey of organisations in England involved in telehealth projects in order to understand the challenges they faced. Ten of the 13 health or local authority organisations surveyed had telehealth projects and three were at the planning stage. The analysis revealed seven key challenges facing implementers of telehealth in England. Based on the findings from the literature review and the survey, a model was constructed and a checklist drawn up. The model contained the following elements: identifying issues, needs and partners; producing a strategy; securing funding; implementing changes; and monitoring and evaluating a telehealth project. The checklist was validated by using key informants from the organisations originally surveyed. The checklist may be useful to guide telehealth development and implementation in the future.

Provably secure and high-rate quantum key distribution with time-bin qudits

PubMed Central

Islam, Nurul T.; Lim, Charles Ci Wen; Cahall, Clinton; Kim, Jungsang; Gauthier, Daniel J.

2017-01-01

The security of conventional cryptography systems is threatened in the forthcoming era of quantum computers. Quantum key distribution (QKD) features fundamentally proven security and offers a promising option for quantum-proof cryptography solution. Although prototype QKD systems over optical fiber have been demonstrated over the years, the key generation rates remain several orders of magnitude lower than current classical communication systems. In an effort toward a commercially viable QKD system with improved key generation rates, we developed a discrete-variable QKD system based on time-bin quantum photonic states that can generate provably secure cryptographic keys at megabit-per-second rates over metropolitan distances. We use high-dimensional quantum states that transmit more than one secret bit per received photon, alleviating detector saturation effects in the superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors used in our system that feature very high detection efficiency (of more than 70%) and low timing jitter (of less than 40 ps). Our system is constructed using commercial off-the-shelf components, and the adopted protocol can be readily extended to free-space quantum channels. The security analysis adopted to distill the keys ensures that the demonstrated protocol is robust against coherent attacks, finite-size effects, and a broad class of experimental imperfections identified in our system. PMID:29202028

Provably secure and high-rate quantum key distribution with time-bin qudits.

PubMed

Islam, Nurul T; Lim, Charles Ci Wen; Cahall, Clinton; Kim, Jungsang; Gauthier, Daniel J

2017-11-01

The security of conventional cryptography systems is threatened in the forthcoming era of quantum computers. Quantum key distribution (QKD) features fundamentally proven security and offers a promising option for quantum-proof cryptography solution. Although prototype QKD systems over optical fiber have been demonstrated over the years, the key generation rates remain several orders of magnitude lower than current classical communication systems. In an effort toward a commercially viable QKD system with improved key generation rates, we developed a discrete-variable QKD system based on time-bin quantum photonic states that can generate provably secure cryptographic keys at megabit-per-second rates over metropolitan distances. We use high-dimensional quantum states that transmit more than one secret bit per received photon, alleviating detector saturation effects in the superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors used in our system that feature very high detection efficiency (of more than 70%) and low timing jitter (of less than 40 ps). Our system is constructed using commercial off-the-shelf components, and the adopted protocol can be readily extended to free-space quantum channels. The security analysis adopted to distill the keys ensures that the demonstrated protocol is robust against coherent attacks, finite-size effects, and a broad class of experimental imperfections identified in our system.

Laser beam soldering of micro-optical components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eberhardt, R.

2003-05-01

MOTIVATION Ongoing miniaturisation and higher requirements within optical assemblies and the processing of temperature sensitive components demands for innovative selective joining techniques. So far adhesive bonding has primarily been used to assemble and adjust hybrid micro optical systems. However, the properties of the organic polymers used for the adhesives limit the application of these systems. In fields of telecommunication and lithography, an enhancement of existing joining techniques is necessary to improve properties like humidity resistance, laserstability, UV-stability, thermal cycle reliability and life time reliability. Against this background laser beam soldering of optical components is a reasonable joining technology alternative. Properties like: - time and area restricted energy input - energy input can be controlled by the process temperature - direct and indirect heating of the components is possible - no mechanical contact between joining tool and components give good conditions to meet the requirements on a joining technology for sensitive optical components. Additionally to the laser soldering head, for the assembly of optical components it is necessary to include positioning units to adjust the position of the components with high accuracy before joining. Furthermore, suitable measurement methods to characterize the soldered assemblies (for instance in terms of position tolerances) need to be developed.

Tennessee long-range transportation plan : modal needs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-12-01

This report documents one of several major steps in the long-range planning process. This report examines each component of the states transportation network to identify the long-term needs of the transportation modes to 2030. The determination of...

Work Keys USA.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Work Keys USA, 1998

1998-01-01

"Work Keys" is a comprehensive program for assessing and teaching workplace skills. This serial "special issue" features 18 first-hand reports on Work Keys projects in action in states across North America. They show how the Work Keys is helping businesses and educators solve the challenge of building a world-class work force.…

Five Essential Relationships Every New Teacher Needs to Build

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Steven L.; Morelli, Christopher A.

2017-01-01

The authors identify five key relationships beginning teachers need to build within their first year and offer ideas and practical strategies to help them establish relationships that are essential to their work.

Six-State Quantum Key Distribution Using Photons with Orbital Angular Momentum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jun-Lin; Wang, Chuan

2010-11-01

A new implementation of high-dimensional quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol is discussed. Using three mutual unbiased bases, we present a d-level six-state QKD protocol that exploits the orbital angular momentum with the spatial mode of the light beam. The protocol shows that the feature of a high capacity since keys are encoded using photon modes in d-level Hilbert space. The devices for state preparation and measurement are also discussed. This protocol has high security and the alignment of shared reference frames is not needed between sender and receiver.

A free-access online key to identify Amazonian ferns.

PubMed

Zuquim, Gabriela; Tuomisto, Hanna; Prado, Jefferson

2017-01-01

There is urgent need for more data on species distributions in order to improve conservation planning. A crucial but challenging aspect of producing high-quality data is the correct identification of organisms. Traditional printed floras and dichotomous keys are difficult to use for someone not familiar with the technical jargon. In poorly known areas, such as Amazonia, they also become quickly outdated as new species are described or ranges extended. Recently, online tools have allowed developing dynamic, interactive, and accessible keys that make species identification possible for a broader public. In order to facilitate identifying plants collected in field inventories, we developed an internet-based free-access tool to identify Amazonian fern species. We focused on ferns, because they are easy to collect and their edaphic affinities are relatively well known, so they can be used as an indicator group for habitat mapping. Our key includes 302 terrestrial and aquatic entities mainly from lowland Amazonian forests. It is a free-access key, so the user can freely choose which morphological features to use and in which order to assess them. All taxa are richly illustrated, so specimens can be identified by a combination of character choices, visual comparison, and written descriptions. The identification tool was developed in Lucid 3.5 software and it is available at http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org:8080/sandbox/keys.jsp.

A free-access online key to identify Amazonian ferns

PubMed Central

Zuquim, Gabriela; Tuomisto, Hanna; Prado, Jefferson

2017-01-01

Abstract There is urgent need for more data on species distributions in order to improve conservation planning. A crucial but challenging aspect of producing high-quality data is the correct identification of organisms. Traditional printed floras and dichotomous keys are difficult to use for someone not familiar with the technical jargon. In poorly known areas, such as Amazonia, they also become quickly outdated as new species are described or ranges extended. Recently, online tools have allowed developing dynamic, interactive, and accessible keys that make species identification possible for a broader public. In order to facilitate identifying plants collected in field inventories, we developed an internet-based free-access tool to identify Amazonian fern species. We focused on ferns, because they are easy to collect and their edaphic affinities are relatively well known, so they can be used as an indicator group for habitat mapping. Our key includes 302 terrestrial and aquatic entities mainly from lowland Amazonian forests. It is a free-access key, so the user can freely choose which morphological features to use and in which order to assess them. All taxa are richly illustrated, so specimens can be identified by a combination of character choices, visual comparison, and written descriptions. The identification tool was developed in Lucid 3.5 software and it is available at http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org:8080/sandbox/keys.jsp. PMID:28781548

A Need for a Framework for Curriculum Evaluation in Oman

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Jardani, Khalid Salim; Siraj, Saedah; Abedalaziz, Nabeel

2012-01-01

The field of curriculum evaluation is a key part of the educational process. This means that this area needs to be developed continuously and requires ongoing research. This paper highlights curriculum evaluation in Oman, different evaluation procedures and methods and instruments used. The need for a framework for curriculum evaluation is a vital…

Costs of care in a mild-to-moderate Alzheimer clinical trial sample: key resources and their determinants.

PubMed

Gustavsson, Anders; Cattelin, Francoise; Jönsson, Linus

2011-07-01

Costs of care are frequently included as secondary endpoint in Alzheimer clinical trials because payers demand evidence of the budgetary effects of novel therapies. Future clinical trial protocols can be optimized on the basis of the currently available data, including what are the key resources and how are they correlated to disease severity measures. Primary patient-level data from two 18 months clinical trials of a putative disease modifier in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (n = 2,744) were analyzed to identify key components of costs of care and their determinants in a clinical trial setting. Costs of care were assessed with the resource utilization in dementia Lite (RUD) instrument, which includes patient accommodation, informal care, community care, and hospitalizations. The contribution of each component to total costs of care and their correlation with one another and key disease severity measures (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale--Cognitive Subscale, Mini-Mental State Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes, Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study--Activities of Daily Living Inventory, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire) was explored. Informal care constituted 82% to 86% of the total costs of care over the 18-months trial and community care services and patient accommodation contributed 6% to 8% each. Informal care was positively correlated with hospitalizations but negatively to patient accommodation, indicating that these services are supplements. Informal care also had the strongest pair-wise correlation with key disease severity measures, suggesting a higher chance of identifying a treatment effect on this component. ADL-ability (Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study--Activities of Daily Living Inventory) was the strongest predictor of costs of care of all disease severity measures. Informal care is the most important component of costs of care in a mild-to-moderate Alzheimer clinical trial sample, and it is primarily

Abundance and distribution of microplastics within surface sediments of a key shellfish growing region of Canada.

PubMed

Kazmiruk, T N; Kazmiruk, V D; Bendell, L I

2018-01-01

The abundance and distribution of microplastics within 5 sediment size classes (>5000 μm, 1000-5000 μm, 250-1000 μm, 250-0.63 μm and < 0.63 μm) were determined for 16 sites within Lambert Channel and Baynes Sound, British Columbia, Canada. This region is Canada's premier growing area for the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas). Microplastics were found at all sampling locations indicating widespread contamination of this region with these particles. Three types of microplastics were recovered: microbeads, which occurred in the greatest number (up to 25000/kg dry sediment) and microfibers and microfragments, which were much less in number compared with microbeads and occurred in similar amounts (100-300/kg dry sediment). Microbeads were recovered primarily in the < 0.63 μm and 250-0.63 μm sediment size class, whereas microfragments and microfibers were generally identified in all 5 sediment size classes. Abundance and distribution of the three types of microplastics were spatially dependent with principal component analysis (PCA) indicating that 84 percent of the variation in abundance and distribution was due to the presence of high numbers of microbeads at three locations within the study region. At these sites, microbeads expressed as a percent component of the sediment by weight was similar to key geochemical components that govern trace metal behavior and availability to benthic organisms. Microbeads have been shown to accumulate metals from the aquatic environment, hence in addition to the traditional geochemical components such as silt and organic matter, microplastics also need to be considered as a sediment component that can influence trace metal geochemistry. Our findings have shown that BC's premier oyster growing region is highly contaminated with microplastics, notably microbeads. It would be prudent to assess the degree to which oysters from this region are ingesting microplastics. If so, it would have direct implications for Canada's oyster

Houses need to breathe--right?

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

Sherman, Max H.

2004-10-01

Houses need to breathe, but we can no longer leave the important functions associated with ventilation to be met accidentally. A designed ventilation system must be considered as much a part of a home as its heating system. Windows are a key part of that system because they allow a quick increase in ventilation for unusual events, but neither they nor a leaky building shell can be counted on to provide minimum levels.

GMES Space Component: Programme overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aschbacher, J.; Milagro-Perez, M. P.

2012-04-01

The European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have developed the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme as Europe's answer to the vital need for joined-up data about our climate, environment and security. Through a unique combination of satellite, atmospheric and Earth-based monitoring systems, the initiative will provide new insight into the state of the land, sea and air, providing policymakers, scientists, businesses and the public with accurate and timely information. GMES capabilities include monitoring and forecasting of climatic change, flood risks, soil and coastal erosion, crop and fish resources, air pollution, greenhouse gases, iceberg distribution and snow cover, among others. To accomplish this, GMES has been divided into three main components: Space, In-situ and Services. The Space Component, led by ESA, comprises five types of new satellites called Sentinels that are being developed by ESA specifically to meet the needs of GMES, the first of which to be launched in 2013. These missions carry a range of technologies, such as radar and multi-spectral imaging instruments for land, ocean and atmospheric monitoring. In addition, access to data from the so-called Contributing Missions guarantees that European space infrastructure is fully used for GMES. An integrated Ground Segment ensures access to Sentinels and Contributing Missions data. The in-situ component, under the coordination of the European Environment Agency (EEA), is composed of atmospheric and Earth based monitoring systems, and based on established networks and programmes at European and international levels. The European Commission is in charge of implementing the services component of GMES and of leading GMES overall. GMES services, fed with data from the Space and In-situ components, will provide essential information in five main domains, atmosphere, ocean and land monitoring as well as emergency response and security. Climate change has been added

Finite key analysis for symmetric attacks in quantum key distribution

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

Meyer, Tim; Kampermann, Hermann; Kleinmann, Matthias

2006-10-15

We introduce a constructive method to calculate the achievable secret key rate for a generic class of quantum key distribution protocols, when only a finite number n of signals is given. Our approach is applicable to all scenarios in which the quantum state shared by Alice and Bob is known. In particular, we consider the six state protocol with symmetric eavesdropping attacks, and show that for a small number of signals, i.e., below n{approx}10{sup 4}, the finite key rate differs significantly from the asymptotic value for n{yields}{infinity}. However, for larger n, a good approximation of the asymptotic value is found.more » We also study secret key rates for protocols using higher-dimensional quantum systems.« less

Understanding and responding when things go wrong: key principles for primary care educators.

PubMed

McNab, Duncan; Bowie, Paul; Ross, Alastair; Morrison, Jill

2016-07-01

Learning from events with unwanted outcomes is an important part of workplace based education and providing evidence for medical appraisal and revalidation. It has been suggested that adopting a 'systems approach' could enhance learning and effective change. We believe the following key principles should be understood by all healthcare staff, especially those with a role in developing and delivering educational content for safety and improvement in primary care. When things go wrong, professional accountability involves accepting there has been a problem, apologising if necessary and committing to learn and change. This is easier in a 'Just Culture' where wilful disregard of safe practice is not tolerated but where decisions commensurate with training and experience do not result in blame and punishment. People usually attempt to achieve successful outcomes, but when things go wrong the contribution of hindsight and attribution bias as well as a lack of understanding of conditions and available information (local rationality) can lead to inappropriately blame 'human error'. System complexity makes reduction into component parts difficult; thus attempting to 'find-and-fix' malfunctioning components may not always be a valid approach. Finally, performance variability by staff is often needed to meet demands or cope with resource constraints. We believe understanding these core principles is a necessary precursor to adopting a 'systems approach' that can increase learning and reduce the damaging effects on morale when 'human error' is blamed. This may result in 'human error' becoming the starting point of an investigation and not the endpoint.

Key issues concerning environmental enrichment for laboratory-held fish species.

PubMed

Williams, T D; Readman, G D; Owen, S F

2009-04-01

An improved knowledge and understanding of the fundamental biological requirements is needed for many of the species of fish held in captivity and, without this knowledge it is difficult to determine the optimal conditions for laboratory culture. The aim of this paper is to review the key issues concerning environmental enrichment for laboratory-held fish species and identify where improvements are required. It provides background information on environmental enrichment, describes enrichment techniques currently used in aquatic ecotoxicology studies, identifies potential restrictions in their use and discusses why more detailed and species-specific guidance is needed.

Self-referenced continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocol

DOE PAGES

Soh, Daniel Beom Soo; Sarovar, Mohan; Brif, Constantin; ...

2015-10-21

We introduce a new continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocol, self-referenced CV-QKD, that eliminates the need for transmission of a high-power local oscillator between the communicating parties. In this protocol, each signal pulse is accompanied by a reference pulse (or a pair of twin reference pulses), used to align Alice’s and Bob’s measurement bases. The method of phase estimation and compensation based on the reference pulse measurement can be viewed as a quantum analog of intradyne detection used in classical coherent communication, which extracts the phase information from the modulated signal. We present a proof-of-principle, fiber-based experimental demonstration of themore » protocol and quantify the expected secret key rates by expressing them in terms of experimental parameters. Our analysis of the secret key rate fully takes into account the inherent uncertainty associated with the quantum nature of the reference pulse(s) and quantifies the limit at which the theoretical key rate approaches that of the respective conventional protocol that requires local oscillator transmission. The self-referenced protocol greatly simplifies the hardware required for CV-QKD, especially for potential integrated photonics implementations of transmitters and receivers, with minimum sacrifice of performance. Furthermore, it provides a pathway towards scalable integrated CV-QKD transceivers, a vital step towards large-scale QKD networks.« less

Self-referenced continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocol

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

Soh, Daniel Beom Soo; Sarovar, Mohan; Brif, Constantin

We introduce a new continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocol, self-referenced CV-QKD, that eliminates the need for transmission of a high-power local oscillator between the communicating parties. In this protocol, each signal pulse is accompanied by a reference pulse (or a pair of twin reference pulses), used to align Alice’s and Bob’s measurement bases. The method of phase estimation and compensation based on the reference pulse measurement can be viewed as a quantum analog of intradyne detection used in classical coherent communication, which extracts the phase information from the modulated signal. We present a proof-of-principle, fiber-based experimental demonstration of themore » protocol and quantify the expected secret key rates by expressing them in terms of experimental parameters. Our analysis of the secret key rate fully takes into account the inherent uncertainty associated with the quantum nature of the reference pulse(s) and quantifies the limit at which the theoretical key rate approaches that of the respective conventional protocol that requires local oscillator transmission. The self-referenced protocol greatly simplifies the hardware required for CV-QKD, especially for potential integrated photonics implementations of transmitters and receivers, with minimum sacrifice of performance. Furthermore, it provides a pathway towards scalable integrated CV-QKD transceivers, a vital step towards large-scale QKD networks.« less

Self-Referenced Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution Protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soh, Daniel B. S.; Brif, Constantin; Coles, Patrick J.; Lütkenhaus, Norbert; Camacho, Ryan M.; Urayama, Junji; Sarovar, Mohan

2015-10-01

We introduce a new continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocol, self-referenced CV-QKD, that eliminates the need for transmission of a high-power local oscillator between the communicating parties. In this protocol, each signal pulse is accompanied by a reference pulse (or a pair of twin reference pulses), used to align Alice's and Bob's measurement bases. The method of phase estimation and compensation based on the reference pulse measurement can be viewed as a quantum analog of intradyne detection used in classical coherent communication, which extracts the phase information from the modulated signal. We present a proof-of-principle, fiber-based experimental demonstration of the protocol and quantify the expected secret key rates by expressing them in terms of experimental parameters. Our analysis of the secret key rate fully takes into account the inherent uncertainty associated with the quantum nature of the reference pulse(s) and quantifies the limit at which the theoretical key rate approaches that of the respective conventional protocol that requires local oscillator transmission. The self-referenced protocol greatly simplifies the hardware required for CV-QKD, especially for potential integrated photonics implementations of transmitters and receivers, with minimum sacrifice of performance. As such, it provides a pathway towards scalable integrated CV-QKD transceivers, a vital step towards large-scale QKD networks.

School league tables: a new population based predictor of dental restorative treatment need.

PubMed

Crowley, Evelyn; O'Brien, Graham; Marcenes, Wagner

2003-06-01

To test whether dental restorative treatment need was related to the school league tables and level of social deprivation of the school ward. An ecological study using clinical data aggregated at school level, collected in the school dental screening examinations (1996-97), National Census (1991) and the results of the UK school league tables--Key Stage 2 SATs (1996-97). State primary schools in the Greenwich District of SE London, UK (1996-97). 12,854 pupils (6-11 years of age) in 62 schools. The percentage of 6 to 11 year old pupils per school requiring dental restorative treatment. Deprivation as measured by the overall Jarman Under Privileged Area Index (UPA) of the school ward was not associated with dental restorative treatment need (p > 0.05). Only two components of the Jarman Index, level of unemployment and the number of lone parent families in the school ward were found to be significantly associated with dental restorative treatment need (p < 0.05). Results of stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that the association with the school league table results in all three subjects, English, Mathematics and Science remained statistically significant after adjusting for levels of unemployment and single parents. Results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that a high level of dental restorative treatment need was significantly associated with poor school league table results in English, Mathematics and Science (p < 0.05) after adjusting for the overall Jarman score of the school ward. A separate analysis for the 11-year-old pupils aggregated by school (n = 46 schools) gave similar results. Aggregate measures of academic achievement may be a potential indicator of dental restorative treatment need.

Partially Key Distribution with Public Key Cryptosystem Based on Error Control Codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavallaei, Saeed Ebadi; Falahati, Abolfazl

Due to the low level of security in public key cryptosystems based on number theory, fundamental difficulties such as "key escrow" in Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and a secure channel in ID-based cryptography, a new key distribution cryptosystem based on Error Control Codes (ECC) is proposed . This idea is done by some modification on McEliece cryptosystem. The security of ECC cryptosystem obtains from the NP-Completeness of block codes decoding. The capability of generating public keys with variable lengths which is suitable for different applications will be provided by using ECC. It seems that usage of these cryptosystems because of decreasing in the security of cryptosystems based on number theory and increasing the lengths of their keys would be unavoidable in future.

Phase-noise limitations in continuous-variable quantum key distribution with homodyne detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corvaja, Roberto

2017-02-01

In continuous-variables quantum key distribution with coherent states, the advantage of performing the detection by using standard telecoms components is counterbalanced by the lack of a stable phase reference in homodyne detection due to the complexity of optical phase-locking circuits and to the unavoidable phase noise of lasers, which introduces a degradation on the achievable secure key rate. Pilot-assisted phase-noise estimation and postdetection compensation techniques are used to implement a protocol with coherent states where a local laser is employed and it is not locked to the received signal, but a postdetection phase correction is applied. Here the reduction of the secure key rate determined by the laser phase noise, for both individual and collective attacks, is analytically evaluated and a scheme of pilot-assisted phase estimation proposed, outlining the tradeoff in the system design between phase noise and spectral efficiency. The optimal modulation variance as a function of the phase-noise amount is derived.

Video Feedback in Key Word Signing Training for Preservice Direct Support Staff.

PubMed

Rombouts, Ellen; Meuris, Kristien; Maes, Bea; De Meyer, Anne-Marie; Zink, Inge

2016-04-01

Research has demonstrated that formal training is essential for professionals to learn key word signing. Yet, the particular didactic strategies have not been studied. Therefore, this study compared the effectiveness of verbal and video feedback in a key word signing training for future direct support staff. Forty-nine future direct support staff were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 key word signing training programs: modeling and verbal feedback (classical method [CM]), additional video feedback (+ViF), and additional video feedback and photo reminder (+ViF/R). Signing accuracy and training acceptability were measured 1 week after and 7 months after training. Participants from the +ViF/R program achieved significantly higher signing accuracy compared with the CM group. Acceptability ratings did not differ between any of the groups. Results suggest that at an equal time investment, the programs containing more training components were more effective. Research on the effect of rehearsal on signing maintenance is warranted.

Modeling Creep Effects within SiC/SiC Turbine Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DiCarlo, J. A.; Lang, J.

2008-01-01

Anticipating the implementation of advanced SiC/SiC ceramic composites into the hot section components of future gas turbine engines, the primary objective of this on-going study is to develop physics-based analytical and finite-element modeling tools to predict the effects of constituent creep on SiC/SiC component service life. A second objective is to understand how to possibly select and manipulate constituent materials, processes, and geometries in order to minimize these effects. In initial studies aimed at SiC/SiC components experiencing through-thickness stress gradients, creep models were developed that allowed an understanding of detrimental residual stress effects that can develop globally within the component walls. It was assumed that the SiC/SiC composites behaved as isotropic visco-elastic materials with temperature-dependent creep behavior as experimentally measured in-plane in the fiber direction of advanced thin-walled 2D SiC/SiC panels. The creep models and their key results are discussed assuming state-of-the-art SiC/SiC materials within a simple cylindrical thin-walled tubular structure, which is currently being employed to model creep-related effects for turbine airfoil leading edges subjected to through-thickness thermal stress gradients. Improvements in the creep models are also presented which focus on constituent behavior with more realistic non-linear stress dependencies in order to predict such key creep-related SiC/SiC properties as time-dependent matrix stress, constituent creep and content effects on composite creep rates and rupture times, and stresses on fiber and matrix during and after creep.

Key strategies to improve systems for managing patient complaints within health facilities – what can we learn from the existing literature?

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Information from patient complaints – a widely accepted measure of patient satisfaction with services – can inform improvements in service quality, and contribute towards overall health systems performance. While analyses of data from patient complaints received much emphasis, there is limited published literature on key interventions to improve complaint management systems. Objectives: The objectives are two-fold: first, to synthesise existing evidence and provide practical options to inform future policy and practice and, second, to identify key outstanding gaps in the existing literature to inform agenda for future research. Methods: We report results of review of the existing literature. Peer-reviewed published literature was searched in OVID Medline, OVID Global Health and PubMed. In addition, relevant citations from the reviewed articles were followed up, and we also report grey literature from the UK and the Netherlands. Results: Effective interventions can improve collection of complaints (e.g. establishing easy-to-use channels and raising patients’ awareness of these), analysis of complaint data (e.g. creating structures and spaces for analysis and learning from complaints data), and subsequent action (e.g. timely feedback to complainants and integrating learning from complaints into service quality improvement). No one single measure can be sufficient, and any intervention to improve patient complaint management system must include different components, which need to be feasible, effective, scalable, and sustainable within local context. Conclusions: Effective interventions to strengthen patient complaints systems need to be: comprehensive, integrated within existing systems, context-specific and cognizant of the information asymmetry and the unequal power relations between the key actors. Four gaps in the published literature represent an agenda for future research: limited understanding of contexts of effective interventions

Evaluating Digital Health Interventions: Key Questions and Approaches.

PubMed

Murray, Elizabeth; Hekler, Eric B; Andersson, Gerhard; Collins, Linda M; Doherty, Aiden; Hollis, Chris; Rivera, Daniel E; West, Robert; Wyatt, Jeremy C

2016-11-01

Digital health interventions have enormous potential as scalable tools to improve health and healthcare delivery by improving effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, safety, and personalization. Achieving these improvements requires a cumulative knowledge base to inform development and deployment of digital health interventions. However, evaluations of digital health interventions present special challenges. This paper aims to examine these challenges and outline an evaluation strategy in terms of the research questions needed to appraise such interventions. As they are at the intersection of biomedical, behavioral, computing, and engineering research, methods drawn from all of these disciplines are required. Relevant research questions include defining the problem and the likely benefit of the digital health intervention, which in turn requires establishing the likely reach and uptake of the intervention, the causal model describing how the intervention will achieve its intended benefit, key components, and how they interact with one another, and estimating overall benefit in terms of effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and harms. Although RCTs are important for evaluation of effectiveness and cost effectiveness, they are best undertaken only when: (1) the intervention and its delivery package are stable; (2) these can be implemented with high fidelity; and (3) there is a reasonable likelihood that the overall benefits will be clinically meaningful (improved outcomes or equivalent outcomes at lower cost). Broadening the portfolio of research questions and evaluation methods will help with developing the necessary knowledge base to inform decisions on policy, practice, and research. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design for pressure regulating components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wichmann, H.

1973-01-01

The design development for Pressure Regulating Components included a regulator component trade-off study with analog computer performance verification to arrive at a final optimized regulator configuration for the Space Storable Propulsion Module, under development for a Jupiter Orbiter mission. This application requires the pressure regulator to be capable of long-term fluorine exposure. In addition, individual but basically identical (for purposes of commonality) units are required for separate oxidizer and fuel pressurization. The need for dual units requires improvement in the regulation accuracy over present designs. An advanced regulator concept was prepared featuring redundant bellows, all metallic/ceramic construction, friction-free guidance of moving parts, gas damping, and the elimination of coil springs normally used for reference forces. The activities included testing of actual size seat/poppet components to determine actual discharge coefficients and flow forces. The resulting data was inserted into the computer model of the regulator. Computer simulation of the propulsion module performance over two mission profiles indicated satisfactory minimization of propellant residual requirements imposed by regulator performance uncertainties.

Keys to Scholarship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hebert, Terri

2011-01-01

Up ahead, a foreboding wooden door showing wear from passage of earlier travelers is spotted. As the old porch light emits a pale yellow glow, a key ring emerges from deep inside the coat pocket. Searching for just the right key, the voyager settles on one that also shows age. As the key enters its receptacle and begins to turn, a clicking noise…

Effect of social networks and well-being on acute care needs.

PubMed

Sintonen, Sanna; Pehkonen, Aini

2014-01-01

The effect of social surroundings has been noted as an important component of the well-being of elderly people. A strong social network and strong and steady relationships are necessary for coping when illness or functional limitations occur in later life. Vulnerability can affect well-being and functioning particularly when sudden life changes occur. The objective of this study was to analyse how the determinants of social well-being affect individual acute care needs when sudden life changes occur. Empirical evidence was collected using a cross-sectional mail survey in Finland in January 2011 among individuals aged 55-79 years. The age-stratified random sample covered 3000 individuals, and the eventual response rate was 56% (1680). Complete responses were received from 1282 respondents (42.7%). The study focuses on the compactness of social networks, social disability, the stability of social relationships and the fear of loneliness as well as how these factors influence acute care needs. The measurement was based on a latent factor structure, and the key concepts were measured using two ordinal items. The results of the structural model suggest that the need for care is directly affected by social disability and the fear of loneliness. In addition, social disability is a determinant of the fear of loneliness and therefore plays an important role if sudden life changes occur. The compactness of social networks decreases social disability and partly diminishes the fear of loneliness and therefore has an indirect effect on the need for care. The stability of social relationships was influenced by the social networks and disability, but was an insignificant predictor of care needs. To conclude, social networks and well-being can decrease care needs, and supportive actions should be targeted to avoid loneliness and social isolation so that the informal network could be applied as an aspect of care-giving when acute life changes occur. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development and pretest of key visual imagery in a campaign for the prevention of child maltreatment.

PubMed

Charest, Émilie; Gagné, Marie-Hélène; Goulet, Julie

2017-08-01

This article discusses the development and pretesting of key visual imagery in a promotional campaign developed in Quebec, Canada. This campaign is the media-based component of a broader prevention strategy involving the use of the Triple P program (Sanders, 1999). The purpose was to pretest with parents the preliminary version of a poster that uses the campaign's key visual imagery prior to final production. In total, 26 parents from the regions of Quebec City and Montreal participated in four focus groups. Two general themes emerged from the focus groups: (i) emotions and reactions arising from the key visual imagery; and (ii) comprehension of the message being conveyed. Based on this information, recommendations were made to the marketing agency, which then modified the campaign's key visual imagery and proposed a final layout.

Key Technologies of Phone Storage Forensics Based on ARM Architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jianghan; Che, Shengbing

2018-03-01

Smart phones are mainly running Android, IOS and Windows Phone three mobile platform operating systems. The android smart phone has the best market shares and its processor chips are almost ARM software architecture. The chips memory address mapping mechanism of ARM software architecture is different with x86 software architecture. To forensics to android mart phone, we need to understand three key technologies: memory data acquisition, the conversion mechanism from virtual address to the physical address, and find the system’s key data. This article presents a viable solution which does not rely on the operating system API for a complete solution to these three issues.

Quantitative methods of identifying the key nodes in the illegal wildlife trade network

PubMed Central